A group of powerful soldiers did not dare to move forward.
Still there was movement inside, and the wooden door opened, revealing a young face.
Unexpectedly, there were so many people outside. The young man said "ah" and immediately reacted, filled with joy.
"Zuo Qianzuo, Manager Chen, why are you here?"
After saying that, the young man quickly turned around and shouted inside: "Mother, mother, come quickly, Zuo Qianzuo and Manager Chen are here."
Chen Zhi introduced softly from the side.
"This is Zhao Eryang's younger brother, Zhao Sanyang."
Zuo Mengeng nodded, and since the door was open, he walked in.
Just at this time, an aunt came out of the house and saw a group of officers.
In an instant, the old lady's body swayed, and she hurriedly held on to the door frame next to her, her eyes filled with moisture.
"Thousands of seats, Eryang... Eryang, he..."
As people grow older, Mrs. Zhao has already had a premonition of something. Otherwise, so many high officials would not come to the house for no reason.
Zuo Mengeng's eyes turned red. This was the most unbearable situation.
But he is the chief officer and must face all this.
"Auntie, Eryang... I'm sorry that I couldn't bring Eryang back."
Zhao Sanyang's happy face froze, but he just didn't want to believe it.
"My brother...what's wrong with my brother? Qianzao, isn't my brother well in the camp? He also told me that he works hard and can be the leader of the team. My brother...what's wrong with my brother?"
Liu Yiyuan explained for Zuo Mengeng.
"A few days ago, your brother... died in Dengzhou."
Zhao Sanyang was stunned, his young face full of confusion.
People who are too young do not quite understand the meaning of death. It takes a lot of time to accept it.
Aunt Zhao's tears finally fell, but she was still calm.
This performance made everyone feel a little better.
"Auntie, my condolences!"
Zuo Mengeng walked over and helped her sit down gently, but his hands were tightly held.
It is admirable for an old man who is in his twilight years to be able to hold on despite the white-haired man giving him the black-haired man.
"I have seen too many dead people in the past few years. On the way here last year, there were dead people everywhere. At that time, I thought, maybe we will die too. Later, I met Qian Zuo, and I was so surprised.
We went to the dock to work, and finally had enough to eat. Look at today's life, we have a house to live in and food to eat. In the past... we couldn't even think about it."
While the old lady was rambling on in her memories, Zhao Sanyang squatted aside and finally understood what had happened. The sound of crying echoed through the small courtyard, causing everyone to cry.
"This good life was given to me by Qianzuo. It is right for Eryang to sacrifice his life for Qianzuo..."
Zuo Mengeng said hurriedly: "Auntie, Eryang did not die working for me. He met the Tatars during a mission and died fighting to the death."
"What?"
Aunt Zhao looked up in shock.
"You... have you met the Tatars?"
Hou Qingchun said from the side: "Mom, Eryang is my soldier. I saw it with my own eyes. Eryang and the others met the Tatars. Eryang didn't give in. He died in battle. He was a good person."
Aunt Zhao took a breath and her thoughts wandered further.
"My family used to have land in Henan. It wasn't good land, but it had several acres. Eryang's father and I would get up early and work till late every day, tending the crops. The government received a lot of money, including land tax, head tax and so on.
, we don’t understand what’s going on. We have to work for the government every now and then. But no matter how you put it, after working so hard, you can still get some food at the end of the year. Later, I got an extra amount of money.
, what’s it called... Liao’s salary?”
"This is a lot of money, just three and a half cents per acre of land. If you don't pay it, it won't work. If you do, the family will be short of a lot of food. From that time on, we were always hungry. We were so hungry that we growled.
At that time, I thought, where is this Liaodong, and why can’t we finish it?”
"Later, there were about a dozen young men from the next village who went to Liaodong to serve as soldiers. Within a few years, two of them came back. Talking to us about the Tatars, they really do all kinds of evil! We fight one game and lose the other.
I’ve never won.”
"At that time, the old woman's only thought was to finish this battle as soon as possible. Once the battle is over, the officials will not ask for more money, and there will always be something left to stutter."
"Before that day came, there was a big disaster and our family lost even the land. If we stayed at home, we would die. We had no choice but to beg everywhere. His father didn't have a bite of food for more than ten days because of his two children.
.That morning, when I woke up, I saw that no one was there.”
"Qianzuo, tell me, if the officials didn't collect taxes and if the Tatars didn't bully us, would we still be able to survive?"
Zuo Mengeng wiped his face and tried to stabilize himself.
"Only when the Tatars and the government that harm the people are completely eliminated can we all live a good life."
Aunt Zhao said so many words that she felt both tired and calm.
"Er Yang died fighting the Tatars, so he didn't embarrass my old Zhao family. Qian Zuo, did you win the battle?"
Zuo Mengeng nodded heavily.
"Well, we killed two Tatars."
"Okay, okay!"
Aunt Zhao smiled happily.
"His father knows about it, and he is also very happy. My Eryang is a good boy."
She turned to look at Zhao Sanyang again.
