Chapter 1 The middle road of Tongbai Mountain is late
In the early spring of Huaishang, the fifth year of Dai Viet Tianxuan, the weather had not warmed up yet, and there was still light snow in the mountains, valleys and jungles.
In the Tongbai Mountains, on the horse trail from Huainan West Road to Guangzhou to Beijing South Road to Tangzhou, a horse-drawn carriage was driving slowly.
"Grandpa, where are you?"
Small hands as delicate as green onions opened the car curtain from the inside, revealing a young and beautiful face.
The road was rugged, the girl's clear eyes looked across the dense forest, and there was a wide river running through a shallow valley to the north.
As the upper reaches of the Huai River, the river channel between the wide gorges and shallow valleys of Tongbai Mountain becomes wider and narrower as the terrain changes; piles of rocks and beaches are exposed from time to time in the rapid water flow.
Not to mention ships with deeper drafts, even bamboo rafts going down the river at this time are very dangerous. At this time, the girl saw a fishing boat in the distance, parked on the whirlpool of the river in the distance.
Inside, the fisherman wearing a raincoat and a hat could not see his face clearly. He was sitting on the bow of the boat fishing, but he was indescribably leisurely.
Several ospreys seemed to be afraid of the cold weather and cold water, standing tall on the bow of the boat and shaking their dark brown feathers.
The girl is only twelve or thirteen years old, but she already has delicate and picturesque eyebrows, and her face is as childish as the first snow, as if the warm sunshine of early spring already has a bright and charming taste.
The girl now had a confused look on her face.
She set off from Xinyang County at dawn. She sat in the carriage and rested in the nurse's arms for a good night's sleep. Only then did she wake up, feeling dizzy and bloated. Looking at the cloudy weather, she didn't know where to go.
Where is it?
Sitting at the front of the car with the coachman, admiring the scenery of the mountains and rivers, the scholar in green shirt, who was over sixty years old, had a thin face and a slender face, turned back to the girl and said:
"There are still thirteen or four miles to go to Huaiyuan Town. Going west from Huaiyuan Town, the road is not so easy, but there is still more than one hundred and thirty miles to reach Biyang County. When we get to Huaiyuan Town,
Yuan Town, rest for one night before hitting the road."
Seeing her grandfather mentioning the unfamiliar-sounding place name Huaiyuan Town, his mind seemed to be filled with endless emotions, and he seemed to be suppressing his sighs. The girl asked in a curious childish voice: "Where is Huaiyuan Town?"
Has Grandpa ever walked this road before?"
"My husband has traveled all over the world, and he is more knowledgeable than me, a wanderer of rivers and lakes. Of course, he has walked this horse trail between Tongbai Mountains; and when it comes to the Huaiyuan Town on the horse trail, it has a lot to do with you.
What's the relationship?"
The driver turned back and smiled at the girl.
"How do you say it?" the girl asked curiously.
The coachman smiled and said: "Tongbai Mountain is also called Chu Mountain. Yu Gong said: 'Where does the Huai River come out?' It stretches for three hundred miles, spanning the states of Tang, Guang, Sui, and Ying - what we are traveling at this time
The horse trail has been around since the Spring and Autumn Period. It starts from Guangzhou and passes through the shallow gorges and wide valleys in Tongbai Mountain. It takes two or three days to reach Biyang County, Tangzhou. It is a shortcut connecting the east and west on the south bank of the Huaishui River. However, this road is very mountainous.
In the past, business travelers on Huainan Road would rather go in a big circle from Caiying and other places north of Huai River to Dengtang and other places than take this short route.
Lu. In the fourth year of Yongxi's reign, when Xianggong had just taken up his post in the Jingxi Room of the Privy Council, he wrote to the court asking the court to build a new inspection military stronghold at the fork of the Baijian River into the Huaihe River, and to post more than a hundred sharp soldiers to prepare for bandits.
As a result, the number of business travelers on this horse road gradually increased, and the market towns along the road also prospered. This Huaiyuan Town is close to the military village newly built in the fourth year of Yongxi's reign, and it is also the land and water junction between Tongbai Mountain.
Whenever goods are transported out of the mountains in the surrounding villages and villages, most of them are traded there. It is also the largest grass market in Biyang County in Tongbai Mountain. It is increasingly densely populated and less lively than Xinyang County..."
"Really? Then we really need to have a good rest in Huaiyuan Town for two days!" the girl shouted excitedly.
The green-shirted scribe hesitated, and the coachman also advised: "My lord, I will rest in Huaiyuan Town for two days. Lao Lu just took some time to visit an old friend whom I haven't seen for more than ten years."
"I haven't seen him for more than ten years? Is he also a veteran of the Jingsheng Army?" asked the scholar in green shirt.
"My old friend's name is Xu Wuxuan. My husband served as a general judge in the Jingsheng Army. You may have heard of this name!" said the coachman.
