Chapter 1 Departure (Third Shang) Zhang Xiu, the fifth son, is a person who dares to think and act. After setting off from Shanggu County, he began to instill in his cousin how to treat women along the way. However, Xuzi didn't seem to be very interested in this.
, whenever Zhang Xiu suddenly stops talking about something in high spirits, he finds that his cousin always looks into the distance in silence.
The very disappointing silent woman has always been a very exciting topic in the military. No matter whether they understand or not, whether they are right or wrong, as long as someone is willing to pick up the fight, everyone can discuss it all night long. But Li Xu
Always noncommittal, it is difficult for Zhang Xiu to continue the topic alone. The other party looks like a stubborn general. No matter how you give him advice, he will not say you are right or wrong, and he will still follow his own fixed ideas.
to charge into battle
This attitude was too hurtful to one's self-esteem. After trying several times, Zhang Xiu gave up in despair. He followed Li Xu's gaze and looked into the distance, only to see flat and open fields covered with green plants.
, some clumsy peasant women are hunched over, pulling something in the fields. Among the ridges are their unattended children. Some are crying, some are rolling in the mud, and some are shouting loudly.
chasing butterflies flying by
"There are so many leeks, who do they grow so many leeks to sell to?" Zhang Xiu suddenly remembered a strange question and asked blurtly
"Wheat!" Li Xu's answer was short and powerful, which made Zhang Xiu blush.
After being stunned for a long time, Zhang Xiucai, the fifth child, slapped his mount and chased after him. "The old saying says, 'You can't tell the difference between wheat and pepper. It seems that it applies to me!'" He smiled coquettishly and explained, "I've seen it before.
It’s the first time I’ve noticed the wheat in the barn and what’s growing in the field!”
"The Goguryeo people also grow wheat. When we were killing the Hui people last year, we set a lot of them on fire! I wonder if they will have food to eat this winter!" Li Xu said quietly to himself without looking back.
After hearing this, Zhang Xiu couldn't help but want to laugh at his pedantic cousin. Three hundred thousand brothers had people build pagodas, and they still cared about whether they had food to eat! In his eyes, the Goguryeo people were uncivilized barbarians.
The beasts that eat their hair and drink their blood are just right if they don't have enough to eat. Starving to death saves the army the effort to conquer them.
Before Zhang Xiu could think about it and express his thoughts, Li Xu's soliloquy reached his ears again: "If we send people to burn it every year, it is estimated that in less than three years, Goguryeo will be subjugated!"
"Ah!" Zhang Xiu was shocked and stunned. His cousin had always been a very loyal, slightly stupid, but lucky boy next door in his heart. He never thought that his cousin would suddenly become so cruel.
More vicious than the Goguryeo people. Looking carefully at Li Xu's square and resolute face, Wu Wazi knew that his cousin was not joking anymore. Suddenly, he felt a little cold on the back of his spine, and a cold wind came in from the back of his neck and along his spine.
Rush all the way to the saddle
"Hurry up and leave, don't delay the expedition!" Li Xu didn't realize that he had frightened the other party. He looked at Zhang Wuwa, who had an unusual look on his face, and whispered.
"Hey, hey!" Zhang Wuwa agreed repeatedly, riding his horse and Li Xu just caught up, but couldn't help but pull the reins to keep his mount a few feet away from Heifeng, "Your horse has such a bad temper.
It's too strong!" He explained sarcastically, "My horses are a little afraid of them! Let them move away, to save, to save..."
"Whatever you want!" Li Xu replied nonchalantly, turning his head to look at his scenery. It was already almost March. The wild flowers beside the field ridges were red and white, blooming lively in mid-air, and large swathes of elm leaves were blown by the wind.
Blowing down, flying in the air, as if there is a heavy snowfall
"My cousin has changed!" Wu Wazi looked at the teenagers of the same age surrounded by flying elm coins, and silently wondered when this change began. He didn't notice that anyway, his cousin's behavior now is very different from last summer.
Same as last summer, he made people feel friendly and comfortable, but now, he exudes a chill like ice from time to time.
