Yang Xuangan smiled coldly, looked at Xue Rengao on the ground, and saw him staring at himself hatefully, his eyes full of resentment, but he couldn't say a word.

Yang Xuangan spat bloody foam on the ground, and no longer looked at Xue Rengao, but thrust the Fang Tian painting halberd into the ground fiercely, and the person also sat on the ground, panting heavily.

At that moment just now, it was really thrilling, if it was half a second late, Xue Rengao's Fang Tian painting halberd would be cut down, Yang Xuangan had already planned this blow, all because he was unarmoured, and the wooden lance in his hand was lighter than the steel lance, so in terms of time, it was a little faster than Xue Rengao of the iron armor halberd.

At that moment, Yang Xuangan directly pinned the horse's legs, and the huge impact force not only made Xue Rengao lose his center of gravity and fall to the ground all of a sudden, but even Yang Xuangan was shocked so that the whole person left the saddle and flew backwards directly, and the wooden lance was broken into several pieces at once, and the powerful force of the shock made Yang Xuangan almost vomit out a mouthful of blood.

The two of them were stepping on the horses tightly just now, so when they fell off the horse, the first to sprain their legs were the first to sprain their legs, Yang Xuangan was the buttocks were flat and falling backwards, but he twisted it and was a little lame, and Xue Rengao was directly lifted forward from the horse that was galloping at full speed, and he fell into a sharp pain, and his leg seemed to be broken, and it was impossible to even get up.

Hongfu was a step faster than the Ju clan rushing over, and took the first step to help Yang Xuangan, and asked eagerly, "How are you?" Can it still hold up? In a pair of beautiful eyes, the tears that were forcibly held back were rolling. On the other side, Ju was shaking Xue Rengao, who was speechless, and he was crying.

Xue Ju is a veteran on the battlefield, and he saw all the qiē just now. I was completely impressed in my heart, this person was not only superior in martial arts. And thoughtful. Xue Rengao is the tiger general of the world, and if he fights with all his strength, he is afraid that he will hurt Xue Rengao's life, so this person deliberately provoked Xue Rengao first, and then suddenly made a surprise move when he was unprepared, and won in one fell swoop.

So Xue Ju laughed: "Manager Li is really good at martial arts and good intentions, Xue admires it so much, come." Please please talk about something slowly. ”

The Ju clan scolded Xue Ju hatefully: "Your son has been injured like this, you don't want to avenge your son, and you still have to talk about business with the enemy?" ”

Xue Ju's face sank: "I have already said in advance, no matter what the result is, as long as this Manager Li can win against Ren Gao, I will talk to him about this business, the eldest husband was born in this heaven and earth, and he does not stand without faith, you have to send this woman's words." After speaking, he put on a smiling face at Yang Xuangan. Lead the way yourself.

Yang Xuangan only felt dizzy when he sat down just now, and this blow used all his strength. It was really thrilling, the tense string of the whole person after the victory and defeat was suddenly loosened, and a sense of weakness and prostration spread throughout the body, hearing Xue Ju say this, he barely squeezed out a smile, was helped up by the red whisk, and walked forward slowly.

Yang Xuangan couldn't remember how he was half-dragged and half-pulled up the twenty or so steps step by step, he only felt that his legs were as heavy as lead, and his chest was also overturned, he didn't dare to speak, for fear that he would vomit out of his mouth, until he sat on the elm guest chair in the living room, and felt a little more comfortable.

When Xue Ju saw him like this, he knew it in his heart, and said with a smile: "Manager Li doesn't need to worry, if it really doesn't work, it's okay to discuss it tomorrow, I think you might as well live here with me today, and let me do my best to be a landlord." ”

Although Yang Xuangan was uncomfortable, his mind was still very clear, he was in this Longtan Tiger's Den at the moment, and the Ju clan was full of hostility towards him, and it was difficult to say whether Xue Rengao would be disabled or even killed, things were full of variables, and it was better to reach an agreement early and leave the land of right and wrong.

So Yang Xuangan smiled and shook his head, calmed the blood in his chest, and said, "Don't worry, let's talk about business first." ”

Xue Ju saw him like this, and he no longer persuaded him, smiled slightly, and said, "What kind of cooperation does Tang Guogong want to do with me?" ”

Yang Xuangan glanced at the red breeze and motioned for her to come, while he sat on the chair, concentrating on his luck and adjusting his internal breath.

