The night wind was gentle, and in the camp by the river beach, the red flames that emerged from the firewood were jumping lively. Above the flames were a few fat voles that were beginning to emit oil.
An official who seemed not over thirty years old was slowly grinding the voles.
Seven or eight feathered archers were scattered on the river hill not far away.
These feather archers have no uniform clothing. Two of them are wearing robes from the county government, some are ordinary casual clothes, and some are hunters' clothes.
The official looked at Gu Liubai, who was sitting opposite him, and according to the records on the pass certificate and the young man's self-reporter, the young man named Liang Ning was a scholar who went to Chang'an to participate in the autumn examination last year. He did not even gain the favor of any academies in Chang'an. He lost the opportunity to work in Chang'an or continue his studies, so he could only return to his hometown, Fufeng Changxing Town.
Although he kept calling Mr. Liang and was sure that there was no problem of fraud in the pass certificate, and he also knew that the Liang family in Changxing Town was a famous wealthy family, he obviously had deep doubts in his heart when he looked at Gu Liubai and the rest of the camp.
He glanced at Princess Jing, who was now an ordinary middle-aged aunt, hesitated for a moment, and then asked seriously, "I just checked your pass certificate. Is this girl your aunt?"
"Yes." Gu Liubai spoke in the dialect of Changxing Town, Fufeng, who was fluent, and said: "She is my third aunt, and her surname is Shen."
The official lowered his voice, but his tone was much more serious, "But I looked at your relationship before, and it seemed a bit unusual?"
"Oh." Gu Liubai smiled and said, "Aunt San became a widow as soon as he got married. When I was a child, I ate her breasts."
The official looked natural when Gu Liubai looked at him, but what he said made him frown deeply, "Just married into a widow, can he have milk to feed the child?"
Gu Liubai also lowered his voice and said, "When I was a child, my mother was sick, so she took me, and I slept with her. How sensible I was when I was a child, I even sucked two bites without milk."
"…!" The official didn't know what to say.
After several breaths, he waited until a drop of oil fell into the fire above the fat voles on the fire and made a sneering sound. He came to his senses and quickly turned over half of the already-baked voles, then looked at the pockish-faced girl Shangguan Zhaoyi, "Is that girl the coachman?"
"It's the coachman." Gu Liubai nodded.
The official frowned again, "But her relationship with you seems to be an ordinary relationship between the coachman and the master?"
Gu Liubai lowered his voice again, "She was sent by my wife to follow me, just because I was afraid that my aunt and I would cook the raw rice all the way."
The official was shocked when he heard this and couldn't help but whisper, "You really want to have your aunt..."
Gu Liubai whispered, "I've tried to teach and receive not to kiss each other, so I can't be responsible for her? It's just that my family doesn't agree, so I tried to bring her to Chang'an. It's a pity that I don't have enough skills and can't stay in Chang'an. I have to find a way to go back."
The official was speechless, not knowing whether Gu Liubai's approach was right or wrong. He just looked at the middle-aged woman not far away and felt that although she looked mediocre, she did have a special taste. He couldn't help but consider how he would make a decision if he was the scholar of "Liang Ning".
As a result, most of his doubts about the identity of Gu Liubai and other people were eliminated.
"Your family is in Changxing Town, why did you come to Dongsha River instead?" He handed a nearly-baked field mouse to Gu Liubai and asked.
Gu Liubai waved his hand and did not answer his question first. Instead, he rejected the roasted field mouse first and said, "I don't eat this, I eat this is almost the same as eating myself."
Then he looked at the official who was a little surprised and explained with a smile, "It's not a joke, I don't dislike this. I know this meat is delicious, but I am a rat, so my aunt calls me a field mouse."
After Gu Liubai said this, Chen Ruoruo laughed out loud. She walked over and took the roasted field mouse directly and said, "He didn't say anything nonsense. I won't eat me if he doesn't eat it. Thank you for this official."
The official handed over the field mouse. He looked at the middle-aged woman with an ordinary appearance, but he only felt that the woman was cheerful and generous, and had an indescribable demeanor, and had no pretentious attitude at all. He suddenly felt that it was normal for this young man to fall in love with her.
At this time, he unconsciously forgot what he asked just now, but Gu Liubai explained, "When we arrived at Dazhuang Town in Wugong, we heard that Jiangzhang and Shangsong were not very peaceful, and we might have to fight, so we thought about taking a long way to find peace."
