"Follow me, and your children, and pick up your drum!" Cohen grabbed the old man, "Maybe your ten movements can make tomorrow's battle more exciting."
"But sir..." the old man said, "What can we do?"
"Let's make some music while we fight to make the scene more lively."
"But sir." The old man shook his head from side to side, "This is not in line with tradition..."
"You've lived your way for most of your life, so what's the result?" Cohen turned around and looked at him and said, "Now, just live your life my way!"
Although the old man insisted on his belief along the way, Cohen seemed not to hear him. He almost dragged the old man into his tent forcibly. Fortunately, his actions were only between rude and rough, so the refugees
They had no other expression.
"Sit down!" Across a small table, Cohen pushed the old man onto the stool opposite him, then turned around and told the guard, "Give me the map."
"Yes!" Konoe spread out a map on the small table. The map showed Tucheng and its surrounding terrain.
"How many instruments do you need to make your ten movements spread throughout the battlefield?" Cohen drew a circle on the map with his finger, and then said in an extremely tough tone, "Don't talk to me about tradition again, I will be unhappy.
!”
"But……"
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and Cohen's face began to look so cold that it made people panic, "If you don't want to, I will put a knife on your neck and let you beat the drum... I swear!"
"Then...okay!" The old man looked at the map and thought for a while, "Such a range would require a hundred drums."
"I mean ten movements in full!"
"Then we need two hundred horns."
"In this case..." Cohen called back to Carlos, "You go collect these things, right away."
"Master, what do you really want?" the old man asked, "At least you let me know what you think."
"Do you know how many enemy troops there are outside the city wall?" Cohen did not answer him directly, but asked the old man instead. In the military camp, the number of enemy troops was top secret information, so how could the old man know? So he shook his head blankly.
"Then let me tell you. There are 300,000 demonic coalition forces outside the city wall. They are waiting to compete with us tomorrow. I don't need to tell you what the outcome will be for the losing side, right?" Cohen said, "And they are waiting to compete with us tomorrow.
We can still fight now with less than 40,000 people. If we lose, what will happen to you? Maybe none of you will survive!"
"But... this has nothing to do with the ten movements!"
"I'm not afraid to tell you frankly, I personally think that tomorrow will be the last battle." Cohen stood up and paced in the tent, "Under such circumstances, no commander can do better than me.
, no army can be better than my soldiers. The fact that we can survive to this day has exceeded many people's expectations, but tomorrow... I can no longer expect miracles."
"master……"
"In this world, a person can die in many ways. Some people leave silently, while some people leave in a shocking way." Cohen said slowly with his back to the old man, "If I could choose, I would rather
I like the latter, even if this fate cannot be changed... I still want them to pay the price!"
"Then what exactly do you want me to do?"
Cohen knew that to deal with such a stubborn old man, the price he offered should be both extremely tempting and authentic. Looking at the wrinkles on the old man's face, it seemed that this guy knew he had gone through a lot.
"As you said, most of my soldiers are children of your tribe. I think you can play ten movements for us in tomorrow's battle." A pair of black eyes flashed, "I want you to use ten movements.
To awaken the fighting spirit in their blood, souls, and bodies! I will lead this group of angry lions to fight and kill the enemy... to buy time for others who must leave!"
When Cohen said the last sentence, his voice was already too low to be heard, but it was extremely clear to the old man's ears.
After the two looked at each other for a moment, the old man reached out and took out a scroll, placed it on the small table and slowly opened it.
"Jiadenan, this is my name." The old man said very carefully, "I am willing to obey your orders, but I hope to add some names to your list of people who must leave. They are all the hope of our tribe."
"How many?"
"one thousand!"
"Let me make it clear first, I cannot guarantee that they will be able to escape." Cohen nodded and said, "But I will give them a chance - the same chance as the people we left."
"make a deal!"
"Okay! Let's get down to business." As soon as the agreement was reached, Jiadnan pointed to the scroll on the table and said, "This is a ten-movement score, but most of it is not suitable for inspiring fighting spirit..."
"Why isn't it appropriate?" Cohen sat down again opposite Jiadnan, "Please tell me more carefully."
"To explain the origin of the Ten Movements, we have to start with the birth of our Thirty-Six Tribes. Master, you have also seen that the Thirty-Six Tribes are a very strange ethnic group. In any tribe, there are all kinds of people.
