"What's the plan?"
"This matter also requires the help of Brother Yan Rou." He did not answer me directly, but turned around to listen to Yan Rou's intention first.
"General Long Xing, just do it. As long as I can do it, I will do it."
"When Wan'er married me, she brought two dowries of each type. My wife and I have discussed it. We will use one of the dowry to give to the inspector and let him go back. Then I will leave and rush to Xuantu where we were attacked before him. When he arrives, I will rob him. If my eldest brother agrees, I will just kill him. Then, brother Yan Rou will take a few people and carry the other dowry to various places in Lelang to sell, and constantly cooperate with others to rob officials and get a lot of good things. In this way, within a few days, this news will spread to Nan Lelang."
"This is a great idea." I can say that it was suddenly clear to me.
"But why do you need to use my sister's dowry? And if you want to rob, you can just use one portion, why two?"
"Let me explain. Using your sister's dowry, and two of them, is simply the most brilliant part of Long Xing's plan." I took over and began to explain myself: "It allows Yan Rou and Long Xing not to find time and place to meet in this unfamiliar place. As long as the approximate time is different, they can act separately. This is the first point. Secondly, we have to consider that the Inspector does not take that route, or if he escapes by luck, we can still use this plan. Thirdly, your sister's dowry is not a local thing in Lelang. At that time, even if the Inspector returns and wants to frame Xuande for bribery, these items will definitely make the Inspector embarrassed. There are other benefits that are not very important. But this plan is really great. I will go immediately."
"Don't be so anxious. Wait until my wife has prepared the dowry." Seeing me excitedly preparing to ride, he decided to remind me. He even leaned close to me and said, "I only thought of the first one." I cursed him in my heart for being lazy.
However, Long Xing's plan was indeed brilliant. Regardless of whether he thought his plan was so brilliant, his plan dispelled all my original taboos.
Before I go, I still need to make some preparations. This time, I must trick him into thinking he is fooled.
In the government office, I showed those things to the three brothers and asked uncertainly, "Is this enough?"
The three brothers were a little embarrassed. Except for the second brother Guan, whose face was quite red and could not be seen, the others blushed with embarrassment, but they finally squeezed out a few words: "That's enough, maybe a little too much."
"It doesn't matter. This bastard got away with it. I have a part in this matter, so I should contribute. And I have never done such a dirty thing before, so this matter is quite difficult to handle."
"If you trust your brothers, then let us do this. It's really not good to let your Excellency lose face." Liu Xuande took the initiative to volunteer, and I nodded in agreement.
"Brother, I'm not going."
"You can only cause trouble if you go, I will go with your second brother."
"Why not let me go?" A voice suddenly sounded. I looked at this person. He was seven feet tall, with a fair face and dressed like a scholar. He was also a young man with outstanding appearance. He seemed to have always been by Liu Bei's side. Maybe it was because these three brothers were too outstanding and overshadowed this person.
"This gentleman is..." This man looked like an aide, but I had never spoken to him.
"I am from the same hometown, my last name is Jian and my given name is Yong. We all call him Mr. Jian. He has been with us brothers since the Yellow Turban Rebellion."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Jian."
"No problem. You're welcome, Marquis Ping'an Fengyun." The young man's decent manners and confident expression made me secretly sigh at how many talented people there are in the world.
Suddenly I remembered what my teacher once said: When the world encounters a great chaos, outstanding generals and famous people will emerge in double numbers.
After Jian Yong came back, I went to see the Inspector. The Inspector had obviously accepted the bribe, and my official rank was much higher than his, but he still spoke to me politely.
Without further ado, I took out a letter from my bosom and said, "I will leave in two days. Within ten days, I will go to Xiyouzhou to meet with the Grand Commandant. I have something important to discuss with you. Please give this letter to the Grand Commandant as soon as possible."
Seeing that he was timid, I left.
I thought, this time you have to rush to Yuyang. It's a pity that you may not be able to deliver the message to He Jin. Moreover, how could He Jin meet him as the Supervisor of Posts? Even if Long Xing let him escape, he could only let He Jin see my letter. Of course, there is no intention to meet him in my letter. My brain is not broken, I don't want to meet him. But Long Xing may be too confident, which makes me feel uneasy.
"Long Xing, send someone to monitor the Inspector. Once he leaves, you will set off." I told Long Xing this when we got back to the mansion, but Long Xing didn't seem to want me to tell him. He seemed to have packed everything. However, what surprised me even more was that Liu Wan seemed to be ready as well. "Is your sister-in-law going with you?"
