Guo Ning sat beside the mound in silence for a long time until the sky gradually became brighter.
There are clouds in the sky, and the hazy sunshine shines through the clouds into the deep reed marshes. The mist on the reed marshes and the water surface becomes more and more diffuse, like gray waves rolling. Occasionally, the sound of breaking ice can be heard.
The sound of rushing water came from afar.
That is the Xiangjun River that flows to Bianwudian is thawing.
Bianwudian is one of the marginal ponds excavated in the Song Dynasty. Bianwudian in the southwest of Anzhou, Qinvdian in Baozhou, and Laodian were originally combined into one water, with a width of more than 30 miles and a length of 150 miles.
Li. Together with many water systems from Anzhou to Xiongzhou, it is known as the Ninety-nine Lakes. It was once a vast ocean that stretched to the sky.
The climate has been dry in recent years, and many ponds were originally dug for military purposes. The emphasis is that "it is too deep for boating, and it is too shallow for wading on foot." Once it dries up, the area of the ponds will be greatly reduced, and swamps and rivers will be formed on the edges.
It is a complex terrain with staggered gentle slopes and overgrown reeds and shrubs.
This kind of terrain happened to be a hiding place for many defeated troops. Guo Ning's companions who went south were stationed at a branch of Wudian where the Xiangjun River merged. Guo Ning led his people out this time.
To provide food for everyone.
The result? There was a raid. The food was still there, but the people were gone.
There wasn't much food, there were three bags in total. One bag contained messy beans, and two bags contained yams and the like. Xiao Haohu's men didn't take these scraps of grain seriously. After killing someone, they left the bags in the mud.
.
Guo Ning searched for it for a long time before he found it.
After being soaked in water, the bag was very heavy. With a little more force, the side of one bag was cracked, and a lot of beans spilled out. Guo Ning pulled two robes and three belts from the body and tied them properly again.
, then carefully picked up the scattered beans and put them in his sleeves.
These are blood-stained food, and they must be brought back to the camp properly.
Guo Ning's companions were few in number, twenty or thirty.
Most of them were his old acquaintances from Wushabao and Changzhou, as well as their women and children.
In the early years, the garrison troops set up by the imperial court along the boundary trenches were divided into two types: the Yongtun Army and the Fenfan Army. Generally speaking, the Yongtun Army was mainly composed of Bohai people, Khitan people or Xi people, while the Fenfan Army was mainly composed of Bohai people, Khitan people or Xi people.
The lot is drawn by the people, and the Han'er who is released after the incident is the main one.
The two are not isolated from each other. Guo Ning's father signed an army from the Central Plains to the north during the Dading period. He was originally a strong man who built the Great Wall and boundary trenches. Later, he was favored by the local village envoys and settled in Wushabao.
.
However, generally speaking, the number of Han'er in the northern Xinjiang garrison is not large, and their status is generally lower. Guo Ning, who is brave and good at fighting, is just a regular soldier.
When the army was defeated last year, many people were afraid of the brutality of the Mongolian army, so they gathered around Guo Ning and relied on his bravery and skill to escape. However, these people would not always obey the orders of a regular army, so they dispersed one after another.
Went. Those who are still following Guo Ning are only a few strong men and about ten women and children.
Now, Yao Shier, Gao Kezhong, Lu Su and other strong men are dead, leaving only a dozen women and children. These grains will be enough for a long time.
Guo Ning felt that his physical strength had recovered a little, so he struggled to carry the food on his back and continued moving forward.
As he walked, the weapons hanging on his waist collided with each other, making soft clanging sounds.
Walk two miles to the west and you will reach the Xijun River. Then walk fifteen miles south along the Xijun River and you will reach the Gang Branch where the camp is located. To the south of the Gang Branch, across the border from Wudian is Wocheng County, the administrative seat of Anzhou.
, the northwest and northeast of the Hong Kong Branch are Baozhou and Ansu Prefecture respectively.
This remote branch of Hong Kong, where no one cares, is where Guo Ning has stayed for the past six months.
He and his companions built a simple shack here and erected a wooden fence around it to form a small stockade. In addition, they also cultivated a small piece of farmland. Because the farming season was missed last year, I don't know what happened.
How was the harvest?
Guo Ning walked for a while and rested until noon before driving the general back.
A few miles away from the village, a child jumped out of the dead grass beside the road. He dropped the toad he was holding, ran a few steps towards Guo Ning, and shouted loudly with a happy face: "Liu Lang!
Mukuro! You are here!"
Before Guo Ning could answer, the child turned around and headed towards the village, continuing to shout: "Sister! Brother Liulang is back!"
After shouting a few words, he came back again, looked at Guo Ning up and down, and asked: "Brother Liulang, where is my brother? Didn't he come back with you?"
This child is Lu Su's younger brother, called Lu Shu. Lu Su is young and mature, and has been fighting in the battle since his father died in the war at the age of twelve; Lu Shu is only seven years old this year, just an ignorant child. The two brothers have always been affected by
Guo Ning took care of him and treated him as a family member.
The father of these two brothers was a doctor before joining the army. Therefore, the names of the two brothers are taken from "Suwen" and the other from "Lingshu". Above the two brothers, there is also a sister, whose name is Han.
Taken from "Yu Han Fang".
