The Moon Over Tang Dynasty - Chapter 288

Chapter 288 The peace of a scholar’s ​​angry heart

At noon, a white sun shines high in the sky, giving the unobstructed gravel Gobi a hot summer atmosphere. Dozens of good Turkic horses ran from the willows to the entrance of the sea channel in one breath. At this time, a layer of white foam-like sweat appeared on the necks of the horses, not to mention the riders on the horses.

Therefore, when a large expanse of clear green appeared in front of the road, and the smoke-emitting roofs and sparkling waves were faintly visible among the green branches and leaves, everyone let out a long breath: We finally arrived at the Great Sand Sea. ! Further ahead is the Chidi Dahai Road, a wilderness that the Turkic army would not dare to enter easily without being fully prepared!

Yang Yue, the supervisory censor at the front of the cavalry, wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned to look at Colonel Linghu, who was leading the team this time. “Shall we rest here for a while and replenish some water?”

Lieutenant Linghu squinted at the oasis in the distance and shook his head decisively, “I’m afraid it’s not very appropriate to rest here. Let’s drink our horses by the lake for a while. It’s better to hurry up and get over here later. Once you reach the Gobi Desert, you can truly feel safe once you leave the mountain in front of you.”

Yang Yue sighed secretly in his heart, and it was hard to say anything. The handover of Gao Duhu in Shule City was not smooth to begin with. I don’t know what Su Haizheng was going crazy about. What is the situation now? He actually wanted to take a few carts of valuables and leave, but in the end even Gao Duhu couldn’t bear it and walked away before he came to his senses. As a result, it was delayed for more than a day! According to the reports from the sentries in Shule, there were several groups of scouts outside the city these days. It can be seen that the Turks did not give up and were careless. Captain Linghu was an officer from Shule Town and knew Western Xinjiang well. Since he said he couldn’t stay, it was better to listen to him.

 The group entered the oasis and dismounted by the lake. Su Nanjin was the first to fall down and sit on the ground. With a pale face, she leaned against a willow tree and breathed heavily. But before she could even breathe, she took out a biscuit from her arms and ate it with big mouthfuls. Two months in the Xizhou dungeon made him finally understand how terrible hunger felt. Those days were two meals of cold porridge and one biscuit every day. Sometimes he really thought he would starve to death in that place. It’s a dark place, but fortunately God has eyes… Qu Chongyu, Pei Xingjian, and that **** named Zhang! One day, he will always go back to them to settle this account. Maybe he can find a way to start settling the account when he returns to Chang’an!

Thinking of what he hated, he took a vicious bite. Without paying attention, his throat was blocked by a large piece of biscuit, making him unable to breathe.

Su Haizheng did not take a second look at his son who was choking on the biscuits and stretching his neck. Instead, he silently looked back at the way he came. More than 20 years ago, as the governor of Shazhou, he followed General Ashina Sher and sent his troops down from here and went on a killing spree; seven years ago, he also entered through this road with an appointment as governor of Yizhou. Western Xinjiang. The high spirits of the early years, the confusion and anger back then have long since turned into smoke and dust behind the horse! But now, in his 60s, he has to return to Chang’an empty-handed and dressed in white, accused of cowardice in the face of the enemy, and he doesn’t know how many people will laugh at him!

 He is wrong! He shouldn’t have been so impatient. He knew that Pei Xingjian was not easy to get along with, so he should have made a more detailed plan. It is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge in ten years. If he could have formulated a strategy that could advance, attack, retreat and defend, what would have happened? From a complete failure to where we are today! My hard work and months of fighting have actually made my enemy rise to the top! Even the few carts of gold and silver that were finally left behind could only be given to Gao Xian. As well as the gold and silver jewelry left in the Grand Protectorate, I wonder if Master Mei will take care of them properly. Send him to Chang’an…

Su Haizheng’s teeth clenched tighter and tighter, and he put the biscuit back in his hand without taking a bite.

On the other side of the small lake, there is a double-layered brick store. A girl of thirteen or fourteen came out from the door, wearing a white dress, with a pair of dark eyes on her dark little face, looking straight at this side, and she turned around and said something. A young man dressed as a waiter ran out. When he looked up and saw many people, he seemed stunned for a moment. Then he ran over with a standard attentive smile and said, “Sirs, it is very hard to travel at this time. Why don’t you go to the small town?” It won’t take long to drink a bowl of Luo Jia in the shop to relieve the heat. After our place, the officers have nowhere to go to get it even if they want it!”

That sour and cold Luochang porridge…several Western Xinjiang soldiers couldn’t help but tremble in their throats. Lieutenant Linghu lowered his head and glanced at Su Nanjin’s pale face. Thinking of the reputation of this restaurant for more than ten years, in the end, Still nodded, “Okay, one bowl per person, then leave after drinking!”

