Until he returned to the camp gate with everyone's support, Li Xu had not yet recovered from the excitement of being promoted. He was no better than his elder brother Liu Hongji. His family background was prominent, but he had no foundation. A poor boy could not join the army without joining the army.
Within half a year, he was promoted from a regiment to a captain. It has to be said that God has favored him. According to the military system of the Sui Dynasty, there were three hundred people in a regiment, and each regiment had a captain, with three brigades. At the level of a captain,
, it means that you officially become a member of the army and have a fixed salary, instead of 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 that everyone have a drink to celebrate in the evening. There are only 1,200 food guards.
However, two people got the opportunity to be summoned by the emperor in person. For everyone, no matter whether they were envious or jealous at first, they felt that their faces were radiant afterwards.
At the gate of the camp, a large group of people gathered around. Seeing the officers coming back, everyone dispersed with a shout. Before Liu Hongji could ask what happened, one man was covered in mud and his face was bruised.
The purple-colored Minzhuang ran away crying, bypassing Liu Hongji and Wang Yuantong, and went straight to Li Xu.
"Xuguan, you're back. Fifth brother had a hard time looking for you. They, they didn't let me enter the camp, and they beat me, beat me! Wuwu——wuwu——" Someone came to snatch me.
When he came to Li Xuma, he burst into tears and cried 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 child in the family. Although there were several cousins in the family, because his father was a hawker, he took action
He was stupid, so everyone rarely came to visit him at home. Ever since he was young, except for the time when Wu Wazi had an idea for Gan Luo, no one had ever regarded him as his younger brother.
Thinking of Little Wolf Gan Luo, the mystery in front of him suddenly became bright. The one 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
There were stains all over the hem and front, and there were two circles of shiny black stuff wrapped around the cuffs, which were 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 asked tentatively. The visitor kept crying and didn't even give his name. It was difficult for him to tell from the face and hair covered with dirt.
The appearance of Zhang Xiu, one of the most handsome people in the county school at that time.
"Xuguan, I have found you. I am Fifth Brother, I am Zhang Wuwa!" When the visitor heard Li Xu's question, he wailed louder. Liu Hongji and others saw that it was Li Xu's family who came to look for him.
, said hello, and 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 said lowly.
Asked loudly.
"The imperial court is recruiting troops. Zhao Ergouzi, take the money, no, wuwu, don't do anything!" 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, who would have expected that the situation would suddenly change. The county received an order from the court, saying that the people transporting grain to Liaodong were not strong enough, and all men of appropriate age who had not served in the military must automatically report to the government and bring their own
The animals helped the government transport the baggage to the front. The Zhang family went to take care of it, but Zhao Ergouzi and Master Hucao became cold-faced. Not only did they refuse to help, they also threw the gifts out of the door, asking the Zhang family not to harm the future. Wuwazi was helpless.
, had no choice but to drive the carriage and take the servants to report to the government, so their master and servant were thrown into the torrent of grain transportation, rolling to the front line of Liaodong.
"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 with a beating. When they are exhausted and beaten to death, they will be thrown to the roadside. In a few days, they will die.
It stinks…”
"Ah!" Li Xu exclaimed in low voice, feeling 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 volunteered to fight for the country.
The thought of establishing meritorious service in return for the emperor's favor of promotion. Now, the enthusiasm in his heart was instantly dampened by Zhang Wuwa's few words.
"I couldn't stand it any longer, 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 that he was caught on the way and beaten with a hundred military sticks in public, and cried all night long?
He died the next day. I thought I was dead this time, but when I went back and forth to Zhuozhou last month, I heard someone said that you had become a high official here, so you took advantage of the opportunity to transport grain to the warehouse and sneaked over here.
Looking 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 had met that child when he was in the county school. In his memory, this person was about the same age as him, and he was a rare companion with whom he could play together. He didn't think about it in a blink of an eye.
In the meantime, the other person'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. But most of those who have the same family background as him are here.
endure the torment of fate.
"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 at Li Xu expectantly. His face was full of cracks and springs.
Her little face was full of flattery, and she was afraid that she might say something wrong and make the other person walk away.
Li Xu didn't say anything. He didn't hear what Zhang Xiu was saying at this moment. Looking at Zhang Xiu in front of him, he suddenly understood why his father suddenly got so angry when he said he wanted to get a meritorious name. Merit and fame are not something ordinary people can get.
Literally, 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 as miserable as a beggar. He has no money and power, if he follows
The fifth brother also joined the transport team, and it is estimated that the corpses have been filled in the ditches on both sides of the road by now.
"Xuguan, Xuguan, please save 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 Li Xu couldn't hear him.
Replied. I was anxious and scared, and couldn't help but choked up again.
"Fifth brother, fifth brother, don't be anxious. 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 immediately burst into tears and laughed. His nose and tears were all hanging 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. After walking for more than 300 steps, he saw that there were fewer people around him. He stopped and asked in a low voice: "
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 organized into the team. I am from the fifth team of the third brigade of the second regiment of the Shanggu team. The team name is Wang Qi. I am a lame veteran.
, Very bad-hearted!" Zhang Xiu thought for a while and answered 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, in addition to his service. But at this moment, Zhang Xiu does not belong to any army, and things are a bit difficult to handle.
.I have no acquaintance in the place, so I came to the door rashly. If the other party doesn't appreciate it, I will make Zhang Xiu feel wronged.
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 would not go into battle to kill the enemy, and daily training was better than transportation.
Team work is much easier.
"You stay here with me, I'll see if I can arrange for you to be a food guard." Looking at Zhang Xiu's expectant eyes, Li Xu ordered in a low voice.
"Well, that can't be done. The official said, unless we die on the road, otherwise, even if we hide, we can't escape. The monk can't escape the temple. If the elder brother escapes, the younger brother will be caught. If the son escapes, the father will be captured..."
Zhang Xiu was startled by Li Xu's words, waved her hands and said loudly.
"You are joining the army, not deserting!" Li Xu explained with a smile. However, they had only been separated for a year and a half, but he found that Zhang Xiu's thoughts were very childish. It seemed that he suddenly fell out with him and became the big brother.
And Zhang Xiu became the 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 was being bullied in the grain transport team, so he reached out to dust him off.
, 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 in disbelief with his eyes widened.
"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.
There are many benefits to becoming an officer officially registered with the imperial court. At least when going through the admission procedures for the fifth son Zhang Xiu, Li Xu had a smooth journey wherever he went. This does not include his three friends Wang Yuantong, Qi Poning and Qin Ziying.
After hearing that the visitor was a relative of Li Xu, one of the three people specially made an empty tent for Zhang Xiu next to Li Xu's tent, one provided the best armor and mounts, and the third went up without hesitation.
The Gu County grain transport team issued a military letter.
"He is my fifth brother, I can't treat him as a personal soldier!" Li Xu explained to everyone with some embarrassment. Every officer has one or two cronies, and several friends obviously thought that the fifth son Zhang Xiu was someone Li Xu deliberately found.
A confidant who makes excuses to stay by his side.
"I can be the personal soldier of the captain, and I am willing to take care of my brothers!" Zhang Xiu, the fifth son, responded quickly. After learning that his cheap brother had just been promoted to the rank of captain by His Majesty the Emperor, he immediately understood where he should stand.
