____

Gu Yun casually took up the remaining half of the wine bottle, testing the temperature, then sipped a mouthful: “Little brat, do you think I cannot deal with you?”

____

Gu Yun’s heart tightened, everything happened faster than he imagined, even countless times more chaotic than he imagined.

The Western Region was much like a shallow pit with many frogs — small countries resembling a ma.s.s of a goat’s feces, one pile to the east, one pile to the west, quarreling every few days, wanting to dominate one another. However, in the past few years, with the Black Iron Camp keeping watch at the entrance of the Silk Road, for a long time, no one would dare to stir up any trouble.

Ku Cha was the size of a mosquito’s eye, even if they were to sell all their iron, they would never be able to purchase over a hundred Sand Tigers. Behind this unusual action, of course, would be wolves preying, this was as clear as day.

The question was — what was the intention of the forces standing behind Ku Cha Kingdom?

Gu Yun did not believe that this was done by that person in the palace. Li Feng had a strong desire to control, he very much liked to carry things out in a safe and certain manner. He never would have done such rash action in such a short period of time, under a situation in which even he himself hadn’t had everything planned carefully.

He was afraid that this time, even Li Feng had also been caught off guard. On one hand, he did not know what the exact situation was in the northwest. On the other hand, he was afraid that the Black Iron Camp would act without command, disrupting the arrangement of the court. ‘The marshal seal was currently being confiscated, no Drumming Order will be granted’ had become his excuse to hold them back.

Gu Yun asked: “How many soldiers are there in each defensive garrison of the other countries?”

Black Eagle: “In the station of the Westerners, there are about three thousand. Tian Zhu was a bit further away, there are only one thousand troops, the rest belonged to other Western Region countries.”

“Impossible.” Gu Yun slightly bit his tongue, and swallowed the words ‘investigate again’ back, only to remember that he was not in the army at this time.

He had been trapped in this city the size of a well, completely beyond reach.

“Since hundreds of Sand Tigers have appeared, the other side must want an all-out battle. If they don’t have a few tens of thousands of elite soldiers standing at the back, all the Ziliujin pouring into these machines will be in vain, even if there are not many in daylight, it does not mean that there are no troops hidden in the dark.” Gu Yun narrowed his eyes, his fingers slightly tapped the table:

“To deal with Lou Lan’s poor-man cavalry, a team of Heavy Armors would be more than enough to suffice. They gathered a large number of Sand Tigers and tens of thousands of troops at our border, this cannot be about a trivial argument between the small countries in the Western Region.”

The soldier was puzzled: “Then…then your subordinate will immediately rush back now…”

Gu Yun intercepted him: “There is no need, and it’s already too late.”

The Black Eagle rushed to the capital from the station at the Silk Road, taking two days at best, this was already a G.o.dlike speed. The capital forbid air travel, he could only land in the Northern Camp. Even if he were to enter the capital on the same night, when arriving in front of Gu Yun, it was already the third day. If he were to return to send the message, counting both departing and returning time, even if he ran to death, it would still take up to five or six days.

The battlefield changed rapidly, five or six days were enough for them to lose their country —

Gu Yun clenched his teeth, why must he be detained here in the capital right at this moment!

“You go rest first.” Gu Yun whispered, “Let me think about it.”

The Black Eagle soldier did not dare to be talkative, obediently taking his leave.

Gu Yun turned to heat up for himself a bottle of wine, strolling back and forth in his room. Within this small s.p.a.ce, his head had completely cooled down, gradually finding a clue, he thought: “Perhaps the worst hasn’t happened.”

He was detained, Shen Yi was not here. At this moment, the northwestern Black Iron Camp was being led by He Rong Hui — the commander of the Black Eagle faction.

He Rong Hui’s character, Gu Yun understood it full well — the man was notorious for being the topmost difficult person to deal with. In addition to Gu Yun, even Shen Yi might not be able to withstand him, he will definitely not put the Northwestern Governor in his eyes. If that Meng Peng Fei dared to bare his might inside their camp under the name of the Drumming Order, He Rong Hui would probably take the lead in opposing, if not careful… perhaps he would even take care of Governor Meng.

Then what would be the next step?

Suddenly, the door was knocked from the outside, Gu Yun went to open it and found that Chang Geng was standing there.

Gu Yun’s hand was holding onto the door. As soon as he caught sight of Chang Geng, the heart that had just calmed down began to stir up again, his stomach twisted in a knot: “How come you are here again?”

Chang Geng: “I think yifu perhaps could use me right now.”