Hongfu comprehended and said: "Tang Guogong said that he also wants to send a caravan to participate in the Silk Road transaction on this road, and he will only ask for General Xue's escort at that time, as for the escort fee, it will be given according to thirty percent of the money earned, and it will never be less than a penny." ”

Xue Ju was surprised: "It's just this kind of cooperation? So what's the need for a martial arts contest? Just say it early and follow the rules. ”

Hong Fu smiled: "The martial arts competition is just a shape, the purpose is to let General Xue know the strength of our Tang State Mansion, and to put it mildly, although Manager Li is the number one warrior of our Tang State Mansion, there are several people who are close to him in martial arts." ”

Xue Ju shook his head in disbelief: "Xue Mou doesn't know how many heroes in the world there are, it's really the first time I've seen someone like Mr. Li, I don't believe that there are many people in this world who are even close to him." ”

Hongfu took the opportunity to say: "Major General and General Xue, you are also strong in martial arts, today Manager Li is just a fluke, and it is still unknown who will kill the deer if you fight again." ”

Xue Ju was praised by this, and he listened to it quite usefully, stroking his beard and smiling, secretly proud in his heart.

Seeing that Xue Ju was a little happy, Hongfu was secretly happy in his heart, and then said: "You should also know Tang Guogong's strength, if the two of us join forces, it can be said that it is a strong alliance, Tang Guogong also wanted to do business on this Silk Road before, but unfortunately there are no acquaintances." ”

"Before we came here, we asked the leaders of several caravans in Daxing City, and they all said that the Silk Road in this area depends on the protection of General Xue, so we want to organize one or two caravans, and next time we can escort General Xue all the way to the west. After a few trips to this Silk Road, you will become familiar with it. ”

When Xue Ju heard this, he nodded, and said: "The section from Dasanguan to Guzang is my sphere of influence, on this road, as long as the banner of my Xue Mansion is played, there is no problem, as for going west after arriving in Guzang!" Xue Ju suddenly stopped talking and stopped talking.

Yang Xuangan breathed for a while, the qi in his chest gradually calmed down, and the person became energetic, and when he heard Xue Ju's words, he suddenly interjected and asked, "Isn't Gu Zang also in the territory of the Great Sui?" Could it be that General Xue's power can't reach Guzang? ”

Xue Ju's face turned slightly red: "That's right, Guzang also has a few wealthy families, Nanjie Tuguhun." The north is connected to Tuji. It can also guard the border and the people. On the side of self-preservation, refuse the entry of our Xue family's forces. Now in the peaceful years, I am also the captain of Jincheng, they are not ordinary bandits, and it is impossible for me to go to Guzang to cause trouble. ”

Yang Xuangan smiled: "No, the bandits on this Silk Road have been around for thousands of years, and there are as many as cattle hairs, and there are all ethnic groups." That is, a man like General Xue can probably exterminate one or two, so can Guzang's wealthy family be stronger than the general? ”

Xue Ju shook his head: "Our family is only two generations here, although on the one hand, the methods of dealing with bandits are harsh, but on the other hand, our family also has a lot of gold and silver treasures for the Qiang tribes in the north and south of the Silk Road, so as to ensure temporary stability." ”

"But that Guzang City, since ancient times, has been the capital of Liangzhou, known as the largest city in Liangzhou, and the successive Liangzhou Thorn History and Liangzhou Governor are stationed there."

"During the period of the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms, Guzang successively became the capital of the two empires of Qianliang and Houliang. At present, there are more than 300,000 households of various ethnic groups, which can be called the largest city in the northwest. Among them, there are several wealthy families, just like your Li family in Longxi. ”

Yang Xuan shook his head in disbelief: "The ancestor of our Tang State Mansion can be traced back to the flying general Li Guang in the Qin and Han dynasties. ”

Xue Ju laughed: "Manager Li, you should know that this Jincheng is just the county seat of Jincheng County, that is, a county seat, and Guzang has always been the seat of Liangzhou County, an absolute provincial city, not at all at the same level, Guzang's population is more than ten times that of here, in their eyes, we are just a poor country here." ”

Xue Ju saw that the two of them were listening intently, so he began to slowly tell about the situation of this Gu Zang:

Guzang, located in the west of Liangzhou, was the residence of the powerful nomadic khanate Dayue clan west of the Xiongnu during the Qin Dynasty, and later the Dayue clan was forced to move west after being defeated by the Xiongnu, and it became the territory of the Xiongnu Hutu King. In the sixth year of Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty (174 B.C.), the Hun Hutu King built Zang City here, and later called Guzang City because of its proximity.

