A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 319 Legend
In March of the 12th year of Chongzhen, Shunxiang Fort, Busan.

The majestic courtyard of Baozhong Shrine is shrouded in warm sunshine, especially the plaque presented by Lu Xiangsheng himself is shining brightly under the reflection of the sun.

After the grand official worship ceremony a few days ago, it seems that the atmosphere of mourning has not dissipated. At this time, no matter the front hall or the back of the courtyard, incense is lingering everywhere, and there is an endless stream of soldiers and civilians going to worship.

After passing the back hill of Baozhong Shrine, on the sunny slope, among the dense clusters of tombs, a woman was offering incense to one of the cemeteries.In front of the cemetery next to her, there were also people offering incense, and green smoke rose from the burnt paper money from time to time.

"His father, the general said, your memorial tablet has been invited into the temple, and from now on, you will become a god."

"You don't have to worry about things at home. Your reward for killing the Tartars has already come down. There are dozens of taels. The general also gave our family land tax exemption for three years. Every spring when farming is busy, the plowing team and mutual aid association in the castle will To help our family, there will be food and rice every month, so you don’t have to worry about our mother’s life..."

The woman babbled about her man's grave for a long time, and then called her son beside her: "Bao'er, kowtow to your father."

Beside her was a tiger-headed son who was about eight or nine years old. Hearing his mother's call, he knelt down and knocked heavily on the head several times.He raised his head, his little face was full of solemn expressions, and he said loudly: "Father, don't worry, Bao'er is sensible, and Bao'er will take good care of mother. When he grows up, he will learn from his father, join the army, and kill Tartars." son."

Looking at her son, the woman showed a gratified look on her face. In the past, her son was naughty and ignorant, and he didn't even want to go to the school in the castle, so he slipped to the mountains to play all day long.Since the news of her husband's death came back, he matured a lot overnight.Now in front of his father's grave, he said that he would take good care of his mother.

After offering incense, the woman and son returned to the Baozhong Temple. This is a large-scale building complex with three inner gates and three outer gates. In each pavilion temple, the spirit plaques of the soldiers who died in the Shun Township Army are enshrined. The relics exhibition hall wait.There are generals and officers above the total, and there are separate courtyards for worship.

In this hall, enshrined are the spirit tablets of the soldiers of the second division of the Shun Township Army, and the dense number of spirit tablets on the hall give people a great impact and shock.The incense is lingering in front of the hall, the spiritual tablet is looming, and the gentle voice of the spiritual officials next to it chanting scriptures, everyone who comes here can't help but feel a sense of solemnity and awe in their hearts.

When the woman saw her husband's spiritual tablet inside, she felt desolate and proud at the same time.

"Father, you have become a god, but you must take good care of your Meier and our son..."

Like her, there were many women and widows standing in front of the hall, also looking obsessively at those spiritual cards.

……

"Han Zhong, let me tell you, I will take Hou'er to keep the festival for you for the rest of my life, but don't say that if you go to the sky, you can hook up with those fairies at will. You can't even take a look. In the sky and on the earth, you are only allowed to have I am a woman..."

In this pavilion, Han Zhong's spiritual tablet is enshrined. His portrait stands high on the rear wall, with a helmet on top and a sword in his hand, with an extremely mighty expression.It was his widow Li Xiaoniang who spoke to him. She was dressed in plain clothes and her figure was even more delicate, but what she said was quite different from her image.

Beside her, stood her son Han Hou, and her sister-in-law, Mrs. Zheng, the wife of Han Dynasty.

After listening to Miss Li's words, Mrs. Zheng couldn't help but shed tears. She knew that her brother and sister were soft on the outside and strong on the inside, so she would not change her mind if she made up her mind.But she is only this year, how will she spend these long years in the future?

She supported Miss Li, and said softly: "Sister, let's go back."

Miss Li finally burst into tears, she held back her own strength, and said to her son beside her, "Hou'er, come and pay homage to your father."

Han Hou is less than two years old this year, he can barely walk, and he can only spit out a few vague monosyllables.His dark eyes kept looking at the portrait above, and he always felt that the person in the portrait looked familiar to him.

