Broken Iron Clothes

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Feng Han took advantage of the terrain to lead the troops to withdraw westward, and Yuan Mucheng had also withdrawn to the temporary camp, and was currently wiping the blood spattered on the blade intently in front of the fire in the tent.

Not long after, Gu Nanxing followed He Xiao and lifted the curtain to enter the tent, and sat alone with one leg raised against the low table, listening to the conversation between the two of them.

"Master, the general of the Ningzhou Battalion has sent someone to report that the Xuanhe army has met with the Dali army heading west from the North Road, and the remaining two teams are also rushing forward. Our road has a total of [-] soldiers and horses, and the remaining [-] The soldiers and the convoy of supplies are led by Captain Wan, and they are expected to arrive at the main camp in Ningzhou the next day, and after a day of rest, they will go west to join us, and in addition, the rear supplies will be delivered to our camp in batches starting tomorrow."

Yuan Mucheng took advantage of the light to polish the blade, took the scabbard from the table and put it away neatly, and said, "Okay, what's the news from Yingzhou?"

He Xiao said: "Da Mi is still gathering troops in Yingzhou, thinking that he is waiting for the reinforcements to gather with Feng Han, and then march together after capturing Shengzhou. But there is a large desert at the junction of Shengzhou and Yingzhou, and it is inconvenient to march. The enemy troops supporting Feng Han carry their luggage, and if they go east and pass Ningzhou, the distance will be longer, and the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, so they should choose to go directly through the desert, from Yingzhou to Shengzhou."

Ningzhou is an important offensive and defensive area. It is adjacent to Shengzhou in the southwest, Yingzhou in the northwest, and Aozhou in the northeast. If you go to the easternmost side, you can go deep into the city. Therefore, if you want to enter the hinterland of Dali, you must Win Ningzhou.

Therefore, after this team of 7 horses is assembled, it is necessary to take advantage of the victory and pursue it as soon as possible, and not give Feng Han and Damo's army a chance to join forces.

Yuan Mucheng thought about it, fixed his eyes on Dali map for a while, and then asked again: "How is the result of today's battle?"

He Xiao replied: "A total of 110 stones of food and grass were harvested, and [-] four people from the Weiming army were captured alive."

Yuan Mucheng pondered for a moment, and said: "Order the soldiers to send the report to the main camp of Ningzhou as soon as possible, and let them deduct [-] shi from the grain and grass supplies that will be transported here in the next few days, and send them to Ningzhou in the name of the Dali army. Outside the city, it was unanimously declared that the grain was forcibly confiscated by the Weiming army, and now it has been intercepted by the Dali army, and will be returned to the exiled people in Shengzhou."

"Yes, I'll do it right now."

After He Xiao exited the camp, Gu Nanxing said: "General, you order 1 soldiers and horses to go into battle lightly, and follow you to rush to Shengzhou first, and then create the illusion of a surprise attack by the army, and alone carry 3 troops to ambush the cliff Gu, tricked Feng Han to lead troops to fight, and ordered Brother Xiao to lead [-] people to encircle the main camp of the Weiming Army at the same time. What kind of tricks do you want to play with the harvested grain and grass, let me tell you."

Yuan Mucheng put down the knife in his hand, picked up the handkerchief, wiped his hands, and said, "Liu Zhaobi still has the hearts of the people in Ningzhou, but Feng Han still doesn't dare to act rashly at this time, and only dares to keep his troops in Shengzhou. Do you know why? ?”

Gu Nanxing picked at the muddy finger joints that had just been embedded in an ambush outside the sub-camp, thought for a while, and replied: "Liu Zhaobi is dead, there is no Liu family orthodoxy behind Feng Han, even if there is a rebellion, it is rare to win the hearts of the people and the emperor. It is even more dishonorable, but the crime of collaborating with the enemy and treason has been convicted, and he can only plead guilty and punish him if he surrenders. In this way, he can only save his life if he joins Da Mo and helps them invade the land of Da Li, but Da Mo's reinforcements are not available. , he only has the Weiming army in his hands, facing the soldiers in Dali who are well-supplied in the rear, he must ensure that the strength of his side will not decrease."

"That's right," Yuan Mucheng said, "It's his conservatism that made him a frightened bird. Facing an unknown number of surprise troops and a premeditated coordination battle, he didn't dare to take risks and could only retreat. The Dali army with tens of thousands of troops stationed here."

"And then?" Gu Nanxing asked.

