On the huge and majestic city gate, a Qin soldier holding a long sword was looking attentively in front of Wuguan, under the mountain range in the distance.
As an important pass by Xiongguan, Xianyang, Chang'an, Lantian and other hinterlands leading to Nanyang County and the land of Shang Yu, Qin and Chu once fought against each other because of this place. Because Qin had this pass, apart from Hangu Beyond the pass, there is another road to the Central Plains, and if Chu gets it, it will directly threaten the hinterland of Qin.
Facts have proved that later, when Qin State owned Wuguan and attacked Nanyang County and Yingchuan, the road at this pass played a vital role. It was also the most direct threat to Chu State today. From Wuguan to Chu Land, The distance is the shortest, and along the Danshui River, it also passes through Nanyang County, leading to the Kingdom of Chu.
"Where do you come from and where are you going?"
"stop."
Under the gate of Wuguan City, the soldiers of the Qin State were inspecting the people and merchants coming and going. Under the huge scorching sun, the soldiers of the Qin State who had been crying for a long time were inevitably a little irritable while sweating.
It was okay for some people riding carriages. The soldiers of the Qin State did not know the identity of the other party and still asked each other politely. But for the common people coming and going, they did not have such a good look. Those countless common people also directly became the targets of the soldiers' venting. Although you can't hit people, you can at least glare with anger, and at worst, urge them with a bad tone.
Entering Wuguan one after another.
"Who? Where are you going?"
A Qin soldier in his twenties with dark skin looked at the middle-aged man in front of him and noticed that the man was holding a horse, and his tone became slightly better.
"Go to Wudu!"
The middle-aged man holding the horse is the uncle. At this moment, the uncle looks completely different from how he looked in Juyang City. Although the clothes on his body are still coarse cloth, they are very new. It seems that he has not bought them for a long time, and his expression is very... She is rosy, and her face is not as pale as her face and lips were dry due to hunger.
"This is my verification!"
The uncle said with a smile, then stretched out his hand, slowly took out a wooden sign from his arms, and handed it to the Qin soldier in front of him.
Not to mention, the uncle's slightly fat appearance, now holding a horse, plus the experience of hanging out among the scholars in Linzi, Qi State, whether it was his conversation or posture, for a while, the Qin soldiers in front of him were really impressed. I was shocked and felt that my uncle must have a special background.
It has been a long time since Bai Yan and his uncle separated, but unlike Bai Yan who was rushing on the road, the uncle was happy and contented along the way. After all, this was the first time that there was a horse. With the horse, the uncle did not worry about anything. , take a rest when you are tired, change your clothes when they are dirty, and eat and drink well along the way.
That's why it took so long to arrive at Wuguan.
"Go over there!"
Qin Zu looked at the verification wooden sign and confirmed that the person in front of him was going to Wudu, and it had the stamp of Nanyang County on it. Qin Zu returned the verification sign to his uncle, indicating that he could pass the customs.
The uncle smiled and put away the inspection card, glanced at Qin Zu, then led the horse and walked towards Wuguan.
Because Wuguan is the only road from Chu District to Lantian in Nanyang County, there are not only hawkers, tea shops, but also post stations in a place not far away from the corner of Wuguan. Most of the people or merchants who enter Wuguan, They all like to stop and rest. After all, after passing Wuguan, you have to walk along the upper reaches of Danjiang River and all the way to Xiong'er Mountain. There is no place to rest before arriving at Lantian.
When we came to Wuguan, we naturally wanted to take a rest, and it was still under such a scorching sun.
The same is true for my uncle. After entering Wuguan, he led a horse. When he walked, he kept his arms straight and looked at the people around him who had to walk on foot. His sense of superiority emerged from the bottom of his heart.
Look at the horse he is holding in his hand, how strong and handsome it is!
When I came to a small shop, there were many people outside who were unwilling to go in and spend money. Their faces were a little sallow from the sun, and they were wearing cloth clothes with countless holes patched. When the uncle saw these people, his eyes were full of contempt.
, in the uncle's heart, the last thing he wants to see is these people.
"Guest, guest!!!"
The waiter in the shop naturally knew who could spend money and who couldn't, so when he saw the uncle coming, he quickly bent forward and bowed his head, and respectfully took the horse rope from the uncle's hand.
"Keep it safe for me. If it gets lost, I can't afford to pay for it!"
The uncle looked at the waiter, said softly, and then walked towards the shop with his hands behind his hands.
