When the times were difficult, the situation was dangerous, and the army was in decline, Li Suying took on the important task of breaking off.

No matter from any point of view, this can be regarded as a critical order, and Li Shimin naturally has his reasons for making this decision.

First of all, this army was a lone army in the enemy's territory, with no backup, no food and grass, no ordnance supplements, and even the common people in the surrounding cities and villages had a hostile attitude towards them, saying that they were "lone troops," which was really worthy of its name.

It is precisely because the situation of this lone army is extremely difficult and dangerous, so Li Shimin has to leave Li Ji, who has the most prestige among the generals and the most stable fighting style, as the commander, Li Ji as the second person in the military of the Tang Dynasty only in the god of war Li Jing, Li Ji's ability will naturally make the task of blocking the enemy more perfect, as for Li Su, one is because he is young, the second is the relationship with Li Ji is uncle and nephew, and the third is that Li Su himself also has the ability to lead the troops, and he has experience in leading troops back then, and he is no stranger to the battle array.

Li Ji's steadiness, Li Su's treachery, one of the uncles and the other is "positive", the other is "strange", and the art of war is "to be right and win with strange", the two complement each other, and things can be done.

As the emperor of the Tang Empire, Li Shimin's decision to make this decision is really far-reaching.

And Li Su's reaction was really unexpected by Li Shimin, he thought that Li Su would desperately shirk and escape, after all, in Li Shimin's mind, Li Su is a person with great ability, but there are too many problems on his body, love money, cleanliness, laziness, greed for life and fear of death, etc., in this Confucian country that generally pursues benevolence and righteousness, Li Su's existence is really an anomaly, he never seems to care about Confucian education, and even does the opposite, the first consideration in everything is personal self-interest, Relying on his inexplicable ability to steal and play slippery, lazy and inert.

Such a person, if he wanted to let him stay for the army, Li Shimin himself felt that it was too difficult to convince him, and prepared a belly of rhetoric before summoning Li Su.

Who knew that Li Shimin had just opened his mouth, but Li Su agreed without hesitation, and this reaction really surprised Li Shimin.

"Why is Zizheng so happy today?" Li Shimin looked at him puzzled.

Li Su sighed: "The minister often loses to small sections, but whenever there is a great righteousness, the minister has never escaped, and this is the case today. ”

Li Shimin looked at him deeply for a long time, and finally showed a gratifying smile: "In time, Zizheng must be the pillar of the country, and it is indispensable to shake it." ”

Li Su smiled bitterly: "The minister didn't think so far, maybe one day the minister was tired of being an official, and he would be old when he handed it over, but now the minister is still eating the king's fortune, so he must share his worries for the king, besides, the minister really can't bear to see my Tang soldiers add more senseless casualties, and the reason why the minister is willing to stay is not so great, but he just wants to use his own ability to buy more time for the retreat of the army, and it can be regarded as accumulating a few more merits and blessings for the minister's child who may have been born......"

Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, and said slowly: "I remembered, I am afraid that Zizheng's child has already been born......

Li Su showed a warm smile: "Yes." ”

Li Shimin looked at him and said in a deep voice: "You must live well, I will wait for you and Li Ji to return safely in Chang'an, and your children will be sealed after I return to Chang'an, for the sake of young children, you should also take care of yourself." ”

"I understand."

**************************************************************

Exiting the tent, the cold wind was blowing, making Li Su shiver, looking up at the gray sky, Li Su smiled bitterly again.

Well, I went crazy again and took over this mission of nine deaths.

Obviously a weak scholar, but he took on the heavy responsibility of playing with his life, and when he thought about it, he felt that he should slap himself three times as a respect, and no one who was tired of his life dared to play himself like this, but he agreed without hesitation.

Then...... It's supposed to be a ghost, right?

Sighing heavily, Li Su walked towards his tent with heavy steps.

People come and go in the camp of the Chinese army, the barracks around the tent have almost been demolished, all the ordnance and baggage have been loaded into the carriage, under the command of the generals, the soldiers have sorted out their bags, and some have begun to retreat westward.

Li Su didn't go far, and met Li Ji in a draped garment.

Li Su was just about to salute, but Li Ji grabbed him by the arm and rudely led him to a remote corner.

