Chapter 3 third chapter

Jin Hui was startled: How does this person know the origin of this sword?He immediately picked up the sword from the table, and took a closer look, and saw a dragon carved on the end of the silver sheath, which was so lifelike that it was gratifying, apart from that, there was no trace of the royal family.But Tang Dynasty was originally an enlightened country, from high officials to civilians, there were not a few weapons decorated with dragons.Although this approach was not in line with etiquette, the forgiving Emperors of the Tang Dynasty did not pursue it.Especially after the "Anshi Rebellion", the majesty of the royal family disappeared, and the local feudal towns were divided into one side, and acts of arrogance abound.Since Zheng Tian worked in the Ministry of War, Jin Hui had seen countless swords and swords handed down when he was practicing under him. He had seen this sword as a gift from his teacher Wang Qize before. Pick one of the blades.At that time, he refused to accept the gift, because after all, it was a gift from the late emperor, not to mention the honor that the teacher exchanged with blood and military exploits.But the person in front of him didn't know the details, and he could recognize that it belonged to the late emperor just by looking at the hilt of the sword. How could this not surprise Jin Hui?

"Dare to ask, how did you know that this is the property of the late emperor?" Hearing Jin Hui's question, the man looked calm instead, stroked his beard under his jaw with one hand, and replied confidently: "There are many swords and swords decorated with dragon patterns in the world, but most of them are local craftsmen relying on their own speculation. Carved and decorated. The royal sword has its own exclusive casting technique, and even the smallest details will definitely not be disposed of hastily. Please look at the strong man, the eyes of this beaulieu dragon are extremely vivid, and this alone is definitely not something that folk craftsmen can do. Looking at these dragon teeth, each one has traces of decorative sulfur cassiterite, which in my Tang Dynasty, I am afraid that only Xishi Yang's family would do this."

"Xishi Yang?" Jin Hui was at a loss for the name. "The surname of this family is Yang. They have been craftsmen for generations. Their ancestors lived in Xingyuan Mansion, Shannan Road. Xingyuan produces tin. This family likes to use tin stone to leave traces on the casting process, so people in the industry call it tin stone Yang. About five Ten years ago, after Emperor Jingzong ascended the throne, Lao Xishi Yang was called as an imperial craftsman, and his descendants stayed in Chang'an since then, so I concluded that this sword should come from the palace. According to legend, six years ago, Pang Xun in Guizhou conspired against the rebellion. After the rebellion was suppressed, the late emperor Yizong rewarded meritorious ministers with countless royal objects. I guess that this sword flowed out of the palace at that time. However, I don’t understand how this sword got into the hands of a strong man. Seeing that a strong man is so young, he would not have seen it six years ago. For the counter-rebellion heroes..."

What he said made Jin Hui feel admiration in his heart, and he knew that today he met a connoisseur of knowledge of treasures. Just because of his talented remarks and precise eyesight, this person is by no means an ordinary person. "I admire the exquisite insight of your step. Yes, this sword is a reward for my teacher's meritorious service. On the day of parting, I will give it to you. I am not good at learning, and I am ashamed to accept it." "So it's like this... strong man, your sword... can you... sell it..." Jin Hui secretly laughed, thinking that this person is so ignorant, since he knows that this treasure has a good history and is quite meaningful, how can he sell it at will.He sneered and said, "Is there any reason to resell the gift from the benefactor?"

But the man did not give up, and continued to ask: "Is it true that the strong man no longer thinks about it? If I agree, I will be willing to give up tens of millions of gold and silver." "Forgive me to tell you the truth, although this sword is a palace item, it is not a high-quality weapon. I wonder how much money you are willing to give in exchange for this ordinary sword?" Seeing that Jin Hui let go, the man leaned forward, took out two jade finger rings from his pocket, and put them on the table.Jin Hui can be considered a person who has seen the world, and he weighed it in his heart, these two fingers are indeed from rare and precious jadeite, if you want to exchange this sword for him, in terms of price alone, you will not suffer a loss.Unexpectedly, the man leaned over his head and said in a low voice: "Strong man, I traveled in a hurry and did not bring much money. If you want, I still have twenty gold bars with me, plus these two finger rings, which I will share with you." !"

Hearing this, Jin Hui was shocked again.These two fingers alone are already priceless, this man also added twenty pieces of gold.And even if he gets this sword from a pawn shop, if he meets an uninformed shopkeeper, he can exchange it for one or two hundred coins at most. If it is someone else, he will definitely be willing to this deal.Jin Hui was first surprised why this person was willing to spend such a huge amount of money to make this loss-making business; secondly, he was amazed that this person had a huge amount of money on him, but from the sound of it, this little gold seemed like a drop in the bucket to him.However, the surprise is the surprise, Jin Hui is not a greedy person, not to mention that this sword is a gift from his teacher, how can he give it to others so easily?

"With one step of my mind, I accept it with my heart. The gift from my teacher is so deep and meaningful that it cannot be compared with gold and silver. Forgive me, it is really hard to obey." "Heh..." The man nodded approvingly, "The strong man is so affectionate and righteous, he treats money like dung, I admire, admire!" Then he cupped his fists at Jin Hui, "Soldier, can you tell me your name? , I would like to climb high and make you a friend." "Don't dare, I'm in Xia Jinhui, and my ancestors live in Xuzhou. Dare to ask your surname and name."

