With the foreshadowing, it was better to strike while the iron was hot. The next day, Hsu Fengnian followed the large group to the city of Orange Province. He got close to Feng Shanling and the other rough men and chatted. It was a completely different feeling from talking about moral essays with Mr. Luo and the other old scholars. It was probably the difference between gulping down wine and drinking warm tea. Hsu Fengnian borrowed a good bow from Feng Shanling along the way. With his arm strength, it was not difficult for him to pull the bow to a full moon. He tried to shoot the arrow several times and was full of vigor. Fortunately, Hsu Fengnian had killed the Horse Gang before, so these retainers were not surprised. Moreover, Hsu Fengnian was not in the same line of work as them. He was a bastard who fought for their rice bowls, so they were happy to say a few words to warm up their relationship. In comparison, Feng Shanling was more sincere. As a middle-aged man, he probably had too many pent-up frustrations in his heart that could not be quenched by drinking. He wanted to chat with others. Taking advantage of the time when no one was around to pick up the arrows, he told Hsu Fengnian a lot of old stories about Beiliang. Seeing that Hsu Fengnian was not the least bit impatient, Feng Shanling opened up completely.
"In the beginning, when I joined the army, I actually had two choices. One was to join General Gu Jiantang's old division. There weren't many battles, so I could live a peaceful life. However, I was destined to not be as good as those rich kids. As a bachelor who had nothing to lose, I thought about joining the Beiliang Army. Although the Beiliang border was not peaceful, the Great General had defeated six of the Nine Kingdoms during the Spring and Autumn Period. I felt that even if I went to the border, as long as I didn't become a scout or a scout or a mounted ranger who charged at the frontlines, it would not be easy to die. I really hit the jackpot and became a crossbowman. Other than that time when I stepped on the crossbow, I didn't have much close combat with the barbarians. In the beginning, every time a battle ended, I would feel my scalp tingle when I saw those cavalrymen and infantrymen with broken arms and legs or their entire backs slashed open. Later on, after fighting for a long time, I was scolded by the sergeants and commandants. When I heard the old soldiers talk about their achievements in the Great War of the Spring and Autumn Period, the brothers beside me all complained that they would not be satisfied if they did not kill people. I was still afraid of death. Who in the world was not afraid of death? However, if there was a day when it was my turn to charge up and fight with my life, I was not afraid of dying on the battlefield. Besides, at that time, I did not have a wife to think about. If it were now, I wouldn't have the guts to do so. "
"I remember very well. I stayed in the Beiliang Army for a total of three years and nine months. I didn't see any important people. The highest ranking official was only a sixth-ranked officer. He was a young cavalry general. The general's mount was very tall. However, at that time, I was envious. When I thought about how everyone used the same Beiliang saber, including the Great General, there was nothing to be jealous of."
"Young Master Xu, it's not that Old Feng is shrewd, but I sincerely advise you to learn some Beiliang language. If one day the Beiliang cavalry really goes all the way north and defeats the Beimang Southern Dynasty, it's always right to learn some Beiliang language."
Following Feng Shanling's nagging, they gradually approached the border town. Hsu Fengnian pulled away from Luo Changhe and the others, squatting beside a dried up river and staring blankly for a while. During the third war between the two dynasties, it was the second and last time the Liyang Dynasty had the upper hand in the early stages. Unfortunately, it was precisely in the vicinity of the Purple Marten Terrace that they fell short of success. At that time, under the careful planning of the Old Grand Secretary and a group of important ministers who were familiar with border defense, including Gu Jiantang, the elite troops of the two Liao Nine Towns border army turned out in full force and marched a hundred li in a day. On the ninth day of the sixth lunar month of the third year of the Honghan Dynasty, they arrived at Tun Jintai on the sixteenth day and arrived at Beimang's present Yibing Town on the seventeenth day. More than six thousand garrison troops surrendered at the sight of the wind. On the nineteenth day, they surrounded Zhuzhou and then went to the various fortresses of Yehu Pass, intending to seal off the entrance of Beimang's troops to the west. However, they only attempted to encircle Zhuzhou and attack reinforcements at the Purple Marten Terrace. Later on, they were ridiculed by the military scholars of later generations for using troops with no special purpose. The young Emperor of the Zhao Family, who was personally leading an expedition for the first time, was even ridiculed by the military scholars of later generations for using troops with the formation map. If it weren't for the fact that Gu Jiantang, who was guarding Jinliao, disobeyed the previously established edict and led eight thousand elite troops to rescue them, and that Beiliang's Chen Zhibao led ninety thousand cavalrymen and Gu Jiantang's troops to the north at almost the same time, like an awl piercing towards Nanjing Prefecture, the Empire of Beiliang wouldn't be the Empire of today.
