In the twenty-first year of Chongzhen, on the fourteenth day of the first month, a teahouse on the outskirts of Beijing.

Xu Ping stood in the empty tea house, looking at the snowy earth outside, the branches of the trees swaying in the cold wind, would she still come on such a cold day?

Xu Ping came to this teahouse early this morning with his beloved piano, and until noon, the tea guests left one after another, and they didn't see the woman. Dr. Tea and the master who sold chaos also collected their things and left, and said to Xu Ping before leaving: "There will be no guests coming, the sun sets early in winter, you can go back too!" ”

Xu Ping replied: "I can't come from tomorrow, today is the last day, I'll stay a little longer." ”

But can you wait for her?

These teahouses on the outskirts of the city are used by people entering and leaving the city to rest their feet, and after the Spring Festival, there is an endless stream of tourists enjoying the snow, and the teahouses are more lively than before. There are not only tea doctors, storytellers, and sometimes singing girls, but people who come out to play can sit down and have fun for a while. Xu Ping had some leisure to play a few songs and earn some money to supplement his family.

Most of the people who came to the teahouse for leisure were men, and women of this era rarely appeared in public. But Xu Ping found that a young woman of eighteen or nineteen years old had come to listen to him play the piano several times. She and another woman who seemed to be a maid sat silently in the corner of the room and listened for a while, and every time she left, she was generous and gave Xu Ping a lot of piano rituals.

The tea guests talked about these two women behind their backs, but no one knew who they were, where they came from, and where they were going.

Finally, two figures appeared in the distance on the snow, and they walked through the sparse woods and approached gracefully. One wrapped in a lotus-purple cloak, the other wrapped in a dark green cloak, stood out against the white snow.

Xu Ping walked quickly to the table, rearranged his piano and helmet, and lowered his head to pull out the new military uniform on his body. The two women entered the tea house, and the lotus purple woman in front of her pushed off the hat of her cloak, revealing a youthful face, and her cheeks were blown by the wind like ripe red apples.

It was the mysterious person who made Xu Pingchao think about it.

She looked at Xu Ping's military uniform, glanced at the helmet on the table again, and showed a look of surprise: "Sir...... Son...... It turned out to be a soldier! ”

"The two little ladies are well." Xu Ping greeted them loudly with a smile and explained: "I just got the military position of the new army in Xia, and I will have a good fortune from next month." Isn't this little lady going to congratulate in the next sentence? All the guests who have been here today have congratulated you below. ”

"Congratulations...... Congratulations to this son. It's just that the little woman doesn't know Gongzi's surname yet. ”

"Under the surname 'Xu', the single name has a 'Ping' character"

"It turned out to be Xu Gongzi."

She stared at the white feather standing on the helmet: "I don't know if it's a fire battalion or a selection camp?" ”

"It's a fire camp." The white feather on the helmet is the unique logo of the fire battalion and the Xuanfeng battalion, Xu Ping asked strangely: "The little lady is very familiar with the new army?" ”

"Of course we know each other!" The dark green woman said angrily.

"Autumn Moon!" The previous woman smiled and gave a look: "Let's sit down." ”

The woman called Akizuki stopped knowingly. Today, there were only the two of them, and there were no other guests, so they sat at the table in the middle, opposite Xu Ping.

Xu Ping played two ancient songs first, raised his head and said with a smile: "I have recently written a new song, and I haven't played it for others yet." Today, I am ugly in front of the two little ladies, and please give me a lot of advice. ”

Xu Ping usually plays most of the songs composed by his predecessors to the guests, but sometimes he also composes a few songs himself. These days, he is in a very good mood, and it is his ambition to obtain a military rank and be promoted to an officer.

The first half is gentle and soft, as if the clear water of the stream flows out of the mountains, bathed in the sun and singing. In the second half, the speed suddenly became faster, and the melody became more excited, and gradually it was like a chaotic rock piercing the air, and the waves swept the shore; It is like a waterfall flying down, a big river rushing, and the end of the section is even more sonorous and powerful, and the iron armor roars.

Xu Ping finished playing, but his heart was still fluctuating, and he couldn't calm down for a while. The two listeners were also immersed in it, looking at him motionlessly.

After a while, the young lady said with a smile: "It seems that Childe's piano skills are secondary, and the mighty wind and clouds in Childe's chest are the majestic mountains and rivers." The little girl also practiced the piano when she was young, but because she was greedy for fun, she gave up halfway and has not been able to play the song completely. In the past few days, I have listened to the public piano, and I realized that there are many mysteries in it. ”

Xu Ping took a long breath, rubbed his fingers that were red from the cold, and said with a smile: "Today is the last day that Xu Mou came to play the piano, and if he has a martial arts position in the future, he will not be able to come out to perform again, and if he continues to work, he may lose the dignity of the imperial court." In the past, the little lady was raised, and Xu had nothing to repay. ”

Qiu Yue looked at Xu Ping hesitantly, and asked Miss in a low voice: "Then, Qin Yi ......"

The young lady smiled: "Xu Gongzi definitely doesn't want Qin Yi today." ”

Xu Ping nodded to Qiu Yue again and again: "What your young lady said is true." Today, in order to thank all the guests, we will not receive the piano ceremony. ”

The young lady asked, "Young Master Xu, since you don't want Qinyi, who are you waiting for if you don't leave so late?" ”

Xu Pingleng paused: "No ......"

