Looking at the mountains and rivers

Wei Changxuan asked, "What kind of person is he?"

Ba Lieyan frowned slightly: "It stands to reason that I shouldn't talk about this with you, after all, Duke Tuoba had issued a strict order not to mention this person again, but I always feel that this person's life should not be so easily forgotten. "

"That happened more than 20 years ago. Lord Tuoba pulled me out of the personal barracks and put me here to guard Panmenguan. I was assigned to that man's command. He was the captain of Zhaowu at that time. I was his deputy lieutenant. To be honest, I had a hundred reluctances in my heart. I thought to myself that he is a native of the Central Plains and young. Why should he ride on my head? Once I drank wine, I couldn’t help but tell my heart You know that there are strict rules in the army. If you drink in private and contradict your superiors, you will be dealt with by military law. Sure enough, he took me to the school grounds. I think I will probably be whipped. But he asked me, is it It’s not that I’m not willing to be a lieutenant under him. I thought it would be a blow to my head, so I just admitted it. He didn’t get angry, but handed me the saber and said, so today I’ll compete here, if I After defeating him, he asked me to be the captain, and he came to be my deputy. At that time, I just felt that he was overreaching. I practiced the wolf knife since I was a child, and I was able to defeat adult warriors when I was seven or eight years old. , he looks far less strong than me, and I guess he will probably lose to me."

"And then, did you win?"

Ba Lieyan shook his head: "That was the first time I experienced his spear, and it was also the first time I knew that there was such an amazing spear skill in the world. In that fight, I made four swords, but he only shot one. The speed of the gun was extremely fast, as if in the blink of an eye, the cold light on the gun had already aimed at my throat. It was that shot that made me completely admire him."

This is the first time Wei Changxuan heard Ba Lieyan praise another person so much, he asked curiously: "Is his marksmanship really that good?"

Balieyan thought of the situation that day, and he still had lingering fears. He said in a low voice, "I don't think I'm a coward, but when I was surrounded by his spear, my mind was blank. At that moment, I smelled the blood on the tip of his gun, it was the smell of killing, and it made people tremble unconsciously." He paused, "Later, I have fought side by side with him countless times, and every time I am more convinced, This man is a natural fighter, he seems to be born to fight, to inspire others with his own strength."

"I still remember that one time, he was ordered to lead 20 people along the road to investigate the military situation. He happened to run into a Yanyu cavalry. There were about 300 people on the other side. As soon as he saw us, he immediately surrounded us. We didn't even wear leather armor at the time. , everyone has only a knife by his side, facing the well-equipped Yanyu Qingqi, he is almost a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. The leader of the other party threw a piece of straw rope in front of us. We tied ourselves up with a rope and followed them. Of course we were unwilling to surrender, but we were outnumbered, and we would probably die if we fought hard. We could only look at each other and wait for him to make up his mind. But he didn't even hesitate, and stepped forward I picked up the straw rope and weighed it in my hand. I was about to get furious, but I saw him suddenly jump up, put the straw rope around the neck of the leader of the opponent, dragged him off the horse abruptly, and then When the Yanyu cavalrymen came back to their senses, their leaders had already been hacked and killed under their horses." Balieyan suddenly fell silent, and it took a long time before he continued, "That day I didn't Knowing how I survived, I just remember that I was desperately slashing with a knife. The enemies seemed to surround me continuously, and our brothers fell one by one. There were horses hissing and screaming all around. I saw the sword of the opposing cavalry raised high and then lowered, splashing blood everywhere. In the end, I didn't know who was alive among my brothers, nor how many of the enemy were left, only that his back and I hugged each other tightly and never fell down. I heard him shouting hoarsely, stand up! Stand up! Our men in Dazhao would rather die standing than live on their knees."

He raised his wine bag sullenly and drank: "That time, we killed all the cavalry, and only he and I were left alive on our side." He scratched his head, "Sometimes I think, he already It's time to be promoted to general. But maybe it's because Duke Tuoba doesn't trust the Central Plains people, no matter how other people get promoted, he still guards Panmenguan and will be his Zhaowu Captain until he dies..."

Wei Changxuan's heart sank, and he asked, "Could it be that this Captain Zhaowu died in battle later?"

Balieyan lowered his head and said solemnly: "He didn't die by the enemy's sword, but by his own people's conspiracy." He seemed to be unable to speak, and he sighed several times before saying, "It's because Duke Tuoba asked What happened against Dazhao..."

When he mentioned this, Wei Changxuan came to understand in a daze, and couldn't help saying: "Could it be that he is the guard who took the crime for Duke Tuoba?"

"How did you hear about it?"

Wei Changxuan had no choice but to tell the story of the old man he met in Dongcheng Prison that day. Ba Lieyan thought for a moment: "The old man you mentioned is probably Chi Yunqin. He was charged with crimes and imprisoned, but I didn’t expect to live to this day.” He shook his head, “This man is very disrespectful to Lord Tuoba, and I have never been used to him, but he and that man were comrades back then, and the things he said It's all true."

