Yuan Luqian's residence is not far from the Changshan Mansion Office, and when he returned to the mansion on this day, Zhai Wande, the housekeeper, immediately stepped forward.

"Ah Lang said that a banquet was held to entertain Xue Taishou, is it set for today?"

"I'm afraid it's not convenient for him, tomorrow." Yuan Luqian recalled a scene he saw outside the city.

"Whoa." Zhai Wande responded, raised his eyes and noticed a person behind Yuan Luqian, and immediately saluted: "Xian Yu Langjun, are you injured?" Do I need a doctor? ”

Xian Yuyu wore a hat and lowered his head, but he didn't expect to be recognized by Zhai Wande like this, and he was startled.

"No need, you can bring some wound medicine." Yuan Luqian said: "Don't be silent. ”

After that, he took Xian Yuyu to the guest room.

Before entering the door, Xian Yuyu took off his hat and said, "Your housekeeper has poisonous eyes, he won't tell others, right?" ”

"Rest assured, he can be trusted." Yuan Luqian said: "Tell me quickly, how did Xian Yugong pass away?" ”

Mentioning this, Xian Yuyu still had a sense of horror in his eyes, and said: "Grandpa arrived in Fan Yang in February, and was soon recruited to Xiongwu City by An Lushan. Grandpa had a premonition that something was wrong, so he asked our brother and A-Niang to stay in Fanyang. Last month, a family will quietly come back and let us take A-Niang back to Chang'an, when I was in my hometown in Yuyang......"

Speaking of this, footsteps sounded in the courtyard, Xian Yuyu hurriedly stopped, looked around, and saw where to hide.

Yuan Luqian stepped forward to open the door and saw that it was Zhai Wande who came with the wound medicine.

"Ah Lang, Taishou is here."

"Him?"

Yuan Luqian was surprised, thinking that Xue Bai was immersed in Gentle Township, how could he come over at this time?

He then asked Xian Yuyu to stay for a while, saying that he would come back when he had seen the guests.

Xian Yuyu was immediately nervous when he heard this, and said: "Yuan Changshi, I came to you because I trusted you, you don't want to betray me." ”

"If you don't feel at ease, just follow me behind the screen and listen."

As long as Yuan Luqian intends to win Xian Yuyu, in fact, it is the same whether he is in the guest room or behind the screen, but Xian Yuyu is still a lot more relieved when he hears this. He didn't care about applying the medicine, and followed the steward behind the screen in the lobby.

After a while, the sound of conversation began in the hall.

"I didn't expect Taishou to come over at this time, I don't know what to do?"

"I didn't have any business, I came to ask Yuan Changshi to save my life."

Yuan Luqian exclaimed: "What do you mean by keeping this too much? ”

"I have a personal enmity with An Lushan, and I dare to serve as an official in Changshan County, and now the news must have reached An Lushan's ears, and the men and horses he sent to kill me are already on the way......"

Xian Yuyu listened behind the screen, and felt that this Taishou voice was very young and somewhat familiar.

He quietly poked his head out and glanced at the screen, and exclaimed, "Xue Bai?!" ”

In the First Battle of Nanzhao, Xue Bai and Xian Yu Zhongtong's three sons had met, although the impression was not deep, but at this time he still recognized it at once, because he had always been very concerned about Xian Yu Zhongtong.

"Why are you here?"

"You're actually Changshan Taishou?!"

Xian Yuyu was surprised by the speed of Xue Bai's official promotion, and at the same time felt unexpected, he knew Xue Bai's position all along, so he quickly told Xue Bai what Fang Cai and Yuan Luqian said.

"I returned to Fanyang from my hometown in Yuyang, and I heard that my aunt and brother encountered robbers on the way out of Fanyang...... The whole family was killed! I didn't believe it, and I pursued the matter until I bought a slave and maid from the Fanyang Governor's Mansion and found out that the matter was related to Ashina Chengqing. So I disguised myself as a slave and blended into Ashina Chengqing's house, and finally met him to entertain the guests, and they drank too much wine and proudly said how they pretended to be robbers and killed my aunt and brother, and in order to be more like robbers, they also stripped them naked......"

Speaking of later, Xian Yuyu was already in tears.

Xue Bai asked, "You say, Xian Yugong passed away?" ”

"Yes, someone at the banquet asked, 'What if Xian Yu Zhong reported the reply?' Ashina Chengqing laughed and said that as early as last month, my grandfather had been killed in Xiongwu City, and the head was placed in the box and sent back to Fan Yang. ”

"Killed last month?"

