On the fourteenth day of the first month of the twenty-first year of Chongzhen, a tea house on the outskirts of the capital.

Xu Ping stood in the empty teahouse, looking out at the snow-covered land, with the desolate branches swaying in the cold wind. Would she still come in such a cold day?

Xu Ping came to this teahouse early this morning with his beloved Qin in his arms. Until noon, the tea guests left one after another without seeing the woman. The tea doctor and the master selling chaos also packed up and left.

Before leaving, he said to Xu Ping: "There won't be any guests coming. The sun sets early in winter, so you should go back too!"

Xu Ping replied: "I won't be able to come from tomorrow. Today is the last day. I will stay a little longer."

But, can we wait for her?

These teahouses on the outskirts of the city are used by people entering and leaving the city to rest. After the Spring Festival, there is an endless stream of tourists enjoying the snow, and the teahouses are more lively than before. Not only are there tea doctors, storytellers, and sometimes singers

Girls, people who came out to play could sit down and have fun for a while. When Xu Ping had some free time, he would come and play some songs to earn some money to supplement his family income.

Most of the people who came to the teahouse to relax were men. Women in this era rarely appeared in public. But Xu Ping found a young woman of eighteen or nineteen years old who came to listen to him play the piano several times. She and another woman who seemed to be a maid

The woman sat silently in the corner of the room and listened for a while. Every time she left, she was generous and gave Xu Ping many musical gifts.

The tea guests were talking about the two women behind their backs, but no one knew who they were, where they came from, or where they were going.

Finally, two figures appeared in the distance on the snow. They walked through the sparse woods and approached slowly. One was wrapped in a lotus purple cloak, and the other was wrapped in a dark green cloak. They were particularly eye-catching on the white snow.

Xu Ping walked quickly to the table, rearranged his piano and helmet, and lowered his head to stretch out his brand-new military uniform. The two women entered the teahouse, and the lotus purple woman in front pushed off her cape.

, revealing a face glowing with youth, and her cheeks were blown by the wind like ripe red apples.

It was the mysterious person who made Xu Ping miss him day and night.

She looked at Xu Ping's military uniform, then glanced at the helmet on the table, showing surprise: "Sir... Young Master... turns out to be a soldier!"

"How are you two young ladies?" Xu Ping greeted them loudly with a smile and explained: "I have just been appointed as a military officer in the new army, and I will have a salary starting from next month. Don't you want to congratulate this young lady in the next sentence?

?Congratulations to all the guests who came here today."

"Congratulations...congratulations to this young master. However, the little girl doesn't know his surname yet."

"My surname is 'Xu', and my last name is 'Ping'"

"It turns out to be Mr. Xu."

She stared at the white feathers standing upright on her helmet: "Is it a fire-fighting camp or a front-selection camp?"

"It's the fire-fighting camp." The white feathers on the helmet are the unique logo of the fire-fighting camp and the front selection camp. Xu Ping asked strangely: "Young lady is very familiar with the new army?"

"Of course we are very familiar!" the dark green woman said proudly.

"Qiuyue!" The woman in front smiled and winked: "Let's sit down."

The woman named Qiuyue paused knowingly. Today there were only the two of them and there were no other guests, so they sat at the table in the middle, opposite Xu Ping.

Xu Ping played two ancient songs first, then raised his head and said with a smile: "I have recently written a new song, but I haven't played it for anyone else yet. I'm going to make a fool of myself in front of two young ladies today. Please give me your advice."

Xu Ping usually plays mostly songs composed by his predecessors for guests, but sometimes he composes a few by himself. He is in a very good mood these days. It is his ambition to obtain a military position and be promoted to an officer. Seeing that his efforts are bearing fruit step by step, his creation

The leakage point will appear spontaneously, just because of the feeling.

The first half is gentle and gentle, as if a clear stream flows out of the mountains, bathing in the sun and singing tinklingly. The second half suddenly turns faster, and the melody becomes more exciting, and gradually it becomes like rocks piercing the sky and stormy waves crashing on the shore;

It's like a falling waterfall or a rushing river. The section towards the end is even more sonorous and powerful, with the roar of iron armor.

After Xu Ping finished playing, his heart was still ups and downs and he could not calm down for a while. The two listeners were also immersed in it and looked at him motionless.

After a while, the lady calmed down and said: "It seems that the young master's piano skills are second to none. The mighty storm in the young master's chest is the most powerful thing. The little girl also studied the piano when she was young, but because of her playfulness, she gave up halfway and can't play a complete song until now."

