Chapter 15 The Fifteenth Chapter Conspiracy to Defeat the Enemy
Record of Enmity and Enmity in Book and Sword (Century New Revised Edition)
金庸
29052Words
2018-03-12
Huo Qingtong led his troops to station ten miles away from the enemy's formation.At noon that day, the captains of each team and the orderly cavalry came to report one after another, and they have all been processed according to the order.Huo Qingtong said: "Very good, everyone has worked hard." Taking out the command arrow, he said, "Captain of the second team of Qingqi, you lead 500 brothers to guard the south bank of the Heishui River, and the Qing soldiers are not allowed to cross the river. The opposing army Come to attack, don't fight them head-on, just delay time, there is a Qing soldier crossing the river, don't come to see me." The captain received the order and went. Huo Qingtong said again: "Captain of the first white flag team, lead your troops and lead the Qing soldiers to chase westward. You can only lose but not win in the battle along the way. Flee into the desert, the farther the better." The captain has always been fierce and aggressive. He said proudly: "We return to people who only win battles, I don't want to lose battles." Huo Qingtong said: "This is my order. You throw away the four thousand cattle and sheep you are carrying along the way, and they will rob them." The captain Said: "Why do you give away your own livestock? I won't do it!" Huo Qingtong's small mouth was tense, and he asked in a deep voice, "You don't listen to orders?" The captain raised his knife and shouted: "You lead us to victory, and I will obey your orders. If you tell me to win a battle, I will Fight to the death." Huo Qingtong said: "I'm leading you to win the battle. You should retreat first, then counterattack." The captain blushed, and shouted: "Even your father doesn't believe this nonsense, how can you deceive me? You When I don't know what you are thinking? You told us to run away and abandon the animals, so you don't want to save Princess Xiangxiang!" Huo Qingtong shouted: "Catch it." Four soldiers rushed forward and grabbed his hands arm.The captain didn't resist, just sneered. Huo Qingtong said loudly: "Manchurian soldiers came to bully us, we must unite as one to win the battle. Will you listen to orders?" The captain shouted: "No! What can you do to me?" Huo Qingtong Said: "Cut him off!" The captain thought that Huo Qingtong would not dare to punish him because he was vain and brave, and when he heard this, his face turned ashen.The soldiers pushed him out of the tent and cut off his head with a knife.Huo Qingtong ordered the head to be displayed to the public.All the troops are all awe-inspiring. Huo Qingtong promoted the deputy captain of the first team of the Inner Banner to the captain, and led the Qing soldiers to chase after the desert.The new captain took the order and went.Huo Qingtong ordered the rest of the teams to gather at the big muddy mud in the east. After she gave the order, she rode west alone, dismounted and knelt down, with tears streaming down her face, and prayed in a low voice: "Almighty Allah, may your holy cause prevail and defeat the invading enemies. Now my father doesn't believe me, my brother doesn't believe me, Even my subordinates don't believe me. In order to make them listen, I had to kill people. Allah, please protect us, let us win, and let my father and sister return safely. If they want to die, please let them go and let them die. I will replace them. I beg you to let Mr. Chen and his younger sister love each other forever and be happy forever. You made your younger sister so beautiful, so you must have special affection for her, and I hope you will love her till the end." After praying, he got on his horse, drew his sword, and shouted back: "The first and second teams of the black flag will follow me, and the rest of the teams will go to the defensive line."
Mu Zhuolun, Chen Jialuo and others were trapped in the sand dunes.The Qing soldiers charged twice, but were blocked by the Hui people bravely. Corpses piled up around the sand dunes, and both sides suffered heavy losses. After noon, the Qing soldiers suddenly moved, and a big army horse rushed in.Next to the big crescent banner, I saw a person wearing a yellow shirt, wielding a long sword, and a green feather trembling slightly on his head. It was Huo Qingtong.Mu Zhuolun shouted: "Everyone, charge!" He led the returning troops to charge down, attacking from both sides, the Qing soldiers could not stop them.The four Black Banner Army joined forces.Princess Xiangxiang rode forward and hugged her sister. Huo Qingtong took his sister's hand and shouted: "Captain of the third team of the black flag, you lead the team to retreat westward quickly, join the first team of the white flag, and listen to the captain of the first team of the white flag." The captain received the order and led the team to gallop out .This team rode specially selected fast horses, the red flag was waving in the distance, and the Qing soldiers were chasing after them. Huo Qingtong said happily: "Excellent. Captain of the First Black Banner Team, retreat to the city of Yarkand and listen to my brother's orders. Captain of the Second Black Banner Team, retreat to the south bank of the Heishui River. There is the leader of the Second Green Banner Team over