The happy life of the devil and the devil

"Great victory! Great victory!"

Five cavalrymen in black joined each other head to tail, waving red flags and shouting loudly.Even if you can't understand Xia Wen, just looking at the undeniable joy on the cavalry's face is enough for the guards to report all the way to the switch and let the envoys of the Xuanjia Guards rush into the camp without hindrance.

"Your Majesty, our army has won a great victory!" Reining in the horses in front of Yuan Shao, the five cavalrymen rolled off their saddles and dismounted. Xiao Ran knelt down first, his voice was already hoarse with excitement, "beheaded more than [-] ranks, and captured [-]!" While speaking, he took out the small bag tightly wrapped in oilcloth from his arms, held it up with both hands and raised it above his head: "This is the battle report written by the adults!"

With a light hand, someone took over the battle report and brought it to the imperial court.From the corner of Xiao Ran's eyes, he quickly glanced around, and saw that the camp was hanging lanterns and festoons, a feast was in full swing, and all the nobles were wearing gorgeous clothes inlaid with gold and silver, smiling happily.Xiao Ran was secretly startled, after the war ended, they had already traveled day and night, could it be that there was someone rushing back to report the news?Or that General Blackwater Guard secretly sent an envoy when the battle situation was still uncertain?

As soon as I thought of this, there was already a bang on the top of my head.As soon as the good news came out, all the courtiers stood up from their seats in unison and raised their glasses to each other:

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

"Our army's great victory is really a great blessing to Your Majesty!"

"One thousand soldiers and horses took [-] Haixi savages lightly, and they really use soldiers like gods!"

Xiao Ran bowed his head and knelt respectfully, pricking up his ears to discern what everyone was saying in the noise.As a recruit who has only been transferred to Lingyu City's personal guard for more than half a year, this task is really a bit difficult-he only started to learn Tie Le language since then.Even so, Xiao Ran still recognized an old male voice from the messy congratulations:

"The emperor's grandson is indeed blessed. The news of his birth has just arrived at His Majesty, and there has been such a great victory!"

Before the words fell, the congratulatory voices around suddenly became louder, and the content also changed from celebrating the great victory to the successor of His Majesty Sun Hongfu.Xiao Ran's whole body shook, and he couldn't help but bury his head deeply, trying to suppress himself so as not to show his angry face in front of the imperial court.Grandson... Bah, what grandson!We adults led our brethren to fight this battle with all our might, could it be that we are stepping up for a newborn child!

Hearing the congratulations, Yuan Shao raised his head from the military newspaper, nodded to Namyan, who was wrinkled with laughter, and then lowered his head to continue to read the battle report carefully.Speaking of which, this is his first grandson, and he is also the eldest grandson of the crown princess. The happy news was just delivered this morning, and the red flag of Xuanjiawei came to announce the victory in the afternoon... Today is really double happiness!

Ling Yucheng's battle report is eloquent and extremely detailed, and the memorial is written in a steep and straight lower script, with the turning of the stroke like a knife like a sword.Turning to the end, there was a piece of paper clipped on the last page. In addition to the rough statistics of the loot, it also mentioned one more thing: General Heishui, the eldest son of the head of the Heishui tribe, Li Zhongcheng, asked to send his eldest son to Jinxuanjiawei , please decide.

That guy is very knowledgeable... In that case, let's sell Ling Yucheng to save face.After reading the report, Yuan Shao let out a long breath, put his hands together in the battle report: "This battle was fought beautifully." He raised his glass and nodded to the head of the Heishui tribe who was sitting next to him: "Your Majesty also did a good job. .”

Li Jinxing's old spine hunched for a moment, and he hurriedly left his seat and knelt down: "The dog is incompetent, and I have been supported by His Majesty. The old minister is grateful." Thank God, his ears are finally cleared up. God knows that since the eldest son lost the battle, the rest of him As long as the son is a little bit better, he will chatter in his ear, and he doesn't even think about it. Just the two of them, the three bundles are not their elder brother's opponent, how can they control this place?As for the empress and not the majesty who supported his idiot son... well, the situation is unclear, but no matter what, it is always right to be grateful for your majesty's grace.

