The morning breeze blew by, and Qin Xiao looked at the deceased Prime Minister with mixed emotions.

Before he died, the Prime Minister finally told the truth about the murder of the Sword God Linghu Changle in detail. The mastermind behind it was naturally the current saint, and there were many big figures involved. Among the few great masters, there were actually four

The Grand Master was involved.

When a person is about to die, his words are also good. Qin Xiao believes that what the Prime Minister said is roughly correct, but it may not be completely true.

Is lobbying the Master to participate in the plan really what the Prime Minister said?

The rhetoric of the Prime Minister and Yuan Fenjing seemed reasonable, but there were still flaws in it. At least for a figure like Confucius, it was difficult for Qin Xiao to believe that Confucius would be deceived by such half-truths and half-false rhetoric.

.

However, the last words of the Prime Minister hit the nail on the head.

The Sword God's cultivation is really terrifying. Entering the Wutian Realm and becoming the number one person in the world will naturally make other great masters fearful.

Maybe the Prime Minister and Yuan Fenjing knew from the beginning that if the Master really didn't want to get involved, then no matter what he said, there would be no results. If the Master was involved, it could only be that the Master really wanted to overthrow Linghu Changle deep down in his heart.

Therefore, as long as the Master is sincere, it doesn't matter what kind of persuasive words you use. It just gives the Master a step up.

Therefore, the master got involved and poisoned himself. In the final analysis, it was not because he was persuaded, but because the master also knew that it was the best opportunity to get rid of Linghu Changle.

Thinking that the Master had a close personal relationship with the Sword God, but the Master actually betrayed his trust and teamed up with other great masters to murder the Sword God, Qin Xiao felt a chill run down his spine.

Did the Master get involved because he was just afraid of Linghu Changle and wanted to get rid of the sharp sword hanging above his head?

Are there any other reasons?

Qin Xiao knew that he might never have the answer.

This past incident was very disgraceful and even despicable to the great masters involved, so it has not been mentioned for many years and has become a big mystery. If he had not learned the truth from the mouth of the Prime Minister today, Qin Xiao would have even doubted whether he was really in this life.

able to know.

Although the Master promised to tell the truth after he enters Beijing, will he tell the truth? Will he make up a new set of excuses?

In fact, for Qin Xiao, the details of the murder of the Sword God were no longer important, not even who was involved. What was important was that he understood why Linghu Changle died.

Although it was the four great masters who joined forces to kill the Sword God, in the final analysis, it was the Sword God's once-favored first disciple who promoted and planned all this, the current saint who was driven by love and hatred and ultimately used all possible means to achieve his goals.

Sword Valley needs an answer, and Qin Xiao can now give an answer to the young master and other Sword Valley disciples.

He slowly stood up and waved to the cavalry under his command, and two cavalry came over quickly.

"After entering the city, find a coffin and place him properly." Qin Xiao thought for a moment and then ordered, "Send him to Tianchi Mountain in Suzhou and bury him at the foot of the mountain. Don't publicize it to the outside world. You two will be solely responsible for this matter."

!”

The two cavalrymen bowed and said yes.

Qin Xiao then bowed deeply to the body of the Prime Minister. Without hesitation, he got on his horse, hit the horse and left.

Except for a few people who were left to handle the body of the Prime Minister, other cavalrymen followed Qin Xiao and flew away towards Kyoto.

Today is a good day. The sun rises high and shines all over the earth. Everyone inside and outside Kyoto is bathed in warm and bright sunshine.

However, there are two scenes inside and outside the city wall.

In the city of Kyoto, the streets and alleys are deserted and clean. Almost all the streets and lanes, whether they are city or private buildings, are empty.

There was no one in sight.

This is naturally a reasonable thing.

The decisive battle outside the city was filled with loud killing sounds all night long. Even if they could not witness this tragic decisive battle with their own eyes, people in the city could still tell that the fighting situation outside the city was tragic by the sounds of fighting and screams that came into the city.

, and also know that at this time, the best choice is to close the doors and windows tightly, huddle in the house and wait for the end of this decisive battle.

Therefore, it is natural that the city of Kyoto is deserted and the streets and alleys are empty.

Separated by a wall, outside Kyoto City, in the vast wilderness, corpses piled up like mountains and blood flowed into rivers. The corpses of soldiers from both sides were intertwined. Many war horses also fell in a pool of blood. Broken limbs and broken arms were everywhere, which was shocking.

Most of the people and horses lying in the pool of blood were dead, but there were still many wounded soldiers struggling in the pile of dead people. They were not able to die for a while, enduring the pain of their injuries. There were even some horses lying in the pool of blood.

, sneezing in the nose, dying, waiting for death to come.

Yuwen Chengchao stood at the gate of Mingchun, looking down from a high position. Under the sun, he could not even see the end of the battlefield at a glance.

The decisive battle was over. The Kyoto garrison was either dead or wounded. The rest either took advantage of the chaos to break out, or abandoned their weapons and surrendered.

