Dou Gu led 10,000 Han troops out of Yumen Pass, crossed Zhangye, slept in the open air, and after a month of hard trekking, quickly from Xianbei to the Xiongnu. It was the early spring, the sky was full of wind and snow, one after another, sprinkled on the vast plateau, covered in silver, the world was the same color, the Han army walked on the knee-deep snow with one foot and one foot shallow, and was miserable. However, they did not dare to be careless at all, and once they entered the enemy's territory, they should be ready to fight!

The sky and the earth were solemn, dark clouds pressed overhead, and white snowflakes fell silently. This is the tenth day of entry, there is no trace of the Huns, there is not a single footprint on the snow, and the sharp energy of the soldiers is slowly depleting. Dou Gu saw it in his eyes, and secretly complained in his heart: "When will this snow fall all over the sky?" Why can't you even see half of the Huns? Where did the damned Huns go? Was the decision really wrong? Geng Bing was calm, as if nothing had happened. Liu Zhang was happy in his heart, and secretly thought: "This is the end of not obeying me, hmph, do you think the Huns are easy to find?" Even if they are lucky enough to find it, how can this tired soldier who walks day and night be able to fight the Huns? However, his heart did not leak at all, but he frowned, and his old face was like a bitter gourd after autumn.

Geng Gong led his troops in front, his armor covered with snow, riding on a white horse, like a moving snowman. Behind him, followed by Wu Meng, Fan Qiang, and Li Kang. Fan Qiang said: "With such heavy snowfall, the Huns must have fled north." How to find it in the vast desert? It is no wonder that the army sent by Emperor Wu to the north has repeatedly failed to return. ”

"I think my brother must have been wrong this time, it was better to kill directly under the Cheshi City and fight to the death with them, it is better to suffer the death here. You see that we are tired to death one by one, if at this time, the Huns suddenly come over, we are in the snow, it is difficult to even walk, how to fight? Li Dare shouted.

Wu Meng frowned and said: "The Huns are afraid of the heavy snow, they must be unprepared, they will not ambush, so although the march is hard, it is safe, dare to worry too much." In "The Art of War", it is said that it can win in battle, but if it is long time, it will be blunt and sharp, if it is sieged, it will be forced, and if it is a long-term violent division, it will be insufficient for the country. When the ancients said this, it was obvious that they could not directly attack the chariot division. ”

Li Dang heard it in the clouds, blinked his big eyes, and said: "My brother is dropping the book bag again, but I don't understand any of them, what son and grandson are in the art of war, how can Lao Tzu be powerful, hum, Lao Tzu still has two sabers, hum, what is there to learn?" ”

Fan Qiang and Wu Meng laughed when they heard this, but Geng Gong fell into deep thought. Suddenly, there was a noise in the army, and Li Dangzheng was in a panic, and hurriedly said: "Brothers, wait for me to take a look first." Without waiting for Geng Gong to nod, he turned his horse's head and rode forward. Geng Gong said suddenly: "Dare to speak to my brother is very reasonable. If one of the Huns is proficient in military affairs, casually ambushes an army in the snow and suddenly kills it, how can we deal with it? ”

Wu Meng said: "I heard that the Huns are all fierce and barbaric, how can there be such a person of insight? Geng Gong said: "Know yourself and know your opponent, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles; Knowing oneself without knowing the other, one wins and one loses; I don't know who I am, I don't know myself, I will die in every battle. For thousands of years, the Xiongnu can live in the vast desert, and prosper, in vain, without wisdom and cunning, how can they do it? As far as I know, the eunuch Zhongxing sent by my Han Dynasty said that after the Xiongnu, this person was a handsome man. Now we don't know anything about the Huns, we can only say that we have one win and one loss. ”

The three of them chatted for a while, and saw that Li Kang had not returned, and the noise did not decrease. Geng Gong returned to the horse and said, "I'll go and have a look." After a while, he found a noisy place, only to see Li Dang grabbing a soldier's chest and scolding fiercely: "You pus, get up quickly, don't affect Lao Tzu to attack the Huns!" If you don't get up again, Lao Tzu will slap you to death! The man's face was pale, his eyes were closed, but he shouldn't, Li dared to be extremely angry, and slapped him on the left and right, endlessly, and the sound of snapping was endless.

"Stop!" Geng Gong dismounted and roared. Li Dare was afraid, stopped his hand, and hurriedly explained: "Brother, this one fell to the ground, I told him to get up and march, he pretended to be confused, but he just didn't leave!" Hmph, if everyone is like him, ants can go faster than us! Geng Gong stepped forward, touched the man's hands and face, only to feel extremely cold, and hurriedly took off his armor, wrapped it around the man, and said: "Li Kang, he is obviously frostbitten and can't walk, how can you beat him indiscriminately?" Li dared to open his eyes, but he was not convinced.

