National color raw owl

When the first light of dawn projected onto the city of Wuping Prefecture, it seemed to indicate that today would be an excellent weather.

It is winter in the north, and the climate is getting colder and colder. There has been no sunshine in the past few days. The soldiers guarding the city even feel very depressed because of the weather.

When the sun rises in the east, the soldiers bathed in the first ray of sunlight feel refreshed.

A soldier stretched lazily, with a spear in his hand, he approached the edge of the battlements. Looking far away, the Cangshan Mountains are like ink, the land is flat, and the mountains and rivers are full of clouds and moons.

The soldier withdrew his gaze from afar and landed not far below the city, his brows suddenly tightened, he frowned, leaned out and looked out, soon his face suddenly changed color, he turned his head, and yelled twice His voice was full of panic, and the soldiers behind him approached one after another. The soldier raised his finger and pointed to the city, and all the soldiers changed their colors when they followed their fingers.

Emperor Dingwu Xun Xiang was by a window at this moment, the window was open, and a gust of cold air came in from the window. He was sitting on a chair, his legs were covered with a blanket, his hands were clasped on his chest, and his eyes were closed. , looking serene, the cold air came in from the window, but Ding Wu didn't seem to feel the cold air, his breath was even, at first glance, he seemed to have fallen asleep.

The surroundings are peaceful, but outside the window is a desolate scene.

Hearing the sound of footsteps coming from behind, Ding Wu opened his eyes slightly, and said: "Liuli, the weather is already cold, you need to add more clothes...!" At this point, he suddenly stopped, with a smile on his face. Weird look, the one who came from behind was of course not Liuli, but another handsome court lady. Hearing Dingwu's words, the court lady said respectfully: "My lord, Mrs. Liuli did not come back. It was Commander Xuanyuan who arranged for the slaves to come and dress up." Your Majesty...!"

Dingwu frowned, and muttered to himself: "She will never come back...!" He raised his hand and said, "You go back first, I don't have to wait on you...!"

The maid hurriedly said: "My lord, General Xuanyuan is waiting outside to be summoned...!"

"Oh?" Dingwu frowned slightly, and said, "Tell him to come in."

When Xuanyuan Shao came in, his face still looked rather haggard and dull. Obviously, he hadn't recovered from the injury last night, but his bright armor still made him look very heroic.

After Xuanyuan Shao saluted, before he could speak, Ding Wu got up from his chair, put his hands behind his back, turned around, and asked, "Did you find their whereabouts?"

Xuanyuan Shao shook his head and said: "Reporting to the Holy Majesty, I have ordered the closure of all gates of Wuping Mansion last night, strictly prohibiting going out of the city, and mobilized some people to assist the Shenyi Guards in searching for the whereabouts of the Xinzong monster. That bearded man is conspicuous in appearance. Once he appears in the city, It's easy to be discovered, but the area of ​​Wuping Mansion is too large, two of them were injured, and they should have been firmly hiding at this time, and they haven't been found yet." He said: "I'm worried that even if we find them, they will It is very difficult for anyone to be their opponent, so I distributed all the fast crossbows in the warehouse, and the crossbow-bow in hand may pose a threat to them."

Ding Wu nodded slightly: "The Taoist sect has also assigned disciples of the Taoist sect to search for their whereabouts. Although they are strong in martial arts, there are not many of them after all, and two of them were injured. They will not be able to leave the city for a while." See Xuanyuan Shao brow Locked tightly, his face looked very dignified, and he asked, "Do you have anything to say?"

Xuanyuan Shao cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I...I have something urgent to report."

"Oh?" Ding Wu frowned and said, "You have always been a calm and calm person, but your expression looks very bad now. Could it be that something happened in the Yanshan battle?"

Xuanyuan Shao looked serious: "My lord, this matter is probably more serious and urgent than the accident on the front line...!"

When Dingwu arrived at the top of the city, the top of the city was already full of soldiers. Hearing the emperor's arrival, the soldiers dispersed one after another in an orderly manner. Wearing a yellow brocade suit and a golden cloak, the soldiers were a little surprised to see the legendary emperor suffering from leg problems suddenly appearing at the top of the city with strides.

When Dingwu was still the prince, he posted a list to seek medical treatment. Everyone in the world knew that the prince of the empire was a cripple with a leg problem, and the soldiers guarding the city knew in their minds that the current emperor could only sit Give orders from a wheelchair.

The small imperial court in Hexi cannot be compared with the Great Qin Empire back then. Many soldiers know that even court meetings have become a rare event nowadays. Let alone ordinary soldiers, it is not easy to see the emperor even if they are high-ranking officials. In everyone's imagination, the emperor is a weak, dry and even dying disabled sitting in a wheelchair.

It was only when they saw Dingwu appear at this moment that the soldiers knew that although their emperor looked a little haggard and thin, his face was sharp and angular, his eyes were shining, his steps were steady, and his strides were like meteors. It is elegant and heroic, with extraordinary momentum.

