The three of them fell in love and talked about each other, and it was not until they were far away from the city that they said goodbye to each other. Li Xu looked at the back of the officer surnamed Bu, admiring and envious. The other party said well, fame is only taken right away. Like Luo Yi, who came from a humble background, can't he become a Tiger Ben general of Megatron in the end? It's a pity that there is only one of my parents under their knees, otherwise, they would have joined the army and followed under the account of Luo Gong, so as not to worry about the day when they will not have a future in the future.

"This infantry general has achieved the position of captain of the Tiger Ben Iron Cavalry at such a young age, I don't know if he was born in the Linfen Bu family or the Luoyang Bu family!" Xu Dayan didn't know what kind of material was made of exquisite heart, and he was so excited that he couldn't immediately put pen to paper, and in a blink of an eye, he began to calmly explore the family of the officer surnamed Qi.

"What's the difference, aren't they all surnames? There is also a family in front of my village that sells plasters surnamed Bu, maybe he is still a close relative of this general! Li Xu was disgusted by others who mentioned his family background at every turn, for no reason.

Xu Dayan knew that he was deliberately raising the bar, and he didn't fight with him, so he smiled and explained: "Of course there is a difference, the Linfen Bujia is the Wen Taowu strategy passed down from the family after the general Bu Qi of the Eastern Wu Dynasty. He is willing to devote himself to the account of Duke Luo, instead of relying on his family's prestige to go to the court to drill camps, this down-to-earth momentum is admirable. And the Luoyang Bu family is the Xianbei king after Bu Lu, and there is still some relationship with today's saints. He has a good and stable life, and he joined the army under Luo Yi's account, and this heart is even more impressive! ”

"How do you know that his ancestor didn't sell plasters, he General Luo Yi said that people are not animals, and they don't need any famous blood!" Li Xu sneered and argued strongly. Although the emperor was a Han Chinese, his original name was Pu Liuru, which was a Xianbei surname. It is not impossible for Bu Lugen to have something to do with Pu Liuru's family. But he resented Xu Dayan's practice of associating people's achievements with their surnames, and besides, Captain Bu was bold and magnificent, and he was not like a person who came out by relying on the shadow of his family.

"His lance makes the movement like a rabbit, but it is as stable as Mount Tai, and people can't escape the overwhelming momentum. It can't be achieved without ten years of hard work. This lance is not something that everyone can refine, so they can afford to buy a lance, and they can't afford to hire a master. Didn't you listen to what he just said, Luo Gong stabbed Sha Boluo's buttocks, using a knife, not a lance? Xu Dayan is very eloquent and careful, and just from a few words from the captain of the step, he found circumstantial evidence for himself.

"Maybe Luo Gong's lance is broken, so he temporarily changed the knife!" Li Xu knew in his heart that Xu Dayan was reasonable, but he refused to accept it in his mouth. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, my understanding of the outside world is almost blank except for books. But Xu Dayan has seen everything and understands everything. It is like a spring that flows out of the wisdom of life. This intelligence made him admire it very much, and in addition to admiration, he also deeply felt a kind of inferiority. So when he is desperate with Hu Ren, he can live and die with Xu Dayan. After getting off the Bo Fate Field, the gap between each other is still like a cliff, and they can see each other, but they have never been able to get close.

"If you are used to using one weapon in your life, will you use other weapons in your life?" Xu shook his head and asked rhetorically. Looking at Li Xu's very unnatural expression, he comforted in a low voice: "Brother, in fact, in my eyes, many so-called big clans are just old trees with rotten roots, which look tall and sturdy on the surface, but when they are blown by the wind one day, they will fall immediately. But before it fell, the branches and leaves on it grew stronger than the weeds, and this is also true. If your Li family is a poor family who can't even afford to eat, do your parents have the ability to send you to the county to study? Those famous teachers who keep saying that they have no class of teaching, are they willing to accept a beggar to study? ”

"That's, that's nature!" Li Xu felt that his face was hot, but his voice suddenly raised: "But Luo Gong said that people are not animals, and whether they can achieve anything depends on their own ability!" ”

"If someone despises you because of your family background, you can ignore this kind of abuse, but you must not spoil your mood because of it. But if you feel inferior just because of the other person's background, or don't want to associate with him, it's your own fault. It's no different from being an indiscriminate person who despises you! I analyzed his family in order to see him more clearly, but not to cling to him. You insist on your fallacy and you will only blind yourself! Xu Dayan also raised his voice and accused unceremoniously.

