One.

Mada's eyes were swollen and he stared blankly at the sky. It was pitch black all around, and I didn't know if it was night or dawn.

"It's been a day?"

He had no way of knowing how many days and nights he had spent here. The day he was bitten by the snake seemed to be a long time ago, so long that his memory was blurred. At the moment, he was thirsty. He knew he was alive, because the dead would not be thirsty.

"What about that guy?"

Thinking of Chen Kezhao, a wave of anger arose spontaneously. He suspected that Chen Kezhao had left himself here alone and escaped alone. He himself knew that it would be wiser to walk out of the forest alone than to carry his injured self on his back.

The more the motor thought about it, the more he realized that this possibility was very high.

"Bad guys, damn guys. Such selfish fellows should be thrown into the dung pit and drowned alive!"

Changing to the usual motor, scolding people can greet the other party's ancestors for the eighteenth generation, but now, the situation in front of him makes him have to stop. Just above his head, a giant python was staring at him. It was also the first time that the motor had seen the snake's eyes so closely. This fear made him creepy and made him never want to experience it a second time.

"Of course, if he'...... alive!"

The python slowly moved forward, its glassy eyes closing in on him. Mada knew that even if he wanted to, he wouldn't have a chance to experience this fear again. People, it should be said that most people, kill only when they are in a state of extreme excitement. At least he himself. Even on the battlefield, the act of killing, which was once carried out only with anger or fear, was done in a state of extreme numbness.

But snakes are different. The python glared at him, without the slightest emotion in his eyes. In its eyes, the motor is nothing more than a meal that fills it. In their world there is no killing, slaughtering prey, but just to satisfy hunger. And the motor in front of you, which is entangled in vines and cannot move, can be said to be a godsend, and it is a waste not to eat it.

The python gradually approached, stretched out its slender tongue, licked the face of the motor, and then stuck its tongue back again.

"Let's try it first, won't you?"

The motor didn't guess wrong. The giant python in front of him, which was constantly writhing, straightened out and fell straight above his head. All the actions were done in one go, without the slightest hesitation. In the next second, the giant python surrounded his body, accompanied by an unprecedented sense of oppression. The python tried to strangle him to death and then feast on it slowly.

The motor gradually lost his breath, and the suffocation made him feel a headache, and his bones creaked as if they were about to fall apart. However, what made him more desperate than the physical pain was the fear of death. He had never been so eager to live.

Fortunately, the physical pain did not last long. The darkness slowly consumed his consciousness, and before long, he passed out.

When he woke up again, Chen Kezhao's figure appeared in front of him. He blinked and said.

"Is this hell?"

"Why do you say this is hell?"

The motor replied with a blank face.

"Because you're here!"

Chen Kezhao looked at the motor and said.

"Alright, let's go!"

"Where are you going?

Chen Kezhao looked at the motor again.

"I know you're still angry with me, and you blame me for leaving you alone. I have never expected your understanding, because life is precious to anyone. But now, if you still want to save your life, come with me. As long as you live, you can scold me whenever you want. ”

After speaking, Chen Kezhao picked up the motor and walked to the barracks. On the ground, a giant python was left cut in half.

The Miao rebellion, which originated in Yunnan and parts of Guangxi, was caused by opposition to the tyranny of Dong Hanchen, who was also the governor of Guangxi and Yunnan at the time. But the imperial court did not ask the reason, and immediately sent troops to suppress it.

However, a long period of negligent management left the Guangxi and Yunnan provinces quite weak. The general abandoned the city and fled for his life, and the soldiers were scattered and vulnerable. In order to prevent his crimes from being exposed, Dong Hanchen lied about the military situation, so the imperial court knew nothing about the situation here.

The rebels came fiercely and soon became a prairie fire. Soon, Yunnan was lost, and Guangxi was also in danger. At this time, a person appeared, he was like a divine soldier descending from the sky, turning the tide and supporting the building to fall. He was Huangfu Yan, who was the commander and chief military officer of the Huben Left Guard in Guangdong Province at that time.

