Yu Moji was very puzzled, "After so much hard work and effort to quell the bandits, this class teacher will go back to the court?" Don't fight further south? ”

"What," Yuan Pingzhi said with a smile, "You don't want to go back to the imperial capital?" ”

"Of course." Yu Moji scratched his head embarrassedly, "I'm just ......"

She was suddenly speechless, because she didn't know what to say to Yuan Yizhi for a while.

Yan Zheng has already learned the method of forcibly dismantling the mecha box to make a bomb, and there is no need to ask her opinion again; Wei Linyuan's side was going very smoothly, and she didn't need to worry about it much, so in the past few days, she had spent most of her time transforming the Thousand Machine Crossbow. Now, the work of firing twenty-four crossbow arrows in a row is almost complete, and she was thinking about trying it on the battlefield, but Yuan told her that she didn't have to fight any further.

Yu Mozhen is not a person who is happy about her achievements, and she has not yet reached the point where she expects the war to continue in order to verify the strength of a repeater, but when she suddenly hears the news, she is still a little overwhelmed.

Yuan Pingzhi explained, "The fundamental purpose of our coming to Juping Mountain to level bandits is to clear the obstruction of the mountain bandits. After winning this battle, it will be much easier for the imperial capital to build a Qudao to the south. As far as the value of this area itself is concerned, there is actually no point in forcibly capturing it. ”

"South?" Yu Mochen thought for a while, and said, "General, what you said, but the deep sea in the Southern Wilderness?" ”

"Shhhh ”

Yu Moji hurriedly lowered his voice, "But according to what Ling Ai said, that place is located south of Aige, that is, in the southwest of the Great Qi Empire...... It's not on the same route as this place. ”

"That's a long story." Yuan Pingzhi thought for a while and explained, "From ancient times to the present, there are actually many people who want to explore the so-called 'no man's land' in the southwest. But there are so many obstacles in the way. Chilu Snow Mountain, Hanhai Dry Hundred Zhangs of Ice, Heavenly Ladder Stone Stacks are connected, and it took many years for the Great Qi Empire to break through this barrier, and it was able to bring Xiliang into the country. ”

When he said this, he deliberately glanced at Yu Moji. Although Yu Moji was very embarrassed about the fate of the Tusu people, he also knew that he had no way to deny the existence of this history, and he had no disgust in his heart. Yuan Yizhi saw that she didn't have any special reaction, so he continued, "Further south of Xiliang, the Great Qi Empire has not explored, but along the way, there are not only jackals, tigers and leopards, poisonous insects and snakes, but also boundless miasma blocking the way. Even if the soldiers of the Great Qi Empire have armor on their sides, they are always living people who have to breathe, and they can't pass through them no matter what. ”

When Yu Mojin heard this, he couldn't help but wonder, "So, how did you discover the existence of that deep sea later?" ”

"That's why we have to clean up Juping Mountain." Yuan Pingzhi paused for a moment and said, "Did Ling Ai tell you that nearly thirty years ago, the imperial court sent people to the southwest to explore again?" ”

Yu Mochen nodded, and said in his heart that Ling Ai not only said this, but also mentioned that among these people was Yuan Yizhi's father. But since Yuan Yizhi didn't mention it, Yu Moji was embarrassed to talk about it. However, when she thought about it, she felt that it was wrong, "But aren't these people going over from Chilu Mountain?" ”

"That's just some of them." Yuan Zhizhi explained, "When this part of the people came to that miasma, they could no longer get through, and they lost a lot of manpower; However, some people, for various reasons, took a long detour, but by mistake, they found that they could also go to the southwest by taking Juping Mountain. That's when the deep sea was discovered. ”

The first time Yu Mozhen heard that there were still these twists and turns, he only nodded blankly and said, "So that's the case." She should have thought that the Xiliang area was almost isolated from the world, and the Great Qi Empire had already made a lot of effort to open up the Chilu Mountain; Exploring the deep sea at the end of the continent, how could Yuan Pingzhi's father do it alone?

Yuan Pingzhi said, and smiled a little helplessly, "Since this battle has been almost fought, those of us who are military generals should give way." The next step, according to the plan of the imperial court, should be to build channels and open up roads, and at the same time, change to culture and education, subtly, let the various forces in Juping Mountain and even further south change their customs and gradually assimilate them, and finally let them evolve into the people of Daqi from the inside out. ”

Yu Moji understood.

This is actually the same path as the Great Qi Empire's conquest of Xiliang, Beiliang and other places, not only to make the other party submit by force, but also to destroy even the slightest remnant of the comeback with culture, education and assimilation.

