It is already March in the lunar calendar, and everything is already revived and full of spring. However, at this time, the city of Beijing is still dripping with ice, and the wild wind is howling and sweeping the snow all over the ground.
On the bank of the Yongding River a few miles southeast of Beijing, the bonfire in Liu Xiyao's military camp was crackling by the cold wind, but it was suppressed by the laughter and laughter of the soldiers, who were eating meat, drinking soup, and singing loudly.
The soldiers were really happy, but the commander-in-chief Liu Xiyao was forcing a smile.
Before coming to the capital, he had thought that he would be faced with all sorts of difficulties and humiliations from the imperial court, but his outlook was completely changed. He wouldn't give you anything to eat, and wouldn't let you buy anything!
He couldn't even figure out why he came to the capital for peace talks. Now that Dashun has established a country, the gang of thieves have transformed into princes and generals. Now they are enjoying the glory and wealth. Why should they suddenly surrender and be controlled by the court? If they have power, money and freedom, they can't stand it. Okay? Besides, with the current strength of Dashun Kingdom, are we still afraid of the dying court?
He couldn't figure it out, but he had to obey orders because he was loyal to Tian Jianxiu and Li Zicheng! He also believed in the miraculous military advisor Song Xiance. At the moment, he could only hope that Song Xiance could solve the food and grass problem tomorrow, otherwise he couldn't keep killing horses and eating meat.
It's just that it was too cold today. Liu Xiyao drank the wine in one gulp. When he wanted to pour it again, he found that the wine pot was empty. He couldn't help but smile bitterly. Soldiers are all greedy for wine. Besides, wine can keep out the cold, but few can drink it. , these pots were bought at high prices on the road. It is said that the court now prohibits private brewing in order to save food.
Damn it, even if we can’t get food tomorrow, we have to get some wine first. We don’t have to eat the food, but we have to drink the wine! Just as Liu Xiyao was thinking about it, the soldiers got into the tent and whispered a few words, which made him frown. Then he stood up and walked out of the tent, looked due north, and saw a fire a few miles away. The closer they got, not long after they arrived at Lixu. Judging by the light of the fire, there were at least nearly a hundred people, which meant that they were a team of several hundred people, and at this speed, they should be riding horses.
Hundreds of cavalry came late at night. What were they doing? Liu Xiyao frowned, and his men panicked, and wanted to give orders to prepare for war, but he stopped him. Although he didn't know what the other party's intention was, he definitely didn't come to kill their mothers, because there was no need to wait until now, let alone They will be given time to prepare.
This is most likely to cause trouble!
On the first day he arrived in the capital, he was teased and made things difficult by the imperial court. Liu Xiyao was very angry, so when he killed horses for meat at night, he deliberately asked the soldiers to sing joyfully to the spies who were monitoring them. Aren't you the ones who Do you want to see me make a fool of myself or see me in embarrassment? I don’t!
Just let you drink the northwest wind in the cold weather and watch me eat meat and drink soup!
This is the only thing that can make him feel happy and balanced.
However, he forgot one thing, people, bow your head when you should bow your head, and be timid when you should be timid, especially under the eaves of other people's houses, there is nothing wrong with pretending to be a grandson with your tail between your legs.
No, trouble is coming.
In fact, Liu Xiyao also knew that he might irritate the other party by being so arrogant, but he thought that it would have to be done tomorrow, and besides, how could he take revenge. As long as the talks didn't break down, even if the talks broke down, they might not kill him. , it’s just some eye drops.
I just didn't expect that the other party would be so impatient that he would come out to cause trouble in the biting cold wind in the middle of the night.
It's not because of Chang Yuxian.
Although there was no order to prepare for war, the originally high atmosphere in the military camp had disappeared. The sudden arrival of hundreds of riders frightened them, but Liu Xiyao was still able to hold on. After all, bare feet were not afraid of those wearing shoes. As long as he did not kill anyone, there was nothing else he could do. How can it be done!
So he and more than ten people stood at the camp gate to wait for each other. Two bonfires beside him were blown by the cold wind, and the flames soared into the sky. "May I ask the general why you are here late at night?" Seeing the other party slowly approaching the camp gate, he was not surrounded. Liu Xiyao felt relieved and asked first.
Jia Waixiong drove his horse forward and smiled: "I heard that there was a lot of noise in the camp. I came to see what happened, but there was trouble."
"Thank you, General." Liu Xiyao cupped his fists and handed over his hands: "Brothers, this is the first time to come to the capital. I was so happy that I made a loud noise, but the general misunderstood me. Please forgive me, general."
"If you're happy, we can't care about it, but we can't disturb the people!" Jia Waixiong snorted coldly, and Liu Xiyao frowned: "Disturbing the people? We haven't left the camp yet..."
