Three Kingdoms

"Going to war tomorrow?"

A dim lamp, I don't know if the tung oil is bad or the wick is too short, is always jumping, flickering and swaying, illuminating the two figures.

"Brother! I said you can't change this lamp? It makes me dizzy!" Yang Bai glanced at the dim lamp with dissatisfaction, "Didn't I give you some wax a few days ago? Why don't you use it?"

"Nonsense! Lighting a lamp and lighting wax are not all the same. It's just a bright light. You still want to make it as bright as day? Little prodigal son..." Yang Song said habitually, "Besides, lamp oil costs nothing. Why, you have a little money." I no longer look down on lamp oil... I think back then, I didn’t save your expenses bit by bit..."

"Okay! Brother! You are my brother!" Yang Bai said helplessly, then reached for the bamboo clip next to the lamp holder to pull out the wick, "Okay, just use the lamp. I will pull out the wick longer. A little brighter..."

"Oh, wait..." Yang Song stretched out his hand and shouted.

late.

Yang Bai just wanted to use bamboo clips to pull up the wick, but he didn't expect it to be broken...

Well, to be precise, it's not that it was pulled out, but that the wick was originally that short.

The wick without the tung oil shook twice, then went out completely, and the room suddenly fell into darkness. Yang Bai pinched the bamboo clip awkwardly, neither sitting nor standing.

"You little loser..." Yang Song muttered habitually, then took the bamboo clip from Yang Bai's hand, then put the wick into the lamp again in the dark, and then lit the wick again.

"Brother! Oh dear brother!" Yang Bai said, dumbfounded, "The longer the wick is, the more it will die!"

"You won't die, but you will waste gas!" Yang Song pointed to the mat that was worn to the point of breaking the weft and said, "You are such an adult and you are still frizzy. Sit tight! What did Master Zhang say? ?”

"Zhang Shijun asked me to lead troops to the watershed to resist...well, General Zhengxi..." Yang Bai said, "I will order my troops to set off tomorrow, so I will come back and report to my brother first..."

"General Zhengxi?" Yang Song raised his eyebrows and said, "But that General Zhengxi, Fei Qianfeiziyuan, who pacified Baibo, recovered Yinshan, drove Xianbei to the north, occupied Huguan in the east, and built some kind of academy?"

Yang Bai nodded and said: "That's right...I wonder if I've heard of anyone else who is also titled General Zhengxi..."

"Hey..." Yang Song couldn't help but stand up, holding his hands behind his back, and slowly wandered around the hall.

Yang Bai's head swayed back and forth along with Yang Song, and he said: "Brother...brother...ah, brother, please stop turning around, okay? This light is shaking, so are you, you are dizzy..."

"Alas..." Yang Song sat back and sighed.

Yang Bai asked in confusion: "What's the matter, brother? Although General Zhengxi is powerful, he is in Bingbei! It's not like you don't know the watershed. The mountains are high and the strongholds are strong. Wherever it gets stuck, let alone ten and a half months. After three to five days, we will have to retreat even after the water is cut off! No matter how many soldiers we have, we can’t use them! It’s okay!”

"I'm not worried about this!" Yang Song said with a frown.

"What does brother mean?" Yang Bai asked doubtfully.

Yang Song still frowned and said: "We are at the watershed this time. How many soldiers at home are you planning to bring?"

According to convention, as the Sima of Hanzhong County, Yang Bai can have a private army of about 150 to 200 people as a directly-administered branch, while Yang Song, who is engaged in Hanzhong County, can also have 30 to 50 people. A personal armed force of about 200 people is used as a guard, so the total number of Yang Song's family can be a private armed force of about 200 people.

When going into battle, of course you have to bring your own soldiers. Even if you really don't have any, a bare-bones commander will temporarily recruit fifty to two hundred people from the army as personal guards according to their rank. After the war, these personal guards usually come It was said that it was officially transformed into the general's personal guard, separated from the original subordinates.

These personal guards serve as messengers, supervising troops, and even soldiers who escape from the rear. Because in the Han Dynasty, if the general died and the personal guards escaped, they would be held accountable for the crime of "dead master", and they were basically beheaded. of guilt.

"Of course I will lead my troops..." Yang Bai was a little confused. Is there any need to ask?

"How many troops and horses will Master Zhang give?" Yang Bai asked.

"It is said that there are five hundred soldiers... plus the more than two hundred people who were originally at the watershed, there are eight hundred. Plus my own troops... there should be no one who can guard the watershed for ten days and a half. What's the problem..." Yang Bai said.

