Chapter 39 Chapter 6 Revisiting Susu

The fall of Xingyang was indeed one of the turning points related to the rise and fall of the Great Sui Dynasty, and it was also the starting point for Li Mi's struggle for hegemony. Li Mi joined the Wagang Army in the twelfth year of Daye. He was very strategic and ambitious. He used the power of the Wagang Army and Zhai Rang to subdue the nearby small rebel army and different forces by virtue of his invincible martial arts. Multiples have enhanced the strength of the Wagang Army.At the same time, it is more clear that the maintenance of military supplies by intercepting water transport has always been the Achilles heel of the Wagang Army's development, and it is not enough to supply what it needs.

So he suggested to Zhai Rang: "Take Xingyang first, rest in the Guangu Valley, wait for soldiers and horses to be fertilized, and then compete with others for profit." From this point of view, we can see that Li Mi's majesty and grand strategy are actually better than Zhai Rang. As long as the Xingyang area can be controlled, the problem of food supply can be solved for a long time, and the power can be further expanded, which will directly threaten Luoyang, the eastern capital, and even affect the relationship between the capital and the three major military towns of Luoyang and Jiangdu.

After Zhai Rang agreed, in October of the same year, the Wagang Army attacked on a large scale, first capturing the counties around Xingyang, and chasing Xingyang City. Yang Guang attached great importance to this, and sent Zhang Xutuo, the number one fierce general at that time, the arresting ambassador of the 12 counties of Henan Province, to guard Xingyang and lead 20,000 elite soldiers to fight. This person enjoys a high reputation both in the imperial court and in the martial arts world. He is known as the number one shooter of the era with his "Gust" marksmanship. He is arrogant and conceited by nature. Of course he looks down on Li Mi who was only a little famous at the time.

In the past, every time the Wagang army encountered Zhang Xutuo, they were killed by him so that they abandoned their armor and fled with arms, so Zhai Rang feared him like a tiger.Hearing that it was this nemesis who came to meet him, he wanted to retreat, saying: "This man is proficient in the art of war, his spear skills are world-class, and his subordinates Luo Shixin and Qin Shubao are even brave and good at fighting. It's better to avoid him for a while, and then plan another strategy." The other subordinates were all terrified, and they all agreed. However, Li Mi resisted all opinions and asked Zhai Rang to lead the main force to confront him head-on, while he and his four powerful subordinates Wang Bodang, Zu Junyan, Shen Luoyan and Xu Shiji led more than a thousand fighters to ambush in the dense forest north of Dahai Temple.

When the main forces of the two sides came into contact, Zhai Rang's army was defeated steadily, and was chased by Zhang Xutuo for more than ten miles, and came to the north of Dahai Temple. Li Mi set up an ambush army and covered Zhang Jun from behind. Zhai Rang's army also cooperated with the sun to counterattack, attacking back and forth, and Zhang Jun suffered heavy casualties. Li Mi shot Zhang Xutuo himself. This battle made Li Mi famous all over the world, and he became the most prestigious figure in the Wagang Army, implicitly surpassing the leader Zhai Rang. This great victory established the foundation of the Wagang Army's foothold and severely damaged the prestige of the Sui Army.

Under such circumstances, Zhai Rang had no choice but to let Li Mi lead his own army, known as the Pushan Public Camp. Li Mi was born in an aristocratic family and has been enshrined for generations, so he inherited the title of Pu Shangong, so he was named after it. Li Mi has great ambitions. He not only wins Xingyang, but also seeks to develop Luocang. Luocang was the largest granary in the Sui Dynasty, so Yang Guang attached great importance to it. He sent Liu Wengong, the general of Huben Lang, with 25,000 infantry and cavalry, to march eastward from Luoyang, the eastern capital, in an attempt to restore the decline.

He also sent Pei Renji to attack the Wagang army from the Hulao, hoping to contain Li Mi with these two large armies. At the same time, Yang Guang sent Wang Shichong, his most capable subordinate, to Luokou to confront Li Mi head-on. When Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong came to Xingyang, the armies of the two sides were at a stalemate, and the situation was imminent. Since the two of them repelled Yuwen Wudi, their confidence has increased sharply, and because of the actual combat experience of surviving a near-death, they are no longer as blind as they used to be when practicing kung fu, so during the journey of more than 20 days , Both of them have improved by leaps and bounds regardless of their spirit and skills.