Usually the strength of a guard is five or six thousand people. Huangfu Yan led a guard's troops to the expedition, and in a month he recovered Guangxi and went straight to Yunnan. The Miao rebels, whose strength was several times that of him, were repeatedly defeated and crushed for thousands of miles.

Yunnan is no exception. The emperor took the remnants of the defeated army under his command and used the time of the troops to march to rectify and train. Although the Miao rebels were brave, they were only a rabble after all, and they were difficult to defeat the well-trained regular army of Huangfu. In less than four months, the emperor put down a year-long rebellion.

However, for this meritorious man, the reward given by the imperial court was an edict ordering him to conquer the Nanban. In the eyes of the superiors, there was no rebellion from the beginning, because the superiors never received reports of rebellion. If there is no rebellion, there is no talk of conquest and peace, and there is no need for reward.

Dong Hanchen's father, Dong Yue, was at the head of the cabinet and was in power. His sister is the current queen and dominates the harem. Therefore, the imperial court was convinced of his words. However, even if he was in a high position, he could not block the people's mouths. So, he falsified the facts and reversed right and wrong. Huangfu took the remnants of the defeated army into his command without authorization, which just allowed Dong Hanchen to seize the handle.

"The Guangdong General Soldier Huangfu Yan quelled the Miao rebellion, but he was waiting for the opportunity to recruit troops and horses, which may become a disaster in the future. The emperor has made meritorious contributions to quelling the chaos and deserves to be rewarded. However, in addition to rewarding, you can send it deep into the southern barbarians to crusade against foreign races. In this way, the rewards and punishments are clear, and the mouth of Youyou can be blocked, and its power can be cut down to avoid future troubles."

This is the specific content of Dong Hanchen's letter to the emperor. Of course, he also spent a lot of money and bribed the governor of Guangdong, the central ministers, as well as his father and sister to ensure that nothing went wrong. Soon, the emperor issued an edict that was in line with his heart.

"This is a brilliant plan, quasi-play!"

In this way, Huangfu Yan was promoted to the general of the southern expedition, opening the long road to the southern expedition. This is the first time that the Central Plains army stepped into the land of the Southern Barbarians after Zhuge Kongming's southern expedition more than 1,300 years ago. Of course, the emperor had no idea about all this.

The Miao people in Nanban are completely different from the Miao people in Guangxi and Yunnan. In the past 1,000 years, they have never been suppressed by external forces, and they are a nation with very strong self-esteem. Although they did not coalesce into a single country, they were the masters of this land, and could not tolerate the invasion of any foreign forces.

The road to conquest is far away. Dong Hanchen's strategy was used just right, and the only thing that made him dissatisfied was that Huangfu Yan was not dead. The emperor will not die for a day, and the original lie may be exposed. As soon as the emperor died in the rebellion, he would immediately withdraw his troops and take all the credit. As long as he can fulfill his wishes, he will not let the emperor enjoy glory and wealth when he lives, but death can make him a famous general of the Ming Dynasty and go down in history.

However, three years have passed, and he is not dead. The army under the command of Huangfu Yan, after going through a series of bitter battles, finally stepped into the hinterland of the Southern Barbarians, which was a land that the Ming army had never set foot in. Here, they met the Nu. The angry Nu tribe caused the Ming army to encounter unprecedented resistance.

"Is it over?"

Facing the first high-ranking official he had seen in his life, the general of Zhengnan, Huangfu Yan, Chen Kezhao stood stiffly and answered his questions.

"Yes. ”

Judging from the appearance of Huangfu Yan alone, it is better to say that he is a Confucian than a general. Counting the peaceful wars in Guangxi and Yunnan, Huangfu Yan has been fighting on the battlefield for four years. Despite this, his fair skin and soft eyes clearly looked like a well-mannered scholar, far from a general who wielded a knife and a gun.

