"That person talked to you?"
When the army was resting halfway, Cui Zhongzhen found Fang Jie and sat down next to him and asked.
Fang Xie knew who he was talking about, and shook his head with a smile.
"Is this the case?"
Cui Zhongzhen asked again.
"that's all."
Fang Jie nodded.
"He is the well-deserved coach of this team. After the prince is gone, he should be in command. You see, the current situation is good... The generals have no objection to Lord Mou's command. It is an eternal truth that the team can only win the battle when it is united. The enemy can't beat us, but it's unwise for me to intrigue because of such a trivial matter."
Hearing what Fang Jie said, Cui Zhongzhen couldn't help but shook his head: "When I was young, my husband taught me many allusions, which made me experience intrigue. I didn't think much of it at the time, but it was because I didn't have any fun when I was young. Think about it carefully. The more you get to it later, the more you can understand the coldness and cruelty behind these allusions. Which smiling person is not lying with countless wronged bones?"
Fang Jie hummed, but said nothing.
"The gentleman who taught me back then is a person who has a deep understanding of this kind of tactic. Back then, he was the staff of a general in the imperial court and the merchant army. This general came from a poor family, but he was extremely brave and intelligent. It was he who came up with the idea of forcing the Shang army to fight south of Mangdang Mountain. But in the end, didn't the great credit go to the second prince?"
Cui Zhongzhen grabbed a withered yellow grass and put it in his mouth: "At that time, when the princes were fighting for favor, the second prince begged the queen mother to intercede, and the first emperor agreed to let the second prince be the commander of the army, accompanying the soldiers and horses." Marshal He Ruolan marched south. At that time, the other general was assigned to protect the second prince. He told the second prince what he thought, and the second prince praised him greatly. He told him that if he wins this battle, he must personally recommend him in front of the late emperor. .”
"This fellow will be very happy, feeling that his day is coming. He didn't have to wait long for the news that his strategy was adopted, and then he began to wait for the day when he was introduced to His Majesty by the second prince. This The decisive battle was very fierce, but because of the proper planning and the fact that the Sui army was far more elite than the Shang army, the 160,000 Sui army killed the 200,000 or so Shang army without leaving any behind."
"However, after the peace and commerce, this other general did not wait for the second prince to fulfill his promise to him. Later, he heard that the name of the second prince was listed first in the memorial memorial played by Generalissimo He Ruolan. Give all the credit for that battle to the second prince, and perhaps He Ruolanshan doesn't know his name at all. At that moment, this other general realized how idiot he is."
"Because of this battle, the second prince was even more appreciated by His Majesty. Later, because he was afraid that the matter of corruption would be leaked, the second prince found a reason to kill that other general. For the court, the death of a fellow from the fifth rank There will be no impact. Even this matter will not be taken seriously by those big shots, but no one cares about his death. Mr. is a smart man, and he was ready to leave when he knew that the second prince was greedy. After hearing that the other was going to be executed, he immediately took his luggage and went to the northwest to take refuge, and then came to my house."
"Later, because He Ruolanshan supported the eldest prince's succession, the second prince designed to get rid of the man who was known as the number one general of the Sui Dynasty at that time. Now He Ruo's family has no descendants left. Dozens The officials jointly sued him for attempting to treason, and the evidence is said to be in three baskets."
After hearing this story, Fang Xie's face became a little dignified.
"Isn't that the saddest thing?"
he asks.
Cui Zhongzhen nodded: "No... The most sad thing is that the strategy was not actually thought up by that other general, but by the husband who taught me. That general will always tell my husband, when he mentioned it to the second prince, he said What I mentioned was the name of my husband, but in fact, that other general never mentioned it from the beginning to the end, and kept saying that it was his idea."
Fang Jie nodded: "Even if you didn't tell me, I would have guessed seven or eight out of ten."
"It's inevitable that something like this will happen during your official career."
Cui Zhongzhen sighed: "So, the more I grow up, the more I don't want to be an official. I just want to eat, drink and have fun with a group of friends, but I live a chic and happy life. Later, I had to go to the capital to take the exam at the Academy of Martial Arts. When I was halfway, I even I sympathize with you. A frontier soldier like you who talks about birth and background and background, will be drowned in the deep water of the pool when he arrives in the capital. Unexpectedly, I was the one who drowned."
Fang Jie smiled and shook his head, lit his pipe and took a puff: "I'm afraid that the teacher who taught you has been teaching you since you were young. Once you choose to become an official, don't trust anyone. Only in this way, you It won’t be a stepping stone for others to advance, right.”
"You are wrong about that."
Cui Zhongzhen sighed: "Mr. often told me in private that you should act according to your heart. He asked me whether I want happiness or fame. Naturally, there are countless joys. But my husband said that you will not understand until you are truly mature, that happiness is actually very simple. So when I became an adult and understood what my husband said, I became more and more playful."
Fang Jie said with a smile, "He almost ruined you."
Cui Zhongzhen shook his head: "I would like to thank him again for letting me at least have a happy life."
Fang Jie exhaled a puff of smoke and said softly, "Maybe there will be a kind of person who is ordinary and unhappy. Only when he climbs higher will he be more satisfied and truly happy."
"That kind of people… "
Cui Zhongzhen was stunned for a moment, and then said with emotion: "Either die aggrieved, or go down in history."
Fang Jie nodded, thoughtfully.
…
…
When Fang Jie saw Langru Mountain again, only he knew how he felt. Although the Shanzhai was at least a hundred miles away from Fan Gu, it was difficult for Fang Xie to calm down after arriving here. I don't know if it has been psychic and felt the master's intentions. The red horse looked a little different from usual, shaking its head and snorting non-stop, as if trying to persuade something.
