The great man will live forever

Chapter 225 Tempering of Blood and Fire

The pronunciation and meaning of "Qianshu" is: "Less than Township means Ju." When Guangwu first rode an ox, he killed Xinye Wei and got the horse. "The First Book" says that Wei, an official of Qin, has a rank of [-] to [-] shi.

Entering Tu Tangzi Township, the "Li" says: "Many places of execution are called Tu." There is Tangzi Mountain in Tangzi Township, which is in the southwest of Huyang County in today's Tangzhou.He also killed Captain Huyang.Huyang belongs to Nanyang County, now Tangzhou County.

"Dong Guan Ji" says: "Liu Zhong falsely claimed that he was a Jiangxia official, and he was trapped and killed." The distribution of wealth among the army was uneven, and everyone was angry and wanted to counterattack Liu.The people of the Guangwu Lian sect took all the things they got and gave them to them, and everyone was happy.

Jinba Jiyang, the name of the county, belongs to Nanyang County, in the Yang of Jishui, the ancient Xie country, and the old city is in the northwest of Huyang County, Tangzhou today.

The huge contrast between the encouragement of Lien Chan and Lianjie and the grief of losing his mother was like an earthshaking, rushing towards the Liu brothers at all times, directly dizzying their minds, blurring their judgment, and finally making a big mistake...

Since the Liu family has now become a "rebel" and a thorn in the side of the imperial court, her mother's family naturally did not dare to hold a grand funeral for her, and Liu Xiu and the others did not have time to rush over to the funeral because they were busy with the major events of the uprising. This is about the fate of millions of people.

In the end, their mother could only be restrained by the kind-hearted tribesman Fan Jugong and buried hastily outside the city.

How many people can understand the grief in the hearts of the Liu brothers and sisters?

Their mother Fan Xian was widowed at a young age, and she worked hard to raise a group of children. She was also dignified, gentle, abiding by women's ethics, and was respected by the clan.

Now, because of the Liu family's rebellion, there is no one to bury his dead, not even a decent tomb. How can this make Liu Xiu and the others feel so embarrassed?

What's more, the Han Dynasty governed the country based on filial piety, and Confucianism based it on filial piety. This is not a trivial matter, but a huge sacrifice. Even if in later generations, when their parents die, how can any son or daughter not go to the funeral?No tomb?
But they had no choice but to worship their mother from a distance and turn their grief into strength. Fortunately, successive victories gave them strength and confidence.

Humans are not machines. It is easy to make wrong judgments under the pressure of huge emotions. First, huge sadness, and then extreme joy, these emotions impact them.

After they finished resting, they actually asked all the Liu family members to accompany them and attack northward to Wancheng together, instead of leaving them in Jiyang, the base.

There may be two reasons for this. One is that the consecutive victories may have caused them to underestimate the enemy, and they did not consider the unfavorable situation of the battle at all. Although these family members cannot fight, they can also become a cheering group of relatives and friends. good;
Secondly, it was probably because their mother's death made them unable to bear a moment's separation from their loved ones. They were afraid that if they saw each other again, they would never see each other again, so they decided to have the whole family go to the battlefield together to live and die together!

Liu Xiu actually had worries in his heart, but they only passed away briefly. After all, this was the first time he had commanded people to fight and he had achieved so many victories. No matter how perfect a person is, he would inevitably underestimate the enemy.

Their reckless decision played right into the hands of Nanyang Prefect Zhen Fu.

After all, Liu Xiu and his eldest brother Liu Yan underestimated Zhen Fu. This person came from the Zhongshan Wuji Zhen family, the largest bureaucratic family in the New Dynasty. Together with Zhen Feng, Zhen Han, Zhen Xun and other three people, they each served as senior officials in the New Dynasty. They were known as the New Dynasty. Chao Si Zhen.

This old guy is about 45 years old now and is very loyal to Wang Mang. As early as the Green Forest Army poured into Nanyang, he began to mobilize troops, hoard food and grass, recruit talents, and recruit soldiers. By this time, he had ten elite soldiers. Ten thousand.

However, Zhen Fu, who has such strong capital, has been sitting in Nanyang and standing still. He obviously has a comprehensive plan in mind. If the Han army does not come, it will be annihilated.

More importantly, there was a world-famous general in the Zhenfu army who would shine brightly in the future. That was Cen Peng, who escaped from Jiyang and was later one of the 28 Yuntai generals.

At the end of the New Dynasty, Cen Peng became an official and acted as the head of Jiyang County (now Xinye County, Henan Province).

