Looking at the mountains and rivers

Longzhou, the west gate.

Most of the female wall that had been built overnight had collapsed, and there were scorched marks everywhere on the city wall. The corpses of the two armies were scattered under the city, and they were quickly buried by the night.The soldiers guarding the city hadn't closed their eyes for three days and three nights. Tonight, Yan Yu stopped his offensive for a while, so several soldiers who were not on duty huddled shoulder to shoulder and took a nap in the shadow under the city wall.

Seeing this scene, the young general, who was walking up the tower quickly, felt his footsteps lighten, for fear of disturbing the rare peaceful sleep of these soldiers.

"General!" A small soldier ran up after him, "All the civilians in the city have evacuated Longzhou and fled to Ningzhou. Vice General Pei ordered another 1000 people to accompany him as guards."

Wei Changxuan nodded slightly, and asked in a low voice, "How many guards are left in the city?"

"Counting those who are slightly injured and barely able to fight, there are only 2 people." The soldier wiped the plaster on his face, and suddenly hesitated, "General, can we hold this city?"

Wei Changxuan shook his head and smiled wryly: "Yanyu's artillery comes from the forging technique of the Western Regions. It is extremely powerful. Previously, half of the six-foot-high city wall of Yunxia Pass was blown down overnight. The city wall of Longzhou is small, and we have defended it for three days. It's not easy, I'm afraid there will be another round of attack tomorrow, and it will be in jeopardy."

The soldiers were taken aback, and said in a daze, "Since we can't hold it, why don't we evacuate Longzhou together with the common people?" After he asked, he suddenly realized that the words were too cowardly, without the bearing of a soldier, and he couldn't help but humiliated in embarrassment head to go.

Wei Changxuan didn't reprimand him, but shook his head silently: "There are hundreds of miles of plains here, and there is no danger to defend. Where can we retreat, to Luanguan, or to the capital?" He lowered his eyes, " If we take one more step back, there will be another city of people who will be slaughtered behind us, and we have no way to retreat."

The soldiers bowed their heads awe-inspiringly, "What the general said is that we will never retreat!" He thought for a while, "Since the city wall is not enough to rely on, then we will fight out of the city and fight the enemy! General What do you think?"

Wei Changxuan looked at his childish face: "Aren't you afraid to fight 2 people with 20 people?"

"Don't be afraid!" The soldiers patted their chests, "Theoretically, it should be that the people of Yanyu are afraid of us. I heard that the general shot dead their right general with Shenlian arrows. Now that they mention Wujisur, they are all frightened." It's frightening."

Wei Changxuan heard it funny, but gradually he couldn't laugh anymore, he looked outside the city in the dark night: "This time the enemy general is not Ashinanur, but Yanyu's Prince Jilian, who is better than Ah I'm afraid Sinanur is even more difficult."

When he said this, the soldier's heart was beating. Before he went to the city just now, he heard a veteran complain that the 7 people of the Northwest Protectorate in the second year of Yong'an were still beaten miserably against the tens of thousands of people in Yanyu. , and now there are only enough people to die,

Wei Changxuan was silent for a moment, and then asked again: "The food and grass in the army are already running short, I just ordered you to find the remaining food in the city, have you found it?"

"The Treasury in Longzhou is empty. I think it was looted while taking advantage of the chaos. However, I heard that Hong Song, the previous governor of Longzhou, was a big greedy man. He probably has surplus food in his mansion. Vice-General Pei has brought people to search it."

At this moment, there was a sound of hurried footsteps on the stone steps of the city wall. Wei Changxuan thought it was Pei An who came to return to his command, but when he looked around, it was the captain guarding the east gate.He seemed to have something important to do, and before he had time to climb up the city wall, he said loudly: "General Qi, [-] reinforcements have arrived from Anyang, and they are waiting outside the east gate!"

"Anyang?" Wei Changxuan opened his eyes wide, "Is it Yu Chifeng?"

I only heard a low laugh coming from behind the captain, it was indeed Yu Chifeng, he seemed to have driven for a long time, his braids were messed up, his head and face were covered with hot sweat, and he leaned against the city wall and smiled wearily Laughing: "I can't do it if we Donghu people hide behind the Central Plains people."

