Chapter 337 – Guns, Rolling Yellow Sand (III)

A carriage stopped in the outskirts of Liangzhou city, hanging sword wearing a jade young man stepped down from the carriage, carrying a pot of green ants just bought wine in his hand, raised his eyes to look, three or two persimmon trees scattered in the plains above, a cluster of bright yellow falling in the branches, barely let the barren Northwest land is good with the word of the harvest stained a little edge. The young man slowly forward, from time to time look to those near or far familiar persimmon trees, remember when often slipped out of the city to wander this place, boredom, but also those persimmon trees to take a lot of nicknames nicknames, half a mile away from the branches of the slightly flailing, called Hanging Armor, if you see in the twilight, but also a little scary, and this one depends on a short persimmon tree, a few years have not seen, has been plucked up a few minutes, a cursory look, but it’s more! Fruitful, full of golden yellow, very happy, when he gave it the nickname, it is the little yellow robe. The young man continued along a dry to the bottom of the creek, and finally came to a building and no earth wall surrounded by thatched cottage, behind the house grows a few strange crooked neck pale elm.

The house no longer had an owner.

The young man walked over to a piece of tree stump, squatted down and bent over to wipe away the dust with his cuffs, then sat on it and looked around as he gently rested the green ant wine on his robe and shouted at the top of his voice, “Blind old Xu, brought you wine.”

If it was those times at the end of the Yong Hui period, there would definitely be a blind cripple running out with a wobble, taking the wine pot from his hand, skillfully unsealing the clay seal, and sniffing hard with his head down, and then that vicissitudes of the old face would blossom into a big smile, smiling like a persimmon tree in the autumn, but the old man sharing the wine with himself would always be taught a lesson, and with a few pennies in hand, you can’t just waste it. When you have a few spare pennies on hand, you can’t just waste them, and then a small copper coin, one by one, you have to save up, and that’s how you can get a daughter-in-law. In order to get a daughter-in-law, you have to save up every penny to get one. At that time, the old Xu always sympathized that we North Liang Youzhou side, there is a place called Rouge County, auntie is the most watery, you Xu kid if you can get a Rouge County little lady as a daughter-in-law, then send a message over, my old Xu is to walk up to three days and three nights, but also to go to your house to rub that table of wedding wine to drink.

I remember that time, the old man said these words, carefully asked himself, drink wedding wine such a big good thing, there is such an old blind man as his door guests, will not be ashamed of shame? If Xu kid your family elders and in-laws will be too ashamed, then he old Xu will not come together this hilarious, turn back to get two pots of price passable green ants wine on the line.

Often to the old man to bring to the green ants wine or stolen chickens and ducks of the young man, at that time patted his chest that his family members he spoke the most useful, and so he held a wedding wine if the old Xu do not go, with him in a hurry, but also said that the old Xu must be sitting at the main table.

At that time, the old man only thought that the young man who often accompanied his own nagging, is a common young man in Beilang city, young people like him are not feet on the ground kind of people, floating around, restless, so I heard that he was going to invite him to sit on the main table to drink wedding wine, happy to happy, but also did not think much about it. And not to mention that the mouth of the young man with the cool mountain associated with the sky under the name of Xu, but also too much is not it? At that time, the young man always in the gossip through the vision of the north of the Liang outside, thinking of doing a knight-errantry of the jianghu ranger, with the best sword, drink the strongest wine, and find the most beautiful woman in the jianghu, she must be more than the rouge county aunts to look at the kind of. The old man always sang the opposite of the young man, using the tone of the past to tell him, the heart must not be so big, the Central Plains, no matter how good, after all, is not home. At that time, the young man also lamented, saying that he also understood this reasoning, home to teach him to read and write the master said, “young people away from home for ten years is not a long time, older people, it is out of the door a step that is a long way to go”. After the old man heard, laughed and said your family teaching teacher is really learned, how to teach you such a half-baked water disciple.

Some times the two sit together, chatting, the age of the blind old Xu will sit next to the stump, hands on the cane, the sun secretly doze off.

Perhaps, many years ago, on the battlefield of the western base wall, there is a young soldier of the old word battalion, the leg is not lame, the eyes are not blind, but also like this scene, will be napping in the sun, only the hands of the crutches into an iron spear, perhaps not far away from the word of Xu flag, in the gust of wind hunter and hunter.

Now it is already Xiangfu three years into the fall, blind old Xu has long been dead, naturally there will be no more of those broken ramblings.

