The strong wind howled and the yellow sand rolled.
Qin Shubao immediately raised his spear and his shirt was flying, and he stood on a ruined stone pier and looked up into the distance.
The eyes are filled with confusion. As far as the eye can see, there is no cliff between heaven and earth.
"Grand Governor!" Several cavalrymen came trotting over, and one of them shouted loudly, "The soldiers searched everywhere for water, but found nothing."
Qin Shubao couldn't help but pursed his dry lips, threw the tiger head chisel gold gun to a small school commander next to him, jumped off the horse and walked forward and said: "Rengui, we are more than a hundred miles away from Yumen Pass and Yang Pass. This section The road to Silichou is the most difficult. Firstly, there is a lack of water, and secondly, there is little wind and sand. There is no other way, so let the soldiers continue to walk a hundred miles west to reach the great desert, which is the old land of Loulan and Puchanghai. Lop Nur), there is not only a water source but also an important market town on the Silk Road. We can take it and rest for the time being. "
Xue Rengui clenched his fists and said, "That's all we have to do. Since our army came out of Lanzhou, we have fought sixteen formations, large and small, and won all the battles. However, at this time, we are exhausted, and we are short of food, grass, and water. If we don't rest and recuperate, we will... This is the end of the battle. I hope there are not a large number of Tibetan troops or rebels in the Western Regions in Puchanghai, otherwise it will be another bloody battle. "
"Why, are you scared?" Qin Shubao laughed, sat down on a laterite stone next to him, knocked on his knees and said, "It's only sixteen battles, what does it matter? I am old too, and my body and bones are not as good as before. I remember that when I followed His Majesty on his campaigns in the north and south, it was common for me to fight for days and nights without stopping for even a moment. Now I feel sleepy after only galloping for more than a thousand miles. "
"The final general is naturally not afraid." Xue Rengui said with a smile, "Winning sixteen battles in a row, this achievement can be considered brilliant. The Tubo soldiers and horses and the rebels in the Western Regions have been killed by most of the governors. They were frightened by the news. They thought they could regain the Yumen Pass and Yang Pass. How brutal these two battles were, how could we expect them to be won so easily. However, our army suffered a lot of casualties after these large and small battles. When we went out, there were only more than 13,000 elite soldiers left. ”
"People will die in war, there is no way." Qin Shubao frowned slightly and said, "Six thousand to seven thousand heroic souls were buried in the wilderness. In exchange for the Tang Dynasty expanding its territory thousands of miles, there are still more than 20,000 enemy corpses buried. They It's a good death. This Yueqi team was trained by you and Yuwen Hongtai when Sanlang was in Lanzhou. It is really brave and disciplined, and it is quite tenacious. , I didn’t hear anyone complaining, and the morale is still high. With such a strong enemy, why worry about fighting another thousand miles in a row, I am not afraid at all!”
"With a Dingding war god like the Grand Governor as the commander-in-chief, the brothers will naturally work harder." Xue Rengui said, "The general is only worried about one thing now. The Grand Governor left Lanzhou and led his army to attack Gaochang. Lanzhou lacks a backbone, so what? Is that good? Although Xue Wanjun is a talented general, it may be difficult for him to guard a large governor's palace alone. Furthermore, if most of the governors rebel against the order and raise troops, if the court investigates and issues a strict order to punish them, what will happen to us? Don’t give up halfway?”
"Haha!" Qin Shubao stroked his beard and smiled and said, "Rengui, Sanlang often praises you in front of me for being meticulous and cautious, and you are indeed not bad. Your worries are justified, and I have thought about these issues many times. However, you After all, I don’t understand the court, nor do I understand the emperor.”
"Oh, what do you say?" Xue Rengui asked curiously.
Qin Shubao smiled slightly and said: "Whether it is war or peace in Lanzhou, there will inevitably be endless debates in the court, and His Majesty the Emperor will be unable to make a decision for a while. At this time, there should be a reckless person like me, who will behead first and then beat. , now that it’s a foregone conclusion, no matter how much debate there is in the court, it’s useless.”
Xue Rengui said in shock: "What if someone impeaches the Governor because of this?"
