From Mayi to the north, the grass is green along the way, and the sky is high and the clouds are light. From time to time, I see the herdsmen in the thatched huts, and their faces are full of sorrow.

Although the scenery here is good, it is at the intersection of the Turks and the Great Sui, in recent years, the Turkic relations of the Great Sui are said to be mutually beneficial, from time to time there are Turkic soldiers who go south to plunder, when this is where the fat sheep is, the Great Sui soldiers guarding the border are also many counterattacks, the two sides have hurt each other, but it is the people here who suffer.

However, despite the hardships here, the people still stayed here in fear, because they could no longer find a paradise of their own. For them, the harsh military service is really more terrifying than the war and plundering between the two sides.

A group of about 300 soldiers, all of them in bright armor, horses with good bows, marched north without hurry, and had reached the Purple River at noon.

The water of the Purple River is as bright and clear as ever, flowing quietly. The green hills in the distance were majestic, continuous, and expanded like a dragon and snake, and immediately a general mixed iron spear waved lightly, and said in a deep voice: "Get off the horse and rest for an hour." ”

Three hundred cavalrymen dismounted in unison, with the same movements, taking pots to make fires, cooking and fetching water, several people were responsible for feeding the horses, unloading the baggage, and two of them galloped forward on horseback, taking over the sentinels, everyone did things silently, but they did it meticulously. However, there were still dozens of people who did not dismount, not looking at the general, but at another man on a white horse.

Xiao Buyi scolded with a smile: "I have a big official position here, but the commander is Li Juncheng's biggest, so you can just obey Li Juncheng's command in the future." ”

The dozens of men suddenly responded, dismounted sparsely, sat down cross-legged, Sun Shaofang shook his head and said, "You are used to eating, drinking and enjoying, just waiting for dinner?" "Gesture kicked over, "Don't you want to help collect the dead branches for the fire?" ”

Of course, the men are the guards who followed Xiao Buyi to the south, Hu Biao and Sun Jin are all impressively listed, in fact, most of the guards who went south are following Xiao Buyi's side this time. Ah Rust and Zhou Muru stayed by the side of the bearded guest, just to have something unnoticed.

Although the guards have been out for a long time, many of them are full of food, and the whole family is not hungry. Of course, there are people like Zhou Dingbang, but there are not many. When Xiao Buyi set out from Liang County, he allowed these guards to go straight back to the Eastern Capital. Sun Shaofang is a rare leisure, he wants to have nothing to do in the east, and asks to follow Xiao Buyi, as soon as he asks, the rest of the guards are all violently corresponding, knowing that today's servant Shaoqing is a mess, and he has a lot to do with him. Although this adult does not loot money, he never pushes when a magistrate sends money. In this way, on the way back and forth, everyone made a lot of money.

Zhang Qing was going to the Eastern Capital, on the one hand, he wanted to reply to the Ministry of War, and on the other hand, it was because of Zhou Dingbang. Although Sun Shaofang is sleek, he never forgets the promise he made. Although Zhou Dingbang was a traitor and died, it was excusable, the family was helpless, and Sun Shaofang left Zhang Qing in the Eastern Capital to take care of Zhou Dingbang's family.

Xiao Buyi's treasure has already been arranged, except for a few people such as Yuan Lan who know it, even Sun Shaofang doesn't know it. The filial piety of the magistrate was given to his subordinates, and the guards followed him with all their hearts.

They arrived at Jinyang Palace in Taiyuan County from Liang County, and arrived at Ma Yi after only half a day's rest, and Ma Yi stayed for another night, and the second day was to set off for the Turks. It's just that when they came, there were only dozens of people, but when they went forward again, there were more Li Jing and three hundred soldiers.

Li Jing has always been taciturn, and all the guards in the east know and don't know, knowing that he was originally an outsider, and he only recently became a county official. Originally, they all had contempt, but seeing that Xiao Buyi had always been affectionate and respectful to Li Jing, he didn't dare to underestimate Li Jing. Li Jing's ability is not clear to the guards, but Lord Xiao's ability is obvious to all, Lord Xiao should be the first to bear the calamity, and there are good things to share. However, they are used to being idle, and the soldiers under Li Jing are following Li Jing's words and dare not disobey them, but they are still lazy and lazy, and do not obey Li Jing's orders.

"Second brother, do you want to rest again?" Xiao Buyi said with a smile.

"Are you in a hurry to be this marriage giver?" Li Jing dismounted and asked, taking off the saddle by the way, and Xiao Buyi did the same.

