The autumn wind blew the car curtains and kept shaking.
There was a wind leak in the carriage, and Xu Zhen was blown to this side, so she leaned on Xun Qianchun to find comfort.
Xun Qianchun was happy and worried at the same time, but his face was as calm as ever, only the occasional frowning betrayed her.
The carriage drove north all the way, the road became wider and wider, and the official road became more and more blurred. After passing through several post stations, they changed a few horses, crossed the desert and oasis, and finally arrived in Yongzhou after half a month.
The two are going to Pingliang, which is not too far from Hudi. A little farther away is the Xiongnu, and there are some small countries around them called Xiqin, Beiyan and the like.
When Pingliang is approaching, the weather is even colder and drier. Soldiers in soft armor can be vaguely seen around, squatting on the ground to check the ground conditions.
Xu Zhen looked out the window, her face was cracked by the cold wind, she closed her eyes and opened them again, and saw the endless grassland, it was evening, the desert was lonely, the sunset was long, the wind was rolling, and her eyes were desolate.
There are only sandstorms and dead grass in Saibei.
The city wall was blown to dust, surrounded by uneven yellow pictures, and two skinny veterans stood at the gate of the city, leaning against the wall to check their household registration.
Looking in along the city gate, there are not many people on the street, and even the vendors who set up stalls are too lazy to be ridiculous.
Two veterans checked Xu Zhen's identity and learned that Xu Zhen was a ninth-rank official, so they asked her to find the governor inside.
Xu Zhen was surprised that the governor of Yongzhou stayed in Beiliang.
She just got out of the carriage and was going to have a look, when the horseshoes rattled at the gate of the city, and the loess was dusty.
Lean horses galloped in.
A man sits on horseback.
Xu Zhen pulled Xun Qianchun to the side to avoid it, to give way to the horse, but then the man on the horse rolled over, clutching his chest covered in blood, lying on the ground weakly shouting: "Report, report—"
Seeing this, the veterans at the city gate hurried forward to help the man and shouted: "Come, come!!"
War horses, roars, shouts, dust, knives and guns.
In an instant, the wind was surging.
Suddenly, a large group of barbarians on horseback poured in outside the city gate, screaming and getting closer, and at the same time, many soldiers in armor jumped off the city wall, raising their tassels and attacking forward.
"Don't be afraid!!!" Someone in the sand was hoarse, and a catapult on the city wall began to throw heavy stones, and the flames of war broke out all of a sudden.
It was the first time that Xu Zhen saw the scene where the knife was wiped on the neck and the blood spattered at close range.
She watched a war horse whose forelegs were cut off, neighed and fell to the ground. She felt as if her legs had been cut off, and she almost sat down on the ground.
Seeing that the coachman was not used to it, he called Xu Zhen and Xun Qianchun to get into the carriage, waved the whips and drove them forward, walked through another city gate, entered many residential areas, asked them to get off the carriage, and let them take their luggage. Then lift the car away.
The loess is rustling, and the north wind is blowing.
This is the border gate, and war may break out at any time, which scares people so much that they don't want to go out for the rest of their lives.
The city within the city is where the relatives of generals and soldiers live.
This is the safest place.
If it is not safe here, it means that the city gate is broken and Pingliang will not be safe.
As for this hundred-man war, it was just a small war.
It was a female officer who took Xu Zhen around Pingliang.
She was four months pregnant with a big belly, and she was wearing an ordinary skirt that had long been out of fashion in Chang'an, which seemed to have been brought with her when she came to Pingliang.
The female officer introduced the customs of Pingliang to Xu Zhen, told her about places to go and play around, and told her about the situation in Pingliang.
Pingliang is really very poor.
The weather is bad and the harvest is not good. Fortunately, the tax is not heavy, which eases the pressure of life.
Xu Zhen works as a customs officer here, and is responsible for inspecting passers-by. She usually has nothing to do and can skip work from time to time to go home.
The official position is idle, and there is no one around, only the little beggar.
Xu Zhen had a very comfortable life.
Go for a walk around the city during the day, and take the little beggar to study at night, or watch the little beggar practice martial arts.
In the past three months, the sky is gradually snowing, and the occasional wolf smoke in the distance means that the war is on again.
Soon it was pressed down by the cold wind and snow.
Xu Zhen was wearing a dusty official uniform, sitting at the entrance of the city, holding a white cake and eating it with a dismal expression.