Ever since hearing the story of the guard from the old man in Dongcheng Prison, Wei Changxuan had been touched in his heart. Now that he heard Balieyan's words, he felt a strong feeling, like admiration, and like It is longing.He couldn't help but asked Ba Lieyan: "I don't know the name of this Captain Zhaowu who guards Panmen Pass?"

"Cui Yan." Balieyan obviously hadn't mentioned this name for a long time, and he seemed a bit unfamiliar, and then repeated, "His name is Cui Yan."

In an instant, the blood on Wei Changxuan's face faded, and he thought of his adoptive father caressing his face before he died, and whispered to him: "You are very like your father, just like him, upright and brave...you remember , your original surname is Cui..."

"Cui Yan..." He repeated the name silently, his chest suddenly throbbed violently, as if he knew a big secret, but he couldn't believe it.

"General Ba Lie..." His voice trembled a little, "I don't know when this Captain Cui was questioned? Is there anyone left in his family?"

Balieyan frowned and thought for a while: "He was questioned after the imperial court recruited Duke Tuoba. It should be the fifth year of Yongkang, no, it was the first month of the sixth year of Yongkang." He sighed again, "He was falsely accused of For the crime of treason, the whole family is sentenced to beheaded, I am afraid that no one in the family will be spared. I remember that he had a son who just turned one year that year, alas... what a pity..."

When he was talking, Wei Changxuan kept his head down, not knowing what he was thinking. After a long time, he raised his head again: "General Balie, you just said that when you looked at me, you suddenly thought of him. Are there any similarities?"

Ba Lieyan was startled for a moment, and couldn't help thinking about it for a moment: "Speaking of which, Brother Cui's appearance is also very outstanding. At that time, many Donghu women secretly fell in love with him. He will also show a bit of shyness. However, he is not very similar to you, only the eyebrows..." He looked at Wei Changxuan again, and suddenly became suspicious, "Why, do you have any relationship with him?"

Wei Changxuan shook his head hesitantly. He turned around and silently stroked the mane on Gaefeng's back, thinking about the man who had died for many years.He knew that he was an orphan since he was a child. Although Tian Wenli treated him very well, he would always think about what kind of people his biological parents were and why they abandoned him in the ruined temple.He thought maybe his father was a gambler who abandoned him because he couldn't support the whole family.He also thought that maybe he didn't have a father, but was just an accidental child born to some unfortunate woman.He also secretly thought that maybe his father is a hero, a hero who stands up to heaven and earth like in the teahouse romance, but he soon finds it funny, how can any hero abandon his child?Now he finally understands that his father is indeed a hero, he has not abandoned himself, he is just a hero at the end of his life, buried in Chaotang Boyun's treacherous conspiracy.

Ba Lieyan became more and more suspicious of his long silence, he opened his mouth, and was about to ask something more, when Wei Changxuan said in a low voice: "General Ba Lie, that man...has there any relics left behind? The sword armor he used, or the spear he wore, or a letter, I want to take a look."

"This..." Balieyan showed a troubled look, "Mr. Tuoba ordered all traces of him to be erased, and most of his relics were burned, not even the gun."

He paused, suddenly remembered something, hurriedly pulled out the torch stuck on the ground, and then got on his horse: "There is one thing still, come with me!"

Wei Changxuan was stunned for a moment, and immediately followed on horseback: "What is it?"

"That year Duke Tuoba wanted to rebel against Dazhao, and was later recruited by King Mu. I don't know what kind of discussion they had, but two counties have been sent away. Someone must bear the crime. Not long after, the court Zhongbian delivered an edict ordering Cui Yan to enter Beijing immediately. Because he had disobeyed Duke Tuoba's order earlier and greatly angered Duke Tuoba, we all suspected that his departure would be bad or bad, and were very worried. Who knew that after he accepted the edict, , He only raised his gun and walked outside Panmenguan, wrote a few lines of big characters on an old stone tablet, then threw down his spear, unloaded his sword armor, and left with the imperial officials who delivered the decree without looking back." Lie Yan held up the torch, his voice was a bit vague in the wind and snow, "Although many of his things were burned, this stele was preserved."

In the middle of the night, the new snow fell more and more heavily, and the sky and the earth turned into a vast expanse of whiteness. Some snowflakes fluttered and landed on Wei Changxuan's eyelashes, and he closed his eyes slightly.Thinking about why that person went back knowing that he would be framed when he returned to Beijing, he probably expected that he would die in prison, so what would he write down before leaving.He closed his eyes and tried desperately, but couldn't think of it.

"Here we are." Balieyan's voice came from the front, his burly body jumped off the horse, and then stepped forward, using his sleeves to wipe off the snow on a remnant stele.

Wei Changxuan got off his horse after him, and he took the torch in Ba Lieyan's hand and shone it on the remnant stele.The handwriting on the remnant stele has sharp edges and corners, which are indeed the traces of gold and iron engraving. Although it has been polished by wind and frost, it is still faintly visible.

