Chapter 70: Su Muzhe (Part 3)
In the bright warm yellow light, her eyebrows and eyes were as soft as autumn water, and her fair cheeks were slightly red due to the gentle friction of his clothes, as bright as a lotus.
Xu Hexue paused, and he withdrew his hand. The faint fragrance from between his sleeves brushed Ni Su's hot cheek. While she was stunned, he had already taken the cake from her hand.
The pot was still bubbling, and Qingqiong hurried to use the dew from the reeds to make tea. "General Xu, my mother said that you will feel better after using this dew."
"Thank you very much."
Xu Hexue sat at the table and nodded slightly at him.
"General Xu, please stop bothering us. This is not a difficult task." Fan Jiang ordered a pot of wine today. Before he even finished eating the pot, he drank so much that his cheeks turned red.
The chopped beef and mutton were put into the pot. There weren't many fresh fruits and vegetables in Yongzhou, but at least they bought some today. Ni Su drank soup from a small bowl and listened to Fan Jiang's drunken chatter.
Because Fan Jiang had a connection with ghosts, he no longer had many close connections with people. People said that he had picked up a weird son before getting married, and few people were willing to get close to him and chat with him.
The same is true for Qingqiong. He is born different from ordinary people. He wears a heavy cloak all year round and looks pale and skinny. No one of his age is willing to associate with him.
The father and son have lived together in a dry well in Yongzhou City and have depended on each other until now.
"The fog in the underworld can wash away the memory of the soul and change the soul's appearance. Ah Shuang doesn't remember much anymore. Every time I talk to her, I have to first tell her how we met and got married, and then ask her if she is doing well... This chat usually lasts the entire night."
Fan Jiang was about forty or fifty years old, his face had been weathered by the wind and sand of Yongzhou. When he talked about Qingqiong's mother, a smile appeared on his face, and more wrinkles appeared on his face.
"What if she completely forgot..."
Ni Su said softly.
"That's a good thing."
Fan Jiang showed no trace of sadness on his face. He rested one hand on his knee and held the wine bowl in the other. "A Shuang suffered too much in her life. When one day she finally forgets, it will prove that she can get rid of it all and reincarnate."
Ni Su looked at him and said, "You must be reluctant to leave."
"The time I spent together as husband and wife was too short, but fortunately she was able to talk to me during these years when she returned to Youdu. Neither of us could bear to part with each other, but as long as I know that she is doing well, I will feel at ease."
An unpopular person, yet lives so open-minded and cheerful. After listening to his words, Ni Su forgot to drink the soup with the bowl in her hand. After a while, she secretly glanced at the person beside her.
He did not eat from the pot. The dishes and chopsticks in front of him were still clean and tidy. He only ate a piece of the sugar cake she made, and then occasionally took a few sips of tea boiled with reed flower water. He sat quietly at the table and listened to the three of them talking.
Perhaps noticing her gaze, Xu Hexue suddenly raised his eyes and looked at her.
There was a hint of inquiry in his calm expression.
Ni Su blurted out: "Is your tea delicious?"
Xu Hexue didn't know how to answer her. He couldn't taste the flavor and didn't know what the tea tasted like. He took the teapot from the stove and poured a bowl of hot tea for her.
The wind and sand started to blow outside the house again. On that cold night, the four of them gathered together. The steam from the pot was lingering, and Qingqiong's dull face also showed some smile.
As the night deepened, Qingqiong and Fan Jiang gathered their clothes and left. Ni Su washed up, sat on the bed with her long black hair loose, and asked, "Are we leaving?"
"I can't leave for now."
Xu Hexue sat at the table, flipping through a few pages of a book. He paused and said, "The people from the surrounding areas outside Yongzhou City will enter the city tonight. Once the city gate is locked, it will not be opened easily in the near future."
Fan Jiang just said at the dinner table that the people living in the surrounding villages outside the city were sent into the city by Qin Jixun, so the city gates were closed very late today.
"Is it because of that Hu people? Are we going to go to war with Danqiu again?"
Ni Su wrapped herself in the quilt and lay on the pillow looking at him.
"As Fan Jiang said, since Danqiu and Daqi signed the alliance, Danqiu has been provoking and disturbing Yongzhou for more than ten years. But since Aduorong took charge of Juhan Pass, there has been less friction between the two sides."
