Chapter 475 Thirteen Words

The snow finally stopped.

Although the snow on the road has not melted, which is very unfavorable to the action, Qin Mubai doesn't want to wait any longer. He sent 3,000 pawns to set out one day in advance, cleared the snow and cut the trees in front of him, and immediately led 60,000 troops and 40,000 iron horses to Lanzhou.

Su Dingfang and the commander-in-chief of the Southern Court of the Western Turkic sent each other together and returned ten miles away. When Qin Mubai and Su Dingfang said goodbye, after he led the army back, let's see how the court was going. It is estimated that there will only be two extremes. One is that the Tang Dynasty was finally completely enraged and rose up to launch a decisive battle against Tubo; the other is that the imperial court changed the Western strategy and the diplomatic policy towards Tubo. At the same time, it also means that Qin Mubai's military and political career may have come to an end from then on. This time, it is estimated that there will be no day to meet again. .

Su Dingfang said that the former is more likely. Because today's emperor of the Tang Dynasty is a domineering master, it is impossible to stop the war because of the attack and losses suffered in western Xinjiang. On the contrary, if Lanzhou has been winning the garqinling without any advantage, the emperor may win by tying, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing casualties by plotting war and saving national strength.

Qin Mubai thought for a moment, and Su Dingfang's analysis was reasonable. However, everything on the temple can happen. Qin Mubai told Su Dingfang to "prepare with a red heart and two hands". It is certainly good for the imperial court not to change its strategy and national policy; if it is changed, the original Lanzhou generals may have to be replaced, because Su Dingfang is required to be prepared to "self-insurreate and not be affected".

"Oh!" Su Dingfang sighed so long, "As generals, we take our brothers to fight on the battlefield. We don't care about life or death. In the end, we have to worry about the court coming to settle accounts with us. The world only says that the general is majestic, and who is wise for the difficulties and bitterness of the generals?

"In fact, there is nothing to complain about. Don't say that being a general, even being an emperor and a minister also has its own difficulties. It's not easy. In a word, brother, take care!" Qin Mubai smiled helplessly and said goodbye to Su Dingfang and led the army away.

100,000 troops, lined up in dozens of miles of long snakes, headed for Danzhou. There are thousands of miles between Shandangzhou and Yumen Pass. It is a desolate and desolate all the Gobi desert, which is the most difficult journey on the Silk Road. Now it's snowing and the road is extremely cold, and the marching is quite difficult. Although there were thousands of soldiers in front of the road, the army was moving forward quite slowly. The wheels loaded with grain and grass are stuck in the mud of the permafrost, and they can't get up quickly. However, he didn't throw away these heavy and light soldiers and fast lines. Otherwise, at night, the cold water dripping into ice on the big Gobi and the cold wind cutting into the bone marrow can freeze all the horses to death.

Ten days have passed, and the army has only advanced more than 300 miles with all its strength. Qin Mubai couldn't help but feel a little worried.

That night, the army went down to camp and prepared to spend the night. Qin Mubai returned to the barracks, ate two big cakes with hot tea boiled in snow, and then lit the oil lamp to see some military folds sent by the generals, ready to reply.

Chen Yan quietly tidied up the bed and boiled hot water for Qin Mubai to relieve his fatigue.

"Oi, I'll do it myself." Qin Mubai smiled gratefully.

"You are busy with yours, give me your feet." Chen Yanwan smiled and took off Qin Mubai's shoes and socks.

Qin Mubai's heart was warm, and he nodded with a happy smile, let Chen Yan wash his feet, and still concentrate on reviewing the military folds.

"It seems that we have to stop for a day or two." Qin Mubai said to himself, "The firewood accumulated by the army is almost running out. In this kind of ghost weather, if there is no firewood to warm up and boil water at night, it will be deadly.

"It's really not easy to march and fight." Chen Yan said, "It's really hard to be a soldier. Let's talk about you. If you are in Chang'an, when will it be your turn to eat this kind of crude tea and rice? By the way, it's time for you to take a shower again.

