During the reign of Liang Yongshou, the king had no way, loved the villain and kept away from the virtuous and capable, which caused turmoil under his rule and the people were in dire straits.
Bai Duan is just an ordinary farm boy who lives in a remote village far away from the capital city. He grew up like an ordinary farm boy. The only difference is that he was smart since childhood. While other children are running around and playing around, Bai Duan likes to lie outside the window of the private school run by the only scholar in the village who has passed the examination of scholar, and listen to him tell other older children about "San Zi Jing", "San Zi Jing", "Hundred Surnames".
Bai Duan's family is poor, and his mother was still working in the fields when she was pregnant in October, and she accidentally damaged her body, and she didn't do a good confinement, which made her body extremely weak now. The burden of the family's livelihood fell on Bai's father's shoulders, and he had to go to the town from time to time to get medicine for Bai's mother to take care of her body, so there was no money left to send Bai Duan to a private school.
Fortunately, the scholar in the village is kind-hearted. Seeing that Bai Duan is studious and intelligent, and Yu Xue is cute, he has no heart to drive him away from the window. Instead, he turns a blind eye and lets Bai Duan listen to it. But also learned a lot.
Even the literary name "Bai Duan" was obtained with the help of a scholar. On the one hand, it is a metaphor for Bai Duan's fair skin, black hair like satin, and a good-looking woman. The cloth is a metaphor, hoping that he will live a prosperous life in the future.
—Of course, compared to "Bai Duan", his parents and fellow villagers are more accustomed to calling him "Dog".
Because I didn't eat any good things since I was a child, I didn't even drink a few sips of breast milk, and I was not as active as other farm children, so Bai Duan's body was not healthy, and she was thinner than children of the same age. Circle, but there is no disease or disaster, it is already lucky.
Before the age of seven, Bai Duan's life could be called a happy life. Even if he lived in poverty, but with the love of his parents, he was considered carefree. However, after the age of seven, things changed drastically.
Although the king is fatuous, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, which does not have much impact on the already poor village where Bai Duan lives. However, the country is weak, but it will always attract foreign enemies to stare at it—once a war breaks out, the first to suffer It has always been the common people.
In the fall of this year, Beihu made a massive attack, catching Daliang by surprise.
Emperor Liang lived extravagantly, and officials were even more corrupt, which led to the emptiness of the treasury, and even the military supplies of the soldiers guarding the border were sometimes deducted. The Daliang defenders used rusty weapons and ate moldy food. Their morale was low and their physical strength was low.
The guards at the border gate fled in a hurry and rushed to the capital for help from eight hundred miles away, while the people from Beihu went all the way south, burning, killing and looting without mercy.
When the news reached the capital, Emperor Liang and his ministers were shocked and hurriedly dispatched troops to fight against the invasion of the northern Hu people. However, the Liang army, which had been slack for a long time and did not have enough supplies, was still retreating steadily.
Every time he fought with the Beihu people, the Liang army would be greatly reduced, and the disabled and dead were countless. In order to organize a sufficient number of troops, Emperor Liang issued conscription orders to all cities and counties.
All young and strong laborers are forced to join the army, and the area near the border where Bai Duan is located is the focus of conscription. The whole village was crying and wailing, but the vicious officers and soldiers could not be stopped anyway.
Bai Duan's father also had to be drafted into the army, leaving behind his frail wife and young son with tears in his eyes, and was dragged to a bloody battlefield where even a trained regular army was no match for Beihu What real use could the sturdy cavalry and farmers who were hastily dragged onto the battlefield like Father Bai be of use? It's nothing more than using flesh and blood to barely slow down the invasion of the Beihu people.
The young and strong laborers were taken away, and only the grieving old, young, women and children were left in the whole village. This incident coincided with the busy autumn harvest and when labor was needed. Even the remaining crops are difficult to harvest in time.
If there were a healthy young peasant woman in the family, she would be able to cope with it, but Bai Mu was weak, coupled with grief and despair, forced her body to work for several days, and then fell ill, leaving the young Bai Duan helpless against the farmland. .
Although Bai Duan is young, he already knows the world. He knows that his father is in danger, his mother is seriously ill, and he has to shoulder the burden of supporting the family. So overnight, a child grows up quickly. , became the head of the family.
Bai Duan was young and weak, unable to take care of the entire field by himself, so after barely harvesting this season's grain, keeping some of it as his own ration, and selling the other part to buy medicine for his mother, he simply let the whole field go to waste , I ran to the old carpenter, worked as an apprentice for him, and learned some carpentry skills.
