Defend the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 45 The Last Lieutenant Zhechong
It is still forgivable for heaven to commit evil, but human beings cannot live for evil.

Not only did Li Chengye turn his back on the situation before the battle, but he also uttered nonsense without restraint, he was looking for his own death.

Han Shimei looked at his broken jar, thinking that this in-law could not have it anymore, and as for Sanlang...it wasn't too difficult.

Sanlang just likes Yu'er, not a bastard who doesn't regret his death, at worst, after beheading him, he punishes his concubines and Yu'er as slaves and sells them, and then buys Yu'er back at that time.

While Han Shimei was thinking about how to kick out the ball that dealt with Li Chengye so that he could come forward to rescue Yu'er as a benefactor in the future, Han Ping'an was also troubled by this careless old man.

As the general of the military city, he does not promote positive energy, but only spreads negative energy.

Usually, he often complained in front of his subordinates. Even Chang'an's plan to hand over Anxi to Tubo came from his mouth. Almost all the soldiers in the military city knew about it.It can be said that Qian Chonghou and others rebelled, and he bears the unshirkable responsibility.

If it were someone else, Han Ping'an would embarrass him.

But he is not someone else, he is Yu'er's biological father and his own father-in-law.

As a junior, he couldn't blame the elders. Han Ping'an looked around and found a familiar figure, and his eyes lit up immediately.

"Old man Chen, don't hide behind and watch the excitement. Come here and talk to them."

"What are you calling me for? I can't speak."

Although Yichang Chen muttered, he still rode over on an old horse from the back of the team that left the city privately.

When did this old fox get in here...

Qian Chonghou was very afraid of Yichang Chen, and he couldn't help but look behind him, confirming that the brothers who went out of the city together were not messed up, and then he was slightly relieved.

"Uncle Six, Qian Chonghou, old man Chen, you should be very familiar with him."

"Sanlang, it's none of your business here."

Faced with his son-in-law Li Chengye, he felt a little guilty. After thinking about it, he couldn't help but explain: "Uncle Six is ​​not crazy, what Uncle Six is ​​saying is from the heart. To have this group of brothers, Uncle Six did not come to this world in vain. Anyway, he is dying soon. Why don't you let your sixth uncle spit it out?"

"I've scolded and scolded, isn't it very happy?"

"Happy, I've never been so happy, it's worth dying."

Li Chengye was full of complacency, which seemed to mean "making a quick success with a sword".

Han Ping'an was completely convinced, thinking that what the old man said was right, I really don't know how he, the Qianniuwei Zhonglang, would do it, so he simply turned around and said: "Old man Chen, my sixth uncle and Qian Chonghou talked about it just now. So much, it sounds reasonable."

"Bullshit logic!"

How could Yichang Chen not know what Han Sankuang called him to do? What's more, he was full of anger, pointing at Li Chengye and growling: "You are a ten-year-old man, have you gone into the stomach of a living dog? Lao Tzu!" Let me tell you, this is Tang Dynasty's Western Region, Lao Tzu's Western Region, and your Li Chengye's Western Region as well!"

Li Chengye was confused by the scolding, and couldn't help asking: "Mr. Chen, what exactly do you want to say?"

"You think that you, Li Chengye, have brothers, and I also have brothers. All the five hundred sons I brought from my hometown in Shandong died in the battle. If I really gave this place to Tubo, wouldn't my five hundred sons die in vain!"

"Chen Yichang, have you led soldiers before?"

"You just said that when you fought on the battlefield, General An was still guarding the gate of Guishu, and when I led the troops to fight, you Li Chengye was still in the womb. The hero does not mention the bravery of the year, let's talk about you. People can't forget their roots. , Think about how you became an official, whether you were recruited secretly in the first place, and think about how your grandfather died!"

"Have you met your ancestor?"

"I haven't seen it, but I've heard of it."

Yichang Chen lowered his arms and turned to look in the direction of Dashi in black: "Back then, when I brought my sons and daughters all the way here, I was told that such a large area was taken back from the Turkic people by your grandfather. Yes. Let me promise to keep it, or I will be sorry for so many soldiers who died in battle, including your grandfather."

Li Chengye asked curiously: "What happened later?"

"I'm incompetent. All the five hundred sons I brought from my hometown died in battle and failed to hold on. The place your grandfather and others fought desperately to fight, and the place where all five hundred brothers of Lao Tzu died in battle, you don't want it if you don't want it. , are you worthy of your grandfather, are you worthy of my brothers who died in battle?"

Recalling those years, Yichang Chen burst into tears.

Li Chengye was scolded a lot, but he was speechless.

Qian Chonghou finally knew what the old man in front of him used to do. It turned out that he was the guardian envoy before the fall of Yele City last time.Didn't it mean that the whole army was wiped out? How did he, the defender, survive?

"Sanlang respects you as an elder, I'm sorry to say you, I'll help him talk to you."

Chen Yichang wiped away his old tears, and looked at them with hatred for iron and steel: "You complained a lot of suffering just now, it seems that you are wronged, but have you ever thought about what we are here for? What is the general here for?"

Li Chengye said in a low voice: "Surf the border."

"I thought you didn't know, so let me ask you again, what are the ages of the subordinates behind you, how many of them can go to battle, and how many of them can count as five? There are not many people who are three, do you expect you to be able to keep it?"

