Chapter 3 first quarter

Yang Ping let out a breath of white air, the bowstring of the beef tendon in his hand had been stretched to the limit, the whole bow of the rhino horn made a "creaking" sound, and the cluster of arrows aimed at a deer twenty feet away in front of him. The deer was hiding in a birch forest, peacefully chewing a bunch of withered yellow leaves, unaware of the impending disaster.On such a cold winter day, the sparse woods could not provide any decent shelter, and the bare branches and bushes stretched out in front of it, like a natural cage, enveloping its huge body. What Yang Ping needs to do now is to gently release the index finger and middle finger hooked to the bowstring, and then the sharp arrow clusters will pass through the gaps in the branches in an instant, pierce the brown and yellow fur, cut open the steaming flesh, Heart shattered.

After a moment, or a while, Yang Ping's finger moved. A green plume arrow was shot in response to the string, and it was firmly nailed to the birch trunk only a few inches away from the elk.The frightened elk jumped suddenly, bumping into the trees beside him and shaking for a while, then it flew all four hooves, and fled towards the depths of the woods in a panic, and soon disappeared. Yang Ping stood up, looked up at the empty forest, and showed a meaningful wry smile.He stood up, stuck the rhino horn bow into the soil, went to the woods and pulled out the arrow shaft nailed to the tree trunk, stroked the crooked tail feathers casually, and inserted it back into the quiver.

A young man about his age got up from the snow bank and patted the snow on his body.Yang Ping walked out of the woods and made a gesture of regret.The young man stared at the arrow marks on the birch tree trunk, his eyes flashed with dissatisfaction: "With your aim, will you miss at such a short distance?" "That's a female deer," Yang Ping tried to argue, "Look at her big belly, she may give birth soon." "You are so kind-hearted, you should return the arrow to me!" The young man said angrily, took out the arrow from Yang Ping's quiver and threw it into his own quiver.

Yang Ping smiled apologetically and said, "When I think about a young deer that will be born soon, waiting to be fed, how can I do it. The ancients did not kill Huangkou in war, and they did not get two hairs, let alone a pregnant elk." The young man glared at him angrily: "The elk is giving birth, you say you can't bear to do it; the wild pheasant protects the family, you have to fulfill its righteousness; the swan geese are in charge, and you say that the benevolent will not stop the returning bird-I say you are hunting!" Still giving lectures? We have been lying here all day, but our hands are still empty!" After speaking, he spread his hands and shook them hard a few times.

Yang Ping said: "Zhongda, don't get angry, I'll go to the woods later, maybe I can hunt mountain rabbits and roe deer or something." The young man raised his brows, put away his resentment in an instant, and said lightly: "Forget it...it's getting late, let's go back to the city early, otherwise my father and elder brother will be bothered again." He turned around and left after speaking, leaving Yang Ping behind.Knowing his temper, Yang Ping didn't make any excuses, silently put the bow and arrow on his back, wrapped it in a hemp scarf, and followed him away.

The two walked out of the forest with one foot deep and the other shallow.At the foot of the mountain, there were several Cangtou sitting around the fire to keep warm, and two Xiliang horses were tied to the tree next to them.Seeing the two of them going down the mountain, the Cangtou shouted one after another: "Mr. Sima and Mr. Yang are back." A group of people stepped on the fire, and those who led the horses led the horses. give them. The young man took a gulp from the skin bag, threw it to Yang Ping, and then wobbled onto a mount.Yang Ping took a sip of the wine in embarrassment, handed it to Cangtou, and got on another horse.Seeing that the two of them were empty-handed and knowing that the harvest was not good today, those Cantou dared not ask.The young man looked around and waved his hand: "Go back to the city!"

Cangtou packed up their tent equipment and followed behind the two horses.The young man and Yang Ping walked side by side, but deliberately ignored him, and looked around while holding the rein.His posture of twisting his neck is different from that of ordinary people, his shoulders are not moving, his movements are extremely small, but his speed is very fast, he can turn from one side to the other in an instant, like an extremely vigilant wild wolf. "Actually, I'm quite accurate at horseshoe targets, but when I think about shooting living things, I can't help but feel pity. I heard that a gentleman..."