The waiter nodded quickly, not daring to talk back. Under the scorching sun, the waiter looked at the people who were taking refuge under the eaves of the shop and scolded them to get out of the way. Then he tied the horse to a beam and covered it with shade to escape the heat.
As for the common people, even if the waiter gave them ten courages, they would not dare to steal a horse, not even a hair on their head would touch it. According to Qin's laws, anyone who trespasses on other people's property without authorization, even the leaves in the field, will be punished.
.
In the shop.
"Two bowls of side dishes and one bowl of pulp!"
The uncle came to a wooden table and spoke unceremoniously while shouting, after all, he is a guest who spends money. When the uncle has no money, he needs to be careful about his words and deeds. Now that he has money in his pocket, he can naturally do whatever he wants.
, no one can control him.
In the small shop, the dozen or so wooden tables are already full of people. After all, there is no shortage of people and merchants in Wuguan.
"Hi~! Isn't that Zihuai? Why am I so dazzled that I actually saw Zihuai!"
"It's really him. Didn't he steal things before and run away overnight? It's weird!"
Behind a dilapidated wooden table, two middle-aged men in cloth clothes heard the noise and felt that the voices were familiar, so they looked over. When they saw the uncle, they suddenly looked confused.
The two looked at each other with confusion.
"Let's go over and have a look!"
When they saw the uncle, they got up, but before leaving, they remembered to pick up the cloth package containing the clothes.
"Zihuai?"
The uncle was sitting on his knees behind the wooden table with a comfortable expression. He was not exposed to the scorching heat. In addition, the bark-covered shop was well ventilated and extremely cool. However, before the uncle could relax for a long time, he suddenly heard a movement next to him.
.
When he heard someone calling his name, the uncle immediately turned his head, full of surprise. When he saw two old acquaintances, the uncle's eyes widened and he suddenly felt uneasy.
"Ah, Zijian, Zichao!"
The uncle stood up and looked at the two people in front of him. Even though he tried hard to remain calm, he could still see that he was very panicked and his eyes were extremely guilty.
"You two are here."
The uncle raised his hands in salute and wanted to say something, but he couldn't. He smiled dryly, but couldn't hide his panic.
"Long time no see, Zihuai!"
"Yes! We were separated from Sanchuan County in the past. We haven't seen each other for a long time. I didn't expect to be lucky enough to see Zihuai come to Wuguan today!"
Zijian and Zichao looked at their uncle, and when they returned the courtesy, they spoke with profound meaning.
The uncle couldn't tell. At this moment, a lot of sweat was quietly breaking out on the uncle's forehead. Thinking back to when he was in Xianyang, he hung out and met people everywhere. The same was true when he went to Sanchuan County. Looking back at that time, he was proud to meet many people. At this moment,
The uncle was so sorry that his intestines turned blue.
Looking at the two people in front of him, the uncle couldn't figure out how he could meet these two people here.
"Oh, sit down, sit down!"
The uncle quickly smiled and extended his hand to indicate that he should take a seat quickly.
In the room, Zichao looked at each other, smiled knowingly, but did not refuse.
"I haven't seen you two dear friends for a long time. I wonder where you are going now?"
The uncle swallowed and forced himself to calm down. The most important thing at the moment was to stabilize the two people in front of him and prevent them from telling others what happened.
"Hey, look at the two of us, we are just looking for a way to survive. We are not like Zihuai, who wanders around like a wandering cloud and wild crane! We are just cash-strapped scholars, so don't mention it, don't mention it!"
When Zichao heard his uncle's words, he quickly smiled and waved his hands, pretending to be ashamed and said to his uncle. During the conversation, he took a special look at his clothes, and then smiled and shook his head at his uncle.
When the uncle heard Zichao's obvious words, he couldn't figure out what they meant, so he quickly laughed with him.
"This is not true. The three of us met once, and we drank and laughed. Zihuai has never forgotten it."
When the uncle said this, Jiang Yu's smile was a little unbearable, but he hesitated and pretended to think of something.
"By the way, when I was in Sanchuan County, I was helped by these two gentlemen to take care of me. Judging from Zihuai's memory, I almost forgot. Didn't I lend you two gentlemen thirty dollars before? I almost forgot!"
The uncle shook his head with a look of shame, then quickly reached out and took out a small cloth wrapped in his arms, put it under the wooden table, and lowered his head as if counting money.
When Zi Jian and Zi Chao saw this, they instinctively raised their heads slightly, wanting to see how much money the uncle had.
