There is no phoenix

Shui Rong patted Liu Xianglian on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Thoughts make great talents. Xianglian, I believe that everything will be fine for you in the future. Your experience is a rich book of life. You have experienced many things. I am afraid You can’t learn it even if you want to.”

Shui Rong and Liu Xianglian chatted and laughed, and they had already arrived in front of the tea tasting restaurant that the shopkeeper mentioned.Shui Rong and Liu Xianglian went in, and the waiter at the tea house saw that Shui Rong Liu Xianglian was very handsome and had a heroic spirit, so he warmly greeted the two of them to go in and sit down.

Shui Rong saw that an opera was being performed on the balcony, and there were already many people sitting in front of the stage listening to the opera.Liu Xianglian chose a place by the side to sit down, and Xiao Er served tea, so the two slowly sipped tea and listened to the play.

On the stage, a scene where Liangshan hero Lu Zhishen fell into the grass and punched the town of Guanxi was being performed, and many spectators applauded Lu Zhishen's chivalrous behavior.Shui Rong only heard a person on the table next to him yell, "That scoundrel should be killed! Well done!"

Water-soluble Liu Xianglian looked up, and saw three people sitting at the next table who applauded, and one of them was a 25-year-old young man who applauded loudly.This man looked mighty and impressive, I saw him take out a silver coin, handed it to someone beside him and said: "Second brother, go and reward that hero pretending to be Lu Zhishen!"

Water-soluble Liu Xianglian couldn't help but respect that man when he saw how bold he was.Liu Xianglian said: "If you want to talk about the operas of Lu Zhishen, the hero of Liangshan, I like his section "Mountain Gate" in Wutai Mountain the most. There is a branch of "Parasite Grass" in that rhetoric, which is really wonderful!"

Shui Rong hurriedly asked: "Xiang Lian, let me listen to you!"

Liu Xianglian then read softly: "The hero's tears are scattered, and the scholar's family is separated. Thank you for your compassion, and he was shaved under the lotus platform. There is no fate, and we are separated in a blink of an eye. I am naked, and there is no concern for coming and going. Where to ask, smoke, rain, and hat roll alone? One term My straw sandals and broken bowls will be changed according to fate!"

Shui Rong listened and praised: "It's really good, but Lu Zhishen's heroism is too sad!"

"That's right! Such a heroic man, but finally became a monk, I am not reconciled to hearing it!" I saw the man who had just shouted loudly stood up, came to the table of Shui Rong and Liu Xianglian, raised his wine glass and said: "Look at the two brothers The conversation is not vulgar, brother, how about I toast you two with a glass of wine?"

Water-soluble Liu Xianglian heard this, and hurriedly stood up together and said: "We are all friends within the four seas, okay, let's drink!"

After Liu Xianglian finished speaking, she asked Xiao Er to pour a glass of wine for herself and Shui Rong. Shui Rong raised the glass and said, "I see that brother is also a bold person. I don't know how to call him? My surname is Shui, and this brother's surname is Liu."

The man smiled and said, "My surname is Zhang and my name is Zhijun. I'm from Chang'an County. I don't know where Brother Shui and Brother Liu are from?"

Liu Xianglian smiled and said: "I am from Gusu, brother Shui is from the capital, we are traveling together, and we just came to this place today!"

Zhang Zhijun said with a smile: "Since that's the case, why don't the two brothers drink and watch the theater with us, those two are my good brothers, what do you think?"

Seeing Zhang Zhijun's straightforwardness and extraordinary demeanor, Shui Rong hurriedly smiled and said, "Okay, I'll follow Brother Zhang!"

Then Zhang Zhijun asked the two people beside him to put the two tables together, and asked Xiao Er to add a few plates of snacks, and said to Liu Xianglian with a smile: "Brother Liu, the drama you said just now is really good, brother." Do you often listen to plays, too?"

Liu Xianglian said: "Brother Zhang, to tell you the truth, I liked operas since I was a child, and sometimes I even learned to sing a few lines, so I wrote down my favorite operas."

Zhang Zhijun said: "Brother Liu is from the south. I heard that the operas in the south are different from ours. Gusu is thousands of miles away, do you often come here?"

