Great Han Empire

Chapter 382

"The Journey to the West"

Author: Scarlet Coral
Chapter No.17 Bing Feng is approaching the city

He is in the city, where the Changshui camp is stationed.

After surviving on the battlefield of life and death, and returning to the King City of Qiuci after more than two months, seeing He Chong, Tuo Bafeng and many other comrades, Zhao Guang and others all felt reborn as human beings.

At night, the Changshui camp, which went to the northwest to meet the trapped camp, returned to the city, but returned empty-handed.Liu Tan looked at Zhao Guang's expectant eyes, and shook his head apologetically: the thousands of cavalry in Changshuiying had almost run out of horsepower these days, but they still couldn't find the gaps in the long front of the Guishuang Army.Guishuang's army crossed the border, leaving no humans and animals behind, and the news from the west has been completely cut off.Falling into the camp is like a bubble emerging from the water, disappearing out of thin air from the sight of everyone in his dry city.

The uncertainty of life and death in the camp makes people worry, but there is also good news: the first batch of reinforcements from the Han Dynasty, General Ma Chao's [-] Liangzhou cavalry finally arrived before nightfall.Pang De was born in Liangzhou, and he was known as a brother to Ma Chao. He was overjoyed when he heard the news that he had arrived with his army, and quickly ordered a banquet to be held in the camp to wash away the dust of his comrades who came from afar.

When Ma Chao and his party were still a few blocks away from the camp of the Western Expeditionary Army, Pound had already received the report, and hurriedly led dozens of major generals of the Western Expeditionary Army out of the camp to meet them outside the camp.There were still ten feet away from each other, so Ma Chao jumped off his horse, walked forward and bowed to everyone, saying loudly:

"The generals greet you with such a big gift, Ma can't afford it!"

Pang De took a few steps forward, grabbed the hand of Ma Chao who was coming up, and said enthusiastically: "Meng Qi, we two brothers will be together again! It's been a hard journey, brother, what did I tell you in my letter? This time we come here to ensure that there will be a big battle to fight. How about it? There are a hundred thousand Guishuang cubs waiting for your iron cavalry to deal with them. You haven’t broken your promise? Are you still talking?” After finishing speaking, he burst out laughing.The laughter was so loud that it startled a nest of orioles on a nearby branch and flew away.Then he looked at Ma Xiu and Ma Tie at the side and said, "Shu Jian and Ji Yue have been gone for almost two years. It's hard for my brother to think about it. How are you all?"

Ma Tie and Ma Dai replied in unison: "It's all good, we also often miss big brother."

Pang De looked at them with mocking eyes and said, "Okay, I miss you, and you miss me too. After all, we brothers are of one heart!" There was another burst of laughter, and then he grabbed Fazheng and asked, "Xiaozhi, I heard you In the middle of last year, the horse was startled, and the arm was heavily wounded, is it not in the way now?"

Fazheng replied with a smile, "Thank you, Brother Hongfu, your arms are neat now, and you don't have any disabilities."

"That's good, good. As the saying goes, 'Auspicious people have their own heaven'." Pang De turned to Ma Dai again: "Ji Yue, I heard that your Zhaoxue lion died while fighting the Qiang people. Have good feet?"

"I got another dark horse from Xianbei. Although it's not as good as the original one, it's still usable."

"Hey, brother, there is nothing else here. There are quite a few good horses from the Western Regions. You can pick one later. On the battlefield, a general like you can't do without a capable horse."

"Thank you, brother. My horse is quite strong now. If it wasn't for it, I wouldn't have traveled so fast all the way from Chang'an."

Pang De greeted each of the generals who followed Ma Chao affectionately, and then walked forward accompanied by the accompanying people.Hundreds of generals of the Western Expeditionary Army in the camp had already been led by General Anyi (from General Sanpin), they were divided into two lines, and they stood respectfully along the road to welcome Ma Chao and others. — This happiness is indeed an expression of their true feelings.After these months of hard fighting, and now facing nearly [-] strong enemies, who would not feel sincerely happy and excited about the strong reinforcements they received today?What's more, in the Western Expeditionary Army, there were quite a few generals from Xiliang.When Ma Chao approached the generals beside Gongli Road, he bowed and crossed his hands, leading the way and shouting:

"Congratulations to General Zhenxi!"

