At the head of Yidu City, Deng She watched the Yuan army slowly shrink and retreat.

Chahan's retreat was because Fu Youde's bravery was beyond his expectations, and if he continued to fight, he was afraid that he would not be able to take advantage of it, so he quickly cut through the chaos and made a quick decision. And Deng She's original intention was to take the opportunity to break through the siege was the best policy, and at worst, he would attract Chahan's attention, making him unable to take care of the ambushes elsewhere. At this time, seeing that the defense of the Yuan army was in order, although the army withdrew, the formation before and after was not chaotic at all, and knew that it was impossible to achieve the purpose of taking the opportunity to break through. He also simply accepted it when he saw it, anyway, he must have attracted Chahan's attention, at least the second-level purpose was achieved.

His typhoid fever had not yet healed, and he stood at the head of the city and let the cold wind blow for a long time, and he felt dizzy with his head nodding unconsciously. Holding down his chest, he coughed twice, and he commanded: "Since the Tartars have retreated, we will also withdraw our troops into the city." However, although the troops were withdrawn, they could not be made proud. Leaving Monk Li, every half an hour, go out of the city to go around, beat gongs and drums, be sure to disturb his peace, so that the old man of Chahan is powerless to take care of it. ”

The generals answered.

Although Deng She was ill and the arrangements were made, he still refused to leave, insisted on waiting for Fu Youde to come back, personally went down to the city to greet him, held his hand, and greeted him warmly.

The thunderbolt of Shicai is really powerful, and Deng She came from later generations and knew the principle of a lightning rod. Not long after Fu Youde went into battle, the gun broke, and he kept dancing with the flag. The top of the flag is made of steel, like the shape of the tip of a spear, which converges from the bottom to the top, forming a sharp edge, and the flagpole is long.

He rode on a horse, in the midst of the array of hosts, dancing around as if he stood out from the crowd, as if he was holding a lightning rod! It was not surprising at all that he was attracted to the rolling thunder and slashed down at his location. It's also a big loss of his life, he didn't split it directly on his head, but just set his eyebrows on fire. The mount under the crotch was also affected, and it was black and mushy by the thunder and fire.

Deng She didn't wait for him to dismount, but stepped forward first, grabbed his hand, and looked him up and down. Again and again amazed and praised, and said: "The courage of the general, I have seen it today!" The power of drinking, the thunder of heaven is destroyed. How much more are they barbarian Tartars? I'm afraid I'm scared and tremble, right? Haha, it's really exciting! Raise my majesty. Asked Fu Youde, "Is there an injury?" ”

People are struck by lightning, no matter how brave they are, maybe they were bent on killing the enemy on the battlefield at that time, and they didn't have time to think about it, but now that the war is over, looking back, they are proud and proud, but they are inevitably afraid. Fu Youde was also sincere, hurriedly jumped off the horse, and said, "I haven't been injured." At that time, I didn't think too much about it. I feel that my whole body is hot and crispy, and it is very enjoyable, which is better than soaking in hot springs. ”

Dunshe was in a good mood and laughed out loud. Although Fu Youde was not injured by thunder, he was injured by the swords and guns of Guo Yun and other Yuan army generals in many places on his shoulder and chest. Deng She joined hands and took him to the military hospital and ordered Wu Yulin to be bandaged. After the bandaging was completed, he personally sent him back to rest, and then returned to the house.

There were already seven or eight people waiting in the house.

The foreign messengers who took the opportunity to infiltrate the city were not only from Zhang Ji'er and Wenhuaguo. There are also from Guo Conglong, Zhao Guo, Chen Yutou and others. Because Shicai was at the head of the city, Chahan withdrew his troops quickly, and Deng She needed to arrange his own countermeasures, so he didn't have time to ask them about the specific situation in various places for a while, and he taught them to bring them back to the mansion first. Now that I have free time, of course, I have to ask carefully.

The concubines who had gone up to the city to toast the soldiers also returned. Deng She sent them away and returned to the backyard first, leaving only Mrs. Wang, standing beside her, boiling medicine and water. Hong Jixun, Ji Zongzhou, and Zhang Yu, who accompanied Deng She back to his home, sat on the left and right. Then he commanded the messengers to come up one by one.

According to the chronological order, the first to come up was the messenger from Chen Yutou's place.

