Volume 4: Empty Thoughts of Rivers and Mountains

has always been young and limited,

Waiting for leisure and parting is easy to dispel the soul.

The banquet and the song are frequent.

Full of rivers and mountains,

Falling flowers and wind and rain hurt spring even more.

It's better to take pity on the people in front of you.

——Yan Shu "Huanxi Yarn"

*****************

After the round golden crow fell into the mountains of Tianxi little by little, the twilight shrouded the earth, a pale yellow, and gradually became dim.

In a small stopper in the border of Yunzhong County, Dahan, the soldier on duty spit out a mouthful of saliva in a panic, "Every day is so dull and boring, how long will it take to be considered the end?" ”

Since the fourth year of the first century, after the eldest princess of Chu and the pro-Xiongnu, there has been no large-scale conflict on the Han-Hungarian border for many years. There is an oppressive calm in the life of the guards. Every day, when I look out from Suiseri, it is the yellow sand that is extremely eye-catching.

"What is the boy muttering?"

The veteran bared his teeth and sneered, "Do you miss your daughter-in-law?" Isn't it good to be calm, if you really have to fight, you don't feel bored - change the guard. ”

"Hey." The young soldier put down the iron halberd in his hand, and was about to turn around and come down from the beacon tower when out of the corner of his eye suddenly saw a black dot moving on the far horizon. He thought he had seen it wrong, so he quickly rubbed his eyes, but after a while, the black dot was getting closer. Large swaths of horses' hooves struck the ground, shaking faintly. You can even see the person on horseback at the front raising his face, revealing a face that is very different from that of the Han people.

"It's the Huns." He exclaimed.

"The Huns have entered the Kou."

……

"Uhh

Heavy leather armor, bloody scimitars, and air-piercing feathered arrows struck at the top of the Suisai with the sound of the wind. The Hun cavalry came extremely quickly. The running Hansei stumbled, their right shoulder pierced, and their feathers still trembled. Before closing your eyes. The burning court fire held high in his hand, with all his strength, threw it into the pile of accumulated salary.

In the twilight, the flames burst through the sky.

In the silence of the night, the fireworks in the distance were as big as a bucket, reaching the sky. It is more than 100 miles apart, and it comes all the way. The air was filled with a sense of slaughter.

Outside the city in the clouds, Zhang Yan turned around and saw the sky-high flames that stretched all the way, and there was silence all around. There was only one fire after another, as if they were about to burn the sky out of a hole.

Meng Shu, the county guard in Yunzhong, also saw the beacon fire in the border for the first time, and hurriedly put on his clothes. rushed to the outside of the emperor's house.

"Who?" The guard on duty shouted and asked.

Meng Shu said hurriedly, "Xiaguan Yunzhong guards Meng Shu and asks to see his master." ”

The candle flame illuminated the main hall of the small courtyard as bright as day, and Shen Mo wore his armor and knelt under the hall. "Once the Son of Heaven falls to the border, the consequences are unimaginable. I also ask Your Majesty to leave for Beijing immediately for the livelihood of the people in the world. ”

"Never." The door was pushed open from the outside with a bang, and Meng Shu strode in and said sharply.

"Your Majesty." He knelt on the ground with his sleeves outstretched and bowed to the king. The forehead knocked on the ground, and there was a loud voice, "At this time, the Huns have entered the Kou." The enemy outside the city is unknown, and Your Majesty must not leave the city at this time. ”

"Lord Meng's words are wrong." Shen Mo raised his head, his gaze was like a sword blade out of the sheath, and the snow was bright and hidden.

As the deputy general of Langzhong, Shen Mo is responsible for Liu Ying's travel safety. If something happens to the emperor in the clouds. He is to blame for his death. At this time, the enemy is even more aggressive. "In the clouds is a border city, and the Huns will not let it go. If the clouds fall, will the adults bear this responsibility? ”

"General Shen is commendable for his loyalty." Meng Shu straightened up and refuted with a sneer, "It's just that General Shen hasn't dealt with the Huns, probably because he doesn't understand the habits of the Huns." The Huns were fierce and good at fighting, and the Huns' horse strength was better than that of the Han horses, and the sufficient war horses always came and went like the wind. Now, we don't know the enemy situation outside the city, in such a situation, if Your Majesty goes out of the city, but encounters the Huns in the wilderness, then the society is turbulent, and the ministers are really dead. ”