Qu. After listening to the master playing the piano these past few days, I realized that there are many mysteries in it."

Xu Ping took a long breath, rubbed his fingers that were red from the cold, and said with a smile: "Today is the last day for Xu to play the piano. After he has a military position, he will no longer be able to perform as an entertainer. If he continues to do so, he may be disgraced by the imperial officials.

Morality. In the past, I have been praised by the young lady, but Xu has nothing to repay."

Qiuyue looked at Xu Ping hesitantly and asked the lady in a low voice: "So, Qinyi..."

The lady smiled and said: "Master Xu will definitely not want Qinyi today."

Xu Ping nodded repeatedly to Qiuyue: "That's what your lady said. To thank all the guests, we won't accept Qinyi today."

The lady asked: "Mr. Xu, since you don't want Qinyi, then who are you waiting for if you don't leave so late?"

Xu Ping was stunned for a moment: "No..."

"Why does Mr. Xu play so well?"

The expectant look on the other side made Xu Ping tell his story immediately.

Xu Ping's parents died when he was young, and he was raised by his uncle. His uncle hoped that his nephew would be able to study and become famous, so that he would have nothing to worry about in his life. However, Xu Ping had no interest in the Four Books and the like.

His uncle also scrimped on food and clothing and asked a teacher to teach him piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. In his words, if he could get a good name in the future, he would still be looked down upon by other scholars if he did not know how to play chess, calligraphy and painting. Xu Ping was very talented in music and had played the piano since he was a child.

He was so good at it that he even wanted to make a living from it. But his uncle said that Xu Ping's father had been a guerrilla general in the Ming Dynasty. As a son, he must not let himself down and become a low-level luthier.

"My late father was originally a subordinate of General Zhu, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, and he followed Lord Zhu to station in Santun camp. In the second year of Chongzhen, Yuan Chonghuan allowed the enemy to enter the pass. My father followed General Zhu and died unyieldingly. General Zhao rushed to assist Zunhua.

He died on the way, and Yuan Chonghuan complained that it was General Zhu who refused to let General Zhao enter the city. Therefore, the emperor did not provide compensation to the soldiers who died in the Santun camp, and I lost my official position."

The lady was in awe: "Mr. Xu turned out to be a hero. I was really disrespectful before."

"After the fall of the Santun Camp, my uncle took Xianci and fled to the capital, but the Jianlu invaders rushed into the capital in a blink of an eye. Xianci was afraid of dragging down my uncle and me, so he threw himself into a well, but my uncle and I were still almost trapped in the captivity.

Fortunately, Zhendong Hou's army came with wings, and we were saved together with hundreds of thousands of people." At this point, Xu Ping clasped his hands together, stood up, and bowed deeply toward Beijing. Miss and Qiuyue quickly stood up and accompanied them.

Xu Ping bowed.

Although Xu Ping never met his father, he had always secretly regarded himself as a general, and was quite resistant to studying, gaining fame, and becoming a scholar. This was the main reason why he decided to join the army. Xu Ping believed that he had only one

Only those who have won the worldly position are qualified descendants worthy of the expectations of their ancestors.

Xu Ping only told his uncle about it after he surrendered to the army. At that time, his uncle stayed for a long time and couldn't help crying: "Ping'er, your father died on the battlefield and your mother also died in the war. Now the world is full of war, but you go to join the army. What if?"

There are three advantages and two disadvantages, how can I be worthy of your parents?"

Xu Ping didn't have these worries. He had an inexplicable self-confidence, believing that he would never be an ordinary soldier and that he would definitely win back his ancestor's job and make it prosperous.

Naturally, there are factions in the New Army, the two most obvious ones being the infantry and cavalry faction and the engineering and artillery faction.

In the words of infantry and cavalry officers, the artillery and engineers are just doing the work that the auxiliary soldiers did before. Real victory is won by the infantry's spears and the cavalry's sabers; while the artillery and engineers believe that without them,

Infantry and cavalry are horses with three legs and birds without wings.

The infantry and cavalry faction believed that the artillery did not know how to cooperate with their attack, and wanted to form light artillery that could accompany the infantry phalanx and cavalry artillery that could be easily carried by the cavalry. The engineering and artillery faction complained that the infantry and cavalry were too proud and always wanted to rush forward rashly, so they also

It is necessary to form an engineer commando team and artillery to cover the spearmen. In short, the infantry and cavalry faction are planning an artillery organization affiliated with them, while the engineering and artillery faction is also preparing to establish an infantry unit that can adapt to various combat modes.

