The lives of the people on the border are bleak.

Especially in these years of war.

It is better to be a peaceful dog than a troubled world. This sentence may seem too sighing, but it is also the truest portrayal of the war.

Except for military maniacs and businessmen who make war money, few people like war.

Especially for men in the age of cold weapons, war means going to war, serving in conscription, and even equivalent to death.

This is a fate that cannot be escaped and struggled with, and unless the war ends or you die, it will become an endless nightmare that will follow you for the rest of your life.

"Isn't there a length of service?" Xie Xiaoman was taking a sip of hot tea, the tea was not delicious, but fortunately, it was warm, and it was better than nothing.

"It's lengthening almost every year. Moreover, even if they return to their hometowns, the countryside will be recruited again under various names, endlessly. Xing Ge explained.

"What about you? How many years have you been in the army? ”

"Twenty-seven years."

"How old are you?"

"Forty-one."

Forty-one...... Twenty-seven years...... In other words, Xing Ge has spent most of his life fighting as a soldier.

"Even if you become a soldier, you don't necessarily go to war, do you?"

"I, the monarch of Zhao State, am martial and easy to kill...... In my life, I have fought more than 60 battles. Xing Ge said these words, very peculiar, and did not reveal too much emotion, "The last time I returned to my hometown was about eight years ago, and I asked at that time, there are more than a dozen brothers who grew up together in the township, and all of them are dead. Only I am alive. ”

Only I am alive.

Xie Xiaoman repeated these five words in his heart, only feeling heavy. It was as if the entire wall of the tiger's mouth was pressed against her heart, making people unable to breathe.

She looked into the distance, slightly in a daze. So I saw the rickety back walking in the distance, it was three old people, carrying heavy farm tools and walking towards the city in rags.

"When all the people in the prime of life go to war, who else will farm?" Xie Xiaoman looked at the old men who were even a little trembling in their footsteps, "Is it up to them to plant it?" ”

"They, and children, and women." Xing Ge's eyes were deep. It looks like the Yangtze River frozen by glaciers.

"How can such a labor force ensure the normal output of food?"

"The court doesn't care, we need to pay enough taxes every year. If it was not enough, the court would confiscate the land. ”

"How much is the tax?"

"Three taxes and two."

Three taxes and two are three points of output, and two points must be paid as taxes. That's close to 60 percent tax. The rest of the grain. Is it really enough to feed a family?

"Why don't you run? Since this is the case, why do you want to stay in Zhao State? ”

"Run? Where to run? Xing Ge laughed, laughing a little sarcastically, "In the whole world, where is it not like this?" Anyway, they are going to die, and it is a good choice to die in their hometown. ”

Xie Xiaoman was silent, speechless.

"Or from the fifteenth north defense river, then to the forty west camps. When I went, I was wrapping my head with my head. When he returned, he was still on the side...... You don't hear it, the Han family is two hundred states in Shandong. Thousands of villages are born. Even if there are healthy women who hoe and plow, there is nothing to ...... in Hesheng Longmu"

Xie Xiaoman groaned, his voice was very soft, but it was enough to reach Xing Ge's ears.

Xing Ge grinned, as if he was laughing, and as if he was crying.

"Faith knows that it is evil to give birth to a man, but it is better to give birth to a girl. Giving birth to a daughter still has to marry a neighbor, and giving birth to a boy is buried with a hundred grasses. You don't see, Qinghai head, no one has collected the white bones in ancient times. The new ghost is annoyed and the old ghost is crying, and the sky is cloudy and rainy, and the wet voice is chirping......"

Xie Xiaoman chanted in a low voice, and did not sigh. Because the sorrow is too thick and too deep, a sigh cannot be discharged at all.

Xing Ge choked up after all.

His muffled voice was buried in the rain, fluttering and scattered, no different from a human being.

The lady of the tea shop also cried bitterly, not knowing whether she remembered his son or her husband.

"Huh! Cholera at such a time! It's really a good thing to kill! ”

A shout pierced the dense sound of rain and whistled with the sound of the whip.

The voice came from behind, and Xing Ge and the man happened to be face to face, but at this time, he didn't have time to stop the horsewhip that the man swung, and only widened his eyes.

Xie Xiaoman didn't look back or move.

She still looked at the lingering rain one step away, and the picture of the fine rain falling on the surface was very beautiful, and the light rain stained the ground, and instantly melted and melted. It's really beautiful.

What's more, her thoughts are still stuck in Qinghaitou, where "the sky is cloudy and rainy, and the wet sound is chirping", and she doesn't like to be disturbed.

She heard the whip coming from behind her, and she didn't intend to turn back.

But she wasn't going to take it like this, so she moved her fingers.

The vine grew rootless, instantly clinging to the entire torso of the man behind him, and also entangled the momentum of the horsewhip, leaving it awkwardly stuck in mid-air, unable to go further.

