Section XI

The cold wind is like a knife.

The wind on the Qingting grassland is already very cold, and this kind of coldness is especially better when it reaches the Azure River. The cold winter wind envelops the smell of water, and it hurts even more when it blows on people's faces. Jian Feiyang slammed his fist against the wall and cursed in a low voice, "Fuck, these Persians are acting there, and they are purely fake." ”

At the wind chime ferry, more than a dozen Persian ships tens of meters long lined up on the Azure River, swimming back and forth. In the sound of golden drums in the sky, these dozen warships sometimes retreated, sometimes forward, and from time to time poured a shower of arrows from the hull, and the cavalry of the Guards Battalion guarding the dock was not to be outdone, and they fought back with their bows and arrows.

Due to the limitations of materials and waterways, it was impossible to build such huge ships with a length of several hundred meters, and these warships were temporarily rebuilt by Persia with ferries. But even so, it was still a giant for these cavalrymen, and eight out of ten of the arrows they fired were stopped by the tall baffles on the deck. From time to time one or two unlucky warriors were wounded by arrows and fell off their horses, but immediately a healer ran out and carried the wounded soldier down.

If it used to be called a ferry, it should now be called a town. In the past three years, Persia and China and the West have been connected, and this little-known small ferry port has also prospered, and there are several huge trestle bridges across the wharf. The tattered tents were gone, replaced by neat mud houses. The original mud-walled house with a large hole has become a three-storey building, and it is also the tallest building in the entire ferry port. Wu Ming, Ge Yi and Jian Feiyang were standing in the attic of this building at this time, staring at the Persian warships in the distance, with complicated expressions.

Hearing Jian Feiyang's complaints, Wu Ming's gaze withdrew from the distant battlefield, glanced at the indignant Jian Feiyang, and replied, "If you don't do this, how can you make the enemy believe it?" That being said, there was still a pain in his heart, which was really filling the life of a warrior.

Jian Feiyang muttered: "No, I don't do this business, I have to find a way to earn some back." As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes swept over the distant houses, and he couldn't help but laugh twice, probably thinking of some kind of idea. Wu Ming was stunned, and was about to ask him. At this time, a horse came like the wind, carrying billowing dust, and rushed into the town of Wind Chimes.

It has not rained for a long time in Qingting, and in the middle of winter, the dirt road has long been trampled by the army. Because of the dry weather, a puff of dust rolled up on the horse's hoof, and the horse ran very fast, and the dust was rolling incessantly, and it was continuous.

The horse rushed into the town, and when he reached the edge of the building, the knight restrained the horse and said in a loud voice: "My lord, Zhou Ji has a new battle report." ”

Wu Ming didn't speak, Jian Fei took a step up and shouted, "Speak." ”

Zhou Ji saluted on his horse and said, "My lord, the four tribes of Tingya have been assembled. According to Nei Ying, tomorrow we should hold a pledge meeting, and while our army and Persia are in a standoff, we will go south in one fell swoop, and we will be caught off guard. ”

Wu Ming said suddenly: "General Zhou, in your estimation, how much will the other party send troops this time?" ”

This is beyond the scope of a scout's duties, but when his boss's boss asks, Zhou Ji can't help but answer. He hesitated and said: "My lord, excluding the old and weak, as well as the remaining troops, Zhou Ji conservatively estimates that the other party's available troops this time should be about 50,000. ”

Wu Ming groaned and continued, "Why? ”

Jiang Huan made a big show and held a swearing-in meeting, although this move had the effect of encouraging the morale of the army, but it was enough to see that he had made a desperate bet. This time to the south, Tingya must exhaust all its cavalry and fight to the death with our army. And after the enemy's defeat in the Tsushima steppe, the number of horsemen that can be fought should be about 50,000. ”

Wu Ming nodded secretly, still unhurried: "In your opinion, who is the other party's coach?" ”

"Jiang Huan!"

"Is there a lieutenant?"

"Nope."

He replied categorically, but Wu Ming was taken aback: "Why are you so sure?" ”

Although the weather was very cold, beads of sweat had already appeared on Zhou Ji's forehead, and he really didn't know what kind of madness this extremely strict commander had today. But since he asked, General Jian didn't say anything, so he could only continue stubbornly: "The enemy has been defeated one after another, and many soldiers have no heart to fight. If you lead another governor to go on the expedition, it will only increase the constraints. Seeing a faint smile on Wu Ming's face, Zhou Ji mustered up the courage and said: "So my subordinates feel that Jiang Huan will definitely lead the three armies by himself, twist the battleable horses of the four tribes into a group, and strive to go down with one drum." ”

"Good, you lead the scout team to keep an eye on you. Broaden your search. If there is any abnormality, report it immediately. ”

The order is very clear, such as in normal times, Zhou Ji should be carried out to the letter, but today he was a little hesitant, gritted his teeth and said: "My lord, the enemy is strong, once we attack, we have Persia in front of us, and tens of thousands of iron horsemen from China and the West behind, that is, the enemy will be ...... on the back."

