Chapter 69
Fan Changyu had been digging earth and rocks in the camp for three days. As they were digging, they were strictly guarded by soldiers and could not run around at will. The only terrain they could explore was the section from the barracks where they were imprisoned to the mountain.
There was an officer or soldier watching every ten people, and a system of collective responsibility was adopted. If one person in the team escaped, the other nine people would be punished as long as they did not report it, regardless of whether they knew about it or not. Therefore, not only were there officers and soldiers watching, but the refugees working together were also watching each other, so it was not easy to escape.
But apart from that, these officers and soldiers had strict discipline. They did not withhold their food or harass the women in the barracks.
On the contrary, some bachelors among the refugees often looked at the women with lustful eyes, whistled and said obscene words.
Fortunately, the men's and women's barracks were separated, and the only time the people from the two barracks could come into contact with each other was when they gathered in the morning to go to the mountains to dig soil and rocks and when they had meals.
Those women whose husbands or fathers or brothers were also refugees were rarely provoked by the ruffians. Those who were alone here, whether young girls or married women, were the targets of the ruffians' harassment and obscene talk.
There were even ruffians who lured those lone women to form a team to mine earth and rocks. It was nothing more than digging with them, which meant they would not have to work so hard and could still have a full meal, but they would inevitably be taken advantage of by those ruffians.
Fan Changyu was good-looking, and she was targeted when she first arrived, but she had no idea about it.
At that time, no one was willing to team up with her. Those ruffians were planning to make her suffer for a long time. After she knew it was not easy to make a living by mining soil and rocks, they would extend an olive branch and Fan Changyu would listen to them obediently.
Who knew that Fan Changyu was a freak? Not only did she not rely on them for food as they wished, but she also became the one who competed most with them for food.
In the past two days, Fan Changyu just worked honestly to dig soil and rocks, and received two more steamed buns every meal without fail. Until she saw that a big guy who was digging soil and rocks with them actually received chicken legs. Fan Changyu suddenly felt that the steamed buns in her hand with the white porridge were a bit bland, and she couldn't help but ask why the big guy could get chicken legs.
The woman who was lying next to Fan Changyu's bed said, "That man is very strong. In addition to digging soil and rocks every day, he also carries the soil and rocks he dug on his back. It seems that a military leader above him appreciates him and wants him to join the army. But that man has a wife and children here. In order to feed his wife and children, he keeps digging soil and rocks here."
Fan Changyu bit his steamed bun and asked, "Not only do we dig up the earth and rocks, we also move them. If we do more, we can eat meat, right?"
The woman nodded and continued, "You saw how big the basket was. It was nearly three hundred kilograms when filled with earth and rocks. Those soldiers needed two people to lift it. Among us, only that man could lift it by himself."
When Fan Changyu was walking back to the old man with a bowl of porridge in his hand, he suddenly asked, "How about we eat meat tomorrow?" after listening to the old man finish talking about a new chapter of the Analects.
The old man looked unhappy and snorted: "I'm explaining the teachings of Confucius and Mencius to you, but all you can think about is your appetite?"
Fan Changyu scratched his head and said awkwardly, "I have heard you say, 'If you are kind to yourself and lenient to others, you will avoid resentment.' In everything, you should reflect on yourself more and blame yourself less, and blame others less. Am I remembering it correctly?"①
After saying that, he couldn't help but ask again: "You don't want to eat meat at all?"
The old man's throat slid open with difficulty, and he closed his eyes and scolded: "Vulgar."
Fan Changyu was not angry after being reprimanded. She worked very hard in the afternoon when digging earth and rocks. Before, she worked according to her appetite. If she could get two more steamed buns, she would start to dig water. But now, in order to eat meat, she dug fifteen baskets in one afternoon and told the officers and soldiers that she would carry them herself.
The officer in charge of guarding them thought she was crazy and pointed at the basket full of rocks and said, "Do you know how much this weighs? If this basket falls on you, it will break your legs!"
The old man then realized what Fan Changyu meant by asking him if he wanted to eat meat at noon. He was worried that something might happen to a girl like her, so he pulled a long face and called her, "Nonsense! Two steamed buns and a bowl of porridge aren't enough for you? If not, I'll give you my portion too."
Fan Changyu did not respond to the old man's question, but only asked the soldier, "I will carry all the fifteen baskets of stones down the mountain. Can I get chicken legs tonight?"
