At the end of November of the eighth year, in the southeast of Gohara County, the snow that had already been more than half a foot thick was slowly "shrinking" and froze into a layer of ice in the biting northwest wind.

With a click, the horse's hooves nailed to the iron palm broke through the not thick ice on the ground at once. Under the tremendous pressure, the crushed ice slowly seeped water, leaving a small puddle on the ground, but after a while, the small puddle was quickly frozen by the north wind.

Zeng Hua instigated Hot Wheels and slowly ran in the ice. Hot Wheels, who was born on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, should be very familiar with this kind of weather, so he doesn't feel uncomfortable, but excitedly puffs his nose twice from time to time, spewing out two white gases. But what was uncomfortable was Zeng Hua, who was riding on a horse, he was wearing two sheepskins, and he still felt that the cold wind blowing in front of him was like a steel needle, desperately drilling into himself.

"Although the snow has stopped, the north wind is still cold and sharp as a knife." Zeng Hua turned his head and said to Pu next to him, spewing white air from his mouth.

"General, after you defeated Tuguhun in Hetao and Qinghai, the troops subdued the Hequ Party and the Qiang tribes of Baima, and it was also snowing heavily." Wearing a sheepskin hat and a sheepskin coat, Park said happily.

"I know that this is Mr. Su Chang's advice, these three assistants have been in Chang'an for a long time, and they are used to living a comfortable life, and they feel difficult when they encounter a little wind and snow, so they should be admonished, and our Xiang army will take turns to be stationed in Shuozhou and Longxi and other bitter cold places in the future, so that the environment can hone them." Zeng Hua nodded and said, speaking of which. Zeng Hua raised his horsewhip, turned his head and pointed to the north and said: "In the north of Yinshan, it is even more bitter and cold, but the war horses and cavalry produced there are very good, just like the Baima Qiang people in the land of the plateau. ”

Speaking of which. Zeng Hua closed his eyes and imagined: "We will have been attached for a long time by then." Moreover, the Qiang, Xiongnu and other tribes who believed in the Holy Religion and the Jin people who were good at riding and shooting moved there. Set aside a large area of pasture for each of their families, let these brave people soar and grow like free and proud eagles on that boundless grassland, and let them become the Cossacks of our Chinese nation. “

"Cossacks?" Since Zeng Hua vigorously advocated the concept of the Chinese nation, many people in Beifu have been very aware of the meaning of the word, but Park is confused about the Cossacks.

"This is a saying in the Western Regions, which refers to brave people, or free people." Zeng Hua accidentally shook out the modern words. "Brother Su Chang. Do you know? What kind of environment and what kind of people. For example, in the north of Yinshan Mountain, the vast and boundless grassland makes the people there bold and unrestrained, and love freedom; The harsh environment made the people there brave and resolute, and they regarded death as home, but it also made them full of desire and greed for the prosperity of the Central Plains. Instead of letting wolves occupy that grassland, we should let it become our pasture, and our Chinese nation should also have its own herdsmen and cavalry. ”

"I see, the general means like the ancient land of the Zhou Chamber. There are not only the remnants of the country who are good at business. There are also people of the Three Rivers who are good at farming, and there must be Qin people who graze cattle and sheep for them and guard Xirong? Park thought about it for a long time. Finally found a "similarly analogy" from the history books.

"Pretty much. But we should control it all stronger. We must use the two means of religion and commerce to closely link all parts of China ideologically, culturally, and economically, and both are indispensable. We must break with the habits and bad customs of the past and work out a sound system and methods to maintain the unity and stability of the system. In the future, our country of China will be unprecedentedly vast and rich, and we must start to explore a way from now on, so that the people of all directions will know that they are a member of the country of China, and be proud of it, and be willing to shed their blood and sacrifice their heads for this common homeland. Zeng Hua said slowly, his tone was very solemn, "We can change the monarch in the future, but we can't lose the country." ”

Maybe only in front of "new ministers" like Pu He, Wang Meng, and Xie Ai, Zeng Hua will talk little by little about his future plans, and he doesn't dare to say such rebellious words in front of Che Yin, Mao Muzhi and others, maybe these "old people" have involuntarily treated Beifu and Jiangzuo Jin in their hearts, but many "old people" are still unwilling to break this last threshold.

Zeng Hua's words were a little profound and obscure, and Park finally figured it out a little after thinking about it for a long time, "The general means that the monarch cannot be equated with the country and the nation. ”

"Yes, it can't be equated. In the past, all dynasties, including the Sima family of the Jin Dynasty, once they ascended the throne of the emperor, they couldn't wait to announce that they would inherit the will of heaven and should accept the world. Under the sky, it is not the king's land; On the shore of the land, it is not the king's minister. The world has become his grassland, the people have become his cattle and sheep, and the official family has become his shepherd. Zeng Hua shook his head and sighed, and began to say something that he hadn't said easily before.

