After passing Xiangyang, the terrain will open up, and the area around Jingnan Road has always been a military fortress for soldiers to accumulate grain, especially in the past three years.

Along the way, this long official road is full of rutted marks of grain trucks, but on both sides of the official road, except for endless loess and sand piles and the occasional large snowfield, there are few towns and towns gathered.

The group walked for more than ten days, resting in small towns, at most dozens of households, Zhang Shaoyang already knew that this was the result, so he bought a dilapidated carriage in the town in front of him early, saying that it was a carriage, but in fact, it was two wheels and a broken plank, and nothing else.

At this moment, Zhang Shaoyang was lying on the wooden board, and poured a mouthful of water into his mouth, although there was a round of yellow sun hanging above his head, he didn't feel the warmth at all, but because of the cold north wind, it made people cold. Zhang Shaoyang wrapped his clothes tightly and let the horse walk slowly.

"I will probably be able to get to Tangzhou tonight, and after Tangzhou, it will be all yellow earth. Zhang Shaoyang hummed an unknown tune, and then said coldly.

"Unconsciously, I actually arrived in Tangzhou, the soldiers of Tangzhou died and died together, chasing away the old town, such heroic verses, I don't know how thrilling this Tangzhou City should be?" Xiucai sighed.

The closer he gets to the capital, the more energetic Xiucai becomes, and the heat in his eyes is a little more vigorous, these days get along, Zhang Shaoyang found that Xiucai is indeed a talented person, and in the future, maybe he can really get an official and a half-position in the court, and even enter the sixth department, it is not known, such a person, Zhang Shaoyang knows that if he is a deep friend, he will only benefit in the future.

"Brother Ziyuan seems to have a lot of respect for the literati of the previous dynasty, and when you arrive in the capital, you need to be conservative, otherwise you will be known by those big people in the capital, and it may have an impact on your career. ”

Xiucai was stunned for a moment, and said with a smile: "What Brother Shaoyang said is reasonable, but whether it is the previous dynasty or the current dynasty, it is the atmosphere of promoting literature and suppressing martial arts, and several literary masters today all have the shadow of Du Zimei in the former Tang Dynasty, Li Taibai, and Du Zimei, should there be these prejudices." ”

Zhang Shaoyang wanted to say something, but in the end he held back, just smiled, and continued to blow the unknown tune, Wang Ziyuan saw this, just bowed his head and pondered, after a while, he suddenly said: "These days, I think Brother Shaoyang is by no means mediocre, but he doesn't seem to be very enthusiastic about his career, in this case, why do you have to enter Beijing for the exam, is it possible that there is something hidden in this?"

"It's not that my father forced me to come, I'm used to being idle, it's better to play the world, and I can't write a tirade about my family and country ambitions. Zhang Shaoyang said casually.

Wang Ziyuan didn't ask again, but looked at Zhang Shaoyang's eyes with an incomprehensible look, and after a while, he seemed to say to himself: "Now in this world, I really don't know if this exam is a blessing or a curse." ”

"Why did Brother Ziyuan say this?" Zhang Shaoyang was closest to him, and he happened to hear his whispered words, and couldn't help asking.

"Brother Shaoyang should have felt that although there are rut marks all over this official road, but a discerning person can see at a glance that these are all grain trucks dedicated to the government, and this way is very desolate. ”

"I heard that there is going to be a war with Northern Liao, isn't it normal for the troubled times to be desolate?"

Looking at Zhang Shaoyang's puzzled eyes, Wang Ziyuan smiled bitterly: "Brother Shaoyang, I can't hide it, I am faintly uneasy about the current situation, and I don't seem to see any hope for entering Beijing this time." ”

"How so?"

"I'm not worried about the war with Northern Liao, after all, since Taizu, the Great Song Dynasty has long been stable, and ordinary wars can't be rooted, and I'm worried that since ancient times, the emperor's family will not escape the power struggle. ”

Wang Ziyuan glanced left and right, and felt that there was nothing wrong before continuing: "Brother Shaoyang, Your Majesty has nine princes today, and the second prince, King Chen, has served as the Yin of Kaifeng Mansion for many years, and he has been diligent in governing and has no loss in political affairs, so he was the most promising candidate for the crown prince, but he died young and was posthumously named the crown prince, and although the eldest prince King Chu was naturally named the crown prince, he was demoted to a concubine for no reason last year, and then he made the third prince Shouwang the crown prince..."

