The soldier pushed Wu Erlang behind, and he staggered in slightly. He looked up and saw a military map hanging in the tent, a burly man about twenty-four or five years old. The young man stood with his arms folded to one side, wearing a long red official robe, with bright eyes and a heroic appearance.
Wu Erlang came from a wealthy family and had seen so many fifth-rank officials in his life. However, he had to bow his head under the eaves. In the end, he handed over his hand first and politely called him: "A long history is polite..."
Li Shimin greeted politely: "Wu Langjun is polite."
Then he got straight to the point: "You came so quickly this time. Do you have any urgent news that you need to tell Li Qiao?"
Wu Erlang was shocked.
He didn't even know the other person's last name, but the other person knew clearly who he was, why he came, and who he wanted to see...
You know, for the sake of confidentiality, he did not reveal anything even to his followers!
Wu Erlang suspected that this was a deliberate test by the other party, so he pretended to be confused and tried in reverse: "Why did you say that? Why can't I understand..."
Li Shimin sneered and said with a solemn expression: "Listen, I am Li Changsheng, Li Qiao's brother and the governor of Texas! The military situation is urgent, and I don't have much time to chat with you. I will count to three and tell you the reason for your visit. Explain clearly, if you dare to shirk things again, I will immediately have someone escort you out to light the sky lanterns!"
Wu Erlang was shocked.
For a noble son who was born in a wealthy and gentle village and is accustomed to speaking softly, this kind of behavior is really rude.
And the few words the other party said, whether he was Li Changsheng, or Li Qiao was Li Changsheng's younger brother, or even the chilling last sentence of lighting the sky lantern, all of them were extremely important. It broke through Wu Erlang's fixed cognition.
He was still surprised by this, but Li Shimin had already shouted murderously: "Three, two..."
As soon as Wu Erlang looked at his appearance, he knew that he was a master who kept his word. The cold and hard demeanor around him was exactly the same as that of Li Qiao. If they were really two brothers, no one could doubt it.
At this juncture, those who can lead the army to help are better than brothers, even if they are not brothers.
Wu Erlang suppressed the sweat on his forehead and said quickly: "Wrong, misunderstood..."
Li Shimin's sharp eyebrows raised: "Huh?!"
Wu Erlang didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore and told him exactly what he wanted to do.
He originally thought that everyone in the officialdom would be dumbfounded after hearing such royal secrets, at least for a quarter of an hour. Unexpectedly, Li Changsheng didn't even blink after hearing this. After a moment, he asked calmly: "Is that all?"
For a moment, Wu Erlang was not sure whether he didn't understand the twists and turns here, or whether he was really born with a strong heart.
He stammered: "Isn't this shocking enough?"
Li Shimin glanced at him and said nothing.
Wu Erlang was a little unsure whether he had seen it wrong just now. Why did he feel that there seemed to be a flash of contempt in the other party's eyes...
Liu Che made a sound and said disdainfully: "How can a man who has experienced a lion see a wild dog? This gossip is no longer enough to impress us. Let's open our eyes and see the world. !”
He said: "Do you know the weight of a piece of human skin?"
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and looked over.
Liu Che: "Do you know how exciting it is for the crown prince's son to have an affair with his little wife in front of his father's hospital bed?"
Li Shimin slowly typed "?" above his head.
Liu Che: "Do you know that some people are so powerful that they can pull wheels?"
Ying Zheng slowly drew his sword.
Liu Che wanted to say more, but someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned around and saw Li Yuanda looking at him and asking in a low voice: "Do you know anyone who can chop his enemy into pieces when he is extremely angry?"
Liu Che: "..."
Liu Che: "…………"
scratching one's head.jpg
Li Shimin pretended not to hear the screams of the pig in the space, crossed his arms, looked dangerously, and looked down at Wu Erlang: "Wu Langjun, you didn't lie to me, did you? That's all?"
Wu Erlang's legs felt weak when he saw him: "I really didn't lie to you, that's all!"
Li Shimin said "Oh" and then put on a smiling face: "You're not scared, are you? I was joking with you just now!"
After saying that, he pulled Wu Erlang to the seat on the side with a smile: "Speaking of which, you are Li Qiao's wife and brother, and I am Li Qiao's brother. We are serious relatives. Come on. Sit over here—oh, your hands are sweaty.”
Wu Erlang's head was full of "???", and he was half pushed and half pulled by Li Shimin to take him to the seat and sit down. While he was shocked by his arrogant and respectful attitude, his previous thoughts began to waver again.
How do these two people look alike?
Li Qiao was like a wild wolf, cold from head to toe, unsmiling. As for Li Changshi, who claimed to be Li Qiao's brother...
It’s really true that you can talk nonsense when you see people, but you can tell ghosts when you see ghosts.
He's quite thick-skinned.
While Wu Erlang was thinking about this, someone stuffed a poor-quality porcelain cup into his hand, containing inferior tea of the same quality. Li Shimin patted him on the shoulder affectionately and said, "Just treat it like this." It’s the same as your own home, you’re welcome!”
