Xia Zhaoyi rarely returned to Beijing, and when she did, she mostly stayed in the mansion and the city. Therefore, she had very little contact with the Xia family army before going to Beiyuan.
On the rare occasions when her father took her to play, they followed her, but each time the number was not large.
There are strict etiquette regulations in Daqian. The princes, dukes, and accompanying soldiers should not exceed five hundred.
My father didn't like to be extravagant, so every time he went out of the capital, except for his personal guards, the Xia family's army did not even have twenty people.
But the soldiers of the Xia Family Army accompanied her through the last journey of her life.
In the year of Dinghai, she rushed all the way from Liling to Beize, and saw her second brother and the remaining soldiers of the Xia family who had run out of ammunition and food in Shengliuyuan.
In order to cover the second brother's departure as soon as possible, they accompanied her to attract all the attention of the Beiyuan Army, were arrested together, acted together, and finally, were tortured and died together.
During those more than ten days of getting along day and night, Xia Zhaoyi realized the love between comrades that he had never experienced outside the battlefield, which was the separation of life and death, the blending of blood and tears, absolute trust and trust, and the sincerity and simplicity of true love.
Now, Xia Zhaoyi looked at them, strange and familiar at the same time.
These soldiers who have been on the battlefield for a long time are also looking at her.
Descending from the hillside, a distance of forty feet that is neither far nor near, it is impossible to see clearly.
But Xia Zhaoyi seemed to be able to feel the sincerity and enthusiasm in their eyes.
They didn't know that their second brother was still alive. In their eyes, she was the last orphan of Duke Dingguo's mansion.
Song Qingtang said: "When your father and brother died, old General Ouyang Anfeng was ordered to take over as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army. These Xia family troops followed General Ouyang. Later, the old general died in battle, and something happened to the Xia family. They were afraid that Li Zhi would eradicate them. General Ouyang Jun hid them. When the incident happened in the capital, General Ouyang brought them back. He wanted to protect you, but he happened to miss you. General Ouyang is a cautious man. In these years, he does not trust others or me, and has been secretly I looked for you but couldn't find you. It wasn't until I received a secret report a few months ago that you were living in seclusion in Bajianghu. The letter last month was the news of your appearance in Congxin Mansion."
Seeing the girl's eyes gradually turning red, Song Qingtang's heart tightened: "Ali..."
Xia Zhaoyi resisted crying and said calmly: "How many people are here."
"One thousand, three hundred and sixty-two people," Song Qingtang frowned slightly, "originally three thousand, but they have never rested in the past few years. They have been fighting for many years, and more than half of them were killed or injured."
Xia Zhaoyi looked to the side and couldn't hold it back this time, tears fell from her eyes.
Song Qingtang raised his hand to wipe away her tears, but when he saw that his fingers were stained with sand in the dust, he lowered them again.
"General Ouyang said that he has several Zhuangzi in Gaizhou. If you don't know how to accept these soldiers and horses, you can..."
"It's okay," Xia Zhaoyi wiped away her tears and looked back into his eyes, "I can make sure they all have enough food and clothing."
"Well... Ah Li, I didn't tell you about this in the letter because I was in a hurry. General Ouyang Jun didn't believe anyone before, so he only found me at the last minute."
"After all, there are too many traitors," Xia Zhaoyi's voice softened, "I can understand General Ouyang."
After saying that, Xia Zhaoyi smiled and said, "Let's catch the wind and wash away the dust, but there are too few inns here, so I'm afraid there won't be much to eat."
"We brought our own dry food and can survive for two days."
The dry food brought back from the northern belt can last for such a long time, but now it is probably harder than a rock.
Xia Zhaoyi laughed and cried at the same time and nodded: "Okay."
"Come on, Ah Li," Song Qingtang smiled, "come with me to see them first."
"Um."
The wind in Wanshan Pass is very strong, blowing for thousands of years and blowing from the far north. In the bleak autumn and winter, the weathered sand and stones, without the lush vegetation, look like a barren field after the sea has dried up.
Xia Zhaoyi followed Song Qingtang down the long slope. As they passed by, the soldiers got off their horses and stood upright, orderly and disciplined. Everyone's eyes were fixed deeply on the girl's brows.
The closer she got, the clearer she could see. The girl didn't cry anymore, but her eyes were still red with tears, and her eyes were bright and bright, like the light of the sun shining on the river from behind the shadows of clouds.
"Second Miss!" the soldiers shouted in unison, "I have seen the Second Miss!"
The senior generals at the head were the first to kneel down in military salute, and the soldiers behind them all knelt down in unison.
The people nearby didn't know which army they belonged to, so they hurriedly knelt down and didn't dare to raise their heads.