there." Respond. You listen to his orders." Two groups of black-flag soldiers broke out again, and saw the Qing soldiers chasing in two directions with the white and yellow flags. Huo Qingtong shouted: "Everyone, charge east!" Three hundred guards' personal soldiers swung their knives, and the guard commander took the lead to open the way.Mu Zhuolun, Princess Xiangxiang, Chen Jialuo and others galloped eastward with the fourth team of Black Flag. Zhao Hui personally led the two wings of the Iron Armored Army to outflank them.The left army and the right army on the two wings are the elite soldiers of the Zhenglan Banner in Manchuria. Both the principal and the deputy are armed with long spears and halberds, and they are bravely chasing them.Hundreds of Hui soldiers fled while fighting. In an instant, hundreds of people were surrounded by Qing soldiers and killed them all.Zhaohui was overjoyed, pointing to the crescent moon beside Huo Qingtong, and shouted: "Whoever captures this big banner will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver." The fourth team of the Black Flag rides on selected horses, and the Iron Armored Army's horses are heavy and slow, so they cannot catch up.After running for thirty or forty miles, some Hui soldiers lost their horsepower, fell behind and fought to the death, all of which were killed by the Qing soldiers.Zhaohui saw that the person he killed was either an old man or a young man, and said happily, "their commander doesn't have elite soldiers around him, everyone should try to catch up!" Flying in the wind on the sand dunes. Zhaohui had a Dawanliang horse under his crotch, brandished a big knife, and led the team to rush forward.All the guards came forward and guarded. When Huo Qingtong saw the soldiers of the Qing army rushing up, he rode his horse down the hill. Zhaohui boarded the sand dune and looked forward. This time she was so frightened that her whole body seemed to have fallen into an ice cellar.But I saw a group of Muslim fighters lined up neatly in a square formation by Lubian, without making a sound.At a glance, the green flag looks like a forest, and the round shield looks like a cloud. Zhao Hui's hands were weak, he dropped the sword, his body felt chills, he thought: "These people are so cunning, it turns out that the brigade is concentrated here." Looking north, he saw a white flag waving, and several teams returned The soldiers pushed forward slowly, and there was no time to think about it at the moment, so they shouted urgently: "The rear team is the front team, retreat quickly!"The arrows of the returning people are like locusts, approaching directly.The Qing soldiers were several times more numerous than the Hui, but they were divided up to pursue them. There were only 10,000 Iron Armored Army in pursuit, but all the main force of the Hui soldiers were concentrated here.From the west, two more returning troops rushed over.Seeing that there were enemy soldiers on the west, south, and north sides, Zhaohui only left a gap on the east side, and shouted: "The brigade rush east." The Qing Brigade rushed towards the east gate.In the chaos, the Iron Armored Army suddenly exclaimed in unison.A cavalryman ran up to Zhaohui and shouted: "General, it's not good, there is a big mud ahead." I saw a thousand armored soldiers and horses rolling in the mud and sinking into the soft mud.It turns out that the rivers above the desert cannot enter the sea, and they converge into lakes in the desert, which gradually dry up and turn into mud.This big mud has a radius of more than ten li, and the soft mud is tens of feet deep, most of which are loaches and reptiles, but humans and animals can't get there.Once covered by heavy snow, there are no traces on it, and it would be difficult to know if it was not for the local aborigines.Huo Qingtong lays an ambush here, Zhaohui chases after him greedily, and finds himself in a desperate situation. Chen Jialuo and others stood on the sand dunes to watch the battle, and saw that more and more Qing soldiers were mired in the mud, and the rear team wanted to flee, but the Hui had already dug a deep ditch, and it was difficult for the horses to cross.The armored army was forced on three sides, trampled on each other, and squeezed into the mud one by one involuntarily.Iron coins are heavy and sink faster.The sand and mud rose from the feet to the knees and then to the waist.Countless Qing soldiers shouted wildly in the big mud.When the sand and mud rose to his mouth, the shouting stopped, but he saw his hands waving, and after a while, his whole body sank into the mud. More than 10,000 Hui soldiers held shields in their left hands and raised their sleeves in their right hands. The light of their knives and the white snow complemented each other. They gathered outside the deep ditch for surveillance without making a sound.The two teams of elite soldiers kept pounced on the Iron Armored Army.The number of Qing soldiers decreased as they fought more and more. In less than half an hour, more than 10,000 Zhenglan Banner Iron Armored Army were all forced into the big mud.Under the protection of more than a hundred Qing soldiers who sacrificed their lives, Zhaohui broke through a bloody road and escaped. Princess Xiangxiang couldn't bear to see countless soldiers and horses rolling and fighting, hugging and