Nineteen Li Shiji

  Marching is naturally dull and painful, and since Su Ning discovered that he had grown a few fire boils on his delicate buttocks, he deeply understood how the iron buttocks were forged. Looking at those cavalrymen who didn't move their buttocks for a long time, Su Ning couldn't help but sigh for a long time. Such soldiers would inevitably get hemorrhoids in the future, and when they went to the bathroom, they would bleed. The feeling of chronic blood stasis in the anal area was very bad. In this era where even a small wound on the hand could be fatal, it was not strange that someone died from hemorrhoids.

  Su Ning looked at Li Jing, who was as stable as Mount Tai, and couldn't help but feel a little worried that this great Tang Dynasty military god would also bleed profusely when he got angry, especially for an old man like him. Not to mention his high martial arts skills, even his physical quality is good. According to medical theory, the number of cell divisions in the human body is limited. Once they are all divided, a person is almost done for.

  People often say that exercise accelerates cell division, and they think it's a good thing. But what they don't know is that this is burning their own lifespan to enhance their physical fitness. The heavens are fair to humanity - if you want to gain something, you have to pay an equal price. Why do turtles live so long? Their cells divide at a speed that even snails would be ashamed of.

  People who practice martial arts, if they practice internal skills, such as Taoist martial arts, it's okay. But if they practice military tactics with grand opening and closing formations, such as spear techniques, sword techniques, and stick techniques, that will absolutely burn out their lifespan. When they're young, the more fiercely they use their body, the more illnesses they'll get when they age, such as arthritis, rheumatism, bone pain, etc., torturing them to the point of being better off dead.

  The old man was the strongest supporter of this theory, so the old man wouldn't know any martial arts at all. Suning naturally also inherited the old man's idea, keeping the body peaceful and calm, in order to maintain a peaceful life, living a smooth and stable life until the end of one's cells dividing, then passing away peacefully. The old man probably passed away peacefully too! He was 88 years old, not considered short-lived at all.

  After learning a lot of unconventional medical skills from the old man, whenever Su Ning saw someone wearing very little clothing in the cold winter, or taking a cold shower, or even winter swimming, he would laugh and say: "Looking for death." When you reach a certain age, all kinds of diseases will come to your door, and you'll be going back and forth to the hospital like it's your home!

  Of course, the elements of strengthening one's body and longevity are clearly contradictory, but this is precisely the wonder of this world, where contradictions coexist and complement each other. What kind of great enlightenment can lead to an understanding of the Taiji yin-yang fish diagram? Or perhaps it is only truly understood by a god?

  Now Su Ning has also come to a realization, and it's not like he hasn't mentioned it to Li Jing before. Li Jing immediately flew into a rage and gave himself a good scolding: "If you want comfort, take off your military uniform! No matter how incapable you are, no one will care about you in the army. What right do soldiers have to be comfortable?" Su Ning curled his lip, not getting angry, thinking that Li Jing was beyond salvation. He was one of the longer-lived generals in history, living until the end of the Zhenguan era, passing away in the same year as Emperor Taizong of Tang. He was a rare case, but people like him were few and far between, only appearing every few thousand years.

  After marching for several days, my lips have already cracked. If it weren't for the lip balm and Vaseline protecting them, I wouldn't even be able to eat at this point. My face is almost frozen and cracked too. The dryness of my lips is partly due to the cold and partly due to a lack of vitamins. It's true that in winter, where can you grow vegetables and fruits? Even in Yang Zhengdao's palace, there aren't any. Luckily, I still have some seeds left in my backpack. Once we settle down, I'll set up a greenhouse and plant some vegetables and fruits.

  Chang Sun Chong didn't feel well either, his face was frozen bright red, and his lips were burning with pain. A few days ago, Su Ning had brought a thing called anti-chapping lip balm to use on himself, but after witnessing Su Ning applying it to his own lips, Chang Sun Chong's cleanliness habit kicked in, and he refused to use it no matter what. Su Ning just cursed once: "You don't know good stuff!" and left. Chang Sun Chong naturally didn't know that this anti-chapping lip balm was a product from a thousand years later, nor did he know that it was the only one of its kind in the entire Tang Dynasty, or even the whole world.

