the enlightener says

Chapter 161

In mid-July, the weather is only occasionally hot for a few days, but most of the time you can already feel the coolness of autumn.

The green leaves are swaying on the branches, as if they are singing, but they don't know that they are about to turn yellow in the autumn wind and fall gracefully.

The plague in Wu County was finally brought under control. Although many patients still died in the process, Qiao Feifan also improved the prescription after the experiment. In the end, nearly half of the patients among the [-] victims were cured. Of the more than [-] people who were killed, there are more than [-] people left in the camp who are still observing the recovery situation, and the others have gradually joined the team to rebuild their homes.

The breached dams in Dahe County have also been continuously repaired to withstand the impact of the water flow. Although the fertile fields below are difficult to harvest this year, soil erosion is not serious after all. After a winter, they can always sow seeds again , the rice that bears spikes.

The quelling of this catastrophe cannot do without the efforts of everyone.

Of course, the Jiuli Snake Gallbladder brought back by Qin Ke made a great contribution. Although Qin Ke was not very happy, Zhou Gongjin still wrote his contribution into the notebook and sent someone to send it to the court.

Zhou Gongjin's original words to Qin Ke and Abu were: "Jingwu has always adhered to the principle of 'reward for meritorious deeds, and punishment for crimes'. As the supervisor, I have the responsibility to report these things to you. It's none of my business, anyway, you are getting close to Mr. If you don't want it, you can tell him yourself."

It is a lie to say that you do not want rewards.

It's just that after hearing about the reward, I always feel that what I do is just to ask for credit, which is a bit strange.

But when Zhou Gongjin said this, he felt a little relieved, and even faintly longed for the reward that Zhuge Wanling was about to give him.

Maybe reward yourself with a year of big meat buns?

Thinking of this, he immediately spat at himself in his heart: What kind of meat buns, it sounds petty when you hear it. Since it was Jing Wu who wanted to reward it, why would he reward something better.

Maybe, I can take this opportunity to ask Zhuge Wanling for a good horse?

Thinking of this, he drooled, looked at the roof, and smiled silly.

"Ake. Hurry up, if we don't do it right, even if the master doesn't punish us, those bosses will have to point our noses and say a few words, not to mention those commanders in the army, the worst thing is to be late..."

Qin Ke came back to his senses, looked at Abu, oh ah ah ah, and continued to take care of the cowhide armor on his body.

In the whole room, as far as the eye can see, dozens of people are doing the same movement.

After returning to Jianye City, Mulan returned to her residence and did not go with them again.As the Great General of the Great Wall, the time for this mission is coming to an end. Since Jing Wu has almost completed the allocation of food and grass, she will naturally return to the Great Wall to preside over the overall situation.

And in order to show Jing Wu's etiquette before she left, those big figures in the court also discussed and formulated a military exercise. Naturally, they are the children of the gentry.

Although Qin Ke always feels that this kind of arrangement seems to be deliberately provoking the relationship in the Taixue, but Abu believes that the separation of the two factions in the Taixue is not a year or two, and many people have long held a kind of watching The mentality wants to see a relatively formal confrontation between the two sides, and this military exercise was originally carried out to let Jing Wu show the demeanor of the young and strong school, so this arrangement is also reasonable.

Qin Ke's understanding of Jing Wu is still limited, but he also agrees with his statement.

"I always feel that the size of this leather armor is not right..." Qin Ke grinned and put on it for a long time, and asked everyone, "Which one of you has a bigger leather armor?"

Immediately someone responded: "Mine is old, try mine..."

"And my..."

Jing Wujun's cowhide armor is made of exquisite materials, and it has been soaked in countless rounds of medicinal materials after air-drying. Even if it is replaced with a sharp blade, it will not be easily split.

At that time, the eight thousand ghost riders from Qingzhou were wearing such cowhide armor to traverse the territory of the Tang Kingdom. If they did not have such good equipment, perhaps the people of Jing and Wu might not be able to see the triumphant scene of the remaining four thousand ghost riders. The smell of blood spread along the way, extremely tragic.

