It was late at night.

At the end of the song, people are scattered. In the spacious main hall of the official village, only three brothers, Gao Jitai, Gao Dengtai and Gao Antai, remained. They all took off their coats and crossed their legs around the brazier.

"You said that the prince asked you to leave two people behind, as well as weapons?" Gao Jitai asked Gao Antai with a glare, but Gao Dengtai sat next to him and did not interject.

Gao Antai replied: "Exactly! Peng Yuanke, the guard of the Feixian Pass, and Ning Sen, the deputy envoy of the Inspection Division, are really hateful! At that time, the little brother was furious, and he wanted to immediately draw a knife and cut them down! The prince did not allow the younger brother to do it, and he said that our toast could not afford to cause this trouble, and he would solve it for us. I heard from the prince that his caravan will start tomorrow night! The younger brother estimated that with the capital of Peng Yuanke and Ning Sen, he would lose his head in a quarter of an hour at most. ”

Gao Jitai asked again: "What is the caravan, and who is leading the team?" ”

Gao Antai replied: "The leader of the team is a senior of mine, named He Youyi. The younger brother had never seen it before, but he only saw it in Bifeng Gorge this time. Shu Guoping, the younger brother's classmate, is the nephew of Master Shu, and the classmate who entered the Shizi Mansion with the younger brother said, He Youyi was born in Jiangmen, and his father was killed by thieves with Hou Liangzhu in Baiqingba, so he abandoned martial arts and followed the ......."

"Then why did he start leading troops again?"

Gao Antai replied: "I don't know this little brother, maybe it was also recommended by Master Shu?" Big brother, this time the younger brother went to Bifeng Gorge to see the caravan of Shizi Lian, and then he opened his eyes. Those soldiers were trained neatly, like a man! The best part? Shu Guoping said that those people were bought by the prince on the eighth day of this month at the people market in CD Mansion, and they were driven to Bifeng Gorge for training, and there were only ten days in total! ”

"How many people are there in the caravan?"

Gao Antai replied: "About three or four hundred." ”

Gao Jitai shook his head and said, "How much can this person do?" With our Gao family, we can make up at least 3,000 people in five days! Second brother, you are the most knowledgeable of the brothers, and you have been in the CD Mansion for twenty years, and you know the minds of those people best. Tell me, what kind of medicine is sold in the gourd in this world? ”

Gao Dengtai stared at the faint flames in the brazier, and said slowly: "The little brother returned to Tianquan from the CD Mansion in October last year. At that time, the thieves had just hit the west of Sichuan. In the past two or three months, the younger brother listened to those merchants and said that the thieves had made a circle around the southern Sichuan and CD mansions, and then hit the east of Sichuan. According to the younger brother, the court and government are becoming more and more incompetent, and hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers are chasing and intercepting them, so that the thief is like entering a no-man's land, and he can come and go freely. Shizi's military training, perhaps as he said to his third brother, is to seek self-protection in troubled times. As for whether he has a bigger mind, the younger brother can't see it yet. However......" Gao Dengtai paused and said, "Big brother, don't despise the son of the world because of the lack of soldiers!" The younger brother has lived in the big city for a long time, as my father once said, it is a place where I rub shoulders and sweat like rain, and there are a lot of people! If the speed of the world's training is really based on what the third brother said, there is absolutely no problem in training 10,000 people in that year! ”

Gao Jitai glared at his second brother and asked, "Then the government of Sichuan and the capital of the Yamen are at the mercy of the prince to train the army?" ”

Gao Dengtai said: "This is exactly what the little brother is worried about. There are rules in the ancestors of their Zhu family, which do not allow the vassal kings of various places to lead the troops, and the guards are just scary. The younger brother estimated that it was precisely in order to avoid Zu Xun that the prince deceived the governor Liao Daheng into building this caravan. ”

Gao Jitai did not continue to ask, and fell into deep thought. The empty hall was quiet, except for the occasional crackling of charcoal in the stove, emitting a bright light.

"Second brother, what do you think of Shizi?" Gao Jitai finally broke the silence and asked.

