Chang Kuo looked at his daughter for a while and then said seriously: "Ning Ning, Hezhou is not a place you can go."
Chang Sui Ning also asked seriously: "Why can daddy go?"
"Because my father is a general." Chang Kuo said: "Even if he is not a member of the imperial court, a general has the duty to protect the people. This is the bounden duty of those who serve in the army."
"Those who serve in the army have a bounden duty, and ordinary people also have it. Retreating from the enemy in times of danger is a man's bounden duty, and it is also a natural instinct." The girl's voice was not heavy, but clear and powerful: "Neither the general nor the father can stop me.
My instinct is to fight off the enemy."
The girl was not obedient at all. She had no consciousness of "regarding her father as her heaven", no discussion or request, but she was talking to her father about her "human nature".
She was wearing an ordinary military uniform, dusty from the journey, her lips were slightly chapped, but her eyes were still bright. At this moment, the stars above her head were flashing, as if the stars and the moon were draped around her body, taking away her embarrassment.
It seemed that she had been turned into a sword that was about to burst into glory.
Tough, sharp, and eye-scorching.
The scorching look under the exposed edge made Chang Kuo think of the Sunshine Sword, His Highness's sword, currently on display in Xuance's Mansion.
At this moment, he seemed to be suddenly impacted by the meteor that flashed past just now. The impact penetrated deep into his soul for an instant, as if some familiar feeling of connection suddenly awakened at this moment.
Chang Kuo stood where he was, stunned for a moment.
"The governor's wife and her son, who are currently guarding Hezhou City, are not soldiers. The governor's wife and children can kill the enemy, and so can the general's daughter."
Under the starlight, the girl's figure was upright, like a soldier waiting to be read, her eyes were firm, and her voice was strong and melodious.
"Sui Ning is fortunate to have more than one skill. He can use a war bow as an archer, control a horse as a cavalry, and is also good with swords and guns. He is courageous and not afraid of pain. He can serve as a soldier under the general's command and is willing to fight with the general to defeat the enemy!"
When their eyes met, Chang Kuo's eyes became hot for no reason. He calmed down his voice, which seemed to have been lost for a while, and said: "Okay... since this soldier is so capable, I will accept it today!"
The girl's eyes were brighter, she raised her hands and folded them in front of her, saluting him.
Chang Ren was inexplicably agitated: "I am willing to work with the general to defeat the enemy!"
Chang Mao, who was standing by, also took two steps forward, hiding his excitement and said: "...I am willing to work with the general to defeat the enemy!"
Chang Kuo looked over: "..."
What kind of fun are they doing?
Chang Suining looked at the two of them: "You can't go."
She has other plans.
But we still need to discuss it with Lao Chang first.
Chang Suining ordered Chang Ren and Chang Ren to stay safe, and explained his plan to Chang Kuo in a low voice.
After Chang Kuo heard this, his face suddenly turned red with blue in it, blue with white in it, and white with black in it.
Chang Suining looked at it and felt that with this face, he might be able to open a dyeing workshop on the spot. No, even if he could open hundreds of them all over the world, it wouldn't be a problem.
"Dad, you should put the overall situation first." She advised from the side: "The more plans you have, the more likely you are to win."
"..." Chang Kuo's expression changed, "But this person has a weird personality... he may not agree."
"You only need to leave these to me, as long as my father gives you permission."
After a long while, Chang Kuo nodded almost imperceptibly.
Chang Suining borrowed paper and pen, wrote a letter, and gave it to Chang Ren and his wife: "This trip is important, so be careful on the way."
"yes!"
The two agreed firmly, bowed solemnly and retreated.
"...Is this one of the two strategies my daughter just mentioned?" Chang Kuo asked with complicated emotions.
Chang Suining thought for a moment and nodded: "Yes."
"What about the rest of the plan?"
"We have to leave some time to talk on the way." Chang Sui Ning said without changing his expression: "Otherwise, if my father ties me up and sends me back, where can I go to reason with him?"
