Twenty-five Histories · Kuma Luotian

That night, the Nanyuan Palace held a grand banquet, and dozens of butter waxes in the hall shone brightly, shining like daylight.The etiquette of the Liao people is sparse, Xiao Feng is a person who doesn't stick to his appearance, so he and his generals sat around the ground in the hall, passed wine to drink, and cut meat to eat.Several musicians in the corner of the hall were holding fifes or drums, playing folk songs about the Khitan marching and hunting, and all Liao generals sang in unison with the drums.This kind of ostentation is not so much a majestic palace, but more like a dome in the desert.

Since Xiao Feng came to Liao Kingdom, he often had drinks with his subordinates, but apart from some military affairs and government affairs, they only talked about hunting and riding horses; although they got along very well, they never talked about speculation.At this time, I pulled Murong Fu to sit beside me, and talked about martial arts tricks and anecdotes about the world, that's what I liked; I only talked about being happy and happy, and I drank it with a cowhide wine bag in one hand, it was better than plain water. happy.

Liao people have a custom of respecting heroes, the generals saw that the king is so close to Murong Fu, they thought he must be an extraordinary person, they didn't care about being a Hu Han, they just cheered and drank.Murong Fuyou was trained by the court to never indulge, but in this joyful scene, he couldn't help but drink until his glass was drained.Seeing that he drank heartily, Xiao Feng was even more happy, and he was not too polite, he drank down the bags of spirits while talking and laughing, and threw the empty wine bags beside him.

When the wine was half full, someone in the army suddenly stood up and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you just said that Mr. Murong is as famous as you among the soldiers of Song Dynasty, is it true?"

Xiao Feng laughed and said: "Why, is this still fake?"

The man said: "Mr. Murong has such a refined appearance, if you say that you are as good as your king, it is really unbelievable. I wonder if you can show your hands and let our brothers see it?" Khitan people are naturally martial, As soon as he said a word, all the generals immediately responded with a bang, and everyone couldn't hide their excitement.

Xiao Feng saw Murong Fu's martial arts in the outskirts of the city, he also had this idea in his heart, he turned his head and smiled and said: "My brothers are born warm, no wonder my virtuous brother. It's rare to be so excited tonight, it's time to make friends through martial arts, The two of us will compete here, what do you think, brother?"

Murong Fu drank a few more glasses, he felt a little drunk, but he heard that General Liao looked down on him and was eager to win, so how could he say no?Immediately he stood up, cupped his hands and said: "My little brother will accompany you!"

Xiao Feng was also in high spirits, he reached out and picked up the brass candlestick beside the seat, pulled out the candle, weighed it in his hand, and said with a smile: "I'm afraid it will hurt the peace if we fight directly, let's take this candlestick as a gamble and see who gets it first Hand!" With a long whistle, he shouted: "Go!" Throwing the candlestick into the sky, where the wind was blowing, two figures, one green and one white, had jumped to the center of the hall.

In an instant, the two figures in the hall moved in and out, separated and reunited; at first, it could be seen that the two people were dressed in different colors, and they could be distinguished; Strong wind, a colorless air current; the generals are dazzled, how can they tell which one is Xiao Feng and which one is Murong Fu?I saw a yellow light jumping up and down in the shadow of the wind, and I barely recognized it as the brass candlestick where the two were fighting.

Only the sound of the drums was beating loudly, and the sound of the flute was suddenly high-pitched; but all the musicians played a "Song on the Frontier", which was the proud work of Zhao Yanshou, the great prime minister under the rule of Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty. The Northland Propaganda——

The wind blows the yellow sand and throws it in the air, and the clouds move and the mountains and snow cover the suburbs.

When the water explorers moved their tents back, they shot the eagles and arrows down with their bows.

The two men carried the wind with their fists and feet, which only made the air current in the hall turbulent. All the generals of the Liao Kingdom came from the battlefield where they ate the wind, drank the snow, and bathed in the rain while lying on the ice. Feeling unbearable, they all stood up and backed away.The flame of the butter and wax fluttered and fluttered in the wind, flickering, flickering, flickering.All of a sudden, the candle light flickered, the eyes of all the generals lit up first, then went dark, a dozen candles were scratched out.The musicians practiced well, but they were unmoved, and the sound of gold and iron horses continued to play——

Birds peck at frost when they are hungry, and horses run away when they are thirsty across the Shahe River.

