Dafeng Night Watchman

Chapter 447: Beating the Drum

Chapter 447: Chapter 447: Beating the Drum

The "female thief" in night clothes looked around vigilantly for a while, lowered her head, bent her waist, and got into the dark cave.

"Huh!"

In the darkness, she exhaled lightly, sparks flew, and a cluster of flames burned quietly.

The fire starter emitted an orange halo, dispelling the darkness around her. She held the fire starter and looked at the cave wall for a few times. The traces of artificial excavation were very obvious.

The black-clothed woman's free hand reached to her waist, where a short blade was pinned.

The short blade slowly unsheathed without making any sound. The fire-colored halo illuminated the blade, showing a dark color, swallowing the light.

This weapon is called Mo Ya, which is made of black iron and the fangs of the ink-scale beast as the main materials. It took a month to refine and is one of the most proud works of Song Qing, the Si Tianjian.

In addition, the great array master Yang Qianhuan personally engraved the array for Mo Ya, making it one of the top magic weapons under the peerless magic weapon.

Mo Ya has three levels of formations. The first level strengthens the blade, making it sharper and able to cut iron like mud; the second level strengthens the blade, enhancing its toughness, so that even a fourth-grade warrior cannot easily damage it; the third level is short-distance teleportation, which comes and goes without a trace, and is very suitable for close-range attacks.

The woman in black held a fire starter in one hand and held Mo Ya in the other hand, walking slowly forward.

Along the way, she did not encounter an ambush. The tunnel in the cave was not long, and she reached the end in a short time. At the end was a stone chamber. .

The furnishings in this stone chamber were very simple. In the center was a stone plate similar to a millstone, with a diameter of about two feet. The stone plate was engraved with twisted runes, densely packed. Oil bowls were inlaid on the stone wall.

Apart from this, there was nothing else.

The woman in black carefully examined it for a moment, then walked around the wall, checking each oil bowl. There was dust in the bowl, and the wick was dry. No one had added oil to them for a long time.

Each oil bowl could be easily picked up, and there was no mechanism. Knocking on the wall, a heavy echo came, which proved that there was no secret connection in the wall, no mechanism.

After checking around, the woman in black approached the stone plate, knocking and beating very carefully, and being highly alert.

A quarter of an hour later, the fire starter burned out, and she blew another fire starter.

"Pingyuanbo Mansion is a mansion granted by the emperor. The royal family built the mansion with strict specifications. They must have chosen the best Feng Shui. In the capital, what location is better than the location on the dragon vein? So this provides the possibility of earth escape teleportation.

"Li Miaozhen said that the earth escape method is difficult to practice. It is impossible for Pingyuanbo and Huaiwang's spies to master this secret method. Therefore, this stone plate is the earth escape teleportation formation, which requires special techniques to activate. After activation, it will be teleported to the corresponding place. Where will that place be? Somewhere in the palace?

"Hengyuan broke into the mansion in anger. Pingyuanbo must have thought of escaping into this tunnel and escaping through teleportation. But he did not succeed. Maybe he was killed by Hengyuan as soon as he opened the secret passage...

"But Hengyuan knows nothing about other things. It is impossible to associate too many things with a secret passage alone. Moreover, it is normal for aristocratic houses to build secret passages. But in his eyes... this is a huge flaw, so Hengyuan must die.

"So far, my speculation has been verified without any loopholes. I don't know whether Xu Qian'an didn't think of it or just ignored it temporarily. I always feel that he knows more, for example, why does His Majesty collect a group of people regularly, and what does he use those innocent people for?"

The woman in black fell into deep thought.

After a long time, she sighed, gathered her thoughts, stared at the stone plate carefully, memorized it for ten minutes, and imprinted all the details accurately in her mind.

Then, she held the fire starter and left the secret room quickly.

.....

June 18th, the beginning of autumn!

After the three sacrifices, the day of the army's expedition finally arrived.

That morning, Wei Yuan led a group of generals, riding horses, set off from the main road of the imperial city, and headed towards the army camp outside the capital.

"Showing off in the market" is an indispensable process. Historically, passing the imperial examination and going to war are national events, and they must be shown off in the market and widely publicized.

