Riding on Heifeng's back, Li Xu was embraced by the guards and headed east.
The army took the same route that the food protection team took last year to reach Mazhaishui. Experience has proved that this route to Mazhaishui is the shortest and the mountains on the road are the gentlest. The inconvenience is that there are several cities on the way. Heshan stronghold was still controlled by the Goguryeo people. Out of fear of the Sui army's revenge, the Goguryeo people inside shared the same hatred and protected the safety of the walled city with their lives.
The Xiaoguo camp put on an aggressive offensive posture and marched forward swaggeringly. Sometimes, they even deliberately relaxed their guard to lure the Goguryeo defenders along the way out of the city to attack. However, the Goguryeo defenders were all veterans of the battlefield and led troops from outside the city. From the smoke and dust raised, they could judge that the number of enemy troops was at least 20,000. Goguryeo people would not make such a stupid choice in a field battle with the 20,000 cavalry in their prime. So from Liaodong City to the Wugu River, Xiongwu The journey to Xiaoguo Camp was smooth.
In the past few days, Yuwen Shiji observed Li Xu from various angles. Every angle made him feel that his family needed to increase the bargaining chip again. More than two months ago, the Yuwen family recommended the emperor to promote the other party's official position. It was just to make Li Yuan no longer able to control the young man. Now, what the Yuwen family needs to do is to put the young tiger that has escaped Li Yuan's control back on the reins of the Yuwen family.
For three consecutive days, Yu Wenshiji found that Li Xu seldom spoke. Except for explaining the daily tasks of a few close generals and leaving five hundred to one thousand soldiers to garrison in several dangerous places, the young general in front of him almost didn't speak. It was tightly closed. The expressions on his face and eyes also showed that he was meditating all the time. Occasionally shaking his head, or there was some excitement in his eyes, it meant that he had figured out some mystery, or had no idea about this. What kind of clever plan did the response operation have? But Li Xu didn't say what the other party had in mind, and it was hard for Yuwen Shiji to ask further.
If Yu Wenshiji could see Li Xu's true thoughts deep in his heart at this moment, he would definitely be so angry that he vomited blood on the spot. In fact, in the past few days, the total time Li Xu spent thinking about military affairs every day did not add up to two hours. More Most of the time, he thought about what the warrior Yu said before leaving, "She said she had never been angry with you!" Although it was only a short sentence, it made Li Xu savor it again and again.
Xuzi knew that he had never blamed Wan'er. Even if he was absolutely sure that he would be successful in the future, be able to worship a general, and be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households, he was not qualified to let a woman spend her whole life's happiness waiting for the day when she would become famous. .A girl's youth is very short, and she will grow old if she waits. Asahi knows that she cannot bear this responsibility and cannot afford it.
"Do I really like Wan'er? As much as I like Tao Kuo Tuoshi?" It took Li Xu a long time to give him a complete answer. Back then, he knew at the bank of Crescent Lake that he would never be able to wait for Tao Kuo again. When he was taking off his clothes, he remembered that he felt heartbroken. That unforgettable feeling is still unforgettable to this day. Every time he thinks about it, it feels like someone stabbed him heavily in the chest with a horse stick, and his heart feels deep. His whole body ached. But for Wan'er's marriage, Li Xu had a different feeling in his heart. It wasn't pain or resentment, it was just a deep disappointment, like the candy he was looking forward to being snatched away. A general disappointment at the end.
Wan'er was different from any woman he had ever seen. She came from a wealthy family. She was generous, mature, and sometimes willful, but more often than not, she was as wise, decisive, and magnanimous as his father. Such a woman never appeared before.
One day, she was destined to attract Asahi, who grew up in another class. But at this time, Asahi gradually understood that being attracted and having the ability to possess are actually two completely different things.
He gradually became free and easy on the horse, and his eyes were no longer confused. He knew that he had to grasp what he had now before he could expect future gains. Before he truly reached a certain position, some things were destined to be a luxury.
.
But I am not too far away from this kind of luxury. In the autumn of three years ago, when I saw His Majesty the Emperor, the legendary General and the Grand Minister, it was just like looking up at the darkening night sky now, distant and unreal.
At that time, in my own eyes, His Majesty the Emperor was, to say the least, a prodigal and a fool. All the Huagons in the dynasty were fat-headed guys, and none of them had wisdom or foresight. Now, I have gradually approached the starry sky,
See more clearly and carefully. Those actions that were previously thought to be foolish may not actually be foolish in their original intentions. And those seemingly mediocre behaviors often contain a lot of mysteries. It’s just the seemingly indifferent actions of these people that have a profound impact on them.
The common people are at stake. Therefore, Xu Zi knows that he can no longer go back to being a common person. He wants to break into the starry sky, just like Xu Dayan said back then, he wants to establish his own family there. In this way, his own
Later generations will not leave the Great Wall just because of the whim of an official, and the sufferings they have experienced will never be repeated by their descendants.
