Fang Jie glanced at the undamaged granary on the other side of the hill, and then at Yan Zeng, who was standing opposite with a rather scary pale face.
"It's not your fault that you led troops to resist. It's a merit that you didn't burn the granary, so I won't kill you. If you are willing to stay in my Black Banner Army, I will arrange a suitable position for you. If you don't want to stay, Follow you."
"Yan Li is really dead?"
Yan Zeng asked again.
"yes."
Fang Jie nodded: "He and Mu Guangling's only son Mu Xianjun led 5,000 troops to defend Penglai Island. They were besieged by the foreign navy and could not break through. The sea route was cut off by the foreign navy, and the reinforcements from the Mu residence on land could not get through. They The two fought with their soldiers to the death for more than a month, and I heard that all of them died in the battle, and no one survived."
Yan Zeng smiled wryly: "I always thought that I was more responsible than him, and I would be more successful than him, so I stayed away from Dongjiang. If he died, what's the point of my achievements in the future? His death, Died at such a high place, I can only look up."
He looked at Fang Jie: "There is a bitter battle in the eastern border, why did you lead your troops to the north?"
"I have sent 100,000 troops to the eastern border to help Mu Guangling. The reason why I didn't bring all the troops east is because you know how much the Black Banner Army's mobilization will have an impact. If I take all the troops of the Black Banner Army to go east I'm afraid that the southwest that I have worked so hard to stabilize will be occupied by others. And where I lead troops to the east, those people will let my hundreds of thousands of troops pass with confidence?"
After being silent for a while, Yan Zeng's face suddenly changed: "Do you think Dongjiang can't be defended?"
Fang Jie didn't answer, but just looked at Yan Zeng.
"I see. Duke Zhen predicted that the eastern border could not be defended, so you led troops to attack Chang'an."
"Chang'an City is meaningless to the current Sui Dynasty. Even if no one has invaded it, Chang'an City is no longer the Chang'an City of the Yang family. It would be best if foreigners can be blocked in Dongjiang. Let’s face it, Chang’an City is the last line of defense. Once the foreigners break through Chang’an, in a sense the Han people’s country will be lost. I can’t trust others, so I have to defend Chang’an myself.”
Fang Jie said slowly.
Yan Zeng thought for a while and said, "Can you give me back the troops in Liyin City? I want to go back to Eastern Xinjiang."
"With your tens of thousands of people, you won't be able to reach the eastern border at all."
Fang Jie shook his head: "Even if you are really going back to Eastern Border to fight against foreign enemies, how many people will be regarded as a piece of fat by your team of ten thousand people on the way back? Not everyone is willing to sacrifice their strength They are all used to resist foreign enemies, and the number of bystanders may be more than those who are willing to throw their heads and blood."
"Central Plains..."
Yan Zeng shook his head: "Why can't we all have the same mind at a time like this?"
"It's not just us."
Fang Jie said: "This is not only the case of the Han people in this world, it is the case of any nation. Some people are willing to die in order to protect their homeland without complaint or regret. Some people think that no matter who is in the country, it is enough to be an obedient citizen. Common people Not all of them are happy with the situation, and those with powerful families do not necessarily understand the righteousness of the nation. If we change the position, if we invade a foreign country now, then some people will resist and some will surrender."
Yan Zeng asked: "Duke Zhen didn't let me go, because he wanted me to lead troops to help you attack Chang'an?"
"I don't lack your strength, and I don't lack people like you."
Fang Jie took a look at Yan Zeng: "People like you can be regarded as general talents, it is indeed a pity to let you go. But even if you are not ambitious, it doesn't make sense for me to force you to stay. It's natural for me to have you one more." I'm happy. Without you, it won't make me sleepless."
"good."
After being silent for a while, Yan Zeng nodded: "I can assist the Duke to go north. The guards of the three passes and sixteen cities in the north are familiar with me. If I write a letter to persuade him to surrender, how many people will agree. "
Fang Jie nodded: "If so, it is not only a great merit, but also a great merit."
…
…
Western Regions
prairie
Daiwaji Temple
Kuok Taimengge has climbed to this magnificent temple many times. In the past, monks would stand on both sides of the road to welcome him, some people would play beautiful music, and some people would sprinkle bright flowers. But this time, when he walked up to Dalun Temple, he seemed a little lonely.
There was no one on either side of the road, and it looked like a temple that had been abandoned for a long time.
A huge scar runs through the Dalun Temple. If the Dalun Temple is regarded as a huge sand sculpture, then this scar is because a naughty person beat the sand sculpture with a wooden stick, destroying this perfect and magnificent building appearance. It used to be an irreplaceable holy place in the hearts of hundreds of millions of herdsmen on the grassland. If they can enter the Dalun Temple, they will never forget it.
The war did not destroy this temple, but it more or less destroyed some people's beliefs.
"I knew you would come sooner or later."
