[Cehua] The wind and rain are like dark

There is mist in the morning and dew in the evening.Li Jin and his party arrived at their destination in the evening, two days later, under the wet night dew.At the moment before entering the city, Xu Shengbin saw Li Jin straddling the horse, raising his head expressionlessly, looking up at the towering city wall.The dim light of the evening shone from behind, making Li Jin's expression blurry.Xu Shengbin knew what he was thinking about—they were thinking about the same thing—this city was guarded by the imperial historian Pei Zhilin, the city was tall and deep, and there were many soldiers and generals, but just now they were knocking on the gate. At that time, the names and knock-out documents were repeatedly notified, but they were repeatedly confirmed by the guards, and they were not allowed to enter the city until a long time later.Everyone rode their horses and followed Li Jin, but no one said anything.But everyone could sense in their hearts that this city knew their intentions and did not welcome them.

They had no time to delay, but everything was arranged, but Pei Zhilin himself did not appear.All the officers and men raced at full speed and were exhausted from running around for days, but they were at a loss for a while.After a while, someone came and arranged for them to eat and rest.Many brothers are still young and simple-minded. Although they are simple and anxious, they are tired after all. After tidying up, they all go to sleep.

Only Li Jin couldn't sleep.It was dark already.He paced outside the house and gazed into the night.When they entered the city in the evening, they could still see the bustling scene in the city. The city had not been ravaged by the war.But by this time, it was completely silent in the night.Facing the hot wind in the middle of the night, Li Jin walked to the side corridor and sat down against the wall.It was very quiet all around, and no sound could be heard.He was restless in his heart, and this anxiety came from worrying about Pei Zhilin.A lover said that if he didn't see each other for a day, it would be like three autumns. The days when they came out were actually not many days, but it made him feel that a long, long time had passed.While thinking about it, Li Jin unconsciously reached into his bosom to feel it, but there was nothing but a map.

He suddenly realized that he left the city in such a hurry, came here desperately, just for a glimmer of hope, and when he left, he didn't even bring a single thing that could leave his thoughts.He and He Xiaoxiao parted in a hurry, not knowing if they could meet again, but they didn't even have a token with them.He would go back, he had personally promised He Xiaoxiao, and even made a big promise in his heart to all the soldiers and the people of the whole city, but he knew in his heart that he didn't know whether he could go back alive or not.The misfortune encountered at home and the despair when he broke out at Shilongguan had taught him not to leave any chances for luck in this most painful battle in the world.He Xiaoxiao asked him to go back, and he agreed.But everyone knew in their hearts that such an exhortation and promise was nothing but the most desperate tacit understanding of the two—no one could bear to tell the truth.

The crown tether on his chin suddenly made him feel uncomfortable.Li Jin reached out and pulled the rope, took off the hair crown, and held it in his hand.The tether is old, blackened by sweat and dust, and the red and white crest feathers are also old, stained with blood from the past -- Qin Peiyang had it on his head before, and he himself wore it on his head. His head was contaminated when he broke through Shilongguan, and there may be other things.Li Jin touched a small spot of blood with his fingers - the color is brighter, maybe it was stained when he broke out from the city a few days ago - he couldn't tell, he couldn't tell.Only the silver hair crown itself was rubbed so that it shone, and there was no sign of age at all.Many nights after Qin Peiyang's death, he took out this tiara in the dead of night, thinking of Qin Peiyang countless times, and the many brothers who died in Shilongguan.

"...I must...I...must..."

Holding the tiara with both hands, he muttered to himself.Even he himself didn't know who he was guaranteeing.It was He Xiaoxiao, Zhou Shousong, Qin Peiyang, or the people in the city, brothers who died in battle.

It's a pity that although Li Jin thought so in his heart, Pei Zhilin didn't give him such a chance.Until the second day, everyone got up, Li Jin asked around, but the answers he got were all perfunctory, he talked about introductions, but there was no movement for a long time, until the sun was setting again, but they were still entertained with good wine and food , but there was no movement from Pei Zhilin and the others.Everyone couldn't sit still, and Li Jin felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. He called people to inform him again and again, but there was no reply.He had no choice but to ask someone to pass on the message again and again, and his words became more and more urgent.

After being helpless until the third day, Li Jin's words were no longer polite.They came with the purpose of asking for help, and they couldn't talk like this.But Li Jin knew very well that military plans were ever-changing, not to mention the current situation in the city, even if it was delayed for an hour, great changes might happen.He even began to doubt whether the middleman conveyed his words to Pei Zhilin, but even if he doubted, he couldn't do anything about it.If Pei Zhilin didn't see him after all, he couldn't force his way into the mansion, he could only lead his troops away by himself.