Yuan Mucheng looked at the map of Shengzhou spread out on the desktop, and said calmly: "But the purpose of this battle is not to hit the morale of the Weiming Army, but to let the people of Shengning and Ningzhou know that Dali sent troops to suppress the rebellion , rather than forced rebellion, this is a battle of name rectification.

"The people in Shengning and Ningzhou usually prefer the Weiming Army stationed in Shengzhou Camp and Liu Zhaobi who is stationed in Ningzhou. Now that the rumors released by Feng Han are instigated, the people's hearts are even more uncertain. Now Feng Han is forced by food and grass. , I can’t bear to expose my nature and force the people to raise food, and we can just borrow this batch of food to let the people of the two states know which side cares about human lives and which side cares about people’s hearts.”

The rumors spread by Feng Han spread all over Shengzhou, and the people didn't say anything, but they still felt a little dissatisfied with Liu Zhaoyu and Dali in their hearts, and even thought that it was Liu Zhaoyu's fault that the western border would lead to war and the people would live in dire straits.

But the king of a country is most afraid of losing the hearts of the people. Yuan Mucheng knows that this battle will be considered peaceful. As long as the hearts of the people in Sheng and Lizhou are not restored, sooner or later there will be more turmoil.

Yuan Mucheng turned to face the hanging map of Dali, and continued: "The quickest way to clarify rumors is to follow others' opinions. In this world, the common people don't care who speaks the truth. They only listen to the most widely spread rumors. That kind of statement, so instead of speaking out to argue, it is better to let them pass it on their own initiative."

Gu Nanxing nodded, and there was silence in the tent, except for the crackling of the flames outside, and the patrolling soldiers passing by in line, only the sound of some armored armor gradually getting closer and further away.

Yuan Mucheng stood and analyzed the terrain, but his eyes couldn't help but wandered around the two sides of Yancheng and Shengzhou several times, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't get enough.

Jianghuai River.

He silently recited the name, and couldn't help stretching out his fingers to measure the distance between the two places.

One stroke, two strokes...

"Missing a daughter-in-law?"

Gu Nanxing spoke suddenly, which caused Yuan Mucheng to shrink his fingertips, and immediately turned his head and gave him a sideways glance.

"Why are you still here?" Yuan Mucheng asked.

Gu Nanxing picked up the pen in his hand and threw it straight at the person: "Is it hindering you?"

The tip of the pen hit his chest and fell off, Yuan Mucheng picked it up, walked two steps closer, let go of the pen and dropped the pen on the table, saying: "There is no wine today, so I can't drink."

Gu Nanxing feigned regret, stood up and said, "It's a pity that there is no wine, and the letter from Yancheng should not be read at all."

Seeing that the man was about to stroll out of the tent leisurely, Yuan Mucheng coughed lightly and said in a low voice, "Come back."

Gu Nanxing grinned: "Why is the general still suffering from a cough? It sounds so pitiful."

Yuan Mucheng hadn't heard from Jiang Shiqing for more than ten days, but when he heard the letter from Yancheng, his heart was already itchy.Seeing that Gu Nanxing looked like he was in need of a beating, he didn't say a word, and directly grabbed the man's skirt and belt with his hands, looking for letters everywhere.

"Who is taking advantage?" Gu Nanxing avoided the hands that were groping on him, and took two steps back, "Huai Chuan agreed, you just grope other big men like this."

Yuan Mucheng smiled angrily and blew away the broken hair on his forehead, and spread his palm towards the person: "I have received such a letter for more than ten days, I am not in the mood to fight with you, I want to drink with you next time, I will have a good drink with you, don't take my wife's things tease me."

"Bring it." Yuan Mucheng hooked his hands, and his tone was tough.

Seeing that Yuan Mucheng was tough and refused to give in, Gu Nanxing failed, so he had no choice but to take out the letter from his bosom, and slapped him on the palm: "I'll give it to you, give it to you, it's boring."

Yuan Mucheng smiled when he saw the envelope: "That's interesting, Old Gu."

Gu Nanxing snorted and said, "Only be good when you get a bargain."

Yuan Mucheng raised an eyebrow at him, turned around and sat down at the table, moved the lamp closer and carefully opened the envelope.

Seeing this, Gu Nanxing added a sentence along the way: "Oh yes, there is news about Xu Guo, and he is staying by Huaichuan's side right now and won't come out."

"Is the Yan family not moving?" Yuan Mucheng asked.

Gu Nanxing said: "Even if there is movement, how can you care about the other side when you are far away in Shengzhou? Besides, can someone in Huaichuan tell you about this?"

