As he walked, he counted the steps under his feet, step by step.
The dry eyes gradually became moist.
When he reached the steps, thinking of the news he had just learned from the emperor, Li Si Lao burst into tears and wailed in his heart.
"My son has a strange number."
"My son is so strange!"
Li Si's long-held worries came true.
Da Qin fought in all directions and won all three generals, but Li You was the only one defeated!
All this is because of the word "number of oddities".
Even Li You's great victory in Nanjun was revealed.
According to records filed by the Taiwei Mansion, Li You failed in his first expedition against Nanjun and was almost captured by the barbarians. It was not until the second time that he attacked the barbarians with fire.
Therefore, Li You's victory over Nanjun was not a smooth one.
All these things corroborate the rumor of "Li Youshu Qi" that was once widely circulated.
The so-called odd number.
In the art of divination, even things are considered good and odd things are bad.
People with odd numbers will encounter many disadvantages.
If such a person is used as the commander of the army, trouble will easily occur if he is sent out to fight.
Although problems may not always occur in every battle, for example, when Li You attacked the barbarians in Nanjun, he won in the end.
But no one can be sure in which battle something will happen to him. What if something happens at the most critical moment?
Even the mighty Qin Dynasty could not withstand such a person as a general.
For example, the Southwest defeat this time was really a big joke.
However, after the First Emperor called Li Si over, he did not angrily reprimand him. Instead, after some complaints, he comforted Li Si and promised to send troops to the southwest as soon as possible to rescue Li You.
Yes, the reason why the emperor was not angry with Li Si was not just because Li Si's ability and status made the emperor restrain his anger, but also because Li You had not returned after the defeat in the southwest.
According to the battle report, Lieutenant Li You defeated the southwestern barbarians with fire attacks and built a five-foot road all the way to the vicinity of the Dian Kingdom.
The King of Dian colluded with the southwestern Yi people who were defeated by Li You, pretending to surrender, but actually launched a surprise attack.
There were too many Southwest Yi people gathered in that battle, and several nearby Southwest Yi countries and the Dian Kingdom jointly sent troops, with tens of thousands of soldiers.
Although the Qin army was well-equipped, with a small number of enemies and a surprise attack, it was naturally very difficult to resist. They fought and retreated, but in the end they did not retreat to Shu County.
The Qin army suffered a major defeat, and only a small number of troops fled all the way back to Shu. Many Qin soldiers were either killed by the barbarians or captured. Even the county captain Li You disappeared in the chaos.
I know if I was caught by the other party.
Of course, it is also possible that he died in the rebel army and had his head chopped off by the barbarians.
Under such circumstances, no matter how angry the First Emperor was, after some thought, he could not take his anger out on Li Si.
After all, Li Si was old. If he was scolded by him, coupled with the pain of losing his son, and he died of excitement, then he would lose a right-hand man.
Worried about his son's safety, Li Si, who has always been strong, couldn't help crying at this moment.
He devoted too much effort to this useless eldest son.
"This is not my son's fault, it's just that his fate was bad."
"You'er, you're not suitable for fighting."
Li Si comforted himself while looking to the southwest with some despair.
Can his son come back?
In two days, the news of Shu's defeat spread throughout Xianyang City, causing an uproar.
All the Xianyang Qin people were shocked.
Now the Qin Dynasty is so powerful that the Yueshi, Xiongnu and Donghu who dominate the grassland are all defeated by the Qin army. Even Dongou in the south has surrendered. It is the time when the entire Qin country is satisfied and all the Qin people think that the Qin Dynasty is invincible.
.
The war from the southwest poured cold water on them.
The Qin army's expedition to the Dian Kingdom was completely defeated. They were completely killed by the barbarians from the southwest. Thousands of people were captured and killed. Even the lieutenants of Shu County were missing and there was no news.
In such a situation, countless people are shocked and angry.
However, many people fell silent after hearing the name of the Shu County captain.
Li You.
Since the commander-in-chief of the army is Li You, everything is normal.
They could only sigh secretly and curse a few words such as "Li You has harmed the country" in a place where no one was around.
In the residence of Marquis Wugong, a banquet was taking place.
Although the Qin Dynasty prohibited the lower class Guizhou leaders from drinking without reason, this law was invalid for the upper class nobles, and the high nobles still lived a luxurious life.
In the prince's mansion, people were drinking and drinking.
The table full of delicacies is pleasing to the eye, and the hot wine under the flames is steaming into everyone's noses.
The host of the banquet was Zhao Tuo, the Marquis of Martial Arts.
Some of the people attending the banquet were his old subordinates who stayed in Xianyang, such as Shejian, Heiyi, Zhongli Mei, Lu Wan, Li Shang, Li Shiqi, etc.
