Chapter XXI

"The Jade Dust Season in the Hanshan Pass - Old Things under the Rongwu Mountain"

On the eighth day of the ninth month of September of the year, the autumn equinox had passed.

The people of Hanshan Pass are about to usher in the severe winter cold, and Hanshan is located in the low valley of the mountains, which not only hugs the waterfront of the dragon slayer, but also relies on the Rongwu Snow Mountain.

The reason why it is called Hanshan Pass is because as soon as September passes, Rongwu Mountain will begin to accumulate snow, it is cold and abnormal, and it is difficult to walk an inch, and the rivers and rivers of the continuous hundreds of miles are white ice, and the places where the cold air overflows are all cold mountains, so the Hanshan Pass is named.

In the cold mountain city these days, the people are busy collecting winter materials, and the market is peaceful and lively.

When the snow closes the mountain, all farm work has to be put aside, and the only time of the year is that you can rest for a while, so this time is comparable to the biggest festival in Hanshan City.

When the jade dust comes, every household builds a stove and sits around a room, and the parents are all busy with farming.

What's more, he invited three or five friends, warmed two or two wines, and instructed his wife to order a few side dishes. Talk about the world, get drunk. There is no more farming to add, and this is the time to drink and have fun.

After a hangover, I wake up early in the morning and go to my friend's house to ask him to bring his tools. Go to the frozen river embankment to dig ice to lure fish, at noon a teahouse to listen to books and drink tea to fall chic and happy, and then go back to the river embankment in the afternoon to collect the net, the harvest is rich and warm wine to invite guests, drunk overnight, the joy of life for a hundred years is only at this time.

Hanshan Taishou Liu Yan is old, and he has been recuperating for a long time and finally improving.

When winter came, he also roamed the markets to organize agricultural trades. From time to time, I asked the farmers in the past how the harvest was this year, and there were heirs in the family, which showed that Liu Yan cared about the people.

The son followed the father, and Liu Changfeng assisted from the side. The father is in good health, and he is busy with political affairs, and he is not at ease as a son.

Seeing that Liu Yan was starting to pant and couldn't stand anymore, Liu Changfeng quickly helped his father to sit down, and reproached with concern: "Dad, you are in good health." My mother said that I should rest more. ”

"There is no life in the house, sitting for a long time will block the heart, which is not conducive to recuperation, and it is okay to go out for a walk."

Liu Yan took the warm tea handed by Liu Changfeng, took a breath, his face was much more comfortable, and then replied.

Liu Changfeng was not at ease and beat his father's back again to relieve his fatigue: "I can act as an agent for things in the cold mountains, so why do you have to do everything yourself." ”

"If you marry a wife and have children, and continue my Liu family's incense, what will your father and I do when I come out?"

Liu Yan glanced at Liu Changfeng, and his tone was full of helplessness. He was satisfied with everything about this son, except for one thing, he had not yet taken a wife. Liu Yan is now over sixty, and he has such an only son under his knees. Seeing that he is about to enter the year of loess, he still wants to see his future grandson. sent people around to talk about the matchmaker, but Liu Changfeng was either busy with trivial matters in the city or ignored them, and his wife Wu was almost so angry that she fainted several times.

"The Tang Dynasty is righteous, and the three counties in the south of the Yangtze River are all facing difficulties, how can I, Liu Changfeng, be in love with my children?"

Liu Changfeng said loudly, although he was afraid that his father would be ill, his personal principles could never be changed.

Now that the Tang Dynasty is suffering from internal and external troubles, Jiangnan was attacked by Xixia again some time ago, and he has no idea of marrying a wife and having children. On the contrary, he wanted to make a contribution from Rong, and the appearance of Su painting made his thoughts stronger and stronger.

Su Hua was young and in a high position, and the war at the East Gate spread throughout the three counties in the south of the Yangtze River, and it was impossible for Liu Changfeng not to hear about it.

Besides, he saw Su Hua in person and found that he was kind to people and was a rare person with both wisdom and bravery. If it weren't for the fact that his father was old, he would be such a son, and he would have to take care of everything in Hanshan, otherwise he would really want to go to Su Hua's account.

"There are three unfilial pieties, and no queen is great!"

