September 20 of the second year of Chongzhen, the land of Liaodong is covered with snow, this year's snow is very early again, in the streets of the dungeon, the Taktan of the blue flag carries a basket full of grain to return home, he wears a bloated leather jacket, the hand is also shrunk in the sleeve, the fox fur hat is pressed very low, he stops after walking, grinds the brim twice with the sleeve, holds the hat steady, and then continues to walk home, the shoes step on the snow, making a creaking sound.

Behind him was Geshtu, a red-armoured soldier who was driving away two men and a Nikan woman from his house with a thick stick, screaming and cursing, all carrying heavy baskets containing carbon and grain. They were all emaciated, their bodies leaning forward, and their upper bodies were almost parallel to the ground.

Walking to the corner, the woman accidentally kicked on the protruding stone slab, a stumble fell to the ground, a grain bag in the basket also fell out, Geshtu threw up the stick and hit it, a Han man behind the woman saw this, cried, dropped the basket and pounced on the woman, helping her block the stick, Geshtu did not give up, and hit the two of them desperately, shouting and scolding while beating, "Kill you Han dog." The thin man had been beaten to the point that his mouth and nose were bleeding, and the woman was screaming and crying, trying to pull the man underneath her, but her strength could not pull it at all, and she just cried helplessly on the ground.

The other Bao Yi behind him cowered and hid to the side, Ge Shitu got up, and kicked at the standing Bao Yi, the Bao Yi screamed, and was kicked against the courtyard wall, and the mud courtyard wall shook slightly, and some snow fell in a slump.

Listening to the sound of sticks and cries, Taktan ignored it, continued to walk by himself, and when he arrived at his own door, he pushed open the firewood, his family's Baoyi had already come back from collecting firewood, and was piling firewood with a female Baoyi in the yard, the male Baoyi saw him and hurriedly came up and then carried the basket, this Baoyi was a young thin Han man, about 20 years old, with tattered clothes, tied to his body with an old quilt, stuffed with some ura grass, it seemed to be a bloated lama, and some tattered cloth towels were also tied on his head to keep out the cold, Even this couldn't resist the cold, his nose was red from the cold, and he kept running snot, and his two sleeves had been shiny by him. He laboriously took the basket and said to Taktan flatteringly: "Young master, don't be tired, let me do these things." ”

Taktan raised his head slightly, pushed the fox fur hat up, revealing his young face, his slightly childish face was covered with large and small pockmarks, and his upper lip was only a dozen trimmed beards, and he said to the wrapper: "Zhang Zhongqi, is the hoe finished?" ”

"Don't worry, the master is all hoeed, the horses are fed, other masters have not done it themselves, the young master is really, and he is considerate of what I and other slaves do, you have hoeed these days, don't be tired." The thin Zhang Zhongqi said while courteously patting the snowflakes off his body.

After Taktan let him take a picture, he ignored him, lifted the back basket with one hand, pushed open the door of the main house, and walked into the main house with a few snowflakes, which was warm and warm, making him feel comfortable for a while, and sat directly by a firewood stove. Untie the scarf around your neck to reveal your thick neck. Easily taking off the hat as well, a pigtail fell and swayed behind him a few times, and Taktan touched it back and pulled it to his left chest.

Taktan rubbed his hands, let out a breath of heat, and then looked at the middle-aged man who was shrunk in the chair opposite: "Amma, the price of grain has risen again, the price of cheese has also risen, and the silver will be gone next month, what to eat in winter." ”

The middle-aged man on the opposite side looked gloomy and said coldly: "It's really not good, so I'll sell Zhang Zhongqi to Uncle Ilantai." He's already starved to death three of them, and he came yesterday and asked me if I had any more. ”

Taktan said: "Where do we have a lot, and there is only one coat, if it is sold, I will only farm the land in the spring." ”

The person on the other side lowered his head and thought for a while and said, "There are still many families who don't have clothes, and they don't farm their own land, if you are worried that farming will delay your martial arts practice, then sell that Nikan woman to your Uncle Ilantai." ”

Taktan was stunned for a moment and said, "Then Amma, you don't even have a warm bed." ”

"This Nikan woman is too thin to live, and since she has no food, she has to sell it."