"The last kings of all dynasties always said that there are no loyal people in the world. For the family of officials, no matter if they change the dynasty or a new master, they can still be their shepherds, while the people of Li are still cattle and sheep, but they have changed a person to eat their meat and drink their blood, so you change the emperor to take care of his bird business. When Zeng Hua said this, he couldn't help but get emotional and began to use foul language.

Mencius once said that the people are precious, the community is secondary, and the monarch is light. In fact, the people of Li are the sheji, and what is the king? It is the representative and symbol of a country and a nation, not a ruler above it. When Zeng Hua said this, seeing that Pu, Zhong Qi and Chief Political Secretary Zuo Qinghou were dumbfounded listening to it, with a puzzled look on their faces, Zeng Hua continued to say in a white breath: "The country and the nation are nothing, it is not like mountains and rivers standing there and can go straight into the eyes, so it must have one."

The king is this symbol. It's like a jade seal, it's a piece. What will make many salivate? Because it is a symbol of the authority of the world. ”

"General, do you mean that the monarch should be a country's jade seal?" Zuo Qinghou said with a frown.

"Exactly." Zeng Hua nodded approvingly. Zeng Hua has been carefully instilling his own ideas into his subordinates, and now, starting with Che Yin, Wang Meng, Xie Ai, Pu and others, many people have begun to identify with Zeng Hua's "advanced thoughts". Zeng Hua has been attacking Hao Long and Luo You, famous people who were dug up from Jiangzuo before. These two people used to advocate freedom and pursue great harmony when they were mixed among Jiangzuo celebrities, so they have been ostracized by other celebrities intentionally or unintentionally. After coming to Chang'an, under the influence of Zeng Hua, these two celebrities, who were originally confused by the "old thinking" could not "save the country and save the people", quickly changed to the idea that "the king should make the world benefit from it and let the world relieve its harm". He began to become a theorist who supported Zeng Huadi. Frequently criticized the former kings of the land for taking the interests of the world out of me. I take all the benefits of the world to myself, and all the harm of the world to others; It also makes the people of the world dare not be selfish, dare not be self-interested, take my great selfishness, for the great public of the world and regard the world as a great inheritance, pass on to the descendants, and enjoy endless family and world thoughts. Slowly changed the thinking of the scholars and the people of Beifu in the past from the ideological and public opinion perspectives, and laid a theoretical foundation for Zeng Hua's "reform".

"General, something happened ahead, please go and take a look." Pioneer Zhong Cuntong blushed and said to Zeng Hua. Zeng Hua, who was continuing to instill his thoughts, was stunned for a moment, looking at Zhong Cunlian's bloodshot eyes in front of him, and his face flushed with some emotion, Zeng Hua felt a sigh in his heart, knowing that something had happened in front of him.

The first thing that came into Zeng Hua's sight were hundreds of wooden poles. It was incomparably desolate in the bitter cold wind and in the reckless wilderness. But what is even more shocking is the corpse hanging on it. The corpses were more like strips of ice, hanging lonely from wooden poles when the cold wind whirred. Rolling up their mangled clothes, they floated silently in the dead silence of winter.

"General, these people are our people, among them are the local officials we sent, the merchants we sent, and the missionaries we sent." Zhong Cunlian said in a low voice with red eyes, "There are four hundred and twenty-six people in total, and most of them were hanged alive. I asked the herdsmen in the vicinity, and said that after Tuoba Xian occupied Guluo City, he hanged all our people in more than ten cities within a radius of hundreds of miles, and then violently corpsed them in the wilderness as a warning, and it is said that these loyal martyrs have been hanging here for more than 20 days. ”

Speaking of this, this Xiqiang man couldn't help but burst into tears, and his tone was full of anger and grief.

Zeng Hua, Pu and the others turned over and dismounted, watching the sergeants carefully put down the corpses one by one, and then lay them flat on the wooden planks they had found temporarily. The north wind made a terrible whirring sound, and rolled up the white cloth that covered the remains, like a ball of snow rising, which made people's hearts feel extremely sad, and in the low wind, the whole wilderness was full of grief and heaviness, and all the people suppressed their hearts in silence.

"Pastor Chen, Pastor Chen!" A priest who was praying for the dead one by one suddenly screamed loudly, his voice was extremely sad and sharp, tearing through the silent air, and several nearby priests hurriedly surrounded him, and then knelt around and wept in a low voice.

