According to the schedule, Liu Zhiyuan happened to pass by the small village where Le Yiyang lived today. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 Before he could say anything, Liu Zhiyuan and his party had already arrived, and there were about seven or eight of them, and it seemed that most of his guards had been transferred to other places where they were needed. Liu Zhiyuan rode a green horse and looked to be about fifty years old. He was dressed in a crimson royal costume, with a white marble pendant pinned to his waist, and a sword from the Western Regions hidden in his crotch. Liu Zhiyuan and the others were about to cross the grassland to the border to check the situation, when suddenly more than 20 party soldiers jumped out of the grass and surrounded them.

Liu Zhiyuan and the guards were in danger, and one of the guards asked loudly: "Who are you? How dare you stop the prince?" The party soldiers laughed and said in unison: "We are waiting for your prince." ”

Seeing this, Liu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Oh, I don't know which general it is?" At this time, the bearded general hiding in the grass walked out and said: "The prince is really extraordinary, and there is no panic in such a scene, which makes Zai admire." Liu Zhiyuan didn't look like a Khitan, put aside his worries, and asked, "Are you?"

"Under the party, General Zuo is alone, and he has been waiting for the prince for a long time. ”

After saying that, he winked at the soldiers on the left and right, and these party soldiers understood and were about to draw their swords and use force. At this time, Le Yiyang, who was hiding in the grass, shouted loudly: "Wait!" The two people on this side were taken aback, and heard Le Yiyang say: "In Xia Le Yiyang, Linghu City, passing by here, disturbing the prince and the lonely general, I hope to atone for my sins." ”

With that, the border people, who had been prepared for a long time, rushed out of the grass. Duguding and his entourage saw that there were people from the Jin Kingdom all around, and they knew that the conspiracy had been leaked, so they couldn't flee immediately. But thinking that that would be the enemy of the Jin Kingdom, he still stayed where he was and bowed his head.

"Lord Wang, my party has always been friendly with all dynasties in the Central Plains, and today I heard that the border of your country was harassed by the Khitan, so I brought my entourage to investigate, but I didn't expect to meet the prince here. I have ascertained the situation here, and it is indeed the ambition of the Khitan wolves, who are vainly trying to expand the war. I also hope that the prince will see clearly. ”

Seeing this, Liu Zhiyuan was overjoyed, and hurriedly dismounted to help Duguding. said: "General, please get up, you are Xia Guogong's right-hand man and a great hero of the party." It is indeed commendable that he is in danger today and spies on the enemy's situation for our country. Xia Guogong is now the envoy of the southwest of the Khitan of the Great Jin Dynasty, and the so-called lips are dead and the teeth are cold, hoping that we can jointly defend against the southern invasion of the Khitan. ”

"Okay, then I'll take my leave. ”

After Duguding finished speaking, he saluted Liu Zhiyuan again and left the border with his men.

Seeing Duguding's group of soldiers dressed in alien costumes walking towards the border, Le Yiyang and the others were very angry. Dugu Ding is not a brave and unscrupulous person, and he can still justify himself after the conspiracy of the murder is exposed. But the strange thing is that the prince did not punish him, but let him return to his base camp safe and sound.

Liu Zhiyuan saw that everyone's faces were full of doubts and anger, and stepped forward to explain: "Thank you for your help today, now that the country is in trouble, I hope you will focus on the overall situation and don't start unnecessary disputes." I still have military affairs today, if he can see him again in the future, he will be grateful, please take care!" and walked to Le Yiyang and Linghu Cheng, and said to them softly: "Thank you two strong men for saving me, the two will be extraordinary, brave and strategic, I hope that I can serve the court in the future and seek happiness for the common people." ”

Liu Zhiyuan and Le Yiyang met their eyes, and they were unconsciously surprised, and found that the person in front of them seemed to be similar, and they were about to ask, but they heard Ling Hucheng reply: "The words of the prince, we must keep it in mind." Liu Zhiyuan nodded to Linghu Cheng with a smile, drove the horse away, looked back at Le Yiyang a few more times on the way, shook his head and sighed a few times.

It turned out that fourteen years ago, when the news of the death of Le Yuan's family in Daizhou reached Taiyuan, Le Zhenxian fainted immediately and never woke up. Liu Zhiyuan was very sad, and after burying his wife, he went to Luzhou to comfort his mother-in-law Zhang. Zhang's three relatives died in a month, and his heart was naturally sad, and every few days, he went to Qingxuguan outside the city to become a monk.

A year later, Liu Zhiyuan married the youngest daughter of the Li family, a Taiyuan farmer. Li is delicate and virtuous, and empathetic, and is deeply loved by Liu Zhiyuan. However, Liu Zhiyuan's heart still misses Le Zhenxian. Le Yi raised his eyebrows and clear eyes, and his appearance was somewhat similar to his father Le Yuan and aunt Le Zhenxian. Liu Zhiyuan saw him at first glance today, as if he saw the figure of his wife, so he was as surprised as before.