During the Zhou Dynasty, the Hexi region of Liangzhou was called Yongzhou, and it was occupied by Xirong during the Spring and Autumn Period, which was the ancestor of the Qiang people.

Later, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty arrived, he sent the hussar general Huo Qubing to fight back against the Xiongnu, recaptured the land of Hexi in one fell swoop, set up Wuwei, Jiuquan, Zhangye, Dunhuang four counties, and in the third year of Yuan Shuo (126 BC), with its gold line, the reason for the cold land, changed Yongzhou to Liangzhou.

Wuwei County has always been the largest county in Liangzhou, since the establishment of Liangzhou has been under the jurisdiction of ten counties, Guzang City has been a ready-made strong city, has always been the state seat of Liangzhou, but also the county of Wuwei County.

Now Guzang, Han and Hu live together, there are not only Han families like the Li family, Cao family, Liang family, but also Hu people like the An family who have been doing business for many generations, and the Qiang tribe is different from the Jincheng area, and there are many Hu tribes with the surname of Zhaowu in the vicinity of Guzang City.

The surname of Zhaowu Jiu was originally a member of the Dayue clan, and the former residence was in Zhaowu City in the north of Qilian Mountain (now Linze, Gansu), because it was broken by the Xiongnu, and the west exceeded the green ridge, and the branch was divided into kings, with Zhaowu as the surname. The inhabitants are mainly engaged in agriculture and also in animal husbandry.

The descendants of these Dayue clans spread all over the Western Regions from Wuwei to the Western Regions, and then to a large area of Central Asia, and even established several countries with surnames in Central Asia, on the surface, Wuwei is in the Yumen Pass, but with the development of the Silk Road, there have already been a large number of Hu people with the surname Zhaowu Jiu settled here, and these people can summon a large number of compatriots outside the customs to come to help if necessary.

When Yang Xuangan heard Xue Ju say this, he nodded: "It turns out that there are so many Hu people with the surname Zhaowu Jiu in Guzang, no wonder General Xue is difficult to intervene." ”

Xue Ju sighed: "Yes, in addition to farming and grazing, these people have been running businesses on this Silk Road for many years, and most of the leaders of those merchant groups you see in Daxing are those Yue people with the surname Zhaowu Jiu." During the Taiping period, they were not bandits, I can't attack and destroy them here, and these people control the Silk Road business from the Western Regions to Guzang, and I can't have too stiff relations with them. ”

"So a few years ago, I made an alliance with Li Liang and An Xinggui, the wang clan of Guzang, east of Guzang, through this section of the Silk Road in Jincheng, all the way to Dasanguan in the west, which is run by our Xue family, and the Silk Road west of Guzang, we do not interfere."

Red Whisk suddenly asked, "Why did they choose two people to negotiate with the general?" ”

Xue Ju blinked: "Because that Li Liang is a Han who has lived in Guzang City for generations, and that An Xinggui is a Hu person with the surname Zhaowu Jiu." Most of the time is spent doing business in various places. He doesn't live in Guzang for a long time. But because his business is big and he is righteous and squandering money, the Zhaowu Hu people in the Hexi area respect him as the leader. ”

Yang Xuangan pondered for a moment and said, "Since Guzang is the residence of the Liangzhou Assassin and the Liangzhou Governor, why can't the imperial court personally send troops to protect the smooth flow of this Silk Road, but rely on the guards of these Hu people?" If this Jincheng is a small number of soldiers, this is reasonable, but there are a lot of defenders in Guzang. ”

Xue Ju nodded. Said: "Since the Han Dynasty, Yumen Pass is the boundary between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions, and the garrison of Liangzhou can manage the Yumen Pass, but it can't manage the long road of thousands of miles outside the pass. From Gaochang to Guzang, the nearest in the Western Regions, it is thousands of miles away, and most of them are desert Gobi, so it is impossible to send troops to guard them all the way. ”

"Therefore, these Han and Hu families in Guzang City are willing to guard this trade route by themselves, and are willing to pay taxes at the tax rate stipulated by the imperial court. Besides. The soldiers and horses in Liangzhou were mainly used to guard against the Turks, and the pressure of the border defense was far from being comparable to that of Jincheng, which was located in the interior. ”

Yang Xuangan nodded: "That Gu Zang looks like we won't be able to intervene for a while." In this way, General Xue, just do as you say, you only need to be responsible for escorting our caravan to Guzang, and as for the remuneration, it will be set according to your normal charges, and you will be drawn 30%. ”

