"Stop killing innocent people, take them back to the city!" Li Xu suppressed his anger and ordered in a low voice. He could not directly order the punishment of those murderers. This group of people was under Li Mengchang. If Xu Zi directly attacked them
Punishing him would hurt Li Mengchang's prestige in the team. The latter would not punish the murderer in any way. From his eyes, Xuzi saw the same excitement after bloodthirsty. Even while riding away
Far behind, Xu Zi heard Li Mengchang's slightly excited scolding, "Be more agile in your actions from now on, and don't let the General see you. He is soft-hearted and cares too much about his reputation..."
It was irrational to go back and argue with Li Mengchang. Xuzi tried his best to restrain himself from doing so. Out of respect for his boss, Li Mengchang would definitely say that he would change his ways. But Xuzi could guarantee that as long as he
If you turn around, the other person will remain the same. Some things do not depend on how you act, but on how others understand your behavior. Just like at this moment, Xuzi cannot make Li Mengchang understand that his kindness is the principle of life and not soft-hearted. Similarly
, Li Mengchang could not make him understand that condoning soldiers killing was to improve morale and the cohesion of the team.
After the image of the mighty and benevolent army that was created with good wishes in my heart suddenly collapsed, the subsequent pursuit process became boring. Everyone was busy killing, not only Li Mengchang's men, Cui Qian's subordinates, Murong
The cavalry under Luo's command were all playing the same "game". "This is war" Xuzi forced himself to accept reality, "This is reality!" he told himself over and over in his heart. But the bloody reality burned his eyes again and again.
, so that he had to stop again and again to stop those atrocities.
The soldiers did not understand the general's strange behavior, and they justified their actions with confidence. "They refused to put down their weapons!" "They refused to be ordered to form a team after putting down their weapons!" "They refused to march to Liyang City after forming a team!" Kill the prisoners.
There are many reasons, and there are a lot of them at random.
In fact, the soldiers behind him, as well as Zhang Xiu, Wang Qijin and others, also did not support the hypocrisy of the general. From their eyes, Xuzi could feel obvious confusion. Xuzi knew that it was just out of concern for himself.
Respect, they just didn't join the feast of killing. As for the reasons for killing, you don't actually need to find that many reasons. It is much easier to tie a head on a horse than to escort a living person back to the city, but the credit of the two is different.
Selfless.
After stopping several waves of "games" that went too far, Xuzi gave up his efforts in despair. He no longer looked for trouble, but tried to speed up as much as possible, bypassing the evil that was happening, and went straight to Dabi Mountain. Li Mi's
The old camp stood there and chased them to the bottom of the mountain, so that they could warn the brothers before Li Mi turned around and came back to fight. At the same time, Xu Zi also had an unspeakable wish hidden in his heart. This time he left the city not to kill the enemy and make meritorious deeds.
Instead, he hoped that he could find Old Master Yang and take him away from the battlefield alive.
The chance of the former situation happening is obviously low. Li Mi and Han Shihe fled in a hurry, and most of the rebels were abandoned on the road. Even if they later found out that they had been deceived, it would be difficult to assemble a fighting force.
The team came to Liyang to seek revenge. The chance of the latter situation happening is also very slim. The rebels fled in all directions, and Xuzi could not guarantee that his old mentor happened to be taking the same route as him.
When it was completely dark, they chased them to the foot of Dabi Mountain. The enemy camp Li Mi left on the hillside had been set on fire, and the sky-high flames illuminated half of the hillside. There was no one on the hillside, only the shadows of the trees following the fire.
The beating was shaking constantly.
"Let's withdraw our troops!" Zhang Xiu suggested while lying on the saddle. He was so tired that all his muscles and bones were falling apart. It was hindering his own responsibilities, so he gritted his teeth and endured until now. What to expand the results of the battle, and what to stop him from killing prisoners to gain merit.
, Zhang Xiu doesn't want to care about any of these things. The only thing he thinks about now is to go back to Liyang as soon as possible, take a bath, and then sleep soundly for a few days.
Xuzi did not answer Zhang Xiu's suggestion, but gently turned the horse's head. The group of people began to walk back, gathering up those lone soldiers who were so excited about the pursuit that they became separated from the rest of the group. Then they walked back.
After walking for two miles, everyone found the official road leading to Liyang. At the same time, there was a sudden commotion in the woods on the roadside.
"Who is there?" Wang Qijin led his horse to block in front of Xu Zi, raising the horizontal sword high with his other hand. This battle was a complete victory. If the general was captured by the enemy at the last moment
If we go, everyone will have lost all their efforts.
