Outside the Northern Liang Pass, a majestic city had been built from the ground. Further south, this new city, which had just been officially named 'Refusing the North', also had the atmosphere of a skyscraper rising from the ground. A small market appeared. Although it was small, it had all the essentials. There were restaurants, teahouses, inns, pawnshops, and gambling dens. There were merchants and peddlers who came here to look for business. There were scholars who traveled to the border. There were Jianghu people who came here to visit with their friends. There were people who told stories here. There was a lot of discussion about the name of the new city. The foreigners all felt that the name Beijue City was not strong enough. It was not as straightforward as the name Beijue City. The scholars of the Academy who had not been appointed as officials in Beiliang generally thought that Beijue City was more appropriate. Although it had a strong evil spirit, they had been in the northwest for more than a year. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. They began to be influenced by the customs of the Liangren people. Like water entering a sandpit, it was no longer a hidden spring in the forest, but a turbid wine.
Beijue City, which was built at the beginning of the second year of Xiangfu, was the most important city in Beiliang, both strategically and symbolically. There were rumors that not only would the Protectorate General move into the new city from Huaiyang Pass at the end of the year, but a new Liangzhou Prince would also build an official office here and become the "Provincial Governor of the Outer Pass" who had both military and political power in Liangzhou. However, despite the importance of Beijue City, the elite border troops stationed around the new city were still in the pattern of Northern Yan and Southern Song. This could be seen from the fact that there were no patrols in the market. At first, the scholars who went to Beiliang were puzzled. They only understood after the local merchants explained that there were fierce battles outside the pass and peace inside the pass. Beiliang had been peaceful for more than 20 years.
When it was close to noon and the sun was high in the sky, Hsu Fengnian walked alone in the market nicknamed Xiaque Town. There were no white horses or guards around him. Even Xu Yanbing did not accompany him. Most of the people in the market were foreigners. Other than the people of Liangzhou and the old people like Yan Wenluan, there were not many people who were familiar with the new Prince of Beiliang. The tens of thousands of soldiers in Hutou City were familiar with him. Unfortunately, they had all died in battle, including their general Liu Jinu. They were also familiar with Hsu Fengnian's soldiers. However, more than half of them had died in the second Battle of Hulukou. Other than Yu Luandao, no one else would appear here.
At this time, Hsu Fengnian's face was a little pale. This was the aftereffect of the battle at the Imperial Astronomer. Qi Jiajie's Sword Qi had been suppressed in three acupoints after Xuanyuan Qingfeng had "transferred" it to Hsu Fengnian. This was also the premise that Hsu Fengnian was able to fight with Đồng Thái and Cao Changqing at the Xiamawei Courier Station. Now, the Sword Qi was flowing freely in his body like a flood breaking through a dam. It was as if an army was passing through, or a cavalry galloping on the ground. Hsu Fengnian's Sword Qi seemed to be thundering inside his body. If it were a Taoist saint who was good at inner vision, he would have completely given up on the idea of immortality.
Xu Fengnian picked a restaurant that was bustling with people and sat down. Out of the three times he had been in Jianghu, he had lived a life of haggling over every ounce. He knew that a single copper coin could not kill a hero, and he was used to having money in the palm of his hand. Weighing his money pouch, Hsu Fengnian ordered a pot of wine, two bowls of rice, and three dishes. He sat by the window, took off his cold saber, and put on his casual clothes. He looked like an ordinary scholar who had traveled to the border. The restaurant was not big, but business was good. As more and more diners poured in, there were people who had the intention of sharing a table. The waiter ran over to Hsu Fengnian with a troubled expression. Hsu Fengnian smiled and nodded, saying that it was fine. However, he had requested for two pots of Green Ant Wine and that he would have to pay the price of one pot. The waiter thought about it and felt that this business was still profitable, so he acted on his own initiative and agreed on behalf of the restaurant owner. There were five people sharing a table with Hsu Fengnian, one woman and four men. The four men had completely different auras. It was unknown how they got together, but it was obvious that they were heroic and scholarly. For example, there was a tall man in his thirties. The scabbard of his sword was made of gold. As for the scholarly man, not only did he have a scholarly aura, but he also had a red sandalwood folding fan sprinkled with gold. The fan pendant was made of the rare redwood that could not be bought with money. However, Hsu Fengnian's eyes were shrewd and ruthless. One of the redwood pendants was made of honey, while the other one was made of low-grade iron. Thus, the difference in status between the two was obvious. It was obvious that the latter was just putting on an act. One table and four long benches. Two heroic guests and two scholarly men sat side by side on Hsu Fengnian's left and right. Only the young and elegant woman sat alone across from Hsu Fengnian. Clothes make the man, and Buddha makes the gold. Probably they did not take the plainly dressed Hsu Fengnian seriously, so they talked without restraint. The woman had a Jiangnan accent, soft and gentle. She did not speak much, but she did not agree with the men. The two chivalrous men had a Jizhou accent and a Liaodong accent, while the scholars came from Qingzhou in the Central Plains and Jianzhou in the Southeast.
