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 sometimes narrower as the terrain changes; in the rapid water flow, there are piles of water from time to time.
Rocks and beaches are exposed.
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 and stopped.
In the whirlpool of the river in the distance, the fisherman wearing a raincoat and hat could not see his face clearly. He was sitting on the bow of the boat fishing, but it 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 little face is as childish as the first snow, as if the warm sunshine of early spring has already given it two or three points of beauty.
Bright flavor.
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 swollen.
Yes, the weather was cloudy and I didn’t know where to go.
Sitting at the front of the car with the driver, a scholar in green shirt, over sixty years old, with a thin face and a slender face, admiring the scenery of mountains and rivers all the way, turned back to the girl and said:
"There are still thirteen or four miles to go to Huaiyuan Town - from Huaiyuan Town to the west, the road is not so easy, but there is still more than one hundred and thirty miles to Biyang County.
Let’s go to Huaiyuan Town, rest for a night, and then hit the road.”
Seeing her grandfather mentioning the unfamiliar-sounding place name of Huaiyuan Town, but his chest seemed to be filled with endless emotions, and he seemed to be suppressing his sighs, the girl was curious.
The childish voice asked: "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 the horse trail between Tongbai Mountains; and when it comes to horse trails, he has traveled all over the world.
This Huaiyuan town in the middle of the story has a lot to do with you."
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——
The horse trail we are walking on now existed in 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 east and west on the south bank of the Huai River. However, this road is remote and dangerous, and many bandits cut the path in peacetime. In the past, business travelers on Huainan Road would
I would rather go in a big circle from Caiying and other places north of Huai River to Dengtang and other places than take this shortcut. In the fourth year of Yongxi, my husband had just arrived in the Privy Council capital.
When the West Fang took office, he wrote to the imperial court to build a new inspection military camp at the fork of the Baijian River into the Huaihe River, and to post more than a hundred sharp soldiers to prepare for bandits.
The number of business travelers gradually increased, and the market towns along the road also prospered. Huaiyuan Town is close to the military village newly established in the fourth year of Yongxi's reign, and it is also the connection point between the water and land in the Tongbai Mountains.
As long as goods are shipped out of the mountains, they are mostly traded there. It is also the largest grass market in Tongbai Mountain in Biyang County, and it is increasingly crowded.
The beauty and bustle are not inferior to Xinyang County..."
"Really? Then we really need to have a good rest in Huaiyuan Town for two days!" the girl shouted excitedly.
The scholar in green shirt hesitated, and the coachman also advised: "Your Excellency, I will rest in Huaiyuan Town for two days, and Lao Lu just took the time to visit the old man whom I haven't seen for more than ten years."
friend."
"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 Jingwu Army. You may have heard of this name!" said the coachman.
The coachman is slightly younger than the scholar in blue, but his face under the bamboo hat is also withered and stern, his temples are half stained with frost white, but his eyes still have a sharp look into people's hearts.
profit.
He held the riding crop in his right hand and huddled it in his sleeve, 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 beasts on it.
The scars are intertwined and knotted.
Perhaps it was touching the unbearable memories of the dusty past, but there was a faint layer of sadness on the coachman's thin face covered with fine wrinkles; then he slumped slightly.
His crotched body suddenly straightened up, exuding an aura of fierceness and unwillingness to give in.
The green-robed scribe 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 can still be considered an old man in the Jingsheng Army. How could I not know that Xu Wu, the personal guard commander in front of Wang Xiaocheng's tent,
Where is Xuan? I remember that he was not tall in stature, but his arms had the power to capture a tiger. He was ranked as a strong man in the Jingsheng Army! Why, he didn't stay in the army afterwards.
middle?"
"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 missed their old commander.
So he separated all the original generals and placed them elsewhere, and recruited new soldiers to fill them. Xu Wuxuan returned to his hometown in Huaishang at that time. Unexpectedly, I was more than ten years old when I said goodbye to him in Jingzhou.
Years have passed,"
The coachman said to the blue-shirted scribe in an arrogant tone,
"I heard that the Xu family is a wealthy family in Tongbai Mountain. Xu Wuxuan has always admired you when he was in the Jingsheng Army. If my husband rests for two more days in Huaiyuan, Xu Wuxuan will definitely be prosperous.
I would like to treat you with kindness and hospitality.”
"I have already committed a crime after leaving the court, so how can I not avoid taboos and make friends with local wealthy families?" The scholar in green shirt sighed and said, "I have to protect you all the way when I leave Bianjing.
Wang Chen is extremely grateful for the gift - it only takes a day or two to travel from Huaiyuan to Biyang; since you want to meet friends in Huaishang, let's just say goodbye!"