There was a commotion in the woods, and the commotion became louder and louder. After a few breaths, Wang Qijin gently put down his weapon. It was not a rebel, but seven or eight of his own brothers. The guy currently wearing the uniform of the team
I know Wang Qijin, his name is Wu Yan, and I once waited for the rear team of Xiongwuying at the same post station with him.
"See General Li!" Wu Yan quickly took a few steps forward, stood firm, and cupped his fists at Li Xu. "General, we have captured a high official and are preparing to escort him back to the city!"
After saying that, he looked at Wang Qijin with a bit of pride in his eyes.
The brothers pulled the horses and emerged from the woods one after another, walked up to Li Xuma and clasped their fists in salute.
"See General!"
"See the general, see the captain!" The shouts shook the treetops above them. Just now, everyone heard the sound of horse hooves on the official road, and in order to avoid contact with the enemy, they went into the woods to ambush. But they didn't expect it.
The first person to sneak into his ambush was his own general. Now that the danger was lifted, his mood immediately became very relaxed, so he shouted his greetings as loud as he could.
"That's it! Everyone is safe!" Li Xu returned the salute with clasped fists. He glanced across the crowd and looked directly at the horse at the end of the team. The person sitting on the back of the horse was not a brother from the Xiongwu Camp, but a prisoner. His hands were cut behind his back.
He lowered his arms and said nothing. Perhaps because he heard everyone's greetings, the man slowly raised his head, and his eyes just met Asahi's eyes.
"Yang..." Zhang Xiu, who was walking behind Li Xu, was completely exhausted. He opened his mouth to shout a word, but then there was no movement in his throat. He opened his mouth wide enough to swallow the whole torch in his hand.
"Hongnong Yang Ji, see General Li!" The prisoner on horseback bowed and introduced himself before Li Xu and Zhang Xiu recovered from the shock.
"Yang, Mr. Yang!" Li Xu swallowed and returned the salute with great difficulty. It was Master Yang who he had been looking for on the battlefield and could not find. God opened his eyes, and actually let the master and the apprentice meet in this situation.
We met. We hadn't seen each other for several years. At this time, Master Yang was already too haggard to look like. The bones of his once strong body had become skinny and skinny, just like a few bones wrapped in a piece of skin.
Seeing the general's expression, Captain Wu Yan was even more convinced that he had caught a big shot. He rubbed his hands together excitedly and loudly expressed his skill: "Although this old guy looks frail, his hands and feet are very nimble. When I caught him, I was so humble.
It really took a lot of effort, if Brother Wei hadn't gone around to stop him, we really don't know how long we would have been stuck with him nearby!"
"That's right, that's right, this old guy is very slippery!" The soldier whose name was called by Wu Yan showed a flattered expression, took a few steps forward, and confirmed loudly.
"Your name is Wu Yan. What about your brother named Wei? What's his name? Which captain does he work for?" Li Xu suppressed the urge to rush forward to acknowledge his master and asked with a smile.
He had to keep calm. The master just announced his family status just to remind the two parties that they should not recognize each other. But just handing the master over like this and waiting for the imperial court to suppress the rebellion and be tortured and executed, Xu Zi asked himself that he could not do it.
"General!" Wu Yan heard the general ask about his official position, and immediately straightened his chest. "Beizhi is the captain of the second brigade and third team of the first four regiments. This brother named Wei is called Wei Ding, and he is a member of Beizhi's subordinates.
long!"
"Write down the names of them and these dozen brothers, and discuss the merits after we return to the city!" Li Xu turned his head and ordered Zhang Xiu loudly. Countless thoughts were spinning in his mind. At the same time, he also
I had to pretend to be dedicated to the public good and try to hide it from the hundreds of eyes around me.
"You have the order!" Zhang Xiu, the captain of the personal army, hurriedly ran out from behind Li Xu and asked the names of the soldiers one by one. When the brothers who followed Wu Yan saw General Lang asking the captain to record their names, they all thought it was wrong.
It was a great honor. When Zhang Xiu walked up to him, he immediately raised his chest and raised his head, shouting out his name with all his strength. There was no paper and pen in the hurry, so Zhang Xiu repeated each name several times until he had heard all the names.
After memorizing everyone's names, he ran back to Li Xuma to answer his orders.