"Yes, on April 12, my grandfather wanted to buy a lieutenant in Xiongwu City and was betrayed."

"Did you hear it with your own ears? What did Ashina Chengqing say? ”

"Yes."

"Is this man so boastful?"

"Nope." Xian Yuyu recalled, his eyes showed hatred, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Ashina Chengqing is very calm. ”

Xue Bai groaned: "But I also received a letter from Ling Zun yesterday, and the time to write the letter was at the beginning of this month, the third day of the fifth month. ”

"How so?!"

"Let's talk to the government office."

Xian Yuyu was a little ostracized to the Changshan Government Office before, thinking that there were many idle people in the government office, and it was not as safe as Yuan Luqian's house, but at this time, he couldn't take care of this.

And if Xue Bai can't even control the small government office, how can he control the huge Changshan County?

When he arrived at the official office, several letters were immediately handed to Xian Yuyu.

"Since your grandfather became the deputy envoy of Fan Yang Jiedu, I have had some correspondence with him." Xue Bai asked, "Do you know?" ”

"I don't know, why did my grandfather write to you?"

"Because he understands that he will be very dangerous when he arrives in Fanyang, and he needs to have an ally who can really help him."

Xian Yuyu took those letters and looked at them, and they were indeed Xian Yu Zhongtong's handwriting.

There are four letters, the first three were written in February, the first one was written by Xian Yu Zhongtong when he first arrived in Fanyang, describing what he saw and heard at that time; The second says that he has been doing nothing since he took office; The third letter said that he was recruited to Xiongwu City by An Lushan, and he was very worried. Xian Yuyu has experienced these things, and he is sure that they are from Grandpa's handwriting.

Then, he opened the fourth letter, which was written by Xian Yu Zhongtong in Xiongwu City, the content was that An Lushan had transferred a large number of troops to Hedong, and had not returned so far, and the defense of Xiongwu City had been greatly weakened, and he finally found an opportunity to hand over the letter, and finally, said that he had been targeted by the deputy envoy of the festival, and hoped that Xue Bai would find a way to save him.

Xian Yuyu looked at the cashier, the time was really fifteen days ago, and he immediately rejoiced: "My grandfather is still alive!" ”

Xue Bai's eyes showed some doubts, and he asked, "Are you sure this is your grandfather's handwriting?" ”

"Yes." Xian Yuyu cried with joy and said, "At least I can't see the fake." ”

Yuan Luqian also took the letter and read it, his eyes swept back and forth on the faces of the two, he couldn't tell what was going on, and asked, "Taishou, how did you receive these letters?" ”

"Through private business travel."

said that it was a business trip, but it was actually the money bank of Fenghui Bank, although Fan Yang did not have Fenghui Bank, but there was also a shopkeeper who exchanged money. As long as Xian Yu Zhongtong handed over the letter to them, they would naturally be able to send the letter to Xue Bai with the powerful transmission ability of Fenghui Bank.

Yuan Luqian recalled that what Fang Caixian Yuyu said was not fake, and asked, "This fourth letter received by Taishou may be forged?" ”

Before today, Xue Bai thought that this was very unlikely.

If Xian Yu Zhongtong's letter is fake, it can only be forged by someone under An Lushan, assuming that it is noble, and looking at the content of the letter, if Gao Shang can forge such a letter, it means that he must have known that Xue Bai was spying on Fan Yang's intelligence, and also knew that Xian Yu Zhongtong had been contacting Xue Bai through the people's flying money exchange. Then, he shouldn't have reacted like this, only reporting the situation in Xiongwu City without setting a hook.

Also, if these people can find out about this, then they should also know that Xue Bai has already arrived in Changshan, how can they not react?

But seeing Xian Yuyu today, some situations are different.

"Possibly." Xue Bai said, took back the fourth letter, squinted slightly, looked at every word on it, and muttered, "I can almost conclude now that this letter is a forgery." ”

Xian Yuyu couldn't stand the ups and downs of his mood, and would rather believe that the news he found was fake, but also maintain the authenticity of the letter, and said, "Who forged it?" Why? ”

"There's only one reason."

~~

Houya.

Li Tengkong put the folded robe into the closet, dusted off the shavings on it, thought about it, and put it in another compartment, vacating the place next to it.

"Who is left here to put their clothes?" Li Jilan leaned over and said, "Do you want to put my clothes here?" ”

"There are many rooms, you can sleep next door."

"Huh?" Li Jilan pretended to be puzzled.

