Shenguan is long and tall, standing among the mountains.
The peaks and ridges are like clusters, the waves are like raging waves, and the towering checkpoints are like heavenly gates. You can look at the mountains and the common people in the distance.
High clouds have always clustered around this city, and the autumn wind blew away the sound of horse hooves.
Shenguan is located in the west of Yuzhou and is the eastern barrier of Shendu. It is surrounded by mountains and ridges and forms a natural danger. It is known as the most powerful pass in the world.
On this day, the sun sets in the west and the sunset glows like fire.
At the tall and majestic Qiao Tower, many dignitaries from the six central ministries including the Minister of War, the Minister of Rites, and the Minister of Personnel gathered together.
The Qiao Tower is clearly dark and bright, the edges refract light, and the empty railings are filled with streaks of red clouds.
The north wind blew the war flags.
After a long time, someone in the crowd exclaimed.
"coming!"
Everyone looked up and looked into the distance, only to see a black line suddenly appear on the ground.
There were halberds like a forest, swords and spears were formidable, and tens of thousands of troops seemed to be enveloped by an evil spirit that could not be dispersed, slowly approaching from the east.
"As expected, he is a master of hundreds of battles, how majestic he is!"
Guo Shengxiong, who was the Minister of the Ministry of War at the time, spoke in admiration at the Qiao Tower.
The Minister of War is the second-rank official of the imperial court. He is responsible for the national military guard, the selection and appointment of military attachés, and concise political orders. Compared with the four generals, the Minister of War does not have actual military power, but he has the power to "select and appoint" the generals of the army. All official promotion and transfer orders must be confirmed by the Ministry of War documents.
This is also a way of classifying the central power of the Qianyuan Dynasty.
For example, generals, hussar generals, etc., although they do not have the power to "select and appoint", they have the ability to "recommend". At the same time, compared with the Ministry of War, they have one more "commander of troops and borders", which has certain practicality in a certain period of time. military power.
This time, the right general led his army back to the court. In accordance with the requirements of the Military Officials' Ceremony and Feng Yin Ceremony, in addition to the Minister of War, he was also accompanied by the Minister of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel.
Together with Huangmen Shilang, who represented the emperor's identity, they welcomed the army at Shenguan.
Guo Shengxiong was the highest-ranking official at the scene. As soon as he opened his mouth, the three ministers beside him all echoed his words.
"First Evolution"
In the crowd, someone suddenly said: "The right general Qin Hu has a bright appearance and a brilliant martial arts. His strategies are flawless and his campaigns are flawless. This time he led his army to defeat the rebels. The Holy One relies more and more on him. He should be regarded as a leading military officer."
This comment is quite abrupt, especially the first few sentences, which are so old-fashioned that only a highly respected person would not dare to comment.
Everyone looked sideways and saw a gray-haired old master walking to the Qiao tower and standing next to Guo Shengxiong.
Guo Shengxiong smiled: "What Dr. Xu said is absolutely true."
Guo Shengxiong just said casually that Xu Jin, the official in question, was an old Confucian scholar specially invited by the Ministry of Rites this time, and he had a pivotal position in the scholarly world.
According to the etiquette system, when the ceremony of sealing the shadow is held in the future, an article signed by Doctor Xu will be required.
Although he is old, his writing skills are getting better and better as he gets older. He is a highly respected person.
So when everyone heard him commenting on Qin Hu, they naturally felt that there was nothing wrong with it.
Everyone chatted on the city for a while, and then the appearance of the army in the distance became clearer and clearer. Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, a group of people approached Shenguan.
.........
Cao Su rides on a black wind horse.
He looked up into the distance and saw a majestic pass standing among the mountains.
This pass is about ten feet high, with dangerous terrain and majestic buildings. It seems to have locked the throat, firmly cutting off the westward route of Yuzhou.
Just looking at the height and danger, even with a hundred thousand troops, it would be impossible to cross.
When I looked further into the distance, I could see the undulating mountains and peaks to the north and south of Shenguan, green and fresh, and the clouds in the middle of the peaks and ridges, floating or fixed, embedded or floating, coming suddenly and disappearing without a trace, just as the sun was setting in the west.
, the brocade sunset is colorful, and the mountains are like a picture scroll, blending into one.
At this time, it had been more than ten days since Cao Su left Xiangcheng, Lingzhou.
Ten days ago, Cao Su left Yincheng and rushed to Xiangcheng.
In Xiangcheng, Cao Su found Cao's father, Cao's mother, and Liu Luan, but Meng Yao was nowhere to be seen.
After the Lushan War started, he and Meng Yao lost contact.
Communication is really underdeveloped these days. Without the support of a strong intelligence agency, it is impossible to easily find a person in the vast world.
Cao Su didn't care about Meng Yao's affairs. This woman was determined and had good talent in swordsmanship. However, her exposure to martial arts was too short and she couldn't help him for the time being. If there was a breakthrough in the future, she might be able to do something for him.
something.
