Chapter 1077: The Whole Story (Part 1)

Huanglongzhou, a place called Qingwa Town.

This place is named after the green tiles on the roofs of every household. Apart from the green tiles, it seems that there is nothing else to take out.

It is already autumn, and the stream in Qingwa Town has less and less water. It used to flow smoothly, but now it has become puddles of different sizes.

However, this makes the children in the town very happy. Now is a good time to catch fish and crabs. As long as you are patient and spend an afternoon, you can definitely catch a small bucket and take it back to let your mother wrap some flour. The fried small fish and crabs are delicious.

It is often that a plate of small fish, shrimps and crabs is made to make Dad drunk. When your own father starts drinking, you can't eat much.

But now you can't care so much, the children are only concerned with carrying a small bucket to catch fish and shrimps.

In this way, the boy sitting on the stone bridge with a wooden sword on his waist seemed out of place. He was not much older than the group of children, and even a few years ago he was the most naughty one among them. But for some reason, in the past two years, this little guy has not grown up much, but seems to be worried and not sociable.

The boy's parents were not without worry about their son, but except for his love of daydreaming, his son was normal in other aspects. Over time, they just let it go.

The children in the stream under the bridge had already discovered this boy, but it was not the first or second time that he ignored them when they called him to join them, so they were used to it. After looking up, they quickly lowered their heads and tried to find the traces of fish and shrimp.

The boy with the sword shook his head and just wanted to get up and leave, but suddenly there was a figure beside him. A young man sat down and put his hand on his shoulder.

The boy with the knife raised his eyebrows and shouted, "Brother Xi."

The young man was called Wang Xi, also a local of Qingwa Town. He was the boy's neighbor, a few years older than the boy. When the boy was young, Wang Xi took him around the town. During that time, I don't know how many neighbors were harmed by the two.

The two had a good relationship.

Wang Xi held a dogtail grass in his mouth, looked down, and joked, "Why, you don't like to eat small fish?"

The boy with the knife scratched his head, not knowing what to say.

Wang Xi smiled and said, "What to do when you grow up, that's something to do after you grow up. Aren't you still not grown up now? You don't eat the small fish you like to eat now, and you don't fly the kite you want to fly. Will you regret it in the future?"

The boy with the knife raised his head, a little confused. He knew that Brother Xi's father was a teacher in the school over there, so he knew more than himself since he was a child, so he didn't know what to say.

However, Wang Xi did not seem to intend to delve into these issues, but smiled and said, "I have joined the army. The documents have come from the prefecture. I will leave tomorrow."

Hearing this, the boy with a knife suddenly became energetic, his eyes shining, "Brother Xi, you are amazing!"

The boy with a knife dreamed of joining the army and going to the north to kill monsters. For this reason, he prepared for this every day, but the Daliang law was very strict. Before he reached adulthood, he could not join the army anyway.

Just before Wang Xi spoke, the boy with a knife seemed to think of something and frowned, "What about Sister Jia Cao?"

Hearing these three words, the dogtail grass that Wang Xi was holding trembled.

The sister Jia Cao mentioned by the boy was the daughter of the owner of the wine shop in the town, and also the girl Wang Xi liked. Two years ago, they often went to the corner of the street to secretly see her.

At that time, Wang Xi always said that when he grew up, he would let his father propose marriage and marry her.

Master Wang of the school has a high prestige in the town, and there are few families who are unwilling to marry their daughters to his family.

So at that time, the boy felt that Brother Xi and Sister Jia Cao would definitely be a couple in the future.

Wang Xi looked into the distance with some complicated emotions in his eyes, and finally just sighed, "Some things can't be done to satisfy everyone, and there is no way to satisfy yourself."

The boy didn't quite understand this complicated statement, but after thinking for a long time, he hesitated and said: "Or don't join the army?"

"Sister Jia Cao..."

"Xiao Du, will you not join the army because of other things?"

The boy named Xiao Du was stunned by Wang Xi's question after he started talking.

Wang Xi glanced at the wooden sword on Xiao Du's waist and said: "You will also have a girl you like in the future. How will you choose then?"

Without waiting for Xiao Du to answer, Wang Xi shook his head and said: "Actually, there is no point in asking you these things now."

It is difficult to empathize with things in the world, not to mention that this is just a boy who doesn't even know the taste of sorrow.