These four men talked about the world's situation as well as Jianghu anecdotes. In their words, they had mixed feelings about the Liyang imperial court. They felt that the officials of the various government offices in the capital were a new atmosphere for the new dynasty. It was a pity that Lu Shengxiang and the other generals of the southern expedition failed to live up to expectations, which allowed the Guangling rebels to take advantage of the situation and grow stronger. However, without exception, they did not have any doubts about the entire Liyang dynasty's prosperity. First of all, Beiliang had defeated Beimang, and the northwest gate was as stable as a rock. Second of all, Gu Jiantang's two Liao Border Armies had finally taken the initiative to attack and won a series of inspiring victories. Before this, the two vassal kings surnamed Zhao, the Prince of Yan Chi, Zhao Yi, and the Prince of Guangling, who liked to compete with the Beiliang cavalry, had greatly disappointed the people. Fortunately, the Great Pillar State Gu Jiantang had stepped forward at this time, allowing the people to feel relieved. It turned out that in Liyang, other than the Beiliang Border Army, there was no one who could compete with the Beimang barbarians. When it came to the two Liao and the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, Xu Gong, who patrolled the borders for the Emperor, the scholar from the Central Plains "casually" said that his father's generation had a close relationship with Assistant Minister Xu. They had been schoolmates in the early years, and later on, they had become colleagues. When General Long Xiang entered the capital to take up his post, his father's generation had been in the procession to send him off. Even now, they were still exchanging letters. Hearing this, the woman who had been glancing at Hsu Fengnian from time to time suddenly became high and mighty again.
Hsu Fengnian ate slowly and carefully, but there were only two bowls of rice and three dishes. No matter how slow he ate, he would eventually finish. Fortunately, there was still a pot of Green Ant wine by his side. He put down his chopsticks and opened the pot to pour himself a cup of wine. In reality, it was not just his table that was talking loudly. Most of the people in the restaurant were talking about the state affairs and eating the dishes and wine that cost two or three taels of silver. They were talking about the hearts of the imperial palace of Great Peace City or the wangfu of Mount Qing Liang in Beiliang. Hsu Fengnian smiled as he listened to the hubbub around him. He raised his wine cup and turned his head to look at the bright sunny sky outside the window. At some point, the scholar from Jianzhou, who was holding the carved Maitreya fan, had mentioned the new King Liang, who he had never met before. Perhaps he was drunk, or perhaps he was deliberately trying to surprise the woman he liked, but his words were a bit harsh. After drinking a cup, he sneered, "Everyone knows that the eldest son of the old King Liang was a bastard in his early years. His Royal Highness was a bastard. He was a bastard for more than ten years and was infamous. The first time he showed his face was when the old King Liang let him participate in the martial arts parade outside Beiliang. Clearly, this was to pave the way for the hereditary title of King of Beiliang. Now, the people of Beiliang all say that when the new King Liang was the Crown Prince and the General of Lingzhou, he taught the general of Huaihua, Zhong Hongwu, a harsh lesson. It was very satisfying. Is this really the case? "
The beautiful woman asked curiously, "Master Song, what do you mean?"
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