Although during the decisive battle last night, the Xichuan Army was unexpectedly attacked by Long Rui's Army, causing a rout. Many Xichuan Army soldiers left the battlefield and fled, but most of the Xichuan Army was intercepted by the Long Rui Army's infantry and cavalry. The entire battlefield was the first to abandon their weapons and surrender.

It's the Nishikawa Army.

In fact, some of the soldiers in the Xichuan Army still fought bloody battles, but most of this Xichuan Army was hastily recruited by the Prime Minister, and the good and the bad were mixed. Because of the rush, the recruited recruits not only had not been tempered by any war, but did not even have the most basic training.

The only way to meet the requirements is for the Prime Minister to act like a dead horse and forcefully bring this army to Beijing for reinforcements.

Not to mention that the combat effectiveness cannot be compared with the two brave and capable legions of Rouxuan and Longrui. Just traveling day and night from Nishikawa to Kyoto also consumed a lot of money along the way. Most of the soldiers were still tired and forced themselves into the decisive battle.

among.

Therefore, except for some hardened veterans who tried their best to reverse the defeat, most of the new recruits wanted to save their lives and surrendered very quickly.

The surrender of the Nishikawa Army also directly led to the final collapse of the Kyoto garrison. Under the joint stranglehold of the Long Rui Army and the Rouxuan Army, the Kyoto Army finally lost its fighting spirit. Those who were able to break out were still defeated by the two armies of Rouxuan and Long Rui.

The cavalry chased them, and those who could not break through had no choice but to drop their weapons and surrender to save their lives.

"Master Zhu, you are a hero!" Yuwen Chengchao looked at the battlefield outside the city. The Long Rui Rou Xuan coalition forces were cleaning the battlefield. The victory was already decided. "You abandoned the dark and turned to the light in time. You grasped the timing just right. It is really admirable."

Zhu Dongshan had a great reputation. He was the most ruthless official in the Tang Dynasty after Lu Junzhong. Although it was the first time for Yuwen Chengchao to meet this person, he had known his ruthless name for a long time. Although he was smiling, his words were

There is a hint of ridicule in it.

Zhu Dongshan looked embarrassed and said with a smile, "General Qin and I are old friends. General Qin led the troops to revive Li Tang, so naturally I want to help him."

Yuwen Chengchao glanced at Zhu Dongshan and asked, "You said before that the national traitor Xia Hou summoned a group of courtiers who are still in the palace. Now that the army has entered the city, do you think she will still resist? Will those dragon-scale forbidden troops still defend her to protect her?

Imperial City?”

"She must not be willing to be defeated like this." Zhu Dongshan sighed. "She has been the emperor for more than 20 years. She is greedy for power and regards the throne as more important than anything else."

Life is more important. Now that the princess's army has arrived and wants to pull her down from the throne, it will be more uncomfortable for her than killing her."

Yuwen Chengchao frowned slightly.

Although they won the bloody battle last night, Long Rui's army also lost some troops.

Now the overall situation has been decided, but if we continue to attack the imperial city, I am afraid there will still be some casualties.

He put one hand behind his back and looked into the distance outside the city. Suddenly he saw a group of cavalry walking through the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, heading towards Kyoto City.

Although his vision was blurry, Yuwen Chengchao judged almost instantly that it was Qin Xiao.

"Lower the suspension bridge!" Yuwen Chengchao turned around and ordered, "Open the city gate, the general is about to enter the city!"

His men immediately took the order, but Yuwen Chengchao discovered that the cavalry team that had been speeding suddenly stopped on the battlefield. ??

Qin Xiao reined in his horse because he saw a group of Long Rui sergeants escorting a tied-up enemy general, and a Long Rui Army general was asking the enemy general something.

The general of the Long Rui Army was none other than Dou Xiong, who was once a cavalry general of the Liaodong Army, but later joined Qin Xiao and gained important positions from Qin Xiao.

In this cavalry raid, Dou Xiong was the cavalry general.

But what surprised Qin Xiao was that the enemy general who was tied up by Wu Huada was also an acquaintance, and an old acquaintance at that.

He first met Xiahou Qingcheng in Turtle City. This person was guarding Xiahou Qingcheng. Xiahou Qingcheng called him "Uncle Wen".

After entering the capital, Qin Xiao also learned that the commander of the guards of the Prime Minister's Mansion was called Wen Xitai, and the Uncle Wen mentioned by Xiahou Qingcheng was none other than Wen Xitai.

He and Wen Xitai had met many years ago, but they had no contact with each other. However, because of Xiahou Qingcheng, he still had a sense of old feelings for Wen Xitai.

At this time, seeing Wen Xitai being tied up with five flowers and his armor covered with blood, he immediately understood that Wen Xitai must have been following the Prime Minister, accompanying the army from Xichuan to Beijing, and participated in the decisive battle.

When the Prime Minister was escorted from the battlefield, Wen Xitai was naturally still fighting in a bloody battle. He was unable to escape from the rebel army, but was eventually captured.

Judging from Wen Xitai's injuries, he should have been caught by Long Ruijun after he was injured.

Although Wen Xitai was tied up, his expression was calm and his eyes were closed. Dou Xiong asked a few questions, but Wen Xitai ignored him.

