It is still the magnificent lobby of the Ding family's old house, Lao Ding, who has a white beard, sits on a warm couch, Ding Shilang, Ding Cripple, Xingyang Tongju He Shouqing, Tizhi Shi Kun, and Wailang Guo Yaoting sit opposite each other.

After telling everything that happened during the day, without waiting for comments, He Shouqing stood up straight, straightened his robe, and respectfully bowed to Lao Ding, "Thank you Lord Ding for your guidance last night, I am grateful for my late life, and if I need my juniors in the future, I am willing to serve the work of dogs and horses!" ”

"You don't have to ...... He Tong sentenced him to be promoted in the future, and it was enough to take care of my family. "Lao Ding is not ambiguous, the work of dogs and horses with empty mouths and white teeth is useless, and it is serious to be able to take care of each other.

"Good! As the old man said! Of course, He Shouqing understood the meaning behind the words, and responded with a good sentence, and then said: "I didn't understand military affairs in my later life, and the danger caused a big disaster, and now I feel a chill down my spine when I think about it." The things of the day are like lightning and fire, but the late life is still a little confused, and I ask the old man to teach him, so what about the people of Lingzhou? What should we do in the future? ”

"He Tongju, please return to your seat, let the old man think about it and ......talk about it again," Lao Ding twisted his beard, narrowed his eyes for a while, and then opened them suddenly, and said: "On the day the Lingzhou people moved in, the old man was on the third floor of the welcome building, and witnessed the whole process after the Lingzhou people entered this southern city, do you know what the old man was thinking at that time?" ”

Ding Shilang, who was sitting on the side, got up and added some tea to his father, and said softly: "Father is thinking of the past when he was in the army?" ”

"What the fourth son said is good!" Lao Ding patted his son's hand, turned his head to the other people and said: "He Tong should not know the origin of the literati, the Shi family Lang and the Guo family should know what the forbidden army looks like now, do you know that the forbidden army is far from the time when the country was peaceful and rejuvenated (1)?" ”

Lao Ding's popularity is really good, Shi Kun and Guo Yaoting, who are also from Jiangmen, don't dare to interject indiscriminately, they only nod and listen, as for He Shouqing, not only for his own future, but also for his own life, he can't help but be serious.

Seeing that the younger generations of the family, including the current governor of the state capital, were quietly listening to his own words, Lao Ding's conversation gradually became more and more serious, "The forbidden army today is completely different from twenty years ago, and what about the forbidden army twenty years ago?" If it weren't for the old man's boasting, the 1,000-person team at that time was no less than the 10,000-person team today! And 20 years ago, the Han Kingdom of Shatuo was destroyed, and the old man then retired from the army and raised his army, at that time the forbidden army was called a strong army in the court, and you can know how the so-called strong army 20 years ago was compared to the Kaibao period (2)? Heaven and earth are different! ”

Shi Kun's patience was still a little worse when he fell to the ground, and when he heard this, he couldn't help but question: "What Shi Bo said is an exaggeration, as far as the little nephew knows, the weapons and armor of the forbidden army are far superior to before, how can there be a difference between heaven and earth?" ”

Hearing someone arguing, Lao Ding was not annoyed, but more interested, "Oh? Shi Jialang thinks that only the sharp weapons in the army can become the winner? The weapons of the northern army are far superior to the Khitan, and it is difficult to prevent the Khitan thieves from going south to fight the grass valley? ”

Guo Yaoting's heart moved faintly, and he pulled Shi Kun's sleeve to stop this rammer from speaking again, and said: "Don't be annoyed, don't worry about this rammer." The younger generation also knows that the forbidden army is now far inferior to Taizu, but the younger generation, like Brother Junqing, is curious about the Lingzhou people, according to what Shibo just said, do you think that the Lingzhou people are braver than the generals under the command of Taizu in the past? ”