This envoy of Chen Yutou had already come to the outside of Yidu City, and he waited outside for four or five days before he finally had the opportunity to enter the city. His whole body was dirty, his hands and face were cracked by the cold wind, and his exposed face was red from the cold. He bowed to the ground and said, "Your Highness, the villain came outside the city four days ago. Lord Liu and Chen Dashuai each had a letter and asked the villain to forward it to His Royal Highness. ”

Deng She took Liu Shimin's letter first, glanced at it, and there was nothing else, nothing more than various military reports since the siege.

He asked, "What is the current situation in the city of Tai'an?" *Handsome, can you still hold on? "Compared to Yidu, Tai'an is truly isolated. Except for a little people from Gao Yanshi and Li Zifan at the foot of Mount Tai to echo it, it has been two months, and there has been basically no contact with the outside world.

If it weren't for Zhao Guo's frequent military reports, and when it came to the situation in Tai'an, the people in the city would have thought that Tai'an had fallen. Even so, just a while ago, when Deng She and Hong Jixun were discussing the military, Hong Jixun also raised a concern, doubting whether Tai'an could hold to the end.

Therefore, when Deng She saw Tai'an's messenger, he was both happy and suspicious.

The messenger said, "Before the villain came, nearly half of the brothers in the city had been killed or wounded. Chen Dashuai below, all of them are colored. Yan Sixiao's generals who besieged the city first attacked the city day and night, and then besieged but did not attack. Although they did not attack, the arrows and stones brought by the Tartars were very large, and they were cast into the city day and night. The city was next to the city walls, and the stones were almost as high as the city's head. Our army was up and down, and many were killed. ”

As he spoke, the messenger wept, shook his hands and took out a letter from his bosom, raised his head high, walked to the front of the Deng She, bowed his head to the ground, his face pressed tightly to the ground, and said: "The letter that the villain handed over to His Highness is Lord Liu's letter. This letter is Chen Dashuai's. Your Highness, please watch. ”

Deng Sheleng paused, seeing his movements like this, he knew that there must be something wrong in Chen Rutou's letter, got up and got out of his seat, and took it with a solemn expression. When the envelope was opened, there was only a thin sheet of paper. Liu Shimin's letter was made of good Korean paper, and this letter was made of ordinary straw paper. The page is yellow, the ink absorption is not good, and the words written are leaking into a ball. He looked up and wrote: "His Royal Highness King Yan Junjian." ”

There are rows of them below, and they are formatted and written in many lines. At the front is the official title, followed by the number.

Deng She saw it, raised his head, glanced at Hong Jixun and the others, lowered his head again, looked at it again from beginning to end, and read softly: "More than 1,000 households, the original twenty-three, now eleven." More than 100 households, the original 131 members, now 62 members. Nine commanders and above, originally 843 members, now 313 members. ”

The last few lines are not numbers, but a sentence: "So far, the bloody battle has caused more than half of the casualties of the ministers." The words of the lord, the minister dare not forget for a moment. 'Words are far away, words are near, who has no loyalty? As a son of man and a minister, he should remember the anger of his ancestors. 'Ministers have been in the army for many years, not for wealth. The big husband should act worthy of his family and country. Now facing a strong enemy, although the minister does not have the grasp of sticking to the thief, the jade is broken into a benevolent ambition, but it is not too much for the sages. The minister is in the city, and the city is broken, and the minister is dead. So much for. Minister, Chen Ru's head is buckled. ”

The language in the letter was simple, but a tragic courage rushed to the face.

The messenger kowtowed again and again, and the bluestone slab that hit it "dong dong" sounded, shouting: "Your Highness! Your Highness! Reinforcements from outside the city have arrived, please, send some to Tai'an! Without reinforcements, the city really won't be able to hold on. The brothers are not afraid of death, but the wounded and hungry,......。 Your Highness, you are not in Tai'an, that tragic situation, the iron man can't hold it when he sees it! It's miserable. ”

"You get up first."

"Your Highness! Chen Sansi and Chen Sixteen, they are all Chen Dashuai's relatives, and they can't kiss their own family anymore! Just the day before the villain came, the sixteenth brother went to the city to be a thief, and was smashed by a Tartar trebuchet, and his flesh and blood were blurred. I can't even put the body together! The one who died was called a miserable one. Chen Sansi went out of the city with the villain to deliver a letter to His Highness. Halfway to meet the Tartar's probe horse, he took the initiative to break, was caught by the Tartar, the villain watched him be trampled by the Tartar horse and broke his limbs, dying, and scolded!

