Pick all the cold branches

Lu Lan is a eccentric person.

Saying "weird" is nothing else, but that this person can bow and flatter the adults at one moment, and turn his back on the next moment and say "no conspiracy" as if he was arrogant. Think about when he is willing to cooperate with one or two and when he will bite to death and not let go.

This person has no bottom line in words and deeds, but he still cares in his heart.In particular, today's Lu Lan is no longer the richest businessman in the world who used to be famous for his money.

In fact, Zhen Xian was not sure that he could persuade Lu Lan to agree with His Highness's plan.

He even felt in his heart that Lu Lan would definitely not agree.

What Boss Lu wants is the unimpeded sea trade routes after the Japanese pirates in Jingsui. This is his chance to get out of the predicament and make a comeback, and his so-called "trust" to His Highness Prince Jing will not be more than that to the eunuchs. .

According to Zhen Xian's judgment, Zhang Er and others in Longhuzhai, and even Gu Sanniang, may have some thoughts of redressing their grievances and calling for peace, but Lu Lan will never have any.

Smart people can never allow themselves to fall into the same pit twice. From the very beginning, Boss Lu never thought about "negotiating peace" with the court again.This "imperial court" naturally included His Royal Highness Prince Jing, and even Zhen Xian.

Therefore, when Lu Lan rejected His Highness King Jing's proposal to station at the new guard without hesitation, and did not want to continue to participate in the next battle, but asked to take Gu Sanniang away immediately, Zhen Xian actually did not suffer Too much of a hit.

But he saw the shocked Gu Sanniang suddenly rushing in front of him from the outside.

It wasn't until this moment that a little shock finally spread in my heart.

More, still cold-hearted.

At this time, Sanniang was supposed to be with Yuqing and the others.He didn't even specifically mention anything related to Sanniang in the letter, because he was afraid that Lu Lan would reveal the matter to Gu Sanniang first and know that it would cause chaos.But Lu Lan did it anyway, calling Gu Sanniang back without telling him.

Boss Lu is indeed a smart man, but he wanted to forcibly spread the matter out, regardless of the consequences.

Zhen Xian felt extremely disappointed.

It's a matter of human life, sooner or later Sanniang has to know, but how to let her know may lead to very different results.

Of course, Lu Lan could not care about how the next incident will affect His Royal Highness Prince Jing and the entire battle situation in the southeast.

But he can't.

He must first think about the overall situation, for His Highness.

But he...has no position to blame Lu Lan.

They were the ones who chose to use Longhuzhai and approached them at the beginning. The difficulties they faced today were predictable. If they really wanted to blame them, they could only blame themselves for being too adventurous and aggressive.

He and Lu Guangfeng may be considered to cherish each other, but they are not on the same path. In the end, they still say "do not seek each other".

Zhen Xian couldn't help frowning and let out a long sigh.

"This matter is not His Highness's original intention. I wrote the document that Your Highness presented to the imperial court. I have already said everything I can say. If it weren't for His Highness's advice, the case of Sanniang's father might not even be brought to the cabinet." No. His Highness's words and deeds can naturally be seen by anyone with a discerning eye. Now, His Highness is doing his best to keep Sanniang, so why do you have to mess things up—"

Lu Lan's expression was extremely innocent, "I didn't say anything to Sanniang, I just asked her to come back and meet her. What she heard outside was what you said just now."

It sounded like they were deliberately trying to deceive a little girl.

Zhen Xian was speechless for a while, and really couldn't find anything else to say to Lu Lan.

Gu Sanniang was shocked and astonished, obviously still not understanding what happened.

"Does the Holy One really want me to die? Why... What did I do?"

She looked at everyone in front of her in bewilderment and aggrieved. When her cheeks were flushed, tears were swirling in her eyes, but she felt that it was impossible to fall.

After all, she is just a [-]-year-old girl.

That appearance caused Zhen Xian to worry for a while, and he wanted to comfort her, but was pulled back by Jia Fei.

"Sanniang, go and call Zhang Er and the brothers from the former village." His Highness Prince Jing quietly glanced at Gu Sanniang, took the lead, and walked out.

"Your Highness—" Zhen Xian's heart suddenly tightened, and he wanted to stop him subconsciously.

But Jiafei looked back at him, gently held his arm, and whispered comfortingly: "It's okay."

Zhen Xian was helpless, but he could only follow him, followed him silently, and stood beside him with his hands down.

