The spring breeze is like a wonderful scissor, cutting out thin willows with exquisitely carved stamens, and also outlines the sunset over the long river as magnificent as poetry and painting.
Outside Shanzhou City, twenty-four military camps stood like diamonds, with majestic trumpets roaring in the sky. Millions of flags danced in the wind like waves crashing on the shore. The sword is like snow, the sword is covered with frost, the fierce horse is neighing and the strong man is majestic, the hundred-mile realm is filled with ghosts and gods crying!
Kansai Army, grand military parade!
Qin Mubai is dressed in his iconic military uniform, including gold armor, unicorn robe, Guiyi sword and double feather crown, standing on the general's platform. In front of the stage, the chief minister holds a halberd and executes the execution. The dragon flag is flying above his head, and the twenty-four-color star and fang flags are arranged on the left and right to order the three armies.
Standing side by side with him is Wu King Li Ke. Today, he put on a formal purple deer-dragon robe, a three-beam Jinxian crown on his head, a jade belt and a sword hanging from his waist. He squinted at the majestic tiger-like army in front of him, and the blood in his heart surged like waves.
Looking sideways inadvertently, Li Ke happened to be eye-to-eye with Qin Mubai.
The two looked at each other and smiled, then turned their heads.
Behind them, except for Xue Rengui and Su Dingfang, the four pillars and eight military towers of the Guanxi Army were present; in addition, there were three generals, Li Daliang, Li Junxian and Qin Tong, who had just led the 150,000 imperial army. There are more than ten generals.
Thirty-six army drums as tall as one person rumbled and shook the three pipes. Qin Mubai waved his hand and stopped the drums.
"Today, our Kansai Army swears an oath to advance to the plateau to conquer Tibet!" Qin Mubai only said one sentence, and cheers and roars of tsunami roared from the nearby and distant mountains. The swords and guns rolled with flags, like a volcano erupting in the deep sea. The sea was turbulent.
It took a long time to stop.
Qin Mubai said: "I would like to invite the marching commander of the Guanxi Army, His Highness King Wu, to read out the proclamation!"
Thousands of soldiers shouted "Thousand years old King Wu", which made the whole ground tremble.
Li Ke has been in Youzhou for a long time and has led troops. It can be said that he has never seen the world. But the sight before him also made him tremble a little.
"Kuanxi Army, mighty!" Li Ke shouted and took three steps forward.
Just this sentence seemed to instantly shorten the distance between him and the soldiers. The soldiers of the three armies once again cheered and shouted - "A Thousand Years Old King of Wu!"
Li Ke cupped his hands, with an almost pious smile on his face, and bowed respectfully around him. The troops then became quiet.
Taking a deep breath, Li Ke took out a thick imperial edict written in yellow with jade rails - the "Essay against Tubo" drafted by Li Shimin himself. He spread his hands and read loudly -
"The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty personally issued an imperial edict to the emperor, saying: I have heard about the sacred artifacts of the country, cherish them and respect them; the people are the foundation of the country, educate them and love them; demons and monsters are in trouble, immortals and gods punish them; although the world is safe, if you forget to fight, you will be in danger!... "
"My husband, Tubo, is a barbarian. He regrets his kindness and forgets to repay his kindness. He refuses to obey the king. He invades our territory every year and kills and tortures the people. He seizes people and animals and the sea is filled with anger..."
"Now I have condemned the general's elite soldiers to punish Hu Ni by punishing the people. The three armies are under the control of Qin Mubai, the Marquis of Lantian, who is the guardian of Anxi Province and the general manager of the march to Guanxi Road. All officers and men in the army obey orders! I give Qin Mubai an ax and ax from a distance. From now on, the military talisman will be raised to the sky, and the general will control it; if it is lowered to the ground, the general will control it! Anyone who disobeys the order will be punished by military orders first!"
…
"Long live! Long live! -" After the slogan was over, the three armies cheered.
Li Ke, on behalf of the emperor, personally handed the axe, which represented the absolute authority in the army, into the hands of Qin Mubai; then, the three generals sent by the emperor, Li Daliang, Li Junxian and Qin Tong, successively handed over the military talisman for mobilizing the three guards and horses. And handed it to Qin Mubai.
At this point, Qin Mubai officially took control of all the military power of the entire Kansai army of more than 300,000 people!
