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The villa of the wealthy Li Yishi was not very big, but it was quite elegant and unique. After Qin Mu came to Jiangyin, he stayed here temporarily.
The grand ceremony for the dead in battle has ended. Tomorrow Qin Mu will rush to Yangzhou to preside over another grand ceremony in Yangzhou. This will be his last night in Jiangyin.
Over the past year or two, Qin Mu felt like a clock that was wound up, constantly turning, with few moments of leisure.
This evening, I stood in the pavilion of the other courtyard, looking at the autumn scenery in the garden and the clouds and mountains outside the wall. I felt a little emotional and sighed inexplicably: "The smoke locks the white poplars in the fishing port at night, and the wind blows the yellow leaves in Fengcheng in autumn."
Yun Qiaoer asked curiously, "Brother Qin, why does this poem only have two lines?"
“Because I only remember two sentences.”
Qin Mu's honest answer surprised Yun Qiao'er, and she wanted to laugh, but she found that Qin Mu was in a low mood, so she couldn't laugh in the end.
"Brother Qin, are you worried?"
It happened that Lady Hong passed by Qukou and when she heard Yun Qiaoer's question, she couldn't help but stop to listen.
But Qin Mu was standing on a high place, and he saw her from afar, so he smiled and said, "I thought you wouldn't come?"
"There's food and drink, why not come?" Hong Niangzi responded and walked towards the pavilion.
When they arrived at the pavilion, Qiao'er said with a giggle, "Sister Ying'er, you guys can chat. I'll ask someone to serve the food. I cooked the food myself tonight. Sister Ying'er, you must eat more."
After Qiao'er left, Qin Mu and his wife were left alone in the pavilion. Hong Niang immediately felt a little uncomfortable. She even asked, "I haven't heard you write poetry for a long time. Did you write that poem just now?"
Qin Mu wanted to laugh. It was strange that Hong Niang was actually interested in poetry.
This girl didn't know many words, but she had a strong sense of self-esteem. Qin Mu held back, because if he laughed, she might have an extreme reaction.
"I didn't do it. I read it some time ago. I only remember these few sentences."
Hong Niangzi smiled. It turned out that Qin Mu also forgetful sometimes when he was studying. Suddenly, Hong Niangzi felt that the distance between her and Qin Mu was shortened, and her expression became more natural.
In fact, Hong Niangzi always had a sense of inferiority in front of Qin Mu. This inferiority, coupled with a strong self-esteem, made her deliberately show her disdain for Qin Mu.
"Ying'er, please sit down. Since you are determined to lead the troops to fight, I will not restrict you. But do you really want to do this?"
Hongniangzi was very rare to be silent, silently looking at the Yunshan outside the wall. On the other side of the mountain, the setting sun began to paint the sky with beautiful evening makeup, but everyone knew that no matter how beautiful this evening makeup was, it would soon disappear, just like the beauty of the years.
"The price of freedom is loneliness." Qin Mu sighed softly.
Hong Niangzi looked at him, still without saying anything, and in her mind she saw an empty sky and the lonely wilderness beneath it: This world is so wide. Let loneliness slow down, the wolf in the wilderness, for whom does it wander? Look at the sky. So I cut off the moonlight and shot it towards my hometown... ... ..
"Stop talking. I don't want to hear this. I... don't want to hear it."
"Okay, I won't talk about this anymore."
"Actually... you are the lonely one."
Qin Mu was greatly surprised by Hong Niangzi's sudden remark. He smiled but did not answer.
Outside the wall, the cries of returning wild geese ceased and the clouds became green. In the pavilion, the sun was setting and the smoke from the stove was rising. The two of them sat facing each other, not talking much. Just a few words were spoken, but they were like the surface of the water opened by a dragonfly, and tiny ripples spread across the entire pool of autumn water.
With Qiao'er, Yang Zhi, Xiangjun and the others, as well as hundreds of thousands of troops, wouldn't I feel lonely
Qin Mu cast his gaze on Hong Niangzi's face, which was beautiful and heroic. The battlefield of blood and fire belongs to men. Hong Niangzi spends all day in the man's world, making herself appear stronger than men. But, isn't she lonely
"Perhaps only the lonely can truly understand loneliness." Qin Mu said with a smile.
"Let's get drunk tonight." When talking about drinking, Hong Niangzi became very generous again.
"Okay, let's get drunk."
Yun Qiaoer brought two maids to bring the wine and food. There were eight dishes, one hot pot, and two jars of girl's red wine, which was quite a sumptuous meal.
That evening, Qin Mu and Hong Niangzi drank until the glasses were empty, but the result was somewhat embarrassing. Qin Mu couldn't drink as much as the other party and fell down first.
