red cliff top

On this unhappy New Year's Eve at the end of the fifth year of Xuanzheng, in the secluded small Buddhist hall in the corner of the palace, King Jin finally opened his mouth to confess his love to Shen Si.He first explained that he and the concubine only treated each other as sisters and brothers, and there was no reality of husband and wife, then he lamented the ups and downs of the love journey over the years, and finally rejoiced that God's pity finally sent the person he really liked to his side.Who would have imagined that before the word "Shen Nianqing" could be uttered, it would be interrupted by the military report from the front line.

That's all, that's all, King Jin shook his head, and swallowed the second half of the words helplessly.The so-called good things take a long time, maybe the time has not come yet.

Unlike King Jin, who was deeply troubled and lost, when Shen Si heard that Hariba was leading an army to attack, he immediately geared up to fight, his fatigue disappeared, and even his temples and brows were full of fighting spirit.He quickly glanced at King Jin with a calm smile in his eyes.

The King of Jin immediately understood the meaning of meditation, and walked out of the courtyard with his robe sleeves lifted, and told the school lieutenant who was standing by the side waiting for instructions: "Order the generals in the army, and at Maoshi tomorrow, the Western Suburbs camp will be raised for discussion!"

After the school lieutenant got the order to fly away, the King of Jin sighed quietly: "Hariba didn't come sooner or later, and he just sent troops at the time when the new year and night overlap. It caught us off guard during the festive season."

Shen Si smiled lightly and said: "Don't worry, he will soon find out that his wishful thinking was wrong."

The king of Jin was afraid that the arrogant soldiers would be defeated, so he turned his head and held up his pensive hand and said carefully: "Nianqing, the wealth and lives of the countless people in Jinyang City, as well as my Wei Lu family, all of them will be handed over to you." hands."

Shen Si shook his hand heavily: "It is enough for the prince to remember the promise he made that day!"

At three quarters of Yin time the next day, the sky was still dark and unclear.The winter night is bleak, the river is deserted, and a crescent moon hangs far away between the northwest mountain depressions, as light as if washed away by water.

At this time, the big camp in the western suburbs is a different scene, where the walls are towering, the bonfire is raging, the three armies are lined up neatly, the horses are neighing, and the white breath of men and horses is steaming, and it is scattered like mist. , the whole barracks was filled with the smell of warm sweat and a strong smell of horseshoe.

The big tent of the Chinese army was brightly lit like daytime, generals from all walks of life arrived one after another, separated on both sides according to their official ranks, and cast their eyes on the general's platform.There is a five-foot-long table in the middle of the general platform, with a tiger head card hanging on the left side and a beheading order on the right side. Sitting behind it is a solemn posture of meditation, with silver helmets and armor on his body, and a red cloak on his shoulders. Yu Xuanang.Although the king of Jin is the lord of the Jin land, he is not the commander in chief of the army, so he only set up a seat at the bottom.

The room was completely silent, when suddenly the felt curtain was lifted, and a red light flashed, it turned out that Princess Crimson came in with two female soldiers who were also dressed in red.The three of them are about the same height, they all have bright eyes, white teeth, ape backs and waists, everyone's eyes light up when they see them.The princess scanned the audience, and when she found Queen Jin, she ran over happily like a little girl.

When King Jin saw the princess, his expression sank, and when his daughter approached, he reprimanded in a low voice: "It's getting more and more nonsense, why do you come to the important military camp whenever you want?"

The princess pursed her lips in dissatisfaction when she heard the words: "Father wronged Hong Hong! My daughter didn't do it on her own, but today is that black... Shen Nianqing invited me here!"

"Oh?" Jin Wang was taken aback, and looked at Shen Si suspiciously. Shen Si seemed to have expected that he would react in this way, and cast a vague look at him in time, and Jin Wang stopped talking.

The sound of Diao Dou sounded "Qiang Qiang" from far and near, and the time had come, Shen Si spread out the list of generals and began to count.Starting with Zhang Shijie, the highest official, every time a person's name was called, that person stepped forward and answered, "Yes." When Tan Tianliang was called alone, no one answered.

