Chapter 3 The second time he was trapped in Liangzhou, Zhao Xingde was a soldier, and his heart was tied to the Zhu Wangli of the Han Dynasty, making a wish

In the first month of the fifth year of Tiansheng, Zhao Xingde came to a small town near Lingzhou.He set off from the capital Tokyo in the early summer of the first year.The sun and the moon fly like a shuttle, and time flies like an arrow. Before I know it, I have been away from Beijing for half a year.After eating and sleeping all the way, Zhao Xingde finally arrived at the frontline stronghold of the Song Army in the western border.Two or three years ago, this was an unknown small village with only twenty or thirty families. Now, due to the presence of a large number of troops, the population here has increased sharply, forming a small town with a city outline.Lingzhou is fifty miles north of this place.It was once the base camp of the Song army, and Shuofang Jiedushi was set up in the Tang Dynasty. Twenty-five years ago, it unfortunately fell into the hands of Xixia in the fifth year of Xianping.

From here to the west is the so-called "Four Capitals of Hexi" developed by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, also known as "Five Cool Places", which has become a corridor connecting the Central Plains and the Western Regions.Since the Han Dynasty, it has been the frontier base for the operation of the Western Regions in the past dynasties of China.The imperial court once set up the Hexi Jiedu Envoy in Liangzhou to govern this corridor, and later set up the Guiyi Army Jiedu Envoy in Shazhou to replace it.Everyone in the world thinks that this is also the kingdom of the Central Plains.Later, it was occupied by Tubo and Uyghur for a period of time, and it became a land outside the rule of the imperial court.Now many alien races form groups here to form their own kingdoms.Among these many alien races, the most prosperous one is Xixia based in Xingqing.In addition, a tribe of Tubo occupied Liangzhou, Uighurs occupied Ganzhou, and there was also a group of Han people who retained the name of Guiyi Jiedushi.

Zhao Xingde entered the northern feudal town, and it was surprising to think that so far away was still Han soil.In fact, the Han people here are only a very small number, surrounded by Yi people who are several times larger than themselves, but they still build cities and live in their own villages. Before coming here, Zhao Xingde visited some of the seven local towns, and he saw many soldiers of other nationalities among the defenders, giving people a feeling of being in a foreign land. In the past six months, Zhao Xingde has also learned some minority languages.He met a few young Han people who could speak the Turkic Tang Gutuo language. He traveled with them and learned a lot of daily expressions during the exchanges.Now, whether it is Uighur, Xixia or Tubo, he can speak some.It's just that he has never seen Xixia's writing.He even doubted whether Xixia had written words.The Xixia people living in the land of the Han people cannot be counted as the real Xixia people.Tang Gutuo's blood flowed in their bodies, but after all, they were not the authentic Xixia people who formed a country and gradually became stronger.They were not included in the organization of Xixia Kingdom, they were just a group of ignorant vagrants.It can be said that they are neither Han nor Xixia.

Zhao Xingde borrowed a house in a monastery in the northwest corner of the city and lived there. He made a living by helping others write annual tribute and corvée bills.He planned to wait until the spring when the ice melted and the snow melted before heading to Wuliang.There were three snowfalls this year, on January 4th, February 6th and March 3rd. Even though it was already severe winter, troops came in and out of the city every day. The soldiers in the army were mixed with people of various nationalities. The base camp of the Xixia people is in Xingqing, more than a hundred miles away.That is the Irugai mentioned by the woman Xingde rescued in the market outside Kaifeng.In recent years, the Xixia people in Xingqing have not confronted the Song army head-on, and the Song army has also adopted the same attitude.The Xixia people were busy conquering other ethnic minorities around them, and had no time to fight the Song army.Da Song also has a bigger enemy, that is Khitan, so he has no intention of getting involved in the battle with Xixia.Although the current situation is calm on the surface, in fact, a war may break out at any time.

