Chapter 550: The Moonlight and the Old Man

The convoy stopped and stayed overnight at the station. ()

The moon hangs in the sky, and the night is sultry.

The carriage was parked quietly outside the post gate. The horses were unloaded and stood quietly in front of the manger, chewing on the hay. Occasionally snort, wagging tail, and stopping after a few steps.

A few soldiers squatted beside the fire and talked in low voices, smiling happily.

The bonfire was burning, and the light of the fire illuminated the outside of the inn as bright as day.

Su Qianqian, who was wearing a red dress, was standing by the bonfire, cooking a pot of fragrant food.

Lu Heng sat on a small bench, looking at a military report he had just received by the light of the fire.

The military report was sent from the Wuningyuan Corps on the Western Front.

In the letter, Wu Ningyuan, the old man, expressed great dissatisfaction with Lu Heng's order to let him return to Beijing. Sprinkled hundreds of words, all saying that he had to stay. As for the reason for staying, there is not half of it.

To sum it up, I won't go back, and I won't go if I die!

However, at the end of writing, Wu Ningyuan wrote a few words crookedly in a very helpless and sentimental tone: I'm old, if I don't go, I'm afraid I won't have a chance.

After reading the letter, Lu Heng sat in a daze for a while, and then put the letter away.

He knew the reason why Wu Ningyuan didn't come back, and he also knew the meaning of Wu Ningyuan's sentence "If you don't go, I'm afraid you won't have a chance".

Think of the old man's stumbling figure, rickety body, and gray hair swaying in the wind in early spring last year.

It took a lot of effort to get on the horse's back, but he was praising the horse for being too tall. Haha, laughing, saying that His Majesty had rewarded a good horse or something.

On the side, Xiao Dapeng, who was leading the horse, turned his head and raised his hand to cover his eyes.

Lu Heng sat there quietly, and after a while, the corners of his mouth swept up with a beautiful arc.

It's just that after laughing for a moment, I found that the corners of my eyes were a little moist. ()

"Old man, go and go, and no one will stop you. But don't forget, in March next year, when the peach blossoms in Beijing are in full bloom, you and I, as well as the wine banquet agreed by the emperor Lao'er! Lu Heng held the military newspaper in his hand tightly, sighed sadly, and muttered to himself.

"What's wrong?" Su Qianqian pulled up her skirt and sat beside Lu Heng. Turning his head, after seeing the sparkle in Lu Heng's eyes, his heart twitched, and he asked softly.

"Oh, it's okay, it's smoked!" Lu Heng shook his head, raised his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes, and said with a smile.

Su Qianqian looked at Lu Heng quietly, didn't say anything, leaned over gently, put her cheek on Lu Heng's shoulder, and quietly hid in Lu Heng's arms.

Lu Heng held Su Qianqian in his arms, stretched out his hand, stroked Su Qianqian's supple three thousand green silks, raised his head, looked at the crescent moon in the sky, and said nothing.

……

On the western front, the desert is lonely, and the long river is silver.

Wu Ningyuan was wearing the armor of the cold light, leaning on his body, stepping on the hard earth stones under his feet, silently counting in his heart, and walking towards the high slope.

Behind him, Duan Peng and Xiao Dapeng followed closely, the two raised their heads, looked at the old man's staggering steps in front, lowered his head, and his nose was sour.

The cold wind blew, and the old man, with his beard and white hair, walked step by step towards the mound that was not very high.

After walking up the mound, the old man turned his head and glanced at the second general who had deliberately fallen behind him. He smiled, turned his head, and said to himself, "It's really old! ”

Turning his head and looking at the vast desert in the north, the old man's eyes were as sharp as eagle falcons, but there was a flash of tenderness.

From a month ago, after receiving the order of the Lu Heng Corps in the middle to prevent themselves from participating in the Shuofang War, Wu Ningyuan's troops began to concentrate on dealing with the Turkic Right Wang's troops entrenched in the Hexi Corridor.

The beacon fire lasted for three months, and the war was stalemate.

But with the arrival of Duan Peng's 50,000 army, the difficult battle situation was reversed in an instant.

In the first battle of Liangzhou, after the Turkic king left 30,000 corpses, he fled. (，)

The Great Zhou army also fought because of this, opening the entrance to the Hexi Corridor.

In the following month, the army merged into one and advanced all the way along the Qilian Mountains. During this period, he fought three major battles with the right king of the Turks.

The Great Zhou army, whose morale was like a tiger, successively conquered Ganzhou and Suzhou. Most of the Hexi Corridor fell into the hands of the Great Zhou army.

In the earth-shattering battle at Yumen Pass ten days ago, the Turkic Right King, who had been driven to a dead end, led an army of 70,000 to resist stubbornly.

In the cold wind, Wu Ningyuan, who had a white beard, was shirtless and personally beat the drum to help. Duan Peng and Xiao Dapeng, two generals, took the lead and personally led the charge in person. The whole army of 100,000 horses, fearless of death, rushed forward one after another.

In that battle, the Turks entrenched in Yumen Pass suffered heavy casualties, and the losses of 100,000 iron cavalry were almost exhausted. The three sons of the right Turkic king were killed. Even the right Turkic king himself broke an arm, was wounded and fled.

The bloody battle consumed not only the enemy, but even the side of the Great Zhou army suffered heavy casualties.

