Chapter 105
The sun was hidden in the clouds. The wind blew the reeds on both sides of the gentle slope, and the beige ears of reeds drooped. The figure of the girl in riding clothes walked farther and farther in the reed waves of the whole mountain, and finally became a small brown-red dot.
Xie Zheng stood still, his hair on his forehead fluttering in the breeze. Hidden under his hair were a pair of eyes whose whites were bloodshot, as if covered with blood-red spider webs.
The small brown-red dot in the distance finally disappeared into the depths of the pupil that was surrounded by bloodshot.
There seemed to be no emotion on his face. When he pulled the reins to turn the horse's head, he even shouted "Go" lightly as if he didn't care, and the warhorse began to trot in the opposite direction.
The veins on the hand holding the reins were bulging, and upon closer inspection, the reins were stained with a layer of rouge, obviously the palm had been torn by the five fingers a long time ago.
-
Fan Changyu whipped the horse hard and galloped all the way until he could no longer see anyone in front or behind.
The weather was neither too hot nor too cold, and even the wind was quiet, with only the fine reed flowers on the reed ears fluttering gently in the wind.
She sat on the horse, looked up at the boundless world, and breathed deeply. Her heart felt as if it were filled with lead, so heavy that she couldn't breathe.
Except for the time her parents died, she had never felt so helpless.
My grandfather was a sinner who was reviled by the world for seventeen years. If this injustice cannot be cleared up, he may become a sinner for all eternity.
The father whom she once admired the most was Wei Yan's man, and even the fact that he was given as a marriage gift to her mother might have been a conspiracy.
Prince Chengde, General Xie, and tens of thousands of soldiers all died tragically in Jinzhou after the city was captured because of the delay in the arrival of reinforcements and food.
The pressure of these lives was so great that Fan Changyu felt dizzy.
Of course she believed that her father would never do such a stupid thing, but before she found solid evidence, her blind trust was of no use.
Faced with such an eternal crime, how could she not be panicked?
Even with my head tilted back, tears rolled uncontrollably from the corners of my eyes, brushed across my cheeks, and fell into this desolate wilderness.
She knew she shouldn't blame Xie Zheng for not believing her, but she still couldn't stop feeling sad.
Fan Changyu stretched out his hand and wiped his cheek in a wolfish manner, and finally burst into tears.
The warhorse seemed to understand its master's mood at the moment and did not move forward. The man and the horse just stood there in the reed-covered field, with only the muffled crying remaining.
-
When Fan Changyu returned to the military camp, except for a slight redness under her eyelids, there was no trace of crying on her face.
Xie Wu was waiting at the gate of the military camp eagerly. When he saw Fan Changyu coming back, he hesitated for a moment and then went forward to help Fan Changyu lead the horse as he did before, and called out carefully, "Captain."
Fan Changyu got off the horse and walked towards the camp with a normal expression. When they were far away from the sentry post at the gate, she asked, "Did he ask you to stay?"
His voice was a little hoarse, but other than that, there was nothing unusual about it.
When Xie Wu heard this, he guessed that she must have caught up with Xie Zheng, and said, "When the Marquis asked Ah Qi and I to follow the team to Chongzhou, we would not be transferred back."
Fan Changyu paused, and Xie Wu explained, "In the Marquis's place, things that are given away will never be taken back."
He looked at Fan Changyu and said awkwardly, "If the captain doesn't want to keep me and Ah Qi, we can only continue to serve in the army and start as vanguards if we leave."
Fan Changyu lowered her eyes, and no one knew what she was thinking at that moment. After a while, she said, "Then you two should stay."
He paused, then said, "If I have a share of wealth, I will never lose your share."
Xie Wu immediately clasped his fists and said, "Following the captain to fight on the battlefield and protecting the people is our ambition."
Fan Changyu patted his shoulder and said nothing more.
The cloth strips on her hands were not as thick as before, and now she could move her hands simply.
Xie Wu's words completely put an end to her thoughts of following him and Xie Qi away.
So far, she has not found a personal soldier in the army who can compare with Xie Wu and Xie Qi. They have been with Xie Zheng for many years and are familiar with military affairs. If they are driven away, it will be a long and troublesome task for her to train personal soldiers again.
