The snow finally stopped.

Although the snow on the road had not yet melted, it was very unfavorable for the movement of the brigade of military horses, but Qin Mubai didn't want to wait any longer. He sent 3,000 foot soldiers to set off one day in advance, cleared the snow and cut trees in front of the road, and immediately led 60,000 troops and 40,000 Hui Iron Cavalry to Lanzhou.

Su Dingfang and the commander of the Western Turkic Southern Court, Ba Ximi, sent each other together, and returned ten miles away. Qin Mubai said goodbye to Su Dingfang that after he led the army back this time, he would see what the wind direction of the court was. It is estimated that there will only be two extremes, one is that the Tang Dynasty was finally completely enraged and raised up a large army to launch a decisive battle against Tibet; The other is that the imperial court changed the strategy of the Western Regions and the diplomatic policy of treating Tibet, which also means that his military and political career of Qin Mubai may come to an end from then on.

Su Dingfang said that it is estimated that the former is more likely. Because the current Tang Emperor is a powerful and domineering lord, it is impossible to stop the war because of the losses suffered by the attack on Western Xinjiang. On the contrary, if Lanzhou had been defeating the Garqin Mausoleum and could not get the slightest advantage, the emperor might have won the victory, so as to achieve the goal of seeking peace by war, saving national strength, and reducing casualties.

Qin Mubai thought about it for a while, Su Dingfang's analysis was not unreasonable. But above the temple, there have always been treacherous clouds, and anything can happen. Qin Mubai told Su Dingfang to "prepare with one red heart and two hands". It is good that the imperial court does not change its strategy and national policy; If it is changed, the original Lanzhou generals may have to be replaced, because Su Dingfang must first prepare to "protect himself and get out of harm".

"Hey!" Su Dingfang sighed like this, "We are the generals, and we will take our brothers to fight bloody battles on the battlefield, whether we win or lose, whether we live or die, and in the end, we have to worry about the court settling accounts with us." The world only says that the generals are majestic, and who is wise for the difficulties and bitterness of the generals? ”

"Actually, there is nothing to complain about, Hugh said that being a general, even being an emperor and a minister also have their own difficulties, and it is not easy. In short, take care, brother! Qin Mubai smiled helplessly, then said goodbye to Su Dingfang and led the army away.

The 100,000 army lined up in a snake formation of dozens of miles and marched towards Shanzhou. Shanzhou and Yumen Pass are separated by thousands of miles, and the road is desolate and full of the Gobi Desert, which is the most difficult section of the Silk Road. Now it was snowing heavily, and the road was unusually cold, and the march was quite difficult. Although there were several thousand foot soldiers in front of the road, the advance of the army was rather slow. The wheels of the loaded grain and grass were stuck in the frozen soil and mud, and they couldn't get up quickly. I just didn't throw away these heavy and light soldiers to travel quickly, otherwise at night, the severe cold dripping into ice on the Great Gobi and the cold wind cutting into the bone marrow could freeze all the horses to death.

Ten days passed, and the army had only advanced more than 300 miles despite all its might. Qin Mubai couldn't help but feel a little anxious in his heart.

That night, the army camped and prepared to spend the night. Qin Mubai returned to the barracks, ate two flatbreads with hot tea boiled in snow, and lit the oil lamp to look at some of the various military folds sent by the generals, ready to approve.

Chen Yan quietly cleaned up the bed, and boiled hot water for Qin Mubai to let him soak his feet and relieve his fatigue.

"Okay, I'll do it myself." Qin Mubai smiled gratefully.

"You're busy, leave your feet to me." Chen Yanwan smiled, and went to take off Qin Mubai's shoes and socks.

Qin Mubai's heart was warm, he smiled happily and nodded, letting Chen Yan wash his feet for him, still concentrating on reviewing the military folds.

