The trip to Luoyang began with the agreement of that year, in order to help the imperial court review the strength of the world's martial arts, and for the exchange and exchange of martial arts, he launched the Sword Conference, and the time of the first conference was set this year. Zhao Bufan, Zhe Yuezhi and Yan Qing were all present back then, and they personally promised Huang Sheng to go back to participate, but now that he has time, he will naturally not miss the appointment.

This time to the south, the generals in the army did not follow, the northern Xinjiang army is now the time to recuperate, reorganize and practice, there is no need for them to participate in such a sword conference, so in the end there are only a few idlers to see, except for Zhao Bufan, there are only Zhu Lian, Hu Sanniang, Zheyuezhi and Juxianzhuang's gang.

After a long period of development, Juxianzhuang is now famous in the rivers and lakes, and such a grand event is naturally to send representatives to participate. Because Su Ding has been incorporated into the Liangshan Army by Zhao Bufan, Wu Song and Yang Zhi are still guilty, so the three of them can't go, only Lin Chong's father-in-law Zhang Jiaotou, Shi Wengong and Cao Zheng, the ghost of the knife, will take twenty or thirty strong martial arts Zhuang Ke to go, because Hujiazhuang was placed not far from Juxianzhuang after moving north, so Hu Sanniang also went with them all the way.

Zhao Bufan originally hoped that Zhi Yuezhi and Zhu Lian would follow them all the way, go directly to the west, and take Hebei West Road and Hedong Road, but Zhi Yuezhi refused, and insisted on following him south to the Daimyo Mansion to meet Yan Qing and Lu Junyi, Zhao Bufan had no choice but to let her follow, and Zhu Lian was therefore on the same road.

This Luoyang conference will last for a total of three months, and now it has begun more than a month, and it is almost time to really start the competition of martial arts and swords, so the time is a bit rushed, Zhao Bufan and the three of them did not delay along the way, and arrived at the Daimyo's Mansion to meet Yan Qing four days later.

After not seeing each other for a long time, several people were naturally a little excited, and after some greetings, Yan Qing complained with some dissatisfaction: "Why are you only here now, the Luoyang Conference has been starting for more than a month, if it wasn't for you, I would have arrived in Luoyang a long time ago, if it was a little later, what else would be lively!"

Zhao Bufan didn't care, waved his hand and said: "What are you doing in such a hurry, the Luoyang Conference lasts for three months, and the first two months must be the time for all parties to make friends and catch up, the real highlight must be at the end, I don't believe that everyone can be so punctual, God knows if there will be delays on the road, it's useless to go early, I don't have so much time to join in the fun." ”

"You're busy, but I'm a big idler, I'm here to watch the excitement, I knew this, I shouldn't have replied to promise you to go the same way!" Yan Qing said angrily.

Zhao Bufan didn't care about him, and in a blink of an eye, he found that there was no trace of Lu Junyi, and asked strangely: "Where is the master?"

"The master is going to meet an old friend, seeing that you are delayed, you have already gone to Luoyang first!" Yan Qing is active by nature, delicate in all directions, and likes to be lively the most, but now he has been delayed because of waiting for Zhao Bufan, and he is obviously still a little complaining.

The two have a deep relationship, so they are naturally frank and honest, Zhao Bufan saw that he was really unhappy, and immediately smiled: "Then let's leave now and strive to arrive early!"

Yan Qing nodded, and immediately beckoned to the scribe with a sword behind him: "Brother Xu, do you still have anything to take away?" If not, we will go on our way now!"

"I'll just have this sword, a change of clothes, a little bit of silver, and any extra stuff to move at any time!" said the scribe with a smile.

Zhao Bufan thought he was a family member of the Lu Mansion earlier, so he didn't care too much, but when he saw Yan Qing calling the other party Brother Xu, he immediately said loudly: "Brother Xiaoyi, who is this?"

"Oh, look at me!" Yan Qing patted her forehead reproachfully, and said apologetically: "I haven't seen you for a long time, I was so happy in my heart that I didn't think I would forget to introduce you!"

Speaking, he took two steps back, let Zhao Bufan and the scribe face each other, and introduced: "Brother Xu is not an ordinary person, although his reputation is not obvious, but he is indeed a master of our Daimyo Mansion, he is proficient in the art of war, martial arts, and strategy, knows everything about Qinqi calligraphy and painting, and is proficient in Khitan, Jurchen, Dangxiang, Tubo, and Mongolian Chinese, and can be called a literary and military all-rounder." The most rare thing is to know the geography of the world, has traveled all over the famous mountains and rivers, can be called a living map, in the early years also had the martial arts champion, but unfortunately because he did not want to bribe Shangguan, so he was not allowed to reuse, and then resigned and returned home, living in seclusion in this famous mansion, I fell in love with his temperament, and often came and went. ”

When the scribe heard Yan Qing's praise, he immediately smiled and clasped his fists and saluted: "General Zhao, don't you listen to Xiao Yi's three-inch incorruptible tongue of the prodigal son, in Xia Xu Guanzhong, he is just a warrior who has no ambition, he has read some books, and he is teaching for a living at this time! Because he often hears the general's name, he admires it very much in his heart, and it just so happened that a few days ago he heard that Yan Xiaoyi said that the general would also participate in the Luoyang Conference, so he walked cheekily and sought to see him!"

