If I had known the origin of the Heavenly Wolf from the beginning, I would never have used it. I felt that its origin was too bloody and brutal. But now, it feels like the Heavenly Wolf has grown on my arm and I can't live without it. I carry it with me wherever I go.
I felt relieved after thinking about it. It was just a weapon. No matter how good it was, it depended on the person who used it. I thought I was not a cruel and tyrannical person, so it should be a good thing in my hands.
After a while, Third Uncle seemed to be too drunk. Gongsun Zan asked someone to help Mr. Gongye to leave, and I stood up to say goodbye. I had to take care of him and take him home. Gongsun Bogui also nodded in agreement and gave me some advice.
But when we were alone in the carriage, he immediately looked very energetic, and I immediately realized that he was pretending to be drunk.
"Uncle San, are you pretending to be drunk?" I felt helpless and unhappy.
"Son, if I just go out safely, will they let me?" Uncle San said to me with a smile, "Besides, I can't drink too much, and neither can you."
"Are you always like this?" I feel that Uncle San's words are too obscure, and he likes to only finish half of the sentence, leaving you to think about the rest.
"Wine is a good thing, and I like it. But I'm not a playboy who can lie on the monument of ancestral merits and drink wine all my life without thinking about anything, and I don't want to spend my life in such mediocrity." He smiled at me, just like a father teaching his children, "But drinking too much wine is definitely not good. You can't feel it now, but you will know it when you are old. My father-in-law likes it because it refreshes him and makes him excited. But when he got old, his hands began to shake, and he could no longer hold the hammer steadily, and he died quickly. Although I also love this sip of wine, I don't want to be like him. Moreover, being intoxicated in the moment of enlightenment will not help the world. It is better to make a career in this youth. Of course, you should also not be misled by this sip of wine. And Zhao Yun was the only one who didn't drink much. At that time, only if I left could I let you leave, and if you left, the banquet would soon be over. Also, a white lie will not hurt others. "This time he confessed everything, but still left a tail for me to think about, but it doesn't matter whether I know this tail or not. But I know that my third uncle is definitely not a simple blacksmith, but he must also feel that Gongsun Zan can only dominate one side and live in a state, not a person who can pacify the world. I felt the wisdom of my third uncle, and I was really wronged here, especially since he was actually a blacksmith.
"Uncle San, how come you are a blacksmith? Judging from your conversation and knowledge, you should not be so bad. Why don't you seek a career in politics?"
"Don't look at the blacksmith..."
"No, no, that's not what I meant." I felt that I had said something wrong and quickly corrected myself. "I just think that if you join the government, you will be more able to..." Uncle San interrupted me with a smile.
"I know what you mean, but from the way you talk, it seems that you are really a student of that monkey." He suddenly stopped smiling and went to the front window to stop the carriage. "Shall we go down and take a walk?" I nodded.
After the car left, we walked along the street of this strange city I had never been to, talking about something. It was just after the beginning of autumn, and the night in Xiangping was a little cold, as if it had just rained. Under the weak moonlight, the paving stones reflected a faint light, and my Tianlang also shone. Suddenly a gust of wind came, and I even shivered.
"You still feel a little cold after just drinking. You don't seem to be able to drink." It was the third uncle who started the conversation: "Your tone is like his. When I finish dealing with things here, I will definitely go to Jingzhou to see him... Is my second brother there too? I heard you say he is your master."
"Yes."
"It seems my eldest brother likes you very much. Are you his favorite student?"
I nodded, "Yes, he treats us students like his own sons and nephews, and I seem to be the most favored one, haha... I think Third Uncle will stay in Jingzhou in the future."
