Lou Yan's body is slightly fat, and he is naturally a big difference compared with his father and brother, but his belly is bulging high, and he has begun to take shape, with a long beard hanging down his chest, he looks more like a military general than a civil official.

The sixth son of the Lou family is rarely famous, and when he was more than ten years old, he once answered in front of Emperor Zhang Xi, shocked the four, gave the general a long face, and since then he has been favored and has high hopes.

When Lou Yan was thirteen years old, the general found him a position and sent him to various ministries and departments for training.

At the age of sixteen, Lou Yan has been able to stand alone, obtained a real official position, and has a bright future in the court, but he himself voluntarily proposed to be released, and said to his father: "It is enough for the Lou family to have a father and a third brother in the court, and one more person is not beneficial, so it is better to let me go to the local government to be an official, and take care of it inside and outside, so as to ensure that I have no worries." ”

Lou Wen didn't feel the need for this at the time, but appreciated the foresight of the sixth son, so he sought a job for him in Luozhou, not too far from home, I heard that he was an official and stable, and he did not indulge after leaving home, so he transferred this son to Hanzhou.

Lou Yan has been an official in Hanzhou for more than ten years, traversing the counties and counties, and is not in a hurry to be promoted, only three years ago he was promoted to the history of Hanping and became a big official, but everyone understands that the position of Hanzhou Shepherd is in his bag, and the successive Shepherds have come and gone, and they must respect this subordinate for three points, and when they encounter major events, they must be invited to discuss.

The assassination of the Emperor of All Things, the chaos in the world, interrupted the career of the building, when the Descendant Army rose in Hanzhou, it was once rumored that he had been killed, and when the Descendant Army turned from prosperity to decline, he reappeared, and gathered a team of officers and soldiers, and gradually recaptured the county.

When everyone thought that he would take the opportunity to serve as a shepherd or even become king, Lou Yan was once again unexpected, and instead invited a new shepherd from the Xi family in Jingzhou.

Lou Yan didn't care about the seventeenth brother's change of surname and what he had done before, at least he didn't care at all, and personally greeted him out of the barracks, first bowed, then opened his arms, gave his younger brother a warm hug, and then turned around and shouted to everyone: "This is my seventeenth brother, don't look at his youth, he once assassinated and called the king, and with his own strength, he repelled hundreds of thousands of enemy soldiers in the eastern capital, and shocked the world!" ”

Everyone praised one after another, but Xu Ji was embarrassed.

Xu Ji had no impression of this bearded sixth brother at all, but it did not prevent a wave of brotherhood from the bottom of his heart at this time.

Lou Yan looked at the people who came with the Yizhou army and said with a smile: "General Wei seems to be really worried about the seventeenth brother, sending so many guards, is he going to take the opportunity to rob the camp?" Ha ha. ”

Wei Hang attached great importance to this meeting, and his attention to Xu Ji also increased by five or six points, and he sent an escort team of 200 people, equipped with drums and flag sticks, and the pomp was comparable to that of a herdsman.

"If you really want to rob the camp, the fewer people the better, and four or five people will take the main general by surprise, it is enough." Xu Ji said with a smile.

Lou Yan laughed, took Xu Ji's hand, and entered the camp side by side, admiring along the way, until he entered the tent, sat the guests, and invited tea, he did not mention his father.

"I didn't get the news of my father's death until a long time later, and there were many messages, so that I couldn't tell the truth from the false, the seventeenth brother was in the Eastern Capital at the time, and I hope to tell you what the truth is."

There were only guards and servants in the tent, and there were no other generals, Xu Ji arched his hand and said: "I changed my surname to Xu, and I am no longer a descendant of the Lou family, so I dare not take on the title of 'Seventeenth Brother' anymore." ”

"Why bother, how can there be parents in the world who are not partial...... Okay, let's not talk about it for now, if you want to be 'Xu Gongzi', I will call you 'Xu Gongzi', but in my heart, I still treat you as my own brother. ”

Xu Ji smiled, "At that time, I was in the Eastern Capital, and the general was killed outside the city, I didn't witness it with my own eyes, but later I saw the children of the Lou family who were present, and it is said that the general was indeed killed by the Empress Dowager Luan." ”

Lou Yan had also heard this rumor, and after getting it confirmed, he was still extremely surprised, and said after a while: "This is ...... Why? ”

"The general's personality, the building chief should know."

