Chapter 303 Choice
The basin fire warmed the clean room just like spring, but Liu Bei felt like he had fallen into a cold cellar.
Just because Zhang Wen told him straightforwardly that he was going to Kyoto with a team of people to deliver a letter of appeal to the country.
This is strange, this is a good thing, why is Liu Bei so disappointed?
Wouldn’t it be great to go to Kyoto? Not only can he face the saint, but he can also temporarily escape from the whirlpool of the Hebei battlefield. Of course, Liu Bei was also very happy.
But General Zhendong not only said this, he also said one thing, that is, the list of recent defectors has come out.
What exactly is this defection list?
It turns out that when the Han Dynasty fought against the Yellow Turban Army earlier, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were invincible, but there must have been few military officials who defected or surrendered to the other side.
Maybe the soldiers at the bottom are like duckweeds. They surrendered wherever they could to survive. But the military officials all have a certain social foundation. They know that the Yellow Turban Army is just a temporary frost and snow, which will melt sooner or later when the sun rises. Therefore, for the sake of family planning, even if they are captured, they will sacrifice their lives for justice.
But the Han army has changed since the battle with the Taishan army, and it has never won a single battle. At first, the soldiers could still die according to inertia, but as the battlefield situation became clearer and clearer, more and more people knew about the extraordinary power of Taishan Army, and they had more thoughts in their hearts.
As a result, more and more military officials chose to surrender to the Taishan Army after being captured. Originally, the Han Dynasty was still confident. Even if there were some traitors who were ignorant of current affairs, it would not matter to the overall situation.
But then, the Taishan Army defeated the main force of the Han Army by itself in the Battle of Xingyang. Liu Hong's confidence was suddenly drained. He could no longer promise benefits to the middle and lower-level military officials to keep them loyal, so he could only kill these military officials with a butcher's knife until they did not dare to surrender.
As a result, the defection list came out in due course.
So where did this list come from? It's very simple. After the war, the military officials called the roll. Except for those who accurately reported their sacrifices, anyone who was not present was considered to have defected.
Isn't that outrageous? Perhaps many of them were missing on the battlefield, or were they considered defectors just because their bodies were recovered despite being loyal to the country?
That's right, it's so outrageous that the Han army can't screen anyone. However, Hanting was not unreasonable. Considering that there were indeed many who were separated on the battlefield, they gave a one-out-of-ten criterion to determine the final list.
The so-called drawing one out of ten means to draw one person from all the missing names as a traitor. Once he is deemed a defector, his children and family members will all be made into slaves to transport food and crops to the front line.
It's said to be a random draw, but who doesn't know what's going on? Those who are drawn out are often those with no family background. For example, Sima Lang from Wen County also disappeared before, but nothing happened to his family.
This is where Liu Bei's heart chills.
Because of the battle at Xingyang, he lost all his troops. Most of the brothers who had accumulated money in their hometown in Jixian were lost in Xingyang. At that time, in order to give Qianzhao a future, he specially recorded Qianzhao's name in the register of Han army officials.
But now, this has harmed Qianzhao's family.
Liu Bei wanted to ask Zhang Wen to delete the list of people involved. But looking at Zhang Wen looking at him with great energy, he didn't know why, but he couldn't open his mouth.
In fact, does Liu Bei really not know?
unknown to anyone but himself.
But if he really wants to ask Zhang Wen for help, it is unlikely that Zhang Wen will help. Because there is one missing person on this list and one needs to be added. I deleted Liu Xuande’s old story for you, so if I add another one, it won’t be whose old story it belongs to? Therefore, Zhang Wen would not do such an offending thing.
But Zhang Wen does appreciate Liu Bei. If Liu Bei really requested it, he might actually delete it. But Liu Bei's future may be affected. Because Liu Bei is not ruthless enough to do things for Zhang Wen.
In fact, this was Zhang Wen's test for him. Zhang Wen had looked at the place of birth on the list before, and one of them was from Zhuoxian County. He knew that he was probably related to Liu Xuande, so he specifically mentioned this matter.
This is the loyalty test, and Liu Bei obviously passed the test at this time.
Afterwards, Zhang Wen became even more friendly to Liu Bei. After learning that Liu Bei was not yet married, he said that he would betroth his family's niece to Liu Bei.
Finally, Liu Bei received two letters of appeal, one was to the country, and the other was to Zhang Rang. Seeing this, Liu Bei finally understood.
It turned out that it was precisely because of this second letter of appeal that General Zhendong did this act. But what if you know? He Liu Bei has missed the opportunity.
So, after drinking a glass of warm wine, Liu Bei once again left the city in military uniform. This time Zhang Wen didn't send them, so he let these people go down to the city by themselves.
Over there, Zhang Fei, who had been having a good time drinking with everyone, saw that his brother had been in a daze since he left the city, so he expressed concern:
"Brother, what's going on? I'm out of my mind."
