novelSusiti Chapter 75 Li Changzhang Guangling
Chapter 75 Li Changzhang Guangling
As the year draws to a close, everything returns to calm.
Before the new year, the Zhou state's campaign against the Huainan region finally came to an end. Apart from Haizhou falling into Zhou hands and the fortress on the south bank of the Dangyang pontoon bridge still being defended by Zhou troops, the main force of the Zhou army completely withdrew from the area south of the Huai River.
The counties north of the Yangtze River in the Southern Yu Kingdom finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the local militia and volunteer troops sent to the front lines were disbanded and returned home. After all, they were not regular troops, and there was no reason for them not to be able to go home for the New Year.
Although the Qinghuai Army successfully held off the Zhou Army's offensive for more than a month, it suffered considerable casualties. The moment the Zhou Army withdrew, the Yu Army's nerves, which had been tense for nearly two months, relaxed, and the tension in their hearts dissipated.
Therefore, facing the Zhou army's remaining forces at the Dangyang pontoon bridge, Liu Renzhan, the military governor of Qinghuai Army, suspended operations after an unsuccessful attack. People are not machines; in the freezing cold, neither the Zhou army nor the Yu army could be attacked. In any case, the priority was to let the soldiers who had survived the great battle celebrate the New Year first.
The soldiers' morale had waned, and the people across the land, who had lived in fear for two months, were also starting to relax. Although this year had been ravaged by war, the people still chose to strive to survive, digging out their secretly buried belongings to clean, organize, and air them out. As the old saying goes, whether you're rich or poor, you should wash yourself clean before the New Year.
In the tranquil countryside of Guangling, next to Li Xuan's old house was the house of veteran Li Yuantu.
The year Feng Niaoniao married into the family, Li Yuantu hired neighbors to renovate the old, dilapidated house so that his son, Li Changneng, could get married. The house was expanded into a two-courtyard house with two additional side rooms.
After Li Chang and his wife took their child and followed Li Xuan north in May of this year, only the elderly Li Yuantu lived in the huge house.
Li Yuantu's daily work consisted of working in the fields with the tenants who rented Li Xuan's land, tending to Li Xuan and Li Ji's houses, and cleaning and sweeping the ancestral graves of Li Xuan and Li Ji. His life was lonely yet fulfilling. Following Li Xuan's instructions before he left, the rent was reduced by 10% this year, and things finally went smoothly.
But the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Li Xuan, were not here. Who would look at this year's accounts? It was truly unusual. Thinking of Mr. and Mrs. Li Xuan, Li Yuantu also thought of his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson who had followed them north. Choosing to stay behind alone to guard the fields and the Li family's ancestral graves was certainly righteous, but during holidays he wouldn't see his son, daughter-in-law, or grandson.
Li Yuantu still felt a pang of unease. He was getting old, getting old. He couldn't help but think of his children and grandchildren, and each time he did, he couldn't help but laugh at himself for getting old. The once fierce general, the cold-faced killing god, the man with a spirit as hard as steel, now frowned over the affairs of his children and grandchildren.
A few days before the New Year, a young man led two horses and carried a pile of money and silk to Li Yuantu's doorstep.
Looking at the familiar scenery around him, the young man thought about the sorrowful faces of the people he had seen while traveling to various homes during this period, and felt both happy and sad.
Bang, bang, bang! Finally, the young man knocked on the courtyard gate.
Li Yuantu was preparing a simple meal in his kitchen. Li Xuan and his wife were not home, nor were their son and daughter-in-law. As an old man, he wasn't a good cook and was too lazy to bother, so he just made do with whatever he could find for each meal.
When the knock came, he was preparing to start a fire and had to put his flint and steel away again. Firewood was piled up in the kitchen, and fire management couldn't be taken lightly. After making sure the flint and steel were back in place, he slowly turned and pushed open the kitchen door, calling out, "Coming, coming. Who is it?"
Before he finished speaking, Li Yuantu could already see two horses and the gifts they carried through the courtyard wall. He also saw that familiar face peeking over the wall. (The walls of ordinary people's courtyards were very low; most families simply built a bamboo fence.)
The young man's honest face finally broke down, and he cried out in a sob, "Father, your unfilial son has come back to celebrate the New Year with you."
Li Yuantu stood there dumbfounded. His son, Li Chang, had clearly gone to Zhou to join the army with his young master, Li Xuan. How could he suddenly appear at his doorstep? Where was his daughter-in-law? Where was his grandson? Where was his young master's family? Could they have brought bad news?
Seeing that Li Yuantu was stunned, Li Chang hurriedly knocked on the door again and shouted, "Father, Father, it's me!"
Li Yuantu snapped out of his daze and rushed to the courtyard gate with a speed unbecoming of an elderly person. He then unlatched the gate and opened both doors.
