Bright Spring

But this summer, the matchmaker acted as a matchmaker for "Feng Chunhan" and said he was a good man; and Zhang Yong was also ordered to go to war.So there was this "Letter from Feng Chunhan" (written by Hou Hai), the content of which was: He was asked to serve the country and fight back against the Tatars, and "Feng Chunhan" promised to persuade his parents to reject the matchmaker, and he missed him and waited all the time The hero returns from meritorious service.

Hou Hai waited for a while, then said: "Your matter is probably still the same, I only changed the result a bit. Only in this way can the soldiers be encouraged."

Zhang Yong seemed a little worried.

Seeing this, Hou Hai smiled and said, "The letter has already been burned, and you will indeed marry Feng Chunhan in the end. What's wrong with it? No one dares to marry her again because of what the Holy Spirit said. As for why Feng Chunhan would Marrying you is not important. Do you understand?"

Zhang Yong stared at Hou Hai's red regiment leader's uniform, and was stunned for a moment, before finally nodding vigorously and saying, "I obey!"

Hou Hai came up, patted Zhang Yong on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "You don't need to go back to the Heyanghou (Yin Desheng) army. Tonight, you will stay in the camp of the Chinese army, and first go to Chen Wu's command to be a bodyguard. The general banner, there will be a reward later."

Zhang Yong rubbed his hands together and said, "The villain really..."

Hou Haidao: "Didn't you fight to the death and kill the Tatar cavalry with your own hands? I will leave first, and Chen Wu will arrange a military post for you."

Zhang Yong clasped his fists and bowed, and said, "I will send you off to Mr. Hou."

Hou Hai walked to the tent door, turned his head and said again: "Zhang Yong, remember what is written in the letter. Then this is true, you have to convince yourself."

Zhang Yong nodded and said, "Obey!"

The two walked outside the tent, and the conversation was over.Hou Hai's boots stepped on the snow, and there was a "creaking" sound immediately, and there was a "crackling" sound in the air not far away. When Hou Hai raised his head, he saw a military flag with the word "Ming" written on it. Hunting and dancing in the wind. .

Chapter 695 It's Winter and Spring

After snowing for days, it finally cleared up.However, the snow on the ground has not melted, and looking around, the surrounding fields are a vast expanse of whiteness.

Zhu Gaoxu felt the temperature of the cold wind on his face, and felt that the snow would probably not melt in the whole winter.

Nearly ten days have passed since the Chinese army decided to continue marching northward, and it is now mid-October.

The Ming army could hardly get effective military supplies within a radius of thousands of miles, and the military ration reserves on the return trip were getting less and less. The soldiers had to eat dead horses to save military ration consumption; The soldiers and horses are exhausted, and the officers and soldiers have traveled about three thousand miles since they set off!

However, Zhu Gaoxu often inspected the battalions, and believed that the Ming army still maintained considerable combat effectiveness and morale until now.Good generals and troops fought with real swords and guns are indeed able to endure hardships.

In the evening, all the armies stopped marching and set up camp in selected places.

In the Chinese army camp, it was very lively tonight.There is a low lava platform in the middle of the camp, and many sergeants are setting up a stage on it.Everyone shouted white steam from the cold, but they all looked excited, and there was a lot of noise up and down the stage.

Almost all the soldiers in the army were rough soldiers, but among the men from all over the Ming Dynasty, there was no shortage of dexterous people.The soldiers used dead branches, paper, and silk cloth to make trees that seemed to be full of flowers. They also built a thatched house and yard with dry grass and soil, and decorated them.The stage looks colorful and very beautiful.

It was getting late, and the stage was full of torches, and the flames were brightly lit for a while.Countless soldiers lined up under the stage, and everyone was busy shoveling away the snow, laying down blankets, and lighting a fire.People gather around the stage and prepare to watch the play.

The camp was very lively, and many people were discussing what kind of opera to sing tonight, southern opera or northern opera.

Not long after, Zhu Gaoxu, who was wearing a tuanlong suit and a coat, also brought the virtuous Lord and Duan Xuehen, surrounded by civil and military officials, to the crowd.The soldiers stood up one after another to perform the military salute. Zhu Gaoxu walked all the way, raised his hand and gestured downward, saying, "Excuse me, excuse me."

He watched the surrounding scene, smiled at Qi Tai beside him: "It's a good job, the only thing that needs to be rewarded with wine is to reward the army."

Qi Tai said: "We can't find alcohol in Mobei, and when the army commander returns to court to ask for merit, there will also be a shortage of alcohol and meat."

After Zhu Gaoxu and the others took their seats on the stools in front, the military musicians came to the edge of the stage with their instruments in hand, and began to play the tune.Thousands of soldiers nearby all looked towards the stage.The days of marching and camping are really boring, no matter what show is sung tonight, everyone seems to be very happy.

After a while, a young man in a military uniform and a helmet walked onto the stage.At first people thought he was a sergeant who was setting up the stage, but unexpectedly the fellow looked at the crowd and began to speak words.

His voice was clear and resonant: "I am Zhang Yong, a front-guard military household in Datong Mansion. My family lives in Weizibao. I usually farm or stay in Weizibao. Today I am not in Weizibao, because I was ordered to replace hundreds of households on the peak. To deliver a letter, I went to the Fucheng of Datong. No, I just came out of the Fucheng..."

"Good! Good!" Someone from the crowd under the stage quickly shouted.

Zhu Gaoxu watched the play seriously without changing his face.Hearing the commotion and atmosphere around him, he immediately felt that the soldiers' reaction to this "drama" was better than expected!

