C118

The blazing sun was like fire, and his heart was like flames. Lan Ruocheng was at a disadvantage when it came to fighting.

An city had already been captured by the rebel army. The city guards did not know what benefits they had received from the King Xiao Yao, but they had turned the tables around. The city guards that were in charge of supporting the King Xiao Yao and many other soldiers might not have followed his orders, so they were all killed. Only one deputy general escaped with several hundred soldiers who were unwilling to surrender.

But he was not a person of the martial arts world at the moment, so he could not act on impulse. As the commander of the two hundred thousand men in the middle, he had to consider the bigger picture and had to take responsibility for himself. Thus, he had to put away his usual teasing attitude.

However, more than half of them had followed Murong Yu before and knew that he had a good relationship with him. Thus, they were willing to listen to him, but it wasn't a long-term plan. He had to show some of his abilities as soon as possible to convince everyone.

After placing the army in Dingcheng, he had only brought five hundred elite soldiers with him to Peace City. There was still more than three hundred miles between Dingcheng and Peace City, and there were a few small towns in the middle along with a few hills.

"General Lan, we can't go any further. We're less than 100 miles away from An City." A guard reminded him.

Along the way, only a few citizens sought refuge in the direction of Dingcheng. Although many people felt uneasy, they still did what they had to do, it seemed that the popular policy of the Carefree King was still stable, no wonder why two cities were so easily conquered, even his general was rebelled against, it was said that the Carefree King's policy was to not disturb the citizens, if the soldiers did not surrender, they would exterminate the nine clans, and if they surrendered, they would be promoted to a third rank!

According to the information he had gathered, Xiao Yao King had indeed done what he said, which had greatly increased the difficulty of pacifying the situation. Firstly, there was a possibility that the soldiers could turn traitor, and secondly, the citizens were no longer concerned with the situation; the current disparity in the number of troops between the two sides was not that great. If the resistance was not strong, defeating the rebel army and taking back the land could be said to be extremely difficult.

If only Murong Yu was there, he would have done it all. He didn't need to think about everything, even if he had two Lieutenant Generals under his command who were stronger than him in leading troops, even if their brains weren't too good, he hoped that they wouldn't be able to think of any good ideas. The overall situation was not good for them.

"General, the sky is about to turn dark, and Black Tiger Village is right in front of us. There are two thousand people in the Black Tiger Village, and they have been at loggerheads with the imperial court the entire time. Should we not continue forward? If they have already pledged allegiance to King Xiaoyao …" Seeing Lan Ruochen remain silent, the guard reminded her once again with a nervous tone.

"Black Tiger Stronghold?" The corner of his mouth raised slightly. Without mentioning, he had almost forgotten that the Black Tiger Stronghold's chief had some friendship with him. He waved his hand and said, "Everyone should rest in the forest to the side."

After entering the forest and resting for a while, he gave some thought and told everyone to spread out. A few of them continued to probe around for information, while the others snuck into the other towns to gather information.

The guard naturally wouldn't do that. It was against the rules for the general to personally go out to gather information, but if something were to happen to them alone, they would end up losing their leader. What kind of battle would they have to fight then?

"What is it? This general's words are bullshit! " The rest of the guards had already done their own thing, yet twelve of them still refused to leave with Lan Ruocheng. They were all silently cursing in their hearts, Lan Ruocheng, as the son of the Grand Preceptor, was not a young master of the underworld, but he often spoke vulgarities … In the beginning, they really found it hard to believe that Grand Preceptor Lan was the most cultured person in the imperial court. Furthermore, he was once the emperor's reading mate.

"General, we are your bodyguards. We are wherever you are anyway." A guard said, unconvinced.

"Alright, let's not talk about anything else. We'll just compete in Qing Gong. If you twelve can catch up to me in a bit, then follow me. If you can't keep up, then do whatever you're supposed to do!"

"Sure!" Most of the players were still unaffected by the provocation. Only two or three of them still wanted to object, but it was too late.

