The small Liao River winds to the west, crosses the new city, covers the Mu, and conjoins the Daliang River in the south of the Liaodong City, and joins the Da Liao River. For more than ten days, corpses floated down on the Da Liao River every day, and the Sui army stationed on the west bank had long been accustomed to this, except for the occasional people who remembered the love of robes, frustrated grass for incense, cut leaves for money, and burned a puff of green smoke to see off the brothers who drifted to the sea, most of the time, everyone did not care about the rotting corpses in the middle of the river. Let the fat old owl and the fly, which is not much smaller than the grasshopper, feast on the floating corpse, dance and sing.

It's not that they're cruel, it's that they've long been numb. After the news of the defeat of the expeditionary force came, the large army besieging outside the city of Liaodong retreated in panic, and tens of thousands of soldiers were squeezed off the pontoon bridge and drowned during the withdrawal. The 24th Route Expedition to Liao, except for Wei Wensheng's army, which was preserved, all other armies suffered heavy losses. The worst thing is that the 300,000 elite soldiers who rushed to Pyongyang in a roundabout way, less than 2,700 have returned to Liaoxi so far, and the rest are all heroic ghosts.

"Gah!" An old eagle that was sleeping in the treetops screamed and flapped its wings into the middle of the river. Another "food" had drifted down, and this time it seemed to be tender, and it had to hurry to get a good place, or else the place where it could lay would be crowded with its companions.

It turned out that the stupid bird's worries were unnecessary. There were so many corpses that suddenly floated down the river that the crows didn't have to fight for them. Unknown fish gathered behind the remains, their fins and tails sweeping long trails across the black river.

The soldiers guarding the pontoon bridge also saw the tragic scene floating upstream, and they gathered around the bridge to talk and talk. It has been thirteen days since the army withdrew to Liaoxi, and it stands to reason that the captured soldiers have already been slaughtered by the Goguryeo people, and it is impossible that so many people will be thrown into the Liao River at one time. Moreover, the heads of these corpses seem to have remained around their necks, and they were not taken by the Goguryeo people to pile up stupas.

"Lord Captain, do you want to catch it?" A soldier whispered to his lieutenant for instructions.

"What if you get a fart, what if you get the plague, it's not winter!" The captain guarding the bridge looked around and scolded angrily. These two pontoon bridges should have been burned down a long time ago, and the firewood, grass and butter piled up by the river were almost moldy, but the old man Yuwenshu who went into the wilderness had to stop everyone from raising the fire, saying that his son had not heard from him and might escape back tomorrow. Li Yuan, the guard captain who was in charge of the warehouses in Huaiyuan, Liucheng, and Yanjun, also joined in the fun, and sent a son to the bridge to supervise every day, insisting that everyone wait for a few more days.

Wait, why didn't he *** the emperor wait? Losing the battle, he slapped his ass and ran back to the Central Plains. The remaining General Wei Wensheng led less than 30,000 soldiers to garrison here, once the Goguryeo people took advantage of the victory to kill, 30,000 soldiers would not be a bite of food on people's plates?!

"Boss, that dead body seems to be wearing Goguryeo clothes, so it won't be killed by our people, right?" Someone didn't look long, lowered his voice and continued to explore the truth.

He replied with a heavy foot, and the captain of the bridge guard kicked the mouthy guy to a fart, and then stepped on it, holding the hilt of the knife in his hand and threatening: "Heartless, don't talk nonsense." How can there still be our soldiers and horses on the east bank of the river, even if there is, who will have the courage to fight the Goguryeo people in the event of a big defeat. It must be the Goguryeo civil strife, if you don't want to cross the river to be a spy, just shut that stinky mouth for me honestly! ”

"Yes, yes!" The beaten soldier cried and nodded frequently.

The captain of the bridge guard turned his gaze coldly, sweeping over all the brothers in the vicinity. "You guys also listen, remind each other, whoever wants to go home alive and hold the child, don't talk nonsense!" As he spoke, his eyes swept under a tent not far away, and his eyebrows showed a little coldness: "300,000 brothers have let the old bastard be ruined, why should we go to the other side of the river to die for his son." It's all raised by my mother's father, who is much cheaper than whom! ”

In the tent, the old man who was privately scolded as a bastard suddenly shivered, and tried to sit up, but now his body was really weak, and he couldn't get up as he wished. The general standing outside the tent heard the movement inside, and hurriedly rushed forward to help, but the old man did not appreciate it, and pushed the general away, slamming his palm on the ground, accompanied by "Hey! With a roar of rage, he stood up, swaying back and forth a few times, and finally stabilized his figure.

