Has always been bleak

Chang'an City, the royal residence.

Wang Zhongsi has been under house arrest here for a long time, so long that he has gradually gotten used to the quiet here.The Jinwu guards who were in charge of guarding the place always respected him, but they only guarded the outside, and they rarely encountered him in the inner courtyard, and all the eunuchs who served him in the inner courtyard were deaf and dumb.

In addition to the sound of wind, rain, and birds chirping here, there is only the occasional sound of children playing outside the wall, but it is a pity that it will disappear soon.

Here, it is a forbidden place where unrelated people are not allowed to approach.

Therefore, when the young man walked into the palace and walked in front of Wang Zhongsi, he was really surprised.The internal officials who proclaimed the decree, and the civil servants and military generals who risked the disgrace of the world to see him were all expected, but the one who did not expect to come was a beautiful boy who seemed so young and immature and ignorant of world affairs.

The boy was holding a small food box in his hand. There was wine, the strongest and hottest wine in Northwest China, meat, salty and mutton boiled haggis, rice, and thick and hard wheat cakes.

This was not a meal that would appear in Chang'an, it was so rough that it was hard to swallow, but Wang Zhongsi felt extremely cordial.

This is on the front line, and it is already a meal for the army.

It looked like a young man who had never experienced hardship accompanied Wang Zhongsi to eat this rough meal of wine and meat. His face turned red from choking on the strong wine, but this young man did not drink less wine and ate less meat. It was so hard. He also ate half of the wheat cake that could break his teeth.After that, the boy came again many times, sometimes to deliver meals, sometimes just to play chess and drink tea with Wang Zhongsi.

In the beginning, when the boy came, there would always be people from the Jinwu Guard waiting outside the door, no matter how long they would wait, but as time went on, the people from the Jinwu Guard gradually began to be lazy, no longer closely monitored from beginning to end, and often even just hugged each other. Sitting outside the door and dozing with a gun, waiting for the end of the long chess game inside.

This young man really doesn't look like a person who can turn the sky. He is too delicate and beautiful. From head to toe, he is a figure like glass, fragile and fragile, and cannot withstand the slightest wind and rain.

The young man said that his name was Murong Xiang, he was the only son of Soluhou and Li Xiang's disciple.

These two identities, each alone is not a big deal, but together, they have an unusual meaning.

Now in the court, Li Linfu and his former subordinate Yang Guozhong are fighting inextricably. Li Linfu has been in business for many years and has power all over the world, but he is slightly insufficient in the army. After Wang Zhongsi resigned, he was finally able to lead Hedong Jiedushi.

As for Yang Guozhong, due to the increasing favor of noble concubines, his status has also risen accordingly. He joined hands with An Lushan, the military envoy of Fan Yang who had been suppressed by Li Linfu, and coaxed the Supreme Being into elation with pure flattery. Shan also recognized the noble concubine as his adoptive mother, so Zhizun became his adoptive father logically.No matter how close a courtier is, he can't get close to his family. A cousin of a noble concubine is a hero who contributes to the increasingly rich purse of the supreme concubine. A foster son of a noble concubine is a stupid but loyal Hu'er who only knows that he has a mother but does not have a father, and only knows that the emperor does not know the prince. , in the eyes of Supreme Being, they are already far cuter than Li Linfu.

Li Linfu naturally didn't want to see all this, but no matter how hard he tried, he still lost to one person. The noble concubine who didn't care about political affairs was the biggest weakness of the Supreme. Since he had this beloved woman, the Supreme often even More like a teenager in love than an emperor.This woman who can cry, laugh, lose her temper, act coquettish, be jealous, and love the Supreme with all her body and mind, was undefeated in the Xuanzong Dynasty.In one day, Yang Guozhong's power will only increase, not decrease.

One goes up and down the other, Li Linfu naturally wants to find ideas in other places, while Yang Guozhong is tit-for-tat, seeing each other's tricks.

