PS: If you look for it with your heart, you can always find an opportunity

Volume II, Chapter 49

The moment he heard the shout, Chen Song knew that Zhu Lingshi's plan had been blocked.

The lurking action of leaping from Chang'an into the dense forest was very smooth. Chen Song was the forward, Zhu Lingshi took his own soldiers to supervise the formation in the back, and when it was white in the east, the whole army entered the dense forest, and no one was left behind. Then they were to stay there quietly all day, and then go out again when night fell. The soldiers walked more than forty miles in one night, and then had nothing to do but sleep. If snoring, gnashing of teeth, and sleep talk aren't enough to reveal your whereabouts, then there's nothing to regulate.

Along the way, there were no Hun scouts in front, and no tracking was found in the back, and Chen Song's original suspicions about this operation gradually dissipated. After settling down, Zhu Lingshi immediately ordered the officers to supervise the soldiers to take off their combat boots and massage each other's feet before going to sleep. According to the camping practice, no matter how tired you are, you have to send scouts, but this time, Zhu Lingshi did not send any scouts, so as not to let anyone fall into the hands of the Huns and cause a catastrophe.

As soon as the arrangements were made, he and Zhu Lingshi sat down against a big tree. The two of them were silent for a while, and Zhu Lingshi patted his knee:

"This time and the last time you disobeyed Guo Xu on the north bank of the Yellow River to save Guo Xu, which one is more dangerous?"

Chen Song thought about it and sighed:

"It's hard to say!"

Zhu Lingshi vaguely understood his thoughts, and also knew the coldness and sadness behind this, and he regretted asking many times. After a while, Chen Song opened his mouth:

"At first glance, it looks more dangerous last time. going ashore to save people is very likely to cost one's life; Disobeyed the order of the lieutenant and asked for military justice. But at that time. I believe in Tai Lieutenant, and I believe in Beifu soldiers. The heart is full of strength, as if there is no Longtan tiger's den that cannot be broken through. In the end, it was a desperate situation. Nowadays, our army, the officials are not like the officials, the soldiers are not like the soldiers, the upper does not love the lower, the lower does not believe in the superior, and it is more and more like a rabble, and it has failed the three words of Beifu soldiers. I don't seem to have that energy in me, and my heart is always gray. So to speak. Leaving Chang'an this time, although he has not yet encountered a vicious battle, he feels that it is more dangerous than last time! ”

Before Zhu Lingshi arrived in Chang'an, he imagined the situation of the soldiers in Guanzhong Beifu, but when he arrived, he found that he was still too optimistic. Colleagues are dumped, officers and soldiers are suspicious, and the army and civilians are separated, the blade of this army is still there, but unfortunately it has rusted. Whether it is a knife or a sword, it must be whisked and sharpened from time to time. in order to keep the edge. Fighting a war is a way of maintenance, enforcing the law is like a mountain, rewarding merit and punishing crimes, and loving soldiers is like a son. Now, counting Liu Yu himself. There are many people who drip water on the blade, but few people wipe the water dry. Chen Song, a loyal and brave rising star, was almost killed by his own people. This rust, inside and out, is enough to destroy any mighty army. Zhu Lingshi himself. These days, my heart is also full of grief and indignation, and Chen Song said the central thing with the word "gray". Before I knew it, my nails were digging into my palms, and I was almost bleeding.

Chen Song saw Zhu Lingshi's gloomy expression, a little regretful, and wanted to find a lighter topic:

"General Zhu, you have written so many letters to the soldiers, what do you say except to report safety?"

Zhu Lingshi thought about it and said that there were really all kinds of things. I remember a soldier who wrote to his mother, saying that he would be able to go back in a month, and asked her to do everything possible to leave him a jar of pickled winter bamboo shoots. At that time, it was already March, and Jiangdong began to eat spring bamboo shoots, I said why do you have to eat winter bamboo shoots, this soldier said that he liked his mother's pickled winter bamboo shoots. I said that if you keep it, you will keep it, and it is not gold and silver treasures, so why do you have to do everything possible? The soldier said that the station chief didn't know that my mother's pickled winter bamboo shoots were not only greedy for my sisters and brothers in the family, but also famous for their ten miles and eight towns. One year, the county magistrate's wife also sent someone to exchange for jewelry. If my mother doesn't hide it, when I go back, I'll only have to lick the jar.

