Changsheng turned to look at Zhang Mo, and Zhang Mo also tilted his head and looked at him, "I know you don't want to hurt innocent people, but many times we have no choice."
Seeing that Chang Sheng did not answer, Zhang Mo said again, "You have been an official in the court before. You have never led troops in battle, and you have never seen the brutality of the battlefield. Do you think that the confrontation between the two armies is just to charge into battle and fight head-on? No, sometimes for In the overall situation, we can only separate a group of soldiers and horses to contain the opponent, and this group of soldiers and horses is clearly to let them die. The general knows this very well, but he can only send them into the pit of fire with his own hands."
Chang Sheng didn't want to sigh, but he still couldn't help but sigh, "Soldiers are different from common people. As long as they pick up weapons, life and death will be determined by their fate. It's okay. I understand the principle of not being in charge of soldiers. You don't need to comfort me."
Hearing what Chang Sheng said, Zhang Mo knew that he still couldn't bear it. She didn't feel dissatisfied with Chang Sheng's entanglement, because Chang Sheng was young and kind-hearted. Although he had killed people before, those people had their own interests. The way to death is now to attack innocent people, so it is reasonable for him to hesitate.
Just when Zhang Mo was thinking about how to comfort him, Changsheng stood up and said, "You take a rest, I'll go take a look at the three-way intersection ahead."
Zhang Mo originally wanted to accompany him, but Chang Sheng made it clear that he wanted her to take a rest, which meant that he didn't want her to go with him. In desperation, he could only nod and said, "Okay, but there are empty fields ahead. You have to Change your outfit.”
Changsheng nodded, "I'll pretend to be a woodcutter."
"Early spring is not the time to cut firewood," Zhang Mo said.
"Then I will pretend to be a beggar." Changsheng said.
The soldiers guarding the grain were all wearing common people's clothes. Zhang Mo found a soldier who was similar in stature to Chang Sheng and ordered him to take off his patched clothes and put them on Chang Sheng. Chang Sheng cut a dry branch nearby to serve as a soldier. Crutches, his Longwei knife cut iron like mud, and the broken stubble at both ends of the branch was very smooth. Worried about being noticed by others, Chang Sheng carefully repaired the two ends of the branch.
At the same time, Zhang Mo found some old clothes and wrapped them in a bundle. After packing them up, Changsheng put the bundle on his back, disheveled his hair, and walked west with a wooden stick.
Looking at Changsheng's back, Zhang Mo felt a sudden pain in her heart. This scene reminded her of the scene when she first saw Changsheng. Changsheng looked like this at that time.
Watching Changsheng slowly walk away, Zhang Mo wanted to call him back many times. To be fair, although Changsheng was young, he was thoughtful and wise. However, Changsheng was still young after all, and he could not be expected to have the mental endurance of a middle-aged or even an elderly person. , if he really poisons the entire village, this matter will definitely become his inner demon, and he will feel guilty afterwards and find it difficult to let go.
But after much hesitation, Zhang Mo finally did not speak, because the army had run out of food. Whether the general's food could be sent back in time was not only related to the life and death of the soldiers, but also related to the victory or defeat of the war and even the safety of the Tang Dynasty. The consequences were serious and she could not be tolerated. Do what you want to do.
Changsheng's mood was extremely low at this time. Everyone knows the truth and can weigh the pros and cons. It is not difficult to choose. He also knows that he should not be kind to a woman, but deep down he always feels that it is wrong to attack innocent people. They There's nothing wrong with him, so how can he kill someone just because he wants to?
Feeling that he shouldn't be killed is only one of the reasons for his depression. Another reason is that he is angry with himself. Where did his vigorous and resolute behavior when he was an official in the court go? At that time, I was decisive and quick in killing, but why did I suddenly become a mother-in-law and a mother-in-law?
Everyone may be in a bad mood, but not everyone can sort it out and find out the source of the bad mood. Fortunately, Chang Sheng Neng, after calmly thinking about it, quickly figured out why. Those who were killed before all deserved their punishment. , or someone who has offended oneself. This is fundamentally different from killing innocent people. A person must be clear about grievances and grudges, and cannot be confused with black and white.
Not long after leaving the woods, Changsheng saw the camps scattered around the three-way intersection. However, the fields were empty and there were almost no trees for hiding, so they were not allowed to approach quickly.
Just when Chang Sheng was worried about how to approach and pass, he suddenly remembered that he knew magic, so he raised his left arm, popped out a charm, and drew the invisibility charm to hide his figure.