Occupy the fertile grassland on the plateau, light a fire late at night and break the forest tops.

The generals just stared dumbfounded, there was no sound of people in the hall that was full of cheers just now, only the clanging of drums and flutes.The drums beat faster and faster, the sound of the flute became louder and louder, and the gust of wind became stronger and stronger. The sound of the wind and the rhythm of the wind combined into a mad dragon, almost breaking out of the wall.But in an instant, there were tremors again, the candles in the hall were dimmed, and seven or eight out of ten of the dozens of tallow waxes had been blown out.When I heard the last sentence "Lighting the fire in the middle of the night and smashing the forest tops", the drum beat twice, and the sound of the flute rose to a higher level, straight into the night sky, and stopped abruptly at the highest point. At the same time, the violent wind in the center of the hall suddenly stopped, The remaining flames of the last two candles could not resist this change, jumped twice, and went out quietly.The huge hall suddenly became completely silent and pitch black, and all the generals let out a breath at the same time, only then did they realize that they had even forgotten to breathe for a while.

In the darkness, only Xiao Feng laughed loudly and called out: "Come here, hold the candle!"

When the candle light was bright again, all the generals rubbed their eyes, only then did they see clearly that the two people stood facing each other with empty hands, Xiao Feng clasped his fists on his chest, and said with a smile: "Good skill!" !” The candlestick was lying on the ground next to the two of them, but instead of the original nine-refined copper candlestick, it turned into a crooked twisted thing with no discernible shape.

The two looked at each other for a while, and laughed at the same time, Xiao Feng took two large bowls and filled them up, handed them to Murong Fu and said: "Happy! Happy! Murong, let's drink a bowl!" Murong Fu didn't refuse, and relative In one fell swoop, all in one gulp.Xiao Feng put his arms around his shoulders, looked around at the generals and said: "What do you guys think?"

Xiao Feng's fame spread in the Liao territory, the generals have always regarded him as a god, at this time seeing someone who can really compete with his own king, they are all convinced, they come and surround Murong Fu full of praise, you have a cup and I have a bowl Everyone persuaded them to drink.Immediately there was shouting and drinking again in the hall, making a commotion.

At this moment, Murong Fu couldn't help but drink.He didn't have the capacity to drink like Xiao Feng, after drinking more than ten bowls in a row, he felt heavy in his heart, his face was burning, and the feeling of alcohol hit him suddenly, he secretly exhaled a long breath, trying to harmonize his internal energy, but he refused to reveal it traced.Xiao Feng was drinking happily, he accidentally glanced at him, suddenly he saw him talking and laughing, his expression was calm and calm, but the fingers holding the wine bowl couldn't help trembling slightly, he immediately knew that he had drunk too much.In a blink of an eye, another group of generals gathered around to toast, Xiao Feng smiled slightly, stretched out his hand to take the bowl from Murong Fu's hand, and said with a smile: "Murong, Brother Yu has always been greedy for drinking, it seems that this wine is not enough, this time let me How about a concession?"

How could Murong Fu not understand what he meant?He was taken aback for a moment, then his heart skipped a beat, he lowered his head, and said softly, "Brother Xiao, please!"

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It has been more than a hundred years since the founding of the Liao Dynasty by □□ Abaoji, and the articles, classics, and daily utensils have all been close to the Han Dynasty.The city of Nanjing originally belonged to the Central Plains, and the palace in the South Courtyard has multiple towers and pavilions, and the corridors in the Quyuan Courtyard are no different from those in the Song Dynasty.But after turning around the dormitory and entering, there is a large field paved with bluestones, empty and empty, a row of weapon racks, several stacks of archery targets, and nothing else.

In the early morning of this day, there was only one big man in blue who practiced stick alone in the arena, it was Xiao Feng.But there are thousands of sticks and shadows, and the sound of the wind is bitter. Although there is only one person, it is more powerful than dozens of people shouting and fighting.If it was on a normal day, there would be a group of guards surrounding the spectators like a crowd, shouting and asking for advice, but at this time there was silence everywhere, no one responded.It turned out that the first night of drinking and drinking lasted until midnight, Xiao Feng ordered the army to take a day off the next day, but he invited Murong Fu to meet him at the martial arts field in the morning.Murong Fuchu didn't know why, when he saw this scene, his heart trembled, he thought to himself: "He is here alone, even all his attendants have been dismissed, it seems that there must be something important." He didn't make a sound, just kept quiet Stop and watch.

