Chapter 39: Frost Falls

It stands to reason that you should be happy to win the battle, but after this big victory, whether it is a military commander or a peddler or a pawn in Xiliang, the top and bottom are all silent.

Xiliang is still martial, the folk customs have always been fierce, except for women and children, old and young, almost all able-bodied young and middle-aged people have joined the army, as soon as there is good news at the border, the neighbors are overjoyed, that is, some old women are patting their chests and saying: "The old lady's son has won the battle again." ”

Even if he loses the battle, he can still roar: "My son is heroic and does not disgrace the door!"

After the war, burn incense at the grave, wait for the candle to go out at night, and then sink into the quilt and sob. But in any case, there is still no melancholy on the face.

But now, no one in Xiliang has a good face, most of them are disappointed in the current Xiliang army, and the worry or disdain on their faces is not hidden in front of the Xiliang sergeants.

In fact, there are few soldiers and generals who participated in this battle, and Xun Haitang scolded Xu Liangsheng's ancestors for the eighteenth generation in front of all the soldiers of the Fuge camp.

Even if this battle is remarkable, there are many people like Xun Haitang, and few of them are good at reading Xu Liangsheng.

The results of the battle were indeed amazing, the two fronts of Xiliang battled, only the 3,000 lancers of the Fuge battalion and the less than 10,000 halberd soldiers of the Zhuge battalion were lost, and they repelled the 70,000 troops of the Grad on the western front and the 150,000 grassland warriors on the eastern front. Grena and the Left Virtuous King of the Steppe, Ulan Sutu, died in front of the battle, and the 150,000 steppe warriors of the Right Virtuous King Bayar returned to the steppe with less than 70,000 remnants left.

However, such a brilliant result also concealed the despicable methods that were not as good as Xu Liangsheng's sergeant, arson and food, ranger harassment, poisoning in the water, all the next means that could be thought of were used by Xu Liangsheng, in fact, just such words would not make people so despicable, after all, even a big man like Xun Haitang knew that there was nothing wrong with the military plotting with tens of thousands of troops in Xiliang at that time, but what made everyone unbearable was that Xu Liangsheng actually opened a knife on civilians.

20,000 soldiers of the Fugo Battalion, who were famous for their surprise attacks, crossed the southern border of the grassland, and according to Xu Liangsheng's instructions, waved their butcher knives at all the beings they could see, just to force Bayar back.

If you force it back, you will be forced to go back, won't this be over, and when the 150,000 troops of the plastic side return, will he Bayar be able to come again?

No one in the Xiliang army and civilians would regard this battle as a victory, just with the iron blood of the Xiliang sergeant, if it weren't for the loyalty to Xiliang, he would have found Xu Liangsheng a long time ago and cut off the head that was full of subterfuge.

However, not everyone denies the results of the battle because of the process of not being able to get on the stage, Zuo Chongtu, who killed the last grandson in the battle a few days ago, will not, Sima Yibing, who never pays attention to means, Mo Bai, the prince who has always been unruly, and Mo Tongshan, the king of Liang, who knows that if one soldier dies, there will be one less person.

They all know that the Xiliang Army has no shortage of brave and good fighters, only scheming people.

More than half of the 150,000 steppe army was lost, and Grena, Ulansutu were killed, according to common sense, the lost steppe army should have stopped for a while, but anyone with a discerning eye knows that this battle is just the beginning.

No one was spared from the tribes in the southwestern part of the steppe, and Bayar returned to the steppe to see mountains of civilian corpses, cattle and horses no longer neighing, and even infant babies dead in pools of blood.

Today's grassland can be described as excited, the great khan in the rage has issued an order to all the tribes of the grassland, as soon as the winter passes, the grassland soldiers and horses all go south, vowing to avenge this!

Today's frost falls, which means that there are still five months left at most, and Xiliang will have to face a grassland army with high morale and as many as 500,000.

At the same time, Xiliang will also face the secret hands of Qiangdi and the imperial court at any time.

It has been less than a month since the last recruitment, and the entire territory of Xiliang has begun to recruit troops again. The difference from the last time is that this recruitment, down to 16 to 30, as long as you are not a remnant, you can enlist, even if you lack arms and legs, as long as you are a veteran of the army, you can also have a place, organize armaments, make fires and cook, and even have a foundation in martial arts can also go to be a recruit leader.

