More than 200 soldiers of the Military Intelligence Department stood silently in front of the mound of dirt and were quiet for a long time. Mo Li, who was standing in front of the formation, also looked up at the sky and forgot for a long time. Tao Yaoyao stood next to the military formation of the Military Intelligence Department, letting the cold wind blow his long hair, and did not pay attention to it.

Time flows, but some things remain eternal, life fades, and some spirits are passed down from generation to generation. Whether it is protecting the border and fighting thieves, or defending the family and the country, in the troubled times when human life is as cheap as grass, some people are fighting for themselves, in the final analysis, they are shedding blood for financial gain, and some people are desperate because of financial gain, but they are fighting on the battlefield of protecting the territory and the people.

This is the soldiers, who live a life licking blood from the knife edge, paying for their lives to exchange something real and illusory to fate.

Before the military formation of the military intelligence department had dispersed, a ranger rushed back from the front road, bringing everyone a bad news, "Twenty miles ahead, a large number of horse troops were found, and the number of torches was no less than a thousand. ”

This news means that everyone has not only had a bad year, but may not even be able to save their lives.

Mo Li frowned, "According to the Khitan military force layout that I mastered before, there should be no Khitan horse army near here at this time, why did a thousand-man cavalry suddenly jump out?" "However, because there are few people in the military intelligence department, there are fewer rangers who can disperse, and it is normal that the whereabouts of the Khitan cannot be detected everywhere.

Tao Yaoyao said: "There is a battle this morning, if the Khitan army behind catches up quickly, the distance from us will not exceed fifty miles, if we turn back and retreat east, I am afraid that we will be besieged on both sides." At that time, if you want to get out, I'm afraid it's too late. ”

Mo Li also knew this truth, he recalled the surrounding roads and terrain in his mind, and thought hard about the place where everyone would take refuge, but this is the enemy territory, Mo Li can't know everything about every grass and tree, the nearby people are sparsely populated, and the guide he captured the day before yesterday unfortunately died in this morning's battle, but now Mo Li can't find a way out.

Mo Li was silent for a long time, and everyone present could almost think of the situation they were facing, and all of them had serious faces.

Tao Yao pulled the silk hair on her sideburns, smiled, and said to Mo Li: "Anyway, this year has passed, since tonight's battle can't be avoided, it's better to fight this time." If you are fortunate enough to live, from this to the east one hundred and eighty miles, you can pass through Yingzhou City, after Yingzhou City, all the way south, the journey will be much easier, we arrange in Yingzhou manpower can also pick up one or two, to return to Youzhou is not difficult. ”

Mo Li nodded slightly, looked at the more than 200 military intelligence officers in front of him, and said: "The war is inevitable, the only way is to break through the siege with all your might, life and death depend on the success or failure of the sky, you all cherish it." ”

"Anyway, the year has passed, just fight to the death, don't lose!" An Chongrong took the words, said loudly, smiled again, pointed to the black soil and said: "Today's graves are all erected, and if you die, you won't be a lonely ghost and a wild ghost, I'm afraid of a bird!" ”

After that, he hugged his fist to Mo Li: "Mr. Mo, I have been waiting for the students of the Martial Arts Academy before, and I have been protecting you in the middle, tonight's battle is very likely to be the last battle, and I also ask Mr. Mo to give me a chance to wait, so that I will not die aggrieved!" ”

"Accurate!" Mo Li didn't refuse An Chongrong again this time, "I know that you are good at riding and shooting, and you are very brave, since you are bent on fighting, you will be by my side!" ”

An Chongrong was overjoyed, "Thank you, Mr. Mo!" ”

Zhao Hongyin and the others were not to be left behind, and said: "I'm waiting to fight in front of the battle!" ”

Mo Li waved his hand and simply said, "Accurate!" ”

Put away the folding fan, Mo Li turned over and got on the horse, and together with Tao Yaoyao, led more than 200 soldiers from the military intelligence department to set foot on the avenue again, facing the horse army in the west, galloping away.