It should be after returning from Liaodong! Zhang Wuwa speculated in his mind that after being transferred to the military camp, Xuzi never mentioned that he wanted to avenge his brothers, nor did he join others in scolding General Wei Wensheng who ordered the arson for being cowardly.
Shizhan was very calm and did not even complain about why Prince Jiancheng could not save the pontoon. The first thing he did after recovering from his injuries was to reorganize the Tiger Wing Camp with the help of General Liu Hongji and bring everyone back alive with him.
All of my brothers were promoted to officers, and they even got a position of captain for my cousin.
Anyway, I won’t suffer any loss if I follow him! The fifth child, Zhang Xiu, muttered to himself and imitated Li Xu. Most of the people looking around at the scenery and working in the fields were women, and few men showed up. There was nothing they could do about it. The border residents fought hard in the name of hard work.
Soon, every county will need laborers to transport grain
When passing Lulongsai, the two met a group of Xiaoguo who went to Liaodong to seek fame. The team was led by a son of a run-down wealthy family. His surname was Zhou. He was very strong. From the horses and weapons of these people, Wuzi Zhang
Xiu concluded that they didn't have much money in their pockets, but this person chose to call himself Zhou Gong, and his speech and behavior were quite arrogant. Seeing that there were only two of them, Li Xu and Zhang Wuwa, they came over to invite them to go with them. After walking less than two miles, they came again.
Start to explore the details of the two of them
"Are you two going to join the army, or are you going to apply for Xiaoguo?" The boy surnamed Zhou asked carelessly, assuming a condescending attitude.
"We are from the food protection team. We received the military letter and were ordered to report to Huaiyuan Town!" Zhang Xiu, the fifth child, rarely stopped being arrogant. He answered hastily and rode his horse to catch up with Li Xu.
"Guarding food, what's the point? Why don't you come with me to Zuoyiwei? I have a relative who is a Sima there. I will ensure that you go and be taken care of." The boy surnamed Zhou chased after him with a few accomplices and put on a show of giving alms.
look suggestions
There were only two people on the other side, but they brought four horses. Both the packhorse and the mount were more handsome than the horse he was riding, especially the black horse ridden by the tall young man. There was a kind of aura in his movements.
The aloof and proud, like a born king, makes other horses dare not run alongside him
The mountains here are high and the emperor is far away. If you deceive the other party's horse, you will have more chances to go to Liaodong to gain fame. Even if you lose the battle, you can easily escape with a good horse! The gangster named Zhou rolled his eyes and started to make plans for the other party.
"Our names have been entered into the military register. We cannot change your wishes at will. Thank you very much!" Zhang Xiu felt a little unhappy when he saw the greedy look on his face. He was already a thorn in the side, but
He restrained himself in front of his cousin and immediate boss. If Li Xu hadn't been by his side, he would have definitely put on a team leader attitude today to reprimand these rash guys.
"Really, as long as this little brother gives me his horse, I will pay a suitable price and make him the team leader! With the help of my relatives, there are many opportunities for promotion!" The boy surnamed Zhou didn't mind the other party's neglect.
He chased after Li Xu and pulled the reins of his horse.
Li Xu raised his hand and just used the reins to separate the opponent's wrist. The boy named Zhou was stunned for a moment, then reached forward again. Li Xu shook the reins again and moved his wrist to the side for the second time.
"Hey, little guy, you're good at reaching out. How about we compete? How about we bet on the horse? If you lose, the dark horse on the hip belongs to me. If I lose, this thousand-mile horse belongs to you?" The guy named Zhou pointed to his own horse.
The old horse whose coat was no longer distinguishable said in a loud voice:
"Get out of the way, otherwise don't blame us for being rude!" Zhang Xiu was completely angered. After being a bad boy for many years, he discovered today that there are people more hateful than himself in the world.
The rogue boys who were traveling with the boy surnamed Zhou saw the boss rolling up his sleeves and immediately gathered around. There were not many pedestrians on this road, and the other party robbed their horses and travel expenses alone. They all happened to go to the military for a meeting ceremony.
"Do you really want to compete?" Li Xu suddenly spoke and asked the rogue Zhou with a smile.
