Gu Yun sat upright on the horse and asked, "Are you still there?"

Shen Yi raised his clairvoyance in response and looked back: "Yes."

The day when Gu Yun left the capital was clear and bright, a rare sunny day. Emperor Longan led all the civil and military officials to see him off to the city gate. They watched the troops march away all the way before they dispersed, leaving only His Royal Highness Prince Yan.

He climbed up the only remaining watchtower on the collapsed city gate alone, staring at General Xuantie's back motionlessly, as if he was going to stand there until the end of time.

Gu Yun did not look back, but said to Shen Yi: "How far have you walked? Even your clairvoyance should not be able to see clearly, stop talking nonsense."

Shen Yi angrily said, "You think I am blind? You order me around time and time again, making others think that there is something fishy going on between me and the prince."

Gu Yun had already prepared a lot of excuses: "Let someone nail you a body of steel plates and see if you can still turn back. Why are you talking so much nonsense?"

Shen Yi sneered, too lazy to expose him.

"Do I really need to?" Gu Yun paused, and then asked himself in an attempt to cover up the truth, "Don't use your petty old motherly mind to judge me for being able to hold a large general of a hundred dragons."

As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone. Gu Yun was dug out from the pile of corpses, and it took him only more than half a month to come back to life. Not to mention a person, even if the steel armor was damaged like that, it would not be easy to repair it. When Gu Yun asked for permission to go to the northwest, King Yan got anxious in court and almost quarreled with him in front of all the civil and military officials.

Even Emperor Li Feng, who "did not give grass to the cows and only made them work", felt a little guilty.

But at this time someone must reorganize the Xuantie Camp.

The Westerners failed to besiege Beijing, and are half-deadly occupying the area south of the Yangtze River. They certainly don't have the extra energy to take care of their shabby and poor allies. The northwest front now has the messy Western Region Coalition and the Eighteen Tribes of the Northern Barbarians, which are not a solid block. If the situation in the northwest can be reversed and the most urgent problem of Purple Gold can be solved, then it is only a matter of time before the foreigners are driven back to their homeland.

It is easy to get thousands of soldiers but difficult to get a general, so Gu Yun had to go in person.

In the end, it was still Chen Qingxu who stepped forward to solve the problem. She had the ingenious idea of ​​using a special steel plate and had it made by Lingshuyuan. It could fit tightly on a person's body and fix Gu Yun's bones that had not yet grown, thus making him a set of artificial steel bones.

Although it doesn't feel very good after putting it on, at least it can ensure that he still looks as fast as the wind.

Shen Yi sighed, "Hey, Marshal, please calm down your big heart. What are you going to do?"

Gu Yun concentrated on restoring the boat on his chest and pretended to be deaf and dumb.

Seeing this man was cheating again, Shen Yi immediately responded by taking a deep breath, raising his voice and shouting, "Hey, Marshal, Yan... Hey!"

Gu Yun hit him with a whip. Shen Yi barely managed to block the Wind Cutting Blade in front of him. He glared with his eyes crossed and kept patting his chest, saying, "It was so close. I almost got disfigured. Alas, Marshal, you got angry after hearing a few nice words. I think that Master Chi is a Japanese spy, but his fart is not entirely unreasonable. I think you are also unlucky. The Red Luan Star has made you unable to fly. You finally jumped up once, but you ran into bad peach blossoms."

Gu Yun: “…”

Shen Yi smacked his lips, feeling that Gu Yun's neck might indeed be inconvenient to twist, otherwise he would have pounced on him and beaten him up.

Gu Yun took back the whip, was silent for a moment, shook his head and said: "The country is almost destroyed, what else can we do? We have to live one day at a time. We may die on the battlefield someday. Why think so much?"

Shen Yi frowned upon hearing this, he knew Gu Yun well, if Gu Yun really had no such intention at all, he would have said it directly long ago without any ambiguity. From what he said now, it seems more like he has already made up his mind rather than being indecisive, but he is keeping it in mind for the time being because of some concerns.

Shen Yi: "Wait, Zixi, you can't..."

Gu Yun: "Don't talk about this."

Shen Yi: "That's your son!"

Gu Yun: "Do I need you to talk nonsense?"

Shen Yi looked horrified, and Gu Yun looked away irritably.

He missed the old woman so much when he wasn't around, and felt annoyed when he saw her. Gu Yun simply kicked the horse's belly and galloped away from Shen Yi. He took out a small white jade flute from his arms and started to play it with a sob.