In the mighty team of hundreds of people, Wei Yuan was at the front. He was still dressed in blue, with gray hair on his temples, elegant and handsome.

Just like in the past.

The main road was full of people. After so much propaganda and warm-up, the people had already accepted the war and watched the team silently.

In the crowd, an old man with gray hair stared at the blue clothes, and suddenly burst into tears.

"Dad, why are you crying?"

Beside the old man, the young man asked blankly.

"Duke Wei, Duke Wei is finally leading the army again..."

The old man tightly grasped his son's hand, mixed with sadness and joy: "When Dad joined the army, he followed Duke Wei to Shanhaiguan and came back with him. Twenty-one years have passed, and Duke Wei is still the same as before, but his temples are gray. At that time, I remember that His Majesty stood on the top of the city and beat the drum in person to see Duke Wei off."

His Majesty beat the drum... The young son widened his eyes, looking unbelieving.

Many older people, seeing the scene of the blue-robed scholar leading the troops, recalled the Battle of Shanhaiguan.

They remembered that there was a military god in Dafeng, and the blue-robed scholar who suppressed the King of Zhenbei and prevented him from making a breakthrough.

Especially the old people who had served in the army, when they saw Wei Qingyi leading the troops again, they either shed tears, or were extremely excited, or mixed with sadness and joy.

"Duke Wei, it's Duke Wei..."

"It's been twenty years, a full twenty years, and I finally see Duke Wei leading the troops again."

"For so many years, I almost forgot the scenery when Duke Wei led thousands of troops to the west. Duke Wei, why did you hide in the court after the Battle of Shanhaiguan? Do you know how sad your brothers were back then..."

It's difficult for young people to understand the feelings of the older generation, and it's difficult to understand how brilliant the blue-robed man was in the past.

On the street, Xu Pingzhi, who was responsible for maintaining public order, stared blankly with a long sword on his waist, as if in a dream.

"Captain, you also fought in the Battle of Shanhaiguan, right? Duke Wei, is he really that amazing?"

A young imperial sword guard asked in a low voice.

"For people of our generation, Duke Wei was there, and the army was there. He was the kind of person that people were willing to die for." Xu Pingzhi sighed:

"It is difficult for young people of your generation to understand us back then. However, you will experience it sooner or later. Well, after defeating the Wushen Cult."

"I heard that during the Battle of Shanhaiguan, His Majesty personally beat the drum on the city wall?" asked another imperial sword guard.

"The Battle of Shanhaiguan was related to the survival of the country, so it was naturally different. This time, I can't see it." Xu Pingzhi said regretfully.

Behind Wei Yuan, Jiang Luzhong and other old men who followed Wei Qingyi to the war heard the discussion of the people on the street and couldn't help but think of the past.

During the Battle of Shanhaiguan, Dafeng invested all its national forces in the war. The man wearing a dragon robe personally stood on the city wall and beat the drum to see him off. How glorious it was.

It would be great if His Majesty could beat the drum to see him off again!

Those old people at that time thought sincerely in their hearts.

But His Majesty is not the wise ruler of that time. At that time, Emperor Yuan Jing was wise and brave, diligent in government affairs, and swept away the chronic illness of the previous emperor.

Now His Majesty is obsessed with Taoism and has been lazy in government for many years.

Things have long changed.

On the top of the city wall, civil officials headed by Wang Zhenwen, military generals headed by several dukes, and clan members headed by the prince lined up on the top of the city wall, silently watching the team slowly coming at the end of the wide main road below.

"Thinking back then, when Wei Yuan went to war, His Majesty personally climbed the top of the city wall and beat the drum to see him off. That made the whole city of Beijing united as one." Wang Zhenwen said with emotion.

The old ministers who had experienced the Battle of Shanhaiguan were slightly dazed.

"I wonder why no one beats the drum on the top of the city wall. It turns out that no one is qualified anymore." The Minister of War suddenly said.

Twenty years ago, he was not a Beijing official and served in other places.

Hearing this, the prince, the fourth prince and others had slightly warm eyes. If they could imitate their father and beat the drum to see him off, they would be in the limelight.

However, most clan members just thought about it casually and did not dare to really do it.

There were only two people who could do this on the spot, one was the prince of the East Palace, and the other was the fourth prince, the legitimate son of the queen.

