After three days on various rugged paths, when he stopped to rest, Lao Ding said: "He Rongren must have gone north to chase Xu Gongzi, and I haven't seen them in these days—it's indeed a good idea to go south." ”

Xu Ji smiled but didn't answer, and said: "Of course, my son-in-law is clever and famous all over the world, you should have heard of it, right?" ”

"I've heard of it." Lao Ding nodded again and again.

Lao Ding is actually not old, in his thirties, short and strong, the perennial wind and sun have left traces on his face that can never be erased, the corners of his eyes are densely wrinkled, and his cheeks are always red, but this face is still smiling, even if a person walks in front, he will laugh from time to time.

Lao Ding got up and patted the soil on his body, "Young Master Xu, can you leave?" If you go a little faster today, you should be able to rush to Zuojiazhai before dark, if you still have the surname Zuo, we can stay for a day or two, replenish the supplies and then go on the road. ”

"Let's go." After three days of eating and sleeping in the open, and there was not even a tent, Xu Ji was actually tired, but he was embarrassed to show it in front of Lao Ding.

The road is not easy to walk, the three of them led the horse on foot, Chang Yanzhi asked: "Since it is called Zuojiazhai, will it not be surnamed Zuo?" ”

Lao Ding said with a smile: "In the past, it must have been surnamed Zuo, but now it's hard to say, since a few years ago, when there were gangsters, Qinzhou has not stopped for a moment, it is a military village, and it is often taken away by people, I don't know whose family it will be tomorrow." ”

"Bandits? The Incarnation? Chang Yanzhi asked curiously.

"That's right, they serve a stick as a bodhisattva, so Liang and Qin call them 'stick bandits'."

Chang Yanzhi laughed out loud, glanced at Xu Ji, and saw that Gongzi didn't care, so he laughed and said: "That stick is not a bodhisattva, it is an artifact given by Maitreya Buddha to the king of the world, called that ...... Kill the Emperor Stick. ”

"Kill the emperor and destroy the emperor all over the world." Xu Ji corrected, he couldn't be more familiar with that stick.

Lao Ding nodded, "The names of the stick bandits are all big, they are Buddhas, they are the kings of heaven, and they are the ones who kill the emperor and destroy the emperor, I think, they can't become the climate." ”

It turned out that Lao Ding nodded and said that he had heard of Xu Ji's reputation, but he was just polite, but in fact, he knew very little about his experience, thinking that this was a noble son of the Eastern Capital who was in trouble, and he didn't expect that he would have a deep relationship with the Incarnation Army.

Chang Yanzhi coughed twice and couldn't answer.

Xu Ji became interested, handed the reins to Chang Yanzhi, caught up with Lao Ding in a few steps, and walked side by side with him, "Just because the incarnation army likes to use big names, do you think they can't become the climate?" ”

"Yes, no matter how big the cowhide blows, there will always be a day when it will break. And more than that, the bandits have no accurate number, they make trouble in Qinzhou today, go to other states tomorrow, and come back the day after tomorrow, making people panic everywhere and leaving a bunch of trouble. ”

"It's better for the Yang family to stick to one place in Liangzhou."

Speaking of the Yang family, Lao Ding immediately changed his tone, "Of course it's not as good, the Yang family has been passed down from generation to generation, how many years has it been rooted in Liangzhou, which is comparable to the bandits?" Don't look at the old shepherd who just became the king, in fact, we privately called him 'King Liang' more than ten years ago. It is also the injustice of Emperor Tiancheng, if he was crowned king when the dynasty was established, the Yang family would be grateful and send troops to quell the chaos as soon as possible, and Qinzhou would not be what it is now. ”

Xu Ji smiled: "The imperial court has no foresight. ”

"Nope." Lao Ding said with certainty.

"Old Liang Wang is not young, right?"

"There is no eighty, there are seventy, my grandfather said that he saw King Liang when he was a child, at that time King Liang was young and strong, invincible on the battlefield, able to hold a ten-stone strong bow, dance a hundred catties of long lance......"

