Chapter 2 (5b)

"Tang Gong's move is deeply rooted in the way of using soldiers!" On the way back to the room, Liu Hongji commented in a low voice.

"The light is loose and the darkness is tight, and the proportions are just right!" Li Xu nodded in agreement. These words are not slapping Li Yuan's sycophants, what kind of virtue his colleagues are Lu Xu knows best, if Tang Gong showed a little nervousness just now, it is estimated that the military spirit has collapsed at this time.

"Alas!" Liu Hongji sighed, as if he was deeply worried about the fate of Huaiyuan Town. He is twice as old as Li Xu, and he has seen much more things than everyone else. It is a very strange arrangement to put the grain storage place on the border between the two countries. But through this strangeness, we can vaguely deduce a fact that cannot be told to others.

Seeing that the other party didn't speak, Li Xu was also a little gloomy. Last year, he abandoned school and left the country to escape the war. This year, he went to Huaiyuan Town to join the army, also to avoid becoming the unjust soul of Liaodong. However, the time to come finally came, and no matter how much I escaped, I didn't escape.......

The two of them walked in great strides, each thinking about their own thoughts. The distance from the school to the residence is a blink of an eye. But the two of them seemed to have forgotten the road, and went around diagonally, went around half a circle, and then went diagonally back again.

After being silent for a moment, Liu Hongji suggested in a low voice: "Brother, it's time for us to do something for Tang Gong!" ”

"Brother Liu, you say, what should we do!" Li Xu nodded, his voice was not loud, but it was very decisive. Tang Gong has the grace of knowing himself, and he should indeed reciprocate. Besides, the meaningful glance before he left was obviously expressed, and he couldn't guess Li Yuan's thoughts, but this question couldn't help the thoughtful Liu Hongji.

"Help Tang Gong defend Huaiyuan Town! If the army does not move, the grain and grass will be lost first, and Tang Gong will definitely be ruined! Liu Hongji stopped, looked at the dark sky and said. In an instant, the contempt for heaven and earth when they broke through together on the grassland returned to him.

This is the Liu Hongji that Li Xu knows, in the barracks for more than a month, Liu Hongji, who is drunk with everyone every day, and the tall and mighty man on the grassland are almost completely different people. Sometimes, Li Xu even wonders if Liu Hongji has a twin brother who is the same.

"How do you keep it?" Li Xu asked in a low voice.

"First of all, we have to stabilize ourselves and the brothers around us! The Koreans don't dare to confront our main force of the Great Sui, as long as the military spirit of Huaiyuan Town is not dispersed, we will have the opportunity to do our best! Liu Hongji thought about it and said.

"I'll do my best!" Li Xu thought about it carefully and solemnly agreed.

For Liu and Li, who have a humble position and only one month of military experience, stabilizing the morale of the military is not a matter of gratitude. The people who can rely on the relationship to come to Huaiyuan Town to serve in the army have a family background that is not too bad. At the beginning, everyone came to avoid going to the battlefield to die, including Li Xu and Liu Hongji, why didn't they have the same plan. Now that the place of safety has become a dangerous place, who has the heart to listen to two newcomers. Even if they are Tang Gong's descendants, they can't let everyone risk their lives.

But after nearly a month of wine and meat exchanges, everyone is friends, and friends can naturally communicate with each other, including exchanging judgments on the current situation.

There was no need for Li Xu to deliberately look for this opportunity to make friends, and when he and Liu Hongji discussed the countermeasures and went back to their residence in the army, a few friends who were reasonable were already waiting at the door of the house. Wang Yuantong, Qi Poning, Qin Ziying, Wu Shitong, Zhang Deyu ....... familiar faces are not missing.

"Two, I can hope you two back!" From afar, Qi Poning stepped forward to say hello.

"Brother Liu and I went to do some personal business just now!" Li Xu smiled and replied in a low voice. The first time he interacted with people purposefully, he felt particularly awkward.

This twisted expression became mysterious in the eyes of everyone. He is the nephew of Tang Gong, and everyone in the barracks knows about it. The two of them didn't return just now, and they must have been summoned by Tang Gong to discuss the matter. And the outcome of the deliberations involves the value of everyone's lives.

"Liu, Brother Liu, Brother Li, you, you're okay!" Qin Ziying salivated and stepped forward to greet him. He was usually weak and weak, and he suddenly became "fat", bulging from his neck to his knees, like a bad cow with enough autumn fat.

"Of course, don't you want us to freeze to death? What are you doing standing here, and you have something to say about it. Aren't you too cold in the ice and snow? Liu Hongji hit the brother, twisted the door lock, and let everyone into the house.

