Chapter 828 Prophecy
Wu Xi sighed, facing the night wind, and looked at the enemy camp outside the barrier.
In the dark moonlight, the enemy's tents, camps, and the ravine in front of the camp were all hidden in darkness, but handfuls of firelight could be seen two or three miles away.
The starry bonfire is like a cluster of bright stars, surrounding the jade. Just being inside the wall, you can feel a strong sense of suffocation, as if the light of the flame is strangling your throat.
Although they repelled wave after wave of enemy attacks during the day, Wu Xi was not very happy.
Not only because the troops in his hands were lost a lot in defending the city, but also because of the fierce momentum displayed by the enemy troops, which made Wu Xi despair.
There was a time when our Han family used troops in such a vigorous manner, but it has all passed.
The young military officer who said that he could not be defended was the emperor who stayed with Wu Xi, and he was considered a knowledgeable soldier. After patrolling behind the wall with Wu Xi, he could easily come to this conclusion.
But Wu Xi has been on the battlefield for a long time, and of course he knows it, but as a general, he cannot say these depressing words. He can only hold back his irritability and sigh:
"It's a pity that if I had three thousand soldiers and horses left, the situation would never be like this."
But he was worried about being remembered by the emperor's attendants nearby, so he added:
"I don't mean anything else. I just want to say that I, Wu Xi, can give orders in the face of danger. It is not a pity to die, but what does it do to the overall situation of the country!"
In fact, the attendant next to him didn't care about Wu Xi's resentment at all, and he himself was very panicked.
As a promising disciple of the emperor, this person is not willing to wait for death in Jade Bi. Others can abandon him, and he can sacrifice for the overall situation, but it must not be himself.
Therefore, after the attendant said that to Wu Xi, he immediately expressed his true thoughts.
He turned around and said to Wu Xi sincerely:
"General, we can't sit still and wait for death. I know there are still soldiers and horses in the east of the river, so I want to go out overnight to get reinforcements for the general."
Wu Xi was silent. Of course he knew the person's subtext, but he was a little unwilling to do so and asked:
"It seems that the troops in Hedong are empty. I wonder where the waiter can get troops?"
But after saying this, Wu Xi felt a little regretful, because wasn't this a slap in the face of the other party?
Sure enough, the waiter looked worried, but still managed a smile and said:
"General, what you said is wrong. The troops in this state and county are empty, but the local wealthy family with the right surname has soldiers. I will go to Anyi to raise tens of thousands of troops for the general. When the banner goes north, I will cooperate with the general inside and outside, and we will be able to build a An unparalleled achievement.”
Wu Xi smiled, he meant something:
"Waiter, the wind is strong this night. You will definitely get sick if you blow like this. Let's go down the wall first. We can talk about this matter tomorrow after we have defeated the enemy."
He secretly ridiculed the waiter for his weak body, how could he do such a thing?
But the waiter was very tough. He held his head high and replied:
"General, why should we underestimate people? Although I am a swordsman, I can also ride a horse and kill people. What's more, reinforcements are urgently needed, how can we postpone it until tomorrow? The enemy army has just been repulsed by our army today, so it will definitely be too late. Arrange a siege, this is a good time for me to break out.”
After speaking, he looked at Wu Xi and said seriously:
"Does the general suspect that I am greedy for life and afraid of death?"
Wu Xi chuckled and suddenly pointed to the bonfire outside and said to him:
"Since you, waiter, are as heroic as the lake and the sea, there really is a way to help you break out of the encirclement."
The waiter couldn't help being happy and said with a smile:
"Just do whatever the general wants, and I will definitely support you."
When Wu Xi heard this, he clapped his hands, pointed to the place with the brightest fire outside the wall, and said happily:
"Look, that's where the bandit commander must be camping. It's just a hilltop, and there aren't many soldiers. As long as you come with me out of the city to attack at night, you'll definitely be able to take advantage of the enemy's newfound strength and kill them with their might. , if you are lucky, you can capture the handsome thief. What does the waiter think?"
As soon as Wu Xi said these words, the face of the waiter opposite changed and he said angrily:
"If General Wu doesn't agree, he won't agree. Why bother making fun of me? The enemy's troops are gathering outside the wall. Can we succeed in a sneak attack with just a little bit of night light and just a few of us? I'm afraid I'm not going to seek death. Besides, someone is a knife and a pen." Officials, how can they do this if they are not fighting against each other?”
After saying that, the waiter waved his sleeves and got off the wall. He knew that Wu Xi would not be able to find an opportunity to escape from the wall, so naturally he did not want to continue to blow the cold wind here.
As soon as the waiter left, Wu Xi, who had been smiling just now, spit on the ground and cursed:
"National affairs are ruined by this group of sharp-shooting officials. They talk nonsense all the time, but in the end they are all cowards."
