Zhen Qian was worried about how to call Yan Ming, so he immediately changed his words: "My name is Zhen Qian, you can call me Zhen Lang, or you can call me Da Lang." Since Brother Yan is a few years older than me, I will call Brother Yan, and I heard the shopkeeper Song say that Brother Yan is an old pawn in Anxi, and he was sent back to his hometown, and he appeared in the mountains for some reason, and he appeared in the ...... in the mountains.

Song Yi didn't tell Yan Ming that Zhen Qian was the owner behind the Drunken Immortal Building, but it was unknown if Yan Ming could guess it.

Yan Ming took a bowl of ice wine handed over by Zhen Qian, drank it and laughed at himself: "Thank you Zhen Lang for saving your life, I am ashamed to say it, I returned to my hometown from Anxi three months ago, thinking that I had a hundred yuan of settling-in money in my arms, so I asked someone to buy a few acres of thin fields at home, but in addition to slashing and killing with a knife, I will use a hoe to farm the land, and I will spend almost all the settling-in money in my hand, and I saw that there was no firewood for burning at home, so I thought about going into the mountains to cut some firewood for some money, As a result, I didn't expect to suffer from heat stroke in the mountains and was rescued by Zhen Lang...... It's hard to put into words! ”

Hearing Yan Ming's words, Zhen Qian couldn't help but smile bitterly, but he was still a little puzzled: "Brother Yan, what are your faults in the army, and you still don't want to stay in the army, why don't you stay in Anxi ......."

There are some things that Zhen Qian shouldn't ask, but not long ago, I heard people talk about the Battle of Talas, and I was very curious, it stands to reason that after the defeat of the Tang army, the main general has just taken office, it should be the time to appease the army, why did Yan Ming return to his hometown at this time, is there any other reason for this?

Yan Ming seemed to have a stomach full of bitter water and had nowhere to speak, so he sighed deeply and said: "Don't hide it, I don't want to leave the Anxi military camp, I don't know if you have heard of the Battle of Talas?" ”

Sure enough, it was related to the Battle of Talas, Zhen Qian couldn't help but prick up his ears and nodded: "I heard that Gao Dashuai commanded 20,000 Anxi Army and jointly attacked Shi Guo with the Ge Lu Ministry, but I didn't expect Shi Guo to treacherously and secretly take refuge in Da Shi, attracting 200,000 troops from Da Shi to attack the Tang Army, but when the war was stalemate, the Ge Lulu Department suddenly rebelled and attacked the Tang Army from behind, which caused the Tang Army to be defeated, and Gao Dashuai was also transferred back to the court, and I also saw these news in the imperial court's mansion newspaper."

Yan Ming showed a face that couldn't tell what the expression was, his eyes swept over several faces around him, and he didn't say anything, so he reached out and picked up the wine jug that was chilled on the ice cubes, poured a whole bowl, about four or five taels and poured it into his mouth, touched the wine stains on the corner of his mouth with his hand, slapped the bowl heavily on the table and said, "Sort of!" ”

Yes, no, no, what is it!

Zhen Qian knew that Yan Ming was not easy to evaluate, whether it was the reason for the success or failure of the Battle of Talas, or Gao Xianzhi's command and personality, it was not something that could be evaluated by a small soldier.

"Then why did you leave the Anxi Army?"

"That's a long way to say", Yan Ming also avoided the sensitive topic and said: "After the Battle of Talas, Gao Dashuai was transferred back to the court, and Feng Dashuai took over the Anxi Protectorate, and then began to rectify military affairs. ”

Zhen Qian knew that after a big battle, no matter whether he won or lost, there were countless things behind him, whether it was a reward for meritorious deeds or accountability, while the upper part was intriguing, the lower part didn't know what was going on.

Yan Ming's words were not much, but they conveyed an extraordinary message, Zhen Qian couldn't help but start to sympathize with these old soldiers, as Yan Ming said, after being a soldier for more than ten years, what else would he do except be able to slash and kill? Whether it's a hundred severance pay, or a settling-in allowance, it's not too much, it's not too much to say less, it's better to teach people to fish than to teach people to fish, these thirty or forty-year-old old soldiers have already passed the prime of life, and they are all injured and sick, what's the use of putting them back to their hometowns, there is no pension and pension in the Tang Dynasty, and there is no ...... of pension.

Although Yan Ming didn't say anything about his current predicament, seeing that he was dressed in gray linen clothes, and he couldn't make a living, I was afraid that he would only be able to live in a downfall for the rest of his life.

"Then Brother Yan hasn't thought of any other way to make a living?"

The past is unbearable, Yan Ming said with interest: "What is the use of thinking, I thought that the severance pay could buy a few more acres of thin fields, but when I returned to my hometown, I realized that this money could not buy any land at all, and I didn't know how to farm, and I had to hire helpers, and I couldn't even solve the problem of food and clothing for a year, thinking that I still had a lot of strength, so I went into the mountains to chop firewood and sell it in the city, who would have thought that I couldn't even chop wood, wasn't it fortunate to meet Zhen Lang, my bones were going to be built in the mountains!" ”

Wang Peng was worried that Yan Ming would not be good at drinking as soon as he became sick, so he changed a small wine glass for Yan Ming, personally filled Yan Ming with a glass of wine and said: "Brother Yan, to put it mildly, you have also been a soldier in the army for more than ten years, why don't you find a household to be a guard, even if it is a guard in the courtyard, it is better than going into the mountains to chop wood?" ”

Yan Ming looked like the kind of person who was not good at words and couldn't hide his words, and when he heard Wang Peng's words, he said: "What my brother said is right, and some people say this to me, but my old bones are either not looked down upon by others, or I am treated as a thug and lackey by the master, and I can't bear this breath, it is better to be at ease now."

