the enlightener says

When they were gnawing bread and steamed buns on the front line, and there was no oily smell in their mouths, what they imagined in their minds was the bustling and noisy Ding'an City. It's the concubine's birthday again...

Good place, Ding'an City is really a good place!

Now, this king's capital has succumbed to their swords. If they don't take this opportunity to make a fortune, when they return to the border, they may not have such an opportunity in ten or eight years.

So what if they are also from the Tang Dynasty, Ding'an City enjoys the glory of the Tang Dynasty, shouldn't they give some benefits to these soldiers who fought to the death at the border?

Seeing the pastry shop owner who finally handed over his savings for many years under coercion, Qin Ke was annoyed.

He hated these bandit-like officers and soldiers very much. Back then in Daoxiang Village, there was a greedy man. Even though Daoxiang Village was very poor, every time he came to inspect, he had to earn some money before he would leave.

Sometimes it is a few pieces of bacon, and sometimes it is fresh fish just caught. After all, the villagers are timid and never dare to complain.

At that time, the master was still there, and he had just started to practice, after all, he didn't have the strength to do something. Now he encountered such a scene, and he was no longer the young man who had no cultivation at that time. ready to move.

But he felt that Cai Yan suddenly pulled his sleeve, turned his head, and his clear eyes met him.

Qin Ke lowered his head, and slowly calmed down the blood churning in his blood.

At this time, of course, it is not good to make any further incidents. Even if he really goes up, it is impossible for him to fight against the army full of the city by himself.

Thinking of this, he could only grit his teeth and continue to lead Cai Yan towards Cai Mansion.

The mentality of the two of them walking hand in hand in the alleys when they fled Cai's mansion with Cai Yan was completely opposite. At that time, Cai Yan was cheerful and full of joy, like a little bird that finally flew out of the cage. Birds, can't wait to sing loudly.

Only this time, she had to go back to that birdcage, and even that birdcage was already on the edge of a cliff and might fall down at any moment...

"Are you worried about me?" At this moment, Qin Ke suddenly heard Cai Yan chuckle.

Qin Ke turned his head, and Cai Yan, who was walking side by side with him, tilted his head, his eyes were like crescent moons, and asked with a smile, "Are you worried about me?"

"Do you have to go back?" Qin Ke's voice was so low that only he could hear it.

Cai Yan hummed lightly, and said: "After all, it is my home. Although I have never liked it, there are many rules, and I don't let this or that, but after all, there are my father and brothers. I don't trust them, let alone Let them do it all alone."

She blinked and said, "I'm the daughter of the Cai family, aren't I?"

Of course Qin Ke knew that she was the daughter of the Cai family, but the current Cai family was really not a good place to go, but from his standpoint, what could he say?

Cai Yan is not worried because she has firm beliefs. She is a person with very clear goals. Once she is clear, she will no longer hesitate.

At this time, Qin Ke inevitably felt a little inexplicable distress.

He stared ahead, Cai Mansion has arrived.

The night's wind and rain did not make the mansion look depressed, on the contrary, because of the wind and rain, the blue tiles of the mansion looked cleaner, and a few moso bamboo trees grew upwards, spreading their branches and leaves like umbrellas, thriving.

But what is different from that day is that there is a whole team of sergeants guarding outside Cai's mansion now. They hold the handle of a knife and surround the whole mansion with solemn eyes.

There were passers-by on the side of the road communicating in low voices, with a bit of exclamation: "Have you heard that? Last night Cai Zhuguo was in the court hall and led all the officials to openly question Li Qi, which moved the lord, so the lord has sealed him up. For Taifu, this time, one person is really under ten thousand! These soldiers are said to prevent Li Qi's remnant party from being jealous, so they are specially assigned to protect his old man."

Speaking of this, he sighed: "Teacher, one of the three princes! How many grand tutors have there been in this Tang country? Cai Zhuguo has been the country all his life, and now he can be said to be extremely glorious."

The other person seemed a bit disdainful, and said: "Nonsense, I heard that Cai Zhuguo led a hundred officials to blackmail the lord yesterday in the hall, and the lord had no choice but to give Cai Zhuguo the position of grand tutor. ? No power in hand, only a name, isn’t this a promotion and a demotion?”

