It took a long time to snow, and finally cleared up. However, the snow on the ground had not melted. Looking around, the fields were covered with whiteness.

Zhu Gaoxu felt the cold wind on his face and felt that the snow would probably not melt throughout the winter.

After the Central Army decided to continue to advance north, nearly ten days have passed, and the days have now entered mid-October.

The Ming army had almost no effective military supplies within a radius of thousands of miles, and the military ration reserves on the return journey were getting fewer and fewer. The soldiers had to eat dead horses to save military rations. The weather was very cold, and it was so cold that it was so cold that it was so hard to bear at night. The soldiers were tired, and they had traveled about three thousand miles since they went to war!

However, Zhu Gaoxu often inspected various battalions, believing that the Ming army still maintained considerable combat effectiveness and morale until now. The army was indeed very hard-working with good generals and guns.

At night, the army had stopped marching and selected places to camp.

In the Central Army camp, it was very lively tonight. There was a low lava platform in the middle of the camp, and many soldiers were setting up stages on it. Everyone was so cold that they called Bai Qi, but they were all excited, and the platform was in a hurry.

Almost all the rough military men in the army, but there was no shortage of skilled men from all over the Ming Dynasty. The soldiers used dead branches, paper and silk cloth to make trees that looked like flowers, and also made a thatched house and yard with dead grass and soil, and decorated them. The stage looked colorful and beautiful.

It was getting late, and torches were lit around the stage, and the fire was bright for a moment. Countless soldiers lined up to the bottom of the stage, and everyone was busy shoveling out the snow, plastered the felt blanket, and lit the fire. People gathered around the stage and prepared to watch the show.

The camp was very lively, and many people were discussing what kind of play to sing tonight, whether it was the Southern Opera or the Northern Opera.

Soon, Zhu Gaoxu, who was wearing a dragon suit and a coat, also brought the virtuous master, Duan Xueheng, surrounded by civil and military officials, and came to the crowd. The soldiers stood up and held military salutes. Zhu Gaoxu walked along the way, raised his hands and gestured, saying, "No gift, no gift."

He looked at the surroundings and smiled at Qi Tai beside him and said, "It's a good job, it's just a good wine to reward the army."

Qi Tai said: "I can't find wine in Mobei. When the army returns to the court to ask for me, wine and meat will be lacking."

After Zhu Gaoxu and others took their seats on the stool in front, the military musician took the instrument and came to the edge of the stage, and played the music with a blow and beat. Tens of thousands of soldiers nearby looked at the stage. The days of marching and camping were so boring. No matter what play they sang tonight, everyone seemed to be very happy.

After a while, a young student wearing a military uniform and a helmet walked onto the stage. At first, people thought he was a soldier who was going to set up the stage, but the guy looked at the crowd and started to speak up.

His voice was straight and loud: "I am Zhang Yong, a vanguard of Datong Prefecture. My family is in Weizi Fort, and I either have farms or guards on weekdays. But today I am not in Weizi Fort. I was ordered to send a letter to the Gaobaihuo Shangfeng, and I went to Datong Prefecture City. I just came out of the prefecture..."

"Okay! OK!" Someone in the crowd under the stage quickly shouted.

Zhu Gaoxu watched the show seriously without changing his expression. When he heard the movements around him, he immediately felt that the soldiers' reaction to this "drama" was better than expected!

The young actor above can't sing operas, and he speaks it in plain language; his accent is Shanxi accent, but the opera lyrics use dialect vocabulary so that everyone can understand it.

Although this "drama" is not as interesting as the opera, it is a familiar military household identity, which is very down-to-earth. Most of the audience members present are military households, and they do not choose the play with very skill.

The young man on the stage was also very talented and his movements were very similar. He put his palm between his eyebrows, looked at him, and said, "Oh, it's getting late! I have to hurry up as soon as possible, so as to return to Weizibao early to report."

After he finished speaking, he quickly left the platform, as if he had left the place with a rush.

Then the two women on stage were both palace maids beside Zhu Gaoxu. One of them had double snails, red and green jackets, and pink faces. He looked like a wealthy daughter and was also very beautiful.

Another one with a tied hair, a cloth towel, a bloated dark double-breasted face, and it also used something to apply it on his face. It seemed that he was older.

As soon as the young lady came up, she closed her eyes, leaned over to smell the flowers tied by paper, and said with a smile: "The plum blossoms are so fragrant!"

The woman behind her said, "Miss, we have to go back quickly. If we can't go home before dark, the master will scold me again."

When the young lady faced the crowd, she also said the lyrics in vernacular: "My family Feng family, whose boudoir is Chunhan, is a woman from Fengjiazhuang in Datong City. She has hundreds of acres of fertile land and shops in the city. Although there is a little chilly today, it is rare to see the spring is bright. Many families are traveling to make spring. I miss the weeping willows by the river and the flowers in the mountains. I was separated from my family for a while, so I rushed home...ah!"

