The sun from the west shone in from the alley, stretching a shadow on the ground. Yao Erniu walked home with his head down, looking at the shadow on the ground, with a lonely expression. The high-spirited shouts and exciting charges on the battlefield flashed through his mind again; the noisy atmosphere and the brave mood of blood rushing, gradually disappeared in this dilapidated alley, as if it was in a distant place.
When Yao Erniu returned home, his cousin came up to him and excitedly talked about the store, but he didn't listen.
When he came back, he married his cousin and even held a wedding banquet. In the past, Yao Erniu only wanted to be rich, marry his cousin who gave him a purse when they parted, and then let his family have food to eat. Now he has everything, he has a shop, a piece of land, and some money left over, so at least the mouths at home don't have to worry about going hungry; but he didn't know what was going on and still couldn't be happy.
At this time, a group of people were talking in the main room, discussing how to find tenants, how to collect rent, and what business to do in the shop.
The cousin touched Yao Erniu and asked: What kind of business do you want to do
Yao Erniu was stunned. He suddenly realized that he could not do anything, so he said casually: I can plow the land.
My cousin shook her head and said: Farming brings little harvest, it is better to do business in Tokyo. Doing business is easier, you don't have to work hard to look after the shop.
Yao Erniu was silent. He didn't know what he could do, and he felt that it was meaningless to stay in the shop all day. He was very confused. When he was in the army, we were responsible for attacking cities and destroying countries, and the emperors of enemy countries were trembling with fear under our horses' hooves. Now he thought about the present and didn't know what use he was.
I don’t want to leave the Imperial Guards anymore, Yao Erniu said suddenly.
The cousin was stunned for a moment, and after a while she tried to persuade him: Our family has land and property, and the battlefield is so dangerous, why does your cousin still want to risk his life
Yao Erniu said seriously: It's not that easy to die. The left wing of the Tiger Guards has 20,000 soldiers. They have fought many battles in Jiangnan, but not many people died. Not even one out of 20 people died. The salary of the imperial guards is high. My salary is more than the rent I get from doing business, and that's not counting the rewards.
After a while, his mother and aunt came up to persuade him, but they couldn't persuade him. Yao Erniu was worried that if he delayed his resignation, the list would be reported, so he hurried to the military camp.
The guard at the camp gate recognized Yao Erniu and took him to the camp office. There were a dozen ragged people being guarded outside the camp office. Yao Erniu didn't know who they were. When he entered the house, a burly man was sitting in the upper seat. He was the commander Zhang Jiankui, and there were some generals and three ragged men beside him.
Zhang Jiankui turned around and looked over: Yao Er, what's up
Yao Erniu said sullenly: I want to stay and be a soldier.
Zhang Jiankui immediately looked him over and asked: "Joining the army means risking your life. Have you figured it out?"
I figured it out. Yao Erniu nodded.
Zhang Jiankui ignored him and turned to look at a sturdy young man. The man was dirty and torn, with dust and grass on his hair. A strange smell hit his nose. Zhang Jiankui asked: Where are you from
The strong man said: Yizhou.
Zhang Jiankui asked again: Where is Yizhou
The strong man said: Zhao Shuyuan.
Zhang Jiankui asked him his name again, and he said Zhao Hu. Zhang Jiankui asked him to take off his shirt, and the man took off his dirty clothes obediently. Zhang Jiankui looked at the half-naked body and nodded: "You have a good foundation, big chest, round arms and thin waist. You look like a capable person. There is a stone on the threshold, hold it up for me to see."
Zhao Hu walked over without saying a word and picked up the stone. He shouted "hehe" twice but didn't pick it up.
Haha, several generals laughed out loud.
Zhao Hu looked embarrassed and blushed, saying: "I can definitely lift this stone, but we walked from Hebei to Tokyo, begging for food along the way, and we are so hungry that we have no strength left. General, give me a cake, and I will try again after I am full."
Zhang Jiankui looked down and saw that Zhao Hu's feet were tied with some hay and rags, so he raised his hand and made a gesture, and the guards went to get food. Zhang Jiankui turned around and said in a deep voice: Call Zhang Ying.
Zhang Ying was the military commander of Youzhou. When the previous emperor went north to Zhuozhou, Zhang Ying and his group of men took the opportunity to rob the horses of the Khitan people and defected to the Zhou army. His men successively recruited many soldiers from northern Hebei. Yizhou was also a territory of the Liao Kingdom a few years ago. Zhang Jiankui wanted Zhang Ying to check the identities of Zhao Hu and others.
Not long after, a big man with a round head came into the camp. When he asked if Zhao Hu was Zhao Shuyuan's man, Zhang Ying immediately slapped his forehead and said: One of my personal soldiers said that the name of his hometown is Zhao Shuyuan, so I called him over to ask.
When the guard came in, he started chatting with Zhao Hu. There is a pond in the east of your village. A few years ago, a new bride fell into the pond while washing clothes and drowned.
