Li Xianzhi and You Shilu talked for a long time, and unconsciously talked about literature, chatting about some poems of the ancients and articles of today, nothing I don't know. The two admired each other. As he was talking, a small colonel came to report: "Lord Qiqi Garrison, in this battle, a total of 21 bandits were killed, two people were captured, and seven good horses were obtained, and a lot of gains were made. After a pause, he said, "The arrows in three of them are not our brothers', they must be the sons of this son." As he spoke, he held in front of him a bloodstained shaft without an arrowhead.

You Shilu took the arrow shaft and looked at it, it was made of ordinary bamboo branches, and the appearance was rough, not the "three uneven" commonly used in the army, he was shocked, and said to Li Xianzhi: "Shilu is clumsy, I never thought that Your Excellency is both civil and military!" ”

Li Xianzhi hurriedly said humbly: "But if you learn a few arrows roughly, how dare you call it civil and military, and the general praised it falsely." ”

You Shilu has a generous temperament, and the two of them have been talking for a long time, always honoring each other, and they have long been impatient, so they said: "You and I are fellow villagers and like-minded, why don't you be called brothers from today on?" ”

Li Xianzhi couldn't ask for it, and hurriedly said: "The little brother has long had this intention, but he doesn't dare to be presumptuous, and now he is loved, and he is willing to worship the general as a brother!" ”

The two hit it off, each rejoiced, and talked about the year, You Shilu was Chinese New Year's Eve, and Li Xian was twenty-one years old. Li Xianzhi worships You Shilu as his brother. So they chose an earthen platform to make an altar and put dead horses as sacrifices. The scribes who accompanied the army were invited to sing. He kowtowed to the sky and swore an oath. That's it, and kowtowed again. Then, You Shilu got up, received two bows from Li Xian, and officially married Jinlan.

After the bowing was over, You Shilu helped Li Xianzhi up and asked, "I don't know what the virtuous brother is going to do?" ”

Li Xianzhi said: "Although my brother learns literature, he deeply admires the use of troops by ancient and modern generals, and he thought about traveling to the border city to see some knowledge, and now that my brother is patrolling the border under the emperor's order, why don't you take my younger brother for a ride?" ”

You Shilu said with a smile: "That's just right, the foolish brother loves the talent of the virtuous brother, and he is about to ask for advice." ”

Li Xianzhi happily obeyed his fate. As he was talking, another group of military horses arrived, and it was two thousand generals under You Shilu, each with a hundred cavalry.

The two parties gathered, and You Shilu ordered the digging stove to rebel, and cooked a few dead horses on the ground to eat, and had the right to make lunch. After a while, after dinner, You Shilu set off and headed for Juyong Pass.

At nightfall, to Juyong Pass, to change the diploma, the defenders opened the gate and entered the pass to rest the horse.

That night, I rested overnight in the castle, and the next morning, I set off for the customs. Before leaving, You Shilu took out a piece of paper from the military department, and asked the general guarding the pass to allocate two more infantry thousands, and four generals with a total of 800 foot soldiers.

Out of Juyong Pass, through Badaling, is often the place where the Mongols haunt, You Shilu ordered a strict order, and sent scouts to reconnoiter everywhere to prevent attacks.

Although Li Xianzhi grew up in a border town since he was a child, it was the first time he had been out of the customs. In front of you is the battlefield where the Ming army and the Mongolian cavalry have been fighting for many years, and as far as the eye can see, Liao is uninhabited, only the reckless wilderness. Thinking of the Mongolian cavalry that might appear at any time, Li Xian's heart not only did not have fear, but there was a trace of excitement, as if he had remembered the sound of the golden drum in his ears......

Just when Li Xianzhi was immersed in the scenery of the battlefield, You Shilu sat on his horse with a long lance in his hand, and sighed: "When I think of Taizu's founding of the country, the thousands of miles outside Juyong Pass are all under my Ming Dynasty. Now, the king retreats, retreats and defends himself, and the Mongolian iron cavalry is repeatedly forced under the pass, which is really a shame for our generals! ”

Li Xianzhi thought that at this time, it was Wei Zhongxian's arrival in the dynasty and the traitor was in power, so he felt and said: "The emperor is not in the court, the power of the eunuch is autocratic, and the national fortune is so difficult, even if Wei and Huo are reborn, what can they do?" ”

Before the words fell, You Shilu sighed lightly: "Brother Xian, silence, there are many people, don't invite trouble because of words." ”

Li Xianzhi knew that he was speechless, and hurriedly looked around, and saw that the soldiers were all a few steps away, and there were only two Li Ruyi and Li Xi'er beside him, so he relieved his heart and said, "I was careless for a while, thank you brother for reminding me." ”

You Shilu said in a low voice: "The world is like this, the virtuous brother should be careful left and right." Li Xianzhi thanked him. In a moment, the scouts returned, and nothing was going on.

