Mrs. Meng asked Chang Qiuwu to use the seal again, collected the money deed, and said some common words before leaving.
Li Bochen and Lin Qiao sent the two of them away and stood on the steps in front of the gate, watching one go down the slope and the other go up the slope. Today is the land of a big moon, and the fields and mountains are reflected brightly. Lin Qiao sighed softly and said, "Ms. Meng is really a good person."
He smiled again: "Achen, are we penniless now?"
Li Bochen thought for a while: "There is still more than a hundred dollars."
Lin Qiao said: "That can be considered a wealthy family."
Li Bochen stretched out his hand to hug her, and the two of them blew the night breeze for a while. He whispered: "Xiao Man, don't do this again. I know you are really good to me, but I don't want you to suffer."
After a while, Lin Qiao rested her head on his shoulder and said, "Yeah."
Lady Meng sent some dry biscuits, pickles, salted fish, and dried radishes. The two of them worked together to fill their stomachs. Li Bochen went to heat hot water and Lin Qiao made the bed. After he washed the big wooden basin and carried it into the east room, the bed was also made. What Mrs. Meng sent was a double mattress and a large quilt with blue background and white flowers. The cotton should be newly spun, Xuanxuanhuhu. Lin Qiao knelt on the bed and took a handkerchief to sweep away the ashes. Li Bochen climbed up and bit her ear. She laughed, pinched his ticklish flesh, and the two of them rolled into bed and stayed together for a long time.
After she got out of bed and took a bath again, she quickly got into bed and asked Li Boxen to warm her cold feet. After hugging each other for a while, Li Boxen sighed and said, "It's more troublesome than I originally thought."
Lin Qiao buried her face in his chest: "Are you talking about the Chang family?"
"Yeah." Li Bochen slowly rubbed her back and whispered, "I originally wanted to go and have a look at night. But when I was at Tao's house, I saw his house-warming thing to ward off evil spirits. When I was at Zhangcheng Mansion Office, I have seen similar formations. Think about it, Chang Qiuwu is in his forties and has very high abilities. Then, my grandfather is at least one hundred and twenty years old, so he is in the dragon-tiger realm."
"He used to be the young minister of Taichang Temple. He is such an official, he has a broad vision, and he has a lot of treasures in his hands. Now that he lives here, he has to guard against Zhu Hou, because he is afraid that the caretaker of the house and the courtyard will be smarter. . I really went there tonight. If I make a mistake, I will be discovered, and it will be difficult to do it."
Lin Qiao suddenly smiled: "I think Chang Qiuwu is serious, but after all, you are still his uncle and grandfather? Oh, no, it's his cousin."
Li Bochen smiled and said, "It's true."
Lin Qiao said again: "Well, I think Chang Qiuwu is not bad either. Why don't you try to recognize your relatives?"
Li Bochen was silent for a while and said, "But I don't know what they are like."
"...Are you afraid that they will have bad intentions towards you? I don't think so?"
"It's not all because of this." Li Bochen sighed, "If I'm right, my biological father is the third son of Li Guo's former Marquis Wuwei."
He thought again and whispered: "Also...Chang Qiuwu's cultivation level is not low, and my grandfather's level is also very high. I heard before that they were hijacked by Zhu Hou, but what kind of cultivation level would Zhu Hou be? What? With such a level of cultivation, can I hold my grandpa in the Dragon-Tiger realm hostage?"
"Then he must at least be in the Lingzhao realm. But if he was in the Lingzhao realm, how could he be a gangster in the past? There are so many people in Wuliang City, but none of them are in the Lingzhao realm. The third level is so rare."
"Then if Zhu Hou is in the Dragon and Tiger Realm... why doesn't my grandpa leave and stay here? Today, Sister Meng, whose husband works for Zhu Hou, can actually invite Chang Qiuwu to come. You said, he is the most polite person If you are really forced to stay here, will you help Sister Meng?"
Lin Qiao scratched his chest and said, "You mean...your grandpa is helping Zhu Hou? How could that be?"
Li Bochen sighed softly: "I was surprised when I thought of this just now. But after thinking about it carefully, I think it may not be impossible."
"You think, Lord Linxi has been revolting for many years. If my grandfather wanted to restore the country and continue to be loyal to the Li family, he would have followed him. But no. There are two possibilities. One is that he is tired of the disputes, and the other is that he Not like Linxi Jun."
"If the first possibility is true, given the situation in Mengjiatun, he should leave. He is in the Dragon-Tiger Realm and has some treasures in his hands. It is difficult to stop him, but he didn't leave."
