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Text Chapter 410 Unspeakable

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    It was dark at night, and there was a porcelain oil lamp burning in the upper left corner of the study. It imitated the style of stacked porcelain lamps in old Western Sichuan. The lamp was hidden in the lip orifice and could be filled with water, so it was best to save fuel.

    The young man sat alone at the table and read a secret letter whose content he was already familiar with.

    He has been to the prosperous Jiangnan Road, where the wealthy gates, every household, and the tall eaves shining with pearls and greenery quietly reflect the peaceful atmosphere of the prosperous age.  He has also been to Tai'an City, the most beautiful city in the world. During festivals, lotus lanterns are placed in every ridge in the capital city. The lights are stretching and the candlelight shines brightly. It is like an army marching at night. It is most spectacular.  He had also seen the stars in the town after dark, and the lights were dimly lit.  Passing through small and large villages again and again, it is an unexpected joy to see a tiny light.

    He put down the letter, stood up, walked around the desk, came to the window, and gently opened the window. The letter was not an important military document, but a private and confidential letter submitted by Li Yanchao to Jubeicheng.  Instead of handling it at the Beicheng Military Building, it was sent directly to the desk of the young lord's study.

    The first deputy commander of the Right Cavalry used a very heavy pen, and the ink stains penetrated through the back of the paper.

    Li Yanchao did not write any trivial words, only two simple sentences, "Lu Dayuan does not deserve to die! No one in Beiliang must annihilate the Zuo Cavalry Army and regard it as a shame for the frontier army!"

    In fact, Li Yanchao didn't need to write this letter at all. Xu Fengnian was far more familiar with Lu Dayuan than Li Yanchao about how he used troops and what kind of person he was. How could a military commander who could be mentioned many times by Xu Xiao in the Qingliangshan Assembly Hall after Xu Xiao was an ordinary person?  Xu Xiao left Liaodong with 800 old soldiers, spent forty years in the military, and ended up holding 300,000 Northern Liang cavalry. There were so many generals who served under him. Many people died on the battlefields, but in the end he survived.  There are also many people, including Lu Dayuan, a well-established cavalry general in the Manjia camp. Almost everyone knows about the older generation of military generals who are direct descendants of the Xu family. From Yan Wenluan and Chen Yunchui to Zhou Kang and Yuan Nanting to Liu Jinu and Li Mofan, they all  I once felt sorry for Lu Dayuan who suddenly left the Beiliang Frontier Army. His regret was no less than the departure of the two meritorious generals Wu Qi and Xu Pu.

    Before Lu Dayuan left the feudal residence and rushed to the battlefield, Lu Dayuan visited Xu Fengnian privately in the study and had a heart-felt conversation.  After all, Lu Dayuan is not as relaxed and casual as he appears on the surface when he returns as the head coach of the First Army. On the contrary, Lu Dayuan, who grew up with the Xu family's cavalry, is much more powerful than the new generation of young generals like Li Yanchao and Ning Emei who have risen outside the Liangzhou Pass.  For the younger generation of generals who are accustomed to the saying that "Beiliang Iron Cavalry is the best in the world", Lu Dayuan is more familiar with hard battles. It can even be said that the pain and suffering of those years is engraved in his bones.  Therefore, Lu Dayuan had to make everything clear in front of the young vassal king. Lu Dayuan wanted to reassure Xu Fengnian and himself.

    During that long face-to-face conversation, Lu Dayuan believed that the two cavalry armies, with more than 60,000 riders, would never be able to safely roam in the increasingly narrow gap outside the pass, unless the left cavalry army retreated to the north of Qingyuan Military Town, and the right cavalry army retreated to the north.  Go straight to the east of Chongzuka Military Town, and completely stretch out the front lines in the northeast and southwest, so that there is real room for breathing.