  Zhilan arrived at Suning's side, and Changsun Chong's teeth chattered as he asked: "Sanming, how much further do we have to go?" Suning glanced at Changsun Chong with a slanted gaze: "Not far now, we're already near the White Way. Probably just a little while longer. What, can't you hold on?"

  Chang Sun Chong heard the teasing tone in Su Ning's voice, and immediately straightened his neck, shouting "I can take it!" A gust of cold wind blew over, and instantly he became a turtle, withdrawing his entire head, with a painful expression on his face.

  Su Ning wrapped his scarf around his neck, and naturally didn't feel the cold. Looking at Zhangsun Chong's expression, he also realized that he was a true fourteen-year-old boy, different from himself, an old sly fox. Suddenly, he felt a pang of sympathy. The one thing that annoyed Su Ning the most about himself was that when he wasn't angry, he was actually somewhat kind-hearted. In a world where people prey on each other, one must learn to be ruthless in order to stand firm!

  But in Suning's heart, there was still a soft spot. He took off the scarf from his neck and tied it around Changsun Chong's neck. Looking at Changsun Chong's shocked face turning slightly red, he said disdainfully: "A real man, a soldier, don't be such a crybaby!" Then he galloped away on horseback, showing off his masculine side, but the cold wind blowing into his neck made him feel terrible.

  Chang Sun stroked the soft and warm scarf, forcing back his tears, but his heart remained cold.

  Arriving at Li Jing's side, he turned back and could no longer see Changsun, his spirits immediately sank. Suning shivered and asked Li Jing: "General, how much further do we have to go? The weather is so cold, it's really unbearable!"

  Li Jing gave Su Ning a white eye, shook his head, pointed forward with his hand and said simply: "We're here."

  Su Ning looked ahead, it had only snowed two days ago, although the snow had stopped, there was still a lot of accumulated snow on the ground. The snow in the north was also grainy, unlike the snowy water in the south. Especially here, the wind was strong, and when a gust of wind blew over, the accumulated snow on the ground would be blown up, making it hazy, almost blocking the line of sight. It wasn't until then that he noticed a large number of flags fluttering ahead.

  That must be where Li Shimin is, right? Li Shimin, tsk, what a capable person he is, an old fox, an old fox. How come there are so many old foxes in the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty? There are too many foxes, and people like me who are straightforward are obviously not enough...

  When the time comes, they will definitely come to bully us honest people. This Li Shiji is absolutely not a good person to get along with. If it weren't for Sunzi's arrogance and inability to see reality, the Li family wouldn't have ended up in such a state. Li Shiji has already experienced extreme glory and humiliation, but who can predict what will happen after his death?

  Under the fluttering flag, it was naturally Li Shimin who led his army to welcome Li Jing's great army. Li Jing was the commander-in-chief of this counterattack against the Turks, and more than a dozen generals and hundreds of thousands of soldiers were under his command. No matter what, Li Shimin had to come out in person to greet him. The hierarchy within the military was strict, and once the right to command was granted to the general, the power over life and death of subordinates was all in the hands of the commander-in-chief.

  However, in Li Shimin's view, Li Jing's situation was not very good. Before Li Yuan started his army, Li Jing still wanted to inform Emperor Yang of Sui, but he failed. After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Emperor Taizong of Tang asked for Li Jing's help, but Li Jing chose to support neither side. Although supporting neither side meant that he would not offend either side, it also meant that he offended both sides.

  At this time, Li Jing's situation was very embarrassing. Li Shimin had always thought that Li Jing's military talent was high and he himself was willing to yield to him. However, in the imperial court, Li Jing was really too insensitive. He twice stood on the wrong side and twice managed to save his life. His luck could not be said to be bad, but his political future ended there. Although he could get an appointment from Emperor Taizong of Tang, he would never gain the emperor's true trust. Emperor Taizong only pitied his talent, so he appointed him, absolutely not because he trusted him.