Xiao Buyi knew that Li Jing cherished horsepower, and many places were done by himself, just because the cavalry was fighting, and accumulating horsepower was the most important, Li Jing had to unload the saddle every time he rested, which seemed troublesome, but it was just for the horses to better fight and travel far.

"I'm not in a hurry." Xiao Buyi sat down cross-legged and looked into the distance, "It's just that this marriage envoy is not easy to do." ”

"If you know, it's good." Li Jing also sat down, looked at the carelessness of the guards, and frowned.

"When the second brother is free, just train these subordinates of mine to be like your soldiers." Xiao Buyi smiled bitterly: "They are used to being idle, just like me, the second brother should not be surprised." ”

Li Jing shook his head, "It's not strange to see it, it's just that your subordinates may be able to fight alone, but if you want to say that the march is fighting, it's just a rabble, and it's vulnerable." ”

Xiao Buyi nodded, "What the second brother said is very true. ”

Li Jing looked into the distance, "Third brother, I know that your martial arts are not bad now, but if you are in the midst of thousands of troops, you will be more than capable of self-preservation and insufficient in combat." The leader of the army lies in strict discipline, otherwise Zhuge Wuhou would not say that there are controlled soldiers, incompetent generals, and cannot be defeated; Uncontrolled soldiers, capable generals, invincible. ”

"Second brother, say something I can understand." Xiao Buyi smiled bitterly.

Li Jing explained: "What Wuhou means when he says this is that the army is well-trained and disciplined, and even if it is a mediocre general, he will not defeat the battle. But if your army is chaotic without a fight, even if it is a brave and virtuous general, it will inevitably be dangerous. ”

Xiao Buyi listened with relish, nodded and said, "I see, what Zhuge Wuhou said is very reasonable. It seems that a mediocre man like me, if he can lead a well-trained army, has a chance to win. ”

Li Jing smiled, "What you said also makes sense, so I'm trying to find a way to help you train an iron army in case you need to be prepared." When the time comes, if there is really any battle, the third brother does not seek to kill the enemy, and there is always no problem in self-preservation. Sun Tzu's art of war is cloudy, the teachings are unclear, the officials are impermanent, Chen soldiers are vertical and horizontal, and they are chaotic. Seeing Xiao Buyi rolling his eyes, Li Jing smiled and explained: "If this sentence wants to be elaborated in detail, that is, if the training and teaching methods are appropriate, the soldiers will be willing to obey the general's orders, but if the teaching is not lawful, even if you supervise it sooner or later, it will be useless." There will be no prestige, and the army will be invincible. Since ancient times, there have been countless examples of self-rebellion and self-destruction. At that time, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of Qin King Fu Jian seemed to be powerful, but they retreated and collapsed in the Battle of Weishui, in the final analysis, it was just a mess. If there are soldiers with strict orders, it is not a lie to break 3,000 from 3,000. General Zhang led the twelve counties of Henan Province, and was often able to win more with less, although the thieves often numbered tens of thousands, but they often collapsed under a single blow, and to put it bluntly, it was the evil result of unclear teaching. When I arrived in Qi County at the beginning of the year, General Zhang's method of using soldiers was also decent, but it was enough to teach him to win all battles. ”

Xiao Buyi sighed lightly: "What the second brother said is very reasonable, but the truth is reasonable, and there are many people who understand, but not everyone can train such soldiers like the second brother." ”

Li Jing nodded slowly, "Third brother, in fact, you are also smart, but now you are not the general who commands the whole army, because you are too friendly, of course it is okay to make friends with people like you, because people like you are really people, and you can make friends as you like, and you are in a comfortable mood." But you can't be your men, because they will be at a loss, and there are many kinds of people in the world, but there are many soldiers who cannot do without orders. Back then, Shang Shuling Yang Gong was actually not good at strategy, but he was able to win all battles, do you know the reason? ”

Xiao Buyi pondered for a long time before shaking his head and said, "I don't know." ”

He groaned not to think about Yang Su's method of using soldiers, but to think about Li Jing's comments on him, and he couldn't help but say that what Li Jing said was to the point and extremely accurate.

