Five days later.
Midsummer has long passed, but the autumn tigers in Guangxi are still showing off their last ferocity, and the sun is baking the earth of Liuzhou Prefecture like a furnace.
In fact, there had just been a heavy rain in Liuzhou two days ago. Not far to the south of Maping County, where the capital of Liuzhou is located, there is a place called Longtan Town. There was a lot of water in the low-lying areas here because of the heavy rain.
Under the raging sun, no matter what kind of rainwater, it will dry up quickly, and the ground after the water accumulation is muddy. When exposed to the scorching sun again, it will crack and roll up pieces of soil as big as a palm. The skin is like a tortoise shell that has been broken into pieces and discarded.
The little naked children were running around with bare feet, picking up pieces of soil and picking them up as tiles, intending to save them for playing house.
The weather was really too hot. Except for these enthusiastic children, everyone else was too lazy to lift their spirits. They had to go to the fields to work, otherwise they were enjoying the coolness in the shady places in front of the house and behind the house to escape the heat. There were not many people on the road. A pedestrian.
Even the tall willow trees with tall branches and canopies are equally listless in this ghostly weather of the last autumn tiger. The branches of the willows are drooping feebly, and only the cicadas hidden in the trees are chattering endlessly, as if I want to scream unwillingly in the last moments of my life, but unfortunately those who hear it will become more and more drowsy. It wasn't until dusk that the heat gradually dissipated a lot.
The sun sets in the west, and the afterglow is like fog. Looking around, it is a golden red. The area around Jinghu Lake in Longtan Town is especially cooler at this time, because there is a large lake with a rare shape, about five or six hundred acres in area, and the bay is covered with plants. There are lotus flowers and willows and mulberry trees all around, making it an excellent place to cool off in the summer heat.
There is Queer Mountain in the north of Liuzhou City, and there is also a lake on the mountain. It is closer than Jinghu Lake in the south of the city, so the Han nobles in Liuzhou City usually go there to escape the summer heat when they have nothing to do. Some chieftains who often came to Liuzhou to deal with Han officials bought properties in the Jinghu area and built a courtyard near the water.
In fact, the reason why Longtan Town has the word "dragon" is because the shape of Jinghu Lake is somewhat like a dragon, which is irregularly divided into several independent parts, such as the dragon's part, the dragon's shoulders and front claws, the dragon's belly, The dragon's back claws, dragon tail, etc. make it convenient for the chieftains who buy property here to get a relatively private space.
According to old legends, the dragon part is the most beautiful part of Jinghu Lake, followed by the dragon shoulders and thirdly the dragon belly. Since the chieftains all like Longtan Jinghu, there is always a fight over who lives in the dragon, who lives in the dragon's shoulder, and who lives in the dragon's belly.
The chieftains of Guangxi were called the Cen family because of their vast territory and large population. They were followed by the Huang family. Their territory was slightly inferior to the Cen family's. However, because they were close to Annan, they could not fight without strong troops. In order to survive, we have always prided ourselves on strong troops.
Although the other families have their own merits, due to various reasons, they are unable to compete with the Cen and Huang families. How the two families fought overtly and covertly for the Dragon in Jinghu Lake is unknown to outsiders, but there are also rumors that because the contemporary leader of the Cen family, Cen Shaoxun, has an eccentric personality and a "hermit's heart", he is not enthusiastic about many things. Only then did Huang get the Mirror Lake Dragon.
However, both the Cen family and the Huang family are local snakes that no one dares to offend in Guangxi. Since their ancestors followed the famous general Di Qing in the Song Dynasty to conquer the south and were granted the title of native official, they have been the home of the chieftain for hundreds of years. In Guangxi, Sometimes it is easier than the governor to tell the boundaries of the land. The residents of Longtan Town do not dare to come here to escape the heat and cool down.
It is not an exaggeration to regard Jinghu Lake as Liuzhou's "Five Dalian Lakes". Nowadays, lotus flowers are growing vigorously in this "Dragon Lake". The bay is full of green lotus leaves, and a small boat is sailing in the distance. As the boat passed by, lotus leaves greeted it and avoided it. A wisp of flute sound was as clear as a Sanskrit chant, following the separated lotus leaves in all directions.
The old farmer returning at dusk was hunched over with his hands behind his back. He was holding a piece of rope in his hand and walked slowly across the field ridge in the distance. The rope was dragging a skinny old cow. On the cow's back sat a man with braids. Little baby, the little baby is playing with grandpa's bamboo hat happily. Farther away, the red sun behind the car was already half submerged in the mountains. This feeling and scene are as poetic as picturesque.
Hearing the sound of the flute, the old farmer subconsciously glanced towards Longhu. There are green lotus bushes on the lake, and the boat is completely hidden among the lotus bushes. You can only vaguely see a young man wearing a plain white light robe and a square scarf sitting on the bow of the boat and playing the flute happily. There is another man next to him. The beauty holding an oil-paper umbrella was wearing a spring shirt from the Han Dynasty, and her waist was so light that it was about to break. It was a pity that she was standing facing the young master, so her appearance could not be seen. All she could see was a black-haired beauty with a lazy arm. A golden bun is placed on Wu Yaya's hair, which makes her slender neck and indescribably elegant figure arouse endless reverie.
Seeing this appearance, the old farmer quickly lowered his head. He is just an honest farmer. It would be rude to see women on the boat. These chieftains are not something he, a country man, can afford to offend.
The old farmer lowered his head and quickened his pace to move forward. Not far away, smoke was already rising over the town.
The sound of the flute, which sounded like Sanskrit singing, stopped, and the melodious and charming sound of the piano began again. The red sun on the horizon gradually disappeared under the horizon during the transition between the flute and the piano.
