Ding Peng came back to his senses and looked at Fang Longye, his eyes were stunned, and then he said calmly: "It turns out to be Immortal Master Longjiang Fang. I forgive Ding for being in jail and unable to return the gift."
Fang Longye waved his sword, and the iron chains on Ding Peng's body broke.
"Do you recognize me?"
"Seven years ago, I led my troops through Longyuan Mansion and had the honor to witness the Immortal Master killing the water demon."
"Oh? Really~" Fang Longye didn't know that Governor Ding had any interaction with his incarnation, Fang Xian.
While the two were talking, they woke up Ding Peng's children who were in the same cell with them.
"Dad, my body hurts so much..."
Ding Peng's daughter woke up from her sleep, and the first words she spoke made Ding Peng's eyes red.
"Don't be afraid Yun'er, daddy is here."
Ding Peng's shackles were removed and he struggled to stand up and approach his daughter.
But he simply couldn't do it.
In order to get him to plead guilty to treason, he had been tortured a lot these days.
At this time, except for the white hair on his head, he looked just like ordinary people.
In fact, he has been covered with hidden injuries, and his original martial arts cultivation has completely dissipated, and it is difficult to even raise his hands.
Fang Longye stretched out his hand and used magic power to draw a rejuvenation talisman and penetrate it into her body. Only then did Ding Peng regain his ability to move and put his daughter in his arms to comfort her softly.
Fang Longye looked at Ding Peng's daughter and frowned.
I saw that she was only thirteen or fourteen years old, but she was covered in chains like her father. What's more important is that a chain made of black iron goes straight through two pipa bones and connects with the iron ring on the ground, which is particularly violating and cruel.
Fang Longye offered a green light magic sword to help her cut off the restraints, and then cast a spell to heal her injuries.
Looking at his daughter who was gradually recovering from health, Ding Peng thanked her repeatedly ~
"She is just a little girl, why is she treated like this?"
"The Immortal Master doesn't know that my sister has been very powerful since she was a child. She started charging on the battlefield two years ago when she was only twelve years old. She is invincible. Even though her martial arts training was abolished like her father, the court treats her I’m still afraid of him, so I did such a cruel thing.”
Ding Peng's son on the side raised his head to explain, then lowered his head and blamed himself, "If the dog emperor hadn't forced me and my father to fight, my sister might have been able to escape."
"Feng'er, shut up!" Ding Peng scolded.
"What are you talking about? When I wrote to my father, I told him not to leave the Ding family army alone and come back alone, but you just didn't listen and insisted on holding on to your loyalty. If you had listened to me, why would our Ding family be like this?"
However, the boy who was about ten years old and looked like a little adult suddenly burst out and roared.
"It's useless even if dad anticipates a critical situation and stays on the front line, the situation will still be the same today." Ding Peng's daughter, who has recovered from her injuries, said coldly.
"sister?"
Ding Peng's daughter reached out and pulled the iron shackles on her brother's body, and broke them with force, freeing her brother from the shackles.
She looked at her puzzled brother seriously and explained: "Food, military equipment, and logistical supplies are all under the control of the imperial court. No matter how prestigious dad is, can he lead a group of hungry soldiers across thousands of miles to fight back to Tai'an?"
"At least dad can segregate Jiangbei~" Ding Feng defended.
"Which one of the military morale and public opinion supports Dad? Which of the gentry below is easy to deal with? When the time comes, the North and the South will still end up in defeat~"
Ding Yun shook his head and refuted his brother's words.
Fang Longye watched the argument between the siblings with great interest. Seeing this, Ding Peng greeted his two siblings: "Yun'er Feng'er, why don't you come and pay your respects to the immortal master~"
After hearing this, the two siblings stopped their conversation and hurriedly stood up, knelt down in front of Fang Longye and saluted, "Ding Yun (Ding Feng), thank you Master Immortal for your help."
"Get up, this is also because you and I are destined." Fang Longye waved his right hand, and the two of them stood up involuntarily.
He then turned to look at Ding Peng: "I think the governor should already know my purpose of coming. Unfortunately, it seems that the governor may have a hard time complying with my wishes."
Ding Peng bowed deeply and said, "Thank you so much, Master Immortal, for your kindness. It's just that Ding can't get over the hurdle in his heart, so he can't blame others."
"Do you really want the Governor to stop thinking about it? It is respectable to sacrifice one's life for righteousness. But if you leave with me, you can revolutionize the whole country in the blink of an eye. What grievances can't be washed away by then?"
"Thank you, Master Immortal, for your love. I forgive Ding for having such difficulty."
"Zhang Guo is already rotten in his bones. Humanity and reform are the normal course of action. Why should the governor insist on it?"
Ding Peng did not reply, but sighed, called his son and daughter, reached out and stroked the two children's heads for a long time, and finally asked them to kneel in front of Fang Longye and said: "Master Immortal, although I am a little cheeky, I I have something to ask for."
Fang Longye sighed slightly, "Forget it~ Ding Yun and Ding Feng, you two siblings will call me sir from now on!"
Ding Peng saw this and bowed, "Ding Peng thanks the immortal master again~"
"Dad!?" The two siblings also understood their father's choice and cried in unison.
Then he took his two children, wiped away the tears on their faces, and said with a calm smile: "My father's choice is just an obsession in my heart. Being a father is something I can't live with. People always have to persist, isn't it? Really? Seeking benevolence and getting benevolence, that’s all.”
"father!"
…
That night, Fang Longye used the puppet technique to replace dozens of Ding Peng's relatives and friends who were willing to leave, leaving Ding Peng and others who chose to die bravely.