"My surname is Meng, and my name is Yanfan. My family is in Luoyang, and my ancestors live in the south of the Yangtze River." This conversation brought the two of them closer. "Brother Meng, I don't understand, why are you willing to exchange your blood for such a precious sword?" Meng Yanfan laughed: "I am in the business, specializing in jewelry, jade, antiques, calligraphy and paintings. I have read countless treasures in my life, but I only love to collect the treasures of my Tang Dynasty, especially the rewards given by the emperor to the heroes. I would be willing to give up half of my family property even if it is dozens of pieces of gold! To be honest, I have collected hundreds of such treasures in my home, including the saber given to Wei Zheng by Emperor Taizong and the imperial concubine bestowed by Emperor Xuanzong. Ruyi..."

"Hehe, although brother Meng is rich, it's hard to find such a free and easy way to spend a lot of money for the things you love!" The two chatted for about an hour, and waited until the sun was westward.Meng Yanfan happened to pass by Da Wuyang when he came, and he pointed out the shortcut to Jinhui, and he himself wanted to go north to Xuzhou to visit his brother, so the two said goodbye at the door of the small shop.When parting, Meng Yanfan repeatedly told him that if he had difficulties making a living in the future, he must go to the jade and antique shop of Meng Zihao in Luoyang to look for him.Jin Hui thanked him again and again, and then he put his sword on his back, got on his horse, and went to Wuyang alone to find his old friend.

Let's say that the gangster who didn't know Jinhui in Jishang back then was named Wang Jian, and his name was Guangtu. He used to live in Xiangcheng, and then he followed his father to flee famine and came to Wuyang area.Wang Jian was eight at home, and although Jin Hui was one year older than him, he still called him "Mynah".Jin Hui and Wang Jian hit it off right away. Although he admired his good boxing and kicks, he also liked Wang Jian's loyalty.A group of poor local children gathered around Wang Jian before, some of them were older than him.Sometimes the family can't get rid of the pot, and these half-grown children will also do some stealing to make a living.Jin Hui also participated in it once or twice, and every time he came back with a "victory", Wang Jian would share the "results" equally with everyone, so as time went on, these children all obeyed him.Therefore, he was not surprised when he heard from his father that his old friend was doing private salt business.He could even imagine that Wang Jianhui would still share the profits equally as before.

Jin Hui arrived at Wuyang before sunset.He didn't enter the county seat, but went straight to the north of the city where Guangtu lived in his memory. Around a small creek, the front is the familiar wheat field.There has been no harvest for many years, and the site has been abandoned for a long time.Looking west along the ridge road, you can clearly see dozens of scattered families scattered in the vast plain.The afterglow of the setting sun in the west makes half of the sky red. If you can see the smoke from the cooking at this time, it will be a peaceful and beautiful picture.However, the world is ruthless. If the people in the Central Plains can have a full mouthful of food, who would risk their lives to steal and sell salt, or even rise up? Jin Hui was walking along the field ridge with his horse when he suddenly saw a person walking out of the village path from a distance.The man lowered his head, wore a wide-brimmed bamboo hat, a knife at his waist, and a tight-fitting belt all over his body, and he was on his way in a hurry.The red sun dragged the man's shadow very long, and every posture of that person walking quickly was exaggerated and magnified several times by the shadow.There was a burst of joy in Jin Hui's heart, he really wanted to see who would come.No need to look closely at the face of the person who came, Jin Hui is very familiar with the way his hands are swaying when he is on the road—except for Wang Jian and Wang Guangtu, who else is it! Jin Hui originally wanted to go straight forward and shout "Myna", but suddenly, he had a thought, wanting to take advantage of this long-lost reunion to find the feeling of the two meeting each other for the first time.Thinking of this, he took out a black cloth from his waist and covered his face... At this time, Wang Jian was approaching, only a hundred steps away from him, and he was still hurrying with his head down.Jin Hui suddenly ran forward quickly, and when he was five steps away from Wang Jian, he suddenly pulled out the sword from his waist. The blade of the sword was unsheathed and vibrated in the air a few times, and it went straight to Wang Jian's throat like a silver-white water snake. When Jin Hui appeared, Wang Jian had already sensed something strange in front of him, and his right hand quietly touched the handle of the knife.The moment Jin Hui drew his sword, the treasured saber in Wang Jian's hand flew out of the scabbard with a clatter, and the two blades scratched a few sparks in the air like this.Jin Hui withdrew his sword quickly, and rushed towards Wang Jian's left shoulder. Wang Jian bowed his head, and the sword dropped the bamboo hat on his head to the ground. Wang Jianzheng was hurrying on his way, but unexpectedly on the way, a masked man he didn't know on the way robbed him without any explanation.After the two met for ten times, Wang Jian couldn't help but feel strange: this man's sword was fast and fierce, but except for the first straight stab at his throat, every other sword did not go to his vital point, as if it was a friend's martial arts competition.His curiosity was aroused, and he was eager to see the true face of this person.He betrayed an opening, and the man slid the retracted sword towards his right arm as expected—a flash of lightning, and Wang Jian unexpectedly slashed at Jinhui's sword with his backhand. Turning lightly for half a circle, changing his steps quickly, the index finger and middle finger of his right hand tore off the black cloth covering Jin Hui's face with lightning speed. Jin Hui was terrified by Wang Jian's series of surprisingly fast movements. He thought that he could surprise his old friend after seven years of hard work, but he really didn't expect that Wang Jian had developed such skills in the past few years.In an instant, the two looked at each other.The moment Wang Jian saw Jin Hui's face clearly, he couldn't help being stunned.The air seemed to be frozen for several seconds, Wang Jiancai seemed to wake up from a dream, and shouted in surprise and joy: "Guangyuan, it's you!"