He Qizhou glanced at the small bed that was too crowded for both of them, nodded and said, "Okay, let them do it. But it seems like it's still not enough?"
"I'm sorry, sir. Half of them are on duty at midnight, and half are on duty at midnight. They may wake you up once in the middle of the night." Seeing He Qizhou agree, the waiter breathed a sigh of relief, and finally put this thing away.
Tell Qi Zhou what happened.
The two sergeants were quickly brought in, both in their twenties. When they saw He Qizhou, they cupped their hands as a gesture of thanks, and then immediately took off their military uniforms, saying they were tired.
He Qizhou said: "Brothers, you can sleep on the bed. I can find two benches and sleep overnight."
"Then we won't be polite!" The two of them didn't wash up, took off their leather boots, and sat on both sides of the bed, chatting with each other, mostly complaining.
As He Qizhou listened, his curiosity arose and he asked: "Two eldest brothers, do you keep watch in two groups like this every night?"
The two of them only dared to complain in secret, but now that someone is willing to listen, they are naturally willing to pour out the bitter water. One person said: "Yes! This has been happening every day for more than a month, who do you think can bear it?"
Another person also said: "There were twenty people when we set out, and it took three days for the night watch to happen. It's better now. Who would have thought that three days after setting off, we wouldn't have a good night's sleep!"
He Qizhou said: "To tell you the truth, I heard from the captain who was guarding the city in Ganzhou that General Han sent people to pick up his family members in Suzhou in order to stabilize the morale of the army. I'm talking about you, isn't it that three people were attacked and killed by bandits?
, why are there only twelve left now?”
A sergeant said: "Since you have heard about it, I won't hide it from you. We are soldiers of General Han's Guards Battalion. Although people in other troops envy us, it can be said that the entire Suzhou Military Camp
Even if we are in the most dangerous situation."
"Brother Huang..." The other person was a little worried that the sergeant surnamed Huang, who had drunk a little wine, was talking too much.
"I'm also going to join the army. Please give me some advice from my two eldest brothers!" He Qizhou sat closer and looked like he was listening attentively.
Brother Huang ignored the advice and said: "It's not a secret. Everyone in Suzhou City knows it. What's not to say? Hey, little brother, your surname is He, right? If you are not afraid of death, you will find a way to enter our Guards Camp in the future.
.”
"What kind of dangerous method is this? Hasn't there been a war yet?" He Qizhou asked.
"Originally, we were the personal guards of the Ganxing General Soldier. Unexpectedly, a transfer order was issued at the beginning of the year. The Suzhou Gan General Soldier was transferred to Ganzhou and became the Ganzhou Deputy General Soldier. General Han, who had been at the front line, became the Ganzhou Deputy General Soldier.
We lost our Suzhou General Soldier. The first two months were relatively peaceful. From April to now, General Han has been assassinated four times and wounded twice. Our Guards Battalion has lost more than thirty brothers.
Even more people are injured!"
"Are they all spies of the Northern Zhou Dynasty? Why do you want to kill General Han at all costs?" He Qizhou asked puzzledly.
"Damn it, where are there so many spies? They are all there!" Sergeant Huang said: "General Han has done several major events in succession since March, and the assassinations have not stopped since then!"
"What are they all about?"
"Strictly investigate the people who come and go. It's a very strict investigation! We not only catch spies through interrogations, but also catch smuggling businessmen, traffickers of women and children, and also investigate those among us! Especially those corrupt officials and soldiers, once they are caught
, beheaded on the spot! Those smugglers, the officials who profited from it, the family members of the beheaded officers and soldiers, and the Emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, everyone wanted to have General Han's head on his neck! Damn it, our days of eating and drinking are over!
"
"General Han dares to kill people without trial?! You must be very - very afraid of him, right?" He Qizhou asked.
"You want to say that you hate him very much? To be honest, you do, but we also know that if we want to defend Suzhou, we need people like General Han. The emperor believed in him so much and gave him the Shangfang Sword. Otherwise, you think
Can he kill people at will? If I need to block a knife for him one day, I won’t even frown!"
"Me too!" Another person also said: "With him here, we can't lose Gansu!"
"You haven't said why there are so few of you? Is it so dangerous along the way?" He Qizhou asked.
"Isn't that true?" Sergeant Huang said: "We encountered an ambush when we passed Yelangling. It was definitely not a robbery. There were people from the Northern Zhou Dynasty. It was obviously to prevent us from receiving Mrs. Han and improve the morale of our soldiers and civilians.
Originally, the commander-in-chief of our two teams was Commander Gu. He was one of the few personal followers brought back from outside the Pass by General Han. He was very kind to us and had high martial arts skills. However, the ambushers were the first to attack him.
There was also a master inside. Although he killed two people before he died, he still succumbed to his injuries. In the end, four assassins died, two escaped, and three of us died. Alas! Brother Gu just died inexplicably.
gone!"
"Guard Bai will lead the team next?" He Qizhou asked.
"No, it's the old housekeeper. Only the old housekeeper and Brother Gu know where General Han's home is in Chang'an. I heard that General Han hasn't returned to Chang'an for six or seven years. His home is on the outskirts of the city. I'm afraid Brother Gu can't remember it.
He asked the old housekeeper to follow him.
