On the way back to the old woman's residence, Wei Changtian kept thinking about this matter.
In fact, he was not surprised by such a thing.
Ever since they learned that Li Qi was pretending to be stupid, Wei Changtian and Chu Xianping had already guessed that the former would surrender sooner or later and ask for peace.
After all, from Li Qi's perspective, Fengyuan's current war situation is unsustainable, and he will definitely lose if he continues to fight.
Instead of waiting for Daning to attack Fengyuan City and pull him off the throne, it would be better to surrender in advance.
At least this way, Dafeng could still keep some of his troops and retain some capital for peace talks.
Of course, the premise of all this must be that Ning Yongnian is willing to talk to him.
In order to achieve this goal, Li Qi even resorted to pretending to be stupid to show that he no longer poses any "threat".
After all, the enemy emperor is already a fool, so it doesn't seem to matter if he is left alive...
Alas, it is quite humble.
Sighing, Wei Changtian couldn't help but feel a little sad.
The emperors of other countries are those who have many wives and concubines and are high-spirited.
This one is better.
He fell in love with a woman, but she was a deer demon, and ended up committing suicide.
The queen hated him so much that she even brought him countless cuckolds.
Finally, he saw the opportunity and prepared to show off his ambitions in the "career". He wanted to take advantage of the civil strife in Daning to recapture Yuanzhou. However, he was plotted by Ning Yongnian instead, and half a million elite soldiers and generals were killed in one fell swoop.
The country is about to be destroyed now...
Let’s just say, isn’t it a bit too much of a failure to do this as an emperor?
Wei Changtian didn't know if Ning Yongnian would kill Li Qi. Maybe the former wanted to use this "silly emperor" to take over Dafeng faster.
After all, "occupying a country's land" and "occupying a country's land" are two different things, and there are many problems involved. Keeping a puppet emperor is obviously easier to handle.
But even if Li Qi managed to survive, those days were destined to be a life worse than death, and his days were like years.
Wei Changtian understood that he wanted to save his life first, and then find an opportunity to "restore the country."
But Ning Yongnian is not stupid, how could he give Li Qi this opportunity...unless there is strong external intervention.
Um?
Thinking about it this way, isn’t this external force just yourself?
If he can really compete with Ning Yongnian in Daning in the future, or even pull the latter down from the throne, then won't Li Qi be able to return to the country?
Depend on!
Is it possible that Li Qi had this idea?
You...forget it.
After all, he is his future father-in-law. If one day comes, he will help if he can.
"..."
With random thoughts in his mind, Wei Changtian walked back to the familiar alley without even realizing it.
The open courtyard door, the old woman waiting silently outside the door, the old Sophora japonica of unknown age...
Although Wei Changtian only stayed here for two days with full plans, he felt an inexplicable intimacy with this scene.
"Mother-in-law!"
Wei Changtian still shouted from a distance, and the old woman turned around and returned to the courtyard after seeing him.
But when Wei Changtian also stepped into the courtyard and said a few words with a smile, she slowly stopped again.
"Mother-in-law, there has been a lot of trouble these past two days."
"My matters in Guanghan City have been taken care of and I will leave later."
"I will come see you again when I have the chance."
"By the way, here are a few taels of silver..."
"..."
Wei Changtian spoke while taking out money, while the old woman looked at him silently, with a different expression showing for the first time on her wrinkled face.
This expression is difficult to describe in words, but Wei Changtian has seen it many times in his past life.
In his previous life, he worked in other places, and every time he went home to celebrate the New Year before leaving, he would say, "I'll come back if I have the chance."
His mother, on the other hand, would look at him with a smile and reply softly - "You are busy with your business. Come back when you have time. If you don't have time, forget it."
Including after time travel, his last conversation with Qin Caizhen before leaving Beijing was similar to this.
"Mom, I'll come back secretly sometime."
"Whatever comes back, just stay in Shuzhou and avoid being caught... If you really come back, remember to tell us in advance."