Seeing him suddenly, Wei Changxuan was overwhelmed with surprise, stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder, feeling puzzled again: "General Yuchi actually allowed you to bring troops to support?"

Yu Chifeng shook his head dejectedly: "Father was ordered to gather troops and leave. I secretly brought these 2 people, and they will probably be dealt with by military law when they go back." He scratched his nose and said, "But it's also Not necessarily, maybe I won’t be able to go back.”

At this time, the joke sounded harsh, but Wei Changxuan laughed. The two looked at each other, and they both saw the firmness in each other's eyes. They clapped their hands heavily, and then hugged each other's shoulders.

Soon, Pei An, who was ordered to search for food and grass, also returned, and reported to Wei Changxuan: "Master Hong's mansion is empty, and there is no food and grass, only hundreds of altars of pear blossoms are hidden in the cellar. Walk."

"Pear blossom white?"

"It's a famous wine here," Pei An explained, "A bucket is worth about [-] yuan on weekdays."

Wei Changxuan was a little surprised, apparently he didn't expect the mansion of a Jiedu envoy from a small state county to be so extravagant, he quickly waved his hand: "Then move them all out and share them with the soldiers!"

Everyone was taken aback, drinking alcohol is a taboo in the army, not to mention that they are still fighting with the Yanyu people, at this juncture, do you want everyone to drink alcohol?

Pei An did not question his order, but only gave a military salute: "Yes."

Hundreds of altars of Lihuabai were quickly moved to the open space in the city, and the soldiers of each battalion were distributed one by one. Most of these soldiers were from Huining in the North, and half of them were Donghu soldiers under Yu Chifeng, all of whom were extremely good at drinking.They were already exhausted from many days of defending the city and marching, but now they saw the wine and suddenly regained their energy, and a smile appeared on their dejected faces.

Like them, Wei Changxuan randomly took a big bowl to drink, and poured pear blossoms into his throat, like swallowing flames, burning from the base of his tongue to his stomach.He drank several bowls in a row, then suddenly raised the wine bowl in his hand, raised his head and said loudly: "Soldiers, at dawn tomorrow, all the soldiers in the city will leave the city with me to ambush the enemy!"

After the military order was issued, the surroundings suddenly fell silent. Everyone stopped drinking and looked at the general.Wei Changxuan also looked at them: "I know you are all saying in private that the enemy and our forces are disparate, and I can only wait to die in vain in this battle. But if there is no death, there is no life! We fought and died in front, just to protect The rivers and mountains behind us allow our relatives to live in peace." He looked up at the starry night above his head and took a deep breath, "This may be my last general order. Regardless of whether this battle wins or loses, I just hope that everyone will be calm. , not afraid of life and death, go forward bravely." After speaking, he drank the wine in his hand with his neck raised.

Tens of thousands of soldiers also raised their heads to drink at the same time, saying in unison: "Fearless of life and death, go forward bravely."

Yu Chifeng, who was standing behind Wei Changxuan, felt that he looked a little drunk. He patted Wei Changxuan on the back worriedly, but got no response.Everyone continued to drink as if they were drinking clear water, their eyes so calm, almost fearless.

Yu Chifeng suddenly thought of his uncle who died in battle, and the night before he led the army to go deep alone, he also sat on the top of the wall, drinking strong wine, beating knuckles with his hands, and chanting loudly.

Drunk lying in the battlefield, Lord Grim, a few people have fought back in ancient times.

May [-]th, Jian'an, Mu Wangfu.

The large lotus pond in the back garden is in full bloom at this time, pink, white and green, and it is almost impossible to see the end at a glance.From the morning of this day, the sky was cloudy and unclear, but it didn't rain for a long time. Only a large number of dragonflies hovered and danced against the water surface.

Yang Yan stood alone behind the railing of the lotus pond, standing silently with her hands behind her back.

"Master," Tang An hurriedly stepped in from the outer courtyard, leaned over and said, "His Royal Highness's chariot has already left the palace gate, and it will arrive in the mansion in half an hour."

