The sun shone in from the west through the alleyway, and a shadow on the ground was stretched long. Yao Erniu drooped his head and walked home, looking at the shadow on the ground, looking lonely. The high-spirited shouts of the battle array, the exciting charge, flashed in my mind; The noisy atmosphere, the brave mood of the blood rushing, gradually disappeared with the wind in this dilapidated alley, as if in a distant place.

When Yao Erniu got home, his cousin greeted him and talked excitedly about the shop. He didn't listen.

When he came back, he married his cousin as a daughter-in-law and held a banquet...... In the past, Yao Erniu was thinking about being rich, and when he came back to marry his cousin who gave him a purse when they were separated, he would let the family have something to eat. Now that everything is satisfied, there is a shop and land, and there is money left, at least the mouths of the family who want to eat no longer worry about starvation; 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 hall, discussing how to find tenants, how to collect rent, and what business to do in the shop.

The cousin touched Yao Erniu: "What do you want to do?" ”

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

My cousin shook her head and said, "The harvest from farming is small, so it's better to do business in Tokyo." It is lighter to do business, and you don't have to work hard to look at the store. ”

Yao Erniu was silent, he didn't know what he would do or what he could do, and he also felt that it was not interesting to stay on the shop all day long, and he was very confused...... I think that when we were in the army, we did the great thing of attacking the city and destroying the country, and the enemy emperors were terrified under our horses' hooves; Thinking about it now, I don't know what use I have.

"I don't want to leave the Forbidden Army!" Yao Erniu said suddenly.

The cousin was stunned there, and after a while, he hurriedly persuaded: "Our family has land and property, and the battlefield is dangerous, why should my cousin go to work hard?" ”

Yao Erniu said seriously: "It's not so easy to die." There are 20,000 people in the left wing of the Tiger Ben army, and they have fought many battles in the south of the Yangtze River, and there are not many people in total, and not a single one of the twenty people has died. The salary of the forbidden army is high, and my military salary for one person is more than the rent collected for buying and selling, and it is not a reward! ”

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

…… The guards guarding the gate of the camp recognized Yao Erniu and took him to the camp office, where there were still one or twenty ragged people guarded outside the camp office, and Yao Erniu did not know who they were. Entering the room, a burly man was sitting in the upper position, which was the commander Zhang Jiankui, and there were some generals and three ragged men next to 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 immediately looked at him and asked, "To join the army is to sell your life, do you understand?" ”

"Figured it out." Yao Erniu nodded.

Zhang Jiankui ignored him and turned his head to look at a sturdy young man. The man was dirty and torn, his hair was stained with dirt and grass, and a strange smell came to his nose. Zhang Jiankui asked, "Where are the people?" ”

The strong man said: "Yizhou." ”

Zhang Jiankui asked again: "Where is Yizhou?" ”

The strong man said: "Zhao Shuyuan." ”

Zhang Jiankui asked him what his name was, and he said that his name was Zhao Hu. Zhang Jiankui asked him to take off his shirt, and the man obediently stripped off his dirty clothes. Zhang Jiankui's eyes looked at his half-naked body, nodded and said: "The foundation is good, the chest is big, the shoulders are round, the waist is thin, and it seems that he is also a person who can work." There is a stone on the threshold, you hold it up to Lao Tzu to see. ”

Zhao Hu didn't say a word, strode over and hugged the stone, "Hey! Hey......" shouted twice and didn't pick it up.

"Haha......" several generals laughed.

Zhao Hu looked embarrassed, and said with a red face: "I will definitely be able to hold this stone!" However, we walked from Hebei to Tokyo, asking for food along the way, and we were so hungry that we had no strength, so the general gave me a cake to eat and try again! ”

Zhang Jiankui's eyes moved down, and when he saw that Zhao Hu's feet were tied with some hay rags and ropes, he raised his hand and made a gesture, and his soldiers went to get food. Zhang Jiankui turned his head again and said in a deep voice: "Call Zhang Ying." ”

Zhang Ying is the military envoy of Youzhou (Dutou), the first emperor's northern expedition to the vicinity of Zhuozhou, Zhang Ying and a group of Han took the opportunity to rob the Khitan pasture horses, ran to join the Zhou army. His subordinates successively received many soldiers from northern Hebei...... Yizhou also belonged to the territory of Liao a few years ago, and Zhang Jiankui wanted Zhang Ying to check the identity of Zhao Hu and others.

Not long after, a round-headed man entered the camp office, and when he asked if Zhao Hu was Zhao Shuyuan's person, Zhang Ying suddenly patted his head: "The last general has a personal soldier who said that the name of his hometown is Zhao Shuyuan, and he called him over to ask." ”

Waiting for the soldier to walk in, he chatted with Zhao Hu enthusiastically after a while. "Isn't there a pond on the east side of your village?" "Yes, a few years ago, there was a new daughter-in-law, only a few days after passing the door, the laundry fell in and drowned......"