Li Tengkong's ears were a little red, still hiding it, and said in a flat tone: "I want to cultivate recently, meditate at night, it's not good to disturb you." ”

"I'm not afraid to interrupt." Li Jilan said: "I gave up the opportunity to ask Li Bai and Cui Hao for poetry to accompany you, you can't alienate me." I sleep mine at night, and you can repair it. ”

Li Tengkong couldn't stand her teasing like this, and was a little at a loss, and he could hear Mian'er calling in the courtyard: "Lang Jun." ”

At this time, it was already dark, and the Kyauknu was hanging a lantern at the gate of the courtyard, and Xue Bai was hurrying over.

Li Jilan then whispered: "Look at him, he is impatient." ”

"Where did you learn this? And be serious. ”

"I'm not serious?" Li Jilan was surprised.

Li Tengkong collected his expression, raised his eyes, and met Xue Bai's eyes.

She was very happy that she had finally left Chang'an and could stay with him for a while.

However, Xue Bai said quickly: "Things have changed, you have to leave immediately." ”

Li Tengkong's originally bright and happy eyes immediately dimmed, and he pursed his lips quite stubbornly, and said, "Okay, you let me stay with you for a while." ”

In the morning, she said lightly that it was her freedom to stay, but in a hurry, she still said what she was looking forward to.

Xue Bai stepped forward, patted her slender back as if no one was around, and said softly: "The situation has changed, I am afraid that An Lushan has rebelled, and the soldiers and horses have already moved south from Xiongwu City, and they may come over at any time." ”

"What about you? Are you going too? ”

"I'm a county guard, how can I abandon the city and flee because of a little speculation or the slightest rumor?"

"I'll accompany you, I can take care of myself, and I don't have to distract you."

"But I'm still distracted."

Li Tengkong lowered his head, this was about to leave obediently.

Xue Bai said: "I have sent someone to tell my uncle to speed up the trip, you don't have to join them anymore, go straight to Yangzhou." ”

"Okay." Li Tengkong was obedient in the end, but it was inevitable that he was a little aggrieved.

Even Li Jilan had a sense of loss that her expectations were disappointed, she turned her head to look at the door of the house, and said, "It's getting dark, can I start tomorrow?" ”

Xue Bai had been busy all the time, and only then did he remember that Fang Cai had already ordered the city gate to be closed.

"Okay, hungry, aren't you? Let's have something nice to eat tonight. ”

~~

It must have been a very prosperous and wealthy city.

This is the thoroughfare of the North China Plain, and Taiyuan side by side in the left and right of Taihang Mountain, are metropolises, so in the future people say "Huahua Zhending Mansion, splendid Taiyuan City".

Although its scale is not yet at its peak, the pattern of the northern metropolis has been formed. At night, the streets in front of the Great Temple in front of Longxing Temple are lined with vendors on both sides, and the lights are bright.

Although it is only a normal season, Zhending City, which has no curfew, has a bit of the meaning of Chang'an's Shangyuan Night, of course, limited to one or two streets and alleys.

Xue Bai took Li Tengkong and Li Jilan along the street, sometimes quietly holding hands with Li Tengkong.

"Remember the first time you and I met, it was on the Shangyuan Festival?"

"But you haven't taken me to the Lantern Market on the Shangyuan Festival."

In the current season, Xue Bai was very busy, and there were still many arrangements after eating, but after listening to Li Tengkong's words, his anxious heart suddenly eased.

He led her to the stall and said to buy her some jewelry.

Li Tengkong took a fancy to the straw butterflies that an old woman was selling in the back, the old woman obviously did not make a living from a stall, and she couldn't afford to light a candle, so she only placed a few straw handicrafts tied by her daughter in the corner.

Xue Bai handed over the money, Li Tengkong tied the straw butterfly to her lotus crown, brushed her hair, and after a while, asked in a low voice.

"Is it pretty?"

"Everyone looks at it, and the color of the world is like dust."

"Flim Flam."

At this time, the wind was blowing very pleasantly, and suddenly, I heard shouts behind me, but it was a team of officials who came to drive the vendors away.

"Go back, Zhending City will have a curfew from tonight, and you can't go out for no reason!"

The sudden decree made it unacceptable to the vendors, and the streets and alleys were in chaos.

Li Jilan turned her head and saw that the old woman who was selling straw weaving was also pushed very embarrassed, and couldn't help but say: "These officials pat their heads when they do things, but they suffer the people." ”

"Don't talk about it." Li Tengkong reminded in a low voice.

"But you see how much they bully people......"

Li Tengkong then glanced at Xue Bai and knew that it must have been the chief official of Changshan County who ordered the curfew.