    But in this case, even though the 60,000 cavalry troops are struggling to survive, what should they do if they can resist Beicheng?  Although the left and right cavalry can still contain a certain number of Beimang cavalry, to put it bluntly, the Beimang barbarians don't even need to send out the main force. If they just throw us two low-level cavalry troops as long as they have enough numbers, then we will have to surrender.  Watching the fun on horseback?  I, Lu Dayuan, am a rough old man. I learned how to lead troops in war little by little from the generals. I also consulted people like Xu Pu, Wu Qi, Yuan Zuozong and Chen Zhibao, but I always felt that in the end, I didn¡¯t look like a donkey or a horse.  None of them worked as smoothly as my original method. In the end, I only believed in one truth. Once the cavalry enters the battlefield, they must kill the enemy's most elite field force in one go.  To retain strength, otherwise in a difficult battle with a huge disparity in military strength, the longer the battle is delayed, the more difficult it will be to fight, and the defeat will be inexplicable and even more unwilling.  Difficult battles must be fought by someone. Otherwise, if everyone retreats again and again, they will really have no choice but to wait for death. Is it any different from the old fox and wolf cubs in the Liyang War Department Yamen in the early years?

    Xu Fengnian stood at the window, the autumn air filled the room and the lamp was cold. After opening the window, the coolness became even stronger.

    Xu Fengnian turned around. The man was sitting on the chair in front of the desk. He had an ordinary appearance. If he had not appeared in this study but stood on the field in Guan Nei, he would probably have been regarded as a man with his face turned to the loess and his back to the sky.  of farmers.

    "Your Majesty, when the Right Cavalry and I send out troops at the same time, I will take the lead in accelerating the northward thrust one day after the two armies have staggered the distance, attracting Murong Baoding's troops to gather the main force. If nothing happens, Murong Baoding will definitely hear the news.  And move, ask Wang Yong, the commander of the Aquarius Prefecture, for reinforcements. It is even very likely that the Rouran Iron Cavalry will be temporarily deployed to respond to the Donglei Private Cavalry. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, even if our left cavalry army is trapped in a tight siege, it will still kill the enemy's elite.  Forty-five thousand riders!¡±

    "Your Majesty,Excuse me, please help me tell Mr. He that I'm sorry. Tens of thousands of border soldiers were entrusted to me, but I could only lead them to death. My conscience is uneasy, but I have to do this.  Lu Dayuan is waiting for the old man underground, and he will be beaten and scolded when the time comes!  However, it¡¯s best for me to wait another ten or eight years, haha. By then, the old man will probably have no energy left to beat people. With a little thought, I will be reincarnated.  "

    After the man stood up, he looked at the young vassal king who also stood up at that time, and said in a deep voice: "If it turns out that I, Lu Dayuan, have done something wrong in the future, no one will have to bring wine to the grave in the future, and I won't be able to drink the regretful wine Of course.  , provided that I still have a grave."

    The two of them walked towards the door of the study room together. Lu Dayuan suddenly asked: "Your Majesty, do you think anyone will remember us in a few decades? Remember the war that happened here?"

    Xu Fengnian shook his head and said, "Not necessarily."

    ¡°Damn itHaha, please forgive me, Your Majesty, I am just a rough person, and a dog¡¯s mouth cannot spit out ivory.¡±

    "It's okay, so is Xu Xiao. I've long been used to it."

    Everything is still vivid in my mind, and those words seem to still echo in my ears, lingering for a long time.

    Xu Fengnian pressed his hands on the window and leaned forward. Lu Dayuan, who rushed to the battlefield with the intention of dying, did not confess his last words. If there were any, it would be too familiar. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince could often hear them when he was young, but it was just that he had changed his mind.  Just a name.

    Xu Fengnian slowly turned her head and looked at the study door.

    The man named Lu Dayuan, at that time, finally clasped his fists and said: "The last general, Lu Dayuan! The former cavalry commander of the Manjia Battalion and the current deputy commander of the Zuo Cavalry Army! Ask the general to fight!"