"Probably. At that time, our family had a very good relationship with both of their families. I have been playing with my eldest brother and second brother since I was a child. My eldest brother liked to lecture people in a serious tone from time to time, while my second brother always coaxed me with a smile. When I was about five years old, I followed them to learn from adults to become sworn brothers. In the end, your teacher was the eldest, your master was the second, and I was the most... In fact, your master's wife was among them, but we thought she was a girl and ignored her. As a result, she always bullied my second brother and me, and it was my eldest brother who supported us. Later, my second brother and I called her the eldest sister, and then it was settled." When the third uncle mentioned this playful life in his childhood, his tone was comfortable and carefree; "Later, after I came out, I found that our village was really strange. There were always people moving in, and there were always people leaving. And I didn't have any before I was twenty years old. We went to the mountain outside the village because the village had everything. My eldest sister studied medicine because there was the best doctor in the village; my eldest brother studied literature because there was the best teacher in the village; my second brother studied martial arts because there was the most powerful master in the village. If you want to play, you can see picturesque scenery in any direction you go into the mountains, with rolling mountains and flowing clear springs. I love to play and I am interested in this and that. When I was older, I followed my eldest brother to study literature. Only then did I realize that there was such a big world outside, but I was not interested in the outside world at that time. My family was so good that I couldn’t think of what to do if I went out. But I was not interested in those strategies for maintaining national security. I just knew the general idea and didn’t learn. My eldest brother thought about it and sent me to my second brother to learn martial arts. I asked, if it was Da Shuiniu who taught you, how would you catch a mouse? How about it?" But he didn't wait for my answer, and continued: "When Big Buffalo was a teenager, he shot arrows, chopped with knives, and grabbed with his hands all day long. It took him several years. Then, he practiced every move. I thought this was more suitable for me, so I started to practice. I am much more talented than your master. It only took me about nine months to toss those mice so that they had nowhere to hide. But when it came to practicing the moves, I soon lost interest. I thought that was enough. Later, I learned some other things, but I just took a general look and knew the details. Back then, your teacher always scolded me for not making progress and asked me to study hard. Later, your teacher came out of the mountain. Although he always looked after me in the village, I always missed him when he left. After half a year, my second brother also went out, but he went Married, but he didn't come back for a long time. I often waited for them at the entrance of the village, and my eldest sister often waited with me. At that time, she always put her hand on my head. Four years passed like this, until my eldest sister could only put her hand on my shoulder, and then on my leg. I knew that my eldest sister liked my eldest brother, and my eldest brother also liked my eldest sister; although my eldest sister had a senior brother who seemed to like my eldest sister, but that senior brother never came out, and fortunately he didn't come out, otherwise, my eldest sister would not have become my eldest sister-in-law. But. When I was twenty years old, my second brother came back. Although he still smiled when he saw us as before, he must have changed a lot, because I saw that his face began to hold back his smile seriously; I pestered him to tell me a lot of things, new things outside, and I began to be full of curiosity about the outside world. Not long after, my eldest brother also came back, he wanted to come back to marry my eldest sister. He also changed a lot, he often talked to me with a smile, and no longer often criticized me with a smile. So, I wanted to go out, because I thought the outside world was wonderful. But my eldest brother didn't let me go out, he thought I might suffer setbacks outside. I didn't listen and insisted on going out. There was no other way. They told me that if things didn't go well, I had to come back and visit once in a few years. Then, they sent me down the mountain. There were many complicated roads in our area, and I had to be led by someone to get in and out. They told me when to come back, and when there was a fire and smoke in a certain place, someone would come to pick me up. I wondered at the time, why did they always tell me to go back and how to go back. I didn't know what was going on until I got out. "Uncle San's tone suddenly became serious. "I didn't know until I got out that the world outside is really big and people's hearts are very sinister. Within three days, my money was cheated away and I almost became a beggar. Before I left, my two brothers told me a lot about how to deal with things after I got out, so I went to be a soldier. As a result, I saw a general beating an old groom. I immediately stopped him and ended up crippling the guy. I had to escape. I ran to a county in Yuzhou and happened to meet the government in need of a clerk, so I recommended myself as a clerk. However, even though mine was better than others, they still gave it to a local official who was a good official. In the end, I could only work as a clerk under him. I had