After setting off, Tao Yaoyao asked Mo Li quite puzzled, "Previously, you have always placed the students of the Martial Arts Academy in the middle of the military formation and strictly protected them, but now that the death battle is imminent, why did you allow them to fight forward?" ”

Mo Li replied: "The students of the Martial Arts Academy are all treasures, and in the realm of life, it is natural to protect them thoroughly, but in the realm of mortality, I also want them to tell those laggards in the Martial Arts Academy that the students of their Martial Arts Academy must have an indomitable momentum in the face of a battle to the death!" Even if the students of the Martial Arts Academy die, they will die on the road forward, on the road to battle! ”

Tao Yaoyao was slightly stunned, and then nodded clearly.

After running for more than ten miles, Mo Li and the others discovered the horse army. This is an open area, and the horse army has already lined up and placed it in the open field, as if it is waiting for the sharp soldiers of the military intelligence department to come.

The other party waited for work, and when he saw them, he didn't do it immediately, and it seemed that he wanted to fight in a dignified manner. In this case, Mo Li couldn't let the MI rush over in such a long snake-like queue, so he immediately ordered the MI Rui Shi to slow down their horses and set up the formation at the end of the clearing.

The vision is not good in the night, although there are torches shining, but neither side can see the reality of the opponent's formation, nor do they know whether there are other killing opportunities hidden in the opponent's formation. With less than 300 people against 1,000 people, Rao is the elite of the military intelligence department, and Mo Li doesn't dare to think about how many people can break through tonight's battle and go south through Yingzhou, and whether there is himself in it.

Before the formation was set, several horses suddenly rushed out of the opponent's formation, coming straight to the military formation.

The number of horses that ran out came to a stop hundreds of paces away, and one of them ran a lot closer, shouting in Khitan dialect.

Mo Li called the Khitan speaker in the MI and asked him what the person opposite him was talking about.

After listening carefully, the sharp soldier of the military intelligence department said to Mo Li, it was the other party asking their own side to fight, and they wanted to lead the battle alone.

Rao was gentle and elegant, and he couldn't help but take a sip and scolded: "These barbarians, they even learned our set of things, it's really not a fucking thing!" "300 people against 1,000 people, and the other side took the initiative to propose a single leader, which is not bad news for the military intelligence department.

Mo Li glanced at Tao Yaoyao. In terms of personal martial arts, Tao Xiaoxiao is undoubtedly the best in the military intelligence department.

Tao Yao is in charge, and when he pulls out the horizontal knife, he is about to fight.

However, someone was one step ahead of her. But it was An Chongrong who felt humiliated after hearing the invitation to fight in front of the other party's formation, and because he had accumulated too much anger in the past few days, he knew that there was a lot of luck today, so he didn't get Mo Li's permission first, so he rushed out, "Just a thief, He Laotao took the lead and let Tie Hu kill that guy!" ”

An Chongrong was fast, Tao Xiaoxiao didn't want to compete with him, and smiled, "It's a bloody one." ”

Although Tao Yaoyao did not fight, like Mo Li and the others, they all looked at An Chongrong who rushed out intently and paid attention to his battle situation.

An Chongrong rushed out suddenly, obviously to the surprise of the other party, the knight who came to shout hurriedly pulled out his horse and turned back. Almost at the same time, among the several horses that came over, they rushed out to meet An Chongrong.

Mo Li, Tao Yaoyao and the others, hearing An Chongrong's loud shout, quickly slashed with the horizontal knife in their hands. The vision at night is unclear, and the range that the torch can illuminate is limited, An Chongrong rushed out two or three hundred steps, Mo Li, Tao Yaoyao and others, but they couldn't see every movement of An Chongrong, they could only see him and the other party handing over, and the killing was inseparable.

How is An Chongrong's ability, after getting along for a few days, Mo Li and Tao Xiaoyao know that although he is young, he can definitely be called a strong general. But even so, after more than a dozen moves, An Chongrong couldn't help the other party, and it seemed that he was gradually at a disadvantage.

Mo Li and Tao Yaoyao glanced at each other, their eyes slightly cold. It seems that the other side dares to take the initiative to call for a heads-up, not without reliance.

Mo Li suddenly said "Huh" and muttered: "The other party's skills seem to have been seen before, and they are somewhat familiar." When I thought about it, I couldn't remember where I had seen it. Before leaving Youzhou last year, Mo Li also met some Khitan generals with Li Congjing, but after all, it had been a long time.

