That night, there was a torrential rain, the Milky Way was pouring down, the rain like a dense curtain obscured the thin moon halo, there were few lights in Guangningwei, and dark clouds were pressing down on the city, threatening to destroy it.
It was just after the Yin hour, when everyone was fast asleep, when suddenly, a violent knock on the door penetrated the rain curtain. Uncle Chen, who had been nodding his head in sleepiness, was startled and suddenly straightened up.
He regained consciousness, turned on the light, held up his umbrella, and ran to the door. Before he could ask, the man who was knocking on the door had already shouted in a loud voice: "Sir, I am Hu Baicheng. There are refugees causing trouble in the city!"
Uncle Chen opened the door: "Master Hu..."
Hu Baicheng's voice was just like his appearance, rough and strong, with raindrops on his beard, and he trembled along with his voice: "Go and wake up your old man!"
"Yes, yes." Uncle Chen nodded repeatedly and turned to walk into the house. He was over 60 years old and his steps were a little unsteady. He also had to be careful to avoid puddles on the ground.
"Hey!" Hu Baicheng became anxious when he saw his look, and without caring about etiquette, he strode towards the compartment.
Just as I rushed to the eaves, I heard a creaking sound and the bedroom door opened from the inside. A tall and straight man in his underwear stood at the door and asked in a deep voice, "Why are you so panicked?"
It was pitch black and his features could not be seen clearly, but on that rainy night during the autumnal equinox, he was dressed so thinly but did not tremble. He was startled in the middle of the night but his voice was not weak. Just by standing still, he gave people the sense of stability like a mountain. He was Yuan Mao, the captain of the Guangning Guard.
Hu Baicheng bowed and said, "Master Yuan, there are refugees gathering in the city to cause trouble, near Master Qian's government office."
"Let's go and take a look." Yuan Mao turned and went back to the house.
The lights in the house were on, and a gentle and beautiful woman came over with a shirt in her hand: "Master, is there something going on in the city?"
Yuan Mao turned around while getting dressed and said, "Another refugee from Taining." He was about thirty years old, with a broad forehead, a high nose, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. He was handsome, but also had an outstanding and sharp air.
She sighed quietly, "These days, refugees keep pouring into Guangning, causing unrest in the city, and I don't know when it will end." She put the jacket on Yuan Mao and buttoned it up carefully, "It's very cold on a rainy night, put on more clothes."
Yuan Mao said solemnly: "It's just a minor disaster now. If we don't appease them properly, the refugees will turn into bandits, which will be a big disaster."
She looked worried.
Yuan Mao tightened her shawl and said, "Qingshuang, go back and have a rest. Don't catch a cold."
Yue Qingshuang nodded: "Master, be careful."
Yuan Mao smiled gently and stroked her hair: "Don't worry, madam." He grabbed his rain hat and went out.
The door of the side-lying room suddenly opened, revealing half of a fair and tender little face and a pair of bright big eyes from the gap in the door, and he called out "Dad" in a low voice.
Yuan Mao said, "Yu'er? Why are you up? Go back to sleep."
"When will Dad come back?" The voice was filled with deep sleep.
"I'll be back at daybreak." Yuan Mao took a step forward, then paused. "I'll bring you some buns for the blind man when I come back."
The eyes curved slightly: "Okay." Then he closed the door gently.
——
A flurry of frantic horse hooves trampled through the puddles, splashing water more than a foot deep. The cavalry, led by Yuan Mao, galloped silently in the heavy rain. They were all wearing straw raincoats and hats, with swords on their waists. The brim of their hats were pulled down, so their expressions could not be seen clearly, but they must have been extremely serious.
Not long ago, the Jin army defeated Sheng's army and Qingzhou fell. The imperial court actually ordered the abandonment of the seven states in Liaobei, the withdrawal of troops and civilians, and the evacuation of the area south of Huangshui.
The seven states of Liaobei are the natural barrier of the northern border of the Sheng Dynasty. Since ancient times, they have been regarded as the natural barrier for the Chinese people to resist the invasion of nomadic peoples. Once abandoned, the northern border will be almost indefensible. Even the trading countries would not dare to do so blatantly.
