The morning fog gradually evaporated, and the scenery of Jincheng appeared around him, like a ghost that was gradually taking shape. Compared with Chang'an, this is just a disorganized earth-and-wood city, full of dirt streets, thatched roofs and wooden huts. Chang'an is as regular as a chessboard, the magnificent palace city is like the residence of gods, and the streets are paved with loess rammed like iron. The roads here are full of all kinds of feces, and you will step on them if you are not careful. When thinking of this, Wu Xiaoyi slowed down.
A butcher's trailer rumbled along the causeway, a few scrawny piglets wailing on board. Just after he dodged the trailer, another woman poured filth into the toilet through the window above his head, and he barely managed to avoid it. When can I leave this hellish place? Wu Xiaoyi asked himself, he tripped on a stone while thinking. Don't kid yourself, am I being exiled and will never be able to leave this hellish place? I can only spend my short life listening to the cries of crows, walking through the smelly streets.
Wu Xiaoyi complained secretly and tried to wipe off the mud on his burqa. Suddenly he felt something moving behind him. He instinctively held the handle of the knife at his waist and looked behind him with the corner of his eye.
"You came later than the agreed time!"
A man in a hooded burqa appears.
"On the way, I met a woman who poured toilet water into the street. I almost got hit, so I walked slowly!"
"This is not an excuse to be late. Every day, women throw toilets into the streets!" The man muttered. He took out an envelope from his arms and said, "This is what you want. Where are my gold coins?"
"I can't miss you!" Wu Xiaoyi took out a gold coin from his arms and rolled it with his knuckles. The gold coin flipped and the gold shone in the morning light, as if Wu Xiaoyi's fingers were coated with a layer of golden light.
The hooded man swallowed. He stretched out his right hand and tried to take the gold coin from Wu Xiaoyi's hand, but missed it and said angrily: "What do you mean? Do you want to cheat?"
"Pay with one hand and deliver with the other!" Wu Xiaoyi said with a smile.
"Okay!" The hooded man threw the envelope to Wu Xiaoyi and stretched out his hand for the gold coin again. This time he succeeded. It felt warm in his palm. He imitated others, put it to his mouth and bit it - he had seen it before Others do this, but to be honest, he doesn't know what gold tastes like, he just wants to look like an expert.
"How does gold taste?" Wu Xiaoyi said with a smile while checking the key: "Sweet or salty?"
"None of your business!" the hooded man cursed, put the gold coin in his arms, turned around and walked back, walking very quickly. Wu Xiaoyi did not chase him, but just looked at the other person's vest with pitiful eyes. Soon, the hooded man The hooded man's feet became weak, and his upper body began to shake, as if his feet were not greased. Finally, he fell to the ground, grabbed his throat with both hands, and let out an unexplained groan. Wu Xiaoyi walked up to the hooded man, and soon The other party died.
"Gold is more deadly than a knife!"
——————————————
When Wu Xiaoyi returned to his residence, everyone was preparing to have breakfast, and the yard was filled with the aroma of bean porridge and steamed cakes. Wu Xiaoyi sat down at the long table in the yard and threw the envelope to the man next to the porridge bucket: "I got the stuff back, give me a big bowl of bean porridge, thicker one!"
"Hey! Brother Yi, wait a minute!" The man quickly collected the envelope, poured a large bowl of thick porridge, and sent it to the long table: "How is the person who wrote the letter?"
"That man will never speak again!" Wu Xiaoyi waved his hand impatiently.
"Oh, that body—"
"Thrown it into the sewer. By the time the Silla people find it, it will be too rotten to recognize!" Wu Xiaoyi took a mouthful of porridge and said, "Okay, if you have any questions, please wait until I finish breakfast to ask!"
"Okay, okay!" The man was relieved when he heard the corpse was thrown into the sewer. Like most ancient cities, the sewer of Jincheng was also a place full of miasma and filth, especially since it had been raining for several days in a row in the past few days. Rain, it would be extremely difficult to find a rotting corpse in that kind of place.
After eating a bowl of porridge, Wu Xiaoyi felt a lot better. As he grew older, he gradually disliked the feeling of taking away the lives of similar people, especially standing next to the still twitching body and watching the light of life shine from his eyes. It gradually disappeared, which made him feel cold, as if life was passing away from him.
Bang bang bang!
There was a knocking sound on the courtyard door. Wu Xiaoyi glanced at it but did not get up. This place is ostensibly a used clothes shop. Although it was a bit early at this time, there were many poor people coming to buy and sell used clothes. Someone opened the door and immediately exclaimed: "Master, why are you here!"