crying, and struggling desperately in the big mud, she turned her head and couldn't bear to watch.Mu Zhuolun laughed and shouted in ecstasy, suddenly stopped, and said to Huo Qingtong: "Qing'er, I said something wrong just now, don't take offense. It's because I'm too impatient, it's my father's fault." Huo Qingtong He bit his lip and said nothing. Xin Yan knelt down on the ground, kowtowed to her twice, and said: "Damn the little one, I don't know that the girl has other clever schemes, and offended the girl. You don't remember the villain's mistakes..." Before he finished speaking, Huo Qingtong mentioned Take the reins, let the horse go down the sand dunes, and hold him on the ground. Zhang Jin said with a smile: "Forget it, please ask the chief rudder to intercede with you later." He danced and laughed, and said: "I just don't understand, why didn't she lead all the Qing soldiers into the big mud pit Go." Xu Tianhong said: "There are more returning soldiers than Qing soldiers in front of us, so we can drive them into a big mud pit. If the whole army of Qing soldiers arrives and rush out together, how can we stop them?" Zhang Jin said: "Yes, Everyone misunderstood her just now." At this time, most of the Qing army had sunk into the mud without a trace, and the remaining small troops were also half-sinked and unable to move. They could only wave and shout, and the surrounding fields were full of screams.After a while, the cries gradually died down, and the big mud swallowed up more than ten thousand armored soldiers.There were no traces of men, horses, swords, or armor, only hundreds of flags scattered on the mud. ! Huo Qingtong issued an order in a loud voice: "The brigade head west and gather at the south bank of the Heishui River." All the troops in the returning army were ordered to gallop westward. On the way, Chen Jialuo and Mu Zhuolun said goodbye to each other.Mu Zhuolun felt uneasy, his two daughters were both his treasures and loves, but they both fell in love with this Han man.According to the rules of Au religion, a man can marry four wives, but Chen Jialuo is not a Muslim. I heard that Han people only marry one wife, and the second woman is not considered an official wife. I don’t know how to end this matter. Let's talk about it after killing. Qing'er is smart, Kasili is kind-hearted, and the two sisters are close, there is always a way." The brigade arrived at the south bank of the Heishui River in the evening.A cavalryman rushed to report angrily: "The Qing soldiers rushed to our army. The captain of the second team of the green flag was killed, the leader of the second team of the black flag was seriously injured, and the brothers of the two teams suffered heavy casualties." Huo Qingtong said: "Call the second team of the green flag. The deputy captain supervises the battle, and you are not allowed to take a step back." The cavalry went down to deliver the order. Mu Zhuolun said: "Let's go up to reinforce?" Huo Qingtong said: "No!" Turning to the soldiers, he said: "The whole army rests on the spot, no fire is allowed, no noise is allowed, everyone eats dry food." The order was passed down, More than 10,000 people rested silently in the dark.The splashing sound of the Heishui River could be heard from far away, and the killing sounds of the Qing soldiers and Hui soldiers shook the sky. A cavalry rushed over and reported: "The vice-captain of the second team of Qingqi was killed again, brothers can't resist!" Huo Qingtong said: "Captain of the third team of Qingqi, your team goes up to reinforce, and the team over there is under your command . " The team leader swung his sword and agreed loudly, leading the team to go. Zhang Jin shouted: "Miss Huo Qingtong, I'll go up and fight too, okay?" Huo Qingtong said: "Everyone worked hard just now, let's rest for a while." Seeing her commanding the army, Zhang Jin dared not say any more. Not long after the third team of Qingqi went up, they shouted loudly, and the battle between the two sides was fierce.After a while, Huo Qingtong saw that the soldiers had regained their energy, and shouted: "The green flag teams lie in ambush behind the sand dunes in the east, and the white flag teams, Kazakhs, and Mongolian teams lie in ambush in the west." With a wave of his sword, he said: "Everyone! go up!" The crowd galloped forward under the support of their own soldiers, the more they ran forward, the louder the killing sound.As he drove closer, the sound of metal and iron clanging resounded loudly.I saw the Hui soldiers struggling to defend several wooden bridges on the tributaries of the Heishui River, and the Qing soldiers with the yellow flag rushing forward to seize the bridges.Huo Qingtong shouted: "Stand back!" The soldiers guarding the bridge withdrew to both sides, and thousands of armored soldiers swarmed across the bridge.Huo Qingtong saw the Qing soldiers approaching halfway, and shouted: "Pull the wooden sticks!" Hundreds of Muslims had already led their horses and hid them under the river bank. Immediately, with an order, the horses were loosened and more than a hundred horses rushed forward.There were several loud clicks, the wooden beam was pulled away, and the wooden bridge broke immediately, and hundreds of armored soldiers on the bridge fell into the river.The Qing soldiers were immediately divided into two