"By the way, I've always had a hard time asking you, why did you want to kill Song Xian?"
Ning Yi had never mentioned this matter before, and only asked now when he was a little familiar with it. Lu Hongti narrowed his eyes slightly, the sky outside the window was gloomy, and the roast chicken was sizzling on the charcoal stove in the room.
Oil was dripping from the ground, and Ning Liheng stood there and blinked innocently. It seemed that after thinking for a moment, Lu Hongti's eyes slowed down slightly and he looked around.
With a crash, it started to rain outside, and in a blink of an eye, the entire Jiangning was swept into it.
"My family used to live west of Yanmenguan, on the Luliang Mountain side." It took a long time before Lu Hongti said this.
"Since the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were lost, the barbarians went there every year to kill and plunder. They had no peaceful life. They lived in and farmed the ten houses with nine empty spaces. They moved around in the surrounding ravines every year, like wandering souls in the wild.
It’s like a ghost, but the older generation says it’s hard to leave your homeland...you may not understand what it feels like to be born there..."
Ning Yi was slightly silent: "Rejoice at the banks of the Fen River, gather together in the middle and south of Jin Dynasty, cry at the Luliang Mountains, and die at Yanmen Pass..."
"Ha." She nodded and smiled, "In the early years, everyone had actually been in the mountains. In fact, they had been going south, but they couldn't move very far. The young people went up the mountains, but they haven't moved there for hundreds of years.
The most powerful Luliang bandits were all Han Chinese. The Wu Dynasty troops did not come. The Hu people went south every year and did not regard us as human beings. They fought with the Hu people every year. When they encountered a small group, they swarmed us.
When we encounter a large group, we quickly hide and rob the Hu merchants. We rob all the merchants who pass by. The Han people are spared a life, but the Hu people are all killed..."
"The Wu Dynasty did not regard us as one of their own. Sometimes an official came over and said he wanted to recruit us. He tried several times to recruit us, but in the end he still fought against the barbarians, just to make us work hard without giving anything. Yes.
Then they will say that we are bandits and come here to suppress us..."
Lightning flashed across the window and the rain became heavier. Ning Yi turned over the roasted chicken and sprinkled some food on it.
"When I was six years old, my father was killed by barbarians. I learned martial arts from my master and traveled around the world. When I was thirteen, I returned to Luliang. My mother was also dead, so I went to the mountains and followed my master in fighting every year...
Do knights want to serve the country and the people? I never thought that everyone’s life... is not like human beings..."
She paused slightly: "Later...a few years ago, Song Xian led troops into Luliang Mountain. At first he said he wanted to recruit people, which was very good. He gathered people from several nearby villages, surrounded them, and killed them all.
...The Liao Kingdom said that the Luliang bandits were from the Wu Dynasty and asked the Wu Dynasty to deal with them. Song Xian used these heads as a record and gave them to the superiors! To please the Liao Kingdom! No old or children were spared, and then he said that they all killed people without blinking an eye.
A bandit... He was promoted to an official because of this. Some people's relatives in the mountains died there, and everyone in the village I knew also died. Some people... came out to avenge him, and were killed again. All their blood was shed in vain.
There are still some people who want to come out. If I don’t allow it, I can only come by myself..."
"So I must kill him. On New Year's Eve, I missed a single blow, and I was still somewhat sure. A few days ago, I tried to plot to kill him, but he plotted to kill him. At that time, I thought, if this continues, I might be able to kill him.
I can't kill him anymore... A person's power is limited after all..."
"You want to learn kung fu. I have studied with my master for so many years, and then I fight in battles every year. I don't know how many people I killed. I crawled out of the dead a few times, not knowing whether I was dead or alive.
If we want to kill Song Xian now, he will still be injured like this. If a scholar has the ability and can defeat thousands of people, it is better than anything else. Why bother to do this bloody massacre..." She said, pursed her lips and smiled.
Ning Yi thought about it for a while, then shook his head and smiled: "I'd better stick to my curiosity... Let's talk about this later, the chicken is ready."
As he spoke, he took off the roasted chicken, cut it open with a knife, and an even stronger aroma suddenly filled the room, and then handed it over with the sauce.
"How about it?"
"taste good……"
"For the new product I am preparing to launch, my technique is still amateurish, and the ingredients are well matched."
"Isn't your family a cloth seller?"
"My friend... If one day you can eat roast chicken with this taste in Luliang Mountain, I will give you something..."
"Huh, what?"
"It's a crooked way... What about calling the wind and rain, spreading beans to make soldiers, and so on..."
"Then it's settled?"
"Um."
The casual conversations in the room were drowned in the roaring thunderstorm. In a restaurant on the other side of Jiangning City, Li Pin was looking at the rain outside and talking to Shen Miao beside him.
"...Yan Zhen has been making preparations these days. He will leave Jiangning for Raozhou in about half a month."
"Didn't I say that we just left in July?"
"We have a long way to go, so it's probably best to go early to avoid any unexpected delays on the way... Also, after arriving in Leping, I'm afraid I have to make some preparations in advance so that I can take over my duties smoothly."
