While Cicada and Shang Cheng were talking, several horses also came closer.

Hearing the cicada's call, the group stopped their horses. The person on the horse looked at her carefully and said with a smile: "Who did I say, it turned out to be a little cicada!" I haven't seen each other for more than two years, and I've become a big girl. How did you get here? Are you waiting for me? Or is it in a private meeting......" He dismounted with stirrups as he spoke, taking this opportunity to sweep his gaze around Shang Cheng, and after a pause, he turned to Cicada again, and immediately changed his words, "Is your eldest brother at home today?" ”

Of course, Cicada heard the joke that Brother Jiu wanted to say. Her face was a little hot, said. "The eldest brother is not here, the third brother is here. He only returned to Beijing to report on his work, and it would be ten days and a half months before he left. ”

Brother Jiu said happily: "Hey, what a coincidence! When I passed by Qizhou, I brought him some dried dates from Qizhou. Originally, he also said that he would ask the old marquis to ask someone to bring it to him, but now it's okay, and there is no need to teach someone to run around. Turning his head to look at Shang Cheng, he bowed with his hand and asked politely, "In Yanxuan, Qingzhou, don't you dare to ask for your surname?" ”

Shang Cheng returned the salute: "Ying County Shang Cheng." After speaking, he looked Yan Xuan up and down. The man who was called the Ninth Brother by the cicada was about forty years old, and his tall body was a little rickety. Short eyebrows, narrow eyes, long face, chin shaved blue, always like to squint when talking, it looks a little shrewd.

When he was in Yanshan, he had heard several people mention this Yan Xuan, nicknamed "Qingzhou Yan", but they didn't elaborate on the skills of this important person in the Poyang Valley system, but only mentioned his bad luck. In the seventeenth year of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty, the imperial court decided to march north to the grassland, and it had been agreed that he would be the commander of the Right Route Army, but this side was drafting an official document to transfer him to Beijing, and the news that he had fallen from a horse and broken his arm bone was delivered there, and in the end the court could only temporarily change the commander of the Right Route Army; In the New Year, the Ministry of War is ready to rectify several Liyuan forbidden army that exposed serious problems in the Northern Expedition, according to the merits, qualifications and ability, he is one of the candidates for the military Sima who has nothing to blame, and the imperial court also intends to let him serve as the right hussar Sima, but the capital is still drafting official documents, and the news that he fell from a horse and broke his arm bone was delivered. For two consecutive years, he first missed the opportunity to go north, and then missed the opportunity to promote the forbidden army. During this period, he was punished once for getting drunk in the downtown area and beating up officials, but after three or four years, the rank was not only not improved, but demoted by one level, and before the nineteenth year of the Eastern Era, he was the general of Dingyuan on the fifth grade, and now he has become the general Huaiyuan under the fifth grade......

Yan Xuan paused for a moment, but immediately reacted. Shang Cheng's ancestral home is in Yanshan Yi County, which is true, but his current title is Ying County Bo, and the feudal country is in Ying County, Dingjin Wei, so the official title is naturally Ying County Shangcheng.

He bowed again, bowed his head and said, "Sure enough, it's a general!" I was visiting friends under my post, so I didn't wear a military uniform, so I didn't see you in a military salute. ”

These words immediately won Shang Cheng's favor. When he was in Yanshan, he didn't care about the dissuasion of others, and insisted on the scope of application of military salute in the army, which must be different from ordinary secular etiquette. Under his supervision and supervision, the Yanshan Guards strictly regulated the military salute, under what circumstances to salute, under what circumstances to raise their arms to salute, how to salute when the subordinates saw their superiors, how to return the salute when the superiors received the military salutes from the subordinates, how to salute when they were in line, and how to salute when marching...... It is even strict to the extent of how to raise the right arm and where to raise it during the march. In the end, the Yanshan Guards submitted the "General Model of Military Rites of the Yanshan Guards (Draft)" to the Ministry of War, and with the consent of the Ministry of War, it was implemented in the Yanshan Guards. At one time, from a pawn to a general, there were countless people who were locked up or ate military sticks because of the wrong salute. However, the effect was remarkable, and after three months, the Yanshan Guards had a noticeable new look, and this narrow military salute system reflected mutual respect within the soldiers, and also made the soldiers more aware that they were a group different from ordinary people; This is a very obvious help to the cohesion of the army and the unity of the soldiers. At present, the Ministry of War has begun to compile the "General Model of Military Etiquette of the Great Zhao Army" on the basis of the "General Model of Military Rites of the Yanshan Guards (Draft)".

Now, it is rare to meet a person who attaches the same importance to the details of the military salute as himself, and Shang Cheng is naturally very happy. It's a pity that he is not familiar with Yan Xuan, and Yan Xuan is a very important general of Gu Shi, so he didn't say much, just asked plainly: "Are you going to visit General Gu?" ”

Yan Xuan shook his head and said with a wry smile: "I want to pay a visit to his old man, but most of his old man doesn't want to see me, an unsuccessful guy." He sighed and said, "I'm here to find the eldest and third of the Gu family." ”

Shang Cheng smiled and said, "I'll go talk to General Gu about something." That's it, you come on horseback, your legs and feet are fast, so go first. The little cicada girl and I walked over slowly. ”

Yan Xuan didn't dare to disobey the general's words, let alone ask Shang Cheng what to talk about with Gu Shi, since Shang Cheng ordered him to go first, he didn't even turn his eyes to the cicada again, and hurriedly took someone to go first.