In the third year of the new emperor's reign (the 22nd year), Liu Yan launched an army to attack Jiyang. Cen Peng saw that the enemy was outnumbered and would not be able to defend it, so he took his family to defect to Zhenfu, the official of the front army (ie, the prefect of Nanyang).

In Wancheng, Liang Qiuci, the commander-in-chief of the county, took the lead in attacking, "Cen Peng, you abandoned the city with your family and fled, and you still dare to argue about the strong walls and the clearing of the country, and gave away a city to others for nothing. How can you fight like this?" ?"

"Master Liang has misunderstood. The general is from Jiyang and is familiar with Jiyang's terrain. At this time, he only deliberately let them into the city to make the rebels relax their vigilance before luring the enemy to annihilate them." Cen Peng said in a neither humble nor overbearing tone.

"How to annihilate, you tell me?"

Faced with Liang Qiuci's aggressiveness and Zhen Fu's annoyance, he could only say helplessly: "I have transferred all the food and grass in Jiyang City. There is no supply in the city and it cannot be used as a stronghold. After the thieves entered the city, they found that there was no supply. The proceeds will leave the city and go to the next city.

The bandit army is composed of Liu Yan's Chongling Army, as well as Xinshi and Pinglin. Wang Kuang of the Pinglin Army had some differences with Liu Yan when he was in Huyang. It must be that the two sides cannot exchange their needs. As long as one of them is attacked, Once chaos breaks out, we can no longer look at each other.

Jiyang Empty City is only the first step, and the general is also preparing for the next step. This time he will definitely be able to defeat the bandit army. "

Zhen Fu spoke at this time, "Where are you going to defeat the bandit army?"

Cen Peng pointed to the map and said: "This is where Xiao Chang'an gathers."

"Okay, you go with me, and your parents, wife and children can stay in Wancheng." Zhen Fu seemed to be thinking about him, but in fact he was imprisoning his family in disguise. Cen Peng had no choice but to do more.

At his suggestion, Zhen Fu ambushed the main force of the Mang Army around "Xiao Chang'an Ju", the gateway to Wancheng and the water and land transportation hub, and then lured the enemy deep into the city. He was bound to make dumplings for all these "rebels" and catch them all in one fell swoop!
After Zhen Fu arrived at Xiao Chang'an Ju, he used the dense trees and weeds on both sides of Xiao Chang'an as a cover. Liang Qiuci led his troops to ambush the left side of Xiao Chang'an, Cen Peng led his troops to ambush the right side of Xiao Chang'an, and Zhen Fu personally led the troops to ambush the rear, forming a A pocket surrounded by three sides.

It was planned to lay siege to the Han army by means of ambushes, side attacks, and blockades.After all, the troops led by Zhen Fu were regular troops that had been trained for a long time. They quickly arrived at the designated position and made various preparations, waiting only for the Han army to enter the ambush circle.

Sure enough, a few days later, the dumplings came jumping by themselves. It can be said that there are all kinds of dumplings for men, women and children. They are rich in meat fillings, delicious and juicy. It is early in the morning and the fog is thick. It is really a beautiful day and a rich breakfast. I don’t want to eat it. I'm sorry for my mouth.

Dazzled by the victory, Liu Xiu and Liu Yan's armies only wanted to capture Wancheng as soon as possible without conducting any reconnaissance along the way.

When the Han army gathered in Xiaochang'an, they found that the surrounding woods were dense, the terrain was extremely dangerous, and the roads were very difficult to walk. Coupled with the heavy fog from the sky, it looked completely white from a distance, and no one could be seen on the other side.

This weird weather inevitably made the Han army nervous, so Liu Yan ordered everyone to speed up and get out of the dangerous place as soon as possible.In this way, the Han army entered the ambush circle of Zhen Fu and Liang Qici step by step.

When Zhen Fu saw the Han army entering the ambush circle, he laughed loudly and ordered: "Kill!"

As he gave orders, a burst of gongs and drums suddenly sounded, and countless flying arrows were shot at the Han army, followed by rolling stones, fireballs...

"Help!"

"what!"

For a time, the Han army suffered heavy losses. Many Han soldiers returned to the west after a single encounter.
"All troops retreat!"

"Get out."

It was only at this time that Liu Yan realized that he had been ambushed. He never expected that the enemy would ambush here. He had not made any preparations before. There was chaos in an instant. Those who were shot to death by arrows were killed by swords and guns before they saw the enemy. It was stabbed to death and fell into pieces.

Liu Yan shouted, "Don't cause chaos, please retreat in an orderly manner!"

But in front of the regular army, this group of young soldiers and peasant rebels seemed a little unprofessional. They could not organize effective resistance, so they were killed by the new army and fled in all directions.

"Pfft!"

