Chapter 50: Han Craftsmen (III)

By putting himself in their shoes, Li Kuo understood the old men’s feelings at that moment. Unlike those Tang remnants who had lived in Tubo since childhood, these veteran craftsmen from the military craftsman bureau had experienced far too much. They had witnessed the invincible Tang armies of Anxi sweeping through the tribes of the Hexi region, as well as the horror of the Arabs charging on horseback and slaughtering those lands. Such memories could not be easily erased; even after decades, the wounds remained. A slight touch would cause intense pain that reached deep into their hearts!

For them, they truly did not want to face those neatly arranged military camps again. The memories they brought were not beautiful or pleasant, but rather heavy and bloody. Those gleaming curved swords would appear in the minds of these old craftsmen whenever they dreamed. With just a swing of those deadly weapons, the Arabs could sever heads, sending sprays of blood like fountains.

In their memories, whenever they made mistakes, the Arabs would mercilessly whip them across the face. Those terrifying red marks served as a record of their shame, constantly reminding them of their enslaved status. How bitter must their hearts have been, yet they had nowhere to vent that pain! People say orphans are the most pitiable, but they would say those abandoned by their own mothers are the most pitiable!

Where was the mighty Tang Dynasty they once relied on? Where were the invincible Tang armies of Anxi? And where was their wise and heroic emperor?

Of course, they were just ordinary military craftsmen. Their status was humble, but not lowly!

The old man rubbed his hands repeatedly, lowering his head awkwardly. It was a contradictory choice—he really didn’t know how to proceed.

Li Kuo had saved their lives. Logically, they should have joined the Anxi army and served under him to repay his kindness. But they dared not confront the darkness deep in their hearts.

Some loves are too painful to recover from—this was probably what it meant. What was lost could hardly be made up for, let alone such a bitter relationship. Even a flesh-and-blood person might find it hard to face it again!

“You don’t need to worry about your military records,” Li Kuo said. He also seemed awkward and waved his hand. “I can order someone to update your records at any time. As veterans of the Anxi military craftsman bureau, this isn’t a problem at all. The Shule army welcomes you at any time, but if you insist on not returning, that’s fine too. I’ll allocate funds for your retirement.”

“General!”

The old man knelt on the ground, repeatedly bowing and saying, “General, please stop speaking. If you continue, I truly won’t know where to hide my face.” Throughout half of his life, he had traveled far and experienced many things, but he had never met such a kind officer. Despite how well they treated him, he couldn’t bring himself to serve them in return…

“You’re really too cautious. Brother Kuo has already shown you so much kindness—why don’t you just agree? Where else in the world can you find such a good master?”

Zhang Yanji couldn’t stand it any longer and stepped forward to beat the side drum.

Although these craftsmen’s circumstances were pitiful and worthy of pity, those who are pitiable often have their faults. They didn’t even have the courage to face life anew, let alone resist the Arabs. In his view, most of the Tang soldiers back then likely shared such conservative thoughts; otherwise, how could they have lost the vast lands conquered during Emperor Gaozong’s reign one after another?

“Yanji!”

Li Kuo sharply interrupted his friend’s complaints, “They are our elders. Don’t be disrespectful!”

Li Kuo sighed slightly and said, “No matter what decision they make in the end, we shouldn’t interfere!”

There were still some things he didn’t understand. Instead of forcing these soldiers-craftsmen to stay, it would be better to let them do as they wished. Only if they truly wanted to stay in the Shule army would it be beneficial to the army; otherwise, they would be a source of instability.

“But! But we clearly saved them. How can they not be grateful?”

Zhang Yanji really didn’t understand why Brother Kuo would speak up for these craftsmen like this. One should repay a small kindness with a great one, yet they wanted to just leave.

“That’s the decision. I don’t want to hear any more objections.”

Li Kuo waved his hand to stop Zhang Yanji’s complaints. Without looking back, the young man walked toward the pond not far away, putting all the noisy arguments behind him.

Some things needed to be handled slowly. Hasting things would only harm them both…

As June arrived, the weather grew increasingly hot. At this time, even in Chang’an, people on the streets wore plain white jackets, enjoying the warmth of summer. In the distant Anxi Shule Town, far from the capital, the sun in the sky was even more scorching. The water used for washing vegetables on the streets instantly turned into mist, drifting away with the wind.

