Chapter 4: Drunken Country (5b)

Li Xu had heard the inspirational story of trying Zhang Liang at the head of Huangshi Gongqiaotou since he was a child, so he got up before the next day and came to the felt bag group of the coppersmith's house early to wait. The night wind on the grassland was like a knife, freezing his lips purple and his snot rolling like pulp. Shivering in the cold wind for more than an hour, the coppersmith yawned and walked out of the felt bag.

Seeing Li Xu's embarrassed appearance with a dripping nose, the coppersmith's eyes widened and asked, "You don't want to die, standing here in the middle of the night?" Haven't you heard that the wind on the prairie can blow people to death? ”

"Before, before, before, senior-generation" Li Xu explained while trembling, "Before, the predecessor ordered early, come early, don't dare to ....."

"What dare you dare, you don't sleep, I'm still sleeping!" The coppersmith pulled Li Xu past him and pushed him into his stone workshop. While stabbing the fire with his hands and feet, he stepped on the bellows a few times, and said: "It's stupid to read, you can believe what you fool the child." You and I are willing to teach the disciples, since you are willing to teach, why play so many mysteries. With that kind of kung fu, it is better to sleep well with each other, so as to save an ancestor who is listless when he speaks and an ancestor who is still scolding the master in his stomach when he is taught! ”

Hearing this perverse remark, Li Xu could only laugh. During the hour he had waited in the cold wind, he had indeed slandered the coppersmith many times in his stomach. Thinking about Zhang Liang's three times when he came to Qiaotou early, he was all rushed back by Huang Shigong complaining that he got up too late, presumably the thoughts in Zhang Daxian's stomach at that time were no different from his own complaints.

The coppersmith waited until Li Xu had warmed up his frozen body a little, and then stopped blowing air into the hearth. Pick up a large piece of charcoal with iron tongs and hold the fire down. picked up a bulging wine bag, raised his neck and drank a few sips, and threw the bag to Li Xu.

"Before, senior!" Li Xu has followed four or five masters since his enlightenment, but none of them are as dignified as the coppersmith. Even if he behaved badly, he also allowed his disciples to drink alcohol in front of him. Holding the wine bag, Li Xu didn't drink it, and he didn't drink it, so he was next to the stove.

"Before, what a predecessor. Am I that old? Drink, drink to warm up the body, let's start teaching! The coppersmith rolled his eyes and scolded loudly.

"Disciple knocks ......" Li Xu heard that the coppersmith was willing to teach him martial arts, and hurriedly stepped forward to worship the master. According to Xu Dayan's analysis, since Aunt Qing's painting skills have entered the realm of masters, the martial arts methods that she admires are naturally not bad.

As soon as the body bent down, he was immediately stopped by the coppersmith with fire tongs, and the second half of the teacher's words were also choked into his stomach. Li Xu didn't know what kind of strange rule this was, and looked up in surprise. I saw the coppersmith shaking his head and saying, "Don't be like a kowtow worm, I look dizzy." I'm not your master, I'm just instructing you on some killing techniques. If you want to learn, I just don't want this skill to be buried in the grassland. Let's take what we need, and as for what you will achieve in the future, it is your own creation, and it has nothing to do with me, the one who taught you. It's a big thing, who expects you to take a tablet and offer me every day! ”

"Teacher, yes, senior!" Li Xu had no choice but to stand up straight, and then bowed, which was regarded as worshipping his teacher. He only felt that his eyes were full of stars, as if he was sleepwalking, the so-called coppersmith, the so-called stove, were just illusions created in dreams.

If Xu Dayan was here, he would definitely immediately pick up the wine bag and call the coppersmith brothers. The Jiangnan family is known as the legacy of the Wei and Jin dynasties, from Wang Youjun's east bed and abdomen (Note 1) to Zu Di's middle stream, what they pursue is a kind of free and easy realm. If you treat this kind of character with worldly courtesy, you will provoke his displeasure.

