Chapter 175: Ode to Mountains and Rivers
Therefore, Wang Youling's every move naturally did not escape Zhao Yulin's eyes. When she bowed and the dagger appeared, Zhao Yulin was already prepared to deal with it.
The captain of the guard asked him what to do?
Were all the opera troupes beheaded for harboring criminals?
When the old owner heard that the entire troupe would be beheaded, he fell to his knees again and kowtowed hard, begging Zhao Yulin to spare their lives.
Zhao Yulin immediately asked everyone to stand up and talk while standing, as kneeling was not a custom in the Shenwei Army.
The old boss trembled as he recounted the past events.
In his early years, he and his troupe were begging for food in Longxi and fell ill. His legs were swollen like buckets. Because he played the suona well, he sang Ode to Mountains and Rivers at a street charity sale and attracted the attention of Marshal Wang who was passing by. He rewarded him and his troupe with 100 taels of silver and saved him and his troupe. Since then, he has always remembered the Wang family.
Zhao Yulin understood very well that when people are extremely poor, even if someone gives them a bowl of water, they will feel it deeply, let alone one hundred taels of silver.
He also liked suona. In later life, he occasionally attended funeral ceremonies and listened to the high-pitched and loud music of suona, which was extremely penetrating and shocking. He told the old troupe owner not to be afraid. The Shenwei Army was pragmatic in doing things. Wang Youling did not fight in the battle, so she was not considered an enemy. It was unknown whether she was guilty or not. They were not guilty of harboring a criminal. At most, they were considered to be sheltering the family members of the criminal. Bring the suona first and play a song for us to listen to.
When the old man heard that his life was saved, he immediately went in and got out a suona inlaid with gold and silver ornaments and asked him what he wanted to listen to.
Zhao Yulin told him to do whatever he wanted and blow whatever he wanted.
The old band leader tested the sound and played the song "Ode to Mountains and Rivers" that Wang Shixian had heard ten years ago. Zhao Yulin felt that it was indeed magnificent, but it was obviously lacking in confidence.
At the end of the song, the old man said with some regret that he had performed poorly and embarrassed the adults.
Zhao Yulin smiled and said it was good, very good. He asked the old owner if he had any suonas so he could find one to teach him.
Seeing that his skills were put to good use, the old boss quickly said that there happened to be a new one in the box that had not been used, and then took it out and presented it to Zhao Yulin.
He had a strong sense of music and was already able to use the erhu expertly. With a little guidance from the old master, Zhao Yulin started tinkering with the suona in his mouth and actually played it easily.
The old boss was amazed at how fast this young man could learn.
After dinner, Zhao Yulin asked the old troupe owner to get Wang Youling on his carriage to travel together, saying that he would ride a horse and the carriage was empty anyway, so he might as well consider it as asking him to pay the tuition for teaching suona.
The old troupe owner declined again and again, and ordered someone to send Wang Youling to the carriage, and the group continued to travel south. Wang Youling and two female apprentices from the troupe sat in the carriage. The shock-absorbing carriage was very elastic, and the comfort level was a hundred times higher than before. They were all amazed at the unprecedented enjoyment.
Zhao Yulin followed the old troupe leader and learned to play the suona as he walked. After only two days, the old troupe leader said that he had already handed over all his skills in speaking to Zhao Yulin. He never thought that the conductor was such a genius that he could learn it at once.
Then he added: "Ah, no. I learned it by myself."
He didn't dare to be Zhao Yulin's master, as that would be flattering Zhao Yulin.
Zhao Yulin said happily that the old teacher taught him for three days. Strictly speaking, he was his master. How could he learn something on his own?
The group walked to Shenxianling, then went down the mountain to the south and entered Hanzhong.
It was already dark, so Zhao Yulin ordered everyone not to leave and to set up camp and rest on the spot.
Wang Youling was able to walk freely now. Zhao Yulin used the excuse that her injuries still required recuperation and asked the old owner to arrange two people to take turns supporting her to prevent her from committing suicide by jumping off the cliff.
After dinner, he went to Wang Youling's room to persuade her, saying that his father's death was all due to the war. Since it was a war, either her father died or Zhao Yulin died, so no one could be blamed.
If she really wanted to blame someone, she could only blame her father for making the wrong calculation and joining the Northern Barbarians. As a Han Chinese, she should have returned to the Song Dynasty, so she could only blame him for making a mistake, which led to the death of so many people.
If she felt guilty, she should go back and find the treasures her father had plundered over the years and present them to the court for the benefit of the people. Then she would have a clear conscience and be innocent, and there would be no guilt involved in the crime of implicating the opera troupe.
After Zhao Yulin finished speaking, he left without looking back and continued to practice his suona.
The next morning, Zhao Yulin came out early to view the mountain scenery.
In the east, a red sun was spraying out, and the golden sunlight was spreading over the mountains. He raised his suona and played the old song of the mountain and river. The sound of the suona, which was a fusion of the later electronic and jazz drum modes, resounded through the valley like magical music, and the people living in the post station were mesmerized by it. It was like entering a dream.
The old troupe leader praised him as the best suona player today.
Zhao Yulin smiled and shook his head. He asked the captain of the guard to take out one hundred taels of silver to give to the old master as a token of his gratitude. Then he bowed and said goodbye, then rode away on his horse.
Zhao Yulin's team had disappeared. The old boss saw Wang Youling still standing on the top of the hill looking at the direction where Zhao Yulin was going, so he walked closer and shouted: "Miss, everyone has left. Should we continue to go to Hanzhong or go back to Guanzhong?"