Chang Kuo was helpless: "You kid, how can your father be the one who doesn't keep his word? How can there be any reason for my father to be so defensive?"
Chang Sui Ning was noncommittal: "My father also often said that it is essential to be on guard against others."
Of course, these are not the key.
The key point is that the double stratagem was just nonsense she just said casually... If the donkey is told to obey and run forward, why not hang a carrot?
But the problem is not big. Just think about the strategy slowly on the way. As long as your brain is there, you can always come up with it.
"Okay, just be careful!" Chang Kuo laughed twice and waved his hand without asking, "Let's go have a fire and eat cakes with dad."
Chang Suining followed with a smile.
The days of making fire and eating cakes with Lao Chang have been long ago.
The flames were scorching, heating her limbs and waking up her blood.
If when she met Lao Chang on the way back to Beijing with Wei Shuyi, she felt like she was returning home, then sitting in front of the fire now, she felt alive again.
Even though the road ahead will be difficult and dangerous, my hometown is where my heart is.
At this time, she was truly reborn in front of the fire in her hometown, accompanied by her former colleagues, with a long knife in her hand and a war horse behind her.
Be it glory or humiliation, the past can be thrown into the fire and burned into ashes and dust.
There is no need to mention the past. From now on, she will let the world get to know a person named Chang Sui Ning again.
…
Fierce flames lit up the sky.
When the first glimmer of light appeared in the east, Chang Kuo, with less than 20,000 troops and horses, had already set off.
Compared to yesterday, there was a new-faced soldier beside him now.
The horse's hooves trample the thin morning light, break through the frozen atmosphere of everything in winter, and go to the uneven place.
…
In Hezhou City, where the city gates were closed, there were no people on the streets, and no one dared to go out.
The sun was high in the sky at noon, but it could not dispel the silence and fear all around.
In the Governor's Mansion, a young man had just finished changing his wound medicine and was dressing and tying his belt when a man in armor quickly walked in and saluted with a solemn expression: "Erlang Jun!"
"Uncle Peng." The young man immediately put on his clothes and stood up, asking seriously: "How is it?"
They once ordered the soldiers to break out in two groups, report the situation of the battle in Hezhou, ask for reinforcements to rescue the city, and inquire about the news.
The man named Peng who joined the army did not answer the young man's words, but said: "I have arranged for a team of elites...please Erlangjun, Sanlangjun and their wives, follow them out of the city secretly, and leave Hezhou as soon as possible!"
"Leave?" The young man's expression changed and his tone was decisive: "I won't leave! If I leave, who will guard Hezhou City!"
"Mr. Lang, please listen to what I have to say!" Peng Canjun said in an urgent tone, hiding grief and anger: "Only one of the soldiers who went to inquire about the news came back... He found out that there was indeed a large army leaving the Shouzhou camp, but the march route
It’s not that they want to support Hezhou, they actually went to Yangzhou!”
"Yangzhou?" The young man was stunned: "Why is this..."
"Why else? It must be that he wants to take back Yangzhou from the rear while Xu Zhengye is doing his best to attack Hezhou!"
The young man didn't know how to react for a moment, and asked uncertainly: "Peng Canjun, does he have such a way of fighting...?"
Or is this right?
Is this a given?
"Bullshit fighting methods!" Peng Canjun's anger could no longer be suppressed: "It must have been Li Yi's idea. This person only dared to hide behind his back and made sneaky moves. He never dared to fight Xu Zhengye head-on!"
If you say stupid, this person is viciously stupid!
The young man's face turned pale: "Uncle Peng means... they gave up on Hezhou, right?"
So, there won’t be any reinforcements?
Peng Canjun grabbed his arm: "Mr. Lang, please leave with me quickly. If you wait any longer, I might not be able to leave!"
After being dragged for two steps, the young man suddenly came to his senses and broke away his hand: "No, I can't leave!"
Peng Shenjun: "The imperial court no longer cares about Hezhou's life and death, who else will Lang Jun guard for?"
"Defend for the people of Hezhou City!"
This is a calm and powerful female voice.
