“To Sister Rou,

I embark on my campaign on the ninth day. As is customary, everyone leaves behind a letter, to be sent back upon their sacrifice. I have lived a solitary life, with no ties. Thinking of our quarrel the other day, I leave this letter…”

The time was perhaps a year ago, in the first month, at Zhang Village. Under the dim lamplight of the night, a grizzled old man with a bristly beard licked the tip of his brush and wrote these words. Looking at the phrase "I have lived a solitary life, with no ties," he felt exceptionally dashing and formidable.

“…I joined the army at sixteen, killed my first man at seventeen, became a captain at twenty, a life of war…yet until the Xia Village incident in the thirteenth year of Jinghan, I did not know that my life was reckless and frivolous, all vanity…”

His calligraphy was vigorous and unrestrained, not bad to look at. Starting from joining the army at sixteen, he began to recall the bits and pieces of his life, and the transformation at Xia Village. He held his head, pondered for a moment, and muttered, "Who the hell is interested in reading this…"

Then he crossed out these words with black lines, indicating they were deleted. He didn't bother to rewrite the paper, and started a new line below.

“…I joined the army at sixteen, a life of war. After joining the Huaxia Army, I may have some merits in military strategy, but as a person and a friend, I feel I am frivolous, despicable, and unworthy of mention. You were born into a noble family, intelligent, graceful, knowledgeable, and reasonable. For several years, I have been fortunate enough to know you, which is the greatest happiness of my life…”

“Am I praising her too much…” The old man muttered to himself as he wrote this. His acquaintance with the woman could not be considered ordinary. When the Huaxia Army withdrew from Xiaocang River, he was in the rear, temporarily tasked with escorting several families of scholars. This woman was among them, and she also picked up two children who couldn't walk fast, which made him, already exhausted, even more worried. They were attacked several times along the way. He saved her several times, gave her two slaps, and she blocked a knife for him in a critical moment, slowing down their pace even further due to her injuries.

Later, they bickered and argued all the way. He was the only one who could push that once knowledgeable, demure woman to this point. Even the group of stupid kids she taught were not as capable as him.

“Hehe…”

“…The Yongqing campaign is fraught with danger. My brotherhood with him prevents me from standing idly by. This journey is long, with four routes out of Sichuan, going through Jiange, deep into enemy territory, with only a slim chance of survival. Our quarrel the other day was because I didn't want to burden others at this time, but my life has been reckless, and I am grateful for your favor. However, I am not a good match. If this letter is sent out, we may be separated by the heavens, but our brotherly affection can be witnessed by heaven and earth.”

“…I am a soldier of the Huaxia Army because for more than a decade, the Jurchen forces have been powerful and brutal, bullying our Huaxia, while the Wu Dynasty is ignorant and unable to revive. In more than a decade, countless people have died, and the survivors are in hell. The misery is difficult to describe. We siblings encountered troubled times, which is the great misfortune of our lives, but complaining is useless, and we can only dedicate ourselves to this cause.”

“…I am about to embark on my campaign, and you are the only one I care about. If I cannot return from this trip, please take care of yourself, and for your future life…”

His handwriting was hasty, and he wrote faster and faster here, adding a lot of words asking her to find a knowledgeable and reasonable scholar to live a good life. When he stopped writing, the two sheets of paper were scribbled and patched up messily. After rereading it, he felt that the words were inadequate. For example, at the beginning, he said he lived "a solitary life with no ties," which was so dashing, but later he said, "You are the only one I care about," which contradicted himself. And it felt a little effeminate. As for the blessings in the second half, would they seem insincere?

Before he started writing, he only intended to jot down a few words casually. After crossing out a few paragraphs, he had thought about rewriting it neatly after finishing, but when he finished writing, he felt a little tired. With the campaign imminent, he had been visiting various families these past two days, and he had also drunk a lot of wine in the evening. At this time, drowsiness surged up, so he simply didn't care. He folded the paper and stuffed it into an envelope.

The best thing, of course, is if it doesn't get sent.

He thought in his heart.