"Yes, yes, let's go into the house and say, enter the house and say, Lao Qi, get the wine you got and find someone to bring it in!" Wang Yuantong agreed with a smile on his face, and took the lead in walking inside. Six or seven knives collided with each other all over the body, and with each step, there was a clanging sound.

Liu Hongji smiled, let everyone into the house in turn, covered the door, blew the fire in the charcoal basin, and hung a copper kettle filled with water above the brazier, and then slowly asked: "The brothers don't go to bed so late, do you have something to do with us?" ”

"It's okay, it's okay, just come and see!" Wang Yuantong wiped the sweat on his face and said it in a hurry.

"Are you alright?" Liu Hongji asked knowingly. Since everyone didn't tell the truth, he was happy to go around in circles with everyone. Idle classes are better than patience, and he doesn't believe that anyone here can compare with himself.

"Brother Liu, we're all good brothers, right?" Qi Poning is the oldest person except Liu Hongji, and his concentration is also the worst, so he can't stand it anymore, so he is the first to lead the conversation to the topic.

"Of course, as soon as you enter the barracks, everyone is a lifelong friendship. On the battlefield, the only people who can save your life are the brothers around you! Liu Hongji replied briskly.

"Friendship over life, friendship over life!" Qin Ziying's face turned white in an instant, and she said again and again. He was too sensitive to the word battlefield, and when he heard someone say it, his heart beat breathlessly.

"Good brother has to say it straight, you can't hide it, right?" Qi Poning pushed Qin Ziying and continued to ask.

"Yes, friends are valuable. If you have something to say only half a sentence, then what kind of friend is it! Liu Hongji poked the charcoal fire with a copper skewer and replied with a smile.

There were already pink flames jumping up in the brazier, making the copper kettle sizzle. The temperature in the room was getting hotter, and everyone's faces were red by the firelight.

"Then, when does Tang Gong plan to take everyone to evacuate Huaiyuan Town?" Qi Poning finally mustered up the courage and asked the most crucial question. If the Great Sui had already started the war against Goryeo, Huaiyuan Town, which had hoarded grain and grass supplies, would undoubtedly be a safe rear. However, now that the Goryeo people crossed the Jiehe River and took the initiative to attack the Great Sui, it became the most unsafe place to deliberately select the grain storage area close to the Jiehe River for the convenience of the army's supply. Gentlemen do not stand under the dangerous wall, everyone is a gentleman, and try not to escape slower than others when you can escape.

"Withdraw, if you were Tang Gong, would you take everyone to withdraw?" Liu Hongji suddenly turned pale, staring at Qi Poning's eyes and asking.

Qi Po froze, he had never imagined himself as the commander of a team of soldiers and horses. Suddenly, he changed his position, and his whole body stiffened under the violent impact of his thoughts.

"You, you mean, Tang Gong, Tang Gong doesn't plan to withdraw at all?" Wang Yuantong's upper and lower teeth kept fighting, his face was dripping with sweat, but his body seemed to have fallen into an ice cave.

The faces of several people beside the charcoal basin turned snow-white, they were all children of families who had read books and had been trained since childhood. The mind is not slow. According to Liu Hongji's suggestion, after thinking about it in a different position, the previous question became clear.

Anyone who puts himself in Li Yuan's position, he will not withdraw. The town of Huaiyuan has hoarded enough food for a million troops to eat for three months, and if the grain falls into the hands of the enemy without a fight, the Lord will be cut by a thousand knives, and it will be difficult to apologize for his crimes. But if you stick to this place, with the 1,200 brothers in the city who are waiting to die, I am afraid that they will not be able to support it for an hour, and they will be crushed into powder by the Koreans.

"Of course Tang Gong doesn't plan to withdraw, there is no need to withdraw at all! Although Huaiyuan Town is small, it is actually solid! Li Xu replied nonchalantly for Liu Hongji. The first time he lied, he was a little nervous. But in front of people who are more nervous than themselves, they seem extremely calm.

"Imsolidated?" Everyone's eyes swept towards Li Xu together. Li Xu's honesty and kindness are well-known in the barracks, although everyone always laughs at him, but at this very moment, the same words are said in his mouth is much more credible than in the mouths of others.

"yes, can't you see it?" Li Xu looked at everyone disdainfully, and explained according to the words taught by Liu Hongji in advance: "The more than 30,000 troops under General Xin are on our side, and they are at odds with Huaiyuan Town. If the enemy attacks General Xin, we will attack him from behind. If the enemy attacks Huaiyuan, General Xin will cut off his flanks. And as long as the stalemate between the two sides lasts for a long time, our Liucheng and Lulong armies will arrive, and the Goryeo people will be encircled, and there is a danger that the whole army will be wiped out......"

