"I am willing to run under the young master's tent to fulfill my wish!" Hou Junji put down his tea bowl, stood up, and stood in awe with his hands clasped in his hands. He was just nineteen years old this year, and the first eighteen years of his life were wasted. He was confused and had no goals. But
From today on, his life will no longer be wasted.
Li Shimin did not return the greeting, but sat upright. The person opposite had a good family background. From the way he drank tea and talked, it could be seen that he was well-trained. If he hadn't been surrounded by other people's nonsense, this person might not be able to
He was exiled to his subordinates. Since none of the counselors and generals of the Li Mansion were willing to serve him, he went to pick them with his own hands. I believe that the ones he picked out in the end may not be worse than those under his brother's command.
The cold wind carried snow particles, making the armor on his body jingle. This was the cold wind from the Western Regions, and it was said that it could freeze cattle and sheep walking on the road to death. Samurai Yu was not sure whether the rumors were true, but he had seen it with his own eyes.
A stupid half-pound child (Note 1) fell from the sky because its wings were broken by the snow, and its neck was broken into two pieces on the spot.
The unlucky bird with a broken neck was picked up by the samurai Yu and returned to his felt tent. That night, he and Liu Hongji cooked the food for him and Liu Hongji. Compared with the rough horse meat and the smelly mutton, the roasted bird
Meat is simply the most rare treasure in the world. But it is so rare that even if he wanted to hunt it, he would not be able to hunt it. The refugees who came in droves even dug out the frogs and wild mice that had been hiding underground for the winter and ate them, no matter how high they flew in the sky.
He was still running on the ground. As long as non-human living creatures dared to wander in front of them, their corpses would definitely be gone in an instant.
Following Li Yuan's order to stay in Honghua, all thirteen counties in Guanyou sent personnel to recruit victims to work in the fields in Feng'an and Mingsha (Note 2) areas. However, there was a flood of refugees and the diversion measures could not be smoothed out at all. According to inquiries from military scouts,
According to the news, many people fled not because of the disaster in their hometown, but because the Hui tribes in Huining, Zhangye and the Helan Mountains took advantage of the empty border forces of the Sui Dynasty to begin large-scale expansion. Those who had already settled in various places in Longxi
Several generations of Han people were forcibly driven away from the cultivated land, and their houses and livestock were all impounded. "This is where we graze!" Zhuhu Khan emphasized, completely ignoring the protective virtues of the Sui Dynasty over the years. The leader was
Hosana Khan, Lord Pei Ju once comforted this chatter on the emperor's order last summer, and drove more than 20 carts of gifts back to the pass to report to His Majesty that all the Hus in Western Xinjiang were obedient as usual. Now Lord Pei can enjoy his love at home.
gift, but the people paid the price of their homelessness for his greed and sycophancy.
"These bastards! Sooner or later, I will make them spit back ten times and a hundred times what they eat!" The warrior Xun cursed bitterly, wishing he could lead his troops to kill all the troublesome Hu tribe. But he also
Knowing that there is absolutely no possibility of realizing their wishes in a short period of time. The small tribes in the border areas have always been outsiders. If there is no one to support them, they would not dare to be so lawless. And the people who encouraged them to hurt themselves in the Great Sui Dynasty
The bad guys who sprinkled salt must be the Turks. The Sui Dynasty taught them a lesson more than ten years ago. But now the national power of the Sui Dynasty was declining day by day, while the Turks were getting stronger day by day. With the strength of the Sui Dynasty waxing and waning, the Sui Dynasty had no choice but to control the border.
Turning a blind eye to the tragedy...
The imperial court did not come forward, and as a general, the warrior Yu could only endure. While enduring the biting cold wind, he also endured the torment of conscience caused by a general seeing his own people being bullied by foreign enemies. Since November, he has followed Li Shimin to Mingsha.
After recruiting soldiers, he lived an extremely hard life every day. Before coming here, he often lamented the extra fat under his buttocks, but now he wished that the fat on his body could grow back, so as not to make his bones sore from being slapped by the saddle all day long.
However, the warrior Yu never regretted his decision. This trip was not in vain. Although before leaving, Tang Gong Li Yuan, who was afraid of arousing the suspicion of the court, made an impromptu decision to reduce the number of soldiers recruited from 5,000 to 3,000.
The results of this trip were greatly reduced. But the warrior Yu saw beautiful scenery that he had never imagined. He once saw the broad Yellow River frozen into an ice sculpture thousands of miles long in front of his eyes. Every wave seemed to be clearly visible.
Maintaining a galloping state. He once saw the chrysanthemum-yellow sunset falling from the other side of the Great Wall, like a salted egg yolk, but no one knew who would eat it. Beyond the Great Wall was the unchanging wilderness.