"Dad, your body is so tough, you can't have another one with my mother." Liu Changfeng's words were amazing.

"Rebel!"

Liu Yan was so angry that he had difficulty breathing for a while.

Liu Changfeng secretly knew that he had said the wrong thing, and hurriedly stepped forward to help his father beat his chest, and it took a long time to see an improvement, and as soon as Liu Yan got better, he couldn't help but copy the crutches next to him and hit Liu Changfeng.

While beating, he scolded angrily: "Why did I give birth to such a rebel as you!" ”

"Dad, don't fight, I was wrong, so many people are watching, give me face!" Liu Changfeng covered the sore spot and shouted, his father's stick was practical and full of strength.

Seeing this, the surrounding people couldn't help but cover their mouths and snicker, this meeting was not once or twice.

When Liu Changfeng was thirteen years old, he made insulting remarks and teased the girl on the side of the road. The child's Liu Changfeng felt that it was nothing, and the old man Liu Yan was furious when he heard about it. He was in charge of Hanshan Pass forty years old Li Weimin, how could he give birth to such a gentlemanly son, and he was stunned to chase Liu Changfeng with a cane and beat Liu Changfeng for three streets.

In this situation, thinking about it with his toes, it is that Liu Changfeng is old and alive and dead, and he has an awkward relationship with Taishou, so he is beaten, and it is not strange anyway.

"Face? Do you still want to save face? The old man has seen that his colleagues are full of children and grandchildren in the past few years, when have you ever given the old man face? ”

The old man who doesn't like children, but he has no heirs in the Liu family. Seeing that his colleagues are full of children and grandchildren, enjoying the happiness of family and the blessings of others, Liu Yan felt aggrieved and bitter.

I don't know if I'm tired or Liu Yan is tired of it, so I simply threw the crutches aside, sighed for a long time, but didn't say a word.

Liu Changfeng secretly felt that he was at a loss, carefully picked up the crutches, wiped the dust on it, and then knelt on the ground and handed it to Liu Yan. He said respectfully: "The child knows his mistakes, and he hopes that his father will punish him." ”

"You still have my father in your eyes? I don't have a father like you! Liu Yan was also confused, and he made a mistake for a while.

"Huh? A father like me? Liu Changfeng was stunned.

"I don't have a son like you, you get out of here! The farther you roll, the better. Liu Yan picked up his crutches angrily, he should have wanted to go home. He kept chanting: "I'm angry!" ”

At this time, the soldiers outside the city came in a hurry, Liu Changfeng felt that something was wrong when he looked at his face, and he mentally estimated that something big had happened.

Seeing that Taishou Liu Yan was also here, the soldiers saluted Liu Yan first, and then saluted Liu Changfeng.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Did something go wrong outside the city? ”

Liu Yanren is old-eyed, and he hit the nail on the head with one word. In addition, the anger of what happened just now has not subsided, and there is a majesty of persecution in his tone.

The soldier hurriedly knelt down, not knowing where to anger Taishou. In a hurry, he glanced at Liu Changfeng and got instructions from Liu Changfeng's eyes.

"Returning to the Taishou, there is nothing wrong outside the city. It's just that the vendors who come and go, asking to see the waiter. That's why I came, and I looked in a hurry. ”

Since the soldier lowered his head and answered Liu Yan, he did not observe the soldier's expression. That's it, after all, it is his own son, and Hanshan Pass is also in charge of his own house, so Liu Yan turned around.

"Let's take care of government affairs, I'm going home."

"Congratulations to the father."

"No need to send it, busy with you."

Looking at his father's back as he gradually moved away, Liu Changfeng picked up the soldiers and asked what was happening outside the city.

The soldier understood what Liu Changfeng meant the moment he saw his eyes, even if something big happened, it would be treated as if nothing happened. It's not that Liu Changfeng is greedy for the power in his hands, but as a son of man, sometimes there is always a kind concealment.

Listening to the soldiers whispering in his ear, Liu Changfeng's face changed, and then he called out to the soldiers patrolling nearby and hurried out of the city.

The news reported by the soldiers was a lingering nightmare for Liu Changfeng.