parts, facing each other across the river, unable to save each other. Huo Qingtong waved the flag, and the ambushing team came forward.The Qing soldiers were well-trained. Although they were in chaos, they still listened to the command of Shenling and Zuoling, gathered together and formed a formation.Huiren rushed to hundreds of steps in front of the Qing soldiers' formation, and stopped suddenly.Huo Qingtong made another move to command the flag.I could only hear booming, booming, continuous loud noises, deafening, black smoke filled the air, explosives exploded everywhere at the feet of the Qing soldiers, and only blood and flesh flew everywhere. river.The armor of the Qing soldiers was heavy, and as soon as they fell into the river, they immediately sank to the bottom.The snowy riverbanks are full of corpses and weapons, banners and armor.The Qing soldiers on the other side were so frightened that they retreated to the city of Yarkand. Huo Qingtong said: "Cross the river and pursue!" The soldiers built a wooden bridge, and the army rushed towards the city of Yarkand. The residents of Yarkand City have already been evacuated.When Huo Ai saw Zhengbaiqi Qing troops attacking, he followed his sister's instructions in advance, resisted a little, and led the team to withdraw.Soon after, the Qing soldiers of the Xianghuang Banner retreated from the Heishui River and joined the army in the city.As soon as he was breathing, the coach Zhaohui also led more than a hundred remnants to arrive.Seeing that the elite soldiers of the Xianghuang Banner were defeated again, Zhaohui was filled with shock and anger. Suddenly, his subordinates reported that hundreds of officers and soldiers died of poisoning after drinking the water from the well.Zhaohui sent troops to fetch water outside the city. Just as he was about to take a rest, he saw that the whole city was red, and the city was full of flames.The price of the personal soldiers Lianzhu was reported urgently, and the four cities caught fire.It turned out that Huijiang was rich in oil, and oil was found in many places. Huo Qingtong had long ordered that oil be stored in houses in various places. The civilians left their homes and went out of the city. Surrounded by his own soldiers, Zhaohui fled for his life with fire and smoke.The Qing soldiers trampled on each other in the city.The soldiers swung their knives and slashed wildly among the soldiers, cutting a bloody path.When I ran to the west gate, the armored army from the opposite side rushed in, reporting that the city gate had been blocked by Hui people and could not rush out.Zhaohui turned to the east.At this time, the fire was even more intense. Once the iron armor was scorched by the flames, it was unbearably hot. All the Qing soldiers took off their iron armor one after another and ran wildly.People and horses in the city of Yarkand were chaotic, shouting loudly. In the chaos, a small group of people came rushing, shouting: "Where is the general?" Zhaohui's personal soldiers shouted: "Here." There are few enemy soldiers at the east gate, so let's charge east." Although Zhaohui was in danger, he remained calm and led his soldiers to break through to the east gate.Thousands of arrows came from the Hui people, and the Qing soldiers lost their iron armor. They were killed and injured, and could not rush out several times.The fire in the city was even more intense, thousands of Qing soldiers had been burned to death, the people in the scorched smell were about to vomit, and the whole city was full of crying and crying. At the critical moment, Zhang Zhaozhong, with a long sword in his hand, led a group of Qing soldiers to rush there, attacking inside and outside, and rescued Zhaohui. Huo Qingtong waited to see from the high ground.Mu Zhuolun repeatedly shouted: "It's a pity! It's a pity!" Huo Qingtong said: "The captain of the fourth team of Qingqi, you lead this team to reinforce and block the east gate." The captain led the team and went.Now that Zhaohui had escaped, the Qing soldiers in the city had no relatives, and the four gates were blocked by heavy Hui soldiers, fleeing from east to west, and finally burned to death in this big melting pot. Huo Qingtong said: "Burning wolf smoke!" The guards lit a large pile of wolf dung that had been prepared long ago, and huge columns of black smoke rose into the sky.It turns out that the smoke of wolf dung is the thickest, and it can be seen dozens of miles away in the desert.Zhou Qi asked Xu Tianhong, "Why burn this?" Xu Tianhong said, "That's to communicate with people in the distance." Sure enough, not long after, a black smoke rose from more than 20 miles to the west.Xu Tianhong said: "When people in the west over there see this smoke, they will also light wolf dung. This way, the signal can be transmitted hundreds of miles away in a short time." Zhou Qi nodded and said : "This is a great idea." The Hui people fought three big victories in a row, annihilating more than 30,000 elite soldiers of the Qing Dynasty.Thousands of soldiers embraced each other, singing and dancing outside the city of Yarkand. Huo Qingtong sent a message to the captains of each team, and said: "All teams are stationed at the predetermined location. Each person will burn ten piles of fire at night. The distance between each pile of fires should be as far away as possible."