Ever since Shen Si had his molars pulled out in public that day, Tan Tianliang has been brooding about it all the time, and within a few days, the King of Jin honored Shen Si as a general again, which made him even more depressed and indignant.Last night, he was sitting at the same table with his brother and sister-in-law to watch the new year. On the way, there were rumors that the Tatars were coming, and General Shen was going to be promoted to the head of the account. He couldn't help being jealous and hated, so he hid in his room and drank half the night. He fell asleep completely, and couldn't wake up this morning no matter what.Seeing that Mao's time was approaching, the elder brother Tan Tianming had no choice but to go out first, and ordered his wife's servants to drive away the alcohol for the younger brother before sending him to the camp.At this moment, there was still no one, so Tan Tianming had no choice but to prevaricate for his younger brother. He stepped forward and bowed in front of the King of Jin, saying: "Reporting to the lord, my younger brother got up early today and suddenly fell ill, and felt very unwell, so he couldn't arrive in time. I also ask the prince to forgive me."

These words are not only for King Jin, but also for Shen Si.But before the king of Jin could speak, Shensi seemed to have never heard anything. He raised the volume and asked again: "Where is Tan Tianliang?"

If you don't hit it three times, you will lose your head according to military law.Tan Tianming knew that Shen Si was deliberately embarrassing himself, but he had to bow his head under the low eaves, so he could only repeat what he said to King Jin more humbly to Shen Si.Shen Si raised her brows slightly when she heard the words: "Suddenly ill? Didn't you get drunk at a banquet yesterday, did you make a mistake?"

"Where is this..." Tan Tianming's face turned red and then pale, speechless.

At this moment, a sound of horseshoes roared from outside the tent, stirring up dust and sand.Fortunately, the school lieutenant in front of the door had quick eyes and hands and quickly grabbed the reins, otherwise the horse would have rushed straight into the big tent.It was Tan Tianliang who came, and he violated the forbidden rules by riding a horse straight to the main camp of the Chinese army, and because a soldier missed his aim when helping him off the horse, he whipped him several times severely.

Tan Tianliang had always been domineering and defiant, and all the juniors dared not speak out, but they just persuaded him in a low voice: "General, hurry up and go in, and if it's later, General Shen may have to question him."

"General Shen? Hmph!" Tan Tianliang sneered disdainfully, stepped inside, and when he saw Shen Si, he reluctantly gave a salute, "The last general, Tan Tianliang, is here!"

Shen Si glanced at it lightly, and said casually: "You shouldn't call your name all the time. It is a crime of slowing down the army and should be punished. But this general thinks that you are a first-time offender and have a lot of military exploits, so I will forgive you once. If you dare to do it again , will never be pardoned."

Seeing that Shen Si only talked about being late, and didn't mention anything about riding a horse into the camp or being smelled of alcohol, Tan Tianliang decided that there was nothing he could do to him, and he became more confident.The father of the Tan brothers was a veteran of the three dynasties. He had made great achievements in assisting the King of Jin in the early years, and he was quite prestigious in the army. Even the King of Jin himself would look up to their brothers. Naturally, Tan Tianliang would not pay attention to a completely rootless meditation. inside.It was his elder brother Tan Tianming who kept winking at him, so he reluctantly thanked Shen Si with his hands.

After the point is over, the new coach is about to issue orders.I saw Shen Si lightly squeezed out a token from the tooth bucket, and called loudly: "Princess Crimson Come forward and listen to the order!"

As soon as this remark came out, there was an uproar in the audience, and everyone wondered whether this contemplation was hysterical?No matter how honorable Princess Crimson's status is, she is a woman after all, so why should women meddle in leading soldiers and fighting?What's more, she doesn't have that ability at all.Furthermore, the princess is the jewel in the palm of the prince, and if a hair is hurt, the prince will never let it go.

King Jin himself was quite surprised, and when he was about to ask, he saw Shen Si slowly stretching out three fingers towards him. King Jin knew that this was a signal to him not to forget the promise he made that day, so he could only suppress his doubts and feel depressed. Sitting there silently.

Now that King Jin has acquiesced, no one else has any objections.Zhang Shijie lowered his eyes and looked peaceful, thinking about how Shen Si would make a fool of himself later.The Tan brothers looked at each other, their smiles were full of sarcasm.But Zhan Shitai was very annoyed. The battle was imminent, and the prince chose such a man as a general. It seemed that Jinyuan was in danger!

Princess Crimson himself stood up very readily: "General Shen, the princess is here!"