"Fart! How can this be called Mingsheng's dark relegation?" No.1 blushed when he was refuted, and said angrily: "What is Cai Zhuguo's age this year? If you are any other minister, it should be the age to go home and take care of the elderly. Even if he doesn't become the Grand Tutor, how long can Zuo Pushe hold this position? This is obviously the beauty of the king's adulthood, fulfilling the glory of his life, and freeing him from the heavy government affairs. Threatening the king? If you really want to threaten, He is Li Qi's party member, and he should be locked up in a prison now!"

Regarding the matter of the Cai Mansion, people have different opinions, but fortunately...

No one thinks that this rebellion was actually led by Cai Yong. Most of the notoriety has been borne by Li Qi who is now imprisoned in the sky prison. The sentence "rely on the old and sell the old, take advantage of the chaos to blackmail the king" is all.

The news was blocked in the palace, and the officials didn't dare to disobey the king's wishes, so naturally they didn't dare to say a word, for fear that they would lose their official hats by acting in this eventful autumn.

As for those specious rumors in the market, which one is true and which one is false, these people who are on the edge of the court vortex, how can they distinguish clearly.

This is also the effect Li Qiuhuang wanted.

But Qin Ke is someone who knows the inside story, looking at the serious-looking sergeants around Cai's mansion, his brows are tightly frowned, is it possible for Cai Yan to go back directly like this?If these sergeants walked back towards the gate so boldly when they saw Miss Cai, it would be really difficult for them all to be blind.

While meditating, Qin Ke suddenly felt that his shoulder touched a person on the street lightly, and the person swayed, as if a little unsteady.

"Sorry." Qin Ke said to the man.

The man shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and continued walking past him.

The two passed by, bringing a breeze.Qin Ke suddenly felt an extra piece of bamboo around his waist.

He touched his purse subconsciously, and found that it was still hanging around his waist intact.

And that piece of bamboo... He lowered his head and took a look, and the expression on his face suddenly became a little strange. He stopped, turned his head, and glanced at the person. He quickly disappeared into the crowd, as if he had never been there before. appeared.

"What's the matter?" Cai Yan asked, after all, she is not a practitioner, and she doesn't have Qin Ke's keen intuition, so she doesn't know what happened to the two of them at that moment.

Qin Ke shook his head, took out the bamboo piece, pinched it in the palm of his hand, and stared at the line of small words on it: "Yu plucks the strings and stays behind, don't bring Cai Yan into the house. Remember, remember."

Cai Yan was a little confused, but seeing the seriousness on Qin Ke's face, he naturally came up to take a look, and soon understood what happened just now, but now that person has disappeared in the crowd, and if he wants to find him again , it seems unlikely.

But since he wrote the plucked strings, it is obvious that he should go ahead and wait for himself there.

"A practitioner?" Cai Yan asked softly. With Qin Ke's current cultivation base, if he was just an ordinary person, it would not be so easy to put something on him.

Qin Ke shook his head and said: "It should be, besides the old man who guards the door and your brother, is there anyone else in your family who can practice?"

"There are a few." Cai Yan said, "But I didn't know that person just now, and that's not surprising. There are many people who are loyal to my father, and it's common for me not to know him."

The two looked at the mansion close in front of them, thought for a while, and finally did not just walk forward. Although they didn't know whether the man was from the Cai family, the warning must be groundless.

The two changed directions, Cai Yan led the way, and headed towards the Pianxianju in the west of the city.

Chapter 3 and Four

For so many years, it is not the first time that Cai Yan has pretended to be a man and came out of the Cai Mansion. She has visited a lot of places in Ding'an City. She can guess the name of the street from the cries on the street with her eyes closed. A band is always easy.

Moreover, this Pianxianju is a rare Dalefang in Ding'an City. In Cai Yan's eyes, this route is even more clear.

There should be many literati gathered here in this music hall on weekdays. Just from outside the door, you can hear the melodious silk and bamboo music inside.

However, after the mutiny last night, there are very few people who are in the mood to listen to the music, so naturally it is very deserted, and even the sound of silk and bamboo is no longer heard.