"Ha, in the end, Guo Dalang, a different general!" Lao Ding twisted his beard and laughed, but his squinted yellow eyes revealed a terrifying sharpness, "In this way, the old man can speak bluntly...... According to the old man's observation, this team of Lingzhou envoys must be the elite of Lingzhou, and its strength is far from being matched by the same number of forbidden troops, not that the old man boasted for the people of Lingzhou, the old man was a pawn of the Taizu Chinese army, but in the early years, the elite of the Taizu Chinese army may not be able to reach this team of Lingzhou envoys! ”

"Hiss......" The audience gasped at the same time, and the surprise of He Shouqing, who was born in a literati, was even more overflowing.

Shi Kun, who had been suppressed for a while, spoke again: "Shi Bo can't help but look too highly at the Lingzhou Mission, although the little nephew has not seen it with his own eyes, but in the past, how powerful Taizu was in the world, how could it be compared to the ministers in the west?" ”

"Heh......" Lao Ding smiled, but ignored Shi Kun's words, but said: "The old man knows that you were knocked to the ground twice during the day, and it is inevitable that you will be depressed and entangled, but ...... This is not the basis for your younger generation to refute the old man, although the old man is old, but he is not old and dizzy, and the Shi family is old and decaying? ”

"Juniors don't dare!" After Shi Kun spit out the previous words, he regretted it in his heart, and when he heard Lao Ding's words, he hurriedly stood up and knelt down on one knee in the march to ask for forgiveness.

"Get up! The old man doesn't need to kowtow in front of him! Lao Ding squinted his eyes and stroked his beard and said softly: "The old man is old, and he can't tolerate a few words from you?" Such willful and vain words, if you collide with an official in the army, you will have to give you thirty military sticks to taste......"

"Yes...... Xie Shibo is not guilty......" After hearing a few words, Shi Kun wilted.

"Get up...... You have a rough personality, although you have a quick wit, but it is difficult to ensure that you can use it in a timely manner, put it in the past years, at most a soldier, now in these years, if you are not suppressed in the army, or you can be a fierce general...... "Lao Ding has lost the fierceness of his youth, and has more of an old open-mindedness, and it is his habit in recent years to casually comment and point out to the younger generation.

This comment is not polite, in other words, it should be said to be to the point, but for people who don't know the reason, they can understand the metaphor behind it - brave and commendable, lacking in mind, brainless ramming.

Shi Kun rubbed his head and stood up, there was still a large bruise on his forehead, which was the mark of being knocked on by someone during the day, his head was dizzy at this moment, but he also remembered that he couldn't speak at will, and the old man in front of him couldn't allow him to offend.

Guo Yaoting looked at the dumb brother on the side, stretched out his hand to pull him back to his original position and sat down, raised his hand to make a gesture at Lao Ding, and asked respectfully: "According to what Shibo has seen, Shi Bo can be a fierce general, I don't know what Shibo can do when he sees the younger generation?" ”

This is also a hurry, Guo Yaoting aims to relieve his good brother, and he just wants to hear what others think of him, as for what it is, he doesn't care.

Lao Ding glanced at Guo Yaoting, who had a few long beards, and said a little casually: "Guo Jialang, he has always regarded himself as a careful man, and he is quite decisive in every major event, but arrogance and open-mindedness are your shortcomings, if you are in the army, it is better to be civilian......"

This comment is still sharp enough, Guo Yaoting frowned a few times before he eased up, and then continued: "Thank you Shibo for your comments, the younger generation will definitely be engraved in my heart, always vigilant!" ”

Lao Ding is already old, how can he not see that the younger generation in front of him is insincere? But in the end, it was not his own children, and he didn't bother to continue commenting, so he took a sip of the tea bowl and didn't speak, just waved his sleeves.

He Shouqing sat quietly on the side, but secretly commented and pondered in his heart.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little cold, Ding Shilang Ding lame said to his father: "Father, the son is not angry, he doesn't need his father's evaluation and he doesn't know enough, He Tong's sentence is a civil service, and he doesn't need his father to assert it...... However, the father seems to appreciate the people of Nalingzhou, and the son also asks the father to tell a ...... or two."

