Golden Stage

From Yanzhou all the way to the south, passing through Guangyang, Baitan and other places, when arriving at Miyun, the capital city is already in sight.

Although it is nearly October, there is a drought this year, and it is getting hotter and hotter as it goes south.The autumn tiger was fierce and unbearable. It was almost noon, and hundreds of fine horsemen were running day and night. They were exhausted at this time. The leader raised his hand and looked out.When the carriage behind caught up, he leaned over and knocked on the wall of the carriage, and asked for instructions: "General, we have been running all night, why don't we take a rest before continuing our journey?"

The car curtain was opened a crack, and a hoarse male voice floated out accompanied by a scent of bitter medicine: "Is there a sharp spot in front? Rest in place. Brothers have worked hard."

The man received the order, and the group of people galloped towards the arbor in front of them. Dust was flying everywhere they passed, and the passers-by who were resting in the arbor all looked sideways.

This team had no banner, and they wore cyan military robes with narrow sleeves and collars. They were all tall and powerful, and even if they didn't reveal their identities, they had three big characters "I can't afford to mess with you" written on their faces.

The shop owner who runs the tea shop has been weather-beaten for a long time. He is used to seeing people coming and going, so he doesn't say much.The leading man got off the horse, handed over a small silver coin, and told the shopkeeper to deliver whatever food and drink there was, and told his subordinates to rest by themselves; he himself found a cool table, wiped it clean, and prepared a hot table. Tea and a few finer things, turned to the door, and helped a young man with a pale face and a weak, sick child from the carriage.

The man's feet were weak and his face was sickly. He had to be supported to walk.It took me a long time to go from the carriage to the tea shop.When he finally sat down at the table and coughed several times as if he couldn't hold it any longer, the other guests sitting under the awning all let out a sigh of relief—all of them looked tired and flustered for him.

After this breath was relieved, they realized that they had been dazed just now: Although the man looked like he was about to die at any time, he had a strange aura about him that people couldn't take their eyes off.He was born with a good skin, one in a thousand, not the kind of elegant and handsome face that is popular in Beijing today, but with sculpted eyebrows and phoenix eyes, eyes like cold stars, straight nose bridge, thin lips, So handsome and so sharp.

The man is tall, he seems to be used to looking at people with downcast eyes, his eyelids are always half-lifted, his whole body is filled with a sense of carelessness and fatigue, and he is so thin that only a handful of sick bones are left. The heavy porcelain bowl in the tea shop It looked like it could break his wrist.

But when he sat quietly, his back was straight, like a bamboo pulled from the ground, a long knife tempered by fire, even though it was scarred, the cold blade could still drink blood, and the weak body could not stop him Across the world.

The traveling merchants stretched their necks unconsciously, like a flock of live geese engrossed.Until the young man drank a bowl of water slowly, put the porcelain bowl on the table with a bang, and said impatiently: "The neck is so stretched that you can tie a donkey, doesn't it look good?"

The strong man who was eating and drinking beside him trembled immediately when he heard the sound.Some of the live geese retracted their necks resentfully, and a few who were particularly enthusiastic even came up to talk: "Where is this young man from? Is he going to Beijing too?"

Xiao Xun, who had been serving the old man on the saddle all the time, felt his scalp go numb, and was going to hang this man on the tree outside the door as soon as he said "get out".

Unexpectedly, the unreasonable young master was unexpectedly tolerant, and replied peacefully: "He came from Yanzhou City in the north and is waiting to go to Beijing to seek medical treatment."

Because they all wore ordinary clothes, didn't wear swords, and the carriages and horses were not very grand. Although the guards were imposing, the master's clothes were ordinary, not like the fashion in the capital, so the merchants guessed that they might be someone from Yanzhou. The young master of a rich family is traveling.Because Yanzhou City is an important military town on the border, and the folk customs are aggressive, it is normal for some family members from military households to accompany them.

The merchant could not directly ask about his condition, so he talked about another strange thing: "Master, you are from the north, have you ever heard the news that General Fu, the Marquis of Jingning, has returned to the capital? I don't know what kind of pomp it is for the old man to return home in fine clothes." Mile!"

Xiao Xun was almost choked to death by the tea, the young man raised his eyebrows, and said with great interest, "I haven't seen this before. But I think Xiongtai seems to know a lot about Fu... the Marquis of Jingning?"

"Not to mention, not to mention," the man smiled and waved his hands repeatedly, "Those of us merchants traveling between the north and the south, who can tell two anecdotes about General Fu! His old man has been guarding the northern border for many years, the road is peaceful, and the business is relatively fast. I don’t know how much I’ve done before. Even the people in central Beijing admire General Fu. You don’t know, last year when General Fu led the Beiyan iron cavalry to defeat the Tartars, I came back from the fur trade in the north. There are many rumors, saying, "Fu Shuai is in northern Xinjiang, and the capital is going to sleep." He is the storyteller in the teahouse, the singer, and the performer in the theater."

