It snowed for several days, and finally cleared. However, the snow on the ground has not melted, and as far as the eye can see, the four fields are white.

Zhu Gaoxu felt the cold wind and temperature on his face, and felt that the snow might not melt in the whole winter.

Nearly 10 days have passed since the Chinese army decided to continue its northward advance, and it is now mid-October.

The Ming army had almost no effective military supplies within a radius of thousands of miles, and the military food reserves on the return journey became less and less, and the soldiers had to eat dead horses to save military food consumption; The weather is very cold, and the night is simply dripping into ice, and the days are very difficult; The soldiers and horses are tired, and the officers and soldiers have walked about 3,000 miles since they set out on the expedition!

However, Zhu Gaoxu often inspected the battalions, believing that the Ming army still maintained considerable combat effectiveness and morale until now. The good generals and troops who fought with real swords and guns are indeed very able to endure hardships.

By the end of the evening, the armies had stopped marching and set up camp.

In the camp of the Chinese army, it is very lively tonight. There was a low lava platform in the middle of the camp, on which many sergeants were arranging the stage. Everyone was so cold that they were screaming white steam, but they were all in high spirits, and there was a commotion up and down the platform.

Almost all of the soldiers in the army are rough soldiers, but there is no shortage of skillful people among the men from all over the Ming Dynasty. The soldiers made a tree that looked like it was full of flowers out of dry branches, paper, and silk cloth, and made a grass hut and yard out of dry grass and soil, and decorated it. The stage looks colorful and very beautiful.

It was getting late, and the stage was lit with torches, and the fire was bright for a while. Countless soldiers lined up under the stage, and everyone was busy shoveling the snow, putting on felt blankets, and lighting fires. People gathered around the stage to prepare for the play.

The camp was very lively, and many people were talking about what kind of play they would sing tonight, whether it was a southern opera or a northern opera.

Not long after, Zhu Gaoxu, who was wearing a dragon suit and a coat, also came to the crowd surrounded by civil and military officials with the virtuous lord and Duan Xuehate. The soldiers stood up one after another to salute, and Zhu Gaoxu walked all the way, raising his hand to make a gesture down, and said, "No courtesy, no courtesy." ”

He looked at the surrounding situation and smiled at Qi Tai beside him: "It's a good job, it's time to treat the army with wine." ”

Qi Tai said: "Mobei can't find wine, and when the army returns to the court to ask for merit, there will be a shortage of wine and meat." ”

After Zhu Gaoxu and the others took their seats on the stool in front, the military musicians came to the edge of the stage with their musical instruments in hand, and played the tune on the ground. Thousands of soldiers nearby looked at the stage. The days of marching and camping were too boring, and no matter what the drama was singing tonight, everyone seemed to be happy.

After a while, a young man wearing a military uniform and a helmet walked onto the stage. At first, people thought he was a sergeant who was going to set up the stage, but the guy looked at the crowd and opened his mouth to speak.

His voice was round and very loud: "Daniel Zhang, the former guard military household of Datong Province, lives in Weizibao, and is either Tuntian or Suwei on weekdays. Today, I was not in Weizibao, because I was ordered to deliver a letter for the hundreds of households in Shangfeng, and went to Datong Mansion City. No, I just came out of the city......"

"Good! Good! In the crowd under the stage, someone quickly cheered.

Zhu Gaoxu watched the play seriously without changing his face. When he heard the atmosphere around him, he immediately felt that the soldiers' reaction to this "drama" was even better than expected!

The little student above can't sing, and he speaks in the vernacular; The accent is Shanxi dialect, but the words are not in dialect, so that everyone can understand it.

Although this "drama" is not as interesting as the drama, the appearance is a familiar military identity, and it is also very down-to-earth. Most of the officials present were military households, and they did not pick the skills of this play very skillfully.

The little student on the stage is also quite talented, and his movements are also very similar. He put his palm between his eyebrows, made a look of lookout, and said, "Ouch, it's not early!" I have to hurry as soon as possible, so that I can go back to Reed Fort as soon as possible. ”

When he had finished speaking, he walked away from the platform as if he had left the place in a hurry.

Next came to the stage two women, both of whom were palace maids beside Zhu Gaoxu. A woman with double sideburns, a red, green, and green jacket skirt, and a pink face with powder, looks like a girl from a wealthy family, and she is also very beautiful.

The other looked older with his hair tied and a cloth scarf, a bloated dark placket, and a face that had been wiped with something.

As soon as the young lady came up, she closed her eyes, leaned over to smell the paper flowers, and said with a smile: "This plum blossom is so fragrant!" ”

The woman behind her said, "Miss, let's go back quickly, in case we can't rush home before dark, the master will scold me again." ”

Facing the crowd, the little lady also started the words in the vernacular: "The slave Feng family, the boudoir name Chunhan, is the woman of Fengjiazhuang in Datong City." There are 100 acres of fertile land at home, and there are shops in the city. Although there is a little chill today, it is rare to have a bright spring, and many families have traveled to the spring. The slave family was nostalgic for the weeping willows by the river and the flowers in the mountains, and they were separated from their families for a while, so they rushed home...... Yikes! ”

The little lady who called herself Chun Han snorted, stretched out her hand to cover her head and said, "It's raining!" ”

The woman next to her complained: "The sun was in the sky just now, and it rained in the blink of an eye, strange weather!" ”

"Chunhan" looked up for a moment, looked back and said: "The rain is getting heavier and heavier, there seems to be a house over there, let's go over and hide from the rain first, and then leave when the rain stops for a while." ”

"That's it." Woman.

