Gu Yun bowed his head slightly, and when he thought about it, he already understood who was meant to watch this trip down south.
To some extent, Gu Yun, who grew up in the deep palace, knew Li Feng better than Chang Geng.
If a person’s ambition was too high but their ability was not enough, it was easy to fall into Li Feng’s situation. Emperor Long An certainly the way of power and tactics, but in the end, the most powerful shepherd dog could only lead the sheep. Even if it had sharp teeth and could kill a wolf in a one on one fight, it could not become the king of wolves — that was the general logic applied to humans as well.
Gu Yun did not need to inquire about the main political opinions or how many factions there were in the Court. Whatever the purpose of Xu Ling on this trip was, no matter which faction he belonged to, in the end, he was Li Feng’s man.
Li Feng liked this type of mallet, who did not use flattering words, did not form a party, with no status and no background, he only pursued the word ‘pure minister’ for all his life.
In the eyes of Emperor Long An, the words ‘pure minister’ has two meanings: first, they must have been promoted by the Emperor himself, with no support from any noble family or powerful minister behind their backs, their background must be clean, and secondly, they must make the Emperor feel reassured and was easy to control.
At the beginning, Yan Wang Li Min, had indeed walked this path. At that time, he had no foundation, no place of dependence, no power, and no influence in the court, only a meager bits of royal blood in his entire being, it was also mixed blood that caused doubts in people. He almost resembled an ignorant man fearlessly shouldering the beam of the Grand Council. He was of course, a ‘pure minister’ in Li Feng’s eyes.
However, Li Feng later found that Yan Wang was no ‘ignorant man’. He possessed too many tactics big and small that could summon the cloud and rain. The Emperor was already fooled by him once and thus no longer dared to believe his ‘purity’, that was why Emperor Long An had sent someone purer to restrain him.
Through the swallow-like eyes on Master Xu’s face, there was an Emperor looking out. It was a pity that inside those ‘Qian Li Yan’ was the personality of a newborn, it was presumably that Yan Wang’s many tricks had not yet been used, he had already placed himself onto the hook.
Right now, Great Liang did not have a place for a true loyal and pure minister. Gu Yun, who had for many years avoided dipping his hands in internal affairs, still knew full well what type of people they were.
Chang Geng’s behavior after entering the court, even though he was far away in the frontier, he had heard a little about what he had done. But knowing and hearing was one thing, seeing was another.
In fact, up to this time, in Gu Yun’s heart, Chang Geng was still that gentle and simple young man. Perhaps he was more brilliant than others, but he would never look down on people because of his talents. Perhaps he had a little bit of petty temperament, but he did not get angry easily. Even if it happened, it happened in a proper manner, only to express to the offender that ‘I’m angry’. The person would at most only feel like they were being scratched lightly by a dear little animal, only leaving a little white mark and not breaking the skin.
Could make one love him down to the bones.
So genuine and so warm… genuine to the point of even though he understood it full well in his heart, on the emotional aspect, in the end, he could not connect him with the resolute Yan Wang Li Min.
Now, under the bitter wind and rain of Jiangnan, these two images that seemed to be unrelated to each other, finally gradually merged into one. For a time, both images seemed so distant and strange.
Gu Yun’s chest pain that caused him to be unable to breathe now turned even worse.
But in the enemy’s line, it was not convenient for the Marshal to start mourning for no good reason, thus he had put on an almost frivolous relaxed look on his face, silently enduring this pain.
The group of people soon came to the nearest guard post together with captive. According to the captive, their guard post was patrolled in two batches alternatively. The patrol for the no man’s land was very simple. Over time, these Western cavalry relatively neglected their duty, unaware even if the enemy had sneaked inside.
“That foreigner said there were only two Heavy Armors in the sentry,” Xu Ling whispered. “There’s nothing else for us to take advantage of. Marshal, can Heavy Armor help us cross the river?”
“Yes,” Gu Yun replied, “it sinks when it goes down, even faster than a pig cage. It specializes in dealing with all kinds of adulterer wives and husbands.”
Xu Ling: “…”
It was a shame for he thought the Marquis of Order had become somewhat proper, it now all seemed to only be an illusion.
Gu Yun wiped his face, erasing all his traces of exhaustion and pretended to be in very high spirits: “No need to rush it, let’s first borrow the disguise of these foreigners to mix up in front of the river then wait for an opportunity to find the incredibly fast Dragon of theirs. Master Xu can rest assured, I have notified General Zhong that when we reach the river, they will automatically assist us.”
