About a hundred miles north of Fenghuang Mountain City, Hengfeng Station, the station master Liu Yong, who is more than forty years old, is sitting at the door, enjoying the warmth brought by the afternoon sun, looking at the official road that goes west into the mountains. Uncertain thoughts.
I have stayed in this second-level post station for more than ten years. From the postman to the stationmaster, from youth to middle age, I have spent the most valuable years of my life here.
Although the monthly money was only a few dozen copper coins, it was only because there was a wife and children very close to him in a small village no more than ten miles to the west who were looking forward to his return home.
Good. In addition to the daily expenses that the mother-in-law of the house gives me, if I save some money, I can buy a pot of bitter wine brewed in the village. When I go home, my mother-in-law will cook a side dish, which is even more fun.
Even if you are a little rich, you will always be content and happy. It is so stable that every time when there are no officials or businessmen coming and going in the post station, this man who is about to enter middle age will tell the four young postmen under him to clean up the post station, and then he will sit on the railing outside the station and take a look around. A scene that I have long been familiar with.
I once heard a very reasonable saying from a scholar who was resting here who was rushing to take the exam. Watching the flowers bloom and fall for a hundred years, or quietly watching the clouds rolling and relaxing for a moment, all the joys in life can be revealed.
When I first heard it, when I first became a postman at Hengfeng Station, the scholar who went to Beijing to take the exam also sat here like this, but the sky was clear that day, and the clouds were like turbans, which made the mountains even more beautiful. It was obviously not as beautiful as that day, and the sky was extremely cloudy.
As soon as noon passed, the early spring sun shone warmly on him, and Liu Yong was about to call his men to make some food, when he saw a group of cavalry roaring at the end of the official road, raising smoke and dust.
If you look carefully, you will see that unlike the cavalrymen who usually wear domed iron helmets and crotch armor, the people who come here are all wearing brown black hammer armor, and they are also wearing pointed phoenix-winged hoods on top. For those who are in the inn, For Liu Yong, who had been a servant for several years, this more heroic armor definitely belonged to a higher-level organization.
After a few breaths, the group of cavalry came closer, and then I saw clearly that the first cavalry was dressed a bit strangely, wearing black thin scale armor. Even though Liu Yong had been here to greet and die for many years, he had seen so many This is the first time for a high-ranking military officer to see armor of such a color.
The black-armored young man was only in his twenties. When he approached the inn, he just raised his hand and made a fist. The dozens of cavalry behind him reined in their horses and stopped in an orderly manner.
The black-armored young general dismounted and came to Liu Yong. He first clasped his fists. Liu Yong, who was so frightened that he bowed respectfully to greet him, shivered.
"Excuse me, stationmaster, how long does it take to get to Fenghuang Mountain City?" Hengfeng Post is the first post station after leaving Tongguan from Guanzhong. On weekdays, there are many traffickers and footmen of all religions and nine streams. It is not that they have never seen the emperor's relatives, princes, generals, etc., but that Everyone with some status was arrogant and domineering, wishing they could look at people with their noses. Meeting such a polite young general obviously made him a little cautious. He quickly returned the courtesy and said respectfully: "It's only fifty miles to the south." There are three forks in the road, less than a hundred miles straight to the north." The black-armored young man asked again: "Is there enough fodder for thirty riders in the station?" Every day is the work of reviewing goods and inventorying forage. You don't have to go to see it. As soon as he was sure that the pounds were tied up, Liu Yong said: "That's enough, that's enough. The general's war horse belongs to Mengma and has a larger appetite. The officer will order more to be prepared." Regarding the stationmaster's attentiveness, the black-armored young general was even more impressive. He was polite and restrained, and said very politely: "I'm sorry for bothering you, stationmaster." The more polite the unknown but definitely good young man in black armor was, the more frightened the stationmaster Liu Yong became, and he didn't dare to say anything more, so he hurriedly ordered the handymen at the station. The postman put aside what he was doing and quickly went to fetch water for cleaning this group of cavalry, which was definitely not a local military service.