That night, he dreamed again of the scene from several years ago when they were transferring from Xiaocang River. They fled all the way, supporting each other in the rain and mud. Later, she became a teacher in Hedeng, and he served in the General Staff. They didn't deliberately search for each other. Several months later, they saw each other again. He greeted her in the crowd, and then introduced her to others as "This is my sister." The woman holding the book had a knowledgeable and reasonable smile of a noble family.

Only when there was no one else around, in private, would she tear off that mask and criticize him for being rude and frivolous.

……

The letter, along with a pile of posthumous letters from the campaign, was placed in a cabinet, locked in a dark and quiet place. This lasted for about a year and a half. In May, the letter was taken out. Someone checked a list. "Oh, this letter is addressed to…"

The letter was transferred for two days and sent to an office not far from Zhang Village. Due to the tense wartime situation, a woman named Yong Jinrou, who had been temporarily transferred here, received the letter. Li Shishi, Yuan Jin'er, and others were also in the office. Seeing the style of the letter, they knew what it was and fell silent.

In May, when the Southwest War ended in victory, the Huaxia Army held several celebrations, but the real atmosphere here was not one of慷慨激昂 cheers. Amidst the busy work and aftermath, the people of the entire force had to endure countless bad news and the ensuing weeping.

In these days, people had seen too much of such weeping.

Of course, it was a little strange for Yong Jinrou to receive this letter, which also made people hope for a bit of luck. In these years, as Yong Jinrou's sister, Yong Jinnian herself, who was knowledgeable and reasonable, had many suitors in the army, either openly or secretly, but at least on the surface, she had not accepted anyone's pursuit. There were more or less some rumors in secret, but those were just rumors after all. A posthumous letter sent after a martyr's death might just be a one-sided act by one of her admirers.

——In this way, at least, one less person would be hurt.

They saw Yong Jinrou tear open the envelope expressionlessly and take out two sheets of messy ink. After a moment, they saw tears falling down. Yong Jinrou's body trembled. Yuan Jin'er closed the door. When Shishi went over to support her, a hoarse cry finally came from her throat…

They didn't know who wrote the posthumous letter, didn't know which man had won Yong Jinrou's favor before this, but two days later, they had a guess.

Zhuo Yongqing, who had returned from Changsha to report on his duties, built a small shrine for his deceased brother after returning to Zhang Village. These private sacrifices were usually simplified in the Huaxia Army in recent years, lasting only one day at most for mourning. Mao Yishan, Hou Wu, Hou Yuangong, and others returned one after another.

The one who sacrificed was Qu Qing.

Before the Battle of Tanzhou began, they were caught in an ambush. Qu Qing put on Zhuo Yongqing's armor, which was quite conspicuous. They encountered repeated attacks from the enemy. Qu Qing fell off a cliff with an enemy general in his arms during the battle, both dying together.

Yong Jinrou went to the shrine to pay respects to Qu Qing and shed many tears.

……

The sun and moon alternated, and the water flowed on.

In this May, Yong Jinrou became one of the many mourners in Zhang Village, which was also one of the countless tragedies experienced by the Huaxia Army.

At this time, her brother, Yong Jinnian, had gone to Chengdu to prepare for some new things that were about to begin. Jin'er, Yunzhu, Shishi, and others came to comfort her, and Zhuo Yongqing also came to chat with her about Qu Qing——In fact, she often comforted people in the past, but when things really came down, she realized that such comfort was not very useful.

For the first three days, there were the most tears, and then she had to pick herself up and continue her work and life outside. From Xiaocang River to now, the Huaxia Army often encountered all kinds of bad news, and people were not qualified to indulge in it.

After that, she only shed tears occasionally. When past memories floated up in her heart, the sour feeling would truly surge up, and tears would flow out. The world seemed unreal, just like after someone died, a piece of the whole world was forcibly torn away, and the emptiness in the heart could never be filled.

She was not a girl. A long time ago, she had had a brief marriage arranged by her parents. The other party was a weak scholar who died not long after the marriage. At that time, she only felt dazed, but she didn't have the feeling of having a piece of her heart dug out, leaving a dark emptiness.

