Chapter 1: The Prosperous Age (5)

Li Mao and his wife saw their son's eager eyes, thinking about the inside information they had inquired about from the second brother Zhao from the government during the day, and their hearts softened for no reason, and they expressed their compromises one after another.

"If you want to keep it, keep it. Anyway, this thing was born against the season, and no one has ever been able to feed it! Lao Li Mao was nagging while pouring himself wine.

All wild beasts are conceived in the spring and raised at the beginning of the summer. The cubs take advantage of the abundant summer and autumn seasons to grow hard, so that when winter comes, they can grow enough weight to survive the cold and hunger of winter. And the little wolf cub that Li Xu hunted was obviously just born and less than a full moon, and it may be less than one percent to survive. So even if Li Mao doesn't like it in his heart, he can't be guilty of comparing himself with his son for a wolf cub who is impossible to raise.

"Don't pamper it too much, once you notice that it's wild. Kill it or drive it away, and don't let it bite you! Li Zhang picked up the bowl and filled his son with a bowl full of meat soup. Drink a bowl of soup first, and then go to touch the wine. There is a lot of wine sent by your uncle, and I can't drink it in half a month! ”

"Thank you, Dad, thank you, Mom!" Li Xu happily agreed, not listening to the old couple's nagging at all. Fei also ran out of the door, settled the wolf cub under his bedside, rushed into the kitchen, and mixed a bowl of rice soup for it. Then he rushed back to eat with his parents.

Ryoko also jumped out like this back then, but unfortunately it ........ Li Zhang looked at his son who was busy going back and forth, and saw tears in the corners of his eyes. During the day, the husband rushed to the city to inquire about the news, and it took more than 20 dollars to buy an errand for the official Zhao Ergouzi. According to the disclosure of the surname Zhao, the emperor is planning to conquer Goryeo in person. Officials in the four border counties of Shanggu, Zhuojun, Yuyang, and Lulong (Beiping) have been in a hurry. These places are close to the border, and the soldiers can adapt to the climate of Liaodong, so they are also the key areas for drawing.

"I said Brother Damu, you have to prepare early!" At ten o'clock in the afternoon, Zhao Erguan, who had received Li Mao's benefits, mysteriously revealed, "It is said that the emperor has spoken, and all the sons of the good families in the border counties have enlisted in the army. No matter how many brothers there are in the family, from forty to fourteen....."

"There is only one child left in my family, less than fourteen, and I am also over forty!" Li Mao still remembers the embarrassment when he lied, and the last few money in his pocket were also stuffed into Zhao Shuang, hoping that the other party would raise his noble hand at that time.

"The battle is not going to be fought immediately, my big wood brother!" The satisfied Zhao Erguan patted Li Mao on the shoulder and enlightened him earnestly, "As mentioned above, prepare food and armor this year, draw Ding after spring ploughing next year, and then assemble for training and really send troops, it is estimated that it will be spring in the year after next." To tell you the truth, we are friends, brother, I can't guarantee that I can take care of you for three years. If there is a solid-eyed county guard on his head, we who are on an errand are not what people say, how can we agree!"

Thinking of Zhao Erguan's kind reminder, the wine in Li Mao's mouth began to be bitter. The Great Sui Dynasty had regulations prohibiting the conscription of the old and weak into the army, and also forbade the conscription of the only son of the family to join the army. But those are all stipulated by the old emperor, to put it mildly, when the old emperor was alive, the new emperor didn't take his regulations seriously, not to mention that the old emperor has been dead for so many years!

No matter how bitter or reluctant you are, there are still some things that must be done. There is no escaping from it, and the more you escape, the more panicked you will be when it comes to the end. Li Mao sighed, gently put down the wine glass, and said to his son, who was eating heavily: "At the beginning of next month, there is a caravan going to Saiwai, led by an old acquaintance of mine, surnamed Sun ........"

"Uh-huh!" Li Xu agreed absentmindedly, holding a large bowl of mutton soup in one hand and grabbing only half of the Hu cake in the other. Li Zhang's felt sorry for his son, and kept gently persuading him beside him: "Slow down, slow down, don't choke, there's more in the pot!" ”

"The leader of the team is called Sun Anzu, an old acquaintance of mine. I think you're getting older, so it's time to go out and see what's in the market! Li Mao was ruthless, lowered his head and said loudly.