If someone who was familiar with them in Yangzhou before ran into them at this moment, he would be surprised by their change. And Xu Ziling looks even more elegant and unrestrained. The body with broad shoulders and long legs is as straight as the barrel of a gun, and a pair of tiger eyes under the broad forehead are flashing, full of intimidating charm. Although he has just turned nineteen, he has the impression of being an adult. Kou Zhong is domineering day by day. Although he was an inch shorter than Xu Ziling, he was already half a head taller than ordinary people. Because of his particularly generous shoulders, his stature is even more stalwart.

If Xu Ziling is elegant, then Kou Zhong is a hero. The rare thing is that Kou Zhong always has a cynical look, which together with his majestic domineering just produces a kind of neutralizing effect, forming his unique style. However, the two still unconsciously stepped into the forest of masters, and they were still trembling when they entered the city to pass the border, making up their minds to run away immediately if there was any change. At this moment, the city defense gates are extremely strict, and the two of them were questioned by the Wagang army wearing blue military uniforms as soon as they entered the city gate.

The leader saw that they were wearing long knives, and they were very imposing, so they questioned their origins, the purpose of coming here and other details. After Kou Zhong made some nonsense, the leader was still dissatisfied, and said: "Everyone who enters and exits the city must have a pass issued by the ancestral army division. It seems that you do not seem to come to commit crimes, but military orders are hard to violate, so please forgive me .” Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling saw him being polite and courteous, and they felt good about him. Xu Ziling said frankly: "To tell the truth, we are here this time to find Susu, our sister who is married to Jinlan, and he is you... Hey! Your big leader is missing love Maid's maidservant, if you don't believe me, you can ask her to find out."

