Chapter 3 third quarter

Among Chu Shuai's most elite four-phase army, the Second Water and Fire Army was still guarding the imperial capital to avoid suspicion because it used to belong to Marquis Wen.The Republican Army is still haunting the south, and Chu Shuai Nanzheng was recalled halfway, which must have given the Republican Army a sense of escape, and must take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to step up development, so the emperor clearly ordered Chu Shuai at the swearing-in meeting. Come back in a month.Because we are going to the desert, the water army is useless, and the fire army moves too slowly, so even if we don't need to avoid suspicion, we still don't need these two armies.

After the emperor finished his lengthy speech, Chu Xiuhong and the three armies shouted long live in unison.He put the helmet back on his head, but he felt a little ironic in his heart. In the emperor's lectures, he said that "the rebel bandit Zhen Lizhi, who has lived in seclusion for more than ten years, has repeatedly violated the power of heaven, and finally committed heaven's wrath."He also clearly remembered that when the emperor was still the prince, if not for the support of Zhen Lizhi, who was then Marquis Wen, the second prince, who is both civil and military, would have already taken away the crown prince's crown prince.Later, the second prince instigated the imperial army in his hands to launch the change of the palace gate, and if Zhen Lizhi's troops had not fought to rescue the siege, the prince would have died in the hands of the imperial army.These things, in the hearts of the prince at that time and the emperor now, must have long forgotten, or thought that those things were all done with special intentions by Zhen Lizhi.

After saluting the emperor for the last time, 4,800 elite soldiers left the north gate and left in a mighty way. Chu Xiuhong felt a little bored in the carriage. He took out a wooden box from his arms and opened it. Inside was a carving knife and a wood carving.This wood carving is of a woman, it has not been finished yet, and a face cannot be seen vaguely, but the clothes are like fairy clothes, and the figure is graceful, it can be vaguely seen that it is a beautiful woman. Chu Xiuhong put the carving knife on the wood carving's face, but didn't use any force.He looked at the statue, and in his eyes, it seemed that that person appeared again.

He learned his woodcarving skills from Xue Wenyi, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry. In the past few years, he has been busy carving some goshawks, real tigers, and now extinct snake figures.In the army, no matter who they are, they are also proud to be given the sculptures of Chu Shuai. Everyone feels that these small things carved by Chu Shuai are simple and complete, and they can be as brave and heroic as him when they are around.However, no one knew that Chu Xiuhong was always carving a portrait of this woman when no one was around. Over the past few years, he has sculpted every skirt, every line of clothing, and even every strand of hair in a bun, but this face has never been able to be cut.It's not that he doesn't know how to sculpt, the figures that Chu Shuai occasionally sculpts are also full of vitality and lifelike, but he searched all over his memory, but he can't remember the beautiful face in his memory anymore.

He really didn't want to let this work be half unsatisfactory.Raw jade is muddy gold, the way of heaven is not enough, it is God's will that the carving can't be finished.Sometimes Chu Xiuhong would laugh at herself like this, but the idea of ​​carving out that person could never be shaken off. Fourteen years.The twenty-four-year-old young man is now the thirty-eight-year-old Supreme Military Commander of the Empire.Those endless fights and battles have washed away her memory, and maybe she will never remember her appearance. What I remember is only the fingers as white as beautiful jade in the military tent, and the sound of the pipa bursting with broken beads.

The car stopped suddenly.Because of some suddenness, Chu Xiuhong's hand trembled, and he turned pale with shock, and hurriedly raised his hand, but it was too late, and the carving knife had already left a shallow knife mark on the statue.Although it wasn't deep, and the face of the statue hadn't been carved yet, adding this knife mark made his thoughts messed up. From now on, she will no longer be able to vaguely see her face in this chaotic face. Chu Xiuhong felt a pain in his heart. At this moment, someone outside the car shouted: "Shuai Chu, we found traces of camels and horses ahead."

