mountain river road

The next morning, when Zhenqing woke up, she looked at the water stains on the pillow, and at Chu Xi's red and swollen eyes.After sighing, he dragged Chu Xi to pay his respects.

The servant said that the lady was in the mourning hall.

As soon as Chu Xi stepped into the door, she saw Ye Shangzhu kneeling in front of the coffin with her head bowed, her back bent, as if something supporting her was suddenly pulled away.

He suddenly felt that he was not a thing, walked over and knelt down straight.Shouted: "Mom."

Ye Shangzhu stood up and pulled Chu Xi up.With a haggard face but a calm expression, he said, "Chu Xi, I have the affairs of the mansion. You have to avenge your father's death."

Chu Xi fixedly looked at the silver thread protruding from Ye Shangzhu's temple, and said, "Mother, don't worry."

The mother and son were silent for a while.

Ye Shangzhu held Chu Xi's hand and led him to Chu Shu's burial.

The servant tied up the black coffin with thick hemp rope and slowly put it into the pre-dug grave.Although it is late autumn, there are already fine beads of sweat on the foreheads of the servants.The servant breathed heavily, the rope and the coffin made a small friction sound, and the coffin made a dull and subtle sound when it touched the bottom of the pit.Then there was the sound of clods falling on the coffin, big and small, drizzling.Like the autumn rain falling, Xu Zhenqing stood behind him holding an umbrella, and the rain kept dripping on the umbrella surface, which was also pattering.The smell of soil, the smell of dead leaves, and the smell of rain all mixed together and permeated the air.

Chu Xi looked at the newly erected tombstone and said, "Father told me before that if a general can shroud his body in horse leather, it is also an honor."

Xu Zhenqing tilted the umbrella in his direction.Ye Shangzhu raised her hand and touched the corner of her eyes.

Three months later, Tuoba Yuan attacked again.Chu Xi, the emperor's new Minister of War, took the initiative to invite Ying, it is said that he wanted to avenge his father.Zhenqing accompanied him.

It was already midwinter.Chu Xi led the soldiers all the way north.

There were constant refugees along the way.One evening, Liu Muyi, Chuxi's bodyguard, brought a sallow and thin boy to the military tent.

"My lord, his parents were killed by the barbarians in Xijiang. He said he wanted to join the army, but he was one year younger. Can you be more accommodating, my lord. He is homeless and has been wandering for several months."

Zhenqing said: "No."

Chu Xi looked at the young man's shrinking look, and said, "It doesn't matter. Just let him be a cook."

Zhenqing remained expressionless: "How do you know that he is not a spy, he wants anyone."

After hearing this, Chu Xi didn't know what to say, so she took out a piece of silver. "Take it and go."

As a result, the next morning, the boy lowered his head and blocked Chu Xi's way.

Chu Xi said angrily, "What are you doing here again?"

The boy said, "I want revenge."

Zhenqing: "Where's the money?"

Boy: "It was robbed."

When Chu Xi heard this, she became even more angry, and asked the young man to lead the way until she reached a dilapidated village.This village does not have an acre of land, and the villagers are just men with fierce faces.Chu Xi said, "What kind of place is this?"

Boy: "Our village of bandits makes a living on robbery."

Chu Xi felt that she was alone and weak, so she had to go back embarrassingly.

Keep marching.He still agreed to bring the boy.

He was sullen all the way.

Xu Zhenqing asked him.

Chu Xi said: "I know that the world is not good now, but how can it be so bad. We have met so many refugees along the way...and now there are still bandit villages."

Zhenqing said: "It's a joke. You are a little prince, of course you have never seen ordinary people. What you think is the way of the world is just your way of life."

Chu Xi was so stalked that she couldn't speak.He asked again, "How do you know?"

Xu Zhenqing said: "Do you know Qu Shiwei?"

Chu Xi said: "Who doesn't know that the famous prostitutes in the south of the Yangtze River are on the decline? I don't know how many nerds rushed to write poems for her. I just don't know where they went after returning home."

Xu Zhenqing smiled slightly: "That's my mother."

Chu Xi almost fell off the horse and turned to look at him carefully.Although Zhenqing smiled slightly, she was definitely not joking.

He continued: "My mother was seriously ill when she gave birth to me, and she narrowly escaped death. My father dropped a piece of silver and left. When I was five years old, my mother's old illness relapsed. My father's eldest son was seriously ill, and he came back to look for me. .I have tasted a little bit of suffering in the world.”

What he said was light, Chu Xi didn't know what to say, so she silently tightened the cloak for him.

Zhen Qing lowered her head and bent her mouth.

After marching for half a month, the army finally arrived. Facing the Huai River, they reached the inclined valley with their backs and settled down.

Chu Xi ordered the spies to go out to inquire about the military situation, and then returned to the military tent.Under the flickering candlelight, Zhenqing's eyes flickered, and she curled up on the bed, wrapped in a mink blanket.

