Chen Qingxu carefully examined Chang Geng's face and said, "I heard that Your Highness has been on a non-stop journey. He first went south to Jiangbei to rectify the cruel officials and profiteers along the canal, and then returned to Beijing to coordinate the Ministry of Revenue and the Lingshuyuan. He rushed to the northwest before the end of the year at all costs. He has been running around non-stop and has not rested yet, but he seems to be in good spirits?"

This matter was quite bizarre. When she left Beijing, Chang Geng's condition had almost reached a point where it was out of control. She thought that he had been very tired and exhausted for more than half a year, and she didn't know how bad it was. When Chen Qingxu received the Linyuan Wooden Bird, she felt a little nervous, fearing that she would see the ominous red light in his eyes.

Unexpectedly, Chang Geng's complexion looked much better than she had imagined. Prince Yan's state of "I will remain calm even if the sky falls and the earth collapses" seemed to have returned.

It was similar to the years when he followed General Zhong, wandering around the world with his clean hands.

But there seemed to be something different. He seemed not as deliberately dull as before, nor lacking in the flavor of life.

"It's just a few errands, not that serious," Chang Geng said nonchalantly, "They say the beginning is always the hardest, but I don't think the beginning is necessarily the hardest. You see, everyone in the court has reached the point where they have to burn their boats. Even if I don't do a good job, at most the foreign soldiers will surround the capital again, it can't be worse - the matter of losing a country is familiar after a second time, and the officials in the court are probably used to it and won't blame me too much."

"...Your Highness is really broad-minded, and has inherited some of the true teachings of the Marquis." Chen Qingxu implicitly dragged out the careless Gu Yun and whipped his corpse. After whipping the corpse, she thought about it carefully and felt that there was some truth in it, so she said, "Yes, sometimes it is more difficult to accept the downhill road after the peak than to rebuild the country."

"That's none of my business." Chang Geng said to her in a somewhat casual manner, "Zi Xi had a weak health when he was young, so he needs to be nursed back to health as soon as possible. If there is no war, he won't be able to stay in the Black Iron Camp for a few more years. If he leaves, I will go with him."

Chen Qingxu: “…”

It took her a while to realize who this "Zi Xi" was referring to. She was completely confused, and suddenly she realized that the color on His Royal Highness Prince Yan's face that could hide the dust of a thousand miles was not a complexion, but a spring color!

Miss Chen didn't know what to say for a moment - if such an incredible feeling could blossom, then how come no one dared to express their feelings to her, a girl who was not uglier than anyone else and who hung out with men all day?

Is it because her naturally cold face is too lethal?

...Or is it that although Marshal Gu's upper beam is not straight, the lower beam is actually not crooked, and his strictness in military management is astonishing?

However, Chang Geng's seemingly careless words, although they aroused some bitterness in Miss Chen's heart, undoubtedly gave her a reassurance.

Even though the northwest border is far away, people can still hear about the means by which His Royal Highness Prince Yan can turn the tide in the court.

While Chen Qingxu admired him, she also had to worry that he would be entangled by power in the future. It was not that she did not trust Chang Geng's character, but Wuergu was always like a dark cloud that could not be dispelled. For three to five years, he could still stick to his original intention, but what about ten to eight years? Would power and poison accelerate the erosion of his mind? By then, he would hold the Linyuan wooden sign in his hand and have overwhelming power. Who could stop him?

Only after hearing this did she feel relieved - no matter what, as long as Marquis Anding was fine, there would always be someone in this world who could restrain him and give him a hand.

Thinking of this, Chen Qingxu was secretly glad that the Linyuan wooden sign was not affected by her vote of opposition and was finally handed over to Chang Geng. Otherwise, Daliang might not be able to recover in just half a year.

This momentum finally accumulated into an overwhelming force on New Year's Eve - the soldiers of the Black Iron Camp were divided into three groups and launched a surprise attack on the Western Region Allied Forces' base.

The Western Region Allied Forces had been in a standoff with Jiayuguan for a long time and had not received any supplies from foreigners for a while. Their own technology was not good enough and they could not repair their broken armored vehicles. Looking around them, they felt that their allies were all idiots and could not be relied on at all. They had already begun to want to retreat.

