That year, that cicada, that sword

Chapter 495 The Scholar Guru and the Horse Thief

Seeing Xu Beiyou's expression, Ding Zeyuan suddenly became serious. He drank a sip of wine to suppress his shock, and then said: "Shaanzhou borders on the grassland, and it is the base of the Northwest Army. If the smoke rises here, doesn't it mean that there are cavalry troops from the grassland going south?" ?”

Xu Beiyou said calmly: "I don't know if Brother Ding has heard, but this year's grassland will snow in June, and in autumn and winter, it will be a scene of thousands of miles of white and uninhabited people. When the white hair blows, all people and animals will die. People call it the white disaster, and if the white disaster is together, if you can’t live on the grassland, you can only go south and enter the customs.”

Xu Beiyou paused for a moment, and then continued: "In the past few years, small groups of cavalry have frequently gone south in the grasslands. King Lin Han of Zhenbei told the court that the white disaster was serious and unsustainable. Listening to the order of the royal court, I will go my own way. Fortunately, the court has comforted me many times, and it is not serious, but this year..."

Ding Zeyuan was taken aback, "Although I don't know anything about military affairs, I also know that the snowstorm in June is definitely not a good omen. If the white disaster this year exceeds the previous ones, does it mean that there will be a grassland army to suppress the country this year?"

Xu Beiyou walked outside the door, looked at the wolf smoke pointing directly at the sky, and said softly: "Let's see and talk."

Ding Zeyuan also put down the wine glass in his hand, went outside the door and stood side by side with Xu Beiyou, looking into the distance.

Xu Beiyou recalled the conversation with Zhang Wubing before leaving Zhongdu. Zhang Wubing first talked to him about the situation in the northwest in recent years, and then bluntly pointed out that there will be a battle between the northwest and the grassland, because it is a matter of life and death. Even if Lin Han didn't want to fight, under the intensified white disaster, other prairie Taijis would tie him up and go south together, not to mention that the prairie king Khan was not a benevolent king at all. After the death of Emperor Xiao, He has been eyeing the Central Plains all the time, and is regarded as a serious problem by the court.

Today, the Northwest and the Grassland have secretly entered a state of confrontation. When the Northwest Army is preparing for war, the Prairie Cavalry also began to sharpen their swords. They only have to tear the last layer of window paper, and they will completely fight each other. However, in Zhang Wubing's view In the future, there should be no large-scale wars this year. Lin Han is still unable to provoke the entire Daqi by himself.

After a moment of silence, Xu Beiyou said softly, "If my guess is correct, this time it should be a small-scale trial. The Grassland Khan wants to see what the court's attitude is, whether it is war or peace, and he can always know it. "

Ding Zeyuan did not speak.

Xu Beiyou said calmly: "At the same time, let's see what kind of person our new left army commander is, and whether he can defend himself against the enemy."

Ding Zeyuan suddenly asked: "Then according to Brother Xu, this Dudu Zhang is a famous general?"

Xu Beiyou said flatly: "I don't doubt Zhang Dudu's ability to lead troops, but in all fairness, Zhang Dudu is a general, not a handsome talent. If a war really starts, whether to defend the city, or take this opportunity to make a northern expedition to the grasslands, you will have to do it." Look at the choice in the temple."

Ding Zeyuan said softly: "But now there is a battle between Master Lan and Elder Han Ge in the temple. Since ancient times, it has been a party struggle that harms the country. It is important to know that even if you fight against the outside, you must secure the inside."

Xu Beiyou said: "Scholars who rule the country are also scholars who harm the country."

Perhaps Xu Beiyou's words covered too much. Ding Zeyuan, who was also a scholar and suffered an innocent disaster, felt helpless at the moment, and didn't know how to answer the question. After holding back for a long time, he could only forcefully change the topic, "Brother Xu What's next?"

Xu Beiyou pointed to the north, "I planned to leave the customs from here, go to Xiaoqiuling, and then turn from Xiaoqiuling to Julu City."

