The sky was covered with clouds, and the cold wind blew through the treetops, whimpering quietly.

Xu Ping and Sang Yi took a wine gourd, leaned against the tree behind them, and took a sip of wine from time to time.

In the ruined temple not far away, Zhang Yuan was roasting the fire alone. The two wine jars next to them are the home-brewed liquor sent by Xu Ping, and Zhang Yuan drinks a bowl from time to time, feeling at ease.

Wu Jiuxia left that day, Xu Ping thought that he would soon bring the boy from the Ma family, and let Zhang Yuan die at once. Unexpectedly, the two of them waited for two or three hours without seeing a figure, so they went to ask Zhang Yuan, and were laughed at by Zhang Yuan again. said that this kind of thing should be done seamlessly, where is it so easy, it will always have to wait for a few days, Xu Ping can't understand things.

Hearing Zhang Yuan's words, Xu Ping and the others no longer waited in the temple, but walked around outside the temple and found this place, which was just right to monitor the temple and not be discovered by the people in the temple. sent two jars of wine to Zhang Yuan, and Xu Ping and Sang Yi took turns to change shifts, staying here and monitoring Zhang Yuan. As long as Zhang Yuan is seen dead, he is not afraid that these two people will say goodbye without saying goodbye.

Today, Xu Ping originally came to change Sang Yi, but Sang Yi said that Zhang Yuan in the temple packed his luggage, as if he was leaving. The two didn't change shifts, and stayed together to watch Zhang Yuan.

Seeing Zhang Yuan in the temple relaxed, Xu Ping said to Sang Yi: "I don't know what the guys in this temple have in mind, but my heart is open." Look at the weather, it doesn't have to get up until dark. When the weather is so cold, I don't know if it's raining or snowing. ”

Sang Yi was also uncomfortably cold, nodded and said, "Maybe it's going to snow." It's still October, and although the snow is a little early, it's also winter, so it's not a strange thing. ”

Before Sang Yi could finish speaking, a cold wind blew, and a little bit of snowflakes flew down from the sky.

Xu Ping smiled bitterly: "Show is a good crow's mouth!" ”

I think the snow has been held for a long time, and after a while, the snowflakes will become the size of goose feathers, and they will be raised one after another, filling the world and the earth, and they will be white in the eyes.

Seeing that the snow was falling heavily, Xu Ping and Sang Yi wanted to find a place to hide from the snow.

At this moment, Sang Yi grabbed Xu Ping and whispered, "Don't move, someone is coming!" ”

Following Sang Yi's gaze, Xu Ping saw Wu Jiuxia, a burly scholar, throwing off the meteor and striding towards the broken temple. Behind him, a young man in a white robe, still shrunk his hands and feet, and trotted behind Wu Jiuxia.

Sang Yi asked Xu Ping: "Is that young man a member of the Ma family?" ”

Xu Ping understood it and replied, "It's him, it won't be wrong!" ”

Sang Yi said: "I didn't expect to be able to really lure him here, and I don't know what means that Wu Jiuxia used?" You can trick this fool. ”

Xu Ping said: "This kid loves money like his life, and seven or eight times out of ten he still uses that medicinal silver prescription." ”

When the two were talking, Wu Jiuxia and Ma Zhifang had already arrived at the gate of the temple.

Wu Jiuxia stood by the door and said to the horse: "The people are inside, please come in!" ”

Ma Zhifang looked at it suspiciously and asked, "Mr. Zhang is inside?" Such a ruined temple, how can you settle in it? ”

Wu Jiuxia said: "We are used to traveling abroad, and we can live anywhere. ”

When Ma Zhifang arrived at the gate of the temple, he saw Zhang Yuan who was roasting the fire inside at a glance, and his face was happy: "Mr. Zhang is really here, I haven't seen him these days, I miss it so much!" ”

As he spoke, he stepped into the temple.

Zhang Yuan stood up, greeted him with an iron flute in his hand, and said with a smile: "The little sheren came just in time!" ”

As he spoke, the two came together, and the iron flute in Zhang Yuan's hand suddenly raised and slammed into Ma Zhifang's forehead.

Seeing Ma Zhifang slowly fall to the ground, blood gradually gushing from his forehead, Zhang Yuan kept laughing: "You have come here after so many days, but I am tired of waiting!" ”

Leaning down to probe Ma Zhifang's snort, he was already dead, Zhang Yuan said to Wu Jiuxia: "Brother Wu, the matter is over here, clean up a little, let's go back to Guanzhong!" ”

Wu Jiuxia didn't look at Ma Zhifang on the ground, entered the temple, packed his things into a small burden and carried it on his back, took the iron sword, and went out of the temple with Zhang Yuan.