…
The military parade was over and the generals agreed, and after a brief three-day rest, the troops were sent to Feichuan. Prior to this, Yuwen Hongtai led Qin Mubai's old troops, who had been gathering strength for a long time, and led the civilians to escort the grain and grass first. When he arrived at Dafeichuan, he asked Jiangxia King Li Daozong to lead his 50,000 Lanzhou recruits and still return to Shanzhou to sit in the rear and take charge of the civil governor's logistics. For the defense of Dafeichuan ahead, Xue Rengui was temporarily in charge until Qin Mubai arrived in Dafeichuan in person.
That night, a banquet was held at the governor's house to welcome Li Ke, Li Daliang and others.
Among these important people who had just arrived from Chang'an, Qin Tong was Qin Mubai's eldest brother. Li Junxian had worked with him in Baiqi, and Li Ke, not to mention, was familiar with them. Only Li Daliang and Qin Mubai had only nodded their acquaintances before.
However, even before traveling to the Tang Dynasty, Qin Mubai was very familiar with General Li.
Li Daliang, a meritorious general and founding hero of the Tang Dynasty. In his previous life, Qin Mubai visited southern Taiwan several times and learned about the customs and customs there. Li Daliang is the "Prince of the Five Palaces" revered in Tainan. The Jade Emperor ordered him to patrol the world on behalf of the heavens and patrol the world on behalf of heaven. He patrolled the four directions in a royal ship to drive away plagues. He was also known as "The Thousand Years Old King Li's Palace".
Because of this, after coming to the Tang Dynasty, Qin Mubai became more interested in Li Daliang when he saw him in person. Through many interviews, we learned that he was taciturn and almost dull, but he was diligent and hard-working, had a strong personality, was very upright and honest as an official, and had a reputation for filial piety.
In general, the rumored Li Daliang was a general with an almost perfect personality. Although he is in the military, he has always remained neutral on matters between the DPRK and China and has not been involved in any factional struggles. Company commander Sun Wuji and others also respect Li Daliang very much. Although he does not have a high position in the court, he is a respected elder with good moral character. In the army, he was the founding general Xingxiu veteran of the same generation as Qin Shubao.
Therefore, at the banquet, even Li Ke refused to sit at the top of the table alone. Together with Qin Mubai, he invited Li Daliang to sit at the top of the table. How could Li Daliang be an honest and kind man willing to step in front of coach Qin Mubai and prince Li Ke? The three of them declined each other, and at the entreaty of the generals they had no choice but to sit side by side on the same couch.
Needless to say, the banquet was very lively as people pushed and exchanged glasses. In addition to falling in love with his colleagues, Qin Mubai also met his eldest brother Qin Tong, whom he had not seen for a long time. This banquet lasted for three hours, and everyone returned drunk and very happy.
After the banquet, Qin Mubai hurriedly invited his eldest brother Qin Tong to the back house, and brought Chen Yan and Xiao Lou'er to pay homage to his uncle.
Qin Tong was a typical straightforward and fierce martial artist, and after drinking a few glasses of strong wine, he hugged Xiao Lou'er very happily, laughed heartily at first, and suddenly burst into tears, which frightened Xiao Lou'er.
"Father! If you were alive, it would be great for our family to be reunited here!" Qin Tong cried heartbreakingly, and Qin Mubai couldn't help but have red eyes, and quickly comforted his eldest brother.
Later, Chen Yan took Xiaolou'er away, leaving the two brothers talking. A lot of things happened after leaving home for a long time. His father died, Qin Mubai faked his death, and the two brothers had endless things to talk about. Speaking of the emotional part, Qin Tong's eyes turned red and he pointed at Qin Mubai and yelled: "Third brother! In the army, you are the commander. You can kill or beat me. You can kill me or beat me! When you get home, I am your eldest brother." Like a father! - If nothing else, I don't care that you caused chaos in the world by pretending to die, but it caused my mother to faint several times and almost die! You unfilial son, I really want to beat you up! "
"Brother wants to scold or beat him, I admit it, let's do it!" For the first time, Qin Mubai knelt down in front of his eldest brother, lowered his head, and let him be dealt with.
