My years as a soldier

In the late autumn of another year, Hu Jiuzhang entered Liaodong City silently in a carriage.This is the first time he has reached the northeast frontier of the empire.

Hu Jiuzhang didn't know much about Liaodong.He vaguely remembered that many years ago, when he was still running around the streets behind his father, a group of businessmen from the east came to rest at the inn of his hometown, and happened to talk to the old people in the village about the war that took place in the northeast corner of the empire many years ago.

In the 18th year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong took Li Shiji as his general and went on an expedition to Goguryeo.In the following year, Emperor Taizong went on a personal expedition, and General Shiji led an army to attack Liaodong City. Taizong led elite troops to join him and won a big victory.The Tang army killed more than 1 enemies, and finally conquered Liaodong, naming it Liaozhou.

This is all Hu Jiuzhang's understanding of Liaodong, and compared to many Northwest soldiers of his age, this understanding is already considered erudite.So when he first arrived, he didn't think there was any difference between the northeast border and the northwest border. It was just that the customs of foreigners were different. But after entering Liaodong City, he realized that this place was completely different from the northern border.

The biggest difference lies in the strength of Tang Jun's control over the town.From the time he entered the city to when the group was settled properly, Hu Jiuzhang didn't see a few soldiers in Tang army uniforms. He thought that the Andong Protectorate, like Beiting, would be supported by the Tang army's military camps to prop up the border towns. Yes, but apparently not.The number of Tang soldiers in Liaodong City is very small, and even if there are, they are all foolish and irrelevant.On the contrary, it was the foreign soldiers that I occasionally saw on the street, all of them were imposing, as if they were walking on their own territory.

This kind of thing is absolutely impossible in northern Xinjiang. Unless the military fort is occupied, or the Tang army voluntarily gave up the military camp and earthen fort, how can soldiers dressed as foreigners walk on the territory of the Tang Dynasty?But the situation here is completely opposite to that in northern Xinjiang. There are both Tang people and foreigners on the road, but they are all in peace, and the soldiers are the same. They are obviously used to each other.

"Could it be that...Liaodong City is now occupied by foreigners?"

Hu Jiuzhang was really puzzled, and asked Yan Zhaozhong when he first entered the city.

Yan Zhaozhong was not surprised, waved his hand, and said casually, "Liaodong has always been like this. In the early years when General Xue Rengui was there, the Tang people still had some weight. Later, the Northeast garrison withdrew to Youzhou, and Liaodong also completely returned Those Goguryeo survivors who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty have been in charge, and they have been like this for decades. And we not only have Goguryeo survivors here, but also Khitan people, Jurchen people, Silla people, Baekje people, Turkic people, from south to north There are everyone here, so it’s a lot of fun.”

Hearing his words, Hu Jiuzhang couldn't say anything except a few words of emotion.

He didn't care who was in charge of Liaodong City, as long as he could treat Li Muyun safely, everything would be fine.

After sending Li Muyun to Yan's residence to settle down, Hu Jiuzhang finally settled down.It's just that Li Muyun's condition has not been very good due to the exhaustion of the journey.Hu Jiuzhang didn't dare to leave, and stayed by Li Muyun's side until the evening when Yan Zhaozhong came back with an old man with a white beard carrying a medicine box. Frowning and raising his hands, his complexion became solemn several times, causing Hu Jiuzhang to sweat profusely, and his heart almost jumped out of his chest.

"Doctor, how is it?"

"Why did it take until now to cure it?"

It took Hu Jiuzhang a while to understand the old man's Central Plains accent with a thick accent.He wanted to explain, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that he only met Li Muyun last year, and saw him get sick a few times, but at that time he thought it was just a common cold, and Li Muyun himself didn't say he wanted to be cured. He is rough-skinned and thick-skinned, so he naturally never thought of seeking medical treatment.

"Hey, Uncle Jiang, don't pursue these things now. If there is any way, you should tell me quickly."

Hu Jiuzhang didn't answer for a while, Yan Zhaozhong helped him explain.He spoke the official dialect of the Northeast area, and the words were mixed with the local dialect. Hu Jiuzhang couldn't help scratching his head when he heard the old man's one glance at each other.

