Longevity, starting from traveling and telling stories

Chapter 166: Three Kingdoms, Deng Ai sneaks across Yinping, Zhuge Zhan dies in Mianzhu

Lost Town, on the training ground.

The place is already full of people.

Ye Beixuan stood in the queue and felt that the calves of many people around him began to tremble. They were obviously extremely nervous.

He looked around. The team was quite orderly. The dark crowd was mostly made up of children, dressed in a variety of clothes, basically either coarse cloth or rags, without even a trace of brocade.

Some people carried heavy bags, some only had a water bag, and some only had a kitchen knife.

"Everyone, line up and stand straight!" A man, obviously an officer, rode up on horseback and said in a loud, full-throated voice, "Sir Zhang will speak shortly. Anyone who dares to interrupt will be punished by military law."

The recruits quickly straightened their backs.

Ye Beixuan was tall and thin. Since they were all new recruits, the formation was quite chaotic. People in front, behind, and on both sides of him were pushing him, but he stood still like a wooden stake.

At this moment, a cold wind blew, and some new recruits who were wearing relatively thin clothes shivered with cold.

At this time, Ye Beixuan noticed that there was a new recruit next to him, who looked about sixteen years old. Although his eyes looked honest, his gaze was firm, and he touched his arms from time to time.

"Feeling uncomfortable?" Ye Beixuan asked in a low voice.

The child shook his head, turned his head and looked back in the direction of home, and said calmly: "Here is half a cake. My mother baked it for me overnight. It's still a little warm. When I touch it, I feel like my mother is still here."

"What's your name? Why did you join the army?" Ye Beixuan asked curiously.

"My name is Li Shun. My family is poor. I have several younger brothers and sisters to support. My father worked odd jobs at the Zhou Family Inn. He was beaten to death by a drunken guest. He paid thirty taels in compensation, but he couldn't support my younger brothers and sisters, so he joined the army to seek a way out."

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from afar, interrupting their conversation. The sound came from far away and got closer.

The two looked at the same time and saw a group of soldiers coming towards them.

One of them was wearing Ming Guang armor, which shone brightly in the sun, and his helmet emitted a bright aura, which was very majestic.

The other person looked weak, wearing ordinary cloth armor, with a hideous scar from his eyes to his cheek. Ye Beixuan recognized at a glance that this was Fox Meir. She had boldly restored her original appearance, but also disguised herself to be slightly masculine, looking like a weak "man".

"The governor is here!" the person next to him whispered, his tone full of envy.

At this time, Li Shun's heart beat faster.

He had heard that the Jiedushi was a high-ranking official with great prestige and was a senior official relied upon by the court. It was said that the Jiedushi were all great heroes who had killed countless enemies.

I saw it with my own eyes today and it really lives up to its reputation.

Jiedushi Zhang glanced majestically at the training ground, reined in his horse with a "whoosh", and jumped off the horse.

His movements were clean and neat, and his armor made crisp and pleasant clash sounds, but everyone always felt that his legs were a little out of coordination.

At this moment, the training ground was completely silent, and everyone even held their breath.

"Comrades," said Zhang Jiedushi, standing with his hands behind his back, gently patting his waist. Hu Mei'er, hiding behind him, couldn't help but giggle. He spoke loudly, "You are joining the army today to serve your country. Now that Beiliang is wreaking havoc on our Great Zhou border, killing our children and stealing our women, we should strike hard, drive Beiliang away, and establish our cause."

Li Shun secretly clenched his fists.

He remembered that before he left, his mother held his hand with tears in her eyes. She had so many words to say but couldn't say them. She just kept apologizing: "Shun'er, your father is gone. I know you have been sensible since you were young. I also know that you did this for your brothers and sisters. I am useless."

He came to join the army, not to serve the country or make achievements, but simply because being a soldier can at least give him enough food to eat, become an official, and protect his mother and his younger brothers and sisters from being bullied.

"The journey to the border is long, and life and death are uncertain." Jiedushi Zhang's voice suddenly fell, but then rose again: "But we are men of our generation, how can we be afraid of death? Now that Beiliang is there, should we kill them without a single survivor?"

"Kill!" An officer took the lead and roared loudly, the momentum soaring into the sky.

"Kill, kill, kill!" The recruits were so excited by the shouting that they followed suit.

