Lianzhu arrow, holding several arrows between the fingers of the right hand is not light, and it is necessary to pull the string steadily, which is really difficult to practice. Zhao Xingde also practiced hard repeatedly before he learned this skill.

What Zhao Xingde didn't know was that Yuwen Bingxin, who taught him the skill of five consecutive beads, was shocked when he saw that he actually used a three-stone strong bow to send five consecutive beads. It is very rare to have a sharpshooter who can open a three-stone bow, and the skill of the continuous bead arrow requires great stability of strength, Zhao Xingde can do this, and Yuwen Bingxin finally boils down to talent.

"From now on, you will be my person in the Shadow Army." Zhou Yuanzhong patted him on the shoulder with a smile and said.

Zhao Xingde bowed down to thank the general for encouragement, but when he lowered his head, a wry smile flashed on his face. Only then did he realize that he had gone to the wrong place for the examination, and that the school field where the Tiger Wings Army recruited new sergeants was in another place. Chen Angnai, the commander of the Tiger Wing Army, is the emperor's younger brother, and the identity of the commander of the Tiger Wing Army in the past dynasties is extremely valuable, and only by holding this position can he suppress the hereditary noble children in the army. However, Chen Ang, the king of Yong, was humble and rushed to hear that Zhou Yuanzhong wanted to elect Zhao De to the Chengying camp, and immediately agreed.

The matter has come to this point, and Zhao Xingde can only hope that he will be able to retire safely in a few years. In the territory of the Xia Kingdom, except for a few cities governed by the Chamber of Commerce, the system of sergeants leading the shade household was implemented, and the whole country was like an arm, and the order was prohibited. There is also a system of joint sitting, and fugitives who do not have household registration will be accused wherever they go. It's just like when Shang Ying was persecuted and fled in the Qin State, but no one took him in.

"Brother Zhao, in the future, you and I will be in the same camp." Jian Cheng bowed to Zhao De.

Zhao De also bowed his hand and said, "Brother Jian, I don't know what the rules are in this Chengying Camp?" What are the benefits? He had a puzzled look on his face, "Why are so many sergeants vying to be the first to vote?" ”

Jian Cheng said with a smile: "If you don't have military merits, where do you get to be a knight." Chengying is the head of my camp with the most frequent battles in Great Xia, and if you want to fight for military merits, it is naturally the best place to go. ”

Remembering merit and entering the knight is the founding ancestral system of Great Xia. It is a pyramid-shaped structure, and according to the records of the Prime Minister's Office, less than one-twentieth of the country's population has a knighthood. The rest of the countrymen are all shady households without titles. The career only asks about ability, not about background. The children of the shade can strive for a career through various skills such as serving in the army, going to school, and crafts. There are also many children of scholars, who have no long skills and cannot be promoted to scholars, so they cannot get knighthoods and fall into the shadows.

All sergeants, scribes, and craftsmen have at least the lowest rank of "duke". If Zhao Xingde really joined the Tiger Wing Army, then he would be a scholar with the title of "Gongshi". And joining the Chengying Battalion, which is known as the elite of the Forbidden Army and the most frequent battles, only needs to obtain one or two military merits to obtain the title of "Material Officer". A veteran of the Chengying Battalion, the knighthood is not under the "Shangzai".

The hereditary titles include the founding prince and the founding marquis, and these two levels of titles are real hereditary nobles, not only with titles but also fiefs, and not for those who have made great contributions to the country. Below it is Shangqing, Yaqing, Shangda, Dafu, Dafu four-level titles, there is no fief, although it can be hereditary, but the title is reduced from generation to generation, the eldest son of Shangqing can only be named Yaqing, and the grandson can only be a doctor. Further down are the five non-hereditary titles of Chehou, Chief, Shangzao, Material Officer, and Gongshi. The Xia State system is to record merit and enter the knighthood, the higher the title, the more lords, and the more shaded people can be recruited.

Jian Cheng's ancestor Jian Cheng was a centurion who followed the founding emperor to fight the country, and then the family fell in the middle of the road, great-grandfather Jian Wei could not pass the selection of the sergeant, fell into the shade, but his grandfather Jian You relied on the family archery skills, and successfully promoted to the sergeant again, with the title of "material officer" to retire, his father Jian Bi revitalized the family reputation, when he retired, the official to the military academy captain, knighted "thoroughly". Now Jian Cheng is the ten-captain of the Tiger Wing Army, but because he has no military merits, he is only a "duke" title.

Another function of the military merit reward system is to make wealth and materials flow to those regiments that have fought frequently and made many meritorious contributions in the form of knights, and indirectly subsidize the losses of those border states and counties that have fought against the barbarians for many years. It also attracts a large number of traders to transport various materials to the border.

After Jian Cheng explained in detail to Zhao Xingde the rules of military merit, he paused and said: "Most of the battles carried out by the Chengying Battalion are military affairs. According to the military system of our dynasty, the spoils obtained from the detachment do not need to be handed over to the government treasury, but are only distributed according to the rules among the sergeants participating in the battle, and this is an opportunity to make a fortune. Although the people who went to the Chengying camp never talked about the loot, we all guessed that these guys were very rich. ”

Zhao Xingde nodded slightly and asked, "Is it really just for the reward and silver money?" "The so-called independent detachment of military affairs is actually a lone army. It was supposed to be a drudgery that everyone avoided, it was hard and dangerous, and even if there were some rewards and extra money, it was not worth the rush of these sergeants.