"Well," Yang Yan nodded slightly, "Let Fang Ming take everyone out to greet him, don't be rude."

"Guard Fang is already waiting outside the door," Tang An said after a pause, "The sudden visit by His Royal Highness must be due to the Northwest War."

Yang Yan nodded slightly.

Tang An lowered his voice: "I heard that in the past few nights, the Northwest battle report had just been reported to the palace, and everyone was helpless, but there was an eunuch who talked a lot and advised the emperor to take away the military power from the master and send troops on his own. The emperor was furious on the spot, Squeeze that inner eunuch to death."

"Oh?" Yang Yan turned her head and raised her eyebrows slightly.

Tang An smiled: "Speaking of which, it has been a long time since the palace has been tortured with a cane. This time the commotion was so loud, it must have been specially made for the master to see. Now His Royal Highness has been sent to the door in person to invite the master. .It seems that the current battle situation, the one in Tai'an Palace can't sit still anymore."

After he finished speaking, he saw Yang Yan's expression was quiet, and he didn't seem to care about these things.He knew that his master had other things on his mind, so he didn't say any more at this moment, and just left in a low voice.

Outside Prince Mu's mansion, Fang Ming, the chief steward, led the servants of the palace and waited quietly outside the main gate for a long time before finally seeing a light yellow chariot slowly approaching. There were two teams of Jinwu guarding the flag battle beside the car. There is also a team of palace servants coming along the way.

When the car was approaching, two inner eunuchs stepped forward to pull the brocade curtain of the chariot, and then a small figure was helped down.Fang Ming hurriedly led the crowd to kneel down: "Welcome Your Highness the Crown Prince."

The little prince coughed and said softly, "Let's all get flat."

Fang Ming stood up in response, and secretly glanced at the prince, only to see that the child looked less than ten years old, with a childish brow, but the corners of his lips were tightly drawn, as if he was trying his best to support the majesty of the prince.

"His Royal Highness, my prince has been waiting in the mansion for a long time, please follow me."

The little prince nodded, and followed Fang Ming into the gate of Prince Mu's Mansion.

He hadn't seen his emperor's uncle for a year, and now he was shouldering a heavy responsibility, so he was very nervous, and he didn't even dare to raise his head to look around the palace.It wasn't until a burst of refreshing lotus leaf fragrance reached his nose that he suddenly stopped in his tracks, raised his head, and saw that familiar figure standing in front of him, the corners of the man's lips slightly raised: "Is the slave here?" ?”

"Uncle Huang." The little prince shouted in a daze. He had prepared a lot of words, but looking at those deep and distant eyes, he suddenly couldn't speak.

The eunuch behind him gently tugged at his sleeve: "Your Highness."

The prince suddenly remembered the important things of this trip, hurried forward, and kowtowed to Yang Yan: "Father ordered me to worship the emperor's uncle as Zhongfu, and invite the emperor's uncle to return to the court to manage the government."

Yang Yan was silent for a moment, then stretched out her hand: "Sinu, come here."

The little prince was stunned, got up, stepped forward and took his hand.

Yang Yan led him and walked along the pool to the back garden. The servants looked at each other, wondering if they should follow, but Fang Ming smiled and said, "You might as well let my lord and the prince talk alone."

Before coming, all the people in the palace had taught the prince one after another, the main idea was how to impress King Mu and let him send troops to retreat from the enemy.The old matriarch Fu taught him to be righteous, to speak solemnly, and never to lose the dignity of the royal family.The inner eunuch in the palace wanted him to move him with affection, and if King Mu insisted on refusing, he would exchange tears and beg bitterly.In the end, even Emperor Yong'an came in person, and said to him in a soft voice: "Sinu, do you know why I don't hand over this matter to others, but to you instead? Because you are the crown prince of Dazhao, you and The other emperors are different, as long as you accomplish this, everyone will naturally be convinced by you, and I will be able to entrust you with peace of mind in the future."

The matter of inheriting the throne is both far and heavy, and Xi Nu never thought so far ahead, he was ordered to come here ignorantly, but he still hesitated and didn't know how to speak.

