When Mo Xi went back to the mansion, Gu Mang was reading and writing in his study.
The red lacquer window was open, and there were scattered flowers outside. Gu Mang was wearing a light blue wide robe, with loose braids tied behind his head and up into a loose ball. As soon as the wind blew, the shadow of the flowers moved on him and the table top.
Mo Xi knew that he was recording the memories that he was losing by looking at the volume he was spreading out. Gu Mang was very focused on writing, not aware of the arrival of Mo Xi. His cheeks puffed a little, his berry lips pursed a little, and his misty lashes cast a gentle reflection on the wing of his nose, occasionally shaking.
Mo Xi was not willing to break the peace which was too hard to come by, so he stood outside the half-open door of the study and looked at it. After a long time, Gu Mang finally finished what he wanted to write for the day, so he looked up.
Seeing the man standing outside, Gu Mang was stunned for a moment and opened his blue eyes slightly. "Eh? When did you come back? You've been standing outside?"
Mo Xi was not good at lying, but at this moment, he said quietly and naturally, "No. Just arrived."
With that, he entered the room.
Gu Mang asked, "What did the court say? Did you go to court today?"
"Yes."
"That's good. In this way, the city near Shituo Pass is also -"
"It's too late. Daze City is lost. The news letter just arrived today."
Gu Mang was shocked. "Another city?!"
"En.The emperor has drawn up the imperial edicts. In another hour, he will send them to all the related residences. At noon, he will go to the Commander Appointing platform to gather some generals and raise his troops to the north." "He has consulted with you?"
Mo Xi paused for a while and said, "Yes. I took the northern army to the battle, and I also sent fifty thousand cultivators to the flying horse camp, who are led by Murong Lian. There are also fifty thousand Chiling camp cultivators whose leader has not yet been appointed."
Gu Mang frowned when he heard that Murong Lian was going. He thought that Murong Lian had no intention to fight now. He was so addicted to the floating dream that he didn't know why the emperor would send him. However, when he heard that "fifty thousand Chiling camp cultivators whose leader has not been appointed yet", his brow wrinkled deeper.
"He has no one yet?"
Mo Xi shook his head. "He means Mengze."
"..."
"Although Mengze is weak, the old part of Chiling was once under her command, and this army is the elite of the first aristocrats. Although it was obedient, it is rebellious after all. The emperor is worried that if he changes leader to be someone else, he will be choked by the elite of Chiling's aristocracy. So he means that he hopes Mengze can sit in the Chiling army and they will do nothing with her."
Gu Mang pursed his lower lip. "Do you think it's because of this…"
"I don't want to speculate about what it's for. I didn't go back to the mansion before the general order, but I wanted to ask you if you would like to take over the old part of Chiling and go to the front line with me instead of Mengze if you could."
Gu Mang was stunned. "You want me… To take over the old part of Chiling?"
"Yes. Would you like to?"
From Gu Mang's face, he could clearly see the change of his mood. Before he could react at all, Gu Mang was flushed with blood by the accident of "being able to return to his own country and fight side-by-side with fellow countrymen."
It was seven parts astonishment and three parts joy.
But gradually, the intense crimson on his face faded and the light in his eyes faded.
Gu Mang said slowly, "Mo Xi. I really want to go to the front line with you. Even if you didn't come back today and tell me, I would do it when I know."
Mo Xi couldn't help but smile. "I understand. I don't really want you to go to the front, but I think if I really stop you, you will not be happy, and just blame me. So the proposal to let you go together with me is what I said with the emperor."
Gu Mang was stunned for a moment, then lowered his eyes. "Thank you."
Mo Xi raised his hand and rubbed his hair. His strength was always a little big. Gu Mang's bun was loose again. When he rubbed it, several strands of hair hung down, dark on his cheek. Mo Xi said, "It's good for you to go, at least I can see you all the time. Then if you like, I'll go and join you…"
Gu Mang interrupted him. "I want to go to the battlefield. But I don't want to lead the people of Chiling camp."
