It was early November in the third year of Shengyuan.
On the spacious official road, the cold wind blew.
The lush greenness of a few months ago has long since disappeared on both sides of the road, leaving only dead branches and decayed vines strewn about, swaying constantly in the wind, silently telling the story of the approaching cold winter.
You can often see a bird's nest on a tree branch, but you never see its owner return.
The weather is getting colder, and the world is much quieter.
Ta da da...ta da da...
The sound of horse hooves sounded.
A convoy of seven or eight carriages moved slowly along the official road. The ruts left marks on the ground. Fortunately, the weather was dry and there was not much mud on the ground. After all, the convoy faced the cold winter.
It's a little better now.
The people driving the carriage were Da Qin soldiers, and there were troops guarding both sides of the carriage.
This is a convoy heading north to deliver food to Yunzhou.
This year's northern border is different than before.
In previous years, when the barbarians went south, they would withdraw their troops after grabbing enough money and food. However, Da Qin's Zhenbei Army never pursued and killed them, they just drove them away and forget about it.
This kind of tacit understanding has lasted for many years.
But this year is different.
It is clear that the cold winter has arrived, and people in the north are suffering even more than those in Yunzhou.
But this time the barbarians chose to continue the war, with a posture that they were bound to capture Yunzhou.
Although they had been fighting for so long, the barbarians were only able to capture an area two to three hundred miles north of Yunzhou, but their unyielding posture was truly demonstrated.
For this reason, the imperial court had no choice but to respond, and unplannedly deployed many manpower to support the Yunzhou war.
"Damn it, it's so damn cold this year!" the driver driving the carriage cursed in a low voice.
Although we are close to Yunzhou, November in the past has been quite cold, but this year it is even worse.
The officer next to the coachman heard the coachman's curse, but he was not angry. Instead, he sighed twice in agreement.
"Lao Jin, please stop saying a few words. Who would have thought that the war in Yunzhou would last until today... Hey, don't think we are just delivering food. When we go to Yunzhou, I'm afraid I will be recruited into the Zhenbei Army.
."
Lao Jin shook his head repeatedly.
"I'm just a groom, I don't know how to fight!"
"This is not something you and I have the final say. Coachman? If you are driving a carriage in the army, you have received military pay and have military registration! The generals in Yunzhou have long been jealous of you, so they still care about your status?"
Lao Jin was shocked and said: "The north has reached this level? Doesn't our Zhenbei Army win every year?"
"Shit, they win every year! In previous years, the barbarians have always withdrawn their troops after grabbing enough supplies for the winter! How can they start a battle without end like this this year? Even our general who Zhenbei lost his life, what do you think of this battle?
Will it end easily?" the officer responded with a sneer.
Upon hearing this, Lao Jin's face turned a little ugly.
Going north to transport food is already a hard job, and now it's even worse when you hear that you might have to go to war.
"How did General Lu die?"
The officer shook his head and said, "I don't know. Some people say that he was poisoned; some people say that he was so happy with his achievements that he lost to the barbarian generals on the battlefield. His heart was broken and he died."
After a pause, the officer looked around and lowered his voice.
"There is also a saying in Beijing that the Lu family has been disobedient for a long time. Lu Nanting has been in charge of the Zhenbei Army for more than 20 years and has long since become the king of the northern territory! Our emperor's words are not as effective as his."
"Ah? The Lu family followed the royal family to conquer the country a thousand years ago. How could this happen?" Lao Jin was shocked.
The officer sneered.
"Oh, you also said it was a thousand years ago! No matter how tall the emperor is and he still controls the military for decades, he will inevitably have his own thoughts."
Lao Jin nodded slightly and said in surprise: "So General Lu was ordered by the superiors..."
Halfway through his words, Lao Jin made a gesture of wiping his neck.
The officer shook his head.
"I can't tell. It's impossible to guess, and it's best not to guess."
That's what he said, but judging from the way he said it, he seemed to have already confirmed this statement.
At this moment, the officer suddenly saw a figure appearing in front of him.
He was a young man who looked like a scholar. In this cold winter, he was holding a folding fan and waving it from time to time. It looked weird.
If it's just like this, that's it. The young men in Beijing also like it like this, as if holding a folding fan is a symbol of their scholars.
But the scholar happened to have a snow-white cat on his head.
What's even more outrageous is that he grabbed a girl's hair with his left hand. The girl was obviously still alive, but she was dragged along the ground by the scholar, leaving a deep mark.
Lao Jin also saw the situation ahead.
"Sir, is that in front...?"
The officer snorted softly.
"This place is not far from Mocheng! I guess some young man from Mocheng is taking care of his maid!"
Hearing this, Lao Jin suddenly realized.
"I've long heard that people from these big families are unkind because of their wealth and treat their subordinates extremely harshly... That girl looks like she is no more than twenty-eight years old, eh."
"This matter needs to be taken care of!" the officer signaled to the surrounding men, and several fast horses immediately came out of the queue and stopped in front of the scholar in the blink of an eye.
"Scholar! Let go of the girl in your hands!" the officer shouted loudly as he came closer.
He has also been on the battlefield. He shouted violently, with a bit of military power. Most people would be frightened to the point of losing their balance.
But the scholar didn't move at all, but there was a bit of surprise on his face.
"Meow?"
The white cat above his head was woken up, glanced at the soldiers blocking the road in front, and scratched the hair of his mount in dissatisfaction.
"Lin Ji, have you arrived in Mocheng?"
"Not yet, almost."
"who are they?"
"The road may be rough."
"What's the injustice?"
Lin Ji smiled bitterly and looked at the dying little girl in his hands who had been dragged for who knows how many days and nights.
On the other side, the moment they heard the white cat speaking human words, the officer and his men froze on the spot.
"Monster...Monster?!" The officer swallowed, his hand already on the handle of the knife at his waist, always on guard.
Seeing this scene, Lin Ji smiled and waved his hand.
"Master, don't be nervous. Lin is a human, not a monster."
"The cat..."
"Oh, she is."
Seeing that the officer was a little nervous again, Lin Ji shook his head and kicked the little girl who was dragged along by him.
"Lin! Why are you kicking me!" The little girl who was dying suddenly raised her head, but because Lin Ji was pulling her hair, this action made her face look a little painful.
"Explain to these military masters what you did." Lin Ji said expressionlessly.
"Jie Jie Jie... Auntie, I..."
Snapped!
Lin Ji slapped him in the face and let go of his hand at the same time.
The little girl was immediately knocked away.
"I want you to stop laughing so weirdly. You can't understand people, can you?"
After a while, the little girl came back listlessly with disheveled hair and took the initiative to kneel down beside Lin Ji.