"Don't worry!" "Just wait for me in Qiao Town tomorrow at noon. I will come over after I finish my work." Lan Rui City didn't wait for a reply after they finished giving their orders, and their figures flashed as they headed towards the west.

The twelve personal guards hurried to catch up, but in less than a moment, they could no longer be seen and could only give up.

In order to get rid of the guards, he did not even ride a horse. However, with his lightness skills, he was able to travel twenty miles very fast, but as soon as he arrived at the foot of the Black Tiger Mountain, he felt that something was wrong. At the foot of the mountain, there was a troop of cavalrymen.

After observing for a while, he moved to the side. There were only two sides that could be climbed up Black Tiger Mountain, and behind it was a hard black stone wall with two large rocks protruding out of it. From afar, the entire mountain looked like a fierce tiger, and the two protruding rocks were like big, bloody mouths that could be opened when a fierce tiger roared, magnificent and mighty to the extreme.

The back of the mountain was rocky, while the front mountain was covered with dense forests. In addition to the tall pine, cypress, and maple trees, there were also countless nameless shrubs and flowers blooming in the summer. Although the name of the mountain was rather scary, there were actually two, three rather beautiful mountains.

There was a row of houses in the middle of the mountain, and outside the house, there were quite a few men in tight clothing busy doing something in a neat and orderly manner. He only glanced at them from a distance and didn't stop, continuing to head straight to the top.

There were more and more sentries as they reached the top of the mountain. Fortunately, the wind was strong and the rustling sounds of trees and birds could be heard. Lan Ruocheng carefully made his way to the top of the mountain without anyone noticing.

As soon as he reached the top of the mountain, he was discovered by a few people. As soon as the whistle sounded, dozens of people came forward and surrounded him. Lan Ruochen was not nervous, he came out dressed in casual clothes, just for convenience's sake. The people surrounding him were nervous and angry, but of course, they were discovered when they reached the top of the mountain.

"This one has no ill intentions. Please inform the chief of the Dragon Roar Heavenly Dragon Stronghold that Young Master Lan wishes to seek an audience!" Lan Ruocheng cupped his fist and said in a clear voice.

Someone disagreed, "This kid is quietly going up the mountain. He definitely has ill intentions, brothers! Let's take him down first! "

Seven or eight men brandished their swords and sabers as they attacked at the same time. Lan Ruocheng had no intention of fighting, so he could only dodge while saying: "This one is a friend of the Dragon clan's chief. Please inform the Dragon clan's chief first."

"Stop!" Those people immediately stopped and jumped back a few steps. When Lan Ruocheng heard this, he looked over and saw a twelve or thirteen year old girl dressed in red elegantly walking towards him. Her figure was petite and her facial features were pretty, but her expression was extremely solemn.

Although Lan Ruochen was blue in color, she had a slender and muscular build. However, her facial features were very handsome. Being surrounded by the crowd, she did not show any signs of panic. She really did look like a person, and her temperament was different from those in the village.

"Who are you!" The lady in red sized up Lan Ruocheng before she asked calmly.

Lan Ruocheng cupped his fists again and said politely: "My surname is Lan, I would like to meet Long Xiao Tian and Big Brother Long!"

"My father is your elder brother?" The lady in red pouted unhappily, looking even more charming.

"Brother Lan!"

A tall and handsome man dressed in black strode over. The girl in red quickly went up to him and grabbed his arm in a spoiled manner, "Father, this person is worshipping ghosts and gods as he comes up the mountain. Is he really your brother?"

"Fei'er, don't be rude! This is an uncle I met when I went out last year. He even asked dad to bring a present for you, don't you like it! Brother Lan, come on, let's talk inside! " Long Xiao Tian then said to the rest with an imposing look on his face, "Why aren't you attacking? I don't want to see those people at the foot of the mountain. Let them go!"

"Yes sir!" The others quickly dispersed.

"Dad, he's so young, why is he calling you Big Brother?!" Long Fei'er was still pouting and gave Lan Ruocheng a dissatisfied look. It was obvious that she was unsatisfied with this dwarf's younger generation.