Seeing her impatient look, Shen Si smiled sincerely: "Princess, the army is overwhelming and the situation is critical. Please lead the female soldiers to escort the princess to Chongshan Temple to offer incense in two days, and pray for our army and the people of Jinyuan."

"Ha!" Tan Tianliang couldn't help laughing, and deliberately said to his brother in a volume that everyone else could hear, "Why do I have to work hard to train troops? Just go to the temple and ask the Bodhisattva for help." ? This battle is blessed by the Bodhisattva, so it will naturally be a complete victory."

Princess Crimson wished that Shensi could give her a team of soldiers to let her show off her prestige, but who knew that she was escorting her mother to offer incense and pray for blessings. Let alone killing the enemy before the battle, she didn't even know Jinyang City. Immediately, he made a small mouth: "It is the duty of the guards in the palace to escort the princess. Is it possible that the princess has golden branches and jade leaves to act as a guard?"

Shen Si didn't spend too much time talking with her, but waved to the golden gourd standing aside: "What is my intention, tell her."

Jin Gourd has benefited a lot from being around Shen Si during this period of time, and Shen Si also wants to take this opportunity to test him.It's just that Jin Hulu is timid and inferior by nature, fearing that he will lose face in meditation in front of others, so he hesitated for a long time and didn't dare to speak out.Shen Si was not in a hurry, but just looked at him patiently, his eyes full of encouragement.

Jin Gourd wiped the sweat from his palms with his trousers, and finally plucked up the courage to speak: "The general once taught me that the most important thing in marching and fighting is to appease the hearts of the people and stabilize the rear. Now that the Tatars are coming, the people in the Jinyuan border must It is extremely frightening, the first thing to inquire about is the movement in the palace. If the princess and the princess leave Jinyang, they will immediately leave the city to flee for their lives. If the princess and the princess are safe, they will also be full of confidence in victory. Therefore, The princess took the female soldiers to walk around Jinyang City, it must be more effective than any kind of safety notice."

With his explanation, everyone realized the painstaking efforts of meditation.Princess Crimson's heart is the simplest, and immediately took the order happily: "The earth leopard is right. General Shen can rest assured that Crimson will definitely live up to her mission."

Shen Si glanced at the golden gourd, nodded slightly, secretly thinking that this little apprentice like a chick was not teaching in vain.Immediately he took out another token: "The golden gourd steps forward to obey the order!"

The big tent that had just calmed down turned into another turmoil. It is reasonable to issue general orders first from the top generals. Today the first order was given to Princess Crimson, and everyone only regarded it as respect for the princess.But this golden gourd is a real unknown soldier, and he is ignored by the generals who have made great achievements in battle, and he is ordered to come out first, which is simply humiliating the rest of the generals.There were buzzing voices all over the place for a while, until King Jin coughed slightly, and then suppressed it a little bit.

Shen Si ignored the reaction from the outside world, and ordered as usual: "You will lead the newly recruited army to station in the west of Jinyang and in the upper reaches of Fenshui River. At that time, the sound of the guns will be the sound of the guns. Respect my command to fight out with a surprise force. This action has nothing to do with us The final success or failure of the army must not be half-determined."

The so-called new army is a team that has just been called up a while ago, and they were originally mud legs carrying hoes and rakes.At the beginning, the generals all thought that the King Jin's three guards were strong and strong, and further recruitment would only distract the army, but Shen Si insisted on it, and even designated a new army battalion.Now he not only regards this group of mud-legged new troops as strange soldiers, but also orders the golden gourd to lead them, causing all the generals to shake their heads.

After Jin Gourd took the order to retreat, he pondered and said: "General Zhan Shitai stepped forward to listen to the order."

Zhan Shitai is an upright person who follows the rules, no matter how unconvinced and contemplative he is, the rules are still exactly the same, he stepped forward and replied sullenly: "The end will be here."

Shensi sent out a general order: "Lead [-] soldiers and horses to stand firm in Jinyang City, and take charge of the food and supplies in the rear. The four city gates are closed tightly, and idlers are not allowed to enter and leave at will. Officials, businessmen and civilians in the city must act as usual. Random rumors will be brought to No matter what news comes back from the front, you are not allowed to go out of the city to help without Shen's order, otherwise you will be punished by military law!"

