Red Tang

The morning light is dim.

In the lobby of Xishi Jiyuan Restaurant, Nan Jiyun was sitting on a horizontal stool with a big horse, and pushed a bowl of spirits to Li Kuo.

"Brother Nan, I really can't drink any more. Last night in Mrs. Guo's house, I was so full!" Li Kuo waved his hands again and again, declining Nan Jiyun's kindness.

Nan Jiyun's eyes widened, and he pretended to shout: "Why, you won't recognize your brother Nan after becoming a captain? You can drink Mrs. Guo's wine, but you can't drink your brother Nan's wine?"

"No, it's not!" The young man was at a loss for being teased by Nan Jiyun, and repeatedly defended himself.

Nan Jiyun put Dun Sheng, the wine bowl in his hand, in front of the young man, and said involuntarily, "If you don't, just do it, order like a man!"

"Ah, ah." Li Kuo helplessly picked up the wine bowl, raised his neck and drank it down.The wine was so strong that the young man coughed while drinking, it was a pity that a quarter of the very good wine slid from Li Kuo's neck.

After patting the young man on the back a few times, Nan Jiyun said in a caring voice: "Drink slowly, and no one will fight with you. The faster you drink this wine, the more exciting it is. You are so young , don't hurt yourself."

"Woo." He took a long breath, and Li Kuo smiled wryly: "If your old man didn't force me to drink it, I wouldn't drink it so desperately!"

Lightly tapped on the square table, Nan Jiyun pretended to be mysterious and smiled: "I called you here, of course it's a good thing. I heard that your kid joined the Shence Army and was named a captain. It must be a future in the future." Wuliang. For your own future, Big Brother Nan has to please you, so that you can get a golden rice bowl in the future!"

"Brother Nan!" Li Kuo, blushing up to his neck, protested loudly.

"Look at you, how can you have the bearing of a captain." Nan Jiyun heartily patted the young man's thin shoulders, his face full of kindness. "The Shence Army is destined to go to Longxi. There are more rules and taboos in the army than in Chang'an. You are a young boy, although you have a lot of experience, after all, you have no background in the court, so you will inevitably be hated by others. Although you have no skills, Big Brother Nan, but I also have some past in the army. When doing things in the army, you should talk less and do more. Don’t worry about what you shouldn’t do, and you will miss your great fame for nothing!"

"Alas, alas." Juvenile Lian claimed that Brother Nan treated him like a brother, and this time he shared his life experience with himself without reservation, how could it not be moving.

"Your Majesty established the Shence Army, and it must be to use troops to the west. You belong to the Shence Army, so you probably won't rush to the front line. However, many friends have multiple paths, and it is better to have an elder by your side to take care of you. Stubbornly. When you arrive in Wuwei (Note 1), go find a security guard named Xue Feng. He walks security guards at the border all year round, and he knows quite a few people in both black and white ways!"

"Oh." Li Kuo nodded lightly, silently remembering Xue Feng's name in his heart.In his early years, Brother Nan was a knight-errant who roamed the rivers and lakes, and made many friends on the rivers and lakes.Although these friends on the road do not have any political background, most of them are very loyal. If you make friends sincerely, you will be brothers for life! <Tian sold silk and tea bricks from Chang'an to Mobei to sell, bought raw hides and silverware from the grassland at a low price, and then returned to Guanzhong before winter.This back and forth is ten times the difference! "Nan Jiyun shook his fingers, gestured and said: "Entering the fortress is nothing more than two roads, one is from the east of the river through Mayi, go straight north, cross the Great Wall and enter the vast grassland.The second is to travel from the Hexi Corridor via Wuwei and Liangzhou.Since the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the four towns of Anxi have been built one after another, and the Silk Road has been reopened.As a result, the northern route was gradually abolished, and many caravans chose the more prosperous and safer western route. "

Li Kuo listened quietly. Although he didn't know why Big Brother Nan said such words to him, the young man still listened to Nan Jiyun's instructions gently and humbly.

"It's not an exaggeration to tell you that [-]% of the income of this Jiyuan restaurant comes from trafficking in goods. A trip outside the Great Wall is worth half a year's income of this restaurant!" Nan Jiyun took a sip of spirits and continued: "They're going to take a short trip to Wuwei in a while, and you can be a bodyguard with them!"

"Ah!" Li Kuo jumped up in shock. He never thought that Big Brother Nan came to him to protect the caravan.Not to mention that there has never been a precedent for the army to serve as bodyguards for businessmen, even if there are examples to follow, what will Marshal Ge Shuhan say?

