At dawn, Li Mi was meditating when footsteps came from behind him. He knew who was coming and did not open his eyes.
Sure enough, Xue Bai's voice sounded.
"I heard that you don't eat meat, so someone made you some light vegetarian food."
Li Mi didn't respond, as if he was in trance.
Xue Bai sat down next to him and said to himself: "The wheat harvest is about to begin. This year has not been easy, and the people's fields have been ruined. Now Li Heng has retreated to Jingzhou, but the Huihe soldiers have not retreated. In Guanzhong
They are looting everywhere, and I must fight them."
He paused for a moment to give Li Mi a chance to speak, but he still couldn't wait for the Taoist priest to speak.
"Many people have advised me that the time is not right now, and they all think that it is wiser to temporarily ally with the Uighurs. I guess you think the same way, if you plan for me. I know that the Uighur cavalry is very strong, but this is what I think
Yes, before Tian Khan's reputation is completely lost, we must frighten them. Once they see that the Tang Dynasty is getting weaker and weaker, they will just get out of control. Fighting now, as long as a small victory can affect the
Profound.”
Li Mi finally opened his eyes and said, "If you really think about the Tang Dynasty, you should have a good talk with His Majesty."
Xue Bai immediately put on an attitude of being obedient and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
Li Mi glanced sideways at him and fell silent again.
"Really." Xue Bai said: "I plan to send an envoy to talk to Li Heng and his son. If they are willing to submit and persuade the soldiers to return, the past can be forgotten. When we return to Chang'an, Li Heng is still the loyal king, and Li Chu
He is still King Quang Binh, and His Majesty still regards them as brothers and nephews."
"it's useless."
"Both you and I know that this is useless, but this is my sincerity. When the time comes, as long as the officials and generals care about the people, they will naturally be able to tell who is the British master."
Li Mi shook his head and said: "Only the courage to fight rashly is not enough. The officials will also see who can succeed."
"Isn't it enough that I took your 'Xijing'?" Xue Bai asked, "In addition, I will ask Gao Xianzhi to see Feng Changqing and persuade him to join the imperial court and fight the Uighur cavalry. Feng Changqing will also
Seeing my sincerity in sending envoy Li Heng, he should know what is right and wrong."
"Gao Xianzhi?" Li Mi's expression finally changed, with surprise in his eyes.
"Yes, Gao Xianzhi is not dead. I saved him. Look, I have been trying to make up for the mistakes made by the Supreme Emperor over the years."
Li Mi was not willing to make suggestions for Xue Bai, but after hearing all his plans, he still reminded him: "Although Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi have a deep sense of loyalty, they may not be convinced. He is deeply favored by the Supreme Emperor, but the Supreme Emperor does not recognize it."
you."
"I understand. Sir, do you want me to obtain the recognition of the Supreme Emperor first?" Xue Bai said with a smile.
Li Mi was too lazy to pay attention to his joke and didn't answer seriously.
Xue Bai then asked seriously: "From the perspective of repelling Huihe and protecting the people in Guanzhong, is there anything you want to teach me?"
Li Bi didn't want to say it, but this question forced him to say it, so he had to say: "Prince Yehu of Huihe has a younger brother named Yidijian. It is reported that the two brothers are not on good terms. You can use this to impose some restrictions on him." Pressure, increase the chance of winning..."
~~
Gao Shen opened the door, walked into a small courtyard, and saw Shen Zhenzhu again.
"Please, Madam Shen, I will escort you to see King Guangping."
"Last time you escorted me to Pingliang, you took the opportunity to contact the internal affairs department and inquire about information." Shen Zhenzhu asked: "Is it the same this time?"
Gao Shen did not answer. He believed that these were men's matters and there was no need to talk to a weak woman. She only had to return to Li Chu and live well in the future.
He asked her to step on his palm and get on the horse's back. She didn't dare to step on it at first. He said that he was a rough martial artist and would not be trampled by a noble person like her. She then said that she was not a very noble person, and his pair of The hand holding the sword should be used to protect the people of the Tang Dynasty.
This sentence touched the pride in Gao Shen's heart, and he couldn't help but said: "Don't Madam Shen say that I am a traitor?"
Shen Pearl lowered her head and said: "I have always known that you are guarding Chang'an and Guanzhong. But I am a woman, and I must obey my husband when I get married."
After saying that, she looked sad, and Gao Shen also felt sad with her. The two said nothing more, she stepped on his palm and turned over on the horse, he shook the sand in his heart and took the reins.
This time the general leading the team was actually Pu Gubin.
