Blind Old Xu was an old soldier of Northern Liang. He was originally a crossbowman, but after being shot in the eye by a stray arrow, he became a cavalryman. His battle record was mediocre, so he really couldn't show off his head in the Northern Liang Army, where he exchanged his head for meritorious service. Before he retired, he didn't have much money left. Old Xu was a native of Jinzhou, Liaodong. He had been alone since he was young. He followed Xu Xiao of the Pillar State from Jinzhou to Liaoxi, and then from Liaoxi to Xiongqian Pass, and then to the Central Plains. During the Spring and Autumn War, many old soldiers who joined the army at the same time as Old Xu, as long as they didn't die, they all became officers or captains. Before they retired, they could even receive the title of Deputy Commandant of Zhaowu.
Therefore, although Old Xu was an old soldier, he wasn't a fierce soldier.
Those who didn't dare to tie their heads to their waistbands to fight for scholarly honor and could still earn official positions were only the children of wealthy families. Old Xu was a veteran who couldn't be said to be greedy for life, but was absolutely afraid of death. It was already considered very lucky that he didn't have his head chopped off by the Inspector-General.
Later on, Old Xu's remaining eye was also blind. He was careless when he went up the mountain to burn charcoal, so he became the blind Old Xu that people in and out of the alleys talked about. The most unlucky one was that after Old Xu became blind, when it rains, it pours. He was careless and didn't manage to avoid the hooves of a fine horse in the downtown area, so he was trampled into a cripple.
When the group of fine young men saw the old man rolling on the ground, they just laughed loudly. Blind Old Xu originally wanted to clench his teeth and fight, but when he touched the carrying pole on the ground, he heard voices saying that those young masters were the sons of some military commandant, the grandsons of some literary scholar in the capital, and the grandsons of the crown prince's horse washer. Old Xu threw away the carrying pole and cried like a child, howling over and over again that he should have died long ago. It made people's scalps go numb, and even some of the pitiful onlookers were scared away. One dandy disliked Old Xu's chatter and pulled out his sword to chop him down. Beiliang people had always been valiant. Even those dandy dandy might only have enough strength to untie the belt of a courtesan, but as long as they could pull out a sword, they could definitely chop him down. This made many dandy dandy who had just entered Beiliang feel very uncomfortable.
If that sword had chopped down on Old Xu's head at that time, His Royal Highness wouldn't be carrying the Green Ant Wine today.
At that time, Hsu Fengnian happened to be passing by. His horse was far more robust than that group of third-rate dandy dandy's, so his arrogance was a hundred times more unbridled. He didn't want to get involved in this mess, but he was hooked by Old Xu's heart-wrenching words, "My legs weren't broken by those bastards from West Chu, but they were crippled by my own people. God, your mother is as blind as I am!"
Hsu Fengnian didn't say anything and just let the evil slaves disperse that group of bastards. As for the broken arms and legs of those pampered young masters, how could His Royal Highness care? If they had the ability, they should just drag their families to the prince's mansion and ask Xu Xiao for compensation. It would be best if they went with an imperial edict.
Later on, Old Xu didn't die. For some reason, he was taken to get his legs treated. However, how could an old man's legs withstand the force of the horse's hooves? They were completely broken. Just as the blind Old Xu was about to sit in a small thatched hut by the riverside and wait for death, someone suddenly came from the yamen and said that he would be given a tael of silver every month. Old Xu trembled in fear. After receiving the money for half a year, he finally mustered up the courage to ask that official. The official said that this was a new rule in Beiliang's army to treat the old soldiers well. Later on, Old Xu asked an old fellow who was also half-dead and learned that this was true. However, they all needed to go to the yamen to receive the money.
Old Xu was puzzled. 'Good people get good karma? But no matter how you look at it, I don't think I'm a good person. When I was young, I burned, killed, and looted a lot with the Pillar State. '
Old Xu's legs were broken, but he could still barely walk with the help of his self-made crutches. The thatched hut had been repaired by the yamen's high-ranking official. Every year, before winter, a thick quilt would be sent over. Old Xu managed the vegetable garden quite well, and a tael of silver would be worth a thousand copper coins. Old Xu wasn't picky with his food, so he could still buy some meat wine with the spare money at the end of the month. He was living a good life.
Today, Old Xu was sitting on a wooden stool outside the hut and dozing off when he heard a loud voice shout, "Old Xu, Old Xu, let's drink. I caught a duck for you in the river on the way. It's really fat."
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