What Xiao Feng used at this time was a set of ordinary stick techniques.Back then in the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin used a pair of fists and a stick to defeat the great Song Dynasty. The "□□ Changquan" and "□□stick" were well-known martial arts in the Central Plains martial arts at that time.But Murong Fu couldn't see two or three stances, so he couldn't help being secretly surprised, he thought: "I have learned at least a dozen sets of stick techniques, but I am afraid that if I can make a person like him who is both firm and flexible, invulnerable There are no moves!" He thought: "When I started last night, I used dozens of sets of martial arts from seven or eight sects, he only used Shaolin's own boxing moves to fight, and the two of us were equal...Xiao Feng This person is really amazing! If life and death fight..."

When Xiao Feng turned around, he saw him standing on the sidelines, with a clear whistle, he withdrew his move, threw the stick on the weapon rack casually, and called out with a smile: "Murong!"

Murong Fu calmed himself down, smiled faintly, and said: "Brother Xiao called me here, what advice do you have?"

Xiao Feng's expression turned serious suddenly, he took two steps forward, clasped his fists in a salute, and said solemnly: "My dear brother Murong, today Xiao made a special trip to invite me because I have something to ask."

Murong Fu said: "Brother Xiao, what is your order? As long as I can do it, I will obey."

Xiao Feng said word by word: "I want to pass on the dog beating stick method to my virtuous brother!"

Murong Fu was shocked when he heard this.You must know that the dog-beating stick technique is a secret that is not passed down among the beggars' gang, and the secret book of martial arts in the world is widely stored in Shishui Pavilion, and this stick technique is only a few pages of fragments; who would have expected that Xiao Feng would take the initiative the next day after they met each other? teach?Although he gave eloquence easily, he didn't know how to respond for a while, he just said: "Brother Xiao, you... what do you mean?"

Xiao Feng said: "I want to ask my virtuous brother to learn it, and when I return to Central Plains in the future, I will pass this stick technique on to the Beggars' Clan."

Murong Fu always kept his emotions and anger secret, but at this moment his expression changed a little, he tried his best to calm down and said: "Brother Xiao, for such an important matter, you... don't you think it's too hasty for you to make this decision?"

Xiao Feng said slowly: "I've been thinking about this for a long time. The dog-beating-stick method is not taught by the gang leader. Now that I break out and go out to the gang, I fear that I will never return to the Central Plains in this life. I can't let this unique knowledge be buried in the North Kingdom with me. If my virtuous brother can pass on the art for me, it can be regarded as...it can also be regarded as repaying the love that Xiao has received over the past ten years." Speaking of this, I couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Murong Fu's mind was flooded with thoughts, in an instant he had thought of many possibilities, after contemplating for a while, he realized that none of them could be used by Xiao Feng, so he could only respond: "Brother Xiao, I am not a member of the beggar gang, I am afraid... ..."

Xiao Feng smiled faintly, and interjected: "Could it be that Xiao is still a member of the beggar gang today? A man doesn't care about trifles, with a character and martial arts like a virtuous brother, where in the world can I find another suitable person! Why should I worry too much? Stretching out his hand to hold Murong Fu's hands, he said in a deep voice: "Xiao sincerely entrusts you with this matter, whether you are willing or not, please decide with one word!"

Murong Fu only felt that Xiao Feng's palms were hot, and waves of heat were coming straight over him, his hands couldn't help but tremble slightly, but they couldn't turn them back; after staying for a while, he finally took two steps back, bowed to Xiao Feng to the ground, and said: "Brother sees this seriously, how dare Murong Fu disobey!"

Xiao Feng smiled slightly, he didn't talk too much, he started to talk and compare, one taught and the other learned.The dog-beating stick technique is subtle and subtle, it is really the best kung fu in the world, even though Murong Fu has a great understanding, it is difficult for him to fully understand it for a while.Xiao Feng explained in detail one by one, and when there was something unclear, he went off to practice it himself.Murong Fu's knowledge of martial arts is extremely extensive, now he can see it clearly, when he talks with Xiao Feng, he not only hits the point, but also can understand by analogy and create a lot of original ideas.The two learned from each other, it was just speculation, for several days in a row, except for rest at night, even the food was brought by the attendants, and they spent nothing but nothing in the martial arts arena.