Then he shouted: "Come here, beat the drum and send troops!"
Wu Erlang shook on the spot, and then responded numbly: "...Ah, okay."
…
When Li Qiao just gave the order to light the beacon fire, he was still confident in his heart. After waiting for two days, there was still no sign of reinforcements, so he couldn't help but beat the drum.
What went wrong?
Although he is smart, he cannot predict things thousands of miles away.
The lieutenant general had just experienced a battle to attack and defend the city gate, and the blood was still on his armor. Seeing his expression, he comforted him: "Now that we are on the battlefield, it is normal for us to wrap our bodies in horse leather. The general has already done all the personnel, and the rest will be left to you." It’s destiny!”
Li Qiao was not comforted.
Everything that was planned before the trip went wrong, how could something go wrong?
Didn't the news get out?
wrong.
He saw the beacon ignited in Pingcheng with his own eyes. Everything west of Pingcheng was within the control area of the imperial court, so there was no reason to fail.
so……
He was thinking, is something happened over there in the capital?
Wu Cuicui...
Li Qiao couldn't help but smile bitterly. He really couldn't repay his 100% trust in this wife.
…
Wu Erlang was politely invited to a side tent to rest, but his heart had already flown to Shunzhou, and he was tossing and turning at night.
He was troubled and uneasy all night, but a Texas soldier brought someone over who shocked him.
"Cui Cui?!"
Wu Erlang jumped up from his seat in shock: "Why are you here? Over there in the capital -"
Wu Cuicui dressed up as a man and was followed by several subordinates. After seeing her brother, she rushed forward impatiently: "Have you seen Li Qiao? Have you informed him of the news?!"
Wu Erlang was speechless and shook his head sadly: "When I rushed here, it was already too late, but I met Li Changshi by accident..."
Then he told her what happened next.
After hearing this, Wu Cuicui was filled with surprise and doubt - when did Li Qiao have another brother?
She had vaguely heard of this Li Changsheng when she was with King Wei. On the day she and Li Tianrong reconciled, Princess Wei persuaded her that Yu Yingying had been promised to marry, and the other party was this Li Changsheng...
Wu Cuicui was confused.
Wu Erlang didn't know the tangle in his sister's heart, so he hurriedly asked: "Why did you come here? Has your companion changed?"
Wu Cuicui frowned and softly informed him of all the changes in the capital during this period.
Wu Erlang had just sat down, and after hearing this he stood up again: "Confused, if Li Qiao cannot be saved, how can the Wu family be alone in the future? Sooner or later, that's all!"
Wu Cuicui lowered her head and said nothing.
When Wu Erlang saw this, he asked her again: "In that case, what are you doing here?"
Wu Cuicui whispered: "I failed his trust because I couldn't help him. If he really wants to fail like this, how can I survive in this world?"
Wu Erlang's heart trembled, and he looked at her in surprise, speechless for a long time.
My sister's choice was to save as many people as possible, but she could not save herself.
Let out a long sigh.
He stretched out his arms to hug Wu Cuicui and said again: "You're confused!"
…
Another day of hard work came to an end. At dusk, the rebels who attacked the city retreated tiredly.
Li Qiao was also close to exhaustion.
He was not a tough man, and he was always at the forefront. How could he not be tired?
But as a general, you are responsible for all the soldiers.
He leaned against the wall of the city tower and gasped silently, thinking about how many days the city could hold on with the manpower and food and grass currently available. The women in the city who still had strength rolled up their sleeves and silently came forward to take care of them. Mountains of corpses were hauled away.
Someone else brought water from the city and washed away the large areas of blood and minced meat on the ground.
It's summer, the weather is hot, and corpses piled in one place for a long time will soon rot. If one is not good, it will cause epidemics, and blood splashed on the ground will attract mosquitoes due to the heat. , and may even cause soldiers to slip due to excessive viscosity...
At first, these things were all done by the soldiers. As the number of casualties increased day by day, the women in the city took over this part of the work silently.
The lieutenant handed over a bowl of hot porridge. Li Qiao took it and took a sip. His dry throat moved with difficulty. He quickly drank it in two or three gulps and was about to inspect the injured places in the city. Despite the damage, his movements suddenly stopped.
His ears moved imperceptibly.
"Did you hear..."
The lieutenant looked puzzled.
Li Qiao suddenly turned around with a sharp gaze: "There is the sound of horse hooves!"
The lieutenant then turned around to look, only to see that the setting sun in the west had completely set, and twilight was rising. No objects could be discerned in the distance. Looking far into the distance, he still found nothing.
Li Qiao had no intention of answering him. He held his hand on the city wall and murmured excitedly: "Who could it be? It can't be the rebels. They won't come from that direction..."
Then he said: "Could it be the backup plan I left behind before? That's not right. If they could come, they would have come long ago..."