The black-armored young general raised his hand, clenched his fist, and pulled it down. This group of well-trained cavalrymen, who were probably more than capable of blocking ten at a time, all dismounted.
"Half an hour to repair!"
"Drink!" The uniform shouts made the stationmaster tremble again, and he asked respectfully: "Shall I prepare some food and drinks for the general?"
"No, no, no," the black-armored young man quickly turned around and waved,
"Don't dare bother the stationmaster." After saying this, he sat down on the steps where Liu Yong was sitting just now and said,
"I'll just rest here." Liu Yong was even more flattered by the fact that the young black-armored general had no airs and no trace of the domineering arrogance of those officers and generals, and was at a loss for a moment.
Seeing that the station master was still in front of him, the black-armored young general still said politely: "The station master will go and do his own business, don't bother us." Liu Yong agreed, turned around and entered the station, and as soon as he turned around, he saw two people walking from the east of the official road. The men were all wearing bamboo hats, cloth clothes, and carrying baggage across their shoulders. They looked like warriors who often traveled around the world.
The two men were not far away, at least they could still hear their voices. The shorter man was talking so unhurriedly, but the other man didn't say a word.
The two people walked quickly and arrived at the door of the inn in a moment. The black-armored young general would not have noticed at first, but when the two of them got closer, the man who had never spoken before raised his fist at the black-armored young general and asked, "May I ask your superior, how close is this place to Fenghuang Mountain City?" How long?" The black-armored young man turned his head to look, but was surprised, just because the figure of the man in front of him was really amazing.
Although he is of medium height, he is only wearing a close-fitting singlet in the warm and cold season. Most of the strong muscles on his chest are exposed, especially his two arms, which are even more eye-catching. The upper arms are so thick that they might look like ordinary people's thighs. , just the exposed forearm with the sleeves rolled up is probably as thick as the mouth of a bowl, especially the clearly visible tendons and blood vessels on it, and the muscles are one by one, which is even more terrifying.
The black-armored young general couldn't help but take a second look. With such a physique, if he was trained in the army, he would definitely become a brave general.
The other party was polite, and the black-armored young man was also polite. He stood up and politely repeated the answer given to him by the inn master just now, saying: "Fifty miles further south there is less than a three-way road, and it is less than a hundred miles straight north." No wait. The man whose muscles were absolutely terrifying spoke, and the man who talked a lot immediately said: "Let me tell you, I must have gone the wrong way. If you still don't believe it, it's better now. I walked all this way to the west in vain." For a long time." The muscular man still ignored the noisy man in front of him, and entered the post station first, sat down casually, and called the only post boy left to bring him some food.
After thinking about it, he still didn't quite believe the words of the black-armored young man at the door. The muscular man asked the postman again: "Brother, how to get to Fenghuang Mountain City?" , naturally he responded just like his own webmaster, but in a more detailed manner, which caused a burst of noise from the talkative man.
The muscular man glared at his companion who was almost a head shorter than him, and scolded: "I haven't come back in six or seven years, how can I remember clearly!" The short man remained silent, but he did not forget to look at the man with white-faced muscles. , but they are just some private actions.
The muscular man asked again: "What's going on around here lately?" The postman was also good at chatting, and he pretended to be cleaning tables and stools, so he had to chat a few words, for fear of attracting the attention of his stationmaster, he whispered : "What can happen in a small place like ours? We come and see you off all day long. We hear everything about the world. What do you want to know about?" The strong man who didn't want to talk too much was also well-informed. , who knew all about the clinking tricks of these small calculations in his heart, he immediately touched and touched from his arms, as if he was picking, and took out a piece of broken silver the size of the thumbnail, and looked around with his eyes. Without leaving a trace, he stuffed it into the hand of the postman and asked: "This is Phoenix City. We brothers are going to visit relatives." The postman immediately beamed and saw that his stationmaster had not returned, so the weight of this piece was definitely comparable. He put all the broken silver minted by the government into his pocket. He was very excited and his words became more specific.