Except for things that make sounds by themselves without having to play them, no other musical instrument could produce good sound in Gu Yun's hands. Gu Yun, who was clamped by the steel plate and turned into half a steel armor man, was short of breath, and his voice was a little shaky. He pressed the holes without restraint, and the tune ran around the entire Daliang, which was a bit funny.

But at this moment, the sound of the flute was swept up in the wind, wrapped in a sigh heading westwards from Yangguan Pass, and unexpectedly brought with it an indescribable desolation that made it impossible for people to laugh at all after listening to it.

Gu Yun's back was clamped straight by Chen's steel plates, like a beam that would never fall, and he carried two disabled wind-cutting blades on his back...none of them was his own.

Chen Qingxu, who was with the army, heard the flute sound coming from far behind him, and suddenly felt something in his heart. He whispered: "Please don't talk about the title of marquis..."

“Please don’t talk about becoming a marquis,” Gu Yun flew past her and interrupted her irrelevantly, “My heart is as pure as ice in a jade pot, hahahaha.”

Chen Qingxu: “…”

After hearing this, she couldn't remember what the second half of the sentence was!

Gu Yun marched like the wind. With Miss Chen, a master hand, by his side, he was not afraid of breaking the steel plates on his body. After leaving Beijing, he headed north. As soon as he left Zhili, he encountered two waves of refugee attacks. They were all weak and retreated as soon as they were attacked or ran away as soon as they were touched, like a few wild dogs poking their heads out.

"They targeted us not long after we left the capital." Shen Yi said to Gu Yun, "I have fought with them before. They are cunning and familiar with the area. They will run away immediately when they find they can't win. They will catch up with us soon after. They are very annoying. When I walked here, I heard the news that the capital was under siege. I was really annoyed by them during the forced march."

Gu Yun hummed, and handed the Clairvoyance in his hand to Shen Yi: "I'm afraid the dog-headed military advisor has read a few days of books."

Shen Yi: "What?"

Gu Yun: "I've heard that when pretending to retreat, you have to make the flags and droop in disarray so that the enemy will be tricked and chase you. Unfortunately, the soldiers didn't get the idea. They cut down the flagpole themselves. I saw it just now."

Shen Yi: “…”

Gu Yun frowned and said, "Do you know what these people are rebelling for? Are they unable to make a living?"

"No," Shen Yi sneered, "You think too highly of the unruly people. Even if there is nothing to do in the fields, most of the good people will find some small business or learn a craft, so they can survive. This group of refugees wandering between the Central Plains and Shuzhong are just idle hooligans, organized by people with ulterior motives. In addition to harassing General Cai, they specialize in robbing and looting. They run away when General Cai chases them, and come back when things are a little calmer. I heard that in addition to robbing and looting, they also have a rule that if an adult man in a family follows them in rebellion, the family will no longer be attacked by these thieves, and their wives, daughters and sisters can be saved without having to worry about being robbed all the time."

"..." Gu Yun said, "Wait, what you said sounds familiar to me. Isn't this the same as the corvée system in Daliang? Military households don't pay taxes."

Shen Yi couldn't stand it any longer and asked, "Marshal, which side are you on?"

"Okay, be patient," Gu Yun said, "Won't more and more people become bandits this way? Not only are they 'tax-free', but they also have a team to follow them and can at least avoid the war. Who is the leader?"

"I heard that he is a scary-looking old bandit who has been doing this for many years. He has scars all over his body and his face was burned. He calls himself a 'fire dragon'." Shen Yi sighed, "So what do you think we should do? Should we hurry up and spend two days to bypass this wave of rioters and go directly to Cai Yin's northwest reinforcement base?"

Gu Yun walked around for a while with his hands behind his back. "We have internal and external troubles. We need to deal with them bit by bit. There are tigers and wolves in front of us, and we cannot have any worries behind us. Draft a letter and report it to the Military Affairs Office, saying that we will stay here for three to five days."

After the siege of the capital was lifted, Li Feng immediately dismissed the two prime ministers who were in office but doing nothing. Later, in order to facilitate dispatch, he imitated the official system of the previous dynasty and established the "Military Affairs Council" to lead the six ministries and recruited a group of civil officials who had shown their true talents in times of adversity.

