All your life is gentle

The battle of Tongcheng, the news spread to Xijing a few months later, it is probably like this:

At the beginning of April, Fu Ding, the eldest prince of Xirong, and Fu Sheng, the second prince, surrounded Tongcheng with an army of [-].On April [-]th, the city was destroyed and more than [-] residents were massacred.On April [-]th, the mighty general Fan Yi led an army of [-] to Tongcheng. The rescue failed, and he immediately fought a decisive battle with the Xirong army outside the north gate.

During the three days of the war, the sky was covered with smoke and dust, the sun and the moon were dimmed, blood flowed across the oars, and bones were like mountains.It's a pity that they were outnumbered, the mighty army was wiped out, and Fan Yi was captured.Because Fu Sheng, the second prince of Xirong, was killed in the melee, Fu Dingkeng surrendered more than [-] soldiers, and Fan Yilingchi took the lead.

The Xijun soldiers still couldn't understand their hatred and set fire to the city to vent their anger. The fire continued for seven days and seven nights.Tongcheng, an important town in the south of the Jinxia River and a famous cultural city for 200 years, has been reduced to scorched earth.

Except for some discrepancies in the numbers and some secrets that are unknown, the situation grasped by the Xijin court is generally accurate.

Fu Ding wrote this in his battle report to his father:

Hai'er got the message from General Fu Yi and was chasing the mighty army from the south, and agreed to attack the north and south with Tongluo, the place they must pass through, in order to completely annihilate the enemy.The second brother led an army of three thousand, and asked himself to defend the city.Unexpectedly, he lost his way at night, causing the boy and the enemy to miss him.The mighty army retreated to Tongcheng, where they encountered their second brother.The boy turned around and chased after him, but it was too late. Although fifty thousand Xia's army was wiped out in the end, the second brother's life and death are unknown...

The second prince is missing, and his life and death are unknown, so it is natural to search carefully.After the war, Fu Ding and Fu Yi summoned all the soldiers who stayed behind and escaped from Tongcheng, and there were more than 1000 soldiers.That day and night attack, those who fell behind were entangled by Xia Jun, and naturally died.A few of those who retreated into the city in time died in the sea of ​​fire.The others basically succeeded in finding the main force.After some careful questioning, he found out that the second prince had indeed retreated to the city, but no one saw him come out, and none of the surviving soldiers was the prince's close attendant.

Therefore, it is said that life and death are unknown, Fu Ding has almost no doubts in his heart.The dead man ambushing next to Fu Sheng was a sharpshooter of the Wu tribe and a master of swordsmanship.According to the survivors, he was always among the bodyguards brought by the second prince.If he didn't come back, he must be dead.Since he is dead, it is impossible for Fu Sheng to be alive.

After listening to the reports of these soldiers, knowing that Fu Sheng neither broke through nor defended, but made a decisive decision, set fire to the city to block the enemy, and fled from the south gate, Fu Ding felt a little sour again: Unexpectedly, he still There is this trick.It's also that those Xia troops are too useless, with 5 people surrounded by [-], they can't even surround them.

Originally, he planned to come back to collect his body, but now there was a fire, and there was no trace of it, so he didn't know how to explain to his father.Punishment is inevitable, but the person is dead, no matter how much you pamper him, so what?Although the third child is smart, his body has already been disabled. It is okay to give advice for himself, but it is impossible to be the heir.Now I am left with only one seedling, no matter what, my father will not really do anything to me.

Sure enough, Fu Yang received the battle report from his eldest son and did not eat or speak for two whole days, but he did not reply for a long time.

The impact of the Tongcheng battle on the current situation is:

With the demise of the Mighty Army, the only decent military force in Jinxia outside of Shu Prefecture is the Northeast Dingwu Army.General Dingwu Huang Yongshen was not active when he was King Qin. Now that he heard that Fan Yi died so badly, he immediately withdrew to Zhuozhou, sealed off Yantai Pass, and withdrew the banner of Jinxia. He became the emperor of the Northeast.

