The rain dripped down from the eaves, and the beauty of this bead curtain was more perfect than any handmade bead curtain. The house was old, so the once bright red tiles looked gray and black. Judging from the architecture, the owner of this house should be a wealthy family, but certainly not an official.
When the water droplets connected into a line, the sky was completely dark.
Under the eaves, on both sides of the steps, there are already small shallow puddles on the paved bluestone slabs, which shows that the house has been built for some years.
From the open window, there was a puff of white smoke, which was especially thick under the dim light of the house on a rainy night.
Feeling more and more old, Yang Shun would sit on the kang in the house, smoking his pipe one mouthful at a time. Then deliberately raised his head and sprayed the smoke out of the window.
This is a dilapidated small village. As for where the people in the village have gone, no one knows. Foreigners crossing the border are more ruthless than locusts sweeping the fields. Those foreigners who regard Han people as an inferior nation will not spare their lives. In their eyes, there is no difference between the status of Han people and cattle, sheep and pigs.
No, the difference is that foreign soldiers will never rape a pig, but they will never let a beautiful girl go.
Yang Shunhui stretched his waist and stretched his arms vigorously, but found that his spine could not be straightened no matter what. He attributed this to the ruthlessness of the years, and did not think about it elsewhere. The rain outside the window had lasted for a day, and it was not something he should be upset about to stop the army's journey, on the contrary, he felt a little relieved.
Foreigners forced him to send troops. For him, whether he sent troops or not, he was already burdened with infamy.
He was smoking, and his thoughts were as ethereal as the smoke he puffed out.
In order to avoid Yang Jian, he fled to Dongjiang. Mu Guangling, who had a close friendship with him, gave him Mouping City. Whether it was out of good intentions or malicious intentions is not important, because it was in Mouping City that he turned Yang Shunhui into a Han Chinese who had been scolded by eight generations of ancestors. traitor.
So Yang Shunhui even hated Mu Guangling.
If Mu Guangling refused to take him in back then, where should he be
He didn't know, but what he knew was that he would definitely not be used as a knife by foreigners. He felt guilty when he got the real money, but Yang Shun would know that sooner or later he would become like this. It's just that sometimes he is also confused, why do he want so much gold and silver treasures
He stretched his head out from the kang and glanced at his son who was sleeping on the long table in the outside room.
Finally some reason to feel at ease.
He never wanted to let his son get in touch with what he did. When he was fighting for the Sui Dynasty, he didn't want his son to wear a sword and armor, because he only had this one son. , he only needs his son to live well.
He didn't allow his son to participate in the transaction with foreigners, and he didn't even tell his son how much benefit he had received.
But this time, he had to take his son on the expedition.
He didn't dare to leave his son in Muping City, even if he left ten thousand elite soldiers for his son, no... even if he left half of the troops for his son, he didn't dare. As long as he left, the place would be on fire, a fire of angry hatred. The people of Mouping City, who had been oppressed by foreigners, dared not do anything to him, but after he left with his troops, no one could guarantee what kind of beasts those people would turn into.
His guess was right. After he left, the big house he lived in had been burned to the ground.
His son Yang Caiping slept deeply. Because he had never experienced the hardships of marching, he was so tired that he snored not long after he lay down. For Yang Caiping, Yang Shunhui has already doted on him to the point where he couldn't do anything more. He felt that the most correct thing he did in his life was to escape from Chang'an.
Because he heard that anyone with the blood of the Yang family basically died.
Although the relationship between him and the royal family is already very weak.
"Father, why are you still awake?"
When he was in a trance, Yang Shunhui didn't notice that his son had gotten up, and went into the back room with an oil lamp, and then sat down on the edge of the Kang: "It's late at night, you have to go early in the morning, right?"
"Don't hurry."
Yang Shunhui smiled kindly at his son: "Even if the rain stops in the middle of the night in this weather, we won't be able to go on the road tomorrow. The road is muddy and it's difficult for people to walk, let alone those big carts in the supply camp. If they get stuck in the mud , but it’s not easy to push it out. It’s hard for you to go out with your father. You rarely suffer like this, except that this time is the time when you left Chang’an City last time.”
"Father, why did you pack all the things in the house? We won't be able to make peace anymore?"
Although he was almost thirty years old, Yang Caiping, who was spoiled so much that his questions were still simple, asked. He didn't know and didn't think about it, Muping City was a thing of the past for their father and son.
"Not necessarily, but I probably won't go back for a long time."
"Oh... Father, who are we going to beat this time? Foreigners?"
"No one will fight this time, it's just a routine change of defense. Have you forgotten that we have not moved from Chang'an City to Muping City for several years. We are here to guard the border, so naturally we can't always stay in one place. According to the practice of the Sui Dynasty, the frontier army had to change their defenses every few years."
He lied, and he also knew that his son would not doubt him.
"I thought it was beating foreigners."
