It's the beginning of the snow, and three days have passed.
Qin Mubai, who was physically and mentally exhausted and on the verge of overdraft, finally got some good respite and recuperation. In the past year or so, ever since he was framed and imprisoned after the East Palace incident, Qin Mubai has not had even a moment's rest. It doesn't matter the physical exhaustion, it's mainly the mental pressure and torture.
The death of Yao'er, the death of his father; the court, the conspiracy, the frame-up; Lanzhou, Tubo, the Garqin Mausoleum... one after another, one after another.
It wasn't until the victory at Huanyue Valley that Qin Mubai's tense heartstrings relaxed a little. Then within three days, in the company of Chen Yan and Xiao Lou'er, the almost dry body and mind were well nourished.
Even though she is a mother, Chen Yan still retains the chivalrous and sharp look she had when we first met her. There is no trace of her dull and yellow face. Instead, she has gained a lot of mature charm and charm. More importantly, Qin Mubai still doesn't feel any pressure when he is with her, and there is no feeling that "marriage is the tomb of love" at all. The daily necessities between husband and wife have not diluted the harmony and sweetness between them.
In the bed, whenever Qin Mubai and Chen Yan were curled up in the clouds and rain, looking at Chen Yan, who was usually cold, unparalleled, proud, lonely, and extremely wise, just like the eldest sister of the Lin family, her charm was gone under her body. Panting and twisting obviously, Qin Mubai always felt an almost evil pleasure.
In this world, there is no man who doesn’t want to conquer the country and the beauty.
Xiaolouer is becoming more and more intelligent, smart and exquisite, and the longer he grows, the more beautiful he becomes. Now she is loved by thousands of people. Even Li Daozong regards her as the apple of his eye. He holds her in his hand and plays with her every day. She is closer than his own granddaughter.
Within three days, Shanzhou received good news one after another. One is the good news from Zhang Tong, saying that the Buha River flooded Dafeichuan military camp was successfully blown up.
At the same time, Zhang Tong also reported an important piece of information, saying that on the day when there was a "loud earthquake" in Huanyue Valley, countless cavalry rushed out of the Tubo camp, seemingly heading towards Huanyue Valley. Later, these people never came back. And not long after, the Tibetan troops who stayed in Dafeichuan began to mysteriously retreat. As a result, the flooding of Dafeichuan did not achieve the expected results.
Immediately afterwards, Hou Junji, the former commander of the Dafeichuan Guanxi Army Formation, also sent a battle report. He said that he led his troops to Dafeichuan and met Zhang Tong shortly after he blew up a dike and released floodwaters that flooded the military camp. He immediately led a large army to pursue and annihilate the enemy, capture prisoners, and rescue military supplies. In this battle, a total of more than 30,000 Tibetan enemy troops were annihilated and more than 20,000 were captured. However, there were still nearly 150,000 Tibetan troops who strangely withdrew early and are now stationed in the old village north of Qingluoyuan. According to the prisoners' confession, the one who leads the remnants of the Tibetan army is still the Garqinling! At the same time, the prisoners also confessed an important piece of information - just before the sky burial in Huanyue Valley, the Garqin Mausoleum suddenly received an emergency report from the rear, saying that the Golmud base camp had been flooded, the entire garrison was wiped out, and there was no grain left. Therefore, Galqin Ling suddenly sent troops to recover and led troops to conquer Danba Urji in Shanzhou. After the recovery failed, he immediately issued a retreat order.
Now, Hou Junji is arranging his troops to divert the torrent and rescue military supplies, striving to minimize the disaster suffered by Dafeichuan, and stationed troops in the original military camp, facing the Garqin Mausoleum. According to Qin Mubai's instructions in advance, while the Gar Qinling Army is short of food, our army will not attack or fight, in one word - endure!
These two flimsy pages of military reports were like two divine hands, removing the heavy stone that was weighing on Qin Mubai and others' hearts. This is even more exciting than the victory at Huanyue Valley three days ago!