Liu Xiu killed an enemy soldier with one sword. Seeing the thick fog and enemy troops all around him, he knew that if he continued to fight, he would definitely suffer losses and might be wiped out. Thinking of this, he urged his horse to start going back. withdraw.

While running, Liu Xiu suddenly heard a cry for help, "Help, help!"

The voice was very familiar, and he immediately thought it was his third sister Liu Boji. He shouted, "Third sister, where are you?"

There was a thick fog all around, and he could only look for the direction of the sound and ride towards it. "Third sister, I'm here to save you." The speaker was Liu Xiu's second brother Liu Zhong. He held a sword and fought with the soldiers who were chasing the third sister. He killed one soldier in an instant, but was pierced by another soldier's sword. chest.

"Second brother!"

Blood splattered everywhere, and Liu Boji watched her second brother die tragically in order to protect herself. She rushed forward and hugged the fallen brother, feeling as if a knife was in her heart.

Seeing this, the Xinmang soldier on the side drew his sword, and blood spurted on her face again. It was so hot that she was stunned. She could only watch as the Xinmang soldier raised his sword to cut her head. This critical moment.

"Third sister, second brother, I'm here."

Liu Xiu came over on horseback, killed the Xinmang soldier with one sword, and quickly killed several soldiers around him. He got off the horse and looked at the second brother who was vomiting blood. His eyes were red. That was his second brother. Brother, brother, just dying in front of him.

"Xiu, take...take your sister with you."

The second brother Liu Zhong used his last strength to grab Liu Xiu's hand. As soon as his hand reached mid-air, it dropped weakly.

"Second brother!"

Liu Xiu's tears fell. He held back his grief and immediately carried his third sister Liu Boji onto the horse.

"Third sister, let's go."

Liu Xiu also took advantage of the opportunity to get on his horse and quickly rode away. He heard the screams behind him and his teeth were broken.

Those were the screams of their family members. After all, the generals were easy to deal with because they had horses; the soldiers were also okay because they had swords.

But the family members are all old, weak, women and children. They can only rely on their two weak and weak thighs to run around in the fog. Once they hit the butcher knives of the officers and soldiers, they will die. If they lose their way and cannot run, they can only wait for death. .

The whole little Chang'an was filled with shouts and cries, and the shrill blood dyed the red mist and soaked Zheng Yi. This was the Asura Hell.

If he could turn back time, Liu Xiu swore that he would never take his relatives out to fight again. He would rather be separated than die!
Just when he was regretting it, Liu Xiu rode a horse and ran with his sister Liu Boji. The two rode together and ran wildly. Behind them was an avalanche of white flowers, and the pursuers were like an avalanche. The pursuers' shouts to kill were clearly human voices. At this time It sounds like a ghost crying and a wolf howling, and the sound is soul-stirring.

The two ran not far when they met the second sister Liu Yuan again, dragging her three daughters with Deng Chen and stumbling away for their lives.

Liu Xiu quickly caught up and dismounted, "Second sister, get on your horse quickly."

At such an important moment of life and death, he actually asked his second sister and the others to mount their horses quickly. The relationship between them is deep. In other words, even though Liu Xiu is a descendant of Liu Bang, his personality is completely different from Liu Bang. Liu Bang is more like a hero. He He is a benevolent king, more like Liu Bei.

That year, during the Battle of Pengcheng, Liu Bang led a coalition of more than 50 princes to defeat Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, and attacked Pengcheng, the capital of Chu, but was ultimately defeated by Xiang Yu and [-] elite troops.

After Liu Bang suffered such a defeat, the first thing he thought of was to escape.

In order to escape for his life, Liu Bang even kicked his biological son and daughter out of the car many times during his escape. However, he was rescued many times by the coachman. In order to prevent Liu Bang from kicking his children out of the car again, the coachman asked them to hug him tightly. neck.

Liu Bang was very angry about this and tried to kill the coachman many times. Fortunately, he escaped from danger in the end.

The children Liu Bang abandoned many times were the children of him and Empress Lu, who later became Princess Lu Yuan and Emperor Hui of Han. The coachman was also none other than Xia Houying, Liu Bang's friend when he was the pavilion chief of Surabaya. After Liu Bang became emperor, Xiahou Ying was granted the title of Marquis of Ruyin.

Tiger poison does not eat its seeds. Liu Bang wanted to escape and pushed his son and daughter off the carriage in order to reduce the weight. But Liu Xiu actually let his second sister get on the horse at such a life and death crisis. It was just a horse, not a horse. carriage.

Liu Yuan looked at her three crying little girls, then at her two embarrassed siblings, and the poor panting horse, waved her hand and said with a bitter smile: "You go, if you save us, you can't leave either." !”