"Madam!" Peng Canjun turned around and saluted quickly.
A woman in her forties walked in, followed by a young boy of twelve or thirteen years old.
The woman has an ordinary appearance, with a somewhat sickly look on her face, and white hair has grown in her bun over the past few days, but her eyes are not angry but powerful.
"Xu Zhengye used the name of helping and saving the world, but his actions were no different from those of thieves. Wherever he went, he frequently forcibly recruited men and confiscated family property, causing refugees to spread everywhere and complaining."
"Since he comes from a wealthy family, he is willing to treat the gentry with courtesy and talk about great achievements over wine, but he regards ordinary people as nothing but ants! I'm afraid that his words of support for the prince are just a pretext for raising an army. This person hides wolfish ambitions and is the real
The rebels are bringing trouble to the country!"
"If Xu Zhengye is willing to treat the people well, I can bear the name of a traitor and a comrade. Today I will open the Hezhou City Gate and welcome Xu's army into the city!"
"However, my husband and Da Lang died defending Hezhou. Could it be that they were foolishly loyal to the court?"
When the woman said this, tears welled up in her eyes, and her tone remained strong: "Because they know very well that if Hezhou is lost, the people in the city will become refugees who can be trampled on by others. Soon, the people in the entire Huainan Road may be
Homeless!”
The young man clenched his fists: "My mother is right. Before my father died, he asked me to guard the door of our house. I should guard it until the last moment!"
Peng Shenjun was about to say more, but he heard the sound of rapid footsteps coming from outside.
"Report!"
"Twenty miles outside the city, traces of Xu's army appeared again. Ge Zong led the army and was heading towards Hezhou to attack!"
Peng Canjun cursed: "...it's true again!"
There have been five or six battles in recent days, big and small, and this Ge Zong is a powerful general under Xu Zhengye.
This time Xu Zhengye ordered this person to attack the city. This trip was obviously determined to win!
"Ah Hui, how many troops do we have left?" The woman looked at the young man.
The young man's eyes trembled slightly: "Excluding the seriously injured, there are only eight thousand left who can fight."
The word "only" is both disturbing and sad.
"How many people did they come?"
The soldiers who came to report the news looked a little panicked: "About nearly one hundred thousand...!"
"This is an inevitable victory for Hezhou." The woman's eyes darkened, but then she became calm and clear: "Ah Hui, would you like to face the enemy with my mother?"
The young man Yun Hui looked shocked: "Aniang!"
Of course he should go, but how could A Niang go?
"I want to go with Aniang too!" the twelve-year-old boy said immediately.
The woman looked at her youngest son and nodded: "Okay, let's go together then."
"Madam!" Peng Canjun knelt down and advised with tears: "...The governor has lost his eldest son, and madam should leave a trace of his blood for him! I am willing to defend the city with Erlangjun, and also ask madam to take Sanlangjun away.
!”
The young boy Yun Gui said flatly: "I won't leave! I want to defend the city with my second brother and my mother-in-law!"
As the son of a governor, the twelve-year-old boy already knew enough about what he was going to face next, and he also knew enough about the weight of the word "defending the city".
"Bloodline..." The woman looked at the two children and said softly: "It would be best if we can defend Hezhou today. If we can't, Erlang and Sanlang will spill all our blood and stay in Hezhou forever."
The way to preserve my husband’s bloodline.”
Peng Canjun was shocked, tears welled up in his eyes, he knocked his head on the ground and was speechless.
The young Yun Hui met his mother's eyes without any hesitation.
The young man tied a white linen cloth on his forehead, and the mother and son all came out wearing armor.
Hearing the commotion outside, some people in the city pushed open the door and led the three Yun family members, mother and son, and eight thousand soldiers to the front of the city.
The city gate opened and then closed slowly. The soldiers were outside and the people were inside.
The city gate closed, and the moment the soldiers' backs disappeared from sight, some people burst into tears.
"Second brother, are there really no reinforcements coming?" Yun Gui asked his brother in a low voice, sitting on his horse, holding a spear that was almost the same height as him.