The coachman was slightly younger than the scholar in blue, but his face under the bamboo hat was also withered and stern, his temples were half stained white with frost, but his eyes were still sharp enough to see into people's hearts.
He held the riding crop in his sleeve with his right hand, and held the reins with his left hand to control the horse. The back of his hand and a small section of his wrist were exposed to the cold air, but there were several hideous scars on them.
Perhaps it was touching the unbearable memories of the dusty past, but there was a touch of sadness on the coachman's thin face covered with fine wrinkles; then his slightly stooped body suddenly straightened up, revealing an aura of indomitable and indomitable.
The scholar in green shirt didn't seem to notice the subtle changes in the coachman's demeanor. He looked at the vast mountains and forests in the distance with slightly cloudy eyes and said leisurely:
"I served in the Jingsheng Army. Although it was not long, I am still an old man in the Jingsheng Army. How could I not know about Xu Wuxuan, the personal guard commander in front of Wang Xiaocheng's tent? I remember that he was not tall and had both arms.
But he had the power to capture a tiger, and he was ranked as a strong man in the Jingsheng Army! Why, he didn't stay in the army later?"
"Wang Shuai died in Jingzhou, and the imperial court ceded Jingzhou and other places to the Dangxiang people. The hearts of the Jingsheng Army were dispersed. The imperial court was worried that the generals of the Jingsheng Army would miss their old commander, so they separated all the original generals.
He set up another place and recruited new soldiers to fill it. Xu Wuxuan returned to his hometown in Huaishang at that time. Unexpectedly, more than ten years have passed since I said goodbye to him in Jingzhou."
The coachman looked up and said to the scholar in green shirt,
"I heard that the Xu family is a wealthy family in Tongbai Mountain. Xu Wuxuan always admired you when he was in the Jingsheng Army. If my husband rests for two more days in Huaiyuan, Xu Wuxuan will definitely entertain my husband warmly."
"I have already committed a crime when I left the court, so how could I not avoid taboos and make friends with local wealthy families?" The scholar in green shirt sighed and said, "When I left Bianjing, I had to have you escort me all the way. Wang Cun was extremely grateful - from Huaiyuan to
Biyang is only a day or two away; since you want to meet friends in Huaishang, let’s just say goodbye!”
"If my husband is in a hurry and nothing happens, I will go see Xu Wuxuan when I return. It won't be late for three to five days if I haven't heard from you for more than ten years," the coachman insisted. "Cai Qing is not a broad-minded person.
The censor Chen Huai and the Ministry of War were demoted from the court for offending Zhang Kuai, and were all killed by bandits on the way..."
"There is no evidence for those things. The theory of assassination is just speculation. Brother Lu should not think too much about it," the scholar in green shirt argued, not wanting the coachman to have a bad impression of the princes in the court.
It’s more, but it’s a fact.”
"Although there is no evidence that the deaths of Chen Huai and Zhang Kuo were caused by assassins sent by Cai Qing, Lu Xiong is worried if he does not send his father-in-law to Biyang." The coachman still felt that the deaths of Chen Huai, Zhang Kuo and others were related to
Cai Qing, who was in charge of the Privy Council at that time, secretly felt that after Biyang, Cai Qing might not let go, and persuaded, "My husband is not afraid of offending Cai Qing and other thieves, nor is he afraid of life and death, but he cannot care about Miss Xuan's safety.
"
"I am a guilty person. I have no hindrance to Cai Zheng and the others. There is nothing to worry about." The middle-aged man wanted to smile calmly, but could not suppress the sadness in his heart. He finally couldn't help but sigh, "I am
Worried that the Dukes of Cai Cheng were greedy for merit and were not fully prepared, they rashly launched a military provocation against the Khitan people, leaving a huge problem that cannot be dealt with!"
"Cai Qing was a thief who flattered his superiors and bullied his subordinates when he was in the Western Army. He also stole other people's achievements to make himself proud. Lu Xiong could understand that the Prime Minister objected to him leading the army to attack Yan. However, the Chihu people rose up in Mobei and repeatedly defeated the Khitans in the Yin Mountains.
Cavalry, this really shows that the Khitan people are already weak, and all the princes in the court think that this is a good opportunity for our country to regain Yanyun's homeland from the Khitan people. What do you think?" asked the coachman.
The scribe in green shirt said: "The Red Husbands have risen between the north and south of the Yin Mountains, and it is true that they have repeatedly defeated the Khitan cavalry, which means that the Khitan people in the north do not seem to be afraid. Therefore, the princes in the court often advocated joining forces with the Red Husbands to advance.
In attacking Northern Yan, we saw the advantage of driving away tigers and devouring wolves. However, what happens after the evil tiger swallows the wolf? I face an evil tiger directly in the north! Khitan is in the dusk, and the noble officials are all eager to enjoy themselves.