Geng Gong stared at him viciously, and then said: "Li Kang, you carry this person to the horse, and use your body temperature to warm him up, otherwise the military law will deal with it!" Li Dang was stunned for a moment, and thought: "This is not a woman, what is there to hug?" But after all, he did not have the guts, muttered his lips, did not say a word, and helplessly picked up the man, put him on the horse, and turned over on his horse, and hugged him tightly.

Geng Gong said coldly: "Li Kang, if this person has three longs and two shorts, I will ask you!" With that, he rode away. Li dared to shout: "Where is my brother going?" ”

"I'm going to see General Dou!" Geng Gong's voice came from the snow.

"General Dou, the ice and snow, the cold is pressing, our army is deep in snow, the horses can't gallop, the pain is unspeakable, the marching speed is slow, if the Huns come to attack, our army is exhausted, how can we fight? At that time, will it not be a complete defeat! When Geng Gong saw Dou Gu, he didn't have time to salute and called loudly.

Dou Gu has not yet spoken, Liu Zhang's bitter gourd face is full of anger: "At the beginning, General Dou listened to your rhetoric and led 10,000 soldiers to plunge into the hinterland of the Huns, but now the four fields are vast, icy and snowy, unable to advance and retreat, and the sharp spirit of the soldiers has decreased sharply. General Dou, the emperor gave you a sword before going on the expedition, in my opinion, he beheaded Geng Gong first to stabilize the army's heart! Make other plans. ”

Dou Gu's face was like frost, and he was sighing for the soldiers who were trapped in the cold and snow, and the dilemma, and after listening to Liu Zhang's words, he felt quite reasonable, so he stood by the sword, and looked at Geng Gong's body, and the killing machine suddenly started. Geng Gong was awe-inspiring and fearless, and replied loudly: "If Geng Gong is killed, he can defeat the Xiongnu and the Western Regions, why should Geng spare his life?" Dou Gu listened and thought: "Geng Gong really deserves to be the queen of the gate, and he has great courage!" He is the person left by the emperor to the prince for reuse, there is no big mistake now, how can he kill him? Then he sighed and said: "What is the benefit of cutting off Geng Gong, Yu Jun?" Let's hear what you have to say. ”

Liu Zhang remembered the bloody battle with the Xiongnu 20 years ago in his mind, and said: "Today's plan, taking advantage of the fact that the territory of the Xiongnu is not far away, if you return to the army, it is still too late." Then to the car division, gather troops to attack the city, there is still something to do. If I hesitate, the army goes deeper, the Huns suddenly arrive, I am a tired soldier, how can I not be defeated? Dou Gu moved and asked Geng Bing: "General Geng, General Liu is reasonable, I want to withdraw from the army, okay?" ”

Geng Bing stroked his belt and said slowly: "I heard that in the past, Taihang Wang Hui persuaded Emperor Wu to attack the Xiongnu, and Emperor Wu disagreed with the public and ordered Taihang Wang Hui, Taifu Gongsun He, Yushi Han Anguo, and Weiwei Li Guang to lead the Fourth Route Army to attack the Xiongnu in the north. The Han army entered the territory of the Xiongnu, searched for many days, did not find the Xiongnu, had to retreat, but retreated to the halfway, was invited by the Xiongnu to kill for a while, but lost countless soldiers. Emperor Wu was furious, first cut the king back to the common people, and then ordered someone to kill him in Dongshi. How is the general different from Wang Hui today? The last time I entered the Huns with the general, I only encountered some Hun soldiers. The whereabouts of the Huns are already difficult to find, so why panic? ”

When Dou Gu heard this, he was shocked into a cold sweat, glanced at Liu Zhang, and said: "General Geng's words are extremely true, the retreat army will inevitably be defeated, and once it enters the territory of the Xiongnu, there is no way to retreat, continue to look for the Xiongnu, there is still a glimmer of life." General Liu, the words of retiring from the army after that should not be mentioned again. ”

When Liu Zhang heard this, his old face was so red that he couldn't put it, so he couldn't wait to find a crack in the ground and get in. Geng Gong said: "General Dou, I heard that the climate of the Xiongnu in the north and south is the difference between the abyss, the south is snowy, and the north is pleasant. Where we are, with heavy snowfall, it must be the south. At this time, the Xiongnu were nowhere to be seen, and they must have gone to the warm north. The soldiers are fast, now our army has a lot of soldiers, the tail is not big, and the march is slow, it is better to divide the troops, look for the Huns, and notify each other, okay? ”

Liu Zhang heard the word "division of troops", remembered the battle of Yumen Pass, couldn't help but be afraid, and wanted to say no, but suddenly thought of Geng Guang, who was seriously injured and died, the words came to his mouth, swallowed it again, and said another word: "Geng Gong's words are very reasonable." The soldiers are not very mobile, not to mention the snow is several feet deep, and it is even more difficult to move an inch? ”

Dou Gu was very happy to see that Liu Zhang also agreed to divide the troops, and said, "General Liu, tell me, how to divide the troops?" ”

"The speed is fast if the soldiers are small, Geng Gong is the vanguard, but he can be ordered to lead three hundred, double the road, gallop into the north of the Huns, find the Huns, and then send someone to report, General Dou led the army to follow, and jointly attack the Huns, okay?"