"The younger brother only has one side, and he can't talk about understanding. The younger brother just felt that the conversation and demeanor of the prince was not like a fifteen-year-old rich and noble boy, but like an old official who had been in the road for a long time. ”

Gao Antai also said: "Shu Guoping also told his younger brother that I don't know why the prince knows how to train soldiers. Master Shu himself doesn't know soldiers, how can he teach Shizi the art of war? Therefore, the younger brother speculated that either the prince of the world has another master as a teacher, or the son of the world really has something magical and can be born to know it! ”

Gao Jitai said: "Although your eldest brother doesn't read much, he still knows that the sage once said that some people are indeed born to know!" I see, that son of the world is decisive in killing, and he has some means to do things, and he is a powerful master! You say, if their Zhu family opens the ban, will the prince rebel? ”

Gao Antai was surprised: "How could the prince rebel, he just used some vicious methods." Big brother, you won't be intimidated by a flying immortal pass! ”

Gao Dengtai said: "My Gao family was favored by the Ming Emperor, and my father led the troops to participate in the pacification of the Extravagant Rebellion, and won the favor of the imperial court. The younger brother thought, if the son of the world just wants to protect himself in the troubled times, we have received his favor, the grace of dripping water, and we should repay each other as a spring. If he wants to rebel, the emperor's edict will be issued, and we will turn around and beat him. Grandma and Daddy both taught us brothers to be loyal, filial, benevolent, and righteous, and we can't afford to lose this big festival......"

Before Gao Dengtai's words fell, his third brother muttered and objected: "I can't tell who is the main lord of the world in this troubled world!" The younger brother is in the CD Mansion, and he has also heard rumors in the market, saying that it is the 'Eighteen Sons of the Lord Artifact', and people say that it refers to the thief Li Zicheng when he entered the capital as the emperor! The traitor can still enter Beijing and be the emperor, but the prince is noble, he can't be called? On this day, it was a barren place, surrounded by Fanbang toast. I Gao Antai was born a Han and died a Han person, I don't want to be this prison Shizi Tusi, and live next to the Fanbang barbarians for the rest of my life! I want to be like my father, follow the son, chase Kyushu, and build a great achievement on the battlefield! ”

As soon as Gao Antai finished speaking, he was glared at by his eldest brother and scolded: "I don't know who is the main lord of the world, so you are stupid to follow?" I think you were pampered by your grandmother, which made you look lawless! ”

Gao Antai was scolded, but twisted his neck to the side, obviously unconvinced. His second brother hurriedly persuaded: "The third brother has always been so straightforward when he speaks, you don't have to be angry with him, eldest brother." However, the words of these three brothers are not rough, and there is some truth. Big brother, you think, my Tianquan is so big, from the end of the Tang Dynasty when the ancestors stayed in Tianquan to the present, it has been almost 800 years. In the past 800 years, our Gaoyang family has multiplied and multiplied in this generation. On this day, six or seven out of ten of the people were surnamed Gao Yang. Big brother, you know, on this day, there is one in each of the two Gao Yang families. The other descendants of the second and second generations will naturally disappear after a few decades. The younger brother and the third brother were ordered by their father and grandmother to study on CD to seek fame and fame, but also to find a way out for themselves. Now that the prince has come to us in person, it can be said that it has given us the face of the two families, and also given us the opportunity for the children of the two families, we have to appreciate it, right? ”

Gao Antai suddenly got the support of his second brother, and also interjected: "Big brother, do you think: In addition to the prince, in the past eight hundred years, which dynasty and generation of Tianhuang nobles have been to my ghost place where birds don't?" It's easy for people to come once, it's good for you to be suspicious here! ”

Gao Jitai said with some embarrassment: "What the second brother said, of course the eldest brother understands, the eldest brother is just reluctant to let you leave." You and your third brother are both young and away from home, and they will come back once a year and live for a month or two. Grandma now lives in CD House, and she can't come back when she's old. I really want to go to the CD Mansion to see her old man's house, but although the whole toast is not big this day, there are many things up and down, where can I go, big brother? You and the third brother are going out to do things, of course the eldest brother can't stop you. It's just that choosing the master in this troubled world is more risky, so don't follow the wrong person! ”

When the two brothers heard the eldest brother say emotionally, they had nothing to say. Gao Jitai then said to his second brother: "When the prince saw you, he seemed to have the intention of recommending you to be a leader. If he really recommends it, will you go? ”

