The caravan was in a hurry, and when the sun was about to set, it finally walked out of the Funiu Mountain Range safely. The caravan crossed an arched stone bridge and reached the open alluvial plain outside the city of Nanyang.

Looking at the thick walls of Nanyang City from afar, the caravan guards and traders all showed joy on their faces, and their nervous and tired expressions were swept away. The merchants were no longer in a hurry to urge their horses to hurry, and let the horses move slowly, and several merchants pulled their horses and chatted close to each other, and from time to time there was a happy laughter in the caravan.

Fu Qingyun raised his eyes and looked out, two big rivers outside Nanyang City converged, outside the city is the alluvial plain formed by the long-term accumulation of river sand, open and flat, more and more majestic Nanyang City.

On the alluvial plains, it's a different story. At this time, it is the early spring, the fields have been ploughed and leveled, the seedlings in the nursery have sent out tender shoots, green and verdant, and there are busy tenant farmers on the fields; the smoke of the houses in the distance curls up, and the sound of chickens and dogs barking is incessantly heard, which is very different from the desolate and desolate scene in the mountainous area of Funiu Mountain all the way. Thinking that it was a place close to the city, the mountain bandits did not dare to run rampant, and although the people were suffering, they could barely live.

The caravan rushed to the city gate, on the tall city wall, a three-storey city tower stood on the city gate, and the four corners of the city tower were guarded by sergeants, holding spears in their hands, and the weather was strict; under the city tower, a group of officers and soldiers with distinct armor guarded the city gate on both sides, and the Nanyang territory was not a frontier city, and the inventory was not very strict.

On behalf of the caravan, Uncle Lin made a few inquiries with the military master who was checking the city gate and entered the city gate. In the city, there is another scene, only to see a wide bluestone street leading straight to the city gate, on both sides of the street are lined with houses and trading companies, rice and noodle shops, oil mills, cloth shops, and grocery stores shouting and shouting one after another; storytellers in the teahouse are holding allegro and spitting sideways, and several women in the green house are holding champas and joking with the tourists; scallion oil buns, fried bean skin, donkey meat are burned, and all kinds of snacks are sold along the street, and the aroma is overflowing.

But under the hustle and bustle on the surface, it did not hide the sadness of this troubled world. From time to time, people in ragged clothes and miserable faces can be seen lying on the ground or kneeling on the ground begging, which is very pitiful.

From time to time, there are swords-carrying people coming and going on the streets, and occasionally people are seen fighting in the streets. However, when the martial arts style was extremely popular, there were many people dancing with knives and guns, and the pedestrians around not only did not have the slightest look of fear, but watched curiously. As long as no one is killed, the government will not bother to pay attention to it.

After entering the city, Li Darttou took the dart guard to leave, and the caravan continued to have merchants say goodbye and leave. Fu Qingyun suddenly came to this completely unfamiliar world, as if in a dream, looking at everything around him with a trance and interest.

Just as he was looking around, Lin Zhengjun pointed to a house in front of him and shouted, "Brother Qingyun, we will arrive soon, and the front is my house." ”

After only a few steps, a handsome man shouted happily at them from a distance: "Uncle Lin, Zhengjun, you are back!" The man was slender, with beautiful eyebrows, two baskets in front of him, and a scale at his feet.

Lin Zhengjun bypassed Fu Qingyun and jumped out of the carriage, jumped up and ran towards the man, and shouted happily: "Brother Liu Xiu, we are back." ”

Liu Xiu patted Lin Zhengjun's little head affectionately, said a few words affectionately, and asked Uncle Lin, "Uncle Lin, this journey is going well, right?"

Lin Yun said happily: "Smooth, I met a few little thieves, and it was quite smooth." ”

The carriage stopped in front of Liu Xiu's basket, and Fu Qingyun fixed his eyes to see that there were still some indica rice in the basket that had not yet been sold. Liu Xiu is tall, about the same height as herself, about twenty years old, her eyes are dark and bright, the bridge of her nose is plump and shapely, and the corners of her mouth are slightly upturned.

Liu Xiu nodded enthusiastically to Fu Qingyun and said, "These little thieves are also hateful, bullying the weak and fearing the hard, I heard that many homes in the mountains have been looted. This farmer family originally paid heavy taxes, and the people were not able to make a living, and now the displaced people are looting everywhere, which is really bitter for the people. Liu Xiu's face was sad, and her worries about the country and the people were overflowing.

Uncle Lin said: "Yes, all the way back from Wancheng, many houses are empty in a slightly empty place along the way, or evading military service, or hiding from bandits and migrating to other places. Now several small thieves have formed a group, I heard that there is a relatively large bandit has become a climate, from robbing houses and houses to robbing caravans and food, the imperial court has sent troops to encircle and suppress several times in vain, I am afraid that this business will not last long. ”

Liu Xiu sighed: "In this world, the people of Li are at the end of their rope, if the people have food to eat, who will carry their heads to be bandits." ”

Uncle Lin also sighed deeply, pointed to Fu Qingyun, who was still sitting in the car, and said with a happy face: "Don't say these frustrating words, come, come, come, and introduce to you." This little brother is the gentleman I invited, surnamed Fu Qingyun, who came from Bashu to look for relatives, and will live with me temporarily in the future. ”

Then he pointed to Liu Xiu and said: "This is our neighbor, Wen D Liu, a single name and a show character, the word Uncle Wen." Liu Xiuxian's nephew is the ninth grandson of Han Gaozu, who studied in Chang'an and is proficient in "Shangshu". The two virtuous nephews are both talented and learned, and they can get closer to each other in the future. ”

At that time, when a man was 20 years old, he had a "word" number, which was often a supplement to the name, and a meaning of personality, which was also called the word "table".

Liu Xiu bowed his hand to Fu Qingyun with a smile and said: "Ashamed, ashamed, ashamed of the king and grandson, ashamed to raise the name of the ancestors, and ask my brother Tai to give me a lot of advice." ”

Fu Qingyun also followed Liu Xiu's example, arched his hand, and replied: "Don't dare, please take care of Uncle Wen in the future." ”

Lin Zhengjun said happily next to him: "Okay, okay, I will have two brothers in the future." ”

"Little guy, you forgot about your eldest brother in a few days?" Fu Qingyun turned his head to see that a strong man with a silver spear on his shoulder strode towards them. The man has a tiger's back and a bear's waist, his eyes are blazing, and his demeanor is mighty.

Lin Zhengjun touched his head and said embarrassedly: "Brother Liu Xuan, you are my eldest brother, how could you forget." ”

The man walked to the car, warmly greeted Uncle Lin, and nodded kindly to Fu Qingyun. Uncle Lin returned the salute and introduced: "This is the eldest brother of Liu Xiuxian's nephew, with a single name and a single name, and the word Bosheng." Bo Shengxian's nephew is known as chivalrous, generous and benevolent, and is famous inside and outside Nanyang. ”

Fu Qingyun arched his hand and said, "I've seen Brother Bosheng, please take care of it." ”

Liu Xuan laughed, his rugged and arrogant feelings were sharp, and he patted Fu Qingyun on the shoulder and said, "It's easy to say, it's easy to say." ”

Uncle Lin said to Lin Zhengjun: "Zhengjun, you accompany the two brothers to play, and Qingyun and I will go back first." He turned his head to Liu Xuan and Liu Xiu and said, "Two virtuous nephews, come to my house tonight to burn two glasses of wine and drink, and uncle will get a few beef offal to drink." ”