Chapter 3 He Cao (Part I)

The air is filled with the smell of herbs, with a hint of sweetness in the cold. This is the fragrance of borneol mixed with mint, and Li Xu likes this medicinal fragrance very much. When he was in his hometown in Yi County, whenever he had a wind, his mother would ask Lang Zhong in the county to buy some herbs and boil them in a black broken clay pot that he couldn't tell how many years he had been making. At the same time, Aunt Zhong would also simmer a pot of chicken soup on the stove, waiting for him to use it for medicinal power after drinking the herbs. In the end, I don't know if it was the credit of the chicken soup or the potency of the herbs, but he always got better anyway and went to school as energetically as he did before he got sick.

Li Xu rolled over on the bed, not wanting to move. After applying the medicine, the burns on his hands and feet were no longer sensational, and a few blisters on the edge of his ears did not make it difficult for him to see people. He just cherished the warmth of the house, and was unwilling to go out and accept those envious or admiring glances. Compared with the illusory hero who was both wise and brave the night before, he preferred the young man in his hometown of Yi County who was a little full of sunshine.

"When you wake up, get up and take a spin twice, and the brothers are waiting to give you a drink to celebrate!" Liu Hongji poked a big head from the side of the bed and said angrily. His nostrils were a little blocked, apparently from the cold he had suffered from the fierce battle the night before. But compared to the temptation of wine, this bit of wind chill is really insignificant.

"Ahh Through a thick layer of linen, the hand covered with oil was immediately touched. He cracked his mouth and struggled to sit up straight. I saw Liu Hongji smiling and standing beside his bed, and beside him, there was a beautiful girl with a faint smile.

"Two, Second Miss, why are you here!" Li Xu was startled and hurriedly stretched out his feet to find his boots. He didn't have the courage to be open-minded, and it was a bit undignified to stretch his waist and yawn in front of the daughter of Duke Tang.

"My father went to the barracks to appease the soldiers, so I secretly followed." Li Wan'er stuck out her tongue and put on a funny grimace. The dignified atmosphere that was deliberately maintained by the ordinary vanished and replaced by the image of a naughty little girl.

Li Xu was stunned, and then he noticed that the other party was wearing a military uniform, and he also stepped on a pair of ridiculously large boots under his feet. Apparently, she had infiltrated as a creep.

"Don't run around, there's been a lot of chaos outside lately!" Li Xu thought about it and whispered. There was something that had been lingering in his heart, but he didn't know whether he should tell Li Yuan or not. When leading the team to fight the fire that night, there was once a soldier Cao who tried to prevent the Tiger Wing Brigade from approaching the Tang Mansion. If he hadn't listened to Li Liang's suggestion and rushed over, I'm afraid that Tang Gong's family would not have escaped the murder of the sneak attackers.

"I'm not afraid, you'll protect me anyway! It is rumored outside that you hacked and killed more than 20 black-clothed people in a battle, and broke 2,000 enemies with 50 iron horses, killing the Goryeo people with fear! Li Wan'er replied with a smile, her eyes wandering up and down on Li Xu, as if she was wondering for herself, where the stupid boy in front of her seemed to have the ability to be ten.

"That's their rumors!" Li Xu was a little embarrassed by her, and took the opportunity to put on his boots and lowered his head. The night before yesterday, he had cut down at most five men in black, but he had been exaggerated to twenty. And the black-clothed men besieging Li Yuan's mansion together will not exceed three hundred, and it is impossible to reach two thousand at all, otherwise it will only be the Tiger Wing Brigade that will be defeated. But it was useless for him to say these words, he had just experienced an attack, and Huaiyuan Town needed to launch a big hero to calm people's hearts. And he, who has made great contributions to the Tang Mansion, is one of the best choices.

"I don't care if it's a nonsense or not, you have to protect me anyway!" Li Wan'er looked at Li Xu with smiling eyes and emphasized loudly. After speaking, he squatted down uneasily, raised his head and stared at Li Xu's eyes and asked, "Brother Zhongjian, you will protect me, right?" ”

Li Xu's body trembled slightly, and in an instant, he felt like he had been stabbed in the heart by something. It's painful, it's stuffy, it's unspeakably sad. There was once a girl who treated each other so gently, but when she needed protection the most, she had to choose to leave. There is no need to recall this pain, as long as it is slightly touched, it will spread throughout the body in an instant.

"Brother Zhongjian, you will protect me, right?" Li Wan'er didn't know what was going on, and she was still persistently asking.