They quickened their pace and searched for a restaurant on the side of the street, where the shopkeeper was standing by the door anxiously and watching, saying that he was afraid that he would not be able to entertain a few guests. But I didn't know what Xue Bai told him, so he arranged a private room, ordered a few specialty dishes of the restaurant, and asked for a pot of sake.

"Xue Lang's alcohol consumption is so bad, what do you want to do?" Li Jilanqi said.

"Give it to you."

"Want to get me drunk? But I've got a good amount of alcohol. ”

"It's okay to pretend to be drunk." Xue Baiwan said.

Li Jilan took a sip of wine, and when she heard this, her face flushed.

Li Tengkong also blushed.

~~

Late at night, the back house was quiet.

Xue Bai took care of some more affairs, and when he came back in the moonlight, he saw that the lights had been turned off in several rooms.

He pushed the door and entered, only to see Li Tengkong meditating on the futon by the window, the soft moonlight shining on her face and her neck through the window paper, there was a hazy beauty.

Xue Bai couldn't bear to disturb her Qingxiu, so he lightly turned to the side of the couch and untied his coat.

Li Tengkong walked over like a cat with soft steps and hugged his waist from behind.

"Are you done?"

"I thought you were asleep."

"No, Ji Lanzi is drunk......"

Wine is not drunk, everyone is drunk, Xue Bai smelled the faint fragrance on Li Tengkong's body, and also felt a little drunk, so he turned around, took her into his arms, and sighed comfortably.

She was too thin, a little awkward, but she made him pity even more.

"I want to hold you like this." Li Tengkong said.

She was originally a high-ranking person outside the world, but she could say such things so emotionally, Xue Bai was surrounded by this affection, and became more and more drunk.

He seemed to have fallen into a gentle country, soft, comfortable, with a faint fragrance......

When I woke up from the gentle countryside, the sky was already bright.

Li Tengkong fell asleep sideways, sucking her fingers, her sweat-soaked and dried hair was still sticking to her reddened cheeks, she was obviously still sleeping heavily because she was tired during the night, which made Xue Bai unbearable to wake her up.

He felt her even breathing, hesitated a few times, and said, "Are you awake?" ”

Li Tengkong snorted and buried his head in his shoulder.

"Woke up?"

"Nope."

"It's time to go." Xue Bai couldn't bear it in his heart, and explained in a low voice: "I'm afraid that there will be a war, I can't take care of you......"

"I hate wars."

~~

The separation of a pair of little lovers is probably the least worthwhile destruction that war is about to bring.

~~

Stay until noon, Xue Bai sent Li Tengkong and Li Jilan out of the city.

They left the government office and led their horses through the long street. When passing by Tianning Temple, I heard the bell in the temple ringing "dong".

Xue Bai then looked in the direction of the temple.

He saw a straight smoke in the distance, and it was so thick that it was not blown even in the wind.

That's wolf smoke.

There should be no wolf smoke, even if An Lushan rebels, the local government is not very good at lighting wolf smoke, unless there are officials in the land of Hebei who are interested in the Tang Dynasty...... Of course.

Xue Bai's heart was agitated, and he finally came back to his senses from his sluggish state.

"Get out of the way! Urgent! Get out of the way! ”

There was a knight on horseback on the other side of the street.

Looking back, it can be seen that the people are all stopping to look at the wolf smoke in the distance, pointing and pointing, but most of them are not afraid.

After a long time, the people living in Changshan County have never seen wolf smoke at all, and they don't know what it is.

Xue Bai pulled Li Tengkong and Li Jilan to avoid the side of the road, and with a "bang", the knight who reported the news rode past them and went straight to the government office.

"Go back."

Xue Bai immediately turned around and rushed back to the Changshan County Guard's Mansion.

Before he arrived, the drums in the government office were already sounding, and officials at all levels were hurriedly summoned.

"Knock knock ......"

Xue Bai's face was still calm, but his steps unconsciously quickened.

"It's too guarded there!"

"Close the gates! Go, close the gates! ”

"Taishou!"

Ahead, a group of people rushed towards Xue Bai in a panic.

Yuan Luqian walked in the front, the expression on his face was completely out of control, and there was a panic that a well-cultivated county magistrate should not have.

"Taishou, this is Jia Shen, the lieutenant of Tumen County, and there is a very urgent matter."

Xue Bai turned his head to look and recognized Jia Shen as the knight who had just ridden his horse and galloped.

