When Xu Fengnian woke up, he opened his eyes, turned his head and looked, and found that the sun outside the window was bright, and under the light, the dust near the window was clearly visible, but the room was a bit dark. Xu Fengnian looked back from a little distance, and saw something like A fat man sitting beside the bed on a small mountain, Chulu Mountain is protected by Beiliang. It turned out that it was the existence of this guy who blocked the sunlight.
Chu Lushan's voice was a little hoarse with his back to the sun, "Mr. Nangong took the prince to Huaiyang Pass and left without saying goodbye. I can't stop him."
Xu Fengnian with dry lips sat up slowly, his breathing was not smooth. A person's back is actually extremely thin, and the so-called back heart is very close to the heart. After being hit by Tuoba Bodhisattva with all his strength, it is far from being a simple injury. Fortunately, Xu Fengnian was too familiar with the fact of being injured. After a long illness, he became a doctor. Following the Wudang Dahuang Ting's heart method, he took a little inward inspection and roughly understood the extent of his physical and mental recovery. He asked, "Where's the iron gun?"
Chu Lushan said softly: "It's placed in the coffin."
Xu Fengnian nodded, "Tell Second Brother Yuan to let the Daxue Dragon Cavalry take off the banner and send it here. As for the Daxue Dragon Cavalry, they need to replace it with a brand new flag. If anyone obstructs it, There is no need to act forcefully, when the time comes, I will personally explain to those cavalry generals."
Chu Lushan said: "My lord, Yuan Baixiong left for the outside of Hulukou in Youzhou. As for the replacement of the flag, the lord need not worry too much. Lao Qi was originally an old man of the Daxue Dragon Cavalry Army. Now that the intelligence of Lao Qi's death in battle has already passed." Spread the word to the frontier army, I believe no one will make irresponsible remarks.”
Xu Fengnian crossed his hands on his abdomen, and did not look at Chu Lushan, "If I had arrived at the Longyaner Plain battlefield a moment earlier, I would not have died."
Chu Lushan shook his head and said, "What if? So if the Duhu Mansion doesn't pass the proposal of the three lieutenants of the White Horse Crossbowmen, even Sun Ji and Wei Musheng don't have to die? The battlefield changes rapidly, life and death can't be blamed on anyone, so there are not so many ifs. When you die, you die."
When you die, you die.
A very understatement.
Xu Fengnian turned his head to look at this notorious man. The Xu family has ruled the Northwest for twenty years. Isn't it a separatist regime? Chu Lushan has a lot of bad deeds, and he is in a high position in Beiliang. Historians of later generations will definitely criticize him verbally and in writing. Maybe he will be even more infamous than Xu Fengnian, the leader of the Beiliang iron cavalry. Xu Fengnian did not get angry because of Chu Lushan's heartless words. Not only was the fate of this man Tu Yizi Luqiu'er destined to be related to Beiliang's honor and disgrace, but also this man was considered by both Xu Xiao and Li Yishan. The military talent is closest to Chen Zhibao, and he is the real handsome candidate in Beiliang. It can even be said that if it were not for Chu Lushan's blatant flattery, the young and strong faction of Beiliang's frontier army would probably fall to Chen Zhibao. The process of Xu Fengnian's hereditary succession will never be easy At worst, more blood would be shed, a Huaihua General Zhong Hongwu was definitely far from enough. But the real reason why Xu Fengnian chose to remain silent was that this towering man in front of him had once ridden thousands of riders into Shu, and he had also turned the tide in the first battle outside Liyang Beimang. Dong Zhuo's plan, so this man surnamed Chu, who has been a soldier for nearly thirty years, has far more say in the battlefield than Xu Fengnian, even if Xu Fengnian is a great master of martial arts, even if Xu Fengnian is the king of Beiliang.
Chu Lushan put his fists on his knees, "Life and death, there is no feast that never ends."
Xu Fengnian twitched the corners of his mouth, his eyes were in a daze, and he seemed to think of the forest of 300,000 steles behind Qingliang Mountain, "Don't comfort me, I know that those whose names are engraved on the steles have relatives, just like Qi Dangguo. So No matter who dies, someone will be sad, not necessarily me, Xu Fengnian, who is the saddest."
