(I asked for a three-day leave. Originally, I should have resumed the update yesterday, but I was late by one day. Therefore, other than this seven-thousand-word chapter, there will be another chapter around midnight. This month and next month, I will have to work hard to repay the debt. Everybody is looking forward to it. You are also welcome to whip and urge me with all your strength. PS: Happy New Year!)
The mouth of the gourd was vast and boundless. An extraordinarily majestic martial arts platform was temporarily built. Three li to the east and west of the martial arts platform, respectively, there was a military review building for Beiliang's meritorious old generals and civil officials, one civil and one military, forming a temple and a great hall supporting each other. Among them, the civil building had six floors, one floor higher than the martial building. This made the scholars who were successively ascending the civil building to feel somewhat honored in their hearts. Inside the building, there was no lack of Beiliang's civil officials with superior ranks. Other than the newly appointed Governor of Lingzhou, Xu Beizhi, the Governor of You Liang had already ascended to the top floor, leaning against the railing and gazing into the distance with the Administrator Li Gongde. However, the one closest to Li Gongde was not the Governor of Liangzhou, Hu Kui.
It was also not the Governor of You Zhou, Wang Peifang. Instead, it was two fresh faces, the Chancellor Wang of Shangyin Academy and the one who was originally supposed to take up a post at the Imperial Censorate in the capital, wearing a high hat and broad belt. When the sandstorm hit the building at the frontier fortress, their sleeves fluttered, setting off the two old men's fresh and immortal air. According to the law, Hu Kui was half a rank higher than the Governor of Lingzhou in Beiliang. Compared to the old men in the building, he could be said to be in the prime of his life. In his early years, he was the commander of the Beiliang army's Liao Ju cavalry. Among them, the Great Horse Camp was known for its elite crossbowmen. His military exploits in the Beiliang army were illustrious. For some reason, Hu Kui was supposed to take over the position of Liangzhou's general within five years. However, eight years ago, he unexpectedly led 300 light cavalry to break into the hinterland of Beimang's Beimang Zhibo military town without permission. Afterwards, he lost his official position. Only then did Chen Zhibao, who took over the Liao Ju cavalry, have the world's first class scouts, who were able to suppress Liao Dong Zhuo's crow's nest. However, after Hu Kui lost his official position, he was deserted by his friends and family. Unexpectedly, he gave up the military and entered the civil service. He started as a civil official in Liangzhou. In a short seven years, he unexpectedly became the Governor of Beiliang. In private, the officials of Beiliang laughed and said that it was unreasonable for a person who had been peed on several times to be revived. Wang Peifang, the Governor of Youzhou, was a pure scholar. He had always been at odds with Hu Kui, who had been in the military for 20 years. Almost every year, he went to Mount Qingliang to have an audience with the King of Beiliang. Every year, he would complain about how Hu Kui, a veteran ruffian, was unruly and how he allowed his subordinates to bully the officials of Youzhou. Unlike the eccentric Hu Kui, who stood alone on the far right of the top floor, since Wang Peifang could not get close to the Administrator and the two old men with good reputations in the imperial court, he would exchange polite greetings with some famous scholars of the Jixia Academy. He would say some comforting words about going back to the country and talk about the most popular poems in the literary world.
Hu Kui was wearing a gorgeous official uniform of the first rank of the third rank. This Governor of Liangzhou lived up to the name his parents gave him. He was tall and sturdy and was half a head taller than the men of the Northern Region. There were many civil officials and scholars on the top floor. Most of them were thin, which made Hu Kui stand out from the crowd. After Hu Kui got on the top floor, he did not greet anyone. He stood by the railing and looked into the distance. The yellow sand was rolling and the fierce troops of Beiliang were lined up in battle formation. Hu Kui's eyes were in a trance. If it were not for the disaster that year, he would also be among them and even be qualified to stand there to review the troops and practice martial arts! Hu Kui moved his eyes and looked at the martial arts platform. He held the railing with one hand. Among the civil officials of Beiliang, the Governor of Liangzhou was second only to the King of Beiliang. He sighed softly. A young scholar who was personally introduced by Mister Wang of Shangyin Academy to Li Gongde to "make himself familiar" was named Yu Luandao. Even when he talked to the Administrator, he was neither servile nor overbearing. His character was slightly distant, which made the scholars of the two places at the back of the top floor criticize him for not knowing the severity of the situation. He was really too arrogant because of his talent. Yu Luandao wore a jade belt and a long saber. His face was like jade and his appearance was extraordinary. Under the trampling of countless horse hooves, the building gave people a feeling of shaking. Many scholars from other places saw the cold military appearance of the Beiliang cavalry and their faces turned pale. Yu Luandao's expression was still calm. While Huang Shang was discussing with the Administrator whether they could allow the establishment of the academy and the scholars' association, Yu Luandao silently walked to Hu Kui's side and did not say anything. The two stood side by side and looked at the battlefield. The two were silent for a long time. Unexpectedly, it was Hu Kui, who was in a high position, who spoke first. He said calmly, "You must be the eldest grandson of the Yu family of Yinyang. On the first day of studying at Shangyin Academy, you shocked the world with a single brilliant feat and solved the Six Questions of Heaven and Earth left by Huang Sanjia. The Second Master of the Song family once made a monthly comment and also commented that Yu Luandao's words carried Zen and could satisfy one's appetite. If you enter the imperial court, you will have a meteoric rise. If you are in the wilderness, you will inherit the literary vein. Even our Second Commandery Princess highly praised your poetry. The reason why I, Hu Kui, paid attention to you is because you once wrote the forty-eight words of 'Liangzhou's Big Horse Song' to pay tribute to the Big Horse Camp. I thank you on behalf of the two hundred and sixty brothers who died. "
Hu Kui put one hand behind his back and the other hand patted the railing. He said softly, "Green and yellow, killing wild sheep. Liangzhou's Big Horse died in a foreign land. Good, very good. Even a boorish martial artist like me can read it without difficulty. Just based on these two sentences, even if you, Yu Luandao, asked me to be a fourth-rank official and take office tomorrow, I would be willing to agree. The horse stepped on the green grass and yellow sand, spurring the horse to kill sheep to eat meat, looking back but still not seeing home. Many literati might be able to write about these simple things, but they just don't want to. "
Yu Luandao was the eldest grandson of the Yinyang Yu family. When he drew lots at the age of one, he grabbed a copy of the 'Spring and Autumn Annals' with one hand and a peerless famous knife 'Big Luan' with the other. When he was four years old, he wrote poems and became famous all over the world. When he was fourteen years old, he carried a book and carried a knife to study at Shangyin Academy, attracting the attention of the world. He was also one of the young talents that made the Liyang imperial court feel the most heartache and annoyed. Because of this, the Yu family was angered by the Zhao family's Emperor and was miserably suppressed in Guangling.
