"Report..."
While several people were chatting happily, a frontline scout came to report: "To inform my lord, the enemy has camped seventy miles away from here."
"Stop? It shouldn't be!" Cai Yong put down his bowl and chopsticks: "My lord, He Jin is chasing us with an army of more than 100,000 people. Why has he stopped now? What on earth is this reckless man going to do?"
Liu Yan thought for a moment and then smiled: "Haha, it should be Zhou Lin who led the Black Dragon Guards and killed many of their generals. Which crossbow arrows in our army are different from ordinary bows and arrows. They are so powerful that they can easily penetrate the enemy in five hundred steps." The body of the army, and Zhou Lin and others were hidden in the mountains and forests, so they were shot without being seen. At this time, the enemy's army was unstable and could only stop repairs."
Zhao Yun had a deep understanding of the power of the compound bow and sighed: "Yes, those crossbow arrows of my lord are really scary. I checked the bodies of my subordinates who died in battle on the mountain. Basically, they were shot to death by one arrow. It penetrates through the chest and exits through the back, and even armor cannot stop it."
Cai Yong said: "My lord, since He Jin has already set up camp, why don't we take this opportunity to go south. Even if He Jin continues to lead his army to pursue and kill for a while, it will be difficult to get out of camp."
Liu Yan also thought of this, but going down the mountain rashly was extremely risky, so he looked at Zhao Yun and asked: "Zilong, you have been here for a long time and know the surrounding area better. Can you tell me whether it is better for us to continue to hold on and wait for help?" Let’s take the opportunity to go south.”
Zhao Yun suddenly became serious when asked by Liu Yan. This was the first time he had done something since he surrendered. He did not dare to be careless at all. After thinking carefully, he replied: "My lord, although Hutou Mountain is a dangerous place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack, this It is surrounded by mountains for hundreds of miles, and there are deep ravines and canyons everywhere, which is not conducive to large army operations. If we are besieged here by He Jin's army of more than 100,000 people, even if our reinforcements arrive, it will be difficult to act. In this mountain, even a hundred people It’s hard to find a place to carry out the battle. When the time comes, He Jin will surround us and our reinforcements will surround them.”
"However, we are going deep alone, but He Jin is not the same. He is the general of the dynasty and is in charge of the world's troops. He can continuously mobilize troops from Luoyang and its surrounding counties to rush for reinforcements. By then, we will be defeated by him. Attacked from two sides, we are under attack from both sides."
"We now have about 10,000 soldiers and horses including the people on my mountain, so... What I mean is to go and set up camp while we can. We left one soldier and horse to confuse He Jin. The lord led a large army to go south, which is two hundred meters away from here. There is a mountain there called Funiu Mountain. I visited this mountain two years ago when I traveled with my master. Wherever we advance, we can attack, retreat, or defend. We can go there first. If He Jin stops chasing us, we can pass through Funiu Mountain. Back to Jingzhou, if He Jin continues to pursue him, we can have a decisive battle with him at the foot of Funiu Mountain."
Zhao Yun's words made Liu Yan nod his head repeatedly: "Okay, okay, Zi Longguo has the talent of a general. I saw you right, so let's do this."
"Commander, immediately go to the front line to deliver the order, ordering Zhou Lin to leave 500 Black Dragon Guards and lead 4,000 surrender troops to continue to block the enemy. Bring all the rest back and we will set off south."
"As commanded."
"Zilong, Mr. Cai, you go and prepare immediately. We will set off in half an hour to meet Zhou Lin."
"yes."
Although there was a lot of money and food in Hutoushan, they needed to march in a hurry, so Zhao Yun lost a lot of things. Everyone packed lightly and packed up in a short time.
Liu Yan couldn't bear to see Zhao Yun limping when he walked, so he persuaded him: "Zilong, you have an injury on your leg. Let the sergeant make a stretcher to carry you down the mountain. There is a stretcher we discarded not far from here. Carriage, you can take the carriage and go when the time comes.”
Zhao Yun turned over and got on the horse's back. He held up his hands and refused: "Thank you for your kindness, my lord. As a martial arts practitioner, how can Zhao Yun, a seven-foot man, ride in a car? This small injury will not be a problem. He can even lead the troops in battle at this moment!"
Seeing this, Liu Yan had no choice but to give up!
Zhao Yun led his men to take the lead and act as the vanguard. Liu Yan and Cai Yong lived at home, and the Black Dragon Guards were responsible for breaking up the rear. They worked non-stop all the way, and finally arrived at Funiu Mountain at around midnight in the afternoon.