"Let's do it!" Qin Mubai grinned, "At worst, you won't take a shower, and none of us will dislike anyone. Isn't there a shortage of firewood now? It's just right. Save it if you can."

"Fuck you! To tell you the truth, the water that washes your feet, I'll scrub your body first. Chen Yan laughed and scolded angrily, "No wonder Gaoyang Gong mainly scolded you as a 'thief military academy, stinky man'. It turned out that he was a soldier, it was really stinky!"

"Have you scrubbed it? Well, that's good. Qin Mubai smiled warmly and cheaply.

Chen Yan shook her head and smiled helplessly, but there was a blush on her face.

Qin Mubai sees it in his eyes, and the beauty is in his heart. The joy of bed with Chen Yan is the most enjoyable. If it hadn't been for her these days, I guess I would have been bored to death. As a mother, she perfectly combines the shyness of a good woman with the charm of a mature woman. She wants to refuse to welcome the most seductive. When she is in love, her initiative and wildness are enough to make every man's bones and legs soft.

After washing her feet, Chen Yan picked up the basin and walked. When she turned around, she whispered, "Go to bed early."

Qin Mubai is a little dry and can't sit still. Hearing the sound of Chen Yan folding the bedding in the back bedroom, Qin Mubai was ready to blow the lamp and go in to rest, but he heard someone asking from afar outside, "Has the young commander ever slept?"

"I don't know. I didn't dare to disturb you so late at night. I saw that the light was still on in the young commander's account.

When Qin Mubai heard it, it was Xue Rengui who came. So he opened the account and said, "Rengui, I haven't slept yet. Come in!"

"Excuse me!" Xue Rengui pleaded guilty and entered the account.

"What's the matter?"

"The supplement of the army gives a question." Xue Rengui said bluntly, "There is a lack of firewood for heating and grass for feeding horses. When I was just camping in the afternoon, I had sent several teams out to look for the mountains and forests. As a result, I was lucky and found an oasis on the Gobi Desert. So I wonder, shall we pause for a day or two to replenish it?

Qin Mubai suddenly smiled and said, "Ren Gui, I've told you. I can't lack arms like you around me. Not only are you invincible, but you also deal with small things. I just received the news from the rear army, and I was about to order someone to rest for two days to find firewood, but you took care of the matter in advance.

"Mu Bai is flattered." Xue Rengui smiled and said, "Actually, these are all my business. The army of 100,000 people has a lot of big and small things, and it can't be all carried by the young commander alone. We are subordinates, and we can share a little if we can. In fact, there are some things I can't figure out about. I want to ask you for advice.

"I don't dare to give advice, let's just chat!" Qin Mubai asked him to sit down, poured tea, and added a few pieces of charcoal to the fire.

"Mu Bai, when I set out that day, I heard the conversation between you and Ding Fang, and I was deeply touched." Xue Rengui said, "Xue has always thought that a man is a man who wants to gallop on the battlefield to make contributions and open his territory to protect the people. Xue also always thought that my Tang Dynasty was a radical and vigorous dynasty, and now your majesty is also the lord of wisdom and martial arts. Therefore, I am willing to join the army and sprinkle my blood on the territory of the Tang Dynasty! ...However, after the incident of Hou Junji, I suddenly felt that it was actually very sad to be a general. If I were Hou Junji, I would probably not have been able to see the garqin Mausoleum and let him escape to the western border to make trouble. But even if you make such a mistake, it will cause irreparable losses. Hou Junji also thinks that he will die, and the fish dead net is broken.

"It's sad for yourself!" Qin Mubai smiled bitterly and said, "In fact, Hou Junji is hateful, cute and more pitiful. He is like a lone wolf walking alone in the desolate wilderness, with blood and pride, but no one can understand. His personality is relatively eccentric, which makes him unforgable. Otherwise, with his ability to lead troops to war and his previous achievements, how could he fall into the situation of Liangzhou Sima?