Zhan Shitai didn't expect that he would belittle Shen Si like that before. Shen Si trusted him so much that he handed over the entire rear to himself.Shen Si seemed to be able to see through his mind, and whispered when he stepped forward to receive orders: "General Zhan is upright and straightforward, and Shen appreciates it very much. It is precisely because the general thinks that I use my beauty to attract others, so I want to be in front of the general. Make a show and change the general's misunderstanding of me."

"Hmph, everyone can tell beautiful words, so you really have to do it!" Zhan Shitai's tone was cold, and his anger was much less than before.

Shen Si smiled and did not refute.He is alone and helpless when he first arrives, and he needs to win over people to help him.The Tan brothers are too small to be used, and Zhang Shijie is the most arrogant on the surface, and it is difficult to really subdue him. On the contrary, it is Zhan Shitai who speaks the truth when he has something in his stomach. He is straightforward and easy to talk to.

After Zhan Shitai, Shen Si called out Zhang Shijie to come forward: "Master Zhang, please lead [-] cavalry to set up defenses in Nitunchuan, [-] miles away from Jinyang, and try your best to stop the enemy. first."

Zhang Shijie couldn't help laughing wryly when he heard the words, Hariba's leaders were all Tatar elites, with a number of 20 people, and a mere 1 people were used to stop 20 people, and the lives of the soldiers were the priority. What's the point of such a resistance?

Shen Si didn't mind Zhang Shijie's slander at all, so he sent the Tan brothers to say: "I ask the two generals Tan to lead [-] cavalry and [-] infantry to stop the enemy at Yaqueling, [-] miles away from Jinyang. Blindly reckless, should put the lives of soldiers first."

Tan Tianming hesitated for a moment, and boldly replied: "Although Yaque Ridge is named with 'Ling' in it, in fact, there is no danger to defend a flat river. It is reluctant to meet the enemy with [-] troops, not to mention that there are [-] infantry among them. Infantry against cavalry, this..."

Tan Tianliang didn't wait for his brother to finish speaking, and he was already furious: "Brother, stop arguing with him, this man surnamed Shen clearly dislikes you and my brother, and wants us to die in vain! Our army is outnumbered! He was at a disadvantage, and he divided the soldiers and horses into pieces again. How could this be a posture to resist the Tatars? I should say that he is a spy of the Tatars!"

While talking, Tan Tianliang raised the felt curtain and walked outside regardless.Before he stepped out of the big tent, a gust of wind carried yellow sand and smoke into the tent, choking everyone to cough.Suddenly, the pawn at the tent pointed to the earth-colored clouds gathered in the sky and exclaimed in surprise: "Look, what is that?"

But I saw that the shape of the cloud was very strange, almost like a city built with huge stones, or like a collapsed earth mountain, a large piece was slowly pressing down.The entire camp was quickly shrouded in thick fog, which gradually dissipated until the clouds dropped to about a foot from the ground.

Zhang Shijie's heart moved: "Could it be... this is the 'Star of Yingtou' recorded in the ancient book?"

Reminded by Zhang Shijie, Tan Tianliang gloated and sneered and said, "There is an ancient book: when the head of the battalion falls, the army will be overthrown and the general will be killed, and the blood will flow for thousands of miles. The ghosts are here to warn you!"

Contemplating the various arrangements today is already puzzling, but at this time there is another vision, and the tent is suddenly full of noise.Tan Tianliang took the opportunity to kneel in front of the King of Jin and said: "Your Majesty, this Shen Nianqing has neither the ability to defend the city nor the virtue to obey the public. God will not allow him to avenge his personal revenge against my brother! This 'Yingtou' is a sign of great evil. , I have to be careful, I hope the prince will think twice..."

Before King Jin could respond, Shen Si slapped the table and shouted sharply: "Tan Tianliang, I will bear with you as long as I can, and I will never bear with you! Someone, take it down immediately!"

Just as the two juniors were about to step forward and clasp Tan Tianliang's shoulders, Tan Tianliang's arms shook: "Who dares?"

The school boys were afraid of his usual domineering behavior, so they hesitated and froze in place for a while, and didn't dare to move forward any more.Shen Si pointed at the two junior officers and reprimanded them: "These two have no regard for the commander and disrespect orders. They dragged down and hit forty army sticks each, just to make a warning to everyone else!"

