(Thanks to the stand-alone app, the monthly pass of Yiye Qingzhu, kmfirework and Dong Ding Yang.) ）

Autumn in the north is earlier than in the Central Plains, and the scene in September is already cool, and the yellowing leaves fall sporadically in the wind. The autumn leaves that fall on the creek flow along with the clear water, like small fish flowing downstream, and the leisurely appearance adds a lot of tranquility to this autumn.

On both sides of the creek are rows of poplars, and many yellow leaves have fallen on the official road at the foot of the trees, rolling in the wind, as if an invisible hand had caressed them. There is a small shop made of wooden sheds next to the official road, which looks quite simple, and there are only three or five wooden tables and a few benches in it, the difficulty is that although it is simple but not messy, the tables and stools are placed neatly and moderately, and there is a simple beauty. It was early afternoon, and there were not many customers in the store, only a family of three, dressed plainly, eating some simple coarse tea and light rice.

Next to the wooden cabinet that can barely be called a counter, an old man is lying on a wooden chair, squinting his eyes to enjoy the afternoon sunset, humming an unknown song in a low voice, and his fingers are rhythmically tapping on the armrest, looking complacent. There was a stove at his feet, and a kettle was steaming.

This is the thistle border.

Suddenly there was a melodious flute sound by the stream, tactful and long, just like the wind in early autumn, and the fallen leaves floating in the wind, with a touch of gloom and sorrow, but like a fairy light and agile. The customers in the store were unconsciously attracted and turned their heads to look over, the man in his thirties, and his wife, who was holding a baby, were a little distracted. They may not understand the sound of the flute, but they know that the sound of the flute is beautiful and attractive.

The tea and steamed buns in the porcelain bowl on the table are still exuding aroma.

The thin old man humming a strange tune stopped what he was doing, got up slightly, and looked at the stream, showing a touch of pity in his old eyes, which were already a little faint.

By the brook, there sat a young girl over twenty-eight years old, with her long beautiful hair tied up at random, fluttering gently with the sound of the flute, her clothes were thin and old, and there were some patches, the cheapest material, the corners of her clothes had been washed white, but they were clean. The girl can't say how beautiful she is, her posture is just upper, but the temperament revealed at the moment is heartbreaking.

This is a small shop with only grandparents and grandchildren, and there is no middle generation.

A group of business-looking people appeared on the official road, more than a dozen mules dragged a dozen wagons, and they came from a distance, and the squeaking of the car body was mixed with the melodious flute for a while, giving people the illusion of singing harmony. There were four horses in the caravan, and four people sat at once, and the younger three talked and laughed, and the older one had a peculiar appearance, not because of his vicissitudes, but because he carried six long knives.

When his gaze fell on the six long knives, the old man who was half-lying on the wooden chair burst into a cloud of light in his withered eyes, and although he didn't make any other movements, his loose muscles seemed to tense in an instant.

The caravan stopped in front of the shop, and a young man on the horse dismounted, walked up to the old man, saluted, and said with a smile: "The old man is well, can you give us some water and dry food?" ”

The old man smiled peacefully, showing the only four or five teeth left in his mouth, and quipped: "I'm afraid that even if the old man gives you all this little shop, you can't let each of you have a bowl of water!" ”

Having said that, he got up quickly and shouted towards the stream: "Broken woman, hospitality!" ”

The shabby girl had already gotten up, holding the flute that had been smoothed out, and walked over with small steps, and glanced at the young man who was talking to her grandfather, perhaps because the stranger was too handsome, which made her a little shy, and lowered her head and hurried into the shed, to toss and eat.

The family of three who had only eaten half of the meal in the store saw the posture of hundreds of people in the caravan, and then looked at the young man who was talking to the old man with a kind smile on his face, but gave people a dazzling and powerful feeling, the young couple glanced at each other, put away the uneaten steamed buns, and silently got up to give up their seats.

When the young man saw their behavior, he came over with a smile, still saluting seriously, and said with a gentle smile: "There are only four of us entering the store, and we only need one table. ”

Only then did the young couple see that although the caravan stopped on the side of the road, the hundred and ten people were resting on the side of the road, and they had no intention of entering the store, the man hugged his fists, said thank you, and sat down with his wife again.

Several young people sat down around a table, and when the old man came over to serve tea, he smiled and accosted: "The old man has opened this small shop here for a long time, although he has seen a caravan of this scale, but after all, there are very few, and now the age is not peaceful, and there are fewer people who go to business." Where are you going? ”

The young man who spoke before got up and took the teapot, and answered all questions, "This is all the family's business, because my father is old, this time I specially let our brother come out to practice, although the year is not good, but the job has to be saved." In Xia Li Jing, these two are all guys in Xia, Mo Li, Zhang Ziyun. As he spoke, he pointed to the young man holding the folding fan, and the young man who gave people a shy look, and finally said: "This brother is the guard Ding Hei, who loves knives like his life, which makes the old man smile." ”

Several people bowed their hands or clasped their fists in greeting.

