At the end of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 650
It was late at night, the moonlight was cold, and it was scattered all over the ground, only the lightly drinking autumn insects and sleepless people were still with this autumn night.Qin Qiong sat on the wooden pier he usually used for chopping firewood, as quiet as a tree stump. The cold and white moonlight seemed to have covered his body with a layer of hoarfrost. Generally quiet.

After a long time, there seemed to be a sigh in the night wind. Qin Qiong bent down to pick up the two cooked copper maces. It felt familiar yet strange. Since Zhang Xutuo's death, Qin Qiong had never wielded the two maces again.

Under the cold moonlight, Qin Qiong suddenly jumped up, like a startled rainbow coming out of Xiuzhou, a blue dragon exploring the sea, and two maces turned into wind and thunder all over the sky, sweeping away thousands of troops.His strength is still so tyrannical, his body and pace are equally vigorous, this is due to the fact that he chops firewood every day, and swings the ax repeatedly, but his skills are a bit rusty, and his riding skills are probably not as good as before.

When Qin Qiong stopped, she was already sweating profusely and steaming all over her body. At this moment, the door of the room opened suddenly, and Qin's mother came out from inside.At night, Qin's mother seemed to be in better condition than during the day. She didn't turn on the lamp, and didn't lean on crutches. She just supported the door and slowly stepped out of the threshold, calling out: "Qiong'er!"

Qin Qiong hastily and gently put down the two maces, stepped forward and said, "Mother, why are you out? It's late autumn now, and it's cold outside."

Qin's mother shook her head and said: "Don't be afraid, mother's old bones can bear it, why is Qiong'er not going to bed so late?"

"The baby can't sleep, sit for a while and then sleep."

"Is it because of King Qi?"

Qin Qiong's mother-in-law was extremely filial, but she didn't dare to hide it, she nodded and said: "Qin invited the child to work under his account, but the child still can't make up his mind."

Qin's mother said: "This is a good thing. Why is my child hesitating? This king of Qi has a big heart and can tolerate others. He is better than Wei Gong and Li Mi. He has the air of a master. It is not humiliating for my son to serve him. Let's go." , as a mother, I still hope that you will be the lintel of the Qin family, and spread the branches and leaves. In this world, you can't marry a good wife without any family fortune. Didn't your original daughter-in-law think that you are poor and poor, so she asked for a divorce letter? Are you going to remarry?"

Qin Qiong said in embarrassment: "But my mother is old, and there is no one to take care of her at home, how can the child be at ease?"

Qin's mother said: "Shixin said to buy a maid for my mother."

"Let's talk about it!" Qin Qiong hesitated. The girl she bought didn't know the basics. If she didn't serve her wholeheartedly, what would she do if she abused the elderly?I was fighting outside, and my mother couldn't even find someone to complain to. She said that every day should not be done, and that the land was not working. What a miserable situation.

Qin Qiong's previous wife was actually not from a bad family background, she knew a little bit of writing, and was quite polite. Qin Qiong went out to fight, and received almost nothing in the military salary every month, and asked someone to take it home. She treats her mother-in-law very poorly, she only feeds mother-in-law some leftovers every day, beats and scolds when she is in a bad mood, and mother-in-law expects this daughter to carry on the family line, so she swallows her humiliation when she is abused, if she doesn't go home to visit relatives The brother of the family found out this situation and secretly informed Qin Qiong, who was still kept in the dark.After that, Qin Qiong asked for leave and went back home, divorced her previous wife, and has not remarried until now.

Qin's mother obviously knew what her son was worried about, she sighed and said nothing, but there seemed to be tears in her cloudy old eyes, she turned and walked into the house, Qin Qiong quickly helped her back to the room.

Just when Qin Qiong was about to close the door and leave, Qin's mother suddenly asked, "Qiong'er, have you fed the pig at home?"

"Mother, you are confused again, our family has not raised pigs for almost 20 years." Qin Qiong said.

"That's right, since your father died, our family hasn't raised a pig anymore." Mother Qin said in a rambling manner.

"Mother, you should rest early."

"Qiong'er, how old is mother today?" Qin's mother suddenly asked again.

Qin Qiong replied: "Mother just passed her [-]th birthday two months ago, and Shi Xin brought a group of brothers to celebrate your birthday. Did you forget?"

"Oh, it turns out that mother is so old and has lived long enough." Mother Qin babbled again.

In the Sui and Tang Dynasties when the average life expectancy was less than 30 years old, a person could live to 60 years old, which was definitely considered a long life, and those who lived to 80 years old were definitely either rich or expensive. These people had sufficient nutrition and enjoyed the most Good treatment conditions, ordinary people don’t have this kind of treatment, sometimes they may die if they catch a cold, the infant mortality rate is astonishingly high, coupled with war and hard labor, a considerable number of people die early, This is also the main reason for the extremely low average life expectancy in ancient times.