"And I remember that under the Danqiu Royal Court, there were 29 tribes based on the grasslands. There were also conflicts between the tribes. The Wuluo Royal Family spent many years trying to subdue them. Even when they went to war with our Daqi, there was still chaos among the Danqiu tribe. After my death, the Wuluo Royal Family and Daqi stopped fighting because they were forced by the situation. They had to rest and recuperate due to internal and external troubles."
"After more than a decade, the civil strife has ceased, and the Hu people are ready to make a move. The mother of this Prince Suchile is the princess of the Nanyan tribe. The Nanyan tribe once had a prince named Nanyan Duoling, who is Suchile's uncle. The Nanyan tribe is brave and warlike, and they still covet the Central Plains. Princess Nanyan married into the royal court, and her son was naturally supported by them. The royal court allowed Suchile to take over Juhan Pass at this time, and its intentions are obvious."
Xu Hexue has been in Youdu for a hundred years, but has only been in the human world for sixteen years. Too many familiar names are still alive in the world. The grassland where he once rode his horse to chase the Hu soldiers still lies at the end of the vast mountains.
"The Hu man who died in Agate Lake was the trigger they used to provoke the war."
Ni Su understood.
There must be a reason to break the alliance.
"It should be just a test. If Qin Jixun can resolve the death of Aduorong, he can avoid the war." Xu Hexue listened to the cold wind outside the window, his eyelashes drooped slightly, and his eyes stopped on the book in front of him. "It's bitterly cold outside the Great Wall, and it seems to be even . If the cattle and sheep of Danqiu can't survive the winter and the pastures become frozen soil, they will definitely try their best to go deep into the heart of Daqi in order to escape the natural disaster."
Although it is summer now, the temperature difference between day and night in Yongzhou is extremely large. Outside the thirteen states in the northern border, the weather on the grasslands of the Wuluo royal court will definitely be more difficult this year.
The thirteen states in the northern border are not enough for the entire Danqiu to migrate for the winter. They have greater ambitions that cannot be satisfied by the annual tribute and silk from the Great Qi.
Just as Xu Hexue expected, Qin Jixun punished the Wei army members who were on guard in the poplar forest in front of Wuluo Suchile the next day, and refused to admit that the Qi people had murdered Aduorong.
But Su Qile refused to give in. At the same time, rumors spread in the Wei army that General Qin Jixun was biased and killed loyal soldiers in order to resolve the death of Aduorong.
Wei Dechang, the commander of the Wei family army, strictly ordered the army not to discuss this matter recklessly. Qin Jixun traveled back and forth between the Populus euphratica forest and Yongzhou city every day, and was unmoved by the clamor and provocation of the Hu prince Su Qile.
The moon is at its zenith, and the wind is blowing sand everywhere.
Qin Jixun sat in front of the military tent, his sharp eyes staring at the soldiers who were queuing in front of the table opposite to receive their military pay , his fingers lightly tapping the armrests of the armchair.
Firewood was burning in the iron basin, and the flames were dancing, shining on Qin Jixun's face. Not long after, he heard a loud shout from not far away: "Get out!"
"I am here to see my brother, how dare you, a little brat, stop me!"
Then there was a muffled sound of fists and feet colliding. The soldiers who were receiving their pay heard the sound and were about to draw their swords and move forward, but they saw Qin Jixun raising his hand.
They stopped immediately and did not move.
"screw you!"
Wei Dechang kicked a soldier on the buttocks, and came over with a dozen personal soldiers holding a knife. They saw a long table placed in front of the big tent, and the black boxes were wide open. Several of them were empty, leaving only two boxes of iron coins that had not been distributed yet.
When Wei Dechang saw the iron coin, the muscles under his eyelids twitched slightly. He suddenly looked at Qin Jixun who was sitting upright on the chair and asked, "Brother, isn't today the day for salary payment?"
"You broke into the Qin family army's base at night and brought so many people with you. Dechang, what do you want to do?" Qin Jixun raised his eyes and said in a light tone.
"What do I want to do?"
Wei Dechang's temper immediately flared up, "My subordinates said that you gave more private pay to the Qin family army today. I don't believe it, but you, tell me, what are these !"
"That Su Qile is shouting and insulting you and me, and insulting Da Qi, in the Poplar Forest every day. I was wondering why you seemed to be deaf to it. It turns out that it is here..."
"What's this?"
Qin Jixun stared at him.
"I trust my brother so much, but why do you favor one over the other!" Wei Dechang remembered that he had been trying to suppress the rumors in the army that were unfavorable to Qin Jixun for the past half month. He felt a breath stuck in his throat and immediately drew his knife to chop at the long table.
