Knowing that Murong Feng was defeated by Yuan Shao, Tan Shihuai sat on horseback for a long time and did not move, his face was expressionless, he couldn't see what he was thinking, but the corners of his eyes twitched imperceptibly twice.

"Go back!" Tanshi Huai didn't say a word, turned the horse and left, none of the three thousand soldiers of the Xuanwu Battalion hesitated, and followed Tanshi Huai back neatly.

Tanshi Huai sat on the back of the horse with his waist straight, his lips were tightly closed, and his mind kept echoing the words of the master, this is a war, not a private fight, there are too many things that affect the outcome of the game, and the role of personal martial arts is very limited. The development of things was as expected by Shizun, although he was invincible, he successively defeated several famous generals and heroes among the Han people, Gongsun Zhan was defeated by him, Yuan Shao was defeated by him, and Liu Xiu was chased by him everywhere, but the final result was not what he wanted: Xianbei in the west was basically destroyed, Xianbei in the east was broken, and Xianbei in the middle also suffered heavy losses.

He won every battle, but the more he fought, the weaker he became.

He suddenly remembered the overlord of Chu four hundred years ago, he felt that he was like the overlord of Chu, he was invincible on the battlefield, but in the end, he could only be embattled, defeated and killed, and he had no shame to see his father and elders in Jiangdong.

Why? Why was it that in the past I was able to beat the Han people to the point of embarrassment, and even wanted to make peace with me, but now that they are on the grassland, on our battlefield, I can no longer continue the previous victory?

Could it be that the Han people just didn't take me seriously before, but now they are angry and have completely repelled me with a single blow?

Tanshi Huai's thoughts fluctuated, his eyes that had always been like icebergs were a little irrepressibly flustered and painful, he didn't know why things turned out like this, he had always regarded the Han people as weak two-legged sheep, but now he was beaten to the ground by these two sheep, this result came too suddenly, so that he was not psychologically prepared at all.

Get back? Do you go back and continue the fight, or do you hide like a wounded wolf and lick your wounds, heal your wounds and come back again? If he just admits defeat, will the tribes that have always regarded him as a god continue to support him, will they still have to conquer them through bloody slaughter as before, and will the Xianbei people still have to kill each other again after being massacrated by the Han people?

Sandalwood felt that his mind was blank.

After running for a day, Luo Yueyuan was still in the sky, and then he found that he had been unknowingly taken out of four or five hundred miles by that hateful man, if it wasn't for the news from Murong Feng, he might have been led to the side of the Han people. Not so long ago, Hansele was a place of freedom for him, but now it was full of danger and conspiracy, as if there were countless hungry wolves drooling in the dark, waiting for him to jump into a trap.

What's wrong with me? Tanshi Huai woke up suddenly, cold sweat on his forehead, am I scared?

"Stop moving." Tanshi Huai raised his hand, glanced at the surrounding terrain, and looked at the brilliant sunset on the horizon, and decided to camp here and rest for a day, so that the soldiers who had been chasing for a few days could recover their strength. "Pass my order, let Murong Feng gather all the departments, let Micah and Su Li be on guard, and retreat twenty miles...... No, thirty miles. ”

The herald galloped away.

Tanshi Huai ordered to rest, released the vigilant scouts, and then walked alone to a high slope and sat down cross-legged. The guards brought meat and water, but he didn't eat it, but just sat there motionless, looking stubbornly and desperately at the southern sky. He had spent half his life dreaming of stepping on that fertile land, but he still stopped at the Great Wall that he once called a pigpen.

Night fell, there was no moon, the stars opened their eyes in the sky, looking down on the common people indifferently and calmly, and the boundless sand dunes were like black beasts lurking in the darkness, looking at the tiger, trying to choose people to eat. The soldiers of the Xuanwu battalion rested on the hillside, and the piles of bonfires trembled in the night wind, as if they could not stand the night cold. The figures of the soldiers around the campfire were motionless, like stone carvings.

Tanshi Huai suddenly remembered his father to Touluhou. At that time, he was fostered in his grandfather's house, and his father followed the Huns to fight, and every time he came back, he would sit by the campfire and tell him about those conquests. His father was very indifferent to him, maybe in his heart, he always suspected that he was not his son, but he had no brothers and sisters, and his father had to talk to him, and he only listened perfunctorily, but in his heart he was pondering the mantra that the master had just taught him.