As soon as he said this, Liu Bei, who was leading the horse, suddenly stopped.
He looked at Chaoge City behind him and said to Zhang Fei:
"Yide, I may have done something wrong."
Yide is the name of Zhang Fei. Just a few days ago, Zhang Fei turned eighteen. He wrote to Zhang Fei at home and named him Yide.
What is the so-called "virtuous person"? Give wings to the virtuous.
Obviously, in the eyes of Zhang and others, Liu Bei, whom Zhang Fei followed, was such a virtuous man. After all, as a native of Zhuo County, who doesn’t know the big mulberry trees in Lousangli?
The prophecy that "there must be a noble person riding this chariot to ride the clouds" has long been spread throughout Zhuoxian County.
Zhang Fei was stunned when he heard Liu Bei's words and asked unconsciously:
"Ha, what's the matter?"
When Liu Bei didn't say anything, he immediately got on his horse and said to Zhang Fei and others:
"You go to Kyoto first. I will finish my work later and catch up with you."
Then he rode a white horse and headed north.
Zhang Fei and others were confused, not knowing what happened. Zhang Fei had a loud voice and shouted:
"Brother, where are you going?"
Then a sentence floated out:
"I'm going to make up for what I did wrong."
……
As Liu Bei walked this way, our Zhendong General Zhang Wencai read the military report that Liu Bei had sent urgently. Zhang Wen was overjoyed when he saw this.
It turned out that the military report sent by Lu Zhi was exactly the information about the Guangzong Incident of the Yellow Turban Army.
In addition to narrating this incident in the military newspaper, Lu Zhi once again asked Zhang Wen to lead the Han army in Henan to join him. Now that the Hebei Yellow Turbans are in ruins, as long as the Taishan bandits are eliminated, this war will be over.
Even when Lu Zhi wrote this, he couldn't help but beg:
"We hold great positions and have been favored by the Han Dynasty. Our righteousness is to fight against thieves for the country to stabilize the country. Ren is to quell the war and bring peace to the people. I bow my head and ask the general to not use his own body to plot, lead the troops across the Qishui River and destroy them. That thief of chaos.”
After reading this, Zhang Wen couldn't help but burst into tears and expressed his gratitude to Lu Zhi for his kindness. He couldn't help it anymore and said to the doorman outside:
"Go gather some staff, we will go to Qishui camp later."
That's right, Zhang Wen finally made a decision. The rise and fall of this emperor and Han Dynasty depended on this. Zhang Wen wanted to lead the army to win this battle for the Han Dynasty.
Moreover, through various means, he finally allowed the Han army in the Henan camp to rest and reorganize for more than ten days. He sent Cao Cao and Xun You to cooperate with him in acting so as to deal with the visitors in the city.
But now, everything is ready, Zhang Wen is going to his loyal Han army camp.
But when all the staff entered the government and heard that Zhang Wen was going to the Han army camp, they all tried to persuade him.
One suggested that it is snowing heavily now, what should the general do if he is frozen? One said that it was already dark at this time, and the camp must be very cunning and tight. Even if he went there, he would probably not be able to open the wall. When the time comes, it will be freezing cold, where can we go?
Looking at the heavy snow outside the hall, Zhang Wen also felt that everyone was right, so let's wait until the snow stops before setting off.
But now that everyone had been summoned, Zhang Wen ordered his disciples to prepare ingredients and drinks, and they held a banquet under the snow, enjoying themselves. After all, you have been in the army for so long, can't you enjoy it?
In this way, Zhang Wen lost the last chance to leave the city, and then he and everyone toasted and sang in the city, singing and dancing.
……
The snow is still falling, with no end in sight.
The snow was so deep that Liu Bei had already dismounted and led his horse for a walk.
At this time, there was silence between heaven and earth, and the sounds of all things were covered up by the heavy snow. Precisely because of this human silence, Liu Bei's thoughts became clearer and clearer.
He is going to Zhuojun to rescue Qianzhao's family.
He pledged his life to the country, and it was because he trusted him that Liu Bei left his hometown and followed him all the way to Xingyang, where he died in battle. He, Liu Bei, couldn't just accept the invitation.
Everything was silent, and Liu Bei was also reflecting on why he was silent in the city before?
Is it because you, Liu Xuande, can't understand General Zhendong's methods? No, it's you, Liu Xuande, who wants to seize this opportunity and climb up!
On this cold night, young Liu Bei tortured himself like this.
Do you remember, Liu Xuande, you were riding a bamboo horse under the big mulberry tree in Lousangli with your playmates. You pointed at the mulberry tree like a canopy and said vigorously:
"I must ride on this feather-covered chariot."
Although his words are broad, they are full of friendship and loyalty between brothers.
But what now?
