When Gu Yun walked out of the hall, his eyes were a little blurry. He stood still and took a few breaths calmly. For the first time in his life, he felt that the light armor weighing only a few dozen kilograms was so oppressive.

People's potential in critical situations is probably infinite. Gu Yun endured a headache that was unbearable even with a needle and a bed. He was busy in the Golden Palace for a whole day and night, and it passed without feeling anything. But when he walked out, he found that he was exhausted. His clothes almost stuck to his body. When the breeze with morning dew blew, he shivered with a heavy head and light feet.

There was a ray of sunlight in the sky just now, but now it was covered by dark clouds and the morning light was dim.

Chang Geng was waiting for him at the door, with his back to the golden palace that looked like a fairy palace. The sleeves of King Yanbei's court robes were fluttering. He was staring at the direction of Qiyuan Tower from afar, wondering what he was thinking.

Hearing the footsteps, Chang Geng turned around, glanced at Gu Yun's face, frowned and said, "The carriage is waiting outside, you can rest for a while."

Gu Yun was exhausted and responded randomly.

Chang Geng: "What did that person say to you?"

Gu Yun said woodenly: "Idle talk... Nonsense."

Chang Geng saw that he didn't have the energy to say more, so he kept quiet and went all the way back to the Marquis' Mansion.

Countless orders were issued throughout the morning, and all six departments had to follow suit. They all knew that this might be the only time left for rest and reorganization.

As soon as Gu Yun entered the room, his knees went weak and he staggered and fell onto the couch.

He still had his armor on, and after being hit by the "bang", half of his body was numb, and the entire roof was spinning in front of his eyes. Gu Yun had the illusion that he would never be able to get up again.

Chang Geng stretched out his hand to hold his pulse. His hands, which were cold just now, were now terribly hot, as if they had just been pulled out of a brazier. "Godfather, when did you start to have a fever? Do you know it yourself?"

Gu Yun groaned, acid oozing out from the cracks in his bones. His eyelids were too heavy to lift, and he asked with difficulty: "Is my little brother still alive?"

Chang Geng: "...Who?"

Huo Dan, who was following behind, quickly agreed and took out the lively little gray mouse from his arms: "Marshal, it's alive and well."

"Then I'm fine too," Gu Yun said sickly, propping himself up and letting the people around him take off his armor. When his body was a little loose, he rubbed the sweaty hair off his face, "It's either a cold or a fever. Take some medicine and sweat a little and it will go away."

Huo Dan stood aside without a clue, not knowing why his own master would live and die with a gray-haired rat again. However, Chang Geng understood, his eyes flickered slightly, and he pressed Gu Yun on the couch to prevent him from moving: "Leave it to me."

He motioned Huo Dan to step back first, and he started to strip Gu Yun's clothes, which were so wet that water could be wrung out of them. Gu Yun's body was limp, and he felt dizzy when he opened his eyes, so he had to close his eyes and lie to one side, letting him fiddle with him. His breathing was a little hurried, and he looked inexplicably weaker.

As soon as Chang Geng took off his outer and inner garments, his hands couldn't help but tremble.

Gu Yun's thin inner garment was soaked with sweat, almost like a layer of garlic skin, unable to cover anything, and his chest and waistline were exposed. For some reason, Chang Geng felt that this was even more fatal than the last time Gu Yun jumped directly into the hot spring in front of him.

Chang Geng's heart was beating like thunder for a moment. He didn't dare to take off any more clothes no matter what. He had to pull a quilt over and wrap it around Gu Yun. He took out a set of clean clothes and put them beside him. He whispered with a hint of pleading: "Godfather, can you change the rest yourself?"

Gu Yun rarely got sick after he became an adult. When he did get sick occasionally, it was extremely serious, burning his seven orifices with smoke and tinnitus. Hearing this, he waved his hand weakly at Chang Geng and complained, "What time is it? You are really..."

Chang Geng stood aside, looking at his nose and mouth. Gu Yun was so embarrassed by him that he also felt uncomfortable. The two looked at each other in silence for a moment, and Chang Geng said awkwardly: "I'll go boil some medicine for you."

He turned and left, which finally made both of them breathe a sigh of relief.