"Not good!" Tao Xiaoxiao suddenly screamed. Mo Li raised his eyes and saw An Chongrong suddenly hit by the other party, rolled off his horse, and fell to the ground, and then the other party's young general, the long soldier, pointed directly at An Chongrong's throat, stretched out a hand, grabbed him, and took him back.

Mo Li was surprised, he originally thought that An Chongrong was brave, and he could defeat the other party in this period and improve some morale for himself, but he never thought that An Chongrong was defeated for a while, and he was captured by the other party, which was very bad.

Seeing this, Tao Yao pulled out the horizontal knife that was returned to the sheath again, jumped on the horse, and killed it.

Mo Li couldn't stop it, and watched Tao Yao rush to the field. When she went, Mo Li saw that the other party's several horsemen stepped out one after another, and they were fighting with her together.

Within two rounds of fighting, Mo Li heard what Tao Yaoyao said, a little far away, he couldn't hear clearly, and then, he unexpectedly saw that Tao Yaoyao and the other party actually stopped at the same time, and the other party's generals even hugged their fists to Tao Yaoyao and made a salute.

Mo Li was stunned, his mind was a little blocked for a while, and he didn't figure out what the situation was.

It's just that in a moment, An Chongrong, who was captured by the other party, actually rode back to the field, bumped into Tao Yaoyao, and rushed to the military formation of the military intelligence department with several other horses.

Seeing this scene, Mo Lizhong suddenly moved, as if he had a premonition of something, the expression on his face suddenly became exciting, thinking of that possibility, Mo Li's body trembled slightly with excitement.

Sure enough, Tao Xiaoxiao returned to the front of the formation, waved his hand boredly, and stepped aside. And An Chongrong, who was following behind Tao Yaoyao, smiled awkwardly, and the other young generals of the other party dismounted at the same time and saluted Mo Li, "I've seen Mr. Mo!" ”

Mo Li looked at the people in front of him and was speechless for a while.

These people are Guo Wei, Lin Ying, and Lin Xiong!

The person who captured An Chongrong was Guo Wei.

A horse rushed from the field, came suddenly, when there were still ten steps away from Mo Li, he grabbed the reins of the horse, and when the military horse stood upright and neighed, he flew off the horse and strode towards Mo Li.

"Brother Mo'er!"

Mo Li's expression moved, at this moment, his throat was stiff, and he bowed deeply and slowly, "Mo Li, I've seen the military marshal!" ”

The person who came was Li Congjing.

Li Congjing helped Mo Li up, carefully looked at the best friend in front of him, and said with emotion: "I haven't seen you for a day, if you haven't seen you for three autumns, you haven't seen you for more than a year, and you have lost so much weight!" This is my sin! ”

North into the Bohai Sea, over the past year, after countless hardships and dangers, Rao is Mo Li is always talented, but it is inevitable that he will be exhausted, and in the end, Mo Li is just past the age of the crown. At such an age, experiencing such dangers, and finally successfully completing the task, the bitterness and bitterness of this are difficult to say in a word, even in thousands of words. And leaving the country alone, only taking hundreds of followers, not looking back to set foot on the land of right and wrong in the Bohai Sea, for Daming'an, a person he never knew, was born and died, the root cause of all this, the reason why this is so, is just for Li Congjing's great cause.

In the final analysis, it's for Li Congjing.

With such affection, how can Li Congjing not be moved? If you have a friend like this, what more can you ask for!

Mo Li shook his head and said: "I have been going north for more than a year, and those who ask for it will only live up to my mission." Today's success, don't centrifuge and be safe! ”

……

On this Chinese New Year's Eve, some people were happy and some were worried, when Li Congjing and Mo Li were reunited, thousands of miles away in the hinterland of the Central Plains, the divine capital Luoyang, now the Tang Supreme Li Cunxiao, was feasting the courtiers in the Daming Hall, and it was nearly half of the night, there was no singing and dancing in the field, only the noise of the courtiers talking to each other and drinking.

Li Siyuan, who was in it, was extremely high-ranked, and he was only a stone's throw away from Li Cunmiao.

In today's Tang Dynasty, Li Siyuan's prestige is rarely matched, especially when Li Cunmiao's "perverse behavior" made many old ministers in Hedong begin to deviate from him. In today's Tang Dynasty, Guo Chongtao is certainly trusted and reused by Li Cunxuan, but after all, Guo Chongtao is a civil official, and he rarely experiences battlefield battles.

