Chapter 1 There is rain in Weicheng, and there are servants in the youth
Chapter 1 It rains in Weicheng, and the young man has his attendants ()
In the spring of the thirteenth year of the Apocalypse in the Tang Empire, it rained in Weicheng.
This military border city is located at the northwest end of the vast territory of the empire. In order to prevent the invasion of barbarians on the grassland, the earthen walls in all four directions are extremely thick, and it looks like a solid earthen fence.
During the dry season, the floating soil on the earthen walls will float around when blown by the northwest wind, and then fall on the simple barracks and on the bodies of the soldiers. The whole world will turn into a khaki color, and people will fall asleep at night and lay down their bedding.
There will always be a sandstorm.
During the spring drought, the rain came at the right time and was warmly welcomed by the soldiers. The pattering raindrops from last night to this time washed away the dust on the roof and seemed to make people's eyes a lot brighter.
At least Ma Shixiang's eyes were very bright at this time.
As the highest military officer in Weicheng, his attitude at this time was very humble. Although he was a little dissatisfied with the yellow mud footprints on the expensive blanket, he successfully concealed that dissatisfaction into a just right amount of surprise.
He bowed respectfully to the old man in dirty robes next to him, and asked in a low voice: "Dear old man, I don't know if the noble man in the tent has any other needs. If the noble man insists, we will set off tomorrow.
, then I can allocate a centurion escort to accompany you at any time, and I will immediately make a note and pass it over to the military headquarters."
The old man smiled gently, pointed at the figures in the tent, and shook his head to express that he had no objection. At this moment, a cold and proud female voice came from the tent: "No, it's done.
Do your own errands."
Early this morning, after the opponent's convoy rushed into Weicheng in the rain, Ma Shixiang didn't take long to guess the identity of the nobleman in the convoy, so he had no objection to the opponent's pride and indifference, and did not dare to have any objection.
The people in the tent were silent for a moment, and then suddenly said: "The roads in the Minshan Mountains from Weicheng to the capital are difficult. It seems that the rain will continue for a while, and maybe some mountain roads will be washed away... You join the army
Send me a guide."
Ma Shixiang was stunned, thinking of a certain hateful guy. After a moment of silence, he lowered his head and responded: "There is a ready candidate."
Several captains outside the barracks looked at each other with different expressions on their faces, including regret, reluctance, joy, and shock. But it was obvious that they did not expect that Ma Shixiang would choose that person to be the noble man's guide.
"General, are you really going to let him go just like that?" a captain said in surprise.
Weicheng is not big, and the total number of officers and soldiers does not exceed 300. The military camp far away from the bustling area sometimes looks more like a bandit den. The so-called general is just the lowest-ranking general. However, Ma Shixiang is very strict in running the army.
In other words, this Weicheng gang leader likes to be called general, so even in daily conversations, his subordinates do not dare to forget to add the word general in their headers.
Ma Shixiang wiped the rainwater from his face, looked at the yellow-brown water around the barracks, and sighed with emotion: "We can't keep him in this useless place forever. The acknowledgment of the recommendation letter has been received for almost half a year.
A great future is waiting for that boy. Anyway, he is going to the capital to take the preliminary examination of the academy, and he happens to be on the way with that noble man's team, so it would be nice to give that noble man a favor."
"I don't think that noble man appreciates it..." the captain replied angrily.
The door of the barracks behind everyone was pushed open, and a delicate-looking maid came out. She looked at Ma Shixiang and the captains and said coldly: "Take me to see that guide."
After all, she is the noble's personal maid, and she does not hide her slight pride when facing the imperial generals.
The prime minister's concierge, the noble's maidservant, and the prince's cleaning of guests. These are extremely troublesome roles in the officialdom. If you are close, you will cause resentment. If you are far, you will cause trouble, and the worst is trouble. Ma Shixiang really doesn't want to deal with such people, so he can say whatever he wants.
After chatting for a while, he waved his hand to summon a school captain and ordered him to take this noble man's maid to look for him.
After a break from the rain, Weicheng looked particularly fresh after the light rain. Three or two branches of willows along the road were blooming with spring green. However, although the scenery was beautiful, the city was too small. After walking only a few steps, the school captain led the maid to
The destination was a simple but lively barracks.
Listening to the noisy shouts, curses, and orders coming from inside the door, the maid frowned slightly, wondering if anyone dared to drink in the military camp in broad daylight? The door curtain was blown by the wind, and the voices inside suddenly became clear. Sure enough,
It was a punch, but it was not a serious wine boxing. After listening to the order, a trace of blush and anger flashed on the maid's delicate face, and she secretly clenched the fist in her sleeve.
"Let's have a slutty fist! Who is slutty, you are slutty! Who is slutty, I am slutty! Who is slutty, he is slutty!..."
The filthy orders came back and forth incessantly, and it took a very long time to tell the winner. The maid, whose expression became increasingly angry and ugly, lifted the corner of the door curtain and looked inside with extremely unkind eyes. At first glance
Then I saw a young man across the square table.
The boy was about fifteen or sixteen years old. He was wearing a standard cotton shirt that is common in the military. The front of the cotton shirt was full of oil stains. He had black hair that was not sure whether it was natural or because it had not been washed for several years.
It is also a little greasy, but the face is washed extremely clean, so that the eyebrows and eyes are particularly clear, and the few freckles on the cheeks are also very clear.
"Who is a slut? You are a slut!"
Completely opposite to the dirty punching content, the young man's expression at this time was particularly focused and serious. Not only was there no obscenity at all, but there was even a bit of holiness and nobility in his eyebrows. His right hand kept making scissors and rock gestures in front of him.
Bu, punching like the wind, and wielding the knife with killing intent, as if the outcome of this fist fight was more important than his own life.