Yan Xuan is gone, and the cicada is the happiest. She followed Shang Cheng and asked as she walked, "Brother Merchant, have you heard of my ninth brother before?" I think you seem familiar with him. ”

Shang Cheng said: "I have a friend who is a businessman, and he knows Yan Xuan. The friends he said were the two brothers, Yuan Lan and Yuan Chi. The ancestors of the Yuan family and the Yan Xuan family were close to each other, and Yuan Lan and Wang Yi had a dispute and wanted to take refuge in Qingzhou, but in fact, they went to the Yan family to settle down. Yan Xuan's past was also what he heard from the Yuan family brothers.

"Brother Jiu is a very good person, and every time he came back to the house, he had to bring gifts to me and my mother." Cicada said.

Hearing her say childishly, Shang Cheng suddenly laughed dumbly. It turns out that Yan Xuan gives her a gift every time, which is evidence that she is a good person? According to this reason, because Old Man Gu wants to give his daughter to him, it is obviously impossible for Gu Shi to be a good person! Let's take the cicada's point of view again: It is not a good person not to send things to the county uncle's house, and it is very reasonable and worth noting. When he turned around, he took a closer look at the people around him who were not good......

“…… It's just that Brother Jiu's luck is too bad. I heard the third brother say that one year he and the ninth brother made an appointment to go to Huaihug Li Temple to make incense, and the ninth brother was talking nonsense in front of the Bodhisattva at that time, and it must have been that time that he annoyed the Bodhisattva, so he suffered for so many years. Cicada continued. She looked thoughtful, and seemed to be very sure, it must be because Yan Xuan did not respect the Buddha, so there have been all these years of misfortune. As he spoke, he also folded his hands and recited two Buddhist scriptures in a low voice.

Shang Cheng saw that her childish baby face was full of piety, and asked her casually: "You also believe in Buddhism?" He thought it seemed like a good topic, at least not about heroes, generals, or anything. The Gu family has a tradition of believing in Buddhism, and there is a family temple in the Zhuangzi here, and the third sister of the cicada is a monk in the family temple as a scroll nun, and it is said that she is still very profound in her Buddhist cultivation. I want to listen to the cicada talk about Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, so she won't bother herself with questions anymore, right?

Cicada nodded. Of course she believes in Buddhism. Not only did she believe in Buddhism, but her father and her mother also believed in Buddhism; Her mother also commented on Yan Xuan's affairs, and what she just said about Yan Xuan's disrespect for Buddha caused disasters was what her mother told her on weekdays.

She talked about herself for a while, and then asked Shang Cheng: "Do you believe in Buddhism?" ”

Shang Cheng couldn't answer this question. He was a staunch materialist, and of course he could not have idealistic beliefs, but his resume said that he had been a monk for more than ten years, and sometimes when he met curious people, he had to scratch his head for this illusory experience. He didn't want to repeat the lie, so he simply asked her, "What do you think the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can do for us?" He estimated that this complex problem from nothingness to reality could make her think about it for a long time.

Just as he expected, the cicada immediately fell into deep thought. That's fine, by the time she figured it out, he would have already sat down with Gu Shi and killed him.

When approaching the Zhuangzi of the Gu family, the cicada suddenly said, "The Bodhisattva can help us get our wish!" ”

"Really?" Shang Cheng said with a smile. This has already entered the Zhuangzi, and it will be too late for you to figure it out.

"I made a wish at Huaihug Li Temple last year...... Cicada stopped at this point.

"Oh, really?"

"yes. I made a wish there......" said the cicada with her face up. She followed Shang Cheng all the way without showing any tiredness, but now she was blushing. She was obviously waiting for Shang Cheng to inquire nicely.

"That's good." Shang Cheng said. He wouldn't fall for it. What can I wish for at Huaibao Li Temple? If he hadn't been in Beijing at the beginning of July last year, he might have asked her what she had wanted; But on the day of the "Daughter's Day" in Beijing in July last year, he was in front of the mountain gate of Huaibao Li Temple. So how can the little trick that the cicada is making now teach him to do it? He immediately changed the subject, interrupted and said, "Look at the carriage parked over there, is it your third sister's?" Maybe she's all home. ”

Cicadas were disappointed. But she still glanced at the carriage, shook her head, and said, "It's not my third sister's carriage." "That's the Yimen, it's a place where her father, her brothers, and guests can walk, and the women go out and go home through the corner door of the backyard; How can you not even understand this truth?

How could Shang Cheng not understand? He was just borrowing the carriage as an excuse. After the cicada finished speaking, they were almost at the door of the instrument. He waved his hand at the cicada and said, "I'll go in by myself." Hurry up and find your third sister. Maybe she's back when you're not home? After speaking, he nodded to the Gu family's subordinates by the Yimen, and walked in by himself. He walked back and forth to Gu's house for an unknown number of times, and he didn't need anyone to help lead the way for a long time.

Cicada looked at his back and gritted her teeth with hatred, but there was nothing she could do. She was stunned for a moment by the instrument gate, and finally had to go around the courtyard wall to the corner gate......