She woke up very early every morning. Before dawn, she would sit up in the dark, sometimes finding that her pillow was wet. Qu Qing was a hateful man. His carefree demeanor when writing the letter made her want to scold him fiercely in front of him. The vernacular he learned from Ning Yi was extremely stupid, and he recalled his experiences on the battlefield. Did he think about his death when he wrote the posthumous letter? He probably didn't think about it seriously, idiot!

"Idiot, idiot, idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot…"

She hugged her pillow in the dark and kept scolding.

He also deliberately mentioned "the quarrel the other day…" The day he wrote the letter was a year and a half ago. He made a suggestion to Zhuo Yongqing that was a slim chance of survival, and then he felt bad and wanted to follow him.

"There may be danger… but there is no way." She remembered that he said that at the time, but she didn't stop him. She was just suddenly stunned by the news, and then she hinted in a panic that before he left, they should decide on their status.

He refused, which, in her opinion, was almost smug. After the clumsy hint and clumsy refusal, she was annoyed and did not take the initiative to reconcile with him. Before he set off, he spent every day connecting with various friends, drinking wine, and making heroic promises, so manly that she couldn't get close to him.

"Id…iot…"

Again, it was a faint dawn and a noisy dusk. Yong Jinrou worked and lived day after day, looking no different from others. Soon after, another suitor who survived the battlefield came to her, giving her things and even proposing marriage. "…I thought about it at the time. If I could come back alive, I would definitely marry you!" She refused them one by one.

If the story ended here, it would still be an ordinary one of the thousands of tragedies experienced by the Huaxia Army.

On June 5th, when she got off work, she saw an old man carrying a package, dusty, and spitting with several familiar military wives on the fork in the road in front of Zhang Village.

"…Hahahaha, how could I die, nonsense…"

…I fell down with that bastard, took off my armor and went down the water… I don't know how far I went, hahaha… The people in the village were so enthusiastic, knowing that I was a Huaxia soldier, several families wanted to marry their daughters to me… of course they were virgins,啧啧, one took care of me all day… I, Qu Qing, am a gentleman, right…"

Yong Jinrou stood there for a long time, tears falling again. Shishi and others accompanied her. On the other side of the road, Zhuo Yongqing and others, who seemed to have heard the news, were also running over. Qu Qing waved to them. An aunt pointed behind him. Qu Qing turned around and saw Yong Jinrou approaching.

"Hey, Sis…"

With a snap, Yong Jinrou slapped him in the face. The slap was crisp, and the aunts on the side turned their mouths into circles, not knowing whether to persuade or not. Shishi waved behind her, mouthing "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay…"

"…Why did you hit me!" After being slapped, Qu Qing grabbed her hand. He had beaten Yong Jinrou a few years ago, but naturally he couldn't fight back now.

"…You didn't die…" Yong Jinrou had tears on her face, her voice choked. Qu Qing opened his mouth. "Yes, I didn't die!"

"—If you didn't die, why did you send a posthumous letter!" Yong Jinrou cried loudly and kicked Qu Qing in the calf.

"…Ah? Send a posthumous letter… a posthumous letter?" Qu Qing probably realized what was going on. His face turned red for a rare moment. "That… I didn't die. I didn't send it. You… wait, did that bastard Zhuo Yongqing say I died…"

Zhuo Yongqing had already run over. He flew up and wanted to kick Qu Qing. "You bastard, you didn't die—" But because he saw Qu Qing and Yong Jinrou's hands, this kick went wide.

Mao Yishan also ran over and kicked Zhuo Yongqing away. "You bastard, you lied to me, haha—"

Zhuo Yongqing wiped his tears and got up from the ground. His brothers reunited. Originally, they were going to hug or even fight for a while, but at this time, they all noticed Qu Qing and Yong Jinrou's hands in the air…

In the sunset, everyone's eyes suddenly became flexible. Yong Jinrou shed tears. Qu Qing's face was a little red at first, but then, the hand in the air decided not to let go.

……

"…The two of them have finally decided to get married."

On June 15th, Li Shishi, who finally met Ning Yi in Chengdu, told him about this interesting thing.

This was the only story she knew that had turned into a comedy among the countless tragedies recently experienced by the Huaxia Army…