I was completely without armor and was suddenly attacked. If I said I suddenly thought of who was attacking me and how to defeat the enemy, I would be lying. I just wanted to avoid those arrows. Fortunately, the arrows were not so dense that I had no place to hide. Although my heart tightened, I still lay down on the deck. However, the two long legs that I was proud of added pain to me. An extremely crude arrow was erected straight on my leg, and my right leg was numb.
My first shot was by a broken wooden pole that looked like a child's toy. Although I didn't feel any pain in my leg, I still felt a little unwilling. They must be bandits, so unsophisticated.
I shouted to everyone that someone was attacking. Actually, I didn't need to shout. When arrows were shot on the cabin, I heard the noise on the deck. The first person to come out was Sun Jing. He seemed to have slept in his clothes. He came out with his shield in hand. He swiftly blocked an arrow and turned around and shouted, "Where is Zhou Tai?"
A sturdy young man in leather armor rushed out of the cabin in response, "Zhou Tai is here!"
"Quickly lead the people to repel these pirates." Sun Jing gave the order, and he came to help me with his shield. I thought it was okay for me to stand up, so I stood up by myself. My right leg was weak, but I couldn't feel the pain for the time being. I felt that I had to show the bearing and courage of the 17-year-old Ping An Fengyun Marquis, so I stood quietly on the side of the ship with great determination, and under the protection of Sun Jing's big shield, I quietly watched the chaotic battle. The soldiers in Jiangdu were a little panicked because they had just woken up, but they obviously had no training discipline. A dozen ships were shaking and rowing over while making noises.
I have never led a navy. My teacher once asked me to lead a navy in the future, but I ran away. Now the master should be in charge of the overall situation. There was no wind, and the boats that relied entirely on rowing were moving slowly, and those rowers became the heavy target of Zhou Tai and others' arrows. Obviously, in this kind of water battle, bows and arrows became the main weapon, because the speed of the boat was really too slow. We slowly explored the river channel, and we could not go a hundred miles a day. A hundred feet forward was enough for me to shoot four or five arrows. If it was against cavalry, the archers could only shoot one arrow, and then they would have to escape, or choose to surrender, or wait to be hacked to death. Of course, kneeling down and praying for the arrow to hit the cavalry off the horse, at least he would die suddenly before being hacked, which was also an optional option. There was really no other way to think of, or only the method of climbing.
But on the water, archers are definitely the king of the world, because the two sides move so slowly that they can only fall into a stalemate of mutual shooting.
Because of the pain in the wound on my leg, my right leg was not touching the ground. As the boat swayed, I was also shaking, but my mind remained clear. I also grabbed a few arrows and threw them away contemptuously. I thought my actions might help to deter them.
There was a sound of water behind us. Sun Jing saw me listening carefully and told me that we were launching sampans to attack the enemy. Other boats behind our boat also had sampans launched. I noticed that people on each boat were waving flags and passing on orders and information. This was a rare experience because I got to experience the experience and tactics of naval warfare firsthand.
I caught another arrow. It seemed that they realized that I was the leader and wanted to kill me first. My body was too big for the shield. I glanced at my chest unconsciously. It was a bad feeling to have something sticking up to my body, but there was nothing I could do now.
Long Xing was a little slow today. When he came out, his clothes were still in disarray. But I soon realized that he did it on purpose. He opened the right side of his clothes and exposed his entire right arm. He drew his bow and put an arrow on it, but he didn't pull it hard. He just looked at the situation on the field quietly. During this time, he also used the bow to deflect a flying arrow. Zhou Tai had already led his men to attack from the side. The thieves obviously didn't expect such a strong resistance, and their combat quality was also very low. They began to feel a little angry. When Zhou Tai's boat was still ten feet away from the enemy's pirate ship, Zhou Tai suddenly shouted, tore off his armor, jumped over the boat, and jumped onto the enemy's boat. Then other people were also inspired by Zhou Tai's bravery. They also shouted strangely, jumped onto the boat, or jumped into the water, and attacked the enemy's fleet desperately. The enemy was in chaos all of a sudden. Zhou Tai didn't care about the swords that stabbed and scratched him at all. He just swung his sword and killed them one by one. Long Xing and I looked at each other, what a brave and fearless young man. Although he could be a brave and brave man, if we really had such a general under our command, it would really improve the morale of the soldiers, because he fought too bravely, and many pirates simply avoided him, waving their weapons twice and then jumping into the river to escape.
