Huanglin Village.
This is a small village with only eighteen households.
There are eighteen thatched houses scattered around the small village.
Liu Yigen, who lived at the east end of the village, was sitting on the doorstep, a pipe in his mouth. He squinted his eyes at the torrential downpour and shook his head. "This rain has really destroyed the rice seedlings in the paddy fields. Oh... old woman, when the rain stops, I have to go and pick up the fallen rice seedlings, otherwise there will be no harvest this year."
The light in the room was dim. A woman in her forties was mending clothes. She looked at Liu Yigen's back and said, "How about I go? Your old cold legs can't stand this damp cold."
"It's okay. I survived a disaster in the army back then, so this little injury is nothing..." He took a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaled a large cloud of smoke, turned around and asked, "Old woman, our ewe should give birth soon, right?"
"Um."
Liu Yigen once again looked out at the vast rain and fog, holding his pipe in silence for a long time. "If my son can return safely... I should go to Old Yu's house to propose marriage. I hope the sheep can give birth to a few more lambs this time. Sigh... these damn days."
He stood up with his hands on his knees and pounded his waist, "When will this damn life ever get better?"
"I heard there's a war going on again?"
Liu Yigen nodded and said, "Fight against Xixia, but this time it will be a bit troublesome."
The woman bit through the thread she was sewing and asked casually, "What's the problem? Isn't it like this every year? It's ordinary people like us who suffer."
"This time I heard that Xixia has defected to Daxia, and it's Daxia's army that's coming."
The woman was startled and raised her head. "What kind of country is Daxia? Is it more powerful than Xixia? Will Liu Datian be in danger on the front line?"
Liu Yigen was silent for a moment. "I heard that Daxia is very powerful. My son... I told him that if he wants to survive on the battlefield as a soldier, he needs to be a bit discerning."
The woman put down her clothes and walked over. "So there's danger?"
"War is inherently dangerous."
"Then...then...what if..."
Liu Yigen raised his head and did not speak for a long time. Starting from last year, the Liao Dynasty increased its troops in large numbers, and his son was captured as a conscript. He had no way to deal with it.
He was once a soldier of the Liao Dynasty. He was injured in the leg during the battle with Western Xia and was ordered to retire and return here.
He thought he could receive a pension, but after so many years, he got nothing.
Sometimes he always wondered, is such a country really worth the people's sacrifice?
When the country is unaware of its people, is there any need for the people to risk their lives for the country?
This was a dangerous idea that violated moral etiquette. He never dared to tell anyone about it, even when his son was captured. He just firmly believed in this idea in his heart - if this country was really destroyed by Daxia, it would not be a bad thing for poor people like them who were already struggling to make ends meet and were just trying to keep their breath.
"I'm asking you a question!"
"Oh..." Liu Yigen took another drag on his cigarette. The tobacco in the pipe had burned out. He bent down and knocked on the doorstep. "If he dies, his body probably won't be found... Let's build a cenotaph for him."
The woman opened her mouth wide, "What will we do when we get old?"
Raising a son is a way to support you in your old age. If this is your only son and he dies in battle, “don’t think too much. What if he comes back alive?”
Liu Yigen was about to turn around and walk into the house, but suddenly turned back and looked into the heavy rain.
He saw many people!
These people are coming towards his hut!
He limped, pushed the woman aside, ran into the house, and took down a rusty spear from the wall.
He stood at the door of the thatched hut, holding the spear and looking outside nervously.
The brothers Yu Dingshan and Yu Dinghe came over with three hundred soldiers. Liu Yigen saw the armor on the newcomers clearly and he was sure that they were not the army of the Liao Dynasty.
He raised his spear, but saw Yu Dingshan took off his helmet and smiled at him.
Yu Dingshan stood under the eaves. He reached out and wiped the rain off his face. He smiled and said, "Uncle, don't be nervous. We are not bad people. We just want to hide from the rain under your eaves."
It was obviously not enough for three hundred people to stand under this roof, so Liu Yigen saw the rest of the soldiers go to other thatched houses.
"You... who are you?"
"Uncle, we are the army of Daxia. Do you know Daxia?"
Liu Yigen's heart skipped a beat. The Great Xia army had already reached this point? Didn't that mean the front line had been defeated?
Then wouldn’t my son Liu Datian be dead?
"The army of Daxia? The army of Liao Dynasty was defeated?" Liu Yigen still held the spear tightly and asked nervously.
"We are definitely going to lose. We are the advance team, waiting here for Yelu Hua, your Crown Prince, and we will capture him alive when he passes by."
The woman was already pale with fear. She clutched her clothes tightly and looked at the enemies wearing shiny armor standing under the eaves of her house with fear - in the eyes of the woman, they were invaders and of course enemies.
But... she thought these enemies would kill them without mercy. Wouldn't it be better to go into the house to hide from the rain?
But they really just stood outside, and no one even pulled out the knife from their backs.
They stood there quietly, as still as javelins, and as silent as statues.
"Daxia...if Daxia captured Liao Dynasty soldiers, would they kill them with a single blow?"
Liu Yigen asked with a hopeful look.
Because at least when fighting against the Western Xia, prisoners on both sides could not escape death.
Yu Dingshan laughed again, his tone calm, "Uncle, don't worry, we in Daxia never kill prisoners. Besides, I won't hide it from you, our emperor wants to occupy the Liao Dynasty. From now on, you and I are both citizens of Daxia, why should we kill each other?"
"Really?" A glimmer of hope flashed in Liu Yigen's eyes.
"Why would I lie to you? The Xixia Emperor was smart. He led Xixia to surrender to Daxia. Our emperor didn't kill a single Xixia person, not even a single member of the royal family."
"But the Liao emperor has such a narrow vision. If he insists on going to war, then we have no choice but to let him see how powerful our Great Xia is."
"Don't be afraid. The Daxia army will never harm any civilians. We want to kill those officials who bullied you. Only then will they be afraid."
"Once we conquer the Liao Dynasty, families like yours will receive strong support from Daxia, and your lives will be better. I won't say anything, but you'll know later."
The spear in Liu Yigen's hand fell to the ground. He could not tell the truth from the words of the young man in front of him. He now understood one thing - this army was different!
"General, can you sit inside?"
"No, our army has rules. We must not disturb the people. Otherwise... I will lose my position as a regimental commander."
At this moment, a horse came galloping in the rain.
"Report... The remnants of Yelu Hua's army are heading this way, about a thousand strong!"
"Okay, assemble the troops and set off. But don't fight in this village."
Yu Dingshan bowed to Liu Yigen and said, "Goodbye, uncle!"
After a moment, the village was quiet again.
The woman was still holding the hem of her clothes. Liu Yigen looked in the direction where the army disappeared and suddenly muttered, "They... seem different."
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