The cicadas chirped one after another in the red light of the setting sun, and the old trees swayed their branches, casting mottled shadows on the two people, which swayed gently.
After Min Changwen knew the whereabouts of his old friend, he no longer dwelled on the matter. He put down the teacup and sighed.
"When Liangsheng talked about the war in the north, I feel the same way. When I think back to the Southern Chen Dynasty, the country was destroyed, which was heartbreaking. It was not Chen Jing's fault. Now that the Hu people are heading south, I am worried that the tragedy of that day will happen again. I have been busy in the government office these days. Seeing what your Majesty has done, I feel relieved. The Great Sui Dynasty is united, and the emperor commands the ministers to act. This is really something we didn't see during the Southern Chen Dynasty, hehe..."
The old man suddenly chuckled, looked at the scholar opposite him and took the teapot to pour for him, nodded and continued:
"… Your Majesty divided his troops into eight groups to fight the enemy from Youyan to the northwest. We won more battles than we lost. There are 400,000 Hu people, but that's just me. Liangsheng doesn't need to go there. You can just stay in my house and wait for the triumphant return of the three armies of the Great Sui Dynasty!"
Lu Liangsheng doesn't know anything about military affairs. At most, he has read a little bit in books such as unofficial history and novels. If he really wants to go there, is it possible that he will use magic to kill
Conferred an imperial title by the Sui Dynasty, he was at most responsible for protecting the world from bad weather and good harvests, and he really shouldn't interfere too much in political and military affairs. If so, if all the ascetics in the world got involved, wouldn't it become a chaos of gods among the Shang and Zhou dynasties
After thinking about it, Lu Liangsheng shook his head to dismiss the idea and put the teapot aside.
"I'm afraid it's not appropriate to stay in your house. I have a disciple in the city who can stay there for a few days and wait for news from the north."
"You are my nephew, who dares to gossip about you when you live in my house?!"
When the old man heard that he was leaving, his tone was quite excited. His old friend Shu Hua had passed away for many years, and now there are fewer and fewer people who can talk to him. The young man in front of him vaguely had the behavior of Shu Hua when he was young, so naturally he was reluctant to let him go.
"It is a shame for the master to stay at the disciple's home. If you want to see him, just invite him over."
Afterwards, after asking who that person was, he learned from Lu Liangsheng that it was Yuwen Tuo, a member of the Northern Zhou royal family. The old man frowned, but in the end no one sent servants to the mansion to pass the message. It was a taboo for an official to meet with a member of the royal family of the previous dynasty in private. Min Changwen had been an official for many years, so how could he not know this truth.
However, after much persuasion, the scholar was allowed to stay in the mansion for a few days. Only then did he leave the courtyard with satisfaction to deal with some official business back home. After Lu Liangsheng sent him to the Crescent Moon Gate, he returned to the courtyard.
As the setting sun cast its last red hue, Taoist Toad yawned listlessly through the open window of the house, then smacked his lips while sitting on the window frame.
"Why aren't you leaving yet?"
Hum hum hum~~
The old donkey, who had taken down the bookshelf, was chewing hay leisurely. He walked to the window from the back of the courtyard, raised his neck and stuck his nose out to nuzzle him, shaking his two long ears, signaling the toad to jump up and take it for a walk nearby.
"Go away, I'm not in the mood."
He waved his webbed hands to hit the donkey's mouth, squatted on the window frame, supported his chin and thought about going to the northwest. The Toad was a little worried. The white-robed man sent the monster to warn him. The matter must be very serious. If he encountered the Five-Colored Manor... uh, what is the Five-Colored Manor
"Master, what are you thinking about sitting here?"
When Lu Liangsheng came back from the Crescent Moon Gate, he saw from a distance the Toad Taoist sitting there with his chin propped up, his big eyes revealing sentimentality. If there was an autumn leaf falling in front of the window in the painting, it would be more appropriate.
Suddenly thinking of this, Lu Liangsheng felt like painting. He asked Wang Banxia, who was stroking bamboo slips and reading books in the room, to help him move the easel out. He took the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, carried a stool outside, and saw Min Yuerou, who had changed into a pink dress, standing there with a bowl of soup, looking at him with a smile.
"I asked the kitchen to cook this... Mr. Lu wants to draw, so I'll help you."