Those pirates had no fighting discipline at all, and Long Xing and I didn't find the leader of these pirates, which can be seen from the arrow on Long Xing's bow that had not been shot. We also looked at each other, as if we were full of respect for the young man. It would be difficult for this man to find an opponent for his courage and strength. It seemed that he relied more on bravery and strength, and his fighting style was a bit rogue, without any rules. Yesterday, we didn't seem to pay attention to this soldier leader on the ship, because he seemed a bit too ordinary; but once the battle started, he would definitely make his opponents tremble and his soldiers full of something that could be called passion, because his extremely inciting attack method and his occasional shouting did not feel like the sound came from the throat of a man who had not yet reached the age of twenty. And Sun Jing was really very quiet. He was beside me and didn't say anything from beginning to end, just quietly watching the development of the battle. All his words to me were before the battle, asking me to return to the warehouse for treatment and bandage, but I refused, saying that I should stay on the ship to avoid tarnishing my reputation as the Marquis of Ping An Fengyun. Since then, he has been by my side.
The battle ended within two minutes, and most of the pirates were killed. I asked Long Xing to go back and tell my brother and sister-in-law not to come out, because at the end, I still remembered that sentence, that war is indeed so cruel, even a battle will be full of blood. Zhou Tai was covered with scars. He boarded the big ship and reported the battle situation to me and Sun Jing. At the same time, someone bandaged his wounds. The medical officer had no expression, as if he was used to it. Zhou Tai was in good health and very tough. He did not cry out in pain and did not interrupt when reporting the results of the battle. None of the fifteen boats of the other side escaped. Ten to fifteen people on each boat were almost all killed. Now the soldiers on those boats are still shooting bows to kill the pirates who want to swim in the water. The scene began to become a little cruel. The red color on the water surface became heavier and heavier. I couldn't bear it anymore. I turned around and prepared to leave, but I couldn't walk anymore. I held on to the bulkhead with my left hand and held Sun Jing with my right hand. Then I remembered that I was also injured. Sun Jing also quickly asked someone to hold me and bandage me for treatment. I still want him to leave them alive, as long as he does not resist and is willing to surrender, he will be given a chance to live. Sun Jing expressed a different opinion, leaving these pirates behind would only cause trouble in the future, and they must all be killed to serve as a warning. "You misunderstood me, I mean to capture them alive and find out from them whether this gang of pirates has a lair and where other pirates are. Sun Jing then accepted the order.
Sun Jing told me that I went too late and was killed by his soldiers. I suddenly felt something was wrong. The wound on my leg where the arrow was pulled out began to become black and swollen, and I felt a little nauseous. I felt a little uneasy. I seemed to be poisoned. I asked the doctor, and the doctor told me that it might be because the arrow shaft was not clean, which made the wound a little worse. It would be fine after a few days of rest. But how could this be possible? In the past, my wounds healed quickly, and even if they festered, it would take some time. I actually started to have a fever again. I only remember having a fever once in my life. That time, I was still talking nonsense in front of several eunuchs and Huangfu Song in front of my teacher. I realized that I had some grudges with the eunuchs. Fortunately, I didn't go to Yuzhou, otherwise I don't know what would happen. The eunuchs are not very powerful now. For them, He Jin is a bigger enemy. For people like me, they may not regard us as real enemies yet.
I don't know what happened, I suddenly couldn't control my thoughts, I was thinking in a random direction, without any purpose.
I think I fell asleep...
I kept tossing and turning between nightmares and reality. When I woke up, there were always concerned eyes in front of me, but sometimes it was Fù Long Xing, sometimes it was my senior, or other people including Fù Tu Jing Lie came to take care of me. They were always relieved to see me wake up, but I soon couldn't see these concerned eyes again.
I am always troubled by nightmares. Rather than nightmares, they are more like strange dreams. The dreams I have are always about things that seem impossible for me to do, or things that I cannot accept, or things that make no sense.