Liu Xianglian said: "Although I am from Gusu, my life is miserable. I am not yet an adult, and my parents and brothers have passed away, so I have no worries when I come and go, and my family will be where I am. Brother Shui is my life and death. Brother, we are traveling together for the time being, and sometimes escort people, but we haven't thought about our future livelihood yet, so I don't know what kind of job Brother Zhang will do right now?"

Zhang Zhijun said with a smile: "I only know martial arts, I don't like poetry and books. Right now I'm doing some small business, traveling between Ping'an Prefecture and Sichuan and Shaanxi. These two brothers are also my brothers who often accompany me."

Shui Rong said: "I think Brother Zhang is full of heroism and martial arts. The imperial court selects elite soldiers and good generals every year. It is next month. I heard that there will be a selection of imperial guards in the imperial city. Does Brother Zhang want to participate in the selection? Some achievements?"

Zhang Zhijun smiled and said, "Do you two want to participate in the selection? I won't hide it from you. I can't trust those officials. I can't stand this idleness!"

Liu Xianglian was a little surprised and asked: "No way? I heard that the selection is based on merit, and I was planning to go to the capital after traveling for a few days. I also want to try my luck and see if I can get a job and get a stable position." , if Brother Zhang has this idea, how about we go together at that time?"

Zhang Zhijun smiled and said, "I'm a businessman. I've traveled far and wide, and I don't want to be restrained by those officials. As long as a man has real skills, he can live comfortably in any line of work!"

Liu Xianglian sighed: "I'm not like Brother Zhang. I have business capital. I'm alone, so I want to go all the way to join the army. When I came to the capital, I heard that it is difficult to do business now. If you encounter bandits on the road, you will go bankrupt. What's more, after doing business for a long time, I naturally value the word 'profit' in my eyes, and I really can't do it with my temper!"

Zhang Zhijun said: "Brother Liu is right. Although I am a businessman, I don't like those colleagues who are mercenary. Especially those businessmen with big families and big businesses, few of them are not benevolent for the sake of wealth. Maybe after a few years, I will change my career." It’s hard to say. But I’m lucky, so far, I haven’t been robbed by bandits.”

Shui Rong said: "Brother Zhang is really lucky. I heard that even in Ping'an Prefecture, there are often bandits. Maybe Brother Zhang looks too powerful, so those bandits are afraid and don't want to attack you."

Zhang Zhijun smiled and said: "Those bandits just want some money and things. I am a small business. They don't have much money when they rob, and they have a bad reputation for robbery. I heard that although those bandits rob property, they don't hurt people." People are killing people, so I am not afraid. Not only have I heard that there are bandits in Ping'an Prefecture, but I also heard that there are assassins with high martial arts skills. They have assassinated Master Yunguang Jiedu several times. through these things?"

Shui Rong said: "The two of us heard that the governor of Ping'an Province was stabbed more than ten days ago. I don't know what happened. The assassin must have been arrested, right?"

Liu Xianglian also said: "This assassin is too daring, he dared to assassinate a second-rank official of the imperial court. I heard that if he is caught, he will be charged with a serious crime!"

Zhang Zhijun took a sip of his wine, put down his glass and said, "The assassin must have thought of the consequences if he dared to do it. I'm afraid he is the one who is not afraid of death."

Shui Rong said: "In my opinion, it's okay if the assassin is alone, but if there are parents, brothers and sisters, then sooner or later the family will be affected, wouldn't it be a disaster? I don't know why the assassin wanted to assassinate Mr. Yun Guangyun Since I was sensible, I heard that the Jiedu Envoy of Ping'an Prefecture is Mr. Yun Guangyun, who has served there for more than ten years. He should be a good official, right? Or how could he have been a Jiedu Envoy for so many years? Besides, if Master Yun is not an upright official, there should be other ways, why bother to take the risk of assassinating him several times!"

After hearing this, Zhang Zhijun asked: "Then what does Brother Shui think of that assassin? I heard people in Ping'an Prefecture say that Master Yun has been assassinated several times, and it seems that he should be the same person, but he himself I don’t want to let the court know. Tell me, why did that assassin go to assassinate Lord Jiedushi several times?”

Liu Xianglian said: "I think it should be a personal grievance, right? Or how can we continue to assassinate him again and again? However, I have heard a lot of rumors that the assassin is probably a bandit in the area of ​​Ping'an Prefecture. Dozens of people besieged the government convoy , how courageous it is!"

