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For two days in a row, the Yan army rangers have been haunting near Jining City; Jining came to report that the soldiers defending the city were suspected of an ambush, closed the city gate, and did not go to battle, but only waited for the Yan army to attack the city. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info Shen Ruoyu's mood began to become more and more gloomy again. He had to wait, like this for a month, and is still waiting. He made many arrangements, and there are still many suspense unresolved, until he is anxious.

At noon on December 1, Shen Ruoyu was sitting in the tent thinking, and someone walked into the tent. He smelled a special fragrance, and his heart was startled, and he looked up.

"You're finally back! ――Why did you go to cook first? ”

Gu Shenyu put the tray on the table.

"The general hasn't eaten well for a few days, so I did it first."

"Why did you come back? I thought you weren't coming back. ”

Gu Shenyu took out a letter box from his arms.

"This is a letter written by King Yan himself, please take a look at it by the general."

Shen Ruoyu didn't move for a while, and listened carefully to the movement outside the tent for a while. Gu Shenyu noticed his expression and said:

"The general is reassured. In fact, he came back last night, and the reason why he waited until now to see the general was to make sure that he was safe. ”

Shen Ruoyu took the letter box, but he didn't hurry to open it, put it on the case, and looked up at Gu Shenyu.

"What else?"

Gu Shenyu took out another letter. "This is written by the general himself."

Shen Ruoyu took the letter, but still didn't open it, but put it in his arms.

"And?"

Gu Shenyu said: "On the 14th of November, the general sent a secret letter to Guanxian, Shen County, Dong'e, Chiping, Gaotang on the night of the 14th, and Dezhou on the 15th. I wanted to go to Guantao to see King Yan on the 17th, but I heard that the Yan army had already divided its troops to attack Guanxian and Gaotang. On the 21st of the humble position, I caught up with King Yan in Yanggu, followed the Yan army across the river, and when I arrived in Wenshang, King Yan let me go. ”

"What did King Yan say to you?"

"King Yan said, I don't know whether General Shen is a general or a fool."

"What do you mean by that?"

"King Yan said that General Shen pretended to take the waterway, but in fact he took the dry road to lure him to attack Dezhou; No matter how he made a big offensive, he was to defend Dongchang and not move, which made his ambush plan fail. He originally thought that General Shen was clever. Then I learned that General Shen had his back on the west side of the city, surrounded by water on three sides, and on one side of the city, which was really a place of self-surrender. Just as he was about to think that the general was stupid, he heard that the general camp gate was set up with a sword, and the three armies were terrified, and no one dared to disobey the order; He also sent away the prostitutes from the barracks and cleared the military discipline. Fang Cai sighed that although the general was young and able to establish a general, he learned that the general had ordered 200,000 troops to be trapped in Dongchang, thinking that he would sit in the counties and form a siege of the Yan army. The general was worried that the Yan army was robbing grain, and did not dare to go to Dezhou and Jinan to ask for grain, but he requisitioned it from neighboring counties. When he arrived at the Dongchang border town of Yanwang Lianke, he cut off the wings of our imperial army and cut off all the food routes of our army. Now the 200,000-strong army is running out of food, the army is in turmoil, and the general is helpless, but he will only lose his temper in the camp; And the strategy of making the vanguard of the army set up on both sides of the estuary on the south bank of the slip is really stupid. I replied that the bluff of the previous departure from Texas and the sound of attacking the east and west were all the general's strategy. At present, all military affairs in Dongchang's 200,000-strong army are controlled by General Shen alone. King Yan also said that in Jinan before, General Shen used the statue of Emperor Gao to defend against artillery fire, as well as to do tricks and feet in the artillery of the Yan army, but now that I think about it, it is all the strategy of ordinary naughty children, and it is not a talent for commanding troops to fight. ”

Shen Ruoyu nodded. "So far, so good. If this battle can be won by a big victory, Commander Lan's credit is not small. There is one last thing to worry about Your Excellency. ”

After Gu Shenyu received the order to leave, Shen Ruoyu took out Sheng Yong's secret letter. After reading it, he carefully resealed the letter and put it back in his bosom. Then, he opened King Yan's letterbox.

