Before Chang Suining left Beijing, he asked Manager Bai to count the private property in the mansion that could be sold. When Manager Bai was leading people to count a warehouse, he accidentally found an old and mottled waist badge.
The name Chang Kuo was engraved on the waist badge, and his position on the waist badge was a deputy general in the vanguard camp of Xuan Ce’s army.
Manager Bai told her that Chang Kuo had searched for the badge for a long time after it was lost.
So Chang Suining took it with him when he left Beijing.
Along with the water bag, the Bai Captain was shown the Xuan Ce Army waist badge with Chang Kuo's name engraved on it.
She wanted to "exchange" horses and go to Changxingkuo. As it was not convenient to say it clearly at this time, showing it with Changxingkuo's things was the most intuitive and clear way.
If this thing doesn't work, she still has Cui Jing's half bronze talisman to use.
But when the other party saw the badge, he agreed very readily. It can be seen that he not only noticed the unusualness of this march, but also treated Chang Kuobi with respect and trust.
Chang Suining felt a little relieved.
Although Cui Jing's bronze talisman was not used, she dared to find this person because of the list Cui Jing had given her before. According to Cui Jing, most of the people on the list were people he and Chang Kuo were familiar with, and they could be trusted at the critical moment.
It is of great use at this moment.
Otherwise, it would be almost impossible for her to steal a horse in full view of everyone and leave the team smoothly during the march.
A captain in the army leads a regiment of 200 soldiers. Although his rank is not high, it is enough to arrange this matter.
When the army finished resting and set out again, Chang Suining and his two companions mounted their horses and galloped in the opposite direction.
However, someone soon discovered this matter and reported it to the deputy general one by one.
"...General, three infantrymen stole horses and escaped!"
"You dare to be a deserter under my nose, you must be tired of living!" The deputy general named Qu said sternly: "Order a team of 50 people to chase them, make sure to capture them and cut off their heads for public display!"
"yes!"
Captain Bai on the horse looked back in the direction the three men left, and his fingers holding the reins quietly tightened.
In order to achieve a deterrent effect, the military has always dealt with deserters very severely, and they would not care about life or death when arresting deserters.
A group of people and horses were chasing after them at full speed. There were archers on their horses drawing arrows and shooting at the three figures in front.
The three men rode on three horses at a rapid speed, and arrows were also flying at a rapid speed, faster than the horses' hooves.
Chang Suining, who was running in the front, threw a long sword to the back: "Uncle Blade, catch it!"
Chang Ren raised his hand to take it, and swung his sword to block a sharp arrow flying from behind.
"Uncle Ren, follow me!" The girl's clear voice sounded again from the front.
The girl pulled the reins, suddenly changed direction, ran into the dry grass beside the official road, controlled the horse to cross a half-dried canal, and turned onto a small path on the opposite side.
Chang Ren and the other two followed closely.
After taking several small paths, the three of them successfully shook off the pursuers and arrows behind them.
After confirming that no one was injured, Chang Suining found a way to get back to the official road and took out a flag and tied it behind him.
It was used by soldiers in the army when delivering urgent messages. Whenever they saw this flag, no one would dare to stop them along the way.
Chang Ren looked at the flag, then looked at the knife in his hand: "..."
So... when did the girl steal all this? Was it too easy for her to do it? I didn't mean to question it... After all, he didn't have the ability to support his family, so how could he blame the head of the family who worked hard to support his family? "Go!"
The girl didn't look back, she tied the flag and continued on her way.
…
Chang Kuo led a group of light cavalry to march quickly through Luzhou, and that night they set up a battle array and camped outdoors on the spot.
Chang Kuo was sitting by the fire, looking at the map of Hezhou. A lieutenant stepped forward and saluted, his tone a little hesitant: "...Deputy Commander! I have sent someone to investigate again, but we still haven't seen the army catch up with us!"
He often frowns.
The deputy general sitting next to him paused in his action of stirring the fire with a branch and threw the branch down: "...The soldiers we have ordered are not catching up, what the hell is going on!"
If they hurry up, Shouzhou is only two days away from Hezhou, but it takes five days for infantry to march. Time is already tight for this rescue of Hezhou, and now the army in the rear has not caught up, which will delay the mission! Chang Kuo looked through the crackling fire towards Shouzhou, his eyes sank: "It's a ghost, this is a ghost building a wall."
The soldiers who had been ordered here couldn't catch up. What else could this ghost do if it wasn't a wall? "What's wrong with this 'ghost'?" The deputy general stood up in annoyance. "Not only can this thing build walls, it's also a water ghost, specializing in pulling people's legs!"
He was one of the people Chang Kuo specifically asked to be brought out. When Chang Kuo was put under house arrest, it was these people who cooperated with him. Chang Kuo was worried that these people would be retaliated by Li Yi after he left the camp, so he brought them all with him.
"Send someone back to the camp overnight to investigate the situation and ask the commander if there has been any accident in the army." Although Chang Kuo's face was gloomy, he did not look angry. In other words, he was not naive enough to think that Li Yi would let him leave the camp so easily, even if he was going to save Hezhou.