"If my husband is in a hurry and everything is fine, I will go see Xu Wuxuan on my way back. It won't be too late for me to see Xu Wuxuan in these three to five days if I haven't heard from him for more than ten years," the coachman said firmly.
Chi Chi said, "Cai Ting is not a broad-minded person. He served as censor Chen Huai, and the Ministry of War offended him due to Zhang Kao's affairs, and was demoted from the court. They 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 did not want the coachman to have too much impression on the princes in the court.
Bad, he argued, "It is a fact that people's livelihood is poor and that there are more bandits in the mountains and fields than in previous years."
"Chen Huai, although there is no evidence that Zhang Kuo's death was caused by an assassin sent by Cai Qing, Lu Xiong is worried if he does not send his father-in-law to Biyang," the coachman said in his heart.
He felt that the deaths of Chen Huai, Zhang Kuo and others were related to Cai Zheng, who was in charge of the Privy Council at that time. He secretly felt that after Biyang, Cai Zheng might not let go, so he persuaded, "Mr.
I am afraid of offending thieves such as Cai Zheng, and I am not afraid of life and death, but I cannot care less 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.
Chu, finally couldn't help but sigh, "I'm just worried that the Dukes of Cai Qing are greedy for power and are not fully prepared, but they rashly start a war against the Khitan people, leaving a big problem that cannot be dealt with."
Pick it up!"
"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 rise of Chi Hu Ren
Starting from Mobei, they repeatedly defeated the Khitan cavalry in the Yin Mountains. This really shows that the Khitan people are already weak. All the princes in the court thought that this was our country regaining the homeland of Yanyun from the Khitan people.
What do you think of this good opportunity?" asked the coachman.
The green-shirted scribe said: "The Red Husbands have risen between the north and south of the Yin Mountains. They have repeatedly defeated the Khitan cavalry. It is also true that the Khitans are not to be feared in the north. The DPRK
For this reason, the princes often advocated joining forces with the Chihu people to attack Northern Yan. This was because they saw the advantage of driving away tigers and devouring wolves. However, what happens after the evil tigers devoure wolves? I want to go straight to the north.
What a vicious tiger the enemy is! In the twilight of the Khitan period, the noble officials are greedy for enjoyment and exploiting the people, and the army is also very corrupt. In comparison, the situation in our dynasty is better.
Some, but it is not without worries. Over the years you have been in the army, you have also visited many military towns. However, except for a few elite troops in the Western Army, the rest of the Forbidden Army
And the Xiang armies in various states, how many soldiers do you think are capable of fighting? And for more than a hundred years, our dynasty has had redundant personnel, redundant soldiers, redundant waste and disadvantages, have these been eradicated? I am not
Opposing this good opportunity to recapture Yanyun's hometown is actually a plot by Cai Zheng and others, and it is 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 the man and noble character of the scholar in Qingshan. He was worried that his grandfather and grandson would be in danger on their way to being demoted to Tangzhou with a servant girl, so he followed him all the way.
Escort, but at this time, after listening to the words of the scribe in green shirt, I wanted to offer some words of comfort, but I didn’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 at the knees of her grandfather. Although she was influenced by her ears and eyes, she was still young and didn't seem to understand anything about military matters. At this time
Her grandfather laughed at her and said: "Perhaps these are all unfounded worries, Grandpa, and in the end you 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 climbing over a hill, which was more than twenty feet higher than the Huai River lying at the bottom of the valley to the north; more than a hundred steps directly in front of them,
There is a gap at the crest of the mountain, and on both sides there are rugged stone cliffs seven or eight feet high rising up in the air, as if an eagle's beak is crossing 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 landforms of the slopes and stone cliffs, he knew that
Do you think this is the famous "Eagle Mouth" at the east end of Huaiyuan Town?
The Eagle's Mouth is unusually steep, and the head of the cliff protrudes quite far into the middle. The moss on the four walls is slippery, and there is no place to climb or settle down. However, the coachman has
A man stands on a cliff and looks over. How can 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 was also unusually strong, and he was quite far apart.
It's far away, giving people an indescribable sense 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 out of 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.
Orion.
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 was indifferent.
Then he loosened 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 up slightly, suddenly like a hungry wolf hiding in the grass.
Chest, waiting for the moment the prey approaches to pounce viciously.
The scholar in blue shirt has experienced countless wind and rain 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.
Already.
He did not hide back in the carriage, but patted the coachman's arm gently and said: "The king said that his body is useless. Some people think that I am still a hindrance, so they call
The reason why they took my life is that Brother Lu is very skilled in martial arts and this place is close to Huaiyuan Town. They will not dare to tangle with Brother Lu. They also asked Brother Lu to send Xuaner to Tang Dynasty.
state……"
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.