That year, that cicada, that sword

Chapter 508: From West to East to Julu City

Further southeast of the grassland, southwest of Houjian, located at the intersection of the Central Plains, Houjian, and grassland, there is an ancient army town called Julu. If you look down from a high altitude, Julu City just forms a border with Zhongdu and Beidu. It was the triangle of the gun head, and the Julu City happened to be at the position of the gun point, pointing directly at the rear Jian grassland.

This place was originally the Protectorate of the Great Chu Dynasty. Later, when the Great Chu Dynasty collapsed, the iron cavalry went south and entered the pass, and traveled across most of the Central Plains. Naturally, Julu City, which was at the forefront, was not spared and became the first to fall. In this place, the Julu City, which experienced war, was abandoned. Even if the Emperor Taizu of Dazheng established the country later, Dazheng only stopped after recovering the northern capital. People, bandits, and even dignitaries who failed in the struggle for power, as well as monks who defected from the sect, and casual cultivators poured into it. The river was full of mud and sand, and fish and dragons mixed together, creating an extrajudicial city full of chaos and killings.

The chaotic situation here continued until after Xiao Huang’s Northern Expedition. Xiao Huang and the great general Murong Yan wanted to gather an army in Julu City and clean up the muddy water in the city. Xiao Shu, king of Wujun, was taken over by Xiao Mahe after Xiao Shu died.

After Xiao Mahe became the new king of Lingwu County, Julu City gradually transformed from a military town to a hub connecting the Central Plains, grasslands and later constructions. Countless caravans passed, stayed, and traded here, making Julu City have a " In terms of prosperity and wealth, although it is not as good as Jiangdu, it is comparable to Jiangling and other places.

Being able to control a land alone, and it is still such an important place, is really rare among many county kings. From this, it can be seen that Xiao Mahe is now in the heart of the emperor, but Xiao Mahe has begun to look a little old in the past two years , the matter of the next county king had to be put on the table.

It is His Majesty the Emperor who can make the final decision on this matter, but unless there are special circumstances, His Majesty will not easily intervene in the family affairs of the clan and vassal, so it still depends on Xiao Mahe himself.

Xiao Mahe has two sons and two daughters, both daughters were named county heads and married, while the eldest son Xiao Shilian died of illness a few years ago, leaving only one youngest son, Xiao Shilue, so two years ago, Xiao Mahe officially I wrote to the imperial court to ask for the establishment of my second son, Xiao Shilue. The imperial court granted me a crown, a seal, and an imperial edict.

Xiao Shilue, counted according to seniority, is the same generation as Xiao Quji, the king of Liangwu County. His grandfather Xiao Shu and Xiao Quji's grandfather Xiao Gongyu are both important officials of the clan. The two have a deep friendship. It was Xiao Shu and Xiao Gongyu who jointly suppressed Han Xiong, Tang Chunyu and others, and they were regarded as the right-hand man of Empress Dowager Lin Yinping, but in Xiao Shilue's generation, one lived in the Central Plains for a long time, and the other lived outside the Great Wall, so their friendship was weak.

Although it is still autumn, because Julu City is located outside the Great Wall, a graceful little snow came unexpectedly, and put a layer of light makeup on this ancient army town, so that this "old man" no longer So sharp and angular, slightly softer.

The Julu City used to be unruly, but the Xiao family established rules for it after occupying this place. No matter you are a prairie person or a post-construction person, as long as you enter Julu City, you must abide by the rules of my Julu City.

Heavy codes are used in troubled times, especially in Julu City, a place full of fish and dragons. After two generations of Lingwu County Kings perfected it, the criminal law of Julu City is several times stricter than that of the Daqi court. In Lucheng's criminal law, the word "death" appears seventeen times. In other words, unless you have the strength of the master of the Demon Suppressing Palace or the master of the Sword Sect, you will end up with one if you don't obey the rules. dead word.

Looking at Julu City today, there are only two people who can not abide by the rules. One is Xiao Mohe, the current king of Lingwu County, and the other is Xiao Shilue, the son of the county prince.

Seeing that Xiao Shilue became the third generation of Lingwu County King, it was already a certainty, and the power of His Royal Highness was also increasing day by day. It was just a matter of raising followers and private troops, and he had many contacts with the court and the powerful. He followed his father to the capital, and was good at dancing with long sleeves. He was very outstanding among the clan's children, and there were rumors that this prince of the county had a close relationship with the son of Duanmu Ruisheng, the governor of the Dark Guard Mansion, and they called him a brother in private.

It's just that as Duanmu Ruisheng began to fall out of favor, Xiao Shilue also began to gradually distance himself from Duanmuyu.

Now the situation in the temple is gradually becoming clearer. Empress Dowager Lin Yinping played a crucial role in Han Xuan's defeat back then, because Han Xuan's reputation among the people is so good that there was a so-called "black-hearted prime minister crouching on the dragon's bed" later. What the unscrupulous prime minister was talking about was Sapphire who defeated Han Xuan.

Now that there is no empress dowager, Lan Yu is gradually declining, and with the support of His Majesty, Han Xuan is as powerful as a rainbow. Master Xiang retreated every step of the way, as if he didn't intend to fight to the death. After all, he has a relationship with His Majesty as a teacher and apprentice. If it doesn't come to the point of death, then His Majesty should also be lenient and end up with his teacher.

However, the Blue Party has been rooted in the temple for 50 years, and its roots are deep. It is still too early to say that the Blue-Korean party struggle is over and Lanyu will admit defeat.Since Xiao Mahe is His Majesty's confidant and important minister, he naturally has to follow Shangyi's wishes, get close to Han Xuan, and stay away from Lan Yu and Duanmu Ruisheng. Xiao Shilue also had to cut Duanmuyu's line according to his father's wishes.

Not long after the city gate opened, a group of people galloped towards the city gate on the little bits of residual snow on the ground. The leader was a young man in brocade clothes with an extraordinary bearing. Along with him was a woman in white fur with a face Exquisite, with a cold expression, behind him are more than a dozen cavalry wearing armor and sabers, carrying well-made crossbows and quiver, neatly lined up, and sturdy, not ordinary private army cavalry, but the most elite royal cavalry.

When the soldiers guarding the city gate saw this group of troops, they didn't dare to stop them in the slightest, and immediately stepped aside, allowing them to roar out of the city.

Not far from Julu City, there is an unnamed lake that is not too big or small. In terms of scenery alone, it can only be regarded as acceptable. Not to mention compared with many famous lakes in the south of the Yangtze River, even Biluo Lake in the grassland is far away. Not as good, but this lake is the water source of the entire Julu City, so it is like a forbidden area on weekdays, it is guarded by heavy soldiers, and no one is allowed to approach it.

Because of the thin snow that fell today, this small lake, dubbed "The Maid's Lake", seemed to be covered in white fur. Run here, and stand on horseback not far from the shore of the lake.

The woman in white fox fur looked at the vast white lake, her eyes were slightly blurred, and she said softly: "I didn't expect there to be such a scenery beyond the Great Wall."

The leading young man turned his head to look at the woman, hiding the eagerness in his eyes well, and said with a smile: "If I remember correctly, the family ancestor once built a pavilion in the middle of the lake. Would you like to go there?"

The woman glanced at the armored man not far away, and asked, "Is it okay?"

The man clasped the jade belt around his waist habitually, showing a bit of arrogance in his self-confidence, and said with a smile: "For me, there is nothing impossible in the Julu Land."

(End of this chapter)