Right now, he is surrounded by many things and it is the time to hire people. Fan Changyu does not want to add trouble to himself just to fight for this pride.
Besides, she would feel more at ease with Xie Qi watching over her in Changning.
-
When she returned to the barracks, Fan Changyu found that not only Captain Guo was there, but also many unfamiliar captains were waiting there, and they politely brought her things.
She looked at the table piled with cakes, drinks, tonics, and those warm smiling faces, and finally realized that they were all here to visit her.
But among these people, some were using crutches or having their arms in slings, which made Fan Changyu stunned.
As far as she could remember, she didn't have much of a relationship with them. These people looked more seriously injured than her, so why did they come all the way to see her?
Captain Guo saw her looking at everyone in the room with a strange expression and keeping silent. After all, he was still Fan Changyu's boss and the one who knew Fan Changyu best among the people in the room, so he took the lead and said, "You came back from the battlefield and fainted for two days and two nights. We were all very worried about you. Today, we heard that you woke up, so we decided to come over to see you."
Fan Changyu said politely: "Changyu would like to thank all the gentlemen here."
A group of people quickly waved their hands and said that she was being formal.
Fan Changyu thought to herself that, apart from Captain Guo, the rest of the people had probably only met her three times at most before today, so how could they be so casual?
But he still asked them to sit down: "All the gentlemen are injured, please don't stand. Please sit down."
Everyone just smiled warmly, but after sitting down, they had almost nothing to talk about.
Because Fan Changyu's place didn't have enough benches, Xie Wu went to other military tents to borrow a few benches.
Fan Changyu felt that the atmosphere in the tent was too weird. Everyone seemed to be uncomfortable, yet they were trying hard to act as if they were very familiar with her.
Only Captain Guo took a fancy to the jar of wine that someone else had given Fan Changyu, and said bluntly, "Captain Fan, we are all here, how about we open a jar of wine for everyone?"
Friendships in the military camp are not only forged on the battlefield, but also forged over drinking.
After a bottle of wine, even strangers can immediately open up to each other.
Seeing that the butcher Guo still had the white cloth wrapped around his head, Fan Changyu said hesitantly, "Everyone has injuries..."
A bunch of soldiers probably felt that the atmosphere was awkward, and they all said it was okay. One of them said, "Didn't everyone get injured during the celebration banquet? We really need to be careful about what we eat. We can't eat any wine or meat!"
This made the rest of the soldiers burst into laughter.
Some smarter ones saw that Fan Changyu had a wound on his hand and that he was a girl, and said, "Brothers, just fool around. Don't bring Captain Fan with you. Captain Fan's wounds are probably serious. It's better not to persuade Captain Fan to drink."
Those with better brains reacted immediately and said, "Yes, yes, brothers, we are just joking about this. Captain Fan, please don't take it seriously."
The captain who brought the wine to Fan Changyu also said at the right time: "You bastards, this wine is Du Kang wine that I have hidden for a long time, and I brought it to Captain Fan!"
Even if Fan Changyu was not very worldly-wise, he could see that they were trying to flatter and please him.
After a little thought, I figured out the reason.
After the battle at Chongzhou City, she became famous, and everyone in the army knew that she was going to be promoted. She was unconscious for the past two days and could not come to visit and get close to him. Today, as soon as she woke up, she was called to He Jingyuan. Anyone could see that she was highly regarded by He Jingyuan.
This rise may not be a one- or two-step increase.
If low-ranking military officers like Captain Guo don't get close to her before receiving their rewards, it will be difficult for them to even say a few words to her in the future.
The words that Master Tao asked her in the carriage when she first came to the army were still ringing in her ears.
It is useless to have a top position without having people who can use their talents under you, or you should start from the bottom and bring up a group of capable people.
After she was appointed as the captain, she had been concentrating on selecting capable people from the dozens of people under her command. Now she finally understood the meaning of Master Tao's words.
After she gets promoted, the people who can really be used are here.
She suddenly understood why Captain Guo asked her to treat everyone to a drink.
Fan Changyu turned to Xie Wu and said, "Go get the wine bowls. I will fill them up for you all!"
Xie Wu was stunned at first, but then he understood Fan Changyu's intention, and hurriedly went out to bring in a stack of wine bowls and placed them side by side on the table.
