Chapter 83: The Difficulty of Traveling (IV)
A thin mist dissipated, and the clear sunlight covered Ni Su's shoulders and back. Almost at the moment she finished speaking, Xu Hexue turned his head and looked at her.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
The eldest son of the Qin clan leader could not hold back, "Jixun, where on earth did this foreign girl come from? How dare you let her dress like this and sneak into the military camp?!"
"What's wrong?"
"She's a woman, of course she doesn't..."
The master of the eldest branch of the Qin family stopped talking halfway, and then he realized that the person who had just spoken was not Qin Jixun, but the young man with a long scarf covering his face beside the woman.
"She is my medical worker. She saves lives and behaves uprightly. What does it have to do with you?" Xu Hexue raised her cold and dead eyes and looked at him.
"Medical worker?"
The Wei clan leader laughed, his eyes flickering to the tightly held hands of the two men, "If you were just a doctor, why would you do this?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Hexue immediately noticed that the person next to him tightened his hand around his, as if afraid that he would suddenly let go.
He looked at the woman beside him.
Everyone was watching, but no one understood what was hidden behind her questioning of Patriarch Qin.
But he suddenly understood her anger.
After a person dies, apart from the 30,000 wronged souls in the Pagoda of Youdu, he should not care about anything. He should not care about his tainted name, the punishment he received, or the fact that he was nailed to death in the history books by the sharp pen and ink.
He remembered his teacher's teachings that light does not lie in what others say but in one's own heart.
But,
But she took his hand and walked in front of these people.
Xu Hexue should have let go of her hand to avoid the unpredictable gazes cast on their clasped hands, but he noticed her tightening fingers and felt the warmth of her palm. His knuckles, which were about to relax, paused and obediently let her hold them tightly.
"What are you guys doing?"
Suddenly, a voice came from not far away. The crowd blocking the city gate turned around and saw the prefect Shen Tongchuan, who was wearing official uniform and a long-winged hat, coming out of the sedan chair with his clothes lifted up. Then the runners came forward and made a path through the crowd.
Shen Tongchuan walked to the front and nodded to the two clan leaders Qin and Wei. "The two clan leaders are old, especially old clan leader Qin. Why do you have to suffer here?"
"I was involved in the battle at the Col. Prince Suchile of Danqiu killed the military supervisor of Song, and I almost lost my life. General Qin is a military commander and not good at speaking, so these words should be told to you by me, the governor of Yongzhou."
Shen Tongchuan glanced at the densely packed crowd and said, "Danqiu's ambition to take Yongzhou is obvious! They killed Song's military supervisor, which showed their intention to break the alliance. Now that Su Qile is dead, Shi Manu, the Hu general in Hanguan, is leading tens of thousands of elite troops straight to Yongzhou!"
He waved his sleeves and pointed at Yang Tianzhe outside the city gate. "This man was guilty in the past, but he made contributions in this battle. Whether his merits and demerits can offset each other is not up to me or you. I have already written a letter to ask the emperor for a judgment on this matter!"
"Everyone, this is truly a critical moment for survival!"
Shen Tongchuan looked solemn, "The soldiers and civilians of Yongzhou should be united! The war is imminent. If we lose our composure first, wouldn't it only encourage the barbarians and destroy our own prestige? Do you want to watch the tragedy of sixteen years ago repeat itself?"
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment and silence fell for a moment.
"Old Patriarch Qin,"
Shen Tongchuan bowed to the old Patriarch Qin, and called the Patriarch Wei beside him, and then said, "You two are highly respected in Yongzhou. I am very familiar with your various righteous deeds in the past. I can understand your concerns about Yang Tianzhe. He promised not to enter the city for the time being, which shows that he is willing to take a huge risk. I hope you can help me and persuade everyone to go back. The war is about to start, and there must be no chaos in Yongzhou City..."
Everyone looked at the two clan leaders, and the old clan leader Qin leaned on his crutches with both hands, his loose eyelids drooping slightly, "The prefect has something to say, how can we not listen?"
"Sir Governor, we in Yongzhou are the least afraid of going to war with Danqiu. But now that the war is imminent, we naturally cannot add to the chaos. If money and food cannot be raised in time, we will also do our part." The Wei clan leader also spoke.
"good!"
Shen Tongchuan clapped his hands and nodded to the two clan leaders, "I am here to thank you both!"
The two clan leaders relaxed in front of Shen Zhizhou, and the people who had gathered here began to disperse slowly. Old clan leader Qin was supported by his eldest son and walked back a few steps, but he suddenly stopped.
"Dad, what's wrong?"
The Qin family's eldest daughter-in-law asked cautiously.
Old Patriarch Qin ignored her, his eyes fixed on the tall back of the young man with his face covered by a long scarf. An unknown sense of weirdness shrouded his heart. He moved his gaze to the woman. He said nothing, turned his face calmly, and walked forward.
