The Centennial Covenant (Part I)

Li Hetian, the governor of Bingzhou, originally wanted to reuse the commander Guishan, because the prestige of Guishan, the "living king of Yama", was well-known in the imperial capital Baicheng, and the enemy was on the battlefield, and if he met him, he would definitely die. The nickname "Living Yan King" was given by the enemy, and the discipline of the army was strict, and the Chinese Wudu said that he was a general. It's a pity that he is not informal, and his mouth is open. He didn't like Emperor Ming, so he reused and reused, but he only became the commander of Kuai County, and later transferred to Bingzhou as the commander of the garrison. Although it is a flat tone, it is actually a dark debasement. Because at that time, the strength of Bingzhou was only 50,000 regular troops, and the militia of each county was only 100,000, which was far less than the majesty of the 800,000 defenders under the command of Kuaijun. But Guishan did not complain, but felt that he was quiet and could hope to live for a few more years.

Li Hetian was very happy when he heard that he was going to cooperate with Guishan, the "Living Yama King", and restored Bingzhou. He also went to Guifu to visit with gifts, and there was a little gap in his heart when he visited. At this time, Guishan was nearly seventy years old, although his spirit was still acceptable, but his gray hair, face and arms were covered with heavy age spots, which made Li Hetian a little disappointed and a little "incorruptible and old" twilight. However, the unique discovery of this visit that made him happy was Gui Luan, Gui Shan's youngest son. Gui Luan is twenty-one or twelve years old, with short hair, clear eyebrows, red lips and white teeth, and a scholarly dress. At first, Li Hetian felt that Gui Luan was not a military general, but just an idler who devoted his mind to the book. As soon as he said this, Old Man Gui didn't agree, took off his five-foot heavy sword hanging on the wall, threw it to Gui Luan, and asked Gui Luan to play a set of swordsmanship in the hall, and then Gui Shan dropped a sentence "How can the tiger father have a dog."

Sure enough, the tiger father has no dogs, and Gui Luan's swordsmanship, although Li Hetian can't understand it, he can feel the swordsmanship in the middle and soft, step by step; It seems that Gui Luan is really good at it, and he has a big vision. Li Hetian knew at that time that the thin and elegant Gui Luan was actually a Confucian general, capable of writing and martial arts.

In the future, he regarded Guishan as his friend, because they were of the same age and had similar emotions. Li Hetian asked Gui Luan if he had an official position, and Gui Luan was not restrained, saying that now he was just a partial general by his father's side, and when his father was willing to retire one day, he would let his father recommend him to become the commander of the garrison of Bingzhou City. Li Hetian was overjoyed when he heard this, and in the future, someone else would share the affairs of the state with him.

Li Hetian put his mind back to the present. It seems that in three years he will lose such a dear friend. Thinking of this time, he cursed Emperor Ming again in his heart, making himself a bad official who abandoned the city and abandoned the people, and may be burdened with infamy through the ages, which was contrary to his original wish of "to the monarch and Yaoshun, and then make the customs pure".

Li Hetian said goodbye to the white shell of Houtian, and went to the city gate in a sedan chair to see Gui Luan. Gui Luan was very happy when he saw Li Hetian coming. But in front of the soldiers, he will also pay attention to proportion, and he will not be big or small. Gui Luan is now really the commander of the garrison of Bingzhou, and his father went home to recuperate, and recommended his son to the imperial court when he left. Gui Luan at a young age can become the important position of the Grand Commander, which was unimaginable in the past, and the youngest Grand Commander was also thirty or forty years old, and now Gui Luan is only twenty-five years old. The age and qualifications are not enough, but why can he still become the commander, this is related to his father's recommendation, Li Hetian's support, Gui Luan's ability, and more importantly, the imperial court no longer attaches importance to Bingzhou City. Just like Li Hetian, at a young age, he was already the state lord of the six counties of Yiyun.

Sometimes Li Hetian is willing to be with Gui Luan, which is actually a kind of sympathy for the same disease. They feel that they are not to be reused by the court, and now they are going to become the outcasts of the court.

