Thief Emperor

Chapter 768: Public and private interests?

Youzhou.

General Xiao, dressed in armor, looked a little pale. He raised his head and looked into the distance with an expressionless face.

In just two months, he had fought fierce battles with the Khitans several times, and each time he commanded the battle personally. He was in danger several times and almost lost in the enemy's camp.

However, the Fanyang Army still had some combat effectiveness, and those left in the Youzhou area were all veteran soldiers. Even though Xiao Xian charged and fought hard, he was still taken back to Youzhou by the Fanyang Army soldiers.

The Youzhou line has not been lost yet.

Chen Shang, the general of the Fanyang Army, was standing behind Xiao Xian at this time. His armor was covered with marks from swords and arrows, his hair was disheveled, and bloodstains could be seen all over his body. It was obvious that he had also fought in the battlefield himself.

This battle-hardened general of the Fanyang army looked at Xiao Xian in front of him, and there was not much light in his eyes.

He asked in a hoarse voice: "General, I don't understand and I don't know."

"Why do you fight like this?"

Chen Shang gritted his teeth and said, "We still have 20,000 to 30,000 men, and there are reinforcements from the Pinglu Army on the way. It is not difficult to hold on until they come back and defend Youyan. Why does the general insist on charging into the battle formation and leaving the city to fight the Khitans head-on?"

"Our cavalry is inferior to them. If we leave the city, we will suffer a great loss. In the past two months, the Fanyang Army has lost thousands of brothers!"

"In the past, there wouldn't be such casualties in a few years. I really can't understand it, I can't understand it!"

Xiao Xian turned around and silently looked at the general who had followed him for decades. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything. He just asked in a hoarse voice: "Has the Khitan envoy left?"

Chen Shang took a deep breath and said, "He left. After being rejected by the general, he left Youzhou last night."

In the past few days, the Khitan envoys came to Youzhou again to negotiate with Xiao Xian, but General Xiao's attitude was quite firm and he had no intention of surrendering to the Khitans at all. The Khitan envoys were disappointed and left Youzhou on their own.

And with the departure of the Khitan envoy, the next war is probably not far away.

General Xiao nodded silently after hearing this, then looked at Chen Shang and said, "Old brother, help me back home, let's have a drink."

Chen Shang took a deep breath, lowered his head and answered yes, then stepped forward to support Xiao Xian, helped him down the city wall, and returned to the Fanyang Jiedushi's residence.

After the two men arrived at the mansion, the wine and food were soon prepared. General Xiao waved his hand to persuade all the servants to leave, and only Chen Shang, his brother of several decades, sat alone in the room, drinking at the same table.

The two men clinked their glasses, and General Xiao raised his head and drank it all in one gulp.

After a few drinks, Xiao Xian's face turned red. He looked at Chen Shang, burped, and then said slowly: "In a few days... in a few days, you will also lead your guards to leave Youzhou and go... to find Heng'er."

Chen Shang frowned when he heard this. He said, "General, what do you mean by this? Do you think that I am a coward?!"

"It's not that you are afraid of death, it's..."

"It's not worth it for you to die here."

Xiao Xian raised his glass and drank a glass, then poured himself a drink and drank the second glass. When he was about to drink the third glass, Chen Shang snatched the glass away from him. Chen Shang blushed and gritted his teeth, saying, "General, I am a fool. I don't understand what you are saying!"

Xiao Xian pressed his hands, motioning him to sit down, and then said, "You and I, brother...you and I, brother, can't say a word of what we said here today."

Chen Shang lowered his head: "Go ahead!"

Xiao Xian hummed, took another sip of wine, and said, "You just said that the Pinglu Army is on the way to support us. In fact, not only the Pinglu Army, but also the Jiangdong Army is on the way to support us. We hold on for a few months, and when they come, Youyan will probably be able to hold on."

"But when that time really came, our Fanyang Army relied on external forces to defend Youyan, and Heng'er, who had already led his troops out of Youzhou and Jizhou and headed south to Hebei Road..."

"What role is this?"

General Xiao said silently: "He will become a traitor to the Fanyang Army and a so-called Han thief."

Xiao Xian looked at Chen Shang and said silently: "So..."

Chen Shang was stunned: "So... Youyan can't be defended?"

Xiao Xian did not answer this question, but said: "The families of our two families have followed Heng'er south, we have no worries."

"Besides, the Great Zhou no longer exists, and we shouldn't continue to guard this northeastern pass. Since the children want to fight hard, we, as elders, should support them."

Xiao Xian looked at Chen Shang and said calmly, "Besides, you know that I have not been in good health in recent years. I will not live for many more years anyway."

