That year, that cicada, that sword

Chapter 473 Returning to the old memories of Shanzhou

Shanzhou is the burial place of ancient emperors. It is located in the hinterland of the northwest, bordering Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Shuzhou, and Xiliangzhou. Xike conquered Shuzhou and entered the south of the Yangtze River. Based on this, Emperor Xiao used this as his foundation to dominate the northwest and view the world as a tiger.

At the same time, Shanzhou, Yanzhou, and Xiliangzhou also directly bordered on the grasslands. Therefore, in these three states, the imperial court stationed the entire Northwest Left Army and part of the Central Army respectively. The Central Army was stationed in Yanzhou, while the Northwest Army was based in Zhongdu is the center stationed in Xiliangzhou and Shanzhou.

After the death of the veteran Zhuge Gong, Zhang Wubing recovered and became the new governor of the Northwest Left Army, sitting in the central capital.

One of the most important purposes of Xu Beiyou's trip north this time is to go to Zhongdu again and meet Zhang Wubing.

This meeting is of great significance, which is Xu Beiyou's original intention. After all, he also had a romantic relationship with Zhang Wubing, and it also represents Han Xuan to a certain extent.

Although Zhang Wubing recovered because of Lan Yu's recommendation, but 20 years ago, he was Han Xuan's favorite general. Since Zhang Wubing became one of the five left governors of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, his position has been vacillating. Neither fell to Lan Yu, nor intended to return to Han Xuan's sect.

Although Han Xuan understood this, he didn't agree with it, so he wrote a letter to Xu Beiyou, saying that he was in the imperial capital, so he couldn't go to see Zhang Wubing in person, and hoped that Xu Beiyou would be his adopted son in the name of visiting the old man. It is reasonable and reasonable to visit Zhang Wubing himself, and it also represents his great sincerity.

In this regard, Xu Beiyou obeyed his orders. There is never room for gentlemen in temple battles, let alone a dispute between gentlemen. After involving most of the temple, there was almost a scene of fighting with each other.

Apart from this important temple event, Xu Beiyou also wanted to take this opportunity to ask Zhang Wubing, who was the governor of the Five Cities Army and Horse Commander in those days, if he knew what happened to the Xu family in Xihe.

Xu Beiyou headed west all the way, approaching the land outside the Great Wall, and there were more and more people riding horses, most of them were merchants, and swordsmen wearing bamboo hats could be seen from time to time.

These swordsmen may not all be masters. Most of them just rely on the knives in their hands to make a living. These people live in no fixed place and are ruthless. Keep safe, use knives with other swordsmen, and fight desperately with horse thieves.

They are similar to Escorts, but they have more shady business than Escorts.

However, this bowl of rice is not so easy to eat. Many fledgling swordsmen have no experience, and they are stabbed to death for the first time in battle, or half of their heads are cut off by horse thieves. This is the real deal. Dead people are not like the Central Plains Escort Bureau who can shout slogans and make friends.Moreover, there are many disputes and intrigues among the swordsmen. It is not uncommon to see each other stumbling or simply stabbing a knife in the back. Those who can be in this business for more than ten years are all really powerful characters, even the secret guards. Many old dark guards were born in Northwest swordsmen.

It is also because of this that the local government and army are very helpless towards these sturdy swordsmen and horse thieves. In many cases, the Northwest Army will come forward to forcibly suppress them. The methods used by the frontier soldiers were also extremely cruel, either hanging their heads to show the public, or dragging the corpses behind horses to parade through the streets.

Xu Beiyou remembered that when he was a child, he once saw a troop of cavalry from the Northwest Army dragging the corpses of more than a dozen horse thieves past Danxia Village, attracting many people to watch. Zhang's face, which had been dead for a long time, was ferocious and frightening. The impact this face gave him was no less than that of Xiao Zhinan's stunning face many years later. Both of them made him deeply impressed and unforgettable.

I just don’t know how Her Highness the Princess will feel after learning that Xu Beiyou compares her to a dead swordsman, whether she will raise her brows and ask Xu Beiyou to marry the dead corpse that she never forgets, or just smile indifferently. There is no trace.

Now that Xiao Zhinan is mentioned, I have to mention their marriage. In all fairness, compared to those young masters who marry blindly and dumbly, the two are considered lucky. After all, they have met and got along with each other before. I don't know how much better the men and women who meet for the first time.To this day, the two still communicate occasionally. Although Empress Xu was quite dissatisfied with this, after Han Xuan personally met Emperor Xiao, there was no obstacle.

Many scholars imagined what it would be like for Han Ge’s adopted son and His Majesty Princess Hongyan to pass on letters. It should be a poem. You give me a poem, and I will return you a poem. Just draw a picture, in short, it is the set of talented scholars and beautiful ladies.

Some people also think that Mr. Xu of Jiangdu and Princess Qiyang are people with deep scheming minds. When they get together, they are naturally talking about the general situation of the world, or plotting important affairs of the court.

In fact, the two of them talked more about trivial and petty things about their parents. For example, Xu Beiyou talked about Li Qinglian, who was not worrying, about all kinds of wonderful objects and exotic fruits and vegetables from the West, and even sent some to Xiao Zhinan. Xiao Zhinan will talk about the troubles or interesting things she has encountered recently, such as Banlan getting into trouble again, her eldest aunt Moshu talking about it again, being called into the palace by her mother to reprimand her, etc.

Both of them intentionally or unintentionally concealed their respective sufferings. Xu Beiyou never mentioned the thrill of trapping and killing Zhang Zhaonu, nor did he mention the bitter fight against Li Zijian, and Xiao Zhinan only understated his own poisoning.

Ordinary, simple, not so poetic and picturesque, not so daring, and not earth-shattering.

In Xu Beiyou's view, a couple should be like this, and it should be like this.

If he hadn't met Xiao Zhinan, hadn't followed Gongsun Zhongmou to travel to the Northwest, and hadn't Han Xuan returned to the temple, then he might have become a young swordsman at the age of 20, and from then on he would do the business of licking blood with knives and earn money. The money that hangs on the waistband of the trousers can end in two ways, one is to die silently in an unknown place without a body collector, and the other is to save enough money for the rest of your life , bought a house in Danxiazhai with scars all over his body, and spent the rest of his life chatting.

It is precisely because of this that Xu Beiyou knows so much about the swordsman profession, because he almost became a swordsman, a swordsman with a sword.

Of course, there are not so many ifs in the world. Xu Beiyou did not become a swordsman with a sword, but became the young master of Jianzong, Mr. Xu of Jiangdu, and even the third son-in-law of the Daqi Dynasty. Now he Throwing away the black and white colors of the past, he no longer has to struggle in the gray world of these little people. He walked into a colorful and magnificent world, full of brilliance.

Today's Xu Beiyou can look down on these former similar people from a high position, but he himself is detached.

Xu Beiyou was thinking about all kinds of messy thoughts, and he was very emotional. He escaped from the northwest in a very embarrassing situation last time. When he came back this time, is it a return home?
(End of this chapter)