Chapter Nineteen: Tielekun River

  Gao Xianzhi's worried look vanished, his eyes wide open, carefully examining the carved words on the tree, without blinking. Looking at him, it seemed as if the words on the tree were magnets, and his eyeballs were iron blocks, being strongly attracted to them.

  Not only did Gao Xianzhi behave in this manner, but also the Tang army officers and men who passed by here were no exception. They all opened their eyes wide, took a close look at the inscriptions on the trees, and then waved their arms and shouted loudly.

  Is it bitter?

  "It doesn't hurt!"

  "Tired?"

  "Not tired"

  One roar after another rose into the sky, shaking the heavens and causing the Onion Mountains to tremble.

  Because Li Changguo's engraved words are what they like most in their hearts, it is a legend in their minds!

  It all started with Li Changguo. After these days of marching, Kang De and the others marched in the mud, slept in the mud, ate in the mud, every moment, everywhere was in the mud, their whole body had thinned out, their spirits were depressed, it was hard to rouse themselves.

  Li Changguo saw it in his eyes, anxious in his heart, and encouraged Kang De and others: "Brothers, we are the brave warriors of the Great Tang Dynasty, undefeated in battle, unbeatable in attack. What can a little rain do to us? We just need to add some strength, and we can rush to Lianyun Fortress!"

  "Vanguard officer, we all know what you said, but we are exhausted and can't exert ourselves even if we want to!" Kond exclaimed, panting heavily, stuttering and muttering.

  "Indeed!" Fei took over, saying: " Vanguard officer, we have been in the army for many years, big and small, and have eaten countless bitter sufferings. We haven't even frowned at ordinary bitterness, which is nothing to us, the brave warriors of the Tang Dynasty! But this bitterness now is really hard for us to bear!"

  A person's body always has a limit to what it can withstand, and someone with a good physique like Li Changguo is rare; Kang De and Fei Re are far from being able to compare with him, they really couldn't take it anymore.

  "I know your hardships, your exhaustion. But think carefully, isn't this also our opportunity?" Li Changguo furrowed his brow and encouraged Kang De and the others, saying: "You must think that with this torrential rain, the Tubo people will definitely not expect it. As long as we rush to Lianyun Fortress, we can take it down with one blow."

  "This is absolutely reasonable, and Kant and the others nodded in agreement, sighing with regret: 'The Tubo people will never think of it! Unfortunately, we don't have the strength to rush to Lianyun Fortress!'"

  Li Changguo no matter how to say, did not come in handy, Kant and others kept agreeing with his words, just can't make do, want to force no force, want to spirit no spirit, how can they rush on the road? The most urgent task is to let them recover their strength.

  Actually, there is a very simple way to help them recover their strength. That is to bask in the warm sunshine, get rid of the moisture and musty smell on their bodies, eat and drink well, sleep for a while, and they will be able to recover.

  The problem is that under such circumstances, this condition is not met. The rain is pouring down, and there is water everywhere. Where can one go to sleep soundly?

  This method won't work, the only way is to start from a spiritual aspect. To start from a spiritual aspect and muster their strength is no easier than ascending to heaven.

  Li Changguo thought and thought, but couldn't come up with a good plan, so he continued to encourage them: "You all know about Li Jing's nighttime raid on Yin Mountain, where he destroyed the old nest of Yi'erli Khan, right?"

  Li Jing launched a surprise attack on Yin Mountain at night, which was a grand event of the Tang Dynasty and its most glorious page. A powerful Turkic tribe was destroyed, which is the pride in the hearts of the Tang people. As soon as Li Changguo mentioned this matter, Kang De and others were flushed with excitement, and they stood firmly, as if they had taken root.

  "In the past, Li Jing launched a surprise attack on Yingshan at night, didn't he take advantage of the heavy rain and fog to cover himself? Now is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Li Changguo continued to boost morale, saying: "As long as we rush to Lianyun Fortress, we can capture Lianyun Fortress with one blow!"

  "Right!"

  Kant's words thundered like thunder, though only one word, yet it had the power to shock! Every eye sparkled with spirit, and miraculously gained strength.

