Chapter 3 Wu Yi (Part 1) Although he said it easily, the army had just passed Yangxin, the governor of Bohai County, and Erya's face was already as white as Canxue Xuzi, who had been blown by the cold wind for less than half a month.
, couldn't bear to let her continue to suffer, so he called Da Niu and asked the other party to arrange a few soldiers to send his wife to the wounded camp. Stop thinking about it. After her body has almost recovered, she can slowly drive her from behind. Shi Erya shook his head and said stubbornly:
"It's just that I haven't ridden a horse for a long time, and my muscles and bones can't stretch for a while. There are only blessings that I can't enjoy in this world, and there's no tiredness that I can't bear!"
Li Xu saw that there was a circle of darkness around her eyes and her face was very haggard. In order not to worry herself, she still managed to put on a smile on her face. She was very moved and moved the two horses closer and whispered: "
The Wounded Barracks is just walking slower, but it won't really leave you behind, so why are you so stubborn?"
"The brothers under your command are all watching, I can't be laughed at!" Erya gritted her teeth and shook her head.
"Only a few people know your identity, and besides, you are a woman, so you will talk nonsense when you are full!"
"Even if no one knows and no one laughs at me, I will follow you every step of the way!" Eryayan frowned lightly, enduring the pain like a knife on his lower back, and responded, "At least, in your eyes, no, no
Falling behind Zhen'er!" Deep in her heart, she added a detailed explanation to her words
She knew that she did not have the backing of three generations of the Duke's family, nor did she have a fortune as a dowry, so she usually worked hard in managing the family affairs so that she could always occupy a corner in her husband's heart and follow the large group of people slowly.
She doesn't have to suffer the pain of forced march, but that also means that in some aspects she is inferior to Yichou's acquired abilities that have nothing to do with her origin and family background. Erya is absolutely unwilling to admit defeat, and she also feels that she cannot afford to lose.
Li Xu heard Shi Lan's resolute words, so he had to let her go for a while. Finally, he couldn't feel relieved. He raised his head and looked around the fields, and whispered: "When we get to the next village, I will send someone to help you."
Buy a softer saddle, which is specially made for marching and fighting. After all, it is not as wide as the one used daily!"
The saddles used for marching and fighting are all narrow saddles, which focus on saving horsepower rather than whether the rider feels comfortable. However, the carved saddles used by wealthy families for daily play are characterized by being gorgeous and comfortable, even for people with thick bones like Li Xu.
Adult men can also sit completely with their buttocks in the carved saddle. In this way, the rider's whole body weight is concentrated on the horse's back. The waist and thighs do not consume any effort, but it is very cruel to the mount. Usually people have a good time while playing.
, but the horse was so tired that he was sweating profusely
Farmers in ordinary villages care about their animals like soldiers, so they would rather suffer more than use carved saddles. Therefore, Li Xu wanted Erya to walk less hard, so he had to go to a large village or fort.
Bohai County is not a prosperous place to begin with. People on both sides of the official road wanted to buy carved saddles. How could they find them in such a short time?
"This is actually quite good. It's because I've been spoiled by you so much in the past two years that I've forgotten my roots!" Erya knew that her husband really cared about her, and she stuck out her tongue mischievously, "I want to buy a house from a rich man and go out to enjoy the mountains and rivers.
I'm afraid you have to go to Daji to get that kind of carved saddle. I was escorted by Luo Shixin on this official road in the spring. I remember that from Yangxin to Yanci, there was not even a decent village.
Let alone a market!”
"How is it possible that when I took this official road a few years ago, I clearly saw many villages with more than a thousand households!" Li Xu frowned, expressing doubts about Erya's statement.
"Look at the scenery around here, it's not even half the same as it was back then!" Erya shook her head and responded in a low voice.
After her reminder, Li Xu did realize that the scenery on both sides of the official road was very different from what he saw when he went to Qi County alone to take up his post. At that time, he only thought that the scenes he saw along the way were very desolate, with hungry people everywhere and weeds growing everywhere.
But now, all the starved and abandoned crop fields have disappeared. Both sides of the official road paved with Sanhe soil have completely turned into a world of weeds and shrubs. The further away from the official road, the taller the wild sunflowers of various colors grow. Some have already
It's higher than a horse's legs. If a young man walks in, he can completely hide under the grass.
"Daniu, bring me the map!" Li Xu's first reaction was that the scout might have led the wrong way, so he shouted an order
Zhou Daniu, the commander of the personal soldiers, agreed and quickly found the map from the back of a pack horse. He held it in both hands and sent it to Li Xu in front of the horse. On the exquisite sheepskin map, the lines representing the official roads were drawn extremely clearly from the nearby mountains and rivers.
According to the analysis of the mark, the official road at your feet is indeed the one that leads directly to Yanci Ferry. It was only a place where there were once full of villages marked on the map. Now it is inaccessible.