Yu Luandao lowered his head to look at the knife and then raised his head to look into the distance. With a warm smile on his face and a determined look in his eyes, he said, "General Hu, I came to Beiliang this time not to ask for an official position from you. I just want to see His Royal Highness with my own eyes. Then I will have no regrets in this life. I can't stand the arrogant and willful Noble families that break the law, the pretentious Imperial College, and the imperial court that gets rid of the hounds after the hares have outlived their usefulness. Only Your Highness is pleasing to the eye. I also want to ask Your Highness, if one day Beiliang can't defeat the million Iron Cavalry of Beimang, does Hsu Fengnian dare to die on the battlefield? Does he dare to guard the northwest gate for the Central Plains? If Hsu Fengnian is willing to nod his head, then in the future, I, Yu Luandao, will be added to the pile of corpses! We scholars seek fame in peaceful times and study in troubled times. We use our deaths to exchange for peace for the people! "
Hu Kui said calmly, "I'm afraid that you scholars have high standards but little ability. On paper, you talk about good soldiers, but under the paper, you are just a bag of straw."
Yu Luandao heard the Liangzhou Provincial Governor's words, which spoiled the mood, and laughed instead. "I'm also afraid of this. So after the military parade and martial arts training, I'm going to join the army and be a pawn. Whether I'm a mule or a horse, I'll know once I walk it. But along the way, I've seen many graceful northern beauties who are not like the Jiangnan women. They are tall and have bold personalities, very much to my liking. Before I die, I have to marry such a tall wife so that I won't let down this life and Beiliang. Yu Luandao doesn't have any elders here. When I send gifts to a woman's family, I hope that Official Hu can do it for me. "
Hu Kui didn't comment and said something even more ominous. "I, Hu Kui, don't have any great abilities, but I'm good at collecting corpses. If you, Yu Luandao, die one day, I'll collect your corpse for you. "
Many scholars on the top floor were standing in the building. They didn't have the right to come to the corridor and stand by the railings. Seeing that this eldest grandson of the Yu family was able to join in on the fun with the Administrator and "chat happily" with Liangzhou's General Hu Kui, their eyes were red with envy. Yu Luandao's laughter was somewhat ear-piercing. They didn't know that this disciple of a famous family had come to Beiliang to seek death.
Snowflakes fell sparsely and gradually grew. Beiliang was bitterly cold. As long as it snowed, there was no stopping it. It was destined to be a never-ending snowstorm. Yu Luandao reached out a hand to catch the snowflakes. His five fingers were white and slender. If he were in the rich Guangling Road, whether it was playing the zither, holding books, or placing chess pieces, he would be able to make women fall in love with him. Hu Kui sniffed. There was still an hour before the examination of this martial arts university. He was originally a first-class crossbowman, and he had many incredible and diverse skills. Among them, he had the ability to smell the breath of the dead. Compared to relying on experience to determine the time by observing the sky, it was more accurate. As for the principle of Taoism's ventilation of the mountains and lakes, carrying Peng Ai to dig pits and burn them, and using this to look for the breath of the well to find water, it was an unorthodox skill that the Northern Liang Army had to be proficient in. It was indeed not without reason that the Xu family's iron cavalry set off at the beginning of spring and autumn, and the reason why Zhao Shi was so afraid that he could not sleep and eat in peace was indeed not without reason. Not only were there many fierce generals under Xu Xiao's command, but the "Rogue Immortal" craftsmen who were proficient in unorthodox methods also made it difficult for the other great generals of Liyang to catch up.
Hu Kui suddenly pointed at the martial arts platform in high spirits and said with a smile, "Yu Luandao, after an hour, why don't you open your eyes wide and see who will be there? Then you'll know whether Beiliang's 300,000 Iron Horse Cavalry can withstand Beimang's one million cavalry! "
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