Winter is finally over, and the spring sun begins to shine on the fertile fields outside the city.One day, Zhao Xingde came to the yamen of the feudal town in order to obtain a customs clearance certificate for Liangzhou.He had discussed with the Uighur caravan going to Liangzhou last winter, and he planned to go to Liangzhou with them, and they also agreed.On the third day, unexpectedly, an official document came from the yamen, with a "no" stamp on it. Liangzhou is inhabited by a tribe of Tubo, most of whom have the surname Zhebu. They form a small country by themselves, and there are also other ethnic groups in the country. There are 500 Han families inside and outside the city, mainly engaged in agricultural production.Liangzhou is located on the main traffic road in the east of the Hexi Corridor. It has been famous for its rich horses since ancient times, so this area is known as "Liangzhou's horses are the best in the world".For this reason, there have been many battles for this place between various ethnic groups and indigenous peoples.The Xixia people also dispatched troops and went to war in order to occupy this treasured land forever.In the eighth year of Dazhong Xiangfu, after Xixia expelled the local tyrants here, they took Liangzhou into their sphere of influence.But in the second year, the Uighurs supported the local aborigines and attacked Xixia's army, and Xixia was defeated and retreated.Since then, Xixia has sent troops to Liangzhou every year to burn, kill, loot, and seize horses.It's just that the Song Dynasty court was deeply afraid that the Xixia people would occupy Liangzhou, and would send troops to expel them every time, so that the Xixia people could not stay here for a long time.

Liangzhou is a must for Song, Xixia and the Uighurs who occupy Ganzhou.Most of the horses in the Song Dynasty and Xixia came from Liangzhou, and the Uighurs made a fortune from the sale of horses. Most of the big wars between Xixia and Song Dynasty were triggered by Liangzhou.All insightful people who understand the situation on the western frontier have the same opinion on this.One of the reasons why Zhao Xingde's trip to Liangzhou was not approved was that Xixia might launch a large-scale invasion of Liangzhou at any time because of the current situation where "the mountains and rain are about to come and the wind fills the building".On the other hand, Song Jun is also frequently mobilized.

Zhao Xingde did not turn a blind eye to such a tense situation, he just thought that the war was imminent just based on the mobilization of a few troops, which seemed unfounded.There are many Xixia people in Liangzhou living together with the local aborigines and Han people, and they can travel freely with Xingqing, the capital of Xixia, without any obstacles.As a Han Chinese, Zhao Xingde cannot go directly to Xingqing, but if he can go to Liangzhou, he will always find a chance to go to Xingqing. One morning, before dawn, Zhao Xingde got up, and he pulled his horse out of the stable.It was his third horse in Huanzhou since leaving Tokyo.He began to load some daily necessities on the horse.At this time, the handyman in the temple came out, and he asked Xingde where he was going.Xingde said to the little monk standing like a shadow in the morning light that he was going to Liangzhou and was going to be mixed in the caravan of the Uighurs.The little monk was shocked when he heard this, and stared closely at the thin Xingde, as if he wanted to see him from the outside to the inside.

"If the benefactor does such things, he will be executed once he is caught." said the little monk. "Thank you little master for your kindness, but if you want to achieve great things, you have to dare to risk your head." Zhao Xingde replied.Although he knew the danger, he didn't feel any fear at all.Xingde pointed to the pile of luggage under his feet and said: "Could you please help me, little master, to carry these luggage up there?" Xingde is a scholar who has no strength to restrain himself, and he doesn't know what to do when faced with a lot of heavy luggage.

The eastern sky began to turn pale, and Zhao Xingde joined the Uighur caravan heading towards the city gate.The caravan consisted of twenty camels and thirty horses.Xingde was at the end of the line.Although Zhao Xingde did not obtain the official customs clearance certificate, under the care of the Uighur captain, he went out of the city gate without any trouble.Thanks to the captain's expense, he sent a roll of cotton to the soldiers guarding the gate. The caravan traveled westward along the avenue on the plain.The endless plains are full of intensively cultivated land.The trees on both sides of the avenue have sprouted young leaves.By noon, the surrounding world was already a gray world, and there was no green to be seen.Although there was no wind, the flying sand behind the team covered the sky and the sun, and the whole team was covered in this piece of yellow dust.At dusk, the caravan came to the bank of the Yellow River.The next day the team marched along the Yellow River.On the third day, we entered the plateau of the Helan Mountains.On the afternoon of the fourth day, the team gradually walked down the plateau and came to an area of ​​aquatic plants.From there on day five, we headed into the most difficult desert of the journey.

The caravan traveled in the desert for two days, and the journey in the desert was almost over, and the green land near the sandbar was about to be seen.However, during the last night of camping, the members of the caravan were awakened in their sleep by the sound of the movement of the large group of people. Zhao Xingde ran out of the tent in a panic. Hundreds of horses, galloping like lightning, passed by in a blink of an eye.There was no moon in the sky, and the light around the sky was as vague as smoke.The horse team is like a black river rushing towards Liangzhou.Not long after, another team of horses followed.In this way, one team after another, the stream continued.

