Chapter 224 – The Four Battles of Northern Liang (VI)

Watching the fire from the other side of the river turned into playing with fire, is the best portrayal of the defense line of the northern gateway of Liyang.

As the gateway to the northern part of Jiju, the two cities of Silver Harrier Hengshui fell at the same time, and the 50,000 iron cavalry of Northern Mang’s troops pointed straight to the south, making the entire Jiju state a place where everyone was in danger.

Some people advised Xu Gong, the left minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs, to take over the vacancy left by Tang Tieshuang after he entered the capital, and “assist” Gu Jiantang, the Great Pillar State, in handling the military and political affairs in the north; some people suggested that Zhao Suo, the King of Jiaodong, who was sitting in the western part of Liaozhi, reinforce Liaozhi, and attacked it to save it, so that the 50,000-horse cavalry would have to go back to the eastern front, in order to prevent the situation in Jizhou from completely falling apart. In order to prevent the situation in Jizhou from being completely rotten; some people impeached that Jizhou General Yuan Tingshan was not properly dispatched, causing the war in Jizhou North to spread, making it difficult for him to take up the important task, and that Vice General Han Fang, who was a member of the general’s family, should preside over the military affairs of Jizhou in its entirety.

When the western line of the Guangling Road was under Xie Xijian’s platooning, not only did it successfully block the 100,000-strong army of the Southern Border that had already crossed the river, but it even dispatched an odd force to run and attack a treacherous pass on the southern bank of the Guangling River, which made the soldiers and horses of the Southern Border lose their way in and out of retreat, and under the massive advance of the Western Chu’s naval divisions, the infantry army of the Southern Border and the Qingzhou’s naval divisions almost shrunk into a ball and contracted on all fronts. In this imminent emergency situation, the civil and military officials of Tai’an City is more and more worried, for the two Liao border army’s immobility finally can not stand, the North Mang barbarians to the death of the Northwest, you Gu Jiantang ripples are not moving is right, but even you stare at the North Mang’s most easterly line are running to go to the Jizhou to play the autumn breeze, obviously to bypass the pouring of half of the country’s taxes to build the two Liao defense line, to be without the Jixi South old pawns lead to the military strength of the Jizhou, as a breakthrough to the south to the Central Plains. As a breakthrough to the south of the Central Plains, can you, General Gu, still be indifferent? Aren’t you afraid that North Mang’s 50,000 iron cavalry will come to the west of our capital? Although you Gu Jiantang is the only remaining pillar of the dynasty, your old man’s heart is really too big.

Liaodong near the border of Jizhou side of a Taiping town, most of the residents of the town is the border army soldiers origin, but also some of the court relegated to migrate here officials, occasionally there will be merchants and travelers passing through the town, along the way to do some small business, the previous four or five years of the kind of cheap and beautiful green ants wine is very popular here, but unfortunately Gu Jiantang stepped down after the Ministry of War, leading the great pillar of the state title concurrently served as Governor of the two Liao, the border troops are clear that Gu generals with the Northern Liang is not The Green Ant Wine from Northern Liang has not been sold by many merchants over the years. Taiping town is small but complete, there are three or four restaurants, even a serious green house also has a small kiln of private prostitutes in the dark prostitution is more, the border generals also turn a blind eye to this, blocking as well as疏, Liaodong border troops are known as the sea of the Liyang dynasty, all are young and strong, but with the North Mang barbarians for many years, has always been peaceful, few battles, the border generals how to let off steam? Do not still men looking for men not? So Taiping Town, such a small town, like a spring, sprung up quickly, some eyes and ears of the wide doorway of the border army big brother, and also has the ability to buy young women from the capital around or even from the Central Plains and the south of the Yangtze River, a time to the two Liao Liao can bring hundreds of people.

