The setting sun left its last rays of light in the west, and the light of the entire city gradually dimmed. However, the setting of the sun was not the end of the day, but just the beginning of another one. Outside the city in the northeast, fires shot up into the sky, and the sound of drums and noise filled the entire city.
When Guo Shao and a group of cavalrymen went out of the city to watch, they saw more than a dozen huge bonfires burning in the open space, the heat was overwhelming. Countless soldiers were gathered around the bonfires, and some people were dancing there to the music. The loud singing had an ancient roughness, and there were also shouts and cheers from the soldiers. The whole flat area was in a bustle, more lively than a night market.
Guo Shao was infected by the atmosphere, and he, along with his generals and personal soldiers, walked towards the largest bonfire in the middle to take a look.
The soldiers here were in high spirits, grilling meat, eating and drinking, and watching the lively performance. Guo Shao rode on his horse and looked inside. He saw a group of revealing women wearing animal skins dancing in a circle, the drums were beating, they were shaking bells in their hands to accompany the music, singing and dancing, laughing and joking happily.
The legs and waists of the women were exposed, and they wrapped their chests with animal skins and wore short skirts, which was considered very revealing clothing in that era. Their skin was shiny and glossy with sweat in the firelight. The accompaniment of the song "Ya-ya-hei, hei-yo" was very rhythmic and beautiful, but there seemed to be no lyrics, or maybe Guo Shao didn't understand it, just like the sound of humans yelling at the beginning of the universe without language.
The soldiers were excited and shouted loudly. The women were also generous and encouraged by the cheers, and they even glanced at the crowd.
It's against morals. A civil servant said embarrassedly, it's outrageous, to be so dissolute in public
Guo Shao laughed at him: I think the scene is very lively.
The clothes of the dancing girls covered their vital parts, which was nothing to Guo Shao. However, their dancing postures might be a bit too bold for the ideas of the literati in the Central Plains. Guo Shao noticed that many of the dance moves included swinging the hips and deliberately sticking out the chest. The animal skins exuded a barbaric and primitive temperament. The women kept dancing lively and were roasted by the fire, and their sweat also carried a primitive atmosphere. The nature of human beings was fully exposed in this uncivilized place.
However, Guo Shao really appreciated this kind of atmosphere. A vibrant and vital country should be like this. Personally, he was not interested in things like rationalism.
At this moment, two soldiers were suddenly pushed to the middle. They were usually carefree, but now they blushed and tried to squeeze back like a young man, but were pushed and shoved by a group of people. It was normal for soldiers to be nervous in front of so many people. They were not used to appearing in front of the public. However, they were held by the hands of the mountain girl and danced in two circles. Gradually, they let go. At first, they just followed the circle and gradually learned to gesture. People are always easily inspired by the enthusiastic atmosphere. Seeing this, everyone laughed and more people were eager to try to learn the fire dance.
Marshal Guo. Finally, someone turned around and saw Guo Shao on horseback, and stood up and saluted with his fists clasped.
Guo Shao waved his hand and said: "Everyone, please do as you please, don't worry about me. I saw that it was lively here, so I came over to have some fun."
The soldiers welcomed Guo Shao to the front, and the general sitting next to him quickly took a bowl and poured wine to toast Guo Shao. Guo Shao picked up the bowl, looked at the men and women in front of him singing and dancing enthusiastically, and said with a happy face: "Cheers!"
The soldiers around him also started drinking.
Another soldier cut some pork with a knife and handed it over. There were two main types of meat for the reward: goat meat, which was raw and roasted by the soldiers, and could be eaten half-cooked; pork was cooked, probably because people would get sick if they ate pork that was not cooked thoroughly.
Guo Shao's face was flushed. The sound of the drums, the rustling of the jade, and the sweet singing of the young girls were very pleasant to hear. The soldiers around him were also very excited.
At this time, a clever young lady saw Guo Shao surrounded by a group of people, so she came forward and took the initiative to invite Guo Shao to dance. It was the first time that Guo Shao had met such a warm and generous lady in this era. For a moment, he felt that it was difficult to refuse such a kind invitation, so he had to smile and refuse, saying: I can't dance.
The woman said in dialect: I'll teach you.