A few people were still trying to decline, so Fan Changyu said, "We have to get drunk before we go home, so just take this as a taste to satisfy your craving."
Now that things have come to this, no one wants to say anything to spoil the fun.
Fan Changyu had an injury on her palm, making it inconvenient for her to bend, so Xie Wu helped her to remove the red cloth sealing the wine jar, and she then filled each wine bowl herself.
When all the centurions had raised their wine bowls, Fan Changyu also raised his own bowl and said to them solemnly: "Changyu is new to the army. Thank you for your care during these days. I hope to drink with you all in the future!"
Regardless of how much truth or falsehood there was in his words, he just tilted his head back and did it cleanly as soon as he finished speaking.
Today she toasts everyone in the tent with wine, tomorrow, others will toast her.
Seeing this, the other centurions raised their wine bowls and said, "Captain Fan, you have honored us. We are looking forward to drinking with him again!"
The words are also clean and clear.
When they put down their bowls, the centurions were obviously smiling and looked a lot more relaxed than when they first arrived.
After drinking this bowl of wine, for them it was a silent decision of standing in line and forming an alliance.
Military merit on the battlefield is not so easy to gain, especially when one has already reached the position of a centurion. An ordinary soldier has served in the army for ten years, and if he has not met a nobleman to reach this position and does not have extraordinary talent, then his career is basically over.
They took the initiative to show their goodwill to Fan Changyu, even though they knew that she had been promoted based on her military merits and had no one else available under her command. If she could promote one or two of them, they would be considered to have met a noble person.
At the moment, Fan Changyu clearly accepted their kindness.
After drinking and chatting for a while, the group dispersed one after another.
Captain Guo was the last one to get up and leave. When there was no one else in the barracks, Fan Changyu stood up and bowed solemnly to him: "Thank you for your advice, Lord Guo."
Captain Guo was a straightforward person, and he didn't want to beat around the bush with Fan Changyu. He said bluntly, "Don't call me sir all the time. It's annoying, but it's not really a reminder. Even if you don't drink with those rough guys today, they will still be willing to go through your door when you need help."
He glanced at Fan Changyu and said, "But after all, they are all old hands in the military camp. They may obey you on the surface, but they may not obey you behind your back. If you are not willing to drink a bowl of wine with them, it means you don't respect them. This is the unwritten rule in the military camp."
Fan Changyu said: "I remember it."
He added sincerely, "If there is anything I don't understand in the future, I will ask Captain Guo directly. Captain Guo, please don't mind the trouble."
This is already a subtle move.
Captain Guo was also straightforward, saying, "Now I am a higher official than you, so I won't bother with words. When you get promoted, I will follow you as long as you can use me. I was wrong at first, thinking you were the kind of person who wanted to gain military merits. I have fought for so many years, but I have never had such a good time killing on the battlefield. I thought being a captain was the end of my life, and now I want to become a general!"
As soon as Captain Guo left, Xie Wu said to Fan Changyu, "Congratulations, Captain!"
Now that she has been promoted, she has a group of people under her command who can be used by her.
Fan Changyu rubbed his brows tiredly and said, "This ability to speak to people in a human way and to speak to ghosts in a ghost way is something that not everyone can learn."
Xie Wu just smiled and said, "The captain is now figuring out how to build connections in the military camp."
Fan Changyu opened his eyelids and looked at him: "What I said to you when I returned to the camp was not just polite words. You and Xiaoqi will both be my personal soldiers."
After saying that, without waiting for Xie Wu to reply, he ordered: "I have a headache, you go down first."
Xie Wu glanced at Fan Changyu and finally walked out.
Fan Changyu sat alone in a daze for a while. She could vaguely see that she would face more complicated things in the future.
But in order to find out the truth, she must get closer to the center of power.
He glanced at the Mo Dao on the weapon rack and remembered what Xie Wu said, "The Marquis will not take back the things he gave away," and his mind became confused again.
If I hadn't noticed it and chased after him, he might have really left silently.
Xie Wu: Then, is he afraid that she will return all the things he gave her?
On the way back, the sadness that I had finally suppressed started to spread again in my heart.
Fan Changyu didn't want to allow himself to be immersed in those bad emotions any longer. His head was indeed aching from receiving too much explosive information, so he planned to take a nap in bed.
