When I got downstairs to the inn, I was even more surprised to see an arrow shot from inside the house. Although it didn't have much power, it was still very accurate and shot into the window of the inn.
I thought to myself that this sister was quite capable, and she actually managed to let them find such a strange way to communicate.
It was already dusk and closing time, the shop owner didn't seem to notice me in all black, and I didn't care whether he noticed or not and went straight upstairs, maybe he thought I was a guest returning to my room. I opened the door of that room, and Lie Ya was lying on the floor writing something on a piece of paper. When he saw me, he immediately covered it with his body, his face flushed red.
"Go on, ignore me." I knew it was not good for me to stand here like this, so I decided to sit down slightly away from him, not only to avoid embarrassment for him, but also to let him rest assured that I was not peeking, and to observe the facial changes of a man in love with evil fun. After he finished writing a love letter, he put it on the arrow and shot it, and then waited in front of the window for the arrow to return. Once there was a return arrow, he would quickly pick up the arrow to read the letter. Sometimes, he would glance at me with a sly look, probably because he was afraid that I would peek. After reading the letter, he immediately lay down and started writing again. In the middle, he called the store owner to bring more paper, and I also asked him to bring a jar of wine. Ever since I drank their strong wine mixed with blood when I was weak, I also began to covet this yellow soup, especially now that I am almost well.
It seems that the girl's heart has been won by this strong and handsome Xianbei boy, who quickly defeated the city defense and surrendered her last reserve. And our Po Liu Han Lie Ya seemed to be out of his mind, having gone to see the beautiful lady in that room.
The two of them kept shooting arrows at each other until the waxing moon rose and the lights were turned on in the house. However, every time, Po Liu Han Lie Ya used only 70% of his strength, probably aiming at the furnishings in the girl's house. And the girl seemed to be using all her strength, because each arrow was weaker than the last. Now, Po Liu Han was about to stick his head out to grab the arrow, probably because the girl was not strong enough. However, I felt that something was wrong. Oh, it was just as I thought. This time the boy lost his balance and fell out!
I quickly leaned out of the window. The tiles on the eaves were broken. Po Liuhan fell on the street with his face up and his back to the ground. But he still held the arrow of love tightly in his hand, which made me know the power of love and how thick his skin was. Seeing him lying on the ground impatiently, he turned sideways to read the letter. The shopkeeper ran out to see what happened upstairs. He must have thought that I had a fight with him and threw him out. And I knew that the matter of paying money fell on my head again.
After reading the letter, he immediately got up and ran back to the house, writing furiously, and then shot another arrow back. Then, he stood on the eaves outside the window and waited for the next arrow. I was watching this Xianbei boy who fell in love from behind him, as if I realized something, but I couldn't find the words to describe it. I wondered if I would be as crazy as him when I met a girl I liked. At least he knew what kind of girl he liked, but I didn't even know what kind of girl I liked. I was depressed and had to drink while worrying about Han Lieya, who was outside.
He jumped out again this time! I hurried over, thinking he had fallen down again. However, this time, one of his arms was hanging on the branch of the big tree outside the window, and then he used one hand with the help of his mouth to pull out the letter on the arrow and looked at it in the same place. The branch shook and finally couldn't support this strong man, and it broke. However, Lie Ya seemed to be fine. As soon as his feet landed on the ground, he turned around and went back to the inn. I guessed that the innkeeper couldn't stand it anymore. Sure enough, as soon as Lie Ya came up, the innkeeper followed and wanted to ask us to leave. However, seeing the situation in the house, especially Tianlang leaning on me, he decided to turn around and go down. I thought he might go to the police and tell the county lieutenant that there were two terrible weirdos here. Thinking of this, I hurried down and showed him the imperial edict directly. I also took out some gold as compensation and asked him to have more wine. I suddenly found that I could drink a lot. A jar of muddy wine was empty before I knew it, and I hadn't even used the wine cup given to me by the innkeeper. But this time, I asked him to bring up the wine warming utensils. I also wanted to be a little more elegant and warm the wine while smelling the fragrance.