This is an example of a battle told in the history books, and the army of Chu once resisted the Qin army for three months with this formation. The Great Sui is not weak, and three months is enough to send a million reinforcements.

"The enemy general is not a fool, so he will not take such a big risk to attack." Liu Hongji laughed and added, as if he had really just discussed the situation in front of him with Li Yuan. "Tang Gong thinks that after the river freezes, the enemy army will use sneak attacks and harassment as the main means, and will never fight us head-on."

Hearing this, the expressions on everyone's faces gradually became relaxed. The walls of Huaiyuan Town are relatively strong, and it would be difficult to cross such a high wall if the enemy army was only harassed by a small group of soldiers and horses. Moreover, the garrison of the Great Sui Border Army was indeed not far from here, and seeing that Huaiyuan Town was lit with beacon fires, they could rush to reinforcements in one day.

"Brothers, don't worry, if there is any abnormal situation, Brother Liu and I will never hide it from everyone!" Li Xu patted Wang Yuantong on the shoulder and promised in a low voice.

"Besides, the emperor will not let Tang Gongzhen take risks. By generation, they are cousins! Liu Hongji lowered his head and revealed to everyone with a mysterious face.

"Rest assured, rest assured!" Wang Yuantong and the others nodded with a smile. The emperor and Tang Gong are relatives, and everyone has heard of this. No matter how confused he is, he won't send his cousin to death, everyone speculates with common sense.

At that moment, no one thought that Emperor Shengming had poisoned his own brother. cousins and cousins have killed more than one. I just feel that the upcoming battle is not so terrifying, and the wind outside the window does not sound as anxious as it used to be.

"Tang Gong said, the enemy army does not dare to really attack the city!" That night, I don't know who leaked the "news" I heard from Liu Hongji!

"Liu Lushu and Team Li are not in a hurry, they are still drinking and eating meat with a few adults there, what are we anxious about!" There were people who secretly ran to check on the situation and turned around to report to their partners. If the Lord runs for his life, he will definitely take his henchmen with him. And his henchmen are still drunk and dreaming of death, even if there is too much danger in front of him.

Thinking about Tang Gong's unhurried performance at that time, everyone's mood was more stable. Holding the sword, he slowly fell asleep.

When they got up the next morning, everyone admired the judgment of "Tang Gong" more and more. Last night's rumors were not wrong at all, the Koreans took the initiative to retreat to Liaodong City on the other side after stepping on a section of ice. Xin Shixiong, the general of the Zuotun Guard, who was in charge of guarding the border side of the Great Sui, also withdrew his troops and horses into the military camp ten miles north of Huaiyuan Town in view of the bad weather. The enemy and us fell into a stalemate before the snowfall, the Sui army did not cross the border to attack, and the Goryeo army was happy to maintain temporary peace.

The cost of that night's clash was that a Goryeo thousand-man squad that had crossed the shore but lost its support was completely annihilated by General Shin Se-woong, and an unknown number of Goryeo soldiers fell into the river and froze to death. The Great Sui march, which rushed to the river to meet the battle, also suffered more than 700 casualties, of which more than 500 were frostbitten.

The brothers who protected the baggage in Huaiyuan Town were also "killed", and they stole their horses in the second half of the night to escape, but they were shot off their horses by a hidden sentry as soon as they rushed out of the camp gate. Li Yuan executed them in public and hung their heads for three days. He then announced that he would be buried as if he had died in battle against the enemy, and the county where his home was killed was notified.

The result of this treatment shocked many people, but no one complained about Tang Gong's cruelty. Overall, Li Yuan is a good boss. He is not honored by his subordinates, does not withhold food, and also adopts an attitude of turning a blind eye to minor offenses against military discipline such as sneaking out to drink.

"Tang Pingping treats everyone well, but those two guys became deserters when they were about to fight, which is really not righteous enough!" Qi Poning commented in private. This also represents the opinion of most people, most of the children of the family who came to Huaiyuan Town to serve as soldiers are not high in martial arts and are not highly motivated, but their friends can talk a little bit about their righteousness.

"Ci is not in charge of the army. Tang Gong has taken care of their family's face like this! Liu Hongji echoed in a low voice. This is a truth, the family is more concerned about face, and if the bodies of those two people are sent back to their hometown as deserters, the whole family will be disgraced.