The official's expression suddenly became a little heavier. He looked at Gu Liubai and said seriously, "The opportunity was not too coincidental. In fact, if you don't lack money, it would be better to stay in Chang'an for a while and try to find an errand. Now you are back to Changxing Town, it's not easy to say along the way."
Gu Liubai felt that the official was serious and enthusiastic, so he nodded and said, "You have asked me so many questions, but haven't told me who you are yet."
The official replied, "My name is Xue Jingxian, and I am the county magistrate of Chencang County."
Gu Liubai said curiously, "Brother Xue is the county magistrate of Chencang County. Why did he come here?"
Xue Jingxian sighed and looked at Gu Liubai and said, "The war has begun. There are many people who have been in chaos recently. Zheng Zhu's old subordinates also have many deserters. Some of these soldiers do not want to be enemies with the emperor's army, some are afraid of death, and some are not wanting to fight and take the opportunity to gain some benefits. Among these types of soldiers, the kind who neither wants to fight and take the opportunity to gain benefits is the greatest disaster. In Fufeng County, there are at least dozens of such people who take the opportunity to rob, but they also kill them. When the innocent people hunted their heads, when the Chang'an army came over, they would serve as the rebel army and described these heads as soldiers under Zheng Zhu and other subordinates, who could take military achievements. If they could survive, they would not only have enough money to buy a house, but also the military achievements they earned might even live in Chang'an without worry. The county magistrates of our Fufeng County were running outside, not only could they deal with these people, but they could at least make these people worry about it."
Gu Liubai pretended to be a little scared and said, "Prince Xue, I heard in Chang'an that there are several powerful figures in Zheng Zhu's generals. One is called Situ Qingcheng who uses troops very powerfully, and another is called Sheng Ying who is a magic archer. Moreover, these people are also very powerful in restraining the army. They have stabilized the situation here in just over ten days. They don't care about these deserters? Are they afraid of losing the people's hearts?"
Xue Jingxian gave a few roasted field waffles to the feather archers, and then pulled a piece of meat and ate it slowly with a dry steamed bun. While eating, he said, "Mr. Liang, most people can't figure out what the situation is. Now these generals have long called these deserters the army of Duke Pei, saying that they have already killed in. For them, if they lose their lives, they don't have to think about it, and if they win, they will give more benefits, and the people's hearts will be able to get rid of them soon."
Gu Liubai said seriously, "Prince Xue, let me remind you that these generals definitely don't want people outside to know the truth. If you know this kind of thing, you can't just talk about it so honestly."
Xue Jingxian smiled self-deprecatingly, "What, can you still cover them up? I am just a small county magistrate and have no ability. At this time, I can only do my best to stop some atrocities, but I am like this, and to be honest, it is not against my conscience."
Xue Jingxian was just encountered by Gu Liubai on this path by accident. He originally thought that if he was a traitor, he would kill him and throw him into the river later. But now it seems that this person is completely opposite to what he thought before.
Gu Liubai said, "Why should we say less or less, then he said deliberately, "What kind of rebellion do these people do? Do they think that they can defeat the Li army with these troops in Fufeng County?"
Xue Jingxian let out a long sigh, his eyes full of worry, "Although the Li army was invincible in the world before, it may not be the case now."
Gu Liubai was stunned.
He didn't expect that a small county lieutenant he met on the road would say such a thing. He became serious and asked, "How could Xuexianwei say this?"
Xue Jingxian said straightforwardly, "The common problem of the entire Tang Dynasty military is to be very happy and not take the opponent seriously. The whole problem is because the late emperor is too strong and the cultivators are too strong, especially when it comes to its founding, they are invincible in the battle. However, the current generals, even if they have some skills, are often too proud in their minds. Moreover, the Tang Dynasty's army has always relied on the personal strength of the generals. In the battle of the late emperor, he and the cultivators under his seat are the first. Although there are many cultivators in the Tang Dynasty army now, how cruel fighting did the cultivators in the army at that time have experienced? Those cultivators first fought with the army of the Sui Dynasty from the end of the Sui Dynasty, and fought with various anti-kings who compete for the country. Can these cultivators be the same as those who are now with the army?"
Gu Liubai felt that what this person said was very reasonable.
