When the army was resting midway, Cui Zhongzhen found Fang Jie and sat down next to him and asked.
Fang Jie knew who the person he was talking about was, so he smiled and shook his head.
"Is this all about this?"
Cui Zhongzhen asked again.
"that's all"
Fang Jie nodded.
"He is the well-deserved coach of this team. After the prince has left, he should be in charge. You see, the situation is good now The generals have no objection to Lord Mou's command. Only by uniting the team can we win the battle. This is an eternal truth. . The enemy cannot defeat us, but it is unwise for us to scheming over such trivial matters."
Hearing what Fang Jie said, Cui Zhongzhen couldn't help but shook his head: "When I was a boy, the husband who taught me told me many allusions, which made me understand the intrigues between each other. I didn't think it was wrong at the time, but in fact it was because I was young and playful and had no sense of it. Think about it carefully. The later you go, the more you will understand the cold cruelty behind these allusions. Behind every smiling person are countless wronged corpses."
Fang Jie hummed and had no words.
"The gentleman who taught me back then was a man who had a deep understanding of this kind of political tactics. At that time, he was the staff of a special general in the imperial court's merchant army. This special general came from a poor family, but he was extremely brave and intelligent. It was his idea to force the Shang army to fight south of Mangdang Mountain, but in the end, didn't this huge credit fall on the second prince?"
Cui Zhongzhen picked up a withered piece of fur grass and held it in his mouth: "At that time, the competition among the princes for favor was the most intense. The second prince asked the Queen Mother to intercede, and the late emperor agreed and let the second prince be the marching general and accompany the troops. Marshal He Ruolan was marching south. At that time, the other general was assigned to protect the second prince. He told the second prince his thoughts. The second prince praised him greatly and told him that if he won the battle, he would personally recommend him to the late emperor. ¡±
"This farewell general was very happy and felt that his day was coming. He didn't wait long for the news that his strategy was adopted, and then he began to wait for the day when he would be introduced to His Majesty by the second prince. This The decisive battle was fierce, but due to proper planning and the fact that the Sui army was far more elite than the Shang army, the 160,000 Sui army killed more than 200,000 Shang troops without leaving any trace. "
"However, until after the Shang Dynasty, this special general did not wait for the second prince to fulfill his promise to him. Later he heard that the second prince's name was listed first in the memorial memorial presented by Generalissimo He Ruolan on the mountain. All the credit for that battle was given to the second prince, and perhaps He Ruolanshan didn't even know his name. At that moment, this special general realized how idiotic he was. "
"Because of this battle, the second prince was even more appreciated by His Majesty. Later, because he was afraid that his greed for merit would be revealed, he casually found an excuse to kill the general. For the imperial court, the death of a general from the fifth rank There will be no impact. Even this matter will not be taken seriously by the big shots. His death is unknown, but no one cares about it. The gentleman is a smart man, and he was ready to leave when he knew that the second prince was greedy for power. After hearing that the general was executed, he immediately took his luggage and fled to the northwest for refuge, and later came to my house. "
"And later, because He Ruolanshan supported the eldest prince's succession, the second prince designed to get rid of the man who was known as the first general of the Sui Dynasty at the time. The He Ruo family now doesn't even have any descendants left. Dozens of them The officials jointly accused him of attempting to commit rebellion, and the evidence was said to be contained in three baskets.¡±
After hearing this story, Fang Jie¡¯s face became a little solemn.
"Isn't this the most saddening thing?"
he asks.
Cui Zhongzhen nodded: "Nothe most sad thing is that actually the strategy was not thought up by that general, but by the gentleman who taught me. That general kept telling the gentleman that when he mentioned it to the second prince I mentioned the name of the gentleman, but actually the general never mentioned it from beginning to end, he always said that he came up with it.¡±
Fang Jie nodded: "Even if you didn't tell me, I would have probably guessed it."