"It's a war, it's a war!" When the Uyghurs realized that there were no more horses coming, they held their breath and whispered.The team members began to pack the tents, lead out the camels and horses, and hurriedly loaded the goods in the bitter cold wind in the winter morning. The caravan was about to change direction and head north instead of Liangzhou, when suddenly, the neighing of war horses and the sound of hooves came again.Although the horse team was far away from them this time, they were heading in the same direction as the caravan, both heading north.It was difficult to judge whether the battle was fought in the north or in the south.It is also difficult to see whether the cavalry of last night and the current cavalry are on one side or hostile.In this way, out of helplessness, the caravan ran around and fled all day long.When they go south, troops will appear on the south side, and when they turn to the north, the troops also turn to the north.Even if it is facing east and west.I just don't know which side's troops they are.They also encountered other caravans, like their own, fleeing from cavalry.These caravans hide under the hills in the distance, or hide in the hinterland of the hilly country. After running all day, Zhao Xingde and the others returned to the old place in the middle of the hilly area they passed yesterday, and it was already dark at this time.Everyone gathered together to discuss a way to get out of the predicament.After discussing and discussing, it was decided to go to Liangzhou, the original destination.Before dawn, the long team of camels, horses and people got up and headed west. Although there were gold and iron horses everywhere, and the sound of killing was loud, the caravan members made up their minds and walked straight forward calmly.At dawn, the team suddenly became chaotic.The horses jumped up in panic, and the camels struggled to get out of the team.Dozens of random arrows flew over suddenly and landed around the team. In a panic, the captain of the Uighur tribe ordered everyone to abandon all camels, horses and even goods, and flee for their lives in the direction of Liangzhou.After hearing this order, the team members abandoned their camels and horses and fled westward in a panic. Only Zhao Xingde did not leave his mount.He didn't want to abandon the horse. The things on the horse were also a daily necessities for him, so Xingde took the horse to his side.He wanted to ride on a horse, but he was afraid of being a target for others. The sun was already high, and Xingde came to a piece of saline-alkali sand.Under the sunlight, the sand reflected a blue-white light.Xingde stopped his horse and began to eat something.At this time, he saw a group of camels and horses coming from the direction he came from.He thought it was a caravan coming, but he wondered, there was no leader in this team, and it seemed a bit sloppy. When the large team came before him, Xingde was startled and stood up.It turned out that these camels and horses were the ones that the original Uyghur caravan had abandoned when they fled for their lives this morning. Seeing that Xingde was still here, of course they all gathered here.The strange thing is that there was an arrow on the back of a camel, which didn't seem to care, and stood there motionless. Zhao Xingde did not continue to rest, he set off with this team without a master.Xingde rode at the head of the team.In the afternoon, there were bursts of fighting sounds from afar.Xingde thought, the battlefield might be nearby.The terrain in this area is gentle and undulating hills. It is not far from Liangzhou, but there is no decent city outline. Zhao Xingde found a spring surrounded by sparse trees in the narrow strip between the hills. Although it was still early in the day, Xingde decided to stop his horse and sleep here.He was too tired to move any more, and in the dazzling sunlight, he lay down on the grass with all his clothes on and fell asleep. After an unknown amount of time, Xingde was awakened by the neighing of camels and horses.He got up and saw that the surroundings were brightly lit, and he wondered if he was still in a dream.It was indeed night, and the surrounding camels and horses reflected a burning red light.The killing sounds are everywhere, earth-shattering.Xingde pricked up his ears and listened in one direction. Xingde ran to a small hill, and the skyrocketing fire was burning not far away.Under the light of the fire, several horse teams moved quickly and neatly formed, rushing back and forth.In the wilderness, the main forces of the opposing sides must be fighting fiercely. Suddenly, the sky brightened, and a new pillar of fire shot up from the hill to the right.At the same time, shouts erupted nearby.Xingde saw in a blink of an eye, on the hillside in front, hundreds of cavalrymen galloped past on horseback.The sound of fighting erupted in the valley. Xingde hurried back to the campsite, pulled out his horse, and rode away.Other camels and horses followed.He tried his best to get out of the battlefield, but it was strange that he couldn't get out anyway.The surroundings are bright, and there are battlefields everywhere.Crowds of people and horses