Chapter 30
The north wind swept across the land, the vast expanse of sand, and dyed the sky an ochre-white color. Zhonggusui was the front line of Dingyuan County's resistance against the Huns. It had just experienced a small-scale conflict. Several garrison soldiers drew out the wooden sticks they carried with them and restored the "Tiantian" that had been messed up by yesterday's battle to its original state.
Tiantian is the basic project of border defense. The garrison soldiers use fine sand or fine soil to cover the ground with a smooth layer, which will leave traces once people or horses pass by.
By checking the traces on the fields, the garrison soldiers could find out whether any Hun spies had been to the place. In addition, the border was very harsh, and some soldiers could not stand the bitter cold in the northwest and might flee across the border. The "Tiantian" could be used to check whether any soldiers had escaped.
Watching the beacons and inspecting the fields are the daily tasks of almost every garrison soldier.
A garrison soldier took out the "diary" he carried with him and wrote down today's patrol details.
The "Daily Record Book" is a record of the garrison soldiers' daily inspections of the fields, which is equivalent to a daily work record. It must be submitted to the superiors for inspection. If the task is not completed, they will be punished.
The guard soldier carefully noted the situation of this piece of Tiantian, and said to the guard soldier who drew Tiantian: "Let's go. We have already inspected the fifth and sixth tunnels today. Go back and rest. We still have to take turns guarding the beacon tonight."
Another soldier put away his stick and said, "Let's go. Yesterday's battle was really exciting. Today, things are much calmer."
"That's because our new tunnel chief is very capable. I think he has to follow the right person. Take the battle at Beifeng Tunnel for example. My cousin almost died in that battle."
He lowered his voice and said, "When the tunnel commander saw the Xiongnu vanguard, he was so impulsive that he rushed forward and even had his troops dispersed by the Xiongnu. As a result, he himself was afraid of death on the battlefield. If it weren't for his subordinates' ability to repel the Xiongnu main force, who knows how many people would have died."
"Our tunnel master is very brave. He is fearless at a young age and leads the charge. I heard that he once killed several wolves by himself."
"So powerful, I saw him from afar yesterday, and he looked like a young man from a wealthy family, but he had an intimidating aura and murderous eyes."
"Just keep bragging, and your eyes are full of murderous intent. Let's go, let's go. I wonder how the food is today."
"I'm not kidding, I really mean it."
"Okay, there's murderous intent, hurry up, or else they'll be snatched away by those starving ghosts."
The two of them walked arm in arm and quickly returned to the camp.
Although soldiers were moving around in the camp, they were disciplined and in order. When it was time for dinner, the soldiers began to line up for food. It was bitterly cold at the border, and the meals mostly consisted of millet porridge with Hu cakes. But because we won a victory a few days ago, the food has been really good these days.
When the soldiers saw that there was meat soup today, although it looked as bland as water, it was already a delicacy for these soldiers guarding the border. He served his meal with satisfaction and sat down to eat with his colleagues.
In a tent in the center, the military doctor carefully applied medicine to Xie Chen, and then bandaged him carefully, and warned him: "Captain Tunnel, be careful not to get wet or do any violent movements in the next few days. The wound will scab over in a few days and heal."
Xie Chen put on his clothes and said, "Thank you very much. You can go down first."
He had been in the Eternal Tunnel for many days, and when he was recommended to the Duwei Mansion that day, it was natural to test his strength.
After he defeated several subordinates in succession, Captain Zhao said frankly that he was more suitable for a real battlefield, so he was sent to Zhonggu Tunnel, which is the place closest to the enemy and the place where he can accumulate the most military merits.
Unfortunately, they were attacked by the enemy as soon as they arrived. A small group of Huns invaded. Fortunately, the patrolling soldiers were alert and gave the warning in time, and he immediately organized his soldiers to fight.
The Xiongnu were a horse-riding people who were very good at cavalry warfare. He led a small group of soldiers to break through the enemy's formation and beheaded their leader off his horse. When the remaining Xiongnu soldiers saw their leader being killed, they lost their composure and were defeated by Xie Chen's soldiers.
Although he won the battle, Xie Chen was stabbed in the chest while fighting with the leader. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, otherwise the injury would be serious and difficult to treat.
The starry sky at night appears even more distant in the vast frontier area. There was a mournful sound of flute outside the tent, and it was an ancient poem about a soldier and his wife missing their home.
He listened in a daze for a while, then the wind blew in, and the candle on the table made a "hissing" sound. He picked up the wick, and the light became bright.
I have been away for many days, and I had promised my brother that I would write to let him know I was safe as soon as I arrived. Unfortunately, it is not easy to exchange letters here, so I can only finish the letter and send it when I have the chance.
Xie Chen dipped his pen into ink and spread out the paper. He seemed to have thousands of words in his mind, but he didn't know where to start.
"Sir, dinner is ready." A soldier said outside.
"Come in." He put down the brush and replied.
The soldier placed the dinner on the table, leaned over to salute him, and then left the tent.
The soldiers worked hard, and although he was an officer, his food was almost the same. He only had a bowl of millet porridge and a bowl of meat soup. However, he has never had high requirements for food, so he has become accustomed to this life of guarding the border.
I wonder how my brothers are doing? Do you miss me?