This kind of him made Chen Kezhao even more awe-inspiring. Chen Kezhao clearly knows that these seemingly weak hands hold the power of life and death of many people. No matter how easy-going this high-minded person is, after all, a general is a general, and a soldier is a soldier.

Huangfu Yan pointed to the map that had been exchanged for the blood of countless soldiers in the past three months.

"So, what do you think?"

Chen Kezhao didn't look at the map depicting the Nu base area.

"General, I'm just a soldier. ”

Huangfu Yan looked at him squarely and said.

"I just wanted to hear what the soldier had to say. ”

As a rule, generals do not listen to the advice of soldiers. And the current situation makes Chen Kezhao very uneasy. As the saying goes, the gun shoots the first bird, in this troubled world, whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, it is best not to be targeted by the general. But now, if you refuse to answer the question, you are disobeying, which is more deadly than being targeted by the general.

Chen Kezhao pointed to the map and said.

"It seems to me that their base is not a completely isolated island. I think this one here...... The mountains are connected to the rear of the base area. Because there is no water source to flow in except there. So I figured we could send one team through the Miasma Forest to engage them head-on, and then send another team along this mountain range to detour back to the enemy's rear and make a surprise attack, flanking from both sides, just like we did during the Battle ......of the Mountain Clans two years ago!"

"It's vexatious! It's full of swamps crawling with poisonous insects and cliffs that can't even be climbed by birds. When I get there, I'm afraid there is only 10% of the troops left. ”

Wei Guangzheng retorted. He himself is an administrator in the army, but for the past three years, he has served as the military advisor of the emperor. Chen Kezhao silently closed his mouth.

Huangfu Yan stopped Wei Guangzheng and continued to ask.

"Why do you think it's better to do this?"

"The steep terrain and poisonous insects everywhere are also easier to deal with than people. ”

Huangfu Yan nodded and waved his hand to signal Chen Kezhao to go out. After Chen Kezhao went out, Huangfu asked.

"What do you think?"

Wei Guangzheng shook his head.

"Never. Engage the enemy head-on through the forest to minimize casualties. We didn't know where they were based before, but now that we know, we will be able to wipe them out. ”

Huangfu nodded in agreement, and suddenly changed the topic.

"We've sent more than 20 reconnaissance teams. There are more than 10 groups at a time...... In this way, I'm afraid everyone in the army has been a scout!"

"Twenty-three times, thirteen sets each time, to be exact, so it's ......!"

Huangfu Yan shook his head, straightened his waist, and said to Wei Guangzheng with a smile.

"You, you, everything is good, but you like to quantify everything. A soldier is a human being, not a number, and cannot be simply calculated. It's not the data that's important now, and that's not what I'm asking about. ”

He hooked his fingers. It's what he often does when he thinks of something interesting or strategizes. Every time he does this, everyone knows that he has secretly made some important decisions.

"There are so many base areas that the reconnaissance group has not been able to discover, but this group has found out. What do you think about that? Is it just luck?"

Wei Guangzheng listened silently. He didn't want to comment on what had already been decided. In addition, the general he served had never made a wrong decision.

"It's funny ......!"

The emperor smiled. Although he is a gentle man, he has rarely smiled like this lately.

"I can still think of the strategy I used two years ago, and the children can be taught. ”

Two.

Chen's opinion was eventually adopted. The army was divided into two routes, one was commanded by General Lu Mengzhen and went through the miasma forest to attack the enemy camp, and the other was personally commanded by Huangfu Yan and rushed to the swamp. And Chen Kezhao was responsible for leading the general's horse in front of the army.

Passing through the dense forest, you can see the swamp. A man-tall barren meadow covered the swamp, and they opened their bloody maws like hungry wolves, ready to devour the hapless ones. Chen Kezhao has seen his companions more than once, one second he was stepping on the mud ground that was no deeper than his feet, and the next second he fell into the bottomless mire and slept underground.