"Just impeach me, what are you afraid of!" Qin Shubao said nonchalantly, "I have already led the troops thousands of miles away. Even if I are impeached, it will be a matter of time before the imperial edict to punish me catches up with us. By then, We have captured Gaochang! Besides, His Majesty the Emperor really wanted to teach Tubo a lesson and pacify Gaochang, but he was unable to do so because of the criticism from the Confucian scholars in the court. , which also coincides with his original intention. Do you think that His Majesty the Emperor can really punish me for a serious crime? Let me take off my armor and return to the field? Haha! Anyway, Lanzhou will be used by Sanlang sooner or later. It doesn't hurt to give it to him as soon as possible. I will be happy to go home and have my grandson as soon as possible. . Before that, I want to enjoy the pleasure of galloping on the battlefield. When I have enjoyed it enough, it will be the day when Saburo takes over my strong horse and spear."
"The Governor is ambitious and far-sighted, but in the end he will fall short!" Xue Rengui clasped his fists and sighed.
"Don't praise me." Qin Shubao smiled, stroking his beard, and smiled a little proudly, "I am doing everything according to Sanlang's wishes. That boy is the most resourceful. In the past few years, I, as a father, have always pressed him everywhere. I'm not as good as him when it comes to planning things; he's not as good as me when it comes to attacking enemies from thousands of miles away. While this old man can still move, let's do more for him! As expected, as soon as I send troops, the emperor will definitely do it. Send Sanlang back to Lanzhou to take charge of the overall situation. Rengui, you don't have to worry about anything, just charge forward and gallop forward! The front is Puchanghai, the ancient country of Loulan, which is an important road on the Silk Road in the Western Regions. No matter who is entrenched there. Flatten it!”
"No!" Xue Rengui clasped his fists heavily and said loudly, "Grand Governor, please let the last general lead the three thousand armored soldiers to take the first step. They will level Loulan within twelve hours and clear the obstacles. We sincerely welcome the Grand Governor and the soldiers into the city to rest. horse!"
"Okay!" Qin Shubao stood up, laughed loudly, patted Xue Rengui's shoulder armor, and said, "Sanlang repeatedly warned before leaving, discuss everything with Rengui, he has his own opinion; he can be appointed as the vanguard in big and small battles. Commander, there is nothing we can't defeat. We fought sixteen battles in a row in this Western Expedition, and won every battle. You, Xue Rengui, should be credited with the first victory!"
Xue Rengui smiled slightly, cupped his hands and said: "Let Xue take down this seventeenth formation alone. The Governor will take a break. At this time tomorrow, I will invite the Governor to join us and get drunk together in the ancient city of Loulan!"
"Go!"
"Yi Mansion's leading vanguard, mount up!" Xue Rengui jumped on his horse, fastened his cloak, pointed his square-shaped halberd forward, and shouted, "The target is Loulan, attack hundreds of miles away, and conquer it with one drum in twelve hours - Set off!"
"Nuo—" Three thousand Yue cavalry rolled out, kicking up hundreds of feet of sand and dust.
Qin Shubao stood tall with his beard stroking. He squinted his eyes and looked at Xue Rengui's cavalrymen who were gradually disappearing into the Gobi and the sky. He sighed with emotion: "Qin Qiong, with young talents like Sanlang and Xue Rengui taking over your horses and spears, you are indeed You can take off your armor and return to the field without any regrets... Gaochang is your last battle in this life!"
At night, the back house of Lao Qin's family was beside the polo field.
Qin Mubai carried a lamp alone to the armor room where the weapons and armors were stored. He took oil, water, cloth towels and other items, took out the armor, weapons, saddles, bows and arrows one by one, and sat alone in the room carefully of wiping.
These weapons are extremely precious, and Qin Mubai would not use them during normal training. The armor is the golden bright light armor given by Emperor Li Shimin personally when he successfully ran for the Hundred Horsemen for the first time. Although it was not difficult for Qin Mubai to obtain a good armor when he held a high position in the army, the so-called "good armor" in general was difficult to compare with Yu Gong's top-grade golden armor. The sword is the Guiyi sword given by Li Daozong. Needless to say, it is a sword with extraordinary significance. The gun is a golden gun with a tiger head passed down from the Qin family. It is exactly the same as the one used by his father Qin Shubao. Others, such as the golden eagle saddle, the thrush-tiger-patterned iron-tied bow, and the specially made snake-head stainless steel armor-piercing arrows, are all extraordinary.
Especially for bows and arrows, Qin Mubai put a lot of effort into modifying them according to the bows and arrows he had used for competitions in his previous life, and then asked expert craftsmen to tailor them specially for him. They are very different from ordinary bows and arrows now. In addition to the tension of the bow string matching your arm strength, it is also more scientific and convenient to use, and the accuracy is greatly improved.
These things have been idle for too long.