Chu Xi looked funny, and took out the altar of peach blossom wine.

"Come and drink something warm. This wine is not strong."

Zhenqing stretched out a thin hand to take a piece of Zhangzhou porcelain, and drank it in small sips.She licked her lips like a cat, then raised her head and looked at him with bright eyes.

Chu Xi said proudly, "My father made this for my mother. He taught me how to do it when I grew up."

Then suddenly, as if realizing something, the next thing to say was suddenly cut off.As soon as the voices stopped, the voices of the soldiers walking and laughing outside the tent came through immediately, and the silence was unbearable for a while.

Chu Xi muffled: "Did Tuoba Yuan send someone to kill him?"

Zhenqing paused, with a subtle expression on her face, and said, "I don't know."

Chu Xi lowered her head without saying a word.

Zhenqing looked at his appearance, moved in front of him, and touched his face. "Why do you look like a little girl? Are you crying?"

Chu Xi raised her head with red eyes. Zhen Qing was half-kneeling by the bed and looked taller than him. With her head lowered, her soft hair fell slightly on his face, and there was always a bit of indifference in her usual indifference. There was a little candlelight in his eyes.

Chu Xi asked, "Why aren't you sad?"

Xu Zhenqing's expression froze, and he said: "I'm a cold person, if Mr. Xu's eldest son hadn't been stupid, I'm afraid I, the son of the outsider, would have died on the street."

There was finally some resentment in these words, but Chu Xi still felt breathless.He has never seen such a person, he is only fifteen or sixteen years old, but he is indifferent at all times, he has never seen him cry, but he often smiles, but the smile is always cold and clear, Chu Xi saw I just feel uncomfortable.That's why I unconsciously provoked him, made trouble with him, and wanted to break that barrier that couldn't be broken no matter how hard I tried.

Xu Zhenqing looked at Chu Xi and felt helpless.Probably only a pampered little prince can have such a sincere and straightforward fool.

Chu Xi thought for a while, then changed the subject and said, "Now how do we fight the battle in Western Xinjiang?"

Xu Zhenqing hooked the corner of her mouth and said, "Beat blindly."

That's right, blindly hitting.

Today is different from the past. While Chuxi has [-] soldiers, he also brings [-] private cavalry—the Chu family army.The Chu family army is a private soldier trained since Chu Xi's first father, and made great contributions when the Southern Dynasty was founded and conquered the world.While well-equipped, all the soldiers are middle-aged or young men with strong physiques, mostly fathers and sons or brothers-once someone dies, hatred will turn into a sharp blade, and it will be unstoppable.At the same time, the pay is ten times that of ordinary troops.

The combat effectiveness of such an army is undoubtedly terrifying.

While their combat effectiveness has been improved, they are not as short of food and grass as they were when Chu Shu was fighting.Regardless of the tightness of the war, Xu Zhenqing insisted that the food and grass should arrive first.After Chu Yuanzhi got angry, he had no choice but to order the grain transport army to march day and night.

They have food and soldiers, and they have enough confidence to spend time to figure out Tuoba Yuan's combat style.Tuoba Yuan is insidious and cunning, bold and cautious, and when fighting Chu Shu, he dares to bet that they will attack the camp.Leave the large troops in the barracks, and send the deputy general to the decisive battle, just for a surprise attack that may not come.Such speculation and courage are definitely not something an ordinary general can have.Of course, it would never be a good thing to wipe out the young prince who ruled the western Xinjiang from other tribes in one fell swoop.

General strategies definitely have a great risk of being predicted, and the only thing that is sure not to be predicted is that there is no law.

There are no rules, commonly known as blind beating.

After listening to Xu Zhenqing's blind strategy, Chu Xi pondered for a while and agreed.

Chu Xi said: "Tuoba Yuan has already ruled the scattered tribes in Western Xinjiang, and now he is frequently invading. His purpose should not be limited to just grabbing money. We must be prepared to stay here for several years."

Xu Zhenqing raised her wrist and drank the last drop of wine in the glass.The thin blue veins lining the wrist made the skin more delicate and pale.

Chu Xi stared at it unconsciously, and then was startled by Zhen Qing's sudden violent cough.

"Cough...cough cough" Zhen Qing covered her mouth and coughed violently, her thin back trembled violently, and she almost couldn't support herself and fell into the blanket.The burning pain rolled from the throat to the heart and lungs.

Chu Xi shuddered and stood up abruptly: "Come on! Call the military doctor! Immediately!"

He stretched out his hand to support Zhenqing, and when he touched it, he realized that Zhenqing had lost too much weight.I can't feel it when I meet each other every day, but when the skin touches, I find that the touch of the bones is more obvious than before.In fact, since Chu Shu Xu Mo's coffin lay across the courtyard, he has not had a good time.It's just that I didn't notice it at all?