Xu Fengnian paused, "It's just that when I think about next year's Spring Festival, I wrote so many couplets and so many spring characters like in previous years, but the person who asks for it every year is gone, so even if I want to give it away, I will give it away." If I can’t send it out, I feel a little empty in my heart.”
Xu Fengnian raised his head, "Before the second trip to the rivers and lakes, Xu Xiao took me to the bottom of Tingchao Pavilion, and saw that there were many spiritual tablets there. At that time, I didn't quite understand Xu Xiao's mood, but now I understand. Actually When Liu Jinu, Chu Hanqing and the others in Hutou City died, they understood a little bit."
Chu Lushan quietly listened to the young vassal talking to himself, expressionless.
Xu Fengnian got out of bed, staggering, Chu Lushan wanted to help, Xu Fengnian smiled and waved, but Chu Lushan didn't insist.
Chu Lushan led Xu Fengnian to a quiet courtyard not far away, stepped into the inner room, saw the cypress coffin, Chu Lushan took a few steps closer, and said with emotion with a smile: "Huaiyang Pass can't collect high-quality nanmu, so it's just I can only let Lao Qi fall asleep, but fortunately, Lao Qi has never been a fastidious person in his life. I still remember that in Xileibi, this guy was able to sleep with the corpse as a pillow. Looking for him as a living person among the dead, the princess said many times that he was useless. Later, when we arrived in the northwest, the house of the six of us, the princess had to help Lao Qi to arrange it by herself, for fear that this guy would just make a sparrow nest. The size of the house was fooled, and later even married the daughter-in-law as the matchmaker of the princess. Old Qi Le agreed without saying a word. It is probably the first time he saw his wife's face when he took off the red hijab on the wedding day. I had a good time in my small life. I have been the captain of Zhechong for more than ten years, a fourth-rank official the size of a sesame mung bean, and I have never complained about anything. "
Chu Lushan suddenly slapped the coffin lid heavily, "Old Qi, don't sleep, the prince is here to see you!"
Xu Fengnian glared at Chu Lushan.
The latter smiled resentfully, withdrew his hand, and glanced at the coffin. Chu Lushan said in a low voice: "Sleep, sleep, Lao Qi, you are so sleepy, even thunder can't shake you, only 'war, carry the big banner ' These six words work best."
Standing next to the coffin, Xu Fengnian looked out at the sun shining on the ground in the yard, like a layer of golden lichen, and asked softly, "How about the north of Hutou City and Liuzhou?"
When it comes to major military matters, Northern Liang's Protectorate Chu Lushan is much more solemn, and said in a deep voice: "This time the battle in the Longan'er Plain was beyond the expectations of both sides, and Beimang suffered heavy casualties. All the elite scouts caused the central army led by Dong Zhuo and Murong Baoding to become blind. Only more than 1,000 of the 8,000 Dong's private cavalry ran back, and only 2,000 of the 6,000 Rouran cavalry were left on the battlefield. The main reason is that after Hong Jingyan's death, the Rouran cavalry army has no leader, and it will soon be divided up by the major forces in Beimang. An unorganized cavalry army is not capable of fighting. The most important thing is the Dong family After the destruction of the private cavalry and the Rouran cavalry, the flexibility of the army in the middle of Beimang was greatly affected. In contrast, in Beiliang, Yuan Nanting's white feather light cavalry has preserved its combat power well, but it's a pity that Lao Qi's Iron Buddha..."
Chu Lushan hesitated for a moment, "Ning Emei, deputy general of Tiefutu, stayed in the garrison around Qingyuan Army Town under Lao Qi's order this time, with only a few hundred troops on hand. , It is only worth two thousand cavalry, and now that the battle is imminent, it is not suitable to draw troops from the left and right cavalry of He Zhonghu and Zhou Kang, otherwise the two old commanders who have been suffocated for a long time will really rebel. Come on, it may be very difficult for Tiefutu to fight alone in the second battle, which is not good news, after all, for such a precious cavalry army as Tiefutu, 2,000 men and 4,000 men are definitely not the same concept on the battlefield."