The taste of this warm wine is different from that of cold wine. The aroma is much stronger. After Lie Ya shot an arrow, he waved to the window. Then, he sat down happily and looked at the thick stack of love letters. I think today is over. That sister no longer has the strength to shoot out of the yard. Seeing how happy he is, it seems that I am the only one drinking alone.
He read the letter again, and the expression on his face was almost... indescribable. I almost let him fly out of the window again. However, he noticed the smell of wine in the room, and immediately came over, picked up the wine spoon like me, scooped it into the cup, drank it all, and frowned. He pulled out the wine bag from his waist and poured the red blood wine into it, and immediately the smell in the room changed.
"There is a strong murderous aura." I took a deep breath and sighed.
"This is the real wine. The original wine was too light and had almost no taste of wine." Po Liu Han Lieya said. It seemed that he really liked strong liquor.
"It's really good." After taking a sip, I really felt a wild and wild feeling rushing to my head. After three cups, I started to get obviously excited. I knew I wasn't drunk yet, but I was definitely no longer the person I used to be. I was very excited and arrogant. I didn't care about anything and I didn't have any scruples. I stood up and patted Po Liuhan on the shoulder. "Wait for me here. I'm going to visit your father-in-law's house." He wanted to go too. I hadn't lost all my rationality yet, so I persuaded him. I went in through the main gate, not by crawling over the wall. He said, "I'll go in through the main gate too." After that, I put on my bow and said, "I forgot to bring my axe." I cursed, "Do you think we're going to rob a bride? I'm going to meet your future father-in-law to propose marriage." He felt embarrassed to be busy, so I'll go too. I'll wait until you change out of that animal skin."
I came out of the inn and found that I was holding the wolf in my hand. I had no choice. Now I seemed to be used to carrying it in my hand when walking or riding. No wonder he also had a weapon. I suddenly thought of scolding him for wearing animal skins. Wasn't I also wearing an animal skin armor? I didn't look back upstairs. I concluded that he was looking at me. I didn't want to show where I was wrong, so I had to keep going forward. In one move, the edict was still there, that's good. If I go in, no one will stop me. I don't want to really force the main gate and break in.
When I arrived at the door, I looked up and saw no plaque or anyone at the door. I thought to myself: How could this happen? I went straight in, but the door was closed. I covered my head and took two steps back, thinking this was too ugly. Am I really drunk
Finally, my headache was gone and someone came to open the door. This person asked me why I knocked so loudly. He suddenly saw the tool in my hand, got scared, and was about to close the door. I thought to myself, do you want to close it now? I pushed the door open. Suddenly, I felt that it was not polite, so I stayed at the door and let the frightened servant go back to get help.
I was about to sit on the doorstep to rest, but suddenly I felt something was wrong, so I stood up and stood straight at the door. Suddenly I felt too reserved. I slumped my shoulders, but it was too casual and too frivolous. I was still wondering whether I should be treated with condescending official language or plain and simple ordinary language after entering.
Just when I was in a dilemma, a man who looked like a merchant arrived with his servants, "You Xiongnu thieves, you are so rampant on the land of my great Han. One person dared to come to my Liu Mansion to cause trouble. Don't you think that there are no people in the Han Dynasty and no generals in the mansion. Come, teach this evil thief a lesson for me." Calling me a Xiongnu thief, there must be something fishy. I hurriedly shouted, "Stop, I am a Han Chinese, a marquis of ten thousand households, not the Xiongnu thief you are talking about."
The generals paused and turned to look at the merchant, who also hesitated. But a servant behind him said, "Judging from his appearance and his weapons, this man looks like the legendary Lord Xie Zirui of Jingzhou."
I was secretly happy, but I didn't expect that there were rumors about me here. Suddenly, a servant said, "No, it is said that this person is not yet twenty years old, nine feet tall, and is either gentle and refined or suave. How could he be so ferocious?" Someone else said, "That's ridiculous. It is said that this person is fifteen feet tall and looks like the giant of the Xinmang Dynasty." Someone else said, "I have also often heard that this person is a heavenly general who came down to earth, riding on a spirit and no one can stop him." Someone else said, "You don't know, this person is the reincarnation of the Kui Wood Wolf in the Twenty-Eight Mansions. On the night of the full moon, he will turn into a heavenly wolf and bite people everywhere." After this, everyone was terrified and looked up to the sky. When they saw the moon was waxing, they were relieved.
