Chapter 3 third chapter
This long-necked man is the housekeeper of the villa. His surname is Yu.Seeing the bamboo basket hanging on the mountainside, he looked down to see which hero was coming to help.At the beginning, I saw a few dark piles of things in the basket, which didn't seem to be human-shaped. When the basket was hoisted closer, I saw a few cages, and some flower pots, incense burners, etc., filling the basket completely without any gaps.Steward Yu was surprised: "Could it be a gift for the master?"
The next time it was hanged were three women.Both are in their forties, both dressed as servants.The other was fifteen or sixteen years old, with big round eyes and a dimple on his left cheek. He looked like a maid.Without waiting for the bamboo basket to stop, she stepped out, glanced at the steward Yu, and said with a smile, "This must be Brother Yu. I've heard people say that you have a long head and neck." Very crisp.Butler Yu didn't like people talking about his head and neck the most in his life, but seeing her smiling all over her face, she couldn't get angry, so she nodded with a smile.
The maid said: "My name is Qin'er. She is Nanny Zhou, and Miss grew up on her milk. This is Aunt Han, and Miss likes to eat her cooking. You quickly put the hanging basket down and pick Miss up." The housekeeper was about to ask who the lady was, but Qin'er chattered non-stop, while taking out birdcages, civet cats, parrot stands, orchid vases, and many other weird and trivial things from the basket, busy with her hands. , his mouth was not idle, and he said: "This mountain is really high. Alas, there are no flowers and plants on the top of the mountain. I think Miss will not like it. Brother Yu, you live here all day, don't you feel bored?"
Steward Yu frowned, and thought: "The master is going to deal with the powerful enemy with all his strength, but where did he get out of this door to chatter endlessly?" He asked, "What is your family name? Is it our relative?"
Qin'er said: "Guess, why do I know you are Brother Yu the moment I see you, but you don't even know my lady's last name? If I don't say my name is Qin'er, I guarantee you will guess for a thousand years. I can't even guess what my name is. Ah, don't run around, be careful, Miss is angry." Butler Yu was stunned, but saw her leaning over to pick up a kitten. It turned out that the last few words she said were to the cat.
Butler Yu helped her take out the things in the hanging basket.Qin'er said: "Oh, don't mess it up! This box is full of Miss's books, if you turn it upside down, the books will be messed up. Alas, alas, no way. This orchid smells unmanly. The lady said that orchids are the most Qingya, come closer to the man's house, it will thank you that night."
Steward Yu hurriedly put down the small pot of orchids he was holding in his hand, when he suddenly heard a person behind him chanting: "If you want to play the qin, I hate that you don't have a bosom friend to appreciate it." The voice was weird.
He was startled, turned his head hastily, put his palms across his chest, and posed slightly to meet the enemy, but he saw the white parrot on the rack who was reciting the poem.He was very angry and funny, and ordered someone to put a hanging basket to pick up the lady.But the nurse said that she should open the box first and take a piece of fur to cushion the basket, lest the lady think the bottom of the basket is hard and make her sit uncomfortable.She took the key slowly, opened the box, and discussed with Aunt Han whether to put the silver fox or the mink.The steward Yu couldn't bear it any longer, and was concerned about the fierce fighting in the hall. He didn't know what happened to Ruan Shizhong's life, so he asked a servant to greet the young lady well, and then entered the hall.
He went out to welcome the guests, and he went there for a while, but the fighting situation in the hall did not change much.Ruan Shizhong was still trapped in the corner of the room by You Tong, but the situation was even more embarrassing, his left shoe fell off, half of the braid on his head was cut off, and his hair fell loose.Cao Yunqi, Yin Ji, Zhou Yunyang and others had already borrowed weapons from the servants of Zhuangshang, and rushed forward several times to rescue them, but they were always stopped by Zuo Tong, and they became farther and farther away from Ruan Shizhong.
Liu Yuanhe and the others wanted to seize the opportunity to snatch the iron box, but suffered from Zuo Tong's dagger, so they had to retreat.Everyone was unconvinced in their hearts, seeing that the tricks in Shuangtong's hands were not very surprising, and his internal strength was quite limited, but relying on two extremely sharp daggers and a set of swordsmanship that echoed offense and defense, he managed to kill a group of Jianghu. Hao Shi made his hands and feet tied.
Steward Yu looked at it for a while and thought: "When the master went out, he gave me all the affairs of the village. Now that the guests are being bullied in the villa, how can the master have any face? I will try my best to save this surname. Ruan's." He ran to his room and took the Zijin knife that he used in the rivers and lakes back then, turned back to the hall, looked at Shuangtong's moves again, and shouted: "If you two little brothers don't stop, we at Yubi Villa That's rude." You Tong shouted: "The master sent us to write the book, and he didn't tell us to fight with anyone. As long as he pays my pearl, we will spare him immediately." As he said, he took a step and scoffed. With a single sword strike, Ruan Shizhong's left shoulder was cut again.
Butler Yu was about to answer when he heard a woman's voice behind him saying: "Oh, don't fight! Don't fight! I don't like people who use swords and guns." Listening to it, everyone felt really indescribably comfortable, and turned their heads involuntarily.
I saw a girl in yellow standing at the door with a smile, her skin was more radiant than snow, her eyes were like a pool of clear water, and she turned a few times on everyone's faces.This young girl's appearance is extremely beautiful, she really is like a pearl shining brightly, a beautiful jade shining brightly, there is a bookish freshness between her brows and eyes.The people in the hall are all martial arts tycoons who roamed the rivers and lakes. When they suddenly met such an elegant girl, it was like a poor man suddenly walking into a rich and powerful family. .
The two boys paid no attention to the girl, while Yin Ji and the others were stunned, they slammed off the weapons one by one.
The girl said: "Stop messing around, two little brothers, how ugly it is to hurt someone like this." You Tong said: "He won't pay for my Pearl." The girl said: "What Pearl?" Pointing at Ruan Shizhong's chest with the tip of the right boy's sword, he leaned over to pick up half of the pearl, and said with a mournful face, "Look, he broke it, and I want him to pay for it." The girl walked closer, took a look, and said "Ah, this pearl is really good, and I can't afford to pay it back. How about it, Qin'er," she said to the little maid behind her, "Bring my pair of jade horses and give them to these two little brothers." Reluctant in his heart, he said, "Miss." The girl smiled and said, "You are so stingy. You see how handsome the two little brothers are. Wearing a jade horse makes the jade horse even more beautiful."
The two boys looked at each other, only to see that Qin'er opened a gold-painted box, took out a pair of kits and handed them to the girl.The girl untied a brocade bag and took out a little jade horse with a silk ribbon in the horse's mouth as a rein.The girl hung it on the belt for You Tong, and handed the jade horse in the other bag to Zuo Tong.Zuo Tong asked An to thank him, and took it in his hand. He saw that the jade horse was crystal clear and clean, and the carving was exquisite and unusual. The horse was in the shape of galloping.As soon as he saw it, he liked it very much, but he didn't know the origin of the girl, and he was undecided for a moment, wondering whether he should accept this important gift.You Tong picked up the other half of the pearl from the wall, and said, "This one of mine is the Yeming Pearl, and it is a pair with my brother's. Even if there is a jade horse, it will not be complete!" He said very annoyed.
When the girl saw the two people's looks and clothes, she knew that the twin brothers were in love with each other, and it was not a big deal to destroy the pearl. The unhappy thing was to make the two people's accessories look different, so they didn't match up, so she picked up a jade horse and held the two twins together. Put half of the bright pearl on the jade horse's eyes, and said: "I have an idea, to embed half of the pearl on the jade horse's eye. Since the pearl can shine at night, the jade horse's eyes will shine at night, wouldn't it be beautiful?" Zuo Tong Overjoyed, he took off the beads from the braid, cut them in half with a dagger, and said, "Brother, our beads and jade horses are exactly the same." He greeted him and said, "It's all right, don't be angry." Ruan Shizhong was covered in blood and was very angry, but he didn't dare to curse out loud.
You Tong took Zuo Tong's hand and wanted to go out.Zuo Tong said to the girl, "Thank you for your generosity. May I ask the girl's surname, and the master asks, so there is a good answer." The girl said, "Who is your master?" Zuo Tong said, "The master's surname is Hu."
When the girl heard this, her face changed immediately, and she said, "So you are the children of Flying Fox in the Snow Mountain." The two boys bowed together and said, "Exactly!" The girl said slowly, "My surname is Miao. Your master asked From now on, let’s say that the pair of jade horses were given by the daughter of the golden-faced Buddha Miao Ye!”
As soon as this remark came out, Qunhao was all moved.The golden-faced Buddha is famous, and he never expected his daughter to be such a delicate and shy girl.Look at her air, if she is not a young lady from the rich family of the Hou family, or the daughter of a scholarly family for generations, she does not look like the daughter of a hero.Shuangtong glanced at each other, put the jade horse on the table together, bowed to Miss Miao, and said in unison: "Thank you very much! But we dare not accept it, please forgive me." They turned and left the hall.
The girl smiled slightly, but said nothing.Qin'er happily put away the jade horse, and said: "Miss, these two children don't know what is good and what is bad. They don't want such a good thing as a reward from the miss. If it were me..." The girl laughed: "Don't talk too much, We are not afraid that people will laugh at us for being shabby."
Master Baoshu approached more and more people, and said in a loud voice: "So the girl is the daughter of Hero Miao, how is your father?" The girl said: "Thank you. The family is strict and well-being. May I ask the master?" Baoshu smiled and said: "Lao Na Baoshu. What's the girl's name?" The girl's name was Miao Ruolan, and she blushed a little when she heard this, thinking: "How can I tell people my name carelessly?" Without answering the question, she said: "Everyone, please sit down. Go into the inner hall to meet auntie." He said and bowed to the group of heroes. Shocked by her father's name, everyone returned the salute respectfully, thinking: "This girl doesn't have the slightest arrogance to bully others. It's really rare." Miao Ruolan waited for everyone to sit down, and confessed again. enter.I saw seven or eight housekeepers and servants coming in from outside the gate, carrying bedding, boxes and cages, and they seemed to have come to serve Miss Miao.Tao Baisui, Tao Zi'an and his son looked at each other, thinking: "If my father and son meet this group of people on the road, they will definitely regard them as the family members of rich and powerful officials, and they will certainly commit robbery. This will cause a big mess." Ruan Shizhong stretched out his sleeve to wipe the blood on his body, luckily You Tong didn't really intend to hurt him, every wound only scratched the flesh slightly, it was not serious.Tian Qingwen came to help him, and took out Jinchuang medicine to stop the bleeding.Ruan Shizhong unfastened his skirt to wrap her wound up, when suddenly there was a clang, and the iron box fell to the ground.Qunhao jumped up at the same time, stretching out their hands to snatch it. Ruan Shizhong stood closest, drew a circle with his left hand to keep away the crowd, and immediately bent over to pick up the box, just as his fingers touched the surface of the box, he suddenly felt a strong force hitting his shoulder, and he couldn't help but fall a few steps away, waiting to get it. Standing still, he raised his head and saw that the iron box was already in Baoshu's hands.All the heroes were afraid that he was capable, so they just looked at him helplessly, and no one dared to speak. After a while, Cao Yunqi said: "Master, I'm sorry! This iron box is a relic of the respected master and cannot fall into the hands of outsiders. Please return it." Baoshu laughed: "You said it was a relic of the revered master, then What is hidden in the box, and the origin of the iron box, as long as you can explain clearly, then take it!" He held the iron box with both hands and stretched forward. Cao Yunqi's face was flushed, and he stretched out his hands halfway. He didn't dare to catch it, but he retracted it embarrassedly, stopped in the air, and slowly lowered it.It turned out that he only saw that the master cherished the iron box very much and kept it carefully, but he never saw him open the lid of the box, not to mention the origin of the contents, and he didn't even know what kind of treasure it was.Although Ruan Shizhong and Yin Ji are senior masters of Tianlongmen, they all looked at each other in blank dismay, unable to explain why.Zhou Yunyang suddenly said: "Of course we know that what is in the box is our sect's treasured sword." He was only a second-rate character in discussing martial arts in Tianlongmen. Ruan Shizhong and Cao Yunqi both thought: "Nonsense! Who said that our Zhenmen sword is kept in this iron box?" Every time they saw the Zhenmen sword, they took it out of an old wooden box. It has nothing to do with the iron box.Unexpectedly, Dingshu said: "That's right, it's that treasured knife. Do you know whose original this knife belonged to? How could it be placed in this iron box?" Ruan Shizhong and the others didn't expect Zhou Yunyang to hit the point, they were all surprised, they all paid attention and waited for him to speak.Seeing that his blue and white face turned red, and then turned blue again, he said resentfully: "This is a precious sword handed down from my Tianlongmen ancestors. It has been kept in this iron box for hundreds of years." Baoshu shook his head and said: "No, no! I don't think you will know." Zhou Yunyang said: "Did you already know?" Baoshu said: "Twenty years ago, I knew. This is where the dispute started. If there were no such entanglements in the middle, why would I invite you all to go up the mountain?" Tianlong Qunhao, Tao's father and son, and Liu Xiong's brothers were all taken aback, thinking: "This old monk really has bad intentions, he also wanted to rob the iron box. He led us up to the peak, apparently to catch us all , not only to snatch the iron box, but also to cut the weeds and roots, so as not to leave any future troubles, we are in a desperate situation today, and there is no life or death." Everyone thought of this, only heard a swipe, one of them showed his weapon, and then swipe There was a sound of brushing and ding-ding, and the heroes had each armed their weapons and surrounded the treasure tree.Ruan Shizhong's middle-class weapon was cut off by Shuang Tong, and he also leaned over to snatch the broken knife and sword in his hand. Baoshu slowly turned around in the crowd, smiled and said: "Do you want to fight the old monk?" Qunhao glared, but no one spoke.Standing close now, everyone could see clearly that although Bao Shu had gray beard and wrinkled face, his eyes were bright and he was not very old. Liu Yuanhe took a step back and shouted: "Everyone, let's kill the old monk first. Let's discuss our own affairs after descending the mountain." He only felt that the longer he stayed on the mountain, the more dangerous he would be.Qunhao felt restless in this villa, and Liu Yuanhe's words were just right.Just as they were about to rush forward, they suddenly heard a loud bang outside the door, which seemed to be the sound of a cannon.