"I, I....!" Li Xu felt that his whole body was trembling, he couldn't say it was anger, he couldn't say it was sadness, all kinds of grievances he had received in the past few days were hooked up by Xu Dayan, and he wanted to find someone to fight to get angry. And what the other party said was reasonable, so that he couldn't find a reason to have a seizure.

"It's your own problem, no one can help you. If Luo Gong also values his background as much as you do, he can't accept a character like a lieutenant. Besides, you are in the Li family of Shanggu, and you are originally a famous family! Xu Dayan patted Li Xu on the shoulder, and the expression on his face did not look like a sixteen-year-old boy at all. Brother, you can give your life to save me today, that's why I remind you. Although you may have been bullied in your own people. But after the flying general Li Guang, it is still a golden signboard. When it comes to future use, there's no reason not to use something so good! ”

"So, thank you Brother Xu!" Li Xu felt the warmth coming from his shoulders, straightened his waist and said.

"Don't thank me, we're fellow travelers. What are you going to do outside the Saiwai, what am I going to do outside the Saiwai, foolish brother? Xu said with a smile, revealing a face full of honesty.

After a dispute, the relationship between the two has been brought closer a lot. Li Xu was not a person with a small belly, and Xu Dayan was not a person who was unforgiving. They were about the same age, so after a while, the laughter of knowing immediately rang out.

"Brother Xu, is that lance really difficult to refine?" After walking for a while, Li Xu asked tentatively again. In the afternoon, the demeanor of the infantry captain was already deeply ingrained in his mind.

"It's easy to learn, but it's hard to master, and it takes at least ten years to get to the point where you want to be a captain! To tell the truth, eighteen kinds of weapons, refining the lance is the most loss-making! Xu nodded and explained in a low voice.

"Why is that?" After the conflict, Li Xu instead regarded Xu Dayan as a rare teacher and asked for advice very seriously.

"Horse lances are very expensive and difficult to make, and they cannot be called lances by tying an iron head with a wooden stick. It is a valuable weapon since the Qin and Han dynasties, and the length and material are standard....." Xu Dayan instilled in Li Xu what he knew as much as he could, just as seriously as a brother teaching his younger brother. The reason why he is like this is because of his youthful nature and his desire to show that he is different in front of his peers. The second is because Li Xu sacrificed his life to save him in the afternoon, according to Xu Dayan's understanding, this is a friend of life and death, and he can't live up to it no matter what.

After listening to it for a long time, Li Xu finally understood that there was a lot of attention to in a good horse lance. There are fixed standards for length, weight, and focus point (center of gravity). Although some people in the army use hardwood with pointed heads as lances, some people also call maces maces. However, the horse lance in the hand of the infantry captain is a superior product, not at all like the wooden pole used in ordinary lances, but the trunk of high-quality tough wood, peeled into a uniform thickness, and glued.

The toughest wood is the most used for bows, followed by mulberry, oak, and rattan, and the worst is also made of bamboo. Soak the fine scorn in oil repeatedly. The bubble is no longer deformed, no longer cracked, and the first step has been completed.

This process takes almost a year, after which the strips are removed and dried in the shade for several months. Then use the best glue paint glue to make a handful of thick, eight zhang long (note, Han ruler), and then wrap the hemp rope on the outer layer. Wait for the hemp rope to dry thoroughly, apply raw lacquer, and wrap it in arrowroot cloth. Dry a layer and wrap a layer until you cut it with a knife, and the mallet makes a metallic sound, but it does not crack, so it is qualified.

Then go to its head and tail, truncated to about four feet. The front is equipped with a three-foot stainless steel lance, and the rear is equipped with a one-foot red copper lance. Constantly adjusted, the qualified standard is to use a hemp rope to hang two feet away from the tail of the lance, the whole Zhangba horse lance can be suspended in mid-air like a weighing rod, the end of the head and tail does not fall. In this way, the military commander can ride on the horse, so that he can maintain the balance of the lance without the slightest effort.

The resulting lance is light, tough, and strong. Generals can charge with horsepower, or swing them in melee combat. It's just that the whole lance takes three years, and the success rate is only 40%, so the cost is surprisingly high. Therefore, since the Han and Tang Dynasties, the horse lance has always been a symbol of the generals from the family. With the wealth of Emperor Wu of Liang in the south, he made a lance two feet and four feet long, and he also had to go around to show off with others. In the Great Sui, only the descendants of the royal forbidden army were equipped with a large number of horse lances of such a standard. In Xu Dayan's mind, this kind of fake and shoddy product can only be called a spear strictly speaking, and it has nothing to do with the lance.

