Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 122 Consolation of this Expedition (1)

After the seventh battalion of Chengying became an army, they first settled in Dunhuang to rest for a period of time, waiting for the letter of credence officially invited by the Lumei Kingdom.After Duan Huaixian brought the centurion to report to the General's Mansion, Zhao Xingde took leave.

It was May, the warm wind was soft, and the catkins on both sides of the road were like snow.As soon as he left the city gate, he immediately urged the horse to go fast.The bricks, tiles, plants and trees in front of me are indeed seen in dreams countless times, but I don't see the scene of Yiren leaning on the door and leaning on the house.The more Zhao Xingde looks forward to it, the more anxious he becomes.When approaching the door of the house, he jumped off the horse and patted the horse's neck lightly, signaling that it would not disturb the hostess by its neighing, and then carefully opened the door of his house.

The scenery in the yard is slightly different from when I went there. There are two more crabapple plants, a plum tree, and a swing made of ancient vines hung on the garden porch.Behind the green screen window of the study room, there is a faint figure.Zhao Xingde tiptoed open the screen door.Li Ruoxue stood in front of the window, looking down at a piece of paper on the desk.Seeing her delicate and timid back, Zhao Xingde felt a surge of tenderness in his heart, stepped forward, and hugged the beauty gently.

"Yuan Zhi," Li Ruoxue trembled, the pen in her hand fell on the snow-white paper, stained with ink, she felt Zhao Xingde's familiar breathing, her cheeks felt a slight tingle, but it was Zhao Xingde who pressed his face against hers, "I'm back." The deep voice that I've heard in dreams countless times rang in my ears.

"Yuanzhi." The tears could no longer be controlled, and they slid down the cheeks, and the silhouettes of the two gradually merged together on the green screen window.

Xiao Biesheng was newly married, after the clouds cleared and the mist cleared, the two cuddled together, Li Ruoxue's face was like the morning glow, and her slender fingers drew circles on Zhao Xingde's chest.Telling each other about their farewell experiences, many times, Zhao Xingde and Li Ruoxue would listen while talking, as if otherwise, they would not be able to pour out the parting feelings accumulated in their chests.

"The scene of the big quicksand and Puchang sea is full of quicksand during the day, and at night, the cold moon is like frost. Whenever the wind blows, it is like a ghost roaring at night, fighting big gravel all over the ground, and walking around with the wind. Fortunately. Lai Niangzi prays for blessings, the map given by the Military Intelligence Department is accurate, so I didn't 'lose' the way just now."

"After you left, the government sent people to send firewood, rice and silver coins every month. Every time I invited the sister-in-law who delivered the things to drink tea inside, the sister-in-law said, our family is kind, and I want to transfer to you when the previous appointment expires. Be a shade household in our house."

"All the brothers in the army trust me so much that they elected me as the centurion. Our centurion took the nickname 'Ming Hongdu'. In the past few months of training, I was beaten to death by a bastard captain. He has no malice, so I endured it."

"That day I went to Sun Jixiang's 'medicine' store to buy incense, and I met Mrs. Lu. Mrs. Lu heard that I had a Luoyang accent. We talked a lot about Luoyang's hometown. Mrs. Lu often came to our house to chat. Sun Remember the proprietress is also good, she specifically said that you are back, let me take you to visit."

"When I was practicing outside Qiemo City, I picked up a piece of jade and asked a craftsman to grind it into a jade hairpin. You can try it."

The Seventh Battalion of Chengying will go out again only after the letter of credence officially invited by Lumei Kingdom is issued.Day by day, the two of them deliberately avoided the topic of parting. Every time Zhao Xingde went to Chengying Army Dianmao for training, he rushed home quickly.

These days, Li Ruoxue dragged Zhao Xingde around many places of interest near Dunhuang.The cave murals on the cliffs of Mingsha Mountain are in various disguises, and the remnants of the Han and Tang Dynasties are rubbed and printed to trace the ancient times.Stroll along the banks of Shouchang Lake, play with white cranes and gulls, climb the dangerous peaks standing in the east, and watch the three peaks meet the Tianshan Mountains with snow, the clouds come out of Xiuxiu, and the evening mist is slightly condensed.At night, the ancient city overlooks the lonely smoke in the desert under the setting sun, and the battlements are 'misty' reflecting the setting sun.

The water is clear and shallow, so the two rented a flat boat, and went on the water, admiring the ripples and blue shadows, admiring the vertical and horizontal canals, irrigating the embroidered soil and spring plowing, and at dusk, listening to the fishermen's singing at night, tasting the fresh fish just picked up by the fishermen, and Taking advantage of the moonlight, I visited Yuequan Xiaoche, made tea from Lingquan, and talked to the moon until dawn.