At such a sensitive time, the only son of Soluhou, who has guarded Qingzhou for generations, worshiped under Li Linfu and became a retainer.

There are Yellow River and Jishui in the north of Qingzhou, and the land is dangerous. It is the traffic hub connecting the Shandong states and the Central Plains. There are many rivers and good ports. In addition, agriculture and commerce are developed. It is a battleground for military strategists.

Qingzhou Inspector Soluhou Murong Zhilian has always upheld justice and was not a friend or party, but his son voted for Li Linfu. So even if Soluhou couldn't really help Li Linfu, at least he would not oppose him. Naturally, Yang Guozhong would not What good news.

As for why Murong Xiang voted for Li Linfu?After everyone knew it, they could only shake their heads and sigh.

This dandy young man actually committed a romantic murder, tortured and killed a maid between the beds, and the father of the maid happened to be Li Linfu's man.

Li Linfu helped Murongxiang press the case and reciprocated, and Murongxiang became Li Linfu's lackey from then on.

As for the transaction behind it, it is not enough for outsiders to know.

"However, Jie Shuai is not an outsider." Rong Xiang squeezed a chess piece and clicked it on the upper left corner of the chessboard, and said with a smile, "In addition to canceling my life lawsuit, Xiao Yi's case can also be withdrawn, and another one will be opened." Close your eyes and let me send your two hundred bodyguards to Qingzhou for resettlement, this deal is very cost-effective."

Wang Zhongsi also smiled slightly, responded with a son, and said, "How did you convince Li Linfu of such a good deal?"

Rong Xiang blinked: "I'm my grandfather's only son." He smiled happily, "In Li Linfu's eyes, Xiao Yi and even the two hundred soldiers are nothing more than ants. Buy one and get one free. Li Linfu Under the guise of my grandpa supporting him, Fan Yang's An Lushan was like a thorn in his back, and he didn't dare to act rashly. Moreover, he let Xiao Yi go, and sold it well in front of General Ge Shu, and General Ge Shu would naturally return him in the future This favor is equivalent to giving him another boost in the military. We each get what we need, and it is fair and just."

"However, because of this, you cleared Xiao Yi's identity, opened up the connection with the outside world for me, and used Li Linfu's power to temporarily suppress Anlu Mountain, who was ambitious to annex Qingzhou. This plan of killing three birds with one stone is ingenious. Very good."

"Jie Shuai really flattered me." Rong Xiang was not polite, "You are in a prison, and you are already in a doomsday situation. You can still drag the battle of Shibao City for half a year. If you are under house arrest, there is no way to fight with you." How can I trust outsiders to communicate?"

Wang Zhongsi smiled, but did not answer.

Rong Xiang picked up a piece, looked at the chess game, seemed to be concentrating on thinking, the afternoon sun reflected from the side, the fluff on his face was completely exposed, his long eyelashes trembled, his eyes were pure and focused, the whole person looked soft and cute , but said a completely different style of words in his mouth: "Jieshuai, are you really resigned to your fate? Don't talk about cracking the earth to become the king, as long as you return to the Shuofang army at this time, and if you don't come to Chang'an, no one in the world can hurt you. As for the reason for the pardon, the emperor will find hundreds of them for you in order to save face, so why stay here and wait to die?"

Wang Zhongsi smiled faintly: "Actually, you understand everything, but you just don't think it's worth it for me to do so." He pointed at the chess game in front of him, "For example, in this game, it seems that you and I are evenly matched, but if I destroy If you collect all the remaining pieces in your chess box, you can win without fighting. The way to break the game is often outside the game. However, this is against the rules." Looking at the thoughtful young man in front of him, he sighed deeply.

This young man is really frighteningly intelligent, I only hope he can use this intelligence on the right path.

"Rules are rules. If you and I act according to these rules, the world will not be chaotic." Wang Zhongsi said slowly, "Today's Great Tang, Supreme, is the rules."

"Even if it's random life?"

"Even if it's random life."

