Although the process of this negotiation was tortuous, the ending was satisfactory.
After Aguda gave the banquet, Cao Cao and Hu Yanqing supported Ma Zheng and slowly walked out of the imperial city.
It’s not that he was drunk because of his greed for wine, but when Lao Cao was violent, Ma Zheng and Hu Yanqing shared their anger and each overturned several cases——
After all, Hu Yanqing was able to survive the beating, but Ma Zheng had thin skin and tender flesh, and no martial arts skills. This kick was purely based on stupid strength, how could he land it well?
At that time, his heart was racing. Although he felt a pain in the instep of his foot, he didn't care about it. Later, the two sides were at war with each other. He was nervous for a while, but he didn't notice it. It wasn't until the banquet was given that everyone relaxed, drank and joked. Ma Zhengfang felt that the foot was gradually hurting. After getting up, it wasn't long before the pain was unbearable. I managed to endure it until the end of the banquet. When I stood up and took a step, I yelled "Ah". My eyes turned black and tears flowed down my face. How could I still take one step?
But it was Aguda who saw this and called the imperial doctor for diagnosis and treatment. Looking at her legs, her feet were already swollen like steamed buns. The imperial doctor said that the bones in the arch of the feet were broken. Fortunately, the Jurchen doctor had a unique way of treating such injuries even if nothing else could be done. at. The imperial doctor first made a plaster of tiger bone, musk and other good medicines for external application, and then mixed deer fetus ointment, bear bile powder, and pangolin powder with hot rice wine for oral administration. The bear bile had an excellent analgesic effect. In a short time, he was able to walk with help. .
Ma Zheng was helped away by Cao Cao's two men. He felt that he was in a state of embarrassment and had greatly damaged the country. Unexpectedly, Aguda and others were talking about him behind his back: "That Doctor Ma is obviously a useless and courageous rotten scholar. However, Wu Zhi stood up and fought with me." When there was a fight, he actually dared to respond, which shows that the theory that Song people were weak may not be true. When it came to the point of juncture, even those scholars dared to fight hard."
Ma Zheng and others left the imperial city and immediately packed up, waiting for the envoys of the Kingdom of Jin to be fully prepared so that both parties could set off.
Three days later, the team set off, and everyone said goodbye after drinking. In addition to the followers led by Ma Zheng and Hu Yanqing, the Dengzhou sergeants and six Lin Chong also went on the road together. Only Cao Cao and more than ten brothers stayed in Huining. The government is the quality.
After that, for many days, Aguda held a small banquet on three days and a large banquet on five days. He gave pearls to the horse and gold to the horse. They treated each other very generously.
Lao Cao took advantage of this, and couldn't help but think of the past when he wanted to regain Guan Yunchang with kindness. While feeling sad, he also found it funny——
This is the reincarnation of the world and the unhappiness of retribution. I treated Yunchang back then, no less than the Emperor of Jin treats me today. However, Yunchang cherishes the feelings of friendship in Taoyuan. He is in my camp and his heart is with Liu Bei. Now the Jin Emperor wants to recruit me, but he doesn't know that I have the ambition to revitalize the Han family. Isn't it true that I am also in the north and my heart is in Qingzhou?
Haha, in my previous life, I failed to draw water from a bamboo basket. How can I experience this on my own?
Thinking of this, his homesickness became more intense, but he was afraid of running away too early. A Guda really became suspicious of his identity, and then sent people to catch up with Ma Zheng and others. Wouldn't it be a mistake in his life?
So I forced myself to be patient and stayed until late May.
At this time, Lao Cao had been living in Jinguo Ning Mansion for more than a month. Calculating the time, it would be two thousand miles before the envoy left, and it would be difficult for the Jin people to catch up with them.
On the night of May 20th, Cao Cao returned from a banquet at Aguda. He gathered all his brothers and sent Shi Qian to watch on the roof. He discussed with everyone: "Have you ever explored the geography of this place during these days? Now that we want to go, which way should we return?"
Xu Guanzhong hurried back to his room to get the picture of flying birds, and spread it out on the table. Cao Cao looked around and saw that the many blank spaces around Huining Mansion were now filled with detailed drawings of mountains and rivers.
Then I heard Xu Guanzhong say: "For more than a month, all the brothers have inquired around, and all the information they have collected has been collected in my place. After careful consideration and deletion, I drew a picture. Brother, please see, if you follow the original path, it will be thousands of miles away. They all belong to the Jurchens, if he sends troops to pursue them, it will be difficult to escape."
Cao Cao smiled and said: "This is natural, but judging from Guan Zhong's expression, he must have some clever tips to teach me."
