The atmosphere on this journey was much more cheerful and relaxed. Everyone relaxed, the Xianbei boys and girls were laughing and playing, and I let them go. Because there was a Xiongnu beside me who kept pestering me. He asked this and that, and he was obviously not as smart as Beihai. It seemed that there was no good word to say except to praise him as better than Zhou Cang. But as a teenager, he had the innocence and simplicity that are unique to teenagers, which made me quite fond of him. Unlike some bad teenagers, who are young, get married and don't know what to do, and stay in the car all day. I once planned to use Tianlang to smash the car, but I finally controlled myself.
I wanted to enjoy this moment of tranquility under the setting sun, so I let the horse follow the group and closed my eyes to rest. Unfortunately, this energetic guy next to me kept asking questions without stopping, and I answered casually. Even if he found something wrong and asked more questions, my brain could think of something to respond very quickly.
"There seems to be a convoy ahead."
"Is the convoy abnormal?" Suddenly I sensed something was wrong, so I quickly opened my eyes and took a closer look. I hurriedly told everyone to stop making trouble and return to normal, then I knocked hard on the shed of Wenrou's car, asking Long Xing to come out quickly.
"Someone is here to greet us." The ceremonial procession in the distance made me realize that Xiangping City was approaching.
A familiar young man in a white robe holding a silver spear appeared in front of me majestically. Husalie Nanguo exclaimed in surprise, and Long Xing's expression changed from a little dissatisfaction with me to praise for the young man in front of him. I started to think about winning over this young man, but I came here to build a relationship with Gongsun Zan, so it seems not good to poach his people like this, so this matter can only be put off until later.
The heroic young man held his gun and saluted me respectfully, "Zhao Yun, the captain of the cavalry under the command of Duke Yan Liao, respectfully welcomes the envoy from Jingzhou, Lord Xie Zirui, the Marquis of Ping'an Fengyun. Please follow me." After that, he asked the large team behind us to protect us as we moved forward, and the ceremonial guards began to play music in front and behind our team.
I was very sober at this time, and I told Husaren Nanguo, who was about to speak, "Don't say anything, shut up, and come with us."
The boy had a lot to say, but I just said it all down, and he seemed a little unhappy.
"Brother Zilong, it's been half a year since we last met in Luoyang. How are you now?" I was very polite and spoke to him in a friendly tone. In fact, I saw him dancing with a spear in the courtyard of the post station last time in Luoyang. I learned his name from the servants of the post station. I remember that I seemed to be looking for mice in the courtyard at that time. After seeing him dancing with a spear, I forgot what I was doing. But I knew at that time that I was still a little behind him, but I didn't want to think about how big the gap was.
"You are so polite, Ping An Feng Yun Hou. Everything is fine. Thank you for your concern. I appreciate it, Zilong." His attitude was very sincere, which made Beihai feel a little uncomfortable. If there was someone who was better than him in many aspects, then this person would definitely not be me, but Zhao Yun, Zhao Zilong.
When entering the city, there was a ceremony. Zhao Yun gave some instructions to the people below. I was behind him and Long Xing was beside me. He approached me and whispered, "This person is incredible. He will definitely be a great man in the future. Big brother, try to win him over." This sentence made Long Xing, who has always been competitive, realize that this is Zhao Zilong. However, this also made me discover an advantage of Long Xing. He is not jealous of others' talents. He can honestly admit that others are better than him. However, I also know that he will definitely hold back his energy and work hard to improve himself, because he always wants to be the strongest, no matter in which aspect. This may be the temperament of a teenager. It seems that I am no longer a teenager. Although I can be mature, I think it may be better to keep that youthful temperament.
After a brief ceremony, Beihai and I followed Zhao Zilong up to the tower of the west gate. I knew that some things needed to be thought out before going up. We couldn't make any written agreements, we could only make verbal agreements. The teacher didn't tell me about the alliance. This was a promise I made to the teacher when I left. The teacher didn't even set any requirements for me. That is, it was up to me to decide whether to make it or not. I was a little confused: was the teacher stupid, or was he hesitant in his heart? He didn't seem to care much about the threat that He Jin might come at any time, or was he too confident in the strength of Jingzhou; was he going to be loyal to the Liu family dynasty that existed in name only, or was he fully confident that he could save the situation. I felt that I was very different. I think all the officials in Jingzhou were different, and I was the most different one among them. This made me a little overwhelmed and I didn't know what to do.
