Chapter 048 – Old Pawn and Mulberry

Blind old Xu is a Beiliang old pawn, this is a crossbowman, was shot by a stray bullet in the eye after the switch to cavalry, the war record is mediocre, in the head for the merit of the Beiliang army really can not take the hand, so before the armored return to the field did not save a solid family, only to fish a disease, earlier settled in the city is still quite handy, but can not afford to be poorer than his old brothers tossing most of the deaths have to be old Xu to fund the coffin money, and so on and so forth, the lonely old Xu really do not have much silver, Lao Xu is a native of Jinzhou, Liaodong, a young man has been the old pawn and mulberries. Coffin money, one after another, the widowed old Xu is really not much silver, old Xu is a native of Jinzhou, Liaodong, young and lonely, followed by the great pillar state Xu Primrose from Jinzhou to Liao Xi, and then from Liao Xi into the Xiong Hsuan pass, the war in the Central Plains, the Spring and Autumn war, many with the old Xu the same time into the army of the old pawns as long as you can rely on the death, have done the army or lieutenant, the least pension before you get a Zhaoshi! The least they could do was to get a rank of Zhaowu (昭) before retirement.

So Lao Xu is an old soldier, but not a tough soldier.

Those who don’t dare to put their heads on the waistband of their pants to fight for the honor and fame, and still earn an official position, are only the sons of the rich families, and old soldiers like Lao Xu, who are not greedy for life but absolutely afraid of death, are lucky to not have their heads chopped off by the supervisory generals and colonels.

Lao Xu later left one eye also blind, go up the mountain charcoal accidentally smoked, which became a lane outside the mouth of the blind Lao Xu. The most unlucky is the blind old Xu blind, the house leakage is the rain of the night, accidentally in the downtown did not avoid the anointed children of a horse hooves, to step into a cripple.

The gang of anointed children with the beauty of the peer to see the old man rolling on the ground, just laugh, blind old Xu would have wanted to bite the bullet, but when he blindly touched the stretcher on the ground, he heard voices saying that those gentlemen are the son of which folded Lieutenant, which is the capital in the writings of the Lang, the grandson of the Crown Prince washed the horse, the old Xu threw the stretcher with the child as much as the cries and shouts, howling over and over again I should have been dead, ah, so that the human scalp numbness, even the Some compassionate bystanders are scared away. A dude disliked the old Xu croak, pulling the sword to chop down, the northern Liang folk style since ancient times tough, that is, those dandy, hands strength may only be enough to unlock the waistband of the flower girl actresses, but as long as the pull to move the knife and sword, that is absolutely said to chop, which makes many of the first time into the north of the Liang field dandy is very uncomfortable.

If the old Xu’s head of the sword cut down, there will be no today’s Prince carrying the green ants wine thing.

Xu Fengyen happened to pass by at that time, the horse is far more robust than that gang of third-rate dude, the flames are more arrogant a hundred times, he did not want to get involved in this shit, just by the old Xu’s heart-breaking sentence to hook: “I’m not broken by the gang of bastards in Xichu’s legs, but by their own people to be crippled, God’s mother your mother as blind as I am ah! ”

Xu Fengyen did not make a sound, just let the evil slaves to disperse the gang of brats, as for the fall broke a few arms and legs of the pampered gentlemen, His Highness where to care, capable of dragging the family to the Royal Palace to find Xu Snapdragon to ask for silver compensation to go? It is best to lead the imperial decree to go.

The back of the old Xu did not die, inexplicably brought to heal the legs and feet, but that horse’s hooves before stabbing down the impulse, where is an old man’s old legs can withstand, is completely broken, in the blind old Xu is ready to sit in a small hut by the river and wait for the time of death, suddenly the government office came to say that the monthly issue to him one or two silver, the old Xu was alarmed to receive half a year, only to boldly ask the adults, the adults said that this is a new rule of the Beiliang Army! He said it was a new rule of the Northern Liang Army, treating old soldiers well. Later, Lao Xu asked a half-dead old robe, learned that this is true, but they all need to go to the Yamen to receive money.

Old Xu wondered, “Good people get good rewards”? But we don’t seem to be a good person. When I was young, I didn’t follow Dazhuguo to kill and loot.

Lao Xu broke his leg, but with homemade crutches can still barely walk, thatched cottage by the Yamen that the official ordered the subordinates to repair, every year before the winter will send a thick quilt over, vegetable garden was Lao Xu to take care of a little bit, one or two silver is a thousand, Lao Xu mouth is not tricky, the end of the month, the money can also buy a little meat and wine, a small life has a good taste, and now waiting for death can be 100 times more comfortable than just broke his leg at the time.

Today, Lao Xu sat outside the house on the wooden pier dozing, heard a loud voice shouted: “Lao Xu Lao Xu, drink, by the way in the river for you to touch a duck, that called a fat.”

Blind old Xu’s spirit was revitalized, surnamed Xu’s kid came. This kid is a four or five years before the acquaintance, said to be climbing the wall to see the yellow flower girl bathing was caught, hunted down to the river, borrowed the old Xu’s hut to hide, is to knot down a not too small fire love, blind old Xu know Xu kid mouth that lanting wine shop small family can be a person, although invisible, but the old Xu good ear, can always hear some of the wild man with nothing to do to get together and drooling muttering, is nothing more than to say that the Little girl these years chest and heavy a few points, small round face that is and sharpened a few, beauty embryo more and more bright and picky, the old Xu went to the shop to buy lees, smelled the smell of the body of that niece, tsk, really good smell, are comparable to the Lanting’s signature plum wine.