Three days ago, he had received a letter from Su Hua, in which he indicated that Ling Yanying would conduct a martial arts exercise in the near future. will rush to the beacon tower to light the beacon fire three days later, and the reason for it is not mentioned by Su Hua, Liu Changfeng is naturally not very clear. It's just a military camp exercise, and it's all some confidential things.

Liu Changfeng is also a reasonable person and understands it very well. The letter mentioned that when they first met, thanks to the information he sent from thousands of miles away, he had no time to thank him, hoping that Liu Changfeng could go to Jiangnan for a few days to play for a few days, and he would be the east.

The last letter told him to pay attention to the situation in the surrounding towns, after all, the presence of a group of 4,000 people was very impressive. If something happens, Su Hua hopes that he will be there to support him as soon as possible.

This so-called situation is the reason why Liu Changfeng changed color.

It is written in the previous document that the north of Hanshan is the Longmen Pass of Western Xia.

Since ancient times, there have been a mixture of dragons and snakes, not to mention such an important place as Jiangnan.

There were many people in the Western Xia who were affected by wars for many years, and many people fell into the grass. There are Western Xia Liukou who infiltrated the Jiangnan territory and did some things to rob houses, which is part of the forces.

The second is the southern waters of the Cold Mountains, followed by the land of barbarians. The barbarians were proficient in the power and savagery of the water, and were adept at building huge ships on the water, which often hijacked merchant ships from north to south. However, most of them were for money, and there were no bloodsheds.

The third is the most feared Jiangnan water thief.

This group of water thieves was originally the advance army of the former dynasty Daliang, led by Wang Xiao, nicknamed the "undefeated general". At that time, Jiangnan was the capital of Liang, but it was a pity that Liang Wang Zhujun was mediocre and incompetent, and then Su Zhen's army broke through Jiangnan, and the temple of Liang Wang hanged himself.

Wang Xiao wanted to take the crown prince Zhu Zizhen and flee north to Western Xia, but fell into the trap arranged by Zhao Chunxin. The soldiers were trapped in Rongwu Mountain, the crown prince Zhu Zizhen died in the chaotic arrows, and Wang Xiao died under the sword of Zhao Chunxin.

Later, his army scattered and fled, Zhao Chunxin was young and conceited, believing that this group of wandering stragglers could not afford to turn up any strong winds and waves, and they were too lazy to pursue them. But this unintentional intention brought a long-term dilemma to Su Zhen, who managed Jiangnan later.

After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, one of the advance troops in this group of troops in Rongwu Mountain was named Cheng Qihu, who did not know what strategy to use, and even instigated many soldiers to stand on their own mountaintops and hold high the banner of self-proclaimed "Tiger Roaring Hall".

To say that this person is also extremely capable, the number of people at the peak of the Tiger Roar Hall can reach 10,000.

The imperial court sent a lot of bandit teams in vain, and even Su Zhen suffered a great loss in Rongwu Mountain, with no people in the snow all year round, and poisonous insects and beasts were even more prohibitive. Even at that time, Zhao Chunxin did not attack the middle of the mountain, but relied on the lack of food to force Wang Xiao to fight the trapped beast, which shows that Rongwu Mountain is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

After Cheng Qihu founded the Tiger Roaring Hall, he reached an alliance with the barbarian thieves by thunderous means. The merchant ships from the south were taken over by the Tiger Roaring Hall, and the merchant ships from the north were managed by the barbarians. In this way, until Cheng Qihu died of illness and his son Cheng Tianba took over the Tiger Roaring Hall, this mountain bandit leader unified all the water thieves in the Jiangnan territory, including the barbarians and the Western Xia Liukou.

Speaking of which, this Cheng Tianba is really unpredictable, and his temperament is sometimes irritable and sometimes elegant. often sent people down the mountain to kidnap Mr. Private School to teach him poetry and songs. If there is a disobedient person who coerces and traps his whole family, he will honestly serve three meals a day with good wine. He also ordered all water thieves to seek wealth and not kill them. For a while, it fell into a good reputation, and there was a trace of peace in the Jiangnan realm.

At first, the Xixia thief Kou still scoffed, until he was hit by Cheng Tianba's big knife in the head, and everyone no longer doubted the words of this bandit leader.

is such a group of water thieves, and they actually ran into it on the way to the Lingyan Battalion.