Li Chang was about to greet Li Yuantu when Li Yuantu grabbed him, his voice trembling as he asked, "Where are the young master and young mistress? Where are my dear daughter-in-law and grandson? Why have you returned alone? Tell me, did you desert on the battlefield, abandoning the young master and running away?"
Li Chang, terrified, immediately protested, "Father, what are you saying? On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, we occupied Haizhou. Taking advantage of the chaos in Jiangbei and the fact that the Yu Kingdom was too busy to deploy troops to block transportation routes, Brother Xuan ordered me to lead a group of brothers to deliver the compensation and bonuses of the wounded and killed soldiers to their homes before the New Year. After all, we all came from Huaidong, and the war has reached our doorstep. It's convenient to deliver the goods to each family while we're at it."
Li Yuantu, living in the countryside, was unaware of the changing battle situation at the front. Upon hearing from his son about the capture of Haizhou, this former military leader immediately sketched out the latest military situation in his mind. Then, he glared at him fiercely and said, "Look at your big mouth! How can you talk about military intelligence outside the gate? Come in quickly, don't let anyone see!"
Li Chang had no choice but to lead the two horses inside, muttering, "This is the countryside, and we have neighbors we know all too well. It's not the government office of Yu State, so what's there to be afraid of?"
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Li Yuantu said coldly, "Looks like you've gotten too big for your britches after your trip. You dare to talk back now. Do you even know what 'loose lips sink ships' means? Since you're eating the food of the military, you have to follow the rules. You must keep your mouth shut and your mind clear. Forget it, you're hopeless, you blockhead. I've lost money in this life."
Despite his words, Li Yuantu skillfully took the reins and led the two horses into the stable. He gathered hay, beans, and grains from the granary and filled the horses' troughs. He also fetched a bucket of warm well water for the horses to drink.
Li Chang deftly unloaded the goods from the horses' backs and carefully carried them home. The two poor horses, having followed Li Chang on his journeys for the past few days, were sleep-deprived and ate meager meals. They had lost a layer of fat, and today, thanks to Li Chang's attentive care, they finally had a good day.
They affectionately licked Li Yuantu's old face, thanking this kind-hearted man for providing them with food and water. With a joyful neigh, they began to devour the horse feed Li Yuantu had prepared.
After tidying up the stable and settling the two horses, Li Yuantu casually carried the last of the valuables from the horses' backs into the house.
The house was cold; there was no fire or charcoal burning. Li Chang was about to go out to move the remaining valuables when he saw his father bring them in.
Li Yuantu put down his things and said to Li Chang, "Let's go to the kitchen. It's warm there, and we're about to start a fire to cook. You came back so suddenly, and I don't have anything good to cook for you."
Li Chang dared not presume, so he immediately went into the kitchen, picked up a flint and steel, and began to start a fire in the stove.
Li Yuantu originally planned to cook millet porridge with pickled vegetables and dried radishes, which would have been a decent meal. But since his son had come back, even though he said there wasn't much to eat, he couldn't help but take down a piece of salted cured meat hanging on the wall, chop it up, slice it, and throw it into the pot to cook with the millet porridge.
The fire in the stove was lit, and the pot of porridge began to heat up. Only then did Li Yuantu begin to ask Li Xuan and the others about what had happened after they went north.
Li Chang replied, "All is well, all is well. The young mistress is pregnant again. The two young masters are very lively. Father, you don't know how powerful the Emperor of Zhou is. In August of this year, he defeated 100,000 Khitan troops and recovered the lost territory in Hebei. At the end of September, he immediately sent troops to Huainan."
We crossed the Huai River in mid-October and advanced eastward along the river from Shouzhou. We ambushed the Yu Kingdom's naval reinforcements near Haizhou, then seized the opportunity to attack Haizhou. Xuan-ge obtained some money in Haizhou, and with the year-end approaching, he specifically sent me with members of the Li family to take the money and deliver it to the families of our fallen brothers before the New Year.
Li Yuantu asked with concern, "Haizhou is an important town. Did you suffer heavy casualties after capturing it?"
Li Chang sighed, "The casualties in attacking Haizhou were not high; the night raid was successful, and we captured it in one night. However, before that, our 6,000 troops ambushed the Yu Kingdom's Fu Hailongxiang Army, which numbered over 20,000. Although we successfully annihilated the Fu Hailongxiang Army, we also suffered more than half of our casualties. If we hadn't successfully captured Haizhou, many of our wounded would probably have died in the freezing wilderness."
Li Yuantu was a veteran, and from his son's brief description of the battle, he knew it was a difficult and dangerous fight, with victory or defeat hanging by a thread. But where on the battlefield isn't difficult? Where isn't dangerous? So he didn't say anything like ordinary parents would.