The movement here caught the attention of the chief officer who was in charge of all the refugees. After Fan Changyu asked that question, he obviously thought Fan Changyu was dreaming and said, "Don't mention fifteen baskets. If you carry this one basket to the foot of the mountain, I will reward you with a whole chicken!"
Fan Changyu was obviously stunned for a moment. Is there such a good thing?
With such a gamble, the refugees who were originally working hard to dig stones in the loess stopped what they were doing, looked over here, and talked among themselves while holding their hoe handles.
The woman who had spoken to Fan Changyu at noon had a worried look on her face. She probably hadn't expected Fan Changyu to have such an idea and was afraid that he would harm her.
The old man's wrinkled brows were almost twisted into a knot. He glared at Fan Changyu and said, "Girl, stop messing around!"
The officer and soldier leader didn't think Fan Changyu really dared to recite the poem, but when he saw her standing there in silence, he thought she was frightened and asked her in a mocking tone, "Are you still going to recite the poem?"
Fan Changyu said to the old man, "Don't worry about me."
She put down the hoe and walked over to the chief of the soldiers and said, "I'll carry it on my back. Just keep your word, sir."
It was still a bit difficult for her to lift 300 kilograms with one hand, but it was not difficult to carry it on her back.
Everyone was watching with either frowning brows or as if they were watching a play. They saw the tall but slim girl stepping steadily on the flat mud ground with her feet apart, slinging the straps of the basket over her shoulders, holding the straps tightly with both hands, sinking her shoe soles a little into the ground, and then she carried the three hundred kilogram basket of earth and rocks from the households.
There was a burst of gasps at the scene. The hooligans who were standing with their hoes and chins propped up opened their mouths as if they had seen a ghost. They were also glad that they didn't say anything nonsense on the first day this woman came, otherwise they would have been beaten into pigs.
The chief of the officers and soldiers was also dumbfounded. He had heard from his subordinates that there was a woman who dug earth and rocks very diligently and could get two extra steamed buns every meal.
But digging soil and rocks requires skills and endurance, and anyone can do it. However, looking at the entire military camp, only a few generals can carry such a heavy basket of rocks.
Fan Changyu hardly used any crutches for support. He just held the basket straps on his shoulders with both hands and walked steadily down the mountain step by step. It didn't look easy, but he didn't seem particularly strenuous either.
Even after Fan Changyu left, the entire mining site was still silent.
The old man looked at Fan Changyu's back and became thoughtful. He twisted the gray goat's beard on his chin with his hand and murmured in a low voice: "With these bones, if he were a man, he would definitely become a great person..."
When the soldiers distributed food in the evening, Fan Changyu really got a whole roast chicken. She took the bowl of porridge and found a quiet place to squat with the old man. She pulled out a big chicken leg and handed it to the old man. The old man didn't take it. Instead, he looked at her with a complicated expression: "How is the exploration going?"
Fan Changyu raised his head and looked at the old man: "How do you know I was going to explore the way?"
The old man drooped his wrinkled eyelids, his eyes were old but clear, "A few days ago, every time I went up the mountain to dig soil and rocks, you were quietly looking at the terrain and military deployment in this area, and asked a lot of questions when you met people. You also saw people eating meat a few days ago, why can't you bear it today and must go and show off? It's nothing more than that you already have an idea of the terrain and military defenses nearby, and you want to take a look at the military deployment elsewhere."
They spoke in low voices and there were no one around. Seeing that the old man had seen through his plan, Fan Changyu said, "Don't worry, I won't sneak away and cause you trouble. I carried the rocks to the dam because I wanted to see how well it has been built and how long we will be trapped here. The dam looks like it is almost finished, so we should be released soon."
If she had to stay here for a year or two, she wouldn't be able to endure it.
The old man snorted and said, "You are still using this stupid method to check the progress of the dam repair. Let me tell you, the dam must be completed before the first rainstorm of spring comes."
Fan Changyu was puzzled: "Why?"
The old man glanced at her and said, "You didn't pay me any tuition, and you didn't kowtow to me and offer me tea to be your teacher. It would be fine if you asked me questions based on the rigid stuff in the Four Books, but why should I teach you these?"