The voice floated from nowhere, it seemed to be in the extremely distant sky, and it seemed to be right next to the ear. When Quoketai Mengge heard the voice, his body trembled involuntarily. At the beginning, he was so ambitious that he wanted to destroy the Buddhist sect and let the golden family's dominance reach an unprecedented height. However, when the war seemed to be over, he learned some secrets, so that now he has no ambitions, like a body that has lost its spirit.
"I don't know who you are, but I don't believe you are a god."
Meng Ge paused, raised his head and looked up at the Dalun Temple: "God is ruthless, but you seem to be mocking me now. You seem to be waiting for me to appear in front of you in frustration like a defeated one. Accept Your sarcasm."
"If I am not a god, then who dares to say that he is a god?"
The ethereal voice seemed to come from another world, without any anger. This is the second time Meng Ge heard this voice. The first time was the day he thought he was about to break into the Dalun Temple.
"What is your understanding of God?"
the voice asked.
"universal."
Mongo replied.
The voice disappeared for a while, and then said with some emotion: "I am not omnipotent. After all, there are still some things in this world that I cannot do. You say that God is omnipotent, but it is a wrong understanding. God is not omnipotent. If it is If it is, then it will not be deliberately transformed by me, but it will not do anything."
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Mongo asked.
"I want to make the world develop in the right direction, instead of experiencing mistakes again."
"again?"
Meng Ge didn't understand.
"Yes, once again... what I have experienced is something you will never imagine. Try your best to imagine the appearance of hell, and the appearance you can imagine is not as good as one ten thousandth of the real hell. If you've seen hell like that, you won't doubt my decision."
"I don't even know what your decision is."
"You don't need to know, you just need to obey."
"What if I don't obey?"
Meng Ge asked seriously.
The voice disappeared for a long time and did not appear again. At this time, the gate of the temple was pushed open from the inside with a creak, and an old monk who seemed to be so old that he might die at any time came out slowly with a walking stick. That not-so-high threshold seemed like a mountain that was extremely difficult for him to climb over.
"come in."
It took the old monk a long time to step out of the threshold. He walked back after only saying a word, and then raised his foot with difficulty again. After a long time of deliberation, he stepped forward with the other foot.
"It's so difficult to come out and only say a word and then go back, why do you come out?"
Mongo asked.
"Some things cannot be avoided."
The old monk looked back at him: "There is a threshold in front of everyone. You don't think it is necessary to cross it because you see the scenery outside the door and feel that it is the same whether you go out or not. The door is open. Do you think it is necessary to cross the threshold?" You can see it clearly. In fact, you didn’t see it clearly, because it’s very big outside the door.”
What he said seemed to be a bit out of line, and then he smiled: "This is what the last person told me, I always thought it was bullshit..."
"The last person?"
Meng Ge felt that the Buddhist sect was becoming more and more mysterious.
"Who was the last person?"
"Who was the last person?"
The old monk seemed to think about it carefully, and then he answered naturally: "The last person is the previous me, and the next person is the next me...Why are you so stupid?"
…
…
"Do you know why I stepped over that threshold?"
The old monk asked Meng Ge.
"I don't know. You explained it for a long time, but I didn't understand it."
Mongo replied.
"I said it just now. What I said was the answer when I asked the last person. I asked why he yearned to cross that threshold so much. That's what he said, and I didn't understand it at the time. But I'm not like him, I crossed that threshold because I wanted to know how long I could live... When I couldn't even cross a threshold, I guess I was close to death. But I'm not afraid I'm not sad... There are so many people in the world, how many people really die of old age without desires?"
Brother Meng wants to say that you are really boring, but he is too lazy to say anything when he is in a bad mood.
"I'll ask you another question."
The old monk narrowed his eyes and glanced at Meng Ge, as if he didn't care about Meng Ge's thoughts: "Do you know why the Buddha Sect exists?"
"Why?"
Meng Ge repeated it, and then thought about it carefully: "In order to control the people?"
"Well, it's a pretty standard answer."
The old monk nodded: "In fact, if there was no Dalun Mingwang more than a thousand years ago, the Buddhist sect would still appear. I heard that there is a country called Nanyan in the Central Plains, and the capital is called Dali City. I forgot the name of the monk. Maybe the Buddha of the great monk is the real Buddha. And the Buddha of the Buddhist sect is not the real Buddha... I can't fully explain what it is exactly."
"He asked you to come out and pick me up?"
Meng Ge was not interested in the topic of the old monk.
"he?"
The old monk thought for a while: "Really... do you know who he is?"
"Can you stop asking questions all the time, can you answer my questions?"
Meng Ge said impatiently.
"I can't."
The old monk shook his head and said earnestly: "I have lived for so many years, I can't figure out that there are many more questions that I can't find answers to than you, I may be dying of old age, so I think more urgently than you. Know the answer. Simply put... why should I answer you?"
Then he asked, "Do you know, what is Fozong? Do you know who he is?"
"You're really old and confused."
Meng Ge shook his head and stopped talking.
"He..."
The old monk murmured softly: "It's a demon... a demon who wants to dominate the world."