A small oil lamp was lit indoors, and two people were busy in front of the door and window, covering up the bedding tightly to prevent any light from shining through.
There were more than a dozen people crowded into the small room, and if they had not exhaled carefully, the oil lamp would have been blown out.
They range in age, some are old and some are young, and they are all wearing watchman's clothes.
There are thirty watchmen in the capital, and they are controlled by the powerful businessman Jiang. Ah Xi, who is smart and cunning, trusts the Jiang family. Some time ago, he proposed to the Jiang family that all the watchmen should be arranged to live together for easier management and at the same time, they can have more people.
Deduct two coins from the watchmen for accommodation and food.
The Jiang family also noticed the one or two coins and was happy about it for a long time. When the capital was under martial law and the way of managing the watchmen in clusters was praised by the government for ensuring the integrity of the watchmen, the Jiang family was even more overjoyed and asked Ah Xi to do it.
He became the little leader of the watchmen and was also in charge of pouring night fragrance.
Pouring night fragrance is more profitable than beating it.
Ah Xi became famous among a group of handymen.
"Let's not talk about it for now." Ah Xi sat at the table, took out a bag, poured out the money, and called a name, "Take the money."
The person whose name was called was a thin man. He did not come forward, but said: "Axi, it's not easy for you to make money, don't give it to me."
Ah Xi glared: "I'm not giving this money to you, it's for my sister-in-law's medicine and food. You have finally had a child in so many years, so you must keep the fetus."
The man's eyes were red and he turned to look at the other side: "It would be better not to be born in this world."
"What are you talking about?" Ah Xi gave him more than half of the money. "This child has a good life. Good times will come as soon as he is born. There is no need to worry like us."
When mentioning the good days, everyone's eyes sparkled and they asked again, "How is Mrs. Chu's war situation?"
Ah Xi said: "I went to pour night incense outside the city yesterday and saw many wounded rebels. I heard them crying and cursing Mrs. Chu for taking two more cities."
Subdued sounds of joy echoed in the room.
"Then when will we open the city gate?" Everyone asked eagerly in a low voice.
Ah Xi said: "We still have to wait for Mrs. Chu's order."
Everyone was a little uneasy and asked, "Can we get out of the city smoothly?" and "Will we be caught because of the tight security surrounding the city?"
Ah Xi waved her hand and whispered: "We don't know the specific situation yet, we can only wait."
After saying this, he distributed the remaining money to others bit by bit. "Nowadays, life in the city is even more difficult. The price of food, charcoal and fire is terrifying."
Give me some money."
Some people declined, some accepted it calmly, and some said thanks.
"No need to thank me." Ah Xi giggled and winked, "If you want to thank me, just thank the adults and gentlemen who gave us money."
Everyone laughed and packed the money.
"I estimate that it will only be this month." Ah Xisurong said, "During this period, you must protect yourself and be careful, because each of us is related to the future of the capital."
They can affect the future of the capital, so their lives will not be in vain, and everyone's faces will become brighter.
Ah Xi blew out the lights, and thick darkness engulfed the room.
People in the house filed out of the yard, some opened the tunnel dug in the corner and crawled in, some climbed over the wall, and disappeared quickly in twos and threes.
Gathering the watchmen together makes it convenient for everyone to come and discuss things.
Ah Xi stood in the yard without digging into the tunnel or climbing over the wall. He jumped up and climbed up to the roof as light as a swallow.
The thin figure flew over the eaves and walls in the night, and occasionally landed on the street with the sound of bangles, making a low meow. The watchman, who was looking over cautiously, lowered the lantern in his hand and knocked the bangs louder.
Concealing Ah Xi walking past quickly...
The mansion near the imperial city was even more dead and quiet than other places. The character "Li" that once hung on the mansion had long since disappeared. During the Eunuch Rebellion, due to the chaos of soldiers and horses in the city, Zhonghou and others pushed down the gate tower and walls of the mansion.
half.
Then there was a rebellion in Ankang Mountain, and many of the officials, soldiers, and people in the capital fled. After repairs, the house changed its appearance. No one knew whose house it once belonged to, except that a few brothers lived here and there.
Ah Xi climbed over the wall and entered the house without any obstruction.
There was snoring coming from the bed in the house.
He accurately picked up the kettle from the table and poured water to drink in the darkness, while muttering: "Are you so careless?"
The person on the bed turned over: "Not being vigilant is the best vigilance, okay?"
Ah Xi drank three glasses of water in one breath before asking: "How are Lao Hou and the others? Is there any news?"
