Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 348 Prosperity and Withering Different Flame and Coolness (2)

The night fell, and the north wind was bleak, like a ghost crying.There were flashes of fire constantly in the distance, and the trajectory of the stone bullets was even more difficult to see in the darkness. Sometimes it landed outside the city, and sometimes it hit the city unexpectedly.The artillery bombardment of the Liao army continued. During the day, thousands of people and tens of thousands of ants attacked the city, and at night they were not safe. They often sent dozens of people, more than a hundred people, and hundreds of people to "touch" the city. Steal the city at night.During the day and night, the Han army's precautions could not be relaxed at all.The cold night was getting longer and longer, the guarding army was divided into five squads, each led by Zhao Xingde, Du Chuijiao, Liu Zhijian, Jian Cheng, and Ma Rui, and each squad was on duty for an hour.

At the beginning of Haishi, Zhao Xingde handed over the next shift to Tong Yunjie, and then went to clean the wounded room.For more than a month, the Liao army has suffered more casualties than injured people. Because of the lack of medical treatment, it is common for minor injuries to turn into serious injuries and serious injuries to death in the city.However, the Han army suffered more casualties and fewer casualties. Nanshan City was narrow, and some rooms could only accommodate them.But the clean room where the wounded are placed is spacious and ventilated, and they are smoked with vinegar five or six times a day, and more than a dozen doctors take turns to wait on them.

Stepping into the clean room, there was a sour smell in the air, and the wounded soldiers near the door turned their heads one after another.Zhao Xingde came almost every night, forming a pattern, every night at Xu and Hai, the wounded and patients in the clean room were waiting eagerly, General Zhao just turned off the lights and went to bed after his night patrol, and he slept very soundly.

In order to prevent stone bombs from the Liao army, the clean room was built behind the city wall, along the curved room on the reverse slope, and the beds were placed in the inner and outer circles respectively. Zhao Xingde walked along the corridor in the middle. The wounded soldiers nodded slightly, with concern in their eyes.When they passed the newly added group of wounded soldiers, they slowed down.Five of them were gunners who were injured by the blast of the artillery, and 43 were gunners and sword and shield players.The Langzhong on duty whispered in his ear that these injuries were mild or severe, the mild ones would take more than ten days to recover, the severe ones would not recover until after the beginning of spring, and the other three might be permanently disabled.

Unlike those soldiers who were used to their injuries, most of the new wounded soldiers were a little depressed, especially those seriously injured. Although they didn't say anything, they couldn't hide the loneliness in their eyes.Zhao Xingde sighed inwardly and cheered himself up. He put his hand on the shoulder of a wounded soldier, and was about to say some comforting words, when someone beside him suddenly said: "General Zhao, 'wealth and honor cannot be promiscuous', and poverty and humbleness cannot be moved. Mighty and unyielding: This is called a real man' These 21 characters can be written by villains."

He turned his head, only to see Zhang Ting lying on a bed, as if his back was injured, and he lacked confidence when speaking, far from being a "big man".Zhang Ting was overjoyed when he heard that General Zhao would come to inspect the wounded every day.This is an opportunity to make amends. In order to strike up a conversation with Zhao Xingde, Zhang Tie spent two hours without even bothering to eat dinner. He swallowed the jujube and learned the 21 characters of this sentence.To him, words are like pictures. The "no" in front and the two "no" in the back count as three words.

"Oh?" Zhao Xingde said with a smile: "Three days away from the soldiers, you should look at him with admiration. It seems that Team Zhang is about to have both civil and military skills."

All the Han soldiers beside them laughed. This sentence was the first sentence in the literacy book written by Zhao Xingde for the Han army, followed by a brief biography of a famous righteous man in Liaodong.During the siege, Zhao Xingde did not give up his efforts to teach soldiers to read and write. On the one hand, he could cultivate grassroots officers, and on the other hand, he hoped to pull the soldiers out of boredom and fear.Literacy is both fresh and hopeful.Many Han soldiers have already learned the opening sentence. During the [-] or [-] days of the siege, those who progressed quickly almost learned two or three hundred characters, but everyone showed it off like Zhang Tie.

"Hey, General Zhao has won the award," Zhang Tie blushed. Even though he was just using an excuse to talk, the general's half-joking compliment still made him excited. His palms were slightly sweaty, and he wiped them on the bed sheet twice, holding back for a long time , Seeing that Zhao Xingde seemed to turn his head away, he finally said: "Zhao... General Zhao, when those whores came to do business in the city the day before yesterday, they were foolish for a while, this..." Zhang Ting was only on the team not long ago, He didn't know a few words in official language, so he could only stammer, "The villain...the villain must change his ways. The general thinks that the villain has no credit but hard work. Don't blame him...hehe, blame him."

He thought too much himself, and said a lot incoherently. The Han soldiers next to him looked at the joke cheerfully. What is your fault for this general?" Zhang Ting was stunned when he heard this, and looked at General Zhao, not knowing how to pick up the 'insert', but he heard him say in a hazy voice, "Tell me, what is your fault? ah?"

"This... villain... a real man, rich and powerful cannot be 'prostitute'," Zhang Tie wanted to repent heartbrokenly, but his face was flushed, but the more nervous he became, the more he couldn't tell what was wrong with sleeping with prostitutes, " It's just...hehehe, you can't be ''kinky'' anymore." The Han army next to him all laughed.

