Le Zhengming was born into a family of military generals. His ancestors had shed blood on the frontier and were loyal to the State of Wei, as the sun and the moon could attest.
When he was young, his grandfather, father, uncles and uncles were all defeated in a great battle. The reason was not because of poor command, but because the friendly forces around them deliberately ignored their requests for help.
They led tens of thousands of troops to fight against hundreds of thousands of foreign coalition forces on the prairie. In the end, not a single one of them was left alive. Their bodies were chopped into piles of minced meat and fed to the wolves outside the pass.
When news of the defeat reached Wei, the then monarch shed a few fake tears and bestowed upon them a few rolls of brocade, thus ending the story of the Lezheng family's betrayal by the reinforcements. Their deaths were like dirt on the ground, worthless except for being a stepping stone for others.
If none of the generals who succeeded him were capable of fighting, and if the foreign armies were not approaching year after year and gradually penetrating into the heart of the Central Plains, the jealous Wei royal family would never have re-employed Le Zhengming.
He grew up in such an environment of persecution and oppression. He could not be said to be loyal to the State of Wei, but he had to be loyal to this land.
It seemed as if his desire to protect this world was innate.
Therefore, when the Jie army attacked, he was determined to die. The only thing that worried him was the cunning curly-haired fox. He took pity on the fox because it was still young, so he sent it away from him.
He wanted little Curly to live well with this gift from him.
However, the outcome of this battle completely exceeded Le Zhengming's expectations. First, he survived; second, the vast majority of his soldiers also survived; and third, they achieved a great victory, slaughtering 80,000 Jie people without a single survivor.
But he didn't know where Curly would dismount. If they encountered a Jie army of 100,000 on the way...
Thinking of this, Le Zhengming's heart felt like it was burning.
He quickly took stock of the battlefield, then raised his sword and shouted, "Soldiers, follow me to encircle Guancheng!"
Everyone had already been furious after the thrilling battle just now. At this moment, the morale was at its highest, so they roared in response: "Surround Guancheng and kill all the Jie people! Kill, kill, kill!"
The three consecutive words "kill" made everyone's eyes red. They tightened the reins and quickly marched towards Guancheng under the leadership of their deputy generals.
Le Zhengming was running in the front, his handsome face covered with a layer of frost, and his eyes were constantly flashing with anxiety, regret, remorse, fear and other emotions.
If he had known that this battle could be won, he would never have let Curly leave. What would he do if Curly encountered the Jie people on the way and something happened?
A blood-stained scene unfolded in Le Zhengming's mind, making his eyes bloodshot and his heart burst. He squeezed the horse's belly, urging it to run faster, faster...
The next moment, he opened his eyes wide and stood there in a daze.
I saw a young man of about fifteen or sixteen standing by the mountain road ahead. He was wearing ordinary linen clothes and dressed like an ordinary citizen. His long, slightly curly hair was casually draped behind him, blown all over by the wind. His narrow, upturned eyes were as bright as the cold stars in the sky, and there was a comfortable arc at the corners of his crimson mouth.
Looking at him this way, he doesn't look like an ordinary person at all, but more like a mountain monster.
Faced with the attack of tens of thousands of troops, he did not avoid them at all, and even waved his hand in a good mood.
Seeing this familiar face, Le Zhengming almost burst into tears.
That's little Curly, the one he's so heartbroken about and worried about!
Le Zhengming rushed over even faster, and when he got close, he stretched out his arm, easily pulled the young man onto the horse's back, and continued to charge forward.
The soldiers following behind were all stunned, but they had no time to ask about the boy's identity and the general's abnormal behavior.
"You didn't leave?" Le Zhengming asked in the swift wind.
"I told you, I'll be wherever you are." Zhuang Li sat sideways in his lover's arms, gently pulling open his collar with his slender fingertips, revealing half of his shoulder, dotted with red plum blossoms. He asked with a half-smile, "We're already like this, are you trying to renege?"
Le Zhengming's gaze was immediately drawn to the creamy, snow-white skin and the vibrantly colored marks. He quickly pulled Curly's hand away, gently covering the marks that were making him dizzy and his body feel hot. He said in a hoarse voice, "I will naturally take on the responsibility of taking care of you."
"Then you must promise me that no matter what the reason is, you will not leave me alone in the future." Zhuang Li poked his lover's hard chest, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised revealed the joy that everything was under control.
He knew that this person could never do anything to him.
"Okay, I promise you, I'll never let you leave me again." Le Zhengming was indeed being led by the little curly-haired boy. Although they had only known each other for a short time, he seemed to have been completely controlled by him.
However, this oath was not made under duress, but a promise from the heart. As long as he was there, Curly would be there, and they would never be separated.
---
Not long after the Ninth Prince and others left, the Jie army launched a surprise attack on Guancheng.
General Xu, who was temporarily transferred to Guancheng, was originally very happy, thinking that he could finally replace Le Zhengming's position, but he did not expect that in the blink of an eye, he fell into the same situation as Le Zhengming.
His own army was still stationed in Qiuzhuang and had not yet been deployed. Most of the troops in Guancheng did not obey his command. When the enemy arrived, the entire camp was in chaos, and there was no way to launch an effective counterattack immediately.