The people are exploited, and the army is also very decayed. In comparison, the situation in our country is better, but it is not without worries. You have been to many military towns in the past few years in the army, but apart from a few soldiers of the Western Army
In addition to the elite horses, how many soldiers do you think are capable of fighting in the other imperial armies and the armies of various states? And for more than a hundred years, our dynasty has had redundant personnel, redundant troops, and redundant waste and disadvantages. Have these been eradicated?
I’m not against taking this good opportunity to recapture Yanyun’s hometown, but it’s actually the plot of Cai Qing and others who are too hasty..."
The coachman has had a rough life, and he knows the dangers of the world, but he doesn't know much about military matters.
He had always admired Qingshan's scribe's personality and noble character, and was worried that his grandfather and grandson would be in danger if they brought a servant girl with them when they were demoted to Tangzhou, so he followed the escort all the way. However, when he heard Qingshan's words, he thought
I want to say some words of comfort, but I don’t know where to start.
The green-robed scribe laughed at himself and said, "Oh, I am no longer in my position, and it is useless to think about it anymore——"
The girl's parents died when she was young, and she grew up in front of her grandfather. Although she was influenced by everything, she was still young and didn't seem to understand military affairs. At this time, she laughed at her grandfather and said, "Maybe these are all unfounded worries, grandpa."
, in the end I will be ridiculed by Cai Qing and others..."
"I hope so!" The blue-shirted scribe waved his hand, as if to wave away the endless troubles and worries in his heart.
"Ms. sir, you and Miss Xuan get into the carriage!" the coachman suddenly said.
"What's the matter?" The scholar in green shirt asked in surprise when he saw the coachman reaching under the shaft of the carriage and taking out the sword wrapped in a baggage cloth and placing it beside him.
"There is someone at the top of that cliff!" The coachman lifted the bamboo hat slightly and asked the scholar in blue to look towards the rocky cliff ahead.
The section of road they were walking on at this time was over a hill, which was already more than twenty feet higher than the Huai River lying at the bottom of the valley to the north; there was a gap on the mountain crest more than a hundred steps directly in front of them, with two sides on both sides.
Rugged stone cliffs seven to eight feet high rise up in the air, as if an eagle's beak lies across the road.
The coachman had never been to Tongbai Mountain before, but in his early years in the army, he heard his old friend Xu Wuxuan talk about the terrain near Huaiyuan Town. Looking at the unique landform of the slopes and stone cliffs, he knew that this was the famous "Eagle Mouth" at the east end of Huaiyuan Town.
"?
The Eagle's Mouth was unusually steep, and the head of the cliff protruded quite far into the middle. The moss on the four walls was slippery, and there was no place to climb and settle down. At this time, the coachman found a person standing on the cliff looking over.
How could he not be vigilant?
The man's face couldn't be clearly seen, and he could only vaguely see something like a knife handle protruding from the side of the man's waist. The man's figure was also unusually strong, and he was quite far apart, giving people an indescribable feeling.
Feeling of oppression.
Just at this moment, the sound of horse hooves galloping came from behind again.
The sound of horse hooves seemed to trample on the coachman's heart.
He turned his head and saw three fast horses from the corner of his eye. On the horses were three bearded men. They looked like hunters, but the driver would have been blind to really think they were hunters.
The horse is a strong horse from a hundred miles away, the bow is a hard carved lacquer bow, and the waist is a straight-ridged sword that is more than four feet long. You really don’t care at all when pretending to be a hunter!
The worst-case scenario that was expected happened after all!
The coachman sighed softly in his heart.
Facing the pursuit and interception of four powerful enemies, and not knowing whether there were assassins ambushing behind Yingzizui, he knew that there was very little he could do, but he calmly let go of the reins and let the horse slowly drag the carriage forward.
.
He placed the long knife wrapped in furrow cloth across his knees, and his rickety body straightened slightly at this time. Suddenly, he was like a hungry wolf hiding in the grass, raising his chest slightly, waiting for the moment when the prey approached, and fiercely raised his chest.
save.
The blue-shirted scribe has experienced countless winds and rains in his life. At this time, his skinny hands were clenched tightly and his veins were exposed, but in addition to endless desolation in his heart, he had no intention of struggling.
He did not hide back in the carriage, but patted the coachman's arm gently and said: "The king's body is no longer useful for committing crimes. Some people think that I am still a hindrance, so they ask them to take my life - Brother Lu's martial arts
Gao Qiang, this place is close to Huaiyuan Town, they will not dare to tangle with Brother Lu, and please ask Brother Lu to send Xuan'er to Tangzhou..."
The scholar in green shirt resolutely pushed his young granddaughter back into the car, pulled down the curtain, and stood up at the front of the car.
