A ray of sunlight shone in through the gaps in the pine roof, and the disgusting smell of plaster filled the house. The dark eyes, pale face, and the huge arrow scar on his cheek made Tong Yunjie look like a ghost, and the same was true for him. After being pulled back from the pile of dead people, the wound on his right leg was ulcerated. Now, waves of stench emanate from time to time from the felt blanket.

Tong Yunjie used to be a juren from the Liao Kingdom. His room was the cleanest in the village, and there were several scriptures, but now he was lying on the bed and was too lazy to read the books. "What can I do in the future?" He thought to himself, "Like Kong Ming's like he was sitting in a wooden car and shaking the fan, or to teach the children in the village to read?" There were bursts of cheers after bursts of cheers outside the door, probably because the new General Zhao was practicing arrows with his brothers again. "I am a useless man, so why not die under the Khitan village." He punched the bed board.

The sound was quite loud. The wooden door creaked open. The little girl who served him looked at him like a frightened kitten, and asked timidly: "What are the instructions for the Sizhu family?" More than a dozen women in the village practiced the care of the injury with Doctor Ai from Chengying Camp. The little girl Sinan was less than fourteen years old, but she was the most attentive and diligent, so Wang Hengzhi specially transferred her to take care of the Sizhu family.

Tong Yunjie waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "It's nothing, you go out." He didn't want others to see his depressed appearance, so he turned his head to the window. In fact, in order to keep the cold, the window was closed all day long and there was no sight at all. After a long time, he still didn't hear the sound of closing the door. Instead, it seemed that someone was looking at him behind his back. Tong Yunjie said in a deep voice again: "I'll tell you to go out."

"The fourth brother." The voice of the eldest brother Wang Hengzhi came from behind. Tong Yunjie turned around, his eyes were still empty and unconscious, and he whispered: "Brother, don't call me like this. I, a useless man, can no longer be the fourth boss." Wang Hengzhi saw his sluggish expression, and felt ache in his heart. He looked at Xingde beside him. It was a difficult thing for them to come here this time.

With Tong Yunjie's collapsed cheeks, the fourth leader of the Han army, who was originally handsome and handsome, both civil and military, became such a person who was neither human nor ghost. Zhao Xingde whispered: "Does Brother Tong feel better if he is sick?"

When Tong Yunjie saw that it was a copycat outsider who came to see him, he forced a smile and patted his right leg and sighed, "I'll keep dragging it like this, I won't live or die." Every day, Doctor Ai from Chengying Camp came to treat him. The gauze soaked with medicine juice was sorely painful every time he cleaned his wound. At first, Tong Yunjie tried to endure it, but later the wound did not heal. He gave up and just thought that this leg was not his own, so he just tossed it.

Zhao Xingde was also sad and said in a deep voice: "I am here today to discuss something with Brother Tong."

"Oh?" Tong Yunjie was slightly surprised and asked, "What's the matter?"

Zhao Xingde hesitated for a moment and said slowly: "The wound has been ulcerated forever. I am afraid that life will be in danger. Doctor Ai discussed with me. To completely cure the injury, the only way is to cut off the right leg. So, let me discuss with Brother Tong whether to protect the right leg or life?"

"Preserve your right leg or your life?" Tong Yunjie felt so angry that he smiled sadly, "A useless man is just consuming the food in the village in vain. Then there is no need to bother Mr. Ai, please ask General Zhao to thank him for me."

"Fourth brother, what are you talking about?" Wang Heng said angrily, "Even if you become a useless person, you have to endure it and live. When your ancestor was captured from Hebei to Liaodong, you have suffered a lot, but you have not sought death. You can save your life. If you have the chance, you will have to fight for the lives of the Khitans.

Tong Yunjie closed his eyes slightly, his face as if he was ashamed, and he did not answer. Wang Heng was clumsy in his words, silent comforting, and looked at the morality beside him as if he asked for help.

Zhao Xingde sighed lightly and said slowly: "Brother Tong, I feel the pain of physical disability, so I will not act like a child. Doctor Ai said that even if the right leg is cut off, you can still install a prosthetic limb. You only need to adapt to it for a while and you can walk around normally." He paused, and saw that Tong Yunjie's face had not changed at all, and he said, "Although it is inconvenient to move and can no longer dance with swords, there may not be any other way to go to the battlefield to kill the Tartars."

Hearing this, Tong Yunjie opened his eyes and turned to look over. It seemed that the dying person seized a glimmer of hope, but seemed to be afraid that he would deceive him. Zhao Xingde nodded to him and said with a affirmative tone: "When the artillery arrives in Liaodong, the Han army needs to cooperate with our gunners. If the Han army grows stronger in the future, it may also be necessary to expand the artillery camp between the Jurchens and the Khitans. Brother Tong has a good reputation in the Han army, and it is rare to write and calculate, so I hope Brother Tong will take on this matter unwillingly."

A ray of light appeared in Tong Yunjie's eyes, revealing his constant changing thoughts. Zhao Xingde and Wang Hengzhi were waiting for him to make a decision. After a long time, they heard Tong Yunjie sigh, "Brother, you taught me the right lesson. My parents gave me this life, and I still have to stay and kill the Tartars." He looked up at Zhao Xingde again and bowed, "Thank you for your advice. Please ask General Zhao to thank Mr. Ai for me." After that, he closed his eyes, breathing in different degrees, and his heart was turbulent.

No matter who decides to cut off one leg, it will probably not be easy. Zhao Xingde also understood that it would be useless to say more at this time. He whispered to Sinan to take good care of Tong Yunjie, praised her for a few more words, and then with Wang Hengzhi.

