Leave the cold and the heartfelt soldiers

The wind is high and the frost is cold, and the frozen soil is mound.

Lihan is located six thousand miles south of the northern Xinjiang of the Central Plains, and during the heyday of the ancient desert country, it was regarded as the hinterland of its territory. Adjacent to Wuzhi in the north, and Pishan in the south, a large river of Yu turbidity crosses through, nourishing the people who have left the cold for generations to be happy.

The clouds have passed for thousands of years, and the vicissitudes of the sea have changed. No one would have expected that the Zhuchun clan riding horses from northern Xinjiang would conquer Dongyi, Dongyi, and hundreds of small barbarian states in northern Xinjiang in just a few decades.

Today's cold, the war is chaotic, and there is little livelihood.

The camp of the soldiers was oppressed, and they were set up in the wilderness ten miles away from the cold city.

"Master Hou!"

Li Hou, who was staring at the roaring bonfire, was startled back to his senses by this sudden call, and replied in a dumb voice: "Come in." ”

Wen Zhao lifted the cotton curtain and entered the tent, bringing in a hint of cold wind outside, which made the bonfire around the tent jump uneasily.

"Master Hou, are you looking for me?"

"It's nothing important, I want to ask you, the firewood and quilts of the Praetorian Guards outside, can the food supply be comprehensive?"

"Back to the Hou Ye, in addition to the small surplus of food, there is still firewood and quilts. After all, it is adjacent to the cold city, and the people love you very much, and they have voluntarily donated their cotton clothes and quilts to the army. Not far away is Beileng Mountain, where the Praetorian Guards can also chop firewood on their own. ”

"The hands of the Praetorian Guard soldiers are used to hold guns and raise swords, and charge into battle, how can they be allowed to chop wood!"

"There's no way to do this..."Wen Zhao's face was half ashamed and half stunned, "Lihan has been frequently harassed by desert soldiers in recent years, and the young and strong people in the city have all left their hometowns, and the old and weak are guarding the city. Now that the war is raging again, it is even more and more impossible to supply our soldiers with logistics. ”

"Even so, the soldiers are already working hard, and their spare time is not enough to rest and recuperate, how can they go to the mountains to chop wood!" Hou Ye's wrinkled forehead frowned deeply, "Well, from today onwards, the camp tent of Ben Hou will not have another fire, and the firewood saved will be left for the wounded battalion to boil water for heating." ”

"How does this work!" Wen Zhao's bloodshot eyes widened, "The last general heard Hou Ye's hoarse voice, as if he was suffering from cold. Even if you want firewood, you can't save it from your own account! ”

"It's okay, I think that with His Majesty's conquest of Northern Xinjiang, I haven't seen any cold days, and I haven't survived multiple illnesses, so I haven't all come over......"

"But now you're older, not as old as you were back then!" Wen Zhao was anxious and distressed, "Besides, haven't we already sent an urgent report to Kazhou, asking for support for grain and grass materials, why do you have to be so wronged!" ”

"If the imperial court can really allocate grain and grass materials so quickly, I naturally don't have to wronged myself." Hou Ye took a sip of white steam in his hand, shrunk and rubbed, "It's just that Xiao Wu is in charge of escorting this time, I'm afraid that there will be a few twists and turns in the middle." ”

"In other words, it is you who named the Fifth Highness to escort the grain and grass, or the Hou Ye yourself..."Wen Zhao wanted to speak and stopped, but after all, he still sank his heart and asked: "The last general dares to ask the Hou Ye, why do you insist on an ignorant young man doing such a big thing?" ”

The flames became weaker and weaker, and Lihou slowly moved his gaze with a faint sadness to Wen Zhao, who seemed to be startled and quickly knelt on the ground. After a long time, Hou Ye suddenly chuckled, let out a long sigh, poked out a small piece of letter paper from his arms, and handed it to Wen Zhao.

Wen Zhao hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't resist his curiosity, stepped forward to take the letter, and read it carefully. The burnt firewood crackled, and the temperature in the tent slowly decreased. When he finished reading the letter, the almost overflowing panic in Wen Zhao's eyes finally uncontrollably dispersed.

"It's... What does the Three Highnesses mean? Wen Zhao stuttered in surprise, "Master Hou, you are now... Are you doing something for the Third Highness now? ”

Hou Ye showed a tired smile: "Zhao'er, even you think, am I a person from Wei'er now?" ”

I hadn't heard Lihou call himself with this title for a long time, Wen Zhao's heart was sour, and he knelt down again: "Master Hou forgive me!" Weekend... The last general is just speculation, plus last time... Last time, the butler told the last general that you had been to Prince Huan's mansion once. That's why the last general ......"

"You have always been cautious, and if there is no evidence, you will naturally not speculate." Hou Ye smiled gently and kindly at Wen Zhao, "Zhao'er, I can tell you that I have never sincerely surrendered to the Third Prince. This time, I begged His Majesty to send Xiao Wu to leave the cold, just to protect him. ”

"Protect the Fifth Highness? The last general is dull ......"

"Although I am not in Beijing these days, there are people who report to me about the affairs of Beijing every day. If you want to attack Xiao Wu, I'm afraid that there will be more than one side of the Three Highnesses......"

Wen Zhao pondered for a long time, still unable to understand what he meant. Lihou couldn't help laughing when he saw that he was thinking bitterly.