Li Yuantu asked with concern, "With such heavy casualties, it must be hard for you to go door-to-door delivering money."
Li Chang nodded sadly and said, "Father once said that if we're unlucky and die, that's the final fate of us martial artists. Sigh, that's what he said, but when I sent him the news of his passing before the New Year, I really didn't know what to say. I'm not good at comforting people."
Li Yuantu sighed, "The pain of losing a son is beyond words. If one out of ten people leaves the village, it's a miracle if they return home in glory. Don't blame yourself too much. There was an agreement when we recruited soldiers: life and death on the battlefield are predestined, and if you're paid to risk your life, you have to do it. We veterans all know that. No matter how sad you are, you have to keep living. If you can deliver the compensation to their doorstep, they will only be grateful to you."
Li Chang hummed in agreement. He understood the logic, but emotions were irrational. He had only been in the army for a few months, so naturally he couldn't handle emotions as well as his father, who had spent ten years in the military.
While watching the fire, Li Chang said, "After we arrived in Bianjing, we stayed in a place called Sweet Water Lane. Sweet Water Lane is located in the southeast corner of the inner city of Bianliang, right next to a city gate called Yangzhou Gate."
The area was originally reduced to ruins during the war. Xuan and Ji bought half of the street, and behind it, Madam Feng has been cleaning up and rebuilding Sweetwater Lane, reclaiming more than twenty houses.
Cui Niang and I, along with our child, initially lived in the same house as the young master and mistress. Later, the young mistress divided our property among herself and gave us a separate household. Cui Niang then moved there with her child. However, the two of them still ate and used the same things as the young mistress every day and obeyed her orders.
I've heard from Xuan-ge that the rewards in the army are generous, and he plans to continue buying abandoned land and houses in Tianshui Lane. He believes that once Bianliang prospers, these will generate a fortune. Besides the houses in the city, Xuan-ge and his wife also bought several thousand acres of wasteland and barren mountains outside Bianliang. They said they would spend several years developing them as their family's foundation in Bianliang.
By the way, before setting off in August, Brother Ji got married in Bianliang.
Li Yuantu remained silent, staring intently at the rising steam from the stove, patiently listening to his son's rambling. As people get older, what they love most is hearing about who got married and who had a baby. Conversely, they absolutely cannot bear to hear anything about the battles and adventures of their youth.
Li Yuantu finally asked with delight, "Brother Ji is married? Where is the bride's family from? Did you find a family in Bianliang City?"
Li Chang gently stirred the firewood, turning the red-hot side to one side to expose the unburnt bottom. As soon as the bottom came into contact with the air, flames immediately shot out.
Hearing his father's question, Li Chang explained, "The woman Ji-ge is marrying comes from the Pan family. They are a military family from Bianliang. It is said that the head of the Pan family was once a brave cavalry general, but he has long since retired and lives at home. The head of the Pan family has a nephew named Pan Mei, who is now a close associate of the Zhou state's emperor. It was Pan Mei who arranged the marriage between Ji-ge and the Pan family head's daughter. That lady from the Pan family is also pregnant."
Li Yuantu breathed a sigh of relief. Li Ji was already twenty years old (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning), not young anymore. If it weren't for some prior business delaying things, they wouldn't have waited until now to get married.
He smiled with satisfaction: "Not bad, not bad at all, Young Master Ji is truly remarkable. The wedding was held in early August, and the expedition was held in late August. In just a few days, he managed to get the Pan family girl pregnant. This must be a blessing from the Li family ancestors. We'll go to the Li family ancestral graves later and tell the ancestors about it."
Li Chang smiled憨厚ly and said, "Of course, of course."
The thought that both Li Ji and Li Xuan's wives were pregnant meant that the younger generation of the Li family would soon be born like chicks.
Li Yuantu suddenly realized something, his expression changed, and he asked his son, "Young Master and Young Nephew have both achieved success. What about you? Cui Niang has only given birth to one son since marrying into the family, and you've just been watching? Have you been neglecting your studies outside, wasting your time on other things?"
Li Chang stared at his father, mouth agape in disbelief. He stammered, "I haven't gone astray. We trained in the main camp when we arrived in Bianliang. I only came home twice. There's no sign of pregnancy with Cui Niang, what can I do?"
Li Yuantu roared, "Everyone else has gone home twice, and both Madam Feng and Madam Pan are pregnant. Why isn't Cui Niang pregnant? It's all because you're lazy and don't work hard! I'm so angry!"
Li Chang felt that going home was not a good thing. Why was everything being blamed on him?
Fortunately, Li Yuantu was merely using this as an excuse to reprimand Li Chang and rekindle his fatherly pleasure. Afterwards, completely unaffected, he continued, "How large is the wasteland outside the city that Young Madam Feng bought? What was the price?"
