Dream Broken You Pavilion

"What? There are a large number of people heading straight for the north gate from ten miles away?"

The bearded Situ Junnan was very surprised when he heard the soldiers coming to report him, his eyes widened with copper bells, and he hurriedly asked:

"Who is it?"

The soldier replied: "I don't know my identity, but I don't think I'm dressed in a soldier's attire. The flag I'm holding has only a pattern of a dagger on it, and I don't have any surnames."

"About how many people?" Situ asked.

"It looks like there are more than ten thousand people."

"Wan Yu?" Situ Junnan thought for a while, and then asked, "Is there anything unusual about the South Gate?"

The soldier replied: "Everything is normal at the south gate."

Situ Junnan shouted: "Go down and report again!"

"Yes." The soldier led the order to retreat.

Zhizhou Fan Qirui on the side knew it well, but pretended to be ignorant and asked:

"General, who do you think these people are? What do you want to do in Xuande Mansion?"

The muscles on Situ Junnan's face trembled, and he suddenly laughed out loud, and said loudly:

"It's just some shrimp soldiers and crab generals who don't even dare to put a name on the banner. No matter what they want to do, as long as I, Situ Junnan, are there, what can these bastards do?"

He looked proudly at Fan Qirui, who was already aged in front of him, sneered, and said:

"If Fan Zhizhou is afraid, you might as well hide in my Jiedushi's mansion and don't go anywhere, otherwise, if you are not careful, 'click'—" He swiped his palm on his neck, "I lost my life, that book There is nothing you can do to help the general." After saying that, he laughed loudly.

Fan Zhizhou has been used to Situ Junnan humiliating and intimidating him for so many years. He suppressed all the anger in his heart and said to himself:

"The old man can't cure you, a traitorous minister, and someone capable will come and clean you up." Thinking this way, he calmly smiled, raised his hand to stroke the black and white half-foot beard on his chin, and replied:

"No matter how talented Fan is, he is also the magistrate appointed by the emperor himself. Fan's fate is determined by God. I don't want you to worry about it, General Situ, but General Situ should take care of himself."

Speaking of this, Fan Zhizhou clasped his fists and said "Farewell." Before Situ Junnan could speak, he turned around and left with his hands behind his back.

"No." Situ Junnan's haughty and arrogant voice came from behind him, holding a gun and adjusting the tune.

When Fan Qirui walked outside the door, a gust of cold wind rushed towards his face, and burrowed into his neck along his collar. It was so cold that he couldn't help shivering.Winter has arrived, and spring is not far away. Old people are always more afraid of the cold. He stopped, turned his head and glanced at the wide red lacquered gate of Jiedushi Mansion, and a sneer of disdain crossed his lips. Angrily said in a low voice:

"It's really not speculative, just half a sentence, hum!" Shrinking his neck, wrapping his collar tightly, he walked away in the howling wind.

Back in Zhizhou Mansion, Fan Qirui immediately called Master Yang Fan, and whispered:

"The men and horses are almost at the base of the city. You should send someone to the Jiedu envoy's mansion to inquire about the news, and report to me as soon as there is any movement."

Yang Fan respectfully replied with his forehead: "Yes, master, Yang Fan will arrange it immediately. Don't worry, Situ Junnan will not end well if he helps the evildoers."

Fan Qirui nodded, waved his hand and said, "Go, be careful."

"Yes." Yang Fan took the order and turned around to make arrangements.

At this time, Fan Qirui's wife came out, saw Fan Qirui shrunk his neck and rubbed his hands, hurriedly took a cloak from a hanger at the side, put it on him, and asked:

"Master went to the Jiedu Envoy's Mansion and came back with a bad complexion, but Situ Gou got mad at you again?" As he spoke, he helped Fan Qirui to sit on a chair, poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to him. He also sat down beside him.

Fan Qirui stretched out his hand to gather the cloak, shook his head helplessly, glanced at his unhappy wife, and suddenly "hehe" laughed.

Mrs. Fan glared at him angrily, pouted and muttered:

"Still laughing? You're still laughing after being bullied all day long?! I think you're really old-fashioned."

Fan Qirui cheerfully leaned his head towards his wife, and said with a mysterious face:

"Someone will come to clean up that kid soon, can the old man be unhappy?"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Fan was slightly taken aback, then lifted her spirits and asked:

"What does the master mean, the major general will do something soon?"

Fan Qirui didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "Has the tunnel been dug?"

"True?" Hearing Fan Qirui's sudden question, Mrs. Fan was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly remembered, and hurriedly replied:

"Oh, the master said that the tunnel was just dug yesterday, and the exit is just under the old locust tree at the root of the outer wall of the southern city. It's exactly the right place."

"Very well, it's about time."

Fan Qirui slapped his thigh, his brows were beaming with joy, he took a sip of hot tea from the teacup, the man was happy, his energy and spirit were all up, his qi and blood were smooth and he didn't feel cold anymore, so he took off his cloak and casually Lean over the arm of a chair.

Mrs. Fan observed her words carefully, and asked carefully, "When will the Major General come? Could it be within these two days?"

Fan Qirui didn't answer, and opened and closed his wrinkled eyelids heavily.Mrs. Fan was overjoyed immediately, closed her eyes and folded her hands together, muttering in a low voice:

"Amitabha Buddha, Bodhisattva bless you, bless my country of Hunan and my husband..."

Fan Qirui and his wife have always had a deep love between husband and wife, and they are of one mind, so he did not hide from her that he let his nephew Shen Guyi and Xiao Han join hands in private. A tunnel went straight to the outside of the south city.