Hearing Yang Ping's ramblings, the young man suddenly reined in his mount and let out a long sigh: "Heaven and earth are not benevolent, and all things are regarded as dogs. Yihe, you are too weak-tempered. What is the world now, are you still like this?" Pedantic? Haven’t you read the story of Song Xianggong? The kindness of a woman!” Yang Pingdao: "I'm different from you. You have great ambitions. At most, I'm just a talented person. I can be a county magistrate or something, raise people's livelihood, and manage drama with peace of mind. I'm very satisfied." The young man sneered "Our Hanoi is the place of the Four Wars. Count Dong Zhongying, Yuan Benchu, Cao Mengde, Lu Fengxian, Yuan Gonglu, which princes are not eyeing this place? If you want to escape the world and preserve your health, you are afraid that the tree wants to be quiet and the wind does not stop."

After speaking, he swung his whip and slapped the horse's buttocks loudly.The mount neighed, and galloped wildly, running forward by itself, throwing away the people behind by dozens of steps.Yang Ping could only give a wry smile and whip his whip to catch up. A group of Cantou closely followed, panting. This group of people walked onto the official road in a short while, and after walking along the official road for more than an hour, they could vaguely see the undulating outline of the Wai Guo of Wen County in the distance.The youth kept on horseshoeing, and there was only a small figure in the distance left, as if he planned to rush directly into the city.Yang Ping saw that the Cangtou were out of breath and couldn't bear it, so he simply slowed down and let the mounts walk past slowly.

At this time, the sun was setting, and the snow traces on the blue-gray city battlements in the distance could be seen faintly, and a few smoke from cooking rose from the sky above the city wall, and Yang Ping felt a sense of warmth in his heart.Wen County is not his hometown, but it is the place where he grew up, it is his home, there are many relatives and friends, which always makes him feel peaceful.In the final analysis, Yang Ping was a bit sentimental, like a scribe who was good at rhetoric and Fu—although he was outstanding in archery, and he was counted among the masters in Wen County.