"Great! Golmud was flooded, which cut off the old roots of the Garqin Mausoleum. This is a blow from the bottom of the cauldron!" Even Li Daozong couldn't help being surprised and said, "Two major victories in a row have greatly dampened the enemy's morale. And more than half of it was destroyed. Now that Garqin Ling is out of supplies, we can kill Garqin Ling and his 150,000 remaining soldiers in one winter!"
"The most ideal thing is this. But how can the Garqinling sit still and wait for death?" Qin Mubai said with a smile, "The injured beast is more ferocious. Now let's see whether Hou Junji can withstand the Garqinling 's attack."
"It's hard to say." Li Daozong said, "If we only focus on the strength of the troops in hand and the ability to fight, Hou Junji may be slightly inferior to Gar Qinling. However, now that our army has the right time, place, people, and the initiative, Hou Junji It can increase the chance of winning. But on the other hand, Gar Qin Ling is indeed outstanding. If he really fights with all his strength, the result will not be certain. Moreover, the possibility of Gar Qin Ling's temporary retreat cannot be ruled out."
"Retreat?" Qin Mubai frowned, "This is definitely not his style."
"Don't forget, he is not only a military commander, but also a powerful official of Tubo." Li Daozong said, "If you lose a battle and want to win back, a person who leads troops will think so; but from the position of the Garqin Mausoleum, Think about it, will he risk the fate and fortune of the entire Tubo Dynasty on the outcome of a battle? "
"It makes sense..." Qin Mubai frowned slightly and nodded, "Moreover, we can't ignore the abandonment of the sect and the praise. Although the Gar Qinling was a powerful man who had great power for a while, he was not a Zanpu after all. If If he wins, everything in Tubo will be decided by him, and it will not be Qizong Nongzan's turn to intervene in all subsequent military plans. But now that he has lost, he has no confidence and capital. There are enough reasons for him to withdraw his troops and preserve his strength."
"Mubai, you have worked hard on this before, right?" Li Daozong said, "Since you faked your death, you have been trying to alienate Garqin Ling and Qizong Nongzan. No matter whether you really succeeded or not, they There must be a rift between them, so now a big defeat will destroy not only the 150,000 Tibetan enemy troops, but also the power of the Garqin Mausoleum!"
"This is my real purpose!" Qin Mubai lowered his eyebrows and exhaled heavily, saying, "Tubo is located on a plateau and the weather is freezing. All the people are strong and powerful. We want to rely solely on our own absolute strength. It is difficult to conquer them by force. The most effective way is to use each other's spear to attack the other's shield. As long as the Garqin Ling and Qizong Nongzan are at odds with each other and their ministers are suspicious of each other, then we will really have a good chance of victory. ! Regardless of the great victory of Huanyue Valley, the great victory of Dafeichuan, including the flooding of Golmud, they are just small victories, just like raising the water to stop the boiling water. If you want to level the plateau and conquer Tubo, you must first separate the Gar Qinling and Abandonment. Zong Nongzan! Otherwise, if we kill 150,000 troops and flood him with millions of grains and grains, he will regain his strength and come back in a few years, and he will be even more ferocious."
"Brilliant." Li Daozong praised him and said, "Mubai, you are not only an outstanding commander, but you have truly the ability to plan an army and a country! You are right. Throughout the ages, all the people in the Central Plains and foreign races have The battles, whether they win or lose, whether they make peace or pay tribute, are endless. Why is this happening? Because in the end, even if we win, most of them just stop the boiling water and fail to draw out the fire. I believe what you said in my house a few years ago - the contradiction between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo is irreconcilable and can only be resolved through war. Only by completely conquering the plateau and integrating Tubo into the Chinese nation can we Really solve this big problem! From this big battle in front of me, I can see your outstanding strategy and lofty vision, as well as your hard work and sacrifice of life. "
Having said this, Li Daozong smiled happily, patted Qin Mubai on the shoulder, and said, "Good man, I should be like you!"
Qin Mubai looked at Li Daozong's smile, but felt an inexplicable pain in his heart.
This look and this smile, how much do you resemble your father who is already in heaven
How wonderful it would be if it was his father Qin Shubao who patted him on the shoulder now...
