Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 708 Bathhouse
"Where is Cao Sengnu? Where is he?" Wang Wenzuo asked.

"There are too many ships on the river, and it is not easy to park. I will lead the crossbowmen overland first. Cao Sengnu will stay on the ship to escort the baggage. It should take another day or two to arrive!" Li Shangdao replied.

"Hmm!" Wang Wenzuo looked Li Shangdao up and down, secretly thinking that this guy was a master of counterfeit money and overseas trade who worked with Cao Sennu in Yangzhou, and he was also a descendant of Li Xiaogong. He wanted to keep it because of his emotions and reasons. To save face: "Let's do this! You have no merit when you first come to the army. Now you will serve as the governor of my account. I will use your talents after some time!"

"Thank you, General!" Li Shangdao knelt down again.

——————————————————————————————

"According to the arrangement, you will stay here for the next few days!" Wang Pu pointed to the courtyard door in front: "You'd better not go out. If you must go out, you must obtain the consent of the guard in advance! In order to avoid the general looking for trouble. Can’t find it!”

"Obviously I'm very suspicious in their eyes!" Da Tinghuai'en felt a little frustrated, but he still nodded: "I understand!"

"If you have any special needs, such as women, wine, etc., you can directly tell the guard at the door. It is not difficult to get it!" Wang Pu tried his best to look friendly. For the dark-skinned man in front of him, With his heart full of admiration, he rode a horse and traveled seven to eight hundred miles without resting. This was not something ordinary people could do.

"Thank you! If I need it, I will tell you!" Da Tinghuai En nodded: "Now I need a bucket of hot water, I want to take a bath, and then have a good sleep!"

"No problem!" Wang Pu asked a few questions to the servant on the side, then turned around and said: "There is a special bathhouse not far from here. You can go there and wash yourself comfortably!"

----------------------

The bathhouse was a low, dark, misty room with a dozen large oak barrels and two stone pools.When Da Tinghuai'en entered, there were two men sitting in a stone pool, scrubbing their backs vigorously.Da Ting Hua En took a look, walked around the stone pool, walked to a nearby stone pool, and slowly and awkwardly climbed into it. As the hot water poured in, Da Ting Hua En felt weak all over, as if he was over a hundred years old. The old man subconsciously stretched his limbs and body, letting the steaming water reach his chin. The tense nerves in his brain gradually relaxed, but his brain gradually became dizzy.

"Damn it, I won't drown in this pool, right?" Dating Huaien stretched out his right hand, picked up a brush hanging on the edge of the bathtub, and began to scrub his body, as more and more dirt slipped off In the water, the water is getting darker.It seemed that he had a lot of "inventory" along the way. Da Ting Hua En couldn't help but laugh at himself. He dropped the brush, immersed his head in hot water, and began to wash his hair. His mind gradually became unclear. Damn it, here It's too hot, and the air is full of humid water vapor, which makes people breathless. I have been on horseback these days, and I am already exhausted to the bone. I can't control myself anymore!Maybe a nap would be better for me.Da Ting Huaien relaxed his body and allowed the hot water to flood his chin and nose. He coughed violently and wanted to stand up, but his soft legs kept struggling. He fell down and hit the back of his head against the stone bathtub. On the edge, there was a sudden sharp pain and a dizziness.

Two strong arms pulled Da Tinghuai'en out of the bath. He heard someone ask loudly: "Hey! What's wrong with you, my friend? Are you sick?"

"It's nothing! I'm just too tired, thank you!" Da Ting Huaien explained while spitting out water.

When Da Tinghuai'en woke up completely, he found himself lying on a damp blanket, and two men were looking at him with concern. He explained with a wry smile: "I have been traveling for more than ten days in a row, and I didn't get a proper sleep! Help me, help me stand up!"

"Then you shouldn't take a shower at this point. You should take a nap first!" The man on the right said with a smile: "You are very weak now. You can't stand it when the heat hits you. Come on, give me a hand and help!"

With the help of two men, Da Tinghuai En stood up. He sat down on the edge of the pool. He took a few deep breaths and felt that he was feeling better. Just when he wanted to express his gratitude, he heard someone yell.

"Dating Huaien, is that you?"

Da Tinghuai'en raised his head, and the face of the man in front of him was a little blurry. Well, it must be because my head was dizzy. He covered his forehead and asked: "Damn, I don't recognize you. Who are you?"