After a long time, Hu Jiuzhang saw that Yan Zhaozhong and the old man had finally spoken, so he asked.

"Brother Yan, did the doctor tell you how to treat Mr. Li's illness?"

"Hey, don't worry, Uncle Jiang definitely has a way to cure it, but your son is too weak now, and it will take some time to recuperate slowly."

"Then...if it's recuperated, it might be fine in the future?"

"This one……"

Yan Zhaozhong glanced at the old man, and asked again in dialect.

"Jiu Zhang, if you want to say it's great, Uncle Jiang can't guarantee it, but don't worry, your family's son will not lose his life. Uncle Jiang said that Mr. Li has a long-standing disease, and he will hang himself with strong medicine." , on the contrary, it will hurt the vitality even more. Now I can only use mild herbs to regulate slowly. Get rid of eight or nine points."

"in this way……"

Hu Jiuzhang sighed softly, and couldn't help frowning again.

"...but he is the heir of the palace, how could he be poisoned?"

Hu Jiuzhang muttered in a low voice. He said this in the dialect of his hometown. The few people present only said that he was sighing, but Hu Yan, who was sitting at the tea table in the house, glanced at him with a look of confusion. thinking.

No one could answer Hu Jiuzhang's confusion, and it was impossible for him to ask Li Muyun directly.

After the old man surnamed Jiang left, Yan Zhaozhong went to his own pharmacy to get medicine. Although Hu Jiuzhang was inconvenient, he still went out with Yan Zhaozhong on crutches. To inquire about the whereabouts of that person.

King Su.

Li Muyun didn't often mention his father, but Hu Jiuzhang knew that the reason why he came to Liaodong was probably for King Su.

Liaodong City was not big, so Hu Jiuzhang followed Yan Zhaozhong to the pharmacy in the twilight night.The medicine shop of Yan's family is located in a back alley in the south of the city. The facade is very unremarkable, but when entering the interior, Hu Jiuzhang discovered something strange.

From the outside, Yan's small shop is just a dilapidated wooden house of more than ten square meters, but inside, it is still an ordinary medicine shop, which is completely different from those big shops in Chang'an City.However, after entering the house, it was not the inside of the pharmacy. Yan Zhaozhong led him to open an underground secret door in the corner of the shop, and went down to the ground. The warehouse was staring blankly.

"Brother Yan, are these all yours?"

Hu Jiuzhang pointed to the endless medicine cabinet in front of him, and the busy assistants who were busy going to and from the [-]-meter-long medicine cabinet, and looked at the tall man in simple clothes beside him in disbelief.

Yan Zhaozhong pouted instead, with a nonchalant expression.

"This warehouse is under the management of my uncle, and it is dedicated to supplying goods to the north."

"This one is for the north? That means your family has other warehouses like this?"

"Well, but the warehouse in Liaodong City is the largest here. There are more types of medicinal materials here, so you don't have to worry about not being able to match the medicines of the eldest son."

Yan Zhaozhong smiled at Hu Jiuzhang as he spoke, trying to comfort him.But Hu Jiuzhang swallowed, and was at a loss for words.

Yan Zhaozhong didn't care about his reaction, and called the assistant to give Li Muyun the medicine according to the name of the medicine on the prescription.The clerks in the warehouse were nimble, but after a while they packed all kinds of medicines and sent them to Yan Zhaozhong.Only at this time did Hu Jiuzhang regain his composure and speak again.

"Brother Yan, your family is so wealthy, why did you go to Beiting to join the army?"

"Hey, I loved playing when I was young." Yan Zhaozhong said casually, but his brows were tightly furrowed, "Didn't you ask Chen Fan? In terms of family background, I can't compare with him. Don't think this battle is big, but in reality In fact, merchants are subject to the government everywhere when they do business, which looks very good, but in fact they are just lackeys of the government.”

Yan Zhaozhong deliberately lowered his voice, but Hu Jiuzhang's confused expression became even more serious.

Of course he knew that the status of the businessman was low, but the lowly people had such wealth.If you have to choose, whether to go to northern Xinjiang to suffer, or to stay in your own comfort zone for a lifetime, I am afraid that many people will choose the latter...

