The news brought by Bai Xu was an unexpected surprise for Chu Tianya. Although he knew that Yelu Yanchen had been studying this epoch-making gun barrel as if he was trying his best, Chu Tianya still didn't expect that he would make substantial progress so quickly.

It is still impossible to completely determine that Yelu has really succeeded, but Bai Xu has never been a pompous person, and his words are at least eight points credible. However, it is difficult to say whether this barrel can meet the standard in Chu Tianya's mind. After all, the conditions on Tianji Peak are clear, there is no modern lathe and alloy technology, all rely on traditional manual smelting and polishing, it is still very difficult to create a barrel in the true sense.

Before seeing this barrel with his own eyes, Chu Tianya didn't want to be happy too early. So he suppressed the surprise in his heart, and first discussed the issue of Shi Li's love with Bai Xu.

One of the most important reasons why Chu Tianya made a special trip to bring Bai Xu to discuss together is that Chu Tianya feels that Shi Liai is very similar to Bai Xu!

The conversation, knowledge, temperament, and even the sinister appearance of the two people made Chu Tianya feel familiar. Although Shi Liai is a-for-tat enemy with him, the "tacit understanding" when they are intriguing with each other also reminds him of Bai Xu from time to time.

Perhaps, two very similar people can better understand what the other party is pondering. Chu Tianya wanted Bai Xu to make a reference for himself and put forward constructive suggestions, so as not to be biased in his subjective assumptions.

Chu Tianya told Bai Xu in more detail about the confrontation with Shi Liai in the past two days.

Bai Xu pondered for a long time, and then said: "Lord, Xiaosheng feels that Shi Liai went south to Taiyuan this time, and he came for the lord. The so-called collection of Taiyuan City is just a pretense. ”

"Oh, you feel that way too?" Chu Tianya was slightly surprised, "I pondered carefully, and I felt more and more that Shi Liai was coming for me." He wanted to know something about me, and in terms of the art of war, Wanyan Zonghan hoped that Shi Liai would achieve his goal of knowing himself and knowing that he would not be defeated in a hundred battles. ”

"That's right." Bai Xu nodded with a stern expression, "Originally, it was a little risky to send Taiyuan to ask for such a thing. It was a bit of a risk to send such an important planner and privy envoy as Shi Liai. Since Wanyan Zonghan has invested such a large amount of money, the purpose is definitely not to take back the city. He would definitely not be stupid enough to believe that our Great Song would really return Taiyuan to him. Therefore, he will only have another important purpose, to make a special trip to understand the lord! -- Hearing is false, seeing is believing, this is the purpose of Shi Liai's personal southward journey. ”

"Then his purpose has been achieved." Chu Tianya sighed, "He's calculated, I'll come." ”

"The lord is not at a loss." Bai Xu smiled, "You can see the leopard in the tube." Didn't the lord also guess their possible next military action from Shi Liai's various expressions? ”

"That's right. Shi Liai's first feeling to me is hesitation! Chu Tianya said, "Jin Guo is hesitating, Wanyan Zonghan is hesitating. There must have been internal disagreements over the route of the march south. The focus of controversy is Taiyuan. In view of the defeat of Huanglong Valley last year, the Jin court will definitely pay attention to Taiyuan. At the beginning, our soldiers were outnumbered and trapped in the lonely city, the supply was insufficient and foreign aid was weak, and Yan Zonghan was defeated; By this year, Taiyuan had rebuilt the unity of the army and the people, and the Hedong Righteous Army had integrated itself from a plate of scattered sand into a whole. It is impossible for the Jurchens not to see such a frame. They do not have absolute confidence that they can use the method of blitzkrieg to take Taiyuan and directly smash Guanzhong. But Wanyan Zonghan will definitely not give up, firstly, he wants to avenge an arrow, and secondly, the geographical location of Taiyuan is indeed quite important. If this portal cannot be opened, it will be difficult for their power to fully extend to the hinterland of the Central Plains and realize their ambition of occupying the Central Plains. Therefore, Taiyuan has become a thorn in the Jurchen's side and a thorn in the flesh, which makes them restless. ”

"As soon as the lord said this, Xiaosheng completely understood." Bai Xu said, "If it weren't for the important decision-making on government and military affairs, Shi Liai, a pivotal figure, would not have personally come out to investigate." In this way, let's also seize the opportunity to learn more from Shi Liai? ”

"No, I'll call you." Chu Tianya said with a smile.

