"Poem" said, July fire. However, in the land of Yanxi in early July, you can't see the scene of the big Mars setting westward in the evening, and you can't experience the cool weather after the autumn summarized in the Book of Songs. Before the morning eclipse had passed, the sun, which had just climbed over the treetops, immediately sprayed the ground with the enthusiasm that had been stored up for a whole night. The crops in the Sichuan Road are about to be harvested, and they are all yellow from both sides of the official road to the foot of the mountain; The grass men in the field who have been pierced to catch birds and finches, wearing hats and black linen clothes, and the fan tied to the wooden pole sways from side to side as if it were alive when the mountain wind passes. The undulating mountains in the distance have not yet changed into autumn clothes, and are still dressed in green, but the autumn cicadas know that the summer is fading and autumn is coming, seize the last time of the year, and let out a long and short hiss among the branches and leaves. They are probably lamenting the passage of time and the ruthlessness of the years......

Under the scorching sun, a team of horses galloped quickly along the official road, rolling up the dust and floating soil all the way to raise the height of people, like a yellow cloud rushing from south to north.

After crossing the Louhui stone bridge, he saw the palm-high Shili Guan Pavilion standing alone on the side of the road, and Shang Cheng released the reins and slowed down his horsepower. From the time of the hour to the present, the horse has been running for almost two hours in a row, and it needs a buffer to breathe.

Duan Si caught up from behind. His eyesight is good, and he can still see clearly from two or three miles away, pointing to Shili Pavilion and saying to Shang Cheng: "Commander, over there is the banner of Guo Biao and Ximen Sheng." They're here to greet you! ”

Shang Cheng owed a debt on horseback, not only to move his legs and feet, but also to take advantage of the situation to lookout. But the distance was too far, and he didn't have Duan Si's good eyes, and he could only vaguely see a few flags and a group of people the size of ants outside the pavilion for a long time, let alone distinguish between flags and characters, and shook his head and said, "They are not here to pick me up, they are here to fight with me." ”

In the spring, when the army of Yandong Yanzhong entered the grassland, Ximen Sheng was pressed by Shang Cheng in Fangzhou, one was to guard against the invasion and harassment of the Great Tengliang Department and the Wannuer Department, and the other was to bluff and oppress the two large tribes of the Great Turbid Ci and did not dare to let go of their hands and feet to reinforce other places. Although Ximen Sheng did these two things very well, but after all, it was not a real achievement of beheading and capturing the city, so when the imperial court rewarded the three armies of Yanshan in mid-June, Ximen Sheng and the soldiers left behind in the left army only had a letter of encouragement, and only a little poor money and silk reward. For this reason, Ximen Sheng also sent two or three official letters to Shang Cheng one after another, in addition to accusing the court and the Wei government of unfairly handling and shouting grievances for himself and the left army, there was also a clamoring to change positions with Sun Huan and Sun Zhongshan. He also said eloquently that it is necessary to take turns to seize the benefits of the war, and he can't always let an honest person like him suffer, otherwise, if this kind of thing spreads, "the rumors are golden, I am afraid that the prestige of the commander will be damaged, and the name of the second general will be lost, and the victory will be very fearful." "Sycophants threaten to go together, in a word, there is a chance to fight the grassland, if you don't let him Ximen win, then don't blame him for saying strange things with his mouth open!

In fact, Shang Cheng also understood in his heart that when Ximen Sheng said this in his letter, he didn't really want to talk nonsense and ruin his reputation, but he was itchy to watch others fight and make meritorious contributions, and he was not willing to wave the flag and shout behind him. There is no soldier who does not like credit, and he can understand this. But Yanxi is also very important, and he can't rest assured that he will hand over this place to others to defend, so in the new strategy, Ximensheng still has to sit on the front line of Yanxi Fang. Such an arrangement will inevitably make Ximen Sheng feel guilty. At the end of last month, before he left Yanzhou and entered Beijing, he told Guo Biao to make a special trip to Fangzhou, and he must appease Ximensheng and the soldiers of the Left Army. But now half a month has passed, but Guo Biao is still stranded in Fangzhou, which obviously shows that Ximensheng does not buy Da Sima's account at all......

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little lucky. Fortunately, he had the foresight to estimate in advance that Ximensheng might not be able to listen to Guo Biao's words, so when he left Shangjing, he put aside the troop mobilization that he had been worried about first, and rushed directly to Fangzhou. Now it seems that he really came to the right place!