However, when his popularity is getting better and better, Li Siyuan's life is not comfortable, at least he thinks he is uncomfortable, there is no other reason for this, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Li Cunqiao now treats Li Siyuan without the trust he had at the beginning.

At the beginning, after Li Siyuan destroyed Liang, when Li Cunmiao was welcomed into the city, Li Cunmiao once took Li Siyuan's hand and said to him: "I can take the world, it all depends on the merits of your father and son, and I will share the world with you in the future." Such a sentence shows that Li Cunqiao attached great importance to Li Siyuan at that time.

But the world of the monarch is destined to be impossible to share with the ministers.

In today's banquet, many civil ministers and military generals came to get close to Li Siyuan, and Li Siyuan smiled and responded one by one, but seeing that there were more and more colleagues gathered, Li Siyuan looked at Li Cunqiao from time to time, and seemed a little worried. Li Cunmiao's suspicion of him, Li Siyuan, as a party concerned, can naturally understand it, and even understand it more clearly than others. The last thing he wanted to see was that the scene in front of him made Li Cunqiao unhappy. After all, Li Cunmiao is jealous of him, that is, he is jealous of his high merits, and now that he is so "popular", how can Li Cunmiao be happy?

Li Siyuan is honest and generous by nature, and he is a decent person, and he has never had the slightest idea of arrogance, let alone the habit of being pampered and arrogant. He is a minister, so he wants to be a good courtier, and he has never thought of half a point.

Since Li Cunxun returned to Luoyang, he resigned from his position, and he was worshiped by Li Cunxuan, and he did not accept it. But after all, Li Cunxian is the most outstanding minister of the older generation of the Tang Dynasty, and his weight will never be lost as long as he is alive. For today's banquet, Li Cunshen was also invited, and the position was extremely high, right next to Li Siyuan.

Li Cunxian noticed the concern in Li Siyuan's eyes, and when the crowd was a little thin, he came to Li Siyuan's table with a wine glass and sat down, and said to him with a smile: "Today is a big day, but how can the old man see that your eyes are full of worry?" Is it because you are worried that Li Congjing's kid will not succeed? ”

Li Siyuan was very respectful to Li Cunxian, before that, Li Cunshen was the general manager of the Han Dynasty inside and outside, and Li Siyuan was the deputy, Li Cunshen was Li Siyuan's direct superior, and Li Siyuan has always respected Li Cunxian's merits, for Li Siyuan, who did not know a few big characters, Li Cunxian, who was full of knowledge and had the style of a Confucian general, was undoubtedly highly respected by him. If not, Li Siyuan would not have let Li Congjing worship under Li Cunxian's door before.

The worry in Li Siyuan's eyes did not decrease, and when he saw that there was no one else in front of him, he bluntly said to Li Cunxian: "It has been more than a year since Jingjie lived in Youzhou, and there have been many big movements, and no matter what the original intention of these movements is, and what the effect is, but there are quite a few transgressions, how can I not worry that he will be slandered by villains because of this?" ”

"Being slandered by villains" is a euphemism, and the real meaning is worried about Li Cunmiao's suspicion. Now that they are both father and son, they are indeed in a worrying situation in the face of a king who is suspicious of his ministers.

Li Cunxian didn't drink the wine in the cup, the wine glass he took over was more like an ornament, "The old man recently heard a rumor, saying that Congjing had led a hundred battle troops to Yunzhou in the hot summer?" He also fought with the Khitan Yelu enemy, and Qin Shide was able to capture Shengzhou because of his help. I don't know if this is true or not? ”

Li Congjing's previous move, it is true that it was not made public, but it is impossible for him not to tell the truth to Li Siyuan, because Li Siyuan is very clear about the beginning and end of his move, and now that Li Cun is interrogating, Li Siyuan does not intend to blindly conceal it, sighing: "From Jing to the end, he is young-hearted, easy to be impulsive, not calm enough, Feng and Sheng Erzhou were captured by the Khitan, and he was angry, so he secretly helped the Datong Army to overcome the reckless move of Shengzhou!" ”

Li Cunxian nodded, and suddenly asked, "Do you think Congjing is doing something wrong?" ”

Li Siyuan was stunned and asked, "Does the old general think that Congjing's move is advisable?" ”

"How is it not advisable to be loyal to the country?" Li Cun interrogated.