The old man did not live to drink the day of the young man’s wedding wine.

The young man had also promised the old man that when he died, he would personally carry the coffin for the old man to be buried.

But the young man did not do it.

He was far away in Jiangnan at that time.

He didn’t go to the blind old Xu’s grave, but just gently poured the pot of green ant wine on the ground in front of the tree stump, and said softly while bending down to pour the wine: “Old Xu, the wine was secretly bought from the wine seller, now the world is not peaceful, and there is going to be a war soon, and we have started to prohibit private brewing of wine in the north of the Liang province, so this pot of wine isn’t cheap, and if it’s not an acquaintance, the store may not dare to sell it to me, and the boss’s daughter is now smoking. I, the boss’s wife’s daughter now draws the stripes to the water spirit, the female big eighteen changes, really right. I heard that the girl is now in love with a young scholar from the countryside, is teaching at a private school near her home, I bought wine earlier, the boss’s wife also joked that I went late, her daughter actually waited for several years. You see, I really didn t brag to you back then, right, I said that girl has a good eye, or else she can t pick me ……”

Some regrets are like the solitary whimper of an old dog prostrate on a street corner, fine and long, scratching the heart and lungs.

He left the wine pot on the tree stump and got up to leave.

The carriage returned to Qingliang Mountain.

Nowadays, there are two places in the Northern Liang Royal Mansion that are famous in the world; the Wutong Courtyard is jokingly called the Phoenix Pavilion, while the residence of the Deputy Secretary of the Imperial Court, which is presided over by Song Dongming halfway up the mountain, is known as the Dragon Gate.

After he had just returned to Qingliang Mountain, a Dragon Gate official came in a hurry and reported to him that the Lord Deputy Secretary General had something important to discuss.

When he saw Song Dongming personally standing in front of that low official residence house waiting, he knew that the news, no matter whether it was good or bad, but it was definitely not a small matter, otherwise, with the composure of this former Liyang one of the Reserve Ministers, he would never be unable to sit still like this.

As expected, Song Dongming waited until he approached, and together they turned around and walked into the center of the residence, his tone was slightly urgent, “Four news came together, respectively related to Liuzhou, Central Plains, the capital and North Mang, all the king weighs.”

Xu Fengnian smiled, “Then let’s start with the news from the Liuzhou side.”

Song Dongming nodded, “An urgent spy report came from the side of Fengxiang military town closest to the western region, Cao Wei and Xie Xijian took the liberty of changing the established strategy of the capital government and chose to take the initiative, wanting to eat Seed Tan’s cavalry army within Miyun Pass in one fell swoop!”

Xu Fengyen’s face was as usual as he said, “It should be that the monks of Rotten Mountain did not follow the Seed Tan cavalry to move out together.”

Song Dongming said worriedly, “Even so, the difference in strength between the two sides is still not great, if we exchange lives so hard, won’t it go against the original intention of using troops in Liuzhou?”

Xu Fengnian shook his head and said, “If in the battle of Miyun Pass, we failed to wipe out all of Seed Tan’s cavalry, then the battle would only be meaningless, and it can even be directly said that because of their greed for success, the entire Liujiu state was plunged into a great passivity, but since even Xie Xiyuan was willing to accompany Cao Wei to wade through the dangers of the battle, I believe in their vision.”

Song Dongming sighed and smiled bitterly, “These two fellows really don’t let people worry about them.”

Xu Fengnian laughed, “In case we win the fight, there might be an unexpected surprise.”

Song Dongming realized in his heart, “That’s true, if the Seed Tan Department’s cavalry army is completely wiped out, perhaps Rotten Mountain will have to weigh things up again.”

Xu Fengnian asked, “What is the news from the Central Plains? Is it that Wen Taiyi Ma Zhongxian and his two men have finally stopped tripping over the grain shipment?”

Song Dongming laughed, “This is not important news.”

Xu Fengyen was a bit surprised, “Is there any situation change more important than this?”

After Song Dongming and Xu Fengyen took their seats in the council hall, the deputy strategic envoy of Beiliang Dao, who had already received the nod of recognition from the Liyang court’s ministry of mandarins, had a playful look in his eyes, “That Jing’an King Zhao Xun, who was originally loyal to the court, has just defected to the two rebel feudal lords.”

Xu Fengnian froze on the spot.

Song Dongming snorted, “Selling at a price, this hand is really beautiful, I guess this feudal king who has assessed the situation has sold himself at a sky-high price.”