Gao Dengtai nodded and said, "Of course the little brother wants to go!" The younger brother is full of sages, but he suffers from being born in the toast and has no way to serve. Now that the prince Chrysostom has been opened, it is a good opportunity for the younger brother to become a leader! ”

Gao Antai patted his thigh and said, "Second brother is good to go!" Isn't the eldest brother afraid that we will follow the wrong master? The second brother is an official, and he is an official of the court, not an official of the prince. Even if the prince rebels in the future, the court will not be able to implicate us! ”

Gao Jitai also slapped his thigh and said, "The third brother is right!" I heard that last summer, Emperor Chongzhen opened a 'three-way simultaneous use' (Note 1) for the selection of officials in various places. The second brother has made a name for himself, but he has not been able to become a leader so far, and he has also been affected by the identity of this toast! If the prince is willing to recommend, maybe he can really get an official uniform for the second brother! ”

Gao Dengtai shook his head and said: "Big brother doesn't know, this court is always on guard against the vassal kings in various places, and he is most afraid that the local officials will collude with the palace. The younger brother calculated, even if he had the strong recommendation of the prince, he would take half of it whether it would succeed or not. ”

The court guarded against the vassal king, and Gao Jitai knew it. At this time, Gao Antai smiled and said, "Second brother, you are worrying about the sky." You're back all morning, and there's something you don't know. The younger brother entered the Shizi Mansion during the day on Chinese New Year's Eve, and on the imperial city dam that night, a major event happened that everyone knew about CD, eldest brother, second brother, do you want to know? ”

Gao Antai sold Guan Zi in public, and his eldest brother responded with a slap on the head. Gao Antai hurriedly said: "I heard a little guy say that that night when the prince of the world went to the Huangchengba to watch the lanterns, a local show surnamed Su went to flirt when he saw it. The son of the world did not follow each other, and the two sides grabbed each other. The prince happened to be watching the lanterns on the castle tower, and he saw it. Okay...... The prince immediately rushed down the city tower and ran to the imperial city dam. After only saying two words, he ordered the guards to slaughter this Su Xiucai! Xiucai's head was hung on a lampstand to show the public, and the other street skins of the gang were also killed and arrested! Killing a famous scholar is not a trivial matter! The next day, the first day of the first day, the hundred officials met the prince, and the governor Liao Daren blocked the door of the carrier hall and personally asked the prince to explain! Guess what? ”

The two brothers hurriedly asked the result. Gao Antai smiled: "The result is that Lord Liao is defeated!" Not only was the prince fine, but Lord Liao also allowed the prince to build this caravan. Even the three words 'caravan protection' were inscribed by Lord Liao himself. The little brother is in Bifeng Gorge and saw this flag with his own eyes, absolutely yes! The younger brother also heard that the guard who killed people at that time was Song Zhenzong, the elder brother of Song Zhensi. That Song Zhenzong trained in Bifeng Gorge, he was really a good hand, and the younger brother also saw it with his own eyes. On the way back this time, the younger brother quietly asked Song Zhensi if he was really the one his brother killed. He said yes! ”

Gao Jitai asked: "The meaning of the third brother is that there is a song between the governor and the prince?" ”

Gao Antai smiled: "Little brother is estimated to be!" Do you think, the governor of Sichuan has been degraded and killed all these years, who will offend the Shu Palace? Besides, we have a full range of tea and horse trading, and Liao Fu may also have a share. Otherwise, why would he write the banner for the caravan with his own handwriting? Therefore, according to the younger brother's speculation, the prince said that he wanted to recommend the second brother, and most of them went to the door of Lord Liao. Then Lord Liao is also approved, can the second brother not be promoted to the third level? ”

The three brothers all burst out laughing, and even their fears of Zhu Pingjin's rebellion diminished considerably. However, Gao Jitai, the head of the Gao family, still cautiously decided that if the prince wanted to borrow troops from his Tianquan Tusi, one could only be under the banner of protecting the caravan, and the other could only use the name of his second or third brother's personal entourage. Before the general trend of the world is decided, it is very dangerous to put all the treasures on one person, and it is not good that the toast inheritance passed down from the ancestors will be compensated.

Note 1: It refers to the "Gengchen special use" incident of the emperor's election of officials in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen.