(Thanks to the melancholy domineering tip, this is the book's third leader.) This week's change is Sven's alliance leader, and next week's change is a week to thank melancholy for the reward! ）

Chapter 451: You Finally Admit It

Although they had survived two winters, when the weather suddenly turned cold, the soldiers of the Sui army still felt a little unbearable. In the first two winters, they never came down in the cottage of Wolf Milk Mountain, and it was not difficult to survive by the stove. But now they have to face hundreds of thousands of rebels, and a howling north wind.

The cold cavalry of the Northern Liao Land did not have the slightest discomfort with such weather, and in their opinion, it was much warmer than the 100,000 mountains. If you haven't been to that place, you can't understand what it means to be truly freezing.

Li Xiaozong curled up in a chair covered with a thick velvet blanket, looking at the smoke rising from the stove in a daze. I don't know why, he suddenly thought of the days when he was in Fangu.

On a sunny day after a snowstorm, the young man named Fang Xie came in from outside, pouted his ass to roast the fire as usual, and then took out a stack of silver tickets from his arms and handed it to him. That is the dividend of the three major industries in Fangu City, just because of this young man, the people and the border army in Fangu City are living better and better day by day.

After going out to kill horse thieves, the boy would always take his friends to the Yunji dog meat shop for a drink. When he thought of this, Li Xiaozong couldn't help but purse his lips.

He remembered the taste of pear blossom in the dog meat shop, and it seemed that he had never drunk such a mellow wine in years. He thought of the honest and honest Su Tu dog, and remembered the proprietress who had a unique style. Then he thought of the words that the proprietress had said to him on that moonlit night.

That night, he had planned to kill Fang Jie.

Then he thought of the scene of Li Yuanshan's iron cavalry slaughtering Fan Gu's 800 border troops. He watched it happen, but he didn't even have the courage to stop it. He remembered the faces of each of the eight hundred people, and when he closed his eyes, the voices and smiles of those people were still so familiar.

He can still call those names, and he can't make a mistake in calling any of them.

When he thought of this, Li Xiaozong felt even colder. He tightened the blanket wrapped around his body, feeling that the cold wind could still penetrate his heart unscrupulously. He never regretted any decision, and he didn't believe that there was any karma in this world. He believes in only one truth...... Only the strong can gain a foothold.

I don't know why, he had insomnia last night.

He hadn't felt this way in all these years. No matter what is difficult or happy, he can keep himself in a good night's sleep. He could fall asleep in the snow, in the wilderness, and even in the pile of dead people.

It was still dark outside, and it was not yet time to raise the bill.

It's dark outside, and it's even darker inside the tent.

The furnace fire was the only light source in the tent, but I don't know why Li Xiaozong suddenly found that the range illuminated by today's fire was very small.

Is it because of excitement?

He asked himself.

I guess so.

The answer I gave was not affirmative.

He really should be excited, because yesterday he just made a decision. He planned to let Cui Zhongzhen take people to the rebel West Camp to call for battle, and his close confidant Liu Shilang had already rushed to the rebel West Camp to meet Meng Wansui. If nothing else, after dawn, Cui Zhongzhen will die under Liu Shilang's arrow. He was very confident in Liu Shilang's archery, just as he was also confident in Fang Jie's archery skills at the beginning.

Three days later, he would order the army to return to the cottage. He will ask Mou Liangbi to lead a team of people to protect the baggage first, of course, there is not much baggage left to take down the mountain, so even if he is ambushed by the rebels, the loss will not be unbearable. He had long observed the terrain of Jiaozigou, which was most suitable for ambushes. Mou Liangbi is the best logistics officer, he can sort everything out and arrange everything. But he was not a qualified general, and once he was besieged by the rebels, he had only one way to die. As long as Li Xiaozong's rescue is a little slower, Mou Liangbi will become a corpse.

All this has even formed a picture in Li Xiaozong's mind.