    Xu Fengnian¡¯s lips moved slightly at that time, but when those two words came to her lips, she could not say them out.

    Ready to fight!

    Xu Fengnian suddenly pressed down hard with both hands, and the bricks and stones on the window sill under his fingers suddenly shattered.

    Xu Fengnian took a deep breath and waved his hand towards the dim area outside the window, indicating that the dead man in Fushui Fang over there should ignore it.

    He walked back to the desk and pulled out a piece of paper from a yellowed military book.

    What was written on the paper was a man who was far away from the customs and participated in the construction of Jubei City. He said some nonsense to his wife and children who had left his hometown in Lingzhou. This letter from home said that after autumn here, the weather is not too cold yet, and the weather is not too cold.  The thousand-layer cloth shoes made by me are sufficient and not too worn. The clothes I brought with me to Jubeicheng at that time are also warm enough. I also met two fellow villagers from Longqing County, Lingzhou. When I have time, I will go to a small town outside the city for a few drinks.  The price of small wine is cheaper than in Guan Nei.  I heard that we won the battle in Liuzhou. The wall of Jubei City is very high. The barbarians in Beimang will definitely not be able to defeat it in a year and a half. She and her two sons can relax. From now on, as long as they can still receive mail every month  The wages means that there is peace outside the customs and there is no war.  Finally, the man told his wife not to worry about money and not to feel bad. The most important thing is for her children to study.

    The family letter is sent to a place in the Central Plains, which is the man¡¯s ancestral home.

    This piece of paper is just a copy, and the real letter from home has naturally been sent out long ago.

    "After the man arrived outside the customs, he was illiterate himself, so he couldn't write a letter home. So he found a poor and unknown scholar in the market to help write it for him.

    Xu Fengnian looked down at the thin piece of paper spread out on the desk under the dim light.

    The last letter from home was sent just after Lu Dayuan left Jubei City.

    On the first day that Lu Dayuan re-entered the frontier army, Beiliang Fushui Fang had already made a clear investigation of this man's situation in the small town of Longqing County, Lingzhou for more than ten years, and sent them to the feudal residence in Jubeicheng one after another.  , and then put them together on the desk of this study room.  After that, every move of Lu Dayuan in Beicheng or the Zuoqi Army was recorded and filed by the Fushui Fang spies in detail. Xu Fengnian did not stop this. It was precisely because of these seemingly unhumane and dark rules that Beiliang was able to win the battle on the battlefield.  Many, many people died in Shang Shao.  However, when Lu Dayuan asked someone to write a family letter for him, Xu Fengnian made a special trip to the execution room and asked the leader of the Fushui room who was responsible for related matters not to interfere.

    Only this letter made Xu Fengnian regret it and let the Fushui Fang spies intercept the family letter. Unfortunately, the old scholar who was in the business of writing family letters had also left the border with the team.  If he really wanted to look for it, he could find it even with the power of Fushui Fang outside the pass, but Xu Fengnian gave up after thinking about it. He felt that since he had the handwriting of the family letter in his hand, it would not be difficult to forge a letter every month with his calligraphy attainments and skills.  Disaster.

    But at this moment, Xu Fengnian regretted it again.

    Because he found that he couldn't pick up the pen at all. Even if he picked up the pen again and again, he would always drop it, and he didn't know how to write the content of the letter home after one month.

    Xu Fengnian stood up, walked out of the study and came to the yard.

    Still unable to calm down completely, Xu Fengnian's figure rose from the ground, with a long and sweeping figure.He turned away from the horse trail along the south wall of the North City, jumped slightly, and sat cross-legged on the top of the wall.

    Soon there was a sound of armor vibrating in the distance on the horse trail. When the soldiers discovered that it was the young feudal lord who came to the city in person, they quickly retreated in silence. Although there was no whispering, each of them noticed the heat in the other's eyes.

    Xu Fengnian clenched his fists and propped them on his legs, sitting north and facing south, looking at the night in the distance.

