The snow was so heavy that it stopped after five days, and the weather was still cold, and the roads covered with snow and ice were really difficult to walk. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoHowever, this did not stop the young officers and soldiers from returning home.

No, to be precise, in fact, only the two masters of Wei Hou and Qi Hou who want to go home for the New Year, as well as their personal guards, and the rest, whether they are Wei soldiers or Qi soldiers, are just to disperse the pressure of winter, and move to the rest of the cities, such as the Wei army from Puyang to Guilingyi Daliang City, and the Qi army from Malingyi to Dong'e, Xueyi and Liaocheng beyond.

If the winter pressure is not solved, whether it is a small Malingyi or Puyang, the capital of a country, can not bear, if not solve the problem of winter food and warmth for tens of thousands of soldiers, it may be able to survive less than half after the spring of the next year, and this is also a problem that both ancient times and later modern warfare have to consider, so, since ancient times, winter combat is a taboo for soldiers, but at that time, both Wei Hou and Qi Hou were full of confidence, which caused the difficult journey that had to step on the snow and return today.

Of course, due to the impact of victory and defeat, the efficiency of the Wei soldiers and the Qi soldiers in terms of procedures due to mood factors, as well as the different organizational and cooperative capabilities of the cities along the way, as well as the distance and reasonableness of the distance, all greatly affect whether the armies of the two sides can successfully reach the winter location and survive this winter, so the impact of this war on both sides, especially the Qi country, is still continuing, more precisely, the weakening of the Qi country in this war is still continuing.

And these things are no longer within the scope of Qi Hou's ability, since the heavy snow stopped, and Wei Hou communicated with the messenger several times, and after finalizing the follow-up matters, Qi Hou took the temporary five thousand personal guards, and embarked on the return journey back to Linzi. This army included most of the close generals of the Marquis of Qi, Tian Ji and He Chang, who had newly promoted their titles, of course, also returned with them, and Duan Ganpeng, who had regained his freedom, also returned to the ranks. As for Gongsun Qiu, after being promoted to one level, he stayed in Malingyi to direct the retreat of the rest of the army.

The snow is difficult to travel, lack of food and clothing, low morale, long way home, all kinds of problems are plaguing this team that has to travel hundreds of miles to return to Linzi, but these are not what Qi Hou needs to worry about personally, in the open-top carriage with the banner of Qi diagonally, Qi Hou who was wrapped in a thick jacket, at this time it is very rare in his heart to summarize, thinking, and even for the frame bumps caused by the need for a large number of soldiers to push the cart due to the difficulty of walking in the ice and snow, Qi Hou does not seem to have much reaction, so, in the eyes of outsiders, Qi Hou was in a daze, and even some soldiers silently thought in their hearts, did the prince become stupid after suffering a defeat?

But of course Qi Hou is not stupid, Qi Hou is actually in the prime of life, thinking about the reason for this defeat.

Finally, after worrying and even guessing his subordinates for five days, on this day, Qi Hou finally changed, and the whole person seemed to come to life, waving his hand and looking around, his majestic gaze was so majestic that the soldiers around him did not dare to look directly, but they heard Qi Hou shouting, "Let Tian Ji and Duan Ganpeng come to the widow's frame!" ”

"Meet Your Majesty!" A moment later, the two people who were called saluted in the car and jumped into Qi Hou's carriage.

This is not a standard chariot, so the inside of the carriage is relatively wide, except for the driver at the front of the carriage, the three people sitting on the thick velvet cushions in the carriage are relatively kneeling.

"Duan Qing, it was really difficult for you to make a plan for the whole army to retreat at that time, and it also made you suffer during this time!" After the monarch and the minister sat down in the marching carriage, the Marquis of Qi first addressed Duan Ganpeng.

Panicked, Duan Ganpeng hurriedly bowed his head, "Your subordinates don't dare, it's the responsibility of your courtiers to share your worries for the king." ”

"Widows know, and you have this mind, hey." Qi Hou raised his hands and helped Duan Ganpeng up.