As long as Cui Zhongzhen is dead, the only evidence that is likely to know that he killed King Xujun will be gone. In fact, Cui Zhongzhen didn't see him kill Yang Kai, the king of Xujun. But Li Xiaozong is not sure, so Cui Zhongzhen must not stay. As long as Mou Liangbi dies, this team of nearly 50,000 people will completely fall into his hands. 50,000 elites, enough for him to settle down in the northwest.

But that's not enough.

He had agreed with Meng Wansui a long time ago that the two of them would advance and retreat together. Once Li Yuanshan's army was defeated, the two of them joined forces to attack Xiangzhou from behind. Xiangzhou is the foundation of Li Yuanshan, and Li Yuanshan is designated as the capital. Of course, the most perfect capital in Li Yuanshan's mind is still Chang'an, the first male city in the world.

As long as Xiangzhou was breached, the imperial court must recognize Li Xiaozong's merits. King Xujun is dead, Mou Liangbi is dead, and the two people who were mainly responsible for the fiasco of the Western Expedition are dead, will the court still point the finger at him? You must know that when he was on the Western Expedition, he was just a member of Li Yuanshan's command. He resolutely left the rebels, and in the past two years, he has made many achievements, all of which are real and not fake.

Of course, this is not enough.

Because these alone are not enough to make the court pay attention to him.

So Meng Wansui is also going to die, as long as he kills Meng Wansui again and takes the nearly 300,000 rebels for his own use, even the emperor will not dare to underestimate him. Sitting on hundreds of thousands of troops, and then breaking through the rebel capital, isn't it enough to change to a general with a positive third grade?

That's enough

Thinking of this, the chill in Li Xiaozong's heart finally dissipated a lot.

"I'm not greedy, am I?"

He muttered, feeling that he was indeed not very greedy. Compared to Li Yuanshan, he is really not greedy. Li Yuanshan wants Jiangshan, Li Xiaozong knows that he doesn't have that appetite, all he wants is glory. The general of Zheng Sanpin, who opened the government and built a government, created a family that belonged to him, was much smaller than the dream of the country in Li Yuanshan's heart.

One should not be too greedy, especially for the illusory things.

Li Xiaozong knows that the road has to be taken step by step.

At this moment, the horn of getting up sounded outside. Soon the sun will shine on the earth, and a new day will begin.

He lifted the blanket and stretched his body.

A difficult night passed.

I hope I can get a good night's sleep when it gets dark again.

He was in the dark, waiting for the light.

……

……

The soldiers helped Li Xiaozong put on the armor, Li Xiaozong looked down at the iron armor on his body, and suddenly he was in a trance...... The sunlight from outside poured in, and the iron armor reflected a pale golden brilliance. It looked as if the iron armor on his body had turned into gold armor.

Li Xiaozong smiled, thinking that this was a good sign.

"Have the generals gone to the Big Tent?"

He asked.

"It's all gone."

The soldiers replied: "The general ordered yesterday that he would go to the rebel camp today to call for battle, so the generals waited outside the big tent early, just waiting for the general to raise the tent." ”

Li Xiaozong hummed and ordered: "Go and release Cui Zhongzhen, you don't have to go to the big tent to listen to the order." Pick a battalion with an uneven number of people and give him the opportunity to take the lead. ”

"Whoa"

The soldiers agreed, and tightened the armor to Li Xiaozong.

After Li Xiaozong was fully dressed, he walked out of the tent. When he went out, he took a deep breath of cold air, and the fatigue of not sleeping all night was dispelled a lot.

When the soldiers saw him, they saluted respectfully, which made Li Xiaozong feel very comfortable. He likes to sit in the big tent and distribute military affairs, and that feeling is like directing the country. He is a child of the Li family, and if he wants to become a master, he can only rely on his own efforts. He was sure that sooner or later, the children of those big families would also bow to him.

Man, which one has no dream of being a master?

Sitting down in the big tent, Li Xiaozong arranged today's battle, and then mentioned to the generals that if they couldn't defeat the rebel Xida Battalion, they could only retreat. He said this in a heavy tone and with sadness in his eyes. After fighting with the rebels for a month, he failed to avenge King Xujun, and it seems that he is particularly unwilling.