After thinking about it, the horse team had already approached the official pavilion, and the people waiting under the pavilion had already stood up and sorted out their outfits, Guo Biao was in the center, Ximen Sheng and Sima Governor of the Left Army were divided on the left and right, and the three of them led seven or eight captains, officers and a large group of small soldiers lined up on the side of the road according to their ranks, and looked at Shang Cheng's gaze, and raised their arms and fists together as their chests: "See the commander!" ”

Shang Cheng raised his arm to salute back, turned over and dismounted and walked over, grabbed Guo Biao with one hand and Ximen Sheng with the other, and said with a smile: "How long have you been waiting for me?" ”

"Less than half an hour." Guo Biao said, "When the outpost entered the city to inform you of your trip, Kezhi and I happened to be outside the city to greet the newly arrived guards. They waited a little longer to find us, but we saved time to get out of town. Then he asked, "It's going well, isn't it?" ”

Shang Cheng heard that there was another layer of words in Guo Biao's words. There were too many people here to talk about important matters, so they nodded and said with a pun: "It's going better than I expected." He turned his head and asked Ximen Shengdao, "Where did the guards you just saw come from?" ”

Ximen Sheng said: "It is the border army that Zhang Shaocai has organized. Zhang Shao's official document said that it was a five-battalion brigade with full strength. But today there was only one and a half battalions. The leader of the team was a deputy brigade commander. I was afraid that Zhang Shao and the others would delay their time, so I sent their brigade commander to Yanzhou to wait for the reception of people. As he spoke, he turned around and shouted: "Jin Xi, out of the ranks!" ”

With his words, an officer stepped out of the queue, stood up and saluted, and roared in a deep voice: "Your post is here!" ”

The newcomer was so obedient, Ximen Sheng nodded slightly with satisfaction, and said to Shang Cheng: "This is Jin Xi, the deputy commander of that brigade, and the commander of the Yamen of the Beizheng Border Army is in front of him......"

Where does Shang Cheng need him to introduce. Jin Xi is his old subordinate when he was in West Malaysia, and he can't be more acquainted. He looked at Jin Xi and said with a smile: "I looked at you in West Malaysia in front of me with loose skin and loose flesh, and I thought you were just a little good." Unexpectedly, now he is also a deputy brigade commander. One by one, good. He looked Jin Xi up and down again, knocked his fist on his chest, nodded and said, "It's really good!" ”

Jin Xi's black face was swollen red, and he couldn't speak for a long time. He used to work in the West Malaysia Zhibian Army, and the little sentry chief worked for more than ten years, and the little blood when he was young had long been exhausted by the ruthless years, so when Shang Cheng wanted to enter the grassland the year before last, he named him, and he found a reasonable reason to stay and continue to garrison in West Malaysia. This is that he is afraid of war and death, the second is that he does not feel that he can earn much credit for transporting grain and grass for the army, and third, he has a good family background and does not want to be rewarded with two runs and three hangings. But when Shang Cheng and the others came back from the grassland, his deputy Qian Laosan and another border army sentry commander Sun Zhongshan were already brigade commanders in the guards, and they all had Xuntian jade hanging on their waists. This not only made him blush, but also taught him to blush. There were many people who knew about this, and he was often ridiculed and ridiculed when he walked outside. When I returned home, I couldn't live in peace, and I didn't know how many times I was scolded by my mother-in-law; It wasn't until later that he begged his old friend Qian Laosan for help and was promoted to Beizheng as the commander of the border army, which calmed down some of his mother-in-law's anger a little. In April this year, Huo Shiqi went to Beizheng on business, and he contributed the most to it, and he sent Huo Shiqi to Beizheng County without knowing it, not to mention, but also desperately took down the stubborn Li Shen. With this credit, Li Shen's nemesis Zhang Shao naturally looked down on him, and Shang Cheng ordered the Wei Mansion to select the elite of the border army to build a new brigade of guards, and Zhang Shao immediately gave him the position of the deputy brigade commander to sit in the ......

After encouraging Jin Xi, Shang Cheng asked him to return to the team, and talked to several other captains one by one, Shang Cheng asked: "Who is the brigade commander of the newly formed brigade?" ”

"Lu Zhao."

Shang Cheng immediately remembered who this person was. Lu Zhao is also a seven-rank captain, but he is a civilian in the Left Army, and no one knows whether he has the ability to lead soldiers. He still remembered that this person seemed to be Ximensheng's hometown, and it was said that he could still have a little kinship with Ximensheng's Yue's family. He couldn't help but ask, "Did you recommend it?" ”

Ximen Sheng didn't hide it, nodded and said, "I recommended it." He let Shang Cheng into the pavilion, and Guo Biao followed suit. Ximen Sheng poured tea and soup for Shang Cheng while explaining his reason for doing this: "Isn't this the person from the Wei Mansion who detains my three brigades?" At present, the defense of Fangzhou is really tight, and I want to go back to those three brigades, but Zhang Shao is unwilling, so he only says that he will give me a new brigade general. I was afraid that the new soldiers would not be able to command, so I told Zhang Shao and asked Lu Zhao to take them. And he agreed. After speaking, he raised his head and looked at Shang Cheng, waiting for him to speak.

