Chapter 3 He Cao (Qi Shang) Until he returned to the gate of the camp surrounded by everyone, Li Xu had not yet recovered from the excitement of being promoted. He was no better than his eldest brother Liu Hongji. His family background was prominent, but he had no roots.
It has to be said that God has favored a boy from a poor family who was promoted from a captain to a captain in less than half a year after joining the army. According to the military system of the Sui Dynasty, there were three hundred people in a regiment, and each regiment had a captain, and the third brigade led
Reaching the rank of captain means officially becoming a member of the army and receiving a fixed salary, rather than just being exempted from the servitude at home...
If this news spreads back to his hometown, maybe his uncle and father will never be bullied again. Li Xu thought happily, and smoothly agreed to the proposal of everyone having a drink to celebrate in the evening. There were only 1,200 food guards, but there were two
Everyone gets the opportunity to be summoned by the emperor in person. For everyone, no matter whether they are envious or jealous at first, they will feel radiant on their faces afterwards.
At the gate of the camp, a large group of people gathered around them. When they saw the officers coming back, they all dispersed with a shout. Before Liu Hongji could ask what happened, one of them was covered in mud and his face was bruised and bruised.
Minzhuang ran away crying, bypassing Liu Hongji and Wang Yuantong, and went straight to Li Xu
"Xuguan, you're back. Fifth brother tried so hard to find you, but they refused to let me enter the camp. They even beat me, beat me! Wuwu——wuwu——" Someone came and grabbed it.
Li Xuma stood in front of the horse, with runny nose and tears, crying incoherently.
"Fifth brother?" Li Xu was a little confused. His brother was killed in the last battle of Liaodong. After that, he became the only Miao in the family. Although there were several cousins in the family, because his father was a hawker, he took action.
Therefore, everyone rarely comes to visit me at home. From childhood, except for the time when Wu Wazi came up with Gan Luo's idea, no one has ever regarded me as a younger brother.
Thinking of the little wolf Gan Luo, he suddenly became cheerful about the mystery before him. The person who calls himself Fifth Brother is Zhang Xiu if he is not his cousin. It’s just that the fifth child of the Zhang family has always been famous in the countryside for his suave and neat clothes. Although this man’s clothes are good, but the hem
, there are stains all over the front, and there are two circles of shiny black stuff wrapped around the cuffs, which are obviously the result of accumulated dry nose and mucus over time.
"Fifth brother, is this the fifth brother of the Zhang family?" Li Xu jumped off the horse and tentatively asked the person who came. He kept crying and didn't even give his name. It was difficult for him to tell from the dirt-covered face and hair that he had been there.
The appearance of Zhang Xiu, one of the most handsome people in the county school
"Xuguan, I have found you. I am Fifth Brother, I am Zhang Wuwa!" When the visitor heard Li Xu's question, the cry became louder. When Liu Hongji and others saw that they were Li Xu's family members, they started to beat him.
After saying hello, he went back to the camp to tidy up his armor. The warrior Yu jumped off his mount and helped Heifeng lead him into the camp gate.
"Fifth brother, why are you here? Aren't you preparing to go to Beijing to take the exam? Why have you been drafted into the army?" Li Xu took out a Kudzu scarf and handed it to Zhang Xiu. He patted the other party's shoulder and whispered.
Ask
"The imperial court is conscripting Zhao Ergouzi, get the money, no, no, no, no work!" Zhang Xiu took the Ge towel that he had never bothered to use before, wiped it on his face randomly, and cried out.
After spending about half a stick of incense, Li Xu finally understood the whole story from Zhang Xiu's intermittent narration. Last spring, the imperial court began to order conscription, and the Zhang family sent people to the government to manage it. Zhang Xiu was excellent in both character and learning, and was about to go to Beijing to take the exam.
excuse to get out of military service
While the family was celebrating behind closed doors, unexpectedly, the situation suddenly changed. The county magistrate received an order from the court, saying that the people transporting grain to Liaodong were not strong enough. All men of appropriate age who had not served in the military must voluntarily report to the government and bring their own livestock.
Helping the government to transport the baggage to the front, the Zhang family went to take care of things. However, Zhao Ergouzi and Mr. Hucao became cold-faced. Not only did they refuse to help, they even threw the gifts out of the door. They asked the Zhang family not to be bad guys. Cheng Wuwazi had no choice but to rush.
They picked up the carriage and took the servants to report to the government, so their master and servant were thrown into the torrent of grain transportation, rolling to the Liaodong front line.
"The official asked me to be the team leader, and he led five people to transport food, one trip after another, endless!" Zhang Wuwa had cried enough, wiped his face with a kerchief full of snot, and said sadly
"All civilians are not allowed to go home or leave the team. Anyone who dares to escape secretly will be beaten to death with sticks and beaten to death. Then they will be thrown to the roadside. It will stink in a few days...
..”
"Ah!" Li Xu exclaimed in low voice, and felt a cold air rushing straight to his forehead. A moment ago, he was still excited by the might of the Sui Dynasty's army, and even took the initiative to ask for a military service to kill enemies for the country.