Everyone looked at each other in astonishment.After a while, Steward Yu rushed in from the outside, with a look of panic on his face, and shouted: "Everyone, something is wrong!" Cao Yunqi shouted: "Has the flying fox arrived in the snow mountain?" Steward Yu said: "That's not true. We The long ropes and winches used to go up and down the mountain were destroyed by others." Everyone was startled, and asked in confusion: "Then why?" "Is there no second rope?" "Is there any other How to get down?" Yu Guanjia said: "There is only this long rope on the peak, and the villain didn't notice it for a while, but it was destroyed by the two children under Feihu." Baoshu changed color and said: "How did it be destroyed?" Yu Guanjia said: "Brothers let the two little devils head down the peak, and they all went into the house to rest. Suddenly they heard the sound of an explosion. When they rushed out to check, they saw that the winch and the long rope had been blown to pieces. It must be these two days. The kid who killed put explosives in the winch, led the medicine down the mountain, and lit it up." Everyone was stunned, and rushed out of the door one after another, only to see that the winch was blown into pieces, and the long rope was scattered here and there. land.Fortunately, the men beside the winch had left and no one was injured. Yinji asked Baoshu, "Master, what is the purpose of Feihu's move?" Baoshu said, "What's so hard to guess? He wants us all to starve to death on this peak." Yinji said, "We have no grudge against him. Baoshu said: "He has a deep hatred with the master here. Besides, if the iron box is in your hands, it means that he has formed a bond with him." Yin Ji said: "Feihu also wants this iron box?" Baoshu said :"is not that right?" When everyone thought of the strange martial arts of the two Tong'er, they had the same general thought in their minds: "Tong'er is already so good, let alone the master." They silently followed Baoshu back into the hall. Seeing that Miao Ruolan had come out of the inner hall, she said, "Master, is the snow mountain flying fox going to trap us all here?" Baoshu said with a serious face, "That's right. We all boarded a boat, we have to think about it." Fa'er goes down the peak." Miao Ruolan said: "Then don't worry, my father will come up in a few days, and he can save us down." Everyone thought, how can he stand by the daughter of the golden-faced Buddha Miao Renfeng here? Don't care?I couldn't help but feel relieved.Only Liu Yuanhe knew something was wrong, but it was inconvenient to say it clearly. Baoshu said: "Although Hero Miao is world-class in martial arts, but the snow peak is over a hundred feet high, how can he come up in a short time?" Miao Ruolan said: "Since someone can come up to build the Zhuangzi, why can't my father come up? Baoshu said: "The ice and snow on Xiaxia Peak have melted away. There is a steep road to climb up and walk. Although it is not easy to climb up, you can still go up and down. It is very cold at this time, and it will take at least three months to wait for the snow to disappear. Steward, How many months has the grain been stored on the mountain?" Yu Steward said: "The steward who went down the mountain to purchase the grain is expected to return in the future. The grain stored here can be used for more than 20 days, and now I have added the food brought by all the guests and Ms. Miao. Servants and maids, it’s only ten days’ food.” Everyone's faces changed, and they remained silent, cursing the Snow Mountain Flying Fox for being vicious in their hearts. Cao Yunqi said suddenly: "Let's slip down the mountain slowly..." After only half a sentence, he knew something was wrong, so he quickly stopped talking.This mountain peak is extremely steep, if you don't slip two or three zhang, you will fall down immediately.The others looked at him together, thinking: "This man is an idiot." Cao Yunqi couldn't help but blush when he saw everyone's winks. Miao Ruolan said: "If everyone is starved to death in the end, we must know the reason. Master, what kind of enmity does the Snow Mountain Flying Fox have with us? What kind of ability does he have that makes the owner fearful? What does this iron box have to do with it? ?” This question spoke out the words in everyone's heart.The group of heroes gave their lives to fight for the iron box, and some people lost their lives because of it, but apart from knowing that there was a heavy treasure hidden in the box, none of them could tell the reason. They all looked at the treasure tree, hoping for his explanation. Baoshu said: "Okay, this is the end of the matter, there is no use in haste. Let's explain it openly and work together, and maybe we can figure out a way to go down the mountain. But if you burn yourself and kill each other, you will die faster, which is just right. Flying fox's treachery." Qunhao suddenly said yes and sat down. At this time, the cold air on the mountain was gradually increasing, and the steward Yu ordered people to add firewood to the furnace.Everyone listened quietly to Baoshu's words. Baoshu picked up the gaiwan, took a sip of tea, first praised: "Good tea!" Then said: "This matter is really a long story. Let's take a look at the treasured sword in the box first, shall we?" Everyone applauded in unison.Baoshu handed the iron box to Cao Yunqi and said, "Your Excellency is the head of Tianlong Beizong, please open it for everyone to see." Cao Yunqi remembered that Tao Zian once shot short arrows from the box and hurt people's lives. He was afraid that there might be some hidden weapon hidden in the box, so he took the box with both hands, but he didn't dare to lift the lid.Baoshu looked at him with a smile, but said nothing. Everyone saw that the box was covered with rust, rotten and variegated, corroded unevenly, obviously it was an ancient object over a hundred years old, but they couldn't see anything unusual. Cao Yunqi thought to himself: "If I dare not open the box, Tao Zian will underestimate him." Gritting his teeth, he stretched out his right hand to lift the lid of the box.Unexpectedly, when he lifted it off, the lid of the box didn't move at all, he looked closely and saw that there was no keyhole or button on the box, for some reason he couldn't open it, when his hands tightened, the iron box seemed to be made of a whole piece of iron, there was no movement at all. Seeing that his face was flushed, Tian Qingwen knew that there must be something inside the box. It would be useless to open it so forcefully, but he might get hurt instead, so he said in a low voice, "Brother Zhou, please open it." Zhou Yunyang looked hesitant, and said, "I ... I don't know..." Tian Qingwen took the tin box from Cao Yunqi, put it in Zhou Yunyang's hand, and said softly, "I know you will." Zhou Yunyang glared at her, put the tin box on the table, and reached out to touch it. He lifted the lid of the box without lifting it up, but lifted it three times at the four corners one by one, and then stretched out his thumb to press upwards in the middle of the bottom of the box, and with a snap, the lid popped open. Ruan Shizhong and Cao Yunqi glanced at him at the same time, thinking in their hearts: "How did you open this box?" Immediately turned their heads to look at the box, and saw that there was a short knife in the box, sheathed in it.Cao Yunqi said "oh".He had seen his master use this precious saber before, and it had cut off the weapons of many heroes. Baoshu reached out to pick up the short knife, pointed to the two lines engraved on the scabbard and said: "Everyone, please look." I saw that the scabbard was made of cowhide, inlaid with copper and iron on the side, covered with green and rusty, it was just plain A strange old knife with two lines of black characters engraved on the sheath: Killing one is like killing my father and adultery, and the other is like adultery with my mother These fourteen characters are extremely simple and plain, but they have a sense of heroism and chivalry, which jumps out. Baoshu said: "Do you know the origin of these fourteen characters?" Everyone said: "I don't know." Baoshu said: "This is the military order left by Chuang Wang Li Zicheng. This knife is the same as Li Chuang Wang's One of the sabers that command millions of troops and fight thousands of miles." When everyone heard this, they all left the table and looked at the dagger in Baoshu's hand, half-believing in their hearts.At this time, it has been more than a hundred years since King Li Chuang, but in the hearts of Cao Mang Qunhao, the prestige of King Chuang is still extremely prominent.Baoshu said: "If you don't believe me, please look at this side." Then he turned the scabbard over.I saw the four characters "Feng Tian Advocating Righteousness" engraved on this side, filled with cinnabar.Next to the four characters, there is a pattern of two dragons grabbing a bead. The bead they are grabbing is a ruby. At first glance, there is nothing special about it.Baoshu said: "The title of King Li Chuang back then was called Marshal Fengtian Advocating Righteousness." Only then did the group of heroes believe it. Baoshu said again: "At that time, thirteen big men and twenty-four village leaders formed an uprising, and they recommended Gao Yingxiang as the generalissimo. Gao Yingxiang died in battle in the ninth year of the apocalypse, and Li Zicheng succeeded him as the leader. After more than a year, Beijing was finally broken and the name of Dashun was established. Emperor Chongzhen was forced to hang Meishan. If the traitor Wu Sangui hadn't betrayed the country and led the Qing soldiers into the customs, the world would have been surnamed Li. Since ancient times, the reckless hero has never been like the king of Chuang So majestic." He sighed and said, "Oh, it's a pity that he just achieved a big event, and it turned out to be nothing in the blink of an eye. In March of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, he broke into Beijing and went out to fight against the Qing soldiers in April. Ben. From then on, this Huahua Jiangshan was sent into the hands of the Manchu Tartars." Liu Yuanhe glared at him and said in his heart: "This monk is so bold, he dared to say such rebellious words." Baoshu slowly put the knife back into the box, and said, "King Chuang was seriously injured by an arrow during the battle with Wu Sangui, and he retreated from Beijing. In Shanxi and Shaanxi, Qing soldiers and Wu Sangui chased them all the way, and then retreated to Henan and Huguang. The soldiers killed each other and their subordinates scattered. Later, they retreated to Jiugong Mountain, Tongshan County, Wuchang Prefecture. Finally the hero has come to an end." Miao Ruolan looked at the saber in the box, thinking of King Chuang's heroic demeanor back then, she couldn't help being fascinated, but when she thought of his defeat and death, she felt sad again. Baoshu said: "There are four guards around King Chuang, all of whom are highly skilled in martial arts, and have always been loyal to protect him. One of these four guards is surnamed Hu, one is surnamed Miao, one is surnamed Fan, and the other is surnamed Tian. They are called Hu Miao and Fan Tian in the army. " As soon as Yin Ji, Tian Qingwen and others heard the word "Hu Miao Fantian", they knew that these four guards must have a significant connection with today's events.Tian Qingwen glanced sideways at Miao Ruolan, only to see that she was holding a poker and lightly poking the coals in the furnace, fascinated by herself, her jade-like cheeks were reflected by the fire, and she was slightly flushed. Baoshu looked up at the roof and said: "These four great guards have followed King Chuang from death to life. I don't know how many hardships and dangers they have experienced, and I don't know how many times they have saved King Chuang's life. King Chuang treats them as his confidantes. These four people Among them, Hu's surname is the strongest in martial arts and the most capable, and he is called "Flying Fox" in the Chuangwang army!" Everyone couldn't help but "oh" when they heard this. Baoshu continued to tell his story: "King Chuang was surrounded on Jiugong Mountain. He was in great danger. He saw that the envoys he sent to ask for help were intercepted and killed by the enemy as soon as they reached the foot of the mountain. He had to send three people named Miao, Fan and Tian. The guards rushed out in the dark to ask for help. Hu stayed behind to protect King Chuang. Unexpectedly, when the three guards from Miao Fantian came to rescue him with reinforcements, King Chuang had already been killed. "The three guards burst into tears, and the one surnamed Fan was about to kill himself on the spot. But the other two guards said that the blood should be avenged first. The three of them inquired about the details of King Chuang's martyrdom in Jiugong Mountain, and the one surnamed Hu The guard seems to be still in the world. The three thought that this man was skilled in martial arts and resourceful. If he presides over him, King Chuang will be avenged. They split up to find out his whereabouts. "It has been passed down from old people in the martial arts that because of this search, there was an uproar. The three of Miao Fantian later told their sons in detail about the situation at that time, and set up family rules. Every generation must Pass these words on to the descendants, so that the descendants of Miao Fantian's three families will never forget this matter from generation to generation." When Baoshu said this, he looked at Miao Ruolan and said: "The old monk is an outsider, so he only knows a general idea. If Ms. Miao is willing to tell us, she will be much clearer." Everyone thought in their hearts: "It turns out that the Miao people Feng, father and daughter are descendants of this guard named Miao."