Taktan asked helplessly: "Amma, why is food always expensive now, and now this year, we haven't had our turn to grab it once." The snow is early, don't you always say that the snow will be dry if it falls early. ”

He Ama sighed: "This is not expensive, the year before last, you have eaten it, what is the use of grabbing some silver." It's better to grab some food. ”

Saying that, there was a glint of hatred in his Ama eyes, "If it weren't for those Sichuan soldiers who broke Lao Tzu's hand, our family would not have been two coats." Tak Tan looked at the fire expressionlessly, he Ama turned out to be a white armor with a blue flag, his right hand was cut off by the Sichuan soldiers in the bloody battle of the Hunhe River, and the leg bone was also trampled by the horse when he fell to the ground, and it was a blessing to be able to get back a life, but he couldn't go out again, and there was almost no looting gains, and every time he was a little less in the Niu Lu.

Fortunately, Taktan grows fast, he is seventeen this year, and he can fight with the flag, they are fiercely competitive in Niulu, he is not a man in armor now, only Yu Ding, but he Ama has taught him since he was a child, archery, broadsword, spear, horseback riding is omnipotent, and many people in Niulu think that he will definitely become Bayala. There are also many people who are willing to marry their families, and there is hope for the revitalization of the family.

"Amma, if I meet the Sichuan soldiers, I will definitely help you cut off a few more heads."

"Fool, that Sichuan soldier is such a ruthless soldier, what are you going to do with him." Amma's face showed a painful look, as if recalling the bloody battle of the year, those Sichuan soldiers were only 7,000 people, and tens of thousands of people besieged by the Eight Banners, which were known as invincible, but they couldn't fight, but suffered thousands of casualties, and many generals were frightened by the ferocity of the Sichuan soldiers. Fortunately, there are only 7,000 Sichuan soldiers, and if all the 100,000 soldiers in Liaozuo are such Sichuan soldiers, it is impossible for him to live on the Liaoshen Plain now. He shook his head slightly, drove away the memories that made him die, and continued to say to Taktan: "Even if you cut off a few more heads, and he chops off one of your hands, how can you shoot arrows and ride a horse." If you encounter other miscellaneous soldiers in the Ming Kingdom, just kill more. You still have to keep in mind that you still have to grab things, and our Dajin Kingdom doesn't value heads. ”

Taktan was young and vigorous, and he didn't think much of his Amma's words, their Niu Lu Ezhen had more than ten clothed Aha in the house, and there were also seven or eight servants, changing and sleeping one by one, what was the use of just grabbing things, and he had to have military exploits, he had to earn it for himself on the battlefield. When he had finished speaking, he coughed twice in succession, reached out to touch the bowl of water beside him, but when he saw that it was empty, Taktan brought the kettle and warmed it by the fire, and added some wood to the stove.

He suddenly remembered something and said, "Amma, I have two more beards, help me pluck them." ”

He Ama moved rarely, revealing a hand, Tak Tan went over and knelt in front of him, his Ama thick fingers stretched out, pinched one of the beards on Tak Tan's upper lip with the nails of two fingers, and suddenly pulled one down, pulling Tak Tan's upper lip with a move, Tak Tan's face was expressionless, as if it was not his beard.

After Ama dropped his beard, he let out a long sigh: "Our family relies on the silver we saved when we fought in Shenyang, and now the silver is becoming less and less like silver, and we have used up a lot of silver, if we don't grab some more, we can only sell the Nikan woman." This month, Gertai Ji brought some people to Ningyuan to grab things, we Niu Lu is not on the wheel, I am afraid you will not be able to go this year. ”

The father and son sat in silence, only the beeping of burning wood in the room, and after sitting for a long time, Taktan stood up and prepared for the Nanikan woman to cook.