The coppersmith saw that Li Xu had always been stuck to the position of master and apprentice, and he was really a little unhappy. Shaking his head, he sighed. "You're a kind kid, you can only be too persistent. If you suffer a loss in the future, you will definitely suffer from the word persistence. The future of the marquis is there, if you want to go further, you can't! ”

His current temperament will suffer in the future, which Old Master Yang also reminded when they separated. But the four words of Feng Hou and Bai Jiang, Li Xu never had the courage to think about it. Before he met the infantry captain, his highest ideal was to be a county household in charge of civil affairs, so that those errands would catch up and pat himself on the back. After seeing the power of the infantry captain, his goal in life became to become a cavalry captain, leading hundreds of brothers across the battlefield. As for the huge rank difference between the marquis and the lieutenant, it was an unattainable dream for Li Xu, just like 10,000 buckets of rice and 10 million buckets of rice in the eyes of a street beggar, there was really no difference.

"What's the wait, am I wrong about you? If you're wrong, just say it, and I won't be angry with you. Even if I'm angry with you, you turn around and leave, who is afraid of who comes! The coppersmith stretched out his hand, knocked Li Xu's head, and said angrily.

"The words of my predecessors, my master also said. It's just that the younger generation learns martial arts, not to worship the generals! Li Xu rubbed his head and said loudly.

"Hypocrisy, not for the sake of the marquis, what are you doing studying martial arts? Just think about it, the manly husband will fight if he wants to, and let it go if he doesn't want to, why bother thinking in his heart, pretending to be high in his mouth! The coppersmith stretched out his hand and knocked again, but Li Xu was no longer willing to use his head as someone else's wooden fish, and flashed his head sideways.

This flash, on the contrary, made the coppersmith happy, stretched out his hand, and chased Li Xu's head and knocked wildly. Li Xu dodged left and right, dodging all the black fingers of the coppersmith, and while dodging, he panted and argued: "I didn't want to be a marquis, but I pretended to be looking for fame, isn't it just as hypocritical!" ”

"And what are you for?" The coppersmith withdrew his hand, snatched the wine bag from Li Xu's arms, and asked while drinking.

At this time, Li Xu also figured out the temper of the strange man in front of him, took two steps back, and said: "If I learn some martial arts, at least I won't watch them being hacked to death." I will not let others die for me in the future. As for whether to seal the marquis or not, at the moment I am just a trader, and it is in vain to think about it! ”

"Is it for the calyx to fall Tai them? No wonder you looked preoccupied yesterday! At a young age, I think a lot! The coppersmith put down the wine bag and looked Li Xu up and down like a monster. It wasn't until Li Xu was furious that he sighed and said: "You have such a temperament, but you look like a person, no wonder Wanqing will let me teach you martial arts!" ”

"Who?" Li Xu asked curiously. Aunt Qing arranged for herself to ask the coppersmith for advice, but she and Tao Kuo didn't have time to talk about it yesterday. I don't know how the coppersmith guessed it today, and in his heart he connected himself with which hero.

"An idiot!" The coppersmith shook his head and sighed, waved his hand at Li Xu, and motioned for him to wait by the stove for a while. turned around and walked out, and after a while, he came back with a scroll of paintings, and gently unfolded it in front of Li Xu by the light of the fire.

The picture shows a general wearing silver armor and holding a long lance, about seventeen or eighteen years old, heroic and sassy, looking forward to Shenfei. It is not so much similar to Li Xu, but rather that Xu Dayan has a bit of charm on this person. Looking at the painting, it is estimated that it was painted by Aunt Qing herself, but I don't know whose hero is in the painting.

"You've always wondered about Wanqing's background!" The coppersmith took a sip of wine and asked with a sigh.

Li Xu and Xu Dayan have speculated many times in private about the possibility of Aunt Qing's origin, but they never dared to let a third party know. At this moment, he was suddenly told what was in his heart, his face was embarrassed, and even his voice was ashamed. "Late, junior, once, once curious!"

"What's to be ashamed of, it's strange that a character like her appears in this tribe and doesn't attract attention. When any Han people see her, they will probably guess a thing or two! The coppersmith shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile.

