The winter of Tang Wude's eighth year seemed to be exceptionally cold. The cold wind invades the muscles, dripping into ice.

The tall walls of Chang'an City were covered with ice, covered in silver, covered in snow, and fluorescent in the sun, as if a layer of crystal white armor had been draped over the blue-gray city walls.

Chang'an has been an important place in Gyeonggi since ancient times. It is the first capital city in history to be called "Jing", and it can be traced back to the time of King Wen of Zhou. In the seventh year of Han Gaozu, the capital of the country was moved here from Liyang, because it is located in Chang'an Township, so it is named Chang'an City, which means "long-term peace and stability".

Chang'an City, as the capital of Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui and Tang, was called Haojing in the Western Zhou Dynasty, Xianyang in the Qin Dynasty, Chang'an in the Han Dynasty, Daxing in the Sui Dynasty, and Chang'an in the Han Dynasty after the founding of the Li Tang Dynasty. It was the eastern starting point of the Silk Road and the starting point of the Sui-Tang Grand Canal, with a population of nearly two million at the peak of the Tang Dynasty, and was the most prosperous city in the world more than a thousand years ago.

At this time, it was early in the morning, and the people inside and outside Chang'an City began a busy day, and the city gate was bustling with people coming and going. There were people who lived outside the city, driving donkey carts and carrying burdens, full of their own local products, or dug mountain goods, and they set out before dawn, and rushed into the city as soon as the city gate was opened, just to sell their mountain goods and soil production capacity for two more old money.

Zhou Laoliu, the official of the city gate, crossed Erlang's legs, sat in the shelter in the doorway, and ate a bowl of steaming mutton soup, chewing on Hu cakes with taste.

The Hu cake was stuffed with meat, and when I took a bite of the mouthful full of oil, I went down with a mouthful of hot mutton soup, and the whole body was warmed up, and there was nothing more comfortable than this on a cold day. Zhou Lao Liu felt that this day had to be like this to have a little taste.

Zhou Laoliu is a city gate official who guards the east gate of Chang'an, and his ancestors are three generations. took over this errand from his father Zhou Laofu, and he has been doing it for more than ten years.

Relying on the perennial guarding of the city gate, he has cultivated a pair of tricky and vicious eyes, and understands that those people can be offended, and those people must not be offended.

A few years ago, the world was in turmoil, the Great Sui fell, and the current Tang Dynasty came. The head of the city has changed the banner of the king, and there are fewer rich and noble families in Chang'an City, and there are a number of new faces. But what is this doing to him, the bird who watches the city gates? Even if the king of heaven and Lao Tzu ascends the throne and sits in the palace, doesn't he need someone to help him guard the city gate?

Although the days are dull, they are stable. Didn't you see that the captain who was guarding the city gate for the Great Sui even lost his head when he was eating and talking? family property, even the wives and concubines with water spirits are cheaper than others.

Zhou Lao Liu is very satisfied with today's life, he is in charge of more than a dozen people, and his work is easy, and it is not a problem to mix the daily food and clothing of a large family with a monthly salary plus eating and taking cards, and from time to time he can still have a little spare money to go to the secret door for recreation.

Said to be the city gate officer, in fact, it is also to promote him, not even an official, at best it can only be said to be a soldier head, Chang'an City Gate has two city gate captains responsible for safety inspections, one tube in, one tube out, the opening and closing of the city gate by a special city gate Lang is responsible.

It's just that Li Tang has been in the country for nearly ten years now, and the world has been decided, and there is nothing to do. Today's new boss sent by the imperial court, Lord Lieutenant, has a new concubine, and is busy with the top priority of inheriting the lineage, working day and night. Naturally, it will not come out on a cold day to get freezing, and it will not get up until noon.

There are no tigers in the mountains, and the monkeys are kings. The heavy work of opening the door every day naturally fell on Zhou Laoliu's head, and Zhou Laoliu was also happy to share his worries for the captain, although he was sent to the post, and the hard work was harder, but fortunately, there were still some filial piety who went into the city to buy and sell food, and shipped goods, not much oil and water, but Zhou Laoliu was also content.

Zhou Laoliu finished eating the Hu cake in a few bites, and was sipping his mouth and tasting the mutton soup, when he suddenly heard a big chaos outside the city gate, with the exclamations of the people and the neighing of livestock.

Zhou Lao Liu frowned, could it be that the gang of gentlemen were jealous again, looking for trouble, and it didn't look like the sound. If those gentlemen make trouble, the entire Chang'an who can't wait to toss will know. Could it be that the ringing horse is coming? Immediately, I felt funny, this is the hinterland of Guanzhong, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, which eyeless ringing horse dares to come here to fight the autumn wind? When the Sixteen Guards Army is not a decoration? Since the Tang Kingdom to the present, Guanzhong has been peaceful, and he has not come out of the east gate for a long time.

