"...every day is full of qiqi, and travel is leisurely. Women have a trip today, and the river goes back to the light boat... Reidz is to order the door, and there is no special care for the common people. The poor and frugal are honest, and the capital is not waiting for the week..."
Light singing is ringing.
There was a brazier burning in the room with the doors and windows closed. It was warm but drowsy, and there was no feeling of day and night. The woman's body wriggled in the thick quilt, and sang a long poem in Tang Dynasty, "Giving Yang's Daughter" in a low voice. This is a poem written by Wei Yingwu when he sent his eldest daughter to marry. with hope.
Her voice was gentle, with a little longing, and the room was embellished with a soft pink scent. The man beside the woman was also lying there, his face was fierce, his hair was messed up, and he seemed to have fallen asleep with his eyes closed. The woman sang, climbed on top of the man, and kissed gently. After the song was over, she closed her eyes and slept for a while, and then sang another poem to herself.
"The smoke and dust of the Han family are in the northeast, and the generals of the Han family leave their homes for ruined thieves... The man's self-esteem is rampant, and the emperor gives him a lot of color..."
This is a Yuefu poem written by Gao Shi in the Tang Dynasty, called "Yan Ge Xing". Although the first part of the verse contains a generous sentence that has been passed down through the ages, the tone of the whole poem is tragic and tells the story of war. cruel. The woman sang softly and hummed very slowly. The man she was attached to listened quietly, opened her eyes, it was red.
The man is called Wang Shitong, but he is the fierce "ghost king" who is now leading the Hungry Ghost Army, across half of the Central Plains, and even forced the Jurchen Iron Buddha to dare not leave Bianliang. Daughter, she is outstanding in poetry and books, and her talent is outstanding. Last year, when the hungry ghosts came, the whole of Langya was burned, Gao Qianyue and her family fell into this catastrophe. Beautiful, survived by luck, and was later sent to Wang Shitong's side.
In the months from the end of the ninth year to the beginning of the tenth year of Jianshuo, wherever the hungry ghosts went, it was a real hell. The nightmare of being eaten by her family and the fear of starvation took away all her temperament. For Wang Shitong, Gao Qianyue, who was still a daughter to be married half a year ago, learned all the ways to flatter her. In the end, the hungry ghost came to stop outside the city of Xuzhou.
In winter, the mountains are covered by heavy snow, and more than a million hungry ghosts have gathered in this area. Throughout the winter, they have eaten everything they can eat, and there are people who change their children and eat them everywhere. Gao Qianyue and Wang Shitong had been in this room for several months, and she could imagine what it would be like without going out to see it. Compared to the outside world, this place is almost a paradise.
She pleases men with her singing, but the meaning of this song is not good. After singing, she seems to be afraid of the other party's anger. Gao Qianyue's singing slowly stopped and gradually disappeared. Wang Shitong closed his eyes and waited for a while, then opened his eyes again, looking at the dark place on the roof, and opened his mouth in a low voice.
"Don't you see... It's hard to kill and fight, I still remember General Li... hum..."
That last sound, I don't know if it was emotion or sarcasm. At this time, there was a knock on the door from outside: "Ghost King, the guest has arrived."
His eyes condensed, and the anger on Wang Shitong suddenly gathered. He pushed the woman away from him, got up and put on a large robe with various furs, and picked up a blood-stained mace. .
"You're right here, don't go out." He finally said to Gao Qianyue and left the room.
For several months, he had to say this every time he went out, and Gao Qianyue never left the room. After Wang Shitong left, she wrapped her body in a quilt and quietly retreated to the corner of the room.
It is night outside.
The dots of firelight extended from the courtyard, forming a large, invisible, chaotic crowd settlement. There used to be more than a million, but now hundreds of thousands of hungry ghosts gather in the place, the order is primitive and deformed, even if you look out in the night, the low shack, the faint fire, the breath of the dead and the unknown meat. , and even the strange and shrill shouts in the night sky, all made people shudder.