Gu Yun lay there for a while, his thoughts quickly turned into a mess by the high fever, all kinds of messes poured into his mind, and he thought for a while: "What should I do with this kid Chang Geng?"

After a while, he thought again: "The Black Iron Camp retreated to Jiayu Pass, and there was no one to collect the bodies of the brothers who died, even if they were to wrap them up in a horsehide."

As he thought about it, he felt like there was a hole in his heart, and all the misery was coming in. The heartache that had been suppressed by Jiang Chong's words on the way here came back to him and intensified, causing him so much pain that he almost wished he was dying.

Half of the fifty thousand armored vehicles were destroyed overnight...

Finally, Gu Yun's consciousness gradually became blurred. Rather than falling asleep, he basically fainted. His consciousness was groggy and he was sometimes dreaming and sometimes waking. All the things in the present and the past were all connected into a tangled mess, and fell down along the thread. The long-lost memories flashed by one by one like fleeting glimpses.

He recalled the years when he was a child, when he was neither deaf nor blind. He was like a flea that could not be beaten to behave itself. Whenever the old marquis saw him, he would puff out his beard and glare at him, getting very angry.

But once, the old marquis had the rare patience to take him to watch the sunset outside the Great Wall.

The old marquis was tall and sturdy, and treated his little son, who was as big as a dumpling, equally. He would never hold him in his arms, and reluctantly held him in his hands. This was the old marquis's rare kindness. This made the adults bend sideways, and the children had to stretch their arms high, which was uncomfortable for everyone. But Gu Yun did not complain. It was the first time he saw the blood-red sunset in the desert of the border town. The figure of the black eagle flew by from time to time, like a golden crow dragging a white rainbow. The yellow sand was endless in the distance, and the flat forest was desolate. The young Gu Yun was almost shocked.

They kept watching the magnificent red sun sinking into the ground. Gu Yun heard the old marquis speak to the deputy general next to him and said, "For a general, if he can die in the mountains and rivers, it is a great blessing in his life."

He didn't understand it at the time, but now, twenty years have passed.

"Marshal," Gu Yun thought dazedly, "I will probably... really die in this mountain and river."

…It is like a colt in a gap, a fire in a stone, a body in a dream.

At this time, someone pushed the door open, picked up Gu Yun, and fed him a bowl of water. The man was so gentle, as if he was used to taking care of people, and didn't spill a single drop of water.

Then he whispered in Gu Yun's ear: "Zi Xi, drink the medicine and go to sleep."

Gu Yun didn't even open his eyes, and replied vaguely: "Half an hour... wake me up after half an hour, and if you can't wake me up, throw a bowl of cold water on me."

Chang Geng sighed, silently fed him the medicine, and then stood by.

Gu Yun seemed to be feeling unwell, tossing and turning, and the quilt was almost kicked apart by him. Chang Geng covered him several times, and finally wrapped him up and held him in his arms.

It's strange to say, maybe Gu Yun had never been particularly close to anyone since he was a child, so now that he felt someone leaning against him, he calmed down. The person holding him carefully adjusted the most comfortable position for him, and the tranquilizing powder prepared by Miss Chen filled his nostrils. A hand brushed across his forehead just right, and the fingers pressed his forehead, shoulders and neck repeatedly without being too heavy or too light.

Gu Yun had never slept on such a comfortable "bed" in his life, and in the blink of an eye he didn't know what day it was.

The quiet time passed as swiftly as flowing water, and half an hour was gone in the blink of an eye.

Chang Geng glanced at the clock beside him, feeling really reluctant - he was reluctant to let go of Gu Yun, and he was also reluctant to wake him up.

But there was no way. War was imminent. Looking around the world, where could he find a place to sleep peacefully?

Chang Geng had no choice but to harden his heart, flick his fingers and tap lightly on Gu Yun's acupuncture points, waking him up on time, and then he got up and went to the kitchen.

Gu Yun's heart was tense all the time. After drinking a bowl of medicine and sweating, he suppressed the illness. He rested for half an hour, and when he woke up, the fever had almost subsided. He stayed in bed for a while, put on his clothes and got up, feeling that he was alive.

He felt better and felt relieved.

Gu Yun thought to himself, "Aren't they just a bunch of foreigners? If they are so powerful, why would they resort to such conspiracy?"