"Why does Xu Gongzi play so well?"

The expectant gaze on the other side made Xu Ping pour out his story at once.

Xu Ping's parents died when he was a child and he was raised by his uncle. The uncle is hoping that his nephew will be able to study and become famous, so he will not have to worry about eating in this life. However, Xu Ping had no interest in the Four Books and the like.

In the words of his uncle, if he can gain fame in the future, he will still be looked down upon by other scholars. Xu Ping is very talented in music, he has played the piano well since he was a child, and even wants to make a living from it. But the uncle said that Xu Ping's father once became a guerrilla general in the Ming Dynasty, and as a son, he must not be willing to degenerate and become a ninth-rate pianist.

"My father was originally a subordinate of General Zhu, the chief soldier of Jizhen, and followed Lord Zhu to garrison the Santun camp. In the second year of Chongzhen, Yuan Chonghuan set up for the enemy to enter the customs, and his father was martyred with General Zhu. General Zhao who rushed to aid Zunhua died on the way, and Yuan Chonghuan was against the pollution because General Zhu did not let General Zhao enter the city, so the emperor did not compensate the soldiers who were martyred in Santun Camp, and he lost his position. ”

The young lady was in awe: "After Xu Gongzi turned out to be a hero, he was really disrespectful before." ”

"After the fall of Santun Camp, my uncle fled to Jingshi with Xianci, but Jianyu rushed into Gyeonggi in the blink of an eye. Xianci was afraid of dragging my uncle and me down, so he committed suicide by throwing himself into a well, but my uncle and I were still almost captured. Fortunately, the army of Zhendonghou came with wings, and we were saved along with hundreds of thousands of people. Speaking of this, Xu Ping folded his hands, got up and bowed deeply in the direction of Beijing, Miss and Qiu Yue hurriedly stood up and bowed with Xu Ping.

Although Xu Ping has not been able to meet his father, he has always secretly promised himself that he is a general, and he is quite resistant to studying, taking fame and fame, and being a literati, which is also the main reason why he resolutely joined the army. Xu Ping believes that only by winning the world can he be a qualified descendant worthy of the expectations of his ancestors.

Xu Ping only told his uncle about this after joining the army, and his uncle stayed for a long time at that time, and he couldn't hold back his tears: "Ping'er, your father died on the battlefield, and your mother also died in the war. ”

Xu Ping didn't have these worries, he had an inexplicable self-confidence, thinking that he would never be an ordinary soldier, and he would definitely be able to win back his ancestors' position and carry it forward.

Naturally, there were factions in the new army, and the two most obvious factions were the infantry cavalry faction and the engineer artillery faction.

In the words of the infantry and cavalry officers, the artillery and sappers did nothing more than the work of the auxiliaries in the past, and the real victory was won by the spears of the infantry and the sabers of the cavalry; The artillerymen and sappers, on the other hand, believed that without them, the infantry and cavalry were three-legged horses and wingless birds.

The infantry cavalry faction decided that the artillery did not know how to cooperate with their attack, and was bent on forming light artillery that could accompany the advance of the infantry phalanx, and cavalry artillery that was easy for the cavalry to carry; The engineer artillerymen complained that the infantry cavalry was too proud and always wanted to rush forward, so they also had to form an engineer assault team and artillery to cover the spearmen. In short, the infantry cavalry faction planned an artillery organization subordinate to them, while the engineer artillery faction also prepared to create an infantry unit capable of adapting to various modes of warfare.

Three months ago, when the generals of each battalion asked the soldiers about their feelings to gauge the morale of the soldiers, most of the companions remained silent, and only Xu Ping handed in a tirade that was sprinkled with emotion. The commander of the recruit battalion was surprised and did not dare to slack off, and reported it layer by layer, all the way to Jin Qiude, the right and left hand of the prime minister of military training. After reading it, Jin Qiude snorted coldly, took the report and said to Huang Shi: "The various shortcomings of the new army, even a small soldier can see it clearly. ”

After reading the report, Huang Shi added: "Since he can see this kind of problem, then he shouldn't be just a small soldier." ”

Because of this evaluation, Xu Ping was exceptionally promoted to the teaching team as an officer training. And he lived up to expectations, all the assessments were excellent, he was awarded the post of engineer general, and he was about to return to the army to observe and test.

Miss and Qiu Yue clapped their hands together when they heard this, and said with a smile: "Young Master Xu is amazing, stand out." ”

Xu Ping once told a good friend about his performance in the barracks, and also mentioned the mysterious woman in the teahouse. The friend smiled and asked the little lady directly which yard she was, and then went to ask for a meeting with enough money to tie her head, and she could get what she wanted by spending a few dollars and silver, so why bother to work hard in the camp every day.

Indeed, since this girl has come out to show her head and wandered outside for a few days, it stands to reason that she will not be a woman from a good family. Xu Ping knew the story of the oil seller and the Oiran lady, but he knew that such a thing would not happen to him. But Xu Ping saw her dignified appearance and elegant manners, and couldn't help but fall in love.