During the day, unless it was necessary, few people wanted to go outside. Even the usually diligent merchants stayed at home, drinking tea while keeping track of their accounts.

Under the scorching sun, those walking on the streets were mainly porters carrying heavy loads and cart drivers pulling carts. These two jobs were the most profitable during the hot summer months. Every June, caravans from distant regions would flood into Shule City, and it was the porters and cart drivers who were busiest at that time.

The porters unloaded the goods from the carts and carried them to the covered areas marked with white lines. Then, the cart drivers joined the porters in lifting the huge burlap bags and sacks onto the carts. Once the goods were tied up, the cart drivers would deliver them to the storage facilities designated by the caravans. A porter could earn five coins per trip, while a cart driver could earn seven coins. An experienced pair might make a dozen trips in a day.

This was truly remarkable—their daily earnings were enough to buy several yards of the cheapest cloth for their wives, allowing them to feel happy for a while.

If they had any extra money, they could also buy a bowl of plum juice from the stalls on the street. It was extremely refreshing and could soothe both body and mind.

In such good times, everyone in Shule City was filled with joy. They saw hope, though faint, but a hope that would always exist as long as they worked hard…

But Miss Ni Xini clearly did not share this joy.

Ever since Li Kuo led six hundred Shule Tang soldiers on a mission to Hexiang, Ni Xini’s mind had been in turmoil. For some reason, after the young man left, she did not return to Longyou but chose to stay in Shule.

Gradually, she realized that she felt happy wherever the young man was, and the closer she was to him, the stronger this happiness became.

So, she followed him from Shanggui to Chang’an, from Chang’an to Yumen Pass, and then from Yumen Pass to Anxi Shule Town.

Sometimes even she wondered if what she was doing was worth it.

Even if Li Kuo was excellent, he already had a family. Would she marry a man who already had a family? What would become of her then? A concubine?

No, she would never be his concubine. She must marry a man who loved only her!

Whenever she thought of this, Ni Xini felt extremely frustrated. What was wrong with her? There were so many good men in the world—why did she have to be fixated on him?

He was just a lucky loser. Why had she fallen in love with him?

“Ah!”

Ni Xini quickly pulled her finger back to her mouth, letting out a cry of surprise. She had been distracted and hadn’t paid attention to the needle, accidentally pricking her finger. After sucking on her finger for a moment, Ni Xini seemed to understand something.

At first taste, the blood has a slightly astringent flavor; upon further sipping, it carries a hint of sourness, and only in the end does it turn into a gentle sweetness… Perhaps this is love—bitter at times, sour at other times, with that hint of sweetness only felt if one persists to the end. Those who persevere may not necessarily find true love, but without persistence, they surely won’t! In that case, pricking my finger while distracted seems to have had its benefits after all.

That being said, this exquisite embroidery of mandarin ducks playing in the water is now ruined. Glancing at the hole of moderate size on the fabric, Ni Xin frowned.

She didn’t know how to embroider at first and took half a month learning from an old woman in Shule City before she began to grasp the basics. After several attempts, she had already ruined several designs. This embroidery was almost complete, and there was no extra red thread left. Ni Xin was unwilling to give up nearly half a month’s effort because of such a small flaw.

What should she do?

She looked around and spotted a ball of thin, plain cotton thread on the nearby table. An idea suddenly struck her—she could use the plain thread to embroider a peony!

With that thought, Ni Xin threaded the cotton thread into the needle and began embroidering diligently.

Stitch by stitch, she focused solely on creating this peony, meant only for him… This little troublemaker—let’s say I owe him from my past life!

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Ni Xin had embroidered a vibrant peony. It was magnificent, full of prosperity and grace, its branches lush and beautiful—so much so that even she was amazed.

Yet upon closer inspection, she felt something was odd about the peony.

Perhaps… it was the color!

Seen separately, the petals were extremely beautiful with no issues. But the color of the petals was too pale, not matching the overall theme of the mandarin ducks. However, all other colored threads had been used up, and buying more would require going to the store in town, which would disrupt her embroidery process—something she couldn’t afford.

Ah! That’s it!

She could dye the peony red with her own blood!

What else in the world could better convey deep affection than blood?

After making up her mind, Ni Xin gently bit her finger and applied a streak of red onto the pale peony.

Suddenly, the peony became brilliantly red, exuding natural beauty!