"Looks like we're going to have to stop for a day or two." Qin Mubai muttered to himself, "The firewood reserves of the army are almost running out. This kind of ghost weather, if there is no firewood to heat and boil water at night, it will kill people. ”

"It's really not easy to fight on this march." Chen Yan said, "It's really hard to be a soldier. Let's just talk about you, if you are in Chang'an, when will it be your turn to eat this kind of shoddy tea and rice? Anyway, it's time for you to take a shower again. ”

"That's it!" Qin Mubai grinned, "It's a big deal that you don't take a bath, and none of us will dislike anyone." Isn't there a shortage of firewood now? Just right, you can save it. ”

"you! I'll tell you the truth, I'll scrub the water for washing your feet first. Chen Yan scolded angrily, "No wonder the Gaoyang Princesses want to scold you for being a 'thief military academy and a stinky man', it turns out that being a soldier is really stinky!" ”

"Scrubbed, huh? That's good, that's good. Qin Mubai smiled warmly and **.

Chen Yan shook her head helplessly and smiled, but there was a hint of blush on her face.

Qin Mubai saw it in his eyes, and the beauty was in his heart. The joy of the bed with Chen Yan is the most hearty. If she hadn't been with her these days, I guess I would have suffocated to death. As a mother, she perfectly integrates the shyness of a good woman with the charm of a mature woman. Wanting to refuse is also the most provocative, and when it comes to the hearty mood, her initiative and wildness are enough to make every man's bones and legs weak.

After washing her feet, Chen Yan picked up the basin and left, and when she turned around, she murmured softly, "Go to bed early." ”

Qin Mubai was a little dry and couldn't sit still. Hearing the sound of Chen Yan folding the futon in the back bedroom, Qin Mubai was about to blow out the lamp and go in to rest, but heard someone outside asking, "Did the young marshal ever sleep?" ”

"My subordinates don't know. The subordinates didn't dare to disturb it so late at night, and saw that the light was still on in the young marshal's tent. ”

When Qin Mubai heard this, it was Xue Rengui who came. So he opened the tent and said, "Rengui, I haven't slept yet, come in!" ”

"Excuse me!" Xue Rengui confessed his sin and entered the account.

"Is there something wrong?"

"The army's supplement gives a little problem." Xue Rengui got straight to the point, "There is a lack of firewood for cooking and forage for horses. In the afternoon, when I was just setting up camp, I had sent a few teams out to look for the mountains and forests, and with good luck, I found an oasis on the Gobi Desert. So I thought, are we going to pause for a day or two and restock? ”

Qin Mubai immediately smiled and said, "Rengui, I've said it all, I can't have an arm like you by my side." Not only are you invincible, but you're also able to handle the smallest things well. I have just received news from the rear army, and I am about to order to rest in place for two days and send someone to look for firewood, but you have taken care of the matter beforehand. ”

"Mu Bai has won the award." Xue Rengui smiled and said, "Actually, these are all my duties. With a force of 100,000 people, there are so many big and small things that the young marshal can't all carry alone. We are subordinates, and if we can share it, we will share a little. Actually, there are some things that I can't figure out in my heart, and I want to ask you for advice. ”

"Don't dare to advise, let's talk casually!" Qin Mubai invited him to sit down, poured tea, and added a few pieces of charcoal to the fire.

"Mu Bai, when I left that day, I heard the conversation between you and Dingfang, and I was deeply touched." Xue Rengui said, "Xue Mouzhi has always thought that a man's husband wants to gallop on the battlefield and make meritorious contributions, expand the territory and protect the people." Xue has always thought that my Tang Dynasty is a radical and energetic dynasty, and His Majesty is also a wise and martial master. Therefore, he is willing to join the army, and is willing to spill his blood into the territory of the Tang Dynasty! …… However, after the incident of Hou Junji, I suddenly felt that being a general was actually quite sad. In other words, if I were Hou Junji, most of them would not be able to watch the Garqin Mausoleum and let him flee to the western Xinjiang to make trouble. But just made such a mistake, which caused irreparable losses, and Hou Junji also regarded himself as mortal, and the net was broken. ”

"Things are sad for themselves!" Qin Mubai smiled bitterly and said, "Actually, Hou Junji is hateful, cute, and even more pitiful. He is like a lone wolf walking alone in the desolate wilderness, with blood and pride, but no one can understand it. His personality is more perverse, which makes him unacceptable. Otherwise, with his ability to lead troops to fight and the great military exploits he had made before, how could he fall into the situation of Sima in Liangzhou? ”

"Xue is also very dull, he doesn't know how to be an official, and he doesn't know how to be clever and tactful." Xue Rengui frowned slightly, and said lightly, "Is it that Xue Mou will also end up like Hou Junji one day?" ”

"Rengui, are you thinking too much? When did you become so forward-looking? Qin Mubai said with a smile.