On this day, Li Ruoxue took Zhao Xingde to Sun Jixiang's 'medicine' store on a special trip, the proprietress Mrs. Gu was very enthusiastic, and specially left Zhao Xingde and Li Ruoxue to have meals and lunch break in the store.In the afternoon, Mrs. Gu handed over the store to the waiter, and took Li Ruoxue and Zhu Lingwu, the niece who had just come to visit relatives from the Kanto, to the Thousand Buddha Cave to make offerings to the Bodhisattva.

This Zhu Lingwu's face was thin, his shoulders were slender, his eyes were dark and lively, like a deep pool of water.She has been weak and sick since she was a child, and has taken many "medicine" prescriptions, and she is quite familiar with the "nature" of medicine. She usually helps Sun Ji's "medicine" shop, is cold and reticent, and wears a white flower on her temple.Li Ruxue saw that her parents were both present and she was dressed as a daughter, so she secretly asked Mrs. Gu, who was Lingwu wearing mourning for?

"Oh, my poor niece," Gu's eyes flashed with pity, and sighed, "I have had a childhood sweetheart since I was a child. Marriage, I didn't expect that child to be implicated in the big case of exposing posts in Guandong. Both families were planning to flee to Guanzhong to visit relatives. Later, I heard that a man surnamed Zhang in Beijing was killed by a "traitor". He said that he wanted to follow the example of Mr. Zhang, saying, "I hope that death is the most important law of the country", and he surrendered himself to the Tijusi Yamen without telling his family, but he was killed a few days later. The government said that the prisoners in the prison fought to death. Lingwu is Wearing mourning for him, it seems that he is determined to keep watch over the widows."

"Ah," Li Ruoxue sighed softly, looking at Zhu Lingwu's cold face and thin figure, she felt a little sad out of thin air.

After Zhao Xingde heard Li Ruoxue talk about this matter, he was speechless for a long time, then he lowered his head and sighed: "Although Zhang Minghuan is dead, he is still alive. If he can't see that the 'treacherous' thieves are punished according to the canonical punishment, and the national law is more important than Mount Tai, Zhao Xingde will live in vain. I am ashamed of the people of the world." I slapped my palm on the railing of the car.

Zhu Lingwu painted a portrait of his fiancé and kept it in the Buddhist cave.Zhao Xingde felt guilty, so he stayed at the bottom of Qianfo Cliff and waited.Ruoxue comforted him a few words, then she turned around and followed Gu Shi and Zhu Lingwu to donate money for offerings to the monks in the Thousand Buddha Cave.

"Ming Huan has gone, and in this world, someone will take the responsibility after all. I wonder if Chen Shaoyang, Deng Shou, or Lishe lords, how is the situation?" Zhao Xingde was in a trance when suddenly he heard someone calling himself.

"Brother Zhao!"

Zhao Xingde looked back, but he was a descendant of Kant who had met once in Bianliang.The Kangde descendant led his horse and stood in front of a carriage, with a look of surprise and joy on his face, he made a confession with the people in the carriage through the curtain of the carriage, walked forward quickly, and said with a smile: "Jie Tie In the case of Mr. Zhang being killed, brother Zhao’s whereabouts are unknown, I was on fire, and I was strictly ordering my subordinates to search everywhere, but I didn’t get any news. I didn’t expect that the auspicious person has his own celestial figure, and he let me meet Zhao brother in Dunhuang!”

Zhao Xingde met an acquaintance suddenly, and didn't understand his details, so he looked at him and remained silent without answering.

Only then did Kang Deyi come to his senses, and cupped his hands and said, "Brother Zhao is on the run, so I have to be on guard, forgive me for being abrupt." He paused, and said with a smile, "However, as far as I know, father An order has been issued to search for Brother Zhao, and if we find out that you are in Dunhuang, we will definitely use it more heavily."

Zhao Xingde was even more surprised when he heard the words "Father Emperor", and Kang Deyi smiled and said: "Forgive me for having to hide my identity when I was in Bianliang. My real name is Chen Kang, and I am the second son today. Brother Zhao stayed in Xiaguo After a long time, I will know that the status of the prince is nothing, so don't be restrained by it."

The "Jin Shang" he mentioned was not Zhao You, the emperor of the Song Dynasty, but Chen Xuan, the current emperor of the Xia Kingdom.And the prince is nothing, Zhao Xingde is also deeply touched.In the Chengying Army, the sergeants had no fear or even fear of the royal family and generals, but more admiration and obedience out of responsibility.Young military officers talk about their ambitions every day, and the most common sentence is "the princes and generals are better than each other".The reason why Xia Guo's noble children often choose Tiger Wings to join the army is because in ordinary legions, revealing their identity may cause unexpected humiliation.Many sergeants will even make excuses to make trouble, so that after retiring, they can still brag to others. I beat a certain country's father and his ancestors can't recognize it, which can be regarded as a rare highlight in life.