In ancient times, it was called Peize because of its crisscrossing land and water veins and lakes. However, in today's Chu State, the city is also called Peiyi and is managed by the Duke of Pei appointed by the King of Chu.
But now the Duke of Pei looked very panicked. He stood on the city wall of Peiyi and looked at the army outside the city in horror.
Thousands of black-armored troops stood neatly outside the city, forming several square formations. There were many spears and halberds, full of killing intent, and it was very scary at first glance.
"Pei Gong, the Qin army said that if they don't open the city gate and surrender within a quarter of an hour, when the city is broken, Pei Gong's... Pei Gong's head will be hanging on the city wall."
Listening to the message from his general, Pei Gong swallowed his saliva and involuntarily reached out and touched his neck.
He knew that a Qin army was coming from south to north, but he also knew that behind this Qin army there was an army of tens of thousands from Zuo Sima of Chu State who was chasing him.
According to Pei Gong's estimation, Zuo Sima should be able to catch up with and destroy the Qin army near Liuyi, but there was a long distance there, so it would not affect him at all from Peiyi.
So Pei Gong was not panicked. He was just a remnant. The army led by the Qin general was destroyed by Shangzhu. How much trouble could these few thousand remnants and defeated generals cause?
Although for insurance reasons, he sent cavalry to patrol a few miles south of the city to prevent the Qin army from fleeing towards Peiyi and causing chaos. However, everything in Peiyi continued as usual on weekdays, and weddings and funerals were not prohibited.
Especially this morning when the son of the Liu family from Fengyi came to the city to marry Lady Lu, because it was the local hero Wang Ling who defeated Ke, Pei Gong was very considerate and sent congratulatory gifts.
Unexpectedly, just an hour after the son of the Liu family took the bride away, the cavalry on alert in the south of the city discovered the arrival of a large number of Qin troops. The Duke of Pei was so frightened that he quickly closed the city gate and ordered five hundred guards in the city to mount defense on the wall.
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The two people still came together.
But Zhao Tuo immediately remembered the information he had learned when he was a single father.
Liu Ji coaxed the Lu family to move away from their single father and move to Peiyi. From that time on, everything about Liu Ji seemed to have changed.
Could it be that the reason for this is because of myself?
"What a great Liu Ji, quite interesting."
The corners of Zhao Tuo's mouth turned up. Now that he knew about Liu Ji getting married today, he wanted to go there even more.
Moreover, Fengyi is located between Shanfu and Peixian, so it is convenient to go there, so there is no need to go far.
After making the decision, Zhao Tuo no longer hesitated, and after letting the troops rest and eat in Peixian County, they immediately set off towards Fengyi.
Of course, before leaving, Zhao Tuo did not forget to take away Pei Gong of Chu State who surrendered at Kaicheng.
After all, surrendering to the enemy was considered a serious crime in Chu State. In order to prevent Pei Gong from being punished by the King of Chu, Zhao Tuo decided to be a good man and invited him to Qin State to save his life.
Of course, in this way, Zhao Tuo could also gain the merit of capturing a Chu county magistrate, and he could record another achievement in his merit book.
It's a win-win situation.
…
In Fengyi, the sun is approaching the west and it is dusk.
The dusk ceremony originated from the ancient ritual of snatching marriages under the cover of darkness.
Confucianism also believes that the marriage of a man and a woman is a major event of the union of yin and yang. It needs to coordinate with the yin and yang of heaven and earth. It should be held at dusk in order to accept its righteousness and achieve perfection.
Therefore, since ancient times, Chinese wedding ceremonies have been held at dusk. It was not until more than two thousand years later that Western customs changed it and it became noon.
At this time, a grand dusk ceremony was taking place in the Liu family's mansion in Zhongyangli, Fengyi.
Taigong Liu was very happy.
The Liu family's family background is actually quite good in Fengyi, and they are quite wealthy. Otherwise, they would not be able to support the third son's idleness until he is thirty years old.
Compared with the eldest and second eldest children who are diligent in running the house, and the fourth eldest son who is eager to study, Liu Laosan always makes Taigong Liu very worried, especially the marriage of the third eldest son, which often makes him unable to sleep.
But now, his worthless son went on a trip to Wei, and actually kidnapped a rich man to come to Peiyi, and also wanted to marry the other's young and beautiful lady. This made Liu Taigong feel even more proud.
Not to mention that the hero Wang Ling of Peixian County personally led all the knights to come here to support the ceremony, which made the evening ceremony even more lively and festive.
At this moment, all the rangers in Peixian County, Liu Ji's brothers, as well as Lu Wan, Chen Xi and other friends were all standing in the hall with smiles on their faces, watching the two newcomers on the main seat performing the ceremony of eating together...
Liu Ji wore a Xuanduan dress, 缁(z)他(y)灁(n) clothes, and red shoes.
Liu Ji's clothes have the elegance and elegance of a scholar, but the cynical smile on his face gives people the feeling of a libertine.
Now was the critical moment of the obeisance, but he turned around from time to time and showed a frivolous smile to the rangers.
The lady of the Lu family was dressed in plain clothes. This kind of clothing gave her a solemn and luxurious temperament, but her young and delicate little face was expressionless and tight.
Between the two of them is a lacquered wooden table (z) with a lot of food placed on it.
Sauce made from snail meat, pickled winter squash, cured cake made from dried rabbit...
They will eat together, perform the ritual of three meals, and then have a series of etiquettes such as eating together, which means that the couple will share joys and sorrows, love each other, and feel like one body.
But now, when Liu Ji picked up a piece of wax chops and threw it into his mouth, chewing it, he noticed that the lady Lu opposite him didn't even move the chopsticks, and her eyes were blank.
