Longxi, Linzhao.

Xia's Wood Fort.

This kind of building is very common in the border fortress area of the imperial dynasty.

On the whole, it is like a small city, the city has the necessary basic defense facilities, and even the families and clans with capital will also carve martial formations on the walls of the dock fort.

There is only one reason for the appearance of this kind of building, and that is war!

Since the establishment of the Imperial Dynasty, there have been few times of calm in the border area. This Longxi County, adjacent to Zhongcun in the south, and above the dense forests of the plateau, there are many Qiang tribes. These tribes were nominally attached to the imperial dynasty, but in private, they did a lot of unsightly things.

It's good to rob homes and houses, and sometimes even send troops to loot the county, but they don't label it as a rebellion on the surface.

Since the center of the imperial dynasty has gradually declined, this stuffed land has become more and more erosive. Twenty years ago, Liangzhou and the surrounding Qiang tribes gathered hundreds of thousands of troops to create a rebellion against the emperor, and the emperor finally couldn't bear it, and led 30,000 troops to conquer with Duan Yun as the general.

Duan Yun conquered the Qiang barbarians with weak troops, won consecutive battles, and beheaded countless people, which suppressed the arrogance of the Qiang barbarians in Liangzhou. But over the years, although Qiang Manming did not dare to rebel again, the contradiction between him and the Hanmin in Liangzhou secretly has become deeper and deeper.

There are more and more buildings in this self-defense mode of dock forts.

For example, the Xia clan in Longxi, which is backed by the Fenglong clan, is strong in the place, and the scale of its dock fort is not bad compared to the smaller county towns.

Longxi Linzhao Xia clan is a side branch of Xia Zhuo's Fenglong Xia clan.

In the dock fort, there is a wide school field.

A majestic figure with a war knife in his hand stood in the air!

Under the blessing of the strong true qi, the war knife is essentially more than ten zhang long, I saw that the person slashed out with a knife, and the ordinary five-grade powerhouse may not even see the shadow of this knife, and I saw a rockery dozens of zhang high not far away, which was cut into two pieces with a knife!

The fracture is so smooth that it looks like it has been painstakingly polished by a skilled craftsman!

At the same time, a deep knife mark is embedded in the ground under the rockery, which is hundreds of feet long and bottomless!

"Head of the house!"

At this moment, an old man walked into the school yard, and an old voice came out of his mouth.

The figure standing in the air paused slightly, put away the knife and looked back, but it wasn't Xia Zhuo Xia Zhongying? !

Xia Zhuo stepped forward, spanning a distance of hundreds of zhang with a snap of his fingers, and had already appeared in front of the old man.

"The head of the family," the old man bowed slightly: "The third master is back."

"Oh?" Xia Zhuo laughed: "Shu Ying is back?"

"It's the third master.

"Old housekeeper, take Shu Ying to my study," Xia Zhuo said, "I'll change my clothes and go to see him immediately."

"Yes, Master."

In the study, Xia Zhuo was already wearing a wide-sleeved collared robe.

Xia Min knelt across the desk.

"How?"

Xia Zhuo asked.

Xia Min frowned slightly, sighed, shook his head, and said, "My brother is incompetent, and I didn't do what my brother explained."

"Tell me about it." Xia Zhuo nodded.

This was to be expected.

"Since I arrived in Luoyang, I went to Yuan's mansion first." Xia Min said: "But I haven't been able to see Yuan Kui."

"Yuan." Xia Zhuo raised his eyebrows: "Do you know why he didn't see you?"

Xia Min shook his head and said, "I haven't seen Yuan Kui in the Yuan family's mansion, so I went to the mansion to be a master craftsman."

"What does He Jin mean?"

He Jin accepted the goods, but did not make it clear. I only said that I would say a few kind words in front of the Son of Heaven. Xia Min said.

"A few nice words. Oh. It's better than not seeing anyone. It seems that He Jin still has some good intentions. Xia Zhuoyi's face groaned.

"Brother, since I visited Yuan Kui and He Jin, I went to visit Yang Biao. Yang Biao saw it, but this person didn't take care of anything else, and he didn't receive any goods.

