Author: unknown

Dali Kyoto has four protective walls.

Bei'an, Tonghe, Nanping and Jiushan are the names of the four protective cities.

The four forts are the largest shields in Kyoto. Except for the 12th Regiment Battalion among the millions of imperial troops, all the others are stationed in the four forts.

As long as the four fortresses are not broken, foreign enemies will not be able to approach Kyoto. This is why the 12th Regiment Battalion can only be stationed outside Kyoto, and there are very few guards inside Kyoto.

Since the founding of the Dali Dynasty, for more than three hundred years, no enemy has ever come to Kyoto.

The yamen of the four governor's offices on the left and right of the Fifth Army's governor's office are located in these four protective cities. The northern frontier army belongs to the former army's governor's office, so the former army's governor's office is responsible for all wars involving the north.

Outside the north gate of Bei'an City.

The right commander of the former military governor's office, General Dali Dingguo, and Zhenbei Hou He Jing were wearing iron armor and led a group of military attachés from the former military governor's office to stand in front of the city gate, waiting quietly.

At the same time, on the training ground outside Bei'an City, one hundred thousand troops had already formed their formation, and two hundred thousand civilians had loaded all their food, grass, and military supplies into trucks, and were slowly heading north along the official road.

Dali has not dispatched the Imperial Guard for twenty years. The last time the Imperial Guard was dispatched was when the Mingyue Army defeated a hundred thousand soldiers in Yunyan City.

That battle was the last large-scale war that Emperor Li experienced after he ascended the throne.

At that time, the northern frontier army of Dali and the Imperial Guards of Dali Kyoto, a total of more than 1.3 million soldiers participated in the battle. The battle was called the Battle of Zhenbei by Dali historians.

After that battle, the four major Rong royal courts in the north bowed to Dali, and the north of Dali enjoyed a period of peace for twenty years.

It's just that in recent years, the four northern royal courts seem to have forgotten Dali's military prowess.

He Jing stood in front of the city gate, waiting quietly, his eyes looking towards the official road to the west from time to time.

At this moment, an old carriage slowly drove up on the official road.

The military attachés who were talking a lot around them immediately became quiet when they saw the carriage appear, and they all paid their attention to the old carriage.

Wait for the carriage to come near.

He Jing immediately took a step forward, bowed and said: "He Jing, the right commander of the former military governor's mansion, pays his respects to Lord Zhu Guo!"

"Greetings to Lord Zhuguo!"

All the military officers bowed in unison.

The visitor was none other than Li Xun.

But it was Mo Yan who was driving the car.

This innate warrior who had been with Qin Wei for two years had returned to Kyoto after Qin Wei's wedding.

Although Qin Wei intended to keep him by his side, it was a pity that Mo Yan still left.

Mo Yan opened the curtain, and Li Xun shakily stepped out of the carriage. Looking at the majestic He Jing, a gentle smile appeared on his wrinkled face.

"In the blink of an eye, you have become old!"

He Jing is now over sixty years old. Although his face still looks very young, his gray sideburns have exposed his age.

He Jing smiled and said: "Yes, I remember that Xianguan was only twelve years old when he first met Master Zhu Guo."

Li Xun smiled, with a look of nostalgia in his eyes, "Back then, your father followed me. He was my most promising general at that time, but it's a pity~~"

He didn't say the next thing, it was already fifty years ago.

At that time, Li Xun had not yet been granted the title of Zhuguo, and was still the commander-in-chief of the northern frontier army. At that time, Dali's situation was even more difficult than it is now. The Rong tribe from the north invaded year after year, and wars continued one after another.

Li Xun led the northern frontier army to fight for more than ten years, and the generals around him changed one after another. At that time, he valued He Jing's father, who was the previous generation of Zhenbei Marquis. Unfortunately, after a tragic battle, the previous generation of Zhenbei Marquis

After all, the Northern Marquis is still a corpse wrapped in horse leather.

It was at the funeral that He Jing met Li Xun for the first time.

"It is an honor for me, Zhenbei Houfu, to charge into the battle for Lord Zhu Guo." He Jing said solemnly.

He was right to say that. Li Xun was a nostalgic person, and he had never treated anyone who served as a general under him badly.

And for those nobles who died on the battlefield, he would also take care of their descendants.