"Your Majesty, you are rewarded. In fact, I just laid down all my gambling money and gave it a try when I had no way out!" Qin Mubai replied with a smile.
"Report—"
Suddenly a long shout interrupted the conversation between the two. The guards of the temporary governor's mansion rushed in with shouts.
"What's the matter?" Qin Mubai asked.
"Report to the Young Marshal—Zhu Bancheng, the guard of Yangguan, is standing outside, carrying a thorn, kneeling down to beg for an audience!"
"What, General Yangguan? Kneel down and ask for an audience?" Qin Mubai and Li Daozong looked at each other, with "bad" looks in their eyes.
"Call in!"
Qin Mubai and Li Daozong were sitting down in the hall of the Governor's Mansion when they saw a few soldiers leading a man into the mansion.
The man's hair was disheveled and he was dressed in dirty black like a prisoner. His upper body was tied up with his hands on his back. He also carried a bundle of thorns that were frozen like copper nails on his back, and his back was dripping with blood.
He walked into the hall and knelt heavily on his knees, "General Guilty, Zhu Bancheng, the general of Zuo Lang of Wei Wei Yi Mansion from the right, bows to the prince and the young marshal!"
Qin Mubai and Li Daozong were each shocked, and their bad premonitions became stronger.
"Get up and talk, who tied you up? What happened? As a general of Youweiwei, why didn't you guard the city at Yangguan instead of going to Shanzhou?" Qin Mubai asked.
Zhu Bancheng slowly raised his head, his face was ashen, but his eyes were full of sorrow and regret. He said, "Young Marshal, I am the one who tied myself up and came to apologize."
"What crime?"
"Yangguan... has fallen!"
"What?!" Li Daozong couldn't hold it any longer and started shouting, "Where's Xue Wanche? What does he do for food!"
"General Xue, and the 13,655 brothers who guarded the pass, all died in battle and martyred their country..." Zhu Bancheng answered this sentence, took a heavy breath, closed his eyes, and his face trembled, as if he was holding back. With grief and anger, he said, "General, under the orders of General Xue, I led a hundred brothers to break out and come here to face the young commander to accept my guilt!"
Qin Mubai sat motionless and said nothing, but his face was already livid, and his hands were tightly holding the armrests of the chair, making a creaking sound.
Seeing Qin Mubai's face like this, Zhu Bancheng closed his eyes in pain, bent over suddenly, and kowtowed to the ground.
"The guilty general, please imprison more than 10,000 brothers on behalf of the whole family and apologize to the young commander!"
Qin Mubai finally got up. He walked up to Zhu Bancheng, grabbed him, helped him up, looked him in the eyes, and said, "I understand who Xue Wanche is, and I have full confidence in his abilities. Tell me, what is the actual battle situation like?"
"Yes..." Zhu Bancheng responded and said -
"The Tubo army, with a total of 80,000 troops, besieged and besieged Yangguan and Yumen Pass. Since Yangguan City had few soldiers, they put their main force in Yangguan and attacked and killed them every day without stopping. About a month ago, Yangguan City We have already run out of food, more than half of our soldiers have been killed, and the whole camp is full of wounded soldiers.”
"Despite this, General Xue still led the remaining thousands of brothers to defend the city to the death. The tens of thousands of Tibetan troops could not move the city gates and could not move forward. Until one day... "
At this point, Zhu Bancheng's eyes suddenly turned red and he gritted his teeth and glared angrily, and his voice trembled, "The unscrupulous Tubo thieves actually captured a group of Han prisoners and came to Yangguan City! They shouted, let our army open the door to greet them. The enemy may simply surrender, otherwise, the Han people will be massacred in public!”
"Beast!!!" Li Daozong snapped several shots angrily, gritting his teeth and yelling!
Qin Mubai clenched his fists on his back and gritted his teeth, "Go on."
"On the first day, the Tubo people cut off ten heads and threw them under the city wall..."
"The next day, twenty..."
"On the third day, forty..."
