Chapter 116: Helping
Zhao Xiping led a team of people to the mountain overnight to cut wood and make coffins. It took three days to make 53 coffins. They put the dead soldiers who followed Captain Chang from Chang'an into the coffins, carried them to the mountainside and buried them in graves. The tombstones faced east, and the heroic souls looked towards their homeward way.
The Wusun people were responsible for digging pits and burning the killed Huns. The smoke and smell of meat wafted over the former battlefield for seven days. After all the bodies were burned and buried, the Wusun army set out on the return journey with the captives.
The horses and camels captured from the Xiongnu carried the wounded soldiers, and the prisoners followed on foot. The return journey took seven days longer than the outward journey. When they entered Wusun again, it was almost July.
The King of Wusun held a celebration banquet for the victorious soldiers. As one of the few Han soldiers, Zhao Xiping had the opportunity to walk around the palace. While walking around, he carefully looked at everything in the palace and planned to tell Sui Yu about it when he returned.
As night fell and the banquet drew to a close, Zhao Xiping followed the other soldiers out of the palace. As a nobody, he sat at his table with no one paying him any attention. He spent the night eating and drinking to his heart's content.
Walking out of the palace gate, he looked back at the brightly lit palace. The night wind blew from the dark alley, carrying faint cries and laughter.
"Brother Zhao, would you like to go for a walk on the street?" the soldier who was traveling with him invited him.
Zhao Xiping thought for a moment, then followed him and said, "That's fine. I'm too full to sleep when I get home."
Wusun is adjacent to the desert in the south. The night wind in summer is much cooler than that in the daytime, and it is cooler outdoors than indoors. Many people go out of their homes and sit under trees to enjoy the cool air, or roll up bamboo mats and spread them on the ground, and the whole family, young and old, sleep in the open space outside their homes.
Zhao Xiping and his companions passed by, and the chattering people looked over. Someone recognized their Han Chinese faces and asked in awkward Chinese, "Are you coming from the battlefield?"
The sergeant walking in front asked, "Old man, what's going on?"
The old man from Wusun chattered a lot, occasionally mixing in one or two words like "people" and "come back", but no one could understand him. The leading soldier apologized and led the group away.
After they walked away, the leading sergeant said, "The old man's son has also gone to the battlefield. He asked if everyone has returned. His son hasn't come home yet."
Zhao Xiping seemed to be back on the battlefield again, with a strong smell of blood rushing into his nose, broken limbs and arms lying everywhere, and human heads and horse heads spread out... Unable to think about it anymore, he took a few deep breaths to suppress the violence in his heart.
"I want to go back and rest." Zhao Xiping stopped walking. "I suddenly feel tired and don't want to walk around anymore."
"Wait, let's take you to a nice place." The sergeant two steps away from him stopped him and said, "Are you waking up every night after coming back from the battlefield? Let us take you to relax."
Zhao Xiping remained silent and continued walking with them.
It happened that the army had just returned victorious, and the night market was very lively with many people walking on the street. Zhao Xiping saw Han merchants hawking their wares. Merchants were truly called itinerant people, and they would go anywhere to make a fortune.
Walking through the street, the leader took the lead and turned into a dark alley. When they walked out of the alley, the sounds of erhu and pipa came into their ears. The singing of a singing girl came from a private house, mixed with the noise of clinking glasses.
Zhao Xiping realized where they were going. He stopped and said, "I suddenly remembered that I have something else to do. I'll go back first."
"Now that you're here, why are you leaving?" A soldier stopped him and said, "You've been staying in Dunhuang for a few years, and I don't think you've seen a place as beautiful as this. The Hu Ji is so charming. Let us take you to see the world."
Zhao Xiping resolutely refused. He turned and walked into the alley, saying as he walked, "I'm already married, and I'm anxious to go back to see her. I can't do anything to let her down."