On weekdays, there are many people in the teahouse, and the girl rarely speaks. It's rare to be pure today, so you have the opportunity to speak. After some conversation, Xu Ping gradually rose to a hope, maybe she ......, maybe she was born in Jiangmen, and her parents neglected to discipline her, and let her go out on the street? Xu Ping doesn't want to be abrupt and beautiful, but there will be no time to see each other after today.

His heart was pounding, and he couldn't help but say tentatively: "This little lady seems to know quite a lot about the New Army, is there someone in the house who works in the New Army?" ”

The young lady just smiled, but did not answer.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside, and a group of people were shouting. The first fat and the other thin were full of wine, and the entourage brought wine and a stove before they stepped into the teahouse and immediately began to burn the wine for the masters.

Xu Ping saw that they were guests who had come before, and the fat man in thick clothes had always been arrogant and proud of his noble children. If the teahouse is full of male guests, it is fine, if he sees a female guest, his voice will suddenly increase several times, desperately boasting that he knows a certain emperor, has a relationship with a certain country, and has a good conversation with a certain prince. On this occasion, Dr. Tea will praise him twice, and the tea guests will also gossip and have fun. Only the young lady sitting in the corner didn't even raise her eyelids, just quietly sipping tea. Sometimes when he saw that the fat man was making too much trouble, he quietly got up and left.

After they came in today, they saw Xu Ping change into a military uniform, and the fat man and the thin man asked the reason, and Xu Ping explained. The fat man said disdainfully: "Even if you become an officer, you still have to rely on playing the piano to make a living." As he spoke, he kept looking in the direction of the two women.

The young lady looked at the sky and said to Qiu Yue, "It's not too early, we should go back." Yan Yu stood up and saluted Xu Ping: "Young Master Xu, I wonder if I will come here tomorrow?" ”

Xu Ping rushed out: "The army of tomorrow will disperse before noon in the morning, so naturally they will still come." ”

The young lady said happily: "Thank you son, otherwise wouldn't there be a place to go." ”

The chubby boy next to him saw that the girls ignored him, and his face was quite dissatisfied. The thin man said in a strange tone: "This little lady likes to talk to a luthier who has no money, but she doesn't want to talk to us, it's really strange, strange." ”

Qiu Yue showed an angry face, and was about to open her mouth, but was stopped by the young lady, and at the same time whispered: "Hurry up, go quickly, what are you doing?" ”

I don't want this sentence to make the fat man even more annoyed. Ever since he saw a beautiful woman in this teahouse on the first day, he couldn't help but run here all the time. But after several three attempts, the other party did not react at all, nor did he reveal his identity. His friends laughed at him like a dirt bun, and even the little lady in the courtyard thought he had no oil or water to fish.

The fat man slapped the table with the strength of the wine, and shouted: "This little lady, I want to invite you to listen to a song with me, and I am willing to give five taels of silver as a fund, but I don't know if it is enough." ”

This benevolent brother drank five taels of Yijin with one mouth, and his subordinates and his friends looked at each other in a daze, and said in their hearts: "This guy is drinking high again." ”

Qiu Yue had already taken a step outside the pavilion, and when she heard this, she turned around and wanted to reprimand him, but she was once again dragged by the unknown young lady: "Hurry up, go quickly, don't do too much." ”

"Is this little lady afraid that I won't be able to pay?" When the man saw the two girls bowing their heads and leaving, he was annoyed and angry: "Hey, I told you to stop!" ”

The thin man hurriedly pushed the entourage next to him: "Your son-in-law told the little lady to stop." ”

When the entourage heard this, he put down the flask and chased after him, and at the same time shouted loudly: "My son-in-law wants you to stop!" ”

The girls walked away quickly without looking back, seeing that the entourage was about to chase out of the teahouse, Xu Ping's blood surged for a while, and he shouted: "Don't be rude!" He put his arm around the man.

The attendant was stunned: "You're not a turtle prince, what are you doing for a bitch?" ”

Xu Ping slammed his fist into the face of the attendant, who let out a cry of pain and fell backwards. Several other entourages were stunned for a moment, then jumped up one after another and pounced on Xu Ping.

Xu Ping had learned the art of fighting in the army, but he was not yet proficient, let alone experienced actual combat, and he could not stand the strength of the opponent. Xu Ping looked for an opportunity to quickly retreat to the corner of the house, struggling to resist the attack of the first few people. For a while, the stools flew together, and the voices were boiling.

There is an entourage with a whistle stick, but the teahouse is small and cannot be used. As soon as he turned his eyes, he saw that the two girls had come back when they heard the noise, and were looking in from the door, so he ran to them and shouted, "This little lady, my son-in-law asks you to stay." ”

Xu Ping was angry and angry, but he couldn't let go of the few people in front of him at once.

Unexpectedly, the unknown young lady threw off her cloak, flew out unhurriedly, and kicked the entourage in the face like lightning, and in an instant the sturdy man screamed, squatted on the ground with his eyes in his hands, and the whistle stick in his hand flew out at the same time.

Before the whistle stick hit the ground, the young lady shook her toes, and the whistle popped up and was copied in her hand, and then jumped towards the crowd. Xu Ping thought he was dazzled, and after a little hesitation, his neck was already grabbed by his opponent.