Under the leadership of Dutong De'e, more than 10,000 elite soldiers of the Qing army chased westward to the third Renheiqi team.The mounts of the Black Banner team are all specially selected horses, and they gallop straight into the desert.De'e was ordered by Zhaohui to catch up with the returning soldiers and annihilate them in one go, so he chased after them.The two soldiers and horses ran away dozens of miles with smoke billowing and thunderous hooves.Suddenly, thousands of cattle and sheep rushed out of the diagonal stab.The Qing soldiers were overjoyed, hunting and feasting one after another, and the chase was slightly slow. The 3rd Black Banner Squadron soon joined the 1st White Flag Squadron and continued to flee, never engaging the Qing soldiers.In the evening, seeing the smoke rising from the east, the captain of the first team of the white flag shouted: "The green feather yellow shirt has won the battle, let's turn to the east!"The soldiers of the Qing Dynasty were very surprised when they saw the Huiren turning back suddenly.De E shouted: "You flee to the horizon, we chase to the horizon." The two groups of returning soldiers fled overnight, and the Qing soldiers were chasing after them.Du Tong De'e was determined to make great achievements, and the horses kept falling to death along the way. He ordered the sergeant who died on the horse to follow on foot, and the rest of the cavalry continued to chase.In the middle of the night, several cavalry sergeants rushed to report: "The general is in front on the right." De'e rushed to meet him, and saw Zhaohui leading more than 3,000 remnants of the defeated army, in a panic. 兆惠见正红旗精兵开到,精神一振,心想:“敌兵大胜之后,今晚必定不备,我军出其不意偷袭,当可转败为胜。”于是下令向黑水河旁挺进。行了二三十里,前哨报知回人大军在前扎营。兆惠与德鄂、张召重、和尔大等登高一望,不由得一股凉气从心底直冒上来。 但见漫山遍野布满了火堆,放眼望去,无穷无尽,隐隐只听得人喧马嘶,不知有多少回兵。兆惠默然不语。和尔大道:“原来回人有十多万兵隐藏在这里,咱们以寡敌众,怪不得……陸不得受了……一些小小挫折。”