"The old man heard that you just promised His Majesty to stay and assist the old man in leading the army?" Li Ji's expression was a little anxious.

Li Su smiled: "Yes, His Majesty's will should have been issued at this time." ”

Li Ji was stunned for a moment, and then showed anger: "How can Your Majesty be like this? My Li family has two fathers, and after leaving one person, I am already loyal to the country and the king, why do you and I have to stay? After the break, it is a matter of nine deaths and a lifetime, why should you let this young man stay......"

Stomping his feet, Li Ji said angrily: "Zizheng is waiting here, the old man and His Majesty will discuss the reason!" ”

Li Su suddenly grabbed Li Ji's sleeve and said with a smile: "Uncle is angry, after leaving the break, it was His Majesty who opened his mouth first, in fact, I also have this intention, even if Your Majesty doesn't say it, I will take the initiative to ask to stay." ”

Li Ji was stunned: "Why?" Don't you know how dangerous it is to leave behind? ”

"Yes."

"Then why did you stay? The old man is old, he has enjoyed the glory of most of his life, and life and death have long been downplayed, but why do you have to close the ghost door? Leave the father and aunt at home behind? ”

Li Su's expression darkened, and he sighed: "There are always people who want to stay, I stay, it is better than others to stay, our chances of winning are higher, if I am unfortunately loyal to the country, the old father and wife and children of the family, I believe that Your Majesty will not treat ...... badly."

Li Ji stomped his foot suddenly, this time he was really angry: "The old man asked why you want to stay!" Are you crazy? A weak boy who can't lift his hands and can't carry his shoulders, I'm afraid he can't even carry a halberd, what's the use of you staying! Isn't it sent to death? Don't think that you are qualified to lead the army after defending Xizhou once, can you compare the battle between holding the city and fighting in the plains and mountains today? It's all face-to-face work with the enemy, and it's outnumbered, how difficult and dangerous it is, Li Zizheng, are you too long? ”

Li Su smiled bitterly: "I am only in my twenties, my father, wife and children are still in my family, the family is old and young, what a heavy responsibility, I can only bear it, if it is not a last resort, who would make such a lifeless choice?" ”

Li Ji's expression eased, and he said in a deep voice: "So, what is the reason for you to stay?" ”

Li Su was silent for a moment, and said: "The reason for my stay is very complicated, this war has been fought very well from the beginning, I don't know what you monarchs and ministers are thinking, a heavenly khan who is feared by all nations in the world, a group of famous old generals, you people led a group of wolf-like armies, pounced on Goguryeo with a lion fighting a rabbit, what is the result?" What did the result look like? ”

"War and politics are mutually continuous and mutually influencing relationships, but in this war, the monarchs and ministers have mixed too many political factors into the war, for the sake of political influence, in order to achieve the reputation of the Heavenly Khan, they have given up a more reasonable strategy of dividing troops and attacking, and they have to tie hundreds of thousands of people together, and the attack and defense are decided by His Majesty alone, and his own right or wrong determines the victory or defeat of this war, and determines the life and death of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Now that there are only more than 200,000 left, how many of the 100,000 casualties really had to be killed, and how many were caused by a rash and foolish decision of His Majesty? ”

The more Li Su said, the more angry he became, his clenched fists trembled slightly, and he sighed and said: "It's too wretched, this war is too wretched, and what's even worse is that I know which way is right and which way is wrong, but I don't have any power to decide, I admonished again and again, offended Long Yan again and again, and almost reached the point where the monarch and the ministers went against the grain, but my anti-ear advice, Your Majesty did not adopt a word, and finally failed, retreated, Your Majesty looked up to the sky and sighed." Not a crime of war', and then patted his ass and returned to the court, and those soldiers who died because of his decision were buried forever with his long sigh......"

The more he spoke, the more explicit he became, Li Ji showed a cautious look, looked around left and right carefully, and whispered: "Zizheng, trouble comes from the mouth, be cautious!" ”

Li Su came back to his senses, exhaled a long breath, suppressed his excitement, and looked at Li Ji with a smile.