As everyone walked to the door of the store, a woman in her thirties also came out with a smile and enthusiastically led everyone inside. Although this restaurant is small, it is kept very clean. Along with the bowls of Luo Jian porridge, there are also several good-looking pastries and dried meat, which are perfect accompaniments to the porridge. Colonel Linghu couldn’t help but take a sip, turned around and said with a smile, “Ms. Xu, your cook’s skills are getting better and better.”

Xu Xiaoniang said with a smile, “Then eat more. After you finish eating, let the guys come on and make sure you all have fun. I will go out and help you take a look at those good horses. Don’t teach the little boys from Dashahai to ride secretly.” …”

She went out with a smile, but saw that the girl who had been standing at the door had taken out the best horse in the store from the stable. She couldn’t help but smiled and nodded, lowering her voice, “Maoqi, be careful. some!”

The girl raised her eyebrows and smiled nonchalantly, got on the horse, turned the horse’s head and ran towards the sea channel. Her light body was like a white butterfly, disappearing among the green poplars and willows in the blink of an eye.

Xu Xiaoniang cursed loudly, “Damn girl, come back quickly! Why did you go wild again!”

Probably because the jerky and butter cakes made in this Dashahaidi shop are so delicious, and the waiters are so diligent in adding more food, everyone who originally only planned to have one bowl of porridge drank three full bowls before putting down their chopsticks. When they got on their horses again, everyone was full of food and water. After all, they didn’t gallop like before, but they didn’t dare to waste any more time. They crossed the twenty-mile Gobi Desert without stopping and went up the mountain road again. It was winding and undulating all the way, and when the mountain pass was in sight, it was already sunset.

Colonel Linghu squinted his eyes and looked at the empty mountain pass, and couldn’t help but breathed a sigh of relief. After leaving this mountain, you can walk a few miles to the inn. As long as there are no ambushes here, there will be no danger on the sea road for more than a thousand miles. After sending this group of people to Yumen Pass, he had completed the first task under the new appointment as Dadu Hair Guard – but he felt a little uneasy after receiving this order. In fact, he didn’t care how long the Su family and his son could live, he just hoped that they wouldn’t die in front of his eyes…

In the distance, a rock outside the mountain pass suddenly moved. Colonel Linghu was shocked. He almost wanted to rub his eyes. After taking a closer look, he recognized a man dressed all in black and riding a dark horse. , the color of the clothes and horses is almost exactly the same as the rocks around him. It is not known whether he was invisible behind the rocks before, or his ability to control the horses and breath is amazing. But no matter which one it is, it doesn’t seem to be a good sign!

Colonel Linghu’s left hand couldn’t help but tighten his grip on the reins. He looked around and saw no other movement. The knight didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding his figure, he just stood there quietly.

Behind Lieutenant Linghu, many people also saw the rider. Some people said “Hey” in surprise, “Is there someone at the mountain pass?” Although there are only more than thirty people in this group, most of them are elites in the army. Many people After taking a moment to look at the incoming person, he immediately became alert, arched his body slightly, and slowed down his horse.

Seeing that everyone had slowly left the mountain pass and was only more than a hundred steps away from the rock, the man was still sitting motionless on his horse. Some people couldn’t help but shouted loudly, “Who is coming? Why are you blocking the road?”

　　A majestic voice spread far across the wilderness, “I will only stop the people named Su. The rest can leave on their own!”

Everyone was busy looking back and forth. On the hilltop behind them, among the rocks on both sides, there was obviously no ambush. Some people couldn’t help but mutter, “Is this person crazy?” Su Haizheng and Su Nanjin heard the words “The person named Su” “, with her heart already in her throat, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Su Nanjin even sneered, “Looking for death!”

At this time, we were close, and we could see that this man was about thirty years old. He was tall and tall, with thick eyebrows and a slight beard. He gave people a very strange feeling: he looked like he was dressed and equipped as a Turkic cavalry, but his words were authentic. Heluo Mandarin, it is clear that he is just standing there with a man and a horse, but it makes people feel that he has sealed off the wilderness tightly… Colonel Linghu’s brows can’t help but frown tightly, and he has been sparse. After Lecheng, the uneasy feeling like a thorn in the back became stronger and stronger.

He composed himself, took a few steps forward with his horse, and said loudly, “We have been ordered by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to **** the imperial convicts Su and his son to the capital for execution. If you don’t retreat quickly, don’t delay the important events of the court!” “

The visitors paid no attention to them, but raised their hands, drew their bows and pointed arrows at them. Lieutenant Linghu reined in his horse with a hurried “hush” and shouted loudly, “I heard you are a Tang Dynasty, what? You want to Are you openly disobeying the Holy Will? If you block the road again, don’t blame my subordinates for being merciless!”

