Chu State was adjacent to the Southern Tang Dynasty in the east, and its capital was Tanzhou Prefecture (i.e. Changsha City), but it was only more than a hundred miles away from Yuanzhou, a border town of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Ever since Ma Xihe asked for help from the Southern Tang Dynasty for the first time last year, sent troops and won the throne, the Emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty Li Jing saw the signs that the Chu State was about to lose, due to successive changes of hands and wars.
So as early as March this year, he appointed Bian Hao as the governor of Xinzhou and the pacifier of Hunan, and led his troops to lurk in Pingxiang, Yuanzhou to wait for changes.
At this time, under the cover of night, Li Yuan's army of the Southern Tang Dynasty had already entered the Chu territory. However, they did not march directly along the official road to Tanzhou like last year. Instead, they followed the order of their commander Bian Hao and chose to follow the winding mountain road. The trail detours around Liling and marches from the south.
"Commander on the border, there are no enemies ahead. This mountain road is extremely smooth. The army is expected to arrive at Liling on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year!" A scout in light armor from the Tang Army walked back and forth for thirty miles and was slowly leading the Chinese army. OK side report.
"I know, let's explore again. Go straight to Tanzhou to find out the enemy's strength!"
The person who replied was riding a tall horse, his tone was very cold, and he was holding the reins tightly in his hands. He was just staring at the forest path in the distance with an expressionless face. The vicissitudes of life on his face were like a knife carving them, which perfectly concealed this person's complicated thoughts, making People are unpredictable.
This is the most valued general of the Southern Tang Emperor, Bian Hao, who is leading the troops to fight abroad this time.
Bian Hao, who had served the founding monarch of the Southern Tang Dynasty when he was young, knew very well the character of the Li family and was extremely alert not only on the battlefield, but also in front of the emperor. This is why he became the leader of Emperor Yuanzong of the Tang Dynasty in just eight or nine years after Li Jing succeeded to the throne. An important reason for its sudden rise.
From the initial suppression of Zhang Yuxian's uprising to the battle to destroy the Fujian Kingdom in the Southern Tang Dynasty, he was not the main general with no qualifications at the time, but he was able to repeatedly come up with clever strategies to defeat the enemy, and when discussing merits and rewards afterwards, he was very low-key, saying nothing and not claiming credit. , completely different from other generals.
You must know that the emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, who claimed to be a descendant of the Tang Dynasty, was very different from the monarchs of other countries. He not only advocated martial arts, but also paid more attention to civility. For a warrior like Bian Hao who could take credit without being arrogant and had a hint of Confucianism, Of course I quite like it!
So this time, the emperor gave him the task of destroying Chu. Bian Hao, who was taking charge of his own role as a general for the first time, encountered a great opportunity when the state of Chu was in chaos and had nothing to worry about. He was about to make a great contribution to the Southern Tang Dynasty! But at the same time, he became very worried. For fear of making any mistakes, he even chose the route of march very cautiously.
The army marched slowly. The soldiers of the Southern Tang Dynasty who entered Chu this time were all lightly armed. They were in a team of five and marched in an orderly manner. They were not too tired during the march.
"Brother Yuan, this is our fellow from Chuzhou -" Liu Jiangsheng gently touched his companion Li Yuan with his shoulder and suddenly asked softly.
Li Yuan was still stuck in thinking about how to settle down and live his life. He was woken up by Liu Jiangsheng beside him. Following the direction of his tilted head and squinted eyes, he turned his head in confusion.
What caught his eye was a large, dark face, with big white teeth sticking out, and his unexpected loud voice made Li Yuan jump out of his wits: "My name is Luo Erhu."
"Oh, hello, hello, my name is Li Yuan." Absently, Li Yuan still adopted the modern way of greeting.
The square-headed man smiled innocently and said: "Hey, I know, you are the idiot who scolded Jidu's head!"
When Liu Jiangsheng on the side heard this, he immediately raised the long knife in his hand and shouted dissatisfied: "What are you talking about, you rough guy? Brother Yuan did it unintentionally. He was not very smart when he woke up... .”
Li Yuan shrugged nonchalantly and said cheerfully: "It's okay, just scold me!"
"Brother Yuan, don't talk like that again, that's a boss! He's different from us!" Liu Jiangsheng muttered while looking carefully at the sergeants around him.
Li Yuan, who was recalling the next war in his mind, was a little unconcerned at this time, and still said: "So what if he is a leader? He is not more valuable than us! Now is the time to fight, and it is not necessary to go to the battlefield. They are all a pile of flesh and blood, will you still be able to tell which one is the leader and which one is the soldier?"
Luo Erhu immediately took the words and said with a grin: "Brother Yuan is so heroic!"
Hearing these words, Liu Jiangsheng suddenly sighed and looked sad: "Oh, brother Yuan, you are angry, but the money mother gave us is gone..." The voice gradually weakened, and then became quiet. All that was left was the sound of heavy breathing.
Luo Erhu, who was also born in the countryside, narrowed his already slender eyes with a disdainful attitude: "Hey, you are such a strong man, you are so natural, how can you care about it like a woman?" ? Didn’t you say Brother Yuan is your good brother? Do you still care about these few coins? "
Perhaps it was because Luo Erhu's voice was so rough that Li Yuan's thoughts were suddenly brought back. He suddenly thought that in the camp just now, if Liu Jiangsheng hadn't stepped forward and stuffed Ji Du's head with something, he would have just screamed on his own. Those two sentences, I'm afraid I'm going to get a big whipping...