I was about to enter the door, and I had to quickly retract my thoughts. But in the end, I thought, I am not different. What is the point of being loyal to a court that cannot bring a stable life to the people? Then in this world, the emperor is the biggest criminal. He cannot effectively guarantee the lives of the people of the world, and he is guilty of the world. I thought of Zhang Jue... I don’t know where I am going. I suddenly feel that there is an abyss without hope in front of me, but I am going further and further on this road. But the only thing I can be sure of is that I will always follow my teacher. I don’t know why, maybe just because he is my teacher, he has brought happiness to the people of Jingzhou in this world. I made up my mind that I must sign the covenant with Gongsun Zan, and let the world know. Suddenly I thought of the teacher’s two paragraphs: everything has its advantages and disadvantages, there is no need to care too much, now just let the people benefit. My heart suddenly calmed down, and my eyes suddenly became bright.
As soon as I entered the room, the world-famous handsome man was sitting in the middle. He stood up immediately when he saw me. There was also an elder with elegant and gentle features standing up with him. I knew that this was Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu, so I quickly saluted: "My Lord, I pay my respects to the Duke of Yan Liao and Master Liu Bo'an." I knew that Liu Yu was only an earl, but I still paid my respects as a junior. I bowed down seriously without any pretense. Just because he did what he did, the people of Youzhou praised his name and made the northern barbarians afraid to go south, I should also pay my respects to him.
They quickly helped me up, and I saw their eyes full of approval.
"My dear nephew Zirui, how is your teacher?" Gongsun Zan was indeed famous for his loud voice, but the confidence and heroism in his words immediately surpassed the old Chanyu of Guye City.
"My master is in good health. He also asked me to come and say hello to Lord Bogui and Lord Boan."
Lord Liu Bo'an was speechless. He was truly a rare man. He did not try to steal the limelight from Gongsun Zan, the Duke of Yan and Liao, but only let Gongsun Zan speak. Lord Liu Bo'an should be credited with the greatest credit for the stability of Youzhou.
“Brother Bo’an, you haven’t been to Luoyang yet. This man is Xie Zhi, Xie Zirui, Marquis of Ping’an Fengyun, who is under the command of Lord Wei Dingguo, Duke of Han Chu in Jingzhou. Half a year ago, he was still a handsome young boy in Luoyang, but in just the past six months, since the battle of Hanzhong, he has the demeanor of a great general.” Gongsun Bogui also respected Liu Bo’an very much. He took the initiative to introduce him to me and praised me at the same time. At least I benefited a lot from it.
"Young hero." That's all Liu Bo'an said, but I think he has a good impression of me.
"Lord Gongsun, Lord Liu, is it convenient for us to discuss this?" I thought I should get to the point.
"Quick and straightforward words, haha," Gongsun Zan laughed, and Liu Yu waved his hand and asked people to leave.
"General Zilong doesn't need to go down, right?" I held Zhao Yun. "Zi Rui doesn't know about the others, but General Zilong is definitely a trustworthy person. He is humble but not servile to his superiors, respectful but not arrogant to his subordinates, has a righteous vision, and acts steadily but not arrogantly. He should be a key general in Youzhou. It doesn't matter if he knows about our affairs." Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu agreed. I think I am trying to win over Zhao Yun, but I don't think I can win him over, but at least I can make him feel a little good about me. Anyway, I now hope that Youzhou will not be swallowed up by He Jin, and it will be good for Zhao Yun to stay in Youzhou.
There were only five people left in the building, the three ministers of Youzhou, and me and Long Xing.
"I don't want to beat around the bush. I'll be straight. We are in great trouble now. For this reason, I left Han from Sili alone and then entered Han from Youzhou. I came from Jingzhou to discuss this with Lord Gongsun, Lord Liu, and Brother Zilong."
"Why do you say there is a great disaster?" Bogui asked knowingly, but it was obviously to give me a way to move forward. I think they have considered these questions countless times.
"After the Yellow Turbans were pacified, the meritorious officials were enfeoffed, and all the people who were not close to He Jin were enfeoffed. I don't need to do that, do I? But it is true that my Jingzhou is by no means a barren land, and no one wants to share this land with me. Therefore, we must be the first enemy that He Jin has identified to be eliminated. However, when the situation was initially settled, there were still remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Jiangdong, and they wanted us in Jingzhou to garrison nearby to prevent rebellion in the south, so it was inconvenient to move us this spring. There will be a flood in the south this autumn, so the action against us will be postponed. And Xiliang's Dong Zhuo was enfeoffed into Yizhou by me, and Ding Yuan was seriously injured by Han Sui Dao Zhang's rebellion. Since Xiliang was initially settled, He Jin will not make any moves to avoid unnecessary rebellion. Then, Lord Youzhou Bogui and Lingshi Fubei Gong will become He Jin's primary concerns."