"Good!" Jiedushi Zhang suddenly raised his voice, his tone excited, "You are indeed worthy of being my good son! Come and give me money and weapons!"

At this time, a cloud of dust rolled up. It was a group of soldiers pushing several large carts, which were piled with long guns and big swords.

Li Shun received a machete and a spear. The machete was blunt and rusty, and felt heavy in his hand, and the spear was also rough, but they were the only two weapons he had.

Everyone imitated the officer, holding their guns at their sides, and suddenly the guns were pointing to the sky.

"Let's go!" Jiedushi Zhang ordered in a loud voice.

A horn sounded, followed by the sound of drums. Listening to the murderous music and with passion in their hearts, everyone began to move slowly with the team. Their footsteps were in unison, raising a cloud of dust.

There is a sense of a hero who will never return.

Li Shun followed behind Ye Beixuan and walked forward with the flow. When passing by the town gate, he looked back.

In the sunlight, the three large characters "Lost Town" stood out. He knew that this was a long journey, and many people would be buried in a foreign land, including himself, and would never return.

Five days later.

Yanmen Valley is the long border between Da Zhou and Bei Liang.

The cliffs on both sides of the canyon stand upright as if cut by a fairy sword, and the rock cliffs fall vertically and are as smooth as a mirror.

This is the only way to get to the Eighteenth Station supply point in Tahe County.

At this moment, the thick smell of blood filled the entire canyon. Li Shun hid behind the rocks with the arrow still stuck in his left shoulder.

Half a day ago, the ambush came too suddenly. Beiliang's arrows suddenly poured down like a rainstorm, making the entire canyon look like a hedgehog.

"Raise your shields! Find rocks to cover yourself!" a captain shouted hurriedly, but unfortunately he suddenly felt dizzy.

Suddenly, he saw a pair of familiar shoes. "Hmm? These aren't my feet?" He raised his eyes with difficulty and looked up, only to find his body staggering and falling.

Looking to the left, the Northern Liang cavalry were quickly attacking and killing the Great Zhou soldiers.

Li Shun instantly saw his fellow villager Li Dazhuang, with whom he was chatting and laughing a few days ago, whose head was instantly crushed by the hooves of the cavalry. With a "pop" sound, white brain matter mixed with bright red blood spurted onto the banner.

He touched the little bit of cake that was left, and quickly grasped the machete in his hand, but suddenly felt something sticky and wet. He didn't know what white stuff it was splashed over, making his hands sticky and even the knife seemed a little difficult to hold tightly.

night.

The battle had just ended and the Great Zhou had suffered heavy losses. Although they fought back quickly and desperately under the leadership of some veterans, their death rate was still more than three times that of the enemy, and there were even more injured.

At the back of the canyon, Jiedushi Zhang slammed his fist on the map on the table, sending wood chips flying from his bronze wristband. "What are these new recruits doing? If we fail to break out, we must succeed at any cost, even at the cost of lives. Otherwise, we will all be trapped here and die!"

"Sir, the morale of the new recruits is low." The deputy general pointed at the new recruits in front of him. Despair flashed in their eyes. He said, "I think we should encourage them now. Otherwise, they won't fight hard, and we'll die too."

"Yes!" Hu Mei'er said in a rather formal tone, "Sir, I also think he is right."

Jiedushi Zhang also calmed down at this moment and thought carefully. It was really useless to lose his temper.

So he said softly: "What Brother Hu said does make sense."

After hearing this, the captain was full of criticism. It was clearly my suggestion, but the credit went to this skinny guy. I really suspected that the general had a crush on Long Yang.

the other side.

When Ye Beixuan rushed back, the brutal battle had temporarily ended. It was not that he did not participate in the battle, but that he could not act rashly because he sensed a trace of evil ghost and demonic energy here, but it quickly disappeared. He went to investigate but found nothing. If he took the initiative to act, the crisis might be temporarily resolved, but the root of the disaster would still exist.

The night was slightly dark, with a waning moon rising into the sky. The faint moonlight flickered along with the weak candlelight, illuminating the exhausted faces of a group of defeated generals with blood all over their faces.

They were either sitting, lying or sighing. They were covered in wounds and simply tore off their tattered clothes to bandage themselves. The bandages were stained with blood, and their eyes were full of dejection and confusion.

