Guo Ning sat beside the mound in silence for a long time until the sky gradually became brighter.
There are clouds in the sky, and the hazy sunshine shines through the clouds into the deep reeds. The mist on the reeds and water became more and more diffuse, like gray waves rolling. Occasionally, the sound of breaking ice and the sound of rushing water can be heard from a distance.
That is the Xiangjun River flowing to Bianwudian is thawing.
Bianwudian is one of the edge ponds excavated in the Song Dynasty. Bianwudian in the southwest of Anzhou, Qinüdian and Laodian in Baozhou were originally combined into one water, with a width of more than 30 miles and a length of 150 miles. Together with many water systems from Anzhou to Xiongzhou, it was known as the Ninety-nine Lakes. It was once so vast that it stretched to the sky.
In recent years, the climate has been dry, and many ponds were originally dug for military purposes. It is important to note that "it is too deep to be traveled by boat, and it is too shallow to be waded on foot." Once it dries up, the area of the pond is greatly reduced, and a complex terrain of swamps, rivers, gentle slopes, and reeds and shrubs is formed on the edge.
This kind of terrain happened to be a hiding place for many defeated soldiers. The companions who followed Guo Ning southward were stationed at a branch of the harbor where the Xiangjun River merged into Wudian. Guo Ning took people out this time to get food for everyone.
The results of it? There was a raid. The food was still there, but the people were gone.
There wasn't much food, just three bags in total. One bag contains random beans, and two bags contain yams and the like. Xiao Haohu's men didn't take these scraps of grain seriously. After killing the people, they just let the bags fall into the mud.
Guo Ning searched for it for a long time before he found it.
After soaking in water, the bag is very heavy. With a little more force, the side of a bag opened and a lot of beans spilled out. Guo Ning pulled two robes and three belts from the corpse, tied them properly again, then carefully picked up the scattered beans and gathered them in his sleeves.
These are blood-stained food, and they must be brought back to the camp properly.
Guo Ning's companions were few in number, twenty or thirty.
Most of them were his old acquaintances from Wushabao and Changzhou, as well as their women and children.
In the early years, the garrison troops set up by the imperial court along the boundary trenches were divided into two types: the Yongtun Army and the Fenfan Army. Generally speaking, the Yongtun army was mainly composed of Bohai people, Khitan people or Xi people, while the sub-fan army was mainly composed of Han children who were drawn from the people and released after the incident.
There is no isolation between the two. Guo Ning's father signed an army from the Central Plains and went northward during the Dading period. He was originally a strong man who built the Great Wall and boundary trenches. Later, he was favored by the local village envoys and settled in Wushabao.
However, generally speaking, the number of Han'er in the northern Xinjiang garrison is not large, and their status is generally lower. Guo Ning, who is brave and good at fighting, is just a regular soldier.
When the army was defeated last year, many people were afraid of the brutality of the Mongolian army, so they gathered around Guo Ning and relied on his bravery and skill to escape. But these people would not always obey the orders of a regular army, so they dispersed one after another. Those who still follow Guo Ning are only a few strong men and more than ten women and children.
Now, Yao Shier, Gao Kezhong, Lu Su and other strong men are dead, leaving only a dozen women and children. This food will be enough for a long time.
Guo Ning felt that his physical strength had recovered a little, so he struggled to carry the food on his back and continued moving forward.
As he walked, the weapons hanging on his waist collided with each other, making a soft tinkling sound.
Walk two miles to the west and you will reach the Xiangjun River. Then walk fifteen miles south along the Xijun River to the harbor branch where the camp is located. To the south of the Hong Kong Branch, across Wudian, is Wocheng County, the administrative seat of Anzhou. To the northwest and northeast of the Hong Kong Branch are Baozhou and Ansu Prefecture respectively.
This remote branch of Hong Kong, where no one cares, is where Guo Ning has stayed for the past six months.
He and his companions built a simple shack here and erected a wooden fence around the perimeter, forming a small stockade. In addition, a small area of arable land was reclaimed. Because we missed the farming season last year, we don’t know what the harvest will be like.
Guo Ning walked for a while and rested until noon before driving the general back.
A few miles away from the village, a child jumped out from the dead grass beside the road. He dropped the toad he was holding, ran a few steps towards Guo Ning, and shouted with joy on his face: "Liu Lang! Liu Lang! You are here!"
Before Guo Ning could answer, the child turned around and headed towards the village, continuing to shout, "Sister! Brother Liulang is back!"
After shouting a few words, he came back again, looked at Guo Ning up and down, and asked: "Brother Liulang, where is my brother? Didn't he come back with you?"
This child is Lu Su's younger brother, named Lu Shu. Lu Su is young and mature, and has been fighting in the battle since his father died in the war at the age of twelve; Lu Shu is only seven years old this year and is just an ignorant child. The two brothers have always been taken care of by Guo Ning and have long regarded him as a family member.
The father of the two brothers was a doctor before joining the army. Therefore, the names of the two brothers are taken from "Suwen" and the other from "Lingshu". Above the two brothers, there is a sister whose single name is Han, taken from "Yu Han Fang".
Lu Shu asked, but Guo Ning didn't know what to say. He just forced a laugh, touched his head, and said softly: "Let's talk about it when we get back."