Wang Shitong followed the refugee leader named Tu Jifang along the muddy road with some snow marks, and came to a large room not far away. This place was originally the ancestral hall in the village, but now it has become the hall where Wang Shitong handles military affairs. The two entered through the guarded gate. In the lobby, a man with a face masked in tattered clothes and similar to a refugee stood up. After Tu Jifang closed the door, he took off his face towel and bowed his hands.
"Li Zheng in Liaodong, I have seen the ghost king."
Wang Shitong didn't return the salute, he stared at the red eyes that were full of blood, and walked forward until Li Zheng was in front of him, staring at him. After a while, when Li Zheng felt a little uncomfortable, he turned and left, walked to the front seat and sat down. Tu Jifang wanted to speak, but Wang Shitong raised his hand: "Go out."
"Ghost King, Jurchen is very sincere this time..."
Wang Shitong didn't say a word, just turned his eyes, and a fierce aura was already trapped on Tu Jifang's body. Tu Jifang hurriedly backed away and left the room. In the system of Hungry Ghosts, there was not much human affection to speak of. Wang Shitong was moody. Since he killed his most trusted brother Yanhong last year, it was no longer reasonable to kill him at every turn. Even though there are as many as tens of thousands, at this time, they do not dare to make mistakes at will.
After the door was closed, Wang Shitong lowered his hands and stared blankly at the open space in the room for a moment, then looked at Li Zheng and asked in a hoarse voice, "Zongfu that son of a bitch... What are you doing here?"
Li Zheng's brows furrowed slightly.
However, seeing that the fairy tale of the king lion was not finished, he showed a smile: "... give me something to eat?"
…
In Xuzhou City, in the small room, four people finished speaking.
The four figures are divided into two sides, one on one side, three on the other, and on the other side, the members are obviously a little short and thin, but they are all wearing the uniforms of the Huaxia Army, and they have their own spirit in them.
The four stood up and saluted each other. The man who seemed to be the chief had to open his mouth. There was a knock on the door. The chief went out and opened a crack in the door. After taking a look, he opened all the doors.
The one who appeared outside the door was Liu Chengzong, the top general of the Huaxia Army of the Xuzhou Expeditionary Army. He came in from outside and looked at the three skinny soldiers. After saluting, he said in a low voice, "Is it all finished?" with a smile on.
"It's over," the commander replied.
"You know what's going on outside, and you'll die." Liu Chengzong said, "If you don't want to go, say it now. If you don't want to do this kind of thing, you won't be able to do it well."
The three thin men were tall and raised their heads. Then Liu Chengzong nodded and smiled, picked up a few bowls on the table, and poured boiled water.
"I'm going out, I can't drink, so I can only replace it with water... Come back alive, let's drink a cup of triumph."
He and the three picked up the bowls, clinked the glasses each, and then told everyone a few words before leaving. In the darkness of the night, the three short and thin Chinese soldiers put on the ready-made refugee clothes, dressed up, and then rode the carriage towards the side of the city wall.
Since the end of last year, Liu Chengzong led 8,000 Huaxia troops to Xuzhou City, and Wang Shitong, who learned the news, also pulled the main force of the hungry ghosts to kill them here. The city of Xuzhou was built with thick walls. When Li Anmao announced his revolt against Qi and Jin, the army that he recruited and the army that was later expanded was more than 50,000 people. Even if there were a million hungry ghosts, it would be impossible to invade Xuzhou. Live, when the Jurchen arrives, Xuzhou will hardly have the initiative on the battlefield.
In response to such a situation, Liu Chengzong picked out some Huaxia soldiers from the army who had propaganda and incitement skills and could infiltrate the group of hungry ghosts, and sent them out of the city one by one, guiding the hungry ghosts outside the city to abandon Xuzhou. Instead, they attacked the Jurchen East Route Army, who had not held the fortified city.
