In the gentle morning breeze, Li Xia and Nie Zhongyou chatted in the yard for a while. When the guards came out for activities, they stopped talking.
The business stopped talking, the two of them stopped talking, and the atmosphere seemed quite dry, until Lin Zi came out to make a joke.
"The guy named Lu still doesn't give up and has sent people to keep an eye on us. How about I go and beat them up?"
Nie Zhongyou said: "No need, Brother Lu is not a bad person. We are all soldiers and we should act according to orders. There is no need to make things difficult for each other."
"Are we making things difficult for him? It's him making things difficult for us."
Nie Zhongyou and Li Xia didn't talk to each other.
Lin Zi saw that the scene was not getting hot, so he said with a playful smile: "Brother is really biased. He gave Nie Ping such a good job, and he went to Zhucui Tower every day. Next time if something like this happens again, send me there. I'm next to the forest.
If there is nothing, it is just a bird..."
"Shut up." Nie Zhongyou said.
Lin Zi turned around and saw that it was Han Qiaoer who had come out with breakfast. There were steamed buns, steamed buns and pot stickers on the plate.
The little girl put the plate on the stone table obediently, invited them to eat, and then took out a small cloth bag.
There were several eggs in the bag. After Han Qiaoer took it out, she glanced at Lin Zi and hesitated, as if she was afraid that this annoying guy would make fun of her again, but in the end, she stood by the stone table and started peeling them carefully.
"Brother Li, this is for you to eat."
"you eat."
"I've eaten, here you go..."
This time, Lin Zi did not make fun of Han Qiaoer. Instead, he smiled and said, "Don't tell me, since the old bookworm became the leader of our caravan, this little girl really seems to be in charge of things."
Nie Zhongyou said calmly: "Eat yours."
"Didn't I praise her? By the way, Li Xia was not won over by the guy named Lu this time. It's because this little girl treated him well. Right?"
When Li Xia was asked, he glanced at Han Qiaoer and saw that the little girl lowered her head in embarrassment, but her eyes secretly looked at him with a little curiosity and expectation.
She may not have thought much about it, but because she was born as a prisoner, she generally expected to be recognized.
"Yes, yes." Li Xia nodded and said, "You all treat me well."
"The last sentence is against your will, it's against your will." Lin Zi laughed and said: "It seems that this time, the little girl should be credited with a merit."
"Then give me something practical."
Li Xia handed the last egg to Han Qiaoer, walked into the kitchen, and came out after a while, bringing a large piece of cooked fat meat, cutting it slowly, wrapping it in a steamed bun to eat, and ate several pieces in succession.
Lin Zi was stunned and asked: "Have you eaten so much today?"
"Need carbs and fat."
After Li Xia finished eating, he stood up, glanced at Nie Zhongyou, and said, "I'm going out for a walk."
"Hey... aren't we leaving today?"
Lin Zi asked, and Li Xia waved his hand and left the guest house...
~~
"You guys continue to keep an eye on the inn, don't fall for his plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain."
When Lu Fengtai saw Li Xia going out, he quickly got up and left the teahouse after giving instructions.
Soon, he and his men took Li Xia under control and took him back for interrogation.
This is the same cell where Yang Xiong was previously imprisoned, but it is not a county jail, but a renovated room in Duyamen.
"You let me catch you on purpose, why?" Lu Fengtai asked.
Li Xia was shackled on his hands and feet again, but his expression was very calm.
"Were you injured? Did you get knocked on the head?"
Lu Fengtai said: "I am judging you."
"Okay, no need to torture me, I can do everything I know."
"Why did you let me catch you on purpose?"
"Want to talk to you."
"Where is Gao Changshou?"
Li Xia said: "I said that Nie Zhongyou and I passed the details of the operation through notes. I really don't know where he asked Nie Ping to take Gao Changshou."
"what you think?"
"I think they haven't gone far, just near Luzhou City. But you may not find them, and you don't have much time."
Lu Fengtai said: "You can't hide them. You are already under surveillance. The further north you go, the harder it is for you to hide them."
"I know, that's why I want to come and talk to you." Li Xia said: "If you don't help us, it will be difficult for us to continue going north; but if we hide Gao Changshou, it will not be easy for you. How many days do you have left?
Three days? Five days?”
"I can find it."
"You can't find it. Nie Zhongyu won't take any action for the time being. We have warrants from important officials in the court. You don't dare to touch us. A few days have passed quickly. What will you do?"
"What should I do if it's not me? What should I do if it's Huaiyou? What should Song Dynasty do?!"
Lu Fengtai suddenly tapped his chest with his finger, and shouted: "You said what I did was dirty, but I served the country with my blood, and I have no regrets!"
This loud shout seemed quite abrupt.
Ever since he listened to the sarcastic words of those reckless men in Yinglue Society last night, to his wife's complaints in the morning, and then to Zhang Rongzhi's humiliation... Lu Fengtai's suppressed anger finally came up, and it was hard to suppress it for a moment.
"Do you think I want to do this?! If it wasn't for the greater good, who would be willing to turn against the comrades who shared life and death in the past and be called a traitor? What should I do? Am I doing this for myself?
!”
Li Xia was silent for a moment and said, "Don't you think too highly of yourself?"
Veins popped up on Lu Fengtai's forehead, and he looked at Li Xia.
His eyes were piercing, as if he was looking straight into Li Xia's heart, and he seemed to be taking out his own heart for others to see.
