Chiwuxing

Chapter Ninety-Two - Mountains and Rain Are Coming

It was cold in autumn, and almost overnight, people on both sides of the Wei River suffered from strange diseases.The chest and abdomen are distended, round and thin like a drum, and the tendons are protruding all over the body. It is difficult to eat and excrete.The county officials on both sides of the strait were alarmed, and they sent officers and soldiers overnight to arrest and isolate the sick people, but they couldn't resist the spread of the disease, and the same symptoms appeared one after another.

The local officials had no choice but to report the truth to the court of Fenying.The disease had a strange cause and spread rapidly. In addition, both sides of the Wei River are adjacent to the Jin River, and many people who fled from the north of the Yangtze River due to the war temporarily lived here. Migration of the epidemic, disaster relief and porridge, all kinds of things are easy.

This strange disease has been rampant for more than a month, and the Qiannan army also came to resettle the many sick people in Dongping and Lanling, so that the speed of its spread can be temporarily controlled.After a group of imperial physicians rushed to treat them, it was finally determined that the cause of the disease was the abnormal water quality of the Weishui River. As for the cause of the symptoms, it was difficult to find out after repeated trials.

When the rice shrubs are harvested thousands of miles away, this disease suddenly occurs just in the autumn when harvesting and farming, resulting in few people cultivating the vast fields thousands of miles away.The situation in the north of the Yangtze River became urgent again, and the barbarian army drove straight in, following the forward Hu army's route and attacking all the way to Yanluo Mountain.

At this time, someone again brought up the prophecy of the Chifu Talisman discovered in Chencang County, advocating that this series of disasters was against the will of God, so God was angry and punished them.The mountains and rivers are lonely, and the people are praying for peace everywhere. Now that they heard this kind of statement, they believed it without a doubt, and made a big noise in the city of Fenying, and naturally it spread to the court officials and even Prince Ni Xiang.

All the ministers kept silent and did not dare to speak. The crown prince was stuck in a deadlock for a while, and then he focused his attention on the prime minister's mansion.

Fenying was originally a secluded city on the edge of Weinan. It was chosen to build the Royal Palace only because of its beautiful scenery and mountains and rivers.As for the later relocation of the capital to the imperial court, it was because the land was a little remote compared to the imperial capital, but there were natural dangers to block it, and if something really happened, the land could be used to hide and prolong the time.Therefore, this city is not as prosperous as the capital city, but there are also money-grubbing businessmen who come here to rebuild their foundations with their family affairs, just to earn money from the pockets of the dignitaries.

There is a restaurant in this city, because it is close to the residence of the dignitary, it has become a private gathering place for high-ranking officials and dignitaries. Now it is hosting a pair of top-level guests. go.

Zhao Xueming personally filled the wine cup of the person opposite, and laughed repeatedly: "If your lord has government affairs, why not take a good time to do business in the government office, the place outside is a bit noisy after all, wouldn't it ruin your lord's conversation. "

"It's not about discussing any confidential important news, just take off the official robes, and just casually talk about it regardless of your identity," Shao Qian said, "You can go back to the business and talk about it. The city has been in turmoil for the past few days, so we should take a break."

"What the adults said is that there is nothing you can do if you just worry about it."

As Minister of the Ministry of War, Zhao Xueming has never advanced or retreated for many years.As early as when Jia Yun first proposed the establishment of the Privy Council, he was deprived of the power of the Air Force. After Feng Ru resigned, no one in the court was willing to take over. Ni Congwen handed over the suspended military power to the Ministry of War.Although Yu actually still follows Ni Congwen's order as the standard, but after all the ridicule has been cleared up for many years, the embarrassing situation of the Ministry of War among the six ministries has improved over the years.

"I invited all the food and wine today. If it's not enough, I can ask Xiao Er to buy more." Shao Qian said with a smile.

"...to ask the adults to spend money."