After pondering for a moment, Yang Bai's eyes flashed a few times and said: "No, you have to take my guards with you! When we get to the watershed, we must also control the five hundred soldiers and the defenders of the watershed. Here! No room for error!"

"Ah? Oh..." Yang Bai responded subconsciously, and then asked, "Why? Doesn't this mean that my brother has no soldiers to protect him?"

"Oh, I work alone and am always in the county. Three or five guards are enough..." Yang Bai was obviously thinking about something and said, "Do you know what it means for General Zhengxi to reach the watershed... Forget it. It’s...you probably don’t know...Go and have a rest early, we still need to cook tomorrow...When we reach the watershed, we should prepare our defenses first, don’t be too impulsive, just wait for my letter..."

Although it was not clear why Yang Song said this, Yang Bai still habitually obeyed Yang Song's words, nodded, and after answering, he stood up and left.

After Yang Bai left, Yang Song blew out the oil lamp, but he had no intention of taking a rest. Instead, he sat blankly in front of the table, under the shadow, thinking.

General Fei Qian of the Western Expedition went south. Naturally, he did not come to enjoy the mountains and rivers, but to keep his eyes on Hanzhong, and maybe also on Sichuan and Shu. Of course, everyone only needs to think about this, and everyone can clearly understand...

But conjecturing backwards, why was General Zhengxi able to attack Hanzhong?

Could it be that General Zhengxi has already taken Guanzhong?

In the darkness, Yang Song's brows knitted together tightly.

For Yang Bai, perhaps he only needs to follow the military orders, but Yang Song has to think more and more profoundly.

After all, the Yang family is too weak, with only two brothers. Although they are now serving under Zhang Lu of Hanzhong, but... this position is not what Yang Song wants, it is just a last resort.

In the land of Sichuan and Sichuan, there are many aristocratic families, and these aristocratic families firmly control the local land and political affairs, and manage their operations very well. There is no place for weak families like Yang Song!

The Zhang family and the Du family are in Jincheng, the He family is in Pixian County, the Chang family is in Jiangyuan, the common surnames in Langzhong include Sanhu, Wuma, Pu, Zhao, Ren, Huang, and Yan, the Qiao family is in Brazil, and the Zhang family and Hou family are also in Nanchong. There are seven Yang and five Li in Jianwei, with twelve surnames, and Yang, Du, and Li are the main surnames of Zitong...

The surnames in Sichuan are so intertwined that there is no gap at all. As a last resort, the two Yang brothers came to Hanzhong. It happened that Zhang Luxin took over Hanzhong, and it was also when manpower was urgently needed that he got a place.

However, Yang Song was not very satisfied with being under Zhang Lu. The key is not Zhang Lu's background. For Yang Song, his background is secondary. What's more important is that Zhang Lu has no ambition and only wants to keep his achievements!

How big can the land of Hanzhong be? Guard, how long can you guard? The act of burning the plank road made Yang Song complain. On the surface, it seemed safer, but it also cut off the connection with Guanzhong, and even ended his hope of taking a step forward!

It's not that Yang Song doesn't know that Yang Bai has always been a little dissatisfied with his frugal behavior, but isn't this family wealth accumulated by him bit by bit?

Saving money carefully has become an instinct for Yang Song. And now General Zhengxi's troops are pointing directly at Hanzhong, which means that General Zhengxi has probably gained control of Guanzhong!

One is Guanzhong plus Bingbei...

One is Hanzhong plus Sichuan and Shu...

A huge scale was placed in Yang Song's heart, and from time to time some weights were placed on the left and right sides...

…………………………

Dark clouds were billowing in the sky, and it seemed that a heavy rain was about to fall in Jincheng. In the mansion of Yizhou Mu Liu Yan, the clouds were also thick, and it seemed that a storm was brewing.

"roll!"

Liu Yan lay on his side on the couch, pushed away the maid who was about to give the medicine, and shouted in a hoarse voice: "I won't take these useless medicines! Get out! Get out!"

The maid stumbled and fell to the ground, and the dark and numb soup was knocked over, spilling a dirty color...

"Please calm down your anger..."

Both the attendants and the guards inside and outside the hall were all half shorter.

Liu Yan gasped, enduring the pain on his back, and said: "Ahem... pass, go and invite Pombasi... and Zhao Taicang..."

Someone outside the house immediately responded with a raised hand, and then walked away quickly.

"Come here!" Liu Yan reluctantly sat up from the couch, then took a few breaths and endured the pain and said, "A bunch of useless people! Why don't you help me get up and get ready to change..."