With a "bang", the long table broke into two and collapsed to the ground.
This move was undoubtedly a provocation to the Qin family army. The soldiers immediately drew their blades and were about to move forward to surround Wei Dechang and others, but they heard Qin Jixun say, "Don't move."
As soon as Qin Jixun finished speaking, everyone looked at each other and finally stopped.
"Hasn't your Wei army's salary been paid in full this year?" Qin Jixun raised his chin slightly, and the night wind made his long dark beard move slightly.
"The imperial government has distributed all the money, but when have we ever received your private salary?!"
"Who said this was private pay?"
“Isn’t it!”
Wei Dechang pressed on, "Brother, if you do this, won't it divide the army? No wonder you keep going to see that Song Song recently! What benefit did he give you? Is it these private salaries? He wants you to be a coward?!"
"Commander Wei! How can you be so rude to the general!"
A personal soldier standing beside Qin Jixun couldn't help but said, "This is not private pay at all. The pay of your Wei army has already been paid this year, but we have only paid half! The general is just making up the difference for the men under him today!"
Wei Dechang's angry expression froze, and the firewood in the iron basin crackled. He looked at the general who was still in his armor and looked calm and composed: "Only half of it was distributed? Why?"
The personal soldier said angrily, "Of course, a lot of the military pay allocated by the court has been withheld! This year, your Wei family insisted on competing with the Qin family for land, and the dispute was so fierce that even the prefect could not do anything about it. Although you suppressed the matter, most of your soldiers are from your Wei family and serve as military officers under you. If the military pay is not enough, who knows what trouble they will cause in the army. The general has no choice but to suffer and pay your salaries first. We have only paid half of it. What you see today is not the money of the Song Supervisor who only takes in but never spends! It is clearly the general's own money! If you don't believe it, you can go back and ask your brothers how much land they have bought from the Wei family recently!"
Wei Dechang was even more confused. He stood there for a moment and looked at Qin Jixun again: "Brother..."
"It's not like there haven't been cases of Hu people harassing Yongzhou in the past. Why are you so angry this time?" Qin Jixun remained seated. "Is it because I've been going to Song Song's mansion for banquets recently? Do you think I should follow his wishes, give in to Su Qile, and give him women and money to get away with it?"
"Dechang, sixteen years ago, my father and brother died on the Yongzhou city wall with Commander Miao. What have you and I relied on to defend this place for so many years? Isn't it the blood feud between us and the Hu people? Back then, only half of Yongzhou was left. You and I became brothers on the city wall, swearing to defend this place for the rest of our lives and be loyal to our country. If the relationship between you and me is not as solid as a rock, then Yongzhou City will fall even if Suchile doesn't attack!"
Wei Dechang was deeply moved when he heard this. He looked ashamed and knelt down in front of Qin Jixun. He threw his knife aside and clasped his fists: "Brother, I am sorry!"
Qin Jixun said nothing, staring at his lowered head.
After a long while, he slowly spoke: "I have always known what kind of temper you have. I have also told you that there are many relatives in the army, and it is inevitable that the army will be lax in discipline and easy to cause trouble. You did not listen to my advice, so I had to let you do it. Before, it was Aduorong who was stationed at Juhan Pass. He was not a warlike person, so we have lived in peace for the past few years. But now you and I are facing Suqile, he is the prince of the Wuluo royal court. Do you think his provocation is as easy as just wanting a few benefits? The death of Aduorong was obviously deliberately framed by Suqile, but if you rule strictly, you will not let the Hu people take advantage of it, so,"
He paused and said, "Dechang, do you accept my punishment of the people in your army or not?"
"Clothes!"
Wei Dechang lowered his head.
"good."
Qin Jixun stood up with one hand on the handrail, took a few steps forward and held Wei Dechang's arm, allowing him to stand up. Then he smiled faintly: "So, who was it that whispered the word 'private pay' in your ear tonight? You should deal with that person."
"Brother..."
Wei Dechang's beard trembled slightly. That was his cousin.
"You have to pay for my long case here, too."
Qin Jixun patted him on the shoulder, then took the sword from the personal soldier and tied it around his waist, then jumped on his horse and led his personal soldiers to stride out of the military camp.
Wei Dechang stood where he was and looked back at the tall figure walking away surrounded by his personal soldiers.
He knew that this was not an instruction from a sworn brother to his younger brother, but a military order as heavy as Mount Tai.
His cousin must die.