Xue Jingxian said again: "Now the generals of the army are arrogant, as if they are a Tang Dynasty god, but they are even more powerful than any enemy. This kind of spirit is not only filled with the army, but also the local officials. Many foreign leaders who do not regard heavy troops as humans. Not to mention elsewhere, just talk about the rebellion of Nanzhao, and then Pi Hetuo is a matter of time. The local officials guarding the Tang Dynasty looked down on him at all. It's okay for you to beat and scold him, but Pi Hetuo, a person like Pi Hetuo, honestly gave the most profitable Yantian in Liuzhao, to those local officials, but he could still build a heavy cavalry of tens of thousands. Is such a person Amao Agoo? He is a jackal, a tiger!"
As soon as these words were said, even Shangguan Zhaoyi, who listened carefully not far away, felt that this county magistrate was very knowledgeable, but no matter what, some people seemed to have good knowledge, which was hindsight.
At this moment, Chen Ruoruo, who was so ateful that he was so sucking oil, said, "Neither Xue, do you think the Jiannan army can beat the Pi Hetuo you mentioned?"
Xue Jingxian was already intrigued by the inspiration of his words. He was the kind of straightforward person that Yin Shiniang liked. He immediately sneered, "I'm afraid that the days when the Jiannan Jiedushi Li Xianyu was defeated, I'm afraid that counting the fingers of one hand will be almost the same."
When Chen Ruoru heard that the judgment he made was almost the same as Gu Liubai's speculation, he immediately asked curiously, "I heard that the 80,000 army is very strange if it can't be defeated. It's impossible to lose so quickly, right?"
Xue Jingxian seemed to not understand that Li Xianyu liked to falsely report the number of troops. He just sneered, "Not to mention 80,000, it would be the same to bring a large army of more than 100,000. Pi Hetuo attacked Heman and occupied Taihe City, but he then shrank in Taihe City and did not seek peace. Then Li Xianyu drove straight in and had already dug his own grave."
Although Gu Liubai was smart, he was always very modest. He never felt that no one could surpass him in many aspects. When he heard that Xue Jingxian was consistent with the conclusion he had reached, his thinking seemed different, and he immediately asked modestly and seriously, "What is the knowledge here?"
Xue Jingxian bit the dry steamed bun hard, and was obviously unhappy. "Li Xianyu must not know the Heman there at all. Heman there said that there were only seven or eight thousand soldiers, but in fact everyone was soldiers. Even the old woman in his sixties and seventies could stab people with guns and throw them into a shuttle. The strong man of Heman had several throwing nets on his body. He did not fight easily during the day, and he was all out at night. They usually used faint fire light to attract fish in the night, and their eyes were very good at night. When the warriors of Heman threw a net from afar when fighting at night, they were very restrained by the cavalry and cultivators. Pi Hetuo had only a few people and went to provoke Heman with tens of thousands of people? And the military situation said that he won quickly, so he did not have such ability. It was obvious that Heman must have joined forces with him, and at most he performed a scene for Li Xianyu to see."
Gu Liubai was shocked. The situation was obviously worse than he thought.
His expression did not change much, and he just asked, "Prince Xue, why do you know this Heman so well?"
Xue Jingxian said, "I wanted to be a general who commanded the army in the early years. I also conducted a survey on some hidden dangers in my Tang Dynasty. I also wrote a few things and threw them out, but I didn't get any appreciation from anyone. Maybe there was no one in my family who could give others benefits. It would be that there was no benefit for others to promote people like me."
After a pause, Xue Jingxian continued, "Mr. Liang, don't blame me for speaking directly. I think it's not just you, but the people accompanying you in your house are well-educated and well-educated, very different from ordinary servants. People like us who go out in our place, even if there is some difference in intelligence and talent with the nobles in Chang'an City, they will not be able to stay in a single academy. In the final analysis, although the young master's family is wealthy, in the eyes of those nobles in Chang'an, after all, small families, even if they accept a disciple like you, cannot give them the kind of connections they want."
"It's hard to demolish people." Gu Liubai sighed and said with a smile, "Prince Xue, you are just telling the truth."
When Xue Jingxian saw Gu Liubai's expression at this moment, he felt that Gu Liubai had actually figured it out, so he didn't force himself to stay in Chang'an. He also felt that Gu Liubai seemed very open-minded, and he had some intention of making friends.
Chapter completed!