Since the beginning of the war, the Tang Empire had been burning everywhere.
The most tragic place was the Northern Frontier. The cavalry of the Golden Tribe Royal Court from the Wilderness had been fighting with the Northern Battlefront Army. Endless blood had been shed for every ranch and every town.
The most tragic place was the Eastern Frontier. The Northeast Border Military of the Tang Empire had been ambushed by the Yan army and the Eastern Wilderness cavalry in the capital city of Chengjing. Although they had made the enemy pay a heavy price, they had no more soldiers to use after this battle. The border was wide open, and the invaders' horses trampled on the fertile soil.
The most dangerous place was the Southern Frontier. The Qinghe Prefecture had rebelled and General Xu Shi had died. The Southern Battlefront Army had rushed back from thousands of miles away, but it was too late. The disciples of the Academy had fought against thousands of enemies and were all seriously injured. The main force of the West-Hill Divine Palace could break through the Verdant Canyon at any time and enter the central area.
The Wei and Si River Valleys, the richest and most central area of the Tang Empire, had not been affected by the war yet. The Tang Empire, which was famous for its efficiency, had begun preparing for the worst situation a few days ago. The stored food from all counties had been sent to Chang 'an by caravans. At the same time, they had begun to evacuate people. People in the suburbs of the capital had already been evacuated into the city.
Although the evacuation was carried out in an orderly manner and the evacuated people were not that miserable, they were still refugees of the war and could not enjoy a good life.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees who had entered Chang 'an chose to stay with their relatives and friends. Those who had no relatives or friends in the city were forced to stay with the families in the city by the prefectural magistrate.
Haichuan County of Tianbao Prefecture was very close to Chang 'an. The young man from the countryside, his mother and younger sister were from Haichuan, but they had no relatives or friends in the city. Therefore, they were arranged to stay with a family in Sanyuanli, which was close to the Vermilion Bird Avenue and usually had spare rooms. This arrangement was more appropriate.
The young man from the countryside had been living in this family for several days. Every day, he had two hot meals to eat. Although he was living in a woodshed, and the master had brought several blankets, he was still living under someone else's roof after all. There were many inconveniences. Who wouldn't miss the hot kang, pickled vegetables, and fatty meat at home?
This was the arrangement of the imperial court, and the government had promised that all expenses would be refunded afterwards. At such a critical moment, this family in Chang 'an would not have any objections. However, the sudden addition of three refugees in their family inevitably made them feel inconvenient, especially the young man from Chang' an, who was even more dissatisfied.
The young man from the countryside had long been resentful of the attitude of the young man from the city. He thought to himself that if it were not for the fact that the farmers had been frugal enough to send food to Chang 'an, they would have already starved to death.
The woman understood her son's feelings very well, but she still persuaded him to live in Chang 'an. At least he would have hot food to eat, a place to live, and no need to worry about being hurt by those barbarians. What kind of life could he expect?
The country kids had been persuaded, but the sudden snowfall last night had caused the temperature in Chang 'an to drop since the morning. By now, it was unbearably cold. He went to the front yard to ask the host for some hot water, but unexpectedly the young man was stingy and only gave him one pot, and did not want to give more. Thinking about his mother's cold legs, he could not suppress his anger.
He didn't expect that before he could find trouble with that guy, that guy had already barged into the woodshed.
"Zhang San, what are you doing!"
The country kid looked at the guy with two knives and looked a little nervous. He thought that the other party really had some evil intentions, so he did not dare to resist. Instead, he quietly moved his feet backward and reached out his right hand to the bench next to the brazier. He silently swore in his heart, "If the other party really wants to bully me, then I'll fight!"
He brought the bench from Haichuan Village. It was made of solid hardwood and varnished. It was very heavy and sturdy. When he was a child, he was laughed at for having many fathers. He once tried to fight with this bench and used three village children to open their heads. It proved that this bench was very useful.
The city kid who had barged into the woodshed with two knives was indeed surnamed Zhang, but naturally could not be called Zhang San. His real name was Zhang Nianzu, and he was not ranked third.
"Li Si, I have something to talk to you about." Zhang San looked at the country kid and said.
The country kid's surname was Li, and his name was Li Guangdi. He was not ranked fourth. The way the two teenagers called each other was actually a continuation of the mutual ridicule and bickering from a few days ago.
Li Guangdi looked at Zhang Nianzu's hand with vigilance. But the next moment, he found that the situation was not what he had imagined, because Zhang Nianzu's hand was trembling and his face was a little pale.
Li Guangdi looked down on cowardly and useless city kids, but after fighting so many times these days, he knew that Zhang Nianzu was not that kind of person. Whether it was a murder or a threat, Zhang Nianzu would not turn pale.
Because it was obviously because he was scared.
Zhang Nianzu looked at Li Guangdi and said, "I saw a monster."
His face was pale, and the kitchen knife and chopper in his hand were trembling violently. There was even a sound of wind.
Zhang Nianzu swallowed with some difficulty, looked at Li Guangdi and continued saying, "My family is very afraid, and no one dares to fight that monster on the street, but … I want to try."
Li Guangdi was a little confused and asked, "What monster?"
Zhang Nianzu said, "A guy in cyan clothes, with only two fingers on his left hand, but he can walk half a street with one step, and he can summon the wind and rain. He is a monster no matter how I look at it."
Hearing this, Li Guangdi knew what he was talking about, and his face suddenly became ugly.
Since a few days ago, the Chang 'an Local Government, the shops, and the men of the Fish-dragon Gang had issued warnings to every family and yard. Although he lived in the woodshed with his mother and younger sister, he also knew what would happen today.
The morning snow fell, and there was no smoke. Chang 'an City seemed to be empty today, but in fact, everyone was nervously and uneasily waiting for the result of the war at home.
Li Guangdi woke up very early. He stood in the snowstorm in the backyard and saw many scenes that he had only heard of in stories and legends. He saw the cracks in the snow clouds, he saw countless bolts of lightning falling from the sky, he saw the rain that fell in the middle of winter, and he also saw the burning clouds.
He was very afraid, so he stopped watching and began to complain to his mother about the lack of hot water, trying to suppress his fear with his hatred for the boy in the city in the front yard.
Although he was just a teenager, he was a Tang. He felt that this kind of fear was very shameful.
Li Guangdi never thought that Zhang Nianzu would be so daring to peep at the battle on the street. Thinking back to his previous fear, he felt his face burning up.
"Why are you telling me this?"
In order to hide his shame, he glared fiercely at Zhang Nianzu.
Zhang Nianzu really didn't like hearing his Haichuan accent, but thinking about what he was going to do next, he suppressed the urge to make fun of him and swallowed the saliva that kept gushing out of nervousness.
"That green-robed demon is very terrifying. Even the teacher from the academy can't beat him."
He said, "I'm ready to go, but the old men in the front yard are too timid. They don't dare to go with me, and they won't let me go … I think you at least have some courage. Do you dare to go with me?"
Li Guangdi asked, "What for?"
Zhang Nianzu said, "Go and help."
Li Guangdi asked, "How?"
Zhang Nianzu raised the two knives in his hands and said, "Chopper and kitchen knife, you choose first."
…
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