What does that have to do with the general in the painting? Li Xu only felt that his heart was chaotic, like a pot of paste cooking. He is not in the habit of inquiring into other people's privacy, but a shocking secret is in front of him, and he can't help but pay no attention to it.

"This person is Chen Shushen, the king of Yueyang in Southern Chen. In that year, the Great Sui Dynasty marched south, and the old ministers and famous generals in the south of the Yangtze River descended from the wind. He is a prince in name only, but he thinks that he can't eat the people's offerings in vain! Hey, hey, hey! The coppersmith smiled and took a sip of wine, and pushed the skin bag to Li Xu again.

Hearing the words "you can't eat the people's offerings in vain", Li Xu was in awe. Hu Ben Zhonglang will Luo Yi's sentence "People are not animals, and there is no need for famous blood!" It has long been deeply imprinted in Li Xu's heart. He no longer attaches great importance to people's origins. But for the man who dares to take responsibility, there is still a deep respect in his heart.

Unconsciously, Li Xu raised the wine bag in his hand and listened to the coppersmith's babbling while drinking.

During the Great Sui Southern Expedition, countless families, wealthy families, and "famous generals" and "loyal ministers" in the south of the Yangtze River saw the situation clearly and tied themselves in front of Yang Guangma. Seeing that the Sui army was about to conquer the entire Jiangnan without blood, at this time, Chen Shushen, the eighteen-year-old king of Yueyang, was stubborn, not only refused to surrender, but also set up a banquet of fraudulent surrender, and killed Pang Hui, the pioneer officer of the Great Sui, at the banquet. This was the highest-ranking military general lost in the battle of the Southern Expedition of the Great Sui, Yang Jian was furious, and dispatched Xue Guan, the Duke of Zhongmu, and Liu Renen, the head of the march, to command 200,000 troops to attack Xiangzhou. On the one hand, Chen Shushen sent people to escort his childhood sweetheart's cousin to make a detour to the Turks, in order to ask the Turks to send troops from the north to harass Yang Jian's back road, and on the other hand, he contacted the heroic soldiers from all over the south of the Yangtze River to meet the battle. (Note 2)

This was the only tough battle of the Sui army in the entire southern expedition, and the 200,000 Sui soldiers and horses dragged down the 15,000 rebels raised by Chen Shushen in a wheel battle, and beheaded all the captured rebels in Hankou.

"He, he ......" Li Xu pointed to the handsome young man on the portrait, but he didn't expect the other party to act so decisively. For the sake of the sentence 'not to eat and drink in vain, the people worship', not only gave up his life, but also sacrificed his fiancée. Extrapolating like this, Aunt Qing may not have been a horse thief on the grassland back then. When any Great Sui soldier heard the news, he would not allow a woman with the mission of saving Nan Chen to walk safely to her destination.

"Actually, there is no immortal court in this world. Luck is gone, and everything will naturally return to dust. The people who should be responsible are not responsible, and those who are not responsible should take their lives! The coppersmith poured a few drops of wine into the fire and summed it up. Layers of flames were stirred up in the cracks of the charcoal, and under the faint blue firelight, his eyes were as clear as those of an eighteen-year-old boy.

"Not so! This is great courage. Although there are tens of millions of people, I will not succeed or fail! Li Xu got up and retorted.

The coppersmith's throat let out a "gurgle" sound, and he was almost choked by Li Xu's words. coughed a few times, glared at Li Xu for a long time, and scolded with a smile: "You are really disrespectful, and Lao Tzu's words dare to refute." Lao Tzu has been holding back these words for more than 20 years, and no one has ever been able to say a few words. Although I was choked, I choked with pleasure. That's it, that's it, I don't have the skills of ten thousand enemies myself, so I can't teach you. The ability to fight alone has not been forgotten. What do you want to learn, tell me first? ”

"I want to ......" Li Xu hesitated, and his gaze fell on the long lance held by the young man in the portrait again. Since Wang Coppersmith knew everything about the process of the Sui Dynasty's war against Nan Chen, he must have been one of the people who rose up to resist that year. Otherwise, he wouldn't have searched the entire grassland, just to protect Aunt Qing's safety. This master's martial arts should not be bad, but which of the eighteen weapons is more suitable for him, Li Xu can't be sure.