"Okay, you Zhou Ji, I'm going to open a dyeing workshop for you to give you some color, what's the wordy, carry out the order."

Jian Feiyang took a step forward, stretched his neck in the attic, and began to scold. He is Zhou Ji's top boss, and when this fire started, Zhou Ji was also a little overwhelmed, so he quickly stood up and said in a loud voice: "Obey." With that, he turned his horse and rushed out of town. Although he replied loudly, he was obviously slower than when he entered the town.

After Zhou Ji rode away alone, Jian Feiyang scolded with a smile: "This little rabbit cub ......"

The smile on Wu Ming's face gradually faded, and he sighed and said, "Brother Jian, General Zhou has a unique opinion, if he is only used to be a scout, is it a little more talented?" ”

The promotion implication in these words was very obvious, Jian Feiyang was stunned, and then he was overjoyed, grinning and laughing: "That's for sure, the person I Lao Jian fancies, no matter how bad he is, there are seventy percent ......" Just seeing that Wu Ming was still depressed, his laughter stopped abruptly.

Ge Yi said suddenly: "My lord, in terms of Tingya, it seems that the plan has been made, and everything is going according to the plan, why are you depressed?" ”

Wu Ming looked down at the town, and said lightly for a long time: "Brother Ge, they all say that the world is vicissitudes and changeable. When you and I passed through this wind chime town in the past, did you ever think that we would come here again today? ”

Ge Yi was stunned, and only after a while did he mutter: "Yes, it has changed, it has all changed." He glanced at Wu Ming's back with a complicated expression, although his relationship with him four years ago was not bad, but it was also a pimple, and today, he finally became a guard battalion, but Wu Ming had already become the commander, with the right to open the government, and he was the general of Zhendong in the imperial court. And I don't know why, but I am already loyal to him, and the changes in this life are regrettable.

Wu Ming also muttered: "Yes, it has changed, it has all changed." Tao Yu turned his back, Yang Xiong was estranged, and Xiaoyi and Tian Hong had left him. The remnants of the Southern Expeditionary Army are now better with themselves, but there is only one Ge Yi.

Thinking of He Yi, he had another headache in his heart. In front of him, the woman in a palace dress with a belt like a fairy appeared. She was holding a bowl of gruel, drinking it in small sips; As soon as the picture turned, in the pouring rain and the sound of tearing, she was holding a long dagger and thrust it into her chest; The picture turned again, she was standing in the plantain field, her face was full of panic, and the horned python was spitting out letters, approaching her little by little.

Wu Ming couldn't help but close his eyes, and seemed to hear the sound of He Yi biting off the thread again, and then said happily: "Brother Wu, come and try it, see if this dress fits?" ”

Two red candles rose in the field of vision, and the faint and faint moonlight shone in. In the darkness, He Yi's face was pear blossoms with rain, which was clearly visible: "Husband, you have to live well, for me and for yourself." ”

He only felt that his eyes were astringent, and he quickly looked up at the sky, so as to pour back that bit of wetness. Xiaoyi, it's good that you're over there, but your husband is incompetent and can't protect you.

"Okay, okay, don't lose acid here, it makes my old Jane feel uncomfortable. My lord, this time the princess was lucky not to die in the wind chime. It can be seen that God is also fair, and this time I chose to stand on your side. The so-called 20 years of Hedong, 20 years of Hexi, maybe this wind chime ferry is a sign of your time to run. Jian Feiyang saw that the momentum was not right, and hurriedly jumped out to liven up the atmosphere.

Esther didn't die.

This kind of news is currently known to the three people in the attic of the entire guard battalion, and Zhou Ji does not know it, so he took the risk to admonish. When Wu Mingchu got the news, it was indeed a real mixed surprise. Shockingly, Chu Tianxing used all his strength to shoot an arrow through Esther's chest, which he could clearly see and understand, it was really shocking that this Nizi could save her life. Happily, as long as the Persian princess is safe, the covenant between the court and the other party will naturally count. As Jian Feiyang said, luck was on his side this time, and this incident reversed the fate of the defeat of the imperial court's western expedition.

Having said that, Wu Ming was also skeptical at first, for fear that this was a suspicious plan by Persia. But when the handwritten letter of the Persian Wugong came, the doubts in his heart instantly dissipated. It not only mentions the follow-up cooperation, but also has a line of delicate handwriting: "You owe me a life, and you owe me a transaction, I am naturally reluctant to leave, be careful." ”

This kind of tone, especially the words "be careful" at the end, is full of Esther's stubbornness. What's more, that deal was made privately by him and Esther that night, and it was impossible for others to know about it.