"Oh?" Bai Xu couldn't help but be stunned, "Does the lord want Xiaosheng to meet Shi Liai?" ”

"Yes." Chu Tianya smiled, "When you see him, you will understand why I asked you to come." ”

"This ...... Isn't it okay for the lord to sue sù for the reason now? ”

"In short......" Chu Tianya laughed, "You two are like things crawling out of the same nest." ”

"Huh?" Bai Xu was completely stunned, and smiled awkwardly with his eyes in his eyes, "Lord, are you praising people or scolding people?" ”

The next day, Bai Xu mixed into Zhang Xiaochun's team and participated in the morning talks. Then, Zhang Xiaochun sent him to the pavilion post to serve as the reception of the Jin State Mission. Anyway, there are so many petty officials in the prefect's yamen that there are so many of them that they will not attract the attention of others if they are replaced by one or two. Moreover, Bai Xu is not as sharp and eye-catching as Chu Tianya, and if he approaches Shi Liai, he should be able to learn something from him that Chu Tianya can't understand.

Chu Tianya went to the micro-service to play in Taiyuan City leisurely.

Last year's military disaster almost turned Taiyuan into ruins. It's only been a year, and now Taiyuan is back to life. Although it is not as prosperous and rich as before the war, it can at least be called lively.

The revisit to the old place made Chu Tianya have a lot of feelings. Inadvertently, he walked to Tangming Street and saw the Star Picking Tower.

The place where I first met Xiao Linglong.

"Let's go, today's lunch is settled here." Chu Tianya took a few tiger guards who had changed their clothes and stepped into the Star Picking Tower.

The boss has changed, and the shopkeeper is a man in his thirties, who is powerful but has a kind face. Dr. Chafan, who ran the hall, was the most good at looking at people, and when he saw Chu Tianya's bearing, he decided that he was a high roller, so he enthusiastically led him up to the second floor and wanted to send him a private room to serve.

"That's it!" Chu Tianya casually pointed to the private room where he first saw Xiao Linglong.

"That ......" Dr. Cha Fan actually hesitated.

"What, someone has already decided?"

"No, no, no." Dr. Chafan smiled dryly, "Don't hide it, that Accord is the most prestigious and expensive one in this store." Generally, it is reserved for the dignitaries and nobles in the city. ”

"Less nonsense, don't you just ask for money!" The guards beside Chu Tianya were a little annoyed, and they grabbed Xiao Er's hand and smashed a golden lump into his hand, "Take it, just bring the best wine and food!" If you don't serve my master well, I will tear down your shop! ”

"Hugh is presumptuous." Chu Tianya snorted and said with a smile, "Don't be surprised, doctor, I want this." When we were young, we took a few special side dishes and scalded a few pots of Jiannan to burn in spring. ”

"Yes, thank you!" Dr. Cha Fan hurriedly agreed.

Chu Tianya walked towards the pavilion, looked up at the lintel, and there was a plaque on it - "Tianya Linglong Pavilion".

"How can it be!" The guards who followed behind Chu Tianya were a little annoyed, gritted their teeth and whispered, "The names of the lord and the county lord were actually written on the gate by them in a grand manner!" - Lord, please allow your subordinates to remove this broken plaque! ”

"Not really." Chu Tianya's face squinted at him slightly.

The guard hurriedly stepped back and confessed his mistake.

"Hugh has to make a mistake, come in with me." Chu Tianya pushed open the door, and when he saw it, the furnishings here were exactly the same as when he first came in. It can be seen that the owner of the shop deliberately maintains the furnishings here.

After Chu Tianya sat down by the window, he pushed open the window to look at the downtown outside the window. Today's Tangming Street is indeed no longer bustling with people in the past, but there are still a lot of shops and a lot of pedestrians. It can be seen that Zhang Xiaochun has spent a lot of effort to renovate Taiyuan for more than a year, and the imperial court has also spent a lot of money and grain here to rebuild.

The Great Song Dynasty had nothing else, but money. Disaster rebuilding is a very quick thing.

After a short time, Dr. Chafan took two flavors of chicken and duck, and also brought Dr. Wine to let Chu Tianya pick wine. Chu Tianya picked two pots of Jiannan Burning Spring, and asked casually: "Doctor, I heard you say that this Accord has a great origin, what is the reason?" I see that the names of other Accords are only four words, but this one is five words, is there anything special? ”

"Of course it's special!" Dr. Chafan has always been talkative, and as soon as he said this, he immediately foamed at the mouth and said, "Speaking of this Accord, it is now the most famous scenic spot in Taiyuan City." Official, you don't know if you're from out of town, right? More than a year ago, it was in this Accord that the famous general Chu Tianya and Xiao Linglong, the lord of Flying Fox County, met - you must have heard of the rest of the story, the couple defended the city together and defeated the Jin soldiers, and achieved a legendary story! Heroes and beauties, tsk, what a envy of the world! ”

"Haha!" The tiger guards behind Chu Tianya all burst out laughing.