Captain Bu and Xu Dayan both made good use of the lance, so that the lance was naturally the first choice in his heart. But thinking about what Brother Xu said about refining the lance would take ten years, Li Xu began to hesitate again.

"Boy, don't you want to use a lance too?" Seeing Li Xu's gaze, the coppersmith looked at the lance reluctantly and asked with a smile.

"Why not!" Li Xu stiffened his neck and asked, "Wouldn't you either?" ”

Although he is a little wooden and persistent, he is not a rigid person. Seeing that the coppersmith does not put on the master's shelf, he also follows the other party's temperament and does not follow the courtesy of the disciple.

The coppersmith saw that Li Xu suddenly opened his mind and saw the free and easy way of the real celebrity, and his heart became more and more happy, and he scolded with a smile: "I can't, it's just that in this ice and snow, where can Lao Tzu go to get you a horse lance." It's not difficult to get started, and if you have a hundred ironclad heavy cavalry rushing with you, you don't need to be proficient to poke a hole in the enemy array. If you fight alone and don't learn well, I'm afraid people will die faster! ”

This sentence is common sense on the battlefield. The horse lance was about one foot and eight feet long, and was an ideal equipment for heavy cavalry to charge into battle. More than 100 cavalrymen in iron clothes and iron armor attacked the enemy's large array in a sharp formation, and even if the opponent had two or three thousand people, they might not be able to withstand the rush of the iron cavalry. But if the two sides are intertwined and fighting, if the use of the lance is not fine, it will be too long and tied hands and feet, and several small soldiers rush to the front, and one person and one knife will solve the wielder.

At present, the entire Su Si Department is the only one who will make good use of the lance. He had spent ten years of hard work on the lance, and naturally he would not let his opponent with a scimitar bully him. Li Xu is now learning from scratch, and holding a long lance on top of the battle formation is equivalent to stepping forward to die with his bare hands.

"If you don't learn to learn?" Li Xu hesitated, remembering the power of the captain that day. The long lance like a swimming dragon, and the majestic scolding, left a deep impression on the young man, and he couldn't help but want to imitate it.

"I'll teach you some basic techniques of using a lance, and I'll leave it for you to learn it slowly in the future. Now, in order for you to avenge your friends, it is more convenient to learn a scimitar! Seeing Li Xu's hesitation, the coppersmith suggested in a low voice.

Li Xu frowned slightly, none of the people who used the scimitar were from a regular background, this was a sentence that Xu Dayan had instilled in him. It's not that he thinks that the identity of the person who wields the knife is humble, but he is afraid that after refining the scimitar, he still doesn't have a blow from the lance on the battlefield.

"You're afraid that the scimitar can't fight the lance!" Seeing that Li Xu's eyes were still floating on the portrait, the coppersmith asked in a low voice.

"I'm a little scared!" Li Xu replied truthfully. The benefits of the coppersmith master are reflected here, in front of this person, he does not need to pretend.

"If you use a long lance and give Xu Dayan a scimitar, and the two sides fight, who wins?" The coppersmith shook his head and asked.

"Brother Xu wins!" Li Xu knows his own catties and pounds.

"If two generals meet, one holds the lance and the other holds the sword, who wins?" The coppersmith continued to ask.

Li Xu's eyes immediately flashed in front of him, and the heroic appearance of Luo Yi and Captain Bu was high-spirited. If these two play each other, the winner may not be so easy to distinguish. After thinking about it, he finally understood the deep meaning of the coppersmith's words, scratched his head, and replied with a smile: "Naturally, whoever learns well wins!" ”

"That's right, Confucianism can be taught!" The coppersmith stretched out his finger and smashed Li Xu's head again, Li Xu dodged sideways, his movements were not slow, but he was hit by the coppersmith firmly.