"Shibo be careful!" The young man sitting across from the old man also stood up and whispered to him.

"Be careful, hehe, I just hate that I didn't die in Liaodong!" The old man staggered to the tent, letting the midday sun illuminate his gray hair. Without military uniforms and official robes, he looked no different from his father in an ordinary family, his old face was wrinkled, and his eyes were full of anxiety when he looked at the east bank of the Liao River.

"Yuwen Shibo doesn't have to be discouraged, although the emperor has demoted you, he also knows that the fault is not yours. If the emperor is angry, he will definitely use your old man again! The young man followed him out of the tent, and the sun shone on his broad shoulders, gentle face, and slightly tired eyes.

"Prince Tang and Lord Yuwen are here!" The soldiers by the Liao River were taken aback and carefully closed their mouths. It is these two people who resolutely oppose the burning of the pontoon bridge, and the fact that the corpses of Goguryeo soldiers appeared on the river must not be let them know, otherwise, with the power behind these two people, maybe there will be some new tricks. In these years, officials are just moving their mouths, but soldiers are sending their lives in.

"Zigu, did you really see Shi and that kid go to save Bo Zhai?" Yuwen Shu looked at Li Jiancheng and asked the same question for the hundredth time. This once commanding old general is so weak at the moment, as if a wind blows, it can break his body in two.

"Brother Renren said that he wanted to defend the reputation of the Yuwen family! In addition to him, Hongji and Zhongjian were surrounded by more than 300 brothers, and they should have hope of success! Li Jiancheng nodded and replied stubbornly. He didn't believe that Liu Hongji and Li Xu were lost in Liaodong, both of them were his good friends, one was his worldly brother, and the other was like his sibling brother.

"More than 300 people, the old man has made a sin! 300,000 troops were lost, but 300 men were killed! Yu Wenshu muttered to himself, and slowly walked a few steps towards the Liao River. I don't know if it's because his legs are numb after sitting for too long, or because his body is already weak, and every step he takes, he feels like he's about to fall. But every time his body was crooked, he stiffened up and straightened up again, like an old tree that had lived for an unknown number of years, unyielding at the same time as the light and wind and rain.

The guards of the Yuwen family did not dare to help, and they knew the temper of the old general, and they refused to admit that they were old at any time. Moreover, the reason for the weakness of his own general at the moment is not physical.

"Shibo doesn't have to blame himself, everyone has said it, it's not your responsibility!" Although the Li family and the Yuwen family have never been on good terms, at this moment, Li Jiancheng can't bear to make matters worse.

This defeat, which has never been experienced since the founding of the Great Sui Dynasty, is not only Yuwenshu alone. On the day that Li Jiancheng sent the news of the defeat of the expeditionary force to the barracks, Duan Wenzhen, the secretary of the military department, vomited blood and died, and the army withdrew to the road of Liaoxi. Subsequently, His Majesty the Emperor threw all the generals who fled back from Liaodong into prison to await interrogation.

"Virtuous nephew, don't comfort the old man anymore, if the old man doesn't covet fame that day and insists on withdrawing the army......" Yu Wenshu shook his head, a trace of sparkling saliva flowed from the corner of his mouth, no one reminded him, and he himself couldn't notice it.

At the beginning, if he insisted on withdrawing the army, the other nine generals should follow, after all, their seniority in the army was lower than their own. But why don't you insist on it? The old man thought bitterly, his heart full of guilt.

was confused for a while, and not only buried 300,000 troops, but also buried one of the most outstanding sons of the Yuwen family. If even the little bit of affection with His Majesty the Emperor is lost, the glory of the Yuwen family will come to an end. "All the iniquities I have created, O iniquity." The corners of Yuwen Shu's black mouth kept twitching, and the wind blew, sweeping his gray hair into the wind one by one.

Li Jiancheng didn't know what to say to comfort Yu Wenshu, so he had to stand beside the old man and accompany him to look east. At this moment, there was silence in the fields on the east bank of the Liao River, except for the occasional sound of horns, which were the scouts of Goguryeo greeting each other. Although the battle of Liaodong has ended, the war between the two countries is far from over.

