Short story

When Shen Zhige heard the laughter, he looked up and saw Liu Xi's smirk, looking a little silly on her baby fat cheeks.

"What's wrong?" Shen Zhige asked with a smile.

"Huh? No, it's nothing." Liu Xi regained her senses and blushed immediately.

Shen Zhige picked up the tea and took a sip, "Thank you, it's delicious."

"Well, needless to say thank you, aren't we husband and wife?" Liu Xi lowered her head slightly, a little shy.

Bowing her head, Liu Xi saw the book Shen Zhige put on the case. There were four large characters on the cover, but she didn't recognize any of them.

Although Liu's father was literate, he didn't force Liu Xi to learn. In addition, most people in the village were illiterate, so Liu Xi didn't even know her own name.

Noticing Liu Xi's gaze, Shen Zhige touched the military book, "Want to read?"

It doesn't matter to Liu Xi whether she can read or not, but she will not refuse to have more contact with Shen Zhige.

Thinking that he would be leaving soon, and he would not be able to teach many words if he really wanted to, Shen Zhige decided to teach Liu Xi her name first.

Shen Zhige wrote the word Liu Xi on the paper, the handwriting is meaningful, even if Liu Xi is illiterate, he still thinks it looks good.

Shen Zhige took out another piece of paper, put the paper with the word Liu Xi on it in front of the desk, and then handed it to Liu Xi's brush, "Try?"

Liu Xi responded, took the brush and began to write tremblingly, imitating Shen Zhige's movements.

After taking a few glances at Shen Zhige, he shook his head, and simply hugged Liu Xi from behind, and taught him with his hands, "Don't be nervous, don't shake your hands, write slowly for the first time."

When Shen Zhige spoke, the air he exhaled hit Liu Xi's ears, Liu Xi could not study calligraphy at ease, her face was already flushed, and her thoughts were wandering.

Three days passed like this, and it was time to return home.

The village still attaches great importance to returning home, Shen Zhige and the two got up early that day, tidied up and prepared to go to Liu's house with gifts.

Because it was time to return home, Father Liu and Mother Liu had already been waiting for them.

In terms of etiquette, Shen Zhige did everything right, called his parents respectfully, and gave gifts.

At the dinner table, Shen Zhige's behavior and speech were not out of line, and he even brought food for Liu Xi, which made Liu's father very happy.

After dinner, Liu's father chatted with Shen Zhige, and Liu's mother took Liu Xi to the kitchen to clean up, first to help, and second, to chat with mother and daughter.

Mother Liu couldn't help it as soon as she entered the kitchen. She came from here. Although her daughter wore a woman's bun, her face was still childish, and she looked like she had been doted on by her husband.

"How is Zhige treating you? How is it?" Although worried, Liu's mother was not ashamed to ask such a private matter at the beginning, and only made indirect remarks.

Liu Xi thought about it for the past few days. When she was doing housework, Shen Zhige would let herself rest so as not to get tired. When both of them were free, Shen Zhige would patiently teach herself how to read. Thinking of this, Liu Xi laughed He narrowed his eyes, "Very good!"

After hesitating for a moment, looking at her daughter's smirk, Mother Liu still asked about the wedding night.

Knowing that the two of them haven't had sex for the past three days, Mother Liu's heart skipped a beat, could it be that Shen Zhige has some hidden disease?

Liu Xi also knew that something was wrong, but she was a daughter's family, so she couldn't say what she wanted Shen Zhige to do, so she kept putting it on hold, thinking that it would take a long time, and it would be better in the future.

Liu's mother knocked on Liu Xi bitterly, "Conscription is about to start, and if you don't share the same room, how can you leave the heir to the Shen family! When Shen Zhige goes to the battlefield, can he come back... in case he goes to the battlefield? What's the matter, you don't have a child to accompany you in the future, so what should you do!?"

Mother Liu's words made Liu Xi realize this problem. Shen Zhige is going to leave her, and can he come back...

Liu Xi's mood became depressed, and Liu's mother couldn't bear it anymore. She didn't want her daughter to marry into a military household, and she was afraid that she would become a widow in the future.

"It's fine if you don't live up to expectations, Shen Zhige is also like that, is he... not good?" Liu's mother guessed, although Shen Zhige is not tall, he looks strong and strong, it doesn't look like he can't.

Liu Xi was still a little shy about this kind of thing, but she disagreed when she heard Liu's mother say that Shen Zhige was not good, "Zhige is amazing! He is capable of writing and martial arts, and he can do everything!"

Mother Liu rolled her eyes at her daughter, "I'm talking about that."

Liu Xi suddenly withered, she didn't know, could it be that she wasn't attractive?

"He, doesn't he know? I didn't know anything before. Eunuch looks so serious, and it doesn't seem like he would tell him about it." Liu Xi guessed.

Mother Liu felt that it was impossible, no matter how serious she was, it was hard to say that she could compare with the Shen family's queen?What's more, Shen Zhige is a young man, he can sleep peacefully in front of his wife, how can he hug, kiss, or be more intimate.

"Then I'll ask your father to tell him about it." Liu's mother had no choice but to hope that Shen Zhige didn't understand, if it really didn't work, Liu Xi would be a widow if she didn't become a widow in the future.

"No, don't you want it?" Liu Xi was shy, afraid that Shen Zhige would think that he was dissatisfied and pressured by his parents.

"Then you don't want to have a child for Shen Zhige?"

"..."

During the short journey home, Liu Xi peeked at Shen Zhige no less than twenty times, but until nightfall, Shen Zhige didn't respond, and they still slept separately as before.