Miao Ruolan looked at the brazier and said: "When I was seven years old, I saw my father sharpen and wash the long sword one night. I said I was afraid of swords, so I asked my father to put it away and not play with it. My father said that I have to kill a sword with this sword. Only people can put it away and never use it. I put my arms around his neck and begged him not to kill people, and he told me a story. "He said that many, many years ago, the common people were so poor that they had no food to eat and no clothes to wear. Everyone had to eat bark and grass roots. Later, even the bark and grass roots were eaten up, so they had to eat mud. Many people starved to death. Mothers had no food to eat, no milk to give birth to, and many children starved to death in their mother's arms. But the government still had to collect food from the people, and the rich still had to force rent from the poor to collect debts. If the people couldn't pay, there were Many people were killed by the government, captured by the rich and locked up. My father taught me to sing a song, which he said was composed by a young man with both civil and military skills. Do you want me to read it out?" Everyone said in unison: "Please read it, girl." Baoshu heard her say "Young Master with both civil and military skills", and knew that it must be Li Yan, a general under Li Zicheng. Grass seedlings do not grow old. The price of rice has risen several times, and the people are struggling to live everywhere. Grass roots and leaves are full of power, and children are crying at each other. The tiger is poor, and the rich are like wolves and jackals. The poor are struggling to breathe, and the soul is buried in the spring soil. The skeletons are piled up like mountains, and the karma is heavy and the starvation is hard. Can you not teach people to cry? Tears will turn into spots of blood." At this time, it was the middle of the Qianlong period. Although it was called a peaceful and prosperous age, there were floods and droughts every year, and the lives of ordinary people in many places were not easy.Everyone listened to her every word, and read the words in a correct way, and the voice was full of sadness. Thinking of what they saw and heard in the rivers and lakes, they couldn't help being moved. Miao Ruolan said: "My father said that the common people couldn't bear it any longer, and finally a great hero came out and led them to Beijing. But it's a pity that after this hero became the emperor, he mishandled things and didn't He treated the people well, but some of his generals did not abide by the rules, and instead went to harm the people, robbing the people of their wives, children, and clothing, so the people disobeyed the hero again. He thought that the hearts of the people were for the son who made the song, so he sent the son Killed him. As a result, all his subordinates were in chaos. This great hero was killed by the traitor not long after." Speaking of this, he sighed for a long time, and after a while, he said: "His subordinates The three guards went to find another guard and asked him for an idea to avenge the great hero. "At this time, aliens came and became the emperor, arresting the hero's friends everywhere. The three guards couldn't stay safe, so they had to disguise themselves. One was a quack who sold medicine, one was a beggar, and the other was the strongest. So they pretended to be porters. They and the fourth guard are sworn brothers. They have shared joys and sorrows for decades, and they are better than brothers. They miss him all the time. But after seven or eight years of searching, there is no news at all. They want to come to him They must have died while protecting that great hero, and the three of them were very sad." Everyone listened to her tone of voice, as if she was telling a story to a child. They expected to imitate her father's tone back then, and they all thought: Although there is a word "Buddha" in the nickname of the Golden-faced Buddha, it is said that he hates evil and hates others. The shot is fierce, but he is so gentle and loving to his daughter.Just listen to her continue to talk: "In a few years, they decided not to look for this righteous brother anymore. After the three of them discussed it, they all said that the traitor who killed the hero is now crowned king and enjoying good fortune in Yunnan, and decided to assassinate him." Kill him to avenge the great hero and righteous brother. So the three of them set off for Yunnan." Brothers Liu Yuanhe and Xiong Yuanxian looked at each other, knowing that the traitor she mentioned was Wu Sangui who was named King Pingxi. Miao Ruolan said again: "The three of them arrived in Kunming and visited before and after the residence of the big traitor. On the night of the fifth day of March, the three of them took hidden weapons and entered through the wall. The big traitor was very well prepared. After entering, the guards found out. The three men were highly skilled in martial arts. As soon as they made a move, more than 20 guards were either dead or injured. One person came out to stand in front of the big traitor. When the three of them saw it, they couldn't help being shocked. It turned out that this person was the brother-in-law they had been looking for for many years. This man was better than them in martial arts. He protected the big traitor and did not allow the three of them to kill him. Surprised and angry, they started fighting with him. Soon dozens of guards poured in outside, and the three of them were outnumbered, so they had to run away. The father-in-law, however, missed and was captured. "The traitor personally interrogated him. The father-in-law yelled at him and scolded him for giving the country to the Tartars. The traitor broke his legs and locked him in prison. The righteous brother probably felt embarrassed, so he secretly went to the prison and released him. Go out. After the meeting between the husband-in-law and the father-in-law of the doctor and the father-in-law of Huazi, the three of them cried with each other in their arms. They really didn't expect that the elder brother Yiyi would defect to the enemy. The three of them inquired secretly, and found out something even more disgusting. It turned out that the three people rushed out from Jiugong Mountain to ask for help. The righteous brother waited for several days without seeing any reinforcements. He killed the hero himself and surrendered to the enemy. The Manchu emperor appointed him a high-ranking official, and now he is under the hands of the traitor Be an admiral." When everyone heard this, their faces changed color.They all heard that King Chuang was murdered in Jiugong Mountain, some said it was killed by ordinary people, some said it was killed by officers and soldiers, but they didn't know that the murderer was actually his confidant guard. Miao Ruolan sighed, and said: "The three of them have confirmed their investigation, and they are determined to settle accounts with him. Only the three of them are hard to defeat him, and now his father-in-law is injured, so he is not an opponent. He was hesitating, and suddenly the brother-in-law A letter was sent to invite the three of them to drink in Dianchi Lake on the evening of March 15th. "The three of them know that he must have tricks, but they think he knows the movement of the three of them's residence clearly. He has great power here, and he can't avoid it if he wants to. The matter has come to this point, even if it is a dragon's lake and a tiger's lair, he has no choice but to break into it. When we get there On the same day, the three of them went to the Dianchi Lake for an appointment with weapons hidden on their bodies. They saw him waiting