Time flies like a white horse, the blink of an eye is the midwinter wax moon, all the way, everywhere you look is bare tree trunks, everywhere is covered with white snow, crystal clear snowflakes fly wantonly in the air, horses' hooves step on the snow, turning the white roadside into a pool of muddy water stains.

"Second brother, don't worry, I think that Shan Fu and Wang Shu are very clever, how can they be short-lived! With Dong Zhuo's reckless man, he can't kill them! Maybe they've already escaped? ”

"Well, I hope so."

"Second master, the rat's head is very easy to use, I definitely don't believe that he can die so easily, there is Chang'an City ahead, I heard that this place is very prosperous, it is not early in the day, let's go into the city to find an inn to rest, this way to eat and sleep, I am worried that the little eighth master will not be able to bear it!"

"I'm fine."

"Little Eighth Master, don't dismantle my platform!"

"Okay, okay, I think you can't hold on, okay, for the sake of your injuries that haven't healed, find a luxurious inn to rest tonight."

"Okay, a few masters, I'll go to the front to explore the way."

These people are Xiang Qing and his party, on the way from Yinchuan to Chang'an, they will be assassinated by the ghost face army almost every day, which makes everyone annoyed, they can't eat well, they can't sleep well, everyone's spirit is always tight, and this has also accelerated the growth of Liu Hu's martial arts, Cao Chun Xiang Xu also seems to be more mature and energetic, but Xiang Qing is a little haggard.

He always remembered Wang Shu and Shan Fu in his heart, in the battles of Yongliang, their feelings became deeper and deeper, Wang Shu was his most loyal retainer, and Shan Fu also became his right-hand man to help him give advice, just because of his carelessness, his simplicity, so that the whereabouts of these two people are unknown, he has never been happy in his heart.

Xiang Qing's worries about Wang Shu and Shan Fu, Liu Hu saw in his eyes, people in this era are very concerned about oaths, plus Xiang Qing, the head of the family, is completely different from those high-spirited nobles, at least he knows that Xiang Qing has never regarded them as subordinates, but their relationship is like friends, which also strengthens his belief in following Xiang Qing to the death.

After a while, Liu Hu rode back on his horse and shouted, "Second master, seventh master, little eighth master!" The guards at the city gate in front are not strictly checked, so we can enter the city! ”

Cao Chun's face immediately showed a smile, in the past few days, those who have eaten bran swallowed vegetables are about to fade out of their mouths, and they must eat meat when they enter Chang'an City!

"Second brother! Meat! I want to eat meat! ”

Xiang Qing smiled knowingly, he was also a person who was not happy with meat, he temporarily eliminated his negative emotions, and said with a smile: "Go!" Town! ”

All the way into Luoyang City, those city gate guards leaned on the city gate, their weapons were put aside, chatting with their arms, Xiang Qing and a few people rode war horses, swords on their waists, Liu Hu also carried two halberds on his back, and even had blood stains on his clothes, these guards didn't see it, so they let Xiang Qing enter the city so easily.

Cao Chun asked suspiciously: "Second brother, are these people really the guards of the gate of Chang'an City?" What kind of system is it to be so lazy? ”

Xiang Qing looked around and looked at Cao Chun: "What's the use of a serious investigation?" Can they be promoted and rich? Or will you be rewarded? This year, when you are a soldier, you can eat with a mouthful, and you can eat after carefully checking it, and you can eat while standing aside to play, which one do you choose? ”

When turbidity becomes the norm, innocence becomes a sin, when everyone is lazy, you show a little diligence, that is, you are unsociable, you will be ostracized, and there is no benefit at all to being unsociable, from which it can be seen that the decadence of the Han has gone deep into the grassroots, which can be described by the word terminally ill.

Faced with such a realistic problem, Cao Chun hesitated.

Xiang Qing rode his horse side by side, patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Okay, there will always be a way, these things are not something that a few of us who are precarious should think about, just let those court officials have a headache, compared to this, I am more curious about another matter." ”

"What?"

Xiang Qing asked Liu Hu: "When you entered the city gate just now, did you see the notice?" ”

Liu Hu shook his head: "I didn't see it." ”

"That's strange, this ghost-faced army chased us all the way, but didn't see any passes or cities along the way with any notices to arrest us, why do you say?"

The taciturn Xiang Xu shook his head: "I don't know." ”

Liu Hu also scratched his head in embarrassment: "Second master, don't look at me, you know my head, and I don't know." ”

In the end, Xiang Qing's eyes looked at Cao Chun, with a hint of expectation in his eyes, Cao Chun frowned and paused for a while and said: "This ghost-faced military god is mysterious, and they are an organization responsible for assassination, maybe His Majesty the Emperor wants to get rid of us secretly?" That's how it should be, right? ”

Xiang Qing nodded with satisfaction: "Well, eight or nine is not far from ten, then do you know, why did the emperor have to assassinate us secretly?" ”

Cao Chun thought for a while and shook his head.

"Actually, it's quite simple, think about it, we just led the Han army in Luoyang, defeated the rebels, smashed the conspiracy of the Yongliang League, and defeated the Qianghu army in Yinchuan, so what is our identity?"