However, this was a military exercise, so many of the armors distributed to them were not the right size, and many people were dressed either too big or too small, so they had to adjust with each other.

Everyone present is from Taixuetang, that is, Qin Ke's title of "Taixuetang student" has yet to be studied, but he seems to be gradually integrating into this group.

The atmosphere in the whole house was very harmonious, and the building where they usually hang out with was in it, but he kept cursing and complaining that his armor was one size smaller, and the bandages made him look like a tied rice dumpling.

Everyone laughed. Abu was actually like him, feeling the tightness of his armor. But compared to them, it was only compared to the infantry vanguard in the building. I feel I have no right to complain.

At this time, there was a sudden burst of laughter, and the building laughed so hard that it shed tears, pointing at Xiaoqian: "Hahahahaha... Look, the pigs are wearing leather armor!"

The chubby Xiaoqian finally fastened the buckle, this suit of armor was specially found for him in a large size, but it still looked bloated and dull when worn on the body, which immediately made everyone burst into laughter.

"What are you laughing at?" Xiao Qian widened his eyes and looked at the crowd viciously, but he couldn't stop the laughter of the crowd at all. He looked at the cowhide armor on his body, and said a little aggrieved, " I am obviously in charge of deducing the military formation, so I have to be forced to wear armor..."

Abu smiled and said, "Let's just wear it. When the time comes, the fighting will become chaotic. Who cares that you are in charge of the military formation. Although you are using long wooden poles for performing martial arts, it is not good to be stabbed."

"I know." Xiaoqian said with a chuckle, "I have to teach those guys a lesson this time."

After everyone was dressed about the same, Zhu Ran, the commander of the forbidden army, walked in at the door. Seeing everyone's appearance, he frowned and said displeasedly: "Hurry up! If you go at your speed, you should have let us go when fighting." People cut off their heads!"

The room fell silent immediately, and no one dared to chat anymore.

The venue for the military exercise was set at the original training place of the Forbidden Army, because within the royal city, the commander of the Forbidden Army was naturally in charge of this military exercise. With a low drink, the movements of the hands are much faster.

On the city wall, hundreds of officials may sit or stand.

In fact, from such sitting and standing, we can see the power distribution of the Jingwu Chaotang. Those who sit on the cushions, with exquisite snacks in front of them, and a few people talking and laughing, mostly occupy a pivotal position in the Jingwu Chaotang.

And those who stood leaning against the city wall and whispered to each other were all officials who were inexperienced or did not have enough power to speak above the court. After all, the city wall was no more than the inside of the palace, so it seemed a bit crowded.

In the center of the crowd, there was a tall seat. There was a maid with a calm face holding a fan, and a guard with a sword on his waist as serious as cast iron.

That is the position of the little country head.

Underneath, Mulan and Gao Changgong sat facing each other. Gao Changgong drank tea and said softly: "Su Dingfang has a good understanding. Although he still needs some practice to hone his 'huya' into a round shape, he will not lack opponents when he comes to the Great Wall, so I'm not worried that my stuff won't show up on him."

Mulan nodded and said, "I can only give you half of what I promised you, and maybe he can take the rest by himself one day."

Gao Changgong smiled, and looked at Qin Ke, who looked a little nervous in the crowd below. The armor he was wearing obviously didn't fit his figure, and he looked a little bigger, but he looked more energetic: "Enough. It's better than I imagined." It’s even better. This kid’s luck is good, he can learn half of the Qi Jin of the ‘Seven Advances Sword’, at least he won’t be beaten all over his head when he comes out of Jing Wu.”

Mulan stared at him: "You want him to leave?"

"It's not something I decided." Gao Changgong smiled, "He wants to find what he is after, even if Jing Wu wants to keep him, he can't keep him. What's wrong with traveling around the world?"

At this time, a eunuch shouted sharply: "The lord is here!"

