"Are you awake?" Yi Xiaodao noticed the movement on his back and knew that Pei Shuozhang had woken up.
"Brother...are we in...the gate of hell? Where are my brothers? Enter the gate!" Pei Shuozhang thought he was dead. The first thing he did after waking up was to look for his brother Pao Ze and call his cousin Pei Jin.
Yi Xiaodao said with a smile: "Ha, you want to die? It's not the time yet! Look, we've arrived at Juyi City."
"He's not dead..." Pei Shuozhang fell silent.
"I said, can you walk? Come down and take two steps, you are so heavy!" Yi Xiaodao shouted dissatisfied.
Pei Shuozhang responded repeatedly: "Oh, I can... I can walk."
Pei Shuozhang got off the ground, and there were still many injuries on his body. He staggered when he walked, but in the end he still walked on his own without relying on Yi Xiaodao's support.
"Brother, when I return to the city, I will definitely ask the prince to invite you two..."
"Oh, asking for credit? This big brother is afraid that even the current emperor has no reward for his merits." Bai Xinglong said with a smile from the side.
Pei Shuozhang's expression changed, he cupped his hands and said, "I wonder what your surname is, these two brothers?"
When Bai Xinglong saw that Yi Xiaodao had no objection, he pursed his lips and said, "It's not worth mentioning, but this is the Duke of Daqi Dynasty, Duke Wu Ding. Have you ever heard of him?"
"Wu...Wu Dinggong Yi Xiaodao?" Pei Shuozhang had naturally heard of Yi Xiaodao's name. He single-handedly recovered Nanhuai and Donglu, and even heard that he was involved in the battle of Chu and Xiang.
"I didn't know that Duke Wu Ding was coming. I will be blind and will be punished by death!" Pei Shuozhang quickly bent down and performed the official salute.
Yi Xiaodao stretched out a hand and helped Pei Shuozhang, who weighed nearly 200 pounds, up: "The title of Duke Wu Dinggong is just that of an envoy in the capital. In the north of the Great Wall, it means nothing to you generals."
"General Pei, I'm... I'm confused. Why do you, a mere thousand or so people, leave the fortified city undefended but go to the wilds?" If you want to talk about fighting, it doesn't sound like you are going to fight when you encounter Bei. The Yi people turned around and ran away. They were attacked by two rounds of attacks on the spot and more than half of them were killed or injured. Yi Xiaodao really didn't understand.
When Pei Shuozhang saw Yi Xiaodao asking questions, he was about to tell him because of his pure nature. Suddenly he remembered Wang Xianben's words and swallowed them back when they reached his lips. If the prince of the imperial court knew that the King of the North Land was going to abandon nearly a hundred sand cities outside the pass, he would not be allowed to go back and submit a copy in front of the emperor?
What's even more terrible is that I wanted to fake a defeat, but I didn't want to be defeated today, and the Duke of the country saw it with his own eyes. It would be fine if he loses in a strong fight, but now that he is defeated so embarrassingly, what will the Duke think...
The more Pei Shuozhang thought about it, the more panicked he became. He immediately ran out of ideas and hesitated for a long time without being able to say a word.
Yi Xiaodao saw it and said with a smile: "If General Pei has something to hide, let it be. I'll just ask him casually. I saw how General Pei treated the people in Juyi City, and I know that General Pei is not People who have liaison with foreign enemies."
Pei Shuozhang nodded in panic and did not answer. Yi Xiaodao and Bai Xinglong exchanged glances, knowing that there must be a reason, but Pei Shuozhang didn't want to say it, and there was nothing they could do.
When they arrived at the edge of the city, Yi Xiaodao called Pei Shuozhang, who was worried, and said, "General Pei, we have arrived at the gate of Juyi City. I will send you here."
"I don't dare to take it. Please help me, Duke Guo, rescue me." Pei Shuozhang quickly replied: "I wonder where Duke Guo is going? Why don't you go to the city to rest for a while?"
"Hahahaha, I've had enough of the mutton buns. I'm going to go shopping elsewhere to change my appetite. It can't be all mutton buns outside the Great Wall, right? If that's the case, I can go back to Beijing!" Yi Xiaodao laughed loudly. , and then his face became grim, as if he really hated the mutton buns.
Pei Shuozhang smiled awkwardly: "It's bitterly cold outside the Great Wall. There's nothing we can do about it..."
Yi Xiaodao shook his head gently: "It has been much better. The vassals in various places in Daqi are mixed, good and bad. In some places, the people do not have enough to eat, and the grass becomes bandits, and the people are in dire straits... This northern border land can still allow the people to eat two muttons. Baozi, so much better..."
"General Pei, this is farewell. See you again when we are destined." Yi Xiaodao smiled and gave a fist-holding salute.
"My lord...don't pass by, go slowly." Pei Shuozhang was about to bend down, thought for a moment, straightened up, and returned the fist salute.
Yi Xiaodao laughed and said: "Hahahaha! I saw the right person! Let's go!" After saying that, he and Bai Xinglong turned around and headed east.
Pei Shuozhang stood there, looking at Yi Xiaodao's back, and murmured: "What a wise king..." He suddenly came to his senses and quickly looked around, but fortunately there was no one there. He was so frightened that he slapped his mouth fiercely: "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Pei Shuozhang calmed down and walked towards Juyi City.
After Yi Xiaodao and Bai Xinglong left Juyi City, Bai Xinglong said, "I thought Duke Wu Dingg admired this person very much and wanted to take him under his command."