The other part is his friends in Xianyang, such as Ren Xiao, Zhang Han and other former officials of the Shaofu.
Zhao Tuo originally wanted to invite Tu Sui to ease the relationship between the two parties, but it turned out that Tu Sui had volunteered to go to Changsha County last year to serve as the county guard there.
The purpose of this banquet was for Zhao Tuo to introduce Fan Kuai, Xiao He and Cao Shen, who were newly under his command, to others.
Everyone is their confidant, so they need to know each other and form a network of relationships.
By now, Zhao Tuo understands the importance of managing connections. No matter in any era or in any society, this must be managed well.
This time, among the several subordinates who followed Zhao Tuo back to Beijing to receive rewards, Guo Qing had already left first because he was still responsible for the duties of the county commander.
Although Fan Kuai and others have been promoted to the title of nobility, their positions have not yet been assigned. After all, the time for the project has passed, and there are no positions suitable for them. After the project is completed next year, they will probably be able to be appointed. Of course.
The next time the Qin army conquers the Yuezhi, they can also ask for orders to go there and serve in the army and perform meritorious service.
"I heard that Brother Fan was called the enemy of a hundred men in the army. He was able to kill King Yougu Li of the Xiongnu from among the thousands of troops, and also captured the Yuezhi Xihou. We really admire him for his bravery!"
Zhongli Mei raised a glass of wine to congratulate Fan Kuai.
Fan Kuai laughed loudly, also raised his wine and said: "Brother Zhongli is laughing, I heard people say that brother Zhongli once captured the great Sima of Qi. He was a big shot, much more powerful than the barbarians outside the Great Wall."
"Speaking of this..."
Zhong Lizhen laughed, pointed at Lu Wan next to him and said, "Brother Lu, he personally captured the old Yan King in the Xiongnu camp. He was much more advanced than us."
Lu Wan's face blossomed into a smile: "Luck, luck, I just have a fate with King Yan, and I caught it by chance. It can't compare with the abilities of the two of you. Let me toast you two first."
The three of them flattered each other and laughed.
Next to him, Li Shiqi interjected: "The reason why the three of you have achieved great achievements is because of the presence of the king. Without the king, would you have had the opportunity to achieve these feats?"
The three of them all nodded and said: "That's right. Without a king, we would be nothing more than a lowly person. If we can achieve such feats, we should respect the king."
Others also joined in, and they all praised the contribution of Marquis Wu Gong for his support. In the end, everyone toasted to Zhao Tuo together.
Zhao Tuo smiled, raised his glass and congratulated: "The honor you have today is the result of your own efforts. If you didn't have the ability, even with my support, how could you get the high position you have today."
Everyone laughed and talked about the merits of the martial arts lord again, and the atmosphere seemed very harmonious.
Under such circumstances, Zhao Tuo saw Ren Xiao drinking alone there, his face a little ugly.
He thought it was the flattery of his subordinates that made Ren Xiao feel a little out of place, so he said: "I told you not to give all the credit to me. Brother Ren was not with me in the past, but when he attacked Chu,
We also captured the right Sima of the Chu Kingdom. Such a great achievement was all due to Brother Ren, so we should also pay tribute to Brother Ren."
"Yes, that's right. Brother Ren is also a fierce general in the world. We should drink a toast to Brother Ren."
Li Shiqi responded quickly and immediately raised a glass to support him.
Shejian, Heihipu and other people who had been in contact with Ren Xiao for a long time also smiled and raised their glasses, praising Ren Xiao's achievements in capturing the right Sima of the Chu Kingdom when he destroyed Chu.
Unexpectedly, under the compliments from everyone, Ren Xiao smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"No, in the past battle of Ru River, we captured the right Sima of the Chu State. It was not my own strength, Ren Xiao. It was Brother Li who led the army to entangle Ye Sheng's 10,000 men. Only then could I lead my men to catch up. Without Li
With brother's strength, how can I, Ren Xiao, catch up with those Chu people? I have always been indebted to Brother Li."
Ren Xiao sighed as he spoke. He was a man of great loyalty and had always been grateful to Li You.
Fan Kuai asked in confusion: "Brother Ren is talking about Li You, the captain of several strange counties?"
Count the strange commanders!
It was during these two days that the new title given to Li You by the Qin people in Xianyang spread widely.
Ren Xiao said in a low voice: "That's right. It's a pity that Brother Li's fate is not good. He is still being plotted by the barbarians in the southwest. There is no news yet. Thinking of this, I really can't swallow my drink."
Black Butt also remembered the attack on Chu that year, and couldn't help but sigh: "This is how Shuqi people fight. I still remember that when we attacked Chu before, we were almost overtaken by Zuo Sima's army in Qiyi. It was Shuqi Commander who led the army.
