My years as a soldier

"My business?" Hu Jiuzhang couldn't help looking at Bai Muyun.

"My business... In fact, there is nothing to say. After Mr. Bai is a powerful man, his life experience is probably much more exciting than my life as a pawn?"

Hu Jiuzhang sighed softly, but Bai Muyun frowned again.

"How many times have I told you, don't call me Mr. Bai. Also, there is nothing exciting about the family of the rich and powerful. It's just a group of people huddled in a golden cage and fighting each other. I have lived 21 years of my life, I'm tired of it, and I'm looking for a change of environment."

"Ha ha……"

Hu Jiuzhang saw how serious Bai Muyun said, and couldn't help laughing. With this smile, the injury on his leg began to hurt again, and Hu Jiuzhang's eyebrows were furrowed again, with an extremely awkward expression.

"environment……"

Hu Jiuzhang was playing with those two words in his mouth, and Bai Muyun was watching, and he even fed him a mouthful of food.

"Xiaobai...have you tried not eating for more than ten days?"

"No...why do you say that?"

There was a look of confusion on Bai Muyun's face, and Hu Jiuzhang understood it when he saw it.

"I tried……"

He said lightly.

"That year my family suffered from a drought, and I went to the northwest by myself... I climbed several mountains and walked for more than ten days before I saw people..."

"Are you going to the northwest?" Bai Muyun's face became more confused, while Hu Jiuzhang just looked at him with a slight smile on his face.

"Well... I'm from Chengzhou. I went to Longyou to join the army that year, just to find a way out for myself and my family. If I don't succeed, I will be benevolent, right? Originally, I could have brought the two baked by my younger brother. Wheat flour cakes went together, but there was not much food left at home, and my mother and Xiaoyan still had to live, so I couldn't take their way of life... So I didn't bring anything to eat when I left home, I only took my father's food when he was a soldier. I brought my old kettle..."

"Then what do you do? What do you eat?" Bai Muyun's voice became a little hurried, and he quickly filled two mouthfuls of porridge and fed it to Hu Jiuzhang's mouth.

"At the beginning... I didn't have much to eat." Hu Jiuzhang swallowed the two mouthfuls of porridge, then looked at Bai Muyun with a smile, "But I was really hungry at that time... and as long as people are extremely hungry, they can do anything ..I ate almost everything...grass, tree roots, bugs...the rotting meat of dead animals, and the maggots on that meat..."

Hu Jiuzhang said calmly, seeing Bai Muyun's face turned pale, he couldn't help but sighed, changed the subject, and opened his mouth again.

"At that time, the best thing I ever ate was fish. It was like a small fish as long as the belly of a finger. If it was alive, I swallowed it in one bite. At first I couldn't eat it, but I was so hungry that I couldn't control so much. For such a small fish, it takes a lot of effort and time to light a fire to roast it, and even if it is roasted, there will be nothing left, so I just eat it."

"Thinking about it now... I was also very lucky at that time, and there was still meat to eat."

Hu Jiuzhang had a smile on his face when he said this, but Bai Muyun's expression became more and more gloomy.But he let out a long sigh, and kept feeding the porridge to Hu Jiuzhang's mouth.

"I didn't eat anything at that time, now eat more. Hey... I'll ask the kitchen to make some good ones tomorrow. You've lost a lot of weight these days, so you have to make up for it quickly."

"Hehe, you are wrong to think that way... You should think that it is a great blessing to be able to eat such good rice porridge now, and the hardships in the past are nothing at all."

"That's nothing?" Bai Muyun couldn't help being dumbfounded.

"It doesn't count."

Hu Jiuzhang answered simply.

"That's just a hungry stomach. Just find something to eat and continue this life. Xiaobai...you have never seen a war...the snow at the foot of Tianshan Mountain is so thick...the drums are not yet coming In half an hour, they were all dyed red. The corpses were piled on the top of the city. If they didn’t move for a while, they would be frozen directly on the stone city wall. Just people staying in that place... would freeze to death. Not to mention starving, staying up late, and killing people."

Hu Jiuzhang spoke leisurely, but fell into memories. He seemed to be able to see the snow at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, whitening the entire fortress they were stationed at.But the snow flakes couldn't cover the blood spattered by countless fierce battles on the stone city wall, nor could it cover the murderous intent of the barbarian legion condensed outside the fortress many times.

"When fighting, you should avoid slack, especially in winter. The winter in Beiting is cold. Once upon a time, a brother in my team encountered enemy forces while patrolling. Unfortunately, he was injured. It was only a minor injury, but it was a human injury. I can't cheer up, because of this, my brother froze to death in his sleep... Hey... Before he fell asleep, our team deliberately ranked him at the bottom, It’s where the wind is kept out, and it’s warmer than the outside. On his left is Da Zhu, and on his right is Lao Ding. The two of them spend the night sandwiching him, chatting a few words from time to time, but just like that... when people fall asleep, they freeze to death. It's..."

When Hu Jiuzhang said this, his nasal cavity was a little sore, he quickly lowered his voice, and put on a calm look.

"Hey...they're all unappealing...Actually, we soldiers are doing pretty well...At least when a person dies, the family members can still get compassionate allowances."

"...Then... How much is the allowance?"

Hu Jiuzhang still looked indifferent, but Bai Muyun's face became more and more turbulent.He fixed his eyes on Hu Jiuzhang, as if he could see the snow on Tianshan Mountain and the chilling cold from his face.But Bai Muyun is so big, he has never been out of Chang'an.He has never seen the snow in Tianshan Mountain, he has only seen Longshouyuan, this piece of prosperous Chang'an.

"Two or two."