At this time, a low conch number suddenly came, Amma who was shrunk in the chair straightened up like a spring, and Tak Tan also looked at him blankly, and he Ama said continuously: "Conch, quick, go to the door and listen to the news." ”

Taktan hurriedly grabbed his hat and put it on, and he didn't care about the scarf, so he ran directly to the gate, and as soon as he arrived at the door, he saw the door of the wooden fence in the middle of the village open, and their Niu Lu Ezhen rushed out in disheveled clothes.

The sound of the conch horn sounded again, and this time he heard it, it was coming from a distance outside, and the doors of the surrounding houses rang one after another, and people all opened their doors and came out, and watched the Niu Lu Ezhen rush to the entrance of the village at the door, and Taktan saw that the neighbors were running out, so he also hurried out, and when he arrived at the entrance of the village, Niu Lu Ezhen was standing on the road in front of the village entrance, and some other people gathered at the entrance of the village, and most of these villagers had old wounds on their faces.

Taktan saw that the leader who was in charge of them was also beside him, and leaned over and asked, "Uncle Elantay, blow the conch horn again, are we going out?" ”

Uncle Ilantai is also an old white-armored soldier, his body is as thick as a bear, his dark face and neck are covered with scars, and the scar on the left side of his face near his ear is particularly amazing, he grinned and said: "It depends on who robs, then North Korea and Chahar have nothing to rob." ”

Taktan was still waiting to ask again, there was a sound of horses' hooves on the road, a Bayala and two horses rushed over, the triangular back flag on his back blew the hunting sound, everyone stopped talking, Taktan saw that Naba Yala stopped, and said loudly to Niu Lu Ezhen: "Go to the door of Lord Jiala Ezhen to listen to the order." Then he went to the next bunker.

Then Niu Lu Ezhen got on his horse and went to the fort of Jiala Ezhen. Everyone discussed for a while at the entrance of the village, discussing whether to go to Mongolia, North Korea or rob the Ming Dynasty, recalling which time to rob more things, as if it was a family routine, when someone robbed a pair of twin women, everyone laughed.

Taktan was not very interesting about these interesting stories, and he didn't have a good letter when he heard them, so he turned around and went back to the house, he was already at the door with a cane and Zhang Zhongqi holding him, and asked Taktan: "Where do you know?" ”

"I don't know."

After entering the house, he Ama said to him: "You have to go to the army this solar term, there is no farm work anyway, what else do you need?" ”

Taktan hesitated, "No armor." ”

"Take that Nikan woman in exchange. Go find your Uncle Elanthai. ”

Taktan stood still, and he Ama urged, "Hurry up, what's the matter if there are fewer women in the house, as long as you go and grab something and come back, there will be more women." When you come back with a good armor, if one is not enough, you will pull Zhang Zhongqi to change it together. Taktan lowered his head and went out, he still planned to leave Zhang Zhongqi behind, he Ama had inconvenient legs and feet, and he still had to be taken care of, he walked to the middle of the yard, took a rope and put it on the woman.

The woman followed him obediently, and only when she arrived at the door did she turn around and say a few words to Zhang Zhongqi, Zhang Zhongqi waved at her, this woman didn't know how many times she had been resold, she was lucky to be alive until now, Zhang Zhongqi didn't even know her name, because she was a mute. But this dumb girl has a very good heart, Zhang Zhongqi was beaten several times and she took care of it, so he sometimes stole some food, and also gave some to this woman, and there were only two of them in the Taktan family, and the two of them were like two fish that foamed at each other. Seeing the woman disappear at the door, Zhang Zhongqi's eyes slowly turned red.

The mute woman was pulled by Taktan, walked a while, and came to a courtyard, Taktan walked directly in, and there was a Jurchen woman in the courtyard, the daughter of Uncle Ilantai, who was wearing four or five earrings on her ears, and one on her nose, and she was wearing a fancy dress on her body, and I don't know when she grabbed it, and it was broken in some places. This woman likes Taktan, and Uncle Ilantai is also interested in marrying the Taktan family.

