Chapter 72: Su Muzhe (V)
The moon is bright and the wind is cold, and the bonfire is burning.
"General! Commander Wei has led his troops towards Rushan!" A soldier from the Wei army hurried to the Qin army's camp to report.
Qin Jixun was sitting in the military tent. When he heard his words, he raised his sharp eyes and asked, "Is this an order from Supervisor Song?"
"Yes! Commander Wei had no choice but to send troops to Rushan, but he ordered me to come to see the general and said that if the general has any orders, just order me to go to Rushan and report to him. He is willing to obey your orders, and even..." The soldier knelt down and clasped his fists, "He can even disobey the orders of the military supervisor Song!"
Qin Jixun was startled and clenched his hands on the chair.
Only an incense stick of time had passed since he received the news that Yang Tianzhe's rebel army had arrived at Rushan, but Song Song had already learned about it and even ordered Wei Dechang to lead his troops to Rushan to encircle and suppress Yang Tianzhe.
Qin Jixun knew that Song Song had spies in his army, but he could not find a chance to solve the problem.
"General! Commander Wei is still waiting for your military orders!"
Seeing that he was silent for a long time, the soldier lowered his head and spoke again.
Qin Jixun was about to speak when he heard hurried footsteps. Then his personal soldier Duan Rong came in, panting, "General, the personal soldiers sent by Song Jianjun to deliver money, silk and women to Suchile all died in Agate Lake!"
"What?"
"The boxes of money and silk are all there. Our people searched the entire place and found the women. According to them, a young man killed the soldiers!"
Duan Rong wiped the sweat from his forehead as he spoke.
"One person killed so many people?"
There was a hint of surprise in Qin Jixun's cold eyes.
Duan Rong glanced at the general's expression, and said with some reluctance, "General, now that those boxes of money and those women have been brought back by my subordinates, I don't know what to do with them. Do you think we should send them to Suchile?"
"Is General Qin really willing to let go of such a great opportunity?"
There was a commotion outside the military camp. Amid the crowd, a sharp voice was particularly clear amid the noise. Qin Jixun immediately stood up, lifted the curtain and went out.
In a continuous flame, hundreds of soldiers holding swords and spears surrounded a man and a woman. Every time the man and a woman took a step forward, the soldiers took a step back.
Qin Jixun's gaze fell on the two of them. He saw that the woman's dress was wet, her hair was a little messy, her face was exposed, and there was no fear in her eyes.
The young man covered his face with a long scarf, leaving only his eyes exposed. However, his eyes were lifeless and he needed the support of the woman beside him before he could take a step forward.
"Your Excellency, you broke into the military camp at night. Do you know that this is a serious crime?"
Qin Jixun narrowed his eyes and looked at the sword in his hand.
Xu Hexue turned slightly in the direction of his voice, "If we talk about serious crimes, then wouldn't the crime of killing Song Song's personal soldiers be more serious?"
"What? You killed that person?"
Duan Rong was standing nearby, and couldn't help but cry out in surprise, "But you can't see with your eyes, how can you kill someone?"
"He suffers from night blindness, which means he can't see at night."
Ni Su held the arm of the person next to her and spoke.
As soon as she opened her mouth, Qin Jixun, Duan Rong and others couldn't help but look at her. The scene was stalemate for a while. After a moment, Qin Jixun looked at the young man beside her again: "Why did you kill Song Jianjun's personal soldiers? If you killed them, why did you dare to find this general's military camp? Aren't you afraid that this general will make you go without return?"
"no way."
Xu Hexue raised his chin slightly, and said coldly in the direction of Ni Su, "Song Song's people arrested her. In fact, as long as I don't show up, this matter will never be traced to me. Song Song will only suspect you, General Qin - pretending to obey but actually disobeying."
Duan Rong scolded, "How outrageous!"
Qin Jixun raised his hand to stop Duan Rong from speaking. He stared at the man and asked, "Why did you take the risk and come to my military camp?"
"Give a gift to General Qin."
Qin Jixun frowned, "What gift?"
"Just outside the barracks."
Xu Hexue's voice was calm.
Upon hearing this, Qin Jixun immediately looked at Duan Rong beside him. Duan Rong nodded, then led a few soldiers out in a hurry. After a while, he dragged back a dead body.
"General, it's Lieutenant General Jin!"