"Xue is also very stupid and dull. He doesn't know how to be an official, and he doesn't know how to be clever and smooth." Xue Rengui frowned slightly and said lightly, "Will Xue also end up like Hou Junji one day?"

"Ren Gui, don't you think too much? When did you become so forward-looking?" Qin Mubai said with a smile.

"Xue, I just want to be a real general and fight to protect the country and the people." Xue Rengui smiled and said, "I don't save money, I don't want women, I don't buy land, I don't want to be noble, I just want to concentrate on leading the army to fight. This is both my reward and my pleasure. Following the general's expedition to the west, until today, I finally realized what the real war is and what is the real soldier - the general is the model of our martial arts; and Hou Junji is the other extreme!"

Qin Mubai nodded gently and said, "In fact, Hou Junji is an excellent general and talented person. But he has too much desire and ambition. After becoming famous on the battlefield, he still wants to gain more fame and fortune in the court. However, he does not have an excellent vision and mind in politics. He was not so much defeated by Changsun Wuji as by his ambition and desire. Therefore, Rengui, you don't have to be sad. You are different from Hou Junji. He is an unruly, greedy and hungry wolf, but you are a rare thousand-mile foal in the world. Even if he is a hunter, he will only aim his bow and arrow at the hungry wolf, and will not be stupid enough to shoot the thousand-mile god colt.

Xue Rengui grinned, "Mu Bai, you praise me too much!"

"It's not a false praise, it's a big truth." Qin Mubai smiled and said, "There is a saying that character determines success or failure. In fact, a person's ability can be cultivated. No one is born a general. But the personality is not easy to change. Hou Junji's temperament determines his ending today. In fact, he is also worth it. In Dafeichuan, 50,000 prisoners were martyred with him; tens of thousands of brothers accompanied him to do the last madness and killed the plateau. I don't know how many bloody things he will do on the plateau, but I think it must be an unprecedented catastrophe for Tubo. Because no army has ever been killed on the Tubo Plateau before. Hou Junji is unprepared. Now, once his butcher knife is waved, it will never be put down again. Unless someone cuts off his head.

"I understand..." Xue Rengui nodded gently, "Hou Junji wants to use the last moment of his life to do something that others dare not do. His arrogance and wildness are really amazing! In other words, although his behavior will be criticized a lot, he is actually a frank and simple man. He has been unscrupulously pursuing what he wants. Although it is a little extreme, I think he is a bloody man with a true temperament! - Even if he is a real villain, he is better than a hypocrite!"

"I agree." Qin Mubai nodded with deep thought, "When I took the initiative to visit Hou Junji and decided to use him, many people advised me not to do this, so as not to raise tigers in the future. But I think the same as you. Even if he is a real villain, he is better than a hypocrite! - In fact, I admire Hou Junji very much! I haven't thought about what he is doing now, but I can't do it and I dare not do it. If you want the nation to melt, how can it be done without the cutting of grass and rooting brought about by the war? Can you do it by relying on those literati in the temple to talk? In the final analysis, we soldiers still need to play the role of the opposite executioner! War is about dying. No matter how you die, it's all death! War, there is no real justice, it is killing! If I don't kill the enemy, the enemy will kill me - Hou Junji is a real general! He soberly understood the rules of the naked game, and then... he let it go!"

Xue Rengui's thick eyebrows are deep, and he is speechless.

He has killed the enemy more than once or twice; it is said that there have been a lot of casualties after the victory or defeat of the two armies, even those who died directly under his hands, Xue Rengui. Facing the war and participating in the war, he may not understand the true meaning and essence of the war - Qin Mubai's words just now actually shocked him!

War, there is no difference between justice and evil. It is the result of artificial beautification or demonization of people from different positions. War is a struggle between life and death, the success of the king and the defeat of the bandit, and then the surviving people write everything about the war.