Yuan Mao discussed this matter closely with Qian Anrong, the governor of Guangning. Lord Qian thought that the court's action was probably because the national treasury was about to be dragged down by the two fronts of the Oirat and the Jin people. The loss of Qingzhou was the last straw that broke the camel's back, and shrinking the defense line was also a helpless move. In addition, there must be foolish people who disturbed the emperor's ears, which led to such a short-sighted decision.
Abandoning the seven states of Liaobei will harm the Central Plains for more than just one dynasty and one country, and will surely be condemned forever.
It's just a pity for the people of the seven states, led by Taining, who have been cultivating that land for hundreds of years. Now they are forced to abandon their ancestral fields on which they depend for their livelihood and migrate south in large numbers. I heard that on the day of the migration, the fields were filled with wailing. How can one describe their devastation?
Most of the refugees flowed into Guangning. Guangning Guard, which originally had a natural barrier in front of it and served only as a strategic logistics for the seven states of Liaoning, was now separated from the Jin people by only the Huang River.
Yuan Mao had not been able to sleep well for a long time in order to deal with the chaos of refugees. Although refugees were a headache, what worried him most were the barbarians who were as fierce as wolves and tigers...
His thoughts were distracted for a moment, so he didn't notice a dark object emerging in front of him. When he looked carefully, it seemed to be a child. The horse was already close at hand. He was startled and pulled the reins hard. The horse was startled and a sharp long roar cut through the rainy night. Its front hooves kicked into the air and its body almost stood upright.
Yuan Mao was thrown down and fell heavily into the cold rain.
The followers behind also pulled at the reins. If they were not well-trained, they would have collided into a ball.
"Sir!" Hu Baicheng jumped off his horse and went to help Yuan Mao. "Sir, are you okay?"
"It's no problem..." Yuan Mao's hat fell off, and the rain splashed all over his head and face. He wiped the water off his face and squinted his eyes at the small black shadow in front of him.
Hu Baicheng cursed: "How dare you disturb the mount of the thousand households!"
Yuan Mao waved his hands and said, "It looks like a child." He stood up and walked towards the dark shadow. His followers ran over with a flashlight and shone it. It was indeed a child, squatting barefoot in ankle-deep water with his head buried in his knees, shivering.
On such a cold and rainy night, he was ragged and extremely thin, and the ribs on his back were like scales, each one clearly visible.
Hu Baicheng frowned: "Why did you suddenly rush out? What's your intention?"
You can't blame him for making a fuss out of nothing. This child is most likely a refugee. They have already suffered terribly from all the troubles caused by refugees. Who knows if this child was instructed to cause trouble.
The child stretched out his hand tremblingly, pointed his thin finger at Yuan Mao's feet, and whispered, "...fish."
The voice is extremely weak.
Yuan Mao looked down and saw that there was no fish there, just a piece of broken wood that was slightly in the shape of a fish.
This child must be so hungry that he is dizzy. Yuan Mao sighed in his heart. There were too many refugees from the seven states of Liaobei. The food allocated by the court was distributed from top to bottom. When it arrived in Guangning, it was not enough. He could not sympathize with them. He heard that many refugees died on the way because of the plague. Those who could survive and reach Guangning City were lucky. But the cold winter was coming, and children like this might not survive.
Yuan Mao ordered his followers, "Give him something to eat, and let's go."
The attendant fished out some dry food from his pocket and threw it over. The child threw himself into the rain, grabbed the dry food, and began to tear it into pieces madly.
"Get out of the way." the follower shouted.
He gnawed and backed away.
Yuan Mao walked towards his horse.
"…The horse has a leg disease."
Yuan Mao was stunned and turned to look at the child: "What did you say?" He thought he had heard wrongly.
"My left front heel is swollen. It hurts when it touches the ground, and the pain makes me feel restless." The child's voice was still weak, but Yuan Mao heard it. He observed and found that his horse was treading water and seemed to be uneasy.
"What nonsense are you talking about, little brat!" Hu Baicheng scolded.
Yuan Mao asked, "How do you know it has a leg disease?"
The child stopped talking and continued to chew his dry food. He just wanted to return the favor of the cake.
"Raise your head." Yuan Mao raised his voice.
The child paused and slowly raised his face.
