Chapter 53

Xu Xiao usually spent his time on the northern border of Beiliang, living in the open, seemingly needing to personally oversee the vast number of nomadic soldiers from the Northern Barbarians, who were no less in number than the Beiliang Iron Cavalry, to feel at ease. After the death of the princess, his children gradually grew up. First, his eldest daughter, Xu Zihu, was married far away to Jiangnan. Then his second daughter, Xu Weixiong, went to study at the Shangyin Academy, a thousand miles away. Four years ago, the crown prince left to travel, and the Wang Palace still had Huang Man'er. Now, however, everyone was gone, leaving the palace completely empty.

But these matters of emperors, generals, and nobles were of no concern to the blind old Xu. Over the years, all the news about the Grand Marshal he had heard came from the gossip at the wine shop when buying wine dregs. He would just listen and forget, what else could he do? He had followed the Grand Marshal in battle for many years, but only saw him once when he was young, when he was a cavalryman. At that time, the one carrying the banner was the army's top vanguard, Wang Jian. In the Battle of Yique, before losing his sight, Old Xu had charged out of the city gate with the Grand Marshal, watching as General Wang knelt and held up the massive city gate with both hands, allowing the Liaodong soldiers to rush out. At that time, General Xu had not yet been enfeoffed as a hetero-clan king or received the title of Grand Marshal. He just looked back at the city gate.

All the Beiliang soldiers firmly believed that the Grand Marshal was the greatest hero of the era. Among the four famous generals of the Spring and Autumn period, if we look at their military achievements, the Grand Marshal definitely could not match Ye Baihui, who was hailed by the Shangyin Academy as a one-in-five-hundred-years genius. Before the Battle of Guanlan, Ye Baihui was known for his undefeated record in a hundred battles. Not to mention the West Chu's Ye Wusheng, who lost a national war after winning a hundred battles, even the former prince of Dongyue, Wang Sui, was more graceful and composed than Xu Xiao, who had never been seen in a miserable retreat with only a few hundred cavalry. But in the end, the only one who stood firm, besides the Grand General of the same dynasty, was Xu Xiao. Moreover, among the nine countries of the Spring and Autumn period, the Xu clan's iron cavalry destroyed six countries, while the Confucian general, who became famous twenty years later than Xu Xiao, only conquered two insignificant small countries. How could he compare to the King of Beiliang?

This was the Grand Marshal's ability!

It was only the middle of the month, and the blind old Xu didn't want to spend the copper coins to buy wine dregs, so he could only smack his lips to satisfy his craving.

The blind old Xu, now old, liked to sit on a wooden stool in warm weather and recall the heroic days of his youth. He thought about the survival techniques taught by his senior soldiers, the red eyes from his first battle with a crossbow, the beheaded comrades, the thundering hooves of the enemy cavalry, and especially the final great battle of the Spring and Autumn period at Xilei Wall, where the princess, dressed in white, personally beat the war drum. The drumming was like thunder, and the drum would not stop until the Western Chu was defeated. Who in the entire army was not moved?

Old Xu tilted his head, his face, roughened by the wind and sand of war, pressed against the smooth wooden cane. Most old soldiers were like this, having held war knives and bows for so long, they always felt something was missing when they left the army. After his leg was broken, the cane was a great help.

Over the years, he had heard a group of scholars talking in a sarcastic tone, saying that most of the old soldiers who followed the Grand Marshal in battle had died, and none had a good end, and that only Xu Xiao became a hetero-clan king. If Old Xu's leg hadn't been broken, he would have jumped up and cursed. These brain-dead scholars knew nothing! Those who had been in battle knew that the saying "swords and spears have no eyes" was true. Were the Grand Marshal's wounds fake? Did he use knives, bows, and spears to cut himself? If the Grand Marshal hadn't become the King of Beiliang, wouldn't all those old soldiers who fought to their last breath have died in vain? Who would remember the six hundred iron-armored soldiers of Liaodong, or the thirty thousand Beiliang Iron Cavalry that now dominated the world?

The blind old Xu spat and cursed, "Damn scholars are the most boring. When I was younger, I could knock out all their teeth with one slap!"

At that moment, a familiar voice came from above Old Xu, who was panting after taking a few steps. "Old Brother Xu, are you still in good health?"

Old Xu hurriedly stood up. The speaker was the official who had come to his house to deliver silver and had ordered his subordinates to repair the thatched cottage. Indeed, the cottage had never leaked since then, and one tael of silver was delivered every month. Old Xu, a veteran of countless battles, vaguely guessed that this official had also been a soldier, with a killing aura. Don't think he was just a paper-pusher. Old Xu, who had spent most of his life in the army, knew that even the fiercest soldiers, who had killed dozens, looked more ferocious than ordinary people when they ate.

The man gently pressed the blind old Xu, who was trying to stand with his cane, and said with a smile, "Old Brother Xu, sit down and talk. Be as comfortable as you like. Why be so formal with me?"