"There are really no major events, but there is one new thing. The city lord of Phoenix City didn't know whether he was welcoming a bride or something a few days ago. He went out of the city with lights and decorations to pick up a few people. The formation was more... The Lantern Festival is lively." Apparently the postman didn't tell him what he wanted to know. The muscular man frowned and waved his hand, indicating to the other party to go ahead and do whatever they needed to do.
For someone who lives a low-level life, it is not difficult for a man with a physique that can be called a tiger-backed man.
"Who did you pick up?" The always noisy man became interested and asked interestingly. The postman who was about to leave took people's money but worked wholeheartedly for them. He muttered sincerely: "That city lord is uneducated and incompetent anyway. I heard that he started working on it just after the New Year and sorted out half of it." Yue, it seems that he just came out to pick up a pair of siblings and two monks. We ordinary people like us really don't know their specific identities." The postman didn't pay attention to what he said, and his voice was not concealed. Fortunately, There was no one else in the entire inn at this time. The muscular man looked around before feeling relieved, as if he was afraid of attracting others' attention.
The young man in black armor at the door gave him a vague sideways glance, but there was no other reaction. The muscular man pushed his companion impatiently and said impatiently, "Don't ask around." The noisy man curled his lips in secret but said nothing.
The muscular man asked again: "Is there anything else? For example, is there any fighting?"
"Fight?" The postman was stunned, obviously not understanding what the other party meant.
"Battle between rivers and lakes." The muscular man explained, but his companion, the noisy man, looked at him in confusion.
The postman suddenly realized and said: "There is no fighting in the rivers and lakes, but I heard that the city sent people to borrow troops from the nearby city last night." At this time, Liu Yong happened to come back from the backyard after making arrangements. He heard that his postman was talkative, like him There must be a lot of worries about such a position, so he coughed lightly to shut up.
But it was too late. Before the postman could understand, the young man in black armor at the door had already stood up and waved to him.
Liu Yong was a little frightened. In an inn, he saw so many people all day long. The most taboo thing was this kind of talkativeness. If he accidentally revealed some other people's little secrets, the impact would be huge. It's not a person's reputation, but the reputation of this inn.
Especially the kid under him who speaks freely and doesn't know his priorities. How can he dare to say it out so easily when borrowing troops involves the deployment of troops?
Seeing the black-armored young general greeting him, Liu Yong was naturally panicked. He glanced at the postman who was only belatedly noticing, and hurriedly stepped forward.
The black-armored young general was also worried about being overheard by outsiders, so he deliberately left the inn before asking: "What do you mean by borrowing troops?" Liu Yong could hide it from others, but naturally he did not dare to deceive someone with such an official title. : "I don't know the specific situation. I happened to be on duty last night. At the third watch, someone came to Phoenix City to change horses. We chatted for a few words. It was the person who told me that a group of bad guys came to the city. There were three of them. Forty of them were very skilled. They didn't explain the specific situation, so they hurried to the direction of Jinzhou." The black-armored young general frowned and asked puzzledly: "Why don't you go to Guozhou to report?" This is a big deal. Liu Yong asked and was at a loss. Whether it was Phoenix City or his own inn, they were all under the jurisdiction of Guozhou. To be honest, no matter what happened, it should be reported to Guozhou first according to the principle of reporting step by step. Although The Jinzhou government office is far more than a hundred miles away from here than the Guozhou government office, but you shouldn't go to Jinzhou instead of Guozhou.
Liu Yong felt that cold sweat was pouring down his back, and he hesitated and said: "Little...little man really doesn't know such details." Seeing the man's expression, the black-armored young general also knew that he was asking too much. , after all, it involves the military and armaments of the Great Zhou Dynasty, as well as local territorial jurisdiction and territorial issues. Naturally, this inn master, who is not at the highest level at all, will not understand the meaning of it.
The first level of officialdom not only crushes people to death, but can also mysteriously scare them to death.