Jiang Shiqing is really the kind of person who reports good news but not bad news, but if he doesn't even report the situation of the city, how can he ensure Jiang Shiqing's safety?

When Yuan Mucheng thought about it, he couldn't let it go, and the worries that had been simmering for many days turned up, and his chest slapped with fear.

"He won't say anything if he doesn't want to. Where is the soldier who sent the message?" Yuan Mucheng looked slightly annoyed, and was about to get up and ask someone.

Gu Nanxing pressed his shoulders: "Come on, just sit down, Huai Chuan handles things properly, if there is a situation that can't be dealt with, you don't need your own soldiers, my wife's subordinates will be the first to take care of it." The message is delivered to you, okay?"

"No." Yuan Mucheng's attitude was cold and hard, and no one could refute it.

Gu Nanxing clicked his tongue helplessly: "If you don't even read the letter, find someone to settle the score. You are not afraid of wronging your own soldiers."

Only then did Yuan Mucheng wipe off the sweat on his palms, and took out the letter paper to read.

By the time Gu Nanxing left the camp, Yuan Mucheng had read the letter over and over three times, and there was really no mention of the situation in the city between the lines.

Jianghuaichuan, I really belong to you.

With mixed emotions, Yuan Mucheng touched the ink marks on the paper, and was reluctant to crumple the letter paper. While facing the words "Missing You" written on it, he was sulking.

But in a blink of an eye, there were other things inside the envelope. Yuan Mucheng weighed the weight, opened the seal and peeked in for a few moments, before stretching out his fingers to pinch out a strand of hair tied with a red string.

The thin strands of hair swept across the palms, rubbing the itches between his hands, Yuan Mucheng lowered his head and sniffed the remaining fragrance, his heart arose.

He held the hair between his fingers and caressed it. When he closed his eyes, he saw Jiang Shiqing's sleeping face lying on his side beside the pillow. He seemed to be beside that person, and he could easily pick up a lock of long hair scattered in front of his eyes and wrap it around his fingers. Turn around.

He was obviously still annoyed, but the softness of the black hair made him lose his temper.

Jiang Shiqing was too good at grasping his heart, Yuan Mucheng had nothing to do with it.

He is also happy, and he is also angry. The three words Jianghuaichuan can torture Yuan Mucheng to death, but he voluntarily accepts every emotion Jiang Shiqing bestowed on him, and it is also a lesson that he cannot abduct that person out of the city. .

Anyway, I miss him so much.

I really miss Jianghuai River.

Yuan Mucheng smiled lowly, wrapped the thin hair lightly around his fingertips, and whispered softly: "Jiang Huaichuan, I really have you."

-

At night, the moon was covered by thick clouds, and the lights in Liang's study were not extinguished. Liang Yuanqing turned the pages of the book lightly, and the night wind blowing in from the window sill by his side blew the page back to its original place.

Liang Yuanqing turned his head to face the breeze, got up and put away the fork of the window, and then sat down in the same place again.

He pinched the paper with his fingers and turned another page, but out of the corner of his eye he caught a black shadow flashing past the window. Liang Yuanqing vigilantly turned his head to look there, his eyes flicked to the left and right.

The surroundings were too quiet, his heart beating in his chest, he listened carefully to the movement outside the window, stood up again while leaning on the edge of the table, and tiptoed to remove the saber hanging beside him.

Just as his finger was on the hilt of the sword, a stone broke through the window screen and knocked out the candle.In a short while, several flying knives swept towards his face with a cold and murderous aura. Liang Yuanqing immediately drew his sword to block, but unexpectedly, black shadows outside the door rushed into the window one after another, slashing at his head with a knife.

The sharp blade killed him, Liang Yuanqing shrewdly avoided it, turned out the sword flower to push the person away, and then used the tip of the sword to pick up the book on the case and threw it in front of the two of them.

The dropped pages disturbed the sight of the two, Liang Yuanqing took advantage of the opportunity to escape, quickly opened the door and jumped out, and ran to the front yard.

The two black shadows chased after them, until they saw the guards coming from the mansion, they threw out a few flying knives again, turned around and stepped on the ridge of the roof, disappearing into the night.

With lingering fear, Liang Yuanqing stopped behind the guards, looked sideways at the flying knives nailed to the pillar, and his eyes darkened.

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Liang Yuanqing is the Minister of the Ministry of War. I am afraid that he has not appeared on the scene for too long and will be completely forgotten, so I will explain it here again.