But the uncle was always on guard against the two of them, so the two could only give up in anger.
After all, no matter how downcast the two of them are, they are still scholars and are literate, so they still need face.
"This is thirty dollars, thank you two gentlemen for taking care of me!"
The uncle stretched out his hand with a pained expression and placed thirty pieces of money on the table in front of Zi Chao. Looking at the thirty pieces of money, the uncle's eyes were filled with reluctance, "Thirty pieces of money!"
However, thinking that he needed to stabilize these two people now, as long as he went to Wudu, he would have endless money and wealth in the future, which would be inexhaustible, so the uncle reluctantly withdrew his gaze.
"Borrow thirty dollars?"
When Zichao saw the money in front of him, his eyes lit up and his breathing became quickened. However, after looking at each other, he still pretended to be confused, as if he couldn't remember.
The uncle opened his mouth and was heartbroken. Now he was really afraid that these two people would not accept the money.
"Is it thirty dollars?"
Just when the uncle was panicking, Zi Jian suddenly spoke doubtfully.
This immediately made the uncle turn his head and look around. After listening to Zijian's words, the uncle finally came to his senses after a few breaths and nodded quickly.
"That's right, that's right. Look at my memory, it's thirty-five cents! I really deserve to die! I remembered it wrong. Please remember our friendship in the past. Don't be offended!"
The uncle patted his head hard, then hurriedly lowered his head, took out five coins again with a struggling look on his face, and placed them in front of Zi Chao in the room with a smile.
Seeing the uncle's hesitant look, Zijian and Zichao looked at the thirty-five dollars in front of them and swallowed. They both guessed that the uncle didn't have much money. Thinking of this, they both decided
Forget it, since the uncle is willing to give money and meet each other, the two of them naturally don't bother to argue, and they can just pretend that they have never met the uncle today.
Inside the shop.
Looking at Zi Jian, Zi Chao was finally willing to let him go and not mention what happened at the beginning. The uncle felt relieved.
While eating, he kept smiling and waited for a long time. After the two of them had finished eating, the uncle excused himself on his way and took advantage of the opportunity to say goodbye to the two of them.
When Zijian and Zichao got the money, they naturally didn't care about their uncle. After all, there was no benefit to them if his uncle was arrested, and they couldn't get the thirty-five dollars, so they asked him to leave in advance.
"Long time no see, that Zihuai has some money!"
"No, back in Sanchuan County, this person only knew how to eat and drink all day long. If he hadn't thought of Mr. Li You at that time, who would have paid attention to him. However, Mr. Li You treated this person so well, and this person actually stole
Master Li You's property is really ridiculous."
In the room, Zichao looked at the unfinished vegetable dish, not wanting to waste it. He laughed at Zihuai while eating, looking at the eyes of the people around him, and from time to time he looked at the thirty-five dollars on the table.
Everyone was a little proud and couldn't help but feel excited.
This is a rare and huge amount of money!
"That man just now was so strange. He turned around after taking three steps and left on horseback with a panicked expression. He was afraid that he would be late. But his horse was really handsome. By the way, was he allowed to eat at the table where he was sitting just now?
Soup, what I fed his horse was the young grass I picked up from the Danshui River in the morning. Don't leave without eating."
"After paying, order two vegetable dishes and three bowls of milk. Now, it's the table with the money!"
In the room, when Zichao was about to divide the money, suddenly the voices of the waiter and other children were heard behind him. As they listened, the two of them seemed to suddenly realize something and quickly turned their heads.
Looking at each other, Zi Jian quickly stood up and walked over to ask the waiter what the person who just rode away looked like and what his characteristics were.
When the waiter saw this, he didn't think much about it and just told his uncle's appearance.
In an instant.
Whether it was Zi Jian or Zi Chao, they were all stunned on the spot, completely in disbelief. A horse could cost as little as tens of thousands of dollars, which is just one gold, and beautiful war horses were even more expensive, with a price but no market.
Recalling the uncle's action of counting money with his head down, and then looking at the thirty-five pieces of money on the wooden table, the two of them who just thought it was a lot now felt a sense of play, and even the money was a bit dazzling at the moment.
, seemed to be humiliating them both.
An anger emerged between the two of them.
The upper reaches of Danjiang River.
On the official road that had not yet arrived at Xiong'er Mountain, the uncle was riding a horse. Seeing that he was getting further and further away from Wuguan, he finally felt relieved. Although he felt sorry for the thirty-five coins, as long as Zi Jian was there, Zi Chao pretended that he had not seen him riding a horse.
