After the Chinese New Year's Eve, the 22nd New Year of Xingqian was ushered in. For people in the mainland, as early as a month ago, they began to prepare for the New Year, after eating Laba rice, they will do the New Year, after a year of hard work, they will treat themselves and their families on this special day.

However, it was a somewhat tedious New Year for the soldiers who were on the front line. Because Jiannu does not have a special penchant for pork, there are not many pigs here. This also directly leads to the fact that this New Year, they cannot eat large pieces of "big meat" as in the past. But there is enough wine to drink - Andijan itself has several wineries, because the front line can manage enough wine.

On this day of the New Year, in and around the city, the soldiers who were not on duty drank until the evening, where they chatted and drank wine and ate meat. The topic of conversation is often also the longing for family.

After resting for 20 days, I felt more and more bored, and I missed my hometown and my relatives more and more.

Yang Sen could clearly hear the brutal nonsense of the heralds in the next room.

"Ah, I miss my relatives every festive season, I really want to go home during the New Year!"

"Yes! I don't know what my wife is doing now......"

"Haha, you kid, you don't have to worry about this! There's a female groom to take care of it! ”

"you, my wife is very virtuous, she is looking forward to me going back from morning to night, and I ask the Buddha to bless me when I go to the temple all day long......"

"Haha, from so many tens of thousands of miles, you know a fart, maybe she's going to meet the female godhusband, don't you see what is written in the book, it's all to steal people in the temple...... By the way, when was the last time your wife wrote to you? I haven't written a letter in a month, right? ”

Troublemakers and jokers come from next door from time to time. Together, the brethren are always like this, making all kinds of jokes. What Pan Jinlian and what Ximenqing are often jokes used by the brothers to ridicule each other.

In this way, they spent the New Year, and as soon as the holiday was over, the fighters became a little restless - there were no letters from relatives, no newspapers and condolence bags, no news. So all kinds of gossip immediately spread. After all, this kind of thing itself is a little abnormal.

Some people say that the scattered Jiannu attacked the rear convoy, and not only the military supplies were destroyed in large quantities, but the mail convoy was also destroyed in the fighting, so everyone did not receive letters from relatives and condolences from the rear. In this way, the news spread vividly, as if it were true, and the news spread very quickly, and soon reached the point where everyone knew about it, but no one could distinguish the truth from the false, and it was precisely because it was difficult to distinguish the truth from the false, and the news disappeared by itself unconsciously.

Soon after, news came that the troops might be transferred immediately, but their whereabouts were unknown. To be sure, it was certainly not a triumphant return, after all, the war was not over.

In short, the transfer is certain, and the basis could not be simpler: the sick and wounded who are hospitalized, along with the minor ones who are about to be discharged, are being sent to Andijan, which is located in the rear, in batches.

The wounded and sick are being evacuated, this is indeed a fact. In the field hospital in the city, rows of horse-drawn carriages were parked every day, and the wounded wore white cotton clothes and hats, and sat in the carriages, which drove in rows to the rear.

The wounded looked with envy at the soldiers who were sneaking around the tavern, looking curiously at the street they had first passed. They haven't had time to wander the streets yet. It's time to get out of here.

Soon, news came that the transfer of troops was a real thing, but before the transfer, everyone thought that it would be best to receive a letter from their families, and in order to meet the ardent hopes of the brothers, the troops decided to send someone to the rear to contact the transportation department.

At this time, it was decided that the remains of 63 people would be escorted to the rear by the military monks, and then sent back to the interior along with the bones of the other troops, and two soldiers would be sent to serve as escorts and set off with the military monks. So the army sent people and the group to Andijan to look for the letters that had been sent. Yang Sen and Tian Guochuan received this order, which was obviously a very good errand, after all, compared to this small city, Andijan was a big city. They can take the opportunity to relax there.

Early in the morning of the fourth day of the first lunar month. The two set off from the camp and went on the road with the bones, and Yang Sen, who served as a guard, was responsible for monitoring the loading of several people's cars, these so-called "people's husbands" were not natives, but surrendered Jiannu, most of them were ordinary people, and they even escaped the military service of Jiannu when they cultivated the land in the countryside. That's why they were conscripted as civil husbands. They were only provided with two dry meals a day, and for each week, they were given a bucket of miscellaneous grains – the food they needed to feed their families. All the land was confiscated to the officials, and when they lost their land, they could only rely on serving as the Ming army's people to support their families. The clothes of these men were all black, and all of them looked extremely docile, and we were always bent over and sour, and when we saw these officers and soldiers, we would always grin with a humble smile.

The carriage that was transported later was a painted white carriage, which was an ambulance carriage, and the urns of the fallen comrades were placed in the carriage covered with white cloth. Incense was offered on the urn. Two hours later, in the cold morning breeze, the carriage left the front line and drove along the dirt road to Andijan.

Along the way, the man who drove the carriage cautiously drove the carriage, always smiling there, but most of the time, he did not even dare to speak. Maybe it's the fear of causing some trouble if you say the wrong thing. As for the military monks, they sat silently on the carriage, Yang Sen on the horse felt a little bored, and looked around from time to time, many houses on the road have been turned into ruins, and there is a desolate scene along the way, these are the traces left by the army, many people's houses have been razed to the ground, and people are all under centralized care. to prevent them from colluding with the rout bandits.

Along the way, it was safe and sound, and there was no imaginary "rout" attack at all. After all, they had left with the wounded, escorted by cavalry along the way, and the usual rout would never dare to attack them.

In the evening of the next day, the group arrived in Andijan.