It was not until the fourth day that the soldiers who sent the message came to Li Jin, saying that Mr. Pei had invited him to the camp to speak.

The current wartime is special, although the Spike Army has not yet reached here, the entire city has long been guarded, and the government and army camps have long been combined in one place, which is convenient for transfer.When Li Jin arrived, when he saw the layout, he knew that things were going to be very difficult.He and Pei Zhilin were the only two people around, if Pei Zhilin wanted to send troops to rescue, he could promise soldiers, horses, food and grass in front of everyone, why bother to engage in such a furtive battle in private.

But the matter has come to this point, Li Jin didn't intend to hide anything, he just stepped forward to salute and sat down without being humble, and said: "You have read the knock-off document before, the situation is critical, please send troops as soon as possible, Mr. Pei, to save the emergency."

Pei Zhilin agreed a few times politely.Li Jin felt that he couldn't hear clearly.The most embarrassing situation could not be more embarrassing than this. Fortunately, after all, Pei Zhilin has been in the officialdom for many years, so he was quite tactful. He immediately changed the subject and started asking about Li Jin's affairs in the city.

"When we broke through the siege, the camp was about to run out of food. Now that I am here, my lord, I am full of plans. Half a month has passed, and the city must have run out of food long ago." Li Jin stared at a fine porcelain wine glass on the table, which contained clear liquor , flickering slightly under the reflection of the lights on one side, "...the Spike Army has besieged the city for half a year, General Zhou is determined to defend it, and has never had the slightest intention of surrendering or abandoning the city... When he left the city... on the city wall The soldiers are so hungry that they can't even draw their bows, but still..." He seemed to be choking up a little, paused for a moment, but finally didn't say anything, just raised his head and looked at Pei Zhilin with begging eyes.

Pei Zhilin was silent for a long time, and then said: "Li Xiaowei, to tell you the truth, the current situation, it is not an exaggeration to say that everyone is in danger. You only see that my city is high and deep, but you don't know my difficulties. "

Li Jin was also silent.He understood the meaning of Pei Zhilin's polite refusal.Right now, the Spike Army has not captured here, but the Tang army has been declining all the way, and the city has continued to fall. Right now, everyone knows in their hearts that according to this momentum, it is only a matter of time before the Spike Army tramples on their heads. One day later, of course, one day later is more cost-effective.For a person like Pei Zhilin, as a state guard, if he is attacked by the Spike Army, he will be punished by the court even if he can escape in the end.It is inevitable that everyone is unwilling to allocate their only military force and lend it to other places for use.Firstly, the loss of soldiers and generals; secondly, one's own emptiness; thirdly, if the opponent defends the city, the credit is not one's own - who would take up such a thankless job?Li Jin couldn't help sneering in his heart, even though he might have expected this result, he still couldn't help but want to sneer.Facing the powerful enemy iron cavalry, everyone is like this. It is precisely because everyone is like this that they are unwilling to lend a helping hand when their companions are in danger. This caused the Spike Army to capture half of the entire Tang Dynasty faster than expected.Thinking back, Zhou Shousong once lent half of the food in the city to two neighboring counties out of long-term considerations, but the two cities surrendered to the Spike Army soon after receiving the food.Now that I think about it, how ironic!

Just thinking like this in his heart, he still raised his head, he heard himself say something begging, what he said, he seemed to be in a trance and didn't know clearly.In his early years, he devoted himself to literature. Even though he had been in the army for many years, there was still a shadow of the paranoia of a literati who sees through everything but sees nothing, which made him unable to bow his head to others easily—but he also firmly believed in Remember those lessons from the past, Qin Peiyang's death, He Xiaoxiao's waiting, and the responsibilities he bears.These things were so heavy that he bent down willingly and begged Pei Zhilin.

"Captain Li." It was Pei Zhilin who called him, "Why don't you move your chopsticks?"

Li Jin really wanted to stand up and shout something loudly, but he saw himself reaching out, picking up the chopsticks, fiddled with the dishes in front of him a few times, and put them down anyway.

"Master Pei, I can't eat it. As long as I think about it..." He shook his head, "I can't eat it."

There was another awkward silence, the atmosphere has reached this level, the only way to end the conversation as soon as possible, and wait for the next suitable opportunity.But can that crumbling lonely city stand up to their waiting again and again?Li Jin felt a bit of despair, and at the same time, there was an uncontrollable anger surging in his chest. He tried his best to suppress them, otherwise, facing Pei Zhilin's silence, he would not know what was going on under him. What will happen, will it be crying or cursing.

