Under the scorching sun in midsummer, the breeze from the valley blew slowly. Walking on the desolate ancient road, Xiaoliu's heart was filled with sighs.
I came here in a hurry, but I didn’t take a closer look at this thousand-year-old road that is full of past events of rise and fall. Now we are returning, walking on this winding mountain road for hundreds of miles, looking at the cliffs on both sides that reach into the sky. Xiaoliu couldn't help but sigh in his heart, it was indeed a hundred and two Qin pass, one of the nine fortresses in the world.
The road is narrow on both sides and the ground is dangerous! He originally thought that this was just an exaggerated expression by the ancients. But only now did I realize that this was actually the most realistic portrayal of this place.
I saw the cliffs on both sides rising from the ground, more than tens of feet high, but only a few feet apart. The chariots and horses couldn't walk together, just like a deep stream.
Moreover, the mountains in front and behind are endless and winding. As far as you can see, everything is mountains.
"Brother, this journey is too difficult. When will we be able to finish it?"
Xiao Qi, who was riding the same horse as Xiao Liu, could not help but look at Xiao Liu tiredly as he looked at the mountain road that he had walked for several days but still could not finish.
Even Wushuang on the other horse couldn't help but look at Xiaoliu after hearing this.
And Xiaoliu looked at the endless mountain roads in front and behind. The mountains were full of rocks and the rocks were full of dangers. Even with his photographic memory, he couldn't tell where he was at this time.
However, he roughly estimated the distance and felt that he should be there soon.
"Don't worry, we'll be here soon." Xiao Liu comforted the two of them.
As he spoke, he also touched Xiao Qi's little head.
"If you feel tired, let's take a rest first."
"No, Xiaoqi is not tired. Since we are almost there, let's hurry up."
Xiao Qi forced a smile on her tired face and looked at Xiao Liu firmly.
Although she was indeed very tired and her butt hurt, she understood that she had been walking very slowly because she had to take care of her. But in fact, her brother had long wanted to go home.
Including Sister Wushuang, she has been looking depressed these past few days. I guess she must also want to see her senior brother as soon as possible.
But they are all because of her. . , but she really doesn’t want to be a burden.
Seeing the stubborn look on Xiao Qi's tired face, Xiao Liu felt both distressed and relieved. He touched Xiao Qi's little head and said with a smile:
"Okay, let's continue on our way."
"Yeah!" Xiao Qi nodded happily.
"By the way, Xiao Qi, do you know where this is?" Xiao Liu suddenly changed the subject.
"Huh? Where?" Xiao Qi couldn't help but asked curiously after listening to Xiao Liu's words, although she had already guessed that her brother was going to start selling again... No! It's time to tell her a story.
"This is the famous Xiaohan Ancient Road."
"Ancient road?"
"Well, one hundred and two Qin Passes, nine fortresses in the world!"
Xiao Liu talked about the origin of the ancient Xiaohan Road, which not only aroused Xiao Qi's curiosity, but also Wu Shuang behind them was attracted and listened with interest.
The ancient Weihan Road is adjacent to the Qinling Mountains in the south, the Yellow River in the north, Heluo in the east, and Guanzhong in the west. It is an important connection between the North China Plain and the Guanzhong Plain and an important hub for cultural exchanges between the two places.
There are too many stories that have happened on this ancient road, carrying too many memories, countless ups and downs, and endless ups and downs, among which Guang Xiaoliu is familiar with:
The false road destroyed Guo, the lips were dead and the teeth were cold. Qin and Jin fought for hegemony, and Duke Mu went eastward.
Rhinoceros heads together to lock Hangu vertically, and Zhang Yilian sweeps across Liuhe.
When the purple energy came from the east, Lao Tzu left five thousand words of mantra in ancient times. The white horse carried the sutra, and Buddhism spread to the Central Plains.
There are also Du Fu's Shi Hao Li, Zhang Yanghao's Tong Guan Gu, Meng Changjun's Chicken Crow and Dog Robbers, Gongsun Long's White Horse, etc.
Listening to the sway of the Yellow River, looking at the majestic cliffs and quiet empty valleys, one can't help but recall the rise and fall of the ages.
Although Xiao Liu had told them too many stories along the way, the two of them were inadvertently immersed in the rise and fall of those thousand years while listening to Xiao Liu's emotional talk.
Even the sound of the fighting seemed to still be echoing in the valley.
'Um? No, this is not an illusion. '
Xiaoliu, who has excellent hearing, was the first to realize something was wrong. This was not an auditory hallucination, but the sound of weapons clashing, and it was not far ahead.
Xiaoliu quickly signaled to the Wushuang duo that there was a sound of fighting ahead.