"Well, why should you worry about royal affairs. Instead of solving the stuffy gourd, it is better to think of useful things. Hou Ye wrapped a bear skin around his body and tilted it on the couch, "Let me ask you, what do you think about the cold war now?" ”

Wen Zhao withdrew his thoughts from Kazhou and replied in a deep voice, "This time... This time the Southern Desert is menacing, and it can be seen that they have not been idle in the truce over the years. Especially this time, their main general, who uses soldiers like a god, is a very difficult character to deal with. It can be seen that King Mo now knows people well and is ambitious. ”

"Yes, according to the informant, this time in the battle of Lihan, the Desert King used a young new general. The new general fights the old marquis, no wonder we can't bargain. ”

Wen Zhao looked at the helpless smile on the old face of the Marquis of Li, and a sour cramp surged in his heart: "Why should the Hou Ye be arrogant, when you dominated the northern frontier, the little emperor of the desert country was afraid that he had not yet been born!" What's more, who would have thought that they have been so ambitious over the years, have worked hard to train their troops, and have the blessing of the heart-stopping grass, we will inevitably suffer......"

"As you said, the desert soldiers are really invincible." Hou Ye looked at Wen Zhao's slightly red cheeks and continued to smile, "It's just Zhao'er, you said that since they are so strong, they have fought three times on the banks of the Yutur River, once to draw and twice to win. And why didn't they take advantage of the victory and pursue our camp after we had withdrawn from the cold? ”

"This... Maybe the new general is righteous and unwilling to do such a cunning thing? ”

"You just said that he was a wolf, why did you change your words to say that he was benevolent and righteous? What's more, the soldiers are not tired of deceit, and it is really not a cunning thing to pursue them with victory. ”

"So... Perhaps they were afraid that we were pretending to be defeated, but in fact they set up many ambushes in the camp to lure them into taking the bait? ”

"If you are afraid of an ambush, send a vanguard to investigate. Zhao'er, although you are a general, you have raised soldiers in Lifu since you were a child, and you have never been on the battlefield. You still can't see through the mystery in between. ”

Lihou narrowed his eyes and looked at the almost extinguished flame again, "As you said, the new generals sent by the Desert King this time are quite capable, and the soldiers he brings are also strong and agile. However, there are soldiers like this, but they still only fight on the border, and do not dare to attack rashly. There is only one reason, that is, they have shown their best troops, but they are just bluffing and intimidating the court. ”

"Bluffing... What does Hou Ye mean that their forces are actually not as strong as we imagined? ”

"You are also a soldier, and you don't know that it is not easy to raise a fierce army. And the heart grass of the Southern Desert is not inexhaustible, if it is not wartime, only princes and nobles can take it. In just over ten years, where did they find so many heart-stopping grasses to raise enough to swallow up the hearts of millions of male masters? ”

"The last general Yuan also couldn't understand that the desert country has repeatedly harassed the cold, and the heart of the war is known to everyone. But why did Da Zhen send troops to fight, and they only stuck to the Yu Turbidity River, and never took the initiative to challenge..."Wen Zhao's eyes suddenly flashed with a glimmer of light, "In this case, why don't Hou Ye send someone to report to the imperial court, allocate troops, and take advantage of this to subdue Southern Xinjiang in one fell swoop!" ”

"This is my speculation after all, and there is no solid evidence for the hollowness of the desert country." Hou Ye shook his head slowly, "And even if this is really the best time to defeat them, think about it, how is the situation in our court not a mess?" ”

"The emperor is no longer in his prime, and the prince is stupid and incompetent. The most capable of the three princes is ambitious, and it is an open secret that he wants to seize the throne. I'm afraid that the emperor is already exhausted for these two. The more Wen Zhao spoke, the more chilled he became, "The pattern of the four highnesses is insufficient, and they only know how to blindly support the three highnesses." And the Fifth Highness... According to what Hou Ye Shicai said, if he is not as peaceful as before, then the current court is really a mess! ”

"The most taboo thing in a country is the word civil strife. In fact, as early as the beginning of the chaos in the cold, His Majesty had already seen the bluff tricks of the desert country. Therefore, he did not consider sending the most suitable curtain to lead the troops, firstly, for overkill, and secondly, for fear that he would make military merits again and shake the status of the East Palace. However, Wei'er had already been carried away by the position of power and couldn't see this layer clearly. Lihou cast an obscure and cold gaze at Wen Zhao, "Zhao'er, you just see that the current Karzhou is a stagnant water. If there is another incident in Prince Huan's mansion, then the emperor... I'm afraid that I really have to take care of my son by myself. ”

"Master Hou, you know that the fortunes of Prince Huan's Mansion have been exhausted, and you pretend to surrender before leaving......" Wen Zhao's pupils trembled and narrowed sharply, "Could it be... Do you want to add a handful of firewood to make the fire of the Third Highness burn faster? ”

The blackened firewood made a crunch click, and a few points of spark drifted into the air lonely and desperately, and soon annihilated. A pile of coke, with only a little gray in the middle, was blown up by the cold wind that lifted the cotton curtain, and was scattered invisibly in the small wisp of steaming air.

"You also want the crown prince to ascend to the throne, right?" Lihou suddenly turned his bright gaze to Wen Zhao, who was standing solemnly, "I can see when I was in the Hou Mansion that you like Gui Ying very much, don't you?" ”

Wen Zhao's body instantly became stiff, as if frozen, and even the sound of almost rushing out of his throat was condensed in his mouth, leaving only a pair of slightly open lips, trembling and funny in the cold air in the tent snorting white vapor.