After the convoy of Liyang Yinshoujian passed through Tongguan and entered Liangzhou's jurisdiction, the horseshoes finally sped up and trampled on the post road intensively, like a rainstorm in autumn. After all, the Gyeonggi cavalry army with thousands of people still has some momentum, and it also attracts the attention of many Beiliang people. Most of the Beiliang cavalry troops are stationed outside Liangzhou Pass. The most important and dangerous pass in the battleground of the military strategists is more common with the white horse righteous follower, and the elite cavalry is more common. Unless it is a hasty mobilization, it is not common for soldiers and horses with more than 2,000 cavalry to gallop.
As the envoys of the emperor in name, this soldier and horse traveled westward and truly experienced the barrenness and bitter cold of Beiliang. However, apart from the poverty, the autumn crops along the way were not lively, lush and eye-catching. Occasionally, couples in rural villages who are busy in the autumn harvest stop their work, wipe off their sweat, and look at this mighty strange cavalry army with a peaceful expression. If there are children playing in the fields, they will even point fingers. , This is completely different from the Hezhou area in Jizhou. Probably this is the unique spirit that Beiliang and Beimang have accumulated after 20 years of death. .
The team stayed at Qingma Yi, which is only more than 80 miles away from Liangzhou City. The three python-clothed eunuchs of Yinshou Prison had gone through untold hardships and were finally about to see the palace. After dinner, they met to go out together, and strolled along the bank of a river named Longju River, followed by two eunuchs with good hands and feet, and six imperial guards wearing royal swords. The palm print eunuch squinted his eyes at the river bed. After autumn, the river water has dropped a lot compared to the summer flood season. The river bed near the two banks is exposed to dark stone slabs like the backs of swimming fish. They are clustered together one by one, giving people an extremely stiff feeling. Not to mention the comparison with the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, even the capital and capital city will never see such a scene. The three big eunuchs of Yinshoujian are all pampered and pampered for many years. Although they are used to the cold autumn and winter in Tai'an City, they didn't feel much discomfort after arriving in the northwest, but after walking along the river bank for half an hour Even the two young eunuchs were complaining in their hearts, and the second and third heads of the Yinshou Supervisor were even more out of breath, but the palm-printed eunuch did not stop, both the eunuchs and the imperial guards were used to strict rules, so naturally no one He opened his mouth to remind him that if he didn't go back the same way, he might have to fumble back to the post house in the dark with a book on fire.
The surname of the eunuch in charge of Yinshoujian is Liu. His real name has long been seldom known among the eunuchs of the younger generation. Like many old eunuchs, they are all survivors of a subjugated country. Ancheng, it's just that Hong Jia Beiben is destined to leave a name in history. How can the ups and downs of these eunuchs catch the eyes of scholars, I believe no one is willing to write a stroke or two for them in history books. Especially eunuchs like them in Liyang have always been known for their honesty and duty. It is unnecessary to think about eunuchs participating in politics. The three generations of emperors in Liyang are all Ming emperors, and the court is full of civil servants and military generals. It is a great blessing to be able to die of old age in the palace safely, so the two generations of eunuchs from Han Shengxuan to Song Tanglu were all cautious and impervious.
The group walked for another half an hour, and finally saw a big rock cliff standing majestically on the right side of the river bank. Eunuch Liu walked up the rock cliff first, feeling mixed feelings for a while.
The slightly bloated eunuch in charge couldn't bear the soreness in his legs, so he wanted to sit on the ground. The young eunuch who recognized him as his master hurriedly knelt on the ground like a cow and a horse. on the back. Another eunuch of the younger generation wanted to show courtesy to Eunuch Liu, the eunuch with palm prints, but he bent down to use it as a stool, but when he saw Eunuch Liu waving his hands, he had to retreat angrily.
Eunuch Liu raised his arm and pointed to the upper reaches, then turned his head and sat down with the two old eunuchs in python clothes and said with a smile: "Eunuch Song, Eunuch Ma, you should know that our family used to be from the Northern Han Dynasty, our ancestors... Well, according to some young people in Tai'an City, they were too rich."
The two big bosses of Yinshoujian nodded with a smile.