Long Xing was so happy, and I suddenly felt that Long Xing's influence was really great. It turned out that my brother's wife had a wealthy sister who had transformed into a female general who could go into battle.
"She won't go into battle, I won't let her." Long Xing saw through my thoughts, "I'm just taking her to the north to play. After hearing about the Lelang people here, I decided to let her go to the North Lelang Mountains to play. Don't worry, I won't delay her. I'll take her out to play after I finish my business. Give me five more days. When the news gets here, I'll be back."
"Take care." Other than that, I had nothing else to tell him.
Long Xing only brought a few people with him, but I think with the Inspector and the dozen or so people under him, Long Xing alone may be enough.
Before he left, I asked him to find a few Xianbei teenagers who could speak Wuhuan, because many of Longxing's people could speak several languages. It seems that they are very talented in this area. At least, Longxing's recent speech to me has a Jingzhou accent. In addition, in the past few days, I heard him ask a local in Lelong dialect which wine is better here. The man even thought he was a local and asked him about his life, asking him if he hadn't been home for many years and that there were fewer people in his hometown. He also sighed that the world is the same everywhere. His tone and demeanor were very good, just like a wandering merchant from Goguryeo.
I asked Yan Rou and these young men to go to Beilelang every two days. It was close to Xuantu, and I asked them to speak Wuhuan loudly and discuss the matter of the Supervisor. Yan Rou was their translator and did business for them. Of course, he would leak some information intentionally or unintentionally, but he told them not to be caught by Gongsun Fan. I also gave them a life-saving letter to prevent them from being imprisoned by Gongsun Fan. Yan Rou assured me that everything would go well for him.
The matter was over, and the mansion suddenly became much emptier. Nan seemed a little bored after Yan Rou left, so I suggested taking him to find Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, but he refused. He couldn't beat them, because he had secretly seen them practicing martial arts.
Finally, he wanted to practice with the person who was one level lower than me first. Finally, he didn't care about my face and practiced with the eldest brother. This made me very embarrassed.
What made me even more embarrassed was that it seemed that he had not made any progress. When I fought him, I was already struggling. In the past, I just wanted to avoid hurting him, but now I just wanted to avoid him hurting me. Fortunately, I still had the strength, so I pretended to let him win, parrying back and forth, smiling on my face, but sweating all the time on my back. I could only wait until he ran out of strength, and then I could defeat him. Sometimes, I pretended to let him win, so that he would think I was doing it to please him. But in fact, I just couldn't stand his almost mad dog-like fighting style at the beginning.
Finally, I decided to go to the three brothers to practice, otherwise, it seems that when Nan grows up and has full strength, I will be in trouble. Liu Bei often has to deal with official business, and there are only the two brothers in the backyard, and sometimes Guan Yu is not there. Zhang Fei may be too old, and the two brothers don't let him come forward to deal with things. But if my sister is here, she will make fun of me again. Someone is one year older than Zhang Fei and has been fooling around in the officialdom for more than a year. I started to miss my sister again. Damn it, I should have brought her here, just to see the sea.
Guan and Zhang welcomed me very much, and I entered their practice. They seemed to have learned martial arts when they were young. I watched them practice martial arts from the side, and their movements were much more relaxed than when they were in Luoyang. But I didn't see any use for these movements. So I asked them what the use of practicing like this was.
"Don't look at these slow movements. These are basic movements that will save your life on the battlefield. They are the same in offense and defense, especially when switching between offense and defense. With skilled martial arts movements, you must not use your brain to think at the most critical moment. You can naturally make the correct movements. Because there is no time for you to think."
"Then your slow movements will be effective?"
"We are using our bodies to remember these movements now, but we cannot use force like in battle, because there is nothing to hold our weapons. Excessive force will cause the movements to go awry. And it may also hurt yourself. It will be faster when the time comes." After that, he swung the shaft of the big knife in his hand towards Zhang Fei behind him. Although Zhang Fei was a little surprised, he still took two steps back very quickly and used the snake spear in his hand to block Guan Yu's sneak attack. Immediately dissatisfied: "Second brother, there is no need to explain, so I will be the target."
Guan Yu smiled but did not answer, but I had already understood what was going on and bowed deeply to them.
"That won't do." Guan Yu quickly returned the greeting. Zhang Fei also sensed something was wrong and followed his second brother in leaning down.
"I would like to ask Brother Guan Er and Brother Zhang San for some guidance." I sincerely hoped that they would guide me.
"I don't deserve it. Let's have a discussion."
