Brocade tears

"Brother, come in quickly, don't let the wind blow outside, your arm is not fully healed, it will be bad if the cold air enters."

"Hey, I'll save it, I'll take a look..."

The north wind rolled up snowflakes the size of goose feathers, and slapped people's heads and faces.It only takes a moment, and a good-looking person will be covered with a piece of whiteness, and become a snowman with blurred eyebrows.Today is the No. 12 day when the convoy set off from the capital, and on the road, they finally entered the border of Liaodong.Mencius stood on the shaft of the carriage he was riding in and looked into the distance. He heard that he was going to Shanhaiguan, and he couldn't wait to see the beauty of Guancheng.

This convoy is a convoy of commercial firms, consisting of the fur, medicine and tea convoys of the Luanxiang Commercial Firm owned by Zhu Qingpei, Princess of Xinyang County, plus the convoy of Zhao's Grain Company.The caravan carried a large number of herbal medicines, tea bricks, and rice grains northward, intending to exchange relatively more valuable products such as fur, ginseng, and animal bones in Liaodong, and then sell them back to the south.

The leader of the team was Zhang Fuyuan, the second shopkeeper of Luanxiang Commercial Firm, and the leader of the guard team was Qiu Bai, the princess' personal bodyguard.The princess never came, she stayed in Beijing to accompany Ban Ruhua, and wanted to do her last bit for their lifelong affairs.The leader sent by Zhao's grain company this time is Zhao Ziyang, the young master.This time, Zhao Ziyang is not only the leader of his own Zhao family's grain company, but also an envoy of the household department sent by the government.The civil affairs in Liaodong have always been managed by the Chief Secretary of Shandong.But now that Liaodong is about to fight again, the Ministry of Household Affairs Shandong Qingli Department will cooperate with the Ministry of War to transfer Liaodong's military supplies, food and salaries.Zhao Ziyang happened to be the head of the Ministry of Household Affairs' Shandong Cleaning Department. This time, the Liaodong Army, the Household Department's Shandong Cleaning Department was responsible for clearing the military pay and supervising the distribution of military pay. It was necessary to send central officials to the local area as frontline liaison and command.Zhao Ziyang took the initiative to ask for this very important task.

It's not a good job to be a military pay supervisor.Although it is not possible to face the enemy directly in the rear, the distribution of military salaries among the various troops is always a big problem. If one favors the other, it will easily lead to mutiny.Nowadays, food and grass are scarce, and it may take months to maintain an army of more than [-]. It is not an easy task for the military pay supervisor.Without food and pay, the morale of the army will be unstable. It is a matter of front-line warfare, and no mistakes can be tolerated.It is common to be beheaded if one is not careful.As the only son of the Zhao family, Zhao Ziyang, who has yet to have a child, invited such a hard job, which really worried the old couple.

But Zhao Ziyang came here without hesitation, because he hoped to provide some small help to his cousins, even if he just wanted to find a way to help them raise a little ration, that was what he was willing to do.

Mencius Xiu, Meng Yan, Bai Yuyin and Daoist Luo were in the team. They came to Liaodong this time, and they didn't plan to go back.Liaodong will be their last battlefield. If the war is over, they can still be reunited intact. The family will completely hide their identities, live in isolation, and stay away from all court battles.This may be the last time Zhao Ziyang can get along with them, he is reluctant, he hopes to accompany them to the last part of the journey.

The group set off from Jizhou two days ago and traveled slowly. Today it encountered heavy snow, but they should be able to reach Shanhaiguan later in the day.Qiu Bai, who led the way at the front of the team before, scouted the way ahead, and said after returning that he could vaguely see the city walls of Shanhaiguan.Meng Zixiu, who was sitting in the carriage, was very excited, and immediately got out of the carriage, braved the heavy snow and stood on the shaft of the carriage to look around. Only then did his younger sister Meng Ai talk to dissuade his brother.

But unfortunately, Meng Zixiu didn't see anything clearly, there was only heavy snow and mist in front of him.There was a cold wind blowing outside, and he was so cold that he was weak and had to get back into the car to keep warm.