The young lady clenched the whistle stick and tossed up and down, and several big men lay on the ground and cried out in pain, and none of the rest dared to come forward.

The young lady put the whistle stick on the table, tidied up her clothes, and said loudly: "This son is invited, since he is a noble family, he should be an example for the people of the world." ”

The fat man was already frightened and stupefied, and nodded his head when he heard it: "Yes." ”

The young lady continued: "Pay special attention to your demeanor. ”

"Yes."

"If such a move falls into the ears of Yu Shi, Yu Shi will inevitably impeach Ling Zun, and Ling Zun will also be fined. Childe, you have to think twice. ”

"Yes...... Yes. ”

The young lady turned her head and smiled at Xu Ping: "Young Master Xu, it's not early, do you want to collect something and go back?" The little woman happened to be on the way with Xu Gongzi. ”

Walking on the road with the two girls, the young lady thanked him: "Xu Gongzi pulled out a knife to help when he saw the injustice, and the little woman felt five guilty." ”

"The little lady is too polite, Xu is still too busy to take care of herself, thanks to the little lady's help." Xu Ping knew very well that in this big fight, it was definitely someone else who saved him. With Miss's skills, she is enough to punish those unreasonable guys a little, but she doesn't need her own help.

The young lady praised: "The officers and soldiers of the fire battalion really won't lose face to their military flags. ”

Xu Ping's heart was pounding again, and he tried it for the second time: "The little lady is in the house, but is it the door?" ”

The young lady smiled happily and nodded, "Yes! ”

"So it's no wonder," Xu Ping's heart suddenly cleared the sky, and he sighed sincerely: "The little lady's skills are simply above the instructors of the new army." ”

"That's not a big deal. It's just that Jia Yan let the little girl learn these fighting and stick skills since she was a child, and ordinary people four or five don't want to get close to me.

"Ling Zun is really a great person," Xu Ping pondered the girl's words, and asked further, "It should also be someone from the new army, right?" ”

Qiu Yue couldn't help but say loudly: "My master, naturally, is not an ordinary person. ”

The young lady smiled even brighter: "Of course, Jia Yan is extraordinary. ”

"I don't know what to call it?"

"This ...... The little woman's surname is Zhao. It seems that I can't go to that teahouse tomorrow, I don't know if Xu Gongzi is still willing to play the piano for the little girl after today's toss? ”

"Of course I am willing, it is really a blessing to be able to play the piano for Zhao Xiaoniang." Xu Ping then made an appointment with Miss Zhao for another tea house, and then returned to the barracks all the way to the barracks.

"See the beautiful woman you spoke of again?"

After seeing Xu Ping nodding silently, Cao Yun continued to stuff food into his mouth, and said with a little dissatisfaction: "I always said that I would accompany you to have a look, so that I could give you a staff officer, but you always said that you were afraid of the abrupt beauty, alas, it was really not righteous enough." ”

"She spoke to me today." Xu Ping still had a dream-like expression on his face.

"Oh, that's a good start." Cao Yun said happily and loudly: "Did you tell you that she was the girl in that courtyard?" ”

"And it's a lot," Xu Ping also laughed, looked up sharply and said, "Come, Lao Cao, I'll tell you about it carefully." ”

After listening to Xu Ping's whole story, Cao Yun crossed his arms on his chest, pinched his chin and rolled his eyes, looking scheming: "Well, it seems that your future father-in-law is also in the new army." ”

"What a future father-in-law, pure nonsense." Xu Ping smiled and said, "But I also estimate that he is the general of the new army, the subordinate of the Hou Ye." ”

"Lord Zhao Qinyong doesn't have a daughter!" Cao Yun pondered for a long time, and suddenly slapped his thigh: "By the way, there is a guerrilla in the staff of the New Army, who seems to be surnamed Zhao." ”

"Are you sure?"

"Confirm it right away!" Cao Yun said that he would do it, and immediately ran to the camp to investigate.

When Cao Yun came back, his face was full of smugness: "Lord Zhao Shuize, Lord Zhao, respectful, Shaanxi people, and Xiucai fame, after seeing the Zhendong Hou who entered Beijing for the first time in the fifth year of the Apocalypse, he decided to abandon his pen and join the army. That's right, I asked, except for Zhao Qinyong and Lord Zhao, he is the only general surnamed Zhao, and he has recently been in charge of the baggage of the fire battalion. ”

"Does he have a daughter?"

"It seems that there is, I don't know very well, but it seems to have come with my children, and I heard that the women in the northwest are very spicy, they can do this, and they don't know much about etiquette when they first arrive in Beijing, this thing is absolutely true." Cao Yun became a little impatient as he spoke, he spread his hands and shouted: "Anyway, Lord Zhao Qinyong definitely doesn't, Zhao Shuize (real name Zhao Jingzhi, called Shuize) Lord Zhao is the only general surnamed Zhao, and he also has a daughter, and he is still in charge of the fire camp, it depends on you whether you can hold the opportunity or not!" ”

That night, Xu Ping lay on the bed and couldn't fall asleep, the snoring of his comrades around him had already resounded, and he was still revisiting the following conversation over and over again, after learning that Miss Zhao was behind the door and not a woman in the dust, Xu Ping couldn't help but start thinking over and over again how long it would take for him to get his position, when he would be able to save enough money, not only for his uncle, but also for himself to buy a small house in Beijing, of course, the most urgent tomorrow to say to Miss Zhao, what to say, this can not help but carefully consider, It must be considered repeatedly, and it must be considered again.