Collecting his scattered thoughts, Hsu Fengnian stood up and jogged to catch up with the large group. The Spring Thunder Saber was wrapped in a cloth strip and placed in his backpack. In this town, civilians and civilians mixed together, so the inspection at the city gate was very strict. Among the sparse crowd, a woman walked slowly with her head down and handed a pass to a spear-wielding city guard. After the young, sturdy soldier in armor confirmed that there was no mistake, he shot a glance at the woman and frowned. He used the tip of his spear to knock on the large cloth bag that the woman was carrying with great difficulty. The woman slowly untied the rope slanting across her chest and opened the cloth bag, revealing a guqin. The guqin was three chi six inches and five centimeters long, with seven banana-leaf strings, a snake-belly pattern, and a scorched tail.
Of course, the city guard couldn't recognize this kind of elegant object, nor could he see the depth of its craftsmanship. Seeing that she seemed to be blind, he didn't make things difficult for her. There were more than ten thousand Controlling Crane Army stationed outside the town, and their governance was strict. He had already earned a few hundred copper coins today, so he didn't dare to make too many petty moves, so he let her pass.
The woman was wearing the Southern Dynasty's attire, a small skirt with narrow sleeves. She didn't wear the veiled hat that was exclusive to young ladies. Probably because she practiced the zither, she had a mild temperament, so she walked lightly and slowly. After entering the city, the market and the streets began to bustle with noise and excitement. Many children were playing and running around. Several local ruffians, who bullied the weak and feared the strong, were squatting at the mouth of a well on the side of the street, basking in the sun. Seeing such a lonely and weak woman entering the city alone, they looked at each other and smiled knowingly. Taking advantage of the fact that the city guard at the gate wasn't paying attention to them, one of the ruffians pretended to be drunk and staggered over, bumping into her shoulder. The woman on her back was reasonably shaken and almost fell down, but she still kept her head down and her expression hidden. The man, who was single and could only make a living by stealing undergarments from women in the neighborhood, smiled even more. After brushing past her shoulder, he turned around and was about to touch the woman's buttocks. He pinched her buttocks and brought it to the tip of his nose for a sniff, provoking a roar of laughter from his rogues on the street. The woman was in a hurry, she didn't dare to reprimand him. This undoubtedly greatly increased the ruffian's arrogance. He quickened his pace and was about to pull her. His mouth was full of nonsense as he shouted, "Wife, quickly go home with your man and give birth to babies. What are you strolling around for?"
The woman whose slender arm was pulled didn't say anything. The ruffian was about to take advantage of the situation and embrace her to his heart's content. On the other side of the street stood a neatly dressed young man with a ruffian face. Seeing this scene, he didn't lack the understanding of a hero who saw injustice and saved the beauty. He only picked his nose and sneered, "Liu Scar, you think you can get a wife? You should go sleep with your mother. Anyway, your mother is also a trash that can be ridden by thousands and thousands of people. One more won't make a difference. "
The ruffian who was called Liu Scar was so anxious that his eyes turned red. He didn't let go of the woman's smooth arm and turned his head to curse, "Su Su, no matter how idle my balls are, they are still a hundred times better than yours. You brat, you've been facing these two old bachelors for more than twenty years. Has your buttocks bloomed?"
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