, orcs, humans, barbarians, winged people... they can all live together and harmoniously in a village."
"But why is this happening? Then we have to start with the dividing line between gods and demons. According to the legend of our tribe, when the gods and demons divided the boundaries, in order to leave a buffer, the gods and demons separated between the two alliances.
This dividing line that is hundreds of miles wide was left behind." Jiadenan stroked the music score in his hand and told the soldiers in front of him what everyone in his tribe knew, "But think about it, this is the middlemost point on the entire continent.
Location, with the most fertile land and the most beautiful scenery...Of course, when they drew the line, the best races on the entire continent lived here."
"Our ancestors also lived in ethnic groups, but how could the power of our ancestors resist the gods and demons? So there was only division. Various ethnic groups rushed to move out, and the entire dividing line was full of displaced people, and their relatives cried when they were separated.
The trumpet resounded through the sky... But there are nearly ten million people on the dividing line, and as for the two races of gods and demons worshiped by the world today, they only gave us ten days!" Jiadenan mentioned the sad point and slapped him hard.
On the table, "Ten days - how can tens of millions of people find a place to live? Not to mention that other lands have been occupied and divided up. As a result, after ten days, only millions of people have moved out."
"What happened next?" Cohen asked, attracted by the story told by Gardenan.
"The two tribes of gods and demons ignored our ancestors' pleas and sealed the dividing line ten days later. Our ancestors originally thought it was just a seal." Jiadnan raised his eyes and looked at Cohen, "But ten years later, for the first time, the gods
The demonic war takes place right on the dividing line."
"first?"
"This is the first time. The scale of this war is not inferior to this time." Jiadnan showed a sad expression on his face, "Master, think about it, what will happen to those who stay on the battlefield?"
Cohen nodded, "I understand this even if you don't tell me."
"We were killed, taken captive, and enslaved. We did nothing wrong, but we could only bear the pain silently. Our ancestors only hoped that they would stop killing if they had killed enough, and stop robbing if they had looted enough. It was easy to get through this.
A war. But who knew that twenty years later, when the new generation of tribesmen came of age, a second war between gods and demons would occur!" Jiadenan's voice became deeper, "It starts over and over again, until now."
"Why don't you run away?" Cohen asked.
"We have been running away, but where can we escape to? Just like this time, the tribesmen who originally scattered and fled will be driven away by the demon alliance to block your retreat, sir." Jiadenan shook his head and said, "
Not only in the war between gods and demons that happens every twenty years, but also in small wars in peacetime, and even in the years when there is no war, we will be robbed and slaughtered. We are like the warehouse of the two alliances of gods and demons. When they lack something,
They will rush into our village with great dignity and take away everything we have."
"Constantly being hurt, constantly wandering, constantly fleeing... no matter how large a race is under such a fate, it will not be able to survive." Narrating in a low voice, Jiadenan could not help but squeeze his hands tightly.
Fist, "One race after another began to decline, and in the end they were unable to escape the fate of destruction."
"But don't you still exist?" Cohen asked puzzledly.
"We? We are the thirty-six tribes. We are the survivors of all the races on the dividing line between gods and demons. We have lost everything, we have lost everything we once owned. We have even lost the culture of our own race, our own race
The traditions of our own race, the beliefs of our own race!" Jiadenan's eyes were red, "After a very cruel battle between gods and demons, there was no longer a complete village or a complete family on the dividing line...
At this time, our first-generation general leader climbed mountains and waded through rivers, and spent several years gathering the remaining people."
"He is the general leader of the first generation." Cohen asked, "Then why do you call it the Thirty-Six Tribes instead of the Seventy-Two Tribes?"
"Why are we called the Thirty-Six Tribes? Sir, do you know? Because all of us who survived at that time were only enough to form thirty-six villages!" Jiadenan's face turned pale. "Think about it, from a population of tens of millions to a mere
Enough to form a population of thirty-six villages - how many blood and tears of innocent souls are there!"
Cohen, who has experienced two lives, can be considered a ruthless character, but when he heard this, he was still stunned.
"The thirty-six villages, of course, can no longer be divided into different races." Jiadenan said with a self-deprecating bitter smile, "Humans, orcs, barbarians, elves, sand people... all races together make up the village, and everyone
They approached each other cautiously, lived in fear, and finally accepted each other under the threat of survival."
