Chapter 39: There is wine in Luoyang

That night, Qu Gao walked back with Shi Min's army, passing by outside Nanyang City, Qu Gao asked Shi Min to let him bury Zhu Yan, Shi Min is also an iron-blooded man, seeing Qu Gao so affectionate and righteous, he had no objection, Qu Gao and eight dead soldiers buried Zhu Yan outside Nanyang City outside Luhe Town. Then he followed the army all the way north to Luoyang.

Luoyang at night, there is no former lights of thousands of homes, there is no hustle and bustle of the market, and it is all desolate. Qu Gao saw that some secluded alleys were full of ragged refugees, and even many thin and weak children, who wanted to get off the horse and help, but suddenly remembered that he was now a general, and he was in the middle of the enemy formation, how could he be allowed to do as he pleased?

Following the army into the camp, Qu Gao and the eight dead soldiers were arranged to rest in a camp tent, and only one soldier was left at the door of the camp to guard it, and he did not collect his swords and restricted his movements, apparently not treating them as surrendering to the enemy.

Qu Gao sat quietly in the tent, his heart couldn't help but swell with sorrow, in one day, he lost the red face of his most confidant, became a wanted felonist in Xiangyang, and now he has become the general of Zhao State, all this seems to come too fast, everything did not give him time to relax, now calm down, Qu Gao only feels exhausted, his body can't lift up a trace of strength, if he can, how good it would be to fall asleep like this. But when he thought that he was in the enemy's camp, Qu Gao was strong and energetic, and he couldn't relax and slack off here.

I don't know how long I was sad, Qu Gao raised his head, and saw the eight dead soldiers standing quietly in two rows, bowing their heads to face him, Qu Gao opened his mouth and shouted: "The eldest brothers are also tired for a day, let's rest early, I don't know what the eldest brothers are called?" ”

The first person raised his head and replied: "Qu Lang, we are all people who have been convicted of capital crimes, it was Brother Chang who saved us, and our previous identities were buried with the crimes, we are all swordsmen, Qu Lang can call me a sword one, this is Sword Two, Sword Three, Sword Four, Sword Five, Sword Six, Sword Seven, Sword Eight." The big man introduced everyone one by one, Qu Gao heard their names very interestingly, and raised a little emotion, and said: "It's rare that several big brothers are swordsmen, but it's also a coincidence." ”

Jian Yi replied: "It's not just the eight of us, the girl goes south and north, dealing with people from all walks of life, and it is inevitable to encounter trouble, Brother Chang arranged for the eight of us to protect the girl, in addition to our eight swords, there are also four knives, and the four knives are taken by Brother Chang by his side, and he is escorting Qu Lang's family to Changsha at the moment." ”

Hearing this, Qu Gao remembered that before Zhu Yan died, she tried her best to plan a way out for him and asked for reinforcements, she calculated Qu Gao's character, but she must not have imagined that Qu Gao was in the Zhao State military camp at this time. After settling down, Qu Gao said abruptly: "Now that Ah Yan is dead, the mission of several big brothers has also been completed, and several of them are good kendo masters, if you want to leave this place, it is not difficult to leave, or go south to the ordinary big brother, or happy rivers and lakes, you don't have to stay here and be a prisoner with Qu Gao." ”

Jian Yi asked, "Would Qu Lang like to come with us?" The eight of us will save Qu Lang even if we fight for our lives! ”

"Now that I have surrendered, Shi Min has not attacked Xiangyang as promised, so I can't go." Qu Gao sighed and said, "Besides, if I stay, it may be helpful in Xiangyang in the future." Let's go! ”

Several people looked at each other, made eye contact for a moment, and the eight people knelt down to worship together, and Jian Yi said: "Qu Lang is loyal!" Our brothers have killed people and set fires, and their crimes are so heinous that they deserve to die, but they are also iron-clad men! Now that I have changed my face and want to contribute to my family and country, the eight of us are willing to follow Qu Lang and listen to the dispatch! ”

Qu Gao hurriedly got up, helped the eight people up one by one, finally showed a smile on his face, and did not say too many polite words, Qu Gao and a few people rubbed their hands, and said heavily: "Thank you!" ”

There was a rush and heavy footsteps outside the tent, and a heavily armored general lifted the curtain and went straight in, shouting: "Qu Gao, the general has a banquet!" ”

It's finally here! How Qu Gao will be in the future depends on the night banquet today!