In Taiping Town, the Longevity Tavern is the most popular restaurant, which is the private property of a powerful lieutenant. In addition to the green ant wine, basically the famous Liyang good wine, such as the Jiannanchun burnt and so on, as long as there is silver, you can buy it here. In the restaurant all year round, there are all kinds of women who play and sing, the appearance is nothing but the middle man’s posture, but in the border of the bird not shit, it is also considered to be quite a rare scene. These two days the longevity restaurant came to the brother and sister, young woman holding a pipa to give a book, the elder brother is responsible for selling yell and collect money, this is not a strange thing, but the woman to die, only to say that the king of the northern Liang Xu Fengyen’s story, said that the surname of Xu how to walk across the river and lake in Liyang, how to go into the northern Mang, and how to win the hearts of the army and people in the northern Liang, which can be caused by the residents of the town of Taiping’s wrath. Just a group of people to take the opportunity to bully that beautiful woman, did not want to give that look not amazing young man hit the head, longevity restaurant is happy to see it, simply put forward to permit the woman in the building of the conditions of the book, is to be her brother every day to play the ring, a decade later, Taiping Town, near the army and the good men actually lost, the young people from the countryside won ten games, the wealth of longevity restaurant and began to sit down, it is estimated that the least It is estimated that it has earned nearly a thousand taels of silver, causing the flesh business of the town’s green houses to plummet by several percent.

In the evening, longevity restaurant ring has finished, the restaurant into a set of extraordinary temperament of the drinkers, four people in the second floor by the railing position to ask for a table, downstairs the woman is preparing for the second today’s storytelling, her older brother newly changed a clean clothes washed to the whiteness of the sewing, mending is very strong. The two siblings have traveled from Liangzhou to Lingzhou, then from Lingzhou to Hezhou, past Jizhou, and have traveled all the way to this small town. Different from the common blind storytellers in Liyang means iterative, the woman has only a lute, the storyteller never shaking his head and laughing and cursing, said to the character of the sad or heroic, but also only slightly lift the voice, the vast majority of the time is the tone of voice, like just a storyteller, as for the listeners love to listen to, happy to give the reward money, she did not care.

Sitting on the second floor against the bar position of the four drinkers, to ask for an altar known as “a catty broken throat, two catty burned off the intestines” Jiannan Chun burned, and a pot of very easy to enter the aftertaste is also a small ancient wells immortal brew. Only two of the four people seated, the younger waist wear a simple ancient long knife, between the look of self-expectation, the spirit of the wind. The man who looked like the young man’s elder had an indifferent face, and after sealing the pot of Immortal Brew, he drank from it. The rest of the two standing waist hanging wear two Liao Liao Border Army standardized sword, although there is no equal status with the two seated status, but the onlooker guessed that they are always leading the army of the uncommon characters, otherwise the body of the atmosphere of the sand field will not be so strong.

The young man stretched his neck and glanced at the crowd downstairs, some impatience, frowned: “that surnamed JI’s how not yet arrived, look at the situation, but also really think of themselves as one of the top ten masters of the Great Snow Ping.”

The older man with green and white temples did not move.

A standing burly man, as if not too easy on the eyes of this arrogant young man, the skin smiles without smiling: “General Yuan, JI Liu’an is one of the ten people of the Huishan Great Snow Ping, what when not as.”

South Border Dragon Palace Palace Master, what kind of thing is he?”

The young man slowly twirled his wine glass with both fingers, glanced obliquely at the guy who broke up the stage, and said with a smirk, “There’s also that Nanzhao’s No. 1 expert, Wei Miao and the others, who might have to be beaten up to the point of not being able to find the north and south when they arrive at the Central Plains jianghu. Haha, there is that Tai’an City’s first swordsman Qi Jiajie, the most comical and ridiculous, ten thousand miles of flying swords, a great battle, the result? Sword is to the river state territory, but Qi Jiajie this person, there is no news. Such a top ten masters, the latter five together, I’m afraid that they are not worthy of any of the four people in the martial arts evaluation to give their full strength, right?”

The burly man was about to retort one or two, to the side of the fellow tugged his sleeve, and finally swallowed his words back in his stomach, just a heavy cold snort.

The young man did not continue to point, but turned his head to look at a middle-aged man two tables away, the man was wearing a lapel short shirt, his head wrapped in a green wrap, wrapped around the calf with a binding, would only be considered a mountain wild man who often walks on the mountain. But the side of the snuggle sitting in a sultry and extremely rich woman, beautiful clothes, but not the kind of brocade and satin from the rich families in the sun, but tie-dyed brilliant colorful, want to not be eye-catching is difficult, clearly that the southwest of the 100,000 mountains, there are “five-color clothes with the cloudy sky,” the reputation of the Miao people attire. Full-bodied woman’s hands and feet are hung with a string of silver bells, raise their hands and feet, will make a pleasant sound, her hands on the desktop resting on a knife sheath snow-white curved moon scimitar, drinking a leg on the bench with a big grin, if it is the side to look at the long slender thighs, rounded buttocks, can be described as a curve shapely and seductive to the extreme.