Before I saw the dragon, I was carrying a huge stone. Someone had ordered me to carry it to Luoyang within an hour. But I couldn't move it. I watched the water in the clepsydra run out, and I was restless and hot, and I had no idea what to do.
I can't remember whether I spoke to Long Xing or not, but I didn't want to do anything. I just felt dizzy and the whole bed was spinning. No matter how I closed my eyes, it was spinning. I was extremely irritated, but I had no strength in my body and couldn't get up. I also didn't know whether Long Xing spoke to me or not. I only knew that I vaguely saw him.
Finally I fell asleep again, and I dreamed of my parents. I don't know why, but I actually knew them, and it seemed like I had always lived with them. I also knew they were my parents, but they seemed to have suddenly aged, and the doctor said they wouldn't live past tomorrow. I was angry and anxious, and I didn't know what to do. At night, our family sat at the table to eat, but the table was unusually calm, as if nothing would happen. My heart suddenly felt broken.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw Yu Ji beside my bed. I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Uncle Yu, is there a way to make people immortal? Is there?" It was the first time that I felt so scared of death. But I didn't hear his answer because I lost consciousness as soon as I asked this question.
There was a man in front of me who was radiating light all over his body and walked by me. He looked exactly like Long Xing. I greeted him but he ignored me. I ran over to hold him and asked him why he ignored me. He said, "I am not Long Xing, but Yi, the leader of the Qiong clan of the Dongyi people." I had to apologize. He looked very much like my brother. I asked him what was going on. He pointed to the sky and said, "Don't you see there are ten suns in the sky?" I looked up and saw that it was true. I asked him what to do. He had already walked away. I hurried to catch up with him. He walked to the seaside, looked at the sky, drew his bow and shot an arrow. One arrow flew away, and there was one less bright spot in the sky. Another arrow shot another fireball. In a moment, there were nine less. He wanted to shoot again. Suddenly, a woman ran over and said, "Yi! All things grow and people live, and they all need sun. Nine out of ten are gone. This one cannot be shot." The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't figure out whose voice it was. The person named Yi said that I shot the sun here, and this place will be named Sheyang. It seemed that a long time had passed in a flash. There were houses and a market town here. The couple had been walking together very intimately. Suddenly, the woman was pierced through the chest by a sharp arrow from behind. The young man named Yi was very anxious. He helped the woman up and shouted the name Chang'e. I realized why it sounded familiar. It turned out that they were Hou Yi and Chang'e. But who shot Chang'e? I tried to look far away. Nan! I didn't understand what happened, but that person was clearly Nan. I didn't know why he shot Chang'e, but I saw that he seemed to want to shoot Hou Yi. I quickly reminded Hou Yi, and Hou Yi stood up angrily, drew his bow and arrow, and was about to shoot...
I don't know the result, because my burning throat was poured with cool tea. Although the tea tasted bitter, I felt much cooler after drinking it. I finally felt that I slept so comfortably for the first time.
I felt very cool walking on the street. The wind blowing in my face made me feel happy and wanted to fly. I could jump onto the roof easily. I jumped around on the roof. Suddenly I saw a familiar person. He was the only one on the street, riding a horse and walking slowly. The road was a little dark. I became interested and followed him. He was riding a horse below, and I was flying over the eaves and walls above. He was walking on the road, and suddenly someone reached out from the dark corner. I saw the boy took off his cloak and handed it to that hand. This scene looked familiar to me, but I couldn't remember when I had seen it before. He stopped at the gate of a large courtyard and tied his horse to the gate. I also jumped onto a tall building outside the gate and watched the development of things quietly. The boy hesitated at the gate, and saw that the guard was sleeping, so he walked in directly. After the boy went in, the guard suddenly woke up, raised his face, sneered, and pulled a rope beside him. In a large house behind two entrances, the lights suddenly dimmed.
I woke up suddenly, covered in cold sweat. Looking around, it was late at night again. There was only one oil lamp in the cabin. Under the lamp, Tu Jinglie was dozing off. His wife was sitting on a chair by the door behind him and seemed to have fallen asleep. I don't think his dream would be as terrible as mine. I took out the map from my arms and took a look. The map was very detailed, so my hands were shaking after reading it. I knew that a disaster was coming.