, I don’t know if he has hundreds of money, nothing will happen.
Right now it is better to go to Lam Tin as early as possible.
"Drive~! Drive~drive~!!!"
However, before the uncle could go further, suddenly the sound of horse hooves could be heard behind him. The uncle turned his head nervously and quickly dismounted his horse and retreated to the side of the road.
Although he is very scared, it is impossible for the uncle to hide. In the Qin State, if he is wanted, he will not even be able to enter the city, let alone a place to eat and live. At the moment, he can only pray that those on horseback are just passing by.
It has nothing to do with him.
Thinking that he had already given thirty-five dollars to those two people, the uncle kept comforting himself in his heart.
soon.
As the uncle and the people along the way gave way, a group of about ten Qin soldiers on horseback quickly arrived in front of them, and then slowly stopped under the uncle's horrified eyes.
Seeing this scene, the uncle's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition suddenly came to mind.
Before the uncle could recover, the Qin soldiers had already surrounded him and drew their swords.
"It's over!"
The uncle's heart trembled.
Thinking of the fate of being caught, the uncle felt dizzy, his legs and feet felt weak, and his crotch suddenly became wet. The uncle knew that it must be Zijian and Zichao who told the guards at Wuguan about what he had done before.
The guard immediately caught up with him.
"I am an old friend of Tingwei Li Si! I am an old friend of Tingwei Li Si. I hope you can go and inform me!"
The uncle saw that the two young Qin soldiers had dismounted from their horses and were walking towards him with Qin swords. Thinking of being caught, he immediately collapsed and sat on the ground, shouting with prayers in his mouth.
Now this is the uncle's only chance, and it was also the reason for him to come to Qin before. The uncle believes that as long as he sees Li Si with his own eyes, or as long as Li Si knows about him, he will definitely remember his old friendship and let people let him go.
"Catch him!"
However, the uncle's idea was good, but the soldiers and generals at the head did not pay attention to it.
"I am really an old friend of Lieutenant Ting. I have a secret message. I want to see you generals and Lieutenant Ting!"
Seeing this, the desperate uncle could only quickly take out the most important things from his arms, which was the purpose of this trip to Wudu, a piece of rag and two coins. In the eyes of the uncle, Ruona Min's house had been betrayed.
Qin State, then he can make meritorious service this time. If Min Mansion is from Qin State, then he can be said to be one of Qin State's own people who came to deliver a message.
When the Qin soldiers who came to capture the uncle heard this, they were stunned and turned to look at the general.
The general couldn't help but frown at this moment. After all, this man seemed to really know Wei Ting, and he seemed to have something important to do.
Think of this.
The general did not dare to be careless and gave the soldiers a look to indicate what it was.
The soldier who caught the uncle nodded, reached out to take the cloth from the uncle's hand, and opened it. However, the next moment, when he saw the blank cloth and two coins, the soldier froze on the spot, a little confused.
"Captain, there's not a word!"
The soldier said to his general, and took the cloth in his hand to show it to the general.
In an instant, the leader's eyes turned evil when he looked at his uncle, and his eyes became obviously angry and angry.
"Give me a beating!"
In an instant, following the general's words, the uncle's screams rang out, and the soldiers of the Qin State dismounted one after another. They punched and kicked the uncle who was curled up on the ground with all his strength, until he couldn't bear the beating and fainted alive.
.
Looking at the unconscious uncle, a soldier took out a money bag from the uncle's arms and quickly handed it to the general.
The general took the money bag and opened it. He saw that there was no less than four hundred dollars in it. He was a little surprised. After thinking about it, he asked the soldiers to pick up the cloth.
Ten days later.
In the dungeon of Wancheng.
The uncle's cheeks were bruised and swollen, and he was curled up in a dirty cell. Weeds were everywhere in the cell, and there was a stench everywhere.
Suddenly hearing the sound of footsteps, the uncle quickly looked up and started to tremble.
"Sir! Can you confirm the news?"
The uncle crawled forward on his knees. When he reached the wooden plate of the cell, he quickly looked at the officials outside the wooden fence and asked.
An official came to the uncle with four Qin officials.
"Confirmed! Open the cell!"
The official said to the uncle, and then asked a Qin official to open the cell.
The uncle was overjoyed when he heard this, and was filled with excitement at the thought of being able to get out alive. However, for some reason, the next moment, when he saw the officials' mocking expressions and contemptuous eyes, he had a bad premonition.