Chapter 162 Tiger and Leopard Riding

The little king, who was only four feet tall, walked quickly, and Mian Yan swayed with his movements. The old eunuch behind him followed closely, and stretched out his hands worriedly to support the restless little king, but Xiao Guo The Lord obviously didn't want to be supported by others, he just jumped up and down the steps a few times, looked left and right and asked, "Didn't Xiangfu come today?"

"The prime minister said he was feeling unwell, so he didn't want to come to this military exercise. He asked the old slave to bring a word to the king: be cautious, speak less and worry more." The old eunuch bent his body behind and tried to lower his head Just a moment, so that the little country master can hear clearly.

The little kingdom lord frowned. Without Zhuge Wanling in such a big scene, he always felt a little worried, but now that he was here, he couldn't turn around and go back. He could only bite the bullet and walk up. Among the etiquette, sat on the highest seat.

However, the little master soon discovered one advantage of Zhuge Wanling's absence, that is, he doesn't have to care about so many things about etiquette, so he smiled playfully and said: "Today's military exercise is not in the court hall. , don’t need so much etiquette, my lords... just do what you want.”

The ministers agreed one after another, scattered in twos and threes, and found their own suitable viewing positions on the long city wall.

After all, it is always difficult for the courtiers to let go of such a lively scene in front of the king.

Of course, it was the same when the little king was changed. Without any restraint, he looked much happier. He reached out to pick a grape from the tray in the old eunuch's hand, threw it up, and then raised his head and opened his mouth, and the grape fell into his mouth.

The movements are so skillful, it is obvious that he does this kind of thing a lot.

The old eunuch looked at the little king's dangling legs, smiled, and didn't say much. In terms of status, he was not the one who could criticize the little king. Besides, it was rare for the little king to be loose today. Although Jing Wu didn't have a grand master , but after all Zhuge Wanling was a little strict with him on weekdays.

The little master looked around, found something unusual, then turned his head and asked: "Father Xiang didn't come today, why didn't I see that man from the sea... the man from the sea... oh yes...how come Junshi Liu didn't come?"

The old eunuch stretched out his hand to take the grape skin spat out by the little lord with a pleasant smile. He didn't seem to feel that the thing spit out from his mouth was dirty at all, and replied softly: "Mr. I asked my deputy to watch the battle for him, the barbarian warrior standing by the city wall."

The little lord looked at it, and saw that the barbarian general had a serious face, not only was he covered with a layer of leather armor, but also covered with a layer of pig iron armor, and the engraved on it was the head of a leopard.

He thought for a while, and guessed that this barbarian must be from the tiger and leopard cavalry, the most heavy cavalry in the world. This cavalry has only fought a few times, but every time it has played a battle, it has achieved outstanding results. In the world, there is only Jing Wu. The Qingzhou Ghost Rider and the Mohist Black Rider can be as famous as it.

It's just that such a heavy armor weighs no less than forty catties, so wearing it on the body should be a kind of torture, right?

The little ruler stuck out his tongue, but he didn't suspect that Liu De's reason for "handling letters" was too strange, he just exclaimed: "It's really mighty. I heard that the barbarians have practiced riding and sword skills since childhood, and they are practitioners of Qi and blood." There are countless more... Tell me, can the general be better than him?"

The little king opened his eyes curiously.

The old eunuch hadn't spoken yet, but Gao Changgong laughed softly: "The practice of martial arts is just a small way, and I dare not underestimate the heroes of the world. What's more, the envoys from the sea came here to show friendship, and it is even more impossible for me to compete with him."

The Lord Xiao nodded, but exchanged a narrow look with Gao Changgong.

In fact, he also understands that Gao Changgong is the God of War of Jing and Wu, and this barbarian general is just an ordinary general. There is no comparison. I am afraid that this barbarian warrior who looks far more powerful than Gao Changgong should be defeated. Alright?

He heard that Liu De is also good at martial arts, and the Senran ancient sword on his waist is a world-renowned gentleman's sword. With the strength of this Liu Junshi, he may still have a chance to fight.