…
"Finally, there are still more than 6,000 capable soldiers in the whole army. Please order General Xue to fight the Tubo people! We can't bear it anymore! - Marshal, don't blame General Xue for disobeying military orders. Switch to fight and fall into the city! This crime is not his alone, I have more than 10,000 brothers in Yangguan, and I am willing to lead it with General Xue!" Zhu Bancheng almost roared. After saying this, he suddenly knelt down on one knee again and said: His head was on the ground, and his hands tied behind his back were exposed. He was holding a blood-stained silk book in his hand, "Here is a joint apology letter from Brother Yangguan. Please see it, Young Marshal!"
Qin Mubai's hands trembled.
He reached over, picked up the thick stack of blood-stained silk books, and unfolded it with a wave of his hand.
A huge piece of dirty white silk with names densely written in blood.
On the top of the head are the largest and most eye-catching eight characters in blood - "Unbearable, blood debt must be paid with blood"!
There is a signature next to it, "General Guilty, Commander-in-Chief of Xinghaidao March, Commander-in-Chief of Liangzhou, Xue Wanche."
Qin Mubai glanced at each line, his finger joints cracking, his face as tight as a lump in his throat.
Li Daozong came over, took the silk book from Qin Mubai's hand, read a few lines, looked up to the sky and shouted: "There are many heroes in the Tang Dynasty, and there are ghost heroes in Guanxi! Xue Wanche and ten thousand soldiers, despite their defeat, are still glorious and magnificent!"
Qin Mubai bent down, helped Zhu Bancheng up again, untied his restraints and removed the thorns with his own hands, took off his brocade robe and put it on him.
"Young Marshal, the guilty general... I just want to die to pay for my sin!" Zhu Bancheng cried sadly and said with his fists in his hands, "Previously, General Xue received a military order from the Young Marshal and imprisoned people there and lost their lives. Now, General Xue We must live and die with Yangguan and cannot come to the young marshal to claim his guilt. When he was about to leave, General Xue said that once the city gate was opened, people would be lost and his biggest regret until his death was that he failed to keep his promise to guard Yangguan. , even to the point of death, he could not come to the Commander-in-Chief to plead guilty and be punished. Therefore, the guilty general broke out, firstly to report the enemy's situation, and secondly, to ask for death on behalf of General Xue - the top ten under the Commander-in-Chief were invited! The executioner's knife in six red clothes will give the last general a death! Wait for the last general and follow General Xue!"
Zhu Bancheng knelt down for the third time.
Qin Mubai closed his eyes and turned around.
Because he didn't want to, and couldn't, let his subordinates and others see his tears.
"You get up first. The young commander will decide all matters big and small." Li Daozong walked over and helped Zhu Bancheng up.
No one spoke in the hall, and in the dead silence, there was only a breathtaking sadness and tragedy.
"Heavenly sin!"
Suddenly, these four words came out of Qin Mubai's mouth, which was like a bolt from the blue, shocking both Li Daozong and Zhu Bancheng.
"What a mistake!"
Qin Mubai turned around, with an unprecedented anger and excitement on his face, and shouted: "Zhu Bancheng, neither I nor the sixteen red-clothed executioners in front of me have the courage to chop off your head. I don't care what your fate is in the future. Even if you die on the battlefield or die without any health problems, you will convey the eight words I just said to Xue Wanche when you reach the grave!"
"Yes, young marshal!" Zhu Bancheng's voice trembled, and he accepted the promise with clasped fists.
"You can also tell him that if it were me, Qin Mubai, I would still be able to turn on and off the switch to fight!" Qin Mubai said, "It is common for military strategists to lose a battle; if a city is lost, it can be taken back - what cannot be lost is a man. The bloody nature!”
"Young Marshal!... General Xue, and the 10,000 Youweiwei brothers, died without regrets!!" Zhu Bancheng finally burst into tears.
"Mu Bai..." Li Daozong stepped forward and seemed to want to speak.
Qin Mubai raised his right hand, smiled slightly, and said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to say anything. Immediately, order 20,000 cavalry to rush to the second pass of Yuyang! No need to condemn the general, I will lead the troops myself!"