Zhang Zhijun said: "Yes, this assassin is too courageous. Presumably the imperial court will send someone to investigate this matter this time?"

Shui Rong said: "Ping'an Prefecture is so close to the capital, the government cannot ignore such an incident. I'm afraid that whether it's the bandit or the assassin, there will be a result soon."

Zhang Zhijun smiled and said: "Forget it, let's not talk about this. We are not assassins, nor are we people in the government. Life is full of joy, and don't let the golden cup be empty to the moon. Although I am a rough person, Li Bai's poem is still knew."

After Zhang Zhijun finished speaking, he said to Xiaoer beside him: "Xiaoer, go and get another performance of "Steel Roar" on the stage, Master Zhang, I will reward you!"

After hearing this, Shui Rong Liu Xianglian admired Zhang Zhijun's boldness even more.

It turns out that this "Steel Xiao" tells the story of Ma Chao, a famous general of the Three Kingdoms.According to legend, Ma Chao is the son of Ma Teng in Fufeng Maoling, a famous young general, with a face like powder, lips like vermilion, waist thin and broad shoulders, and a powerful voice.He likes to hold a spear in his hand and a horse on his body. He is known as one of the five tiger generals of the Three Kingdoms, and he is also the only heroic general in the Three Kingdoms who beat Cao Cao in embarrassment and fled.

Liu Xianglian saw that Zhang Zhijun ordered "Steel Roar", she liked it in her heart, smiled and said to Shui Rong, "Among the heroes of the Three Kingdoms, the one I respect the most is this Ma Chao."

Zhang Zhijun said: "I didn't expect Brother Liu to be like me. I can't get tired of watching this drama a hundred times. Brother Liu, tell me, why do you respect this Ma Chao?"

Liu Xianglian said: "Ma Chao was born in poverty and has gone through hardships, but he is not only handsome in appearance, but also superb in martial arts. He made Cao Cao, a generation of heroes, flee and finally assisted Liu Bei to become a marquis. It can be seen that not all heroes will soon end!"

Zhang Zhijun picked up the wine glass, took a sip of the wine and said, "But I am different from Brother Liu. What I respect most is that Ma Chao can train an elite army that is accustomed to using spears in Kansai, so it is almost invincible. Brother Shui and Brother Shui If Brother Liu wants to join the army, he can also learn from Ma Chao, and he will definitely become a famous general in the future!"

Shui Rong said: "It seems that we all respect heroes. In Shui's opinion, a good man should practice martial arts, protect the frontier and defend the country, and make some achievements. Loyalty and righteousness are the country, and benevolence and filial piety are the family. Good tradition."

Zhang Zhijun praised: "I didn't expect Brother Shui to have such an ambition. Brother Shui is right, Zhang admires it! Although I don't have any plans to join the army right now, maybe I will in the future. Come on, let's have another drink and appreciate Ma Chao!" "

So a few people drank and listened to the play.

Maybe they were all passing by on business trips. It was not until the performance of "Steel Roar" that the customers got up and left one after another.Shui Rong asked Xiaoer to pay the bill, Zhang Zhijun hurriedly stepped forward to hold Shui Rong and Liu Xianglian and said with a smile: "I come here often, but this is the first time I meet you two brothers who can talk about wine and heroes, even if I invite you two Alright! It's just money for a few cups of tea!"

After all, Zhang Zhijun had already asked the two people around him to pay the bill, then Zhang Zhijun clasped his fists to Shui Rong and Liu Xianglian and said, "Brother Shui, Brother Liu, we have to hurry tomorrow morning, so I won't accompany you, so I'm leaving here. I hope to see you again by fate! "

Shui Rong and Liu Xianglian also hurriedly clasped their fists together and said, "Brother Zhang please first! I hope to see you again by fate!"

When Liu Xianglian and Shui Rong came out of the teahouse, it was already mid-day.The two strolled back to the inn, and saw that there were only people who had just come out of the teahouse on the street, and they didn't know where Zhang Zhijun and the three had gone.