"My nephew is out of shape, my uncle just asked me why I was willing to stay behind the broken queen, there are actually many reasons, maybe it is to stop more innocent deaths of the good sons and daughters of Guanzhong, maybe it is to accumulate more merits and blessings for the family and children, and even the reason why I am not willing to walk all the way with the dim and confused emperor His Majesty is also a reason, among these reasons, only I am not full of justice for the country and the king and then die, it is very rebellious, but, I am such a person, all these years have passed, Even I thought that my temperament had been tempered by the years to be more sophisticated and sleek, but when it came to the end, the edges and edges in my bones came out uncontrollably, not admitting softness, not admitting defeat, not yielding, not disagreeing, I lived as I wanted to be, being a man and doing things, only by my heart, this time, my heart told me that I should stay and do my best for thousands of fresh and strange people. Perhaps, this is the real reason why I stayed. ”

After saying this, Li Su's demeanor gradually relaxed, and there was a kind of exhaustion on his face after venting to his heart's content.

Some anger, some resentment, accumulated in his heart for too long and too long, since the beginning of the Eastern Crusade, Li Su felt that he had a fire in his stomach, with the development of the Eastern Crusade, this fire accumulated more and more, and now he can't hold it back, he just wants to burn this bastard-like heaven and earth to the ground.

After saying a lot of words, Li Ji's expression changed from initial astonishment, to later relaxation, and finally became abrupt.

He understood Li Su's words, and he understood how much resentment and resentment had accumulated in Li Su's heart at this moment, when a leader led everyone on a wrong path, and there were sober people in the team who pointed it out again and again, but the leader refused to adopt it because of his own stubbornness, not only did he not adopt it, but also blocked the mouth of the person who pointed out the wrong, so the sober person could only watch everyone go the wrong way and pay the price of countless blood and lives, this kind of feeling, I am afraid only he can understand.

"Zizheng, that's it, the matter has come to this, don't say it, the old man knows that you have hatred in your heart, but now is not the time to vent your hatred, from this moment on, the old man and you will live and die together, our uncle and nephew will kill the enemy side by side, and discipline the world to see that my Li family is not in vain! Haha......"

After venting, Li Su's mood finally improved, and his smile became less cold.

"I hope that my uncle is a little stronger than Your Majesty, and I can listen to the advice of the contrary."

Li Ji pointed at him and laughed: "Before you order all the soldiers and horses, you will use the old man, right?" If you speak when you stop the enemy, the old man has only one attitude, and if he thinks it is right, he will adopt it, and if he thinks it is wrong, he will veto it, don't forget, the commander of this lone army is the old man, and the decision is also made by the old man. ”

Li Su smiled and sighed: "After talking for a long time, my nephew still has to fight wits and courage with your uncle." ”

"That's right, and the attitude must be correct, otherwise there is still a risk of being beaten with a military stick, and I hope that Zi is being cautious, don't get along with your ass."

*************************************************************

When Li Su returned to his camp, Fang Lao Wu and the others had already packed their bags, and more than 100 people lined up to stand in the cold wind, like a straight poplar forest, quietly waiting for Li Su's return.

Seeing this group of fierce and brave men, Li Su felt a little more secure in his heart, but when he thought of how difficult and dangerous the upcoming battle of the Broken Queens was, and how many people in these tribal tribes would bury their bones in their homeland because of protecting him, Li Su's heart couldn't help but become heavier.

Seeing Li Su coming, Fang Lao Wu greeted him and said with a smile: "Grandpa, the brothers are ready to go, let's evacuate together with the logistics baggage, right?" ”

Li Su slowly looked around, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Fifth uncle, brothers, I'm afraid you are going to be disappointed...... I have decided to stay and join my uncle in stopping the enemy. ”

Fang Lao Wu and the subordinates froze, glanced at Li Su in surprise, and then quickly returned to normal, still as fierce as just now, without any doubts or hesitation about Li Su's decision.

Li Su's gaze at them gradually softened, this is a group of real iron-clad men, and they are people who deserve to entrust their lives.

After Fang Lao Wu was surprised, his face changed rapidly, and he smiled respectfully as usual, with a bit of Li Su's usual laziness and nonchalance in his smile.

"Grandpa said to stay, of course the brothers will stay, Grandpa, don't worry, unless the brothers' lives are fully explained, I guarantee that Grandpa will not lose a single hair."

At this time, more than 100 subordinates also clasped their fists and shouted in unison: "I am willing to fight on the battlefield with my grandfather!" ”

The roar shook the sky, causing the jackdaws in the distant woods to flutter their wings and fly.

