Duan Xiu is dead?

When he heard the news, Shang Cheng was discussing the battle plan for the next day with several important generals. His first reaction was to suspect that he had misheard. Duan Xiu, the old man in Shanxi who is always indistinguishable from the amiable "goose me" on weekdays, the old man who relies on the old man and sells the old man and calls himself "the old man", pinching his nose and drinking himself, will he actually die in battle? That's impossible; When pigs fly! How is this impossible? He is the commander of General Ning Yuan, even if he pursues the enemy, he doesn't need to go up in person......

But he also knew in his heart that it was true. No one would joke about it, and no one would dare to joke about it.

He stood in front of the map, bowing his head with a heavy heart. For a long time, he didn't say a word. The bits and pieces of his dealings with the old general passed through his mind like a movie picture. Although the old general was too cautious in military affairs, and made some mistakes as a result, these shortcomings did not hide the other good qualities of the man. Even if he was angry about Duan Xiu's procrastination and sluggishness in military operations, this was official business, which did not affect his feelings for the old general. He respected the old soldier, respected the old general, and at the same time thanked the old man for his gratitude and respect from the bottom of his heart......

He and Duan Xiu have not worked together for a long time, but the old general's help to him is incomparable to anyone else, so to speak, if there is no Duan Xiu, he would not have been able to regularize Yan Shanwei's government affairs in less than a year, let alone let the Yanshan Chinese army, which was heavily damaged when Mo Gan broke through, recover so quickly, or even better than at the beginning. And when he had some unrealistic ideas and practices in military affairs, the old man did not point out his mistakes directly, but tactfully reminded him without a trace, and even if he himself was sometimes unaware of his mistakes, the old man would correct them without a trace in carrying them out, and put the credit for these things on him. He was particularly touched by this! Not to mention the old general's teachings and guidance on weekdays, which will benefit him for a lifetime!

Now, the old man, with his great selfless character, is gone, forever......

Although Shang Cheng ordered the news of Duan Xiu's death as soon as he received the battle report from Zuoying, the paper could not contain the fire, and the news of the old general's martyrdom quickly spread in the camp. For the officers and men of the Yanshan Chinese Army, this is tantamount to a thunderbolt on a sunny day. The old general has been in the army for 47 years, of which 43 years of spring and autumn are in Yanshanwei, and the time he has been guarding Yanshan is longer than the history of Yanshanwei. Forty-three years have passed, he has changed from a small soldier with a runny nose to a veteran with a gray beard, and in the three armies of Yanshan, I don't know how many sentinels, battalion schools, and brigade commanders have listened to his teachings, and I don't know how many soldiers have received his favor. The moment the news came, I don't know how many people shed tears. Many people took out their treasured liquor to wash their wounds and save their lives, poured a bowl, and laid it in the grass outside the tent, hoping that the old man's heroic soul would come to taste the wine he praised when he was alive......

It wasn't until the end of the second watch that Guo Biao finished discussing military affairs with Shang Cheng, dragged out of the tent with tired steps, and prepared to go around several battalions and brigades on the west side of the camp.

As soon as he came out of the tent, a cold and wet cool breeze came to his face, slipping through the cracks in the leaves of his neck and nails, and he shivered. Only then did he notice that he didn't know when the night fog had started.

The fog is thick; Even if a torch was lit within a few steps around the tent, the scene beyond a dozen paces became blurry and illegible, and one could only deduce where the people were and where the tents were by the flow and drift of the fog and the general outline of things. The torches tied to the horses were poured with oil, and the fire was fierce, and the flames jumped a few feet high in the crackling sound, wrapped in black smoke and swaying in the wind, and wherever the fire swayed, the fog dissipated a little, but as soon as the flames moved away, the white mist immediately filled back. In the thick fog, the short commands of the sentries came and went, and the rattles of the patrol soldiers were scarcely gapless; On the west side, craftsmen were making ordnance overnight, and the copper chisels and hammers were beaten on the wood. The wall was still being strengthened in the north, and soldiers shouted slogans to transport heavy wooden piles for reinforcing the arrows of the walled towers......

Guo Biao stood outside the tent and listened for a while, and a knowing smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Strengthening the camp and strengthening the defense was Shang Cheng's idea. Although most people at the military meeting just now did not think it was necessary, he insisted on doing so. His reasons are simple: he never tires of deceit. Although everyone in the generals of the Zhao army knew that what the Zhao army wanted in tomorrow's battle was a quick victory, but the Turks were still in the dark, and he wanted to leave an impression on the enemy, that is, the Zhao army did not think about going down with a drum, but was preparing for a protracted war.