Rong Xiang sighed and stopped persuading.These days, he has changed his tricks and persuaded Wang Zhongsi many times. He knows that this person still has great energy to this day, and can easily overthrow this country, but a person with such power would rather wait for death , nor use these forces.

He really couldn't understand it, but he would respect Wang Zhongsi's choice.If Wang Zhongsi was not so important to Xiao Yi, he wouldn't even persuade him.

It's like he knew that going to the front line of Longyou to attack Shibao City would be a narrow escape, but Xiao Yi insisted on going, no matter how worried he was, he would not desperately try to stop it, because it was Xiao Yi's choice.

He likes this person, he knows that Xiao Yi should already have him in his heart, but this is not the reason for him to forcibly get involved in Xiao Yi's life.

He firmly believes that everyone has their own persistence and way of living, whether it is good or bad, whether it is life or death, and only when they live the way they want can they be happy.

I don't know if my brother is on the front line in Longyou at this time, the battle will go smoothly?

Shibao, at this time, the sky is full of blood.

Shibao City guards Hehuang, backed by Huashi Mountain and facing Yaoshui River. It is located on a maroon cliff called Shicheng Mountain. It can accommodate more than a thousand people.Winding down from Dafangtai along a sheep’s spine path, the sheep’s spine path is narrow enough to accommodate people, not wide enough to stand side by side. About less than one mile away from the mountain road is a small square platform, which is the outer city.Under the walls of the outer city, there are three desperate lands. Only the north slope and the northeast slope have two ravines that can lead to the foot of the mountain.

Shibao City was originally built by Emperor Yang of the previous dynasty, but it fell into the hands of the Tibetans not long after. It has been built by the Tibetans for many years, and it has become solid. Therefore, in the Tibetan population, it has another more famous name: the Iron Blade. city.

Just four words, full of murderous intent.

Ge Shuhan was ordered to lead a total of more than [-] troops from Longyou, Hexi, and Turkic Absi, and temporarily recruited more than [-] people from Hedong and Shuofang, totaling more than [-]. For more than eighty miles, gradually advance around countless castles, highlands, and strongholds.

His strategy this time is surprisingly stable, almost unlike his usual style.

Because no one knows the meaning of this battle better than him.No one knows better than him what Jie Shuai paid for this battle.

That day, after hearing Zhizun's decision on the punishment of Jieshuai, he knelt down and cried bitterly, begging for Jieshuai, but Zhizun was impatient and walked away.

Perhaps Supreme finally softened his heart and promised not to kill Jie Shuai, but if he wanted him to attack Shibao City immediately, he was only allowed to win, not to lose.

He had already gritted his teeth and complied, knowing that the casualties would be as terrible as Jie Shuai had predicted.But as long as Jie Shuai can be saved, I believe that the sons and daughters are willing to sacrifice their lives.

But not long after, Supreme changed his mind again, and gave him a grace period of half a year, so that he could seize the time to build fortifications on the front line, so that the Tang army could rely on it when fighting.

He later found out that for the past six months, Jieshuai had made three promises: for the rest of his life, he would not be in charge of the army, not involved in politics, and not communicate with outsiders.

For Jieshuai, who is in his prime, these three promises are equivalent to ending his political life in advance. From now on, even if he is alive, he is just alive, and there is nothing else.

Ge Shuhan naturally cherished the half a year that Jie Shuai exchanged for the second half of his life. He even put aside all his uprightness and arrogance for this, and married An Sishun, the Hexi Jiedu envoy whom he had always disliked. Li Linfu, who led the Jiedu envoy of Hedong, coaxed him happily.

All this is for all parties to work together to capture the stone castle.

Due to the meticulous preparations in the past six months, the battle progressed smoothly at the beginning. Ge Shuhan made full use of the characteristics of the cavalry's long-distance assault. The cities became horns and supported each other. The battlefield that was more than a mile deep turned into a huge chess game, and the tactics were unpredictable. There were often several changes within a day, and within a few days, the Tubo army on the big battlefield was either divided and wiped out, or retreated to the side of Riyue Mountain. In addition, they were suppressed to the point where they could no longer resist. On the fifth day, the only position of the Fan army was Shibao City.