No matter how bad the situation is, he is still alive. As long as there are still people in the Gu family, the Xuantie Camp will not be considered wiped out.

Gu Yun heaved a sigh of relief, only to then realize that he was extremely hungry. He pressed his stomach painfully and thought, "If anyone can heat up two sesame cakes for me right now, I will marry that person."

Just as he was thinking, Chang Geng came in with a bowl of hot noodle soup. The heat and aroma hit him in the face without any hesitation, and Gu Yun's internal organs were so hungry that they turned around in his stomach.

He regretted to himself depressedly: "This is an exception, this can't be counted..."

Unexpectedly, as soon as this thought came to mind, there was a sudden thunder outside.

Gu Yun: “…”

Chang Geng reached out and touched his forehead: "Retreat, godfather, come and have something to eat first."

Gu Yun took the chopsticks silently. When he heard the word "adoptive father", he suddenly felt something strange. Unfortunately, the thought only flashed by and he failed to catch it.

Gu Yun: "You did it?"

"I only had time to make a handful of noodles in such a hurry." Chang Geng said calmly, "Let's make do with it."

Gu Yun suddenly felt unwell, wondering why the dignified "King of Yanbei" wanted to make himself so "virtuous".

Chang Geng seemed to see what he was thinking, and said calmly: "If the country is destroyed, just push Li Feng away, and I will open a noodle shop in the northwest, which will be enough for me to survive."

Gu Yun choked on a mouthful of noodle soup and coughed bitterly.

Chang Geng smiled and said, "I was just joking."

Gu Yun picked up a cup of herbal tea and took a sip: "Good boy, you have learned to make fun of me. You are really getting more and more outrageous."

Chang Geng said seriously, "When I was in Yanhui, you suddenly wanted to take me back to the capital, and I wanted to run away. I thought I could either become a hunter in the deep mountains or open a half-dead shop in a small border town to make a living. But later I felt that it was unlikely that I could slip away from under your nose, so I stayed quiet."

Gu Yun pushed the dishes aside, fished out the ham underneath and ate it. Before he could chew it, Chang Geng suddenly leaned back on his chair and breathed a long sigh of relief: "Godfather, you don't know, as long as you don't appear in front of me safely, I won't be able to close my eyes. Finally..."

Gu Yun said calmly, "It's still a long way from peace - tell me about it."

Chang Geng understood what he meant and knew that he was referring to the matter that he had not said in front of Li Feng.

Gu Yun: "You must have withdrawn the Black Iron Camp, otherwise He Ronghui and the others might have beaten them to the last man."

"I copied your handwriting." Chang Geng said, "Withdraw the Black Iron Camp back to Jiayu Pass, and send General Cai Yin to the north to aid Xinjiang. Considering the time, the purple gold that General He requested must have been handed over. There is no need to let Li Feng know about this. Anyway, he has already drafted an edict to abolish the drum-beating order."

Gu Yun blinked: "You can imitate..."

"They are all unorthodox methods." Chang Geng shook his head. "I had already sent a letter to Master from Jiangnan, but he still missed it. In addition, I suspect that there are spies left in the palace by the northern barbarians 20 years ago. I have asked someone to investigate. There is no news from General Shen yet. I am afraid there will be no good news."

"No news is the best news," Gu Yun was silent for a moment, then replied, "The old woman is very lucky and will not die."

Chang Geng: "Foster father, the northwest is coming with great force, but it seems that nothing will happen for a while. In your opinion, can the capital be defended after the disaster in the East China Sea?"

Gu Yun raised his head and glanced at him. His eyes were like a pair of flints, cold and indescribably hard, yet they seemed like they could ignite sparks with a slight touch.

There were only him and Chang Geng in the room, separated by a bowl of noodles, so Gu Yun didn't say anything polite, and said honestly: "That depends on whether we can hold out until reinforcements arrive. After a thousand-mile raid, the foreigners also want to end the battle quickly, otherwise they wouldn't have made such a big scene at the beginning. The longer it drags on, the better it is for us, but..."

But Daliang's national strength could not sustain a protracted war.

Li Feng was so desperate to get Loulan's Zi Liu gold mine because in this most vast and rich land in the world, Zi Liu gold mines were extremely scarce and in total short supply. Nearly 40% of Daliang's Zi Liu gold came from tributes from eighteen tribes, and a large part seemed to be bought from outside in a scattered manner. The silver that flowed in through sea trade all flowed out in this way.