He put the statue back into the box, still tucked it in his arms, opened the curtain and said, "Is it Zhen Li's department?" He has never been able to be called "Zhen Bandit" or "Traitor" like others.However, with his dignity as a handsome man, no one dared to pick on his small fault. The scolding soldier said: "The traces are extremely chaotic, there are always more than a thousand people, among them are the old uniforms left by the soldiers of the government, and the garbage thrown away by the Di people. down." In the northwest desert, there are Di people who gather and live by water and grass.When Zhen Lizhi was the Marquis of Wen, he had defeated the Di people several times. The King Di respected him very much and regarded him as a god. The Imperial Protectorate was regarded as officially breaking with the Empire.

No matter who it is, those who leave this mark are definitely not kind, and the enemy should not be underestimated.Chu Xiuhong said: "Tell the whole army to stop and ask General Shao to come over." Not long after, Shao Fengguan, the leader of the Wind Corps, came to the Chinese Army on horseback.Chu Xiuhong got off the car and rode on the horse, Shao Fengguan saluted and said, "Chu Shuai, I heard that traces have been found?" "There are traces of camels and horses ahead. According to the map, we are almost at the Gele Oasis. I am afraid that the Di people will set up an ambush there to wait for work. General Lao Shao will make a hard trip to find out."

Shao Fengguan smiled slightly and said: "Yes. Marquis Wen is very resourceful, this trace may not be true, I'll go and have a look, please rest assured Chu Shuai." He whistled and shouted: "Wind Corps gather!" Among the four-phase army, the Wind Legion has the smallest number, only 800 people, but it is also the most unique legion, equipped with 500 flying machines.In this war that has lasted for more than ten years, the flying machine can be said to be a more unique weapon than the Shenlong Cannon invented by Zhang Longyou. When the flying machine was first used in the battle against the snake people, those snake people saw it The flying machines like flying birds were all so shocked that they forgot to fight.Di Ren has never seen a flying machine, so he must have no idea what it is.

Because it was not a battle, Shao Fengguan only dispatched fifty flying planes.Fifty flying planes were placed on the launch pads and lined up neatly in a long row. Shao Fengguan checked it again, sat down on the leading plane, and shouted: "Brothers, this time I want you to search for the plane ahead. If there is any movement, you can make your tricks brighter, don't miss anything, and come back as soon as you see anything." There were two soldiers of the Wind Legion sitting on each flying plane. They all saluted Shao Fengguan and were launched one by one. The wind in the desert is too strong, and the wind direction is too chaotic, so it is not suitable for launching a flying machine, but Shao Fengguan's wind army has experienced many battles and is quite proficient in flying the flying machine.When the fifty flying planes were placed on the ground, they were in a long row, but they scattered into dots as soon as they were in the sky, and they didn't feel too big.