"Stop talking about this!" Cohen spat on the ground, "I, the young master, am listening to this, and my heart is filled with panic. You'd better talk about the ten movements!"
"The birth of the Ten Movements is not accidental. Master, you have to listen to it... At the beginning of the Thirty-Six Tribes, the people did not understand each other's language and had different habits and traditions. This caused a lot of trouble for the general leader at the time.
." Jiadenan picked up the score again, "So with the consent of all tribal leaders, the general leader composed ten movements. From then on, all tribal residents abandoned all their original traditional customs, and their lives and work were based on ten movements."
Cohen slapped his forehead, "Abandon all the original traditions and customs?"
"Yes, in other words, the ten movements have included some of the traditional customs of all races." Jiadnan explained, "After countless generations of development and improvement, the ten movements have defined all the possible encounters of the thirty-six tribes.
How to handle the situation.”
"For you," Cohen scratched his head, "how important are these ten movements?"
"Master, I can explain it to you this way. Because of the harm the gods and demons have brought to us, we don't worship them. You can even say that we hate them... They are all evil!" Jiadenan's eyes showed.
A determined look.
"There has to be something you admire, right?"
"Yes, it is the Ten Movements in my hand." Jiadnan said, "We worship the Ten Movements. We can survive on the dividing line because of the Ten Movements."
"Ten movements?" Cohen blinked, "The almighty ten movements?"
"Yes!"
"That's it." Cohen touched his chin, "Did Ten Movements explain to you what you should do when you meet this young master?"
Jiadenan sighed secretly, decided to give up pouring blood and tears to the man in front of him, and directly talked about the ten movements.
"Among the ten movements, the tunes are very different. The purpose of each movement must be in a relatively symmetrical environment to be effective. If used incorrectly, it will be counterproductive."
"The melody is not important, the most important thing on the battlefield is the rhythm." Cohen said naturally without thinking, "You make appropriate adjustments to the rhythm of each movement, and then play flexibly according to the battlefield situation!"
"Adjust the tempo?" Jiadnan's mouth opened wide and he didn't close it for a long time. For him who has been playing ten movements all his life, changing the tempo is equivalent to rebellion.
"Yes, I've listened to all ten movements, I think there's no problem with that!"
"How is this possible?" Jiadenan came back to his senses and asked, "If the rhythm changes, will it still be ten movements?"
"Jardenan, I don't want to hurt you." Cohen smiled faintly, "But in fact, the music that touches the soul the most... has no fixed rhythm. There are no two people in this world who are exactly the same, and no two are exactly the same.
Soul, do you still think that your ten movements can cure all diseases?"
Jiadnan was speechless. He was very old and could be said to have played music all his life. What has been passed down since ancient times has already been deeply ingrained. He did not agree with Cohen's point of view, but what can be done now? The lives of refugees in the war are
There is no guarantee. For the one thousand hopeful escape spots in the tribe, just... just bet on this one time!
"Okay." After a moment of silence, Jiadenan said with great difficulty, "These are no longer relevant. What kind of rhythm do you need?"
Cohen didn't say anything. He just grabbed Jiadnan's hand and put it on his left chest.
Carlos and his people were busy among the refugees. If it were not for the disciples of Jiadnan, he might have to kill all the refugees to take away the drums and horns that are regarded as sacred objects. But even so, those guys are still there
It was still very verbose when handing over the instrument.
"We just want musical instruments, not your life." Carlos complained to a small tribe leader, "What's the big deal!"
"This big drum has a history of hundreds of years! If it hadn't been for Jiadenan's decision, we would never have given it to you!" the tribal leader yelled, and only God knew his voice was so loud, "Be careful! Be careful!
Don’t lift it like that!”
After hearing what this guy said, Carlos was both angry and funny. If he hadn't seen that he wouldn't be rude, how could this scoundrel dare to say "I won't give him death"?
It took Carlos two full hours to collect the instruments and musicians. When he returned to Cohen's tent to return to life, he saw a very strange scene - Cohen and Gardenan were sitting face to face with their eyes closed.
There is an open scroll on the small wooden table between them.
After a while, Jiadnan opened his eyes and raised his right hand. Carlos saw that he was holding a thin wooden stick in his hand.
