This was the first night in four years that Qu Liuxi and the others had not fought to stay at home.
The few of them sat on the rooftop with their hands under their chin, staring at the moon in a daze. No one said a word.
What was different from Qu Liuxi and the others was, Gu Qianye was standing alone at the door with an ugly expression.
She pulled a thin necklace from her neck and looked down at what was hanging on it. She felt the urge to pull it off several times.
Qu Liuxi, who was sitting on the roof, saw the strange Gu Qianye, and she rushed down from the roof, ""Elder sister, what"s wrong?""
she asked.
Gu Qian Ye looked down at the items on the necklace before stuffing them back into his clothes.
She turned her head to look at Qu Liuxi. ""Do you think there will be any dangers during the conflict?""
Qu Liuxi said, ""The people from the War Department sent a letter personally written by An Zou. That was indeed written by An Zhe.""
Some of the words he wrote in a special way, and some other very subtle features, which I have seen, were not forged.
He says the army is only going to hold him for a day, and then they"ll let him out tomorrow. ""
Gu Qianye seemed to be muttering to himself, ""Perhaps An Zaiyue has made a mistake in his judgment?""
Qu Liuxi"s expression slightly changed. ""Then what should we do?""
Gu Qianye raised his hand to press on his chest, causing her necklace to feel slightly hot.
She turned to Qu Liuxi and said, ""Before I brought my clansmen into the Great Illusory Shrine, I didn"t have any good feelings towards people like you. You called yourselves the largest race, and claimed to be generous and kind.""
But you are treacherous and treacherous in the mind of the Hunters.
After I came into contact with you guys, I slowly changed my view. I knew that there would be sc.u.m in every race, but most of them were good people.
""However … we can never forget to guard against the evils in human nature.""
She took a deep breath. ""An argument is not a fool, but he believes in kindness too easily.""
Infantry Division.
In the study room of Hao An, the a.s.sistant minister of the Ministry of War, Chen Zaiyan, poured a cup of tea for Hao An, then he sat down on the opposite side and asked, ""Sir, is this matter really handled according to the method of peaceful dispute?""
Hao Ping nodded: ""An Zeng is a rare talent. The things he did today were unforgivable. According to my initial plan, he wanted to send him to the border as a slave.""
""But his words have changed my way of thinking … In fact, a large part of his words were taken for granted, thinking that it wouldn"t be difficult to implement it. That"s not because he"s naive, but because he"s not very good at official matters in our Yan Kingdom.""
""But fundamentally, his ideas are helpful to the Infantry Division.
Although the academy had produced some talented people over the years, they had never been able to compare with the Great Cauldron Academy or the Supreme Dao Court.
Moreover, most of the outstanding youths who had graduated from the Martial Arts Academy died in the battles at the border.
""As a result, the backup power of our military has been insufficient, and soon, we will be left with no one else in the army.""
""The state can dictate by decree that young men must join the army, but will those who are brought into the camp by the law really become qualified soldiers?""
Chen Zaiyan sighed, ""This reminds me of those youngsters who graduated from the Martial Arts Academy last year. Out of the 328 people who graduated, only 14 were recruited into the Military Affairs Department. The rest have been transferred to various places on the border.""
It"s been a full ten months since they graduated last September … Yesterday, I reported the number of casualties that have been reported to the border region for this year, and then I looked at those low-level commanders who died in battle. ""
He lowered his head with a sad expression on his face, ""Ten months. Three hundred and fourteen outstanding youths died in battle. Two hundred and nineteen people died. Thirty-two were injured and thirty-two were injured, losing eighty percent of their lives.
As for the remaining twenty percent, they were all from influential clans.
This was because these youngsters wouldn"t go to the battlefield at all. They would only go to gain experience.
Sooner or later they would return to the court, and soon they would be the backbone of the army.
""And this kind of central force represents the interests of the big clans.""
Hao Ping said, ""But we can"t change anything. There will always be people who will go up on the battlefield. Those who don"t need to go on the battlefield will have enough power to support them.""
However, the offspring of the Humble Cla.s.s were different. If they wanted to change their lives, they would have to fight to the death to make a path for themselves.
Chen Zaiyan raised his head, ""But my lord, is there no other reason for this?""
Those Humble Cla.s.s disciples who had died in battle, were they not killed by some people?
They were like a strong loach, desperately trying to squeeze into a pond full of koi carp.
""However, these Golden Carp would never allow them to barge in. Therefore, they would exterminate these loaches outside the pond of the Gold Carp at all costs.""
""The imperial court is this big pool.""
Chen Zaiyan clenched his fist, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
Hao Ping patted Chen"s shoulder and said, ""I know, I understand. That"s why I"m going to pursue the things that An Zaiyan said.""
""Let more people from the Humble Cla.s.s see hope, and let more people have a better education.""
Chen Zaiyan looked at Hao Ping, ""But my lord, isn"t this battle a little too intense?""
""It is.""
Hao An said, ""In order to make those from the Humble Cla.s.s an official, we can become an indispensable force in the imperial court. However, we can only increase the number of Humble Cla.s.s members the imperial government has absorbed in order to resist.""
The number of people who wished for death were not many, and they would eventually leave a few behind to become the pillars of the imperial court.
""That"s right. You said it was tragic, but it was indeed tragic, because the people who survived were one in a thousand.""
Chen Zaiyan remained silent, looking down at the teacup in his hand in a daze.
