A straw hat, a straw hat, a small boat, a foot of silk fiber and an inch of hook.
A song, a bottle of wine, and a person fishing alone in the river.
——"Picture of Fishing Alone on the Autumn River" by Wang Shizhen (Qing Dynasty)
…
The great victory in Heyang Nancheng boosted the morale of the Tang army.
Bai Fu did not attend the celebration banquet, but returned to the scout camp directly.
After taking off his armor and washing up, Bai Fu realized that his whole body was sore.
Bai Fu sat cross-legged and meditated, and looked inside his body. Apart from minor trauma, there were a lot of blockages in the joints and some stagnation in the internal organs.
Bai Fu regulates the inner breath, and it recovers only after three weeks of operation.
Not long after, the scholar also returned to the camp. He also did not like noisy people.
The two sat around the campfire. Bai Fu added some new firewood to the fire and made hot tea.
The scholar smiled and said: "Bailong, you are the protagonist today. General Baoyu has been looking for you everywhere, and he has become anxious.
You are not afraid of guns and arrows, but why did you ‘escape from battle’ at the celebration banquet?”
Bai Fu smiled faintly and handed the scholar a cup of tea, which was filled with fragrance.
The scholar held the hot tea, took a deep sip, and said in surprise: "Bailong, your tea-making skills are as good as your martial arts?"
The scholar tasted it carefully, and the aroma of the tea made the scholar seem to remember something, and he fell into deep thought for a long time.
Bai Fu did not disturb him, and sat quietly aside, holding tea in his hand, warming his hands and heart.
Occasionally, there were one or two sounds of firewood exploding, adding to the silence and tranquility of the night when the war ended.
The light moon is like a hook, hooking people to the heart.
The scholar sighed deeply, and after a long while he said: "I have long been hopeless, so I charge into battle without risking my life.
Aren't you afraid that your lover will miss you if you are so willing to sacrifice your life?"
Bai Fu's eyes darkened and he was speechless. He picked up a wooden stick and gently stirred the bonfire to let the flames reignite.
The scholar paused for a moment and asked in a different way: "Bai Long, although your martial arts skills are superb, you are blind to swords and guns, and the enemy generals are as skilled as clouds. Are you really not afraid?"
Bai Fu pondered for a moment and said: "I am afraid, but what I am afraid of is not the danger of the battle, but the obstacles in my heart."
"Oh?" The scholar became interested and listened carefully.
Bai Fu sighed: "
How should I put it, this feeling confuses me.
I just did a rough calculation and found that over a hundred people have died under my gun today.
When I was killing, I was indifferent to the blood of the rebels and the death of the enemy generals. Just like hunting a fox and rabbit, my mood was not disturbed at all, and I even felt a little happy.
However, fear of death and compassion for all living beings should be human nature, right?
Why don't I alone?
The battle of Suiyang was so tragic, I have never been like this before.
Is it possible that I am naturally bloodthirsty?
Well, let’s put it this way.
What I'm afraid of is, what kind of person will I become after this battle is over? Will I be a human being who has no regard for life, or will I be a murderous demon king who will achieve great results and wither away bones?"
…
got windy.
It was late at night and the sky was cool. The scholar shuddered and went back to his tent first.
Bai Fu was not sleepy, but one thing was lingering in his mind and he couldn't get rid of it. It was like finding threads in a tangled mess. He needed to peel off the threads and comb them out one by one.
During today's beheading operation, Bai Fu met Shi Siming up close.
This man has a thin and fleshless face, little beard and hair, slumped shoulders, slumped back, tilted eyes and nose, giving him the look of a consumptive man.
Although it was the first time they met, Bai Fu always felt that he had seen this person somewhere.
The most obvious feature of this person is that his eyes are gray and yellow, emitting a fierce and blazing light, like a wolf looking for food in the wilderness.
"Crackling"
A charcoal exploded and sparks flashed in the campfire.
Suddenly, Bai Fu finally remembered this person.
Back then, in the Shaohua Mountain Canyon, a group of masked and well-dressed men besieged Li Xuexuan, but they were accidentally hit by him and saved Xuexuan.
Shi Siming is the masked man at the head!
…
Bai Fu seemed to have a map of clues unfolding in his mind, connecting several seemingly unrelated things together.
