cloud roll mountain river

Chang Ming arrived in Xia City two hours later, at that time Gu Xiaowu and Shen Sixian were already full of wine and food.Seeing Chang Ming coming from afar with a bad face, Gu Xiaowu couldn't greet him, but Governor Shen couldn't wait to come forward, and after a simple salute, he said: "It's really a blessing for Xiacheng that the battalion commander is here. Time to wipe out the bandits, and return to Taiping?"

Luo Jianghong frowned behind Chang Ming's back, and when she was about to speak, Chang Ming smiled wryly and said, "Why are you in such a hurry, my lord? I'm not feeling well right now, so I really shouldn't be tired anymore."

Gu Xiaowu also said: "The Seventh Battalion Commander's complexion is not good, why don't you rest first? Please send some food. Don't be anxious, Lord Taishou, just rest assured and leave this matter to us, and let the bandit escape. "

After speaking, without waiting for Shen Sixian to reply, he led Chang Ming back to the prefect's mansion.

"What's the matter? But you were seriously injured?" Gu Xiaowu asked Chang Ming as soon as the door closed.

"It's nothing serious, just change the medicine on time. Even if we want to attack the bandits, I don't need to use a knife. But what's the matter now?"

After Gu Xiaowu briefly explained the matter, she said: "I plan to go to the bandit's stronghold, and I will send another person to inquire about the news in Xiacheng."

Li Changming also agreed: "Horses are expensive, and it is not known whether there are bandits. Besides, the number is not small, and the iron palms are the same. If the city is burned, killed and robbed by bandits, why is it no different from ordinary towns? Speaking of those bandits, there are so many people, even if the bandits really come, can't they keep them out?"

Gu Xiaowu also thought it was true, but seeing that Chang Ming had already got up, intending to go out to find people to come to discuss matters, she reached out her hand to stop him.

Chang Ming didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Your Excellency, don't hold me in your arms, it's just a minor injury."

"My lord knows that my lord has experienced many battles, so naturally I don't care about these two wounds. It's just that my lord needs to know that there is no need to be strong in everything, just like a person walking. There are limits to whether you should walk slowly or run fast, otherwise you will die Because of laziness, or because of exhaustion. I also haven't seen your lord sometimes, so I might as well catch up on the past, please sit down, lord."

These words were plain, but Chang Ming inexplicably felt a dull throbbing pain in his heart, and finally sat back in his original position according to the words.

Gu Xiaowu made tea, poured him a cup, and asked another matter: "My lord, it may not be easy to travel all the way, do you have any worries in your mind?"

Chang Ming brought the tea to his lips, and after hearing what she said, he put down the teacup again, and said in a deep voice, "Not to mention those sneaky killers, as far as those pretending to be bandits, you can find ordinary It’s not easy to use a broadsword, why are they united? The body is strong and the coordination is seamless. I can still vaguely hear the sound of war drums.”

"That's right," Gu Xiaowu nodded solemnly, "It seems that my lord has already guessed a thing or two, but I have something to say, please remember it—just treat it as a surprise attack by bandits, and seriously injure my lord, so don't worry about it anymore." Among them, let’s expose it.”

Chang Ming was stunned for a moment, speechless for a while, opened his mouth several times, but remained silent, looking at Gu Xiaowu with blurred and sober eyes.

Gu Xiaowu patted the back of his hand to comfort him like when he first met, and said: "Marching and fighting is not an official dispute, my lord wants to continue to be the battalion commander of the Seventh Battalion, it is not just about being familiar with military books. First, this time we came here for the Pingkou. Although it is an unreasonable disaster to blame them for the attack on the officials, this reason will make it easier for you to move around in Xiacheng. It is up to the battalion commander to decide whether you want to wipe out the bandit stronghold. Forget it, just find any excuse in the future, say that there is a misunderstanding, and the matter will be settled; second, if you are in Ningwu, if there is a war, you must deploy various armies to assist, so don't let your suspicions cause you to miss the state affairs, let alone They have no choice but to obey orders; thirdly, since they are superior officials, they should learn to be aware of the details and act as if they have not heard about them.

Chang Ming thought about it for a while, then nodded and said, "I've written down what my lord said, and I'll treat him as a bandit doing evil."

Gu Xiaowu nodded in relief, and asked with a long sigh: "What is your lord thinking? Why don't you shirk the authority of the Seventh Battalion Commander? Do you want to be named a marquis and a general? My lord has saved the lives of my lord many times, and my lord treats my lord very well." It's like old friends at first sight, if adults are willing, just say it."

