Ten days later, Pang Honggu brought Zhu Ning'er to Meiling. When Zhu Ning'er saw her elder brother, she was as excited as a lark on the branches in the early morning. This day was also the only day that Zhu Li did not practice martial arts or spar with Yuchi Jin. He willingly acted as a human toy again, which made Zhu Ning'er laugh.
Pang Honggu was somewhat resistant to Wu Dao's decision, but in the end, for some unknown reason, she agreed to go to the north.
On April 15th of the sixth year of Qianfu, the weather was clear and there were white clouds in the sky.
The army set out from Meiling. Pang Xun's old subordinates, the remnants of Cao's army, and Yuchi's army gathered together and marched straight to the north in a mighty force.
The three parties had a total of more than 5,000 troops, including nearly 1,000 of Pang Xun's former subordinates and about 1,200 to 1,300 of Yuchi's troops.
After this period of bandit suppression, the number of Cao's army has reached nearly two thousand people, and their equipment is not bad. The bandits also have stocks. They collected a lot of armor and weapons during the bandit suppression, and naturally equipped them to the remaining soldiers of the Cao army. Together with more than a thousand women and children of the bandits, the large army is quite powerful.
Madam Yuchi was sitting in the carriage holding Zhu Ning'er. Wu Dao, Pang Honggu, Zhu Li, Guo Qizuo, Yuchi Xin, Yuchi Jin, Zhang Guiba and others were all riding horses. Under the banner of the Yuchi family, they had a smooth journey.
It is worth mentioning that Guo Qizuo did not take drugs in this life. In addition to his love for wine, he was in excellent health and his riding skills were pretty good. Anyway, he was much better than the half-baked Zhu Li.
What he saw and heard along the way made Zhu Li feel heartbroken. "... bones are exposed in the wild, no roosters crow for a thousand miles, only one out of a hundred people is left, the thought of it breaks one's heart." Zhu Li could not appreciate the artistic conception of this poem before, but now he is deeply moved, because many parts of the poem are a true portrayal of this poem.
After the heartache, there is resentment. China has a beautiful land and simple people, but it has been ruined into what it is now by those ambitious and crazy people. How can one not be heartbroken
He came into this world ignorantly, and was asked by Wu Diao to set his goals to dominate the area and protect the people. He did not have much ambition at that time, but now, he felt that there was a feeling in his heart, a feeling that went from dull to surging, to excited, and then to a feeling that he could not help but express. This feeling was to immediately level the world and return peace to the people. This feeling was so strong that it would take a long time to calm down.
With this spirit, Zhu Li was not idle along the way. He practiced martial arts desperately, studied military tactics seriously with Wu Dao and Guo Qizuo, and spared no effort to ask Yuchi Jin for advice on riding. The two of them practiced with each other more frequently, and they had three or five fights almost every day.
Zhu Li's realm was not high, and his breath was weak, but he was incredibly strong, and his speed was extremely fast, and his reactions were extremely sensitive, which was why he was able to fight on equal terms with Yuchi Jin.
In mid-August of the sixth year of Qianfu, the group finally arrived in Youzhou after four months of trekking. Fortunately, Yuchi Jin, Guo Qizuo and others had prepared a lot of food and fodder, otherwise it is hard to say whether so many people could have made it to Youzhou.
The land of Youzhou has a special atmosphere, vast and distant, solemn and wild. It is an important town for suppressing the Khitan and Hu people. It is also filled with the cold breath of weapons, which makes people solemn and brave.
Over the past four months, he had mastered riding skills and his martial arts had already surpassed the middle stage of the Breaking Limits Realm. Now he was firmly in the late stage of Breaking Limits Realm. As for marching and arranging battle formations, he had combined practice with theory and had already mastered them clearly.
Inspired by him, Yuchi Xin, Yuchi Jin and Zhang Guiba all broke through the barriers and steadily stepped into the initial stage of first-class generals.
However, although the three of them had reached the level of first-rate military generals, except for Yuchi Jin, the other two were no match for Zhu Li, because the double-edged spear used by Zhu Li now weighed more than 80 kilograms, and coupled with the strange power in his body, Zhang Guiba and Yuchi Xin were unwilling to fight him, for fear of being smashed into meat patties by him accidentally.
In the residence of the Jiedushi of Fanyang, they met the Jiedushi of Lulong, Li Keju, a middle-aged man with a refined appearance, who had taken over the post of Jiedushi from his father for less than two years. When he heard that Yuchi Xin and Yuchi Jin were the children of an old friend, Li Keju sighed at first, and without saying a word, he prepared to hold a banquet in the evening to entertain everyone.
At the same time, he also asked people to spruce up a newly purchased yard and prepare to give it to Yuchi's family. It seems that Li Keju and Yuchi Tian had a very close relationship.
The lights were just coming on and the Li Mansion was brightly lit. In order to welcome Madam Yuchi, Yuchi Xin and Yuchi Jin, Li Keju summoned all of his civil and military officials who could come.
The banquet hall was bustling with people, maids and servants were walking around, and everyone was toasting each other, looking very happy. After three plates of wine and five dishes, Li Keju sat high up and said leisurely, "Today, the son of an old friend has come to surrender with his family. This governor is heartbroken, but also very pleased. Young Master Yuchi, come here."
Li Keju waved to Yuchi Xin who was sitting with Zhu Li and others. Yuchi Xin hurriedly trotted over respectfully, bowed and said, "Mr. Li, I am here."