Jian Cheng smiled, approached Zhao De, and said in a low voice, "Of course it's not just that. Detachment of military affairs is the easiest to get ahead. In operations above the size of the corps, most military affairs are death orders. The order to dispatch the army was simply worded, such as 'eliminate a certain general of the enemy country', 'destroy a certain group of horse thieves', 'protect a certain caravan', and so on. There is a lot of leeway in how to complete the task. ”

"The most important thing is," Jian Cheng lowered his voice and approached Zhao Xingde and said, "After completing the military affairs of the detachment, it is likely that the battle will be directly reported to the General's Mansion." He showed a yearning expression and sighed: "Think about it, when others are still struggling for qualifications in obscurity, the General's Mansion will remember your name, if there is a vacancy in the future, who will the military government give the opportunity?" ”

Zhao Xingde nodded and said in a low voice: "A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier." ”

"Brother Zhao said it well, that's exactly the case." Jian Cheng slapped his thigh, and the sergeants on the left and right all looked over to this side, and he smiled: "I heard you say just now that there are still family members in the pavilion, Brother Zhao should hurry up and ask for the allocation of the mansion to accommodate the family members." There are only a number of sergeants in the camp to be recruited, and they will soon go to the desert for training, and in the next few years, it will be difficult to take care of their families. ”

Zhao Xingde nodded silently, and when he heard that most of the "detachment military affairs" carried out by the Chengying Battalion, he guessed that there was such a thing.

After the two parted, Zhao Xingde returned to the pavilion and told Li Ruoxue about entering the Chengying camp by mistake.

Li Ruoxue frowned slightly, and said in a low voice: "As long as Yuan Zhi is safe and sound, everything is fine here as a concubine." Under the dim candlelight, a blush appeared on her face, and she suppressed her shame and slowly leaned her soft body into Zhao Xingde's arms.

The two of them leaned against each other, and through the thin clothes, Zhao Xingde also felt that Li Ruoxue was trembling slightly, and he whispered: "Ruoxue," his right hand gently stroked her hair. "Three years soon, five years at a slow, I will definitely leave the Chengying Camp." Zhao Xingde said softly, "At that time, there will be a lot of time to accompany you." ”

Li Ruoxue did not speak. When she fled from home with Zhao Xingde, she thought about everything that might happen, but she didn't regret it. "It would be nice to be able to stay in this moment forever." Her eyes were wet and foggy, and her eyes flickered slightly, pressing her head closer to his chest. On Zhao Xingde's right side, unconsciously, a little white dew was left.

The residence of the prime minister of Xia is not very wide, but it is extremely quiet and elegant. The prime minister's carriage stopped at the gate of the gate, and Liu Yi lowered his head and got out of the carriage. After reviewing the official documents today and going home after dark, Liu Yi couldn't help but feel a trace of guilt in his heart. He turned around and took out a delicate paper bag from the car, held it in his hand, and stepped inside.

Mrs. Lu Sanniang was already waiting at the door of the front hall, and when she saw Liu Yi, her eyes were full of joy, she took the gift box from his hand, and complained in a low voice: "It's a little late, you don't have to be like this." ”

Liu Yi gently stroked her shoulder and said softly, "Open it and take a look?" ”

Lu Sanniang lowered her head and said "um", her slender hand pulled the silk thread on the outside of the flower paper bag, and a glass bottle was exposed, under the candle flame, shining with crystal clear light, the bottle was a dark red liquid, and before the lid was opened, it had already exuded a fragrant fragrance, which made people intoxicated.

"Is it 'Wakaka Soul'?" Lu Sanniang exclaimed in surprise, this flower soul is a specialty of the Xia Kingdom, planted in a large area of the Western Regions, peonies, moons, lilies, roses, orchids and other flowers and herbs, when the flowers are in full bloom, crush the petals and throw them into the water, wait for a while, there will be a layer of light oil floating on the surface of the water, and then use special tools to collect it. To refine such a small bottle, craftsmen have worked hard, and more than 100,000 peonies are also needed. Merchants transported it to Chang'an, Luoyang, Bianliang, Jinling, Samarkand, and Dongying, and it was immediately worth 10,000 gold, and it had a price but no market, and it was not available to people who were not rich and noble. Even if Lu Sanniang was originally known as the "White Peony" Luoyang Oiran, many wealthy businessmen and tycoons spent a lot of money for her, and they rarely used this kind of treasure.

After the surprise, Lu Sanniang raised her head, looked at Liu Yi's gentle smile, and said in a low voice: "Why did Xianggong give me such a valuable thing." She was dressed in an elegant skirt and a small jacket of a brocade mouse, and although she was nearly forty years old, her face was flushed, as if she had returned to the time of a shy girl.

"Lady must have forgotten," a trace of tenderness flashed in Liu Yi's eyes, "Twenty years ago, when you and I first met. "Time flowed back to the years of war and chaos, and the young general picked up the delicate singer by the waist, whipped his horse and left Luoyang together." In the past 20 years, I have been busy with military and political affairs, and I owe a lot to my wife, and I have nothing to repay. Liu Yi's tone carried a hint of apology.

Two years ago, the official became the prime minister, and the lord worshiped the Marquis of Yan, but in the eighteen years, the time when the couple got together was less than 300 days.

Lu Sanniang's eyes were already covered with a layer of mist, holding the gift in her hand, and choked up: "It's too serious." For a while, he fell into Liu Yi's arms, sobbed softly, and after a long time, he raised his head and said in a low voice: "I am fortunate to serve the minister, and I have no regrets about my concubine." ”

Liu Yi sighed, gently stroked her shaved shoulders, and carefully hid the occasional flower hair of the beauty in the dark clouds and temples. Flowers bloom and break, the years are fleeting, leaving the lingering fragrance like the soul of flowers.