"Yes, yes, all of us will protect Miss Er!" Liu Hongji saw that Li Xu's neck had been reddened by the question, and stepped forward with a smile to save his brother from the predicament.

"Who needs you, I'm not military rations!" Li Wan'er glanced at Liu Hongji unappreciatively, stood up, and Shi Shiran walked out. The moment he opened the door, the cold wind blew in ten thousand rays of sunshine.

"You little girl, you're getting more and more uneducated!" Liu Hongji scolded like a big brother. Watching Li Wan'er's back walk away, she turned her head and urged with a smile: "Have you finished wearing, don't grind." Ziying has set up wine in the city, waiting to thank you for saving your life! ”

"A life-saving grace?" Li Xu asked confusedly. He didn't remember when he had fought side by side with Qin Ziying, let alone saved the other party's life.

"It was the cavalry under your command who saved him, so the credit will naturally be counted as your brigade leader!" Liu Hongji patted Li Xu on the shoulder and explained in a low voice.

It turned out that after repelling the first wave of attacks on the grain depot by the men in black, Qin Ziying suddenly remembered the woman he had placed in the city, so he said hello to Liu Hongji and rushed out of the camp desperately. As a result, he met several men in black in front of the rented yard and was cut off in a hurry. Thanks to Li Liang's timely arrival with fifty cavalrymen, he snatched back his life in the hands of the man in black.

"Did our brothers lose a lot?" After listening to Liu Hongji's words, Li Xu asked with a wry smile. Since he repelled the man in black the night before, inexplicable credit has been poured on his head one after another. Since he had already been smashed and dizzy, he didn't care about one or two more.

"You were right that day, the arsonist was trying to divert the tiger from the mountain. After you left, five waves of people tried to storm the grain depot and were desperately killed by the brothers. We lost more than 40 dead and more than 100 wounded. also left more than 30 corpses on the other side. Liu Hongji thought about it and summarized in a low voice. The brothers you brought with you were well trained, and only seven were killed in battle, but more than sixty of the enemy were overturned. In the case of a sudden attack, our grain protection army annihilated more than 100 enemies in total, which can be regarded as a great victory. ”

"I met a soldier on the road, I don't know whose subordinate it is!" Li Xu looked around and asked Liu Hongji in a low voice.

"I heard that Cao Zhan, a soldier surnamed Wang under the command of Lord Yuwenshu, died in battle, and the body was found outside the city." Liu Hongji looked around vigilantly and answered the question. "Last night, the Goguryeo people robbed grain and assassinated Tang Gong, which has aroused public anger on our side. Zuo Tun Wei General Xin Shixiong, Zuo Wuwei General Mai Tiezhu, and Zuo Yiwei General Yu Wenshu have all sent troops to help. Xuzi, we've survived this winter! ”

His voice was very low, but he specially bit the three words Goguryeo very clearly. Li Xu knew that no matter whether the black-clothed people who besieged Li Yuan's Mansion and the black-clothed people who attacked the granary were in the same group, this foolish account would be counted on Goguryeo's head. After following Liu Hongji for so long, he had slowly gained some insight into the human accident, smiled, and scolded in a low voice: "Damn Goguryeo, they actually mixed so many spies into the city!" ”

"yes, damn the Goguryeo!" Liu Hongji shook his head while scolding, and his words were full of disdain for the enemy's insidious behavior.

Huaiyuan Town originally had a small indigenous population, and when it was so stirred up by the Goguryeo people, the market immediately became even more depressed. It's almost the New Year, but the small businessman who sells window stickers and pole lanterns is gone. On either side of the empty streets, only a few charred houses shivered in the cold wind. When the wind is strong, the broken walls whine, expressing their own unique way of protesting against the arsonists.

The private house that Qin Ziying secretly purchased was located in the center of the city, and compared to the bleak environment around it, it could be regarded as a busy place. Wang Yuantong, Qi Poning, Wu Shi Tong, Zhang Deyu, as well as Yang Fang, Li Ji, Zhou Wenyuan, and the brothers who can talk about one place are all here. Everyone has experienced a turmoil, and they all have the feeling of immortality in their hearts. The relationship between them is closer, and the words are more unscrupulous.

"I didn't expect that Brother Ziying also had a time of bravery, a horizontal knife, and seven or eight strong men. Zhao Zilong was nothing more than this on the longboard slope back then! After three rounds of drinking, Wang Yuantong laughed loudly.