Hu Jiuzhang didn't think about it.

"Two taels of silver...it would be the best if you could transport the dead body back and match it with a coffin. Many brothers died on the border of the barbarians, and their bodies could not be brought back. I tore off the wooden nameplate from the armor and sent it back to the family. A sign with a few words is a living person. Hehe... Sometimes I think, why am I alive today? In fact, after such a comparison, I would Consider yourself lucky, don't you think?"

Hu Jiuzhang looked up at Bai Muyun, but Bai Muyun's face was sullen, and he didn't speak for a long time.

"……What's wrong?"

"You..." When Bai Muyun spoke again, his voice was trembling.Hu Jiuzhang was taken aback for a moment, but saw that the slightly reddened corners of the pale-faced son's eyes were moist.

"Aren't you moving me..." Bai Muyun's voice was filled with tears, he hastily put down the bowl in his hand, lowered his head and wiped his face several times, his movements became heroic in a hurry.Hu Jiuzhang looked at him silently, neither smiled nor made a sound.The two of them remained silent for two or three seconds before seeing Hu Jiuzhang sigh meaninglessly.

"Hey... Who has compared with you? I don't even know who you are, so how can I compare with you?"

"You blame me for not telling you my identity?"

"How dare I blame you—"

"Hey... old Hu..."

Bai Muyun's voice was pleading, as if he was acting like a baby.

"I don't blame you..." Hu Jiuzhang didn't look at him.Bai Muyun's brows were tightly furrowed, and after a while, he let out another sigh.

"I'll tell you, it's not enough. My father was originally the shepherd of Yongzhou, and later he was the governor of Anton. He was a celebrity in the dynasty. You understand, don't you?"

But Hu Jiuzhang took a deep breath, and looked at Bai Muyun.

"Hey - I still underestimate you! But since your father is the local military governor, why is your family not in the Anton Governor's Mansion, but in Chang'an?"

Before Bai Muyun could answer, Hu Jiuzhang opened his mouth wide in surprise.

"Ah... I see, you shouldn't..."

Hu Jiuzhang seemed to have thought of something, but Bai Muyun's face was not good-looking at this time. He was afraid that he didn't want Hu Jiuzhang to think of this, and he actually showed a bit of embarrassment on his face.

"Old Hu... Don't be angry, I didn't deliberately hide it from you, I just want to associate with you like ordinary people, you—"

"Your surname is not Bai, is it?" Hu Jiuzhang didn't care what Bai Muyun said.

"I'm just a pawn, I don't have much knowledge... But your home is so luxuriously furnished... Even if you are a feudal official, you may not be able to use such a standard, right?"

"Eh……"

Seeing Bai Muyun let out a sigh, Hu Jiuzhang's guess became more and more certain.

"Your surname is Li...isn't it?"

"I didn't mean to lie to you...Old Hu."

Bai Muyun looked ashamed, but Hu Jiuzhang suddenly felt like a dream.

"Hehe... I never thought that I, Hu Jiuzhang, would be able to eat the food fed to me by the heirs of the royal family one day... It seems that I did not fight in vain in those five years... I am a soldier of the Tang Dynasty, and my family has been in the Tang Dynasty for three generations. My grandfather died in Fengsuibao at the age of 28. My father lost a leg when he fought against the Western Turks, haha... I never thought that I, Hu Jiuzhang, could eat the meal fed by the prince of the Tang Dynasty today... Hehe, after all It is my ancestors who accumulated virtue..."

Hu Jiuzhang was clearly smiling, but when Bai Muyun looked at him, he always felt that expression was crying.Bai Muyun raised his hand and rubbed Hu Jiuzhang's shoulder several times.The shoulders were skinny, but the muscles and bones under the skin were strong. Facing such a person, Bai Muyun couldn't say anything except his heartache.

"Old Hu, my name is actually Li Muyun... If you blame me, I have no complaints. But you and I... Our relationship will never change, so don't be estranged from me because of this. In this world, I You are the only one who can speak the truth, if it wasn't for you, I would never step into this house again, don't alienate me... I beg you."

Hearing Li Muyun's begging tone, Hu Jiuzhang was stunned for a long time before he could react.

He thought that the biggest official he could come into contact with in his life was Captain Zhang Duwei of their sixth regiment.But Hu Jiuzhang never thought that one day he would lie in the residence of the royal family's children in Chang'an City to recuperate from his injuries.It will take a lot of effort for him to adapt to this fact, not to mention that the prince surnamed Li is still pleading softly in front of him.

Hu Jiuzhang was stunned for a long time, forgetting about the pain in his leg, until Li Muyun's expression became more and more anxious, then he hurriedly spoke out.

"Cough... No, I won't alienate you."

Hu Jiuzhang got a little hairy from being stared at by him, raised his head to cover half of his face and coughed a few times, looking rather embarrassed.

"But I don't know...you...you..."

"Call me Xiaobai!" Li Muyun's voice suddenly tightened when he heard the address.Hu Jiuzhang quickly changed his words, but hearing him utter the word "Xiaobai" at this time, it was just how he heard it, how awkward it was.

"Uh... Xiaobai... I don't know... I don't know which prince of my Tang Dynasty your father is?"

"Oh—that's easy to say." Li Muyun didn't think about it, "My father was granted the title of King Su in the 13th year of Kaiyuan, and he opened the third division of Yitong, and this is how this Suwang Mansion in Chang'an came into being."

Li Muyun introduced it to Hu Jiuzhang unhurriedly, but when he heard the word "Su Wang", Hu Jiuzhang's mind buzzed for a moment, his face turned pale, and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

King Su...

It was King Su!