He was not in a hurry to listen to the information, but said: "Don't panic, let's talk about it when you enter the hall." ”

After saying that, Xue Bai glanced back, and saw that Li Tengkong and Li Jilan had consciously turned back to the back house, and he walked towards the lobby. The movements seemed a little slow in the eyes of the officials, but this slowness relieved their anxiety.

Tumen County is located in the west of Zhending County, just at the exit of Taihang Mountain Jingcheng, which is the important place of communication between Hebei and Shanxi. To the west of the county seat, there is also a dirt gate pass, which guards the dangerous road of the well.

In Xue Bai's opinion, Jia Shen came in a hurry, and the worst result was that Taiyuan had been lost.

He sat down slowly and said, "Tell me, what's wrong?" ”

"The army has arrived!" Jia Shen was already in a hurry, "The sentry saw in Taihang Mountain, there are soldiers and horses arriving!" ”

"Taishou." Yuan Luqian said, "I have already ordered the city gate to be closed, it must be An Lushan who raised troops to rebel......

~~

"Bang!"

In the heavy noise, the dust was shaken down, the drawbridge was pulled up, and the Yong'an Gate in the north of the outer city was slowly closed.

After that, it is Yingxu Gate, Zhenyuan Gate, Changle Gate, and the four cities of Zhending City are closed.

Zhending City has two city walls, the inner city is the stone city wall built in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and the outer city is the rammed earth city wall expanded in the early Tang Dynasty.

Xue Bai climbed the earthen wall, looked around, and could see that the people who had not yet had time to enter the city helped the old and the young to disperse elsewhere, and there were merchants on the official road who turned their carriages and horses in a panic.

He raised the clairvoyant mirror, first saw the green grass seedlings in the field, and then raised it to see the loess in the distance.

After only a moment's wait, an armored knight burst into his field of vision, and quickly, another knight followed...... Then, densely, I don't know how many.

After looking at it for a long time, Xue Bai put down the lookout and saw that the junction between heaven and earth had been covered by smoke and dust as far as the eye could see.

I can't count how many soldiers and horses there were.

This situation made everyone stunned, including Xue Bai, who felt that maybe this was a dream, otherwise why did there be so many soldiers and horses from the north to the south in the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty?

"The king of Dongping County was ordered to lead an army to defeat the rebel minister Yang Guozhong!"

Some knights rushed to the city and shouted.

After shouting several times, the knight rode closer to the city wall and shouted in a louder voice: "Do the officials of the city hear?!" The king of Dongping County was ordered to enter Beijing, but he still didn't open the city gate?! ”

Yang Guozhong...... What happened to the right phase? ”

An official at the city gate subconsciously asked.

Yuan Luqian took a deep breath and shouted, "What is the will of the saint?!" We have not received the decree! ”

"It's a secret edict!"

The knights under the city impatiently rode around in a circle and shouted: "The king of Dongping County has a secret edict to rebel, and those who block it are guilty of the same crime as the traitors, and they still don't open the city gates?!" ”

"It's the other way around, it's the other way around." Yuan Luqian muttered.

Although he had heard countless times that An Lushan was going to rebel, he was still extremely shocked at this time, and pinched his palm hard, and a tingling pain came.

"Taishou, what should I do? There are too many troops. ”

Xue Bai looked up at the weather and remembered this sunny afternoon.

Since he came to the Tang Tianbao period, he has always been worried about stopping the Anshi Rebellion, and he has done a lot of things for this.

As a result, it broke out on this ordinary day, and although he didn't fully expect it, he didn't have too much fright. Because I have been looking forward to it for too long and have imagined too much, I feel that its arrival is a bit ordinary.

This is just the twelfth year of Tianbao, and all his efforts are ridiculous, but it has allowed it to come ahead of schedule.

Either way, he's going to have to start confronting the chaos.

"Shoot him." Xue Bai raised his hand and pointed at the knights under the city.

"The king of Dongping County is in a secret edict to rebel!" The knight was still shouting arrogantly, leaning on the countless soldiers and horses behind him, and did not look at the Changshan officials at the head of the city in the slightest.

And the Changshan defenders were afraid of the strength of the king of Dongping County, and no one obeyed the order of Xue Bai, the new Taishou, to release arrows...... Maybe it's scared.

"What are you still doing? Do you want to rebel with Yang Guozhong?! ”

"Whoosh!"

Xue Bai personally snatched the bow and arrow from the defenders at the head of the city, and the arrow pierced into the knight's face.

The body fell to the ground, and the horse left alone.

There was a sudden silence between heaven and earth.

Only one city remained, and a large army still confronted each other in silence.