Autumn has entered, and in the open wilderness, the night wind blows slowly, coating the yellowing weeds with a layer of silvery white frost. Between the sky and the earth, there is a vast expanse.
"It's cold!" Old Haman beat his waist a few times, staggered out of the tent, grabbed a pitchfork, and continued to stagger toward the livestock pen. He was already over 60 years old, and he was most afraid.
The thing is that the night wind blows. However, at this moment, he can't steal anything.
There was little rain this summer, so the animals did not gain much fat. However, even half of the wool tax paid to the city lord, the zakat paid to the Heavenly Father, and the May Day tax could not be evaded. Last year, the old Kashag family, fifty miles away, paid it late.
Within a few days, the two sons were arrested and sent to do hard labor, and finally died of exhaustion in Zhezhe City. Old Haman didn’t even have a son. If they were taken away by the Tianfang cultists, he would be a scumbag.
Can’t take it back?!
But even if the tax is paid this year, how long can one evade it? Ever since the city lord surrendered to the cannibals, the tax collection has increased year by year. At the same time, the prices of leather, felt and dried mushrooms have increased.
It plummeted all the way. In the past, every autumn, merchants from the Tang Dynasty would visit tribes one by one, bringing urgently needed tea bricks, silk and medicinal materials. They would bundle the leathers, felts and dried mushrooms that the herdsmen had accumulated for a year and buy them.
But now, the Tianfang Sect wants to charge three times the tax because they don’t believe in Allah! In this case, who is willing to take the risk of being robbed by horse thieves and the Tianfang Sect to do this kind of grocery business that is not very profitable?
?!
Forget it, don’t think about these things, just stay up for one day if you can, maybe you will be able to survive tomorrow? Adding a few forks of hay to the manger, Old Haman grinned bitterly. There has never been a fixed owner in this area of the river. Today, it is the opposite.
Dashi may fall to the Tang Dynasty tomorrow. Old Haman was not very interested in the Tang people who were also a foreign race. But now, compared with the deeds of Dashi, every word and deed of the Tang people seems so cute.
Their officials also collect goods, but rarely put their hands into the felt bags of ordinary shepherds. Their armies also kill people, but rarely deal with the unarmed old, young and poor. Their fights with city lords and country lords are astonishing.
It's more like a fight between gods and immortals. Mortals will be affected, but there won't be any way to survive. Those fanatical Tianfang believers are like a swarm of locusts. Apart from stones, there is almost nothing they can't eat...
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes" the sound of horse hooves from far to near made Old Haman tremble and all the hay in his hands fell to the ground. It was a military crossing, and only the army would do that.
Such a rapid sound of horse hooves! Relying on the habit he had developed over the years, he quickly blew out the torch hanging in front of the barn, dropped the pitchfork in his hand, and dove into the haystack. Then he prayed silently to the gods in the sky, "
Buddha, God of Fire, Allah, no matter which one of you is free, please bless Old Haman and protect Old Haman from being discovered. As for other things, whoever likes to take them will take them..."
As if hearing his prayer, the small army just stopped in front of his felt bag and then went away again. They did not set fire to the tent, move the animals, or take away the millet that he relied on to survive.
Let’s go. We didn’t even take the copper bowls and kettles that were placed next to the fire in the tent…
Old Haman emerged from the haystack and couldn't believe his eyes. He stared blankly at his livestock pen, his felt bag and all his belongings, and the corners of his mouth kept trembling. Oh my god, my god...
Suddenly, he stretched out his hand towards the gloomy night sky above his head, "God of Changsheng, you finally opened your eyes. You opened your eyes!"
"God, this thief, finally opened his eyes!" Sha Qianli was shouting in his heart while riding on the horse. It has been almost three years, and he has been holding back his anger in this land for more than thirty months, and finally he is looking forward to being proud again.
day.
For three years, he did not dare to let his brothers reveal the identity of the remnants of the Anxi Army. He did not dare to expand the team or do "big business." He watched the cities around him that were full of flaws in defense, but he did not dare to lead his subordinates.
Attack. When he met the private soldiers of the city lords, he ran away. When he met the horse thieves traveling with them, he bowed his head and acted like a fool. He hid, he hid, he endured, and he finally waited for this moment when God opened his eyes.
Plant the war flag of the Tang Dynasty at the door of their homes. Let the city lords and kings of the country tremble in front of the war flag of the Tang Dynasty. Let the local tycoons who surrendered to the cannibals and sold the captured Anxi soldiers to foreign lands.
, pay the price for their stupidity and short-sightedness. Let those nameless souls beside Hengluosi see that I, Sha Qianli, am not a coward. I am back, and I am back with my team from the Tang Dynasty. I am here to avenge you. You.
Under the Nine Springs, you can close your eyes!
Recalling everything that happened today, Sha Qianli felt as if he was in a dream. In the morning, he was still a horse thief. In the afternoon, he became a general of the Tang Dynasty again. In the evening, he led his team to turn around and attack Zhezhe City. The man with whom
General Xiao Wang, whom he fell in love with at first sight, that young but ambitious imperial envoy, actually accepted his proposal without reservation, bluffed, and took the initiative to attack the princes in the river area.
To be fair, Sha Qianli was not very sure about the strategy he proposed, either when he proposed it or after setting off. To a certain extent, he just wanted to take the opportunity to test and test the new commander-in-chief Wang Xunyou.
How courageous and generous. He has already died once, and he will not easily hand over the lives of himself and his brothers to others. If the performance of the imperial envoy is really disappointing, he would rather find an opportunity to part ways with him to avoid danger.
Being abandoned again every moment, becoming a lonely ghost with no one to take care of you.
