Chapter 43: Dance after hearing the chicken

Chapter 43: Dance after hearing the chicken

Li Tai stayed at the manor that night. As he slept hazily the next day, the roar of drums and horns suddenly sounded in his ears.

At first, he only thought that he was dreaming about the time when he was defeated and fled westward at Mangshan, but he soon realized that something was wrong. The sound of drums and horns did not seem like a dream.

He opened his eyes suddenly, and the sound of trumpets in his ears became more and more real. Before his thoughts could be clear, his body had already moved. He jumped up from the bed, grabbed the robe on the hanger, put it on his body, and picked it up. He grabbed his saber and rushed towards the door.

"Alang, is there a thief coming to disturb you?"

A somewhat hasty warning sounded outside the door. Li Yantou, who had followed Li Tai here yesterday, also rushed out of the side room and stood in front of the door with a knife to warn.

At this time, the sky was still gray and the sun had not yet risen. The master and the servant stood with swords in hand, listening carefully to the sound waves. Human voices could be heard amidst the sound of drums and horns.

"Go to Grandmaster Heba's residence first to report the matter!"

Li Tai had no time to think about it, so he waved to Li Yan and headed straight to He Basheng's bedroom.

When the two of them were walking halfway, they suddenly heard someone shouting from under the wall: "Shiwu was practicing in the morning. It's not a thief. Did he disturb the gentleman?"

Li Tai pressed the knife with one hand and looked intently. He saw that standing under the wall was Zhu Meng, one of the newlyweds who had married last night. Only then did he realize that he was too sensitive and had misunderstood.

"It doesn't bother me at all. My master and servants also have the habit of dancing and practicing after hearing the rooster."

He stood still awkwardly, embarrassed to admit that he was startled in his sleep. He turned around and gave Li Yan a look before answering.

"Morning exercise is a good habit! After a good night's sleep, your mind will be relaxed and your bones will be loose. After working out your muscles and bones, you will be strong and energetic all day long!"

Zhu Meng strode up, dressed in a smart outfit, with a short stick on his waist and a long stick in his hand. His expression did not have the joy of a happy spring night, but a look of dissatisfaction: "A few thieves are greedy for me." As the leader of the team, I am not allowed to participate in the morning training and it is boring to go home. Why don't you train your muscles?"

Li Tai was just about to get over his shock, and he became happy after hearing this: "The grand master gave an order last night, and Pao Ze's expulsion was also affectionate. Zhu Meng'er is so happy at the wedding, can he bear to leave his bride alone in the curtain?"

"If I marry a wife and start a family, can I just sit around and make a living? Being entangled with a woman all the time will only hurt my strength. When I join the army in the future, the thieves will not show mercy to me because of this woman."

Zhu Meng lowered his waist and braced himself on the horse, waving his staff with both hands and playing haha.

When Li Tai heard this truth, he couldn't help but look at this strong man who was not addicted to women. He turned around and said to Li Yantou: "This is the way a real man speaks. If you get a wife in the coming year, you should also restrain yourself by this!" "

"It's not like I don't have such knowledge. As long as Alang matches me and marries me, it will be reflected!"

Li Yantou was a little dissatisfied when he heard this and said with a grin.

When he saw Zhu Meng's long staff waving, he also lifted up the corner of his robe that was missing from his crotch and jumped out of the corridor: "I will play catch with the strong man!"

When Zhu Meng saw this, he also smiled slightly, put aside his long stick, and took out a short stick to use as a knife. When he saw Li Yan raised his head to bless him, he yelled and ducked towards him.

Li Yan's head and arms were strong. When he saw this, he swung the back of his sword horizontally to block. After two collisions, Zhu Meng clenched the tiger's mouth which was numb from the shock. His eyes lit up and he praised: "What a handsome arm, I want it." Seriously, be careful!"

"come!"

Li Yan raised his eyebrows, showing the aura of a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers. He was not timid and weak because of the experienced soldiers who had experienced hundreds of battles, and he swung his sword forward to intercept.