Hearing his mother's words, he jumped up in surprise, pointed at the portrait and said softly, "Daddy, it's Daddy..."

"My poor son."

Miss Li held Han Hou in her arms, weeping uncontrollably.

Madam Zheng comforted me softly.

When they left the pavilion, the soldiers and civilians watching outside the door respectfully stepped aside and saluted the two daughters deeply.

Miss Li returned the gifts one by one, and when they went out, dense crowds of people poured in, scrambling to offer incense and kneel to Han Zhongling's tablet.

A voice came out: "Son, come quickly and offer incense to General Mingwei, the general's spirit in the sky will surely bless you in good luck, drive away ghosts and avoid evil..."

……

Mrs. Li took her son and Mrs. Zheng out of the Baozhong Temple. Not far from the temple is the Yimin Temple, which is also very fragrant.Since Wang Dou built the Second Temple at the foot of Busan in the ninth year of Chongzhen, it has developed to the present, and the related buildings and management have been very complete.There are special priests and sacrificial personnel, and a large amount of special funds are pulled out for management.

Many of the sacrificial sweepers were retired sergeants from the Shunxiang Army who were disabled.There are also local people in Shunxiangbao, who will take the initiative to clean and pull weeds before the Pengnian Festival.Every festival is a very lively day for the Second Temple. In addition to the official worship, there are also tens of thousands of people pouring in. The related drum towers and theaters in front of the temple have sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain.

At the gate of Baozhong Shrine, Mrs. Li and others met Liu Shi, the widow of the late Wude General Yang Tong.Mrs. Liu and her husband Yang Tong were old people who followed General Dingguo in the past, and were highly regarded by the general.After Yang Tong was martyred, he returned to Baoan Prefecture, the general and his wife Xie went to the mansion to visit.

Liu's personality is relatively gentle, not as aggressive as Qi Tianliang's wife Tao, and she is already deeply grateful that General Dingguo has won a series of treatment from her husband from the court.She has no other requirements, she just wants to take her children to observe the festival for her husband quietly.

"The man in my family was not a good person before, but after following the general, he became a lot of weapons. He killed the enemy and died for the country. The court appointed General Wude and built a temple. His wife and son-in-law have nothing to ask for. I just want to follow along. Do more good deeds after the death of Mrs. Gaoming."

Liu's expression was very calm. She told Mrs. Li and Mrs. Zheng that after offering incense to her husband, she planned to visit the Zhangjiabao refugee camp tomorrow.

Wang Dou rescued 20 people and temporarily resettled them in Zhangjiabao, Shunxiangbao, Wubao, Fanshan and other places.Those civilians were under military control. In addition to unplugging food in the camp every day, there were also many local people in Baoan Prefecture who spontaneously came to inquire.

Happiness lies in comparison, seeing the rescued refugees and the miserable lives of the refugees who pour into various parts of Baoan State every day.Only then did the soldiers and civilians in Baoan Prefecture realize how difficult their lives are now.Therefore, as soon as the superiors called, they went to visit in groups.

When they went there, they tried to bring delicious food from home, just to see the expressions of gratitude and envy on the faces of the refugees.

Everyone said a few words, and Miss Li said: "Sister-in-law, I will go with you tomorrow."

Mrs. Zheng is quite shrewd. When she heard that Madam Gao will also go there tomorrow, she said: "It's so agreed, I will go with me tomorrow."

……

"But let Longcheng Fei be there, and don't teach Huma to go to Yinshan."

"Brother Gongfu, my brother has traveled all the way to Huailai. The people in Yanqing heard that Wang Dou will guard the east road. Everyone is happy, and they all say that in the future there will be no more suffering from slaves in the east and captives in the north."

After a long and heroic recitation, the flying voice sounded again: "Bravely crowning the three armies, beheading slaves and thieves at thousands of levels, this king has a great reputation. My brother came from Luzhou and went north all the way to Zhending, Baoding, everyone is spreading the name of Wang Dou, the closer to Xuanzhen, the more famous it becomes, I can't wait to see the true face of General Lushan of Dingguo."