Although Xu Ping couldn't see the snowflakes in the sky, he also saw the whole process vaguely in his eyes and was taken aback. Unexpectedly, Zhang Yuan, a white-faced scholar, also had the means of Sangyi, he could kill people while talking and laughing, and there was no warning before he made a move, and he suddenly broke out, which made people unguardable.

Zhang Yuan and Wu Jiuxia took their luggage out of the temple gate, and after walking a few steps, Zhang Yuan said loudly: "Haven't the little master and Sang Xiucai come out yet?" We're leaving! ”

Zhang Yuan guessed his existence, and Xu Ping was not surprised. Looking at this man's words and deeds, although he is arrogant, he is very thoughtful, and he is by no means a reckless and unscrupulous person.

Turning out from behind the tree with Sang Yi, Xu Ping said to Zhang Yuan: "Show talent is a good means, I underestimated you before!" It's just that you killed people with an iron flute, so you just ignored it and left with your hands? ”

Zhang Yuan said: "Kill all the kills, what else?" This kid is greedy for money and arrogant, and he is exposed to his body in this broken temple, and he also deserves to die! ”

Xu Ping asked him: "Don't you want to think about how to deal with the aftermath?" ”

Zhang Yuan laughed: "I said a long time ago, you people like flies and dogs don't have any courage at all!" I thought I had thought it all out, but in the end I couldn't do anything about it. For me, taking his life is just a blow, and blood splatters five steps! People have been killed, what are you good after? No matter how much he hides it, can he still survive? ”

Xu Ping felt that Zhang Yuan's words made no sense at all, but he couldn't think of anything to refute him, and was silent for a while before asking: "After the two of you have done this, the Ma family will definitely guess you and will not give up." Where are you going when you get out of here? ”

Zhang Yuan said proudly: "The world is so big, can he manage it as a Ma family?" Not to mention that he is a petty official who got into the situation by luck, even if he is today, he can't manage it! If I do this, I won't use it next time, and now that the female villain is in power, this imperial examination is not interesting! I have been in Guanzhong for a long time, and I know everything about the northwest border affairs, Li Deming of Xia Guo has long had a heart of disobedience, and it won't be long before the war in the northwest will start! With my talent in my chest, even if I join the army, I can make contributions, so why be idle by these birdmen! ”

Xu Ping already knew that at this time, the Western Xia was not the Li Yuanhao mentioned in the history books of his previous life, since Li Jiqian rebelled, fought from the Taizong Dynasty to the Zhenzong Dynasty, and finally negotiated peace, at this time the two countries were in peace. According to the knowledge of his previous life, Xu Ping certainly knew that the two countries would fight after a while, but he didn't expect Zhang Yuan to have this insight, but he really didn't expect him to have this foresight.

In fact, there are now many people who foresee that the war in the Song and Xia will break out, but most of them are just Titi, and it is not the same thing that the government in power in the DPRK and China is not appropriate. The imperial court was accustomed to the old ways, and there was no enterprising spirit, but it was just a fluke in its heart, watching the national strength of Western Xia grow stronger day by day.

When Zhang Yuan said this, Xu Ping had nothing to say. There are still some differences between the scholars of this era and those of later generations, there are still some who have changed from literature to martial arts, and there are even some who are unwilling to directly join the military in the imperial examination, serving in the army in the name of utility, looking for opportunities to make meritorious contributions.

However, Xu Ping searched his memory carefully, and couldn't find the shadow of Zhang Yuan's character in the historical records, knowing that no matter how pretentious he was, he could only disappear in the long river of history in the end, and he didn't make any waves, so he didn't bother to pay attention to him.

After being silent for a while, Xu Ping said to Zhang Yuan: "Then I wish the two of you to meet a confidant in the northwest, be able to fight bravely to kill the enemy, make meritorious contributions, and fight for a wife!" ”

Zhang Yuan shook his head with a smile: "The little master said this insincerely, and he must laugh at us in my heart for being arrogant." The bird's ambition is known! We're not the same kind of people in the first place, so let's just say these kind words! ”

Xu Ping smiled self-deprecatingly, didn't bother with Zhang Yuan, and asked him: "Guanzhong is far away, are the coils on the two of you enough?" Not enough, I can get you some money to use. ”

Zhang Yuan said: "Money is such a thing, what is enough and what is not enough? As I said before, we will only take these few hundred taels of silver, and we will count them! Isn't that right, little master? ”

Xu Ping saw that he couldn't talk about it, and it was redundant to talk about it, and finally said: "Then I wish you two a smooth journey!" I have a gourd of good wine here, so I'll take a sip and say goodbye! ”

After speaking, he picked up the gourd and took a big sip and handed it to Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan took the gourd and drank a ** to Wu Jiuxia beside him, and Wu Jiuxia drank it the same.