The man on the bed sat up and said in a low voice: "Half of the dozens of people who ran away from the handyman camp died on the spot. The remaining ones who had robbed the horses captured seven or eight more and threw them in the ditch outside the city and burned them as a warning.
I don’t know if the other people escaped successfully or died outside.”
Having prepared for the worst before doing anything, the dullness only lasted a moment, and Ah Xi put down the tea cup.
"There can be no more movement at the auxiliary military camp." He said, "Lao Wai is the only one of us outside."
The person on the bed hummed: "Lao Hou told them before he left."
"I told Young Master Jiang Qi that Yexiang can also defend against the enemy. Send it farther away and dig a trench to soak the manure. If you step on the air and fall in, you will be poisoned even if you don't die. This is a great achievement. He has already gone to find the defenders of the city.
The general has shown his merit, and I will be able to go further by then." Ah Xi said, "If there is no news from the carrier pigeon in another ten days, I will set off."
The person on the bed touched the bedside for a while, took out a bottle of wine and came down.
"Let's have a drink," he said. "There was only this one jug of good wine brought at home, so I thought it would be a celebration drink in advance."
Ah Xi grabbed the jug and said, "One cup? You are too stingy, you gave me the jug."
The man jumped: "I managed to steal this from Master Yuan's house!"
Ah Xi held the wine bottle and poured it into his mouth without putting it down: "The wine in Master Yuan's house was all given by the governor."
The two of them started to drink one sip at a time, and the bottle of wine was soon empty.
"It tastes like home." The man sighed after drinking. "How long have we been in the capital? It feels like we haven't seen them in half our lives."
Ah Xi looked outside through the window and grinned: "We'll see you soon."
You can definitely see it.
...
...
The galloping horses passed through layers of night fog until the morning light came on, and a huge camp appeared in sight.
The scouts raised their flags, and there were flags outside the camp to respond. The secret sentries on both sides put away their swords, guns, and crossbows, and watched the blood-stained scouts pass by. Different from the previous ones, there were a few more people in the team.
These people described themselves as in a state of embarrassment, all with injuries, and they were mentally exhausted, but they were both excited and nervous looking at the camp.
"They are really the soldiers and horses of Mrs. Chu."
"Is Mrs. Chu really here?"
"These are the soldiers and horses of Mrs. Chu."
Everyone couldn't help but murmur in a low voice, and a group of soldiers came over to meet them. The general at the head asked: "Are these the refugees who escaped from the capital?"
The returning scout responded yes.
The general waved to those people: "Come with me, let the military doctor treat the injury and check the body."
I don't know if it was a psychological effect, but this general was heavily armored and heavily armed, but he looked very kind. However, the people did not nod, but looked at a companion in the team.
"You go ahead." The man who injured an arm and half of his face was so bloody that he could hardly see his face said, "This is your home, everyone can do whatever you want."
Hearing what he said, several people responded and followed the general. Looking back, they saw that this companion did not follow him, but ran straight to a large tent. There was a tall Chu pole over there.
The big Chinese flag is flying in the morning light.
"Master Hou really went to see Mrs. Chu." A person murmured in a low voice, "He didn't lie to us, he really belongs to Mrs. Chu."
The soldiers passing by stood solemnly in front of them all cast curious glances. The Zhenwu Army Flag and the Chu-character flag were flying all around. Both the people and the flag were unfamiliar, but the entire camp was familiar. The familiar smell when walking in here was mind-boggling.
numb.
The tent was opened, and he walked in. His vision was slightly dim, and then everything became clear. There was Yuan Ji, Fang Er, Zhong Wu, Zhong Liu, Jiang Ming, Jiang An...
They either stared or grinned or smiled...just like in many dreams.
He knelt down on the ground, and the impact on the ground caused severe pain in his wound. The pain was no longer a dream. He raised his head and saw that the people in front of him did not dissipate like before.
"I can't stand any longer! Are you okay?"
"I think the injury is serious."
There was also a sound.
He couldn't see the person in front of him clearly, but he could tell who the voice was.
Another voice sounded: "Fang Er, please check Zhonghou's injuries first."
The sound is pleasant to the ear, crisp and clear.
He looked behind Yuan Ji and the others, and first saw the black robes stacked on the ground, with a white skirt exposed under the black robes. Then he looked up, and saw that she was reaching out to lift off the heavy hat, revealing black hair and a snow-white face.
As crystal clear as ice and as clear as jade...
His vision blurred for a while.
"Zhonghou." He lowered his head on the ground and straightened his back, like a wanderer who saw his relatives, happy and aggrieved, "I have met the eldest lady."