"Has General Pugu surrendered?" Shen Zhenzhu asked.
"Yes." Gao Shen also admired Pugu Bin because he was indeed brave. "We serve as the legitimate emperor and guard the country. General Pugu understood it and naturally abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side."
Shen Zhenzhu said: "It's great to be a man."
"What good can you do with a humble life?" Gao Shen didn't understand why she said this. "It is said in Chang'an that even if you give birth to a girl, you can wear the lintel of your family."
"You call it a cheap life, but it is ultimately in your own hands. You don't have to float like duckweeds." Shen Zhenzhu whispered.
Gao Shen wanted to say that he could protect her, but he hesitated and didn't say anything.
In fact, the soldiers under his command all laughed at his lack of courage. Someone asked him, "If the general likes that little lady, why doesn't he ask King Yong for her?"
When he was marching in the army and joining the army, he once advised him, "General, kill Li Chu and take the Shen family as his wife. This is what a man would do!"
To these words, Gao Shen just responded, "You don't understand."
"You don't understand." When he was resting that day, Pu Gubin took a look at where Shen Zhenzhu was and said: "King Guangping doesn't have Shen in his heart at all."
"How does General Pugu know?"
"How could I not know?" Pugu Bin said, "Every time King Guangping gives a banquet to the generals, Lady Dugu is always by his side."
He patted Gao Shen's shoulder carelessly and said, "Think about it, if a man can lose his concubine twice, can he still have her in his heart?"
Gao Shen said: "But she gave birth to a son."
"You don't understand this. The more King Guangping values the eldest son, the less he wants to give the eldest son his birth mother's identity. You have forgotten that Emperor Zetian was born in the Tang Dynasty. King Guangping has a city, but it is not as good as it seems. See you there."
Pu Gubin is a fierce general, but he is also very sober at times.
The next day, they rushed to Jingzhou. Before entering the city, Pu Gubin said: "I will go to see my grandfather first and discuss with him. If he is willing to surrender to Chang'an, just lead the troops south. If he is not willing, then submit it to King Yong. letter."
"Okay." Gao Shen handed over Xue Bai's letter to Li Chu.
They sent Li Chu's concubine over, and the first thing they said was, "King Yong couldn't bear King Guangping losing his wife and concubines, so King Guangping couldn't bear the people in Guanzhong losing their wives and children to the Uighurs?"
As long as these words were spoken openly, they would have a rightful name. Even after returning Shen Pearl, Li Chu could not kill them. Otherwise, they would be repaying kindness with hatred, which would be shameful to the people of the world.
However, at this time both of them believed that meeting Pugu Huai'en first was a safer approach.
Pugu Bin then walked forward alone and watched in the woods for a while. When he saw a familiar Shuofang soldier, he went up and exchanged his name. After a while, he followed Pugu Huai'en to his camp. .
~~
That day, Pugu Huaien was discussing military affairs with Li Chu.
"At present, Deputy Marshal Guo Ziyi has blocked Chang'an and Hedong, and is about to march into Hebei. The Supreme Emperor has issued an order to let Shannan East Road fight against thieves. All parts of the world have also followed suit, and the overall situation of the world is more favorable to us."
"In Guanzhong, despite the defeat of Fengxiang, our military strength has not been greatly reduced. The Huihe cavalry alone is twice that of Xue Ni, not to mention the soldiers from Lingwu, Pingliang, Longzhou and other places. horse."
"As long as we keep our morale steady, we will be able to defeat Xue Ni and recapture Fengxiang. By then, Chang'an City can be taken by itself without a fight."
"That's right." Li Chu opened his mouth and immediately said something that could boost morale. "Just before I came to the camp, I met the envoy sent by Ye Hu from Huihe and agreed to attack Xue Ni together. With the strong troops from Huihe, we With support, why worry about it?!"
"good!"
There was a high-pitched discussion in the tent, and a soldier came over in small steps to report the news. He stood behind Pugu Huaien, but did not speak immediately, but waited for the end of the conversation between Pugu Huaien and Li Chu.
But Pugu Huaien didn't know whether he didn't understand what the soldier meant, or he was very calm with Li Chu, so he asked directly: "What's the matter?"
The soldier hesitated for a moment, then whispered: "General, Erlang is back."
"Very good!"
Before Pugu Huai'en could speak, Li Chu was already beaming with joy. He stood up and said, "I have been worried about Pugu Bin being trapped by the rebels. Now that he can come back, it is really a blessing from God."
With that said, Li Chu strode out to greet Pu Gubin.