"The Victorious Division? A man of merit? Cao Chun replied.

"That's right, the emperor wanted to get rid of me from the beginning, they thought that Yongliang's rebels would be able to kill me, but he never expected that I not only defeated the rebels, but also defeated the Qianghu army.

Liu Hu asked suspiciously: "But I remember that the second master told me that the king wants the minister to die, and the minister has to die, and he wants to kill us, why do you have to assassinate us?" Wouldn't it be enough to just preach a will? ”

"That's what you don't understand, of course it's easy for him to kill me, but who am I? I'm the hero who just put down the Yongliang Rebellion! He personally worshipped me as the general of the expedition to the west, and he was going to kill me just after I was victorious? Wouldn't that be unloading the mill and killing the donkey, putting everyone in danger? ”

Cao Chun asked, "Does this emperor not know how capable we are at fighting?" Just send these shrimp soldiers and crabs in the future, and they will be able to kill us? ”

Xiang Qing smiled: "Don't think of him too smartly, an emperor who only knows how to get drunk and dream of death all day long, eat, drink and have fun, what can he have in his head?" If he sends my senior brother Wang Yue and that Shi A, maybe we really don't have much chance to go back alive. ”

At this time, Xiang Xu suddenly asked, "Will there be anything wrong with Senior Brother?" What if the emperor ordered him to kill us, and he didn't agree, so he sent Shi A? ”

Xiang Qing gently stroked Xiang Xu's head and said, "Don't worry, didn't Shi Ah say it?" Senior Brother only learned about this matter later, which means that the emperor doesn't believe that Senior Brother can kill us at all, so Senior Brother has nothing to do with this matter, he will be fine, don't worry. ”

"Yes." Xiang Xu also smiled happily.

At this time, everyone was interested in observing the surroundings, this Chang'an City is also everything, colorful, restaurant inn, Qinglou casino, everything is available, if it is not for the different accents, they all think that this is Luoyang.

There is an eight-sided inn in front, Xiang Qing and others rode horses on the street and walked slowly, the business of this inn looks very hot, the guests at the door are in and out of an endless stream, the shopkeeper is busy with his feet not touching the ground, and his voice is hoarse.

From a distance, I saw a few people riding tall horses coming towards this side, and the discerning shopkeeper hurriedly greeted him, with a smiling face and a rag on his arm, which was the standard dress.

"Yo, a few guest officers, please inside~" The attitude was respectful, and the voice sounded very comfortable, which couldn't help but remind Xiang Qing of the people in the Drunken Immortal Building.

Xiang Qing couldn't help but ask, "Do you know Ah Er from Luoyang Drunken Immortal Tower?" I always feel like you look alike, huh? ”

The shopkeeper clapped his palms: "Hey, a few guest officers are from Luoyang, Jia Er, who is my own brother, my name is Jia San, take care of me." ”

Liu Hu shouted: "We are from Liangzhou......" was stopped by Xiang Qing's eyes in the middle of speaking.

"Oh, Liangzhou, where did the rebels make a lot of trouble a few months ago, thanks to a general who conquered the west, I heard that the Qianghu people were beaten by this general and fled! It's so admirable! ”

While speaking, the shopkeeper had already taken the reins and led a few horses to the backyard, Jia San also took them to find a few upper rooms, the rooms were already booked, the shopkeeper's sharp eyes, from the temperament, it can be seen that these people are definitely big shots, deliberately vacated the best room in this Bafang Inn, let Jia San serve carefully, this world, business is difficult to do, no one can afford to offend.

The decoration style of the Bafang Inn is very good, each room is different, Xiang Qing's room is all bamboo and the like, he likes it very much, and from the window, you can see a complete street.

Cao Chun Xiang Xu found a place to sit down in Xiang Qing's room, and Liu Hu stood at the door to guard, his fierce and vicious look, coupled with a murderous aura, seemed to have four words written on the door of his head: Don't approach the living!

Xiang Qing stood at the window blowing the wind, playing with a bamboo flute in his hand, although he couldn't play it, but he liked the timbre and melody of the flute very much, and he couldn't put it down.

Cao Chun looked at Xiang Xu, then at Xiang Qing, his expression was entangled for a while, and he finally made up his mind.

"Second brother, I have something to tell you!"

Xiang Qing looked at Cao Chun: "If you have something, just say it, why are you hiding it?" ”

Cao Chun stood up excitedly: "Big brother, they won't let me tell you, but I think you should know!" ”

"What the hell is so exciting? Come on, come on, sit down and talk slowly. ”

Xiang Qing just wanted to take the cushion to let Cao Chun sit down, when he heard Cao Chun shouting.

"Cao Lan is dead!"

Xiang Qing's movements stopped suddenly, and a lovely girl instantly appeared in his mind, although her status was noble, she was approachable and had a simple personality, which made people have to care for a girl.

"What did you say?" Xiang Qing asked in a low voice.

"Second brother! I said Lan Mei, she's dead! The news in the palace is that Lan Mei cursed the emperor with witchcraft and was ... Hanged! ”