Chapter 168 Chapter 9 Breaking the Waves and Changhuai River

The original wishful thinking was suddenly disrupted. No wolf came that night. After discussion, Ji Yanran also believed that Mrs. Zhuang was not lying, because Tian Dan's performance during the field hunting was indeed too abnormal, and with Tian Dan's foresight, he would never be in such a one-sided situation. In the passive situation, it is up to Lu Buwei to protect him. To a large extent, Tian Dan would never believe that Lu Buwei could kill Xiang Shaolong.Although Lu Buwei almost did it. Therefore, the army returning from Chu to Chu must have arranged a proper response, and even set up traps to deal with the trailing enemies, but they should not know the existence of Xu Yiran's strange soldiers.

In the end, Xiang Shaolong decided to send Wu Da, who had just recovered, and another Iron Guard Danquan from Pu Bu and Liu Chao's system, to ride fast horses at full speed to intercept Teng Yi, and taught them to change the entire battle plan and only try to delay the battle. Live Tian Dan's army, not to annihilate the opponent. This can delay Tian Dan's journey back to Qi and give them more chances to assassinate him. Since the Liu brothers and Dan Chu were not by Tian Dan's side, Tian Dan's protective net at this time can be said to be the weakest. Before setting off from camp the next morning, Mrs. Zhuang brought her two "sisters" over to discuss the details of Shouchun.

They all took off their veils, and You Cuizhi and You Ningzhiguo looked like sisters, with outstanding looks, but compared to Mrs. Zhuang's unique charming demeanor, they were half a bit inferior. Mrs. Zhuang said with a smile: "They are indeed my sisters, but they are not biological sisters, but they are also members of the Zhuang family!" He also greeted Ji Yanran and his daughters affectionately, and after talking about their admiration, they turned to the main topic: "There are many people in Li Yuan's subordinates who know Mr. Xiang. He is a human being, so we have to rely on some blindfolds to hide it from the people of Chu."

Xiang Shaolong touched his cheeks and chin and said, "I can grow a beard and only go out at night, so that I can avoid people's eyes and ears." Mrs. Zhuang said: "It's not difficult to avoid people's eyes and ears, but the problem is that if you have limited mobility, it will be even more difficult to find opportunities to assassinate Tian Dan. Fortunately, these two good girls of mine know the way of disguise best, and they can do it on Mr. Xiang's face." Thumbs up, unless you meet an acquaintance face to face, you should be able to get away with it."

Ji Yanran said: "Then what is his capacity to meet people?" Mrs. Zhuang said: "Just pretend to be my brother Wan Ruiguang. He was seriously injured during the mutiny. Although he escaped from the Chu state, he has never recovered. He died only three months ago. Shouchun probably didn't know him. His people." Although she spoke in a flat tone, everyone could hear the deep hatred that could not be washed away. Zhao Zhi said compassionately, "How sure are you when Madam returns to Yunnan to deal with the enemy?" Mrs. Zhuang said as if nothing had happened: "At first I wasn't even half sure, but I was just determined to die, and my mother and son went back to fight the thieves while Chu State was too busy to take care of themselves; but now with Xiang Shaolong, I'm very sure."

Xiang Shaolong smiled wryly: "Madam thinks highly of me too much." Mrs. Zhuang smiled and said, "You'd better call me Eldest Sister from now on, and I'll call you Ruiguang. It's still a month's journey from here to Shouchun. I'll tell you about Ruiguang's life experience in detail. Fortunately, Ruiguang is a famous warrior in the northwest, and he has always had a reputation for being mighty, so it is the most suitable for you to pretend to be. Since we are originally from Yunnan and do not have Chu Yin, as long as you study hard, you should be able to deceive the Chu people."

Xiang Shaolong thought to himself that last time he played the role of Dong Ma Chi, this time he played the role of the mighty Wan Ruiguang, if he can fool Tian Dan, it will be really brilliant. Ji Yanran was the most careful, and said, "In what name is Mrs. Zhuang returning to Chujing this time?" Mrs. Zhuang said: "Mr. Chunshen is a good friend of the family. Back then, King Xiaolie was afraid that our Dian Kingdom would grow up and become the hegemon in the southwest, so he instigated Li Ling to join forces with the Yelang people to overthrow our Zhuang family. Nearly 100 people of our Zhuang clan were killed overnight. Thousands of people, Lord Chunshen once tried his best to stop this matter, but he couldn't compete with King Xiaolie, and if he hadn't sent someone to help us, we would never have thought of escaping the Chu territory, so we should go to Lord Chunshen's mansion first this time."