Until one day, he found that his father's once straight waist was inadvertently rickety, his father's once arrogant voice became sad, and the story he told changed from how many Han people's property he robbed to what kind of good friends he had lost and what kind of injuries he had suffered, and he felt a strong shock.

At that time, he had a feeling that his father would either die on the battlefield one day, or he would hobbled on the grassland with a sheep whip and hunched over until he died quietly.

He didn't want to die like that, so he took over a dozen of his father's meagre slaves and began his career as a war. With his outstanding martial arts, he gradually became famous and became a young warrior on the grassland, but he was just a well-known centurion who could only give people his life, until one day, Shizun gave him a Han art of war, and he suddenly became enlightened and knew that war and killing are not exactly the same thing.

It took him less than ten years to unify Xianbei and establish a powerful alliance that spanned thousands of miles and controlled more than 100,000 strings, and his name was recited among the Xianbei people, making the Han people tremble. Countless warriors on the prairie bowed down to him, and countless prairie girls were so excited to see him that they couldn't sleep.

He fantasized about one day being able to sit in that majestic city and command the world.

A breeze blew, and Tanshi Huai's eyelids trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes, looking at the familiar and unfamiliar figure in front of him. He was stunned for a moment, and slowly fell to the ground: "Master! ”

"Come with me." The man's voice was still calm without any emotion: "You have been defeated, follow me out of here, let go of all mundane affairs, and devote yourself to cultivating the Great Dao." ”

"The avenue?" Sandalwood Huaipin smacked these two words, but found that he was not a little enthusiastic. Thirty years ago, when he first heard these two words, his eyes lit up, but now he was not interested.

"I've learned a trick, if it's possible, maybe you can break through."

"If it works?" Tanshi Huai slowly straightened up: "Shizun is asking me to try?" ”

"Isn't the path of cultivation just trying?" The man asked, "The way of heaven is far-reaching, how can it be achieved overnight?" It takes countless efforts and even lives to get close to the avenue. Some people spend their entire lives and can't even see the doorway of the avenue, what are you not satisfied with? ”

"However, there are many Xianbei people waiting for me......"

"Waiting for you? What are you waiting for? Wouldn't they have died with you? The man laughed, but there was no joy in his laughter, only ridicule. I'm afraid that with you, they will die faster, right? ”

Sandalwood was speechless, he was just silent.

"It's a pity, it's a pity." The man looked at him for a long time, turned around, and sighed softly: "Thirty years of hard work, paid to the void, can be regarded as a catastrophe." Hello, do it yourself, you want your hegemony, I will build my avenue, and from now on the end of the world is strange. ”

"Master......" Tan Shihuai shouted, and took out a silk book from his arms: "This...... The Art of War......"

"Forget it, it has ruined my thirty years of hard work, I don't want to be delayed by it again, you keep it, you can pass it on to whoever you want, I don't care." After speaking, his body shook and suddenly disappeared in front of Tanshi Huai's eyes.

At the foot of the mountain, the two guarded guards felt a gust of wind passing in front of them, they looked at each other, and asked each other in unison: "Did you see anything just now?" ”

……

Seventy miles southwest of Luoyueyuan, in an unnamed valley, Liu Xiu sat on the ground, Jia Xu and Xun You sat on both sides of him, Dong Zhuo sat opposite, Niu Fu and Li Wei sat behind Dong Zhuo, gulping wine.

They have just received the news from Lu Bu, Tanshi Huai is already rushing back, according to their travel speed, it is estimated that they will be able to meet with Micah and Suli at noon tomorrow, and Yuan Shao is rushing to Luoyueyuan, because of the lack of food, they have already killed a lot of war horses, and the speed is greatly affected, at least until the day after tomorrow to reach Luoyueyuan.