Just when Xu Ping was thinking nonsense, a terrible whistle sounded, this is the emergency mobilization call of the military camp, in an instant, the snoring around Xu Ping was replaced by a rolling sound, Xu Ping jumped out of bed, put on his military uniform like lightning, picked up his helmet from under the bed, and tied it tightly above his head while running towards the door quickly.

"Stand upright!" An officer with a black helmet and black cloak with a serious expression shouted loudly: "Attention of the whole army! ”

Xu Ping had already learned that the officers in this black cloak belonged to the internal guards, and they were not only the military justice supervisors of Marshal Huang of Zhendong, but also the heralds he personally led, and the striking black helmets and cloaks on their bodies made every new officer and soldier daunting.

"Zhili Daimyo Mansion Emergency, Shandong Emergency, the day before yesterday the rebel Ji Huisi has bypassed the defense line of the Daimyo Mansion, from Linqingzhou, Wucheng to attack Zhili Guangping Mansion, yesterday has surrounded Qinghe, at present, the giant deer of Shunde Mansion and the Nangong of Zhending Mansion are also in an emergency, the imperial court ordered my new army to go south immediately, repel the rebel Ji Huisi, and ensure the safety of Zhili!" The torches on the school field danced uneasily in the cold wind, and the military judge sternly glanced at the new officers and soldiers in front of him, and shouted with his hands behind his back: "Go now!" ”

……

On the 27th day of the first month, Hejian Province, Dongguang

Xu Ping was always full of expectations before going to the battlefield, hoping that he would be able to make meritorious deeds in one fell swoop, and his classmate, friend and colleague Cao Yun was even more whimsical all day long, he asked Xu Ping again and again: "Old Xu, you said that if Ji Huisi's thief just escaped from our eyes, and was taken down by the two of us and dedicated to Hou Ye, what will Hou Ye reward us?" ”

"10,000 taels of silver, 1,000 eaters." Xu Ping smiled: "But for now, let's check the traffic map again." ”

After going to the battlefield as an engineer team, Xu Ping began to work at the forefront of the three armies under the protection of the vanguard cavalry, checking the traffic of the roads, and now checking the traffic of the nearby roads, supplying the supplies to the front line of the ancient city Starting from Jinghai in Tianjin, arriving in Cangzhou through Qingxian, and then being transported to the front line through the official roads of Cangzhou and Dongguang. Every day, Xu Ping carefully checked the road for damage, and if it needed to be repaired immediately, and if it didn't, his job was to try to strengthen the road further or widen it so that more convoys of baggage could pass through it every day.

In front of him, a long group of baggage troops drove towards the Longguang outpost, Cao Yun walked over to check the waist plate and paperwork, Xu Ping's eyes swept over the convoy, the escorted soldiers, and the supplementary soldiers who rushed to the front line were all crowded next to the goods on the carriage, their armor and weapons were scattered and stacked with those goods.

Cao Yun and the escorting officer were arguing: "This convoy arrived too early, according to ......"

Xu Ping didn't need to listen carefully to know where the problem was, according to the documents sent by the Upstream Thousand Corps, there will be a convoy carrying gunpowder passing by today, and that convoy may reach it at any time, and the road traffic priority of this convoy in front of him is lower than that of the gunpowder convoy written on the itinerary. Since the beginning of the war, countless soldiers and supplies have been transported from Beijing to the front line every day, and the General Staff of the New Army has assigned different traffic priorities to each convoy in order to ensure that the most critical materials can be transported to the front line as quickly as possible.

Mr. Qian, who led the team, was full of unconvinced faces, while his adjutant was smiling, and they all tried their best to persuade Cao Yun to let them go first. When Xu Ping walked to Cao Yun's side, the Qian general manager was still shouting indignantly: "We haven't seen the convoy behind us at all, who knows when the convoy will arrive?" If they don't have a day, do we have to wait a day? ”

Since he was ordered to coordinate traffic at the Longguang outpost, Xu Ping had encountered many types of situations, and if they were allowed to pass and the convoy behind them arrived quickly, the two convoys would be crowded together. Xu Ping has also encountered several escort officers who are like thunder, and he also knows that they have a hard journey, of course, he always hopes to arrive at the destination as soon as possible to unload the burden, even if it is a moment earlier. However, this kind of anxious mentality often leads to the army and the baggage vying for official routes, disrupting the overall deployment of the staff headquarters of the Forces nouvelles.