Eunuch Liu turned his back to everyone, and continued: "Before our family committed crimes and moved away, in fact, it was not very prosperous in the grandfather's generation. We can barely be regarded as scholars, but before becoming the crown, we also did study tours. At that time, the study tours were also divided into three, six, and nine grades. The top grade was to go to the Shangyin Academy in Western Chu, followed by the three major academies in the world, and then the library of the four major surnames in Jiangnan Road. Let’s go I can't afford to be so far away, and I really didn't have that kind of family friendship. At that time, there were only two roads, either go east, which is today's Tai'an City, or go west, which is today's Beiliang. His knowledge is already well-known in the Central Plains, so our family walked all the way west, and then passed by here, but I don’t actually remember that this river is called Longju River, I only remember this stone cliff and a small ferry in front of it. "
The young eunuch who couldn't give Eunuch Liu the palm seal immediately smiled and said, "No wonder Eunuch Liu has a strong character in writing, and the late emperor has praised him many times. It turns out that Eunuch Liu was born as an out-and-out scholar."
Eunuch Liu should have been accustomed to these innocuous sycophants, but today he was especially happy. He rubbed his beardless chin, looked into the distance, and softened his high-pitched voice, "The reason why our family cares about this I remember this nameless rock cliff so clearly..."
While everyone was listening to the following, the powerful eunuch had gradually suppressed his voice, making it as subtle as a mosquito's wings fluttering, so that people couldn't tell whether the old man was talking to himself or not.
Of course the old man is talking, some words have been rotten in his stomach for most of his life, and he can't spit them out quickly, but when those words creep to his mouth leisurely, he is like a stingy old alcoholic, taking out a jar of old wine that has been treasured for decades, just I would like to drink alone. It is best if other people can see whether I can drink it or not, and I can only watch me drink it alone.
The old man was actually talking about an insignificant matter. The old man didn't know why he had experienced so many ups and downs in his life. First, his family fell, then the country was broken, and after that, he was intriguing in the biggest house in the world. I have seen countless high-spirited generals and ministers in my life, I have seen many soul-stirring heroes, respectable people and poor people, and I have encountered many conspiracies and tricks that can make people think about it afterwards and sweat profusely, but I really miss it in my twilight years. The things on my mind turned out to be trivial things that I laughed off when I was young. The blurred vision of the old man is a small ferry that may not be named in the local county annals of Liangzhou, but it is there that the young scholar named Liu in the Northern Han Dynasty at that time was also like this in early autumn. In order to cross the river, people in the village by the river can only cross the river on their backs. There are muscular young people with dark skin, as well as elderly men and women. Most of them are naked from the upper body, even middle-aged women The exception is that most of the body is naked, and the chest is heavy, like two grains of the most plump rice in the world, so that almost all of the few Northern Han scholars who saw this scene for the first time blushed, but Those villagers who make a living on the ferry, no matter men or women, no matter their age, are very happy. Among them, he saw a girl like a yellow flower at a glance. She is not outstanding in appearance, but among those vulgar villagers, she looks very different. In the long years of the court, the old man only felt such a strong sense of abruptness twice. When Li Yang was the Empress, she severely reprimanded His Majesty the Emperor, who was recognized as a wise and powerful emperor. Another time, I saw from a distance that Tu Xuxiao, who was the vassal king with a different surname and the title of the Dazhu Kingdom, was leaving the court when he entered Beijing to participate in the court meeting. Like walking alone.
The old man put away his thoughts, his eyes were serene, and he looked from afar.
Back then when he was there, I still remember that he shyly picked the girl with yellow flowers to carry him across the river. I saw with my own eyes that the guy who was the most rigorous and rigid in studying on weekdays secretly pinched the woman's plump black breasts, and the satisfied expression on the face of his classmates and friends was like a Jinshi. And the other classmate, although usually bold, shrank back at that moment, but the woman carrying her smiled brightly, freed a hand to grab his palm, pressed it on her chest with a clap, and then He said something in a strong Northwest local dialect, no money is charged for touching it, but if you want to touch it enough, you only need five cents.
He was the only one who was always well-behaved, restrained by the etiquette of a person who reads sages' books, but he couldn't bear it in his heart, and he even lay on the back of her slender waist, for fear that he would frighten her, and she would end up out of shape. Steady, the two of them will really become a pair of water ghosts with the same fate.
After crossing the river, he also wanted to give a few more coins like the two classmates, but she didn't want it. She lowered her eyebrows and gently twisted the corners of her clothes, shyly.
That encounter and parting, there will be no reunion.