there, alone, without any relatives and guards, and wearing coarse green clothes, just like when the four of them were in the army. They wore the same clothes. The four of them bought some cooked meat, roast chicken, and steamed buns in a small hotel, and made more than a dozen catties of white wine. They boarded a boat and went to Dianchi Lake to enjoy the moon and eat. "While drinking, the four of them talked about the heroic things they had done together in the army. Seeing that he never mentioned the name of the great hero, the three of them refrained from saying it. But seeing that he had a big bowl and a big bowl Drinking in a bowl, seeing the moon reaching the climax, he looked up to the sky and shouted: "Three brothers, we have survived many hardships and died, and finally we can meet again after a long absence. I am so happy today!"" Such a bold and unrestrained sentence, uttered by a gentle and elegant girl, is quite nondescript, but everyone was intimidated by the tense situation in the story, so they didn't care. She said again: "The father-in-law who pretended to be a doctor couldn't bear it anymore, and said with a sneer: 'You are a high-ranking official, and you enjoy the glory and wealth, so you are naturally happy. I just don't know what the king is thinking now?' That great hero Later he became the emperor, but the four guards kept calling him the king. "The righteous brother sighed and said: 'Oh, the king must be very lonely. When the big event here is over, I will instruct the three brothers to visit the king.' "When the three of them heard this, they were all furious. They said in their hearts, "Well, you still want to kill the three of us and tell us to go to the Underworld to meet the king." The father-in-law winked at him, lifted the jug and poured a glass of wine to the brother-in-law, and said, "What happened to the king after the farewell at the top of Jiugong Mountain that day?" The brother-in-law raised his eyebrows and said, "Today, we will invite three brothers. Come on, just to talk about this.' The beggar father suddenly pointed his hand behind his back and shouted, "Hey, who is here?" "The righteous brother turned his head to look, and called Hua Gonggong and Langzhong's father-in-law to come out with two swords. One knife cut off his right arm, and the other cut into his vest, penetrating several inches. The righteous brother yelled, turned his head, Stretching out his left arm, he has snatched the two knives and thrown them into the Dianchi Lake. With his palm, he has grabbed the acupoints on the doctor's father-in-law's chest. With a pale face, he shouted: "The four of us are married to Jinlan, why... why Shi Plotting to hurt me?' The father-in-law gave him this arrest, and he couldn't move at once. The father-in-law raised his knife and shouted: "You killed the king, betrayed the master and asked for glory, and you still have the face to mention the word loyalty?" "The righteous brother kicked the knife away in his hand, and said with a big laugh, "Okay, okay! Be righteous, have righteousness." The three of them couldn't help seeing that his arm was chopped off and he was seriously injured, but he was still so brave. Everyone was stunned. As soon as the righteous brother finished laughing, he burst into tears and said, "It's a pity, it's a pity that I can't make it!" Then he relaxed the doctor's father-in-law. The beggar's father-in-law was afraid that he would do another poisonous hand, so he punched hard,正中他胸膛。这一拳使的是重手法，力道惊人，那义兄'哇'的一声，喷出一口鲜血，忽地提起左掌，击在船舷之上，只击得木屑纷飞，船舷缺了一块。他苦笑道：'我虽受重伤，要杀你们，仍易如反掌。但你们是我好兄弟，我怎舍得啊！' “那三人一齐退在船梢，并肩而立，防他暴起伤人。那义兄叹道：'今日之事，千万不可泄漏。倘若给我儿子知道，你们三个不是他对手。我当自刎而死，以免你们负个戕害义兄的恶名。'说着抽出单刀，在颈中一割，俯跌下去。脚夫公公心中不忍，抢上去扶住，叫道：'大哥！'那义兄道：'好兄弟，做哥哥的去了。大王的军刀大有干系，他……老人家是在石门峡……'这句话没说完，咽喉流血，死在船中。 “三人望着他的尸身，又难过，又痛快，只见他用来自刎的那柄刀上刻着十四个字，认得就是那位大英雄的军刀。” 众人听到此处，眼光一齐转过去望着宝树手中的那柄短刀。刘元鹤忽然摇头道：“我不信。”陶百岁怒喝：“你知道什么？”刘元鹤道：“那李自成流血千里，杀人如麻，怎会下这十四字军令？”众人一怔，不知所对。 于管家忽然接口道：“闯王杀人如麻，是谁见来？”刘元鹤道：“人人都这般说，难道是假的？”于管家道：“你们居官之人，自然说他胡乱杀人。其实闯王杀的只是贪官污吏、土豪劣绅。这些本就算不得是人。'杀一人如杀我父'之令，是不许部属妄杀一个好人，这话一点儿也不错。” 刘元鹤欲待再辩，但见他英气逼人，顿然住口不说。熊元献意欲打开僵局，道：“苗姑娘，后来怎样？请你说下去。” 苗若兰道：“脚夫公公说道：'他说大王在石门峡，那是什么意思？'郎中公公道：'难道他说大王葬在石门峡？'叫化公公摇头道：'这人奸恶之极，临死还要骗人。'原来大英雄死后，汉奸将他的遗体送到北京去领赏。皇帝将大英雄的首级挂在城门上号令示众。三名卫士冒了奇险，将首级盗来，早已葬在一个险峻万分、人迹不到的所在。那义兄说他在石门峡，三人自然不信。 “三人杀了义兄后，又去行刺那大汉奸，但大汉奸防范周密，数次行刺都不成功，而他们大义杀兄的事，却在江湖上传开来了。武林中的英雄好汉听到，都翘起大拇指，赞一声：'杀得好！'消息传到了那义兄的家乡，他儿子十分悲伤，就赶到昆明来为父亲报仇。” 陶百岁接口道：“那做儿子的这就不是了。虽然说父仇不共戴天，但他父亲做了奸恶之事，人人得而诛之，这仇不报也罢。” 苗若兰道：“我爹当时也这样说，可是那儿子的想法却大大不同。他到了昆明，不久就在一座破庙之中找到三人，动起手来。这儿子武功得到父亲真传，那三人果然不是对手，斗了不到半个时辰，三人为他一一打倒。 “那儿子道：'三位叔叔，我爹爹忍耻负辱，甘愿负一个卖主求荣的恶名，你们怎懂得其中深义？瞧着你们和我爹爹结义一场，今日饶了你们性命。快快回家去料理后事，明年三月十五是我爹爹死忌，我当来登门拜访。'他说了这番话后，夺了那大英雄的军刀，扬长而去。 “这时已是隆冬，那三人当即北上，将三家家属聚在一起，详详细细地将当日舟中喋血之事说了。大家都道：'他害死大英雄，保护大汉奸，自己又做满清皇帝手下大官，还能有什么深意？他儿子强辞狡辩，说出话来没人能信。'江湖朋友得到讯息，纷纷赶来仗义相助。 “到了三月十五那天晚上，那儿子果然孤身赶到。” 众人眼望苗若兰，等她继续述说，却见小丫头琴儿走将过来，手里捧了一个套着锦缎套子的白铜小火炉，放在她的怀里。 苗若兰低声道：“去点一盘香。”琴儿答应了，不一会捧来一个白玉香炉，放在她身旁几上。只见一缕青烟，从香炉顶上雕着的凤凰嘴中袅袅吐出，众人随即闻到淡淡幽香，似兰非兰，似麝非麝，闻着甚是舒泰。 苗若兰道：“我独自个在房，点这素馨。这里人多，怎么又点这个？”琴儿笑道：“我当真糊涂啦。”捧起香炉，去换了一盘香出来。苗若兰道：“这里风从北来，北边虽没窗，但山顶风大，有些风儿漏进来。你瞧这香炉放对了么？”琴儿一笑，将小几端到西北角放下，又给小姐泡了一碗茶，这才走开。 众人都想：“金面佛苗人凤身为一代大侠，却把个女儿娇纵成这般模样。”只见她慢慢拿起盖碗，揭开盖子，瞧了瞧碗中的茶叶与玫瑰花，轻轻啜了一口，缓缓放下，众人只道她要说故事了，哪知道她却说：“我有些儿头痛，要进去休息一会。诸位伯伯叔叔请宽座。”说着站起身来，入内去了。 众人相顾哑然。曹云奇第一个忍耐不住，正要发作，田青文向他使个眼色。曹云奇话到口边，又咽了下去。苗若兰进去不久，随即出来，只见她换了一件淡绿皮袄，一条鹅黄色百褶裙，脸上洗去了初上山时的脂粉，更显得淡雅宜人，风致天然。原来她并非当真头痛，却是去换衣洗脸。琴儿跟随在后，拿了一个银狐垫子放在椅上。苗若兰慢慢坐下，这才缓缓说道：“这天晚上，郎中公公家里大开筵席，请了一百多位江湖上成名的英雄豪杰，静候那义兄的儿子到来。等到初更时分，只听得托的一声响，筵席前已多了一人。厅上好手甚多，却没一个瞧清楚他是怎么进来的。只见他约莫二十岁上下年纪，身穿粗布麻衣，头戴白帽，手里拿着一根哭丧棒，背上斜插单刀。他不理旁人，径向郎中、叫化、脚夫三个公公说道：'三位叔父，请借个僻静处所说话。' “三位公公尚未答话，昆仑派的一位前辈英雄叫道：'男子汉大丈夫，有话要说便说，何须鬼鬼祟祟？你父卖主求荣，我瞧你也非善类，定是欲施奸计。三位大哥，莫上了这小贼的当。'只听得啪啪啪、啪啪啪六声响，那人脸上吃了六记耳光，哇的一声，口吐鲜血，数十枚牙齿都撒在地下。对方出手太快，他全无抵御之能，闪避也自不及。 “席上群豪一齐站起，惊愕之下，大厅中百余人竟尔悄无声息，均想：此人身法怎地如此快法？那昆仑派的名宿受此重创，吓得话也说不出口。那儿子纵上前去打人时群豪并未看清，退回原处时仍是一晃即回，这一瞬之间倏忽来去，竟似并未移动过身子。那三位公公与他父亲数十年同食共宿，知道这是他家传的'飞天神行'轻功绝技，只是他青出于蓝，似乎犹胜乃父。那儿子道：'三位叔叔，倘若我要相害，在昆明古庙之中何必放手？现下我有几句要紧话说，旁人听了甚是不便。' “三人一想不错。那郎中公公当下领他走进内堂一间小房。大厅上百余位英雄好汉停杯相顾，侧耳倾听内堂动静。 “约莫过了一顿饭功夫，四人相偕出来。郎中公公向群雄作了个四方揖，说道：'多谢各位光临，足见江湖义气。'群雄正要还礼，却见他横刀在颈中一划，登时自刎而死。群雄大惊，待要抢上去救援，却见叫化公公与脚夫公公抢过刀来，先后自刎，这个奇变来得突然之极，群雄中虽有不少高手，却没一个来得及阻拦。 “那义兄的儿子跪下来向三具尸体拜了几拜，拾起三人用以自刎的短刀，一跃上屋。群雄大叫：'莫走了奸贼！'纷纷上屋追赶，那人早不见了踪影。 “三位公公的子女抱着父亲的尸身，放声大哭。群雄探询三人家属奴仆，竟没一个得知这四人在密室中说些什么，更不知那儿子施了什么奸计，逼得三人当众自杀。群雄见三位英雄尸横当地，个个气愤填膺，立誓要为三人报仇。 “只是那儿子从此销声匿迹，不知躲到了何处。三位公公的子女由群雄抚养成人。群雄怜他们的父亲仗义报主，却落得惨遭横祸，无不用心抚育教导。三家子女本已从父亲学过家传武功，有了根基，再得明师指点，到后来融会贯通，各自卓然成家。”她说到这里，轻轻叹了口气，喟然道：“他们武功越强，报仇之心愈切。练了武功到底对人是祸是福，我可实在想不明白。” 宝树见她望着炉火怔怔出神，众人却急欲听下文，于是接口道：“苗姑娘这故事说得十分动听。她虽不提名道姓，各位自然也都知道，故事中的义兄，是闯王第一卫士姓胡的飞天狐狸，那脚夫公公姓苗，化子公公姓范，郎中公公姓田。三家后人学得绝技后各树一帜，苗家武功称为苗家剑，姓范的成为兴汉丐帮中的头脑，姓田的到后来建立了天龙门。” 阮士中、殷吉虽是天龙前辈，但本门的来历却到此刻方知，不由得暗自惭愧。 宝树又道：“这苗范田三家后代，二十余年后终于找到了那姓胡的儿子。那时他正身患重病，被三家逼得自杀。从此四家后人辗转报复，百余年来，没一家的子孙能得善终。我自己就亲眼见过这四家后人一场惊心动魄的恶斗。” 苗若兰抬起头来，望着宝树道：“大师，这故事我知道，你别说了。”宝树道：“这些朋友们却不知道，你说给大伙儿听吧。”苗若兰摇头道：“那一年爹爹跟我说了这四位公公的故事之后，接着又说了一个故事。他说为了这件事，他迫得还要杀一个人，须得磨利那柄剑。只是这故事太悲惨了，我一想起心里就难受，真愿我从来没听爹说过。”她沉默了半晌，道：“那是在我出世之前十年的事。不知那个可怜的孩子怎样了，我真盼望他好好活着。” 众人面面相觑，不知她所说的“可怜孩子”是什么人，又怎与眼前之事有关？众人望望苗若兰，又望望宝树，静待两人之中有谁来解开这疑团。 站在一旁侍候茶水的一个仆人忽然说道：“小姐，你好心有好报。想来那个可怜的孩子一定好好活着。”他话声嘶哑。众人一齐转头，只见他白发萧索，已过中年，缺了一条右臂，用左手托着茶盘，一条粗大的刀疤从右眉起斜过鼻子，一直延到左边嘴角。众人心想：“此人受此重伤，居然还能挨了下来，实是不易。” 苗若兰叹道：“我听了爹爹讲的故事之后，常常暗中祝告，求老天爷保佑这孩子长大成人。只是我盼望他不要学武，要像我这样，一点武艺也不会才好。” 众人一怔，都感奇怪：“瞧她这副文雅秀气的样儿，自是不会武艺，但她是'打遍天下无敌手'金面佛苗大侠的爱女，难道她父亲竟不传授一两手绝技给她？” 苗若兰眼见众人脸色，已知大家心意，说道：“我爹说道，百余年来，胡苗范田四家子孙怨怨相报，没一代能得善终。任他武艺如何高强，一生不是忙着去杀人报仇，就是防人前来报仇。一年之中，难得有几个月安乐饭吃，就算活到了七八十岁高龄，仍不免给仇家杀了。练了武功非但不能防身，反足以致祸。因此我爹立下一条家训，自他以后，苗门的子孙不许学武。他也决不收一个弟子。我爹说道：纵然他将来给仇人杀了，苗家子弟不会武艺，自然无法为他报仇。那么这百余年来越积越重的血债，愈来愈纠缠不清的冤孽，或许就可一笔勾销了。” 宝树合十道：“善哉，善哉！苗大侠能如此大彻大悟，甘愿让盖世无双的苗家剑剑法自他而绝，虽是武林的大损失，却也是一件大大善事。” 苗若兰见那脸有刀疤的仆人目中发出异光，心中微感奇怪，向宝树道：“我进去歇歇，大师跟各位伯伯叔叔，失陪了。”说着裣衽行礼，进了内堂。 宝树道：“苗姑娘心地仁慈，不忍再听此事。她既有意避开，老衲就跟各位说说。” 这一日自清晨起到此刻，只不过几个时辰，日未过午，但各人已经历了不少突兀之事，心中积下不少疑团，何况又与一己生死有关，都急欲明白真相。 只听宝树说道：“自从闯王的四大卫士相互仇杀以后，四家子孙百余年来斫杀不休。只是那姓胡的卖主求荣，为武林同道所共弃，所以每次大争斗，胡家子孙势孤，十九落在下风。可是胡家的家传武功厉害无比，每隔三四十年，胡家定有一两个杰出的子弟出来为上代报仇，不伦是胜是败，总是掀起了满天腥风血雨。 “苗范田三家虽人众力强、得道多助，但胡家常在暗中忽施袭击，令人防不胜防。雍正初年，苗范田三家为了争夺掌管闯王的军刀，起了争执。偏巧胡家又出了一对武功极高的兄弟，一口气伤了三家十多人。三家急了，由田家出面，邀请江湖好手，才齐心合力杀了胡氏兄弟。这一年大江南北的英雄豪杰聚会洛阳，结盟立誓，从此闯王军刀由天龙门田氏执掌，若胡家后人再来寻衅生事，由天龙田氏拿这口军刀号召江湖好汉，共同对付。天下英雄只要见到军刀，纵使身有天大的要事，也都得搁下应召赴义。 “这件事过得久了，后人也渐渐淡忘了。只是天龙门掌门对这口宝刀一直珍视万分。听说天龙门后来分为南宗北宗，两宗每隔十年，轮流掌管宝刀。阮师兄、殷师兄，我说得可对么？” 阮士中和殷吉齐声道：“大师的话不错。” 宝树笑了笑道：“事隔多年，天龙门门下虽然都知这口刀是本门的镇门之宝，但此刀到底来历如何，却已极少有人考究。时日久了，原也难怪。只是和尚有一事不明，却要请教曹兄。”曹云奇大声道：“什么事？”宝树道：“老衲曾听人说过，天龙门新旧掌门交替之时，老掌门必将此刀来历说与新掌门知晓。怎地曹兄荣为掌门，竟然不知？难道田归农田老掌门忘了这条门规么？” 曹云奇涨红了脸，待要说话，田青文接口道：“寒门不幸，先父突然去世，来不及跟曹师哥详言。”宝树道：“这就是了。唉，此刀我已第二次瞧见。首次见到之时，屈指算来已是二十七年之前的事了。”田青文心道：“苗姑娘约莫十七八岁年纪，她说那是她出世之前十年的事，正是二十七年之前。那么这和尚见到此刀，看来会与苗姑娘所说的事有关。”
