As for the Western Dynasty, after Chen Dao brought Liu Bei back to Pingcheng, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief and had a rest for the night. However, when everyone woke up the next day, the statistics of the losses among various ministries were not optimistic. bestow
When Qu Yi fell into the battle, Chen Chong's troops had already suffered thousands of casualties. In addition to the tens of thousands of casualties of Liu Bei's right army, the total reduction of the entire Western Army had exceeded 30,000. Only about 140,000 soldiers could continue to fight. Although they were still It was a huge number, but facing the nearly 300,000 troops combined by the Eastern Army and Xianbei, it seemed even more disadvantageous.
Compared with the loss of soldiers, the loss of Bafu general Zuo is even more heartbreaking. Not to mention Beigong Qi and others who died in the battle beside Chen Chong, just where Liu Bei's right army was, they killed the rebel general Tai Shici, the guarding army general Shejian, the Pingnan Zhonglang general Wei Xu and other generals. Xi Lu, a literary practitioner of Bafu, Xiahou Zuan, the chief historian of Yanmen, and Meng Guang, a Sinong of Jinyang, were also captured. These people have been fighting with Liu Bei for a long time and are very prestigious in the Overlord's Mansion. But now they all fall into the hands of the enemy and their lives are unknown. How can they not make all the generals in the Mansion sad and uneasy? Therefore, many generals in the army are timid and want to retreat, but they dare not speak out because of Chen Chong's prestige.
Chen Chong was well aware of this undercurrent, but he did not make it clear. He thought: This battle is a war based on the country. Whoever retreats first will bring about his own destruction, so retreating is definitely not an option. But if he bluntly stated that he would fight again, it might not be able to arouse the fighting spirit of the soldiers, but would instead cause dissatisfaction among the generals. Therefore, after careful consideration, he ordered the generals to rest and recuperate for the time being, planning to wait until Liu Bei regained consciousness before he could think of another way.
On the same day, Chen Chong sent another envoy to the Dongren camp, claiming that he would send thousands of people out to clean the battlefield and collect the corpses of the soldiers, hoping that the two armies could temporarily cease fighting on this day. After hearing this, Cao Cao happily agreed and smiled at the envoy: "Tell Ting Jian, we have been friends since childhood, so why do we need to make the world go to war? If he led his troops to surrender, his power would be no less than what it is today."
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The news spread to the Western Army, causing an uproar, and everyone saw that there was an intention to alienate. But Chen Chong laughed when he heard this and replied in public: "Meng De has good intentions. Unfortunately, he has a lot of blood debts. Even if he surrenders his troops now, I'm afraid I can't spare his life." Only then did the army regain peace.
For Chen Chong, this was just a small incident, and he didn't take it seriously. The next day, he personally led thousands of people to the battlefield to collect the corpses.
The autumn sun was shining brightly on this day, and the heat had not yet dropped. When Chen Chong returned to the battlefield the day before yesterday, the entire battlefield began to emit a strong smell of corpses. It is clear that the autumn grass is still green and the yellow flowers are still bright, but the death energy of the entire battlefield is already overflowing with chills, making the Westerners who are preparing to pick up the corpses feel more frightened and lethargic, and making everything in the world fall into darkness. bestow
The Westerners began to carry the corpses.
They first opened the collar to look for the name of the deceased. According to tradition, soldiers would write the name on the collar to make it easier for officers and family members to claim it. Then the body was wrapped in linen cloth, the name of the deceased was written on the linen cloth, and then loaded into a carriage and transported back to the eastern suburbs of Pingcheng, where more than 10,000 people were digging a large pit, waiting for the burial to be carried out as soon as the people arrived. monument.
As for most of the corpses without names, Westerners had no choice but to cremate them on the spot. In order to prevent a fire, they set up five bonfires for burning corpses beside the pool where Taishi Ci died in battle. In order to get an early rest, Westerners often burn hundreds of corpses together. As a result, the pungent smell spreads and can be faintly heard for miles away. But even so, the burning was not completed during the day and continued until late at night. It's still as bright as day here.
At this time, the previous group of people were extremely tired, so they were replaced by Chen Chong, and Liu Bao and others were called in to continue. Chen Chong himself did not go back to rest, but sat by the bonfire and looked at the night around him. The sky is filled with thin clouds like gauze, and the stars are flickering brightly and dimly. The sky is like a canopy, and the sky is vast. There are inexplicable blue smoke birds rising up, and then they are gradually blown away by the mountain wind. The wind blew on the military clothes, making people feel a sudden coldness. Only then did people realize that there were dewdrops on the clothes.
There are low trees everywhere in the countryside. It is easy to see pairs of shining eyes looking this way. Looking at the foot of the mountain in the distance, dots of blue phosphorescence are like stars. Some people said that it was either a fox or a jackal that came out to look for food at night, but unexpectedly it was disturbed by others. Others said that so many people died in the last battle that they might not have disturbed the ghosts underground. The soldiers were singing again, probably to pray for their dead comrades. The emotion and scene added to the feeling of darkness and desolation.
At this time, someone came to tell them that the bodies of the Westerners would be cleaned up in about two hours, but there were still many dead Easterners on the ground. Seeing that Dongfang didn't seem to have any intention of cleaning up, they asked Chen Chong what to do. Chen Chong thought for a while and said: "They are all poor people who can't help themselves on the battlefield, so let's just burn them."