What else can Shang Cheng say? The affairs of those three brigades had nothing to do with Zhang Shao and the Wei Mansion, it was he who insisted on not returning the establishment; It was also he who proposed that Ximen Sheng continue to defend Fangzhou in the next autumn campaign. Since you want Ximen Sheng to watch others eat and drink spicy food, you have to give Ximen Sheng a little sweetness, right?

So he said generously: "Okay, just hand over this brigade to Lu Zhao!" I think that even after this battle is over, this brigade will not need to be transferred again, and it will be included in the establishment of the Left Army and left in Fangzhou, and it will be under your command. ”

Hearing him say this, Ximen Sheng, who has been talking with a straight face since they met, finally had a smile on his face.

Shang Cheng asked him: "With this brigade, you should be sure about the defense of Yanxi, right?" ”

The little smile on Ximensheng's face disappeared immediately. He first picked up the lamp and drank saliva, and sighed before he spoke: "Oh, it's ...... this."

Guo Biao interjected: "Commander, your horse is really good!" As he spoke, he glanced at Shang Cheng: The matter of Yanxi's defense turned around and said slowly! How much did you buy it? ”

Ximensheng likes military exploits, promotions and rewards, and good horses. When he saw that Guo Biao interrupted his words, he didn't mention it anymore, turned his head and asked Shang Cheng, "You bought it on the way to Beijing?" How much did it cost? I think it must have cost you a lot of money! Is there 800 pieces of 11? ”

Shang Cheng snorted and said, "Eight hundred? That's the price of a horse's leg! One by one, a full four thousand! ”

"Silk", Ximen Shengguo Biao and several officers outside the pavilion seemed to be suffering from toothache, and at the same time took a breath of cool air. Guo Biao walked out and circled the horse for seven or eight turns, nodded and said affirmatively: "The price of four thousand guan is not easy to say, but this horse must be worth one or two million dollars!" As he spoke, he stroked a handful of horsehair around the horse's neck. The horse was not afraid of life, turned his head and stared at him with big eyes a few times, and snorted with a "puff".

Guo Biao's affectionate action surprised and delighted Guo Biao, and he couldn't help but slap his face and shout: "Good horse!" Sure enough, it's a good horse! ”

His movements were loud, the slapping sound was loud again, and several officers and soldiers were taken aback without paying attention. The horse was not frightened, vibrated the horse's mane, and snorted again as if in response to Guo Biao's praise, and arched him playfully with the horse's head.

Guo Biao walked back to the pavilion with an incredible face, and his mouth was still full of words: "Okay!" Good horse! I have ever had a good horse, not a thousand, but also eight hundred, that is, this horse has the most aura and the most human nature! This kind of horse is easy to educate, and if you train it a little, it will be amazing! He sat down and kept looking at the horse, shaking his head and sighing, obviously lamenting that he didn't have such good luck, and at the same time regretting that this thousand-mile horse couldn't meet a master, why was it met by Shang Zida, who didn't know horses, didn't know horses, and didn't love horses?

Simon is a good horse, but he is not as obsessed as Guo Biao. He glanced at the horse a few times, and then said to Shang Cheng: "It's really a shame that you are willing to pay four thousand yuan for a horse, and I'm afraid that I will pull down a lot of debts in Shangjing, right?" ”

Shang Cheng shook his head and said, "I didn't buy it, someone else gave it to me." ”

Ximen Sheng and Guo Biao looked at each other in surprise. Even if Shang Cheng said that it was a horse given by the Son of Heaven, they would not be surprised, but this was actually a gift from someone else...... Who would have such a big deal to give away 4,000 in one sentence?

Ximen Sheng was nothing, and Guo Biao's face became a little gray. His mind was much heavier than Simon's. His old father-in-law is the Marquis of Poyang, and his son-in-law and son-in-law have correspondence every ten years, and he can know and prepare from the letters of Lao Taishan about all kinds of major and minor events that happen in the capital. At present, the prince is sick and bedridden, and he will only die this winter and next spring, and it seems that he is not alarmed in the capital, but in fact, there is an undercurrent surging in private, and people who have a little thought are racking their brains while waiting for news, and at this time, someone suddenly spends a lot of money to buy a horse and give it to Shang Cheng, it is difficult to say that he does not have any delusional thoughts.

He immediately made up his mind: he couldn't watch the blind man planting such a big heel!