The woman also noticed the young man’s line of sight, a charming smile, a mouthful of the whole cup of wine, and the young man raised an eyebrow, full of provocative meaning.

The young man put down the glass of wine, reached out to his chest and made a gesture of holding a heavy object in his hand.

Breasts full of beautiful women to people molested, but did not get angry, but instead smiled and twigs trembling, in front of the man next to the face of the table with the palm of the wine altar pushed down, the wine altar to go like a rolling thunder, in an instant on the back of the young man, also do not see how the latter action, the wine altar on the trajectory of the off-track passes by, just in time on the table dripping and slithering, and then gradually come to a halt.

The woman laughed in a poorly pronounced Chinese official accent, “You turtle is good-looking, as long as you drink the wine, sister will play friends with you.”

The burly man who did not deal with the young man reminded softly, “This Miao couple is not ordinary jianghu masters, the woman has already moved on the wine altar, the Miao people put parasites in a thousand strange ways, it is impossible to prevent, it is best not to touch.”

Just at this time, two people boarded the stairs and came. A green shirt old Confucian appearance, a two waist hanging with long and short two swords, just look at the two scabbards know are thousands of gold hard to find in the sword in the heavy weapon.

Has not been interjected, was about to raise a glass of wine man gently put down the wine glass, standing two people slightly separated to make way, two guests as promised to sit on the same bench.

That old Confucian looked respectful and said softly, “Cheng Baishang, a grasshopper from the countryside of the Southern Border, has met the Great Pillar State.”

The other famous swordsman whose expression was as cold as facial paralysis also spoke, “Dragon Palace JI Liu An has the honor of meeting the Great Pillar State.”

After the death of the old Liang King Xu Snap, there was only one Great Pillar State in the entire world, Gu Jiantang, who held half of the Zhao Room Dynasty’s tiger symbols and military power.

Gu Jiantang smiled and nodded his head, “The two of you have traveled from the southern border to this northern land of Liaodong, it’s been hard work.”

Right after the two top experts of the Southern Border Dao took their seats, the couple also got up and came to sit on the only free bench, the stout man who stood behind the Great Pillar State as if he was a door god before this wanted to stop them, but Gu Jiantang had already gone to pick up the wine altar that had been put under the Miao compulsion, and that general who was the commander of the Liaodong Duo Yan Iron Horsemen after Tang Tiexuan quickly loosened his five fingers from the hilt of his sword.

The woman first threw a wink at the young general surnamed Yuan, then smiled at Gu Jiantang and said, “My man doesn’t know how to speak your Central Plains language, so it’s up to a woman like me to discuss the big issues, so the great general will forgive me.”

Cheng Baishang frowned, then instantly stretched out and asked with a smile, “Great Pillar State, this is?”

Gu Jiantang did not speak, in addition to the young man beside him, to Cheng Baishang JI Liu’an and the couple each poured a bowl of wine, at the same time, was left out of the young man interjected: “Cheng Baishang, JI Liu’an, so what, my old father-in-law personally to give you a welcome, poured in a bowl of toasts do not eat? Preferring to ask for a drink?”

It’s not peaceful to come all the way to this Taiping town, the mood is not very good JI Liu’an narrowed his eyes.

Cheng Baishang, who was calm and composed, picked up the bowl of wine, shook his head and laughed: “I don’t dare to, but I’m just curious to ask.”

Probably close at hand sitting next to Gu Jiantang, the pressure is not small, the woman convergence of the smoke and mirrors posture, open the door: “My man, called Wei Miao, in the Southern Zhao is still a bit famous, of course, not compared to the JI Palace Lord and Mr. Cheng, originally he will not set foot in the Central Plains in this life, but there is no way, the King of Shu and Mr. Xie sent a message, we have to go on a trip. ”

Gu Jiantang only had one daughter, so the son-in-law of this Great Pillar State could of course only be General Yuan Tingshan of Jizhou.