"General!" Seeing Qin Xiao, Dou Xiong hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.

Qin Xiao nodded slightly and ordered, "Untie him!"

Dou Xiong was startled, but he didn't say much and signaled the soldiers to release Wen Xitai.

Wen Xitai obviously felt strange. He opened his eyes, looked over, saw Qin Xiao's face, smiled lightly and said, "General Qin, I didn't expect that we would meet like this!"

Qin Xiao got off his horse and said with a smile, "Commander Wen, we haven't seen each other for many years!"

"When we first met, you were just a soldier of Turtle City!" Wen Xitai also smiled and said, "When we meet again many years later, you are already a world-famous general. Thirty years in the east of Hedong and forty years in Hexi, many things are really difficult.

Expected." What came to mind, he asked, "Who is the Prime Minister?"

"Kill yourself by taking poison!"

"Did you force him to death?" Wen Xitai immediately showed a look of resentment and clenched his fists with both hands, but soon he sighed and said, "The winner is a prince and the loser is a bandit. I'm afraid the prime minister never imagined that he would die in your hands in the end."

Li Qin Xiao, we are each our own masters, there is nothing to say, just kill me!"

"General Dou, you can lead the cavalry into the city first." Qin Xiao ordered Dou Xiong, "Commander Wen and I will reminisce about old times!" He turned around and turned to his side.

The cavalry team said, "Follow General Dou and enter the city first!"

Dou Xiong accepted the order and retreated with his men.

“Ms.

After drinking all the wine, he felt that the Xiahou family had been favored by the royal family, but betrayed the Li family, which was a disgrace to the Tang Dynasty, and failed to save the Xiahou family in the end.

Go down. I have ordered people to collect his body and send it to the foot of Tianchi Mountain in Suzhou for burial as soon as possible. The scenery there is beautiful and the climate is pleasant, so let him rest there."

Wen Xitai was startled, the anger on his face disappeared, his eyes showed gratitude, but he bowed his hands to Qin Xiao and said, "Thank you, General Qin. If you can do this, I will die in peace!"

"I appreciate your loyalty to the Prime Minister and your love and righteousness." Qin Xiaodao said, "If you are willing, you can escort the Prime Minister's coffin to Suzhou, and you can even build a house to guard the Prime Minister's tomb!"

Wen Xitai was startled again, and then sighed, "General Qin's heart is really generous. I would be grateful if he could send the coffin of the Prime Minister to Suzhou. I am a defeated general. When I arrive in Suzhou, I will guard the Prime Minister."

Beside the tomb, if General Qin wants to take my life one day, he can send someone to take it at any time."

"What a strong statement!" Qin Xiao sighed with emotion, "Miss Xiahou doesn't have many relatives anymore. I know that Miss Xiahou treats Commander Wen as a family member, so I also hope that you can visit her often in the future." He smiled bitterly, "Otherwise she will be very lonely.

"

Wen Xitai also looked sad and said, "I will visit." After a pause, he said, "I'm just confused about something. I wonder if General Qin can help me clear it up."

"Speaking!"

"In this decisive battle, General Qin deployed carefully and appeared at just the right time. To be able to do this, he must be well aware of the movements of the Xichuan Army." Wen Xitai frowned and said, "But when our army left Xichuan, it was in a detachment.

, we assembled after entering Gyeonggi Province, and tried our best to hide our whereabouts on the way. To be honest, even I couldn't know the whereabouts of the various people in Xichuan before entering Gyeonggi Province to assemble, and how could General Qin know us well?

Do you know the situation so well that you can even formulate tactics because of it? Could it be that you have already arranged spies in Xichuan?"

Qin Xiao thought for a moment and then asked, "Does Commander Wen know about the underground pawn shop?"

"I know." Wen Xitai said, "Underground pawnshops are all over the Tang Dynasty, and they are well-informed!" Realizing something, he said in surprise, "I just heard that the owner behind the pawnshop is called Mr. Da. Could it be that you made a deal with Mr. Da and used the underground pawnshop?

Do you know the whereabouts of our army?"

Mr. Da is Prince Qing, and he has been overthrown by Qin Xiao, but not many people know that Prince Qing is the master behind the pawn shop, and Wen Xitai naturally does not know the truth.

Qin Xiao just nodded with a smile and did not tell the truth.

It is indeed because of the underground pawn shop that he has mastered information about many places such as Kyoto and Nishikawa, but of course it is not because of the help of Prince Qing, but because of the secret help of other experts.

But there is no need to admit this to Wen Xitai.

"Know yourself and the enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger." Wen Xitai sighed, "It seems that the outcome has been decided from the beginning."

Qin Xiao didn't say much, just raised his hand and pointed in one direction, "The body of the Prime Minister is being guarded over there. Commander Wen can tell them that I asked you to escort the Prime Minister to Suzhou." After a pause, he said, "I will

I will visit you when I go to Suzhou!"

He walked straight over, got on his horse, and without looking at Wen Xitai, urged the horse to move away.
Chapter completed!