"It's just that after returning to Linzi this time, Duan Qing can't get the reward he deserves! This defeat, the ministers of the DPRK and the central government, the meritorious magnates, and the widows can't stop it! Wronged Duan Qing, or can only continue to be the doctor of Changguo, well, but the post of marching Sima, Duan Qing is still both, when the time comes, the widow reorganizes the technical attacker, and hopes that Duan Qing will help the widow and recast my elite soldiers of the Qi country, I don't know what Duan Qing means? ”

"Your Majesty is willing to serve the king!" Duan Ganpeng hurriedly gave it up again, although after being detained by Gongsun Qiu for a few days, Duan Ganpeng still believed that Qi Hou would still reuse himself, but at this moment, hearing Qi Hou's arrangement, Duan Ganpeng was still a little excited. During the Warring States Period, scholars traveled around the world and chose kings to serve, which was already the trend of this period, and it was also a great blessing to meet a monarch who had an appetite for himself, and Duan Ganpeng thought so now.

After reaching out to help Duan Ganpeng up with satisfaction, Qi Hou said again, "There will still be some financial rewards, but after this period of time, the widow will send someone to Changguoyi, and after a year at the latest, the widow will definitely transfer Duan Qing back to Linzi and follow the widow." ”

Sure enough, there will still be a reward, Qi Hou is really not a mean person, Duan Ganpeng's heart is even more satisfied, so he salutes again, "Your Majesty thank you!" ”

"No thanks, just worry about the new army of the widows when the time comes." Qi Hou seemed to be in a good mood, and his tone of voice was extremely relaxed.

Then Qi Hou turned his head to Tian Ji and said, "What title does Tian Ji have now?" ”

"Back to the king, there is no yet, the current left front army right colonel, five centurions under his jurisdiction, a total of 500 foot soldiers." Tian Ji replied.

"This time Aiqing saved the car, the widow decided, named Aiqing as a former general, a doctor in the court, and now he is in a hurry to return, and after returning to Linzi, he will promulgate a document to announce the whole country."

"Thank you, I am afraid that the end will be young and shallow, and it will be difficult to take on this responsibility, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to block everyone's mouth." After Tian Ji secretly glanced at Duan Ganpeng, he wanted to resign, indeed, from a colonel to a general, this position can already be regarded as the highest among the younger generation of Qi State, and he is even about to catch up with the late old General Tian Zhong.

"There is no higher merit than the Savior, and this reward is worthy of Aiqing." Qi Hou said leisurely, and also squinted at the next section of Ganpeng.

The latter immediately opened his mouth to persuade Tian Ji a few words, and Tian Ji kowtowed to thank him. Fortunately, this carriage is big, Tian Ji bowed his body, and his forehead could touch the floor of the carriage.

"Duan Ganpeng, Tian Ji, what do you think is the main reason for the defeat of our army this time?" After Tian Ji made a good salute, Qi Hou's expression and tone became serious again.

It seems that the key point is about to be reached, Duan Ganpeng and Tian Ji hurriedly straightened their upper bodies and sat upright, Duan Ganpeng first arched his hand, "Your Excellency, the minister thinks that it is because of the lack of detectives on the Wei army, and he can't figure out the reality of the Wei army, so that he ignores Puyang City, which caused a big disaster." ”

"Makes sense. Tian Ji, what do you say? After Qi Hou nodded, he looked at Tian Ji again.

"The last general is young and shallow, and he doesn't dare to speak falsely." Tian Ji is an arch hand.

"If you say it, don't worry about it." Qi Hou frowned unhappily.

"No!" Tian Ji bowed his head at this time.

"The last general thought that the quality of our army was lower than that of the Wei army, so that it was easy to collapse." Tian Ji said cautiously.

