Zhang Xun fed his father a pill, and then knelt and sat on the side of the bed to take care of him.
Until midnight, Zhang Zhongli did not wake up.
After Zhang Xun confirmed that the other party was breathing smoothly and as usual, he was about to get up and leave.
After thinking about it, he still knelt down facing Zhang Zhongli, and said in a low voice but firmly: "Father, the patriarchs of other Han clans in Jincheng County have come to look for their son today. They all know what you and your uncles are planning. , we have seriously discussed it, and think that it is inappropriate to cause trouble under the nose of the Luna Sect at this time. The Zhang family and the Liu, Zhou, and Qian families have decided to restrain the children of the clan. use force!"
Speaking of this, Zhang Xun kowtowed three times to Zhang Zhongli, who still hadn't opened his eyes, before leaving the room.
After Zhang Xun left, the old man lying on the bed was trembling with rage. His already rickety and emaciated body almost lost its human form because of a violent cough.
Back in his study, Zhang Xun sat down to deal with clan affairs.
After the Zhang Yichao turmoil, the Zhang family suffered heavy losses, and their decline was a foregone conclusion. Zhang Zhongli was seriously injured and was in critical condition, unable to be a director. Zhang Xun took over as the head of the family at that time.
With few males left in the family and all adult men slaughtered, he took what little manpower he had, and together with a group of well-educated women, he forged a bloody path through the thorn bushes, causing the building to collapse. The Zhang family regained its foothold, and the hardships and hardships involved are not humane.
Seeing that the Zhang family is showing signs of revival, and the younger generations are gradually growing up, with the ability to take on family responsibilities, Zhang Xun will never allow this time, the Zhang family will fall into the quagmire again, heading towards destruction.
This is also the common meaning of the heads of the Liu, Zhou, and Qian families.
In fact, not only these Han families in Jincheng County, but in the whole of Hexi, where are the Han families with a little influence, don’t they have similar experiences and ideas? Even if it's not ten to ten percent, there are eighty to ninety percent.
Zhang Xun had no complaints about Zhang Yichao and the Guiyi Army, and even admired Zhang Yichao's character and achievements. Back then, when Zhang Zhongli's family responded to Zhang Yichao, Zhang Xun was the first to rush forward with his sword in hand. At that time, he was still young, full of enthusiasm and ambition to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, and he would not lose to any person with lofty ideals.
He just doesn't trust the Tang court.
A hero like Zhang Yichao had just conquered most of Hexi in name, and the Guiyi Army had just made the Siyi fearful, and the imperial court was worried that Zhang Yichao would separate himself and call him to Chang'an with an edict.
If Zhang Yichao still sits in Hexi, will the Guiyi Army be in turmoil due to power struggle
If Zhang Yichao had been around forever, and if the Guiyi Army hadn't declined, how could the Tubo people make a comeback so easily? How could the men of the Zhang family be massacred so that all the orphans, widows, mothers, old and weak women and children of the whole family would have to face the predicament of dying of hunger and cold
After Zhang Xun took over as the head of the family, for the sake of the livelihood of hundreds of Zhang family members, the tough man was not afraid of a warrior who would die, knelt down all over his old friends and closed his eyes.
That year, Zhang Xun had to lie on the ground, lick the dirt off the boots of the Tubo people, and tie up his own weak sister in order to save the old and weak members of the Zhang family from burying their bones in the cold winter in order to have some winter clothes and a few pots of porridge. Give it to that Tubo barbarian who claims to be aristocrat, who has lice crawling in his hair and smells like sheep all over his body.
For this reason, Zhang Xun's mother never saw his own son again until his death.
How many silent nights, Zhang Xun locked himself in the practice room alone, cut his chest with a dagger again and again, and let the blood flow all over his body. If physical pain can lessen his sins, Zhang Xun doesn't mind cutting off pieces of his body and feeding them to the dogs!
If one death could exchange for the people's food and clothing, Zhang Xun would cut off his head with a knife without even thinking about it.
He really thought of a hundred ways to kill himself.
But he can't die. He is the head of the house, he has to stand. Death is just a matter of one knife, effortless. However, if he died, what would the clan do, so that the successor Patriarch would not suffer from him
Instead of letting the clansmen bear this kind of pain, it is better to let him, a person who has already committed a lot of crimes, eat up all the sins that should be eaten. Even if he cannot enter the ancestral hall after death, he can continue the family and live up to this ancestor.
I heard that King An has captured the seven prefectures of Min, Wei, and Qin, and his momentum is even greater than that of Zhang Yichao back then. But just ask the Han families in Min, Wei, and Die states, and Zhang Xun can guarantee that most of them People, definitely will not break with the Tubo people at this time!
