Pei Xiaoyuan looked at the young man's back, and the corners of his lips moved slightly.

Only a young man who is a first-time soldier can have the fearlessness of a newborn calf, even if he has fallen into such a difficult situation.

This is the beginning of November of the 18th year of Qiande, and more than ten months have passed since he left Chang'an and headed north.

The place where he is now is called the Great Castle.

This piece of land, together with the Guangming City thousands of miles away to the west, was under the jurisdiction of the imperial court as early as the Han Dynasty, and the remnants of education have not been extinguished. The later dynasty changed frequently and lost its bonds. The Holy Dynasty was established, and in the past hundred years, it has also gained and lost several times, but it has not really completely regained control. A few years ago, after the First World War in Western Tibet, based on various considerations, the imperial court did not forcibly return these two places, so they still belong to Western Tibet.

Pei Xiaoyuan came here more than a month ago, according to the plan.

This battle, divided into three directions, was fought almost simultaneously.

To the south of the sword, the September rebellion was largely quelled. Yu Wenzhi and Li Dalu played a key role in this, assisting the imperial army to fight back. Li Yanhuang was forced to withdraw from Jiannan, and then helped He Lituo expand.

With the unique advantage of the plateau, He Lituo once again gathered the country's troops, known as 300,000, plus the remnants of the rebels who fled into Jiannan, under the guidance of Li Yan, went north with all his strength to attack Hexi, intending to seize control of this area and choke the way out of the west-this is also a gift from Li Yanxu to He Lituo. If it happens, the west of Hexi, starting from Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou, Guazhou, and all the small countries in the Western Regions, will be given.

And that's just the pressure south of Hexi. In the north of the river, Ashina A'er also successfully subdued the rest of the chieftains, and was supported by the common people, and led the army south. Linghu Gong, who was guarding this area, was attacked from the north and south, and the pressure was extremely great.

Pei Xiaoyuan was previously stationed in the Yuanzhou area to resist the attack of the Western Tibetan army from another direction. After many tug-of-wars, he had firmly built this line of defense, and then, after consulting with Linghu Gong, he decided to lead his troops out of the pass, venture deep into the plateau, and capture and control the city of Dache.

Da Che is called the city, the actual place is not big, a square castle only, but the geography is extremely important, choke two mountain beam passages, is the main force of Xifan to attack the grain and grass transportation hub in Hexi. Controlling this place can cut off the way of grain and grass in the west. Without supplies, even if the Western Fan army had arrived at the predetermined combat position, it would be wishful thinking to launch a full-scale attack in a short period of time, so that the pressure on Linghu Gong in Hexi could be relieved, and only Ashina in the north could be temporarily concentrated.

In this way, two months ago, Pei Xiaoyuan led 20,000 horses and horses from the Beiyuan Pass, which had been guarded by the Shenhu Army in blood, all the way to the plateau, and arrived here with his previous combat experience.

Da Che City is so important, since it is heavily defended, but Pei Xiaoyuan's army is unexpectedly killed. After a bloody battle, he took it as scheduled, cutting off the grain and grass of the Western Tibetan army.

According to the next plan, after the baggage, follow-up supplies and another group of men and horses arrived here from Yuanzhou, the supplies were replenished, and part of the place was left to hold this place, and he led the troops to continue north, rushing to Hexi, and meeting with Linghu Gong to achieve a decisive battle. Unexpectedly, the sky is not as good as the people.

Just last month, during the time of October, heavy snow fell here, and the blizzard raged for nearly seven days and seven nights, and it is said that an avalanche occurred on the road where Wonju was sending supplies, completely blocking and cutting off the passage for people to arrive.

At the same time, under the guidance of the people behind him, in order to recapture the city of Dache, He Lituo transferred 50,000 horses originally planned to be sent to Hexi. It's been almost a month since the siege began.

However, fortunately, the news has also arrived at the imperial court in time.

The imperial court Feng Yuwen Zhi attacked the throne, added the title of General Wuping, sent troops from Songzhou, Jiannan, and cooperated with the He capital that rushed to the past, and immediately sent troops to attack the central capital of Xifan.

Zhongdu is the city where Xifan is the command center of the troops in the north this time, and the purpose of this move is to encircle Wei and save Zhao, so that the Xifan army will take care of one and lose the other. If you want to protect the central capital, you must withdraw your forces.

However, Pei Xiaoyuan has been guarding the city here for nearly a month.

On Jiannan's side, somehow, so far, there has been no movement.