Soon, a soldier received the order and returned to the camp.
"Deputy commander, what should we do now?" a deputy general asked, "Should we wait for the news that the army is moving?"
Chang Kuo subconsciously looked towards Hezhou.
Just half an hour ago, some Hezhou soldiers risked their lives to break out of the siege and came to ask for help and report the news.
The soldier, covered in blood and tears, knelt down in front of him almost crying, and told him that the governor of Hezhou had died in the battle, and now the people guarding the city in his place were his wife and his only two remaining sons, the older one was sixteen years old and the youngest was only twelve.
After the soldier reported the news, he became weak and fainted. He has a high fever and has not woken up since then. Perhaps he will never wake up again.
Although still hundreds of miles away, Chang Kuo seemed to be able to smell the blood rising from the Hezhou city, the children's cries of fear, and the tragic heroism of the soldiers who were defending to the death.
"Wait..." He repeated the word spoken by the deputy general, and felt it weighed more than a thousand pounds.
Can you wait?
Can you afford to wait?
Chang Kuo looked up at the dense stars in the sky, but tonight, no one in Hezhou would look up at the stars. If they couldn't wait for reinforcements to come, they wouldn't be able to do so for a long time in the future. Or perhaps, some people would lose the opportunity to look up at the stars forever.
While Chang Kuo was concentrating on making a decision, he suddenly saw a meteor streaking rapidly across the night sky.
Soon, there was the sound of horse hooves coming as if stepping on the meteor.
Chang Kuo stood up subconsciously.
Soon a soldier came to deliver the message.
"Deputy Commander, three soldiers have arrived here, claiming that they have confidential military matters that need to be reported to you!"
The three men were stopped outside the formation by the night watch soldiers holding spears, and they were being interrogated: "Which battalion are you from? What are your names? Where are your badges?"
"...Chang Ren?!"
Chang Kuo, who was striding over, recognized the person standing in the front at a glance and was very surprised.
"General!" Chang Ren felt relieved and saluted quickly.
The other person followed suit and saluted.
Chang Kuo looked over and said, "Chang Mao!"
As he spoke, he looked at the third person, his eyes trembled: "Ning..."
The deputy general who followed closely was startled when he heard the voice - You? Why did the deputy commander use a respectful title?
"These are my personal soldiers!" Chang Kuo's expression changed, and he immediately said to the three people: "Follow me!"
The three of them hurried to follow.
"You two, guard there!" After going to a deserted place, Chang Kuo instructed Chang Ren and the other man, and pulled over the girl dressed as a soldier, and asked her to stand in front of him.
"How did you get here, kid? And sneak into the army? Do you know how dangerous this is?!"
"Father, now is not the time to talk about this." Chang Suining pulled him a few steps further away and whispered, "Business matters are more important."
Chang Kuo: “?”
Chang Suining: "I know it's unexpected for you to see me here. But you have been through many battles, what storms have you not seen?"
Chang Kuo: “…”
He had never seen such storms before!
Who would suddenly see their daughter who is far away in the capital during the march? Chang Suining's flattering and comforting were ineffective, and Chang Kuo was really shocked: "Answer my father's question first, and don't talk nonsense. This is a very important matter!"
Chang Suining: "It's a long story..."
"Father has time!" Chang Kuo pointed at the soldiers who were sleeping and resting: "It's not time to leave yet!"
Usually at times like this, Chang Suining would choose a spokesperson.
So he turned around and shouted, "Uncle Blade!"
Chang Ren, who had just finished drinking water, put away the kettle and walked forward immediately.
Chang Suining, who had chased here without stopping, sat aside to drink water, eat bread, and rest to accumulate strength.
Chang Ren started talking from the time Chang Sui'an was wrongfully imprisoned, and continued all the way until Ming Jin's beheading.
Chang Kuo felt a chill of fear in his heart.
It is natural that he could not have been unaware of this matter. After the case was settled, the empress specially sent someone to Shouzhou to see him, but according to the person's account, his son was only "unsuccessfully attempted to be slandered" by Na Chang and Ming Jin, mother and son, and the saint quickly returned justice to his son and executed Ming Jin.
Now he knew that his stupid son almost lost his life! And to be fair, his daughter almost risked her life to win it back! Looking at his daughter sitting on a tree stump and eating a cake, Chang Kuo's anger and guilt reached its peak: "... Dad was away, and he didn't even know that you were bullied in Beijing!"
Chang Suining stopped eating the cake and said, "Father doesn't know because someone doesn't want him to know. This is not Father's fault."
How could Chang Kuo not figure out the trick here? The saint had clearly prepared to sacrifice his son and the entire Chang family.
Chang Kuo was in a state of turmoil. He volunteered to fight against Xu Zhengye, but this almost cost him the loss of his two children.
He wanted to protect the land under his feet, even if it meant sacrificing his life, but the saint sitting high in the temple couldn't even show the slightest bit of pity to his two children? "Good child... you did very well." Chang Kuo suppressed the hoarseness and trembling in his voice, "It's Dad's fault."