The purpose of Li Hetian's trip was very simple, that is, to ask how the army was under Gui Luan's management, and whether there was anything to show the new commander-in-chief? Gui Luan was very moved, saying that the current soldiers can be strict with themselves, and the military law is strict, and they will not cause trouble.

"As the Great Commander, you must convince them, you can't build a mighty Gui family army by relying on cool methods alone. Li Hetian said.

"'Gui Family Army'?" Gui Luan said in surprise, he had never thought about such a question, his father only called the army he led as the Kuaijun Army, or the Surabaya Army, and named an army with his own surname, would it be inappropriate, so that people with ulterior motives would seize the handle.

Li Hetian saw that Gui Luan was a little cowardly, and then said: "Fearful, there are few left." You have to train a soldier who is completely obedient to military discipline, completely obedient to orders, and completely different from other armies. The state lord's stern words woke up Gui Luan.

"Although you are a great commander, you must be diligent in reading when you have time, and you must read more books on governing the country, self-cultivation, the art of war, and farming, so that you can share some of the burden for me in the future. Li Hetian said.

Gui Luan heard what the governor said today, and he had the intention of helping him in the future, so he hurriedly agreed. The heart rejoices, but the face is not colorful. So Li Hetian returned to the palace, and he really came and went in a hurry. Came in less than a quarter of an hour and went back. In fact, this trip has a lot of meaning. The next day, Li Hetian sent someone to bring Gui Luan a box of books, all of which were his usual statecraft strategies. The state lord sent a box of books to the commander, which envied others, and also made Gui Luan feel like a son and confused. But this is a beautiful talk that has been passed down for a while. Since then, Gui Luan has really worked hard to read the obscure statecraft.

The book of 100 schools that Li Hetian bought from outside the state was also sent to Gui Luan first, and when Gui Luan finished reading it, he had to come back to read it himself. At that time, the people of Bingzhou could often find that on the towers on the city wall, there was always a light that was not extinguished until the rooster crowed in the middle of the night.

Gui Luan was originally a Confucian general, coupled with three years of hard study, both the bottom and the knowledge are beyond ordinary people, and he can always get to the point in his words about the affairs of the state. In terms of army management and training, the Guijia army really conformed to the "three completes", and even the militia of the seven counties and towns in Bingzhou were willing to obey Gui Luan's command. This is not a submission to the military law of force, but a worship of Gui Luan's own personality charm. Li Hetian's wish finally came true.

During these three years, the number of deformed children rose from about 1,000 per year to 2,000, to the point that everything that gives birth to a child must be deformed. Some newly married people were afraid that their offspring would also be such monsters, so they moved to other counties. As a result, people in other counties called "Bingzhou" "Sick State" behind their backs. This is the origin of the term sick state.

This is only the beginning of the wonders of the sick state, and even more unimaginable stories are yet to come.

A few people from Houtian Baihu left Bingzhou three years ago, and it was Emperor Ming who recalled them. Before leaving, Bai Ke passed on the prescriptions, procedures, and utensils of the amputation method to the local doctors, and placed medicinal materials that could treat deficiency and yang disease in more than 1,000 wells in Bingzhou, that is, the prescriptions prescribed by the famous doctor Gu Feng. When he left, he specially worshiped the mother and daughter buried in the grave outside the city, and the items of worship were also very rich, roast chicken, braised fish, elbows, pastries from Fushan Building, of course, incense candles and paper money, why it was so rich, so that the living people were greedy when they saw it, because he didn't know when he would come back as soon as he left, and no one would come to worship them after he left.

Before leaving, Houtian didn't say a word, not only did Emperor Ming write a letter saying that he was not allowed to say it, but the Wushen Sect in Liuxian Mountain also sent a letter asking Houtian not to say anything. So that when Houtian was leaving, he just patted Li Hetian on the shoulder, his eyes were full of incomparable sincerity, and said, if you have time, go to the witch temple in the east of the city and worship the five gods, maybe they can save Bingzhou.

After speaking, more than 20 people, including the three brothers of Houtian and Baike, walked along the official road on the way back to Beijing. The cold autumn wind blew the surface of the river, blowing away the fallen leaves that rested on it, and the leaves were far away with the figures, all of whom were passers-by in Bingzhou.