If anyone dared to tie Tan Tianliang, but the pawns were all very quick to tie, the two were quickly dragged out of the tent, overturned to the ground, the stick with thick arms hit their backs and buttocks with the whistling sound, Every time the stick was hit, it made people howl like killing pigs.Everyone listened with sympathy.

After the wailing sound gradually subsided, he calmly yelled again: "Come here, take Tan Tianliang down immediately!"

With the lessons learned from those forty army sticks, no one dared to ambiguously, another two junior officers grabbed Tan Tianliang's shoulder blades to restrain him, and tightened the hemp rope to tie him firmly.

Tan Tianliang was naturally dissatisfied, and shouted loudly: "Shen Nianqing, you have a guilty conscience! You bully others! Why tie me up!"

"Why? I will tell you clearly what the reason is!" Shen Si took a deep breath, "Where is the military judge?"

The military and political law enforcement officers rushed out, cupped their fists and said, "Here!"

Shen Si asked the military judge with his mouth, but his eyes were fixed on Tan Tianliang: "Military judge, let me ask you, what is the crime of laughing, flouting the prohibition agreement, and rushing through the military gate?"

"This..." The military judge gave Tan Tianliang a timid look, then looked at the two people outside the tent who were beaten to pieces, and stammered, "What the general said is a crime against the army, the perpetrator... ...when beheaded..."

Tan Tianming was startled when he heard the words, and cried out in his heart that it was not good.

Shen Si then asked unhurriedly: "Then complaining a lot, angering the general, and not obeying the restraint, what is the crime?"

The military judge bit the bullet and replied: "This is called the crime of building an army, and the offender shall be executed."

Shen Si's voice became more serious: "Let me ask you again, what is the crime of making rumors and lying, fabricating ghosts and gods, wanton heresy, and bewitching the morale of the army?"

Cold sweat trickled down the military judge's temples: "This is the crime of prostitution, and the offender shall be beheaded."

Shen Si pointed Tan Tianliang with his finger: "Tan Tianliang, you and I have spoken beforehand. If you dare to commit another crime, you will never forget it, right?" He waved his hand angrily, "Come here, take Tan Tianliang to the gate Beheaded for public display!"

Tan Tianliang hadn't recognized his own situation yet, so he still yelled arrogantly: "Shen Nianqing, who are you! Do you know who I am, Tan Tianliang! You beheaded me? You..."

His elder brother Tan Tianming knew a lot, so he quickly knelt down in front of King Jin and kowtowed repeatedly: "My lord, please spare my life, please spare my brother's life for the sake of my father's devotion to his father for many years."

Jin Wang knew that Shen Si wanted to use Tan Tianliang to gain power, but after all the Tan brothers had followed him for many years, he really couldn't bear to kill Tan Tianliang, so he took a moment to persuade him: "Nian Qing, it's not clear who will be killed before the battle, and besides, When it's time to employ people, it's better to change it to..."

Before King Jin could finish speaking, Shen Si did not look sideways and ordered: "Come here, blow Lord Jin out of the tent!"

The small school students below were all startled into a cold sweat, who would have the guts to dare to bombard the prince?It's almost fatal!One side is the master, the other is the coach, the two are struggling, and it's the policemen like them who are suffering.

"Nianqing, you..." No matter how forbearing King Ren Jin was, he didn't notice a slight change in his expression.After all, he is a person in a high position, how could anyone dare to play prestige in front of him?Not to mention "bombing" people mercilessly.Thinking of the few promises he had made to Shensi before, he let out two long breaths slowly, suppressed the evil fire in his heart, and finally walked out of the tent with a sullen face.

Tan Tianming didn't expect the situation to turn to this point, he knelt on the ground and followed closely: "My lord! My lord!" almost crying.

After a while, the executioner brought Tan Tianliang's head to the tent and said, "General Shen, Tan Tianliang has already executed the Fa on the spot, please verify it."

Shen Si walked off the general platform with his hands behind his back, stared at the dead man's head calmly for a moment, and then glanced sharply at the crowd one by one: "Since you are soldiers, you should know the principles of military law like a mountain and be disciplined. Win against the enemy. Today Tan Tianliang insists on going his own way to seek his own death, and I hope you can take this as a warning."

Everyone in the audience bowed their heads and remained silent, no longer daring to easily provoke the majesty of the general.Only Tan Tianming staggered and rushed over, hugged his younger brother's bloody head and cried three times, then rolled his eyes and passed out.