Chapter 3 The fight between He Cao and He Cao (see below) quickly calmed down. Apart from feeling a little sorry for what happened to Qin and He, people did not leave many traces in their hearts of the hardships people encountered in their youth.
It is always easy to forget, but how much impact those hardships have on a person's life path is unknown to others except the person involved.
It can be said that there is no acquaintance without fighting. After the storm, the relationship between the food guards and the government soldiers became closer, especially the exchanges between the generals. From the original no contact to frequent visits, the change happened within a few days.
Liu Hongji, Li Xu, Wang Yuantong, Qin Ziying and others often became guests of Qian Shixiong, the general of the Zuowuwei Hu Benlang. Qian Shixiong, Meng Jincha, Mai Jie and other generals of the Zuowuwei were also in the food protection army camp one after another.
Liu Hongji, who was treated as a distinguished guest in the land, had an easy-going nature and liked to socialize with heroes. His nature also affected Li Xu. Both of them had good drinkers. No matter where they went to gamble, they always came back with great victories. Over time, they also became good at martial arts.
In addition to his courage, he also gained a reputation as a drunkard.
Occasionally, when Liu Hongji was on duty and couldn't get away, Li Xu had to go to the banquet alone. At this time, he would try to talk less and eat more, listening to the generals pointing out the positions of Qian Shixiong and others in front of him.
He is much higher than Li Xu, and the topics he talks about are indeed secrets that he has never heard of. Under such circumstances, it is normal for him to be unable to interrupt.
"General Mai would like to treat you to a drink tomorrow night. I wonder if Brother Zhongjian can appreciate it?" One day after the banquet, when Qian Shixiong was seeing Li Xu out with drunken eyes, he suddenly took his arm and asked.
road
"Mai, old general!" Li Xu suddenly woke up from the alcohol in his stomach, and he blurted out. After checking that no one was paying attention, he added in a low voice, "Just me? Where's Brother Liu?"
?”
"General Mai only ordered me to invite you. I don't know about Hongji!" Although Qian Shixiong is a military general, he answered Li Xu very skillfully.
Li Xu stopped asking. This day would come sooner or later. After he shot the iron helmet on Qian Shixiong's head to pieces, Liu Hongji had reminded him
"General Mai really loves talents!" Liu Hongji, who is open-minded and well-rounded by nature, once said that as for how Li Xu should deal with it, Liu Hongji did not give him any advice. He insisted that people have to choose many paths in this life, and others usually cannot do it for them.
For an unexpected dinner, Li Xu prepared painstakingly. General Zuo Wuwei was the third-rank official in the court. His invitation was not something that a small brigade commander could refuse. But could the food protection army and the government soldiers live in harmony?
, in many cases it depends on the mood of the old general.
Old General Mai Tiezhang looks very easy-going when he is not wearing military uniform. He is from Jiangnan. He is not too tall, but looks extremely strong. His complexion is slightly darker, his pure black eyes and his snow-white beard complement each other. Everyone is divided into guests and hosts.
After sitting down, a beautiful woman came forward to perform a dance, and after a few songs, the feeling of wine gradually became stronger.
"Boy, do you know why I invited you?" Mai Tiezhang poured himself a glass of wine and asked, holding it in his hand. A maid slowly came forward to serve him, but he waved her hand and drove her away.
"I think the old general drank too much and couldn't find any rivals in the army, so he specially ordered the boy to hold the cup!" Li Xu replied with a smile, "But the old general may have been deceived by the boy's false reputation. I don't drink much, but I just have enough courage."
!”
With more experience following Liu Hongji, Li Xu is no longer as restrained as before when interacting with senior generals. He can occasionally make some harmless jokes and ignore embarrassing questions that he doesn't want to answer.
But this move is obviously ineffective against Mai Tiezhang. The old general is older and has less scruples than others. He looked at Li Xu with a smile and praised in a low voice: "You are not as honest as you appear on the surface, but this is okay."
, these days, honest people suffer a lot. I asked you to come here. First of all, I want to thank you for your appropriate advance and retreat that day and for not embarrassing me!"
"It's a humble position with no merit, I don't dare to receive such praise." Of course Li Xu knew what day Mai Tiezhang was mentioned. He cupped his hands in his seat and answered.
"Boy, in front of me, you should not hold a humble position!" Mai Tiezhang glanced at Li Xu again and sighed.
This sentence was a bit abrupt. Not only was Li Xu a little confused, but Qian Shixiong and Meng Jincha who came to the banquet were also a little confused. The banquet tonight was not large, there were only the four of them, so the scene was a bit confusing for a while.
Awkward
The beauties dancing below also felt the change in the atmosphere. The dance steps gradually slowed down, and the sleeve flowers brought by the spinning body also followed the scattered wheat iron staff and waved their hands. The beauties stopped spinning, gave a salute, and walked out backwards.