Heavy snowfall, cold winter. The documents that were constantly issued told the urgency of the battlefield, Huwan, Shacheng, Yiping, Guhuai, and Sangshu seemed to have formed an alliance, and at the same time launched a three-sided siege on the Yiyun country in the middle of the continent, and the eastern front was in an emergency! The northern front was in an emergency! The southern front was in an emergency! This is absolutely unique in the history of Yiyun's founding of the country. has always been in the strongest state of the six countries, but now it is showing embarrassment. A total of 1 million troops had to face a three-sided attack from 2 million enemy troops, and the Wing Cloud Crisis was in danger. Emperor Ming had to issue a conscription and transfer order to Bingzhou. This document clearly violates the holy decree issued by Emperor Ming himself ten years ago: Bingzhou is exempted from military service for 50 years.

Maybe Yiyun Country has really reached the autumn of life and death.

Li Hetian took the conscription paperwork, thinking that Emperor Ming's plan was about to be executed.

Li Hetian asked his master to copy many copies of the documents by hand, and sent them to the seven counties of Bingzhou together with the conscription conditions, and recruited soldiers from the counties and towns. There is a lot of reluctance in the hearts of the people of Bingzhou, but as the old saying goes: if the skin does not exist, the hair will be attached. All those who have reached the age of 20 but have not exceeded 45 have been conscripted into the army, among which those who have parents in bed to support their filial piety, newlyweds can stay, and the rest will be enlisted. The conditions under which conscription can be conscripted are narrowed.

This point made Gui Luan very incomprehensible, now that the national crisis is at the head of the country, it is time to employ people, and the conditions for conscription should be relaxed, so that more soldiers can be requisitioned. He wanted to remind Li Hetian, but Li Hetian told him something even more incomprehensible, like a farewell, like an explanation of what happened after his death. In short, the two were silent for a long time.

Li Hetian said, "I will lead the soldiers and men on this expedition, just go." If I don't come back, you have to manage Bingzhou well, so as not to waste my good intentions. ”

Gui Luan said, "My lord, how can you be the lord of a state and personally lead your troops to fight? I am a military general, how can I let you take this risk, which is not appropriate for the rejuvenation of the state." Even if you go, when you go on an expedition, you say such unlucky things. Although we are now outnumbered by few enemies, the enemy army is attacking from thousands of miles, and they do not have an advantage in terms of time, location, and people, and the probability of winning this battle is still very high. ”

Li Hetian replied to the question, "I went for the sake of the future of Bingzhou. This conscription can probably recruit 200,000 people, and your 20,000 elites, the Gui family army, you can keep it for yourself and guard the military state. Remember not to let them take advantage of the national crisis to do evil, and if such a thing happens, you must kill them. I see that you are both a literary and a martial artist, so you can use it again. But what I'm most worried about is you, after I leave, Bingzhou will be yours alone, the upper beam is not right, and the lower beam must be slanted!" Li Hetian slapped his palm heavily on Gui Luan's shoulder, and after Gui Luan shivered in fright, I don't know if Li Hetian added his hand again, or Gui Luan's heart was weak, Gui Luan pounced on kneeling anyway, and launched a poisonous oath against Li Hetian, who looked more tall and majestic.

"The last general, thanks to the promotion of the state lord today, he should serve the country and the family, how dare he think rashly. After the villain is a famous family, he will be a generalist for generations, and he only knows how to serve the country since he was a child, and he will never be humiliated because of small profits. Please be aware of it. ”

Li Hetian saw that under his own intimidation, Gui Luan was so frightened that he was sweating like rain, and he didn't suspect him. So he lifted him up from the ground and spoke comforting words.

No matter how you look at this talk and demeanor, I don't want to be a friend on weekdays.

November, 4th. Xue Qing.

The army was assembled in front of the yamen of the government, in groups of 100 people. A total of 200,000 soldiers were conscripted. At this time, excluding the soldiers who were about to go out on the expedition, the population of Bingzhou was only 500,000, including 5,000 sick children.