Before returning to the court, she talked to Yan Zheng about this matter, but she heard another insight.

"This battle has been fought so far," Yan Zheng rarely spoke to her so seriously, "as far as you can see, how many casualties are there?" ”

Yu Moji stayed in the camp for a long time, and rarely went to the firing line in person; But based on what she saw and heard in the barracks, she probably understood what Yan Zheng was referring to.

After a brief assessment, she said, "This battle was really fierce. After all, we came halfway, and I don't know how many soldiers and horses the Zhennan Army originally sent to Juping Mountain. But judging from the last remaining materials, I am afraid that more than half of them will be damaged. ”

"More than that." Yan Zheng said calmly, "100,000 elite soldiers were sent before and after, and now, there are only more than 30,000 left. ”

Yu Mojian couldn't help but be horrified.

Yan Zheng looked at her stunned expression, and couldn't help but smile bitterly, "After all, you are also a member of the Zhennan Army, so you can't pay more attention to the things written in the battle report?"

Yu Moji's face instantly turned red with shame. She originally wanted to tell Yan Zheng that in the past few days, she has been stuck in the armory almost without asking anything about the world, hoping to end this battle as soon as possible by improving the performance of the weapon and using the power of the armor. But her repeater didn't come in handy after all, and she herself didn't have the confidence to speak.

In the final analysis, she is in the camp, but for various reasons, she has not been able to face the cruelty of war. A real sergeant like Yan Zheng who constantly goes on the field to kill the enemy in person, even if he criticizes it, he should be.

Yan Zheng said gently, "Even such a number can be called a big victory." ”

Yu Moji was silent for a moment before he said, "I originally hoped that I could use the power of the Yan Armor to reduce the sacrifice as much as possible. In my opinion, this is also the responsibility that Yanshi should bear. But now the result is ...... I just feel like I'm derelict in my duty. ”

That's a big deal. You're just a reservist, and you're here to go to the battlefield, so you don't have to take on too much responsibility and you don't have to feel anything wrong. Yan Zheng's words were cruel and cold, but his expression was calm and indifferent, and he didn't mean to ridicule Yu Moji at all, as if he was just stating a fact that he had known for a long time.

He also explained, "The overwhelming strength of the so-called Imperial forces comes from the support of the Yanjia in weapons and equipment on the one hand, and the absolute superiority in numbers on the other. Even if you fail to succeed in Qiongmen, with 100,000 elite soldiers alone, we are not unsure that we will gnaw down the hard knot of Juping Mountain. ”

He paused for a moment, and suddenly showed a smile full of praise to Yu Moji, "Then again, you have made a lot of contributions this time, designed such a useful bomb, and cut off the undercurrent of Chitose gold that the mountain bandits rely on to steal their lives. The lives of so many of our remaining people can be regarded as your savings. ”

Yu Moji did not take the praise. "You mean," she whispered, "these 100,000 sergeants were meant to die. ”

"That's right." Yan Zheng's eyes looked calmly into the distance, "In fact, just for the purpose of this war, the 70,000 elite soldiers who died cannot be said to have died to protect their families and defend the country. But this is an indispensable step in the empire's strategy after all, and someone must always stand up and die. Maybe it's because these words are too solemn, even Yan Zheng, who thinks he was born to go to the battlefield, has to make up a few words, "However, since the goal has been achieved, no more senseless sacrifices should be made." At this time, the class teacher couldn't be better. ”

"Yan Zheng." Yu Moji suddenly asked, "Why do you have to go to the battlefield?" ”

"Since I insisted on enlisting in the army, many people have asked me this sentence, and it has been really annoying to explain it in the past few years." Although Yan Zheng always looked like he was too lazy to pay attention to the vulgarity of the world, but this time it was probably because he had just left the battlefield, he had some emotion in his heart that needed to be confided, and when he answered Yu Mojian, he actually showed rare patience, "Since everyone praises me for having the strength to be ten with one, why don't I come to the battlefield and reduce the casualties of those nine fools?" People who have the power should not sit behind the scenes and make a living on the pretext of protecting power. ”

"But with your ability, isn't it a waste to just be a sergeant who kills the enemy and devote yourself to the field?" Yu Mochen commented heartily, "You are the most talented and highly regarded reserve member of the Cardinal, and you will be quite an excellent Yanshi in the future. How can the power of the armor you participate in making more than one to ten? ”

Such an evaluation, as excellent as Yan Zheng, has heard too much. So not only would he not be as ashamed and blushing as Yu Mochen was when he heard the praise, but he didn't even mean to thank him at all. He only said, "Have you ever thought that the study of Yanjia itself is lagging behind. ”

Yu Moji understood what Yan Zheng meant. Isn't her repeater, which has not seen blood, the best proof of lag?