"Hey! What a fool." The soldiers cursed, but when they saw that the footsteps had gone far away, they cursed in disappointment and walked straight into the lane.
Zhao Xiping walked alone in the street, from the beginning to the end, and then turned back to the official residence where he was received.
The people in the official residence were still awake. The soldiers who had said goodbye at the palace gate saw Zhao Xiping coming back alone. One of them asked in surprise, "You're back so soon? Are you back alone?"
"Well, I didn't go." Zhao Xiping took a straw ball and sat over and asked, "Do you know when you can go back? I want to go back."
"A grown man still misses home?" someone laughed.
Zhao Xiping also smiled but did not refute. He did miss home and Sui Yu and didn't want to fight anymore.
"It will probably take two or three days to return to the capital. If we're any later, the journey will be cold." Gongcao spoke up. He looked at Zhao Xiping and said, "You came at the right time. You've made a great contribution by coming with us to Wusun. If you had come with the 150,000-man army, you wouldn't have had such a good time."
Zhao Xiping stroked his chin in thought and asked, "What kind of reward can I get?"
"Look at the vacancies in your city's garrison. You might be able to be promoted to a thousand-household rank. If you're lucky, the military commander is transferred or dies, and you can be promoted."
Zhao Xiping had an idea in mind. As long as the war in the north didn't break out, the captain wouldn't die, and he would most likely be promoted to a captain.
"Where is the guy who captured the flag?" asked the sergeant on the side.
Speaking of this, Gong Cao laughed, shook his head and said, "I have to report this to the captain. It's funny..."
"What do you want to report to me?" Captain Chang walked in with his subordinates.
"Hello, sir."
The soldiers sitting cross-legged in the yard stood up and saluted.
Captain Chang lowered his hand, and the attendants brought a low couch and bamboo mat. Captain Chang took off his shoes and sat on them. He asked the Gong Cao to bring the summary of military achievements, and while looking at it, he asked, "Tell me, what do you want to report?"
The Gongcao sat at the bottom. He bowed and said, "The wandering merchant who captured the flag came to me a few days ago and said he wanted to use his military merits to free a friend's clansman from slavery. The criminal he mentioned is currently serving a sentence in Dunhuang County. He is a relative of Sui Jiushan, the governor of Jiangling County, who was beheaded four years ago."
When Zhao Xiping heard the word "Sui", his whole body trembled. Since it was Dunhuang and the surname was Sui, he guessed the identity of the person who took the flag.
Captain Chang remained silent. He read the records on the bamboo slips by the light of the oil lamp. An officer came over and said, "Sir, it's late. It's time to go to bed. Can we handle this official business tomorrow?"
Upon hearing this, Gong Cao confessed his guilt: "It is my subordinates' fault."
Captain Chang waved his hand, put down the bamboo slips and said, "Bring the man to me tomorrow."
"Yes."
Zhao Xiping didn't sleep well again that night, waking up in the middle of the night with a start. He got out of bed to get some water and peered out the half-open window, unable to help but think of what had happened before he went to sleep. He had never imagined Sui Wen'an would fight on the battlefield to earn military merit and save his people from slavery. In that sense, he was quite a conscientious man. If Sui Jiushan hadn't committed any crime, and the Sui family hadn't fallen, with Sui Wen'an as their leader, the Sui clan would have certainly fared well.
…
The next morning, after breakfast, Gongcao took Sui Wen'an to the courtyard where Captain Chang lived.
The soldiers who had been waiting in the aisle looked curiously at the hero with a wound on his face. There was a hideous knife wound from the wing of his nose to the lower jaw on his left cheek. The weather was hot and the wound had not healed yet. Pus was oozing from the wound, and half of his face and nose were swollen.
When Sui Wen'an saw Zhao Xiping, his eyes tightened and his heart became even more uneasy.
Gongcao bowed to everyone and walked into the room with the limping man. After a while, he came out and shouted, "Everyone, the captain invites you into the room to listen."