After it completely darkened, Li Xu ordered the entire army to camp in a valley. He couldn't move too fast. The art of war has it that if you attack thousands of miles away, you will definitely defeat the general. He is just a young general, and he does not dare to lead his men on the high road.
A risk only a general dares to take.
This order won him cheers from the whole army. Up to now, except for a few close generals, most of the heroes still don't know what the ultimate purpose of the army's trip is. They have been doing this kind of mountain tour for the past few days.
Marching like water is very exciting, but also very tiring. Therefore, their biggest wish is to be able to walk, rest and play while walking.
The only person who disagreed with Li Xu's order was Yuwen Shiji. He exercised his duty of supervising the army for the first time. After the army was completely settled, he broke into Li Xu's military tent very angrily.
"Sir General Lang, if we go like this, are we, are we a little slower?" Glancing at the low-level generals in the tent who looked a little confused due to being disturbed, Yu Wenshiji tried his best to keep his tone gentle. No matter in front of him or in front of him.
In the future, the Yuwen family will have many opportunities to deal with each other. As the younger generation of the family, Yuwen Shiji does not want to make the conflict too obvious.
Li Xu did not answer Yuwen Shiji's question. He ordered someone to bring a stool to the supervisor, and then moved the huge sheepskin map in front of everyone under Yuwen Shiji's eyes. It was a map according to the Sui Dynasty
The enlarged map of Liaodong newly issued by the military shows the situation in Liaodong. On the map, there is a black ink line drawn from Huaiyuan Town to Bobei Village, and then turns from Bobei Village to the northeast, and then in the mountains and forests of the north.
After going in a huge circle, we finally turned back to the Liaohe River. Anyone who participated in the rescue operation of Bobi Village last year knows that this black line was the marching route of the 300 warriors of the grain protection army last year. Every plant and tree on the way,
It has left an indelible mark on their hearts.
Xiaoguo Camp is currently taking the first quarter of the same route. It has just left the Daliang River Basin and arrived at the source of Wugu River. Going further southeast, you can follow Wugu River to Wugu City, and then kill all the way.
Benbobo Village. The next road is relatively flat. There are not many villages in Goguryeo that pass along the way. The most threatening one is Wugu City, which Li Xu has marked out with charcoal.
"Are you worried that the defenders of Wugu City will go out to fight?" Yu Wenshiji asked in a low voice. Last year, Liu Hongji and Li Xu used a trick to deceive the defenders of Wugu City, and this time they used the same trick with their opponents.
There is indeed a possibility that the other party will not be fooled.
Li Xu shook his head and did not answer. Instead, he gave the charcoal block in his hand to Yuwen Shiji, and then asked: "What if the supervisor is a Goguryeo general who hears some uncertain news and is unwilling to retreat with the enemy's arrogance?"
, where will you choose to intercept?"
When not considering the interests of his family, Yuwen Shiji's mind was very sharp. He glanced at the map for a while, and immediately pressed the charcoal in his hand to an unknown valley less than fifty miles away from the current location of the army.
.If you want to stop Xiaoguo Camp, the most advantageous terrain for the enemy is the nameless valley fifty miles away. Similarly, if you withdraw troops from Mazhai River against this route, the nameless valley is also a place where the army must pass.
When the charcoal fell, Yuwen Shi and his anger immediately disappeared. If the news of the civil strife in the Sui Dynasty had indeed been known to the Goguryeo people, the Goguryeo people would seize the unknown valley in the distance anyway and block this road.
Valley, the expeditionary army had to take a detour to return west. The further the detour took, the lower morale became.
"The lower officials think," marching commander Shi Zhao Ziming saluted Yu Wenshiji and slowly explained, "The more hasty our march is now, the more alert the Goguryeo people will be. But the navy has not landed, and the army is in Mazhai
You can't patrol the water's edge..."
There is no need for him to say the next words. No one here will think that his analysis is unreasonable. His Majesty the Emperor's withdrawal order to General Yuwenshu was issued before Xiaoguo Camp moved eastward. Judging from the speed of delivery of military documents, Yuwen
The date when the old general received the imperial edict should be yesterday or today. If he returns west immediately after receiving the edict, the Goguryeo people across the Mazhai River will definitely not be able to follow and pursue them. Without the help of the terrain, several remaining cities in Liaodong
The defenders had no chance of blocking the 300,000 Eastern Expeditionary Army.
The only chance for the people of Goguryeo to stop the old general Yuwen Shu was in the Wuming Valley. And the first test that the Xiongwu Xiaoguo Camp faced was also in the Wuming Valley.
The three men and horses focused their attention on one point at the same time. (To be continued)