All the generals then saluted with their hands crossed, and said, "Welcome to General Zhenxi!" with very neat movements.Ma Chao looked at the two generals, then looked back at Pang De, and said with a smile:
"Why, come with me? You are so polite!" He hastily bowed his hands to the generals and said, "Ma is not an outsider here, so he doesn't need to do this. Besides, if you follow the etiquette, You didn't prepare the drums either."

Qianzhao said: "Reporting to General Ma, it's wartime and we can't give a full salute. Next time we welcome the general, we must set off cannons, play music, and complete the bells and drums."

Ma Chao nodded, patted Qianzhao on the shoulder heavily, and said loudly, "Okay, Zijing! I accept your favor!"

When he walked among the greeting generals on both sides of the road, he kept saying hello to the generals he knew, and even made a joke, which made everyone feel that he was kind to others, like a brother, without the airs of a general.When he walked in front of Pang Hui and Li Xin, Ma Chao reached out and grabbed Li Xin's shoulder, pulled him closer, and said affectionately:

"Good boy, I haven't seen you for more than two years. You jumped up and you are almost as tall as Uncle Ma. You have grown into an adult. How is it, Bocheng, has your marksmanship improved?"

Li Xin's unprecedentedly handsome face flushed, and he replied respectfully: "My nephew keeps practicing and has improved a little."

"Okay, uncle will test you when you have time. If you really make progress, you will be rewarded a lot." Xianzhong put down Li Xin, and twisted one of Pang Hui's ears with two fingers, making him tilt his head and frown. But he didn't dare to break free, "Is it Xiao Hei? Has he grown so tall? Do you often violate military discipline recently?"

"Reporting to General Ma, the subordinate is now in command of a battalion, always setting an example and not daring to violate discipline at all."

"Little guy, you really speak like a grown-up! It's all official." Ma Chao rubbed Pang Hui's dark face again, as if he wanted to know whether the muscles on his face were real or not. "Look, when I saw you in Chang'an back then, you were only this tall," he compared his hands on his chest, "You were a half-grown kid, playing in the mud and fighting in the streets all day long. I saw you in the martial arts hall the year before last. , you, at most I can reach the height of my eyebrows. But in a blink of an eye, you are like a crop that has been rained. You jumped up and grew taller than Uncle Ma! Oh, even your beard is so prickly. He turned to Pound and asked, "How about it, is this little guy brave in war?"

Pang De stroked his long beard and replied, "There are still kinds."

Ma Chao patted Pang Hui on the shoulder and said, "I can tell. Xiao Hei, how about working under your uncle's tent for a few years? I'll also give you a battalion of troops. It's quite suffocating to face your father's black face here all day long." Are you bent? Hehe..."

Pang De said with a smile: "Meng Qi, if you think highly of Botong, you can take him away. However, there is no injustice, you have to take Ji Yue (Ma Dai's nickname) or Zijing (Meng Da's name) Table word) lend me to use."

"My good brother, you don't want to suffer!"

Everyone laughed happily when they heard this, but Pang Hui was so embarrassed that his face turned red.

After passing through the two lines of greeting generals, Ma Chao, accompanied by Pound and several main generals, walked to the big tent.As he walked, he said, "It's a pity that Zhongda didn't come out. Although he has a bad mouth, it's been a long time since I've seen him, but I really miss him."

"If it wasn't for the medical craftsman who said that Zhongda couldn't get out of bed because he was resting, I would have asked him to accompany you, and I wouldn't force him to stay in the tent. After the banquet, you and I will go and see him."

"Okay." Ma Chao nodded, and asked in a low voice, "On the way I came here just now, I heard that Lao Gao's camp is missing?"

Pound showed a hint of pain, "Yes, so far there is no news at all. It's hard to say whether he is alive or dead."

"Although Lao Gao acted too straightforwardly and offended many people over the years, he is a rare good general. He is upright and a good man who would rather die than surrender." Ma Chao said with a sigh.