Li Chang had no choice but to obediently reply, "There are about 1,700 mu of dry land and over 2,000 mu of barren hills. The young mistress surveyed the area and said that the mountains are rich in water veins, and there are rivers nearby that can provide irrigation. With some effort, it will become a good field."
Li Yuantu sighed, "Such a large business, alas, the young master and young mistress really won't be coming back."
A sense of desolation welled up within them, a sense of being stuck in their home and livelihood. But what if their home in Bianliang were ten or a hundred times larger, and their land there ten or a hundred times more abundant? Could this small, rural place still be a home for Li Xuan and Feng Niaoniao?
Although Li Yuantu had a premonition of all this when Li Xuan and his wife went north to the Zhou Kingdom to make their fortune, he still felt a mix of emotions when it actually became a reality. The consolation was that Li Xuan was considerate of him, specially sending Li Chang away from the army to secretly return and spend the New Year with him, so his worries for Li Xuan were not in vain.
Li Chang quickly replied, "No, Xuan-ge and his wife are both thinking of home. Xuan-ge said that once Haizhou is captured, the situation in Jiangbei will change drastically. If all goes well, the allegiance of Jianghuai might be decided next year. At that time, he will return home in glory with his wife and two other young masters—oh, I mean three young masters. That would make the house much more lively."
Li Yuantu's usually cold and hard lips unconsciously curved into a smile. Yes, the young master and young mistress were returning home in glory, triumphant and honored. They must be high-ranking officials by then. The village houses would need to be renovated according to the new etiquette; they were just ordinary residences now, but next year or the year after, they would become official residences.
My lord, your son is becoming more and more successful. You and your wife can rest in peace now. Thinking of this, Li Yuantu's eyes reddened, and he couldn't help but gently wipe the corners of his eyes under the cover of the steam from the stove.
Li Chang, unaware of his father's actions behind the stove, continued to talk incessantly about life in Bianliang: "Bianliang is truly in the north, all we eat is mutton. At most, there's carp. It's just the same few dishes over and over again, there's not much to eat. I think we should move the capital to our Guangling. This is where people should live!"
Li Yuantu said irritably, "Look how pleased you are with yourself, doing so well now. Even mutton and carp aren't enough for you. Looks like my pot of millet porridge isn't presentable either."
Li Chang quickly replied, "How could that be? This is millet from our own land; how can it compare to anywhere else? I was just saying. Even Madam Feng said that the land in our Guangling is better, unlike the barren land outside Bianliang that's difficult to cultivate."
Li Yuantu snapped out of his reverie and suddenly asked, "How much benefit have you received in the army? Young Master Xuan isn't a stingy person. He can afford to buy land and houses in Bianliang, so he certainly won't mistreat you."
Li Chang smiled smugly and said, "Of course. Although your son is unfilial, he has managed to scrape together several hundred strings of cash and various goods over the past few months. Apart from what he brought home, the rest is all kept by Cui Niang."
Li Yuantu asked anxiously, "The young mistress has already purchased land and houses in Bianliang. Didn't you two think of following suit? The young mistress is so shrewd; she certainly wouldn't suffer a loss."
Li Chang was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Bianliang is nice, but it's not my home. Cui Niang and I want to save our money so that after Jiangbei is returned to Zhou, we can buy wasteland near our village and build a manor."
Li Yuantu sighed, "Are you all foolish? You don't even want land, just a house and a shop would be fine. You'll be coming back to live here later, but your grandchildren still have to work hard in Bianliang. Will you be renting a house then, or will you continue to eat at Xuan-ge's place?"
Li Chang was dumbfounded.
Li Yuantu shook his head sadly. His son wasn't very bright, and his daughter-in-law wasn't very worldly either. It was still his old father who had to worry about things. Well, at least his old father was still somewhat useful.
Li Yuantu thought for a moment, then continued to advise, "Cui Niang has been married into the family for several years and is an excellent cook, making a great contribution to our household. Go and pay your respects to your in-laws tomorrow. Take some of these things with you, and remember to ask them for a letter from home. Although Cui Niang doesn't like to show off, she was raised by parents too, and after coming so far with you, how could she not miss her parents? By the way, have you visited the Feng family, the young mistress's family?"
Li Chang shook his head and said, "Not yet. The Feng family has moved back to Guangling City. I didn't dare to go into the city. I just went to the Feng family's residence in Qingshui Market to greet their old servant and arranged to deliver a letter to Xuan-ge in Qingshui Market tomorrow."
Li Yuantu nodded and said, "In that case, let's go to our in-laws' place the day after tomorrow. I'll take you with me. The New Year is just around the corner, so let's go and pay our respects to our in-laws before the New Year."
Li Chang nodded: "I'll do whatever Father says."