Xu Guanzhong raised his eyebrows and smiled, pointing to the location of Huining Mansion: "This Huining Mansion is where we are. The mountain to the east is called Mulingwoji Ridge. In Jurchen language, it means old forest. This ridge is the remnant of Changbai Mountain. More than thirty miles south of Huining Mansion, there is Flagpole Ridge. This place is surrounded by mountains and is a place where Jurchens raise horses. We only went here in the name of watching horses. All the brothers took the opportunity to exchange for good horses. , from the canyon to the east, across the Mulingwoji Ridge, you can reach the Mudan River. Follow this river south for more than a hundred miles, and there is a large river named Gurgling Cushui, which means Pearl River. The northern pearls produced by Jurchens are If you live there, follow this river to the east and you can enter the sea!"
Cao Cao frowned and said: "If we go from the Pearl River to the sea and then to Dengzhou, I'm afraid it's too far. We don't have a big ship, and the sea is unpredictable. If we are capsized, we will lose the whole situation."
Li Jun said with a smile: "Brother, don't worry. According to Brother Guanzhong's map, this sea is shaped like a footbath, between China and Fusang. It is almost summer now, and the south wind blows from the north. There is no danger of being blown to the deep sea. I When you happen to be traveling along the coast, you only need to go around Gaoli to reach Dengzhou."
Zhang Shun nodded and said, "As long as we are here, brother, you can rest assured."
When Cao Cao saw that the two navy generals were confident, he immediately took a picture of the map and said, "Wonderful! Since our brothers are confident, this is what they do!"
After saying that, he looked at Zhou Tong: "Brother, I will leave in just a day or two. Do you want to go with me or stay here and be a consort? You should make up your mind quickly."
Zhou Tong glared and shouted strangely: "Brother, is my younger brother one of those people who values sex over friends? We brothers share life and death together, so naturally we have to go with my brother!"
Cao Cao wondered: "Did you just give up on your princess?"
Zhou Tong smiled proudly: "If you marry a chicken, follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, follow the dog. Since Wu Lu loves me, she should naturally follow me when we return to the south!"
Luan Tingyu couldn't see how proud he was, and smacked her lips and said: "It's not sweet to force me to do anything, so don't force yourself on others."
Zhou Tong suddenly said angrily: "Empty words are always unfounded. Tomorrow, brothers, let's see what I do!"
The next day, Princess Wu Lu came to see Zhou Tong as usual. Zhou Tong was sitting lazily in the yard. Wu Lu suddenly frowned: "Mr. Zhou, why do you look unhappy?"
Zhou Tong shook his hand and sighed: "Wulu, I spend time with you every day, but my brother has been lonely for a long time. After much thought, I decided to stay in the library to accompany my brother today." "
Wu Lu smiled and said: "Silly Zhou Lang, you are so loyal. If your brother is lonely, he can just find a wife. Could it be that he looks down on my daughter from the Kingdom of Jin?"
Zhou Tong smiled bitterly and said, "Come with me and you will know at a glance."
Wu Lu followed him curiously, and the two of them turned to the backyard, but ended up at the horse gallery. Zhou Tong pointed to his green-maned horse and said, "In the past, I participated in martial arts competitions in the Song Dynasty, and defeated all the heroes in the world with a single halberd." , the emperor saw that I was brave, and gave him a special horse. Over the years, it has accompanied me on the battlefield, just like my own brother. Now that I have you, it is still alone. Seeing it, it makes me sad. .”
Wu Lu opened her mouth in surprise, and after a while, two tears suddenly welled up from the corners of her eyes, and she was moved and said: "I didn't expect Zhou Lang to be so benevolent and righteous, and he was so caring towards horses. In fact, we Jurchens have always treated horses as such. As a good companion...that's all! If you want to find a companion for it, I will take you to Flagstaff Ridge today. There is a horse breeding land there, and there are no good horses. Naturally, it will find a good companion."
Zhou Tong was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately said, "If this is the case, how about taking all the horses of my brothers to play with?"
Wu Lu said boldly: "Of course it doesn't matter. If there is a horse you like, we can just change it to another one."
Zhou Tong immediately greeted Lao Cao and others, and a group of people pretended to thank Wu Lu, got on their horses, and headed towards Flagstaff Ridge.
Seeing that everyone was carrying their luggage, Wu Lu couldn't help but wonder: "Hey, it's not that far there. We can go back and forth on the same day, so why do we need to carry luggage?"
Cao Cao smiled and was about to respond when he heard Zhou Tongtong say: "Wulu, wait and see!"
