‘Boom! Boom! Boom!’ The drums were beating loudly, and soldiers came from all directions towards the center of the school ground.
After a while, the 6,000 soldiers gathered together, forming a team of 100 people, one battalion with five teams. The military commander stood at the front of the team, holding the battalion flag, and behind him were five brigade commanders.
The soldiers were in neat ranks, with their heads held high and their morale high.
At this time, Guo Song slowly walked up to the high platform. The soldiers all knew from the new captain that this young general was their future coach, the one who was famous for spending 120,000 yuan at a loss.
'Guo Fool' who paid for the money to pay for the fallen soldiers.
The fact that Guo Song spent 120,000 guan of his own money to care for the fallen soldiers has long been known to everyone in Chang'an. Various versions evolved to the end, and it became that Guo Song went bankrupt and spent 120,000 guan of money to care for the fallen soldiers.
Many people in Chang'an said he was stupid and called him "Guo Fool" behind his back, but in the hearts of the soldiers, this was the general worthy of their lives.
"Brothers!"
Guo Song's voice was clear and penetrating, and could be heard by all the soldiers on the campus.
"I am Guo Song, the strategic envoy of the three towns. From today on, I will be your commander. You will follow me to Fengzhou."
Guo Song slowly looked at the soldiers and said unhurriedly: "The climate in Fengzhou is similar to that of Lingzhou, but the land is fertile, the water is abundant, and it is rich in food. We exchange food with the grassland people for cattle and sheep, so that the soldiers can eat
Be full and eat well. Next year, many families of soldiers will move to Fengzhou. They will all get land that is unimaginable in their hometown. They will be able to get tax exemptions, pass it on to their children and grandchildren, and live and work in peace and contentment. If you are willing, you can also move your family members to Fengzhou.
Of course, this is voluntary and will not be forced on everyone.”
Early the next morning, six thousand troops followed Guo Song to the north. Duan Xiushi sent them dozens of miles away and watched the army go away. He himself would also say goodbye to this beloved land.
In mid-November, a heavy snowfall came unexpectedly, turning Chang'an into a world of ice and snow overnight.
This was the first snow of the year, which surprised people so much. As soon as the snow stopped, countless children ran out of their homes, had snowball fights, built snowmen, pulled snow carts, ran happily in the snow, and laughed loudly.
Xue Tao has been in a bad mood these past two days. The main reason is that her parents had a big quarrel a few days ago. The court began to allocate official houses. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince specially left a small house with three acres to his father. However, his father thought that he was not qualified enough and would not be able to do it.
When someone gossiped about him, he gave up his official residence to a more senior official.
Because of this incident, my mother cried and made trouble, and my father almost wrote a divorce letter in anger.
Xue Tao can understand his mother's difficulties very well. His father's salary is not high, and he spent some of his savings in the early years to buy books. As a result, the family has little savings. However, his father is a fifth-rank official after all, and he has to maintain some dignity and hire servants and maids.
, we have to pay wages and rent a house. The poor mud-walled thatched house is not enough. It is not easy to live in Chang'an. Just renting this small courtyard costs half of my father's salary every month. The landlord is still clamoring for a rent increase all day long.
You can't dress too poorly. If you have any social events, you have to give gifts.
Every month my mother tried her best to live frugally, but she still couldn't make ends meet, so she had to borrow money from her parents' family. But she still had two uncles, the younger uncle hadn't married yet, and her grandfather was also a poor teacher, so there was no way he could lend her much money.
Xue Tao was very aware of the poverty in his family and the embarrassment of his mother. Every time officials and wives gathered together, his mother would be laughed at behind his back because she always wore that dress.
Although Xue Tao also felt that her father was right to stick to his own principles, her parents' quarrel still put a lot of pressure on her and made her feel depressed.
Xue Tao looked at the box in her bookcase again. Several times, she really wanted to sell the gem so that all the worries at home would be gone. But after selling the gem, she felt sorry for Guo Song, who gave it to her.
If you sell a gift yourself, what does that count?
At this time, the maid Xiao'e said at the door: "Madam, let the girl change her clothes quickly and we are about to set off."
Xue Tao sighed, "Tell my mother that I don't want to go."
Xiao'e hesitated and said: "Girl, go and tell the lady yourself! The lady is angry and will scold me."
"Forget it, go and play!"
Xiao'e bowed and ran away in a hurry.
Xue Tao came to the door with her hands behind her hands and looked at the snow in the yard. Two little maids were happily building a snowman in the yard. Normally, she would have been very interested and ran up to participate, but now she was not in the mood either.
Mother was going to Dr. Yang's house again, and she wanted to take her with her, just because she wanted Mrs. Yang's sister to take a look at her. Mrs. Yang's brother-in-law heard that he was working as a historian in another place and had a son who had just turned eighteen.
He is obviously a playboy who does not study, but he pretends to be a scholarly boy, which is really disgusting.
It was just because his family was richer that my mother was moved and forced her to go on a blind date.
Thinking of these troublesome things, Xue Tao felt really upset.
At this time, the housekeeper, Uncle Ding, said at the door of the yard: "Girl, there is someone looking for you outside."
"Uncle Ding, who is looking for me?"
"It's a Taoist priest. He is said to be the abbot of Qingxu Palace. Someone asked him to give something to the girl."
Xue Tao was surprised, "Is it the Qingxu Palace that enshrines the physical statue of the Detao Immortal?"
"It seems to be that one, Chang'an is very famous."
