Lan Ruochan

Chapter 21

Qingyun made a hasty move, and unconsciously pulled out the family-heirloom sword "Try to Break".

The style of this sword is still ancient. Although it is made of forged steel, the sword body is thicker and heavier than contemporary swords, and is closer to the bronze swords of the Zhou Dynasty.

This style of Lei Tian Dazhuang can strike with such momentum, envying others, naturally also borrowed the characteristics of the sword.

And Lu Wenzu just took a long sword casually just now, and threw it out of his hand again, without any strength in the air, how could he stand up to Qing Yun's full force of the epee in his hand?

As soon as the two swords were handed over, the flying sword broke into two white lights and flew towards the rear.

A young servant couldn't dodge in time, and was hit by a white glow, which pierced through his chest immediately, blood gushing out like a blowout.

The young fellow didn't even have time to snort, and his soul was detained by the bull's head and horse face.

The red chain passing through the chest was nailed into the wooden wall, rattling and vibrating.

Just like a bloodthirsty monster, dripping red saliva all over Zhuhu, but still hungry, gnawing its steel teeth, trying to swallow all living beings within sight.

Plop, the first one to lie down was not the boy who was pierced through the chest by the broken blade, but Qing Yun who slashed out with a shocking sword.

Although his sword seemed to be in the right place at the right time, the force of the shock when the two swords collided was like a heavy hammer hitting his chest.

If he hadn't ignored the numbness of the tiger's mouth, and used his thoughts to tightly control his hands and clenched the hilt of the sword, the sword in his hand might have flown into the sky.

But that consciousness only had time to flash a thought in his mind, and Qingyun felt a vague sweetness in his throat, his eyes suddenly went dark, and he lost consciousness.

Seeing the flying sword piercing through the sky, Ji Zhi wanted to make a move, but before the sword could be pulled out, Qing Yun fell limp to the ground, spurting blood from his mouth and nose.

He was so startled that he hurriedly took a step forward and grabbed Qing Yun's lapel, so as not to choke his head.

Look at Lu Wenzu again, he is still standing upright, but there are more than ten sharp arrows stuck in his body, some of them are half gone, and some even faintly pierced from the other side.

At such a short distance, the lethality of the crossbow is amazing.

He didn't fall down, his eyes were gray, and he stared blankly at the four juniors of the same door. The emotion hidden in the gray, I don't know if it was anger, confusion, doubt, or admiration for that thunderous brilliance. At this time, it came to an end with the slowly spreading pupils.

What Lu Wenzu committed was a serious crime.

Once the incident happened and the censor of the dynasty was alarmed, he had already declared his will to die.

But why did the trapped beast blow he made on his deathbed actually slash at the four seemingly harmless juniors?
No, the kid who broke Lu Wenzu's Qiongtu sword still has some skills. Could it be that he did something wrong?
These questions troubled everyone present. Gao Daoyue couldn't understand it, Gao Shusheng didn't seem to understand it, and Jin Zhongjian didn't seem to understand it either.

There will always be someone who will understand, and there will always be times when everyone will understand.

The autumn wind blows over the sycamore leaves, leaving only the branches and leaves like dogs gnawing.

The rustling of fallen trees covered up all the breath of life.

The sealed Lu Mansion was empty.

The scene was sealed off, and all the servants were dismissed, or taken away by Gao Daoyue to question the reason for Lu Wenzu's return to Beijing.

Gao Shusheng, Qingyun and the others are naturally inseparable. Iron windows and wooden fences may be their destination tonight.

Cui Zongbo was very happy this morning. In fact, he has been very happy since he had Cui Xiu as a child.

Cui Xiu has been intelligent since he was a child, with both civil and military skills. Even in a big family like the Cui family, he is a good seedling in a hundred.

Among the officials of the State of Wei in the Central Plains, only Li Cui, Lu Zheng, Wang Qiwang with five surnames, and Feng Gao in Yandi were the most favored by the king.

