After a few days of absence, I want to say a few words from my heart to my fellow book lovers, mainly to express my guilt, apology and explanation.
I think the worst thing is not to stop updating, but to stop updating without saying anything. This is indeed not to despise the readers, on the contrary, it is mainly to avoid knowing how to explain. 1. Because I have apologized too many times, and I feel like I can't say anything when I stop updating again. 2. In the later period of the training at Lu Xun Academy of Literature, I went to several places in Henan, running back and forth. After the training, the journey home was full of twists and turns, and there were friends who came to my house to receive me, etc. I was in a restless mood, and I was very dissatisfied with the few chapters I wrote. Every time I thought, I would apologize when I rewrite a chapter and upload it tomorrow, but tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow, dragged it on for several days in a row.
As I said in the book club, many readers don’t read related works or chapter reviews, so they can’t find a good place to notify when there are no updates.
1. If I have to stop updating temporarily in the future, I will say it in the book review area and update the chapter review of the last updated chapter. 2. Starting from tomorrow, I will resume updating, at least three times a day, to make up for my mistake.
Finally, I have to apologize. I am really sorry to everyone. I am back home now and have no travel plans in the near future. Updates will return to normal.
Strong westerly wind. April 8, 2015
After returning to the central army tent from the riverside, Zhou Xian heard Guo Shao say: You can live inside for a while, this is where I used to sleep.
Zhou Xian felt embarrassed and surprised at first, and asked casually: "Where does General Guo live?"
Guo Shao said: I will handle official business here outside. I will ask the guards to spread some hay and bring blankets and quilts. When we are on the march, there is no need to be too particular.
Zhou Xian was silent for a while. She thought that the reason why Guo Shao wanted her to live with him might be that he felt it was not safe in the military camp with so many men. Besides, she was just a singing girl, so there was nothing wrong with this arrangement.
However, it is inevitable for a woman to think a lot when encountering such a thing. This seems to be a woman's instinct. She first wondered in her heart whether Guo Shao had improper thoughts about her. If she easily agreed to stay in the same room with him, she would have no reason to be insulted at that time. Who asked you, a woman, to sleep in the same tent with others
She silently observed Guo Shao's expression and found that there was something completely different in his eyes from the palace maids and eunuchs in Li Yu's palace. It was a look that only men with desires had. She understood the lust in it. Guo Shao needed even the most primitive desire of hers, but that desire was enough to make a woman stand out in his eyes.
The demands at this moment were different from the ambitions Guo Shao had shown by the river. In his ambition to expand his territory, he obviously did not consider whether Li Yu and the people of Southern Tang were willing; but at this moment Guo Shao's desire was very forbearing, gentle and cautious, with pity in his eyes.
Zhou Xian's heart was beating fast, and she felt her face getting a little hot. But she soon thought of another thing: the mission to assassinate Guo Shao. Most of the warmth disappeared in an instant, and Zhou Xian also felt a chill coming from somewhere.
Judging from the situation when they met, she felt that Guo Shao had already realized the malicious intention of the Southern Tang Kingdom in sending the envoy, and the greatest danger came from Zhou Xian, but now he asked her to live with him.
Zhou Xian glanced sideways. There was only a wooden curtain between the place where Guo Shao handled official business and the place where he slept. There was no obstruction. She could imagine that when he was sleeping outside in the middle of the night, the people inside would have no defense at all to harm him. Her eyes became quite puzzled, because Guo Shao was actually very thoughtful. He should have considered this obvious risk.
She was so distracted that she forgot to respond to Guo Shao's arrangement. Then she heard Guo Shao say: Let's do it this way. I have to go out for a while now. You rest here.
Zhou Xian nodded, Guo Shao glanced at her and said gently: Don’t be afraid, no one will come to this tent to threaten you, I will be back soon.
Such instructions made her feel a sense of warmth and protection, and her face turned slightly red and she nodded in agreement.
Guo Shao walked out of the door without looking back. Zhou Xian watched him leave, then paced a few steps in the tent, then reached out and gently lifted the curtain in the middle and walked in. This was where Guo Shao lived, and Zhou Xian felt a masculine breath coming at the first sight.
That smell is not a smell, but a feeling. Completely different from the trivial things of women, this small space is very simple and neat. Two simple sets of clothes are stacked on a box, and in the box next to it are toothbrushes, green salt and a towel for washing. There are pillows and bedding on the bed, and a book. There is nothing else, no decoration, and everything has its use.
Zhou Xian stretched out her jade-white fingers and couldn't help but touch these things gently. She seemed to see how a man lived. This was a living person, not a symbol of revenge and elimination.
After a long time, she heard Guo Shao's voice outside, so she left her living room and walked to the exit of the tent. In the cold and damp winter, two pieces of thick cloth were hung at the door to keep warm. Zhou Xian lifted a corner and looked out, and saw Guo Shao.
There were several guards around him, and a large group of soldiers who were making fire and cooking were surrounding him respectfully. He picked up a wooden spoon and scooped a spoonful of soup from the iron pot on the stone stove. He tasted it with relish, smacked his lips, turned around and smiled: "It's a little salty."
A soldier next to him with a nervous and excited face stammered: We cooked the pickled meat in it.