In the letter, King Yan accepted the offer to exchange hostages, and stated that as long as General Shen guaranteed that Li Rang's sister would not be violated, he would also guarantee that Lü Jiang would be unscathed.

King Yan was willing to agree, and it seemed that he really regarded himself as a mediocre talent. Several stones hanging in his chest finally fell to the ground at the same time. For the first time in a month, he felt so relaxed. He called the third brother and Zhong Kexi, and told them that he would be able to pick up Lu Jiang back in a few days, and that he could finally sleep peacefully, and asked the two of them to go back to their tents together tonight to rest well, and they didn't have to stay by their side to wait.

On the fourth watch, Shen Ruoyu was woken up by Gu Shenyu's soft voice. He sat up.

"Is there a situation?" He lowered his voice as well.

"As the general expected, it's on the other side of the river." Gu Shenyu put one thing on the table. a long arrow, the arrow of the Southern Army; The tail of the arrow was extremely delicate and tightly wrapped around several layers of cotton cloth, and black ink penetrated everywhere.

"Did you ever let him find out?"

"The general is reassured. He's sleeping soundly right now. ”

"Can you catch that Yan Bing?"

"I have been taken away by General Yuan Yu, locked up in Dongchang City, and waited for General Zuo to fall."

Shen Ruoyu stood up and looked at Gu Shenyu: "Commander Lan, I am on behalf of the soldiers of the whole army, thank you very much." Go down and rest first. ”

Gu Shenyu withdrew from the tent. Shen Ruoyu picked up the arrow, untied the rope, took off the cotton cloth full of words, and began to read, his sword eyebrows frowned slightly. He turned the arrow and the cloth over and over again, examining every inch of it. Then he carefully folded the cloth and put it into his bosom, and threw the arrow into the basket.

On December 3, the Yan army that had been staying in Dong'a finally moved. The detectives came to report that Wang Zhen and Wang Cong led the Yan army to leave Dong'e, marched eastward, crossed the Daqing River, and turned south sharply to capture Pingyin.

At dinner the next day, he reported that King Yan led his army to leave Wenshang, and went all the way north to Pingyin, where he joined forces with Wang Zhen and Wang Cong.

The battle of Dongchang is finally close at hand.

Not long after dinner, Yuan Yu came to the camp with a team of soldiers, saying that he had something important to tell General Zuo and rank him as a general. When Shen Ruo heard the report, he immediately ordered the generals to discuss the big tent of the Chinese army.

After everyone sat down in the tent, Yuan Yu ordered his subordinates to bring people up. Several Dongchang defenders dragged a Yan soldier in and threw it in front of the generals. The Yan soldier's leather armor has been removed, and there is only a layer of dark military uniform left on his body, his hands and feet are shackled, and his face is covered with whip wounds, and his breath is dying.

Yuan Yu said: "General Zuo, the cavalry under the last general patrolled the riverside after sunset, caught this person, saw his attire, suspected that it was the Yan army, brought back to the city, and asked a few times, but did not say a word." The last general now brings him to see General Zuo, and waits for his fate. ”

Shen Ruoyu walked up to the Yan soldier, examined it carefully, thought about it, turned around and asked the third brother:

"Third brother, you have been in the Yan Wang army for a long time, have you ever seen this person?"

The third brother's face was full of panic: "The Yan army is 300,000, and the king of Yan is constantly recruiting new soldiers, how can I see anyone?" ”

Shen Ruoyu returned to his position, pondered for a moment, and said:

"Since it is Yan Jun, it must be meticulous. Since the Yan army is meticulous and wanders here alone, it can be seen that there must be internal responses in our army's camp. dragged me out and tortured severely, and I must ask for the name of the traitor, if there is one, I will ask for ten. ”

"General, what torture is used?"