Xu Fengnian felt absurd and frowned, “Can it be that the two Zhao Bing Chen Zhi Bao are going to push Zhao Xun out to be the emperor?”

Song Dongming laughed, “Your Majesty is right on the money!”

Xu Fengnian fell into deep thought.

If you add the Jing’an Road in the Central Plains waist brawn, plus has long been controlled by Chen Zhi Bao in the hands of the Western Sichuan South Zhao, then now the entire south of the Guangling River, completely connected with the same gas, half of the rivers and mountains of Liyang, has been all into the hands of the three clans.

At this time, the first and most powerful Yan Zhi Wang Zhao Bing seems to be the most qualified to take the throne as emperor, and Liyang orthodox rule, but in fact the opposite, Zhao Bing is most unsuitable for early python robes for dragon robes, regardless of Song Yushu in the imperial edict of the Liyang emperor said how bad, but the court and the field, especially in the south of Jiangnan Road as the head of the world’s scholars, is still heart to the city of Tai’an. Zhao Bing is not suitable for when the head out of the head, the name is not the name of the foreigner Chen Zhi Bao is more unsuitable, then Jing’an Wang Zhao Xun has become a candidate for exemption, Zhao Heng Zhao Xun father and son of this Zhao room, in the not yet annexed to the Central Plains of the Liyang dynasty, in fact, far more than Zhao Dun Zhao Zhuan this more in line with the identity of the orthodox, the old King of Zhao Heng Jing’an in the failure of the first wife to be “sent out” after Qingzhou, the reason for the failure of the first wife to be “sent”. After the old King Zhao Heng failed to seize the throne and was “sent” to Qingzhou, the reason why he has so much grudge is not without reason, nowadays Xiangfu new dynasty, I am afraid that not many officials know the secret of the early years, before Zhao Zhuan’s grandfather has not yet ascended to the throne, because the same generation of the Prince of alcohol has no children, the clan government proposed to pass Zhao Heng to the Prince of alcohol’s lineage, but the ascension of Zhao Zhuan’s grandfather, compared to his son, Zhao Dun, the process of ascension to the throne was even more confusing, but in the end, Zhao Heng’s identity was more than his son, Zhao Dun. In the end, Zhao Heng’s identity has become a muddled account that I’m afraid even the old man of the clan government can’t understand. But if this time to take out the old story, early as coincidence, can be said to be just right.

For Zhao Xun’s step to heaven, Xu Fengyen did not have any acid, just some can not help but think of that hereditary recklessness before and after two times was thrown into the spring god lake of the poor guy, but also really for him to sit in the dragon chair to wear a dragon robe?

Xu Fengyen retrieved his thoughts, “The Central Plains is just like that again, right, what’s the commotion over there in Tai’an City?”

Song Dongming habitually rubbed his thumb and forefinger over a jade pendant hanging from his waist and laughed, “Several eunuchs in charge of the Seal Ribbon Supervisory have been mobilized, and are on their way to our Northern Liang on the stagecoach road, leading a large pile of freshly baked imperial edicts.”

Xu Fengnian wondered, “A large pile?”

Song Dongming couldn’t help but say, “Otherwise, where else would we need three or four eunuchs of the Seal Ribbon Supervisor to come out at the same time, the most important of which is your title of Grand Pillar State, as well as the posthumous titles for Liu Shunu, Wang Lingbao and other Beiliang border generals, such as Tai’an City, which posthumously named Liu Shunu as a first class count, giving him the title of ‘Scrupulously Jing’, and in addition to that, it’s for the two future future generals of Lu Cheng, King Yan, Chudong. Lu Cheng Yan Wang Chudong two future royal family carefully prepared enjoin women’s identity, the reason why that set of eunuchs in the Indian Ribbon Supervision went slower, probably want to wait for your relatives in order to ask for a three-joyful colorful head. From this, it can be seen that the sincerity of Tai’an City this time around is really a far cry from the previous two times.”

Xu Fengyen fell into deep thought.

Song Dongming did not disturb the young vassal king’s thinking.

Song Dongming quietly looked out of the room, also thinking.