Guo Shao smiled and said: "No wonder. It doesn't matter if the taste is good or bad, the water must be clean, otherwise it will be bad if you get an upset stomach."
A young general nodded like a chicken pecking at rice and replied: Hey, hey. The people around him laughed again.
Guo Shao looked at the soldier who had spoken to him before: I think you look familiar. Your name seems to be Yao Er. Where is your hometown
The soldier hurriedly said: "I am in Kaifeng Prefecture. I really didn't expect that Marshal Guo still remembered me." At this time, Guo Shao stretched out his hand to straighten the crooked shoulder scarf on the soldier's neck, patted him on the shoulder and said: "Do a good job."
Then he pointed to the distance and spoke to a civil servant. Zhou Xian looked in the direction and saw some thatched huts outside the camp. After knocking for a long time, he guessed that they might be the huts built by the soldiers. As expected, he heard the voice of the civil servant coming from afar. The lord was relieved and arranged the military officers to take charge of various matters, and paid great attention to disease prevention.
What Zhou Xian saw and heard were all trivial matters in the military camp, but these trivial matters touched her deeply. She thought to herself: Li Yu could not possibly defeat Guo Shao.
In such a chaotic world, Zhou Xian was no stranger to war, but her previous experience was from the words written on paper in the memorials. This time, she really felt what war was like in the military camp. The words and deeds of the commander and many small things affect the entire army, not just military orders; war is carried out by ordinary soldiers. Guo Shao's performance is to treat the soldiers as human beings. His smile, his tone, and his action of helping a lower-level soldier to tidy up his clothes all seem so sincere. Zhou Xian thought that if she were a soldier, she would also be willing to work for a general like Guo Shao.
At this time, a young woman came towards the tent; she lowered her head, but immediately caught Zhou Xian's attention, mainly because there were almost no women in the army. Zhou Xian also immediately recognized that she was the woman Guo Shao chose to serve her.
Zhou Xian immediately lowered the door curtain and turned away from the door. Not long after, the woman opened the door curtain and walked in. Seeing Zhou Xian, she knelt slightly and said: Hello, madam.
What's your name? Zhou Xian asked at this time. She really didn't know the woman's name before, and she was not interested in knowing it. Perhaps Guo Shao's patient attitude of talking to a soldier influenced her, and her mentality towards a singing girl also changed subtly. People could really influence each other before, and it was very easy.
The woman said timidly: My stage name is Yunniang.
Zhou Xian did not ask any further questions. She knew that most singing girls would not easily reveal their real surnames.
Yunniang added: There is a general named Lu Chengyong in this camp who allows me to enter and leave the central army. Before it gets dark, I will collect the dirty clothes I changed on the road and wash them at the river outside the camp.
Zhou Xian didn't think much about it, so he turned around and picked up his bag and gave Yunniang his changed clothes. The two talked for a few more words and asked each other about their own situations. It was very inconvenient for women to bathe in such a place, and the weather was cold. Zhou Xian loved cleanliness, so he changed his clothes frequently.
The camp of tens of thousands of troops was not crowded together, otherwise it would be inconvenient to get water and discharge sewage. Each unit was divided into many camps, and fences were built in turn. The area of the central army camp was not large. Yunniang quickly left the camp gate and saw a small river outside. It was almost dusk, and Yunniang hurried to work. The river water was cold, and it was not a pleasant job.
At this time, another woman came to the river with a wooden basin and went straight to the stone next to Yunniang to wash her clothes. Yunniang turned around and recognized that it was the singing girl who was sent with her, but she didn't know her name.
Some of the singing girls sent here knew each other, but there were also some unfamiliar faces. However, they were sent to the enemy camp, and their future was uncertain. They were depressed and afraid, and had no interest in talking along the way. Yunniang didn't know the name of the woman next to her, but she was familiar with her. What impressed her most was that when the general of Zhou army came to select people, this woman took the initiative to serve the woman selected by the general.
The woman was washing clothes absent-mindedly, as if she was just pretending. She turned around and glanced behind her.
Yunniang was curious and thought someone was coming behind her, so she looked over. Not far away, she saw an old soldier pacing by the river with an expressionless face, as if he was a sentry who came to watch the women washing clothes, fearing that they would run away. But it didn't seem like that, because the soldier was at least 40 or 50 years old, with a numb face and no signs of looking around.
The woman next to him spoke up and whispered: Where is the person you are serving? Are you going to sleep with Zhou Jun's commander Guo Shao
Yunniang looked at her helplessly and shook her head: I don’t know whether I can sleep with him or not. She was arranged to live in Marshal Guo’s tent.
The woman's face showed a happy expression. She looked back again and quickly handed over a handkerchief, saying: Keep it and put it in your underwear. When you see the girl you are serving, give the handkerchief to her.
Yunniang didn't know what it was, but she was inexplicably scared. The woman stuffed it into her hand without saying anything, suppressed her surprised expression, and said coldly: If you are found with this thing by the Zhou army warriors, everyone who has anything to do with it will die, and you can't escape it either. You'd better do as I say.
Yunniang said in a trembling voice: I don't know anything, take the things back, I will never report you
The woman said: "It's not up to you, because you are right beside that woman, and only through you can there be a chance. If you don't do it, you will also be involved, huh."