Jinyi Night Walk

Yanshan is a natural dividing line between the two major ethnic groups of the Shi Dynasty, the farming and animal husbandry. The north of the mountain is the grassland of the nomadic people, and the south of the mountain is the field of the farming people. Therefore, Yanshan has become a natural defense line for the farming people to defend against the invasion of nomadic peoples. Later, farming The empire built city walls along the mountains, and built pass gates at important valley passages to facilitate entry and exit. This is the Great Wall.

Some of the passes on the Great Wall are well-known, such as Juyongguan, Gubeikou, Lulongsai..." There are also some lesser-known ones, such as Liujiakou. Liujiakou is a mountain pass across Yanshan Mountain, and there is a river Passing through here, so when the Great Wall passed here, a water pass was built here to allow the river to pass through.

Shuiguan is an arch made of bricks and stones, which can be used by pedestrians, but because the main reason for building here is to facilitate the passage of rivers, the roads on both sides are narrow and rugged, and are not used as common passages for people and horses to enter and exit, so the reputation is not obvious. There are not many people here.

Xia Xun and Sai Hazhi passed through Yanshan from Xifengkou, and after inquiring from the jujube dealer who used to go in and out of the fortress that there was another fortress here that was not used for military purposes, they did not rush directly to Daning, but first The detour came to Liujiakou. The sign of Liujiakou pass was hung on the side of the pass. The two could not see it standing on the hillside outside the pass, but the whole pass building could be seen clearly.

This water-crossing building is not too big. The brick watchtower is three feet long, three feet wide, and about four feet high. There is a two-foot-high water hole under the watchtower. There are six arrow windows and several shop houses on the walls on both sides. Saihazhi has been in the army for more than 20 years and has rich experience. He only took a quick glance and told Xia Xun accurately that the number of troops stationed here will not exceed 120 at most.

Xia Xun said happily, "Brother Ha, what do you think of this place?"

Sai Hazhi squinted his eyes for a while, nodded and said: "The hillside here is not steep, and there are only a hundred soldiers stationed at the water pass. Although the road is difficult, it is easy to fight from the inside, but it is not easy to fight from the outside. It is very difficult, one is that the mountain road is rugged and steep, and the other is that the river is rushing down, no matter whether it is a man or a horse, it is not easy to move around."

Xia Xun nodded and said with a smile, "That's right, but it's still passable. Look at the path in the grass."

Sai Hazhi said: "Well, it should be that the soldiers stationed at the pass often go down the mountain, and the local mountain people should also pass through the pass here often. Look, my lord, there is a town not far down this slope."

Xia Xun said: "That's right, Liujiakou, hahaha, I didn't expect there to be a cave here, the road has been figured out, let's go down the mountain first, it's getting late today, let's stay in the town at the foot of the mountain temporarily, and start on the road tomorrow."

Not far from Liujiakou, there is a town, surrounded by mountains and rivers, so some people who built the Great Wall and the families of soldiers settled here one after another. The town is not big.There are hundreds of households, and at this moment, there are already curling smoke from the roofs of some of them.Sai Hazhi is a big belly man, and he felt hungry for a long time. Hearing Xia Xun's words hit his arms, he nodded quickly and said, "Sure, let's go down the mountain quickly!"

As he walked, he rubbed his stomach and said, "It's fine if you don't say it, but now that you say it, I really feel hungry. I think, even if you give me a cow now, I can swallow it."

As soon as the words fell, Gege laughed a few times, and a clear girl's voice laughed and said, "Brother Kui, I'll give you a kiss if I can catch up with him. Come on, I'm here... oh!"

A girl ran out from behind a bush, she probably didn't expect there were people on the hillside, when she saw Xia Xun and Sai Hazhi, she turned around with a cry of surprise, Xia Xun and the two felt their eyes light up , the purpose of entering is the black and beautiful eyebrows like swords entering the temples, a pair of deep autumn eyes, a high nose bridge, and red lips. In a blink of an eye, the absolutely beautiful face has turned away, and then it is just a tall and slender face. Elegant and beautiful back.

At this time, another man ran out from behind the bushes, with a strong figure, bright tiger eyes, young and vigorous, and quite handsome. He held a branch of red fruit in his hand. He was smiling, but when he saw someone on the mountain, his expression changed. After looking at Xia Xun and the others vigilantly, seeing that the two were dressed in very ordinary clothes, with shoulder bags on their shoulders, like two small businessmen, their expressions eased. This person didn't talk to Xia Xun and the others, just He walked over and put his arms around the girl's slender waist, and said softly: "It's getting late, let's go down the mountain."

The girl nodded and straightened her hair on the sideburns. Xia Xun focused her eyes and noticed that she was wearing a ring on her hand. The ring was green and clear like water. It should be emerald, emerald, priceless, But jade is the best.

Xia Xun's eyes fell on the girl's clothes again. She was dressed in a bright white Sichuan brocade jacket, a blue skirt, and the upper and lower parts of the clothes, which were somewhat Hufu style, with a small lapel, a tight waist, and a pair of skirts on her feet. The buckskin boots are very luxurious just looking at the back, Xia Xun couldn't help narrowing his eyes, and whispered: "This woman is probably a Mongolian nobleman, and she is a married woman."

At that time, women in the Central Plains did not have the habit of wearing rings, and only married women wore rings. However, many Hu people wore rings, because it also has the function of pulling fingers, which is used to pull strings and shoot arrows.Xia Xun made such a guess based on the value of the ring, her habit of wearing it, and the style of her clothing.

Sai Hazhi said: "I didn't pay attention to that little lady. I see this man's posture and gait are quite military. If I'm not mistaken, he should be in the army, at least he used to be in the army."