"Your Highness! Send us some reinforcements to Tai'an! ”

Like a cuckoo weeping blood, the cry of the messenger was heard outside the hall and spread far away in the night. Chen Yutou's subordinates are mostly fellow villagers, and their friendship with each other is much deeper than that of other troops. The messenger pleaded bitterly, and slammed his head to the ground as if he were dying, and his sorrow and anxiety were revealed. Mrs. Wang, who was standing on the side, couldn't help but turn red in her eyes.

Dunshe closed his eyes and was silent for a moment. Ji Zongzhou hurriedly got up and grabbed the messenger.

Hong Jixun snorted dissatisfiedly, and said angrily: "* The pain of handsome guarding the city, you don't need to say it, the lord also knows." Even though my reinforcements have arrived today, haven't they come to the rescue of Yidu? Wang Baobao, who can't defeat Jinan, even if he retreats from the siege of Tai'an for a while, what will he do next? I heard that you just reported your home, and you are also a hundred households. Don't you know the truth that mercy is not in charge of the army? This official can answer you on behalf of the lord, Tai'an City, there are no reinforcements now! If Jinan is not defeated, there will be no reinforcements in the future! ”

Hong Jixun was agitated and told him bluntly. Even Deng She's cronies like Yang Wanhu and Guo Conglong, he didn't pay attention to it, and treated him purely as a martial artist. What's more, the external Chen Yutou? Of course, he wants Tai'an to be able to hold it, but if he wants to disrupt the overall layout for Tai'an, it is not possible at all.

Deng She opened his eyes, took a deep breath, stretched out his hand to stop him from continuing to speak, walked up to the messenger, told Madame Wang to bring a towel, wiped away the tears and dirt on his face for him with her own hands, grabbed his shoulder, looked into his eyes, and said, "It's not that I don't want to rescue Tai'an, but I can't rescue him." Your sacrifice, I remember it here. ”

He tapped his heart again, and then said generously: "More than a year ago, my father-in-law died at the hands of the Tartars. Until now, I have not been able to bury him in my hometown. I understand your pain. But there are some things that must be done. There are some things that cannot be done. All we can do is write down the hatred. Those who commit crimes against strong men will be punished even if they are far away. One day, we will regain the glory of our ancestors. ”

Deng She never moved emotionally easily, but Chen Rutou really moved him.

The two of them don't have a deep relationship, and they are enemies when they go deeper. Now they are walking together for a common enemy, fighting side by side. Chen Yutou's heroic and fearless, regardless of past suspicions, treating death as if he were at home, and being righteous and awe-inspiring, is really admirable. Chen Rutou was born recklessly, maybe he doesn't know too much about the great principles of national righteousness, but "a big husband should act worthy of his family and country", and he said loudly.

Deng She thought in his heart: "For 5,000 years in China, the reason why the spirit of the nation has been vigorously passed on to the present day is precisely because there are always these people who can be called the backbone. After the darkness again and again, we can always usher in the glory of China. ”

He couldn't help but think about Yang Xingjian again: "Tianxingjian, a gentleman is constantly striving for self-improvement." Chen Yutou and Yang Xingjian, one is a rough man and the other is a literati, but their attitudes in the face of foreign enemies coincide surprisingly. There is also Yao Haogu, a word on the execution ground, which once infected Deng She's heart. The people, and only the people, are the driving force that pushes history forward. He pressed the messenger's shoulder hard, as if to say to him, as if to himself, and he said, "We must always have some spirits." ”

This battle has been fought for so long that no matter whether it is famous or unknown, the enemy, or its own army, it is almost impossible to hold on. But whoever can hold out until the end will win. And this victory, as Chen Yutou said, is not for personal glory and wealth. Deng She thought: "It should be for the faith and persistence of some people. ”

He turned around, hurried back to the front of the case, and ordered Mrs. Wang to lay out paper and ink, intending to reply to Chen Rutou. There are thousands of clues, he seems to have a lot of things to say, and he only wrote down five big words: "Red gall Chen Yutou." Throw it to Hong Jixun, ordered, and said, "According to these five words, make a military flag." Then he said to the messenger, "On the day of the thieves, when our army is victorious, this king will personally award this military flag to Chen Dashuai!" In order to demonstrate the loyalty and courage of Chen Dashuai and his brothers. ”

Deng She has a convention of calling generals, either by name or by official position, and the word "general" is often used at most, and he has never called any subordinate "marshal". This time, the messenger called Chen Youtou "Chen Dashuai", which shows that he has not only regarded Chen Youtou as a subordinate, but also showed respect to a considerable extent.

Chen Yutou's messenger went down in tears. Zhao Guo's messenger came up.