He suddenly became excited, reached out to pick grapes again, looked at the city, and asked, "When will it start?"

"Hurry up. Both sides are forming formations. When the formations are completed, the two sides can fight at any time." Gao Changgong watched the teams of more than a thousand people on both sides of the city forming formations. Waving the flag at his side, the entire army quickly unfolded with the sound of armor clashing.

Then the shield was firmly erected on the ground amidst the sound of thud thud thud. Although the long wooden pole wrapped in cloth has no spear point, it seems that people can feel the sharpness on it.

Qin Ke sat firmly at the forefront of the cavalry, and the horse under him twisted a little restlessly. He seemed to be nervous too, and reached out to touch the sword on his waist.

Gao Changgong smiled softly, and then turned his attention to the tiger and leopard cavalry general.

"Is the world's most heavy cavalry..." Gao Changgong looked at the heavy cast iron armor. Compared with the young and innocent little king, he didn't care about the martial arts of this tiger and leopard cavalry. After all, no matter how strong a general's martial arts are, How many people can it compete with?ten people?Hundreds of people?

Even if he is praised as the god of war in Jingwu, he can only temporarily avoid the edge under the impact of tens of thousands of cavalry. At least he has not seen anyone who can match tens of thousands of troops by himself.

And such a heavy armor weighed forty catties, plus the burly figure of the barbarian warrior and the weapons that would definitely not be light, what kind of horses were there to bear such a weight?

But Canghai really has tens of thousands of cavalry like iron beasts. When they charge, they are like a tide of steel. Amidst the neighing of war horses, the ground trembles. Where they run over, there are only a lot of bones left .

There was a bit of worry on his face, a battle between Jingwu and Canghai would be inevitable in the future, but how would Jingwu's cavalry and infantry face such a heavily armored cavalry?

At this time, the barbarian warrior seemed to feel Gao Changgong's gaze, and slowly turned his head, his sharp eyes were like knives, stabbing at Gao Changgong fiercely.

Gao Changgong smiled slightly, as if he didn't care about his rudeness at all, but just a moment later, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and a killing intent rose suddenly!

With a "plop", the legs of the little eunuch who was serving Gao Changgong's food softened, and he knelt straight down. The exquisite palace dishes fell down, and then a rough but white hand caught the plate , shaking a few times in the air, catching those dishes that were about to land.

Mulan put down the dish slowly, and looked at Gao Changgong with interest.

And Gao Changgong restrained his killing intent, smiled slightly, stretched out his chopsticks, put them down slowly, chewed lightly, patted the little eunuch, and said: "Bring me another pot of wine, I want to confront General Mulan." drink."

The little eunuch was trembling, he was terrified because of his mistake, Gao Changgong didn't plan to punish him, he was overjoyed immediately, answered repeatedly and went.

And the tiger and leopard rider in heavy armor was full of fear, his hands trembling slightly, he subconsciously wanted to draw the sword from his waist, but found that before entering the palace, his weapon had already been handed over to those eunuch.

Seeing Gao Changgong's calm look, he was silent for a moment, then turned his head, watching the military exercise under the city wall but could no longer calm down his frightened heart.

On the bustling street, a figure in a green shirt walked slowly, and at a corner, he walked into an unremarkable tavern.

The lobby of the tavern is simple, just the Eight Immortals table and benches, and many porters who are doing hard work are sitting in it, picking their feet and talking about some new things in the homes of high-ranking officials and nobles.

The man in the green shirt walked straight to the private room, and the second person helped to lift the straw mat used to block the view in the private room. Liu De was still dressed in a casual Confucian robe, with an ancient sword on his waist, drinking some wine while humming folk songs minor.

"Come here?" Liu De smiled, and asked a question he asked last time, "Wine, or tea?"

"Tea." Zhuge Wanling's answer also remained unchanged.

Chapter 163 A Story

One is Prime Minister Zhuge, who took an overview of the state affairs in Jingwu, almost covering the sky with one hand, even the gentry had to be courteous, and the small king was honored as "Father of the Prime Minister".

