Xingyang, the old city, outside the West Gate, a round of slanting sun is westward.

"Uncle Sanqi, it is said that a team of Shizi envoys came to this West Gate in the afternoon, have you ever seen it?" A half-sized man with crooked hair pulled up and a rough leather armor on his body asked in the throat of a male duck. With a simple knife at his waist and a dry straw stick in his mouth, he turned around and leaned against the city wall, more like a ruffian than a city defender.

"Bastard!" The one called Uncle Sanqi was a tall and thin man, and while scolding, he raised his hand and tore off the straw stick in the mouth of the half-grown child, and then reprimanded: "Twenty-six Lang, how can you still look like this, if your grandfather sees it, you will be punished to go to the ancestral hall to kneel for a few days, and even your father and mother will not escape the reprimand!" ”

"Uncle Sanqi, don't you know how my family is?" The trained Twenty-six Lang did not have the slightest remorse, but said with an unchanged face: "Grandfather's fourteen sons, his eyes are only on the long house, my father is the ninth son of the concubine, and my mother is from a small family, and the ancestral hall is prepared for the descendants of the concubine, where is my turn to get the younger generation?" ”

"You...... You bastard! How can you complain so much! Uncle Sanqi raised his hand and put it down, paused for a moment to freeze his feet, and said helplessly: "Since the rebellion of the yellow thieves at the end of the Tang Dynasty (1), the ancestors have already issued an order, and my Zheng family has made a contribution to the main family, and the third has been changed to a concubine, and his mother has also been changed to a flat wife!" Twenty-six Lang, if you are really angry, you should change your course, if you can add glory to the clan, how will the elders of the clan keep silent? ”

"Sigh ......" The nostrils exhaled and squeezed out a trace of disdain, Twenty Liulang still looked frivolous, but there was a little more imperceptible warmth and solemnity in his eyes, "Uncle Sanqi, I know that you care for my juniors, but most of the people in this Xingyang City are Zheng Jiazi (2), and I am a distant concubine, and I have made some contributions, so how can the clan elders who live in the high-walled compound see it in their eyes?" Besides, how easy is it to do the three turns? If you want my father and my mother to have a few days of peaceful birthdays, the clan can't rely on them...... Uncle Sanqi, you have the care of the four elders, and you can be this gatekeeper at the West Gate, I don't want to be a patrolman for the rest of my life! ”

As the Zheng family that has existed in Xingyang for thousands of years, it has experienced hundreds of years of war since the Tang Dynasty, but it is still the largest clan in Xingyang.

After the rise of the Zhao and Song dynasties, although most of the upstarts moved to this best place in Tokyo, and the influence of the Zheng family who lived in a hundred miles of Xingyang was slightly reduced, the Zheng family, which has a large number of Dingkou, is still not coveted by ordinary people, such as the current Xingyang City, although the emperor sent a lieutenant to sit here, but at least half of the officials in the city are surnamed Zheng, and outsiders can't tell how many people are the sons-in-law of the Zheng family, what can the emperor's lieutenants do?

In comparison, Zheng Sanqiyi is a gatekeeper, who is leisurely and leisurely and does not lack oil and water, which can be regarded as a beauty that ordinary people dream of, but for the huge Zheng family, he is just a small person who has nothing to worry about.

However, the little people may just be in a low position, and people who have been trained in the position of gatekeeper for many years are often taught by three religions and nine streams, in addition to being loyal to their duties, how can their vision be inferior to others?

Zheng Sanqi raised his eyes and carefully looked at the nephew of his own family in front of him, changed his tone of lesson, and asked in a tone that could not be more serious: "Twenty Liulang, tell me, what do you want to do?" ”

"Uncle Sanqi, don't be embarrassed!" As if a needle was on his back, Twenty Rokuro couldn't help but raise his hand and scratch the back of his erect neck, and then said with some frustration: "Someone asked me to inquire about some news from you, and opened a hundred taels of silver...... I want to take the reward silver to the small house of the Bianliang sales office, and take my father and mother to save me from being looked down upon in Xingyang City! ”

