My years as a soldier

In September of the second year of Zhide, in the suburbs of Chang'an, Cui Qianyou was in the army.

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"Uncle, it's fine to make it like this, it's very good."

Under the bright sun in early autumn, Hu Jiuzhang was sitting on a small couch in the tent, talking to the old man in front of him with a smile.He was obviously in a good mood, because the old man was holding a pair of well-made wooden legs and tied them to the broken limbs below his legs.

The old man is a carpenter who specializes in making prosthetic limbs for people. He used to work in the medical center of Chang'an. Now that the city of Chang'an has been destroyed and the new emperor ascended the throne in the northwest, the old man turned his head and joined the rebels in order to survive. He became Cui Qianyou's army. Chinese medical officer.

As for Hu Jiuzhang, together with Li Muyun, he followed Cui Qianyou's troops to Chang'an, but he remained on the fringes of the brigade, not only did not participate in any battles, he even rarely showed his face, only staying in his camp all day long. activities, so that this mighty march forced them to live in seclusion.

But whether the life is good or not is like a person who knows how warm the drinking water is.

As far as the result is concerned, Cui Ganyou is indeed their great benefactor. When Hu Jiuzhang recovered from his injury, the old man tied up his prosthetic limb and handed him a pair of crutches.

"Try, my lord?"

"Hey - you can call me anything, just don't call me an adult, I can't stand it."

Hu Jiuzhang smiled and took the wooden crutch handed over by the old man, and with a push of his arm, he propped himself up from the couch.Although the movement is not as smooth as before, it is still easy to move around with strength.

"How about it?"

Hu Jiuzhang took a few steps forward with his crutches, and the direction he pointed was Li Muyun who was always by his side in the tent.

Li Muyun was still wearing the clothes that he brought out from the palace back then. Although the clothes were expensive, they were much worn out these days and were far less graceful and luxurious than they were back then.And he himself has lost a lot of weight compared to that time. Although Cui Qianyou can't do without food and drink here, Li Muyun's complexion is much worse than that of Hu Jiuzhang, who has just recovered from a serious injury.

Seeing Hu Jiuzhang take a few steps on crutches, he couldn't help showing a smile on his face, but his eyes were always full of melancholy. Although he was smiling, at first glance, he seemed to be crying.

"Very good, if you practice more, you might be able to walk like ordinary people."

Li Muyun praised softly, while Hu Jiuzhang met Li Muyun's gaze, and most of the smile on his face was gone.

"Are you still uncomfortable?" He asked softly.

"No..." Li Muyun managed to squeeze out a gentle smile, "I've been fine these few days, and I'm not feeling sick."

"I'm not uncomfortable..." Hu Jiuzhang repeated those words, but his expression became more serious, "I still think we have to find a chance to go back to Chang'an. Mu Yun, I know how you feel, but I don't want to do anything else now. , just for your body, we can't just hold on like this. I hope you live a long life, as long as you are good, I am willing to fight anything. You just listen to me once, let's go back to Chang'an, Chang'an city will definitely return There are doctors with excellent medical skills, and even if you can't find a doctor, it's good to get a few rare medicinal herbs."

Hu Jiuzhang lowered his voice, and his tone became more earnest, even a little pleading.The old medical craftsman was also sensible, seeing the two whispering, he crouched down and left silently.

It's just that Li Muyun didn't react too much to Hu Jiuzhang's words.I'm afraid it's not the first time he's heard such words.

"Old Hu, I know you care about me, don't worry, I know my own body well."

"Really? But I see that your complexion has not been very good." Hu Jiuzhang frowned slightly, and his eyes were on Li Muyun's pale and gloomy face.

"Of course, besides, General Cui ordered someone to bring some tonics yesterday. I'll be fine after taking it, don't worry."

"Then... I have to watch you take medicine at night. We have come to this point with great difficulty. If you have something wrong, I really don't want to live." Hu Jiuzhang said very seriously, accompanied by his weather-beaten face The resolute face is not like a love story, but like a pious believer praying to the gods. His eyes are full of simplicity, but he is extremely persistent.

Li Muyun met that gaze, no matter how cold his face was, it melted away like spring breeze and snow, and a smirk slipped out.

"You don't come here." Li Muyun turned his head to the side, covering his face with one hand and covering his smile, "Old Hu, you have learned badly, and you know that I can't stand it, so you come to talk to me like this."

Instead, Hu Jiuzhang scratched his head in a daze.

"I'm telling the truth. I'm telling the truth. The medicine must be taken on time, and you can't miss it. It's best to see a doctor again, and take care of it slowly. It will always be fine."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

Li Muyun reluctantly responded to Hu Jiuzhang, although there was a smile on his face, he still couldn't hide his tiredness.

"Old Hu, go tell that old man to go back, I'll go inside and rest on the couch." Li Muyun said softly, and turned around and walked towards the couch deep in the tent.Looking at his thin figure, Hu Jiuzhang let out a long sigh, and ran to the tent door with a sad face.

He was really worried about Li Muyun's body, but he really didn't want to force him to go back to that sad place.

Today's Chang'an has been completely unrecognizable under the looting of the rebels.For Li Muyun, it is not only a capital city, but also the foundation for his life.The country is ruined and the family is destroyed. These four words are ridiculed by others, but when they are put to him, they are the cruel truth of every word.

But Hu Jiuzhang was not reconciled, he moved out of the tent with his crutches, politely sent the old man away, and when he turned around, he felt that he still couldn't just let it go.After all, he is someone I keep in my heart. Seeing him frown for no reason, I have to think about it for a long time in my heart, let alone a major matter related to the other party's body.