Duan Rong used the scabbard of his sword to push aside the messy hair that covered the face of the corpse. He turned his head and stared at the young man in frosty white robes with a strange expression.
"It was this person who revealed the news of Yang Tianzhe's arrival at Rushan to Song Song. General Qin, Commander Wei is still waiting for your military order. Do you really want to cooperate with Suchile to encircle and suppress Yang Tianzhe?"
Xu Hexue couldn't see the fire burning in the military camp, nor could he see the faces of Qin Jixun and the others, but he could vaguely remember some fragmentary memories about Qin Jixun. "The rebels led by Yang Tianzhe are the Qi people who have suffered humiliation in the thirteen states in the northern border under the rule of the Hu people. The Great Qi lost the thirteen states and also left them under the iron hoof of the Hu people. Now they are desperate to return to their homeland, but you want to fight them with swords. Isn't this disappointing to the Qi people in the thirteen states?"
"Are you all from Yongzhou ? Are there no people who fled here from outside Juhan Pass more than ten years ago? Do you still have relatives in Juhan Pass or in the Thirteen Prefectures?"
Xu Hexue's words were light, but powerful enough to strike at the hearts of many soldiers. Yongzhou had a small population, and many of them were descendants of the garrisons who had originally lived in Juhan Pass or even the Thirteen Prefectures.
"There is an old custom in Yongzhou that the elders of the tribe can do whatever they want with women. However, since this custom was strictly abolished more than ten years ago, it was General Qin who maintained this order. Therefore, I think that in General Qin's mind, the women of our Great Qi should not become playthings of the Hu people."
"Anyone who lives in peace by sacrificing the flesh and blood of women and children shall be put to death."
After these words were spoken, the camp fell silent for a moment. Sparks flickered in the iron basin, and everyone present was shocked. Duan Rong felt a tightness in his throat, and turned around to look at Qin Jixun in front of the military tent: "General..."
Ni Su couldn't help but look at the man beside her. His face was covered by a long scarf, and his eyes were not focused. He should be weak, and his voice was not strong enough, but when he stood beside her, he always stood tall, like a green pine covered with snow, cold and sharp.
Stripped of the gentleman's elegance and gentleness, he still has the sharp edge of a general.
At this moment, she seemed to be able to catch a glimpse of his past.
"General, we can't send them! If we send those women and money, what will become of us?" Someone couldn't help but shouted.
"This humiliation is unacceptable! This humiliation is unacceptable..."
"General! I would rather fight to the death with the Hu people than to curry favor with them!"
More and more voices are emerging.
"General! Even if Commander Wei and Su Qile really encircled and suppressed Yang Tianzhe in Rushan, there is no guarantee that Su Qile would not regret it afterwards and make trouble again with Aduorong as an excuse! The rebellion in their tribe has been quelled, and now is the time for them to make a move," Duan Rong knelt down and clasped his fists, "My men of Great Qi are not afraid of dying on the battlefield, so there is no need for us to pretend to be friendly with Su Qile!"
In the past sixteen years, the troops stationed here have never fought a good battle. Qin Jixun was controlled by others , and they had to keep giving in and enduring. All the grievances and unwillingness of the years were aroused tonight.
Qin Jixun was a general after all, so he didn't show much emotion on his face. He raised his hand to suppress the soldiers' restless voices and asked in a cold voice, "Who are you, sir?"
"Qi people."
Xu Hexue: two short words.
Qin Jixun's expression changed. He was silent for a while, then raised his chin towards Duan Rong beside him. Duan Rong immediately understood and ordered the soldiers gathered here to disperse.
Soon, there were only four of them left in the open space in front of the general's tent. Qin Jixun walked down the wooden steps and stared at the mysterious young man. "You are stirring up the morale of my army. Do you know how serious the consequences will be?"
"General Qin was born and raised in Yongzhou. I heard that you once followed the army to the Hu people's grassland when you were young. You should know that this year is getting colder and colder. After more than ten years of recuperation, the 29 tribes of the Hu people have almost been conquered by the Wuluo Royal Court. Their ambitions are far more than the thirteen states in the north. A war is inevitable."
Qin Jixun pulled his lips and said, "Yes, I know, but many people don't know."
"General Qin must be very upset about being such a pedantic person who only talks about war on paper," Xu Hexue raised her dark eyelashes slightly, the firelight reflected in her lifeless eyes, "Since you and I both know where the problem lies, why don't we just solve it?"