"So what should we do?"
"It doesn't matter. As long as they make any move against you, we will stir up trouble in the south and in Beijing, and vice versa. Also, please tell the merchants why I came here and let them spread the news widely."
"But." Liu Bo'an and Zilong said at the same time, looked at each other, Zilong bowed, Bo'an gave way and took over the conversation, "What's the difference between your idea and those who rebelled against the Han Dynasty." Zilong led the conversation.
"When we are taken to Luoyang, who will sentence us to death? The current emperor?" Anyone who is not a fool knows the answer. Only He Jin and the eunuch party can truly control the power of life and death. Everyone was silent.
Zilong couldn't accept it, Liu Yu remained silent, and only Gongsun Bogui was open-minded because he was the leader.
"Now, we are not rebelling. We are just seeking a way out for ourselves when He Jin's eunuch party is in power and fighting each other. Even if you want to hide from the world now, I'm afraid you can't."
"We have also considered these things. Since Lord Wei is so kind to us, we should act according to the agreement. Ah, Zirui is here, what are your plans?" Gongsun Zan has already asked about my plan. Liu Yu also seemed to have made up his mind and his eyes became firm. Zilong became silent, but he also stood up straight and stood behind Gongsun Zan. I know that Youzhou's affairs have been decided. I think Lu Zhi can also be persuaded through Gongsun Zan's relationship. Gongsun Zan will be more anxious than us about this matter.
"I will stay in my fiefdom in Lelong County for a while to show our sincerity. If someone attacks, I will lend a helping hand." I didn't point out any specific attackers, but everyone understood the idea.
"When you get to Lelang, I have something to give you." Lord Liu Bo'an suddenly thought of something. "Duxinbo Jiang Zishe once asked Fubei Lu Gong, who went to Beijing to report on his work, to bring us three letters. One was from Duxinbo to me, one was from him to you, and the other was from your sister to you. The letter to us mentioned that you would come, but the wording was a bit obscure. Its meaning was nothing more than asking us to temporarily withhold the taxes in Lelang and pass them on to you when you come." It seemed that Zishe was really amazing, and Lord Bo'an was obviously deeply impressed by this man. Obviously, the letter might have reminded them of something.
I received the two letters. Of course, I opened my sister's first. My sister's letter was in a tightly sealed wooden box. I struggled to open it, but my official seal and imperial edict fell out, leaving only an envelope written in my sister's elegant official script in my hand. This made me feel very embarrassed, because facing the strange looks of the three people, I think they didn't expect that I didn't have these seals with me. Beihai didn't understand what these things were, so he didn't react. I quickly opened the letter in the envelope as if it would disappear from my hands in a moment.
"Zi Ruiyi, read: I was in a hurry before leaving, and I didn't bring the seal. I miss you very much, but I don't know what to do. I specially ask you to be my envoy, go directly to Luoyang. Let Zishe take it, and ask someone to go north and take it to Youzhou to avoid trouble. Take it as soon as possible and keep it well. It's cold at night, so put more thick quilts and warm mattresses on the bed, and don't catch a cold. Everything is fine in Xiangyang, don't worry, and hope you can return soon. Sister: Ling."
"Brother, here is another letter." I was still pondering the meaning of my sister's letter when Long Xing picked up Zishe's letter from the ground and handed it to me. I also opened Zishe's letter to see what he said.
"Stupid Ox, read carefully: Your sister came to Luoyang as an envoy. She told us to pay taxes and tributes in one quarter of an hour, and told us to take one hour and one quarter of an hour. Now I ask Fu Beigong to take all the things with you. If you can get along with the north, then go. If not, return early. Don't be sad. You will be far away from home. After the autumn, you will travel all over the world. Zishe Ye Zishe." I understood the meaning of Zishe's letter at a glance. You can read the last four sentences. The first four sentences are mocking me. Of course, it's not just mocking... Let's not think about the things that make me vulnerable, let me think about it:
Le làng, no way, thinking of the sky over my hometown, traveling and waiting, one month, after autumn, persuade Huang.