"There will be." Yun Hui said to his younger brother, and also shouted to the soldiers: "The imperial army will arrive soon. We will wait until the last moment until reinforcements arrive!"
"yes!"
All the soldiers shouted in unison, and their morale was greatly boosted.
Peng Canjun looked at Yun Hui.
Yun Hui smiled at him.
Before the battle is even fought, morale will be lost if we can't.
In other words, he still had a bit of luck in his heart. He had sent two groups of soldiers to find out the news, but no one turned back on the other group. What if there was new information but he didn't have time to report it back?
He knew that this idea was a bit naive, but the dead have always been the most important. As a dying person, shouldn't he be allowed to be naive?
The young man galloped on his horse and led the army to meet the enemy.
The two armies started fighting five miles outside the city. One side was sure to win, while the other side was demoralized and fought tooth and nail.
Horse hooves stirred up dust and filled the sky with blood. The two mixed together, dyeing the world into a dim and tragic painting.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! No matter how high the morale is, as the companions fall, the Hezhou army still appears to be outnumbered.
Ge Zong, who was leading the army, was sure of victory and did not need to take action himself. He sat high on his horse, looked at the young man covered in blood, and asked his subordinates: "Is that the son of the governor of Hezhou?"
"Return to the general, that's right!"
"He is a bloody person." Ge Zong said: "Now is the time for the general to employ people. Tell them that they will not be killed if they surrender."
Someone in Xu's army soon shouted the slogan "Those who surrender will not be killed".
"Today in our army, there are only heroes who died in battle, and there are no cowards who surrendered to the evil thieves!" The young man with red eyes swung his sword and killed another enemy soldier.
Ge Zong sneered: "Young people are ignorant after all... stubbornness is used in the wrong place."
As he spoke, his eyes turned and fell on the woman who was wearing armor and killing enemies: "Why is there still a woman?"
"That should be the widow of the governor of Hezhou."
"Widow." Ge Zong raised his eyebrows and said: "The general has always hated these women whose identities are unclear. The court is not the place where they should appear, and the battlefield is certainly not the place... Women are born evil, but they will ruin the country's feng shui.
of."
The subordinates on the side naturally knew who he was referring to, so they could only say "yes" for the moment.
"It's unlucky for a widow to act recklessly on the battlefield." Ge Zong said, picking up the bow in his hand.
The arrow flew away with a roar, but when it approached Mrs. Yun's body, it was blocked by a man and a horse.
The figure on the horse was still very small, and fell off the horse after being hit by the arrow.
Mrs. Yun’s pupils trembled: “Ah Gui!”
She wanted to move forward, but was blocked by an enemy soldier brandishing a gun.
Yun Hui rushed forward, jumped off the horse, and half-lifted his younger brother: "Ah Gui!"
The young boy who blocked an arrow for his mother had blood pouring out of his mouth. He leaned in front of his brother and asked with uneven breathing: "Second brother, are the reinforcements...arriving soon?"
Yun Hui was trembling all over. He wanted to tell his brother that he had lied and there were no reinforcements at all!
But I heard the younger brother in front of me whisper: "Second brother, I think I heard the sound of reinforcements..."
At this moment, Yun Hui's eyes were red and his heart felt like a knife piercing his heart, and his resentment turned into anger.
Where are the reinforcements?
Those were all his innocent fantasies!
The next moment, an enemy soldier slashed at him with a knife.
He stood up suddenly, protected his brother in front of him, held the opponent's long knife with both hands, and roared unwillingly from his clenched teeth, forcing the opponent to take several steps back.
His hands were dripping with blood, and it was undoubtedly a stupid way to block the knife with his hands, but at this point, he no longer cared, he had no rules, no reason, and no hope.
The opponent was shocked by his ferocity at first, but soon came to his senses, jerked the knife back, raised it, and was about to chop it down.
"call out--"
Suddenly a cold wind passed by.
The man holding the knife trembled and then suddenly stopped.
An arrow flew from nowhere and pierced his forehead.