"I'm wondering, there are rumors that he was coerced... Could it be that he is following Wolong's example and waiting for others to visit the thatched cottage. In fact, he wants to assist or even replace Zhu Hou. Xiaoman, you said, this is just my imagination. , or is it really possible?”
Lin Qiao thought for a while and said, "I think... it's possible. Who is Wolong?"
Li Boxen said: "...it appears in the National History Records. A counselor a long time ago - so, I can't go and recognize my relatives until I figure it out. You think, I, the grandson of Marquis Wuwei. Now Lord Linxi seems to be a distant branch of the original King Li family. In terms of status, I am much nobler than him."
"My grandpa really wants to know that there is a person like me. If things go wrong, he wants to push me to the top. By then... it will be troublesome."
Lin Qiao slowly let out a breath of heat in his arms and said softly: "Achen, is it because of me that you don't want to do that?"
Li Bochen hugged her tighter and said, "Yes. I promised you. Or because...actually I don't know how to command people. If you ask me to be a king or a prince, I will feel very uncomfortable."
After a while, Lin Qiao said: "But you have been a commander before, how come you don't know how to give orders?"
Li Bochen smiled and said, "That's different. Even if you are a commander, you still have the control of your superiors. For many things, you can just follow the commander's instructions. When you really want to make the decision yourself, there is military law. In fact, you have to make the decision yourself. Time is also a military matter, in this aspect right is right and wrong is wrong, there is nothing to hesitate about."
"However, a position like Lord Linxi is different from being a commander. There is no military law to follow, and many of the decisions he has to make have nothing to do with the war. I guess he has to worry about many things every day, including who to use and who not to use. , should I be rewarded, should I be punished?"
"In the army, if a person does something wrong, he will naturally be punished. But when it comes to running a country, perhaps not only punishments are not allowed, but rewards are also required. There are so many intrigues, speculations on people's hearts, relationships between various parties, and the balance of interests every day... Sigh , these things are also very profound knowledge. To master them, you have to rely on time and life. But I really don’t want to do these things... When I do these things, I often have to go against my will. I know that my temperament is not suitable. "
Lin Qiao sighed softly: "Well, you are too kind. You probably don't like talking to people with a straight face."
Li Boxen said: "Sometimes I also think about what we practice for? To be strong and healthy, to be rich and powerful. But what are these for? After thinking about it, oh, it is to make ourselves free. a little."
"The mother and daughter we met outside Sanguan City couldn't afford to eat or drink, and were so poor. If they could cultivate, they would at least have food and clothing. Now that you have money, what kind of house do you want to live in, and what kind of clothes do you want to wear? All."
"In the final analysis...it's just to allow yourself to do what you like and make decisions that you think are right. I'm still thinking, what's so good about spiritual gods? They want to have feelings like humans, but they don't have wives. Are you alone or not? In the end, I understood it - because I became a spiritual god and a supreme being, there was no one in the world who could restrain me. There was no need to think about human nature and sophistication. Rewarding a good person and punishing a sinner were all just a matter of consideration. It depends on whether this is right or not, not on what kind of connections and power this person has. What is freedom and happiness? This is freedom and happiness."
After a while, Lin Qiao didn't speak. Li Bochen thought she was asleep, and was about to slowly pull out the arm she was resting on, but he heard her whisper: "Yes, Ah Chen. In this world, many people can't do what they want to do."
"If one day you really become a king and meet one of your soldiers... he did something bad, but he couldn't help it and he didn't want to do it. What would you do?"
Li Bochen thought for a while and said, "I've really encountered it before."
"When we were in Beiyuan, one of my soldiers escaped. I captured him and asked him why he escaped. He said that his mother was seriously ill and wanted to go home to see her." He paused and then added, "I managed to do it. It’s a bad thing, but you can’t help it.”
"Then...what did you do?"
Li Bochen was silent for a moment and whispered: "Martial law is being enforced."
Lin Qiao shrank. Li Bochen gently stroked her back and said softly: "Don't blame me for being cruel. At that time, he and another man were guarding a post, and there was an army of monster beasts hanging around outside the post for several days. It took two Everyone has escaped, and when the monster army comes in and no one warns them, I'm afraid there will be many casualties."
"Oh. I killed him because of my righteousness. Being a soldier and guarding the land is my righteousness. But think about it, for him, being filial in front of his mother's bed is his righteousness. I used other people's righteousness to kill his righteousness. , who is right and who is wrong? I really don’t know. So I don’t want to call people out, just because of this kind of thing.”
Lin Qiao gave a low "hmm". Then he said: "Ah Chen, go to sleep."