Due to the brutality and cruelty shown by the Xirong army in the first battle of Tongcheng, after the news spread, the areas that had not been conquered were in an unprecedented panic.People cut off all illusions about the invaders, the coastal residents tried every means to escape overseas, and the inland people tried their best to go to Shuzhou.At the same time, the upper echelons of Xirong once again started a debate about whether to attack the southwest or the southeast first.

As early as the year before last, when the capital of Jinxia, ​​Jiyang, was conquered, the upper echelons of Xirong had such a dispute.At that time, Fu Yang was anxious to capture Zhao Ju alive, and wanted to wipe out Jinxia completely in one go, establish a country and a dynasty, and establish the Xirong Empire.He personally led the army to pursue the Jinxia royal family and court who had fled south, but was blocked outside Xianlang Pass.After a month's siege, they couldn't break through the natural barrier. In addition, the terrain and climate were very different due to the proximity to Shu, and the soldiers gradually became unaccustomed to the water and soil. In the end, they had to give up resentfully and listened to Mo Siyu's suggestion to attack the southeast.

At present, the people in the south are once again setting off a frenzy to enter Shu. Some people worry that if this continues, the strength of Xijing will increase greatly, forming a confrontational situation.

Fu Yang asked Mo Siyu for his opinion.

Lao Mo said: "Your Majesty, you know that Jinxia has a total of 3000 shipping transshipment departments in the three southeastern states. It is these [-] shipping transshipment departments that, at the most, handed over [-] million taels of gold to the treasury, accounting for [-] million taels of gold per household. Sixty-seven out of ten of the Ministry's annual revenue. In addition, since the reign of Emperor Pingwu, successive emperors of Jinxia have seized officials in the southeast, and the sum of private property seized each time is equivalent to the national treasury, or even surpassed."

"There is such a thing!"

"The southeast is rich and prosperous. The word "rich and prosperous" refers to the accumulation of countless gold and silver mountains."

Fu Yang heard a golden light before his eyes.

"Even if it is difficult to get off Shuzhou, after all, it is under control. It will only be a matter of time. The officials and people in the southeast swept away their wealth and fled overseas. I have no sailors in Xirong, and I am not good at it. This run, my lord, we can do it It's beyond the reach of the whip."

Fu Yang seemed to have seen countless gold and silver ingots grow wings and feet, fluttering and flying away, and they were about to disappear.

"Mr.'s words made people suddenly enlightened. This king knows it. It's just... who will be the commander in chief?"

The military system of the Western Army is relatively loose, and the basic orders are of course obeyed by the king, but the senior generals have greater autonomy.After entering the customs, Fu Yang consciously strengthened the army building, and gradually became more rigorous.The commander-in-chief of the southeast army originally used the talisman as the positive, and the talisman as the deputy, to control the troops from all walks of life.However, after Fu Sheng's accident, Fu Yang felt very remorseful.Originally, he just wanted to try his two sons, but now it is irreparable.Regardless of the truth, I feel very disappointed with my eldest son.There was also some resentment towards Fu Yi who had always trusted him.

Mo Siyu dared not take up the sensitive topic of the king.Although I feel very sorry for the death of the second prince in private, the emperor's family affairs are a puzzle that no one in the world can interfere with.

It seems that the king didn't expect to answer by himself, and tried to change the subject: "No matter who is the commander, this matter of massacring the city... Now it is not the same as before, the world is already in the king's pocket... In the future, it will cost manpower and material resources reconstruction……"

Fu Yang nodded.That's right, all the things that are destroyed now are their own property, and they have to be ordered to take it down and guard it carefully.For those disobedient thugs, killing the waste, there are other ways to deal with them.

The four of Zi Shi spent a few more days on the mountain, and they didn't wait until the army going south passed by.

In the first few days, through the raging fire, the sound of horseshoes and shouts of killing could still be heard in the distance.However, among the four people, two wounded and two children were too busy getting over the current difficulties, not caring about the battle situation, and only took the sound of the swords and soldiers as the background music.