During this period, Liu Yan suffered from a carbuncle attack. A large pustule swelled up on his back. His skin was eroded and the pain was so intense that he could only sleep on his stomach. No matter he sat or stood, he was miserable.

In fact, according to modern medicine, carbuncle is not a terminal disease. It is just an abscess caused by the accumulation of a large number of Staphylococcus aureus under the skin or in the tissue. Generally speaking, surgical removal and the addition of anti-inflammatory drugs can restore health in most cases. However, there was no such disease in the Han Dynasty. Anti-inflammatory drugs, few people would do surgery.

Therefore, we just prescribe some cooling and relieving medicines, but how can we quickly treat acute carbuncle symptoms like Liu Yan's with just the decoction?

In addition, Liu Yan originally believed in Taoism, and there was a saint from the Tianwei Tao in his house. He must take elixirs to practice and so on. The mineral toxins accumulated in the body for a long time suddenly broke out in the carbuncle, making it even more serious. Three points of the disease.

The sick man was moody. Yesterday alone, he killed an attendant and two maids, which frightened the servants in the house to tremble with fear, fearing that it would be their turn to be the next unlucky person.

Perhaps Liu Yan was preparing to receive guests and did not pay much attention to these servants, so he did not continue to get angry. Instead, he closed his eyes and said slowly: "Get some fragrant powder..."

Perhaps people who are about to die have more or less feelings. Liu Yan felt that his time was running out, and he was afraid that the odds were against him, so he had to make some arrangements for his funeral.

Liu Yan had four sons, but now only Liu Zhang is around.

Although his third son, Liu Mao, said he would follow him to Sichuan, he unfortunately died young...

Liu Yan always believed that Liu Hao's death was closely related to the Sichuan and Shu clan, because Liu Hao often attended the banquets of these wealthy families at that time. However, when Liu Hao died, he only showed symptoms of cold and there was nothing abnormal. , which left Liu Yan to suppress his grief in his heart, unable to put the matter on the table, and could only investigate secretly.

But unexpectedly, before anything could be found out, he collapsed, and the carbuncle broke out so quickly that he was caught off guard.

A thick layer of powder was applied on his face, barely covering his pale and decadent complexion. Liu Yan asked someone to light incense indoors to cover up the stench of the carbuncle on his back, and then he held on and sat down at the table. superior……

Pang Xi was the governor of Brazil. During the Li Guo Rebellion that year, he resigned from his position as minister. He originally wanted to temporarily avoid the military front in Guanzhong, but he did not expect that after the Zhong family came to power, he would not be able to fulfill his original promise in time. In addition, the situation in Guanzhong became increasingly chaotic. In the end, he became so angry that he simply took the family members and went south to Shu to avoid disaster.

On the one hand, Pang Xi had a friendship with Liu Yan's son Liu Fanduo, and on the other hand, Liu Yan also happened to need some celebrities to support him, so Pang Xi quickly established a strategic cooperative relationship with Liu Yan when he went south, and served as the governor of Brazil. Guard the north for Liu Yan, suppress the local nobles, and monitor the movements of Zhang Lu in Hanzhong.

And Zhao Taicang, that is, Zhao Wei, is a general in military affairs. He is now serving as the general of the army and is stationed in Jincheng. Zhao Wei once held the position of Taicang in the central court. When Liu Yan got the appointment and went south, Zhao Wei followed him. He was considered Liu Yan's old teammate and was considered loyal.

He has Pang Xi in literature and Zhao Wei in military affairs. These are Liu Yan's two arms in Sichuan and Shu.

Zhao Wei arrived soon.

And Pang Xi, who had arrived in Jincheng two days earlier, also came. The two looked at each other, and then entered the hall together to pay homage to Liu Yan...

In the hall, sandalwood scent lingers.

Liu Yan is half leaning and half sitting, located in the middle, closing his eyes and concentrating. He is dressed in a colorful brocade robe, looking graceful, noble, calm and measured.

"Everyone, please step aside!" When Pang Xi and Zhao Wei took their seats, Liu Yan opened his eyes and said in a deep voice without even trembling his face, "The guards should step out twenty steps! Anyone who dares to intrude will lean on the window and eavesdrop. Whoever, kill!"

"only!"

The guards stationed outside the hall responded loudly, and went out with the sound of armor.

"Rumble" there was a muffled thunder sound, and heavy rain poured down, covering the whole world. The originally dark hall was invaded by wind and rain, and the curtains swayed, throwing down large shadows, covering all three of them...