Qin Mubai wiped it very carefully, and he was not bothered at all, and he was unwilling to pretend to others. For a soldier who goes into battle, weapons, armor, and horses are closely related to his life.
Now, Qin Mubai was looking forward to leaving Chang'an as soon as possible and rushing to Lanzhou to go to the battlefield. It is true that Chang'an is a gentle and cozy place, the mainland of the Central Plains is blooming with flowers, the country is peaceful and the people are peaceful, but Qin Mubai feels that he is destined to belong to that yellow sand battlefield. Since returning to Beijing from Lanzhou last year, many unexpected events have happened one after another. After many ups and downs, some people around me have left, some have come, some have become prosperous, and some are beyond redemption.
After seeing too many joys and sorrows, and tired of the intrigues, Qin Mubai felt that it was much more refreshing and comfortable to see a simple man on the battlefield in the military camp with passionate horses and spears!
About half an hour later, a little maid whispered outside: "Third Young Master, we have a visitor."
Qin Mubai paused for a moment and said, "Didn't I tell you that I won't see anyone today? Why are you still disturbing me?"
"Third Young Master, please forgive me. I didn't dare to disturb you at all. It was my mistress who asked me to invite Third Young Master. She said that... Third Young Master would be better off meeting the guest."
"Who?"
"Her Royal Highness Princess Gaoyang and Wu Meiniang."
Qin Mubai was startled for a moment and said, "Just the two of them?"
"Yes, it's just the two of them."
"Then invite them here."
"yes… "
Qin Mubai was still sitting in the hut, wiping his weapons and armor. I thought to myself: I'm about to leave, they must have come to say goodbye to me... I didn't want to say goodbye to them, so I deliberately avoided them, but unexpectedly they made an appointment to come together. . That’s it, just come when you’re here! After all, I don’t know when or where the next meeting will be.
A few hours later, Princess Gao Yang and Wu Meiniang came, stood side by side at the door and called softly: "Mu Bai..."
"What's wrong, come in!" Qin Mubai chuckled, "It seems that I have become a lot stranger all of a sudden. In the past, you were not so polite."
The two women walked in with a slight smile, sat down beside him, and watched silently as he wiped the golden gun with a tiger head in his hand.
"Let me help you." Wu Meiniang said, reaching out to take the rag in Qin Mubai's hand.
"No need." Qin Mubai said, "I never lie to others about this kind of thing."
"Am I also a 'other person'?" Wu Meiniang said with a smile.
"Okay, here you go." Qin Mubai smiled helplessly and said, "Remember, the tip of the gun needs oil, not too much, because too much is too slippery and it is easy to miss when it crosses with other people's weapons. If it is too little, it will not be able to be pulled out if it is inserted into someone's armor. More than half of the gun body needs to be moistened with a little oil so that the blood can flow down quickly; the oil must not be visible below the half, otherwise my hand will slip and what will happen. Things can’t be said anymore.”
Wu Meiniang frowned and shook her hands, then handed the rag back to Qin Mubai, and said worriedly: "You'd better do it yourself! I can't afford this slight mistake."
"Mu Bai, you know how to scare us." Princess Gao Yang frowned deeply and whispered, "You know we are worried about you, but you still say something so scary!"
"Haha!" Qin Mubai said with a smile, "You know that separation is the most uncomfortable time, so why are you still coming?"
Wu Meiniang and Princess Gaoyang looked at each other, with sorrow on their faces and remained silent.
"Okay! Don't make it look like we are parting from life or death. It's not the first time I've left Chang'an for an expedition." Qin Mubai said pretending to be relaxed.
"Mubai, I know, you want me to be obedient, sensible, and stay in Chang'an to serve my mother-in-law and take care of my family. I also really want to do this, but..." Princess Gaoyang pursed her lips with a look of embarrassment in the middle of the sentence and whispered. He said, "But I want to go to Lanzhou with you more, okay?..."
The movements in Qin Mubai's hands paused for a moment, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he remained silent.
"Okay, pretend I didn't say..." Princess Gao Yang sighed softly and turned away.
"Thank you, Ling'er..." Qin Mubai smiled slightly and said, "We have been together for more than a day or two. You understand me and I understand you. We don't need to say anything extra. In short, I will be intact. When you come back, stay in Chang'an well and obediently, and don't let me worry about you."
"Well..." Princess Gao Yang nodded gently and said no more words.
Wu Meiniang said: "Mubai, when I accompanied you to see Fang Xuanling the day before yesterday, I promised to raise food and grass. I am already preparing for it. I believe it won't take long to get the first batch of food and grass, about 300,000 shi. , set off from Chang'an together with Su Dingfang and King Jiangxia who were seeing off their bride."