Looking at the tragic situation, Ye Beixuan sighed. Seeing that everyone was dejected, he turned his head to look behind him and found that Jiedushi Zhang was coming. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind.

The sound of stones hitting each other broke the silent and oppressive atmosphere, and everyone's eyes instantly focused on him.

He spoke in an excited tone and a deep and powerful voice:

"Everyone, don't lose heart. As long as we are alive, there is hope, and our reinforcements will arrive soon."

"Do we have reinforcements?" one of the children, who was only fourteen years old, asked in a trembling voice.

"Yes, I promise. How about you listen to me tell a short true story of the weak defeating the strong? As soon as I finish, reinforcements will arrive immediately. How about that?" Ye Beixuan said softly to comfort the children.

"What's the story?" one of the boys asked.

At this time, Jiedushi Zhang and Hu Meir were walking from the other side, inspecting the group of soldiers with dejected faces. He wanted to comfort them softly, but suddenly he found dozens of soldiers gathered together in front of him, and he didn't know what they were talking about. Out of curiosity, he walked over slowly.

Suddenly he stopped, his pupils shrank, and he even forgot to move forward, listening intently.

Hu Mei'er was secretly laughing in the background. Mr. Ye was so kind and adorable. He wanted to help these kids but didn't want to do anything directly. It was a pity that the credit was taken away by this useless guy.

the other side.

Ye Beixuan smiled faintly and said, "Today, I will tell you the story of Deng Ai's sneak crossing of Yinping and Zhuge Zhan's death in Mianzhu." (From Chapter 117 of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," Deng Shizai sneaks across Yinping and Zhuge Zhan dies in Mianzhu.)
As he finished speaking, everyone, though exhausted, pricked up their ears, as if this imaginary story was the only thing that could comfort them at the moment. Ye Beixuan began to speak slowly and aloud, "There was a country called Wei. There was a general named Deng Ai in Wei, who was ordered to attack the Kingdom of Shu. However, the road to Shu was difficult, and Shu, relying on the obstacles of mountains and rivers, defended its territory in a dangerous position, making Deng Ai unable to conquer it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiedushi Zhang was startled. Wasn't this exactly his situation right now?

Zhang Jiedushi pulled his thoughts back and looked over there. Ye Beixuan continued slowly, "Seeing that the siege had been unsuccessful for a long time, General Deng decided to take an unconventional approach. What was his unconventional approach? He decided to sneak across Yinping and directly attack the heart of Shu."

"Let's capture the leader first."

His tone became increasingly tense, and his hands began to draw, as if he was inserting the danger of Yanmen Valley into the Shu Road.

"The Yinping Road is incredibly steep, with cliffs so steep that even monkeys would have trouble climbing it. The Shu army couldn't have anticipated Deng Ai's audacity to launch a surprise attack from there."

"He ordered his soldiers to cut through the mountains and build roads, and continue on their journey."

"So what if I get bruised and bloody? So what if I get pierced by sharp rocks?" Ye Beixuan suddenly spoke in an excited tone, attracting more and more people around.

They thought to themselves that if this general could actually cross mountains and rivers under such difficult circumstances, then what would this setback for themselves be compared to?
Ye Beixuan continued speaking loudly, drawing their attention back to him. "And General Deng led the way, using a rope to climb to the bottom of the cliff. The old general fell, his mouth covered in blood. When the first soldier followed him down and found him, the first thing he said was, 'Shuzhong is now in our hands!'"

"It took seven days and seven nights, tens of thousands of people, even crawling and rolling, to cross the Motianling Mountains." Ye Beixuan's speech suddenly quickened, his tone filled with grief and indignation. "Countless soldiers died from falling, starving, and falling off cliffs. Only half of the troops remained when they reached Mianzhu."

The soldiers' blood boiled and their morale soared after hearing this. For the sake of victory and to drive out the invaders, what did it matter even if they were left dead in the wilderness?
"When Zhuge Zhan stood on the city wall and looked out at the group of soldiers who had sneaked across," Ye Beixuan paused, raising the temperature of the crowd. He spoke in a high-pitched voice, "What he saw were no longer human beings, but a pack of scarred wolves! A pack of hungry wolves, wounded but still baring their fangs, ready to bite at any moment."