"Xianbei's main force has been dispersed, why didn't he send the cavalry first?" Dong Zhuo took a sip of wine and asked in a deep voice, "If they can entangle Micah and the others, we can kill Tanshi Huai, but now we are in danger." ”

Liu Xiu shook his head helplessly, of course Yuan Shao is not stupid to this point, and it is impossible for him to be stupid with so many talents, but if he doesn't give orders, he can't do anything about him. Tanshi Huai's 3,000 Xuanwu battalion, Micah and others also have nearly 10,000 cavalry, even if they lost a lot after fighting with Huangfu Song and them, there are at least six or seven thousand people. And in order for him to arrive here in time, there were only six or seven thousand people, including Dong Zhuo's men, and it was very difficult to deal with the Xuanwu camp of Tanshi Huai.

"We can't count on the support of the general Zhengbei, we can only try our best to stop the sandalwood acacia, hoping that Huangfu Song can seize the opportunity to inflict heavy damage on them, and this expedition can be regarded as a complete merit." Liu Xiu sighed: "Don't worry, I will truthfully explain the situation to the imperial court, and I will not treat you and your soldiers badly." ”

Dong Zhuo snorted, very unhappy, but not because of Liu Xiu, but because of Yuan Shao. He raised the flask and poured a large sip of wine, and then said hatefully: "If it weren't for my opinion on you, these children of the family wouldn't be able to believe it, and if you saved them, they thought it was as it should be, and they wouldn't be grateful to you at all." Just as they call you filial piety and repel you as your belonging, you should be grateful to Dade, and if you exalt them as filial piety and make them subordinates, they feel that they deserve it. ”

Liu Xiu was silent, he knew that Dong Zhuo had complained a lot over the years, Jia Xu had already expressed a similar opinion to him in private just now, Xun You didn't speak, but obviously he also agreed with Dong Zhuo's opinion, but he also thought it was natural.

"Is the sandalstone locust really that powerful?" Dong Zhuo asked unrelentingly: "These horses we brought are all carefully selected elites, and they are twice as many as him, can't they fight with him?" ”

"It's not that I can't, it's just ...... The casualties will be very large. Liu Xiu groaned, "I won't tell you, I also want to kill Tanshi Huai, but it's just ......" He smacked his lips regretfully: "It's a pity that my military rations are insufficient, and these are still forcibly obtained from Yuan Shu." ”

"You're so kind." Dong Zhuo shook his head disapprovingly, feeling that although Liu Xiu had the talent of a soldier, he had some kindness as a woman. The harvest is imminent, and at this time, it is completely possible to collect all the grain of the people who are hoarding the fields for the expedition of the army, as for the promises that have been made, they can be overturned with any excuse, why be so stubborn. If you can bring out all the 10,000 troops in the state, or even levy another 10,000 people, where will there be the current predicament.

Liu Xiu smiled and didn't argue with him, he had discussed this issue with Jia Xu and Xun You many times. None of them agreed with breaking the oath to conscript soldiers and levy food, and Jia Xu even said that keeping Tanshi Huai would only be good for Liu Xiu. Obviously, after this war, the Xianbei people have been greatly injured, if Tanshi Huai dies again, then the Xianbei people are even less afraid, in this case, it is likely that some people think that there is no need to station so many troops in the northern Xinjiang. If there is to be disarmament, who is most likely to be laid off? Of course it's Liu Xiu, but if Tan Shihuai hadn't died, then who would dare to mention disarmament?

Jia Xu further analyzed that judging from the current results, although Yuan Shao defeated the main force of Xianbei, he also suffered a lot of casualties, and in the future, he will not be much stronger than Liu Xiu in terms of meritorious deeds. From another point of view, it is actually not good for Liu Xiu to let Liu Xiu squeeze Yuan Shao out of Northern Xinjiang, first, without an opponent, Liu Xiu's role will be weakened, and second, if Liu Xiu is in charge of Northern Xinjiang, then Liu Xiu will be responsible for the next reward, and Liu Xiu can't bear this burden at all.

In fact, even if Yuan Shao carries it, he will also have a very hard time. The Yuan family paid a huge price, but they did not get a satisfactory result, they had already lost. This heavy burden will drag them to death, and this is exactly what the Son of Heaven wants to see, and it is also where Liu Xiu's opportunity lies.

Liu Xiu knew that what Jia Xu said made sense, but it was too cruel. According to his plan, this battle has actually intensified the contradictions, and then, for this huge amount of reward, the Son of Heaven and the Yuan family will definitely fight to the death, and countless wealthy families will also be involved. In order to make money, they will go out of their way and tear all the veils.