Then he got off the horse and handed Xiaoqi on the horse to Wushuang for care.
After getting along for this period of time, Wushuang and Wu Shuang also understood what Xiao Liu meant, but they also knew that Xiao Liu was very powerful in martial arts and following him would be a burden for them.
"Brother Yan, you must pay attention to safety."
"elder brother…"
"Don't worry, I'll go take a look and come back soon."
Xiao Liu smiled and nodded to the two of them, then jumped up and flew forward on the rocks.
In just a blink of an eye, Xiao Liu's figure disappeared from the sight of the two of them.
Seeing Xiao Liu's figure disappear, Xiao Qi felt an unspeakable loss in her heart.
Wushuang on the side quickly comforted him: "Don't worry, Xiaoqi, Brother Yan will be fine because of his strong martial arts skills."
Having said that, even Wushuang himself couldn't help but feel a little worried.
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Xiao Liu dodged a few times and arrived at the place where the weapons were clashing. He silently clung to the cliff and watched the fight between the people below.
I saw three big men below, two with knives and one with a sword, besieging a man in strange clothes and holding a weapon similar to a Tang sword in his hand.
'Well, it's actually Japanese, no, it should be said, Japanese! '
Xiao Liu recognized the Japanese samurai sword in the man's hand at a glance, as well as his very recognizable Japanese clothing.
'How brave, actually daring to wear Japanese clothes and walk on the land of the Ming Dynasty, and even go deep into this Guanzhong land. But being able to get this far probably requires some skill. '
Xiaoliu thought secretly in his heart.
The Ming Dynasty and Japan had close exchanges. Not only blood is thicker than water, it can also be said that the hatred is as deep as the sea.
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, in the past two hundred years, the problem of Japanese invasion along the southeast coast has been as troublesome to the Ming Dynasty as the invasion of the Mongolian Tatars in the north.
Even among the people, in the world, and in the eyes of ordinary people, these Japanese pirates are more dangerous and terrifying than those Tatars.
After all, the Tatars' looting was purposeful, time-limited, and a large-scale militarized operation.
This made it easy for the Ming army to guard against the invasion of the Tatars. Coupled with the attention of the court, under normal circumstances, the Tatars in the north could not even cross the Nine Borders, let alone invade the hinterland of the Central Plains.
The Japanese pirates were different. They had no precise target. They basically plundered wherever they went. And relying on the vast coastline of the southeastern coast, the Japanese pirates were even more rampant, making it impossible for the Ming army to take good defense. Japanese pirates.
In addition, although the number of Japanese pirates was small, they were very elite. There were even a large number of Japanese warriors with martial arts skills among them. These warriors mingled among the rogue pirates and caused extremely serious massacres to the soldiers and civilians of the Ming Dynasty.
For example, in the 34th year of the Jiajing reign, the Japanese pirates plundered several southeastern provinces, attacking important places in the south of the Yangtze River such as Wuhu, Huizhou, and Nanjing. They dug graves wherever they went and robbed women. They burned, killed, and robbed women in a particularly ruthless manner. They impaled babies on the tips of spears and divided the female corpses. Yu Luye.
Among them was a group of Japanese pirate warriors, a total of seventy-two people, who came from Quzhou and Yanzhou in Zhejiang, passed through Raozhou in Jiangxi, Huizhou and other places, and arrived in Nanjing. The Ming army in Nanjing fought with them and killed eight to nine hundred people, but not one of these 72 people escaped.
This group of Japanese pirates roamed several places and reportedly caused more than 4,000 Ming army casualties, causing shock to the government and the public.
Fortunately, in the end, with the concerted efforts of the martial arts comrades and the Ming army, these seventy-two thieves were surrounded and annihilated in Huishan Temple, and no one survived.
As Jianghu and Chaotang gradually paid attention to the Japanese pirates issue, the two sides reached a consensus and agreed to fight against the Japanese pirates.
In the remaining ten years, under the leadership of the famous general Yu Long Qihu, the Japanese plague that had plagued the southeast for hundreds of years was wiped out.
Not only were the Japanese pirates wiped out, but the southeastern pirates who collaborated with the Japanese pirates were also wiped out, and the entire southeastern sea area was cleared.
The war between Japan and Japan, which lasted for more than ten years, also sacrificed many martial arts masters. This bloody feud is still fresh in the memory to this day. This has also led to many martial arts warriors who can't help but think of that memory whenever they see Japanese people, and they can't wait to pick up their swords.
"Japanese pirate, you must die today!"
The three big men below are obviously patriotic knights full of passion. However, although they shout powerful words, their skills in their hands are really poor. The Japanese are not only able to fight three against one, but they are also very capable. Obviously he's still trying out his moves.