"Miss Ni, I heard you were injured?"
Shen Tongchuan was talking to Ni Su.
"I just had a little injury on my shoulder, nothing serious."
"Blame me,"
Shen Tongchuan sighed, "I love horses. That white horse is a rare good horse. I heard it neighing and couldn't bear it, so I rushed over... I heard that the horse is following you now?"
"I raised him together with him."
Ni Su looked at the people around her.
Shen Tongchuan looked back and forth between the two of them, then he touched his chin, smiled, and nodded, "Okay, I see that it has a very fierce temper, but it is willing to obey you two, I guess this is the fate between you two."
If the white horse had nothing to do with Xu Hexue, Shen Tongchuan would have taken it no matter what. Unfortunately, people's words were scary, and no matter how reluctant he was, he could not take such a horse.
"When Song Song's personal soldiers saw that he was dead, they immediately came to curry favor with me. That's why they only cared about me on the battlefield that day and didn't care about you, Miss Ni."
"I understand."
Ni Su saw the situation very clearly that day.
"Mr. Ni?"
Shen Tongchuan looked at Xu Hexue who was standing beside him. Seeing that he had his eyes downcast and didn't know what he was thinking, he called out to him.
Xu Hexue raised his eyes.
"Although Su Qile committed suicide, thanks to you, I still have my official hat, and I still have the military power of General Qin and Commander Wei."
Shen Tongchuan bowed to him.
"Shen Zhizhou doesn't have to do this."
Just as Qin Jixun came over, Xu Hexue said, "I just have something I want to ask Shen Zhizhou and General Qin."
"What is it?"
Qin Jixun came over and heard what he said.
Xu Hexue turned his head and looked at the man outside the Yongzhou city gate who was comforting the rebel soldiers. "You two, are you really not going to let him enter the city?"
"Didn't he say it himself? Is he willing to stay outside the city for a while?"
Wei Dechang also came over.
"I understand what Master Ni means."
Shen Tongchuan took a deep look at Yang Tianzhe's back. "Although he said so, it couldn't stop the rebels under him from feeling worried. Most of them are poor people. If they were not forced to live by the Hu people, they would not use their farming hands to pick up knives to kill people. If they are now rejected from the city, they will inevitably think that Yongzhou is not sincerely accepting them, but is using them as targets to resist the Hu people."
"If this continues, chaos will easily occur."
Qin Jixun looked serious and said what he was most worried about at the moment.
He always trusted the people he employed and would not employ them if he did not trust them, but the Qin and Wei clans were deeply rooted here. If the two clan leaders did not give in, the people of Yongzhou would not easily accept the rebels from outside.
He could not point weapons at his own relatives and civilians, not to mention that there were many people from Yongzhou in the army.
"However, Shen Zhizhou and General Qin can allow them to stay outside the city gate and let me stay with them."
Xu Hexue said.
After these words were spoken, Ni Su, who was listening quietly, raised her head and looked at him.
"Mr. Ni wants to..."
Shen Tongchuan had to admit that this was a good way to temporarily appease the rebels. Sending people they trusted to stay with the rebels could not only calm people's hearts, but also help them find out the truth.
However, this would be tantamount to sending himself to be a hostage in the hands of the rebels.
"Let me go!"
Wei Dechang spoke in a rough voice. As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Hexue looked at him with a . "You are so sick. Let me and Yang Tianzhe stay outside together. Which one of them is worried?"
"Shouldn't Commander Wei deploy military defenses?"
Xu Hexue asked calmly.
"I……"
Wei Dechang was speechless.
"The people in this area near the city gate must be relocated. Shen Zhizhou is the local official. If you are not here, how can you calm the people's hearts?"
Shen Tongchuan was about to speak after considering it when he heard the young man ask.
"I am General Qin's staff member. The battle at the Col was also thanks to Commander Wei who made me famous among the rebels. It's the best time for me to go now."
"Who made you famous?" Wei Dechang argued, stiffening his neck. "I just drank a few bowls of wine with Yang Tianzhe and the others, and I was just talking drunkenly!"
"Thank you very much."
Xu Hexue nodded at him.
He was always calm and polite, looking like an elegant and refined gentleman. If Wei Dechang had not seen him tying Suchile under his horse and dragging him during the Battle of the Col, he would never have believed that such a man could have such outstanding skills and extraordinary courage.
"I'll let Duan Rong follow you, young master."
Qin Jixun was silent for a moment and said.
Xu Hexue shook his head and refused, "No need, I will only keep Qingqiong."
This matter was settled. Qin Jixun and Wei Dechang were busy with military affairs and left quickly. Shen Tongchuan did not stay long either. Ni Su suddenly let go of Xu Hexue's hand.