  At this time, he found that little thing called Su Ning. Is it some idea of finding a way out for himself and his family? If so, it can only be said that Li Jing is not completely confused yet. It's possible to have this idea at this time, which also means that Li Jing has no hope for his political future and wants to support a new person. However, this new person was tied to Li Jing from the beginning, and in front of Emperor Taizong, who did not favor Li Jing, what could he bring to this little thing?

  Or should I say, can this kid get rid of Li Jing's shadow?

  Li Shi's mouth corner revealed a playful smile at this point.

  Looking ahead, a team of soldiers appeared vaguely in the distance. Li Shimin put away the playful smile at the corner of his mouth, adjusted his expression, and led the Imperial Guards to slowly move forward on horseback, preparing to welcome Li Jing. However, he saw that beside Li Jing, who was wearing a red robe and walking at the front of the team, there was a handsome white-robed young man following closely behind him, looking very intimate. That should be Su Ning, right?

  "Li Shimin clasped his fists and shouted: 'General Li Shimin welcomes the commander-in-chief's arrival!'"

  Li Jing nodded solemnly, the majesty of the commander-in-chief was fully revealed: "General Li has worked hard, last time he defeated a part of the Turks, General Li's achievement is great, I will definitely report to the Emperor according to the facts and ask for credit for General Li!" Li Shiming smiled: "Thank you, Commander-in-Chief, it's cold outside and the journey is tiring, please come into the military tent to rest."

  He said, sidestepping to make way, Li Jing nodded and rode his horse forward. Su Ning looked around at the current situation and found himself on Li Jing's right side, one position behind him.

  The issue of walking positions is extremely sensitive, regardless of the era. Subordinates, except for opening roads and protecting, cannot walk in front of their superiors. Now it's the same situation, not only do they have to yield a position to Li Jing, but also pay attention to Li Shimin's position, yielding half a position to Li Shimin, just right, neither more nor less. How poisonous are Li Shimin's eyes? He saw Su Ning's small movements and was secretly shocked in his heart, this little guy has some meaning!

  Li Shimin took an interest in Su Ning and asked Li Jing, "General, isn't this the Su Ning of San Yuan County who captured Yang Xiangdao at Dingxiang?"

  Li Jing smiled secretly and nodded in response: "Exactly. As the chief historian of our army, Historian Su, shouldn't you pay your respects to General Li?"

  Su Ning cursed silently, couldn't Li Jing not hear the playful tone in his voice? He then turned to Li Shi and bowed with a fist: "General Su Ning, at your service!" His words, demeanor, and military etiquette were all impeccable, leaving Li Shi unable to find fault. Instead, he raised an eyebrow, intrigued by Su Ning's background, wondering who this young man really was.

  "Hmm, no need for formalities, Director Su. Where are you from? What position did you hold previously?" Li Shijie began to ask slowly and calmly.

  Su Ning replied, "Mo Jiang is a native of Wu Yi in Hebei Province. He has been a participating general for only a month or so. Previously, he was not a military personnel, but followed his family teacher to study and travel around the world. When they arrived at one place, a heavy snowstorm blocked their path, and his family teacher passed away, leaving Mo Jiang alone. His family teacher instructed him to go south to Chang'an to find the great general, but fortunately, he met the great general's army just a few days after setting out, so he followed the great general into battle and luckily made achievements."

  Li Shimin was surprised at the first sentence, and even more so after hearing the rest. After collecting his thoughts, he decided to ask about the young man's background first, and asked Li Jing: "General, is Sun Ning a disciple of your friend?" Li Jing nodded and said: "That's right. To be precise, he is a friend of my sworn brother. Anyone who can become sworn brothers with my brother must be a superior person. This young man also has some talent. I pity his talent, so I recruited him into the army."

  Li Shimin confirmed the inseparable relationship between Su Ning and Li Jing, and also understood what Li meant by doing so. He then asked his second question: "Is Su Zhangshi from Weizhou, Hebei?"

  Su Ning nodded: "Exactly."

  Li Shimin smiled: "Since there is such a coincidence, among the generals under my command, there is also a general from Weizhou Wuyi, and his surname is Su, named Lie, and his style name is Dingfang."