He lit a torch and stood silently beside him - he looked around and saw that each of his sons had young and heart-wrenching faces. It was the Li family army that he had retained at the expense of money and friendship. Hearing that his comrades had suffered misfortunes, some shed tears.

Their faces were filled with gnashing of teeth and hatred, but no one said anything about surrender, escape, or defeat.

"Heaven and earth are merciless, gods and Buddhas have no eyes!" Even his divine horse seemed to know the master's grief and indignation, and kept snorting and stamping its hooves. He reined in the reins and raised the blade of his sword, and the burning fire was like blood.

Against his stern look, he said, "Don't even think about talking about kindness and righteousness with wild beasts! You have to pay for this blood debt by yourself, and you can only defend Shaanxi Province by yourself!"

He rode away, and behind him were the shouts of his sons to bow down, which shook the world, "I am willing to die for the general!"

He knew that every inch of land and every city wall under his feet was soaked with the blood of his comrades. Gao Tianguyue, he came to the beacon tower alone, knelt on the ground, stroked the huge bluestone, and headed in the direction of Pinglu

Crying uncontrollably.

Li Yanxian did not light the beacon fire that night. He knew that there would be no reinforcements.

This place with two capitals and the key pass of Weihan had long been abandoned by the imperial court who retreated to Lin'an. The officials of Zhao and Song Dynasties only cared about staying in peace in the prosperous south of the Yangtze River. Their eyes were covered with singing and dancing, and their bodies were wrapped in silk and satin. How could those in the upper ranks remember the smoke and fire of the war?

There are thousands of people struggling in pain.

But he can't let go, he can't do it, and he can't leave.

Even though this troubled world is bloody and muddy, he just wants to use his loyal and upright body to try to mend the cracks in the sky.

After a long time, Shao Zhou watched the man finally put down the sleeves of his robe on his face and smiled tiredly.

"So, very good."

He is usually cold, but his smile is like the warm sunshine of spring. If Shao Zhou hadn't noticed that there was a deep line of blood marks on his fist that was pressed against his teeth just now, he almost wanted to let the hands of Dan Qing keep that smile so that the world can see it.

And always remember, instead of just being locked in this courtyard, so lonely that you can even hear the wind clearly.

The man seemed to have collected all the anger around him, and for the first time he asked Shao Zhou in a gentle and approachable tone, "What is your nickname?"

"Young man, please tell me how to cross." Shao Zhou responded with his hands tied.

"It's too tiring to cross the world by yourself. It's good to cross yourself." He muttered to himself for a while, then turned his head and looked over, "Go to a Taoist temple and say that there is an old friend who wants to practice Taoism. See what they do.

Don’t accept it.”

Shao Zhou was shocked and said: "How can we let the general go there..."

"So what?" When he raised his face, just as the wind was cutting the clouds, a dead leaf broke free from the shackles of the branches and drifted down to him. He did not avoid it, letting the dead leaf kiss his cheek gently.

A scar, "When Li Jiedu comes back from the Northern Expedition, won't there be two of him in this city? How are you going to explain it?"

Shao Zhou took a breath of air and didn't dare to reply. Seeing this, he suddenly laughed so hard that his whole body trembled with laughter, and his eyes shone with tears. It was like all the heroic souls who had returned to Tianyu were attached to him, and he wanted to use this crazy laughter to bring back the past life.

All the anger and grievances were vented.

"The Northern Expedition of the Song Dynasty and the revival of the two rivers, what should I hate? I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me anymore."

3,

After Taoist Qinghui became a guest, Shao Zhou rarely saw him in public. He was worried and took rice, rice and wine with him to visit the Taoist temple. The man just asked him to put down his things without even a word of thanks. Yes.

At that time, he wrote the news of the victory on the front line as a letter and threw it through the crack of the door, but could not wait for a single reply.

On the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Song Dynasty conquered Taiyuan, and the two fortified cities of Yuancheng were heard. The soldiers and civilians of Shaanzhou were all singing and dancing, celebrating the new year with fireworks, lanterns and lion dances. The whole excitement did not stop until the 15th day of the first lunar month. The Temple of Lu Zu on Yangjiao Mountain in the city

But the door is still closed and the steps are covered with moss, as if they are isolated from the world.

As winter turned to spring, the water in the Yellow River gradually thawed. Shao Zhou took the horses from the government office to wash at Wanjin Beach. This is the grand scene of Shaanzhou. To the north is the vast and rolling Zhongtiao Mountain, and to the west is the Zhongtiao Mountain.

It is the surging Yellow River coming from the sky. Looking to the south is the Shaanzhou City with row upon row of houses. At dusk, the waves are sparkling, the gulls are singing, and the koi are jumping on their tails. In ancient times, literati and poets came here, and they all had something in their hearts.

The boundless heroic sentiments of the country are expressed, hence the name Wanjin Beach.

Shao Zhou tied up his arms, washed the horses, and let them go back to the city along the gravel road on the river beach. Then he raised his eyes and looked into the distance. The little golden lights among the waves were very cute, and there were several rafts where the water flow was gentle.