Beyond the wilderness is thousands of miles of yellow sand. The warrior Yun once accompanied Li Shimin on an adventure to climb the Great Wall that had been damaged by the wind. He saw in the distance between heaven and earth, a city as beautiful as a fairyland. Gorgeously dressed shepherds riding white camels,
There are also countless beauties from the Western Regions who walk barefoot without wearing shoes in the winter, with the golden rings around their ankles shining.
It was a mirage formed by the sand monster exhaling underground. A newly recruited soldier carefully told him. Everyone who appeared in the mirage was an innocent soul who was fascinated by the scenery during the journey and eventually died in the desert. They
After death, his soul remained, so he followed the orders of the sand monster and transformed into handsome men and beautiful women on sunny days to attract more people. When saying this, the soldiers lowered their voices for fear of being heard by the ghosts and retaliated.
But Li Shimin, who was standing next to the warrior Tong, was enraged. He pointed at the scenery on the horizon and cursed, "You guys who are working for the tiger, one day I will lead the troops to dig you all out, file your bones and spread your ashes!"
His words scared many soldiers to tremble, fearing that the earth would collapse at the next moment. Unexpectedly, the monster in the sand sea was also a guy who bullied the weak and feared the strong, and he quickly put away his mirage. In an instant, the camels, cities, and beauties were gone, and only what was left in front of him was
Empty earth and sky.
"Did you see that this is what the so-called monsters and monsters are like? The more you are afraid of him, the bolder he becomes. Pull out all your knives and line up!" Li Shimin was very dissatisfied with the performance of the new recruits and shouted angrily.
After hearing the order, all the sergeants quickly formed a line on the city wall and drew their swords towards the wind. They moved quickly and their military appearance was neat. They looked as good as any elite. But looking at the eyes of the warriors Xun, Li Shimin and others, they could see that
I found that the team in front of me seemed to be lacking a bit of energy and spirit compared to the demeanor of the food protection army when they entered Liao. Warrior Xun himself couldn't tell what was missing. This group of people all followed Li Shimin's request to select one from a hundred.
If the selected strong men fought alone, it is estimated that one person can knock down three or five brothers in the food protection army that day. The warriors Xun and Liu Hongji also trained them according to the standard that was twice as strict as that of the food protection army, for two months
No matter how heavy the wind and snow outside were, everyone never missed a day of exercise. But this group of people was not like soldiers, more like a group of obedient puppets. Li Shimin asked them to go east, but they would never go west, and let them get through the snow in the winter.
Heap, no one frowned.
However, after crawling through the snowdrift, their faces showed a look of despair, without any passion for survival. "We recruited a group of cows without eggs!" When the four of them were discussing, Changsun Wuji said to the new students.
Li Jiajun once commented like this. This is the conclusion he drew from folklore. It is said that when people in the northwest like to stir up cows, they always like to place the cut cow eggs in front of the incomprehensible bull, and smash it with a hammer in front of it.
Rotten. The moment he sees his male organ turned into meat paste, no matter how ferocious the bull is, he will lower his head. From then on, plows and carts will never resist, even if they are being led by women and children.
What Li Shimin needed was an invincible army, not a group of obedient bulls. For this reason, he was unhappy and tried every possible means to find the reason why the training of soldiers failed. When Liu Hongji, Li Xu and the warrior Xun were training soldiers, he personally
Observe from the sidelines. All the methods, steps, orders, and military regulations are the same here. But the same method is used by the same people on different soldiers, and the effects are completely different.
"It's not that they don't have eggs, it's that they haven't recovered from their sadness yet!" The samurai Yu was kind-hearted and took the initiative to defend his subordinates. Most of the men who enlisted in the army had just lost their families to natural disasters and man-made disasters. After their wives and children were separated, they
Under such conditions, it is difficult for their spirits to recover quickly. The only reason these people can grit their teeth and persist in training and obey all orders is because they know that only the military camp can give them enough food, and only the military camp can give them a rest at night.
A peaceful place to sleep.
"It won't work like this. Even if they train for a whole year, they won't be able to go to the battlefield!" Although Li Shimin has less experience than Liu Hongji and Samurai Xun, he also knows that his brothers cannot fight. Only those who have the desire to survive can fight in the battlefield.
Defeating one's enemies on the battlefield, as for the guys with lifeless faces, they are usually slaughtered like cattle and sheep. It was precisely because they wanted to return to the Central Plains alive that the eight hundred grain-protecting brothers achieved the miracle of marching thousands of miles to Liaodong and being invincible.
.If they learn that their way out has been cut off just at the beginning, even if Sun Wu is reborn, they may not be able to inspire everyone's morale.