Xiao Du rubbed his head, not knowing how to answer, but after thinking about it, he asked, "Brother Xi, why do you want to go to the north?"

Wang Xi looked at him, was silent for a while, and shook his head, "Actually, I can't go to the north now. I have to go to the prefecture first. It is said that I will be trained for several years. For the time being, I am just a prefecture soldier."

The army of the Daliang Dynasty, from a general direction, is divided into only two types. One is the border army in the north, and the other is the prefecture soldiers of each prefecture. For example, the imperial guards of the capital, although they are more powerful, they actually belong to the category of prefecture soldiers.

The prefecture soldiers and the border troops are always different. The prefecture soldiers are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. The generals who command the troops must obey the dispatch of the Ministry of War, while the border troops are only controlled by the general's mansion, and the Ministry of War has no control.

When there is no war in the country, the soldiers of the government train every day. When they are qualified, some of them will be added to the northern frontier army.

It is a merit-based admission.

As for the number of people, it all depends on how many seats are available for the border troops.

"There has been a battle in the north, and there will be another one soon, but I may not be able to catch up."

Wang Xi smiled bitterly and said, "I hope I can't catch up."

Xiao Du didn't understand what Wang Xi was saying, so he just asked: "Brother Xi, since you can't go to the north, why are you going to the state capital now?"

Wang Xi looked at Xiao Du and smiled and said, "It's because if you don't go to the state capital now, you won't be able to go to the north in the future."

Xiao Du was confused. He seemed to understand, but he didn't seem to understand.

Wang Xi explained in detail: "There is no shortage of people now, but I don't know if there will be a shortage in the future. If we don't go now when there is no shortage of people, then when there is a shortage of people, there will be no one available."

After a pause, Wang Xi said: "Actually, I don't want to go either, but I want to go."

As the son of a scholar, what he comes into contact with every day is the books of sages and the principles in those books. Naturally, Wang Xi has no interest in joining the army and fighting. But sometimes, what you do depends not on your lack of interest, but on whether you need it. need you.

Both Wang Xi and Mrs. Wang understand this truth. Now that the court needs them, they should go.

"My father said that the world is very good now, and we should all work hard to keep it this way. Scholars have their own things to do, and the sons of scholars should also have their own things to do."

Wang Xi smiled and said: "This matter is not about studying."

Xiao Du didn't understand what he heard, so he just gritted his teeth, took off the wooden knife from his waist, and handed it to Wang Xi, "Brother Xi, this was given to me by an old man. I originally took it to kill monsters in the north, but you If you want to go first, I’ll give it to you!”

Wang Xi couldn't laugh or cry, "Xiaodu, a wooden sword can't kill monsters."

Xiao Du raised the knife and muttered: "Of course I know, that's it, that's it..."

Wang Xi pushed the knife back, "Keep it. If someone gives it to you, you should keep it well..."

As he spoke, Wang Xi looked at the horizon. It was already getting late, and the children in the creek had already gone home with their buckets.

"It's almost time. I'm going back. You should go home quickly. I'll leave early tomorrow morning, so don't come to see me off."

Wang Xi stood up, waved to Xiao Du, and was about to go home.

Xiao Du subconsciously waved, but suddenly remembered something, "Wait, Brother Xi..."

Wang Xi turned his head and looked at his little brother.

"Sister Jiacao told me that day that she also likes you and wants to marry you, the sooner the better!"

Xiao Du spoke at once, and finally said what Wang Xi had interrupted him before.

Wang Xi's eyes widened and he stood there blankly, feeling a little lost for a moment.

Xiao Du didn't know what was wrong with him, so he just stayed with him like this.

After a long time, Wang Xi said: "Xiao Du, just pretend you have never said these words, and I have never heard them."

"Why?"

Xiao Du didn't understand.

Wang Xi said nothing and shook his head.

A young man of this age would definitely not be able to understand why some things should be known but not known, because in this way, he can probably force himself not to change his mind.

…

…

In the early morning, the restaurant on the street had just opened its doors, and there were customers coming to the door.

The young woman who was still unloading the door panel saw the strange man in black walking into the wine shop like no one else was around, and kindly reminded him: "Guest, it's best not to drink in the morning."