Qingxu Palace is now very famous in Chang'an. Because it enshrines the physical statue of the Immortal Detao, many officials and wealthy families would go there to offer incense and make wishes. Xue Tao and his mother made a wish two months ago.
The abbot of Qingxu Palace came to find me, why?
She was confused and walked out quickly.
Outside the gate, Celestial Master Li Ganfeng holds a jade-handled fly whisk, wears a nine-color robe of the Qing Dynasty, and wears a purple-gold Yuanshi crown. He has a bit of an immortal spirit, and is the same as Senior Brother Ganfeng who cooked in Kongtong Mountain back then.
He is no longer alone at all. He is now the Royal Heavenly Master, given the surname Li, and his full name is Li Ganfeng. He goes in and out of the mansions of powerful people every day, and his temperament is that of a Taoist man with an immortal air.
Usually, others are waiting for him. Standing at the door waiting for someone like today rarely happens. He has no choice but to do what his junior brother told him. He must do it himself. Two Taoists stood behind him, holding a long
sandalwood box.
At this time, Xue Tao walked out quickly. Gan Feng's eyes lit up, and he secretly praised her in his heart. She was such a beautiful young lady. No wonder his junior brother never forgets her.
"Is the real person looking for me?" Xue Tao recognized Gan Feng, who was really the abbot of Qingxu Palace.
Gan Feng raised his hands and saluted, "Immeasurable Life Buddha, a poor Taoist who was entrusted by someone, came here to give a gift to the female donor."
He turned around and waved his hand, and the little Taoist boy stepped forward and presented the box to Xue Tao.
"Who gave this?" Xue Tao asked strangely.
"He's my junior brother. You should know him. His name is Guo Song."
"Ah!" Xue Tao was stunned for a moment.
"Immortal, I'm a little confused. Isn't Brother Guo in Fengzhou? How can he be the younger brother of Immortal?"
Gan Feng chuckled, "He used to be a Taoist priest, and later he became a secular man, but he is still my junior brother. If the girl has any difficulties in the future, just tell me. As long as Qingxu Palace can solve it, I will do my best to help."
"Thank you, Immortal!"
"Then I will go back first, Miss Xue. We will meet again later."
Gan Feng bowed to Xue Tao, got on the carriage, started the carriage, and drove towards the gate of the square.
Xue Tao had mixed feelings in his heart. Guo Song did not forget him. He went to Fengzhou and asked people to give him gifts.
At this moment, the gloom that had accumulated in her heart for the past few days was swept away by the sudden joy, and she hurried back to the house holding the wooden box.
When she returned to the room, she placed the wooden box on the table, untied the silk ribbon on it, and opened the box. She immediately exclaimed, and the little maid next to her also exclaimed.
Inside the box is a fox fur scarf as white as silver satin, which shines silver under natural light and is extremely soft and soft to the touch.
Xue Tao had never seen such a fine white fox fur. She gently stroked the fur, and a sweet feeling of being cared for quietly seeped into her heart.
"Girl, there is another letter here."
Xue Tao also saw it. It was a card. She quickly picked it up and recognized Guo Song's powerful handwriting at a glance.
"I hunt in early spring and give the girl a little warmth."
It turned out that he had hunted the white fox himself. In Xue Tao's mind, he pictured Guo Song galloping on a flying horse and hunting foxes with his bow drawn, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"Tao'er, are you going or not?"
Mother Han walked in angrily, but she was stunned when she saw the white fox fur in her daughter's hand.
"Tao'er, where did this come from?"
Xue Tao blushed and whispered: "A friend gave it to me."
"Nonsense, which friend would give you such an expensive thing?"
Mrs. Han stepped forward to take a closer look at the leather fox, and she couldn't help but exclaimed, "This is very precious."
"Mother, is this leather very valuable?"
"Of course, Mrs. Yang also has a silver fox skin scarf like this. She is very proud of it, saying that she spent five thousand dollars to buy it, but it is far inferior to this one. It does not have the silver luster of this one, and this kind of leather is not as good as the eight or nine.
You can’t even think of buying it for a thousand dollars.”
She looked at her daughter with wide eyes, "Tell mom, who gave it to you?"
Xue Tao's face turned redder, and he turned away, "Didn't I tell you? It was given by a friend, and he just asked someone to deliver it."
Who would give such an expensive gift to their daughter?
Han's mind suddenly moved, and she thought of the precious sapphire.
"Mr. Guo gave it to you?"
"Yes." Xue Tao's voice was like a mosquito's whisper.
"He returned to Beijing?"
"No, he asked someone to send it to him."
This young man really cares about his daughter!
At this time, no matter how stupid Mr. Han is, he can still feel the deep affection Mr. Guo has for his daughter.
However, for Han, the depth of a relationship needs to be measured by money. She quickly set up a ruler in her heart. The sapphire was worth at least 10,000 guan. She secretly took her daughter's sapphire to Dongshi Jubao Pavilion for appraisal.
After passing by, the other party offered to buy it for 5,000 guan, which really frightened her. But later she discovered that the sapphire worth 5,000 guan in Jubao Pavilion was not as blue as her daughter's sapphire, and she finally understood how precious that gemstone was.
What about this piece of fox skin? It is worth at least eight or nine thousand guan. In total, the other party gave his daughter at least 15,000 guan as a gift.
She then thought of the silver bracelet that Mrs. Yang's sister gave to her daughter last time, which was less than two ounces. At this moment, she suddenly felt that there was really no need to take her daughter to see Mrs. Yang's sister today.
Han's mood immediately improved. No matter what, the family still had at least more than 10,000 yuan worth of valuables to lay the foundation for! The sky would not fall.