"..."

"Why did the general recruit local guards? In the final analysis, isn't it to defend Yele? To put it bluntly, it is to let you farm the fields to contribute, and use the food you grow to recruit and train local soldiers to work hard. This business is very fair, and you still think it is acceptable. What a grievance."

"But……"

"But what, hasn't it been paid for two years? I can tell you that Chang'an hasn't issued cloth to Anxi for three years. General An is a clever woman who can't live without rice. What do you ask him to pay you! "

Yichang Chen took a deep breath, and continued, "I know you are homesick, but do you know what's going on in the pass now?"

The situation in the pass is not very good, otherwise the Fubing system would not exist in name only.

Although Qian Chonghou felt that Chen Yichang's words were reasonable, he still said unconvinced: "One must return to one's roots."

"What do you mean by returning to your roots? I bet that if you guys really go back to your hometown, most of you will starve to death, and you won't even have a place to bury your bones! Although staying here is a bit bitter and lonely, you will eventually have something to eat. At least there is someone to take care of the funeral after death, and there is a place to bury it. Think about it, there is no place to bury people in the loess."

The old soldiers put down their weapons one after another, some were sobbing softly, some were weeping silently.

Chen Yichang said while the iron was hot: "This is our home, as long as we can keep it, let alone let me farm, I am willing to let me be a cow or a horse!"

Qian Chonghou muttered: "But the emperor and those people in the court don't plan to want Anxi anymore."

"Sanlang, you tell them this."

"Sixth Uncle, a Zhonglang General from Longyou wrote to you about this, right?"

"Yes."

Han Pingan took out the letter from his pocket and asked, "Is this letter sent to you by the Zhonglang from Longyou who entrusted Sogdian merchant Bai Shuode?"

Li Chengye snatched the letter and asked angrily, "Why is the letter in your hand?"

"You are my sixth uncle and my father-in-law, and you are not an outsider. I found this letter in your room."

Han Ping'an chuckled, and continued: "Actually, this news was deliberately let you know. As for this incident, it did happen, but the letter was incomplete and the time was wrong."

Li Chengye asked eagerly: "What's going on?"

"Three years ago, some people in the court felt that they had to give me so much cloth from Anxi every year, but there was no return for the effort, and Tubo frequently invaded, and planned to make peace with Tubo, but most people in the court opposed it. The emperor finally They didn’t agree either, otherwise Tubo would have come to take over Yele.”

"This was three years ago!"

"Sixth Uncle, think about it, it was clearly three years ago, why did they tell you at this time, and why didn't they say everything and only half of it?"

Li Chengye was dumbfounded, and sat on the horseback foolishly without making a sound.

Yichang Chen asked without losing the opportunity: "Li Chengye, I've said everything I need to say. I'll ask you one more question, whether to keep this place, or not to keep it?"

Li Chengye said vaguely: "Yes, of course, I must stick to it."

Yichang Chen nodded, turned his horse's head and walked towards Shuaiqi.

General Wang recognized Yichang Chen, and couldn't help shouting "How is Captain Chen?"

General An let go of the rein and bowed his hands from afar, while Han Shimei showed a knowing smile.

He's just a postmaster with the lowest rank, not even high-ranking, so why did he become a captain.Even if he had been a captain, the two generals would not respect him so much.

The Guishu soldiers who came to put down the rebellion couldn't believe it was true, and even the night watchmen who thought they knew Yichang Chen very well were dumbfounded.

Those old soldiers who disobeyed the military order and left put down their weapons and were arrested without a fight. Qian Chonghou and that Liu Sangen didn't act like monsters anymore, Guishu's soldiers surrounded them under Cui Han's signal.

With the overall situation settled, Han Shimei was in a good mood, and couldn't help but formally introduce Yichang Chen to the night watchman who had been his personal guard for more than ten days.

"He's really just a captain, but he's not a captain who doesn't pay his rewards, but a captain of Zhechong. He once guarded Yele, but he didn't. The five hundred soldiers who died in Yele in that battle, They were all practiced by him when he was in Zhechong Mansion, and they were all brought from his hometown in Shandong.

The reason why he lived was not because he was greedy for life and afraid of death, but because he fainted to death on the city wall due to his injuries.The Tubo leader thought he was dead, respected him as a hero, and let the false Taoist priest who was captured at that time collect his body. The false Taoist priest also thought he was dead at first, but later found that he still had a trace of life, so he came here to change his post..."

Captain Zhechong decades ago was the real leader of the army.

At that time, the general was only leading the troops to fight, and after the battle, he had to hand over the soldiers from all over the country to Captain Zhechong to bring them back.But now Captain Zhechong no longer leads troops, or has no soldiers to lead, and has almost become a loose-ranked official in name only.

Chen Lvshuai of the night watch team was full of emotions, and smiled wryly: "I finally understand why he always said that he would never go back to his hometown when he was killed. It turned out that all his sons who practiced with his own hands died here, but he was the only one alive, and it would be shameless to go back. To the elders in my hometown."

Han Shimei nodded, looked at Chen Yichang who was greeting General Wang in the distance, and sighed: "Who would have thought that such a bad old man is most likely the last living and real Captain Zhechong of our Tang Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)