Chen Song hadn't eaten Jiangdong's winter bamboo shoots for two years, and when Zhu Lingshi heard Zhu Lingshi say it, he couldn't help but salivate.

Zhu Lingshi said that I wrote letters to the brothers and learned about the quirks of many people. I once had a lieutenant who asked me to help him write a letter to his uncle, complaining that his wife, his cousin, and his uncle's daughter did not cook as well as his ex-wife. Afterwards, I asked him what the two women were cooking differently, and he wouldn't say. Later, when we were marching, we begged for food at a farmer's house, and the farmer brought out half a pot of rice, and the bottom of the pot was overcooked, and it was all browned pots. The lieutenant gave me the white rice, and he squeaked and ate the pot, which was particularly sweet, and said that this is the taste, this is the taste. It dawned on me then that his first wife was always cooking paste.

There was a soldier who never wrote to me. When he beat Murong Yan, Guanggu City couldn't be attacked for a long time, he climbed the cloud ladder and was injured, although he was shot in the stomach, he didn't hurt the vital point, and he just lay down for a few days. But he was very afraid, thinking that he would not survive, and asked me to write a letter to his father for the first time, admitting that he had done many bad things, the small ones secretly took the bacon from the family to please the beautiful widow in the village, gave the pavilion chief's livestock feed chin peas, peeked at his sister-in-law bathing, and the big one had been in the rebel army of Sun En for a month, and then sneaked back secretly. About five or six days after the letter was sent, he knew that he could not die, but he could not recover the truth, and he regretted beating his chest so much that the class teacher returned to Jiangdong, and the closer he got to home, the more uncomfortable he became.

Chen Song laughed, and several soldiers around him also laughed.

Zhu Lingshi said that there were also letters to thieves.

Chen Song's eyes widened, saying that there really is such a person?

Zhu Lingshi said that there was a soldier who was very thin, but when he fought on the battlefield, he was very flexible in moving and dodging, and he had never been injured or suffered. I guess he used to steal for a living, and he had a gang of brothers who stole children. It was also when I was fighting Nanyan, saying that I was writing a letter to my distant cousin, and the words were vague and flickering, to the effect that I am very good here, someone is in charge of the meal, and there is money, and more importantly, every time I sweep the floor, it is beneficial, and I ask my cousin to come too. I asked him what he meant by sweeping the floor, and he said sir, you just write that, and they understand. It's funny that my cousin actually wrote a reply. This soldier came to me with a letter, saying that the literate brother in the team did not understand what was said and asked me to explain it. When I looked at it, the letter was written in a very literary way, and I still remember a few sentences in it, which were about "There is a way to steal, and it is ominous to violate the way." Brother Gu makes money, or is a general; The younger brother wears a kiln and gets a treasure, and he is well-off. Although there is a dog barking police. The worry of flogging, the trouble of shackles. Gou Shanli's serpentine traces can collect the heart of the whale. It is a collection of armpits into fur, and there is no shortage of food and clothing; The water flows for a long time, without losing food and clothing. As for the knife, it must be cut, put yourself on the edge, give up your relatives and work in a foreign country, go to your hometown and become extinct, it is not what you want. The act of sweeping the floor, the brother is self-beneficial, and the brother does not think it is a blessing. "I read the letter. Asked bluntly if he had ever been a thief, he was embarrassed, but he also admitted. When asked what he meant by sweeping the floor, he said it was to search for belongings from the dead bodies of the enemy. It seems that he wants to recruit old fellows to join the army, but people are very self-sufficient as thieves, and they don't look down on him for a living of cleaning up floating wealth with his head.

The brethren laughed again.

Zhu Lingshi said that he wouldn't talk about it, let's rest, I have enough energy, and I have to walk a long way at night.

Chen Song leaned against the tree and closed his eyes. But I didn't feel sleepy for a long time. After listening to the family letter for a long time, a thought swirled in his heart: If he wanted to write a letter to Xue Mei'er, what should he say?

You don't need to write.

Only people who don't meet in person write letters.

You won't fail to see her.

You will be out of danger and reunited with their mother and son.

And what you want to say to her. I can't find someone to write it for me.

In fact, you yourself are ashamed to say those things to her face.

For example, you like it when she sees you enter the door, her eyes light up instantly.

