The young man called "Chong He" turned his head away and silently sulked. In the jianghu of Jiangnan, he had always been a cultured and refined gentleman of the sword. He shouldn't have been so rude and disrespectful. However, now that he was outside the barren Beiliang Pass, he often rode his horse for a day without seeing anyone. He was not acclimatized to the environment and was unbearably sullen. Thinking back to his hometown in the Central Plains, it should be a beautiful season in the misty rain. There would be alleys selling apricot flowers, boating on lakes, and dancing in brothels all night long. Even if he didn't do anything, it was still enjoyable to practice martial arts with his martial brothers and sisters in the deep courtyard of his home. It was better than drinking wind and eating sand and being bullied in the northwest border.
Hsu Fengnian smiled and asked, "How about I lead the way for you?"
The young man immediately muttered, "Being unaccountably solicitous, he definitely doesn't have good intentions. Isn't he still having bad intentions towards my sister?"
The old man glared at his disciple, who was shooting his mouth off. He then turned to Xu Fengnian. Without being pretentious, he laughed heartily and said, "That's just as well. When we reach the Great Wall and hand over the travel pass, I'll definitely treat Little Brother to a few jins of Green Ant Wine. To tell you the truth, I have long heard of this wine. However, when I tasted it in the past, the taste … I don't dare to compliment it. I didn't think that now that I am in Beiliang, the more I drink, the more I can't put it down. I bought two pounds of wine at Longkou Pass in Liangzhou and it was empty in less than two days. Now the wine worm in my stomach is revolting fiercely. "
The five of them traveled together. The old man and Hsu Fengnian chatted about Beiliang's local customs. They had a tacit understanding not to ask about each other's identities. It was a big taboo to talk about such things with strangers. However, the young swordsman quickly couldn't hold himself back. His voice was neither soft nor loud, just loud enough for Hsu Fengnian to hear. He said, "Sister, the founding emperor of the Great Feng Dynasty once wrote a letter to the Master of the Grasslands. He said, 'To the north and west of Ji Zhou, the place where the bow is drawn is under your command.' And 'to the south and east of Ji Zhou, the crown and belt are to be built by me. Tens of thousands of people will plough and weave, my subjects and lords will live in peace, and there will be no tyranny'. "
The young woman's voice was gentle. "Senior brother, didn't you say that when you first entered Beiliang?"
In front, Hsu Fengnian laughed and said, "This is for me, a Beiliang barbarian from the west of Ji Province."
The old man who was running side by side with Hsu Fengnian smiled knowingly. "Little brother, you're so magnanimous."
Hsu Fengnian joked, "It's because I've been holding it in bit by bit. Otherwise, I would have suffered internal injuries."
That young man named Chong He was obviously seriously injured.
Hsu Fengnian suddenly said, "The Hong Yuu you are familiar with, is it the Hong Yuu who recently became the deputy general of the Rouge Heavy Cavalry?"
The old man hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "That's him."
Hsu Fengnian laughed. "Senior, you've already handed over your travel permit at the Protectorate. You'll have to go south again for a while, to the grave, to find General Hong. At that time, I'll ask someone to lead the way for you. Otherwise, you really might not be able to see General Hong. It's not that we Beiliang are narrow-minded. It's just that General Hong's current position is very special. Not to mention you, even many of the Beiliang Frontier Army generals with real power can't easily see those heavy cavalry. "
Then the old man and Hsu Fengnian looked at each other and smiled. They didn't need to say anything.
Then the two talked about interesting stories of the Central Plains' Jianghu. The old man was very knowledgeable and talkative. He talked about the current situation of Mount Hui, about the Rouge Heavy Cavalry's Civil and Military Evaluations, and about the General Evaluations. He couldn't suppress his exultation. "With little brother's insight, I'm sure you know why I put the General Evaluations at the end. The General Evaluations include Liyang, Beimang, and Beiliang, while the General Evaluations only include Liyang. This is probably the most important evaluation since the fall of the Great Feng Dynasty. There are ten people in the General Evaluations. There are four in Liyang, Chen Zhibao, Cao Changqing, Gu Jiantang, and Lu Shengxiang. Beimang has three, Dong Zhuo, Liu Gui, and Yang Yuanzan. Beiliang has Yan Wenluan, Chu Lushan, and Great Ancestor Gu. At the end of the General Evaluations, there are additional comments on Xie Xibian, Kou Jianghuai, Tuoba Qiyun, Zhong Tan, and Song Li. "
Hsu Fengnian joked, "Yuan Zuozong didn't make the list. I'm not convinced."
Perhaps the young swordsman didn't like Hsu Fengnian, so he couldn't help but argue, "Beiliang is still not satisfied. There are three people in the General Evaluations. If you add Chen Zhibao, who rode into Shu alone, there are four. That's almost half of the rankings. In addition, there's the young King of Vassal State who became one of the four grandmasters. There's also Xu Yanbing who suddenly appeared. As for the Evaluations, there's also Beiliang's Junior Guardian Chen Wang and Sun Yin. They're on the same level as Yin Maochun. What else does Beiliang want? "
Hsu Fengnian smiled calmly, "That's why Beiliang is a good place. Not only do we have barbarians, but we also have scholars who can turn the tide and help the people."