"Why can't I come?" Cao Wenzong smiled and patted his disciple on the shoulder: "Not bad, he is strong again, and his martial arts skills have not fallen behind!"
"Master, come in quickly!" The man who opened the door let Cao Wenzong in and shouted to his companions in the yard: "Master is here, master is here!"
Wu Xiaoyi stood up in surprise. Didn't the teacher always follow Wang Wenzuo as a personal guard? Why is he here? Are they going to attack the Silla people? Finally, I no longer have to stay in this pigsty!
Cao Wenzong walked into the courtyard with a smile. Compared with the last time they met, his disciples had grown up a lot, and their bodies were much stronger, and their faces had lost their original childishness. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but I felt a little guilty. Compared with those who stayed in the army, these people lurking in Silla were not only dangerous, but also suffered a lot in career and achievements. In the end, I, as a teacher, was biased.
"Xiao Yi pays homage to his mentor!" Wu Xiaoyi bowed to Cao Wenzong as a gift.
"Well! Get up and let me have a look!" Cao Wenzong looked Wu Xiaoyi up and down: "Not bad, not bad, he has grown up a lot, eh? Why isn't Xiaoman here? Where is she going?"
"Junior sister Xiaoman is not in Jincheng. She went to meet some Silla people two days ago. I heard she said she was discussing important matters with them!" Wu Xiaoyi hesitated: "Master, Xiaoman seems to have become alienated from us in the past few years. If we break up, if we don’t ask about some things, she won’t tell them, and even if we ask, she won’t tell them in detail.”
"Her status is different now, and the burden on her shoulders is heavier. Naturally, she can't tell you everything like she did in the past!" Cao Wenzong smiled, and the smile on his face faded: "Actually, even you and I can't Just like before, if you disagree with me, you can just draw your sword and kill me. At most, you can change your identity and live in a different place!"
"Yes!" Wu Xiaoyi sighed: "I used to kill people when I was in Chang'an. I drank a few bowls of good wine and forgot everything when I woke up the next morning. It's like now -" At this point, He sighed.
"Let's not talk about this!" Cao Wenzong smiled: "I came here this time to do something. If it is done, you don't have to stay in Silla! It doesn't matter if you go back to Chang'an and Luoyang to become a rich man, you can live in Japan or Liaodong. , Xiongjin can be a part-time official, start a family and start a career, there is no problem! Teacher, I can still say a few words in front of the prince!"
"real!"
"That would be great!"
"I dream of returning to Chang'an and Luoyang, drinking and fighting cocks in Fangshi with a few hundred gold, and living happily for the rest of my life!"
"A few hundred gold is enough, you think it's a county town! A few hundred gold can be spent in Chang'an and Luoyang in four or five years at most! Then you can only live on the knife, maybe let the Yamen take it again, and be sent to Anxi, I will serve as a garrison soldier in Longyou and guard the border for the rest of my life!"
"Bah, you've only been guarding the border all your life! So how do you choose?"
"Me? I will never forget how the imperial court drove us out like dogs. I didn't do anything. They just sent me an imperial edict to drive me out to guard the border. Fortunately, I had the honor of my master and came to Baekje. What if If you go to Longyou, you will most likely end up in Dafeichuan, without even a burial place! Anyway, you are going to the frontier to fight. Instead of going to Longyou and Anxi to fight the Tubo people, it is better to stay in the east, at least here There are many benefits to following the teacher and Governor Wang!"
"Yes, I won't go back to Chang'an either!"
"Yes, I heard a Silla businessman say last time that the Japanese Nambajin has developed rapidly in recent years, and the streets are prosperous. If allowed, I will bring a few hundred gold to Nambajin to do some business. It will definitely be better than returning to Chang'an. good!"
Seeing the disciples arguing over there, Cao Wenzong felt warm in his heart. Compared with the bad things he encountered in the Japanese country, it was much more pleasant to get along with these innocent children.
Compared with the other brothers, Wu Xiaoyi was much more alert. He asked carefully: "Teacher, is Wang Wenzuo going to attack the Silla people?"
Cao Wenzong frowned. His disciple's rudeness made him a little unhappy. He shook his head and scolded: "You can call me Wang Gong, Ambassador Wang, or General Wang. How can you call your Lord by his first name? Fortunately, I heard you. , otherwise if others hear it, wouldn’t it be asking for trouble?”
Wu Xiaoyi was scolded by Cao Wenzong and did not dare to say anything. He could only lower his head and said: "Master teaches, and the disciple has learned!"