"Pah-pah-pah, pah-pah pah." Jiadnan tapped the wooden stick on the table for a while, and then asked Cohen, "Is that so?"
His voice was very soft, and his tone and expression were as good as an apprentice.
Cohen also opened his eyes. He shook his head slightly, then hit the wooden table a few times with the wooden stick in his hand, "That should be it."
Gardenan continued to tap until Cohen nodded, and Carlos, who was looking at all this in confusion, felt that he could no longer turn his head fast enough.
"Write it down." Jiadnan ordered the disciples behind him, then turned to Cohen and said, "It's time for the next movement."
"Carlos." Cohen turned around and asked, "Are you ready for what I want?"
Carlos stood at attention and said, "Yes, sir, I'm ready."
"I have a picture here with the locations for placing these instruments. You go and place the instruments." Cohen handed over a piece of paper and said, "Then come back quickly. I have something else to discuss with you."
"Yes, sir."
Carlos turned around and walked out of the tent and began to direct the soldiers to carry the instruments to the location designated on the map.
"Sir." A second lieutenant officer asked Carlos in confusion, "What does Chief Cohen mean by doing this?"
"This is... Chief Cohen's idea to defeat the enemy tomorrow." Carlos said with a smile, "It's a very effective method. Let's just do it!"
"Yes, sir!" The second lieutenant left happily, saying as he left, "Chief Cohen is really amazing."
Hearing the second lieutenant's words, a wry smile flashed across Carlos' face.
"Is it really irreversible?" Looking up at the night sky, Carlos's heart was churning, and an emotion of sadness and regret emerged uncontrollably, "Even Chief Cohen, who has been trying to avoid failure...
We are all preparing for those who will break out tomorrow."
If it were someone else, he might still stubbornly believe that Cohen could save the situation under such circumstances, but Carlos was different. He was Cohen's general staff officer, and he knew everything about the enemy and ourselves best.
Although the demon coalition lost many soldiers in the siege battles in the past few days, their backup has been arriving in a steady stream.
Just earlier this evening, another legion from the enemy army rushed over. The troops that arrived later did not set up camps. Tens of thousands of soldiers were sitting on the ground... It seems that the enemy army is preparing to fight to the death tomorrow.
The current truce is just to allow the soldiers to accumulate strength for tomorrow's battle. During this afternoon's battle, Carlos knew that their large siege equipment had already taken shape.
And what about our own troops! Not only are the soldiers exhausted and the supplies exhausted, but the city wall in front of them, which has always been regarded as a life barrier, is about to collapse. The enemy will dispatch as many as 300,000 troops tomorrow. Let’s count.
On my side, with good arms and legs, I could stand up without shaking and support 40,000 people to death. Apart from letting some people break out, there was really no other way.
But it seems to be a bit more difficult to break through in this situation - Cohen must have felt this before using these instruments!
"However." Carlos looked at the busy soldiers in the distance and said to himself, "This arrangement is indeed a bit of a joke. I hope the enemy commander will be in an idiot state tomorrow!"
When Carlos returned to Cohen's tent again, the two lunatics had finished banging their sticks - no doubt, Carlos decided to call them that when he first saw that situation. Although this is not very respectful to Cohen.
, but everyone’s hope of survival tomorrow is very small, and there are not many opportunities to even call Cohen this way, not to mention that this is always the method Carlos uses to relieve stress.
In the subsequent pre-war meeting, Carlos even called Cohen crazy in his heart because Cohen announced the next day's tactics to everyone.
"Abandon the city wall!" Cohen put on his signature smile on his face, "I have decided."
In fact, all the senior officers already knew the news first, and Carlos, who missed the news because he missed something, almost fainted, while other officers had various reactions...
It took a long time for the tent to become quiet again.
"Sir..." Seeing that no one else spoke, Carlos, who was older than everyone else, was helplessly performing his duties. He asked Cohen, "Is this good for us?"
"Of course it's beneficial." As if satisfied with his reaction, Cohen nodded slightly, "According to the intelligence from the reconnaissance team tonight, the enemy has completed the manufacturing of siege equipment, and their catapults have also been installed.
, and made adjustments during this afternoon's battle. If we still defend the city wall tomorrow, we will suffer many unnecessary casualties under the attack of a large number of enemy long-range catapults."
"Then sir, your complete plan is..."