Wu Ming breathed a sigh of relief from then on, and Esther seemed to be really fine.

Hearing that Jian Feiyang came out to interrupt, Wu Ming hurriedly collected his mind and changed the topic: "By the way, Brother Jian, what you just said is to find a way to get back the losses you suffered, can you tell me about it." ”

The cooperation in the Persian Wugong's handbook is to use "Esther's death" as an opportunity to create a tense atmosphere between the Southern Han and Persia, so that they face each other across the river. In this way, it paralyzed the two countries of China, the West and the Southern Barbarians, and even lured the snake out of the hole to lure the other side to attack. In this way, the Southern Han Dynasty and Persia were able to wait for work at ease and oppose the guest. This strategy can be said to be seamless, and Wu Ming naturally should inherit it.

It's just that it's quite difficult to implement. Since there is a confrontation across the river, there must be war, and if there is war, there must be casualties. Those Chinese and Western or Southern Barbarian scouts are not stupid, you have no damage, how can you make the other party believe it? Even if the scouts can't see it, but in Fengchidu Town, those townspeople who stay behind, it is difficult to guarantee that there will be no spies from China and the West, and among the soldiers of the two armies, it is difficult to guarantee that there will be no internal response from other countries.

So, this plan, the entire Guards battalion is now known to the three of them. Others are still in the dark. The battle between Persia and the Southern Han Dynasty, under the deliberate suppression of both sides, although the casualties were very small, almost all of them suffered losses on the side of the Southern Han. Persia occupies a favorable geographical position, and has been operating on the south bank of Fengchidu for many years, and the Southern Han Dynasty has just arrived, which is also a helpless thing.

Jian Feiyang's eyes lit up, and he pointed to those Persian warships and said with a sinister smile: "Your Excellency, you see, these big guys have eaten the sweetness, thinking that we can't deal with them, and now they are more and more fearless, and they have been deceived to the shore less than two hundred meters, at this distance, we just need to hide the thunderbolt in the houses on the shore, and take advantage of their unpreparedness, and serve the ...... with gunpowder bombs, hehe, hehe......"

Last time, a fire in the southern version blew up the Thunderbolt, and after several months of repairs, as well as the follow-up supplies from the Ministry of Industry. There are also more than a hundred thunderbolts in the hands of the Guards Battalion at present. Because the Guards Battalion is full of cavalry, bringing this thing, even if there is a large cart pulling, it will inevitably affect the speed. Wu Ming's original intention was to drive lightly and win with speed. But I heard from the spies that Tingya had built an ice wall, so I had to bring this thing just in case, but I didn't expect Jian Feiyang to learn and use it and think of such an insidious method.

Before he finished speaking, Wu Ming and Ge Yi had already said in unison: "Brother Jian, no!" ”

Jian Feiyang rolled his eyes and said with some displeasure: "Why not?" ”

Wu Ming said: "Now it is an alliance with Persia, and if you use explosives, the casualties caused are too great." Once it has a stalemate with Persia, it may affect the overall situation. ”

Jian Feiyang pursed his lips, turned his head to Ge Yi and said, "General Ge, my lord is against it, I won't say it, why are you against it?" ”

Ge Yi clasped his hands to his chest and said coldly: "These Persians really think that I am waiting for a bully, and it is getting more and more excessive. However, the adults are also right, this matter really can't be overdone, the explosive bomb is too powerful, and it is easy to kill people......"

Jian Feiyang was puzzled, scratched his head and said: "What does General Ge mean......" Ge Yi was still holding his chest, and said unhurriedly: "You can use tung oil bombs, although this thing will not explode, but it will burn a little, and if the ship is hit by a few unsuspecting, it will definitely be capsized, so very good." ”

Jian Feiyang patted his thigh, took over the conversation and said: "This is very good, Brother Ge's words, it really wins my heart......" The two Liao Liao reached a united front in a few words, and then turned his head, stared at Wu Ming and shouted: "My lord? ”

Wu Ming couldn't laugh or cry, he thought that Ge Yi had the same opinion as himself, but he didn't expect to come up with such a ruthless idea. But he also knows that any covenant is based on strength. Persia is now pressing forward step by step, and it is inevitable that there is no element of temptation. Once you feel that Nanhan is weak and can be bullied, it is possible to turn your face and not recognize people. Jian Feiyang and Ge Yi clearly shouted grievances for their subordinates, but they also saw this. He thought for a moment before he nodded and said, "Brother Jian, you make up your own mind, I'll go outside the town to walk around first, I don't know about this matter." ”

He said as he walked downstairs. Jian Feiyang glanced at Wu Ming's back a little sluggishly. Then he and Ge Yi glanced at each other, and the two laughed at the same time.