Several blowflies with strong vitality that survived the harsh environment in the northwest were constantly trying to land on the front of the young man's oil-stained cotton shirt, but they were always driven away by his fist, wind, and sword intent.
"I won!"
The long fist fight that seemed to squeeze all the air out of the lungs of the two combatants at the table finally came to an end. The black-haired boy waved his right arm vigorously, declaring his victory, and smiled happily, revealing a cute dimple on his left cheek.
The young opponent refused to admit defeat, insisting that he changed his fist when he called someone lewd at the end, so the room suddenly fell into a fierce quarrel. The soldiers watching the battle each had their own positions and tendencies, and no one could convince anyone.
At this moment, someone didn’t know he was yelling: “Follow the old rules and listen to Sangsang!”
Everyone turned their attention to the corner of the room, where there was an eleven or twelve-year-old girl who was moving a bucket on the ground. She was short and thin, with dark complexion and ordinary eyebrows. The maid uniform that her master had stolen from somewhere was obviously a bit too much.
It was loose, and the hem kept dragging on the ground. It was obviously very difficult to carry a bucket that might be heavier than myself.
The little maid named Sangsang put down the bucket and turned around. The soldiers looked at her nervously, just like the high rollers in the casino waiting for the dealer to draw the final size, and it was obvious that this scene was no longer the case.
Appears for the first time.
The little maid frowned and glanced at the young man, then looked at the aggrieved soldier across the table and said seriously: "In the twenty-third round, you used scissors and he threw punches, but you were talking about him.
It’s lewd, so you’ve already lost by then.”
There was a burst of laughter in the room, and everyone dispersed. The soldier handed over the money with a curse, and the young man took the money with a happy smile, wiped the oil stain on his chest with his hand, and then patted the other man on the shoulder.
Express sincere condolences.
"If you think about it, who can beat me, Ning Que, in the entire Weicheng... no, in the entire world?"
The maid's face looked ugly, so the captain who had been standing nearby secretly observing her face also looked ugly. He held the door curtain with his hands, took a deep breath, and was about to cough twice, but was glared at by the maid twice.
Stopped with a stern look.
To prevent the captain from alerting the other party, the maid followed the young man and the maid out of the barracks at a distance, silently observing her all the way. The captain didn't know what she wanted to do, so he had to attribute it to the cautious and strange habits of nobles and close people.
Along the way, the young man named Ning Que didn't show anything special. He bought some food and said hello to the fat lady in the street tavern. He looked very leisurely. The only thing that made the maid feel weird was that her expression became darker and darker.
What was even uglier was that the thin maid was struggling to drag the bucket behind him, but the young man had no intention of helping.
The empire is a country with strict hierarchies, but the people's customs are simple. Even in the glitzy and gloomy place of Chang'an, the capital, even the most indifferent nobles would not be able to watch a thin eleven or twelve-year-old girl working so hard without being moved.
"Soldiers are allowed to keep maids in the army?" The delicate maid forced to suppress the anger in her heart and asked the captain beside her.
The captain scratched his head and replied: "There was a severe drought in Hebei Province a few years ago. Countless refugees flocked to the south and border counties. There were dead people everywhere on the roadside. I heard that Sang Sang was the one Ning Que took out from the pile of corpses at that time.
, Ning Que is also an orphan, and the two have been dependent on each other since then."
"Later he signed up to join the army, and the only condition was to bring this little girl into Weicheng." He glanced at the maid and carefully explained: "We all know that this kind of thing is not allowed to happen in the army, but their situation is a bit special.
There is no way to force a little girl into a corner, so everyone pretends...not to see it."
After hearing this explanation, the maid's face looked slightly better. However, when she saw Ning Que swinging half a roast chicken, and then saw the little maid a few meters behind him struggling to drag the bucket, his red face
With thin cheeks, his mood became bad again, and he said in a cold voice: "We are not dependent on each other for our lives. He clearly wants that girl's life."
Weicheng is indeed very small. After a short time, the four people arrived outside a house facing south. Outside the house was a small stone flat surrounded by a simple fence. The maid and the school captain stood outside the fence and looked in.
The little maid struggled to move the bucket that was half her height to the water tank. Then she stood on the bench next to the tank and poured the water into the tank with all her strength. Then she began to wash rice and wash vegetables.
While she was steaming rice, she took a rag and started wiping the tables, chairs, doors and windows. Soon, water mist rose up, covering her thin body.
Although it rained last night, it was not heavy enough. The loess accumulated on the doors and windows was not washed away. Instead, it turned into ugly traces of mud and water. These traces of mud and water were quickly removed under the rag of the little maid, and the house was left empty.
The courtyard suddenly became clean and bright.
It was obvious that she was doing these housework every day, and she looked very skilled and fast. The little black maid, who was still a child, was as busy as an ant, running around like a maid, and she was so tired that she was sweating profusely and her face was red, which made her look a little funny.
, and somewhat sympathetic...
The guy named Ning Que obviously lacked these two emotions. He was lying quietly or comfortably on a bamboo recliner. He was reading an old book in his left hand and a hard branch in his right hand.
He kept paddling on the wet mud. Occasionally when he was deep in thought, he would casually throw the branch in his hand and stretch his palm up into the air. After a moment, a pot of hot tea would be placed on his palm.
The soldiers in Weicheng have long been accustomed to the daily life in this small courtyard, so they are not surprised. The eyes of the noble maid standing outside the fence gradually became cold, especially when they saw the little maid busy cooking and cleaning.
She didn't dare to forget to pay attention to the young soldier's request, and was ready to make tea, pour water, beat her back, and pinch her legs. When the frost on her face became heavier, it seemed as if it was about to condense.