I waved my hand and said, "If this continues, who will dare to see me?" He took out the imperial edict and everyone bowed down after reading it.
He was very worried, so when he entered the hall, he explained to everyone what Lingxi and Tianlang were, to avoid the spread of false rumors. He was afraid that in the future, it would be said that if a wolf rode Lingxi and flew into the sky on a full moon night, this was Xie Zhi.
Suddenly a young man came out and saw me and said: Are you really Xie Zhi? I said: Yes. Looking at it, it was Husa Lie Nanguo. Thinking about it, maybe his tribe was looking for revenge and he was hiding in his uncle's house. Husa Lie said again: I often heard people talk about Xie Zhi, and once asked my cousin what Xie Zhi was. My cousin said: This thing is a strange beast in the legend, similar to a sheep, can distinguish right from wrong, and will use its horns to kill bad people. Now that I see you, I know that what he said is wrong. I couldn't explain it for a while. He shouted: Bring me paper and pen.
Soon, paper and pen arrived, and I wrote down the words "Xie Zhi" and "Xie Zhi", explaining that this is my name and that is the animal, with the same pronunciation but different characters. Then I felt relieved.
Finally, everything was explained clearly, and I sat in the hall with a sigh of relief. The merchant came forward and saluted, "I don't know why you came to my humble house." He didn't say anything polite to me, and I could see that he was worried, it seemed that something was really wrong.
"What happened in your house?" I thought I should find out the situation first. If he has any difficulties and I can help him solve them, then there will be hope for the marriage proposal of Po Liuhan.
"This is not easy to tell your Excellency." He looked embarrassed and unwilling, and asked someone to take the young man to rest.
"Well, if you need my help in any difficult situation, please come to the official post to find me, Marquis Ping An Feng Yun." I thought, forget it, let's get down to business. "I came to your house to ask for a favor. I have a younger brother, who is very talented. This time he will follow me to Lelang to take up his post. I have heard that your daughter is virtuous and kind. Today I met her in the market. It is true that my brother loves her very much. I am honored to be his brother and am willing to be a matchmaker for my brother. I hope that you..." I found the whole atmosphere even weirder. "Could it be that this is the difficulty of your family?"
"As you said," As expected, my words finally let him know the reason for their worries. "To the northeast of Lingzhi County, there is a city called Guye City, which is the hereditary land of the Southern Xiongnu nobles Xubu tribe granted by the emperor. I have a nephew, the Husa Lie Nanguo you just saw. He is the son of my sister and another Southern Xiongnu tribe, the Husa Lie tribe. Later, my sister died of illness, and my brother-in-law died in a tribal feud. He has been here since he was a child, and I treat him as my own son. One day, the Xubu tribe came to Haiyang and found their nephew Husa Lie Nanguo. They didn't expect that Husa Lie Nanguo was actually Husa Lie Nanguo. The Lie tribe and the Xubu tribe are enemies for generations. Since then, the Xubu tribe has often come to harass us. Later, they found my daughter Wan and said that the young Khan of the Xubu tribe was in need of a wife. Seeing that I was pretty, they wanted to marry me. I didn't want my daughter to suffer there, but I didn't dare to provoke the Xiongnu. This was already very difficult. Unexpectedly, the son of the county lieutenant in the city also took a fancy to me. If I marry her to a Xiongnu, the county lieutenant would be unhappy. If I marry her to the son of the county lieutenant, the Xiongnu army would come to punish me. Who would dare to provoke me? Now the noble marquis also proposed marriage. You are making me offend both sides. What do you want me to do?"
"Haha..." I started to think of a solution, but I wanted to laugh to buy time for me to come up with an idea, and to express the certainty that he couldn't choose between the two. "Even if you don't consider the dilemma of both sides, if you only choose one, you will be in a lot of trouble. Let me explain it to you one by one."