Xu kid was whisked away and beaten for her back then, and it wasn’t wrong! If we Lao Xu were a few dozen years younger, where would it be for him to climb the wall? It’s more like looking out for him.

“The pot is in the house in the old place, to pluck the ducks remember not to throw the feathers in the river, be careful of your feet before you go, my feet after the hut will be torn down.” Lao Xu took the wine pot, sniffed, and smiled knowingly, “This green ants is not as good as the green plums of the Lanting Wine Shop, but it’s still much better than wine lees.”

The guest stuffed the duck with broken neck into the arms of the blind Lao Xu and said in a bad mood, “I still have to do the plucking? I’ll boil water.”

Old Xu had wine in his hand, so he went to pluck the feathers of the duck with his crutches.

Not long, thatched cottage will be filled with aroma, the old Xu nibbled a greasy duck leg, asked with a smile: “Xu kid, the more than a year have not seen it, you this guy is not missing for three years is the news of a whole year, do what camp? Listen to the advice of the old Xu, don’t do any harm, peeping at the girl bath or something okay, anyway, the girl does not lose a piece of meat, if you play with knives and guns, it’s hard to say. Do not say this, said you kid probably also do not listen to persuasion, know white can not drink your wine, say it, this time want to hear what, old Xu this age can not say a few times, can say how much is how much.”

The man gnawed on the duck meat and laughed: “Tell me about Liaodong, counting my ancestors over there, is Jinzhou.”

The one who could wander around in such a boring manner was naturally His Highness Prince Xu Fengnian.

Blind old Xu laughed and said, “Jinzhou, I’m not familiar with it? The whole Liaodong is a virtue, don’t see nine out of ten governors are shouting poor with the court, in fact, not poor at all, the only poor ones are those of us who don’t have any fields, just short of revolt.”

Xu Fengyen frowned and asked: “According to the law is not every soldier has forty acres of cantonment? Liaodong is a well-deserved jeopardy, plains and wilderness of thousands of miles, difficult to defend, abandon the North Mang drive into the north, the northern part of the country will not have the door of the limit, so the Liaodong peace, then the Central Plains, the wind and dust does not move, Liao Ye disturbed, the world’s golden drums sounding each other. Rebellion? I haven’t heard of the slightest disturbance in Liaodong over the years.”

Old Xu sneered: “Xu kid you know a fart, you this literary thing, I old Xu can not understand, you in which reader to hear it? I only know that when I left Liaodong, twenty-one guards in Liaodong, only six guards in Liaosi, not to mention Liaosi, twenty-one guards in Liaodong, a year of millions of stones of grain, how many stones are in the pockets of us people? Xu kid you think ah, not to mention the Liaodong Governor, the town governor, governor with the commander, commanding officer of these big shots, even some of the seventh and eighth-grade officials, have to do some private army to change the picking of the channels of the hook, if not trespassing on the water conservancy, the creamy fields are taken up, where is the silver to pay tribute to the upper side? The big pillar country sat in the town of Liao, the two Liao people that is a rare blessing, the big pillar country a go, who cares about the pawns dead or alive, many border troops are sent to Liaodong to crime garrison, or who wants to go to Liaodong this bitter cold place to live? Once you go, who would really think that there are fields and food, I am a Jinzhou people do not have half of the field, these outsiders, even more impossible.”

Xu Feng young laughed, “This is no rebellion. Liaodong is poor and accustomed to suffering, as long as they have half a mouth to feed, no one will be happy to rise up.”

Lao Xu sighed, “not really want to starve to death, who would be happy to live with life, but if this continues, Liaodong is really hard to say ah, I left Jinzhou has been nearly thirty years, endured for thirty years.”

Liaodong since ancient times is a hundred wars, the so-called tiger and dragon, high and low in the heart. The safety of the world often depends on the two Liao, Xu Snapdragon advised not to exhaust the world’s power to keep it, but not many people in the field are willing to take it seriously. This is not to say that no one can not see the stakes, but the world situation is temporarily stabilized, fifty years after a hundred years how to fall, what to say what to do in the current position what benefit?

Xu Fengnian said softly: “Lao Xu, you say some more about the customs of Liaodong.”

Lao Xu had a say, bamboo tube pour beans, and so a pot of duck stew eaten all, Lao Xu also tired enough, but most of the spirit is used in dealing with duck meat on the head.

Lao Xu finally wiped his mouth and said, “When Da Zhu Guo entered Northern Liang, it was really majestic, how did Wang Fei have a poem about it?”

Xu Fengnian laughed: “The green ox road car thousands of rides, under the banner of the children holding mulberries.”

Old Xu leaned on his crutches and looked mesmerized.

Xu Fengnian left the wine pot and quietly walked out of the hut.

The green bird stood in the distance, watching His Highness the son walk slowly. She accompanied him every time he came to the hut by the river, and she never asked why His Highness had to deal with a blind old pawn.

Xu Fengyen’s eyes were a little dazed when he saw Qingdao’s cool face.

Back then, the blind old Xu was in the Thousand Ride Team, and his leg was still unbroken.

That child was still holding a mulberry and looking up to ask his mother if it was good to eat.

Qing Bird was a little confused by the look, Xu Fengyen coldly bit her cheek and said with a cheeky smile, “Tasty, it has the flavor of mulberry.”