"As for the eunuchs. Please forgive my brother. Brother Shi didn't want to ask for a thief!

"It doesn't matter." Xia Zhuo waved his hand and pondered, "Do you know the movement of the harem?"

"My brother didn't get into the harem." Xia Min sighed: "But I heard that the Queen Mother also mentioned her brother a lot in front of the Son of Heaven, but"

"I know for my brother."

Xia Zhuo frowned: "Is there no movement on the side of the main vein?"

"Yes." Xia Min said: "But it's not very useful. In the past few hundred years, the main vein has rarely interfered in the politics of the imperial dynasty, although there are many connections, but most of them are sages in the opposition, and their opinions are difficult to hear directly.

Xia Zhuo couldn't help but shake his head: "As the elder brother often says, the main vein's strategy of dealing with the world is too negative to avoid the world. Otherwise, with the background of the main line, where will it be the turn of the Yuan family and the Yang family to take charge of the government now?"

Between the words, Xia Zhuo was still a little resentful.

It's no wonder that Xia Zhuo is no wonder.

The main vein of the Fenglong Xia clan is very deep, and there are many strong people. However, its principles of life are not positive. Although he does not talk about seclusion, he hardly interferes in politics. Unlike the Yang family and the Yuan family, which only have a few hundred years of experience, they can control a large part of the voice in the court, which cannot but make Xia Zhuo depressed.

If the Fenglong clan had intervened in the military and politics of the imperial dynasty early, now he Xia Zhuo is still on the rise?

Where will it be like now, to pretend to be sick and engage in some small actions that cannot be put on the table?

"The Lord will always realize that it is too late, and only then will he stuff people in the army and the government." Xia Zhuo shook his head and said; "If we had started cultivating military and political personnel 20 years ago, the situation would have been much better now"

"The main vein has the intention of the main vein." Xia Min disagreed: "Brother, the main vein can last for thousands of years without falling, and it will never be as incompetent as my brother said."

Xia Zhuo was silent.

After a long time, he slowly spoke: "Another thing I asked you to inquire about, do you have eyebrows?"

Xia Min's expression sank: "The celebrity Liu Tao admonished the Son of Heaven, saying that Zhang Jiao, a native of Jizhou, was a big disaster in the world to confuse the public, and said that Zhang Jiao conspired with the eunuchs inside and outside to subvert the emperor and impeach the eunuchs. However, "

"Then the Son of Heaven doesn't believe it, right?" Xia Zhuo laughed: "The Son of Heaven is not having a good time this day, the power of the court is controlled by the family, and if the Son of Heaven wants to take power, he has to rely on eunuchs." The eunuchs are now powerful, and there are many eunuchs in the thirteen states of the imperial dynasty, which affect the whole body. Besides, without the eunuchs, the Son of Heaven will have no knives, how can he fight with the ministers of the court?"

Xia Min was speechless, silent for a moment, and then said: "The Son of Heaven sent Liu Tao to prison, and Liu Tao died in prison."

"That's proof." Xia Zhuo shook his head while laughing: "The loyal and upright people are all dead, and the court is full of people with bad intentions, fighting for power and profit, and flies and dogs, so it is strange that the imperial dynasty will not decline and the world will not be turbulent!"

"With Liu Tao's ideological realm, I don't believe he can't feel the consequences of exposing this matter, and with his martial arts realm, it's not impossible to escape from Luoyang in advance, but." Xia Min looked regretful.

"But why not run away?" Xia Zhuo smiled: "This is a true gentleman!" A gentleman is willing to die, his deeds are commendable, and his ambitions are commendable!

Xia Min sighed and said, "After Liu Tao's death, Jizhou Zhang Jiao seems to have restrained a little. I sent people to Jizhou to investigate, and in the past, Zhang Jiao, who used to use water everywhere to cure diseases and save people, seemed to have evaporated from the world. The Taoists of Taiping Dao are rarely seen. ’

"A moment of silence before the storm."