On the way up the mountain, Liu Yan had been observing the topography of Funiu Mountain. Indeed, as Zhao Yun said, this place is indeed a dangerous pass.
Marching to the middle of the mountain, I suddenly heard the sound of the piano. In this era, if you can hear the sound of the piano in some famous mountains and rivers, it means that there must be an expert living in seclusion in the mountains.
Liu Yan ordered Zhou Lin to lead the large army to continue on the road, while he took Cai Yong, Zhao Yun and dozens of guards to search for the sound of the piano.
A hundred meters ahead, a sea of bamboo appeared in front of me. In the bamboo forest, there was a thatched cottage with smoke curling up from the cooking stove. The sound of the piano came from that thatched cottage.
Liu Yan stopped outside the door and listened carefully, sometimes nodding and sometimes shaking his head.
"What a pity, what a pity!"
Seeing this, Cai Yong asked in confusion: "My lord, what's the pity for?"
"Haha, this tune is a good tune, and the piano used can be called a rare treasure. Such a beautiful tune, such a cherished treasure, but the person who plays them is not good at playing the piano. , isn’t this a pity?”
"Let's go...there's no need to listen."
Cai Yong heard this and retorted: "But my lord, it sounds good to me. This person's piano skills are better than many masters I know who are proficient in piano skills."
Zhao Yun also said: "Yes, Lord, I think Mr. Cai is right. This person's piano skills are indeed good, at least much better than my master."
Seeing the two of them acting like this, Liu Yan shook his head and said with a smile: "Haha, the sound of the piano is really refreshing when you first hear it. It sounds like a breeze blowing on your face, but after listening carefully, it is not difficult to find that there are deficiencies in many syllables. However, this person's piano skills are much worse than Wuyou's."
Among the skills that were rewarded to Liu Yan before the system collapsed were the extraordinary and holy piano skills, and the few talent pills he received were also given to brother and sister Qin Wuyou and Qin Wushang to take one each. Her talent has undergone earth-shaking changes. In addition, Qin Wuyou has been with Liu Yan all year round and received guidance from Liu Yan every day. After three or four years, her chess, calligraphy and painting have already surpassed the master level.
Liu Yan's words made Cai Yong and Zhao Yun look at each other in confusion, so Cai Yong asked: "May I ask my lord, who is this Wuyou? I know many literati and scholars who live in seclusion, how come I have never heard of this Wuyou? He must be a rare great sage in the world who can deserve such a high reputation from my lord. It would be a pity not to pay a visit to such a person. I wonder if my lord can recommend him to me?"
Hearing Cai Yong's words, Liu Yan laughed and said: "Haha, I can help you with the introduction, as long as you don't find her annoying when the time comes. Let me tell you, that girl is very noisy. As long as she is around, I won't be able to live a day." It’s pure.”
"Girl? Could it be a girl?"
Liu Yan smiled and said: "Yes, she is the granddaughter of my housekeeper. She is nine years old this year. She has been studying piano, chess, calligraphy and painting with me for four years. Her current piano skills are much better than those in this house."
"That's a big breath of air."
As soon as Liu Yan finished speaking, an angry shout came from the hut, the door opened, and a man in his forties or fifties wearing a blue robe walked out. He casually glanced at Liu Yan and his group and said, "I see how old you are. He is no more than ten years old. At such a good age, if he does not learn poetry or etiquette, why should he learn to be such an arrogant person?"
"presumptuous."
When the guard on the side saw him scolding Liu Yan like this, he suddenly became furious. With a clang, he drew out the long sword from his waist and prepared to strike him with the sword.
"Back off."
Liu Yan yelled at the guard, but the old man was not afraid when he saw this. Instead, he laughed and said: "Look at it, the upper beam is out of alignment and the lower beam is crooked. The master is arrogant, and the people under his command are even more arrogant than the master."
Seeing him like this, Liu Yan was not angry. He cupped his hands and said, "What do you mean by this? I don't know why I am so arrogant. Please give me some advice."
"Oh, I'm not boasting. My piano skills have few rivals among my peers. But Shigacai said that I am not as good as a little kid who has been studying with you for only a few years. Isn't such a arrogant statement? "
Liu Yan cupped his hands and said, "I have been rude just now. Please forgive me. However, I am not exaggerating. The music I played just now is indeed good. The sound is beautiful and the artistic conception is profound. It's just that the processing of the syllables is a bit messy." shortcomings.”
"Oh... In that case, Shishi's piano skills must be extremely extraordinary. If this is the case, then I wonder if Shishi dares to compete with me?"
