Ruthless debt

It is said that on the day of the expedition, more than [-] people gathered outside the city of Luohe, and the common people went out of the city to see off the army one after another, just like the gathering of ants in a bee colony.Not only did they witness such a scene for the first time, but they were also able to see the real face of the king today. They vaguely remembered that the prince Che was a young boy with red face and green temples, but today he is the king of a country, wearing leather armor and a steel helmet. , so heroic.

The flags and flags fluttered in the wind, and the sound of armor and weapons was heard endlessly. Hundreds of civil and military officials came out of the city one by one to see him off. Thousands of words were turned into a few lines of tears, so they had to kowtow and kneel, hoping that the king would return soon.When the gongs and drums sounded together, the time had come, led by Qian Che and the generals, followed closely by [-] troops, the chariots and riders were thundered, the sky shook, and the dust immediately flew up.

After several days of marching to the border city of another country, the city gate was wide open, and the lord of the country was surrounded by courtiers under the tower. He had been waiting for a long time, only waiting for the arrival of the army of the country.

After walking like this for a month, passing through the Monan countries, the number of soldiers and horses sent by each party depends on the national conditions, ranging from tens of thousands to several thousand.Because they plan to arrive within two months, they often only dare to rest for a while, and then leave immediately after the people and horses gather together.As Qian Che expected, by the time they reached the border of Monan, there were already more than 20 troops.

When Cheng Huo sees that his old friend comes here as promised in the past, is there any reason not to welcome him?It's just that the 20 army in front of him is not what he can carry in a small city, so he dispatched domestic soldiers and civilians to place the army outside the city.

The horses and chariots had been exhausted for two months, and they had come all the way from the south, so the officers and men in the army were unacceptable.Seeing this situation, Cheng Huo brought the unwell person into the city, and was taken care of by the imperial physicians. Although it was an emergency, after a few days of recuperation, it would not hinder his ability to go to the battlefield.

That night, Qian Che led the commanders of the various countries to discuss matters in the city, and Cheng Huo was naturally there, and the discussion at the moment was about how to cross the desert, only to hear one of them say: "To attack the Shuo Kingdom, it is necessary to cross the desert, and the food and grass will be safe. It's just the water..."

Another person said: "The general is worried about this. It is said that the desert is more than 20 miles long. It takes three or four days for the cavalry, not to mention the bare soldiers, who can't reach it in seven or eight days. The [-] people need seven or eight days. The amount of water required is too large, the desert is full of sand and rocks, it is too impractical to transport it by horse-drawn cart, and if the soldiers bring it with them, it will be a heavy load, so it will be too strenuous.”

Cheng Huo said: "The generals don't need to worry too much. Although the small country is not rich, but because it has lived in the desert for a long time, it is inevitable to travel back and forth, and often the burden is done by camels. To tell you the truth, there are few people in the country now. With a thousand camels, the matter of transporting water is easily solved."

Qian Che said: "I think there are many people who are familiar with the terrain here. There are pearls in the desert. If the water source is really scarce, you must rely on it."

Cheng Huo smiled and said: "That's right, not to mention the older people in the country, even I can find an oasis when I enter this desert. I think the lord of Qu Country walked in the desert a few months ago, yes I know a little bit about geography."

As soon as they mentioned what happened a few months ago, Qian Che and Zuo Qi couldn't help but think of Nan'er, felt depressed and couldn't help but listen to them continue to discuss without saying a word.

One of them said: "Because Mu Xuanqing has offended too many people on weekdays, and the countries in the north are unwilling to help, they just make up their minds and make up the numbers at will. According to reports from spies, he has only assembled a mere 20 troops. We are waiting for [-] people. In front of Wan Dajun, if you don’t kill him, you won’t leave a piece of him.”

Another person said: "The general's words are wrong. Our army is on an expedition, so naturally we can't do our best in the battle. Besides, the barbarians in the north are all strong and strong. It is not easy to defeat them in one fell swoop."