Liu Xiu was anxious and sad. He was sweating profusely and bursting into tears. His whole body seemed to be washed by water and he couldn't move. He thought this was a separation for life or a farewell for death!
"God, why do you do this to me?" Liu Xiu's eyes almost shed tears of blood.

When Liu Yuan saw that Liu Xiu refused to leave, he said angrily: "In the battle of Pengcheng, my Emperor Gao was at a disadvantage. He drove his chariot at a high speed with the pursuers behind him. Emperor Gao wanted to abandon his son and daughter for the sake of our Han Dynasty! Now Uncle Wen also He is a man of great things, why is he so indecisive!"

"Second brother, let's go. You have to stay behind for my Liu family." Liu Boji hurriedly persuaded her. She could already hear the shouts of the pursuing soldiers behind her.

After all, Liu Xiu had great ambitions, and he didn't want to die. Reason told him that staying here was just a useless sacrifice. He endured his grief, so he had no choice but to get on his horse and continue running with his sister.

He hadn't gone very far when he heard the screams of his sister and nieces. He couldn't help but feel heartbroken, but there was nothing he could do. The only thing he could do was to speed up and run around, and shouted to the trembling Liu Boji. Said: "Sister, hug brother tightly and don't look back!"

……

Soon, the Han soldiers fled back to Jiyang one after another. Liu Xiu counted the troops and suffered heavy losses, especially the Liu clan, whose family members were almost all dead.

Liu Xiu's second brother Liu Zhong was killed in battle.The second sister Liu Yuan and her three daughters died tragically.The wife and second son of Liu Liang, the adoptive father, were killed.The wife and children of clan brother Liu Jia also died.

Therefore, Liu Zhiben, the legitimate son of the Marquis of Chungling, was ambushed behind the Zhongdian in the battle at Xiaochang'an, and immediately retreated to defend Jiyang.The reckless officers and soldiers came after him and told Liu Zhi that his mother, wife and children had been arrested, and asked Liu Zhi to open the door and surrender.Under such a threat, Liu Zhi still insisted on guarding Jiyang, preserving the only base for the large army.

As a result, more than ten members of his family were killed by the reckless army. Liu Xiu's second brother-in-law Deng Chen not only lost his wife and daughter, but the Xinye County magistrate dug up their ancestral home and ancestral graves in Xinye and burned them to the ground.

The people of the Deng family were very angry and cursed him: "My family was already very wealthy, why did we follow my wife's family into the boiling water pot? Now we are fine, they are all dead, and our ancestors' graves have been digged up. Are you happy?" Alright?"

Deng Chen said nothing, his eyes were red, but he never looked regretful.

In this battle, nearly a hundred of Liu's family members were buried in the wilderness with no way to collect their bodies. The whole family was destroyed and everyone was killed. It was extremely tragic. The whole Jiyang was filled with mourning and mourning.

This is probably fate. Heaven is unpredictable. To get what you have never got, you have to lose something you don't want to lose.

If these dead Liu clan members had not died and lived until the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, they would have been princes, generals, prime ministers, and princesses' wives. But now, they can only return to dust and earth, and gain glory underground and in ancestral temples.

The sky in Jiyang is blood-colored; there is a cloud in it, which is also blood-colored.

This is a bloody lesson. This lesson tells Liu Xiu and his eldest brother Liu Yan that war is never a child's play, let alone a dinner treat. If you are not careful, your whole family will be wiped out and blood will flow like a river...

Some people, such as Xiang Yu and Huo Qubing, are gifted talents who need no training and can stand proudly in the past and present.

Some people, like Liu Xiu, must have their robes stained with blood, have their hearts engraved on their bones, dig out their hearts and wash away their marrow, and go through many hardships before they can soar in the sky.

　I sincerely recommend that you don’t feel dim when you see others shining. Let others be strong, and the breeze blows over the mountains. In life, people have different rhythms. Some people make instant noodles in three minutes, some make soup in three hours, and some take out food. arrived.

　　Just keep going the way you want, and don't think too much. Every flowering period is different. Don't be anxious. Someone has it before you do. So, don't overwhelm yourself when you encounter a little pressure. Before you succeed, you In this life, you will have to take detours, you will have to endure hardships, you will have to hit the wall, you will have to suffer losses, all of them are indispensable. Let go of the entanglements.

　　If you fail in the exam, try harder, if you lose your job, find another one, if you lose your money, make more money, if you lose your friends, you can make them again, if you lose your love, you can meet them again. There is nothing in life, so why can't you start all over again? Don't look around, don't suffer Influenced by others, move forward boldly, and your light will eventually shine.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)