The Cui family of Qinghe used to be an extremely personable official in Cui Hao's generation, and the Cui family also vaguely had the status of being the best among all the surnames in the Central Plains.

However, blessings come with misfortunes, companions are like companions to tigers, Cui Hao was imprisoned because of the writing of "National History", and even wiped out his family!

Today, the two Cui clans of Boling and Qinghe are all relatives of Cui Hao. Although they are still first-class families in name, there are really no outstanding figures in recent years, let alone the humerus that can lead the country like Cui Hao back then. A pillar of power and officials.

But this child Cui Xiu, um, may be able to change the current situation of the Cui family and continue their glory.

At the beginning of the year, the king of Wei marched south, the prince supervised the country, and the king of Beihai, Yuanxiang, assisted the government.

This King of the North Sea is an out-and-out dandy, he is sloppy in poetry, books, etiquette and music, and he is good at drinking, sex and wealth.

He studied under Cui Zongbo in his early years and was about the same age as Cui Xiu, so he was familiar with him.

Yuanxiang himself is still a child at heart, with a prince who is only ten years old, how can he know anything about politics?Naturally, it was all pushed to "brother" Cui Xiu.

Although this Cui Xiu is young and weak, but he is knowledgeable and seasoned, and he handles government affairs impeccably.

King Wei returned to Beijing in victory. Seeing that the state affairs were in order, he was overjoyed, so he praised Cui Xiu greatly.

The imperial edict said: "Beihai is young, and he has not been idle in his political achievements, so he will appoint each other for all kinds of tasks."

This time the King of Wei left the capital to offer sacrifices to the place, and he was granted the title of Minister Cui Xiu as the Chief History Officer, and also served as the Minister of the Huangmen, so he acted as an agent of state affairs for Yuan Xiang and served as an advisor to the King of Wei.

How can Zong Bo not like the love of Mu Tianen for his son?
So I chose an auspicious day to prepare a banquet for the guests, and it happened to be today.

Uncle Zong asked his maid to wash himself up early in the morning, and was going to go out for a walk in the morning, and spend some time in Luojing.

If you meet a gentry who has not sent an invitation, you can invite him verbally if you can still talk, but if you are not speculative, you should be ashamed of him.

In short, it's just to have a good time in this city.

The Lu family and the Cui family are both from the Tanzong lineage, so they were relatively close.

But recently, due to the selection of Tangun, there has been some discord in secret.

Besides, there is only one junior member of the Lu family staying in Beijing, so the invitation letter for this banquet will naturally not be sent to the Lu family.

But by coincidence, Cui Zongbo wandered towards Lu's mansion.

While he was pacing, he was still muttering in his heart: Hmph, what do you say that a single Lu Wenzu can defeat our Cui family?If in a few more years, my Xiu'er has some qualifications, let's see who else in your Lu family will compete with you?

As he was walking, Cui Zongbo realized that something was wrong. There were many armored soldiers gathered in the alleys of Lu's mansion, with solemn expressions, driving passers-by who wanted to stop and watch.

What's the matter?

At this moment, Cui Zongbo didn't know about the uproar in Lu's residence last night, and his expression changed when he asked.

Lu Wenzu went back to Beijing without authorization and there was a drastic change at home. His father and son died tragically at home, and Sun Jijiu died strangely?

This Lu Wenzu came back secretly to entertain Sun Jijiu and Gao's family, although the plan must have been unfriendly to his Cui family, but these people died inexplicably, if the real culprit is not caught, how will everyone feel?How would the members of the Tan sect feel?

The old man Cui Linghe no longer cares much about the affairs of the clan, and he has assumed the responsibility of the head of the clan.

Tan Zong had such a big incident, and he couldn't take it easy even if he thought about it.

The pride that filled his heart before going out felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured on his head at this moment, and he was no longer in the mood to continue feeling dizzy.

It is reasonable to go back to the mansion to discuss countermeasures with the tribe.