Lou Yan smiled bitterly, "But after all, it's the Queen Mother, and his father is ...... Really moved by the heart? ”

"The Great General has always been like this."

Lou Yan sighed, "The Lou family prospered because of the general, and also declined because of the general, alas, the world is impermanent, it can only be said that the world is impermanent." ”

The two families chatted about family affairs for a while, Xu Ji only knew that Lou Gang was stranded in the army of King Ma Wei of Liang, and the other descendants of the Lou family should still be imprisoned by King Ning. ”

Xu Ji felt that it was time to get down to business, and arched his hand: "This is not to reminisce about the past, but to come over for the Yizhou army to ask: The Hanzhou army is assembled here, what is the matter?" ”

"Xu Gongzi serves in the Yizhou Army?"

Xu Ji shook his head, "I was just passing by, because I had acquaintances in the army, so I was in charge." ”

"I see, where is Xu Gongzi going?"

"I'm going to Yizhou to meet the King of Shu."

"Xu Gongzi has an old relationship with the King of Shu?"

"Well, there have been some dealings."

"Xu Gongzi intends to be a vassal to the King of Shu?"

"It's not decided yet."

Lou Yan smiled, "In this case, it will be much easier for us to talk." To tell the truth, the Hanzhou army assembled here to recover the entire territory of Hanzhou, in other words, to send guests out and ask the Yizhou army to return to Yizhou. ”

"What about the original oath?"

"Haha, I don't tell lies in front of Xu Gongzi, the original oath was a last resort, both sides were insincere, Yizhou sent troops first, and then invited the alliance, there was no sincerity, and Hanzhou was just a false and wronged snake, in order to delay the army."

"Hanzhou doesn't need a 'delay' now?"

"Just got my hands free."

Xu Ji wanted to mention He Rongren, but an entourage from the building outside came in and reported that the banquet had been arranged.

"Since Xu Gongzi is here, let's have a drink no matter what. There were no delicacies in the army, and there were several jars of fine wine. ”

The two changed a tent to drink, and Lou Ji still regarded Xu Ji as his own family, so he did not invite other generals to sit with him.

Xu Ji's abdominal injury was still in steady pain, and he drank a glass of wine slowly, not daring to drink too fast or too much.

Lou Yan quickly saw the abnormality and asked with concern: "Xu Gongzi is unwell?" ”

"A little bit of a minor injury?"

"Where? There are a few intellectuals in our army who have superb medical skills and can diagnose Xu Gongzi's pulse. ”

"Thank you, but no need, I've seen Lang Zhong and I'm taking medicine, and I'll be cured soon."

"Xu Gongzi is recuperating from his injuries and shouldn't be drinking, so I don't know." Lou Yan said to the servant standing on the side: "Make ginseng tea, and then ask for some supplements." ”

The servant said: "There is still some ginseng tea, and there is only a little Poria paste left in the tonic." ”

"Don't leave as much as you have left, bring them all."

Xu Ji said: "Don't bother......

"Eh, it's not a valuable thing, now the soldiers are in chaos, the roads are isolated, there is no way to buy them, they are all leftovers from the past, just don't dislike Xu Gongzi."

Lou Jian blindly showed goodwill, and Xu Ji waited a long time before finding an opportunity to bring up the matter again, "I heard that the Hanzhou Shepherd went to see Shan Yu and has already returned?" ”

"On the way." Lou Yan said perfunctorily, and asked rhetorically: "Xu Gongzi is going to Yizhou, how much do you know about the situation over there?" ”

"Not much."

"Does Xu Gongzi know that Gan Zhao called himself the king of Shu, but he did not occupy the entire territory of Yizhou, and after seizing the golden capital, he was trapped in it and did not dare to go south half a step?"

"I heard that the king of Shu has occupied the entire Yibei, and after weighing the pros and cons, he decided to go north first and then south."