Song Yi stood beside him, his face was also stiff, and he said with deep sympathy: "Brother Yan is right, there are a few good people in those big families now, ......", he glanced at Zhen Qian unnaturally, his face was quite delicate, and he immediately cast an apologetic smile, as if he was not talking about Zhen Qian just now.

Zhen Qian has also heard of the privacy of many large families, in addition to extravagance, they are also becoming more and more domineering, which is really not suitable for the upright Yan Ming.

At this time, Zhen Qian's heart was mixed, and he didn't dare to say what he thought, but he felt an indescribable discomfort in his heart. It is precisely because of the conscription system that these veterans are helpless in their old age, although they may not necessarily endanger their neighbors, but once they are dissatisfied, they are ultimately an unstable factor.

Zhen Qian suddenly rose up and said, "Brother Yan, I don't know how many people were dismissed by the Anxi Army this time, and how many people were in Henan Province?" ”

"This?" Yan Ming thought for a moment and said: "I really don't know about this, but I still know how many people there are in Henan Province, and there are about more than 300 veterans who returned to their hometowns with me, and there are six ...... in Hengzhou alone."

Just as Zhen Qian was tapping on the side and slowly extracting the information he wanted from Yan Ming's mouth, Wang Qun walked in through the back door, prostrated himself in Zhen Qian's ear and said a word first, and then sat down with a smile.

Zhen Qian was also very happy, just now Wang Qun told himself that he happened to meet a blacksmith in the slave market, with average craftsmanship but rich experience, and bought the whole family with sixty yuan, and now there are carpenters and blacksmiths, many things can be considered. Thinking of this, Zhen Qian's body quietly approached Wang Peng on the side, whispered a few words in his ear, and saw Wang Peng leave the table with urine.

Next, Zhen Qian seemed to be curious about the baby, and continued to talk with Yan Ming, and the words were all about the customs and various interesting stories about the land of Anxi.

Although Yan Ming does not know how to write and ink, he has lived in the land of Anxi for more than ten years, and most of the countries in the Western Regions have some understanding, especially when it comes to the singing and dancing of Qiuci, the appearance and living habits of the Hu people, and even the troubadours wandering around in Anxi and other places, what Qiuci women, the bad weather in Shule, the jade in Khotan, and the business travel of broken leaves.

When the people around them heard that some small countries in the Western Regions really had sweat and blood, they couldn't help but breathe rapidly, but the next moment when they talked about the palace built with jade and gold, their eyes showed suspicion and disbelief, and finally Yan Ming licked his lips, as if he was recalling the past of the Western Regions.

"The Yellow River is far above the white clouds, a lonely city and ten thousand mountains. Why should Qiang Di complain about the willows, the spring breeze does not pass the jade gate. ”

Everyone suddenly heard Zhen Qian's "Liangzhou Ci" chanting in his mouth, and they couldn't help but be indifferent to those soldiers who fought thousands of miles away, and even more admired it, and immediately toasted: "Brother Yan fought for the country for thousands of miles, licking blood with a knife, lying on ice and wading through rivers, and never regretting death, thinking about how many children of the Tang Dynasty were buried in the land of Anxi, Zheng Zheng iron bones, heroic righteousness, respect Brother Yan for a cup, drink to win!" ”

Yan Ming did not shirk, drank the wine glass in his hand in one gulp, and said in high spirits: "The Anxi army is only 20,000, ......and there will be no more than 100 people, but the countries of the Western Regions are in awe of the Tang Dynasty like a tiger, and they dare not have the slightest reluctance, but they don't want to be repeatedly feared by the imperial court.

"Be careful!" Wang Qun covered Yan Ming's mouth, looked around nervously, and found that there were only scattered two or three tables in the restaurant, and they were still far away, so he was relieved: "Brother Yan, don't talk about state affairs, you will lose if you say too much!" ”

Yan Ming suddenly came to his senses, and he also knew that he had lost his words after drinking, so he immediately raised his glass frequently, and talked about what he saw and heard in Anxi.

At this time, Wang Peng walked in from the main entrance, no one noticed this problem, Wang Peng apologized, then whispered a few times in Zhen Qian's ear, and immediately kept silent.

Yan Ming was already a little drunk, there were many young people who didn't work hard, and the boss sighed sadly, saying that after he returned to his hometown now, the former Fa Xiaojiu had already been a person, and he couldn't help crying secretly.

Wang Qun and Zhen Qian exchanged glances, and whispered two more words in Zhen Qian's ear, Zhen Qian's eyes suddenly lit up, and he was about to go crazy with excitement, and he forcibly endured the excitement in his heart and said: "Brother Yan, are you ready to live like this, have you ever thought about your future plans, although I dare not say that I can make you rich and rich, but I can make you rich and clothed, are you willing to listen?" ”