Fan Changyu said "Oh" and honestly didn't ask any more questions. He started to gnaw on the fat and juicy chicken leg that he handed to the old man but he didn't want.
The old man saw this and glared at him angrily, "You stupid piglet, that's all you have!"
Fan Changyu was confused by his scolding, but he didn't want to argue with an old man with white hair, thin muscles and a bad temper. He pursed his lips, took a step to the side, continued to chew the chicken leg and ignored him, silently expressing his displeasure at his scolding.
The old man became even angrier, his chest heaving, and he shouted, "Without tea, you can't even kowtow?"
Fan Changyu finally realized that the old man had just said that he wanted her to become his disciple.
Fan Changyu knew her own worth, and after a while of hesitation, she declined politely, "I'm not a good student, but my mother once said that it's always good to read more books, so I read those books with only a limited understanding. I feel embarrassed to let you teach me in vain. There was silver in my package that was taken away by the soldiers. If you return everything to us when you let us go, I will pay you a compensation."
The main thing is that now that he has become his disciple, he will have to take care of this old man from now on. After hearing him scolding his student for so long, Fan Changyu felt that he had expected his student to support him in his old age, but his student turned out to be ungrateful, so he wanted to find someone to support him in his old age.
But I still have to go find my sister and can't stay here for too long, so naturally I can't always take care of this old man.
The old man heard that he was rejected for taking a disciple, so he glanced at Fan Changyu, his temper rising, and snorted and laughed: "Do you know how many people have spent millions of dollars to ask me to take them as disciples, but I refused them?"
Fan Changyu had already finished eating the chicken leg. He pinched the chicken bone and said in shock, "Is this how much money a teacher can make?"
Old man: “…”
His wrinkled old face turned red with anger. He closed his eyes and said angrily, "Stop it, stop it. You are a rotten tree that cannot be carved!"
Fan Changyu thought of the Zhao couple who were also helpless, and realized that the old man was so angry just because he refused to be his disciple. Then he felt that this old man with a strange temper was quite pitiful. He had a bad temper and no children, so it would be difficult for him to find someone to take care of him in his old age.
She thought of Yan Zheng at an inopportune time, and suddenly felt that Yan Zheng's bad temper was exactly the same as that of this weird old man.
If Yan Zheng is lonely all his life because of his sharp tongue, won’t he become like this old man when he gets old?
Fan Changyu stopped the weird thoughts in her head, glanced at the weird old man who had a cold face and didn't want to talk to her anymore, tore off half of the roast chicken, put it into his bowl of steamed buns, sighed, and took the rest of the roast chicken back to the barracks where the women were resting.
-
That night, spring thunder roared and heavy rain came pouring down.
More and more rain gathered on the ground. Fan Changyu looked at the blindingly bright lightning that shone through the gaps in the doors and windows, listened to the thunder outside that covered everything and the noisy crying of children in the barracks, and always felt a little uneasy.
She sat up and as soon as she stepped onto the ground, she felt like she had stepped into a puddle. It turned out that the ground in the barracks was filled with rainwater.
Thinking of what the old man said about the dike being repaired before the spring flood, Fan Changyu recalled what he saw when he carried soil and rocks to the dike mouth that afternoon, and felt that it was similar to what the old man said.
She hoped that the soldiers would let them go tomorrow, but under the cover of heavy rain and thunder, there seemed to be other movements outside.
Fan Changyu hesitated for a moment, but decided to put on his clothes and go to the door to check.
To prevent them from escaping, they were not imprisoned in tents, but in mud-walled and tiled houses that were requisitioned by officers and soldiers after the civilians who originally lived there fled south.
The doors are locked at night.
Fan Changyu waded through the rain to the gate, and in the light of lightning, he found that the officers and soldiers who were guarding outside were nowhere to be found. Not far away, in the house where the refugee men were being held, it seemed that someone was using something hard to smash the door lock.
She quickly realized that something must have happened in the barracks, and this rainy night was also a perfect opportunity for them to escape.
There was no hard object in the room except the bed. Fan Changyu thought about it, took two steps back, rushed forward and kicked the door hard, and the wooden door collapsed outwards on the spot.
Fan Changyu ignored the women in the room with different expressions on their faces, rushed out in the heavy rain, and went straight to the barracks where their belongings were placed.
Someone reacted quickly and rushed out as well.