Xia Zhuo's eyes narrowed slightly: "Liu Tao will definitely not talk nonsense, Zhang Jiao colluded with the inner servants to rebel, it must be true." It seems that the day of change is just around the corner."

He stood up, walked back and forth a few steps, and said, "When the news comes out, it is said that my injuries are gradually recovering, and I will be able to recover in half a year at most."

"By the way, Shu Ying, you handed me these recitals into Luoyang." As he spoke, he took out a stack of recitals from his sleeve and handed them to Xia Min: "I have to arrange them as soon as possible!"

"Brother, let's do it.

Greetings, Jishan Pavilion, Fulong Village.

The postman of the post station arrived in front of Xia Yi's house and handed Xia Yi's letter to the old housekeeper Xia Fu.

Xia Fu smiled, took the book, and walked quickly into the courtyard.

"Master, the young master's letter has finally arrived."

In the study, Xia Cheng put down the bamboo slip, hurriedly took the letter, opened it, and couldn't help laughing: "My son is out, really out!"

Then he handed the book to Xia Fu, and Xia Fu looked at it and smiled.

"The young master has only been in the army for less than a year, and he has become a military horse! Xia Fu looked surprised and happy: "Master, the young master is only seventeen!" In the future, I will definitely pay homage to the prime minister and shine on the lintel!"

"I don't care about the lintel of the glorious door." Xia Cheng waved his hand: "My Fenglong Clan is not bad for this honor. But my son has a chance, how can I not be happy as a father?!"

Xia Yi's last book was still in the years ago. It has been several months since this letter. At that time, Xia Yi was only a military candidate, and he had never been beheaded or promoted.

Then the army retreated, killed two six-rank barbarian generals in two days, and then promoted to military Sima, and then trained the troops for a short time, and then the whole army withdrew to Liangzhou.

It was surprisingly busy, and he barely had time to think about anything else.

Therefore, the letter, which was supposed to be once a month, was cut off.

It makes the parents at home very worried.

Now it's okay, the letters have arrived one by one, the information is clear, Xia Yi is not only fine, but also made meritorious deeds and was promoted to the military position. While Xia Cheng and the others breathed a sigh of relief, they were also sincerely happy.

"Fu Bo, what do you think of what Yi'er said at the end?" After Xia Cheng was happy, he quickly calmed down.

"This. The old slave is shallow and difficult to judge. Xia Fu hesitated.

Xia Cheng couldn't help but smile and said, "Why should Fu Bo be modest?"

"That. The old slave will talk about the shallow view. Xia Fu muttered: "The young master said that in about February and March, the Shenzhou Imperial Dynasty will ignite the beacon fire. Although the old slave did not know the reason, he did feel a different atmosphere during this period of time.

As he spoke, he paused and said, "Master, do you remember what happened to the Yi clan at the end of the year?"

"Yi, do you mean the thief Li Le?" Xia Cheng couldn't help but say.

Xia Fu bowed his head: "It was Li Le who gathered the rangers and bandits to kill the county order of the Yi family."

In the month of the year, Li Le, the leader of the Yi clan's rangers, actually gathered a group of people, and took advantage of the county order to have fun with the people, and took it by surprise and killed him.

This incident caused a sensation throughout Hedong County. Even the imperial dynasty had an order to come down and strictly order the officials at all levels to catch Li Le, and it must be done

The thief was captured and slain.

But Li Le's thief was slippery and tight, and somehow, he disappeared.

Up to now, the sea fishing documents are still posted on the public notice boards of the counties in Hedong.

"Did you find anything, Fauber?"

Xia Cheng asked.

Xia Fu nodded, shook his head again, and said, "A few days ago, didn't the old slave go to the store to check the accounts, he was asking for joy."

I met a friend of the main line. ”

According to him, although Li Le was the head of the thief in the death of the Yi County Order, he was not the hand of this person. Someone is in the hands of Lee Le

Among the group of people below, I saw a few strong men with temperaments different from ordinary rangers and bandits, and martial arts were all five or six grades-according to him,

It should be a Taoist person!"

"Taoism." Xia Cheng bowed slightly: "No wonder there is news in the main vein, saying that the hundred schools of thought are also ready to move, even this advocate of birth."

