Chapter 80: The Xuan Tie Heavy Cavalry
The people of Jizhou are skilled at embroidery, and nearly half of the vendors displayed various embroidered items, including handkerchiefs and sachets with a wide variety of designs for young women, as well as tiger-head hats and shoes for children, all embroidered with endearing clumsiness. The vendors' calls to sell were incessant, but there were hardly any buyers.
Perhaps it was his relaxed demeanor that made him seem more like he was strolling around the streets, as he was constantly being approached by vendors. Zhu Mingyue was just taking a walk to clear her head and didn't have anything she wanted to buy, but seeing the vendors hawking candied hawthorns made her mouth water.
He has no resistance to candied hawthorns. Although he doesn't eat them often, he will buy one or two skewers whenever he comes across them.
He walked up to the man selling candied hawthorns and ordered a skewer. The hawthorns were round and plump, coated with a thin layer of hard sugar. They tasted great. He wondered if it was related to the geographical location where the hawthorns grew. These candied hawthorns were even better than the ones he had bought in Shangyang County.
Two coins isn't expensive, so we might as well buy more and bring them back to the inn to share with Wang Zongxiu and the others.
He calculated the number of people in the caravan and said, "Give me another twenty-one strings."
Since it was too much to carry by hand, the vendor used oil paper to support the twenty-odd candied hawthorns and said with a smile, "Alright! Here you go, sir."
After paying, Zhu Mingyue held the candied hawthorns in both hands, with one still dangling from his mouth. He looked quite eye-catching, and even passersby couldn't help but glance at him.
He didn't like the feeling of being the center of attention in public, and having had enough of strolling around the streets, he decided to head back to the inn.
Before he had taken more than a few steps, that familiar sound of the ground trembling came again. Someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise, and he subconsciously turned around to look.
The Xuan Tie Heavy Cavalry I saw just two days ago? Zhu Mingyue remembered what Wang Zongxiu had said before he left home: "Don't get bumped by the horses on the street." He quickly squeezed to the side of the road. These horses were fat and strong, and they were covered in iron armor. If he accidentally bumped into one, wouldn't he be covered in bruises?
Everyone shared his idea, and soon both sides were packed with people.
There was a commotion nearby. It seemed that someone had accidentally stepped on a vendor's embroidery while trying to hide on the side of the street. At first, it was just the two sides cursing each other, but then a child was frightened and started crying. The screams were deafening. Zhu Mingyue frowned and wanted to cover her ears, but she couldn't free her hands.
He could only wait quietly for the cavalry to gallop past, but the cursing next to him escalated again. For some reason, they suddenly started fighting fiercely, and Zhu Mingyue was pushed a little closer to the center of the street.
He deliberately moved away from this troublesome place, shifting to the side. Before he could do anything, he caught a glimpse of a baby crying its heart out being thrown out along with its swaddling clothes.
"Holy crap!" Zhu Mingyue's pupils suddenly contracted, his mind went blank, and he couldn't care about anything else. He staggered forward and tried to catch the child.
The thunderous roar of hooves echoed as the warhorse galloped up at incredible speed in the blink of an eye. Zhu Mingyue grabbed the edge of the swaddling clothes, and before she could even catch her breath, the world spun around her.
Sigh—
The horse was reined in in time, its upper body straightened, its head raised and neighing, before its hooves landed heavily on the ground, standing firmly in place.
Zhu Mingyue held the baby in one arm and wrapped the other arm around the thick-skinned horse's neck, her face still showing lingering bewilderment.
He was almost hit by the horse. When danger struck, Zhu Mingyue had no time to react. In his panic, he was grabbed by the collar. When he finally came to his senses, he found himself lying on the horse's back.
"My child, my child!" A woman pushed through the crowd, stumbled forward, snatched the child from her arms, and ran to the side to comfort him.
Zhu Mingyue awkwardly propped herself up and dismounted, bowing to the person on horseback to express her gratitude: "Thank you for saving me, my benefactor."
“No need,” the man replied. The mask covered almost his entire face but could not conceal the imposing aura emanating from him. However, when he spoke, his voice was extremely gentle and similar to Cui Jian’s. But while Brother Cui looked like a scholar, this man’s temperament was quite different from his voice.
The man's sharp eyes swept around, startling the huddled crowd into a frenzy that caused them to scatter.
He then tossed out the money pouch, which Zhu Mingyue caught. Looking up at him, she asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's this, benefactor?"
The man said, "Go buy candied hawthorns."
"Huh?" Zhu Mingyue was even more confused. Selling candied hawthorns? Could it be that these soldiers, who seem to be able to cure children's night crying, also like to eat this stuff?
This doesn't make sense, does it? He remembered that Li Zhengyang didn't eat it and even complained that it was something only children would like to eat.
Although Zhu Mingyue found it surreal, she still ran back to the person selling candied hawthorns, turning back every few steps.