Although Madam Fan, who is over fifty years old, is not a lady of the family, she is also a young lady from a scholarly family. She is kind and charitable, gentle and virtuous, and has a good disposition. On weekdays, she accidentally tramples to death an ant and has to recite scriptures for three days. This is what Fan Qirui values ​​her the most. However, Fan Qirui never intended to take a concubine. The deep relationship between the two can be seen. They only regard Shen Guyi, the son of Mrs. Fan's sister's family, as their own son. very dense.

At this moment, Fan Qirui looked dotingly at the woman who had been with him all his life, and he couldn't help showing a comforting smile, and said: "What regrets do you have when you have a wife like this?"

He stood up and said softly to Madam Fan: "Go, take me to the backyard to see the tunnel Madam dug."

"Hey, slow down, master." Mrs. Fan responded meekly, reaching out to carefully support Fan Qirui, and the two walked towards the backyard together.

Pushing open the slightly dilapidated door of the woodshed, there was still some dirt that hadn't been cleaned up on the ground.

Mrs. Fan went straight to the corner, stretched out her hand and pushed aside a pile of dry firewood stacked half a person's height, revealing a wooden plank on the ground.Fan Qirui hurriedly stepped forward to help his wife remove the piece of wood, and suddenly there was a big hole three feet wide, inside it was dark and bottomless.

Fan Qirui squatted down, looked inside carefully, and saw a ladder leaning against the cave wall, and he couldn't see clearly any further down.Mrs. Fan took the torch and lit an oil lamp on the table. Fan Qirui stretched out his legs, carefully stepped on the ladder in the cave, turned around and reached out to take the oil lamp handed over by his wife, and slowly climbed up the ladder. go down.

"Be careful."

While telling Fan Qirui to be careful, Madam climbed the ladder and slowly descended the tunnel...

Calculated, this tunnel has been dug for two full months. The tunnel entrance seems to be only three feet wide, but once you step down the ladder, the bottom is very spacious, and it can accommodate two people side by side, a man seven feet tall. You can stand up straight and walk.

Holding oil lamps in their hands, the two walked slowly in the tunnel. At first it was a downward sloping road, and then it became straight. After walking for about half an hour, the terrain of the tunnel began to rise slowly. At this moment, walking was like climbing a mountain. The young man may be walking on the ground, but Fan Qirui is over [-] years old after all, so he can't help being a little out of breath. Madam stepped forward to help him, and asked softly:

"Master is tired? Do you want to sit down and have a rest?"

Fan Qirui reached out and beat his sore waist, shook his head, gasped and said:

"No, it's okay, oh, I'm old, I'm useless, I'm out of breath just now, you see, ma'am, ma'am, don't dislike your husband for being old."

Mrs. Fan stretched out her hand to help him beat his back, and said with a smile: "My husband is old, so he is also old for his wife. My husband doesn't dislike his wife's old age, so how can a wife dare to dislike my husband?"

She raised her eyes to look in front of the tunnel, and pointed out, "Oh, look, master, it's just ahead."

"Ah, it's here."

Fan Qirui stretched his arms as far as possible to lift the oil lamp in his hand as far as possible. With the help of the dim light from the oil lamp, he stretched his neck, narrowed his eyes, and looked forward as far as he could. Sure enough, it was not far away. At the place, a ladder was vaguely seen standing there, obviously they had reached the end of the tunnel.

At this time, Fan Qirui suddenly regained his vigor and energy, suddenly excited like a child, stretched out his hand to grab Madam's hand, and shouted:

"It's here, it's here, madam, let's go." Pulling his madam, he strode forward.

Not long after, the two arrived at the ladder. Fan Qirui climbed up the inclined ladder slowly, with a wooden plank still covering the top of his head. He stretched out his hand and gently moved the wooden plank away. Sunlight and a ray of cold wind entered the tunnel together, blowing Fan Qirui's half-foot-long beard into the air.Fan Qirui tightened his neck, braved the cold wind and climbed up two more steps, poking out half of his head...

There was a big locust tree in front of him, and the dry grass fluttered wantonly at the roots of the tree in the cold wind. Fan Qirui squinted his eyes and looked around. It is comfortable.Then he retracted his head, stretched out his hand to cover the wooden plank tightly again, and then slowly climbed down from the ladder.

The lady stretched out her hand to support him, brushed the hay from his beard and hair for him, and asked:

"Master, how is it? I have sent someone pretending to be a farmer to check the exit of the tunnel from time to time outside the city wall, so as to prevent people from discovering it. Now there are dead leaves everywhere. Once the board is covered, it will be covered by fallen leaves in a short while." .”

"Ma'am, you have a heart. This tunnel is really good. It's exactly what the old man wants. When it gets dark and the major generals arrive, this tunnel will be the key to our victory. Thank you, Madam, Ma'am is worthy of it." The old man's good wife."

Fan Qirui excitedly held Madam's hand, and kept saying words of thanks. The Madam was a little embarrassed when she said it. She blushed, showing girlish shyness, pouted, twisted her waist and said:

"Master, you are so old, what are you talking about?"

Fan Qirui seemed to be in a good mood. Seeing his wife shy and acting like a baby when she was young, she couldn't help laughing:

"Okay, okay, let's not talk anymore, ma'am, let's go back, ah." As he spoke, he held his beloved wife's hand firmly, and returned to the mansion along the original tunnel, feeling excited in his heart, and said in his mouth:

"Fortunately, our house is in the middle of the long street. If we dig from the north of the city to the south of the city, it won't take half a year. The time is right now."

The lady laughed and said, "Who says it's not? I'm afraid this is the Bodhisattva protecting our Xuande Mansion."

……