"This is almost the same as outside the Great Wall!" Li Xu suddenly had an extremely ridiculous idea in his heart. "The wind blows the grass and the cattle and sheep are low, but it's a pity that there are all dead bones buried under the grass roots!" As if to confirm his thoughts, a burst of
The sharp autumn wind swept through the withered yellow weeds, bending the grass stems neatly. Several charred broken walls and decayed doors and windows were immediately revealed, reminding passers-by that this place was once prosperous.
There is no need to ask who caused the evil. Li Xu knew clearly in his heart that there were three expeditions to Liao, and then the ridiculous decree to force people to move to the city, and then the bandits looted and bandited, the officers and soldiers wiped out, and suppressed people like his Boling Army.
There are definitely a minority of officers and soldiers who do not kill prisoners. Most officers and soldiers are accustomed to trying to solve the problem once and for all like the old general Yang Yichen did. In this way, he silently calculated in his heart the years that had passed since he first passed through the Bohai Sea and rushed to Qijun to take up his post.
, in less than four years, a vast wilderness was created. The power shown by people when they kill each other is really huge!
In an instant, the autumn wind was like a knife, penetrating through the gaps in the leather armor and piercing into his bones. Xuzi always believed that everything he did was just and the reason for the bandits' rebellion was worthy of sympathy, but the bandits' indiscriminate killing and looting behavior was absolutely unacceptable.
It cannot be forgiven, but the facts he has seen and experienced clearly tell him that the order he has insisted on for a long time is as ridiculous and pathetic as the bandits' slogans of justice. It is precisely because of his relationship with Zhang Xutuo, Yang Yichen and others.
Through joint efforts, the imperial court was able to survive. But it was this lingering imperial court that continued to act perversely, forcing more people to become bandits. Then the bandits and the imperial court joined forces, completely turning countless once prosperous villages in the north and south of the Yellow River into wilderness.
"You are different from them. You have protected many people!" A low and gentle voice suddenly sounded in Li Xu's ears, bringing him back to reality from his confusion. "When I was in Boling, I used to dress up as an ordinary peasant woman and go out to buy food.
Cai, I heard that many people are saying good things about you. They said that you not only defeated the bandits, but also scared the corrupt officials from continuing to do bad things..." Erya told it softly, with pride in his eyes.
"The duty of a general is to protect!" The old oath almost came out of his mouth, but Li Xu gritted his teeth and hid the words in his stomach. "Danniu, put the map away and tell the brothers to try not to make any noise when walking.
So as not to disturb the people!"
If there were still people nearby, he prayed in his heart to the gods and Buddhas in the sky, hoping that whether it was Taoist kings or Buddhas, they could open their eyes and see what was going on in the world. If he didn't suppress the bandits, the bandits would loot and burn the cities and villages.
If he continues to suppress the bandits, it will be equivalent to maintaining the power of the imperial court to oppress the people. In the end, all prosperity will eventually be deserted.
At noon, the army finally saw a fort, but Xuzi had no chance to ask if there were carved saddles in the fort. All the men and women in the fort climbed behind the wall and watched them, from the white-haired old woman to the one who had just learned to go to the house and pick out the bird.
The naughty boys in Dandan all have disheveled faces and ragged clothes, but the postures of holding their bows and holding swords are very pure. Those weapons are simple and shabby, but this is the reason why the fortress in front of them can survive in troubled times. They do not believe in the righteousness of "doing justice for heaven".
Thieves do not believe in the officers and soldiers who "protect the territory and the people". In these turbulent years, the only thing they can trust is the weapons in their hands.
The leader of the fortress refused to go out to interact with the officers and soldiers, although he could clearly see the banner of the champion general displayed by the guards. However, these days, there are many people who call themselves Donghai Duke and Changle King, and it is impossible to pretend to be a champion general.
nothing surprising
"We are just passing by, and we want to confirm whether this road leads to Yanci Ferry!" Zhou Daniu was ordered to step forward, spread his hands and shouted to the people in the fort.
"Just walk away quickly when passing by, don't pay attention here!" A feather arrow was shot from the wall of the stockade, almost half a foot into the ground close to the neck of the war horse. "Don't come close, there is no food for you in the stockade! No matter what
Whether you are an official or a bandit, it doesn’t matter.”
"His grandma's!" Wang Junkuo was so angry that he took out the bow from the saddle. He wanted to teach the other party a lesson, but Li Xu stretched out his hand to stop him. "Go to the rear army and get twenty good bows and ten horizontal knives, and put them at a distance."
Fifty steps from the village gate, then let’s continue on our way!”
"Yes, obey, obey the order!" Wang Junkuo looked at his general in surprise. He didn't understand what caused the other party to make such a ridiculous decision, but he still faithfully carried out this 'random order', which attracted the confused eyes of the people in the village.
, placed the weapon in a position where the opponent could easily get it and would not cause misunderstanding, and then followed Zhou Daniu back to the team in dismay.
When the large group of people walked out for more than a mile, a horn sound came from the wall of the village, "Woo-Woo-Woo-Woo", a long and graceful sound, as if a wild beast was calling its kind in the forest. Xuzi knew that the other party had given the answer, and smiled.
