Chapter 98 Going to find the princess

A house in Jiangnan.

"It's not that I don't want to go with you, but the whole family is here. Even if I leave, can I still take them all with me?"

Shen Xiao was sitting in the hall and heard the owner of the house say this quietly.

The owner of this house, whose surname is Tang and named Tang Ting, is the current deputy commander of the Heshan Guard.

And he also has another identity that has long been forgotten. He is a general among the five tiger generals of the Shen family army, and one of the only three tigers in the world.

General Yue suffered many setbacks early on because he was ostracized by his superiors, and was later punished and demoted for speaking up for Bai Chen.

After Shen Xiao rescued Bai Chen and Yue Ying, he turned to General Yue. General Yue's wife died young and he had only one son.

In the past, he didn't want to drag his son down, but he couldn't bear the anger of being bullied by a dog. He always felt that if the people above him were replaced one day, with their father and son's abilities and his past achievements, they might be able to make a comeback.

But in exchange for reaching the peak one after another, no one was willing to use their father and son. On the contrary, his condition became worse and worse, and the son had no hope of promotion even if he had military merit.

He saw through it, and when Bai Chen and Shen Xiao came to find him, his son immediately agreed without General Yue having to say anything.

People who have hit rock bottom a long time ago have nothing to hesitate when they see the only rope left.

Shen Xiao now has two of the five tiger generals under his father and brother's command, and only the last one is left.

Of course, Tang Ting's situation was not good either. The five mighty generals of the Shen family's army were not even qualified to serve as third-level commanders, so they could only serve as subordinates and serve as adjutants.

However, after he was transferred here, he made great achievements in fighting the Japanese on the coast. Although he was never promoted, he had been leading troops along the coast these years. He had little to do with the chaos in the DPRK and China.

But now the two Five Tiger Generals have forcibly left the court, and the Tang court has also been affected. The court searched his residence, but no one was found. His relatives and friends interceded, but they were also fined for half a year.

It took a long time after the incident for Shen Xiao and others to contact him, and this time they met him in a courtyard in Tangting where few people lived.

Shen Xiao didn't hesitate and explained the reason for his visit.

Today's imperial court cannot accommodate the generals of the Shen family army. If the Tang court cannot survive either, everyone might as well get together and think of a plan to break the situation.

But Tang Ting just sighed and rejected them.

He said that he could not take away the whole family, "I also hope that the Shen family army can return to its former glory, but my family is here, and most of them are even serving in the military. They also interceded for me in the previous matter. If I They turned around and left, and they couldn't stay in the army anymore."

These words caused silence in the hall.

Tang Ting looked at his former closest colleagues Yue Ling and Bai Chen, and then at Shen Xiao.

He suddenly called Shen Xiao.

"A Xiao has grown up and is unwilling to let the soldiers his father has led all his life end up in this situation. Uncle Tang knows that you are more courageous than your father and brother and dare to be enemies of the imperial court. But has A Xiao ever thought that the imperial court will Like a green ancient tree, the tree has big roots and deep roots. Even if Shen Jiajun returns to his former appearance, can he really uproot this deeply rooted ancient tree?"

He looked at Shen Xiao and said, "Once you do it but fail to uproot it, do you know what this means?"

"This means that the ancient tree will pull out its branches in anger and drive the person directly into the mud. All the past glory will be destroyed in one day, and the Shen family army will become the most shameful existence."

He asked Shen Xiao, "Has Xiao thought of all this?"

Tang Ting's words were spoken very slowly, but they were like needles piercing Shen Xiao's heart one by one.

She was stunned and didn't say anything for a long time.

It was General Yue who spoke first.

"Don't say such things. It's not easy for Axiao to do this for us. She also does it for the benefit of the Shen family's soldiers."

Tang Ting smiled and shook his head.

"If a general does not have the ability to take care of his subordinates, but only has passion and good intentions, will it be useful? Can the lives of thousands of soldiers and generals be protected with only passion and good intentions?"

Silence fell in the hall, and Shen Xiao clenched her hands tightly. She looked at Yue Ling and Bai Chen aside, and then at her scarred hands.

There were scars all over his hands, and thick calluses formed on the part where he held the sword and bent the bow.

But what's the use?

Even though she has practiced kung fu to the point of despair, and even though she wants the Shen family army to continue to live up to its past legend, she does not have a good strategy to protect her soldiers and make them have no worries, so she is not a good general.

Not even worthy of being a general!

Shen Xiao was completely silent.

At this time Bai Chen stood up.

He slowly looked towards Tang Ting.

"At least Ah Xiao dares to try his best instead of living in the swamp with his eyes closed. Living like that will eventually come to an end."

Tang Ting paused.