Zhu Meng frowned and looked carefully. The short stick in his hand met the back of the swung sword. However, he no longer used force to collide with it. Instead, he turned his wrist and wiped it diagonally, pressing it down along the direction of Li Yan's head. When he saw Li Yan's head twisting, he turned around. With such force, the short stick attached to the back of the knife trembled suddenly, hitting Li Yan's head and wrist accurately.

Li Yan groaned as his head hurt, and his sword collapsed, but he gritted his teeth and slammed into Zhu Meng. Seeing this, Zhu Meng threw away the short stick, held Li Yan's head and ribs with both hands, and used the impact to sweep Li Yan backwards. Taking advantage of Li Yan's excessive force, he thrust it out from under his ribs, picked up the short stick, turned around, and pressed it against Li Yan's ribs. Li Yantou's backstory.

"The most important thing to avoid is using force in the formation. Your charge may look brave, but in fact it is overpowering and harmful to the formation. You need to use glue to enter the formation. The glue connects the left and right and is inseparable. Your arm strength is strong, and your left and right body should be guarded against it. For iron doors, pay attention to both sides and work in a straight direction.

The Lord often said that the general is the courage of the soldiers, and the soldiers are the commanders of strength. The generals have strategies, and the soldiers have methods to use their strength. With light twisting and heavy transportation, ten ounces of force can kill the enemy. But if there is no method, a thousand ounces of force is just in vain! "

Zhu Meng looked at Li Yan's head and said with half appreciation and half regret.

Li Yan was defeated at the first meeting, and he felt very frustrated and ashamed. When he heard Zhu Meng's words, he looked thoughtful, and after a while he sighed: "I also know a little bit about fighting techniques. It’s really rare for an opponent to use force as skillfully as the strong man. I don’t know how to use this Jiao Jin. Can the strong man explain it more carefully?”

"It's complicated to say, but you still need to rely on your hands to make you perfect. Is your wrist okay? Let me teach you several sword positions in the formation. The force will be different depending on the direction of entering the formation. In the front, you need to be flexible with your hands and eyes, and in the middle, you need to Be brave and strong, and be strong and strong after the battle..."

Zhu Meng had the habit of being a teacher. He was not secretive about his battle formation skills. He pulled Li Yan's head and started to explain.

Li Tai, who was standing aside, was also very interested. He came over and asked with a smile: "Isn't this right? Shouldn't it be that the opponent is brave and charges into the battle to boost morale?"

"People who don't often go into battle often have this misunderstanding, thinking that when two battles clash, the brave will win. This is right or wrong. It still depends on the opponent. If the opponent is just weak and will scatter at the first charge, the brave warriors should be in front and lead the battle. But if the forces are equal, the sharp ones will be defeated. This requires the front soldiers to be the eyes and find the loopholes, the middle soldiers to be the knives and tear the skin, and the rear soldiers to be the hammers and break the bones..." Zhu Meng spoke very carefully, and Li Tai listened very seriously. Although he had the martial arts and memories left by his predecessor, his predecessor was just a spirited young man who loved martial arts and fighting, and he didn't have much real battle experience. The first time he went into battle was when he followed Yu Jin's army to attack several powerful fortresses in the Heluo area. When he really fought with the elite soldiers of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, he was injured and rescued, and his body was occupied by his own body that came through time. War is the most intense of all human behaviors. Once a battle is fought, it is not only about winning and losing, but also about life and death, so naturally there is no room for carelessness. Although Zhu Meng was not a famous general, he had followed Heba Sheng for many years and had accumulated rich practical experience. Even if he only picked out some key points to explain, it was enough to make Li Tai and his servant listen in fascination.

Unknowingly, the sun had risen high, and the soldiers who were training at the bottom of the slope returned one after another. Seeing the three people gathered together, some people joined the discussion one after another. Talking about some extreme battles they had experienced, Li Tai was thrilled and interested, and he remembered some key points of victory and defeat in his heart.

Heba Sheng had a hangover last night. When he woke up, it was already late. He walked out of the bedroom and saw Li Tai mixed with his own troops. He stood in the corridor and watched for a while, looking thoughtful.