But other than that, he has no better way, if he wants him to smash all this bit of belongings into it and fight to the death with Tanshi Huai, and even pay for his own surname, he can't do it, the lesser of two evils, he can only listen to Jia Xu's advice, although this is very cruel.

However, if he is not cruel, then he must be the only one who will bear the consequences in the end. The Yuan family sits and enjoys it, but they will not have any gratitude to him, maybe one late night, Yuan Shao will think of him and sigh for him.

However, that's about it.

Liu Xiu accepted Jia Xu's suggestion, he came here just to find an opportunity, to fight if he had a chance, and to flash if he didn't have a chance. At this moment, in the face of Dong Zhuo's complaints, all he can do is quietly provoke a sentence or two, and nothing else can be done.

The atmosphere was a little depressing, Dong Zhuo drank the wine aggrievedly, poured it harder, and unconsciously got drunk, and began to talk bitterly about the history of career struggle, Niu Fu and others didn't take it seriously at first, anyway, Dong Zhuo and Liu Xiu didn't know each other on the first day, but later Dong Zhuo said that the more excited he became, and he began to be suspected of scolding the emperor Lao Tzu, so they hurriedly dragged Dong Zhuo away. Just kidding, Liu Xiu is a close confidant of the Son of Heaven, if he sues Dong Zhuo for a black state, it won't be all over.

Although Dong Zhuo left, his words also made Liu Xiu feel a little bored, and he couldn't sleep for a while, so he went to practice boxing. He asked Xu Yu and Zhang Fei to stand in front of him, trying to reproduce the scene when he rescued Guan Yu that day, but the effect was obviously not ideal, he tried dozens of times, either knocked down the people who were blocking in front, or his foothold was unstable, and the speed could not be compared with that day at all, in a word, the courage of that day could not be reproduced.

Liu Xiu let out a long sigh and sat down unwillingly. Although he listened to Jia Xu's advice, but he didn't really give up, he really wanted to compete with Tanshi Huai head-on, and hit him hard and even kill him, even if it disrupted the deployment of the Son of Heaven, it was worth it, and I would talk about it later, if you want to do something on the grassland to raise Kou self-respect, it's not simple, you have to raise Tanshi Huai? This is not a wolf, this is a tiger, you can't keep it as a pet, and he understands this truth.

However, if you don't have enough strength to deal with Tanshi Huai, you can only let him go, and it is in vain to be unwilling.

"My lord, you're too anxious, it's not good to practice like this." Wang Zhi and Mrs. Lu walked over side by side, they had been watching from the side for a long time, and they also knew that Liu Xiu was anxious, but they couldn't do anything about it.

Liu Xiu smiled bitterly, gave up his futile efforts, and beckoned them to sit down.

"Actually, it's very remarkable that this Northern Expedition can be like this." Mrs. Lu saw that he was in a bad mood, so she smiled and comforted: "The Xianbei people have been hit hard, although the army has suffered a lot of losses, but most of the soldiers can return safely, and the northern Xinjiang can be peaceful for a few years, I believe that in a few years, the adults may be able to catch up with the realm of Tanshi Huai, and it will be more certain to fight again?" ”

"I think so too." Liu Xiu shook his head in frustration: "This time I was able to defeat Tanshi Huai because the overall strength of the Han was stronger than Xianbei, Yuan Shao and Huangfu Song both had the potential of famous generals, and Xianbei only had one Tanshi Huai, and Murong Feng, who could barely help him, was accidentally seriously injured." This is the Han gathered the strength of the whole country and reluctantly defeated the Xianbei people, but after this war, there are endless troubles, and the Han will no longer be able to fight such a war within ten years. Although the Xianbei people have suffered a lot of losses, they have not yet reached the point of being cornered, and they may recover ...... Faster. ”

Liu Xiu was silent, as if he had pressed a big stone in his heart, he said that it was ten years, in fact, this is a comforting statement, according to his estimate, once the world is in turmoil, it will not be possible to start such a war within thirty years. At the beginning of the founding of the Han Dynasty, it took seventy years to prepare from the Han Gaozu, and it was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that he had the ability to launch a counteroffensive against the Huns, and the Eastern Han Dynasty opened the country, and Emperor Guangwu could only adopt a friendly policy towards the Huns, and every civil war in the Central Plains would exhaust its vitality, and the upcoming troubled times of the Three Kingdoms were no exception.