Although he didn't show anything on the surface, he actually had something in mind. Pugu Bin had clearly been captured by Xue Ni, and there was a high probability that he would not have escaped. He must have been sent by Xue Bai to act as a lobbyist or to spy on military intelligence. He even came to recruit his servant Gu Huai'en.
No matter what Xue Bai's purpose was, it was not easy for Li Chu to deal with it. He knew clearly that Pugu Bin's arrival would have a great impact on his military morale, but he could not turn him away. The only way is to be as kind as possible and let Pu Gupin fall back to his side.
Therefore, when he arrived at the small tent, a smile immediately appeared on his face, and he even stepped forward to hug Pu Gubin enthusiastically and said, "Okay, okay! The general is finally back. It's not in vain that I pray for the general day and night."
The reason why I say "praying" is because Li Chu actually believes in Buddhism.
Pugu Bin was a little confused. He didn't expect that when he secretly came back to see his grandpa, he saw Li Chu first. Being hugged like this, his mind was actually a little shaken. But Fengxiang City fell, and his family members had no time to bring him out.
It's still in Xue Bai's hands now.
"King Guangping, I was put back."
Pugu Bin looked again and saw that Pugu Huai'en had entered the tent. With some confidence, he decided to tell Xue Bai's request. Let Li Chu reply, which can be regarded as being entrusted by others.
thing.
"King Yong asked me to bring a message to His Majesty and King Guangping. The implication is that since we are all descendants of the Li family, there is no need to fight against each other, let alone to attract Huihe soldiers to harm the people in Guanzhong. Now King Yong has taken away the wives and concubines of King Guangping.
I sent him here and asked King Guangping how he could bear the wives and children of the people in Guanzhong becoming captives of the Uighurs?"
Hearing this sentence, Li Chu's expression changed, and he subconsciously glanced outside the tent, knowing that once the soldiers heard it, there would be some people who cared about the common people, or some speculators would turn to Xue Ni, then,
The finally stable morale is about to be in chaos again.
"A descendant of the Li family? Xue Shun is not a descendant of the Li family. He is trying to usurp the throne. He is shameless and shameless."
Li Chu has always been very well-educated, but in this matter, Xue Bai was so angry that he couldn't control himself, and even scolded him as despicable.
Pu Gubin lowered his head and said nothing, thinking that Li Chu would reply sternly and scold Xue Bai. However, Li Chu remained silent.
Even if Xue Bai is rejected, as long as this matter spreads, it will have an impact on people's hearts. The current situation is indeed a bit embarrassing for Li Chu, and it is not easy for him to deal with it.
Seeing this situation, Pugu Bin could not help but look at Pugu Huai'en, thinking that when it was more convenient, he would have to persuade him to return to Chang'an.
s??????.???
suddenly.
"Traitor!" Pugu Huai'en yelled: "You were defeated in battle and did not dare to die for the country. You were greedy for life and were captured. This is a shame for the Pugu clan! Now you dare to come back to spread the word for the rebels?!"
His voice was so loud that the soldiers outside the tent heard it and rushed over.
"Come here!" Pugu Huai'en immediately lifted the curtain and said, "Take down this traitor!"
"No, why would General do this?" Li Chu quickly dissuaded him, then turned to Pugu Bin and said, "Quickly accuse General Pugu and say that you know your mistake. This matter will be treated as if it never happened."
"Your Highness doesn't have to plead for him... Why don't you take it down?!"
Pugu Huai'en had always been strict in managing the army, and his soldiers had no choice but to step forward and capture Pugu Bin.
"Grandpa, I know I was wrong." Only then did Pu Gubin think of begging for mercy.
However, Pugu Huai'en actually said with a steely face: "Behead!"
Not only Pugu Bin was petrified, but even Li Chu was shocked and inexplicable. But this was the camp of Shuofang Army, and the soldiers listened to Pugu Huai'en even more. No matter how Li Chu persuaded Pugu and soothed him softly, Pugu couldn't stand it.
Despite the angry and stern orders to repay the favor, Pu Gubin was still dragged down.
The movement alarmed Pugu Jian, who rushed over after hearing the news, knelt in front of Pugu Huai'en and begged: "Master, Si Lang has died in the battle, please let Er Lang go!"
"Go away, there are no cowards in the Pugu clan!"
Puguhuaien kicked Pugujian away, raised his hand and pointed at Pugujian, and said in a resolute tone: "This is not my son, he is rebellious, behead him!"
"cut!"
With a command, the sword was chopped down, and one of Pu Gubin's heads fell to the ground.
The big problem that Xue Bai posed for Li Chu could only be solved by Pugu Huai'en's sword.