I lay on the bed in agony, making a painful scream with my throat, almost like an animal. Tu Jinglie was awakened, and he hurriedly woke up his wife to find someone, and he held up water for me to drink. I drank one part of the water, and then I took three parts from my mouth, still panting. Long Xing and his wife, Yu Ji, Xu Zijiang, Nan, Wenwen, Sun Jing, and Zhou Tai who came over were very anxious and worried when they saw this scene. At least everyone asked about everything and asked someone to see if I had any problems. But I knew that at least one of these people was fake. Yu Ji came over to take my pulse. My pulse was still very strange. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I should be poisoned, but now I didn't know what poison I had. I could only use some medicinal herbs to protect my yang energy and not let it dissipate. I could only go ashore and find a doctor. Sun Jing was a little embarrassed. Because of the flood, he might have to get to Gaoyou, but at our current speed, it would be difficult without three or four days. Everyone suddenly fell into desperate silence.
I roared hoarsely, opened my weak eyes, and raised my right arm with all my strength, pointing at Xu Zijiang and asking him to come over. He came over as I said. I whispered a few words, and I didn't even know what I said. However, this made his ear almost close to my mouth. I said a few words in a very vague and low voice. Xu Zijiang was a very smart man. He immediately stood up and said very sadly, "Zirui, I hope I can live to Jingzhou. He wants to visit his teacher and hopes that Lord Sun can help him soon." Sun Jing certainly said yes.
After Sun Jing left, Xu Zijiang said a few more words to everyone. Only Yu Ji, Xu Zijiang and Yan Rou stayed in the room. The others left to rest. Long Xing had planned to stay, but Xu Zijiang whispered a few words to him, and he left. After a moment, someone came over and whispered a few words. Xu Zijiang ran directly to my couch and said softly and excitedly, "Zirui, are you okay?"
I paused and felt myself, "Still a little dizzy, but much better than this morning."
"You didn't wake up this morning. It was me in the morning, and I didn't see you wake up." Yan Rou said affirmatively.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"The battle that took place three days ago this morning."
"Don't you know what poison I was poisoned with?"
"I really don't know. Your pulse is very strange. It's the first time I've felt such a pulse. It's stagnant and slow, weak and slow. But according to some information we know, it might be poison."
"Poison, is there any poison left now? Also, is there anyone watching outside?"
"There are people in the corridor, and Long Xing is still watching at the hatch."
"Everyone thinks that Sun Jian wants to take my life." I finally came to a conclusion.
"We know that these pirates came here specifically to take your life, but we're not sure it has anything to do with Sun Jian. How did you know?" General Xu surprised me a little.
"How did you know?" I asked back, of course, because it was a little strange.
"In that battle, a person was left alive. It was a child who was good at swimming. He swam underwater to the boat behind and was caught by Long Xing's men. However, the Xianbei people found that Sun Jing seemed to have ordered to kill them all. They felt sorry for the child and hid him in the carriage on the boat. Then the Xianbei people used gestures to pass information. Long Xing asked, and the other party answered after asking. In this way, basically everything was known in these three days. They were pirates and set up camp in Jiulongkou. Suddenly one day, a man came by boat with a lot of property and asked them to kill a tall man who was riding on a big boat with a tiger-patterned flag. They were asked to do it in Yandu three days ago. Later, they gave them a feather and asked them to soak the feather in water and then soak the arrowhead in the water. This is how the poison is administered."