Song Qingtang came forward with her and helped the senior generals to stand up for her.
They were all about forty years old, tall and strong, with armor stained with dust on their bodies, and frost on their lips and beards. They looked at the girl with red eyes, and one of them suddenly couldn't hold it back, lowering his head and crying.
Xia Zhaoyi was surprised to find that she actually recognized him: "You, you are Xia Xingming, Uncle Xia."
The veteran choked with sobs and looked at her in disbelief: "Second Miss, have you seen me?"
"The eldest sister has talked about you," Xia Zhaoyi said, "You once accompanied the eldest sister and my father to the Jiangya Racecourse in Tangzhou, which is the racecourse of the Zhuge family. The eldest sister..." Xia Zhaoyi
She had no choice but to lie, "After she returned to Liling, she painted a picture of a horse race, which was lifelike, and Uncle Xia was also in it."
"Miss, she, she actually painted me..." The veteran general was overjoyed, but when he thought about the voice of the eldest daughter of Duke Dingguo, he felt sad and heartbroken. The tough and fierce soldiers on the battlefield burst into tears.
Hengliu said, "Miss, the Duke..."
When he cried, the soldiers next to him were all affected, and many turned their heads to wipe away tears.
"Uncle Xia, please stop crying." Xia Zhaoyi also had tears in her eyes.
"Well, don't cry!" A veteran next to him raised his hand to wipe his tears, "We have met the daughter of the Duke of Guo. This is a happy thing! Why should we cry!"
"I couldn't hold it back," Xia Xingming cried. "The eldest lady didn't kneel to us back then. The eldest lady said that her master didn't like being humbled and would not let others kneel down. He could kneel to anyone but not her. Just now the second lady
As soon as you say it, I will, I will..."
Xia Zhaoyi smiled, looked at the veteran general just now, raised his hands and clasped his fists, before asking any questions, the veteran said: "Second Miss, I also take my surname from the Duke of the country, my name is Xia Junnan!"
As soon as he read out the name, he laughed sheepishly: "This, this name is a bit ridiculous..."
Xia Zhaoyi chuckled.
"It sounded good when you were young, but it's embarrassing as you get older." He continued with a red face.
"Father told you," Xia Zhaoyi said with a smile, "your little father was seven years old. After your grandfather rescued you, you stayed with your father for a while. You got this name yourself because..."
"No, no, no!" Xia Junnan said hurriedly, "Second Miss, don't mention this matter again, I want face, I want face!"
Others laughed.
Several people joked and asked Xia Zhaoyi to tell the reason. Xia Zhaoyi smiled, did not mention it, and asked the next person.
Li Man waited in the inn for a long time and felt uneasy when Xia Zhaoyi didn't come back.
But Fang Genghou is here, and Li Man can't go out.
After waiting for a while, Li Man asked Su Heng to go outside to see how the situation was.
But Su Heng couldn't even leave the teahouse because the men with knives outside were still yelling and cursing.
What Xia Zhaoyi stopped was the gangsters who were chasing to the northwest. The people from the east gradually came back and started to plunder money.
Several inns have been hit by the disaster, and the shopkeeper and waiter of this teahouse are packing their things behind the counter with very skillful movements, preparing to escape through the back door and return after the storm has passed.
Suddenly someone outside shouted: "The army is coming! The army!"
"Army?" Su Yumei heard it first and turned around to look at the people in the tea shed.
The shopkeeper and the waiter had a conversation: "What's right?"
"The army is coming," Su Yumei said, "people outside are shouting."
There was an uproar in the teahouse.
"No wonder I just heard a lot of people shouting something in unison. I thought I heard it wrong. It turned out to be the army!"
"Why didn't I hear it?"
"No, what kind of army could it be that fought here?"
"Yes, whose soldiers and horses could it be? Could it be those people from Beiyuan!!"
"This! How is this possible?"
The shopkeeper and the waiter looked pale: "This, this is not bad!"
I immediately had to pack my things more diligently.
As soon as the atmosphere got infected, other people in the inn were ready to leave.
Li Man frowned and stared blankly at the door of the teahouse: "My boss hasn't come back yet!"
Su Yumei opened a crack in the door.
Many people were already running over, shouting "The army is coming" as they ran.
This time the sound was much clearer, and everyone in the teahouse could hear it clearly.
The people who ran back screamed in fright when they saw the blood on the ground, but they ignored the gangsters who still had knives in their hands and ran around them.
Several gangsters were unaware of the situation and rushed to hold them back for questioning. During the struggle, another person was stabbed.
As more and more people came back, the gangsters panicked and hurriedly called on those who had entered the house to rob them and ran away together.