That guy instantly suffered another internal injury.
The woman in the hat covered her mouth and smiled.
The old man sighed, "For so many years, This Old Man has always been puzzled by one thing. With Beiliang's manpower and material resources, how can they support the three hundred thousand cavalry at the border?"
Hsu Fengnian said softly, "In order to compete with Beimang, the Liyang Army claims to have eight hundred thousand cavalry. It's more than the Dafeng Dynasty at its peak, half in Beiliang and half in Liyang."
For some reason, when the four of them heard this, their eyes were filled with the monotonous and desolate scenery of the northwest. They couldn't help but have a complicated feeling.
As they approached the Huaiyang Pass, Hsu Fengnian asked, "Senior, if you didn't know Hong Yuu, who was a general in Beiliang, would you still come to Beiliang?"
The old man was stunned and said calmly, "Of course not."
Hsu Fengnian nodded slightly. His expression didn't change.
However, the old man soon smiled and said, "But since Xu Xiao's death, the muddled account of 'unrighteous spring and autumn' has come to an end. I believe This Old Man isn't the only one who thinks this way. Many people of the older generation think the same way. Since that young man surnamed Xu said those words in Tai 'an City, as long as they didn't have a blood feud with him, many of the knots in their hearts were untied. After entering Beiliang, This Old Man heard a lot of things and realized that many things were very different from what he imagined. In the future, he'll find time to write to his old friends in his hometown and tell them about a different Beiliang. It turns out that here, there's also the sound of books, the sound of chickens and dogs, and … "
When the old man said this, he couldn't help but laugh. "There's also the wine seller who makes me regret that I didn't come 30 or 40 years earlier."
Hsu Fengnian said seriously, "Cold women are just like the Green Ant Wine that burns like fire in the mouth. Once you're addicted to it, it'll be hard to change to another wine in your life."
The young man snorted and said, "Then why did your King of Beiliang marry two women from other places?"
Hsu Fengnian was speechless for a moment. After a moment of silence, he turned his head and said helplessly, "This time … I admit defeat because your swordsmanship is unparalleled."
At first, the young man looked smug. Then, he put on a cold face. But soon, the corners of his mouth curled up. When he looked at this abominable Beiliang son again, he didn't seem so annoying.
The Huaiyang Pass that appeared in the vision of the five riders was different from Hutou City and Liuya Fuling. Since it was named "pass", it meant that one man could hold the pass against ten thousand men. It also meant that once the smoke of war rose, this place would become a battlefield for the military. Most of the passes mentioned in military books were like this. No matter the size, as long as one wanted to cross the border quickly, one had to take down these passes that were built on the roads and strategic locations. Only then could one drive straight in without any worries. On the contrary, there were many majestic cities and huge towns that looked very awe-inspiring, but once the battle began, they could very well circle around the city. There were many such cities in the Liyang Defense Line, but this didn't mean that their appearance was meaningless. On the contrary, although their existence didn't have much of an effect in stopping the enemy's army, their existence itself was a type of deterrent. To the Northern Mang, they were a type of chicken ribs. If they attacked, they would suffer heavy losses. If they circled around, their supplies would be in danger. However, all the cities were rooted and unmoving. Generals and military strategies were flexible. When the time came, it would depend on who was stronger and who was stronger.
Beiliang was lacking in depth. The most tragic thing about it was that every inch of its territory was a place of death where blood would flow.
Since Beimang attacked Beiliang with the power of the entire country, it was under the premise that Beiliang would force them to fight for territory inch by inch. They still had to rely on their national strength to crush them.
At this time, Hsu Fengnian outside the Huaiyang Pass was a little worried. He wasn't worried about the aggressive Beimang army. Instead, he was thinking about the farmer's proverb that every second of the wheat in the spring equinox was worth a thousand gold. He thought about how many Beiliang people would have a shortage of food this year. He thought about the children who were still in private school when he passed through the Tuma Pass. They would probably be even more envious of the thin skin but filled meat buns.
At this time, the graceful woman with the hat on her head held back her shyness and quietly stared at the man whose name she didn't know. There was only one thought in her mind that made her embarrassed. If only he was the young Great Grandmaster that she yearned for day and night, if only he was the King of Beiliang that many of her close friends in her hometown adored.
When they heard that she was coming to Beiliang, many of the noble ladies who only knew how to do needlework, who were usually gentle and graceful, almost eloped with her.
Her master laughed and said that this kind of scene that made all the men in the world beat their chests and stamp their feet was probably only seen many years ago when Li Chungang roamed the jianghu with a sword.
Now, how many people didn't miss the beautiful women in Jiangnan?
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