The original reason why I went to Shendu was that at the beginning of the year, the Great Xia Imperial Court issued an order to hold a big examination this year to select talents for the imperial court. The big exam is once every few years, and the opportunity is rare, and the three Xiushi of the Xiao family naturally have to take the exam. However, Shendu is far away, and God knows if something will happen on the road, so Old Man Xiao found Xiao Tianlei and hoped that Xiao Tianlei could arrange a few people to escort him.

Even if you don't like Xiao Tianrong and Xiao Tianlu, this matter is a serious matter of the Xiao family, and Xiao Tianlei is not easy to refuse the expectations of the older generation, besides, Xiao Qingyun is also going to go, he is Xiao Tianbao's father, and he is not annoying, so it doesn't hurt to send someone to escort him.

However, it is estimated that it is enough to send a few people to it, and there are few people in the Brotherhood who have gone far away, thinking about it, Xiao Tianlei decided to go in person, just to see the customs of Middle-earth in Great Xia, if everything goes well, it will be a matter of two months to go back and forth.

"Over the mountain in front, let's go out of the Lingzhou boundary, be careful, there are many strong people in this area, all of them are ruthless characters with names and surnames on the green forest road."

Leading the way in front is Xiao Tianlei's cousin Xiao Qingyang, he works in the guild, he is away all the year round, he is familiar with the road and some rules, as a martial artist of the guild, there are some conveniences in the guilds in various places.

"Uncle Yang, what are your names, let's hear about them?"

Xiao Tianbao asked curiously, this time, he followed Xiao Tianlei to exterminate a lot of robbers, one by one, the name is exaggerated, and he will break the sky and go to the sea at every turn, or it is a fierce beast such as dragons, snakes, tigers and leopards, in fact, most of them are not worthy of the name, and there are few who really have the ability, take people to kill them up the mountain, kneel on the ground one by one and beg for mercy, and they are scared to pee their pants.

Xiao Tianbao also understands that most of the names of these people on the green forest road are blown out of each other, that is, to scare ordinary people who don't know how to do it, those thieves who are really capable and truly murderous, but they don't have any prestige names, they are generally simple code names, but they are really loud in the rivers and lakes.

Xiao Qingyang said a few names, of course Xiao Tianbao couldn't hear anything, but Xiao Tianbao wanted to see what these robbers were, looked around, and shouted: "Hey! The king of the mountain! Hurry down the mountain and do business! ”

"Silence!" Xiao Qingyang slapped Xiao Tianbao's head hard, told him to shut up, and said, "What are you kid yelling at!" What should I do if I really attract a strong man! When you go out, safety first, don't cause trouble, don't be public, don't get carried away, be careful in everything......" Xiao Qingyang began to chant again, he hadn't stepped out of the Lingzhou territory yet, and he had said the same thing several times.

"I know, I know, it's so boring, I knew I would stay and ...... with Brother Biao."

Without the freshness when he first came out, Xiao Tianbao felt a little bored, this time he went to Shendu, Xiao Tianlei's brothers, many people wanted to go with him, but many things in Lingzhou still had to be done, and various affairs were distributed, so Xiao Tianlei and Xiao Tianbao had to go.

"Tianbao wow, you're not too young, why are you still childish? Speaking of which, you are still one of the leaders of the Brotherhood, and the leader should look like a leader...... I've heard that you boys are messing around all day, how did you make such a big business? Xiao Qingyang was as puzzled as many people.

"I don't know, anyway, I'll have to play with my brother!" Xiao Tianbao pretended to be confused.

"Uh...... This is everyone's life, if you have money, you will send it to the door yourself! I've been running hard for more than ten years, and I'm just barely making ends meet, by the way, when your brother is older, I'll let him join the brotherhood, what's the matter? ”

"Hey, you don't want him to read?"

"Reading...... It's too time-consuming, your brother probably isn't that piece of material, you can understand some truths after reading it, if you read it as a nerd, then it's really over......" Xiao Qingyang said, glancing at the carriage behind him, in which sat Xiao Tianrong, Xiao Tianlu, Xiao Qingyun, along the way, Xiao Tianrong sent a daze and posed for music several times, so angry that Xiao Qingyang choked.