But Li Xia was still calm and his eyes were sharp.
"You are just a captain. How many soldiers do you care about? Five hundred? I'm afraid it's far less than the actual amount, right? You are just like me, just a small person. Even Gao Changshou is just a small person. How much influence can you have on the current situation?
Portion size?
Handing over Gao Changshou can slow down the Mongolian army's march south? That's what your superiors told you? I think it can only slow down the pressure you are facing, right?
I understand that the Mongolian people are forcing you to come here, and you are under great pressure. A weak country has no diplomacy, and you are at a loss when faced with the aggressive momentum of a powerful country.
I made some guesses with a villain's heart. Maybe you were thinking, 'Hand the person over. Making friends with good people may be useful in the future. If I surrender, they can say a nice word for me.' So I decided to hand over the person.
, it’s not a loss after all…”
"I don't think so!" Lu Fengtai shouted.
"You don't think so, who knows your superiors don't think so."
Lu Fengtai did not answer.
"Then let's move our eyes away from the trivial matters in front of us and look further. Look at the territory of the world. People have surrounded you in the Southern Song Dynasty... oh, the Great Song Dynasty. Our small territory is like a hunter.
If the prey is forced into a preset trap, then if the prey kneels down and begs, can the hunter let it go?
Lu Dutou, have you ever thought that maybe when you tried your best to help the Mongols hunt down the fugitives, they were already preparing to march south, and maybe Sichuan had already fallen, just like the Mongolian army attacked Dali, and it took half a year for the Song Dynasty to gain victory.
information.
A small capital and a small Gao Changshou can stop the war? Do you really know what the situation in the world is like? Don't take your job as too important."
When Li Xia said this, he softened his tone and said: "I know that you are a loyal person who serves the country. Nie Zhongyou told me about your character, otherwise I would not dare to come. The relationship between you and Nie Zhongyou
The differences only lie in different opinions."
"Why do you think you are right and I am wrong?"
"Let's put it this way, I didn't understand why the Mongolian army wanted to attack Sichuan before." Li Xia said: "They wanted to destroy the Song Dynasty. They should have attacked directly from the Huaihe River and captured Hangzhou."
Lu Fengtai said calmly: "There are many lakes and rivers in the Huaihe River, which is not conducive to the Mongolian army's operations."
"I don't understand these, but I heard the story of how you defended Luzhou more than ten years ago..."
Lu Fengtai was stunned and murmured: "In the first year of Jiaxi, the Mongolian army attacked the two Huaihe Rivers. Du Xianggong held Anfeng City for three months and severely damaged nearly 20,000 Mongolian soldiers. Only one year later, the Mongolian army attacked the two Huaihe Rivers again.
, the so-called 800,000-strong army first broke through Anfeng City in the north and attacked Luzhou, and it was Mr. Du who led our soldiers and civilians in a bloody battle... But now, Mr. Du is no longer here."
"Well, you have answered my confusion. Why did the Mongolian army abandon the near and far away to attack Sichuan and Dali? Because these soldiers and civilians fought bloody battles, the Mongolian army could not defeat the Huaihe River and moved to Sichuan, and could not defeat Sichuan and moved to attack Dali. Since Jin
After the country was destroyed, it was you who fought hard for nearly twenty years to prevent the Mongolian cavalry from going south. To be disrespectful, I used to think... the Song Dynasty was very weak, but now I find that the soldiers and civilians of the Song Dynasty were not strong at all.
Not weak."
At this point, Li Xia didn't say anything else.
Lu Fengtai understood.
He straightened his back, but there was deep sadness in his eyes.
Since Jingkang, the Song Dynasty has never been short of dedicated people, famous generals, and heroes who dedicated themselves to serving the country, but isn't the situation collapsing day by day?
Among the generals who guarded Luzhou back then, Xianggong Du was gone, and Yu Du was gone. Lieutenant Lu moved to the southwest and gradually became greedy and greedy...Who can I follow to fight to the death in the future?
Li Xia added: "We are all just ants in the torrent. If we kill each other, we can't stop the elephant from stepping down. What should the ants do? Unite. Only a colony of ants can kill the elephant. But Lu Du
Now you have to hand over your companions to hyenas. Hyenas eat ants and will not help us deal with elephants."
"So you are here to be Nie Zhongyou's lobbyist."
"I don't agree with his approach either." Li Xia said: "But in this matter, I think it is more useful to keep Gao Changshou than to hand it over. You should help us."
"Why are you working so hard for Nie Zhongyou?"
"I'm not working for him, I'm working for myself. When the elephant is coming, the ants are trying to save their lives by calling on their companions to gather together." Li Xia said, "I cherish my life because I know Lu Dutou won't kill me, so I dare to come out."
.”
Lu Fengtai said: "You don't have to be wishful thinking and try to convince me, it's useless."
He originally wanted to say something like, "Don't follow Nie Zhongyu to the north, stay and follow me", but thinking that he still couldn't protect himself, he swallowed these solicitous words.
He rubbed his forehead, calmed down and thought for a while, then told Fan San: "This guy is here to distract us on purpose. Don't listen to his nonsense... Go and interrogate all the women Nie Ping has prostituted in Zhucui House."
Once again, see if there are any clues."
"yes."
Lu Fengtai then looked at Li Xia again and said calmly: "I will find Gao Changshou. Until then, you can stay in this prison."
Li Xia smiled bitterly, thinking that he had been reborn for so long, but his situation seemed to have not changed, and he was still in jail...