Yang Ping was born in the fourth year of Guanghe. His father, Yang Jun, was from Huojia, Hanoi, and was a well-known local wealthy family.Because of the fear of war, his father led more than a hundred families into the mountains to avoid disaster. For some reason, Yang Jun did not take Yang Ping with him, but fostered him in the home of his friend Sima Fang.The Sima family is very powerful in Wen County, with dozens of fortresses and thousands of soldiers, self-defense is not a problem.So Yang Ping grew up in Sima's house since he was a child, and grew up with Sima Fang's sons. The young man who ran at the front of the team was Sima Fang's second son, Sima Yi.Sima Yi and Yang Ping have the best relationship. They play together, study together, fight together, and love each other as brothers.Sima Yi always said that Yang Ping was good in everything else, but this kind of gentle temperament was really not good enough, and he kept trying to correct him.Yang Ping has a modest personality, but he is very stubborn in his bones. The two of them were noisy, and in the blink of an eye, it was the fourth year of Jian'an, Yang Ping was eighteen years old, and Sima Yi was twenty years old, both in their prime. If it was in a peaceful and prosperous age, they would probably rely on their family's power to raise a filial and honest talent in the state and county, and be selected as the minister.After staying in the central government for a few years, you may stay in the Central Dynasty to be a Cao Cao Lingshi, or you may be released as a county magistrate and a county magistrate. To infinite glory. It's a pity that the world is in chaos today, and the so-called "Great Han Dynasty" is left with only a weak monarch and a group of old ministers, who are tossed and fled among various powers, which is terrible.In recent years, Emperor Han had just been able to settle down in Xudu, lingering on his last breath under the protection of Cao Cao.In the past, Qingyun's official career was already full of thorns and thorns.Therefore, the great clans in many places put away their minions one after another, gathered their own children under their wings, and carefully observed the current situation. There are many young people like Sima Yi and Yang Ping across the country, who have passed their weak years, but are still lurking in various places, waiting quietly or anxiously for the time when their wings are overturned. It would be great if we could continue to live like this, hunting and quarreling with Zhong Da, reading a few books, drinking a few jugs of wine... Yang Ping suddenly thought of these for no reason, then pinched his nose mockingly, thinking that Zhong Da The kid will definitely scold me for being worthless again. A rush of horseshoes interrupted his thoughts, Yang Ping took a closer look, but it was Sima Yi who had rushed back on horseback, and there was an old man with him.Yang Ping recognized him as the housekeeper of Sima Fang's residence, and was surprised.In a blink of an eye, Sima Yi and the housekeeper rushed to the front.The old housekeeper said out of breath, "Young Master Yang, your lord has arrived, and he is now in Lord Sima's mansion, and he is anxious to see you." "My father?" Yang Ping was stunned.His father, Yang Jun, had just been dismissed by the court as Chief Quliang, and he had only been in office for less than a month. Why did he leave his post and come to Wen County? Seeing Yang Ping in a daze, Sima Yi patted his horse's head impatiently, and urged, "Hurry up, don't make your father wait." Yang Ping hummed, pulled the horse and left.Sima Yi shouted loudly from behind: "Come and find me after talking, I haven't finished talking yet!" Yang Ping urged the horse to gallop all the way, feeling very surprised.The image of his father Yang Jun in his heart is actually very vague. Since he was fostered in Sima's house, Yang Jun came to visit him very rarely, and his tone was always polite. His mother, who died prematurely, was never even mentioned.He always felt that there was an indescribable barrier between himself and his father, which could not be explained by "rarely seeing each other". Wanting to see him so eagerly like today has never happened before. Could it be that something important happened in Huojia's family? Yang Ping entered Wen County with inexplicable unease.He saw a carriage parked in front of Sima's Mansion. The chest straps of the two bay horses were not removed, the yokes were half lifted, and the coachman was sitting on the driver's seat, ready to whip and set off at any time.There was also a flag on the back of the carriage with a golden dragon embroidered on it, which was completely different from the carriages in Wen County. Yang Ping didn't think much about it, and hurriedly opened the door of the mansion.Turning around the wall, he saw Yang Jun and Sima Fang standing in the courtyard, and Sima Yi's brother Sima Lang and some female relatives were standing far away. Yang Jun is tall and tall, with a dark face and a square Chinese character face that is not angry but powerful, which is quite different from Yang Ping's thin face.What he was wearing today was not an official uniform, but a black robe, and he was holding a two-foot-wide wooden talisman in his hand. "Father." Yang Ping stepped forward to salute, feeling uneasy.He noticed that Yang Jun's face was as deep as water, and he couldn't see any emotion—neither the joy of reuniting with his son, nor the anxiety of an imminent event. Yang Jun took a deep look at him, then turned to Sima Fang and said, "Brother Sima, since the dog has arrived, let's take our leave." Sima Fang wondered, "Don't you want to rest for another day before leaving? Now the city gate is about to close. Why are you so impatient?" Yang Jun waved his big hand: "Sikong Chuanzhao, how can we delay." The talisman drew an arc in mid-air, and Sima Fang had no choice but to shut up embarrassingly. The Big Dipper and Ziwei Star were painted on the tail of the long talisman, and it was