No matter how big the world is, it is ultimately under the sky, and only the sky is endless.Jian Zhonglan squinted his eyes and looked at the flying plane flying into the sky, feeling a little dazed.When he was a child, he also determined to hold the power of the world and be a general who commanded all armies. Now think about it, even if an army of tens of millions of people gathers on the ground, it will be a majestic large area. Once it is put together with the sky, It's still just a tiny black spot.What's more, how do you know if there is another day beyond the sky, which is infinitely larger than this sky. "Jane joins the army." Chu Xiuhong's voice interrupted his thoughts, Jian Zhonglan bowed immediately and said, "Chu Shuai." "You understand the language of Di people, right?" Jian Zhonglan said: "I'm told by Shuai Chu that I will live in the desert since I was a child. Before I was seven years old, I went nomadic with my family and Di Ren. Di Ren's words are still spoken." "Can you write?" Jian Zhonglan didn't know what Chu Xiuhong was asking for.This marshal wanted to kill him back then, if the grand master hadn't interceded, he might not be alive today.Afterwards, Chu Xiuhong didn't treat him strangely, and he himself joined the army as a commander in chief, but every time Jian Zhonglan saw him, he always felt uneasy in his heart. "Write." "Go and prepare some paper and write it in Di Ren's words. If they hand over Zhen Lizhi, the imperial army will not pay any attention to it. Besides, Di Ren also has a family, and there must be a wife waiting by the door at home. I hope they can return home safely, but it is more emotional to say that swords and guns have no eyes, and it is worthless to sacrifice their lives for others." This is a mind-boggling strategy.Jian Zhonglan nodded: "I obey, but Di people don't live in houses, they live in tents, probably don't know how to lean on the door and hope." "It means that there are old mothers and wives who are looking forward to their sons and husbands returning home in the tent. Prepare more, the more the better." Jian Zhonglan said: "Yes, I will go right away." Di Ren's characters are all letters, and it is not difficult to write them down. He can write hundreds of sheets in a day.When he was about to leave, Chu Xiuhong suddenly stopped him and said, "By the way, I just thought of a way. You don't have to write one by one, just write on a flat wooden board, and let the craftsman engrave each word. Then paint it with ink and print it. However, the words on the board have to be engraved in reverse." Jian Zhonglan was also almost stunned.He never thought that there is such a method. Indeed, carving a wooden board is much more troublesome than writing one, but once it is carved, it is easy to print hundreds of copies of this board.He couldn't help being a little excited, and said, "Shuai Chu, this is really a good idea. In fact...if you put in some effort, you can do the same with the book..." Chu Xiuhong laughed and said: "Haha, I was thinking about this idea just now, it seems that we thought of going together. Since the paper came out, everyone can afford to write, and if the book is printed like this, then everyone Everyone can afford books, but the predecessors never dreamed of it." In the past, books were all made of sheepskin, and a book had to be made of the skins of more than a dozen sheep. A book was not affordable for ordinary people.After the invention of paper, the price of books dropped, but it was not cheap to hire people to copy books. Children from poor families had to copy books by themselves, which was miserable.If this idea can really become popular in the world, then books will not become precious things, and everyone will be able to read and write, and the empire will undergo earth-shaking changes.Jian Zhonglan did not expect that these two simple sentences would have such a prospect.He said happily: "Chu Shuai, if this can be done, it will really be a great event for the benefit of the common people." Chu Xiuhong smiled bitterly and said: "It's not that easy, but it's indeed a good idea. In the future, the world will be peaceful, and I will definitely start to accomplish this." Jian Zhonglan walked towards the baggage cart.After walking a few steps, he looked back again. In the wind and sand, he saw Chu Xiuhong's figure standing on the sand dune, with an indescribable loneliness and an indescribable pride.Thinking of Chu Xiuhong's words just now: "The world will be peaceful in the future, I will definitely start to accomplish this matter", his heart ached, he didn't dare to look any more, and walked away. This is indeed a good way. After he wrote that paragraph, he turned the paper over and asked the worker to quickly engrave the words reversed on the wooden board, then ink them, and print them one by one.It was still a little jerky at first, but then it became faster and faster, almost at a supernatural speed. The wooden board