Chapter 63 Blood and Bone
"Who went to the military camp to cause trouble?" Song Liyun asked, pinching the sticky dumpling skin in her hand.
"I heard the workers are making a fuss because the military camp isn't paying them."
Song Dekui dropped the millstone and ran out: "Look, I still have one or two taels of silver to pay!"
Song Liyun and Song Zhenping took Xiao An with them.
They are now military households, and Song Zhenping has not received any wages for working for several days.
When they arrived outside the military camp, they saw dozens of migrant workers blocked by barricades and making a lot of noise.
There were also many people gathered around, all of them were residents of Suijin Town.
In the crowd, the once majestic Xue Xiaoqi had taken off his military uniform, wearing only a half-worn robe. He was shouting, "Building the border is related to the safety of our people. It is everyone's responsibility. Even if we don't want to be paid, we should all contribute..."
Song Liyun couldn't help but glance at him a few times. What he said...actually, there was something wrong with it.
Every citizen has a share of responsibility for the rise and fall of a country, but it depends on who you are talking to.
Song Liyun has experienced the chaotic end of the world. For those at the bottom of society who are suffering from hunger and cold, it is not an exaggeration to describe it as "food is the first necessity of the people, and whoever has milk is the mother."
At this critical juncture, the right thing to do is to take money and food. Who would listen to empty promises?
Sure enough, before he could finish his words, a stone hit him in the face. Someone cursed, "You came from the military. You have a house and food, so you can talk big. But we poor people just want money!"
"Yes, I want money!"
"I want money!"
Xue Zhuang was caught off guard and his head was broken and bleeding. The crowd cheered: "Kill this lackey!"
Song Zhenping and Song Dekui also cursed: "Serves you right!"
They were still resentful of the rude words that this man surnamed Xue and those soldiers said to Song Liyun at the banquet.
Song Liyun didn't know what happened that day. She just frowned and was secretly anxious.
The military camp is indeed in the wrong for withholding wages from migrant workers.
But selfishly speaking, Song Liyun didn't want to see the military camp's reputation ruined.
As a military household, you have prestige in the military camp, and only then will you have a solid backing and be able to fight against the government in the future.
And as for Xue Zhuang, Song Liyun had no good feelings towards him.
This person has flaws in character and does not take women's dignity seriously.
He claimed we were a family after spending only half a day together, and he slept with Xu Yan'er after spending a few days with her.
He came from the military camp, so it was right for him to speak for the camp at this time.
It is not easy for the garrison to come forward, and some things always need help from others to be said.
There are only two military households in Suijin Town, and they should advance and retreat together.
If Xue Zhuang was humiliated, the military household would definitely be laughed at in Suijin Town, and would have difficulty in doing anything in the future.
But now Song Zhenping is also calling for a fight, how can I save him?
In the midst of chaos, a group of soldiers ran out of the camp, pushed aside the roadblocks and separated the crowd.
Captain Luo's face darkened as a pot. He strode up to the workers and sternly declared, "The camp has never withheld your food and lodging. We simply asked you to wait a few more days, yet you dare to cause trouble?"
Uncle Qin was the leader of the migrant workers. When he saw Captain Luo coming out, he stepped forward and said, "Captain Luo, we don't want to cause trouble either.
There's no work at the construction site now. We've been out here for almost a month, and we just hope the military camp will pay us the wages we promised so we can go home."
If Captain Luo could come up with the silver, there would be no need to be so anxious.
Just now, he had sent someone on horseback to Qili County to secretly pawn his favorite sword in a pawnshop.
Seeing that the crowd was excited, they would not give up until the money was paid today. Captain Luo was angry, but also felt a little sad.
The Zhenbei Army has been guarding the northern border for twenty years and has made outstanding military achievements. Even if they made a mistake due to negligence five years ago, they cannot be ignored by the court.
But now they have been forced to this point. What are the Marquis and the Queen doing?
Xishi Pass, the central tent of the Thunder God Camp of the Zhenbei Army.
The third son, Zhao Tingduo, who was eagerly awaited by Captain Luo, was sitting at the military desk. Opposite him was a strong, dark-faced, middle-aged man wearing military uniform.