Li Su laughed, and his heart was unconsciously infected with a full of pride.

"Brothers, I am willing to trust each other with my lives, Li Zizheng is very grateful, we will live and die together, galloping across the land of this enemy country, Huo Qubing of the Han Dynasty only left a name in history for a thousand years with a lone army, and we will also be famous in history for a thousand years!"

…………

The itinerary changed, and the tribes dispersed, gathering together in twos and threes, drawing their weapons, and quietly wiping the blades of their blades.

Zheng Xiaolou walked over with a face, walked up to Li Su, didn't speak, just stared at Li Su's face quietly, Li Su didn't plan to deal with him, but gradually his eyes were staring at his back, Li Su had no choice but to sigh, and said: "Brother Xiaolou, I know that I am very handsome, whether you say a glimpse, or Gu Pan, I am qualified to have all the words of praise in the world, but ...... I'm not interested in men, especially the kind of people who pretend to be cool with a coffin face, but in fact, in my opinion, they are not cool at all and have a kind of mourning expression, well, even less interested, so ,...... Have you seen enough? ”

Zheng Xiaolou said expressionlessly: "Is it your decision to stay behind and block the enemy, or is it Your Majesty's will?" ”

"It is both my decision and Your Majesty's will."

"It's not surprising that Your Majesty left you to block the enemy, I'm strange that with your temperament, how can you take the initiative to stay behind the broken queen, you are obviously a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death, and you can run faster than a rabbit when you are in danger......"

Li Su: "............"

Does this guy know that I have 20,000 soldiers and horses in my hands now? I definitely don't know, otherwise his mouth would not dare to be so cheap......

As a general who really holds the power of the army, Li Su feels that he should be magnanimous, not bother with this guy who doesn't know whether he is alive or dead, and wait for him to chop him next time he is cheap.

"After following me for so many years, don't you see that I am actually a very dignified and righteous person? The so-called 'time is to see the poor season', which is talking about people like me. Li Su said coldly.

Zheng Xiaolou said categorically: "No, you are not this kind of person, so I can't figure it out, people who are greedy for life and afraid of death suddenly become righteous and awe-inspiring, it is really unsteady, you can't make such a decision in the past, before you defended Xizhou, you still led everyone to escape dozens of miles out of the city, and only after figuring it out on the way did you take everyone back to the city in a gloomy way......"

Li Su blackened his face and gritted his teeth: "............"

After Zheng Xiaolou finished speaking, he stopped talking, but he was still staring at Li Su's face, his eyes revealed a message, damn it, Li Su actually understood this message.

- Dog, you've changed......

…………

…………

Fortunately, Zheng Xiaolou is silent most of the time, and his mouth is only intermittent, otherwise Li Su would definitely order him to be chopped into minced meat to be used as military rations, no matter how high his martial arts are.

“…… That Gao Suhui, you and the brothers must watch her closely, I still say the same thing, this woman is useful, maybe it will be of great use. ”

When the subordinates were sharpening their swords and wiping their swords, Li Su summoned Fang Lao Wu and whispered in his ear.

Fang Lao Wu nodded again and again: "Grandpa, don't worry, after the brothers know that this woman is not simple, there are people staring at her day and night, hehe, this woman has a bad year, she met her grandfather and our brothers, and wanted to run, the brothers caught her back like a chicken, and wanted to play with a little clever trick, Grandpa saw through it at a glance, the old man saw it to death, this woman couldn't turn the sky." ”

Li Su smiled and patted him on the shoulder and waved him away.

The situation is very grim, internal and external troubles are all in place, Li Shimin left Li Ji and he broke off, but only gave them three days of food, this lone army before fighting with the enemy, the first thing to face is a very serious food problem, 20,000 soldiers and horses eat horses and chew horses, where to get food within three days?

While wringing his eyebrows and pondering, he suddenly heard a low whimpering horn from the direction of the Chinese army's camp, and the army finally set off and slowly withdrew to the west.

In the open space behind Li Su, 20,000 light cavalry lined up neatly, quietly watching the main force of the army retreat, and from today onwards, these 20,000 people will follow Li Ji and Li Su's uncle and nephew in the territory of Goguryeo, fighting, and pinning down the 150,000 army of Quangai Suwen.