When she accidentally touched the small change under the pillow, she remembered the soldier in her team who gave her all the pay before going to the battle, and she lost her sleepiness instantly.
When she woke up earlier, Xie Zheng, pretending to be Xiaowu, told her that thirteen people in the team were killed in the battle and seventeen were seriously injured.
She had planned to go and see the people she had brought with her, but unfortunately He Jingyuan sent someone to look for her, so she was delayed because of a series of events.
Fan Changyu directly called Xie Wu over and took the pastries and snacks that the centurions had sent her and went to the barracks below.
The soldiers were not as well-informed as Captain Guo and his men, but they also knew that once the reward was given, Fan Changyu would probably be directly promoted to a general.
It's not that they didn't want to get close to him, but Fan Changyu had been in a coma for the past two days, and when he woke up today, he was called away by He Jingyuan. After finally coming back, the centurions had already gone to show their courtesy first, so it was not their turn yet.
So when they saw Fan Changyu coming over, they were all very surprised and called out stutteringly, "Captain... Captain."
These large military tents all have open rooms, and one tent can accommodate 25 people. It is a bit crowded, but after all, it is a war, and the conditions cannot be much better.
There were several empty beds, obviously those of the soldiers who died in the battle.
There was no table in the tent, and the only place where things could be placed was the military bed. The things that Fan Changyu brought were placed on the empty military bed by the soldiers.
Fan Changyu asked: "Whose bed is this?"
A soldier with his arms hanging and a gauze wrapped around his head had tears in his eyes and grinned, "Captain, it's Ge Mazi, my fellow villager. He... he might have been trampled on the battlefield. I searched for his body for two days but couldn't find it."
At the end of this speech, the soldier wiped his eyes with his intact arm, and his voice trembled with tears.
Fan Changyu asked, "Who else is in his family?"
The soldier replied, "And his mother and his sister."
Fan Changyu said: "When the award and pension come, I will take a portion from my award and send it back to his family."
She looked at the other soldiers in the tent and promised, "It's the same for everyone here. No matter who dies in the future, his parents, brothers, sisters, and sisters will be our parents, brothers, sisters, and sisters. We will all raise them together."
This made many soldiers shed tears, and they shouted at the top of their lungs: "Okay!"
Maybe it was the breastplate she gave him that day that worked, but the soldier who had entrusted his pay to her actually came back alive with only minor injuries.
Fan Changyu returned the broken silver to him and said, "Don't worry about your parents being left without support in the future."
The soldier took the silver coins, grinned sheepishly, said yes with red eyes, and was about to return the breastplate to Fan Changyu.
Fan Changyu said, "You can keep it. I don't need it."
The soldier thanked him again, and amid the envious gazes of his comrades, he put away the breast mirror like a treasure.
Some who were braver asked eagerly, "Captain, after you get promoted, can we still follow you?"
Fan Changyu said: "Of course he followed me."
Although they defeated the Chongzhou Army in this battle, it was a narrow victory.
He Jingyuan was shot by a hidden arrow, and the Chongzhou rebels spread rumors that he had died in battle, which caused the morale of the Jizhou army to be disrupted. It can be said that the loss was heavy.
If he had not been lucky enough to kill Prince Changxin in the end and capture the Chongzhou army, it would be hard to say who would have won that day.
The reason why she was able to stab Prince Changxin when he was least prepared was largely because Prince Changxin looked down on her and did not take her seriously after discovering that she was a woman.
After the rebel Lang Xi retreated into the city that day, he has kept the city gates closed for the past two days. It is said that the eldest son of Prince Changxin is temporarily in power in the city.
He Jingyuan did not strike while the iron was hot and ordered the attack to continue. First, his injuries were not very optimistic. Second, although the current situation of the Jizhou army was slightly better than that of the rebels in Chongzhou City, it was not much better. The troops had suffered heavy losses and needed to rest temporarily.
At this time, the troops were not enough. Even if Fan Changyu was promoted, she would not be directly assigned another team of troops. In most cases, she would take over the task from a general in their army.
With Fan Changyu's affirmative answer, the soldiers felt more at ease. They seemed to think that as long as they followed her, going to the battlefield would not be such a scary thing.