Facts have proved that refugees who are troubled by hunger and cold are easily incited. Since the end of last year, batches of refugees have been led to the direction of the Jurchen army, causing a lot of damage to the main force and logistics of the Jurchen army. troubled. Some of the millions of hungry ghosts who were led to Xuzhou by Wang Shitong were also incited to leave. Of course, by now, they have also died in the snow.
One winter, for more than three months, it was difficult to describe the hunger and cold in the heavy snow outside Xuzhou. In that kind of environment where people feed on each other, even the instigators of the Huaxia Army going out may face the danger of starvation. Moreover, in that heavy snow, millions of people froze to death, starved to death, or attacked the Jurchen army and were killed, which was unbearable for ordinary people.
Countless people die on any given day, and in an environment where life and death are only a millimetre apart, everyone's life is like a speck of dust and an epic. People, millions of people, starved to death, almost impossible to save. But even if it can't be saved, and being incited to die efficiently by oneself, it is an unspeakable feeling. Even if there are soldiers who have experienced the bloody battle of Xiaocanghe for three years, in this environment, they will be subject to great spirits. torment.
But this kind of thing has to be done after all. Spring is coming, and if the problem of hungry ghosts is not solved, the situation in Xuzhou may become more difficult in the future. That night, three people were quietly put down on the city wall under the darkness of the night. At this time, among the shacks where the refugees gathered on the other side of the city wall, there was also a figure walking quietly.
Afraid that the Huaxia Army would break through the core of the Hungry Ghost Army with a single assault, Wang Shitong's central commander was several miles away, but even under Xuzhou City, there were many refugees gathered - they didn't care if the army came out. This figure sneaked into a dark place, looked left and right for a while, then quietly pulled up the bow and arrow, and shot the arrow wrapped in information towards a city head with several torches lit.
After the information was passed, the man turned his head quietly and merged into the exile camp, but after a while, a commotion centered on him and sounded.
…
"... When today's downfall, the Wu Dynasty has no way, and people's hearts are lost. The so-called Huaxia Army, to gain fame and reputation, only wants the power of the world, regardless of the people of the common people. The ghost king understands that if Ning Yi killed the king of the Wu Dynasty, how could Dajin get the opportunity to break through Bianliang City, get the entire Central Plains... Southerners fly camping Gou Gou, most of them only know intrigue, big gold destiny... I know the ghost king doesn't want to listen to this, but imagine, Jurchen conquered the world, how could he ever do so many filthy cowards of the Wu Dynasty and Huaxia The place that was shot down on the battlefield, at least in our north, has nothing to say."
In the room, a Han man named Li Zheng from Liaodong faced Wang Shitong and gave a generous speech.
"...However, among the southerners, there are also respectable people. I admire a hero like the ghost king... The ghost king knows that in this winter, our Marshal Fang Zongfu and Prince Zongbi often talk about you, although the luck is not good. , But among the southerners, you are the only ghost king now, who is fighting for the common people, although your attitude is violent, you can bear the things that the court and many adults can't afford, the ghost king!"
"...There is a famine in the north, you have no other way, the ghost king, so you took the crowd south. I heard people say that when you were in Zezhou, you also saw the so-called Huaxia army. They are known as benevolent and righteous, and you want to entrust the crowd to them. , but the so-called benevolence and righteousness are the Chinese army of the world. At this time, you don't recognize these Chinese people, you can only continue to carry them on your back... This way south, no one can stop you, even in this winter, millions of people died , Only on your side, Ghost King, hundreds of thousands of people still survive, why? Ghost King, you shelter them, no matter what the situation is, Commander Zongfu said, you are a respectable person, and you are fighting for the people."
"If it weren't for the fact that today's world is rotten, you wouldn't have come this far, Ghost King, and there will definitely be a wider road to go."