Hearing that Xu Beiyou wanted to go to the grassland, Ding Zeyuan couldn't help being stunned. You must know that the grassland is nothing like the pass, where horse thieves come and go in groups like the wind, which is not comparable to the small bandits in the pass.

Xu Beiyou couldn't hide his regret, and continued, "However, considering the current situation, it may be difficult to make it happen."

Next, Ding Zeyuan really didn't know what to say, so he could only say goodbye and leave after a few polite greetings.

Xu Beiyou looked back at the two wine glasses on the table in the room, thoughtfully.

Not long after, Xiaoxiang came over again, and found that Ding Zeyuan was nowhere to be seen, so she couldn't help asking, "Brother Beiyou, where is Mr. Ding?"

Xu Beiyou came back to his senses and said, "Brother Ding still has things to do, let's go first."

Xiaoxiang snorted, and didn't pay too much attention to this scholar who met by chance, and went into the house to help Xu Beiyou clean up the house.

After the two of them were busy, Xu Beiyou looked up at the sky, and said to Xiaoxiang, "Xiaoxiang, I have something to go out for, so don't be too busy, go home early for dinner."

Xiao Xiang, who was cleaning the table, hummed, and when she turned around, Xu Beiyou had disappeared.

Xu Bei swam out of Xiaofangzhai, and flew without using a sword, but sprinted close to the ground, taking several feet at a step, as the Taoist said, shrinking the ground to an inch.

After traveling for about twenty miles at a stretch, Xu Beiyou was almost at the border of Xiheyuan, where there was already some grassland landform, which was conducive to the cavalry's galloping horses.

At this time, the sky was dark, and the autumn night was already cold, and the cold current from the grassland made the night chill even more.

On the lee of a small hillside, there is a bonfire flickering. Several men in different costumes are sitting around the bonfire. On the bonfire are two yellow sheep that are about to be roasted. The leader is wearing a thick leather robe and a suede cap. , pulled out a machete inlaid with various gemstones on the handle from his waist, and cut the mutton leisurely.

Looking at it like this, it doesn't look like a horse thief on the border, but more like a grassland noble with a good background.

Although the horse thieves on the prairie come and go like the wind, their lairs are hidden, and it is difficult to hunt them down, but if they offend the prairie cavalry, they will most likely be destroyed. Whether it is horsepower or familiarity with the prairie, the prairie The cavalry is much stronger than the horse thief, and the grassland cavalry has a large number of people, and they can ride with one person. It is not easy to gallop hundreds of miles in the starry night, and they are not comparable to the rootless duckweed horse thief.

Among these people, besides the leader who was dressed in a typical prairie dress, there were three other people, a middle-aged man with a sullen expression, a long scar on his face, and a long knife on his knee, a typical prairie horse thief.

A dark-skinned strong man, although sitting, is almost as tall as an ordinary person, and his arms are comparable to ordinary thighs. There is a long-handled battle ax beside him, which makes people daunting.

As for the last person, he is quite different from the other three. Not only does he have a typical appearance from the Central Plains, but he is also wearing a Confucian shirt and a square scarf. The current environment is out of place.

Beside the scholar was a bookcase, smooth and recognizable, with a deep luster under the light of the campfire.

He took the bookcase, took out a folded blueprint from inside, and said softly: "This time I traveled to the Northwest under the order of King Khan, and drew this map. Most of the troop movements of the Northwest Army over the years are in it."

The prairie man put down the scimitar in his hand, wiped the greasy hands on his body, carefully took the drawing and put it in his arms, and then squeezed out a smiling face, "Master, please rest assured, I will definitely send this drawing to King Khan with my own hands." before."

The white-faced scholar nodded.

Xu Beiyou quietly appeared on the small slope, holding a sheathed long sword in his hand, with a playful smile on his lips.

Going to kill the horse thief again.

(End of this chapter)