novelraw Chapter 167
Chapter 167
When Su Ye and Hou Xibai stood at the entrance of the gorge at Pegasus Ranch, five days had passed since they met in the deserted village.There was one more person beside them, a middle-aged scribe with a long beard, elegant facial features, and a bit of immortal demeanor.
His eyes are bright, his feet are vigorous, his internal strength is quite high, and his martial arts are also quite accomplished, but from the outside, the bookish spirit conceals the fierce attitude of the warrior, giving people a sense of elegance as if he has read the book.This person's name is Xu Xingzhi, a native of Jingling, and he met Su Ye by accident in the city, and took her to several big families in Jingling, met the heads of each family, and discussed how to deal with the Jialou Luo army.
Naturally, they don't know that there will be a pair of brothers surnamed Fang with the remnants of the Sui army in the future, who will occupy Jingling and occupy the land as king, and focus on raising the people nearby. They only know that the Jialou Luo army is cruel and brutal, and they are deeply worried. They hope that someone will raise their arms all day long. With a call, take the lead in driving away these gangsters.
Five days later, Xu Xingzhi accompanied the two of them to visit Shang Xiuxun at the Pegasus Ranch, and planned to use his sharp tongue to persuade her to intervene in Jingling's affairs.
The gorge guards were quite familiar with Su Ye. When they saw her coming back, they immediately sent someone to report to the owner of the field, and sent someone to accompany the three of them all the way to the Pegasus Mountain City standing on the plain in the middle of the valley.
The mountain city is divided into inner and outer parts. The "Flying Bird Garden" where Shang Xiuxun lives on a daily basis and the "Fei Ma Xuan" where he handles ranch affairs are both located in the inner castle.The whole mountain city is like a bustling city outside the valley, full of people, happy life, a lot of livestock and poultry, and everyone has a comfortable smile on their faces, which is very different from the chaos outside.
At the end of the vast grassland, there are winding mountains surrounding the plain.The mountains have different postures, surrounded by white clouds on the top of the mountain, no matter from which angle you look at it, the beautiful scenery is enough to be painted.The grass is evergreen in all seasons, and there are more than a dozen lakes of different sizes, which are connected to the external waterways, ensuring that the ranch can use clean water all year round.
In the Central Plains region, there is no other such unique environment.After the first-generation owner of the ranch discovered this paradise, he settled here and managed it carefully, turning the mountain city into a place like a military fortress.The buildings in the city are rough and solid, with a simple style, but unintentionally match the surrounding natural scenery, which has a special charm.
The ranch has a great influence on the surrounding areas. The residents in the farm moved out and multiplied, forming many villages and towns. Even half of the residents in several big cities came from the ranch, especially the families related to the ranch deacon and manager. It is said that the population is prosperous and intertwined.
It and the surrounding areas are Austrian aid to each other, and they respond to each other, forming a detached and independent force between Jushui and Hanshui.However, at the beginning of the establishment of the ranch, the purpose was to avoid the troubled times at the end of the Jin Dynasty. All along, it only did business with others, sold horses and livestock, and never participated in the affairs of the rivers and lakes and the court.
The first-generation field owners firmly believed that once they got involved with the two, they would be deeply involved in it and eventually cause even greater troubles.But he didn't expect that less than 200 years later, the world will rise again, and the glorious Sui Dynasty will also come to its doomed end.
Shang Xiuxun intends to uphold the precepts of his ancestors and not to confront the forces of the rivers and lakes, but others will not let such a rich and affluent place go just because the ranch's family law is like this.After a certain force gains power, it is inevitable that the ranch will only sell them horses to weaken the opponent's cavalry.If Shang Xiuxun refuses, it will offend the other party, if he agrees, he will offend other people besides the other party.
In other words, if Dangyang, Yuan'an, Jingling, Xiangyang and other places were all captured by the same force, the ranch's position would be very awkward.At the same time, merchants are also very powerful in the two important tributaries of Jushui and Hanshui, and they will still be watched by others.
There was Zhu Can in the front, Du Fuwei in the back, Lin Shihong, Xiao Xian and others in the south. As long as there is an opportunity, these cities will never be let go.In the future, the life-and-death friendship between Shang Xiuxun and Ssangyong was established through the life-and-death battle to help Jingling together.
Su Ye rode on the horse, and while walking towards the mountain city, he showed his identity as a little native, introducing the scenery of the ranch to the two people around him.The mountain city looks majestic and majestic on the outside, but when it comes to the inner fort where the owners and important figures live, it is as majestic as a palace. There are pavilions and palaces everywhere, some as high as five floors, and their grandeur is comparable to royal palaces.
Shang Xiuxun had just finished meeting with the deacon of the ranch, told him to order important affairs, and returned to Bird Garden from Fei Ma Xuan.She heard that Su Ye returned to the ranch for the first time in two years and brought two guests, so she came out to receive her in person.
After Su Ye learned falcon taming from the Western Regions, with the powerful mental power generated by his innate skills, he trained the flying eagle as a messenger every time it came, and used it as a text message.In the ranch, there are also peregrine falcons and goshawks left by her before she left, which are sometimes used by Shang Xiuxun to deliver news.
Therefore, they have always been able to maintain correspondence, not many times, but often talking about recent events.Shang Xiuxun heard that she was in control of the Wagang Army, and was going to force Zhai Rang to give up her position at the right time. Ling civilians couldn't help being very surprised.