to draft everything, and I was so busy that I could barely make a living. That good official was a piece of shit. His father was driven out of the courtyard by him and had to find a place to live outside. I couldn't stand it, so I quit my job as a clerk. But before I left, I still beat up that rebellious son. I think I beat that bastard to death. Later, I tried to avoid being wanted everywhere. Fortunately, I grew a beard and was able to hide. I wanted to go back, but I was afraid of being laughed at by my elder and second brothers. I knew they wouldn't laugh at me for being useless, but I couldn't. My personality wouldn't let me go back. I continued to wander around, and when I arrived in Handan, I met my father-in-law. At that time, he was not a blacksmith. He looked at my body, touched my hands and arms, and asked me if I wanted to learn a craft from him. In this way, I became a blacksmith, and later, I married his daughter. Life as an apprentice was indeed easy. I experienced the feeling of being at peace with the world again. I lived a comfortable life. I also found my own happiness in iron smelting and sword forging. As a result, I learned everything only as a blacksmith, without missing a single thing. "At this point, Uncle San sighed, "Later, my old father-in-law passed away, and I took on the responsibility of supporting a family. I realized how difficult it was to support a family: heavy taxes, local bullies, but I was still young and energetic, and I always fought against them. Soon we couldn't stay in Handan anymore, and I thought about going back, but in the end I didn't go back. So I went to my wife's hometown, and later opened a blacksmith shop in Pingguo. During this time, my arrogance was almost polished away. I began to please others, began to lie, and began to want to kill someone in my heart, but with a smile on my face, so this time we stayed for a long time. Later, I was invited to Xiangping by Lord Gongsun. But I haven't thought about entering the officialdom again, because I think it's too dirty there. I have heard about you. Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, your story has been spread by many scholars and soldiers. Being a marquis at the age of seventeen is simply impossible for a commoner. Especially in their stories, you are such a straightforward and lawless person, like me when I was young. However, I want to ask you, if you were not my eldest brother's student and my eldest brother promoted you, would you be in this position now?"
I was silent for a while, and finally, I shook my head with certainty. There is a huge gap between officials and common people. Maybe a commoner can become a high-ranking official, but he must move up step by step. However, those descendants of officials, on the other hand, start to hold high positions at a young age. If it were not for my teacher, if I had entered the officialdom, I would probably have been just a city gate captain like Cao Cao in ten years.
"There are too many injustices in this world..." Uncle San started to say something that I only dared to think in my heart. This made me a little worried. I looked around and said, "Don't worry, this is Gongsun Zan's place... The world is going to be in chaos. Don't look at this place. Lord Bo'an has made it more lively here. If you go south from Qingxu, you will know what the people are like."
I was just thinking about something when a woman suddenly appeared in front of me. The reason why I could see her in such a dim place was that she was holding a lantern. When she saw us, she suddenly ran over, and Uncle San also walked over quickly and took her into his arms, "Yan Ji, I'm back. How long have you been waiting for me? It's very cold outside. Take care of yourself."
"Not long, worried about the slippery road, I came out to greet you." Aunt San's figure seemed too delicate in front of Uncle San. But I didn't feel like laughing behind him. I felt a sense of enlightenment, a sense of happiness, a happiness of dependence, care and concern for each other.
"Ah, Zirui, this is your third aunt. Yan Ji, this is my eldest brother's student whom I mentioned to you. My eldest brother treats him like his own child, so I am his third uncle and you are his third aunt. Don't be like this. Oh, he is the Ping An Fengyun Hou Xie Zhi that is circulated in the market."
I quickly bowed down and saluted. My third sister-in-law seemed a little overwhelmed. She didn't know whether to help me up or bow to me as well. Finally, under the guidance of my third uncle, she nodded to me and smiled: "Zi Rui, please stand up. Don't torture your aunt like this."
My aunt was a very virtuous and dignified woman. Her questions made my uncle look very happy.
"Don't be polite when you come to my house. Just sleep here. The bed at home is warm."
I wanted to go back to the post station, but Uncle San and Aunt San finally let me stay, and I didn't know how to get to the post station. I slept soundly, but my Tianlang seemed to make Aunt San feel cautious.
On the second day, I searched for a long time before I found the post station. Li Beihai already knew that I slept at my third uncle's place last night. His city gates were tightly closed and it was impossible for you to go out and drink and have fun. One of Gongsun Zan and your third uncle must have wanted to keep you to rest. I could smell no fragrance on you. So, if you were not with a group of Han maids, then you should be with your third uncle.
Me, you know these things so well so quickly. Him, do I have a wife? This sentence made the younger brother and sister-in-law behind him blush with shame.
I remembered something: "My sister-in-law seems to be able to shoot a bow and arrow, and she is quite skilled?"