Wang Heng forced a smile and said, "General Zhao is a scholar, but you still have a solution." He seemed very thoughtful. Last time he attacked the Khitan Village, he not only did not get any benefits, but also lost nearly half of his brothers. Although the brothers in the village had no thoughts about winning and had plans to defeat one Khitan, the atmosphere these days was still extremely heavy.

After being separated from Wang Hengzhi, Zhao Xingde still felt depressed in his heart, so he came to the vicinity of the archery range alone, but saw soldiers gathering together. A ten-man named Pan Xiaowu was talking about killing the Tartars on the moonlit night. When everyone saw Zhao Xingde and Wang Heng coming straight, they stood up and saluted them. Zhao Xingde smiled slightly and signaled Pan Xiaowu to continue saying, "Don't worry about him."

"At that time, more than a dozen brothers in our village were dragging their bows and arrows to the Khitan village. Taking advantage of the moon, they illuminated the shadow of the Khitan boys clearly. There were two whistlemen on the wall. Five of us aimed at one, and we shot the arrows at the same time. It was ashamed that we didn't care whether we had shot it. We shouted and ran away. Not long after, there were dog barking and horse hoofs behind us. More than a dozen brothers were separated. In the end, there were only three or four who came to our village."

Pan Xiaowu's tone was filled with sadness and pride. There were not many Han people in Liaodong who dared to shoot arrows at the Khitans. Unfortunately, most of the lost brothers were probably poisoned by the Khitan cavalry.

"Oh, why didn't you see clearly whether the Khitan dog was shot to death?" someone next to him said with dissatisfaction.

Pan Xiaowu glared and cursed, "If you can't stay, I'm afraid everyone's life will be explained there." He paused, and said with an uncertain tone, "It should be shot to death."

Zhao Xingde sighed slightly in his heart. Whether it is the Khitans or the Jurchens, they are very strict with the Han people under their rule, and are especially not allowed to practice martial arts and arrows. However, under the pressure of foreign races, the Han people have been obedient to it all year round, but they are powerless to resist. Now there are only a million, but they still have the end of mermaid meat in Liaodong. Thinking of this, my heart is a little heavier. The situation in Liaodong is like a big stone pressing on his heart, heavy.

"Since it is difficult to compete for the riding and shooting arrows, maybe we should practice a musket army, right?" He thought to himself, "But the entire army uses muskets as its main weapon, and the cost of military equipment is not a small number. Where does the musket come from? Where does the gunpowder come from? How can the Han army, such a pitiful material, support such a huge expense? The strength of the Liaodong Han army is too weak. Not only is it different from the power of the Khitan and Jurchens, but it is also very unfavorable to the number of millions of Han people in Liaodong. What is the problem?"

These questions lingered in his mind. While thinking, he practiced arrows unconsciously. It was not until dusk that he dragged his tired body and had dinner with the sergeant Chengying. He had taken the initiative to reduce his meals to the level of ordinary Han soldiers. Other Chengying soldiers also worked hard. Although they were so hungry every night, they finally felt relieved when they thought of the Han soldiers who were sleeping in the Khitan village.

It was dark in the winter in Liaodong and it was extremely cold at night. Zhao Xingde thought about it and wrote some countermeasures for the situation before he went to bed. However, his mind was still circling with the problems during the day, and he fell asleep unconsciously. When he was silent late at night, a slippery body penetrated into the quilt with a cold air, and stuck it next to Zhao Xingde like a swimming fish. He suddenly woke up, held the dagger out of the sheath in his right hand, and put it on the man's neck, and shouted coldly: "Do you want to die?"

The man's skin was full of goose bumps, and he was silent for a moment, and then he said in a crying voice: "General Zhao, it's me, the boss asked me to serve you. General Zhao, please don't kill me." Hearing the whimpering voice, it turned out to be the little girl Sinan, Zhao Xingde was silent.

It turned out that he took the food to the kitchen to share it with the little girl. Today, he praised her in front of Wang Hengzhi, which made people misunderstand. Sinan was the orphan of the old brother in the village. Wang Hengzhi thought privately that since Zhao De treats her well, even if he is a concubine, it would be better than ruining it in the mountains and forests, and he would not have a good home. So he asked the woman in the kitchen to teach her to serve her virtues at night. The little girl fell in love with her and seemed to understand the matter between men and women. Although she was shy and afraid, she still followed the instructions of her aunt. Now she was shy and scared, trembling like a kitten.

After Zhao Xingde figured out the causes and consequences, his heart became a little heavier. He took the dagger back and said in a deep voice: "Put on the clothes first." Sinan whispered "um" and got out of bed obediently. He heard a silly sound, and then he said "Okay" like a mosquito. Zhao Xingde lit the oil lamp. Seeing that the little girl was skinny and boneless, she couldn't say beautiful. Her thin cheeks were ashamed to the point of being as thin as a red cloth. Her skirt was thin and she was newly replaced, but she looked empty when hung on her body. She looked at Zhao Xingde pitifully, and her legs were trembling. Zhao Xingde couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow in her heart, and she sighed in a low voice: "I'm still a child."

It was dark outside, and Zhao Xingde put on a cloak and sent her back to the house where women and children lived. After experiencing this, he lost his sleepiness and patrolled the Han army's posts all the way, secretly calculating in his heart. The situation of sneaking into the house silently was the most dangerous. Although Chengying Camp lived in the Han army's camp, his own defense was too negligent. Starting from tomorrow night, the camp must arrange several posts themselves, so that the soldiers would be motivated.

Author: 2 updates today, the first update is given.
Chapter completed!