I can't stay in Lelong for long, thinking... It should be the sky that is overwhelming my hometown, it seems that there has been a flood in my hometown of Jingzhou. I will stay outside for a month and come back quickly. When autumn passes and winter comes, I hope I can go back and persuade the remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Jiangnan.
I think I understand it right. About the same, one month here, one month on the road, and then I can get home before winter, which is just the right time.
At the dinner, Long Xing was not very reassured about his men and left first, but this was the reason he gave me and the reason I gave to Lord Gongsun and the others. The specific reason is difficult to say. In the hall of Gongsun Mansion in Xiangping, I continued to drink with the three of them and several generals under the command of Duke Liao of Yan. During the meal, we naturally mentioned the Battle of Hanzhong. After listening to my plan, everyone exclaimed that it was wonderful, only Liu Bo'an frowned slightly. However, everyone felt a little sorry that the thief Dong Zhuo was not killed in the Battle of Hanzhong. Later, weapons were mentioned, and naturally Tianlang was mentioned by everyone. Zilong told me that his spear was also made of pure silver, which was made for him by Gongsun Bogui, and it was called the Silver Thread Tilu Spear. It turned black after not being used for a while. Because of the battle with the Wuhuan people in the past few days, it immediately became shiny again, and I don’t know why. Gongsun Zan was quite generous and immediately said, "Why not invite Mr. Gongye to come."
Everyone exclaimed that it was wonderful.
I asked Zilong who this Mr. Gongye was. Zilong said, "There is a place called Pingguo, which is rich in iron. There is a swordsmith living there, named Gongye Jian. The weapons he forged are extremely sharp. For this reason, Lord Gongsun went to Pingguo several times in person and finally invited him to Xiangping with sincerity, and treated him as a distinguished guest. Since then, Mr. Gongye has started to smelt iron and forge various weapons for our army. This spear was made by him. Because silver is difficult to forge, it took Mr. Gongye more than ten days to make this spear."
A moment later, Mr. Gongye came to the hall and sang a "yes" to everyone, and everyone responded with a "yes", which showed that they were all familiar with him. I observed carefully, and I didn't see how he looked like a blacksmith. He was over 30 years old, more than 9 feet tall, with a tiger body and a wolf waist, a leopard head and phoenix eyes, thick eyebrows that curled straight into his temples, and a beard that was not very long, but each strand was strong and stood up like an iron needle. His voice was like a rushing river, very imposing.
"Mr. Gongye," Gongsun Zan's loud voice seemed to lack momentum and courage compared to Mr. Gongye's voice. "Zilong's silver spear, why did it turn black after not fighting for a while?"
"Haha, so that's why. Zilong, you were poor when you were young and had never seen silver, so you didn't know. Bogui, you were born in a wealthy family, and maids often wiped silver, but you didn't know either. Silver is a magical object. It will turn black immediately when it encounters poison and will gradually turn black when it encounters the aura of disgust from all directions. Wiping it with clean water every day may be the solution. Otherwise, there are only three ways to prevent it from turning black: one is to forge it again with fire, the second is to rub its surface with a rough object, and the last is to make it drink blood. Silver is heavy and soft. When it is used as a weapon, it must be cast and then it must be quenched with blood to help the fire. Otherwise, it cannot become a sharp weapon." Everyone acted as if they were suddenly enlightened. In fact, I don't know how many people really understood it. At least, I haven't figured it out yet.
"Then what blood did I use to blast my Silver Thread Tilu Spear?" Zilong was worried.
"I went to the mountains of Xuantu County in the northeast to catch tigers and cast it with tiger blood." He said it with ease, and everyone else listened with ease, but I was surprised. It seemed that Mr. Gongye was no ordinary person. Catching a tiger alive is as easy as catching a cat.
"Zirui, show your Tianlang to Mr. Gongye." I immediately held the Tianlang and went over to show the swordsmith.
"Are you Xie Zirui, Marquis of Ping'an Fengyun, who is under Lord Wei Dingguo of Jingzhou?" He didn't look at Tianlang, but asked me directly. He seemed to know my teacher.
"That's right." I nodded. "You know my master."
"This Lord Wei Dingguo is from the mountains southeast of Changsha City. Does he have a sworn brother named Huang Zhong?"
"That's right. Lord Wei Dingguo was my teacher, and Huang Hansheng was my son's martial arts master. May I ask..." I was shocked, and not only me, but everyone else also stopped talking.