There was only such a delicate girl in the barracks, and everyone cherished it. When they heard that Sanniang was back, a group of elders were very excited, and they all ran over in the blink of an eye. Soon it was silent again.

Jiafei briefly talked about the matter, without going into details, and told them that Governor Chen was dissatisfied with Guo Xin's death and insisted on catching up on the fact that women were not allowed to enter the barracks, and wanted to put Sanniang to death.Although it is simple, it is not a lie.

After hearing this, all the soldiers were startled and angry, and cursed one after another, but no one had any idea, they only clamored to protect Sanniang with all their might, and said they would obey the prince's orders.Only Zhang Er had a serious expression on his face, not knowing what he was thinking.

Jiafei glanced at the indignant crowd, and his voice sank.

"Now the killer sent by Dongchang to kill Sanniang is already on the way. It is impossible to stop it, and it is impossible to defend against it. The big battle is imminent. There is no room for mistakes, let alone distractions. So I will give you a chance to choose, you guys Think about it."

When he said this, he deliberately paused before continuing.

"The ones who are willing to stay are the brothers in the army. Everything will be done in accordance with the military law, and they will not embarrass everyone, nor will they have any preferential treatment; those who want to follow Sanniang, tonight Zizheng, take your boat away. I give You have enough food and grass for half a year. After half a year, rely on yourself. As for where to go or what to do, I don’t care. I only have one request—don’t embarrass my own people. If one day, you harass the merchant ships of our dynasty or the coastal people, How to exterminate the Japanese pirates now is the same as how to exterminate you in the future. At that time, there will be no sympathy for soldiers to meet each other."

He spoke very seriously, his eyes were sharper than a sword, obviously he wasn't joking.

When the soldiers suddenly heard these words, they were a little dazed for a moment, and they all stared at him in a daze, unable to make any sound.

His Highness wanted to cut through the mess with a sharp knife to prevent the army from being provoked to mutiny.

Of course, Lu Lan was also to be guarded against.

Zhen Xian secretly clenched his fists hidden in his sleeves.

Gu Sanniang has a high prestige in the army, especially those who came out of Longhuzhai still regard her as the female village leader. If anyone is displeased with Sanniang's encounter and has a different heart, they would rather cut their wrists in pain than stay.

It's better to let them go than to let them come.

But these people were all bandits in the past, and now they will become pirates if they leave like this. It is impossible not to deter them.

Moreover, these people can be regarded as the veterans of this new army. If they go too much, they may shake the morale of the army and cause even greater disturbances.

His Highness's move was more or less a gamble, a bet on his status as the commander in the hearts of everyone all the way south from Lin'an, and even more a bet on the loyalty and mentality of these people.

That's why His Highness told them clearly that staying in the army still has merit to be won, but if they follow Sanniang, they can only go there for half a year, and after half a year, they will die on their own.

In coercion and lure, His Highness Prince Jing was naturally unambiguous.

Seeing a sneer on Lu Lan's lips, Zhen Xian was suddenly afraid that this person would say something strange again. He wanted to stop him first, but another person took the lead.

"I stayed."

Zhang Erwu lowered his head and was depressed for a while, then took a step forward, frowned and spoke.

Gu Sanniang didn't seem to expect it, her pupils trembled, and she murmured, "You...won't you go with me?"

Zhang Er showed embarrassment, and smiled awkwardly for a long time.

"San Niang... I was originally a military household, and I don't know anything else except going to battle. Finally, the prince let me return from a deserter to a frontier army, and let me become a thousand household. If I escape again, who will I be sorry for?" ?”

His voice was a little choked up, and he suddenly took two steps forward excitedly, holding Gu Sanniang's arms tightly, with the appearance of tears pouring out.

"But you have to live well! Together with the eldest brother, live well!" He stared at Gu Sanniang with red eyes, and repeated it several times.

Gu Sanniang could only look at him with red eyes, and promised without saying anything else.

In the beginning, there were only Gu Sanniang and Zhang Er in this Dragon and Tiger Village. In the eyes of everyone in the village, Brother Zhang's prestige as the second master was no worse than that of Gu Sanniang.But now Zhang Er took the lead to stand up, bid farewell to Gu Sanniang, and wanted to stay in the army.There was a commotion among the crowd, and finally the two sides gradually separated.More than [-] people came out one after another, expressing that they would go with Sanniang, and most of the rest said they still wanted to stay in the army.