Zeng Hua and Pu stepped forward to take a look, and a thin old man appeared in front of them. Zeng Hua recognized this person, his name was Chen Rong, he was originally Fan Ben's old entourage, and later under the influence of Fan Ben's father and son, he became the first batch of saintly missionaries, the first batch of priests, and the first teachers of the first seminary-Nanzheng Theological Seminary.

Chen Rong is only in his forties, but he has been running in Hequ, Qinghai, Longxi, Shangjun, Wuyuan and other places for several years, and the wind and frost have already deeply engraved traces on his face. His devotion to God and the hardships of dedicating himself to God had turned Chen Rong into an "old man" with white hair and a hunched back, and finally made him end his revered life in the distant county of Wuyuan.

His face was very peaceful, just covered with a layer of cyan, his wrinkled face and white chin were covered with ice slag, and although the single robe on his body was broken and full of whiplash marks, it looked relatively neat, which should have been carefully sorted out by Chen Rong before his execution.

"Chen Rong was hung on a wooden pole and froze to death." Park said gloomily to Zeng Hua.

Zeng Hua's eyes suddenly showed a layer of misty moisture, he nodded vigorously, gritted his teeth and didn't let his tears flow. Zeng Hua's blurred vision saw this black and thin but extremely strong "old man", who was calm and consistent in the arrogance and whipping of the traitor. He was shoved in front of the wooden pole. He was robbed of his skin by a murderous traitor. The cold wind was so biting, but Chen Rong's heart was full of devotion and love for God. Fearless of the sword-like north wind, he carefully arranged his thin clothes, and at last walked peacefully to the pole, where he was hoisted by the traitors.

At the moment when the cold slowly took away his life, Chen Rong may have seen the warm hometown of Chengdu, or heard the melodious bells of the Chang'an Temple, as well as the neat and low sound of pious prayers. Among the tens of thousands of believers who prostrate and pray as far as the eye can see. Chen Rong may have seen himself kneeling in it. It's really as it says in the holy scriptures. You have faith. Life really has meaning. This may be Chen Rong's last belief.

Zeng Hua silently listened to the priests who were already kneeling beside Chen Rong chanting prayers softly, their voices low and neat, but they were extremely clear in the whistling north wind. The hearts of all the soldiers of the Flying Feather Cavalry were extremely heavy, except for the sergeants who were placing the remains of the loyal martyrs, the rest of the nearly 10,000 soldiers stood silently to the side, with tears in their eyes, and they all bowed their heads and sobbed.

"General. We saw a rebel cavalry of more than 300 men chasing one man in front, and we went up and killed all of them

The cavalry then saved the man. Gong Tang, who was on guard in front, reported, and then pointed to a young man next to him who was being watched by several sergeants.

This man who was less than twenty years old had a dusty face, and his eyes stared straight at the place where Chen Rong was lying. Suddenly, with tears in his eyes, he struggled to run towards Chen Rong, and four or five Flying Feather Sergeants couldn't hold him.

Zeng Hua nodded. Motioned for the sergeants to let the man go. I saw the man who was out of restraint and fell down. Using his hands and feet together, he crawled on the cold mud floor, trembling as he crawled. Finally crawled in front of Chen Rong's corpse. At last they heard a low wail from his almost kneeling body, and the deep sorrow echoed in his burly chest for an unknown amount of time, and finally burst out at this moment, drifting gloomily in the cold and biting wind.

When the choked man lifted his tearful head, the priest next to him finally recognized him, "Cao Yan, is it really you?" ”

"Priest Wang, I failed to protect Pastor Chen, I failed to protect Pastor Chen!" When the man saw the person he knew, his crying suddenly changed from choking to howling, and he paused while crying, and his forehead thundered on the hard ice mud, and after a while, he saw that the blood on his forehead not only stained the ground red, but also covered the man's face.

Priest Wang easily persuaded Cao Yan, whispered to him for a while, and finally helped him aside to live so that the soldiers could bury the bodies of Chen Rong and the others safely.