The Sixteen-Nation Allied Forces received a report from the scouts that day saying that there was no movement in the Black Iron Camp, so they felt relieved.

The guards were all wandering around, the commanders of various countries were gathered together unprepared and concentrating on arguing, the entire base was in darkness, and the sudden appearance of the black crows was like falling from the sky.

Many people rushed into the battle without even putting on their pants, and were blown away by the fierce Black Iron Camp like fallen leaves in the wind.

A small country far away saw that the situation was not good, and quickly calculated its own national strength. The king and the commander made a prompt decision and led the people to flee first.

This escape was like sending a signal. The entire coalition was in an uproar. When things were getting out of control, Xuanying dropped a large number of copied letters from the sky, scattering them everywhere like paper money. Previously, several rulers of small countries in the Western Regions had been trying to negotiate with Gu Yun and had written several ambiguous handwritten letters. At this time, Marquis Anding, who had turned his back on him, copied them and printed a bunch of them. They were pasted in the air, and combined with the earliest batch of escaping pioneers, it seemed particularly shocking.

Before those two-faced small countries in the Western Regions could swear oaths to their allies in frustration, the sound of Daliang Tonghou, as loud as a tsunami, was heard from the sky.

A sharp-tongued Black Eagle loudly pointed out several rebellious small countries in Daliang Mandarin and the common language of the Western Regions, and then announced: "Since you have surrendered, you should surrender your weapons and retreat to the side. If the swords are blind and injure friendly forces by mistake, the Black Iron Camp will not be responsible!"

The Western Region coalition was completely blown up. Who would have the leisure to stop and carefully read and analyze the twists and turns on the paper at this time? I quickly glanced at the beginning and the end, and saw that the name was corny and the attitude was humble. I first believed it as solid evidence.

The troops of the countries in the Western Regions were in chaos. There were powerful enemies outside and traitors inside. No one they met looked like a good person, so they fought indiscriminately between friend and foe.

It was the first day of the eighth year of Long'an, when Jiaozi was just passed and the old year was bid farewell to and the new year was ushered in.

The dormant Black Iron Camp finally showed its fangs that had been suppressed for more than half a year after the return of its commander. The iron swords roared westward and swept through the Western Region Allied Forces' base like cutting melons and vegetables.

The coalition forces were defeated and fled in all directions. In one night, they witnessed the true combat power of the Black Iron Battalion, which could sweep across eighteen tribes with only thirty cavalrymen.

On the second day of the Chinese New Year, a group of defeated soldiers from the Western Regions fought and retreated, and Xuan Ying captured alive the King of Kucha, the leader of the Sixteen-Nation Coalition.

At the same time, the good news reached the wounded soldiers’ camp inside the pass.

This was the first real victory news from Daliang since half of the country fell. The entire infirmary was in an uproar. No matter whether it was the wounded soldiers from the northwest with missing limbs or the respectable attendants of Prince Yan, they all cried together, holding their heads in their hands.

Chang Geng breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to tell his servants to prepare to return to the capital immediately, but when he called out, no one paid any attention to him. He could only shake his head helplessly and took out a handkerchief and handed it to Chen Qingxu who was crying silently.

They have waited too long for this day. The building is about to collapse in the storm. However, as long as the solid pillar remains and the Black Iron Army's prestige remains intact, there will be a day to restore this devastated land.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the Western Region Allied Forces retreated to the entrance of the ancient Silk Road. The news of their whereabouts was leaked by captured Han slaves, and they were ambushed by the Loulan people. When the Western Region Allied Forces invaded Daliang, they occupied Loulan in one fell swoop and killed the old king. The young drunkard prince was forced to go into exile. Now he finally had the chance to take revenge, and he was simply bloodthirsty.

At this point, the coalition forces had suffered another heavy blow and were completely routed.

On the fifth day of the New Year, the Black Iron Camp recaptured the twenty-seven passes of the Ancient Silk Road with unstoppable force, and directly attacked the former headquarters of various countries, capturing all the foreigners who had no time to withdraw.

Shen Yi ran to the tent and reported: "General, those bastards in the Western Regions have retreated. They sent a letter to negotiate, but they are afraid that they will not be able to explain to their foreign fathers who provide them with food and clothing. They want to exchange the Han people they captured before for prisoners. What do you think..."