The man looked at Zhao Tingduo and frowned. "Third brother, father told you not to come to the camp casually. If you need anything, send a messenger with a message."
Zhao Tingduo shook his head, the turquoise beside his ear swaying slightly, and said calmly, "Brother, I know I can't come to the camp, but several garrisons are clamoring for military pay. You can't be unaware of this."
Zhao Tinglei frowned even more tightly: "This is the business of my Zhenbei Army. You just need to stay in your tribe and raise a few more military horses."
Zhao Tingduo stood up, his eyes suddenly sharp: "Brother, although I am not in the Zhenbei Army, my father is not yours alone, and the Zhenbei Army is not yours alone.
I may not know about the military deployment, but don't try to hide the Zhenbei Army's predicament from me."
"The fate of the Wuda tribe is linked to the Zhenbei Army, just like you and I share the same blood. Are you hiding everything from me in order to sever ties with your brotherhood?"
Knowing that his third brother was really angry, Zhao Tinglei sighed. There were some things he couldn't tell his third brother in detail.
He was a captain of the Zhenbei Army and a high-ranking military officer of the Wu Dynasty.
The young man in front of him is the young master of the Dilu grassland tribe. Although they seem to have nothing in common, they are actually half-brothers.
It’s just that his mother is the concubine of the Marquis Mansion and lives in the Marquis Mansion in Zhenbei, the imperial capital, while his third brother’s mother is the leader of the Wuda tribe.
The Di Lu people had no country, only countless nomadic tribes, large and small, which bullied each other and were constantly in conflict. They were on the verge of annexation, annihilation, and division at any time.
So there was an alliance composed mainly of several large tribes, responsible for handling conflicts between tribes, called the Di Lu Royal Court.
Twenty years ago, Uyaer, the daughter of the leader of the Wuda tribe, was born beautiful and was favored by the leader of another medium-sized tribe at that time, who wanted to take her into his tent.
The Wuda tribe is as powerful as this tribe, so how could they give their beloved daughter away as a concubine?
The Wuda chieftains understood that this was just an excuse to be annexed.
Because his tribe is best at raising horses, the thousands of fine horses in the tribe have long made others salivate.
The chief flatly refused, but on his way to seek mediation from the royal court, he was ambushed by the Aburi tribe, and his tribe was also hunted down as planned.
The chief of the Wuda tribe died tragically, and Wuyaer fled with his people.
In order to protect their property and families, the men in the tribe refused to surrender and died in battle.
Seeing that the Wuda tribe was about to be exterminated, Wu Yaer rode alone to Xishi Pass of the Wu Dynasty.
He single-handedly persuaded the then commander of the Zhenbei Army, Zhao Yanjiao, who later became the Marquis of Zhenbei, to send troops to save the Wuda tribe in the critical moment.
There is no need to go into details about how she moved. All we know is that the grassland beauty Uyaer had been living in Xishi Pass, and finally returned to the severely damaged Wuda tribe and gave birth to her son Zhao Tingduo.
Zhao Tingduo is right.
Twenty years have passed, and the Wuda tribe and the Zhenbei Army have long been connected by blood and advance and retreat together.
With the support of the Zhenbei Army, the Wuda tribe no longer has any worries.
Under the leadership of the new leader Uyar and under the protection of the Zhenbei Army, all aspects developed rapidly.
Although more than half of the men in the tribe were killed or injured, the population of the Wuda tribe has increased rapidly after twenty years of recuperation.
The newly grown young people make up a small half of the tribe’s population, and it is a young and vigorous tribe.
With the large number of high-quality horses provided by the Wuda tribe, the Zhenbei Army benefited greatly. Not only did the army have sufficient war horses, but the actual control line also extended hundreds of miles into the grassland.
But the Wuda tribe is Di people after all.
After the "Sui Jin Tragedy" occurred five years ago, memorials impeaching Zhao Yanjiao, the Marquis of Zhenbei, poured into the court like snowflakes.
It was said that he not only failed to perform his duties in guarding the border, but also colluded with foreign races, which led to this disaster.
Among them, the name of Wuyaer from the Wuda tribe was submitted to the emperor, who asked Zhao Yanjiao, the Marquis of Zhenbei, to exterminate the tribe to prove his innocence.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
