Kunlun Pass, located in the mountains in the northeast of Yongzhou, is surrounded by mountains and mountains, and the surrounding green mountains are like the sea.

To be exact, although it is a famous pass here, it is actually a pass, high in the north and low in the south, overlooking Yongzhou City under the vast mountains in the south. When this pass was built has long been debated, and no one can say clearly.

When Xu Ping came here, there was no shadow of the pass, only the big stone blocked the pass, forming a checkpoint, not far from a patrol village, in which there were one or twenty soldiers to check the passers-by.

In the former Tang Dynasty, the Western Plains rebelled, and Gui Guan Jingluo made Pei Xingli build military facilities here, leaving this ruin.

Following the leading soldiers, Xu Ping led the horse to the highest point of this pass, looking back at the land of Yongzhou under his feet. Since the winter of the fifth year of Tiansheng, Xu Ping has entered Yongzhou from this, and it has been more than six years unconsciously.

Yongzhou below the mountain is surrounded by endless fertile fields, with vast mountains in the distance, and at the end of the mountain is the Zhennanguan built by Xu Ping there. From Kunlun Pass to Zhennan Pass, this is Yongzhou, until Xu Ping went out to pacify Langzhou, Yongzhou stretched out to the south of the mountain.

In six years, he was only seventeen or eighteen years old when he came, and he was still a little ignorant, but when he went, he was already in the prime of life, and he was also a person who had been a feudal official.

When he went down to Kunlun Pass, there were still sparsely populated people in front of him, and miasma was everywhere. When he left, there were rice fields all over the ground, melons and fruits were fragrant, and it became the richest place in Lingnan.

In the past six years, Xu Ping didn't feel that he had done anything great, but he was conscientious and conscientious. He served two terms as a magistrate in a regular manner, and looked forward to returning to the capital every day.

Until he left, the people of Yongzhou held lanterns on a rainy night and sent him all the way from Taiping County to Yongzhou City. and sent him to the foot of Kunlun Pass Mountain. He was suddenly surprised. Want to take a good look at the land.

It is the season when melons and fruits are fragrant, and the horse's head of the group is full of all kinds of seasonal melons and fruits, even Ren Shouzhong and his party are no exception. The people in the frontier barbarian land do not have as many thoughts as the people of the Central Plains, they don't know how to establish a shrine and send an umbrella to the people, only in this way to express their feelings.

For one term as an official, for the benefit of one party, you can count yourself as doing it. Maybe it did. Taking a deep breath towards the endless land to the south, Xu Ping led the horse back to the pass.

Ren Shouzhong led his men to sit on the big stone by the pass, holding a bunch of lychees and eating them violently, shouting to the people next to him while eating: "Don't be greedy, you can't eat more of this fruit at a time, just eat it and burn yourself, just taste it!" - Alas, what about you, don't miss the road! ”

Along the way, there are people who send each other off the road, and they live in a post station. There are also people who help the old and the young to come to see Xu Ping, and often put some melon and fruit specialties at the door silently. This scenario. Ren Shouzhong's big dog didn't dare to be unfavorable to Xu Ping in Yongzhou, but he was silent. The people also thought that he was also a good person, and he even received a lot of gifts along the way, and this large pile of lychees and other fruits was stained with Xu Ping's light.

Gao Daquan and Sun Qilang stayed on the other side, they were already tired of eating these melons and fruits, and they just silently gnawed on dry food. Xiuxiu sat on the side and drank water, glanced at Ren Shouzhong, and scolded in a low voice: "Shameless!" ”

The sun climbed to mid-sky, the weather was hot, Ren Shouzhong jumped up from the ground, clapped his hands and said: "It's not early, hurry up and get on the road, I want to rush to Pennsylvania today to sleep!" As he spoke, he kicked the lychee shells all over the ground with his foot, kicking them everywhere.

After crossing the Kunlun Pass, he left the boundary of Yongzhou, and Ren Shouzhong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he didn't say it, the appearance of the people of Yongzhou sending each other off still gave Ren Shouzhong great pressure. The tradition of this era, once the people make trouble, Ren Shouzhong may be unlucky. It is common for officials to oppress the common people, but they must ensure that they do not make trouble, and if they are stabbed, the court will take the officials under the knife.

During the auspicious years of Zhenzong Dazhong, the favored eunuch Jiang Shouen was in Zhengzhou, illegally taking the ears of wheat from the people's fields, and enslaved the people without authorization, and a servant was beaten to death because he could not buy a donkey. He dared to do this, of course, not because his brain was kicked by a donkey, but for them, it was a common thing. As a result, the matter was big, Zhenzong issued an edict to kill Jiang Shouen in public, and Yu Xianqing, the governor of Zhou, interceded for Jiang Shouen and was dismissed.

said that Xu Ping was only sent to wait for the order, the official did not move at all, Ren Shouzhong's duty was only to ensure that Xu Ping went to Daozhou on time, and other actions were illegal. But since Empress Dowager Liu was in charge, the power of the inner servants has swelled, and she has used this opportunity to make small moves to make many tricks.