"Well, this problem, the widow has already talked to Doctor Duan Gan, so after returning to China this time, the widow decided to re-recruit new soldiers and retrain, and he must not be weaker than Wei Wushu. Qi Hou said.

"The minister will live up to the king's order!" Duan Gan, Peng, and Tian Ji all bowed their hands and answered yes.

"In fact, after this defeat, the widow thought carefully and repeatedly, in the widow's opinion, this defeat can be said to be the biggest shame since the founding of my Tian Qi, and the biggest reason for this is,"

Speaking of this, Qi Hou paused, looked at the two of them, and then said slowly,

"The widow thinks that my army has no generals."

Seeing that both of them were a little surprised, Qi Hou added, "There is no talent for a general." ”

"So that the widow led the army, and the widow is not a general, so when it is time to enter, the widow hesitates, misses the opportunity, and when it is time to retreat, the widow is greedy for merit, so that the whole army collapses, this battle, first of all, is the fault of the widow, I regret that I didn't listen to Duan Gan Aiqing's advice at the beginning!" Qi Hou sighed leisurely.

The two people who panicked hurriedly kowtowed, and after persuading for a while, Qi Hou lowered his head again, "Not only are there widows, but also generals in the army, and no one has any responsibility, General Chen Cheng, who was ordered to guard against Puyang, failed to stop the Wei army, not to mention, the whole army collapsed first, but even a messenger failed to send back to report the news first, it is really hateful, even if Chen Cheng dies in the army, after the widow returns to Linzi, he will destroy his whole family." Qi Hou said hatefully.

"It's a pity that I don't have a general!" Qi Hou sighed again.

Then Qi Hou turned his head and looked at Tian Ji solemnly.

"Tian Ji, don't let the widow down!"

Looking at the meaningful gaze of the prince, Tian Ji actually stayed there, forgetting to answer for a while, and forgetting to return the salute.

It is already a cold winter wax moon, ice and snow are in the sky, the New Year is approaching, the origin of the Chinese New Year's custom is no longer examinable, but since ancient times, people's mood for the New Year is still unchanged. So this has become a characteristic of China, no matter how far away from home, all year round, there is always a wish that must be fulfilled, that is, to go home for the New Year.

So there is the Spring Festival in later generations, but in the era that Zhou Bian is in now, there are many people who are running home for the New Year, in addition to the Qi Marquis and the monarchs who returned to Linzi in gray, of course, there are the high-spirited Wei Marquis and the royal monarchs who have no choice but to follow the Wei Marquis back to Anyi.

Of course, this era is not called the New Year, and Zhou Bian, who has been integrated into this era, naturally knows that Wei Hou values the ceremony of worshiping gods and ancestors at the end of the year and the beginning of the year. And in fact, this year-end and new year ancestor worship activity, which has been popular since the Yin Shang era, has also been passed down to this day, even in the modern 21st century, on Chinese New Year's Eve or Spring Festival morning, people who are particular will still offer two handfuls of wax and a few glasses of wine before the ancestral spirit card.

Zhou Bian, who was helplessly held hostage by the Marquis of Wei, naturally couldn't participate in the ancestor worship ceremony of his Zhou room, but what made Zhou Bian feel incredible was that the eagerness of people in this era to go home for the New Year was far beyond Zhou Bian's imagination.

Zhou Bian also experienced the Spring Festival in later generations, but it was a crowd of trains and cars, but the Wei people of this era, the distance of hundreds of kilometers from Puyang to Anyi, was measured with their feet. That's more than a thousand miles away, on the North China Plain, just after a heavy snowfall, in the cold winter wax moon, the snow turned into ice, and the soldiers walked in the snow with one foot deep and one foot shallow, even if the soldiers were issued with leather boots or a large piece of fur to wrap their feet, but Zhou Bian knew that whenever the camp was rested, the most soldiers did was to rub their frozen feet.

Zhou Bian estimated that by the time Anyi arrived, at least half of the people would freeze off their toes. The soldiers of the royal family were also issued leather boots, but Zhou Bian had no better way to feel sorry for the soldiers.