Gu Yun: “…”

Chang Geng stood at the door and asked, “Can I come in?”

After requesting for his permission, he turned sideways, in a ‘completely ready to go’ stance, as long as Gu Yun told him to ‘get away’, he would immediately obey and vanish into thin air.

Gu Yun thought: “I must have owed a lot of money to this little b.a.s.t.a.r.d in my previous life.”

Then, he could not do anything other than to make way for said little b.a.s.t.a.r.d to enter the room.

Just now, Gu Yun was deeply immersed in his thoughts, accidentally leaving the bottle of wine to reach a boiling state on the stove. The scent of liquor spread in the room. Gu Yun tried to make conversation, lifting up the bottle and asked Chang Geng: “Do you want a drink?”

Chang Geng did not pay him any mind, bringing out for himself a bottle of already cooled boiled water, sitting properly next to a chessboard — if he were to shave his hair, this image of him would very much resemble a mysterious monk, beyond the mortal realm.

Chang Geng asked: “The Black Eagle will not run all the way from the Northwestern Camp in the night without any reason. Is there a change at the border?”

Gu Yun didn’t quite want him to know, vaguely saying: “Just a little trouble, it’s nothing.”

His personal prestige in the military was extremely high. The advantage of it was that he did not speak twice, his abilities to control and his efficiency were both excellent. However, with everything that was too extreme bearing the tendency to become counter-productive, this also had its downside. For example, as Gu Yun would involuntarily maintain this prestige, when faced with certain things even he himself could not figure out, he would not take the initiative to talk to others about it either.

Over time, it was easy to become stubborn.

Chang Geng lifted his eyes and looked at him, but quickly retracted his gaze, reverting back to avoid his line of sight, for he was afraid he would sink into them if he were to look too long. He picked up a chess piece from the box next to him, playing with it at his fingertips. The piece was black and green, a hint of light flashed as the steam lamp shone upon it.

Seeing that Gu Yun wasn’t willing to elaborate on it, Chang Geng continued his question: “The generals of the three major factions can perfectly handle things on their own, with a bit of friction at the border, they would not come to bother you — my guess is there are at least tens of thousands of unusual troops a.s.sembled or a different problem which was equally grave, otherwise, that Black Eagle brother would not have to travel as such.”

Gu Yun repeatedly turned the steaming hot cup of wine in his hand, slightly narrowing his eyes in the aroma of liquor: “Old General Zhong has taught you a lot.”

“There are still things General Zhong has never taught me,” Chang Geng said. “What is yifu thinking?”

“The Black Iron Camp forever put defending the homeland as our final boundary.”

Gu Yun explained. “In case of sudden incidents with unclear circ.u.mstances happening, Old He will automatically regard the border as a front line and close off the entrance of the Silk Road. All roads are cut off, and those who deliberately enter will be executed. If a friendly neighboring country came to seek a.s.sistance when the Marshal is not there, the Black Iron Camp will only provide protection at most, they will never leave the job to mobilize troops.”

“Five thousand soldiers of the Black Iron Camp, unless they were G.o.ds themselves that arrived, otherwise, whoever might come, they will never be able to easily break through the barrier of our Northwestern Frontier — I am not worried about this for the time being, just thinking about what action they will take next.”

His voice was low and gentle, and seemed to be even deeper than the aroma of liquor hanging in the room. Chang Geng’s ears couldn’t help but tingle, he kept his head down, trying to ward off distracting thoughts: “If it were to be me, I would not choose this moment to act against Great Liang.”

Gu Yun’s gaze paused on the black chess piece in between his contrasting white fingertips: “Why?”

Chang Geng placed it on the chessboard, a clear sound rang out.

“Because it’s still not enough,” he said, “The contradiction between yifu and His Majesty has not reached the point resembling fire and water. Although he temporarily put you under house arrest in the capital, the Black Iron Camp still hasn’t scattered, still remaining to be a solid piece of metal. In case of foreign enemies invading, the Emperor will put you back in action at any time. The conflict between the regime and the military power that has intensified in the past few years will be resolved overnight, all they have laid out for years will be destroyed.”

Since the incident on the carriage that day, Chang Geng had suddenly sharpened up in front of Gu Yun. Whether it be family affairs or politics, when coming from his mouth, they all directly hit the bull’s-eye with no mercy.

Gu Yun was stabbed by the words ‘the contradiction between political power and military power’, the fingers that had turned red by the hot wine cup was stopped in the air.

This was a sc.r.a.pe hidden deep under the peaceful facade of Great Liang.