Hu Jiuzhang thought it over, anyway, if Li Muyun didn't go, General Cui wouldn't arrange an entourage for him. In this way, he dared to let go of many things.

Although Chang'an has already been looted by An Lushan's legion once, medicinal materials are nothing compared to gold, silver and jewelry. Now that you enter the city, you will definitely be able to find shops with medicinal materials.And as long as there is a pharmacy, it doesn't matter if the money is not.Today's Chang'an is ruled by the Northeast Army. With Cui Qianyou's relationship, he can kill and set fire, let alone get something from the pharmacy.not like before...

Thinking of this, Hu Jiuzhang couldn't stop looking down at his legs.Now instead of the flesh and blood on the ground, there are a pair of wooden legs. The wooden legs have no feeling, but the joints of the broken limbs still feel dull pain due to the weight bearing.

In the past, I relied on Li Muyun's relief to survive, but now, I must use my own way to repay him, right?

Whether this world belongs to the Li family or not, to be honest, Hu Jiuzhang doesn't care at all now.

Having made up his mind, Hu Jiuzhang couldn't help feeling instantly that his arm on crutches was stronger than before.He returned to the tent and vaguely said to Li Muyun that he wanted to go out, then turned around and went out energetically.

After walking through the gate of hell, Lao Hu became weak and thin, but he still had the courage that a soldier should have.Although both hands are leaning on crutches, but the horizontal knife is farewelled to the waist, and then a set of military officer's clothes is found and put on the body. In an instant, this murderous aura that has been washed by life and death is also set off.

Before he left, he even borrowed a badge from the small officer on duty in the battalion. If anyone dared to make trouble, he would show General Cui. It was not a pleasure to find him.

Hu Jiuzhang aggressively walked onto the familiar road.The road to Chang'an is wide and flat, but at this time, there are no people coming and going in Chang'an in the past on the road. Instead, a war horse passing by occasionally pulls people away from the fantasy dream of Chang'an in the past. Come out to remind him that things are impermanent.

When he first arrived in Chang'an, Hu Jiuzhang felt that he would be ridiculed for his tattered military uniform and Northwest dialect.It's a good thing now, when I meet a rebel army on the road by chance, as long as I show my waist card, I will instantly turn an enemy into a friend. I wish there were more comrades in the world to enjoy this moment of "glory" of taking over Chang'an together.

Hu Jiuzhang didn't think it was such a good feeling to be superior to others, but this kind of situation really made him feel at ease.After all, for him, being able to walk on the street in peace and stability like now, half a month ago, it only existed in fantasy.

Going all the way along Suzaku Avenue, Hu Jiuzhang quickly found the trail leading to Dongshi.This road was originally crowded with vendors, and behind the stalls, there were small shops that he couldn't afford and dared not to go to. , is enough for him to spend the past year.Fortunately, the small stalls are gone, and even the small shops on the street behind are in dilapidated condition. Some beams have collapsed, and the gold-painted signboards are still stained with blood. It is obvious that there has been a riot.Occasionally, the residents trapped in Chang'an can be seen boldly looking out in the only complete room left in their house.

Of course, Hu Jiuzhang could feel the gazes coming at him from behind the doors and windows, but this could not change the purpose of his trip, but instead made him clenched tighter on the crutches.

After a while, the large-character signboard of Ren'an Hall came into view, and Hu Jiuzhang hurriedly quickened his pace and went straight to the store door.

This pharmacy called Ren An Tang opened on the main road of Dongshi. The small building was two stories high, and the railing outside the building was painted red, which showed its luxury.And just as Hu Jiuzhang expected, compared with the surrounding shops, Ren'an Hall was significantly less damaged. Looking at the almost intact shop signboard, Hu Jiuzhang felt hopeful again.He leaned on his crutches and moved step by step towards the front of the store, and when he really supported himself to step up the steps outside the pharmacy, for some reason, he suddenly felt a little stage fright.

Hu Jiuzhang looked down at the horizontal knife on his waist, and thought about the posture of drawing the knife in his mind. He had to throw away one crutch, and then...

Hu Jiuzhang's eyes shifted from the scabbard on his waist to the inside of the pharmacy.The medicine cabinets in Ren'an Hall cover three walls. The names of the medicines are written in white paint on the outside of each small medicine cabinet.After looking at the medicine cabinet, his eyes were quickly attracted by the exposed half crown behind the table of the medicine shop.

Looking at the style of the tiara, the owner of the tiara should be a scholar, but the reason why only half of the tiara is exposed is that at this moment, the man is hiding behind the table and crouching down, fearing the swaying front door. Visitors ready to enter the store.

Hu Jiuzhang has grown up to commit crimes, but he has never done it once.Now he looked at the shop owner hiding in the pharmacy, and suddenly became a little nervous.

He swallowed hard, adjusted his standing posture with his right hand between the crutches, looking for a chance to draw the knife, but the more he looked, the more hesitant he became.Robbing a pharmacy in Chang'an... a few months ago, such a thing would have been unthinkable.

Hu Jiuzhang's palms were sweating, and he walked a few steps forward with his crutches. He didn't pull out the knife until he entered the shop.

And as he approached, he watched the crown tremble more and more behind the table.

Suddenly, Hu Jiuzhang heard the sound of metal clashing behind the table.His heart was agitated, thinking that the person behind the table might also be holding a weapon in his hand, maybe a knife, maybe a sword, or maybe a crossbow...

Here, he no longer has any worries.Seeing a flash of Baihong, he had already lost his right crutch, drew out his knife in an instant, and turned towards the table.