For a chance, you gave up the opportunity to fight for the fate of your brother's family.
When did you Liu Xuande change?
After the Xingyang War, did you feel that you wanted to control your own destiny and were unwilling to be driven to death again? Or did you intentionally or unintentionally listen to your senior brother Gongsun Zan’s words about something going on in the world, and then you became a little restless?
"No!"
I, Liu Xuande, am not such a person.
Suddenly, Liu Bei himself interrupted his torture, and he firmly said to himself:
"No, I, Liu Xuande, not only want to stand out, ride on the canopy, and leave a lasting legacy, but I also want this group of brothers to start well and end well."
I told Liu Bei again in my heart:
"Liu Xuande, Liu Xuande. Who do you think you are? Even the great ancestor of Tianzong Shenwu had Han Xin imprisoned in Changle Palace. Who are you? Can you say that there is a good beginning and a good end? The way of this world has always been that if a person is not ruthless, he cannot stand firm. Loyalty, It will always be your weakness.”
The distracting thoughts in his heart came again, but this time Liu Bei finally thought clearly.
He shouted to his heart:
"No, there is nothing you can't do. If you can't do it, it means you don't have enough talent. Then find someone who has the talent to help you. I, Liu Xuande, have the word "righteousness" first. The world, the universe, the mountains and the seas cannot change this ambition. .”
As soon as this thought comes out, for a moment, the heaven and earth, the heart, and the universe are all as clear as light.
All kinds of human growth are actually growth in choices. The worse the dilemma, every choice you make is actually answering the question of who you are and what your values and pursuits are.
And on this snowy night, Liu Bei knew what he wanted and what kind of person he was. After thinking about this, Liu Bei had a smile on his face, his thoughts were clear, and he no longer had any doubts about going north to rescue Lian Zhao's family this time.
But at this moment, he suddenly heard a strange noise.
It was not very clear at first, but soon it became a dense rustling sound, and finally Liu Bei felt the snow shaking.
Liu Bei, who had been tempered by life and death in many wars, immediately realized that this was a large group of cavalry on the way. He flew out, climbed up a tree in a few moments, and then looked for shelter.
Sure enough, about a few miles away, under the bright moon, a large-scale cavalry regiment was slowly coming towards him.
This scene of thousands of troops wearing white robes only shocked Liu Bei for a moment, and then he quickly got down from the tree and mounted his horse close to the ground.
He wanted to rush back and tell the Han troops in Chaoge the news.
Finally, he glanced to the north, which was the direction of Zhuoxian County, where there were Lianzhao's parents whom he wanted to rescue. You wait for me, I, Liu Xuande, will definitely come.
But now, I want to save Chaoge’s robes first!
Wait, why does that person in the distance look so much like Azhao? No, it won't happen. He died in Xingyang a long time ago. How could he be here?
The thought flashed past, and Liu Bei returned with horses to Chaoge again.
……
In the distance, in the wind and snow, a forward team of the Taishan Army's sudden cavalry had already arrived on horseback. The wind and frost combined, and the eyebrows and eyes of these Taishan soldiers were frozen. When you exhale, your breath becomes clouds.
Among the twenty-man squad, the leading military officer was clearly Liu Bei's companion.
Qianzhao was able to enter the army academy because of several merit calculations, and by this time he was already a member of the Taishan Army's collision team. This time Zhang Chong led his men to attack Chaoge. Because he was from the north, Qianzhao was more cold-resistant and more familiar with the geography, so he led a cavalry of twenty people as the outpost of the entire army.
After walking for a while, Qianzhao suddenly gave an order to the entire team:
"Take a break and clear the snow off your feet."
Everyone said nothing and shook the snow off their blouses. Especially the snow on their feet, they deliberately knocked it off with hay, just to avoid it melting and getting their feet wet.
Once your feet get wet, they will freeze, and your feet will freeze together with your steps. By then, even if you take off your shoes, your feet will still be rotten.
Therefore, everyone in the Taishan Army walked and rested all the way. By this time, time is no longer the most important thing, but physical condition and morale are more important.
Here, everyone was taking care of themselves, and then fed themselves and the horses dry food. Only Na Qianzhao looked at the dark south and thought silently in his heart:
"Brother, I can only help you so far. After all, you and I are our own masters."
After a while, Qian Zhao and others continued on their way.
Suddenly, a horse came running through the snow behind him, shouting:
"Every army and department will change clothes on the spot according to the general's order. Then the whole army will rush to Chaoge!"
Following this order, the entire team began to stop, and then the officials took out clean winter clothes from their backpacks and began to change on the spot.
Here, Qianzhao also put on his winter clothes, and the warmth enveloped him again. He squatted on the ground, grabbed a handful of snow and stuffed it into his mouth, then looked at the darkness in the south and whispered:
"Mount and kill!"
(End of chapter)