After hiding his figure, Changsheng quickly approached the three-way intersection. Zhang Mo's previous words were correct. Based on the number of camps, there were at least two thousand soldiers stationed here.
There is a village not far northwest of the three-way intersection. Although the village is bleak and rundown, it has many houses. It is visually estimated that there are hundreds of houses. According to the average household of five people calculated by the Ministry of Household Statistics, there are at least 500 people in the village. people.
The village is only five or six miles away from the Sancha intersection where enemy soldiers are stationed. The terrain is higher and it is located downwind. Once the poisonous smoke spreads to the Sancha intersection, the village in the northwest will not be spared.
After observing the situation near the three-way intersection, Changsheng put away the invisibility charm and went to the northwest village. He couldn't explain why he went there. He might have wanted to see how many people there were in the village so that he could know how much evil he had done. .
The village looks dilapidated from a distance, and becomes even more dilapidated when you get closer. The villagers you see along the way are all in ragged clothes and have disheveled faces. Even the old dogs you encounter by chance are skin and bones from hunger and stagger when walking.
Changsheng was an outsider. When he saw an outsider coming to the village, the villagers looked at him with caution. In order not to show off his flaws, Changsheng could only lower his head, walk slowly, and pretend to be a victim in distress.
There are many ragged children on the street. It's not that people want to have so many children, but that couples will get pregnant when they are together, and they can only give birth to children if they get pregnant.
After walking through several streets in the village, Changsheng sat down next to a haystack at the entrance of the village. Coming and going in a hurry might arouse people's suspicion, so he would sit down for a while before going back.
The adults in the village were wary of him, but the urchins were not afraid of him. When they saw him sitting by the haystack, several urchins threw stones at him.
Changsheng could hide but didn't. Deep down in his heart, he even hoped that these urchins would hit him twice more. In this way, he would feel better when he poisoned them next.
But soon, Chang Sheng felt deeply guilty for having such thoughts.
Once people want to do something, they will try their best to find excuses and reasons for themselves to do it in order to gain inner peace. This is a problem common to ordinary people. Now, I also have such thoughts. Hypocrisy, true hypocrisy.
At first, these urchins didn't dare to get too close. Seeing that Chang Sheng didn't fight back, they became bolder and gradually got closer. As a result, more stones were thrown at him.
Changsheng felt no pain at all at this time. He even hoped that these children would hit him with bigger rocks. This was not to find an excuse for him to kill them next, but because he had done something wrong and deserved to be punished.
If doing big things requires being cold-blooded and ruthless, killing innocent people, he would rather not do big things for the rest of his life, and would rather be scolded for not caring about the overall situation. These people are innocent and weak, and it would be unconscionable to kill them, but the situation forces him to poison his enemies to death. while protecting them from the side's soldiers.
Just when Changsheng lowered his eyebrows and lowered his head in pain and guilt, a woman's voice came from nearby. When he heard the sound, he raised his head and saw a hunched-over white-haired old woman holding a fire stick and walking towards her quickly. He yelled loudly, and since he was speaking in dialect, Changsheng couldn't fully understand him. Judging from his expression and tone, he seemed to be driving away the naughty boys who were throwing stones at him.
It was already evening at this time, and the white-haired old woman must have come out to carry firewood. After driving away the naughty boys, the white-haired old woman came to Changsheng and whispered something.
Changsheng didn't fully understand, so he didn't answer.
Seeing that Chang Sheng remained silent, the white-haired old woman stopped talking, picked up a bundle of firewood from the haystack, turned around and left.
After the old woman left, Changsheng looked up at the sky. At this time, the sun was already in the west. It was time to light a fire and cook, and it was also time to start.
Just when Changsheng withdrew his gaze and stood up to leave, the white-haired old woman who had left earlier came back. Seeing that Changsheng wanted to leave, she hurriedly chased after him. When she got close, she grabbed Changsheng's hand and stuffed something into her. into his hands.
Changsheng raised his hand and lowered his head, only to see that what the old woman put into his hand was half a piece of mixed vegetable cake.
The old woman whispered something again, and then left in a hurry.
Changsheng couldn't fully understand what the old woman said, but he could tell that the first two words she said were 'child'.
Changsheng stood there, stunned, and after a long time he came to his senses, drew the invisibility charm again, and returned eastward.
At this time, Batulu and Chen Liqiu had returned. Seeing Changsheng's return, Chen Liqiu frowned and asked, "Why did you come back? What time has it been?"
"No need for poisonous smoke, I can't harm innocent people." Changsheng said sternly.
Chen Liqiu didn't know why and looked at him doubtfully.
"I'll go back and call Datou and the others over, and force my way in..."