Beside the prince, Lin'an, who was wearing a fiery red palace dress, pursed his lips and imagined the scene, and was a little dazed for a moment:

"My father must have been unparalleled in his heroic spirit back then."

I really want to see my father beating the drum to see him off again.

Huaiqing also showed some expectation. What is the focus of attention and the brilliance?

The top scholar on the list of successful candidates riding a horse in the parade is one, and the masterpieces handed down from generation to generation at the poetry meeting are also one, Wei Yuan at this time is one, and my father wearing a dragon robe and climbing the city wall to beat the drum for the army is also one.

The prince and the fourth prince were somewhat tempted.

"Since my father is not coming, I will beat the drum myself. How can there be no one beating the drum when the army goes out to fight?" The prince said excitedly.

He knew that doing so would be a certain degree of usurpation, but this kind of thing is not a taboo in the etiquette after all. Even if my father knew about it, at most he would be unhappy. And he can gain huge reputation.

After weighing the pros and cons, the prince was eager to try.

The fourth prince frowned and was about to retort when he heard Huaiqing's voice transmission: "Fourth brother, you are not qualified enough."

The fourth prince angrily transmitted: "Then who else is qualified?"

Speaking of which, the fourth prince is quite outstanding among all the princes. He is a seventh-rank warrior.

Huaiqing shook his head and did not answer.

"Your Highness!"

Wang Zhenwen stopped the prince from walking towards the drum and said gently:

"In terms of status, it is inappropriate for you to do this. It will displease His Majesty. In terms of reputation, you lack some qualifications. In terms of Wei Yuan, you still lack some qualifications."

The prince frowned: "Then who is qualified according to the Prime Minister?"

Wang Zhenwen glanced over his shoulder, looked at the steps, and laughed: "The qualified person is here."

Everyone turned around suddenly and saw a young man with a long sword on his waist. He walked very slowly. The guards on both sides were trembling as if they were facing a great enemy. They tried hard to draw their swords, but they couldn't draw them out.

Huaiqing and Lin'an's beautiful eyes flashed with light at the same time.

"Xu Qiyan!"

Among the nobles, someone gritted his teeth and spoke.

Xu Qiyan ignored him, just nodded to Wang Zhenwen, and walked straight towards the drum.

The fourth prince's eyes moved slightly, but he remained silent.

The prince stared at him sharply, and stood in front of him, blocking his way.

"Brother Prince, please make way." Lin'an pushed him with his elbow turned outward.

In terms of status, he didn't have to worry about his father no matter what he did. In terms of reputation, the people of the capital cheered and praised him. To Wei Yuan, he was too qualified... The prince snorted and walked aside.

Xu Qian'an took out the drumstick and hit the drum hard.

.....

"Dong!"

"Dongdong!"

"Dongdongdong..."

The sound of drums came from the top of the city, first a dull sound, followed by two sounds, and then the drums were dense like rain, echoing in the sky.

Including Wei Yuan, everyone looked up or sideways, looking at the city wall.

On the city wall, someone was beating the drum!

"Look, it's Xu Yinluo!"

A shout of surprise came from the crowd.

"It's Xu Yinluo beating the drum."

"Xu Yinluo is beating the drum to see off the army."

The people's emotions suddenly rose, shouting loudly and enthusiastically.

Lin'an sometimes looked at the people below, and sometimes looked at Xu Qi'an's back. She smiled brightly and innocently.

Huaiqing's mouth curled up slightly.

Jiang Luzhong and others squinted their eyes, looking at the young and tall figure on the city wall, listening to the people's passionate cheers, inexplicably a little dazed.

Back then, the man in the dragon robe beat the drum on the top of the city, and the people in the city cheered like boiling water.

Twenty years passed in a flash, the person beating the drum changed, and the people cheered as usual.

They were silent for a moment, and suddenly showed a smile from the heart.

Wei Yuan raised his head and stared at the young man on the top of the city. A trace of relief flashed in his eyes full of vicissitudes.

Twenty years ago, there was Wei Yuan, and twenty years later, there is Xu Qi'an.

Very good!

At this time, another poem would be even better.

So, Wei Yuan laughed loudly and said, "Xu Qian'an, do you have a farewell poem?"