It's the end of August now, which is still autumn in the Central Plains. In Jiangnan, we may be experiencing autumn. But here, the west wind is starting to blow, and the weather is starting to get cooler.
The hunt at Duck River is also coming to an end. In another ten days or so, we should be able to break camp and head south, each returning to his own group.
Thinking of being able to return to the station and reunite with his family, Gongfen, who had always been full of complaints, made everyone in the Pishi Army a little quieter.
There was silence in the camps of the two armies. The sergeants who were not required to be on duty were lying in their tents, feeble.
The sound of silk and bamboo, accompanied by the singing of women, floated from a distance, got into their hearts, turned into countless ants, and began to gnaw at their hearts.
"Brother Six, where is this sound coming from?" a young sergeant asked curiously.
"It's Xingzai. Your Majesty and the princes and ministers are drinking and having fun." An old sergeant next to him replied angrily.
"Brother Six, what do you think Your Majesty and the others will eat? Delicacies from mountains and seas, or fine wine from the Song Dynasty? Will they eat steamed buns?"
Everyone in the tent laughed, and a sergeant further away laughed and joked: "If you have something to eat, it's still a steamed bun with a layer of gold paint."
Everyone laughed louder, but the old sergeant named Sixth Brother was still angry.
"You said they eat, drink and have fun every day, but we are not jealous. You are happy with you, so we can just chew our lamb legs. Can't you just stay in the colorful world of Nanjing and eat and drink? You just come to this duck river to have fun!
They even dragged us here, working like cows and horses until we were almost dead, and we were fed worse than a fucking dog."
"Sixth brother is right. I haven't eaten meat for half a month, and my stomach is short of oil and water. Now that I see the fat-headed and big-eared nobleman, I can't wait to go up and take a bite of him."
"That's not right. I eat wowotou and pancakes every day. I'm so hungry that I can't sleep every night."
"You said you won't give us food, so we can go find food on our own. Ducks, wild ducks, wild geese, roe deer, and deer by the river. Two of them a day are enough for the brothers. But you said you were afraid of spoiling His Majesty's interest in hunting.
, we are strictly prohibited from hunting. Damn it, we are going to starve to death!"
At this time, a middle-aged sergeant lowered his voice and said.
"I heard that the people from the tenth team on the second line to the left of the Pishi Army sneak out every night to hunt for something to eat."
"Really or not? No wonder when I saw them yesterday, their faces were all red and their mouths were full of oil."
"Aren't they afraid of military law? I heard that if they are caught, they will be beheaded." asked the young sergeant who was the first to speak out.
"Starve the timid to death and starve the bold to death. Besides, we are the palace branch army, His Majesty's imperial guard, the emperor's own army. Just for poaching, they cut off our heads... They
Aren’t you afraid of provoking a mutiny?”
This word seems to have some kind of magic power, causing the tent to become silent instantly. Mutiny... The Covenant of Crossing, the Rebellion of Vulcan Lake, and the Black Mountain Incident*, these allusions have been quietly rumored in the army, but no one dares to understand them.
Say it out loud.
"I'm still afraid of military law. I heard that His Majesty will give us rewards in the next two days, and I think he will give us a big meal. Besides, we will go back in a few days. Just be patient and forget it. Otherwise, we will be killed.
There’s no way I’ll survive.” The middle-aged sergeant muttered.
There was another moment of silence in the tent, and a few mosquitoes came out of nowhere, buzzing and making people panic.
"It's not good! It's not good!"
Someone was shouting outside the tent. The sergeant near the door jumped up and rushed out of the tent, asking anxiously.
"Green Gourd Sword Fairy"
"What's going on?"
"The poacher from the Pishi Army was caught, and Xiao Jun sent a message to behead him in public."
"What a bastard! This Mr. Xiao Si really gave birth to a son without an asshole! He can't fight, so he engages in such nonsense. The Pishi Army, even if it kills a few prey, it must be beheaded to enforce military law. What on earth does he want to do!"
Discussions are discussions, and complaints are complaints. But when the military order came down, everyone still gathered in a certain place to observe the punishment and military law.
Xiao Sixian, the military envoy of the imperial capital and the commander-in-chief of the station on this hunting trip, glanced triumphantly at the surrounding leather chambers, divided the armies in the palace, and said majestically: "You are the emperor's personal army, of course you must
Your Majesty, the Emperor, is the first priority. You are concerned about the humiliation of your Majesty. Your Majesty comes to this safari. If you don't have a good time, your faces will be ruined?"