"A few days ago, I learned that when the outbreak of the epidemic was being rectified, there was not enough manpower at Lanling, and the soldiers from Qiannan were dispatched in the end...why didn't they dispatch the troops from Jiangdong nearby? In this way Why don't we just take a long detour?" Sure enough, the three words are still inseparable from political affairs, but Shao Qian doesn't mistakenly drink and pick up food, which seems to be casual.

Zhao Xueming paused with the silver chopsticks in his hand, and before he caught the piece of bacon in his sight, he put the chopsticks aside first, and said with a slow smile: "The people in charge of the soldiers in different places are different, and we can't all evaluate them based on the distance. Cheap."

Hearing his vague words, Shao Qian was not prepared to let him go: "That's the case, it's just that Jiangdong's military subordinates secretly concealed the red-browed rebels two years ago, and there was a lot of trouble. Wang Chuang and the others received the punishment, so they should try their best It is right to work for the imperial court. What's more, the entanglement with the Ministry of Internal Affairs was mostly half-covered and half-leaked, and it is the grace of the superiors if they did not investigate it strictly, why do they dare to ask the superiors to make things difficult when they are in crisis?"

"...They don't dare," Zhao Xueming sneered, "It's just that when it's time to use it, it's just a matter of priority. Now that foreign troubles are raging, if there's any situation where they can't keep them all, we have to prepare for a contingency."

Shao Qian Xiaoyi smiled, and took a sip of the wine.

Here we were talking about Zhengxing, but there was a sudden sound of people's voices behind us from behind the screen, it seemed that five or six people went upstairs to sit together, some of them made a noise, and the voice directly spread to their table:

"The owner of the Hongxiang Pavilion is a good money-maker. At first he said he wanted to move here, but later he decided to open a branch pavilion. I heard that you specially asked someone to give you the grace to give up the Fengshui treasure in the east of the alley. Gave it to her..."

A public voice came again: "The left and right are also guests and hosts for many years. They have inherited the rain and dew from his family for so many years, and they still care about how many pieces of land are in this area..."

This male voice is very familiar, Shao Qian and Zhao Xueming looked at each other, the former sighed with a smile: "I met an acquaintance today..."

If we talk about the number one pleasure-seeking and domineering romantic figure in the court, it is Yuan Libin, the direct son of the Yuan family who bears a lot of money.

"...My lord?" Zhao Xueming asked with his eyes.

"It's okay, since we met, why don't we go for a while." Shao Qian got up calmly, filled his wine cup again, and stepped forward to go out.

Zhao Xueming had no choice but to keep up, and the two lifted the curtain to the next bar, and the people sitting around the round table were stunned when they saw his sudden appearance.Shao Qian glanced around, and found that apart from Yuan Libin and his friends and friends, there were also Yuan Xing and Su Dingnan, the two chief officials of Fen Ying, who were sitting on the other side with a group of eunuchs from the household department. Blending in is very embarrassing.

He laughed and said: "Just now I heard the voice of a regular customer next door, and when I came in, I saw that it was indeed a noble person. I never thought that I would run into you when I was here for a drink today. What a coincidence."

Seeing these two people present, the officer below hastily gave up two seats, but Yuan Libin remained calm among the crowd, still leaning on the back of the chair, and said with a smile: "Since it's a pleasure outside the palace, my lord is welcome." Forgive me for the crime of disrespect."

"There's no need to be formal," Shao Qian also smiled, "I just heard someone mention the purchase of a building in Hongxiang Pavilion, and suddenly realized that this restaurant can be regarded as Mr. Yuan's property now. It's just a matter of financial management. Dao, Mr. Yuan's family is well-versed, and it is much better to buy this old building in advance and renovate it, than to buy the land first and then build it up bit by bit..."

"It's true," Yuan Libin said, "but when it comes to this pleasure-seeking place, we still have to think about what the benefactors who come to Huayinliang think. After all, this restaurant is a place to eat wine and food. It’s nothing more than a rough look. But the business inside the Hongxiang Pavilion looks filthy, but people like to go to this filthy place to find the cleanliness. Even if they know it’s fake, they have to make a picture. Let’s talk about the interior layout. From the Babu bed to the imperial concubine's couch, which one should not be configured according to the best? Or why is it alone in a prosperous place like the Imperial Capital that can get all the money spent by the beauties of the spring wine? There is a reason for it..."