Everything in Pingliang is good, but the food is unpalatable, and the merit points have not increased.
The branches on the road are already bare. Pedestrians put on jackets and windproof fleece belts on their wrists, dressed for the winter. There are pheasant sellers on the side of the road. Everyone is looking at it, and almost no one can afford it.
Sitting at the gate of Erdao City was a silly girl with a sword on her back and a branch in the scabbard, waiting all day for her mother who was a soldier to come back.
Xu Zhen often looked over and chatted with the silly aunt.
Ask her what martial arts she has learned, besides, her little beggar also knows martial arts.
But the silly aunt ignored people.
Xu Zhen is always embarrassed when she leaves.
It's really better to stay with the little beggar.
Light snow pressed against the city wall, a piece of white.
The house that Xu Zhen and Xiaojiao rented was even worse than the one in Jiangling. It was made of loess piles. There was no light during the day and air leaks at night. The most annoying thing is that there are such houses in Pingliang. Even if you have a hundred taels of gold, you can’t buy a good one. house.
Xun Qianchun took the soil and tried to block the wind.
The walls are getting thicker and thicker, but the wind is still leaking in.
The first two months were fine.
Now that it's winter, Xu Zhen can't bear it anymore, so she climbs to Xun Qianchun's bed in the middle of the night and sleeps next to the stove, only then can she fall asleep.
She pressed Xun Qianchun.
The little beggar's arms were hot, and so was his body. The temperature was just right, making him feel happy.
Xun Qianchun was very happy that Xu Zhen was suppressing her, but her body always hurt when she was not able to live up to her expectations. She wanted to ask Xu Zhen several times, but when she saw Xu Zhen's face, she always felt that Xu Zhen would worry about her, so she endured it again.
The two lived in such a peaceful way.
News from Chang'an would arrive after a long time. After three months in Pingliang, the news about Chang'an's autumn test came from the post station.
The matter of the autumn examination really fell on Xu Zhen. As for the autumn examination, the examination will be postponed. After that, it doesn't matter who wins the Juren, whether it is from the academy, Qinglongshan, or Taixue.
The cold wind became more and more violent, and several branches were blown apart.
Xun Qianchun was feeding the chickens in the yard.
A few yellow-feathered chickens were shivering and screaming in the shed, and three or four white pigeons were locked in the next shed.
Xu Zhen lay on Xun Qianchun's back and watched for a long time and suggested, "Do you want to raise some more rabbits?"
Xun Qianchun finished spreading the rice husks and said, "Okay."
Xu Zhen asked again: "Is this place close to Xianbei?"
It was windy outside, Xun Qianchun pulled Xu Zhen into the house, lit a candle and said, "It's pretty close."
Xu Zhen sat on the quilt and asked, "Have you ever been here?"
Xun Qianchun nodded.
"Why have you been here before? You have traveled so many places at such a young age." Xu Zhen joked with her.
After laughing halfway, Xu Zhen suddenly remembered.
This broken place seems to be the place where the Xun family was stationed before.
The Xun family was good at forging weapons. In Pingliang, they relied on military forging skills to sell money and collected a lot of military expenses. Later, after they were promoted, the family lived in Chang'an, and the Xun family continued to sit here until the whole family was raided.
Xu Zhen stopped recalling.
Xun Qianchun, a boring gourd, would not take the initiative to say too much, but he still told about the things that the Xun family used to be stationed in.
And said: "Xianbei is not far from here. Once, my father couldn't stand the attack, and my mother took me back to Xianbei for help."
She followed Xu Zhen to learn the customs of the Han people. In fact, she didn't know everything about it. She just learned the Xianbei language from Hu Ji's mother. Her mother didn't want her to be contaminated with everything about the Han people.
But in the end, he was willing to climb the mountain with his bare hands to ask for help for the Han father, and he was willing to stand on the high platform with the Han father, with a horizontal knife in front of his neck.
Xun Qianchun suddenly didn't understand what kind of feelings this was.
Seeing Xun Qianchun's silence, Xu Zhen urged curiously, "What happened after that?"
Xun Qianchun looked sideways at Xu Zhen.
Her eyes were full of confusion, and Mo Lan's eyes burst out with an inexplicable emotion because of the confusion.
She replied, "Yes."
Xu Zhen laughed and said, "That's good."