Li Zheng gave Wang Shitong a thumbs up, paused for a moment, and pointed his finger in the direction of Xuzhou: "Now the Huaxia Army is in Xuzhou City, Ghost King, I know you want to kill them, and Commander Zongfu thinks the same way. Jurchen goes south. There is no room for this time, Ghost King, even if you take these hundreds of thousands of people to Jiangnan, with all due respect, the South will not welcome you. Commander Zongfu is unwilling to fight with you... As long as you give up the Xuzhou city Road, to the west, with you in the ten cities, you will pay respect to the prime minister in Dajin, and they will survive."
Wang Shitong looked at him, and after a while: "Zongfu... Afraid of hitting me? We are all dying."
"Ghost King Mingjian, over the years, Jurchen has never been afraid of anyone in battle. However, one is that he does not want to fight insignificant battles, the other is that he admires you, the Ghost King, and the third is... The world is going to change, and fortune has reached, these people are also the people of the Jin Kingdom. , If you can let them survive, the commander also hopes that they can avoid unnecessary casualties, Ghost King, just calm down and think about it, this is the best..."
Li Zheng was talking, and he was about to continue talking when there was a sudden commotion outside. After a while, Tu Jifang brought some people over and knocked on the door: "Ghost King! Ghost King! I got it! I got it!"
"What have you caught!" Wang Shitong shouted violently.
"Huaxia Army..." Tu Jifang said, and he had already pushed in the door.
Wang Shitong suddenly stood up. As soon as Tu Jifang entered the door, several cronies behind him pressed a figure in. The man was dressed in tattered and dirty clothes, and his body was thin and skinny. He had been beaten just now. There was a lot of blood on his face, and his hands were tied behind him. The front teeth have been knocked out, which is very miserable.
That Tu Jifang closed the door, looked at Li Zheng, then looked at Wang Shitong, and said in a low voice, "It's my man, Ghost King, we finally found out, it's these grandsons who spread the word among the brothers, saying that they can't defeat Xuzhou. , the most recent one is to go to Jurchen to grab military rations, and some people saw him sending messages to Xuzhou City, haha..."
Wang Shitong hated the Huaxia Army to the core, and the hungry ghosts have long known. Since last winter, some people have been incited, and they have gone to the Jurchen one by one, or died on the road or died. under the sword. The hungry ghost noticed something inside, but the crowd below was originally a rabble, and they never caught the definite spies. This time they caught someone, and Tu Jifang was so excited that he quickly pulled over.
Wang Shitong looked at Li Zheng, then turned back and landed on the spy of the Huaxia Army. After a while, he laughed: "How long have you been in a hungry ghost? Aren't you afraid of being eaten by life?"
The Huaxia army spy was dragged and was still panting and did not speak. Tu Jifang punched him in the chest: "Mother's talk!" The Huaxia army spy coughed twice and looked up at Wang Shitong - he was almost He was arrested at the scene. The other party actually followed him and found him for a long time.
He lowered his head, spat out blood, and said, "Did you know, did you know there was a man named Wang Shanyue..."
"Um?"
"He is... He is the grandson of Wang Qisong of the Wu Dynasty. The Liao people came from before the Black Water Alliance. The Wang family was full of men on the battlefield. , his family was bullied, but he was the only man, in order to protect his family, you know what he did..." The spy raised his blood-stained face, "He eats people. He devours people alive, and the enemy is afraid of him, so he will Can protect family members…”
"Haha, eating people... Why do you eat people, who do you want to protect? What kind of honorable thing is this? Are people delicious? Even the ghost king, people are not like people and ghosts are not like ghosts... Do you know, Wang Shan, who eats people Yue, guarding the Daming Mansion with soldiers, from last year to now, Wanyan Zongfu and Wanyan Zongbi with 300,000 people can't beat him... Who is this bastard next to him? From the north? Ghost King, you sell your ass to them ?Hey Hey… "
"Your motherfucking black flag chops, I will burn you today!"