"Get up, get up!" Yuan Shao stretched out his hand in a good mood to help, "Your Majesty went into battle with injuries, and he gained a lot, which shows that Qing has taught well on weekdays. This battle captured a lot. Heishui who was captured before A lot of Wei's disciples have also been rescued, and I will leave the follow-up supply of food and supplies to Qing—"

"Old minister obeys!"

Li Jinxing answered straightforwardly, but his heart ached like a knife was gouging out.Before Xuanjiawei dispatched troops, Ling Yucheng had honestly asked him for food and grass enough to support 1 people for 20 days, and even asked him to send it to the front line by himself——Ling Yucheng made it clear in front of His Majesty: Black Water It is impossible for all Wei to die after a big defeat, but it is hard to say how much food and grass can be brought out after running desperately.Rescuing soldiers is like putting out a fire. The Xuanjiawei marched lightly and could only carry what the headquarters needed. If the prince moved slowly, it would be your own children who ran out of food.The implication is that he doesn't care how many people in the Black Water Guard starve to death...

You are also the queen of Beiliang, hello!Don't take it so brightly that you don't care about the life and death of the people!

He worked hard to collect the food and grass and transported them to the front line. By the way, when he got the news that Ling Yucheng had gathered the defeated soldiers of the Black Water Guard, Li Jinxing was also a little relieved: no matter what, the food and grass were not given away in vain. son's reward.But what happened to the second batch of food and supplies?Could it be that the captured prisoners also want him to take care of food?The Bohai Sea is located in the north and the climate is bitter and cold. Besides, it is still in the middle of the year, and it is easy to let him eat and drink for 2 people!

Not to mention the head of the Heishui tribe who took a deep breath to prepare food and grass.Xiao Ran rested at the Yu'erluo camp for one night, and rode back on the horse specially rewarded by Yuan Shao, and witnessed the mighty march of the captives with his own eyes.Because the people of Haixi are aggressive, Ling Yucheng used an unprecedented iron fist to control these captives: no matter men, women, or children, all of them were tied into a string of five or five. The women tied their hands with thick ropes, and the men were more ruthless. On the shafts of guns or freshly cut birch poles, staggering with the procession, carrying the shafts of guns or tree trunks.Xuanjiawei soldiers rode horses condescendingly to patrol back and forth, and whenever they saw noise and commotion, they whipped their whips in the air.

"Pass the order of the lord, if one person flees, five people will be killed! If five people run away, 20 people will be killed! If 20 people run away, a hundred people will be killed! If the man runs away, all the female relatives will be killed!"

Over the past few days, even soldiers who know nothing about Bohai dialect have recited this sentence fluently in repeated shouts.

According to the rules of the Haixi savages, the tribes fought and killed each other, and the defeated party would naturally be the slave.In addition, they were able to eat half full every day during the march, and no one from the women's family came to touch their hands. Although the control was extremely strict, the prisoners of war still bowed their heads and obeyed their ears.Xiao Ran passed by the team of prisoners of war all the way, seeing with his own eyes those prisoners of war carrying tree trunks that could only be held with both hands, shouting in a low voice, trekking in unison, there was no hostility in the eyes looking up at him, he couldn't help but Secretly surprised.

It's just that the surprise lasted only for a moment.Called into the account by Ling Yucheng, he dutifully reported the process of submitting the success report and the plan of the head of the Black Water Guard to transport the grain. Seeing Ling Yucheng nodding to send him down, he still couldn't bear to think of the words he heard in front of the emperor. Feeling aggrieved and resentful: "My lord——"

"how?"

"Those guys are too bullying! They actually said, that our army's victory is the blessing of the newly born emperor's grandson!"