The Taoists are involved, hehe, it's no wonder that the county guard will not be able to catch the thieves for a while.

Xia Fu nodded: "The old slave used to be only used as a talking point, and it was over after listening to it one by one, but I just think that the current bandits are more daring."

The bigger you come, the more you dare to kill the official, this is a rebellion! Now combined with what the young master said in the letter, the old slave believes that change is just around the corner.

"Yi'er asked me to find a way to take the villagers to take shelter for a while, and it was best to live near the main vein. Fauber, is it that serious?"

"The old slave doesn't know this.

Xia Cheng and Xia Fu's master and servant discussed for a long time, and finally made up their minds to move!

Although I feel that what Xia Yi said in his letter is a bit alarmist, if the situation is turbulent today, it is better to be cautious than to be negligent.

And so as not to be caught off guard when you get it.

"By the way, there's this book." Xia Cheng picked up another letter in his hand and said to the old housekeeper Xia Fu: "This is Yi'er's letter to Guan Changsheng."

Xia Fu looked at the words 'Immortal My Brother' on the cover of the book, but said: "The old slave didn't see anything special about that Guan Changsheng, but he didn't know why the young master looked up to this person.

After a pause, Xia Fu said again: "Guan Changsheng is arrogant, has low eyes, and often causes trouble, what is his interest?"

Although there was no disdain in his words, he had doubts, and he didn't understand why Xia Yi valued Guan Yu so much.

When Xia Cheng heard this, he laughed and said, "I'm afraid Uncle Fu is looking away." Saying that, he stood up and said: "Before, I looked at this Guan Changsheng, not to mention anything else, just to talk about the martial arts realm, there are already six grades. He is only in his twenties now, and the method of cultivation is only the basic method that is widely spread by the side branch of the dragon, and it is not easy to have such ability. Young people have this ability, and it is natural for them to be arrogant.

As he spoke, he handed the book to Xia Fu and said, "Send someone to send this book to Xie County, since Yi'er values this person, he has his own reasons."

Xia Fu took the book with both hands and nodded: "Young master, since the Xia incident, he has never done anything unreliable... The old slave then sent someone to send the book and silk.

In the county seat, near the west gate, a new grain store was opened.

Outside the store, Guan Yu carried a basket of various grains into the store shirtless from the carriage, and an old woman saw off the guests, walked to the door, and looked at Guan Yu with a kind face, her expression was full of relief.

"I'm tired, let's rest."

Guan Yu showed a smile on his jujube-like face, and shook his head: "Don't be tired, mother, you rest first, and wait for the child to finish moving this cart of grain.

Come and serve your mother again.

As she spoke, a young woman with a beautiful face came out with a jar of water: "Husband, take a drink of water and rest.

This is Guan Yu's wife, the Hu family.

Guan Yu took the jar and drank it all.

At this moment, someone shouted: "Guan Changsheng, Guan Changsheng!"

Guan Yu hurriedly went out and saw a person rushing over.

But it's the little brother next door.

The little brother next door came closely, took out a book from his arms and handed it to Guan Yu, and said, "Brother Changsheng, I asked Xi earlier that someone sent this book, and you happened to be not at home, so I will collect it on my behalf, no, I will send it to you immediately."

Guan Yu took the book, thanked him, turned back into the store, and opened the book.

Guan Yu watched, his eyes gradually condensed, and a slight excitement appeared on his face.

An old mother on the side asked, "My son, who is the scholar?"

"It's Xia Yixian's letter." Guan Yu's Danfeng eyes opened slightly, and there was a flash of light: "Mother, Jin Ding, I Guan Changsheng came to operate, and the opportunity to soar has arrived!"

When the two women heard this, they couldn't help but be stunned. Hu Shi hurriedly said, "What did little brother Xia Yi say?"

Guan Yu took a breath and said, "At the beginning, I agreed with Brother Xia Yixian that when he had a firm foothold in the army, I would go to help him.

In this epistle. Hu Shi reacted a little quickly, and hurriedly asked, his face full of inquiry.