"This prisoner will be handed over to the general for personal escort. You should go back to the city first. Each treasurer will receive two rewards from joining the army. Other merits will be recorded first. The general will make a decision after discussing with the supervisor!" Li
Xu nodded and gave orders to Team Leader Wu Yan.
"Thank you for the reward, General!" All the sergeants were overjoyed and saluted again with clasped fists. The hierarchy in the Sui army was very strict. With Li Xu's current status, no one dared to say no even if they took the credit for their achievements. Now he has received another
Money, as well as merit, is a good thing that is hard to find with a lantern. Someone immediately shouted that everyone did not dare to ask for the reward and merit, and would rather give the prisoners to General Li to repay the general for his kindness. Li Xu did not
He had the habit of pretending to claim military exploits from his subordinates. He waved his hands and said with a smile: "I appreciate everyone's kindness. Credit is credit, and you must not be left out. As for the reward, it is all the money of the imperial court. If you don't accept it, you won't be left behind.
It’s in my hands. It’s better to keep it at home and give it to your parents, wife and children when you have time!”
"General, I will never forget your kindness!" Seeing Li Xu say this, Wu Yan and others had no choice but to thank him again, and then led his brothers away happily.
Turning back, Li Xu looked at Master Yang again. Seeing that Master Yang's temples were pale and his face was covered with dust, he felt shocked. Under the gaze of everyone, he couldn't step forward to recognize him, so he held back his tears and turned his head away, facing Wang Qi.
Jin and others ordered: "You should go back to the city first. This person has a high status among the rebels. I want to interrogate him, and I will follow him later!"
"Well, let's wait for you, sir, half a mile ahead." Wang Qijin is a very smart man. Seeing Li Xu's behavior just now, he already knew that there must be some secret here. He knew that his status was low, and the privacy of important people was still
He knew that the less the better, so he didn't ask too many questions and shook the reins together with his brothers.
Seeing that everyone had gone away, and only Zhang Xiu and a few of his personal guards were left nearby, Li Xu jumped off his horse, slowly walked towards his mentor, and slowly cut the rope with the tip of his knife. Thousands of words, he didn't even know how to start.
When He spoke, his voice was choked with sobs for a moment.
"Let's do it, and be faster. Don't let me die after being humiliated!" Master Yang smiled, fully aware of his disciple's difficulties.
This disciple is very outstanding. Although he comes from a poor family, he is studious, calm, and can stay calm in situations. The only shortcoming is that he is too honest. This kind of character is best among the people. In the officialdom, he is a
Fatal flaw. Master Yang turned his back to Li Xu, quietly waiting for the last pain to come. After the pain, both master and apprentice were perfect. He completed the last stage of his life without regrets, Xu Zi
This makes up for the shortcomings in his character.
This is the best solution that Master Yang has come up with. A true man must know how to choose and give up a useless bad old man in exchange for a lifetime of illustrious achievements and at the same time eliminate the hidden dangers of being implicated in the disciple's sect. This is what a wise man does.
The expected blow never came.
"You, you really disappoint me!" Master Yang suddenly became angry, stamped his feet and shouted. He didn't want to see his mother-in-law. Since he chose to assist the son of his late master, he knew that this day would happen sooner or later.
Before he died, he could see his disciples surpass himself, and he would have no regrets in his life.
There was still no reply from behind. Master Yang suddenly turned his head and found that Li Xu and Zhang Xiu were pulling their mounts, and their figures had gone away. And beside him, two horses with empty saddles were grazing with their heads down.
"Once you are a teacher, you will always be a teacher. No matter you are a businessman or a thief in the future, the door of the teacher will always be open to you!" Li Xu remembered what his master said to him back then, smiled calmly, and jumped on the horse.
The sound of horse hooves gradually disappeared, and the long night was as dark as ink.
Note 1: Li Mi’s family background and his top, middle, and bottom strategies are found in history books and are not fabricated. When I was a child, I read the story of Li Mi’s hard work, and I also had a vocabulary book on the handlebar of my bicycle. Unfortunately, I didn’t bump into Yang Su.
to the big tree.
Note 2: For the protective facilities on the urn city and ancient city walls, see the example of the ancient city of Pingyao in Shanxi. The city was built in the Han Dynasty and rebuilt in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. In the early 1980s, because the place was too poor, the ancient city was never demolished by the local government, so it is still well preserved.
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Note 3: "Tiger support" is a symbol held by medical practitioners in the old days, also known as "string bells". Legend has it that it was invented by Sun Simiao, the king of medicine, and it actually appeared earlier than the Sui and Tang Dynasties. (To be continued)
