The horse galloped for more than ten miles, and its speed gradually slowed down. Fu Xiaoyin wanted to chat with Bai Yutian and walked side by side.
Bai Yutian saw that although General Di had tattoos on his face, he did not look aggressive. He got along well with the soldiers, like brothers. He couldn't help but be curious and asked: "Brother Xiaoyin, what is the background of this General Di?"
Fu Xiaoyin smiled and replied: "General Di, whose name is Di Qing, whose courtesy name is Hanchen, is from Xihe County, Fenzhou. He joined the army when he was young. He is good at riding and shooting, is brave in battle, and has many military exploits. He was valued by Mr. Fan, the deputy envoy of economic strategy and pacification, and was promoted. Because He has tattoos on his face and is known as 'General Mian Nirvana'."
Tattooing on the face is one of the five punishments in ancient times. It is called "tattoo punishment" or "ink punishment".
Bai Yutian saw the tattoo on Di Qing's face and wondered if he had committed something before and violated the laws of the Song Dynasty. It was hard to ask directly, so he said tactfully: "General Di, what's the point of having tattoos on his face?"
Fu Xiaoyin said: "I don't know about this either. But I heard from brother Zhang Zai that tattooing words on soldiers' faces seems to have originated from Zhu Wen, the founder of Liang Taizu who destroyed the Tang Dynasty, and it is still used today."
Bai Yutian felt that tattooing words on the soldiers' faces was tantamount to classifying the soldiers as prisoners, because the soldiers took off their military uniforms and walked among the crowd just like ordinary people. Then he said: "I've only heard that people who tattoo prisoners' faces inflict this kind of corporal punishment that causes great mental humiliation on soldiers who defend their home and country. Why is this?"
Fu Xiaoyin said: "I heard from brother Zhang Zai that Liang Taizu Zhu Wen was extremely cruel and often killed innocent people indiscriminately. In order to ensure that his army had strong combat effectiveness, he stipulated that when fighting on the battlefield, if a general-level officer died in battle, all the officers and soldiers directly under him would be killed. They must die in battle, and if they survive, they must be killed. Sometimes, even if the battle is won, the lower-level officers and soldiers cannot escape death because the generals died in the battle. This rule puts all soldiers in terror. When fighting, as long as there is After the general died in battle, the lower-level officers and soldiers had no intention of fighting anymore and began to flee in large numbers. In order to prevent the soldiers from fleeing, Zhu Wen came up with a poisonous trick and tattooed characters on the soldiers' faces. In this way, even if the soldiers fled, because of the tattoos on their faces, they would not It was clear at a glance that it was easy to be captured. Zhu Wen ended the Tang Dynasty and established the Later Liang Dynasty. Although it died out within a few years, tattooing soldiers' faces became popular from then on."
Bai Yutian said: "Zhu Wen is cruel and unkind, and it is inhumane to come up with such a poisonous trick. Why do you still use it in the future? Don't you know that doing so is a humiliation for the soldiers? Shouldn't it?"
Fu Xiaoyin said: "I heard from Brother Zhang Zai that in the late Tang Dynasty, the vassal towns were divided and fighting continued. The people were in dire straits and had no means of living. They hated war. In order to ensure the size of the army, the separatist forces of each vassal town raped young men as soldiers. , the Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou dynasties followed it one after another, and even the founding emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Taizu Guo Wei, had tattoos on his body. However, the Song Dynasty was better, and it was only popular among the Forbidden Army, and it was only practiced on those soldiers of humble origins."
Bai Yutian asked: "From what you said, is General Di from the Forbidden Army?"
Fu Xiaoyin replied with a smile: "I heard from Brother Wu that General Di joined the army when he was twenty years old and was affiliated with the Gongsheng Camp. He had a lower status in the Forbidden Army. He later entered the Qi Yu Ma Zhi, and then later entered." Banzhi system' (the Emperor's Guards). During the Baoyuan period (1038), Xixia Yuanhao proclaimed himself emperor and rebelled against the Song Dynasty, and continued to invade the Song Dynasty on the border between Song and Xia. The imperial court selected outstanding soldiers from Banzhi to serve as frontier fortresses. , General Di stood out in the selection of the Forbidden Army, and came to Yanzhou Prefecture with the army."
Bai Yutian asked: "How is General Di?"