He quickly put down the porcelain bowl, rushed to Lu Liangsheng, put the blue ink on the stone inkstone, Wang Banxia brought out the easel and set it up, "watching" the scene in front of him, sighed, shook his head, and slowly walked back to the house to touch his book.
Know… Know…
Know!
Know!
The cicadas were chirping annoyingly on the swaying branches. The Toad Taoist on the window frame showed his white belly, lay on his side, propped up his head, and looked at the man and woman outside, muttering and moving his body.
A cool breeze blew into the courtyard. A scholar in a white robe smelled the faint fragrance wafting from his side. He picked up a pen, dipped it in ink, and let the tip of the pen fall on the spread out scroll. Occasionally, under the smiling gaze of the woman, he reached out to take the soup handed to him and took a sip.
As the woman covered her mouth and chuckled, a picture of a toad with its chin propped up sitting on the window frame and thinking about autumn gradually took shape in the red sunset.
The old trees rustled softly, and the birds that stayed on the treetops flew across the setting sun and went out to the eaves of the front yard. A group of four scholars came in hurriedly and looked rather embarrassed. They met Min Changwen who was handling official business, and told him what happened early this morning. The old man became angry and sent the four people away.
How could my daughter be like that!
Soon, I returned to the side yard, under the old camphor tree, where my daughter was sitting beside the scholar, watching him paint and writing. I swallowed my questioning words and did not disturb him.
He stroked his beard and went back to handle official business with his hands behind his back. After all, the war in the north still required strategic planning from the rear.
May the borders of the Great Sui Dynasty be peaceful and tranquil!
…
In the north, in the Zhoupan area, the setting sun turned into the last ray of light and was falling over the mountain top.
The burning arrows pierced the flesh and blood, emitting black smoke. Someone stood up staggeringly from between the corpses, holding up the broken gun body, looking at the vast land in front of him. The spreading Turkic cavalry raised dust and were retreating from the sight.
"Which batch is this..."
The soldier murmured weakly and spat out a mouthful of blood. His comrades came to support him and they stumbled back together. The bloodstains under their feet showed the bodies of countless Sui soldiers and Hu people. The lonely warhorse wandered around its dead master and wailed. Soon, someone came and took it away.
As it got dark, in the makeshift and simple tent, Qu Yuanfeng helped carry the bodies of his comrades. The soil under his feet became muddy with blood, leaving behind bloody footprints. Looking at the piled up corpses, many of them still had Turkic ears and fingers in their mouths and hands, and they had bitten off a piece of flesh and blood until they died.
Such a tragic situation made him feel suffocated and uncomfortable.
In the war, his side was just a weak link. The Turkic Khan Shaboluo led 100,000 soldiers from his tribe to the south. General Daxi Changru fought and retreated with 3,000 soldiers. After two days, some soldiers lost their weapons, so they fought to the death with their fists and teeth. When they were found, their bodies were tightly hugged by the enemy...
"Captain, can we win?"
The soldier following Qu Yuanfeng looked at the blood running down his fingertips and asked in a low voice, "... Will there be reinforcements coming?"
"There will be."
Three thousand versus one hundred thousand, now there are only seven or eight hundred people left, almost everyone is injured. Qu Yuanfeng's eyes were red, and he pursed his lips and repeated: "Yes."
The screams of the wounded around them suddenly stopped. Many seriously injured soldiers died after being carried back. The comrades who were collecting the bodies stood up with tears in their eyes. Qu Yuanfeng walked past a few places and did not dare to listen any more. He quickly walked to the main tent and lifted the curtain to go in.
"General Da Xi, I will fight for you tomorrow!"
The bonfire in the tent fell down. The figure who was discussing tomorrow's deployment with several deputy generals over there stopped talking. The general named Da Xi Changru on his bloodstained armor slowly turned his head and looked tiredly at Qu Yuanfeng who was kneeling on one knee at the entrance of the tent and bowing. His expression sank, and he turned his face away and waved at him.
"no."
He turned around and continued to explain tomorrow's retreat route and battle arrangements.
“General!!”
Qu Yuanfeng raised his face and roared, staring with red eyes and grinning, emphasizing each word.
"Qu Yuanfeng asks to fight to cover the retreat of his comrades!"