Only then did Wang Youling come to his senses and said, "Let's go back to Longxi."
After Zhao Yulin's speech last night, she finally came to her senses after tossing and turning in bed. The man in front of her was not the evil ghost with green face and fangs that she imagined. On the contrary, he was a man who cared about the people, had many talents, and was handsome and cool.
She decided to do something for the people of Gongchang Prefecture and go back to find the wealth hidden by her father.
The old owner happily said, "Okay, with this one hundred taels of silver, we can reopen the troupe in Longxi."
His little apprentice Chunmiao said to Wang Youling in a sly manner: The third young master must have fallen in love with the eldest young lady. Not only did he not kill us, but he also gave us money and a carriage. What a good husband he is.
Wang Youling blushed when she heard this and turned to look at the mountain scenery.
Several female apprentices scrambled to climb onto the carriage that Zhao Yulin had left for them and sat around in the post station. The spring-equipped carriage felt as comfortable as a massage cushion under their buttocks, and everyone was envious.
His eldest disciple also praised sincerely: The third young master is truly a rare genius. It only took a few days for him to play the song of Ode to Mountains and Rivers to such perfection. It is simply unimaginable.
The old boss glared at him and said, "This is called high comprehension. You are such a blockhead and you are still lazy. Your teacher is too lazy to whip you. Go back and pack up. Let's eat and leave..."
Zhao Yulin sped along the old road of Chencang and arrived at his home in Nanzheng two days later. Fenghuang had already returned from Jinzhou. The woman carefully bathed and changed his clothes for him, and after washing off the dust on his body, they sat down to have tea together.
In spring, they planted and in autumn, Fenghuang told him that Sister Ma Ling had issued a call to the entire army in Fengxiang Prefecture to cultivate land and produce crops, be self-reliant, and have enough food and clothing. The chief steward Miao Gui even detailed the responsibilities and required the garrisons in various places to cultivate wasteland.
Zhao Yulin nodded and said that the Shenwei Army was no longer a team of a few hundred or a few thousand people, but a huge group with hundreds of thousands of people. Money was spent like water, and Ma Ling was under great pressure.
Fenghuang said that Lord Cao has gone to Chengdu, and he wants to find Lord Ding to intercept a portion of the tax silver for his own use. Let's see if it works.
In recent years, Zhao Yulin has vigorously expanded the cavalry and infantry, which are huge investments. The financial resources of Sichuan and Shaanxi have been exhausted. When Ma Linger saw the manuscript he left in his study, she immediately asked all localities to be self-reliant and develop production.
That's a good idea.
He asked about the reorganization of the Phoenix Third Column and whether there was any other situation.
Fenghuang said that it was all written in the official documents. Shunzhidi and Xiaoyan had very good writing skills and wrote down everything she wanted to say. The Third Column had a large number of newly promoted generals. The team was relatively pure, with few corrupted ones, and they were very eager to fight.
Zhao Yulin said these are all good things, are there any other shortcomings?
She said that at the beginning, some squadrons' soldiers' committees found problems with their generals and locked them in a dark room to fight and kneel on gravel to explain their problems. She corrected the situation in a timely manner after discovering it.
He affirmed the practice of the Military Discipline Inspection Commission in the Third Column, saying that the purpose of the training was to help everyone identify problems, correct mistakes, and unify the brothers' understanding to fight hard for the people, and that criticism and struggle should not be carried out.
However, once conclusive evidence is found, those who should be arrested must be arrested, and those who should be killed will not be tolerated.
This is Zhao Yulin's principle and bottom line. He always takes things as they come, not people. He does what needs to be done.
In the evening, Zhao Yujiang and Gao Jia came to his house for a drink. Gao Jia said that Cao Gong had just left, and this trip to Chengdu to discuss the tax reservation issue would definitely yield some results.
Zhao Yujiang said that the arithmetic teacher in the academy had made statistics that the taxes collected by the imperial court in Sichuan and Shaanxi in recent years have reached nearly 50% of the national total. In addition, the expenses raised by the Shenwei Army for military expenses far exceeded the affordability of the territorial area and had to be reduced.
Some gentlemen believe that we should abandon places like Hexi and Xining Prefectures, which only consume but do not generate taxes, in order to reduce financial pressure.
Zhao Yulin said that this statement was not correct, as not an inch of land in our Great Song Dynasty was redundant.
He raised his glass and clinked it with theirs, saying, if we don't defend those places and let the Mongolian army occupy them, they will oppress the people there and force them to rob our borders, plundering step by step and encroaching on our territory. The result will only be worse than if we defend these territories, not better.
Zhao Yujiang said that Fengxiang Prefecture issued a call for saving and self-production, and the students of the academy responded positively and started to reclaim wasteland and cultivate their own land.
Lao Gao asked him to go to the government office tomorrow to have a good talk. He wanted to hold a large-scale council meeting to increase revenue and reduce expenditure to raise funds for the army.
After seeing off the guests, Fenghuang took his hand to go see Xiao Guangming. The child grew up to be so adorable under Fenghuang's careful care. Zhao Yulin carefully held the cute baby and walked around the house.
Fenghuang asked him with a smile, I heard that Ma Ling and Yuqi are both pregnant? Brother is amazing, our little Guangming will soon have a brother or sister.
Zhao Yulin rolled his eyes at her and said it was just Ma Lingha. He really didn’t know Yuqi. How could she talk about her man like that?
Fenghuang happily took his hand and teased the cute baby, tickled him playfully, and whispered in his ear that she would also give Guangming a sister herself.
Zhao Yulin ignored her, used his arms as a cradle, and focused on helping the child fall asleep.