It was the morning of the second day, in the spring of March, when the beauties were in full bloom, and the boat was full of flowers and wine, it was the best time of the year.On the road from Baoanwei City to Baoanzhou City, two mules and horses were slowly walking side by side along the road.

The passengers on the horse were two middle-aged men dressed as scholars.One is 37 or [-] years old, wearing a green shirt, tall and thin, with a fair face and no beard, but his eyes are very bright.Policy on the horse, like a standing green pine.

The other person is of medium build, with a round white face and a short beard under his chin. He is about 35 or [-] years old.Also dressed in a Confucian shirt, Gu Pan was in high spirits.He didn't carry a folding fan which is popular among scholars nowadays, but a sharp sword on his waist. Just from his attire, it can be seen that this person is a generous and elegiac man.

He spoke with a Luzhou accent, and after hearing his words, the middle-aged scholar next to him who was called "Brother Gongfu" smiled slightly: "General Dingguo is so powerful that even the slave chieftains dare not fight. Brother is also eager to see such a hero!"

He spoke with a Nanyang accent, but he was a local official, surnamed Qin and named Yi, styled Gongfu. He was forced to resign because he offended the superior, and his father, wife, and son all died of illness.Qin Yi had nothing to worry about anymore, so he became a seller and traveled around the world, watching the current situation, deeply worried.

When I traveled to Changping, I heard Wang Dou's name, so I came to Baoan Prefecture, Xuanfu Town.

The round-faced scholar next to him was surnamed Ye, named Xizhi, and his calligraphy was Shaobai, but he was a local squire in Luzhou.

Ye Xizhi has a well-to-do family since he was a child, and he studied in Luzhou Academy. Although he passed the examination as a scholar, he disdained fame.He is bold and chivalrous, often fencing swords and singing songs, and has a wide range of contacts, and has many contacts with many celebrities. He once said: "In today's troubled times, seeking money for officials is like a local chicken Wagoner."

So he dissipated all his wealth and traveled around China. When he arrived in Huailai, he happened to meet Qin Yi.

The two hit it off at first sight, cherished each other, became confidants, and walked together.

There was a dragon chant, but Ye Xizhi pulled out his sword. He flicked the sword with his fingers and sang: "Don't you see, the army of the end of the Han Dynasty, the weak crown is the captive, please take the long tassels. Don't you see, Ban Dingyuan, Jueyu Qingqi Reminding Zhanyun! A man should be in danger, how can he let Confucianism miss this life?"

He laughed loudly: "General Dingguo is unparalleled in governing the army. He is a genius in the sky, so he has no victory against the slave cavalry. But I don't know that he is also proficient in Wen Tao. This song is the end of the Han Dynasty. I heard that he was in the army when he was in charge. Beifu recited it, and the little lady in the mansion fell in love with it under one song, and it became a good story for a while."

"Beauties love heroes, since ancient times."

Qin Yi also smiled: "Ms. Ji disregarded the views of the world and eloped resolutely, but she is also a strange woman."

This is the case as soon as a person becomes famous, teahouses and restaurants all over the country not only boast about Wang Dou's various battles, but also talk about his private life.The matter of Wang Dou in the Bingbei Mansion back then somehow spread to the streets and alleys. Although everyone has different opinions on this matter, it can't stop everyone's interest.

The two scholars gossiped for a while, and Ye Xizhi flicked his sword and said: "It goes without saying that General Wang is fighting, but since ancient times good generals need counselors. From various rumors, I think that General Dingguo has a lot of ambition. Brother Gongfu, this time is exactly the time." It's a good opportunity, you and I join the general's command and help him to fix the troubled times, you and I just show what we have learned."

Qin Yi smiled: "Brother Yu has to wait and see how the general Dingguo has a mind, and then make plans."

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Old White Bull:
Organized the outline for two days, and resumed updating today.That day, I inquired about the weather in Nanning after the chapter, and many local friends left messages to inform me, thank you very much.There is also the next volume and the future plot direction. Friends in the starting point book review area and the post bar have made many suggestions, many of which are insightful, thank you.

(End of this chapter)