Not seeing each other for two years, Su Ye has grown from eight to ten years old, and his height has grown a lot, enough to pretend to be a weirdo with five short statures.Of course, Shang Xiuxun's changes were not as great as hers. She still had a vibrant and beautiful appearance. Her jet-black hair was tied behind her head, and her facial features were as clear and distinct as a knife. Once she entered the door, she immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Hou Xibai showed undisguised surprise and admiration, obviously used to seeing beauties who were either delicate or delicate, and didn't know that there was such a unique temperament and posture in the world.Xu Xingzhi's performance was closer to that of an ordinary person. He was amazed by her appearance, but also awed and admired her status as the owner of the field.
Su Ye understood very well that after Hou Xibai painted one side of the fan, the other side would only draw top beauties with the most beautiful appearance in the world.Undoubtedly, Shang Xiuxun is one of them, enough to rank with Shang Xiufang and others.Maybe he was eager to describe the beauty owner before he finished the draft of her belly.
After she took her seat, she first inquired about their intentions as the owner of the venue. Hearing that Hou Xibai came to visit as a companion only because she admired her, she actually smiled slightly, showing a somewhat happy expression, which showed the charm of a passionate young man.
But when Xu Xingzhi mentioned Jingling's current situation, she withdrew her smile and listened to his narration without saying a word, her beautiful eyes shone with deep thought.
Xu Xingzhi himself is unknown, and seems to be just one of countless Confucian scholars, but in fact he is resourceful, has a superb overall view and strategic vision, and can deeply and detailedly understand people's hearts, so he can be the right-hand man of any overlord.He once served under the tent of the Fang Brothers and advised them, but later he was no match for Houhou's bewitching beauty, and repeatedly persuaded him to no avail, so he had to ask Kou Zhong for help, and later became Kou Zhong's most effective military advisor.
When he narrates the process, he has both the advantages of brevity and detail. He never talks nonsense and never misses important things worth mentioning.
At this time, Jingling was controlled by Zhu Can's strong general Wen Liang, and Mianyang's guard was Bai Wenyuan, known as the "general son-in-law".Following Zhu Can's order, they seized a large amount of food, gold and silver from local wealthy households, and transported them to the north of the Huai River to supply the Jialou Luo army in Huaibei.
If not, they would not have gone out late at night to raid villages dozens of miles away in search of more rations.
Xu Xingzhi had no other intentions on this trip, but just wanted to persuade Shang Xiuxun to come forward, as a ranch owner, contact the surrounding ethnic groups, form a brave and capable armed force, drive away Wen Liang, and protect the people from the tiger's mouth.
After listening silently, Shang Xiuxun suddenly turned to look at Su Ye and asked, "Is this the purpose of your trip?"
Su Yeqi said: "Of course, otherwise, what would I do when I come back? After all, you promised at that time that no matter which faction I belong to in the future, you will supply us with war horses at a more favorable price."
Shang Xiuxun said angrily, "At that time I thought you were joking, but when the Wagang envoy came, I couldn't believe it."
Su Ye said: "I never joke about this kind of thing."
Before Shang Xiuxun met them, he didn't know who she brought and what was the matter, so he went into the hall to meet them alone, without any guards around him.Because of this, she spoke more casually, shaking her head directly and said: "I can't violate the family law and ancestral precepts."
Su Ye smiled and said, "That's not considered a power in the world at all, but a group of bandits and bandits. They never make long-term plans, and rely on their numbers to succeed. If you treat them as a large number of bandits, it's not impossible."
Shang Xiuxun snorted, and then looked at Xu Xingzhidao: "When you come back, you will come back, and you will bring a military adviser. If you are afraid that one person will not be able to speak to me, you have to rely on other people's tongue."
Xu Xingzhi smiled and said: "The owner of the field is serious."
Su Ye said: "I know you have discussed this matter with the chief deacon and the second deacon, and you are afraid that you will offend Zhu Can head-on, and there will be endless troubles in the future. However, Zhu Can's influence has not yet extended to Dangyang. Wait until he takes down the two closest to the ranch. If you send people to buy horses from you in this city, if you don’t sell them, you’ll have to grab them, and you might regret that you didn’t sell them earlier.”
Shang Xiuxun raised his brows and said: "No matter what you say, I can't decide this matter by myself. I have to consult my teacher first, and then discuss it with all the deacons. Why don't you stay here for a few more days and be my guests?"
Su Ye knew that she was already moved, but she still had many worries. It was not a result of day and night, so she nodded and said with a smile: "You can discuss it, don't worry about my face. Although I have helped you before, sir has already returned it. This favor. You never owe me anything, just treat me as an outsider who talks to you about business."
Shang Xiuxun took a deep look at her, knowing that there was a real outsider present, so she withdrew her surname and did not say anything more.
Two years ago, Su Ye did not hesitate to waste her true energy to prolong her mother's life for a few years, which made her grateful from the bottom of her heart.But she hoped that her mother's life would be prolonged, so it didn't mean that she fell in love with the other person in the entanglement, so she avoided that name and said in a deep voice: "Tomorrow when you are discussing matters at Fei Ma Xuan, you will come with this Mr. Xu, let's not mention it for now. If the two distinguished guests are interested, why not go out of the city with me to have a look, can you count as having been to Pegasus Ranch?"