Hearing that the spy's mouth was getting more and more outrageous, Tu Jifang suddenly drew his knife and pressed it towards the opponent's neck. Tu Jifang quickly pulled the blade back, and Wang Shitong shouted, "Stop!" The two Tu Jifang cronies who had caught the spy also pulled him back with force, and the spy's figure collided again. Just then he pulled out a dagger from a trusted friend. At this moment, the thin figure collided several times, pulled the rope in his hand, and a Tu clan henchman next to him smeared his neck with a knife. He held a short dagger and moved towards Li Zheng over there, like a tiger. Like a pounce!
"die-"
"what-"
The spy pounced on Li Zheng, and Tu Jifang slashed over. As one of the leaders of hungry ghosts, he has his own food every day, and his strength is already great. The spy just concentrated all his strength in one blow, and the sword light flashed in the air. He slashed ruthlessly, and blood flowed freely. But he immediately stood up, as if he was going to fight, and Tu Jifang shouted, "I'm going to eat you."
Wang Shitong's eyes were also blood-red, and he approached the spy. The distance narrowed a little. Wang Shitong saw a complicated look in the eyes of the bloody Huaxia army spy - that look he had seen in the past six months. Countless times. It was a look of fear and nostalgia.
"Crappie."
The spy spat out the word, and with a swipe of the dagger, cut off his neck. This is the neatest swipe of the knife that Wang Shitong has ever seen. The body stood like that, and the blood suddenly spurted out, smashing Wang Shitong's head. face.
Everyone in the room was stunned.
The corpse fell, and Wang Shitong wiped his face with his hands, and his hands were all scarlet. That Tu Jifang came over and said, "Ghost King, you are right, the people of the Huaxia Army are not good people. In winter, they come here to make trouble and take away a lot of people. But Xuzhou is not easy for us to attack the city, maybe we can..."
The sound of breaking wind is howling! Wang Shitong grabbed the mace, and suddenly turned around and swung it out. There was a muffled sound of gold and iron clashing in the room, and Tu Jifang, who was wearing a thin layer of armor, was hit by a stick, smashing the other side of the room with a bang. On one side of the desk, the wooden boards and the ornaments on the table were flying. Tu Jifang's body rolled on the ground, and then struggled for a while, as if he was about to get up, and he had spit out a big mouthful of blood.
Wang Shitong waved the stick and slammed it down.
"you this-"
boom!
"Eat-"
boom!
"Exit-"
boom!
"-s things!!!"
boom!
Tu Jifang's body was smashed into shape, the ground was covered with blood, Wang Shitong breathed heavily, then reached out to wipe his nose and mouth, and looked at Li Zheng on the side of the room with bloody eyes.
"Someone! Drag him out for me... eat."
People outside the room came in and walked towards Li Zheng. Li Zheng's face was already frightened: "You... Ghost King, you are like this, you are not going to end like this, you should think twice before you act, Commander Zongfu will not let it go, you..."
"Haha, Zongfu child... let him come! This world... is made like this by you golden dogs... I'm not afraid of him! I'm not afraid of wearing shoes if I'm barefoot! He's afraid of me - I eat him, I eat to him... hahaha..."
Li Zheng was dragged down while shouting, and Wang Shitong laughed to himself. He looked at the dead Chinese army spy on the other side, took a look, and then laughed twice, and was dazed for a while in the middle. , just called people.
"And this... there's nothing to eat, hang him up in front of Xuzhou City for me! Hahaha, hang it out, all the people in the Black Flag Army are like this, haha—"
He was covered in blood, he laughed nervously for a while, went to take a shower, and soon after returning to Gao Qianyue's room, someone came to report that Li Zheng was violently injured after being escorted down, and then ran away. The lion boy gave an "oh" and turned back to hug the woman's body.
The next day, in the city head of Xuzhou, people saw the hanging body.
"It's time to fight..."
Luo Ye looked down at the city, murderous aura flashed in his eyes... 89