And the general is actually the machine of war. Just like a cold knife on a soldier's body, it has no difference between justice and evil. The so-called "sword of justice" and "evil butcher's knife" are the attributes artificially given to it.

"Hou Junji is a real general. He understood the essence of war and carried out his mission as a general without hesitation! However, there will be many people who have no to do with war, or outsiders who don't understand war, criticize and criticize and humiliating him from different moral perspectives!" After a long time, Xue Rengui suddenly said, "This is really unfair!"

Just as there are no absolute good and bad people in the world, there is no real fairness. Even if it has happened in history, people will have different views and opinions on it from different moral perspectives at different times. Today's hero may be the sinner of tomorrow; the former traitor may also be suddenly turned over one day and become a certain kind of hero. Qin Mubai smiled slightly and said, "Since we have chosen the road from Rong, we will go on calmly. I'll send you a sentence. Take care of the things in front of you. What's the matter behind you?

"Hou Junji, he is more straightforward and free than us, and he did it like this! - What a man!" This sentence popped out of Xue Rengui's teeth.

Qin Mubai smiled and said, "Rengui, you are an official, and most of your contact is the military. But even as a general, his roots are above the court, because war is an extension of politics. So you have to slowly understand and accept many things. The war will be over one day. The day when the horse is released from Nanshan is the time for us and the general to return to the court. At that time, we will not only be generals, but also courtiers and politicians. We have to face politics, and we can't escape it.

"Xue got up slightly cold and didn't know how to be an official. In the future, he can only learn slowly from you." Xue Rengui smiled awkwardly and got up and said, "I'm really sorry to bother you for so long in the middle of the night!" Recently, there has always been a cloud in Xue's heart, and I began to doubt my ambitions and ideals. Tonight, talking with you is better than reading for ten years. Now Xue's heart is much more relaxed. There must be a way before the car arrives at the mountain. Xue followed Mu Bai step by step!"

Qin Mubai laughed and said, "Brother Xue, if you don't worry about me selling you, just follow me!"

"Don't be afraid!" Xue Rengui also smiled, "Xue has nothing to do, but he eats a lot!" Sell it at any time. Someone has to dare to buy it!"

"Haha!"

The two laughed and talked for a while. Xue Rengui left. When I walked, my footsteps were obviously much lighter.

Qin Mubai frowned and thought that the matter of Hou Junji had begun to affect the military heart of the Kansai army. If the court's judgment and treatment of Hou Junji is too vicious and unfair, it is bound to chill the hearts of some people. After all, in addition to the "unprenable" conspiracy, Hou Junji has always been conscientiously serving the Tang Dynasty and has made a lot of contributions. But his reputation outside is extremely stinky; his fate is also sad.

Even if he dies in the future, he may not get the respect he deserves.

"This may be fate, life, human nature. The three great gods of secularity, ethics and Gangchang can't afford to be provoked. Qin Mubai smiled bitterly, shook his head and sighed, "Hou Junji, there are only thirteen words in the letter you wrote to me - 'The scholar dies for his confidant, and Hou will live up to Qin Sanlang'!"

"You have long understood why I sent you to Dafeichuan, not Xue Wanjun or myself... It's like a house that is often visited by thieves. The master's family will chain a fierce dog to guard the house in front of the house; the difference is that I have tied a hungry wolf that can't be tied at all!"

"Maybe I will become their hero in the future; but one day people will understand that you are the real hero!"

"It's really a great success! ...Among all bones, there are not only enemies, but also their own compatriots!"

"This thousand-year history and thousands of miles of rivers and mountains are like a chessboard. Remove the makeup of the character skins on the surface. In fact, we are just insignificant chess pieces! The difference is that some pieces were eaten early and disappeared on the chessboard; some pieces will stay at the end to mark the so-called victory or defeat..."

"Your death fulfills my life; your sin fulfills my name; your sins fulfills my success!"

"These thirteen words are your vows and last words, as well as the shackles and irreparable guilt of my life! Just like my father's death..."