The little girl who claimed to be Chunhan shouted, reached out to cover her head and said, "It's raining!"

The woman next to her complained: "I just got the sun in the sky, but it rained in the second thought. It's strange to the weather!"

"Chun Han" looked up and looked back and said, "The rain is getting heavier and heavier. There seems to be a house over there. Let's go and hide from the rain first, and wait for the rain to stop and leave."

"I have to do this." The woman said.

The two women carried their skirts and ran towards the small thatched hut.

At this time, the young military clerk "Zhang Yong" also came on stage. He and two women ran to the front of the hut. Zhang Yong and Chunhan stopped, looked at each other, and turned around. Chunhan avoided him and lowered his head, grabbed the hem of his jacket, skirt, and topped his shirt, as if he was a little scared and a little shy.

Zhang Yong looked up at the sky for a while, then slapped his sleeves again, as if he was being wet from the rain. He walked two more steps towards the two women.

Chunhan looked back at him, took two steps back, and exclaimed: "What are you going to do?"

Zhang Yong stood still, reached out to make a comforting move, and said with his chest: "Don't be afraid, my wife. I am a soldier in the Ming Dynasty. The general of the army often said that our duty is to protect the land and protect the people. At the end of last year, the Tatars invaded, and we damaged many brothers to guard the countryside. Today, I met two people who hide from the rain, so I would not be rude and impolite; otherwise, how could I face the spirit of the fallen brothers in heaven?"

"Okay! OK..." The crowd suddenly cheered, interrupting the opera on the stage slightly.

Zhu Gaoxu also stroking his hands and praised him with great satisfaction. He turned to Qi Tai, the Minister of War behind, and said, "Even an illiterate military household can understand this play."

Qi Tai nodded thoughtfully, clasped his fists and said, "The Lord's clarification."

After the shouts in the crowd stopped, each person sang a song on the stage. First, Chunhan sang a song. The lyrics were very simple. The content of the lyrics was roughly praising Zhang Yong's heroic and upright style, and also knowing the meaning. The lyrics were written by Hou Hai, and the song of this lyrics was "A good jasmine flower"...

There are other songs behind, some of which are composed by the virtuous Wengzhu. The lyrics were written by the military Chinese officials, and Zhu Gaoxu changed them more straightforward and easy to understand. The music of the Ming Dynasty, whether it is a play or a small song, was very slow in pronunciation; with the simple lyrics, it was easy for everyone to understand.

Even Zhu Gaoxu gradually got involved in the play, and he was very immersed in the story on the stage, and felt it through the acquaintance, understanding, admiration and longing of Zhang Yong and Chunhan.

After about half an hour of performance, the sad parting scene finally came.

"Chun Han" faced the audience and said in a moving way: "Although the young master of the Li family in Datong Prefecture is both talented and beautiful, the matchmaker praised him in front of his parents. But my heart is... Fortunately, my parents are reasonable and can understand my daughter's ambitions. My daughter only loves heroes. My family should not dissuade Zhang Yong from going to the north. Only by letting him serve the country and follow the emperor to the Tatars in the north can the villagers live and work in peace and contentment, and no longer lose their families."

After she told her, she picked up a pen and said, "I will write to Zhang Yong now to let him understand my heart."

When Chunhan read out the letter, many soldiers' eyes were shiny in the fire, as if tears flashed out.

After Chunhan left, a team of soldiers walked onto the stage with their fierce sterns, and "Zhang Yong" was also among them. Zhang Yong held a letter and looked up and said, "I was under the command of Duke Ba and arrived at Luquhe under the order. We must fight bravely and be loyal to the Ming Dynasty!"

Just then, someone shouted: "The enemy army rushed to the battlefield!"

Then another group of soldiers rushed over in the captured Tartar armor, waving a series of swords and guns on both sides, as if they were martial arts plays in operas. With the sound of gongs and drums, everyone gradually left the stage.

Soon the last scene, Chunhan took a handful of pipa and sang a song: "The fragrance of plum blossoms fills the post road, and the wild geese soar into a journey. Chunhan leans in the pavilion, looking at the direction of the war. I recall the first meeting in the rain, and the wild geese send their sweetness to my mother. The warrior is loyal to the emperor and protects the country, Chunhan is in love with her..."

The song was written by the virtuous man, and the tune was simple and beautiful. When the Chunhan played and sang it for the second time, many soldiers in front also sang it, and the sound became louder and louder.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but turn his head and looked at Hou Hai and said, "From tomorrow night, ask them to perform in each military camp."

Hou Hai clasped his fists and said as he sang the soldiers: "I obey the order!"

The people around seemed to be still unsatisfied, and Zhu Gaoxu had already left the camp with his virtuous master and civil and military officials.

When he returned to the central army tent, the virtuous master asked softly, "Master, I heard that there is really Zhang Yong. Is the matter in the play real?"
Chapter completed!