He released smoke signals and carrier pigeons to ask for help from the Ninth Prince who was still on the way, but there was no response from the other side.
Come to think of it, the Ninth Prince is the most beloved son of the new emperor. It is very likely that he will aspire to the supreme throne in the future. How could he allow himself to stand in danger?
After an hour of agonizing battle, with no reinforcements arriving at Guancheng, General Xu was already in despair. He could hardly imagine the disaster that would occur if the enemy's horses' hooves broke through the city gates.
These Jie people were beasts. They slaughtered the Han people at will, treating them like cattle and sheep. They also piled the Han people's corpses into high towers and placed them on the grasslands outside the Great Wall, just to attract wolves to tear them apart and vultures to peck at them for their own enjoyment.
They treated the Central Plains as a hunting ground, and the Han people could only flee under their horses' hooves, with no chance of survival.
Looking at the red army gathered under the city wall and the precarious city gate, General Xu actually shed tears of regret on the spot.
If General Le Zheng were still here, the border would never have been trampled upon by the enemy. General Le Zheng was the stabilizing force of Wei. What was Duke Zhuang Ran? And what was the divine strategist Zhuang Xu? Even the Ninth Prince and the new Emperor relied on General Le Zheng's bravery and skill to remain safely in the Imperial City.
We soldiers are fighting hard on the front lines, while the Ninth Prince and his nobles are enjoying comfortable beds, soft pillows, fine clothes and delicious food in the rear. How can this be possible?
In desperation, General Xu came up with such a treasonous idea.
He walked to the city wall, drew his bow and shot arrows himself, but was almost shot to death by the enemy.
While he was still in shock, he suddenly heard someone shouting above his head: "It's General Le Zheng! He's here to rescue us!"
"What? General Le Zheng is not dead?" Xu Hui asked in horror.
There were 100,000 Jie troops in Guancheng, which meant there must be 80,000 on the Guandu side. Forty thousand versus eighty thousand, with such a huge disparity in strength, how could Le Zhengming survive?
Xu Hui seriously suspected that he had heard it wrong.
But the soldier standing on the watchtower was extremely certain: "It's General Le Zheng! I saw his tiger-head flag! He's coming from behind!"
Xu Hui rushed up to the watchtower, took a quick look, and immediately shouted, "Open the city gates! Open the city gates! Let's fight our way out and join General Yue Zheng!"
Several generals who had previously refused to obey his orders now opened the city gates without hesitation and charged out on their horses. This shows the prestige and weight that the three words "Le Zhengming" held on the battlefield.
The Jie people also heard the cry of "Le Zhengming!" and their once orderly offensive suddenly became chaotic. The Jie people at the rear of the battle group looked back and saw a blue flag with black stripes and a tiger head fluttering in the strong wind, like a dark cloud, pressing down heavily.
"Le Zhengming isn't dead! He's attacking!" This news sent all the Jie people into a panic. They couldn't understand how Le Zhengming could escape the crushing force of an 80,000-strong army. Could he be possessed of some magical power?
However, there was no time for the Jie army to ponder this difficult problem. They were attacked from both sides by the Wei army, their neatly arranged square formations were broken apart, and they could only choose a direction and flee in a scattered manner.
These brave and warlike Jie people lost the courage to continue fighting after just one encounter.
Le Zhengming was like the god of death descending from the sky, wielding a sword and reaping their lives.
In just one hour, Guan Cheng safely survived the crisis.
The common people far away on the city walls raised their hands and cheered, and the soldiers on the battlefield also walked towards General Le Zheng, their eyes flashing with fanatical admiration and deep awe.
Le Zhengming suddenly turned his horse around and ran to the back of the battle group. He carried a thin, handsome young man from the carriage carrying food and fodder, then sat him on his shoulders and announced with immense pride, "This is my military advisor, Zhuang Li, the man who devised the Crescent Moon Battle Formation and will bring you ultimate victory."
He carried the young man around the battlefield, like a wealthy king showing off his priceless treasure.
"What? Our victory is thanks to this military advisor?"
"When did we get a military advisor?"
"The Ninth Prince's military advisor is called Zhuang Xu, known as a divine fortune teller. This man is called Zhuang Li. Could they be brothers?"
"You are indeed brothers, otherwise how could you be so powerful?"
"But, how did we win that battle before? I still haven't figured it out!"
All the soldiers were surprised and confused, and they gathered together to discuss. Only a tall and strong, dark-faced deputy general sneered at the young man sitting on the general's shoulder.
This Zhuang Li is no military advisor at all; he's clearly a cowardly, yet incredibly arrogant and overbearing loser! He can't even feign death, so what real skills can he have?
"Mr. Zhuang, you are a military advisor, so why don't you tell us how we won the previous battle!" The black-faced deputy general shouted loudly.
The other soldiers also responded eagerly: "Yes, yes, Mr. Zhuang, please tell us clearly! We are still confused and don't understand what is going on!"
7480 was also very curious about this question. With his two broken arms hanging, he endured the humiliation and asked, "Master, how did you win? Did you pick up some golden finger while I wasn't paying attention?"
Apart from the Lord God's golden finger, what else can enable the host to win so beautifully in a desperate situation?
Zhuang Li touched his brow lightly with his slender fingertips and smiled quietly: "System, don't you understand? My biggest golden finger has always been here."
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