After a while, he walked up and smiled: "These old soldiers are skilled in fighting, but you don't have to listen too seriously. As a general, you can control the crowd only by cultivating your mind. First learn not to be timid, then be cautious and brave. As for the method, it still needs to be honed in the process, and practice makes perfect."

When everyone heard Heba Sheng speak, they turned around and greeted him. Heba Sheng waved his hand to dismiss everyone and invited Li Tai to come in for dinner.

Li Tai remembered the abnormality of Heba Sheng at the banquet last night. Seeing him sitting cross-legged with a frown today, he couldn't help asking: "Is uncle in trouble?"

"It's an old disease for many years, it's not a big deal."

Heba Sheng sighed after hearing this: "In my early years, I wandered around the south of the Yangtze River and suffered from dampness and cold. The evil spirits were stubborn. Sometimes I didn't pay attention and my hands and feet were painful and numb. Although it didn't kill me, it was also tormenting..."

"Could it be beriberi?"

Li Tai put down his chopsticks after hearing this and asked with concern.

The beriberi he was talking about was not the tinea pedis of later generations, but a disease that has been prevalent in the south of the Yangtze River since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, especially after the Yongjia Southern Migration.

"Yes, the evil spirit disturbs people, even worse than the sword. In the early years, the pain was so severe that I didn't even dare to walk on the ground. It got better after returning for several years, but it has recurred from time to time recently."

Heba Sheng pointed to his feet below the knees and said helplessly.

Li Tai's expression became a little serious after hearing this.

Beriberi in the Middle Ages had nothing to do with fungal infection or vitamin deficiency, but was a comprehensive neuroinflammatory disease, a type of qi disease.

Wind disease and qi disease were a relatively common disease category in the Middle Ages, and the most famous one was the inheritance of the Li and Tang families.

Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan, died of a stroke, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty also suffered from qi disease for many years, and Empress Zhangsun also died of qi disease. Not to mention Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Zhi, who had high blood pressure for many years and Wu Zetian ruled the country. Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Xian, also contracted severe beriberi due to long-term confinement in Shannan.

Zhang Wenzhong, a famous doctor who treated wind disease for Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi in the Tang Dynasty, said that there are 120 kinds of wind and 80 kinds of qi. Beriberi is caused by wind and qi in the head, and it is often necessary to take medicine continuously.

If we want to make an analogy, beriberi in the Middle Ages is probably a comprehensive inflammation similar to toxic neuritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout.

It is really fatal when it is serious, because it often requires long-term medication. Beriberi attacking the heart is acute toxic renal failure and congestive heart failure caused by rheumatism, which leads to death.

Li Tai knew that Heba Sheng would not live long, but he only thought that it was due to the shock of hearing the news of his sons' death. He did not expect that Heba Sheng had a chronic illness. It seems that the real cause of Heba Sheng's death should be the double blow of great emotional sadness and the outbreak of chronic illness.

"Since you have this chronic illness, uncle should especially avoid eating alcohol, meat and other things that make people angry!"

After guessing these inside stories, Li Tai could not help but worry about Heba Sheng. He stood up and walked in front of Heba Sheng to take away the mutton on the table, and gave a serious advice.

Heba Sheng was speechless when he saw this, and then sighed after a while: "It is not considered premature death after the age of fifty. Compared with my old friends, I have lived a long life. Even if the time comes, I will just wait. You are so arrogant to take my food!" "I have no relationship with my uncle, but I am lucky to live in this village under his protection. Even if my uncle blames me for being greedy for this favor and being arrogant, I am happy to be a villain who harms others and enriches myself. I hope you can listen to his teachings." Li Tai brought the mutton back to his own dining table and started eating. He looked at Heba Sheng and said: "Besides, although my uncle has traveled a long way, he may not have tasted more delicacies in the world than me. Isn't it a pity that he has not tasted much after entering the world? Uncle, please cherish this desire. I will serve you delicious dishes later so that you can taste them."