Xiao Tianlei was at the back of the team, riding a shaggy bantam and wearing a hat, giving people a bit of a stupid feeling, especially when his eyes were blank. At this time, Xiao Tianlei's eyes were as sharp as a falcon, which was the effect of using the Ice Shooter template. Xiao Tianlei looked around, observing the surrounding terrain, here is a part of the Nanyue Mountain, the Nanyue Mountain is a mountain range that divides Lingzhou and Yuezhou, the mountain is high and dense, in the high places of the peaks on both sides of the road, Xiao Tianlei still found some secret whistles, but that's all, there is no movement.

In the business of roadblock robbery, eye look is also very important, Xiao Tianlei and his party are not easy to mess with at first glance, and they are not carrying goods, nor are they oily and watery, and robbers generally don't pay attention to them.

In addition to the six members of the Xiao family this time, Xiao Tianlei also brought six Shanyue martial artists, and they all changed their outfits, and if they didn't look closely, they couldn't see that they were Shanyue people, but they could still see the fierce taste.

On the surface, the group only pinned the waist knife, which looked ordinary, but in fact, they were all carefully crafted by the craftsmen of Wild Boar Ridge, fusing several kinds of strange gold, according to the proportion of the strange gold equipped by the system, the performance was excellent, enough to cope with most situations. However, Xiao Tianlei still brought the Wuji Sword and the Ice Bow, all of which were hidden in his bag, and he also made some disguises. Generally speaking, as long as you don't get into trouble, no one will deliberately ask, however, in order to avoid right and wrong, it's better not to show it, especially the Ice Bow and the Infinity Sword are not ordinary weapons, and the system has been upgraded many times, which can be regarded as a first-class weapon, and bringing them is also just in case, if there is no need, it is better not to use it.

In fact, in the name of participating in the big exam, going to the Shendu, the identity of the Xiushi is still somewhat useful, and there is generally no obstruction, and he takes the official road, and tries to live in some old shops related to the guild along the way, as long as he doesn't get into trouble and meddle in things, there will be no trouble.

"1,100 years ago, Yuezhou belonged to a country called Yueguo......"

After crossing the Nanyue Mountains and entering the boundary of Yuezhou, Xiao Qingyun talked about some historical allusions, as well as what he saw and heard during the study tour, and he would not feel too bored.

At the beginning, Xiao Qingyun was also admitted to the bachelor's degree at a young age, but Xiushi has not been able to pass this level, not because the level of knowledge is not enough, but that the literary examination in Lingzhou was controlled by some corrupt officials at that time, and there was not enough money, no matter how he failed the exam, Xiao Qingyun simply went out to study. Originally, after the scribes were admitted to the Xiushi examination, they would generally go on study tours, study in some famous academies, or worship some famous teachers, and specialize in studying the academics of a certain family. Of course, these things can not be learned simply, there are some elements of luck, and it depends more on the identity background, and each school of course hopes that its own heirs are nobles and carry forward their own doctrines. Besides, how much time can you expect a poor student who can't get enough to eat to focus on his studies? Therefore, Xiao Qingyun suffered a lot of eyes when he traveled to study, he was only a bachelor at the time, and he was from Lingzhou, and he was poor, and he wandered for many years, but he just listened to the lectures of some famous people and famous teachers.

For how many catties and taels he has, Xiao Qingyun is self-aware, originally, after studying for a few years and seeing some things in the officialdom, he has already seen it a little lightly, if it were not for the ardent expectations of the older generation in the family, he would not really want to participate in the big exam.

Although Xiao Tianrong and Xiao Tianlu were also admitted to Xiushi, they don't know how much worse their knowledge is compared with Xiao Qingyun, but these two boys were admitted to Xiushi at a young age, so they felt that they were better than Xiao Qingyun, and occasionally showed some meaning of looking down on Xiao Qingyun, and often refuted some of Xiao Qingyun's words. Once or twice is fine, but after many times, Xiao Qingyun has no good temper and doesn't care much about these two nephews.