"I have repeatedly ordered that poaching of wild animals is not allowed, so as not to disturb His Majesty's hunting and spoil his interest. There are some bastards who just don't listen and turn a deaf ear. Now, I have found these fifteen people, and they have stolen the stolen goods. Today, I have arrested them.
Come here and behead him in public to enforce military law!"
"From now on, you must abide by military laws and never do it again!"
After saying that, Xiao Sixian waved his hand majestically and ordered: "Behead them all!"
"I believe in Buddhism devoutly, and my soul will definitely return to the Paradise of Paradise in the West!"
"Spare your life! I have shed blood for Your Majesty, and I have been wounded for Daliao..."
Fifteen sergeants were tied up and twisted to a wasteland by the Duck River. These people knew that they were destined to die, so they struggled with all their strength.
They were also shouting incessantly. But each one yelled in a different way.
The sergeants who were executing the execution didn't care so much. They moved them to the place. They grabbed the hair on the heads of the sixteen people and pulled them forward. The swordsman behind them held the steel knife upside down and moved it down.
Sixteen human heads rolled to the ground and rested in a pool of steaming blood. The tens of thousands of soldiers watching were silent. Dozens of ravens sprang out from the grass by the river, flying over in the mood of having a feast.
On the heads of everyone.
None of the tens of thousands of soldiers said a word. Xiao Si nodded with satisfaction, feeling that the fifteen heads had completely achieved the effect. But he didn't understand that silence not only represented submission, but also concealed the volcano.
In the afternoon, perhaps knowing that the morale of the army was low, the superiors advanced the reward promised by Emperor Tian Zuo to today.
"What is this?"
Surrounding the leather room around a pile of items, the sergeants of the two armies were so angry that their faces were red and their whole bodies were shaking.
"In previous years, there were about ten pieces of copper coins, four bolts of silk, and some food and wine... Is it just such a small amount of rags this time?"
"Don't you know how much this cotton cloth costs per piece? Can it be compared with silk? Are you going to send a beggar away?"
"There are also copper coins. What do you use to replace them? These pieces of paper? If you touch a mimeograph, you will feel dirty even if you wipe your buttocks."
The sergeants shouted angrily.
The officers were in a dilemma and tried to persuade him back and forth. The person who was ordered to pay the reward should be Xiao Sixian's confidant. The remnants of the killing of chickens and monkeys by the river this morning still lingered in his heart.
Full of confidence.
"What are you shouting about? Now the Song Dynasty no longer uses copper coin strings, but all uses banknotes. Is it possible that the ones issued by Daliao are not as good as those issued by the Song Dynasty? What are you thinking?"
"What's wrong with cotton? Just wear some, but there are so many demands, a bunch of poor people, what do you want to do with so many poor people!"
When the officers saw the soldiers getting more and more angry, they turned around and said to the clerks: "Stop talking. Leave so many words to your mothers. Are you responsible for causing trouble?"
However, the scribes are still holding on to their authority and are not forgiving.
"Haha, do you have the courage?"
Only a dozen low-level officers were seen squeezing in. They looked very authoritative, and the soldiers got out of the way.
"I heard that your Majesty issued the goods as usual in previous years. Why did we end up with this? Did you Xiao Du, the commander-in-chief of the army, make a mistake?"
The words of the leading officer stopped these scribes.
They all know the virtues of their superiors. There is a veil on the body of the dead, and they have to tear it off and twist the wick. With so many reward items, how can they not make a huge sum of money?
Seeing the scribes hesitating, the soldiers became more noisy. The leading officer drew his sword and chopped down the scribe at the front.
The companions stepped forward and chopped down more than a dozen scribes.
The leading officer held up the bloody steel knife and shouted: "Execute the traitorous ministers and clear the emperor's side!"
The blood was like fire oil, the heads were like sparks, and the resentful Gongfen and Pishijun were like piles of dried thorns, which all burned with a bang, burning all over the mountains and plains.
In Emperor Tianzuo's large felt bag, he had just received an urgent message from Nanjing.
Emperor Taishu Yelu and Lu Yiyi!
Emperor Tianzuo felt irritable and sauntered out of his big felt bag. It was getting late and the last rays of the setting sun were already dimly visible. A gust of west wind blew hard, causing Emperor Tianzuo to shrink his neck.
The west wind is strong and pedestrians are in a hurry.
He thought of these words for no reason. Suddenly, a fire shot up into the sky in the distance, turning half of the sky red. Then countless shouts of death were blown in by the wind.
The emergency report in Emperor Tianzuo's hand fell to the ground, and he asked in horror: "What happened?"
His most trusted chamberlain, Ba Cili, was also baffled. But the movement outside was a rapid one, and four frightened eyes looked at each other, at a loss what to do! This chapter has been completed!