Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

The sun from the west border came in from the alley, and a shadow on the ground was stretched very long. Yao Erniu walked home with his head drooping, looking at the shadow on the ground with a lonely expression. The high-spirited shouts and exciting charges on the battlefield flashed in my mind again; the hustle and bustle of the breath, the blood rushing bravery, gradually disappeared with the wind in this dilapidated alley, as if in a distant place.

When Yao Erniu came home, his cousin greeted him, talking excitedly about the shop. He didn't even listen.

When he came back, he married his cousin as his wife, and even held a banquet... In the past, Yao Erniu's only thought was to be rich. When he came back, he married the cousin who gave him the purse when they parted, and then let the family have food. Now that everything is satisfied, there are shops, land, and money left over, at least the mouths in the family who want to eat no longer worry about starvation; but he doesn't know what's going on, and he still can't be happy.

At this time, a group of people chattered in a hurry in the main room, discussing how to find tenants, how to collect rent, and what business to do for the shop.

The cousin touched Yao Erniu: "What kind of business do you want to do?"

Yao Erniu was stunned. He suddenly realized that he couldn't do anything, so he said casually, "I know how to plow the land..."

The cousin shook her head and said: "There are few harvests from farming, so it's better to do business in Tokyo. It's easier to do business, and it doesn't take much effort to look at the shop."

Yao Erniu didn't say a word, he didn't know what he could do, what he could do, and he felt that it was meaningless to stay in the shop all day, and he was very confused... I think back in the army, we were doing big things like attacking cities and destroying countries, and the emperors of the enemy countries were trembling under our horseshoes; thinking about it now, I don't know what use I am.

"I don't want to leave the imperial army!" Yao Erniu said suddenly.

The cousin was stunned for a while, and after a while, she quickly persuaded: "Our family has land and property, and the battlefield is so dangerous, why does my cousin have to work hard?"

Yao Erniu said solemnly: "It's not that easy to die. The 20,000 people on the left side of the Huben army fought many battles in the south of the Yangtze River, and not many people died in total, and not even one of the twenty people died. The military salary of the imperial army is high. My military salary alone is more than the land rent for business, not counting rewards!"

After a while, his mother and aunt came up to persuade him, but they couldn't persuade him. Yao Erniu was worried that the list of procrastination and resignation would be reported, and he was about to go to the military camp in a hurry.

... The guard at the gate of the camp recognized Yao Erniu and took him to the camp office. There were ten or twenty ragged people guarded there outside the gate of the camp office. Yao Erniu didn't know who they were. Entering the room, a burly man was sitting on the top seat, which was the commander Zhang Jiankui, and there were some generals and three ragged men beside him.

Zhang Jiankui turned his head and looked over: "Yao Er, what's the matter with you?"

Yao Erniu said sullenly: "I want to stay, I can be a miscellaneous soldier..."

Zhang Jiankui sized him up immediately, and asked, "Joining the army means working hard, do you understand?"

"I figured it out." Yao Erniu nodded.

Zhang Jiankui ignored him and turned to look at a strong young man. The man was dirty and torn, his hair was still stained with dust and grass, and he had a strange smell coming from his nostrils. Zhang Jiankui asked, "Where are they from?"

The strong man said: "Yizhou."

Zhang Jiankui asked again: "Where is Yizhou?"

The strong man said: "Zhao Shuyuan."

Zhang Jiankui asked his name again, and he said Zhao Hu. Zhang Jiankui told him to take off his shirt, and the man obediently took off the dirty clothes. Zhang Jiankui looked at the half-naked body, nodded and said: "He has a good foundation, big chest, round shoulders, and thin waist. He seems to be a person who can work. There is a stone at the threshold, show it to me."

Without further ado, Zhao Hu strode over and hugged the stone, "Hey! Hey..." He yelled twice but didn't pick it up.

"Haha..." Several generals laughed out loud.

Zhao Hu looked embarrassed, and said with a blushing face, "I'm sure I can lift this stone! But we walked from Hebei to Tokyo, begging for food along the way, and we were so hungry that we couldn't get enough energy. The general gave me a piece of cake and I'll try again when I'm full!"

Zhang Jiankui looked down and saw that Zhao Hu's feet were tied with some dry grass and rags with ropes, so he raised his hand and made a gesture, and the soldiers went to get food. Zhang Jiankui turned his head again and said in a deep voice, "Call Zhang Ying."

Zhang Ying was the military envoy (dutou) of the capital of Youzhou. When the late emperor marched north to the vicinity of Zhuozhou, Zhang Ying led a group of Han sons and took the opportunity to rob the Khitan people of pasture horses and ran to join the Zhou army. His subordinates successively recruited many soldiers who were originally from northern Hebei... Yizhou also belonged to the 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 entered the barracks office. When he asked Zhao Hu whether he was from Zhao Shuyuan, Zhang Ying slapped his forehead: "At the end of the day, a soldier said that the name of his hometown is Zhao Shuyuan, so he called over to ask."

When the personal soldier walked in, he chatted with Zhao Hu warmly after a while. "Isn't there a pond in the east of your village?" "That's right, a few years ago there was a new daughter-in-law who just passed through the house a few days ago, and the laundry fell into it and drowned..."

