Luoyang military camp, handsome tent.

Liu Xiu sat cross-legged, and on the table in front of him, there were rows of crossbow machines, large and small, wooden and iron, all available.

Laishi, Choshi, Saizun, Long Yuan and others stood in front of the table, each fiddling with a crossbow machine in their hands.

Lai Shi couldn't help but praise while watching: "Du Ling is really a veritable master of tricks, and this crossbow machine is too delicate and ingenious!" ”

He is not a martial artist, but even so, he can't put down the crossbow machine in his hand.

Liu Xiu raised his eyes to look at Lai She, and asked, "Come to the doctor, can the workshop in Luoyang imitate these crossbow machines?" ”

"This ......" Lai Xi looked at it carefully, shook his head slowly, and said: "Your Majesty, these crossbow machines look very delicate, and the parts of the mechanism inside must be even more small and exquisite, and the craftsmen of the workshop are only afraid of ...... Difficult to imitate. ”

Liu Xiu said meaningfully: "If the officers and men of our army can equip these crossbows on a large scale, the Long army and the Shu army will not be taken seriously!" ”

Choshi nodded again and again and said, "Even if it...... Even if you only get a thousand sets, I'm afraid Weichen will wake up laughing when he sleeps! ”

He was a guard lieutenant, responsible for protecting the safety of the Son of Heaven, and if the palace guards could be equipped with these crossbows, he would have peace of mind.

When Liu Xiu heard this, his eyes flashed, and he said: "It may not be impossible to get a thousand sets!" ”

Sai Zun Zhengse said: "Today, our army has collected more than 600 crossbows, of which more than 300 are this kind of repeating crossbows, this kind of fan-shaped crossbow placed on the back, there are 200 units, there are more than 100 long-shaped leg crossbows, and there are only a few dozen bowl crossbows, I'm afraid, we can't even assemble 50 sets." ”

The least they seized was the bowl crossbow, which was the smallest in size, the most delicate in its internal parts, and the most demanding in its manufacture, and it was indeed the most difficult to manufacture of these crossbow machines.

Liu Xiu picked up a bowl crossbow from the table and played with it in his hand.

An iron bowl crossbow with a small rope on it, which is linked to the crossbow machine on one side and a ring on the other side, the ring can be put on the finger, and only a finger can be hooked to trigger the mechanism in the crossbow machine, so that the crossbow arrow can be ejected.

Liu Xiu fiddled with the bowl crossbow and said meaningfully: "The crossbow camp was created by Du Ling, and this time it was put into the siege battle of Luoyang, and it was the first battle of the crossbow camp, and as a result, the first battle was lost, you say, can Du Ling swallow this breath?" ”

Lai Zheng Se said: "Can't! Du Ling, like Jin Dan, is arrogant, often regards himself as a master outside the world, saying that he is not good at fame, and he is unwilling to work for Kui Huan, but what is their food, clothing, housing and transportation that is not funded by Kui Huan?

To put it nicely, they are pretentious, and to say it ugly, it is to sell their reputation! ”

After a pause, he said again: "This time Du Ling's crossbow camp has suffered a loss, and Du Ling will definitely be angry!" ”

Liu Xiu smiled and said: "If you lose face, Du Ling will inevitably find a way to get it back, and if you can't take advantage of it, then he will only choose to ......" "Secretly take!" ”

Lai Shu subconsciously answered.

Choshi and Saizun glanced at each other and asked in surprise, "What does Your Majesty mean is that Du Ling will let the crossbow camp steal the city at night?" ”

Liu Xiu nodded and said, "If I were Du Ling, I would definitely do this, and besides, I would definitely attack Dongcheng at night!" ”

As the saying goes, where you fall, you get up.

suffered a loss in Dongcheng, so it is necessary to open a gap in Dongcheng.

Looking at the surprised faces of Laixi, Choshi, Saizun and others, Liu Xiu said with a smile: "Tonight, remove all the guards in Dongcheng, of course, you have to leave some people to pretend, a few days ago, didn't you catch some thieves who took the lead in looting in the city?"

