Nu Yalang of Tang Dynasty

According to the ritual system of the Tang Dynasty, the governors of various states, the governors and the superiors came to Beijing at the end of each year to report on their duties. Among them, those of sixth rank and above had to participate in the Yuan Dynasty meeting and other ritual festivals.

Zhou Jun, as the sixth-rank supervisor of the Hu City and serving on behalf of Wuwei County, naturally had to return to Chang'an.

At the beginning of November, Zhou Jun began to sort out and deal with the work in hand, and Kong You, as a retainer, was introduced as the history of the governor's mansion.

Before leaving, he chose another day to specially entertain Li Guangbi and An Sishun at the restaurant in Huamen Tower.

The three of them sat down, Zhou Jun ordered some food and wine, declined the company of a prostitute, and asked the store owner to close the curtain.

Li Guangbi and An Sishun sat aside. Seeing Zhou Jun's words and deeds, they felt vaguely aware that they might have something important to say today.

Li Guangbi and Zhou Jun were nearly twenty years older, and at first they just regarded each other as nephews.

However, after getting along for a long time, Li Guangbi witnessed the changes in Zhou Jun with his own eyes, and even became somewhat unable to see through him.

Zhou Jun filled up the wine first, and said respectfully to Li Guangbi and An Sishun: "Jun is young, so he drinks first as a token of respect."

After saying that, Zhou Jun drank the wine in the glass.

Li Guangbi and An Sishun did not dare to make excuses, so they humbled themselves and had a glass of wine.

After three rounds of drinking, Zhou Jun became more energetic and energetic, so he said to the other two: "Hexi troops, you should be able to have a good year this year."

Li Guangbi smiled while drinking: "Who says it's not the case? A lot of the military pay that was originally owed has been made up. With the money and food for the army sergeants, they can finally live a more dignified life this year."

An Sishun also said at the side: "I was in the great fighting army and heard a joke in the army. The first thing those poor soldiers thought about after receiving the military pay was to marry a wife."

Li Guangbi clapped his legs and said with a smile: "Yes, the sergeants under my command have the same general idea. It's just that ordinary soldiers who want to marry a wife in Liangzhou will spend a lot of money. It's just a talk."

Hearing these words, Zhou Jun asked with interest: "It costs so much to get a wife in Liangzhou. Why is that?"

Li Guangbi explained: "Firstly, Liangzhou is a place where wars have been fought for a long time. There are already many soldiers stationed there, with many men and few women, so the cost is very high. Secondly, the soldiers are in danger. It is difficult to know where tomorrow will be if they survive today."

Is there anyone who is willing to marry their daughter to them? Therefore, among the armies in Hexi, there are many old soldiers with gray hair on their heads, but they are still alone."

An Sishun added on the side: "Liangzhou is connected to Mobei, the Western Regions, Tubo and Tang Dynasty. The trade routes are prosperous. Most of the people in the state are profitable and practical. They would rather work in the homes of merchants than have anything to do with the army.

connection."

Li Guangbi put down his wine glass and said slowly: "The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were brave and not afraid of death. They retreated when the frontiers were small. With a little food and salary, they took on the most dangerous errands in the world, but even getting a wife became a luxury.

"

Zhou Jun heard this and sighed.

The three of them drank a few more glasses of wine, and Zhou Jun said: "Among the Jiedushi envoys of the Tang Dynasty, the armies led by Wang Duhu had the strongest military strength because they had to deal with the threats from the Turks, Tibetans and Tuyuhun.

"

Upon hearing this, Li Guangbi and An Sishun were both stunned.

Zhou Jun added: "Right now, the Turks have been wiped out, the Tubo army has been defeated in a row, and Tuyuhun has been captured. Looking at the northern frontier of the Tang Dynasty, there is no place for troops."

When Li Guangbi heard this, he didn't know why, but An Sishun frowned.

Zhou Jun: "The royal capital protects and controls the territory for thousands of miles, and it also holds the seal of the four directions. It is difficult to guarantee that no one in the court will be jealous, slander and slander."

Li Guangbi shook his head and said: "The king protects the saint's fake son, and he comes from the Tenth Prince's Palace. Your Majesty treats him as if he were his own son. How can you believe some slanderous words from a young man?"