他们怎知这是霍青桐虚张声势,她命每名回兵烧十堆火,远远望来,自是声势惊人。 ! 兆惠下令道:“各队赶速上马:向南撤退,不许发出一点声息。”命令传了下去,众兵将不及吃饭,立即上马。和尔大道:“据向导说,这里向南要经过英奇盘山脚下,大雪之后,山路甚是难行。”兆惠道:“敌兵声势如此浩大,你瞧到处都是他们的队伍。富德将军有一支兵东越戈壁而来,咱们只有向东南去和他会师。”和尔大道:“大将军用兵确然神妙。”兆惠“哼”了一声,大败之后再听这些谄谀之言,脸皮再厚,可也不易安然领受了。 大军南行,道路愈来愈险,左面是黑水河,右面是英奇盘山,黑夜中星月无光,只有山上白雪映出一些淡淡光芒。兆惠下令:“谁发出一点声息,马上砍了。”清兵大都来自辽东苦寒之地,知道山上积雪甚厚,稍有声音震动积雪,立即酿成雪崩巨灾。众人小心翼翼,下马轻步而行。走了十多里,道路愈陡,幸而天色渐明,清兵一日一夜战斗奔驰,个个脸无人色。 忽然前面发喊,报称有回人来攻,德鄂亲率精兵上前迎敌。只见数百名回人从山坡上俯冲而下,将到临近,突然下马,每人拔出一柄匕首,插入马臀。马匹负痛,向清兵阵里狂冲过来。道路本狭,登时挤成一团,人马纷纷落河。山坡上的回人投下无数巨石,登时把道路封住。德鄂急令大军后退,却听后队喊声大作,原来后路也被截断了。 德鄂亲冒矢石,向前猛冲,只见英奇盘山顶上新月大蠢迎风飘扬,大囊下站着十多人在指挥督战。兆惠下令:“向前猛冲,不顾死伤。”一队铁甲军开了上去,一半人持盾挡箭,一半人抬起路上的大石、马匹、尸首、伤兵,尽数投入河中,清除了道路,一鼓作气猛地冲去。前面数十名回人挡住。道路狭窄,清兵虽多,难以一拥而上,后面部队却继续推上来,一时间路口挤满了人马。 号角声起,挡路的回人突然散开,身后露出数十门土炮,清兵吓得魂飞天外,发一声喊,转身便逃。土炮放处,铁片铁钉直往阵中轰来。总算那土炮每次只能放得一响,再放又要填塞炸药铁片,搞上半天,清兵都已退开。这数十炮轰死了二百多名清兵,又把他们去路截断。 兆惠又急又怒,忽听得悉悉之声,颈中一凉,一小团雪块掉入衣领,抬头望时,只见山峰上雪块缓缓滚落。和尔大叫道:“大将军,不好啦,快向后退!”兆惠掉转马头,向后疾奔。众亲兵乱砍乱打,把兵卒向河中乱推,抢夺道路。只听雪崩声愈来愈响,积雪挟着沙石,从天而降,犹如天崩地裂一般,轰轰之声,震耳欲聋。 和尔大与张召重左右卫护兆惠,奔出了三里多远。回头只见路上积雪十多丈,数千精兵全被埋在雪下,连都统德鄂也未逃出。向前眺望,一般的是积雪满途,行走不得。兆惠身处绝境,四万多精兵在一日两夜之间全军覆没,不由得悲从中来,放声大哭。 张召重道:“大将军,咱们从山上走。”他左手拉住兆惠,提气往山上蹿去。和尔大施展轻功,手执单刀在后保护。 霍青桐在远处山头望见,叫道:“有人要逃,快去截拦。”数十名蒙古兵在小队长率领下飞奔而来,跑到临近,见爬上来的三人都穿大官服色,十分欣喜,摩拳擦掌,只待活捉。兆惠暗暗叫苦,心想今日兵败之余,还不免被擒受辱。 张召重一言不发,提劲疾上。他一手挽了兆惠,在这冰雪冻得滑溜异常的山上仍是步履如飞。和尔大虽然空手,拼了命还是追赶不上。张召重爬上山顶,一提之下,跨兆惠甩起。数十名蒙古兵同时扑到。张召重把兆惠挟在腋下,“一鹤冲天”,从人圈中纵出。蒙古兵扑了个空,互相撞得头肿鼻歪,回身来追,两人早冲下山去了。和尔大被一名蒙古兵扑到扭住,两人滚倒在地。其余蒙古兵抢上前来,将他横拖倒曳地擒住。 回军各队队长纷纷上来向霍青桐报捷。这一役正红旗清兵全军覆没,逃脱性命的除兆惠与张召重外,不过身手特别矫捷而运气又好的数十人而已。 霍青桐等回到营帐,回人战士将俘虏陆续解来。这时回人已攻破清兵大营,官兵、粮草、军器,缴获无数。俘虏中忽伦四兄弟也在其内。回人战士报称,攻进大营时发现他们被缚着放在篷帐之中。陈家洛询问原委,忽伦大虎说:“兆大将军怪我们帮你,要杀我们四人的头,说等打了胜仗再杀。”陈家洛向霍青桐求情,放了四人。四兄弟自回辽东,仍做猎户去了。 其时哨探又有急报,戈壁中有清兵四五千人向东而来。霍青桐一跃而起,带了十队回兵上前迎敌。行了数十里,果见前面尘头大起,霍青桐令旗一招,两队青旗回兵乘着战胜余威,向前猛冲。原来这是兆惠副手富德带来的援兵,途中与兆惠及张召重相遇,得知清兵大军覆没,忙收集残兵,向东撤退,哪知终于被霍青桐拦住。清兵兼程赴援,人困马乏,人数又少,怎挡得住回人大军乘锐冲击。 兆惠不敢再战,下令车辆马匹围成一个圆圈,弓箭手在圈内固守。回兵几次冲锋,冲不进去。霍青桐道:“他们负隅死守,强攻损失必重。现今我众彼寡,不如围困。”木卓伦道:“正该如此。”霍青桐下令掘壕。回兵万余人一齐动手,在清兵弩箭不及处四周掘起长壕深沟,要将清兵在大漠之中活活饿死渴死。到得傍晚,霍阿伊又带领了回人援兵数千到达,在长壕之前再堆土堤。 回人在黑水河英奇盘山脚大破清兵,再加围困,达四月之久,史称“黑水营之围”。