This day's teaching was over, and Murong Fu practiced the 36-way stick technique from beginning to end.Seeing that his body moves like clouds and flowing water, Xiao Feng can't help sighing: "Your brother is born smart, learning this stick method is the right way. In the future, your attainments will definitely be higher than mine."

Murong Fu smiled and was about to speak when suddenly he heard footsteps outside the arena, people's voices were clamoring, many people came hurriedly.These few days Xiao Feng strictly ordered no one to enter the martial arts arena, but what happened at this time?

I saw a few Liao generals rushing in, all of them were generals under the Southern Court, from the privy envoy Yelu Moge down, all the supervisors and Xiangwen all came, everyone looked very worried.Xiao Feng only frowned and said in a deep voice: "What happened?"

Brother Yelumo reported: "Your Majesty, the Emperor ordered you to come to Beijing to see him today!" He bowed and handed over a yellow silk edict.Xiao Feng took it with both hands, he only had a rough knowledge of Khitan characters, when he opened it he didn't recognize most of it, he was puzzled, he closed the edict and said: "The emperor called me suddenly, did you say why?"

Murong Fu watched coldly from the side, he didn't wait for the generals to show any embarrassment, he said to Xiao Feng: "Since elder brother has official duties, I'll avoid them first."

Xiao Feng stretched out his hand, took his arm, said: "Wait a minute, brother!" He said to the generals: "Murong is my friend and friend, so he is just like my brother, you don't have to be shy, just speak up."

All the generals looked at each other and nodded slightly, Yelumoge didn't hide anything, and replied: "Your Majesty, the horses in Beijing came to report. This time, the emperor summoned someone to report to the imperial court before driving, saying...that you, Your Majesty, Privately instigating assassins, murdering ministers, intentions... are very suspicious!"

Xiao Feng was taken aback, his thoughts changed, he said: "Who is suing me?...Could it be Grand Master Yelu Yixin?"

All the generals were furious immediately, and they all said bitterly: "Who else can there be except that traitor!" Brother Yelumo said: "Ten days ago, a guard in the palace tried to assassinate Yi Xin, but he was defeated and captured; that traitor... ...Na Yi Xin took the opportunity to slander the emperor, insisting that the king of the South Court ordered it..."

This Yelv Yixin was the number one figure in the "Biography of Traitors" in the history of the Liao Dynasty. Those who are loyal and upright will be reprimanded." At the end, they call the wind and call for the rain, covering the sky with one hand.Although Xiao Feng has only been an official for a few months, Yelu Hongji treats him favorably like never before; what's more, with Xiao Feng's temperament, Yelu Yixin can't tolerate him.As early as before Xiao Feng left for the capital, the two had already hated each other, but they kept it secret and did not reveal it.

Xiao Feng thought to himself: "Yelu Yixin is not on good terms with me, so it's not surprising that he made a false accusation, but does my brother-in-law of the emperor really listen to him?" Yelu Moge continued: "...the emperor didn't believe it at first, but he didn't believe it. All the members of his subordinates wrote a letter together, begging the emperor to thoroughly investigate the case, saying... and saying..."

Seeing him hesitating, Xiao Feng raised his eyes to look at Murong Fu, and said in a low voice, "What else did you say?"

Brother Yelumo gritted his teeth, and said: "I also said that there is a Han Chinese of unknown origin beside the king recently, and he has ulterior motives, so you can tell if you don't ask!"

This time not only Xiao Feng, even Murong Fu was shocked.Brother Yelumo said again: "Although the emperor's decree did not clearly state a thorough investigation, Yi Xin's party will definitely not let it go, Your Majesty must..."

Xiao Feng raised his hand to stop him, with a condensed expression, he ordered: "Since this is the case, there is no need to say more, you all will follow me to Beijing today to see you!"

All the generals answered in unison.Murong Fu lowered his head thoughtfully, as if he was quite shocked by the news, but no one noticed that a faint smile flashed across his lowered eyes at this time.