Qin Ke and Cai Yan didn't come here to listen to the music, and they didn't care too much. They walked into the alley next to the music workshop and walked towards the back door.

Right in front of their eyes, the pedestrian who had just stuffed the bamboo piece into Qin Ke's waist turned around slowly.

"Miss." It was just a glimpse before, Qin Ke didn't see too much clearly, but now when he met him face to face, the man was dressed in a plain cotton coat, about forty years old, and the wind and frost on his face made his skin look rough Incomparably, he looked like a poor farmer who had just entered Ding'an City.

However, the sharpness in his eyes and the thick calluses on his jaw betrayed his identity.

Cai Yan looked him up and down, and said hesitantly, "Who are you?"

The man bowed his hands and saluted: "Miss, you don't need to know who I am. After entering the door of the left servant, you have already given up your name. Now you have no name and no surname, but you are just an unknown person."

If there is a name, who is willing to give it up easily?

After all, it represents the initial meaning of a person's life.

However, Cai Yan quickly realized that it was his father and elder brother who were secretly training dead soldiers outside the city.

The dead man didn't wait for Cai Yan to continue speaking, and said on his own: "I have been waiting outside Cai's residence for several hours. It’s getting harder and harder to stay.”

"There's not much time, so let's make a long story short." The dead man said: "Miss, this subordinate is following the order of the left servant to stop you from returning to the mansion. Father Mo Ruo, my lord, has already guessed that you will never turn back when you learn about last night. Back to the mansion, so I specially sent a few of my subordinates to hide and observe nearby."

"Intercept me for what?" Cai Yan's heart moved, his eyes flickered, "The mansion...has become so dangerous? Then I should go back and be with my father and my brothers. No matter what, we have to be together bear."

The dead man shook his head: "This is what your lord is most worried about, so he sent me to stop you. Your lord said that the situation is settled now, and the fall of the Cai family is a foregone conclusion. He raised [-] dead men privately, but he still forgave him, but just cut off the ownership position in his hand, and in the name of Tai Tuo, he actually protected him."

When he said this, he couldn't help but feel a little sad in his heart. In the game last night, they can be said to have sacrificed everything. However, with the bloody and immeasurable heads of these dead soldiers, they only got such a tragic ending in the end. For a person like him who gave up his name, he was a little bit aggrieved.

It's just that the world is like this. Facing the Confederate Army, which has been defeated for many years but has amazing combat effectiveness, their three thousand dead soldiers are nothing but a mob despite their extraordinary skills.

Although the rest of him and some remnants escaped, how long can they hide in the face of the search and arrest of the whole city?

Overnight, their brothers were either arrested or killed, and he himself didn't know how long he could hold on, maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after tomorrow, he should also go to the execution platform with those brothers.

But he was not afraid, his eyes gradually lit up with determination.

When Cai Yong recruited them, he once said: "Scholars must be ambitious, and there is a long way to go."

That being the case, he should also finish his last task: "Although Cai Xiang and Cai Yang are also in the mansion, the lord has already issued an edict, and they will be transferred to the Southern Army soon. Far away from the center of the court, it has a taste of exile, but it is also a kind of protection of the lord. Lord Zuo Pushe once had too much influence on the court, even if he loses power now, it is difficult to reassure Yang Taizhen. If his The two sons continue to stay in the center of the court, and sooner or later they will become thorns in Yang Taizhen's eyes, and Yang Taizhen will feel more at ease when they go to the southern army to guard the border. As for the Lord himself...he will stay in Ding'an City, under the surveillance of Yang Taizhen's spies , but there is no need to worry too much, the supply of the government is still the same as usual or even worse, after all, now he is the Taifu of the Tang Kingdom, no one dares to deliberately neglect."

"Then I should go back." Cai Yan said: "My elder brother has been transferred from Ding'an City, and my father has to be placed under house arrest in the mansion. If I am alone, I can still talk."

But the dead man denied her: "This is inappropriate. My lord said that if you go back now, it will not help the situation. He is already in the cage, and if you go in alone, it will be harmful but not beneficial. Yang Taizhen is now What I want is a practical way to weaken the prestige of the Cai family. My lord thought it over and over again, and finally decided that Yang Taizhen would assign his right servant to shoot Wang Gai, the son of Wang Yun, to marry a young lady. Naturally it falls to her."