The performance of the imperial envoy was very satisfactory. Except for the slightly crude greetings at the beginning of the meeting, everything else he did was somewhat beyond Sha Qianli's expectations. There was no domineering and arrogant behavior that is common among children of aristocratic families.
There is no arrogance that is common in young people who succeed. As if he has experienced many storms, every move of the imperial envoy carries a maturity that is not commensurate with his age. However, this kind of maturity does not make people feel indifferent. On the contrary, you
But at all times, you can feel the sincerity deep in this person's heart.
"Our General Wang is not an ordinary person!" He looked sideways at the old man Huang Wanshan who looked brand new and commented in a low voice.
"Of course, if someone else can become a lieutenant general at the age of twenty, we are both in our thirties, but we haven't even become a team leader!" In private, Huang Wanshan is not as good as in front of others.
So dull, he grinned and responded with a smile.
"Keep your voice down!" Sha Qianli was startled, his eyes darting around instinctively. He and Huang Wanshan were both self-proclaimed captains, and they were originally just to better recruit the brothers who crawled out of the dead.
They gathered together. Later, they could not contact Shule for a long time, so they had to keep the lie to avoid many orders in the team. But at the moment when they first met Wang Xun, out of some pride, the two of them
They did not take the initiative to explain. Now, there is no chance to explain. General Wang actually directly promoted them to the position of fifth-grade captain without asking about their past resumes.
Thinking that the false identity of the captain might be exposed after returning to Shule, Sha Qianli felt as if a ball of straw had been stuffed into his heart. Huang Wanshan was very open-minded about this, shook his head, and said with a smile: "
What are you afraid of? Do you think General Xiao Wang will be an irresponsible person? Since he gave you and me the lieutenant's blank confession, he will not take it back easily. Besides, with our current qualifications, as a
Isn’t it more than enough to be a captain?”
"You can't say that?!" Sha Qianli looked around again and continued to whisper, "After all, there are military rules in the army. If I check it against the roster later..."
"What are you afraid of? We were eager to obey the authority. And General Xiao Wang is the boss of the two of us. According to military practice, he has the right to recommend and appoint his subordinates. As long as the two of us work hard, let him
I feel that these two blank sheets of personal information were not given to the wrong person..."
"That's true!" Hearing what his good friend said, Sha Qianli finally felt a little more at ease. As long as a living person is alive, there is more or less some upward ambition. He, Lao Sha, thought to himself that he was not exempt from vulgarity. In the past, under Gao Xianzhi's tent, he could not
He stood out because he didn't have a suitable opportunity to perform, but now, General Wang has given him the power to make decisions in the face of the entire battle.
If Aizi is in the spotlight, he should stand out. If there is an opportunity, he must seize it. In more than two years of his career as a horse thief, he can clearly detect every plant and tree near Zhezhe City. Which fort is where fodder is piled?
There were large war horses in that fort, and which fort where he could find enough cheese and milk wine was more familiar to him than his own five fingers. No matter which one, he just had to take it out quickly and put it on
A fire can severely damage Juchebishihan's vitality. In General Wang's heart, the status of himself and his good friend Huang Wanshan will become more stable and transcendent.
"Are you trying to get in before General Wang arrives?!" As expected of the other party's good friend, Huang Wanshan saw that Sha Qianli suddenly stopped moving and immediately guessed what he was thinking.
"Yeah!" Sha Qianli nodded as acquiescence. He can't complete such a big task with his own strength. He needs the cooperation of good friends. "At the current speed, we can arrive outside Zhezhe City around sunset tomorrow.
While Juchebi Shihan didn't react..."
"I think it's better for us to wait!" He always looked at Huang Wanshan with a straight face, but uncharacteristically, he shook his head and interrupted in a low voice.
"Why?" Sha Qianli was disappointed and asked in a low voice, "General Xiao Wang treats you very well..."
Huang Wanshan smiled and interrupted him again, "Just because he treats you so well, you and I can't take the lead! If my guess is right, what the general wants is not just to give Ju Chebi a cure.
A lesson. What he really wants is the entire Zhezhe City! Even if you and I don’t join hands to instigate him, he will take the initiative to launch an offensive. It’s just a difference between earlier and later!”
"You mean..." Sha Qianli suddenly became confused and frowned as he recalled what happened during the day. General Wang was so open-minded that he was easily persuaded by himself. Once he accepted his suggestion, he immediately put it into practice.
Action. The whole process was clean and neat, without any sloppiness.
"He not only believes in us!" Seeing that Sha Qianli still looked confused, Huang Wanshan reminded in a low voice. "That Feng Changqing is the most cautious person in the world. He will not hand over the important mission of an envoy to him.
Is it in the hands of someone with a soft ear and a soft heart? Therefore, General Wang probably has the idea of changing his strategy in his mind, and the two of us are just adding fuel to the fire!"
"Well, maybe, maybe it's really like this!" After recalling the meeting with Wang Xun in the afternoon twice, Sha Qianli finally accepted the analysis of his good friend. "Why didn't you remind me earlier? I actually did it in front of adults.
Endless showoff! So stupid, I’m so stupid!”
"Whenever things happen, you always take the lead and I pretend to be mute. Aren't we always like this?" Huang Wanshan smiled and asked in a low voice, "Besides, you have always said that you are unappreciated for your talent. If you don't show it now, how long will it take to show it?
?!"
"But all the timidity that shouldn't be shown has been revealed!" Sha Qianli waved his riding whip, preparing to attack. "Then what do we do when we get to Zhezhe City? What should we do?"
"Wait!" Huang Wanshan answered with one word
"Wait?" Sha Qianli looked at the other party, his eyes full of unwillingness, "Don't do anything?"
"Don't do anything. Send troops to the city and create opportunities for you!" Huang Wanshan nodded and said seriously.