"You are a businessman, right?" Seeing his head raised, "The county lieutenant here is willing to marry you? Don't you feel there is a problem? He is probably greedy for your money? When he marries you, you are his only daughter. He will first take a bite of your dowry, then take a bite of you, and then divorce you for being an unvirtuous wife. What will you do?" It is an indisputable fact that the country now emphasizes agriculture and suppresses commerce, and the gentry are unwilling to marry merchants.
"If you marry the Xiongnu, not only will your daughter's life be in danger, but your whole family will also be in turmoil. I'm afraid the life of the southern kingdom of Husare will also be at risk." I continued my righteous and alarmist remarks, "I have traveled to the north, and the Xiongnu like to eat half-cooked meat and drink the blood of livestock. How can you afford it with your thousands of gold? Moreover, the Xiongnu are belligerent. If Xubu Shao Chanyu dies in battle with other tribes, your daughter will be buried with him. How can you afford it? Husare and Xubu have a feud for generations. Once Shao Chanyu dies, the young man will not live long." I think my imaginative and well-founded eloquence has softened him completely. Now it's time to ask me what to do.
"What should we do then?" As expected.
"You are a merchant, how much tax does Youzhou collect from you now?"
"Thirty percent for the goods." I thought to myself that they were much more cruel than us in Jingzhou.
"I have a nice place, I'll charge you 18% tax, are you willing to go?"
"Where? How can there be such a place? Why haven't I heard of it?" People in the same business must be enemies. How could a Jingzhou merchant tell you to wait for you to compete with him for business? Who else but the merchant would know? We have nothing to do, so why would we tell you? Otherwise, the whole world would know and the court would suppress us. I motioned for him to listen over here.
"Jingzhou! You can move your business there. I will write a letter for you. You can go to Jingzhou Xiangyang and directly hand this letter to the governor of Jingzhou. The governor of Jingzhou will find someone to make arrangements for you."
"Okay, that's it." I left his ear and spoke loudly again, "After my brother marries your daughter, you and I will be related. I will not bully you. If you see anyone bullying you, just shoot me like this arrow." I pulled out an arrow from the quiver behind me and broke it into two pieces.
"Of course, that's great." He believed me completely, "But marriage..."
"Don't delay any longer. Tomorrow you should pack up and prepare to leave this place. Finish it before you leave. I will also bring my brother here tomorrow. But don't let the Xubu family and the county lieutenant know about this."
"Then let's follow your advice."
I wrote a letter to the teacher with him, saying, "I came in a hurry, so I didn't bring any betrothal gifts, which is really impolite. This is the Heavenly Wolf, a sacred weapon that can ward off evil and suppress demons. I will leave it with my in-laws for now, and I will present a great gift tomorrow."
When I got out of the house, I secretly praised myself for my ability to make up lies. If I could make it up at least 30%, it would be perfect. But I had to decide on my brother's marriage after all.
I didn't go to the inn, but went back to the post station. I wanted to make Po Liu Han Lie Ya nervous for a whole night. I couldn't let me be so busy while he didn't have to worry about anything. Along the way, I always felt that something was missing in my hand. I didn't know what it was. After returning, I fell asleep.
But I didn't know I was making a huge mistake.
Actually, this mistake was not a big one, it just didn't let me sleep well, before dawn, that damned Broken Six Han Lieya woke me up from the bed. At this time, I was extremely sleepy and he was extremely anxious.
"The big thing is done." I told him lazily, but he still didn't let me sleep and asked me to go get clothes with him. He wanted to go and I should wait. What was supposed to come had not come yet, so there was no need to rush.
I don't know if anyone will come, this is just a delaying tactic for him, he wants to sleep a little longer. But he has no intention of leaving, so I asked him to prepare some gifts, such as silk, to buy them quickly, and let the Han people in his tribe accompany him, to find a few good horses of similar color, and to find some precious tonic herbs, which he also has. Prepare everything for me, and go with me to his father-in-law's house at noon.