General Xiao lowered his head to drink and said calmly: "The Fanyang army was defeated by the Khitan and could only retreat to Hebei Road. In order to resist the Khitan, the main force of the Fanyang army suffered heavy losses. Xiao Xian, the governor of Fanyang, also died in Youzhou."

"This way...it sounds much better when you say it out loud."

"brother."

Xiao Xian looked at Chen Shang and laughed at himself: "Don't you think so?" Chen Shang was stunned. After a long while, he murmured: "General, is Youyan going to fall?"

General Xiao shook his head slightly: "I don't know."

"That's for later generations."

He raised his head to drink and suddenly smiled: "In the past two months, I led the troops out of the city and risked my life to fight the Khitans. Only then did I find that the Khitans were not so invincible. I narrowly escaped death several times, and the Khitans suffered heavy casualties."

At this point, General Xiao closed his eyes and slowly said, "I left behind nearly 30,000 soldiers from the Fanyang Army, plus my own life, to fight the Khitans to the end. In the end, I, Xiao Xian, died outside the Great Wall, on the battlefield, and the Khitans would not feel good about it either."

"With this result, I, Xiao Xian, have done my duty to the Great Zhou court."

Chen Shang didn't speak for a long while. After a long while, he swallowed his saliva and whispered, "General, Youyan will definitely fall, right?"

"almost."

Xiao Xian said expressionlessly: "Based on the current situation, if the Khitans don't enter the battlefield, in a few years, the world of the Great Zhou will be swallowed up by Li Yun one by one. Heng'er... will not be his opponent."

Chen Shang was silent for a long time and didn't speak for a long time.

General Xiao raised his head to drink again and said, "Three days later, I will lead the troops out of Youzhou again to fight the Khitans."

"This time, you don't have to follow me. You stay in Youzhou. When the news of my death reaches Youzhou, you lead the remaining troops in Youzhou and go south to look for Heng'er."

At this point, General Xiao looked towards the door and said slowly, "Since Heng'er wants to fight for it, as his father, I will give him a chance to win. Whether he can succeed or not depends on him."

Chen Shang's voice was a little hoarse: "But General, once the Khitans occupy Youyan, Hebei will bear the brunt..."

"In order to defend Youyan, the Fanyang army lost a military governor."

Xiao Xian said expressionlessly: "Then the Fanyang Army will no longer have the responsibility to guard Youyan. Your and my nephews will be able to break free from the shackles of guarding Youyan. They don't even have to be in Hebei Province."

"dont you agree?"

Chen Shang stood there in a daze, not saying anything for a long time.

After a long while, he murmured, "After hearing this, I really don't understand whether the general is being public or private."

"Of course it's a big private."

Xiao Xian still raised his head and drank, his expression calm: "If I die in Youyan, my reputation will not be bad for thousands of years to come. Maybe it won't be long before I can win a posthumous title of King of Yan."

"I died in Youyan, freeing the entire Fanyang Army and gaining a great opportunity for my descendants."

Xiao Xian looked at Chen Shang.

His face was already red, and he murmured, "If I die in Youyan, I will no longer have to worry about whether to defend Youyan or not. All the difficult matters will be entrusted to my sons and nephews."

"For me, it's all good and no harm."

General Xiao raised his head and drank another glass of wine.

"After I die, the crimes committed by the Khitans who slaughtered the people of Youyan and Hebei will not be attributed to me."

At this point, Xiao Xian slapped the table hard, looked at Chen Shang, and a weird smile appeared on his face: "Old brother, I died a good death, a wonderful death."

"My death will bring benefits in every way."

"I should have died a long time ago. Last time, you shouldn't have risked your life to save me."

Chen Shang was stunned on the spot, and didn't say anything for a long time. After an unknown amount of time, tears started to flow down his face. He knelt on the ground with a plop and said tearfully, "But General, by that time, you won't be able to enjoy all the benefits!"

"A real man shouldn't be a nagging womanizer."

Xiao Xian stood up, pulled him back to the table, poured him a glass of wine, and said with a smile: "I was born into a military family, and dying on the battlefield is the most appropriate fate for me."

"It's better than dying on a sickbed."

He was already a little drunk, so he picked up his glass, clinked it with Chen Shang's, and said with a big laugh, "Come on, brother, drink this glass to the bottom!"

Chen Shang raised his head, looked at Xiao Xian, and drank the glass of wine in a daze. In a trance, he had a different feeling.

The words "public" and "private" turned into a sharp blade, splitting their own general into two.

The body and head are in different places.

(End of this chapter)