Tanshi Huai is a rare talent, such a person will not be knocked down by a defeat, he may even find his own shortcomings in it, become more calm, if that is the case, the result will be very bad.

Between war and non-war, Liu Xiu hesitated, constantly weighing the pros and cons and the probability of success, and he couldn't help but be a little irritable. What's more, I haven't found the specific location of the sandalwood locust yet, I don't know if there is a possibility of a war, and my heart is even more up-and-down, I want to fight to the death for a while, and I want to endure it for a while, maybe there will be a better opportunity in the future.

Mrs. Lu and Wang Zhi met, and they also knew that they couldn't persuade Liu Xiu, so he could only calm down by himself at this time. They got up and were about to leave, when Liu Xiu suddenly asked, "Madam, what do you think of my heart-wrenching **?" ”

Mrs. Lu and Wang Zhi exchanged a look, pursed their lips and smiled: "My lord, although your heart-destroying ** can't be used for private fighting, but it is of great benefit to cultivation, if the truth of the spell is really as the adult said, then the selection and adjustment of the spell will be more accurate in the future." ”

"That's good." Liu Xiu smiled, "You guys should rest first, I want to be alone for a while." ”

Mrs. Lu hesitated for a moment, motioned for Wang Zhi to leave first, she walked up to Liu Xiu, and said softly, "My lord, do you need me to help you enter the meditation?" ”

Liu Xiu raised his eyebrows: "Can you help me?" "The biggest difficulty in his cultivation of Taoism is to enter meditation, and as soon as he sits down, he thinks about it, and he can't do what she calls the ethereal realm. At the beginning of the practice of Bajue, he could still count his breath into meditation, although the level is relatively shallow, he can still sit for a while, after practicing the Mozi Five Elements Technique, he is used to practicing boxing, and meditation has become a big problem.

"Maybe it can help a little." Mrs. Lu smiled and said, "My lord, you might as well give it a try, at this moment, if your lord clarifies his thoughts, it will be good for everyone." ”

Liu Xiu smiled awkwardly, of course he knew that he was now the leader of the army, and his emotional instability was likely to affect his judgment and decide the life and death of the army. He lay down on his sleeping bag as Madame Lu had requested, relaxed his body, and closed his eyes. Mrs. Lu first massaged his palms, then along his arms up to his neck, then to his head, and then along the meridians to his feet.

With the pinching and patting of her fingers, Liu Xiu's nervous body slowly relaxed, although she did not fall into silence, but the whole person felt deep and comfortable as if she was soaking in a hot bath, and the pulsation of blood vessels seemed to become clear.

"My lord, the spring on the soles of my feet is the heart of the earth, and only by being happy can we appreciate the subtlety of the avenue. My lord, let go of everything and look at your body with your heart. ”

Liu Xiu hummed softly, and Mrs. Lu slowly rubbed his Yongquan acupoint, and a stream of heat that seemed to be there rose from the soles of his feet, slowly rising along the inner thighs, and reaching the perineum. The perineum jumped, the originally calm lower abdomen trembled, and the thing under the crotch showed signs of recovery. Liu Xiu was just about to get up, when Mrs. Lu's soft voice sounded in his ears.

"My lord, let go of your heart. The Tao can be the way, the non-constant way, the name can be named, and the name is not constant. The beginning of all things without a name, the mother of all things, so there is always a desire to observe it, and there is no desire to see its wonder. The two have the same name and different names, the same name is the mystery, the mystery is mysterious, and the door of all wonders ......"

Liu Xiu has read the Tao Te Ching, and this paragraph is even more backwards, but I don't know why, today I heard Mrs. Lu reciting this paragraph, but there was an ethereal feeling, the tense body gradually relaxed, everything around slowly went away, and the heartbeat sounded, becoming clearer and clearer.

"Woohoo...... Woo Woo ...... Woo ......"

Mrs. Lu's hand left the soles of his feet and slowly rose along the inner thighs of his thighs.

(To be continued)