I sent him away and tried to sleep, but I couldn't fall asleep. I cursed Lie Ya in my heart. But at this time, the county lieutenant also came. Xiangping is still two hundred miles away. Even if he went to report, he would not dare to disturb Gongsun Bogui's sleep at night. He didn't come here because of Gongsun Zan. Was it because of the woman surnamed Liu? He shouldn't know. The old man couldn't not believe me. I swore as a marquis that even if he didn't believe me, he would never dare to betray me. This time I really had no idea.
After exchanging greetings with me, he clasped his hands and said, "I sent someone to Xiangping yesterday to deliver an urgent letter. Lord Liu Bo'an ordered us to prepare flags for you on the spot. He also ordered us to bring some ceremonial carriages that should arrive at noon today, as well as the documents he gave you to pass the customs in various counties along the way in Youzhou." I was shocked. Lord Liu Yu Liu Bo'an really acted quickly and did not miss anything. With him next to Gongsun Zan, I think this trip to Xiangping will be troublesome.
Putting this aside, it was a bit troublesome to buy flags. I saw the envoys and two groups of them. As a result, I chopped off one group of messengers and completely deceived another group. I knew the style of their flags, but the difference between those two groups and me was that I seemed to have a higher official rank than them. But I had a trick, and I handed over all the difficulties to him. I let him handle it himself, but I still wrote the words "Ping An Feng Yun Hou Xie, Li, Liu" on a piece of paper and asked him to buy large flags according to the specifications of the commander and the accompanying lieutenant.
After I finished explaining, I still looked gloomy: "I heard that your land is being disturbed by the Huns, but why?"
He quickly explained, "Back then, the Xiongnu had internal strife and split into the Southern and Northern Xiongnu. The Southern Xiongnu and the emperor were related by blood, and they did not want to join the fierce and rude Northern Xiongnu in attacking the Han Dynasty, so they migrated south into the Han territory and became the people of the Han Dynasty. The emperor therefore rewarded them, and one of the branches, the Xubu tribe, was granted the city of Guye in Lingzhi County, sixty miles northeast of Haiyang. The Xiongnu are brave and warlike and often cause trouble, but they will definitely not infringe on the envoys and ceremonial team of the Han Dynasty, so you can rest assured."
I pretended to be relieved and said, "I got it." But in fact, a bad idea came to my mind.
"Okay, I'll rush to Xiangping to meet Lord Gongsun Bogui tomorrow morning."
I went to the street to greet Li Beihai, because from now on, he would be called by this name. When writing the characters on the big banner, I hesitated whether to use the surname Po Liu Han. But thinking that this was in the territory of the Han Dynasty, Po Liu Han, a Xianbei noble surname, was somewhat ostentatious. Moreover, the teacher's name was Han Chugong, but his surname was Po Liu Han, which was unlucky. Although the teacher probably wouldn't care too much, I thought I should still be careful.
He hadn't even left the tailor yet and was asking him which one was better.
"Every one of them is good." I praised him. Although I am always mean, I really mean it. He is indeed more handsome, even a little otherworldly, and he is tall and strong. I think it is the clothes that are stretched out and look good, not the person wrapped in the clothes who is made to look handsome.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but compare himself in the large bronze mirror. He looked okay, handsome and majestic. His figure seemed unusually strong in this armor, truly like a god.
I was enjoying my rare moment of self-admiration and the competitive spirit of a young man, when Li Beihai, who deserved to be put in the oil pan, asked me to go with him. Me, where are your people? He had arranged everything.
"Okay, come with me."
"Brother, where is your Tianlang?"
"Yesterday, your betrothal gifts were first deposited at Liu's house?" I looked at the changes on his face, "Don't feel sorry for me. We exchanged headscarves before. Since we are brothers, there is no need to do this."
"Brother, do you know my Xianbei customs?"
"My master told me when I came here. The color of your headscarf doesn't match my armor." I smiled at him.
"It seems that the betrothal gifts were not brought."
"I know that I can't be too conspicuous. It would be bad if the county lieutenant knew about it." I told him what Old Man Liu told me last night.