These people who came out of Longhuzhai back then fought hard all the way, and most of them who survived the battle had already made military achievements, and many of them had even made hundreds of households.

Since they can be officers in command of a hundred people, how many of them would be willing to go back to be wandering bandits?

What's more, Zhang Er has already set an example, and following the second leader is not a betrayal of brotherhood.

Gu Sanniang's tears welled up after all, while wiping her tears, she tried to say goodbye to her brothers with a smile.

The crowd also rushed to surround her and told her to take care.

Under the stars at night, in the light of the fire, there were crying and laughing.

This picture looks so sad, it is the scene of parting.However, Zhen Xian felt chills for no reason, which was not strange.

He saw Lu Lan standing beside Gu Sanniang looking sideways at him and sneering.

The smile was full of mockery, which made him feel uncomfortable, so he could only turn his head away.

Jiafei asked Gu Sanniang to pick a warship by herself, and took her thirty-odd people and enough food and grass for half a year to go to sea.

Before leaving, His Royal Highness King Jing ordered the guards beside him to fetch a sandalwood box, and handed it to Gu Sanniang with his own hands, "I promise that you will be rehabilitated, and there will be no less. When the time comes, you will see it yourself." arrive."

Gu Sanniang took the box and opened it, and saw inside was a ghost face made of pure gold, with flowers carved on it, exquisite workmanship, very luxurious.

The things were probably sent by Mrs. Cui in Beijing together with the military supplies.Presumably it was prepared before the holy will came down, originally planned to take it out after the war was settled, but I didn't expect His Majesty the Emperor to speak suddenly.

His Highness has put his mind to this little girl who can be called the leader of the pack.

Zhen Xian stared at the ghostly face in a daze for a while.

All the troops had never seen such a shiny new thing before, and they all gave out admiration.

Gu Sanniang was also very pleasantly surprised, probably because she didn't expect that the prince, who was joking and didn't expect too much, would take it to heart, and immediately held it in her arms very cherishingly.

"Although I, Gu San, am not a great hero, I will never be looked down upon by others. The prince will also wait and see."

She clenched her fists to her heart, saluted His Royal Highness Prince Jing, turned around and jumped onto the boat, and put the golden ghost mask on her face, with an air of air.

Lu Lan was the last one to board the ship.

"I have a few words that I want to say to Brother Xiuwenxian alone."

With his head held high, he stared straight into His Highness Prince Jing's eyes with a completely provocative look.

He didn't even wait for Prince Jing's consent, he pulled Zhen Xian over first, with such force that Zhen Xian's feet were unsteady, and he almost staggered and fell into his arms.

This scene is somewhat embarrassing.It was nothing more than relying on the fact that at this time, His Highness Prince Jing would not rob him in public for trivial matters.

Zhen Xian felt extremely embarrassed, and subconsciously pushed Lu Lan back, trying to keep a distance.

But Lu Lan insisted on holding him tight, and leaned closer to his ear, chuckling and whispering.

"You wrote to call me. I left the stockade, and Xu Dahu immediately led a group of officers and soldiers to take over. I guess His Highness Prince Jing didn't discuss this matter with you, otherwise, based on what you know about me, you would probably persuade him not to." Do this. Although it can be persuaded, it is another matter."

The smile in his voice was cold, and he couldn't hide his sarcasm more and more.Zhen Xian froze suddenly upon hearing the sound.

It turned out to be like this...

The lingering strange chill finally became incomparably thorough at this moment.

Your Highness is not entirely gambling.

On the contrary, His Highness had expected everything, and even made a clear and decisive conclusion earlier than him that Lu Lan would not cooperate.

Since they are unwilling to cooperate, it is a variable that needs to be resolved.

From the very beginning, His Highness made preparations for Lu Lan and Gu Sanniang to go together.

Let Xu Dahu quickly take over Longhuzhai in order to cut off Lu Lan's retreat.Lu Lan lost the old mountain that he worked so hard to manage. Whether he wants to or not, he can only take Sanniang out to sea to find a new residence. The road ahead is difficult and unpredictable.

Thinking about it this way, Zhang Er's exemplary statement just now was probably arranged in advance.His Highness probably had already reached a consensus with Zhang Er, and the public performance of this performance was to calm the morale of the army.