The wine shop usually only has customers after noon. It was too early to come this early in the morning.

The young man in black shirt casually found a place to sit down and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, just come less."

The young woman hummed. She opened the door early today. She was originally thinking that the guy would come to see him before leaving. In fact, she even specially applied lipstick in the morning.

After drinking a bucket of wine, the young woman returned to the counter, thoughtfully.

The young man in black shirt asked with a smile: "Are you waiting for someone?"

The young woman was in a daze and didn't react for a while. After a while, she realized it and said: "No...no."

The young man in black shirt drank wine and said to himself: "Waiting for my sweetheart."

After hearing this, the young woman raised her head curiously and looked at the young man in black shirt. After sizing him up, she asked: "It seems that the guest is not a local, but a visiting relative?"

The young man in black shirt nodded, "It's a visit to old times, but some of them can't be found."

The young woman smiled and said: "That's just right. The town is not big. I know who lives where. Why don't guests tell me?"

The young man in black shirt thought for a while and said, "My surname is Xiao. He went out to work a few years ago. He probably came back a few years ago."

Listening to the young man's description, the young woman tried hard to think for a long time, but could not think of a suitable candidate. "A few years ago, there was an old man who returned to his hometown, but he had been gone for several years. Is his surname Xiao? "

The young woman frowned. The old man had gone out for a long time. By the time he came back, most of his peers, not to mention his elders, were already dead. Therefore, not many people actually knew about his situation.

She couldn't remember whether her surname was Xiao.

"It's just that when the old man came back, he always liked to come to my house to get drinks. One day, he asked me to bring him drinks the next day. But when I went there the next day, I saw the old man walking away peacefully on the recliner. In the end Some of our neighbors pooled some money together to buy him a coffin and buried it on the mountain outside the town.”

The young woman spoke to herself, feeling a little sentimental.

That old man is still a very good-tempered person.

The young man in black shirt said: "Can you take me to see where he lived before his death?"

The young woman hesitated, "The wine shop still needs..."

The young man in black shirt smiled and said: "If you don't go out, there is a guy hiding on the corner, and you might not even be able to see him before he leaves."

The young woman was stunned for a moment, then gritted her teeth and nodded with determination.

When he went out, the young man in black saw that the young woman had not closed the door and just looked at her curiously.

The young woman explained: "It's okay, we are all neighbors, nothing will happen to us."

So the young man in black shirt nodded.

The young woman said: "My name is Mao Jiancao, what do you call me sir?"

The young man said: "The surname is Chen, and the single name has the character Chao."

After thinking for a while, the young man added: "It is the dynasty of all dynasties, not the dynasty of the rising sun."

Mao Jiancao said: "Chen is the surname of the country, and the name of the guest..."

Although she was talking, her attention was actually no longer on Chen Chao, but was looking at everything around her.

Chen Chao reminded in a low voice: "Don't look around too much, it will be bad if you scare him away."

Mao Jiancao came back to his senses after hearing this and tried not to look around.

Afterwards, the two of them passed by a street corner, where a young man glanced at Mao Jiancao. Mao Jiancao actually saw it from the corner of his eye, but before she could stop, the man turned around and left.

Just glanced at it.

Mao Jiancao looked at the back of the man who quickly disappeared, feeling a little disappointed.

Chen Chao also raised his head and looked over there, but said nothing.

Mao Jiancao stopped, took a deep breath, and said: "I should know, he won't say anything to me, and he is also afraid of what I will say to him, afraid that if I say something asking him to stay, he will I started to waver about whether to go north.”

Chen Chao looked at the young woman and asked, "Then can you tell me?"

Mao Jiancao shook his head and said: "No, he is going north, and I will not stop him. What I want to say is that I will wait for him, and I will wait for him to come back, but he seems to be unwilling to listen to such words. "

"He is also afraid of dragging you down and burdening you. After all, he went to the north...it will be difficult to come back."

When Chen Chao spoke, there was no emotion. Many people would die in the north.

Mao Jiancao was a little sad and didn't know what to say.

But she quickly regained her composure and said, "No matter what, I will wait for him."

Chen Chao said no more.

The two came to a small dilapidated courtyard. It looked like no one had lived here for a long time. The locks on the wooden doors were rusted and there was no way to lock them.