Xiang Shaolong and Ji Yanran looked at each other, letting go of their worries. Now that King Xiaolie is dead, the state of Chu has become a place where Lord Chunshen and Li Yuan compete for hegemony. For Mrs. Zhuang, who is inclined towards Lord Chunshen, killing Tian Dan, who was in collusion with Li Yuan, is naturally nothing. Xiang Shaolong cheered up and said, "Okay! Let's go!" Zhao Zhi said angrily: "Madam still hasn't said what Sister Yanran and I should dress up!" Xiang Shaolong smiled and said, "Of course it's my wife, Wan Ruiguang. As long as she puts on a thicker veil, all problems will be solved."

◇◇◇◇◇◇ For a long time, until the rise of the strong Qin Dynasty, among the countries, Chu was located in the south and had no strong enemies nearby. Therefore, both militarily and economically, it had the security and stability that other countries lacked. In addition, the land in the south is fertile, and there are endless fertile fields outside Dongting Lake, which are only waiting for the people of Chu to develop them, so they are rich and worry-free. At the time of its heyday, the territory of the Chu people covered Yuan and Xiang in the south; Ying and Si in the north; Ba and Shu in the west; and Tan and Huai in the east.Ying and Ru think of Wei, Jiang and Han think of ponds;It almost unified the south, and it was the leading power at the beginning of the Warring States Period.

In addition to annexing many small countries, it also expanded the territories of Dongyi, Nanman and Southwestern Yi, and put them all under the influence of Chu culture. However, just as Ji Yanran analyzed, to govern so many ethnic groups and such a vast territory, a strong and promising government is needed. It is a pity that the people of Chu have never been kings since King Mourning and King Xuan, and King Huai was trapped and died in Qin.Since the central government has lost the power to check and balance, local forces are rising at the right time. King Xiaolie's instigation of the mutiny in Dian was a counterattack against local forces.But the facts haven't changed in any way, it's just that the king surnamed Zhuang has been changed to the king surnamed Li.Now that Hyoyeol has passed away, the chaos has reappeared.Xiang Shaolong and others made a mistake and were forced to catch up with this "big event".