Zhang Jiankui smiled and listened for a while, then said to Zhang Ying: "I'll leave those people to you. According to the rules, they will be settled and registered in the register." After speaking, he ignored the people in the room, got up and left. Everyone clasped their fists together to salute, and the newcomer Zhao Hu also clasped their fists together.

Seeing this, Zhang Ying nodded slightly, and then said: "There are more than twenty of you here, if you can tell clearly that there are people who are guaranteed to stay first; after a while, the army will send you back to the local area, find relatives and friends in the village as guarantees, and sign the roster with the magistrate, so don't lie... Our Huben Army is the most elite troops in Da Zhou, and we do not accept fugitives who commit crimes and idle green-skinned rogues.

Everyone starts out as miscellaneous soldiers. People with good health and high understanding will soon be promoted to soldiers after learning the rules and basic martial arts; those who are not good will be eliminated and sent to the camp. "

"Hey!" Zhao Hu nodded vigorously.

"The left wing of our Huben Army lost some people in the Southern Tang Kingdom, and we are about to replenish our troops. You are at a good time, otherwise it would be more difficult to join the Huben Army." Zhang Ying said, "Just now you said that you were begging from Hebei to join the army in Tokyo. Why?"

Zhao Hu's face suddenly revealed a look of shame and indignation, and he gritted his teeth loudly: "The Khitan people ruined my family, killed my father, and even insulted me...Join the army and kill the Khitan people for revenge!"

"Huh!" Zhang Ying didn't agree, but said coldly, "The Forbidden Army is not a place to avenge you, you must obey the military orders! If you don't obey the orders, you will think that you are fierce when you go to the battle and just run around, get out early!"

Zhao Hu was stunned.

Next to him was a thinner general with less vicious eyes, and he said kindly, "Zhao Hu, since you have a deep hatred, why don't you seek revenge from the Liao people, and instead join the army in Tokyo?"

Zhao Hu frowned and said, "I can't beat the Khitans. There are people in the Zhou army who have weapons, and only those who join the army can beat the Khitans."

The thin general said: "What if the Zhou army can't defeat the Liao army?"

Zhao Hu: "..."

The skinny general said calmly: "If the military orders are useless and the military discipline is lax and chaotic, then they will be a mob. They will definitely not be able to defeat the Liao army who has been riding and shooting all year round." He turned his head to look at Zhang Ying with a look of respect on his face, "The envoy Zhang is the envoy of the capital of Youzhou. Why?"

Zhao Hu was at a loss.

The skinny general said: "Today, the son was our chief general before, and he told the soldiers a very simple truth. If the court is not righteous and puts the overall situation first, and does not first relieve the worries of the future, it will not be able to spare no effort to deal with the enemy of the Liao Kingdom. We want revenge, we want to recover the lost land, and we must win the battle. If we can't beat it and rush to die, what's the point? It's not too late for a gentleman to take revenge."

Zhang Yingdao: "I will make it clear first, so you can figure out where you are going. Military law is ruthless, if you disobey military orders, who cares what hatred you have, and you will be severely punished if you don't recognize your relatives!"

At this moment, Zhao Hu clasped his fists and said, "Caomin is willing to serve the Huben army!"

"Have you figured it out?" Zhang Ying asked.

Zhao Hu said: "General Zhang said, I believe that the imperial army can fight, this is exactly where I want to go."

Zhang Ying said with a smile: "He is a man with a brain."

At this time, some soldiers came up with food, so Zhang Ying called for the ragged men outside to come in. For a while, everyone didn't say a word, just gobbled up the meal with cakes and soup.

...

Jin Ge and iron horse come to dream. In the quiet Hall of Encumbrance, Guo Shao had just taken a nap, and then he turned over frequently on the couch, with an expression on his face that was not calm at all.

It may not be regarded as a sequela of the war, but several years of fighting left Guo Shao with too many memories. From time to time, he would hear the sound of horseshoes and fighting in his dreams. Even in the quiet and safe Tokyo Imperial Palace, holding a brush to work and rest every day, his heart still couldn't calm down!

He had a nightmare, he didn't know what battlefield he was on, and he didn't know what happened. What I saw was blood-colored, the blood-red setting sun hung on the top of the mountain, and blood was everywhere.

The remnant flag was drooping not far away, and he saw a pair of bulging eyes, ah...the man was screaming, full of fear. He saw the knife edge on the flesh and blood, it was dark red and soft, it made people twitch, and the fishy smell made people sick...

Guo Shao woke up suddenly, his heart was still pounding, he sat up slowly and let out a long breath. Then I heard the chirping of insects outside the screen window. In midsummer, even though there were fewer plants in the palace, some insects were still chirping in the corner. Then I smelled a faint fragrance, the smell wafting from the bronze incense tripod.

Guo Shao wiped his forehead with his sleeve, only to realize that he was sweating. It was a day in the sun, and it was quite hot at night. He got up and sat down in a chair just as tea was brought in. He turned his head and saw that it was Sanmei Dong, and asked, "Where's Yulian?"

Dong Sanmei said: "Sister Yulian has gone to do her needlework, and let the slaves take care of Your Majesty."

!!