Heavy rain fell, forming a blurry wall of water between Yuan Mao and the child. The fire was weak, and his face was hidden in the shadows. But at this moment, a flash of lightning exploded in the air, accompanied by rumbling thunder. The horses were startled and the surroundings suddenly became as bright as day. At this moment, Yuan Mao saw the child's face clearly.
His heart skipped a beat.
The child's pale face was washed clean by the rain. Although his cheeks were sunken due to hunger and his eyes were dull, his features were still very delicate and beautiful.
Yuan Mao excitedly snatched the lantern from his follower, strode up to the child, looked at the child's face carefully, and asked in a trembling voice, "What's your name?"
"Yan Sikong." The child's voice was as soft as a mosquito's.
Yuan Mao pricked up his ears to identify it: "Si... Kong, what does this name mean?"
When the name was mentioned, a faint light flashed in the child's eyes. He straightened his back as much as possible, wiped the rain off his face, looked at the tall and handsome man in front of him, and answered in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Thinking of nothingness leads to far-reaching vision, and having no desires leads to strength." The water drops hit the ground, making a crackling sound, and the child's voice was like a clear string, echoing faintly in everyone's ears.
"…Is your father a scholar?"
"My father was a man of honor in the ninth year of Zhaowu."
"You study too?"
"My father taught me."
"How do you know my horse has a leg problem?"
"My mother is a doctor."
"Doctor horse?"
"To treat people." The child lowered his head. He was thinking about the rough dry food in his hands and answered each sentence perfunctorily.
"If you are a doctor, why do you diagnose horses?"
"They are all made of bones and flesh, so they have something in common." The child couldn't help it and took another big bite of dry food.
Hu Guangcheng urged, "Sir, we should not delay here."
Yuan Mao took a deep breath, his heart beating like a drum. His brain was hot, and he suddenly made a decision that changed the fate of many people and even the fate of Dasheng: "Come with me."
The child was confused.
Yuan Mao looked down at him and said, "Come with me, and you won't have to go hungry. But from today on, I am your father, and your surname is Yuan, Yuan Sikong."
The child was still confused, perhaps because he was hungry, or perhaps because the words came too suddenly and he didn't know how to react for a moment.
Yuan Mao stretched out his hand.
The child hesitated for a moment, but only for a moment, before he grabbed the big hand. The temptation of not having to go hungry was too great. Then his body lightened, and Yuan Mao held him in his arms, wrapping his thin and cold body with a straw raincoat.
The child's mind was blank. The chest was thick and warm, and the arms hugging him were hard and strong. It seemed like the safest place in the world. He even suspected that he was dreaming.
From Taining to Guangning, a journey of thousands of miles, he watched his familiar neighbors fall one by one, then his family, and finally his parents. His comfortable and prosperous life vanished overnight. He had never suffered hardship since childhood, and he left his hometown and lived on the streets, enduring hunger and cold, worse than a stray dog...
But he wanted to live. His father's admonitions and teachings were still ringing in his ears, and his mother's gentle comfort was forever imprinted on his skin. They all wanted him to live, and he wanted to live.
The horse started running again. He grabbed Yuan Mao's clothes carefully. He was nostalgic for the warmth that he hadn't touched for a long time, but he didn't dare to get too close. He could only hold his body tense.
Suddenly, a big hand touched his wet hair. He was slightly startled, his eyes became hot, and hot tears flowed silently.
He let down his guard, nestled in Yuan Mao's arms, and fell into a sleepy state.
Yuan Mao's hand fell from the top of the child's head to his thin back, and he was filled with mixed emotions.
The child could not remember clearly what happened afterwards. After all, he was only nine years old at the time and was so hungry that his eyes were blurry. In a trance, he seemed to see soldiers holding swords and driving away the refugees.
Only the name "Yuan Sikong" lingered in the vague consciousness and became clearer and clearer.
Yuan Sikong...from today on, his name is Yuan Sikong.
It’s time to write a new article~~ Today is my 8th anniversary of writing online articles. "Chasing the King" is my 16th article. I counted and found that I have written 9.22 million words in the past eight years. By the time "Chasing the King" is finished, it should be close to 10 million words.
In the past eight years, I have gained a lot. In the future, I will continue to write with passion for creation. I am grateful to the readers who have always accompanied me and supported me =3=
Don’t forget your original intention, take your dreams as your horse, and move forward firmly!