Haha, the generals laughed and started to make a noise. Guo Shao had no choice but to stand up and walk to the front. He was pulled into a circle by a group of women. He followed them and watched their steps, imitating them clumsily. He also tried to twist his waist and hips, which immediately made the soldiers who were watching laugh so hard that they fell forward and backward.
Guo Shao was drunk and wandered around. In addition to the soldiers, there were many people watching, including men, women, young and old. This open space was like a party tonight, which was really interesting.
After having a bit of fun, he didn't stay any longer and rode back to the city with his entourage; the soldiers could have fun until midnight tonight, but Guo Shao could not.
He was still humming on his horse, a tune that the mountain folks couldn't understand. After entering the city gate, he realized his status and stopped humming. When he looked back, the soldiers were also smiling.
When he returned to the gate of the county government, he saw the dilapidated and dim classical building in front of him, which looked like a haunted house. It was completely different from the joyful atmosphere just now. Guo Shao's mood gradually cooled down.
He returned to the Qintang and saw that it was still early, so he took out a bunch of things from his package. There were reports on military food supplies, lists of merits submitted by generals, and his own scribbled notes on the terrain, scenery, enemy deployment, and so on.
At this moment, he found that he could not find the letter to Fu Jinzhan among the letters he had written. He hurriedly searched in the package, thinking about it, and remembered that the thing seemed to be placed close to his body. He searched in his clothes again, but could not find it.
Maybe it fell somewhere when I was wandering outside the city just now. Guo Shao frowned and hurriedly recalled the contents of the letter. It was nothing more than some love words written when he thought of Fu Jinzhan, and recorded what he saw and heard along the way. Of course, he did not call the Queen Mother or Jinzhan, but used you and me instead. Recalling what he had written, it was difficult for others to guess who he wrote the letter to; but because it mentioned ordering someone to do something, and there were some other information, others might guess that it was Guo Shao's thing. If it was picked up by a soldier, it might be returned tomorrow; as for the mountain people, they could not recognize any words.
Guo Shao thought the problem was not serious, but he felt uneasy and his happy mood was ruined. He picked up the map and recalled the conversation with the county magistrate today. He wanted to roughly outline the direction of the road that could lead to Kuizhou on the map, but he couldn't calm down and became very impatient. He had to give up.
The faint noise outside the city was still audible. The county town was not very big, and the county government was located to the north. Guo Shao felt a little tired, perhaps because of the alcohol or the fatigue brought by the high emotions. Somehow, all the fatigue of the past few days was released at once.
It was not physical fatigue. Guo Shao was much better than the other soldiers. He mostly took a boat and occasionally went ashore and rode a horse as long as the road was slightly flat. It was mainly mental fatigue. The battle had been fought until now, and victory was within reach, but he still could not relax.
Moreover, victory is not certain. Now the plank road in Qutang Gorge has been burned, and there are several rapids and dangerous rapids that make it difficult for the navy to go upstream. Without control over both banks, it would be difficult for the boatmen to pull the boats. But we don't know what the other road will look like. If it is not passable, do we really have to wait for Dong Zunhui's men to repair the plank road with wood one by one? It will take a long time to advance to Kuizhou.
Guo Shao felt very tired, so he asked Lu Chengyong at the door to pack up his things and go back to his room to sleep early.
This place was damp and gloomy, and Guo Shao went to bed too early, tossing and turning but unable to fall asleep. Tonight he thought of his elder sister from a thousand years ago, and his emotions became more complicated.
It really seemed like a long time had passed. Guo Shao came to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms when Li Shouzhen was killed in the rebellion. It has been eight years now. He has not seen her for eight years. He doesn't even dare to miss what his elder sister is doing now, because she doesn't exist yet.
Countless past events came to his mind. In the past, Guo Shao had a strange mentality. When he felt very tired and couldn't hold on, he would blame his elder sister for being too nice to him; otherwise, he could relax himself and not live so hard. Someone being too nice to him was a psychological burden when he was vulnerable. Although he never wanted to admit it, he often had that feeling.
The emotions were tangled in guilt and cherishment, even becoming a little distorted. But now everything is gone, only those thoughts remain in the memory.
Guo Shao fell asleep in a daze.
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