The young student above can't sing opera, and he speaks plain Chinese; his accent is Shanxi accent, but the opera words don't use dialect words, so that everyone can understand them.

Although this "drama" is not as interesting as the opera, but the appearance is a familiar military household identity, which is very down-to-earth.Most of the judges present are military households, and they don't think the skill of this play is very good.

The young student on the stage is also quite talented, and his movements are also very similar.He put his palms between his eyebrows, pretending to be watching, and said again: "Oh, it's getting late! I have to go as soon as possible, so that I can return to Weizibao early to report to my life."

After he finished speaking, he quickly left the stage, as if he had left here on his way.

Then came two women, both of whom were maids of honor by Zhu Gaoxu's side.One combed the double snail temples, wore a red and green jacket and skirt, and applied makeup on her face. She looked like a daughter of a wealthy family, and she was also very beautiful.

The other has hair pulled back, is tied with a cloth scarf, and is wearing a bloated dark-colored double front. His face has been wiped with something, and he looks older.

As soon as the young lady came up, she closed her eyes, leaned over to smell the paper flowers, and said with a smile, "This plum blossom is really fragrant!"

The woman behind said: "Miss, we have to go back quickly, in case we can't get home before dark, the master will scold me again."

Facing the crowd, the young lady also spoke words in vernacular: "My slave's family is Feng's family, and my girlfriend's name is Chunhan. She is a woman from Feng's family village in the city of Datong. There are hundreds of acres of fertile land at home, and there is also a shop in the city. Although it is a little cold today, it is rare. The spring is bright and beautiful, and many people are going out for spring. My family misses the weeping willows by the river and the flowers in the mountains, and they are separated from their families for a while, so they rush back home... ah!"

The little girl who called herself Chunhan let out a soft cry, covered her head with her hand and said, "It's raining!"

The woman next to her complained: "The sun was shining just now, but suddenly it rained, it's the weather!"

"Chun Han" looked up for a moment, then looked back and said: "The rain is getting heavier and heavier, there seems to be a house over there, let's go there to hide from the rain, and leave when the rain stops for a while."

"It has to be like this." The woman said.

The two women held up their skirts and ran towards the small hut.

At this time, the young military household "Zhang Yong" also came on stage.He ran to the front of the hut with the two women.Zhang Yong and Chun Han stopped, looked at each other, and turned around.After avoiding it, Chun Han lowered his head and grabbed the hem of the jacket and skirt, as if he was a little scared and shy.

Zhang Yong looked up at the sky for a while, then slapped his sleeves again, as if he had been drenched in the rain.He took another two steps towards the two women.

Chun Han glanced back at him, took two steps back, and exclaimed, "What are you going to do?"

Zhang Yong stood still, stretched out his hand to make a soothing gesture, and said with his chest out, "Don't be afraid, my lady. I am a sergeant in the Ming army. The general in the army often said that our duty is to protect the land and the people. At the end of last year, the Tatars invaded the country." , We have lost many brothers in order to defend the country. Today, when I meet two common people hiding from the rain, I will not be disrespectful; otherwise, why would I face the spirit of the dead brother in heaven?"

"Good! Good..." There was a burst of applause from the crowd, which slightly interrupted the drama on stage.

Zhu Gaoxu clapped his hands and praised with great satisfaction. He turned his head and said to Qi Tai, Minister of the Ministry of War behind him: "Even military households who cannot read can understand this play."

Qi Tai nodded thoughtfully, clasped his fists and bowed: "The Holy Spirit has learned from you."

When the shouting in the crowd stopped for a while, each person on the stage sang a little song.First, Chun Han sang a song, the lyrics were very simple, and the content of the lyrics was generally to praise Zhang Yong for being heroic and upright, and for being righteous.The lyrics were written by Hou Hai, and the tune of this ditty is "What a Jasmine Flower" (composed by Zhongshan King Xu Da)...

There are other songs in the back, some of which are written by the virtuous Weng Lord, and the lyrics are written by military officials, and Zhu Gaoxu has changed them to be more straightforward and easy to understand.The music of the Ming Dynasty, whether it is an opera or a small song, has a very slow rhythm of pronunciation; and the lyrics are simple, so it is easy for everyone to understand.

Even Zhu Gaoxu has gradually entered the play, deeply comprehending the story on the stage, from the acquaintance, acquaintance, admiration, and longing between Zhang Yong and Chun Han, he followed the play and felt it.

The whole scene was performed for about half an hour, and finally came the sad parting scene.

Facing the judges, "Chunhan" confided movingly: "Although the son of the Li family in Datong Prefecture is both talented and beautiful, the matchmaker praised him a lot in front of his parents. But the heart of the slave family has been... Fortunately, the parents of the slave family Being reasonable, I must understand my daughter’s ambitions, and my daughter only loves heroes. My family should not dissuade Zhang Yong from going to the north, only by letting him serve the country and follow the emperor to the north, can the villagers live and work in peace and contentment, and their families will no longer be destroyed.”

After she confides, she picked up a pen and said: "The slave family will write to Zhang Yong to let him understand the slave family's heart."

When Chunhan read the letter (by Hou Haizuo), the eyes of many soldiers in the firelight were shining, and tears seemed to glisten.

After Chunhan left, a group of soldiers came onto the stage in their hard-wearing clothes, and "Zhang Yong" was among them.Zhang Yong looked at the letter with his head buried in it, and raised his head and said, "I am under the command of Ba Guogong, and I have arrived at Luqu River by order. I must fight the enemy bravely and be loyal to Daming!"