"Look at you, you're covered in snow, so don't go out, your shoulder injury hasn't healed yet, what should you do if you're freezing?" Bai Yuyin complained while dusting the snow for him.Meng Zixiu just smiled gently, and said with a little excitement:

"We are now very close to the sea. Shanhaiguan faces west and faces east. Come out from the south of Guancheng, walk eight miles south, and you will reach the sea. The Great Wall has been built all the way to the sea. The Great Wall by the sea is called Laolongtou. The Stone City into the Sea built by General Qi Jiguang. I have heard about it a long time ago, and now I finally have the chance to see it.”

Neither Meng Yan nor Bai Yuyin could understand his excitement, but the closer they got to Liaodong, the more worried they became.I don't know how the situation in Liaodong is. Are Meng Kuang and Sui Er on the front line safe?I don't know if their plan to escape by feigning death can be realized in the end.

On the contrary, Daoist Luo has always seemed to be an old god. He was originally a person who left the world, but these years he was tied to the world because of the Meng family.He regards this as a part of his practice in the world, and he is determined to accompany the Meng family through the last part of the most difficult and thorny road. If the Meng family can be at ease, then he will eventually be able to cultivate the realm of great ease.This time, he even made a special trip to write obeisance to his three apprentices, asking them to go to the top of Maoshan to worship the mountain gate and practice themselves.The Lingji Hall in Beijing has also been completely closed, and the houses have been disposed of by the Zhao family and sold.

Now that the Meng family has no way out, they can only move forward.

Hearing Mencius talking about Shanhaiguan, Daoist Luo said with a smile: "This is the second time I have arrived at Shanhaiguan, and I came with your father once before."

"Father?" Meng Ai asked in surprise. She didn't know that her father had been to Shanhaiguan, but Meng Zixiu knew about it. In fact, Meng Kuang also knew that it was Meng Yi who used to be a private school teacher for the eldest, second and third children. The three children talked about it when they were in their infancy. At that time, Meng Ai was only one or two years old, and he was still a doll with no memory.

"Your father fought against the Japanese with the Qi family army. In fact, the battlefield has always been in the south. Later, he was recommended to Beijing and became a Jinyiwei. But in the fourth year after your eldest brother was born, which is the first half of the second year of Longqing, he went to Shanhaiguan to resist the Tatars. In order to help the Qi family army, Qi Jiguang praised him as a one-man army, the strongest ace scout of the Qi family army. That half a year was the last time he participated in a large-scale war, and I went with him. Later your mother wrote to the front, saying that she was pregnant It's you and Ah Qing who are having their second child. He is concerned about his family, so he rushed back. If he is still alive, in terms of seniority and meritorious service, he is actually a figure who can stand on an equal footing with Commander Luo Sigong of Jinyiwei.

At that time, I was a military doctor who voluntarily joined the army. People like me are rare in the army. It is not easy to have a doctor who sees a doctor in the army. I have seen too much cruelty on the battlefield, and realized that there are too many facts that human beings cannot do.If a monk wants to practice, he must be sober and have few desires, and he must not see killing.But I have seen too many killings, and I know the fragility of life.An hour ago, those recruits were five-foot heroes who had grown up over ten years of water and rice. An hour later, they turned into corpses lying on the muddy ground with blood flowing in rivers, severed limbs and missing heads. There was only a thin line between life and death.But life is tenacious. No matter how great the disaster is, whether it is a natural disaster or a man-made disaster, the true warriors will stand up bravely and persist in resisting.Your father is the most tenacious man I have ever seen. He single-handedly carried hundreds of Mongolian cavalrymen who took the opportunity to raid Shanhaiguan, and rescued an entire corps of [-] Zhejiang soldiers. This feat has never been surpassed by anyone in the army.Man cannot fight against the sky, but he can fight against himself. "Luo Daochang said with a little emotion.

Meng Yan and Bai Yuyin were fascinated by what they heard, while Meng Zixiu took up the conversation and said:

"Father didn't mention much about his deeds in the army. We never knew what merits he had in the army."

Daoist Luo shook his head: "Of course, that meritorious service is accompanied by blood and pain. Behind every victory is the accumulation of human lives. Those who died were his brothers, his comrades-in-arms, how could he He would easily brag about the achievements of these people in exchange for their lives. It was not his own achievements. The early years of war experience actually brought indelible trauma to his heart. After he came down from the front line and entered Jinyiwei, he changed himself. , the knife in his hand is seldom out of its sheath anymore, and there is almost no blood. He cherishes life very much and loves life. He is always tense, as if he wants to protect something. I would like this kind of life to be lost. Perhaps this is why he promised Li Laosan to escape from prison and rescue Sui'er."