The march during the day was fine, they were all strong men, and even if the mud got stuck in the wheels, they could be pushed away quickly. It's the night when it's hardest. Fortunately, there are small towns along the way, you can spend the night, there are no small towns, you can only camp in the wild, but fortunately in the Central Plains, you can still find villages, the first thousand Wei soldiers who opened the road have already selected and cleaned up the camp, and even the firewood has been prepared, and you don't have to think about it to know that most of the surrounding villages have suffered from seedlings.

In this way, the 5,000 Wei troops were divided into three teams and embarked on the way home, the first team of 1,000 people, the second team of 2,500 people, and the third team of 1,500 people, all of which were only a day's journey before and after, and Wei Hou and Zhou Bian were in the second team.

As soon as he walked out of Puyang City, it was icy and snowy, Zhou Bian really didn't expect that Wei Hou really chose to step on the snow and return, and when he looked around, what Zhou Bian didn't expect was that none of the Wei soldiers showed negativity or fear.

Following the group, they rested at Pingyang-eup on the second day, and crossed the frozen river on the third day. Seeing the frozen Yellow River, Zhou Bian suddenly remembered a poem by a great man, "Up and down the river, suddenly lost the waves." But I didn't expect that it was in ancient times more than 2,000 years ago that I saw this scene with my own eyes.

There was no time to lament this loss of waves, and on the evening of the third day, Zhou Bian personally experienced the first wild camping in this winter. In the middle of the night, it was called a cold, the soldiers were crowded together, as the Son of Heaven, Zhou Bian could only drill in the thick quilt by himself, although there was a charcoal fire in the tent, but it was far from the cold below zero, in the second half of the night, Zhou Bian finally couldn't stand it, and called the guards to call the two maids in the tent next door, Qiao Nu and Tian Qian, and they were **, and they were suddenly much warmer, and there was more soft fragrance and warm jade. There's no way, what's the use of them if they don't warm the bed at this time? Under the severe cold, Zhou Bian's reserve from later generations finally failed.

I don't remember that I did it at night, and I finally woke up from the warmth the next day, Zhou Bian saw that the two little maids on the left and the right had opened their eyes, and their red faces didn't know if it was hot or what, and when they saw the king wake up, the two girls were about to get up in a panic and salute, but they brought in a cool breeze, and they were shocked to make amends and kowtow. It seems that there is no trace of the night, and everyone is nervous.

But it's really the hero mound of Hongfan Township, it took a long time for Zhou Bian to get up under the service of the second daughter, but at this time the team was about to set off, and Zhou Bian had to settle breakfast in the carriage.

When he didn't want to have breakfast and chat with a few courtiers, Zhou Bian unexpectedly learned that a famous Wei soldier had never woken up this morning, which made Zhou Bian's mood a little heavy.

Fortunately, the next few days were rested in the small yi, which was Wei's own small yi, so the city had already been cleaned up properly, even if dozens of people were crowded in a small warehouse, it was better than the tent in the field, and no one froze to death in the past few days.

The brigade followed the footsteps of the former army all the way to the west, and after passing the spear yi, it began to turn north, because directly ahead were Taihang Mountain and Wangwu Mountain. The mountain road was rough, and the marching speed of the army finally slowed down, and after several days of camping in the field, the number of frozen deaths soon exceeded ten.

It's just that no one thought that just when they were about to cross Taihang Mountain, the Wei army was ambushed, and what they didn't expect was that the object of this ambush was not Wei Hou, but the young son of the royal family. (Note, what is the specific New Year's law during the Warring States Period, and whether the New Year is the first day of the first month, I have not found specific historical materials, but at the end of the year and the beginning of the year, it is recorded to worship the gods and ancestors, so the focus in this novel is to worship the gods and ancestors, but I believe that the custom of the New Year has existed since ancient times.) ）