The old carpenter was so blind that he was basically unable to do fine work, so he moved back to the village from the county town to make some crude furniture and farm tools for the villagers.
The old carpenter himself was a bit uneasy. He didn't want to accept the white satin, but unexpectedly, the white satin was very talented in carpentry. He could make things by imitating the real thing with almost no need for the old carpenter's guidance, and he could even carve quite fine patterns as decorations. .
After learning about Bai Duan's talent, the old carpenter suddenly changed his mind, and happily accepted Bai Duan as an apprentice to teach him carpentry skills. A little bit can be brought back to let Baimu fill her stomach, but life has finally stabilized.
When Bai Duan was ten years old, he had already learned the old carpenter's skills by ten, and he was even better than the blue one. The tools and furniture he made were durable; the patterns he carved were lifelike, delicate and ingenious, and they were sold in the town and were very popular with rich people, making life much easier for the white satin mother and son and the old carpenter.
It is really troublesome to sell the finished utensils in the town every time. The old carpenter moved his mind and wanted to go back to the county to open a wood workshop. But Bai Mu has been waiting for her husband's return, and she is unwilling to leave the village, and Bai Duan can't leave her mother behind, so she can only delay this matter again and again.
—Until the Beihu people were finally repulsed.
Although the Beihu people are tough, they still have a shallow foundation after all, and they can't stand a protracted war. However, Daliang has a vast land, rich resources, and a lot of people. As the saying goes, "a centipede is dead but not stiff", and they really took it after they reacted. Beihu's invasion did not lose his country.
Of course, this arduous victory was also inseparable from a young player named Zhou Mo.
This young general was originally a partial general at the frontier. When the main general was frightened by the Beihu people and fled in a hurry, the deputy general did not dare to take responsibility, and the army was leaderless, he resolutely stepped forward and led his soldiers to fight against the Beihu people. People dealt with each other, which won the opportunity for the court to dispatch troops and generals.
Afterwards, he bravely killed the enemy in various large and small battles, commanded well, made outstanding military achievements, and his official rank was promoted again and again. When the unscrupulous generals of the imperial court were available, Zhou Mo came to the fore and was entrusted with important tasks by the imperial court. He was finally appointed as General Pingbei to lead the army to drive out the Hulu and regain the lost land in the north.
After more than three years of bitter fighting, the war finally came to an end, but most of the soldiers who were dragged to the battlefield—including Bai Duan's father—never returned.
Due to the large number of war dead, the imperial court couldn't even issue pensions, or could it be said that the pensions were deducted by the bureaucrats halfway? General Zhou Mo couldn't see it, and took out all his family's salary to pay for the families of the sacrificed soldiers under his command, and Bai Duan's family was one of them.
This amount of money is not rich, but it is still a life-saving money for ordinary people who are desperate. When Bai Mu got the money from Lizheng, her eyes suddenly went dark, but she quickly regained consciousness and calmly accepted this reality—she had expected her husband's death a long time ago, and now it was just Abandoned the last glimmer of expectation.
After confirming that her husband would never come back, Bai Mu decisively sold the family's field at a low price, moved to the county town with Bai Duan and the old carpenter, and used the pension and the money accumulated over the years to buy a store.
Bai Duan works as a carpenter, the old carpenter expands business, and Bai Mu is in charge of looking after the shop. The three of them work together, and life gradually improves. The only thing that worries Bai Duan is Bai Mu's body, which seems to be getting weaker and weaker. .
Soon, Bai Duan's superb craftsmanship was recognized by everyone in the town, gradually spreading his reputation, and earning more and more money. Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long. After a few years of silence, he started acting as a demon again—and this time, the victim was General Zhou Mo of Pingbei, who was regarded as a god of protection by the people.
After Zhou Mo expelled the Beihu people, he stayed in the north to guard the border. The Beihu people were severely injured by him, and they were afraid of his bravery. For several years, they did not dare to raise troops again, and the court and Emperor Liang gradually forgot. The days when I was frightened and sleepless by the people of Beihu were once again corrupted by the arrogance and extravagance.
Zhou Mo's reputation among the people was extremely high, and he was even hailed as the protector of Daliang. All over the country praised his achievements, and the north only knew Zhou Mo but not Emperor Liang.