Thinking about it, it was not a big deal, Zhou Lao Liu drank the mutton soup in one gulp, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, woke up his nose, and wiped it on the mottled city wall by the way. Then he took a duck step, with his hands behind his back, and shook out of the city gate hole step by step.

I said————! What's going on? Don't know what this place is? Zhou Laoliu pulled a long voice out of the city gate, without the shelter of the city wall, he was shivered by the cold wind, he shrunk his neck, and saw that there was a large open space in front of the bustling city gate, and the people were hiding far away, and from time to time there were panicked calls of livestock. Zhou Lao Liu was puzzled, so he had to ask a few frightened city guards next to him.

Those soldiers are also old men, if it is an ordinary thing, it will never be so unbearable, hearing Zhou Lao Liu's question, one of the soldiers wiped the cold sweat on his forehead with his sleeve, and replied tremblingly, "Zhou Tou, look, which kid over there——! Bring a monster! As soon as he said this, he himself felt that his voice sounded much more shady and hoarse than usual, and it sounded harsher to the ear.

Zhou Lao Liu turned his head to look over there, and he also jumped down.

I saw that more than ten feet away from the city gate, a young man stood still.

This young man, who looks to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, was born with sword eyebrows and starry eyes, red lips and white teeth, a pair of handsome eyes and clear eyes, full of brilliance, and a good face!

He is not very old, but his stature is not inferior to that of ordinary men in the prime of life, with a tall figure and a thin waist.

Although he is dressed ordinarily, Zhou Laoliu has been a city gate official for many years, and the three sects and nine streams enter and exit the city gate every day, and his eyes are naturally very vicious.

Moreover, Zhou Laoliu's eyes were sharp, and at a glance, he stared at the flawless jade that the young man was wearing on his waist, looking at the color and texture, if it was converted into silver money, I was afraid that it would be an astronomical amount that he had never seen in his life. Lao Zhou's eyes were a little kinder, and he said in his heart that he was not the son of a wealthy family, who wore the clothes of ordinary people and secretly came out to play.

When the young man saw Zhou Laoliu's eyes, he smiled at him, the sun was shining, revealing a neat white tooth, and he felt comfortable when he looked at it, and he was not free, which made people feel a little good.

Looking to the side, Zhou Lao Liu finally understood where the previous panic came from. The young man was leading a sturdy high-headed horse, but there was a huge black-haired beast beside him!

The beast's head was as big as a bucket, its body was too long, and a large tail like a steel whip flicked around behind it. The muscles are knotted, the body is covered with black and shiny black hair, like a fine satin, it is shot by the morning sun, with a black and dark light, dark purple stripes are densely covered, the eyes are white, and there are three horizontal and one vertical king-shaped stripes on the head!

Seeing Zhou Lao Liu looking at it, the evil beast turned its head sideways, squinting a pair of eyes and looking at Zhou Lao Liu, but Zhou Lao Liu felt a cool breath from his head to his feet, and his legs and stomach were turning. I felt that the fierce beast's half-squinted eyes revealed a fierce light, always turning back and forth around his neck.

Zhou Laoliu has been a city gate official for many years, and he is sent every day, all kinds of dignitaries, wealthy and wealthy families have also seen a lot, and they can be regarded as having some knowledge.

These wealthy dignitaries, many of them have some fierce and vicious beasts in captivity, all kinds of goshawk eagles flying in the sky, running on the ground, as small as lynx lynx, as big as tigers and leopards, and even curly-haired lions from the Western Regions, Zhou Lao Liu has also been fortunate to see once. One is to look at the home care home, and the other is to fly eagles, and it can also highlight the difference of a wealthy family.

But this black-haired beast, Zhou Lao Liu has never seen it, and he doesn't know where it came from. Looking like this, it looks like a colorful tiger, but how can there be a black tiger in the world? What's more, this size is also two laps larger than an ordinary tiger!

Seeing that Zhou Lao Liu didn't react for a long time, the black-haired beast Xu was impatient, and kept circling around the young man, lowering his head, half-revealing four white fangs like knives, and roaring in his throat.

Zhou Laoliu and a group of officers and soldiers defending the city were shocked to see it, and they were trembling, so they couldn't pee their pants. Looking at the size of the beast, if it pounces, it is estimated that its small physique is not enough to plug its teeth.

At this time, the young man scolded, "Little Black! Don't be rude! You forgot how I taught you before you came out! If you don't obey, I'll beat you! ”

When the beast asked, its attitude immediately changed, like a puppy, and it lowered its eyebrows and fell to the ground, no longer moving.