Later, the fire gradually weakened, the sound gradually became smaller, and the war came to an end.One day, I suddenly heard the sound of horns, and the shouts shook the sky, followed by the sound of horseshoes like thunder and rain, shaking the earth and shaking the mountains.The three brothers and sisters were shocked, held their breath, and looked towards Tongcheng from the entrance of the cave.Zi Shi pulls over Zigui to cover her ears.The girl shook her head: "Brother, I'm not afraid."

The intensive sound of horseshoes lasted for a quarter of an hour before it stopped.Zigui finally grabbed his elder brother's arm, and after a while he came back to his senses and asked, "What's that sound?"

"This is the sound of the Western Army cavalry gathering. They are announcing victory." Zi Shi replied softly and coldly.

None of the four looked well.Changsheng stood with them, although the reasons were different, but the mood was similar.

"Don't go out these two days, and don't light a fire." Zi Shi turned his head and said to Chang Sheng.

Changsheng nodded.I thought: I am more afraid than you.

A few days later, suddenly there was no movement.The army didn't come south at all, and it seemed to have withdrawn completely.Chang Sheng climbed to the top of the tree to investigate, and the Xirong army really disappeared.

"Really gone."

"If you don't go south... then you should go east." Zi Shi pondered for a while.

"Why?" Zi Zhou asked.

"Western army soldiers are accustomed to looting and do not carry food and grass, so they never stay in one place for long. They came from the northwest, and Miancheng, Huanyang and other places have already been ravaged. The larger towns near Tongcheng, one is Liaocheng, one It's Xin'an, and they all need to go south of the city. Unless..."

Chang Sheng was secretly startled when he heard what he said clearly and logically.Li Zishi, who is weak in writing, actually has some insights when talking about current affairs, military affairs, and politics, he is not just a young scholar who reads sages and sages and talks about elegance.So I asked, "Unless what?"

"Unless they take the north of the city and go east to Dongning."

"Isn't Dongning far away?" Zi Zhou asked.

"Although you have to go around Cili Mountain, the official road is flat and not difficult to walk. There are many good fields and villages along the way, so you don't have to worry about supplies...Dongning has always been guarded by sailors, so there is no defense." Zi Shi sighed softly, "I heard that the market is thriving there, business travelers are constantly coming and going, and the wealth of the wealthy households in the city cannot be calculated. It is much more prosperous than Tongcheng... If I were the king of Xirong, I would not bother here, and I would eat that piece of fat first."

The words are objective, but the mood is very low, and there is no way to avoid it.

Changsheng remembered that the previous plan was to continue going south, but now he didn't come.Could it be explained by Li Zi?I don't know how Fu Ding explained his disappearance to his father.Father... what would he think?In the future... what should I do?

The mood suddenly became very depressed.

The two have their own concerns, and they are silent for each other.From Zizhou and Zigui's point of view, the two elder brothers were sad about the same thing, so they asked promptly: "They are gone, where are we going?"

Zi Shi went to the cave and sat down, and the other three also surrounded him.

"Let's go to Shuzhou. The soldiers from the west have gone to the east, and they will come back sooner or later. The only place we can go to is Shuzhou, which is safe for the world."

Zizhou thought about it: "Brother Changsheng didn't say that when the emperor went south, the Xianlang Pass was broken. Would the court also seal the Eastern Shu Road to prevent people from entering?"

"Blowing up the Xianlangguan Pass should be a desperate move by the pursuers. Although the land of Shu is rich, it is not easy to support an imperial court while defending and preparing for war. People from the south poured into Shuzhou , although there may be hidden dangers, but what was brought in was a large amount of property and soldiers."

"Then we can join the army to serve the country and go to battle to kill the enemy?" The boy became excited, completely forgetting that he was trembling with fear when he saw the snake being killed.

Zi Zhou's reaction made Zi Shi turn pale with shock.This kid is full of thoughts of loyalty and patriotism, so he must find a way to get rid of it.The future is long, let's make a subtle difference.

"You are like this, you can't even lift a knife, and I don't want it."

"I will grow taller - I can learn Kung Fu from Brother Changsheng." Turning his head, "Brother Changsheng, if you can join the army, will you go?"

