Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 42: I Haven’t Realized Myself Yet and Have No Way Out (Part )

After packing up the war horses, the sun was already setting. Although everyone had no shortage of fuel here, they did not dare to make a fire. They took out the dry food they brought with them and ate it in one gulp, then rested in groups.

Liu Huai was holding a long sword, pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed on a higher meadow on the west side of the camp, as a guard. The big black horse was lying beside him, snorting from time to time.

As the bright moon rose, the reed marsh became lively, with the chirping of insects and croaking of frogs filling the air, as if a lively party was taking place.

"The moon is bright and the stars are sparse. Tomorrow will be another hot day." Zhang Xiaoyi came from behind and handed a leather bag to Liu Huai: "Take a sip to relieve your fatigue."

Liu Huai took it, uncorked it, sniffed it, and handed it back: "I don't drink in the army, you have to change this bad habit too."

Zhang Xiaoyi took the wine bag and hung it back on his waist, grinning: "This is medicinal wine, with dogwood added in it, it will refresh you after drinking it."

Liu Huai leaned to the side, leaving room for Zhang Xiaoyi on the grass. "What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

Zhang Xiaoyi took off his sword, placed it under his head, and lay down beside Liu Huai. "Indeed, the closer we get to the East China Sea, the more uncomfortable I feel. I don't know whether to cry or laugh, or even yell, 'Brother Xiaoyi is back!'"

Donghai County is located east of Lianyungang City in later generations. At that time, it was still an isolated island, facing Qushan County across the sea.

It was also the base where Zhang Wang, Xu Yuan and others revolted last year.

Liu Huai didn't say anything. He knew that Zhang Xiaoyi didn't want to talk to him. He was just feeling more timid because he was close to home and wanted to find someone to talk to.

"My family is from Donghai County. Donghai County is isolated and has little arable land, so most people build boats and fish. My father and Uncle Xu were smart. They saw no future in fishing or farming, so they started a business with boats. My two brothers are both experts on the water."

Seeing that Liu Huai didn't say anything, Zhang Xiaoyi didn't care and continued to talk to himself: "I originally thought that I would also practice water skills. Who knew that when I was fourteen, my father brought a horse and said that I could only practice archery and horseback riding. I didn't expect that in the end, it would be this archery and horseback riding skills that saved me."

Liu Huai asked, "How did your father come up with the idea of starting a rebellion?"

Zhang Xiaoyi took a deep breath. "Two years ago, the Jin court sent that old dog Su Baoheng to build ships in Shandong. He forcibly conscripted merchant sailors and brought them to my house. My father and Uncle Xu escaped from the Jin bandit camp with their men, but my two brothers didn't have time to escape. They were tied to rocks and sunk in the river by the Jin bandits, supposedly to serve as a warning to others."

"Until this point, my father still had no intention of rebelling. After all, there were still many children in the family, and he couldn't just throw everyone into the fire pit for revenge."

"But last year, that corrupt official Gao Wenfu confiscated all the farmland in Donghai County, claiming it would be distributed to the Meng'an Mouke households who had migrated south. From then on, all Han people became long-term tenants. How can that be justified?!"

"The ship has been taken away by Su Laogou, and the land has been taken away by Gao Gouguan. We Donghai people can no longer survive. We have no choice but to kill the officials and rebel!"

"We captured Donghai County, distributed food, and then crossed the sea to attack Qushan County. Unexpectedly, we ran headfirst into the 2,000-strong Wuxing Army led by Meng Tian, the guardian of the country..." Zhang Xiaoyi sighed deeply. "Ten thousand of us were slaughtered, and only three thousand of us managed to escape back to Donghai County."

"Although Donghai County is an island and the Wuxing Army cannot attack it without ships, my father and Uncle Xu both know that being trapped here means death. But before they could decide where to go, the Jin bandits' navy arrived."

"The leader is Xu Wen. I have to repeat his name before I go to sleep now..." Zhang Xiaoyi gritted his teeth. "That bastard was originally a bandit from Mizhou. He served as an official under Liu Yu. After the Qi Kingdom was abolished, he joined the Jin army."

"That bastard brought nine hundred armored sailors to attack the city. We only held out for a quarter of an hour before Uncle Xu died. My father had no choice but to cover his retreat while I protected my mother and the elderly and infirm as we boarded the ship and fled south."

"And then my father died."

"As soon as our three boats went out to sea, we were immediately harassed by the Jin pirates' navy. Our family's boat was sunk by the Jin pirates, and my mother, sister, and brother were all gone when a wave hit us. I held on to a piece of wood and floated back to the shore. After hiding for a few days with my surviving companions, I was rescued by General Wei." Like an old woman recalling the past, Zhang Xiaoyi recounted the events of the past few years almost without any emotion, followed by a long silence.

When Liu Huai thought Zhang Xiaoyi had fallen asleep, he finally spoke again: "I fled like a dog. Will the villagers believe me when I return? If they ask me why I am still alive when their son is dead, how will I answer?"

Liu Huai sighed softly.

Just as he was about to turn around and say something to comfort him, he saw Zhang Xiaoyi's eyes were wide open, staring at the reeds in front of him on the left.

With the help of the bright moonlight, Liu Huai looked to the side and front.

That was the place for the horses to drink water. There were a few wooden barrels placed on the edge of the reed marsh, and half a barrel of bean cakes was in them.

At this time, a pale little hand was stretching out from the reeds, tremblingly reaching towards the wooden barrel.

"Ghost!"

Zhang Xiaoyi still had some of the demeanor of a general commanding troops. Although his voice was trembling, he still kept it as low as possible and did not violate the military law of "startling the troops".

Liu Huai was originally a staunch materialist, but after traveling through time, he was no longer sure whether ghosts and gods existed or not.

However, all this did not prevent him from suddenly rushing forward. The machete in his hand was swung horizontally like a white silk thread, and the reeds within three steps in front of him all shrank down.

"Who are you?!" Liu Huai shouted in a low voice.

Then he saw a young man with disheveled hair and mud-covered face hugging a young child tightly among the flying reeds. He stared at the blade that was perched on the tip of his nose, his mouth wide open, but as if his neck was being strangled, he could only make a slight giggling sound from his throat.

Liu Huai was slightly stunned, retracted his long sword, and looked at Zhang Xiaoyi who had drawn his sword and rushed over.

Several veteran soldiers around had actually noticed something, but they didn't dare to stand up and greet them without military orders. They just sat up, held their swords, and looked in this direction vigilantly.

"Keep sleeping! Keep sleeping!" Zhang Baiyu came trotting over, whispering orders as he passed by. When he saw the two children, his paws instantly went numb.

"Zhang Xiaoyi! Didn't you say that no one would discover us here?" Zhang Baiyu immediately became furious.

The place that was originally foolproof and absolutely secret has now become a deadly place deep in enemy territory, which would make anyone panic.

Zhang Xiaoyi's face turned pale. He was about to retort, but Liu Huai held out his hand to stop him. "Now is not the time to argue. Xiaoyi, you are more familiar with the surrounding terrain. Take a few people with you and go back along the way these two children came. Reconcile the situation and be careful to stay hidden."

Zhang Xiaoyi bowed in agreement and was about to wake up his subordinates when he suddenly discovered that the sky in the northwest had become brighter.

Not only Liu Huai and the other two were shocked, but even the sleeping knights were awakened and stood up with their weapons in hand.

(End of this chapter)