Yang Caiping yawned: "When I was in Muping City, I went out to play, and the people didn't seem to like foreigners, and they didn't seem to like me either. Wherever I went, the people there dispersed. I asked He Kui He Kui said that the people are afraid of me. I don’t like people being afraid of me, and I’m not a beast.”
"go to sleep."
Yang Shunhui rubbed his son's forehead: "If the rain doesn't stop tomorrow, we'll have barbecue in this room."
…
…
He Kui gently closed the door of the back room, lest he would wake up Yang Caiping who fell into a deep sleep again. As one of Yang Shunhui's confidantes, he knows exactly where Yang Shunhui's Ni Lin is.
"General, do you have an order?"
He came over and stood next to Kang Yan'er, respectful.
"I'm going to give you a mission, a mission more important than anything else... He Kui, you've been with me for a long time, haven't you? I used to let you lead the Beizi Battalion, but later I transferred you back to be the other general of the pro-barracks. I asked you to protect Huiji for at least ten years, right?"
"Twenty years."
He Kui replied respectfully: "It has been seventeen years since I have been with the young master in a humble position, counting the previous ones, it will be a little more than twenty years."
"Huiji and you are best friends."
Yang Shunhui said something in a low voice.
Huiji is Yang Caiping's character.
"That's because the young master thinks highly of the humble job and is willing to be friends with the humble job. Speaking of which, the young master has learned a lot from being with the young master all these years."
"lie."
Yang Shunhui shook his head: "Hui Ji is simple and even a little silly, what can he teach you? But I have seen and kept your care for him in my heart all these years. It is also because of your distraction, Huiji also trusts you, that's why I brought you here tonight."
He was silent for a while, and then said: "Early tomorrow morning, you will take people to the supply camp. There are ten carriages that I have specially distinguished by others, and they contain more than half of my savings over the years. I will start from The military camp has assigned 1,000 people to you, and tomorrow night, you will protect Hui Ji and the ten carriages and leave the group, and go to Gaoning to wait for me."
"Gao Ning?"
He Kui froze for a moment, then subconsciously glanced at the map laid out on the kang. The lights were a little dim, but the red dot marked on the map was particularly eye-catching.
"Well, Gao Ning."
Yang Shunhui pointed to the position of the red dot: "I can't leave the team, there are foreigners' eyeliner everywhere, if I go with you, I'm afraid I will be known by foreigners immediately. So I will continue to lead the team to Phoenix Terrace, After I get there, I will find a chance to leave. You go directly to Gaoning, and then go directly to the sea after arriving in Gaoning. There is a small island called Zhenshan about 400 miles away from Gaoning, waiting for me there. "
"General!"
He Kui's face turned pale: "Are you going to abandon the team?"
"Abandoned!"
Yang Shunhui nodded heavily: "This battle is impossible to fight. Even if the soldiers haven't turned against me now, when we get to Phoenix Terrace, I'm sure few people will take up weapons to attack the Black Banner Army in Phoenix Terrace. If we fight If I won this battle, I am a sinner. If I don’t fight this battle, I’m still a sinner. But if I don’t fight it, at least I can live with my conscience. When you arrive at Zhenshan Island, wait for me, and then we will go directly to Bohai Kingdom.”
He pointed to a spot on the map.
"The Bohai Kingdom used to be a subsidiary state of the Sui Dynasty, but after the Sui Dynasty was in chaos, they lost contact. The Bohai Kingdom used to have an army stationed by the Sui Dynasty. The leader of the army was Gao Mengxiang. I was kind to him at the beginning, and I single-handedly promoted him. Yes. Although the Bohai Kingdom is bitterly cold, it is peaceful there. I don’t have the heart to fight the world anymore, let alone think about the Ninth Five-Year Lord. I just want to give Huiji a good life, and I can’t let my Yang family die. .”
"good!"
He Kui bit his lips: "No matter what you decide, the general, I will follow you to the death."
"Um!"
Yang Shunhui nodded: "I still trust you. It's no longer necessary for us to participate in this battle. I took advantage of the foreigners, and the Han people can no longer tolerate me. I don't use soldiers against the Han people, and the foreigners can't tolerate me. We Live the rest of your life well in Bohai country, without lack of wealth and comfort."
"The general is far-sighted."
He Kui glanced outside: "But, how to explain to the young master?"
"Let's say that I was transferred to Bohai State to serve under the order of the imperial court. He is innocent and will not doubt it."
"Um."
He Kui sighed: "The general has worked hard for the young master."
"But... once the foreigners suspect, will they hunt down and kill them?"
He Kui suddenly asked: "Once we lose our team, will the quacks chase us down?"
Yang Shunhui's eyes changed, and when he looked at He Kui, he didn't notice the complex meaning in the old subordinate's eyes, which included worry, fear, and confusion. There were other things, but He Kui carefully hid them. Maybe everyone has concerns, and these concerns cannot be brought out to bask in the sun.
What's more, the rain here... is really heavy.