"How to say?"

Hearing the retelling by his subordinates, Ling Yucheng laughed instead: "Your Majesty said this?"

"No—this subordinate didn't dare to raise his head. He only knew that it was an old man's voice, which was quite close to His Majesty. He couldn't tell who it was..."

"That's all right. What does it matter to us? - When someone else's family has a child, our victory becomes a defeat?"

"Of course not, but His Majesty did not refute—"

"So what? Someone else's family gave birth to a child, and of course the guests should choose nice words to compliment them. Could it be that your grandson is really blessed. He fought such a big battle when he was born, and thousands of people died... If you were a child, his grandpa, wouldn't you turn your back on him?"

Xiao Ran couldn't help laughing out loud, and quickly stopped it, but his anger had been completely wiped out, so he bowed his head and remained silent.Ling Yucheng's voice has changed from relaxed to solemn: "Remember, winning a battle is winning a battle. We do our own thing, and what outsiders say has nothing to do with us. In addition - you will forget the few words you heard in front of the emperor when you go back. , Don’t tell anyone a word!”

"Subordinates obey—"

The curtain fell before his eyes, and Ling Yucheng let out a sigh of relief, speechless for a long time.When Xiao Ran told the story just now, he felt as if someone had slapped him face to face. Those words were spoken to appease his subordinates as well as comfort himself—but, as a subject, what else could he do except bury this matter in his heart?

The old man, sitting quite close to His Majesty, speaks Tie Le language... Humph, go back and inquire carefully, I don't believe you can't find this person!

This kind of thought was suppressed in the bottom of his heart in just a flash.More than ten days later, he strode into Lingyu City, which was in the imperial tent. In Yuan Shao's eyes, even though he was dusty, he was still as energetic as ever.

"It's a good thing I didn't disgrace my life." He stopped a few feet away, punched his heart with his right hand, and bowed slightly, "Break Haixi, and return with all teachers."

"Okay, okay." Yuan Shao stretched out his hand and gestured for him to sit down beside him, "You have fought a very majestic battle, you took 1000 people out, and you only captured [-] prisoners—what? ? How do you feel about sending troops this time?"

"The guest army is attacking from far away, as if walking on foot." There were only the two of them in the tent, and Ling Yucheng was not polite. After sitting down, he took a big sip from the teacup, "I can finally sleep peacefully today."

"They should all listen to this." Yuan Shao couldn't help laughing, "He even said that you won easily!"

"It's common for outsiders to only see 'Ruoqing'." Ling Yucheng lowered his eyes casually.Only he himself knew the hardships and dangers of this battle. He drove hundreds of miles with a thousand troops, went deep into places he had never been to and the terrain was completely unknown, and gathered three thousand terrified soldiers who were terrified and did not understand the language. In a battle, on the way back, he had to suppress twice as many prisoners of war as himself... Only when he returned to the imperial camp, could it be said that the overall situation was settled, and this big victory finally had no uncertainties.

"You don't take it seriously, but others have come to me to sue you." Yuan Shao stared at him sideways, "It is said that you killed the soldiers of the friendly army for a trivial matter; snatched back the horse armor of the friendly army but swallowed it without authorization; Embezzlement of the population and goods seized by the friendly army... What do you say?"

"I just asked General Heishui to deal with the soldiers who violated the military law. If this is the case, I will sue, unless they don't think I am the chief general." Ling Yucheng replied without hesitation, "As for the spoils of war, I have already stated that all the spoils of war will belong to the public. , distributed by His Majesty's will, could it be that His Majesty is not happy?"

"You don't know the rules of my Great Liang, whoever snatches it always gets it?" The smile on Yuan Shao's lips gradually deepened, "How dare you make your own claim?"

"Whoever snatches it will return it to me, so I will burn it to pieces..." Ling Yucheng deliberately muttered something in Yuan Shao's audible voice, and as expected, he was glared hard, "Anyway, this I was the chief general in World War I, if it wasn’t for me, even General Blackwater would have died on the way if it wasn’t for me. If he doesn’t follow my rules, he can fight and win by himself!”