    Sitting there all night.

    Before dawn, he quietly returned to the feudal residence. Not long after he sat down in the study, a spy chief came to report that three masters from southern Xinjiang, Mao Shulang, Cheng Baishuang, and Ji Lu'an, were about to arrive at the suddenly sparsely populated town in the south of the city.  market.

    Xu Fengnian asked him to prepare a horse, and after spending most of an hour dealing with the military and political affairs that gradually accumulated on his desk last night, he left the city alone.

    It¡¯s not that Xu Fengnian made a special trip to welcome the three Central Plains Grandmasters. Xu Fengnian mainly wanted to take a look at the market. There wasn¡¯t much reason.

    Xu Fengnian came to the town on horseback, got off his horse, and led the horse forward slowly. There were wine shops, teahouses, inns, and scattered shops of all kinds. Of course, he couldn't leave without long legs. However, the business was extremely deserted, and some shops simply  It was closed down, which is reasonable. Three to four thousand people were evacuated in just half a decade. What's more, a large number of civilians who participated in the construction of the city also began to return to their hometowns in the pass in batches under the escort of the local garrison.  Along the way Xu Fengnian walked, there were sleepy shop assistants squatting under the eaves and yawning. Business had dropped sharply, and they were happy to take a break from their busy work.  There were merchants who loudly shouted to their servants to move their goods and set out to move south, looking worried.  The brothel woman, who had nothing to do, would lie on the railing and look up at the red lantern. It was rare for her to get up so early.  There was a strong escort escorting Lingzhou's rare objects here. He just wanted to be safe and ignored the shopkeeper's frown.

    Xu Fengnian suddenly saw an old Taoist priest pushing a cart southward at the end of the street. He was as skinny as a stick and had weak arms. There was a linen stick inserted diagonally on the tricycle to attract business. From top to bottom, there were two lines of regular characters written meticulously, "Zi Wei"  Dou Shu, Bagua Six Yao, and so on." "Facial and palmistry, Qi Men Dun Jia, all right."  Xu Fengnian smiled knowingly. This fortune teller was really sincere. He led the horse forward quickly and bent down to help push the car.

    The white Taoist robe worn by the old man was neither fish nor fowl. Anyway, Xu Fengnian had never seen it when traveling in Beimang, Liyang. This is not surprising. Taoist temples that can obtain ultimatums from the imperial court have very particular styles of Taoist robes.  , were forged and sold without authorization. Once discovered by the county government, the crime was definitely not small. When Xu Fengnian first traveled around the world, the Taoist robe he rented from others was also a robe with shady origins and absolutely no trace of its roots. Even if the government was on the lookout for it,  Even if you get to the bottom of things, it's hard to convict him.  The man in front of him is obviously of the same mind as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who was in extreme despair back then.

    The fortune teller, who was reluctantly called a Taoist priest, narrowed his eyes and said: "This young master must come from a wealthy family. If the poor Taoist's prediction is correct, he is the younger brother of a general whose father's generation has great power outside the customs."

    Xu Fengnian revealed the secret and said with a smile: "Sir, you saw that my horse was able to follow its owner after letting go of the reins. It must be a Beiliang war horse. With the war about to happen, I actually dared to take the horse for a stroll here.  So it can be inferred that I am the general¡¯s younger brother, right?¡±

    The fortune teller suddenly smiled forcefully, and the bit of fairy demeanor he managed to squeeze out disappeared, and he was returned to his original shape.

    Xu Fengnian said with emotion: "To be honest, I was similar to my husband in my early years. In order to make a living, I pretended to be a fortune teller and set up a stall as a fortune teller. My husband is better than me, and he still has a tricycle."

    Xu Fengnian joked: "But to be honest, sir, your banner is really outstanding. Can you have business?"