The noisy ones were just some passionate young people, and at most some thieves who wanted to take advantage of the troubled waters.
Hot blood is not a fault. When you are young, you don't have the pride of serving the country with blood and shrouding the corpse in horse leather, that is heartless; but at your own age, if you don't know how to judge the situation and protect yourself carefully, then you are brainless!
The Guiyi army was so strong and strong back then, and they couldn't garrison all the eleven prefectures in Hexi. King An only brought hundreds of thousands of monks this time, and only 100,000 soldiers, so he wanted to conquer Hexi
Is that to subdue Hexi? That's arrogance, trying to catch fame! It's a child's play on the battlefield, harming others and yourself!
I heard that the territory of the Tang Dynasty has not been completely pacified, there is still a separatist regime in the middle of Shu, and the small princes from all over the country are still there, and none of the feudal towns have been reduced. With such a national situation, how can Hexi be recovered
A sudden attack, by surprise, would cause the Luna Sect to suffer a lot, but when the Luna Sect reacted and mobilized monks and troops to fight back, what would King An use to fight against them with his little manpower
Father is so irrational! The uncles are also getting old and dizzy. When people are old, their minds tend to be stubborn. They only focus on one thing and die, anyway, they are people who are not afraid of death. This is nothing to say, understandable. But the family can't follow them around, and can't repeat the same mistakes!
If the tragedy of the past happened again, I wouldn't have the energy to kneel all over Jincheng County again, and I'm afraid I wouldn't have the courage to sacrifice my female relatives again. If I couldn't hold on to death, what would the younger generations do
Zhang Xun put down his brush, thinking of these situations, he no longer had the mind to deal with chores, and sat down on a chair with a long sigh.
After sitting for a while, Zhang Xun didn't realize that the night had passed until it was bright and the sun shone into the room.
Just as he was about to call the servants to arrange some affairs, he heard the voice of the housekeeper, "Master, General Jie Mucuo is here and wants to see you."
"Jie Mu is wrong? Why did he come here so early?" Hearing the name of the visitor, Zhang Xun dared not neglect. He hurriedly straightened his clothes and left the study room, heading straight to the lobby in a hurry.
Jie Mucuo, this name has a different weight in Zhang Xun's heart.
At that time, the only remaining grain in the farmland was taken away by Tubo warriors. In desperation, he just knelt and kissed the opponent's shoes, and gave him his own sister in exchange for grain for the tribe to spend the winter. .
Since then, Zhang Xun has become the opponent's running dog. The primary reason why the Zhang family has been able to fully recover their family power these years is that Zhang Xun served him well enough and borrowed the power of the other party.
When he came to the lobby, he saw the burly Jie Mu Cuo Da Ma Jin Dao sitting on the main seat, drinking wine impatiently, Zhang Xun quickly saluted with Tubo etiquette, and repeatedly apologized.
As one of the few Tibetan aristocrats in Lanzhou today, Jie Mucuo is no longer a savage who just arrived in Jincheng County. There were no lice crawling around in the hair, no messy smell on the body, the brocade clothes were neat and tidy, and every move looked good.
Jie Mucuo stared at Zhang Xun with eyes like copper bells, with a bloody and fierce light in his eyes, and said coldly: "Brother Zhang, I heard that after the Battle of Minzhou, there were more people with ulterior motives in Jincheng County. You are clamoring all day long to welcome Master Wang and kill all the brave and fearless Tubo warriors. You Zhang Family, you don’t have such people, do you?”
Zhang Xun's heart trembled, and he hurriedly waved his hands to deny: "No, absolutely not! The Zhang family is your most loyal friend and the most caring brother of the Luna Sect. How could there be such a person?"
Jie Mu Cuo seemed to trust Zhang Xun very much, seeing his expression, he didn't mean to go into it too deeply, nodded, but the blood in his eyes did not fade away, "Brother Zhang, you must know that the Moon God is the strongest in the sky. Great gods, the Tubo warriors are the strongest fighters in the world, they are impossible to be defeated! I killed all the flies making noise in the city last night! More than 700 heads are piled up on the streets of the city now, you If you are interested, you can go and see."
More than seven hundred people... Hearing this number, Zhang Xun felt cold all over his body.
Even if he was beaten to death, he would not believe that there would be so many people in the city shouting to welcome King An. Needless to say, Jie Mu made a mistake, this is killing people and establishing power!
After Zhang Xun expressed his sincerity again, the fierce light in Jie Mucuo's eyes dissipated.
While beckoning Zhang Xun not to stand and sit down quickly, he smiled what he thought was kind, and said, "Brother Zhang, I heard that your daughter has reached the age of marriage, and my son has grown up too. I need a caring woman to warm the bed. How about letting your daughter come over and be my son's concubine?"