Xia Xun said with a smile: "It's none of your business, hang on high. Let's go down the mountain too, find a place to rest, and go to Daning tomorrow.

On the way down the mountain, they saw that the man and woman had already arrived at the foot of the mountain, and there was a carriage waiting for them at the foot of the mountain. The style of a rich family.

Xia Xun and the two followed the car from a distance, and when they arrived in the town, they wanted to find an inn to stay in. Only then did they realize that because the location of this small town was a bit remote, there were not many business travelers, so there was no inn in the town.Two people open wine to the town

The shopkeeper inquired about it, and knew that there was a family here because the owner didn't often live in the local area, so the family members who stayed behind often rented out the house to earn some extra money, so they inquired along the way.

The house of that family is quite large in the local area, but compared with many large families in the pass, it is still much cruder. When the two arrived at the door, they saw a carriage going around the side door. They thought it was the owner of the carriage. Get off the car at the main entrance and enter, because there are stone steps at the main entrance, so the carriage has to be driven into the courtyard from the side entrance.

The small villages and towns outside this pass are mostly ox carts and donkey carts. Even if there are horse carts, there are few such long carriages that can travel long distances. This long carriage is exactly the same as the carriage that Xia Xun saw when he was halfway up the mountain. , Xia Xun couldn't help thinking: "It can't be such a coincidence, could it be that the couple just lived here as well?"

The two stood poking their heads in front of the door, when an old man inside who was about to close the door saw it, he waved his hand in displeasure and said, "Go, go, what are you doing poking around in front of my house?"

Xia Xun withdrew his gaze, crossed his hands and smiled, "Uncle, we two brothers passed by here, seeing that it was already getting late, and wanted to find someone to stay overnight, please uncle.

The old man calmed down after hearing this, waved his hands and said: "Go to someone else's house, my house is not for foreigners to live in."

Sai Hazhi was a little surprised when he heard this, and said loudly: "How could this be so? I heard from the old man who sells wine in the town that your house is often rented by customers. Why did you stop doing business all of a sudden? It's not that we are not pay you money."

The old man's face tightened, he looked back, then rushed down the steps, and hurriedly said: "Keep your voice down! You two foreign guests are so ignorant, the old man is here to help the master look after the house, and occasionally make extra money , these few days

It just so happened that the master came to stay, how could the old man invite foreigners to come to the house again?Go and go, have you seen that old locust tree? The people under that tree also have vacant houses for rent. Go, go, don't cause trouble with the old man. "

Xia Xun and the two of them heard that their master was coming, so they had no choice but to turn around and walk away, but Xia Xun suddenly saw a family member in the courtyard leading a horse with its saddle unsaddled, and was lazily leading it across the road. Passing through the courtyard, the horse is very handsome,

The whole body is snow white, not a single fur, but a good horse. Xia Xun's heart moved, and he asked casually: "Uncle, your master built a house here, why doesn't he live here? Could it be that he is doing business all year round? "

The old man glared at him contemptuously, and reprimanded: "You bumpkin, you are in business, so do you mean that my master is also in business? Let me tell you, my master is an official, the chief gatekeeper of the Liujiakou Pass on the mountain. Banner Officer Liu Kui, Master Liu, usually guards the barracks, so naturally he has no time to come and live here, you go, don't let my master know!"

Xia Xun couldn't help shaking his head secretly when he heard this: "This general banner is up and down this mountain, almost equivalent to the emperor here. It is certain that he has power and power. But the salary of a general banner, even if he owns such a courtyard easy, want

It would be difficult to buy such an outfit for his woman, and I don't know how much blood he drank and how much money he ate in order to earn so much money. Lao Zhu has been greedy all his life, and he is still a snake and a rat in every corner. group! "

Xia Xun thanked the old man with emotion, and went to the house under the old locust tree he pointed out. The family really had a house for rent, but unfortunately there was only one room. Xia Xun knew that Sai Hazhi Hulu Amazing power, usually divided

They live together, they have no choice but to live in the same room at the moment, the two of them asked for some food and drink enough to sleep, Se Hazhi snored as soon as his head touched the pillow, Xia Xun pulled two pieces of cloth to stop it ears, tossing and turning

After a long time, I fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, the two left for Daning. They met a small Shanluo only half a day away from the town. Sai Hazhi took out two gold leaves from the soles of his boots, negotiated with the tribal leader for a long time, and exchanged two gold leaves. The horse came back, and the journey will be much faster this time. Xia Xun calculated the journey, and it only takes one day and one night to drive from Liujiakou to Daning City.

Although Daning City is the residence of the vassal king, because it is located outside the Great Wall, it is far inferior to the few cities that Xia Xun has visited. Compared with Qingzhou City, it is somewhat smaller, and there are few bricks and stones in the city walls, mostly loess. Only the towers and door openings are used

Brick and stone structure, the city gate is also guarded by soldiers, inspecting the herdsmen and common people entering the city, and collecting taxes. Xia Xun and Sai Hazhi got off their horses, and as the crowd was waiting patiently to enter the city, suddenly a carriage passed by and rolled into the city. Dust all the way.

Xia Xun covered his mouth and nose, turned his head and glanced to the side, and saw a few knights guarding a long carriage, heading straight for the city gate. At a glance, the carriage, horses, and entourage were all familiar. Xia Xun Can't help but move in my heart: "Can't it be such a coincidence?"

ps: I caught a cold and struggled for a long time before getting up. I couldn't get out of the line of fire with minor injuries, and I resolutely completed the task.Hmm..." I'll lie down for a while, and then write the next chapter ~ to be continued.