"Xue, I just want to be a real general and charge into battle to protect the country and the people." Xue Rengui smiled slightly and said, "I don't save money, I don't covet women, I don't buy land, I don't seek nobility, I just want to concentrate on leading troops to fight." This is both my retribution and my enjoyment. Following the great marshal to the west, until today, I finally realized what a real war is and what a real soldier is. And Hou Junji is the other extreme! ”

Qin Mubai nodded lightly and said, "Actually, Hou Junji is an outstanding general. But he has too many **, too big ambitions, and after making a name for himself on the battlefield, he still wants to gain more fame and fortune above the court. However, he did not have a brilliant eye and mind for politics. It is not so much that he lost to the eldest grandson Wuji, but that he lost to his own ambition and **. Therefore, Rengui, you don't have the sadness of the rabbit dying and the fox is sad. You are different from Hou Junji, he is an unruly greedy and hungry wolf, but you are a rare thousand-mile horse in the world. Even a hunter will only aim his bow and arrow at a hungry wolf, and will not be stupid enough to shoot a thousand miles of horses. “

Xue Rengui grinned, "Mu Bai, you praise me too much!" “

"It's not a false praise, it's a big truth." Qin Mubai smiled slightly and said, "There is a saying that if you are in place, character determines success or failure. In fact, a person's ability can be cultivated, and no one is born to be a general. But the personality is easy to change. Hou Junji's temperament determined his ending today. Actually, he's worth it. Dafeichuan, 50,000 captives were buried with him; There are tens of thousands of brothers who will accompany him to do the last madness and kill the plateau. I don't know how much bloody things he will do when he goes to the plateau, but I think it must be an unprecedented catastrophe for Tibet. Because before, no army had killed the Tibetan Plateau. Hou Junji is going against the odds, attacking him unprepared. Now, once his butcher's knife is raised, he never puts it down. Unless, someone cuts off his head. ”

"I understand...... Xue Rengui nodded lightly, "Hou Junji, he wants to use the last bit of his life to do something that others dare not do." His arrogance and wildness are truly amazing! In other words, although there will be many criticisms of his behavior, he is actually a frank and simple man, he has always pursued what he wants unscrupulously, although it is a bit extreme, but I think he is a bloody man with a true temperament! - Even if he is a real villain, he is better than a hypocrite! ”

"Agreed." Qin Mubai nodded approvingly, "When I took the initiative to visit Hou Junji and decided to use him, many people advised me not to do this, so as not to raise tigers in the future. But I think the same as you, even if he is a real villain, he is better than a hypocrite! - Actually, I admire Hou Junji very much! What he is doing now, I haven't thought about it, but I can't do it, and I don't dare to do it. If we want to melt the nation, how can we do it without the weeds and roots that war brings? Can you do it by relying on those literati in the temple to sit and talk about the war of words? In the final analysis, it is still up to us who are soldiers to play the role of the opposite executioner! War is all about death, and no matter how you die, it's all death! War, where there is no real justice at all, is murder! If I don't kill the enemy, the enemy will kill me - Hou Junji is a real general! He clearly understood the rules of the game, and then ...... He let it go! ”

Xue Rengui's thick eyebrows were deeply locked, and he was speechless.

Kill the enemy more than once or twice; Hugh said that the casualties after the victory or defeat of the two armies, even those who died directly under his Xue Rengui, there were already quite a few. Facing the war and participating in the war, but he may not understand the true meaning and essence of the war - Qin Mubai's words just now actually gave him some shock!

War, where there is no distinction between good and evil, is the result of people with different positions, artificially glorified or demonized; War is a life-and-death struggle, winning and losing, and then the surviving people write everything about the war.