Zhang Xun's face turned red in an instant, and the anger in his heart rose sharply, and the blood all over his body rushed to his forehead.
His daughter has just reached the age of ji, she is smart, knowledgeable about books and etiquette, she is the jewel in his palm, and also his pistachio, she is the most beloved one in daily life.
Zhang Xun can allow himself to bow down in front of Jie Mucuo, or even be the opponent's minion. For the continuation of the family, he has long since lost his dignity, and he doesn't care how much humiliation he suffers.
But he absolutely cannot accept marrying his delicate daughter to a savage!
What's more, I'm still a concubine!
Zhang Xun would rather die than let this happen!
Zhang Xun's reaction obviously did not meet Jie Mucuo's expectations. In his imagination, this Han man who is as humble as an obedient dog in front of him, even if he let him eat shit, let him make peace with pigs and sheep, he would not hesitate a bit. Now that a great good thing has happened to him, why does he look like this
Didn't he know that letting his daughter be his son's concubine would strengthen his family's relationship with his own and make the Zhang family prosperous for another generation
Jie Mucuo is not an idiot, he stared at Zhang Xun, "Brother Zhang, don't tell me you don't want to!"
Zhang Xun struggled to open his mouth, hesitated to speak several times, clenched his fists, shaking non-stop.
Twenty years ago, he had already pushed his own sister into the fire pit with his own hands. Now, how could he push his own daughter into the abyss with his own hands? !
Jie Mucuo snorted coldly: "Brother Zhang, you didn't agree to such a good thing! Could it be that the Zhang family really has something to do with those guys who are clamoring to meet the Tang army? Say, are you together? Guy? Are you trying to harm Moon God, or are you trying to kill me?!"
There was no trace of blood on Zhang Xun's face, and he raised his head and let out a miserable smile.
He wanted to answer loudly: Yes!
Every time he bends down in front of Jie Mu Cuo, he will want to chop off the opponent's head a hundred times!
He even thought that until the day when he was old and could hand over the family to his son, he would pierce his face with a sharp knife, destroy his appearance, and then rush into Jie Mu Co's mansion and die with him !
But he can't.
He has shouted countless times in his heart, I am a Han Chinese, a descendant of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a descendant of Huo Qubing, and a citizen of Li Shimin, how can I bow my head to a savage? !
He had to bow his head.
Zhang Xun stood up tremblingly, gritted his teeth and buried his face, knelt down in front of Jie Mucuo, and thanked him for his gift.
Only then did Jie Mucuo turn his anger into joy, and burst out laughing.
Jie Mu left by mistake, and only said that three days later, he asked Zhang Xun to wash his daughter and send it over.
Zhang Xun stood motionless in the hall, like a statue, his face and hands were white and bloodless, as if the blood had been drained in an unknown place.
Zhang Xun never saw his daughter again until his death.
no face.
That night, his fourteen-year-old son, Zhang Dong, rushed into his study room, pointed at him and yelled at him, all kinds of obscene words that were unbearable to hear, almost drove Zhang Xun to death on the spot.
Soon, Zhang Dong with a bruised nose and swollen face was thrown out of the study by Zhang Xun.
The resentful young man climbed up with difficulty, spat bloody saliva on the study door, scolded the Tubo dog, and limped looking for Zhang Zhongli while leaning on the wall.
Zhang Zhongli was sitting on the steps of the door, drinking wine with his back facing the dim light in the room, his figure was lonely and lonely, but his shoulders seemed extremely stubborn.
Before his feet, the empty wine jugs were scattered all over the floor.
When Zhang Dong saw Zhang Zhongli, he was coughing violently. The hoarse, violent coughing sound almost coughed out his lungs.
Zhang Dong, who was rebellious and rebellious, saw Zhang Zhongli, but he was very docile and well-behaved. After politely saluting, he rushed over to caress his grandfather and advised him to drink less, and that it would be better to go back to the house in the cold on the stone steps at night.
When the old man saw his grandson, he also had a loving and warm smile on his face. He waved his hand to signal that he didn't need to care, then he pulled him to sit beside him, and handed him the flagon in his hand.
Zhang Dong opened his clean eyes wide, and said unexpectedly: "Grandfather, haven't you always stopped me from drinking alcohol?"
The dying old man touched his grandson's head and said with a smile, "Didn't you quarrel with your father just now? This shows that you have grown up. When a man grows up, he can drink."
Zhang Dong was even more surprised: "The grandson's quarrel with his father means... he has grown up?"