"Perhaps I should praise the singing and dancing!" Li Xu thought to himself, but he couldn't give an accurate evaluation of the singing and dancing just now. The person who is qualified to call the dancer into the tent to accompany the wine is at least a senior official of the fifth rank or above in the military.
With a brigade like his, even women are not allowed into the military camp, let alone dancing girls.
"That day when you fought against Shixiong, the arrow that hit his helmet was really clever!" Mai Tiezhang drank another glass of wine and whispered as if recalling something.
"General Qian let me go first, otherwise, I would have never had the chance to draw the bow!" Li Xu accompanied the old general to have a drink and answered humbly.
It seems that being in the limelight is not necessarily a good thing, at least judging from today's situation. In recent days, the matter of his martial arts competition with Qian Shixiong has spread throughout the army. Everyone said that there was a man in the food protection army who could defeat the enemy with a hundred steps.
A sharpshooter, while praising his archery skills, there is often a hint of regret in his tone.
"But what's more ingenious is not that arrow, but the swords you dealt with Changshan!" Mai Tiezhang drank another drink, his face gradually turned rosy, his eyes widened, and he asked in a low voice: "This is what I'm looking for.
For your second reason, Zhongjian, can you tell me who taught you those swordsmanship?"
Hearing this, Qian Shixiong and Meng Jincha sat upright at the same time. On that day, Li Xu was forced into a panic by Qian Shixiong's long penis. No one noticed what tricks he used on his scimitar. At this moment, the old general slapped him.
Mention, the two suddenly realized that those few dials were not random, but more like a mature set of sword skills. It was only because of Li Xu's lack of experience in fighting that he failed to exert its due power.
"When he was traveling outside the Great Wall, he was taught by the coppersmith master of the Su Chuan tribe that his surname seemed to be Wang, but he didn't tell the junior his name!" Li Xu saw Mai Tiezhang and asked about his inheritance. According to what Liu Hongji and others emphasized
rhetoric, explain carefully
"Is your surname Wang? He said it himself? Is there anyone else around? Where is Su Chuobu?" Mai Tiezhang suddenly put down the wine cup and asked very urgently.
"The Suchuo tribe is a small tribe of the Min people. It lives in an unstable place between the Ruoluoshui River and the Taimi River. Now it is protected by the Turks. The master said that his surname is Wang, and he makes a living by making bronze utensils for people and making swords.
One daughter, two sons." Li Xu thought for a while, and tried his best to expand the scope of the Su Chuo tribe to the entire Pin tribe's activity area in his answer.
"Don't worry, your master and I are not enemies. Even if we are, it has been many years and I don't have the strength to go to the grassland to find him!" Mai Tiezhang seemed to think of many past events worth recalling, and his eyes were as deep as two late autumn pools.
"The old general knows the master coppersmith?" Li Xu asked in surprise.
"If I'm not wrong, except for him, no one will go to the grassland to live in seclusion." Mai Tiezhang nodded and said, "He also hit you with your long knife. Is his legs and feet still sharp now? Can he?"
How much wine do you drink?”
"Master beat me. He is very strong now. He can drink three or five skins of horse wine without any problem. The wine is stronger than rice wine, and it is easy to get head-sick after drinking it!"
"There are no outsiders here. Can you tell me the details of your meeting with him?" Mai Tiezhang seemed to be very interested in the coppersmith's affairs and asked persistently.
"Actually, this junior doesn't know much!" Unknowingly, Li Xu and Mai Tiezhang got closer and sorted out their thoughts. He roughly told Mai Tiezhang about his experience of learning skills from the coppersmith.
He listened with great interest and couldn't help asking about the details. Li Xu didn't notice it at all when he was studying martial arts. Naturally, he couldn't tell him that some things involved Li Xu's privacy, so he answered vaguely.
"I was so stupid at the time that I didn't expect that the master coppersmith was a great sage who lived in seclusion, so I didn't even ask for his name!" Finally, Li Xu concluded sarcastically.
"If you ask him, he won't tell you his real name is Wang or Xie, so what can he do? The ambition to achieve hegemony is just a dream, I am obsessed with it!" Mai Tiezhang poured himself a drink again, and his tone gradually became more mature.
A bit crazy
Qian Shixiong and Meng Jincha also accompanied him. The two of them were Mai Tiezhang's confidants. Although they didn't know what the old general meant, they could feel the deep desolation in the old man's heart from his words.
"How long has he taught you?" After a while, Mai Tiezhang asked again
"About five or six months! I just practiced casually and never taught a complete routine." Li Xu did the math and found that he couldn't remember the specific time. The coppersmith master's instructions to him were intermittent and random.
But if it were officially counted, I couldn’t even say that I had learned martial arts from him.
"Did he create those styles you did that day?"
"Master created it himself, but Master said he was not sure!" Li Xu nodded and frankly said that if Qian Shixiong hadn't deliberately shown mercy that day, he wouldn't have been able to support the third meeting.