Compared with the wilderness of the front, Andijan undoubtedly seems to be very prosperous, and the streets are also very lively, but strict control is implemented at night, there are guards at various intersections, and cavalry teams come and go in the streets, this heavily guarded appearance is undoubtedly to tell others that this place is not as calm as imagined.

But even so, soldiers can still be seen wandering the streets in groups of three or five, buying all kinds of things. Because it was evening, the officials and soldiers were in groups to have fun in the city. The shops here are lined up one after another, teahouses, restaurants, one by one, these shops were built by military merchants, specializing in the front line to do business for the Ming officials and soldiers.

The so-called taverns, restaurants, and even baths...... In fact, they are all aimed at young and vigorous officers and soldiers, and those who come here are those who have been withdrawn from the front line to rest and recuperate after the battle. In the middle of the night, in front of the dimly lit tavern, there is a long line of horses of all colors, which is actually a women's branch, and drunken soldiers who want to enter in the middle of the night will also eat because it is "full".

Of course, while they were enjoying the rare calm, on both sides of the road, separated by barbed wire, you could see a lot of refugees, who were crammed into very narrow areas, with only a small amount of food to feed their hunger, and they were wandering on the road, huddled and trembling behind the barbed wire, looking at these "occupiers" with complicated eyes. They used to live like this, but overnight, everyone's lives changed.

The reason why they stand behind the barbed wire is nothing more than to exchange their current pitiful appearance for the compassion of these occupiers. Maybe someone was kind enough to give them a bag of biscuits or dry food.

Of course, more often than not, they're standing there hoping to make some deals with those people out there. They would exchange silver, jade, etc., for food, medicine, and other things needed in the camps, and then resell them at high prices in the camps.

Most of the time, though, people don't notice their presence.

In the temple, it will take two days for the military monks to complete the ashes, so Yang Sen and Tian Guochuan will have time to play.

For them who finally came in and entered the city, they naturally wouldn't just waste such an opportunity, of course they had to have a good time for a few days.

In recent times, Janssen has always felt that something is not quite right in his body. After checking into the hotel, he took a hot bath and slept comfortably in his bed. When he got up again, he took another bath, which was an extremely rare pleasure at the front, even if there was a place to take a bath at the front, but he couldn't take a comfortable bath. So he cherishes such an opportunity.

Lying in the wooden tub, Janssen squinted his eyes, enjoying the feeling of being immersed in hot water, and at that moment, he heard a coquettish voice.

"Uncle, the slave serves you to eat."

A woman in a thin white middle coat walked in, the woman's appearance was a bit similar to the Han people, but a little like the color eye, a girl who was a slave. Here, such women are very common, and they exchange their flesh and skin for money to support their families. For Jiannu, this is one of the few means they can make a living now.

She brought wine and food on a red lacquered wooden plate. Looking at the woman, Janssen, who was lying in the tub, thought of some legends. Not only can you eat high-end dishes and drink fragrant spirits here, but you also have a variety of charming women waiting for you. It was at this moment that Janssen suddenly rediscovered the value of life,

He felt like he had come back to life in that instant. The maid sat beside the bathtub, carrying the dishes for him, pouring wine for him, meek as a sheep, and even putting her arms around his neck, seducing him with a coquettish voice, and finally, after a pot of strong wine, he stood up, hugged the woman, and walked towards the bed amid the woman's screams......

When he woke up again, the exhausted Janssen recalled the previous experience, for him, it was all strange, and his mind still had the charm of a woman, but he knew that it was just an experience.

To the woman, he was just one of her many benefactors, and she had come here just to earn a little money and buy some food so that her family would not starve.

It's just a deal. That's all.

Redressed, military boots on the floor, when Yang Sen went down to the first floor, he could hear the cheerful music in the hall on the first floor, and even the boldly dressed, waistless dancers dancing there, they were dancing exotic belly dances, which was full of exotic atmosphere.

Even the rule of Jiannu did not destroy some things here, and even they magnified and carried forward some exotic entertainment, and after the arrival of the Ming official army, those merchants who accompanied the army immediately discovered the business opportunities. The dance performances in the halls of the tavern always provoke some thoughts from the men and make them earn more money.

Of course, more people are willing to indulge in alcohol.

Sitting in the corner of the tavern, drinking wine and leaning their heads against the wall, arguing fiercely about something, Janssen was deaf to the noise of the place, and he continued to think about his own thoughts, and felt deeply the preciousness of life.

But what about the brothers who have already died?

The dead easily lost their lives on the battlefield, it was a last resort, and no one wanted to die. And after their deaths, despite being revered by the people. But they can't enjoy the beauty of life here like themselves.

"Ahh Who would have thought that I was still alive, and I was lucky to be alive......"

Thinking of the brothers lost in the explosion, Yang Sen's whole body became depressed, and he thought of his previous experience, which was indeed a very good memory.

This is absolutely true.

The woman with the red lacquer plate before was enough for him to remember for a long time, and he will always remember the experience of having fun on this happy street, and remember everything here.

However, for the dead brothers, they can no longer enjoy the pleasures of life.

He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and sat there like that. Then he asked for a glass of wine. He gulped down his wine, numbing himself with the alcohol and stopping his somewhat chaotic thoughts.

While he was drinking, there was always a cheerful melody in his ears, the coquettish shouts of the dancing girls, and the laughter of the brethren echoing around him.

Feeling all this around him, he knew that soon he would have to say goodbye to it all. He will return to the front once again. Back among the brethren, the experience here was nothing more than an occasional indulgence on the battlefield.

"Since you're here, let's enjoy it."

At one point he held out his finger to a dancer not far away, and an indulgent smile flashed across his face......