Wu Lu turned her head and looked around, and saw Zhou Tong wielding a strange-looking sword in his hand. The sword was broad and long, round and without sharp edges, and had sharp thorns all over the edges.
This sword is actually the long kiss of the saw dragon that Ruan Xiaoqi killed when he was crossing the sea. He brought it all the way to the Kingdom of Jin. Later, he left it in the post house in a hurry and was found by Meng Kang under the bed. He had nothing to do and did it. The hilt of the sword was tightly clasped, just like a serrated broad sword, but Zhou Tong took it away just to show off in front of Wu Lu.
As expected, Wu Lu forgot to ask about the baggage and said in surprise: "Hey, this sword is so weird!"
After saying that, he stretched out his hand to touch it, and it became more and more strange: "It's not gold or iron, but it looks like some kind of bone."
Zhou Tong laughed and said: "Wulu is indeed smart. Yes, it's just a bone! This is the bone of the sea monster Saw Dragon. It is one of the dragons. The nature is the most ferocious. It only wants to eat people!" When we crossed the sea, we happened to encounter this beast in the sea. It was five or six feet long. It rolled in the water and set off white waves hitting the sky. It almost capsized our boat. The sailors on the boat were so frightened that they went crazy. We knelt down on the deck and kowtowed, saying that God forbid us from crossing the sea. When Zhou heard this, he was immediately furious!"
Wu Lu's face turned pale when she heard this: "Oh, such a giant beast is really more terrifying than the giant python in the old forest, and it is even more invincible in the water. You should be avoiding it, why are you angry again? "
Zhou Tong said with emotion: "For this trip to the northern country, I talked to the officials very much to make it happen. Firstly, it was a national matter, and secondly, I also wanted to go to a foreign country to find my destined good friend." Man, it was so easy to reach the sea at that time, how could I retreat for a mere dragon? I was so angry that I jumped into the sea. When this bird monster saw me entering the water, it flew over and swung its saw sword to hurt me. , I stepped on the waves to avoid it, and gave it a whip on the head, which shattered its skull. Dozens of sailors exhausted all their strength before dragging it aboard..."
He spoke with foam at the mouth and high spirits. Wu Lu listened with rapt attention and admiration on her face.
When Cao Cao and others watched Zhou Tong's performance, they all thought of how Zhou Tong taught Ruan Xiaoqi how to talk about ancient times on the boat when they arrived: "I attribute all the credit to you and others as my own doing." Seeing him perform in person today, they realized that this was still true. Not only do you need to be thick-skinned, but your ability to explain is also much better than ordinary people.
A group of people were walking on the road while listening to Zhou Tong bragging. When he was talking about how he challenged Guo Yaoshi and assassinated Dong Laokuang in front of the resentment army, they suddenly heard the loud sound of hoofbeats from behind. Everyone was startled and looked back. I saw smoke and dust rising behind me, and it was piercing the sky.
Cao Cao shouted: "The smoke and dust are rising into the night. They must be elite troops. Are they here for us? Listening to this movement, I am afraid there are not more than a thousand troops and horses!"
Wu Lumei glared and shouted: "Brother, don't worry, I will go out to play, who dares to cause trouble?"
Cao Cao wondered: "What did the princess call me?"
Wu Lu blinked her eyes: "Brother, Zhou Lang calls you brother, if I teach you to respect the envoy, you will be so ignorant."
Cao Cao laughed, waved his hand and said, "My princess and sister-in-law are in charge. We are not afraid of the large number of them. My brothers reined up their horses and waited for each other on the roadside. Who do you think they are and why they came to chase me."
At that moment, all the brothers rode their horses to the roadside, gave way to the road, and waited quietly.
Not long after, I saw a group of cavalry rushing towards me, led by a young general, not the other one, but the golden marble that fell from the horse in a duel with Shi Wengong and smashed his own nose!
When Jin Danzi saw Cao Cao and others, he was also startled. He raised his hand and slowed down slowly.
As expected, these golden soldiers were elite. From front to back, they completed the deceleration action while running just by relying on hand gestures. When the army stopped, the golden marbles stopped just in front of Cao Cao and his men.
The golden marble twisted his eyebrows and glared, swept Cao Cao's people away, and shouted: "Song Envoy, you are so sneaky, where are you going?"
Behind Zhou Tong, Wu Lu rode out, her eyebrows slightly raised, and shouted: "Nephew of the golden marble, how dare you be rude to my friend?"
Jin Danzi was stunned for a moment. He was obviously very troubled by this aunt who was two years younger than him but a generation older. He smiled bitterly and said: "Aunt Wu Lu... I heard from my father that the emperor does not allow you to have too much contact with these Song people."