Husa Li Nanguo jumped out, "I taught her. My sister was lonely and often depressed, so I learned these horse skills by myself. After I went to my uncle's house, my sister was the only one who could talk to me. My sister taught me to read and write, and I taught her to shoot arrows."
Sister Liu Wan knocked on the head of the child in front of her, as if she was going to show an angry look, but she couldn't help but smiled and said softly: "Ghost, I learned how to shoot arrows, but I taught you to recognize words. How many words did you recognize?"
Husarenan said nothing, made a face and ran away.
When we were planning what to do next, Lord Bo'an arrived with four large boxes on the cart behind him. When he saw me, he said, "This is the tax collection for the spring and summer seasons in your Lelong County. Your Excellency can sort it out." Then he handed over an account book.
"So much." I was shocked and quickly closed the account book. "Is it really that rich?"
"Among your thousands of households, there are many wealthy merchants from Goguryeo."
"Oh." I suddenly realized and immediately made a decision: "I came to your place without bringing any gifts. These things are of no use to me, but they are very useful to you. Please take half of them back to the warehouse for Youzhou to recruit soldiers and train soldiers."
Lord Bo'an was very touched. He motioned me to come over and spoke to me in a low voice, "We have already seized half of it. This is what Jiang Zishe told us. As long as it is not handed over to He Jin, no one will care about the small amount and investigate. He... won't need so much. Just give him half and let us keep the other half for ourselves in case of any emergency."
I bet that Zishe would definitely call me a country bumpkin or something like that in his letter. However, I was still very generous: "But I still don't need so much, please take back half of it."
After sending off the grateful Liu Bo'an, let the brothers take the Beihai, let everyone go out and relax, don't bargain when buying anything, don't ask for change when giving too much money, and give more tips when eating in the restaurant. It can be regarded as something we have done for the people of Youzhou.
“Then why not just distribute it to the people.”
"Fool, this is Gongsun Zan's place. What do we want to do? Are we going to take over? How can Lord Bogui save face?"
Even so, there was still more than one box of things left to be distributed. It was not a very convenient thing to take this to Lelang again, but I still had to take it there. I made up my mind to ask them to pile up half a box, and then I took Li Beihai's wife and Hu Sa Lie Nan Guo to go to my uncle's place.
Uncle San was there, already working. He was directing people to blow air into the furnace with cowhide air bags, and was watching the flames inside. When they saw us coming, they asked us to go to the back to rest. Aunt San brought us tea in the hall, and Li Beihai said, "Good ginseng." Aunt San smiled and told us that it was produced in the mountains of her hometown, and asked us to enjoy it slowly, and then she went to the front to see her husband.
"Goguryeo people." Beihai said to me, "I mean your aunt. And the Kingdom of Husaren. When you go to Lelong with us, remember to change your name."
"Yes, I must. I almost forgot." I suddenly remembered that the Lelang were mainly from Goguryeo.
"Are there any grudges between the Huns and the Goguryeo people?" asked Sister Liu Wan.
"Probably. Except for the southern barbarians in Jiaozhou and Yizhou, no other tribe has no grudge against the Xiongnu." I gave my conclusion.
"Then my surname should be Liu." This fool decided on his surname, and we have no objection to it.
"Let's call him Liu Nan." Sister Liu Wan covered her mouth and smiled, and we unanimously agreed.
"No, no, I'll just call you, Liu Jiannan, sword pointing to Jiangnan, okay?" He was not that stupid and could actually speak with some ability, but we all opposed it.
"Liu Nan, just call him Liu Nan." Everyone agreed that this was a better approach, regardless of how the Hun objected.
In order to prevent him from making a fuss, we went out to see the weapons made by Uncle San. This time, Nan also stopped talking, because he was also interested in these weapons. He picked up a weapon and waved it for a while. Don't worry, this kid is not strong. These are all made of pure iron, or at least bronze. There is nothing light and cheap. Occasionally, you can see a spear head without a handle. Among these things, the boy whose face has begun to turn red can actually wave them for a while. He will be a good man in the future. It is better to call him Good Xiongnu.
However, Li Beihai was obviously attracted by these weapons, and kept saying that the weapons were well forged and the craftsmanship was superb. I looked at his axe and immediately suggested: "Let me make you a big axe, your axe has a hole on it." Li Beihai looked at his axe and seemed reluctant to give it up, but finally agreed.
