A horse-drawn carriage stopped outside the outskirts of Liangzhou City. A young man wearing a saber and a jade pendant alighted from the carriage, carrying a jug of Green Ant Wine that he had just bought. Looking around, he saw persimmon trees scattered on the plains in twos and threes. Clusters of bright yellow flowers hung on the branches, barely making the barren northwest land look like a bumper harvest. The young man walked forward slowly, from time to time looking at the familiar persimmon trees near and far. He remembered that he often slipped out of the city to wander around this place. He was bored to death, so he gave the persimmon trees many nicknames. Half a li away, the tree with a branch that seemed to be baring its fangs and brandishing its claws was called Hanging Armor. If you saw it in the twilight, it would be a little scary. The short persimmon tree that depended on it for survival had grown a little taller after not seeing it for a few years. At a glance, it seemed to be more fruitful. Its whole body was golden and very cheerful. The nickname he gave it was Little Yellow Robe. The young man continued to walk along a dried-up stream and finally came to a hut that was not surrounded by a mud wall. There were a few strange crooked elms behind the hut.
The hut was empty.
The young man walked in front of a tree stump and squatted down. He used his sleeves to wipe off the dust and sat on the stump. He looked around and gently placed the Green Ant Wine on his robe. He shouted at the top of his voice, "Blind Old Xu, I brought you some wine."
If it was during the last years of Yonghui, there would definitely be a blind cripple who would run out and take the wine pot from his hand. He would skillfully open the mud seal and lower his head to take a deep sniff. Then, a big smile would bloom on that old face of his, like a persimmon tree in autumn. However, when the old man shared the wine with him, he would always take advantage of him and teach him a lesson. When he had some spare money on hand, he could not waste it casually. No matter how small the copper coins were, he had to save them one by one so that he could marry a wife. The world was big, but marrying a wife and having children was the most important thing. At that time, Old Xu always hypocritically said that there was a place called Yanzhi County in our Northern Liang's Youzhou, where the women there were the most beautiful. If you, Little Xu, could get a young woman from Yanzhi County to be your wife and send a message to me, I, Old Xu, would go to your family's wedding feast even if I had to walk for three days and three nights.
He remembered that time, after the old man said these words, he carefully asked him if he would find it embarrassing to have a blind old man like him as a guest at a wedding banquet. If the elders and in-laws in your family would dislike it, then Old Xu would not join in the fun. He would just go back and buy two jugs of Green Ant Wine at a reasonable price.
At that time, the young man who often brought Green Ant Wine or stolen chickens and ducks to the old man patted his chest and said that his words carried the most weight in his family. When he held the wedding banquet, if Old Xu did not go, he would get angry with him. He even said that Old Xu must sit at the main table.
At that time, the old man only thought that the young man who often chatted with him was a young man commonly seen in the streets of Beiliang. When he was young, he was like him, the kind of person who never touched the ground. He always floated around and was restless. Therefore, when he heard that he would be invited to sit at the main table for the wedding banquet, he was happy but did not think too much about it. He also did not associate the arrogant young man with Mount Qingliang. There were too many people in the world with the surname Xu, weren't there? At that time, the young man always revealed his longing for a place outside of Beiliang. He wanted to be a chivalrous Jianghu wanderer who used the best sword, drank the strongest wine, and found the most beautiful woman in the Jianghu. She would definitely be the kind who was prettier than the women in Yanzhi County. The old man always sang a different tune to the young man. He used the tone of an experienced person to tell him that he should not be so ambitious. No matter how good the Central Plains was, it was not his home. At that time, the young man also sighed with emotion and said that he also understood this principle. His master who taught him how to read and write at home once said, "For a young man, ten years is not considered a long time after leaving home. For an old man, leaving home with just one step is a long journey." After the old man heard this, he laughed and said that your family's teacher was really knowledgeable. How could he teach a half-baked disciple like you?
Sometimes the two of them would sit together and chat. The old blind man, Old Xu, would sit on a tree stump next to them. He would lean on his walking stick with both hands and secretly doze off while basking in the sun.