"I..." Chang Ming shook his head, his cold eyes that used to be murderous in the past revealed tiredness, and he lowered his eyes and said sadly: "I don't mean to be a marquis or a general, but the former Seventh Battalion Commander... There is another person It is difficult to repay the deep friendship to me, since I have lost my life, I can't bear the decline of Qiying... When the time is right, I just want to return this position and go with the mountains and rivers.

Gu Xiaowu seemed to be unable to bear it, but she didn't look up at Changming, instead she held the teacup with both hands, and said in a low voice after a while: "My lord...you are more important than friendship, if you are in the field, you will be able to make friends with gentlemen, but in court A person who only has a position and interests..."

As soon as this remark came out, Chang Ming felt a lot of emotion and trembled all over.

"I also hope that my lord will think carefully. If you want to be named a Marquis and worship the Prime Minister, you should make it clear as soon as possible. If you only want to be idle and wild cranes, you should leave early."

These words made Chang Ming think deeply, and then Gu Xiaowu toasted to drink tea, still so serious.

"Don't worry, my lord. Take good care of your wounds these few days. If you meet someone, you might as well say that you were attacked by bandits unexpectedly. This revenge will be avenged. If the prefect and others come to invite you to send troops, you have to be urged three times and four times before you can go to the village to explore the terrain."

Chang Ming's eyes lit up, and he immediately smiled and said, "Don't worry, my lord, I understand."

Sure enough, the prefect brought Sima frequently to invite Chang Ming to fight these days, but Chang Ming declined on the grounds of being unwell, and finally waited until Chang Ming was willing to go out, and said that he knew himself and the enemy, and he would never be imperiled in a hundred battles. So I want to discuss the previous confrontations with Sima, and ask Sima to explain how he acted and how the bandits fought back.

However, Sima Tieyong's solution was to hit with his eyes closed. Although Chang Ming was helpless, he still wanted to pretend that the matter was too big.

He lived leisurely, but Luo Jianghong had already gone to find Gu Xiaowu.

"For some reason, Lord Prefect, he is very friendly to the subordinate officials, which really makes the subordinate officials extremely frightened." Luo Jianghong broke out in a cold sweat.

Gu Xiaowu put down the book and asked, "How to be close?"

"Let's not talk about eating and drinking, and I still have to recommend the next official with the Minister of the Household Department. This... the next official is just a small master, it's really difficult, please help me!"

Gu Xiaowu looked him up and down, seemed to remember something, then smiled again: "There is nothing wrong with eating and drinking, the master just enjoy it these few days."

Luo Jianghong was dumbfounded.

Just as he was speaking, the eunuch hurriedly came to report that several fertile fields in the outskirts of the city had been burned down by bandits. Luo Jianghong was taken aback, but Gu Xiaowu was furious and threw the book on the ground, ignoring Chang Ming Still recuperating, ask him to come to discuss matters.

"Then I will go to the bandits' stronghold together with Mr. Gu to investigate. For safety, it is better to bring another person..." He paused and added: "It's best to look kind and friendly. Harmless to humans and animals."

Without even thinking about it, everyone looked at Gu Liang Yiqing who always had the face of a 14-year-old girl.

Gu Liang Yiqing: "..."

Chang Ming shrugged his shoulders to show his innocence, Gu Xiaowu couldn't help but turned his head, and then resumed his serious expression, took out a piece of paper from his arms, and handed it to Luo Jianghong: "This Xiacheng is a bit weird, but the prefect beware of the Seventh Battalion Commander Waiting for someone, it is more convenient for you to deal with some things. When I first arrived, I saw that the clothes of a few arresters did not match, and it was very awkward, so you should inquire about the whereabouts of some tall arresters."

Luo Jianghong opened the paper, and there was an iron hoof print imprinted on it. Thinking of the large fertile fields on the outskirts of the city, she thought about it, so she nodded.

"After the official left, Chu Guangliang acted as an agent for the affairs of the camp. Everyone should rest well."

"Yes."

Originally, the prefect wanted to condemn people to go together, but Chang Ming said: "Is there anyone in the city defenders who can leave Xiacheng? How about selecting these people and assigning them to my Seventh Battalion? After all, one more person is more powerful."

The prefect and Chang Ming are at the same level, and the city guards are under the command of Sima. If they are merged in one place, wouldn't the city guards be sent to Chang Ming?The prefect quickly said that there was no one there, so be careful.