Half a month later, Ding Peng and others were beheaded at the Meridian Gate. His head was rushed to the front line and handed over to Cang State. The peace negotiation was successful on the condition that Zhang State ceded the recovered Bafu land in the north. The results of the Northern Expedition for more than ten years were ruined. But more than half.
Ding Peng died and peace was negotiated.
The imperial court of Zhang State immediately announced an exemption from the "Northern Expedition military pay" and a three-year tax reduction to support the people of Li.
The whole world celebrates and everyone is happy~
Cang Guo regained the land of the Eight Prefectures including Yujing without any effort, and Zhang Guo stabilized the six prefectures in the north that were already in hand as a barrier to the south.
The emperor stabilized his throne, the civil servants suppressed the arrogance of the generals, and the concubines were given the gift of respite and shouted loudly for the benevolence of the saint.
No one mentioned Ding Peng. It seemed that such a figure never existed in Zhang State.
In the old house of the Ding family, Ding Yun and Ding Feng stood across the street and looked at each other for a long time. Then Ding Yun looked at Fang Longye and said, "Sir, let's go!"
"Don't look at it anymore?"
Ding Yun shook his head and said: "The things that should be taken have been taken back, and there is nothing to miss."
She brushed aside the magic barrier covering her siblings' whereabouts, raised her heroic little face, and said with firm eyes: "One day, I will return to Tai'an City in a dignified manner. Let's see then!"
"That's fine, otherwise your relatives and friends should be worried too." Fang Longye nodded.
"By the way, sir, this is for you." Ding Yun took an ancient black sheath sword from his brother Ding Feng's arms and held it in front of Fang Longye with both hands.
"Is this one?" Fang Longye reached out to take it, pulled out his sword and checked it. As soon as the sword was unsheathed, a cold air that wasted no human flesh and bones came out through the blade. I saw that the shape of this sword was strange and ancient. It was more than three feet long from head to tail. The sword was two fingers wide. It was dark green in color. The texture on the sword's spine was in the shape of a hundred dragons coiled around it.
"What a sword!" Fang Longye praised. In terms of sharpness alone, this sword is already comparable to a magic weapon.
"Sir, this is the green-blooded sword passed down from our family. The original intention is that our ancestors keep us loyal and patriotic. Since the emperor has abandoned the green-blooded heart of my Ding family, the Ding family no longer needs this sword. ." Ding Yun said coldly.
"My husband has not accepted our training yet, so this sword will be given to you as a gift to my master~" Ding Feng echoed his sister's words and said respectfully to Fang Longye.
"Okay, I will accept your wishes." Fang Longye did not comment, sheathed the green blood sword, put it into the storage bag, and led the two of them outside the city~
Along the way, looking at the grateful people inside and outside the city, Ding Feng said in a low voice, "Sister, I really feel worthless for my father."
Ding Yun was silent for a moment and replied: "I feel the same way."
Fang Longye heard the conversation between the two and smiled but did not reply. Instead, he approached an old farmer who was carrying grain into the city and asked, "Look, everyone is celebrating?"
The old farmer couldn't see Ding Yun and his brother, but only saw a noble man in brocade asking him questions. Dare not hesitate to reply: "Yes, after more than ten years of fighting, thanks to the kindness of the Lord, I can finally live a good life for two years."
"Oh? But what if Cang Kingdom invades the south again in the future?"
"My lord, you are concerned about the country and the people, but we, the common people, can only live one day at a time, so how can we care about the future?" After that, he gave a salute and left in a hurry.
"How many days can we still have the same flesh and blood? How many people can do that?"
Fang Longye sighed and said seriously to the two of them: "The people are short-sighted, but don't blame them. It's not easy for them to live."
"Sir, my father wants to fight for a good life for them!" Ding Feng said in confusion.
"It's not your father's fault, it's the fault of Zhang Guo's court. The court put all the burden on the people, and of course the people don't want to fight." Fang Longye replied.
"The Northern Expedition cannot be vented. It can only advance but not retreat. So the moment my father was recalled, he knew that there was nothing he could do to save himself." Ding Yun said coldly.
Fang Longye glanced at her approvingly and echoed: "Yes, the reason why your father is unwilling to leave with me is not only because he is unwilling to violate his own perseverance, but also because he understands that after the imperial court retreats on its own initiative, it will be short-lived. No one is willing to support the Northern Expedition any longer."
The people in the southern lands were no longer willing to bear the burden of the Northern Expedition, while the people in the recovered lands in the north wanted to rebuild their homes.
The peace talks faction wanted to suppress the arrogance of the war faction, and the emperor wanted to get rid of the generals he thought were threats to the throne. However, those who saw the crisis clearly did not dare to say anything as the court concluded the coffin.
Unless the Zhang Dynasty is overthrown and a new dynasty is established. With the redistribution of interests, people's lives improved, and they naturally supported the Northern Expedition.
It's a pity that Ding Peng himself is unwilling to be the one who overthrows Zhang Guo.
"Zhang Guo is already rotten and cannot be saved." Fang Longye led the two of them out of the city gate and headed towards a mountain forest not far away, preparing to meet the dozens of people he had rescued before. Peng's relatives and friends gathered together.
Not far away, on the big river connected to the moat, an old man in a canoe sang sadly:
"The water that flows down is placed on the flat ground, and flows east, west, north and south. Life also has a destiny. How can we walk and sigh and sit down again and feel sad?
It is difficult to drink wine to forgive oneself, but it is difficult to break up the song by raising a glass. How can you not feel that your heart is not wood or stone? He swallowed and hesitated to speak. "