also sealed with the seal of Sikong, which represented the will of the entire imperial court—even though the Han Dynasty had declined to the point of failure, the imperial court was an imperial court after all. Yang Ping stood there inexplicably, at a loss for what to do.Sima Fang glanced at his old friend, shook his head, stepped forward to hold Yang Ping's hand and said, "Yihe, congratulations. Your father was conscripted by Cao Sikong as a subordinate, and he is planning to go to Xudu to take up his post. He came here specially to pick you up." "To Xudu? Cao Sikong?" Yang Ping chewed these two words repeatedly.Cao Cao is now "coercing the emperor to order no ministers", his power is at the height of the sky, and he worships Sikong as an official in the court.Such a big man would actually recruit his father to Xudu. He was still a little confused about the meaning of this. At this time Yang Jun said: "The transfer car sent by the imperial court is waiting outside, and we will start on the road immediately. I will send someone to transport your luggage in Sima Mansion to Xudu later, so you don't have to worry about it." Yang Ping opened his mouth wide, and his brain buzzed, a little dazed.What, what's wrong?leave now?There was no time to even pack my luggage.It's just a requisition, and Wen County is only three hundred miles away from Xudu. Even if the post-horse is in a hurry, it will arrive in a day and a night.What happened to make you go in such a hurry? He cast puzzled eyes on Sima Fang.Compared with Yang Jun, this old man is more suitable for the role of father in his mind. Sima Fang smiled wryly and shook his head.It stands to reason that Sikong Kaikai Mansion's expropriation of Cao Yu was a private one, and the imperial court should not have issued a talisman, much less called a "Chuanzhao".Yang Jun's conquest this time, he issued a talisman and an edict, which is very abnormal-and this abnormal "exceeding the control" itself implies a certain kind of eagerness that cannot be uttered.It seems that Yang Jun accurately captured the hidden intentions of this conquest, so he made the decision to go immediately. Sima Fang, who has worked as Jing Zhaoyin, can understand these official ways, but it is difficult to explain them to Yang Ping. He didn't get an answer from Sima Fang, and Yang Ping understood that this decision could no longer be changed.His father's fate is like heaven, Yang Ping has no other choice, he can only lower his head and say, "I know, father." He untied the bow and arrow from his body, walked over to Sima Lang, and said, "Put away this rhino horn bow, please. I guess I won’t need it anymore.” Sima Lang is the eldest son and has a very close relationship with Yang Ping.He took the curved bow in a stuttering manner, not knowing what to say, he could only pat Yang Ping on the shoulder repeatedly, with something flickering in his eyes. Yang Ping smiled: "Tell Zhong Da for me, it seems that there is no time to say goodbye to him." After speaking, Yang Ping stretched out his arms, hugged Sima Lang vigorously, and said in a low voice: "Goodbye, brother. Sima Lang's movements froze all of a sudden, and then he let out a quick gasp from his nose, tears streaming down his face.They have grown up together since they were young, and their relationship is very deep, and they have never been separated.Yang Ping's eye sockets also became moist, but when he thought of his father still looking at him, he tried his best to hold back his tears. Yang Jun urged with a blank face: "It's not too late. After the city gate is closed, it will take a lot of trouble." Yang Ping had no choice but to let go of Sima Lang, and followed Yang Jun out of Sima's mansion step by step.The carriage at the door was still waiting there. When the driver saw them go out, he immediately stood up and yelled a few times. The shaft horse began to kick its hooves, breathing heavily. Although Yang Ping thought that one day he would leave Wen County and Sima's house, he never thought that this day would come so fast, so suddenly, so...inexplicably.He didn't even have time to be sentimental.Yang Ping accidentally caught a glimpse of the Pixiu stone statue in front of Sima Mansion. It had a broken ear, which was broken when he and Sima Yi were playing on it, and he smiled wryly. Yang Jun got into the car first, then Yang Ping held onto the railing beside the car, stepped up lightly, and sat beside his father.Sima Fang who was under the car suddenly grabbed Yang Jun's arm, raised his head and said solemnly: "Nephew Yang Pingxian has grown up in my house for more than ten years, and I regard him as my own son. Brother Yang, you go to Xudu, no matter what happens , keep him safe." Yang Jun smiled slightly: "Brother Sima, what are you talking about. Yihe is my son, how could I not protect him?" Sima Fang let go of Yang Ping's arm, and took a step back, with worried eyes His expression remained undiminished. He knows where Xu Du is. That place has become a sinister vortex since the emperor moved there. Cao Cao wanted to control the emperor and dominate the Central Plains; The tyrannical forces of the world have extended their tentacles in, and the forces of all parties, open or dark, are intertwined. Few people can stand alone in it, and it is really not a peaceful place. Sima Fang hid his strengths and bided his time in Hanoi, keeping his door shut, because he didn't want himself and his clansmen to get involved in this muddy water.But now his best friend and child whom he regards as his own are going to be in danger, but he can't stop him, which makes Sima Fang feel depressed. "Brother Yang, you have to be careful..." Sima Fang murmured, his hands in his sleeves trembling slightly. Yang Jun arched his hands towards Sima Fang, and then snapped his fingers.The coachman raised his whip and flicked it beautifully in the air, and the two shaft horses began to drag the cart to move.Soon, the carriage left Wen County, took the official road, and sped towards Xudu.