Zhang Jiankui listened to it with a smile for a while, and then said to Zhang Ying: "Those people will be handed over to you, and they will be settled according to the rules and registered and reported." With that, he ignored the people in the house and got up to leave. Everyone was busy clasping their fists, and the newcomer Zhao Hu also hugged his fists.

Seeing this, Zhang Ying nodded slightly, and said: "You have more than 20 people, and you can clearly explain that there are people who will stay first; After a while, the army will send you back to the local area, find relatives and friends in the township as guarantees, and sign the register with the magistrate, so don't lie...... Our Tiger Ben Army is the most elite men and horses in the Great Zhou, and it does not accept fugitives from the traitor department and idle green-skinned scoundrels.

Everyone is a miscellaneous soldier first, and those with good bones and high understanding have learned the rules and basic martial arts, and they will soon be promoted to war; Those who can't do it will be eliminated and go to Xiaying Tuntian. ”

"Hey!" Zhao Hu nodded vigorously.

"The left wing of our Tiger Ben Army has lost some people in the Southern Tang Kingdom, and we are about to replenish the troops, you are in a good time, otherwise it will be more difficult to enter the Tiger Ben Army in normal times." Zhang Yingdao, "Just now you said that you went from Hebei to Tokyo to join the army, why?" ”

Zhao Hu's face suddenly showed a look of shame and indignation, and his teeth gritted loudly: "The Khitan people destroyed my family, killed my father, and insulted me...... Kill the Khitans in the army to take revenge! ”

"Humph!" Zhang Ying didn't agree, but said coldly, "The forbidden army is not a place to avenge your personal revenge, you must obey military orders!" If you don't listen to the order, go into the battle and think you are fierce, just run around, get out of here! ”

Zhao Hu was stunned.

There was also a thinner general next to him, and his eyebrows were not so fierce, and he said kindly: "Zhao Hu, since you have a deep hatred, why don't you go to the Liao people to take revenge, 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, and only the army can beat the Khitans." ”

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

Zhao Hu: "......"

The thin military general said unhurriedly: "If the military order is not used, and the military discipline is lax and chaotic, it will be a rabble, and it will definitely not be able to defeat the Liao army that has been shooting with bows and horses all year round." He turned his head to look at Zhang Ying, with a look of respect on his face, "Zhang Junenvoy is the military envoy of Youzhou, and most of his people are Han'er near Youzhou, and they have suffered from the sins of the Liao people. However, we fought Shu and Southern Tang, and we were not in a hurry to deal with Liao for a few years, and the soldiers were still desperate, why do you know why? ”

Zhao Hu looked dazed.

The thin military general said: "Today, he was our chief general before, and he told the soldiers a very simple truth. If the imperial court is unrighteous and the overall situation is important, and if it does not relieve its worries first, it will not be able to spare all its strength to deal with the great enemy of Liao. If we want to take revenge, if we want to regain the lost territory, we must win, if we can't beat it recklessly and send it to death, what does it mean? It is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge for ten years. ”

Zhang Yingdao: "I will make it clear first, and I will figure it out as soon as possible." Military law is ruthless, if you disobey military orders, who cares what deep hatred you have, and the six relatives will be severely punished if they don't recognize it! ”

At this time, Zhao Hu hugged his fists and said: "The grass people are willing to serve the Tiger Ben Army!" ”

"Got it?" Zhang Ying asked.

Zhao Hu said: "General Zhang's words, I think the forbidden army can fight, this is exactly where I want to defect." ”

Zhang Ying smiled: "It's a person with a brain." ”

At this time, a soldier brought food up, and Zhang Ying called someone to call the ragged men outside to come in. For a while, everyone didn't say a word, and holding the cake and holding the soup was a gobble up.

……

Jin Ge Iron Horse fell asleep. In the quiet Hall of Grace, Guo Shao just took a nap, and people turned over frequently on the couch, and the expression on his face was not calm at all.

Maybe it's not the sequelae of the war, but the conquest for several years has left too many memories for Guo Shao. From time to time, he would hear the sound of horses' hooves and the sound of fighting in his dreams, even in the quiet and safety of the Tokyo Imperial Palace, holding a brush every day, but his heart still couldn't calm down!

He had nightmares, he didn't know where he was on the battlefield or what had happened. What I saw was blood-colored, and the blood-red remnant sun hung on the top of the mountain, and there was blood everywhere.

The remnant flag was hanging not far away, and he saw a pair of bulging eyes, ah...... The man was screaming and full of fear. He saw the knife on the flesh, dark red and soft, which made people's hearts twitch, and the fishy smell made people sick to their stomach......

Guo Shao woke up suddenly, his heart was still pounding, and he slowly sat up and let out a long breath. I heard the "chirping" of insects outside the screen window, and in the middle of summer, even if there were fewer plants in the palace, there were still some insects 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 find that his sweat came out, the sun was shining all day today, and it was quite hot next night. He got up and sat down in a chair, when someone came in with tea. He turned his head to see that it was Dong Sanmei, so he asked, "Where is Yulian?" ”

Dong Sanmei said: "Sister Yulian went to do needlework, let the slave take care of Your Majesty." ”