Cui Zongbo's official fortune is indeed not prosperous, but his immersion in swordsmanship is one of the few in the family.

This time, if the Cui family wanted to nominate someone to compete with Lu Wenzu for Tangun, he would naturally do his part.

Could it be possible to let people of the old man's generation fight against the younger generation?This is self-defeating the identity of the Cui family.

He and Lu Wenzu are old rivals. Although the two have never had a life-and-death fight, since they were young, they have exchanged ideas in the sect. The two have fought for countless times. Although the outcome is not clear, But it is also about five or five.

Nasun Jijiu is also a leader of the five outer sects, although he is not qualified to compete with Tangun according to the rules, but he is definitely not inferior to him in terms of swordsmanship alone.

They were plotted against at the same time?

The Gao family who witnessed it couldn't see the clue?
The more he thought about it, the more chaotic he became, and he stepped faster.

Just as he was about to turn a street corner, three people rushed towards him, also in a hurry.

The three of them were very strong and strong, and they almost covered the whole alley if they stood side by side.

At this time, Uncle Zong was anxious, he didn't care about why the visitor was so rude, he turned his footsteps slightly, and wanted to pass through the gap between the three of them.

But the three people on the opposite side also made movements at this time, one of them walked past him quickly, dodging behind him, one of them turned sideways to give way, and the other took a step back to step back, all of them seemed very humble.

But who is Cui Zongbo?

As soon as the three of them moved, he sensed something strange, so he snorted coldly, stroked his beard and stopped, and asked loudly,
"A few friends, you seem to be very familiar. Stop Cui here, what can you tell me?"

The two of them formed horns for each other, surrounding Zong Bo.

The person who had just retreated was standing in front of him at this moment, and he slightly cupped his hands when he heard the words,

"Senior Brother Cui, I'm going to Lu Longju. These two are my younger brothers, Long Xiang and Long Ji. Today I heard that there is a happy event in Cui's residence, and the brothers came here specially to deliver a gift."

Seeing that it was almost noon, the old man Cui Linghe walked out of the inner house tremblingly with the support of Cui Xiu, with his white hair on his head and his crooked back.

"Why, Uncle Zong hasn't come back yet?"

"Back to Grandpa, almost all the guests are here, but Master hasn't come back yet.

Master Xiangru from the big house just now has gone out to look for it, but there is no reply yet. "

The old man tapped the floor lightly with his cane,
"Well, if the guests are all here, then let's start the banquet, and I will take care of it.

Xiangru's nephew is prudent.Even if Zong Bo really encountered some troubles, as long as they were in Luoyang City, the two of them would be enough to deal with it! "

Although the old man said so, he has already lived to the age of becoming a spirit, and he knows good and bad destiny with five senses.

Suddenly there was a loud commotion in the hall, and a deep sigh,
"Xiu'er, you go to the front hall and have a look, so as to appease the guests.

I'm a little tired, so I'll go back to my room and rest, and call me again when it's time for dinner. "

Cui Xiu's complexion changed when he heard that, how dare he neglect?

When I went to the front hall, I saw that Uncle Xiangru had returned.

His eyes were red, tears broke down his cheeks, and he was holding a wooden box in his hand.

All the guests in the hall sighed and looked embarrassed, so he also guessed the clue.

Tears welled up before he could speak, "My lord uncle, my father..."

"Nephew!
I just walked around to the vicinity of Lu's Mansion, a beggar grabbed me and brought me this wooden box.

Let's see for yourself, my nephew, please be sorry for everything. "

The box contained Cui Zongbo's head, his eyes were closed and his brows were raised high.

In addition, there is another piece of letter paper with nine characters written in blood:
Ya for canthus, blood for life——Lu.

The Cui family has been busy for a long time, some of the servants got the news of last night's tragedy in Lu's mansion, but in order not to hurt the joy, they didn't report it to the old man.