Guan Yu's broadsword and Zhang Fei's snake spear are not ordinary things. The sword is called the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, which is 12 feet long. There is a green dragon carved on each side of the blade, and the four claws are like pinching the blade. It weighs 81 pounds, which is the number of perfection. The spear is called the Zhangba Snake Spear, the tip of the spear is about 3 feet long, like a spirit snake spitting out its tongue, and weighs 72 pounds, which is the number of earthly evil.
Guan Yu also showed me his eldest brother's weapon, a double-edged sword, which was also an extraordinary weapon: the right-hand sword was four feet and one inch long and weighed nineteen catties, while the left-hand sword was three feet and eight inches long and weighed seventeen catties. The total was thirty-six, which corresponds to the number of Tiangang.
To this end, I showed them my weapon and explained the origin of the wolf.
"This thing is a magical weapon from an alien race. None of us have learned how to use it. But looking at its shape, it can be used for chopping, slashing, stabbing and thrusting. I see that you have amazing arm strength and can wield it like a sword with one hand." Guan Yu must be a martial arts master, as he has thought of all this. But don't I have to learn all his methods? I don't know if I have enough time.
That night, I asked Liu Bei to send someone to inform Nan and the others that I would not go back to the post station because I was too tired. However, in the post station, when I calmed down, as long as I forced myself not to think about the moves of the big knife, spear, and sword, and went to sleep quickly, I would miss home. This is the second time I have been away from home for more than a month since I was a child. As a result, I can't remember anything about the journey last time. This time, loneliness and emptiness surrounded me from time to time. I suddenly thought of the few months in Changsha, and I suddenly realized that my sister was my home. Wherever she was, it seemed that my home was. Am I too cowardly? I am more than ten feet tall. If I rely on my sister like this, what will happen if my sister gets married? I cursed myself for being useless. But I still thought in my heart that it would be better not to grow up, otherwise if I really leave my sister one day, I don’t know how I will live.
When I woke up the next day, my pillow was wet.
When the sun comes out, I feel good, especially this morning. I chanted quietly in front of the bed: "Today, I start my new life. I stand up from cowardice and break free from weakness. Although I can't forget the past, I have to live well today, because today is the only day I can grasp."
"Zi Rui." I admire Zhang Fei's personality. Maybe he is similar to me. He only approaches people he likes without any scruples. He has a lovely and simple temperament. "Were you okay yesterday?"
"Yes, you almost broke me into pieces." I replied with a smile.
"Don't use brute force. Always keep some strength in reserve to avoid being used against others and being unable to break free. Just like when you were wrestling with me, I used your strength to pull me forward, and you were unable to stand. Also, when you attack, there will inevitably be flaws. Once you attack with all your strength, if the opponent is a master, he will definitely not give up the slightest flaw in your attack. However, if you are only against one person, and that person doesn't want to fight you to death, you can fight like this."
I think I understood a lot more. I really connected the lectures of the teacher and the two of them. I suddenly felt that I had made great progress as a whole.
“Is today the same as yesterday?”
"Although we all know your temper, you should still be patient." Guan Yu gave me some kind advice.
However, when it came to the actual practice, he was not so polite and pointed out directly that my waist was too stiff in this spot, which made it hard to use the power and difficult to change moves. My hand was too close to the fangs in this spot, so I couldn't exert the power, but it was too far away, so it was easy to slip out of my hand and hard to control.
Moreover, I was thrown down badly by them again today. I don't know what happened. I thought my hands were so fast and my grip was so steady, but I still fell to the ground without knowing what was going on. But I beat Zhang Fei twice today, because he threw down hard, and I was afraid of him, so I kept dodging, which made him a little anxious, so I won a few times.
After returning to the post station, I didn't ask anyone to fetch me water for a bath, but started practicing directly in the courtyard. Indeed, I had some strange feelings when practicing today, as if... It's hard to describe, but I think that kind of feeling is good for practicing martial arts.
On this day, I was sleeping without being on the couch, and finally I didn’t have the strength to climb up.
Ten days passed like this, and I finally summed up what I was thinking.
"I felt that by the end of my training, the Heavenly Wolf was like in my blood, allowing me to go wherever I wanted and roam freely."
Zhang Fei and Guan Yu looked at each other, and Guan Yu said, "You seem to be a real martial arts genius, but your foundation was too weak when you were young."
"Same as my master's. You are absolutely correct."
"Your master?"
I told these two brothers what my master taught me. These days, there is no distinction between us in official rank. We are just three young men who are immersed in martial arts.
