The butcher's name was Chen Balang. He was originally a member of the Jingbian Army. Two years ago, he lost an eye while fighting against the Dahuang barbarians, which forced him to retire from the army. He borrowed some money and returned to Langcheng, where he opened a pork shop.
Business was lukewarm, but it was enough to make ends meet.
The weather was cold today, with heavy snow falling. Seeing that there weren't many customers, Chen Balang packed up his stall early, packed up some unsold pig offal, and headed home.
I witnessed what had just happened when I passed by Black Bull's house, and could only shake my head and sigh.
Back home, his eighteen-year-old son, Chen Shicai, had already prepared a table full of dishes and was waiting for his father to return.
Compared to Hei Niu's family, Chen Balang's family was much better off. At least they had no problem eating their fill every day, and it was common for them to have some meat every now and then.
"Dad, I bought some wine today. Let's have a couple of drinks, just the two of us."
"Okay, it's freezing cold today, let's have a drink to warm ourselves up."
After the father and son sat down at the table, Chen Balang warmed his hands, which were covered in chilblains, over the brazier.
Chen Shicai then poured his father a full glass of warm wine.
The wine was very cheap, a cloudy wine for fifteen coins and two cents.
"Come on, let's go."
The father and son raised their glasses and clinked them together.
Chen drank it all in one gulp.
Chen Shicai immediately put a piece of pig liver on his father's plate.
The father and son lived a simple but quite content life.
After two glasses of wine, Chen Shicai's mouth started to chatter.
"Father, have you heard? The Prince of Shu is going to take another concubine, from the capital."
"I've heard about it. This is good news. It shows that His Majesty values our Prince of Shu very much."
Chen Shicai took a sip of wine, grinned, and replied, "I heard that the Prince of Shu specially renovated two villas to take in a concubine."
It's even larger and more luxurious than the imperial palace in Beijing, with over a thousand attendants and servants. Wow, the spectacle is astounding!
Chen Balang noticed the strong dissatisfaction in his son's eyes and immediately reminded him in a deep voice, "What do you want to say? The Prince is a great benefactor of our Shu region. Don't have any nonsense ideas."
Chen Shicai scoffed, "How could I dare to have any thoughts? I just don't understand why our lives are so difficult?"
Chen Balang: "What's so difficult about it? We have food and drink, wine and meat, aren't you satisfied?"
Chen Shicai sneered, "Yes, I have food and drink, what more could I ask for? But it's just..."
He finished his sentence in one gulp.
“Father, you’ve dedicated your whole life to the Xu family and even lost an eye, so why do you end up stuck in a place like this?”
Look at those guys who enlisted with you back then; they've all risen to some rank now, while you've slain seventy-seven heads in the Great Wilderness.
In the end, he's stuck selling pork in Langcheng, having to put up with the attitudes of his former colleagues. Is that fair?
"Shut up." Chen Balang stopped Chen Shicai from continuing. "Those old brothers all have military merits, so there's nothing to complain about in their promotions."
"Father, how long are you going to keep deceiving yourself?" Chen Shicai put down his chopsticks and said, "Don't you count killing enemies with your sword and spear on the battlefield as meritorious service?"
These guys, their combined military merits don't even amount to half of yours, yet they all climbed above you. Now you're stuck in this godforsaken place because you were injured and lost an eye, without even a penny of compensation.
But they all flaunt their noble status and act all high and mighty. Father, don't you have any thoughts about this?
Chen Balang sighed, "Perhaps this is fate. After all, we failed to defend Fengsui Fort that day, otherwise your father might have become a centurion."
"The fall of Fengsui Fortress wasn't solely your responsibility, Father. There were only thirty-seven men in the entire fortress."
Facing five thousand barbarians attacking day and night in shifts, and holding out for forty-three days without food or water, even if they didn't achieve anything, they certainly put in the effort, right?
And what happened? Reinforcements were delayed, and ultimately Fengsuibao fell. Are you saying your unit bears full responsibility?
"What can we do?"
Chen Baliang drank half a cup of wine and sighed deeply.
"The order from above was to hold out to the death. If we failed to hold out, we were derelict in our duty. Who can we blame?"
"But Wang Han's four thousand iron cavalry and the two thousand Xiliang soldiers of the Juhu Camp are only a few hundred miles away from Fengsui Fort. In forty-three days, they should have reached it even if they had to crawl."
But they just didn't make a move. Who would believe there wasn't something fishy going on?
"Don't talk nonsense, what do you know!"
Chen Balang rebuked Chen Shicai and told him to stop talking.
"It's a serious matter in the military, so you, an outsider, shouldn't offer your opinions."
Chen Shicai was very indignant: "Yes, I am an outsider, but I just can't understand why you have fallen to this state when you did nothing wrong, and why no one cares about the suffering you have endured."
Everyone says that His Highness the King of Shu loves his people like his own children, but why is it that after several generations of Kings of Shu have ruled, the people of Shu still live such difficult lives? Father, why do you think this is?
Why is it that those rich kids who go to the battlefield can get promoted without doing anything, while you, who are fighting the enemy with real swords, live such a miserable life?
I really don't understand.
"Enough! Stop talking!" Chen Balang slammed his hand on the table. "What's wrong with you today? Why are you spouting such nonsense? In terms of suffering, isn't the current heir suffering too?"
"What hardship does the current heir have?" Chen Shicai retorted, his neck red. "He doesn't have to go out in the freezing cold to make a living."
He is also the future son-in-law of the emperor, destined for a life of luxury and wealth from birth.
On the other hand, what about us? You don't care about your own suffering, but instead worry about whether the pampered young master, who lacks nothing, is suffering. Father, what are you thinking?
"I……"
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