Mo Xi: "..."
Gu Mang said, "I can't be a leader anymore."
"If you think about it, the Chiling camp is full of cultivators of noble birth. They have been fighting against Liaoguo for so many years. They hate me to the core. If they don't want to listen to my orders, that's the end of the world."
"... I know what you mean. If you're worried about this, you don't have to worry," Mo Xi said. "You can put on a cover, the emperor will tell the Chiling camp you are a royal family's eminent aristocrat, but because of some reasons, it is not suitable to disclose your specific identity for the time being. With this admonition from the emperor, the commander-in-chief is me. Even if they speculate more, they will not do anything rashly."
Under his dark bow, the pair of black phoenix eyes looked at him. The eyes were gentle. No coercion, no persuasion, only endless tolerance, like being swallowed in a sea of stars.
"As long as you like."
"But if you don't want to, or if you just want to be a soldier and follow me, it's up to you."
How could Gu Mang be unwilling? How could he not know the bitterness of Mo
Xi?
If he led the Chiling camp to a great victory, he had the chance to make his identity public in the world in the future. It would be one of the meritorious testimonies that should not be underestimated.
Wanting him to have the position of commander of the Chiling battalion was very hard for Mo Xi to ask the Emperor for. The emperor chose Murong Mengze as the deputy commander. Obviously, he had his own self interest. Mo Xi was a chip he won only by moving the interests of the emperor.
Gu Mang was silent for a while, and said, "…Well, let Mengze go."
In spite of some preparation in his heart, when he heard that Gu Mang had really given up, Mo Xi's eyes still slightly mourned.
——Just like Gu Mang could see through the sacrifice made by Mo Xi, the dangerous chess move he made, and the line on the emperor he violated…
Why couldn't Mo Xi see that his shixiong giving up was also for him?
"Gu Mang..."
Gu Mang, with broad dark blue sleeves, explained, "It's not appropriate for me to be the commander of this red feather camp. All eyes are on me, and I'm sure someone will find out. If my identity is exposed during the war, it will inevitably lead to the civil strife of Chonghua sergeants…"
"And my memory has been slowly missing, and I don't know what I will become next. If I go and be this general, I can't do it without a clear mind."
"..."
"I know what you're thinking." Gu Mang looked at Mo Xi's gloomy expression, and held his cool face in front of him with soft smile marks at the end of his eyes. "But I just want to make a contribution to Chonghua. I want to fight with you. I want to be with you."
After a pause, he stood on tiptoes slightly, put his hand on Mo Xi's forehead, and slipped down to clasp his fingers.
"This time, let me be your sidekick."
Mo Xi closed his eyes and said, "This is not where you should be..."
"I think that's the place."
Mo Xi: "..."
"Good." Gu Mang rubbed his forehead and said, "I'm very happy to be with you again as a teacher of Chonghua."
"And you, with the northern border army, it's all good."
"Mo Xi, we can fight alongside each other again."
-
17th day of the sixth month, Chonghua calendar.
Summer.
Within two years of the end of the war, Liaoguo tore up the armistice and raised troops to attack Shituo Pass. Due to the delay of Chonghua's deployment, Liao Jun, after breaking through the dangerous Shituo Pass, captured the three cities of Fengcheng, Dicheng and Daze, which was the important place where the blood demon beast was once sealed by Chen Tang.
When the news that Daze City broke came, the emperor finally woke up from his slumber. In order to recover the city quickly, on the day of the court's deliberation, the emperor set up his troops to prepare for the battle.
The hunting wind blew the bright red flag and pointed to the side of the column. The emperor stood with his hands in his arms.
On his lefthand side, there was Mo Xi in black and gold, and on his right was Murong Lian in a royal blue robe.
The sun was shining brightly. The emperors eyes swept over the three armies of Zhou Yan. Gu Mang also covered his face and stood in it. The emperor's eyes fell on him, and then nodded slightly. In this way, he said hello to General Gu. The commander of the northern border army and the commander of the flying horse battalion had been settled. The emperor put the beads on his wrist, and then spread a sound to the whole crowd. "Murong Mengze, come out."