Gu Yun agreed immediately: "Change!"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the general's tent, and people kept saying "General, please think twice".

Shen Yi was shocked: "General, the battle report has not yet been uploaded to the court. There are many important foreign officials among these prisoners. Is it appropriate to deal with them privately?"

Gu Yun raised a hand to interrupt him: "If the Black Iron Camp had not retreated at that time, these people should still be within their own borders. Even if they became refugees, at least they could still line up to get a bowl of porridge to drink, and they would not be captured and humiliated like animals for no reason... I am not blaming you. The order to withdraw the troops was also sent by Yan... I had someone spread it. The Black Iron Camp was saved, and only then could we have this victory today. The contributions of our captured and humiliated compatriots are greater than ours. We should not treat the heroes lightly even if we treat anyone lightly."

As soon as these words came out, there was complete silence in the tent, and no one raised any objections - but they soon discovered that Gu Yun had no intention of "arbitrarily" dealing with the prisoners of war.

The two sides exchanged their captives at the agreed place and time. However, just when the Western Region coalition forces were about to leave in disgrace, a lightly dressed black cavalryman suddenly took a wooden arrow without an arrow tip and poked it lightly into the chest of the person next to him. A chicken blood bag had been added to the person's chest, which broke with the poke. From a distance, "blood was gushing", as if he had been hit by an arrow.

The one who was "hit by an arrow" was very dedicated. He walked back and forth and left and right on the spot before he felt at ease and started pretending to be dead.

Facing the stunned enemy, Gu Yun gave a ruthless order: "These pigs and dogs are addicted to betrayal. In the name of exchanging prisoners, they secretly attacked our army. Take them down!"

The light cavalry in front of them suddenly dispersed, and dozens of heavy armored soldiers emerged from the crowd. Before Gu Yun finished speaking, the heavy artillery had already sounded.

When Gu Yun was a young man suppressing the rebellion in the Western Regions, he was still a rookie and not yet so shameless. Later, when the ancient Silk Road was opened and the two sides had friendly exchanges, Marquis Anding always maintained the demeanor of a great country, restrained his subordinates, and always acted like a Confucian general with "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness" to the outside world.

Who knew that he could call a horse a zebra in front of our faces, confuse right and wrong, and tell lies with his eyes open!

The Western Region coalition forces who had agreed to come for the prisoner exchange were stunned along with the prisoners from all nations. They had no time to resist angrily before the ambushing Black Eagle swooped down from the sky, cut off their retreat, and shot an arrow in the air, silencing a half-fired flare. In no time, they were dealt with.

Gu Yun then turned to Shen Yi and said, "I just borrowed the prisoners of war to go fishing. It can't be considered as 'disposal without authorization', right?"

Shen Yi: “…”

Most of the Central Plains captives captured by the Western Regions Allied Forces were merchants who had traveled thousands of miles to make a living. Because of a momentary change of mind, they did not follow Du Caishen to retreat, which led to this situation.

Among these people, some were running small businesses, while others followed the caravan to make a living. All together, there were only about thirty people left, including men, women, young and old - the rest had all died at the hands of the people from the Western Regions.

That night, these Central Plains people who had been humiliated and treated like slaves finally returned to their own country under the escort of the Black Iron Camp. There were still ten feet away from the ancient Silk Road pass, and before they could pass through, no one knew who took the lead in kneeling down, hitting the ground with their head, and crying. There was a cry of grief at the entrance of the Silk Road, and the lonely wild geese passing by could not bear to listen.

Gu Yun waved his hand, ordering the escorting soldiers to stop and not rush, and wait silently on the side.

Among these captives, only one person did not cry. The man was about thirty years old, well-mannered, and looked like a scholar. He brought a boy of about sixteen or seventeen years old with him. He came directly in front of Gu Yun, without overstepping his authority, and stood far away from him, separated by a group of personal soldiers.

A personal soldier whispered in Gu Yun's ear: "General, I heard on the road that it was this scholar who gathered the refugees abducted by the Western Regions and saved so many people. He also designed to reveal the whereabouts of the Western Regions thieves, giving Prince Loulan the opportunity to launch a surprise attack."