"That's why I deduced his origin from the spear of the infantry captain. In this dynasty, it is forbidden for people to carry knives, swords, bows, and arrows, but horses are absolutely not allowed to be bought and sold. How can someone who can hide such a delicate lance at home and can afford to be taught by the Master, how can it be a small family! Xu Dayan finished introducing the wonders of the horse lance, and pointed out in a low voice: "I don't value his net worth, but I heard from the master that the overall situation can be seen in the subtleties, if you lead the troops to fight, what is the background of the generals on your side, what abilities, and what will happen to the enemy's side in the future, it must not be ignored!" ”

Talking, talking, I heard that there was no sound on Li Xu's side again. Xu Dayan looked sideways, only to see his companion drooping his head slightly, as if he had just lost a package.

Xu Dayan turned his mind and immediately understood why Li Xu was sad. Presumably he experienced a storm in the afternoon, and he had already regarded Captain Bu as an idol in his heart. I've been planning to buy a lance to learn slowly, but after such a verbosity, the whole dream was shattered at the beginning.

Thinking of this, Xu Dayan felt sorry in his heart. secretly scolded and only cared about showing off his skills, but forgot that the brother next to him was a little poor. With Li Xu's life experience and personality, it is no wonder that he reacts so much to the word family.

Ashamed to pat Li Xu on the shoulder, Xu Dayan solemnly promised: "Brother, don't be discouraged, when this battle is over, my brother will give you a long lance." The texture may not be as good as the branch in the hands of the captain of the step, but it is guaranteed that it is not an ash pole with an iron head! ”

"Thank you, brother!" Li Xu shook his head and sighed softly. He understands Xu Dayan's kindness, but with his own net worth, where to hire a good master. Jin Ge Iron Horse, crisscrossing the rivers and lakes, is destined to be a sweet dream.

"Brother forgot, Luo Gong used a knife, and he still stabbed Sha Boluo's ass! No matter how good the weapon is, it's still a person who uses it! Xu Da saw that Li Xu frowned, and continued to enlighten him.

"Thank you, Brother Xu, but I'll mention everything when the battle is over." Li Xu sighed as if he had spit out all the gloom out of his throat, changed his smiling face, and asked, "With Brother Xu's skills and knowledge, why don't you go to the front of the battle to gain fame." Instead, follow me, a short-sighted person, and hide in the grassland for refuge? ”

"I said brother, that surname has killed you miserably!" Xu Dayan laughed loudly, his eyes seemed to penetrate everything in the world: "I started studying at the age of four, began to practice martial arts at the age of six, and from the age of eight, my family found someone to teach me the worldly affairs. Ten years of hard work to sell at a good price. This crusade was defeated and unwon. Knowing that I still do trading at a loss, is my Xu family still worthy of the three words of businessman? ”

"Ah, uh, uh, oh!" Li Xu was so surprised that he almost turned his back on his breath, looking at Xu Dayan's frank smile, a smile slowly welled up from his stomach, and in an instant, the young man's gentle and innocent smile bloomed all over his face.

After laughing, the estrangement between the two faded. Seeing that it was still early, he was not in a hurry to report back to Liu Laozhuang, so he simply found a tavern that looked cleaner on the side of the official road, gave the reins of the horse to Xiao Er, and walked in.

The shopkeeper was worried that the door was so clean that the birds had already built a nest, and when he saw two young young students who were full of books and spirits walking in, how could he not work hard to entertain them. After a while, a few local specialties and half a jar of rice wine were placed on the table, Xu Dayan and Li Xu put the two low tables together and chatted while eating, the more they talked, the more speculative they became.

After talking about it, Li Xu realized that it was not easy to be the child of a big family. Since childhood, he has been restrained like a prisoner, and there are many rules on how to walk and how to eat. As for reading, practicing martial arts, writing, reciting poetry, and other things that Li Xu feels enjoyed, it is a daily drudgery for Xu Dayan. The rest of them observe the world's major events, participate in family affairs, and interact with other families, which is even more annoying.

