There are only three days left before the New Year, and the entire Dayu Dynasty is in a state of turmoil.
Red lanterns were hung up early on both sides of the road, people coming and going were wearing new clothes, and children were running and laughing happily, celebrating the generosity and abundance that comes only once a year.
The two words "Spring Festival" mean far more to the poor than to the rich.
Those who live frugally and eat whole grain steamed buns instead of meat buns are saving up just to wait for this moment.
In the alternating time between the past and the future, they changed their simple clothes, showed their most energetic faces, ate the sweetest fruits, and reunited with their favorite family members.
But in this happy family atmosphere, there are still three fools running wildly on the official road.
"How many days will it take to reach Fengjing?" Zheng Ruqian, lying on the car's shaft, asked feebly.
Gao Yan sat across from him, stroking his buttocks and speechless.
Gao Dawan estimated in his heart, "It will take four to five days."
After four or five days, wouldn’t it be the only time to celebrate the Lantern Festival?
Zheng Ruqian was so shocked that he didn't care about anything else. He took the riding whip and urged the horse to go faster and faster.
Do the math.
In November, he left Beijing with the Gao brothers. He originally planned to go to Henan County to transport some red dates, but he was obsessed with the rich local products and indulged in the folk customs. Unknowingly, he crossed the entire Henan County and arrived in Hebei County.
With the idea of "everything comes, come here", Zheng Ruqian led the Gao brothers to search in Hebei County and found a lot of good things. One of them he confidently brought back to Beijing, just waiting to be placed in Jiuzhenfang hawking.
Unfortunately, something unexpected happened. Halfway through the journey, the horse fell to the ground due to fatigue.
It would be fine if it was in the city, but it happened to be halfway on the road, with no village in front of it or any store behind it.
Zheng Ruqian could only walk to a nearby city, rent a new carriage, and bring a veterinarian with him. While rescuing the horse, he paid the difference in price and exchanged a horse with the carriage company.
This delay lasted three days.
If I hadn't wasted these three days and had gone faster, I might have been able to go back and celebrate the New Year with my brothers and sisters.
Zheng Ruqian grabbed the riding crop, his face full of annoyance.
This year has been so special for the siblings.
This was the first New Year's Eve after they arrived in Fengjing, and it was also the first reunion day without Fang Laosan. His sister reminded him wholeheartedly to come back, and Zheng Ruqian patted his chest and agreed.
But now, he is going to break the promise.
The cold wind gradually blew, stinging Zheng Ruqian's face. After two days of sleeplessness, his body couldn't bear it. However, the carriage was filled with goods purchased from Hebei County, and there was not even a place to lie down.
"Master, it's better to rest." Gao Dawan advised from behind, "Or let me come, you haven't rested for two days."
Zheng Ruqian shook his head, regretting that the carriage was not fast enough and could not reach Fengjing before the year.
After an unknown amount of time, he passed through the endless official road and arrived at the next city. Feeling the lively atmosphere of the sea of people, he became increasingly anxious.
However, there are so many people in the city and the roads are blocked, making it impossible to speed up.
Zheng Ruqian bit his gums and said, "How about we skip this meal and make do with some dry food, just in case we can return to Fengjing in time for the New Year."
After saying that, he felt it was inappropriate.
People are made of iron, and they will feel hungry if they don't eat even one meal. What's more, they have already eaten four meals of dry food in the car and need some hot soup and rice to warm themselves up.
Even if they don't eat, the horses have to eat and rest.
Zheng Ruqian didn't want to delay another three days, so he gritted his teeth and stopped at the door of a small restaurant, ordered three bowls of spicy soup and two pieces of fried steamed buns, and swallowed them in big gulps.
The late winter sun shines down from above. Several locals are basking in the sun and discussing the national conditions. Occasionally they argue a few words, their faces red and ears full of air.
Zheng Ruqian's sharp ears vaguely heard the word "Northern Xinjiang", and he immediately slowed down his soup and listened carefully.
"We, the Chongqing Dynasty, have been fighting against the Tartars for decades. They cannot defeat us, and we cannot destroy them. We have always been in a state of wariness and wariness of each other."
Zheng Ruqian heard from Fang Heng that the Tartars were good at riding and shooting. If ten soldiers of the Chongqing Dynasty faced off against ten Tartars, it would be an almost certain death situation. It would take thirty or fifty people to compete with them.
However, the Tartars are cunning. If you have fewer people, I will fight you. If you have more people, I will run away. I will ride away on horseback and my own side will not be able to catch up.
When General Fang was here, he set up a trap for the Tartars and killed many people before he established a great reputation in northern Xinjiang and barely allowed the people in the border areas to live in peace for a few years.
Later, when he passed away, the Tartars became active again, and massacres of villages became more frequent every day.
"Who would have thought that some time ago, good news came from Northern Xinjiang." An old man shook his head, "It's not a large number of battles, but a situation where dozens of our soldiers faced dozens of Tartars. We originally thought we would lose. , actually won.”
"This is a great thing. The Tartar cavalry and shooting are very good. If we can have a boy to compete with the Tartar cavalry, does it mean that we can destroy the Tartars in the future and there will be no more wars?"
"What are you thinking about? It's just a small battle. I heard that the boy is only thirteen or fourteen years old. His last name seems to be... Fang."
My surname is Fang.
My brother who hasn’t seen you for a year, it turns out that you just fought a battle. Although you won, you must have paid a lot of price.
I don’t know if you are in pain at this moment, if you are sad, if you... miss us.
Zheng Ruqian held Hu spicy soup and looked north with red eyes.
Something floated out of his body, flew north at an extremely fast speed, and finally landed on the ear of the heroic young man.
"The third child..."
Who is calling him?
Fang Heng turned his head suddenly, but only saw nothingness.
"Captain, what's wrong?" Jiang Yi limped over.
Fang Heng shook his head and looked at his legs, Jiang Er's arms, Jiang Wu's abdomen, Jiang Liu's chest, Jiang Qi's scalp, and Jiang Ba's fingers.
The so-called battle means hedging, and it means risking one's life.
Although that small battle was successful, Fang Heng was successfully promoted from the captain of the tenth team to the captain of the fifth team, and the number of people under his command increased from nine to a hundred, but the price they paid was even greater. big.
One of the nine members of the 10th Team was killed and eight were injured. Jiang Wu's abdominal wound is still bleeding to this day, and Jiang Ba is missing a finger.
Even Fang Heng himself was hit by a horse's hoof, and he still has difficulty moving.
War has always been cruel, scarred, and filled with blood and bones.
Just one person dies now, but in the future ten, hundreds, thousands, or even ten thousand will die.
The former Fang Heng would have been soft-hearted, scared, and cowardly. But now he won't, because he understands that war always requires someone to pay blood, so as to avoid more innocent deaths and injuries.
Only then will there not be more girls with pigtails!
It's just a pity that he can't be with his family. The heroic young man used all his strength and could only wave to the southwest and show a faint smile.