"Sanwazi, your brother is a good man, so you can't be a coward. From now on, you will also serve as a soldier. Kill all the Tatars as soon as possible, and let us poor people live a good life as soon as possible."
Zhao Sanyang stood up awkwardly.
"Qianzuo, I also want to be a soldier, and I want to kill the Tatars."
Zuo Mengeng disagreed.
"Auntie, you only have Sanyang left in your family, so you have to keep your roots."
Aunt Zhao was very determined.
"This is the way of the world, this old lady has figured it out. I have to beat him, and beat him to pieces, so that we poor people can have a way to live. Qianzuo, you are a person with great ambitions, and all of us can see it. I have never seen you before.
This is good for us poor people, and we will keep it in our hearts. Let us fight with you, otherwise... we won't be able to keep any roots."
Zuo Mengeng held Aunt Zhao's hand and listened quietly to these heartbreaking words.
For the first time in his life, he had unparalleled confidence in what he was going to do.
On this day, he visited the homes of all the fallen soldiers.
Although all the families of the soldiers were devastated, when they heard that their children had died fighting the Tatars, no one felt that it was not worth it.
Which of these poor people is not tortured by Liao's salary and is worse than death?
Although I have never seen a Tatar, my hatred for them is deep-rooted.
Seven days later, a clean cemetery was built in the open space on the west side of the military camp.
This is Zuo Mengeng's decision.
There must be a place to commemorate all the fallen martyrs.
Let those great sacrifices be remembered at all times and become the driving force for the living to continue moving forward.
【Houying Martyrs Cemetery】
Zuo Menggeng named it himself, and Bi Maokang wrote it in his own handwriting.
Three thousand officers and soldiers gathered here. The eight people at the front held the memorial tablets of the martyrs who died.
Although their bodies cannot be brought back, their names and achievements must remain in the world forever.
Zuo Menggeng stood solemnly on the stage and decided to use this opportunity to instill a new spirit into the entire army.
"Eight of our comrades died. While performing their mission, they encountered Tatars..."
Hearing this, there was a commotion below, with many people whispering and showing fear.
In the minds of Ming people in this era, the Tatars in Liaodong have become a nightmare.
Zuo Mengeng ignored the comments below and continued loudly: "Five against two, all our comrades were sacrificed. Isn't this result very bad?"
It's quiet down below, but obviously many people think so in their hearts.
"No!"
Zuo Mengeng roared, deafening and deafening.
"I was beside them when they sacrificed their lives, and I saw clearly. Of these five comrades, no one was afraid, and no one ran away. Facing the ferocious enemy, they all chose to be brave. Although they were poor in martial arts.
They have great shortcomings, but in terms of courage, they are heroes. When we meet on a narrow road, the brave will win. Their sacrifices let me see that our rear camp is an army with courage. As long as we use courage, we can face any strong enemy.
We will not be timid or admit defeat. As long as we can still fight, we have the possibility of winning!"
The breeze is coming, and the warmth of early summer seems to be a relief to the martyrs.
"The Tatars are brutal and brutal. If we are afraid and timid, can we survive? Will the Tatars' butcher's knives not kill us? Obviously not."
"Since fear and cowardice cannot buy hope of survival, do we still have any choice?"
When the three thousand soldiers heard these words, they couldn't help but think.
Then, they heard Zuo Mengeng's shouts and questions.
"We have two legs. We can't be beaten. We can run. But when you look back, what's behind us? It's our home, our parents, wives and children. We can run away, but what about them? Do we want to
Leave them to the Tartars and all their ferocious enemies to slaughter?"
The feelings of family and country have always firmly influenced every Chinese for thousands of years.
When Zuo Mengeng mentioned this, many people's thoughts changed dramatically.
"Death in life is certainly terrible, but life beyond death must be great. If our sacrifice can bring happiness and safety to our home and family, should we do it? Do we want to die? Are we afraid of death?"
A strong emotion quickly spread among the soldiers, and even the most ignorant people were filled with unprecedented enthusiasm.
Huang Zongxi suddenly raised his arms and shouted.
"When we meet on a narrow road, the brave will win, and we will never give up to protect our homeland!"
This roar quickly became the voice of the entire army.
"When we meet on a narrow road, the brave will win, and we will never give up to protect our homeland!"
Seeing this scene, Zuo Mengeng understood that this still weak army began to inject a new soul.
"salute!"
"Bang...bang...bang..."
Amidst eighteen consecutive gunshots, the eight martyrs' spiritual tablets became the first owners of the cemetery.
They were all ordinary people originally, and they had nothing to show off in their lives. But as far as their precious lives are concerned, their choices and contributions far exceeded the ordinary significance of greatness.
Zhao Eryang, Liu Tiezhu, Xu Baitie, Xu Shuanzhu, Wang Xiaodao, Li Gazi, Chen Minghui, Guo Shitou...
A man who would not be looked at twice even when walking on the street has now become a hero in the hearts of countless people.
From now on, the officers and soldiers in the rear camp will definitely remember these eight names and follow their examples.
In the future, more heroes like this will inevitably come out of the rear camp.