You Shilu ordered him to set off, first to the north through Yongning, to the boundary of the Great Wall, to cross the Great Wall, and then turn to the east, and travel thirty miles a day, that is, to camp in the camp.

Li Xianzhi accompanied the army for food and lodging, and for many days, he became more and more familiar with the affairs of the army. On the evening of this day, the camp was set up again, Li Xianzhi rested in the small tent specially allocated by You Shilu, and Li Ruyi and Li Xi'er went out to fetch water. The firehead brought dinner for three people—a bowl of brown rice each, a spoonful of beans in sauce, and a small piece of roast horse meat.

Li Xianzhi was already hungry in his stomach, and he couldn't care about the smell of soy beans and the fishy smell of horse meat, so he devoured a bowl, and just put down the bowl, Ruyi and Xi'er each came back with a bag of cold river water.

The two scholars were also hungry and couldn't stand it, so they put down the water bladder and went to the rice bowl. Li Xianzhi washed it with cold water and hastily, and lay down on a pile of grass to sleep.

Early the next morning, the horns sounded in the camp, and the sergeants got up, packed up their wagons and horses, fed the animals, replenished the water bladders, and set off on their journey.

After You Shilu finished disposing of military affairs, he came to Li Xianzhi and asked, "The army is hard, can you still get used to it?" ”

Li Xianzhi said: "Brother Cheng remembers, everything is fine." ”

You Shilu said: "This morning the scouts came back to report to me, there is a small group of Mongolian cavalry activities in front, I'm afraid they have already discovered us, if they come to disturb and fight, the sword and gun have no eyes, the virtuous brother might as well go back to the pass first, I will send a team of cavalry to escort." ”

Li Xianzhi said: "Brother, don't worry about me, I have also learned the art of riding and archery, if you really fight, you can just help my brother." ”

You Shilu was originally a generous and righteous person, and when he saw Li Xianzhi say this, he didn't insist, and said: "That's okay, you and my brother can fight the enemy side by side." "With that, he ordered the camp to be pulled.

After walking for a few more days, scouts continued to bring the enemy's situation, and more than 1,000 Mongolian cavalry were following not far away. Governor You Shilu was not good, and before he had traveled thirty miles that day, he ordered him to set up camp.

Knowing that danger was coming, the soldiers worked hard to build a barracks, and put their tents in them, and their cattle in the middle, and then dug a trench two feet wide around the perimeter......

That night, You Shilu ordered the camp to be lit up, patrolled and lookout, and everything was as usual, and ordered the soldiers to distribute arrows and dry food to prepare for battle. In the middle of the night, he gathered the general assembly of the infantry and cavalry teams in the tent of the Chinese army. After a long time, the accounts came out and each returned to the team.

Li Xianzhi lingered outside the tent for a long time, anxious, and saw everyone coming out, wanting to enter to see You Shilu, but was stopped outside the tent by the guards.

The two argued for a few words, but You Shilu in the tent had already heard it, and ordered the guards to let Li Xianzhi in. Li Xianzhi entered the tent and asked, "Is there going to be a war?" What did the brother do? ”

You Shilu said with a smile: "There are indeed Mongolian cavalry following, but if you can't fight, you can't help me at all." Virtuous brother, please sit quietly, no matter what, the foolish brother will ensure that you are well. ”

Li Xianzhi could hear that You Shilu was prevaricating himself, but he was not easy to say clearly, and with a drum in his heart, he was about to leave and return to the account.

At this time, the copper kettle sitting on the pottery stove on one side "hissed", and streams of white gas erupted from the long spout.

You Shilu pointed to the copper kettle and said: "The pot is boiling the mountain spring water I specially found, just to make tea, it is better to accompany the foolish brother to have a cup and then leave." As he spoke, he took two black porcelain bowls and put them on the low table, took out an oil-paper bag from his arms, carefully opened it, and there was a bag of tea inside, which was poured into the two black porcelain bowls, picked up the copper kettle, and washed the boiling water into the tea bowl, and immediately the tea fragrance overflowed.

You Shilu took a deep breath and said, "Good tea." Sit down. So saying, he put the copper kettle on the ground and sat down behind the table.

Li Xianzhi couldn't refuse, found a Hu bed, and sat opposite You Shilu to drink tea. While the two were drinking tea, You Shilu provoked tea-related allusions and chatted for a while. After adding water three times, the taste of tea faded, and the sound of the husband sounded outside the tent - it was already time to make a child.