Three months ago, the generals of each battalion asked the soldiers for their thoughts to gauge the morale of the troops. Most of the companions were silent. Only Xu Ping handed in a long and eloquent speech. The officers of the new barracks were surprised and did not dare to neglect, and reported it to each level.

It was sent to Jin Qiude, the right-hand man of the prime minister for military training. After reading it, Jin Qiude snorted coldly, took the report and said to Huang Shi: "Even a small soldier can clearly see the various shortcomings of the new army."

After reading the report, Huang Shi added: "Since he can see this kind of problem, he shouldn't be just a soldier."

Because of this evaluation, Xu Ping was exceptionally promoted to the training team to be trained as an officer. And he lived up to expectations. He excelled in all assessments and was awarded the position of engineer general. He will soon return to the army to observe the test.

When the young lady and Qiuyue heard this, they clapped their hands together and said with a smile: "Mr. Xu is amazing, he stands out."

Xu Ping once told a good friend about his work as an entertainer in the military camp, and also mentioned the mysterious woman in the teahouse. The friend laughed and went up to ask the young lady which courtyard the fan was from, and then brought a footband.

It's just a matter of paying the initial fee to go see him. If he can get what he wants by spending a few coins, there's no need to suffer in the camp every day.

Indeed, since this girl came out and wandered around outside for several days, it stands to reason that she would not be a girl from a good family. Xu Ping knew the story of the oil seller and the courtesan, but he knew that such a thing would not happen to him.

.But when Xu Ping saw her dignified appearance and elegant manners, he couldn't help but fall in love with her.

There were usually many people in the teahouse, but the girl rarely spoke. It was rare that she was quiet today, so she had the opportunity to speak. After talking with each other, Xu Ping gradually raised a hope, maybe... maybe she was born in a royal family, and her parents neglected to discipline her and let her go.

Going out on the street? Xu Ping didn't want to be rude to the beauty, but after today there would be no chance of seeing her again.

His heart was pounding, and he couldn't help but probe: "This young lady seems to know the New Army quite well. Is there someone in the family who works in the New Army?"

The lady just smiled but didn't answer.

Suddenly there was a loud noise outside, and a group of noisy people broke in. One fat and one thin were so drunk that the entourage brought wine and a stove. As soon as they stepped into the teahouse, they immediately started scalding wine for the masters.

Xu Ping saw that they were guests who had been here before. The fat man in well-dressed clothes was always very arrogant and proud of himself. It would be better if there were all male guests in the teahouse, but if he saw a female guest, his voice would be loud.

The land is several times bigger, and he brags that he knows a certain royal relative, has contact with a certain country relative, and has a pleasant conversation with a certain prince. On such occasions, the tea doctor will praise him, and the tea guests will also talk about it.

Only the young lady sitting in the corner didn't even raise her eyelids and just sipped tea quietly. Sometimes when she saw the fat man making too much noise, she quietly got up and left.

When they came in today, they saw that Xu Ping had changed his military uniform. The fat man and the thin man asked why, and Xu Ping explained. The fat man said disdainfully: "Even if you become an officer, you still have to play the piano and perform arts to make a living." As he spoke, he continued.

Look in the direction of the two women.

The young lady looked at the sky and said to Qiuyue: "It's getting late, we should go back." After saying that, she stood up and saluted Xu Ping: "Mr. Xu, I wonder if you will come here tomorrow?"

Xu Ping blurted out: "Tomorrow's military morning exercises will break up before noon, so naturally we still come."

The young lady said happily: "Thank you very much, sir, otherwise I would have lost a place to go."

The fat rich man next to him saw that the girls were ignoring him, and his face was quite dissatisfied. The thin man said in a strange voice: "This young lady likes to talk to a poor violinist, but she doesn't want to talk to us. It's really strange.

,strangeness."

Qiuyue showed an angry face and was about to open her mouth when she was held back by the young lady. At the same time, she whispered: "Come on, hurry up. What's the point of doing so much?"

He didn't want this sentence to make the fat man even more angry. Ever since he saw a beautiful woman in this teahouse on the first day, he couldn't help but run here. However, after several attempts, the other party didn't respond at all and did not reveal his identity. His friends
To be continued...