Today, Xu Ping has a particularly good reason, the official road between the Longguang outpost and the next outpost began to melt yesterday, and the ground was muddy and more difficult to pass, he stood in front of Cao Yun and said in a flat tone: "This Lord Qian, according to the right of way of the road, we can't let you pass, please order your subordinates to unload the goods on the car and park all the cars on the side of the road." ”

"But according to the Engineer Regulations." The thousand quick retorted: "In this case, you have the right to temporarily modify our priorities. ”

Yes, Xu Ping knew that this Qian Zong was right, the convoy may be delayed on the road due to various circumstances, and when one convoy arrives and the other convoy has not yet seen the shadow, the sapper in charge of transportation can make a decision according to the specific situation. This is also one of Xu Ping's few rights, that Mr. Qian is obviously also proficient in the engineering regulations, he said to Xu Ping again in an accentuated tone: "This general, you have the right to judge for yourself in the regulations." ”

"The judgment has been made." Xu Ping's tone was still very gentle and flat: "Mr. Qian, please give the order to let your convoy go off the road." ”

That Qian Zong stared at Xu Ping's eyes, confronted him for a moment, and finally turned around angrily, scolding and issuing a short order. As the order was given, the soldiers of the convoy let out loud complaints and curses, pulled the car to the side of the road with the people, and looked at the road with red eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, Xu Ping finally saw a vague figure at the end of the road, and soon the rumbling sound of wheels rolling on the ground followed, and he had been deaf to the complaints in his ears during this time. When the new convoy arrived, Xu Ping walked past the first-comers on the side of the road with stiff faces, inspected the newcomers' waist plates and passage papers under their watchful eyes, and then set the powder convoy through.

Everything has rules to follow, Xu Ping's work can only be done in accordance with the regulations step by step, as long as the regulations are followed, even if there is really any problem, it is not his Xu Ping's fault. Xu Ping felt that this kind of work was really easy, even if he went to the battlefield, it was no different from when he was training in the teaching team, but it was ...... It's just that Xu Ping feels that this kind of work is too unchallenging.

"Maybe I should have signed up for the artillery or infantry corps, although they also have their own regulations, but no matter what, I always have more opportunities to make meritorious achievements on the battlefield, right?"

The cart was dragged back to the official road from the side of the road, the goods were loaded, and the rolling traffic once passed in front of Xu Ping's eyes, and Xu Ping, who was standing on the side of the road, saluted the road again and again like a machine: "Do such things every day, when will I be able to get my job?" When will it fall into the eyes of Lord Zhao Shuize? I can't wait for many years, I don't have that much time. ”

"I heard that Ji Weisi, this thief used to be the old friend of Master Hou?" Cao Yun came out again and muttered in Xu Ping's ear, today's work seems to have come to an end, according to the form sent by the upstream outpost, after the two convoys will pass through the Dongguang outpost this morning, it should be evening again: "I heard that the thieves Zhen Zhangyu, Xiao Baiwolf, and Wen Desi under Ji Huisi were all old masters of Hou Ye before?" ”

"Seems like so." Xu Ping nodded and said, "I've heard people say before: Ji Huisi, these thieves used to be the righteous brothers of Master Hou...... Alas. ”

Xu Ping sighed, Huang Shi's brother-in-law Kong Youde is a person that most people in the new army are reluctant to mention in the open, but in private people are still arguing about the grievances between Huang Shi and Kong Youde.

"Master Hou did it...... Alas. Cao Yun also sighed when he heard this.

A recruit next to the two of them couldn't help but interject when he heard their words: "President Xu, Deputy General Cao, the villain always hears the name of Hou Ye's righteous brother Kong Youde, but every time they are unwilling to explain, I don't know what's going on for several months?" ”

Xu Ping glanced at the soldier: "You're not a direct officer, are you?" ”

"The villain is a person from Huguang, who came to Beijing with his family after the Huguang turmoil, and then joined Hou Ye's new army."

Xu Ping nodded and said, "That's no wonder, but isn't there a rumor about this in Huguang?" ”

"It's also spread, but there are a lot of sayings, and the villain doesn't know which one to believe."

"Hmm." Xu Ping nodded again and said to Cao Yun: "Old Cao, let's talk about it, I'm afraid I won't be able to tell me." ”

"Good!" Storytelling is Cao Yun's greatest hobby, he rubbed his hands and began to tell: "Hou Ye and General Kong were brothers who married Jinlan back then, and their friendship was planted in the first year of the Apocalypse, when Guangning was defeated, and the 130,000 army was wiped out. At that time, only Hou Ye and General Kong led a few subordinates in the Guangning army, and swore that they would never enter the customs without destroying Jiannu, and went to Lushun to defect to Mao Zhennan Mao Dashuai! Tsk, two good Chinese characters are like-minded, so they twist the soil into incense and become Jinlan brothers! ”

When Cao Yuan said this, he gave a thumbs up fiercely, and then continued: "In the future, Hou Ye is in southern Liaoning, and General Kong is in Liaodong, and they have made a lot of military achievements. ”

"Hou Ye was extremely rich and noble, but he never forgot his eldest brother, before the First World War in Zunhua, Hou Ye was appointed by the emperor as a general, a metropolitan governor, an official to worship the marshal, and lead the world's soldiers and horses, what kind of majesty and what kind of courage is that?" Cao Yun smacked his tongue: "At that time, General Kong was just a partial general, but when the Hou Ye saw him, he first made a big gift to see his brother, and then took General Kong's hand and introduced them to the generals all over the world one by one: 'This is my eldest brother, my brother who married Jin Lan!'" ’。 ”