For example, she will let out a sigh when she is at her peak, and you will lose your soul because of it.

For example, she will get up early to make breakfast porridge for you by herself, and she will also cut a Jiangdong salted duck egg that she bought all over Chang'an Market.

For example, she is afraid that you will freeze your feet. You sewed a dozen thick felt boot pads.

You're tempted to say that you long for him to be by your side at the moment, and you're entangled. In a warm room, on a large soft bed.

Just think about it yourself.

Let's talk about children.

Will it be a boy or a girl?

Who does it look like?

When the two children grew up. The longer it is, the less it looks, and if you ask, how do you tell them?

At this moment, I don't know where their mother and son have gone with the flying cavalry. On such a cold day, such a bumpy road, I don't know if Xiao Chang'an and that half of him can live in peace. The most unthinkable thing is whether there is a large army of the Huns. The thought of the corpses of the women and children he had seen on the battlefield in the past made his heart clench.

Man is a strange creature. When things are going well, you won't look back to see if what you did was right or wrong, but once you reach adversity and despair, when you are poor and sorrowful, you will doubt the way you have passed. At this moment, Chen Song is falling into such doubts.

When he thought of his wife and children, he couldn't help but think of the Murong Yan royal family and the Yao Qin royal family who were wiped out, and the scene where Yao Shao's wife Xiahou Yan and her two children were executed that Guo Xu had told with tears in his eyes. When calamity or even death threat falls on one's own people, especially one's loved ones, one can truly feel what kind of calamity and threat one has brought to others. He used to think that his enemies were bad people and his own people were good people. It wasn't until he fell in love with Xue Meier that he realized that among the big people called enemies, there were also women who didn't care about power, and men who didn't care about the gains and losses of the government and the opposition; The man who is listed as the number one enemy may be a gentleman; And his own commander may be just a villain.

He doesn't believe in Buddhism, but lately he has been wondering: Is it because of some sin we have committed in our previous lives? Is this kind of blow that God has inflicted on our heads because we have done something unrighteous? Did we destroy Murong Yan and Yao Qin really because their sins were unforgivable? Is it really because they don't extinguish our restlessness? Is it really to drive away Yidi and restore China? Is a Qiang emperor or a Xianbei emperor really naturally more evil and violent than the Han emperor? With so many people dead and so many bones falling, who did they end up paving?

Over the years, he had not questioned Liu Yu as much as he did today. This old chief used to be a hero, an eldest brother, a victorious general, and even a saint in his mind. Because he cherished his subordinates so much, and used his talents so much, he was always able to bring his brothers from victory to victory, from glory to glory. He always makes you feel like everything he does is for your good, and in fact you do get a lot of benefits out of it. As long as you can fight, he will always spare no effort to cultivate you, promote you from a small soldier to an officer, from an officer to a general, until you become an enviable commander or a feudal official.

But I don't know from which day on, it seems that everything he does is just for his own good.

Otherwise, how can he explain that he, a wise and sageful commander who has mastered all things, would actually turn Guanzhong into a muddy pond and let his old subordinates sink and perish there?

But fatigue eventually overcame the sorrow. His eyelids fought, and he couldn't help but close his eyes. Fall asleep.

Without dreams, sinking as much as death.

He was shaken awake. Almost the moment he woke up, he heard Zhu Lingshi ordering loudly to ask all the archers to go to the edge of the forest. Immediately afterward, he heard someone shouting loudly outside:

"Brothers of the Jin army, surrender, you have been surrounded!"

He jumped to his feet, his eyes were dark, and he almost fell. Stretched out his hand to hold the tree and steadied himself, and followed Zhu Lingshi outward.

It was just after noon, and it was a sunny day. The wasteland outside the woods was illuminated with white flowers. The Hun cavalry, who could not see the edge, troted back and forth, and the dust kicked up into the woods with the wind.

After a long battle, his heart was beating wildly at this time.

Not scared, but too surprised.

How would the Huns know that they were hiding here?

The first thought was that something happened to Liu Yizhen along the way, and the Huns learned from there that there was still this army. But the idea was immediately dismissed: if this was the case, the Huns would not have been able to come so quickly.

Fortunately, there are trees here, and the Hun cavalry can't use it, so they won't rush in. But they were surrounded by all sides, and the Jin army's infantry could not rush out.

And......