The biggest feeling of the second person of the civil officials of the Northern Liang Dao is that Lu Shengxiang flew into the sky on the temple hall of Liyang, this person can be awarded the title of Marquis and Prime Minister, by no means is this old man of the Chunxue building in the officialdom how easy it is to handle, but the talent is too high, the military success can be expected, but the timing of Lu Shengxiang’s rise, is worth toying with. Believe that Lu Shengxiang himself may not be as the capital officialdom imagine so complacent, may also be more than when the time when the commander-in-chief of the southern expedition, such as walking on thin ice, under the high position of the momentum, the momentum of a go and when how? Can you retire from your job? Old Liang King Xu Snapdragon’s bad posthumous reputation, the old chief minister Zhang Julu’s plagiarism and destruction of his family, is not a lesson learned from the past? The two generations of Liyang emperors before the current son of Zhao Zhuan, the two dragon robes on each body, one wise and powerful, one magnificent, can not deny that the cuffs of the blood drenched, the two emperors are indeed never indiscriminately kill the innocents of the emperor, but once they want to kill, to kill is never the most meritorious people. Lu Shengxiang is not worried that he will not become a sacrifice for the new ruler after Zhao Zhuan when he ascends to the throne?

Song Dongming finally realized that it is not difficult to work in the officialdom of Liyang, Tai’an City can accommodate Qiyanglong Huanweng such a talented and virtuous scholar, but also can accommodate Wen Shouren Jin Lanting such a reputation of the scholar, can accommodate Sima Park Hua such a public cultivation of the scholar, but can not accommodate those who insist that the people are the most important thing for the king, the same can not accommodate those who are not rewarded for their achievements.

In Liyang and the Central Plains, it is easy to be an official for the Zhao family, but it may not be easy to work for the people.

A lot of things, even the emperor, will be subject to a hundred constraints, the early years of Bieye’s governance of the canal and Xuyun, perhaps itself that is the late emperor Zhao Dun want to do, but around the Zhao room around the complexity of the accumulation of a hundred years of forces, or recently among the temple of the power of the nobility, each with their own needs, each with their own selfishness, like a deep entanglement of a large net, spreading the sky, covered in the Central Plains above the territory of the large net, but also mixed with a variety of unimaginable complexities, the net, and the net, and the net, and the net, and the net, and the net. A variety of unimaginable complexity of the situation, the struggle of the imperial power, the struggle of the parties, the struggle of the civil and military, the struggle of the scholars and the cold clan, the struggle of the north and south of the region, the struggle of the capital place, the struggle of the gentleman and the villain, each Yamen and the high and low seat of the struggle, Yamen and Yamen and the Yamen and the internal and external struggle.

That’s why Song Dongming is increasingly recognizing Northern Liang.

Here, it was relatively simple to do things.

But at the same time, Song Dongming is also clear that this valuable simplicity, if in the future the Beiliang Xu family is no longer limited to being the four states of Beiliang Dao, it will deteriorate just as quickly.

For example, between him and Bai Yu, between the two “relatives” of the Lu and Wang families, between Xu Beihao Chen Xiliang and the veterans of the border army, between Huang Shang and the infamous Huangfu Ping and Li Moran, between the Beiliang Cavalry and Infantry, and between the various elite border armies, and so on.

One day, conflicts would even arise between Xu Fengyen and the “crowd”.

At this moment, Song Dongming had mixed feelings.

A voice rang in his ears, “Lord Song, what’s going on in North Mang?”

Song Dongming came back to his senses and smiled, “That Northern Mang County Lord, who goes by the alias Fan Bainu, entered the customs from Jizhou, rolled over to our Youzhou, signed herself up to Huangfu Ping, and finally, under the ‘escort’ of the Tongguan Cavalry, she’ll be arriving at Qingliang Mountain in about two days.”

Xu Fengnian was surprised, “What is she doing here?”

Song Dongming shook his head, “I can’t guess either. However, she has brought a few escorts with her, all of which are the Cowardly Xuewei of the Beiting King’s Tent.”

Xu Fengnian laughed to himself, “When did Northern Liang become so lively.”

Song Dongming was radiant and sharp, spreading out his palms and then clenching them, “The belonging of the world is at the whim of my Northern Liang.”

Xu Fengnian smiled for no reason and said, “This kind of talk was Xu Snap’s favorite to hear when he was alive.”

Song Dongming laughed and asked, “Could it be that Your Highness doesn’t like it?”

Xu Fengnian smiled and said frankly, “There is no one under the sky who doesn’t like to be patted on the back.”

After saying this, Xu Fengyen looked a bit forlorn.

After Xu Snapdragon’s success and fame, after he gradually aged, perhaps that old man’s only regret in his life was that he hadn’t heard his son say a single good word about him.

It seemed like not a single word.