At the end of the month, a sudden blizzard covered the official road leading from Qinfeng Road to the hinterland of Guanzhong.

The goose feathers and snow are overwhelming, the sky and the earth are all white, and the mountains and rivers are all hidden. Even if today's yellow calendar is printed with the words "travel", no one will think that it will be auspicious to leave home in such weather. Pedestrians who are still trudging on the road are complaining about their misery, and those who are hiding in their homes to avoid the snow are also worried that the snow is too heavy and will collapse the roofs of their homes.

However, there are still people who rejoice in this snow, not thinking of the farmers who are in the year of Ruixue Zhaofeng, but some shops that open inns.

For example, He Si, who opened a shop next to the official road under Beimang Mountain, because his small shop on the side of the road is only more than five miles away from the Ma Weiyi in the east, it is rare to have two or three guests a day to stay in the hotel. Most of the time, there are more rats than people in the backyard guest rooms, and they can only rely on selling some tea and food to supplement the family. But since the snow began to fall two days ago, the number of guests staying at the hotel has immediately doubled, and today, the snow suddenly turned so rapid that three or four caravans had to stop and squeeze into this somewhat dilapidated little inn of He Si's house.

First put on a cloak and went out of the small door, shook the wine flag raised on the door to clean the snow, hung it in a more conspicuous place at the door, and then came back in the kitchen and instructed his own Hun family to make the amount of each dish a little less, and mix a scoop of water in the wine jar, and He Si turned back to the hall happily.

The brazier in the hall is rising very strongly, and the proprietor He is also conscientious, and he did not deduct the fire coals like wine and food, otherwise according to the way the cold wind penetrates through the cracks in the door that cannot be covered, this hall will not be able to treat people.

The small inn hall was crowded with guests at this time. Except for the day when family and friends came to cheer when it opened, He Si saw for the first time that in his small shop, there were people sitting around every square table. Strangers who don't know each other crowd at a table, eating tasteless meals, drinking village brew that is obviously mixed with water, and talking about the topic of Tiannan and Haibei. After He Si sat back at the account collection counter, he let his nephew, who was a running house, serve the guests back and forth, while he listened to the guests chatting.

The people who spoke were all businessmen, and businessmen accounted for the majority of the dozens of people in the hall. However, in the innermost corner, there were eight or nine military men occupying two tables, drinking wine in large bowls, and not talking to merchants.

“…… Are you really going to fight? A fat man weighing three hundred pounds, to say the least, lowered his voice and asked. Behind him stood a five-year-old and three-thick companion, and the robes on his body looked expensive, and because of his figure, a piece of clothing had to reach two or three people's bodies, and he was a wealthy businessman......

A thin man sitting at the same table sneered: "Don't look at this Xingping County, in previous years, there were two or three hundred thousand stone new grain to go to Qinzhou from the official road below, but this year, since the beginning of autumn, I haven't seen half a cart of grain going west...... The three armies did not move, the grain and grass went first, Han Xuanfu intercepted all the grain and grass sent to Qin Feng, if it was not for the war, what would it be for? ”

The clothes on the thin man's body are far inferior to those of the fat businessman, and he is obviously not a person all the way. The fat merchant asked strangely, "Didn't you hear that there was another big victory in Qinzhou?" It would be good for Qinzhou's annual output capacity to feed himself, where did he get the money and grain for the war? ”

"Of course it's Qinzhou's original savings......" This time it was a person sitting behind the fat merchant who turned around, he had hair more than half an inch long, wearing a patched monk's robe, obviously a monk who hadn't had a haircut for a long time. There was wine and meat in front of the monk's table, and his mouth was shiny, and he looked like a good talker: "You don't know what to do, this is actually Han Xuanfu's trouble." Han Xuanfu and Guo Taiwei were incompatible, and drove Guo Taiwei to Qinzhou a few days ago, and later he was afraid that Guo Taiwei would take the opportunity to make meritorious contributions, so he didn't allocate any money and food. ”

"The master is wrong." The thin man shook his head, "Although Han Xuanfu doesn't agree with Taiwei Guo, his refusal to adjust money and food has nothing to do with the fear of Taiwei Guo's meritorious service, Qinzhou has set up a marginal pacification department, and the credit for several great victories is all due to the pacification department, and it has nothing to do with Taiwei Guo and Taiwei Xiaoyan." ”

At another table, an old man put down his chopsticks and interjected: "This time in Weiyuan Fort can't be called a big victory, I heard that it's just a tie, and the casualties on both sides are not small." If you think about it, the first two great victories had money and food, and the people were willing to obey orders, and they beheaded hundreds or thousands of enemy generals without much effort, and cut off the heads of enemy generals one by one. This time there was no money and food, and the officers and soldiers of Qinzhou could only go into battle by themselves, and Wang Anfu was surrounded in Weiyuan Fort, not to mention, and let the leader of the Tibetan people swagger away. And if it weren't for the famous Han Yukun leading a Tibetan army to detour behind the thieves, Weiyuan Fort might have really been broken. ”

"I see." The small talk of a few people attracted the attention of most people, and when they heard the rare inside information, they all nodded.