At first glance, the state of Chu seems to be in chaos, but this is not the case. Because the Qin people lost two kings in a row, and Xiao Pan was young, the struggle between the military and Lu Buwei became a tug-of-war, and they had to concentrate all their efforts on defending the Eastern Three Kingdoms. The county, Chu State then gained the situation of partial security in the south. For a long time, due to the booming economy, the life of Chu people is full of leisure and leisure, which is in sharp contrast with the seriousness and tension of Bei people. Ji Yanran spoke very eloquently about this. After leaving the Qinling Mountains, after climbing the undulating mountain road for two days, we finally arrived at the Hanzhong Plain. After Dan Quan and Wu Guang met Teng Yi at Mrs. Zhuang's family, they headed towards Shou Chun. Ji Yanran and Xiang Shaolong rode side by side, and when talking about Chu culture, she said: "Although the Chu people are my subjugated enemies, I have always admired the Chu people's culture. The God of Saturn is not the God of Saturn, but the God of Vulcan, who is soaring and misty; The syllables are euphemistic, the words are colorful, and they are full of mournful and lingering emotions.” Xiang Shaolong said with a little jealousy: "But I can't see these things that sound beautiful in Li Yuan's body." Ji Yanran smiled coquettishly, and after throwing a glance at him, she couldn't help but say, "He's not after you, so he doesn't have time to show off his talent." Letting out a breath of fairy air, he said triumphantly: "That's great! It's rare to hear Mr. Husband speak in such a sour tone." At this time, Mrs. Zhuang sent someone to call and asked them to fall to the rear, so that when the journey was quiet, she could teach them the dialect of Dian.Xiang Shaolong and the others had no choice but to study with a bitter face. At that time, Zhou language was the most popular in the Warring States period, and the royal families and people of some status used it as the language of communication.Due to the different regions, the Zhou dialect is naturally mixed with dialects and expressions from all over the world.So just by listening to the accent, one can tell that he is probably from that place. The three countries with the least differences are Zhao, Wei, and Han, because they all split from Jin. Because of their shallow culture and the neighbors of the Three Jins, the Qin people's accent is very close to the Three Jins. The biggest difference is Chu State. Until now, the Chu people were still ridiculed as "Southern barbarians", and their vocabulary was even more different, so Xiang Shaolong and others had to suffer a lot when they wanted to learn Chu dialect with a Dian accent. The Chu people's base area is centered on the vast area on both sides of the Yangtze River and the blue Dongting Lake, and then developed towards the south. Shouchun is located in the north of the Yangtze River, on the west bank of the Huai River.Compared with the old capital "Ying", which was originally located in the northwest corner of Dongting Lake, it has moved thousands of miles to the east. The country that the people of the Jin Dynasty look down on the most. After walking for five days, they crossed Tongbai Mountain and arrived at "Chengyang", a large city at the west end of Huai River. They found a hotel to stay in, and then Zhuang Kong went out to buy a boat to reduce the hardship of the journey. Since they had to declare their identities and names when they entered the city, they had just packed their bags and horses when they arrived at the hotel, and the government magistrate Qu Shen led his people to pay a visit. Xiang Shaolong let Mrs. Dezhuang take care of it, teasing and joking with his two wives in the room, so as to enjoy the joy of "returning to the world". Mrs. Zhuang came over after a while, sat down on the floor, and said happily: "The problem with the boat has been solved. The magistrate here, Mr. Qu, was very helpful when he knew who I was." Mrs. Zhuang, who had changed into ordinary clothes, had another look. She is wearing the most popular "deep clothes" in this era. The upper and lower skirts are integrated into one piece, and the front of the skirt is covered on the right, and a section is extended to form an oblique angle.From the front to the back, the beauty wears it with a special charm. She is wearing a ponytail, and she tied her hair in a bun, hanging down very low, as if she just fell off a horse. In addition, her charming look, and her bowed gait are really impressive to me. pity. Xiang Shaolong secretly warned himself that he must never fall in love with this beauty, otherwise it will add a lot of troubles.Moreover, he is a person of the 21st century, he is satisfied with having many beautiful wives, and he should be "loyal" to Ji Yanran and others. Ji Yanran was also looking at this charming beauty, she seemed to feel a little threatened, and said indifferently: "I lived in Shouchun for a short time, I don't know if the people from the Dou, Cheng, Yuan, and Qu clans are still the most powerful. Woolen cloth?" Xiang Shaolong immediately thought of Qu Yuan, it turned out that this gentleman was actually a member of the four major clans of the Chu Kingdom, no wonder he could be a high official. Mrs. Zhuang's beautiful eyes swept Xiang Shaolong first, and then said: "The power of the four big clans is no longer as good as before, and now Li Yuan's clan is rising, which is the most powerful clan outside the four big clans, and because Li Yanyan gave birth to a prince , the Li family is like a rising tide. Now that Li Yanyan is the queen mother in power, who is not currying favor with the Li family?" Seeing that Mrs. Zhuang was so clear about Shouchun, Xiang Shaolong couldn't help asking: "Has Li Yuan married Guo Kai's daughter Guo Xiuer?" Mrs. Zhuang nodded and said, "Exactly! I heard that she has another She's pregnant. Li Yuan loves her a lot." Xiang Shaolong's attention could not help but come to the phoenix-shaped jade pendant hanging on his chest, which was given to him by Guo Xiuer before she was ordered by her father to marry Li Yuan. The past is gone.I can't help but feel a little bit sad! Madam Zhuang took a deep look at him, then lowered her head, as if she had seen through the privacy between him and Guo Xiu'er. The second daughter, Ji Zhao, knew about his relationship with Guo