"We abandoned the city wall and entered a position built on streets." Cohen pointed at the map and said, "And the enemy, what plans do their commanders have for tomorrow?"
"First, he won't know that we abandoned the city wall, so he will still use the old routine in the arrangement of the attack. Once so many troops are arranged, there is no chance to start over again. In other words, even after discovering the formation
They can't make adjustments when things are wrong, and when the enemy is helpless on the wall, we can take action."
"Second, if we abandon the city wall, their catapults and siege equipment will be useless. And our main force must firmly hold the enemy in this position!" Cohen slapped his hand heavily on the map.
, "Then, I prepared two counterattack troops. They will launch a counterattack when the enemy's morale declines after being unable to attack for a long time!"
"In tomorrow's operation, the most important thing is to grasp the timing! Everyone must act decisively after getting my signal! Anyone who violates the order...will be severely punished!" Cohen's eyes became solemn, and he looked at several people one by one.
He glanced at the closest people, and all of them lowered their heads after meeting his gaze. Carlos saw this and understood that these people already knew that he would be in the "counterattack force" tomorrow.
In what Cohen continued to say, there were not many tactical arrangements. The most important thing was almost religious hypnosis... Although this is something Cohen has always been disgusted with, it was very inflammatory when it came out of his mouth.
And natural.
Listening to someone's long speech, Carlos knew that Cohen would not lead the troops to break out in tomorrow's battle. If the troops were encouraged in this way, then the general would need to be the mainstay to support the situation. If the general made a slight mistake, the entire army would be destroyed.
The army will also be destroyed.
How could Cohen not know this in his heart? But this is 300,000 vs. 40,000. No matter what the final battle situation is, most of the people here will die. Rather than letting them close their eyes in despair, it is better to let them carry the
If you wish to die, maybe the pain at that time will be alleviated a lot.
"Okay, so do you understand your respective tasks?" Cohen finally ended the hypnosis for others and himself, "If there is no problem, go back and prepare."
As the officers exited the tent, Cohen stopped Carlos and asked Carlos to take a walk with him.
"What's wrong Carlos? It seems that you are not in a high mood."
"It's nothing, sir, I'm just a little tired." Carlos' mind flashed, and he didn't expect that he was also on Cohen's retreat list. The trace of melancholy that he had just felt in his heart had disappeared. It wasn't because he didn't have a chance to escape.
Not unhappy, but because the officers who joined the counterattack force were the best in the legion.
"You were never like this before." Cohen said as he walked away, "Do you have any other ideas about tomorrow's battle?"
"I have no other opinion, sir."
"Well, you can stay in the counterattack force tomorrow!" Cohen said, "I have enough people around me."
"Sir, I am your staff officer." Carlos paused for a moment, then said in a positive tone, "Even if I can't help you, it is my duty to stay by your side."
"Why are you so stubborn? You must know that there is a place for you in the counterattack force."
"I refuse to accept your dispatch." Carlos still insisted on staying, "As an assistant assigned to you by the Emperor of the Sbia Empire, I have the right to do so, and I will not join the counterattack force until my death.
"
"Fuck!" Cohen's foul language came again, "Both of them fucking do this!"
"Sir." Carlos showed a victorious smile on his face, "To be honest, there are some subtle differences between me and others... From now on, I will follow you every step of the way."
"If you don't want to go, just don't go. Since it's your own choice." Cohen glanced at him in frustration, then raised his voice and cursed, "Don't fucking smile at me, this is not something to be happy about!
"
There was a noise in the distance. It was Jiadenan who was temporarily training his musicians. It seemed that this guy was also doing his best for tomorrow's battle.
"Carlos..." Cohen hesitated and asked the people around him in a low voice, "I have been thinking that it should be my fault for not retreating when the battle started to become dangerous."
"Sir, I can't blame you. You've done a good job." Carlos replied carefully. With the war imminent, it was better not to irritate his commander - although this was indeed Cohen's fault.
"That's not the case." Cohen shook his head and said, "My speculations about the battle situation have always only stayed at the tactical level. Strategically, I did a very bad job. I wholeheartedly wanted to fight against Gironde, and I only thought about winning back.
For my own sake, I should have retreated when Gironde appeared."
"Sir, there is nothing we can do about it. The military will not let us retreat. Moreover, the demon coalition is well prepared. There is a tight encirclement around us. No matter which direction we retreat from, they will have a way to surround us." Carlos said lowly.