Xu Zhenqing is a person who hides everything in her heart too much.

After reading it, the military doctor said: "The military commander must have caught wind and cold. It's not a big deal at all, but he was too worried and affected his old illness." After a pause, he asked, "Did the military teacher suffer from any illnesses when he was young?"

Zhenqing took a slight breath, and said slowly: "I was born before the full term, and I suffered a serious illness not long after I was born."

The military doctor not only looked sympathetically at Zhen Qing, who was reclining on the couch with a cold appearance and a slightly haggard complexion, he sighed silently in his heart, "Beauties are unlucky."

Chu Xi grasped other important points: "Why are you worrying too much? What are you worrying about?"

Zhenqing's face turned pale, and she turned her head silently: "The war is tight, and it is inevitable that you are too worried."

Chu Xi: "It's not so tight yet."

Zhenqing said: "That's my nature. I'm tired, I want to rest."

After speaking, he lay down and turned inward.

For a while, countless doubts arose, but looking at Zhen Qing's long, raven-colored hair spread behind her, everything suddenly became hazy and incomprehensible.

Chu Xi suddenly felt irritable, and stepped outside the tent to blow the cold wind.

Why does Zhenqing, who is only 16 years old, have such a depth that is out of date with her age?This mature and inadvertent indifference enveloped Chu Xi like a shadow.He is young, he is weak, he should be taken care of by himself.However, whenever something goes wrong, he is always the backbone.

Chu Xi suddenly hated that he didn't love sage books when he was young. If he read more about the art of war, wouldn't Xu Zhenqing need to make careful plans for him.

The night in Xijiang is different from that in the capital. Without the lights of the capital, it is as thick as ink that cannot be melted.A crescent moon hangs high in the sky, illuminating the sparkling Wei River, and looking across the river to the opposite bank is also a dark mountain.

Their enemies are on the other side.

The ground they are to guard lies beneath their feet.

Xu Zhenqing's style can be called difficult.The Western Xinjiang army always thought that they had won the battle, and they were often ambushed by archers on the road when they took advantage of the victory to pursue.On the road, he was often beaten with a hammer and a club with a stick.At the same time, he did not entangle with him for a long time, and ran away when he gained the upper hand.

And when they are at a disadvantage, they don't take advantage of the victory to pursue.After returning to the camp, he breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that the Southern Dynasty army had come to attack again.The army was forced to fight as soon as it relaxed, and the result can be imagined.

Combat time is also irregular.Generally, there is no marching and fighting in rainy and snowy days. As a result, Chuxi led troops to sneak attacks during several rainstorms.Thinking that he has figured out the routine, he will strengthen the prohibition whenever the weather is bad, and he will not come again.A few days later, on a sunny day, Chu Xi brought soldiers to kill him again.

For such a long month, the soldiers in Xijiang were very annoyed.The Southern Dynasties slowly regained hundreds of miles of land like spring eating mulberry leaves.Tuoba Yuan, who was beaten into an ambush after chasing the Chu army again, returned to the camp annoyed with a long knife that was still bleeding.

He threw the knife on the ground with a bang, quickly removed his armor, and abruptly pulled the cloak off his neck. His pair of phoenix eyes were dark and scary.The soldiers next to him didn't dare to show their anger, for fear that they would be hacked to death if they didn't pay attention.

"Oh my god, I lost my temper so much, but I was led away by the nose again." A young man with long black hair and a tall and tall figure wore a maroon Shu brocade leather jacket and a black curly moiré jade belt tied around his waist. Come in.

The young man squinted his eyes that seemed to be smiling but not peachy, and he went forward and hooked Tuoba Yuan's neck to beg for a kiss.

"Siqi, I told you not to run to the barracks." Tuoba Yuan frowned, and said in a nonchalant manner.

"I'm here to help you find a solution." Siqi pouted, picked up the knife from the ground, and wiped it carefully with a handkerchief.

"Add to the chaos. Get out."

"I have a way to get their military adviser." Siqi was still wiping his knife slowly.

Tuoba Yuan raised her eyebrows and looked at him disapprovingly: "Tell me. How to do it?"

The beautiful peach blossom eyes narrowed mischievously: "The spies I planted are still useless."

After hearing this, Tuoba Yuan walked over to him with a smile, and took the long knife from Siqi.Put the sharp blade against Siqi's thin neck.

The cold air rose from the soles of the feet, the blade gradually exerted pressure, and Tuoba Yuan's smile froze on his face.Siqi clenched his hands: "I don't have private soldiers, I sent slaves there. I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would get angry, Yuan, don't you even believe me?"

Tuoba Yuan withdrew the knife, gently stroked Siqi's neck, and wiped away a trace of blood oozing with her fingers. "You really did your best, go for it."

Siqi walked out of the camp upright, with cold sweat on his palms.

He really doubts me.Siqi felt sad in his heart.