Another ridiculous question.Changsheng was taken aback for a moment, smiled wryly, and regarded it as an answer.

Zi Shi patted Zi Zhou on the head: "Don't interrupt."

Children don't know how to read people's faces, and they just say embarrassing things.This Gu Changsheng was obviously a son of a wealthy businessman in the capital, he fled to Tongcheng with his lord, and ended up being the only one left.Although he often goes out, has martial arts skills, and has read books, he is simple.Sudden change, I'm afraid I haven't had time to consider such a high-level issue.

Then he continued: "Besides, the official road from Chuzhou to Shu has many passes. I heard that the first Fenglan pass is a natural danger that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is not so easy to break through. Those adults in Xijing, as long as they have a brain, It shouldn't be the case that I would give up eating because of choking..."

Changsheng listened silently.I have followed my father on the battlefield since I was 14 years old, and at the same time, I also pay attention to the strategy. In terms of analyzing the situation, I am afraid that I am not as good as the one-year-old Li Zishi in front of me. He is thoughtful and meticulous...

"So, let's go to Shuzhou." Zi Shi concluded.He turned sideways and asked, "Gu Changsheng, what about you? What are your plans?"

Changsheng raised his head and saw Li Zishi's face was calm and clear.The two children over there were looking at him expectantly.

The injury is almost healed, so I should go.However, there are some things that need to be faced, subconsciously unwilling to face them.The three brothers and sisters in front of them looked smart, but they were actually very delicate.At any rate, they saved their own life, so they should escort him for a ride.Besides, this Jiangnan territory is very strange, and it is really inconvenient to go alone.

No matter which reason prevailed, in short, Chang Sheng hesitated a little and said, "Shall I go with you?"

"Of course." Zi Shi smiled.

"Great." Zizhou and Zigui jumped up clapping their hands.

Zi Shi held a branch and drew on the ground.

"This is Jicui Mountain, where we are now. This is the Hanjiang River. In the past, when Yue people entered Shu, they first took the water route, then went northward into the Lianjiang River against the current, and went ashore at the Jiangyuan Wharf in Chuzhou, and then took the land route. Now, this The waterway is impassable.”

In March, the Xirong cavalry captured Yuping, a port on the north bank of the Lianjiang River, with lightning speed. In addition to receiving dozens of warships from the Yuping Navy, they also forcibly confiscated hundreds of large civilian ships, driving thousands of strong men to work day and night. , embroidered with iron chains, laid planks, and built a pontoon bridge across the river in ten days, so that the army was able to cross the river smoothly.

——This was the idea Mo Siyu gave Fu Yang before going south.

Previously, people all over the South Bank had fantasized about using the river to block Xirong's footsteps, and felt that the navy should have an advantage on the river no matter what.Unexpectedly, the opponent didn't even give him a chance to fight, and before Xia Jun could react, he directly took the blame on land.Of course, the coastal navy, especially those who haunt the sea to do big business, are very brave.However, most of what the inland navy has done over the years is to set up checkpoints on the river to extort and extort. How can it stop the spears and arrows of the Western soldiers.

Since the completion of the pontoon bridge, the Xirong army has specially left a team to guard and block the river.Fu also found that the pontoon bridge was a good way to cross the river, but he was afraid that if some Xia people who were not afraid of death set fire to the bridge, rammed the boats into it, or plotted against the soldiers crossing the river, he plundered and burned the boats along the coast, and sent more people to patrol. Don't go into the water casually, so as to avoid future troubles.Those fishermen who rely on water for food either escaped to sea early, or left their homes and businesses and fled to the inland.Originally, this section was crowded with fishing villages and the river was busy, but in just over a month, it has become desolate and desolate.

The escaped fishermen entered Tongcheng, and the residents of the city knew a little about these things.

"Both sides of the river are places where soldiers from the west come and go. We can only go south to Liaocheng, then turn west and enter the hinterland of Chuzhou. When we are close to Shuzhou, we will try to cross the river and take the official road to Fenglan Pass."