You are a thief, I am a soldier, and this enemy is very red when he sees him.

At this time, the military exercise had entered a white-hot stage, and there were less than 70 people left after the original 600 people in the past three days.

The Seven Killing Battalion led by Xing Dahu, with only thirty people left, was stunned to draw with the three hundred water thieves of the Tiger Roaring Hall. It doesn't matter if you don't fight, it's an accident. The signal flare of the Tiger Roaring Hall hit in time, and the water thieves who responded nearby rushed over.

Xing Dahu was in a hurry, and also fired all the signal flares in the team. In the past few days, the most frequent signal flares have been fired five times at the same time, and this time thirty flares have been fired, there is no reason, at this time, Ling Yan's rest of the soldiers knew that something big had happened.

Duan Sandao had rich experience in the battlefield, and rushed to the place of the incident first, but unfortunately he was still one step too late. All that remained was lying on the ground, said the wounded soldier. When asked the reason, he fainted after saying the word Tiger Roaring Hall.

Tiger Roaring Hall?

Duan Sandao's brows tightened, if it was the Tiger Roaring Hall in his memory, then Xing Dahu's situation was dangerous. Just when Duan Sandao was thinking about how to rescue Xing Dahu, Guan Shensha and others also arrived.

Fang Meng saw that there was a mess on the ground, all of which were traces left by the fight. Everyone met on the way here, but they didn't see Duan Sandao and Xing Dahu, now Duan Sandao is still there, but Xing Dahu is nowhere to be seen.

"What happened to Lao Duan?"

"Big Tiger, most likely, was captured by the thieves of Tiger Roaring Hall."

Duan Sandao said word by word, he really couldn't think of any reason other than this reason. Xing Dahu has a reckless personality, but his ability is not low and he is familiar with the art of war, he will not blindly pursue, and there is no reason for him to disappear after sending a distress signal. The only explanation is that he was taken away by the people of Tiger Roaring Hall.

"Tiger Roaring Hall!"

Fang Meng blurted out, and his face began to deteriorate sharply.

"Oops! Tiger Roaring Hall is full of bandits, relying on Rongwu Mountain, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and is rampant and domineering in the waters south of the Yangtze River. Su Gong rarely has defeats, he has suffered a big loss from this group of thieves, and the big tiger was taken away by them, it must be more than lucky! ”

"Duan Guard, give the order. This place is less than half a day's journey from Rongwu Mountain, and at this time the chase will definitely be able to catch up and recapture the big tiger. ”

When Wang Xiaoqi came to the barracks, he was thin and was bullied, but Xing Dahu stepped forward. The two were appreciated by Su Hua together and led the army, and they have long been like brothers when they accompany each other day and night.

Duan Sandao won the trust of Su Hua, and he was the only one in this group who could give orders, and everyone was also convinced.

"Xiao Qi, don't be impatient, this matter needs to be considered in the long run." Han Bin grabbed Wang Xiaoqi, patted him on the shoulder, and motioned for him to calm down first.

Duan Sandao closed his eyes and fell into deep thought, his mind constantly flashing through what method to use to ensure that nothing was lost.

The great cause of Su painting has not improved, and Xing Dahu and these people are extremely valued talents in their eyes, if something goes wrong now, he will not escape the blame. Su Hua would not punish him, but he would definitely feel guilty. When Duan Sandao was thinking, everyone was not bothered, so they could only watch from the side.

After a long time, Duan Sandao's eyes were wide open. Looking at Rongwu Mountain in the distance, I couldn't help but grit my teeth.

"Han Bin, your horse is fast, you rush to Jiangnan at full speed to inform the young master. Wang Xiaoqi, you lead a team of ten people, follow the enemy's escape path, don't startle the snake, remember to leave us a signal. Lao Guan, the task of the wounded soldiers will be handed over to you, and you must bring them all back to Jiangnan. I went to Hanshan Pass with Lao Fang, and Liu Changfeng, the waiter of Hanshan, had a relationship with me, and I would definitely help him. As soon as the young master arrived, it would be difficult for him to fly with his wings roaring. ”

In the past, there were three knives, not the original eaves were bad.