Xiu'er, but she didn't care. The former asked, "Has Guo Zong moved his business here?" Mrs. Zhuang frowned and said, "I'm not quite sure about that." Xiang Shaolong felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange, so he changed the topic and said, "Is there a Mrs. Xiu in the royal family? Mrs. Huayang once asked me to give her a gift, but I didn't go to Chu State afterwards." Mrs. Zhuang nodded and said: "I can't remember who it is, but if it is related to my aunt, it must be Mrs. Qingxiu. Her beauty is very famous in the Chu country. She married the general Dou Jie, and she is very loved. Later, Dou Jie fell in love with Yan Fei, the concubine of the doctor Cheng Suning. In a rage, Mrs. Qingxiu moved to a secluded courtyard next to the Huai River in the suburbs of the city. Dou Jie was not allowed to step into the gate, otherwise she would commit suicide immediately. He has won the respect of the people of the country. Since then, Dou Jie has fallen out of favor with King Xiaolie, but now that he is attached to the Li family, his official career has greatly improved." Zhao Zhiqi said: "Then Yan Fei is the concubine of doctor Cheng Suning, why did she get together with Dou Jie?" Mrs. Zhuang said contemptuously: "Cheng Suning is the most boneless person, and Dou Jie is an important minister in the military. With a wink, he will obediently offer up Yan Fei. Today, the biggest obstacle to our Zhuang family's restoration of the country is the people headed by Li Yuan. This group of people, because Li Ling is Li Yuan's cousin clan." Xiang Shaolong couldn't help being greatly stimulated, and when he was about to speak, he knocked on the door and begged to see him. After he entered, he said solemnly: "Something is wrong, just now we found a suspicious person nearby to spy on us, and later when the government ordered Qu Shen to leave , I hid in the car with one of the suspects two streets away and had a conversation. Then all the suspicious people withdrew." Mrs. Zhuang's face changed slightly upon hearing this. Xiang Shaolong smiled calmly: "Looks like they are planning to deal with us on the boat, as long as the boat is sunk, their men can assassinate the young master in the water, and our plan to restore the country will come to an end, really thoughtful. " Mrs. Zhuang said: "Then what should we do? The boatman and helmsman are all their people." Ji Yanran said playfully, "As long as we leave Chengyang, we can have boats and no people. Let's see what Qu Shen can do to us?" ◇◇◇◇◇◇ The next morning the government ordered Qu Shen to see him off in person, and the big ship hoisted its three-masted sails and sailed down the river. There were thirty boatmen on the boat, all of them were strong and sturdy, although they looked respectful, they could tell that they were not kind, but of course Xiang Shaolong would not take it to heart, and sent all the iron guards to take turns to monitor for twelve hours After their movement, they learned the dialect of Dianyin and Chu language while resting as much as possible, so that they could kill Tian Dan as soon as possible after arriving in Shouchun, and then slip away immediately. He was not too worried that people would know his identity, because Tian Dan, Li Yuan and others who knew him well were all of high status, even if he, the "general of subjugation", wanted to meet him, he might not have the chance to meet him, so the chance of meeting him was very small. . The only difficulty is how to grasp Tian Dan's whereabouts. The scenery in the south is different from that in the northwest, beautiful and picturesque, and extremely charming. At the turn of spring and summer, people and boats flow down, flat mountains and distant forests, dotted around, and only the sparkling river flows in a tranquil environment. Along the river, you can see fishing boats fishing in the river from time to time, which makes it hard to think of the never-ending struggle of the heroes of the Warring States Period. The river is meandering, and every time you turn a corner, a different picture will appear in front of you, so that people will never feel dull again. Due to the presence of outsiders, both Ji and Zhao women wore small caps and face scarves, which added an irritating and mysterious beauty. Those boatmen with malicious intentions glanced at their breasts and buttocks from time to time. Obviously, apart from killing people, they also had evil intentions towards the women on board. I don’t know if it’s because of the partiality, but the customs of the Chu people are different from those of the Jin and Qin countries. The most obvious thing is that married women wear all kinds of veils when they go out. In addition to wearing crowns and draping gauze, there are also headscarves tied in a bun and then extended to cover the face. This kind of headscarves are all made of gauze with sparse holes, but because of the light texture, when they are covered on the face, the inside is mysterious. Ruoyin.Add more attractive allure.After putting it on beauties like Ji Yanran and Zhao Zhi, it was even more unbelievable. Xiang Shaolong was so tired that he also hoped that the night would fall soon. After these days, Xiang Shaolong has grown an inch-long beard on his face, which not only changed the shape of his face, but also made him more masculine and domineering. Beards were very common in that era, especially civil servants, who often wore long beards; military commanders often wore short beards, so it was unusual to have a white face without a beard. When Xiang Shaolong and his two daughters were admiring the beautiful scenery at the bow of the boat, Zhuang Kong came to his side and said in a low voice: "Before reaching Qisi County upstream, there is a section of water that is very deep and turbulent, with dangerous beaches and cliffs facing each other. If you want to do it, that should be the best place." Xiang Shaolong said in a deep voice, "When can we get there?" Zhuang Kong replied, "We should be able to get there after dark." After Zhuang Kong left, Xiang Shaolong looked at the river and sighed. Zhao Zhi asked in surprise: "My lord, you are not worried about these little thieves, are you?" Xiang Shaolong smiled wryly: "Although they are little thieves, they have ruined the plan to have a carnival on the bed with my two lovely wives tonight. Do not sigh angrily." The two girls giggled, indescribably alluring.