Maybe he never forgets her, not because he really likes her, but because he misses himself who is still a scholar.
But maybe, that young scholar surnamed Liu really liked her all the time.
The old man suddenly had a rush of energy for no reason, looked up at the sky, turned around and said with a deep smile: "Our family is going to the ferry to have a look, Eunuch Song, Eunuch Ma, you two don't have to follow, let's go Go back as soon as you go, try not to go back to the post in the dark."
The python-robed eunuch sitting on the young eunuch's back immediately stood up, and said empathetically, "Since we're all here, it's just a matter of one breath, so it doesn't matter if we go back to slander, anyway, we won't delay the business."
In addition, the tallest Eunuch Ma also echoed with a smile: "The opportunity to revisit the old place with Eunuch Liu is probably the only one in this life. I run errands at home, but I have traveled thousands of miles.”
Eunuch Liu nodded with a smile, his expression becoming more and more kind. Although Yinshoujian is not a very prominent yamen in the 12th prison, 4th division, and 8th bureau of the Liyang Palace, it is even different from the ceremonial supervisor in the palm of Song Tanglu, but it should not be underestimated. The king of a country is in charge of those iron certificates, edicts, and yellow seal letters. When he was in Tai'an City, the Yinshoujian was definitely not in such a friendly atmosphere as it is now. The huge pressure came, and it really turned into a prosperity and a loss.
The old saying that Wangshan ran dead horses is true. At that time, Eunuch Liu pointed to the faintly visible small ferry, which still made Yinshoujian and his party exhausted. Even Eunuch Liu had to walk with two sweaty pythons. Apologies to my colleagues.
The ferry is still there, but compared to the scene where more than 20 people were waiting to carry people across the river to make money, now there are only four or five people. Eunuch Liu looked up and was a little disappointed. The villagers are all rough old people. There are no women in the young and strong, and there are very few travelers going to the other side at the ferry. Eunuch Liu wanted to return here, but he was a little unwilling, so he walked towards the few old men who were chatting together. Those people obviously also noticed this group of people. Especially the jade belts in python clothes worn by the three eunuchs of Yinshoujian are too fresh, even if they are frogs in the well who even the county magistrate has looked down on a few times in a lifetime, as long as they are not blind, they know that they are powerful figures who cannot be provoked, and they know that they must It will not be guests who come here to cross the river. Although the Longju River is the leading river in Liangzhou, after the government built two bridges more than ten years ago, they were used by the garrison and the people respectively. During the season, there is almost no business at all. If there is a bridge, I have to wander in the river, and I can’t support myself if I am full. Unless the merchants and pedestrians in the far north are in a hurry and don’t want to travel more than twenty miles to the bridge in the south, they will only wade across the river, but if they have a good relationship with the government. You can also borrow those post bridges in the north, but I heard that after the young vassal king came to power, the control became stricter, and the local garrisons and government offices did not dare to turn a blind eye to others like before. convenient.
Just when Eunuch Liu was about to go back to his home, suddenly someone on the other side skimmed across the river. He was dressed in fluttering white clothes and had a long sword on his waist.
After gracefully landing on the bank, the white-clothed swordsman ignored the surprised eyes of those rural villagers, and turned to look at the group of friends in the river and lake on the other side of the river.
They bet on who can cross the river the least by treading water, in order to compete whose martial art light work is better.
It's just that although this young hero from a famous family puts on an arrogant demeanor of rejecting others thousands of miles away, isn't he extremely jealous of the eunuchs behind him in python
When will eunuchs show up in Beiliang? Everyone knows that the Northern Liang Palace is different from other vassal palaces in the Liyang Dynasty, and eunuchs and eunuchs have never been used.
As for Liyang Jianghu, after the old man named Xu Tu led his iron horses to ride the rivers and lakes, he has always been respectful to the court and officials, or he has sharpened his head to deliberately cling to friends. He has never heard of any sect Which gang can wrestle with officials and family members. This young man standing beside the river in Yushu Linfeng is no stranger to official rules, but he is not familiar with the lofty city of Tai'an, and he is not sure what eunuch's position is qualified to wear that eye-catching red python robe. It must not be some small fish and shrimp, otherwise he would not be able to leave the palace to handle business in an open and aboveboard manner. The two parties were worlds apart regardless of their status, so he simply pretended that he hadn't seen anything.