Chang Yanzhi couldn't help but laugh out loud again.

Lao Ding turned his head to look at him, and for the first time there was no smile on his face, "What, you don't believe it?" ”

"A hundred catties of long lance, I don't dare to say no, ten stone strong bow, impossible, two stones are amazing."

Lao Ding's face was originally red, so it wouldn't be even redder, and he snorted, "You just follow and don't understand this, Xu Gongzi, do you say it?" ”

"Well, I'm a scholar, and I'm lonely about weapons, so since Ling Zu has seen it in person, it must be good." Xu Ji said vaguely.

"Surely yes, my grandfather never told a lie in his life."

"It's really admirable. If there is an accident for the old Liang King, who will the throne pass to? ”

"Hey, hey, this kind of thing...... I don't know. Lao Ding didn't dare to talk nonsense.

"It's just a small talk, I'm not from your Liangzhou, and I may not come here again in the future, are you still afraid that I won't be able to report you?"

Chang Yanzhi in the back echoed: "The son doesn't have to be strong, Lao Ding is just a guide, and he doesn't even have an official position in the army, he said he doesn't know, that is, he really doesn't know." ”

The method of agitation is always useful, Lao Ding said: "Don't look at me as just a guide, but I am the most trusted by my boss, and the correspondence between Liangzhou and Zuojiazhai is all passed on by me." The big and small things in Liangzhou, there are still things I don't know? I don't like to talk about it. ”

Xu Ji and Chang didn't ask any questions, Lao Ding was silent for a while, and then said on his own: "We Liangzhou people don't say it on our lips, but we are actually like a mirror in our hearts, Lao Liangwang estimates that there is not much time left, and as soon as he leaves, it will be a big fierce and three fierce battles." ”

Lao Liang Wang had three sons, known as the "Liangzhou Three Meng", and the third fierce was Yang Mengjun who released Xu Ji.

"Lao Liang Wang is seventy or eighty years old, and Da Meng is not young, right?" Xu Jidao.

Lao Ding shook his head and said with a smile: "Xu Gongzi is not very familiar with our Liangzhou, there are many sons and grandsons of Lao Liang, the most famous is 'Sanmeng', but these three people are all in their thirties, there are no too old, above them, there are many brothers." ”

"Does King Lao Liang refuse to pass on the throne to his eldest son?"

"The customs of our Liangzhou are different from those of Kyushu in the Central Plains, and the position of the head of the family should be passed on to the children and grandchildren in the prime of life, so as not to be taken away from the family."

"I see, it's similar to the customs of He Rongbu."

"So it was He Rong's troops who attacked the Central Plains, not the Central Plains who attacked the outside of the Central Plains." Lao Ding's idea is extremely simple.

When Emperor Tiancheng ascended the throne, he was also in the prime of life, Xu Ji didn't mention this matter, and asked: "Which one do you support?" ”

"Ha, Xu Gongzi really looks up to me. Although I am valued by my boss, I am not to the point where I can 'support' anyone to be the king of Liang. Lao Ding couldn't stop laughing.

Xu Ji also smiled, "Okay, don't say 'support', which one are you 'optimistic about'?" ”

"I ...... Of course, whoever is the king of Liang can do it, anyway, it is the Yang family. ”

Chang Yanzhi in the back knew that Gongzi wanted to understand the situation in Liangzhou, so he helped: "Lao Ding must be optimistic about Dameng, because ...... Oh yes. ”

Lao Ding immediately said: "The three fierce are sorted by age, not the size of their ability. If you want to say that you are optimistic - it's not that I'm optimistic, it's that everyone is optimistic about the fierce general, he cares more about the soldiers, leads the troops outside all the year round, and is familiar with the terrain. Now that the world is in such chaos, only the fierce army general can hold Liangzhou. ”

"Da Meng and Er Meng are also famous for their bravery, so they should be very good at leading troops, right?" Xu Jidao.