"Three hundred troops?" Dou Gu hesitated a little, 10,000 Han troops entered the Xiongnu realm, and their strength was already small, let alone 300 soldiers?

"I'm willing to go!" Dou Guzheng hesitated, but Geng Gong had already agreed, "Ban Chao led thirty-six horsemen, and he still dared to enter the Western Regions, and pacified Shanshan and Yu Ning, not to mention that I have three hundred soldiers!" Geng Bing saw that his younger brother was so majestic, and he couldn't help but secretly admire.

"Great! It's worthy of being my big warrior, okay! Courageous and bloody! Dou Gu clapped his hands. Liu Zhang was stunned, he didn't expect Geng Gong to agree so quickly, so he stared at him intently, the more he looked at it, the more he felt that Geng Gong was like his father Geng Guang, "My younger brother ......" Liu Zhang suddenly felt heartache, and the former brotherhood came to his heart: "If there is no battle of Yumen Pass, wouldn't I love that brother and me?" Alas......"

"But I have a request." Geng Gong said.

"But it doesn't hurt to say it."

"Three hundred soldiers, half of them have no mounts, and the other half of the mounts are inferior horses, please General Dou pick three hundred good horses with me, and I will lead my troops day and night to rush to the north of the Huns to find the main force of the Huns!"

"Good!"

Geng Bing and Geng Gong walked side by side on the snow, and the heavy snow fell on them. The two were silent for a long time. Geng Bing finally couldn't bear it anymore and said, "Brother, this trip is dangerous, you must be careful." ”

"Brother, don't worry, no matter how dangerous it is, I won't disgrace the Geng family! It's just that...... Brother, I shouldn't have asked this, but if I go deep into the northern border of the Huns, I will die for a lifetime, and if I don't ask again, I am afraid it will become a regret for a lifetime! Brother, what is the relationship between General Liu Zhang and my father? ”

"This ......," Geng Bing muttered, "Actually, it's better for you to ask your aunt about this." Geng Gong frowned and said distressedly: "Before the expedition, I asked, but my mother refused to tell me, only saying that my father died on the battlefield and had nothing to do with others. ”

"Brother, when you grow up, you should understand your mother's good intentions! There have always been three generations of generals, attracting jealousy, you look at the Li family in the early Han Dynasty, Li Shangwei will die well. To Li Guangshi, although the war achievements are outstanding, but can not be crowned, this is a reason, Li Guang is a person, narrow-minded, will be repaid, unpopular, and finally because he can not be blamed by Wei Qing, he committed suicide with a horizontal knife, his younger brother Li Cai, the southern expedition and the northern war, the position to the third duke, and later because of the arrogance of merit, invaded the imperial mausoleum, and also committed suicide for crime. Li Guang's sons Li Danghu and Li Jiao have generals, but they died earlier than Li Guang, only the youngest son Li Dang survived in the world, and once followed Huo to attack the Xiongnu Zuoxian King, and was named the Marquis of Guannei because of his military exploits, but he remembered his father's hatred and injured Wei Qing. Li Danghu's son Li Ling was originally a rare general, but he descended to the Xiongnu, and Li Dang's son Li Yu was involved in the witch disaster of the prince and died unjustly. Since then, the Li clan has been wiped out, where is there anyone who is still a general? My Geng family has been a general for three generations, and so far there is nothing to do, which is naturally the emperor's sage, trust, and one point, my Geng family is tolerant and humble, cautious, low-key, dedicated to the country, selfless, only fighting in the DPRK, never resenting others, never involved in internal disputes. Brother, you have to keep this in mind. ”

"I don't know what my brother said. The more I grew up, the more I wanted to find out the cause of my father's death. Alas, every time I look up at the sky, I think of my father who died early, and I can't help myself. But I have the heart to serve the country, and I can show it every day! ”

Geng Bing sighed: "Brother, you are still young and have not experienced many things, when you are your brother's age, you will know." Well, it's going to get dark, you hurry back, pick a horse at night, and set off tomorrow, you have to remember that the soldiers are fast, and the fighters are fleeting! ”

Geng Gong resigned, Geng Bing looked at each other for a long time, and the snowflakes fell all over his head, like a snowman. He wasn't worried about Geng Gong's trip to fight, the big deal, the horse leather shroud, the Geng family fought on the battlefield, and there were fewer dead? What he is worried about is that Geng Gong is strong in blood and arrogant, he will inevitably be envied by others, and it will be a matter of time before he is excluded, in case he is wiped out like the Li family, how can he be worthy of his ancestors and ancestors? Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered Ma Fang, remembered the grudge between the Geng family and the Ma family, and couldn't help sighing: "Is it really ominous for the third generation to be a general?" ”