Hecheng

Although we won the two battles with Zinu, it was only at a great cost each time.

Zinu's soldiers were not numerous, but they were tall and strong, good at riding and shooting. They grew up on horseback, and horseback was their world. The soldiers of Feng Dynasty could not get any advantage from them. The only advantage was that they had more people than Zinu, so they were not defeated.

Although we won the two battles, the number of soldiers who died was much higher than that of Zinu. Therefore, although we won this battle, we also lost it.

However, those who flattered the Fifth Prince praised him as a man of great ability, like General Li reincarnated, invincible, and sent letters back to Fengdu City with good news. The court thought that this time they would drive Zinu back to the grassland as they did before, and they could sleep soundly.

The two sides temporarily ceased fighting and retreated to their respective territories.

Hecheng was not peaceful either. There were many troops from various parties gathered in a small Hecheng. The most taboo thing in war is the disunity of people's hearts.

At that time, the Fifth Prince Feng Lingrui was a step late with the reinforcements, and the Zhenmen Pass had already been occupied by Zinu. If we talk about holding someone accountable, the Fifth Prince will also be held accountable. But what is the identity of the Fifth Prince? He is most likely the crown prince of their Feng Dynasty and the future emperor. Who dares to hold him accountable?

From the road where they escaped from Zhenmen Pass to the time when they met the reinforcements, the people on both sides revealed their identities. The people who are familiar with this place must have been people who have been in Zhenmen Pass for a long time. After discussing, Feng Lingrui also listened to the words of the soldiers here and led people into Hecheng.

When the Fifth Prince led people to Hecheng, Wang Dahu and his party had already led people into Hecheng. But now that General Li is gone, the Fifth Prince has a high status here, and they have to obey the Fifth Prince.

Hecheng was originally guarded by generals and soldiers. These people were just fence-sitters. When Wukongzi came, they went to the faction of His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince. Who would not want to go out after staying in this damn place for so many years, and not want to go to Fengdu City to see the prosperity and follow a good master to eat and drink delicious food?

The human heart is the most complicated thing in the world.

The people standing in the crowd watched Zhou Yu follow the Fifth Prince into the prince's tent. Wang Dahu said, "Damn it!" and felt indignant. They, the old generals who used to follow General Lao Li, were bullied by the Fifth Prince's faction, but they dared to be angry but did not dare to speak.

Liu Baishu pulled someone and gave Wang Dahu a warning look, and he immediately became honest.

Cao Gang came along, but he was no longer the same General Cao. He was a soldier following Wang Dahu. He was taller than most people, so he hunched his back on purpose, and his face was so dirty that he couldn't see his original appearance. This way, he stood in the crowd and didn't stand out from the crowd.

If you look closely, you will find that this man's eyes are a little different from those of ordinary people. His face is more resolute and his eyes are firm. This is a person with a stronger mind than ordinary people.

He came here to repay General Lao Li for his kindness in the past, not to work for the court. General Lao Li's opinion has not been found out yet, and Cao Gang doesn't believe in his heart that General Lao Li would die in a fire.

Seeing Zhou Yi following Feng Lingrui like a dog, they all knew that Zhou Yi was following the Fifth Prince as his lackey, and brought the remaining soldiers and generals to submit to the Fifth Prince.

Zhou Yi had become a popular figure around the Fifth Prince at this time. He followed the Fifth Prince wherever he went, obeyed the Fifth Prince's orders, and helped the Fifth Prince "eliminate dissidents" and eliminate all those who had ulterior motives and did not obey His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince.

When Wang Dahu saw Zhou Yi follow him in, he thought in his heart that the old general was blind to accept such a thing.

Seeing the Fifth Prince and his entourage go in, they who were standing outside were not qualified to enter the Fifth Prince's tent.

In the tent

Most of the people who followed here were from Fengdu City, all of them were Feng Lingrui's close associates, many of them were young masters from aristocratic families, there were few who were truly talented and learned, but there were a lot of embroidered pillows.

Feng Lingrui sat in the main seat, and the people below sat down one by one. He looked around, and was very satisfied with these people's submission.

One of the important purposes of his coming here was to take over the soldiers in Zhenmenmai. He had been jealous of the Li family army for more than a year or two, and the death of General Li was a big help to him, so that he didn't have to think of ways to kill people when the time came.

Heh, Feng Lingxiao, didn't your Li family army fall into my hands in the end? This world has long been mine, Feng Lingrui's, and has nothing to do with you, Feng Lingxiao! Feng Lingrui has already thought about how to deal with his brothers after he becomes emperor! Especially those who have been fighting with him for the position of crown prince for so long, he will definitely treat his brothers well!