Old Xu didn't insist. At his age, he didn't want to show off like a young man. He turned his head to "look" at the man and said cheerfully, "I'm fine, I'm fine. I can eat and sleep well, and I'm just waiting for the end of the month to buy some wine and meat to reward myself. Life is peaceful now, no worries about food and clothing, it's very good. This is the truth. I'm a blind man, I can't lie. Sir, is that right?"

The visitor smiled and said, "Old Xu, you're not blind at all. You have a sharp mind. You're better than many officials and generals."

The blind old Xu blushed and said, "Sir, you're too kind. I'm just an old Beiliang soldier who didn't die. I once heard a young man surnamed Xu talk about dying on the battlefield, but I didn't understand it. Anyway, a good death is better than a bad life. I'm not afraid of death now. I just worry that one day I'll die in my sleep and no one will carry my coffin. That's what worries me. The young man surnamed Xu laughed and said he would do it if necessary, but I haven't seen him for a year. I think it's unlikely."

The official said calmly, "Did the young man surnamed Xu promise to carry your coffin?"

The blind old Xu's face lit up, "Yes, he's a good person. I've never been wrong about people. He's just a bit careless, climbing walls and stealing ducks. I worry he won't find a good wife. A few days ago, he brought a pot of good wine to chat with me, but he said he was leaving again. I was woken up by the smell of wine at night and drank the remaining half pot. I could have treated you today. Ha ha, sir, don't mind my rambling."

The man smiled, "I don't. It's hard to find someone to talk to these days. Old Brother Xu, do you want to drink? I forgot to bring it. I don't drink much outside my home. If you can wait, I'll send someone to buy it."

The blind old Xu waved his hand, "No, no, sir, you're busy. I can't waste your time or your money."

The man smiled and enjoyed the warm afternoon sun with the blind old Xu, which felt more comfortable than any fine clothing.

Old Xu, leaning on his cane, said with a dazed look, "The biggest regret of my life is not getting close to the Grand Marshal. A brother who died last year was luckier. In the Battle of Jingyang, he was only a hundred steps away from the Grand Marshal when the tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers were buried alive. He was still talking about it before he died, so proud that he was still competing with us even as he was dying."

The man, whom the blind old Xu had always thought was a small official, said softly, "Xu Xiao is just a hunched old soldier. What's there to see?"

For a moment, the blind old Xu's mind went blank.

Could he be a fool, having survived the battlefield where a million bones were piled up?

In Beiliang, who dared to say that Xu Xiao was just a hunched old soldier?

Who else but the Grand Marshal?

The blind old Xu's emaciated body, which needed a cane to walk, trembled violently.

Finally, the last surviving old soldier of Beiliang was in tears, turned his head, and his lips quivered as he choked out, "Grand Marshal?"

The man neither confirmed nor denied, just called the blind old Xu, "Old Brother Xu."

The blind old Xu, like a madman, struggled to stand, ignoring the Grand Marshal's attempt to stop him, threw away his cane, and knelt on the ground. He used all his remaining strength, the valor from thirty years of fighting in six countries, and the ten years of struggling to survive, to suppress his passion and cry, "From the eighteen old camps of Jinzhou, the Fish Drum Camp, the lowest-ranking cavalryman, Xu Yongguan, pays respects to General Xu!"

The eighteen camps of Jinzhou no longer existed, like the six hundred iron-armored soldiers whose fame was fading. The younger Beiliang cavalry only heard stories of their bravery.

The Fish Drum Camp.

Known for fighting to the death under the Xu banner.

The final battle was at Xilei Wall, where the princess, dressed in white, beat the fish drum, leading to the decisive victory of the Linyang Dynasty. Nearly a thousand men from the Fish Drum Camp fought to the death, and only sixteen survived. Xu Yongguan, a cavalryman, lost an eye in that battle, pulling out the arrow and his eye, and continued fighting until he fainted among the dead.

In the hearts of the old soldiers, whether the Grand Marshal or the King of Beiliang, they preferred to call him General Xu!

The blind old Xu, supported by Xu Xiao, sat back on the wooden stool, tears streaming down his face, but he smiled and said, "I've lived enough. General Xu, may I ask, is the young man surnamed Xu...?"

Xu Xiao said softly, "He is my son, Xu Fengnian."

The old soldier, his face pressed against the cane that the Grand Marshal had taken back, repeated, "I've lived enough, I've lived enough..."

The last man of the Fish Drum Camp, the old soldier Xu Yongguan, slowly closed his eyes.

General Xu, Princess, you have a good son.

I, Old Xu, need to go find my old brothers for a drink and tell them that the hooves of the thirty thousand Beiliang Iron Cavalry will only make the enemy more afraid, not weaker.

Under the Xu banner, the fish drum sounds.

The old soldier Xu Yongguan died in peace.

General Xu, Princess, you have a good son.

I, Old Xu, need to go find my old brothers for a drink and tell them that the hooves of the thirty thousand Beiliang Iron Cavalry will only make the enemy more afraid, not weaker.

Under the Xu banner, the fish drum sounds.

The old soldier Xu Yongguan died in peace.