The ace special forces who dominated the Sui Dynasty's late period

  After a brief moment of confusion, Liu Ziqiu calmed down.

  It's not a problem to find a foothold. For a special soldier, the gardens and pavilions of large households, the temples and Taoist temples in the suburbs, even the front and back halls of government offices, where can't they stay? The key is to find a place with good information and look for Gao Xiuer's whereabouts.

  Since ancient times, the more people gather, the more news spreads. Liu Ziqiu also understood this principle. He entered the east gate of Luoyang and looked around where there were many people. Suddenly, he saw a wine shop with a large crowd, and the sign above the door read "One Drunken Arrival".

  Entered the wine shop, but didn't see any staff coming forward to greet him. There was only a woman standing behind the counter. The woman had a clear and elegant appearance, with a gentle demeanor, extremely beautiful, but her face was tightly closed, and she didn't even welcome the guest when he entered.

  Although it was so, the store was still full of guests. Everyone in front of them had their own wine and dishes, chatting about interesting news from time to time, but their eyes kept glancing at the woman inside the counter, obviously not interested in drinking.

  Liu Ziqiu's purpose was different from theirs, but this setting was a good place to gather information. He straightened his clothes and quickly walked up to the counter, only to see that the woman didn't even give him a glance. Liu Ziqiu felt quite uninteresting, his nose twitching slightly, and suddenly asked: "Miss, are there any osmanthus trees planted around here?"

  The woman's mouth curled up in a cold smile as she pointed to the water sign behind her, meaning if you want to drink, order food; otherwise, get out.

  A burst of loud laughter erupted around, someone stood up and said: "Kid, we've all used this move before. Look at your shabby appearance, get out of the way."

  Liu Ziqiu clenched his fists, but still endured it. This was under the emperor's feet, not a place for him to act wildly. It was just that he had clearly smelled a fragrance of osmanthus flowers, and thus used this as an excuse to strike up a conversation with the woman, unexpectedly provoking ridicule from everyone.

  Helpless, Liu Ziqiu had no choice but to force himself to point at the menu and casually ordered two small dishes and a pot of light wine.

  In the hall, only the western corner had an empty seat. A robust man in his thirties sat opposite him, drinking alone. Liu Ziqiu walked straight over, apologized for disturbing him, and sat down.

  That man looked up at Liu Ziqiu and smiled: "Brother, are you also here to see the beauty of Yunlishi?"

  "Xishi in the clouds?" Liu Ziqiu was about to speak to someone and hastily cupped his hands, saying "Please instruct me, brother."

  "Brother, didn't you know?" The man looked at Liu Ziqiu with a surprised expression and said, "The so-called 'Beauty in the Clouds' refers to Xi Shi sitting in the midst of clouds and mist."

  Liu Ziqiu became even more confused and asked: "What do you mean?"

  "It's visible but can't be touched!"

  Liu Ziqiu couldn't help but burst out laughing, causing everyone in the room to turn and stare. He hastily cleared his throat twice and said, "Brother, you're too funny."

  "Hey, this isn't what I said, it's what those people in the hall said." The man glanced at the counter and said, "Wait for me to tell you in detail."

  It turned out that the owner of this wine shop was a fallen family, named Wang Xiaoting. The woman inside the counter was his only daughter, nicknamed Gui Zhi. As for the wine and dishes, this one was actually ordinary, but Wang Gui Zhi was born to be extremely beautiful, attracting a group of young men who came non-stop all day long. However, although Wang Gui Zhi was as beautiful as peaches and plums, she was cold like ice and frost, and none of these guests could get her attention. These guests were also shameless, still competing to buy wine, the small shop's business was booming. Wang Xiaoting simply treated this daughter as a money-making tree, at the age of 17, she was not allowed to marry anyone.

  At this time, a sloppy middle-aged man brought up the wine and dishes. Liu Ziqiu tasted it with his chopsticks, and indeed it was tasteless.

  "He is Wang Xiaoting." The man said excitedly, pointing to the guests in the hall: "Look, there are princes and ministers, wealthy merchants and rich businessmen, elderly people, and confused young people, all of whom have come to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Yun Lixi."

  Liu Ziqiu looked around and indeed it was so. At the next table, there was a 14 or 15-year-old boy with a pale yellow complexion, looking sickly, staring at Liu Ziqiu with anger in his eyes, probably because he saw Liu Ziqiu's tall and handsome appearance and felt jealous.