Li Chu and Pu Gujue were still begging for mercy, but the next moment they could only see their necks spurting blood, and they were all stunned on the spot.
"Erlang?"
Pu Gujun couldn't believe it. He stumbled forward, picked up Pu Gujun's head, and cried loudly.
"Are you crying? You've all seen it, this is what happens when you surrender to the enemy!"
Pugu Huaien also cursed Pugu Jian, turned to Li Chu, cupped his fists and said: "I have no way to teach my son, please forgive me, King Guangping!"
Li Chu's lips trembled twice, he held Pugu Huai'en's shoulders with both hands, and said with great emotion: "There are generals in the Tang Dynasty who are loyal ministers and good generals who can shine as bright as the sun and the moon. How can they be worried that they will not be able to recover?!"
"His Royal Highness treats his ministers with great kindness and kindness. It would not be a pity for all his ministers to die in battle."
Others had different opinions about this situation. Cheng Yuanzhen curled his lips and secretly thought that Pugu Huai'en had gone too far. For a military general like this, how could eunuchs like them show their loyalty in the future?
Luo Fengxian, the eunuch who oversaw the army, also thought so and suspected that Pugu Huai'en was so impatient to behead his own son that he had some connections with Xue Ni and was worried that they would be exposed, so he killed and silenced him.
Another general, Xin Yunjing, believed that there must be monsters when things go wrong. The so-called traitor is as loyal as a traitor. Pugu Huai'en didn't even kiss his own son. He ignored the laws of nature and human relations. How could he kiss the Tang Dynasty? Could it be that he was hiding his treason?
Only Li Chu, Pugu Huaien, the emperor and his ministers still held hands and looked at each other, with red eyes and tears.
~~
Gao Shen waited for a long time in the ruined temple outside Jingzhou City, but never saw Pu Gubin come back. He gradually had a bad feeling in his heart. He thought for a long time and said to his subordinates: "Let's go."
The group of people hurriedly left the ruined temple and entered the woods. Gao Shen found the tallest tree, climbed to the top of the tree, and observed the ruined temple with a telescope.
More than half an hour later, a group of cavalry came from the north, armed with bows and swords, shouting and surrounding the ruined temple, and entered without saying hello.
"Where are the people?"
"We can't go far, chase!"
Seeing this situation, Gao Shen thought it was a bad idea, so he got down from the tree and immediately said: "Let's go!"
Shen Zhenzhen was still looking forward to returning to Li Chu as soon as possible. Hearing this, she couldn't help but ask: "What's wrong?"
"Perhaps Pu Gubin has betrayed him. It's in danger for us to stay here any longer. Let's go back."
"What?"
Shen Zhenzhu was extremely disappointed and her face darkened.
Gao Shen first put the leather armor hanging on his horse on her body, put her on the horse, then got on the horse and led the team towards the south.
After driving a long way, they had to stop and rest. Shen Zhenzhu asked immediately: "Aren't we going to see King Guangping?"
After experiencing the extremely fast running, Gao Shen was sweating profusely and his blood was rising. He didn't know where to find the courage, but he said: "Mrs. Shen, can't you understand? Li Chu doesn't care about you at all!"
He was afraid that she would be sad before and refused to say anything, but now he couldn't care less and said: "Why do you have to suffer so much for someone who doesn't care about you? Come with me? I will protect you for the rest of my life and never let you get hurt. "
Shen Zhenzhu took several steps back, stared at him with vigilant eyes, and said, "Don't you claim to be a king's master and have strict military laws? What do you want to do?"
"What do I want to do?" Gao Shen suddenly raised his voice and shouted: "I feel sorry for you! I see that your sincerity is always betrayed, and I feel so sad!"
Behind him, several soldiers looked at each other in confusion. Although some wanted to boo, they saw that their general was really anxious and did not dare to make any mistakes. At the sign of joining the army, they all turned their backs and snickered.
Shen Pearl's tears kept falling, and she shook her head and said: "Stop talking nonsense, I am a wife and a mother. You have a bright future and will have a family. I just ask you to let me go to see King Guangping... Yong The king promised that he would let me go back, didn't he?"
"As long as you nod, I will beg King Yong." Gao Shen slapped his shoulder hard and said, "Let me go, I will protect you!"
Shen Pearl still shook her head.
At this time, the sound of horse hooves sounded again in the distance.
"Coming after me!"
"Let's go. If someone is giving birth to a eldest son for the emperor's grandson, how can he take a fancy to a rough guy like us? Just give up on this idea. A toad would like to eat swan meat."