After breakfast the next day, Shui Rong divided the eight people into four groups: Shui Rong and Liu Xianglian were in a group, Li Lei and Li Xun were in a group, Shui An and Lin Qiyun were in a group, Xiao Ning and Zheng Rui were in a group.The four groups of people went to the four directions of southeast, northwest, respectively, and made an appointment to come back here in the afternoon to discuss the next step of the itinerary.

At noon, except for the group of Shui An and Lin Qiyun who did not come back, all the people in the three groups had already returned.The situations of these three groups of investigations are similar: the several nearby vendors were robbed, which happened frequently in the past two months, and the robbed places were mostly in remote places in the mountain roads and forests of Ping'an Prefecture.In the beginning, the traders who were robbed would report to the officials, but because none of them reported to the officials to recover the goods, they generally did not report to the officials now, and those strong people rarely hurt people.

But Shui Rong and Liu Xianglian went south to investigate and found this news: Five days ago, a vendor who sold a lot of silk and medicinal materials from the south met those strong men in a forest about fifty miles away from this town. The shopkeeper hired four good martial artists to escort the goods, and then the goods were saved, but two of the martial artists were injured. The shopkeeper and the goods had already left for the capital, but the two injured martial artists were still in this town. Injury, prepare to recover from the injury before returning to the capital.

Not long after noon, Shui An and Lin Qiyun came back, and Shui Rong hurriedly asked why.Lin Qiyun said: "We were investigating in the direction of the capital, and unexpectedly another businessman was robbed there today. When Shui'an and I went there, we saw that businessman walking here with four followers, very embarrassed. I asked Shui'an, and it turned out that the businessman was in the jewelry business. All five of them disguised themselves as passing travelers, carried jewelry on each of them, and rode on horses. As a result, the jewelry was gone, and the horse was also robbed. That’s right, the shopkeeper was looking for life and death, and was almost carried away by a few followers.”

Shui Rong asked in surprise, "How far is it from here?"

Shui'an said: "It's more than 20 miles away from this town. The shopkeeper Lin and I went there to check it carefully. The group should have retreated to the mountain. There are many people passing by the side of the road leading to the mountain road. imprint."

Liu Xianglian said: "It seems that this group of bandits has already inquired about the jeweler's itinerary, otherwise it would be so easy to get it!"

Shui Rong said: "Shui'an, why did you two procrastinate like this?"

Shui An hurriedly said: "That's not true, because there are other things that happened."

Shui Rong hurriedly asked what was the matter.

Lin Qiyun hurriedly said: "Shui'an and I came back late this time, one is because we both checked the situation on the mountains around the place that was robbed today. Based on my previous experience of guarding the bodyguards, there are not many bandits in this group, but they should Absolutely very precise, there should be people who inquire in all directions, so that they can be sure that they will never be empty-handed. Even if they go up the mountain, they should still have a way out, because it is obvious that Shui'an and I looked at the mountain. There is no place to live. It means that the mountain is just a retreat, and the place where they really settled is not on the mountain."

Shui Rong said: "Is it because of this delay?"

Shui An said: "It's not all because of this. Because when shopkeeper Lin and I came down from the mountain, we met a big customer. I heard that there was a robbery on the road just now. The shopkeeper surnamed Liu saw that shopkeeper Lin and I have horses and martial arts, so he asked him Shopkeeper Lin and I escorted them to this town, and gave me and Shopkeeper Lin ten taels of silver as a reward."

Liu Xianglian thought for a while and said, "Shui'an, I wonder if the group of merchants you escorted have a lot of goods?"

Lin Qiyun said: "They have a lot of goods. There are also seven or eight horsemen to escort the goods, and more than a dozen camels to carry the goods. I guess it is medicinal materials and silk, which will be transported to Xiguan. The shopkeeper Liu said that they will live in this town for a while." Tonight, I also want to temporarily hire about ten young people to escort them out of Chang'an County. Because after leaving Chang'an County and passing through Xiguan, there should be no danger for someone to pick up the goods directly."

After hearing this, Shui Rong said happily, "Shopkeeper Lin, why don't you and Shui'an go to find that shopkeeper Liu again. They want to hire someone, why don't you just say that we have a tight budget to go back to Beijing, and recommend yourself to help that shopkeeper Liu deliver the goods, what do you think?" ?”

To know what Shui An and Lin Qiyun would say, read below.