After Sun Jian said these words, the muscles on his face relaxed, and a few wrinkles instantly appeared in his resolute expression, adding a bit of vicissitudes to his face. Obviously, it was not easy for him to make this decision.
But after he finished speaking, he did not explain too much, and immediately issued an order to expel the guests, saying: "It is late tonight, and I am tired. Everyone, please have a good rest. If there is anything else, we will discuss it at the military meeting tomorrow." Afterwards, he called the sergeants and ordered them to take Chen Chong, Yuan Si and others to rest.
Yuan Si glanced at Chen Chong and looked nervous, but unlike when he was at Hangu Pass, he had completed his mission and had confidence in his chest, so he was nervous but not panicked. He bowed slightly to Chen Chong and led his servants to leave with the sergeant.
There was no Yuan Si in Chen Chong's eyes. He stood still, like a dead tree. No matter how the sergeants around him tried to console him, he remained firmly nailed to the tent and looked at Sun Jian with murderous eyes. When the sergeant next to him begged that if he stayed in the room, he would be punished under military law, Chen Chong apologized and walked out of the camp.
Sun Jian didn't say a word the whole time.
Standing in front of the camp, Chen Chong took out the gold seal of Bingzhou Mu and said to the sergeant accompanying him: "I can only retreat here. I hope you will forgive me. If someone punishes you according to military law, you can exchange this seal for me." Come and chop off my head." At this point, how dare the sergeant dare to persuade me? Chen Chong could only stand here. When Wei Yan saw this, he also stood by his side with a sword in hand. He was now about eighteen years old, more than eight feet tall, and strong and strong. At first glance, he looked like a warrior who could capture a tiger. Sun Jian's personal guards did not dare to be careless, like a fence. Opposing the two of them.
At this moment, the night wind blows, which is quite warm and springy, but still cold. The moonlight is still shining in the sky, and its faint brilliance shines through the blazing red light in front of the camp, turning the people in front of the camp into snowmen. The Jing people on night watch passed by the general's camp three times. When they saw this scene, they couldn't help but whisper and guess. What kind of incident happened.
I don't know how long it took, the moonlight disappeared, and the torches in front of the camp became dim. The guards guarding the gate were a little tired. They stepped forward to persuade Chen Chong, saying: "Why is Longshou like this? Let's rest for a while first, and then go to the army again." It's the same when discussing matters." Chen Chong glanced at them and didn't reply, still standing there and looking directly at the camp.
At this time, a man in light clothes walked out of the tent. He glanced at the guards. The guards stood on both sides so that he could look directly at Chen Chong. Chen Chong's eyes were as bright as stars. Sun Jian was hesitant for a moment. He used to The sound was like a loud bell, but at this moment, he said softly for the first time: "Ting Jian, don't try to embarrass me."
Chen Chong was still looking at him, but Sun Jian finally bowed his head and gave in, saying, "Okay, let's talk." So he ordered his guards to stand guard fifty steps away. Chen Chong handed the Qingzhi Sword to Wei Yan and asked him to rest too. After a while, the two entered the account again. Sun Jian lit the lights in the tent, and the figures of the two stretched out on the tent, just like the unspeakable emotions in their hearts.
The first words Sun Jian said to Chen Chong were not about military affairs or righteousness, but he said: "Ting Jian, do you know how old I am this year?" As soon as he said these words, the breath of time came to his face, and Chen Chong suddenly realized He remembered that during this period, he had not had a heart-to-heart talk with Sun Jian. The last time the two had such a conversation was ten years ago. …
Without waiting for Chen Chong to answer, Sun Jian continued: "I am already thirty-seven years old this year. How old are you?"
"Stand up soon." Chen Chong replied.
"Yes, I am nearly eight years older than you." Sun Jian laughed first. After he finished laughing, he looked down at his thick fingers and sighed: "I am not as lucky as you in my background. You are the son of the Chen family in Yingchuan, and you are famous as Duke Taiqiu." Sihai, I am just a child of a county official. When you met me in Wu County, you were seventeen years old and I was twenty-four. At that time, you were already famous all over the world and were called Xiping Longshou, but I was just He is the Prime Minister of Xiapi County."
He looked at Chen Chong, but Chen Chong couldn't say anything. He continued to say: "Although I was supported by you at that time and helped me to make the order of Pi, I thought I was the only one in the world at that time, so I got into trouble with you over the matter of killing and surrendering." Hehe, you broke off relations with me and left. I thought it was no big deal. Now that I think about it, how naive I was at that time! Just because the new governor made his own decisions based on my preferences and came from a humble background, he disliked me very much. From then on, My career as an official was coming to an end. At that time, I was very upset. I saw myself getting older day by day. I thought that I would achieve nothing in my life, and I couldn’t bear to look for you. In the blink of an eye, I wasted four years. Until the Yellow Turban was in full swing, Fortunately, with General Zhu’s support, I got another chance.”