Let them all put on military uniforms and armor instead of guards. ”

Choshi asked, "Your Majesty, will the crossbow camp come to steal the city tonight?" ”

Liu Xiu shook his head and said, "I don't know, but according to my guess, it's very likely that they will come, just tonight!" ”

Because today's battle was too fierce, whether it was the Long army, the Shu army, or their own soldiers, they all tried their best and fought exhausted.

Du Ling didn't know when the Long army and the Shu army would be able to work as hard as today after today's battle, so he should seize today's opportunity.

Choshi's eyes lit up and said, "Your Majesty, Weichen will go to the Dongcheng side to ambush the soldiers now!" ”

Liu Xiu nodded and said, "Let's go with the second grandson!" ”

"Whoa!"

Choshi and Matsuri said yes, and then walked out in both directions.

Lai Xi couldn't hide the joy on his face, and said: "Your Majesty, if you can completely annihilate the crossbow battalion tonight, you can not only get rid of one of our army's henchmen, but also let our army disarm a large number of crossbow machines!" No matter what Du Ling's personality is, his tricks are really powerful! ”

Liu Xiu said: "There are indeed a lot of capable people under Kui Huan, but unfortunately, Kui Huan's ambition is too big and his selfishness is too heavy. ”

While they were talking, a guard walked in, bowed to Liu Xiu, and said, "Your Majesty, Li Chi's brothers and sisters asked to see each other, saying that they had brought food and broth to Your Majesty. ”

Liu Xiu smiled when she heard this, touched her stomach, and said, "I'm really hungry." ”

Lai She was also happy, and sighed: "This Li Chi is a person who can do things!" ”

After hugging His Majesty's thick legs, he never let go.

It seems that what this Li Chi wants is not only to be protected by His Majesty, so that he can open the door with his sister, what he wants should also include his career.

Of course, Li Chi's approach is understandable, no matter who he replaces, he will firmly seize such a good opportunity.

Lai Xi doesn't hate Li Chi either.

Liu Xiu said to the guards: "Please invite his brother and sister in!" ”

"Yes! Your Majesty! ”

The guard said yes and walked out quickly.

Not long after, Li Chi and Li Chunyue, brother and sister, walked in from outside, followed by two domestic servants each carrying two wooden barrels.

Liu Xiu asked Luo You to put away all the crossbow machines on the table, and then he stood up, walked to the barrel happily, and asked, "What kind of meal did Gongzi Li cook tonight?" ”

Li Chi hurriedly opened the lids of all four wooden barrels, one barrel contained broth, one barrel contained white rice, and the other two barrels, one bucket was braised pork and the other bucket was vegetable balls.

Li Chi rubbed his hands and said, "Your Majesty, these are all commonplace ......" "It's a good homely meal!" I haven't eaten it in a long time. ”

As he spoke, Liu Xiu directly picked up a vegetable ball from the wooden barrel and took a bite.

The vegetables are mainly radishes, with a little cranberry (kohlrabi) and chukui (water cress).

It tastes crunchy, salty and sweet, sweet and fragrant, and has an endless aftertaste.

Liu Xiu put the remaining half of the vegetable balls in his mouth, and after swallowing them, he looked at Li Chi and asked, "You also made these vegetable balls?" ”

Li Chi bowed and said, "I hope it meets Your Majesty's appetite!" ”

"Well done!"

Liu Xiu nodded and praised, Li Chi's cooking skills are really clever, with the same ingredients, others can't make this kind of taste.

Liu Xiu picked up another vegetable ball, and at the same time beckoned everyone present, saying, "Come, come, come, everyone eat together!" ”

Li Chi and Li Chunyue, brothers and sisters, have also had several contacts with Liu Xiu, and feel that Liu Xiu, the son of heaven, is both easy-going and approachable, not to mention that there is no frame of the Son of Heaven at all, I am afraid that the average county government official will have a bigger frame than him! Seeing Liu Xiu bite by bite and eat vegetable balls, Li Chi was also very excited, and said: "If Your Majesty thinks that the cooking skills of the grass people are still passable, in the future, Your Majesty's meals will be made by the grass people!" ”

Liu Xiu looked up and smiled, he came out to fight, not to enjoy the mountains and rivers, so naturally he would not bring the imperial chef.

I thought that during this time in Luoyang, it would be difficult to eat, but I didn't expect that the appearance of a Li Chi perfectly solved this problem.