Mrs. Wang boiled the medicinal soup, but Deng She had no intention of drinking it at this time, and returned to his seat, he tried his best to calm the turbulent emotions. Looking at the candle shadow near the side, the night is deep outside the temple. He pressed Ji Zongzhou and said, "Lord Ji, please take a seat." "Ji Zong Zhou Shi went to pull Chen Yu's messenger, but he still hasn't sat down, and he has returned to his position when he hears the words. Deng She asked, "What military report did Zhao Zuocheng send from?" ”

Zhao Guo's messenger also heard Chen Yutou's messenger's cry, but the situation faced by Zhao Guo's department, although alone, was far better than Tai'an's siege on all sides. Moreover, now that the reinforcements have arrived, the first aid is Zhao Guo, although the situation is critical, although the task is very heavy, but after all, it is relatively stable. Therefore, the messenger was more calm, knelt down and saluted, and said: "The villain arrived outside the city at night, bring a letter with Zuo Cheng's own handwriting, and present it to His Highness." ”

Zhao Guo's letter is very thick, full of several large pages. In his letter, he described in detail his battle plan.

Wenhua Guo had already made contact with him, in order to prevent the Yuan army from setting up an ambush in the middle of the road, he planned to personally lead the infantry to block the possible exit of Jinan Wang Baobao, and at the same time send the Jurchen cavalry of Tong Shengyang's department to copy the trail at the same time, and strive to join the Wenhua State Department as soon as possible. If the Yuan army really has an ambush, then the internal and external attacks must be broken with one blow. Subsequently, the armies met in Huashan and counterattacked Jinan.

This plan may seem simple, but it is also very dangerous.

Since Chahan dared to set up an ambush in the middle road, he would definitely have expected that Zhao Guo might send an army to meet Wenhuaguo and attack from behind. So, how can Zhao Guo be flawless from behind? Without it, just like Deng She's momentum to break through, he used Wang Baobao to run out of the city. Zhao Guo's army is less than 10,000 people, and most of them are remnants of defeated generals. There were more than 20,000 people in the Wang Bao Security Department, and there were still nearly 20,000 casualties during the siege. With more hits and fewer blows, it is estimated by common sense that Zhao Guo should never be able to respond to Wenhuaguo.

But if you don't answer, you can't do it. Because only by answering the problem can it be possible to quickly break through the ambush of Chahan. If not, how long will the war last? Chahan set up an ambush according to the danger, relying on the army of Wenhua alone, the life is sparse, even if there is a village guide, if you want to break it with one blow, it is also difficult and difficult.

Zhao Guo also had no choice but to change his usual cautious and subtle habit of using troops and make his dangerous moves.

At the end of the letter, he wrote: "The lord was trapped in defending Yidu, and sent reinforcements to attack Jinan first, in order to break the cauldron and sink the boat. The ministers guarded Huashan, and there were 20,000 Bao * Rui, and the troops were divided to respond to Wen Shuai, which can also be described as a battle against the water. If it succeeds, the war in Shandong will be overturned. If defeated, our Huashan battalion will be wiped out. Whether it can succeed or not, the minister is uncertain. At this point, I couldn't help but cry. If it is not for the life of the minister, the truth is that the lord's public security is in danger.

"It's not a pity for the minister to die, if it affects the lord, the minister will not be redeemed. If our army fails, on the day when the beggar lord gets the news, there is no need to grieve for the ministers, but must put the foundation of Haidong first and immediately break through. Monk Li is known for his courage and loyalty to his lord. With him, and the elite of Dingdongya in the city, it will not be too difficult to break through to the lord. I haven't seen my lord for two months, and I miss you very much. Take care and cherish it. The minister Zhao is too respectful. ”

When people are in danger, they show their true feelings. Zhao Guo's letter is like a masterpiece, and the writing is deeply meaningful. He had a small relationship with Deng She, and Deng She was also very moved when he saw it. People are not plants and trees, who can be ruthless. He didn't speak for a long time. Hong Jixun, Ji Zongzhou and others were interested and didn't bother him. The room is quiet and silent. After a long time, he motioned for the messenger to go down and said, "Teach Guo to come up from the messenger of the dragon." ”

The needle drop in the hall can be heard, Guo Conglong's messenger stepped forward step by step, and the soles of his cowhide boots stepped on the ground, making a "clink" sound, as if ringing in everyone's hearts. Everyone turned their heads to look, and the clouds outside the hall covered the moon, and the night was long. In the ambush battle outside Changbai Mountain, Guan Bao had just met Wenhuaguo.