"Well, I haven't seen a caravan look like yet!" Li Xu put down the bowl and replied briskly. Suddenly, he understood what his father meant, his eyes widened, and he murmured, "Dad, you, you mean .......!" ”

"Dad is getting older, I want you to run out of the plug for me!" Li Mao didn't dare to look into his son's eyes, and tried to repeat his meaning in a gentle tone.

"I, my strategy is the best in the school. I, I can write the entire Analects silently! I'm ......" Half of the Hu Cake in Li Xu's hand fell to the ground. At this time yesterday, my father was still discussing with himself whether to take the Ming Sutra or the Jinshi examination, but today, he has become a merchant who goes out of the Sai for him.

In Li Xu's dream, there have been those who have been admitted to the Jinshi to stand in the court, and there have also been those who have held a lance on a horse to dominate the field, and the most common dream is to wear an official uniform with a household groove, buy a big house on the edge of the county school in Shanggu County, and take their parents in, and they can eat and drink, and they can also let Zhao Er be in charge, and Yang Lao Bald Man These scenes are bowing down to their ears. In the dreams of all the teenagers, only he did not become a businessman like his father, running around the country every year, and he couldn't get a few dollars in the sun and rain, and he was bullied by the government, the elders of the clan, and the local ruffians.

And once he became a businessman, according to the practice of the Great Sui Dynasty, he automatically gave up his identity as a child of a good family, and he would never be able to participate in the imperial examination again.

"Dad, Dad, this is no way!" Lao Li Mao faced his son's gaze shamelessly and dodged to explain.

Li Xu looked at his father and never believed this answer. Although the family is poor, it can be regarded as rich compared to the extreme poverty in the neighborhood. There is no need to give a gift money to the teacher to study in the county school, and the government usually provides students with two meals a day. Although there was little grease in that meal, if it weren't for the need to help my mother with household chores, I could almost stay in school and only go home once a month for dinner.......

Li Zhang was silent, turned around, and kept wiping away tears. The son is not ignorant, it is precisely because he is so sensible that it is extremely difficult for parents to make such a big decision for him. If there is no damn Goryeo, if the emperor doesn't always think about the ...... of Siyibin. That's all things she can't control, and now, the only thing she can do is her son.

"It's not like there is no money at home for you! When the war is about to be fought, Shanggu County draws one by one, and all the children of good families bring their own armor and weapons to join the army. Dad wants you to avoid the jam for the reason of business, and then come back to take care of your mother when the army is pulled out in the next year! Li Mao couldn't bear the pressure in his heart, and finally decided to tell the truth. Although forcing his son to be a deserter is not a glorious act, this reason can be somewhat explained by people than letting his son misunderstand that he is burying his future in order to save money.

"I don't go outside the Saiwai, I will be a soldier when I am a soldier, and I will be famous but I will take ...... right away!" Li Xu heard his father tell the real reason, and a stone in his heart immediately fell to the ground, and he said nonchalantly.

"Smack!" A burning pain in his cheeks interrupted him. His father, who had always been amiable, stood up and slapped him in the face. In an instant, Li Mao's old face, which was full of wrinkles from wind and frost and time, turned blue-black, pricked up his eyes, and scolded loudly: "Shut up, take fame right away." You widen your eyes and look at the hundreds of families in the same township, and someone in that family has come back alive to take fame! In the eighteenth year of the emperor's expedition to the east, he went to 300,000 and died 299,000......"

"Well, what do you do with you!" Li Zhang's threw himself over and hugged his son in his arms. wanted to comfort his son, but before he could speak, tears fell all over his face.

"Dad-" Li Xu covered his face and screamed softly, tears the size of beans rolling down his fingers. This slap completely slapped him, and he instinctively wanted to say a few soft words to apologize to his father, but he didn't know what he was wrong. 'Gain fame but take it right away', the ancestral teachings of the clan and the teachings of the husband are like this, but this truth has become a disobedient and unfilial speech in front of his father.