You must know that Xiliang recruits soldiers regularly, the youngest must pass the crown ceremony, and the oldest cannot exceed twenty-five years old, and now that the army is recruited, many people smell a hint of a big war.

As for who to fight, no one cares, just fight if there is a fight.

Dunhuang Recruitment Division.

Since the early morning notice was posted, it can be said that there is an endless stream of people who have come to the recruitment department to sign up, most of them are teenagers who have not yet reached the age of the crown, but have passed the age of sixteen, and the rest are almost all veterans who have to quit the army due to injuries.

Most people between the ages of 20 and 25 signed up at the time of the last recruitment, how many people who were nineteen before the recruitment and are now twenty years old?

One by one, they signed up, and most of their faces were filled with excitement. They are all from poor families, and in Xiliang, where military merits are used to judge the length of the country, joining the army is the only way out for wealth and nobility. Of course, the fierce folk customs also make these children proud of joining the army since they were young, and every year they recruit soldiers, they break their fingers and calculate that they are not yet twenty years old.

It is true that the regular recruits in Xiliang are twenty to twenty-five years old, but most of them sign up according to their age, and the recruits in Xiliang are only one year old, twenty.

As the sun went down, the official in charge of filling out the roster rubbed his sore arms, his slightly gray hair was dripping with a few wisps of sweat, and his hand holding the pen was a little trembling, and on this day alone, at least five or six thousand names were written.

He is the long history of Dunhuang, and he is also a big official from the five grades, and he doesn't need to do things like recruiting soldiers to write names, but most of the small officials under his hands are illiterate, even if a few have smelled the ink, the words written are not as good as those crawling on dogs, so they have to do it themselves.

Since he took office, so many years have passed, he no longer knows how many rosters he has written, how many words he has written, the entire Dunhuang Mansion, except for the people in the palace, he is one of the few people who can read and write, every time he is related to the paperwork, he must do it himself, otherwise I don't know how many messes those "officials" can "write".

Rubbing his arm, thinking that no one should come again today, he was about to instruct the little officials around him to sort out the books, and he saw a young man in white, carrying a long box, staggering over.

In the windy and sandy, dry and bitter cold Xiliang, this person's face is very delicate, there are only faint traces of roughness on his cheeks, his complexion is fair, and his eyes are pure.

"Xiaosheng has seen adults. Xu Liangsheng stretched out his hand, and the man was stunned, a little distracted.

"Haha, don't be surprised, little brother, it's just that I haven't seen a scholar for many years. The man was a little surprised, since he returned from a study tour in the Central Plains, he hadn't seen a few serious scholars.

"Old man Han Zhengyu. The man replied, but he hadn't done it for many years, and his movements were a little rusty, his left hand was clenched into a fist, and his right hand was up again.

As soon as he made it, Han Zhengyu realized that something was wrong, and hurriedly withdrew his hands, his face was a little embarrassed, and he sneered: "Let the little brother see it." ”

Xu Liangsheng didn't delve into it, he didn't care about these etiquettes for a long time, and it was just a matter of habit to act with others, and it didn't matter which hand was holding the fist and which hand was on it.

When Xu Liangsheng bent over, he saw the roster written by Han Zhengyu, although he only glanced at it in a hurry, but the square little Kai still made Xu Liangsheng remember it in his heart.

As the saying goes, seeing words is like seeing people, this Han Zhengyu must be a square person.

"The little student came to sign up for the army, and asked the adults to write down their names. Xu Liangsheng said, Han Zhengyu glanced at Xu Liangsheng's legs, and said helplessly: "Your legs, I'm afraid you can't join the army." ”

had long expected that such a scene would be, Xu Liangsheng took off the long box behind him, raised it in front of Han Zhengyu, and stretched out his hand to signal Han Zhengyu to look up.

Han Zhengyu didn't hesitate, as soon as he exerted his strength, the long box didn't move at all, Han Zhengyu immediately understood, groaned, still shook his head, and said slowly: "Old man, I still can't write." ”

Xu Liangsheng was suddenly a little puzzled, looked at Han Zhengyu, and said, "Why are adults embarrassed Xiaosheng?"