The meat on Shao Qian's cheekbones was piled up horizontally, and he couldn't help laughing wretchedly: "I have only been there a few times before, and I haven't known the way here. It's Mr. Yuan who is careful and caring. Why don't we make an appointment some other day? I, who is not proficient in playing, enjoy the fun."

"If your lord is willing, Libin will accompany you," Yuan Libin said with a smile, "I guess they are busy, and the opening day is not far away. I saw that they hired a new plaque the day before yesterday, because it is Hongxiang Pavilion In the sub-house opened in Fenying, a new name was named "Xuanyou Pavilion"... It seems that this Yunshuang girl is also courageous, but she refuses to put out the original signboard, presumably because she is confident in her family's ability, Wherever you go, you can start a new country."

A subordinate at the bottom continued: "My lord, you don't know yet, but the people in the Xuanyou Pavilion are very capable. I heard that this time they specially recruited a group of bearded girls. That one with long legs and slender legs, don't have a lot of charm... ..."

"Oh?" Yuan Libin folded his fan when he heard the words, and said with a pleasant smile, "Then I have to try it some other day... It's not easy to find newcomers from other races at this time of year."

The people here chatted about nasty things and frolicked endlessly. Shao Qian turned his head to Yuan Xing and said, "Lord Yuan spent a lot of time in charge of Jiang Luo's affairs a few days ago, but now it's time to take a break."

Yuan Xing smiled wryly and said, "Your Excellency, you just laughed, everything is not peaceful right now, and there have been rumors in the city recently that have disturbed people's hearts, so how can you really want to have fun?"

Shao Qian said: "The worry is all in one moment, how can I disturb my mind with these trivial matters all day long. There is only one word. I see that Ni Xiang has not expressed his attitude for a long time, and the prince has no decision. Sooner or later, there will still be some right and wrong. Come."

"That's exactly what I said," Yuan Xing said, "It's just that the lower officials are no more than mere officials. It's a great fortune to be able to survive the turmoil, and I don't dare to mix it with other people..."

Even Zhao Xueming, who was on the side, was worried, and finally Yuan Libin and the others also noticed the movement here. The subordinates felt disappointed, but the young master didn't take it seriously, and said: "After all, the adults here are all I am one of my own, when Jiang Hua had his hands and eyes open to the sky, I couldn't help but wait for the glory. Today, at any rate, when he came out again, it was expected that Ni Xiang saw that the court was full of unclean remnants of the eunuchs. Don't even care about it. It can be seen that there is an opportunity at this time, Master Zhao is also here, how many soldiers and horses in the Red Armored Army can let the Human alien race turn the world upside down, there is nothing to worry about..."

"I feel that Ni Congwen is willing to push Jiang Hua out again, but he deliberately lifts him to a high place first," Shao Qian said, "The pig has to be slaughtered when it is fattened... Ni Congwen is not a benevolent person."

Yuan Libin didn't say anything, but Yuan Xing on the side was vigilant and said: "If it's what your lord said, then at present, you can't have any more contact with him?"

"I can't be sure what will happen next," Shao Qian shook his head and sighed, "Like the sudden epidemic in Weinan, how can we prepare for others? The epidemic will always spread faster than the fleeing The speed at which those who flee..."

Shao Qian has been in the court for many years, and his ability to sniff out rumors is always as accurate as that of others.Having said that at this time, it is inevitable to put a stone on the hearts of a few people present.

Zhao Xueming should be a bystander, and he knows that the rest of the people here are all people who had close contacts with the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the past.Therefore, at this time, the eyes are watching the nose and the nose is watching the heart, sitting silently at the end and not daring to say much.