Shen Ruoxiao frowned and said, "You also have to ask me?" It doesn't matter what it is, as long as you can ask for it, use it all for me! ”

The Yan soldier was dragged out; Soon, the sound of cane torture was heard outside, accompanied by a burst of howls that did not resemble human voices. Shen Ruoyu looked at Yuan Yu, Yuan Yu glanced at him and smiled slightly. Shen Ruoyu understood, and added viciously:

"Give me a slow, delicate beating! Don't beat him to death until you have spoken. ”

He looked around the tent, and all the generals sat there in silence, not daring to move. He Fu glanced at him secretly, and when he saw him coming, he withdrew his gaze and frowned slightly.

Shen Ruo waited for a while, but Yan Bing always just cried and didn't spit out a single word in his mouth. He summoned the torture sergeant in and ordered:

"Douse him with ice water on me, and then I will continue to fight."

The sergeant took the order and left; All they could hear was the sound of water splashing outside the tent, another howl of souls scattering, and then the sound of torture.

In the cold winter, the north wind gusted outside the tent. The entire battalion listened to the torture in horror, and in the big tent of the Chinese army, all the generals were already as pale as dirt. The third brother, Zhong Kexi, was trembling. Even Yuan Yu began to feel a little unbearable; Only Shen Ruoyu remained unmoved, as cold as ever.

After a while, the off-the-books sergeant came in and reported:

"Report to the general, but he still won't say a word."

When Shen Ruoyu heard this, he stood up, walked outside the tent, and looked at the Yan soldier indifferently. Everyone followed out of the big tent and saw that the Yan soldier was tied to the pillar, and pus and blood mixed with ice water were dripping down from head to toe, and the flesh and blood on his body were blurred, and he trembled violently like chaff. Zhong Kexi and the third brother couldn't help but turn their backs.

Shen Ruoyu said coldly: "Chop off the ten fingers of his hands for me one by one." Chop a knife, ask a question, and see if he moves. ”

The generals were taken aback when they heard this. The Yan soldiers were chopped off ten fingers one after another, and the screams were endless, but they still didn't say a word.

He Fu finally couldn't help it at this time, and opened his mouth to persuade: "General Shen, the punishment is already enough for this part, if he doesn't say it at this time, then he won't say it anyway." Forget it. The general wanted to deter the whole army, and this effect has already worked. ”

Shen Ruoyu thought about it, turned around, looked at the miserable Yan Bing, and said viciously:

"If you don't recruit yet, you will gouge out his two eyes for me, gouge out one, and ask once. If he has the ability, he will continue to carry it. ”

The faces of the 200,000 army changed color with brushes. It was those torture sergeants who had long been accustomed to seeing flesh and blood flying and killing people like hemp, and they couldn't help but hesitate at this moment. All the generals stopped together:

"The general has mercy, a spy, why is this so!"

Yuan Yu also opened his mouth to persuade: "General Zuo, he won't say it anyway, the general might as well kill him." ”

Shen Ruoyu glanced at the generals, but his gaze was more ruthless than the north wind of Layue raging outside the tent. Many thoughts and emotions in his heart were mixed together, and he became more and more angry, and said:

"Generals, have you forgotten the fate of the Huailai defenders and the Cangzhou surrender? It is precisely because of the mercy of the Son of Heaven and the benevolence and righteousness of the imperial army that the Yan army is so animalistic. I will cut this puppet with a thousand knives today, and compared with him Yan King, what cruelty can I speak of! ”

He looked at the sergeant and shouted, "Gouge! ”

The torture sergeant received the order, and no longer hesitated, and the sharp knife slashed at the left eye of the Yan soldier.

The 200,000 imperial army stood in the north wind in unison, listening to the inhuman scream tearing apart the entire camp, and the earth under their feet, the sky above their heads, and a blank blank in their minds.

The two knives have already gone down. The sergeant presented the gouged-out eyes and reported:

"Report to the general, the person has passed out, and there is still no word."