The Northern Yan Iron Cavalry is known as the Great Zhou's northern border defense line, and has been under the jurisdiction of the Fu family since its establishment.Its predecessor was the frontier garrison under the command of Ying Guogong Fu Jian.

People in the Central Plains called the nomads who ruled the northern grasslands the Tatars.Decades ago, the internal turmoil and division of the Tartars forced some tribes to move westward and intermarry with the Hus and Sogdians in the Western Regions. They were called the West Tartars; the other part occupied the richer grasslands in the central and eastern regions and were called the East Tartars. Tartar. 23 years ago, not long after Yuantai Emperor Sun Xunjianzuo, several tribes of the Eastern Tartar invaded Dazhou.Wherever the Tatars went, they burned, killed and looted, leaving ten rooms empty.Tens of thousands of people were affected by the flames of war.During the reign of the first emperor, there was peace for a long time, and the officials were timid to fight. When the Eastern Tatars sent their troops southward, half of the ministers wrote a letter requesting peace talks.

Emperor Yuantai was in his prime, and he refused to bow his head to the barbarians with the honor of the upper kingdom of heaven. It happened that Fu Jian transferred Ganzhou Jiedu envoy from Lingnan, and Emperor Yuantai ordered him to transfer the troops of Ganzhou, Ningzhou and Yuanzhou to fight against the barbarians. .Fu Jian, his two sons, and the generals under his command gathered an army of [-] troops and wiped out the Tartars in the pass.Fu Tingzhong, Fu Jian's eldest son, even crossed the Great Wall and led his army into the hinterland of the grassland, almost capturing the Eastern Tartar King City, but Fu Jian died of illness on the way.After this campaign, Fu Jian posthumously gifted Duke Ying, general of Shangzhu State, Fu Tingzhong attacked Duke Ying, and restrained the military forces of Gansu, Ningxia, and Yuanzhou.The second son, Fu Ting, entrusted the general of the auxiliary country to control the military affairs of Yan and Youzhou.

These two built an iron-clad northern frontier defense line for Da Zhou.The frontier army led by the Fu family was called Beiyan Cavalry.From the sixth year of Yuantai to the eighteenth year of Yuantai, in the past ten years, under the deterrence of Beiyan cavalry, there has been no war on the border.

Until the 19th year of Yuantai, Fu Tingzhong was assassinated by the Eastern Tatars, and the Eastern Tatars formed an alliance with the Zhe people in the north and committed another crime against Dazhou.Fu Tingxin led his lone army deep into the siege, and finally died in battle.The old incident of soldiers approaching the city almost repeats itself, but this time there is no longer a large number of elite soldiers and generals available, and Emperor Yuantai is no longer determined to forge ahead in his early years.The main battle faction and the main peace faction quarreled for several mornings, and finally made the most confused and wise decision.

They pushed Fu Tingzhong's eldest son, Fu Shen, who was not yet a weaker crown, onto the battlefield.

The Fu family was selected because Dong Da had a deep hatred with Fu, and this trip was for revenge; and Fu Shen joined the army early to train with his father and uncle, so he could barely be regarded as a "general's talent".But looking at the past dynasties, how can there be any reason for the ministers who are hungry all day long to hide behind and let a young man face wolves, tigers and leopards?

Fortunately in misfortune, the Fu family may really be reincarnated collectively by a nest of generals. Fu Shenqing is born out of Lan and is better than Lan. He is an unborn leading genius.

The garrisons in Tangzhou and Xuanzhou were too big to lose. When Fu Shen was pushed out, he never expected to get help from his own people. He simply abandoned the Han army and borrowed the cavalry of the Liangbu cavalry from the Western Tatars on the condition of opening up trade routes and being allowed to enclose. .Fu Shen gathers the northern Yan cavalry and confronts the main force of the Zhe tribe at Sanguan in Yanzhou, while the Yeliang cavalry encircles the Tatar and Zhe coalition forces from the northwest, and relieves the danger in northern Xinjiang.

After the war, the Nora Department was attached, and the cavalry was mixed into the Northern Yan Cavalry.On the grounds that the battle line was too long and it was inconvenient to mobilize, Fu Shen handed over the military power of the frontier defenses of Ganzhou and Ningxia to the central center, and focused on operating the frontier defenses of Yuanzhou, Xuanhuai, and Yanzhou.After the Battle of Three Passes, Fu Shen officially became the commander of Beiyan Iron Cavalry.After Fu Tingzhong and Fu Tingyi passed away one after another, Fu Jian's third son, Fu Tingyi, succeeded the Duke of Yingguo, so Fu Shen changed his title to Jingninghou.