"Of course, let me bet that our mount, I, is a horse that chases the wind for thousands of miles, a great horse from Dawan. It only eats brown eggs at home, and is served by four cooks every day. I bet that the little black donkey under its crotch is a watch."
You are young and I don’t want to take advantage of you!” the ruffian named Zhou said loudly. Li Xu is bigger, but he doesn’t look more than seventeen years old. He has accumulated many fights from bullying orphans and widowers on the street for many years and snatching money from begging bowls.
With experience, it’s easy to deal with such a young man
"We have four horses. If you like six horses, you can gamble. If you don't want to gamble, give way!" Zhang Xiu saw that Li Xuyou was thinking of fighting with the opponent. He was happy to see the jokes of the gangsters and laughed and added fuel to the flames.
"You are not stupid!" all the scoundrels shouted, "four bad horses are betting on our six good horses, why don't two of us beat six of us!"
"That's fine, shall we compete with weapons or fists and kicks?" Li Xu answered indifferently.
"Fistes and kicks, no, weapons!" The scoundrel surnamed Zhou was stunned again, looked at Li Xu's body, and replied hesitantly, "Just click, stop, sir, sir, I don't want to hurt anyone's life!"
"It's up to you!" Li Xu replied in a low voice. He leaned over and took off the weapon package from the pack horse. When the six scoundrels saw him starting to play with the weapons, they also jumped away and formed a half circle in front, not panicking.
He eagerly pulled out his sword
The black sword given by Xu Maogong was a bit long. Although Li Xu looked at it warmly, he was not sure about using it to fight one-on-six. After hesitating, he chose the black scimitar. Zhang Xiu's martial arts was very ordinary. If the two sides officially started fighting, Li Xu would
Xu must ensure that the opponent is suppressed in the first round
Li Xu gently pulled out the black scimitar from the sheath, and felt the long-lost calmness in his heart. He looked at Zhang Xiu, who was holding the knife in his hand and eager to try. He gently relaxed the horse's reins with his left hand.
He was about to move his mount, but when he heard a "clang" coming from the opposite side, the rogue named Zhou threw his weapon to the ground.
"You, you always said you were from Huaiyuan Town, Huaiyuan Town Food Guard Army?" Ignoring the surprised looks of several gangsters around him, the scoundrel surnamed Zhou asked with a smile on his face.
"Yes!" Li Xu nodded and answered
"Your surname is Li, Muzi Li?" The scoundrel surnamed Zhou stared straight at the scimitar in Li Xu's hand and asked. This scimitar is too weird. The blade is slightly longer than the horizontal sword, and it pulls like a prairie scimitar.
The blade is curved, and the width of the blade is more than twice that of a horizontal sword. According to rumors from veterans who returned home in Liaodong, there is only one person in the entire army who wields such a scimitar.
"Are you going to compete or not? If you don't compete, you will admit defeat!" Zhang Xiu couldn't stand the other party's wordiness and shouted loudly.
"I, how dare I fight against the captain? You have great strength. Sir, don't remember the faults of villains. Your belly can hold a boat, and your big belly can accommodate the world..." The rogue named Zhou was full of flattering words.
Chao, the sweat on his forehead rolled down like a stream. At this time, several other rogues also understood why their boss abandoned his sword and surrendered, opened his mouth, and the weapons in his hands "ding dong" and "ding dong" fell to the ground one after another.
It's the black magic sword. The veterans who returned from the army last year have said that there is a captain named Li who followed General Xue Shixiong thousands of miles with a black magic sword and entered and exited the tens of thousands of troops several times. Everyone must have been possessed by an evil spirit just now.
He's dead, and he actually wants to snatch Lieutenant Li's war horse. Once the opponent swings the knife, I wonder how many heads here are enough for him to chop off...?
"If we don't want to compete, please unload the luggage on the horse. I'm busy on my way!" Li Xu glanced at the pale gangsters and ordered coldly.
"Yes, yes, hey, Captain, Sir Captain, I gave you the horse, how can we go to Liaodong!" The gangsters agreed with a sad face and wanted to shamelessly ask each other for a favor, but saw that Li Xu had no intention of putting away the weapons.