"Hey! -" Qin Tong looked up to the sky and sighed, bending down to help Qin Mubai up, "Get up, third brother. Although you have done something unfilial, you have no unfilial intention. My eldest brother understands your difficulties. In order to win, In this battle, you risked everything. How old are you before you dare to shamelessly scold you? In fact, our old Qin family is completely dependent on you from now on! !”
"Thank you, eldest brother... I feel more at ease knowing that my mother and sister are fine. After my father passes away, the Qin family will naturally respect my eldest brother." Qin Mubai let out a sincere sigh.
"My brothers, broken bones and still connected tendons; it doesn't matter who listens to whom." Qin Tong said, "However, I have a family matter that I want to discuss with you. At least explain it to me. It’s easy to deal with.”
"What's the matter?" Qin Mubai asked.
"I heard that King Wu only stayed for half a day after returning to Chang'an from Youzhou, and then immediately left the capital to pursue us. There is reliable information that he only did one thing after returning to Chang'an, which was to ask His Majesty the Emperor and Concubine Yang Shu to make the decision , I want to marry my fourth girl!"
"Oh?" Qin Mubai was slightly surprised, "He actually officially mentioned this matter to His Majesty the Emperor at this moment?"
"That's right." Qin Tong said, "I don't know if his subordinates leaked the news to me intentionally or unintentionally. Tell me that the emperor and Concubine Yang at that time wanted King Wu to come to Lanzhou to supervise the army first. , As for marriage, he has to make an appointment to you and me in person. "
After Qin Mubai finished listening, he pondered for a moment and said, "Brother, just pretend you haven't heard anything about this matter and don't talk about it for the time being. Let's talk about everything after the battle is over."
"Oh?" Qin Tong was a little confused, "Why do you all have such a meek and confused attitude? I think King Wu's sincerity is worthy of Shuang'er's trust."
"Brother, now I haven't fully figured out why the emperor and Concubine Yang did this. In fact, it is quite easy for them to accomplish this brown marriage. His Majesty the Emperor only needs to talk. Why do you and I need to be taken advantage of? What about the excuse to reject the King of Wu?" Qin Mubai raised the corner of his lips and said, "That's because Shuang'er is our sister. Who she marries and when she marries is no longer her personal matter. It was an important political marriage. His Majesty wanted to wait until the war was over to see what the situation in the court was like before deciding whether to approve the marriage. Therefore, he asked King Wu to ask our brothers for their opinions. , It's actually a polite word, but don't take it seriously. Of course, King Wu will not be stupid and seriously ask for our opinion. So, don't mention this matter to anyone until the battle is over. ”
"Okay, I understand, I listen to you." Qin Tong nodded, "Although it is a family matter, it is also a matter of state - hahaha! The third brother is capable! Our old Qin family is now one of the most famous families in the Tang Dynasty. We are from a distinguished family! We girls from the old Qin family can’t just get married!”
"Haha!" Qin Mubai smiled and said, "Brother, in fact, His Majesty the Emperor sent you to Kansai for another purpose. I wonder if you have thought of it?"
"What's the purpose?" Qin Tong asked, blinking.
"The son avenges the father's hatred." Qin Mubai said these four simple words, and Qin Tong suddenly realized, "Yes! The death of my father is both a national hatred and a family hatred! I am the eldest son of the Qin family, and I crusade against Tubo to avenge blood hatred. How can the battle be without me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Tong realized that he had lost his words and hurriedly said: "Third brother, don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to say anything... legitimate concubine!"
"It doesn't matter." Qin Mubai smiled magnanimously and said, "Of course there is no such barrier between us brothers, but in the minds of kings and ministers and the common people, the difference between legitimate concubines and concubines is still very important. Father. Enmity cannot be shared, but it is best for the eldest son to repay it. "
Qin Tong knew that Qin Mubai was not that stingy and would insist on the word "concubine", and he was certainly not stupid either. He immediately realized what he meant and said in a low voice: "Third brother, I understand what you mean! You are secretly thinking What is the identity of the King of Wu? ... After you pointed it out, I really figured it out. It seems that the fourth girl in our family really cannot marry casually. This is related to the future prosperity and honor of my old Qin family! - Then! Should we agree to his marriage to Shuang'er?"
Qin Mubai just smiled indifferently, "Let's just focus on fighting now, and we'll talk about the rest later."