After the battle of Shiling Pass, Wang was rare that the envoy in the clouds still stayed in Taiyuan with soldiers and horses.

Even if the official documents of the imperial court were frequently issued, new jiedu envoys were appointed, and soldiers and horses were ordered to return to their stations, but in the eyes of the generals, they only felt that the imperial court was dizzy, An Lushan was visibly betrayed, and the Yunzhong army could not go back even if they wanted to listen to the imperial court, so they began to go their own way, listening to the tune and not listening to the announcement.

Of course, if such a group of soldiers and horses is stationed at Shiling Pass, grain and grass will be a big problem. Fortunately, after the new deputy envoy of Hedong Jiedu, Li Guangbi, arrived, he checked the vacancy of the Heavenly Army and transferred some money and grain to the Yunzhong Army.

This is not a long-term solution, but it is rare for Wang to reassure Li Guangbi that this situation will not last long.

Until May, Cai Xide, a general under An Lushan, sent a messenger, saying that he had invited the king to a rare banquet, hoping to clear up the misunderstanding, and that the imperial court had appointed a new Yanmen Pass guard to ensure that they could return to the garrison safely.

"Bullshit."

When Li Guangbi summoned people to Taiyuan for discussion, Wang rarely responded with only these two short and powerful words.

They are all acquaintances of Longyou, and they are not afraid to speak. Li Sheng said: "I think the saint is getting older and more confused. ”

"Shut up!" Li Guangbi's face sank, "I reminded you not to talk nonsense anymore, it's getting more and more unruly!" ”

Li Sheng had no choice but to laugh and make amends for his crimes.

Li Guangbi let him go, and reminded: "It doesn't matter if I hear these rebellious words, don't fall into Wang Jieshuai's ears." ”

After he left, Li Sheng immediately said: "What 'Wang Jieshuai', Wang Chengye is also worthy." ”

"Vice Marshal Li is still defending the saint now."

Wang rarely didn't talk much, and he had been observing Li Guangbi's reaction, thinking about whether he could be pulled into their group that had signed the blood letter, but it seemed that the time had not yet come.

"Let's go, go back to camp."

On the way back to the camp, Wang rarely talked about the plan that Li Xiu had said at that time, and Li Heng wanted to take advantage of the fireworks ceremony to ascend the throne but failed.

"The last time I saw Xue Lang, it looks like he no longer supports King Zhong?"

"Yes, he seems to be more supportive of King Qing." Li Sheng responded, "After all, King Qing is the current crown prince." ”

"But this highness, the prestige and strength are too thin." Wang rarely sighed inexplicably.

Li Sheng could faintly feel the deep meaning of what he said, and it could be seen that after the battle of Shiling Pass, he was disappointed in the saint to the greatest extent.

Before arriving at the camp, a horse was greeted in front of him, and it was the king's own soldiers under his command. After seeing the salute, he did not speak immediately, but turned over and dismounted, stepped forward and whispered.

Wang is rare to be worthy of the mentality of a famous general, and the expression on his face is calm and unchanged.

It wasn't until he returned to the camp that he summoned Li Sheng and said in a low voice: "The news I got is that An Lushan has rebelled, the rebels have arrived in Changshan County, and Xue Lang has arrived at Tumen Pass, so you can lead a team of soldiers and horses to support him first." ”

Li Sheng asked, "Why have we never heard of such a big move?" ”

"Or the news is blocked in the north, and Yanmen and Flying Fox are in the hands of the rebels." Wang rarely advised: "But the news may not be true, be careful that An Lushan deceived us in the past, you must beware of ambush when you go to the well." ”

This is due to the caution of the general in the face of the news.

Li Sheng said: "Okay, I'll bring fewer people first, dress lightly, and report to you after confirming the authenticity." ”

Wang Tian's face became more and more calm, and said, "Whether the news is true or not, the rebellion has already come. ”

Li Sheng ordered more than 100 horsemen that day, and hurried on the starry night, but there was no ambush on the road, but there was a shout of killing in front of the city.

"Quick!"

Li Sheng hurriedly waved his whip, rode his horse to the city, shouted loudly, and asked the defenders of the city to open the west gate.

In this state of not having time to confirm the situation, it was obviously risky to rush to open the city, but the gates were still opened.