"Lady, please."
The commentator on the side quickly shouted in a low voice.
Only then did Lady Lu come to her senses and hurriedly stretched out her chopsticks to pick up a piece of cabbage. This scene made Liu Ji look unhappy.
Nai Gong is eating cured meat, but you are picking up cabbage. What do you mean?
He said with a cold face, and the praisers on the side quickly reminded him in a low voice.
Only then did Lady Lu realize that she had made a mistake, so she quickly picked up another piece of wax cake, stuffed it into her mouth and chewed it.
When the rangers below saw it, many of them immediately laughed.
"A gentleman eats meat and a bride eats vegetables. If it is not appropriate or inappropriate, something will happen sooner or later."
"Bah, wait until tomorrow when Nogong will tear your mouths apart."
Liu Ji turned around and cursed.
Someone shouted: "When Mr. Nai takes a bride, you, Liu Ji, are talking nonsense."
"Yes, yes, you also said that you will tear our mouths apart tomorrow. I'm afraid you, Liu Ji, won't be able to get off the bed tomorrow. Are you going to crawl over here to find Naigong?"
This time, the rangers laughed even louder, and some even uttered words full of ***.
This kind of behavior is a common thing among the rangers. Wang Ling and others did not stop it, but laughed along with it.
Only the relatives of the Liu family were unhappy. Liu Jiao, who liked Confucianism, muttered: "It's disrespectful to see a bunch of mean people."
However, they were frightened by the actions of those rangers, so the Liu family dared not speak out in anger, fearing that if they tried to dissuade them, it would make the matter worse. After all, once the rangers got angry, they would not care about anything, and blood could be spilled on the spot.
thing.
Amidst the bursts of laughter, Lady Lu's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, the newly picked food fell on her feet, and her eyes couldn't help but squint, already filled with tears.
When Liu Ji saw this scene, he became more and more unhappy, and thought to himself: "Cry, cry, I will make you cry even louder at night."
Just when the evening ceremony was going on very awkwardly, a burst of exclamations suddenly came from outside the house, and the sound became louder and louder, full of panic.
"What happened?"
Everyone, including Liu Ji, looked outside the house and straightened their ears, trying to hear what was being shouted outside. Wang Ling even asked a few of his men to go out to check...
While everyone's attention was attracted by the sound outside the room, Lady Lu silently wiped away her tears, pursed her lips tightly, and her expression returned to calm.
She raised her head again and looked at the bearded man opposite who was looking sideways at the outside of the house, feeling even more uncomfortable in her heart.
"Is this the man I want to rely on for the rest of my life?"
At this moment, the ranger who had just gone out to investigate shouted into the house and exclaimed: "It's the Qin army! The Qin army from Peiyi has arrived two miles outside the city!"
"What!"
"Qin Jun, why do we have Qin Jun here?"
"Could it be the Qin army coming from the south? Didn't it say that our Chu army is chasing and destroying him? Why did he come to Fengyi?"
"The Qin army has arrived at Fengyi. Could it be that Peiyi has also fallen into their hands?"
All the rangers looked shocked and started shouting.
Liu Ji, who was sitting next to him, heard their shouts and his body trembled involuntarily.
Qin army?
Qin army!
The scenes in Waihuang City appeared in Liu Ji's mind. The Qin soldiers were brave and fearless. They killed the Wei people in Waihuang with one charge and captured the Waihuang city wall on the spot.
He and Zhang Er fled in a car, but were pursued by the Qin general's cavalry, who seemed to have expected it.
Liu Ji could even recall the appearance of the exceptionally young general of the Qin Army wearing a plate crown.
Fear instantly crawled through Liu Ji's body, making the hairs on his back stand on end, as if those Qin people had placed a sword across his neck.
This is a death threat.
He even thought of Zhang Er whose head was beheaded. Even though he had never seen Zhang Er's body, the image of a headless corpse dripping with blood still appeared in his mind.
How cruel the Qin army was!
At this moment, an uncontrollable thought appeared in Liu Ji's mind.
"When the Qin army comes to Fengyi, is it possible that they want to arrest me?"
He remembered the Confucian sayings that his younger brother Liu Jiao often said.
There is a sentence he likes very much, which is "He who knows his fate will not stand under a rock wall."
Liu Ji didn't know the specific meaning. Liu Jiao seemed to have said it, but he forgot.
According to Liu Ji's own understanding, a smart person will not let himself stand under a dangerous wall, and will never let himself be in danger.
And he, Liu Ji, is such a smart person.
"Everyone, sit down for a moment. I, Liu Ji, will check with you on the movements of the Qin people before I go to the city. I will come back as soon as I go!"
With that said, Liu Ji didn't wait for anyone's reaction, he left the bride and the guests opposite him and ran straight out. Before leaving, he didn't forget to take away a sword.
Everyone in the hall was stunned. Only Lu Wan reacted the fastest. He jumped up and ran out, shouting: "Aji, wait for me, let's go together."
Only then did everyone react.
Wang Ling shouted: "The Qin people are approaching Fengyi. I wonder if it is a disaster? Liu Ji, a good man, dare to go and investigate the Qin people. We can sit here and wait for disaster to come. Two or three sons, follow me."
"Let's go with Liu Jitong!"
In the blink of an eye, all the rangers took their swords and ran out of the house, leaving only the Liu family and Lady Lu next to them with shocked faces.
A moment later, when Wang Ling and everyone arrived at the gate of the village, through the dim light of the sky, they could see countless black figures approaching on the road a mile away. They were densely packed Qin people.
As many as thousands.
Wang Ling and all the rangers suddenly took a breath of cold air.