Seeing this, Shao Qian said again: "It may also be that I have been disturbed by the situation outside recently, and I have been thinking too much... But when the situation is changing, everyone should be more cautious in daily actions, and it will not hurt anyway."

The rest of the people's minds were wandering outside, and they went back to the house after eating banquets one after another. For a while, there were signs of a storm in their hearts, which was indescribable.

Being very tired recently, Fu Xuan took a heavy nap and slept two hours longer than usual.When he got up and called people out to enter the tent, he suddenly heard a report from his subordinate soldiers, and another group of soldiers invaded outside the pass.

"... When did it happen?" Fu Xuan frowned and rubbed her temples. The older she was, the older she would wake up at this time, and she still felt sleepy.

"Just an hour ago, the patrolling clan soldiers came here to deliver the report. General Wuma received the letter, and immediately took the troops to fight." The soldier seemed to remember something, and added, "It is not the Yan army, It's Hu Jun."

"...a barbarian?" Fu Xuan was stunned for a moment, her phoenix eyes narrowed, and she gradually woke up, "He was sent by Le Jin?"

"The little one is also wondering, it's not that the Utron tribe of Hu Qiang doesn't participate in these things, so why come to intervene in this battle again at this time?"

"It's hard to guess. The Utron tribe brought a group of turtles to surrender to Yanting, but the Yanren turned their faces and denied that they had kidnapped their princess. At this time, they must be taking hostages and threatening them to send troops to retreat from the enemy." , "The voice just woke up was hoarse and low, with a rare fragility.The soldier raised his head to wait and see, then hastily lowered his head, he had heard that all the members of the royal family had the most beautiful appearance, and the former prince Er Zixuan was the most prosperous, like a girl.This soldier used to be among the clan soldiers, and rarely had the opportunity to meet the lord. At this time, his mind was wandering, his thoughts were wandering, and he was stunned for a long time.

"...I asked you a question, why didn't you answer?" Fu Xuan raised her voice and said sharply.

The soldier hurriedly knelt down: "My lord, forgive me... I just lost my mind just now... What do you want to ask?"

Fu Xuan pursed her lips, and said again: "Gu Wang asked, why don't you ask the Hu people in the nearby camp to solve the Hu people's affairs by themselves?"

"The little one passed the news...but the chief generals of their Hulan tribe all went south with General Sha, and the rest of the Hu soldiers just shirked their responsibilities and used the false plan earlier, so they didn't want to come here."

Fu Xuan cursed in a low voice, rarely showing anger on his face.

The soldiers knelt down and bowed their heads, not daring to speak out. After a while, the barbarian said again: "The lonely king dares to run away when he answers. It seems that he has been away from the clan for a long time and has forgotten the rules. Go down and get ten Whip, a small punishment is a warning."

"……Yes."

Outside the camp, there are dark clouds, wild grass and outskirts, wildly growing vegetation and hybrids.

Wumasun led his troops out of the pass to fight, and in the wilderness, he saw a group of Hu soldiers lined up neatly, he was surprised: When did the Hu people learn the formation method of the Yan people?

Without waiting to think about it, he immediately headed forward and rode alone in front of the barbarian army.

The sound of horns and horns shook the sky, and the two armies huddled together on horseback, and a chaotic battle began.

Wu Masun saw the Hu army leader nearby, his face was covered with red copper, his hair was tied up and he was holding a knife, his aura was domineering.Immediately, he felt a little bit of excitement in his heart to go to the contest. He rode the horse straight at the man, slashed horizontally with the Fengzui knife, and was dodged by the opponent.Immediately afterwards, he struck with the saber, and quickly raised the curly hair behind him, a strand of it was broken and scattered.

Wu Masun turned around with glaring eyes, and the two staggered their positions, and fought again.

After several formulas, neither side took advantage of it.But Wu Masun sensed some inexplicable familiarity in the opponent's skill.

Dazed here for a moment, General Hu had to block his chest with a knife, he dodged hastily, and blood was still visible on his arm.Now the certainty is even greater, he has been promoted by martial arts since he was a child, and he can never forget the moves he has seen, let alone the ones he has fought in the past.