The most terrible stone castle.

After these few days of fighting, Xiao Yi's silvery fish scale armor had already changed its color, and it couldn't be washed out, and Ge Shuhan was not much better. He protected his back, and even more so unscrupulously rushed back and forth in the enemy's formation, as if he didn't know how to write the word "death".

This was a pain for Xiao Yi, who led a team of more than fifty personal soldiers holding steel shields to guard Ge Shuhan's surroundings, neither could affect Ge Shuhan's sight of observing the battlefield, nor could he block the direction of his charge, nor could he prevent it from happening. The long-eyed sword and gun shot hurt the commander. Fortunately, Xiao Yi is almost inseparable from Ge Shuhan these days, and he knows the possible tactical changes that Ge Shuhan may adopt, so he can barely keep up with Ge Shuhan. Rhythm.

Even so, he was still wounded all over.

On such a battlefield where human lives are so precious, there are many wounded people like him. In a battle, the one who can survive is the victory.

What should I do if I am injured?

As long as the hands and feet are not broken, then continue to fight.

As if unconscious, the knife and gun pierced into the flesh, but he didn't seem to feel any pain. He only knew that he saw the enemy and picked it up with a spear, or turned his hand and slashed with the knife. The brains of the horses were cut open, and the colorful lungs and intestines flowed out, or the eyeballs of the flying enemies hung on the lance, and then pulled long bloodshots and fell between the chaotic horseshoes, but the lance was sticking to it. Greasy and slippery, these are not important at all, the important thing is to defeat the person in front of him, and then approach the next one.

The Fan army really couldn't lose this precious land of Helong, which was their pasture and their source of rations. In order for the family, young and old, to survive the harsh winters one after another, they guarded it with all their might, with incomparable bravery.

The Han army is a mourner with no way out.

This battle is endless.

The fortified battle of Shibao City was full of blood and flesh from the very beginning.

Shicheng Mountain has luxuriant trees and plenty of water. It is an excellent stronghold. The Fan army has also stored countless grains, bows and arrows, and weapons in the city. Rolling logs and stones are placed on the top of the mountain.They are condescending, occupying a favorable location, and have a wide view. No matter which direction the Tang army climbs from, they will be greeted by countless stones, giant trees, and arrows.Moreover, the path they used to climb the mountain was actually an extremely steep ravine. The horses could not go up at all, they could only climb and pedal, and the rocky walls on both sides were full of vegetation. Tang Jun had nowhere to hide, and could only be crushed to a pulp.

Tang Jun quickly downsized.In half a day, the initial number of more than [-] people was reduced to more than [-], and at least half of the wounded were seriously wounded who had completely lost their combat capabilities.

Ge Shuhan's eyes turned red.

He is an outright horse fighter, and he really can't use his strength when he has to fight on foot in this kind of mountainous attack. Such a sense of powerlessness makes him almost unable to control his irritability.

Xiao Yi stood up.

"Marshal! Please let the last general try!" He didn't say any reason.Because it doesn't need to be said.

Ge Shuhan looked at the young man with red eyes, loosened and clenched the handle of the knife, repeated several times, and finally squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "Okay! You go!"

Xiao Yi cupped his hands heavily, pulled the visor under his eyes, buttoned the helmet again, turned around and was about to leave, Ge Shuhan whispered behind him: "Xiao Yi, don't forget what you promised me!"

Xiao Yi turned his head, because of the continuous fighting for days, his expression was obviously exhausted and tired, but the two eyes exposed in the gap of the visor seemed to be shining, and there was still blood flowing from the place where the brow bone was smashed before His eye was stained red, he raised his hand to wipe it, and suddenly smiled mischievously: "Okay, I will teach the commander-in-chief the sword skills of my soft sword when I come back, and I will never forget it."