¡°In your career, you will inevitably encounter things like this.¡±
Cui Zhongzhen sighed: "So, the older I grew up, the less interested I was in pursuing an official career. Instead, I just wanted to eat, drink and have fun with a group of friends, and I lived a free and happy life. Later, I had no choice but to go to the capital to take the examination at the Yanwu Academy. I even said half-way I sympathize with you. A soldier like you, who has no origin or background, will be drowned by the deep water in the capital. But I didn't expect that it would be me."
Fang Jie smiled and shook his head, lit his pipe and took a puff: "I'm afraid the teacher who taught you has been teaching you since you were young. Once you choose to become an official, then?Just don't trust anyone. Only in this way will you not become a stepping stone for others to advance, right? "
"You are wrong about that."
Cui Zhongzhen sighed: "My husband often told me in private that I should act according to my heart. He asked me whether I wanted happiness or fame and fortune. I asked, couldn't happiness and fame and wealth be both achieved at the same time? In my opinion at that time, fame and fortune were Naturally, there is countless happiness. But my husband said that happiness is actually very simple when you are truly mature. So when I became an adult and understood what my husband said, I became more and more playful."
Fang Jie smiled and said, "He almost destroyed you."
Cui Zhongzhen shook his head: "I would like to thank him again for letting me at least have a happy life."
Fang Jie exhaled a puff of smoke and said softly: "Maybe there is a kind of person who will be unhappy if he is ordinary. Only the higher he climbs, the more satisfied he will be, and he will be really happy."
"That kind of people¡¡"
Cui Zhongzhen was stunned for a moment, and then sighed: "Either you die of frustration, or your name goes down in history."
Fang Jie nodded, thoughtfully.
¡¡
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When Fang Jie saw Langru Mountain again, only he knew what he felt in his heart. Although there is still at least a hundred miles between Shanzhai and Fan Gu, it is difficult for Fang Jie to calm down after arriving here. I don't know if he has already sensed the master's thoughts through psychic. The red horse looked a little different from usual. He kept shaking his head and snoring, as if he was trying to persuade him.
Fang Jie patted the red horse¡¯s neck and looked at the northeast.
"Want to go back and have a look?"
Mu Xiaoyao asked softly.
Fang Jie nodded, then shook his head.
There is a bit of sadness between the brows, a sadness that not many people can understand, but Mu Xiaoyao understands.
Fang Jie definitely wants to go back to Fan Gu, which is where Fang Jie spent the most stable three years of his fifteen years on the run. There are many memories there, good and sad. Fang Jie nodded because he could never let go of that place in his heart. Fang Jie shook his head because the place was still there, but the people were gone.
"What can I do if I go back? The city is still the same, but the people are no longer those people. I heard that Li Yuanshan buried all the corpses after massacring the city. No one knows where they were buried. He was too impatient when he killed Li Xiaozong Some, I actually forgot to ask"
Fang Jie looked away: "Let's go to the village first. That is our foothold in the future."
"If you want to go, just go."
Shen Qingshan said softly: "I don't know where the person is, and I don't know where the grave is, but I always feel that they should be waiting for you to go back. Bring a pot of wine and sprinkle it on the land of Fan Gucheng, saying that revenge has been taken. They should can hear."
Fang Jie was silent for a while and then said: "Fan Gu has no one to garrison. The rebels don't like that small town, and the Meng Yuan barbarians don't like it either. The crucial border town at the beginning has been abandoned, and the iron gate that used to be the country's gate is now a dilapidated place. . The Meng Yuan people were coming in and out unscrupulously, and if there was anything left, it might just be the lonely ghosts of that city."
Hearing these words, Mu Xiaoyao felt a chill in his body.
"Go and have a look, we will accompany you."
she says.
Fang Jie pondered for a while and nodded: "Okay, it's time to go back and tell them."
