In the sky above the city head, the thick white clouds seemed to be burned by flames, blooming into a golden and brilliant sunset scene.
The golden sunset shines on the shed area in the east of the city. Many families build small felt tents using sheep felt and wooden posts. The simplest sheds are also built in this way. Four wooden posts are nailed to the ground and the four corners of the sheep felt are tied to the wooden posts.
On the pillar, the poor family lived under the blanket which was ventilated from all sides.
There are more than a dozen widowed women living in this area. They live in the city with their underage children. They make a living by repairing the uniforms and robes of the soldiers in the city. They live a very poor life.
They were all the family members of the Long March athletes who died while stationed at Dihuan City. Because their husbands died in the war, they lost their source of income and had no choice but to sell their houses and live in the lowest-class slums in the east of the city.
There is no end-of-life story about this period. Many women married their comrades after losing their husbands, and many women stayed alone, just to better raise their children.
Yuan Tao led two soldiers and walked in this residential area with their tall bodies hunched over. When visiting other people's homes, their tall bodies could easily collapse the house if they didn't straighten their waists carefully.
He took the dried meat from the hands of the soldiers and passed it from house to house. The ladies came out of the shed and gave him a grateful look.
"Thank you Yuan Lvli."
"Thank you."
Yuan Tao lowered his eyelids and did not dare to touch the women's eyes, which would easily arouse his sense of guilt. As one of the sixteen people who survived, it seemed that the blood of their dead brothers had created their way out.
After he passed through the dozens of lamb tents, he turned around and said to the ladies: "There may not be enough food in these two days, but don't worry, as long as my brothers and I have food, there will be food for you.
I won’t let you go hungry.”
For the current plan, he can only say this. When Captain Zhao Lushui was here, he secretly distributed the salary to some poor and weak women, asking them to take their children back to the Central Plains to settle down and buy properties. Now that the captain has been imprisoned, the rest
More than a dozen ladies have been waiting for money to settle down.
Anxi is bitterly cold and the land is barren. It is extremely difficult for a woman without a husband to survive.
Yuan Tao has secretly made up his mind. In the remaining days, he and his fourteen brothers will spend all their salary money to try to settle the remaining dozen ladies without letting them go.
They stayed in Anxi and continued to suffer.
Several women knelt on the ground, their dark eyes like dark mud pools. They lowered their hands on the ground and prayed to Yuan Tao: "Yuan Brigade, when will our money be distributed? Didn't Zhao Lieutenant say that we should give all the money to him?"
Did we get it done? Where did all the money go? Why did other women receive money and be resettled, but we didn’t?"
Yuan Tao had no way to answer. They didn't know that this was money embezzled from military pay, nor did they know that Zhao Lushui had been captured by the Duhufu and taken to Qiuci. These women had been stranded in Anxi for three years, and their lives were becoming increasingly difficult. It seemed that all hope for life was
Waiting for this money.
"Don't worry, the money will be enough for you."
Yuan Tao turned and walked outside the shack, silently thinking about money. The price of land in Ganzhou and other places is 20,000 yuan per acre. If a woman wants to survive with her children, she needs three acres of land and a room.
Each lady needs 80,000 yuan, and these twelve helpless ladies need 960,000 yuan.
The average monthly salary for him and his fourteen brothers is fifteen hundred yuan, which adds up to twenty thousand yuan. In other words, it takes four months of their salary to house a wife.
It will take them four years to save up for the two ladies!
The bachelor soldiers can still endure this kind of contribution of salary for many years, but how can they, who have a family and a family, be able to survive for such a long time.
In fact, there is no way to solve this kind of problem. We only need to arrange some bachelors in the group to live together with these ladies. They will have a way of life and do not have to leave Anxi and return to Longyou. But this kind of thing can only be allowed to happen naturally, but cannot be forced!
Their children are all the flesh and blood of their dead comrades. He, Yuan Tao, and Captain Zhao Lushui are only repaying the promises they made three years ago when they changed the city!
Those who survived had to find ways to resettle the families of their dead brothers. This was not a particularly difficult task, but based on their military exploits, they left thousands of corpses of Tuqishi under the city wall to block the second wave of the Sulu army.
After more than ten days of attacking, such merit can not only lead to promotions to the rank of living people, but the rewards issued by the court include pensions for the families of the fallen soldiers. With all this money, what if it is all given to the wives and daughters of the fallen?
But they never expected that after more than 20 days of fierce fighting, the brothers died on the city wall, but nothing was accomplished! The scene that happened three years ago still makes them resentful.
Gai Jiayun and Wang Husi, the guardians of Beiting and Anxi, gave up the thought of the Sixth and Tenth Regiments, and sent them to these real soldiers with only ten copper coins and three hundred bolts of silk.
Those who have done meritorious service forget about it, and then go to celebrate and share the merits and honors distributed by the court.
Living people can be wronged, but sacrificed brothers cannot! Therefore, even if Yuan Tao dedicated all his salary in his life, he would never let Paoze's wife and children suffer the cold alone.
Yuan Tao clenched his fists and was walking forward, but was blocked by a broad figure. He frowned, turned to the left to avoid, the opponent blocked him to the left, he avoided to the right, and the opponent blocked to the right. The pit of his chest was on fire.
Yuan Tao raised his head, ready to grab this ungrateful person by the collar.
The two soldiers behind him took a step back in fright. Yuan Tao raised his head to look, but it was Li Siye who was blocking him in front, condescending, with a keen insight into everything in his eyes.
"I finally know where the military pay that Zhao Lushui swallowed went."
The hair on Yuan Tao's body stood up. He immediately calmed down and asked with a cold snort: "Is Colonel Li going to the Anxi Protectorate to report to the traitor to gain favor?"
Li Siye laughed heartily: "I haven't decided whether to report it yet. If Yuan Tao Brigade can do me a big favor, there is still room for discussion on this matter."
Yuan Tao remained silent, and after a brief thought, he said: "I have never heard of asking for help in this way. Why would Lieutenant Li do this? I am your deployment. I will do my best when you send me."
"I'm afraid that if I tell the truth, you Yuan Tao won't dare to do it."
Yuan Tao smiled bitterly: "Now that things have happened, apart from robbing families and robberies, there is nothing I dare not do."
"Although it is not a robbery, it is not far away."
His eyes widened in surprise. It was already dark now, and he could only see the outline of Li Siye. It was hard to imagine that there could be such a thief who had mixed up with the Tang army, and could even become a captain.
"Whether you do it or not, you think about it."
Does he still have room to consider? The secret of the Sixth Regiment was discovered, and Zhao Lushui had already been escorted to Anxi. His dream of once guarding the Tang Dynasty and performing meritorious service on the border turned into a ridiculous joke. He still has the moral integrity to stick to this soldier.
What's the meaning?
"Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
"Follow me." Li Siye waved to him, turned around and walked forward.
Yuan Tao winked at the two people behind him and led them to follow Li Siye to a thatched cottage behind the Eighth Regiment's station.
Tian Zhen waited outside the door. When she saw Li Siye arriving, she immediately opened the door. After Yuan Tao and three others entered, she closed the door tightly.
The room was dark, and he heard Li Siye shout "Hand the lamp", and the sound of the fire sickle striking the flint was heard, and the two oil lamps gradually glowed from the dim light as big as soybeans, illuminating the whole room.
What Yuan Tao saw were the lapel Hu clothes scattered and piled up in the room, as well as more than thirty scimitars, and a pointed felt hat that he found from nowhere.