He must have had a connection with the axe, as if he could see through my thoughts: "I used this axe to chop down trees and kill wolves. It has been following me all the time."
"Just melt this axe and make another axe, isn't that enough?" He nodded in agreement.
"I want one too." Nan also suggested.
"So what kind do you want?"
"Uncle, don't buy it for him, he still wants it." Sister Liu Wan objected a little. But I agree, this thing will definitely be a fierce general in the future. But Li Beihai turned to his wife without any principles, which made me very annoyed. But in the end, Sister Liu Wan was persuaded by her Xiongnu cousin.
"Clang." There was a loud noise. Just as Nan was pulling and tugging at his cousin, a three-pronged fork fell to the ground, and the stones on the ground were smashed. Nan ran over and picked up the fork as if he had made a mistake, but after looking at it carefully, he said happily: "I want it."
I took a closer look and found that the iron fork had no scars at all. Li Beihai and I looked at each other and nodded in greeting, saying, "What a good weapon."
Hearing the loud noise, Uncle San also came over to see what happened. I said to Uncle San, can you sell me this fork? Uncle San, you can take it. Li Beihai quickly stepped forward and handed him his axe, asking him what kind of axe he wanted to make. Uncle San nodded, took the axe, and turned back to the shop to get busy.
Uncle San stopped at lunch time and I handed the box to him.
"What? Bribing Uncle San?" Uncle San joked with me, "These are useless to me, take them away."
"No, it is useful. You need to prepare a lot of things. You need to go back to Jingzhou with me. Also, you can make some good weapons. These gold and silver are more useful to you than to me. Also, you can buy some jewelry and silk for aunt. You have been living a poor life since you married her. You may not be doing your aunt justice. Also, now that I have a nephew to honor you, I can make you and your sister-in-law live a good life. I will not be ashamed."
"What a slick monkey (Hou), I knew that monkey could not teach anything good." Uncle San was helpless, but he was still very happy. However, when he saw Nan waving the big fork excitedly, he immediately asked in surprise, "This kid is so strong, what is his name?"
"Liu Nan." We all agreed at the same time, only that thing disagreed, his name was Liu Jiannan.
"Nan," Liu Nan must have felt like a failure. He accepted his new name dejectedly. "You know, the iron of this fork is not ordinary iron. It fell from the sky, just like that, yo... it fell to the ground with a bang." The uncle made a gesture as if he was talking to a child.
"Oh, that's heavenly iron, no wonder it's so good."
On the way back, the two were happily chatting in the car, Nan was excitedly holding the fork, and I started to feel bored again.
A few more days of boring time passed. During this time, the couple went out to play, Nan Ze excitedly danced with his iron fork all day long, and I just wandered around in depression. I wanted to chat with Zilong, but he was always busy, and I was embarrassed to disturb him; Uncle San was also too busy to take care of me, but I met Uncle San's child Gongye Chang, a five-year-old boy, which made me happy again and reminded me of Kong Ming. But within two days, Aunt San took Gongye Chang back to her parents' home, probably because she was going to Jingzhou and wanted to say goodbye to her family.
My days became empty again. I thought to myself that I had to get married. Otherwise, I might get bored and go crazy. It would be a good idea to go out with my wife. Who do I like? I don't know. I really don't know. I know I like to look at beautiful women, but I never really like that girl. What should I do? I don't know. I am confused. When it comes to the most critical moment, I will definitely come up with something, but there is no critical moment in this regard. I suddenly had some very strange ideas, but I immediately cleared them from my mind and warned myself not to even think about them.
I gave up thinking about this problem any further.
Later, I simply started to practice martial arts with Nan in the courtyard. Finally, it was fun. Fortunately, he couldn't beat me, which made him admire me very much and gave me a sense of achievement. I also performed the stunt of reaching out to catch a passing mouse in front of him. Everything was perfect at first, but unfortunately, the mouse bit my hand, which made me very depressed. When Uncle San found out, he quickly found medicine for me and applied it on the wound. It was not serious, but I was scolded.
After staying in Xiangping for ten days, we were finally going to Lelong.