Ge Shuhan's eyes were red, and he nodded heavily.

Both of them knew exactly what the so-called commitment actually meant, but neither of them said.

In such a situation, living has actually become the most extravagant thing. For the ultimate goal, although there are tens of thousands of people, I will go on and live towards death.

Xiao Yi quickly rushed to Li Xin's side.

From morning to noon, at the cost of thousands of people, Li Xin's vanguard battalion only rushed up the mountain road Zhangxu on the north slope, bleeding every inch of it, and Li Xin's teeth were almost crushed.Xiao Yi rushed to his side, first swung his fist to block a fist-sized rock that fell from the top of the mountain for him, then pulled Li Xin's arm, and shouted: "General! The offensive is suspended, I have something to say!"

Li Xin suddenly turned around, seeing that it was Xiao Yi, he swallowed back the cursing words that he blurted out.Xiao Yi pulled him to the corner of the rock, temporarily avoiding the rolling wood and rocks falling down from above, and shouted loudly amidst the rumbling sound of rocks and tree trunks colliding with rocks: "General! It's too narrow here! The formation can't spread out at all. ! We have to break it down!"

Li Xin also yelled: "How can it be broken into pieces! Lao Tzu's current subordinates are almost reduced to pieces by his grandma!"

"Let them stop first!" Xiao Yi almost yelled into Li Xin's ear, "Stop first! I'll talk to you in detail!"

Li Xin waved his hand, and the messengers around him hurried away.Most of Tang Jun retreated to rest and reorganize, leaving only a very small number of people like Xiao Yi and Li Xin to hide in a blind spot.

The Fan army on the mountain saw Tang Jun's intention to retreat, and the rolling wood and rocks gradually thinned out. At last, there were only a few scattered stones rolling down every now and then, as if they were just throwing them for fun.

Li Xin cursed bitterly: "This is his grandma's ghost mountain, there are countless stones all over the mountain and plain, and they are inexhaustible!"

Xiao Yi heard the voices around him quiet down, and said: "General, if we fight like this now, it's like rushing up to die one after another, so we have to change our method."

"What's the way? Breaking the whole thing into parts doesn't mean you're going to die? Is there any difference between smashing the brains to death and smashing them to death one by one?" During the half-day, there were heavy casualties, and Li Xin was very angry.

Xiao Yi gritted his teeth, and said in a low voice: "The difference between smashing to death all at once and smashing to death one by one is that in the latter, the Fan army will be more tired."

Li Xinxin bumped his head.

This is still paving the way with human lives.

After all, he is still a ruthless person, he hesitated for a moment, then nodded heavily: "OK!"

Soon, the Pioneer Battalion received an order from Li Xin. It used to be that the mountain was attacked in small teams with 150 people in each team. The ten men of the Ministry attacked in turn according to the arrangement of the team leader.

Every time there were fewer people rushing up, but from above, the narrow and winding mountain road was full of Tang troops in an endless stream, so the arrows still fell like raindrops.

The soldiers are not stupid. This way of charging is actually sending them to death. It doesn’t make any difference whether everyone dies together or one by one.

Tens of ten sergeants rushed up one after another, as if adding fuel, the casualties were still heavy, but the rain of rolling trees and stones did not slow down at all. The more Li Xin watched, the more distressed he was, this was all human life!But at this moment, he has no choice.Another soldier was hit by a boulder and fell to his feet like a rag. His body was twisted into a strange shape, his eyes were wide open, but his head was already shattered. This scene made Li Xin's eyes wide open. He couldn't help turning his head to look for Xiao Yi, but suddenly found that Xiao Yi had taken off only his clothes, and was re-tying them, and he was wearing a set of cowhide shoulder belts and leg wraps on his body.

Li Xin didn't care about other things, he rushed up and grabbed Xiao Yi's collar and shouted: "Are you stupid! Disarmed on the battlefield! You don't want to die!"