As he spoke, he snorted and said, "What kind of person is your lord, how could you marry such a filthy person?"

He looked at Cai Yan, who also had disdain in his eyes, and smiled a little. Maybe this is a tiger father without a dog girl?

Even a woman can know the rise and fall of the world, understand what she wants and what she doesn't want, and won't compromise because of the current situation.

"So Miss, not only can you not go back to your residence now, but you should leave the city as soon as possible. The farther you are from Ding'an City, the better. If you are caught by Yang Taizhen, many things will only become more troublesome. My lord is not a person who can easily admit defeat. Now he It's just being a prisoner, and if the young lady is really unfavorable because of the unfavorable situation, Yang Taizhen refers to her marriage to that boy Wang Gai, that is the most intolerable thing for adults."

Cai Yan Bingxue is smart, and the dead man only said a little bit, and she immediately understood what Cai Yong meant.

My father had far-reaching considerations. If she really went back to the mansion because of a moment of impatience, it would be just another layer of heavy shackles for her father and herself. What's more, if she was really allowed to marry Wang Yun's family Her son Wang Gai, who went to the brothel every day, would rather commit suicide with a knife than those people's ideas.

The dead man looked at Cai Yan's expression with relief, knowing that she had understood what he said, and smiled freely. He bowed his hands again, but this time, it was not to Cai Yan, but to Qin Ke.

His waist was straight, but he almost bowed to the bottom, exhausting all his strength.

"Young master." The dead man's voice was heavy, hitting Qin Ke's heart deeply like a huge hammer.

Qin Ke was a little panicked for a moment. He didn't expect that he would receive such a great gift, so he hurried to help him, but the dead man remained motionless, and said: "Young master is so young, he has already cultivated so deeply, and the future is boundless. This time ...I have no choice but to entrust the young lady to the young master, and please don't shirk it. If there is a chance in the future, the Cai family will definitely repay you a hundred times."

"How do you say that?" Qin Ke saw that he couldn't help him, so he could only pat him on the shoulder with his hand, and replied nervously: "Cai Yan is my friend, of course I help her, as for reciprocating or not , I never asked for these."

The dead man sighed slightly, as if he was relieved, he turned to stand up and said: "Then thank you very much, young master."

Cai Yan looked at him, guessed what he was going to do, and said, "You want to go back?"

"I have already done what my lord told me. Even if I am alive, it will not be of much help to Lord Zuo Pushe. I will swear an oath together and make an alliance with blood. We will fight together..." The dead man looked calm, " Going to die together, I can't be an exception."

Cai Yan looked at his calm demeanor, and finally nodded.

After the dead man left, Cai Yan and Qin Ke still walked side by side, but this time their destination was no longer Cai's Mansion, but Mipu.

All the gates of Ding'an City were closed. Under such a strict search and arrest, the longer they stayed on the street, the more dangerous they would be.

Chapter 3: The Sky Outside Ding'an City

Five days later, the gate of Ding'an City was finally opened again, and a large number of cavalry from the Southern Conscript Army poured out of Ding'an City from four directions like a tide.

They left with the blood of their own countrymen. On the third day of the mutiny, those captured dead soldiers were beheaded one by one, and Li Qi also died on the execution platform. According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, he should have He was punished by the splitting of the car, but Li Qiuhuang finally gave him a glass of poisoned wine on the grounds of his merits, and made him suffer the punishment of splitting the car after his death.

In the end, his body was buried at the foot of a barren hill outside Ding'an City, but it was already considered the lord's generosity, grace upon grace.

But amidst the dense sound of horseshoes and the unpleasant smell of horse dung in this street, the people of Ding'an City seemed to see the sunshine from the large clouds, and they were so excited that some shops couldn't help hanging up The red lanterns that are only available during the New Year's Eve have been celebrated.

This peaceful city that has not been contaminated by war for many years, although it is inevitable to be contaminated with a certain amount of war these days, but I think the common people will not always be worried about suffering, and will definitely Forget about these bad things quickly, and once again let this big city glow with its original glory.