"Erhu, Jiang Sheng is right. It was my fault. I offended Ji Dutou on impulse, so Jiang Sheng lost his money in vain."
When the victim spoke up, Luo Erhu was instantly stunned: "This -"
"Brother Yuan, I don't regret throwing away the money." At this time, Liu Jiangsheng turned his head and couldn't see his face clearly in the dim night, but his plain words could reveal the man's true feelings: "Mother said, we We grew up wearing the same crotch cloth, and you took good care of me, so I must help you more! I have already regarded you as an elder brother! You were probably going to be whipped, and I had to protect you no matter what. ..."
Seeing that Li Yuan didn't say a word, Liu Jiangsheng's tone gradually became lower and lower: "It's just that my mother made needlework for the officials in the city and saved it for countless days. When I thought of this, I I feel so suffocated...Brother Yuan, don’t be angry, I don’t blame you!”
"Jiang Sheng, how can I blame you! I, Li Yuan, have had no father or mother since I was a child. Fortunately, my godmother and you treat me as one of your own. My godmother has turned me into an upright man with every stitch, and I can't thank you enough! You It’s my brother again, how can I blame you!”
Li Yuan was not without feelings. When Liu Jiangsheng opened his mouth, his godmother appeared in his mind, who had been sewing and mending day and night in the small village for many years and raising him up.
In this troubled world where human nature is cold and desolate, a lonely woman whose husband has died is essentially helpless and her livelihood is in jeopardy.
Although she was kind-hearted and had no blood relationship with her, she took her employer's baby and the newly born Liu Jiangsheng without hesitation and moved to a foreign land. For twenty years, she endured the pointing fingers of others and managed the two with one hand. How much courage it takes to grow up as a child!
With this kind of upbringing alone, Li Yuan, who has the memory of the original owner, can't help but feel a sore nose and red eyes: "Don't worry, Jiang Sheng, I will find a way to make some money this time! When the army returns, we will Bring your godmother to Jiangning Mansion and live a good life together!"
Liu Jiangsheng has regarded Li Yuan as his backbone since he was a child. No matter how Li Yuan coaxes him, no matter how entangled he is, as long as Li Yuan speaks, this tall man will believe him. At this time, as usual, after hearing this, he immediately buried his melancholy mood and said with a simple and honest smile: "Yes! Brother Yuan, I believe you!"
The emotions of the two brothers progressed a bit quickly. The upright Luo Erhu didn't react at all. He could only hear the word "money" in his ears. He couldn't wait to ask: "Brother Yuan, are you talking nonsense to me?" Well, aren’t we going to fight this time? How can we still make money?”
Li Yuan rolled his eyes and said, "Why can't we make money from fighting?"
Luo Erhu thought for a while, and his eyes suddenly lit up: "You mean, let's go into the city and rob them? That's right, this time we are coming to fight the Chu people! I heard from the leaders that the Chu country is extremely rich. Oil! Once you enter the city and kill a few households, the money will come!"
What kind of brain does this guy have? Li Yuan was speechless and said angrily: "What are you robbing? No matter which country they are from, they are all ordinary people! We are Tang soldiers, upright and upright. We can kill more enemy soldiers if we have the ability! Bullying the ordinary people is nothing. Ability? Think about it, if the people in our hometown were robbed like this, would you be able to bear it? "
Hearing this, Liu Jiangsheng seemed to be troubled, straightened his body and interjected: "I can't bear it!"
"Brother Yuan is right, but my parents were killed by the rebels, and the house was burned down..." Luo Erhu did not comment, but said quietly: "This is the way the world is. !”
Li Yuangang wanted to talk about a series of great principles, but suddenly felt unable to speak.
It is true that this era is really terrible, but it is good that people can survive in the chaos of war. How can you think so much? Especially for people like Luo Erhu who have personally experienced the horrors of war, aren't they right to have such an idea of following the crowd?
People who have been in desperate situations for a long time often do not care about good and evil, but only care about gains and losses.
As a newcomer, I have never suffered from others, so how can I have any reason to refute him? Even if you want to change the world, with your current weight, that is simply wishful thinking!
But at the first impression, Li Yuan still had some natural affection for this fellow countryman. At least this man was straight-tempered, so after he had organized a simple language, he said: "Erhu, think about it, if we see the common people, we will also go If you kill and rob, then wouldn’t their sons be the same as you? Do you hope there are more Erhus in the world?"
"No!"
Li Yuangang wanted to nod his head in relief, but he never thought that Luo Erhu would mutter again: "I am the only one of the two tigers. I am strong and can still eat. I am the only two tigers in the world!"
Li Yuan: "..."
The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward. Liu Jiangsheng had been listening carefully to the elder brother's teachings. Then he shook his head and responded with a vague understanding: "Brother Yuan, I listen to you!"
Luo Erhu scratched his head and said in a daze: "I will listen to you too!"
Li Yuan suddenly thought of something, his eyes wandered for a long time, and then he showed a flattering smile: "Do you really listen to me?"
This upright man didn't know what was going to happen next, but he still replied simply: "Seriously, you dare to scold me, I admire you!"
"That's enough! A good man stands upright and is committed to his word! Since you listen to me, now lend me some money..."