The people in the men's barracks saw it and stopped smashing the lock. After a while, the door and its frame were knocked out. The big guy couldn't hold back and fell into the rain. After he got up, he went to the barracks opposite to find his wife and children.
For a while, the camp where the refugees were detained was in chaos, with everyone calling out each other's names and looking for their relatives.
Fan Changyu was alone and quickly found his bag. He squeezed out of the barracks where the bag was kept against the crowd and saw the old man just coming out of the barracks where he was imprisoned.
The wet clothes stuck to his body, making him look even thinner.
Fan Changyu originally wanted to just leave, but then he thought that although Mr. Fan had a strange temper, he had taught him the Four Books very seriously. There is a saying among the people that "once a teacher, a father for life", so since he taught him these things, he could be considered half a teacher after all.
Fan Changyu gritted his teeth, and finally rushed into the rain with the package in his hand, saying to the old man, "I'll carry you and run away."
Before the old man could say anything, Fan Changyu threw him onto his back. He was soaked like a long-necked pheasant, but he still said stubbornly, "I can walk on my own. You don't need to carry me!"
Fan Changyu knew that the old man had such a strange temper, so he did not fight with him at this time. Because he had memorized the terrain of the military camp in the past few days, he quickly carried the old man and escaped to the main road.
Occasionally, a bolt of lightning struck, and drops of water fell from Fan Changyu's eyelids. He saw many dead bodies of soldiers lying on the ground, and the rain on the ground was a light rouge color.
In the heavy rain in the distance, there were tents burning, and it seemed that two groups of people were fighting.
The old man said with a bad look, "It's bad. I'm afraid the thieves have discovered that we are building a dam to hold back the water."
Fan Changyu looked around in the heavy rain and asked, "Were these soldiers killed by the bandits?"
The old man said, "Since the construction of this dike, the scouts sent by the rebels to investigate this area have never returned. This must have alerted the rebels, so they sent an army to raid here. The purpose is to cover the scouts and let them bring back news!"
Fan Changyu was puzzled: "What does this have to do with building dams?"
The old man said sternly, "Have you ever seen a flood-blocking dam that can be completed in ten days or half a month? This dam was hastily built just to temporarily block water. When the 50,000-strong rebel army surrounded Lucheng, the water stored in the dam would flow downstream, and Lucheng would be able to defeat the 50,000-strong rebel army without a single soldier. If the rebels knew in advance that this upstream flood that could drown their entire army was blocked, do you think they would still fall into the trap and be lured to the river valley?"
Only then did Fan Changyu understand why the officers and soldiers wanted to detain them.
But in the current situation, saving her life was the most important thing. To avoid being discovered, she apologized, took off the military armor from the two dead soldiers of Ruzhou, and put it on herself and the old man.
Another horse was seen in front of him. The horse was lowering its head and using its trunk to support a general who was lying on the ground.
Fan Changyu hurried over to take the horse, thinking that since her horse had been taken away by the officers and soldiers and never found, she could regard this as compensation from the barracks.
As she turned to leave, the bloody man lying on the ground grabbed the corner of her clothes. He probably recognized the Jizhou military uniform on her. With blood stuck in his throat, he could hardly speak: "Three scouts escaped from Lukou Road, hurry... chase them..."
That's how he died.
Even though he had experienced many life and death situations, Fan Changyu suddenly got goosebumps all over his body on this rainy night.
The old man stood silently in the rain with his hands behind his back. Fan Changyu walked over on his horse and hesitated for a few seconds before asking, "Are you still coming with me?"
The old man looked at Fan Changyu through the rain and sighed, "If you were a man, I would have you cross Wuling and kill the three rebel scouts at the Lukou Road, the only way to enter Lucheng. Their life and death are related to the survival of the entire Lucheng and even the entire Jizhou. But even though you have martial arts skills, you are just a woman. The rise and fall of the world is not the responsibility of women. You should run for your life. I will take this news back to the barracks."
Fan Changyu said, "Then let's say goodbye now."
She jumped on the horse, gave it a hard kick and ran towards the official road in the distance. The rain stuck to her cheeks and slid down her chin. The lightning from the sky reflected the struggle in her eyes.
She wanted to find Changning, and after finding Changning, live an ordinary life like before.
Wars and the like are things that high-ranking officials should worry about. The responsibility for the survival of a city or a place can never fall on a little girl like her.