Sang Yi was also infinitely emotional. He is also an unsatisfactory Jinshi, if he has no complaints about the imperial examination, it is impossible, but he has only passed the liberation, and he has already fallen in the provincial examination, and the resentment is not so deep. Zhang Yuan was dethroned by the palace during the palace examination, and he was ashamed, and he was extreme, so the test became extreme.

What happened to Zhang Yuan was actually Shi Yannian, but Shi Yannian was open-minded and knowledgeable, and he was able to see this matter in the end.

After Xu Ping finished saluting, Sang Yi came up and toasted the two of them in the same way.

After drinking the wine, the four of them parted, and Zhang Yuan and Wu Jiuxia strode into the snowstorm.

At this time, once you lose the imperial examination system at the last step, you will be white, and no one will look at you when you return to your hometown. And for a scholar, he passed five levels and killed six generals in the front, and when he arrived in the capital as a liberation move, he also met the emperor. Although when I saw it, hundreds of people and thousands of people were crowded together, as if they were rushing to the market, and they were ridiculed as the trains in the palace could not be neatly organized, only the Tibetan people, camels and lifting people, but no matter how I said it, I had seen the face of the sky. As a result, once they fall into the first place, they have to start all over again, and some of them are poor, and even the travel expenses are borrowed or even usurious, and they have no shame to go back to their hometown to see their parents.

At this time, unlike the Ming and Qing dynasties, once you were lifted, there were a lot of people who came to send you money. At this time, as soon as the reader takes the test, especially in a place far away from the capital, the first thing is to worry about the travel expenses. Although it has become a township tribute, there will be people to sponsor it, but it is still relatively rare. There was once a scholar who went to relatives and friends to borrow money for the passage after passing the test, and begged his grandfather to tell his grandmother to come down, but he still hadn't scraped together enough money. The man was so ashamed that he hung up the money at the city gate, and vowed to move immediately after the Jinshi. In the end, I almost had to go to the capital for dinner, and the first thing I did after returning to my hometown was to move my family.

This kind of background, coupled with the legacy of five generations, will produce such an extreme character as Zhang Yuan. Lao Tzu only learned in his belly, and he was well-versed in civil and military affairs, but he didn't know talents. There is no place to stay here, there is a place to stay here. Don't leave the master everywhere, the master goes to ......

The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and the snowflakes with goose feathers have forced the wind to stop, and there is only a white expanse between the sky and the earth. Xu Ping and Sang Yi stood in the snow, watching the figures of the two people in front of them gradually disappear in the snow.

"Five Ding fought with swords to break the clouds, and went straight to the emperor under the Tianhe.

After the battle, three million jade dragons were defeated, and the scales and remnants of armor flew all over the sky. ”

Zhang Yuan's singing voice suddenly came from the front, his voice was high-pitched and full of anger.

Xu Ping heard the song and stayed there for a while. He is familiar with the chairman's poems, and he is really familiar with the three million jade dragons, and of course he knows that the chairman's sentence is a poem of Yongxue from his predecessors. However, at that time, I only remembered that the author of this poem was anonymous, one of the famous poems of Yongxue in the past dynasties, but I didn't expect to hear it here.

This Zhang Yuan turned out to be the author of this poem? A down-and-out man who deceived people for a living wrote such a poem that was recited by later generations, but even his name was too lazy to mention by later generations?

Xu Ping also knew that the style of poetry at this time was different from that of later generations, and at this time Du Fu was respected as a poet saint, and he was not very interested in Li Bai, but no one said that Li Bai wrote badly.

At least in Zhang Yuan's poem, the spirit is magnificent, the imagination is amazing, and there is not a single word or snow in the whole poem, but the snow scene in front of him is vividly written.

However, at this time, those who can write this kind of poetry are only worthy of eating the cheapest miasma beef and drinking unpalatable private brewed mixed wine in the wild temple in the mountains, which is not at all in the eyes of serious scholars.

Xu Ping originally planned to wait for the next year to study hard, but when the opportunity came, he secretly copied two famous poems of later generations to make a reputation. At this time, I realized that I thought too much, and the poet became famous because of his identity as a poet, and he simply wanted to be appreciated by writing poetry, so he had to wait until hundreds of years after his death.

Watching the figures of Zhang Yuan and Wu Jiuxia disappear in the heavy snow, Xu Ping sighed, he knew what he had missed, these two people were by no means unknown figures in history.

But what? In this era, there will inevitably be a lot of such characters, and to be able to go down in history is not only talented, but also coincidental. If you can't meet someone who has a little impression and chase after it, then you don't have to do anyone else in this life.

It wasn't until many years later that Xu Ping knew what the two Huazhou Jinshi had done after leaving the capital this time, and he regretted it more or less at that time.