A terrible thought arose in his mind:

Fire!

Just a row of rockets. Trees, dead branches, and dead grass are all powerful tools for turning bones!

Thinking of the screams and scorching smell of thousands of people being incinerated en masse, the blood all over my body coagulated.

He couldn't say it out loud, that would make the soldiers scared. Nai walked to Zhu Lingshi's side. whispered to him in his ear. The latter's eyes were cold, but he calmly called several of the lords of the building, and asked them to wake up all the archers. Arrange them all to the edge of the woods and shoot any Huns who come close. At the same time, organize strong soldiers to cut down a circle of trees in the forest. Create a ring of separation so that even if the surrounding trees catch fire, they will not reach the depths of the forest.

The soldiers moved silently, and Chen Song saw despair on their faces. Even if they were not burned to death, even if the Huns could not rush in and slaughter, relying on that little bit of dry food and water that could only support them for three or five days, it would be difficult to escape starvation. Of course they can rush out and fight hard, but everybody knows what the results are.

There was no sound in the woods except the sound of logging in the cankan. The men other than the archers and tree cutters lay down again. Now it doesn't matter what they do, it's what the opponent does.

The opponent salutes first and then soldiers.

The Hun envoy did not wear armor, did not carry weapons, did not even ride a horse, and like an ordinary horse dealer, the wearer walked in in with a strange smile of the victor's pretended humility on his face.

Zhu Lingshi and Chen Song sat down on another piece of sheepskin, and beckoned the messenger to sit too.

The messenger said that I had come to ask your army to surrender on the orders of General Helian Bi, and that you had been surrounded, and to be honest, there was no way out. General Helian could not bear to see such an army of yours being wiped out, and hoped that you would lay down your arms and walk out of the woods, and he promised not to treat you badly, and he would also introduce you to His Majesty the Emperor, so that you could continue to be officials in our court. Officers and soldiers can be incorporated into the Great Xia Army, or the original officers lead the original soldiers.

Zhu Lingshi listened to him and was very calm:

"Can you answer me a question first?"

The messenger said that the general only had to ask.

Zhu Lingshi pointed to the tree beside him:

"We came out of Chang'an and arrived here at night, claiming that we didn't know the ghosts, how did you notice it?"

The messenger smiled:

"The general is right, you are indeed swift and stealthy. Truth be told, we haven't found your whereabouts. ”

Zhu and Chen glanced at each other, not understanding what the envoy was selling. When the messenger saw their expressions, he could not hide his smugness:

"To be precise, we also took a gamble. General Yao Zhanbao had gone to the Chang'an area many times before, and he knew that there was such a forest here, and he had stayed overnight here more than once on the way to and fro. He thinks that it is possible for you to hide here, and Jian yì majesty xià sent someone to take a look. General Helian was originally going to pursue Liu Yizhen in the Qingni area, but he was reluctant to be given a new mission by His Majesty the Emperor before leaving, but now it seems that he has caught a big fish. ”

Chen Song lowered his head in pain, regretting that he should not have let Yao Annibal go on the edge of the Wei River.

After listening to this, Zhu Lingshi called out for the will of heaven in his heart, but there was no expression on his face:

"That being the case, the annoying envoy went back to Helian to get his life. Now that he has succeeded, then we will fight or surrender. He doesn't have to be in a hurry, let me consult with my subordinates. ”

The messenger smiled. Say we're not in a hurry. The general had ordered to camp around the forest, and not even a rabbit could escape. We are also happy to rest in peace. Wait for the general to think about it.

Looking at the back of the envoy walking away, Zhu Lingshi glanced at Chen Song:

"This Yao Annihilation Leopard, do you know him?"

Chen Song said that a fierce general, both wise and brave, fought in the battle of Chishui, and later met by the Wei River.

Zhu Lingshi was taken aback:

"Have you seen it by the Wei River?"

There was no need for Chen Song to hide it, so he told the original story of letting Yao Annihilation Leopard go. He thought that Zhu Lingshi would at least scold him a few words, but the latter nodded and said that if I were replaced. Or let him go. It's just that if I had known that he had scouted, I wouldn't have chosen to hide here.

They sat under the tree for a while, not speaking.