Xue Ju laughed: "Tang Guogong is really refreshing, okay, just do it according to this condition, Manager Li, today I will prepare a family banquet in this mansion to celebrate the cooperation between our two families, I don't know what to do?" ”

Yang Xuangan smiled: "I can't ask for it." ”

Wang Shichong, who had been behind the screen of this hall, showed a smile on the corner of his mouth, and said secretly in his heart: "Yang Xuangan, you really didn't disappoint me." ”

In the evening, still in this spacious living room, all the tables, chairs and couches have been removed, and the candles are lit around it, and they are replaced by a banquet for one person.

Xue Ju changed into a silk casual dress, a scarf, and sat on the top, while Ju's face was full of hatred, and he also changed into a woman's attire, and sat beside Xue Ju angrily.

Yang Xuangan and Hongfu knelt on the small couch in front of the table, looking at the plates of beef, mutton and pork in front of them, as well as a full glass of blood-like wine, they couldn't help but sigh secretly.

Since the Spring and Autumn Period, there has been a saying that the Tai Prison Banquet, the so-called "Tai Prison" is the main livestock of pigs, cattle and sheep, which are sacrificed to the three main livestock, and generally only the emperor is qualified to eat the Tai Prison Banquet; The sacrifices of the candidates can only be made of pigs and sheep, without cattle, which is called "Shaojiao"; Ordinary officials and ordinary people could only eat the whole pig at such a banquet, which was called a "prison".

Yang Xuangan thought secretly in his heart, today is the time when Tang Guogong and this Xue Ju form an alliance, it is said that it should be sacrificed, but this sacrifice is directly in the emperor's qualified prison, I don't know what this Xue Ju wants.

Yang Xuangan looked at the seven or eight strong men sitting opposite him, Zong Luohu who had seen during the day, Chang Zhongxing and Ma Ning'er were among them, among them, Zong Luohu was sitting in the first position opposite, which showed his status, and Chang Zhongxing was sitting in the middle of the first row, and Ma Ning'er was sitting in the back of the back row, which was in line with the martial arts and official ranks of the three people.

Yang Xuangan didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Xue Ju's gourd, but he knew one thing very well, this too prison banquet could not be eaten casually, and the wine could not be drunk, as long as he moved slightly, it might be related to the rebellion, and he didn't want to come to this point before there was no showdown with Xue Ju.

Xue Ju drank wine and ate meat on the main seat, and repeatedly persuaded Yang Xuangan to eat, but Yang Xuangan only nodded in greeting, but never moved his chopsticks.

The atmosphere at the banquet gradually became solemn, Xue Ju's tongue was a little knotted, and he asked with a little drunkenness: "Manager Li, why don't you eat a piece of meat or drink a glass of wine from the beginning to the present?" ”

Yang Xuangan smiled faintly and said, "General Xue, dare to ask who arranged this banquet today?" ”

Xue Ju was slightly stunned, and then laughed: "I didn't expect that Manager Li is not only strong in martial arts, but also familiar with history books, and actually knows the origin of this eunuch banquet. After saying that, Xue raised his wine glass, and all the generals and colonels opposite also raised the glasses in front of him and persuaded him to drink in unison.

Yang Xuangan's face became stern, and he finally realized that this banquet was intentional by Xue Ju, but he didn't know if he was tempting himself or trying to blame himself, no matter what, this wine was not drinkable.

So Yang Xuan said coldly: "General Xue, today is a good day for you and me to form an alliance, why do you want to organize this grand banquet that violates the law of etiquette and attracts criticism?" ”

Xue Ju's face changed, and he slammed the wine glass on the table, spilling a lot of wine, and said sharply: "What's the violation of etiquette?" There is nothing written in the decree of this dynasty, and it is too much to eat. ”

Yang Xuangan said in a deep voice: "Although this is not prohibited in the decree of this dynasty, after all, it is a record in the Zhou Rite handed down in the Spring and Autumn Period. ”

Xue Ju's voice revealed anger, and it was obvious that he was suppressing his anger: "Zhou Li is the law ceremony of the Spring and Autumn Period, and at that time there was Zhou Tianzi, and the world was divided into hundreds of princes, so there must be this rule, and now the Great Sui can be like that Zhou Dynasty when there were eight hundred princes?" Is there any law that explicitly states that pigs, beef and mutton cannot be eaten? (To be continued......)