Although it sounds simple, this big circle is only a few thousand miles away.Changsheng suddenly remembered a very important question: "Li Zishi, have you traveled the road you mentioned?"

"Of course not." Zi Shi said confidently, ""My parents are here, so I won't travel far away."It took a while before he said sullenly: "The farthest and father have been to Wangcheng, the state capital."

Changsheng choked.This man, who said one thing after another, turned out to be all talk on paper.

"Speak with a nose and an eye, as if you walked by."

Hearing his slight complaint, Zi Shi smiled a little embarrassedly.He also argued: "I have carefully read "Yue Chu Feng Wu Yao Lan" and "Famous Mountains and Shengshui Records", and even the Jiangnan volume in the "Yuantong County Maps" collected by the government. First read the ten thousand volumes of books , Why not travel thousands of miles later?"

Longevity is helpless.That's right, as long as you set out on the road, you will have a bright future.Take one step at a time.

The four of them cleaned up and went down to Jicui Mountain early the next morning.

In those days on the mountain, seeing Tongcheng slowly turning into a large black shadow, there was an unreal sense of distance.Standing by the river at this moment, everything rushes towards us, with clear lines, sharp edges and corners, and strong colors.

The air was filled with a suffocating scorched stench, all kinds of unrecognizable wreckage floated through the water, and a layer of black oily stains floated on the entire river surface.Further forward, the endless ruins behind the collapsed city wall showed different shades of black, high and low, layer upon layer.Some places are still emitting green smoke, curling up to the sky.Black butterflies fluttered in the wind without a sound, probably from some lighter cloth curtains.Some tall buildings were burnt to the point where only a pitch-black skeleton remained, crumbling, but persistently refusing to fall down.

The world is silent.

Tongcheng.

Smoked willows and painted bridges, wind curtains and emerald curtains, osmanthus seeds in three autumns, and lotus flowers in ten miles.

The king and grandson lean on the horse, the son climbs the tower, the tourists are good, and the old man and the lotus baby are caught.

——Such Tongcheng.

Now it has become a tomb, burying countless souls who died in vain.

The three brothers and sister Zi Shi stood there blankly, weeping unknowingly.

a long time.Zi Shi took a few steps forward, bent over to brush away the stains, scooped up a handful of river water, stepped back, and slowly sprinkled it on the ground, saying: "Let's sacrifice to the souls of the undead who died tragically under the disaster of swords and soldiers."

Zi Zhou Zigui imitated his eldest brother and silently sprinkled a handful of river water.

Chang Sheng followed behind them and did the same.

Suddenly Li Zishi chanted slowly:

"The universe is vast, and the sky and the earth are long.

What is wrong with life, and what is there to ask for in death?

Life in the morning and death in the evening is like a mayfly.

Sacrifice of life, soul and death, reward each other with short songs.

Ashamed of no turbid wine, clean water is recommended. "

It was actually a sacrificial text.Come slowly, like chant like singing.The sound is not loud, but it seems to be echoing endlessly between the heaven and the earth, lingering and lingering.Changsheng was as if frozen, allowing the voice to penetrate the eardrums and strike directly on the heart.

"............

The mountains and rivers are mounds, and the flesh and blood are mounds.

Forged by the furnace, not a single bone is left.

Return to good fortune together, and go to the underworld together.

No expensive, no cheap, away from suffering and worry.

Without wisdom and foolishness, free from fear and sorrow.

Fu Wei Lingjian, mourning!

Shang Xiang—"

The last word fell slowly, like a long sigh resonating with the mountains and rivers, drifting over one peak after another, over one wave after another, with no bounds and no end.

Standing behind Zi Shi, Chang Sheng only saw the lonely figure in front of him with fluttering clothes.His voice echoed in his mind over and over again: "... life is innocent, death is nothing to be desired? Life is like a mayfly... There is no nobility, no cheapness, no pain, no worries. No wisdom, no fool, no fear, no sorrow. ..."

A gust of river wind blew by, chilling my neck.Reaching out to touch her, her face was full of tears.

What's wrong with me?