And Xu Dayan is quite curious about Li Xu's daily life. Cuddling grass, catching rabbits, playing with mud, and fighting in groups are all games he never dreamed of. As for taking thatch to block people's chimneys, throwing lit wild peppercorns into the livestock pen, and all kinds of "evil deeds" that can be the same crime as "going to the house and revealing the tiles"! It is even more unheard of. How happy and exciting it is, Xu Dayan can't imagine it.

The wine in this tavern is as tasteless as white water compared to Uncle Zhang's private brew, but Xu Dayan and Li Xu still feel that the most enjoyable drink in their lives is today. As they spoke, the two talked about the most proud thing in their lives.

"That kid is also very tough, knowing that he has fallen into the trap I set in advance, he didn't frown and went to my rice shop to carry a sack for an afternoon. Although he was beaten half to death by his father after returning home, he still came to school the next day and met with everyone, and he was still so arrogant! Xu took a glass of wine with wide eyes and introduced proudly.

His proudest feat occurred last year. Fifteen-year-old Xu Dayan set a trap to make a child surnamed Hou, who looked down on him, lose the gamble, and volunteered to be a young man in Xu's rice shop for half a day. Although he was beaten by his parents afterwards and ordered to come to the door to apologize, all that he remembers is proud.

"Then, is that family surnamed Hou more than your family's property?" Li Xu asked in surprise. During the conversation, he learned that Xu Dayan's family has hundreds of acres of grain fields and more than 40 shops under his name, all over the surrounding counties. In Li Xu's memory, such a big family business is almost unmatched by almost no one near Shanggu. How did he get to Xu Dayan's hometown, and there were still people who looked down on him.

"It's not because of family wealth. In terms of family wealth, the Xu family is not a small household. In terms of face, it is a real poor family, and the number of good days is only fifty years. And the Hou family, since the time of the Han Dynasty, has been a wang family, stretching for more than ten generations. So, I can't even get close to their door! When he got closer, he was scolded by his family. Although I went to apologize that time, I went straight in, and no one dared to stop me! Xu Dayan was full of alcohol, and he bit the word Hanmen sonorously. His family will not be able to get this façade back if he does not receive my apologies. Let me go in and apologize, I can't say that I have never had anything to do with a poor disciple of me. On that day, their old lady's face was better than a monkey's ass! ”

In the counties of Shandong, there are some big families, such as Yingji Liu, Qinghe Zhang, Song, Bingzhou Wang, Puyang Hou family, and some such as Xiao, Liang, Li, Zheng, Hao and other wealthy families with the blood of emperors and generals. In the eyes of these big clans, there is only Haoyou, who has a long history with their own family, and they don't look down on the upstart like the Xu family, who has just risen. Even the current emperor, because he used to have the surname Puliuru, they are reluctant to marry him. On the contrary, because of the noble blood and large population of these people, the imperial court of successive dynasties had to award high-ranking officials to appease. (Note 3)

Therefore, Xu Dayan was also full of disgust with wealthy families like Li Xu back then, but as he grew older, his mentality gradually calmed down. I don't want to trouble these people anymore, I just hope that my family will one day become stronger than those hereditary wealthy, so that all those who have despised me will regret it.

"It's man-made, the so-called wealthy family is just a chance meeting, and there are a few heroes. I don't believe it, ten years of hard work can't get me a proud foundation. What about Brother Xian, what is the happiest thing for you, can you say that you have a drink with Brother Fool? Xu Dayan dried a lamp, poured another one for himself, and held it high, showing his youthful and arrogant state.

"Me?" Li Xu was speechless again. Since he became sensible, in addition to studying and playing, he has helped his mother tidy up the housework every day. More than ten years of memories are full of daily trivialities. With a bit of warmth, but also with a bit of bitterness. In the cold night, it is okay to slowly reminisce about it, but if you take it out and share it with others, it will become tasteless.

"Yes, hasn't Brother Xian ever done anything out of the ordinary and proud?" Xu's wide-eyed eyes were wide enough to stuff a bun, and he asked expectantly. Chatting with Li Xu today, he saw a completely different side of his life, curious, fresh, and made up for the shortcomings of never having fun playing since he was a child. I always regarded the story of Li Xu's youth as my own, and imagined how I would be naughty and mischievous if I were Li Xu, catching cats and teasing dogs.

"Just last month, I fought a wolf on my own, and it's so big!" Li Xu's hand turned to the front and compared it on the two small tables in one place, and said proudly. This was already the proudest thing he could remember in his life, although he was almost scared by the she-wolf to pee his pants at that time.