But she still remembered vividly the tragic events in Qingping County and Lin'an Town. The bandits had turned those two places into dead cities. What if the people sent from the military camp failed to catch up with the scouts and the plan to flood the Chongzhou army failed? Once Lucheng was broken, what would be waiting for the people there?
Fan Changyu whipped the horse whip hard, and the warhorse ran madly in the heavy rain. The rain and cold wind hit his face, causing bursts of stinging pain.
At that moment, many people flashed through her mind, including the deceased Captain Wang and his wife, the neighbors in the alley in the west of the city, and Carpenter Zhao and Yan Zheng who were still in Lucheng...
In fact, she had killed many people before, but she still felt frightened when she thought of the bloody scenes in Qingping County and Lin'an Town.
Maybe... if she chases after them, she can also stop those three scouts from bringing back the news?
Fan Changyu took two deep breaths, and finally pulled the reins to stop his horse. He did not take his own package, but only took a few pig-killing knives from it, fastened his wrist guards, and like a leopard going out hunting in the rain, he abandoned his horse and ran towards Wuling.
-
Lu city.
Different from the heavy rain in the upper reaches of Jizhou, there was only a drizzle in the night of Lucheng.
He Jingyuan stood on the tower, looking at the vague outline of the mountain range in the distance, and asked: "Where have we led the rebels to?"
The deputy general at the side replied: "The scouts reported that the bandits have reached the river mouth, but they are very cautious and refuse to go deep."
He Jingyuan pondered for a moment and said, "Hang up my general's flag and continue to lure the enemy."
Someone immediately passed the order down, the city gate was opened a little, and a scout was sent out on horseback to report the news.
He Jingyuan glanced in the direction of the upper reaches of the Wu River. Although nothing could be seen on his face, his hands on the battlements of the city wall were clenched into fists.
If this plan failed, Lucheng would only have 30,000 soldiers left to fight the enemy, of which more than 10,000 were newly recruited soldiers who had just been recruited not long ago and could not even use a full set of spear techniques.
-
In the fields of Yanzhou, the rain was as soft as butter.
Xie Zheng rode his horse on a low slope, looking at the battle below with a stern expression. The torches were intertwined, and only occasionally could one make out whether the wind and rain in the firelight were the Yanzhou flag or the Chongzhou flag.
Raindrops condensed from the drizzle slid down his chin. He just stared at the Yanzhou flag advancing distance after distance in the firelight without his eyelashes trembling.
Gongsun Yin blocked the drizzling rain with his feather fan and asked, "If you don't go down, the Chongzhou army will not enter Yixian Gorge."
Xie Zheng said, "We set up an ambush at the First Line Gorge. The Sui family father and son must have set up an ambush somewhere else. Let's wait for them to throw out the bait first."
Gongsun Yin raised his eyes and asked, "Do you want to eat their bait and then lead them into Yixian Gorge?"
Xie Zheng did not comment.
Gongsun Yin was thinking about the bait in Xie Zheng's mouth, his eyes narrowed, and he was about to speak when the battle situation below suddenly became a little turbulent.
A young general emerged from the Chongzhou army. He was riding a white horse and holding a silver spear. He was handsome and evil. In his arms, he held a little girl who was crying because of the bloodshed on the battlefield. He shouted arrogantly to the Yanzhou army in front of him: "Where is Wu'an Hou? Come out and die!"
Gongsun Yin frowned as he looked at the figure standing in front of the Chongzhou Army in the firelight and said, "He looks a bit like you in the past."
Xie Zheng glanced at him calmly, "When did your eyes become damaged?"
Before Gongsun Yin could react, he had already picked up the long spear stuck in the ground, jumped down the gentle slope with his horse's belly, and the black cloak behind him was blown high in the drizzle, like a powerful black cloud.
The author has something to say:
This is yesterday's update. There are many war scenes, so it is written relatively slowly.
In case some of you don't understand the main story, I'll sort it out. There are three battles in total. The first one is on the heroine's side. The anti-thieves sent a small army to cover for the scouts. They wanted to use the army to attract most of the attention and let the scouts bring back the news. If the scouts brought back the news, then the second battle, which is He Jingyuan's battle, would be doomed to fail. The third battle is on the hero's side.
I'm still writing today's one. My dear, you can't wait to see it tomorrow morning~
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