"Xiu," Yang Yan called him, and laughed again, "I heard that the emperor has given you a name, and you should not be called by your baby name in the future."

"Yes, on the first day of the Yuan Dynasty, my father gave me the name Qian." The prince said in a muffled voice, "But my brothers all laughed at me, saying that the word "Xian" means being stingy and needy, and my father must not like me, so I am the only one in the world. Give me such a name."

"Yang Qian." Yang Yan nodded, "It's a good name."

The little prince looked at him inexplicably.

"Those who are stingy, have a firm heart. If you can make your heart hard and not tolerate any softness, you can become a real emperor in the future."

The prince hesitated a bit: "But father...he is not like this."

Yang Yan smiled softly: "Your father can't do it, but maybe you can."

"What about the emperor's uncle?" The little prince tugged at his hand hesitantly, "Is the emperor's uncle's heart... also hard, not even a little soft?"

Yang Yan's hands froze slightly, he lowered his eyes, and did not answer for a long time.

At this moment, Dugu Hong's voice came from a distance. He had just finished his riding and archery practice, and now he rode his horse and got off the horse. "His Royal Highness seems to have grown taller?"

"You came at a good time. The first time the prince came back to the mansion, you took him to play around." Yang Yan said, and handed out the child's hand.

Dugu Hong obviously didn't expect to be given such an errand, he scratched his head in embarrassment, secretly thinking that such a delicate child must not know how to ride a horse and shoot an arrow.He really didn't have much experience in taking children to play, so he hesitated for a long time before remembering and said: "A few days ago, the maids made a few big kites. I will take His Royal Highness to fly the kites."

The kite was delivered quickly, and the little prince seemed to have seen something novel, and after searching for a long time, he chose a huge roc kite.The kite was tied very delicately, and a bamboo flute was tied on its head. When the wind passed by, the bamboo flute would ring out crisply.

"You hold the spool, stand here and don't move." Dugu Hong completely forgot the identity of the child in front of him, as if he was his own younger brother, "I'll go and fly the kite."

"Hmm!" The little prince seemed a little nervous.

Standing not far from them, Yang Yan suddenly felt dazed while listening to this conversation.It seems to have returned to that afternoon many years ago, the Yilan Garden Palace Banquet.The sound of the wind whistling around, the sound of the young man's running footsteps getting farther and farther away, and the sound of the bamboo flute gradually rose into the air.

"The kite is flying!" The child's voice was a little excited, and he had laughed twice rarely since he entered the mansion.

Yang Yan turned around silently, there was something congealed in his chest, which made him almost out of breath. Just as he was about to leave, someone suddenly stood in front of him. It was Tang An holding a piece of bamboo paper, The voice was anxious: "Master, Longzhou has just sent a letter."

"Ok?"

"The Yanyu army attacked the city the day before yesterday, but they were ambushed by the Longzhou garrison army. The two sides fought bloody all day and night, with no less than 2 casualties. Longzhou was barely breached," Tang An said, hesitating slightly, gritted his teeth, and said, "Both When the armies clashed, General Wei took the lead and was hit by eleven arrows, and now he is ... dead or alive."

After he finished speaking, he hardly dared to look up at his master's face, but Yang Yan's breathing seemed to stagnate for a moment, and after a while, he whispered: "I see, you go down."

His voice was low and cold, as calm as ice, which made Tang An feel even more uneasy, but he could only retreat in response.

But at this time, the prince who was running with his head up was tripped by the gravel on the ground, and the spool came out of his hand. Before he could get up, he saw the strong wind, and instantly the kite was rolled into the air, and soon it floated away. , he looked up into the air, and couldn't help crying.

In the distance, Dugu Hong grabbed the other kite and before he had time to turn around, he asked, "What's wrong?"

The little prince murmured regretfully: "The kite... flew away."

Yang Yan, who was walking back slowly, heard these words, and stopped in a daze. His heart seemed to be clenched tightly, and a sweet smell suddenly gushed out of his mouth, and he fell heavily.