"What's wrong with you today? Why are you talking about returning to the countryside!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Last time you introduced me to that Liu official, you didn't look like this!"
"You're talking about the relic thing!" Liu An sighed: "Sanlang, I did think this was a great opportunity at the beginning, but these days my mind has changed!"
"Changed? Didn't you find out the whereabouts of the relic?"
"Yes, but the relics are in the hands of the Japanese. Think about it, the Japanese must have sent such precious things back to their country. Shouldn't we cross the sea to find it in the Japanese country? We can't save even a hundred lives! Looking back now Get up, that Liu Yuanzhen is using some nice words to coax our brothers to help him gain wealth!"
"You finally understand, which is a good thing!" Wang Wenzuo thought to himself, but smiled on his face: "Brother Liu, the relic is a sacred object. If we can find it, it will be destined to succeed or fail. Don’t worry too much about it! You and I should just handle the matter at hand!"
"Not bad!" Liu An cheered up: "Leave the matter of collecting food to me this time!"
"Brother Liu, are you going to go out to collect food from the camp?" Wang Wenzuo was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "You are my deputy general this time, so you should stay in the camp. Let Cui Hongdu, He Bayong, and Shen Faseng take care of the food collection. That’s it, why do you need to take action yourself!”
"It's better to let me go!" Liu An's attitude was unexpectedly firm. Wang Wenzuo noticed something strange and asked: "Wu Lang, what's wrong with you? Did you hear some gossip in the army?"
"No gossip!" Liu An's actions betrayed his heart. His right hand rested on the handle of the knife, and his trembling wrist made the blade in the sheath make a crisp sound: "It's just that digging in the camp these days has been a bit... I feel stuffy and want to go out for some air!"
Wang Wenzuo looked into Liu An's eyes, but Liu An turned his head and avoided Wang Wenzuo's gaze. Wang Wenzuo could probably guess what the other person was thinking at this time, but it was not wise to reveal it. He nodded: "That's fine, if you really think so!"
"Thank you, Sanlang!" Liu An raised his head, with a bit of shame in his eyes: "I shouldn't have said that just now, it made it difficult for you!"
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "It's a good thing that you have the desire to fight. Let Gu Cihang and Yuan Aolie go with you this time. Just follow our original method and be careful in everything!"
"Thank you, Saburo. Don't worry, those thieves can't do anything to me!"
After walking out of Wang Wenzuo's tent, Liu An let out a long breath, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and he felt much more relaxed. It turns out that since Wang Wenzuo continued to be promoted, Liu An's status in this small group has undergone subtle changes, from the original undisputed first person to the second position.
Liu An was happy to accept this. After all, ever since he went to Luwei Ze for a night hunt to capture the spies, Wang Wenzuo's talents and insights were far beyond his own ability, not to mention the prominent background of the Langya Wang family. He became the first person in the small group, and he was second. Liu An was convinced. However, after Wang Wenzuo led troops to aid Pyongyang, He Bayong, Cui Hongdu, Shen Faseng, and Yuan Aolie who accompanied him on the expedition also continued to perform meritorious service and were promoted. Their official ranks were almost the same as his own, far superior to other peers. If this continues, Liu An's identity as the "second person" will be lost sooner or later.
Regarding this, Liu An couldn't take it calmly. After all, Wang Wenzuo was fine with it. He Bayong, Cui Hongdu, Shen Faseng, Yuan Aolie, among others, who could compare with him in terms of qualifications, talents and bravery, but they were just lucky enough to follow him. Wang Wenzuo only sent out a few troops, why should he be equal to himself? Therefore, Liu An decided to make military exploits and consolidate his position as the second person when he sent troops this time. But after Ren Cun came, Wang Wenzuo still let him stay in the camp, but asked He Bayong and others to go out. This made Liu An more and more anxious. In the end, he couldn't help it and had to ask for a fight.
"This time we send troops, we must achieve military exploits!" He clenched his fists and said.
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Baekje Military Camp.
"The Tang army has left the camp!"
Fuyu Tadakatsu subconsciously clenched his fists so hard that his nails scratched his palms. The stinging pain made him wake up immediately and asked: "How many troops are there? What is their purpose?"
"There are seven or eight hundred people!" The spy immediately gave a clear answer: "There are also thirty or forty carriages. After leaving the camp, they are heading east. It looks like they should be harvesting wheat!"
Fuyu Zhongsheng nodded. The actions of the Tang army were within his expectation. The war had lasted for nearly two years, and both the Tang army and Baekje were suffering from food shortages. In this case, it is much more beneficial to fill one's stomach with the enemy's food than to win the war. After all, winning the war will also involve bleeding to death, and all you need to eat is to open your mouth.
"How many days ago did the messenger to Zhouliu leave?" Fuyu Zhongsheng asked and answered: "It has been nine days since departure. If everything goes well, reinforcements are already on the way! Maybe a little patience is a better choice!" He stood up, walked to the wooden frame hanging the map, stretched out his finger to draw on the map: When waiting for the Tang people to return to the camp, they sent two armies, one to attack from three sides, deliberately leaving the direction of the return camp, and surrounding them. Three were short of one, and when the Tang people escaped, another army that had been waiting for a long time pursued them.
Corpses, broken weapons, abandoned armor and vehicles were everywhere. Iron hooves trampled the flag of the Tang Dynasty. The war horses neighed loudly, the battle flags fluttered, and the soldiers shouted their names loudly. Scenes like this seemed to appear in front of Fuyu Zhongsheng's eyes. His breath gradually became thicker, and his desire for victory was as intoxicating as alcohol. Maybe he should act before reinforcements arrived, so that he could monopolize the winner. of honor.
"Give the order, select three thousand people, form two teams, and wait for the order!"
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The sickle passed by, and the wheat stalks fell down one by one like a girl's soft waist. Wang Peng ignored the dense beads of sweat on his forehead and kept waving his arms. The sweat dripped down, soaking his back, and was soon dried by the scorching sun. , condensed into a piece of white frost. Behind him, women tied the fallen wheat into bundles and carried them to the oxcart on the ridge of the field. At this time, no one complained about being tired, and no one was lazy. Even the elderly and children were busy delivering gourds filled with water to the adults working in the fields.
As noon approaches, the wheat harvesters finally have time to eat under the big locust tree next to the field. The food is very affordable, including duck eggs, wheat rice without coarse grains, bean paste, vegetable soup, and even thirst-quenching melon. Although extremely exhausted, everyone was in a good mood.