Fu Xiaoyin replied with a smile: "General Di is brave and good at fighting, has strict military discipline, enforces the law like a mountain, and is considerate of the soldiers. He often charges forward with a bronze mask and acts as a vanguard, but he never seeks extraordinary achievements, only to win."
After hearing this, Bai Yutian smiled happily and looked towards Di Qing, who was running not far ahead. Seeing that he was in high spirits and the soldiers were running around him with ease and without any taboos, he also believed what Fu Xiaoyin said. Thinking of Zhang Zai, he asked Fu Xiaoyin: "Is the Zhang Zai brother you just mentioned the young scholar from Hengqu, Mei County?"
Fu Xiaoyin said happily: "Yes! Do you know him?"
Bai Yutian smiled and replied: "We met once. He said he came to Yanzhou to seek opportunities to show what he has learned and contribute to the country. How are you?"
Fu Xiaoyin replied: "I don't know why, but he finally met Mr. Fan, the deputy envoy of Jinlue to appease and recruit, and submitted the "Nine Articles of Border Negotiations" to state his opinions and planned to join forces with Brother Jiao Yin to organize a militia to recapture the territory occupied by Xixia. He lost his land in Taoxi and made contributions to the country and gained fame."
Bai Yutian said: "What happened next?"
Fu Xiaoyin replied: "Master Fan enthusiastically praised his lofty ambition to defend his hometown and regain the lost territory. After an in-depth conversation, Master Fan said: 'Confucian scholars have their own famous teachings, so why bother with the army?'"
Bai Yutian asked: "Master Fan, what do you mean?"
Fu Xiaoyin replied: "Master Fan felt that Brother Zhang Zai could become a great person by immersing himself in Confucianism, and there was no need to join the army. He encouraged him to read "The Doctrine of the Mean", work hard on Confucianism, and achieve great achievements in the future."
Bai Yutian thought of the suave and talented Zhang Yuan whom others said was abandoned by the Song Dynasty. In order to realize his life ambitions, he was sent to the Song Dynasty to surrender to the Xia Dynasty. He felt a little uneasy about Zhang Zai's experience and asked: "Brother Zhang Zai's How was the reaction? You weren’t disappointed!”
Fu Xiaoyin replied with a smile: "Brother Zhang Zai listened to Master Fan's advice and decided to devote himself to Confucianism, saying that even if he could not become famous in the future, he would still pass on his knowledge to future generations. Before leaving, in order to thank Ang Sankor for his introduction, He treated my brother to a banquet and got very drunk. During the banquet, he sang several poems and encouraged himself to achieve great achievements in learning in the future. Angkor was so moved by him that he now sings every chance he gets. Go to General Di to borrow "Zuo Shi Chun Qiu" and discuss the military tactics used by generals since the Qin and Han Dynasties."
Bai Yutian was very happy after hearing this and said: "Oh! There are such beautiful things, it's really happy."
Fu Xiaoyin smiled and said: "Master Fan once said to General Di: 'Generals don't know ancient and modern history, they only have the courage of an ordinary man.' Then he taught General Di to read "Zuo Shi Chun Qiu"."
Bai Yutian echoed: "That's a good thing to say."
Fu Xiaoyin smiled happily and said: "Everyone felt good after hearing this. Now in the Yanzhou Prefecture, anyone who wants to become a general will take this sentence into his heart and put it in his heart. But it's up to the person to make things happen. In heaven, whether we can get what we want depends on everyone's destiny."
Bai Yutian chuckled and said, "That's right. It doesn't matter if you are talented or small. As long as you are determined to do something and persevere, you will definitely be able to move God and achieve your due achievements."
Bai Yutian's words were just in line with Fu Xiaoyin's taste. Fu Xiaoyin was very happy after hearing this and said loudly: "When the soil accumulates, the wind and rain will flourish; when the water accumulates, the dragon will grow; when the good deeds accumulate, the gods will be satisfied and the holy heart will be prepared." Therefore, if you don't accumulate steps, you can't reach a thousand miles; if you don't accumulate small streams, you can't build a river or a sea. A horse can't move ten steps with one leap; a horse can ride ten steps, and the merit lies in perseverance. If you persevere, the rotten wood will not break; if you persevere, gold and stone can be broken. engrave."
Bai Yutian smiled and said: "I hope everyone can follow the advice of the sage, learn little, achieve success with old age, and win a 'proud spring breeze' in life."
Taoist Wushan listened and wanted to add a few words to make things lively, but he couldn't find the opportunity, so he had to let the flowers of smiles bloom all the way.