He smiled: "In this way, it will be too troublesome for Li Gongzi." ”

Li Chi hurriedly bowed down and saluted, and said, "Your Majesty tortures the grass people!" ”

"Have you brothers and sisters eaten it?"

"Uh...... This ......" "Since you haven't eaten yet, let's sit down and eat together!" ”

If you eat well and satisfy your appetite, your sense of happiness will improve and your mood will naturally improve.

Liu Xiu is in such a state now.

He took the food from Luo Yousheng, picked up the chopsticks, and ate it in a big gulp.

Li Chi's braised pork is also delicious, the lean meat is not firewood, the fat is not greasy, it melts in the mouth, and the mouth is full of fragrance.

Luo You gave Liu Xiu a big bowl of braised pork, and he actually ate it all.

On weekdays, Liu Xiu's appetite is not very large, but tonight he has a great appetite, eating two bowls of rice and a large bowl of braised pork.

Luo You was stunned when he watched it from the side, and couldn't help but remind in a low voice: "Your Majesty, you shouldn't eat too much at night." ”

When Liu Xiu heard this, he gave up the urge to serve the third bowl of rice, he put down the dishes and chopsticks, took the handkerchief, wiped the corners of his mouth, and smiled at Li Chi: "When this battle is over, I really want to take Li Gongzi back to Luoyang!" ”

He just sighed casually, but Li Chi hit the snake with the stick, immediately knelt on his knees, kowtowed forward, and said loudly: "Grass people, thank you, Your Majesty Longen!" ”

Liu Xiu was stunned, and then laughed, this Li Chi is really a clever ghost, he said this casually, but he was not polite, and immediately posted it.

Liu Xiu is not an ordinary person after all, but the Son of Heaven.

For the Son of Heaven, there is no such thing as 'saying so', the Son of Heaven is a golden mouth, and anything he says is an oracle.

"Good! Since you are willing to go to Luoyang with me, when this battle is over, you can go with me!" ”

Liu Xiu didn't hate Li Chi either, but admired him, especially his cooking skills.

Li Chi was so excited that he bowed forward again to thank him.

Then, he said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the grass people...... The grass people also want to bring their little sister! ”

Hearing this, Liu Xiu's eyes softened a little more when he looked at Li Chi.

Liu Xiu has no father and no mother since he was a child (the old lady went back to her parents' house), was adopted by her uncle, and later followed the eldest brother to rebel, the eldest brother, the second brother, and the second sister were martyred one after another, six brothers and sisters, and finally only he and the eldest sister and the younger sister were left.

Because of this, Liu Xiu attaches more and more importance to family affection, and he also likes people who value family affection.

At this point, Li Chi happened to vote for Liu Xiu's favor.

He nodded and said, "When you get to Luoyang, I will buy a big mansion for your brother and sister." ”

His words made Li Chunyue also excited, and like Li Chi, he knelt down to thank Liu Xiu.

Liu Xiu drank two more bowls of broth, which was considered satisfied.

The Li brothers and sisters took their servants and said goodbye to Liu Xiu beautifully and returned to the Li Mansion.

There are a lot of precious ingredients in the Li Mansion, and his brother and sister didn't dare to move, worried that they would eat them all, and when their father came back, he would punish them all.

Now that they have the Son of Heaven as their backer, they naturally have no worries, and they have counted the ingredients at home, planning to use up all these ingredients in the next time.

After eating too much at night, Liu Xiu sat uncomfortable in the handsome tent, took Hei Mao out for a walk, and went to Dongcheng to see the ambush situation of the Cho period and the sacrifice.

When Liu Xiu and Hei Mao came to Dongcheng, they raised their eyes to look at the city, and they could see rows of torches and sporadic sentry posts.

These sentries were all prisoners brought out of the prison by Choshi, and Choshi promised them that as long as they put up a good post on the city in the past few days, all the charges could be written off.

When the prisoners heard this, they were naturally overjoyed, wasn't it just a sentry for a few days, what was so difficult about this?

In this way, you can offset your own crimes, and there is no such good thing in the world.

The prisoners in the prison barely hesitated, and scrambled to accept the conditions offered by the Choshi period.

What they didn't know was that this condition, which seemed to give them a great advantage, actually opened the door to the Netherworld for them.