Zhao Xiping followed the other eight soldiers in and chose a seat close to Sui Wen'an.
"Tell me." Captain Chang approached Sui Wen'an and asked, "What's your name, righteous man?"
Sui Wen'an clenched his hands in his sleeves. Yesterday he thought about making up a fake identity, but he was worried that he would not be able to find the person when he returned.
"My surname is Wen and my name is An." Sui Wen'an chose to tell the truth with a shaky heart.
"What is your relationship with Sui Jiushan, the former governor of Jiangling?"
"I and his son were close friends. When he died, I always felt guilty towards my people. I promised him that if I had the chance, I would free them from slavery." Sui Wen'an's forehead was sweating. He lowered his head and continued, "After my friend's death, I felt deeply sad while staying in Dunhuang. Last year, I traveled west with a caravan and spent a winter in Wensu. In the spring, I arrived in Wusun, and then I heard about the Xiongnu's attack. At the beginning of summer, I heard about the envoys from our dynasty, and I suddenly wanted to try my hand at the battlefield. If I could achieve merit, I would have fulfilled my friend's last wish and kept my promise. If I die on the battlefield, it would be a great honor for me to have killed the Xiongnu."
As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell into silence.
"Please accept my greeting, righteous man." The Gong Cao bowed down, then stood up and said, "Your good friend has lived a life well-served by having a confidant like you."
Sui Wen'an forced a smile.
Captain Chang asked, "What's the name of your good friend? How many people are there in your clan?"
Sui Wen'an's face turned pale, he couldn't fool people after all.
"Do you know Sui Yu?" Zhao Xiping asked. He faced the leader and bowed, saying, "To be honest, sir, I married a wife three years ago. Due to the evil intentions of the centurion, I married a convict. She also had the surname Sui and was from Yu County."
Sui Wen'an lowered his eyes and nodded, saying, "I don't know this person, but I've heard her name."
Captain Chang sighed in amusement, "What a coincidence! Let me think, when we returned from Wusun last year, you told me you wanted to free your wife from slavery?"
"Your Excellency is right." Zhao Xiping sighed regretfully and said, "If I had known Brother Wen was interested, I wouldn't have bothered with all that effort last year. I was promoted to a centurion last year, so wouldn't I be able to be promoted to captain this year if I had made military achievements?"
Captain Chang laughed and scolded him for being greedy.
Zhao Xiping glanced at Sui Wen'an and said, "From what I've learned, there aren't many members of the Sui clan left. There are only four prostitutes in the camp, and there probably aren't many male slaves left either."
"When I left Dunhuang, there were less than ten male slaves left alive. A year later, with the war still going on, the number of survivors is estimated to be even lower," Sui Wen'an added. He knelt down with his injured leg and arm, begging, "Please grant me your blessing, sir."
Pardoning a dozen criminal slaves was far less valuable than rewarding them with official positions and silver. Captain Chang thought for a moment and said, "Please make a note of this and report it to the Gongcao upon your return to Chang'an."
There were special officials responsible for pardoning criminals and issuing rewards. Captain Chang reported the war directly to the emperor, so such trivial matters were not his responsibility. At most, he would mention them for the emperor to hear.
Gongcao nodded, and seeing that Captain Chang stopped talking, he took Sui Wen'an and retreated, and the rest of the soldiers followed suit.
Two days later, Captain Chang left Wusun with the captives, and the seriously injured soldiers stayed in Wusun to recuperate. Sui Wen'an's injuries were on his legs, arms and face, which did not affect his journey, so he rode a camel and returned with the Han army.
During the break, Sui Wen'an found Zhao Xiping to thank him.
Zhao Xiping shook his head and said, "It's not because of you. It's because of people like Sui Yu, Sui Liang, and Tong Huaer who have been dragged down by you. Even if they have used your family's influence to do bad things in the past, their crimes are not as serious as this."
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