But he didn't start with the matter of the horse, but picked up the teacup and said to Shang Cheng: "Zida, thank you." ”

Shang Cheng was stunned at first, and then he understood. When he left Yanshan, he once prevented Guo Biao from entering Beijing, but he did not say what the reason was at that time; At present, Guo Biao suddenly thanked him, obviously hearing the news of the Southern Expedition. He took a sip of tea soup from his cup and said with a smile: "You and I still need to see each other like this?" ”

Before Guo Biao could speak, Ximen Sheng said first: "Lao Guo is good at everything, but these problems make people dislike." Everyone is scooping soup and drinking meat in the pot of Yanshan, it is inevitable that there will be a tooth touching the tongue and causing a dispute, and he will be exposed after scolding and beating, but he doesn't just want to reason with you, the left one is 'sorry' and the right one is 'sorry', annoying can annoy people to death...... "Although he and Guo Biao are seven or eight levels apart in rank, Guo Biao's Yanshan Da Sima is a nominal position, and his left army Sima is in charge of Yanxi's military power, and he is deeply trusted by Shang Cheng, Therefore, there is no need to be careful when speaking in front of Guo Surface, he is a blind person in Yanshan Shang, so there is no need to worry about Xiao Jian! “…… Don't you think about it carefully, in terms of qualifications, merits, and personnel, which one should not be the commander of the first guard? But why didn't the imperial court send you a commander? I see, just because of your slimy temper that was afraid of wolves and tigers. If you are our own people, you don't need to call us 'thanks'; if we are our own people, leave ...... early."

Guo Biao's face was blue and white when he said it on the phone, and it was not that he put down the bowl or not, and it took a long time to squeeze out a smile, and he said with a dry laugh: "What ...... that?"

Shang Cheng glared at Ximen Sheng fiercely again, turned back to Guo Biao and said: "He didn't catch a fight this time, he is holding back an evil fire in his heart, he will bite whoever he catches, you don't have to pay attention to him!" He smiled again, "I know what you're worried about." Do you think I'm the kind of person who doesn't know the depths? Don't worry, Lao Guo, I'm a general, I only care about the war, and I don't care about anything else! Then he pointed to the Arabian horse, thought for a moment, and said, "The one who gave it to me,...... It's the princess of Nanyang. He felt that even if he didn't say it, it was estimated that it would eventually be tampered with and then spread to Yanshan; Rather than that, it would be better for him to tell the truth now.

The embarrassed look on Guo Biao's face had not faded, and he immediately changed to a look of hitting a ghost during the day. Ximen Sheng was even more surprised and forgot to drink the tea cup, until the tea soup dripped all over his chest and clothes, and then he reacted.

"You, you, you and that...... That ......" Because things were so unexpected, Guo Biao even became stuttering when he spoke.

Ximen Sheng took over the conversation with a strange look and asked, "Why are you messing up with that Nanyang princess?" After speaking, he noticed that several officers outside the pavilion were all calm and solemn, pricking up their ears and eavesdropping. He slapped the stone table and shouted, "What are you looking at?" Hurry up and pack your things, let's escort the Governor into the city! ”

Guo Biao also immediately came to his senses. The matter is big, so the bad thing that Ximen Sheng said just now was suddenly thrown to the back of his mind; Besides, the matter is also deeply related to Princess Nanyang, and it is necessary to inquire about it. Oh, he has been grinding his mouth in Fangzhou and Ximensheng for ten days, and there is no progress in the brains, and now he is finally pitiful, God not only asked Shangzi Da to appease Ximensheng, but also sent a new thing to come over as a talking point for wine on the cooking table! Oh, by the way, God also sent him a rare horse in the world......

He exchanged horses with Shang Cheng before Ximen won.

Now, he rode Shang Cheng's Arabian horse, galloping back and forth on the official road, and he was almost unfamiliar with excitement.

He once again caught up with the group from behind, and said to Shang Cheng, who was riding his Dawan horse, "This horse is definitely worth four thousand guan!" Not to mention 4,000 guan, even 6,000 guan and 8,000 guan, it is worth it! ”

Shang Cheng smiled. Not to mention that the Arabian horse itself is a well-known good horse breed, even if it is not a good horse, it can come from the Middle East to the Central Plains, and it is worth so much money......

He was about to turn his head to make a joke with Guo Biao, when as soon as his head was tilted, he caught a glimpse of two black and swarthy birds suddenly exploding in the grass beside the official road, one of which seemed to be dizzy, flapping its wings and circling in half a circle in this direction. It was too late for him to hold the reins and hold the saddle bridge, and the frightened Dawan horse "sighed and neighed", and his front hooves suddenly stood up, and he felt that his back was empty, and the roads, fields, and woods in front of him suddenly changed into a cloudless blue clear sky......

To be bad!

In an instant, only one thought crossed his mind, and at the same time as several people shouted in surprise, he felt a pain in the back of his head, his eyes went black, and he lost consciousness again......