"Now that the emperor is old, wants to live forever, and believes in Buddhism, several princes are secretly vying for the position of the crown prince, several major factions in the court are fighting, and there are eunuchs interfering in politics...... Even if you get in, it's not necessarily a good thing...... Let's have a fun time and let the elders in the family feel at ease......"

Xiao Qingyun didn't finish speaking, Xiao Tianrong scolded sternly: "Uncle Cousin, how can you be so unambitious?!" My generation of scholars, reading the articles of sages, knowing the avenue of heaven and earth, when distinguishing between right and wrong, speaking up righteously, how can we be afraid of the head and tail, in order to protect ourselves, ignore the danger of the world? You are really reading the books of the sages in vain...... If I pass the exam and enter the court, I will definitely eradicate the traitors and return the world to a prosperous world! ”

"Well said, my cousin really understands the righteousness of the sages, and my words make me feel like an initiation, and my mouth is suddenly opened!" Xiao Tianlu immediately praised Xiao Tianrong.

"Cousin's false praise, it's just the duty of a scholar, you and I will definitely be able to pass the exam this time, and we will have to take care of each other in the future."

"What my cousin said, you and my family should be like this."

"In the last few days, I have made a new poem, and I invite my brother to taste it......"

Xiao Tianlu and Xiao Tianrong began to praise and drag each other again, and Xiao Qingyun did not mix, and continued to tell Xiao Tianlei and Xiao Tianbao some things.

In this way, the group went all the way, although it was not fast, the journey was not short at the end of the day, only when they were staying, they could eat two meals, and at other times they could only gnaw some dry food, which was boring and very difficult.

The weather is hot, Xiao Tianlei, Xiao Tianbao, Xiao Qingyang, etc. have a strong temperament, it doesn't matter, Xiao Qingyun often goes out, and he can endure it, Xiao Tianrong and Xiao Tianlu treked like this for the first time, but they couldn't stand it, the official road was not flat, and they kept complaining after a bumpy day in a carriage, so they had to slow down their journey.

Out of Yuezhou, to the northeast, through Yizhou, Taizhou, Dingzhou, arrived at Zhongzhou Shendu, however, the old man Xiao explained, before going to the Shendu, first go to the Xiao ancestral hall in Langxi County, worship the ancestors of the Xiao family, so you have to take a detour, all the way to the east, enter Jingzhou, and then go to Yingzhou, to Langxi County.

Entering Jingzhou, it is another scene, compared to the prosperity of Yuezhou, people come and go on the avenue, business travel is endless, often see some young men and women in fresh clothes and angry horses, mostly young masters and young ladies of the powerful family, occasionally there are some people wearing the same style of clothing, holding blades, should be some people in the sect, meet these characters, see from afar to hide on the side of the road, so as not to collide with these people, cause trouble.

Xiao Tianlei's team of people will also attract some attention, but the group of people riding inferior horses and dressed in rustic style, they can know at a glance which hillbilly from a small place they are, and most of them will have some contempt and don't pay much attention to it.

About because of the big exam, I often met some young scribes along the way, and when I saw a good demeanor, Xiao Tianrong would always take the initiative to make friends and say some words of admiration, and the other party would generally politely say a few words, but as long as I heard that it was from Lingzhou, most of them hurriedly left under the pretext, and it was not a good thing for the descendants of many exiles in Lingzhou and the children and grandchildren of criminal prisoners.

There are also some people who don't care, maybe they are nerds, maybe they really don't care, but they just talk a few words, saying some meaningless gossip, Xiao Tianrong and Xiao Tianlu are enjoying it, as if they have really made many friends.

