Li Zhiyun squatted in front of Liu Shuyi, reached out to touch his face, and said, "Shuyi, are you injured?" Liu Shuyi quickly blocked his hand and said with a smile, "It's okay, just a little skin injury." Li Zhiyun wanted to know what happened, so he Eagerly: "What's going on?" Liu Shuyi sighed and said: "I was sent by your second brother to lead a thousand soldiers to escort the grain and grass. Unexpectedly, when I got here, I was attacked by Xue Ju's army. Their number is twice as large as ours. Fortunately, we met you, otherwise it would have been all over!"
It turned out that Liu Shuyi entered the army two years ago and became a general in less than a year relying on his father Liu Wenjing's relationship. However, he was young and weak and was not suitable for fighting on the front line, so Liu Wenjing asked him to be responsible for escorting grain and grass.
"Shu Yi, where are you going to transport the grain and grass?"
"Gaocheng City."
"My second brother is also in Gao'an City?"
"Yes," Liu Shuyi nodded, "My father is here too. More than 100,000 soldiers and horses from the Tang Dynasty have gathered in Gaoshu City, preparing to fight Xue Ju. It seems that your father is really determined this time, and he will do it in one fell swoop. Eliminate Xue Ju!"
At this time, the doctor had finished bandaging the wound. Liu Shuyi wanted to stand up, and Li Zhiyun stepped forward to help him. However, as soon as he was halfway up, he couldn't hold on anymore and fell to the ground again. Liu Shuyi had several injuries on his body, especially his right thigh, which was deeply pierced by the tip of the spear and could no longer stand.
Li Zhiyun thought for a while and decided to escort the grain and grass to Gaocheng City for Liu Shuyi. Liu Shuyi was so seriously injured that he was obviously no longer able to direct the battle, and the front line was in urgent need of this batch of rations. Therefore, this batch of military rations must not be lost. Furthermore, Liu Shuyi said that hundreds of thousands of troops had gathered on the front line, and it was obvious that a big battle was about to begin. Li Zhiyun also wanted to go over and see the excitement.
Li Zhiyun asked a guard to call Yu Wenxin over, told him the situation, and then said: "General Yuwen, please go back to Chang'an first and explain to my father the situation of our mission to Mohedu. I will escort this batch of grain and grass to Gaoshu City." Yu Wenxin agreed, leaving his bodyguards with Li Zhiyun, and rode away with only a few followers.
Li Zhiyun left dozens of soldiers behind, asking them to assist the military doctors in taking care of the injured brothers, and to escort these injured brothers back to Chang'an. After other soldiers packed up the grain carts, the team set off and continued to Gao'an City (today's Changwu County, Shaanxi Province).
Liu Shuyi was also carried onto the grain truck and sat on a tall sack. Li Zhiyun rode a horse parallel to the cart. Along the way, Li Zhiyun told him about his mission to the Turks. The two chatted and chatted all the way, but they didn't feel lonely at all.
At midnight the next day, the grain transport convoy arrived at Gaocheng City and entered the city from the south gate. The soldiers drove the cart to the granary, and Liu Shuyi asked his officers to make a delivery with the grain officer. After all the procedures were completed, Li Zhiyun broke up with Liu Shuyi. Liu Shuyi was carried back to the army for nourishment by the soldiers, and Li Zhiyun took his entourage to find a posthouse to stay.
After breakfast the next day, Li Zhiyun took Zhang Zheng, Cai Hu and several guards to the street. He originally thought that there were hundreds of thousands of troops living in Gaocheng City, and the streets should be filled with soldiers. However, after walking for a mile or two, they only encountered a few officers and soldiers sporadically. Li Zhiyun estimated that the army should be stationed outside the city.
The streets were no different from usual days. The shops were still open and pedestrians were not in a hurry. However, there seemed to be fewer villagers carrying burdens to sell vegetables. Perhaps because they were worried about a war, the villagers were too scared to enter the city.
As everyone was walking, an officer came towards them, probably a famous colonel. Li Zhiyun came up to meet him, held his hands with a smile and said: "Brother, could you please ask, where is the handsome palace of King Qin?" The captain looked at him and said, "I know you, are you the King of Chu, right?" Seeing Li Zhiyun nodding, He pointed to the north with his hand and said: "The palace of King Qin is outside the city. If you go out of the north gate and walk five miles, there is Li Guang Temple."
After Li Zhiyun thanked him, he turned around and took the reins from the guard, mounted the horse in the stirrups, pulled the reins in his hand, and said "uh--". When the others saw it, they all got on their horses.
Everyone drove their horses out of the north gate and traveled a few miles. They saw a village appearing next to the road ahead. There was a large temple next to an ancient locust tree at the head of the village. There were soldiers coming in and out of the temple gate. It seems that it is Li Guangmiao.
The group of people rode their horses to the temple gate and dismounted, leaving a guard to guard the horses while the others followed Li Zhiyun in. Everyone walked through the porch and into the courtyard. Opposite was the main hall. Li Zhiyun took the lead and stepped into the threshold of the palace, only to see a statue of a god sitting in front of him. The appearance of the statue is no different from other statues, but it has a bit more heroic spirit. It must be Li Guang.
