Hsu Fengnian slowly said, "In a situation where this young Grand Secretary and Beiliang both sides are well aware of, there are many things that cannot be resisted. Among them, the Han Family that is filled with martyrs is too stubborn and conservative, also not wishing to use their entire family's foundation as a wedding dress for Beiliang's Xu Family. Once they compromise, the Han Family's status as the northern military's mainstay will disappear, then the Han Family that has fought against the northern nomads for generations will also quickly become a thing of the past. You have to understand that when the Xu family died, the Han Family's head was still drinking and chatting merrily with my father, these two close friends. If I remember correctly, the first matchmaker I met wasn't that prince consort, but rather a little girl from the Han Family who still had goat horns. She was behind her father, half of her face exposed, making a face at me. "
Hsu Fengnian's hands withdrew into his sleeves. "At first, things didn't fall apart, the Han Family also put in a lot of effort. Then, Yuan Benxi stuck his foot in, viciously dealing with Zhang Julu. By the time my father mobilized the armored cavalry, crossed the border to rescue the Han Family children, everything was already too late. "
Hsu Fengnian looked towards the sky. "When I was young, I would often dream of that goat horned girl, half of her face covered in blood, always crying, telling me that it hurt."
Hsu Fengnian said in self-mockery, "In the past, I was most afraid of having nightmares about her. Later on, when I wanted to dream about her again, there was already no way."
Hsu Fengnian's waist bent slightly, as if he couldn't bear the burden, but also as if he remembered someone.
"When I was young, I didn't understand anything, saying a lot of things out of anger. I even said something to Xu Xiao's face, roughly saying that I became Xu Xiao's son, that it was eight lifetimes of bad luck, that I was like this, that my mother was also like this."
"When I grew up, only then did I realize that Xu Xiao actually already couldn't have done any better. Everything he could give me, as a father, he already gave me. He always talked about how high-spirited he had been when he was young, how many victories he had won and how much glory he had enjoyed. At that time, I always didn't have the patience to listen to him talk about these old and rotten grains. When I got impatient, I would say, Xu Xiao, a real man doesn't boast about his past achievements. Let's not blabber on and on, okay? "
"All the smart people in the world laughed at Xu Xiao for being a fool. He helped the late emperor conquer the world, but in the end, he had to guard against his son like he was guarding against a thief for twenty years. In fact, everyone was well aware that Xu Xiao would not rebel. If he wanted to rebel, the Central Plains would have long been divided into two rivers. But the more this was the case, the more Li Yang would take a yard after taking an inch. That was why the Zhao Clan's Son of Heaven had Zhao Kai take the bottle to the Western Regions, had Chen Zhibao cut off Beiliang's path of retreat, and forced the Xu family's three hundred thousand cavalry to fight Beimang to the death. The Zhao Clan's Son of Heaven used this method to help his son wear the dragon robe. In Zhao Zhuan's court, among his officials, there would be no martial artist Xu Xiao whose achievements shook the emperor. There would be no scholar Zhang Julu who cared about the people of the world. Within his territory, there would be no border officials who couldn't get rid of him. There would be no vassals who coveted the dragon throne. There would only be a severely weakened Beimang left behind for his son to complete the great undertaking that the Great Qin and Great Feng dynasties couldn't accomplish. "
"Xu Xiao once said that the current Son of Heaven's Son of Heaven's magnanimity was far inferior to the late emperor, but he could be considered a good emperor."
As Hsu Fengnian spoke, he squatted down and grabbed a handful of yellow sand, holding it tightly in his hand.
Sui Xie Gu sighed softly.
Tantai Pingjing suddenly turned around and looked into the distance. There were a dozen or so riders approaching.
Their armor was stained with blood, and their weapons and crossbows were broken.
Hsu Fengnian stood up. When the dozen or so riders who originally wanted to use this precious water source to quickly replenish themselves saw the three people, they seemed to be conflicted. If there was no water, they and their warhorses wouldn't be able to withstand the pursuit of the enemy's Black Fox Bars from several li away.
The rider at the front waved his hand and charged towards the water source. The exhausted fourteen riders dismounted from their horses. When they were filling their bags with water and the warhorses were brushing their noses, there were people carefully watching Hsu Fengnian and the other two in case anything unexpected happened. This place was already far away from the Beiliang border of the Southern Dynasty. The probability of encountering their own people was about the same as encountering the northern barbarians in Beiliang territory. These fourteen riders were all elite riders with light armor and light crossbows. They were all tall and sturdy, and their horsemanship was exquisite. They also had the latest generation of cold blades at their waists. It could be seen that they were the best crossbowmen in the Beiliang Frontier Army. However, this time, they had probably encountered an enemy force of at least a hundred riders. All of them were injured. One of the warhorses had reached the water source and swayed a few times before dying on the spot. The rider held back his tears and didn't look at his beloved warhorse. Without a word, the two riders beside him exchanged for a less damaged crossbow for him. This crossbowman who had lost his mount and was destined not to return to the border alive was even less likely to return on the same horse as his comrades. That would only cause the death of another comrade. This rider carried the light crossbow on his back and touched the cold blade at his waist. He grinned at the other crossbowmen and then turned to face the Black Fox Bars that were pursuing them and intercepting military intelligence.
At this moment, the leader of the crossbowmen, who had already mounted his horse, saw the young man with an extraordinary bearing. He smiled and said, "I'll give you three horses in exchange for a cold blade. How about it?"
The man who looked like the leader of the crossbowmen was taken aback. He asked, "You're also from Liangzhou?"
Hsu Fengnian nodded. "I'm a native of Liangzhou."
The leader of the crossbowmen quickly said, "If that's the case, I can lend you my cold blade. However, I hope that young master can come find me at Wolf Sealing Pass later. My name is Zhu Geng. This time, my brothers and I owe you our lives! Young master's steeds are all priceless. Even if we sold everything we had, we still wouldn't be able to afford them. Zhu Geng definitely won't be able to repay this favor in this lifetime. Zhu Geng isn't a hypocritical person. I only dare say that in the future, I'll kill thirty more Northern Barbarian Bars for young master! "
Zhu Geng turned to the rider who had clearly gone to his death. "Li Tingji, get back here. Get on my horse and return to Wolf Sealing Pass with me!"
Hsu Fengnian gave the three horses to Zhu Geng. When he handed over the reins, he said something that Zhu Geng didn't understand. However, he didn't have the time to think about it. "One crossbowmen for fifty riders. I owe you thirty-six lives."
The fourteen riders cupped their fists in thanks. Zhu Geng didn't forget to remind him, "Young master, be careful. There are sixty Black Fox Barbarians and three hundred Beimang Light Cavalry about two li behind us."
Hsu Fengnian nodded. After the fourteen crossbowmen were far away, he looked at the two battered warhorses. He turned to Tantai Pingjing and Sui Xie Gu and said, "I'll have to trouble the two seniors to send these two horses to Wolf Sealing Pass. Then, wait for me at the Governor-General's residence."
Sui Xie Gu was about to speak when he saw Tantai Pingjing's cold glare. He could only swallow his words.
Hsu Fengnian's right hand held the borrowed Beiliang Blade and slowly walked forward.
His left hand, which had been holding a handful of sand, loosened its fingers. Yellow sand scattered into the air.
He slowly walked towards the three hundred riders.
Next spring, the loquat tree in a small courtyard would sprout new buds and bloom new flowers.
The next spring would be the same. However, he didn't know if he would be able to see it with his own eyes.
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