Li Sheng didn't see Xue Bai, and he also imagined in his mind that if it was a trap, he would become a turtle in an urn if he rushed directly into the city. However, in the face of the great enemy, he has a kind of resoluteness without hesitation.

Removing his armor from the back of another war horse and changing into it, he strode away, not showing the exhaustion after the rush, and looking extremely energetic.

"Into the city! Retreat with me! ”

The armor clanged and he climbed the stairs, and Li Sheng was already holding a bow in his hand and mounted an arrow. With this kind of weapon choice, he didn't consider the possibility of being ambushed at all.

Ahead, at the edge of the battlements, a heavily armed general was slashing the enemy soldiers who had climbed the ladder with a sword, and turned around in the splatters of blood.

This person's armor style is a little different from that of ordinary generals, and I can't tell what grade it is, but it is very majestic. He was full of fierceness, with scars on his face, grinning, and looking extremely wild.

"Jiang Hai!"

As soon as Li Sheng saw Jiang Hai, he knew that Xue Bai had arrived, and he was immediately overjoyed.

He expressed his joy in a simple way, not with a greeting, but with a bow and rushing to the edge of the battlement, his sharp gaze swept at a rebel lieutenant who thought he was hiding in safety.

"Whoosh!"

As soon as he arrived at Tumen Pass, Li Sheng still had some hands, and this arrow was slightly off, and it failed to hit the neck of the rebel lieutenant and nailed it to his face, and he fell to the ground screaming miserably, screaming in pain, which looked extremely miserable.

"Their reinforcements have arrived!" Someone in the rebels shouted, and their morale plummeted.

After nearly half an hour of fierce fighting, the rebels saw that they obviously could not capture Tumen Pass today, so Mingjin withdrew his troops and retreated like a tide before sunset.

Li Sheng accepted the bow and arrows, and then heard Jiang Hai praise him: "It is worthy of being an enemy of ten thousand people!" ”

Speaking of which, one of them is a nobody, the other is behind the gate, and when they are both serving in Longyou, they are in two classes, and it is unlikely that they will have an equal dialogue. But now, although Jiang Hai has no rank, he is not timid to Li Sheng in terms of mentality, and dares to laugh in front of him, and even stepped forward to give a bear hug.

Jiang Hai couldn't say where this sense of relaxation came from, but he knew that it must be because he followed Xue Bai.

Compared with fame and fortune, he is now loyal to Xue Bai precisely because of this self-achievement.

Li Sheng also laughed and said, "Quick, take me to see Xue Lang." ”

"The general comes with me...... The one who was in command was Jia Shen, the lieutenant of Tumen County, and he would come back to see him later. ”

"Okay."

Li Sheng felt that Jiang Hai was a little different today, especially good at arranging, and had a kind of temperament that was in charge.

And they went into the tower and went up the stairs.

"Taishou, General Li Sheng is here."

The door was opened, Li Sheng first saw three women dressed in men's clothes, was stunned, and after listening to the introduction, he realized that this was Xue Bai's friend Ji Lanzi, as well as a maidservant and a female guard.

The light here is dim, and sunlight can only be seen through narrow arrow windows.

Li Sheng first glanced at Xue Bai and saw Xue Bai leaning on a stretcher, looking out of the gate through the arrow window, with some curtains wrapped around his head and body for wounds. He has lost a lot of weight, but the tough and upright temperament on his body has not changed.

"Xue Lang is injured?"

Before asking, Li Sheng was stunned, subconsciously shrugged his shoulders, and made a small defensive move.

He recognized that the person in front of him was not Xue Bai at all, just in terms of figure, he was much thinner, and his appearance and voice were not mentioned at all.

"Are you...... Li Qiniang? ”

"Yes."

Li Tengkong wasn't actually pretending to be Xue Bai, but Xue Bai asked her to take the first step to ensure that she was sent away safely first.

But when she rode a horse in men's clothes, there were always some people who didn't recognize Xue Bai and regarded her as Xue Taishou, so she subconsciously wrapped the curtain and easily put on his usual demeanor, hoping to share some danger for him.

"I've seen General Li, Xue Lang will arrive in a few days. Let's first tell the general to send troops to Changshan as soon as possible, in order to put down the rebellion in the fastest possible time......"

When Li Sheng heard this, he felt a little embarrassed.

