The bitter cold in the Northwest has finally come to an end, and spring, which came two months later than the Central Plains, seems to have arrived quietly overnight. Although the wind was still blowing from the north, it seemed much milder. The weather seemed to warm up all of a sudden, and even the winter clothes were hard to wear. Although this place in the northwest is desolate, purely in terms of scenery, it is worthy of the eight characters of sky high, clouds, light mountains, majestic land and broad land.
When Fang Jie climbed up the short hill and lay down in the withered grass, he suddenly found a layer of fluffy new green had emerged from under the thick layer of withered grass. I couldn't help but take another look at this ordinary weed, and saw the thriving in the withered.
The low mountain is currently under rebel control, but it is not heavily guarded. Fang Jie brought a few well-cultivated men to dive up, in order to observe the battle situation outside Xiping City.
The two sides had been fighting outside the city for more than ten days. Although the imperial army did not have the advantage in terms of strength, it completely suppressed the rebels in terms of momentum. Facing the elite rebels gathered from all directions, these brave men who were farming with hoes and sickles more than a year ago had no fear at all.
Because they have seen the hope of victory, because His Majesty the Emperor is by their side.
This short mountain is only a dozen miles away from Xiping City, and five miles down the mountain is a rebel camp.
For three consecutive days, Fang Jie brought people to this mountain to observe the battle every day. There are not many rebels on this mountain, so it is not difficult to hide them from the rebel soldiers with Fang Jie's cultivation base. He looked at the two torrents intertwined and mixed together outside Xiping City with clairvoyance, his face was solemn and calm.
Those who have experienced the war will have a serious attitude towards the war. The common people may joke about what happened on the battlefield as a story after dinner, but the soldiers who came from the mountain of corpses and the sea of blood, even if they calmly talk about the past years, their eyes will be very serious. With a different kind of sadness.
Even if you are the winner, how can you not lose something
It can be seen that the court troops are about to win this battle again. The so-called elite rebels are not fundamentally stronger than those of the court. They are just much better equipped than ordinary rebels. There are advantages to speak of. And the morale of these brave and victorious battles is like a rainbow, and the generals around the emperor know how to win far better than those under Li Yuanshan, so nine out of ten of the wars that happen every day are won by the court.
Occasionally, the rebels took advantage of it once in a while, but they couldn't restore the decadent morale.
"Another battalion."
Wanyan Chongde lowered his clairvoyance and said in a low voice: "Li Yuanshan's reinforcements are not coming, and his defeat is only a matter of time. In the past three days, Emperor Sui's army has conquered three rebel camps in a row, and the rebels outside the city are scattered again. There is a lack of mutual support like sand, and if this continues, morale will completely collapse in a short time."
Fang Jie nodded: "It's not the end yet, don't forget that Li Yuanshan still has at least 60,000 real elites in his hands. The quality of those soldiers who used to be the right guards of the Great Sui Dynasty is far from comparable to that of other rebels. , and I haven’t seen a flag of soldiers from the court over the past few days of observation, which means that the emperor is carrying bravery. With the 60,000 elite in his hand, even if Li Yuanshan wants to leave the court, he probably won’t be able to stop him.”
The situation on the front battlefield has become clear. Before the other battalions of rebels could support them, the rebels of this battalion were defeated by the imperial court.
Fang Jie turned over and lay down in the grass, no longer looking at the situation of the battle: "The flying fish robes and scouts sent out have not come back yet, we don't know where the Mongolian barbarian's cavalry and Luo Yao's left front guard went. Still full of variables."
"His Majesty the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty should have a plan in mind."
Wanyan Chongde was silent for a while and said: "Although I haven't met him, I know that he is a very wise and great monarch. Such a supreme ruler who controls the world in the Central Plains has already arranged all the preparations before doing anything. …”
Fang Xie knew that what Wanyan Chongde said was right. People like the emperor would not be confused even if they were dying of illness. Here, his life cannot be changed by Li Yuanshan's life.
"Shall we continue to wait?"
Wanyan Chongde asked.
"Keep waiting."
Fang Jie nodded.
He lay in the grass and looked at the blue sky, and all he thought about was what might happen. Up to now, the development of the matter has actually exceeded Fang Jie's prediction on the Langru Mountain. When he led his troops out, he never expected that in the final decisive battle, there would be no sign of Mengyuan wolf cavalry or Luo Yao.
Are those wolf riders watching and waiting somewhere, or have they joined the war in unknown places
Where did Luo Yao's hundreds of thousands of troops go
He was lying there, and suddenly found a huge bird's nest in a tree not far away. He didn't know what kind of wild bird it was. Back to food. A python that just woke up from hibernation climbed up the tree trunk, and it seemed that its target was the brood of chicks waiting to be fed.
Seeing this scene, Fang Xie's eyes suddenly lit up.
"I see… "
He sat up, picked up a small stone and flicked it with his fingers. The stone hit the python's head with a bang like electricity, and the python with thick arms twitched and fell from the tree.
"What did you say?"
Wanyan Chongde asked.