"From tomorrow onwards, Brother Hongji and I will sleep among them all day long!" Samurai Yu thought for a while and replied. Undressing and feeding, this is what famous generals in ancient times once did. In order to seize the rare performance opportunity in front of him,
He could no longer consider whether this move was taboo.
Warrior Xun's words made many people's eyes light up. Everyone remembered that when he was in Huaiyuan Town, Li Xu also got along with his brothers. Of course, Li Xu couldn't help but get along with everyone. At the beginning, he was just a team captain.
Those who could join the grain protection army had better financial resources than he did at that time. Later, when his official position was promoted and he became familiar with the people around him, he couldn't put up a fight even if he wanted to.
"Well, starting tomorrow, my luggage will also be moved to the military camp. I will eat and live with everyone. If Brother Zhongjian can do it that day, I can do it too!" Li Shimin thought for a while and said.
During the military training in Huaiyuan that day, Liu Hongji only gave guidance from above, while Li Xu, the warrior Xun and others were the actual executors. Therefore, Li Shimin believed that the reason why Liu Hongji did not bring out another food protection army after brother Zhong Jian left was very important.
To a large extent, it was because he didn't like hanging out with his brothers like Li Xu without any pretensions.
"This is absolutely impossible!" Before Li Shimin could finish his thoughts, Liu Hongji and Changsun Wuji objected at the same time. After looking at each other, Changsun Wuji decided to express his reasons first, "This place is close.
At the border, all the tribes outside the Great Wall are watching with eager eyes. You are the second son of the Li family. If someone plots something evil, we will all die without a burial place!"
Since Li Yuan took office in Honghua, he has shown no mercy to horse thieves, bandits and local powerful people with evil intentions. While stabilizing local security, he has also made many enemies. If these people send dead soldiers to sneak into the military camp, and Li Shimin insists on fighting with
If soldiers share weal and woe, assassins can easily succeed.
Without the commander-in-chief, Liu Hongji might be able to avoid prosecution because of his official position. But the warrior Yun and Changsun Wuji would definitely not be able to escape punishment. Moreover, even if Tang Gong was merciful afterwards, their futures in this life would definitely be ruined. No one would trust them.
A staff member who can't even protect his own mastermind will not be willing to do so even if the Li family dislikes him.
"Shimin, I didn't hang out with my brothers like Zhongjian all day long. I had to do it, but I couldn't!" Liu Hongji knew that Li Shimin had misunderstood him and the standards of being a qualified military commander, so he changed his face.
, loudly advised. "There is an old saying that when a good general governs an army, he must give both kindness and power. If there is kindness but no authority, the order will not be carried out. If there is authority but no kindness, no one will die. Zhongjian was a school captain at that time, so he naturally wanted to treat his brothers like brothers, and
I was ordered to lead the entire army that day, so I had to keep a certain distance from my brothers."
"Thank you, Brother Hongji, for your advice!" Li Shimin knew that Liu Hongji was teaching him, and he gratefully raised his hand. But soon, he discovered the inappropriateness of what Liu Hongji said, and found an excellent counterexample, "But Zhongjian later
Brought out of Xiongwu Camp?"
Li Shimin not only admired Li Xu blindly, who was only less than two years older than him. From the two battles of Liaodong to later leading troops to counter the rebellion, he watched every move of the other party. In private, he
He often wondered if he could do better than the other party if he and the other party changed places. Therefore, he observed Li Xu much more carefully than Liu Hongji and others, and his speculations were much more serious than Liu Hongji and others. That is
His dream, as the second son of the Li family, he rarely had the opportunity to practice in person, but he could integrate himself into Li Xu's story, imagining that he could get rid of all restraints and roam freely among thousands of troops.
"Zhongjian led the troops and was too close to his brothers, so everyone was willing to fight side by side with him. In this way, when fighting with favorable winds, the morale was high. If there was a setback, everyone was too familiar with him and had no fear.
, it is inevitable that you will not be punished if you retreat." Liu Hongji thought for a while and explained.
"But there is a strategy that can avoid this flaw!" Knowing that Li Shimin may not be convinced, Liu Hongji continued to add, "That is to take the lead in every battle. As long as you don't retreat, the brothers will definitely not be able to bear to abandon the coach and flee first. Zhong Jian did the most.
Okay, exactly that!”
"If the coach makes a mistake, the whole army will be wiped out and there will be no chance to make a comeback!" Changsun Wuji loudly added to the side. He knew that the person whom the second young master admired the most was Li Zhongjian in Liu Hongji's mouth, but how noble the second young master was,
In any case, he cannot charge in person like Li Zhongjian like a lunatic. To do so would be too derogatory for a child of a noble family. Another point is that Li Shimin's martial arts may not be as high as he imagined. Regarding this, the eldest grandson
Wuji knew it very well, but he couldn't say it clearly. (To be continued)