"That's fine." Li Pin smiled and nodded.
Shen Miao took a deep breath: "Some time ago, I heard that you and Yan Zhen had some differences, so I came here to ask. After all, we were all friends in the past and it was nothing serious. I don't want you to take it to heart."
Li Pin thought for a while: "This is not a matter of disagreement. I fully understand Zishan's good intentions. It's just that it's not that I'm angry with him, but that he has some unresolved concerns."
Shen Miao frowned and thought for a while: "I see... By the way, what does Dexin think of Yan Zhen?"
"It's not good to say this behind your back."
"Haha, it doesn't matter. He is leaving soon and I may not see him again for many years. If he has a quarrel with others, I wouldn't worry about him. But I have always trusted Dexin as a person and you have always had a very good eye for recognizing people. That’s right, so I really want to know something. This matter is just a casual conversation and will never be spread to the ears of three people.”
Li Pin thought for a while and shook his head: "It's not a big deal. You and I have known Yan Zhen for many years. He has knowledge, ability and vision. If you compare it, you and I are not as good as him. But in these many years, have you ever seen him really suffer in anything?"
"Well, there were actually a few things that suffered losses, but Yan Zhen was also an open-minded person and didn't take them to heart..."
"What if I say...he never suffered a loss?"
"Um?"
"Brother Zishan, Gu Hong is... arrogant. Of course, he also has the reasons and talents for this arrogance. Over the years, he has set very high demands on himself, and many times it is really surprising. This is how a gentleman behaves. .It’s just that sometimes, his views are a little too extreme and he pursues his goals too much. However, it’s hard to say whether this is good or bad.”
Shen Miao smiled and nodded: "Dexin really knows people very well, and Yan Zhen does have such a tendency. A few days ago, he told me that a person should face his true heart. In fact, I think it is reasonable, and he also He once said that as a county magistrate in the future, what he needs is to solve the immediate problems. In these matters, he should be cold and selfless and only pursue his goals. Compared with virtuous officials who are charitable in their hearts but are actually bound by many rules, he would rather As a capable official who does not seek to appear good or evil, but only seeks to do things properly, his idea is actually admirable..."
Li Pin looked at him for a moment, then smiled and said: "That's true. In this world today, there are many rotten scholars and few people doing things. If Yan Zhen has this idea, it will be a blessing to the people..."
He actually admired Gu Yanzhen to some extent, and he vaguely realized that he had tried to stop it here. If he used unfounded things as accusations, it would be too much. Shen Miao was not here for discussion today. He came here just to be a peacemaker, but he didn't understand that this time, there was indeed a grudge against Gu Yanzhen. Perhaps the grudge was not for his own concealment, but because of the words "I know you are a human being." Although Gu Yanzhen was aggressive that day , but maybe I shouldn’t say this.
King on the outside and sage on the inside, whether the "king" is more important or the "sage" is more important, the two formal methods have been debated for many years. Of course, the golden mean does not take extremes, and the judgment of everything is actually quite complicated. .Over the years, capable officials have indeed been much more useful than rotten scholars. If Gu Yanzhen proves that he is indeed a capable official in the future, he should come and apologize for his words... I hope so.
After that, the topic naturally followed Shen Miao. At the same moment when the two were talking in the restaurant, at the Zhuji main store a few streets away, Gu Yanzhen was sitting on the seat with a servant, quietly tasting Various dishes. The servant next to him is tall and has a ferocious scar on his face. He is his confidant. He is called Lao Liu and is actually his bodyguard. This is the first time in the past three months that he has taken the initiative. Of course, he didn't approach the place related to Nie Yunzhu to lead people to destroy the store. At this time, he was just quietly waiting for the other party to appear.
Since it was raining outside, the business in the store was not very good, and the light was not very bright in the heavy rain, so they lit oil lamps, and the lights were swaying in the store.
Nie Yunzhu is actually in the store at this time, but as a woman, she does not need to be aboveboard and open-minded in these matters. In this era, there is not much aboveboardness between men and women - of course, when it comes to dealing with Ning Yi, she has little use for it. There was a double standard. Thinking of the last time the other party forcibly held her hand, she didn't want to go out again. He shouldn't have held her hand, and she shouldn't have hit him with her backhand. So she quietly waited for the passage of time. . However, until it was close to evening, the food in front of her was completely cold. Gu Yanzhen was still sitting there steadily. She had no choice but to go out and salute across the table: "Gu Yanzhen." Young Master."
Gu Yanzhen raised his head to look at her and smiled. He had always been gentle and elegant, and his smile at this time was indeed very pleasing to people, relaxed and open-minded.
"In about a few days, I will be leaving to take up my post in Leping, Raozhou, so I thought I would come and say goodbye to you."
Nie Yunzhu thought for a while: "Yunzhu has nothing else to give to me. I only wish the young master to have smooth sailing and a prosperous official career."
"Your words remind me of three years ago..." He lowered his head, smiled easily, then stood up, looked at the other person and took a deep breath: "If I... if I say it sincerely again, I would like to marry Yunzhu and let you go with me to Leping. Are you willing to think about it carefully or nod?"