Suddenly, a cool breeze blew from behind, and a scout wearing armor and carrying a three-pole command flag crashed into the tent, knelt on one knee and said, "Your Excellency, the Mongolian cavalry has followed all the way here, but it seems that they have no intention of attacking, and they set up camp when it is dark. ”

You Shilu hurriedly asked, "How many people are there, and how far apart are they?" ”

The scout replied, "One or two thousand people have gathered every day, thirty miles away in the dry river. ”

You Shilu pondered for a moment and said: "They are all cavalry, thirty miles will come in a moment, and they will not attack at this time, but they will wait for the dawn." Turning to a smile, he said, "The other army is doing as I expected." With that, he waved his hand and ordered the scout to stand down.

Li Xian was confused and couldn't help but ask the reason. You Shilu said with a smile: "Brother Xian, don't worry, I'll see you later." As soon as the words fell, an officer with a helmet and armor walked in, and Li Xianzhi recognized it as the commander of You Shilu's subordinate in charge of the Chinese army.

The general fist saluted and said, "Lord Qiqi garrison, the four hundred infantry troops escorting the baggage car have already gone first, please ask the lord how to instruct?" ”

You Shilu asked, "How long have you been walking?" The general manager replied: "Half an hour has passed, and I must have walked ten miles away." ”

After listening to the conversation between the two, Li Xianzhi probably guessed that You Shilu was planning to retreat, but to his surprise, a team of hundreds of people drove with vehicles and livestock, and he didn't hear any sound, so he couldn't help but admire You Shilu's ability to manage the army.

At this time, You Shilu said to the general: "Since the infantry has gone far, you will lead the Chinese army to retreat, and I will lead the cavalry to break the rear." ”

The general manager hurriedly said: "The adult is the main general in the army, how can he be in danger, it is better for the adult to go first, and the last general will lead the people to break off." ”

You Shilu said: "My army has few soldiers, if I go first, the army will definitely be unstable, if it is taken by the enemy, the whole army has no physiology, you will implement it immediately." ”

The general saw You Shilu's strict order, so he had to act according to the order. You Shilu said to Li Xianzhi again: "The rear army is dangerous, the virtuous brother is not a person in the army, he should not be in danger, you can also go first with the Chinese army." ”

Li Xianzhi said: "The younger brother is trying to see my brother use troops to defend against the enemy, so I will go with my brother." ”

You Shilu said with a smile: "The two armies are fighting, and the virtuous brother is not afraid?" ”

Li Xianzhi said: "Brother is not afraid, I am not afraid." ”

You Shilu listened, and laughed: "Okay, foolish brother, I didn't see the wrong person, the virtuous brother really has some heroism, even so, you and my brother can walk side by side." "After that, the Chinese army was ordered to set off quietly, and the drums and patrols in the camp were as usual. The Chinese army took the rest of the infantry and the lieutenant officers out of the camp and sneaked south.

You Shilu waited for the Chinese army to disappear into the night, but still returned to the tent, and said to Li Xian: "Brother Xian is not sleepy, it is better to sit with Brother Yu again." ”

Li Xianzhi readily agreed. You Shilu personally brewed two bowls of tea, then took out a chessboard and put it on the table and said: "Let's play a game, right as a pastime." Brother Xian, please first," he said, pushing the chess basket containing the sunspot in front of Li Xianzhi.

Over the years, Li Xianzhi has focused on his career, although he has learned some chess skills, he is not very proficient. At that moment, the two set up a game to play chess, but in just an hour, Li Xianzhi lost three games in a row. Then he pushed the chessboard and said with a smile: "The younger brother is not good at chess, but the elder brother laughed." ”

You Shilu laughed a few times and said, "To put it mildly, the foolish brother plays chess, and he has never met an opponent in recent years. It's almost dawn, and it's time for us to go. "Put on the battle robes, hang up the swords and go out of the tent, and more than 200 cavalry of the two thousand generals have been assembled and waiting outside the tent.

Li Xianzhi went back to the tent to clean up, and saw Li Ruyi and Li Xi'er lying on the grass bed sleeping heartlessly, and stretched out his feet to remind them. The two scholars rubbed their eyes and sat up, unaware. After a while, Fang woke up, got up and helped pack up his things, tied two burdens, and one on his back.

The three masters and servants went out of the tent, and You Shilu ordered the pull, and all the sergeants did not ride horses, but only led them carefully, and abandoned the camp title and left. After walking about five miles in the dark, You Shilu ordered to get on their horses and march forward together, chasing the front army and the Chinese army that had withdrawn first.