"It's not that the old man deliberately makes it difficult for you, and the old man doesn't mean that he can't write, but he doesn't want to write, but I see that you should also be a person who reads poetry and books, and the calluses on your fingers can't be faked. Han Zhengyu pointed to Xu Liangsheng's hand carrying the long box, and there were calluses left by holding the pen all year round at the fingertips.

"What kind of weapon should you have in this box, the old man can't lift it, although I don't know how brave you are, even if it is steel and iron bones, you have the strength to carry the tripod, but I always belong to Xiliang A lot of martial artists who are enemies of 10,000 people, but there is one less scholar who can read and break words, so the old man is reluctant to write. ”

Sighing, Han Zhengyu looked at Xu Liangsheng in a daze, and said with a straight face: "I live in the history of the governor of Dunhuang, and every time I am literate in writing and writing, I will do it myself, and if I am not careful, those martial artists who don't know how to read a big character will not know what kind of chaos will happen, and the tax rate of thirty draws can be written as one out of twenty-one ten! The twenty-four counties of the seven states of Xiliang, and the Dunhuang where the palace is located are still like this, and what about other states and counties, you can imagine!"

"At the end of this day, every time the old man writes a name, those who come to sign up will stare at their names for a long time, none of these people are literate!

Han Zhengyu's words can be said to be three points to the bone, Xu Liangsheng was also a little moved, although he was bound to join the army, but Han Zhengyu's words also made Xu Liangsheng think a little more.

Nodding, Xu Liangsheng bowed deeply, and said: "Although Xiaosheng is a scholar, he knows that the power of one person cannot shake the country, and the talent of one person cannot rule the world. ”

Only by joining the army can Xu Liangsheng temper his martial arts, and only by joining the army can Xu Liangsheng truly understand Xiliang.

Han Zhengyu was suddenly disappointed, shook his head, picked up the pen a little helplessly, and just wanted to ask Xu Liangsheng's name, he heard Xu Liangsheng say: "Although Xiaosheng is in the army, I hope to teach all those who wish to be aware of words in the army, at the very least, must also be able to write names." ”

The arm that picked up the brush suddenly froze, Han Zhengyu was stunned, and muttered: "It is better to teach people to fish than to teach them to fish...... It is better to rule the world with literature than to give it to the world. ”

"From tomorrow, I will open a academy in this city, and if there are no other scholars, then the old man will teach alone. has been an official for decades, and now he has to be guided by a junior before he wakes up like a dream. ”

"This name, you can write it yourself, the old man wants to see the Mobao of my Xiliang juniors. Han Zhengyu handed over the brush and smiled.

Xu Liangsheng put down the long box, took the brush with both hands, bowed slightly, and said respectfully: "Xiaosheng doesn't dare to accept the word 'Mobao', I see that my predecessor is a model for my generation." Adults work tirelessly for Xiliang's livelihood, and Xiaosheng doesn't dare to compare, even if he writes smoothly with one hand, what can he do?"

"I Xu Liangsheng since I was a child do not like regular script, weekdays writing is mostly line calligraphy, cursive writing, today to see adults, just want to write the name in regular letters, but also hope that adults can remember in the future, Xiaosheng has always been a reader. After saying something full of meaning, Xu Liangsheng seemed to point slightly, and although Han Zhengyu didn't know the deep meaning, he still nodded.

Slowly wrote down the three words Xu Liangsheng, gently placed the brush on the inkstone, Xu Liangsheng picked up the long box, turned around and left.

Brushing his beard, Han Zhengyu looked at Xu Liangsheng's distant back, and muttered: "Xu Liangsheng, Xu Liangsheng, they all say that your Xu Liangsheng mind is full of indiscriminate calculations, and today it seems that those who have achieved great things are not informal." "Han Zhengyu's long history of Dunhuang, although he is not involved in military and political affairs, is also a front-line figure in the entire Xiliang, how can he not know that Xu Liangsheng, the initiator of the 150,000-strong army that retreated from the grassland?

"Today the frost falls, autumn and winter come. ”