Notes: 关于李自成进军北京前后的军纪问题，以及他为当时形势胁迫而无法严格维持军纪一事，作者在中曾有叙述。因内地评论者颇有持“左”派偏颇观点而非议之者，故注释中曾引中共诸领袖之言论，表示应实事求是，不应单凭主观好恶而歪曲事实。作者并非认为凡领导首长，意见必定正确，只表示若只凭首长指示而评论文艺，则不妨广泛看看多位首长的意见。这些意见，承华东师大黄丽镛先生及其千金赐书提供，谨对黄先生及黄小姐表示谢意。 以李自成为主角的长篇小说，说到篇幅之巨、内容之丰富，自以姚雪垠的五卷本《李自成》为首。我所不能赞同的，是他“主题先行”的写作主张，要将“古代别的人物的优秀品质和才干集中到他的身上”（《李自成》第一卷前言），要“以阶级斗争为纲，努力写好阶级斗争，反映历史的客观规律”（《姚雪垠给江晓天的信》），以致刘再复先生评《李自成》为一卷不如一卷，愈写愈差。刘先生归纳许多评者的意见，认为原因在于“一由姚先生贪大求全，有人归因于他写作靠录音和秘书整理，又有人认为在于姚先生坚持'三突出''高大完美'等文学观念，按这种理论精心设计人物……人为地把古人现代化，甚至把古人经典化。”（刘再复、刘绪原：《刘再复谈文字研究与文字论争》，《文汇月刊》一九八八年第二期） 不过姚先生在《〈李自成〉第五卷创作情况汇报》一文中所谈“左思潮在文学领域的影响”的一段话，我是很同意的，现引述如下以供参考：“……由于'左'的思潮在文学领域的影响，过去多少年中，大家讳言李自成后期的失去人心，讳言由于传统的封建正统观念，北京城中和四郊人民对李自成的敌视态度，好像李自成是农民革命领袖，广大人民当然拥护。其实不然。……大家讳言大顺军进北京后军纪败坏，讳言在北京的抢劫和奸淫。在'左'的思潮泛滥时期，很多人看见这类史料，简单地斥之为'地主阶级的造谣'，用盲目的阶级偏见对待客观史料，将自己应该注意的历史现象抛开，从而将应该有的思想路子封闭。在十分强调'无产阶级'立场鲜明的年代，很多人在有些重要历史问题上，只敢有现代流行的'阶级观点'，不敢有实事求是的治学态度。”（姚雪垠：《创作体会漫笔》，《文艺理论与批评》一九九〇年第二期）姚先生在写这段文字时，社会上“左”的思潮已较消退，但影响仍然很大，很多人的习惯性思维方法与眼光还是转不过来。 李自成初起时军纪严整，所以本书写了他军刀上所刻的号令。后期军纪就废弛了，本文中不多描述，主要的描述在中。撰写于“左”思潮大泛滥之时，对李自成的描述自以为可能比较公允，比较符合历史事实（当然艺术上颇有不足），其时作者尚在海外左派报纸中工作，其后遭到严重批判斗争及围攻，但此后两次修订，对李自成的描述仍基本上不改。
Master Baoshu approached more and more people, and said in a loud voice: "So the girl is the daughter of Hero Miao, how is your father?" The girl said: "Thank you. The family is strict and well-being. May I ask the master?" Baoshu smiled and said: "Lao Na Baoshu. What's the girl's name?" The girl's name was Miao Ruolan, and she blushed a little when she heard this, thinking: "How can I tell people my name carelessly?" Without answering the question, she said: "Everyone, please sit down. Go into the inner hall to meet auntie." He said and bowed to the group of heroes. Shocked by her father's name, everyone returned the salute respectfully, thinking: "This girl doesn't have the slightest arrogance to bully others. It's really rare." Miao Ruolan waited for everyone to sit down, and confessed again. enter.I saw seven or eight housekeepers and servants coming in from outside the gate, carrying bedding, boxes and cages, and they seemed to have come to serve Miss Miao.Tao Baisui, Tao Zi'an and his son looked at each other, thinking: "If my father and son meet this group of people on the road, they will definitely regard them as the family members of rich and powerful officials, and they will certainly commit robbery. This will cause a big mess." Ruan Shizhong stretched out his sleeve to wipe the blood on his body, luckily You Tong didn't really intend to hurt him, every wound only scratched the flesh slightly, it was not serious.Tian Qingwen came to help him, and took out Jinchuang medicine to stop the bleeding.Ruan Shizhong unfastened his skirt to wrap her wound up, when suddenly there was a clang, and the iron box fell to the ground.Qunhao jumped up at the same time, stretching out their hands to snatch it. Ruan Shizhong stood closest, drew a circle with his left hand to keep away the crowd, and immediately bent over to pick up the box, just as his fingers touched the surface of the box, he suddenly felt a strong force hitting his shoulder, and he couldn't help but fall a few steps away, waiting to get it. Standing still, he raised his head and saw that the iron box was already in Baoshu's hands.All the heroes were afraid that he was capable, so they just looked at him helplessly, and no one dared to speak. After a while, Cao Yunqi said: "Master, I'm sorry! This iron box is a relic of the respected master and cannot fall into the hands of outsiders. Please return it." Baoshu laughed: "You said it was a relic of the revered master, then What is hidden in the box, and the origin of the iron box, as long as you can explain clearly, then take it!" He held the iron box with both hands and stretched forward. Cao Yunqi's face was flushed, and he stretched out his hands halfway. He didn't dare to catch it, but he retracted it embarrassedly, stopped in the air, and slowly lowered it.It turned out that he only saw that the master cherished the iron box very much and kept it carefully, but he never saw him open the lid of the box, not to mention the origin of the contents, and he didn't even know what kind of treasure it was.Although Ruan Shizhong and Yin Ji are senior masters of Tianlongmen, they all looked at each other in blank dismay, unable to explain why.Zhou Yunyang suddenly said: "Of course we know that what is in the box is our sect's treasured sword." He was only a second-rate character in discussing martial arts in Tianlongmen. Ruan Shizhong and Cao Yunqi both thought: "Nonsense! Who said that our Zhenmen sword is kept in this iron box?" Every time they saw the Zhenmen sword, they took it out of an old wooden box. It has nothing to do with the iron box.Unexpectedly, Dingshu said: "That's right, it's that treasured knife. Do you know whose original this knife belonged to? How could it be placed in this iron box?" Ruan Shizhong and the others didn't expect Zhou Yunyang to hit the point, they were all surprised, they all paid attention and waited for him to speak.Seeing that his blue and white face turned red, and then turned blue again, he said resentfully: "This is a precious sword handed down from my Tianlongmen ancestors. It has been kept in this iron box for hundreds of years." Baoshu shook his head and said: "No, no! I don't think you will know." Zhou Yunyang said: "Did you already know?" Baoshu said: "Twenty years ago, I knew. This is where the dispute started. If there were no such entanglements in the middle, why would I invite you all to go up the mountain?" Tianlong Qunhao, Tao's father and son, and Liu Xiong's brothers were all taken aback, thinking: "This old monk really has bad intentions, he also wanted to rob the iron box. He led us up to the peak, apparently to catch us all , not only to snatch the iron box, but also to cut the weeds and roots, so as not to leave any future troubles, we are in a desperate situation today, and there is no life or death." Everyone thought of this, only heard a swipe, one of them showed his weapon, and then swipe There was a sound of brushing and ding-ding, and the heroes had each armed their weapons and surrounded the treasure tree.Ruan Shizhong's middle-class weapon was cut off by Shuang Tong, and he also leaned over to snatch the broken knife and sword in his hand. Baoshu slowly turned around in the crowd, smiled and said: "Do you want to fight the old monk?" Qunhao glared, but no one spoke.Standing close now, everyone could see clearly that although Bao Shu had gray beard and wrinkled face, his eyes were bright and he was not very old. Liu Yuanhe took a step back and shouted: "Everyone, let's kill the old monk first. Let's discuss our own affairs after descending the mountain." He only felt that the longer he stayed on the mountain, the more dangerous he would be.Qunhao felt restless in this villa, and Liu Yuanhe's words were just right.Just as they were about to rush forward, they suddenly heard a loud bang outside the door, which seemed to be the sound of a cannon.
