The wind follows the dragon and the clouds follow the tiger.
The poor bones by the river are like those in a spring boudoir dream.
This poem is at the end of the urgent report written by Su Ce. It was this sentence that made Li Sizhe make up his mind after pondering for a night.
Cutting flesh with blunt knives, Dagan buried too many bones in Wuding River, so many that Li Sizhe never dared to look at them.
The bones of the soldiers were buried. As the guardian of the border army, Li Sizhe had to issue many broken documents to his subordinates every year. They were all 18-year-old hot-blooded men. One after another, Li Sizhe, as the guardian of the Anbei Governor's Palace, spent five years. , enough to sharpen a kind-hearted general into a resolute commander.
"Order Anbei's army to prepare 30,000 men to march north. The army must recruit arrows. It is a battle that cannot be avoided and cannot be fought without any reason. This order is passed on to the whole army. It will be accomplished in one battle, wipe out the Jiuhu, and ensure a hundred years of stability for Daqian. "
Military orders are like mountains, and Daqian has never been bloodthirsty. Li Sizhe knew very well the consequences of issuing this military order. However, in five years and with 79,367 death documents, Li Sizhe had already put aside his personal honor and disgrace. On the back of his head, the poor general had gray hair. The fifty-year-old Li Sizhe understood what this military order meant.
The anger of humans and gods will last forever!
but!
Li Sizhe doesn't want to!
I don’t want to have my son buried beside me anymore.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
…
The sound of nine-tong drums sounded in the handsome tent.
In the middle of the grassland, there was a confrontation with the Jiuhu and the new Hu people. The Daqian Northern Expedition Army was fighting with a small force. The expressions of all the generals changed. The general with the number threw the army to the army Sima, and more than a hundred generals with the number rode to Handsome tent.
Three-way drum, on the defensive, steady and steady!
Six tongs and drums, offensive, the whole army is on the move!
Nine tong drums, fight to the death! Fight to the death!
The cavalry who were engaged in the battle quickly retreated regardless of the battlefield they had gained the upper hand in front of. The infantry who were engaged in the battle, the archers and crossbowmen, covered the retreat of the swordsmen and shieldmen.
"After seven days of fighting, the army was defended by the Chinese infantry and crossbowmen, and slowly advanced. The cavalry on both wings cut off the retreat and issued a letter of battle to Jiuhu. After seven days, the decisive battle was fought. If this victory is achieved, there will be no Hu on the grassland. If this battle is defeated, the entire army will be defeated. Destroy, those who retreat, behead! Those who rebel, behead! Those who hesitate to advance, behead! Those with sword marks on their backs from this battle will be dismissed and their honors will be reduced. Three generations of my family have served the people. I will lead my personal guards to fight in the battle formation for a hundred steps, and protect the commander. Wherever the flag is directed, it is where I will lead my troops."
No one knows why Li Sizhe, a Confucian general of the generation, issued such a military order to fight to the death when he still had an advantage on the battlefield.
But no one refuted, so they buried pots to make rice, dried meat, candies, spirits, and arrows, and distributed them to everyone.
Su Ce arrived with the army and was directly transferred to his tent by Li Sizhe. In this battle, the commander's flag of the Protector's Palace was placed on the battle formation, and the brave lieutenants from the army would be deployed to protect the flag. Li Sizhe dispersed the main army and supplemented it by 20 when it arrived. Ten thousand, now only the Northern Expedition Army, which suffered losses of 180,000 in battle.
There will be no reinforcements or rear troops in this battle, only 10,000 people will supervise the battle, and 200,000 troops will go out together.
Su Ce stood outside the commander's tent, watching the generals who were galloping with military orders. They received the military orders in the commander's tent and quickly ran back to their camp without stopping.
The day before the war, the aura of murder in the army made the falcons in the sky afraid to fly. In the quiet camp, everyone was sharpening their knives, no one was talking in a low voice, and the army commander expressionlessly collected the soldiers' suicide notes.
The thousand-man cavalry, composed of only one son and no one behind, is ready. Once the battle begins, they will retreat to the north bank of the Wuding River.
A letter from home is worth tens of thousands of gold. The soldiers of Daqian Mansion understood from the beginning that joining the army was not for their own honor and disgrace, but for the common people of Daqian to live and work in peace and contentment.