"Yang Gong can win a hundred battles, but it is just that the army is strictly governed and the rewards and punishments are clear." Li Jing said slowly: "Every time Yang Gong goes out of the army, he must control the crowd strictly, and every time he marches and fights, he first looks for soldiers to be negligent and beheaded, and there are more than 100 people when there are many times, and there are more than a dozen people when there are few. ”

Xiao Buyi was a little dumbfounded when he heard this, and only said after a while: "Is he a killer?" It's just that this method is a little too cruel. ”

Li Jing nodded, "That's why I said that you are not bad at martial arts, and if you want to say that leading the army to fight is still too bad, Yang Gong must kill soldiers every time he goes out to the army, and before he bleeds, he still laughs and laughs freely." When facing the enemy, he ordered a few hundred men to charge, and if he could not capture but survived, no matter how many, he would be killed. In this way, the soldiers under his command have the heart of death when they go to war, and they are invincible in order to become the famous generals of the Great Sui. It's just that although he is fadu, the soldiers who can follow him must record their small merits and reward every inch of their merits, which is much stronger than some generals leading the army to attack the enemy, but the merits of the soldiers have been tampered with by the scribes. ”

Xiao Buyi sighed softly: "I just discovered that there are some things that some people will never be able to do. ”

Li Jing patted him lightly on the shoulder and comforted: "Fortunately, what you do, some people will never be able to do." ”

**Li Jingxiao Buyi talked about the art of war for a long time, had lunch, and walked forward. Li Jing has always done things in an orderly manner, not in a hurry, although everyone is in a hurry, they rarely feel tired, and they can't help but secretly admire Li Jing's scheduling method, Sun Shaofang also gave Xiao Buyi a thumbs up in private, saying that Lord Xiao really has the wisdom to know people, and it is not simple to be a mere Mayi County, when he was in the Eastern Capital, he only heard that Li Jing was not bad, and now he can see it, so he feels that his reputation is worthy of it.

Xiao Buyi was secretly amused, and said in his heart that he knew Li Jing and then befriended Li Jing more or less because he knew that Li Jing was very good, which had nothing to do with knowing people.

Li Jing was praised and degraded, and his joy and anger were invisible, and everyone crossed the Purple River, but under the leadership of Li Jing, they went straight to the north. Although Li Jing has been in the Eastern Capital for a long time, he still knows the world without going out, but he is also not familiar with the Turkic terrain, and everything he knows is only recorded in books, so he found a Viga in Mayi early to lead the way.

Viga is still the same old, but obviously not the Viga who led the merchants out of the fortress at the beginning, Li Jing did not let him walk in front, but when he had time, he asked Viga a few words in a low voice, and spent a lot of time pondering, as if he wanted to keep every grass and tree here in his mind.

This place has entered the territory of the Turks, but it is still relatively desolate, the herdsmen have more cattle and sheep, and they are a little uneasy when they see that everyone is clearly armored, but they are a little relieved when they see the first big banner and the word "marriage" written on it.

Because of the border with the Great Sui, many people can speak Turkic dialect, and there are also many Turkic people who know the writing of the Great Sui. Marriage is not a strange thing for Turkic herdsmen, when Kedun married to the Turks, thousands of people followed, this time only these few hundred, presumably some undesirable princess to marry.

Li Jing raised the banner for the soldiers to proclaim goodwill, but it saved a lot of trouble, and few people asked along the way.

Xiao Buyi remembered that when he first went out of the fortress, he went out of the Purple River to the northeast, where the servants and Ba Yegu were located, and this time it was to the north, although it was not far from the Mengchen tribe, but it was never close, and I couldn't help but feel lost. He came to the grassland, and originally wanted to see Meng Chenxue, but now he seems to be getting farther and farther away from Meng Chenxue's Meng Chen clan.

The grassland is so big, the sky is blue, the four fields are blank, and the march is forever endless.

When Xiao Buyi saw Li Jing asking about Viga, Zongma went over and asked, "Second brother, do you still know Turkic?" ”

Li Jing nodded, "A little." ”

Xiao Buyi was embarrassed, "What can't the second brother?" ”

Li Jing thought for a while before saying, "I won't have a child." ”

Xiao Buyi and Li Jing laughed together, Xiao Buyi didn't expect Li Jing to make such a joke with him, and asked, "I see that the second brother is not familiar with the Turkic terrain, but he can speak Turkic, so I can't help but feel a little strange." ”

Li Jing looked at the mountains in the distance, and suddenly asked, "Does the third brother know how old the elder brother is now?" ”

Xiao Buyi saw Li Jing's calm and expressionless face, and said after a while: "In your early thirties, less than forty?" ”

Li Jing smiled, stretched out his right hand and said, "I don't know if my brother really doesn't know, or do you want me to be relieved?" In fact, after five years as a brother, it will be the year of knowing his fate. ”

Xiao Buyi was stunned, of course he knew how old the year of knowing his fate was, and the year of knowing his fate was called half a hundred, which means fifty, and he never thought that Li Jing would be so old. From this point of view, the bearded guest is the eldest of the three, and he has to be in his fifties, but it can't be seen from his face, these two big brothers worship him at the age of his father, which is also a very face-saving thing for him.