The thought of establishing meritorious service in return for the emperor's favor of promotion was instantly dampened by Zhang Wuwa's few words.
"I really couldn't stand it anymore, so I asked Xiao Shuang to sneak out and report the news to my family so that my father could find a way to save me. Who knew he was caught halfway and was beaten with a hundred military sticks in public, and cried all night,
He died in two days. I thought I was dead this time, but last month I went back and forth to Zhuozhou. I heard that you were a high-ranking official here, so I took advantage of the opportunity to transport grain into the warehouse and sneaked over to look for you.
!" Zhang Xiu finally stopped sobbing and slowly brought the topic to the right place.
Xiao Shuang is Brother Zhang Wu's personal pupil. Li Xu once met that child when he was in the county school. In his memory, this person was about the same age as himself, and he was a rare companion who could play with him. He didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, this child
, the other party's life has ended. He is now an officer, and has been mixed into the food protection army with the lightest tasks, so he cannot see these things outside the window. However, most of those who have the same family background as him are enduring their fate.
torment
"Xuguan, can you save me? If I stay like this for a few more months, Fifth Brother will definitely be exhausted!" Zhang Xiu opened his red and swollen eyes and looked expectantly at Li Xu's face, which was covered with cracks and ringworm.
Her little face was full of charm, for fear that she might say something wrong and make the other person walk away.
Li Xu didn't answer. At this moment, he didn't hear what Zhang Xiu was saying. Looking at Zhang Xiu in front of him, he suddenly understood why he said he wanted to establish a meritorious service. The reason why his father suddenly became so angry was that the meritorious service was not something ordinary people could achieve.
, in the face of sudden disasters, children from rich families are always luckier than children from poor families. Zhang Wuwa's family is well-off, he brought a carriage to join the army, and he is still in such a miserable state that he looks like a beggar. He has no money and no power. If he can advance like Fifth Brother,
The transport team has joined the transport team. It is estimated that the corpses have been filled in the ditches on both sides of the road by now.
"Xuguan, Xuguan, please help me. I know I bullied you before, and I know my father can't help your uncle. Please, please!" Zhang Xiu waited for a long time, but couldn't hear Li Xu's reply and became anxious.
I was scared again and couldn't help but choked up again.
"Fifth brother, fifth brother, please don't rush and let me think about it first!" Li Xu was brought back to his mind by the cry, looked around and whispered.
"Xuguan, please, please think quickly, Fifth Brother will definitely repay you in the future!" Zhang Wuwa burst into laughter upon hearing the other party's loosened tone. His nose and tears were all on his eyebrows, but he didn't bother to wipe them away.
"Fifth brother, let's take a step to talk!" Li Xu took Zhang Xiu's arm and pulled him away from the military camp gate. He walked about 300 steps. Seeing that there were fewer people around, he stopped and asked in a low voice: "You
Which army are you in and who is the captain?"
"We are divided into different armies. We are a people's stronghold. Wherever we come from, we are assigned to whichever team we belong to. I am from the fifth team of the third brigade of the second regiment of the Shanggu team. My team name is Wang Qi. I am a lame veteran.
Very bad-hearted!" Zhang Xiu thought for a moment and replied loudly
If Zhang Xiu is in the Liao army at this time, Li Xu would like to ask for the favor of General Qian Shixiong or General Liu Hongji. But at this moment, Zhang Xiu does not belong to any army, and things will be a bit difficult for him.
There is no acquaintance in the place, so he comes to the door rashly. If the other party doesn't appreciate it, Zhang Xiu will be wronged instead.
After carefully thinking about his experience in the army, Li Xu slowly came up with an idea. Now, he had no choice but to hide Zhang Xiuxian in the food protection army. Anyway, the food protection army will not go into battle to kill the enemy, and daily training is better than working in the transportation team.
Life is much easier
"You stay here, and I'll see if I can arrange for you to be a food guard." Looking at Zhang Xiu's expectant eyes, Li Xu whispered.
"Well, that's not what the government said. Unless we die on the road, even if we hide, we can't escape. The monk can't escape the temple. If the elder brother escapes, he will catch the younger brother. If the son escapes, catch the father..." Zhang Xiu was
Li Xu was startled by his words, waved his hands and said loudly
"You joined the army, not escaped from service!" Li Xu explained with a smile, but they had only been separated for a year and a half, but he found that Zhang Xiu's thoughts were very childish, as if he suddenly fell out with him. He became the big brother, and Zhang Xiu
Xiu became a little brother
The young man didn't know that the moment he left his hometown, the gap between him and his companions had widened. He thought that the fifth brother of the Zhang family had been bullied in the grain transport team and was stupid, so he reached out to dust him off.
He comforted in a low voice: "I asked someone to send a military letter to the grain transport team in Shanggu County, saying that you are in strong health and have been recruited into the army. They have no grudge against you, so why bother to pull you back from the army!"
"Really?" Zhang Xiu, the fifth child, asked with wide eyes and disbelief.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine as long as I'm here!" Li Xu smiled, grabbed Zhang Xiu's arm, and slowly walked towards his military camp.