At this point, he smiled again, and finally concluded: "But I risk my life so much every day, and I have about thirty scars on my body. Now I have climbed the big tree of the Yuan family, but my official position is still not as good as yours." , Ting Jian, I am so jealous of you!"
Chen Chong listened to his melodious sigh, and it was the first time he heard him have such a heart-to-heart conversation. He couldn't help but feel a little emotional. He said: "Yes, Wentai, so I admire you very much. You have a strong nature and no taboos. You are a man of great wisdom who moves forward bravely. Now that you are famous in Yunei, no one will look down upon you anymore."
"I just regard human life as nothing." Sun Jian continued. Seeing that Chen Chong was a little embarrassed, he poured a glass of wine, shook the glass and said with a smile: "You don't need to be embarrassed. You were right at the time. It is true. I must have been in trouble." Even if I kill Wang Rui and Zhang Zi, there will be no less people in the world criticizing me."
Looking at his resolute and resolute face, as well as the thick black sideburns covering his cheeks and chin, Chen Chong seemed to have returned to eleven years ago, and the scene when he took him on a safari in Xiapi couldn't help but come to mind. At that time, Sun Jian's eyes were arrogant, firm and aloof, and his back was straight and hard, like a strange stone in Huashan Mountain. But now he shows such a sad look, he must have lived a very hard life these years.
Chen Chong was distracted and didn't notice what Sun Jian said next. Suddenly he heard him say "Do you know why I plan to withdraw my troops?", and then he suddenly came back to his senses. He pondered for a moment and said: "It should be Yuan Benchu who raised his troops to attack Yuan Jiujiu. Yuan Jiujiu has no one available, so I can only ask you to return the troops to rescue him."
Unexpectedly, Sun Jian shook his head and denied it. He said, "You are right, but those are Yuan Qiaoqi's military orders, not mine. You should know my temperament. I have always made my own decisions in the military." After that, he Turning back and taking out a map of Hongnong from the case, Chen Chong went over to it and saw dots on it, full of Sun Jian's considerations for marching and formation. The world only said that Sun Jian was fierce and brave in battle, and that he was invincible just now, but they never thought that these were all The result of all his hard work on the war. …
Sun Jian rubbed the texture of the map and said to himself: "Although I am thirty-seven years old, this is the age when a man makes great contributions. If I can defeat Dong Zhuo, I will definitely be able to make thousands of households the most powerful ministers. My martial name is also If it can be passed down to future generations, how could I give up this opportunity just because of Yuan Shu's order?"
Chen Chong was also quite surprised by this. He really couldn't think of any reason why Yuan Shu could make Sun Jian order the withdrawal so decisively. He reluctantly asked: "Is it because he threatened to cut off food? If so, I can ask Bingzhou to transfer troops." Once the food comes, it won’t be a big problem to keep it going for another two months.”
Seeing his sincere expression, Sun Jian patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "How could I not know this? You always take the overall situation into consideration." He stood up, faced Chen Chong with his back, and after a long time he said: "My wife and children, uncle Fu, Zhongmou and the others have all arrived at Luyang for Qiusi."
Chen Chong stood up and looked at Sun Jian in disbelief. Sun Jian faced him with only a slightly trembling back. He forced a happy face and smiled dryly at the tent and said: "Ting Jian, I heard that you have been married for five years. Why don't you have any children yet? When I was your age, even Bo Fu could ride a horse."
Chen Chong was silent for a long time. For the first time in his life, he felt that he was powerless to say anything. He could only ask in a hoarse voice: "Bo Fu, how is Bo Fu recently? The last time I saw him, he was just a toy. The boy with the wooden sword.”
"Now I can make an eight-foot gun." When Sun Jian mentioned his eldest son, he smiled more heartily. He turned around and added: "He often mentions you and always asks me when will you come to see him again." He smiled slightly After a pause, he stroked his beard and said: "I told him that you will come when I am ranked as the ninth minister."
Chen Chong couldn't help laughing. He said, "Doesn't this make Bo Fu think that I am a philistine?" He stopped talking about this and began to talk to Sun Jian about his recent troubles and his vision for the future. The two of them talked like this. , time passed without realizing it. In the blink of an eye, a beam of red light shone on the tent curtain, and it turned out to be dawn.
Both of them knew that the topic was over, and Sun Jian finally asked him: "Ting Jian, are you still planning to stop me from withdrawing my troops?"