Xu Ling replied with a serious look, “Marshal Gu had already managed to contact General Zhong? When did you do it?”
Gu Yun said, “The hearts are connected, that’s all.”
…Beginning to talk nonsense again.
Master Xu, who was deceived time and time again, finally learned to shut his mouth in front of Gu Yun, and deduced from this, he could understand where Yan Wang’s stable and unfazed personality even when the sky falls came from.
But Chang Geng was severely shocked. He himself did indeed notify General Zhong, but it was through using Lin Yuan Pavilion’s method. It was not convenient for Xu Ling to hear of it. He had prepared another set of plays to show to Master Xu, who knew that through a few words, Gu Yun had shouldered this unlawful act for him.
Gu Yun held the black tiger emblem in his hands, able to mobilize troops on all four sides during wartime, it was not uncommon for him to have a secret way of contacting with the border garrisons. After listening to him, even if one was any more foolish, they would come to understand and stop any questioning. If they later meet the reinforcements, Xu Ling would not be any more suspicious.
Chang Geng’s wet palm suddenly broke out a layer of cold sweat.
“He already knew,” Chang Geng’s heart trembled and sank into coldness.
Man proposes, God disposes. Even if a plan was any more perfect, it could not avoid having accidents outside of expectation. For Chang Geng, the first one was on that day when he proposed to travel to the south. Before he could have said it in a straightforward manner, Gu Yun had unexpectedly stepped out to quickly handle it.
The arrow already mounted on the string could not avoid being shot, he must continue on and made his many arrangements in more and more discretion.
When it came to Gu Yun, the resourceful Yan Wang who had never blundered would still have momentary confusion — it was not that his brain and intellect fell short, but it was because he himself could not tell what was it that he wanted to do.
On one hand, he wanted to conceal this matter with Xu Ling as well as Gu Yun. After all, conspiracy was nothing to be prideful of, there would always exist lowly tactics behind it all. He did not want Gu Yun to see that he was the type who does not shy away from any scheme and calculation, nor did he dare to think about how Gu Yun would feel about this matter.
On the other hand, he courageously hoped that Gu Yun would be able to see through the truth clearly. It was almost a kind of mentality of acting spoiled that made one unreasonably pick a fight with people closest to them, wanting to let them know that ‘I am that type of person’.
He was in a dilemma — afraid of meeting Gu Yun’s limit, yet he could not help from prodding for his reaction.
Perhaps the most difficult thing to measure in the world was not the enemy’s intention, but a beloved’s sincere intention that could sometimes still cause one to feel uncertain.
Gu Yun looked back at him intentionally or unintentionally. Chang Geng’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably, as if wanting to avoid it. Then looking straight into Gu Yun’s eyes, his gaze resembled a hook, wanting to fish out a sign from the inside.
But at this time, a blinded Ge Chen came closer and said in Gu Yun’s ear, “Marshal, I suspect that the Heavy Armor of the foreigners was crafted with special technique, which is better than ours in conserving Ziliujin. How about you all clear out the people first, I’ll take the Heavy Armor apart to learn from them.”
Ge Chen’s appearance had made Gu Yun avert his gaze. In a hurry, Chang Geng could not grasp the meaning of those eyes, but surrounded by outsiders, he could not come over to ask a clear question, thus he was put in an anxious state.
As Gu Yun heard what was said, he appointed a personal guard to follow Ge Chen, replied with resolution, “If you can’t learn anything, I’ll treat it as you slacking off from work and you are to be dealt with by military laws after we return, go!”
At his command, more than twenty black crows quietly surrounded the small Western sentry, quietly clearing up the Western soldiers who were still deep in their dreams. From the sentry, they collected a set of garrison defense and control maps plus several sets of Light Armor, each person in the group put on the Light Armor. This way, as long as the mask was down, no one would recognize that the people inside were not the original.
Gu Yun pointed to the shivering captive: “Put him in Light Armor as well, place a lead in the golden box, if he dares to cause trouble, he will be fried into dumpling stuffing — by the way, where is Xiao Ge?”
Ge Chen hurriedly trotted along and said, “I’m here, I’m here, Marshal!”