    The old man laughed and said, "Actually, it doesn't matter. I make money here mainly by writing family letters for people, or selling some small peace charms folded with yellow paper. They cost three cents each. The business is not bad. Those foreigners from Beiliang have not left.  At that time, it was enough for me to eat meat and drink wine twice a day. Ordinary people like me, that is, ordinary people, when we kneel before Buddha and Bodhisattva, we must first seek peace and stability. Then we seek marriage.  , seek the right time. Only in the end will you seek fame and wealth. Young Master, do you think this is such a rough idea?"

    Xu Fengnian nodded and said softly: "The common people are actually using three pennies to get peace of mind. Sir, he is doing a good deed."

    As if remembering those happy times of drinking and eating meat, the old man smiled broadly, but soon he couldn't help but said angrily: "If our prince were more powerful, my business would be better for a month or so. Who would have thought  The barbarians from Beimang have beaten me to Jubeicheng so early. It was all for nothing that I got into this business by selling iron and steel. I have suffered a lot of losses. When I return to the pass this time, life will be difficult."

    Xu Fengnian smiled and said: "That vassal king really deserves to be scolded. What a great martial arts master, he is useless."

    ??Probably because he realized that the young man next to him was also going to beThe descendants of ?? are closely related to the rise and fall of the Xu family in Beiliang. When traveling in the world, it is a rule that if you talk too much, you will be wrong. It is also taboo to talk about shallow things and deep things. So the old man quickly changed his tone and smoothed things over by himself: "You can't say that.  , It¡¯s not easy for our prince to support such a big fortune, and his luck is not very good. Soon the barbarians from Beimang came over and didn¡¯t even give them a chance to fart. The prince and the frontier army were still pretty good  difficult."

    The old man may have really lost his compilation, and became more and more embarrassed. He seemed helpless, and his strength in pushing the cart was also a bit weak.

    Xu Fengnian pressed lightly and said with a smile: "Sir, what you said is a bit contrary to your will. Don't worry, although I am the younger brother of Beiliang general, I can still listen to other people's words. I don't care about good or bad words. Of course,  Hearing good things makes you happier.¡±

    The old man and Xu Fengnian were pushing the cart south together, and they were about to cross the bridge and cross the river soon. The old man turned back and took a deep look at the towering city wall, and suddenly stamped his feet and said: "Some words are really uncomfortable to hold in. You are going to take me to Jubei City for questioning, sir.  The little old man has to spit it out!"

    Xu Fengnian smiled bitterly and said, "Come on, I'm sure it's not a nice thing to say. Just say it, sir, and I'll pretend I didn't hear anything."

    The old man chuckled, straightened his back, turned to the north, and pointed at the Jubei City, "Sir, I have heard a lot of rumors recently, saying that our prince is too courageous to leave so many veterans unused.  How to fight this battle with those little babies that don¡¯t have all their hair? Who won the first Liangmang battle? Wasn¡¯t it General Liu Jinnu from Hutou City in Liangzhou? Wasn¡¯t Liu Liu  General Wang Lingbao of the Prefecture Dragon and Elephant Army? Didn¡¯t it rely on Youzhou Hulukou¡¯s lying bow Heluan Xiaguang and so many captains who died in the three cities? Didn¡¯t it rely on our Beiliang¡¯s most amazing Snow Dragon Cavalry and the two teams that have been built for many years?  Heavy cavalry army? How many young foreigners are there? Yu Luan Dao can barely count as one. Let me tell you, regardless of how many victories Liuzhou has won before, at this critical moment, young people are unreliable.  of!"

    The old man turned to look at the young man's profile and asked, "Sir, what do you think?"

    Xu Fengnian looked into the distance, "The old gentleman makes some sense, but things in the world are strange, and things that make sense are not necessarily things that make sense."

    The old man's eyes widened, "Sir, are you a scholar or a general? Why can't I understand what you say?"

    Xu Fengnian sighed, "I can't afford to be called a scholar. It's correct to say that I am a disciple of generals. I grew up drinking sand, smelling horse manure, and listening to drums."