Emperor Wu had no son, there was no other option but to adopt a child within their bloodline then pa.s.s on the t.i.tle of the Crown Prince. No matter how much people praised the man for his intellect, in the end, he was only human. At his final moment, the old man had had his own selfish wish, leaving the military power that could threaten the Emperor and command the magistrates to his most beloved daughter, thus separated military power from the court’s regime.

This perhaps had become the biggest failure of Emperor Wu in his lifetime. If the Marshal was understanding and content with his position, the Emperor had a vast heart, the ruler and the subject could then live in harmony for one generation, but what about two generations? Three generations?

Inside, Gu Yun was fully aware of this matter —

One day, the contradiction between the Black Tiger Emblem and the Emperor’s Seal would no longer be able to reconcile. In the end, there could be only two outcomes: ‘the incompetent ruler abdicated’ or ‘set aside the bow as there are no more birds’.

“I think this is a ‘two in one’ test.” Chang Geng placed several pieces on the board. “If those foreigners discover that once yifu is out of the camp, the Black Iron Camp would immediately become a ma.s.s of straw being commanded by the Drumming Order, then the ma.s.sive troops resembling tigers preying in their hands were prepared for us.

“Not only the Western Region, but also the barbarians in the North and the Eastern Sea who had been silent for many years. But this possibility is very small, the most likely outcome was that the northwest will remain impenetrable, General He will imprison Governor Meng currently holding the Drumming Order…”

Gu Yun’s gaze on him was finally dyed with a hint of shock.

Chang Geng greeted his eyes with a half-bitter, half-sorrowful smile: “Yifu, don’t be so surprised, all things related to you, even turning over all of Great Liang, there isn’t a second person who could be as thorough as I am.”

Gu Yun: “…”

This kind of young man who was immune to both hard and soft tactics, especially troublesome, was truly difficult to deal with; could not scold, could not beat, could not persuade nor coax, but after a moment of being choked up, Gu Yun suddenly had an idea, decisively playing his ‘utterly mindless, incredibly thick-skinned’ move, tilting his head and asking with a serious look: “What? Are you teasing your yifu?”

Chang Geng was caught off guard, as expected, getting hit by this one move. His large white sleeve knocked over a bowl of water on the table.

The ever-victorious Marshal Gu did not pay any mind to this little victory. He waved his hand with great grace: “Continue.”

Chang Geng soon returned to his senses, although Gu Yun just scared him to death, at the same time, he felt relieved — even if the sky fell, that person can always remain lively.

“… If I were to be in their shoes, I will use Heavy Troops to continue to pressure the border of the Silk Road, especially Heavy Armors and Chariots,” Chang Geng said “Continuously threaten the Black Iron Camp, appearing as if they will attack at any moment.

“Yifu is not in the army, General He will be at most a suspension bridge left hanging high, he definitely will not take the initiative to mobilize troops. On one hand, he will send you a letter, at the same time, he would seek a.s.sistance from the nearby areas. It could be the Defense Army, or it may be the garrison of the Central Plains.”

Gu Yun raised his eyebrows.

“When the Black Iron Camp issued a request for help, it must be an emergency, no one will regard it as just an ordinary matter, although the Drumming Order has been pa.s.sed from the Southern Frontier, but in just a few months, its prestige is not enough to command the entire country, thus the general in charge is very likely to jump over the Ministry of War and send out reinforcement.”

Chang Geng stared at the mottled chessboard. “But if I remember correctly, when the North Barbarians attacked Yanhui Town back then, the Northern Frontier City Defense Army had also been personally cleaned by yifu. You can say that you didn’t deliberately place your men inside, but I am afraid that those who use the heart of a villain to measure a hero’s action will not believe this.

“But the commander of the crucial Central Plains troops, Cai Feng — Old General Cai coincidentally used to be a subordinate of the Old Marquis. In this way, in the five major military regions of the Great Liang, no need to mention the southwest, General Shen was your man. The Western Region had the Black Iron Camp, completely lawless, even daring to imprison the Northwest Governor; the Northern frontier and the Central Plains garrison ignored the Ministry of War’s Drumming Order, as soon as the Black Iron Camp seek help, they would immediately send troops at will.” Chang Geng grabbed a handful of chess pieces, thrown them altogether on the board, the scattering noise ringing out.

The rest was for certain —

Emperor Li Feng would probably realize more and more that Gu Yun’s act of yeilding to the Drumming Order was completely a ‘scam’. He would then use himself to measure others — a.s.suming half of his nation was already placed in the hands of Gu Yun.