"Zi said: I am five out of ten and am determined to learn, thirty and stand, forty and not confused, fifty and know the destiny of heaven......" Li Jing said abruptly: "For my brother's eyes, I know the year of fate, but in the end I have achieved nothing." I just thought that I would end up doing nothing, but I didn't expect that in less than half a year, I would lead the army twice. Looking back at the three hundred soldiers, Li Jing smiled and said, "Although the number is only three hundred, it is the happiest thing in my life." ”

Xiao Buyi comforted: "Second brother doesn't have to be decadent, I think Jiang Taigong seems to be in his early eighties before being reused......

"Eighty?" Li Jing smiled, "I don't know if I can live to that time." As his brother was only sixteen years old, he was transferred to Chang'an Gongcao, thinking that the Great Sui was initially determined, and external troubles were frequent, and he would learn from Huo Huqi to become famous at a young age, and he went east and west to fight, and made immortal achievements for the Great Sui. ”

Xiao Buyi could only smile bitterly, of course Huo Huqi meant that Huo Quai, who became famous at a young age, and Huo Quai, the god of war of the big man! The Huns who made the fierce and fierce also had to sing, kill my Qilian Mountain, so that my six animals will not rest; The loss of my Yanzhi Mountain has made my women colorless Huo Quai.

It's a pity that Huo Qu became famous early and died earlier, although he fought a hundred battles and fought six Huns, he still died of illness in his early twenties.

"Brother Ke didn't expect this to be seven or eight years." Li Jing said lightly: "Then I finally rose a little, and when I was a straight chief in the palace, it was ten years of waste in a blink of an eye." Later, he made the Ji County Order, the Anyang County Order, and the Sanyuan County Order, and Yu Lu could add one stone every year, but it was getting farther and farther away from his original ambition to be a brother. ”

Xiao Buyi looked at Li Jing with a complicated gaze, but he was silent, he knew that at this time, he only needed to listen. Li Jing's career all the way, it seems that he has been promoted slowly, but he still belongs to the kind of unwilling. These official positions may not be bad for others, but for Li Jing, there are only three words, I don't like it!

"Huo Hussar has passed down the eight characters, the Huns are not destroyed, why should they be at home." Li Jing sighed softly, "Brother Wei was also fascinated at that time, but he had been doing nothing for more than ten years, and at this time he met the eldest brother and the red ......."

His face showed a little nostalgia, like sadness, and like nostalgia, "At that time, the red breeze was the age of a flower, a face like a flower, I was disheartened at that time, but she just comforted me and said that it was not my fault that I was born at the wrong time." I know that my brother is not satisfied with your sister-in-law's personality, but you look at my second brother's face, not only give her enough face, but also give her a beautiful jade gift this time......"

He wanted to say something, but he still didn't say anything, Xiao Buyi smiled and said: "It's just a gesture, why should the second brother mention it again." ”

Li Jing was silent for a long time before he said: "Your sister-in-law is indeed a little snobbish now, but many times it is helpless. Poor and lowly couples mourn everything, and they can't see anything when they are prosperous and rich, anyone sees your scenery, I heard that many scholars are deliberately marrying their daughters to you, even if Li Yuan's old ghost is promoted to be a pacifier, but it seems that he left his daughter in the eastern capital to guard the house, I guess he may want to use Li Caiyu to win you over. ”

Xiao Buyi sweated profusely, and said with a wry smile: "The second brother is thinking too much, I have only met Li Caiyu once now, what are you talking about?" ”

Li Jing smiled and said, "I have been a brother for decades, and I rarely make a mistake. It's just a cloth cloth, you have to remember that the person who shows you kindness to you must not be trusted with sincerity, and the one who can never leave you in times of trouble is your lifelong companion. Your sister-in-law was originally the maid of Shangshu Ling Yang Gong, but later when your second brother was down, she valued me and resolutely decided to elope with me, so that your brother will be grateful for the rest of her life. Fortunately, Shang Shu made Yang Gong quite open-minded at the beginning, and he didn't think he was angry, and he didn't pursue it, otherwise he was afraid that his brother would start to die that year. ”

Xiao Buyi smiled, "Yang Gong's leadership is severe, I didn't expect that it would be the beauty of sincerity and benevolence." ”

Li Jing showed gratitude on his face, and said after a while: "When I was a brother and met my eldest brother, I can see that the eldest brother also likes the red whisk, but it's a pity that the elder brother can't separate the red whisk at the beginning, but he is a little ashamed of the eldest brother......"