Li Boxen tucked the quilt on her side and said, "Okay."
He thought to himself that it was because he scared her. But she didn't know what the situation was like in Beiyuan. Sometimes when I think about this incident, I even occasionally feel that it may be a relief to him that the soldier was executed by military law.
There is no need to suffer in the ice and snow anymore, and there will never be an ending of being disemboweled and lying on the snowfield, freezing to death or dying of pain.
I hope that one day, no one in the world will have to suffer like this anymore.
The two got up early the next day, and after some rubbing, Li Boxen went to the courtyard to practice boxing several times, and then took a shower with cold water. After the two had breakfast, he took the horse and planned to go to Houcheng.
When we arrived at the town, we saw a group of patrolling soldiers. At first he almost thought that the soldier was from the government or Lord Linxi. Because even though they don't wear armor, they still have uniform clothes, a patch of black cloth with white edges, which looks very energetic. Even though there was still some laxity in his words and deeds, he still walked in a sloping formation, giving him a somewhat "officer-military" feel.
The more he looked, the more surprised he became. I thought these "bandit soldiers" would be the same as those in Sanguan City, but I didn't expect them to look like this. If this military discipline can be maintained, we can really stand on our own here. He couldn't help but become more and more curious about Zhu Hou. Why did that man suddenly change his gender when he used to be a gangster? Could it be that his speculation last night was true... was Chang Xiu really assisting him?
When I arrived in front of the blacksmith shop, I saw blacksmith Yu Meng rinsing his mouth in front of the door. Seeing him, he spit out the green salt in his mouth, narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Brother, have you found a place to live?"
Li Bochen had a good impression of him, so he stopped on his horse and said, "Thanks to brother Yu, I found it. It's on the slope behind Mrs. Meng's house."
Then he asked, "Are those soldiers from General Zhu?"
Yu Meng glanced at the soldiers walking slowly and said, "Yes."
"It doesn't look bad, it looks decent."
Yu Meng smiled: "It's not just watching."
This person seemed to be very dissatisfied with Zhu Hou. Li Bochen thought to himself, maybe it was because Zhu Hou had collected the iron weapons. As a blacksmith, what would he do without iron tools? However, you can ask him more questions.
Li Boxen put his hand on the stake in front of the saddle and said, "I didn't expect there to be so many people here when I came here. Are they all originally living here? When I passed by other places, there were few people, but this place is actually prosperous."
He expected that Yu Meng would not be happy after hearing this, and sure enough, the blacksmith snorted again: "It's not Zhu Hou's credit - ha, it's also his credit. You see people coming every day, guess why?"
Li Bochen thought for a while and said, "Is it because General Zhu has good governance?"
"Hey, I don't know if there is any way. But I know that he asked people to run to the mountains to the north and said that there are monsters from the Demon Kingdom further north, and they will come over at any time. After hearing this, the mountain people naturally did not dare to stay. They all came to Mengjiatun. But luckily, it turned out that they were all hunters, and they knew how to use swords and bows, so they all became his soldiers."
Li Bochen thought for a while: "Do you mean north of Dangtu Mountain?"
Yu Meng smiled: "Yinan."
Li Bochen was stunned, Yinan? This is impossible!
Dangtu Mountain is a large mountain range running east-west. To the south is the Sui State and the Li State, and to the north is Beiyuan. Wuliang City, Wanyou City, and Maitreya City guard several passes going south from Beiyuan. Lianhua Mountain surrounding Wuliang City is also part of Dangtu Mountain.
The section of the Dangtu Mountains in the Li State is more steep than the section in the Sui State. The part facing the north is almost straight up and down, with cliffs thousands of meters high. At the bottom of the mountain, there is a gorge river. It is said that the river is bottomless, wide, and fast-flowing, making it a dangerous place. It is precisely because of these two barriers that the section of Li's territory does not need to be guarded by strong passes.
But now, the monster has crossed over and run into the mountains in the Li Kingdom?
He also smiled: "It's incredible."
Yu Meng seemed very happy to be recognized, and said: "Isn't it true? Those people believed his lies. Some people actually said they saw monsters, hehe..."
Seeing that he didn't seem to want to talk any more, Li Boxen clasped his fists and said, "I still have to go to the city, Brother Yu, let's talk when we have time."
Yu Meng nodded, and Li Bochen rode away.
After walking for a while, he couldn't help but turn his head and look at the vast mountains to the north - is it possible?
When he was at Wujing Mountain, Ying Ge commanded a monster, saying it had slipped in from a certain mountain pass. Could there really be a similar mountain pass further north?
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