"Qu Lang!" Seeing Qu Gao, the eight dead soldiers got up to go to the banquet, their expressions were cold, and their hands fell to their waists. Qu Gao's eyes stopped, and he said calmly: "General Meng is polite and respectful, please ask this general to lead the way." ”

In the big tent of the Chinese army, I heard the Hu generals staggering in the cups, the soldiers kept bringing in the wine and food, the charcoal fire light and shadow swayed, and the sound of the Hu people's conversation and laughter came.

"Surrender Qu Gao, come by order, see the general!"

The tent was quiet for a while, Qu Gao was dressed in red clothes, his hair was tied with a golden crown, and his peach-like face was still like a teenager, but Xu had experienced too much in this day, but his demeanor had faded away from his childishness. For a time, nearly 100 generals in the tent exchanged heads and discussed one after another.

"Good!" Shi Min's wine glass on the high seat in the middle fell on the table, pointed at Qu Gao, and said with a smile: "I summoned all the generals to come here today, just to introduce to you the biggest harvest of this expedition to Xiangyang, Xiangyang Qugao!" ”

Among the generals in the tent, there are many people who also follow the expedition to Xiangyang, know what happened, and some of the generals who stayed in Luoyang, doubts, their generals are all overcome, this expedition to Xiangyang actually brought a milky child back, and was so happy that all the generals in the entire army were summoned to celebrate. One of them got up and asked, "General, this kid was born handsome, but what kind of ability did he have to let the general give up Xiangyang and take it?" ”

Qu Gao was asked like this, his brows furrowed slightly, he seemed to have thought about this question, but he didn't understand it, why did Ran Min not take Xiangyang at his fingertips? He saw Shi Min's iron cavalry, well-trained, brave and good at fighting, and asked himself if he could resist it with the strength of the garrison in Xiangyang. Could it be that in addition to the defenders of Xiangyang, the Wang family still has a backhand?

Without waiting for Qu Gao to understand, Shi Min stood up and said loudly: "This little boy is as famous as the sister-in-law of the Wang family, the head of the jade-faced king, he assassinated Zhang You alone, and under the siege of Xiangyang Heavy Armor, he also killed my envoy with his own hands, Gu Duhou and two masters of the Qian clan, and his skills are still secondary, so I really appreciate this kind of tiger courage." When my 30,000 iron cavalry came to the city, this little boy commanded the defenders of Xiangyang with a white body, and even called Zu Di to personally bring troops to help. ”

Shi Min's tone of words and tone all praised Qu Gao, and the generals heard about Qu Gao's deeds, and they were also a little skeptical at first, but after verification by other generals, it was indeed true, and they also had a little more appreciation in their eyes when they looked at Qu Gao. Ran Min arranged for Qu Gao to sit down and treat each other as a VIP, and all the generals came to toast one by one.

Hu people are aggressive, and when the wine is on the head, they begin to compare martial arts in the center of the big tent. Although Qu Gao was drunk and hazy, he was also in good spirits when he saw the martial arts competition. I heard that Hu Ren was brave before, but when I saw it today, it was really not a lie. Several ordinary generals and officers who were on the scene were not under the Xiangyang general Li He in martial arts, and then they saw the martial arts of more than a dozen masters. Qu Gao only felt a slight coolness in his heart, the Hu people were so brave, no wonder the Jin army was defeated one after another, such a disparity in strength, how could the world of the Jin family be preserved, and how could Xiangyang be well?

Under the pretext of sobering up, Qu Gao came to the tent alone, looking at the orderly arrangement of the troops around him, well-trained, and not lazy or slack even late at night, which shows that his military discipline is strict. I have to say that Zhao's military strength is admirable. In contrast, Xiangyang's army was commanded by Zhang You, and it was already one of the best elites in the entire Jin Dynasty, but it was still far behind.

"Qu Lang is not used to these rough men in the army?" Shi Min's heavy voice came from behind him.