"Zhao Zilong is holding Adou in his arms, but he doesn't have the motivation of our General Qin!" Team Zheng Li Liang smiled and quipped, "When we came, tsk, didn't you see it, the two of them were leaning on each other and made up their minds to live and die together!" ”

Qin Ziying's face turned red from the laughter of her partners, so she had to desperately persuade her to drink. But everyone refused to appreciate it, and coaxed together: "Since my brother and sister are not even afraid of the Goguryeo people, they are afraid of what our brothers will do." It's better to come out and see it, so that we can taste the baby's eyes! ”

"Brothers, brothers, Mei'er, she, she's afraid of ......" Qin Ziying is not very sharp, and she is coaxed by everyone, and her speech is even less clear. He stammered, and blood rushed to the base of his neck.

"The scimitar is still ignored in front of you, why is it afraid of the banquet?" Wang Yuantong came to a poem about the donkey's lips not being the horse's mouth, and laughed.

Hearing this, everyone made more and more trouble. Qin Ziying was so troubled by everyone that she had nothing to do, so she had to go to the back hall to ask her fiancée for advice. The granddaughter of General He Ruobi was also generous, cleaned up a little, and walked out with a pot of wine, and gave a salute to the uncles for their friendship with the children. (Note 1)

The wine was poured into the glass, and the uncles and uncles, who were more than happy, blushed. One by one, they poured the wine down with a smile, and blessed Qin Ziying and his wife incoherently.

"You are the sons of the infants, and the brothers of the concubines. Seeing each other in a hurry, there is no respect, when the sound of the piano helps the wine, in order to show your heart! Miss He's family saluted again, and walked into the back of the screen, waving her hand, and the room was full of the sound of Jin Ge Iron Horse.

Although most of them were born wealthy, they had been trained in the military camp for more than half a year, and they had also cultivated a bit of pride. Listening to this sonorous and powerful piano sound, one by one's blood boiled. I didn't realize that I took the wine and food on the table as an enemy, and swallowed it in a big gulp.

"Ziying has a good eye!" Liu Hongji was amazed.

"Miss He is a strange woman!" Li Xu echoed in a low voice. This is the third woman he has seen up close, compared to Tao Kuo's innocence and Ah Yun's gentleness, Miss He's more considerate taste. Although he knew that this woman had fallen into the dust, not only was it difficult for him to rise up half a contempt in his heart, but he was full of envy for Qin Ziying.

Liu Hongji was not the only one who had the same thoughts as Li Xu, Wang Yuantong, Qi Poning and others were also in admiration, raised their glasses, and smiled again to bless their friends.

"Ziying, I wish you all a long life." Wang Yuantong said with a big tongue. As soon as the cup was put down, he immediately added in a low voice, "If you see such a strange woman next time, I will definitely tell my brother." You know, the one in my brother's family is ...... compared to you."

"Brother Wang, forget it. Do you know what is unattainable? Qi Poning laughed and teased.

"I can't ask for it, I can't sleep!" Wang Yuantong was drunk, and poured out all the crooked poems in his stomach. Everyone laughed and toasted the host again. Qin Ziying's face was also a little drunk, and he held a cup and drank with everyone one by one.

If his wife is like this, it is not in vain that he carries a knife and fights with others, Tao Taoran, he thinks like he is in the clouds.

"If only I didn't fight!" Li Xu listened to the sound of the piano, but what he thought in his heart was completely out of line with the artistic conception of the piano. Unconsciously, he found that he was yearning for Qin Ziying's life. There is a woman who knows how to appreciate you, and there is a person who deserves you to draw a sword for her. Is this kind of life more free and comfortable than the Jin Ge Iron Horse?

Staring at the confused drunken eyes, he saw Qin Ziying's happy figure swaying in front of the wine tables.

"Can the child have his parents?" Zhou Wenyuan asked in a low voice when he raised his glass to drink with the master. He was born in the Zhou clan on the right side of the ridge, and he can be said to be close neighbors with Qin Ziying, so he has no scruples when he asks.

"Written, written. Yet, there has been no response. After the war, I will take her home to get married. Qin Ziying, who was in happiness, replied incoherently.

"Oh!" Zhou Wenyuan didn't say much, and silently drank the cup of Chinese rice wine. Li Xu inadvertently turned his head sideways, just seeing a little worry in his eyes.

Behind the screen, the sound of the piano is more urgent, and the big strings and small strings are like a storm.

Note 1: Uncle, an honorific title given to her husband's brother by an ancient woman.