Xiao Yi raised his head calmly, and while fastening the stainless steel wrist guard, he said lightly: "If you don't disarm, your movements will not be flexible enough, and I can't go up."

"Where are you going?!" Li Xin yelled.

Xiao Yi pointed to the top of his head: "There is a big tree over there, look at its position, what will happen if you cut it down?"

Li Xin was stunned, and looked up as he said, and saw a thick tree standing on the rock at the circle of the mountain road above. If this tree was cut down... His pupils shrank, as long as the angle of cutting , The direction in which the big tree fell happened to be the way they attacked the mountain!

Moreover, the big tree is thick and long, and when it falls, it will form an angle with the rock wall. The trunk can block most of the rolling logs and large rocks from the top of the mountain, so the threat is not so great.Tang Jun, on the other hand, can drill into the gap between the tree trunk and the rock wall.

Li Xin was overjoyed just now, and suddenly remembered that something was wrong, and clasped Xiao Yi's wrist again: "That won't work! The position is also conspicuous. If you go up like this, even if you climb to the side of the big tree, you can't shoot down from the top of the mountain." Arrow Rain cut down that tree!"

Xiao Yi nodded: "Yes, it's not easy, but you have to try."

Li Xin gritted his teeth and said, "Why do you try when you know you are dead!" He lowered his voice, "When the dogs above are tired, hungry, and have no strength, we can charge up again, and we can still beat them down!"

Xiao Yi looked at him fixedly: "That way, many, many people will die. If I go up to cut trees, if I succeed, it will be the best, if not, it will also attract the attention of a large part of the people on the top of the mountain, and the remaining people will have to continue If you push the rolling wood and beat the stone, you will get tired faster."

"But you might die!" Li Xin almost crushed Xiao Yi's wrist, "You know how much Jie Shuai protects you! This life is not your own now!"

Xiao Yi lowered his wrist with his right hand, drew a half circle in the air, and then got rid of Li Xin's restraint, his eyes were as calm as water: "But general, do you have a better way now? Everyone is fate, they die, die with me, In fact, there is no difference." He smiled lightly, and patted Li Xin on the shoulder, "Besides, if you don't try, how do you know that I will definitely die? You have to have some confidence in me."

After all, without hesitation, he stretched out his hand to grab the rock wall next to him, and climbed up.

The author has something to say: (In fact, Shibao City has more than one mountain road. According to the investigation of this battlefield today, there are at least three mountain roads. Strictly speaking, they are ravines with cliffs on both sides. Three roads, one on the north side, One is on the northeast side and the other is on the west side, but the slopes are very steep, and it is very difficult to walk. Today, people with modern equipment must support each other, and the climb is extremely difficult. Imagine the soldiers at that time wearing armor and holding soldiers, carrying rolling trees and rocks like clouds and arrows. Yu attacked the city along this road. Although it was only a 300-meter-high hill, every step was accompanied by the threat of death.

It is speculated that at that time, except for the water around Shibao City, there was a swamp. That is to say, the Tang army could not go around Shibao City to attack its back, that is, the west side. They could only climb from the north or northeast foot, so the west side I didn't mention Xiaolu. )

For the specific information on this part, please refer to the investigation record of the Shibaocheng site written by Teacher Wang Yu, which was published in the fifth issue of "Qinghai Social Sciences" in 2009.This document is very clear and clear, and those who are interested can search it. )

(Although there are tens of millions of people, I will go - "Mencius? Gongsun Chou [-]")

To live towards death - a concept put forward by the German philosopher Martin Heidegger in his book "Being and Time", which can roughly be understood as death and life.By the way, some translators in China are really gods. They can translate foreign languages ​​into elegant, catchy and easy-to-understand words. everyone.For the rest of my life, I can only look up to such gods. )

(The military system of the Tang Dynasty was very complicated. To be honest, I read a lot of information and still didn’t understand it, so I chose one of the simpler ones to use. Wow, five teams make a team, three teams make a team, and five teams make a battalion.)

☆, star fall