Bai Chen had already called up Shen Xiao and left the Tang family's courtyard with Yue Ling.

Tang Ting did not go to send it off, but still sat in the comfortable hall, surrounded by the aroma of wealth and wealth that ordinary people could not afford.

But Tang Ting closed his eyes, covered his face with his hands, and sighed deeply.

The humidity and cold in the south of the Yangtze River are different from the cold in winter in the north.

Here, the distant but still fiery sun disappeared, leaving only the gloomy sky and raindrops as fine as a net.

The raindrops were filled with cold air, as if they could be divided into bone-penetrating filaments and penetrated directly into the seams of human bones.

As Shen Xiao walked in a sparsely populated alley, the coldness became more seamless.

General Yue returned to his dormitory. Bai Chen originally had Yueying waiting for him at his dormitory, but he stayed.

Bai Chen followed her. Shen Xiao paused and suddenly turned back to ask him.

"What Uncle Tang said is correct, right?"

Bai Chen did not give her an answer immediately. He said, "At least one thing may be true, that is, if you want to become a famous general like your father, you still have a long way to go."

Shen Xiao never thought about being an ordinary girl, getting married, having children, and spending her whole life in a house, as her mother originally wanted.

She thought that she must become a general like her father's eldest brother. This was her destiny.

But today, she suddenly realized that even if she wanted to become a famous general, reality didn't seem to give her the chance to become one.

Even today, she has rescued two generals under her father's command, but how can these few of them achieve the great achievements of the Shen family army in the past?

She has no soldiers and horses, and she has no ability to provide protection for them.

Therefore, she could not persuade Tang Ting, and Tang Ting only represented the attitude of most Shen family soldiers.

She can't lead them.

Shen Xiao suddenly felt envious of Su Zhengjun.

The Suzheng Army rebelled against the imperial court, and those people who were persecuted by the imperial court took up swords and guns and became their generals.

At first, the Suzheng Army was also so unpopular. After all, it only stood in a small area like Yanzhou. It seemed that if the imperial court just moved its fingers, they would not be able to survive the next year.

However, Su Zheng's army did not collapse. Instead, it unexpectedly captured Xuzhou. This move was already surprising. However, just a few days after Su Zheng's army captured Xuzhou, it suddenly attacked the Guangzhou Army.

Almost in a flash, a small rebel army that seemed insignificant actually occupied an area of ​​nearly a province.

The silver-faced general of the Su Zheng Army seems to be as godly in his military use as his father. He is the real general.

When he heard about this, Shen Xiao also had the idea of ​​joining the Su Zheng Army.

But no matter how powerful the Suzheng Army is, they are still rebels and want to overthrow the imperial court. And the Shen Jiajun is an army of the imperial court. Once the Shen Jiajun wants to overthrow the dynasty and change the dynasty, what will the glory of protecting the country in the past mean?

Shen Xiao didn't dare to gamble, and didn't dare to gamble with the glory that his father and brother had earned for two generations.

But the imperial court has abandoned the Shen Family Army, and the Shen Family Army soldiers and generals who cannot join the rebels have no room to survive.

Shen Xiao walked silently in the quiet streets and kept walking until he reached the end and stopped in front of the Earth Temple, which was half a person tall.

The Earth Temple was short and small, and there were no people around, except for her and Bai Chen.

Shen Xiao stopped and stood beside the statue at the end of the road.

The paint on the wooden statue of the Earth God has peeled off, and it cannot be compared with the golden statue of the god and Buddha enshrined in the temple under the glazed tiles.

But her Uncle Bai paid homage to the real god and bowed solemnly to the Earth Temple, muttering some words.

"Lord Tutu, Lord Tutu, can you tell me, did Su Zhengjun find the orphan of the late prince? Did he find the rumored real Princess of the East Palace?"

When Shen Xiao heard this, he raised his eyebrows and looked over.

After Yueying's suspicion of being a princess came to light, she thought for a long time that the so-called Princess of the East Palace probably didn't exist at all, and might have long since passed away.

But her uncle Bai chanted and bowed three times, and found a tree branch from nowhere. "I also asked the Lord of the Land to give instructions. If the tree branch points to the north, it means the princess has arrived."

As soon as he finished speaking, he threw the branch away.

The tree branch rolled twice in the air and fell down with a thump.

Shen Xiao couldn't help but look over, and saw that the tree branch was leaning to the right, and it was really pointing to the north.

Bai Chen smiled, his handsome face beaming with joy, and he called Shen Xiao.

"Axiao, let's set off for Yanzhou tomorrow. Who knows, we may meet the Princess of the East Palace."

Shen Xiao was stunned by his sudden plan.

"Yanzhou, that is the territory of Suzheng Army."
To be continued...