Wu Lu snorted coldly: "I can be friends with whoever I want to be. My father himself often invites his brothers from the Wu family for drinks. If he can be friends with Song people, I can naturally do the same with my aunt! Humph, you are so aggressive. Yes, are you here to cause trouble for my friend?"
The golden marble shook his head and said angrily: "The Song envoy is a guest of the emperor. Why should I bring trouble to him? It was a Khitan prisoner that Lou Shi Meng'an had captured before. He was called Yelu Dashi. This man kept silent. Xiang, actually gathered more than a hundred Khitan prisoners, killed the imprisoned primary school last night, seized the horses and escaped, I went to capture him in the name of my father."
Yelu Dashi escaped? Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, then looked at Xu Guanzhong. Their eyes met and they both looked happy: How wonderful! In this way, the Jurchens will inevitably divide their troops to pursue them in various directions. When they look back, they will find that they and others have also run away. If they want to send troops again, they will probably not have enough manpower.
"Oops!" Cao Cao rolled his eyes and suddenly pretended to be surprised: "Yelü Dashi actually escaped. This is no small matter! This guy has great prestige in the Liao Kingdom, and he is both civil and military. His ability is amazing, and he can withstand Tens of thousands of elite soldiers!”
The golden marble said disdainfully: "It's ridiculous. If he is so powerful, how could he be captured by us?"
Shi Wengong said calmly: "This guy has very high martial arts skills. It took me a lot of effort to capture him alive that day."
"It was you who captured him!" When Golden Marble saw Shi Wengong, his nose suddenly started to hurt, and then he became more motivated to fight. He nodded and said with a grin, "Since you can capture him, I won't let you down! Just wait. Look, I will definitely bring this guy back alive!"
After saying that, he howled like a wolf, hit his horse and left, followed closely by more than a thousand Jurchen knights, and soon disappeared from everyone's sight.
Wu Lu waved her little hand to fan away the flying smoke and said happily: "My nephew is gone, let's hurry up."
Not long after walking, we saw a group of mountain peaks, as majestic as a screen. One of the peaks was so tall that it stood out like a flagpole.
Wu Lu pointed and said: "This is Flagstaff Ridge, and our horse farm is inside!"
A few people turned along the path and walked for a while. Suddenly they saw a person riding a white horse galloping towards him. Dozens of Jurchen grooms behind him were shouting and chasing after him. However, the white horse was extremely splendid and he was about to catch up with him. The soldiers were thrown further and further away.
Wu Lu praised: "This man's riding skills are quite good, and his mount is also good... Eh! This horse looks so familiar. Why does it look so much like my father's Zhaoye Jade Lion?"
She stared blankly for a moment, until the man was a few feet in front of her, and then suddenly shouted: "Oh, it is indeed my father's BMW, this guy, this guy is a horse thief!"
Is Zhou Tong okay with this? He immediately rushed out, turned his halberd upside down, and swept it across with the halberd pole: "Horse thief, come down."
Unexpectedly, the knight was very agile. With a wave of his right hand, he whipped out a whip with all his strength. With a crisp crack, the knight swung the halberd pole away. He grabbed the saddle with his left hand, flipped up his whole body, and kicked Zhou Tong in the chest.
The poor little bully only wants to show off his power in front of his lover, but has he ever seen the art of hurting someone with his feet while flying off a horse? This time, he was really unprepared. He screamed "Ouch" and was kicked off his horse.
Even Cao Cao and everyone did not expect that the horse thief would use such a strange move. This man and horse were so fast that they kicked Zhou Tong into the air. With the help of his hands, he had already returned to his horse and was about to pass the crowd before he saw it.
It was too late, but it was too late. The guy passed by all the heroes. Suddenly, a man flew out from the horse. He jumped three feet lightly and landed on the butt of the white horse. I saw him bending his knees. After a slight pause, the horse's buttocks undulated and became as stable as a rock. He said with a ferocious smile: "Hey, boy, do you still want to leave after hurting my brother?"
With a shake of his arm, a blade slipped from his fingers and was placed on the horse thief's neck.
The horse thief felt a chill on his neck, and he couldn't help but be shocked: When did I get caught in the back? This kind of Qinggong is truly astonishing! That's all, that's all, I didn't expect that my golden retriever, which traveled across the north, ended up here today - but I don't know where those Jurchen Tatars found such masters!
There are different teachings: the jade lock suddenly opens and the dragon enters the sea, the golden rope is torn and the tiger returns to the mountain. Horse-stealing golden retrievers roared angrily, and fleas rejoiced on flying drums.
(End of chapter)