Everyone looked at each other in astonishment.After a while, Steward Yu rushed in from the outside, with a look of panic on his face, and shouted: "Everyone, something is wrong!" Cao Yunqi shouted: "Has the flying fox arrived in the snow mountain?" Steward Yu said: "That's not true. We The long ropes and winches used to go up and down the mountain were destroyed by others." Everyone was startled, and asked in confusion: "Then why?" "Is there no second rope?" "Is there any other How to get down?" Yu Guanjia said: "There is only this long rope on the peak, and the villain didn't notice it for a while, but it was destroyed by the two children under Feihu." Baoshu changed color and said: "How did it be destroyed?" Yu Guanjia said: "Brothers let the two little devils head down the peak, and they all went into the house to rest. Suddenly they heard the sound of an explosion. When they rushed out to check, they saw that the winch and the long rope had been blown to pieces. It must be these two days. The kid who killed put explosives in the winch, led the medicine down the mountain, and lit it up." Everyone was stunned, and rushed out of the door one after another, only to see that the winch was blown into pieces, and the long rope was scattered here and there. land.Fortunately, the men beside the winch had left and no one was injured. Yinji asked Baoshu, "Master, what is the purpose of Feihu's move?" Baoshu said, "What's so hard to guess? He wants us all to starve to death on this peak." Yinji said, "We have no grudge against him. Baoshu said: "He has a deep hatred with the master here. Besides, if the iron box is in your hands, it means that he has formed a bond with him." Yin Ji said: "Feihu also wants this iron box?" Baoshu said :"is not that right?" When everyone thought of the strange martial arts of the two Tong'er, they had the same general thought in their minds: "Tong'er is already so good, let alone the master." They silently followed Baoshu back into the hall. Seeing that Miao Ruolan had come out of the inner hall, she said, "Master, is the snow mountain flying fox going to trap us all here?" Baoshu said with a serious face, "That's right. We all boarded a boat, we have to think about it." Fa'er goes down the peak." Miao Ruolan said: "Then don't worry, my father will come up in a few days, and he can save us down." Everyone thought, how can he stand by the daughter of the golden-faced Buddha Miao Renfeng here? Don't care?I couldn't help but feel relieved.Only Liu Yuanhe knew something was wrong, but it was inconvenient to say it clearly. Baoshu said: "Although Hero Miao is world-class in martial arts, but the snow peak is over a hundred feet high, how can he come up in a short time?" Miao Ruolan said: "Since someone can come up to build the Zhuangzi, why can't my father come up? Baoshu said: "The ice and snow on Xiaxia Peak have melted away. There is a steep road to climb up and walk. Although it is not easy to climb up, you can still go up and down. It is very cold at this time, and it will take at least three months to wait for the snow to disappear. Steward, How many months has the grain been stored on the mountain?" Yu Steward said: "The steward who went down the mountain to purchase the grain is expected to return in the future. The grain stored here can be used for more than 20 days, and now I have added the food brought by all the guests and Ms. Miao. Servants and maids, it’s only ten days’ food.” Everyone's faces changed, and they remained silent, cursing the Snow Mountain Flying Fox for being vicious in their hearts. Cao Yunqi said suddenly: "Let's slip down the mountain slowly..." After only half a sentence, he knew something was wrong, so he quickly stopped talking.This mountain peak is extremely steep, if you don't slip two or three zhang, you will fall down immediately.The others looked at him together, thinking: "This man is an idiot." Cao Yunqi couldn't help but blush when he saw everyone's winks. Miao Ruolan said: "If everyone is starved to death in the end, we must know the reason. Master, what kind of enmity does the Snow Mountain Flying Fox have with us? What kind of ability does he have that makes the owner fearful? What does this iron box have to do with it? ?” This question spoke out the words in everyone's heart.The group of heroes gave their lives to fight for the iron box, and some people lost their lives because of it, but apart from knowing that there was a heavy treasure hidden in the box, none of them could tell the reason. They all looked at the treasure tree, hoping for his explanation. Baoshu said: "Okay, this is the end of the matter, there is no use in haste. Let's explain it openly and work together, and maybe we can figure out a way to go down the mountain. But if you burn yourself and kill each other, you will die faster, which is just right. Flying fox's treachery." Qunhao suddenly said yes and sat down. At this time, the cold air on the mountain was gradually increasing, and the steward Yu ordered people to add firewood to the furnace.Everyone listened quietly to Baoshu's words. Baoshu picked up the gaiwan, took a sip of tea, first praised: "Good tea!" Then said: "This matter is really a long story. Let's take a look at the treasured sword in the box first, shall we?" Everyone applauded in unison.Baoshu handed the iron box to Cao Yunqi and said, "Your Excellency is the head of Tianlong Beizong, please open it for everyone to see." Cao Yunqi remembered that Tao Zian once shot short arrows from the box and hurt people's lives. He was afraid that there might be some hidden weapon hidden in the box, so he took the box with both hands, but he didn't dare to lift the lid.Baoshu looked at him with a smile, but said nothing. Everyone saw that the box was covered with rust, rotten and variegated, corroded unevenly, obviously it was an ancient object over a hundred years old, but they couldn't see anything unusual. Cao Yunqi thought to himself: "If I dare not open the box, Tao Zian will underestimate him." Gritting his teeth, he stretched out his right hand to lift the lid of the box.Unexpectedly, when he lifted it off, the lid of the box didn't move at all, he looked closely and saw that there was no keyhole or button on the box, for some reason he couldn't open it, when his hands tightened, the iron box seemed to be made of a whole piece of iron, there was no movement at all. Seeing that his face was flushed, Tian Qingwen knew that there must be something inside the box. It would be useless to open it so forcefully, but he might get hurt instead, so he said in a low voice, "Brother Zhou, please open it." Zhou Yunyang looked hesitant, and said, "I ... I don't know..." Tian Qingwen took the tin box from Cao Yunqi, put it in Zhou Yunyang's hand, and said softly, "I know you will." Zhou Yunyang glared at her, put the tin box on the table, and reached out to touch it. He lifted the lid of the box without lifting it up, but lifted it three times at the four corners one by one, and then stretched out his thumb to press upwards in the middle of the bottom of the box, and with a snap, the lid popped open. Ruan Shizhong and Cao Yunqi glanced at him at the same time, thinking in their hearts: "How did you open this box?" Immediately turned their heads to look at the box, and saw that there was a short knife in the box, sheathed in it.Cao Yunqi said "oh".He had seen his master use this precious saber before, and it had cut off the weapons of many heroes. Baoshu reached out to pick up the short knife, pointed to the two lines engraved on the scabbard and said: "Everyone, please look." I saw that the scabbard was made of cowhide, inlaid with copper and iron on the side, covered with green and rusty, it was just plain A strange old knife with two lines of black characters engraved on the sheath: Killing one is like killing my father and adultery, and the other is like adultery with my mother These fourteen characters are extremely simple and plain, but they have a sense of heroism and chivalry, which jumps out. Baoshu said: "Do you know the origin of these fourteen characters?" Everyone said: "I don't know." Baoshu said: "This is the military order left by Chuang Wang Li Zicheng. This knife is the same as Li Chuang Wang's One of the sabers that command millions of troops and fight thousands of miles." When everyone heard this, they all left the table and looked at the dagger in Baoshu's hand, half-believing in their hearts.At this time, it has been more than a hundred years since King Li Chuang, but in the hearts of Cao Mang Qunhao, the prestige of King Chuang is still extremely prominent.Baoshu said: "If you don't believe me, please look at this side." Then he turned the scabbard over.I saw the four characters "Feng Tian Advocating Righteousness" engraved on this side, filled with cinnabar.Next to the four characters, there is a pattern of two dragons grabbing a bead. The bead they are grabbing is a ruby. At first glance, there is nothing special about it.Baoshu said: "The title of King Li Chuang back then was called Marshal Fengtian Advocating Righteousness." Only then did the group of heroes believe it. Baoshu said again: "At that time, thirteen big men and twenty-four village leaders formed an uprising, and they recommended Gao Yingxiang as the generalissimo. Gao Yingxiang died in battle in the ninth year of the apocalypse, and Li Zicheng succeeded him as the leader. After more than a year, Beijing was finally broken and the name of Dashun was established. Emperor Chongzhen was forced to hang Meishan. If the traitor Wu Sangui hadn't betrayed the country and led the Qing soldiers into the customs, the world would have been surnamed Li. Since ancient times, the reckless hero has never been like the king of Chuang So majestic." He sighed and said, "Oh, it's a pity that he just achieved a big event, and it turned out to be nothing in the blink of an eye. In March of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, he broke into Beijing and went out to fight against the Qing soldiers in April. Ben. From then on, this Huahua Jiangshan was sent into the hands of the Manchu Tartars." Liu Yuanhe glared at him and said in his heart: "This monk is so bold, he dared to say such rebellious words." Baoshu slowly put the knife back into the box, and said, "King Chuang was seriously injured by an arrow during the battle with Wu Sangui, and he retreated from Beijing. In Shanxi and Shaanxi, Qing soldiers and Wu Sangui chased them all the way, and then retreated to Henan and Huguang. The soldiers killed each other and their subordinates scattered. Later, they retreated to Jiugong Mountain, Tongshan County, Wuchang Prefecture. Finally the hero has come to an end." Miao Ruolan looked at the saber in the box, thinking of King Chuang's heroic demeanor back then, she couldn't help being fascinated, but when she thought of his defeat and death, she felt sad again. Baoshu said: "There are four guards around King Chuang, all of whom are highly skilled in martial arts, and have always been loyal to protect him. One of these four guards is surnamed Hu, one is surnamed Miao, one is surnamed Fan, and the other is surnamed Tian. They are called Hu Miao and Fan Tian in the army. " As soon as Yin Ji, Tian Qingwen and others heard the word "Hu Miao Fantian", they knew that these four guards must have a significant connection with today's events.Tian Qingwen glanced sideways at Miao Ruolan, only to see that she was holding a poker and lightly poking the coals in the furnace, fascinated by herself, her jade-like cheeks were reflected by the fire, and she was slightly flushed. Baoshu looked up at the roof and said: "These four great guards have followed King Chuang from death to life. I don't know how many hardships and dangers they have experienced, and I don't know how many times they have saved King Chuang's life. King Chuang treats them as his confidantes. These four people Among them, Hu's surname is the strongest in martial arts and the most capable, and he is called "Flying Fox" in the Chuangwang army!" Everyone couldn't help but "oh" when they heard this. Baoshu continued to tell his story: "King Chuang was surrounded on Jiugong Mountain. He was in great danger. He saw that the envoys he sent to ask for help were intercepted and killed by the enemy as soon as they reached the foot of the mountain. He had to send three people named Miao, Fan and Tian. The guards rushed out in the dark to ask for help. Hu stayed behind to protect King Chuang. Unexpectedly, when the three guards from Miao Fantian came to rescue him with reinforcements, King Chuang had already been killed. "The three guards burst into tears, and the one surnamed Fan was about to kill himself on the spot. But the other two guards said that the blood should be avenged first. The three of them inquired about the details of King Chuang's martyrdom in Jiugong Mountain, and the one surnamed Hu The guard seems to be still in the world. The three thought that this man was skilled in martial arts and resourceful. If he presides over him, King Chuang will be avenged. They split up to find out his whereabouts. "It has been passed down from old people in the martial arts that because of this search, there was an uproar. The three of Miao Fantian later told their sons in detail about the situation at that time, and set up family rules. Every generation must Pass these words on to the descendants, so that the descendants of Miao Fantian's three families will never forget this matter from generation to generation." When Baoshu said this, he looked at Miao Ruolan and said: "The old monk is an outsider, so he only knows a general idea. If Ms. Miao is willing to tell us, she will be much clearer." Everyone thought in their hearts: "It turns out that the Miao people Feng, father and daughter are descendants of this guard named Miao."