Helian led people to surround the woods, but this incident brought Chen Song an inexplicable hope. Helian is not a hard bone, he cherishes himself too much, and he will run away when he is in a hurry, not only is he not the backbone of the three armies, but he will reduce the morale of his subordinates. If you can find a way to play, let Helian break his courage. It would be possible to break this dilemma. But this time it is not as good as the battle of Chishui, now Helian is the victorious division, and the Beifu soldiers are the lost dogs, and there is a huge difference between the host and the guest. The battle situation is not difficult to predict.

But he was still glad that it was Helian Bi who surrounded them, not Wang Maide or Yao Zhanbao.

Picking up the dry food belt, I felt out a piece of Hu Biscuit, and I was about to bite it. He looked at a soldier walking in front of him, and stuffed the cake back again. He also had two hunger pills on his body. He can swallow that, and leave it to someone else. Immediately thought of sù Zhu Lingshi. He was asked to quickly put away everyone's dry food and water and start distributing them at regular intervals.

He took a small sip of his water bladder, took it in his mouth, and swallowed it in small terms. It's something that veterans do. Instead of taking large sips, take a small sip at a time and swallow a little bit at a time, which will allow you to consume as little water as possible when you are short of water.

It occurred to me that there was a good thing about this forest, that is, there was a river running through it.

They can chisel ice.

He vaguely felt something, but couldn't tell.

The river should be helpful.

He searched in the woods for a while and found the river. The river is not wide, and it is a few feet wider than the distance between the wheels of a horse-drawn carriage. But the riverbank is not short, almost a man high. The shore is overgrown with shrubs and dead grass, and it is not easy for a person of average height to see anyone on the shore if he walks on the ice against the riverbank.

He called a soldier and told him to go on the ice, and he looked on the shore and found that he could not see the soldier. He took the soldier with him, and walked on his way, and found that the river, after going around the woods for half a circle, had crossed from north to south. When they reached the edge of the woods, they stopped and found that the river was wider than three or four carriages, and that the nearest Hun tent was forty or fifty paces from the riverbank.

A smile appeared on Chen Song's face.

He went back to find Zhu Lingshi, drew a simple picture on the ground, and then pointed to the glacier that flowed outside the woods:

"The Huns have set up camp outside to trap us, but I don't want them to pitch tents on the ice."

Zhu Lingshi said You mean that this is a gap for the Huns, and we can drill out?

Chen Song said that it is not easy for so many people to get out, and I wonder if we can take advantage of this gap to bite Helian Xuan hard, and then break through while he is panicked and afraid.

Zhu Lingshi's eyes flashed, and it was obvious that he was very willing to take such a bite.

Chen Song took a few steps back and forth with his chin clutched, and suddenly his chest opened:

"General Zhu, please immediately send an envoy to the Xiongnu camp to discuss the terms of surrender with Helian Bi. The man had to be clever enough to come back and be able to mark the location of the Helian Tent on the map, especially how far it was from the riverbank. Helian led his troops from south to north from Chang'an, and I estimate that he will set up a big tent of the Chinese army on the south side of the woods, and he will not bother to run to the east, west, and north, so there is a good chance that this river will also pass through his camp. ”

Zhu Lingshi is a first-class smart person, and immediately understood Chen Song's intentions, and excitedly smashed his palm with his fist:

"This is easy to do, my pro-soldier captain is very suitable!"

The captain of the pro-soldier was of medium height, walking as forcefully and silently as a leopard, with eyes like those of a falcon, but his whole face was smiling. Chen Song was secretly happy, such a person would not make people overly suspicious.

He didn't have a complete idea yet, but he knew that the distance from Binghe to Helian Tent had to be felt.

The captain of the pro-soldier said that I would try my best to figure it out.

Chen Song said that you have to walk slowly before you enter his big tent, and you have to leave slowly when you leave, and it is best to find an excuse to go around the barracks in the middle.

The captain said I understood.

The captain changed his armor and weapons, and dressed as Sven, and walked out of the woods.

Chen Song turned to Zhu Lingshi and bowed his hand:

"General Zhu, please select thirty veterans for me who can run fast, have a good brain, and have high kung fu skills! Equip each person with a crossbow. ”

Zhu Lingshi frowned:

"Is thirty enough?"

Chen Song said that it is useless to have many people on this occasion.

Zhu Lingshi knew Chen Song's intentions, and reached out to pat him on the shoulder:

"Don't worry, give you the best!" (To be continued......)