Since Gu Sanniang and Lu Lan are going to leave, it is His Highness's only bargaining chip to stabilize Zhang Er and push it up to make it a new banner.

Shooting people and horses, capturing thieves and kings, is very much like His Royal Highness's usual style.

His Highness Prince Jing is determined by nothing but the word "people's hearts".

Zhen Xian felt dizzy for a while.

I can't tell what it feels like.

He didn't think His Highness had done anything wrong.

From His Highness' standpoint, there was no need for such painstaking efforts, but he did everything he could to do so. His good intentions were only to leave a way for Sanniang to survive. This is His Highness's benevolence.

But as a commander, as a king, only benevolence is not enough.

What His Highness bears is not the lives of one or two people, but the lives of tens of millions, the lives of the common people in the world. If you need to give up, you must give up decisively, even if this "giving up" is full of deceit and calculation.

Abandoning Sanniang and Lu Lan is something His Highness must do.All I can do is to make this "abandonment" as warm as possible, without being too cruel or ugly...

He was clearly very clear, but his heart was still blocked and panicked.

He was still too soft-hearted after all.

Perhaps the reason why His Highness did not tell him these key points was precisely because he was so soft-hearted after seeing through it.

His Highness knew too well that he couldn't do it.

Zhen Xian closed his eyes in pain.

He heard Lu Lan chuckle in his ear again.

"You are a character who doesn't hit the south wall and doesn't look back. You must be burned to ashes yourself before you give up. Fortunately, I probably won't see the tragedy of that day, and I can pretend that everything is going well for you. , don’t feel sorry for you.”

The voice seemed sad, but it made him tremble uncontrollably.

The profile of Lu Lan's face before he left was as sharp as a chisel under the flickering firelight at night, with profound light and darkness.

Zhen Xian could only clenched his teeth, put all his strength into hiding himself in the shadow cast by the fire.

He didn't even know how long he had been standing on the beach. When he came back to his senses, there were no figures of Gu Sanniang and Lu Lan in front of his eyes, and there were no sails raised, only the cold sea breeze that chilled his heart.

Jiafei hugged him from behind, wrapped a thick cloak around him, and whispered in his ear, "...What nonsense did that Lu person talk to you again?"

Zhen Xian's heart ached suddenly.

Some things, if His Highness doesn't tell him, it can't be regarded as lying to him, but His Highness is considerate.That being the case, why does he have to know... It's better to pretend that he doesn't know.

So he lowered his eyes wearily, turned around and tried to pull up the corners of his lips, smiled at Jia Fei, and replied softly: "It's just some ordinary farewell words."

But his face was too pale, and the accumulation of injuries and fatigue made him look like a piece of paper, so weak that he seemed to fall down at any time.

Jiafei stared at him for a while, but still refused to let go, so he supported him to walk back slowly.

After half pushing and half hugging him back to the barracks, he was pressed on the bed and leaned back, and fed him a cup of warm tea, Jiafei hesitated for a moment, and then tentatively opened his mouth.

"Zhang Er asked me for orders, saying that he would lead the brothers to defend the border for the country when he established a guard post. I think he is a talent, why not recommend him to be a commander. What do you think?"

This is not really a question.

"Your Highness is well-planned. Actually, you don't need to ask me." Zhen Xian was stunned for a while, feeling that his voice was hoarse.

Maybe it's just the sea breeze blowing too much.

He heard His Highness calling him softly, "Xiaoxian—" he hesitated to speak.

There seemed to be a small but sharp needle in his heart, constantly piercing and pondering, the pain made him shiver uncontrollably.

Zhen Xian sighed weakly, put down the teacup in his hand, raised his eyes, and looked deeply at Jiafei.

"Sanniang and the others...are they really all right after leaving like this?"

Jia Fei was silent for a long time, before he could speak, he hugged him into his arms, tightly wrapping his arms.

"The people from Dongchang will not chase her to the sea to kill her. What's the point of chasing and killing such a little girl? Why don't you go back to my father and sue me for 'going back to the mountain'. Or add fuel and vinegar to me There is no way to manage the army. Before the battle, a ship and dozens of deserters must have escaped. In case those fans find out Lu Lan's identity again... If you have a heart to worry about them, why don't you feel sorry for me?"

There are also many grievances in His Highness's voice, which is true.

Zhen Xian was dazed again for a long time, finally softened his body and curled up into Jiafei's arms as if afraid of the cold.