"General, this is Cao Yan and Cao Shuyi, the descendants of the former Wei Feng Mourning King (Cao Ang). His ancestors moved to Fufeng County to settle down when our dynasty was founded. Later, the Central Plains was chaotic, the Hu people were rampant, and Cao Yan's family and clansmen died one after another in the troubled times. During his mission, Pastor Chen took Cao Yan, who was already an orphan, and took him with him as a nephew. This time, Pastor Chen came to Wuyuan County to preach, and Cao Yan also came. Tuoba Xian suddenly attacked, sent someone to capture Pastor Chen, and then brutally executed him. Cao Yan was injured in the fight and fell unconscious, and by the time he woke up, Pastor Chen had already been killed. So he disguised himself and infiltrated the city of Guluo, waiting for an opportunity to assassinate Tuoba Xian. However, Tuoba Xian's surroundings were heavily guarded, and Cao Yan took advantage of Tuoba Xian's banquet last night to sneak into his mansion, but only stabbed Tuoba Xian's advisor Yan Feng. After being discovered, Cao Yan killed dozens of people in a row and escaped from Guluo City, but was pursued by more than 300 rebel cavalry, and Cao Yan shot more than a dozen people on the way, and was finally rescued by our army. Priest Wang explained to Zeng Hua in detail.

Hearing Priest Wang's words, Cao Yan hugged his fists and said, "Cao Yan, a grass man, has seen the general of Zhenbei. Cao was originally trained by his ancestors and was not allowed to go out of the office. But Pastor Chen treats Cao like a reborn parent, and his kindness is like a mountain. Now Pastor Chen was killed by traitors, if Cao Mou can't take revenge, he will have no face to live in this world, and he has no face to meet his ancestors with unfilial piety and unrighteousness. Therefore, the grass people dared to ask the general for his life, please allow the grass people to join the army, wear armor and frustrate, dare to be the vanguard, and only seek to be able to blade the enemy. In the end, Cao Yan was already in tears.

"Good! That's how it is for the big husband! Zeng Hua grasped Cao Yan's hand with red eyes, and said excitedly, "It's not you who want revenge, today more than 10,000 Zhenbei cavalry troops here have to take revenge." I waited for a dignified seven-foot man, armed with a steel knife, could I just watch my relatives and brothers fall in a pool of blood? The blood of the dead is cold, but our blood is still hot! ”

Four hundred and twenty-six graves stood neatly in the wilderness where the north wind was still cold, but the biting north wind could not blow the cold and angry grief. Four hundred and twenty-six anti-"S" symbols of the Holy Religion were also lined up in front of the tomb, like faithful sentinels standing straight in the cold wind and the remnant sun to stand guard for these loyal martyrs.

In the deep voice of Priest Wang, more than 10,000 people, including Zeng Hua, Pu, Cao Yan, Zhang and others, knelt down in front of the graves of the martyrs, facing north, and they will do today's evening prayer service together with the martyrs. After the priest had finished reading the evening prayers, more than 10,000 people whispered: "Thy kindness bestows me grace, thy brilliance gives me glory, thy guidance gives me courage, and in the midst of light and darkness I will be subject to thy teachings, and may I bathe in thy grace forever." ”

After reading, in the silence, under the faint red and blood-like sun, in the cold north wind like a knife, more than 10,000 people fell to the ground with a bang, revealing countless pious backs. After silently reciting the prayer again, more than 10,000 people straightened up again, kept their legs on their knees, and looked reverently at the far north with their eyes full of reverence, which is the direction in which God began to open the heavens and the direction in which the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven with the dragon. No one was on the side to give orders, but the whole process was uniformly unified in silence.

After the evening prayer service, Zeng Hua, who was at the front of the line, did not stand up, but placed his helmet in front of the martyr's grave, then lifted his iron armor and cotton silk, and then pulled it hard, tearing off a piece of white cloth from the close-fitting white underwear. Zeng Hua wrapped the white cloth around his head, which did not have a helmet, with a very dignified movement.

More than 10,000 cavalrymen followed suit, tearing off the white cloth and wrapping it around their heads.

"Since Pastor Chen can't save the souls of the Gu Luo thieves with the Holy Scriptures, then we will send them to hell with steel knives." Zeng Hua stood up with a bang, then pulled out his saber and raised it high, and then said solemnly in front of his subordinates who stood up together.

More than 10,000 steel knives were lifted high, and a sea of swords shining in the sunset best expressed the answer of more than 10,000 soldiers.

More than 10,000 cavalry troops wrapped in white cloth turbans drove towards Guluo City, sixty miles to the southwest, in the slowly darkening sky, and when they disappeared into the vast wilderness, the last rays of sunlight shone on the four hundred and twenty-six tombs, on the four hundred and twenty-six anti-"S" holy religion logos, and also on the more than 10,000 helmets placed on the ground in front of the tombs. In the north wind, in the yellow sun, more than 10,000 white feathers fluttered there silently. At this time, snowflakes began to fall from the sky, and soon merged with the white feathers all over the ground.