Walking freely and listening to fishermen's songs leisurely, it is a leisurely and beautiful scene. However, the sound of the flute comes intermittently in the evening wind. Its sound is sobbing. At first, I just felt that the person playing it was quite familiar with the music, and his emotions were euphemistic and lingering. After listening to it again

As we go down, the sadness and resentment gradually subsides, and the intention of Jin Ge's conquest becomes stronger. Although the listener is standing in a golden and red warm light, it feels like he is bathed in the cold moon and has ice and snow above his head.

He was shocked by the sadness in the music. He looked around the empty space and followed the sound to find the Taoist Taoist Qinghui whom he had not seen for several months. He stood in the wind, looking down at the flowing Yellow River and kept playing. He was dressed in a blue and black feather gauze robe.

Being lifted up by the wind, his clothes and sleeves were flying, and he was floating like a fairy.

When Shao Zhou climbed up to a high place panting, Taoist Qinghui had already put away his flute. When he saw Shao Zhou coming up to rest on his elbows to catch his breath, he couldn't help but frown slightly, "All the children in the army are strong and strong, and they have been practicing martial arts all day long. How can they?"

You are so weak, how did Shao Yun teach your younger brother? Just allow him to be the ruler by himself and don’t want to find a future for you?"

When Shao Zhou heard his words, he didn't really blame him. Instead, he felt a rare feeling of closeness. He bowed his hands and bowed politely, "The general doesn't know something. This kid has been weak and difficult to raise since he was a child. My father and brothers inevitably doted on me. Therefore, I just need to be more diligent in my chores and live a safe life, but I have never thought about fame or anything like that."

"Since I am no longer a person in the dust web, why should I use the old name again? Let's change it."

"Here."

The red sun was gradually setting in the west. The mountains were densely forested and the shadows were deep. The two of them walked down the mountain step by step. The journey was not too complicated for Shao Zhou. He only talked about the anecdotes and miscellaneous affairs of the country in recent years and political opinions. Taoist Qinghui listened. When he came to talk about killing Baima and changing to Shaoxing, he finally couldn't help but cut off the conversation: "If the official really said that, what kind of thing is it to reprimand the Second Saint in person?"

"Yes, during the Jingkang period of the Second Saint, he abandoned the world and ignored him. Even though he was his father and brother, the officials also hated him deeply. In the case of Baima, they also expelled more than 70 ministers who wanted to negotiate peace with the Kingdom of Jin. They could only give up by plowing the court and sweeping the holes. ."

"This official family is not the official family of Zhao Song at all." Taoist Qinghui suddenly stopped and looked at a few lone stars on the horizon, then glanced at Shao Yun who was frightened by these rebellious words, and then slowly returned. Add the following text, "It is the stars in the sky that have come down to earth."

They walked slowly all the way, and it was already evening when they entered the city. Although Shaanzhou was not as prosperous as the capital Tokyo, it still had bead curtains, embroidered foreheads, and towers and pavilions. Now that the city was being conquered one after another in front, the night was no longer as it was when the war first started. The inspection was so strict, and there were bright lights everywhere. There were many shops and markets open for business, pedestrians and ladies were constantly on the road, and carriages and horses were bustling. Shao Zhou glanced at Taoist Qinghui and saw that he seemed to be more familiar to him than himself. In the streets and alleys, he never hesitated every time he took a step forward. In this bustling market, he was the only one who looked cold and cold. No one greeted this lonely figure, and no one cared about where this person was going again. Where.

"Alas -" when we walked to the foot of Yangjiao Mountain, Taoist Qinghui sighed, "Last time you told me that the "Sapphire Case" produced by Zhao Guan's family was a wonderful speech, but you haven't copied it to me until now."

Upon hearing this, Shao Zhou hurriedly replied, "Why don't you bother the Taoist tonight? I'll copy all the poems that the official family has written in the past few years and show them to the Taoist."

Taoist priest Qinghui didn't comment and just walked up the mountain path.

Shao Zhou naturally followed closely behind. The mountain path was so narrow that the two of them could only pass forward and backward. After walking for dozens of steps, they heard the Taoist speaking to him in front: "I am an unlucky person, and you said that you are weak. The copper seal you picked up when you rescued me that day was lost or buried as soon as possible so as not to harm you."

When Shao Zhou heard him slowly talking about himself in this way, with a tone as dry as a tree, neither sad nor happy, he couldn't help but choked up. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves before replying: "General, please don't say that. If the general is ominous, Who has earned this peaceful situation?"

Before he could finish speaking, he received a blow on the head, and the man in front of him became stern in his words, "Of course it is the officials here who will take you Jiedu and the other commanders, as well as the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the imperial camp." Years of merit, what kind of person am I? I am just a lonely ghost in this world. Saying this has ruined my luck in reincarnation!"