"No wonder you react so fast. Your master... I really want to meet him. He's amazing! How did he come up with this move? Let's practice reaction, speed and strength. We should try it in the future."
"It seems that it was not his idea, but his master or someone who came up with it earlier." My third uncle told me about this, and this should be the case.
"Master Zirui..." Xuande called me. I didn't understand why, but his words woke me up. I almost forgot the most important thing. "The Supervisor was kidnapped and seems to be dead."
"Good death." Not only Zhang Fei said this, I also said this, Yide and I laughed at each other. Liu Bei saw that I was also like this, so he couldn't blame his third brother, and he didn't like the inspector. So he smiled at Guan Yu.
"But this matter is also related to us." Liu Bei was still a little depressed.
"Where was he robbed?" I asked knowingly.
"Xuantu Baishan Mountain Road."
"That has nothing to do with us, of course. Who robbed them?" I continued to play dumb.
"But considering He Jin's temperament... it's difficult. It seems that it was done by the Wuhuan people."
"Wuhuan people? Are they the same people who robbed us? They are still robbing people there? They are really brave, but they also did a good thing. Haha... Uh, by the way, how do you know it was the Wuhuan people who did it?" I seemed to be a little too stupid.
"This is what Lord Gongsun Fan sent us. He asked me in his letter if it was the things of the Supervisor. It is said that some Wuhuan people thought those things were useless, so they went to North Korea near Xuantu in Beilelang to sell them, and talked about the official in the wine shop. He was as thin as a monkey and was scared to death when he was killed. Gongsun Fan collected a few items from the people and let us have a look."
"The Wuhuan people are too bold. Aren't they afraid of being caught when they talk so much about killing imperial officials? Although the Inspector deserves to be killed, it is too strange for them to talk so much about it." Without asking me, Zhang Fei expressed the due doubt.
"I heard from them that the group of people spoke Wuhuan language, and only one person spoke Chinese. That person was very respectful and polite, like a servant, but he didn't have any of those things. He just did business, and when he was done, he gave the money to the Wuhuan people, and they left. It was a Goguryeo merchant who had done business with the Wuhuan people and could understand Wuhuan language, so he knew about it."
"It seems to be Zirui's thing." Yunchang looked carefully at the things in the bag.
"Indeed." I also shook my head. "What should we do then? The Inspector is dead, and someone needs to report to him. Otherwise, it will be difficult to explain to He Jin."
"I have a way to solve this problem."
"What's Mr. Jian's plan?"
"It's not a plan, it's just a temporary solution. We should send troops as soon as possible to Xuantu to wipe out the Wuhuan bandits, and then go directly to Xiyouzhou to meet Lord Lu, and let us participate in the elimination of the Black Mountain bandits of Zhang Yan in Yuyang. If we can put down the rebellion as soon as possible, and we make great contributions and tell the truth, Lord Lu will also be on our side, and we will have nothing to worry about. It's much better than us abandoning our posts or being taken to Luoyang for trial."
In the end, Mr. Jian stayed behind to fight everything, and they would set out after they had gathered soldiers from various cities in Nanle. I also said that I would go with them, because we also had a feud with the Wuhuan people, and we could also speak for them in Xiyouzhou. Finally, it was decided to set out four days later.
After this matter came to an end, I returned to the mansion. Nan had been bored to the point of being unbearable, and as soon as he saw me, he asked to fight with me. The few people who were outside had not returned yet, so I continued to practice against Nan. This time I really gave him the upper hand and there was no need to be so tough.
That night, the happy couple came back, but when he saw me, he said, "I didn't rob them. I ambushed them. I didn't expect the Wuhuan people to come out and rob them. He asked the soldiers to resist, but he wanted to escape. In the end, he was caught. This coward also shit a pussy, which made the forest stink. He was stripped naked except for his pussy. When the Wuhuan people left, I was so angry that I asked my brothers to kill him with a knife. Later, we went to North Lelang and ran into Yan Rou and his people in Korea. Wan'er and I dressed up as a Goguryeo merchant couple and stood next to them. We found that the Goguryeo people didn't speak Wuhuan at all, and the group didn't respond to the discussion at the table. Yan Rou was not in a position to speak in the south, so I pretended to be a Goguryeo merchant and told them these things in the South Lelang dialect." So that's how it was. I praised Long Xing for his cleverness.
"What about Yan Rou and the others?" I thought they should at least come back earlier than Long Xing. Since they were out sightseeing, Yan Rou should have come back earlier.
"They went to investigate the Wuhuan people's lair."