Shen Ruoyu didn't speak immediately. He stood there motionless, thought for a moment, and then sneered. The hearts of the 200,000 army were cold, as if they had been splashed with a bucket of ice water from head to toe, and the sneer was stronger than the raging north wind.

Shen Ruoyu laughed for a while, stopped laughing, and said coldly:

"It seems that this traitor is of great value to Yan Jun, and it is by no means ordinary. Hang him to the camp gate and freeze to death, and throw him into the river. Orders were given to all armies, but there were collaborators,-"

He paused; But the pause felt like an eternity.

Shen Ruoyu snorted coldly, didn't say anything more, passed through the gaze of the 200,000 army, and walked straight back to his tent.

Yuan Yu followed up and wanted to speak, but hesitated for a long time, not knowing whether to speak.

Shen Ruo saw him come in and motioned for him to wait, but he walked out of the tent door and asked:

"What about Zhong Kexi and the third brother?"

The subordinate guarded and said: "Report to the general, the two of them - the two of them vomited, they were unwell, and they are now in the military doctor's tent." ”

Shen Ruoyu frowned: "Is it so serious?" -- When the two of them come back, let them rest well, and do not need to come again to listen to orders. But there's something you can do to replace them. ”

"Yes, General."

Only then did Shen Ruoyu turn around and return to the tent.

"General Yuan, please have something to say."

Yuan Yu said: "General Zuo, that Yan soldier - it is inevitable that the punishment is too much, but it frightened the soldiers. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "Killing chickens and monkeys, in order to set an example, you can't do it, for this deterrent." What's more, cutting off his ten fingers and gouging out his eyes is not my originality, but I still learned it from King Yan. He brutalized our soldiers so much, but I can't torture his people in this way? ”

"The last general obeyed the general's secret order, poured him dumb medicine, and could only shout, and could no longer speak, I thought that the general was just a little staff and pretended, but I didn't expect——"

"General Yuan is accusing me of being cruel?"

"We all thought that the general had always been kind and benevolent, and that he had sent back the camp prostitutes and rarely punished the soldiers, and that today he was indeed beyond everyone's expectations."

"It depends on who's right. Thinking of the Huailai defenders and Cangzhou soldiers, I only feel that I am not cruel enough. Shen Ruoyu sat down and was silent for a while. General Yuan, please go back. Today's matter, thank you to the general for his secret help. ”

After Yuan Yu left, He Fu came into the tent again. Shen Ruoyu looked at He Fu and raised his hand to cover his face.

"If General He wants to scold me for being ruthless, General Yuan has already scolded me just now. I had no choice but to do it, not just because he was a spy of the Yan Army, in fact, there were other difficulties. ”

He Fu said: "I know. I didn't mean to blame the general; Emperor Taizu Gao's treatment of enemy prisoners was once worse than this. I came to ask the general, what other illusions do I want to do to show King Yan, how should we cooperate with the general? ”

Shen Ruoyu raised his head in surprise: "General He? ”

He Fudao: "General Yuan claimed that this person was only caught after sunset; The whip marks on the head and face of the Yan soldier were stacked, and the swelling was covered with healing, and the blood clotted was dark brown, so it had been two or three days. The reason why the general did this must be because he already has full evidence, and at this moment he still wants to use the hands of the traitor to continue to report to King Yan, in order to avoid startling the snake, so he pretends that he has just been caught. There was a look of pleading and despair in the Yan soldier's expression, and the shouting voice was not like ordinary people, presumably it was not that he would rather die than give in, but that he was manipulated and couldn't speak. This is all to reassure the traitor. Since the general has already granted credit to General Yuan Yu, why don't you let me and others participate in it? Or, the general's suspicion of a traitor is among us? ”

Shen Ruoyu sighed and said: "General He is so wise; A little trick was seen through by the general at a glance. In this case, I bothered the general to quickly invite all the generals to come to my account and discuss secrets. ”