Zhang Jiankui listened with a smile for a while, then said to Zhang Ying: "I'll leave those people to you. Please settle them according to the rules and register them." After that, he ignored the people in the room and got up and left. Everyone clasped their fists in greeting, and the new man Zhao Hu also clasped his fists.
Zhang Ying nodded slightly and said: There are more than twenty of you here. Those who can explain their background clearly and have someone to guarantee them can stay here first. The army will send you back to your hometown in a while, and you can find relatives and friends in the village to guarantee you and sign a list with the local officials. So don't lie. Our Huben Army is the most elite force in the Great Zhou Dynasty. We do not accept fugitives who have committed crimes and idle scoundrels.
Everyone will first serve as miscellaneous soldiers. Those with good physique and high comprehension will learn the rules and basic martial arts and will soon be promoted to combat soldiers. Those who are not good enough will be eliminated and sent to the camp to cultivate the land.
Hey Zhao Hu nodded vigorously.
Our Tiger Guards lost some men in the Southern Tang Kingdom, and we need to replenish our troops. You are lucky to have come at a good time, otherwise it would be difficult to join the Tiger Guards. Zhang Ying said, just now you said that you went from begging in Hebei to joining the army in Tokyo. Why
Zhao Hu's face suddenly showed shame and anger, and his teeth were chattering: The Khitans destroyed my family and killed my father, and also humiliated me for joining the army. I killed the Khitans for revenge.
Humph. Zhang Ying did not agree, but said coldly, "The Imperial Guard is not a place for you to take revenge. You must obey military orders. If you don't obey orders, and you think you are very fierce when you go to the battlefield and just run around, get out of here as soon as possible."
Zhao Hu was stunned.
There was a thinner general next to him, whose face was not as fierce, and he said kindly: Zhao Hu, since you have such a deep hatred, why don't you seek revenge on the Liao people, but come to Tokyo to join the army
Zhao Hu frowned and said: I can't beat the Khitans. Some people in the Great Zhou army have weapons. Only by joining the army can we beat the Khitans.
The thin general said: What if the Great Zhou Army can't defeat the Liao Army
Zhao Hu:
The thin general said calmly: If the military orders are not effective, the military discipline is lax and chaotic, it will be a mob and will definitely not be able to defeat the Liao army that has been practicing archery and horse riding for many years. He turned his head and looked at Zhang Ying with respect. Zhang Ying was the military envoy of Youzhou. Most of his men were Han people near Youzhou and suffered a lot from the Liao people. However, we fought against Shu and Southern Tang for several years and have not been in a hurry to deal with Liao. The soldiers are still fighting hard. Do you know why
Zhao Hu looked confused.
The thin general said: "The emperor was our commander before, and he told the soldiers a very simple truth. If the court is unjust and does not put the overall situation first, it will not be able to spare all its strength to deal with the Liao enemy. If we want to take revenge and recover the lost territory, we must win. If we can't win, what's the point of rushing to die? It's never too late for a gentleman to take revenge.
Zhang Ying said: I will make it clear first, so you can figure out what to do as soon as possible. Military law is ruthless. If you disobey military orders, no matter how deep your hatred is, you will be severely punished.
At this time, Zhao Hu clasped his fists and said: I am willing to serve the Tiger Guards.
After figuring it out, Zhang Ying asked.
Zhao Hu said: After listening to General Zhang's words, I believe that the Imperial Guards are capable of fighting, and this is exactly where I want to go.
Zhang Ying smiled and said: He is a man with brains.
At this time, soldiers brought up food, and Zhang Ying asked people to call the ragged men outside to come in. For a while, everyone was silent, holding the cakes and soup and devouring them ravenously.
In the quiet Xu'en Palace, Guo Shaogang took a nap and then tossed and turned frequently on the couch, with an expression that was not calm at all.
It may not be considered a sequelae of war, but the years of fighting left Guo Shao with too many memories. From time to time, he would hear the sound of horse hooves and fighting in his dreams. Even in the quiet and safe Tokyo Palace, holding a brush every day, his heart still could not calm down.
He had a nightmare, he didn't know what battlefield he was on, nor what happened. Everything he saw was bloody, the blood-red setting sun hung on the top of the mountain, and blood was everywhere.
The broken flag was drooping not far away. He saw a pair of bulging eyes. Ah, the man was screaming, full of fear. He saw the knife wound on the flesh, dark red and soft, which made his heart twitch. The fishy smell made him nauseous.
Guo Shao suddenly woke up, his heart still pounding, and he sat up slowly and took a long breath. He heard the chirping of insects outside the screen window. In the midsummer, even though there were fewer plants in the palace, there were still some insects chirping in the corners. Then he smelled a faint fragrance, the smell coming from the bronze incense tripod.
Guo Shao wiped his forehead with his sleeve and found that he was sweating. It was hot in the evening after being in the sun all day. He got up and sat down on a chair. Someone brought in tea. He turned around and saw Dong Sanmei, so he asked, "Where is Yulian?"
Dong Sanmei said: Sister Yulian has gone to do needlework, and asked me to look after Your Majesty.