He realized it belatedly and took a long time to relax his hands.
"Do you know that I can't stay outside with you?" She rolled up her sleeves, asked the ladies around her to prepare hot water, and turned back to him.
Among the old, weak, women and children brought back by the rebels, that woman was not the only one with an illness.
"I know."
He said.
"I know you still..." Ni Su's tone was a little anxious and a little angry, but halfway through her words, she saw that under the bright sunlight, the person in front of her, who had most of his face covered with a long scarf, seemed to slightly bend his pair of clear eyes like glass.
"why are you laughing?"
She swallowed what she was about to say and asked him.
He said nothing, just looked at her.
Sixteen years ago, he was executed in this Yongzhou city. At that time, his eyes were injured by the golden swords of the Hu people. He could not see the many faces under the execution platform. Only the endless and angry noises drowned him.
His silver-scale armor was stripped off, his robes were torn open, and he was cut with each blow in the most miserable and humiliating manner.
At that time, the two patriarchs must have been under the execution platform.
Perhaps, among the people , there were many who had watched him being punished under the bright sunlight.
But today,
Ni Su led him to stand in front of them. He was dressed intact, not a blood-red, shapeless mist. He felt at peace.
He had heard everything she hadn't said.
"I'm only outside the city gates. I'm not going anywhere. This is actually very close to you. I won't be hurt by the restrictions. Don't worry."
Xu Hexue saw that the soldiers had already set up the tent and the woman had been carried inside. He said, "Go ahead. I know you want to save her and many others."
Ni Su looked back and realized that she couldn't delay any longer. She took a few steps forward and turned back again: "I will ask Qingqiong to bring you a lantern. Remember, don't stay too far away from me!"
Xu Hexue stood there, with his hands in his sleeves, and nodded at her: "Okay."
For almost the entire day, Duan Rong was busy in the city asking nearby residents to evacuate, while the rebels set up felt tents outside the city.
Yang Tianzhe was so busy that he only lifted the felt curtain at dusk. He saw a young man in a round-necked brocade robe sitting inside, with two bowls of steaming tea on the table.
"Mr. Ni?"
Yang Tianzhe took off the wrist guard and walked closer, secretly sizing up the young man. He didn't look at all like the man who Wei Dechang described as having subdued Suchile single-handedly.
He looked so sickly and thin that Yang Tianzhe doubted whether he could lift the sword.
"Please take a seat, Lord Yang."
Xu Hexue raised her chin slightly.
Yang Tianzhe put the wristband aside, lifted his shirt and sat down opposite him. "I have cleared up the misunderstanding between Commander Wei. He told me a few words about the young master. If it weren't for the young master, I'm afraid the people I led would really become an isolated army in Rushan."
He picked up the tea bowl and said, "I'll use tea instead of wine to toast you, sir."
After saying that, he immediately raised his head and drank the bowl of tea.
Xu Hexue said nothing, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip.
"I heard from General Qin that the young master has something to ask me?"
Yang Tianzhe asked proactively.
Xu Hexue said "hmm", "But I want to ask Sir Yang first, why did you come back?"
"You may have heard about the stupid things I did sixteen years ago," Yang Tianzhe rested his hands on his knees. He was now about thirty years old, and the years had not left too many traces on him. "My father died unjustly. I was young at the time and felt deeply desperate, so I turned to the Danqiu Royal Court in a fit of anger."
"Danqiu needs officials from Qi. I need to teach them the language of Qi, tell them about the livelihood of Qi, and where the land of Qi is rich and where it is barren... In the early years, the former king of Danqiu was still alive. He promoted many officials from Qi, but later the former king passed away. The current king succeeded to the throne. In order to subdue the twenty-nine tribes and unite Danqiu, he listened to the advice of his ministers and dismissed many officials from Qi. The life of Qi officials in Danqiu was difficult, and the people of Qi were even more difficult. I became a small official in Nanyan tribe, doing petty things and muddling through. But as time went on, I saw that the people of Qi were living a life worse than death under the rule of Danqiu, and I felt more and more uncomfortable. I couldn't help but begin to doubt my original decision."
Yang Tianzhe's throat was dry. At this point, he simply poured himself a bowl of tea and took a sip despite the heat. "The leader of the Nanyan tribe is Prince Fuwu, the son of Duoling. In his tribe, I often had to translate documents written in Qi language into Danqiu language. I was able to enter the place where they stored military reports and letters. That's why I found a military report about Yongzhou."
"That was a military newspaper from sixteen years ago."
Yang Tianzhe raised his eyes and said.
"Is it about your father?"
Xu Hexue pressed her fingers against the wall of the tea bowl.
Yang Tianzhe nodded, "Back then I firmly believed that my father had no intention of abandoning the city and fleeing, but I was actually afraid because almost everyone in the city was shouting about the traitorous general Xu Hexue being tortured to death, and I was afraid that I would suffer the same punishment, so..."