"Having said so much, what does the war in the imperial court have to do with us? As long as the items you bring this time can be sold for a good price! In a corner of the hall, a middle-aged businessman dressed in a short dozen opened his mouth, but he spoke with a Shu accent, and he was a Shu merchant who came through Chen Cang Shu Road.

'Phew, Shu barbarian! A group of Shaanxi businessmen took a sip. Whether it is the war in Hengshan or Hehuang, it is related to the safety of their hometown, and everyone has always kept it in their hearts, and they all hold a grudge against this Shu merchant's disdainful reaction.

The fat merchant asked the old man again: "Brother, is the Han Yukun you are talking about the disciple of Sun Zhenren?" ”

"Needless to say! Which other Han Yukun is there besides him?! ”

"Sun Zhenren's disciple? Is it the Sun Zhenren of the Tang Dynasty? …… People from hundreds of years ago, where did they receive disciples? The middle-aged Shu businessman's temperament and speech were a little annoying, and no one paid attention to him, but a few military men who were drinking in the corner looked up at him.

"Han Yukun is not only a disciple of Sun Zhenren, who has set up several sanatoriums in Qinzhou and saved thousands of lives, but he is also a disciple of Mr. Hengqu, both civil and military. The Son of Heaven has issued several decrees to praise, and he has only been an official for a year, and he has been promoted twice or three times, and he will definitely be able to be a scholar and a prince in the future...... "The old man also heard these things from somewhere, and when he saw that everyone pricked up their ears and listened quietly, he took a sip of wine proudly, and shook his spirits, so he wanted to say it again.

"Shop! Store! The door was suddenly knocked hard by Kuang Kuang, and a voice that had just changed its voice shouted loudly outside.

He Si's nephew hurriedly went over to remove the latch, and before he could open the door, the heavy door panel was pushed open from the outside, and the wind and snow immediately rolled in with the new guests.

There were three passengers in total, all wearing thick cloaks, and they were covered with white snow, and they couldn't see their faces clearly. When the three of them walked in, the door was immediately closed, and the wind and snow that blew in were blocked outside.

The trio took off their cloaks, revealing three young faces. The fifteen or sixteen-year-old half-grown boy at the front knocked on the door just now, and he saw that he was dressed as a companion. The two people in the back are tall and short, the short and thin young man is ordinary-looking, about twenty years old; The tall young man next to him looked like he was only in his early twenties, two or three years younger than the short young man, but his temperament was very special, and he was heroic in his sven.

He Si hurriedly greeted him, except for the little companion in front, the two people in the back were not badly dressed, especially the tall young man, who had some identity. "Is the guest officer sharpened or stayed in the hotel?" He asked.

The tall young man smiled and looked around the inn hall: "This Chenguang can only stay." ”

"Is there a room?" The little companion asked when he came up to split his head.

He Si bowed his waist, his expression was humble and helpless: "You see, the three guest officers, it's really unfortunate, and several upper rooms in the small shop have been set for ......."

The little companion didn't wait for He Si to finish speaking, then turned around and said to the tall young man with a bitter face: "Official, look at this matter......"

"Away from home, nothing to worry about. You don't have to go to the room. Take care of the horses, just come to a room, just keep it clean! In addition, there is something to eat, and it should be clean. The tall young man spoke calmly, as if he had lowered his requirements, but at the moment, there were dozens of people in the hall, and they all had to sleep at the table at night.

He Si has been in business for a long time, and he has seen thousands of people, and he can be regarded as eye-catching. Just looking at the weapons on the waists of the three people, I knew that their identities were by no means simple. Except for ordinary people, at most they drag a pole and a knife, and can carry weapons openly, most of them are military men, followed by monks, and the rest are officials.

It would have been easier if I had been in a uniform. It's a pity that the three of them are wearing travel robes, and He Si can't confirm the true identities of the three at once. Although he has the power to inspect the road guides, in fact, the government's requirement for resident registration is only superficial. Few people do what they do, and what the guests say is what they say. Now to say that you want to check the guide will definitely arouse suspicion. He glanced at his nephew in the hall, "Xiao Jiu, you go and take the horses of the three guest officers to the back stables and settle down, don't lose your care." ”

Xiao Er, who was called Xiao Jiu, nodded knowingly, answered continuously, turned around and went out. Li Xiaoliu put on his cloak and hurriedly followed.

The companion could stand, but it was impossible for the two young men in front of him to stand up to eat. He Si was trying to find a way to vacate a table, settle the two of them first, and Xiao Jiu was already back. He stuck to He Si's ear, and his voice was as thin as a gnat: "Brother-in-law, they are all stagecoaches." There are branding on the belly, and there will be no fake. ”

He Si was shocked, he could use a stagecoach, and the identities of the three of them could be known without asking. He looked at the full hall, smiled wryly, stepped forward and compensated people for a long time, and finally made a vacant space next to those soldiers. And Xiao Jiu had already set up a table covered with ash and lame legs from behind. He Si wiped and wiped the table, and found bricks to put the foot of the table on the ground.

After a busy job, he took the register and asked cautiously: "I don't know the surname of the guest official." ”

The tall young man spat out a single word: "Han! ”