Right now, the eighteen tribes are in rebellion and the four borders are under siege. The only thing that can be mobilized is the purple gold inventory. If this continues, the income will not be enough to cover the expenditure.

This is just purple gold, not to mention that how could the national treasury, which is thinner than a yellow flower, have so much silver?

Gu Yun: "According to what you said, if it doesn't work in the end, it is the most sensible way to withdraw the troops from the whole territory and take it step by step, but it may not work. It's OK for the Black Iron Camp to retreat to Jiayu Pass. Although the area outside the West Pass is usually bustling, most of the people who come and go are foreign merchants. The ancient Silk Road has only been opened for a few years, and it is not enough for them to settle down. The weather on the ancient Silk Road is tense around the end of the year. Once the pass is closed, there is no business. It is estimated that most of them have left by now. But it's not the same inside the pass. There are still thousands of villages and hundreds of millions of people inside the pass. He Ronghui can't retreat anymore."

The Xuantie Camp is the belief and even the pillar of the people of Daliang. Once this pillar collapses, there is really no need to fight the war. It will be faster to just change the name of the country.

Chang Geng was silent for a moment: "I'm talking about the last resort."

"No last resort." Gu Yun shook his head. "You have a lot of ideas and know how to manipulate the country, but you have never fought a war. In addition to the right time and place, there are two other things in a war. One is the equipment of lighters and steel armor, and the other is the courage of the people to be brave and fearless. The equipment has come to this point, and there is nothing we can do... But I believe that even if the foreigners are strong, they are not necessarily much stronger than us, not to mention the barbarians, the country folk who can use a cannon as a hammer - the soldiers and generals are not chess pieces, they are all human beings, all have blood, and are afraid of death. Do you remember what I told you last time when I was suppressing bandits in the southwest?"

Chang Geng: "Remember, 'When facing the battle, whoever doesn't want to die will die first.'"

Gu Yun groaned, his country in ruins did not stop him from eating. In the time it took him to finish a large bowl of noodles, he pinched his nose and drank the disgusting green leafy vegetables mixed in the soup without chewing. After finishing, he put the bowl on the table: "Anything else?"

"No, I just made one bowl. You just got sick, your spleen and stomach are still weak, it's best to eat 60% to 70% full." Chang Geng said, "How to fight is up to you, you don't have to worry about the future, and you don't have to worry about what others think. How to make money, how to find purple gold, how to divide the layout, these things can all be left to me."

Gu Yun was slightly shocked and laughed: "Do I have the final say on everything? What if I can't win?"

Chang Geng smiled without saying anything, his eyes fixed on him, like a quiet pool of water that suddenly became rippled. If his eyes could speak, his words "If you lose, I will bear the eternal infamy with you. If you die, I will be buried with you" would have clearly stated it.

At this moment, Huo Dan suddenly knocked on the door and said, "General, Lord Feng Han and General Tan are here together, and they also brought the second battle report from the East China Sea."

Gu Yun hurriedly said: "Please come in!"

Chang Geng gathered his gaze, cleared the dishes, and the moment he lowered his head, he suddenly said, "What I said just now was nonsense."

Gu Yun was stunned.

"I said I didn't leave because I felt I couldn't escape under your nose." Chang Geng smiled without raising his head, "Back then, I was just a border boy who grew up in a small place. I didn't think so much..."

Gu Yun had keenly heard the hidden meaning in his words and said sternly, "Chang Geng, stop talking."

Chang Geng obeyed and shut up, swallowing the rest of his words.

He didn't think so much at the time. The reason he didn't escape in the end was that he couldn't bear to leave someone behind.

Tan Hongfei and Zhang Fenghan came in soon and handed the front-line battle report to Gu Yun. Tan Hongfei's hands were still shaking slightly, and Gu Yun's heart sank.

"General, Jiangnan has reported that our navy has collapsed and the Westerners have already headed north. I don't know what kind of dragon the foreigners used, but it's as fast as lightning and is two or three times faster than our navy's dragon ship. There's also a sea monster in the middle." Tan Hongfei said, "If this is not nonsense, then it will only take them two or three days to reach Dagu Port!"