When he reached the first swamp, Chen Kezhao stopped. Huangfu asked.

"Why don't you go?"

"We need to send a vanguard to find out the road ahead. ”

"Can't we be the vanguard?"

"It's hard to find hard ground in the swamp on horseback, General!"

"Really, then get off the horse and walk!"

Huangfu Yan was about to dismount, and Chen Kezhao grabbed his foot.

"No, General!"

"What are you doing here?"

Huangfu's kind eyes suddenly became stern, and he glared at Chen Kezhao angrily. Chen Kezhao quickly let go, took a step back and knelt on the ground, and said.

"General's forgiveness...... but leave the pathfinding to us soldiers, you have more important things to do. ”

"Presumptuous, do you still need you to tell me what I want to do?"

Several generals and more than a dozen officers were silently watching all this.

Chen Kezhao broke out in a cold sweat. As the saying goes, a tiger's ass can't be touched. At this moment, Chen Kezhao is regretting his reckless move. For them, the soldiers at the bottom, pointing fingers at their superiors is the biggest taboo. However, at this point, he decided to make his thoughts clear.

"For us, danger is a daily routine. But you're different, you must cherish your life!"

"Presumptuous! The mere soldiers have taught General Ben a lesson!"

The onlookers laughed. Huangfu asked.

"What the hell are you trying to say?"

"The subordinates are soft-spoken, and it is not a pity to die. But you, General, are different. You have the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers on your shoulders. If you're dead, we're going to be wiped out!"

"My life is worth so much. Tell me, why is that?"

"That's because you were the one who brought us here. It is not a pity for the villain to die as a soldier, but the general is shouldering the lives of the whole army, and since you have brought us here, you must take us out. The only one who can save us from this sea of suffering is you, the general. ”

The emperor was stunned. He seemed to be very angry, and it seemed that his heart was pierced by Chen Kezhao's unintentional words.

"Are you flattering? If so, then you're looking for the wrong person. Moreover, you slapped the horse's ass on the horse's hooves!"

There was laughter again, but it was noticeably less than before. Chen Kezhao raised his head sharply and looked at Huangfu Yan, and said excitedly.

"It's not flattery, it's advice. As the commander of an army, a general is responsible for the lives of all officers and men of the army. I also hope that the general will cherish his life and lead us to kill all the aliens and return triumphantly. ”

Suddenly, the laughter around him stopped abruptly. Everyone seemed to be shocked by the words of this little soldier, and they all closed their mouths, unable to say a word.

Huangfu muttered: "Are you telling me to cherish life and not die in a foreign country?"

Chen Kezhao nodded.

"Yes. ”

"Presumptuous guy!"

Suddenly, a general behind him flew up and kicked Chen Kezhao to the ground.

"The guy who didn't go up or down, actually talking nonsense here, doesn't want to live anymore?"

The general wanted to draw a knife and stab him, but was stopped by the emperor.

"Stop!"

He looked at Chen Kezhao and smiled.

"That's it, since I took everyone to hell, let me take everyone out, it's understandable. In this case, General Ben will forgive you for your following sins and insulting remarks. ”

Wei Guangzheng walked over and said.

He had a point. How can you let the general do such a thing as path-finding? What are you still doing in a daze, why don't you go over and explore the road quickly!"

Huangfu Yan waved his hand to stop Wei Guangzheng.

"No, then who will lead my horse? As for this guy, let him stay and lead the horse. I'd like to see what else can be said. Get up and lead the horse!"

After finishing speaking, Chen Kezhao immediately got up and led the horse. He didn't know whether what he had done today was right or wrong, but at least for now, he was out of danger. He led the horse and followed behind the temporary vanguard troops, looking back at the emperor from time to time. There was a smile on the corner of Huangfu Yan's mouth, as if everything just now had never happened.

In the army, it is said that Huangfu is an unpredictable person. Militarily, he is proficient in the art of war, just like the reincarnation of Kong Ming. When I saw him today, it shows that he is not only resourceful, but also brave.