Gu Yun looked back. In just a moment, this man not only removed the Heavy Armor of foreigners, but also removed the whole core power of the Heavy Armor. Much like a slave to money, tying it to his waist and refusing to put it down. With a pair of bright eyes of a mice that fell into the rice jar, he ran up and said, “Marshal Gu, am I going to have to pretend to be a Western soldier, too? I’m going to take this away. Do we have Light Armor with a larger belly?”
Gu Yun looked at him for a moment, then suddenly directed his guards to tie up Ge Ling Shu, he laughed, “What are you wearing a Heavy Armor for? It’s about a dozen pounds! I have a more suitable role for you. You don’t have to change your clothes, you can pretend to be an enemy spy who sneaked around thieving and was captured, how about it? In case of being questioned, we would have an excuse ready as well — that’s right, you carrying along this thing will appear all the more like you were caught with the evidence — tie him up!”
Ge Chen was put to replace the foreign captive in shock. He was tied up by two relentless guards and hung on a long pole, dangling as he was being carried away. Ge Chen was not foolish, vaguely feeling that he might have offended the general, and Gu Yun was now deliberately rectifying him, he hurriedly turned to Chang Geng for help: “Your Highness…”
“What Highness?” Gu Yun pulled the iron mask down. The voice came out from behind the cold mask and was covered with a layer of frost. “Cover his mouth. The captives are not allowed to scream.”
Yan Wang, who was still anxious, dared not speak out at all. With his acquiescence, Ge Ling Shu became a human-shaped grievances and was taken away on a long pole.
The group of people marched with vigor to the Westerners garrison with the ‘captive’. Near dawn, they had crossed the vast inhabited areas in Jiangnan and approached the enemy’s base.
At this time, through the eyes of the Qian Li Yan, Gu Yun and others could already see the frightening water monster lying on the river. The iron dragons usually came and went like the wind, this was the first time they faced them in person. Xu Ling was dizzy for a moment. The defense line of Westerners was too tight. His hands were covered in a cold sweat, he did not understand how these people could still be this vigorous in the midst of the enemy’s rank.
Before even getting close to the station, the muzzle of several short guns had turned over, all pointing at them.
Xu Ling swallowed with difficulty. At this time, his shoulder was pressed down, Xu Ling heard the voice of Yan Wang saying in his ear, “When you are afraid, do not think about how we will die if we were to be found out. You must think that we will have to take care of all these things. If we don’t kill them today, we will have to kill them up tomorrow. We are here to kill, not to be killed.”
Xu Ling heard a hunter’s murderous intent in Yan Wang’s light voice, his body shivered slightly, this intent seemed to pass on to him in a tremor. Xu Ling took a deep breath, remembered the devastating white bones in the ancestral hall and closed his eyes. As a result, his fear faded away.
Yan Wang said again, “Hold the lead of the captive well. We can’t understand foreign language very well. We can only rely on Master Xu, if he made any odd movement… Does Master Xu dare to kill?”
Deputy Inspector Xu, who had only ever read books growing up, he had never even killed a chicken, shuddered involuntarily with the lead in his hand. As soon as he did, the Western captive also felt his life was hanging by a thread and shuddered along with him. Yan Wang pressed the hand on Xu Ling’s shoulder down, the force seeped through the steel armor, like a pair of iron forceps, forcibly stabilizing Xu Ling by external force.
Xu Ling gritted his teeth. “I do, Your Highness rest assured, I will not disgrace the mission.”
Chang Geng slowly withdrew his hand. He could feel Gu Yun was watching him, hiding behind the iron mask. He dared not look back, quietly wiping the cold sweat off his palm.
He could tell each person what was it that they should do, but no one could come and give him an advice for his own dilemma.
At this moment, a Western guard said something in foreign language through the tong hou, generally asking them what they were doing.
Xu Ling cleared his throat and answered, “During the patrol, we caught a traitor from the Central Plains and took him here to see how he should be dealt with.”
The stationed guard doubtfully took a look, Gu Yun tapped their captive on the back with the hilt of the Western sword in silence: “Learn how to read the situation.”
Xu Ling did not translate yet, but the Western captive had understood Gu Yun’s meaning. He shakily lifted up the Light Armor’s mask, a handful of familiar blond hair dispelled the guard’s doubts. The guard glanced at Ge Chen, who was hanging on a pole, made a grimace then beckoned. Several muzzles slowly moved away from them, the guard then let them inside the station.
“Wait a moment,” said the guard. “The Pope is entertaining important guests. All the other lords are accompanying him, nobody would be there to decide even if you report it in. First go and register your name, lock up this pig for now, we will roast him in the evening.”