In the midst of the discussions, no one had the heart to care about why the intensity of training had suddenly deepened, why military discipline had suddenly become much stricter, and even the new rule that you could not leave the camp at night without the approval of the commander in chief was being implemented to the letter. Now everyone has changed from the back team to the forward, and the real striker is still in Zhuojun for a long time. Although Tang Gong's "cronies" believed that everyone only needed to keep watch for half a day to let the Koreans go away. But if there is no catty or two under his hands, in case the Koreans come to attack the city, it will not be so easy to hold on for half a day.

And the deserters are not deserved, and only through hard training can they avoid being killed in half a day.

A few days after the start of the formal training, Li Xu found that the team he led had become a sweet and sweet pastry. It turned out that because his team was too rigid, many people wanted to change to another team to eat. And now, not only are the people of this team no longer asking people to intercede for exchange, but there are also people who continue to say through Wang Yuantong, Qi Poning and others, hoping to change to his team.

"Team Li's orthodox tricks are easy to use!" The soldiers are smart and know what they need most at the moment. When Li Xu led the team to practice martial arts, he did not focus on routines but attached importance to the dismantling of moves, and almost every move taught to everyone was simple and effective. Such a team is not easy to find, and whoever doesn't learn is joking with his own life.

"Team Li's Orthodox cooperation is easy to use, the day before yesterday there was a fight at dinner, and the four of us beat down seven of the other teams!" The soldiers under Li Xu's command proudly showed off. The same combat cooperation, after Li Xu's click, immediately became practical. Although the change is only a little bit, this little change is simply the difference between life and death.

Listening to these praises, Li Xu trained more and more seriously. In his mind, this is also a way for him to repay Tang Gong. The skill of dismantling the moves came from the coppersmith master, and the queue change and mutual cooperation came from Xu Dayan, and the accumulated knowledge and experience were integrated with his own practical experience, and it became a unique Li training method.

Tang Gong Li Yuan obviously also noticed the efficiency of Li Xu's training, and a few days later, Li Shimin came to ask Li Xu again under the pretext of asking for advice on archery.

"Brother Zhong Jian, which famous general did you inherit from the martial arts of military training?" Li Shimin chased after him and asked. Since losing to Li Xu in the arrow competition that day, he would go to the barracks almost every three or five days to ask Li Xu for archery skills. And Li Xu, in line with the idea of repaying Tang Gong's kindness, was also very dedicated when he instructed him.

"The queue and coordination were learned from Brother Mao Gong, and the dismantling of the moves was taught by the coppersmith master. When he taught me, it was a real sword and a real gun! Li Xu wiped the sweat from his head and answered truthfully.

"These two people are immortal talents, Brother Zhong Jian is really a blessing!" Li Shimin admired in a low voice, and the expression on his face was so envious.

"If you see Brother Mao Gong, you should be able to become friends!" Li Xu smiled and replied very seriously.

"Friends?" Li Shimin asked with a little surprise.

"Of course, don't the people of the world want to know a few more heroes?" Li Xu asked with a smile, not feeling the difference in identity between them at all. He has a thin experience, and always thinks that the best relationship between men is just friends. So whether it was with Xu Maogong or Liu Hongji, when the fear and strangeness in my heart gradually faded, I immediately made friends very comfortably. Although Li Jiancheng and Shimin's identities are noble, in the eyes of him, a country child, they only have a better family background, which does not prevent everyone from talking about each other.

"Of course, it is a blessing for the people to be able to make a few friends like Brother Zhongjian!" Li Shimin quickly adjusted his mentality and eagerly agreed.

"So he thinks of me as a friend!" Looking at Li Xu's back walking among the soldiers, Li Shimin thought with a smile. "It doesn't seem bad to have such a scheming friend!" As the son of Tang Gong, he seems to lack nothing when he grows up, the only thing he lacks is friends.

For a person with Li Xu's temperament, there has always been no shortage of friends. Now, he and Liu Hongji have become the core of the brothers who used to eat together and wait for death. This is not only because the two are Li Yuan's descendants, and they can always bring "confidential military information" in a timely manner. The reason that is more important than Li Yuan's face is that the martial arts skills shown by the two of them are too high, and even the veterans sent by Li Yuan to assist in the training of the group are not the opponents of the two.

By following two martial arts masters, the chance of being killed on the battlefield will be greatly reduced. Therefore, Wang Yuantong, Qi Poning and others were very glad that they had picked up the treasure again. It's just that the two baby brothers haven't given much face to everyone recently, and when they instruct everyone in self-defense techniques, they are more ruthless than training the soldiers under their command.

"Stand firm, look at it, raise your hands and watch my eyes!" Liu Hongji shouted, and the handle of the knife slammed down on Wang Yuantong's stomach. The latter choked back a few steps and sat down in the snow.