Xiao Buyi shook his head and said: "The second brother said that some losses are doomed, and some fates will never have any results. Life is like this, you don't necessarily have someone you love, and the person who loves you doesn't necessarily mean that you will love her. But if she loves you too, and you love her, it's cruel and helpless to separate and refuse, and if you pretend to be great and push her to others, it's something that my brother and I don't approve of. ”

Li Jing was silent for a long time before he said, "Third brother, thank you." ”

"By the way, I heard that the eldest brother and you and your sister-in-law seemed to have caused a sensation in the capital, I don't know what's going on?" Xiao Buyi asked curiously.

Li Jing smiled, "At the beginning, the red breeze was as beautiful as a flower, which naturally attracted countless disciples. Li Valu wanted to rob the red whisk by force, and in anger for his brother, he killed the man by mistake. Li Valve was a monstrous power at that time, and he was going to be punished as a brother at the moment. The eldest brother stepped forward, went to Li's house at night, wrote on the wall that the murderer Zhang Zhongjian was also, and put a dagger on the head of the bed, silently. ”

Xiao Buyi thought that he could make Li Jing angry, that person was also a little capable, but Li Jing back then may have been young and vigorous, far less calm than now, and he didn't want to explore too many details, so he smiled and said: "Big brother has excellent martial arts, and it is indeed easy to do this kind of thing." ”

Li Jing's face was moved again, "The eldest brother's intention is obvious, that is, to warn those people not to embarrass me." Although that family is powerful, it is afraid of the peerless martial arts of the eldest brother, and it is a grievance, so this matter will not be over. It's just that since then, the eldest brother has been wanted by the government, with his martial arts, of course, everything is just a formality, and who would do such a thankless job. The eldest brother rarely appeared openly in the capital because of this incident, and I was also sent to be a foreigner because of this incident, and the official rank remained the same, but he was dealing with livestock all the time. ”

Xiao Buyi understood all the causes and consequences, and secretly thought that Li Jing was so talented, he was not used by the Great Sui, he originally thought that Yang Guang had no vision, but he didn't expect that everything turned out to be Li Valve's secret troublemaker, for a person like Li Jing, letting him be Bi Ma Wen is really not much better than killing him.

Turning his mind, Xiao Buyi suddenly thought that Li Jing could be promoted from a foreigner to the county of Mayi, although it had something to do with him, maybe it was also because of the fall of Li Valve.

"In addition to studying the art of war, when I have nothing to do, I study the customs and geography of the Western Regions, Tuyuhun and Goryeo, and by the way, I learned the languages of several of them." Li Jing said with a smile: "In fact, there are more than the languages of these places, even if Persian is a brother, I will speak some, I originally thought that this life was useless, but I didn't expect that after meeting the virtuous brother, it would be hard to be a brother, so that I could say a few words with Viga." ”

When Xiao Buyi remembered the saying that opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared, he sighed with emotion, Li Jing is nearly half a hundred years old, but he does not feel sorry for himself, and he can achieve great achievements only by accumulating thick and thin, which seems to be no fluke.

The two walked side by side, talking while walking, which was a rare pleasure.

"Now that we have walked a few days, there is Iron Mountain not far ahead. After passing the Iron Mountain and walking for a while, it is estimated that you will be able to reach the territory of Jishe. Li Jing waved his finger and saw the mountains in front of him, and the mountains were iron-blue.

"Iron Mountain? Does this mountain produce iron? Xiao Buyi smiled and asked, "Otherwise, how could there be such a title?" ”

"What the third brother said is right, Turkic iron smelting is a must, and this iron mountain is the best resource for smelting blades." Li Jing stared at the distant mountains, "I want Huo Hu to ride through Qilian Mountain, and after his death, the mausoleum will also be in the shape of Qilian Mountain. ”

Xiao Buyi said on the side: "Where there is a will, there is a way, with the second brother's ability, he will definitely be able to stop Huo Hu from riding in the future." ”

Li Jing smiled, and without waiting for an answer, his eyes froze, and his face became solemn. Xiao Buyi also saw a black spot in the distance, which gradually became larger, and he rode at a gallop, which was the outpost guerrilla sent by Li Jing.

Li Jing led the army, always paid attention to outpost exploration, so that he knew himself and the enemy, and every time he was two game envoys alternately moving forward to inquire about the news, that person galloped so fast, obviously there was an emergency.

The man didn't wait to dismount, and he had already shouted: "Master Li, there is a gust of wind in front of the horse thief!" I am rushing towards this direction, and please make a decision quickly. ”.

(To be continued)