Back then, Kou Zhun and Li Di were demoted, and the chamberlain catered to Ding Wei and almost forced the two to death. Later, Cao took advantage of the demotion of officials, and the accompanying servants repeated their old tricks again, and Cao took advantage of his strong temperament and couldn't think of hanging himself for a while.

Not to mention the loss of power Kou Zhun and Cao Xuan, Li Di is the emperor's mentor, once the emperor is in power, he will definitely be a big person, and the inner servants are also unscrupulous, how old is Xu Ping in their eyes?

Yongzhou to Daozhou is more than a thousand miles away, how can Ren Shouzhong have to let Xu Ping take off his skin, otherwise how to ask the master for credit when he goes back? Not to mention the festival envoy, he still wants to get an observation envoy and a defense envoy on his body!

From Kunlun Pass, dozens of miles to Pennzhou, and then take Xiangzhou, Liuzhou, Guizhou, this is the road Xu Ping used to come.

At this time, Xu Ping has been on Guangnan West Road for many years, and he is considered a senior official at the same level. Every time he went to a state, he was sentenced by the governor of the state, and even accompanied him to rest at the post station, but Ren Shouzhong did everything possible to find a chance to start.

At the end of May, the group finally arrived at the last stop of Guangnan West Road, Xing'an County.

Xing'an County was called Quanyi County in the Tang Dynasty, and after entering the Song Dynasty and abolishing Puzhou, it was not changed along the way, and after Taizong ascended the throne, he was renamed Xing'an because of his name, and it was subordinate to Guizhou.

This is the source of the Xiangjiang River and the Lijiang River, the place where Qin Shihuang dug the Ling Canal, the Yuecheng Ridge and the Dupang Ling confront each other in the north and south, and a valley in the middle communicates the north and south of the Wuling Mountains, which is the main road to enter the Lingnan.

The main road is the main road, but the local land is barren, the population is sparse, and the officials are not complete. At this time, the old county has stepped down, and he returned to Beijing early to report on his work and prepare to find another good place, but the new county is still on the way, and there is only one master bookkeeper in the county. When Xu Ping and his entourage arrived, the chief bookkeeper came over to greet him, and he disappeared.

It is said that the old and new counties are to be handed over, and no blanks are allowed in the middle. But this is a remote place in Lingnan. No one wants to stay longer. Naturally, there is an excuse to fool the past. Anyway, the inquisitor court and the scribes of the Chinese book collected the money, and they would treat these things as if they had never happened, this is where the officials begged the officials, and Sang Yi suffered this kind of loss.

The post station is located on the side of the Ling Canal, and compared with this small county town, it is quite magnificent. There are many officials who come and go from the south to the north here, and they all live in the post station, so they are naturally willing to pay the capital.

In previous years. When pedestrians arrive here, most of them take a boat along the Ling Canal, go straight down the Xiangjiang River, and then it is a waterway to enter the river in all directions.

The past two years have been different, Guangnan West Road has money and gunpowder, as well as Xu Ping's road repair technology passed from Yongzhou, and the road has been repaired all the way through Wuling. In addition to bulk freight, pedestrians have switched to overland routes, which are less than 100 miles to the state. It can be reached in a day by horseback in a hurry, and the water transport is slowly deserted.

It's summer. Even in the mountains, the heat is unbearable.

Xu Ping couldn't sit still in the house, and when he arrived outside the post station, he found a big stone under the big tree by the Lingqu and sat and watched the river cool down.

At this time, the sun is setting, and the sky and the earth are full of brilliant glow, which makes the surrounding mountains particularly gorgeous.

In this glow, an old man walked slowly and leisurely from a distance with a burden, humming an unknown song softly in his mouth, looking at ease and leisurely.

Gao Daquan's Sun Qilang and the two of them were fanning the wind with their clothes open by the river, and when they saw the old man, they shouted loudly: "Uncle, what did you choose?" It was water and wine that brought us two bowls! ”

The old man approached and said with a smile: "This is not my wine, but the best bayberry soup." If you want to quench your thirst, it is much better than water and wine, and it can cool off the heat. ”

Gao Daquan and Sun Qilang glanced at each other, and couldn't help but be a little disappointed when they heard that it wasn't wine, but after all, they couldn't bear the heat, and said to the old man: "It's okay with bayberry soup, bring us a few bowls!" ”

The old man responded, opened the wooden barrel, and first filled a bowl and handed it to Sun Qilang, who came up: "Although the officials taste it, my bayberry soup is famous in the near future, and I usually pick it up in the county, and it can be sold out without getting dark, and I don't delay going home to eat late." ”

Sun Qilang tasted it and praised: "It's really delicious!" My husband will have another bowl, and I will count the money with you in a while! We're all going to drink a few of them here! ”

Taking the big bowl handed over by the old man, Sun Qilang brought it to Xu Ping: "Official, this bayberry soup is sweet and sour, you can also drink a bowl to clear the heat and quench your thirst!" ”

Xu Ping took it, Sun Qilang still ran back, asked for another bowl, and brought it to Xiuxiu in the post station. The little girl is now grown up, and is no longer as crazy as before, and although it is hot, when she arrives at the inn, she hides herself in the house and does not come out.