"You have never been on the battlefield, so of course I have no confidence in using it in your hands!" Mai Tiezhang smiled and shook his head, commenting
"Senior's lesson is very good!" Li Xu bowed down to learn from it. Judging from Mai Tiezhang's performance today, he must have some connection with the coppersmith master. Thinking of the legend in the army, before the demise of Nanchen, Mai Tiezhang was once under the command of Empress Chen.
As a guard, it is not surprising that he and the coppersmith are familiar with each other.
"It doesn't count as a lesson, no matter how wonderful the tricks are. If you haven't experienced actual combat, you won't be able to grasp the essence." Mai Tiezhang looked at Li Xu again, his eyes becoming gentler. "Do you know why your master stayed in the Su Chuan tribe?"
"Some people say that he is doing it for a woman!" Li Xu's answer was a double entendre. Two different faces of Aunt Qing, who was always considerate and cruel at critical moments, appeared in front of him at the same time. "But this junior believes that if the master stays in Su
Sip part, it’s more likely for a promise!”
"No wonder he likes you. You are indeed much smarter than you appear!" Mai Tiezhang seemed to appreciate the answer very much and said with a smile.
Li Xu smiled softly and took a sip of wine. The master didn't stay in Su Chuobu because of the woman from the Chen family. He could get the answer from Mai Tiezhang. He was very happy in his heart. In his eyes, the coppersmith master was a hero.
, you shouldn’t have to pay so much for a woman who only has hatred in her heart.
"Your master, we used to be close friends. Although he was born into a wealthy family, I was just a thief!" Mai Tiezhang recalled for a moment and briefly explained, "It's just a trick of fate. Now I am considered rich and powerful, but he has become a thief."
Turn the old man into a wild man!"
"But Master is very happy, and the old general is living a very comfortable life!" Li Xu held up a cup to persuade him.
"Indeed, the more you want to chase something when you are young, the harder it will be to get it. When you get older, you can't let it go! Do it!" Mai Tiezhang raised his head and turned the wine cup over.
"Do it!" The two generals Qian and Meng happily accompany them to drink heavily. They don't want to care about the old past behind the old general Mai. Living happily with the old general and getting a real promotion is enough for everyone.
The wine jars around him were soon empty. Mai Tiezhang clapped his hands and ordered someone to bring up a few more jars for the general to drink. The wine tasted very pure and honest. Although the potency was not as strong as his uncle Zhang Baosheng’s private brew, the taste was delicious.
The feeling at the end is more gentle and soft, which is very suitable for people close to you to chat and drink. When the guards put down the wine jar for the third time and exited, Mai Tiezhang put down the cup and said: "With your skills, it is a pity to stay under the command of Duke Tang.
Immediately, the food protection soldiers have no chance to go to the battlefield. Even if they can share some credit, it won't be too much..."
"This junior is not proficient in martial arts, and his bow skills are just okay, but both sides are wearing heavy armor during the war!" Li Xu raised his wine cup and smiled apologetically.
General Mai has a desire to win over. He can tell it from the words of Qian Shixiong and others. But thinking about the benefits that Tang Gong Li Yuan has done to him, he really doesn't dare to bear the burden.
"Zhong Jian, who caused the dispute between the government soldiers and the food guard soldiers that day? I think you can guess a thing or two afterwards!" Mai Tiezhang reminded Li Xu in a low voice when he saw that Li Xu wanted to refuse.
"Junior knows that the old general must have noticed that someone is secretly provoking it!" Li Xu answered calmly.
"It's not General Yuwen!" Mai Tiezhang shook his head, "Or it's not just him. Hey, let's not mention this. I still have a few vacancies for captains under my command. If you agree..."
"Thank you, old general, for your kindness, but Mr. Tang has been kind to me!" Li Xu sat up straight and replied without hesitation.
Mai Tiezhang didn't expect to hear the answer from Li Xu so quickly. He was a little stunned. He looked at Li Xu for the third time with wide eyes. After a long while, he shook his head with a smile and sighed: "That's right, otherwise that person wouldn't do it either."
I will take a fancy to you and teach you martial arts."
"No matter what, I still want to thank the old general for his kindness!" Li Xu also laughed and held up a cup of wine in respect.
"Done!" Mai Tiezhang laughed and held up his wine cup, "Shixiong, fight with Zhong Jian more often when you have time. His sword skills need to be practiced with others!"
"Yes, general!" Qian Shixiong sat up straight and replied respectfully
"Your Majesty will be stationed at Haidun on the fourth day of the second lunar month. If you are lucky enough to be summoned by your Majesty, please respond promptly!" Mai Tiezhang reminded him inadvertently before finishing the last glass of wine.
"Why did your Majesty summon a small tour leader?" Li Xu thought while drinking. He concluded that Mai Tiezhang must have drank too much and decided not to take it to heart.
