All rivers and mountains are safe

The army stationed in the northwest is called the Xuanjia Army. It was a branch of the army led by the old emperor Lu Chengjing in the early years. The cavalry of the Xuanjia Army once traveled all over the Central Plains and gained a great reputation.

Since Lu Chengjing valued literature over martial arts, he declined when he was indulging in pleasure in the palace, and he is not taken seriously even now.

There is nothing to eat in the army, and they can only eat some brown rice on weekdays. It is a luxury to have white noodles. If the food from the court is not delivered in time, brown rice will not be available.

Lu Ciheng was in the army for half a year, the first time he ate meat was because they drove the Rong people back fifty miles to the northwest border and confiscated a batch of live sheep.

There are 25 people in a group, and each group is allocated half a sheep.

The sky in the northwest is like the yellow sand, vast and boundless, beyond the horizon at a glance, dotted with countless stars, which are extremely gorgeous.

The bonfire that was born roasted the mutton until it was sizzling, and wisps of smoke floated upwards and scattered in the boundless sky.

The mutton sprinkled with cumin is roasted until it is burnt, and the aroma goes straight to the nose.

Everyone's face was filled with smiles after winning the battle.

Wuchang Liu was carrying a jug of wine, got drunk, sat next to Lu Ciheng, and said with his tongue out, "Xiao Lu, your family is in Shangjing, and we don't know what your parents do yet."

"I... have no father and no mother." The bonfire caused the branches to crackle and explode, and Lu Ciheng's face was reflected by the red flames. He ate a mouthful of mutton with wine, grinned, and said to Chief Liu: "Actually." I am the third prince in the palace."

"Xiao Lu, you are the third prince in the palace?" Liu Wuchang was so drunk that he got drunk, clapped his hands and laughed, and said, "You are the third prince, so I am still the king of heaven, don't you think so? "

Someone responded: "Then I am an immortal in the sky. With a spell, we can drink and eat meat every day in the army."

"You're already a god, so you can get whatever you want, why are you here as a soldier?" The man sitting closest to the bonfire retorted with a smile.

The people below laughed, all of these people were born in poverty, if they were really desperate, who would be willing to come to this kind of place to live a precarious life for three stones of rice.

The corpse wrapped in horse leather hastily here is the son whose parents have been looking forward to day and night.

Amidst the sound of pounding clothes in the middle of the night, there will also be wives who miss their husbands who have been buried in the yellow sand and turned into dust.

Once you join the army, you are limited to 15 years. During this period, some people can't live through such a hard life. When the moon is dark and the wind is high, and no one is watching, they become deserters and live in the pursuit of the court all their lives. To be caught is to die.

Even if 15 years have passed, as long as the war is not over, there is still no way to go back.

The night wind rolled the ashes from the burning firewood into the sky, and a soldier pushed Wuchang Liu with his elbow, and said enviously, "Lieutenant Commander, you'll be 15 years old in half a year."

"Except for today, there are still 150 days." Wuchang Liu remembered the date clearly, and said with some disappointment: "But if the battle is not over, I still have to spend time here with those soldiers."

"But at least there is hope. Besides, according to the way we play today, as long as the Rong people don't come to invade, you just need to stay at the border safely for the remaining six months. After half a year there is no war, you can go back. .”

"That's the reason!" Wuchang Liu patted the man's shoulder, and took a letter from his family from his arms, and said to the man: "Read it to me, what are the last eight words on this letter?"

Reflecting the light from the bonfire, the man read slowly: "——The family is safe, I hope you will return soon."

Wuchang Liu laughed heartily, "Did you hear that, my wife is at home hoping for my early return."

"I heard it, I heard it."

"Who doesn't want to go back early."

"My family also wrote to me."

The crowd was noisy for a while, and Lu Ciheng sat there alone, lying on his back against a fallen dead tree branch, looking at the bright full moon in the distant sky in a trance.

Their joy has nothing to do with him, no one has ever sent him a letter, and no one has expected him to return early.

He didn't even know who to write to.

After Lu Ciheng arrived in the northwest, he once wrote a letter to Shen Mingan and sent it to the Imperial College.

But Shen Mingan didn't reply to him, maybe he didn't receive it, or maybe he did, but he didn't want to reply.

The letter seemed to sink into the sea.

He never wrote again after that.

"The family is safe, and I hope you will return early." Because of these words, Lu Ciheng became envious of Chief Liu for no reason.

Wuchang Liu's family letter must be mailed every August and September.

He put these dozens of family letters together carefully, and took them out to read when he was homesick. The letter paper had been yellowed and wrinkled by him.

The last sentence before the signature on the letter is all these eight characters.

But Wuchang Liu failed to return home.

He died in a night attack by the Rong army.

The night attack was half a month later, when the Rong people were sleeping soundly and relaxing their vigilance at night, they led a cavalry and rushed straight to the barracks.

Lu Ciheng was the first to discover that there were people outside the camp. He couldn't sleep at night and was sitting outside the camp blowing the wind. Suddenly, he heard a strange noise in the distance, like human footsteps, but it was covered by the hunting wind, so he couldn't hear it at all. true.