As she spoke, the girl came over and brought the steamed bread and pancakes, still with her head down, but she seemed to be interested in the caravan, and always looked at the mule cart outside.

Because of his reputation, Li Congjing, who had to go by the pseudonym Li Jing for this trip, didn't pay much attention to the girl at first, but when he saw the other party's eyes by chance, he was shocked a little, and those eyes were clear and pure and not like things in the world.

Li Congjing continued to talk to the old man, "This time we are going to the north, the old man is opening a shop here, there are many pedestrians coming and going every day, and the news should be very well-informed, I don't know what the situation around here is recently?" ”

This is already the extreme north controlled by the Central Plains Dynasty, and when we talk about the north here, we can only refer to the grassland.

As soon as the old man heard Li Congjing say that he was going to the north, it meant that they were going to do business with the Khitans, for some reason, the old man's face suddenly turned cold, although he would not go out of the house, but he walked away after dropping a sentence, "What else, the Khitan thieves have sent troops to attack Jizhou again, and it is not peaceful here!" ”

The old man returned to the wooden chair and sat down again, no longer looking at Li Congjing and the others, closing his eyes and recuperating.

It was a family of three next to him, and although the man didn't dare to do anything, he also spat heavily.

Li Congjing and the others, who were deflated, looked at each other dumbfounded, and Mo Li laughed and said: "Brother Li, I didn't expect that we would be disgusted by the people as soon as we arrived here this time!" ”

Li Congjing shook his head and smiled bitterly. The reason why they pretended to be a caravan to go north this time was not because they were full of food and had nothing to do. When Li Cunqiao sent Li Congjing to the north, he gave him two tasks, one was to guard Youzhou, and the other was to send an envoy to the Khitan and try to "reconcile" with the Khitan. Li Cunmiao's current focus is mainly on the Central Plains, and he needs a stable north so that he can deal with other vassal kings without worry.

Li Congjing's trip was followed by both a team of envoys and a hundred battle troops. It's just that he didn't go directly to Youzhou to see Li Cunxian, but pretended to be a caravan and went straight to the Khitan Kingdom. The Khitan is still a strange force to Li Congjing, the grassland people and the Central Plains people have many differences, before meeting with the Khitan sword soldiers, he decided to go to the Khitan to get in touch with each other, although there is news of the military intelligence department and the Youzhou army, but the paper is finally shallow. Only when you have the bottom in your heart will you not be vain when formulating various strategies in the future.

For Li Congjing, leaving the town of Youzhou has multiple purposes. One of the key points is to break the general trend of the Khitan, and it is inevitable that the sword and soldiers will meet each other, but before that, Li Cunmiao's order of "repair" must also be fulfilled. Of course, being able to paralyze the Khitan in this way, and stab Abaoji when the other party relaxed his vigilance, Li Congjing was also very willing to do it.

When the girl came over to change tea for Li Congjing and the others, she said in a low voice: "Grandfather was a veteran of Lu Longjun before, and he fought with the Khitan all his life, and he was scarred all the time, and he was often in great pain when the sky changed, and my father and mother also died in the hands of the Khitans...... Therefore, I hate the Khitan to the core, if there is any offense, the little woman is here to apologize, don't mind objectively. "The sound is very good, like a clear spring passing through a mountain stream.

Li Congjing realized this, and couldn't help but have some admiration for the old man, so he was naturally angry and contemptuous of the businessman who was suspected of being an enemy, and at the same time, Li Congjing was inevitably sympathetic to the girl's parents who died at the hands of the Khitan. In the front line of Youyun, I don't know how many such people there are, and it can be said that the profound disasters brought by the Khitan to the Han people here cannot be described in words.

"Little lady, a businessman like me, since your grandfather is resentful, don't you hate?" Mo Li suddenly spoke, looking at the girl and asking sharply.

The girl glanced at Mo Li, a look of pain flashed in her clean eyes, she bit her lip and was silent for a while, and said, "Hate!" He sighed, as if he had infinite helplessness, "But then I don't do business, my grandfather and I have to live!" ”

Mo Li was stunned, his heart was extremely complicated, he stood up apologetically, and bowed deeply to the girl. When he sat down, he looked at Li Congjing and the others, and his heart was covered with a heavy color. The girl's answer is undoubtedly expressing the historical helplessness of an ordinary people, they have both national hatred and family hatred, and life is compelled, when the two conflict, an old man in his twilight years, a weak woman who has no power to restrain the chicken, how to choose?

The girl smiled faintly at Mo Li's apology, she couldn't tell what the meaning of this smile was, she murmured: "I really hope that one day, Wang Shi can set the grassland in the north and give justice to Youyun, in that case......"

Before she finished speaking, Li Congjing and the others were already excited, but at this moment, the sound of rumbling horses' hooves sounded on the official road. A group of more than twenty sergeants flocked to this small shop, and the first one rode alone on a war horse, a fierce-faced man, about thirty years old.

Seeing these sergeants, the old man got up from the wooden chair in shock, the girl's face suddenly turned pale, and her delicate body trembled slightly, as if she had seen the most terrifying thing in the world.

The person outside is Tang Jun.