"Father is very good, especially now that everything is safe and sound, so my brother and I won't become fatherless children." The girl stood up, walked over, raised her hand and patted his shoulder: "Father is here to protect the people, and I am here to protect the family. This is the agreement. Father is not bad at all, it's others who are not good at it."
The little girl in his eyes, stood in front of him and gave him praise and comfort. At this moment, Chang Kuo's heart and eyes were swollen and painful, and he almost cried for no reason.
After a moment, he raised his rough big hand and touched the girl's head.
Everyone has a reverse scale, and he will never forget this kind of fear and pain in his life.
"Our Suining is a courageous and decisive child... It was right for him to leave the capital in time." Having said this, he asked, "Where is that brat recovering from his injuries now?"
Chang Ren just mentioned that he had already found a place for his husband to recuperate.
"Not far." Chang Suining said, "In Xuanzhou."
Chang Kuo nodded: "Xuan..."
Wait, where?!
Chang Suining gave a more detailed answer: "At the residence of Grand Princess Xuan'an."
"What?!" Chang Kuo almost jumped up, as if a bucket of boiling molten iron was poured over him, and he was almost reduced to ashes on the spot.
Chang Suining then told the story of how the Grand Princess had also asked for help, and finally said, "The Grand Princess said that she was a close friend of my father, and Xuanzhou was a safe place, suitable for recuperation."
Chang Kuo's eyes went dark for a moment, and he was afraid that he would not be able to get this brat back if he kept raising him! He wanted to say something else, but the girl in front of him asked tentatively: "Dad, did I do something wrong?"
“…How could it be!” Chang Kuo laughed to hide his emotions, and gave a thumbs up to his daughter who had been frightened and tired all the way: “Ningning did a great job, it couldn’t be better than this! You are really a good child of Daddy!”
"By the way, you just mentioned... there is something else? Tell it to daddy." Chang Kuo had some thoughts of escaping from reality.
"Father, please look."
Chang Suining took out the silk and repeated, in a voice as low as possible, what He Wei had said before he died.
"...It's Li Yi!" Chang Kuo whispered, "Put the things away quickly!"
Chang Suining: "I was in the military camp at that time and couldn't discuss this matter with my father, so I didn't dare to show him the imperial edict rashly."
"It's right to do this. We need to work out a rule for this matter, and we need to let someone who can represent the court come forward to make it safe..." Chang Kuo said, "Otherwise, the camp must still be in civil strife at this moment, and the consequences will be disastrous."
Chang Suining: "Now that the imperial edict is here, does Father want to go back to Shouzhou to discuss this matter with someone and punish Li Yi?"
Chang Kuo did not answer for a while.
In the darkness of the night, the girl continued, "The army has changed its marching route and will not follow my father to Hezhou. This is Li Yi's plan to make my father die in battle in Hezhou."
"They predicted that even if I couldn't wait for the army to arrive, I would still go to support Hezhou..." Chang Kuo said, "If his prediction was correct, would Sui Ning also think that my father was too stupid, inflexible, and only wanted to die?"
The girl's eyes lit up with a smile, and she raised her chin slightly, as if she was a little proud: "I just think that my father's character and prestige are so great that even the rats in the gutter believe in it."
Chang Kuo was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed, his eyes were hot and wet: "Dad, with Ningning's words, I have no regrets in this life!"
There are many fallacies in this world. For example, a person's so-called "kindness and softness" can sometimes become a laughing stock in the mouths of others and a knife in their hands.
If you know that there are dangers and traps ahead, but still insist on going there for the sake of "goodness", it is truly "foolish kindness".
But at this time, there are still people who approve of his "foolish kindness" and even feel proud of his "foolish kindness".
What he didn't know was that this man who was willing to be proud of his foolish kindness was also determined to never let his kindness become foolish kindness.
The goodness of a military commander is good for the common people, so it is particularly valuable. But the goodness of a military commander is also dangerous, and it is dangerous to himself, so he needs to be protected. And Lao Chang's kindness, in a sense, was once nurtured by her indulgence, so she should do her best to protect it to the end.
She asked, "Dad, have you ever fought a battle that you knew was impossible?"
"Of course." Chang Kuo said, "More than one time."
"That's it." Chang Suining said, "Li Yi predicted that my father would go to Hezhou, so let him guess half of it, but for the other half, he has no say. My father and I have the final say."
"Well said! How can a short-sighted rat predict everything?" Chang Kuo no longer hesitated: "Then let's take Hezhou first, and then go back to deal with that stinky rat!"
"I will go with my father." Chang Suining said immediately, "This battle may not necessarily be 'impossible'. I have thought of two plans on the way. I don't know if they are feasible. I will tell my father in detail on the way."
Chang Kuo straightened his expression, blinked his big eyes, and tried to ask: "Which two plans? Why don't you tell me now for Dad?"
Chang Suining also blinked: "Will Dad take me with him?"
Good night!
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