Miao Ruolan looked at the brazier and said: "When I was seven years old, I saw my father sharpen and wash the long sword one night. I said I was afraid of swords, so I asked my father to put it away and not play with it. My father said that I have to kill a sword with this sword. Only people can put it away and never use it. I put my arms around his neck and begged him not to kill people, and he told me a story. "He said that many, many years ago, the common people were so poor that they had no food to eat and no clothes to wear. Everyone had to eat bark and grass roots. Later, even the bark and grass roots were eaten up, so they had to eat mud. Many people starved to death. Mothers had no food to eat, no milk to give birth to, and many children starved to death in their mother's arms. But the government still had to collect food from the people, and the rich still had to force rent from the poor to collect debts. If the people couldn't pay, there were Many people were killed by the government, captured by the rich and locked up. My father taught me to sing a song, which he said was composed by a young man with both civil and military skills. Do you want me to read it out?" Everyone said in unison: "Please read it, girl." Baoshu heard her say "Young Master with both civil and military skills", and knew that it must be Li Yan, a general under Li Zicheng. Grass seedlings do not grow old. The price of rice has risen several times, and the people are struggling to live everywhere. Grass roots and leaves are full of power, and children are crying at each other. The tiger is poor, and the rich are like wolves and jackals. The poor are struggling to breathe, and the soul is buried in the spring soil. The skeletons are piled up like mountains, and the karma is heavy and the starvation is hard. Can you not teach people to cry? Tears will turn into spots of blood." At this time, it was the middle of the Qianlong period. Although it was called a peaceful and prosperous age, there were floods and droughts every year, and the lives of ordinary people in many places were not easy.Everyone listened to her every word, and read the words in a correct way, and the voice was full of sadness. Thinking of what they saw and heard in the rivers and lakes, they couldn't help being moved. Miao Ruolan said: "My father said that the common people couldn't bear it any longer, and finally a great hero came out and led them to Beijing. But it's a pity that after this hero became the emperor, he mishandled things and didn't He treated the people well, but some of his generals did not abide by the rules, and instead went to harm the people, robbing the people of their wives, children, and clothing, so the people disobeyed the hero again. He thought that the hearts of the people were for the son who made the song, so he sent the son Killed him. As a result, all his subordinates were in chaos. This great hero was killed by the traitor not long after." Speaking of this, he sighed for a long time, and after a while, he said: "His subordinates The three guards went to find another guard and asked him for an idea to avenge the great hero. "At this time, aliens came and became the emperor, arresting the hero's friends everywhere. The three guards couldn't stay safe, so they had to disguise themselves. One was a quack who sold medicine, one was a beggar, and the other was the strongest. So they pretended to be porters. They and the fourth guard are sworn brothers. They have shared joys and sorrows for decades, and they are better than brothers. They miss him all the time. But after seven or eight years of searching, there is no news at all. They want to come to him They must have died while protecting that great hero, and the three of them were very sad." Everyone listened to her tone of voice, as if she was telling a story to a child. They expected to imitate her father's tone back then, and they all thought: Although there is a word "Buddha" in the nickname of the Golden-faced Buddha, it is said that he hates evil and hates others. The shot is fierce, but he is so gentle and loving to his daughter.Just listen to her continue to talk: "In a few years, they decided not to look for this righteous brother anymore. After the three of them discussed it, they all said that the traitor who killed the hero is now crowned king and enjoying good fortune in Yunnan, and decided to assassinate him." Kill him to avenge the great hero and righteous brother. So the three of them set off for Yunnan." Brothers Liu Yuanhe and Xiong Yuanxian looked at each other, knowing that the traitor she mentioned was Wu Sangui who was named King Pingxi. Miao Ruolan said again: "The three of them arrived in Kunming and visited before and after the residence of the big traitor. On the night of the fifth day of March, the three of them took hidden weapons and entered through the wall. The big traitor was very well prepared. After entering, the guards found out. The three men were highly skilled in martial arts. As soon as they made a move, more than 20 guards were either dead or injured. One person came out to stand in front of the big traitor. When the three of them saw it, they couldn't help being shocked. It turned out that this person was the brother-in-law they had been looking for for many years. This man was better than them in martial arts. He protected the big traitor and did not allow the three of them to kill him. Surprised and angry, they started fighting with him. Soon dozens of guards poured in outside, and the three of them were outnumbered, so they had to run away. The father-in-law, however, missed and was captured. "The traitor personally interrogated him. The father-in-law yelled at him and scolded him for giving the country to the Tartars. The traitor broke his legs and locked him in prison. The righteous brother probably felt embarrassed, so he secretly went to the prison and released him. Go out. After the meeting between the husband-in-law and the father-in-law of the doctor and the father-in-law of Huazi, the three of them cried with each other in their arms. They really didn't expect that the elder brother Yiyi would defect to the enemy. The three of them inquired secretly, and found out something even more disgusting. It turned out that the three people rushed out from Jiugong Mountain to ask for help. The righteous brother waited for several days without seeing any reinforcements. He killed the hero himself and surrendered to the enemy. The Manchu emperor appointed him a high-ranking official, and now he is under the hands of the traitor Be an admiral." When everyone heard this, their faces changed color.They all heard that King Chuang was murdered in Jiugong Mountain, some said it was killed by ordinary people, some said it was killed by officers and soldiers, but they didn't know that the murderer was actually his confidant guard. Miao Ruolan sighed, and said: "The three of them have confirmed their investigation, and they are determined to settle accounts with him. Only the three of them are hard to defeat him, and now his father-in-law is injured, so he is not an opponent. He was hesitating, and suddenly the brother-in-law A letter was sent to invite the three of them to drink in Dianchi Lake on the evening of March 15th. "The three of them know that he must have tricks, but they think he knows the movement of the three of them's residence clearly. He has great power here, and he can't avoid it if he wants to. The matter has come to this point, even if it is a dragon's lake and a tiger's lair, he has no choice but to break into it. When we get there On the same day, the three of them went to the Dianchi Lake for an appointment with weapons hidden on their bodies. They saw him waiting there, alone, without any relatives and guards, and wearing coarse green clothes, just like when the four of them were in the army. They wore the same clothes. The four of them bought some cooked meat, roast chicken, and steamed buns in a small hotel, and made more than a dozen catties of white wine. They boarded a boat and went to Dianchi Lake to enjoy the moon and eat. "While drinking, the four of them talked about the heroic things they had done together in the army. Seeing that he never mentioned the name of the great hero, the three of them refrained from saying it. But seeing that he had a big bowl and a big bowl Drinking in a bowl, seeing the moon reaching the climax, he looked up to the sky and shouted: "Three brothers, we have survived many hardships and died, and finally we can meet again after a long absence. I am so happy today!"" Such a bold and unrestrained sentence, uttered by a gentle and elegant girl, is quite