Xun Qianchun said: "But I took half of my grandfather's arm."
Xu Zhen was dumbfounded and speechless.
This is also so cruel.
Xun Qianchun said again: "They say that there are no benefits for no reason in the world."
Xu Zhen nodded: "That's quite reasonable. As the saying goes, there's no such thing as pie in the sky."
Xun Qianchun looked at Xu Zhen.
She has deep facial features and passionate eyes, and she always teases others inadvertently. She said: "Only sir, can treat people like this."
Xu Zhen was about to nod, but suddenly realized that the little beggar had misunderstood!
She hastened to explain.
A light snow fell without warning, and the northwest wind blew into the window, and the cold people wrapped their quilts tightly.
Xun Qianchun stepped forward and stuffed the window with linen.
Xu Zhen missed the good opportunity to explain again.
When she looked up.
Xun Qianchun had already walked back, looking at her with gentle eyes, like the glimmering lake water from melting ice and snow.
Xu Zhen opened her mouth to speak.
"Sir." Xun Qianchun couldn't help calling softly.
Xu Zhen changed her mind and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xun Qianchun stopped talking again, she shook her head, carried Xu Zhen to the bed even with the quilt, then lifted the quilt, got in, and watched Xu Zhen sleep.
The breath of the two is intertwined, and they seem to be very harmonious.
It's just that Xun Qianchun always thought of the scene of Xu Zhen chatting with the girl in Chengkou in the afternoon.
uncomfortable.
Xun Qianchun thought very displeased.
A few more days of leisure.
The female officer with the big belly probably couldn't stand it anymore, so she came to Xu Zhen and gave her a part-time job in Xu Zhen's old profession, teaching students at the college.
There is only one academy like this in Pingliang.
The students that the female official invited Xu Zhen to teach were children in their early ten years old, similar to Li Sanlang and Ge Xier.
The children in Pingliang are almost all martial arts.
Holding a gun at the age of three, riding a horse at the age of five, sneaking into the enemy camp secretly at the age of eight, full of courage and excess vitality.
Xu Zhen's biggest headache is this kind of child.
She declined for a few more days.
By the way, I took this opportunity to ask the female officer what she thinks about Hu people.
Pingliang often fights with Hu people, so naturally they also hate Hu people, but when Xu Zhen and Xun Qianchun got out of the car earlier, many people saw that little Hu people who looked cold and quiet. She was honest and did her duty, and she never came to make trouble.
The female officer said that this kind of thing depends on everyone's mood.
Xu Zhen smiled and asked, "I've always heard that saints don't like barbarians, so I thought it would be the same here."
The female official said: "We are not particularly fond of fighting. If we can shake hands with the Hu people, I should agree. It's just that they don't give us this opportunity and continue to plunder instead. They are really a bunch of animals."
After she finished cursing, she moved up, frowned and sat down on the ground.
Xu Zhen sat down and told her the story of Chang'an.
When the female officer heard about the heavy rain in Chang'an, she laughed at first, and then cried again.
Xu Zhen asked, "Why are you crying all the time and laughing all the time?"
The female officer slowly explained: "Chang'an is too comfortable, and the heavy rain can alert His Majesty, but it's a pity that His Majesty doesn't seem to know what this waterlogging means."
Xu Zhen thought to herself, not only the Holy Majesty, but even a time traveler like me don't understand what flood disaster means
The female officer didn't say any more, got up and left quickly.
Xu Zhen sent her to the door of the Taoist house, watched her enter the house, and walked into the corner alone.
Xu Zhen thought about the waterlogging, and went home while thinking about it. Her lips and cheeks were so dry and cracked by the climate here that they were about to ooze blood at any time, which made her miss the modern ointment a little bit.
The system mall doesn't have this kind of pick-and-miss stuff.
There is a mask to prevent wind and sand, but wearing it on the road is too dazzling.
Xu Zhen walked home worried, and told Xun Qianchun about Pingliang and the Hu people.
Xun Qianchun happened to be thinking about this matter too.
She looked at a sheepskin newspaper she got from no one knew where it said that Hu people were not allowed to live in Shangzhou, and if they wanted to come in and out like Han people, they had to go to war.
Xun Qianchun saw this.
It was impossible for her to take the imperial examination, so she wanted to try, and follow the old path of the Xun family to get close to the generals who had been born and died with the Xun family.
She said to Xu Zhen, "I think, fight."