Lan Ruocheng laughed, "Fei'er is really cute. No wonder brother Long is always so concerned about her when we're outside."

"Fei'er, I've spoiled this little girl. It's rare for guests to come, go prepare some tea and dishes!" Although Long Xiaotian looked calm, he was actually only thirty-one years old. This Long Fei'er was not his biological son, but he was the abandoned baby that he picked up when he was a teenager. However, the father and daughter's relationship was very good.

When Long Fei'er heard Lan Ruocheng's words, he quickly became happy. After Long Xiaotian said this, he happily prepared to eat.

"Big brother Long has always been well!"

"Alright, I told you to come to my Black Tiger Mountain earlier to play, but you didn't want to come. If it wasn't for that, I'm afraid you wouldn't have come." Long Xiaotian was a straightforward person, so he went straight to the point.

Lan Ruocheng said in a somewhat embarrassed tone: "My old man has been keeping a tight watch on me for the past two years. I haven't been able to travel very far. It's been a real headache this time!"

Thinking that Long Xiao Tian must be well-informed. Moreover, the war had some influence on the village, so he couldn't not pay attention to it. Thus, Lan Ruochen was very direct and didn't hide anything.

"Right now, this situation doesn't have much of an impact on Black Tiger Mountain. In any case, it doesn't matter to us who becomes the emperor. To tell you the truth, those people at the foot of the mountain were sent by the crown prince of Carefree, Murong Lang."

"They want to persuade Big Bro to surrender as well?"

"That's right!" But you also know your brother's temper, no one in our Black Tiger Mountain does not want to submit, we just want to live our own lives. " Long Xiaotian had a serious expression on his face. His temper was similar to Murong Yu's.

"I know that's what Big Brother meant. Originally, I didn't want to trouble you, but when I came out to scout, I found out that Big Brother's Black Tiger Mountain is above this road. To be honest, I really wanted Big Brother to help me, but it's not easy."

He was the most loyal of them all. If Lan Ruo Cheng had asked him for help, he really wouldn't have been able to refuse, but at that time, they were of similar temper and had a good conversation, so he didn't hide anything about the two of them. Lan Ruocheng could be said to be Long Xiao Tian's only friend with a background in the imperial court, but at the time, he was just an idle son, and now, he was a general at peace.

Long Fei'er's footsteps were light and light as she personally delivered the tea. She did not notice the atmosphere and her voice was still tender and gentle: "Father, this is a dessert that Fei'er personally made. You must eat it."

"Alright!" Long Xiao Tian immediately took one, he actually didn't like sweet food, but Long Fei'er liked to eat, and also liked to cook. Long Xiao Tian immediately took one, but Long Fei'er liked to eat, and also liked to cook, and in order to make her happy, he would also eat one or two, "Not bad, not bad, Fei'er's cooking skills have improved again.

He took a bite, and as expected, his mouth was soft. It wasn't too sweet, so he laughed and praised: "Truly good workmanship, in my opinion, it's not inferior to that of the imperial chef. I didn't expect that Fei'er's cooking skills would be so good at such a young age.

"Your praise is too insincere. I'm only using ordinary cooking skills. How could I compare to the emperor's chef? Have you ever eaten a snack made by the imperial chef?" The flattery from Lan Ruochen might have been a little overdone, so Long Fei'er naturally didn't believe it.

"Of course I have. When I was young, your uncle was a reading companion for both the Crown Prince and the Duke of Qin." Actually, it'd only been a month or two, but he'd been driven home because he was too naughty. But he wouldn't say that.

"Really? Then you often go to the palace? Father, is he lying? " Long Fei'er blinked her large eyes as she asked Long Xiao Tian. The imperial palace in her imagination was an impressive place.

Long Xiaotian nodded his head, "Your uncle Lan won't lie to you. Your uncle Lan is a great general after all!" But don't tell anyone yet. "

"Oh, I really can't tell!" Long Fei'er stood beside Long Xiao Tian, sizing up Lan Ruochen with a trace of disbelief.