If the forces under his command were mobilized, he would not hesitate to do so, without blinking an eye; But now he wants to let Hedong send troops, he doesn't have such great power, and the news of the rebellion has not yet reached the imperial court, so there is no will, so naturally there is no way to send troops.

But it was not completely hopeless, at least he and Wang were rare people who had signed a blood letter, and they didn't have to wait for the will to come down.

This matter requires Wang to persuade Li Guangbi......

~~

Xue Bai dreamed of his teacher's words again, which was a book, written in one go, but there was a sense of grief and indignation between the pen and ink.

"The thieves don't save it, the lonely city is besieged, the father traps the son and dies, and the nest overturns the eggs and ......"

He leaned over the yellowed paper and looked at it, and suddenly realized that it was a copy of the "Manuscript for the Sacrifice of Nephews" that he had seen in his previous life, and realized that it was in a dream.

Realizing this, his brain seemed to be ready to wake up, but his body was still weak.

The calligraphy in the dream seems to have become a picture, that is, after the fall of the north, Changshan Taishou Yan Gaoqing took the lead in advocating righteousness, spreading the words of the counties and counties, killing the rebel generals, and making the first turn for the peaceful chaos.

However, Hedong did not send troops to rescue Changshan County.

So the rebels besieged the city of Zhending, Yan Gaoqing asked for help in Hedong, after the city was broken, the gate was captured, An Lushan was angry at his betrayal, tied him to the bridge pillar and dismembered him and ate his flesh. Yan Gaoqing scolded endlessly, his tongue was hooked off, and he died in a vague scolding, and his family was also cut to death.

Xue Bai wants to change these, but it is not enough to replace Yan Gaoqing's position of Chang Shan Taishou, he believes that without Yan Gaoqing, there will be Yuan Luqian.

He had to learn a lesson and first ensure that Hedong could send troops, and then let Changshan County pass on the rebellion.

"The king is rare to ......"

In his sleep, he thought that he had to go to the king, and he tried to open his heavy eyelids.

But I heard shouts.

"Little brother, little brother, are you dead?"

His face was roughly slapped a few times, and Xue Bai finally woke up.

When I opened my eyes, what I saw was not Li Tengkong's beautiful face, but a rough big face.

A peasant woman he didn't know was crouching and watching him, chewing on something in her mouth and muffling her voice as she spoke.

"Eldest sister?"

Xue Bai asked in a low voice, faintly remembering the scene before he passed out.

The peasant woman spat a black mass on her hand, and then, suddenly, she lifted his robe and tried to slap it on his wound.

"Don't."

At this moment, even Xue Bai, who had always been calm, was a little panicked, and struggled twice in weakness.

He knew that he had a wound on his back, and he was afraid that he would get infected and die if he got it.

But the sickly warmth had already crept itself on the wound.

"Don't ...... it"

"What are you afraid of, herbs!"

"Disinfect ......"

"What poison can it be? This is how the village has always been governed, and this is how it has been these days. I also know that the people in your government are expensive and can't get used to these wild herbs, but where can I find you gold and expensive medicine right now? ”

Since this is already the case, it is useless to think about it. Xue Bai glanced at the place he was, and saw that it was an ordinary farmhouse.

"Thank you eldest sister for saving your life, I haven't asked what to call it yet."

"Lao, you ask me about this kind of pariah, my surname is Deng, I don't have a name, and they all call me 'Siniang'."

"Do you have food?"

Deng Siniang then took out two mushrooms with soil, and said, "It's rare to find it when you collect medicine, wait, cook it for you." ”

Xue Bai looked at them and found that they were varieties he had never seen before, so he finally asked.

"Isn't this mushroom poisonous?"

Deng Siniang was lighting a fire, holding her sleeves, her arms were full of scars, and she would be scratched by thorns every time she went up the mountain, she had long been accustomed to it, and for these two mushrooms, she had cut several times today.

At this time, looking at the cautious look on Xue Bai's face, she shook her head and said, "It's good to have food, the rebels have swept away, and there is nothing." ”

She thought, these people in the government are troublesome, afraid of this poison, afraid of that poison, she has picked up what she has eaten since she was a child, and she doesn't live well? This is how there are too many officials who don't understand the people's livelihood, and the world has become so chaotic.