One is Junshi Liu, who is highly valued by Cao Meng, the lord of the Canghai Kingdom, and even regarded as a "confidant in his life" and entrusted with the title of military commander to sacrifice wine.

These two people appeared in a very ordinary tavern at the same time, and they drank relatively weak tea and bad wine. I am afraid that no one in Jingwu would believe it.

Of course, this is not the first time. The last time Liu De and Zhuge Wanling sat opposite each other in a teahouse, it was also that time that they finalized Jingwu's assistance to the Great Wall lightly. Only then did the follow-up Jingwu series of food and grass mobilize. Until today, [-] dans of grain have successfully arrived at the Great Wall, and the remaining [-] will arrive within a day.

Liu De drank yellow rice wine this time. Jingwu is located in the south. Yellow rice wine is a specialty of Jingwu. Compared with Canghai's strong wine that tastes like a knife, tastes like fire, and has stamina like a mountain, this kind of rice wine with a slightly sweet taste It is more popular with Jingwu people who have a light taste.

It's just that the rice wine in this tavern is the rice wine brewed by Tujia. Even after filtering several times, there are still a lot of chaff, and the taste is not very pure. Compared with the rice wine in the palace, it is very different.

But Liu De closed his eyes and sniffed the rice wine gurgling in the flagon. He didn't show any disgust on his face. a mouthful.

"Not bad." Liu De said with a light smile, "It's still the taste of the past."

This restaurant has been open for more than ten years, and the boss has changed from a middle-aged man with a big belly to a young man with a weak crown and strong arms.But after all, the winemaking process has not changed, so the taste will not change.

He thought back then that he was with the "Prime Minister Zhuge" in front of him, the two sworn brothers who were still by his side today, and Ziyun...

The five of them were sitting together on the table of the Eight Immortals outside at that time. He is a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old. He is so poor that he clinks. A table of people gathers around a jug of wine, scrambling and joking with each other, as if the world is so big, and it is all in their words and smiles. Throughout the ages, it seems They all poured into the pot of hot wine.

A look of nostalgia appeared on Liu De's face.

At that time, he was not a military officer offering wine in the sea, he was wearing a tattered single clothes, and a pair of straw sandals on his feet accompanied him in the winter and summer, but those days were the most warm and peaceful period in his life. day.

But today is not winter, and there is no snow outside, the two foster brothers at the table are not there, and Ziyun... is dead.

But there is an old friend who has long been unrecognizable-or whether it is a friend or an enemy.

Zhuge Wanling glanced at the rice wine in Liu De's bowl, and remained silent.

Instead, Liu De took the lead and asked, "Aren't you going to watch the military exercise today? I'm idle now, but you are the backbone of the Jingwu court. If you don't go, I'm afraid the king of Jingwu won't be able to control the scene."

Zhuge Wanling shook his head, and said softly: "It's just a martial arts performance with a bigger scene. There is no need to suppress any scenes. Even if I'm here, it won't make any difference."

Perhaps, when he is not around, the little country master can be more relaxed and happy?

Liu De nodded, then asked curiously: "Are you really planning to hand over Jing Wu to this child in the future?"

Just now he called the Lord of Jingwu, but suddenly he changed it to "children" in his words. This kind of title can already be regarded as disrespectful in Jingwu. According to the laws of Jingwu, the light ones can be exiled for thousands of miles, and the serious ones may even implicate the clansmen.

But Liu De is not from Jingwu. As an envoy of Canghai, Jingwu's laws can't control him, unless Jingwu really wants to tear himself apart from Canghai, and wants to give up the rare peace that has been so rare for so many years. However, then It's not a joke anymore.

"It's not bad." Zhuge Wanling drank the tea slowly. Although the tea is not good, but fortunately it is hot. The imperial doctor has been urging him to drink more hot tea, which is good for his blood circulation. "If If he really has that ability in the future."