The recruits from other places gathered more and more around to listen to Cao Yun's story, and after a burst of emotion, they asked one after another: "Then why did Master Hou kill...... Do you want to turn against his brother-in-law? ”

"It was the battle of the Daling River in the eighth year of Chongzhen." Cao Yun shook his head and shook his head, squinted his eyes and let the Buddha go back to that time: "Sweat came to attack, Liaoxi couldn't resist asking the court for help, and the emergency documents were sent to the Beijing division like snowflakes, you all know that at that time, the Hou Ye had been framed by the traitors and went to the wilderness, and the first emperor and the emperor Sun Ge went out to supervise the division, and ordered the elite soldiers of the world to aid Liao, including General Kong." At that time, because General Kong was the righteous brother of the Hou Ye, so the traitors never let him go, and always made it difficult for him, even the military salary and military food were not given, and General Kong's soldiers were really hungry and unbearable, so they stole a chicken, and General Kong heard that for the sake of military discipline, he ordered this person to be put in the camp with arrows in his face, but those people still did not follow, and shouted and killed General Kong, and General Kong made a big mistake in anger and pulled the flag to make trouble. ”

Everyone was silent when they heard this, and Cao Yun laughed dryly: "General Kong soon knew that he had made a big mistake, so he appealed to the imperial court, saying that he was confused for a while, and asked the imperial court to publish his merits for many years, and let his soldiers eat enough to go to the Daling River to kill the enemy to atone for their crimes." At that time, Hou Ye, who happened to be in Shandong, personally went out to act as a governor of Denglai as a guarantee, General Xu Kong could make meritorious service to atone for his crimes, General Kong heard that he rushed to Dengzhou to surrender, and saw Hou Ye smiling and waving to him under the city, but as soon as General Kong stepped into Dengzhou, Hou Ye put his face on a board, and ordered the surrounding swords and axes to take down General Kong, and immediately kill his head. ”

Many recruits who had not heard the details of this story exclaimed in unison, and Cao Yun laughed a few more dryly: "At that time, General Kong begged bitterly, not begging Hou Ye to see his friendship for many years, but also to give him a chance to reform himself on his hard work in resisting the Northern Captives for more than a decade. After killing General Kong, Hou Ye also said to others: 'My righteous brother is very brave, if he is desperate and surrenders to the north, it will be a great harm to the court!' ', along with General Kong, there were also many old friends of Hou Ye in Dongjiang Town, such as Mao Chenglu, such as Shen Jiucheng, and Geng Zhongming. ”

Everyone suddenly had a voice of aggrieved for Kong Youde, and they all thought that Huangshi's handling of it was not only too untouchable, but also too untrustworthy, Cao Yun also shouted: "Yes, General Kong and the Northern Prisoner have a deep enmity like the sea, and the Hou Ye said that he would go to the Northern Prisoner, how is this possible?" How can it be trusted? ”

After listening to Cao Yun's words, Xu Ping, who had been listening quietly on the side, said: "Hou Ye's disposal cannot be said to be wrong, although these rebel generals have made meritorious contributions, but Hou Ye once asked Lord Sun, the governor of Denglai: 'How many people have been ruined and killed by their rebellion this time, and how innocent are these people?' Just as Yuan Chonghuan unjustly killed Mao Shuai back then, the imperial court thought that Yuan thief might really be able to "level Liao for five years" and not pursue it, so that the Dongjiang generals were cold, if the imperial court today wants to use these murderous rebels to make meritorious contributions and not redress the grievances of the people, then how can it convince the people of the world? 'What Hou Ye said is dignified righteousness, Kong Youde is pitiful, and his sins are unforgivable. ”

Listening to the general speak, those soldiers were suddenly silent, but Cao Yun still muttered to himself: "Ji Huisi and other thieves are all General Kong's henchmen, and they are also raising troops under the banner of avenging General Kong, Denglai Governor Sun has been suppressing them for three years, not only did not suppress them, but let these thieves become bigger, and finally the emperor was punished by the emperor because of the thief's strength. ”

"Lord Sun can't suppress the thief, that's Lord Sun's fault, but you can't say that it's not right to kill the rebel because Lord Sun didn't do a good job." Xu Ping shook his head and said: "Lao Cao, I won't fight with you, anyway, I think the court law should be fair, and what Hou Ye said is not wrong." ”

After saying this, Xu Ping began to guide the work of his subordinates again, it stands to reason that the engineer is a technical branch, and all personnel should be trained by the teaching team, but the new army has been established for too short, and even a low-level officer like Xu Ping has only taken the simplest courses, so in addition to being responsible for commanding the actions of the whole team, he also has to participate in teaching knowledge to ordinary soldiers under his subordinates.