Cao Wenzong snorted coldly: "Your Majesty's affairs are so unpredictable that we can't predict them. But the people of Silla have done a lot of things, so Your Majesty just gave me a small warning!"
"A little precept?"
"Well, the Lord wants to kill Jin Yuxin!"
"Kill Jin Yuxin?" Wu Xiaoyi laughed: "Master, are you kidding me? That Jin Yuxin is over seventy years old. He is lying in bed with breath coming in and out in his dying years. Even if he doesn't do anything, he might die tomorrow. Why bother? Kill him? Let’s just stop and assassinate King Jin Famin of Silla and let Junior Sister Xiaoman become the King of Silla!”
"This is the master's plan, what do you know!" Cao Wenzong scolded: "Jin Famin is the king of Silla, how can he be so easy to kill? Besides, Xiaoman has no foundation in Silla. She only relies on one The remaining veins of the holy bones also want to ascend the throne and become king? What you think is too simple!"
Wu Xiaoyi did not dare to argue with Cao Wenzong and muttered: "I just think it is unnecessary to do this. To be honest, even if we don't do anything, Jin Yuxin may not be able to survive this winter. As the saying goes, seventy-three, eighty Fourth, the King of Hell didn’t ask me to go! At Jin Yuxin’s age, why bother with this effort!”
Hearing what Wu Xiaoyi said, Cao Wenzong was also a little hesitant: "What you said makes sense, let's do this! Let's find a way to find out about Jin Yuxin's situation first, and then we can act according to circumstances!"
————————————————————————
Jin Yuxin Mansion.
"Move my chair outside, to a sunny place!"
Jin Yuxin said in a tired voice. The guard pushed his wheelchair out the window, and the sun shone on the old man's body. Jin Yuxin looked at the orange tree outside the window intoxicated, and murmured to himself: "It's ripe, the oranges are about to be ripe!"
He was right, as the oranges from the tree continued to fall and burst onto the stone floor below. Every time the guard took a breath, the rich sweetness filled his nose. Jin Yuxin undoubtedly smelled it too, as he sat under the orange tree, his wheelchair equipped with hardwood wheels and a soft bearskin cushion.
For a long time, the only sound in the yard was the noise of children coming from next door, and occasionally there was a soft "pop", which was another orange falling. Jin Yuxin liked this place very much. Ever since the last time the Tang and Silla coalition forces invaded Pyongyang and completely wiped out Goguryeo, the energy that supported the old man seemed to have disappeared. Jin Yuxin no longer rode horses and rarely went out. As long as the weather allowed, he would go out every day. He spent most of his time in this courtyard full of orange trees, listening to the noise of the children next door, as if he was spending his last days here to compensate for his life's hard work.
There were rapid footsteps outside the courtyard, like drum beats. They must be the footsteps of the king. He is the only one who dares to walk like this here. Of course, he is not the only one. Behind him is Jin Tengbin who is chasing with small steps. He is Jin Famin's Confidant and wise man.
"Your Majesty!" When Jin Famin appeared at the courtyard gate, the guards stepped forward to salute.
"Is it convenient for Yu Xingong now?" Jin Famin whispered. He was always full of respect for this old man who assisted himself and his father in reviving Silla.
"Is it your Majesty? Come in!" Jin Yuxin, who seemed to be half asleep just now, waved to Jin Famin: "What can I do?"
"There is news from the Japanese country!" Jin Famin quickly walked to Jin Yuxin's side: "The expeditionary army sent by the Tang Dynasty has invaded the four countries. The ghost boy we supported has been killed by his subordinates, and the rebellion has been put down! It's still! Yes, the Baishan Mohe people did not do what they promised, I suspect that guy Qi Sibiyu is playing tricks!"
"Come closer, Your Majesty, come closer!" Jin Yuxin waved. In the shadow under the orange tree, the old man was sitting in a wheelchair, with his skinny legs propped in front of him, his eyes were sunken, and his cheeks were shriveled... Time has taken away too many things from him, but his mind is still sharp and wise. In the yard next door, children were still playing. The guards heard them chasing each other, shouting and shouting in high-pitched voices.
"Your Majesty, do you remember?" Jin Yuxin said with a smile: "Not long ago, you were also a child in the yard next door, and there was Renshou, both of you, playing and chasing each other just like them!"
"Not long ago?" Jin Famin was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously turned his gaze to the yard next door. After a moment, he smiled and said: "Yu Xingong, that was at least thirty years ago!"
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