"As for mistakes," he said, "do you want to hear a story about a junior officer?"
Cohen nodded.
"There was a little boy with a poor background. When he saw the Guards Cavalry passing by his house for the first time, he was shocked. The Guardsmen were riding tall horses, wearing dazzling silver armor and helmets.
Standing proudly on the top are pure white bird feathers. What kind of glory is that... From then on, this child dreamed of becoming a glorious officer." Carlos spoke slowly, his eyes blurred, "He knew that becoming an officer
The road of an officer is difficult, so he kept studying and learned everything he could... Finally, he graduated from Shengdu Academy as a civilian as he wished and became a second lieutenant officer."
"What happened next?" Cohen asked with interest.
"Later, the second lieutenant led two teams of soldiers to exterminate a bandit group of about a hundred people. He made one plan after another in advance, taking into account all the circumstances, and confidently set off with more than two hundred soldiers." At this point.
, Carlos's expression darkened, "But when he got there, the bandits did not appear as he expected. He and his soldiers were subjected to one variable after another. The battle situation changed dramatically, and finally, he panicked...
There are more than two hundred soldiers, with the same background as him, all young people with dreams... He treats these soldiers as brothers... But..."
"I understand what you mean." Cohen patted Carlos on the shoulder, "But no matter what, this matter is my fault, and I have to take responsibility."
"Sir, you don't have to think too much. In fact, you exceeded everyone's expectations." Carlos understood the real reason for Cohen's stay and sincerely persuaded him, "Twenty-year-old commander, your commanding ability astonishes everyone."
, Sir, how many casualties have you avoided since the beginning of the war? As your staff officer, I feel very honored."
"So what?" Cohen said with a wry smile, "If we had put an army in the canyon, even a small one, we wouldn't be in the situation we are in today."
"Sir, I don't agree with you. Since the Demon Alliance has made up its mind to make such a plan, it will definitely not let us escape easily." Carlos lowered his voice and said, "Even if we get here before the refugees,
And what about on the other side of the canyon? What kind of bizarre things will be waiting for us? We might be dealt with inexplicably... They didn't attack us at first because they were afraid that we would escape quickly. From the beginning, their
The purpose is not to drive us away, but to annihilate us."
"It doesn't make much sense to say this now."
"No, sir, it makes sense." Carlos looked at Cohen, "Did you know? In tomorrow's battle, the Demon Alliance will not accept anyone's surrender... You'd better let me take command. I also want to wear it."
Wear the armor of a blessed knight.”
"Go ahead and dream."
"Sir, don't say I didn't remind you." Carlos touched his nose and said in another way, "Since the second generation of the Killing Demon, the Killing Demons of all generations have been the highest-level prisoners of war... I heard that prisoners of war
We have to kneel at the feet of the demon princess to be demonized, and the first action after that is to kiss the toes of that bitch with infinite piety..."
"What would you do if you were captured?" Cohen asked expressionlessly, "Tell the truth."
"Me?" Carlos thought for a moment, "I will probably commit suicide..."
"I won't!" An evil smile flashed across Cohen's face, "I will forcefully kiss her on the mouth and touch her butt before she is demonized... leaving her with an unforgettable memory."
Carlos opened his mouth slightly like a fool, and then he understood... The two looked at each other for a moment and started laughing wildly.
"Okay, let's not talk about it." After laughing, Cohen asked Carlos in a low voice, "Actually, I am willing to stay for my brother, and why are you?"
"It's good to be alive, but as a soldier, you have no choice." Carlos wiped the tears from laughter from the corner of his eyes and answered him in the same low voice, "On the one hand, I am your assistant. If you abandon someone, I will be killed by Your Majesty.
Hang yourself. On the other hand, I am happy to die like this, at least I will have a good reputation and so on. In the end... I also like to be by your side."
"Then you have nothing to say about tomorrow."
"Yes! I want to say that it would be best to remove a few people from their posts and have them escorted to the counterattack troops. This way they won't be able to do anything strange - but it won't work on me."
"That's a very presumptuous tone. It sounds like you've become a scoundrel, Carlos."
"Easy to say, easy to say, you are better than me."
"Haha... How about a drink? I still have a bottle of good wine, and it will be wasted if I don't drink it."