galloped wildly.Xingde was so frightened that he desperately hid in the dark.In fact, there is also a battlefield in the dark.After running out of the bright place, he was surrounded by a piece of night, with darkness on one side, and the sound of cold arrows constantly came from the darkness. Xingde understood that in this situation, relying on the strength of himself and the camels and horses around him was useless, so he simply slowed down, let the horse rein, and walked forward.He thought, it's a blessing, not a curse, and it's a disaster that can't be avoided, anyway, it's moving forward.Thinking about it this way, he felt calmer, and led the horse, and walked slowly towards the place where the fire was soaring into the sky.In the darkness, he thought he was going west.Xingde crossed the battlefield full of corpses, climbed a hill, and crossed a grassland. At dawn, Xingde finally saw the tall city wall in front of him.A few places of black smoke billowed from behind the battlements, and the bloody sky was blackened for a large area.Xingde counted his livestock and made them stop.In all, besides his own steed, six camels and twelve horses followed him like faithful servants.All around the fields was the dead silence after the great battle. Zhao Xingde finally took a breath.There is a city gate on the right side of the city wall, and neatly arranged troops are entering the city.The cavalry and infantry stood alternately, and it seemed that it would take a while for all of them to enter the city. Zhao Xingde was about to lead his team towards the city gate, but stopped again.Another team is coming to the city, and the team of this team is very tidy. Zhao Xingde thought, we can't wait any longer, let's go to the city anyway.Xingde led the camel team to the gate of the city.He stopped and counted the animals again, and then walked into the city gate. As soon as he entered the city gate, he could smell a unique, pungent smell of corpses on the battlefield.From the gate of the city is a road that goes straight up, and after going up, you come to a wide field full of troops. "Excuse me, what team is this?" Xingde asked a soldier who looked like a Han Chinese. The soldier glanced at Xingde and asked back: "what?" At this time, several soldiers rode over and shouted loudly: "Get out of the way!" They speak Chinese.Xingde led his camel team to a corner of the arena.At this time, the team seen at the city gate came over. "May I ask where this is?" Xingde asked the soldier again. "What are you talking about, I don't understand!" The soldier glared fiercely, and roared impatiently.After a while, several other soldiers ran over, without saying a word, they took out a rope to tie Xingde.Several places in the city are still burning, and thick smoke is rising.Xingde's arms were cut behind the back by these people, and he couldn't help but pull him away.The streets in the city are narrow and disorderly.They came to a place where the streets were lined with huts.Walking through this section of the road, and looking at both sides of the street, they all turned into houses surrounded by earthen walls.If there was no war, it must be a thriving scene with cars coming and going.Xingde had already walked several streets, and he had not seen any residents except soldiers. Xingde was taken to the middle of a compound surrounded by earthen walls.In the middle of the courtyard is a big house surrounded by some small houses. There is still a large open space in the courtyard, but it is full of soldiers.Xingde was brought to a stop in front of a small house. Zhao Xingde asked the soldier he met for the first time where his hometown was.After the man impatiently said a place name that Xingde had never heard of, he suddenly slapped Xingde across the face as if he had been insulted.Xingde didn't get a result from the question, and he still didn't give up. After a while, he carefully asked the same question to another person, and this time he got the same result. Xingde was beaten to the ground. From then on, whenever Xingde mentioned this issue, he would be beaten, but he still didn't know why he was beaten.Once, when Xingde was beaten again, a young man who looked like the captain came over, about twenty-eight or nineteen years old.He walked up to Xingde and asked him his name, origin, and why he came from Tokyo to this sparsely populated and war-torn Liangzhou. Xingde answered all these questions truthfully.Even so, a beating failed to escape.This time the beating was even more severe. First he was slapped, then he was hung up and whipped, and finally he was let down in a daze.Xingde didn't dare to say anything anymore.He thought to himself that it would be a big loss not to understand the dialect of these people.After Xingde was beaten this time, his clothes were also stripped, but he was changed into a military uniform.Putting on this recruit uniform, he is no different from these soldiers.Xingde was taken to a house not far away, and the room was full of soldiers.The other soldiers gathered in small groups in the empty field outside, eating and chatting. Xingde was pushed to a corner of the empty field and stood there.Soldiers came and surrounded him.Xingde