At this moment, Zhang Jiedushi's blood suddenly boiled, as if he was back in his youth, wrapped in the horse's hide and dying, feeling the departure of his comrades and the cruel sorrow of war.

"It is said that this battle was a battle of raging flames, and it was also a battle of life and death for the Shu Kingdom."

Then Ye Beixuan began to narrate that the general of Shu guarding Mianzhu was the young and heroic Zhuge Zhan, the son of Zhuge Liang, the star of literature, and that this battle was fought by him leading the army against Deng Ai.

The Wei army was like a hungry wolf, pressing forward step by step and besieging the Shu army. Although the Shu army fought stubbornly, it was still difficult to resist.

Ye Beixuan became passionate again, and said with a rather emotional tone: "Although Zhuge Zhan is young, he has the spirit of his father. He fights to the death and always leads his troops by example."

"The two sides fought until dusk, and even the setting sun was dyed red by the blood."

"Zhuge Zhan's soldiers were dwindling, and his spear was broken, yet he still stood firm, his gaze as sharp as a torch."

At this point, Ye Beixuan suddenly imitated Zhuge Zhan, looked up to the sky and sighed, "I, Zhuge Zhan, did not eliminate Huang Hao at home, did not control Jiang Wei outside, and did not defend Jiangyou when I advanced. I have three sins, why am I rebelling?

"Finally, he collapsed from exhaustion, and his horse leaped up and neighed, mourning the departure of his master."

"Although the Shu army was completely annihilated in this battle, Zhuge Zhan's loyal spirit will live on forever. It's a pity, but their military spirit will live on forever."

This is a real general! Zhang Jiedushi was ashamed at this moment, thinking that he was not as good as a person in a story.

The soldiers were all in high spirits. Although there was fatigue on their faces, they were ready to die.

Ye Beixuan's tone slowed, his eyes sweeping over the group of teenage children before he suddenly began to sing softly, "Come into the house, the whole house is silent, the night is silent, the family is fast asleep, my mother is sound asleep beside my bed, how could she know of my son's returning soul?" (From the song "Returning Soul")
After hearing this, the soldiers' eyes filled with tears. Who is not a child of parents? Who doesn't miss their parents?

"If we can't return home, then we will return to our hometown on our own and take a last look at our sleeping mother." Li Shun touched the only piece of bread left in his arms, stood up and shouted resolutely.

"Yes, we can't be depressed, we have to win."

At this moment, Jiedushi Zhang came over. The scene was silent, but their rapid breathing showed that they were excited. The candlelight flickered slightly, illuminating their dark faces sticky with blood.

The other soldiers gradually raised their heads and looked at Jiedushi Zhang, and a faint light seemed to ignite in their eyes again.

The arrival of Jiedushi Zhang was like a gust of spring breeze that blew away the dejection in their hearts and replaced it with rekindled hope.

He smiled faintly, turned and left, his voice echoing as he said, "My men, victory and defeat are common in the military. Our blood is still hot, our spirit is still there, and there is hope. This Jiedushi has already thought of a strategy to defeat the enemy. All we need to do is hold on for one more day, and the enemy situation can be overcome."

The soldiers' chapped lips trembled slightly, and a glimmer of hope flashed in their turbid eyes. When their eyes met the governor's hopeful gaze, a magical light flashed.

"Distribute food to everyone." Zhang Jiedushi said with great enthusiasm: "From today on, I will be given the same food as the soldiers. I will share the joys and sorrows with you men."

Then he whispered something to the captain next to him, looked at Ye Beixuan deeply, and turned back.

Hu Mei'er followed Zhang Jiedushi silently and whispered, "Sir, I think the strategy he said to defeat the enemy makes some sense."

Zhang Jiedushi's eyes lit up. "Not only do you think it makes sense, but I think it makes a lot of sense too." "To capture the thief, first capture the leader. This is probably our only chance of victory this time."

"Then how about I call him over and ask him?"

Hu Meier chuckled softly and said, "If he can come up with a solution, my Lord, please reward him handsomely."

the other side.

A lieutenant walked quickly up to Ye Beixuan and said, "What's your name? The governor wants you to come for questioning. Follow me."

"Yes."