He directly told his parents that he was going to become an official in the city of God.
Cao's father, Cao's mother and Liu Luan were of course extremely happy to see Cao Su.
After hearing Cao Su's invitation to go to the divine capital, he agreed without hesitation.
But Liu Luan was quite disappointed when he heard that Cao Su didn't know Cao Xing's whereabouts either.
After Cao Su obtained his parents' consent, he asked Wu Ming and Wu Yun to escort him and his elder sister-in-law to Shendu for resettlement. In Shendu, Cao Su had already approached Yang Ping to find a suitable house for them to live in.
After Cao Su took care of everything, he returned to the army.
Just in time for the army to arrive at Shenguan.
The tens of thousands of imperial troops marched slowly, with a desolate and solemn air.
As we approached the Shenguan, there was no intention of opening or closing the Shenguan.
This surprised Cao Su somewhat.
Not long afterward, Qin Hu ordered the army to stay where it was and stopped outside Shenguan.
After giving the order, the army quickly set up camp.
As night fell, Shenguan sent a small official to inform Qin Hu.
"It's getting late today, so it's not appropriate to open or close the door. Tomorrow, the main gate will be closed to welcome the army. At that time, many adults will open the main gate to welcome them."
Qin Hu's face became calm after listening to the junior official's words.
But some of the generals below were furious.
"Sir, this is so irritating. I was fighting on the front lines and saved these talkative people, and then they actually made us wait outside the pass all night?"
Qin Hu's general Shi Ren looked angry.
The junior officer quickly explained: "You generals don't know. According to the canonical requirements of the Ministry of Rites, the army must first burn incense and bathe to remove the evil spirits from the body, then offer sacrifices and pray to the 'Supreme Tianyuan God', and enter the gate wearing Chaoguang."
When Shi Ren heard this, he became even more furious: "How come there wasn't such a rule before about farting?"
The junior official looked troubled: "Today is different from the past. This is the canon appointed by the emperor..."
"alright!"
When Qin Hu heard this, he lowered his eyes and gave Shi Ren a cold look: "The emperor's decree on the canon is a major event, and it is normal for it to be more rigorous and complicated. Everyone should go back to the camp and wait until the canon is completed tomorrow before entering the customs."
Seeing Qin Hu speak, Shi Ren curled his lips and finally said no more.
At Qin Hu's request, all senior generals returned to the camp.
Cao Su also returned to the camp to rest.
The camp was guarded by three thousand elite troops from his headquarters.
Zhao Xi opened the curtain of the tent and brought tea to Cao Su.
"Where does the army get tea?"
Cao Su was very surprised. The conditions in the army were so bad. Why didn't he come for a few days and there was still tea?
Zhao Xi smiled and said: "General You sent someone specially to deliver it."
What middle and low-level officers cannot enjoy may not necessarily be enjoyed by senior officers as well.
Qin Hu is already pretty good. Although he can't "share the same food and clothing, lie down without setting up a table, travel without riding, wrap the grain himself, and share the labor with the soldiers" like the famous generals in ancient times, at least he hasn't done anything too exaggerated.
Special treatment, no beauty hidden in the army, no night banquets, relatively simple life.
Zhao Xi put down the tea and left.
Cao Su sat cross-legged, picked up a book, took a sip of tea, and read slowly.
After finishing the tea, Cao Su put down the book.
Then he took out a dark seal and a bronze mask.
The seal and the bronze mask were both items obtained from Chen Zhen that day.
Cao Su checked with Ouyang Xuanji and found that both items were safe.
After using her methods, she erased the original aura on it to avoid being tracked.
The bronze mask is a magic weapon. After wearing it, it can change the warrior's aura to a certain extent. After Cao Su put it on, his originally violent aura became much more feminine, and his aura was not as obvious as that of Little Sun.
If Cao Su held his breath for a moment, his whole aura would become obscure and silent.
The seal is also a magical weapon, called the "Boundary Breaking Seal". It is the identity symbol of the outer disciples of Tianji Pavilion. Its greatest function is that it can directly pass through the barrier in weak areas.
Tianji Pavilion is pervasive, and it is obvious why the identities of the disciples are so strange and difficult to find.
Cao Su was very satisfied with these two magic weapons and took them with him.
After careful study, I found that the method of use is also very simple. For example, as long as you wear this bronze mask, your breath will change. And after you hold this boundary-breaking seal in your hand, you can really feel that it is everywhere around you.
The power of the realm slowly flowing.
The changes in some realms were clear to his mind. He tried to hold onto the realm-breaking seal, and he could easily pass through the tent.
But it was only limited to the tents. It would not work in more generous places. For example, he could not get through some ancient trees on the roadside. If he hit his head with the Boundary Breaking Seal, the whole tree would break if he hit it directly.
Generally speaking, I like to mention the low-end version of "Breathe Condensation Technique" and "Wall Penetration Technique".