It was quiet inside the temple, with no one around. After everyone walked around in a circle, they walked out again. Li Zhiyun saw an officer passing by in the yard, so he stepped forward and saluted: "Excuse me, where is the King of Qin?" The officer pointed with his hand and said: "The King of Qin is in the backyard."
Everyone walked around the main hall and along the corridor to the backyard. Li Zhiyun looked up and saw his second brother coming out of a room. Behind the second brother were two people, one was Liu Shuyi's father Liu Wenjing, and the other was Sima Yin Kaishan of the Prince of Qin's Palace. Li Zhiyun hurriedly greeted him and called "Second Brother". The second brother saw him and was surprised: "Fifth brother, why are you here?"
Li Zhiyun stepped forward to say hello to Liu Wenjing and Yin Kaishan, and then told his second brother that he was on a mission to the Turks and met Liu Shuyi on the way back while escorting the grain and grass he was escorting and being robbed. Zhang Zheng and Cai Hu also came forward to greet the second brother. The second brother laughed and said: "Two generals, you have worked hard."
"Second brother, where are you going?" Li Zhiyun asked.
"Going to inspect the military camp. Fifth brother, would you like to follow me to the front line?"
"All right."
The second brother led the way, Li Zhiyun followed, and the group left Li Guang Temple. The second brother's soldiers have prepared several war horses. Everyone got on their horses and rode towards the northwest. They marched for two or three miles, and saw gray-white tents appearing in the wilderness in front of them. The tents are one next to another, arranged from east to west, stretching for more than ten miles, with no end in sight. Round wooden logs as thick as a bowl are nailed to the outside of the tent to form a fence, forming a camp. The inside of the camp is equipped with watchtowers and archery towers, while the outside is covered with deer posts, wooden thorns, and horses, and is heavily defended.
Everyone got off their horses and led their horses along a dirt road. Li Zhiyun walked next to his second brother, who introduced the military situation as he walked: "Fifth brother, Xue Ju led an army of hundreds of thousands to attack Gao'an City in an attempt to recapture Gao'an City. His skirmishers have already reached the Bin and Qi areas."
"Second brother, when will we have a decisive battle with Xue Ju?"
The second brother pondered for a moment and said: "Xue Ju's army went deep alone, there was not much food, and the morale of the army was high. I plan to avoid his sharp edge, build deep ditches and walls, and hold on. When the food is gone and the soldiers are tired, we can go out to fight again. I can annihilate them in one fell swoop!" It seems that the second brother wants to deal with Xue Ju the same way he dealt with Song Jingang.
After the second brother finished speaking, they had arrived in front of the camp and saw some soldiers digging a ditch. The second brother led everyone over to inspect.
Haogou has been dug to a depth of more than one man, and the soldiers stood at the bottom of the trench and used shovels to throw soil to both sides. The second brother stood and watched for a while, then said to an officer who came over: "The ditch needs to be widened even more so that the horses cannot cross it." The officer clasped his fists and said, "Yes!"
Li Zhiyun followed his second brother on patrol for two hours. After they returned to Li Guang Temple, they had lunch and rested for a while. Li Zhiyun said goodbye to his second brother and returned to Gaocheng City with his entourage.
The next day, Li Zhiyun took his entourage to visit Liu Shuyi. As soon as he walked into the small courtyard where Liu Shuyi lived, he saw Liu Shuyi practicing walking in the courtyard with a cane. Since one of his legs couldn't use any force, he walked very unsteadily and accidentally fell to the ground.
Li Zhiyun hurriedly ran over, helped him up from the ground, and complained: "You were so seriously injured. You should be lying on the bed to recuperate. Why did you run out in a hurry?" Liu Shuyi wiped it with the back of his hand. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he smiled and said, "I'm always lying down. When will I be able to walk? So, I have to practice."
"Can you do it?"
"The wound hurt a lot at first, but it's much better now."
Seeing that he was standing firm, Li Zhiyun let go of his hand, bent down, picked up the crutch and handed it to him. After Liu Shuyi took the crutch, he thought about it, threw it aside, and said, "Zhiyun, help me walk, let's see if this works."
Li Zhiyun nodded and stepped forward to help him. Without the crutches, Liu Shuyi's legs had to work hard. Every step he took made him grimace in pain, and large beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Li Zhiyun supported Liu Shuyi and walked two small circles in the yard. Not to mention Liu Shuyi, even he was very tired. Because Liu Shuyi's injured leg couldn't exert any strength at all, half of his body weight fell on Li Zhiyun's shoulders. Li Zhiyun wiped the sweat from his head and said, "Don't leave, let's take a rest." Liu Shuyi gasped and said, "Okay."
Li Zhiyun helped Liu Shuyi to a stone bench nearby, and the two sat down side by side. Li Zhiyun took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to Liu Shuyi. Liu Shuyi took it and wiped the sweat from his face, and said, "Zhiyun, have you visited your second brother?"
Li Zhiyun nodded and said, "I just went there yesterday and he was busy." Liu Shuyi handed the handkerchief back to him and said, "Zhiyun, do you think we can defeat Xue Ju this time?"
"Of course!" Li Zhiyun glanced at Liu Shuyi, "Why do you have to worry about my second brother commanding the battle? He is the God of War."
"God of War?" Liu Shuyi tasted it carefully, "This is a good name. You are right, we will definitely defeat Xue Ju. Not to mention your second brother, even if my father commands me, we can still defeat him."
"Maybe."