On the contrary, some of the guests had already heard about it, so they hurriedly told the official statement one by one, and several military officers heard their colleagues talk about the situation at the scene, and they also relayed them one after another.

Cui Xiu gritted his teeth and wiped his tears, and then thanked the guests one by one, telling them that the house is inconvenient today, the banquet will be postponed, and in a few days, they will have to ask everyone to come to the house to apologize.

It was said to be an apology, but everyone knew that they were waiting for some trivial invitation, so except for the relatives of Cui's family, they all said goodbye one by one, and they couldn't help cherishing it and mourning.

Except for Lu Wenzu, the Lu family has never heard of any outstanding figures, but today they were able to snipe and kill Cui Zongbo, the most respected Cui family, in Luoyang City. Did they deliberately hide their power, or did they have other backers behind them?

Who framed and killed Lu Wen's ancestors and grandsons to sacrifice wine, and for what purpose?
The members of the Cui family are doomed not to sleep tonight, how many people in Luo Jing are still trapped in this situation?

On the palace wall, in the setting sun, a young man in Chinese clothes stands proudly with his hands behind his back, looking into the distance.

Behind him was a silver-haired, beardless old man bowing his body, slanting his whisk, and arching his hands above his head, trying to maintain this posture. Although he twitched slightly from time to time due to the stiffness of his muscles and bones, he did not dare to complain.

"Cui Xiu has already sent someone to ask for leave?"

"Back to His Royal Highness, yes, Shang Shusheng has approved the leave!"

"Very well, who will handle the affairs of the three provinces now?"

"Back to His Royal Highness, Song Bian and Guo Zuo are in charge."

"Well, these two young men don't have any factions yet. Use Shao Fu's name to recruit them, don't let them be used by the King of the North Sea."

"Yes, His Royal Highness."

"How did Gao Daoyue get the news last night, can you find it?"

"Back to His Royal Highness, this old slave is not too clear about it. However, it seems that the plot to plot against Lu Wenzu is very rigorously designed. I am afraid that even if Gao Yushi does not come forward, he will not escape the disaster."

"I heard that the murderous sword that killed the king also appeared?"

"Back to His Majesty the Prince.

Yes, the boy wearing the fierce sword was also injured last night, and was taken to Yushitai by Gao Yushi. "

The young man sneered, "Your Excellency Chang Shi will come unprepared, right?"

The old man bowed his waist even deeper, "Your Highness, the sword is a murder weapon, and the old slave never carried it with him.

But it was true that Gao Yushi had been summoned earlier, and a group of people were detained outside to wait outside.

If His Royal Highness wants to examine the fierce sword, the old slave will call for it. "

The prince said nothing, just nodded slightly.

Not long after, a little eunuch bowed his head, raised his hands high, walked up quickly holding a long sword, and knelt down under the hem of his fine clothes with a plop.

The prince took the sword and pulled out the sheath abruptly, the dim light in the setting sun was instantly attracted by the sword body, shining so golden that people couldn't open their eyes.

"It's really a good sword! Well, call Gao Yushi to see Gu."

The eunuch who came from Fengjian hurriedly sang and got up, stepped on small steps and retreated quickly, his hands were still facing the back of the proud young man.

Gao Yushi strode forward and knelt down to salute.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince didn't call him up, he didn't even turn around, and asked sullenly,
"Who reported Lu Wenzu?"

Gao Daoyue felt that the situation seemed to be a little bad, so he dared not hide anything, so he took out a note from his bosom, held it up high,

"His Royal Highness.

Someone left a note on the case of dismissing an official that day, but it was impossible to find out who left it.

The lower officials had already deliberately questioned the servants and the messengers, but no one noticed any changes that day, and did not dare to testify against suspicion casually. "

The old eunuch hurriedly took the note and handed it to the prince.

The prince just glanced sideways, and saw that it read:

Lu Wenzu of Wuchuan returned to the capital privately, held a banquet to form a party, secretly communicated with his relatives, and was ambitious.