"You are reasonable!" Yuan Shao tried hard to straighten his face, but there was a warm smile in his eyes, "Arrogant and domineering, killing friendly troops without authorization, changing the military system without authorization-you are still not convinced by what I say to you! Okay! , Gu Nian, it was indeed you who won the battle, and you gathered the Black Water Guards after they were killed and scattered, so I made this decision for you. Let’s not set it as an example, remember?”

"Minister Zunzhi..." Ling Yucheng reluctantly agreed, but his expression gradually became solemn. "It's not time to change the military system yet, I remember that."

"It's good to remind them by beating them, otherwise those guys don't know who is the master." Yuan Shao also put away the light-hearted banter just now, "It's just that I have 50 people who control strings, and I usually serve the people. , War is a soldier, except for a few elite soldiers, the country does not pay for food, grass, armor, or rewards and pensions, just live on the spoils of looting—don’t let the soldiers rob who will follow you?... Well, I also know This system will eventually be changed, but it has to be done step by step, this time it is up to you to make up your own mind. You can choose the people and property you seized first, how about it?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty..." Listening to him bite the word "just as" very hard, Ling Yucheng knew that the title of "self-assertion" had to be borne by himself, and he could only bow his head for the sake of reward thank you. "Since this is the case, I still want to ask His Majesty for your favor—"

"What's the matter?" Seeing Ling Yucheng get up and take a few steps back, facing him respectfully bowing his head to salute, Yuan Shao frowned slightly, quite surprised, "Speak up if you have something to say, how important is it for you?"

"Your Majesty just said that, except for a few elite soldiers, the state does not care about rewards and pensions." Ling Yucheng replied with a bow, "The soldiers who followed the minister this time were quite casualties, and I would like to ask for His Majesty's grace to provide for the family members of the deceased, and those who were injured and could no longer fight." He will be cared for for life. In addition, Xuanjiawei's military temple in Qingzhou has been completed, and I would like to ask His Majesty to personally inscribe a plaque—"

"Military temple?" Yuan Shao raised his eyebrows, "The state has its own system for sacrificial ceremonies. There has never been a single guard in Daliang who set up a temple for soldiers alone—what did you do to build the military temple?" This matter can be big or small. Xiaoli said that it is also appropriate to set up a shrine to worship the sacrificed soldiers, and said in Dali that the important affairs of the country are in the sacrifice and the soldiers-this is not something that a courtier can make his own decisions.

"Your Majesty knows that all the officers and soldiers of the minister came from Yu Xia." Ling Yucheng kept his head down, Yuan Shao couldn't see his expression clearly, he could only hear his voice getting deeper and deeper, "Most of them are single men, There is no clan at the top, and no children at the bottom. I just want them to have a refuge after death. Even if they don’t have family members, they won’t become lonely ghosts..."

"You..." Yuan Shao just wanted to say, "You can ask for an order to build a martyr's shrine for all the soldiers of the country", but suddenly his heart moved, and he stopped.

"Third, after I die, I will not be buried in the imperial mausoleum, will not enter the ancestral temple, and will not be sacrificed."

At midnight more than half a year ago, the situation when the two made an appointment is still vivid in the present.That was the last condition Ling Yucheng put forward. After getting the promise, he got up and bowed down, and set the title of monarch and minister - no clan, no children, no entry into the ancestral temple, no sacrifices - that military temple is Ling Is it the only refuge that Yucheng can have?

A dull pain spread from his heart to his fingertips. At that moment, Yuan Shao almost wanted to say that he regretted it—the promise was too hasty at the time. In fact, it doesn’t have to be like this... However, seeing Ling Yucheng suddenly raised his head Staring at the eyes, the words that reached the tip of the tongue still silently retracted.

"What... do you want me to inscribe?"