"You say, the taxi and they will really come back safely?" Yuwen Shu looked at the other side of the river for a moment, grinned, and asked again.

"Definitely back, sure!" Li Jiancheng swore an oath. "As long as we leave this bridge for them!" He pointed to the two bridges not far away, which were piled with a lot of firewood and grass.

His Majesty the Emperor had already given the order to burn the pontoon bridge. General Wei Wensheng, who was in charge of guarding the border of the Great Sui, only reluctantly agreed not to order the soldiers to raise fire until the Goguryeo army was discovered, only because of the face of the Li family and the Yuwen family. The Li family's face alone can't support it for a few days, and at this time, Li Jiancheng must hold Yu Wenshu and let him not give up hope of saving his son.

"Woo-woo-woo!" On the other side of the river came a few more horns, poignant and long. There seemed to be a layer of pale yellow clouds floating in the sky, and slowly, the yellow clouds drifted closer and closer, and suddenly, all the crows eating corpses on the river flew up, hulala covering the noon sun.

It's the enemy! Li Jiancheng and Yu Wenshu held the handle of the knife at their waists at the same time. The families of the two families will quickly run forward and protect their owners behind them. In the astonished eyes of everyone, the yellow clouds drifted closer and closer, and in the three directions of southeast, northeast, and due east, several different clouds of smoke and dust rushed high into the air.

"Raise fire to the bridge!" A herald rode a fast horse and galloped across the river. Li Jiancheng hurried up to meet him, but was pushed to the side by the soldiers by the river.

"You can't burn it, and the soldiers haven't come back!" Li Jiancheng protested loudly, but no one listened. The Great Sui defenders who had crowded over opened the kudzu bag and threw pieces of stinky butter into the dry firewood.

"You can't burn it, please. Can't burn! Wait a minute, I want to see General Wei! I want to see General Wei! Li Jiancheng desperately pushed away the soldiers around him who were blocking him, ran up to the bridge with his generals, kicked the butter one by one, and kicked away the firewood and grass. The soldiers guarding the bridge ignored him and blocked the bridge deck with more dry wood and butter.

"Li Gongzi, get out of the way. It's been thirteen days, and no one can come back! An officer dressed in a five-rank general uniform whispered. He had heard about the heroic deeds of the strong men who protected the grain, but he couldn't destroy the entire Great Sui for the sake of a legend.

"Li Gongzi, you retreat!" Several soldiers stepped forward and grabbed Li Jiancheng's arm.

Li Jiancheng's body slowly softened, he no longer resisted, and let the other party pull him away from the firewood and straw. The don't say it well, it's been thirteen days, the army has withdrawn from Liaoshui for thirteen days, he and Liu Hongji have been separated for sixteen days, and three hundred people have been trapped in the enemy territory for sixteen days, and they can return alive unless a miracle happens. He looked at Yuwenshu, but saw that the old general didn't say a word, and his old body trembled, like a remnant lotus in the wind rising into the air, blocking the road of the Goguryeo people to Liaoxi. The soldiers guarding the bridge breathed a sigh of relief, and one after another evacuated the fire bridge and assembled in a group on the river beach.

Suddenly, someone pointed to the other side of the Liao River and screamed loudly.

"Red flag, red battle flag!" Several sharp-eyed soldiers screamed, and one by one, their faces turned pale in an instant.

Indeed, in the distance, a shattered scarlet battle flag picked out the horizon and rushed towards the burning pontoon bridge at a faster speed than several other lines of smoke.

Under the red flag, there is a group of soldiers wearing the clothes of the Great Sui. They rushed to the pontoon, rushed to the flames, and were forced back from the pontoon by the flames.

They stood on the east bank of the roaring Liao River, only a bridge away from their homeland. In all directions, tens of thousands of Goguryeo people rode horses to kill, and in an instant, they were swallowed up like a tide.

"Little San'er!" The old general Yuwenshu ran a few steps towards the river with a sad roar, spit out a few mouthfuls of blood, and plunged headlong into the river beach.

"Brother Hongji!" Li Jiancheng burst into tears, knelt down on the battlefield on the other side of the river, and bowed his head deeply.

On the other side of the river, a red flag fluttered in the smoke and dust, fluttering, and finally, disappeared in the smoke and dust.

The second volume is the end of the book

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