Xiao Tianlei didn't say much along the way, most of the time was observing, the most seen is the life of ordinary people, compared to the people of Lingzhou may be better, but not much better, although the environment of these places is much better than Lingzhou, the terrain is flat, and the fields are also fertile, but most of the fields still belong to some large households, mountains and rivers almost all belong to who's family, many people are tenants, even if they have their own fields, they have to bear all kinds of taxes and servitude. Relatively speaking, compared with Lingzhou, it is more stable, and the people are relatively docile, and most of them give Xiao Tianlei the feeling of being submissive.

There was nothing to do all the way, and after nearly half a month of trekking, I finally arrived at Yingzhou, one of the nine states in Middle Earth.

Since the first Middle-earth Dynasty, there were 36 counties in Kyushu, and now the number of states and counties is far more than this, and the successive dynasties have expanded their territories and conquered the surrounding effects, and there have been more than 30 states in the Great Xia Dynasty. The so-called Middle-earth, of course, refers to the original land of Kyushu, which in the eyes of the people of Middle-earth is the center of the world and the richest region in the world.

As one of the nine states in Middle-earth, Yingzhou has been a place where the humanities of Middle-earth have gathered since ancient times, and several major academies in Yingzhou are famous all over the world, and many of them have become famous ministers, officials, and famous strategists. The big clan in Yingzhou is also mostly because of these celebrities, Langxi County Xiao is like this, Xiao Yi of Langxi County, where the Xiao clan ancestral hall is located, is the fief granted by a monarch to the ancestor of the Xiao family Taiwei Gong thousands of years ago.

Xiao Qingyun and his entourage arrived in Xiaoyi, came early, did not go to the inn, bought some incense and candle offerings, and went to the Xiao ancestral hall.

Xiao's ancestral hall, located in the north of Xiaoyi, is a temple-like wooden structure building, once burned down in the war and rebuilt, now there are hundreds of years of history, several archways and some tables and pillars outside the door, on behalf of the previous dynasties Xiao won some honors, there is a circle of walls outside, the gate is locked.

The group didn't know how to get in, so they saw an old man sweeping the floor inside, who should be the person who guarded the ancestral hall. As an ancestral hall, it has always been specially guarded, even if the whole Xiao family was exiled, in fact, there were still some side branches, thinking about it, the original side branches have now become orthodox descendants.

"Who are you?" The old man asked.

"The descendants of the Xiao family who are in exile have come to worship today." Xiao Qingyun replied respectfully.

"Oh, come in, then." The old man looked at it, and without asking much, he opened the door.

The group entered the ancestral hall like this, ready to worship the ancestors of the Xiao family, but Xiao Tianrong was not very satisfied, and asked Xiao Qingyun: "Uncle Tang, why don't you invite the Xiao clan people here?" ”

Xiao Qingyun said: "Our lineage was originally just a side branch, and now it has no status, just worship a little, if you alarm too many people, it will not end well." ”

"Hmm...... Reasonable! When I get to high school, I must pay a respect! Xiao Tianrong's eyes lit up, and he seemed to have seen the day when he worshiped his ancestors.

Entering the ancestral hall, the statues and spiritual positions of the ancestors of the Xiao family, and the strokes on both sides that record the deeds of the ancestors, there are few incense candles on the table, and no one has come to worship for a long time.

Xiao Tianlei was born in the Xiao family, and he still has a little feeling for the ancestors, plus the memory of his previous life, he is definitely not as strong as the general Xiao descendants, so he has a sense of belonging, and watching the murals of some ancestral deeds in the ancestral hall is more like watching a movie, as a bystander. Others, the members of the Xiao family were a little excited, especially Xiao Tianrong, who trembled all over, with a solemn face, and saluted the mural one by one.

"Tianbao, don't look around, concentrate!" Xiao Qingyun admonished Xiao Tianbao.

"Oh!" Xiao Tianbao's thoughts are also different from ordinary people, he doesn't have much feeling for the dead, for him, the ancestors or something, it is too far away, more curious.

Under the gaze of the old man, Xiao Qingyun led the six people of the Xiao family to worship, and just lit some incense candles, a sound of footsteps came, and a few people came in the ancestral hall.