Outside Dai County, to the west of Xia City, on a high altar, Zhang Shigui recited the sacrificial text in a voice that was sometimes passionate and sometimes deep. Suddenly, heavy dark clouds floated over, blocking the dazzling sunlight.
Under the altar, hundreds of people stood in order. Li Shan at the front stood there with a sad face, reluctantly but firmly. Behind him stood Su Dingfang, Xue Wanche, Xue Wanjun, He Liu, Wen Bang, Er Zhu Yichen, and Kan Leng.
.
Further away, more than a thousand people were watching, and everyone looked solemn.
Half a quarter of an hour later, Zhang Shigui finished reciting the memorial text and stood silently on one side. Li Shan shook off Wang Junhao, and Zhang Zhongjian's hand supported him and he slowly walked up to the altar.
Without saying anything, Li Shan took the incense candle from Zhang Shigui, bowed his head, and did not get up for a long time.
Vivid faces flashed in my mind, familiar voices seemed to be recalling in my ears, and these will become permanent memories.
The memorial ceremony for the fallen soldiers in Guji Town was completed early on the way back to the army. At that time, Wei Zheng wrote the memorial text. This memorial ceremony was for the hundreds of personal guards Li Shan brought with him at the last moment, a considerable number of whom were descendants of the powerful clans in Dai County.
The bones have been buried, and Li Shan's injuries have not healed, so it is difficult to worship them one by one, so they worship here together.
This wouldn't be the first time, because Li Shan's personal guards come from many sources, not just his disciples.
Last year, Li Shan went to serve as the acting county magistrate, bringing with him more than a hundred personal guards, including dozens of people sent by Princess Pingyang. Later, he was supplemented by local disciples such as Li Sanlang and He Lou Xingshu.
After Li Gaoqian was defeated, Li Shan hurried to Yanmen, with Wang Junhao and Kan Leng as generals, to resist the Turks and welcome the defeated troops into the pass. After the first battle, many of the guards suffered casualties.
Choose your children to fill in.
Before and after the Yanmen victory this year, Princess Pingyang once again sent two hundred personal guards to help. Before the battle at Guji Town, Zhu Wei selected two hundred young men from Sun Moon Lake to go north.
There were more than 500 people who accompanied Li Shan to Guji Town. In the end, only 137 people survived including the wounded.
There were a total of 2,967 people in Guji Town. They held out for eight days and suffered 312 minor and serious casualties. In the end, there were 827 remaining soldiers who followed Li Shan out of the city to fight to the death, of which 300 were killed.
Nineteen people.
In the entire Guji Town, only 820 people survived, and nearly half of them were disabled, because the so-called lightly injured people were unable to walk or hold a knife.
It's so miserable, so miserable.
Li Shan's eyes were red, and he tried not to cry out. He was just thinking, this is how one general can make thousands of bones wither. This is how one general can make thousands of bones wither.
Li Shan remained motionless on the altar for a long time, and there was silence below. I don't know when the wind came up, blowing Li Shan's clothes loudly.
A group of people came quietly. Su Dingfang and Zhu Wei looked sideways. Behind Zhou Zuorang was Cui Xin, who looked solemn, and behind him were Fang Yizhi, Zhang Wenguan and Li Zhaode, who were slightly reserved.
Cui Xin only nodded slightly to Zhu Wei and glanced around. He saw several familiar faces, but almost all of them were injured. He also found that many familiar faces were missing...
The luckiest people are Qi Laosan and Zhou Erlang, who manage the brick factory and iron mine. None of them went to Guji Town. Among the other old people in the bodyguard, among those Cui Xin is familiar with, only Wang Junhao and Zhu Wei are seriously injured.
, but in the end he was fine.
The rest... Zhu Shiliu, who was in charge of the guard, died in the battle. Fan Laosan, who escorted Li Shan from Xiabo to the south, died in the battle. Fan Shiyi, an elite scout in his clan's brother army, was shot through the cheek by an arrow. Although he did not die,
But there was a huge scar on his face.
Zhu Ba, who was the first to follow Li Shan, had his left arm cut off. Zhu Shitou, whose life had been saved by Li Shan, fell off his horse while charging into the formation and was trampled to death by his horse.
Du Xiao, who made great contributions to the Mayi Snow Night Raid Camp last year, had his left hand broken at the wrist. Zhao Da, one of the first batch of people officially assigned by Zhu Wei to guard Li Shan, had his left leg broken in two places, and his posture when standing there was slightly awkward.
eccentric.
Brothers Tan Wu and Tan Liu, who followed Qi Laosan, died on the city wall. Uncle Zhu, who was recruited as Xiaoguo with Zhu Wei in the previous dynasty and later entered Dongshan Temple, was shot in the face by an arrow and died while charging into the battle.
Li Shan on the altar slowly turned around with a miserable face. Cui Xin took a closer look and found that the future son-in-law was extremely haggard, thin and staggering. Even when he turned around, he looked shaky.
But at the same time, Cui Xin was also keenly aware of another change in Li Shan.
In the past, Li Shan was like a gentle jade. Although there were moments when he showed his sharp edge, even when he forced Yuan Junzhang to caress him, he was calm and at ease. Even though his words were like a knife, he was still gentle.
But now Li Shan is described as haggard, but like an unsheathed sword, the cold light is shining, and his eyes are scanning, as if they are real, making people's hair stand on end.
Gradually, gradually, thousands of people gathered around the altar, refusing to leave even if the clouds were thick, the sky was dark, and the wind was strong.
On Tuesday Lang explained to Cui Xin, Fang Yizhi and others in a low voice: "After returning from outside the Great Wall, Lang Jun has been recuperating in Xia City, and it is difficult for outsiders to see him."
"In the past few years, the Turks have repeatedly invaded the east of the river and plundered the people. Among them, there are several generations of prefectures, and Xinzhou has the most." Helou Shanzhu, who was leaning on a crutch, sighed: "Tens of thousands of people returned to their homeland because of the King of Handan. This time, His Highness has defeated the Turks again."
, why not come and say thank you?”
Cui Xin looked around and saw the people falling to the ground one after another like grass in the wind, thanking the King of Handan for bringing them back to their homeland, and thanking the soldiers who died fighting outside the Great Wall to protect the people of the territory.
Although Fang Yizhi, Zhang Wenguan, and Li Zhaode were descendants of aristocratic families with extraordinary knowledge, and even the latter two had reached the rank of prime minister and assistant in history, they could not help but be taken over by them.
The wind was getting stronger and stronger. Li Shan slowly walked down the altar. Li Kai rushed up to support his friend and whispered: "Cui Sheren is here."
Li Shan turned to look at Cui Xin and said, "Brother Demou, after returning to Beijing, will I still have a share of the profits in Xia City?"
"That's natural." Li Kai was a little surprised as to why he mentioned it now. He knew very well that his friend seemed to love money, but he was not the kind of person who cared about money.
"In Guji Town, soldiers who died in battle will be compensated by the imperial court, but the bodyguard died because of his younger brother..." Li Shan's words were slightly choked, "Xia City will share the monthly profits, and I also ask Brother Demou to disperse the injured.
One share, and two for the deceased.”
Li Kai said seriously: "You should try your best."
Cui Xin stepped forward and supported Li Shan who was about to salute. He was speechless for a moment.
Obviously, the imperial court praised the famous general for this battle, but the future son-in-law did not feel well and was even sad about it. Just look at his haggard appearance and the shallow arrow marks on his face.
That night, Li Shan ignored Cui Xin's obstruction, Fang Yizhi, and Zhang Wenguan's persuasion, got drunk and burst into tears.