Yi Xiaodao glanced at Bai Xinglong in surprise: "Take him under your command? I'm just an idle gentleman. I go out to visit the great rivers and mountains of Daqi. Why do I want to take others under my command?"
Bai Xinglong said nothing, as if what he just said was not his.
Yi Xiaodao looked at Bai Xinglong and asked slowly: "Senior Hua asked you to test it?"
Bai Xinglong remained silent. The more he behaved like this, the more certain Yi Xiaodao became in his guess: "I advise you not to worry about what you shouldn't have. Even though your Majesty has made me a Duke, in fact I feel that I I am a beggar. However, I used to ask for food from the folks in Wancheng, but now I ask for it from His Majesty."
"I think so too. I will persuade the second master." Bai Xinglong said.
"I don't know how senior Hua's martial arts are, but to be ranked just behind Taoist Zhang, he must be the best in the world. But this level is far behind Taoist Zhang." Yi Xiaodao said leisurely.
Seeing Bai Xinglong's questioning look, Yi Xiaodao continued: "There is nothing wrong with wanting to make a future for the disciples of the sect and let the sect flourish. It's just a matter of the world. How many things can human beings do? They all follow the trend. It’s just a matter of change.”
"Senior Hua still doesn't understand this truth, and he will eventually be dragged into the general trend of the world. If there is an opportunity, he will soar into the sky, otherwise, he will be doomed. Taiyi already has such a reputation and status in the world, and he still gambles like this, Isn’t it too big?”
"Daozhang Zhang, on the other hand, followed the trend and accepted the reward from the court. He didn't grant it, and he didn't rush to get it. His status is aloof, and naturally everyone in the world admires him." Yi Xiaodao analyzed it one by one for Bai Xinglong.
Bai Xinglong smiled bitterly: "The Duke of the State has unavoidably devalued us so much that we are useless... The second master is just a little more impatient. Such a large sect is managed by the second master alone, and the rest are all swordsmen and martial arts idiots... In It’s inevitable.”
Yi Xiaodao nodded: "Senior Hua is indeed a hero."
"Where are we going next?" Bai Xinglong asked, skipping the topic.
Yi Xiaodao said without thinking: "Ding Liao's capital, Fengcheng."
"Why?"
"Let me ask you first, why do you think Pei Shuozhang took a thousand troops out of the city and penetrated into Beiyi territory?" Yi Xiaodao asked.
Bai Xinglong frowned and thought for a moment: "Detecting the enemy? Or..." After thinking for a long time, he couldn't think of any motive for Pei Shuozhang other than detecting the enemy.
If you want to surrender to the Northern Yi, you won't have to run away like crazy when you meet them; if you want to lure the enemy deep, there will be no ambush or reinforcements; even if you want to detect the enemy's situation, it will be very difficult. The Yi city only has four to five thousand troops. With such a small number of troops, how could there be any reason to send less than half of the troops to investigate the enemy's situation?
Yi Xiaodao smiled and said, "You can't think of it, can you? But this is normal. You just didn't see the situation at that time. I think they went to defeat on purpose!"
"Ah? Why is this?" Bai Xinglong was surprised.
"You are from the rivers and lakes and cannot see the power of the world. Nanhuai, Donglu, and Chuxiang have all been recovered by the imperial court. If you were the king of the North, could you still sit still?" Yi Xiaodao was good at tempting.
Bai Xinglong thought seriously, and after a while, he shook his head: "Almost half of the vassal kings in the world have returned to the imperial court, and no one else can sit still."
"Yes, although the three kings of the north are in the same spirit, the imperial court will not dare to do anything to these princes for a while. However, it is necessary to be on guard against others. By the time the imperial court gets its thoughts, the layout will be in place, and if it wants to resist, it will be It's too late. If I were the King of the North, I would strike first and plan the plan first."
Bai Xinglong didn't believe it: "Send a thousand soldiers and horses out to die?"
Yi Xiaodao shook his head: "Looking at Juyi City, indeed, sending a thousand soldiers and horses out is an act of suicide. If they hadn't encountered us, their entire army would have been annihilated. But we can't just focus on one place. If every city has In this case?"
"Is that worth it? With tens of thousands of soldiers and horses lost, how can we resist the Northern Yi? The Northern Yi will definitely invade the border!"
"Then let the loss of these troops be reported to the court openly, and secretly continue to recruit troops. On the court side, seeing the vassal king suffering such heavy losses, will the Beiyi people attack the vassal king again if they launch a large-scale attack?" Yi Xiaodao made his words clear.
When Bai Xinglong heard Yi Xiaodao's words, he was extremely shocked: "Seriously?"
"Who knows whether it's true or not? I'm just guessing. What will happen depends on the situation." Yi Xiaodao spread his hands and said that he didn't know whether it was true or false.
Bai Xinglong frowned: "Then why are you going to Dingliao? Wouldn't it be better to go back to the north and return to the city?"
Yi Xiaodao shrugged his shoulders and expressed his helplessness: "I think so too, but weren't we seen by these people from the North? We don't know those soldiers, but they will most likely remember me. If I go back to the city , I don’t even know when someone will recognize me. If I report it to the King of the North, wouldn’t that make me more defensive?”
"We went to Dingliao because the three kings have always been in the same spirit. If Beidi acted like this, I think the other two kings will do the same. If Dingliao suffered some defeats as we guessed, then our guess That’s almost it. The key is that we are safe in Dingliao and won’t be recognized!”
At this moment, Bai Xinglong was convinced by Yi Xiaodao. With this brain, even ten of him could not defeat him.