No one said a word for a while. After walking for a few miles, Shao Zhou rested several times more than Taoist Qinghui before he reached the top of the mountain. Taoist Qinghui saw the silence everywhere and explained again: "Let you bury it." There is another meaning: That private seal was engraved by my father as a gift to me. All military generals will see the seal as ordered. If you accidentally throw it away and someone picks it up, it will damage Li Jiedu. Do you understand? ?”

After hearing this, Shao Zhou replied politely: "Here."

Lu Zu could only see a few pink walls and a low wooden door. In the courtyard, there were towering pines and cypresses, and the ground was covered with flowers and grass. At this time, the magnolias were blooming beautifully. They grew in clusters on the branches, and the grinding of jade produced snow, and they fell on the steps, leaving behind the scent of wind and dew.

Taoist Qinghui opened the small lock on the door knocker and motioned Shao Zhou to go in. He stood at the foot of the stairs and looked at the flowers with his arms folded.

The room was dark. Shao Zhou polished the flint from his arms, groped to light the fire stick first, and then lit the candle, and then he saw the surrounding scene. The room was extremely simple, with only one curtain, a couch, and a bookcase. On the couch

The bedding and curtains are made of the most common blue-dyed cloth, washed clean and dust-free, with a few spots already turning white. Even ordinary people's homes are more comfortable than this one, as quiet and simple as a snow cave.

Shao Zhou went to look for pen and ink on the desk, and when he flipped through it, he found a thick stack of paper stained with ink. He picked it up out of curiosity and looked at it. It turned out that they were all proclamations for the Northern Expedition announced by the Ming Dynasty to the world. Every piece of paper was straight and elegant.

Small regular script. Use ink dipped in gold shavings to write it down word for word. It takes a lot of effort and vision for the writer. He held it in his hand, flipped through a few pages and looked at it again. Sure enough, there were thousands and hundreds of them.

There are dozens of rolls of paper that have been tied up by the wall, and they all say this:

"Wu Hou's "Hou Chu Shi Biao" described Zhao Lie's ambition, saying: 'If the traitors of the Han Dynasty are not at odds, the king's career will not be peaceful.'

It is ridiculous to call him a minister of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, the Northern Expedition is related to the foundation of the country. Before the world of peace has been established, do you dare to call yourself the queen of the three kings? If you cannot inherit the territory of the Han and Tang Dynasties, how can you inherit the unification of China?

Shao Zhou held it in his hand and read it out unconsciously. He didn't realize that his hands were trembling. Although his voice was low, it was heard by Taoist priest Qinghui standing in front of the door.

"Keep reading, read loudly." The man brushed the fallen flowers squatting on the stone lion in front of the steps with his sleeves, then sat down and said, "The people in heaven want to hear it."

Unconsciously, Shao Zhou burst into tears. He raised his voice, and every word and sentence burst out like a ball of fire burning his blood. It was almost dry, as if his skin, flesh and bones were turned into ashes.

, only then can the unyielding fire of karma be calmed down.

"It has been nine years since the title of Jianyan was established. The monarch and his ministers are one, working together for the sake of the country. The fortunes of heaven are cyclical, and hard work is mutually beneficial. Today, the power of the emperor and the Song Dynasty has revived, and the soldiers are well-equipped. The imperial camp is managed on the left, right, front and back.

, the army of the Central Plains, Cavalry, Water, and Sea totaled 300,000 people. Then the Central Plains and Guanxi scholars came up, with 500,000 bodies. The trustworthy ministers and elite soldiers were all-powerful, and this was a prosperity unprecedented in ancient times!

We should fight bravely, regain our homeland, drive out the barbarians, restore China, establish principles and disciplines, and save the people of Sri Lanka."

Thinking of this, he couldn't hold back any longer, and finally threw down the piece of paper as thin as fresh snow, rushed outside, and threw away all the doubts in his heart towards the wooden figure:

"Li Jiedu, General Li! Li Yanxian!"

"Isn't it true that Shaanzhou City was defeated? That's where you came from, right?"

"Where's my dad? Where's my brother? Where's me?"

"Where are our tens of thousands of Li family troops? They are all dead and gone!"

silence.

Shao Zhou lost all his strength, knelt down among the fallen flowers on the ground, hugged the man's sleeves, and cried bitterly.

Until he felt that person's hand gently patting the top of his hair, again and again, almost without touching the body temperature, as if there was a piece of ice and snow hidden in his robe.

"yes."

"Everyone in heaven wants to read it. It requires more than 50,000 copies. I have been writing it day and night. I have been writing it for ten years, but I still don't know if it is enough."

"Those people are all brave soldiers I recruited from all over the country. Have you never done anything like a gangster before?

"Burning paper money for them is just a joke. It's better to tell them 'the army is crossing the river' than to make them happy."

Shao Zhou clearly felt that although the man's tone of voice did not change and was still dull, two drops of cold water clearly fell on his forehead.

4,

The sun and the moon pass by, and time flies.

Shao Zhou gave birth to a daughter when he was twenty-three years old. He specially prepared a ceremony to ask Taoist Qinghui to give his daughter a name. The man still wrote in the Taoist temple every day, rarely asking about worldly affairs, and his appearance was still unknown.
To be continued...