"I remember you."

The sound of internal force was transmitted to the ears, and the copper-faced Hu General was not affected at all, and his speed was extremely fast.

The precision of the opponent's saber style is rare in the world, Wu Masun can cope with it, but he wants to use the same technique to disturb his mind.

"At the beginning, I saw that you were helpless, but now I know that you are Hu Bing's traitor—"

Wu Masun still wanted to say more, but he was just in case the other party wanted to see a needle, and he didn't dare to have two purposes for a while, so he stopped talking temporarily.But I don't want the other party to hear about it, the saber technique has changed drastically, and it is suddenly messy, not as usual.Seeing this situation, he didn't dare to act rashly, while dealing with it carefully, while thinking about the opponent's loopholes.

After a while, the opponent is no match for him in terms of brute force, but at this moment, Nahu will use his whole body strength to stab at the side with all his strength.With a sneer, he put all his energy into the saber, and with a crisp sound, he cut half of the opponent's blade.Then he pointed the tip of the knife at the copper surface, intending to break it with one blow.

General Hu became angry and simply dropped the Hu knife in his hand.Turning over on the horse's back a few times, he kicked the blade in Wumasun's hand during the spin, and leaped, directly stabbing the horse's leg with the dagger blade from behind. The horse fell to the ground.

The moment Wumasun dismounted from his horse, his strength was insufficient, Hu Jiang struck with his palm, and the Fengzui knife he held fell to the ground instantly.The two fought with bare hands, each unwilling to be defeated.

However, at this time, the battle between the Hu and the Barbarian armies is gradually becoming more and more difficult, and the Hu army's initial formation is changing, and they are breaking up the barbarian army.

Unexpectedly, at this time, another group of soldiers and horses came from inside the pass. Hu Jun took a closer look, but it was the Hu Qiang rebels who had been sent by the rebels back then.

The Hu and Qiang ethnic groups live together in one place, and they have known each other for many years.And the Tienal tribe was the last tribe to make a decision in the dilemma, and they had been drawn together for a long time.This time they suddenly met on the battlefield, and they both wanted to retreat.

Mu Zang led his troops into the killing formation, but he was faintly conflicted in his heart. Due to the previous threat from the barbarian, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go forward.

First, Hu Jun on the Qizhan road couldn't stand this scene, and called his leader: "...Jia Sheng!"

Fu Chen heard the call and woke up from the chaotic battle to the current situation.

Thinking to myself that the goal has been achieved, if we fight again, we will have to damage our own troops, and want to retreat by chance.Looking at the savage general who was entangled on the opposite side, his heart was ruthless, he used both hands and feet, kicked his body backwards, and kicked his heart and lungs.Seeing that the opponent rebounded, he imitated him and used a brutal move, clasping his neck with both hands, while enduring the pain of continuous attack on his abdomen and waist.

Another barbarian called his name and surname, the overall situation came first, Fu Chen finally had no choice but to withdraw his troops, and dropped his words in a deep voice:

"You waited for me to take your life."

After a few swings to block and attack, he turned back on his horse and ordered the troops to withdraw.

Sitting on the ground, Wu Masun spurted a mouthful of blood, remembering the blood-red eyes in the gaps in the mask just now, gritted his teeth and said:

"...Jia, Sheng."

The barbarian army returned in defeat, and Fu Chen's hordes had beheaded countless enemies, and returned to the camp set up in the mountains, but they did not see much joy.

Dark clouds make the weather dull, but there is no rain, making it even more dry.It seemed as if the summer heat had returned to the sky again, and was waging a life-and-death struggle with the dripping damp water vapor.

Just now, he was distracted by his thoughts, exhausting his mental energy too much, Fu Chen found a corner to sit upright at this time, resting his eyes, just like when he first entered Hu Qiang, isolating everyone.