Chapter 138

A coffin lies horizontally in the lobby of the county king's mansion, and the body of the former Xiping County Wang Yuwen Shouren is lying inside.

After the defeat, he was unwilling to follow Li Yan into Xibo to avoid trouble, and hated his son and Li Dalu to defect, angry, at that time all the way to the west, with the last group of remnants of the defeated generals who had not dispersed, occupied Songcheng, which is known as the gateway to Jiannan, intending to regroup there and make a comeback, but was captured alive by the locals, and intended to dedicate it to Xue Mian, the head of the imperial counterinsurgency army. Yuwen Shouren did not want to be humiliated, so he killed himself. When Xue Mian heard the news, he ordered people not to insult the body, and closed it in a coffin, and then sent it back to the county king's mansion and returned it to Yu Wenzhi.

Yu Wenzhi tied a filial piety belt on his forehead, and Mu Ran knelt in front of the coffin. A row of cold candles in front of the coffin jumped, and after a long time, his back was still motionless.

His sorrow and mood at the moment can be imagined. However, the military situation is really urgent, and if there is a delay for a while, the danger of Dache City will be one more point.

The messenger who was ordered to send the coffin back and also brought the order of the court waited outside for a long time, but when he saw that it was getting dark, he still did not answer, and finally he couldn't hold it back, and entered and carefully advised: "Please mourn the change on the county king's day." The name of the old county king, the court, when the chaos is over, according to the merits of the county king, he will consider and make proper arrangements, and the county king does not have to worry about this. Now that Hedu has arrived in the Songzhou area, he is waiting for the county king to take action and send troops to the central capital of Xifan. As long as Songzhou sends troops, and then under the banner of Hedu, then He Lituo is afraid of the instability of the rear, and has scruples, and will return to the nearest army, so that the crisis in Dachecheng can be alleviated, and General Pei can also get out of trouble smoothly and go north to join the head of Linghu. ”

After he finished speaking, after a while, he saw Yu Wenzhi's back finally move, and slowly turned his face and said, "Come on, take your envoy down and have a good rest." ”

As soon as his words fell, a dozen or so armor-clad guards rushed outside the hall, and immediately surrounded the messenger and "invited" him to go down.

"What does this mean?" The messenger was astonished when he didn't know what this meant.

"Jiannan's troops are already limited, and he has just experienced some civil strife, and he is eager to recuperate, and I have written down the urgency of the imperial court. When the rest is over, I will naturally send troops to the capital! Yu Wenzhi's eyes were blood-red, and he said coldly, and then brushed his hands. His wolf-like guards immediately took the messenger and brought him out.

"The King of the County! King of Xiping County! This is the princess's order! How dare you disobey—"

The messenger was pushed and forced to go out, and he grabbed the gate and cried out with all his might.

He didn't say that it was okay, when he mentioned the princess, he saw Yu Wenzhi's eye muscles twitch slightly, and there was a gloomy color on his face, and he suddenly shouted: "Take it down!" Shut up! ”

Li Dalu was nearby, but he didn't expect his nephew to suddenly act like this, which was both unexpected and surprised.

The messenger was forcibly dragged away, and the sound of the call gradually died down. He hurriedly went up and said, "What do you mean by this?" This is the order of the imperial court! At the beginning, somehow, your father's plot was known by the imperial court, and you were imprisoned in Chang'an, but he didn't care about your life or death, was bewitched by others, and took advantage of the saint's loss of his son, thinking that the court was weak, so he rashly raised troops. Originally, according to the proposal of those ministers of Chang'an, you were going to be taken to sacrifice the flag. I swore to the princess that I would be loyal to the court, and the princess believed me, and without saying a word, she would just release you back! Do you also want to betray the court? ”

Jiannan relies on the danger of terrain and is difficult to attack from outside, and it has been a suitable place to be called a king since ancient times. The imperial court's use of troops this time, if it weren't for Li Dalu's counter-attack, it is expected that it would not have been able to defeat Yuwen Shouren, who had been preparing for many years, so smoothly. If Yu Wenzhi really had such a plan, Li Dalu would not be too surprised. After all, the rift between father and son has been born, and if you are ruthless, it seems to make sense to take this opportunity to kill your father with the power of the imperial court, and then replace him yourself.

However, after thinking about it, Li Dalu didn't feel like it again. After his nephew was placed under house arrest for several months, Li Dalu felt that he was gloomy all day long, and his temperament became more and more violent, not only to others, but also to himself. Although fighting such a war can boost morale and make the soldiers under his command support allegiance, Li Dalu always feels that his behavior is not like deliberately winning people's hearts, but more like not caring about his own life and safety.