After winning these two battles, Feng Lingrui suddenly felt a little relieved.

"...If our prince takes action, not to mention driving Zinu out of the grassland, even driving Zinu out of the Tianshan Mountains will not be a problem."

"When the time comes, it will return to the grassland and belong to our Feng Dynasty. When the time comes, the people in the future will remember that our prince defeated Zinu in the battlefield. The historians will record it and write down our prince's name, and it will be praised by the future generations."

These embroidered pillows don't have much skills, but few people can match their ability to flatter.

They haven't even returned to the Qimen Pass, and driving Zinu out of the grassland is even more impossible, but in their mouths, it seems to be real.

"Your Highness Prince Fu." Zhou Yan bowed and presented the things in his hand.

The guards who served His Highness the Great Fifth Emperor stepped forward to take the things Zhou Hei handed over and presented them to their master. Feng Lingrui took it. It was a booklet, which recorded the generals who had followed General Li in the past. He flipped through it, and the corners of his mouth curled up, and he glanced at Zhou Hei who was kneeling in front of him.

Zhou Hei happened to raise his eyes and met the look of the Fifth Prince, and he quickly lowered his head again.

"Zhou Hei, you did a good job, and this prince is very satisfied with you." Feng Lingrui was smiling on his face, but the smile did not reach his eyes. To him, Zhou Hei was just a dog who betrayed his original master, followed him and was used by him, but such a person would be wasted, as long as you give him a little benefit, he will do your job wholeheartedly.

There were some things that he couldn't do, so it would be best to let Zhou Yu do them.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your compliment. These are things that should not be done." Zhou Yu replied.

The sun was setting, and the sunset here was a little later than theirs at Fenshui. The sky was bloody, just like their dead brothers. The blood dyed the whole land red. Their brothers died on the battlefield and could never return home.

For dinner, they had coarse grain porridge and a little cabbage to go with the rice. There was no oil or water in it.

The food here is not good. Even the generals' food is only slightly better than that of ordinary soldiers. There are a few more grains of rice in the porridge, and each person has a steamed bun made of coarse grains. However, these few things are not enough for these men.

When there is no war, there are only two meals a day, and the food is all watery. When there is a war, the soldiers eat half a meal. Three meals a day, it is good to be able to eat 50% full.

The smell of meat stewing in the kitchen spread out, and the soldiers outside who smelled the meat kept swallowing their saliva. The meat cooked by the chef was sent to the prince's tent. They could only look at it, and it would not be their turn to eat it.

When he smelled the meat, Wang Dahu knew that it was cooked for the people in the prince's tent. Thinking about the fact that the old general had been eating with the soldiers for so many years and had never had such special treatment, he felt even more dissatisfied with the fifth prince and the people from Fengdu City. No wonder so many people lined up to lick the toes of that prince!

"Pah!"

After being used to eating good food in Caojia Village, Wang Dahu, who was not a picky eater, found it hard to swallow these coarse grains and wild vegetables. Seeing that the person beside him seemed to have lost a lot of weight, he felt a little distressed. He handed over the Wowo head that he had bitten twice and said, "Here, eat it."

It didn't matter if he was hungry, but his wife must eat a full stomach. If she continued to be so thin, it would be very uncomfortable to hold her.

Liu Baishu took a look and smiled. The person being laughed at felt a little embarrassed and rubbed his head foolishly. Liu Baishu said softly, "You eat it, I don't need it. I've had enough, you can eat this too."

The two people got close to each other, and he said in a voice that only they could hear, "You, be more careful with your words in the future, and change your temper. I, I still want to spend more time with you, do you understand?"

If they can live and grow old together, who would be willing to bury their lives here so early? Not dying on the battlefield, but dying in the conspiracy of those people, how can he be willing to do that?

Things are worse than they expected. Looking at the look of the fifth prince, he is afraid that he wants to subdue all the people under the old general. Those people will find them sooner or later. If that day really comes, no matter what happens in the world, he just wants to live with this person for a few more days in the quiet little village of Caojia Village.

But I'm afraid those people will not let them go.

Cao Ci, who was sitting next to him, raised his head and glanced at the two of them. Liu Baishu raised his eyes and met Cao Gang's eyes. They were both speechless, but they both understood what the other was thinking.

They were unwilling to believe that the old general left like this. What kind of hidden story was there? They must find out and can't let the old general's gift be decided in such an unclear way!

After dinner, the last bit of clouds in the west disappeared, and night fell.

The barracks were the quietest at this time of the day. The soldiers who were tired all day went back to their tents to sleep early, and the patrol soldiers were patrolling.

The two people sitting on the leeward slope were talking in a low voice that only they could hear.

"Be careful."

"Hey..."