When Zhao Bufan heard that this person was Xu Guanzhong, he was very surprised in his heart, and immediately hugged his fists in return: "Although Brother Xiaoyi is a little exquisite, his eyes are very vicious, and his temperament is also arrogant.

"The general is too praised!" Xu Guanzhong didn't seem to want to flatter each other anymore, and modestly ended the topic.

Yan Qing was in a hurry to get on the road, and she also took the initiative to speak out at the moment and beckoned everyone to go.

There are many ways to rush to Luoyang from the Daimyo's Mansion, you can cross the Yellow River first, or you can go west first, because Zhao Bufan had made an appointment with the passers-by in Juxianzhuang to meet the Shangdang in Longde Mansion, so he took everyone to the west.

Along the way, as long as he rested, Zhao Bufan would always take the initiative to talk to Xu Guanzhong, and the two would talk about the art of war battle formation for a while, and talk about article strategy for a while, the more they talked, the more speculative they became, and they both learned a lot from each other. Especially after a martial arts competition, Xu Guanzhong was extremely convinced of Zhao Bufan, and Zhao Bufan was also determined to recruit Xu Guanzhong to work under his command no matter what.

"In terms of martial arts, this Xu Guanzhong's force is slightly inferior to Guan Sheng, Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen and a limited number of others, but when it comes to wisdom, Lin Chong and a few of them can't catch up with this Xu Guanzhong. Knowing advance and retreat, knowing righteousness and reasoning, understanding power and strategy, knowing the art of war, having literary talents, being good at government affairs, having the ability to stand alone, and not having a complex background, it is convenient for command and command, such people are urgently needed now!"

In the next two days, Zhao Bufan knocked on the side from time to time to probe the wind, and the intention of solicitation was undoubtedly revealed.

Xu Guanzhong did not refuse, thinking that he took the initiative to see Zhao Bufan, he should also have the intention to serve the country, but maybe he had seen too much of the decay of the Great Song Dynasty, so he wanted to make friends with Zhao Bufan in person, which was a kind of temptation. But in the face of solicitation, he didn't make a clear statement, and for a while, Zhao Bufan really couldn't figure out his bottom.

On this day, several people passed through Huguan, and seeing that they were about to arrive at Shangdang soon, Xu Guanzhong, who had been thinking for a long time, suddenly rode a horse to Zhao Bufan's side and rode away.

"General Zhao, thanks to Your Excellency's love, you have invited contemptible people to go to Northern Xinjiang many times, and you are not unwilling, nor are you pretending to be reserved to seek a high position, you are really worried!"

"Oh, what's the concern?" Zhao Bufan responded with a smile.

"With the villain's understanding of the general in the past few days, I deeply feel that the general is both civil and military, has lofty ambitions, and will definitely be able to achieve an immortal cause, but the situation of the Great Song Dynasty, the general is probably clearer than the next, if the general is in charge of the army outside the enemy, even fighting Lianke, but one day he is murdered by those traitorous ministers, and even by His Majesty's opposition, how will the general deal with himself!" Xu Guanzhong's eyes flashed, and he was very much looking forward to Zhao Bufan's answer, which was the fundamental reason why he had been hesitating.

When these words came out, Zhao Bufan understood in his heart, and secretly sighed: "Xu Guan is talented, he has outstanding intelligence, but he is really cautious and spares his life, and he must consider a way out for himself in everything, this is a general, he can be entrusted with important tasks, but he can't be expected to be desperate at the moment of crisis, and he is really not as good as Lu Zhishen and others in this regard!"

Although he was a little disappointed in his heart, Zhao Bufan knew that people were not perfect, not to mention that it was normal for people to cherish their lives, and it was impossible to ask everyone to have Lu Zhishen's kind of self-sacrificing righteousness, so he didn't care at the moment, and replied with a smile: "The traitor can do it, why can't the good minister do it, since he wants to fight with the traitor, then he will naturally be more traitorous than the traitor, and I am not stupid, you framed me, can't I frame you?"

Xu Guanzhong was dumbfounded when he heard this, he had never seen such remarks.

But after a little thought, he quickly understood, suddenly raised his head, and laughed loudly.

Zhu Lian, Zheyuezhi and Yan Qing in the distance all looked at him inexplicably.

When the laughter fell, Xu Guanzhong had no doubts, and categorically clenched his fists at Zhao Bufan on horseback: "General Zhao, Guanzhong is willing to serve the work of dogs and horses in the future, before and after the saddle, there will be no complaints, I only hope to use this ability to help the general recover his homeland, revitalize the Great Song Dynasty, and build an immortal achievement!"

"Okay! You are the champion of the imperial court, it is not difficult to promote and appoint, when you return to the north with me, I will ensure that you are the commander of the Cangzhou Liutun Forbidden Army for the time being!" Zhao Bufan laughed heartily and directly made such a promise.