"Asking for news?" Zheng Sanqi only understood what was going on after a little pondering, and then said angrily: "Is it the dog thief of the Dongcheng Wang family who is looking for you?" You fool, aren't you afraid that you will have your life to take money and not to spend it? Aren't you afraid that your father and mother will send a white-haired person to a black-haired person? ”

Twenty-six Lang shuddered, and only after half a sound did he stammer: "Uncle Sanqi...... Don't scare me, it's just ...... Help people find out something, how can anyone die...... Dead or not? ”

Zheng Sanqi couldn't wait to slap the uninformed nephew in front of him, but he had to endure it because he was worried about his position, quickly raised his head and glanced around, and saw that his subordinates were all busy with their own work, so he turned around and grabbed the back of Twenty Liulang's erection neck and walked to a secluded place.

"Hey, Uncle Sanqi, don't catch me, alas, it hurts...... I'll just go with you......" Twenty-six Lang, who was twisted by the back of his neck, began to scream stubbornly, and he lost his courage after a while.

Turning to the corner of the wall where no one was paying attention, forcing Twenty Liulang to stand against the wall, Zheng Sanqi lowered his voice and began to say: "The Winter Festival has passed, the Spring Festival is approaching, and the Dongcheng Wang family, as a distant branch of the Taiyuan Wang family, has to rush to the King of Bianjing to walk around Guan Qiao, and go out to see the lord's house, and it is indispensable to bring some congratulatory gifts...... The Wang family lacks many sons...... Pearls, agate, corals, and jade are all common things, and ginseng mushrooms also have their own origins...... It must be horses! The Wang family is worried about the horses of the Lingzhou people, and they are looking for you to find out their details from me? ”

Twenty-six Lang honestly listened to Zheng Sanqi's low decomposition, and when he heard the question, he hurriedly replied: "It's Uncle Sanqi who has seen a big scene!" Uncle Sanqi's wisdom is like the sea, and Uncle Sanqi's eyes are like torches...... Ah, don't fight! ”

Putting down the raised arm, Zheng Sanqi shouted indignantly: "Don't you say it soon?!" What is the Wang family looking for you? ”

Twenty Liulang, whose neck was red, didn't dare to complain, and said busily: "When the Lingzhou group entered the city, only Uncle Sanqi had seen their customs clearance documents with your own eyes, and Wang Geng of the Wang family thought ...... thinks that Uncle Sanqi must know something that others don't know, so he promised to tattoo a hundred taels of silver, let me, let me ......"

"Smack!" Zheng Sanqi raised his hand and slapped Twenty Liulang's back erection again, and after slapping the latter for a moment, he grabbed him and cursed in a low voice: "Twenty Liulang, you bastard looks quite clever, how can you be so ignorant of the depth of things!" ”

Twenty Liulang didn't dare to resist, but muttered a little aggrieved, "Isn't it just hundreds of Lingzhou people, what kind of rural savages, what kind of ...... are amazing?"

"What's the big deal?" Zheng Sanqi glared at him, and his body suddenly became a little less mediocre and a little more brave, "If those Lingzhou people don't have a big deal, why don't Wang Geng come to me if he has something to do?" Do you want you bastard to knock on the side? ”

"Uncle Sanqi...... You mean? "Wandering the streets and alleys since he was a child, Twenty Rokuro is naturally not a brainless rammer, and he immediately heard what this close uncle had to say.

Zheng Sanqi whispered with some hatred: "You can come to me, you must have been to the place where the Lingzhou people stayed, how is it?" ”

"Yes, I've been there, and they all lived in the Ding Lame Car Shop in the south of the city, and they packed a whole eight gardens...... They were so fierce that they drove out all the guys in the old lame shop, and outsiders ...... Outsiders don't have to get close to ......" Twenty-rokuro was a little unconcerned when he started to speak, but as he realized that he was not in the right direction, his voice gradually lowered.

