Yanshan is a natural dividing line between the two major ethnic groups of agriculture and animal husbandry in ancient times. The north of the mountain is the grassland of the nomads, and the south of the mountain is the fields of the farming people. Therefore, Yanshan has become a natural line of defense for the farming people to defend against the invasion of nomads. Later, the farming empire
So they built city walls along the mountains, and built pass gates at important valley passages to facilitate entry and exit. This became the Great Wall.
Some of the passes on the Great Wall are very famous, such as Juyongguan, Gubeikou, Lulongsai..., but there are also some unknown ones, such as Liujiakou. Liujiakou is a mountain pass across the Yanshan Mountains, with a river
When the Great Wall passed here, a water gate was built here to facilitate the passage of river water.
Shuiguan is an arch made of bricks and stones, which can be used by pedestrians. However, because the main reason for building it is to facilitate the passage of rivers, the roads on both sides are narrow and rugged, and are not commonly used as entry and exit channels for people and horses, so it is not famous. You know
There are not many people here.
Xia Xun and Saihazhi crossed Yanshan from Xifengkou. After learning from the jujube dealer who was accustomed to going to fortresses that there was a pass here that was not mainly used for military purposes, they did not rush directly to Daning, but first
We took a detour to Liujiakou. The Liujiakou Pass sign was hung on the inside side of the pass. The two of them could not see it from the hillside outside the pass, but the entire pass building could be clearly seen.
This water crossing tower is not too big. The brick watch tower is three feet long, three feet wide and about four feet high. There is a two foot high water crossing hole below the watch tower. There are knocks on the wall on the north side of the enemy tower.
There are six arrow windows and several bungalows on the walls on both sides. Saihazhi has been in the army for more than 20 years and has rich experience. With only a quick glance, he accurately told Xia Xun that there would be no more than a hundred troops stationed here.
Twenty people.
Xia Xun said happily: "Brother Ha, what do you think of this place?"
Sai Hazhi squinted his eyes and looked at it, nodded and said: "The inner slope here is not steep, and there are no more than a hundred soldiers stationed at Shuiguan. Although the road is more difficult to walk, it is easy to fight from the inside out, but it is difficult to fight from the outside in.
It's very difficult. Firstly, the mountain road is rugged and steep, and there are many rock walls. Secondly, the river is rushing down, and neither humans nor horses can control it."
Xia Xun nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, but it is still passable. Look at the path in the grass."
Sai Hazhi said: "Well, it should be that the soldiers stationed at the customs often come down the mountain. In addition, the local mountain people should often pass the customs here. Sir, look, there is a town not far down the slope."
Xia Xun said: "Yes, Liujiakou, hahaha, I didn't expect that there is a cave here. The road has been clear. Let's go down the mountain first. It's getting late today. Let's stay in the town at the foot of the mountain and hit the road again tomorrow."
Not far from Liujiakou Pass, there is a town. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, so there are some people who are building the Great Wall. The families of the garrison soldiers have settled here one after another. The town is not big, with hundreds of households. At this moment
There were already curls of smoke rising from the roofs of some houses. Saihazhi was a pot-bellied man and had already felt hungry. When Xia Xun said this, he was right in his heart. He nodded quickly and said, "Okay, let's go down the mountain quickly!"
"
As he walked, he touched his belly and said, "It's okay if you don't say it. But now that you say it, I really feel hungry. I feel that even if you give me a cow, I can still swallow it."
As soon as I finished speaking, I heard a few cute giggles, and a clear girl's voice laughed and said: "Brother Kui, if you can catch me, I'll kiss you. Come on, I'm here... Oops!"
A girl ran out from behind a bush. She probably didn't expect there was anyone on the hillside. When she saw Xia Xun and Sehazhi, she exclaimed and turned around. Xia Xun and the two felt their eyes light up.
, what you can see is the beautiful black eyebrows that run into the temples like swords, a pair of autumn eyes, a high bridge of nose, and red lips. At a glance, the beautiful face has been twisted away, and then it is just a slender figure.
Elegant and beautiful back.
At this time, another man ran out from behind the bushes. He was a man with a majestic figure, bright tiger eyes, young and fierce, and quite handsome. He was holding a red fruit in his hand. He was originally smiling, but when he saw someone on the mountain, his expression changed.
After carefully looking at Xia Xun and the others, they saw that they were dressed very ordinary, with daggers on their shoulders, like two small businessmen, and their expressions softened. This man did not speak to Xia Xun and the others, but
He walked over and hugged the girl's slender waist, and said softly: "It's getting late, let's go down the mountain."
The girl nodded and smoothed her hair on her temples. Xia Xun focused his eyes and noticed that she was wearing a ring on her hand. The ring was all green and as clear as water. It should be emerald. Emerald is priceless, but
The best of jade.
Xia Xun's eyes fell on the girl's clothes again, a green and white Sichuan brocade dress, a blue skirt, two pieces of clothes, with some Hufu style, small lapels, a waist tied up, and a pair of feet
The deerskin boots looked very noble just from the back. Xia Xun couldn't help but narrow his eyes and whispered: "This woman is probably a nobleman of the Mongolian tribe, and she is a married woman."
At that time, women in the Central Plains did not have the habit of wearing rings, and only married women wore rings. However, there were many Hu people who wore rings, because it also had the function of a finger pull, used to pull strings and shoot arrows. Xia Xun
This guess was made based on the value of the ring, her habit of wearing it, and the style of her clothing.
Sai Hazhi said: "I didn't pay attention to that little girl because of my humble position. I see that this man's behavior and gait are quite military. If I'm not mistaken, he should be a member of the army, at least he used to be a member of the army."