was ready to be beaten, so he didn't say a word.A soldier came out from the crowd, handed him a steamed bun, and said: "Eat quickly, we are leaving soon." "Where to go?" Xingde asked.But these soldiers didn't know where they were going, they only knew that they were going to fight the Uighurs this time.Xingde didn't know where he was now, and he didn't know where this army was, but he knew very well that he was captured and served as a soldier. Zhao Xingde will inevitably participate in the battle with the Uighurs tonight.He was interested in standing guard on a pasture outside the city with a dozen other soldiers.When he got there, he knew that this army was a vanguard force composed of Han people but belonged to the Xixia Kingdom, and the city where they were now was the Liangzhou he had been thinking about day and night, but it had already been occupied by the Xixia people .The battle last night was the battle between the Xixia army and the Uighur army who came to rescue. Taking the risk of fighting the Song army, the Xixia army launched a fierce attack on Liangzhou, and it took only three days to capture Liangzhou. Zhao Xingde became a soldier and was assigned to the Han army in Xixia. From the spring of the fifth year of Tiansheng until the end of the year, he was stationed in Liangzhou.They ushered in the spring of Tiansheng's sixth year in Liangzhou City. Since Zhao Xingde entered Liangzhou City, he had never seen anyone other than soldiers in the city.After Xixia occupied Liangzhou, they incorporated all the healthy men among the city residents into their army.Useless old people, women and children were all driven out of the city to farm the fields, or to graze pastures. The land in Liangzhou is fertile and rich in products, and the fertile fields and pastures outside the city stretch as far as the eye can see.The Xixia people occupied the first granary in Hexi.The horses produced in this area can be called the best breed in the world, even the horses of Zhongtu Huanqing can't compare with them.The horses in the Qinwei Valley are even too big, and as military horses, they are not stupid.Looking from the towers of Liangzhou, one can see herds of cattle and sheep and galloping horses on the vast grassland.The Xixia people knew very well that their manpower was limited, so after occupying Liangzhou, no one was harmed. They either incorporated them into their own army or sent them to farm and herd outside the city. In fact, not only the residents of Liangzhou work and live in this way, but the Xixia people themselves live exactly the same life.Men in Xixia who have reached the age of 15 must serve as soldiers. Those who are in good health will be incorporated into the regular army, and those who are not in good health will serve as military servants. They are called "burdens".The soldiers of the regular army are each issued with horses and weapons, and are fully armed.Those who really can't be soldiers have to go to Lingzhou and the fertile land near Xingqing to engage in farming. The regular army that invaded Liangzhou was said to be 500,000. In addition, there were 100,000 miscellaneous troops composed of captives of various nationalities. 25,000 were permanently stationed in Lingzhou and Xingqing, and 70,000 were deployed along the border. The Han army to which Zhao Xingde belongs is called the vanguard of the regular army, which is composed of strong and strong men selected from among the Han.When fighting, this Han army is always arranged at the forefront.Some of the soldiers in this army were captured from the Song army, and some were native Han Chinese. They were all brave young men who were good at fighting.Zhao Xingde entered Liangzhou just in time for the second day of the war, was arrested as soon as he arrived in the city, and was assigned to this team. Xingde has to go outside the city for training every day.He was born with a weak physique, and for him, the drill was a burden he had never suffered in his life, but he still practiced his morals very seriously.If a soldier was found to be useless, he was sent to clear the wasteland beyond the Yellow River.Rather than being sent to those uninhabited places beyond the Yellow River, it would be better to be a suffering soldier in Liangzhou. Zhao Xingde participated in three battles with the Uighurs during this year.Xingde was unconscious in three battles, and was seriously injured twice, and was finally carried back by the horse each time.In order not to fall off the horseback after being unconscious, the Xixia cavalry tied their bodies to the horseback with a hook rope.Therefore, after the battle, horses often carried the dead, wounded and unconscious soldiers back to the camp. Zhao Xingde served as the gunner in the team.On his saddle is a whirlwind cannon, with which he hurls stones at the enemy while charging at them.Zhao Xingde is a scholar, he is unable to wield a knife and a gun on a horse.Fortunately, operating the whirlwind cannon is not very strenuous, so he is barely qualified for this role. In the three battles that Zhao Xingde experienced, he served as the gunner.At that time, he had put life and death aside, leaned on the horse's back, did not look forward, and