"Don't run, if I really want to knock you, where can you hide!" The coppersmith laughed as he withdrew his hand.

Li Xu instantly got a bit of his "true biography", picked up a copper basin and buckled it on his head, and replied as he walked, "So, why run away!" ”

The coppersmith Dale laughed and scolded Li Xu for being stupid, and at the same time picked out two scimitars from the weapons sent by others to the furnace, one was handed to Li Xu, and the other was held in his own hand. He passed on a few words of common sword singing in the army, and ordered him to practice with himself.

Li Xu was afraid of hurting the coppersmith, so he left three points of strength. As a result, he was kicked to the ground by the coppersmith before he finished his move.

"Big split like a tiger, is it like a sick cat like you?" The coppersmith pointed the tip of his knife at Li Xu's throat and sneered.

At this time, Li Xu understood that the gap between himself and the other party was too big, and he might not be able to get cheap if he tried his best. So don't dare to slack off, roll out, jump up and fight again. As soon as he came up this time, he exerted all his strength, opened and closed, and brought into full play the artistic conception of the first sentence of the song. The coppersmith nodded approvingly, took half a step forward, easily deflected Li Xu's blade, and slapped it on his waist.

"Drop your hand and wave sideways, that's it! But remember to use a blade! The coppersmith ignored Li Xu, who was staggered by the knife, and said loudly.

The sword momentum in the army has long been circulated among the people of the Great Sui, but it is a big split, horizontal swing, shun draw, sweep, provocation, oblique slash, block and straight stab eight actions, each action is accompanied by a corresponding formula. Li Xu followed the courtyard invited by the big branch of the clan to compare behind him, and he had also heard similar songs. But the same song recipe is used by different people, but there is a world of difference. The sword used by the Zhuangzhong Guardian looked very powerful, but it did not change much. And the knife made by the coppersmith is ruthless and tricky in addition to being light and elegant. makes people know how he wants to make a move, but he can't parry. (Note 3)

For a whole morning, Li Xu failed to learn half of the true essence of the coppersmith in the first big chopping action, but he was smashed and kicked by the coppersmith's knife and hit countless heels. Fortunately, he was born in a small family, and his skin is rough and thick. I didn't cry out in pain when I was beaten, and when I fell, I immediately got up and fought again, and I also won a few points of praise from the coppersmith.

After dawn, the coppersmith's wife got up to make milk tea, and the master and apprentice stopped training. After beating someone up in the morning, the coppersmith was in a happy mood and took the initiative to leave Li Xu at home for refreshments. After breakfast, he corrected a few basic postures in a targeted manner, and then immediately turned on the furnace to fight for the herdsmen, no longer caring about the life or death of the disciples.

Li Xu dragged his aching body back to the account, and then took Gan Luo to pretend to be a ghost among the warriors of various tribes. After the daily routine "performance" was over, he crawled back to his felt bag step by step. Recently, the weather was better, and he did not dare to be lazy in the felt bag, so he stumbled onto the horse and began to refine the knife.

It's strange to say, he usually dances wildly with a knife on a horse, with amazing momentum, but his movements are jerky and stiff, without any discipline. After being beaten by the coppersmith for a morning, he slashed the knife again, and the scimitar seemed to have a bit of life, moving flexibly as he wished, whether it was chopping or pumping, each movement could barely be connected, not as messy as before.

Note 1: East bed open abdomen. Seen in "The World Speaks New Words". Mrs. Xuan begged her son-in-law and sent her protégé to the Wang family to see each other, and the men of the Wang family were ready to spin, only Wang Xizhi was lying on the east bed, as if he didn't hear it. When Mrs. Xuan heard about the return, she felt that Xi Zhi was chic, so she married her daughter to him.

Note 2: Chen Shushen, the half-brother of Chen Shubao. One of the few people who did not know the practice of the battle of Sui and Nanchen. Defeated, killed.

Note 3: The Qi family saber technique is referenced here.