The new army adopts the establishment of ten people and one fruit, and theoretically non-commissioned officers like Guo Chang must be literate, but because of the haste, they have not been able to complete all the literacy courses, which makes Xu Ping have a headache, because the regulations and manuals of the engineers have actually been compiled very carefully, if his fruit commanders are all literate, it will undoubtedly greatly reduce his burden, and now a low-level officer like Xu Ping must not only do his duty as an officer, but even take on a large part of the work of a non-commissioned officer. This kind of pressure is not limited to Xu Ping, almost every corner of the new army has similar problems. It is precisely for this reason that Huang Shi, the premier of military training, ordered the downsizing of the establishment of the new army, which originally had ten fruit lengths under each general according to the theoretical establishment, but now Xu Ping's subordinates only have three fruit lengths; In the original establishment, the establishment of 10 generals for each 1,000 generals was also revised to that each 1,000 generals now only brought four generals for the time being, and the number of people in each team was even more inferior, and this led to the fact that the firefighting battalions that should have been supposed to be only two engineer brigades had to be temporarily organized into 15 battalions.

At noon, when Xu Ping was eating with his subordinates, a cloud of smoke and dust suddenly rose on the official road in the distance, Cao Yun frowned and stared at the dust for a moment, then reached out to get the list sent by the guerrilla station and the thousand corps, Xu Ping had already put down his job and stood up: "No need to check, Lao Cao, there should not be a horse team passing by at this time today." ”

When the comer came to him, Xu Ping was already dressed and gave a steady military salute to the leading general.

The general on the horse hurriedly returned the salute, glanced at the dozens of soldiers around and shouted, "Ben will need volunteers!" Volunteers! Are there any volunteers here who are willing to fight with the general? ”

"General, we are the firefighting battalion engineer team." Xu Ping looked up at the military general on the horse, and saw from his military uniform that this was a guerrilla general: "Report to the general, the lowly position is Xu Ping, the commander of the eleventh general of the firefighting battalion engineer team, and the lowly subordinates have only received basic weapons training, as well as very elementary engineer training, and they have never received any formal battle formation training." ”

"You." The general pointed at Xu Ping, followed by Cao Yuan, who was obviously an adjutant, and the other three fruit chiefs: "And you, you, you, you, what kind of training have you all received?" Are there any people who are willing to go into battle with the generals to kill the enemy? ”

According to the military regulations of the Forces nouvelles, a person who is not a direct officer of the ministry does not have the right to give direct orders to a unit, but any general who has a charter or has reached the rank of guerrilla general may recruit volunteers as combatants from any unit that can be found in the event of an emergency on the battlefield, and these volunteers will not be considered to have left their posts without permission.

Xu Ping had already observed the more than thirty attachés who followed the general at this time, except for about ten of them, the rest seemed to be volunteers, Xu Ping pondered that there might be an emergency at a certain point on the battlefield, but he would not send him to death, let alone let his inexperienced subordinates make meaningless sacrifices: "Back to the adults, the three lowly fruit chiefs have only received simple weapon training, in addition to literacy courses, lowly and lowly adjutants and have received equestrian training and more weapon training, But I'm afraid we can't leave here immediately, can we allow the lowly to report the situation to the lowly general manager first? ”

"It's too late." The general grunted, raised the reins and prepared to pass through the Dongguang outpost.

"General, please show me your waist card." Xu Ping smiled apologetically: "Please forgive the general." ”

"Give." The general quickly took out his waist card and threw it to Xu Ping, and did not forget to urge: "Hurry up, hurry up." ”

"There must be something wrong with something, and to be this kind of volunteer soldier must be dead or alive." Xu Ping confirmed his previous opinion in his heart, he lowered his head and quickly glanced at the name on the waist card, and then took out a charcoal pen and skillfully recorded the number of people, horses, and time that passed in the record book.

Xu Ping raised his head and returned the waist card to the general on the horse with both hands, and asked at the same time: "General, is it really a very important and critical task?" ”

"Of course." The general quickly took the belt card back and stuffed it into his arms.

"General," Xu Ping maintained an upright posture, "I have received equestrianism, weapons, and the most basic tactical courses in the teaching team, and I may be able to help the general." ”

The general glanced at Xu Ping in surprise and replied briefly, "Okay, let's follow." ”

"Yes, General, as ordered." Xu Ping stood up and saluted again, then bowed his head and wrote a few words on the notepad, and then turned around and handed it to Cao Yun, who was stunned: "Adjutant Cao, I, Xu Ping, left my post as a volunteer soldier of this general at noon today, please prove it to the Thousand Corps on my behalf." ”

After speaking, Xu Ping ran quickly to his war horse, untied the reins as fast as he could, Cao Yun only glanced down at the notepad, and couldn't help muttering: "It's too unrighteous, it's too unrighteous." ”

Cao Yun muttered as he quickly wrote a line on the record, and then roughly stuffed it into the hand of the first fruit chief: "I, Cao Yun, left my post as a volunteer soldier at noon, please prove it on my behalf!" ”

He quickly ran to Xu Ping's side to untie the reins together, and shouted at Xu Ping viciously: "Do you think I am a righteous guy like you? ”

The chief and deputy generals disappeared into the eyes of a group of subordinates, and the first commander of the 11th Engineer Squad and his colleagues watched their commander leave in a daze, and at the bottom of the notebook in his hand read:

"At one o'clock in the afternoon, the guerrilla general Zhao Jingzhi led thirty-one cavalry through the Longguang outpost;

Leave the post as a volunteer soldier in general;

Deputy General Cao Yun left his post as a volunteer. ”

[Remember the URL . 三五Chinese网]