However, it is a fool for a person like him to be willing to be at the mercy of the imperial court and come to this southern barbarian land to endure all the hardships. In the face of such unfair treatment, ordinary people may have already been furious, but it is really incomprehensible that Huangfu Yan was able to calmly accept and dutifully fulfill the erroneous orders of the imperial court.

To put it mildly, he is a loyal and righteous person who is loyal to the king and serves the country, but to put it mildly, he is a stubborn and pedantic person. This is the evaluation of the officers and men of the three armies on this general of Zhengnan.

"What kind of mood is he in when he fights?"

He looked back at Huangfu Yan again. Unlike Fang Cai, Huangfu Yan's face sank. Chen Kezhao suddenly realized that he had never snooped on his superiors' thoughts. Perhaps, like themselves, they are afraid of death and longing to leave this hell on earth. It should be said that this is a matter of course, after all, they are also human beings. Why did you think that your superiors would be different?

Chen Kezhao shook his head, what does the superior's thoughts have to do with him? The superiors have the lives of their superiors, and their lives will never be shrouded in darkness everywhere like their own lives. Therefore, each other's thoughts will inevitably not be the same.

Chen Kezhao secretly made up his mind that he would never do such an arrogant thing in the future. If he wants to get out of this hell alive, he must do so.

Today's swamps, as usual, will not be easily passed without enough human life compensation. The vanguard stood in a line, connected to each other with ropes, and moved slowly. In this way, if someone stumbles and falls into the swamp, others will pull him back with ropes. Of course, if you can't pull it back, you have to cut the rope to protect yourself.

Every now and then, Huangfu Yan would frown and sigh. Such an imperial fu could not help but make Chen Kezhao wonder, did he really feel sorry for the soldiers to do this? However, what Chen Kezhao needed to consider was an even more cruel truth. Maybe in the next second, he will be like them, sleeping in the depths of the icy swamp. He couldn't help but secretly rejoice that he had not been chosen as a pioneer, and despise his own despicable ideas.

Finally, the army crossed the swamp. What followed was an equally dangerous mountain range. If they are not careful, they will be attacked by poisonous insects and snakes. Even more dangerous than poisonous insects and poisonous snakes are deep pits and steep cliffs. Here, the emperor and other officers also had to dismount and move forward. After all, no one wants to roll off a cliff with a man or a horse.

In the midst of this dense forest, if you lose your way, the army will be dealt a fatal blow. The army was equipped with a compass invented in the Guiguzi period, which was a disc engraved with Bagua and the Twenty-Eight Nights, and a compass was placed in the center of the disk. The compass points to the word "Li", which means due south, which is the cardinal direction. The character "kun" points to the southwest, and the character "兌" points to the west.

The problem is that the army does not have a map that can be used with the compass. The only way to do this is to send scouts to climb trees or mountain tops to scout the terrain and find directions. The person in charge of reconnaissance on this day was Chen Kezhao. He is the only one who has ever been to a Nu base and can rely on the terrain to determine the direction.

Chen Kezhao didn't know how many trees he had climbed and how many cliffs he had walked over before he could barely find his way. In the deepest part of the mountain range extending to the south, the army found peaks surrounded on three sides by cliffs. This shows that Chen Kezhao's judgment is accurate.

The army moved on, this time wrapping their horses' hooves and weapons in cloth to make sure they didn't make a sound. And the soldiers are also to be covered with cloth and keep absolute silence until they reach their destination. Those who speak out will be summarily executed in accordance with military law. In this way, the army stopped where the Nu base could be observed with the naked eye, and waited quietly for night to fall. Night is the best time to launch a sneak attack. This is especially true against the Nu, who are a people who fear night and fire. Finally, night fell, and the time came for a general attack. On this day, three days had passed since Chen Kezhao reconnoitred and returned to the camp, and two days had passed since the army left the camp.