He turned around to find Mou Liangbi and said that he wanted to go back to Fan Gu for a visit. Mou Liangbi told him to be careful. Although Fan Gu was deserted, horse thieves and bandits appeared from time to time. He wanted to send people to protect him, but Fang Jie just refused. I don't know whether it was because of embarrassment or guilt, but Mouliangbi said very little and did not take the initiative to explain anything. Fang Jie didn't care, he said thank you and left.
"Our people are stationed where they are waiting for me. Don't follow the large group of people up the mountain before I come back."
Fang Jie ordered Lu Fenghou to take the infantry from Yangzi Camp to stay where they were. This place was only a hundred miles away from Fan Gu, and it wouldn't take long for fast horses and light cavalry to come and go. But if you take the whole team with you, the trip will be slow. He took 500 light cavalry, leaving 700 cavalry to Chen Banshan, and waited there with Lu Fenghou.
With a team of more than 500 people, Fang Jie left the large group and headed towards Fan Gu. Mouliangbi was right. Although Fan Gu was deserted, the city was still there. Many bandits had chosen this place to stay. After being cleaned up several times by the Sui army on Langru Mountain, no one dared to occupy this place as their lair. However, it is still a temporary place for many horse thieves and bandits. If you don't bring people and horses, there is no guarantee that there will be no accidents.
In just one day, Qingqi arrived outside Fangu City.
When Fang Jie arrived outside the city gate, he reined in the red horse and couldn't help but change his expression.
Although the city wall still looks strong,There is a sense of desolation. The city gate has disappeared, and the door opening is full of dead grass blown in by the wind. Someone on the wall showed his head, looked at them, and then ran away. Not long after, there was a flurry of movement in the city, and then a team of about seventy or eighty horse thieves rushed out from the other side of the city gate and escaped. I didn't dare to look back.
Fang Jie was too lazy to pay attention to those horse thieves, and his heart felt desolate.
He urged his horse to slowly enter the city gate. At a glance, he saw that about half of the houses were burned down. Although the tallest building in the distance was still there, it was obvious from a distance that it was dilapidated. That's Jinyuanfang, where Fang Jie used to be the shopkeeper. The building not far from Jinyuanfang is the Hongxiu Building, and half of its facade has collapsed.
Fang Jie rode a red horse and walked slowly, looking left and right.
The house on the left is Liu Sanhu¡¯s, the house on the right is Aunt He¡¯s, and further in is Widow Sun¡¯s house. From Aunt He's house, walk to the left and turn a street, which is Li Xiaozong's former residence.
Fang Jie remembers every place.
When Mu Xiaoyao saw Fang Jie dismount, he also jumped down, took the big package from Qilin's hand and opened it.
That was paper money. Fang Jie bought all the paper money he could buy in the towns he passed along the way. When the shopkeeper saw a group of men in armor coming, he was too frightened to accept the money. However, Fang Jie still put down a piece of gold and whispered that if I took the paper money and burned it to them, they would not accept it and would scold me in my dreams.
These words shocked the shopkeeper and he did not dare to say anything.
Fang Jie squatted at the street corner and lit a handful of paper money: "You have been poor for three years now. You can't even enter the underworld with no money to pay tolls. Are you still hanging around here? It's cold in Fan Gu in the winter and no one has to burn clothes. I don¡¯t know how you managed to survive, hugging each other and being crowded, so you¡¯re not afraid I can¡¯t buy clothes, so I¡¯ll burn more money and you can buy them yourself, and if there¡¯s a restaurant down there, we can have a good meal.¡±
The paper ashes flew into the sky and hovered in mid-air.
"I originally thought that I had to be quiet when I was burning paper. Shouldn't I take revenge on you? Don't worry, there is another person named Li. I will kill him, but don't wait for me to report the news. Now, just do what you have to do. It¡¯s enough for you to pester me for three years. You have to abide by the rules as a human being, right? If you miss me endure it. If I miss you I¡¯ll come again.¡±
He spilled the wine in the wine bag, then lifted up his robe and knelt down: "Xiao Fangjie is back, are you okay?"