"Hey, what are you laughing at, guests!" Dr. Chafan was still not happy, "What the villain said is all true!" Chu Tianya is a native of Taiyuan, and he is the pride of our Taiyuan people, do you understand?! ”

"Yes, yes." Chu Tianya smiled, "Okay, hurry up and serve the food!" ”

"Okay—" Dr. Cha Rice dragged out his voice and ran briskly.

It didn't take long for the wine and food to be served, and Chu Tianya asked a few guards to sit down and eat with him. The guards gave in for a while, and then sat down. In private, Chu Tianya doesn't put on any fights with the people around him, especially the guards around him are very kind and caring. To put it bluntly, I still have to rely on these people to do something, and my net worth and life are also tied to them. If you don't treat them well, how can people die for you?

After a few glasses of wine, the atmosphere was lively, and everyone began to talk about some topics.

Just when it was lively, someone knocked at the door, "Official, the little one is disturbed." ”

"Who?"

"The small one is the owner of the store, with the Hun family, and he asks to see the official when he has something."

Everyone pondered, did they recognize Chu Tianya?

"Come in!" Anyway, they wouldn't have any malicious intent, and Chu Tianya agreed.

The door was pushed open, and the powerful proprietor came in with a rather attractive young woman. As soon as the couple came in, they stared at Chu Tianya, and the woman suddenly let out a cry of surprise, and stepped forward to bow down to Chu Tianya.

"Engong is above, please accept the slave family's gift!"

The man also bowed down together, looked at Chu Tianya with surprise and adoration, and hugged his fists and said, "Villain Shi Kequan, please see Engong!" ”

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Chu Tianya was quite surprised. Because of the two people in front of him, he didn't know them at all.

"Haven't you forgotten it, last year in the Star Picking Tower, you once saw a group of hard-working women from Yelu Yu under the hands of that beast?" The woman said excitedly, "The slave family is one of them!" - Xiao Ai, Xiao Ai, Engong must remember Xiao Ai, the slave family is still the same villager as her! ”

"Oh, I see!" Chu Tianya smiled, "It doesn't have to be like this. Couple, please! ”

The couple thanked them and finally stood up. Chu Tianya invited Shi Kequan to sit down and eat wine together, Shi Kequan was very talkative, and took the initiative to tell Chu Tianya that he had also enlisted in the army and had been on the battlefield on the border side of Western Xia. Later, I heard that the woman who had been married since childhood in the family (the woman in front of her now) was nowhere to be found because of changes in her family. He anxiously inquired around, only to learn that his fiancée had been dragged to the army to work as a camp prostitute. He traveled thousands of miles and worked hard to find her. At that time, it was not long after the Battle of Taiyuan ended. Shi Kequan listened to the woman's experience, so he decided to settle in Taiyuan and reopen this star-picking building to show his gratitude to Chu Tianya. Fortunately, Shi Kequan has been a mercenary of the Great Song Dynasty for a few years and has a small amount of savings, and the woman has also obtained a batch of gold, silver and jewelry that Chu Tianya stole from Yelu Yujian, and the store has really reopened, until now.

The woman said that the couple had long planned to go to Qingyun Castle or Qixing Village, and thanked Chu Tianya in person, and even had the idea of going to the cottage. But the couple pondered again, they were also ordinary good people, and they had no skills and were afraid of disturbing Chu Tianya, so they never went.

"However, the slave family has two younger sisters, but they are in Qixingzhai." The woman said, "When my family was in trouble, they were still very young, and they were not taken in by the army. So a kind-hearted wanderer adopted them. Our sisters have not met again over the years, and once they met by chance in Taiyuan, the slave family learned that they had followed the Taoist master for many years, and each had practiced a good martial arts, and they wanted to go to the famous Chu Engong to kill thieves and make meritorious contributions. The slave family was very happy in their hearts, although the slave family could not go to serve Engong in person, but there were two sisters who could serve Engong! ”

"Oh, a pair of little sisters?" Chu Tianya couldn't help laughing, "In the cottage, only five big and three rough men are generally accepted, and young women really haven't received much. ”

"Ah, haven't Eungong seen them?" The woman was a little panicked, and hurriedly said, "They are twins, they look exactly the same, and they are both eighteen years old this year. I heard them say that they heard that there was a martial arts hall in Qixingzhai in Taihang Mountain, and they wanted to go to perform and run away. said that she would not do anything like a woman in a raccoon or a little girl ring when she went to the cottage, and she had to be a female general who killed the enemy! ”

"Haha!" Chu Tianya laughed, "Interesting, twin little sisters, and they still want to be female generals!" You said they also went to the martial arts hall? Hehe, that's probably not a place for them to play. ”