Chen Chao had no reason to think of his small courtyard. If he hadn't been in his current position, I'm afraid that place would be as dilapidated as this small courtyard.

Just when Chen Chao was about to open the door and come in, a clear voice rang out, "Sister Jia Cao, who is he?!"

Mao Jiancao turned around and looked over. Not far away, a young man carrying a knife ran over. It was Xiao Du.

Xiao Du glanced around Mao Jiacao and asked curiously: "Sister Jiacao, Brother Xi didn't come to see you?"

Mao Jiancao put on an ugly smile and said, "I've seen it before, but I didn't say anything, but it's nothing."

Xiao Du still couldn't understand. He always felt that Brother Xi and Sister Jiacao were speaking as if they were deliberately making it difficult for others to understand.

But he quickly looked at Chen Chao and asked suspiciously: "Who is he? Why do you want to come here?"

In fact, when Xiao Du was talking before, Chen Chao looked at him. Now that he spoke, Chen Chao just smiled.

"This guest is here to visit me, but I don't know if he is this old man. After all, he has..."

Mao Jiancao couldn't bear it and didn't finish his sentence.

Xiao Du stood in front of the door and said in disbelief: "Are you really that old man's friend?"

Chen Chao squinted his eyes. Although he hadn't gone in yet, he could already feel a familiar aura. The former Northern Territory General was also a real Wangyou end, and his martial arts level was not low.

"That's right, and even more so his descendant."

Chen Chao asked: "What about you, are you his descendant or something else?"

Xiao Du patted the wooden knife on his waist and said, "I am also his friend. Did you see that he gave me this knife?"

Chen Chao took a look and said with emotion: "Then you should keep it well."

Xiao Du frowned and asked, "You said you were his friend, but do you know his name?"

"You said you were also his friend, did you know that?"

Chen Chao looked at the young man in front of him with great interest. After all, he was the general Xiao Hezheng who could send out swords. In fact, he should not be ordinary.

"this……"

Xiao Du was speechless. He had only met the old man once. When he wanted to find him again, he found that he had already...

"I don't know. No one here knows his name or what he used to do..."

Xiao Du was talking, but stopped mid-sentence because he saw the young man in front of him, his face became a little unsightly, and he seemed a little sad.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Xiao Du asked curiously.

Chen Chao said, "My name is Chen Chao, do you know?"

Xiao Du frowned and said, "I've only met you once, how could I know... But the name Chen Chao seems to be the same as the name of the garrison commander..."

He was halfway through his words when footsteps sounded in the distance. Some officials in official robes and captains in armor, with a group of new soldiers who had just changed into armor, all ran over here.

The sharp-eyed people had already recognized that the leading official seemed to be the county magistrate.

The people in the distance gathered around.

"I am Fu Rong, the magistrate of Yanxia County, and I pay my respects to the garrison commander!"

"Li Sheng, the captain of Huanglongzhou, pays his respects to the garrison commander!"

There was a clatter, and the street was full of people kneeling.

The leading county magistrate and captain were very excited. When the news came, they could not believe that the garrison commander had actually come to Qingwa Town, but at this moment, they found that it was definitely true, because the young man in front of them looked exactly like the garrison commander in the portrait.

No matter how stupid Xiao Du was, he would not be so stupid. Looking at the young man in front of him, he widened his eyes, "Are you the garrison commander?!"

Mao Jiacao had already knelt down, but her face was full of disbelief.

Chen Chao reached out and pulled Xiao Du, who wanted to kneel down, and shook his head, "Look, you can know my name if I say it, but what about him?"

Chen Chao pointed to the dilapidated courtyard, "You should not worship me, but him."

These words made everyone present a little confused.

Chen Chao said calmly: "The owner of this courtyard is Xiao Hezheng. Many years ago, he left home and went to the north, and then stayed there for many years. Later, he got old and wanted to come back to take a look, so he came back, but died soon. It can be said that he gave most of his life to the north."

"After saying so much, you may not know who Xiao Hezheng is."

"The previous general of the northern border, Xiao Hezheng, was born in Qingwa Town, Yanxia County, Yunze County, Huanglongzhou."

"You have a very remarkable person here."

Chen Chao looked at everyone, then knelt on one knee in front of the door, "You don't need to remember me, but you should remember him, because he has done much more for you than me."