"I am Wang Kuan! I once served as a soldier in the Anton Protectorate! You once saved my life!"

Da Tinghuai'en frowned and tried to find the man's face in his memories, but he soon gave up because he was too tired.

"I'm sorry, I can't remember. By the way, why are you in Fan Yang?"

"In the past few years, I got older and stopped eating military rations. I went to the wilderness with a group of friends and jointly opened more than ten hectares of good land. I also collected some medicinal materials and mountain products, brewed some private wine, and lived a comfortable life. ! He can be regarded as a small landowner. But the good times did not last long. The Mohe people and the remnants of Goguryeo started to rebel. We saw that the situation was not right, so we all packed up the small landowners and ran to Liucheng. But then we heard that the Khitan people also Inverted--"

Da Tinghuai'en raised his head and saw an embarrassed look on the face of the man in front of him. Apparently the other man remembered his identity. He sighed: "You don't have to worry about me. Is it because I heard that the Khitans have also rebelled? Are you worried? You were attacked from both sides in Liucheng, so you came to Fan Yang?"

Wang Kuan laughed twice: "We just heard some rumors and ran away first because we were timid. Don't laugh!"

"You are all raising a family. What can you do if you don't run away when something like this happens?" Da Ting Huaien sighed: "How are you doing in Fan Yang?"

"Our group is not bad! There are some soft things in the carriage. We sell them as capital, and we can make a living by doing some small business!" Wang Kuan sighed: "But most of the people from Liucheng are miserable. I have traveled thousands of miles away from my home and career, and have nothing left. I go to sell my strength, but I am still looked down upon by the locals. I have to rush here and there, and I can only do menial work that even the locals look down on! I don’t know when. If we can finish this battle, we can go back and rebuild our family business!"

When Da Ting Huaien heard this, he couldn't help but sigh. Of course he knew what Wang Kuan meant by "dirty work". Although he was a Khitan noble, he was sent to Yingzhou as a hostage at the age of 12. On weekdays, he was With the surrounding Hu and Han people, for more than ten years, people like Wang Kuan have long been regarded as fellow villagers and people of the same clan.Seeing them in such a miserable situation, sympathy will naturally arise in my heart.

"May I ask, aren't you supposed to be at General Xue's place in Liucheng? Why are you also in Fanyang?" Wang Kuan asked carefully. "Oh!" Dating Huai'en hesitated for a moment, but then told the story of how he rushed back to Fan Yang from the Khitan tooth tent, and finally said: "I originally wanted to report the whole story to General Wang, and ask the troops to cooperate with each other to prevent the Khitan rebellion. We quickly pacified it. But I didn’t expect that the general didn’t respond. Thinking of the fleeting opportunity, I couldn’t help but feel a little upset!”

After hearing what Dating Huaien said, Wang Kuan hesitated for a moment: "Let me tell you something from my heart. Don't be angry. If I were a general, I wouldn't agree immediately. To put it bluntly, he is not familiar with you. From Fan Yang to The road to Yazhang is thousands of miles away. If I send troops there just based on your words, if it is a trap, won't I lose my wife and lose the troops?"

"Yes!" Da Ting Huaien nodded: "As a general, he naturally has to act prudently, but I saw that the chance to calm down the chaos without blood was gone, and naturally I felt very uncomfortable!"

"A battle without bloodshed? What do you mean, it's not difficult to quell the Khitan chaos?" Wang Kuan asked.

"Yes! My father was originally the leader of one of the eight Khitan tribes. He was loyal to the Tang Dynasty. Among the other seven tribes, only two and three tribes really wanted to rebel. The remaining tribes were just greedy for gifts from the Silla people. It’s just the bribes and the promised pastures and goods, as soon as the Tang Dynasty’s troops arrive, my father will raise his troops to respond, and the rest of the army will naturally fall apart!”

"Yeah!" Wang Kuan nodded: "In that case, how many people do you think is enough?"

"Two thousand riders are enough!" Da Ting Huaien nodded: "Now it is the time for the branch to graze on the grassland. There are only three to four thousand people around Ya Zhang, and some of them are from the Da Ting tribe. If there are two thousand The cavalry arrived suddenly, and with the majesty of the Tang Dynasty, the thieves will definitely scatter and flee, all they have to do is chase south and north!"