文泰来站在高处,远远望见兆惠身旁一人指指点点,正是张召重,心中大怒,从回人手中接过弓箭。徐天宏道:“这奸贼原来在此,只怕太远,射他不到。”文泰来施展神力,啪的一声,一张铁胎弓登时拉断,当下拿过两张弓来,并在一起,一箭扣双弦,将两张铁胎弓都拉满了,手一放,羽箭如流星般直向张召重面门飞去。箭到临近,风声劲急,张召重侧身避过,那箭噗的一声,插入了他身边一名亲兵胸膛。 卫春华道:“四哥,咱们冲进去捉这奸贼。”徐天宏道:“不行!不可犯了霍青桐姑娘的将令。”文泰来、卫春华等点头称是。众人望着张召重,恨声不绝,说道:“终有一日要拿住这奸贼碎尸万段。” 只听得军中奏起哀乐,回人在地下挖掘深坑,将阵亡的将士放入坑内,面向西方,然后埋葬。陈家洛等很是奇怪,询问身旁的战士。那人道:“我们是伊斯兰教徒,死了魂归天国,肉体直立,面向西方圣地麦加。”群雄听了嗟叹不已。 埋葬已毕,木卓伦率领回人全军大祷,感谢真神佑护,打了这样一场大胜仗。祈祷完毕,全军欢声雷动,各队队长纷到木卓伦和霍青桐面前举刀致敬。 卫春华道:“这一仗把清兵杀得心碎胆裂,也给咱们出了一口恶气。”徐天宏沉吟道:“皇帝明明跟咱们结了盟,怎么却不撤军?难道他这是故意的,要把满清精兵在大漠中灭掉?”文泰来道:“我才不相信那皇帝呢。他怎能料到霍青桐姑娘会打这大胜仗?他派张召重来,用意显然不善。”文泰来等一直怀疑乾隆结盟之心不诚,另有奸谋,只是碍着陈家洛的面子,不便明言,只和章进等几人相对摇头。文泰来悄悄和徐天宏议论,都说要好好提醒总舵主。然这是兴汉驱满的唯一良机,除此之外,亦无别策。大家都说务必小心,即使得罪了总舵主,仮众兄弟一片丹忱,亦盼他能谅鉴。 大家又都赞霍青桐用兵神妙。余鱼同道:“孙子曰:'我专为一,敌分为十,是以十攻其一也,则我众而敌寡。'想不到回部一位年轻姑娘用兵,竟是暗合孙子兵法。”周绮睁大了一双圆眼,道:“你胡说八道!她打仗打得这样好,你还说她是孙子兵法?我说是爷爷兵法,老祖宗兵法!”众人都大笑不已。 说话之间,只见陈家洛眼望霍青桐,显得又是关切,又是担心。众人循着他目光转头望去,见她脸色苍白,瞪着火光呆呆出神。骆冰走近前去,想逗她说话。霍青桐站起来相迎,突然身子一晃,吐出一口鲜血。骆冰吓了一跳,忙抢上扶住,问道:“青妹妹,怎样?”霍青桐不语,努力调匀气息,突然张口,又吐出一门血来。香香公主、木卓伦、霍阿伊、陈家洛、周绮等都奔过来慰问。香香公主急得连叫:“姊姊,别再吐啦。”把姊姊扶入帐中,展开毡毯让她躺下。 木卓伦心中痛惜。知道女儿指挥这一仗殚智竭力,亲身冲锋陷阵,加之自已和部将都对她怀疑,她内然是满怀气苦。而最令她难受的,只怕是陈家洛和她妹子要好了。一时也想不出话来安慰,叹了口气,走出帐来。 他各处巡视,只听得四营都在夸奖霍青桐神机妙算。走到一处,见数百名战士围着一位阿訇,听他讲话。那阿訇道:“穆圣迁居到麦地那的第二年,墨克人来攻。敌人有战士九百五十人,战马一百匹,骆驼七百头,个个武装齐全。穆圣部下只有战士三百十三人,战马两队,骆驼七八十头,甲六副。敌人强过三倍,但穆圣终于击败了敌人。”一名少年叫道:“咱们这次也是以少胜多。”阿訇道:“不错,霍青桐姑娘依循穆圣遗教,领着咱们打胜仗,愿真主保佑她。《可兰经》第三章中说:'在交战的两军之中,这一军是为主道而战的,那一军是不信道的,眼见那一军有自己的两倍。安拉却用他的佑护,扶助他所喜爱的人。'”众战士欢声雷动,齐声大叫:“真主保佑翠羽黄衫,她领着咱们打胜仗。” 木卓伦想着女儿,一夜没好睡。Second-rate.一早,天还没亮,便到霍青桐帐中探视。揭开帐门见帐中无人,吓了一跳,忙问帐外卫士。那卫士道:“霍青桐姑娘在一个时辰前出去了。”木卓伦道:“到哪里去?”卫士道:“不知道。这封信她要我交给族长。”木卓伦抢过信来,见信上寥寥写着数字:“爹爹,大事已了,只要加紧包围,清兵指日就歼。女儿青上。” 木卓伦呆了半晌,问道:“她向哪里去的?”那卫士指向东北方。 木卓伦跃上马背,向东北方直追,赶了半个时辰,茫茫大漠上一望数十里没一个人影,沙中也无蹄印足迹,只得回来。