Xie Xiaoman still didn't look back, she kept recalling this Du Fu's "Soldier Chariot Travel" in her heart, and her mood was slightly confused.

"I didn't like Du Fu's poems very much. I always felt that his poems were too sad and desolate, but only now did I know that even if he was a poet, what he could write was only a corner. Xie Xiaoman smiled weakly.

She didn't care about the people behind her. As for the reason, of course it's simple. Just as an elephant doesn't care about a tiny shell, Xie Xiaoman doesn't have the same knowledge as such a small person.

Xie Xiaoman was not the kind of person who cared much about the thoughts of others, not to mention, now that she is muttering in the lamenting words of "Soldier Chariot Travel", she will not have much energy to care about those clowns who jump off the beam.

However, she didn't care, but Xing Ge and the others next to the tea shop had to care.

As a person who has seen this kind of divine power, Xing Ge's ability to bear it in his heart is somewhat better. But he has been a soldier in Hukou Town for almost three years, and of course he knows which kind of person this person is wielding a horsewhip and speaking out, and his face can't help but be a little blue at this time.

The shopkeeper of the tea shop was a middle-aged woman, the last one, she was still crying because of the poems sung by Xie Xiaoman, but at this moment, her eyes widened in panic, her legs were weak, and she could barely support her weight.

As for the person who was trapped by the vines, it was difficult to have any superfluous physical reactions. After all, the torso and limbs were immobilized, and only the mouth, tongue and eyes were left to move freely. But in fact, there wasn't much sound behind Xie Xiaoman, after all, he was scared for a while, and the entire mental state of the "victim" was still in a state of panic, except for a pair of eyes that began to be bloodshot and hands that began to feel cold, he couldn't say a word.

His attendants are even more cowardly, where there is any meaning of the Savior's heart. One of them was so frightened that he planted himself directly from the stool, and the other two drew their swords from their waists, but with a clink, one of them fell to the ground with a trembling hand.

Such a scene is really embarrassing.

Xing Ge looked at the familiar face wrapped in vines behind Xie Xiaoman, and thought of something, and the expression on his face became more and more exciting and embarrassing.

Only Xie Xiaoman didn't feel where the word "embarrassing" came from, she quietly looked at the tea foam at the bottom of the tea bowl, listened to the sound of drizzle outside, and sighed softly.

Not far away, inside and outside the city gate, people entering and exiting are still passing through. It was almost time to close the city gates, and the pace of the farmers who were rushing to the road was much faster.

Few people have noticed this. First, it is because the tea house is covered by a shed, blocking the view of people in the distance. Second, because of the horse tied next to the tea shed, the people of Hukou Town also knew that there were people they couldn't afford to mess with here, so where did they dare to do more?

Wearing gold and silver is not a complete exaggeration, there are really not many people in this world who gilt the saddle, but this one in front of him is like this. What's even more powerful is that the stool still has a shining silver light, coupled with the fringed hem of the saddle cushion, it simply decorates a horse to the extreme of vulgarity.

However, the owner of the horse naturally does not think so, and one of his usual hobbies is to find out how to dress the horse up more beautifully and at first glance.

He liked gold and silver, and he liked horses, so he put them all together, and it was convenient.

This young master famously said, "Only when I step on the silver can my feet feel soft and comfortable." As a result, his stirrups have always been made of all-silver, although the silversmith has never been able to figure out how this hard metal can be worthy of the four big words "soft and comfortable".

But this young master thought so, and he did so.

This is a truth mixed in Hukou Town, and the words of this young master are much more important than the holy decree of Emperor Lao Tzu.

One thing that the people in the town still know is the quirks of this young master.

The young master liked to drink tea in the tattered tea shop at the city gate, especially in the afternoon, when it was close to dusk, he would often appear here.

Because of this master's strange temper, everyone avoided it at this moment, and no one dared to provoke it. So now in this tea shop, there are only this young master, his attendants, and Xie Xiaoman and Xing Ge.

It's an interesting situation, and if no one speaks, it seems that it will continue to be so inexplicably deadlocked.

"Thank you...... Wife. Xing Ge finally felt unbearable and took the lead in speaking. After thinking about it for a while, he came up with such a title.

He glanced at the "vegetative man" behind him, and tried his best to comb the expression on his face peacefully: "The one behind you is the eldest son of the squire's family in Hukou Town, and he is also a figure with a face in the town, you can see ......"

"Oh." Xie Xiaoman slowly came back to his senses, a little dazed, "What character?" ”

"Ahh I said how to look familiar! Isn't this the old Xing boss who used to defend the city here! The attendant, who had fallen from the stool before, jumped up from the ground as if he had discovered some treasure trove.

"Boss Xing! Who is this person you are following! Please raise your noble hand and let our family Langjun go! Otherwise, a few of us will all suffer! (To be continued......)