"I want to buy candied hawthorns."
The vendor asked him, "How much do you want this time?"
“Uh…” Zhu Mingyue turned to look at the man sitting steadily on his horse, asking him with her eyes.
"Buy them all," the man said again.
The vendor was overjoyed. He had really struck gold today. He had only made one sale, but this man had bought up all the other customers. He counted the coins and grinned from ear to ear. He then shoved the straw targets into Zhu Mingyue's hands without hesitation: "Here, take them all. These are better than oil paper, and they're easier to carry." With that, he left.
Zhu Mingyue's lips twitched as she looked at the straw target that had suddenly appeared in her hand, but seeing that the horde of cavalry were still waiting for her, she composed herself and walked to the man's side.
"My benefactor, here you go." Zhu Mingyue handed over the money bag and candied hawthorns together.
The man took back his purse, casually stuffed it into his pocket, and didn't even glance at the candied hawthorn from beginning to end. He left with the words, "Keep it and eat it," and walked away.
The horses' hooves kicked up dust, and Zhu Mingyue didn't even have time to speak. She could only stare blankly at the departing cavalrymen's backs.
He still didn't know his benefactor's name.
However, all of these people wore masks, so even if they met again in the future, they wouldn't be able to recognize each other.
Zhu Mingyue returned to the inn.
"Young Master Zhu, the boss said you were going out for a stroll, and you just brought back these candied hawthorns?"
"Can you finish all of this?"
Zhu Mingyue smiled and said, "There's nothing much to see outside. You can have these candied hawthorns; they taste good."
Wang Zongxiu walked over: "Going out for a stroll cost you money."
Zhu Mingyue: "It's alright."
The candied hawthorns he bought all fell to the ground when he rescued the person; the expense was incurred by someone else.
He was both grateful and curious about the man. He couldn't understand why the man would buy him candied hawthorns after saving him. Was it because he saw that the man had lost all his candied hawthorns and wanted to make it up to him?
But why should he compensate himself?
Zhu Mingyue pondered for a moment, still unable to figure it out. Remembering that Wang Zongxiu seemed to know a lot about these Xuan Tie heavy cavalry, she asked him, "Brother Wang?"
Wang Zongxiu joined in the fun, picked up a skewer of candied hawthorns and started eating. Hearing him call, he came over: "What's wrong?"
Zhu Mingyue pursed her lips: "Do you know why all those Xuan Tie heavy cavalrymen wear the same masks? Do they have some kind of hardship that prevents them from showing their faces?"
"Why are you suddenly curious about this?" Wang Zongxiu swallowed the candied hawthorn whole. "I don't know either. This army has been like this ever since they came to Jizhou. I don't know if they have any difficulties. Anyway, they are quite mysterious. It is said that they are all General Guan's confidants."
"Well, besides fighting on the battlefield, they also help the general with other tasks. I reckon that wealthy and powerful families like to keep private soldiers, and these are probably private soldiers personally trained by the general!"
"At first I was also curious why everyone had to wear masks. Wouldn't it be impossible to tell who was behind the mask? But after seeing it a few more times, I actually thought it was quite imposing. Wearing a mask in Jizhou, you can walk around like a madman and no one will dare to say anything."
Judging from these two encounters, they certainly seemed quite imposing, Zhu Mingyue thought to herself.
He couldn't get any answers from the other party and had to give up regretfully.
Wang Zongxiu got busy again. Jizhou was indeed not safe. In the past two days, the Jizhou army had engaged in several small-scale battles with the Nanman stationed in Suiyuan.
It's clear that the southern barbarians, who have been resting and recuperating all winter, are now eager for something more.
After completing this business, he thought he would never set foot in Jizhou again, because he secretly felt that Jizhou would eventually fall into the hands of the Southern Barbarians.
They were too fierce and cunning. After invading the cities of the Li Dynasty, they burned, killed, looted and committed all kinds of atrocities. Most of the elderly people who were forced to stay in Ningjiang and Suiyuan were brutally murdered. The remaining young men and women were either taken to the rear to do hard labor or raped by the southern barbarians every day, making their lives worse than death.
The current emperor is inactive, only realizing the need to launch a counterattack after two cities have been captured. However, the troops in the southern prefectures and counties have already been exhausted due to the emperor's repeated neglect of requests for reinforcements.
Nowadays, most of the soldiers in Jizhou are just men recruited from the north, robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Fortunately, the retired General Guan Shao, still eager to serve, volunteered to go to Jizhou to take on this hot potato, which allowed Jizhou to survive the winter.
But what happens after winter?
The Southern Barbarian army plundered the food of the people in the two cities, making themselves strong and healthy. On the other hand, the brothers in the Jizhou army said that they barely starved to death with two meals of thin gruel every day. They also had to cooperate with daily training and deal with the enemy's attacks in fear. They were already exhausted both physically and mentally.