The others did not respond. Xu Ling knew that even Yan Wang could not give him any guidance at this time. He swallowed his saliva and asked as calmly as possible, “Where are the guests from?”
“Holy Land,” the guard scratched his face impatiently. “Don’t ask too much of what you shouldn’t know about. I really don’t know when they would let us go back, this battle is over. Hey, brothers, the good for nothing bunch in the no-man’s land has caught a spy, give them a few bites of dried meat to eat. Perhaps they would never make a contribution this grand again for the rest of their lives.”
The group of Western soldiers laughed aloud.
Xu Ling felt more reassured and took the lead in pushing the Western captive to the direction that they were guided. Who knew that at this moment, the Western captive suddenly struggled, the lead that Xu Ling was holding was exposed. The Western guards who had not yet left caught sight of it: “Hold on, what is that behind you?”
Xu Ling’s cold sweat came down.
The guard approached Xu Ling suspiciously, eyed him up and down, and suddenly reached down, placing his hand on the sword at his waist: “Push your mask up.”
Xu Ling’s heart was beating wildly, he went stiff, unable to move.
At that moment, a sharp alarm suddenly came from a distance, flames rose against the wind towards the sky. Many Western soldiers ran past them. The Western guard questioning them was momentarily distracted, Chang Geng then took a step forward, not knowing where he had obtained a slender needle as long as an arm, piercing it into the guard’s neck in no time.
Without a word, the Western guard was dead standing in the spot. A soldier took off the guard’s helmet, cut Ge Chen’s ropes and placed it on his head.
Xu Ling gasped for breath and noticed that Gu Yun’s guards were missing one person. In the next moment, Gu Yun grabbed Xu Ling’s lead and dropped a sentence: “Go.”
Before Xu Ling could react, he saw Gu Yun pull the lead behind the captive. He did not know what Gu Yun’s Wind Slasher had touched behind the Light Armor of the Westerner, he kicked him out with one foot. With the help of Gu Yun’s kick, the captive was plunged forwards with the force of the Armor’s spurting mist.
The captive let out an inhuman scream. At the same time, the movement on their side could not avoid going unnoticed. The guards of the Black Iron Camp were extremely well-trained. As Gu Yun made a gesture, each of them raised their own bow and artillery and shot away in all directions.
Only now did the Light Armor of the captive explode. The shockwave shook the camp and Western soldiers around him away. Xu Ling was not able to stand firm for a moment, but a hand wearing Light Armor had caught him and led him forward.
The group of people ran like mad in the midst of chaos. Gu Yun reached out and stopped Xu Ling together with Chang Geng who was dragging him. He quickly asked in a low voice: “How do you say ‘they have ran off that way, after them’?”
Xu Ling had no time to respond and instinctively translated the words into the language of the Westerners.
As soon as he finished, the enemy troops had caught up to them. Gu Yun raised his hand and pulled out the sword on the Light Armor of the Westerner, vividly mimicked the sentence Xu Ling had just taught him, at the same time, he took the lead and fiercely chased ‘after them’.
Donning the same armor suits and masks, they could not be differentiated from one another. Gu Yun had been in charge of the Black Iron Camp for many years, he truly had the temperament of a general. At his command, the Western soldiers could not help from running with him.
Xu Ling: “…”
They inexplicably went from being the surrounded to being the pursuers.
All the way up to the river, Xu Ling saw a black shadow suddenly coming from a distance. It was one of Gu Yun’s guards missing from just now, the Western armor disguise on him had been unloaded. The officers of the Black Iron Camp made a long whistle, then jumped into the river. Xu Ling adapted quickly, he shouted in the foreign language: “Onto the ship, after them!”
Gu Yun had no idea that Xu Ling would take after them so fast, he could not help but give him a thumbs up.
Before Xu Ling could feel proud, he was thrown by Gu Yun with the force of dozens of kilograms of Light Armor from the riverside, falling down onto a Western dragon. The Western navy could also hear the movement on the shore, coming to take a look in confusion.
At that time, several black shadows fell one after another, cleanly taking care of all the navy with a sweep of their blade with no delay. There was no sound — before the bodies could fall, they were already caught by the killers. To outsiders, it appeared as if comrade-in-arms were entering the cabin side by side.
A second later, the chaos on the shore was not over yet, a Western dragon had quickly rushed out of the Western Garrison Port at dawn.
To be Continued…