The next morning, Qin Mu fulfilled his promise and appointed Hong Niangzi as the garrison commander of Chuzhou, leading 5,000 troops to garrison Qingliu Pass.
Chuzhou is only about a hundred miles away from Jinling. To its north there is a mountain range that stretches for hundreds of miles, running from southwest to northeast. It is a natural barrier. Qingliu Pass is located on the mountain range to the north of Chuzhou. It overlooks the Yangtze River to the south and controls the Jianghuai River to the north. It is a must-pass place from Jinling to Fengyang. It is known as the "Key to Jinling" and has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.
Qin Mu was also going to Yangzhou, traveling with Hong Niangzi. He called Hong Niangzi to his boat and said patiently, "Chuzhou is less than 300 miles away from Fengyang Prefecture. It is the most important barrier of Jinling and is likely to become the main target of the Qing army. Now I will hand it over to you."
Hong Niangzi's wish came true, and she answered seriously: "Don't worry, we fought with Lu Xiangsheng in the area of Zhulong Bridge in the ninth year of Chongzhen, and we are very familiar with the terrain of Qingliu Pass. It will not be wrong for you to hand over Qingliu Pass to me."
"Then have you heard about how Emperor Taizu of Song captured Qingliu Pass?"
"I've heard that Zhao Kuangyin listened to a man named Zhao Pu and sent his troops to bypass a small path behind Qingliu Mountain. They suddenly appeared behind the Southern Tang defenders and caused a great defeat for the Southern Tang army. Don't worry, the path has long been blocked and is difficult to pass. All we need to do is send sentries to patrol it."
"Well, do you know why I sent you to guard Qingliu Pass?"
"Because I am a woman."
Qin Mu was stunned after hearing this and couldn't help but re-examine Hong Niangzi. She had a bold and forthright personality, or could be said to be rough, but beneath her rough appearance, she had a delicate heart of a woman.
"Tell me, what have you figured out?"
"You are going to dig another trap for the Tartars to jump into. Qingliu Pass is such an important pass, but you let a woman like me guard it. The Tartars look down on me as a woman and may attack Qingliu Pass with a light force. It is now mid-September, and the weather may suddenly turn cold. If the Tartars cannot break through the pass quickly, the sudden change in weather will cause them to suffer a great defeat."
Qin Mu couldn't help but smile when he heard this. He raised his hand and said, "Not bad, go on."
"If the Tartars gather a large force to attack Qingliu Pass, I will hold them back at the pass..."
"How did you delay? Please tell me in detail."
Hongniang's heroic spirit became stronger, and her tone was full of confidence and reason: "Hide some of our strength, make Qingliu Pass look shaky, and make the Tartars unable to stop. This will delay their heavy troops, and then let Meng Ke from Luzhou quickly go north to attack Shouzhou, and Huai'an's land and water forces will advance westward along the Huai River to capture Fengyang and cut off the Tartars' way back."
"Very good, the commander of Qingliu Pass must be you. Now that you know my strategic intention, you should know what to do. Remember, your mission is to defend, and you can't attack lightly. It would be fine if the Tartars don't come, but if they come, as long as you defend Qingliu Pass, you will be halfway to annihilating the Tartars in Huainan. Remember?"
"What are you talking about? Do you also look down on a woman like me?"
"Who told you to be so careless in front of me? No one would feel at ease. I'm worried that you're still fighting with me."
This time, Lady Hong not only did not refute Qin Mu, but she also lowered her head and said in an unprecedented gentle tone: "Don't worry, I know the severity of the matter."
"Take care of yourself. Don't be so desperate as you were at Wuyang Pass. Even if Qingliu Pass can't be defended, we still have the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to hold back the enemy. We can also let Huai'an and Luzhou implement the plan of cutting off the enemy's retreat. Do you understand what I mean?"
Hongniang looked up at him, with some complicated emotions in her eyes that were hard to describe. She did not answer, but nodded and left.
Qin Mu quietly watched her leaving back, feeling that she was like a wild goose flying alone.
He sat alone in the cabin thinking that letting Hongniang guard Qingliu Pass was a bait. Although it was not appropriate for the Qin army to send a large number of troops to Lianghuai, it would naturally be a good thing if they could take advantage of the weather and the terrain to inflict heavy damage on the Qing army with a small number of troops.
Chuzhou is only a hundred miles away from Jinling, and Jinling can provide assistance within a day, so Qin Mu was not too worried about handing this strategic pass over to Hongniangzi.
This was a pit he dug casually. It wouldn't matter if the Qing army didn't jump into it. But if they did, the benefit-to-investment ratio could be maximized. Why not do it
.(To be continued..)
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