"Four sons...... You......" Lao Ding sighed lightly, "Well, the old man is arrogant tonight!" ”

Having said that, Lao Ding still groaned for a while before he began to continue, "The old man said before that the people of Lingzhou are like this, and the old man sat on the welcome building and witnessed the whole process of their stay. The Lingzhou mission is only more than 400 people, but there are nearly 1,000 war horses, that is to say, they are one person and two horses, and each horse is a rare horse in the world. Not to mention the border military town, the palace guards will never be so equipped today! Even back then, when Taizu ruled the world, there was never one! ”

Lao Ding's voice was a little low and hoarse when he spoke, but it did not prevent the four juniors present from listening carefully, although these four people had their own ideas, they all understood that the old man sitting in the first place did not bother to exaggerate to coax them.

No one opened his mouth to bother anymore, Lao Ding's interest became stronger and stronger, and he continued: "If you are an ignorant horse dealer, with so many excellent war horses, how can you go to this Xingyang through the border? Therefore, the old man judged that the team of Lingzhou people was definitely not good at stubble! And then everything also proved that the old man's judgment was correct, sixty-three roosters and dog thieves, but none of them escaped the net after entering, and the Lingzhou people were not injured, so it can be judged that the Lingzhou people are not idle! Maybe they've killed countless thieves of the same kind on their way before, so if you don't believe them, you might as well send someone to investigate the way they came! ”

Shi Kun and Guo Yaoting glanced at each other, and they both found the horror in each other's eyes, while He Shouqing, who was silent, thought about it for a while, and asked, "Thank you for solving the doubts of the late student, it's just ...... According to the old man, people in the forbidden army must be able to do the same thing, why...... Why did the old man comment that the people of Lingzhou were far better than the elite of the Taizu of this dynasty in the past? ”

Nodding at He Shouqing, Lao Ding continued: "He Tongju is indeed a superhuman mind, but what the old man said is not just based on deduction, but has his own art of observing people, which sounds mysterious, but is actually very simple. The old man asked you, the number of the Lingzhou mission is only 400, have you ever noticed that any of them have cowardice or other looks? ”

He Shouqing pondered carefully before he replied cautiously: "I have seen it in my later life, but I have never had a ...... The people of Lingzhou are completely different from the Hu people in the Western Regions seen in the past, not only do they not have the filthy atmosphere of the Hu people, but their behavior is unique, and even ...... Even if he saw the palace guards in his later life, he was far inferior to ......"

"Smack!" Lao Ding clapped his hands a few times and praised: "He Tong's skill of judging people has three points, which is really rare!" Yesterday, I heard you talk a lot, and I thought I was also fascinated by officialdom, but now it seems that there is something outstanding! ”

"The old man praises ......" He Shouqing's face was quite ruddy, half happy and half ashamed.

Lao Ding didn't stop talking, and continued: "Don't be presumptuous, the art of watching people is not an overnight effort, the old man is eighty-four years old, and he often boasts of looking at the heroes of the world, but he has never met people with different temperaments like everyone in Lingzhou!" ”

"Different?" He Shouqing repeated this word in a low voice, and the original understanding of Lingzhou people in his heart became blurred again.

Shi Kun, Guo Yaoting and Ding Shilang, the other three people who didn't dare to intervene, were also a little confused.

In the heart of the elder in front of him, do the people of Lingzhou deserve such a high evaluation?

………………………………

Note: (1) The time of Taiping Xingguo refers to the reign of Zhao Guangyi, Taizong of the Song Dynasty, 976-984, counting eight years.

(2) During the Kaibao period, it refers to the era name used by Song Taizu, which is 968-976 years, counting nine years.

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Attached: Make up for yesterday's arrears.

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