My hometown is boundless, the sun sets and I march alone. Sichuan Plain is lost in the old country, and the road leads to a border town.

The wild garrison is desolate and the smoke is gone, and the ancient trees in the deep mountains are flat. How can I hate it now, and the apes howl in the night.

This song "Late Ci Lexiang County" was composed by the hero Chen Ziang on his way to his hometown in Bazhou. Lexiang County belonged to Xiangzhou in the Tang Dynasty, ninety miles north of Jingmen, Hubei Province. At that time, Lexiang County was located in

The center of the Tang Dynasty is not a remote place. It is just sparsely populated, which makes it feel like a borderland.

There is a "Yelai" hotel in Lexiang, facing the Hanshui River in the east, the remaining mountains of Funiu Mountain in the north, and the official road of Luoyang, the eastern capital, in the south. On this day, a commoner came to the door of the Yuelai store with his shoulder

He was carrying a sack on his back and half-crouched beside the stone lion in front of the door.

He knocked a piece of clay on the big stone and greeted loudly: "Dear guests, I am a Taoist who has traveled far and wide, witnessing the joys and sorrows of the world, and I often feel emotional. Today I am in Dele Township, and I will write a story for everyone to comment on.

The Tao is about right and wrong."

After a burst of shouting, diners in the store and people idle nearby came over one after another, and more than ten people gathered in a circle. "Everyone, I want to ask: What year do you think it is now?" He asked first, and then sat down.

On the stone steps.

Among the people listening to the book, there were many local scoundrels who were the best at making jokes. Several people responded: "Isn't it the first year of the Successor?"

Qianli Taoist smiled and shook his head and said: "If it had been two or three years earlier, it would have been the first year of Sisheng. Now Zhongzong has been deposed. The current emperor is Ruizong, which is the original Yu Wangdan. The year name has naturally changed, and it is the first year of Wenming.

." People in Lexiang live by farming, and few outsiders come here. Therefore, the news is not good, and no one knows the reason.

Taoist Qianli felt quite proud when he saw the misunderstandings among the crowd. He looked around at the crowd, just to show off, and was not in a hurry to continue. While he was smiling, he glanced at a man walking up the southwest official road,

There is a long sword on his back.

When everyone saw him stop after making his opening remarks, they knew he wanted to ask for money, so someone threw down a few copper coins and urged: "Hurry up and tell us, has something happened in the court?" After questioning, the man carrying the sword asked.

The man had arrived in front of the Yuelai store, stopped outside the store, and looked at the crowd.

Taoist Qianli coughed several times and said: "Okay! Let's listen to Lao Jiao tell me the reason." It turns out that Taoist Qianli's surname is Jiao. "Since the founding of the Li and Tang dynasties, Taizong has developed both civil and military affairs, the country is peaceful and the people are safe, and all ethnic groups from all over the world have surrendered to Chang'an.

" He paused the topic, took advantage of everyone's sighs and boos, and glanced sideways at the man carrying the sword.

The man was not tall and tall, but the long sword on his shoulder was more than three feet long. It was slightly wider than an ordinary long sword, about two inches, so it was probably not light.

"Today, decades later, let's just say that the year before last, there was famine in Guanzhong, natural disasters everywhere, and the price of rice in Chang'an soared to 400 yuan. Alas, if we come to the Tang Dynasty to be extremely prosperous, we are destined to suffer a disaster." The man with the sword was just listening casually.

Listening, I saw the Qianli Taoist open his mouth and touch on current affairs, and he hit the nail on the head. I was amazed, and I couldn't help but fold my hands and listen quietly.

A closer look revealed that he was wearing cloth clothes, but the corners of his clothes were stained, and he did not have the pear blossom wood or the small Jie drum in his hands, but he did not look like a storyteller.

"In the past two years, not only has there been constant famine everywhere, but the Wu family has also acted recklessly in the imperial court. Last year, Gaozong died and a year after Zhongzong ascended the throne, the Wu family took advantage of the world and deposed the crown prince Xian, and deposed Zhongzong as the King of Luling.

, who wielded power and made the King of Yu the emperor, and planted many party members in the court."

"It's a pity that after decades of great kindness in the Tang Dynasty, only one minister dared to stand up for the Li family. Do you know who this person is?" the storyteller asked. "Who else is there besides Xu Jingye!" The man with the sword couldn't help but interrupt.

As soon as the words "Xu Jingye" came out, the expressions of some of the listeners suddenly changed and they quietly left the circle.

The storyteller chuckled, clapped his hands and said: "This brother is right, it is Xu Jingye. He secretly reported to the King of Luling, and sent troops to Yangzhou. Hundreds of thousands of troops disturbed the Empress Wu's court, and she did not want to eat or sleep at night. On the contrary,

Zhang Zhongchang came up with a clever plan to imprison the King of Luling, and then the Yangzhou soldiers were restrained."

"Well, if we say that Yangzhou was defeated, it is inevitable." Hearing this, the man with the sword clasped his hands and sighed, all his thoughts were revealed. Everyone was just listening to the story for entertainment, but now they saw the man with the sword sighing, as if this was the case

Things were related, so many people quietly dispersed.

When Jiao Huiqing saw that everyone was scared away by the man, he looked angry and said, "Excuse me, may I ask your surname?" "People from the mountains and plains, why do you need to leave your name?" After that, the man turned around and left.

Taoist Qianli was not willing to let him go. He took a step forward, grabbed the man's right wrist like lightning, and shouted: "How dare you mess with my business, Jiao Huiqing!"

Unexpectedly, the man's wrist flicked and he grabbed the lifeblood of his palm, sighing again: "What a pity!" Jiao Huiqing's wrist was captured, and he trembled in pain: "What's a pity?"

"What a pity!" The man only gave his hand gently, and Qianli Taoist fell down. He said: "It turns out that he was just selling his words to gain favor and defrauding others of their money."

Jiao Huiqing got up and was not angry. He collected the copper coins scattered on the stone steps and laughed: "I am a mountain villager, just for a mouthful of food! I just tell some thrilling stories to entertain everyone." "Oh.

, that's true." The man smiled slightly, then ignored him and stepped into the store door.

Jiao Huiqing was a well-known idler on Shannan Road. He came to Yuelai shop for a date. After some testing, Jiao Huiqing knew that Chen Ziang was not the person who wanted to date him. He felt relieved: If this person and

I have a duel, and I will definitely lose today.

In a flash of thought, he caught up two steps and said with a smile: "Master Chen is a chivalrous man. Old Jiao is lucky to meet the hero." Chen Ziang just sneered and found a window seat to sit down. Jiao Huiqing had a dark face.
Chapter completed!