Folding the halberd to seal the cold

The Eastern Capital, Luoyang after the war.

The setting sun was like blood, and dusk gradually began to cover the earth.

The setting sun slowly loses its luster, and even the last touch of color is about to fall heavily into the end of the boundless mountains.

And at the foot of the mountains, there is another touch of coquettish red on the earth.

It was blood all over the place, piled up with corpses.The flames of war scorched the dead trees on the side of the road, and the air was filled with the smell of blood.

This battlefield just after the battle is green with beacon smoke and white human bones, and it has been defeated so badly that only the piercing chirping of vultures remains.

Occasionally, the decayed battle flag fluttered with the wind, stained with the color of dried blood, and inserted obliquely into the soil, and the pattern of the word "Ce" written on the torn corner could be vaguely seen.

A gray hand stretched forward, just a little bit, maybe it could touch the flagpole.

However, its owner has stopped breathing, and is forever still at this distance that is so close but can no longer be touched.

It was a young major general.

He still had an expression of unwillingness and despair on his face, lying in a pool of blood all over his body.On his back, there are dozens of arrow feathers standing in a row, almost shooting him into a hedgehog.

In the distance, there are refugees passing by in a hurry, mixed with some cries and shouts, scattered in the wind, it sounds very ethereal.

In such a troubled world... the survivors have no news, and the dead are dust.

Those who are alive are only concerned about escaping for their own lives, and who cares about the dead.

Less than ten miles ahead was the city gate of Luoyang, but all the refugees who rushed out from there were scrambling to escape with scars.

After the city of Luoyang was broken, they no longer had a home.

Spike troops are raging and invading everywhere, their homes have been burned by the flames of war, and the young and strong man was conscripted into the army as early as a month ago... It is not known where he was buried.The rest of the old, weak, sick and disabled, powerless, if they don't escape, where will they go?

Among the scattered refugees, there were two figures, one green and one white, passing through them, still walking forward firmly.

A well-meaning person passing by stopped and reminded them: "You two, if you go further, you will be on the Nantian battlefield. Apart from the dead and bones, there may be the remaining army of Spike. You should run for your life!"

But the two of them turned a deaf ear and walked forward stubbornly.

So the passers-by could only sigh secretly that they didn't know what to do, and hurried away in panic.

They walked through the dilapidated maple forest road, stepped onto the blood-stained battlefield, and stood shoulder to shoulder in silence.

Finally, the young man in Tsing Yi was suddenly attracted by something, and stopped in front of a corpse.

He stopped and watched for a long time, and finally couldn't help but knelt down on one knee. With slightly trembling hands, he pulled up the flagpole and stroked the torn battle flag.

The young man in white standing beside him had painful eyes, and wanted to persuade him, but he didn't speak, just stayed quietly with him.

After a long time, he took down the battle flag, carefully folded it, and then carefully stuffed it into the armor of the dead major general next to him.

The two bowed solemnly to the corpse, and then walked to the distance with heavy steps.

Not far ahead, there is a small tea shed roughly erected on the outskirts of the city, which is very eye-catching.

After all, it is not easy to support a small tea shed in this area where the flames of war are raging.

In fact, although this small tea shed was lingering on the surface to entertain the passing military officers in order to survive in the chaos of war, it was secretly doing some small actions to rescue the victims, give porridge and heal the wounded.

The owner of the tea shed is a woman over [-] years old, with a calm and composed aura on her expression.She was accompanied by two young men, dressed in rags but nimble, they didn't look like refugees who escaped.On the contrary, it's like hiding some identity vaguely, just pretending to be inferior and humble.

They were doing business by themselves on the side of the road during the day, and quietly set up tents at night to rescue the injured.

But... it is definitely not easy to be able to run his own small tea shed business at this time.

At this time, the proprietress was warmly greeting a Spike officer who passed by and was tired of having tea here.

No matter how imposingly armed the barbarian thief is, the treacherous look on his face and his potbellied figure make people feel contemptuous.

He was also followed by three Spike soldiers with swords. They were cursing and complaining about the fatigue of marching and fighting, while chatting leisurely and arrogantly with the proprietress.

"Yang Gou's Tang army is simply vulnerable, and it didn't take long for them to retreat like this. So a dog is a dog. If you want to compete with our wolf-fanged claws, it is clear that you are looking for death." The leader of the wolf-fanged officer kowtowed peanuts , said to the proprietress without shame.

I don't know if it was intentional, but I watched her expression change while talking.

There was a boy next to him who secretly clenched his fist, but the proprietress brought a pot of tea first, pushed him aside, turned around and said with a smile to the wolf-toothed soldiers: "What the officer said is right! Think about that Yang The dog thief is also in a panic at the moment, he can't sit still in Chang'an! He insists on sowing discord, forcing people to stir up wars, and innocent people like us have been implicated for no reason. What a pain!"

After finishing speaking, she didn't see any anger on her face, and enthusiastically poured tea into their bowls.