Many of the Hu people grew up with the brothers from the Tienal tribe when they were young, hunting and riding horses in the wild. Even though they parted ways because of their positions, they never thought that one day they would fight each other.Each was depressed and unhappy, speechless for a while.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting for a while, but Fu Chen suddenly felt that his eyes were obscured, someone was sitting in front of him, he opened his eyes, saw someone coming, and asked, "When did you come back?"

Bois replied: "When I came back, I heard that you had already gone to attack the barbarian enemies... I was planning to follow again..."

Fu Chen lightly hooked his lips, but didn't make a sound.

Seeing the young man's appearance, Bowa was inexplicably nervous, and said, "Do you know... what do our brothers think?"

"I know," Fu Chen said, "but I can't help you."

Everyone has three parts of flesh and blood, and he will not force it.

Now it was Bois's turn to say nothing, and he stood aside in embarrassing silence, slightly embarrassed.

Fu Chen raised his eyebrows and sized him up for a week in his silence, then said casually, "Could it be that they all blame me for this right now?"

"...That's not true," Bois replied hesitantly, "but it's always a heart attack... You are a Yan person, and you can't explain it to you. How can you feel better if you hold back your emotions..."

Fu Chen lowered his eyes and said: "That's right, I'm not a barbarian. To you, I'm just an outsider. It's useless if you insist on explaining to me, but it's counterproductive. If you ask me about what I'm doing now, it's the worst thing you've done right now." I hate things that are disgusting. You can disdain, despise, and abuse, but it won't change anything."

Bowa was silent again, and after a long time, he whispered anxiously: "What we said just now... Did you hear it?"

After the truce, the barbarians were almost speechless, so the quarreling words outside a few ancient trees just now became clearer under the whirling of the mountains and valleys, and one of the barbarians' words was particularly loud: "When everything is over, I will definitely I have to kill this kid myself! I will do what I say! Just wait and see!"

Perhaps the barbarian who was listening to him was still worried about his presence, so he didn't respond to him. As a result, only this solitary sentence suddenly echoed in the mountains, but it was full of ridicule that was intended to be concealed.

Fu Chen smiled reassuringly: "It's nothing, I will definitely save this life and wait for him to come and pick it up."

Bowa choked, looking at the centipede scar on the young man's left cheek caused by his smile, which was always ugly and fierce, but now it looks more and more pleasing to the eye, bit his lip and said: "You...why bother?"

Thinking that he is a Yanren with good skills, but he has an easy life, so he has to come to Le Jin to fight for a piece of the pie.But it seems that he does not look like a person who seeks fame, nor is he so foolish as to think that the Hu people will give him some good fruit after they capture Yandi, so why would he sacrifice his life for such a thing?

Fu Chen's smile gradually faded, and he reached out to pick up the red copper mask beside his leg. The copper surface that had been polished countless times was as clean as new.He pulled his lapel sleeves and wiped them back and forth again, the faint bloody glow on the copper under the twilight, he didn't know whether it was natural or man-made.

"...For me, everything is a dead end," the young man smiled ambiguously, and clenched his hands tightly, "The only thing I can choose is who dies at, what things I want to do before I die, and what I want to do." Meet someone."

Bowa was half-knowledgeable, and only said: "Then you have thought it through now?"

"good."

Fu Chen got up, put the copper mask on his hands again, and the dark blue robe lowered a deep curtain covering the sky in front of Bo Wa.

"Go and tell them that it is expected to rain tonight, so go to the cave and rock house in advance to stay. If it clears up tomorrow, you can go back to Le Guin directly."

"……how about you?"

"The main army of the barbarians set out to conquer Yannan, and they must not be allowed to seize the opportunity."

"Where did you get the soldiers and horses?... Did you go to Qianchuan to find the wolf lord and the others?"

"The matter of the Yan people really needs to be settled by ourselves... I have a solution."

"……Thank you."

"It's not too early to say thank you. When you are in my current situation in the future, I'm afraid you will regret your words."

Fu Chen smiled, bowed and lifted the scabbard, and disappeared into the depths of the verdant verdure in a blink of an eye, just like when he came back without interest.