Guan Yu nodded, laughed, and said, "Now Brother Xia Yixian is already a military horse, and he has thousands of soldiers and horses. He shook the book and said with a smile: "This letter to me is to ask me to go to Xiangsuke!"

The old mother couldn't help but say: "My son and the little brother of the Xia family have a good relationship, and now that I go, the little brother of the Xia family will definitely not treat my son.."

When the two women heard this, their faces were overjoyed.

The Han Dynasty was at its peak, and the common people did not reject joining the army to fight. On the contrary, ordinary people's homes also regard serving in the army as the best step to advancement.

What's more, Guan Yu is gone, and there are people to take care of him.

According to what the two women thought, Guan Yu and Xia Yi are close, so isn't the future just around the corner?

Guan Yu nodded, but said: "Although there is Xia Yixian's brother to take care of, Guan is not a shameless person who opens the back door and takes shortcuts. Just with his own ability, he is fighting for a lintel!"

Guan Yu's arrogance comes from his bones.

If Xia Yi wants to open the back door for him, I'm afraid he won't want to do it in his heart.

Although this person has such and such shortcomings, he is undoubtedly an upright and upright person.

As the mother and son, husband and wife spoke, they gradually suppressed the excitement in their hearts. The old mother sighed and said, "My son is here, but he can't act recklessly, he must listen to the words of the little brother of the Xia family." With his colleagues, he can't have no one in his eyes, so as not to make the little brother of the Xia family look ugly.

Saying that, she paused, and said: "Our family, thanks to the help of the Xia family's younger brother, we have a good life now, Changsheng, you can't be an ungrateful villain!"

Guan Yu nodded heavily: "Mother, don't you know the child's temperament?"

Guan Yu's grandfather's generation still had some status and family assets, but in his hands, the family completely declined. Since his father's death, he has been farming for a living, starving to death and not having enough to eat.

Since the acquaintance with Xia Yi, the situation has gradually improved.

Every time Xia Yi went to Guan Yu's house, he had gifts, either rice or meat. Especially after Xia Yi went to join the army a year ago, he also wrote back, funded his own funds, and helped Guan Yu open a grain shop in Xie County in the form of loans, which made Guan Yu's family's life completely better.

Especially two months ago, Guan Yu caused trouble for the sake of his friend's righteousness, if it weren't for Xia Cheng's help, I'm afraid Guan Yu would either be in prison or flee.

That's why I said that's what I said about my mother.

"Brother Xia Yi has helped me too much, I can't repay it, I have this ability and a life, so I put it into the hands of Brother Xian!" Guan Yu's face was solemn.

Then he said: "As mentioned in the letter, he is now leading his troops to be stationed in Dunhuang County. Between these letters, it has been some time, if I go straight to Dunhuang, if Xia Yixian leads the troops to march away, I am afraid that I will pounce until I am empty.

As he spoke, he pondered for a moment, and then said: "Brother Xia Yixian has withdrawn his troops from the Western Regions this time, and he will be stationed in Liangzhou. Or go to Longxi Linzhao as the southern governor, or go to Jincheng Linqiang as the western governor. Whether it is the southern governor or the western governor, they all have to pass through Wuwei. Mother, Jinding, I intend to leave tomorrow and go straight to Wuwei to wait. ”

"In such a hurry?"

"Time waits for no one." Guan Yu decisively.

"It's okay," Guan Mu said, "This is a good opportunity for my son, and I can't miss it." I'll pack my bags for my son tonight... It's just that my son is gone, but I don't know when I will be able to return home."

"The eldest husband is alive, and he is about to build a meritorious career with his own ability." Guan Yu looked heroic: "Mother, just watch, when the child is brocade, he will return to his hometown!"

Early the next morning, Guan Yu said goodbye to his mother and wife, touched the little heads of his son Guan Ping, who was not yet seven years old, and his son Guan Xing, who was only four years old, turned over and rode away.

After half a day, Guan Yu went to Wenxi first and went straight to Xia Yi's house, bowed to Xia Cheng, and then went to Anyi.

....