He took a deep breath and gave up his hand, "On the contrary, I am a big man who is good at guarding the city. Can Ann use his own shortcomings to fight against his strengths? In the clouds is a border county, and there are more than 10,000 garrisons. There are arsenals and warehouses in the city, and as long as you can hold out until the rescue comes, you can keep yourself safe. ”

Although Shen Mo was worried, he was irrefutable, so he lowered his face and said hatefully, "If something happens to Your Majesty, can you afford this responsibility?" ”

Meng Shu smiled slightly, took off the crown on his head, and put it in front of him, with a righteous and awe-inspiring face, "If there is a case in Cloud City, I, Meng Shu, will be a dead city." Stretch your sleeves and say goodbye, the voice is sonorous and loud.

His righteousness moved Shen Mo, and he had nothing to say for a while. But in the end, the stakes are high, and I dare not call the shots. For a while, both of them in the hall looked at Liu Ying.

In the flickering candlelight, Liu Ying walked back and forth in the hall, and finally made up her mind, returned to the desk and sat down, and called urgently, "Lang Wei Lu Xin." ”

The young Lang Wei stepped out of the crowd and knelt down on one knee in front of the hall, "The subordinates are here." ”

Liu Ying wrote a handwritten letter, "With this letter, you send people to Yanmen and the county respectively, and act when the opportunity arises." If the situation allows, you can reveal your identity and request reinforcements. The voice was as indifferent as water.

Lu Xin handed over his hand: "The subordinates are determined to live up to their mission." He solemnly took the handwritten letter and took the order.

"Lang Wei He Dong."

"The subordinates are here."

"After the war here reaches Chang'an, the imperial court will definitely send troops to meet the battle, you take the letter, go to the shogunate, and order the general to come to the rescue as soon as possible."

"No."

After arranging the matter, Liu Ying threw down the pen, got up and walked in front of Meng Shu, and bowed solemnly, "In this way, Meng Junshou, I will entrust my life to you." ”

Meng Shu only felt that there was a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, and solemnly bowed again, "Minister, dare not be smeared." ”

************************

Diao Dou's voice was far away, and after knocking on the five watches, the eastern sky gradually spit out the white of the fish's belly.

Liu Ying came out of the outer hall and rubbed her tired forehead, her eyes slightly bloodshot.

It was the hardest and most complicated night he had ever lived since he ascended the throne seven years ago, and he was faced with the most dangerous situation of his life: the Hun cavalry raging across the vast Han territory. I don't know when the generals will come to the city. When the future is unpredictable, the clouds are united as one.

He walked through the screen door and stepped into the inner courtyard, and saw Zhang Yan standing there under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, her colored skirt against her waist, thin as if the wind was blowing, and her face was whiter than snow.

"Ah Yan."

Zhang Yan shuddered and raised her head. There was a little unrelenting on his face.

He thought she was frightened—no matter how smart and clever she was, she was just a weak woman who grew up in the depths of the boudoir, and suddenly came into contact with war at such a close distance. Naturally, there will be some fear. So he hugged her into his arms, "Don't be afraid." "Stroking her back, down and down, with a sense of stability.

"Although the Hun army seems to be huge, it is not really that dangerous. Before I came to the clouds. Let Li Shang garrison 30,000 generals in Shangjun. As long as it takes a few days, when the soldiers and horses of Shangjun come over, they will naturally form a confrontation with the Xiongnu. ”

"Really?" Zhang Yan buried her face in his chest and asked softly.

"Nature." Liu Ying smiled, "In the territory of my Han Dynasty, it is not enough to let the Huns run rampant. It's not that serious. The first emperor was also besieged to climb the mountain. At the foot of the mountain is the 400,000 Hun cavalry of Maodun, besieged for seven days and seven nights, and the grain and grass will be exhausted. In such a critical situation, didn't you return safe and sound in the end? What's more," he smiled,

"Your husband is not a person who is afraid of things, he was in the battle to pacify the King of Huainan back then. I've been in war, too. Maybe it's nothing more than a bluff. Attacking the city for a while, I saw that I couldn't take advantage of it. And gone. ”

"Hmm." Zhang Yan replied gently, like a flower leaf leaving the branch and falling silently.

Where he didn't notice, her body trembled slightly, her eyes closed, and her long eyelashes fluttered like falling butterflies.

Uncle, you don't know.

You don't know

You don't know what I'm really worried about.