They may have forgotten that a few years ago, they also sent off the troops who went south to Jingwu on both sides of this street. They also straddled their horses and marched out of the city gate solemnly and in a whole team like today.

Time will change many things. The Tang State a few years ago is already very different from the current Tang State.

In the afternoon, in a carriage driving on the avenue, Gao Yishui, who had just left the city, drank the wine in the leather bag, looked back at the majestic Ding'an City with a smile, sighed, and said, "It's a pity, there is such a rare thing in the world. A paradise, finally defiled by iron hooves and long knives... There is wine, music, beauties and poetry, what a wonderful place..."

Qin Ke who was sitting in the car gave him a blank look and said, "Then you go back."

Gao Yishui chuckled: "Look at what you said, all the men in the world like what I like, you, you have been with your brain-dead master for too long, that's why you have become such an elm lump now, A few years ago, I should have brought you out of the village to see more of the scenery in this world, maybe now, you are also a charming and suave person."

"Get lost! You're just out of your mind." Qin Ke said angrily, "My master calls himself a clean man. In terms of talents, he is many times higher than you. If his brain is out of order, your brain is probably full of gutters. There's sewage in there."

Hearing what he said, Gao Yishui didn't care at all, and said, "So what? I, Gao Yishui, don't want to compete with all the heroes in the world, and I don't need Wang Zuozhi's talent. People who are smarter than me in the world can't play the piano better than me. Good at playing the piano... Oh, there is really no one in this world who is better than me at playing the piano...Mr. Gao Shan, have you heard of it?"

"I've heard of it, Mr. Dry Well." Qin Ke continued to quarrel with him. Since he called himself Mr. Gao Shan, he just wanted to call him "Mr. Dry Well". The contrast between a high mountain and a dry well is strong, "I see you That is to say, you still have a bit of reputation here, and with so many people in Mojiaji's school, I don't believe there is no better musician than you."

Gao Yishui snorted softly, and said disdainfully: "Ji Shang Xue Gong? What meaning can their music have? Confucianism pays attention to etiquette, and music is mostly used for ceremonies. It is more than solemn, but it loses the loftiness that music should have. But if you put a fox in a cage, no matter how well you treat it, it will become lifeless. And the Legalist..." He curled his lips, "Let's not mention it. They are all a bunch of black-faced old guys. As for the Mohists ... Juzi has some accomplishments in music, but I have never heard of other great musicians..."

"..." Qin Ke took off his shoes and wanted to slap him on the mouth.

The carriage ran over the strong grass blown by the wind, and the bickering between the two drifted away in the wind. Abu lived in it and acted as a peacemaker, but after finding that he could not insert his mouth several times, he just sat quietly. One corner, with a silly smile on his face.

In fact, Qin Ke wasn't really angry, but just quarreled with him habitually. Although Gao Yishui should be much older than him, since the time when he entered Daoxiang Village to "gather the wind", the two of them have never met each other. Seriously distinguish the size, at that time he was still a boy in his teens, laughing and laughing after Gao Yishui all day long.

When the quarrel between the two of them came to an end, Qin Ke looked at Cai Yan who was lying on the edge of the carriage, and said, "What's wrong? It's so quiet."

In the past few days, as the dust settled in the family, she has gradually recovered the lively and cheerfulness at the beginning. Sometimes Qin Ke feels that this girl is really like a cat. When she is quiet, she is extremely lazy and noisy. It was the first time she left Ding'an City today, she should be excited, but now that she behaves like this, is it possible that she still has something on her mind?

However, Cai Yan suddenly turned his head, squinted his crescent-like eyes, grinned, showing two cute little canine teeth, and said with a smile, "I'm measuring the sky outside Ding'an City with my eyes, what do you know?"

The sky outside Ding'an City and the sky inside Ding'an City are still the same sky after all, how could there be any difference between high and low, but she changed her mind, and naturally felt different.

And she closed her eyes, felt the breeze blowing in her ears, and finally couldn't help giggling: "That's great, the wind is more comfortable."

Qin Ke also smirked along with her.