"Since Mr. Pei is in trouble...then why not..."

"Alright, let me think about it again." Pei Zhilin was also eager to find the stairs at this time, and immediately answered the conversation.

Li Jin stood up without a word, saluted, and walked out the door.He wanted to step over the threshold with one foot, but he retracted it. He turned his head and glanced at Pei Zhilin.

"Master Pei, the opportunity to fight is ever-changing, please make a decision as soon as possible." His voice was low, one foot had already stepped over the threshold, but he turned around and repeated, "...please make a decision as soon as possible."

He Xiaoxiao has been very quiet these days and no longer makes any noise.One is that he really wants to understand, and the other is that he has already felt that the camp has reached a very critical juncture. Even at this hour, there is no guarantee whether he can keep it until the next hour. If you make a lot of noise, you are afraid that it will arouse the anger of countless people.Every time he thinks of his younger brother and younger sister, he is even more worried, but he can only bear it silently.The only way to solve it is to paint the unfinished long scroll stroke by stroke.He painted very slowly, because in the past, his paintings were casual, and there were very few such meticulous line drawings.Besides painting, I also write letters.Even though he knew that it was impossible to send one of these letters to Li Jin.

Probably because he found that He Xiaoxiao had been very quiet these days, Zhou Shousong no longer wanted to keep watch over him.What's more, there are people guarding the camp out of the city, so he can't get out no matter what.He Xiaoxiao can occasionally walk around in the camp these days, but he already knows in his heart that Zhou Shousong will never allow himself to find his juniors and juniors, so he doesn't make useless struggles.Although he can walk around in the camp, he doesn't go out often.Not for anything else, just because the atmosphere in the camp has become unbearable.The food is completely cut off, and even the birds and gophers have almost been caught.This year's summer seems to be particularly long, with rotten heat everywhere.The city behind the camp was so quiet that there was no sound, as if there were no people inside, it made people feel creepy.And his He Xiaoxiao's juniors and juniors were in that place - a place that he was close at hand, but he couldn't touch it no matter what.

Being on duty in the city has become what all soldiers look forward to most.Luo Que's income is also limited, and the portion is also small. All the things that can be eaten in the camp have been collected, and tea paper is even mixed in the food that they eat every day.Even these things are not enough, only the city guards can get more than usual weight.In the distance, the wolf fang camp was silent, patrolling and practicing, like a gloating mouth full of fangs, laughing and watching the howling and struggling beings in the Shura hell on the other side.

He Xiaoxiao went out once, and he refused to move half a step again.Only then did he realize that he was so cowardly, and because he hated his cowardice, he was even more ashamed to go out.Zhou Shousong had promised him that as long as there was food in the camp, he would never starve to death.He knew that these ordinary soldiers were on the verge of collapse due to hunger, but he was far from reaching them.He felt selfish, but he knew that no matter what, he didn't want to die.

He Xiaoxiao stood up silently, a commotion outside startled him.It was several soldiers, followed by a lieutenant general, hurriedly walked deep into the camp.Judging by their appearance, it seems that something happened.It was noon at this time, and the heat and hunger made the camp as quiet as death.Soldiers who didn't have to go to the city stopped their drills long ago and were forbidden to walk around in order to preserve their strength.In fact, even if there were no such regulations, no one would be willing to waste a little bit of effort.He Xiaoxiao opened the door and went out, the leading lieutenant didn't seem to see him, he strode forward, but the soldiers behind him saw He Xiaoxiao, He Xiaoxiao followed them and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Mr. He, it's terrible, there is a plague in the camp!"

"...What?!" He Xiaoxiao was shocked into a daze.Zhou Shousong took strict precautions and tried his best to prevent the plague from spreading inside, but he didn't expect it to be unavoidable right now.A shiver ran down his spine, and He Xiaoxiao followed them subconsciously.

That's right, I'm afraid the city has long been a hell on earth.The people on the government side lived close to the camps, and they sent people to the city once or twice, and it was hard to guarantee that nothing would be brought in; moreover, if people were prevented from coming in and out, they would not be able to prevent birds and gophers; and Well water—Actually, Zhou Shousong may not be ignorant of this. The things he did before were just a struggle of procrastination.

"A few people got the disease over there, and they died too quickly..." The soldier who was talking to him shook his head, "It was just uncomfortable the day before, and everyone didn't take it seriously. Now that everyone is hungry, who can feel comfortable? ——who would have thought that he would die the next day, and there would be no time to pass it on.”

"Are you...reporting to General Zhou?"