Seeing Xu Fengnian's pensive expression, Chu Lushan continued: "According to the current intelligence, both Dong Zhuo and Murong Baoding chose to stand still, which is also reasonable. The anger of the old lady in Beimang is enough for them to eat a pot. And On the Liuzhou side, everything is in the established strategy. The only variable is that Zhong Tan, the deputy general on the western front, has disappeared. The city is exactly the same, now it depends on whether Kou Jianghuai's harassment has the ability to make Huang Songpu lose his sense of proportion, otherwise Huang Songpu will be able to advance all the way to Qingcang City, relying on head-to-head, we have little chance of winning. Outside Qingcang City."
Xu Fengnian suddenly said: "I will let the eight hundred white horses Yicong enter the Tiefutu. Starting from me, I will let all the generals above the fourth rank draw a part of their own guards. I will let the Tiefutu recover to 4,000 people in a month. scale, and then follow Yu Luandao's Youzhou Cavalry Army into the Liuzhou battlefield."
Chu Lushan froze for a moment, crossed his hands and fingers on his abdomen, narrowed his eyes and carefully considered the pros and cons.
Xu Fengnian walked to the door, "Before Xie Xizhen left Liangzhou, he made a suggestion to me, but the risk was too great, and it would mean huge casualties for all Liangzhou frontier cavalry troops. The most important thing is this This kind of battle damage may not be something that the whole of Beiliang can bear."
Chu Lushan asked curiously, "Oh?"
Xu Fengnian laughed at himself, "Fortunately, Xie Xizhen also said that he would wait for him to go to the Liuzhou border in person. He asked me to wait for a month, and said that maybe he would overthrow that suggestion by then."
Chu Lushan smiled, "Actually, when the prince made up his mind to sneak ten thousand Youqi into Liuzhou, did he already approve of Xie Xizhen's Liuzhou strategy?"
Xu Fengnian nodded, "I think it's better to take a big gamble than to wait for death under the push of Beimang every step of the way."
Chu Lushan leaned against the door of the house, and sighed inexplicably, "Great Chu Shuangbi Kou Jianghuai Xie Xizhen, plus Yu Luan Dao, three young people from other places."
Xu Fengnian's face was gloomy, "Are you being too reckless?"
Chu Lushan gave a vague answer, "It's hard to say."
Xu Fengnian didn't go out of the yard, but just sat on the threshold.
Chu Lushan looked a little embarrassed, neither sitting nor standing, after all, the threshold was only so small, and with his body size, he might be able to squeeze the young prince out, so he had to think of a compromise, and sat at the door after crossing the threshold on the steps.
Xu Fengnian asked: "Lu Qiuer, if you really act as Xie Xizhen said, will you old people from Beiliang feel resentful?"
Chu Lushan, who turned his back on the young vassal king, answered irrelevantly, "I remember that under the plan of Li Yishan, the local forces in Beiliang were turned upside down, and they migrated to Liuzhou today as a criminal. Taking root and gaining a firm foothold in an unfamiliar land, at that time there was a celebration banquet in Qingliang Mountain. At that time, the prince looked at the generals and got drunk. For the long-term peace and stability of Beiliang, fighting swords alone is not enough for the outside world. Internally, it is also necessary to provide a stable life for the people in the jurisdiction. The Xu family army cannot dangle on horseback for the rest of their lives.
Chu Lushan raised his head and looked up at the blue sky, "It was also from that time that many warriors left the army, people like Lin Doufang and Hu Kui, and many literati flourished in officialdom, like Li Gongde and Yan Jiexi, but the foster father In private, I was still worried. I felt that it was because of his bad reputation that Beiliang could not abduct scholars from other places. I felt that it would be very difficult for you, my lord, to be hereditary in the future. I probably just chatted with Mr. Li that time, and my lord was unprecedented. After saying the genteel truth that running water does not rot, households and hubs do not worm, after finishing speaking, he purposely looked at us adopted sons with a straight face, Yao Jian and Ye Xizhen, the two old scholars, couldn't help laughing, and I, of course, hurried A few flattering words, Lao Qi is the most ungrateful, asking the adoptive father what he meant, which made the adoptive father very happy, and copied the words that Mr. Li explained to the old man, making the adoptive father secretly happy, so Let’s just say, the one-sided old Qi is the real fool.”