Gu Yun was stunned at first, but before he could think about it, he saw that the scholar had already knelt down with the boy beside him.

Although Gu Yun had just acted like a hooligan, he did not dare to be disrespectful to these people. He hurriedly said, "Sir, there is no need to be like this. Please stand up. What is your name?"

The scholar refused his help and said in a deep voice, "General, my name is Bai Chu. I am a poor scholar who has failed in the imperial examinations for a long time. I have no future. Because my parents died early and my family was poor, I gave up the ambition to take the imperial examination. Last year, I brought my younger brother to the ancient Silk Road to do writing and calculations for a living. Unexpectedly, I encountered this disaster. Although Bai is not talented, he is also a disciple of the saint. I know the principle of 'not dishonoring one's ancestors, not dishonoring oneself, and not dishonoring one's words and deeds is the integrity of a scholar'. However, due to the situation, I fell into the hands of the enemy. In order to save my life, I was insulted and castrated by those dogs..."

Gu Yun was startled and didn't know what to say for a moment. He stepped forward and came to the two brothers, saying in a deep voice: "We are late."

Bai Chu said: "I have been lingering on until now just because I want to see the king's army recover the lost territory with my own eyes."

Gu Yun bowed solemnly: "Sir, your contribution is great. I will report it to the court."

Bai Chu smiled softly: "How dare I take credit for something with my broken body? I just want to ask for a favor."

Gu Yun: "Please speak."

Bai Chu said, "I have a younger brother named Zheng, who is only sixteen years old and has not yet become an adult. Fortunately, he is still strong. Although he is not good at most of the six arts of a gentleman, he is not bad at riding and shooting. I know that the Black Iron Camp is a powerful weapon of the country, and the soldiers are all elite. With his qualifications, he is not worthy of it. I only hope that he can be a servant who runs errands and serves, and follow the commander-in-chief for a few years. In the future, if his parents are in heaven, let him grow up to be a man who can stand up to the sky."

Gu Yun glanced at the young man and saw that he looked strong and sturdy. He did not interrupt and just stood there with red eyes wiping tears. He sighed secretly, "Sir, please get up quickly. These are just trivial matters..."

Bai Chu pressed the boy's head and took a few steps forward, forcing him to kneel in front of Gu Yun: "Kowtow to the Marshal."

Bai Zheng was probably a very honest child. He kowtowed without hesitation when asked to do so. The stone floor beneath his feet made him shake as he kowtowed. Gu Yun had no choice but to bend down to help him up. However, as soon as he touched the boy's shoulders, he was startled. He felt that the boy's shoulders were shaking non-stop. It didn't seem like he was excited, but rather... afraid.

Several thoughts suddenly flashed through Gu Yun's mind——

The Western Region coalition forces were attacked on the ancient Silk Road because their whereabouts were leaked and suffered heavy losses. How could they not be angry?

Then, they will first target those Central Plains captives who are most suspicious, and put the others aside first. However, the leader, regardless of whether he is related to the matter or not, will definitely be implicated. The enemy will not care whether there is any injustice involved, and there is no need for evidence. As long as there is a little suspicion, they will not spare his life.

This time, in the prisoner exchange, it would be fine if some of the old, weak, sick and disabled were released, but why did they release Bai Chu as well?

He had vaguely felt that something was wrong just now, but when Bai Chu said those words against the backdrop of dozens of people crying loudly, he felt agitated and guilty for a moment and did not delve into it further!

Gu Yun became alert and stepped back immediately. At this moment, he heard a loud roar, and the whole body of "Bai Chu" swelled up, his thin face became round, and his skin was cracked - a torn human skin mask fell off his face.

"Marshal!"

A black iron heavy armor rushed over without hesitation, hugged Gu Yun, and turned around in a staggered step to protect him with the back of three layers of steel plates as a shield——

With a loud bang, the entire "Bai Chu" exploded. A huge wave of fire swept in all directions, and the body of the young man lying on the ground was torn apart on the spot. Gu Yun felt a buzzing sound in his ears, and a sharp pain came over him. His back hit the ground heavily, and his eyes went black.