After we passed Suzhou, we encountered another sneak attack and killed one of our brothers. After a few days of peace, the bad luck came again. Because General Han had told us not to disturb the people, we all stayed at the posthouse on the outskirts of Chang'an.
.
Only the old housekeeper, Bai Huwei and another brother were traveling together, and the three of them drove together to pick up someone. Unexpectedly, when they came back, they heard Bai Huwei say that the old housekeeper might have gotten sick because he was old, or he might have been excited, and he died suddenly!
Because we were in a hurry, we picked up Mrs. Han and her daughter under the leadership of Guard Bai and left first. Guard Bai left his brother who went with him to pick him up to arrange the funeral arrangements for the old man and asked him to catch up as soon as possible after finishing it.
The brother was never seen again, and some people suspected that he was a deserter."
"Impossible, Xiao Lizi is definitely not that kind of person!" Another soldier firmly denied.
"I thought so too, but they just didn't come." Sergeant Huang continued:
"After receiving the person, we were more careful and asked the local military police to escort him along the way as planned, but when we passed through Lanzhou, something happened again.
The local Chief of Staff of the Military Inspection Department claimed that he had an old relationship with General Han and his wife, and that he was General Han's classmate at the Military Armament Hall, so he must personally escort us. Unexpectedly, we just caught up with us outside Lanzhou City, and he happened to be assassinated again! Fortunately, the man was assassinated again.
Lord Fusi came and defeated the assassin with serious injuries, but he was also killed by a sword through his chest!
That day, three more of our night watch brothers were killed! From then on, there were only these twelve of us left. Guard Bai became more cautious and divided into two teams to watch the night every night. He sometimes stayed up for two nights in a row. What do you think?
What more can we say, let’s just complain behind our backs.”
"Oh, it's really not easy for you. Go to bed early. I'll go out and wash up." He Qizhou decided to help them stay up all night tonight and not sleep. As soon as he went out, snoring could be heard in the room.
He Qizhou walked into the small courtyard to see how the big yellow horse was doing. At this time, the sun was setting in the west and the bright moon was in the sky. It was early summer, but the night wind was actually quite cold.
As soon as he stepped out of the door, the voice of the white guard came from above his head: "Little brother, I'm sorry, my brothers have been working hard these days, so I feel sorry for you to spend the night."
He Qizhou looked back and saw Guard Bai sitting with his legs hanging on the second floor roof, facing the winding official road. He quickly waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter."
"Why hasn't Madam's uncle come yet? Did something happen on the way?" Bai Weiwei looked into the distance, as if he was asking Qizhou, or talking to himself.
"Maybe one of their horses is suffering from an old injury. Go slowly. I guess it will come." He Qizhou answered as he walked into the courtyard and saw that the stables beside the earthen wall were also crowded. Rhubarb must have been full.
After drinking enough, he closed his eyes and meditated, but those military horses didn't know whether they were afraid of him or disliked him. They preferred to squeeze together and open up two horse positions with him.
Seeing the appearance of Dahuang, He Qizhou felt much relieved. He walked alone to the well in the courtyard. The well mouth was very small, only one foot square, but the well was extremely deep. The well rope was lowered for four or five feet before it touched the water. He used the cool water to
The well water washed away the dust on my face and I felt refreshed. However, there was not much difference between the well water here and the water I drank along the way. They both had a salty taste.
When He Qizhou walked towards the well, he had already noticed Bai Wei's arrangement, and secretly admired him. Besides Bai Wei, there was another person standing in the center of the roof on the roof platform, looking around from time to time, and He Qizhou could see the three sides of the earthen walls.
There is a sergeant sitting on each of them facing the outside. I think there must be another person on the north wall.
The terrain here is quite high, and the view is wide under the moonlight. It is difficult for anyone to approach the inn quietly. Even if someone is distracted and is attacked, they cannot escape the gaze of the person on the roof.
Guard Bai stood up from the platform and said to He Qizhou: "I have entered the house. Little brother, you should rest early." After saying that, he turned around and walked down the open-air wooden ladder next to him. There is a door there that leads directly to the upper room on the second floor.
Corridor in front.
After He Qizhou washed up a little, he quietly entered the house, preparing to go back to his room and sit down all night. When he entered the house, he saw that the old shopkeeper was drinking alone after finishing his work. The white guard had already moved a chair and was sitting on the stairs on the second floor to guard him.
All the rooms in the inn are on the north side. The upper rooms upstairs have two rooms, inside and outside. There are three sets in total. Mrs. Han's set is in the middle, while the five downstairs rooms are all single rooms. The middle room is given to Wu Chasi and his wife.
, He Qizhou and the shopkeeper’s rooms are at the east and west ends respectively.
He Qizhou walked gently into his room and opened the only north window in the room a small crack. As expected, he saw a sergeant wrapped in a blanket sitting on the north wall watching to the north.
Because the wind was strong at night, He Qizhou hurriedly closed the open wooden windows tightly. The two sergeants in the room were sleeping soundly. He Qizhou settled down and practiced meditation. During this period, he has been walking with heavy loads, and his physical endurance has improved. A full set of
Huazhen Gong has been running steadily for twenty weeks. The true energy is accumulating faster and faster, and the pain in the lower abdomen begins again. He Qizhou knows that this is a precursor to unblocking the meridians, so he does it twice a day in the morning and evening.