The Spike officer seemed very satisfied after hearing what she said. He picked up a bowl of beef and drank a few swigs and said to the proprietress appreciatively: "That's right! The proprietress is a sensible person, and a person who knows the current affairs is a hero. Don't worry, I have done it." Greetings, I will take care of you, you little tea shed. As long as the brothers pass by, treat me with food and drink, and I will guarantee you nothing will happen!"

"Yes, yes! Thank you for your care! The little girl is alone, helpless, and doesn't know where to escape, so I have to open a small tea shed in the suburbs of this city to make a living. Thank you for your understanding—— —”

The proprietress looked at Officer Spike with gratitude and admiration, but she didn't want the thief to be vicious, and stared piercingly at her chest.

"It's good that you know! You will benefit from being with grandpa and me..." After speaking, he even more blatantly wanted to reach out to grab the proprietress's waist, but suddenly he heard someone spit on the side of the road.

"The thieves are in power, and the beasts are rampant! Even the compatriots who are descended from the same blood can go along with the rebels against their conscience in order to survive for themselves! Such a person is worse than a wild dog on the side of the road! Instead of living on the last breath ...It's better to die! You...how are you worthy of being my citizens of the Tang Dynasty!!"

It turned out that among the refugees who escaped, there was an old man over half a century old. He was resting by the tea shed, but he couldn't help cursing when he saw the proprietress being so aggressive.

Beside him was a little boy who was so hungry that his face was sallow and emaciated, and only his thin body was left. He timidly pulled at the hem of his clothes: "Grandpa..."

The proprietress was stunned, but her brows were furrowed, and she sighed inwardly.

Sure enough, those spike soldiers also heard his words clearly, snorted coldly, raised their knives and walked towards the old man.

"Old man, are you tired of working? Do you want me to give you a ride?" One of the spike soldiers put a knife on his neck, his eyes full of disdain.

How dare such a thin old man look down on them?It's ridiculous to act like a hero when you're as humble as an ant!

"My lord, don't bother with that crazy old man! He's just a passing beggar, don't let him disturb your interest in drinking tea!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, the proprietress hurriedly rushed forward, half-blocking and persuading the leader of the Spike officer, and by the way turned around and glared at the old man contemptuously: "Stinky beggars, get away! Don't delay my business. ! Go, go, go!"

"I reckon this old man is tired of his work, so he's talking crazy!" The Spike officer was still thinking about taking advantage of the proprietress, so he simply didn't bother to argue with a stinky old man, so he put his knife back into its sheath and ignored him. he.

Unexpectedly, the old man had already seen through everything, and suddenly let out a mocking laugh behind them, and shouted: "Yes! I am tired of living! I have been tired of living long ago! Since the day Luoyang City was destroyed, I should have followed Let's go to die together! This way, we don't have to watch with our own eyes that the prosperous Tang Dynasty is destroyed, families are ruined, treacherous ministers are in power, and thieves are wreaking havoc on the country!!"

"Damn old man! You don't know what is good or bad for saving your life, how dare you be so arrogant!!"

After hearing his words, the Spike officer couldn't bear it any longer, kicked him to the ground, and pointed the knife at him: "Crazy! You are to blame for all this! You, a little old man, dare to insult our superiors!" That one?! Who do you think you are, dare to be so arrogant?! It’s just a lost old dog! Why don’t you bark like an old dog, and if I am happy to hear you, I can reward you with a happy death! Otherwise, I will first You broke your guts and cut off your grandson's feet, and you two crawled and ran for your lives! Hahaha—"

"Grandpa..." The boy next to the old man saw that the scene was tense and knew that these villains were terrible, so he cried and tugged on his grandfather's sleeve: "I'm afraid...I'm afraid...Grandpa, let's go, don't talk anymore... ..."

But the old man stubbornly pulled his hand away, and as if mustering up the last courage, he said tremblingly: "I am not someone! I am a bereaved old dog, yes! But I still remember that I live in the east of Luoyang City When I was young, I was a county lieutenant. After resigning, I opened a small private school. There were no more than ten students under my name. All of them went to the army and died in the Wulao Pass. No one was a coward! I only hate that I am weak. , I have been studying literature all my life, so I can't go to the battlefield to fight against bandits! But you rebellious officials and thieves will be punished sooner or later!"

After he finished speaking impassionedly, he turned around and picked up the boy beside him to wipe away his tears: "Lin'er don't cry, don't let these beasts see your tears! Grandpa has already figured it out... The country is broken, how can we still have a home? Where else can I escape? If I take you forward again, it will be suffering! Ahead... still can't escape the flames of war, we can't escape... Rather than living in such pain, it is better to end the remaining life, follow my disciples Let's go together! Don't be afraid... and don't need to be afraid..."

The old man with frosty temples didn't look weak at all at the moment. The cold wind poured into his ragged clothes, but there was something called integrity rising and agitating in his bones and blood, making it impossible for everyone to move away. look.Unexpectedly, he suddenly hugged his grandson and slammed him into the blade of the wolf-toothed officer with him.

The dazzling blood overflowed in an instant, soaking the ground under his feet drop by drop.

The old man had a mocking and relieved smile on his face, and said with the last bit of strength: "Dead... nothing... don't be afraid..."