"So he insisted that he want to end the queen for the army. I thought that there was really no better candidate, so I agreed to him. These days, I feel very uncomfortable because of his affairs."

Ma Chao comforted: "Brother, don't feel sad. Now that Guishuang's son has blocked the road, and the news from the west is not smooth, let's send more scouts to find out the news, maybe he is still alive."

Everyone entered the big tent, after Pang De invited Ma Chao to take a seat, he turned his head and saw Ma Chao's younger sister Ma Yunlu, and hurriedly greeted him: "I almost forgot that we have a female general, sister Yunlu, forgive me, you are always good .”

"I've seen Brother Pang." Ma Yunlu is Ma Teng's youngest daughter, she is 25 years old.Her appearance is seven to eight points similar to Ma Chao, she is naturally an outstanding beauty, and her long military career has given her a heroic spirit that other women rarely see.Yunlu has been fighting with her elder brother since she was a teenager, leading the army with a woman, and has repeatedly made military exploits. She has a high reputation in Xiliang and is known as the "Heavenly Lady General".During the war that year, Yunlu attracted many young talents in the Northern Xinjiang Army with her beauty and talent, and there were many suitors, but she always refused because of the fact that ZTE had not yet been established, and she never talked about marriage.After Zhongxing, she finally disregarded the opposition of many parties and resolutely married Fazheng, a poor family teacher who was a teacher in the family at the time and a teenager older than herself, as his wife.After Yunlu got married, her husband and wife loved each other and had a son, but she did not take off her military uniform and handed her son over to her sister-in-law, Dong Shi, to raise her. She and her husband still serve in the Zhenxi Army.

"Oh, sister! You really have a way. I heard that you were pregnant with a child at the time, and you were still leading thousands of burnt Qiang cavalry around in Xihai (now Qinghai Lake)! If it weren't for the winter before last, you and Xiaozhi had a few fierce battles at the beach Well, Ma’s army can’t stand still in Jincheng County.”

Ma Yunlu smiled and said: "Brother, don't believe those rumors. If it weren't for the concerted efforts of all the soldiers, what can I do as a woman!"

"It's too modest, too modest. You are an extraordinary woman. You don't give in to men. When fighting wits and courage on the battlefield, many men will lose to you."

Ma Yunlu's pretty face flushed, and she spat softly: "Nonsense! I haven't seen Brother Pang for a few years, but you have learned to make fun of my sister."

The dinner was not extravagant, and there was even a very small amount of good wine for the sake of combat, so drinking was not allowed, but the atmosphere during the banquet was still warm and harmonious.After Pound welcomed the brothers from the Zhenxi Army on behalf of the Western Expeditionary Army, several senior generals briefly exchanged information on the city defense garrison.After having a full meal, all the generals were gearing up one after another, looking forward to the arrival of the big battle with some excitement.

Early the next morning, Pound ordered the east gate of the city to be opened based on Fazheng's words, allowing the merchants, monks, and citizens in the city to leave freely, but there were only two rules: "Let's leave the city and not enter again. Life and death are up to God when you leave the city."

Zhao Guang sat in the tent, wiping the blood-soaked tip of the gun, thinking silently.

With the arrival of the Zhenxi Army, the imperial court also awarded awards for the previous battles, and the soldiers who made meritorious service were promoted one after another: Liu Tan was promoted to be the captain of Changshui (the captain of the Northern Army of the fourth rank), and Guan Ping was promoted to the general of Fenwei (from Sipin). Pin Miscellaneous General), Pang Huizheng was Xingping Lu Zhonglang General (from Sipin Miscellaneous Zhonglang General), Li Xin was promoted to Kou Kou Captain (from Sipin Xiaowei)...and Zhao Guang was also promoted to Cavalry Captain.