"Yes, we..." Before they finished speaking, they found that they had arrived at the barracks where Zhou Shousong lived.Someone went in to communicate, and the officer waited for a moment, then suddenly turned around and saw He Xiaoxiao, his expression changed immediately, and he was about to speak, when Zhou Shousong came out from inside.The deputy general told Zhou Shousong the matter in a few words, and Zhou Shousong's face suddenly darkened, but He Xiaoxiao saw that while he was talking to Zhou Shousong, he glanced at him from time to time with dissatisfied eyes.He Xiaoxiao was entering without knowing it, when he suddenly heard the deputy general say: "General Zhou, you sent Captain Li Jin to break out of the siege. It has been a full sixteen days to go south from here, even if you go to the counties under the jurisdiction of Pei Zhilin, At this time, he should have come back long ago, but he hasn't even made a movement until now!"

Zhou Shousong frowned, and was about to speak, only to hear the deputy general continue: "General Zhou, don't blame your subordinates for talking too much, do you know what the soldiers below are saying now?! Li Jin broke out by himself, and absolutely refused Go back to this dead city again! What kind of thing is he?! He was entrusted with a heavy responsibility out of nowhere, General Zhou, you only know that he was brave back then, so why don’t you see if he can take on this heavy responsibility?!”

The resentment in these words stunned He Xiaoxiao, Zhou Shousong frowned even deeper, and was about to speak when he heard someone running over from the other side shouting loudly, it was someone from the government.Zhou Shousong didn't have time to say anything, he just whispered a few words of comfort, then turned around and walked to the distance to talk with the pale-faced person who was rushing towards him.The deputy general didn't get the answer he wanted, and immediately turned around to stare at He Xiaoxiao.He Xiaoxiao felt that his gaze was like two long spears, firmly nailing himself in place so that he could not move.When he turned around like this, all the soldiers also turned their heads.

He Xiaoxiao saw blue and yellow faces.Numbness, resentment, or pity—I don’t know if I’m pitying him or myself.

"Brothers in the city...you have to help each other every day so that you can stand upright and not be seen by Spike's spies—" The general gritted his teeth and stared at He Xiaoxiao. He Xiaoxiao felt that his teeth seemed to be It's about to be crushed, "General Zhou trusts him, and all the soldiers and brothers in the city trust him. It's good for him, he will never return, and he doesn't know how to be happy in such a place at this time-that's all, brothers in the camp , There are also people who are dying of hunger, and things have come to this, and you still have to support an idler like you—you—”

As he said so, his fist was already raised.He Xiaoxiao knew that his anger was driven to the extreme in a desperate situation, and was aimed at Li Jin.It seemed a long time since Li Jin left the city.It's been too long, so long that people start to despair.If this anger was purely directed at him, He Xiaoxiao, he would not be afraid, anyway, he knew that he was an idler, and under such circumstances, he was still able to live peacefully until now, as if he himself had become a It was kind of shameful, but he clearly saw the meaning in this man's eyes - Li Jin must have left the city and would not come back.

"He won't come back, General Zhou doesn't know what he's thinking, he's still fucking raising you—"

"What did you say?!"

Before the words fell, He Xiaoxiao roared.The voices of both of them were hoarse, but when they were mixed together, they were suddenly raised and piercing.Before the surrounding soldiers had time to fight, the two had already twisted and fought together.Being hungry for days, even the lieutenants couldn't eat anything serious. He Xiaoxiao suffered a few serious blows, but he didn't let the other party take advantage of it.People around him were shouting, and he felt that several people were holding him back and dragging him backwards. His forehead seemed to be broken, thick blood was flowing down, and his vision was blurred.

"Let go—let me go! Who said he wouldn't come back! Who said!"

He knew it was him yelling, but it didn't sound like his own voice at all.It's not that he loves fighting alone, he can feel that the other party is unwilling to give up, his ears are filled with hoarse and ugly curses, and he can't tell who is whose, until Zhou Shousong's voice, with a scream, seems to be blunt The heavy knife cut through the chaos.

"——Stop! Stop! There are powerful enemies outside, and famine and plague inside. You don't say you are united, but you still have the strength to fight here! Do you know what that person came to me just now?! Do you know? You know?! On the other side of the government office, there is a female family member who understands the righteousness and commits suicide to feed the army! The soldiers at the top of the city can't bear to share the food...but... also... As the city guard, I just learned the news—" Zhou Shousong's voice choked up for a moment, and he suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "Pass on my military order! From now on, anyone who shakes the morale of the army and causes trouble without permission will all go out of the city with their clothes on and fight the Spike Army!"

Everyone was silent and motionless.For a long while, I only heard one or two choked sobs from the crowd, which soon turned into whimpering weeping.