kept throwing stones forward.Originally, it was not easy for Xingde to take part in the battle for the first time without hesitating his life. Fortunately, his horse has been battle-hardened and the owner on the back is small and thin, so it always runs forward desperately without whipping .Every time Xingde fell unconscious, when he regained consciousness, he had already returned to his camp and was let down from his horse.How he came back from the battlefield, he himself did not know. In the third battle, he suffered several stab wounds.When he woke up, other people had helped to bandage it up, and he didn't know when he got the injury. He thought to himself, it might be the injury after he fell into a coma.After several battles, he felt that fighting was nothing more than that, so there was nothing difficult about it.Throw a few stones, and then pass out, resigned to fate.Whether he can return to camp will be decided by his old horse. When not fighting, whenever he had spare time to practice virtue, he would ask around for anyone who could understand Xixia's characters.However, none of the troops he belonged to had this ability.Some people don't even know what words are.He thought, maybe some of the senior officers recognized him, but as an unknown soldier, how could he have the opportunity to talk to them?Among the junior officers around him, not to mention Xixia script, even Chinese characters, which are also big characters, can only recognize a few baskets. In Lingzhou and Xingqing, there must have been many government offices and shops doing business, and people would definitely use words in their daily lives.But in Liangzhou, which is the front line, there may be no encounter with writing. Zhao Xingde served as a soldier in Liangzhou for one year, and then he ushered in Tiansheng for another six years.Recently, many people in the team are discussing that they are going to take action against Ganzhou.In fact, this is what everyone has thought of for a long time.Xixia first won Xingqing and Lingzhou, and now it has sent troops across the desert to conquer Liangzhou in one fell swoop. It is currently full of ambitions, and of course it wants to take advantage of the victory and pursue it, and then unplug the small kingdom of Ganzhou created by the Uighurs who often oppose it.Zhao Xingde also believed that the battle to attack Ganzhou was about to begin. As soon as March was over, the outside of the city immediately became lively.Every day, new troops came into the city, and they didn't know where they came from. There were more and more troops stationed inside and outside the city.The garrisoned troops lit up piles of bonfires at night, and when they went up to the tower, the firelight extended to the southeast of the city, illuminating the endless wilderness.The troops in the city are also busy checking and preparing weapons all day long.Just entered April, one day, suddenly received an order, requiring all the troops stationed in the city to gather outside the city, saying that Li Yuanhao, the eldest son of the Xixia King Li Deming, the commander in chief of the three armies, and the Crown Prince, was coming to inspect the troops in person. Zhao Xingde's vanguard of the Han army was ranked last in order on this occasion, so Xingde and the others lined up neatly from dawn to dusk, standing there waiting. When the sun went down, Li Yuanhao came to inspect the Han team.The golden black sinks westward, and the afterglow reflects the ancient city walls, grasslands and distant fields.Xingde and the others lined up neatly, standing in the square, and everyone's weather-beaten faces were glowing with bronze light.Xingde had heard of the name of this young commander a long time ago, but it was not until today that he had the chance to witness his demeanor with his own eyes.It seems that Li Yuanhao is about twenty-four or five years old, and he is more than five feet tall. He is not considered a powerful man, but there is an awe-inspiring look in his eyes.Li Yuanhao looked handsome and chic in the afterglow of the setting sun. Li Yuanhao walked slowly and steadily to Xingde's team, looked at a soldier from head to toe, smiled slightly, and turned to the next person.This is a kind of refreshing smile, and most people who have seen this kind of smile will be deeply moved by it, even if they go through fire and water for him, they will go through fire and water.Li Yuanhao has a superhuman charm. After all, Zhao Xingde is a well-educated and sensible person, and he felt unbelievable that he himself became this person's subordinate at this very moment.I actually have to go through life and death for him, go to the battlefield to fight to the death, and I can still ignore it. Thinking of this, Xingdewei feels a little bewildered by his own changes. After the review, they returned to the city.Zhao Xingde was called to the front of the immediate boss Baichang Zhu Wangli who was in charge of No. 100 people.Zhu Wangli had made countless military exploits in the army. Although he was over forty years old, everyone said that he was brave and good at fighting, and no one in the army could match him. "I heard that you wrote your name on the uniform?" Zhu