"But..." Lin Jiu hesitated: "I'm afraid this is still too dangerous. The bandits obstructed us in every possible way and seriously injured the battalion commander. Is it inappropriate to go this time and put yourself in danger?"

Chang Ming and Gu Xiaowu looked at each other in a tacit understanding, Gu Liang Yiqing and Chu Guangliang frowned and said nothing, and then heard Chang Ming comforting: "Don't worry, for us, killing them is just a matter of getting something out of their bag." However, after so many years of fighting in the South and the North, the commander of the army has repeatedly reminded us that we can't fight, we can win without fighting. There must be casualties in war, and we can be tolerant of those who are not transformed. Since we are the people of our dynasty, if we are willing to abandon evil and do good , Why do we have to kill them all?"

"Is this the way to settle the account?" Lin Jiu said angrily, "Our elite teachers, why are we afraid of them?"

Chang Ming waved his hand and said: "Look at this trip, if there is nothing to say, it will not be too late to settle the old and new grudges."

Gu Xiaowu's eyes seemed to show appreciation, and he nodded in agreement.

"It seems that he really just wants to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. He just urged us to fight and refused to send out the city defenders. We can't all be kept out of the camp, and we have to go to the army to see what happened." Chang Ming said .

Gu Xiaowu nodded, and when she raised her head, the gate of the cottage was close in front of her eyes. It was tied up with rafts and tied tightly with rattan several times. It seemed indestructible, but it was actually vulnerable to a single blow.

"Who is there!" Someone shouted from behind the door, and suddenly a group of people swarmed behind the door, holding up hammers, sticks, shovels and hoes. The tense scene looked too funny, Chang Ming and Gu Liang Yiqing couldn't bear to look directly at it and turned their heads away.

In the hall, a woman heard the name "Gu Xiaowu", thought for a while, and asked someone to come in.

Chang Ming followed Gu Xiaowu all the way forward, straight into the hall, and saw a woman sitting quietly in the hall.The woman's face is dignified and beautiful, her complexion is white and tender, her eyebrows are raised into her temples, her phoenix eyes are slightly raised, her eyes are flowing with time, and her red lips seem to be smiling.Compared with ordinary women, her hair only reaches her shoulders, but it is hard to hide its luster and softness. There is a gold belt on her forehead, winding from the back to the side of the chair. A small bone knife, the scabbard is painted thousands of miles with jade.

Looking at it carefully, there is no such thing as gentleness, but it is full of nobility and heroism.

Chang Ming immediately felt that this person had already inadvertently exuded his aura of prospering the Lord, just like the feeling of dark clouds in the sky about to fall.

"I'm Ye Ruoyun, so I won't salute the three of you. What's the point of coming here?" The woman raised the corner of her mouth and asked coldly, her tone of voice always couldn't get rid of the seemingly innocent evil intentions.

"My official, Gu Xiaowu, was ordered by the emperor to come here to deal with the case of bandits in Xiacheng." Gu Xiaowu stood in front of him and asked calmly, "I see some familiar faces here, but why don't you see Lu Xia?"

Ye Ruoyun glanced at the bandits on both sides, and saw that they nodded to him in unison, so he slowed down his tone and pretended not to say: "Your Majesty, you have come so far away, why did you enter this stronghold instead of going to Xiacheng city?" How about looking elsewhere?"

"Ping Kou came here for Ping Kou. A year ago, they had turned their backs on the dark and turned to the light. Why didn't they farm well, but they were taken to the top of the mountain by another person whom the official had never met?"

The people Gu Xiaowu knew on both sides all looked downcastly and looked down at the ground. Just as one person wanted to go forward, Ye Ruoyun gave him a glare and went back in despair.

Ye Ruoyun shrugged his shoulders expressionlessly, and said indifferently, "Being a farmer dedicated to farming is nothing compared to being a mountain king who is at ease."

Gu Liang was angry with the sun, so he probably had nothing to say.

When he was in embarrassment, suddenly a person stumbled and ran from outside the door, and he couldn't see how many people were in the hall, so he cried loudly: "They...they actually burned the rice field..."

After speaking, he cried even more bitterly.

This time the hall was completely silent at first, and then there was an uproar. Ye Ruoyun was about to calm down, but the bandits on both sides had already raised their weapons against Gu Xiaowu and the three of them, shouting to kill these dog officials, Chang Ming and Gu Xiaowu. Liang Yiqing drew out his weapons, protecting Gu Xiaowu in the middle.