When Liu Zhiyuan and his party walked away, the villagers stepped forward to surround Le Yiyang and Linghucheng and said, "Yang'er, Cheng'er, you two go to Taiyuan, you can do a bigger career in the future." We stay at the border, and there is always a way to live at the border. I just hope that there will be as few wars as possible in the future. There are some entanglements here, which should be enough for you to walk to Taiyuan. Le Yiyang thanked him: "Your great kindness and great virtue will be repaid in the future, please take care!"

Linghu Cheng also said goodbye to his parents and went on the road with Le Yiyang. Along the way, the birds kept flying out of the mess. Naturally, their hearts cannot be calm. Neither of them knows what will happen in the future. I walked like this for seven or eight days, and finally arrived in Taiyuan.

As soon as Le Yiyang and Linghu Cheng arrived at the city gate, they saw a large group of people gathered around the city wall to read the notice. The two took a closer look, and it turned out to be an official document for the recruitment of troops from the Great Jin Kingdom. Fox City was excited, and immediately wrote down the place where the troops were recruited, and separated from Le Yiyang.

Le Yiyang has little interest in being a soldier and fighting. He walked around the city a few times, but did not find a suitable way to make a living. By noon, he was already hungry, so he went to a restaurant in the south of the city.

When the shopkeeper saw someone coming, he hurriedly bowed his waist and greeted: "Guest officer, you are in good health, what are you going to eat today?" Le Yiyang saw that he was so polite, so he ordered a bowl of white rice and a fried cabbage. The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Guest officer, you must not be a local." Our shop is famous in Taiyuan, let's have a few signature dishes? This store has a good blue and white wine, why don't you also have a pot?" Le Yiyang said: "No need, I have to hurry after eating." The shopkeeper looked at Le Yiyang, and when he saw what he was wearing, he probably didn't have much money, so he shook his head and walked down.

Le Yiyang looked at the back of the shopkeeper and thought, "The people here are so snobbish, they are indeed not as simple as the people on the border." Then he thought, "If you can't find something to do, you may not even be able to eat after these few days." At this time, an inexplicable desolation suddenly surged in his heart, and he thought, "I don't know what happened to Brother Linghu now?"

Le Yiyang was eating, and four or five soldiers with golden cloth belts on their heads and swords at their waists came from outside the house. The shopkeeper hurriedly came out to entertain: "Ladies and gentlemen, the gust of wind has blown you here today, is it really our honor?" One of the leaders said, "Don't talk nonsense, tell your shopkeeper to come out!" The shopkeeper was sincerely frightened and said tremblingly: "My shopkeeper just happened to have something to do out of the city, and he won't come back until the afternoon." ”

After hearing this, one of the soldiers laughed and said: "It's not too early or too late, but when you go out of the city at this time, is it because you want to avoid us?" Let me tell you, it is not us who are looking for you today, it is the edict personally issued by the king of Beiping before he left the city, which has been posted on all streets of Taiyuan. All shops that have been open here for more than a year must pay fifty taels of silver as military expenses. You don't know this, do you?" replied with a wry smile. Then he pointed at Le Yiyang and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, it's not that we don't know, it's just that the small shop is really not doing well, one is not so much cash, and the other is that the owner is indeed not in the store, I'm just a worker, and I can't think of any way?" ”

The soldiers looked carefully at Le Yiyang and the dishes on his table, and said to the shopkeeper: "Now that the country is in trouble, everyone has a heart to share worries for the country, and they have the money to contribute and make a strong contribution." You should know how good the king of Peking is to you. Taiyuan is a good place, but also a bad place, since the opening of the two countries, how much money you have earned, we still know in our hearts. Tomorrow we must gather all the money. ”

One of the sergeants who took the lead added before leaving, "Now even the king of Beiping has gone to the front line to inspect the military situation. His old man has already spoken, and the soldiers are fighting bloody battles on the frontier, and no one can chill their hearts. Otherwise, when the king of Beiping returns, he will be severely punished!"

Seeing that these soldiers were gone, the shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The hateful Khitan Tartars are going to fight again." When the shopkeeper poured tea for Le Yiyang, he said: "Now the business is getting worse and worse, and the mutual market between the two countries is over." In a few days, our store will be closed, and it will not be easy for the guest officer to eat. ”

The words of the shopkeeper reminded Le Yiyang of what happened in his hometown a few days ago. He took a piece of silver from his bosom and handed it to him, then walked out of the restaurant. Le Yiyang took the form of a single shadow, walking down the spacious street, occasionally meeting a few people in a hurry, all of them with large bags and small bags, with their wives and children, riding their own ox carts to the mainland. Seeing this, Le Yiyang couldn't help but feel a little more desolate in his heart. If you have to fight with the Khitan for a long time, the prosperity of Taiyuan for decades will be wiped out.

On the first night of coming to Taiyuan, Le Yiyang found a cheap inn in the city to rest. Early the next morning, he packed his luggage and set off.

Le Yiyang was slowly hurrying while thinking about the future. What am I going to do next, where am I going? He really doesn't know. The entanglement is almost exhausted, and it is difficult to find something to do. If Xiang Linghu Cheng learns a move and a half, he will naturally join the army. But he only memorized four books and five classics, and he was useless at the border. Now the border is not restless, and I can only go to the capital to make a living. With this idea, Le Yiyang cheered up and soon left Taiyuan City.