""You"re from the Humble Cla.s.s.""
Hao Ping looked at Chen Zaiyan and said, ""So you understand more than I do the hardships of those Humble Cla.s.s disciples, so you feel even more sorry for them than I do.""
But believe me, I"m trying to do something that will help them. ""
""Sir, being able to work by your side is the greatest honor of my life.""
Chen Zaiyan stood up and clasped his hands together.
Hao An smiled and shook his head. ""To the Golden Carp that you mentioned, I am actually one of them. However, I am an outsider.""
Before the late king died, he had said that those large clans that looked like the pillars of the imperial court were actually the insects of the country.
But in order to preserve the stability of the country, they have to be used.
""But if we only use these people, the country will still be finished.""
He turned to Chen Zeyan and said, ""That is also why w.a.n.g Lu rejected all suggestions to make you the Deputy Minister of the War.""
""The late king knew my character, so he handed you over to me. The reason why he wanted you to work by my side was to nurture you and make you an example. A model whose blood would boil if a child of the Humble Cla.s.s mentioned your name, you would have a goal.""
""Therefore, after the death of the late king, the Empress Mother set her heart on making up for the emptiness of the Minister"s right-hand man for so many years, that I refused to excuse myself on the grounds that those people could not be used.
If Her Majesty sends someone in, it will be those people, not you, who will take my place in the future. ""
He seriously said, ""In this chaotic world, the War Department is the most important.""
As long as the War Department is fair and just, then there is hope for those youngsters who are born in the same family as you, and there is hope for the country as well. ""
""You said it"s terrible. The only thing I can do now is to use this desperate method to maintain this hope.""
Chen Zaiyan sat there, his eyes already red, ""Those from the Humble Cla.s.s, they will have a pure heart to repay the country, but they cannot be used.""
""However … I won"t say anymore.""
Hao Ping said: ""Therefore, the proposal to settle this dispute must be done.""
Originally, I planned to meet the commoners who were still surrounding the Martial Arts Academy tomorrow, but I think you are more suitable than me.
""Tomorrow, I will enter the palace to meet the King and explain this matter to him in detail.""
""Your Majesty?""
Chen Zaiyan sighed, ""It"s just that …""
Before he could finish his sentence, he was stopped by Hao Ping, ""Don"t say anything that offends your superiors. The great king actually has great ambition, but unfortunately, there are too many criminals by his side.""
Hao Ping said: ""Tomorrow, you will appear to appease the civilians and tell them that the Martial Arts Academy will thoroughly investigate this matter. Then, within three days, clarify the situation in the Martial Arts Academy and don"t let anyone out just because they have been there for a long time. As long as they have committed a crime, arrest them all.""
""Until who?""
Chen Zaiyan asked.
Hao An was silent for a moment before he spoke with a gentle tone, ""The vice headmasters can move one or two of them, so don"t expand any further.""
A hint of disappointment appeared in Chen Zaiyan"s eyes, but he knew that this was already the limit.
Hao Ping saw the disappointment in Chen"s eyes, and he also saw something so complicated that it seemed to be a sorrowful thing.
He thought that this kind of sadness was only because Chen Zaiyan cared about those from the Humble Cla.s.s like him, so he didn"t pay too much attention to it.
Humans were divided into many kinds of sadness, but it was impossible to tell from their eyes.
Some of the sadness was related to him, while some of the sadness was related to others. For example … they were about to part.
Hao Ping said, ""An Zhan is someone that can be cultivated. In the future, I will hand over the Military Department to you. You should find a helper for yourself early on.""
Amongst the existing people, Fang Dao and Fang Zhixin were the same, acting as they pleased, but such a person could be trusted.
But that trust was personal, not official.
w.a.n.g Kaitai was a helper that I deliberately stayed behind to help you. This person has a straightforward personality, but he is not without sense in his conduct and meticulous mind.
""He represents the interests of the border army. It"s fine if you stay by his side.""
""But that"s not enough. There must be enough young people coming in. You have to nurture them.""
Chen Zaiyan replied, ""Rest a.s.sured, Sir, I will.""
Hao Ping felt a little awkward, but he didn"t know where.
He felt that there was something wrong with Chen Zaiyan"s words just now. This kind of reply did not fit Chen Zaiyan"s personality.
""Go on, meet up with An Zui, listen to his thoughts, and then go back to quell the public opinion.""
Hao Ping looked at the moonlight outside and said, ""I haven"t been home for over ten days. I"ll go take a look today.""
""I will arrange for someone to escort the lord back,"" Chen said.
Hao An nodded: ""Alright.""
At the same time, in the military cell.
Anjou did sleep in a single room, a single room with a big bed.
However, the large bed was made up of some flat things that the jailers had found to put together. The bedding was new and clean.
In addition to the bed, there was a table, a stool, four or five plates of wine and dishes on the table, and, of course, a jug of wine.
An Zaiyue looked around. Other than the torture instruments hanging on the wall that didn"t match the scene, everything else was fine.
However, in theory, there should not be any torture instruments in the military prison … because the military prison was only a temporary place for the prisoners to be held, and the military didn"t have the right to use torture.
Just as he was thinking about this, the door chain outside began to move. Two prison wardens walked in one after the other, ""Master An, there"s something I need to tell you in advance.""
The guard at the front smiled and said, ""You may need to stay for a while longer.""