What is engraved on the tablet is not words of sigh and emotion, but only a few numbers: Zhan!Defend the family and the country, even if you die, you will not regret it.

Wei Changxuan looked at those words and seemed to be stunned.After a long time, he stretched out his hand and slowly touched the stele.He fumbled for every trace of the words, those hard nicks seemed to penetrate his palm, like a cold light illuminating the fog in his heart, something was gradually becoming clear in his heart.

Ba Lieyan stood silently behind him. Although Wei Changxuan had his back to him from the beginning to the end, he always felt that this young man was crying silently.

"General Ba Lie," Wei Changxuan turned his head after an unknown amount of time, and unexpectedly, there were no tears in his eyes, only a glint of deja vu, "You're right, the meaning of life is absolutely meaningless." It shouldn't be hatred. In this world, there are always things that are more important than hatred, and we need to protect them with our lives."

In the eighth year of Yong'an, the Shangyuan Festival.

Mu Wangfu.

Early in the morning, all kinds of carts were parked on the road from Anping Street to Waidong Street of Muwangfu. The sound of crackling firecrackers mixed with the greetings of the servants of the palace was just like a festive atmosphere.

Fang Ming, who was counting the list of gifts at the gate of the palace, wiped the sweat from his brow. The slave at the side had already served tea, and he drank it all in one gulp. Another maidservant smiled and brought a small piece of soft cake to his lips: "Guard Fang has been busy in the morning, he should be hungry by now, let's have some snacks first."

Fang Ming impatiently pushed away the slender hand that was stained with Danko: "I haven't counted the gift lists of several marquis residences, how can I have time for snacks!" He turned his head, "You guys, are you still slacking off? Let these gift boxes pile up at the door, can you build the Great Wall for the prince?"

From the first day to the fifteenth day of the new year, the palace has never been clean for a day.Everyone knows that King Mu and Prime Minister Xie are the two most popular figures in the court, and they are always in a hurry to curry favor with each other. Finally, it is the New Year's Eve, which is the time to give gifts.The gift-giving officials tried their best to search for rare gifts and present them, but the stewards and handymen in the mansion were so busy counting and carrying the gift boxes every day that they could barely take time off.

The servants staggered and carried the heavy boxes into the nave, and they had to be careful not to trip over the gifts placed on both sides of the corridor.In fact, from the front hall to the middle hall to the backyard of the palace, there are already all kinds of gifts.Looking from a distance, a piece of gold inlaid with jade and red silk paper is pasted, which is very festive.

Most of the guests who came to celebrate the Lantern Festival were invited to sit in the main hall of Qing'an Hall. Unlike his greedy elder brother, this King Mu always seemed a little indifferent. He only entertained the guests with banquet drinks, but no singing and dancing.Fortunately, the guests did not come to watch the singing and dancing, but just to take the opportunity to win King Mu's favor.

Inner Palace, Moxue Pavilion.

The rafters on the roof of this attic are all polished wood of purple sandalwood, which is as black as ink, so it is called Moxue Pavilion.At this moment, icicles formed under the eaves, and through the color of the wood, it was as crystal clear as black ice crystals.At this time, under the window, there was a person looking up, his pupils were dark and far-reaching, no different from that of the ice.

"Master." Tang An whispered behind him, "It's time to change."

Yang Yan nodded slightly.

Tang An walked behind him with his head down. These days it became clear that everything was complicated, and His Royal Highness King Mu was not used to other personal servants, so Tang An was tasked with grooming him.He slowly loosened the jade belt that bound Yang Yan's hair, and combed the ends of the jet-black hair slowly.After the first day of the Yuan Dynasty, this young prince has reached the point of weakness, his status in the court is already extraordinary, and when it comes to such a big day as Shangyuan, his clothes should not be sloppy.

"The two imperial envoys who were sent to Hexi years ago have returned to Beijing?" Yang Yan asked with half-closed eyes.

"Yes," Tang An replied in a low voice, "Yes...General Wei still shied away from his injuries and did not come back."

Yang Yan was silent for a moment: "Understood."

The surroundings suddenly became quiet again, this quietness came too suddenly, and the earth dragon in the Moxue Pavilion seemed to be burning too hotly, making Tang An's tongue anxious, and even his palms were sweating.He was combing Yang Yan's hair almost tremblingly. After hesitating for a long time, he couldn't help but said, "If not, why don't you write a private letter to General Wei?"

"No need." Yang Yan's tone was light, he turned his head, "Is the banquet in the Nuan Pavilion ready?"

"It's all ready."

Yang Yan nodded slightly: "Have Prime Minister Xie's carriage come?"

"I think it's coming soon."

"Okay," Yang Yan let him tie a hair crown for himself, then stood up and smiled slightly, "help me go out to meet you, you can't neglect the distinguished guests."