After saying that, the two of them walked one in front and one behind, passed the place where the soldiers were resting, and soon arrived at the tents in the rear.

"Wait here, I'll go and inform you."

The captain went in to report, and soon returned quickly, saying in a rather stern tone: "The general asked you to go in, remember, don't say anything you shouldn't say."

After saying that, he urged Ye Beixuan to go inside.

Ye Beixuan slowly walked into the tent and lifted the curtain. He saw Jiedushi Zhang wearing bright armor and sitting in front of the desk. His eyes were majestic and his gaze was like a sword.

Huh? He still looks like a soldier, not like a dead dog in a brothel.

Behind him, Hu Meir glanced at Ye Beixuan and immediately pretended not to know him.

"Ye Liuxiang greets the general." Ye Beixuan bowed slightly.

"Do you know that soldiers kneel down to greet their generals?" Zhang Jiedushi flaunted his authority, his eyes piercing like swords. After a moment, seeing that Ye Beixuan showed no fear, his expression relaxed and he praised loudly, "Good, good, good, you are indeed extraordinary. Do you know why I called you here?"

What's going on? It's definitely not a good thing, but he still replied, "I wonder what the general wants."

Zhang Jiedushi smiled faintly and said, "You contradicted me earlier, so I should have sent you to the Death Squad. However, I, as a general, appreciate the rarity of talented individuals and will give you a chance to redeem yourself and make meritorious contributions."

Ye Beixuan remained silent, waiting for him to continue speaking to see what he could come up with.

Seeing Ye Beixuan remained silent, thinking he was ecstatic, Zhang Jiedushi continued, "This general thinks your earlier statement about capturing the leader first makes a lot of sense."

"This general now appoints you as the commander of the Death Squad. I will give you a team of soldiers skilled in climbing. Together we will go to the top of the cliff, behead the enemy general, and burn their food and supplies. Do you have the confidence?"

What's the difference between this and the Death Squad? Ye Beixuan thought to himself: If it weren't for luring that demon cultivator to appear, I would have gone and killed their generals by myself a long time ago.

So he replied: "I will do my best."

"Okay," said Zhang Jiedushi with a look of joy in his tone, "I have a bowl of wine for you to drink before you go. If you can complete your mission and come back, I will grant you one request."

He poured a bowl of wine himself, smiled gently, and handed the wine to Ye Beixuan.

After finishing his drink, Ye Beixuan bowed and said, "I'll take my leave."

When he just started investigating, he already knew the whereabouts of the enemy general. The food and grass were on the east side of the north side above the cliff, while the general was on the west side of the north side above the cliff. As for the demon cultivator, his whereabouts were not certain for the time being.

At midnight, everyone, including Li Shun, was incorporated into the special death squad battalion.

Ye Beixuan was distributing kerosene cans to them. The cold moonlight was reflected on the cliff. Apart from a few shrubs, there were only some weeds growing in the cracks of the rocks.

"See that forest on the cliff?" Ye Beixuan pointed to the top of the north side of the canyon and said, "At three o'clock in the morning, I want a fire to burst into the sky there."

After that, everyone prepared themselves and began to climb up the cliff quietly under the cover of night.

Everyone agreed that once the mission was completed, they would retreat on their own, not worry about each other, and whoever could survive would be the best.

It is eight quarters past midnight.

A group of soldiers were secretly climbing the cliff when suddenly a shout was heard.

Li Shun, who was climbing, quickly hid himself behind the rocks of the cliff. Li Shun and the soldiers gritted their teeth and continued to wait, not daring to climb again.

The other party kept staring at him for half an hour before he thought he was seeing things.

It was not until almost the hour of Yin and seeing no movement that Li Shun and his companions dared to continue climbing.

When the first cluster of flames lit up the night sky, Ye Beixuan quietly killed the Beiliang centurion and cleared the vicinity. He was walking towards a tent. This should be where the Beiliang commander was. He probably didn't expect that someone would really climb up undetected and launch a surprise attack.

Li Shun and others on this side looked at the Beiliang guards twitching in a pool of blood and the flames rising into the sky, looked at each other, and prepared to retreat.

Just as they were about to leave, an indifferent voice came, saying: "Since you are here, come and sit in my Ten Thousand Souls Banner!"

(End of this chapter)