Carrying water, boiling mushrooms, and putting some black plants scraped off the stones, after working for a while, Deng Siniang finally cooked a bowl of sticky soup.

"Eat."

Xue Bai's eyes fell, and he saw that the hand holding the broken bowl was full of black dirt between his fingers, and it was also soaked in the soup.

He just didn't see it, drank the hot soup, and finally gained a little strength.

"You were injured and soaked in water, and you got hot, I boiled you a medicinal soup to get rid of the heat, and every time my children had a fever, they picked this herb ......"

Deng Siniang didn't realize that the reason why she was willing to save someone was just to find something to do, so as not to indulge in the grief of losing all her family.

Xue Bai's fingers touched the gap on the bowl, groaned, and said, "Can you ask the eldest sister to take me to Neiqiu County?" ”

He thought that Deng Siniang would not nod, and he was already thinking about how to convince her. Unexpectedly, although she was a village woman, she was very chivalrous, and agreed without hesitation.

……

In the past few days, the main force of the rebels has been moving south one after another, and the follow-up soldiers, horses and baggage are still being transported in a steady stream.

Order was not good, and there were occasional cases of rebel soldiers looting villages. It is precisely when morale is motivated to rebel that the generals often do not punish them severely, and this indulgence may lead to more burning and looting.

Of course, An Lushan is not a bandit or bandit, and if he wants to achieve a great cause, he must buy people's hearts, so some large cities still maintain order on the surface.

Xue Bai was lucky, half-carried by Deng Siniang, and arrived in Neiqiu County safely.

It was the first time he had come here, but he seemed very familiar with the county seat, and he didn't even look up, and said, "Let's go to the city." ”

Whether it's Feiqian or a restaurant or a tea shop, his business is often in the most lively place in the city. The rebels can beware of the signboard of the Fortune Exchange, but they cannot ban all merchants.

Deng Siniang has been working very hard recently, she has already experienced a great disaster, but she still has to take care of such an injured person, and she can no longer support it when she walks to Neiqiu County, and she will fall down at any time.

She reluctantly helped Xue Bai to the vicinity of Nanshi in Neiqiu County, hungry and tired. It's finally the past.

When she opened her eyes again, she was already lying on a soft and clean bed, and there was an old doctor with three long beards next to her, who was checking her pulse.

Deng Siniang hurriedly withdrew her hand.

"This big lady ......"

"Don't say it, I can't afford to see a doctor, and I won't pay for it if you say it."

"Don't want money, don't want money, the owner has already given it here." The old doctor hurriedly waved his hand, "The eldest lady is overworked and depressed, and she has encountered a lot of sadness recently, right?" ”

Deng Siniang didn't answer, realizing that she had saved the fake Taishou, and those of them killed the rebels to avenge her, and she also repaid this kindness, and her mind was over.

Thinking of this, she once again felt that there was no point in living, and wanted to go down there to find her man and baby.

"The eldest lady doesn't say anything." The old doctor twisted his beard, muttered for a long time, and asked, "You...... Is the menstrual period accurate? ”

Deng Siniang doesn't even care about being alive anymore, how can she still care about this? Ignore the old doctor.

"Well, the old man has to go and treat another patient. Big lady and take a good rest. ”

~~

A pair of tweezers was put on the fire and roasted, and then wiped with a cloth stained with wine, slowly pierced the wound on Xue Bai's back, clamped the arrow trapped inside, and pulled it out twice, but failed to pull it out.

"Bring the dagger."

The old doctor said, took the dagger, and continued to deal with it.

Xue Bai bit a piece of cloth tightly, and large drops of sweat kept flowing down. Finally, with a "ding", the arrow was thrown on the floor tiles.

The wound is sprinkled with medicine and applied with gold wounds.

"Alright. Fortunately, the original soil method was dealt with in a timely manner, and the injury did not deteriorate further. ”

"Thank you, doctor." Diao Bing said: "Please also ask the doctor to stay for two more days." ”

"Well said, well said."

The old doctor was about to leave, when he suddenly thought of something and said, "By the way, the big lady ......."

"How?"

"It's like I'm happy."

"What?" Diao Bing was taken aback, turned his head to look at Xue Bai, there was a look of disbelief in his eyes, and he suddenly understood that this was impossible.