There was silence in the carriage, and Daoist Luo's words aroused everyone's thinking.The starting point for his father to save Sui'er was to protect the hard-won peaceful life, and now they all rushed to Liaodong for this goal to try their own danger.Why is it so difficult to realize such a simple wish?Perhaps this is the tragedy of the troubled times that the population of the world calls.Realizing that I was born in troubled times, it can't help but make people feel cold and hesitant.

After a long while, Bai Yuyin asked: "Lao San Li... Speaking of this person, why did Father Meng get so close to him? many."

"Father rarely talks about the friendship between him and his colleagues, and we can only guess who he is friends with through his usual contacts." Meng said.

"Maybe it just seems that his character is a lot worse, but Li Laosan and his father are in the same way. It's just that we know very little about Li Laosan. I believe that father sees people." Mencius Xiu said.

Just as Daoist Luo was about to say something, suddenly there was a shout in front of him:

"Which caravan are you from? It's an extraordinary time to go north to Shanhaiguan at this time of year?"

"Master Jun... We are a joint caravan of Luanxiang Commercial Company and Zhao's Grain Company, we have a good match!"

"Take Kanhe to see!"

"What's going on?" Bai Yuyin asked strangely in the carriage. Mencius Xiu and Daoist Luo were both sitting near the door of the carriage. The two of them opened the warm curtain and went outside. They saw a group of ten people in the snowstorm. The cavalry stopped the caravan and were negotiating with Zhang Fuyuan and Qiu Bai ahead.

The officer looked at Kanhe, and seemed to think there was no problem, and then said sharply:

"You have to unload the goods at the Shanhaiguan Customs City, and you can't leave the customs and go north."

"This... how can this be possible..." Zhang Fuyuan was extremely confused, "Our fur business and herbal medicine business have been done with Liaodong for many years. How can the business be done if we don't leave the customs?"

"Stop talking nonsense! The front line is mobilizing troops, and the war is about to start. The civilians are not allowed to leave the customs!" The cavalry officer on the horse had a rough voice, and his tone of anger was very fierce, which made Zhang Fuyuan, a businessman, suddenly show timidity.

Qiu Bai asked calmly: "Dare to ask the military master, the army is assembled, but they come from the northwest?"

The leading cavalry officer glanced at him, snorted and said, "You have some winks. We are the Liaodong Army. We have just quelled the chaos of worshiping. All suspicious people have to be screened, the army is assembled outside the pass, and the people are all avoided, this is for your own good."

"It's the Liaodong Army that was transferred after the Northwest War ended. It seems that we are not allowed to go outside the pass." In the carriage, Meng Zixiu explained to Meng Yan and Bai Yuyin.

"Ah? What should we do? Are we rushing to meet Sister A and Sister Sui'er?" Meng Yan panicked.

Mencius squinted his eyes at the pair of cavalry in the snowstorm, and said, "I'll get out of the car and go ahead to have a look. You guys wait in the car."

"Oh, don't go, I'll go." Daoist Luo stopped him.

"Master Daoist, let me go, I will negotiate with the officer." Mencius Xiu said, he was anxious to get out of the customs, and he was confident in his eloquence.

"Your identity is sensitive, don't impress others." Daoist Luo tried his best to stop it.

While we were talking, another officer's voice came from outside:

"This is the rule, there is really no way. Even if you suffer a little loss, it is better than encountering soldiers when you leave the customs."

Hearing these words suddenly, Meng Yan's heart shuddered.She poked her head out of the car window, as if trying to see something clearly.But the distance was a bit far, and the wind and snow blocked her vision, so she couldn't see clearly.So he shrank back after a while, got up and squeezed Daoist Luo and Mencius away, and suddenly opened the curtain and got out of the car.Meng Ai didn't care about Daoist Luo and Meng Zixiu calling her from behind, chasing her, stepping on the muddy and snowy road all the way, approaching the head of the team.After getting closer to a certain distance, looking at the adjutant riding on the horse behind the head officer, she finally got a clear view of this person.A young general with handsome features, half a year of war has sharpened him even more like a rock, and even his face is covered with traces of wind and frost, changing from the previous white and handsome skin to a dark and rough one.But Meng Yan was so impressed with him that he blurted out his name immediately:

"Zhan Yuzhan command?!"