The visitor still said in a deep voice, “Leave the Su family and his son behind, I don’t want to kill indiscriminately!”

 What a loud tone! Someone couldn’t help but whispered behind Captain Linghu, “What are you talking about with him, Captain? I’ll just rush up and kill him!”

Captain Linghu turned around and glared at him angrily, “Are you rushing?” Escorting the Su family and his son was not a good job in the first place, could it be possible that one or two lives would have to be taken for them?

The man suddenly choked, shook his head and laughed in embarrassment.

When Yang Yue, the censor, saw that Linghu was holding back, he couldn’t help but feel a little impatient. The visitors kept saying that they wanted to keep the Su family and his son. They were obviously Turkic barbarians. They probably wanted to avenge their khan. He had something to do with such people. What can be said? He took a few steps forward on his horse and said sternly, “Su’s crime will be decided by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. You are so brave. You dare to offend the emperor and kidnap imperial prisoners. You are not afraid of angering the imperial court and causing your tribe to bleed like a river.” !”

The voice of the visitor suddenly became stern, “My tribe has already shed a river of blood! Even if I incur the emperor’s wrath and bleed thousands of miles, so what? Today, I want the Su family and his son to bleed five steps and leave their heads in the western border!”

 “Anyone who stands in my way will die!”

 The last four words have a sonorous sound like gold and stone, which makes people’s eardrums shake. As soon as the word “death” was pronounced, the bowstring sounded. Yang Yue only felt something swishing, and then there was a sharp pain in his scalp. Amid the exclamations behind him, his vision went dark, but his hair fell down in disorder, and then there was something warm along the hair. Seam flow down. The voice of the visitor was even more fierce, “One arrow will cut off your hair, two arrows will cut off your head! If you are not afraid of death, just come up!”

Yang Yue reached out and touched his forehead, but saw that his palm was sticky and full of blood. His face couldn’t help but turn pale. Seeing that the person had pulled back the bow string and pointed the second arrow at him, he felt his heart beating wildly. He turned his horse involuntarily and dodged back.

 Behind him, Colonel Linghu and more than 30 soldiers retreated faster. Shooting a person’s head from a hundred steps away. When this legendary archery skill comes alive before their eyes, what else can they do except retreat far away? Is it possible that he is really going to die for those two cowards, old and young?

The Su family and his son, who were originally in the crowd, also looked at each other and wanted to hide behind the crowd, but who was willing to let them hide behind him? They had all been reduced to commoners, and the white robes they were wearing were already very conspicuous among the military uniforms. At this time, everyone moved out of the way, and they could all be seen.

With the sound of horse hooves, two arrows caught up with the two men’s backs like meteors, hitting their right backs and knocking them off their horses. Amidst their screams, everyone retreated and turned around to shoot arrows. They saw the person leading the horse slowly chasing after them, always falling outside the range of ordinary bows and arrows. He had about A strong bow with at least two stones would raise his hand and shoot an arrow from time to time. Either it hit the tail of a certain rider, or it hit someone’s helmet with a “dang” sound. The horse that was shot naturally neighed in pain and galloped wildly. The man who was shot was also in a state of dismay and spurred the horse to run away. By the time someone could stand next to Su and his son, the thirty-odd people had already fled far into the mountains.

Su Nanjin’s body was weak. She was lying on the ground and could not get up at all. Su Haizheng had been in the army for many years. He put his left hand on the ground and slowly struggled to stand up. He subconsciously touched his waist, but it was nothing. He gritted his teeth and looked at the person coming, “Who are you?”

The visitor looked at him coldly, put down his bow and arrow, slowly pulled out the straight-handled scimitar from his waist, and said word by word, “A certain person is Fang Lie, a sinner under the Xingxide Khan, who killed you back then. The six hundred soldiers are Fang Mou, who has nothing to do with the Khan. I just regret why I didn’t go straight to Qiuci and kill you, a wolf-hearted old thief! I am a spitting chamber pot, and I will be stinking for eternity and will never be reborn!”

Seeing that cold light slowly but firmly approaching him, just like he had deliberately cut off other people’s heads bit by bit countless times, the courage Su Haizheng finally mustered up was gone in an instant, and he could no longer hold on. Unable to hold on, he fell to his knees on the ground with a plop, opening his mouth wide, trying to breathe and begging for mercy, but he couldn’t make a sound or breathe. It wasn’t until the cold light fell on his neck that he suddenly let out a hoarse scream that didn’t sound like a human voice.

This extremely sad scream echoed in the mountains for a long time, and then stopped suddenly.

More than two quarters of an hour later, the thirty or so people mustered up the courage to return to the mountain pass. They saw only two headless corpses left on the ground. The strong smell of blood also contained a smell that was familiar to everyone. The stench attracted the first batch of mosquitoes and flies in early summer, and the buzzing sound echoed in the mountains and echoed in everyone’s hearts.