He shook his head, as if he didn't believe himself, and asked excitedly: "Does your teacher Wei have a name? Dingguo is his name. What is his wife's surname? Is she a doctor?"
"That's right." I understand that this Mr. Gongye in front of me has a deep connection with my teacher and master.
"They are my elder and second brothers." He suddenly sat down dejectedly, without any trace of the unrivaled arrogance he had at the beginning.
"Uh..." I was thinking about how to address him, "Third Uncle," I finally thought of a name. He was my teacher's sworn brother, so calling him Master Uncle didn't seem right. Calling him Third Uncle made some sense. As soon as I heard the name Third Uncle, I bowed down in a hurry.
He hurriedly helped me up and immediately asked me, "How is my second brother now? Is my eldest brother in good health?" I told him everything about my teacher and master, and the tough guy in front of me couldn't hold back the tears in his eyes.
"Okay, Mr. Gongye once mentioned the name of Lord Wei Dingguo in front of me. I really don't know the details and can't give an answer, and he can't confirm it. This is very good. Mr. Gongye, you should go to Xiangyang to see your sworn brother immediately. I can't keep you there." Gongsun Bogui was indeed open-minded. There was obvious regret in his words, but he was still very determined.
"No, I still have a lot of things to do. Gongye Jian is not a heartless and ungrateful person. I will never forget our brotherhood, but I will definitely finish making all the weapons in my hands. I still owe General Yan Gang a three-pointed, double-edged sword, so I can't leave now." Third Uncle was also a man who valued affection. After he finished speaking, everyone was moved by his words and saluted him. He also returned the salute deeply, which made me not know what to do, so I bent down and saluted together.
Everyone kept toasting the big man with tears on his face, congratulating him on finding his sworn brother. He was very happy, and seemed to have regained his youthful temper, drinking without restraint.
"Do you know the origin of this Heavenly Wolf?" Uncle San, who was slightly drunk but still very excited, asked everyone. Everyone shook their heads, "Okay, I'll tell you. This story was told to me by my father-in-law, my blacksmith master."
"The Xiongnu practiced the system of youngest son succession. The old Chanyu had an eighteen-year-old son who was very favored and was made the young Chanyu. Before Maodun ascended the throne, he was just the eldest son in the family and was not favored. He was unwilling to accept this and pretended to be on good terms with the young Chanyu in order to gain the trust of the old Chanyu. He also invented a kind of whistling arrow that made a hissing sound when it was shot. He also trained a cavalry. Every time he shot a whistling arrow, everyone would shoot at the direction of his whistling arrow. One day, he invited his father to go out hunting. When his father was about to shoot an arrow, , he shot a whistling arrow at his father, and then the cavalrymen rained down arrows and killed the old Chanyu. Maodun killed his father, the old Chanyu, and returned to the camp, killing all the thirty or so brothers and sisters who could compete with him for the position of Chanyu, and his stepmother, a total of more than fifty people. Finally, he went to kill the young Chanyu. The eight-year-old Chanyu had never thought that his eldest brother, who had always loved him, would kill him, and he begged for mercy but could not. The young Chanyu was also martial and brave, and he knelt down and begged Maodun: 'Brother, I can no longer fight. Please use my blood to forge swords so that I can fight even after death.' Maodun flatly refused, 'No, you are weak. If I use your blood to forge weapons, I will suffer.' However, Shao Chanyu's words gave him an idea. He had people capture 9981 wild wolves and put them in a pen. He fed them with the corpses of his father, brothers and stepmother. On the night of the full moon in December, he began to hunt wolves, gathered the silver stolen from various places, and began to smelt them with wolf blood. He used the wind outlet of Qilian Mountain as a bellows to forge his weapons. , it took a month to refine it. On the full moon night of the first month of the following year, when Maodun Chanyu took out the fully forged weapon from the wolf's blood, the whole valley was filled with the howling of wolves. When the moon set from the mountain, many people saw a pure white wolf howling at the moon, so this wolf-tooth stick was called the Heavenly Wolf. Maodun believed that this was a good omen, and from then on he would be invincible and no one could match him. Indeed, he was invincible on the battlefield at that time, but unfortunately he still fell into the beauty trap, haha... Later, this magic weapon somehow fell into the hands of the Wusun people, and finally, into your hands. "The third uncle paused and said the same thing as the others, "But you must remember, don't tarnish the reputation of the Heavenly Wolf."