Before the beginning of winter, conscription began. Xiaogu Village had many military households with rich experience. The men who joined the army had packed their things early and were going to go to the county town in a bullock cart together, where they could be enlisted in the army.

Before dawn, Liu Xi got up, cooked some meat dishes and steamed the cakes, then packed the cakes tightly and stuffed them into Shen Zhige's bag.

The time to go to the county was in the morning, and it had been set long ago. When Shen Zhige arrived, there were already many people waiting, and beside them were his wives and family members who gave instructions, and most of them showed reluctance and worry.

Shen's father also came. He had waited for so many years, and when he got into the car, he kept telling Shen Zhige that if he dared to fight and kill, he would make great achievements in battle and become a general.

Liu Xi stood beside him silently, and finally passed the burden to Shen Zhige, and said in a low voice: "There is water and big cakes in the burden...Be careful."

I don't know if Shen Zhige heard it, he took the burden and got on the bullock cart.

Several bullock carts drifted away, Shen Zhige sat on the bullock cart with his back straight, but he didn't turn his head.

This winter was really cold this year, and Shen's father's blacksmith's business was sluggish, so Liu Xi went to the county town to find a job, doing embroidery work for the noble ladies, and subsidizing the family.

Because she was worried about Shen Zhige, Liu Xi couldn't help asking about the war every time she went to the county town to do embroidery work.

The Tang Dynasty was prosperous for thousands of years, but since the death of the first emperor, all the places became restless. The princes who were dissatisfied with the young emperor made some small moves from time to time. In addition, in recent years, the drought has been severe and bandits have been rampant. The whole Tang Dynasty is full of smog. The covetous barbarians also seemed to smell the bloody hungry wolves, ready to move.

This winter's intrusion is more serious than in previous years. It seems that as long as the border shows a little weakness, the northern Di tribe will take advantage of the victory and pursue it, tearing off a piece of flesh and blood in Datang.

Since Shen Zhige joined the army, he went to the battlefield within a few days of training. In less than a month, he was covered in blood and suffered a lot of injuries. It was thanks to Father Shen that he was not discovered. Ge won't be discovered. She has been fed medicine since she was a child, and she got that medicine somewhere. Anyway, Shen Zhige never knew what sunflower water was, and his chest was flat like a man's.

In fact, apart from the north, the lone eagles in the western desert are also greedy for Datang, but they don't have the bravery of the northern cavalry, so they only dare to hide in the desert to make trouble and sneak attacks.

In the seventh year of Jingde, the northern Di tribe continued to harass for five years. At that time, Beidi general Wu De led his troops to formally attack Dingyuan City on the northern border.

Li Ren, Marquis of Guannei, was stationed in Dingyuan City. Li Ren's original surname was Xu. Because of his outstanding military exploits, the first emperor gave Li a surname as a Marquis.

Ude is a good cavalry soldier. Originally, Shanyu's plan was to unite with other small countries to eat the fat of Tang Dynasty. After all, if he went up alone, he might be thrown into trouble, but Ude was in a hurry.

Ude belongs to Shanyu's second son and mother family, and now the competition for the position of Shanyu is very fierce. If he doesn't make contributions, how can the second son succeed in taking over and become Shanyu, not to mention that he has invaded the northern part of Datang for many years. Until he can't beat him, he thinks that Datang is nothing more than that.

Ude used the faction name of the second son of Shan Yu to borrow soldiers and horses in private. When the Tang soldiers thought it was just another invasion, the war officially started.

He wanted to capture Dingyuan City. Dingyuan City was connected to Datang and Beidi, and Dingyuan was taken as a transfer point. After that, there would be no large defensive fortresses. It would not be difficult to directly attack the capital of Datang.

This battle lasted for more than a month. Ude was brave and experienced. He and Li Ren had confronted each other for many years, and they were familiar with each other's methods. This battle could not be ended in a short time.

In fact, it stands to reason that Ude does not have an advantage. Dingyuan City has guarded the northern border for many years. The city wall is high and thick, making it difficult to capture, and the cavalry is not very useful for siege warfare.

If it hadn't been for the precautions taken against Li Ren today and the refusal to spend more food and soldiers, Ude might have been defeated long ago.

After more than a month of fierce fighting, Ude also knew that he was impulsive, but how could he back down now that he had already fought? Seeing the emperor's guard against Li Ren, Ude had hope again, and he wanted to give it a go. If he captured Dingyuan, his merits would outweigh his demerits. If he lost, he would die if Shan Yu's second son failed to seize the throne.

When the war came to February, Ude's opportunity came. A general in Dingyuan City was willing to join Ude, only hoping that he would enjoy endless prosperity and wealth from now on.

They met and discussed in secret, and gave the young general a large amount of gold. That night, he opened the city gate to welcome Ude in.

Ude led the elite cavalry straight to the general's mansion, but suddenly the lights were brightly lit before entering the door, and when he looked up, he was surrounded by elite soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, only then did Ude realize that he had been deceived.

Wu De knows that Li Ren is afraid of Li Ren today, so he has nothing to fear. In addition, he knows that Li Ren marches and fights in an open and aboveboard manner, and he seldom uses conspiracy and tricks.

This battle was won beautifully, with almost no loss of soldiers and horses. Today, Longyan was very happy and recruited Li Ren to go back to reward him for his meritorious service.

Li Ren's personal guards and soldiers were accompanying him. As for who is guarding Dingyuan City now, Li Ren has no control over it.

Li Ren's Zhenbei Army went to the capital and stationed in the barracks. Li Ren and the generals of the third rank and above all went to the banquet. , not many complaints.