Although Guo Biao could not see the busy scene in the camp due to the heavy fog, he was still very satisfied with the noisy sound of a large family's newly built house. Well, if he had been a general on the other side of the Tutz, he would have fallen for this; Oh, this blind businessman not only has vision and calculation, but also has some ability to fight; Xiao Laoshuai is right, this person does look like a veteran leader who is used to fighting. He even compared it in his heart, if he and Shang Cheng were opponents, what chance would he have of winning?

But he quickly gave up on this "somewhat boring" idea.

He wrapped himself in a cotton robe outside the iron armor, and walked to his war horse in a few steps, and when he was moving the saddle and stepping on the stirrups, he suddenly felt a little frivolous under his feet, and he couldn't climb on the horse for the first time. He realized that he hadn't closed his eyes for days, and that he was tired from the inside out, and that the feeling of exhaustion was like a straw rope that bound him so tightly that he even listened to his own hands and feet. His age is not forgiving, after all, he is in his early fifties, and no matter how much he takes care of his body, his spirit is far less than when he was young. He hated to fall on the grass and sleep with him for three days and three nights. Of course, this can only be a good wish. At such a time, how could he sleep soundly?

Wen Mu, who was walking beside him, saw that his face was not very good, so he said euphemistically with concern: "Why don't you go back and read the documents that came from behind first?" A few battalions to the west won't be a big deal, I'll just go and run it. ”

Guo Biao shook his head. It's not okay. Before the war, he would usually pick a few battalions to go on a trip to talk to the officers and soldiers and boost their morale. This is a habit that has been cultivated in the past few decades, and he will always feel unsteady if he doesn't go. Besides, the teams had been informed in advance during the military discussion just now, if he didn't go, the people below would naturally not say anything in front of him, but when he turned around, he would scold his mother in his stomach......

In this way, of course, Wen Mu was not good at persuading, so he had to tell several of Guo Biao's pro-soldiers to be more careful.

…… By the time Guo Biao came back, the gong had already struck the fourth watch.

There was still a candle in the tent, but the light was far less bright and dazzling than it had been when he had left an hour earlier; The lights in the side tents next to it are brightly lit. It seems that Shang Cheng is probably the only one in the tent now. He was a little thirsty and sleepy, but he felt that he definitely couldn't sleep, so he wanted to talk to Shang Cheng. This is also his habit, or rather a problem. But whenever he wanted to fight a big battle, he wanted to find someone to talk to before the war, and he talked nonsense about any topic from all over the world, and then pulled the team out to finish the fight. But through the gap in the curtain, he saw Shang Cheng walking around in front of the handsome desk with his arms down, so he dispelled this thought. According to his understanding, Shang Cheng is often thinking about something very important or making an important decision; At this time, he couldn't interrupt Shang Cheng's train of thought. The words in the tent were small and the figures were shaking, obviously they were still worried about the war, and he couldn't bother.

He spun in circles. Let's just go back to yourself and see what the clerical army newspaper is reporting to pass the time.

He returned to his tent.

The soldiers wanted to help him remove the heavy general's armor, but he stopped him, and only took off the iron helmet and untied the shoulder armor. The soldiers quickly brought him hot water, he washed his hands and face, scalded his feet again, ate some hot rice with pickles and meat soup, and sat down at the small desk with a cup of hot tea. He didn't look at the paperwork on the table, he didn't read the military newspaper, he held hot tea, and he had a round face that had become a little gray from exertion, and his eyes were staring at the corner of the tent, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

It was still so noisy outside the tent. It seems that this is not a military camp for slaughter, but a very important rural market town. It gave him a familiar intimacy. His hometown is one such place; Every 10th of the month, there is a big market in the town, and he likes to sneak away with his companions in the private school to watch the pig killer slaughter the pigs. Listening to the sorrow of the pig before he died**, watching the pig's blood with foam bubbling out of the blood hole in the pig's neck, and looking at the pig killer who was still shining with two fat arms in the winter, while lifting the leather apron to wipe the pig's blood on the sharp knife, while talking to the pig seller proudly, he spontaneously had a sense of admiration. At that time, he wanted to be a pig killer, even if he was an apprentice of a pig killer, watching those guys climb the pig's hind legs and blow the pig into a swollen belly, the momentum of swallowing mountains and rivers - he didn't know that there was such a word at that time, he felt that if he could do this one day, he must also be a good man......

Immersed in the memories of childhood ideals and wrapped in the hustle and bustle of the "bazaar", he could no longer bear the exhaustion that came up one after another, so he fell asleep on the small case.