Why did Shi Siming want to capture Li Xuexuan? Who could instruct him at that time? Was it An Lushan?
Xuexuan and An Lushan have no intersection?
Who did Li Xuexuan offend in Chang'an? How could he mobilize Shi Siming's power?
On his way to the battle of Nanzhao, Yang Guozhong met several groups of Hu assassins. Is it related to Li Linfu, or to Shi Siming and An Lushan?
On the night when Li Musheng led troops to search for him, some barbarians went to the Bashu Guild Hall and set fire to it. Now it seems that it was not Li Linfu who did it.
Then who were the instructions of these barbarians? Why did they choose that sensitive day? Who wanted to frame Li Linfu?
Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong and An Lushan have passed away, so the answer is unknown.
Could someone be hiding behind these three people and secretly controlling all of this?
If this assumption is true, the game is not over yet.
So, who are the remaining pieces on this chess game? Will there be players who continue to play chess?
…
Countless thoughts were like bubbles in boiling water, surging in Bai Fu's mind, making Bai Fu think for a long time and keeping him awake at night.
…
In the Battle of Nancheng, the Yan army lost nearly 10,000 troops, and a lot of weapons and equipment were also damaged. Especially the large trebuchets, it will take a while to repair or reassemble them.
That night, after listening to the battle damage report, Shi Siming was so angry that he cursed.
In particular, a general from the Tang Army actually fought in front of the Chinese army, beheaded him and captured the flag, and almost succeeded with a cold arrow!
Shi Siming's eyes were cracked, and murderous intent burst out. He summoned Prime Minister Zhou Zhi and said: "After you find out the details of this person, repay me.
No matter what means you use, you must get rid of this person! To relieve the hatred in my heart!"
…
The Yan army was unable to capture Nancheng, so Zhou Zhi, the puppet prime minister of Yan, led his troops to attack Zhongli City.
After the failure of the Battle of the Floating Bridge, the Yan army's warships were completely destroyed, and it was impossible to capture Zhongli City by water.
After repeated planning, Zhou Zhi, the puppet prime minister of Yan, decided to change his tactics and change the battle to a land attack.
The Yan army that surrounded Zhongli City, the north city and the south city of Heyang could launch an attack together, leaving the Tang army in the three cities of Heyang in a dilemma of fighting independently and unable to divide their forces for rescue.
…
Zhongli City is Heyang's weak spot. Therefore, Li Guangbi personally garrisoned the city.
Zhongli City is more like a camp than a city. Its city wall is only as high as a person, making it a veritable "Sheep and Horse City".
Because it is a "sheep and horse city", Zhongli City does not have walls as high as ordinary cities. Only the low walls that are as high as a person's shoulders around it can't stop the Yan army's attack.
In view of Zhongli City’s obvious deficiencies in city defense, Li Guangbi added several defensive measures:
The Tang army built an additional defense line outside Zhongli City. The defense line was composed of wooden caltrops and a fence. A trench two feet deep and two feet wide was dug outside the fence to prevent the Yan army's horses from crossing the trench.
Even so, Li Guangbi was still worried.
At this time, in the west of the town, Li Feiyuanli, the governor of Beiting Camp and the governor of Huaizhou, led the reinforcements and rushed from the garrison at Heqing to aid Heyang.
Li Guangbi was overjoyed and ordered Li Fei Yuanli to lead the Modao Army in the camp in Beiting to assist him in the defense of Zhongli City.
After Li Fei Yuanli inspected Zhongli City, he said to Li Guangbi: "Commander, there is no danger to defend Zhongli City. If you want to defend it, you can't just rely on defense. You must be based on war and choose the opportunity to take the initiative!"
Li Guangbi tied his long beard with his hands and said with a smile: "The general has unique vision and thinks of me, so he is willing to invite Mo Daojun to help.
In this case, there will be General Lao!"
Li Fei Yuanli laughed loudly and said: "Wait a minute! If you want me to garrison Zhongli City, the commander-in-chief still needs to agree to one condition."
"oh?
General, please tell me, as long as I, Li Guangbi, can do it, I will definitely meet the general's requirements." Li Guangbi said with a smile.
Li Fei Yuanli smiled slyly and said: "I heard that the 'First Pioneer of the Tang Dynasty' is now under the command of the Marshal..."