"Come again!" Liu Hongji pointed at Wang Yuantong with a long wooden knife and ordered loudly.

"Brother, big brother, I'll rest, rest!" Wang Yuantong gasped and waved his hand, and the snot flowed out of the elder. Before coming to Liaodong, he and Ben had never held a knife, in his own words, he was born with a compassionate heart, and he never ate less meat from childhood to adulthood, but he never even killed chickens.

"Do you want to be cut? If I were Korean......." Liu Hongji gestured with a hair-pulling and head-cutting pose. Wang Yuantong immediately jumped up and slashed forward with the wooden knife in his hand in a frenzy.

He didn't want to die, and his family still had thousands of family fortunes to inherit. If he was cut off by the Koreans in a daze, he would just be cheaper than a few brothers who were coming out.

"Brother Qi, come here and help the handle!" Li Xu smiled and led a ram to the open space in front of the camp. Qi Poning grabbed a small horizontal knife and walked over tremblingly. Suddenly, he jumped up and stabbed the sheep in the heart.

"Catch blood in a wooden basin, that's a good thing!" Li Xu reminded loudly beside him. Qi Poning, who was already white, picked up the wooden basin, and forcibly put the wooden basin under the sheep carcass with the disgust in his heart.

His name sounds majestic enough, but he can't see blood. In the fall, when the soldiers were killing sheep and hoarding meat, he vomited a mess next to him. Now, he still wants to throw up, but he has opened his eyes in the face of death.

Qin Ziying was dressed like a camel and staggered forward. Li Xu stretched out his leg and slapped him on the head, and then stuck the scimitar scabbard in his neck.

"Qin Lushi, offended. Kill a list to join the army, I don't know how many levels of merit to remember? Li Xu asked with a smile.

"Record the matter of joining the army, eight grades, five, five levels!" Qin Ziying gasped and stretched out five fingers. Suddenly, he realized that the other party was talking about himself, and rolled on the ground in anger, trying to stand up. was pushed down by Li Xu with a finger.

"You can't kill the other party, and it's useless to wear multiple armors. On the contrary, he dragged himself down, was captured alive, and was taken to the capital to sacrifice prisoners! Then, Miss He stood by the river....." Li Xu smiled and put on a posture of looking at him.

Qin Ziying got up angrily and reached out to peel off her armor. One floor, two floors, three floors, and suddenly, he stopped. There was a warm feeling from his fingers, which made him feel peaceful. It was a jade amulet, tied with yellow silk and hanging around his neck. He looked around to see if there was any, and carefully tucked the talisman into his shirt, which was close to his chest.

Miss He is the granddaughter of General He Ruobi, and was exiled to Liaodong as a prostitute in the third year of Daye because of her grandfather's case. Qin Ziying had already asked someone to redeem her, and when she came to the class teacher, the two made an appointment to go to the right side of the ridge to meet Qin Ziying's father and mother.

Li Xu smiled and no longer forced Qin Ziying to continue practicing martial arts. Although he was much younger than Qin Ziying, he always felt that he could see through Qin Ziying's mind. I have had that happy look myself, but not long ago, I completely lost it.

He smiled and put down his knife and went to carry the water bag that had been placed aside. In winter, the cold well water has a unique refreshing feeling, especially like drinking. He smiled and shook his head, and put the water bag at his feet again. waved the knife to separate Qin Ziying, who was desperate.

After the two sides really got to know each other, Li Xu found that these friends who were eating and waiting for death actually had a lot of cuteness. They already knew that Li Xu was not a child of a family, but they still didn't care about calling Li Xu brothers. They knew that Li Xu had an old-fashioned temperament, and when he drank flower wine a few times, he left alone after being half drunk, but next time he still had to call this little brother to go with him. They all have higher positions than Li Xu, but they never put up an official position with him......

In fact, these people have good qualifications, but they have too many scruples in their hearts. Li Xu flicked his wrist slightly, deflected the force on Qin Ziying's knife, and then stepped sideways, knocking the other party into a stumbling one.

If they hadn't messed with these people on the heap of wine and meat, they would never have accepted the teaching of a teenager who was nearly a year younger than themselves and had a lower position than themselves out of the love of face. But since everyone drank wine and ate meat together and became friends, the age issue was automatically ignored.

This is also one of Liu Hongji's intentions when he forced himself to drink and eat meat with everyone. In terms of dealing with people, this Brother Liu is even smarter than Brother Mao Gong.

Li Xu understood that he had unconsciously learned a lot from Liu Hongji. Looking at a few friends around him, his heart was full of warmth.