Because the man was refuted, his face immediately flushed, and he said slightly angrily: "I don't like to listen to you when you say that. You have seen it all the way. The morale of our army is high. Which one is not a fierce tiger? It is clearly a tiger." You grow others' aspirations and destroy your own prestige."

This way: "Brave without strategy is not a good general. In the battles between the two countries in the past dynasties, there is no shortage of people who won more with less. If you just blindly think that you are too strong and underestimate the enemy, you will inevitably suffer defeat."

The man jumped up, pointed at his nose and said, "If you say I'm not a good general, go and inquire about it. I've been on the battlefield for more than ten years, but have I ever been defeated? But you, why haven't you heard of your achievements? Could it be that you have been at ease for too long, and now you are terrified when you see that there is going to be a war?"

The person who was scolded was none other than Qu Guo's coach Liu Wei.That man was right. Although he was General Zuo guarding Xijun, there had been no wars in the country for decades. He said so, but he had nothing to fight back, so he could only stare at him angrily.

Lu Zhan, deputy commander of the Qu country, said: "The general is very true. I think that General Liu and I have been stationed in the border county for these years, and we have never encountered a war. However, other countries are afraid of our country's national prestige and dare not rashly invade. I think so." Just like the general, to fight for a tiny piece of land and make some military exploits on the battlefield is not in vain for the ambition of serving in the army in this life."

The first half was pleasant to the ear, but the second half was clearly accusing Sang Huai of saying that their country is not as powerful as Qu country, and they can only use war to consolidate the country.He is a person who is impatient at first, he heard that he was about to explode, Qian Che saw that he was about to fight, so he pushed down the two commanders, and shouted at them sharply: "You are so presumptuous."

Seeing him getting angry, everyone couldn't help but knelt down and said: "The last general made a slip of the tongue for a while, I hope Your Majesty will calm down."

Qian Che said: "Before the battle, you will fight among yourself first. If it spreads, it will make people laugh. No matter who is wrong and who is right, they will be pulled down and beaten with fifty army sticks. Today is just a small punishment. If you commit the crime again, you will be punished severely according to the military law."

Seeing his stern words, Zuo Qixin only thought it was funny, he was just putting on a show, he just waited for someone to beg for mercy for these three people, then he would accept the order.

Without waiting for anyone else to speak, he himself knelt down first: "Your Majesty, the day of the battle is just around the corner, and the three generals are the commanders of the army. It is inappropriate to go into battle with injuries. I hope Your Majesty will think twice."

Seeing that he cooperated properly, Qian Che couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth in his heart: "Zuo Qing's words are very true, so I was negligent." Then he put away his expression again, turned his head and said to the three people: "Read Zuo Qing For the sake of pleading for you, I will forgive you for the time being, but the fifty army sticks will be remembered for you first, if you commit any crimes again, you will be severely punished according to military law."

The three were pardoned and immediately said in unison: "Thank you Your Majesty for not punishing me."

After negotiating in the middle of the night, everything was done properly, and it was finally decided to send troops three days later.

That night.

As soon as the two of them entered the tent, Qian Che wrapped his arms around him from behind, put his head on his neck and said softly, "If you hadn't stopped him in time, Liu Wei and Lu Zhan would have been beaten with military sticks. I didn't really intend to punish them, but the battle is imminent, if he doesn't correct his attitude in time, then the morale of each of the troops will be unstable, and the casualties will only increase. If they really lose, it will be too late to regret it by then."

Zuo Qi smiled and said: "Of course I know this, but you were quite handsome just now, you didn't see the expressions of the generals at that time, all of you held your breath and didn't dare to say anything, just pretend that you really want to punish They, but me, who would dare to intercede for them?"

Qian Che brought her lips to his ear, and said softly: "In this way, can I think that you are arrogance?" After finishing speaking, she bit her lips.

Zuo Qi struggled: "I don't care what you think, but I still want to ride a horse, so don't touch me again."

Qian Che refused, and increased the strength in his hands so that he couldn't break free, so he licked his earlobe again: "Isn't there still three days left, I will at least not touch you the night before I send troops." As soon as he felt weak, he couldn't speak or act independently, so he could only let him take it unscrupulously.