When the early morning mist gradually dissipated, the iron-gray sky that had accumulated all night began to be blurred by the faint glow of the morning sun. The torrential rain that had fallen in Jiankang City for more than ten days showed signs of stopping for the first time...
In the hazy drizzle, the two-mile-long royal road between Taicheng's Grand Sima Gate and the capital's main gate, Xuanyang Gate, is lined with court offices and residential buildings on both sides, extending neatly to the corner tower of Zhuque Gate in the outer city, until the tall The Wengcheng appeared in the thin morning mist in the rain, and the majestic city on the Qinhuai River finally showed its true face.
Looking from Zhoushan in the north to Hualin in the city, dozens of wide and long streets and walls neatly divide the Beicheng Taicheng that you can see into cities of the same size and shape, just like the streets in the night sky The stars are so dotted that it has to be amazing!
"At five o'clock in the morning, ring the bell and open the city!"
From the Bell and Drum Towers came the prayers of the watchman striking the bronze bells, and then the long sound of the bronze bells began to spread from the tower to inside and outside the city. When the cocks croaked and the dogs barked, the east was white.
In the Jin Dynasty, at five o'clock in the Xu period, the evening drum was beaten to close the city to prevent all traffic; at five o'clock in the Yin period, the morning bell was sounded, the city was opened, and the ban was released.
The sergeant on duty guarding the city gate wiped his sleepy eyelids, and in twos and threes, he was working together to swing the heavy iron hinge of the door shaft, and then raised the thick door bolt, when the dull black city gate was pushed open with a creaking sound. , the strong wind and rain did not have time to pass through the city gate and poured on the armor of the soldiers. Several old soldiers pushed open the city gate with half-closed eyes and spat out the rainwater that blew into their mouths, complaining trivially about the bad weather.
Not long after, the sound of rapid horse hooves rang not far from the city gate, breaking the melody of the patter of rain. Feeling the sudden vibration under their feet, the sergeants all opened their eyes wide and kept craning their necks to look around!
This is the capital of the Jin Dynasty. Who dares to ride a horse and break through?
Looking closely, a group of knights dressed as frontier soldiers were galloping towards the city from the northeast of the city! After a long and eye-catching neighing sound, the horse's hooves sank into the puddle in the mud and immediately splashed up a series of water droplets suspended in the mid-air where dust and air intersected, and then returned to the mud again.
The first big man in the procession was a middle-aged sergeant who was about forty years old. His face, which had been eroded by wind, frost, rain and snow, was very rough, covered with deep ravines and ravines over time. His thick mustache had already covered his jaws and chin. There was only a pair of eyes above the tall bridge of the nose that gathered all the energy of the body. They were deep and clear, as if they were hiding something that they couldn't bear to reveal.
The more than ten cavalry sergeants accompanying them have all been through battles in northern Xinjiang and have been tempered. Their eyes are firm and unaffected by this gloomy weather. The suffering of the frontier army is all in this. It is inevitable to say that this is a branch that has been tempered by blood and fire. The army of refinement!
Looking back, the leading man frowned, carrying a well-sealed two-foot wooden box behind him. He thought it was an emergency report from the border. Looking up, there was also a red feather, no wonder it was so urgent!
The caller used a wooden slip as a writing, two inches long, and used it as a summons. If there is an urgent matter, a bird feather will be inserted into it to show speed, which is called a feather calligraphy.
To the north of the Jin Dynasty is the vast and lush fertile land of the Central Plains. A large river divides the vast world into two, creating a confrontation between north and south.
The Huru in the north and Jiangzuo were enemies of each other. The Hu wanted to go south and devour the land south of the Yangtze River. The wise people of Jin thought about the northern expedition to the Central Plains and regained the old capital. Therefore, the wars between the two directions were chaotic and the war was endless. .
I don’t know how many soldiers of the Hu people and Han people fell under the border city. I don’t know how many innocent souls who died in the wars were buried under the large wheat fields with good growth. I don’t know how many innocent souls died in the wars were buried under the ditches that irrigated the fertile fields that flowed day and night. I don’t know how much blood was spilled!
"What are you doing here in such a daze? Can't you see it's Hong Ling Yu Xi? Let people enter the city quickly!" The captain of the city gate held his saber tightly in one hand, and with big yellow teeth, he exploded at the sergeants who pushed open the city gate on both sides. Swearing, he strode aside to help. When the knights were approaching the city gate, the gate happened to be open. The group of people didn't say much. The leader only arched his horse towards the city gate captain.
"Urgent border report!"
The latter did not respond and quickly asked the city gate Sima to take the horses from the nearby post station. The city gate captain looked at the rushing frontier troops, and a trace of worry flashed in his eyes. To the north, could it be Feishui...
Jiankang, overturned Xie'an's villa in Zhoushan.
The Xie Mansion is very quiet, so quiet that you can hear the sound of Xie An and Zhang Xuanzhi playing chess in the study.
"Thank you, Prime Minister, for this move..."
Shi Wang Xianzhi, the head of General Wei's office, was wearing white silk trousers and a woven and embroidered fake bell cloak. He was sitting on a bench watching the chess game.
At this time, Yang Tan, the middleman who was wearing a green mouse fur, immediately interrupted him: "Hey! Zijing, you are a true gentleman watching chess without saying a word. Don't talk nonsense!"
After being scolded by Yang Tan, Wang Xianzhi could only sip the fragrant tea and watch the battle silently.