Xue Bai recovered from the severe pain and asked, "Dare to ask what the doctor wants to say?" ”

"That big lady, presumably in the midst of the chaos, has some encounters."

"The doctor hasn't told her yet, has he?" Xue Bai asked.

"Never."

"That's good." Xue Bai said: "Let her calm down this matter." ”

He didn't know if Deng Siniang could withstand a series of blows, and planned to talk to her well before telling her, using his later people's ideology to tell her that she could give birth to the child, and the child did nothing wrong.

"If it weren't for Deng Siniang this time, I think I would have died." Xue Bai said: "I have to repay this life-saving grace." ”

"Lang Jun rest assured." Diao Bing said: "I have arranged it, and there will be no shortage." ”

"That's good." Xue Bai said weakly and asked, "Is there any news?" ”

"Tumen Pass has been blocked by rebels, and we can't find out the situation." Diao Bing said: "But I know that An Lushan has passed the boundary of Changshan County." ”

"Comeback?"

"It has already begun to be transported, and when the soldiers and horses in the rear force pass, the time will come, or ten days."

Xue Bai nodded, thinking that he still had to go to Hedong as soon as possible.

"Over there in Changshan, how is Yuan Changshi?"

"It should be dangerous, it seems that An Lushan sent his staff to arrange Hebei counties to keep an eye on Yuan Changshi, but he didn't move him."

"Really?" Xue Bai muttered to himself: "Who is planning the soldiers and horses, grain, grass, and arrows that attack the Tumen Pass?" ”

Diao Bing couldn't answer, so he hurriedly went to call the secret agent who was in charge of inquiring about intelligence, which was a shopkeeper of Fenghui Bank.

"Hui Langjun, the villain bought off the officials of Neiqiu County, according to them, the rebels have emptied the county warehouse, and a few staff members from An Lushan Mansion came at that time."

"Is there a name?"

The officer did not dare to ask, nor could he remember. But there is a name that is very special and he remembers, it is called Dugu Wenqing. ”

Xue Bai had heard this name, and it was Yan Yan who told him.

Therefore, he has some understanding of Dugu and customs.

According to the intelligence analysis given by Cui's at the time, Dugu Wenshu and Li Shiyu were both upright ministers, but they were forced by Li Linfu to favor them, and finally ended up in Fanyang.

Xue Bai failed to return to Taiyuan smoothly, which was an unplanned change, but he was thinking that maybe he could do more with this.

If you can contact the core figures of the An Lushan shogunate, you may be able to have a greater impact on the battle situation.

This matter is not impossible, he remembers that he still has a secret line Yang Qixuan buried among Fan Yang officials.

I also know Dugu's hobby of playing dominoes, maybe you can try it.

Just as he was pondering, someone from his subordinates hurriedly ran over and said, "Lang Jun, something happened." ”

"How?"

Xue Bai was worried that the Tumen Pass had been lost, and his expression became solemn.

"Save the peasant woman who came back from Langjun, she ...... It's the villain who can't be optimistic, please forgive Xue Lang...... Pimp? ”

Xue Bai didn't finish listening, and immediately got up and walked to the guest room, even if the action affected the wounds on his body.

Pushing open the door, blood slowly flowed to the threshold, Deng Siniang had a pair of scissors in her throat, and she was already breathing.

This matter was so abrupt that Xue Bai didn't even have time to say some of the arrangements he had for her, so he stood there for a long time as if he was stunned.

Deng Siniang just didn't want to accept everything that a war brought her, she would rather choose to die, and not miss the so-called rich and peaceful life she was about to have.

As for Xue Bai, he really hoped to repay Deng Siniang, hoping to tell her that he was really Changshan Taishou and not lying to her. He could have arranged a better future for his benefactor with his own hands, but he, the Taishou, failed to protect an ordinary peasant woman.

He has been striving for progress all his life, but he has never realized what a bad official he is now.

He asked himself, what was really to protect in the midst of this chaos?

If we talk about the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, there are the decay of the system, the accumulation of contradictions, the mistakes of the superiors, and various reasons. Xue Bai is willing to admit that he is also an innocent snowflake in this avalanche.

Xue Bai then held his hand and saluted Deng Siniang on the ground, he learned from the pain, but he couldn't be discouraged, and he had to continue to clean up the mess.

(End of chapter)