Someone blocked the way for us. If we can come back alive, we have to thank him!"
Zhao Tuo, who was in the main seat, felt a little complicated after hearing what everyone said.
Although Li You was his former competitor.
But this son of a Tingwei was never like the love rivals and villains in some novels, who always secretly plotted against him and plotted against him.
When Zhao Tuo was a middleman in the palace, although Li You didn't like him, he never gave Zhao Tuo shoes to wear. Instead, he had the intention of reusing him.
The most cruel thing Li You said to Zhao Tuo was probably what he said to Zhao Tuo outside the Qin Palace before the first attack on Chu: "You, stay away from the princess."
Apart from this, Li Youzhen did not do anything dirty to Zhao Tuo, but instead suffered many times because of Zhao Tuo.
The first time Li You went to the battlefield, he was attacked by Xiang Yan's army.
The reason why this happened was that in order to favor Zhao Tuo, Li Xin deliberately transferred Li You to the rear team to escort the grain and grass and prevent Li You from making meritorious services.
Without Zhao Tuo, Li Xin would not have been able to offend Li Si, and Li You would not have suffered that disaster.
When Li You was chased and attacked by an army led by Zuo Sima of Chu State, it was because Zhao Ping misunderstood him that he was the Qin army led by Zhao Tuo, so he became a scapegoat.
It can be said that Li You's two defeats were closely related to Zhao Tuo.
Thinking of this, Zhao Tuo also sighed: "Brother Li is a good person. But brother Ren, don't worry too much. There is just no news about brother Li now. Maybe he will come back."
Ren Xiao took a gulp of the wine in his glass, then slammed it on the food table, and said with red eyes: "That's right, there is just no news about Brother Li. He did not die in the war. He may still be saved!"
"I want to ask the emperor for orders to lead another army to conquer the southwest barbarians and rescue Brother Li. If he dies, then I will let the barbarians in the southwest be buried with Brother Li!"
Ren Xiao spoke passionately and was full of pride.
He wants to be the main general in the conquest of the southwestern barbarians!
Revenge for Li You!
…
The southernmost part of Bajun in the State of Qin.
In the dense forest, more than a dozen men with ragged clothes and yellow faces emerged from the forest.
Looking at the smoke rising from the kitchen in the distance, the leading man laughed wildly and said: "Hahaha, I'm back. I, Li You, have returned to Qin!"
Behind him, everyone was exhausted and sitting on the ground, their faces full of expressions of surviving the disaster.
Li You looked back at them and smiled: "I, Li You, said I would bring you back, and I will bring you back. I'm right."
Everyone nodded feebly, but Li You's number one confidant Gong Ao took over the conversation and reluctantly complimented: "I didn't expect that the county lieutenant knew the art of survival in the mountains and forests. If the county lieutenants didn't lead the way, we might really die in the mountains and forests."
It’s time.”
Li You smiled faintly, with some pride in his eyes.
Yes, in addition to being good at using fire, Li You is also proficient in how to survive in the mountains and forests.
You must know that when he attacked Chu, he was defeated by Zuo Sima Zhaoping in the Chu land. He was chased by hundreds of Chu troops alone and ran into the mountains and forests to protect himself.
He wandered around the unfamiliar forest alone, relying on food, dew, springs, earthworms to eat grass roots, and fruits in the forest, and managed to escape alive back to the Qin city in Wei.
That experience gave Li You a wealth of experience in surviving in the mountains and forests. Not only did he know what he could and could not eat, but he could also tell the direction in the mountains and forests.
Now he took a group of cronies and cooperated with each other, and finally succeeded in getting out of the woods in the south.
"Hmph, these barbarians dared to deceive me, but the fire I set in the end burned at least a thousand of them, leaving these barbarians severely injured and losing their courage. The second and third barbarians all cheered up and waited.
Next time I lead an army south, I will definitely kill them with their heads rolling and their blood flowing like rivers!"
Li Youfang spoke boldly and did not feel discouraged after defeat.
One is that he has become accustomed to the feeling of failure.
The other is that Li You is indeed sure of defeating those barbarians.
At that time, after the Qin army was defeated by the Southwest Yi people, in order to survive, Li You led his own soldiers into the mountains and forests. Relying on the perception of the wind direction, he set off a fire and burned a lot of the pursuing Southwest troops.
He took the opportunity to escape from the pursuit of the Yi people and ran all the way to the direction of Qin.
Now I finally ran out.
Based on the last failure experience.
This time, Li You will never make the same mistake again.
"I want to reorganize my troops and conquer the southwestern barbarians again!"