Li Keju looked at Yuchi Xin with satisfaction. Seeing that he was tall and strong, full of heroic spirit, he could not help but admire him and said, "Good, good, my brother Yuchi has such a son. There will be someone to take over."
Then he changed the subject, looked around at everyone and said, "I hereby announce today that Yuchi Xin will be the commander of my inner court's guards from today on, and will be in charge of all the guards in my inner court."
The Captain of the Yabing Army is equivalent to the commander of the personal guards. Only the closest person can hold this position.
It can be seen that Li Keju trusted Yuchi Xin, and thus also his kindness to his old friend Yuchi Tian. On the first day they met, just because Yuchi Xin was Yuchi Tian's son, he entrusted this important position, which was related to his life and property, to Yuchi Xin without hesitation. This kind of trust and courage are not something that ordinary people can do.
Yuchi Xin was a little excited when he heard this, but he did not hesitate or refuse. He immediately cupped his hands and solemnly promised: "Don't worry, Lord Li. As long as Yuchi Xin is here, I will never let Lord Li's family suffer any harm."
"Hahaha, okay, okay, I feel most at ease with you being the captain of the guards." Li Keju said sincerely.
"Congratulations to the Protector General, congratulations to Commander Yuchi."
"Congratulations to the Protector General, congratulations to Commander Yuchi."
... ... .
Li Keju's uncle and nephew were getting married, and even if some of his officials were dissatisfied, they could only bow and congratulate them. After all, the two families were old friends, so they naturally trusted each other.
Yuchi Xin's ancestors can be traced back to Yuchi Fen. During the reign of Emperor Wenzong, Yuchi Fen served as Shaojian and Henan Yin, a third-rank official in the Tang court. He was friends with the famous poet Han Yu.
Later, the Yuchi family fell into decline. It was at that time that Yuchi Xin's grandfather and Li Keju's father, Li Maoxun, met. Because of the good relationship between their fathers,
Li Keju and Yuchi Tian had been close friends since childhood. As of Yuchi Xin's generation, the two families had been friends for three generations, so it was no exaggeration to call them old friends.
Yuchi Xin accepted Li Keju's kindness, but he still remembered his sister's request. After thanking him, he bowed and said, "Mr. Li, Yuchi Xin has another good friend who came to seek refuge with you. Can you take a look at him?"
"Well, since he is your friend, I will take a look." Li Keju was very close to Yuchi Xin and did not seem unhappy. Instead, he said with great curiosity.
Yuchi Xin looked at Zhu Li, and Zhu Li understood what he meant. Following Wu Dao's hint, he quickly stood up, walked respectfully to Li Keju, and said with great courtesy, "Zhu Li of Xuzhou, I pay my respects to the Protector General."
Although Zhu Li was thirteen years old, he looked like fifteen or sixteen, which was about the same age as Yuchi Xin, who was about ten or sixteen years old. Therefore, Li Keju did not suspect anything. Instead, he looked at him with some interest and said, "You look very brave, young man. I wonder how good you are?"
"Mr. Li, when it comes to martial arts, Yuchi Xin believes that he is no match for Zhu Li." Yuchi Xin was standing behind Li Keju, and upon hearing this, he hurriedly followed his sister's instructions and bowed to report.
"Oh, even Yuchi Xiaolang is not your opponent. It seems that he is indeed a capable person. My northern land is in need of a young man like you, Li Quanzhong." Li Keju was greatly surprised when he heard this and immediately waved to a strong man in his forties.
"Yes," said the sturdy man in a short warrior robe. Hearing this, he immediately stepped out of the line, walked to the center of the hall, and bowed in response.
"A month ago, you recommended your Dalang to me to take over the post of the Northern Gate Guard of Tanzhou. I was a little hesitant at that time, but young people should always be given opportunities to exercise. Today I will give him this opportunity. If he can defeat Zhu Li, I will immediately appoint him as the Northern Gate Guard. What do you think?" Li Keju narrowed his eyes and looked directly at Li Quanzhong. (During the Tang Dynasty, garrisons were set up at the border. The large ones were called jun and the small ones were called guards. The Northern Gate: Juyong Pass, the Great Wall between Shanhaiguan and Shanhaiguan.)
"Since the Protector General has made this decision, Dalang will certainly not let him down. Where is Kuang Wei?" Upon hearing this, Li Quanzhong glanced at Zhu Li and called out to the person behind him.
A young man heard Li Quanzhong's call, stood up, first looked at Zhu Li with contempt, and then immediately trotted towards Li Quanzhong.
The young man was of burly build and had a rough appearance. Since tonight was a night banquet, he was not wearing armor, but he still had a long sword on his waist. It seemed that he was the eldest son of the Li family that Li Keju mentioned.
The young man ran to Li Quanzhong and immediately bowed respectfully to Li Keju, saying, "Thank you for your help, Li Kuangwei will never let you down."
Even before the fight, he had a confident look on his face, as if the position of Beikou Shouzhuo was already in his pocket. Yuchi Xin looked at him with disdain, but Li Keju still smiled and said calmly: "Li Dalang, don't thank me yet. It won't be too late to thank me after you defeat Zhu Li."
"promise"
Li Quanzhong's eldest son was named Li Kuangwei. If Zhu Li had not appeared, Li Quanzhong would have killed Li Keju six years later (885) and proclaimed himself the Jiedushi of Lulong. His son Li Kuangwei would have inherited his Jiedushi position after his death.
It’s a pity that Zhu Li, the uninvited guest, has traveled thousands of years to this era. Will history repeat itself