"A pair of armor, from design, manufacturing, trial, to real combat experience, needs a lot of experience from actual combat as support." Yan Zheng continued, "Therefore, one of the essences of Yanjia is to maximize the use of the deaths of predecessors to reduce the sacrifices of future generations. ”

These words made Yu Moji extremely sad. She had to admit that Yan Zheng was reasonable.

"I don't want to sit in the back and count death." Yan Zheng's gaze was frank and sincere, "My wish is the same as yours." ”

Yu Moji was stunned for a moment, and said, "How is it the same?" She has made a lot of contributions on the battlefield, and her understanding of herself and Yan Zheng has always stayed on the list of the Cardinals. So she didn't expect that Yan Zheng would still be able to find common ground in her.

"You just said that the responsibility of the Yanshi is to use the power of the Yanjia to reduce the sacrifice as much as possible. I thought so too. Yan Zheng smiled and looked ahead again, "Before more deaths happen, I hope to be able to stop it by myself." ”

The Zhennan army returned to the dynasty with a great victory. But the only thing the sergeants could use to rest was a few days on the road.

This is still the privilege of a headless and faceless junior sergeant like Yu Moji.

When the military rank reaches the level of Yuan Yizhi, or has an extremely strong family background like Yan Zheng, this kind of person with a head and face does not have to delay time on the road. As soon as the battle is over, they will fly back to the imperial capital on a pan-sun kite, or summarize and report, or receive a reward, or use this to sort out the relationship between the court and China, or they will be full of red sleeves after a long absence.

There's always a myriad of things waiting for them to do anyway.

Originally, it was not a big deal to stuff one more person on the Pan-Sun Kite, but Yan Zheng even sent the family responsible for manipulating the Pan-Sun Kite to specially invite Yu Moji.

But after Yu Moji talked to Yan Zheng, the more he thought about it, the more inappropriate he felt. Of course, she herself has made great efforts, but who has been fighting in the line of fire for many days, who is not desperate? Befriending the superior does not mean that she is more qualified to enjoy the various rewards that the court has prepared for the victors.

With this guilty mentality, Yu Mochen decided to return to the imperial capital by land with the sergeants.

Not long after Yan Zheng's family turned back, Yuan Pingzhi and Yan Zheng came over in person. Before the person got close, Yan Zheng's idle sharp mouth began, "Come on, the face of our Juping Mountain's 'Little Cannon King' is too big, I only send a family to come, it's really lazy." I admit my mistake and ask General Yuan to invite me personally, you are always willing to come with us, right? ”

Yuan Pingzhi slapped him with a smile, "Don't tease Xiaoyu." She has never liked to cause trouble to people, and she is especially embarrassed to say if she refuses. This time, she refused to go on the pan-sun kite, she must have her own considerations. As he spoke, he pulled up a stool, sat down comfortably, looked at Yu Moji, and said, "Tell me, what's going on?" ”

As soon as he opened his mouth, Yu Moji's pair of white eyes that were about to fly out on their own immediately retracted, she pretended not to hear the ugly nickname that was probably made up by Yan Zheng herself, and said, "General Yuan, I ...... it."

She paused suddenly.

The reason why she refused to go to the pan-sun kite was quite sufficient in her heart, but once she said it, she felt that she was a little naïve, so when the words came to her mouth, she actually changed her tricks, "After all, I didn't really go to war...... So that's it...... I just wanted to take advantage of the way back to communicate with the sergeants...... Views on this leveling bandits. ”

"Alas, I just said that you are getting smarter and smarter, and in my opinion, you are still stupid." Yan Zheng sighed quite exaggeratedly, "There are so many experienced generals on the Pan-Japanese Kite, you don't communicate with them, do you have to follow the sergeants in the open?" ”

Yu Mozhen originally felt that he had found a very high-sounding reason, and he was still a little proud in his heart; Unexpectedly, Yan Zheng was poked this time, and two embarrassed blushes flew on his face.

Yuan Pingzhi was silent for a while, and then said, "Xiaoyu, do you think that the people who sit on the Pan-Sun Kite are all people who have not 'really gone to war'?" ”

Yu Mochen wanted to say that she didn't mean that, but she choked up and didn't say anything for a long time.

That's not what she meant.