Xia Xun smiled and said: "It's none of your business, just hang up. Let's go down the mountain and find a place to rest. We'll rush to Daning tomorrow."
On their way down the mountain, they saw the man and woman arriving at the bottom of the mountain. There was a car waiting for them at the bottom of the mountain. The woman got on the car, and the man got on a white horse. In addition, there were also drivers. The few accompanying people were indeed very charming.
The style of a wealthy family.
Xia Xun and the two followed the car from a distance, and when they arrived in the town, they wanted to find an inn to stay. Only then did they realize that because the location of this small town was somewhat remote, there were not many businessmen and tourists, so there was no inn in the town. Two people
I asked the shopkeeper of a wine shop in the town and found out that there was a family here because the owner did not often live in the local area, so the family members who stayed behind often rented out the courtyard to make some extra money, so they inquired all the way there.
The house and courtyard of that family are quite large in the local area, but compared with the large houses in many places in the pass, they are still much cruder. When the two of them arrived in front of the door, they saw a carriage going around the side door. They thought it was the owner of the carriage.
Get off the car at the main entrance and enter. Because there are stone steps at the main entrance, the carriage has to be driven into the courtyard through the side entrance.
Most of the small villages and towns outside the pass have ox-carts and donkey-carts. Even if there are horse-drawn carriages, there are few long-carriage passenger carriages that can travel long distances. This long-carriage carriage is exactly the same as the carriage Xia Xun saw just now on the mountainside. , Xia Xun couldn't help but think: "It can't be such a coincidence, is it possible that that couple also lives here?"
The two of them stood in front of the door, poking their heads. When an old man inside saw it and was about to close the door, he waved his head displeased and said, "Go on, what are you doing poking your head in front of my door?"
Xia Xun withdrew his gaze, crossed his hands and said with a smile: "Uncle, we two brothers were passing by here. Seeing that it was getting late, we wanted to find someone to stay at, so please help me."
After hearing this, the old man's expression softened, and he waved his hand and said, "Go to other people's houses and ask. My house is not for foreigners."
Sehazhi was a little puzzled when he heard this, and said loudly: "How could it be so? I heard the old man selling wine at the entrance of the town said that your house was often rented to guests, so why did you suddenly stop doing business? It's not like we didn't I’ll pay you money.”
The old man's face tightened, he looked back, then rushed down the steps and said hurriedly: "Keep your voice down! You two foreign guests are really ignorant. The old man is here to help the master look after the house, and occasionally make extra money. , the master just happened to come to stay these days, how can the old man invite foreigners to come to the door again? Go and go, have you seen the old locust tree? There are also vacant rooms for rent under the tree. Go quickly, go away, don't bother. Old man attracts trouble."
Xia Xun and the other two heard that their master was coming and did not want to do business, so they had no choice but to turn around and walk away. However, in a blink of an eye, Xia Xun suddenly saw a family member in the courtyard leading an unsaddled horse and leading it lazily. After passing the courtyard, the horse was very handsome. It was all white and there was no stray hair. It was a good horse. Xia Xun was moved in his heart and asked casually: "Uncle, your master built a house here, why is it not here?" Where do you live? Could it be that you are away doing business all year round?"
The old man glared at him contemptuously and scolded: "Bumpkin, you are a businessman, do you think my master is also a businessman? Let me tell you, my master is an official, the general guard of the Liujiakou Pass on the mountain. Mr. Liu Kui, the flag officer, usually guards the military camp, so naturally he has no time to come and stay here. Please leave quickly and don’t let my master know!"
Xia Xun couldn't help but shook his head secretly after hearing this: "The chief bannerman is almost the same as the local emperor here. He is powerful and powerful. But the salary of a general bannerman, even if he buys such a courtyard, It’s easy, but it’s difficult to buy such an outfit for his woman. I don’t know how much soldiers’ blood he drank and how much free money he ate to earn so much money. Lao Zhu has been greedy all his life, and his horns are so small. There are still swarms of snakes and rats!”
Xia Xun sighed and thanked the old man, and then walked to the house under the old locust tree he pointed out. That house indeed had a house for rent, but it was a pity that there was only one room. Xia Xun knew that Saiha Zhihulu was there. The power is amazing. They usually live separately, but now they have no choice but to live in the same room. The two of them asked for some food from that person to eat and drink enough to go to sleep. As soon as Saihazhi's head touched the pillow, he snored non-stop, and Xia Xun was confused. He stuffed his ears with two pieces of cloth and tossed and turned for a long time before falling into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, the two left here and headed for Daning. Only half a day's journey away from the town, they met a small tribe. Saihazhi took out two gold leaves from the soles of his boots, negotiated with the tribe leader for a long time, and exchanged two gold leaves. Now that the horse is back, the journey will be much faster. Xia Xun calculated the distance and could reach Daning City from Liujiakou in just one day and one night.
Although Daning City was the residence of the vassal king, because it was located outside the fortress, it was far inferior to the several cities that Xia Xun had visited. Compared with Qingzhou City, it was a bit smaller. There were few bricks and stones in the city walls, and most of them were made of loess.
Only the city tower and the doorway were made of masonry. There were also soldiers guarding the city gate to check the herdsmen and people entering the city and collect taxes.
The carriage passed by, kicking up dust along the way.
Xia Xun covered his mouth and nose, turned his head and glanced to the side. He saw several knights protecting a long carriage, heading towards the city gate. At a glance, he felt that the carriage, horses, and entourage all looked familiar. Xia Xun
I couldn't help but think: "It can't be such a coincidence, right?"
***: I caught a cold. I struggled for a long time before I got up. I was slightly injured and could not get out of the firing line. I resolutely completed the task. Well... I will lie down for a while and then code the next chapter~~~ (To be continued. If you like this
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