is absorbent, and after it is full of ink, the paper is covered, and it is a piece with a brush.It's just that after printing a thousand sheets, the handwriting is gradually blurred, and I'm afraid that if it is printed again, it will become unclear.Seeing his speed, Gongzheng couldn't help being amazed, and said that he would try it with a slate when he went back.I don't know how much harder the slate is than wood, and it is no problem to print tens of thousands of copies. It didn't take long for a stack of persuasion letters to be printed.Jian Zhonglan jumped on his horse and returned to the army.It was still dark at this time, and the Chinese army raised a pile of bonfires, which were used to guide the flying planes that had not yet returned.Looking from a distance, Chu Xiuhong was sitting by the fire, with his war horse Feiyu tied beside him.The flames reflected the shadows of a man and a horse, also like stone statues.He was currently engrossed in the matter in hand, at this moment... Jian Zhonglan seemed to hear the voice of the grand master again, he felt a chill on his back, tried not to think about it, and urged him to move forward immediately. Chu Xiuhong was carving something, when he heard Jian Zhonglan's hooves, he put away the statue and carving knife in his hand, and said, "Jian Junjun, is it done?" Jian Zhonglan handed over a stack of papers in his hand and said, "Chu Shuai, more than a thousand sheets have been printed, and you can print more if you want." Chu Xiuhong took it over and looked at it: "It's printed? So fast. Very good, a thousand sheets are enough now. Once General Shao finds Di Ren's camp, let him send someone to drop it from the sky." On the desert, because there is no obstruction, the setting sun can be seen even on the horizon.The setting sun is like blood, and the yellow sand seems to be burning when reflected, but the starry sky above has already lit up.The scenery is extremely majestic, and it cannot be seen in other places.Chu Xiuhong stood up, looked at the setting sun, and said calmly: "Jian Junjun, look, how vast and magnificent this world is." Jian Zhonglan said: "Under the whole world, is it the king's land? Shuai Chu, we must wipe out the rebels and rejuvenate the empire." Chu Xiuhong turned her head, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't say anything.At this time, the surrounding soldiers suddenly shouted, and the two of them also turned their heads to look. From the north, a black spot flew over. That was Shao Fengguan's return.Although the flying machine is equipped with the jet invented by Zhang Longyou, the jet can only be used once, and it is not used unless it is absolutely necessary. The Wind Legion can fly the flying machine in formation only with the help of driving skills. Their flying skills are really amazing . In front of the battalion, the flying planes landed in order, and the remaining personnel of the Wind Corps were ready below. Every time a plane landed, the people inside were rushed out, the flying planes were disassembled and put away, and the space was given to others. flying plane landing.Chu Xiuhong watched intently, and when all the planes landed, he suddenly said, "Hey, there are only forty-nine planes!" Flying planes fly in the air after all, so accidents are easy to happen. When flying in the desert, it is common to lose one plane. Jian Zhonglan was about to say that it was no big deal. Chu Xiuhong had already handed the stack of papers to him and flew on the horse. Go to the Wind Legion. Before he arrived, he saw Shao Fengguan walking towards here first, and there were two people beside him with a soldier on their backs, probably the person responsible for the accident.Chu Xiuhong jumped off the horse, went up to meet him and said, "General Shao, did you find anything?" Shao Fengguan's face was tense, and he slowly said: "No. It's just that we lost two brothers." "Is there an accident with the plane?" Shao Fengguan waved his hand and said, "Show Shuai Chu." The two soldiers carrying people beside him put down the people on their backs, and Chu Xiuhong stepped forward.But he saw that the two soldiers were covered in sand and blood, and there was a wound on their necks. Shao Fengguan said: "The wound was caused by a sharp knife, and they definitely couldn't have fallen to their deaths. Although their sabers were drawn out and there were bloodstains on the knife, I don't think it was suicide." The Wind Corps is the elite of the imperial army's elite. It is absolutely impossible for two soldiers to commit suicide in despair because of a plane crash.Chu Xiuhong covered the dead man's eyelids and said, "Did anyone see what happened?" Shao Fengguan said: "The plane of the two of them landed at the end, and we didn't find them missing until we were about to return. There was also a gust of wind on the ground just now, and I didn't know what happened. When I found them, the plane was fine. They were seriously