A few days later, Chen Chong returned to Luoyang. Although he came and went not long ago, his mood changed. The idea of resigning, which had been carefully considered before leaving, was wavered at this time.
Chen Chong thought, in fact, the unification of Kyushu was not a great achievement. If the people could not live and work in peace and contentment, the world would be peaceful and peaceful, and the great ambition and hegemony would not be worth commemorating. It's just that although this kind of thing sounds simple, among the previous emperors of the country, I am afraid that only Emperor Taizong Xiaowen has done it. And if he just resigns and goes into seclusion, I'm afraid he won't be able to realize his ideals. He still wants to do more and leave more traces in the world.
For a moment, Chen Chong recalled many policies that he had thought about before but had no conditions to implement. For example, the power of conscription by state, county, and county chiefs was lifted, and all meritorious officials at all levels were formally transferred directly to the imperial court; another example was the elimination of corvee service outside of military camps, and the reform of the tax system; and the elimination of the five prefectures after the war and the establishment of military towns instead. etc. Of course, what Chen Chong wanted to do most was to summarize the achievements of famous doctors such as Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo since the Guanghe Dynasty and compile a new medical classic. After all, in the previous years, Chen Chong was mostly known as a famous general who was sure to win in conquests, but compared to this title, Chen Chong still hoped to leave an impression on future generations that would be remembered by countless people.
But this can only be realized after Wu is defeated. Chen Chong was reading the military reports in the prime minister's house, thinking about the future policy outline, and planned to have a good discussion with Yunchang and Yide after they returned from their warning.
But after the war in Jingzhou entered the stage of siege of Jiangling, the progress became extremely slow.
Jiangling is the seat of the Sun family's Jingzhou governor. It has been an important town in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River since the Chu State, and is the hub of north-south and east-west transportation. Since Zhou Yu took charge of Jingzhou, he has been operating Jiangling as a military important town. It is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and serves as a barrier to the left side of the Yangtze River. , the last time Liu Xie crossed the river, Sima Yi led his troops across the north of the river and captured almost all the cities in Nanjun, but he failed to capture Jiangling City. It can be said that he was the most powerful vassal in the south.
The outer city of Jiangling is more than twenty miles in circumference, divided into east and west cities, with a sub-city inside. The south of the city is adjacent to the river, with a high dam built to shield the river water. The terrain inside Gao Dam is flat. It was originally a silkworm, tea and fish market, where many vendors built shacks to live. The city walls on the east, north and west are high and thick, surrounded by a moat filled with water from the river. The river surface here is winding, with many branches and islands, and it is said that there are as many as a hundred islands. There is a large swamp not far to the north of the city. In order to facilitate transportation, people dug branches from the river to connect with it. Not to mention the cavalry, it was difficult to move across it. It was also difficult for the navy to have large ships approaching, so it could only use small boats to transport troops.
After Guan Yu joined forces with Zhang Fei, he sent a letter to Chen Chong saying: They have raised mountains of earth outside the city to challenge them, but the walls of Jiangling are indeed high and dense, and the results of the attack are really unsatisfactory, and the defender of the city is Sun Sheng, a relative of Sun Quan. , failed to persuade them to surrender many times, so they could only continue to attack. Fortunately, although the results are slow, they are still progressing steadily. From October to March now, the Han army successively captured Jinan City, South City Dam, and Dongwai City outside Jiangling City. It can be seen that no matter how the Wu people resist, in the face of the absolutely superior strength of the Han army, it is only a matter of time before the city falls, and Chen Chong is so sure.
One evening in February of the eighth year of Yanxi, Chen Chong was studying in his mansion. The night in February still came very early, and Chen Chong had lit the lights early. At this time, a cool spring breeze blew in from outside the door, causing the candles to flicker, bright and dark. Chen Chong reluctantly read for a moment, and felt something in front of his eyes. It was dim, and he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. He became even more tired, and fell asleep. In a daze, Chen Chong felt a figure swaying in the wind standing in front of him. He looked very familiar. Who was it? This thought flashed through Chen Chong's mind, but he fell into a deep silence. The figure in front of him still swayed back and forth, and he remained motionless.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew past the eyes and blew the figure away! Chen Chong was startled. He sat up and woke up at the same time. Only then did he realize that it was a dream. Looking around the study room, it was already dark. The moonlight filtered in through the doors and windows. You could see that the usually invisible dust was boiling in the white stream, and there was still a little red left on the lamp wick in front of you. Chen Chong breathed a sigh of relief and then realized that it was the wind that had blown out the candle. He lit it again and continued to read "Jia Meng Fu" in his hand. However, he just woke up and felt dizzy and couldn't read it. Go in.
At this time, someone knocked on the door outside the house. After asking, I found out that it was the student Deng Zhi who came in the middle of the night. Deng Zhi wore a military uniform with narrow sleeves that was easy for riding, and deerskin boots on his feet. The top and bottom of his cloak were covered with dust from the journey, making him look dusty. Chen Chong was very happy to see him coming. Originally, his family had rested at this time, but Chen Chong still called Dong Bai to cook, and then joked with him: "You are not leading troops in Nanfu, but you come back at this time, right?" What happy news do you want to tell me?"