The young eunuch who was a cow and a horse was good at observing words and expressions, and found that the three father-in-laws were frowning, and immediately explained in a low voice: "The female martial arts leader Xuanyuan Qingfeng in Huishan called on the heroes of the rivers and lakes to go to Liang to encircle and suppress a few demons. , All the way to the Western Regions before stopping, many people in the Jianghu did not rush to leave Beiliangdao afterwards, presumably these people are young people from the Central Plains martial arts."
Eunuch Liu snorted coldly, "Heroes are forbidden by martial arts. Even Cao Changqing, the rebel from Western Chu, who is a Confucian sage, has repeatedly shown off his might in Tai'an City!"
The chubby and Buddha-like Eunuch Song laughed in a low voice and said, "The Jianghu people are not the only ones who rely on force to restrain people."
Neither Eunuch Liu nor Eunuch Ma spoke.
Afterwards, two other children of the same age passed by the Longju River one after another.
Eunuch Liu suddenly turned his head to a commander of the imperial guards and asked with a smile: "Commander Qian, how are these young people's cultivation? What is the difference between the realm of the legendary masters in the world?"
The burly guard with a dull expression said plainly: "Eunuch Liu, not to mention the first-rank and fourth-level masters, even the second-rank junior masters are by no means the heights that these embroidered pillows can reach. With their aptitude, unless there are big Only by chance can we enter the second-rank realm after 20 or 30 years."
Eunuch Liu nodded, and he was no longer interested in exploring.
The rivers and lakes are far away and the temples are high.
What kind of martial arts masters, as long as they are not those few people on the list of martial arts critics, they are nothing more than carp in cages and ponds raised by the king at will.
Just as Mr. Liu was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked hard at the river.
A young man who was crossing the river was probably only good at outsider kungfu. Even the eunuch, Yinshou eunuch, felt that the lightness kung fu was unsightly. Not to mention stepping on the river many times, the splashing water was even more impressive. If someone else If it's flying on the grass, then this man is really rolling in the grass.
But this was not something that Eunuch Liu paid attention to. The old man saw a young man slowly crossing the river with a ferryman who looked like an old woman on his back.
As a result, he was trampled by that young hero with poor lightness skills, splashing water all over his head.
In the Longju River, the old woman helped the young man wipe the river water from his forehead. She was amiable, but also a little distressed. She said helplessly, "It's hard work. I told you that mother-in-law can cross the river by herself, so she insisted on carrying me. Mother-in-law, I am , I have been carrying people across the river for decades, even if I am blind, I can cross the river when there is a flood, so there is no need for you to carry it."
The young man said with a smile: "During the heavy rain that year, the stack of bank notes in my luggage almost turned into a paste, and I didn't have any silver with me at the time, and I didn't accept the jade pendant for my mother-in-law. I have owed this favor for so many years. After finally meeting my mother-in-law this trip, no matter what, I should recite my mother-in-law."
The old woman said softly: "Don't talk about jade pendants, even the broken silver mother-in-law would not dare to accept it. A trip across the river costs three Wen, and even the smallest broken silver is big."
Some poor people are living a hard life. If they feel that the hard life is not at ease, it will be really painful.
The old woman suddenly smiled and asked: "Master, what about the old Huang who crossed the river with you back then, the one who lost his front teeth when he laughed, my mother-in-law remembers it very clearly, he followed us at that time, and he was also short , the river is almost up to his neck."
The young man said softly: "Old Huang, he's gone. He's gone in a place far away from Beiliang. I haven't been able to meet him."
The old woman sighed, not knowing how to comfort this young man who had been thinking about it for so many years just because of five cents.
Maybe in her village, I can remember who I owe me a penny for half my life, but this young man who is carrying his back doesn't look like a child from a poor family after all.
How can someone carry him across the river once and give away a jade pendant just because he has no copper coins in hand, even if the jade pendant is worthless, it is still a jade pendant.
The old woman smiled and asked, "Master, are you married? Do you have any children?"
The young man said in embarrassment, "We're getting married soon."
When the two approached the ferry, the old woman asked, "Are you tired?"
The young man smiled and said, "Grandma, you are so light, how can you be tired?"
Then the young man joked: "Grandma, you must have been very good-looking when you were young, and there must be many people who came to ask for marriage."