After saying that, Wu Xi ignored the stinging man, walked down the wall, and went straight to the arch.
In the archway, a group of fifty armored soldiers was waiting there.
Their armor was wrapped in cloaks and their knives were wrapped in cloth, blending into the night.
When Wu Xi came down, he didn't say anything. He just nodded to the military officer on the wall and motioned for him to open the door.
After a while, Wu Xi led the fifty soldiers out of the wall and went straight to the Taishan military camp outside the wall.
Wu Xi is no coward.
……
At night, Lu Kuang was listening to the military chief's lecture on "Han Shu" in the camp.
Listening to the "Book of Han" can be regarded as a trend among the generals of the Taishan Army.
In the evening, Lu Kuang saw that his brother had a falling out with Pan Zhang, and he felt very irritated. So after dinner, he did not go to his brother, but dealt with the matter alone in the big tent.
At this time, the chief clerk entered the account as usual and wanted to teach Lu Kuang "Book of Han". Lu Kuang didn't say anything and only asked him what he had read today.
The chief secretary still attaches great importance to the lecture on "Han Shu". He does his homework in advance every time. When Lu Kuang asked about it, he replied:
"Read "The Biography of Guan Fu" today."
Lu Kuang nodded and asked the chief clerk to start speaking.
According to past practice, the chief clerk recited the entire text in series, and then used it as an extension to inspire Lu Kuang to discuss it with him.
But when the chief clerk was reading, he obviously found that Lu Kuang was always distracted and asked quickly:
"Military Lord, what are you worried about today?"
When Lu Kuang saw that the chief clerk had discovered it, he sighed and said to the chief clerk:
"Cen Jun, I'm a little tired today. Let's talk about this tomorrow."
The chief clerk didn't think there was a problem. He knew that Lu Kuang was indeed busy with military affairs. Lu Kuang had changed a lot in recent years, and he became more and more like a general.
Therefore, the chief clerk bowed respectfully and exited the big account.
As soon as the chief clerk left, Lu Kuang was discouraged.
Yes, he was indeed mentally disturbed, but it was not that he was tired from military duties, but that he was shocked by the biography of Guan Fu that the chief clerk just told.
Lu Kuang was just a ranger from the Dongping Kingdom. He had never had any serious education before, let alone knowing Guan Fu.
This was the first time he heard about Guan Fu's deeds. From the introduction of the master's book, he knew that this man and the king were from the same family, and both had the surname Zhang. However, because his father was the retainer of Guan Ying, Marquis of Yingyin, he was Guan Ying gave him the surname Guan, so he changed it to Guan.
Lu Xiang knew who Guan Ying was.
The chief secretary had told him before that he was also a mighty man who conquered the world with Emperor Gaozu, and the old brothers especially liked to hear this man's story.
It is said that this man was just a cloth merchant in the early days, but later he met Emperor Gaozu and became prosperous. Later, he was awarded the title of Marquis for his outstanding military exploits.
It can be said that Guan Ying's deeds always remind his old brothers in the army of him, so he is particularly respected. Therefore, when the chief clerk talked about the relationship between Guan Fu and Guan Ying, Lu Kuang listened.
It sounded fine at first. According to the chief book's narration, Guan Fu was worthy of his surname. During the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion in the former Han Dynasty, he led thousands of people to join the army. He directly made military exploits and was named Zhonglang General.
Later, his father died in the battle, and he refused to return home to bury his father. Instead, he continued to fight and used the blood of his enemies to honor his father.
It can be said that at this point, Guan Fu's behavior is really in line with the temperament of the old Taishan Army brother.
If he hadn't been concerned about his image, Lu Kuang would have praised him and sang:
"What a man!"
But something seemed wrong to Lu Kuang later on.
Later, Guan Fu was indeed promoted for his military merits. He first became the prime minister of the country, and then became the eunuch's servant during the reign of Emperor Wu.
However, this man was drunk and beat the then guard in Changle Palace, but the then Emperor Wu spared his life. Then at the wedding banquet of the prime minister at that time, he had a conflict with another military general and cursed him at the wedding banquet of the prime minister.
And finally? Guan Fu was beheaded because of this incident.
After Lu Kuang listened to the second half of the story, he was sweating profusely because he thought that his brother's behavior was exactly the same as that of Guan Fu.
Guan Fu's great achievements were all due to his mouth. His younger brother's achievements were not as good as Guan Fu's, and his temper was even worse. I'm afraid the final result would be even worse than Guan Fu's.
The more he thought about it, the more Lu Kuang sweated.
Just when he was thinking about how to persuade his brother to restrain his temper, he suddenly heard the alarm bell ringing outside the tent, and then a person rushed in from outside the tent, shouting:
"Military leader, the enemy troops came out of the wall to attack at night."