"Humph! You bastard sense that something is wrong, too? Zheng Sanqi retorted angrily, and then said with some sighs, "The real power of those Lingzhou people can't be experienced by a young boy like you...... You only see people riding tall horses, with strong bodies and bright armor...... Hmph, Twenty-six Lang, Uncle Sanqi is now teaching you a good one, you have to remember! ”

"Yes, yes, Uncle Sanqi, you are a fierce general on the battlefield, born and ...... death" Twenty Liulang is a clever person in the end, and he will come when he opens his mouth with sweet words.

It's just that sometimes this method is not easy to use, "Smack! After that, he received another slap on the neck, which was much more slight than before.

"Hugh is talking nonsense!" Zheng Sanqi made a straight face and said solemnly: "You have been to Ding Cripple, you must have seen the horses of the Lingzhou people, and you saw that those horses were not of ordinary breeds, did you see that the hair on those horses was uneven, and there were some scratches on the outside of the front legs?" ”

Twenty-six Lang carefully recalled for a while before he spoke: "It's true that Uncle Sanqi said, so what? ”

"Stupid! And so well! Did you know? That's the mark of horse armor rubbing! Zheng Sanqi's face suddenly turned a little pale, "It looks like the kind of high-headed horse of the Lingzhou people, it is definitely not the appearance of the forbidden army, those who are familiar with horses can know that those horses must carry a weight far beyond ordinary war horses, and they can also wear heavy armor, which is a good breed that can really serve as an armored cavalry mount!" ”

"How can it!" With an exclamation, Twenty Liulang's expression was a little sluggish, "I heard that Lingzhou is only named after the party members, how can anyone make iron armor in such a barren place?" ”

"How do you know you can't? Saw it with your own eyes? Or did you hear it with your own ears? Zheng Sanqi was a little angry, this nephew was indeed clever, but he was still too immature, "The people of Lingzhou are not allowed to approach, but with your eyesight, you should have seen them...... Have you seen their outfits? Do you smell anything on them? ”

"Oh?" Twenty Liulang carefully reflected on it again, and then said slowly: "In the afternoon, I was in Beicheng, and I didn't get to see it, and then I went to Ding Cripple's place, and I only saw a few from afar, most of them were taller than us, their hair was meticulously tied, and they all had iron armor on their bodies, and they were brighter than those guys in the forbidden army with their nostrils facing the sky...... As for the smell...... They don't have the smell of brutes, but some rust and sweetness......"

"Well, you have eyes! It's just a little brainless! Zheng Sanqi's tone softened a little, and then began to teach his nephew, "Do you know...... The smell of rust is a sign that their armor is often repaired and has a sweet smell...... That's the smell of human blood after the killing! I think you didn't get close to take a closer look, when they entered the city in the afternoon, I saw with my own eyes that there was some unwipeable dark black in the cracks of each Lingzhou person's armor, do you know what it was? ”

"What?" Twenty Rokuro subconsciously answered.

"That's the traces of blood splattered on it after the killing, and it's hard to clean without a good bristle brush!" Zheng Sanqi's face completely lost his usual smiling look, and he was replaced by solemnity or solemnity, "I dare to assert that these Lingzhou people are all good at wearing heavy armor!" No less than ten lives will be lost in each person's hands! ”

"Huh?" Twenty Rokuro was completely stunned.

……………………………………

Note: (1) The rebellion of the yellow thieves at the end of the Tang Dynasty refers to the rebellion of Wang Xianzhi Huangchao in the late Tang Dynasty. Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao were both born in smuggling salt, and after raising the army, they even wantonly killed people in the gate valve, as one of the descendants of the Zheng surname of the SD Five Sects and Seven Hopes, Zheng Sanqi naturally did not say good things about Huang Chao, so he was called the Yellow Thief.

(2) Most of the people in Xingyang City are the sons of the Zheng family, which means that half of the people in Xingyang belong to a big family of the Zheng family, which is not an exaggeration, as the descendants of the surname Zheng inherited from the Spring and Autumn Period Zheng Guo for more than a thousand years, the number of such classical families is really difficult to estimate, there is Zhengzhou in the east of Xingyang City, and the "Zheng" is derived from the Zheng family in Xingyang.

———————————

P.S.: Thank you for the reward of "A Life of Loneliness"!