Seeing him act like this today, how could Li Dalu not become more and more suspicious. Hence the question.

Yu Wenzhi didn't say a word, turned around and left.

Because of his extraordinary courage in the war, his identity, and his mother's Houze, not long after Chang'an returned, he quickly won the support of a large number of local young soldiers. The nephew looked like this, Li Dalu couldn't figure out what he was thinking for a while, and he didn't dare to go against him rashly, and was thinking about how to secretly notify Xue Mian to discuss countermeasures, but unexpectedly, a group of people rushed in from outside the hall, and they concocted the same method, and they also detained him and locked him up.

Li Dalu was imprisoned by his nephew, and he couldn't walk out half a step, he was anxious, and he was helpless, on the other side, Xue Mian, the head of the Southwest Ping Rebel Army, soon received the news that Yu Wenzhi was not moving.

Not only that, but he was also told that Yuwenzhi had sent heavy troops to blockade Songcheng.

This is an important border town, since ancient times, the place of military use, choking Minling, controlling the source of the river, the left neighbor Helong, the right to reach the capital of Tibet, Songcheng was sealed, which means that the shortcut of the army to the capital of Xibo was blocked.

With his many years of experience in the army, if he can't see Yu Wenzhi's intentions, then he will really live in vain. Obviously, Yu Wenzhi is a father-son break, after he seized power with the soldiers of the imperial court, he turned his face and followed his father's old path, intending to establish himself as the king and get out of the imperial court.

Pei Xiaoyuan led his troops deep into the plateau, encountered an accident, and together with 20,000 soldiers, he was trapped on an isolated island, and the situation was already dangerous. There is such a change here.

He was able to win the trust of the princess this time, and when he got such an opportunity, he naturally served his life.

Not only that, but the family of ambitious traitors like Yuwen couldn't be fully trusted. He was on guard against this from the beginning. Previously, although the overall situation was decided, he did not dare to immediately withdraw the main force away, and he was still in the vicinity within three or two days, preferring to eat food and salary empty, but also to observe the situation first, and then make a decision.

Now that such a thing happened, he immediately gathered and scattered troops from all over the country, assembled as quickly as possible, and approached the city, determined to take Yuwenzhi, and then forcibly opened the road to Songzhou.

Within three or two days, he was the first to arrive with an army. The gates were closed, and on the top of the walls, crossbowmen were on standby.

No matter how Xue Mian scolded him for being a madman under the city gate, he was unreasonable, and there was no door to hell to break into, but he always held his breath, ignored him, and never showed half of his face. On the same day, Xue Mian tried to attack the city several times, but was forced back by the arrow array.

The main force had not yet arrived, seeing that the sky was getting dark, Xue Mian could only wait for the next day, and at dusk, Chang'an rushed to an uninvited guest, who was Lantai.

After he arrived, he didn't say anything about resting, and immediately informed Xue Mian that he was sent by the princess to see Yu Wenzhi and ask him to pass on the news.

Xue Mian was very surprised. From Chang'an to here, the road is long and dangerous. Sometimes they can only walk a few dozen miles a day. In less than a month or two, it is impossible to arrive. Obviously, Lantai's trip is for Yuwenzhi. It's just a little strange how the princess knew that Yu Wenzhi would behave like such a frustrated and crazy move early, and actually sent someone to meet her in advance.

He knew that this Tanhualang was quite trusted by the princess in the court, and although he was young, he was often called to participate in the deliberations of the small court meeting, and wrote various court policies and documents, and because of the painting, the personal relationship with the princess seemed to be good. It just so happened that Lan Tai and Yu Wenzhi had the same experience as royal guards in the Sixteen Guards. He was indeed the right man to be sent.

Xue Mian hurriedly sent someone to the city to report, and specially pointed out that it was sent by the princess.

Sure enough, Yu Wenzhi did not turn a deaf ear this time, and soon opened a small city gate. Lan Tai entered calmly, and in the lobby of the Junwang Mansion, he saw Yu Wenzhi's face.

Yu Wenzhi sat on the throne of the county, without the slightest politeness, and asked him directly why he was here.

Lan Tai saluted, called the king of the county, opened his mouth, and said with a smile: "Is it because the court has imprisoned you for a long time and wants to kill you to sacrifice the flag, so you are resentful in your heart and intend to take revenge?" ”

Chapter 139

Yu Wenzhi said coldly: "This is what the princess wants to say when she sent you thousands of miles to me?" ”

His face was drunk, his eyes were red, and he smelled of alcohol, and he had drunk a lot of wine, and he came to see him drunk.

Lan Tai smiled and waved his hand: "I haven't seen you for a long time, I didn't expect it, goodbye is a matter of things and people, you are now the king of the county, and I am the princess." Just now I suddenly remembered the scene of the big salute in the past, and I felt it for a while, just a joke between you and me. How could the princess say this to me? ”

Yu Wenzhi slowly leaned on a thin soft crypt behind his back, and looked sideways, his red eyes were still full of indifference: "What did the princess send you to?" ”

Lan Tai stopped joking, turned to the right color, untied the letter box that he had been carrying on his body, opened it, took out a scroll that seemed to be calligraphy and painting inside, held it respectfully with both hands, and put it on the nearby case.

"That's what I'm here for. Entrusted by the princess, he transferred the painting to the county king. This painting was painted by the princess herself, and I was asked to hand it over to the king. ”

Yu Wenzhi's gaze fell on the scroll resting on the desk, staring for a moment, he raised his eyes, and the corners of his lips twitched slightly, "How can I dare to be so kind to the princess." He didn't even seem interested in opening it and taking a look.

Lan Tai said to himself: "More than two months ago, one day Yang Gonggong suddenly came over, and Princess Dao summoned me and led me over. At that time, the princess should be about to give birth, and she has not shown up for many days, I don't know what the princess summoned me at this time, so I hurriedly followed Yang Gonggong over. Do you know where the princess is? ”

Yu Wenzhi was still calm, and he shouldn't. Lantai also stopped. After a moment of silence, Yu Wenzhi moved his shoulders, and finally opened his mouth first, but his face became more and more cold: "If you have something, just say it." If it's okay, I'll send you off. It's not good to keep you here now. ”

Lan Tai glanced at him and continued: "I would never have imagined that the princess was in a funeral room at the foot of the mountain behind the Temple of Mercy and Grace. When I arrived, she was in the room copying and painting the mural. At that time, it was already cool autumn, she was dressed in a big coat, and her clothes completely covered her body, but she could still see that her body was heavy and her movement was very inconvenient. I was amazed at who could have made her come here to paint at such a time. ”

"When I arrived, the princess's copy was almost finished. She must have been painting for a long time, and when I saw that she was tired, I didn't dare to disturb her at will, so I watched her paint. There is a small jade bottle on the case, which is only finger high, such as the one used to hold rouge incense powder in the woman's boudoir, and it must be filled with pigment here. When the princess finished painting, only Yupoyi's eyes were still to be dyed, and I saw her open the cap of the bottle, pick out some powder, and mix it with the paint, so that it could be used as the finishing touch. I've never seen anything like this before, so I couldn't help but ask. ”

As he spoke, the coldness on Yu Wenzhi's face faded slightly, and when he heard this, his eyes moved darkly, as if he suddenly remembered something that had been extremely long ago, and even he himself had long forgotten, and there was a look of confusion and surprise in his eyes.

Lantai continued: "The princess told me that this thing is a wall fish. We had an epiphany. ”

"Shizi is not a painter, so he must not know what a wall fish is. That was a few decades ago. The world's painters are all handed down, and the characters under Ye Zhongli's brushes are superb, and their eyes can move with people, which depends on the merit of this thing. Therefore, for a period of time, everyone competed for wall fish, which made this thing rare. ”

"Having said that, I don't believe in evil sects. Ye painting is like a god, naturally because the painter's painting skills are superb, and what does it have to do with a mere bookworm. I didn't expect the princess to believe it. Relying on the fact that I had a slight friendship with the princess because of the painting, I couldn't help but be offended and mentioned it. Do you know how the princess answered me? ”

Without waiting for Yu Wenzhi to speak, he himself continued: "The princess put the finishing touches on Youpoyi, saying that the merit of this thing is indeed the world's legend, but it can take several years to collect such a bottle as a gift, and the intention of the person who gave the gift is precious." Although the wallfish is not rumored to have the power of the rumor, it is not worthless, and it can be used in the painting to stabilize the pigment, so that it is always bright, and the painting is not easy to fade. By chance, she had picked up a bottle of discarded wallfish in the grass and kept it in her collection, and this time it was best to use it in her paintings. ”

Yu Wenzhi was stunned for a moment.

"When the princess finished painting, when the painting was dry, she put it away and handed it to me, and ordered me to come here, and transfer the painting to the prince, and tell me that since the Jiannan Rebellion, the whole country has been encouraged, and I believe that this news is enough to inspire people for the soldiers who are still fighting in the north. The prince has made great contributions in it, and the court will reward him for his merits, but outside the court, the princess also wants to say something else, and after thinking about it, she knows that the son is a filial son, so she will give the son of the world the original mural of the late princess for the late princess in the past. Although the painting is unremarkable, it is her heart. ”

Yu Wenzhi was stunned for a long time, and suddenly, he rolled down from his seat, and staggered to the desk with the steps of not yet sobering up, picked up the scroll, and opened it.

A familiar picture appeared in front of him, the same picture she had drawn for his mother in the past.

She reduced the mural in the funeral room and reproduced it on this silk paper.

He watched, and finally his gaze fell on the eyes of Youpoyi in the painting, and he did not move for a long time.

Lan Tai looked at his back, waited for a moment, took out another letter from his body, and said, "This is the letter that the princess ordered me to pass on to you." ”

He went up and laid the letter next to the painting.

Yu Wenzhi picked it up slowly.

"The son of the world sees words like faces." Su Yu said.

"Lantai was appointed by me to give the painting to the son. I still remember the good news, and the whole dynasty was full of congratulations. In the country and the people, this matter is a celebration of the land, but I can only congratulate the son, and this painting is not made by me for the meritorious service of the son. Father and son, the greatest tragedy in the world, is nothing more than this, for the Son of Man, what is there to celebrate? The only thing to be happy with is that the fault is not in the world. Therefore, I take this painting to replace me, the people of Jiannan, and the people of the world, to thank the prince for his righteousness, and hope that the prince will take care of himself, and don't be too sad for this. ”

However, if the prince can read the letter, it also means that the prince has repeated the mistakes of the old county king. This is the worst possible thing I don't want to see. I don't want to speculate too much about what the prince thinks, and I don't dare to judge people, but let me boldly guess that if the son of the world is really wrong, the cause of it is to remove the revenge of the eldest brother who has not been avenged so far, or it is also me. ”

"The earliest understanding of the old county king began when I entered Jiannan with my grandfather a few years ago. On the way away, Ah Gong once sighed to me, the king of the county is not a painter, in the early years in Chang'an, I did not see him have any intention of making friends with Ah Gong, just a few faces, many years later, he was so polite and virtuous, and even forced to stay. If things are abnormal, there must be a reason, and the superior person recruits celebrities, what is the intention? There is also a personal experience of this trip to Jiannan, although Ah Gong did not say it at the time, but he was quite worried. When the king of the county sent someone to ask for marriage on behalf of the prince, I recalled the words of my grandfather, and I inevitably became more and more suspicious. Therefore, not long after the big shooting, I took you down under the pretext of an excuse, and informed Your Majesty that I sent someone to spy on you, and sure enough, I found that the old county king had a personal friend of Li Yan. It's a pity that Jiannan is remote, Ling Zun has been in business for many years, and if he wants to shake it, it is not easy to say, but it is inevitable that there will be such a disaster. ”

"During his imprisonment, I heard that he was depressed and drunk all day long. He also sent a message several times to meet the prince, but the prince repeatedly refused, so he had no choice but to try to contact General Li. I know that the son of the world is full of pride, and if he really regards the imprisonment as a great shame and a great disgrace, it is also human nature to be resentful and incomprehensible. Privately, although I regret this matter, it is also harmless, and I have considered it and have a clear conscience. But Yu Gong, I still have one last word, I hope that the prince will distinguish the interests and disadvantages, and do not make mistakes because of temporary grievances, and repeat the mistakes of the old county king. ”

"When the prince was chasing the blessing painting, he talked to me about Lingtang. I have never forgotten the pain of the son of the world, and I hope you will not forget your mother's death now. The enmity of the eldest brother may be recorded on the heads of others, but the enemy who killed the mother of the son is none other than the enemy of this national war. ”

"I hope that the next time you and I meet, the prince will not be one of the rebels waiting to be punished at the prisoner sacrifice, but the king of Xiping County who will make a difference and benefit one side in the future."

"In the last word, no matter what choice the prince makes, the late princess's funeral room in Chang'an, as long as I am one day, will be kept, as a reward for the prince's self-injury at the big shooting ceremony."

Yu Wenzhi's back stiffened, and he always lowered his head, looking at the few pieces of letter paper in his hand, as if he had settled down.

"Brother Yuwen!"

Lan Tai suddenly spoke up at this time, calling him the old name when he was in Chang'an.