走到半路,香香公主、陈家洛、徐天宏等已得讯迎来。众人十分忧急,都知霍青桐病势不轻,单身出走,甚是凶险。 回到大帐,木卓伦派出四小队人往东南西北追寻。傍晚时分,三小队都废然而返,派到东面的那小队却带来了一个身穿黑衫的汉人少年。 余鱼同一呆,原来那人正是穿男装的李沅芷,忙迎上去,道:“你怎么来了?”李沅芷又是高兴、又是难受,道:“我来找你啊,刚好遇匕他们。”一指那小队回兵道:“他们就把我带来啦。咦,你怎么不穿袈裟啦?”余鱼同笑道:“我不做和尚了。”李沅芷心花怒放,眼圈一红,险些掉下泪来。 香香公主见找不到姊姊,十分焦急,对陈家洛道:“姊姊到底为什么啊?怎么办呢?”陈家洛道:“我这就去找她,无论如何要劝她回来。”香香公主道:“我同你一起去。”陈家洛道:“好,你跟你爹说去。”香香公主去跟木卓伦说,要与陈家洛同去找寻姊姊。木卓伦心乱如麻,知道霍青桐就是为了他们而走,这两人同去,只怕使她更增烦恼,却又不知如何是好,顿足道:“你们爱怎样就怎样吧,我也管不得许多了。”香香公主睁大了一双眼睛望着父亲,见他眼中全是红丝,知他忧急,轻轻拉着他手。 李沅芷对别人全不理会,不断询问余鱼同别来情形。陈家洛对香香公主道:“你姊姊的意中人来啦,他定能劝她转来。”香香公主喜道:“真的么!姊姊怎么从来不跟我说。啊,姊姊坏死啦。”走到李沅芷面前,细细打量。木卓伦听了一愕,也过来看。 李沅芷与木卓伦曾见过面,忙作揖见礼,见到香香公主如此惊世绝俗的美貌,怔住了说不出话来。香香公主微笑着对陈家洛道:“你对这位大哥说,我们很是高兴,请他和我们同去找姊姊。”陈家洛这才和李沅芷行礼厮见,说道:“李大哥怎么也来啦?别来可好?”李沅芷红了脸,只是咯咯地笑,望着余鱼同,下巴微扬,示意要他说明。余鱼同道:“总舵主,她是我陆师叔的徒弟。”陈家洛道:“我知道,我们见过几次。”余鱼同笑道:“她是我师妹。”陈家洛惊问:“怎么?”余鱼同道:“她出来爱穿男装。” 陈家洛细看李沅芷,见她眉淡口小,娇媚俊俏,哪里有丝毫男子模样?曾和她数次见面,只因有霍青桐的事耿耿于怀,又觉此人俊美胜于自己,暗起自愧不如之念,由此不愿对她多看。其实无意之中,虽隐隐觉她不是男子,但内心故意对其贬低,只当她油头粉脸,是个纨绔美少年,全无英雄气概,殊不足道。这一下登时呆住,霎时之间千思万虑,一齐涌到:“原来这人果是女子?我对霍青桐姑娘可全想岔了。她曾要我去问陆老前辈,我总觉尴尬,问不出口。她这次出走,岂不是为了我?她妹子对我又如此情深爱重,却叫我何以自处?”众人见他突然失魂落魄地出神,都觉奇怪。 骆冰得知李沅芷是女子,过来拉住她手,很是亲热。见了她对余鱼同的神态,再回想在天目山、孟津等地的情形,今日又是风沙万里地跟到,她对余鱼同的心意自是不问可知。心想余鱼同对自己一片痴心,现下这样一位美貌姑娘真诚见爱,大可化解他过去一切无谓苦恼。只是见他神情落寞,并无欣慰之意,实在不妥,须得尽力设法撮合这段姻缘才是。李沅芷问道:“霍青桐姊姊呢?我有一件要紧事对她说。”骆冰道:“霍青桐妹妹不知去了哪里,我们正在找她。”李沅芷道:“她独个儿走的么?”骆冰道:“是啊,而且她身上还有病呢。”李沅芷急道:“她朝哪个方向走的?”骆冰道:“本来是向东北走的,后来有没转道,就不知道了。”李沅芷连连顿足,说道:“糟啦,糟啦!” 众人见她十分焦急,忙问原因。李沅芷道:“关东三魔要找翠羽黄衫报仇,你们是知道的了。这三人一路上给我作弄了个够。他们正跟在我后面。现下霍青桐姊姊向东北去,只怕刚好撞上。”
原来李沅芷在孟津宝相寺中见余鱼同出家做了和尚,悲从中来,掩面痛哭。余鱼同竟然硬起心肠,写了一封信留给陈家洛等人,对她不理不睬,飘然出寺。李沅芷哭了一场,收泪追出时,余鱼同已不知去向。她追到孟津城内,在各处寺院和客店探寻。哪知意中人没寻着,却又见到了滕一雷、顾金标、哈合台三人。 他们从宝相寺出来,在一家僻静客店休息。李沅芷偷听他们谈话,知道要去回部找翠羽黄衫报仇。她恼恨三人欺逼余鱼同,于是去买了一大包巴豆,回到客店,煎成浓浓一大碗汁水,盛在酒瓶里,混入滕一雷等住的客店。等到他们上街闲逛,进房去将巴亙汁倒入桌上的大茶壶里。 关东三魔回店,口渴了倒茶便喝,虽觉有点异味,也只道茶叶粗劣,不以为意。到了夜半,三人都腹痛起来,这个去了茅房回来,那个又去。三人川流不息,泻了一夜肚子。第二天早晨肚泻仍未止歇,三人精疲力尽,委顿不堪,本来要上路的,却也走不动了。滕一雷把酒店老板找来大骂,说店里东西不干净,吃坏了肚子。客店老板见三人凶得历害,只得连连赔笑,请