, had no choice but to jump off their horses and unload their luggage into the grass on the roadside.
"Haha, thank you, give me permission, give me permission!" Zhang Xiu, while fighting with the gangsters, tied the reins of six bad horses together. He saw Li Xu riding Heifeng, with two pack horses already slowing down.
Slowly walking away, he shook the reins in his hands and pulled the six bad horses forward to chase him. Before leaving, he did not forget to turn around and joked to the gangsters: "I am in charge of the grain protection army. If you come,
If you surrender to the army, I guarantee that you will be taken care of! Don’t forget, it’s Zhang Duizheng under Li Xiaowei of the food protection army!”
Having said that, he galloped towards Li Xu and felt the gentle wind in his ears. It felt so good to bully others!
Five days later, they arrived at Huaiyuan Town. After more than half a year of deserted time, this border town once again turned into a huge military camp. The Emperor's Sixth Army of Guards was about to arrive, so the food protection army's camp was moved outside the city again.
It's still the same hillside, still responsible for the same tasks. It's just a year later, and everyone's mentality is very different from last year.
Among the officers, Warrior Xun and Yuan Zhongwen did not ask for leave to go home, so they arranged the tents for Li Xu and Zhang Xiu early. Knowing that their captain liked to get up early to practice martial arts, Warrior Xun specially arranged the tent for Li Xu and Zhang Xiu.
A large open space was left in front of the house, and people were brought to flatten the ground with stone rollers, and isolation lines were sprinkled around with stone powder.
"Sir, let's see if there are any other needs. General Liu has ordered that all requirements of the Tiger Wing Regiment must be met by all levels of the army!" Qin Xingshi, a newly arrived soldier from Sicang, helped Li Xu settle his luggage and asked with a smile on his face.
road
"Thank you Qin Canjun. If I have nothing to do now, I will go find you personally if I need it in the future!" Li Xu replied with a smile. This joiner is also named Qin, and has the same surname as Qin Ziying, who was separated by the Liao River. I don't know if they are related to each other.
connected by blood
Thinking of this, he felt a pain in his heart and turned his eyes subconsciously to the empty and clean martial arts training ground. He seemed to hear the laughter of everyone again. Last spring, he remembered that he knocked Qin Ziying down over and over again, with expectations over and over again.
The eyes pull the other person up again
But today, even if I see through it, I can't possibly pull a few friends up from the black land on the other side of the Liao River.
"Break the Liao, break the Liao!" From a huge camp in the distance, the soldiers shouted hoarsely. From the flag of the camp, Li Xu knew that it was the newly-built Zuoyiwei camp, the old general Yu Wenshu, who was suspended from duty to await punishment.
Half a year later, he was promoted to a general by His Majesty the Emperor. Kaifu Yi and the Third Division commanded the troops of the 12th Army on the left, and the above-mentioned General Yang Yichen was his deputy. They trained their troops by the river and crossed the river to attack Goguryeo when His Majesty the Emperor arrived.
Next to the Zuo Yiwei camp is the Zuo Wuwei. General Wang Rengong was awarded the title of Doctor Zuo Guanglu because he led his army to cross the Liao River for the first time last year. The slightly chaotic camp next to the Zuo Wuwei camp of Qianhu in Shiyi is
Where the heroes gathered to report, they were carrying banners such as Zhe Chong, Guo Yi, Wu Neng, and Xiong Wu. Under each bright red battle flag, there were hundreds of warriors lining up for drills. From time to time, there were shouts of killing and other battalions of troops.
The shouts echoed each other, making people’s ears buzz.
The morale and majesty that had characterized the army before crossing the river last year has returned. Although the troops assembled here this year are mainly new soldiers, there are few elite soldiers among them who have followed the generals in their conquests for many years.
Few people still remember what kind of tragedy happened on the other side of the Liao River last year. After one winter after another spring, those heads built into pagodas have long since rotted and collapsed, and the bones are covered with grass.
"According to General Liu, when the army crosses the river this time, they will no longer show mercy to the Goguryeo people!" Wu