The setting sun was slowly sinking into the mountains behind, and the black figure that suddenly appeared before had disappeared into the vast wilderness in front of him without any trace as when it came.

Two days later at dusk, Pei Xingjian also walked into the house with a slanting glow. He looked at Liuli intently when he entered the door. Liuli’s heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly took two steps to meet her. “What happened?”

Pei Xingjian was silent for a moment and then smiled faintly, “There is news coming back from Dashahai that Fang Lie has succeeded.”

Liuli hurriedly asked, “Are you okay?”

Pei Xingjian nodded, “One man and one horse, unscathed.”

A bright smile suddenly appeared on Liuli’s face, “I’ll tell Sister Liu to go!” It would be difficult for Fang Lie and Liu Ruyue to come back here in the future, but compared to the peace and calm in their hearts, some things may not be So important.

Pei Xingjian grabbed her and said, “Liu Li…I, I have thought it through clearly, thank you very much!”

Liuli couldn’t help laughing, “What are you talking about?” After she told him that sentence that day, he just stayed there for a long time, and then said nothing again. He always looked at himself in a thoughtful way these past two days. Thinking, although she has a clear conscience, she can’t explain it, but it is of course the best that he can figure it out now.

Pei Xingjian looked at her and smiled, “Beyond the king’s way, there is the way of heaven. I think too much. I can only figure it out after the fact. It’s better to do this. Otherwise, if the loyal are wronged and the traitors run for their lives, where is the justice of heaven! Master Xuanzang said it right. Yes, you still have a discerning eye and will not be blinded by the chaos of the world. “

Liuli blinked, this, actually…she didn’t think about it that much at all, okay? What is the kingly way of heaven? She only knows that compared with making Liu Ruyue and Fang Lie’s wife uneasy, is it worth considering such a trivial matter as whether it will cause Gao Zong to lose face?

Looking at Liuli’s expression, Pei Xingjian’s smile deepened and he whispered, “His heart is focused and his face is calm, as sad as autumn and as warm as spring…”

Liuli asked curiously, “What did you say?”

Pei Xingjian smiled and shook his head, holding her hand, “Let’s go, I’ll accompany you to Liu Ajian.”

The two of them went out. Before they reached the door of Liu Ruyue’s courtyard, they heard Yun Yi’s hearty and cheerful laughter coming from inside. The two couldn’t help but smile at each other and stopped.

The setting sun was about to set, and the city was filled with the afterglow. The pedestrians walking on the streets of Xizhou were all painted with a layer of golden and red colors. The cyan smoke curled into the air under the still blue sky. Liuli silently watched everything in front of her. , suddenly said, “I really can’t bear to leave.”

I don’t know if it’s because of the closeness in her blood, or because of the sometimes thrilling and sometimes slow-flowing days in the past few years. In her mind, the Xizhou in front of her, this high-cliff city with strong winds in spring and extremely hot summer, is a city that lives in the loess. The excavated dreamland was her “home”, but now that Pei Xingjian was promoted to the deputy governor of Jinshan, they would soon move to the completely unfamiliar Tingzhou City.

Pei Xingjian held her hand tightly, “The city over there is still half in ruins, and it’s very difficult. Actually, I think you might as well go there in half a year. Governor Qu is not in good health anyway, and they won’t leave for a while. , come autumn, I promise to give you a more comfortable home than here!”

Liuli turned to look at him and smiled, “The place where we are together is home.”

The slanting light came from her side, outlining her profile into a picturesque silhouette. Only her eyes, as clear and bright as glass, could be seen clearly. They were the same as when she first saw her at Da Ci’en Temple many years ago. Exactly the same and never seems to change. Pei Xingjian squinted his eyes as if being dazzled by the sun, and slowly laughed.

The story of the Western Regions Volume is basically finished here! In the next few days, there will be two or three chapters of tender scenes, steamed buns and so on. Let me take a day off tomorrow and think carefully about how to deal with it. Alan is not afraid of writing about war, not afraid of writing about machinations, not afraid of writing about murder, but he is really afraid of writing about life-like buns… just for Xiami? I also scratched my head. Thank you all for coming. Please leave a message in the book review area if you want to see whose side story you want to see. Throughout March, I will be revising the previous article and coding the extras.

p.s. Pei Xingjian’s words come from “Zhuangzi” and describe “real people”. The most beautiful thing about Liuli is that she always maintains her true heart and is not deceived by any external things. Because she is simple, she is the purest and most powerful. In the final analysis, “Datang Moon” is actually a story about how a time-traveling woman gained peace and happiness by maintaining her true heart amidst the vicissitudes of history.

 (End of this chapter)