The prince groaned heavily, obviously displeased,

"Then can you find out why he returned to the capital privately?"

"The officer has not yet found out.

Both father and son of Lu Wenzu and Lu Yichen died, Jin Zhongjian insisted on not telling the truth, but Gao Shusheng and others seemed to be unclear about the main motive of Lu Wenzu's return to Beijing. "

"waste!"

The prince shook his sleeve vigorously and roared,
"I don't know this, I don't know that, what can you find out?
Are you waiting for Gu to tell you that Lu Wenzu was secretly summoned to Luojing? "

Gao Daoyue was terrified, and looked up with a bang, but was blinded by the golden light in the prince's hand, so he could only lower his head again,

"His Royal Highness.

Shengjia left Beijing and asked the prince to supervise the country.

If His Highness privately summons the important border general at this time, I'm afraid, I'm afraid it will arouse people's suspicion. "

"Bastard! Did you teach Gu a lesson?"

"The minister dare not, the duty of the minister lies."

At this time, Gao Daoyue had read the strong killing intent in the prince's mouth, and immediately changed his title, and directly proclaimed himself a minister to show his submission.

The prince let out a long sigh, the golden light in his hand was shining brightly, a smear of red clouds covered the setting sun, a human skull rolled out of the distance, spilling out a blood stain as bright as a red twilight,
"It's late, since Gu told you so directly, how can he allow you to live until tomorrow?"

He put away his sword, and ordered Sen Ran,

"Gao Daoyue entered the palace with a sword, charged at the prince, and was executed.

Waiter Lin Nei, find someone to clean it up, and then call the owner of the sword, I just want to see it. "

When Qingyun was brought up, the arena had already been cleaned up.

Not to mention the decapitated and mutilated corpses, even the bloodstains could not be found anywhere.

Qingyun didn't know the rules, and he didn't recognize the young man in front of him who was about the same age as him. At this moment, he was at a loss and didn't kneel down.

But the prince didn't seem to care, turned around and greeted him with a smile.

Although the smile was not fake, but the arrogance and aloofness in it woven a thick and invisible wall, which made Qingyun dare not take a half step forward,
"This sword belongs to a strong man?"

Qing Yun had been reminded by the Little Dragon King in Liang Guo, and at this time, Yue Mo had already guessed what the other party was referring to, and proudly replied,

"That's right, this sword is exactly what's next."

"Where did you get it?"

"My father bequeathed it, so I cherish it."

Crown Prince Wei was obviously a little surprised by Qingyun's frankness, and raised his eyebrows lightly.

"Oh? So, your father is Tan Zongqing Yihan?"

It's a blessing, not a curse, and it's a disaster that can't be avoided. If the other party really wants to be unfavorable to him, it is definitely not a lie that can help him escape, not to mention that Qing Yun is not good at lying.

He had figured this out a long time ago, so when he answered, he still looked calm,
"That's right, under Tanzong Qingyun, Qing Yihan is my father."

"Are you still hating the court for what happened back then?"

Qingyun remained silent.

The prince didn't ask any further questions, and a smile appeared on his face again, as if he was happier than when we first met,
"The reason you went to the Lu Mansion to discuss matters is to help Lu Wenzu fight for the position of Tangun, right?"

"Qingyun's qualifications are still relatively young, and he has no right to speak about important matters in his sect.

This trip to the north was originally to find Chen Daoju, the senior of our sect, and wait for his face.

However, Uncle Chen had no intention of becoming Tangun.

On the contrary, Master Lu expressed his thoughts at yesterday's banquet. "

Qingyun's Jianghu experience is indeed lacking, but his mind is more meticulous than ordinary people.

At this time, he didn't know whether it was good or bad to support the Lu family, so he didn't confess to the senior sister Hu who really supported Lu, and he didn't tie himself and the Lu family to death, but just stated the facts superficially.

However, hearing these words in the ears of the prince who had obtained some information in advance, he had a different understanding.