Li Mao looked at his son, and then at his wife, his heart ached, and his anger disappeared without a trace in an instant. He sat back on the stool and said in frustration, "Tomorrow you have resigned to the Master, and you are ready to get out of the plug!" Your brother has already become a lonely ghost, I can't send you out again, in that way, I will die in the future, and I will not have the face to see my ancestors. ”

Hearing her husband talk about her eldest son, Li Zhang's family was even more sad, hugged her son's shoulder, and whimpered: "Xuzi, listen to your father." Mother doesn't expect you to glorify your ancestors. I only hope that you will live this life peacefully, marry a daughter-in-law, and have a son. Your brother followed the tall man out of the jam back then, and he rode and ejaculated the most ....... among the three hundred people."

In Li Xu's memory, he no longer remembered his brother's appearance at all. He was only two years old in the eighteenth year of the emperor's reign, and according to his mother, he rode on his brother's neck all day long to watch soldiers. Later, my brother was also drafted into the army, and later, all I remember is my father's sigh and my mother's tears.......

Old man Yang of the county school is always so wise in Li Xu's eyes. When he muttered that he was going to quit school and run a layman for his father, Old Master Yang immediately exclaimed, "Is there another war?" You can't even read a book? ”

"Sir, father's order, father's order is hard to disobey!" Li Xudeng's face was red, his head was lowered, and his voice was as thin as a gnat.

"No wonder, no wonder, you are an only child at home. And Ling Zun is nearly fifty years old, if you are asked to do Liaodong dry bones, your Li family will have to cut off the incense. Alas, it's a pity that you have an article, I originally wrote a letter to a few old friends, and I was going to ask them to take care of one or two after the Ming Jing test in the coming year! There was no blame in Old Master Yang's words, just an indescribable regret.

"Thank you, Mr. for your love, although the disciple is blessed, this kindness will never be forgotten!" Li Xu leaned down and reached the ground. In the past few years of study, Master Yang has taken great care of him, and I don't know how many times he has opened a small stove. From the scriptures, arithmetic to poetry and strategy, it is almost a pour-out. Even the notes written in the army when he followed Yang Sunan, the Duke of Yue, did not prohibit him, a nominal disciple, from reading them. It's just that with Li Xu's age and knowledge, he can memorize it and really understand it, but he is not as good as one or two out of ten.

Old Master Yang waved his hand and let out a long sigh in return. "Well, your father has his own reasons for doing this. This crusade was defeated and unwon. The people of Shengdou can see it, but the princes of the court are blind! ”

"The disciple has been taught for many years, and there is no way to repay him. These jars of light wine are not worth getting drunk! Li Xu sighed and pointed to a few jars of old wine outside the courtyard and said. The success or failure of the Eastern Crusade has nothing to do with him. After today, he is no longer a child of a good family, according to the rules since the Han Dynasty, business is a cheap industry, such as the Eastern Crusade, businessmen are not qualified to discuss. After that, Old Master Yang's house, unless there was something to ask for, he could no longer visit casually as before. Otherwise, even if the old and young of the Yang family didn't drive him out, the other well-educated Confucians would laugh at the old master Yang for not being very sociable and willing to be a businessman.

Old Master Yang has always felt that he fell in love with this disciple who came to the door and took the initiative to resign. He has been up and down for half his life, he has seen a lot of wind and waves, and he doesn't have so many fetters in his heart when he is old. smiled and said, "People say that business is a cheap business, but I have never seen it that way as a teacher. The nobility of people cares about their hearts, and their hearts are noble, although they are pawns of peddlers, it is difficult to hide the spirit of Haoran. His heart is cheap, standing on top of the temple, and he is also despicable and filthy, and his reputation is far and wide. Your cousin is given by me, and it is naturally a disciple under my name. A teacher for one day, a teacher for life. No matter whether you are a business or a thief in the future, the master will eventually be open to you! ”

"Thank you, Master, for your advice!" Li Xu lifted the hem of his robe and bowed. Since he was a child, he has read the books of sages, and the high and low of all walks of life have long been engraved in his heart like an inscription. So since he learned last night that he was unable to escape the fate of the businessman, Li Xu has been haunted by this. Old Master Yang's words were equivalent to opening a window above his head. In the sky that suddenly turned gray, he instantly saw the color of the sun.