But the generals also knew that the weather was so cold that it was not suitable for war. The rebels were strong in strength and had no shortage of food and grass to be served. The Sui army can't do it, and if you want to survive this cold winter, you can only return to the cottage to rest.

No one doubted the sadness in Li Xiaozong's eyes, and no one could detect the joy in his eyes.

Li Xiaozong suddenly felt that if he was a dramatist, he would definitely be popular all over the country.

Just after the military affairs were arranged, the soldiers outside came in and whispered something to him. Li Xiaozong's face changed slightly, and then he asked the generals to wait for him in the big tent, and he went out of the big tent alone. The soldier said as he walked: "My subordinates went to release Cui Zhongzhen just now, but he said that he would not come out of anything, only that he would let you go over in person, he had something to ask." If you don't go, general, he'd rather die than stay in the cage. ”

Li Xiaozong frowned: "Have anyone else ever seen him?" ”

"After Yan Chongde went to see him last night, he gave him a pot of wine and a plate of cooked meat."

"What did you say?"

"Just say that the weather is cold, let Cui Zhongzhen take care or something."

Li Xiaozong snorted, although he felt a little weird, but he didn't pay much attention to it. The place where Cui Zhongzhen was held was very close to Wanyan Chongde's Han cavalry station, which Wanyan Chongde requested at that time. Li Xiaozong knew that Wanyan Chongde and Cui Zhongzhen had a good personal relationship, so he agreed. After all, if he wants to kill Cui Zhongzhen, there is no need to start in the camp. Locking Cui Zhongzhen near the cold riding camp will make people think that he is generous.

It was a self-contained tent with a wooden cage inside. When Li Xiaozong walked to the door, he saw that his own soldiers were a lot more steady, and the outside of this tent was full of his people, and anyone who approached would warn him in advance. He opened the curtain and walked in, and saw Cui Zhongzhen sitting with his back to him.

"What are you looking for me?"

Lee Hyo-jong asked

Cui Zhongzhen didn't look back, was silent for a while, and suddenly said, "That day, I actually saw it." ”

As soon as these words came out, Li Xiaozong's face suddenly changed.

Cui Zhongzhen said in a calm tone: "I know that today you sent me to call the battle, saying that you are guilty of meritorious service and will be punished, but in fact, you want to kill me, right?" Li Xiaozong, I still misread you...... Although I saw you kill the prince with my own eyes that day, I still helped you hide it. What I didn't expect was that you would want to kill me. I haven't said it, it's because I still have illusions about you. I thought, as long as I don't say it, I probably won't kill them all. ”

"You...... What are you talking nonsense? ”

Li Xiaozong looked around and said coldly: "The reason why you are trapped in the cage is because you are not good at fighting. The prince was killed by the rebels, and my fault was that I failed to rescue the prince. ”

"There's no one else here, so why are you pretentious?"

Cui Zhongzhen turned his head violently, looked at Li Xiaozong's eyes and said seriously: "Let's make a deal, as long as you don't kill me, I promise not to tell you about killing the prince, how about it?" ”

Li Xiaozong was silent, and then shook his head: "I don't know what you're talking about, if you don't call for battle today, I can't help you." If you make a mistake, you have to make up for it, and if you can't make it up, I will deal with you according to military discipline. ”

Cui Zhongzhen sneered: "It seems that I am certain to die...... Actually, I also know that you found the prince out of Li Yuanshan's instructions, right? Your goal is to kill the prince and then send all the soldiers into the tiger's mouth! Li Xiaozong, do you really think Li Yuanshan will win? ”

"I don't think so"

Li Xiaozong shook his head: "So I am now very conscientious to be a general of the Great Sui, Cui Zhongzhen, you are indeed an idiot, no wonder you can't even enter the martial arts academy, if you are smart enough, you will not say these words, because after you say it, you will ...... I won't keep you. ”

Hearing this, Cui Zhongzhen's eyes lit up.

He couldn't help but applaud: "You're finally willing to admit it." ”