Fan Changyu had mixed feelings. She carefully asked about the condition of every wounded soldier under her command, and also carefully memorized the names of every soldier who died in the battle.
After walking out of the barracks, she slowly exhaled a breath of foul air and looked at the distant sky, her gaze becoming more determined.
The more she knew about the cruelty of the battlefield and the sadness of the grassroots soldiers, the more she could not tolerate the fact that the Battle of Jinzhou 17 years ago was a conspiracy.
The reputations of Prince Chengde and General Xie are still highly praised by the people.
The tragic death of this prince and pillar of the country was mourned by the people, but those soldiers who died in vain on the battlefield also had people waiting for them at home.
The truth should not be buried by the intrigues of those in power.
-
Cannes.
Dark clouds covered the city, and a thunderstorm was approaching.
The cold wind blew up the flags on the city walls. Under the rolling thunderclouds, the lonely city walls looked even shorter and weaker.
It seemed as if tiny raindrops were hitting my face, making me feel even cooler.
The deputy general stood at the battlement of the city wall, looking down at the dark pressure below, the Xie family army of Yanzhou, whose might was no less than thunderclouds, and his voice began to tremble: "Prince...Prince, there is news from Chongzhou that the prince has gone, and Chongzhou City will probably be captured soon. The Marquis of Wu'an is gathering a large army to start the siege, which means he is undoubtedly going to take Kangcheng..."
"He attacks, and we defend."
The person next to him said this without any ups and downs, and his pale jaw looked a bit cold and frosty in the cold wind and drizzle.
For a moment, it was hard to tell whether he was indifferent and resigned to his fate, or was confident.
Compared to last time, Sui Yuanqing seemed to have become much thinner, the dark circles under his eyes were darker, and there were strands of blood in the whites of his eyes.
The deputy general knew that the attackers were at a disadvantage in a stormy day, but the person sitting opposite him was Marquis Wu'an, so he couldn't make up his mind no matter what.
Marquis Wu'an was famous for his cunning tactics in employing troops, and he never used any tactics from military books. There were even rumors that if all the tactics from the battles fought by Marquis Wu'an were dug out, he could write another military book.
The deputy general carefully looked out from the battlement, but saw that the Yanzhou army below did not bring any siege ladders.
The army stretched out like black iron, and was outside the range of the bows and arrows on the city tower. The crossbowmen took the lead. The ordinary men had no strength to pull, so the crossbowmen had to lie on the ground and push away with the strength of their waists and legs. The assistants beside them put three arrows in the quiver, and when they shot at the same time, they flew towards the city tower like a shower of meteors.
The defenders at the battlements of the tower didn't even have time to react before they were shot through with arrows.
Although this □□ is not as powerful as a crossbow and can directly shoot through a city wall and injure people within this range, its power is far superior to that of an ordinary bow and arrow.
The deputy general was so frightened that his face turned pale. He dragged Sui Yuanqing to the top of the tower and almost ran away in panic. He said in panic: "Sir, this is not good! Marquis Wu'an is planning to attack directly!"
Below the tower, behind the crossbow array and in front of the cavalry array, was a chariot.
Gongsun Yin followed the example of his predecessors and held a feather fan in his hand. The strong wind on the battlefield blew his white robe up, making him look like a god.
He looked at the thick black thunderclouds gathering on half of the sky, and then at the people around him, who all had a cold and murderous intent, and wondered, "It's going to rain heavily soon. If we want to attack Cannes, there's no need to rush in a day or two. Why do we have to be so aggressive and send troops now?"
The Dayuan black-hoofed warhorse that Xie Zheng was riding stamped its hooves twice agitatedly. Xie Zheng held the halberd in one hand, with a circle of fine gauze wrapped around his palm. The raindrops rubbed a faint wet mark on the black iron blade.
He looked coldly at the tower of Cannes City, which was dozens of feet away. The beastly head on his shoulder was fierce and ferocious, which made his brows more fierce. "Before the thunderstorm comes, Cannes City should be captured."
Gongsun Yin couldn't help but look at him again. He knew that this guy had always been a cunning and arrogant person, but he didn't expect him to be so cunning and arrogant.
Recalling his seemingly identical yet abnormal behavior after returning from Chongzhou, he suddenly frowned and said, "Why do I feel like you're venting your anger by fighting this battle?"
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