Wang Ziyuan hesitated for a moment, and continued: "You should be able to think of the stakes without me saying it, but this battle for the throne will inevitably suffer the courtiers in the court, and those who will observe words and judge the situation, have already stood in line, and those who have not yet made up their minds are like duckweed in the river, swaying in the torrent of power, as for those who can't see the situation clearly, after all, they are just the last branches of the lower nine streams, and they are just weeds in terms of the forces that control the world, and it depends on their preferences whether to remove them or not. ”

Zhang Shaoyang's eyes widened, he never expected Xiu Cai to say these words, his face was straight, and he said in a low voice: "Brother Ziyuan, these words, you better rot in your stomach." ”

"Hey, Brother Shaoyang, at least for now, we are the same way, and I don't want to hide anything from you. Xiucai sighed, and continued: "I'm in Tanzhou, and I've heard some rumors, today's saint is old and frail, I'm afraid that the time to really be able to hold power won't be long, it coincides with this provincial test, if it happens to..."

"Then when the old and new sons of heaven are replaced, any change may happen, Brother Shaoyang, no matter how bitter it is, we are the ones who are not worried, it's a big deal to go back and inherit the Wanguan family property, and I, but I don't have a house for me to sell again." ”

Zhang Shaoyang was silent for a long time, speechless, Wang Ziyuan's seemingly disrespectful words are the real analysis of the current general trend, and what Wang Ziyuan did not say, in fact, there is another layer, if it coincides with the replacement of the old and new dynasties at this juncture, the Liao army in the north seizes this opportunity to go south in one fell swoop, and if the new emperor is indecisive and can't afford the major events in the court, it will not be far from the destruction of the country.

There are tens of millions of people in the world, and there is only one Son of Heaven on the throne, and in just a few years, the position of the crown prince has changed to three, so you can imagine how fierce the power struggle in the imperial city is.

I have long heard that the ministers in the court have gone their separate ways and are divided into several factions, including the law reform faction led by the prime minister, and the conservative faction including several Taibao Taifu, each of whom is willing to support a prince, if the emperor does not know, it is naturally impossible.

It is said that a new faction has emerged among the courtiers, called the Restoration, if the emperor moves any of them, the strength of the other two factions will rise, and now they can only let them restrain each other, so that the way to know the world is to know the world.

But under such a struggle, the people will suffer, and the people will die, and the people will also suffer!

Zhang Shaoyang thought about it, laughed self-deprecatingly, and then said: "Brother Ziyuan, why worry about it, since we have already come to this point, we must not fight once, besides, Brother Ziyuan is ambitious, if it is high school, it should be the ambition of An Jun's side." ”

Xiucai thought about it, his tightly knit brows gradually dispersed, and said with a smile: "What Brother Shaoyang said is that he is ashamed. ”

The two looked at each other and smiled!

At this time, out of nowhere, a familiar tune suddenly came, the sound was desolate and tactful, like a wolf whining, and like a lonely goose crying, suddenly carrying the desolate north wind to advance layer by layer, and suddenly like the tide receding.

The little insect was a little surprised, this tune was the flute sound she played before, and she only knew that it was called a flying flower song, but she didn't expect to hear it here now, and listening to the timbre of this instrument, it should be Changxiao.

A few people followed the sound to find it, only to see that on the official road ahead, a man in brocade clothes was standing with a flute, and the wonderful sound of Xiao came from here, and everyone was attracted by this sound for a while.

The little insect was infected by this Xiao sound, and also took out the piccolo, and gently echoed, two different musical instruments, one tactful and crisp, and one desolate and whimpering, together there was a wonderful artistic conception, the listeners were all immersed in it, and the flute sound together, all the birds around from all directions rushed here, and for a time the birdsong and Xiao Di were indescribably mysterious.

After the end of the song, the birds scattered in the sky, everyone came back to their senses, and then they looked at the man who suddenly appeared, when they saw the face of that person, Zhang Shaoyang and the idiot were taken aback at the same time, this person was actually the man who saw it in the back mountain of Lantuo Temple, and disappeared on the stone stairs of hundreds of steps in the blink of an eye that day, and now it suddenly appeared in front of them, which made the two extremely stunned.