With such a huge disparity, how could they possibly hold onto Jizhou in the end?
Wang Zongxiu had just finished negotiating a batch of brocade clothing deals when he returned to find Zhu Mingyue idly playing with her tea set at the inn. Hearing the noise, she turned her head and smiled at him, saying, "Brother Wang, you're back."
They didn't even ask the question they used to ask repeatedly, "Have you found out about Xie Pei?"
He suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He had promised to escort Zhu Mingyue to Jizhou, and originally, once she arrived safely, they would be even. However, an accident occurred along the way, and it was Zhu Mingyue who single-handedly helped them escape danger. As a result, he now owed Zhu Mingyue a huge favor.
But now he doesn't even have the chance to repay them. In his busy schedule, he still goes to the military camp every day to inquire about Xie Pei and Li Zhengyang, but he still hasn't received any news about them.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and it seemed that he was about to lead the caravan away from Jizhou and head north again. Was Zhu Mingyue's trip destined to be in vain?
Not to mention Zhu Mingyue, even he felt deeply unwilling.
"Yes, the last batch of goods has been collected." Wang Zongxiu walked straight over and sat down opposite him. He took a sip of tea and then spoke to him, "I'm going to the military camp again today."
"Thank you for your trouble." Zhu Mingyue didn't have high hopes. He thought Xie Pei and Li Zhengyang had probably been sent to defend the area outside the city, and he probably wouldn't be able to wait for them to return.
"Don't be discouraged," Wang Zongxiu comforted him. "I'll stay in the city for a few more days. If I really can't find it, it's okay. I'll have my brother keep an eye out in the military camp. You can ask him to deliver the items. Don't worry, I've known him for many years. He's a very good person and would never embezzle."
Zhu Mingyue shook her head with a hint of helplessness: "Brother Wang, I believe you."
But he traveled thousands of miles to Jizhou with the caravan, certainly not to deliver goods.
He just wanted to see how Xie Pei was doing and whether he was injured. Only by seeing him would he feel completely at ease; otherwise, he would be anxious every day and unable to sleep at night.
Two days later, Zhu Mingyue was in his room pondering how to find someone to help him write a letter. Although he hadn't seen anyone in Jizhou, he still wanted to leave a few words.
There was a knock at the door.
Zhu Mingyue: "Come in."
A rare look of joy appeared on Wang Zongxiu's face: "I found out."
"It was my fault for being mistaken. Xie Pei is currently in the military camp in the city. I just thought he was still a centurion. My brother is also quite dull. He keeps asking around in the army about a centurion named Xie, but he just can't find him."
Zhu Mingyue was taken aback by this unexpected and delightful turn of events.
"The person has been found? And he is now..."
Wang Zongxiu clicked his tongue: "Your brother-in-law is really capable. It hasn't been long, and he has already become a cavalry captain. I would never have believed it if I hadn't heard it with my own ears."
This promotion was faster than he was transporting goods. When he left Jizhou, he was just a centurion. Now that he has returned to Jizhou, he has become a captain. This meteoric rise is truly astonishing.
Zhu Mingyue smiled slightly. He knew Xie Pei's abilities, and it was something to be happy about that he hadn't been overlooked in the military.
But along with that came deep worry. Nothing comes without hard work, and military positions are earned by risking one's life. Xie Pei's rapid rise must have come at a great cost over the past few months.
"Brother Wang, is it possible for me to see him again?"
Wang Zongxiu comforted him, "Don't worry, I've asked around, and it should be possible. But visiting relatives in the army requires going through layers of applications, which is very troublesome. So I came up with a plan and asked my brother to find a way to pass it on. If he can find a way to come out on business, it shouldn't be difficult."
...
In the Jizhou camp, as dusk deepened, the soldiers sat on the ground around the campfire. The firelight illuminated their young yet weathered faces, and each of them held a large bowl and drank millet porridge.
There were no side dishes for dinner in the barracks. These days, it's already a blessing to be able to barely have enough to eat, but such hardship is still bound to be complained about.
One of the shorter men vigorously wiped the rice porridge that had accidentally gotten on his beard: "Damn it, how long are we going to live like this? I can't take it anymore."
Someone immediately sighed, "We have to endure it even if we can't stand it. It's still okay now, at least we're living in peace. Once those southern barbarians launch their attack, we won't even be able to live like this anymore."
"So we're going to die either way! Either we'll be worked to death or starve to death in this military camp, or we'll be killed by those sons of bitches from the south. I think we might as well just plunge into the river and drown ourselves quickly, instead of living in constant fear and suffering every day."
All sounds vanished in an instant. Everyone silently drank their porridge, their faces a mixture of confusion, helplessness, and fear, creating a somber atmosphere.
Suddenly someone spoke up: "Li Ding, everyone's been working hard all day, and it's not easy to get a break. Don't keep saying discouraging things."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