Although poor, the cleanly dressed old woman smiled knowingly, but she didn't nod or say no.
When they reached the bank, the young man gently put the old woman down, and she asked, "Master, is it all right if you just put that horse on the other side of the river?"
The young man smiled and said, "It's okay, I can't lose it."
The old woman gently lowered the sleeves of the young man who rolled up his sleeves to carry her, and said, "When you get married, you can't think about everything like this."
The young man nodded with a smile and said, "Understood, I will live my life carefully."
After the old woman got ashore, she waved to the young man standing in the shallow part of the river, "Go back quickly and see if there are any items on the horse's back."
The young man who put down his sleeves but still rolled up his trousers responded with a smile.
The old woman walked slowly towards the ferry.
Then she saw an old man dressed in strange clothes, and she saw it at a glance, even though there were two old men in "red clothes" standing beside him.
The same is true for the eunuch in charge of Liyang Yinshou, Eunuch Liu.
He hesitated to speak.
And she just smiled slightly, turned her head slightly, stretched out her thin fingers, and straightened her temples.
He looked at her, and just about to take a step forward, he finally laughed at himself, took back his steps, turned around and strode away.
And she, as she did many, many years ago, waved lightly at the back of that young scholar, still like that girl with yellow flowers back then.
The sky was dim, and the eunuchs in python and the imperial guards left first. The villagers at the ferry who felt that it was difficult to do business, like the old lady, left the river bank.
And the down-and-out young man who was walking towards the opposite bank suddenly turned around and trotted all the way to the shore. Although he had a good skin, after all, people rely on clothes and gold makeup. Who would look at a poor boy who carries others across the river to earn copper coins? In the disdainful eyes of the No. 7 and No. 8 Jianghu young heroes and heroines, he leaned closer to them, smiled, and said something inexplicably, "When I was digging the rivers and lakes with my brothers, I wanted to float across the river with you guys for a long time." The master has done one thing."
Whether it was a handsome swordsman in fluttering white clothes or a glamorous young woman, they were all kicked on their buttocks by this guy who seemed to have their brains caught in the door, and kicked them into the Longju River. It's like a pot of dumplings.
The young man with his boots still on the other side stood barefoot at the ferry, looked at the drowned chickens who were yelling at him, and said solemnly: "Technical work!"
Those young heroes and heroines, if they knew the identity of this lunatic, they would probably not be angry with embarrassment, but grateful.
Being able to be kicked by one of the four great masters of martial arts, according to the rules of the world, is tantamount to a trick. This may be the treatment that the founders of their sects would envy.
This kind of lucky thing can be bragged for thirty years.
The great master of martial arts commentary stood on the shore with his hands on his hips, laughed and said: "I will not change my name or surname if I am a hero, the number one person on the Northwest Road, known in the world as the invincible fist, unparalleled legs, and the best swordsmanship in the world. Mr. Mian Xiaolang, so is Xu Fengnian!"
Immortal demeanor, heroic demeanor, grand master demeanor... Naturally, there is nothing at all.
So the young man who just stepped on the water and splashed him all over the river said angrily, "Master Xu!"
Everyone just listened to the bastard with a villainous look on his face and asked with a smile: "Don't accept it? Come and hit me if you don't accept it? If the green mountains don't change, the green waters will flow forever, and there will be a period later!"
This time, even the heroines and fairies, who tried their best to maintain their restraint even when they fell into the water, couldn't bear it anymore.
It's just that when they were about to raise a teacher to question their crimes, they suddenly felt their bodies fall. The next moment, everyone looked at each other in blank dismay.
It turned out that everyone was sitting at the bottom of the river. The river bed was still soaked, but there was no river water. Looking up, the field of vision was at an end, and there was no water coming from upstream and no water going downstream.
I don't know who was the first to look up to discover the truth, and he was dazed.
It turned out that the river was still flowing, but it was above everyone's heads.
Like a blue dragon, flitting across the sky.
When everyone was scared out of their wits, they ran to the shore like shit.
The long river dragon hanging in the air just happened to fall heavily into the river, splashing huge water splashes on both sides, but at this moment, no one cares about becoming a drowned chicken again.
Far away, a person led a horse and walked slowly towards the green horse station.
The rivers and lakes remain the same.
But Ma is not a bad horse back then, and he is not young anymore.
There is no old Huang with missing front teeth, and the wooden sword ranger is missing.