So the Westerners set up two more bonfires to burn. The heat wave here went back and forth, which was suddenly better than the scorching heat in June. Chen Chong couldn't sit down, so he simply stood up and went to a small slope to blow in the wind. However, due to the sudden heat and cold, he felt a chill entering his body. The fracture in his right hand, which was clamped by a branch, felt like a needle prick. But after a while, the pain subsided again, and then Chen Chong suddenly heard the sound of Hujia. bestow
Chen Chong has been familiar with Han folk music for a long time, but he has rarely heard of Hujia. At this time, the sound heard in my ears is sometimes clear and long-lasting, sometimes profound and vicissitudes of life. It is quite similar to Guanlong Qinqiang, but different from it. The rhythm is slow but urgent, the tune is resentful but forgiving, and the sound reaches high places. It is sad and tragic at the same time. , between sorrow and anger, it feels more like hearing a chicken dancing with a sword or listening to a drum stepping on the formation.
After listening carefully, Chen Chong felt that the tune was familiar again, as if he had heard it somewhere. He recalled carefully, and the sound of Hujia was slow, as if he was gradually returning to the car on the way to Hequ. The frozen river seems to extend towards the northern sky. The sky and earth are gray and dull, the vegetation is withered and withered, and there are only a few graves made of stones along the road, standing among the grass withered by the north wind. At that time, there were not many followers around, but all of them were close friends. Now that I heard about Hujia again, it was like the departed person waving goodbye to me again, and the yin and yang were separated from each other.
Chen Chong finally couldn't help but burst into tears, and said sadly to himself: "In a hundred years of life, many unintentions will lead to eternal farewell. Is living in this world a blessing or a pity?"
He immediately called for the sergeant who played the pipes, but it was a young Jiehu man with green eyes. This man wore a cloak and a short sword hanging from his waist. Although he was an infantryman, he wore Hu-style deerskin boots that were common among knights. Chen Chong asked him: "Which clan are you from? What is your name?"
The man replied in fluent Chinese: "I am from Sheyan, Shangjun. My real name is Shi Xieyiyu, and now my name is Shixiu."
"Oh? What does Shi Sang have to do with you?"
"You can be regarded as my clan uncle." Kui
It turned out that he was an old friend and relative, so Chen Chong felt some affection in his heart and asked him: "Does the tune you played just now have a name?"
Shi Xiu replied: "It is said that this is a song written by our ancestors when they traveled from the Western Regions to Longshang. The name of the song is "Sheyan Zhizhang Song". It not only mourns those companions who died of illness on the way, but also comforts that one day we will reach our destination. .”
It turned out to be a barbarian song called "The Road Is Difficult." Chen Chong nodded secretly and said naturally, "This reminds me of a poem from Youzhou."
Seeing Shi Xiu's confusion, he continued: "The author of this poem was from the same hometown as the general. He became famous at a young age but did not enter officialdom. He also lost his wife and mother and died in depression. But his poems are like green pine trees in the snow and muddy mud. The Ganoderma lucidum shows that the body is in a humble house and the heart is in Kyushu, which is quite touching."
After saying that, he couldn't help but read:
"Ganoderma lucidum grows in Hezhou and is shaken by floods. How late is Lan Rong? The severe frost kills him.
Alas, the two fragrant grasses are not planted in Taishan. Literary quality is valuable, and it will be appreciated when you use it. bestow
When Jiangguan came to Hengzai, he said that friendship was high in glitz. If you don't use the talented people, they will go to Jingnansha from afar.
Holding a jade and riding a dragon will not lead to happiness and peace. Ande Kong Zhongni was the leader of Chen Sike. "
This is another one of Liyan's "Poems of Expression". It is different from the first one that Liu Bei loved. He no longer has the aura of being unconventional and transcendent. Instead, he can only lament his life experience and suffer from being useless. It was lost due to sadness, so it is not as popular as the previous one. But when Chen Chong thought about it at this time, he could clearly feel that there was a kind of life and death in it, and the majestic spirit of mountains and rivers.
After the bodies of the Easterners were burned, it was almost dawn the next day. Chen Chong ordered the ashes to be buried separately in the ground, and each of them erected a stele. On the Westerner's side, it was written: "The loyal soldiers will forever remember me." Heart." The Guandong section wrote: "Li Shu is innocent and must save the fire and water." Then he slowly returned to Pingcheng.
By this time, Liu Bei was also awake. Zhang Zhongjing was checking his pulse in the room, while Chen Chong, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others were sitting aside and waiting.
After Zhang Zhongjing wrote the prescription, Chen Chong stepped forward and asked him: "How is Xuande's health?" Zhang Zhongjing replied: "It's just a general external injury, nothing serious. The general has been in coma for the past two days, mainly because he was tired after a hard battle and was not in good health." It's because he has enough food. In terms of true injury, I'm afraid it's not as serious as the dragon's head." Chen Chong covered his right hand and was speechless.
After Zhang Zhongjing handed the prescription to the maid and strode away, Chen Chong slowly closed the door, and the room became quiet for a while. Chen Chong looked at Liu Bei on the couch and saw him half-sitting leaning against the wall, closing his eyes and meditating. bestow
Chen Chong stepped forward and briefly described the current situation in the army with him, and asked: "Xuande, there are so few casualties in the army now. I'm afraid I won't be able to suppress the group's discussion. I'm afraid you have to make the decision in the end. Say, Where to go next?”
When Liu Bei heard this, his eyes suddenly widened, and he replied in a sonorous tone: "Since we have already joined the battle and killed so many soldiers in vain, there is no reason to retreat! Didn't I make an oath before the battle? Only one of me and Cao Cao can leave this place alive!"
Chen Chong saw that his words were eloquent and his eyes were full of fighting spirit. He was immediately relieved and responded with emotion: "Since Xuande has this intention, the world will not be settled!"