When she saw that Taktan was coming, she greeted her happily, cracked a blood basin and laughed, several earrings bumped against each other, making some tinkling sounds, she raised her right hand to her eyebrows, and squatted down on her knees, which was considered a courtesy. Taktan didn't like this woman very much, he thought that the Han girl was better-looking.

"Hailan, I'm Ama asked me to bring this woman over, and I want to change my armor with Uncle Elanthai."

Hailan turned her head to look at the woman behind her, she was meekly lowering her head, Hailan went over and lifted her head, pinched her mouth, looked at her teeth, and rubbed around the woman for a while, shaking her head, she still felt too thin. But since it was Taktan who wanted the armor, she was still willing to help.

She said to Taktan: "Taktan, you wait, I'll call Ama to come back and have a look." Then he went out to the entrance of the village.

Only then did Taktan know that Ilantai hadn't come back yet, and he didn't know what to hear from the village. He looked around the courtyard and pulled a large stake and sat down under him. One glance at the mute girl, she untied the rope again. The mute girl knelt towards the door.

After a while, Ilantai came back from outside, and like Hailan, he stretched out his bear paw and touched it everywhere on the mute girl, shook his head and said, "Taktan, this woman is too thin to grow land, at most she will change a cloth armor for you." ”

Taktan was a little hesitant, the cloth armor was at most at long range to prevent arrows, and it was not very useful in close combat, Hailan pulled Ilantai's clothes in the back, Ilantai closed his eyes and thought for a while, he still planned to win over this rising star, and said at the moment: "Then I'll give you a piece of chain mail first, if you can grab something when you go out this time, then divide me some." But remember to sharpen your armor again, and those who do not shine in battle will be punished. ”

"Thank you, Uncle Elantay." A smile welled up on Taktan's pockmarked face, and the chain mail was much better, which was light and did not affect the movement of the limbs.

Elantai squeezed out a little smile on his ugly face, and said to Taktan with a big grin: "It depends on where to go, if you go to the Ming Kingdom Jingshi as rumored, the women there are more pink and tender than this Liaodong, but don't keep staring at grabbing things, the most important thing about our Dajin is the military exploits, work hard, and get promoted." ”

Taktan bowed his head to be taught, this is a burst of cheers from the entrance of the village, followed by a string of horses' hooves from far and near, several people rushed to the door, it was Niu Lu Ezhen back, he shouted all the way on the horse: "October Zhengming, we Niu Lu 20 people, Bayala 7 people, A soldier 13 people......" (Note 3)

Everywhere he walked was boiling, and a shout slowly sounded, "Grab the west!" ”

Niu Lu Ezhen's voice continued to sound, "If you want to go with you, don't share the things you have grabbed in the flag, prepare your armor, bows, arrows and horses, and come to our place to choose ......."

Hailan also ran to the door, and when she heard this, she howled with excitement with Taktan, and the mute girl laughed stupidly when she saw that they were excited.

The chaotic shouts slowly converged into neat shouts that echoed over the village.

"Grab the west! Grab the west side!! ”

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Note 1: Later Jin Troop Deployment (Old Slave Time): ...... When the conch (conch trumpet) is blown, there is news of enemy soldiers,...... I waited at the head of my village, and I was ready to go to the gate of the banner of Baylor to receive the order.

Note 2: The Jurchen dress and customs in this chapter are all from the "Jianzhou Experience", don't spray if you don't like it. Every time they sent troops to rob the Ming Dynasty, they cheered and rushed to the west.

Note 3: The old slave Shi Houjin roughly drew 100 dings per cow, 10 white bayalas, 40 red bayalas, and 50 black battalion soldiers. By the time of Tiancong, there was no longer the name of this red bayala and black battalion soldiers. Among the people in armor, except for Bayara, the rest are called armor soldiers (marching soldiers).