The Grand Council was always brightly lit at midnight. When Jiang Chong pushed the door open, it was already midnight, the gas lamps were as bright as day, but Prince Yan had already fallen asleep on the table with a pen in his hand.

Jiang Chong didn't want to alarm him, so he took the memorial from the eunuch, waved away the servants, and walked in quietly. However, he was a civil servant after all, and was not very good at hiding his voice, so Chang Geng was still alarmed. The moment the usually smooth-talking Prince Yan opened his eyes, a red mark flashed in his eyes, like a murderous light, suddenly rushing towards the person in front of him.

Jiang Chong didn't have time to react before cold sweat broke out on his spine. He took a step back involuntarily, like a rabbit caught by the murderous aura of a beast. His long sleeves knocked over Chang Geng's pen holder, which collapsed immediately.

Chang Geng finally came to his senses, and in an instant he quickly put away his murderous intent, stood up and said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

Jiang Chong looked at him fearfully, wondering if he was tired and confused and saw it wrongly, and asked cautiously: "Did the prince have a nightmare just now?"

"Nothing." Chang Geng said nonchalantly, "It's because of the pressure on my chest... I guess my bad face scared you. I was a little grumpy after waking up, and I was so sleepy that I almost didn't know where I was."

After he said that, Jiang Chong didn't dare to ask any more questions. He always felt that His Royal Highness Prince Yan was a little too irritable when he woke up.

Chang Geng straightened up the pen holder that had been knocked over, and then asked, "What's the matter, Brother Hanshi?"

Jiang Chong came back to his senses and sat down opposite him. "Because of what the prince said at the court meeting yesterday about issuing 'beacon tickets' to the people, there has been a lot of noise in the court. First of all, it is unprecedented for the court to borrow money from the people. Wouldn't this announce to the world that our treasury is empty? Where is the face of the court?"

Chang Geng seemed to be still not fully awake. He kept pinching his brows while sitting on the chair. Hearing this, he laughed and said, "Half of the country is gone, so you still have dignity?"

Jiang Chong: "Some people have also raised the question of what to do if the court cannot pay back the money? The prince also knows the wealth of the national treasury."

"Split the repayment period, and then you can issue the second and third batches later, and just split and redeem them, and you can make ends meet," Chang Geng said, "The first batch of people who bought beacon tickets can be given some benefits, such as titles, honorary positions in the court, special licenses... It's all fine. The ideal situation is that if this is promoted, the people can use beacon tickets to replace silver."

"If that's the case," Jiang Chong hesitated, "won't those bills be flying all over the place? They will definitely be worthless by then."

Chang Geng: "Once the court recovers, we can buy it back. When we recover, whether to pay back the money or continue, whether to grant amnesty or issue special laws are all matters for the future."

Jiang Chong added: "Someone else asked, what if someone in the private sector forges banknotes in the future and comes to the court to ask for money with fake banknotes?"

Chang Geng was so angry that he laughed: "Let's ask Lingshuyuan about this matter. Do we have to bring such trivial matters to the Military Affairs Office? Should we talk about how to standardize toilet specifications tomorrow?"

Jiang Chong smiled bitterly, "That's true. His Majesty the Censorate also knows that... Apart from quarreling, there is nothing else to do. I heard that he is writing a memorial to accuse you of your misbehavior overnight."

Chang Geng sighed, "No matter how many reasons you give, it's just a matter of solving the urgent problem during the war. What else can we do? Should we impose heavy taxes on the refugees in the city, or should we tear down the emperor's palace and sell it for money? If you have any questions, you can raise them at the court meeting. I will answer them in court. If I can't think of anything, I will go back and think about it. These people..."

This is how the court is. A small group of people are responsible for doing things, while the majority of the rest are responsible for dragging their feet and finding fault. If things succeed in the future, it will be attributed to my careful consideration. If things fail, it will be because of "why didn't you listen to me back then".

That’s not all. There are also people with their own ulterior motives and interests who try to muddy the waters and create obstacles. It’s harder than climbing to the sky to get anything done… No wonder everyone knows the principle of “listen to both sides and you will be enlightened”, but the most common people in history are emperors who made arbitrary decisions and ministers who had power over the country.

"It's not directed at you, Brother Hanshi, please don't be offended." Chang Geng waved his hand, "I've been arguing too much recently, and I'm a little impatient."