Lu Kuang shouted and rushed out of the tent.
To the south of the camp, shouts of killing were coming from the darkness. Lu Kuang immediately gave an order to the general beside him:
"Okay, just wait for them to come out and die. Let each battalion hold on to the barrier and move forward with the cavalry to help the front camp."
Lu Kuang is indeed becoming more and more like a general, and he laid out a countermeasure in a few words.
Not long after the order was given, the sound of rapid horse hooves sounded in the darkness.
Those were the three hundred cavalry directly under Lu Kuang's tent. They had just received the military order and went straight to the front camp.
It was so quick to send out troops.
……
When Wu Xi attacked at night, Yang Mao was resting in Pan Zhang's camp.
This afternoon, they started to attack as soon as they arrived at Yubi. They thought it would be an easy task, so the barrier was not overhauled.
But who knew that the jade biscuit really tasted like a copper wall and an iron wall. Pan Zhang was red-eyed after not being able to put it down for half a day, and he planned to fight at night, but Yang Mao persuaded him to stop it and let people build the fortress quickly.
But due to limited time, we mainly built the outer barrier. It was too late for the inner barrier, so we had to dig a gully, lay some hay inside, cover it with some wooden boards, then press a layer of soil, and then spread it. layer of hay.
The officers and soldiers of the five or six battalions in the inner circle survived the night in the ravine.
And Yang Mao, like these brothers, also lived in the ravines. In terms of sharing the hardships with the scholars, Yang Mao could still do it.
Of course, the Lu brothers in the outer circle were also good people, and they brought some soup and meat to Yang Mao to help the brothers in the inner circle cool down.
But Yang Mao was old after all. He was a light sleeper and rarely slept in ravines, so he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.
At this moment, shouts of killing came from the south, and Yang Mao sat up immediately.
But Pan Zhang next to him was still the old god and didn't take this matter to heart. He was still curled up in a big cloak.
Seeing Yang Mao being so nervous, Pan Zhang smiled and said:
"Privy Council, this is just a little trick of the enemy. The jade is only so big, but even if it is filled with people, it is not much. If a night attack with such a small number of people can defeat the Lu brothers outside, then they will not survive. Now.”
Sure enough, it didn't take long before the shouts of death in the south became much weaker.
Yang Mao has not been on the front line for a long time. Now he sees Pan Zhang's calmness and the decisiveness of the Lu brothers in front. He admires them very much and has a different understanding of these people.
When the time came at five o'clock, Lu Kuang from the former army came with Lu Xiang to report to Yang Mao about the battle just now.
Not sure if he was overthinking it, but Yang Mao saw that Lu Xiang seemed much more obedient now, and even bowed down to salute when he saw him.
Yang Mao felt a lot more comfortable looking at it.
When Lu Kuang saw that Yang Mao looked good, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he was right to bring Lu Xiang along, and he should show his face in front of the Privy Council more.
He saw that the expression on his brother's face became a little less unruly, and he was still satisfied.
It seems that my brothers finally understand that the army is not just about fighting and killing, but also about human relations.
His teachings were not in vain.
Then Lu Kuang reported on the battle just now.
He said that an unknown number of enemy troops came out of the wall at night, preparing to cross the trench and sneak attack the Taishan Army on the outside.
But the Taishan troops on the outside were all veterans and were very heavily guarded at night, so they were quickly discovered.
When the enemy troops who attacked the camp saw that they were discovered, they quickly retreated, but were soon overtaken by the assault cavalry sent by Lu Kuang.
After a fight, the sudden cavalry killed more than ten heads, while the remaining Han soldiers took advantage of the night to retreat back to the jade.
Yang Mao didn't think there was a problem when he heard the number of beheadings, because he had also fought in the war before and knew that it was very difficult to get the heads at night.
So in his opinion, if he got more than ten heads, he would have killed at least five times the number of enemies, which was considered a small victory.
But Yang Mao actually didn't know that Lu Kuang's sudden cavalry suffered a big loss.
When they were chasing, the enemy troops had already rushed outside the wall, and suddenly they turned around and counterattacked. Then more enemy troops descended from the jade pendants, killing and wounding many of the assault riders.
Of course, Lu Kuang did not deceive Yang Mao. After all, Yang Mao did not ask about the number of casualties.
After listening to Lu Kuang's report, Yang Mao sighed:
"The enemy army still has warriors. Let each battalion not slack off and build the remaining barriers tomorrow. This arrogance will also change. We must have plans for a protracted war in Yubi. After all, the lions Botu must also try his best.”
All the generals agreed.
But no one could have imagined that Yang Mao’s words came true.
(End of chapter)