Chu Lushan said in a calm tone: "Princess Bodhisattva is kind-hearted and treats us six adopted sons well. She has no prejudice against anyone, but the good method is different. She always advises me to study more and the guy surnamed Chen to laugh more. Laughing, to persuade Yao Jian and Ye Xizhen to exercise more... But among the six people, I, Lu Qiuer and the other four may not always listen to the advice, but Lao Qi is different. As long as the princess says something, it is more effective than the imperial decree. Sometimes I made a mistake, knowing that the princess will not blame me, but I am still uneasy, just like a private school boy who memorized the wrong book, it is useless for us to comfort. When the princess passed away, the six of us were coffin bearers, which is very strange , even the guy surnamed Chen and Yuan Baixiong's eyes were red, and I was crying even more, but Lao Qi didn't show any expression. I asked why, this fool said that his adoptive mother had gone to the sky to become a fairy, so he was not very happy. Sad, he just... misses it a little bit."
Xu Fengnian smiled and said: "So when I was young, every time I got into trouble, I would find the righteous brother of Dangguo. As long as someone sent a message to him, he would immediately lead the troops to come. At that time, I didn't think about it. Shuangli, he helped me solve my troubles, never talked, never nag, never deliberately reasoned with me, carefree, never afraid of the sky, I feel like he will help me when the sky falls, I remember the early years In a remote county town in Lingzhou, which was still called Fengzhou at that time, Li Hanlin, Yan Chiji, and Kong Wuchi and I had a conflict with a group of general seedlings who didn’t know our identities, and gave the other party dozens of family secrets. At that time, Qi Dangguo happened to be patrolling with a few old generals near Fengzhou. After hearing the news, he immediately brought two hundred cavalry to kill them, and killed the Yimen of those general families. It was dismantled and burned as firewood, and the turmoil caused a lot of trouble, because Zhong Hongwu, who was the commander of the Northern Liang Cavalry Army, and a group of Lingzhou generals who were in a group were backed, which made him who should have worked hard to be promoted to the deputy general of Lingzhou Qi Dangguo lost his future, and afterwards Xu Xiao was very angry, because he didn't dare to get angry with me, the lawless son of the world, so he beat him up, I felt sorry, so I secretly carried it with Yan Chiji Two jars of green ant wine to make amends. You must know that at that time I knew that Qi Dangguo would lose his official position. First, I didn't have the confidence to make Xu Xiao change his mind. Besides, who in the Beiliang army would listen to me at that time? I can't rely on myself to give Qi Dangguo a similar official position. I'm ready to see Qi Dangguo drowning his sorrows with alcohol. I never thought of his house. I'm like a normal person. I just saw me go to his house for the first time. Afterwards, his face was full of surprises, I still remember the way he strode towards me, smiling from ear to ear, seeing me, it was like seeing Xu Xiao visiting."
Chu Lushan shook his head, this time he did not use the title of prince when he spoke, "Xiao Nian, you are wrong."
Xu Fengnian was a little puzzled, "Huh?"
Chu Lushan said slowly: "I probably know the scene you mentioned. When Lao Qi saw you at that time, it was not as if he saw his foster father coming to the door, but like a farmer who thought he had nothing to do, and suddenly saw you leaving home. His younger brother who has been the top student in high school for many years has returned home, and he has not looked down on him, so he is very happy and proud."
Xu Fengnian was silent for a moment, and said with a wry smile: "At that time, I only knew how to spend my life and drink, so what could I do?"
Chu Lushan said with a smile: "Perhaps in Lao Qi's heart, you have always been promising. In this matter, let alone Yuan Baixiong, even I, Lu Qiuer, can't compare with him. Among the six, only Lao Qi started from the beginning." In the end, I feel that your highness is promising, and I never doubt that you can become a man like your adoptive father in the future. To use the mantra of Lao Qi, whose ancestral home is from Dongyue, it is this kind of thing, 'what a reason! '"
Xu Fengnian sat on the threshold, dazed.
Northern Liang Du Hu turned his back to the young feudal king, and the young feudal king turned his back to the coffin.
Two living people and one dead person were speechless for a moment.