He thought that Qingyun was euphemistically expressing his support for the Lu family when the enemy and the enemy were unknown, so he smiled again,

"You don't have to hide it, the Lu family is lonely.

Gu is the present prince.

Since you didn't succeed in assassinating the family before celebrating your family, you don't need to worry about it.

As long as you still support the Lu family, Gu can also let you go back.

However, the Lu Mansion will be in a lot of trouble these two days, and I just need to help you find another place to live. If necessary, I will send someone to contact you.I don't know what you think? "

"But how can I represent brother Zu and the attitude of several fellow disciples?"

"You don't have to worry about it. All you care about is your attitude."

"""""Knock on the blackboard time"""""

The story has written more than ten chapters.Let's go back and talk about Alexander's Eastern Expedition.

Putting it here is to let everyone have a first impression through the sketches in the first dozen chapters.The author is not someone who knocks on the blackboard indiscriminately, and all the quotations and uses must pay attention to the classics.

Alexander's Eastern Expedition started from Alexandria, which is west of today's Egyptian capital Cairo, passed through today's Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and went all the way to Tajikistan.It was certainly a great expedition.But can we make another comparison to understand how big Central Asia is and how far is this distance?

Known as the farthest place that Alexander reached in the Eastern Expedition, Alexandria, which is the city of Khujand today, is located in Xique of Fergan Valley, north of Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.This place ushered in the Chinese army during the Han Dynasty's war against Dawan Tianma, and it was also the Xiping of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

The starting point of Alexander's Eastern Expedition was in Alexandria, near today's Cairo, and the straight-line distance to Dushanbe, Tajikistan was 3535KM.The straight-line air distance from Dushanbe to Xi'an and the ancient city of Chang'an is 3591KM.In other words, the distance span between Alexander's Eastern Expedition and Han's Western Expedition to the Western Regions was the same.

The size of Alexander's army has been kept at about 5. The strongest opponent defeated in the most glorious Battle of Gaugamela was the Persian army of about 12 (the ancient Greek epic claimed a million, but after the 20th century, many scholars have made an analysis of the number of soldiers at that time. Persia’s population combat power has been assessed. The range is between 5 and 12, and most support a figure of around 10. There are a lot of details about these details, ranging from demographics to written records, but they are basically in Western languages. Interested For getting started, you can refer to the English version of the Wiki entry.).The Western Regions of the Han Dynasty protected more than 45 countries in size, and did a thorough census, recording households, population, and winning soldiers (active soldiers with a system and distribution of weapons). There are more than 19 victorious soldiers as big as Qiuci, and 12 victorious soldiers as small as Hu Hu. , The country is big or small, all edited in the book.To the west of Congling, Wusun ([-] soldiers won), Kangju ([-] soldiers won), and Dawan ([-] soldiers won) were not under the protection of the capital, but they were all defeated by the Han army and became vassals. Tribute, report account.

Judging from the results, the empire fell apart after Alexander's death, and new kingdoms emerged in Egypt, Asia Minor, Two Rivers, and Central Asia.The protection of the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty continued until the Three Kingdoms period, and although the Western Regions were divided and combined with the Central Plains Empire at any time.However, whenever a powerful unified dynasty appeared in the Central Plains, it would be subordinated in the form of Jimi, vassals, or direct incorporation.

Therefore, if you look at Alexander's expedition in the context of China, although it can still be called a feat, it is not necessarily miraculous.At least in the history of China's management of the Western Regions, every Western Expedition is a similar level of answer.You know, Chang'an is only the west gateway of the Central Plains, and there are thousands of kilometers of strategic depth behind it!Not every western expedition starts from Chang'an.

The concept of equidistance from Dawan to Chang'an Cairo mentioned here is quite shocking, because such a direct comparison was not often seen in the media before.But this is a fact that is easily obtained from globes or APPs, and it is only "selectively ignored" by scholars, especially scholars of mainstream western history.

(End of this chapter)