"I have always been a sleepyhead, but I woke up very early that morning. I felt pretty energetic after I got up, so I went out for a walk. You remember that I was the one who gave the alarm that morning. In fact, they came out as soon as I gave the alarm. And that day, there were no guards on the entire fleet. I walked around the ship and there was no one on guard. Also, when you and I were in Sheyang at the first watch, I entered the county government office in Sheyang, and the guards at the door were also dozing off. Not only that, after I entered, there was not even anyone patrolling. Sun Jian would never be so careless, especially during this time of famine. And, the next day, you saw that not only was everything in the city very well organized, but even our journey was arranged... They had already planned it for us. Because from the north of Xuzhou to the south from the East China Sea, we must pass through Sheyang, because there is the sea in the east and the big lake in the west. No one from the East China Sea came to pick us up because they didn't expect us to go through the East China Sea. It was also my mistake. I didn't expect the flood in the south to be so serious when I was in the north. But after crossing the East China Sea, Zhu Jun asked Sun Jian to arrange this matter, and he set this trap for us. "I was inspired by this dream, of course I didn't bring it up because it was not based on anything," and we took the Yang River, so it was crooked and we couldn't walk a hundred miles a day, and we were still heading south in the northwest wind in winter. Their Yang River is twisted, so we have to take a curve, because their big ship has a deep draft and must be in the river channel... I have a picture here, which was given to my sister by Mr. Shuijing. My sister gave it to me. It marked the Yang River. The Yang River is twisted, but that is from Sheyang to the east into the sea, but from Sheyang to the south it is almost straight into Gaoyou Lake. And! ... "My tone became more and more excited. General Xu motioned for me to lower my voice, and I immediately regained my composure. "Besides, there was almost no wind that morning. It was just that someone put a sampan down on the other side of the boat, which made the boat sway like this. I could hardly stand with my injured leg. Its draft is not as deep as theirs! Sun Jing did this in order to get us to the place they agreed on on time, and in order to cover up these flaws, he continued to pretend like this and dragged me to death. I didn't expect that I would actually come here. He also took advantage of us outsiders who are easy to deceive and are not familiar with the local customs. Fortunately, my sister gave this to me, otherwise we would have been deceived."
"Then what do you think we should do next, Zirui?"
"Keep pretending to be sick. It will be easier when we meet up with my classmates in Yangzhou. And hide the thing well, don't let Sun Jing find it."
We sailed south for two days, and the sky finally cleared up. I was starting to wake up in the cabin and could get off the bed for a while. But except for the two seniors, Yan Rou and Long Xing, no one else knew about this. Now I could eat, but as long as Sun Jing came, I was either in a coma or making a helpless neigh in my throat. But life in the cabin began to become boring, but I had no choice but to stay in the cabin. But Yu Ji had a way. He said I needed to bask in the sun, so he had someone carry me to the empty space at the bow, and raised my waist and head so that I could see the surrounding scenery and breathe fresh air. Long Xing and Nan were guarding me by my side. Nan hadn't told him yet, and his expression was a little sad, but Long Xing was very serious, with a face full of sadness and grief, as if I was going to die soon. And I seemed to be just fighting for time, insisting on the appearance of wanting to live to Jingzhou. Long Xing also asked Sun Jing to let the boat go first and take a shortcut to Gaoyou to report the news, so that Jingzhou would send someone to pick me up quickly. It can be seen that Long Xing was a little flustered when he gave instructions.
I only know that what I basically do in the sun is to close my eyes and rest, and when I open my eyes again, everything is blue. I play this game at that time, although I don't know why. Now I can't talk, and I can't show that I am recovering, so I can only open and close my eyes like this.
On the third day, the sky turned dark again, and there was fog and some raindrops. They played a game of "Gao Ji" on me, and I couldn't even play the game of opening and closing my eyes. I couldn't help it anymore, and I coughed hoarsely. Long Xing came over to listen to me immediately. Then he asked someone to bring out paper and pen, and he repeated what I said, and he wrote it down.
The actual situation is that I was a little bored and wanted to write a suicide poem to exaggerate the tragic atmosphere, but after writing a few lines, even I was a little moved:
"Clouds cover Yandu, fog locks Jiangdu; wind blows away the remaining clouds, rain sprinkles Pinghu; lying alone in fur coat, protected by armor; thinking about past events, calculating numbers; sitting in Changsha, visiting Huangfu; being granted the title of Marquis Ping'an, being granted the city of Ledu; one day's wind and cloud, a thousand years of prosperity and decline; conquering Xiliang in spring, defeating Donghu in autumn; recalling the past, looking around; there may be some, but there is no one who surpasses; being remembered for all eternity, leaving a name for eternity. Received high salary, but enjoyed little happiness; no descendants, no ancestor; ten or seven years, alone. The sky and the earth are one color, yin and yang are different; the glory is just beginning, the darkness is about to end, the scorching world, the endless earth; I don't know where to go, can I find the way back? Conquered the Wolf's Lair, Qubing resisted the slaves; God has mercy on me, Zirui refuses to obey!"