At this time, he was already quite talented, and he considered everything thoroughly.

The big tiger was taken away by the Tiger Roaring Hall, and according to Su Hua's character of retribution, he will definitely not give up. At this time, the soldiers of Lingyan were exhausted from the three-day attack, and it was not suitable for them to fight in a short time.

Wang Xiaoqi is well aware of the watery terrain, and he is the only one to spy on the military situation.

Han Bin is both civil and military, and when the time comes, there will always be someone to help Su Hua when the Jiangnan march comes, and Han Bin is the best candidate.

Speaking of sending troops, it is up to the major general to decide on it himself. He went to Hanshan Pass, and with the help of Liu Changfeng, they also dared to fight for seven points in this Rongwu Mountain.

Everyone received orders one after another, and Wang Xiaoqi called a few agile brothers and hurriedly followed the trail.

When Han Bin turned over and was about to get on his horse, Duan Sandao stopped him.

"What else is going on with the Duan guards?"

Duan Sandao was hesitant, and after a long struggle, he said: "Don't let Dahu's parents know about this matter." ”

"My subordinates understand."

"Go and come back quickly, meet in the cold mountains!"

"Duan Guard, take care!"

In fact, Han Bin understood Duan Sandao's words very well, and he also understood what kind of group of people Tiger Roaring Hall was. To put it pessimistically, when Xing Dahu was rescued, he was afraid that life and death were unpredictable. His parents are still old and decrepit, and they can't stand this major blow, so how to explain to Xing Dahu if something happens.

It can really be said that the plan can't catch up with the changes, Su Hua didn't expect such a big event to happen in his first martial arts performance.

At this time, Su Hua was still in the workshop, and he followed Lao Yulou to discuss the hydraulic gear. Now that he has plenty of money, he can build even more powerful technology. Hydraulic gears can reduce manpower and can play a significant role. In the future, iron smelting and forging also need to use hydraulic gears, otherwise who can afford to hold thousands of pounds of heavy iron.

"I'm obedient, this gear can really lift the power of ten thousand gold?"

The old man Feng took the drawings and looked at them, but he couldn't see the reason. Lao Lou Gao was not happy to snatch the drawings in his hand with one hand, and patiently checked it, but found no damage, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Old drunkard, you know a six, the young master's strategy is the subject of God, you are a puppet, and you still want to spy on the heavens?"

"Tell me, then, what's the mystery in this? Say it, and the old man will obey you! ”

"I'm also a puppet, and I don't understand."

"You don't understand, so what do you say?"

The two of you are talking to me, and they are arguing so much that their faces are red. Su Hua couldn't help but be embarrassed, the two of them were almost one hundred and fifty years old, and they knew about bickering all day long.

"Okay, okay, both masters stop for a while, and I'll explain the mystery to you."

Hearing Su Hua say this, the two stopped.

"You've all seen the pit under the eaves, where the rain dripped down and fell from the tiles onto the slabs. Over time, the slate has some potholes, which is the so-called droplet stone wearing.

Water is full of energy. You all know the horrors of the flood. But the water we usually drink is the same water, why is there no such serious consequences as flooding, water can carry a boat and sink a boat. By gathering the waters together, their power can destroy everything in the world. If used properly, it is a world-class artifact. ”

What Su Hua said was ambiguous, but then the thinking became clearer, as if it was really such a truth.

Su Hua continued to explain: "There is a waterfall behind the Dingjun Yuan, and the water is turbulent. We started by making a huge wooden gear, which is our most critical hub. With the impetus of this huge hydraulic force, the pinion gear will be driven up. When the time comes, with the hydraulic gear, we will be able to move mountains and reclaim the sea. ”

Su Hua is holding a small model of a gear in his hand, simulating what the water will look like after it moves. A piece of iron was tied to one end of the gear, and Su Hua only needed to turn the rocker on the side of the gear, and the piece of iron would be dragged up.

"This is only the smallest model, and the greater the hydraulic power, the more it can drag a thousand pounds. How's that, guys? This hydraulic gear, is it okay? ”

"Wonderful, wonderful." Wang Kaizhi applauded: "With the hydraulic gear, the workers of my stonemason workshop can save a lot of effort." ”