"The general's grace of encounter, the villain will never forget!" Xu Guanzhong was excited, the commander of the forbidden army was already a leading general, even if he had the title of martial champion, but it was still extremely difficult, he knew in his heart how much Zhao Bufan had to pay for this, he had not met for many years, and the suppression of the decay of the Great Song Dynasty for many years was finally released.

Soon, several people rushed to the Shangdang Post House and successfully joined Shi Wengong and others who had been waiting for a long time.

Five days later, when the group reached the fork in Mengzhou, Zhao Bufan suddenly stopped his horse and said loudly: "You all rush to Luoyang first, I want to go to Huazhou in the west!"

Everyone was stunned.

Zhi Yuezhi turned her head to look at Zhu Lian, and seeing that she didn't mean to ask at all, she couldn't help but take the lead in opening her mouth: "Brother Bufan, what are you doing in Huazhou?"

"I'm going to Shaohua Mountain to see someone!" Zhao Bufan did not hide it, explained: "Before leaving Northern Xinjiang, I had explained the affairs to the generals in the army, Zhishen heard that I was going to Luoyang, and then recommended an old man to me, saying that this person has good martial arts, although for some reasons in Shaohua Mountain, but do not do things that hurt the heavens and reason, is a rare chivalrous warrior on the rivers and lakes, and because of the nine dragon-shaped embroidery tattooed on the body, known as the nine-pattern dragon!" Now is the time to employ people, it should be recruited, this is not far from Huazhou, I took Zhishen's handwritten letter to run a trip, and I will come to Luoyang to meet you in a few days!"

"How can this work?" Lin Chong's father-in-law, Zhang Jiaotou, couldn't help but speak out on the spot, and persuaded again and again: "Although this nine-pattern dragon Shi Jin is Lu Zhishen's old friend, he hasn't been in contact for many years after all, and now the other party is also in Shaohua Mountain, who knows what it looks like now, and it is difficult to guarantee that there is no danger for the general to go alone!"

"What Zhang Jiaotou said is that since the nine-pattern dragon Shi Jin has fallen into the grass, it is a bandit after all, after all, it is inevitable that there is no evil heart, the identity of the owner of the village is noble, how can he personally get involved in danger, even if he really wants to go, then it is up to me to go, and the owner can hand over the letter of Brother Lu Zhishen to me. Shi Wengong spoke in a deep voice and rode his horse to the front.

Cao Zheng also answered: "What I said is, it's better for me to go with Brother Wen Gong, I often deal with these green forest heroes, if there is an accident, I can say a few words, and it will not be difficult to find a way out when the time comes!"

"No! I have to go there myself this time. Zhao Bufan waved his hand, and his tone was resolute: "There is not only Shi Jin on Shaohua Mountain, but there are also three other people, namely Yang Chun, the white flower snake, Chen Da, the jumping tiger, and Zhu Wu, the god machine military master, although these three people were also forced to fall into the grass helplessly, but they have been falling into the grass for many years, especially the one of them, Zhu Wu, who is well versed in strategy and knows the art of war, it is difficult for you to convince them!"

"In that case, then you can't go!" Orizuki said worriedly.

Zhao Bufan shook his head: "I'm different, Lu Zhishen and Shi Jin are friends in trouble, his letter should be able to keep me safe, and if you want these people to be good, you can't do it, and you can't make a decision on some things!"

This is to the point, since it is to recruit An, it is natural to promise according to the situation, except for Zhao Bufan, no one present can really be the master.

"Then why don't you go together?" Zhu Lian, who had always been silent, finally couldn't help but speak.

"I'll see it!" Hu Sanniang answered.

"No! Such a large group of people will not only not see anyone, but they will not even be able to enter the mountain!" Zhao Bufan simply refused.

Hu Sanniang didn't understand much, and asked strangely: "Why?"

Zhi Yuezhi didn't understand it at first, but she was very smart, and after all, she was a person who fought on the battlefield all the year round, her head was very flexible, and she quickly figured out the reason, and immediately replied with a smile: "Sanniang, a few of us plus the brothers of Juxianzhuang are dozens of people, so in the past, it will make the other party suspicious, afraid that we are cheating, these green forest heroes are very thieves, where will it be easy for us to enter the mountain, maybe we will fight before we meet, and we don't even read the letter, at that time, we will be vigilant, but it is not conducive to Zhao'an!"

"Okay, you just do what I say, this time I can only go, and you are not allowed to disobey my orders!" Zhao Bufan threw down this sentence, turned the horse's head, waved the horsewhip and left.

"Eh, I can always go with you!" said Orizuki urgently.

"You are too beautiful, they are still bandits after all, lack of restraint, and indulge in their hearts, if you arouse their thief heart, it will be more troublesome!" Zhao Bufan's words came from the heart, although he believed Shi Jin, but the other three had never seen it, it was difficult to say whether a beautiful woman like Zheyuezhi would cause trouble if she went.

Zhao Bufan experienced ups and downs when he was young, was bullied, became a beggar, and tasted the warmth and coldness of human affection, so he understands very well that people are indulgent in the bandit den after all, and they don't have to worry about anything, good people also become bad people, many things are often in a thought, and the boundary between good and evil will become very blurred.