Gao Shen's marching army had allowed him to fool around before, but when he encountered danger, he immediately cut off Gao Shen's thoughts with stern words, and at the same time shouted: "Go quickly!"
Shen Zhenzhu didn't want to go back to Xue Bai's army, so she turned around and ran away.
"Catch it and bring it back."
"Let her go!" Gao Shen shouted.
"You are acting selfishly..."
"King Yong promised to return her. If there is any punishment, I will handle it alone and it has nothing to do with you!" Gao Shen said, standing in front of his subordinates to prevent them from pursuing Shen Pearl.
He looked at her back, a little worried, but the phrase "a toad eats swan meat" pierced his heart, making him unqualified to care about her and protect her. After all, she was running towards the pursuers sent by her husband. He What is it?
After watching like this for a while, Gao Shen never saw Shen Zhenzhu turn around. As the pursuers approached, he finally got on his horse and ran towards Qizhou.
"drive!"
Shen Pearl stopped. For so many years, she had only felt care and attention from him. How could she not want to be pitied and loved by others? She looked back and looked at his figure running away, and she then Wiping away tears, he continued to rush towards Li Chu.
The sound of horse hooves is getting farther and farther, and the sound of horse hooves is getting closer and closer.
In front, a figure of a knight appeared. Shen Pearl arranged her hair, wiped the tears from her face with a handkerchief, calmed her mood, and showed a peaceful smile that was unconcerned with the world.
She knew that Li Chu didn't like women who were too strong. He wanted her to be gentle and interfere with his affairs as little as possible.
"I am the concubine of King Guangping and the mother of Prince Fengjie."
When the knights rushed closer, Shen Pearl opened her mouth and shouted over and over again.
However, she was suddenly startled and her eyes widened. Only then did she realize that what was coming was not Li Chu's men, but a Uighur cavalry. They had obviously seen her too, and they were running toward her while roaring. He kept whistling in his mouth.
Shen Pearl was so frightened that she turned around and ran away, but how could a woman escape from the cavalry? She was quickly picked up and thrown into the saddle.
"Ah!" Her beauty turned pale and she screamed: "Let me go, I am the woman of King Guangping, you can't touch me!"
"Ha ha ha ha."
The only response she received was the proud laughter of the Uighur cavalry and words she couldn't understand at all.
~~
At night, Gao Shen led his men to sleep in the mountains. He couldn't sleep all night, still thinking about Shen Zhenzhu. Suddenly, he felt the faint sound of horse hooves and quickly put his ears to the ground.
"The enemy soldiers are still chasing us!"
The soldiers all stood up quickly and cursed.
"Why are you still chasing me? Who among us is a great person?"
"I told General Gao a long time ago that Li Chu's women are not to be messed with..."
Fortunately, they did not set up camp. They quickly pulled their horses into the forest next to the mountain road, leaned down and looked towards the mountain road. Unexpectedly, they saw under the moonlight the Uighur cavalry galloping from Jingzhou to Qizhou.
"How could the Uighurs come from this direction?"
"It can only be that they arrived in Jingzhou before us."
"They arrived before us and left behind us. They must have made an agreement with the loyal king's rebels to attack us."
"We have to rush back and tell King Yong the news."
After discussing it, they heard the shouts of women in the ranks of the Uighurs.
"Eating dog intestines, and robbing our children of gold and silk at this time."
Gao Shen squinted his eyes and could vaguely see dozens of Huihe knights, one person and three riders. There were about ten horses and women tied up. It must be that these Huihe people did not deliberately go to plunder, but just encountered good-looking ones on the road. The woman was captured.
Thinking of this, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind, and he suddenly felt worried.
He recruited marching troops to join the army and whispered: "I'm going to explore the movements of the Huihe people."
"I will go with the general."
So they asked the deputy general to escort the team, and they themselves pulled the horses and followed the Uighur knights.
Going all the way south, we arrived at the junction of Jingzhou and Qizhou at dawn. A camp appeared in front of us. Looking at the formation from a distance, we could see that there were probably thousands of He soldiers stationed there.
At this point, Gao Shen's bad premonition became stronger and stronger. The more anxious he became, the drier his throat became, almost smoking. He ran up a hill and looked at the camp with a telescope. He saw the Uighur cavalry coming from the horseback.
He dragged the kidnapped woman down from his back and brought him inside.
Turning the telescope, he saw a familiar dress. He cursed fiercely. He stood up and rushed over there, but the next moment he was held down by someone.
"There's no point in being impulsive. Can a few of us defeat thousands of Huihe troops? Let's go back to find King Yong."