"Yes, sir."
Mengze came out from the side of the army.
She was soft in appearance and weak in body, but her manner was very straight. Especially when she tied up her hair and changed into a royal army ceremonial cultivation robe, she was even more solemn. No one could see that she was a sickly, spiritual and broken woman.
"You are awarded the position of commander of Chiling battalion. I hope you and Wangshu Jun will work together to help Xihe Jun march north to Daze and recover this lost land."
As soon as this remark came out, there was a slight commotion in the army.
Murong Mengze looked down and said, "Yes."
She took the golden arrow from the herald, stepped from the steps covered with red felt onto the general platform, and stood by Commander Mo Xi according to the rules.
The roll call of generals was serious and they couldn't talk to each other casually. However, when Mengze stood in the position of Chiling commander, many nobles showed an incredible and extremely dissatisfied look. They didn't say a word. It was self-evident that their eyes and eyebrows met each other.
There were many people available in Chonghua. Why was this golden arrow received by Murong Mengze?
Is this not the emperor's selfish heart?
Is it not that Mengze and Xihe Jun wanted to fight side by side with each other?
Don't try to alienate your relatives….
All kinds of thoughts seemed to materialize, and the undercurrent of the platform surged quietly with these silent points.
And Gu Mang, who had been in touch with the emperor, knew what this meant: this battle was of great importance. The most elite troops had been dispatched, which could almost be regarded as the battle of victory. But before that, all the meritorious men and women prevaricated, so the city and the border fell, which was the misfortune of the state.
At that time, Murong Mengze, who was in charge of the war and was entrusted by the emperor, was questioned because of she was female. On the face of it, it was those noble elders who didn't believe in women's rights. But digging deeper, those old nobles who owned the red book and iron coupon, didn't pay too much attention to the monarch, so they dared to drill such a hole.
The collateral aristocrats had been so arrogant. If the emperor gave the position of Chiling commander to any of them, would they raise their hand to fight their own face?
Only by making friends with Murong Mengze, could they get rid of this evil spirit. Only in this way could they be warned silently and deterrently: Chonghua belongs to the emperor. No matter whether the person the emperor wants to use is a woman or a slave, you can't stop it.
Under the blue sky and the bright sun, the emperor said, "This battle has a total of two hundred thousand practitioners, and the army will press on Daze. Today, the army will march."
The drums were beating, and the school ground immediately erupted with a uniform response sound. The armor reflected in the sunlight, and the halberds were shining brightly. As usual, the practitioners of Chonghua made an oath before the expedition. Their voice broke through the sky and stopped the clouds.
"I will obey the emperor's orders! No break, no return!"
"In accordance with the emperor's orders!"
"No break, no return!"
Gu Mang hid in the crowd, like the most insignificant little man. He looked at the practitioners who were shouting from left to right and listened to the angry shouts in the mountains and rivers. After hesitating for a while, he also tried to follow them carefully, reciting the oath that had been engraved in his mind but was now nearly unfamiliar.
Gu Mang said softly, "If you are in the same robe as your son, don't break it or return it..."
He mounted a common war horse, and the pheasant feather on his armband swayed in the wind.
The gate opened wide and the army moved north.
In that moment, his mind returned to his old friend, his fellow soldier in the northern army, a small soldier.
Everything seemed to return to the starting point of the sunshine.
Gu Mang turned his face to see Lu Zhanxing, the same young man, the green Mo Xi, and the seventy thousand brothers who had passed away. They were so young, and he was so broken and old.
"No break, no return!"
In the deafening sound, the army went to the officials from the palace school yard. Maybe the sunshine was too blazing at this moment, and Gu Mang's eyes were hurt by his eyelashes. He was so sour that he wanted to cry.
This year, he finally went out again.
It was like his high spirited twenties.