"Liu Ying." Zhang Yan suddenly called his name.

Except for those days of the Cold War, she rarely called him by his name all along, and raised her head in his arms, with a pair of bright apricot eyes with timid expectation, "We will go back to Chang'an safely, right?" ”

"Nature."

In August, Huding County fell.

On the morning of Gengwu (the third day of the first month) and the seventh day of the first month, Ankang County fell.

"This Xiongnu invasion, although the war situation is urgent, it should not be dangerous." In the study room in the outer courtyard, Gu Duan talked eloquently.

Since the Huns entered the Kou beacon fire, Meng Shu sent over a staff member he was accustomed to and put him next to Liu Ying. This staff member named Gu Duan grew up in the clouds since he was a child, and he knew the situation of the city in the clouds and the allusions of the Xiongnu very well.

"Since the Warring States Period, after the Xiongnu rose in the grassland, every time when the tribe was short of materials, the soldiers of the Hezu tribe came to the Han land to plunder in order to survive the winter of the grassland depression. It wasn't until the first emperor took his family and the pro-Xiongnu Mao Dunshan Yu that it was slightly reduced. ”

"From now on, the princess of Chu is a close friend, it is said that the princess of Chu is quite a pet of Shan Yu, and she has her face, and Mao Dun Shan Yu has not invaded Han for a long time. Now this movement should only be the building annoyance department in Henan. They only had 3,000 men, and even if most of them came out, they wouldn't be able to break through Cloudsdale. At most, it's just a bit of a robbery outside the city. ”

Liu Ying smiled faintly, "Mr. Cheng Gu has said auspiciously." ”

"How many people are there in the Huns?"

On top of the tower of Cloud City, the county guard Meng Shu was dressed in armor, his face was as heavy as water, and he asked with his sword.

The faces of the subordinate officials in the clouds were ugly, and they listened to the scout's report, "It looks like there are nearly 10,000 pieces of black pressure." ”

Meng Shu closed his eyes, "Let the soldiers who cut down the mountain trees outside the city come back." ”

"What do you mean, Lord Meng?" Shen Mo made a fierce statement, "If the Huns get food, they will definitely be able to attack the city with more combat power." If you burn it all down - when the Huns run out of food, they will have to retreat. ”

"There's no way around it." Meng Shu's eyebrows were full of suppressed helplessness, "Although the corn is left, it will inevitably add grain and grass to the Xiongnu, making this battle to defend the city more difficult; However, the Xiongnu invaded the Han border in order to loot the materials for the winter, and if they found nothing, it would increase their fighting spirit. ”

Shen Mo was speechless for a while, only feeling bitter in his mouth.

After the Xiongnu army leveled several nearby counties, it gradually began to encircle the city in the clouds. Finally, in the early morning of the sixth day of the first lunar month, the first Hun cavalry appeared outside the vast horizon.

A ray of heavenly light slowly shone from the east, the gates of Yunzhong City were closed on all sides, the heavy buildings and high walls, from the officials and soldiers to the people in the city, all took away the smiles that were put on their faces on weekdays, and there was a faint tension in the air.

——3265 words, revised on May 11, 2011

*****************

"Historical Records" records that the death of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty was the day of August Wuyin of this year, and I looked at the perpetual calendar separately, and translated it into a common saying that it is the 11th day of the eighth lunar month of the seventh year of Emperor Hui.

For this reason, make a simple timetable during the days when Liu Ying left the palace to find Zhang Yan:

In the middle of May of the seventh year of Emperor Hui, Liu Ying took Princess Lu Yuan to Linguang Palace in Yunyang County to escape the summer

On June 15, Liu Ying left Lin Guang Palace with the last group of eunuchs

On June 18, Liu Ying arrived in Shanan County, Yunzhong, and reunited with Zhang Yan

On July 7, the Qixi Festival, Liu Ying and Zhang Yan had their first earnest conversation, and Zhang Yan rejected Liu Ying and asked Liu Ying to give up her and return to Chang'an.

On July 8, Liu Ying returned to Yunyang Linguang Palace

On July 22, Liu Ying returned to Shanan County again and expressed her determination in Zhang Yan's house.

On July 26, Liu Ying bought a horse and Zhang Yan was in distress

On July 27, the two had a round house, and Zhang Yan left afterwards.

On July 30, the Xiongnu entered the Kou.

……

It looks like the context is clearer.