Xu Ping drank his mouth slippery, and unconsciously drank a fine drink, but he felt a little unpleasant, and took the big bowl to the old man's burden, thinking about another bowl.

Ren Shouzhong, who was in the post station, heard the movement outside, walked out from inside, and saw Xu Ping approaching the burden, and the old man served him soup. He was so hot that he was sweating all over his body at this time, and he was feeling irritable in his heart, and when he saw Xu Ping actually being at ease outside, and there was soup to drink, his heart was on fire.

called the little yellow door that looked at Xu Ping, and scolded: "Let you watch this Xu Ping closely, but you are here to see the scenery by yourself!" I didn't see him buy things outside to eat, one ate and had a bad stomach, and people have three long and two short, how can you afford it? He's a worthless man, but his life is our errand, so keep your spirits up! ”

Xiaohuangmen is the first time to go out of Kaifeng City, taking this kind of errand, I don't know the doorway inside, only Nuo Nuo sounds.

When the old man selling bayberry soup over there heard Ren Shouzhong's words, where was he willing to follow him? Turning to Ren Shouzhong, he said loudly: "How can this official talk like this? Xiao Lao'er has been selling bayberry soup for one or two decades, which one of the left near doesn't know? Even the former magistrate often takes care of the little old man's business! ”

Ren Shouzhong stepped forward, looked the old man up and down, and snorted in his nose: "A magistrate, an official with a big eye of a needle, is a character in the eyes of people like you!" ”

The old man shook his head: "Could it be that your official position can be greater than that of the county?" ”

"What is Zhixian? See if there is a young man drinking your soup over there? That's Yongzhou Zhizhou! Our family came to see him, how big do you think the official is? ”

Ren Shouzhong said as he looked at the bayberry soup in the bucket and swallowed his saliva, where could he still bear it?

Stretched out his hand and picked up the float on the old man's burden, scooped the soup from the bucket and sent it to his mouth, while saying: "You old man is not clear, let me taste if the soup can enter my mouth!" ”

The old man snatched it down, straightened his face and said, "Why are you so unreasonable?" This float is the little old man serving soup to the guest officer, how do you pick it up and send it to your mouth? ”

Ren Shouzhong is the person who waits with the Queen Mother in the end, and he lives a very particular life, and when the old man said it, he didn't have a seizure, but said: "You serve a bowl and I'll taste it first, if you can eat it, we will drink you here!" ”

Although the old man was a little reluctant, he still served a bowl to Ren Shouzhong.

Ren Shouzhong took the bowl, raised his head and took a big sip, and the refreshing and cool feeling seeped into his heart.

Holding the bowl with satisfaction, Ren Shouzhong said to the old man: "This soup is passable, although it is not as good as the taste in Kaifeng City, and even less than the taste in the palace, this mountain and wild land is also delicious." You don't have to pick these two buckets of soup to sell in the county seat, a few of us will buy them! ”

While speaking, Ren Shouzhong motioned for Xiao Huangmen to come up and pay, and let him go to the courtyard.

The old man grabbed the bucket and pointed at Xu Ping and said, "Those guest officers came first, and they had to sell to them first, how could they be taken away with you?" ”

Ren Shouzhong sneered: "Sell it to them? Let me tell you, I have the will of the Queen Mother, and I want to watch him go to Daozhou, and there will be no accidents along the way! Without my permission, he wouldn't have been able to eat anything from unknown sources along the way. I drank your bowl of soup just now, and my subordinates don't know anything! ”

The old man only felt dizzy when he heard the will of the Queen Mother, and he couldn't pay attention to it for a while, so he just asked: "The official said this, isn't it really Yongzhou Xu Guanren over there?" ”

Ren Shouzhong looked the old man up and down with the bowl, and said, "Even you, a small mountain and wild people hundreds of miles away, know him?" He is poking the sky down in Yongzhou, what does it matter to you! ”

The old man pointed to the newly built avenue next to the post station and said to Ren Shouzhong: "The officials don't know, we, the vendors who sell goods along the road, rely on this newly built road, and our lives have been much better in the past two years. ”

"Then what does it have to do with him being a governor of Yongzhou?"

"Xiao Lao'er heard that this road was built in Yongzhou first, and it was with the money from Yongzhou cane sugar service that it was repaired all the way through Wuling. It is because of us, the small people, who are grateful for the kindness of Xu officials, and call this road Xu Highway. ”

When Ren Shouzhong heard this, he couldn't help but widen his eyes: "He is the governor of a remote and small state, and he is not a regular officer, so he dares to use his name on the road!" It's worth it! ”

The old man shook his head: "Yes, there have been officials at the post station before, and this is not appropriate." So we withheld his last name, and now it's just called Highway. It's only now that he sees the officials in front of him, and Xiao Lao'er talks about it again, but he doesn't have a heart. ”

(There's something to do today, it's even late, two chapters in one, forgive me.) (To be continued.) )