He looked ashamed. "That military report stated that when the Hu people arrived at the gate of Yongzhou, Miao Tianning did not have enough troops. Later, I found out from another military report that a Qi army heading from Yongzhou to Jianchi was wiped out by them. Only Miao Tianning could mobilize those people. This indirectly proves that my father was most likely not the one who wanted to abandon the city, but Miao Tianning!"
Yang Tianzhe clenched his teeth.
After a long while, he said, "It was Miao Tianning who ignored my father's objection and secretly sent more troops to Jianchi, leaving Yongzhou City defense empty! This gave the Danqiu Hu people an opportunity to take advantage of it!"
Miao Tianning.
Miao Tongzhi, the younger brother of the current Grand Marshal Miao Tianzhao, was the one who defended Yongzhou to the death and died on the city wall.
Xu Hexue was silent for a moment, "So, Lord Yang came back to vindicate his father?"
"If possible."
Yang Tianzhe turned his head, and occasionally a few rays of sunset shone in from outside the felt curtain. "In fact, I was also thinking, since my father did nothing wrong from beginning to end, then as his son, wouldn't it be a shame for him if I lived in the tent of the Hu people?"
The city gates were closed before nightfall, and Ni Su was busy until dark. Her hair was soaked with sweat as she personally taught Madam Zhong and the others how to decoct medicine and treat external injuries for women and children.
The woman who was tattooed by the Hu people had an unstable fetus. She was already showing signs of miscarriage due to the long journey and could not keep the baby. However, she held Ni Su's sleeve and cried, "Thank you, thank you..."
Ni Su held her cold hand and said, "Rest well. Your body still needs medicine to heal. I will make you better."
“It’s really painful to have an abortion.”
As soon as Ni Su left the tent, she heard Madam Zhong talking to another woman who was boiling medicine beside her, "But she is pregnant with a Hu child. She is so miserable. It must be more painful to keep a Hu child alive than to kill her, right?"
"Miss Ni, can you tell me how I can use these cloths to bandage their wounds?" When Madam Zhong saw Ni Su coming out, she took out the strips of cloth she had cut and showed them to her.
"Can."
Ni Su nodded and said to her, "You just had a miscarriage not long ago. Wait a minute, I will boil another dose of medicine for you."
Madam Zhong was the one who had been hit hard in the abdomen by Song Song's personal soldiers and had a miscarriage.
"Thank you, Miss Ni."
Madam Zhong was stunned for a moment, then bowed solemnly.
"I should be the one to thank you for helping me." Ni Su smiled at her and wiped the sweat from the tip of her nose with her sleeve.
Among these old, weak, women and children, there were not only military prostitutes in the Hu people's tents, but also many civilians who had lost their land and were struggling to survive. Among them, the women also had some physical problems, which they found difficult to tell others in the past, and they could not take care of them, so they became seriously ill.
Sparse stars dotted the night sky, and a round moon was divided into two halves by the towering city wall. The pain from the injury on Ni Su's shoulder made her left arm almost numb. She leaned against the city gate and drank a bowl of hot soup brought by Madam Zhong.
The city gate was very heavy. She tilted her head and looked through the crack for a while, but she couldn't see what was happening outside, and couldn't even hear the sounds outside clearly.
"Xu Ziling?"
She tried shouting.
Considering the crowd behind her, she spoke in a low voice.
There was no echo outside the heavy city gate. There were a lot of noises around, including the footsteps of soldiers patrolling back and forth and the voices of refugees cooking.
She leaned her back against the city gate, feeling a little lost.
Madam Zhong brought her another meat bun and said, "Madam Ni, this is for you. It's still a little hot right out of the pot, so be careful when you eat it."
"Thanks."
Ni Su took it and took a bite, but she felt some slight light and shadow flickering. She turned her head and saw a speck of dust floating.
She immediately lowered her head. Under the city gate, grains of bright dust were flashing, coming from the other side, in front of her eyes, gently touching her sleeves, and dancing in front of her eyes.
She slowly raised her head as they rose.
She forgot to eat the bun she had taken a bite of. She looked at the floating light in front of her. It was a secret that only she could discover.
Madam Zhong was eating buns and talking to someone nearby, and didn't notice anything unusual.
Ni Su stretched out a finger and gently tapped one of the pills.
It trembled and fell into her palm.
She raised her lips and her eyes curved.
On the other side of the city gate, Xu Hexue, dressed in a light blue robe, was also leaning against the city gate. Next to him was the lamp that Qingqiong had brought before the city gate was closed and that Ni Su had lit herself.
Xu Hexue lowered his eyes and clearly saw his own Yingchen floating in the gap below.
The light illuminated his pale and flawless profile.