The Zhenbei Hou Mansion was able to survive the lean period because of Li Xun's care.

And now the Zhenbei Hou Mansion can still exist because of Li Xun's care.

You must know that since Emperor Li ascended the throne, many honorable nobles have fallen. The nobles who still exist today are either those who served the Emperor Li in the beginning or because of Li Xun's care.

This is one of the reasons why Li Xun has high prestige in the Dali military.

Li Xun just smiled and asked, "Are you all ready?"

"Well, the front army set off yesterday, the civilians will set off one after another today, and the remaining rear army will set off with Lord Zhuguo." He Jing said.

Li Xun nodded.

"I didn't expect that I could go to the battlefield at my age, haha!"

He chuckled lightly and said, "Then let's go!"

With that said, he returned to the carriage.

He Jing quickly greeted the military attachés and generals to prepare for departure.

And while they were slowly going north along the official road, Qin Wei stood in a pavilion in Bei'an City and looked at the bustling Bei'an City.

Although Bei'an City is a military garrison, in fact there are still a large number of ordinary people living in Bei'an City.

The Four Fortresses are not only the shields of Kyoto, but also the cargo transportation areas of Kyoto. Caravans traveling from south to north must first pass through the Four Fortresses before entering the capital, so the Four Fortresses are also very prosperous.

"Your Highness, Lord Li Xun has already led the army to march!"

In the pavilion, Xiao Shunzi came behind Qin Wei and reported softly.

Next to him, Zhao Gao was playing with the chessboard casually.

Qin Wei turned around and said, "Why do you think His Majesty sent Li Xun to the north?"

The four Rong tribes attacked Yunyan City together, which was not a small matter for Dali, but Qin Wei always felt that there was no need to use Li Xun, the right-wing country.

Li Xun and Yan Zhen are the two pillars of Dali. Now that the court and Kyoto are at their most tense, Emperor Li actually sent Li Xun out of Kyoto. This is really hard for Qin Wei to understand.

Zhao Gao played with a white chess piece, shook his head slightly and said, "I can't even see through it."

Qin Wei frowned slightly. Li Huang's thoughts were too deep. Even someone like Zhao Gao, who was good at guessing people's hearts, had a hard time figuring out what Li Huang was thinking, let alone Qin Wei.

"Well, no matter what, it is a good thing for us that he is not in Kyoto." Qin Wei said.

However, at this time Zhao Gao said: "Now he is gone, but he can come back again."

"You mean this is a deception?" Qin Wei asked.

"Since you can't understand it, it means Li Xun shouldn't leave Kyoto!" Zhao Gao said.

Qin Wei thought about it and felt that what Zhao Gao said made sense.

Li Xun was probably Li Huang's secret agent, but he still couldn't figure out what Li Huang's preparations were.

"There are still three months to go!"

"A lot can happen in three months," Zhao Gao said.

Qin Wei looked at the bustling Bei'an City with a solemn expression.

Three months!

The depression that has accumulated in Kyoto for several years will explode in these three months.

…

midnight.

Inside the imperial city.

In a quiet courtyard, an old man with a sunken mouth and wrinkled face sat on a rocking chair, swaying, looking at the bright moon outside the window with deep eyes.

"Now that you're here, come out. Are you still afraid of me, an old man?"

The old man's hoarse voice broke the silence of the courtyard.

The bright moon was cold and the night was dark, and his voice seemed extremely abrupt.

Not long after his voice fell, a slightly stooped figure walked out from behind the rockery in the courtyard.

"Our Zhu Ji has met Eunuch Luo!"

Cao Zhengchun came to Eunuch Luo and bowed casually.

Eunuch Luo looked at Cao Zhengchun, his deep eyes filled with scrutiny and memories, "I know you!"

"Eunuch Luo knows our family?" Cao Zhengchun was a little surprised.

"Well, when the late emperor passed away, I was the one who chose to guard the mausoleum."

"Some time ago, I also heard that you were appointed as the Supervisor of Ceremonies, but I don't know if it's you or not!" Eunuch Luo said with a hint.

There was a hint of surprise in Cao Zhengchun's eyes. He didn't expect that someone in the imperial city knew about his identity.

He didn't even expect that Eunuch Luo would doubt his identity. You should know that even Eunuch Lu had never doubted him.
To be continued...