The soldier's march attracted the whole crowd of onlookers, and the wide street was crowded with people, some of whom were almost squeezed into the river, and the frightened man, "Ouch, ouch, ouch", screamed, but few people could hear his shout, because his voice was drowned out in the crowd. The facial expressions, demeanor and movements of those crowds are very rich, but the content of the expression is surprisingly consistent, sad and reluctant.

The little daughter-in-law threw herself into her husband's arms regardless of her shame, an old couple walked over to see off their son, and some children, ignoring others, wept and cried by themselves, and their father picked him up for the last time and comforted him......

Li Hetian looked at this scene, tears were about to flow out, and he said in his heart: I am sorry for you, and I am compared to you. Li Hetian couldn't stand it anymore, so he rode on horseback and ordered the adjutant general to notify him to go down and set off immediately. This sentence is cold and impersonal. He knew it himself, but he was afraid that he couldn't help but tell the truth of the matter, this was a big chess game that Emperor Ming had planned for three years.

In this way, the troops set off in a mighty way. Li Hetian, the master, the deputy generals, and the commander rode horses, and the commander of the thousand men was not able to do anything, and the black pressure that followed behind was overwhelming, and it was Gui Luan who walked in front, and the people who saw him off were behind. Steady footsteps, stepping on the snow, you can hear the broken sound of the broken heart. The white snow turned into sludge and into muddy water. As soon as the howling north wind passed, it turned into cold ice, and if you can look down from the sky, it is more like a wandering brush stroke on the white rice paper, creating a picture that no one has ever seen.

The black-pressed crowd sent the procession out, the city gates, past the mound, and the soldiers would not have thought that their bones would never be buried again in a land where generations of ancestors had lived.

Some of the people returned to the city like this, but Gui Luan still followed behind the procession, and the long procession stretched for seven or eight miles, until he could no longer see the military flag of the front team, and then paced back. Little did he know that he was greeted with the official beginning of a conspiracy. In the past, Li Hetian also had a big question about his kindness.

There are two flowers, let's watch one first.

Li Hetian walked into the territory of Kuai County with 200,000 soldiers, and walked into the city gate of Kuai County. Because according to the weekly plan, they will be sent to the southern line of defense to resist the razor army attacking from the south. The militia of Bingzhou, who were careful and often traveled between the two counties, found that there were three or four times as many soldiers on the city walls of Kuai County as usual, and the doors and windows of the shops on both sides of Kuai County were tightly closed, and there was no figure walking around on the street. Could it be that the national disaster caused the people of the city to dare not go out to do business, so why are there still so many soldiers guarding the county town during the national disaster, instead of going to the front line to protect their families and sacrifice? !

When the last Bingzhou militia passed through the city gate of Kuaijun, only the twitter was heard, and the city gate was quickly closed by seventy or eighty people hiding behind the door, and the sound of twittering was only heard by the tail soldiers of the team before, and in the end, the sound of the two gates together came out for seven or eight miles, and the team leader also heard it clearly. All the soldiers looked back curiously to see what had happened. Only Li Hetian did not look back but was silent and lowered his head. With a solemn and dignified expression, he lowered his head and closed his eyes. Because only he knows what will happen next.

Sure enough, all of a sudden, indescribable soldiers rushed out of the shops on both sides of the road, with spears and swords in the lower places, crossbows and arrows in the high places, and the soldiers on the city walls were also wielding swords.

This caught the militia of Bingzhou off guard, and they who had not yet received military training could not even draw their swords and make the posture of a gun, and when they used their weapons violently, they injured their own people who were closest to them, and the militiamen with a little experience trembled in their hands holding weapons, and their hearts were timid.

"Put down the swords and weapons in your hands!" This short imperative sentence with a commanding style can only come from Li Hetian's mouth, although the voice is small, but it is majestic and tragic. Only a few militiamen in front heard it, but when a few militiamen heard this order, a few militiamen carried it out. The militia in the back saw the militia in front doing this, and the militia in the back followed suit. Just like dominoes, with a cup of tea, the Bingzhou soldiers are disarmed. Of course, the militia were at a loss, didn't they go to war?

What they thought about the most was that the soldiers of Kuaijun and Li Hetian had defected.

Is that really it?!

Soon, the weapons of the soldiers were collected, but they did not harm the militia, but distributed them to various counties across the country.

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