"You're not sleeping yet, but you're still yelling so loudly this late at night, making the surrounding people frightened and unable to sleep. Isn't this called disturbing the people?" Chang Yu walked out of the shadows and looked at Liu Xiyao with a half-smile. Because the lights were dim, Liu Xiyao couldn't see. His appearance was so clear that I didn’t recognize him even if I saw him clearly, but I knew he was a young man from his voice. Seeing that he was wearing a black leather jacket instead of a soldier’s cotton uniform, I couldn’t figure out his identity for a while, so I asked in a low voice: " Who is this……"
"It doesn't matter who I am, what's important is that you are disturbing the people!" Chang Yu raised the corner of his mouth, and Liu Xiyao said quickly: "I'll let them sleep immediately..." Before he finished speaking, Chang Yu handed over a bag, and Liu Xiyao was a little agitated. Surprised, he reached out and took it from Dakai and saw that it was a small half bag of peanuts.
"I heard that you were deceived by some thieves this afternoon?"
Liu Xiyao smiled bitterly and shook his head: "The water in the capital is deep. We are new arrivals and are not familiar with the place, so we should have a long memory."
Chang Yu sighed: "These thieves are really lawless. The big thieves are rebelling, and the little thieves are crowing and dogs are stealing. Hey, they are all things that bring disaster to the country and the people, and they all deserve to die!"
Liu Xiyao's face suddenly turned red, knowing that the other party was scolding him but unable to reply. Seeing his appearance, Chang Yu didn't think much of it: "You are guests from afar, and I should do my best to show my gratitude to the landlord. However, I am shy, so I will use this rice to express my feelings."
Liu Xiyao quickly thanked him, thinking that although this person had a bad mouth, he was still good at heart. As the saying goes, courtesy is more important than kindness. If someone is extending a hand of friendship, he has to return the favor. There was really nothing he could do, so he thought for a moment and said, "It's windy outside. If the general doesn't come into the camp, eat some meat and drink some soup to keep warm."
I was thinking to myself, I guess you haven't eaten meat for a long time, maybe you just came to beat the autumn wind on purpose, so you got some peanuts to show off as souvenirs.
Unexpectedly, Chang Yu refused directly: "It's too late today, so I won't bother you. Just pay the money and we will go back. It's too cold outside here for a long time."
"Silver?" Liu Xiyao was startled.
Chang Yu coughed lightly: "The fine for disturbing the people is a hundred taels of silver, and the half bag of peanuts is also a hundred taels. You and others in the capital also know about it."
Warnema!
Liu Xiyao was shaking uncontrollably. Even he couldn't tell whether he was cold or angry. These people were so disgusting that they came here in the middle of the night to extort money. It was so deceptive!
Not to mention that selling the half bag of peanuts for a hundred taels is simply robbery, and the act of disturbing the people is even more nonsense. There are no villages in this wilderness for miles, not even a wild dog to disturb anyone.
Not only him, but the confidants around him were also trembling with anger. Some people stared angrily while others slowly reached out to hold the handle of the knife.
But Chang Yu still had a smile on his face: "If you don't have enough money on hand, you can pay for it with horses. Two hundred and twenty horses will do. We are all honest people and the price is fair."
Liu Xiyao's face turned purple, maybe from the cold or from anger, but he didn't say anything. Jia Waixiong raised his eyebrows: "What's the matter? Look, this means you are going to default on your debt. Hey, you are trying to be a rogue at the emperor's feet." As soon as he finished speaking The brothers from the Black Panther Battalion behind them dispersed.
Liu Xiyao came to his senses at the words of the emperor. He coughed and tried to force out a smile: "There is no cheating in cash transactions, and we are willing to be punished for disturbing the people." After saying this, he asked his men to get the silver.
Chang Yu stopped laughing and looked at Liu Xiyao quietly. This man was really tolerant, but he was also a figure: "The water in the capital is deep, and your identity is sensitive. In order to ensure your safety, there is an order from above that you are not allowed to go out at will starting from tomorrow." There is a three-mile radius, if there is any violation, I’m afraid it will be bad.”
Demarcate the ground as a prison!
Liu Xiyao's heart was filled with rage. The other party wanted to trap him within three miles, unable to move. In this case, if the military division could not solve the problem of food and grass tomorrow, he would probably have to kill horses.
"We obey the order." Liu Xiyao cupped his hands, then took the silver from his subordinates and walked to Jia Waixiong: "General, can you order a few?" Jia Waixiong stretched out his hand to take it and weighed it: "It won't be less."
"If you lose one point, I will compensate you twice as much," Liu Xiyao said calmly.
Jia Waixiong glanced sideways at Chang Yu. Chang Yu let out a hey and turned the horse's head!
Liu Xiyao at the gate of the camp watched Chang Yu and his entourage leave, his face became ferocious, his fists clenched with veins, and several of his men cursed in a low voice: "General, they are blackmailing people so much, is it possible that we will continue to be beaten by them?" Such an insult?"
"Today's humiliation will be repaid twice as much in the future." Liu Xiyao gritted his teeth, and then snorted coldly: "But to be honest, if we had changed our identities, we might have gone further than them!"
After saying that, he turned around and was about to return to the camp, but suddenly found that the group of people had turned back again. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and thought to himself, is it really necessary to force them to draw their swords?