The boat stopped about ten feet away from the shore. An old willow branch growing slanting on the shore stretched out towards the lake, hanging thousands of willow branches lightly on the boat. The evening wind gradually picked up, and the willow branches were whirling. The young man just now was sitting on the yellow pear wood stool in the bow of the boat, holding a fishing rod in his hand, leisurely, while the beauty was standing aside with a smile, and then turned around and ordered the servants on the boat to bring in a small stove. Make a fire and prepare dinner.
The thinly sliced and fragrant tender lotus roots are freshly fished from Longhu Lake. The lively crayfish are fished with small pieces of meat from the root nests under the willow trees by the river. As for the fat chicken and tender lamb, there is also old wine. , are also brewed in the Longhu Villa, and there is also a plate of washed mulberries that look like black pearls, which makes people salivate. These fresh mulberries are collected from the mulberry trees growing by the bay.
If you look closely, all you have to do is catch a fat fish to drink with this young master. That will be a complete merit. All the food is produced here, and it is very wild and gamey.
When the stars began to twinkle, the cicadas who had been noisy all day were tired, and the lake became quiet. The young master and the little beauty exchanged cups and enjoyed themselves.
It's a pity that no outsiders can get close to them, but they don't know that what the two of them are talking about at this time is not romantic at all.
"Both the Mo family of Nandan and the Sien Zhao family can't help but stir up trouble. The seventh young master has the leisure to let the slave family accompany you to swim in the lake. This kind of courage and style is probably only that of the Cen family, the king of western Guangxi. It’s possible.”
"The King of Guixi", the handsome and handsome Seventh Young Master laughed, "Is Miss Huang trying to remind me that the Cen family should be content with the King of Guixi? If the Cen family is content with the King of Guixi, then the Huang family can be content with the King of Guinan." no"
The little beauty Miss Huang covered her mouth and smiled, "Seventh Young Master is joking. The Cen family deserves the title of King of Guixi, but the Huang family dares to call the King of Guinan. Taiping Mansion and Nanning Mansion are all made by officials from the imperial court. I The Huang family is just a Siming Mansion, how dare they mention the King of Guinan?"
"The Huang family is just a mere Siming Mansion." The Seventh Young Master laughed, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. "It is said that all the states and counties near Siming Mansion are all members of the Huang family, and that is the Taiping Mansion. Except for the mansion master, he is a descendant." Official, there is still a person from the imperial court under him, not to mention the Taiping Mansion Guarding Qianhu Office that he relies on, which has long been controlled by the Huang family as well as the Nanning Mansion."
The Seventh Young Master waved his hand, "It must be that there is a Nanning Guard placed there, otherwise it would be no better than the Taiping Mansion. As for the Nanning Guards, they were fully paid and paid a hundred years ago and were quite difficult to deal with. But now, they are still enough for three people." Are there any soldiers that can be used?"
Miss Huang said with a full smile, "Young Master Seventh, you have underestimated the Nanning Guard. The Nanning Guard currently has more than 4,000 soldiers, about 4,200."
The Seventh Young Master raised his eyebrows slightly, "Oh, and this thing is rare, rare. But so what, does Huang really take these four thousand guardsmen seriously? If your Majesty is willing, it will be 40,000." The wolf soldiers also gathered together, and it was only a single blow to capture Nanning."
Miss Huang waved her hands repeatedly, as if she was seriously frightened, with a face full of surprise, "What did the Seventh Young Master say? I, the Huang family, are loyal to the Ming Dynasty. How could I have such ulterior motives? Don't the Seventh Young Master know that my father was pacifying the Eight Villages last year?" In the midst of chaos, he has achieved the greatest merit among the chieftains."
The Seventh Young Master's eyes flashed, but he seemed to be smiling and nodded repeatedly, "That's right, that's right, which one of my Guangxi chieftains is not loyal and loyal? But when I mention your father's contribution in this battle, I have to ask you a question. Aren’t you worried about being the second flower lady?”
Mrs. Hua is actually Mrs. Wa's, and "Wa's" is the Guangxi accent of Hua.
Miss Huang narrowed her bright eyes slightly and said calmly, "Why should you worry about Mrs. Hua? It was because her husband Cen Meng made trouble and was hated by the court. After Cen Meng died, he had to mobilize an army to fight against the Japanese to prove himself." She was extremely loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and the final result was not bad. She was named the Lady of Loyalty by the imperial court, and her merits were recorded."
The Seventh Young Master chuckled, picked up the gold-painted black bone fan on the table, opened it, and lightly fanned his chest a few times, saying, "It sounds good, but it's a pity that the Cen family originally had Tianzhou Prefecture as its main branch. Since then, From now on, I, Sizhou, will be the main branch. Your Majesty, I have no worries about this.
I heard that brothers Huang Gongji and Huang Gongsheng in Siming Prefecture are at odds. Although Gongji is the eldest son, the military power is in the hands of Gongsheng. This Huang Gongsheng is also a character, Miss Huang. Siming Prefecture is your Siming Mansion. If chaos breaks out in the largest state, it will probably not be a good thing for your Majesty. At this moment, under this situation, your Majesty does not hold a heavy army to quell the disaster at any time. Instead, he vigorously responds to the imperial court's call and sends troops abroad. Speaking of which, , I really can’t understand it. "
Miss Huang's face froze slightly, and then she smiled lightly and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Master Seven, but it seems that this is no longer a trivial matter for Master Seven when he comes today."
"Easy to say, easy to say." The Seventh Young Master brushed the floor and put away his fan again, and said with a sweet smile, "Miss Huang, let me tell you a piece of news. According to the inquiries from the Mo family and the Zhao family, Gao Jintai came to Liuzhou to persuade I and the chieftains of Liangjiang agree to set up floating officials in the Bazhai area."