"Haha, everyone is the same, choose good things to proclaim, and hide bad things from them. Han and Yi are adjacent to each other, and I don't know much about the situation over there, at least I'm not a stranger. The rebellion in the world started in Qinzhou, followed by Yizhou, but there was a lot of internal turmoil in Yizhou, and it didn't attack everywhere like the bandits, so people outside knew very little. Yizhou was originally inhabited, and the old Shu king had ambitions and fought everywhere, and more than half of the soldiers were killed or wounded. Tiancheng Dingding, and moved the people of the states to the real land, but unexpectedly it attracted a dispute between the soil and the guest. Nowadays, Yibei is mostly Hakka people, and Yinan is dominated by natives, for example, General Wei in Hanping City is a Hakka people, and his first is Jingzhou people. ”

"The current King of Shu is also a guest."

"Still a newcomer." Lou Yan said with a smile, "The soil and the guest compete with each other, and the guests of different origins are not of the same mind, and they regard each other as enemies in order to compete for power." ”

"It is rare that the King of Shu can occupy Yibei."

"Haha, if Gan Zhao has such ability, it is time to occupy the entire Yizhou now. Let's put it this way, the king of Shu is a good move, but the real owner of Jindu City is not him, but the king of Yidu. ”

"King Yidu has long been killed, and he has children and grandchildren left?"

Lou Yan shook his head, "When King Yidu was alive, he was bent on accumulating wealth, and he didn't care about the disputes in the state at all, just to see who had more bribes, he favored whom, and all the big and small government affairs were handed over to his subordinates, two of them were regarded as left and right hands, one died with him in the Eastern Capital, and the other stayed in Yizhou, and his power did not decrease but increased, and he was called 'New Yidu King'." This person's name is Che Quanyi, has Xu Gongzi heard of it? ”

"I've heard a little." Xu Ji had heard of this name from the iron kite.

Che Quanyi is a smart person, as long as he has real power, he doesn't want to be famous, so he himself is not called king, he chose the new Yizhou Ganzhao, served him as the king, and took advantage of the situation to cut off dissent. Why did Xu Gongzi think the Yizhou army went north? ”

"Consolidate the northern border, and if there is an opportunity, lure He Rongren to stay in Qinzhou."

"Hey, that's a nice thing to say, it's actually Che Quanyi's plan to divert the tiger from the mountain, he transferred all the disobedient guest soldiers away, leaving only his cronies and the bandits who were willing to take him."

"Tie Kite, the commander of the Yizhou Army, is the most trusted person of the King of Shu."

"Of course, if you don't send someone who is close to you as the commander, how can the Yizhou guest soldiers obey their fate? Xu Gongzi fortunately did not go directly to Yizhou, I advise you not to go, it is not a place to live, willing to recruit weakness, do not distinguish between loyalty and treachery, Che Quanyi is even more bent on fighting for power, for this reason he would rather cut off his siblings: he will take most of the guest soldiers away, his strength has plummeted, and sooner or later he will be defeated by the Yinan native soldiers. ”

"But is defecting to He Rongren a long-term solution?" Xu Ji asked directly.

"It's both a long-term solution and a stopgap measure. Xu Gongzi asked, I don't hide it, He Rongren is unstoppable at the moment, only Qu obeys, and can't be carried hard. After recapturing Hanping City and pacifying all the counties, Hanzhou should still stand on its own feet and never serve foreigners as the mainstay. Xu Gongzi came just in time, and went back to persuade General Wei to surrender the city, and when he took Yizhou in the south in the future, he would be able to use these guest soldiers. ”

"I am the envoy of the Yizhou army, and I am not capable of being entrusted with it, so I won't go back to persuade me to surrender."

Lou Yan said with a smile: "To persuade or not to persuade, the result is the same, when you and I are sitting here, the Hanzhou army has already sent troops out of the camp to block the exit of the valley road, and it only takes half a day to dig a trench and divert water to isolate Hanping City from the iron kite army in the valley." ”

Xu Ji really guessed, but he was not proud in his heart, and said: "I wish Lou Changshi a complete victory, and second, I wish Lou Changshi can avoid the disaster." Although Yizhou is chaotic, it sounds more stable than here, so I can't stay for a long time, so I'll leave. ”

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