"Brother Nan, now I am a member of the Hexi Army, and there are rules and regulations in everything I do. I'm afraid..."

"Hey!" Nan Jiyun interrupted the young man with a wave of his hand, and said, "The rules and regulations are not all made by people, besides, this is what His Majesty meant."

"Your Majesty!" Li Kuo's face was already pale. He really didn't understand why a small caravan could lead to such disputes.

Looking around for a week, seeing that there was no one else but the two of us, Nan Jiyun lowered his voice and said, "Actually, Brother Nan, I am also a hermit! This time, I will let you know that you have passed the examination and officially become a hermit." .”

boom!The boy's mind went blank.Brother Nan, a hermit?I also became a hermit?

Seeing the young man's surprised face, Nan Jiyun shrugged his shoulders: "What's so strange about this, the hermit is His Majesty's mouthpiece, and it is everywhere. To tell you the truth, the shopkeeper of this building is also a hermit from my Tang Dynasty. But everyone’s identities are different, and the division of labor and responsibilities are different!”

"So, I have become a hermit? This time the bodyguard is His Majesty's will?" The young man shook his head suddenly, trying to make himself more sober.

"Yes, you have become a hermit. During the one-month assessment period of the military camp, you performed very well, and His Majesty is very satisfied! This action should not be made public. Ge Shuhan Jiedu will return to Hexi in a few days to deal with urgent military affairs. Take a few hundred soldiers and leave the capital." Nan Jiyun looked at the young man with a half-smile, which was unpredictable.

The young man tried his best to calm down the doubt in his heart, and connected the clues together.It seems that starting from the polo match is an assessment of oneself?The knighthood of the polo game, the leader training in the Shence Army, and the battle to become famous in the actual combat exercise are all part of the assessment. It turns out that I am under the control and gaze of the emperor all the time!

"In order not to attract people's attention, only you Suzaku are the bodyguards this time. In other words, you have the right to decide what happens on the road!" Nan Jiyun thought about it for a while and finally confessed his worries frankly.

"Yes, but I told my mother and Ah Tian that they will leave Hexi next year. This, how should I explain this." The young man hurriedly argued.

"Still thinking about what to do with these troublesome things. Your Majesty values ​​it. It is a blessing you have cultivated in several lifetimes. The dart pressing this time is just a cover. You have to remember that the slower you walk on the way to Hexi, the better. We need to find out the origin of a ballad called 'Luo Shu Jue'!" Nan Jiyun gave the young man an arm around his neck and said angrily.

"Luo Shu Jue?" Li Kuo asked suspiciously, this matter came too suddenly, and he was not prepared at all.

"Well. A few days ago, a nursery rhyme called Luoshu Jue came from Longyou and Hexi generations." After thinking for a while, Nan Jiyun read it in a low voice: "Luoshu is present, Central Plains is calamity; Buddha Zun breaks his fast, and the two capitals fall. Five buckets of rice go into Shambhala, and the flames burn melons, Liangshan and rivers change!" (Note 2)

Li Kuo frowned and said displeasedly, "This nursery rhyme is so arrogant!"

"Didn't you notice that there are many Buddhist monks from Tubo in Chang'an City recently?" Nan Jiyun tapped his fingers, and the eyes in his eyes became more and more serious: "Don't be idle these days, check these more The origin of the Buddhist monks in Tubo. Pretending to be ghosts, pretending to be mysterious. I don’t believe in any scriptures and prophecies, and these strange things can fool ignorant believers!”

Tubo monks, Longyou Hexi, five buckets of rice, Shambhala... What does this series of nouns represent in one place?What amazing secret is hidden behind this Luoshu formula?Li Kuo only felt that the burden on his shoulders was very heavy, very heavy.

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Note 1: Wuwei: Wuwei was the capital of Hexi in the Tang Dynasty.Because it is located at the throat of the Hexi Corridor and the only way of the Silk Road, Wuwei was very grand in the Tang Dynasty.There is a poem that says: "There are hundreds of thousands of houses in seven miles of Liangzhou, and the barbarian half-plays the pipa", which can be seen from this.

Note 2: Luoshu: Luoshu was called Guishu in ancient times. It is said that a tortoise came out of Luoshui, and there was this image on its carapace.Legend has it that when Luoshu appeared, the world changed.

ps: Liuyun wrote this chapter for almost 4 hours, please give me some encouragement.

Is the rhythm much faster, is it cool?Liuyun does what he says!