The two women, with their skirts in their hands, ran around towards the hut.

At this time, the young soldier "Daniel Zhang" also came on the field. He ran with the two women to the hut. Daniel Zhang and Chunhan stopped, looked at each other, and turned away. Chunhan lowered his head after avoiding it, grabbed the hem of his jacket and jacket, and seemed a little scared and a little shy.

Daniel Zhang looked up at the sky for a while, and then slapped his sleeve as if he was drenched in the rain. He took two more steps toward the two women.

Chun Han glanced back at him, took two steps back, and exclaimed, "What are you going to do?"

Daniel Zhang stood still, stretched out his hand to make a soothing movement, and straightened his chest and said, "Don't be afraid, lady." I am a sergeant of the Ming Dynasty official army, and the general in the army often says, our duty is to protect the land and the people. At the end of last year, the Tatars entered the army, and we lost many brothers in order to defend the land. Today, when I meet two people hiding from the rain, I will not be indecent; Otherwise, how could we face the souls of the fallen brothers in heaven? ”

"Good! Good ......" The crowd burst into applause, slightly interrupting the drama on stage.

Zhu Gaoxu also slapped his hands with great satisfaction, and he turned his head to Qi Tai, the secretary of the military department behind him, and said: "Even illiterate military households can understand this play." ”

Qi Tai nodded thoughtfully, clasped his fists and bowed, "Holy Mingjian." ”

When the shouting in the crowd stopped for a while, one person on the stage sang a small song. First, Chunhan sang a song, the lyrics are very simple, the content of the lyrics is roughly to praise Daniel Zhang's heroic and decent martial arts, and also recognize righteousness. The lyrics were written by Hou Hai, and the tune of this little song is "A Good Jasmine Flower" (made by Xu Da, King of Zhongshan)......

There are other tunes in the back, some of which are composed by the virtuous and virtuous masters, and the lyrics are all written by military Chinese officers and changed by Zhu Gaoxu to be more straightforward and easy to understand. The music of the Ming Dynasty, whether it is a drama or a small song, has a very slow rhythm of words; Coupled with the simplicity of the lyrics, it is easy for everyone to understand.

Even Zhu Gaoxu gradually entered the play, and he was very absorbed in the story on the stage, and from the acquaintance, acquaintance, admiration, and longing of Daniel Zhang and Chunhan, he followed the play.

The whole scene was performed for about half an hour, and finally came to the sad parting scene.

"Chunhan" faced the officials and said movingly: "Although the son of the Li family in Datong Mansion is talented and beautiful, the matchmaker praises him a lot in front of his father. But the slave's heart is ...... Fortunately, the slave's father and mother are reasonable and must be able to understand their daughter's ambitions, and their daughter only loves heroes. The slave family should not dissuade Daniel Zhang from going to the northern expedition, only by letting him serve the country and follow the holy northern expedition to Tatar, can the villagers live and work in peace and contentment, and no longer have their families ruined. ”

After she finished speaking, she picked up a pen and said, "The slave family will write to Daniel Zhang and let him understand the slave family's heart." ”

When Chun Han read the letter (Hou Haizuo), the eyes of many soldiers in the firelight were shining, and they seemed to flash tears.

After Chunhan left, a team of sergeants came to the stage, and "Daniel Zhang" was among them. Daniel Zhang took a letter and looked down, looked up and said, "Under the command of the Duke of Ba, I was ordered to go to the Xuqu River. You must kill the enemy bravely and be loyal to the Ming Dynasty! ”

At this moment, someone shouted: "The enemy is charging into battle!" ”

Then another group of sergeants rushed over in captured Tatar armor, waving a flurry of swords and guns on both sides, as if in an opera. In the sound of gongs and drums, everyone gradually withdrew.

Soon came the last scene, Chun Han took a pipa and played and sang a small song: "The plum fragrance is full of post roads, and the wild geese are soaring." Chun Han leaned in the pavilion and looked at the direction of the expedition. Recalling the first time I saw in the rain, Hongyan sent Jiao Niang to think. Warriors are loyal to the monarch and protect the country, and the spring cold will not forget ......"

The tune is written by the virtuous master, and the tune is simple and beautiful. When Chunhan sang for the second time, many soldiers in front of him also sang along, and their voices became louder and louder.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but turn his head and looked at Hou Haidao: "Starting tomorrow night, ask them to go to each military camp to perform once." ”

Hou Hai hugged his fists and said in the singing of the soldiers: "The ministers obey the order!" ”

The people around him seemed to be unsatisfied, and Zhu Gaoxu had already left the camp with the virtuous lord and civil and military officials.

When he returned to the big tent of the Chinese army, the voice of the virtuous lord asked softly: "Holy Lord, the concubine body heard that there is really a person Daniel Zhang, is the thing in the play true?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and muttered: "Since it's a play, how can you take it seriously?" ”