Long Xiaotian continued, "Fei'er, you go down first. I still have something to discuss with your uncle. Tell the others not to come in, too. The wine and food are ready, you and Autumn Flower can bring them in."

"Okay, then I'll go." Long Fei'er replied and left, seeming to listen to Long Xiao Tian's words.

"Ruocheng, what are your plans? If you need Big Bro's help, Big Bro will naturally help. This is what Big Bro owes you." After Long Fei'er left, Long Xiaotian spoke in a low voice after some hesitation.

Initially, I had already guessed that those people were sent by the Carefree King, and an idea had flashed through my mind. If elder brother faked his loyalty and brought people into An City, then he would be able to help greatly, but very quickly, Ruo Cheng thought again, although elder brother does not like to be with the officials the most, and I am the most righteous, so I am not willing to do such things. Thus, if we go up the mountain this time, I only want to meet elder brother.

"Thank you brother for being so honest. In fact, when I learned that you were General Pingxi, I had been thinking about this the entire time. My brothers have also seen the army of the Carefree King, and their army is very strict.

"That's right!" If he was not seventy to eighty percent sure that he would be able to stay in seclusion for more than twenty years, how could he possibly cause trouble for the crown prince and the Duke of Qin? The shock to the emperor was already very great, and he had already turned the tables on them, so the emperor did not know why he had to send me here, and even my old man had to refuse me. I am in a difficult position now, if the Duke of Qin is here, it would be great.

"I've also heard about the Duke Qin's matters. I never thought that he, as a prince, would have such charisma and methods, and also such kindness. It's truly rare." Long Xiaotian lamented. In his entire life, he had always admired the most loyal and loyal of people.

"That's right. He jumped down himself for the sake of being the diligent princess. Sigh …" The Carefree King is too despicable. He actually dared to lay his hands on a midwifery woman. It truly makes one despise him! " When he thought of this matter, Lan Ruochen felt a great burden in her heart.

Long Xiao Tian pondered for a moment before asking, "What attitude does the imperial court have towards the matter of the Xiao Yao King's rebellion? Recently, rumors have been circulating around the Northwest region that the Carefree King will become king shoulder to shoulder with the current emperor. They will rule from the river, and the Carefree King will treat the people fairly well, because the people won't be able to resist at all. "

"How can we divide the rivers? Then wouldn't that mean we're splitting Beheng in half? That's why we are able to maintain a peaceful situation of three nations. If North Heng's internal strife were to be divided into two nations that do not interact with each other, Southern Champion and Western Qi will definitely take advantage of this situation to break in. In the future, the city will be seized, or even the entire country will be destroyed. Lan Ruocheng was a little excited. Not only did the emperor want to hand over the task to Grand Tutor Lan, but he also wanted to make a name for himself. It would be too embarrassing if he didn't want to lose miserably, not for the sake of a career.

"My Long family was originally a family of generals, but my father was an avalanche and wholeheartedly devoted to writing, offending many people. His career was not smooth, and he eventually died in depression and depression, thus preventing my descendants from pursuing a good name in the future …"

"I know that other than this reason, Black Tiger Mountain was also attacked by the imperial court for robbing official food, right?"

Five years ago, it was snowing in the northwest, so we didn't have enough food. In order to save two or three thousand people in the village, we had no choice but to do this because the two small hills at our sides can grow grain. Usually, we are still more or less self-sufficient, and we only occasionally plunder some corrupt officials.

"So, Big Brother Long and the imperial court do not have much of a feud. If Big Brother Long is willing to help, then only a city can have some confidence. Otherwise, it's hard to say, a war between Peace City and Peace City is inevitable. Who knows how many warriors will die then? The soldiers on both sides are the descendants of us, Bei Heng." Lan Ruochen looked at Long Xiao Tian earnestly, hoping that he would be able to help her.

Long Xiaotian was silent again. He had to think carefully. This decision was not good. Helping or not helping was not only related to the Long family, but also to so many brothers and relatives. It was difficult!