The leader frowned and said: "Don't talk nonsense, the eldest lady just came back from a trip last month, how could she ever disappear?" Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned for a moment, they looked at each other, not understanding what was going on. That day in the deserted village they witnessed Zhai Rang being injured by a strange man who colluded with Zu Junyan. Why did Miss Susu suddenly come back safely? But the leader didn't doubt them, and said: "I also know Sister Su, she and Miss came back after being separated in Jiangbei, and I personally sent her to Dalongtou Mansion. How about this! Take off your sabers first, and wait I'll send someone to notify her." After a pause, he continued to ask, "What's your name?" Kou Zhong gratefully said: "Please tell her that Xiao Zhong and Xiao Ling came to find her." He exchanged glances with Xu Ziling, both of them were ecstatic because they were all well. The soldiers took them to wait in the official hall near the city gate, and then sent people to fly horses to report to Susu. The two were locked in a small stone room, the door was made of steel, and it was clearly a small cell.Kou Zhong was puzzled, "Evidently even Zhai Rang was wounded by that strange man, why did his daughter come back instead?" Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, "Do you think I can give an answer? Sigh! The city defense is so strict, and the Wagang Army looks like they've been beaten twice. Even if Sister Susu is willing to go with us, we have no ability to take her with her." leave." Kou Zhong smiled and said: "Don't be so pessimistic! It's human-made, there is always a way, for example, try to steal the two passes of his mother. Hey! Anyone who wants to get Zu Junyan who issued the pass is a traitor himself. Do you want to ask What about Zhai Rang exposing it?" Xu Ziling said: "How can I think so far? Now I am most afraid of meeting that mother-in-law Shen Luoyan and her subordinates who have dealt with us before. It will be terrible at that time." Kou Zhong was very optimistic, and proudly said: "Mrs. Shen is Li Mi's handsome military adviser, so she went to fight with the army. The master has something to do, and the foxes and dogs below have to wait by the side, so I don't worry about it." He said again: "Wagang Army seems to be more disciplined than Dad's Jianghuai Army. If I have no other ideas, joining the Wagang Army is not bad!" Xu Ziling asked and snorted, but did not answer him, and closed his eyes to practice. These days, no matter whether they are walking, sitting, sitting or lying down, the two of them practice hard. Kou Zhong was not such a diligent person, but after the first battle with Yuwen Wudi, he also knew that practicing martial arts well is the only way to save his life, so compared to Xu Ziling, he was more diligent in practicing hard. They quickly entered the extremely quiet Dao realm that ordinary martial arts practitioners dream of, and the real energy in their bodies is surging and constantly operating. Time passes unconsciously. Suddenly the door was pushed open. The two had a feeling, and opened their eyes to look at the entrance at the same time. Susu, who had lost a lot of weight but looked more beautiful, rushed in with a cloud of fragrant wind, and hugged the two who had just jumped up. The three of them cried and laughed, but they couldn't say a word in an orderly manner. In the end, because there were outsiders by her side, Susu reluctantly left the two of them, tears rolling down her face and said: "I thought I would never see you two again." Couldn't help throwing himself into the embrace of the two again, weeping bitterly, showing his true feelings. Bingtou outside the door saw that they were full of fiery affection like a brother and sister, and was moved in his heart, so he closed the door gently so that the three of them could talk about their separation. Kou Zhong teased Su Su's collar, seeing her looking like pear blossoms with rain, he said heartbroken: "Miss Su Su, don't cry. It's time to laugh." Xu Ziling supported her fragrant shoulders and said, "Miss Susu, has she been wronged?" Susu shook her head with tears in her eyes and said: "No! Miss still treats me very well! Alas! You two are tall and strong now, there must be many girls falling in love with you." Kou Zhong said embarrassingly: "On the contrary, the beauties we met before, except for Sister Susu, shouted to be beaten or killed, so I had to come to you, Sister Susu." Su Suo was used to talking and laughing with them, and he said with a coquettish "Pu Chi" smile like a sunny day after rain: "It's still the same, alas! You don't know how many tears they shed for your two brothers!" In order to make her happy, Xu Ziling pretended to be surprised and said, "That's weird, why does Sister Susu's big eyes make her more beautiful the more she cries?" Susu smiled and fell on the shoulders of the two. The three brothers and sisters are really in love. Although they do not avoid suspicion, they do not have the slightest sensual feeling between men and women. Kou Zhong leaned close to her little ear and asked, "Where's Brother Li?" Su Su's tender body was shocked, she raised her tear-stained pretty face and said, "After he sent me back, he went to Dongdu." Seeing her expression, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong knew that this good sister had a deep affection for Li Jing. Xu Yuling frowned and said, "Didn't he invite you?" Su Su lowered her head and said softly: "I am the one who refuses to let him go. He is a man and a true hero. Naturally, he should take advantage of his youth to make his own career." Both of them were in awe. Kou Zhong took the opportunity and said: "Although we are men, we are not heroes. Sister Susu will follow us." Su Su was startled and said, "I still have to serve Miss." Xu Ziling said anxiously: "You will die if you stay. We saw with our own eyes that Zu Junyan colluded with outsiders and injured your master." Su Su said in astonishment: "Nonsense! Master is a good man, how could he be injured." Kou Zhong was stunned and said, "Then your young lady was taken away by someone?" Sutong said: "Of course there is no such thing!" Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other, puzzled. Xu Ziling changed direction and asked, "Then did your miss suddenly disappear for a while, and then come back suddenly?" Su Su replied: "Since I came back, the young lady has been traveling all the time, and she didn't come back until last month, and the ancestral army division personally accompanied her back." Kou Zhong clapped his legs and said: "This ancestor Yandu is cunning, he will do good and evil." Xu Ziling then told the story of the deserted village. Susu's face changed after hearing this, and she finally said firmly: "I have to tell the young lady about it, and she will inform the master. Alas! I'm sorry if you say that. Woke up, Miss lost a lot of weight when she came back, and uncharacteristically seldom scolded us." Kou Zhong lost his voice: "What? Does she like to scold people? Why do you say she treats you well?" Susu said seriously: "She has a bad temper, but she has a good heart. I have served her for so many years, so I know it best." Then he shook the arms of the two of them and begged: "For my sister's sake, can you help Miss Master? It will always lead to disaster for people like Zu Junyan to stay in the army. Tell the truth, Master I will definitely believe you!" Kou Zhong said: "How could he not believe it, otherwise how would we know such details." Xu Shaoling pondered and said: "It's better to tell Master Zhai directly about this matter." Seeing that they were moved, Susu said with great joy: "It's up to the young lady to decide whether you can see the elder directly, or you can persuade her." Kou Zhongdao: "It's not too late, let's go see Miss immediately!" Tang Suqiao blushed and said: "This is up to the lady to decide. You have to wait here patiently for a while, because even if the lady nods, you still need to get a formal approval before you can stay in the city." The two could only look at each other and smile wryly. Unexpectedly, after waiting until late at night, there is still no news.Fortunately, there is no shortage of tea and rice.The two simply began to practice martial arts, but they didn't feel the pain of "imprisonment". When Xu Ziling woke up the next day, he saw Kou Zhong sitting on the chair with ashen face, he was shocked and asked, "What happened?" Kou Zhong said with a mournful face: "I wonder if I have practiced too much, I can no longer absorb true energy from Tianling Point." Xu Ziling examined himself in amazement, and changed expression: "I am also like this, has someone poisoned the food?" Kou Zhong moaned miserably: "It seems to be something like Sangong Pill. Who would harm us like this?" Xu Ziling closed his eyes for luck, and suddenly felt his dantian heat up, and his true energy gradually gathered again. He opened his eyes and said joyfully, "Try it, I seem to be able to gather energy again." The two sat on a chair each, closed their eyes and exercised. After a while, the skin of the whole body was hot and sweaty, and there was a little smell of medicine. How could they have imagined that they had become so powerful that they could even expel the venom from their bodies. Just when they were secretly happy, the iron door opened. When the locks slammed, the two wiped off the sweat accumulated on their foreheads, exchanged glances, pretended to be depressed, but secretly waited for it. The person who came in was Shen Luoyan, who was as beautiful as a fairy, but as poisonous as a snake. She came to the two of them with a smile, bowed and said respectfully. "Hi, gentlemen!" Kou Zhong peeked behind her and saw only the guards guarding the door. He felt relieved and said bitterly, "Why did you want to kill us? If you are a good heroine, come and have a fair duel with us." Shen Luoyan smiled like a flower, and said softly: "I just want you to be quiet! But if you don't give you an antidote for a day, the two young masters will never be as naughty and lively as before. But don't blame others, my sister just offered you According to the secret order, all suspicious persons should be on guard." Xu Ziling said angrily: "Do you know that we are the honored guests of your big leader's precious daughter?" Shen Luoyan calmed down and said: "Of course I know, now Xingyang City is under the jurisdiction of a bad woman like me. If I hadn't seen Zhai Jiao's application for household registration for you, I would not have known that the two young masters would come here." Kou Zhong said dejectedly: "Do you really want to marry? I will just marry you, a beautiful woman!" The murderous intent in Shen Luoyan's beautiful eyes flashed away, and he scrutinized Kou Zhong for a while, then looked at Xu Ziling carefully, and said with a smile: "I haven't seen you for a long time, you have all grown up a bit, but it's still hard to see in my Shen Luoyan's eyes. You are all People who know the current affairs, if you are willing to obediently tell where Yang Gong’s treasure is hidden, I will let you go, otherwise I will kill you immediately, so that you will be wiped out, and no one will worry about it anymore.” Xu Ziling laughed and said, "I thought you would be special, but in the end it's all greed." Shen Luoyan sighed quietly. The two of them knew that she was about to strike, so they were on guard. At this moment, Jiao Chi came and said, "Who dares to stop me, Zhai Jiao!" Shen Luoyan's expression changed slightly, as if he wanted to take the lives of the two of them immediately, he retreated to the side. A figure flashed, a woman who was as thick as a man and completely different from the young lady they had imagined, appeared in the room in colorful clothes, followed by Susu with an indignant face. Shen Luoyan saluted: "Good morning, Miss!" Zhai Jiao, who was not at all delicate, glared at her round eyes like copper bells and said, "Mr. Shen still thinks I am a young lady? Why have you not let me go until this morning after I said I wanted to see these two brats yesterday? " Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned, staring at this "Miss" who didn't have any feminine taste. In fact, she has good facial features, but her cheekbones are too high and round, her hair is thick and her eyebrows are thick, her waist is thick and her body is strong, but she also needs to be painted and painted in a nondescript way, which is enough to make any man sick at the first sight. On the surface, Shen Luoyan didn't dare to contradict her, and said with an apologetic smile: "Luoyan just interrogated them according to the usual practice! Miss can take someone away now, and the approval will be sent to Miss later." This time it was their turn to be amazed. How could Shen Luoyan get along so well? Zhai Jiao took a lot of face and shouted to the two: "You two slaves still don't get up and follow me, do you want to be locked here forever?" Looking at Shen Luoyan, who was secretly laughing, and her good sister Susu, who had an apologetic and begging look on her face, the two had nothing to say, so they could only "crawl" up with a wry smile. At the same time, Shen Luoyan's sound transmission warned, "Don't say that I drugged you, I will never admit it, and I will kill you."