Xie Chen looked at the crescent moon outside the tent. It was as white as a silk thread and seemed even brighter in the vast sky. What appeared before his eyes was the scene of him, Lin Shuge, Lin Qingyuan and Lin Xuan having a lively meal together.
It turns out that missing him means thinking about him when I toss and turn, and thinking about him when I look at the bright moon in the sky.
…
Lin Shuge was a bit busy today. A small country in the Western Regions wanted to make friends with Dayan, so they sent an envoy to deliver a letter saying that their prince would be on a diplomatic mission to Dayan after the new year.
The number of envoys sent between the two countries, the etiquette of exchanges, and travel preparations were all taken care of by the court officials in Yandu.
However, since the envoys had come to Dayan, Ganzhou County, as the throat connecting the Western Regions, naturally had to be responsible for the food, clothing, housing and transportation of the envoys and their entourage.
Lin Shuge has been accompanying the envoy on his tour of Ganzhou City since morning. The envoy was of noble birth, and the jewels on his body sparkled so brightly that Lin Shuge's eyes hurt. He was a kind person, but a little naive and playful. If he hadn't been watching, he would have been deceived by the "honest" merchant and bought all the things.
Lin Shuge was busy until he was exhausted, trying to stop the envoy who was eager to spend a large amount of money to buy bottles and jars that looked worthless at first glance, and at the same time signaling the servants around him to pay attention to his safety.
After finally coaxing him into returning to the post station happily, he was able to take a breath and rest.
However, when the vendors saw that the sucker had left and there was no money to be made, they all dispersed.
Everyone was noisy, but Lin Shuge saw a familiar figure. The man was still wearing the long gown he wore that day, with a few patches on the short cuffs. He was setting up a stall among the crowd coming and going.
Lin Shuge walked closer and saw that he was helping someone write a letter. However, according to Lin Shuge's observation, half a day had passed and no one had patronized his business.
The scholar felt a shadow above his head, looked up, and said in surprise: "Why is it you? I haven't thanked you for what happened last time."
"It's just a trivial matter, not worth mentioning, but what are you doing?"
The scholar scratched his head and said embarrassedly: "It's just to support the family."
Lin Shuge understood and estimated that even if he found work copying books, the money would probably not be enough.
Seeing that Lin Shuge didn't say anything, he continued, "My mother is seriously ill. The doctor said she needs medicine to take care of her. She has been supporting me in my studies for a long time, and she has become ill from overwork. I don't have any skills, so I can only set up a small stall to write letters for people to make money, but unfortunately there is not much business."
Medical care was not well developed in ancient times, and what modern people consider to be minor illnesses would become serious illnesses that are incurable. Moreover, for ordinary people, no matter how wealthy they were, they could not afford to take medicine every day.
"I see that you have good handwriting, why don't you write one for me?"
"Of course, what do you want to write? Who are you writing to?" asked the scholar.
"Wait a moment, I'll be back soon." Lin Shuge said, turned around and ran to Haoranzhai next to him.
The scholar waited for a long time and thought he was going to be stood up, but when he looked up, he saw Lin Shuge coming towards him with two pieces of red paper in his hand.
"Write on this paper. What should you write? Let me think about it."
"Just write that the New Year brings more blessings, and the festival is called Changchun." This was written by Meng Chang, the ancient emperor of the Later Shu Dynasty, and is said to be the earliest couplet.
During this era, people would paste up images of "Shentu" and "Yulei" on peach charms to ward off evil spirits and ghosts during the Spring Festival. The bright red spring couplets that every household would paste during the Spring Festival in later generations had not yet appeared.
Although the scholar felt strange, he didn't say anything and started writing as he was told.
He carefully picked up the words he had written, and looked at the red and black characters printed together, which was unexpectedly festive and beautiful. "I've finished writing, how about you take a look?"
"The writing is smooth and fluent, and it is very good," Lin Shuge praised.
"Hey, boss, are you selling this?" a passerby asked curiously.
The scholar said hastily, "This is not for sale. It already belongs to this customer."
"Then write another one for me." The man said stubbornly.
Lin Shuge smiled and said, "This is called a couplet. This gentleman wrote it for me to use during the Spring Festival. Put it on the door and it will make you look happy and prosperous. I wish you a prosperous life and good fortune."
Upon hearing this, the passerby immediately asked the scholar to write one for him. When the pedestrians nearby heard the voice, they gathered around. When they heard that it could be pasted on the door during the Spring Festival to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck, and it looked festive, they took out money to buy it.
The scholar stared at Lin Shuge in amazement. Lin Shuge winked at him. He understood and said to the crowd, "Please wait a moment. I'll go downstairs and buy some red paper."
He hurried to Haoranzhai and bought a batch of cut red paper. A customer was waiting impatiently and had anger on his face. He thought quickly and said he could give him a few words for free. Only then did the customer give up and waited obediently for his couplets.
He put his brush on the paper and a piece of calligraphy was completed in a flash. The customer was very satisfied and paid happily.
The scholar's hands were sore from writing, but he finally finished writing all the couplets that the customers wanted. He turned around to thank Lin Shuge, but found that he had already left, leaving only money under the paper.
He took the silver and felt extremely grateful. Suddenly he remembered that he had forgotten to ask his benefactor's name. He wondered if he would be able to see him again next time.
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