It is not difficult to guess that Deng Zhi, as a frontline general, would not leave the battlefield easily. Only after victory, and the entire army could not rest and mobilize, would he have room to return. After Deng Zhi sat down, he forced a smile and said slowly: "Teacher knows things well. When I return to Luoyang this time, I mainly want to tell the teacher two things. The first thing is victory. Just five days ago , our army has captured the inner city of Jiangling!"
Chen Chong showed that he was indeed like this. He took out a document that he had written long ago from the desk, turned to Deng Zhi and said with a smile: "The whole court has been waiting for this news for a long time! I have even written the announcement of the award for the three armies." , just waiting for you to come get it.”
But to Chen Chong's surprise, Deng Zhi immediately showed an extremely embarrassed look. After receiving the letter, he hesitated to speak, apparently having some unspeakable secrets.
Seeing him like this, Chen Chong asked him, "Could it be that there were too many casualties during the attack on the city? Does Yun Chang need to rest for a while?"
Deng Zhi shook his head and muttered: "Our army is attacking the city in turns. There are some injuries, but many of them were treated, so the casualties are not serious." After a pause, he lowered his head, not daring to look at Chen Chong, and whispered: "It's just... …It’s just that when the marshal entered the city, he…”
Chen Chong was suspicious and asked, "What happened to Chang Yun when he entered the city?"
Deng Zhi said fearfully: "I dare not say it!"
Chen Chong was furious and hammered the case with his hand. The documents fell to the ground on the shore. He stood up and pointed at Deng Zhi and said, "If you don't tell me, what will you do when you come back? Tell me quickly!"
Deng Zhi burst into tears immediately, fell to his knees on the ground, and said with sobs: "Teacher, you have to hold on! When the marshal entered the city, the Wu people had not been completely wiped out. Two Wu people who were good at shooting ambushed them halfway. Marshal, an arrow hit the marshal..."
When Chen Chong heard this, he suddenly felt the world spinning. He barely stood upright and asked feebly: "How is Yun Chang's injury?"
"At that time, the marshal thought that the overall situation was settled and he was not wearing armor. As a result, the arrow pierced his chest and he was seriously injured on the spot. After the marshal returned to the camp, several doctors accompanying the army treated him overnight, but they were helpless. Before I left, someone followed me. I said, the Marshal's body can only last until next month at most, and he will die at any time."
After hearing this, Chen Chong was very calm. He slowly leaned over and sat down, looking straight ahead. After a long time, Fang said something: "Yun Chang has gone." After saying that, he suddenly felt a stinging pain in his heart like a needle pricking, his vision suddenly darkened, and he almost fell to the ground. Deng Zhi, who was beside him, was mentally prepared and came over quickly. Support Chen Chong and let him sit on the straw mat again.
But this was not enough for Chen Chong to recover from the heavy blow. He felt that his whole body was constantly switching between cold and heat, his ears were covered by a vague buzzing sound, and his hands could not stop shaking. Is Yunchang really gone? Yun Chang is really gone! When Chen Chong thought of this, he felt an unbelievable sense of fantasy. How could Yunchang leave him behind? In my mind, Yun Chang is like half of me. Although I often lament my aging, as long as I see or think of Yun Chang, all the hesitation and confusion will be filtered into pure courage. After Chen Chong found out that he had lost him, he couldn't even breathe for a while. UU Reading .nt His original complete self seemed to be hollowed out in an instant.
Only then did Chen Chong realize that he had never thought that Yunchang would die too.
When Chen Chong recovered from his confused state, all his family members and disciples gathered around him. Chen Chong held Dong Bai's hand. He had thousands of words for a moment, but could not express them. He paused for a long time and only said: "Yun Chang is dead!"
After a while, he asked Deng Zhi gently: "Bo Miao, before you leave, does Yunchang have anything to say to me?"
After finishing speaking, he was panting and saw Deng Zhi take out a letter from his arms. After it was quiet, Deng Zhi read it word by word: "As a general, you should accomplish extraordinary feats. Even if you go through thousands of dangers and face many difficulties, I want to bring peace to all the people, and I will die without regrets. I originally wanted to wipe out the bandits and bring peace to the world with my brother. Later, I wanted to wrap my body in horse leather and die on the battlefield. Now I have accomplished it. I am so lucky! I am so lucky! I hope that my brother will not worry about me and bring peace to the Three Wus. To harmonize all directions and achieve the merits of three generations, this is the ultimate achievement of a minister!"
After finishing reading, Deng Zhi looked at Chen Chong and saw the teacher silently taking the marshal's suicide note, reading it several times, and finally shed tears.
Chen Chong put the letter away and waved everyone away. He began to walk slowly under the bright moon, recalling the deeds of the brothers together. For a long time, he recalled in his mind the original oath the four of them made when they became sworn brothers: "Don't ask for someone to be born on the same day, same year, same month, etc." , but I hope to die in the same year, same month, same day." Now two people have left, and this time, Chen Chong truly feels that his end is already in sight.
When he returned to the main room, he placed the memorial tablet of Yun Chang, wrote a poem beside it, and then burned it. The whole poem said:
"When we are young, it is easy to break up in the early stages. We will grow old together and it will not be the time to separate again.
I forgot to say that a bottle of wine cannot be restored yesterday. If you don't know the way in a dream, how can you comfort your lovesickness? "