An Sishun said nothing and just drank.

Zhou Jun did not answer Li Guangbi's question, but asked an irrelevant question: "General Li, if your son holds a wooden stick in his hand, will you be afraid of him?"

Li Guangbi shook his head and smiled: "Children are playing around, why should we care?"

Zhou Jun: "What if the stick is replaced by a sharp blade?"

The smile on Li Guangbi's face faded slightly: "A sharp blade can hurt someone, so I will remind him to act with caution."

Zhou Jun: "What if the sharp blade is replaced by a crossbow machine that has already loaded the crossbow arrows and fully drawn the bowstring?"

Li Guangbi's body trembled, the smile suddenly disappeared from his face, and he remained silent.

Zhou Jun tapped the tabletop with his fingers and said to Li Guangbi and An Sishun: "Sometimes, what people in the world fear is not other people and other things, but their own place..."

Zhou Jun stretched out his right hand and pointed at his heart.

Seeing that Li Guangbi was still struggling, An Sishun said: "What Zhou Lang said is true. Everyone knows that Wang Duhu has a good relationship with the prince. Although you and I both know that Wang Duhu will never do it for the prince.

And disobedience to the saint. But people's words are terrible. Just add the word "in case" to the slander and fabricate some unnecessary "evidence", and Wang Duhu will be in trouble."

Li Guangbi still didn't believe it: "Wang Duhu has been fighting in the north and south since he was young, and has made great achievements. The Battle of Yuchuan, the Battle of Sanggan River, the Battle of Qinghai Lake... In any battle, he did not take the lead and risk his own life.

How could it be so easy to be framed?"

Zhou Jun: "If you want to know whether Wang Duhu is under suspicion, it's actually quite simple. You just need to wait and see the court's attitude towards the armies."

Li Guangbi: "The court's attitude?"

Zhou Jun: "If the court does not care about the troops under the command of the king, then nothing will happen; if an order is issued to mobilize the troops, then someone in the court will make slanderous remarks and make the saints suspicious."

At this point, Zhou Jun stopped talking and stopped talking in depth.

He changed the topic and started talking about the romance in Liangzhou City.

After the banquet was over, Li Guangbi and An Sishun rode horses and walked side by side on the streets of Liangzhou City.

An Sishun glanced at the worried Li Guangbi beside him and asked, "Did you understand what Zhou Zuolang said just now?"

Li Guangbi raised his head and asked: "Zhou Lang said that Wang Duhu has too much power, fearing that he will attract slander from villains?"

An Sishun shook his head and said: "Although Zhou Zhoulang said Wang Duhu, the real meaning is actually alluding to our Northern Fan."

Li Guangbi was startled, then reacted immediately and asked: "Are you trying to say that the imperial court is targeting Wang Duhu on the surface, but in fact it is targeting Beifan?"

An Sishun did not answer, but just shook his head and said: "When it comes to leading troops to fight, I am not as good as Guang Bi; when it comes to understanding people's hearts, Guang Bi is not as good as me."

Li Guangbi: "Don't talk about anything else, just talk about things!"

An Sishun sat on the horse and continued: "Isn't there an old saying among the Han people? When the birds are gone, a good bow is hidden; when a cunning rabbit dies, the lackeys are cooked?"

When Li Guangbi heard this, he looked solemn at first, and then sighed heavily.

An Sishun: "The knife is too sharp. The first thing the knife owner thinks about is not to praise the knife, but to feel uneasy. Will he hurt himself if he continues to use the knife?"

Li Guangbi: "According to what you say, the imperial court will really use the excuse of deploying troops to weaken the military power of Wang Duhu and suppress the Northern Fan?"

An Sishun said quietly: "Then it depends on the weight of Wang Duhu in the saint's heart. If the saint trusts Duhu, then everything will be fine. If..."

An Sishun didn't say any more, but Li Guangbi felt as if there was a big stone stuck in his heart.

An Sishun kicked the horse's belly and said softly: "Beifan has made mistakes. The fault lies in the past few years. The war was fought too fast and too smoothly..."