"Brother Chen... I haven't asked. But since he comes from an aristocratic family, he must have his own reasons, right?"

"fart!"

Yan Zhaozhong responded with great disdain, not caring about the surprised expression of Hu Jiuzhang beside him.

"Even if he had some reasons in the past, they are gone now. But brothers are still brothers..." Yan Zhaozhong sighed softly, and waved his hand at Hu Jiuzhang, "Let's go, Jiuzhang, don't make the son wait for a long time. "

"it is good."

Hu Jiuzhang hurriedly followed him, and the two returned to the ground together. When they left the small shop, it was already dark, and the lights in the city were flickering.

Hu Jiuzhang followed and walked a few steps forward, as if seeing something, he suddenly stopped.

"Brother Yan, you can go back with the medicine first, I'll go around the neighborhood. I'll remember the way, and I'll be back later."

"Ah?" Although Yan Zhaozhong was confused, he still nodded and agreed, "You can come back early, the eldest son is not the only one waiting for you at home!"

He said casually, and walked away with the man who held the lamp. Hu Jiuzhang was slightly taken aback, thinking of Hu Yan who had an indifferent attitude towards him, his heart felt a little sour.

Hu Jiuzhang left at this time, not because he saw anything extraordinary, but because he saw the lantern of the Liaodong County Yamen from a distance.He thought that King Su was the senior official of the Anton Governor's Mansion, so he would never make a mistake when he went to the local yamen to inquire about the news.It's just that this time he learned a lesson, he didn't really go to the yamen to ask questions, but found a tea shop across the street from the yamen.

Just after nightfall, the owner of the tea shop was busy closing the shop. Hu Jiuzhang walked over tremblingly on his crutches, and he could hear the sound of his crutches touching the ground from a long distance away. The young man leaned on crutches and wore a military dagger at his waist, he really looked like a down and out veteran.In addition, Hu Jiuzhang's face is upright, although his outfit is a bit downcast, but there is still a heroic spirit in his brows, which makes people feel sorry for him.The owner of the tea shop could also see it, and before Hu Jiuzhang came up to him, the owner sighed and spoke first.

"Brother, my shop is closed. If you want to eat anything, come here at any time tomorrow. You can eat and drink."

The shopkeeper spoke a Jiaoliao dialect, and the accent was different from what he had seen Dr. Jiang before. Hu Jiuzhang couldn't hear it.

"Uh... shopkeeper, I was originally a vassal in Chang'an Suwang's mansion, and I served in the army for many years. You also know... Now that the Central Plains are in turmoil, I can't stay in the army after being injured, so I drifted here with the caravan. I want to find a place to settle down. I see that there are many people coming and going here, shopkeeper, so I want to come over and ask if there is any work that I can do."

"This……"

The shopkeeper was stunned for a long time, he probably didn't understand what Hu Jiuzhang said, he seemed to be thinking about it, and rubbed his fingers back and forth on his chin beard.

"Shopkeeper, I mean..."

Hu Jiuzhang was talking about Zhongyuan Zhengyin. Of course he knew that the store owner might not be able to understand it, but this place is next to the county government office, and besides the tea shop, there are already many pedestrians. people.He just came here to try his luck this time, to see if anyone would take the initiative to talk to him.As long as one can understand the correct pronunciation, it must be related to the government.

Hu Jiuzhang stood in front of the tea shop, talking and gesticulating, and after a while, a passing man came up to chat with him speaking Mandarin with a strong accent.

"Hey, you bastard, they speak Luoyang Zhengyin, how can you understand it!" The man grabbed Hu Jiuzhang's arm and almost pulled the crutch in his hand.

"Hey, little brother, say it again, you just said, what are you... from Chang'an Su Palace, did I hear you right?"

(PS: In the Tang Dynasty, Luoyang reading sounds were used as Zhengyin. Officials must be able to speak Zhengyin, which also encouraged scholars all over the country to learn Mandarin and spread Zhengyin. Although this analogy is not strict, you can simply understand that the status of Zhengyin is equivalent to Today’s Mandarin. Hu Jiuzhang’s pronunciation was not standard at first, and he was laughed at because of his accent when he first arrived in Chang’an.)