After hearing this, Wang Kuan thought for a moment and said: "Captain Da Ting, I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work. According to you, the reason why General Wang is reluctant to send troops is simply because he is worried about falling into a trap and losing his troops. Then if you If he can recruit a group of people by himself, he only needs to give him a nominal banner, and he will naturally agree."

"What do you mean? Can you bring a group of people here?" Da Tinghuaien's expression changed drastically and he grabbed Wang Kuan's arm.

"Well, didn't I just say that there are many Liao people who fled to Fanyang from Liucheng. Most of them are young and strong, and their lives are miserable. I have little prestige among them. If - —”

After hearing what Wang Kuan said, Dating Huai'en fully understood. He put his hands on his hands and said with a smile: "This is a good idea. Most of the Liao people can ride horses and are willing to fight back. If we can recruit 3000 or [-] people, this matter will be very successful." Opportunity.”

"What about the horse armor? And I don't know how many people can be recruited!" Wang Kuan smiled bitterly: "After all, I only have one mouth, so it's really difficult for others to risk their lives."

"You don't need to worry about these!" Dating Huaien stood up, not caring that his naked body was exposed in front of the two of them: "There are twenty or thirty riders coming with me. There are several Khitan merchants in Fanyang City. Now it’s considered a miscarriage. You take their property with you and use it as settlement expenses. I’ll go see the general again and tell him our plan. He will definitely be interested!”

Da Tinghuai En did what he said. He quickly put on his clothes. When he saw the sergeant outside the door, he loudly said that he would see the general again immediately if there was something important.It took a lot of effort to call Wang Pu back.

"Why can't we talk about it tomorrow?" Wang Pu's face was full of displeasure: "Who are you calling the general? You can see me whenever you want?"

"General, I know the rules, but there is an urgent military situation and we cannot afford to delay. Please be accommodating. If you are blamed, I will be responsible for it all!"

"Can you afford it alone?" Wang Pu snorted coldly and was about to leave, but was held tightly by Da Ting Huaien, who only shouted: "I just want help!" Wang Pu struggled a few times, and it was true. Unable to break away, he finally had to say: "Well, I really can't do anything about you. You can let me go and pass the message for you once, but I can't decide whether you are a general or not!"

"That's natural, thank you!" Da Tinghuaien thanked him without words. Wang Pu left for a long time, but no one came to call him.He had doubts in his heart but did not dare to shout anymore. He waited until it was dark before he saw a soldier coming over and said to him: "Are you Da Ting Hua'en? The general wants to see you, come with me!"

Da Ting Hua'en was overjoyed. He followed the soldiers through several courtyards and came to a door. He saw Wang Pu talking to an officer of his age and pointed at Da Ting Hua'en.The officer looked at Dating Huai'en and walked over: "The general is dealing with political affairs inside. His dinner will be delivered later. You can follow me in, kneel on the ground and listen to me. Do you understand?"

"Understood, the general will not talk too much!"

"That's good!" The officer nodded to Wang Pu, and Wang Pu left.Da Ting Huaien waited at the door for a long time before he saw it.A house slave carrying a food box came over, and he couldn't help but feel secretly happy.The officer had someone check the food box before taking Wang Kuan with him.After entering the courtyard gate, I came to the outer room of the study.Da Ting Huaien saw the house slave carrying the food box enter the back room, and immediately heard the sounds of setting dishes and chopsticks and chewing.

The officer waited for a while, then winked at Dating Huaien and opened the curtain and went in.

"Oh, is it Li Bo?" Wang Wenzuo took a sip of the soup: "The pigeon soup tonight is good, there is plenty, you can come and drink some too!"

"Thank you, General, for the reward!" Li Bo bowed to Wang Wenzuo: "General, are you free now? Huaien, a Khitan fugitive from Dating, just said. There is one more important matter. I haven't told you, but I'm waiting outside. Stay!"

"Is he the same person from before?" Wang Wenzuo took a sip of soup: "He can't wait? I originally wanted to have some clues before making a decision!"

"Well, that man just came to Wang Pu anxiously and talked a lot!" Li Bo said with a smile: "So Wang Pu came to see me. If you don't see me, I will let him go back!"

"That's all, I've found you here, let me see you!" Wang Wenzuo sighed, put the soup bowl back on the table, and said to the maid beside him: "Tell the cook that the heat of the soup is okay, but I put too much pepper and ginger slices. This stuff depends on the original flavor of the food, not the seasoning. Use less next time!"

(End of this chapter)