"In the past few days, we have confirmed that you have committed the crime of theft. In addition, there are reports from Xianyang. Lord Tingwei has never known you!"
The official looked at the uncle with a stiff smile and said.
In the Qin State, anyone who steals less than a penny will be punished by doing hard labor for thirty days, and those who are more attractive will be reduced to slaves. But like the person in front of you, he is not even qualified to be a slave. According to the laws of the Qin State, not only
They had to have words carved on their faces, and from then on they had to do heavy hard labor and labor for the Qin State.
For example, once the Qin State attacks the Wei State, it will need tens of thousands of laborers like this to be responsible for pulling baggage, transporting grain and grass, and other hard work.
"Impossible! Impossible! Sir, Wei Ting and I are old friends! Old friends!!!"
The official's words made the uncle feel extremely cold all over. The uncle shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe that Li Si from Tingwei Mansion actually said that they were not old friends.
Thinking of this, he saw from the corner of his eye that the Qin official had come up to arrest him. The uncle came back to his senses and shook his head in fear.
"Sir, I am really an old friend of Tingwei! Your Excellency! Yes, yes, yes, that Wucheng, sir, I am going to Wucheng this time to deliver news, sir!"
The uncle quickly spoke again.
The officials didn't understand the uncle's struggle at all, and directly asked the junior officials to arrest him and take him away.
"Just take a piece of cloth and two coins, who do you think I am? You are wanted by the Qin State, who would let you come to deliver news?"
The official asked back, with some anger in his eyes, feeling that the man in front of him was humiliating his intelligence.
"It was me who stole my nephew, no, no, no, it was my nephew who dragged me, sir! Please believe me."
The uncle hurriedly argued, but he was too frightened and accidentally said the wrong thing. When he woke up and changed his words, he saw the officials' mocking eyes.
"take away!"
The official didn't bother to look at his uncle anymore, turned around and walked out of the cell.
"grown ups."
The uncle looked at the officials leaving, full of despair and fear. Four Qin officials came forward to push him to the ground and tied him up with ropes. When the uncle struggled, he was punched and kicked again.
The people of Qin hated thieves very much.
Chencang.
"Is there any news?"
Kou Zhuang looked at the soldiers who came in a hurry and asked.
So much time has passed, why is there still no news? Logically speaking, everyone should arrive at Yi County. As a result, not to mention that there is no news from Yi County, no one was seen where all the soldiers were waiting along the way.
The general had said that the horse's legs were obviously slightly injured, but he didn't even see them.
"Doctor, there is no news from Wudu yet!"
The soldiers raised their hands to Kou Zhuang and reported the report. The soldiers were also very puzzled. The general had clearly said that the man would definitely go to Wudu.
There are only two roads to Wudu. One is from Qianzhong County, along the sparsely populated and extremely rugged dense forests of Shu, and you have to walk thousands of miles to get around Wudu. The other is from Lantian, Xianyang, Pingyang,
We walked all the way from Xixian County and finally went along Chencang and Jinzhu.
Of the two, the latter not only has a flat terrain, but there are cities and towns to rest along the way. There is no reason not to go back. You have to know that going south to central Guizhou, passing through Ba and Shu, it is difficult to walk alone. It is also very dangerous, with dangerous terrain and dense forests.
It's dangerous, wild animals are dangerous, and you may encounter bandits.
"Hi~ Weird, where are the people?"
Kou Zhuang frowned, looking puzzled. He really couldn't figure it out.
"General, news has been sent from Luoyin. In a few days, the general will return to Xianyang from Luoyin. At that time, the general will set off to attack Wei. Do we want to send someone to find it now?
"
The officer looked at the general Kou Zhuang with a hesitant look on his face and suggested that he should send someone to look for him and find him as soon as possible.
After all, if they delay it any longer, they will not be able to set off with the general to attack Wei.
"Wait a minute. This is what the general sent a letter to instruct. We should wait a few more days! Don't be too hasty. The general said that the man will definitely go to Wudu."
Kou Zhuang said.
Because it was Bai Yan's order, Kou Zhuang still chose to wait patiently. Although he was confused about where the man was and why he hadn't come yet, Kou Zhuang was still not in a hurry at the moment.
When he was patrolling the border, facing the desolate grassland, Kou Zhuang not only learned to detect, patrol, and conceal his whereabouts, but also gained the greatest skill in life, which is patience!
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