"So what does Big Brother decide to do?"
I told him my plan, and although he nodded his head frequently, he was still a little confused. I said, "I know you have read the Art of War, but you also need to understand some of our Han customs and etiquette. Otherwise, it's useless to read the Art of War. After you get married, you should study it with your wife."
What I can't stand the most is this guy suddenly intoxicated with love, "Okay, that's enough, don't be like this all the time. And remember, Siwen. Siwen, I know you know some of our Han etiquette, let me tell you again."
At that moment, I explained to him the basic movements including singing no, kneeling, sitting, long kneeling and long bowing.
"Also, from now on, your name is Li Beihai, courtesy name Longxing. You are my accompanying lieutenant. Got it?"
"Long Xing understands." He immediately bowed to me on his horse, which was quite proper. A young Xianbei patriarch transformed into a handsome Han Chinese boy. I suddenly realized that Bei Hai was indeed very smart. Thinking of this, I also thought of another brother. I immediately shook my head. Why is Zhou Cang so stupid
"Put away your bow, it's too conspicuous." After watching him bow, I still found some problems. The six-foot long bow is indeed too much of an eyesore.
"Yes, my Lord." He took off the longbow quiver from his back and hung it on the horse. He also carefully arranged his clothes. He also looked at me. "What's wrong? Is there anything wrong?"
"You seem to have learned it before, right? You still call me Marquis when we're alone." I smiled, "No need to dress up, you're already good enough. It seems that you've worn Han costumes and you actually know how to arrange your clothes."
"When I was young, a Han Chinese from my tribe gave me a set, but I later thought it was too loose and not suitable for drawing a bow and shooting arrows, so I stopped wearing it."
"Yes." On the way to Youzhou this time, I also thought about many similar problems. Our armor is either too heavy or has no protective effect. Our long weapons mostly have wooden handles and cannot withstand the cavalry's sword attacks... There are many problems. After returning this time, it seems that there is a lot to do when reorganizing military affairs.
When we arrived at Liu's house, the servant immediately made way for us as soon as he saw me and invited us in. He rushed in immediately, and I looked around and ordered the horses to be led in as well.
When he saw the old businessman, he immediately introduced the groom to him. Long Xing also bowed and saluted in a serious manner. It seemed that he was very satisfied with his future son-in-law.
"I have prepared the betrothal gifts. Tomorrow, I will send someone to send them out of the west city gate. You, your followers and your valuables, must go outside the city tomorrow morning under the pretext of going out to do some shopping to get them. The county lieutenant will not suspect you. Then go directly south to Youzhou and take the Sili line to Xiangyang. This is the customs clearance document of Gongsun Zan of Youzhou. No one will question you in Youzhou, but if someone asks you, you can say that you are the captain sent by Jingzhou envoy Xie Zhi to return to Jingzhou first. Your official flag and ceremonial flag can serve as evidence. I will write you another letter. If anyone stops you, send someone to take this letter directly to Luoyang to find Lord Zhong Zisheng, the Earl of Loyalty, or Lord Jiang Zishe, the Earl of Duxin." I especially like to cause trouble for those two people now, because I know that this will definitely not be a problem for them.
"Thank you, Your Excellency. The wedding..."
"My brother is here. At this critical moment, I have no choice but to come to Jingzhou once more. Let's go through the formalities in front of you and me first." My proposal was agreed by him. We told each other our birthdays to prevent the news from leaking out. Without asking for a matchmaker, I used the artifact Tianlang as a matchmaker. The old man and I decided on their marriage at the order of our father and brother.
Just like that, in less than ten hours, my brother's wedding was held under my planning.
I still remember that it was the beginning of autumn on the fifth day of the seventh month in the second year of Zhongping. It was a bit windy and sandy, the sky was gray and a bit hot, but autumn had finally arrived. The water that was brought for me to wash my hands was suddenly much colder than yesterday.
At that time, Li Beihai was seventeen years old and Liu Wanjie was sixteen years old.
I forgot an important person, Husalenan was fifteen years old.