Although he has been naughty since he was a child, the Zhang family is a farming and studying heirloom after all, the family education is extremely strict, and right and wrong are very clear. Zhang Xun gave his sister to a savage as a concubine. Under his grief and indignation, he could lose his mind and quarrel with Zhang Xun, but this behavior itself was outrageous and he could only be punished.
Zhang Zhongli snorted angrily and indignantly, "That rebellious son, you should be scolded for disgracing our sons of the Han family! You are only fourteen years old, and you are already a Qi training cultivator. Sooner or later you will inherit the position of Patriarch. In the future, I will lead my clansmen to fight endlessly with the Tubo people, what's wrong with scolding this Tubo lackey now?"
The young Zhang Dong noticed that when his grandfather said these words, his old eyes were full of madness.
For a moment, Zhang Dong could hardly believe his ears, thinking that his grandfather was crazy.
But after drinking half a jug of wine, Zhang Dong no longer thought so, and danced and began to curse the Tubo people.
Zhang Zhongli couldn't stop laughing.
It was the look in Zhang Dong's eyes that suddenly lost focus.
A long time ago, there was also a boy who scolded the Tibetans like this in front of him.
At that time, he was always pestering himself, asking him to tell him about the eternal achievements of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, about Emperor Taizong's invincible feats in destroying the barbarians and letting all nations come to court. Whenever he talked about it, the young man would be fascinated by it, and then his face would turn red, he would jump into the yard and wield his sword, shouting "kill, kill, kill".
The two teenagers looked so alike that it was almost impossible to tell them apart.
Time flies like a white horse.
It's just that the hero who used to be brave and murderous like hemp is now a bad old man covered in injuries, and he can no longer wield a sharp knife.
only hate! The former boy is now a boneless middle-aged eagle dog who has forgotten his ancestors!
"Grandfather, tell me about Huo Qubing again. Tell me about how he ran alone for thousands of miles, slaughtering all directions, beating up the grassland barbarians, and sealing the wolves away!" Zhang Dong raised his childish face, full of expressions His eyes widened with anticipation.
Zhang Zhongli came back to his senses, looking at his grandson's pure face, a strong worry suddenly rose in his heart. He was very afraid, afraid that the passionate young man in front of him would turn into the previous young man after many years.
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He suppressed the uneasiness that was so strong that it was almost uncontrollable, he pulled himself together, and began to tell the history that he was too familiar with for the umpteenth time.
He spoke very affectionately and devotedly, with a solemn face, solemn eyes, and a sacred meaning in his bones.
Because what comes out of his mouth is not a story, but history.
After he finished speaking, the young man jumped into the courtyard with a blushing face and screamed as usual, practicing boxing with vigor, as if he was about to go to the mountains and rivers in the next moment.
The old man looked at the young man quietly, forgot to drink, and the smile on his mouth never dissipated.
At the end, Zhang Zhongli beckoned, motioning for the sweaty Zhang Dong to stand over.
"Dong'er, you don't have any characters yet. Grandfather will give you one," said the old man.
"But grandfather, a man can only be bestowed by the elders when he reaches the crown, right?" the young man asked in confusion.
"It doesn't matter, I'll pick it up for you today... Grandfather will die, I'm afraid I won't be able to wait until that day." The dry wrinkles on the old man's face are full of stubbornness.
"No, grandfather will live a long life! Grandfather, if you want to take it, grandson will want it now!" The young man knelt down in front of the old man.
"Okay, okay! As expected of my grandson. Grandson, remember, never forget for the rest of your life, your surname is Zhang, your first name is Dong, and your name is Chang'an! Zhang Dong and Zhang Chang'an, this is your name."
"Zhang Dong, Zhang Chang'an. Grandfather, I remember! But, what does my name mean?"
"It means..." The haggard old man threw away the flagon in his hand, stood up by the quiet and remote yard, stood upright, and looked southeast solemnly, his eyes were full of piety, Word by word: "Look east, it's Chang'an!"
Looking east is Chang'an.
Looking east is Chang'an, grandson, never forget this.
There, there are our greatest ancestors, our most glorious dynasty, our tallest backbone, and our most reluctant dreams.
There is also our deepest suffering, the most unforgettable pain.
My grandfather looked east countless times, but all he saw was countless Guanshan Mountains, countless Guanshan Mountains. Chang'an City, my grandfather is getting old, so he is destined not to see it anymore. But my grandfather fought and bleeds for it, even if I haven't seen its appearance, it is still in my heart. dead, not forgotten in the grave.
You're still young and you still have a chance to see it.
Must see.
Looking east is Chang'an, grandson, that is your hometown, the hometown of each of us.
You have to remember, you are Han Jiaerlang.
Even if you can't see it in your whole life, even if you can only die in a foreign land, if you die, you will die like a son of the Han family!