Shi Kequan smiled and said, "Engong, don't underestimate this little girl. The little one has also learned three or five punches and kicks, and he has also cut off a few heads with real knives and guns on the border of Western Xia. The little one can see that these two girls are really coincidental and teach a few tricks. Under the curiosity of the child, I also asked these two sisters-in-law to show their hands - not to mention, the kung fu is quite handsome! ”

Chu Tianya looked Shi Kequan up and down a few times, not like a person talking nonsense. And looking at his body, he is probably a practitioner. So he nodded and smiled: "As long as you really want to kill thieves and make meritorious contributions, the cottage will accept it." It doesn't matter if he's a man or a woman, or what his background is. ”

"That's good, that's good." The woman nodded happily and smiled, and said, "It's just that this has been going for more than a month, and no news has been sent so far, and the slave family is somewhat worried about it." I don't know ...... grace."

"You stupid woman is so unreasonable, how can you mention this and that to Engong as soon as we meet?" Shi Kequan's eyes widened, "Go for warm wine!" ”

Chu Tianya smiled, "Human nature is fine." Sue me sù what their names are. Even if I'm busy, these guards around me can help you inquire. If there is a letter of approval, I can also give you peace. ”

"Thank you, thank you!" The woman bowed down again and again with a thousand thanks, and said, "The two of them look almost the same and are very recognizable, their mother's surname is Ouyang, and they didn't take a serious name when they were young, but their master gave them Taoist names, which were called 'Zichen' and 'Qingyan' respectively." ”

"Okay, you remember, when you go back to Qixingzhai, you will help inquire about the whereabouts of Zichen and Qingyan. After it was clear, he asked for a letter of peace and went down the mountain to report that the shopkeeper and his wife knew. Chu Tianya said.

The guards behind him received the promise, and Shi Kequan and his wife were very grateful. After eating wine with Engong for a while, they withdrew without disturbing, and naturally refused to accept the money for this meal.

Giving people roses has a lingering fragrance, and a small episode makes Chu Tianya feel in a good mood. After eating, he wandered around Taiyuan City for a while, and saw that it was getting late before he returned to the Chu family's old mansion.

Bai Xu is already waiting for him here.

"How's it going, Jingqian?" Chu Tianya smiled and asked, "Shi Li loves this person, interesting, right?" ”

Bai Xu has always been gentle and elegant, but today he has a stiff face, and he can't help but scold people, "Phew, that's clearly an old fox!" ”

"Haha!" Chu Tianya laughed, "I'll just say it, you two are things that crawled out of the same nest." Tell me, how did he bully you and make you so angry? ”

"Old fox, the road is deep!" Bai Xu smiled bitterly, "He has long guessed that Xiaosheng's origin is extraordinary, and he deliberately looked for Xiaosheng to get close, and talked to Xiaosheng a lot with insinuations." Xiao Sheng is always on guard and careful, for fear that any sentence will slip through his mouth and catch his way. In the end, he forgot about what useful information came out of his mouth. ”

"Haha, it seems that you little fox has met the opponent this time!" Chu Tianya laughed, "There is a saying among veterans, offense is the best defense. Shi Liai is a master, who he wants to shoot, very few people can parry. Not to mention attacking him again. ”

"I'm ashamed!" Bai Xu smiled self-deprecatingly and said with a wry smile, "Today is indeed a defeat in his place, and he has probably seen through Xiaosheng's identity." It is unlikely that I will go to him tomorrow to get the news. ”

"Who told you to get the news?" Chu Tianya said, "Just Shi Liai's broken mouth, can say that the dead are alive, how can he believe his words?" I'm asking you to get to know him better. Knowing oneself and knowing that the other is invincible, this is very important to Wanyan Zonghan, and it is the same for us! ”

"Okay, Xiaosheng knows what to do." Bai Xu took a deep breath and sighed heavily, "Since Xiao Sheng can't talk about him, let's just face him in the state of a weakling." When people win and have an advantage, they will always get a little carried away. Xiaosheng will observe his face and improve his understanding of him. ”

"That's right." Chu Tianya nodded and smiled, "Debate and deceit are Shi Liai's strengths, and we can't attack the strengths of the other with our own shortcomings; But you have your strengths, you are calmer than him, you are wiser than him, you pay more attention to the subtleties than him, and you can see the subtleties and draw inferences. In this regard, he is definitely inferior to you! ”

Bai Xu nodded approvingly, and his confidence finally returned. He praised sincerely: "I didn't expect that the lord could know Shi Liai so well in such a short period of time. No wonder even Shi Liai himself said that the lord is a great person - you can make the enemy praise you so much, lord, or you are clever! ”