Qin Qiong felt a little uneasy when he heard the words, and quickly said: "Mother is not old at all, the fortune teller said that you can live to 80 years old."

Qin's mother laughed and said: "You child is making my mother happy again, my mother is going to sleep, close the door, and don't let the weasel come running."

Qin Qiong closed the door and stood outside the door for a long time, until she heard the slight snoring of the old woman after she was asleep, then she left in peace, took a cold bath and went back to the room to rest.

The next day, Qin Qiong cooked breakfast and found that the old lady who was used to getting up early hadn't left the house yet. She couldn't help being curious, and when the sun was high, there was still no movement in the room.Qin Qiong's heart was inexplicably uneasy, and he quickly opened the door to have a look, he was stunned on the spot, then he spun and fell to his knees on the ground, tears couldn't stop flowing out, he opened his mouth to howl but couldn't utter a word. Make a little noise.

It turned out that Qin's mother committed suicide by hanging her neck with a rope on the bed frame. The rope was tied so long that half of Qin's mother was still lying on the bed, only her upper body was hanging in the air. She walked very peacefully without making a sound.

"Mother—ah!" Qin Qiong finally cried out, distraught, hitting his head on the ground, bleeding instantly.

Luo Shixin led people to build the mourning hall, and Mother Qin's coffin was placed in the mourning hall for the guests to pay their respects to.

Gao Bufan came to the mourning hall to offer incense, bowed three times to Mother Qin's coffin, and then glanced at Qin Qiong who looked like a walking corpse, his heart was full of guilt, maybe he really shouldn't have visited.

Qin Shubao is a filial son, and Qin's mother is worthy of being a loving mother, but this tragedy is not what Gao Bufan wants to see.

"Brother Qin's day is sad!" Gao Bufan sighed secretly, and walked out of the mourning hall silently.

On August 28th, in a crisp autumn, Pei Xingyan finally led the Qi army to take down the entire Qi county. He also rushed back to Licheng to attend Qin's mother's funeral to pay respects to this great and selfless mother.

Qin's mother was buried in the eastern suburbs of Licheng, where she was buried with her husband. There was an endless stream of people who came to the funeral. Some of them were brothers from the original Eight Wind Camp, but more people came to attend because of King Qi's face. of.

On August [-]th, the third day after Qin's mother was buried, Gao Bufan led fifty soldiers to leave Qi County. The battle in Wei County was very fierce. Lu Sheng gnawed it down, but Anyang County, the prefecture of Wei County, is undoubtedly a harder bone, so Gao Bufan has to rush to supervise the battle in person.

Just when Gao Bufan was about to set off, there was a rush of hoofbeats behind him, and three fast horses came galloping, and the three big men immediately were Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin and Fan Hu.

A flash of surprise flashed in Gao Bufan's eyes, he reined in his horse and stood waiting, only to see Qin Shubao fully clothed and carrying two cooked copper maces, running up to him, rolling off the saddle, kneeling on the ground and saluting: "A native of Licheng, Qijun, Qin Qiong and Qin Shubao, come and wait for the king of Qi to send us."

Gao Bufan was overjoyed, he quickly got off his horse and helped Qin Qiong up and said, "Didn't General Qin want to stay at home for three years?"

Qin Qiong said with red eyes: "It is my mother's last wish to serve under the king of Qi's tent. It is the greatest filial piety to my mother to make contributions as soon as possible, and to enshrine my wife and son. I also hope that King Qi will make it happen and give the general a chance to make contributions."

Gao Bufan couldn't help but said emotionally: "Okay, since that's the case, this king will appoint you General Zuo Yiwei, Luo Shixin as General You Yiwei, and Fan Hu as the captain of Zuo Yiwei. From now on, we will lead the subordinates of Qi County to attack Xu Yuanlang and Meng Haigong. This king allows you to recruit [-] troops."

Luo Shixin and Fan Hu looked at each other happily, Qin Qiong got down on one knee again, and said loudly: "The last general takes orders!"

"The last general takes orders!" Luo Shixin and Fan Hu also hurriedly saluted and agreed.

Gao Bufan smiled and said: "Go, I will send a marching officer to assist you in the future, and the food and salary will be allocated in time. You can do whatever you want, I hope to join you in Liyangcang."

The three generals agreed with a bang, and immediately acted to recruit soldiers and horses, preparing to send troops to attack Xu Yuanlang and Meng Haigong.

(End of this chapter)