The official position has been promoted, but now there is a shortage of manpower in every battalion, so naturally Zhao Guang's trilogy cannot be replenished.Zhao Neng put down his old face and used his extremely secret network to select two hundred elite soldiers from the newly built Kucha camp.The two hundred Kucha soldiers were all first-class young men, strong in physique, tall in stature, and all good at riding, but they had never been on the battlefield, so their combat power was naturally far inferior to that of their old brothers.But the big battle is imminent, and there is no time to practice well, so they can only use the blood of the enemy and ourselves as nourishment in the next battle, and gradually grow up.Thinking of blood, Zhao Guang couldn't help but think of his good friend Zhang Xiong who died in the Congling River Battle, and Zhang Hu and Xian Yu Guilai who disappeared with the camp, feeling sad and bitter: those who survived the war are so lucky, However, those who survived inevitably had a lot of mental burden due to the dead friends.

At this moment, Zhao Guang suddenly felt someone coming in, and when he looked up, the person who came was Arda, a long-lost young man in peace.

"Arda, why haven't you left the city yet?"

Arda smiled slyly and said, "My lord, don't forget that I am still your servant. How dare I leave without the master's order?"

"Okay, now I'm officially rescinding the master-servant contract. Take your people away from this war-torn land. Now ride a fast horse out of the east gate and go north to Wusun. If you're lucky, you can avoid Guishuang Or go directly to the east and take refuge in Gaochang City." Zhao Guang has always been a little wry at the "master-servant relationship" that Arda unilaterally concluded, and after a long time he gradually understood that this is actually Arda A kind of self-protection measure at that time, "I know you are not an extraordinary person, let alone a servant, but since you don't want to reveal your identity, I won't force you. Go quickly, and you won't be able to leave if it's too late."

"You are a wise and merciful man, may the god of fire bless you with a great victory. My real name is Ardashir, a descendant of Sassan (the grandfather of Ardashir, Sassan, was Anahit The priest of the temple (the Persian Sasanian Empire later established by Arda Hill was named after this), is the governor of Fars Province in Parthia, and Arda is my baby name, so I am not lying. You The knight killed in Shule City...is my servant, but he also helped the King of Rest to spy on me."

"Hehe, as expected, you have a very strong background. Arda, although you are full of mystery, you are a good person. After getting along with you for so many days, I have already regarded you as a friend. Say goodbye today, I hope there will be a period later!"

Ardasil smiled and said: "I have a wonderful premonition that we will definitely meet again. In fact, besides saying goodbye, I am here mainly to send a letter for a distinguished lord. Goodbye, my Friend!" After saying this, he solemnly put a piece of carefully folded silk into Zhao Guang's hands, saluted his chest, turned and left.

Zhao Guang opened the silk and took a look, and a line of familiar elegant characters came into view:

"You have been away for a month, but you can't get swan geese. I miss you so much, taste the dream, and look forward to meeting you. However, Wusun has changed, and the lives of the concubines are hanging. I have to return. I can't help myself. Before leaving, weeping, Wan With a thousand words, it is difficult to say goodbye to Ding Ning, and I hope to meet you in Wusun in the future.

Alas, I said wood, writing this letter is really tiring. Although I read it several times, I don’t know if I wrote it wrong.In short, be careful, after this battle, you must come to Chigu City (the capital of Wusun Kingdom, on the shore of Issyk-Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan today) to see me, Haiya. "

Zhao Guang read it carefully for a few minutes, closed the silk, took out another letter from his pocket (see Chapter 7), looked at it again, and sighed.Although he has been trying to suppress his emotions since leaving Gaochang, invisibly, the few words of the beautiful woman before leaving have become his great spiritual sustenance during the battle.During the Battle of Congling River, when I heard Guan Ping's words "Are you married yet?", my heart was filled with the image of Haiya for a moment.Zhao Guang stacked two pieces of silk, solemnly stuffed them into his bosom, and said softly to himself: "Hai Ya, the mountain of swords and the sea of ​​fire, I will definitely go to Wusun to see you alive, so please wait for me!"

At the beginning of August, Guishuang's large-scale rangers began to frequently appear outside Hegan City. The Yueqi school Wei Ling led the Yueqi battalion out of the city to fight, dispersed them, and beheaded hundreds.

On the ninth day of August, the scouts reported that Guishuang's army, with a total of more than [-] infantry and cavalry, had assembled five miles southwest of Gancheng and began to build a camp.A big battle is imminent.

(End of this chapter)