Duan Peng's left arm was pierced by a feather arrow, so there was no major incident, and it was no big deal after bandaging it. But Xiao Dapeng was a little miserable, after attacking the city, in the fight with the right king of the Turks, he couldn't dodge and was cut off one of his ears. But, thankfully, the head is still there.

Both sides are the elite troops of various countries, and neither is subordinate to the other. The Wuningyuan Army, which traveled long distances and traveled thousands of miles, was far away from the hinterland of the Central Plains and fought alone, and could only move forward, not backward. And the right king of the Turks, who was forced to a desperate situation, if he withdrew from Hexi, it would mean that his territory in the Turks had been lost, and he would eventually end up being annexed. With no way out, he will not retreat.

The two sides met at Yumen Pass, which was destined to be a tragic battle with rivers of blood.

In that battle, the corpses in the city were all over the field, and the blood flowed like a river.

On the second day, the surviving soldiers tearfully collected the mutilated bodies of their comrades and buried them at the foot of Qilian Mountain.

Wu Ningyuan led the whole army to kneel and kowtow and see them off.

As the sun sets, the sky is reddened by the sunset. 、

Looking at the erected tombstone, the soldiers could no longer hide the sadness in their hearts, and cried bitterly.

Conquer the Jade Gate Pass. It means that the Hexi Corridor, which has been lost for a hundred years, will return to the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty again. The road to the Western Regions has been opened up again, and the connection between the Great Zhou and the countries of the Western Regions will surely be strengthened. The political and economic significance is far greater than the military significance.

After resting for three days at Yumen, the army crossed the Qilian Mountains. The moment they stepped on the Mobei grassland, these more than 50,000 people officially embarked on the journey to conquer the Turkic royal court.

At night, the soldiers who crossed the mountain fell asleep tiredly.

Wu Ningyuan, who couldn't sleep, simply got up, dressed up, and left the tent after listening to the cold wind whistling outside the tent.

Then, he took Duan Peng and Xiao Dapeng and went up to a mound outside the camp.

"Old!" Wu Ningyuan raised his hand and wiped the sweat on his forehead, and after taking a long breath, he hunched his back, looked at the north, and sighed.

"I haven't seen you for twenty years, and the eighth prince who was handsome and chic back then is now a dying old man!"

The hunchbacked Wu Ningyuan stood on the mound, with his hands behind his back, looking at the vast desert under the miserable moonlight. Said to himself.

"What about you? Rong'er? ”

……

In the early morning of the next day, the convoy arrived in Zhengzhou.

The sun has just risen, and the sun is shining on this ancient city.

The smooth and neat stone pavement reflects the faint sunlight, which is a little dazzling. The layer of mist floating on the streets of Zhengzhou has not yet lifted.

A few early risers, pushing wheelbarrows carrying food and drink, parked on the side of the street. While yawning, he began to put up flags, set up stoves, and prepare for business.

At this moment, in the city gate that had just been opened, there was a sound of horses' hooves ticking.

The rising sun was a little dazzling, and the peddler set up a pergola with his hands and squinted his eyes to look towards the city gate.

Fuwei Dart Game? So many people? Big deal!

After seeing clearly the flag printed with the Fuwei Dart Bureau on the carriage, the hawker was overjoyed, and hurriedly beckoned his companion to put on it, put a white towel on his shoulder, and sang loudly: "It's open!" ”

The sound was loud, instantly piercing the mist that hung over the city. The sun shines in, shining a warm light and shadow on the ground.

The creaking convoy stopped at the side of the stall.

The door opened, and a handsome boy in a gorgeous robe poked his head out to take a look, then lifted the curtain and stepped out of the car. Then the boy stood outside the carriage and stretched out his hand to help a beautiful woman in a red dress who came out of the carriage.

After seeing the woman in the red dress, Xiao Er's eyes straightened.

And the personable son, after just one glance at him, took the fairy in the red dress and sat down at the table.

The remaining 50 people took off their backpacks and sat down.

The young man took out a silver ticket from his sleeve and slapped it on the table with a clatter.

"Little Er, serve the wine!"

The aroma of the food and drinks gradually spreads.

A few shopkeepers carried plates, quickly walked through the table, and served the wine and cooked meat to each table.

After Xiao Er helped fill the wine bowl, Yan Yunwei, who had been frightened for more than ten days and relaxed today, laughed loudly, picked up the wine bowl, and bumped into each other with a bang.

In an instant, the wine splashed and the aroma of wine overflowed.

"Let's go!"

Lu Heng turned his head and looked at those enthusiastic Yan Yunwei, drinking wine in a big bowl and eating meat freely. Haha smiled, turned his head, looked at Su Qianqian, who was beside him with picturesque eyebrows, and picked up the wine cup.

The two smiled slightly and touched each other gently.

After a while, an old man who walked his dog in the morning, dressed as a rich man, led a local dog, and walked over.

When the old man walked to the stall, he stopped.

Seeing that the old man stopped, those Yan Yunwei, who were drinking, immediately stopped. They all stood up, grabbed the steel knife on the table beside them, and stared at the old man's body with unkind eyes.

The old man turned a blind eye to the sturdy men beside him. Just smiled slightly, looked at Lu Heng on the seat, smiled, and asked, "This son, can you let the old man take a seat?" ”

Lu Heng waved his hand at Yan Yunwei, signaling them not to be nervous. Then he stretched out his hand and pointed to a chair opposite, with a smile in his eyes, and looked at the old man: "Sit!" ”