  Witnessing Kant's transformation with his own eyes, Li Changguo was amazed. The power of idols was indeed boundless!

  Li Jing, a famous military strategist in Chinese history and an outstanding general of the Tang Dynasty, his meritorious achievements are admired by people, not to mention in the Tang Dynasty, but also in later generations, Li Jing has countless fans.

  His masterpiece, Night Raid on Black Mountain, destroyed the old nest of Yeli Kehan and exterminated the Turks. It was a legendary heroic story in the Tang Dynasty that has been passed down for generations!

  As long as they are Chinese people, regardless of gender or age, everyone can say a few sentences!

  At this moment, Li Changguo used Li Jing's masterpiece to encourage Kang De and others, which was no different from a stimulant, giving Kang De and others the strength, each of them was excited and hot-blooded, and they couldn't wait to rush to Lianyun Fortress immediately and achieve another victory like Li Jing's night raid on Yingshan!

  "Good!" Li Changguo was overjoyed, drew out his horizontal knife and carved on the tree, saying: "I'll carve some words to motivate my brothers."

  As he spoke, he wielded his knife with utmost precision, the blade flashing in the light, carving out a line of characters.

  Is it bitter or not...

  "Tiring or not..."

  Kang De and his friends looked at the words on the tree, read them out loud, and each of their eyes shot out a sharp light.

  After Li Changguo and his men left, not long after, Li Siye led the army to arrive, saw the words on the tree, couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Good brother Li, so skilled at boosting military morale!"

  Li Siye turned his head and asked the exhausted Tang army: "Is it bitter?"

  "It won't be bitter!" The Tang army burst out with a thunderous roar.

  "Tired?"

  "Not tired!"

  The Tang army soldiers looked at the inscriptions on the trees, each one as if they had been injected with chicken blood, their fatigue swept away, everyone was lively and energetic, quickly passing by like the wind.

  Before long, Duan Xiushi led the army to arrive, and after taking a look at the inscriptions on the tree, he inspired the morale of the soldiers like Li Siye, and the Tang army miraculously recovered its strength, marching at an exceptionally fast speed.

  Gao Xianzhi's face was filled with a smile, his eyes shining brightly, and he stroked the carved words on the tree trunk with an unusual sense of comfort. His problem had been solved by Li Changguo, and he couldn't help but feel delighted.

  "It's not bitter, think of the Yīn Mountain Road! It's not tiring, think of the Jiāng Lì generation!" Bian Ling Cheng stopped his horse beside a tree and gazed at the carved words on it. He nodded heavily and began to recite them. That annoying public duck voice was surprisingly as sweet as the Oriole's song, extremely pleasant to listen to.

  "One sentence summed up Li Jing's night raid on Yingshan!" Gao Xianzhi laughed happily, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "It's just a bit too common! If a scholar used such language, he'd definitely make people laugh their teeth off!"

  "Deputy Commander, you're nitpicking!" Bian Lingcheng didn't respond, saying: "Who cares if it rhymes or not? As long as it's useful, that's all that matters. Even if the parallelism is more precise, without this momentum, what's the point?"

  "This is indeed! I just said it casually!" Gao Xianzhi was not looking for trouble.

  "Li Huo Chang is so excellent, I'm even jealous. If I had a daughter, I would definitely want him as my son-in-law." Bian Ling Cheng said casually, but after speaking, he seemed to remember something and smiled at Gao Xian Zhu, saying: "Deputy Commander, don't you have a beautiful daughter? Why not betroth Li Huo Chang to her? Such an excellent son-in-law, where can you find one?"

  "Meiliana... " Gao Xianzhi's face broke into a loving smile, saying: "She makes her own decisions! That girl has been pouting for days, sulking, I don't know who provoked her!"

  He pulled the reins and said, "Let's go!"

  Gao Xianzhi's mood was extremely good, almost singing out loud.

  Is it bitter?

  "It doesn't hurt!"

  "Tired?"

  "Not tired!"

  The Tang army shouted loudly, as if they had endless strength, and advanced rapidly, soon arriving at Tellemachus River.