One morning in June, Lin Zhenyu, who had just been promoted to battalion officer of the second battalion of the Fourth Corps of Daqi, left the capital and headed for Yunyang, a small town on the western border of Hubei Province. This was the first station he went to after becoming an officer of the main force, and it was probably the last one.
At dawn in the east, Lin Zhenyu was awakened by the crow of cocks in the streets of Dakongfang.
The former Ming Dynasty was inextricably linked to chickens. In an era when supplies were scarce and precarious, our subjects also loved raising chickens.
At the beginning of the month, Lin Zhenyu, with the help of a daughter from the Wu family, put on the armor of the Fourth Corps engraved with a bear's head. This armor was sent by the Ministry of War earlier. Today at Longsheng Pass, there will be Sun Shirui, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Rites. Minister Kang Guangxu, Minister of Punishment Deng Shouchang and others saw Lin Zhenyu off.
After finally putting on these outfits, Maiko held up a mirror. Lin Zhenyu took it, his eyes hurriedly swept over the pretty face of the Wu family girl, and looked at himself in the mirror.
The whale oil lamp shines brightly, and the young general in the mirror is brave and brave.
"Is my mother up yet?"
"My lady is lighting a fire to make food."
After Maiko finished speaking, she added: "My wife said that she would personally make breakfast for you, so we won't be allowed to interfere."
"Oh," Lin Zhenyu hesitated.
Maiko tied the black goggles to her master's chest and back, her graceful body was like a snake swimming around. When the Wu family girl spoke, Lin Zhenyu glanced to the side.
"Can this armor stop lead bullets?"
Lin Zhenyu grabbed Maiko's hand that bound the leather belt and gently pushed the Wu girl away.
"Here, I'll do it."
Wu Zi was bored, her face turned red, and she turned to leave. A cold voice came from behind:
"Armor, in Da Qi, is just a gorgeous decoration. It has long been outdated and cannot withstand firearms. Just like the previous edict issued by the Supreme Emperor, it cannot protect those old ministers who will be executed, not to mention those bullets will be shot from my back. "
"Wuzi, you stay and take care of my mother. Yunyang, you don't want to go."
Lin Zhenyu picked up the long sword placed on the table, inserted the sword into the scabbard, and moved his iron arm habitually, preparing to leave the Lin Mansion.
"The carriage is waiting for me outside. Tell my mother that I'm leaving. I don't want to see her cry anymore, especially at this time..."
Wuzi was already prepared, and before Lin Zhenyu finished speaking, she threatened him:
"Yunyang is the border of Daqi. It is as peaceful as Nanjing. I don't want to be buried with Emperor Guangde, nor do I want to stay in the Lin Mansion and be a quiet canary. General Lin, if you don't take me there, I will Just go to the Ministry of War and the Three Laws Division to expose your rebellion."
"rebellion?"
Lin Zhenyu smiled awkwardly, clenched his sword tightly, and looked at the Wu family girl with a murderous look in his eyes.
Maiko took a step forward, pointed at the sword, and said with neither humility nor arrogance: "Anyway, all my family members are dead, and it is worse to live alone than to die. Oda Nobunaga once said that fifty years of life are like a dream or an illusion. If you can, I am willing to go to Yunyang with you and do great things together..."
Lin Zhenyu stepped forward and covered Wu Zi's mouth.
"Keep it low and let the coir raincoat guards hear it, and my mother and I will be dead!"
"Then let me go and pretend to be your personal soldier. On the way, just say I'm a Ryukyu soldier and no one will check."
Lin Zhenyu put the sword back on the table, glared angrily, and roared in a low voice:
"You also know Oda Nobunaga, you lunatic! The crazy daughter of a samurai!"
The Wu girl stopped talking, turned around and took out a large bag of luggage from her room.
"Before leaving, you should say goodbye to your wife. My father taught us before his death that even if we have to duel with the enemy, we should eat rice on the tatami with our family."
Lin Zhenyu sighed helplessly, ready to compromise with this crazy woman:
"Your family can still eat rice in Osaka. Your father is a very powerful samurai."
There was only silence around, and there was a rustling sound from the kitchen next door. It was the sound of Chiyoko Fujiwara. She was making his favorite Jinhua soup dumplings for her son to say goodbye to him.
"Since you are willing to be headhunted by the chieftain, I will help you and take you to Yunyang. However, you must listen to me on the way. You are not allowed to talk nonsense or ask questions. The most important thing is,"
Lin Zhenyu began to take off his armor with great effort. Wearing this outfit to eat with his mother would remind her of her dead father, and her mother would feel uneasy.
"The most important thing is that I promised the emperor to go to Yunyang to survive, not to die. You should not talk about life and death again in the future."
The Wu family girl nodded solemnly: "I promise you."
~~~~
This is the day that Lin Zhenyu has been waiting for for many years, and it is the starting point of his killing career.
Compared with the small fights in the Ryukyu waters, what they will face next may be a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, and a battle will determine the outcome.
He heard the sound of sedan bearers moving on the street outside. The people sitting in the sedan chairs might be the new rich of Da Qi. They were in high positions and knew how to do what the emperor wanted. They lived a very prosperous life in Nanjing.
Lin Zhenyu thought of those pale and tasteless days at the Imperial Military Academy, the countless bitter nights in Ryukyu, and the sleepless nights spent in the sweltering cabins of battleships in the southern ocean.
After Emperor Guangde came to power, he did all kinds of wanton things. As the head of the family, Lin Zhenyu was worried every day. After hearing that the noble generals of Daqi were liquidated one after another, he was worried that one day the punishment would fall on the Lin family - although the Lin family was far away. In Ryukyu, it has already lost power.
】
He thought of the punishment of counting the days as if they would never end.
"Maiko, everything will end and everything will begin. Come on, come with me to eat soup dumplings with your mother. It is a delicacy from Jiangsu and Zhejiang."