Lu Shu then followed Guo Ning.
After walking a few steps, he asked expectantly: "Rokuro, when will brother come back? He said he would bring me a rattle this time."
"That's true." Guo Ning's heart ached, and he took out a rattle from his arms and handed it to Lu Shu.
It was taken out of Lu Su's arms when he was burying the body.
The rattle was also stained with blood, and Guo Ning washed it clean; but after being stained with water, the sound of the drum was no longer crisp.
Lu Shu didn't care about this, he held it in his hand with a smile and shook it endlessly.
At this time, someone from the village also came out to welcome him.
Guo Ning and others were supposed to come back yesterday, and the people in the village were very worried when they waited. Hearing the good news shouted by Lu Shu, more than a dozen people, old and young, rushed out, and then saw Guo Ning, who was carrying three grain bags on his shoulders and several weapons hanging on his waist.
These people are either old soldiers or relatives of soldiers. Everyone has been at the frontier for a long time and has seen many things about life and death. With just one glance, everyone understood what happened from Guo Ning's expression.
Several people's eyes instantly turned red.
There was a pretty woman who cried on the spot. While crying, she kept asking: "Didn't you say that we were going to fetch food? Didn't you say that everything had been arranged? Why is it like this?"
Guo Ning could only remain silent.
This woman's real surname was Feng, and her husband's surname was Yan. Her husband had also signed up to join the army in Wushabao in the early years. Unfortunately, he died in the battle on the way to escape. Her young son died of illness last year. So Feng spent the past few months living with Yao Shier.
Yao Shi'er liked Feng's appearance very much, so he always protected her by his side despite the various embarrassments during the defeat.
Now, Yao Shier is also dead. How should a single woman survive? What future will she face? No one knows.
A young girl with black hair in a double bun stood next to the woman and comforted her. As he spoke, he also shed tears.
That girl is Lu Su's sister Lu Han, who is usually called the little lady of the Lu family.
Lu Shu followed her sister, holding the rattle in one hand and holding her sister's sleeve with the other. But he still didn't understand what happened, so he looked a little confused.
Today's world is not much different from those troubled times recorded in history books. Hundreds of thousands of people have been crushed by the current situation. Guo Ning and others were just struggling to survive with their own meager strength.
This time they were ambushed, and all the brave men died except Guo Ning. Then, this small group no longer has any reason to maintain itself, and it's time to fall apart.
For people in small groups, there is probably only one way to die.
"This food is enough to last for a while, you go and share it." Guo Ning put down the three food bags and ordered in a deep voice. Then he turned to Lu Han and said, "If you have more cakes, bring me some."
After saying that, he walked towards his shack.
His shack was slightly taller than the others, and could even be called a wooden house. Usually the young lady of the Lu family helps clean it, so it is very clean. There is a wooden shelf on the wall of the room, hanging on it is a set of precious iron armor and a phoenix-winged iron helmet of the Southern Song Dynasty; on the wall are hung a long bow and a leather quiver.
Guo Ning took off all these things and put them in front of him to inspect them.
After confirming that the weapon was well maintained, he took out a black clay pot from under the bed.
The clay pot contained strong liquor.
Guo Ning took off his military uniform and leather armor, took off the clothes that were used to bandage the wound, then opened the clay pot and slowly poured the liquor behind his shoulders and head. The cold wine brought a sharp sting, and he couldn't help but groan twice.
After re-bandaging the injury, Guo Ning found a white coiled-collar robe and put it on himself.
When he was about to continue packing his armor, the door of the wooden house was suddenly pushed open forcefully, and a figure swooped up.
Guo Ning immediately turned around and reached out to grab the handle of the knife.
The long sword was half unsheathed and then put back.
The person who jumped on Guo Ning turned out to be Feng. I don't know what she was thinking just now, but now she hugged Guo Ning tightly and tried her best to bring her lips to Guo Ning's face. With hot breath coming from her mouth, she murmured: "Rokuro, I can follow you. I can give birth to a son. I, I... I can do anything!"
As she spoke, she let go of one arm and went to untie her clothes. The exposed shoulders were white and a little dazzling.
Guo Ning was very embarrassed. He wanted to struggle, but he was afraid of hurting Feng. It took him a long time to get out of the wooden house.
As soon as he stood outside, Feng's heartbreaking cries could be heard from inside the wooden house.
Guo Ning sighed.
At this time, the young lady of the Lu family came around from behind, holding several dry biscuits wrapped in reed leaves.
The girl's eyes were swollen with sadness, and she had obviously exhausted all her willpower to maintain her appearance. Her brother Lu Shu seemed to know the news of his brother's death. He followed his sister, howling as he walked, still holding the rattle tightly in his hand.
"Take out all my bows, swords and armor." Guo Ning pointed towards the wooden house and said calmly: "The one who attacked us is Xiao Haohu from Gaoyangguan... I want to kill him!"
The young lady of the Lu family nodded, handed the dry biscuits to Guo Ning, and went to the wooden house.
Guo Ning looked at her back and said softly: "After killing Xiao Haohu, I will come back. I will continue to take care of everyone, everyone, don't worry."