Perhaps many years ago, on the battlefield of the Western Fortress, there was a young soldier from the old barracks. His legs were not crippled, his eyes were not blind, but he also had a similar scene. He would also doze off under the sun. The only difference was that the walking stick in his hand had been replaced by an iron spear. Perhaps there was a large banner with the character "Xu" not too far away, flapping loudly in the wind.
Now it was already the beginning of autumn in the third year of Xiangfu. The blind man, Old Xu, had died long ago. Naturally, there would be no more chatter.
The old man did not live long enough to drink the young man's wedding wine.
The young man had once promised the old man that after the old man died, he would personally carry the coffin and send the old man off.
But the young man did not do it.
At that time, he was far away in Jiangnan.
He did not go to Old Xu's grave. He only gently poured the Green Ant wine on the ground in front of the tree stump. When he bent down to pour the wine, he said softly, "Old Xu, I secretly bought this wine from the wine seller, Xishi. Now that the world is not peaceful and there is going to be a war soon, our Beiliang has begun to prohibit private brewing among the people. Therefore, this pot of wine is not cheap. If it wasn't someone familiar, the shop might not have dared to sell it to me. The proprietress's daughter is now full of life. A woman changes eighteen times between childhood and womanhood. I heard that the girl has taken a fancy to a young scholar from outside the city. He is currently teaching at a private school near her home. When I was buying the wine earlier, the proprietress even made fun of me, saying that I was late. Her daughter has actually waited for several years. You see, I really didn't brag to you back then. I told you that the girl had good taste. Otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen me … "
There was some regret, like an old dog lying in the corner of the street whimpering by itself. It was slow and long, scratching at the heart and lungs.
He left the wine pot on the tree stump and stood up to leave.
The carriage returned to Mount Qing Liang.
At present, there were two places in Beiliang Palace that were famous throughout the world. The Wutongin Palace was jokingly called the Phoenix Pavilion, and halfway up the mountain, the residence of the Deputy Administrator that Song Dongming presided over, was called the Dragon's Gate.
Just as he returned to Mount Qing Liang, an official of the Dragon's Gate rushed over in a hurry and reported to him that the Deputy Administrator had important matters to discuss.
When he saw Song Dongming personally standing in front of the low official residence and waiting, he knew that regardless of whether the news was good or bad, it was definitely not a small matter. Otherwise, given the composure of one of the former Prime Ministers of Liyang, he would not be so impatient.
As expected, Song Dongming waited until he came closer before turning and walking into the official residence in the middle. His voice was slightly urgent as he said, "The four pieces of news have been gathered together. They are respectively related to Liuzhou, the Central Plains, the capital, and Beimang. They are all considered by the Prince."
Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "Then let's talk about the news from Liuzhou first."
Song Dongming nodded and said, "There is an urgent spy report from the military town of the Phoenix Division closest to the Western Regions. Cao Wei and Xie Xibian have arbitrarily changed the strategy set by the Governor-General and have chosen to take the initiative to attack. They want to take down Zhong Tan's cavalry in one go at the mouth of Mount Miyun."
Hsu Fengnian's expression was normal as he said, "It should be because the monk soldiers of Mount Lantuo did not move with Zhong Tan's cavalry."
Song Dongming said worriedly, "Even so, the difference in strength between the two sides is not large. Isn't it against the original intention of Liuzhou to use troops to exchange lives in a head-on clash?"
Hsu Fengnian shook his head and said, "If we are unable to wipe out Zhong Tan's cavalry at the mouth of Mount Miyun, then this battle will be meaningless. It can even be said that their greed for merit has caused Liuzhou to fall into a passive state. But since even Xie Xibian is willing to take the risk with Cao Wei, I believe in their foresight."
Song Dongming sighed and said with a bitter smile, "These two fellows are really troublesome."
Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "If they win, there might be an unexpected surprise."
Song Dongming understood and said, "That's true. If Zhong Tan's cavalry is completely wiped out, perhaps Mount Lantuo will have to reconsider."
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