Wangli said while staring at Xingde's clothes, after a while he seemed to find something on Xingde's clothes, his eyes stopped in one place and asked: "Did you write it?" He pointed to the three words "Zhao Xingde" on his clothes. "It was written by the villain." Xingde replied. "If I could read, I would have been promoted a long time ago. No matter how much martial arts you practice, it is useless. If you suffer from not being able to read, you will never be promoted. Since you can read, I will treat you differently in the future. When necessary , come to me and help me read the military order from the base camp." "If you want to read military orders, the villain will obey orders at any time." As Xingde replied, he thought to himself that it would be a good thing if he could establish a good relationship with this brave boss. "Well, let's read this one first." As Zhu Wangli said, he handed Xingde a piece of cloth. Xingde took a step closer to Zhu Wangli, and after a closer look, it turned out that the writing was not Chinese characters.Obviously, this is the wonderful Xixia script that he has been fascinated for a long time. It looks like Chinese characters, but it is not Chinese characters.Xingde tried his best to identify it, and after reading it for a long time, he couldn't even figure out the general meaning.In the end, he had no choice but to say that it was not a Chinese character and could not be recognized. "Don't you know if you don't have Chinese characters?" Zhu Wangli glanced at him and asked back. "Since this is the case, you should go back." he said aloud impatiently.Xingde was not convinced, and argued: "This is the Xixia script. If you have the opportunity to meet someone who understands this kind of script, you can learn it within two or three days with a little consultation. The villain originally wanted to learn the Xixia script. With the permission of the chief, the villain If you go to Xingqing, you will be able to return from your studies in a short time, and you will definitely be able to serve under your command." "Ok." Zhu Wangli stared at Xingde with sharp eyes for a while, snorted, and then said: "Well, this time the battle is over. If you are lucky enough to survive, I will definitely ask the higher-ups to let you learn Xixia. I am a man of my word. If you and I can survive, I promise to honor my Remember what you said." Xingde still didn't understand a little bit, so he asked again: "Since the officer says he can't read, how can he recognize the characters on the villain's uniform?" "I didn't recognize it, it was Li Yuanhao." Zhu Wangli replied with a slight smile. From then on, Zhao Xingde was often sent to Zhu Wangli to discuss some military matters.Knowing that Zhao Xingde could read and write, Zhu Wangli couldn't help showing some respect for him. In May, Li Yuanhao decided to personally lead the whole army to attack Ganzhou, the stronghold of the Uighurs.Recently, Zhu Wangli was promoted to captain.On the eve of going to the battlefield, Xingde was called to Zhu Wangli's tent.After meeting and saluting, I heard Zhu Wangli say: "I want to call you to me. No matter what the situation is on the battlefield, my team has never lost a battle. Even if 80% of the people die in battle, the remaining people will win the last battle." Victory, so I let you come here." "Thanks to my lord's wrong love, Xingde dare not obey orders." Xingde replied, thinking, this is not a bad thing. "If I win this battle, I want to erect a monument for my team. Of course, I will let you write it." "Where is the monument tree?" "I don't know yet, maybe in the desert, or in a small village in Ganzhou. There have been battles in which almost everyone died, but we still won. In this case, we have to plant trees there. A monument." "If you die in battle, what should you do?" "Who are you talking about, me?" Zhu Wangli asked back with piercing eyes. "It doesn't matter if I die, the monument still needs to be erected." "What if I die too?" "It's going to be hard if you're dead. No, you've got to find a way to survive anyway. But in a war, life and death, no one knows. The people I talked to the night before I left were always Died in the next day's fight, and maybe you too." As soon as Zhu Wangli finished speaking, Xingde thought that it would be bad for him to speak.But his relaxed tone when talking about death makes Xingde feel that death is not so terrible.There was still one thing that Xingde didn't know, so he asked: "Is the inscription written in Chinese characters or in Xixia script?" "asshole!" Zhu Wangli roared loudly. "Of course the inscriptions must be written in Chinese characters. We are not from Xixia. Xixia characters are only used when reading military orders." Zhu Wangli was originally a Song army stationed in the Lingzhou Fanzhen. After Lingzhou was captured by the Xixia people, he became a prisoner of the Xixia people.Since then, he has been dispatched to Xixia's forward team.Zhu Wangli was deeply ashamed of this period of history, and no one dared to mention it in front of him.Zhao Xingde accidentally hurt his self-esteem, so he was furious. But Zhao Xingde began to have a good impression of this middle-aged man.