Yuan Tingshan was going to flirt with the woman for a few sentences, not coincidentally, heard the downstairs that embraced the pipa storytelling woman said when the young feudal lord surnamed Xu traveled to Huishan, and surnamed Xu can be said to have an undying hatred of Yuan Tingshan sneered, stood up fiercely, one hand propped up on the railing, such as a thunderstorm fiercely crashed into the storytelling woman’s elder brother.

The young man who had won eleven matches in Taiping Town, with his arms folded in front of his chest, was still kicked by Yuan Tingshan and slid backwards, his slightly trembling hands resting on a wine table with his elbows, and as a result, the whole table tipped over, and the wine and rice splashed all over the man’s body, and the clothes that he had just changed were damaged again.

Yuan Tingshan stood in place did not take advantage of the victory, just yo a sound, laughingly said: “good ah, hidden quite deep, even almost have the second grade small master of the body, no wonder can in this town in the wind. I wonder, the older brother of a Northern Liang storyteller woman? I think it’s the master of the Northern Liang Water Flickers, isn’t it? Is he running to the two Liao to spy on the military?”

The ordinary woman who was just a storyteller froze, and the young silent man turned his head to look at her and smiled apologetically at her before nodding and shaking his head again.

The smile on Yuan Tingshan’s face intensified, but the violence in his eyes and the killing intent all over his body made the people in the restaurant feel emboldened.

The young man whose real identity was the Northern Liang Spy said in a deep voice, “It has nothing to do with Er Yu, she’s just a storyteller, I can die, she, can’t.”

Yuan Tingshan heard a big joke, “Whether you die or not depends on whether I am in a good mood or not, but she can’t die, how can’t she? With your little three-legged cat hands? Or do you think that the identity of the dead soldier of the Water Flick Room can scare me, Yuan Ting Shan?”

The young man from the water whisking room stretched out his thumb to wipe away the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth and said, “Of course I can’t with me.”

The young Northern Liang dead soldier who held the determination of certain death grinned, “In your Liaodong territory, you, Yuan Crazy Dog, are able to kill people, and I can’t stop you even if I put my life on the line, but do you dare to do so? Don’t you wonder how a common storyteller can make me accompany him all the way?”

Yuan Tingshan’s palm rested against the hilt of the world’s number one talisman sword, “Oh? Giving you that, it’s scaring father to death.”

The young man blandly said, “Her name is Er Yu, and she is our Chu Dugu’s guest.”

The young man added not lightly, “She is even a friend of our king, although I don’t know what the consequences of her death in Liaodong will be, but I am sure of one thing, and that is that the king will surely personally ask for an explanation for this with the entire Two Liao.”

Yuan Tingshan’s five fingers suddenly gripped the Nanhua Sword, about to draw it and kill.

A Xu Fengnian who was far away in the Northwest, even if he was the King of Beilang who held 300,000 iron cavalry in his hands, even if he was one of the four great masters in the world, it still couldn’t make Yuan Tingshan not dare to kill a tiny whisking water room dead soldier, and an anteater woman who could only earn money from storytelling.

You, Xu Fengnian, are so preoccupied with yourself that you still have the leisure to care about the life and death of a woman?

But at this very moment, Gu Jiantang, the Grand Pillar State who did not rise to greet either of the two sets of guests, had stood near the railing at some point and said in a deep voice to Yuan Tingshan downstairs, “Enough.”

Yuan Tingshan didn’t turn around, and the peerlessly sharp Nanhua sword was about to be sheathed in blood.

Gu Jiantang turned around expressionlessly and sat back down, but in his hand was the extra famous sword that had been gifted to Yuan Tingshan in the first place.

Yuan Tingshan left the restaurant with a big stride and just left Taiping Town and Liaodong directly, returning to Jizhou.

The woman sighed softly.

That divine scholar Xie Guan Ying’s personal confidences were more than likely yellow.

The reason why Gu Jiantang had made such a gesture was actually to politely refuse the couple.

It was because the two places, Southern Border and Western Shu, treated Northern Liang or to be precise, Xu Fengyen, very differently.

Cheng Baishang smiled faintly and lowered his head to take a sip of wine.

The wine is good.

It’s a pity that it’s not the kind of Green Ant Wine that our Shizi Highness recites every day, otherwise it would be better.