With Fu Shen's efforts to turn the tide, he could have been made a duke of the state in a legitimate way, but at this time, the mature and prudent ministers jumped out to object, saying that Fu Shen was too young and might not be able to convince the public—His Majesty actually obeyed.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that His Majesty is being frightened by the Fu family, for fear that their family will create a "long-lasting" Duke Ying.

But some people are destined to swim against the current.In just a few years, Marquis of Jingning, Fu Shen held the iron cavalry of Yanguan, and became the mainstay of the Great Zhou Dynasty.In recent years, northern Xinjiang has been peaceful, and the people in the north live and work in peace and contentment, which is mostly due to his credit.As long as Fu Shen is in the army, even if he is sitting still, being a mascot is the greatest deterrent to the aliens in the north.

The young prince listened with a smile at first, but when he heard the phrase "The capital is in peace", the smile completely disappeared.Seeing him in a daze, Xiao Xun went to reach for the tea bowl on the table, picked up the teapot to refill him with water, and deliberately interrupted, "Master...do you want some refreshments?"

The young master came back to his senses, picked up the bowl and took a sip of hot tea, the corners of his mouth curled up, his smile seemed to be slightly mocking, "If this word spreads, how many people will not be able to sleep."

A guest wearing a bamboo hat next to them was aroused by them, and he interjected in a godlike way: "Jing Ninghou made great achievements in the northern border, but he also caused a lot of murders. I often hear people say, 'If you are strong, you will be humiliated. , prosperity must decline', think about it, did he respond to this sentence correctly? Those famous generals in the past were either short-lived or lonely, because they all sent stars down to earth and killed their masters, which was different from ordinary people. I Judging from the fact that Jingninghou is probably also a seven-killer."

With a sound of "Kala", the bowl in Xiao Xun's hand was crushed into several pieces, everyone was stunned by the reputation, the moment of silence in the tea shop was embarrassing.

"You're so strong, I'll buy you an iron rice bowl next time, so that you don't waste things." The young man's face was the same as before, and he said indifferently, "Don't forget to pay for it later."

Xiao Xun lowered his head and gave a "hmm".

The conversation that was interrupted by a small episode couldn’t continue anymore. No matter how extravagant the person said, it was not auspicious. This time it was a teacup that was broken, and next time he might be surrounded and beaten. pause.

Only the misfit young man didn't think it was a big deal to watch the excitement, and said with a smile: "Interesting, according to what this brother said, short-lived orphans and widows are bound to commit crimes. Since the Marquis of Jingning is already disabled, will he be able to find a wife this year?" gone?"

Xiao Xun: "..."

Some people jumped up at the table: "Why don't a man have a wife! A hero like Jing Ning Hou, what kind of woman do you want?"

Someone echoed: "Yes! Exactly! If he loves men, how many good men are waiting to marry him!"

Suddenly there was an earth-shattering cough in the tea shed.

Because the previous dynasty regarded male marriage as elegant, although the Great Zhou Dynasty prohibited civil marriage between men and men, the dignitaries did not have taboos, and there was even a precedent for the emperor to grant male marriage.Marquis Jingning is a well-known rich man in the capital, the man in the dreams of many girls, but his marriage has not been decided yet, so some people guess that he has different hobbies.

When it comes to such matters of love and moon, everyone is more interested in talking.The young man didn't interrupt anymore, he just listened silently to their discussion and comment on Jing Ninghou's life, with a smile on his lips all the time, as if he was listening to some very interesting and wonderful story.

After listening for a while, Xiao Xun tentatively asked softly, "Master... the sun has passed, shall we go now?"

"Well, let's go," the young gentleman stretched out his hand for Xiao Xun to help him up, and scribbled his hands at the merchants, "Brothers, I'm in a hurry to go to Beijing, so I'll take the first step."

Everyone raised their hands to say goodbye to him.Xiao Xun helped him to the car and pulled down the curtain.The chariots and horses rattled hundreds of steps, and suddenly he heard him say inside: "Chongshan, give me a pill."

"But didn't Mr. Du ask you to take the medicine half an hour earlier?" Xiao Xun took out a delicate purse from his arms, which contained a thin porcelain bottle, "We still have two hours left before we enter Beijing."

"Don't talk nonsense," the curtain stretched out a hand and snatched the porcelain vase away, "Further ahead is the Beijing Camp, let's just fool ordinary people like this, and we will definitely be recognized when we get to the Beijing Camp, so why not pretend to be lame now? In time."

Xiao Xun muttered, "But you are really lame..."

The young prince—that is, Jingning Hou Fu Shen, who is known as the "dead master" by everyone—raised his head and swallowed a brown pill the size of a finger, and said with a sneer: "Chongshan, do you think a general who is expected to recover, and a completely disabled Commander, which one is more likely to make you sleepless?"

Xiao Xun stopped talking.

Fu Shen threw the porcelain bottle back into his arms, closed his eyes and felt the numbness spreading from his limbs, and said softly, "Let's go."