Lu Shu asked this, but Guo Ning didn't know how to speak. He just forced a laugh, touched his head, and said softly: "Let's talk about it when we get back."
Lu Shu then followed Guo Ning.
After walking a few steps, he asked again with great expectation: "Liu Lang, when will brother come back? He said that he will bring me a rattle this time."
"That's true." Guo Ning's heart ached, and he took out a rattle from his arms and handed it to Lu Shu.
It was taken out of Lu Su's arms when he was burying the body.
The rattle was also stained with blood, and Guo Ning cleaned it specially; but after being stained with water, the sound of the drum was no longer clear and crisp.
Lu Shu didn't care about this, he held it in his hand with a smile and shook it endlessly.
At this time, someone from the village also came out to welcome him.
Guo Ning and others were supposed to come back yesterday, and the people in the village were very worried until now. After hearing the good news shouted by Lu Shu, more than ten people, old and young, rushed out together, and then they saw three bags of grain on their shoulders.
, Guo Ning with several weapons hanging on his waist.
These people were either old soldiers or relatives of soldiers. Everyone had been at the border for a long time and had seen a lot of life and death. With just one glance, everyone understood what happened from Guo Ning's expression.
Several people's eyes instantly turned red.
There was a pretty woman who cried on the spot. While crying, she kept asking: "Didn't you say that we were going to fetch food? Didn't you say that everything had been arranged? How could it be like this?"
Guo Ning could only remain silent.
This woman’s real surname is Feng, and her husband’s surname is Yan. Her husband was also signed to join the army in Wushabao in the early years. Unfortunately, he died in battle on the way to escape. Her young son died of illness last year. So Feng’s these few days
For months, I lived with Yao Shier.
Yao Shi'er liked Feng's appearance very much, so he always protected her by his side despite the various embarrassments during the defeat.
Now, Yao Shier is also dead. How should a single woman survive? What kind of future will she face? No one knows.
A girl with a bun and black hair stood next to the woman and comforted her. As she spoke, she shed tears herself.
That girl is Lu Su's sister Lu Han, who is usually called the little lady of the Lu family.
Lu Shu followed his sister, holding the rattle in one hand and holding her sleeve with the other. But he didn't understand what was happening yet, so he looked a little confused.
Today's world is not much different from those troubled times recorded in history books. Hundreds of thousands and millions of people have been crushed by the current situation. Guo Ning and others are just struggling to survive with their own meager strength.
live.
This time they were ambushed, and all the brave men died except Guo Ning. Then, this small group no longer had any reason to maintain it, and it was time to fall apart.
For people in small groups, there is probably only one way to die.
"This food is enough to last for a while, you go and share it." Guo Ning put down the three food bags and gave a deep instruction. Then he turned to Lu Han: "If you have more pancakes, bring me some."
After saying that, he walked towards his shack.
His shack is slightly taller than others, and can even be called a wooden house. The young lady of the Lu family usually helps clean it, and it is very clean. There are wooden shelves on the walls of the house, and a set of precious iron armor is hung on it.
There is a phoenix-winged iron helmet of the Southern Song Dynasty; a long bow and a leather quiver are hung on the wall.
Guo Ning took off all these things and put them in front of him to inspect them.
After confirming that the weapon was in good condition, he took out a black clay pot from under the bed.
The clay pot contains strong liquor.
Guo Ning took off his military uniform and leather armor, and took off the clothes that were used to bandage the wound. He then opened the clay pot and slowly poured the liquor behind his shoulders and head. The cold liquor brought a sharp sting, which made him unbearable.
He groaned twice.
After re-bandaging the injury, Guo Ning found a white coiled-collar robe and put it on himself.
When he was about to continue packing his armor, the door of the wooden house was suddenly pushed open forcefully, and a figure swooped up.
Guo Ning immediately turned around and reached out to grab the handle of the knife.
The long sword was half unsheathed and then put back.
The person who jumped on Guo Ning turned out to be Feng. I don’t know what she had just thought. At this moment, she hugged Guo Ning tightly and tried her best to bring her lips to Guo Ning’s face. Her mouth was spraying hot
With his breath, he murmured: "Liu Lang, I can follow you. I can give birth to a son. I, I... I can do anything!"
As she spoke, she let go of one arm and went to untie her clothes. The exposed shoulders were white and a little dazzling.
Guo Ning was very embarrassed. He wanted to struggle, but he was afraid of hurting Feng. It took a lot of effort to get out of the wooden house.
As soon as he stood outside, Feng's heartbreaking cries could be heard from inside the wooden house.
Guo Ning sighed.
At this time, the young lady of the Lu family came around from behind, holding several dry biscuits wrapped in reed leaves.
The girl's eye circles were swollen, with sadness in her eyes, and she had obviously exhausted all her willpower to maintain her appearance. Her younger brother Lu Shu seemed to know the news of his brother's death. He followed behind his sister, howling as he walked, and he could still hold the rattle in his hand.
very tight.
"Take out my bow, sword, and armor." Guo Ning pointed toward the wooden house and said calmly: "The one who attacked us is Xiao Haohu from Gaoyangguan... I want to kill him!"
The young lady of the Lu family nodded, handed the dry biscuits to Guo Ning, and went to the wooden house.
Guo Ning looked at her back and said softly: "After killing Xiao Haohu, I will come back. I will continue to take care of everyone, everyone, don't worry."