"If you win, I will give you the precious harp. That harp is the one used by Duke Huan of Qi. It is called the bell. It is a rare treasure in the world. If you lose, I will not embarrass you. You can Just serve me as a slave in my thatched cottage for three years. How dare you challenge me if you don't know where to start?"
Liu Yan thought for a while and said, "Since I have such a good taste, I am naturally willing to play games with me."
"However, you still need to report your name when you fight in front of the battle. Today's meeting between you and me at the Thatched Cottage will surely become a good story. How about we report our names first?"
The old man frowned when he heard this, and said coldly: "Ha! You don't have to go to such trouble to find out my name. It's okay to tell you. My surname is Hu, my name is Zhao, and my courtesy name is Kongming."
The words of the father-in-law stirred up a storm in Liu Yan's heart. He remembered some historical records from his previous life. This was a ridiculous edict. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were two great wizards in the world. Both of them were named Kong Ming. One was Zhuge Liang, and the other was Zhuge Liang. It was this Hu Zhao. Even Sima Yi, who was as talented as Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period, was his disciple. His intelligence even surpassed Zhuge Liang. It is said that Zhuge Liang took the name Kong Ming because he admired Hu Zhao too much.
Such a great talent is right in front of you. If you don't take him under your command, you will really regret it for the rest of your life.
Although he knew the origin of Hu Zhao, Liu Yan did not dare to show any abnormality for fear of shocking the other party.
Pretending to be casual, he cupped his hands and said, "My surname is Liu Mingyan, and my courtesy name is Yuanqi. I have met Mr. Kong Ming."
Hu Zhao laughed loudly after hearing this: "Hahahahaha, why are you so frivolous at such a young age? It turns out that you are a person with the surname of the emperor, but you don't know which branch of the royal family you belong to?"
Liu Yan cupped his hands and said: "Lao Hu is serious. Although I have the surname Liu, I am not of royal blood. I am alone without a father or a mother."
Hu Zhao flicked his sleeves: "That's all, your name has nothing to do with me. Since you have accepted the appointment, please go ahead and follow me into the house for a fight."
"Mr. Hu, wait a minute!" Liu Yan stopped Hu Zhao who was about to turn around and enter the room. A trace of displeasure appeared on the latter's face: "What, don't you dare to do it anymore? If you don't dare to do it, then you can do it here. I have been a slave for three years, and the bamboo shoots are now fresh. You go dig some and bring them back to me to serve with wine in the evening. Also, your servants are not allowed to stay here. I like peace and quiet."
The corner of Liu Yan's mouth twitched when he heard this. The old man was quite confident in his feelings, so he explained: "Mr. Hu misunderstood. It's not that I don't dare. It's just that the conditions you mentioned have to be changed. That's not fair."
Hu Zhao frowned and said, "Then tell me, what is unfair about the conditions I proposed?"
"What Mr. Hu just said, if I lose, I will become a slave to you, and if you lose, you just give me a piano. Although the guqin is good, how can it be compared with others."
"Since it is a bet, it should be fair, just and open. So what I mean is that if I lose, I will be a slave to Mr. Hu for the rest of my life. But if I am lucky enough to win Mr. Hu, then I ask Mr. Hu to devote himself to me from now on. It’s fair to serve under my command.”
Hu Zhao thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "What you said makes some sense. In that case, I agree. If I lose, then what if I become your master."
The two entered the room one after another, and after some pushing, Hu Zhao took the lead in playing. Whenever there was a flaw in the playing, Liu Yan would correct it. Hu Zhao also played smoother and smoother, making rapid progress.
At the end of the song, Hu Zhao pressed the strings with both hands to stop the sound. He stood up, straightened his clothes, walked to Liu Yan and suddenly knelt down with his hands in front of Liu Yan. He shouted: "Sir, your piano skills have become extraordinary and holy. I give up. I'm here, Hu." Zhao, pay homage to the lord!"
At this time, Liu Yan, who was ecstatic in his heart, hurriedly pulled him up, walked out of the house hand in hand, and asked the guards to bring a horse for Hu Zhao to ride on.
The horses of the Black Dragon Guard were all awarded to Liu Yan by the system. The horses were black and shiny, without a single hair on their bodies. They were more than two meters tall at the shoulders. Hu Zhao reached out to hold the horses and couldn't help but caress them. He kept praising in his mouth: "The divine horse, the divine horse! That fool didn't lie to me."
"Sir! What are you talking about? Who didn't lie to you?"
"Hahahaha, you can't say it, you can't say it! Hahahaha!"