"Speaking of Lingshuyuan, Lord Fenghan submitted two more memorials yesterday. I decided to withhold them for now. Your Highness, please see if you can send them up."

Chang Geng poured himself a cup of overnight herbal tea: "Well, what did you say?"

"One letter is asking the emperor to revoke the Zhangling Law and lift the ban on civilian long-arm masters. Another letter is asking the emperor to lift the ban on civilian purple gold transactions, saying that wealthy businessmen must have their own connections. With the country in crisis, it is better to make use of these people so that there will be more sources of purple gold in Daliang."

Chang Geng paused and shook his head: "Mr. Feng Han... Oh, this Mr. Feng Han."

Li Feng was deeply impressed by the old man's bachelor spirit when he went into battle shirtless during the siege of Beijing. Although the old man had a bad temper and was stubborn, he was loyal beyond doubt. Therefore, Li Feng tolerated his occasional nonsense recently.

"Everyone, take a look at the memorial about the withdrawal of the Palm Order. There is nothing wrong with it, so it can be submitted," Chang Geng said. "Forget about the Zi Liujin incident. Is it so comfortable to go against the emperor's dragon scales? Be tactful and write a summary for him and send the original memorial back."

Jiang Chong responded helplessly and was about to stand up and leave when he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned around and said, "Oh, and Marquis Anding..."

Chang Geng suddenly raised his head.

Li Feng returned the Black Iron Tiger Talisman to Gu Yun, giving him the power to deploy troops and war preparations in all directions. Logically, he didn't have to report every detail of the events along the way, but Gu Yun didn't appreciate it. He submitted reports regularly and in a disciplined manner, detailing where he had been, the battle situation, what he planned to do, and his reasons.

Jiang Chong: "Marquis Anding has just arrived in the Central Plains. There is nothing important to do. He just said that he ran into a mob of bandits and thugs. He plans to deal with them first, which will take no more than three to five days."

Chang Geng hummed, "Leave it to me and take a look."

Jiang Chong said with emotion: "All matters, big and small, are reported to the prince. Others just listen to the briefing, but only General Gu reads the memorial carefully from beginning to end. The prince and the general have a deep relationship."

As he said this, he was about to say goodbye and leave. Just as he reached the door, Chang Geng suddenly called him, "Brother Hanshi."

Jiang Chong turned around in confusion: "What else do you want me to do, Your Majesty?"

Chang Geng placed one hand on Gu Yun's memorial, caressing it unconsciously. After a moment of silence, he said calmly, "Please help me collect the objections to the beacon ticket in the court. Who said it, when did they say it, and what they said. I will revise the plan as appropriate."

Jiang Chong was shocked - what did the revised plan require? "Who said it?" "When did you say it?" He couldn't help but glance at King Yan in the light of the gas lamp that was on all night. His face was young, but his eyes were not immature at all. At first glance, he thought he was an elegant and graceful nobleman. But at another glance, his eyes were not as gentle as the gentle spring breeze, but a chill was revealed.

After hearing that the late emperor entrusted the Fourth Prince to Gu Yun before his death and that he grew up in the Marquis of Anding's Mansion, Jiang Chong suddenly realized that the Prince and the Marquis were not alike at all.

Jiang Chong: “…Yes.”

Chang Geng nodded slightly. They were all smart people and no further explanation was needed.

After Jiang Chong left in a state of doubt, Chang Geng let out a sigh of relief. He had trouble sleeping to begin with, and he had finally managed a drowsy and unpleasant nap. Now that this had disturbed him, he was afraid that he would not be able to sleep all night. He stood up, changed the incense in the room, and lit Miss Chen's tranquilizing powder.

Chang Geng stood silently for a while in front of the tranquilizing powder that was blowing towards him. He had just had a nightmare whose content he could not remember at all, and it made him feel as if needles were stabbing his chest. He barely managed to hold it back and not show it because of the outsiders around - this was very similar to the feeling he had during the rare attacks of Urgu.

Because of Gu Yun's injury, Miss Chen left with the army. Before leaving, she specifically called him aside and asked him to increase the dosage of the tranquilizing powder and rest as much as possible.

This series of extreme joy and sorrow completely destroyed the foundation he had cultivated over the years. It would be doubly difficult to suppress it in the future. Wuergu hated worrying the most - worrying was especially detrimental to the mind.

But what can I do? Is it possible to just give up and leave, and watch Gu Yun being trapped and dying in this broken country?