This kind of situation of superior merit has always made Emperor Liang displeased and even guarded, not to mention that military power has always been a taboo of the monarch. Emperor Liang had no choice but to hold back because he was always worried about the recidivism of the North Hu people. He could only secretly promote and train his trusted generals to divide the military power in Zhou Mo's hands. When this dissatisfaction accumulates, the last fuse is missing, which can cause a catastrophe.
And this fuse was soon handed over to Emperor Liang—someone secretly accused Zhou Mo of colluding with the Beihu people in private, intending to rebel.
This secret letter is naturally a forgery, because this stubborn and upright General Pingbei, who was born out of nowhere, is not only a serious worry for Emperor Liang, but also hinders the eyes of all the powerful officials in the court.
For the issue of military pay, he had violent conflicts with the powerful officials who controlled the government several times in the court hall. After being scolded after failing to win him over, all the courtiers wanted to pull this general who held a heavy army and "knew good or bad" dismount. They took advantage of Emperor Liang's suspicion to forge a secret letter, colluded with the Beihu people who also wanted to get rid of him, and directed and performed this "good show" of framing Zhongliang.
Emperor Liang was furious when he saw the secret letter, no matter whether he believed it or followed suit, he finally decided to take this opportunity to deal with the colorful tiger sleeping soundly beside his couch.
Not long after, Emperor Liang urgently recruited Zhou Mo back to Beijing, and Zhou Mo was honest and straightforward. Although he was persuaded by his subordinates to be careful about Emperor Liang's rabbit and dog, he still obediently returned to Beijing with the heart of devotion to his duty.
Then, he was sent to prison by Emperor Liang for collaborating with the enemy and treason.
Emperor Liang thought that everything had been properly arranged. After Zhou Mo was secretly executed, it was a done deal. In addition, the "conclusive evidence" of collaborating with the enemy and treason, even if the people and courtiers were dissatisfied, there was nothing they could do about it. Unexpectedly, this incident was exposed, and also the whole story of a court official forging a secret letter and framing Zhongliang was also revealed.
Suddenly, there was an uproar among the people in the court. Wanmin petitioned to appeal for Zhou Mo's grievances, and some people in the court were dissatisfied with this matter and put pressure on Emperor Liang frequently.
Seeing the deeds come to light, even if Emperor Liang was unwilling, he could not insist on executing Zhou Mo. He had to continue to "thoroughly investigate" the matter, and finally dealt with an official who forged evidence, clearing Zhou Mo of the stain of treason.
But despite this, Emperor Liang, who had already exposed his fear of Zhou Mo, never dared to use him again, lest he really take the opportunity to rebel. Therefore, Emperor Liang hinted that the officials in charge of investigating the case fabricated several trumped-up charges. Although the crime did not warrant death, he also took the opportunity to exile him in a place of bitter cold, which was considered to have fulfilled his wish.
Compared with ransacking the family and exterminating the clan, exile is already the greatest "benevolence" of Emperor Liang, and at least people are still saved. As for whether he could be sent to the Land of Exile smoothly in the end, rather than some "accident" in the middle, that's another matter.
The prison car imprisoning Zhou Mo was driving slowly, and happened to pass by the county where Bai Duan was located. The citizens of the city spontaneously took to the streets to see off the wronged general with tears in their eyes, and Bai Duan was one of them - he still remembered that his father had served as a soldier under the other party's command, and he was equally grateful for the money sent to them pension in hand.
Zhou Mo on the prison car described himself in a state of distress, but his expression was extremely calm, without any signs of being haggard. He sat quietly in the wooden cage, with a straight spine, and he didn't seem to worry about his unknown future at all. Instead, he seemed to just rest for a while, and soon he would be able to work hard again.
It can be said that Bai Duan grew up listening to the rumors and deeds of this young general since he was a child, and he has full respect for Zhou Mo. Now, when he really sees him at the end of the hero's life, he doesn't feel any disappointment. The imaginary hero should look like this, no matter what the situation is, he will never break that strong and proud bone.
Perhaps Bai Duan's eyes were too focused, Zhou Mo in the prison car suddenly turned his head, accurately found him in the crowd, and made eye contact with him.
At this moment, Bai Duan's heart beat violently, he turned his head quickly to avoid the other party's line of sight that seemed to reach his soul, and tried his best to stabilize his bewilderment. Then, when Bai Duan raised his head again, the prison car creaked away, leaving only a vague figure in prison clothes, which made Bai Duan a little annoyed and a little bit lost.
Sighing inexplicably, Bai Duan took the medicine she had grabbed for her mother, turned and went into her shop, and started another day of ordinary work.