    After boldly expressing his feelings, the old man seemed to be in a much more relaxed mood. He rarely joked: "Apart from the fact that you can't explain the truth clearly, the young master is actually quite easy to talk to and quite reasonable."

    Xu Fengnian said helplessly: "Old sir, is this a compliment or a disparagement?"

    The old man laughed and said, "Young master, just pick out the nice things to say. They will definitely be right."

    Xu Fengnian also felt a little lighter. The gloom between his brows gradually faded away, and he smiled knowingly: "I have learned a lesson."

    The old man did not let Xu Fengnian help push the cart onto the ferry bridge. He pushed the cart south alone and said to himself in a low voice: "It would be great if the general was still alive. How dare the barbarians from Beimang come to our side? Beiliang  They don¡¯t know how to fight at all. So what if we win the war now? So many people have to die. I heard that there are 300,000 stone tablets behind Qingliang Mountain, which are all vain things. It¡¯s better to be alive than to be dead.  Is it better to leave a name?"

    Xu Fengnian stood there, silent.

    The old man would definitely not guess the identity of the young man, nor would he think that a great master of martial arts would help him push the cart, so he continued to complain: "Let me see, since the Central Plains court is not a good thing,  Rather than us Beiliang border soldiers dying outside the pass and losing a good reputation, it is better to open the gate directly and let the Beimang barbarians enter the pass. As long as the two sides agree in advance not to bump into each other inside and outside Beiliang Daoguan, everything will be fine for sure.  Let those white-eyed wolves in the Central Plains suffer. We, the people of Beiliang, can live our stable lives and save more worry and effort. I just can't see the young vassal king, otherwise I must persuade him not to act out of anger and listen to the old man.  I advise you to stop trying to be a hero."

    Xu Fengnian squinted and raised his head, the autumn wind ruffled the young man's hair at the temples.

    Maybe it was because he was miserable, maybe he had a guilty conscience, maybe he was both, so from the beginning to the end, the young lord did not speak.

    On the south side of the bridge, the back of the old man pushing the cart is getting further and further away.

    Xu Fengnian seemed to remember something and shouted at the top of his voice: "Old sir, don't be in a hurry when traveling south, and don't forget that within twenty days, there will be three post roads from Jubei City to Liangzhou Pass. Everyone can use them. No need to  Take the long way around!¡±

    The old fortune teller actually seemed to have heard these words and paused briefly., probably to indicate to the young man that he understood, and then continued south.

    After the feudal residence was built, the study would receive confidential intelligence from both inside and outside the customs every day, including the Fushui Room and the Eagle Room. Beiliang intelligence had always been divided into three levels according to priority. Only the intelligence that was originally qualified to be sent to the desk of the study was  A-class espionage, but the young feudal king asked for an extra level, not the second-class B-class espionage, but the lowest-class C-class espionage. In fact, it has little military and political significance, but it is just used by the new Liang King to relieve tension, although the two rooms are bound to  After a certain level of screening, it is impossible to send all of them to the feudal study room, but the number is still large, and most of them involve the situation of Guan Nei Academy or the public opinion of scholars.  The contents are varied, including some radical remarks by some young scholars. The young lord always only browses but does not comment on them.

    There is a comment in it, which the young feudal prince copied down in his own hand as a daily self-examination.

    "With weak virtues but high status, small wisdom but big plans, small strength but heavy responsibilities, such a stupid feudal king sits on the border, and the Beiliang border army will definitely be defeated!"

    The army is pressing down on the country, the last wishes of the fathers, the bitter cold of the hometown, the constraints of the imperial court, the beautiful Central Plains, the innocent people, and the will of heaven.

    They are all burdens, layer upon layer.

    On the north side of the bridge, the young man, who was actually less than four years old, slowly squatted down by the river, dusted off a piece of licorice, put it in his mouth and chewed it gently.

    Mouth full of sweetness.
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