Chen Chong's face was complicated. He struggled for a long time, and finally bowed deeply to Sun Jian and begged: "Wentai, I know your difficulties, but even so, I still hope you can stay. If you leave today, this year, , The blood of many martyrs has been shed in vain, and the ambitions of many heroic souls have been wasted. I have no choice but to ask you to stay."
Sun Jian remained silent.
Chen Chong raised his head and said to him word by word: "Wentai, if you ask me whether I can ensure the safety of Mrs. Sister-in-law and Bo Fu, I dare not promise you. But I am willing to use all my methods to make Yuan I dare not act rashly on the highway, even if it costs my life, I will not hesitate." He will pick up an arrow, break it with all his strength, and then write the words like iron: "The sky and the earth have learned from this, if I violate This statement has such a purpose!”
He placed the broken arrow in front of him and looked at Sun Jian without hope. Sun Jian's brows were struggling, as if a whirlpool was rolling up in the sea of consciousness. After a moment, his expression relaxed and he said to Chen Chong: "You've convinced me, Ting Jian." He stroked the scabbard, walked past Chen Chong, and stood at the tent door. Stopped and then said: "I just want to think about it. I will go out for a walk and I will give you an answer when I come back."…
He rode his Yemaoju alone and headed eastward in the spring breeze. The Yemaoju's legs were amazing, but Sun Jian walked very slowly. He left the camp first and then walked to the south of Xin'an City. After two , he arrived at Gushui. On the north bank of the valley is a willow forest, and on the south bank is a deep peach forest. In this spring day, the peach branches and willow branches have sprouted new buds, and the air has its green fragrance. Sun Jian loved the purity here.
He looked at the clusters of scorching peach blossoms and saw orioles scurrying among the branches, and the depression in his heart eased a lot. Sun Jian looked around and saw that no one was following him, so he dismounted and took out a purse from his arms. He gently opened his purse, and it turned out that there was a square seal in the purse.
This seal is no bigger than the palm of your hand, green and blue in color, warm and lustrous, but one corner is missing, which is repaired with gold. On the front, there are engraved the Chinese characters "Order from heaven, and you will live forever", and the ring is engraved with the pattern of two dragons playing with beads, with buttons of dragons, fish, and phoenixes on top. In terms of style, it is exactly the Han national seal that disappeared after the Luoyang coup!
When Sun Jian was tidying up his palace in Luoyang, he came across a well with five gases. He had just obtained this seal from the well. He attached great importance to it and did not even tell his relatives and friends.
At this time, Sun Jian faced the Chuanguo Seal to the sky and silently looked at its appearance. He hesitated in his heart and thought to himself: Chuanguo Seal is a symbol of destiny. He was tidying up the palace in Luoyang and got this seal by chance. Should I revive the Han Dynasty? If the Han Dynasty could be revived, how could I encounter such difficulties?
He thought of his wife and children, Chen Chong's words, and his youthful ambitions, but he couldn't come up with an answer.
So Sun Jian said silently to the imperial seal: "If I am to revive the Han Dynasty and continue to challenge Dong Daye, I hope the gods will show up and use this seal to indicate to me."
Having said that, Sun Jian placed it in the water. The jade seal remained unchanged. Unexpectedly, among the drifting clouds, the morning sun shot out a beam of golden light, passing through the layers of branches and shining on the seal. Under the refraction of the jade, the surrounding lake water Gradually colorful waves appeared, attracting dozens of red carp. They gathered in the shallow green water and swam back and forth like cinnabar. The scene was like a dream.
Sun Jian got the answer and his mood calmed down. He stood up and put the Imperial Seal back into his chest. Just as he was about to turn around and mount his horse, he heard an uneasy neigh from Ye Maoju.
The sound of horse hooves sounded, and a man and a horse walked out of the willow forest. The man wore a black scarf and a military uniform, and his appearance could not be seen clearly. But Sun Jian could only clearly see the cocked crossbow in his hand.
The man sighed to Sun Jian: "What a pity."
After that, he triggered the crossbow machine, and the crossbow arrow pierced Sun Jian's chest and shot straight into the Gushui River behind him.
The blood quickly soaked through the deep clothes, and Sun Jian had no time to resist. He fell to the ground and looked up at the sky. There are so many clouds, he thought with regret, but unfortunately there is no humidity like Fuchun. He gave two final, meaningless slaps in the dirt and soon lost consciousness. he died.
The man in black untied Sun Jian's robe, took out the imperial seal, laughed twice with joy, and immediately mounted his horse and left.
The night-haired horse neighed sadly. It paced back and forth around Sun Jian and lightly arched its master's bleeding chest with its head. After lingering for two quarters of an hour, it chose to run back to the camp.
Soon, the news of General Polu's assassination spread throughout Xin'an. .