"Get up, you have been teaching for many years, among the disciples, your talent is not high, but you are better than being upright and kind-hearted." Old Master Yang has read people for many years, but he can't hear the unwillingness in Li Xu's words. I have the heart to point out this son again, and said earnestly: "I'm afraid that you will suffer a loss in the future, and you will also suffer from this uprightness and generosity!" It is important to know that life is full of variables, right and wrong, good and evil, are not on the surface. What you see in your eyes may not be the truth, and what you hear with your own ears may not be the truth! ”

Looking at Li Xu's blank face, the old master knew that it was too early for him to say these words at the moment. Although the children of the poor have long been in charge, Li Xu is only fourteen years old after all, and he can't understand some words at all. Even if he can understand some words, he will not be able to grasp the true meaning without the corresponding twists and turns in life.

Life is like a jar of wine, which can only be brewed after years of brewing to make its sweet taste. Young people are like a new roast, even if it is condensed by fine grain and made by sweet springs, it still has to carry a bit of greenness that cannot be taken off.

"If a disciple gains something in the future, he will come to the door to ask for advice!" Li Xu is also a person with a clear mind, and he smiled, with a bit of sarcasm on his face.

"If you can come, come early. After next year, I'm afraid that the stable days of the division have come to an end, and it's time to move! Old man Yang smiled and shook his head.

"Is Master going on a long journey? Or should he be hired by the imperial court? Li Xu asked puzzledly, completely ignoring the faint bitterness in Master Yang's smile.

"It's also the number that should be there for the teacher's life. After all, I have been gracious! Old Master Yang continued to shake his head, but he was unwilling to explain.

"That is, Master once taught me that when I receive the grace of a drop of water, I will repay it with a spring!" Li Xu replied according to his master's words.

"This may not be true, but in life, a few people can break free from the fetters in their hearts!" The old master laughed a few times and deliberately diverted the topic elsewhere, "Don't mention it, don't mention it." Do your best, and settle the destiny of heaven. While you haven't left my door today, our master will first talk about the way to win or lose the Eastern Crusade! ”

"Is Master testing me?" Li Xu, who was free from the knot, asked with a smile. He had heard from his father last night that the court had spent a lot of money on the Eastern Crusade. Now we have begun to prepare grain, grass, clothing and armor, and we will recruit the young and strong people of the whole country next spring, and we will officially start in winter or the spring of the following year. In his understanding, such a large country spent two years preparing for a war, and there was absolutely no reason for defeat. But what I hear today in the Master's mouth is the exact opposite.

"Isn't Sir optimistic about this crusade? I heard my father say that he would recruit troops next spring and set off the year after. The imperial court is so well prepared, it must be a plan and then move, how can it not be a little Goryeo? "According to what Master teaches on weekdays, he has repeatedly scrutinized the difference in strength between Dasui and Goryeo, and Li Xu still comes to the same conclusion." I'm prepared, and I'm defenseless. I am well-armed, and I have many generals ......."

"Fighting a war does not necessarily depend on the number of people, but the time, place, and people, which point can be ignored. This time to Liaodong, is the time in me? This is going to Liaodong, is the location advantageous to me? This trip to Liaodong is ostensibly my Great Sui to conquer Goryeo, and I will be outnumbered by the crowd. In fact, the Yan Ya, the Khitan, the Murwei, and the hundreds of tribes in Liaodong who can't be named, which one is not the same as the Goryeo lips and teeth. So is the man to me? When it came to military affairs, the decadent look on Old Master Yang's face was gone, and his beard and hair were flying.

"But, but I'm in the Heavenly Dynasty of the Great Sui Dynasty, and I hold more than a million halberds!" Li Xuwu argued with himself. Although he was forced to become a deserter, deep down, he still looked forward to the Great Sui Dynasty sweeping Liaodong and playing a great reputation. As a teenager who grew up in the Great Sui Dynasty, there is an innate sense of honor. Although, this court never gave him any real benefits.

"Why do you need a million to hold a halberd, if you can command it as one, 100,000 is enough to level Liaodong. The danger of the Great Sui Dynasty was not in Goryeo, but in Xiaoqiao. Once the army is transformed, I'm afraid, millions of male ghosts will not be able to return home! The old master shook his head and patted the case.

Parting is imminent, and both the old and the young know that it will not be easy to see each other in the future. One took advantage of a rare good example to point out, and the other took the last opportunity to concentrate on comprehension, sigh a few times, laugh a few times, and before you know it, the sound has penetrated out the window.

"This old thing, the other day it was like a frost-beaten crop. How relieved I am today! Outside the window, Mrs. Yang wondered.

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