Zhao Xingde also smiled slightly: "It's okay, think about it more, and don't worry." He patted Zhang Chen's shoulder, looked at his subordinates on the left and right, and said casually, "Besides, you may not have any fault. In the camp, if you want to say right or wrong, you only look at the laws and regulations of the country. Apart from this, the benevolent sees benevolence, and the wise see wisdom. If all of you here can have your own insights, you will only be proud of it."

All the Han troops nodded, but Zhou Yu asked doubtfully, "Is it true what General Zhao said?" He lowered his voice and said, "What the Art of War says is that the general's affairs can make the eyes and ears of a foolish soldier so Ignorance makes people ignorant. Burning a boat and breaking a cauldron is like driving a flock of sheep. When you drive away, you don’t know what to do.” Probably because Zhao Xingde was too unassuming, which made people relax their vigilance unknowingly. Yu was startled when he said these words, and secretly said: "He just said it casually, how could I face the general in public?" He looked a little embarrassed, and his left hand unconsciously supported the right arm that had been injured during the day.The other Han soldiers had never been to school, so they only half understood these few sentences, and they just looked at Zhou Yu and Zhao Xingde with bewildered faces.Zhang Ting felt great hatred in his heart, and secretly thought, Zhou Yu is so cruel and merciless, he can't see how General Zhao talks to Lao Tzu, and relying on a few books he has read, he came to interfere with Lao Tzu's good affairs.

Zhao Xingde was taken aback. He didn't expect that there would be someone who could quote "Sun Tzu's Art of War". He glanced at Zhou Yu meaningfully, and said slowly: "There is only one who is the mother of all things in the world, and only man is the soul of all things. Human beings are born with something. Thoughts, feelings, joys, and fears cannot be cut off. The way of governing people is like controlling water. If it is blocked, it is not as good as dredging. The way of silting is done for a while, but it will be a disaster for future generations. Let the soldiers be foolish and stubborn, and wait for it Raising thieves and tigers is the way to "chaos" the country. The so-called foolish eyes and ears, driving around, is just using the word "deceit" and adding the word "threat". Those who practice deceit cannot last long, and those who use violence for violence, It will be counterattacked. Conversely, if a strong man knows the righteousness, he will be able to suppress the "treacherous" evil inside, and defend the country outside. It's just a 'insert' bid to sell the first one."

Zhou Yu bowed his head in thought and remained silent, while the other soldiers became more and more confused as they listened, seeming to understand but not understanding. Seeing this, Zhao Xingde went on to say: "The birds and beasts in this world have their own strengths, but according to me, only It's the only thing that can't be compared with people. When it's cold, we know how to add clothes; when we're crossing a river, we know how to sail a boat and build a bridge. Everyone, do you understand?"

When the general asked a question, all the Han soldiers dared not answer, they all nodded and said: "I know."

Zhao Xingde smiled slightly, and prolonged his voice: "'Zhi-Dao-', 'Zhi-Dao-', you should not underestimate these two words. 'Zhi' means knowing, and 'Tao' means truth. The reason why it is better than beasts and is the spirit of all things is that people can understand the truth, and then follow this truth to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. When the weather is cold, birds and beasts have to moult, not because they know this truth, but It is out of instinct, just like our instinct to shit and pee. Only we know that wearing thicker clothes can make you warmer. If these birds and beasts are caught in the south, no matter how hot it is, they will still It is to change the 'fur' as usual, because it doesn't know. And us people, we will wear thinner clothes to make ourselves more comfortable, because we know. Well, I understand...well, do you understand?"

This time when they nodded their heads and said "I know", the Han soldiers were not so confused. Instead, they grinned and giggled a few more times, thinking in their hearts: "It's easy to say that these two big words are hidden. Learn." Someone said with a smile: "General Zhao speaks clearly, but he has learned a lot."

Zhao Xingde's face gradually faded, and he said in a deep voice: "So, being lucky enough to be a human being, knowing the truth is the most important thing. There are endless things going on in this world, and there are all kinds of truths, people know The more you know, the more you know, and the more comfortable you live. Confucius said, “If you hear the Tao in the morning, you will die in the evening. That’s probably what it means. Knowing a little more in the morning is beneficial for one more day.”

At this time, someone wondered: "Does the truth actually make people live more comfortably?"

Zhao Xingde nodded with a smile, and said in a deep voice: "In ancient times, people lived in the wilderness, wore untanned animal skins, and ate raw meat with blood. Father, son, and brother could not give in, everyone was like a beast. Similarly, killing each other, there is no fixed husband and wife. Later, I learned how to build a house, weave clothes, and cook meals. Knowing human relations, a family can live together in peace. Isn’t that the point of making people’s lives more and more comfortable?”

All the Han troops nodded, and Zhao Xingde continued, "There are tens of thousands of people in this world. Everyone can learn new truths and share them to teach each other. Everyone can benefit from it, which is more than what one person knows. Tens of thousands of times. Therefore, the worst thing in this world is to deceive people's knowledge, so that they cannot understand the truth, and use people like beasts. And the most regrettable thing is that people who are born with the ability to think, do not To search for the truth, just spend a lifetime in such a muddle. Or know some truths, but drift with the tide, and if you don’t persist, you will never know what is right or wrong, and you will regret it when you die.” He paused and looked at the crowd. Han Jun asked in a deep voice, "Do you all know?"

"The end general knows." "The villain knows."

The soldiers answered one after another.Everyone's understanding is somewhat different, but the way they look at Zhao Xingde is different from before.