injured, even the jets hadn’t been used, and they could fly again, but they died on the side. So, they were killed. Moreover,” he paused, and then said: “We have never seen Gele oasis." Chu Xiuhong stood up and looked at the desert in front of her.Now half of the setting sun is below the horizon. Looking at the past, there are only rolling sand dunes.He said: "It seems that Zhen Lizhi should be ahead." Shao Feng said: "Di Ren lives in the desert, and he is very good at fighting in the desert. In addition, he is under the command of Marquis Wen and Commander Chu. Our errands are not easy to handle." Chu Xiuhong smiled and said: "General Shao, don't lose your spirit. Today we will set up camp here, and tomorrow my land army will lead the way. I don't believe that Di Ren's cavalry can defeat my armored warriors." car." Shao Fengguan said solemnly: "Chu Shuai, I think you are underestimating the enemy now. Marquis Wen is resourceful, he uses soldiers like a god, and Di Ren's cavalry is also used to fighting in the desert." Chu Xiuhong's face became serious, and he nodded, "General Shao, you are right. Let's go back first and discuss it with the generals." At this time, there was a knight in very gorgeous armor running towards him. This was the son of Prince Anle, the supervisor of the Northern Expedition Army.Prince Anle's son and the current Dijun are cousins. Although Dijun has many brothers, he is very close to this cousin. In the past, everyone in the empire called him the little prince. Now the little prince is already a heroic young man.It is said that most of the descendants of the clan are porpoise dogs, and only this little prince can be called a dragon. The little prince led the horse in front of them and said, "Shuai Chu, General Shao, what happened?" Chu Xiuhong and Shao Fengguan stood still, bowed to the little prince and said, "His Royal Highness, we are about to invite His Royal Highness to come down to hold a meeting in front of the enemy to discuss the enemy's situation." The little prince said: "Okay, I'll get ready right away, you guys come to my tent." He came and walked fast, riding Juechen, and went back the way he came.Looking at his back, Shao Feng sighed and said: "Chu Shuai, fortunately the emperor sent the little prince to be the supervisor. If you send a different clan, tsk tsk." He shook his head and clicked his tongue. Chu Xiuhong looked at the figure of the little prince and said: "The little prince is probably for Teacher Wu Zhao's business. He is Teacher Wu Zhao's favorite disciple. Alas, I really don't know what Teacher Wu Zhao thinks. At such an age, he would follow Zhen Lizhi to rebel .” At this time, the people around had already walked away, Shao Feng looked around, but there was no one there, he lowered his voice and said: "Chu Shuai, do you think Marquis Wen really wants to rebel?" Chu Xiuhong said: "Zhen Lizhi's military power has been taken away, and all he can command in his hands are less than two thousand soldiers. If I were to be in his position, it is really not the time to rebel. He is resourceful, and he always wants to get this. But, Being forced to a dead end by the grand master, he can't do it if he doesn't fight back." Shao Fengguan sighed, and said: "I know that you and the grand master are friends in need, and my friendship with you is far less than your friendship with him, but I think that the grand master has gone too far in some things, and Marquis Wen is already dead. Willing to hand over the military power, it really shouldn't push him so hard." Chu Xiuhong didn't speak.He is also not very clear about the grievances between Zhen Lizhi and the grand master. The grand master was also one of Zhen Li's hand-picked promotions back then. The grand master has made great contributions, but without Zhen Lizhi's recommendation and support, he would not be where he is today.In the end, the Taishi counterattacked and made Zhen Lizhi, who was in his dying years, avoid the desert, and still reluctantly transferred back to the Southern Expedition Army to crusade, which really felt like killing everything.He also sighed and said: "We are all soldiers, so there is no need to say these things. It is always a fact that Zhen Lizhi escaped from the imperial capital. After capturing him alive, I would like to trade his fame for his safety. It is considered exhausting." Shao Feng looked at him, stretched out his hand and shook him, and said, "Chu Shuai, I am deeply grateful for your kind heart. Although I have a deep rift with Marquis Wen, he finally knows me and uses my skills." Benefactor, when the time comes, I will go to Shushu with you to ask the emperor for forgiveness, and let Marquis Wen find a quiet place to spend his old age." They were originally comrades-in-arms who went through life and death, and even though they couldn't communicate with each other, they still cared for each other.The two looked at each other, then walked forward without a word.