The flames flickered in the dark sky, and Lu Ciheng's heart skipped a beat. If it was a sneak attack, the best place would be the side entrance of the barracks. The terrain there is remote and there are few guards. It is best to break through the defense.

But the small group of figures was hidden in the darkness, abandoning the simple and following the complicated, and went around a large circle to the northwest corner.

The grain and grass in the army are placed in the northwest corner.

Lu Ciheng made a quick decision, picked up the drumstick and beat the snare drum vigorously.

The sound of drums pierced the sky and spread out, waking up many people. In a hurry, the torches thrown by the Rong people missed their aim, and only burned a small half of the grain and grass, but the flames were still soaring into the sky.

"—The grain and grass are on fire, hurry up and put out the fire!"

In the glare of the flames, someone yelled, and many people started to use wooden barrels to fight the fire with their shirts off before they even had time to put on their clothes.

There were shouts and noises everywhere, and there was a sudden chaos.

Lu Ciheng didn't go to put out the fire, he turned his head and broke into the captain's camp, picked up the captain who was snoring loudly from the quilt, pulled up his hair, and shouted at him: "What's wrong with you?" Where the hell are you sleeping? If you sleep again, the soldiers will rush in and chop you up!"

"You're out of order..." The captain cried out in pain, and when he saw the food and grass on fire outside, he panicked, put on his military boots indiscriminately, and said to the soldiers who hurried in to ask him for instructions: "Let them Go fight the fire!"

Lu Ciheng dragged the captain back ferociously, with a ruthless look in his eyes, he said sharply: "What fire is there to save, you go to the army first!"

The lieutenant was anxious in his heart, but he was still dragged by Lu Ciheng, and said to him in a harsh voice: "If the food and grass are burned out, all of you will starve to death!"

"You can survive for a few days without food. If you don't go to reorganize the army now, if the soldiers come in, everyone will not survive tonight!" Lu Ciheng pointed to the soldiers outside the tent who were in a hurry to put out the fire: "The food and grass are only burned. In the small half, the fire has almost been extinguished now. The army cavalry who burned the grain just shot a feint. The main army must be behind, waiting for us to attack when the fire fighting is chaotic. Now go outside and organize the two Pedestrians went to put out the fire, and the rest formed into formations."

Because of the captain's suppression, Lu Ciheng struggled in the army for more than half a year, and only achieved the position of corps commander.

If it wasn't for the lack of power in his hands, he wouldn't waste time here talking nonsense with the captain.

Lu Ciheng was domineering, with ruthless eyes, like a natural superior, the captain suddenly felt ashamed when he was giving orders to his soldiers, "Why should I listen to you!"

Lu Ciheng drew out the sword that was on the side of the table, laid it across the captain's neck, and said coldly: "If you don't go, I will let you die now!"

The sword on the side of the desk is for decoration, the hilt is inlaid with gemstones, and the blade is not as sharp as ordinary swords, but Lu Ciheng used it so hard that an arc appeared on the captain's neck The blood dripped on the sharp and reflective blade.

Grinding flesh with a blunt knife is very unbearable, the captain pretended to be calm, "You put down the sword first, I am held hostage by you like this, will the soldiers outside still listen to me?"

"I don't believe you." Lu Ciheng said: "I let you go, the first thing you need to do is find someone to restrain me."

Lu Ciheng threw away the long sword, took out a dagger from the back of his boot and put it on the captain's back, "I'll go out with you."

The captain dawdled for a long time. When the main army of the Rong people came in, he stood on a high place and adjusted his troops without any haste. When an arrow hit the center of his mouth, he fell to the sand and raised a cloud of dust.

The Xuanjia army suddenly lost their morale, and in front of the well-organized Rong army, they seemed to be in a state of disunity, and they would be defeated with one blow.

The orange-red sun slowly emerged from the sky, tearing away a corner of the pitch-black night, and the sight gradually became clearer.

Lu Ciheng used his long spear to block the arrows shot in front of him. He and the other five or six soldiers were shoulder to shoulder, surrounded by the Rong people.

His face was splattered with blood, and there was a deep wound on his back, but his eyes were extremely fierce, exuding a chilling bloodiness.

The encirclement was getting smaller and smaller. After Lu Ciheng charged up, he suddenly burst into a rage, and threw his spear into the chest of the soldier who was closest to him. The soldier couldn't react in time and was hit by him. He quickly snatched the broadsword from his hand as he fell to his side.

In close combat, the broadsword is the most dominant weapon.

After getting the weapon in hand, Lu Ciheng quickly opened a big hole in the encirclement, organized the few remaining Xuanjia troops, and strangled the soldiers who did not retreat with the main force one by one.

When it was daylight, on the barren desert, there were only corpses lying in disorder and blood soaked in the sand.

The vulture hovered in the air, screaming Jie Jie, not going away for a long time, just waiting to swoop down at any time and land beside the corpse to eat human flesh and blood.