And the general, in fact, is the machine of war. Like a cold knife on a soldier's body, there is no distinction between good and evil. The so-called "sword of justice" and "butcher's knife of evil" are artificially given attributes.

"Hou Junji is a real general. He understands the essence of war, and he does not hesitate to carry out his mission as a general! However, there will be many people who have nothing to do with war, or outsiders who do not understand war, who judge him from different moral angles, refute him, and give him a disgraceful evaluation! After a while, Xue Rengui suddenly said, "This is really unfair!" ”

Just as there are no absolute good and bad people in the world, there is no real fairness. Even if it is something that has already happened in history, people will have different views and opinions about it at different times and from different moral perspectives. Today's heroes may be tomorrow's sinners; A former traitor may suddenly be overturned one day and become a hero of a certain type. Qin Mubai smiled slightly and said, "So since we have chosen the road from Rong, we will go down calmly." I'll send you a word, take responsibility for the things in front of you, what do you think about the aftermath? ”

"Hou Junji, he is more straightforward and free than us, he did it like this! - What a man! Xue Rengui said this sentence between his teeth.

Qin Mubai smiled and said: "Rengui, you are still a shallow entry, and most of the contacts are in the military. But even as a general, his roots are above the court, because war is an extension of politics. So you have to understand and accept a lot of things slowly. The battle will be fought one day. The day when the horse is released on Nanshan is the time when we wait for the general to return to the court. By that time, we will be not only generals, but also courtiers and politicians. We have to face the game of politics, and we can't escape it

"Xue got up and didn't know how to be an official, in the future, I can only learn slowly with you." Xue Rengui smiled slightly embarrassedly, got up and said, "I'm really sorry to disturb you for so long in the middle of the night!" Recently, there has always been a dark cloud in Xue's heart, and I began to doubt my ambitions and ideals. Tonight, a conversation with you is better than reading a book for ten years, and now Xue's heart is much more relaxed. There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, and Xue will follow Mu Bai step by step! ”

Qin Mubai laughed, "If Brother Xue isn't worried that I'll sell you, just come along!" ”

"Don't be afraid!" Xue Rengui also smiled, "Xue Mou has no strength, but the amount of food is huge!" Sell it, sell it, then someone has to dare to buy it! ”

"Haha!"

The two laughed and talked for a while, and Xue Rengui said goodbye and left. When I walked, my steps were obviously much lighter.

Qin Mubai twisted his eyebrows and pondered, Hou Junji's matter has already begun to affect the military morale of the Kansai Army. If the court's judgment and handling of Hou Junji is too cruel and unfair, it will inevitably chill some people's hearts. After all, in addition to the 'unwarranted' rebellion in Hou Junji's life, he has always been working diligently for Datang, and he has made a lot of contributions. But his reputation outside is incomparably stinking; His fate is also tragic.

Even if he dies in the future, he may not get the respect he deserves.

"This may be fate, life, and humanity. The three great gods of secularity, ethics, and Gangchang are really not to be provoked. Qin Mubai secretly smiled bitterly, shook his head, and sighed, "Hou Junji, there are only thirteen words in the letter you wrote to me - 'The one who is a confidant dies, and Hou does not live up to Qin Sanlang'!" ”

"You already understand why I sent you to Dafeichuan, not Xue Wanjun or myself...... It's like a house that is often visited by thieves, and the owner will keep a fierce dog on the door of the house to guard the house; The difference is that I have a hungry wolf on a leash that I can't leash at all! ”

"Maybe in the future I will be a hero in their mouths; But one day people will understand that you are the real hero! ”

"What a success! …… Among the bones, there are not only enemies, but also their own compatriots! ”

"This thousand-year-old history and thousands of miles of rivers and mountains are like a chessboard, stripped of the skin of the characters dressed up on the surface, in fact, we are all just insignificant chess pieces! The difference is that some pieces are captured early and disappear on the board; Some of the pieces will be left at the end, marking the so-called winner or loser......"

"Your death will make my life complete; Your sins have made my name perfect; Your deeds have fulfilled my merits! ”

"These thirteen words are your oath and last words, as well as the shackles and unrepayable sins of my life! It's like my father's death ......"