Yao Zhen laughed out loud when he looked at the depressed Wu Rong, but was ordered by Gu Zhengchen to read and read together. Wu Rong suddenly felt relieved.
Yes, deserve it.
Liu Nanshan still wanted to speak, but he was severely stepped on by the five soldiers. It was this hateful guy who kept interrogating and interrogating, and talked so much!
Gu Zhengchen's decision to make himself literate and read was probably not a joke. In addition, Mu Ying intended for Mu Chun and Mu Sheng to consider Gu Zhengchen as their husbands. As a bodyguard, she might not be able to escape from Gu Zhengchen's clutches...
Just as he was about to urge Gu Zhengchen to enter the city, Wu Rong suddenly felt something strange and turned around to look at the official road.
When Gu Zhengchen saw this, he also turned around.
I saw a row of sergeants appearing on the official road not far away. There were cavalry in front of them. There were not many of them. There was only one row of four cavalry. Behind them were infantry. Behind them were carriages. None of the carriages were covered. .
On top of the carriage, groups of women were huddled together, protecting their children, with trembling eyes lifeless.
"This is?"
Gu Zhengchen frowned.
Wu Rong was also a little unaware of the situation and looked at Liu Nanshan.
There was a hint of sadness in Liu Nanshan's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "These are the widow and child sent by Datong Wei."
"widow?"
Wu Rong seemed to understand and looked at the approaching carriage team with a serious expression.
When Gu Zhengchen saw Wu Rong and Liu Nanshan looking like this, he frowned slightly and understood.
These widows are not from ordinary people, but from the widows of guardsmen!
Datong is a military frontline, and from time to time it will face attacks from small groups of enemies. It is normal for the Ming army to suffer damage. Even if Xu Da, Li Wenzhong and others were guarding there, they would not be able to effectively counterattack the Yuan army without cavalry. !
When a sergeant dies, if the sergeant's son is still young or has no son yet and is unable to take over, the governor's office will go to the sergeant's place of origin to seduce someone, and the sergeant's wife will naturally need to leave the guard house and relocate.
Some of these widows and their children in Shanxi were resettled locally, while those in the north were ordered to return to their respective places of origin. And some in the south, in Jinling, because of the long distance, will send some sergeants to escort them to Jinling, and then resettle after listening to the announcement.
"It's a little difficult on the front line."
Liu Nanshan sighed heavily.
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly. This could be said to be the weakest moment for the Ming army, especially as the war horses suffered huge losses and were unable to carry out an expedition at all.
Although the imperial court is trying its best to promote the raising of horses among the people, it takes time, and most of the horses raised by the people are draft horses. They can carry heavy loads and travel slowly, but it is difficult to travel long distances and adapt to the needs of the battlefield.
Raising a true war horse is more difficult and costly than raising five children.
Gu Zhengchen and others moved out of the way and watched the carriages passing by one after another. The woman's hands were full of cracks from the cold, her lips were purple from the cold, and the child inside had long since lost the strength to cry.
These people carried the harsh winter weather and headed south.
No one asked why they didn't send it in spring to save them from having to suffer.
Because winter is a time when the front line is relatively relaxed. The severe cold is a difficulty for the Ming army and also for the Yuan army. The guard station mobilizes a group of sergeants to guard it, which is always necessary in seasons when no one is needed.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the common people and businessmen, and saw no respect except respect on the faces of the sergeants.
In the eyes of the people, they sympathize more with them.
In the eyes of the businessman, he was indifferent and a little dismissive.
In this day and age, there is a lack of respect for sergeants.
This cannot be entirely blamed on the common people. After all, sergeants are synonymous with warriors and rough men among the people. Some people even call them ruffians. They may know who is fighting on the border, but they don't realize that it is the sergeant who sacrificed his life for the stable and safe life in the city.
Gu Zhengchen was secretly sad.
The ancient army never paid much attention to ideological construction. The way to prevent generals from rebelling was nothing more than decentralization. You stare at me, I stare at him, and he stares at you. Three generals leading troops are about the same as three monks carrying water. There is no We have not gone deep into the sergeants, but we have not gone deep into the ranks of thousands of households, hundreds of households, general banners, small banners, sergeants, etc. to do ideological work, and we have not given them honor or status.
In an era where people who break the law are often sent to the army, how do you expect the people to maintain respect for the army? Even children will inevitably ask: The bad guys are in the guardhouse, aren’t the people in the guardhouse all bad people?
"Let's go into the city."
After the convoy entered the city, Gu Zhengchen said goodbye to Liu Nanshan, then entered the city, got on the carriage again, stopped and walked all the way, and finally arrived at the Mu Mansion Villa at Beimen Bridge.
Because this return to Jinling was unplanned, Gu Zhengchen did not have time to send a letter to inform him in advance. Although Mu Ying informed the Gu family that Gu Zhengchen would be returning, she was not sure of the specific date. After all, Jurong County government affairs must be arranged properly. Good to come.
The carriage stopped outside the courtyard. Yao Zhen jumped out of the carriage and whispered: "Master, we are here."
Gu Zhengchen opened the curtain, stepped on the wooden stool and got out of the carriage, looked at the closed gate on the side, and then looked at the Beimen Bridge not far away, and said with a smile: "I'm afraid thousands of taels won't be able to get out of this area."
Wu Rong smiled and said: "This is built for the important officials of the imperial court and used for rewards."
Gu Zhengchen looked at the plaque and nodded slightly. Under the banner of Mu Mansion, no one would say that the Gu family broke the rules. Mu Ying's other courtyard was used to entertain guests, how could they say that it broke the rules?
"Call the door."
Gu Zhengchen straightened his clothes and looked at Yao Zhen.
Yao Zhen stepped forward, grabbed the door knocker and knocked on it. Not long after, footsteps were heard from inside, and then a voice asked from the other door: "Who is knocking on the door?"
"Aunt Chen, it's me, Zhengchen."
Gu Zhengchen recognized Chen's voice.
Mrs. Chen quickly removed the door bolt and saw Gu Zhengchen standing outside the door. She shouted in surprise: "Master, it's the master who is back!"
After saying that, he ran towards the yard.
Gu Zhengchen walked through the door, turned around and looked at Wu Rong outside.
The five soldiers saluted: "I need to go back and recover, so I won't disturb your family reunion."
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly and did not force himself to stay. He only said, "Tell Governor Mu that you can send Mu Chun and Mu Sheng over this winter. When I have free time, I will teach them some knowledge."
Wu Rong agreed, turned and left.
Yao Zhen tied the horse to the stone lion, moved down the three pieces of cotton brought from the carriage, and followed them into the house.
When you enter the door, you are faced with a screen wall. The screen door on the left is open. After passing the screen door, you can see the reverse room to the south. This is where the servants and caregivers live. However, it is empty at this time and there is no one there.
Entering the courtyard through the hanging flower door, you will see four large water urns. To the east is the east wing, to the west is the west wing, and to the north is the main room. Before Gu Zhengchen could appreciate it any more, a person appeared in the corridor next to the main room, still wearing an apron around his waist.
"Mother!"
Gu Zhengchen shouted and knelt down solemnly.
"Brother Zhengchen!"
Mrs. Gu stepped forward, her eyes suddenly turned red. She pulled Gu Zhengchen up, looked back and forth, and choked with sobs as she kept saying, "Okay, okay, okay..."
Reunion after farewell, full of family affection shining in the tears.