Fang Jie patted the scarlet horse's neck, his gaze stayed on the northeast.
"Want to go back and have a look?"
Mu Xiaoyao asked softly.
Fang Jie nodded, then shook his head again.
There was some sadness between the brows, a sadness that few people could understand, but Mu Xiaoyao understood.
Fang Xie definitely wanted to go back to Fan Gu to have a look, that was the place where Fang Xie lived for the most stable three years during the 15 years of fleeing. There are many memories there, good and sad. Fang Jie nodded because he still couldn't let go of that place in his heart. Fang Jie shook his head, because the place is still there, but the person is gone.
"What can I do if I go back? The city is still the same city, but the people are no longer those people. I heard that Li Yuanshan buried all the corpses after massacring the city. No one knows where they are buried now. I was too impatient when I killed Li Xiaozong. Some, I forgot to ask..."
Fang Jie turned his gaze back: "Let's go to the cottage first, that's where we will stand in the future."
"Go if you want."
Shen Qingfan said softly: "You're not here, and I don't know where the grave is, but I always feel that they should be waiting for you to go back. Take a pot of wine and sprinkle it on the land of Fangu City, and say revenge, they should can hear."
Fang Xie was silent for a while and then said: "Fan Gu is unmanned, the rebels don't look up to that small town, and neither do the Mongolian barbarians. The important frontier city has been abandoned, and the former iron gate of the country is now a dilapidated place. .Mengyuan people came in and out without any restraint, and the soul of the city is gone. If there is anything left, maybe there are only lonely souls and wild ghosts in that city."
Hearing these words, Mu Xiaoyao felt a chill all over her body.
"Go and see, we will accompany you."
she says.
Fang Jie pondered for a while and nodded: "Alright, I should go back and tell them."
He turned around to find Mou Liangbi, and said that he wanted to go back to Fan Gu to have a look. Mou Liangbi told him to be more careful, although Fan Gu was deserted, horse thieves and bandits appeared from time to time. He wanted to call for protection, but Fang Jie just refused. I don't know if it's because of embarrassment or guilt, Mou Liangbi said very little and didn't take the initiative to explain anything. Fang Jie didn't care, he said his thanks and left.
"Our people are stationed at the same place and waiting for me. Don't follow the brigade until I come back."
Fang Xie ordered Lu Fenghou to take the infantry from the Yangzi Battalion to stay where they are. This place is only a hundred miles away from Fan Gu, and it won't take long to go back and forth on fast horses and light horses. But if you take the whole team to go together, the journey will be slow. He took five hundred light cavalry, left seven hundred cavalry to hand over to Chen Qianshan, and waited in place with Lu Fenghou.
With a team of more than 500 people, Fang Jie left the team and headed towards Fan Gu. Mou Liangbi was right. Although Fan Gu was deserted, the city still existed. Many rebels chose to settle here. After being cleared by the Sui army on Langru Mountain several times, no one dared to occupy this place as their lair. However, it is still a place where many horse thieves and bandits temporarily settle down. If you don't bring people and horses, there is no guarantee that there will be no accidents.
In just one day, Qingqi rushed to the outside of Fangu City.
When he was outside the city gate, Fang Xie reined in the red horse, his face couldn't help but change.
Although the city wall still looked strong, it was desolate. The city gate has disappeared, and the door opening is full of withered grass blown in by the wind. Someone on the city wall showed his head and looked at them, then ran away. After a while, there was a chaotic movement in the city, and then a team of about 70 or 80 horse thieves rushed out from the other side of the city gate. I didn't dare to turn my head back.
Fang Jie didn't bother to pay attention to those horse thieves, the desolation in his heart couldn't be added.
Causing the horse to slowly enter the city gate, one could see at a glance that about half of the dwellings had been burned down. Although the tallest building in the distance was still there, it could be seen from a distance that it was dilapidated. That's Jinyuanfang, where Fang Jie used to be the shopkeeper. The building not far from Jinyuanfang is the Hongxiu Building, and half of the facade has collapsed.
Fang Jie walked slowly on the red horse, looking left and right.
The house on the left is Liu Sanhu, the house on the right is Aunt He, and further inside is the house of Widow Sun. Go to the left from Aunt He's house and turn across a street, which is Li Xiaozong's Biejiang Mansion.
Fang Jie remembered everything.
When Mu Xiaoyao saw Fang Xie get off his horse, he also jumped off, took the big package from Qilin and opened it.
It was paper money. Fang Jie bought all the paper money he could buy in the towns he passed along the way. Seeing that a group of men in armor came, the shopkeeper was too frightened to take the money, but Fang Jie still put down a gold ingot, and whispered that if I robbed paper money and burned it to them, they would not accept it, and would curse me in dreams.
These words startled the shopkeeper, and he didn't dare to speak.
Fang Jie squatted at the street corner and lit a bunch of paper money: "I've been poor for three years. I don't have money to pay tolls and I can't even enter the underworld. Is it still wandering here? Fan Gu is cold in winter and no one burns a piece of clothing." I don't know how you survived, hugging and squeezing each other, there are so many people, don't be afraid... I can't buy clothes, I will burn more money and you can buy them yourself, and if there is a restaurant down there, you can have a good meal."
Paper dust flew into the sky and hovered in mid-air.
"I originally thought, why don't you have to be embarrassed when you burn the paper? Don't you want me to avenge your revenge? Don't worry, there is another person surnamed Li. I will kill him, but don't wait for me to report the letter." Now, just do what you should do, three years of pestering me is enough for you, you have to obey the rules, right? If you miss me...be patient. If I miss you...will come again. "
He spilled the wine in the wine pouch, then lifted his robe and knelt down: "Xiao Fang is back, you... are you okay?"