The Emperor would be unable to breathe from rage.

Chang Geng’s gaze were endlessly deep: “Would yifu listen to my ideas?”

Gu Yun: “Speak.”

Chang Geng: “First, immediately send the Black Eagle to send a letter to General Cai, inform him he must not act arbitrarily without command. Even if General Cai decided to mobilize troops, he must first adjust the formation, preparing medicine and ration. If we were to send the message right now perhaps it will still be in time.”

Gu Yun immediately questioned: “Why not send a letter to the Northern Frontier Defense Army?”

Chang Geng said, his expression unchanging: “Because yifu has only one Black Eagle, we can only place one bet in this gamble.

“In view of the fact that even someone like me could realize that the Northern Barbarian is very likely to siege this chaotic opportunity for their advantage, I’m certain General He would understand this also, thus there is a high chance he will skip the nearest solution to reach for the one further and seek the a.s.sistance of the Central Plains’ garrison.

“After returning to the northwest, the Black Eagle must advice General He to not be impatient, there is no need for him to listen to the Drumming Order’s command, but he definitely must not greatly offend the Northwest Governor.”

Gu Yun: “Third?”

“Thirdly,” Chang Geng said slowly. “I want to ask yifu to make use of this moment while the news on the Silk Road side hasn’t reached the capital yet to find a reason to thoroughly hand over the Marshal Seal. Clearly express you will no longer get involved in military affairs, at the same time, thoroughly communicate with the Emperor, you only need to say that the security of the northwest is of great importance, before taking your leave, you have already explained everything to your subordinates — without the Marshal Seal, the three commanders of the three factions are not allowed to act rashly in any situation. The Northwest troops cannot lack its leader for even a day, requesting the Emperor to find someone to take over as soon as possible.”

Taking a step back, avoiding the sharp edge while keeping He Rong Hui from committing an offense.

In fact, Chang Geng still wanted to say, “This is not the best plan, it can only be used to treat the branch but not cure the root”. However, his instinct told him Gu Yun might not want to hear these words, thus he had swallowed it back.

Gu Yun was silent for a long time after hearing this.

Suddenly, his thoughts ran far away, and he couldn’t help but think of the child he had picked up from the wolf’s mouth in the blizzard as white as feathers that year.

Back then, Shen Yi had lied to Chang Geng that it was only a coincidence. But in truth, it wasn’t.

At that time, they already had their own men the Northern Frontier. After Gu Yun accepted the royal decree, he actually found Xiu Niang first. After discovering her connection with the Barbarians, he decided not to act in order to avoid affecting the grander scheme of things.

Gu Yun was still young back then, his ways of handling things were more or less immature. Only setting his eyes at the barbarian, he had forgotten the former Emperor’s command of quickly returning to the capital after finding the little Prince, carelessly letting Chang Geng run out the city gate. Only then did he hurriedly chase after him with Shen Yi in a state of panic.

Even as Gu Yun closed his eyes now, he could still see clearly the image of Chang Geng’s appearance at that time — a small thing covered in injuries, scrawny and bare-boned, in the midst of snow and wolves, he had somehow miraculously held on until they arrived.

Gu Yun wrapped him in his outer coat, he was light enough to be carried with one arm. He could feel as if he was holding a small dying bird, for fear of suffocating him even with the slightest force.

Time flowed like water, as soon as he looked away for a moment, the boy had already grown so big.

Chang Geng saw that he was quiet for a long time without answering, he could not help but ask: “Yifu?”

Gu Yun slightly tilted his head, his expression under the lamplight almost appeared gentle for a brief moment. Chang Geng’s heart skipped a beat.

Perhaps it was the blood that Chang Geng had vomited out when his anger was raging or due to the mess that happened in the next few days, in short, although Gu Yun felt that matter was ridiculous, helpless and troublesome at the same time, but contradicting to what he imagined, he did not become as furious as he expected.

Gu Yun: “I know, you should go rest early.”

Chang Geng heard his order of sending him away, immediately standing up to leave.

Gu Yun: “…Wait.”

He lowered his eyes and seemed to hesitate a little: “That time you told me, you could do anything I wanted, is that right?”

Chang Geng’s fingers that originally went to open the door hung in the air, curled up slightly.

Gu Yun: “I don’t want you to go far, I don’t want you to force yourself either. Yifu only wants you to be happy and well. ”

Chang Geng stood dead for a moment, then fled without a word.

Gu Yun casually took up the remaining half of the wine bottle, testing the temperature, then sipped a mouthful: “Little brat, do you think I cannot deal with you?”

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