"..."
The same expression, the same words, the same mood.
At this moment, Wei Changcai suddenly realized that he had never fulfilled his "promise" in his previous life. Every time he took a vacation, he would either work overtime or seize the time to relax and enjoy himself.
And it's the same in this life.
In the past year, he has been to Yuanzhou, Dafeng, and at least half of the prefectures and counties in Daning, but he has never returned to the capital once.
Perhaps in his subconscious mind, such a "promise" before leaving was just a casual remark after all.
For those who heard this sentence, although they have never asked themselves to fulfill their promises, they must be hoping that one day they will suddenly appear in front of them...
Just like this old woman who is waiting for someone to come back.
"..."
His hands clenched suddenly and then relaxed slightly.
Wei Changtian took a deep breath, smiled and put a small handful of broken silver into the old woman's hand, and then asked casually:
"Mother-in-law, where are your children now? What are their names? Are there anything left by them at home?"
"I know a lot of people, I'm sure I still know them."
"..."
In the midday sun, the old woman's breathing suddenly became rapid.
She hesitated for a moment, then hurried back to the house, and came out a short time later holding a small wooden box.
It could be seen that she was afraid that Wei Changtian would suddenly leave, so she tried to walk as fast as possible, but her steps were a little staggering.
Wei Changtian also hurriedly stepped forward to hold her steady, and then took the wooden box over.
Obviously, these should be the belongings of the old woman's children.
"Pa~"
The spotless box lid was gently opened, revealing only a thin piece of yellow paper.
Looking at the words "Da Ning Military Department" at the top of the paper and the words "Shuzhou General Military Mansion" at the bottom, Wei Changtian immediately understood that this was a "tax reduction certificate" left to the families of the soldiers.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! As long as someone in the family joins the army, the family members can get one. With this certificate, half of the family's taxes can be exempted.
From this point of view, the old woman's son should have joined the Shu army.
And judging from the "Da Ning War Department" on this voucher, the time of enlistment must have been before Ning Yuke became king.
"Zhang Shi..."
Wei Changtian whispered a name unconsciously, and the old woman nodded tremblingly.
"Mother-in-law, I understand."
Putting the yellow paper back into the box, Wei Changtian said with a smile: "It just so happens that I know people in the army, and I will definitely ask them to take more care of your son."
"..."
When the old woman heard this, she was immediately excited and at a loss.
She seemed to want to thank Wei Changtian but didn't know what to do. In the end, she bent her knees and prepared to kowtow to him.
"Mother-in-law, what are you doing?"
"Aren't you trying to offend me?"
Of course Wei Changtian would not accept this worship, so he quickly supported the old woman and persuaded her for a long time before she gave up the idea.
However, although the latter failed to kneel down, he kept looking at the objects in the hut, as if trying to find something to thank himself.
Wei Changtian looked at her with complicated emotions and suddenly pointed at the patched linen clothes on his body.
"Mother-in-law, you sewed this dress for me."
"That's enough for me."
"I promise you, your son will come back soon."
"..."
The old woman suddenly stopped and looked at Wei Changtian blankly.
Wei Changtian didn't say anything more, and quickly turned around and walked out of the door, completely disappearing from her sight.
In the small courtyard, a big goose was walking back and forth.
This was brought back by Wei Changtian yesterday. He originally planned to eat it today, but he didn't expect the situation to change so quickly. Now there is no chance.
Wei Changtian once again ignored a small promise, and thus he was lucky enough to escape. The goose didn't understand his luck, he just raised his neck and looked at the sky majestically.
It is late autumn now, and autumn geese have already flown from the north to spend the winter, and will fly to the north again next spring.
The earth in the south is like a mother, waiting for them to leave and return in the same place every year.
Just like that person who is always looking at you from the car window.
They would say the same words, show the same expressions, and just stay in place quietly.
Watching the wanderer go and waiting for the wanderer to return.