The chess game has been placed on the main table. Prime Minister Xie An is holding the black piece, with a calm expression, as if he has the pearl of wisdom in his hand. On the other hand, Zhang Xuanzhi, the Minister of Staff, is hesitant to hold the white piece.
At first glance, you can see the black and white pieces strangling each other in a confusing manner. On the surface, the white pieces occupy the majority, but in fact they are guarding the outside and leaving the inside weak, with strong branches and weak trunks. Looking more closely, although most of the sunspots are scattered outside, they are gathered at the eight major stars with a vague intention of siege. The Tianyuan occupied by the whites has been cut off from the outside. It is tightly surrounded by the sunspots and has become a rootless duckweed. !
Suddenly, there was a whirling sound of clothes outside the study. Wang Xianzhi and Yang Tan couldn't help but get up when they heard the noise, and hurried to the window to look down.
I saw a row of tall, well-dressed women walking from the Luo Hua Shui Pavilion in the back garden. These women wore three or four different styles of buns on their heads, including double-ring buns, ginseng buns, and yellow buns. , each with gold or silver branch hairpins, jade hairpins, and silver-inlaid chains and pearl pendants hanging on the earlobes and on the front of the snow-white neck. At this time, Zheng Lian walked lightly, with a lot of flowers along the way. The waistband is ringed with jingles, and the robes fluttering under the skirt are very eye-catching.
It turns out that Prime Minister Xie An has always been a romantic man, and without telling his wife Liu, he keeps nearly a hundred beautiful singers in Fuzhoushan Villa. At this time, they are accompanying Xie An's niece, the talented Xie Daoyun.
Xie Daoyun married Wang Ningzhi, the son of the famous scholar Wang Xizhi, but Wang Ningzhi was obsessed with the Five Pecks of Rice Cult and wanted to become an immortal. Xie Daoyun felt that her husband was cowardly and had no talent, so she came to her uncle Xie An's villa in anger.
Xie An was very fond of his niece, who was as talented as a catkin blowing in the wind, and naturally he would not refuse anyone who came.
Wang Xianzhi drooled from the corner of his mouth. He didn't know if he was looking at his sister-in-law or the singers. When he looked back and looked back at the two of them playing chess, Yang Tan saw through it. He quickly wiped the saliva and ignored it. He ignored Yang Tan's sneer and instead observed Xie An carefully. He really admired the Prime Minister's calmness and composure.
Wang Xianzhi originally heard that his second brother and his sister-in-law were not getting along, so he came to mediate, but in the end he failed to persuade his second sister-in-law to return, and he lingered in Xie's house in Fuzhoushan for nearly half a month!
"Master, someone is coming from the north." Not long after, the sound of steward Xie Yong's hurried footsteps came from outside.
When Xie An heard the sound, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes. He didn't pay attention immediately, and the housekeeper didn't say anything anymore. He just stood outside and waited for questioning.
In the room, Zhang Xuanzhi, who was sitting opposite Xie An, was in a mess at the moment, his forehead was covered with dense beads of sweat, and the chess pieces in his hand were unsteady.
For a long time, Zhang Xuanzhi could only be heard sighing, "Da da..." After a few sounds, the number one chess player in Jiangzuo actually surrendered to the prime minister Xie An, who had always been his loser!
"Hahaha..." Xie An picked up the silk handkerchief prepared by Yang Tan and wiped his hands before calling the housekeeper in.
"Master, this is the message from my fifth uncle."
Yang Tan took the secret letter from the steward Xie Yong and carefully handed it to his uncle Xie An.
Xie An is the current head of the Xie family in Chen County, and his fifth uncle is Xie An’s fifth brother. Xie Shi is also the commander-in-chief of the expedition in the battle of Feishui on the front line!
After hearing the battle report sent from the front line, even Wang Xianzhi began to stare at the secret message in Xie An's hand.
"Has Hong Ling Yu Xi been sent to the palace?" Xie An asked slowly and slowly while carefully reading the content of the letter, not caring at all that Yang Tan was standing behind him and peeping.
"Master, I've already ordered someone to deliver it. This is a letter from home, so I don't dare to delay sending it to the master for review, so that the master can feel at ease as soon as possible."
Before he finished speaking, Yang Tan glanced sideways at Xie Yong and thought to himself: This old guy is quite discerning, and he actually saw it!
"Thank you, Prime Minister, how is the fighting over at Feishui?" Now even Zhang Xuanzhi, the Minister of Civil Service, could not hold back his curiosity.
Xie An smiled slightly and handed the secret letter to Zhang Xunzhi. He took on a crane cloak and stood up. Before leaving, he said, "Young man will break the thief."
Yang Tan stood up and put on his clogs and had not walked a few steps when he heard a "click" sound coming from the front. He raised his head and saw that it was his uncle, Prime Minister Xie An, who had broken the heel of the clogs!
"Uncle's divine power!"
Xie An, who saw the flaw, quickly made a gesture of silence. Yang Tan picked up a new pair of clogs from outside, trotted over with three steps at a time and put them on for his uncle.
"You child, you are almost 30 years old and you have become a father, yet you still speak so freely, like a three-year-old."
"In my uncle's eyes, Tan will always be a child who won't grow up."
In the study, after Xie An just left a gentle word and left, Wang Xianzhi hurriedly got close to Zhang Xuanzhi...