nondescript, but everyone was intimidated by the tense situation in the story, so they didn't care. She said again: "The father-in-law who pretended to be a doctor couldn't bear it anymore, and said with a sneer: 'You are a high-ranking official, and you enjoy the glory and wealth, so you are naturally happy. I just don't know what the king is thinking now?' That great hero Later he became the emperor, but the four guards kept calling him the king. "The righteous brother sighed and said: 'Oh, the king must be very lonely. When the big event here is over, I will instruct the three brothers to visit the king.' "When the three of them heard this, they were all furious. They said in their hearts, "Well, you still want to kill the three of us and tell us to go to the Underworld to meet the king." The father-in-law winked at him, lifted the jug and poured a glass of wine to the brother-in-law, and said, "What happened to the king after the farewell at the top of Jiugong Mountain that day?" The brother-in-law raised his eyebrows and said, "Today, we will invite three brothers. Come on, just to talk about this.' The beggar father suddenly pointed his hand behind his back and shouted, "Hey, who is here?" "The righteous brother turned his head to look, and called Hua Gonggong and Langzhong's father-in-law to come out with two swords. One knife cut off his right arm, and the other cut into his vest, penetrating several inches. The righteous brother yelled, turned his head, Stretching out his left arm, he has snatched the two knives and thrown them into the Dianchi Lake. With his palm, he has grabbed the acupoints on the doctor's father-in-law's chest. With a pale face, he shouted: "The four of us are married to Jinlan, why... why Shi Plotting to hurt me?' The father-in-law gave him this arrest, and he couldn't move at once. The father-in-law raised his knife and shouted: "You killed the king, betrayed the master and asked for glory, and you still have the face to mention the word loyalty?" "The righteous brother kicked the knife away in his hand, and said with a big laugh, "Okay, okay! Be righteous, have righteousness." The three of them couldn't help seeing that his arm was chopped off and he was seriously injured, but he was still so brave. Everyone was stunned. As soon as the righteous brother finished laughing, he burst into tears and said, "It's a pity, it's a pity that I can't make it!" Then he relaxed the doctor's father-in-law. The beggar's father-in-law was afraid that he would do another poisonous hand, so he punched hard,正中他胸膛。这一拳使的是重手法，力道惊人，那义兄'哇'的一声，喷出一口鲜血，忽地提起左掌，击在船舷之上，只击得木屑纷飞，船舷缺了一块。他苦笑道：'我虽受重伤，要杀你们，仍易如反掌。但你们是我好兄弟，我怎舍得啊！' “那三人一齐退在船梢，并肩而立，防他暴起伤人。那义兄叹道：'今日之事，千万不可泄漏。倘若给我儿子知道，你们三个不是他对手。我当自刎而死，以免你们负个戕害义兄的恶名。'说着抽出单刀，在颈中一割，俯跌下去。脚夫公公心中不忍，抢上去扶住，叫道：'大哥！'那义兄道：'好兄弟，做哥哥的去了。大王的军刀大有干系，他……老人家是在石门峡……'这句话没说完，咽喉流血，死在船中。 “三人望着他的尸身，又难过，又痛快，只见他用来自刎的那柄刀上刻着十四个字，认得就是那位大英雄的军刀。” 众人听到此处，眼光一齐转过去望着宝树手中的那柄短刀。刘元鹤忽然摇头道：“我不信。”陶百岁怒喝：“你知道什么？”刘元鹤道：“那李自成流血千里，杀人如麻，怎会下这十四字军令？”众人一怔，不知所对。 于管家忽然接口道：“闯王杀人如麻，是谁见来？”刘元鹤道：“人人都这般说，难道是假的？”于管家道：“你们居官之人，自然说他胡乱杀人。其实闯王杀的只是贪官污吏、土豪劣绅。这些本就算不得是人。'杀一人如杀我父'之令，是不许部属妄杀一个好人，这话一点儿也不错。” 刘元鹤欲待再辩，但见他英气逼人，顿然住口不说。熊元献意欲打开僵局，道：“苗姑娘，后来怎样？请你说下去。” 苗若兰道：“脚夫公公说道：'他说大王在石门峡，那是什么意思？'郎中公公道：'难道他说大王葬在石门峡？'叫化公公摇头道：'这人奸恶之极，临死还要骗人。'原来大英雄死后，汉奸将他的遗体送到北京去领赏。皇帝将大英雄的首级挂在城门上号令示众。三名卫士冒了奇险，将首级盗来，早已葬在一个险峻万分、人迹不到的所在。那义兄说他在石门峡，三人自然不信。 “三人杀了义兄后，又去行刺那大汉奸，但大汉奸防范周密，数次行刺都不成功，而他们大义杀兄的事，却在江湖上传开来了。武林中的英雄好汉听到，都翘起大拇指，赞一声：'杀得好！'消息传到了那义兄的家乡，他儿子十分悲伤，就赶到昆明来为父亲报仇。” 陶百岁接口道：“那做儿子的这就不是了。虽然说父仇不共戴天，但他父亲做了奸恶之事，人人得而诛之，这仇不报也罢。” 苗若兰道：“我爹当时也这样说，可是那儿子的想法却大大不同。他到了昆明，不久就在一座破庙之中找到三人，动起手来。这儿子武功得到父亲真传，那三人果然不是对手，斗了不到半个时辰，三人为他一一打倒。 “那儿子道：'三位叔叔，我爹爹忍耻负辱，甘愿负一个卖主求荣的恶名，你们怎懂得其中深义？瞧着你们和我爹爹结义一场，今日饶了你们性命。快快回家去料理后事，明年三月十五是我爹爹死忌，我当来登门拜访。'他说了这番话后，夺了那大英雄的军刀，扬长而去。 “这时已是隆冬，那三人当即北上，将三家家属聚在一起，详详细细地将当日舟中喋血之事说了。大家都道：'他害死大英雄，保护大汉奸，自己又做满清皇帝手下大官，还能有什么深意？他儿子强辞狡辩，说出话来没人能信。'江湖朋友得到讯息，纷纷赶来仗义相助。 “到了三月十五那天晚上，那儿子果然孤身赶到。” 众人眼望苗若兰，等她继续述说，却见小丫头琴儿走将过来，手里捧了一个套着锦缎套子的白铜小火炉，放在她的怀里。 苗若兰低声道：“去点一盘香。”琴儿答应了，不一会捧来一个白玉香炉，放在她身旁几上。只见一缕青烟，从香炉顶上雕着的凤凰嘴中袅袅吐出，众人随即闻到淡淡幽香，似兰非兰，似麝非麝，闻着甚是舒泰。 苗若兰道：“我独自个在房，点这素馨。这里人多，怎么又点这个？”琴儿笑道：“我当真糊涂啦。”捧起香炉，去换了一盘香出来。苗若兰道：“这里风从北来，北边虽没窗，但山顶风大，有些风儿漏进来。你瞧这香炉放对了么？”琴儿一笑，将小几端到西北角放下，又给小姐泡了一碗茶，这才走开。 众人都想：“金面佛苗人凤身为一代大侠，却把个女儿娇纵成这般模样。”只见她慢慢拿起盖碗，揭开盖子，瞧了瞧碗中的茶叶与玫瑰花，轻轻啜了一口，缓缓放下，众人只道她要说故事了，哪知道她却说：“我有些儿头痛，要进去休息一会。诸位伯伯叔叔请宽座。”说着站起身来，入内去了。 众人相顾哑然。曹云奇第一个忍耐不住，正要发作，田青文向他使个眼色。曹云奇话到口边，又咽了下去。苗若兰进去不久，随即出来，只见她换了一件淡绿皮袄，一条鹅黄色百褶裙，脸上洗去了初上山时的脂粉，更显得淡雅宜人，风致天然。原来她并非当真头痛，却是去换衣洗脸。琴儿跟随在后，拿了一个银狐垫子放在椅上。苗若兰慢慢坐下，这才缓缓说道：“这天晚上，郎中公公家里大开筵席，请了一百多位江湖上成名的英雄豪杰，静候那义兄的儿子到来。等到初更时分，只听得托的一声响，筵席前已多了一人。厅上好手甚多，却没一个瞧清楚他是怎么进来的。只见他约莫二十岁上下年纪，身穿粗布麻衣，头戴白帽，手里拿着一根哭丧棒，背上斜插单刀。他不理旁人，径向郎中、叫化、脚夫三个公公说道：'三位叔父，请借个僻静处所说话。' “三位公公尚未答话，昆仑派的一位前辈英雄叫道：'男子汉大丈夫，有话要说便说，何须鬼鬼祟祟？你父卖主求荣，我瞧你也非善类，定是欲施奸计。三位大哥，莫上了这小贼的当。'只听得啪啪啪、啪啪啪六声响，那人脸上吃了六记耳光，哇的一声，口吐鲜血，数十枚牙齿都撒在地下。对方出手太快，他全无抵御之能，闪避也自不及。 “席上群豪一齐站起，惊愕之下，大厅中百余人竟尔悄无声息，均想：此人身法怎地如此快法？那昆仑派的名宿受此重创，吓得话也说不出口。那儿子纵上前去打人时群豪并未看清，退回原处时仍是一晃即回，这一瞬之间倏忽来去，竟似并未移动过身子。那三位公公与他父亲数十年同食共宿，知道这是他家传的'飞天神行'轻功绝技，只是他青出于蓝，似乎犹胜乃父。那儿子道：'三位叔叔，倘若我要相害，在昆明古庙之中何必放手？现下我有几句要紧话说，旁人听了甚是不便。' “三人一想不错。那郎中公公当下领他走进内堂一间小房。大厅上百余位英雄好汉停杯相顾，侧耳倾听内堂动静。 “约莫过了一顿饭功夫，四人相偕出来。郎中公公向群雄作了个四方揖，说道：'多谢各位光临，足见江湖义气。'群雄正要还礼，却见他横刀在颈中一划，登时自刎而死。群雄大惊，待要抢上去救援，却见叫化公公与脚夫公公抢过刀来，先后自刎，这个奇变来得突然之极，群雄中虽有不少高手，却没一个来得及阻拦。 “那义兄的儿子跪下来向三具尸体拜了几拜，拾起三人用以自刎的短刀，一跃上屋。群雄大叫：'莫走了奸贼！'纷纷上屋追赶，那人早不见了踪影。 “三位公公的子女抱着父亲的尸身，放声大哭。群雄探询三人家属奴仆，竟没一个得知这四人在密室中说些什么，更不知那儿子施了什么奸计，逼得三人当众自杀。群雄见三位英雄尸横当地，个个气愤填膺，立誓要为三人报仇。 “只是那儿子从此销声匿迹，不知躲到了何处。三位公公的子女由群雄抚养成人。群雄怜他们的父亲仗义报主，却落得惨遭横祸，无不用心抚育教导。三家子女本已从父亲学过家传武功，有了根基，再得明师指点，到后来融会贯通，各自卓然成家。”她说到这里，轻轻叹了口气，喟然道：“他们武功越强，报仇之心愈切。练了武功到底对人是祸是福，我可实在想不明白。” 宝树见她望着炉火怔怔出神，众人却急欲听下文，于是接口道：“苗姑娘这故事说得十分动听。她虽不提名道姓，各位自然也都知道，故事中的义兄，是闯王第一卫士姓胡的飞天狐狸，那脚夫公公姓苗，化子公公姓范，郎中公公姓田。三家后人学得绝技后各树一帜，苗家武功称为苗家剑，姓范的成为兴汉丐帮中的头脑，姓田的到后来建立了天龙门。” 阮士中、殷吉虽是天龙前辈，但本门的来历却到此刻方知，不由得暗自惭愧。 宝树又道：“这苗范田三家后代，二十余年后终于找到了那姓胡的儿子。那时他正身患重病，被三家逼得自杀。从此四家后人辗转报复，百余年来，没一家的子孙能得善终。我自己就亲眼见过这四家后人一场惊心动魄的恶斗。” 苗若兰抬起头来，望着宝树道：“大师，这故事我知道，你别说了。”宝树道：“这些朋友们却不知道，你说给大伙儿听吧。”苗若兰摇头道：“那一年爹爹跟我说了这四位公公的故事之后，接着又说了一个故事。他说为了这件事，他迫得还要杀一个人，须得磨利那柄剑。只是这故事太悲惨了，我一想起心里就难受，真愿我从来没听爹说过。”她沉默了半晌，道：“那是在我出世之前十年的事。不知那个可怜的孩子怎样了，我真盼望他好好活着。” 众人面面相觑，不知她所说的“可怜孩子”是什么人，又怎与眼前之事有关？众人望望苗若兰，又望望宝树，静待两人之中有谁来解开这疑团。 站在一旁侍候茶水的一个仆人忽然说道：“小姐，你好心有好报。想来那个可怜的孩子一定好好活着。”他话声嘶哑。众人一齐转头，只见他白发萧索，已过中年，缺了一条右臂，用左手托着茶盘，一条粗大的刀疤从右眉起斜过鼻子，一直延到左边嘴角。众人心想：“此人受此重伤，居然还能挨了下来，实是不易。” 苗若兰叹道：“我听了爹爹讲的故事之后，常常暗中祝告，求老天爷保佑这孩子长大成人。只是我盼望他不要学武，要像我这样，一点武艺也不会才好。” 众人一怔，都感奇怪：“瞧她这副文雅秀气的样儿，自是不会武艺，但她是'打遍天下无敌手'金面佛苗大侠的爱女，难道她父亲竟不传授一两手绝技给她？” 苗若兰眼见众人脸色，已知大家心意，说道：“我爹说道，百余年来，胡苗范田四家子孙怨怨相报，没一代能得善终。任他武艺如何高强，一生不是忙着去杀人报仇，就是防人前来报仇。一年之中，难得有几个月安乐饭吃，就算活到了七八十岁高龄，仍不免给仇家杀了。练了武功非但不能防身，反足以致祸。因此我爹立下一条家训，自他以后，苗门的子孙不许学武。他也决不收一个弟子。我爹说道：纵然他将来给仇人杀了，苗家子弟不会武艺，自然无法为他报仇。那么这百余年来越积越重的血债，愈来愈纠缠不清的冤孽，或许就可一笔勾销了。” 宝树合十道：“善哉，善哉！苗大侠能如此大彻大悟，甘愿让盖世无双的苗家剑剑法自他而绝，虽是武林的大损失，却也是一件大大善事。” 苗若兰见那脸有刀疤的仆人目中发出异光，心中微感奇怪，向宝树道：“我进去歇歇，大师跟各位伯伯叔叔，失陪了。”说着裣衽行礼，进了内堂。 宝树道：“苗姑娘心地仁慈，不忍再听此事。她既有意避开，老衲就跟各位说说。” 这一日自清晨起到此刻，只不过几个时辰，日未过午，但各人已经历了不少突兀之事，心中积下不少疑团，何况又与一己生死有关，都急欲明白真相。 只听宝树说道：“自从闯王的四大卫士相互仇杀以后，四家子孙百余年来斫杀不休。只是那姓胡的卖主求荣，为武林同道所共弃，所以每次大争斗，胡家子孙势孤，十九落在下风。可是胡家的家传武功厉害无比，每隔三四十年，胡家定有一两个杰出的子弟出来为上代报仇，不伦是胜是败，总是掀起了满天腥风血雨。 “苗范田三家虽人众力强、得道多助，但胡家常在暗中忽施袭击，令人防不胜防。雍正初年，苗范田三家为了争夺掌管闯王的军刀，起了争执。偏巧胡家又出了一对武功极高的兄弟，一口气伤了三家十多人。三家急了，由田家出面，邀请江湖好手，才齐心合力杀了胡氏兄弟。这一年大江南北的英雄豪杰聚会洛阳，结盟立誓，从此闯王军刀由天龙门田氏执掌，若胡家后人再来寻衅生事，由天龙田氏拿这口军刀号召江湖好汉，共同对付。天下英雄只要见到军刀，纵使身有天大的要事，也都得搁下应召赴义。 “这件事过得久了，后人也渐渐淡忘了。只是天龙门掌门对这口宝刀一直珍视万分。听说天龙门后来分为南宗北宗，两宗每隔十年，轮流掌管宝刀。阮师兄、殷师兄，我说得可对么？” 阮士中和殷吉齐声道：“大师的话不错。” 宝树笑了笑道：“事隔多年，天龙门门下虽然都知这口刀是本门的镇门之宝，但此刀到底来历如何，却已极少有人考究。时日久了，原也难怪。只是和尚有一事不明，却要请教曹兄。”曹云奇大声道：“什么事？”宝树道：“老衲曾听人说过，天龙门新旧掌门交替之时，老掌门必将此刀来历说与新掌门知晓。怎地曹兄荣为掌门，竟然不知？难道田归农田老掌门忘了这条门规么？” 曹云奇涨红了脸，待要说话，田青文接口道：“寒门不幸，先父突然去世，来不及跟曹师哥详言。”宝树道：“这就是了。唉，此刀我已第二次瞧见。首次见到之时，屈指算来已是二十七年之前的事了。”田青文心道：“苗姑娘约莫十七八岁年纪，她说那是她出世之前十年的事，正是二十七年之前。那么这和尚见到此刀，看来会与苗姑娘所说的事有关。”
Notes: 关于李自成进军北京前后的军纪问题，以及他为当时形势胁迫而无法严格维持军纪一事，作者在中曾有叙述。因内地评论者颇有持“左”派偏颇观点而非议之者，故注释中曾引中共诸领袖之言论，表示应实事求是，不应单凭主观好恶而歪曲事实。作者并非认为凡领导首长，意见必定正确，只表示若只凭首长指示而评论文艺，则不妨广泛看看多位首长的意见。这些意见，承华东师大黄丽镛先生及其千金赐书提供，谨对黄先生及黄小姐表示谢意。 以李自成为主角的长篇小说，说到篇幅之巨、内容之丰富，自以姚雪垠的五卷本《李自成》为首。我所不能赞同的，是他“主题先行”的写作主张，要将“古代别的人物的优秀品质和才干集中到他的身上”（《李自成》第一卷前言），要“以阶级斗争为纲，努力写好阶级斗争，反映历史的客观规律”（《姚雪垠给江晓天的信》），以致刘再复先生评《李自成》为一卷不如一卷，愈写愈差。刘先生归纳许多评者的意见，认为原因在于“一由姚先生贪大求全，有人归因于他写作靠录音和秘书整理，又有人认为在于姚先生坚持'三突出''高大完美'等文学观念，按这种理论精心设计人物……人为地把古人现代化，甚至把古人经典化。”（刘再复、刘绪原：《刘再复谈文字研究与文字论争》，《文汇月刊》一九八八年第二期） 不过姚先生在《〈李自成〉第五卷创作情况汇报》一文中所谈“左思潮在文学领域的影响”的一段话，我是很同意的，现引述如下以供参考：“……由于'左'的思潮在文学领域的影响，过去多少年中，大家讳言李自成后期的失去人心，讳言由于传统的封建正统观念，北京城中和四郊人民对李自成的敌视态度，好像李自成是农民革命领袖，广大人民当然拥护。其实不然。……大家讳言大顺军进北京后军纪败坏，讳言在北京的抢劫和奸淫。在'左'的思潮泛滥时期，很多人看见这类史料，简单地斥之为'地主阶级的造谣'，用盲目的阶级偏见对待客观史料，将自己应该注意的历史现象抛开，从而将应该有的思想路子封闭。在十分强调'无产阶级'立场鲜明的年代，很多人在有些重要历史问题上，只敢有现代流行的'阶级观点'，不敢有实事求是的治学态度。”（姚雪垠：《创作体会漫笔》，《文艺理论与批评》一九九〇年第二期）姚先生在写这段文字时，社会上“左”的思潮已较消退，但影响仍然很大，很多人的习惯性思维方法与眼光还是转不过来。 李自成初起时军纪严整，所以本书写了他军刀上所刻的号令。后期军纪就废弛了，本文中不多描述，主要的描述在中。撰写于“左”思潮大泛滥之时，对李自成的描述自以为可能比较公允，比较符合历史事实（当然艺术上颇有不足），其时作者尚在海外左派报纸中工作，其后遭到严重批判斗争及围攻，但此后两次修订，对李自成的描述仍基本上不改。