Fang Jie glanced back at the battlefield and murmured: "Luo Yao is not interested in the emperor anymore, maybe he already knew about the emperor's serious illness, so he came to the northwest this time just to show off, to show Li Yuanshan to the emperor Look, only in this way can the emperor and Li Yuanshan act according to their own arrangements with confidence. But Luo Yao never planned to get involved in the northwest affairs from the very beginning. Forming a decisive battle with Li Yuanshan, Luo Yao is about to retreat... His goal has never been the emperor, but Chang'an City."
"The eagle came out to hunt for the next generation, but the boa constrictor set his sights on the young eagle in the eagle's family."
Fang Jie rubbed his frowning brows: "I hope the emperor will make arrangements... Now it's just hope."
…
…
The confrontation between the two sides came to an end in just one morning, and the rebels were defeated. The imperial army had already driven the rebels gathered in Xiping City to the two sides. The rebels who tried to encircle the imperial court finally failed due to insufficient troops. Or knowing that he was unable to continue to implement the original design, Li Yuanshan ordered all rebels to gather on the northwest sides of Xiping City, and lost the south and east of the city after three days of fighting.
More than 400,000 royal troops and nearly 500,000 rebels gathered in Xiping City, a place that would hardly appear in history before. It is undeniable that no matter what the final outcome of this battle is, the weight of the three words Xiping City will be Get very heavy. In the history books, this battle will be written in the thickest ink, no matter who writes it according to the meaning.
When Fang Jie returned to the army camp, it was already dark. After a hasty dinner, he leaned against the rocks to rest. Because he wanted to avoid the rebel scouts, the army didn't set up a tent or light a fire. When he rested, he just wrapped himself in a blanket. lying on the grass.
Mu Xiaoyao sat down next to him and looked at the bright stars in the sky: "Juexiao, do you want to wait any longer?"
Fang Jie hummed, very lightly.
"Why?"
Mu Xiaoyao asked: "You are a rational person, but this trip itself is not a rational thing, and now the situation is chaotic, and no one knows what the outcome will be. The armies of all parties may become the winners. You With these three thousand cavalry, we are caught in the cracks, and if we are not careful, we will get involved."
"I know."
Fang Jie nodded: "I'm selfish, but I have to do this."
Mu Xiaoyao said softly: "If only a few of us follow you, I won't ask why you do anything. But now it's not only us, but also the three thousand cavalry. I don’t even understand what you brought them here for.”
"Wait and watch."
Fang Jie paused and said: "I know it's really selfish to do this, to bring thousands of people to accompany me for my own thoughts... I originally thought that the emperor was going to use himself as a bait to lure the Quartet to fight, because he was already terminally ill. I am no longer afraid of death. Although it is not what I expected now, but I think that he should not be the kind of person who becomes a prisoner of war or is surrounded and killed. I know that the emperor still does not believe me from the bottom of his heart, but he does He gave me trust to the maximum extent. I always don’t want to owe others, so I save him once if I can, and after I save him, I have an account of the trust he gave.”
"But now it seems that the emperor may not lose."
Mu Xiaoyao was silent for a while and said: "You said that he is not the kind of person who can be easily defeated."
"yes."
Fang Jie said: "Judging from the battle situation, the emperor may not necessarily lose. He must have a strong backhand, and he may have already used it, but he is still using himself as a bait, or using his own life as a bet. So even if he wins, he is not the winner. Letting an emperor use his own life, even the remaining life, as a bet, is a defeat in itself... I just want to return some favors to him, and there will be no tension in what I do in the future stumble..."
"Fang Jie..."
"Um?"
"I am very happy."
"Why?"
Fang Jie looked at Mu Xiaoyao and asked.
"Because you are still you and have never changed."
Mu Xiaoyao smiled, with bright eyes: "You are never the kind of person who gives up all your feelings in order to achieve your goals. Perhaps such a character is disdainful in the eyes of other successful people, but we are all very happy that you are still you. Maybe You’re not going to end up standing taller than everyone else, but that’s not necessarily a lack of success.”
Fang Xie understood what Mu Xiaoyao meant, only then realized that he had ignored their feelings. Since leading the troops, their actions have indeed changed a bit, perhaps they have been worried.
He smiled, put his arms around Mu Xiaoyao's shoulders and said, "Maybe I am a little different from people in this world, and there are always things I can't do."
Mu Xiaoyao also smiled, and could see that she was very happy.
At this moment, a flying fish robe suddenly ran over from a distance, hurried to Fang Jie and said, "General, Chen Baihu and the others are back!"
Fang Jie got up immediately and strode forward.
After Fang Jie left, Shen Qingfan appeared next to Mu Xiaoyao. She looked at Fang Jie's back gradually disappearing into the darkness, and after a long silence, she suddenly sighed: "It's not easy for him to get to where he is today, and I can't even imagine if he can't become more ruthless." A few, how difficult his road will be in the future. For us, the unchanging solution is a comfort and joy, but for him...he will be even harder."
"But you said something wrong."
Shen Qingfan smiled at Mu Xiaoyao and said to himself: "I have always been more accurate than you in seeing people... He will not lose to any opponent. So, what you said before maybe you will not stand taller than everyone else in the end It’s wrong, if you don’t believe me, let’s wait and see.”