Three days later, Yan Roucai and the Xianbei boys came back. As soon as they came back, they took us out. Then I saw a mountain range made of sand on the beach. Then, he pointed to a stone on the northwest slope of the sand hill and said, "They moved fifty miles to the northwest. Now they are at that location."
The next day, Liu Xuande came and said, "We will set out tomorrow."
We all moved back to the post station in Ledu City. The night before we left, I asked the Xianbei people if they thought this place was good, I would let them settle down here, but they said they wanted to follow the tribe leader.
Their clan leader looked at me, and I suggested to him, or should I say strongly, how about going to Jingzhou. He agreed immediately. This made me a little uncomfortable. His answer was simple: "As long as our clan can have a good life, I will follow. Now you are my eldest brother, I trust you. I think our clan will have a good life in Jingzhou. Although it is good here now, I am not sure after you leave."
On the morning of August 18, the second year of Zhongping, the gates were bright. It was almost late autumn and the weather was very cold. I participated in the expedition for the second time with 3,000 soldiers, mostly infantry. But this time I was not the main general. Although Liu Bei invited me to be the commander-in-chief and cited the example of my command in Hanzhong. But I know that Liu Bei is more suitable to be the main general here than me, and his prestige and virtue here are much higher than mine. And I also know that I actually did nothing when I was in charge. It was all done by Chen Liang, Master, and various generals including my sister. I did nothing except holding regular meetings to discuss combat. I can't think of anything I have done that makes me satisfied. I feel that I seem to be just a person who talks about war on paper, so I firmly refused.
However, I suggested that when they reach Xuantu, the baggage should go ahead. I explained: When we met them last time, they had very few horses and very few archers. But we don't know where they are, at least we can't let them know that we know. It would be better to lure them out with the baggage, so that we can quickly reinforce them. Even if they don't rob, it's a good thing to let the baggage leave the mountainous area of Xuantu as soon as possible. When we go in to search them, everyone can just bring a few days of dry food.
They all said good things about this. Only Liu Bei was worried about the lives of the people driving the baggage carts. I told them a little about the situation of the Wuhuan people and told them not to worry as long as they did not resist and escaped quickly.
This made Xuande feel relieved.
I asked those who were out on business to hide in the car until they left Lelong, so as not to be caught in the middle of Lelong, because it was hard to say whether Gongsun Fan would come to see us off. In order to avoid arousing suspicion when hiding, it was better to hide early. Except for Yan Rou, who had no objection, the couple was eager to hide and not be seen. Moreover, I could continue to announce that he had not recovered from the injury he suffered from the Wuhuan last time as an excuse. The other three brothers did not know each other.
When we passed Zhongle Lan, Gongsun Fan came to see us off and provided us with some food and weapons. He impressed me that he was much worse looking than his brother. He was not an ordinary person, but he was not a great figure either.
On the morning of August 21, the second year of Zhongping, it was raining. We crossed the river by floating bridge last night, rested in Dukou Town for one night, and cooked at three o'clock in the morning. Before dawn, we were hiding in Xuantu Mountain Area with our bells removed. We were waiting for the Wuhuan people to rob our caravan. Rain is indeed a good thing for us, because the road is difficult to travel, and our baggage will be more difficult to travel on the mountain road of Xuantu. The longer the time is delayed, the more opportunities we can create for the Wuhuan people. Li Beihai came out of the carriage, gritting his teeth and pretending to settle accounts with the Wuhuan people. I also pretended to care about him and told him not to force himself. It was still raining today, so he should not hurt his body. He even rode his injured white horse, clenched his double-sided axe, and waited quietly for news. Liu Bei asked someone to hold up a rainproof cloth for me, but I pushed it away because all the soldiers and Liu, Guan and Zhang were in the rain, so why couldn't I. The three brothers looked calm, obviously after many battles, they no longer took this matter seriously. Nan Ze was a little too excited, constantly stroking his precious fork, and his sister-in-law would occasionally open the curtain to take care of her husband. Yan Rou felt a little uneasy, as if she was worried about her brothers and sisters in the hands of the Wuhuan people.
That day, in the quiet autumn rain and mist, the newly fallen leaves on the ground in the woods piled up thickly. Under the gray sky and the white mist, the entire Xuantu Mountain area wrapped in yellow and brown looked so peaceful, without any sense of the coming battle. The horse did not notice anything, and still quietly lowered its head to look for grass to eat.
That year, Liu Xuande was 25 years old, Guan Yu was 24 years old, and Zhang Fei was 19 years old.
That year, Yan Rou was nineteen years old.