Li Siyuan didn't know what to say. Although Li Congjing's move was loyal to the country, he committed the taboo of the people's ministers, and as the envoy of the feudal town, he left the town without the king's order, which was a big crime. Especially when Li Siyuan was suspicious and alienated by Li Cunqiao day and night, Li Congjing's move was tantamount to adding insult to injury. This is Li Siyuan's opinion, he believes that Li Cunxun can also see it, so he felt puzzled and looked at Li Cunxun with a puzzled look.

Li Cunmiao knew what Li Siyuan was worried about, but in his opinion, these problems were not a problem at all, he said: "You think that Congjing's move is reckless, this is not bad." But the old man asked you, when you learned that Feng and Sheng were captured by the Khitan, did you also be indignant and ask Your Majesty to fight to attack the Khitan and recover Feng and Sheng? ”

"Yes, but His Majesty did not answer." Li Siyuan replied that he still hasn't figured out why Li Cunmiao turned a blind eye to the Tang Dynasty's territory when it was captured by the Khitan.

"Do you know why Your Majesty didn't allow it?" Li Cunxun asked again.

"This ...... I don't know. If the old general knows why, please ask me. Li Siyuan said sincerely.

Li Cunxian picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and looked at the ministers in the hall in front of him, but there was no figure of these people at the bottom of his eyes, he said lightly with the wisdom of insight into world affairs: "Since the last time Yelu Abaoji attacked Youzhou and was defeated by His Majesty's personal army, the Khitan no longer invaded the south, but instead gathered the troops in the grassland to fight in the east and west. Yelu Abaoji intends to stabilize the grassland first and improve his strength, in order to be ashamed in the future, and then compete with Datang, do you know such thoughts? ”

This matter is not a simple matter, it is related to the Khitan national policy, and those who are not far-sighted cannot see through it, but for people in a position like Li Siyuan, it is not difficult to see clearly, Li Siyuan said: "Yelu Abaoji is ambitious, but his mind is not difficult to peek into. ”

Li Cunxian looked at him, "Since you and I can see Yelu Abaoji's plan, how can Your Majesty not see it?" He continued: "The Khitan's capture of abundance and victory is intended to ensure its great strategy of westward expedition and stability of the grassland. At this time, Yelu Abaoji needs time to stabilize the rear, doesn't His Majesty also need time to do the same thing? ”

Li Siyuan was taken aback, and he remembered a possibility. It is true that Li Siyuan has a mellow character, but this does not mean that he does not know the art of power, he just disdains to use it on weekdays. Li Cunmiao did the same thing, didn't he consolidate the monarchy?

Li Cunzhen saw that Li Siyuan's eyes were clear, and he knew that the other party had understood what he meant, so he continued: "In this case, do you say that Your Majesty will send troops to win and start a big war with the Khitan?" You know, if there is a war, who will the commander of the troops choose? Needless to say, you yourself know that in the current court, under the condition that His Majesty does not drive the expedition in person, the person who can lead the army to such a heavy task is most likely one person. This person is you Li Siyuan! But, at this time, will Your Majesty let you lead the troops into battle? ”

Li Cunmiao will definitely not let Li Siyuan lead the troops to go to battle, because Li Siyuan's meritorious service is high, he is already afraid of Li Siyuan, and he has the mind to share the power of the old generals in Hedong, how can he let Li Siyuan make this great contribution at this time, so that his prestige will be greater?

"This is the reason why Your Majesty does not send troops to win abundantly!" Li Cunxian finally said.

Li Siyuan felt uncomfortable in his heart, he was silent for a long time, and said: "Kefeng and Sheng, after all, are my Tang territory, and now they have been taken away by the Khitan, but they are not sent troops to take it back, isn't Your Majesty afraid that the Khitan will become a trend, and it will be difficult to stop it in the future?" ”

Li Cunxian glanced at Li Siyuan, meaning inexplicably, and said leisurely: "It seems that although you have often been with Your Majesty for so many years, you still don't know enough about Your Majesty!" ”

Li Siyuan was puzzled and looked at Li Cunxian inquiringly.