Of course Dingwu didn't have time to take care of how the soldiers felt about him at this time, several guards on the top of the city had already stepped forward, knelt down in front of Dingwu and saluted, Dingwu raised his hand to make them stand up, and then they walked to the battlements On the side, with his hands resting on the stiff and somewhat cold stone, Xuanyuan Shao, who was following Dingwu, raised his finger and pointed to the city not far away. The ground was quite far away, but Dingwu still had a clear view of the scene below the city.

I saw only a dozen long bamboo poles lined up on the open ground outside the city at this time. It is rare for these dozens of bamboo poles to appear outside the city. The most amazing thing is that each of the bamboo poles Each has a human head hanging from it.

Ding Wu glanced over, and saw that there were thirteen bamboo poles lined up in a row, and each bamboo pole hung a human head, exactly thirteen human heads.

Ding Wu's martial arts cultivation is not shallow, others may only be able to tell that the head is hung on the bamboo pole, but they can't see the appearance of the thief, but Ding Wu can see it very clearly.

The hairstyles of the thirteen heads were quite different, and he could tell at a glance that they were all heads of barbarians.

There are thirteen bamboo poles with barbarian heads erected inexplicably outside the city, which is of course a strange thing.

However, Ding Wu's pupils were already constricted, his expression was gloomy and scary, he suddenly turned his head, looked at Xuanyuan Shao, and asked in a deep voice: "Are you sure about the posthouse?"

Xuanyuan Shao looked dignified, cupped his hands and said: "Reporting to the Holy Majesty, I got the news and knew the number of heads, so I immediately thought of it. In order to confirm the situation, I personally went to the post to check...!"

"How is the result?"

"None of the thirteen barbarian chiefs were spared. They were all killed, and only their bodies were left without heads." Xuanyuan Shao said in a low voice, "If there is no accident, the thirteen heads outside the city are Those barbarian chiefs."

Ding Wu clenched his fists and said, "You mean, the heads of thirteen barbarian chiefs were taken in the middle of the night, but the guards of the post house didn't know anything about it?"

Xuanyuan Shao nodded, "It's the minister's dereliction of duty." He added: "Most of the thirteen chiefs died on their own beds. These chiefs like to gather at night to drink and have fun. After resting at midnight, they often die at noon the next day. Only then will they get up, so before they get up, the servants who serve them dare not disturb them."

Ding Wu suddenly thought of something, frowned, and murmured: "I understand, so...so that's what she meant...!"

Xuanyuan Shao didn't understand for a while, and asked cautiously: "My lord, what... are you talking about?"

"Do you still remember that Liuli said a very strange thing last night." Dingwu sighed softly: "In order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, I can wipe out her gang, so I secretly mobilized all the guards in the city. They were all used to surround them, but... Liuli said that strange sentence last night...!"

Xuanyuan Shao's memory is amazing, he immediately understood, and said in a soft voice: "I remember, she seemed to say that if all the Shenyiwei were transferred there, other places would be empty, and if there was an assassination, who would be able to resist?"

"That's right." Ding Wu nodded and said: "Although I thought it was strange at the time, I didn't take it seriously. His goal was me. At that time, I only thought that he didn't need to attack anyone else except me. Now it seems that it is I was too confident to commit this fatal negligence...!"

Xuanyuan Shao hurriedly said: "My lord, the assassination of the thirteen chiefs must have been planned by Zeng Tianwang long ago. She probably didn't expect that we would mobilize the guards to round her up, so I think that no matter whether the guards in the post will Shenyiwei is transferred away, their action plan will not change, Shenyiwei is transferred away, it just makes their actions more convenient."

Ding Wu pondered for a moment, then said: "Have you checked, when did these barbarian chiefs die?"

Xuanyuan Shao immediately said: "Reporting to the Holy Majesty, I have arranged for someone to check. The corpses in the post were all stabbed just after midnight, and the death time between the 13 people did not exceed half a stick of incense... ...!"

Dingwu frowned even more, "At that time, Liuli was still in that house, that is to say, the assassination of the posthouse was almost the same time as our siege of Liuli?"

Xuanyuan Shao nodded and said, "Exactly."

"In a short period of time, he easily evaded the guards of the posthouse and sneaked in, and within half a stick of incense, he killed all the thirteen chiefs, without even alarming anyone, killing them and taking their heads, Xuanyuan , Such a rigorous operation, of course, cannot be completed by one or two people?" Ding Wu clenched his fist and said.

Xuanyuan Shao said: "Before I went to see the Holy Majesty, I checked carefully. The death methods of the thirteen chiefs were different. Judging from the wounds and methods, there were at least six of them. There are also six people."

A sneer appeared on Dingwu's lips: "It seems that in this city, there are still many Xinzong disciples lurking. Their people are not just the three we saw last night...!" There was a sharp light in his eyes, "I'm afraid that Wuping Mansion has become a gathering place for disciples of Xinzong. Since there are guests coming from afar, I think I will treat them well."