"I'm good at it, but the two of them haven't been out of the city much over the years, and they have been filial piety by the side of Lao Liang Wang - alas, to put it bluntly, it doesn't matter what the people below think, Lao Liang Wang estimates that nine times out of ten he will still pass on the throne to Da Meng." Speaking of which, Lao Ding Yi was very happy, and no matter how Xu Ji and Chang Yanzhi guided, he refused to continue.

The road was a little flat, and the three of them got on their horses and walked quickly, and finally saw a stockade before dark.

Zuojiazhai is built on a hillside, down the avenue, business travel, all have to stay here for a night or two.

Lao Ding reminded: "Xu Gongzi, don't mention your identity, wronged you to be a Liangzhou scribe for a few days, let me come forward in all negotiations to keep you safe." ”

"That's very good."

Xu Ji and Chang Yanzhi were on the way, Lao Ding entered the village alone, came out quickly, and beckoned to the two, "Come in, it's okay." ”

As soon as he entered the gate, Xu Ji noticed that something was wrong, dozens of soldiers were guarding on both sides of the road, and their eyes glanced at him intentionally or unintentionally.

Xu Ji smiled at Lao Ding: "Walking all the way, it can be regarded as an acquaintance, how much money can the two of us sell?" ”

Lao Ding was startled, his face was red, and he couldn't even hide his original blush, "I didn't ask for any money, I just ...... It's just that Zuojiazhai is no longer surnamed Zuo, and I can't ......"

The soldiers gathered around, and Xu Ji said loudly: "Who is the general guarding the village, take me to see him." ”

A soldier asked, "Are you Xu Ji, the king of Wu?" ”

"I'm Xu Ji, and I'm no longer King Wu."

"Hey, it's bad luck for you to fall into our hands."

Although it was just night, none of the houses on both sides of the street were lit up, and the soldiers held torches to lead the way, and soon sent Xu Ji and Chang Yanzhi to the official yamen, which was also the only place of light in the village.

Although Zuojiazhai is a small place, because of its remote location, it has been able to set up its own guards, and the Zuo family has always been in power, but now it has changed owners.

The hall was lit with candles, and the original furnishings were removed, leaving only a large chair, on which the new owner and the old lady sit.

The woman of the Zuo family had tears on her face, bowed her head and did not dare to make a sound.

The owner of the new village is a black man, holding a long-handled knife in his hand, majestic, with a fierce face, not like a reasonable person, Changyan thought to himself, I am afraid that the eloquence of the son will not be used this time.

Xu Ji stepped forward and arched his hand: "In Xia Xu Ji, I don't know what the general is called?" ”

The black man looked Xu Ji up and down several times, and said in a rough voice: "I am not a general, but the King of the Dharma Emperor swallowed it in a hurry." ”

"It turned out to be the 'King of the Day'." Xu Ji said with a smile, as soon as he heard the name, he knew that this person was the Descendant Army, Lao Ding was right, the Descendant Army likes to use large fonts.

"Any one-day king, two-day king, call me the Heavenly King of the Dharma, or swallow it in one go."

Xu Ji gave his hand again, "Your Excellency is the leader of the new army of the Descending Army?" ”

swallowed a sneer, "The Descending Army is the Descending Army, and there is no distinction between the old and the new. Are you that Xu Ji? ”

"If there is no other Xu Ji, I am the same Xu Ji."

Yitun suddenly laughed out loud, scaring the woman next to him.

"Haha, Buddha opened his eyes and let you fall into my hands! Xu Ji, when you were in Xijing to kill the enemy, you didn't expect this day, right? ”

"I'm going to die?" Xu Ji was taken aback.

swallowed his face and sank like water, originally he was holding a knife in one hand, but he held it with both hands, as if he wanted to get up and cut people at any time, "You don't have to quibble, everyone knows about this, the whole army wants to seek revenge on you, kill you, I am the new leader of the army of the world!" ”