"you……"
Qin Jixun's eyebrows jumped. "He was sent to Yongzhou as a military supervisor by the government. How dare you..."
"Then let him become the reason why this war is inevitable."
"He is a peace advocate and a close minister to the emperor! He will never fall out with Suchile so easily!"
"General Qin immediately recalled Commander Wei and ordered him not to suppress Yang Tianzhe's rebel army. This angered Su Qile, forcing Song Song to step in to mediate."
Qin Jixun paused, and he looked at this man, "He is a person who cherishes his life very much. He has stayed in the rear for so many years and never took any risks. How can I get him to come out?"
There were too many civil servants like Song Song in the Great Qi Dynasty. They had never been to the battlefield, but they had a high opinion of themselves and thought they were good at strategizing and taking the overall situation into consideration. But in fact, they had never even seen the bloodshed on the battlefield.
But it was precisely these people who suppressed these military generals and interfered in military affairs at every turn.
"The governor of Yongzhou is Shen Tongchuan?"
Xu Hexue asked calmly.
"good."
Qin Jixun nodded.
"Please ask Shen Tongchuan to go and talk to him."
After hearing this, Qin Jixun fell silent, and Duan Rong on the side could not help but explain: "The prefect Shen is even more careless. He doesn't ask anything, doesn't look at anything, and only takes care of his flowers and plants in his prefecture. Because he doesn't care about anything, our general has had some conflicts with him. How can he listen to the general..."
"Song Song manages everything, so Shen Tongchuan naturally cannot manage anything. But General Qin doesn't seem to know that Shen Tongchuan is a student of Mr. Meng, who was born in the military. Shen Tongchuan, his student, traveled around the country before becoming an official. He has also seen the battles on the battlefield and the suffering of the people. Compared to Song Song, he should know your difficulties better."
"You mean... Is that Shen Zhizhou?"
Duan Rong really couldn't connect the Shen Tongchuan he was talking about with the lazy magistrate who lost money playing Mahjong and still said with a flattering face, "This round doesn't count."
"I can go and persuade Shen Tongchuan, but the prerequisite is that General Qin is willing to put aside his previous grievances with him and make peace."
Xu Hexue said.
"I don't have any major grudges with Shen Zhizhou. Even if there are, I can let it go in the face of state affairs!" Qin Jixun did not hesitate at all on this matter. "But even if Song Song leaves the city, it is to negotiate with Suchile . How can he be used as a reason to start a war?"
The wind and sand blew Xu Hexue's frosty white clothes, and the long sword in his hand sparkled with cold light: "As long as he dies in Suchile's military camp, you will have something to write about."
Qin Jixun was shocked, "You..."
Xu Hexue downplayed it:
"I'll kill you."
There was silence all around, and the flames in the iron basin were dancing wildly. A sudden sneeze broke the silence. Xu Hexue's eyes were dark, but he heard the girl next to him sniff softly. He immediately pulled her to his side to block some of the wind and sand for her.
"Is it cold?"
He whispered.
“Neither do I.”
Ni Su shook her head.
Xu Hexue didn't hear Qin Jixun's voice, so she raised her head and asked, "General Qin?"
"Go and order the soldier from the Wei family army who just came to the army to catch up with Commander Wei and tell him," Qin Jixun stared at the young man and woman supporting each other in front of him, "I asked him to come back."
"yes!"
Duan Rong perked up and turned around immediately.
"Now, I have disobeyed the military supervisor Song and have no way to retreat. I will release those women and return them to the city, but the one next to you,"
Qin Jixun stared at Ni Su, "But I can't let go for now."
"I will stand with him."
Ni Su grabbed Xu Hexue's arm and met Qin Jixun's gaze.
Qin Jixun was stunned. "What? You are a woman, and you dare to follow him to Suchile's army?"
"Why not? I know that the general has concerns. It is very risky to entrust his life and property to two strangers like us. But you dare, and I respect you as a good general. If we really have ulterior motives, we would not have trespassed here today. Please believe him..."
Ni Su looked at the man beside her. He half-closed his eyes, listening to her quietly and shielding her from the wind and sand. She continued, "The broken mountains and rivers, the suffering of the people, are the regrets of his life. For this, he has traveled thousands of miles, but still cannot make it happen. But if he can make it happen, he - lives on despite his death."
Although dead, it is as if alive.