"So fast?" Qin Mubai said in surprise, "Chang'an is not Xiangyang. You haven't done any food business here, have you?"
"Isn't there still the Zheng family? Have you forgotten that the Zheng family is the largest grain and salt merchant in Chang'an, the royal merchant of the imperial court!" Wu Meiniang said, "Without the imperial court's permission, who would dare to touch upon the grain and salt business, let alone I'm doing grain business in Chang'an. Although I took over the grain and salt orders that you and Li Ke got for me in Xiangzhou, I really can't do much in the customs. "
"Oh, no wonder you are so confident that you can brag about half a million stones of food and grass in front of Fang Xuanling!" Qin Mubai said.
Princess Gao Yang blinked and asked, "Is half a million stones of food and grass expensive? How much is it worth?"
"It's not particularly expensive. It's probably worth a Qinxian Pavilion in Chang'an." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "But on the front line and border, even if you have money, you can't buy such a thing. Moreover, you have to transport 500,000 stones of grain and grass. The cost of getting to Lanzhou is more than two and a half million dan! In addition, ordinary people cannot afford to hire and prepare a huge team of men and horses."
"Mei Niang, you are so capable..." Princess Gao Yang said with envy and jealousy, "You can do so many things for Mu Bai, but I can't help you at all. I feel that compared to you, I am useless. No!"
"No way!" Wu Meiniang said quickly, "You are the lucky star in Mubai's life. Without you, Mubai would not be as powerful as he is today. As for me, I can do nothing but do business and have nothing but money. I can only help Mu Bai a little, but after all, you are more helpful to him!"
"Really?" Princess Gao Yang turned to smile and asked, "Mu Bai, is that true?"
"Haha!" Qin Mubai shook his head and smiled, "Okay, you two are both the lucky star in my life and my best wife, so there is no need to flatter each other and brag."
"Hehe!" Princess Gao Yang and Wu Meiniang laughed together. The sadness of parting has finally faded a lot.
"It's getting late, you all should go back and have a rest early!" Qin Mubai said with a cruel heart, and issued an eviction order, "I still have a pair of armor to clean, and I will go to bed early after finishing it. The time is coming at Mao o'clock The military camp outside Chang'an City is about to raise troops, so I have to get up at dawn and go out very early. "
Princess Gao Yang and Wu Meiniang both stood up silently, looked at him with their four bright eyes, and said softly: "Then let's go..."
"Well..." Qin Mubai responded softly without looking up at the two of them. I could only hear their rustling footsteps walking away lightly.
"Huh..." Qin Mubai breathed a sigh of relief and said to himself: Gentle Township, Tomb of Heroes... Although I am not a great hero, I don't want to be distracted and worried by my children. Can they understand
At this time, a series of tiny footsteps came closer and closer again. Qin Mubai couldn't help but frown: Gao Yang, are you leaving and coming back
After being together for so long, Qin Mubai is very familiar with her footsteps.
"Mu Bai..." Princess Gao Yang came back as expected. She ran into the room like a civet cat, jumped on Qin Mubai's back and hugged his neck.
"What?" Qin Mubai asked with a smile.
"Dry!"
Qin Mubai almost fell to the ground, "What are you talking about?"
"Anyway, if you ask, I will answer. No regrets!"
"Naughty!—Where's Mei Niang?"
"I asked her to come and sleep with the three of us. She was shy and went home, hehe!" Princess Gaoyang giggled and bit Qin Mubai's ear and said, "Mr. Mubai, baby Sanlang, I want to give you a son. !”
"What husband, baby, who did you learn this from?" Qin Mubai didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Princess Gao Yang giggled in Qin Mubai's ear, and her voice became seductive. She hummed, "You have only been busy for the past few days and have not messed with me. Now that I have been away from Chang'an for so long, I don't know when we will meet again." What day...you just don’t have any ideas?”
"Aren't I just afraid that when you wake up tomorrow and no one is around you, will you be sad?"
"Don't worry about it! As you said, a spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold. You can go to Lanzhou to clean this gun! - Come on, let's go to the room and give birth to a son!"
"..." Qin Mubai was so speechless that the corners of his mouth almost cramped, and he gritted his teeth and said, "It's not urgent whether I have a son or not. I only know that you are going to be miserable tonight!"
"Come on! Come on! If I'm afraid of you, I won't be your Qin Mubai's woman, hehe!"