"I sacrifice my life for the happiness of the people!"
"If I forget to die, the people will be happy!"
"My army will bring great power to the country!"
"My white bones, great integrity!"
…
In the depressing atmosphere, the military discipline on weekdays will only become more stringent. The war has not yet begun, and some people in the new army have already fled south.
The war has not yet begun, but the swords of the governor's army have been stained with the blood of his own people. His names have been registered, Yongye fields have been seized, and his family members have been demoted to slaves.
The hoarse and rough military songs of the frontier army resounded through the camp. Li Sizhe knelt down and sharpened his sword facing the south outside the commander's tent. Tomorrow, Li Sizhe would mobilize a hundred army lieutenants and his fifty personal guards to protect the governor. flag.
In a fight to the death, the general is in front. If the general retreats, if he sees it, military law authorizes him to be beheaded.
Su Ce poured the few remaining seasonings on the leg of lamb. Today, except for the ban on alcohol, everyone in the army was well fed. The Sima of the army prepared tomorrow's war food, one ounce of cooked meat, one ounce of sugar cubes, and two ounces of spirits. , a pot of water.
Fighting to the death is not a stupid swarm of swarms. There are clear military formations in Daqian Army Town. The entire army is fighting to the death on three fronts. The first two lines of regular troops fight alternately, and the third line of baggage teams carries supplies.
There were only a handful of deadly battles in Daqian. In the Battle of the Founding of the Kingdom, Taizu of Daqian led 100,000 armored soldiers and 50,000 baggage, and defended 200,000 cavalry. From Si Shi to You Shi, the battle lasted for five hours, and he was forced to die. One hundred and seventy thousand cavalry.
Su Ce knew his mission tomorrow. Whenever there was a big battle, it was a common practice in the army to deploy elite lieutenants to protect the flag. Su Ce laughed to himself, maybe because he wrote that letter, he was chosen by Li Sizhe.
The military order was conveyed to the whole army. When Su Ce came, he knew that the most intense battle tomorrow would be under the commander's flag. He would kill the general and capture the flag, making his first victory in the battle. However, Su Ce had no regrets.
The military is a place of struggle, and dying without rebirth means glory, which is also the highest honor for a soldier.
Su Ce's suicide note included a letter from home and a letter of divorce.
"...My parents can take in orphans for future support...My wife, please do not die in love. Find a good man who will see all the mountains and rivers for me...Parents, on the day my wife gets married, the family accumulates wealth and buys a lot of money..."
"A certain Su Ce would like to write a letter letting go of his wife:
My husband Xu Guo is really a blessing!
I wish my wife to comb her temples again after separation, to sweep her eyebrows beautifully, to show off her graceful and graceful posture, to recruit high-ranking officials, to play in front of the shadow court, and to imitate the harmonious rhythm of the harp and harp.
Ten miles of red makeup, three years of clothing and food, and then a tender ceremony. May the lady live forever.
…”
After Su Ce finished eating the leg of lamb, he tied the two letters he had written into a bundle with a piece of cloth cut from his chest, put them together in a bamboo tube, carefully wiped the seal, and stamped it with his own seal. If unfortunately he died in this battle, the bamboo tube would be taken out by the military Sima from the Anbei Protectorate and sent to Su Ce's hometown together with his pension.
The letter is a last word, and the strip of cloth and hair will be placed in the tomb later.
Su Ce handed his bamboo tube to the Army Sima, and carefully inspected the two pots of arrows he received. He nodded. The Lieutenant General's craftsmanship was as meticulous as ever. There was no difference in the feathers on the red-feathered heavy arrows.
Take off the armor, check every nail patch, wipe the nail patches with a cloth moistened with water. The oiled nails are already spotless, and then wipe off the water droplets on the armor with a dry cloth.
Putting the sharpened sword and gun next to him, he closed his eyes in relief.
The army Sima outside the tent divided the collected bamboo tubes into categories according to the military establishment, sealed them in wooden boxes, and handed them to the cavalry who were selected to go back. Then he patrolled the camp over and over with torches uneasy.
The general in the army is a sharp and indomitable spearhead, while the commander in the army is a strong shield that is tolerant and meticulous in everything.
Daqian has made all preparations for tomorrow's deadly battle.
Jiuhu and the newly emerged Duke's army are also making preparations for the war.