Qu Gao was startled, turned around and said, "Don't dare!" Qu Gao's identity is the end, and the general has given enough face, but ......" Qu Gao remembered that Shi Min knew a lot about his deeds during the banquet, and there must be few ears and eyes in Xiangyang City, so he said bluntly: "It's just that the general knows the origin of Qu Gao's identity, and he must also know that Qu Gao is a civilian, and the Xiangyang garrison did not listen to my orders, and General Zu Di should not be invited to relieve the siege." That's an exaggeration. ”

"You're honest!" Shi Min laughed heartily twice, and then said, "But so what? Zhu is working for you, and what she does is what you do; The head of the jade-faced king is also really jealous of you, and almost wants to get rid of you to prevent future troubles; Could it be that your ordinary civilian identity can stir up Xiangyang to change hands, and our army will return in vain? ”

Qu Gao suddenly figured out something, but he seemed to be wrong, and asked, "Could it be that the general withdrew because General Zudi came to help?" ”

Shi Min snorted dissatisfiedly and asked, "What do you think of my army?" ”

"Well trained, unstoppable!" Without thinking, Qu Gao blurted out.

Shi Min continued: "Not bad! Zongzu Di came to help, united with the defenders of Xiangyang, I am not afraid. It's easy for me to take a city, but after taking it, how to take care of it is not my specialty. The generals under my account have already seen you, they are all rare brave warriors in the world, let them attack the city, I believe that it is difficult to have opponents in the entire Jin Dynasty, but just like now, Luoyang, the ancient capital of the prosperous city under our feet, has also been ruined, so I urgently need a helper who can govern the city-state and love the people! ”

When Shi Min said this, his eyes stared straight at Qu Gao, and the blazing Qu Gao in his eyes could feel it, and Qu Gao asked: "When the general said that he can govern the city-state and has a heart for the people, does he mean below?" ”

"Not bad!" Shi Min affirmed.

Qu Gao had doubts in his heart, he had never participated in politics, how could he govern the city-state, and he had never been an official, so how could he talk about loving the people?

Xu is saw Qu Gao's thoughts, Shi Min said: "You may not know that the current industry under your name has penetrated into all fields of agriculture, commerce, military and politics, although the Zhu family has died, but in various industries, they have left you with usable helpers, and these industries are the lifeblood of any country." The prosperity of all walks of life is the key to governing a city, and you have such strength! After a pause, Shi Min said again: "As for the love of the people, I heard that on the night of the assassination of Zhang You, in order to keep the people who led the army in Xiangyang, you actually rescued Li He, who was going to put you to death, from the hands of Wang Shou. On the upper floor of Xiangyang City, you executed it with your own hands, and no one in the Xiangyang garrison stopped it, this is your popularity, and it is also something that makes the head of the jade-faced king, and even the entire Xiangyang clan jealous. ”

Qu Gao hadn't thought about it so much, he was drunk, his brain was very dull, and he asked, "So the general wants to take it down?" ”

Shi Min was stunned, looked again and again to make sure that he was not pretending to be confused, and saw that his eyes were confused, his mind was slightly shaking, and his face was crimson with wine, so he said patiently: "I want you to help me take care of Luoyang." ”

On the way to the army, the ruins and displaced people in Luoyang really moved Qu Gao, and without thinking too much, Qu Gao responded: "Okay! ”

Shi Min was overjoyed, hurriedly pulled Qu Gao back to the tent, cleared the field, and preached loudly: "Brothers, from today on, I will crown Qu Gao as the king of Luoyang, the commander-in-chief of Luoyang political affairs, and the commander of the three armies. After speaking, he untied the sword at his waist, handed it to the master of Qu, and said to everyone: "This sword is my sword, when I first led the army, I used it to cut down thirty-six generals who did not obey my order, I named it thirty-six chopping, today to Qu Gao, if there is a disobedience to the order, you can cut it, do not need to report me!" ”

"Subordinates obey orders, see King Luoyang!"

Hu Ren was drunk and had a lot of stamina, Qu Gao only felt that this sound made his head even more dizzy, and he only heard Shi Min hand over the sword to him, and then he didn't know anything.