  "But I am not."

  Liu Ziqiu asked in surprise: "Then why has brother come here?"

  "I'm here to verify something."

  "What's wrong?"

  "I once heard someone say that this woman has a unique fragrance, but I didn't believe it, so..."

  Liu Ziqiu exclaimed: "No wonder when I entered the store, I smelled a fragrance of osmanthus flowers. It was actually coming from her! She's indeed an extraordinary woman!"

  His voice was slightly louder and was immediately heard by a young man at the next table, who sneered: "Shameless!"

  Liu Ziqiu, however, was not there to cause trouble and ignored him, turning his head back to continue saying: "Brother, you've probably already confirmed it, yet you're still staying here, I'm afraid you're speaking insincerely."

  "That person smiled and said, 'Not necessarily. The fragrance indeed exists, but whether it comes from her body is hard to say for certain. Osmanthus flowers are easy to store, even if they're put away until next year, the fragrance remains, who can be sure she isn't secretly carrying a sachet?'"

  Liu Ziqiu saw that this person's thinking was meticulous and he was not an ordinary person, so he couldn't help but feel a desire to make friends with him. He hastily cupped his hands together and said: "I am Liu Ziqiu, may I ask your esteemed surname and given name?"

  Just then, a young man at the next table let out an "eh?" Liu Ziqiu turned his head to look, and that young man had already turned around, it was unclear whether this sound was related to himself or not.

  Just as he was suspicious, he heard the person opposite him say: "I am Li Jing."

  Liu Ziqiu was shocked: "Could it be that you are Mr. Li, who can discuss the tactics of Sun and Wu? I have long admired your great name!"

  "In those years, my uncle's wrong praise, what can be said? Li Jing said to this point, his expression suddenly became gloomy, raised the wine cup in front of him and drank it all at once, sighed and said: "I thought I, Li Jing, had read a lot of military books, with the intention of making progress. But now that I'm over 40 years old, I've only become an official outside the imperial court. With ambitions to soar into the clouds, what a pity, what a pity..."

  Although Li Jing is now in a humble official position and is in a state of being talented but not meeting the right opportunity, Liu Ziqiu is just an ordinary person. If Li Jing hadn't had a few cups of wine, he would never have said these words to him. Liu Ziqiu also knew that if he didn't show some real skills that could move Li Jing's heart, it would be difficult for them to become friends.

  Liu Ziqiu suddenly cupped his hands and said: "Lord Li, I have a question that I'd like to discuss with you."

  "Oh." Li Jing nodded and said, "You speak."

  Liu Ziqiu lowered his voice and said two words: "Cavalry."

  Li Jing was a member of the Imperial Guard, and the Imperial Guard was in charge of all the horses and carriages in the world. Therefore, Li Jing had done some research on cavalry. What Liu Ziqiu said was to discuss, not to ask for advice, which made Li Jing feel unexpected and raised his interest.

  Liu Ziqiu was a special soldier, not only could he ride horses, but also drive tanks and planes. However, the cavalry warfare of the Cold Arms era, he had only seen on TV. But Liu Ziqiu knew that in history, the most successful cavalry was Genghis Khan's Mongolian cavalry that swept across Eurasia, and the most successful tactic was their pincer movement, fully utilizing the high mobility of cavalry. He spoke slowly, but Li Jing nodded frequently.

  Li Jing was originally a man of temperament, listening to Liu Ziqiu's words until the wonderful place, he couldn't help but beat his feet and shout good, suddenly grabbing Liu Ziqiu's hand, loudly saying: "Good knowledge! If you don't abandon me, Jing is willing to be brothers with you!"

  Liu Ziqiu was overjoyed and hastily got up, saying: "Elder brother is above, please accept a bow from me!"

  Most of the guests in this restaurant came to see Yun Lixi, although they were discussing and criticizing her, but only whispering, no one dared to make a loud noise. Only these two "aliens" actually shouted loudly here, immediately causing a wave of protests.

  At this time, a person suddenly came in from outside the door and said to Li Jing: "Brother, you were actually here! It was hard for me to find you!"

  "This is my cousin Han Shiyue." Li Jing introduced Liu Ziqiu while beckoning, "Cousin, come sit over here!"

  Liu Ziqiu knew that this person was the son of Han Qizai, a famous general of the Great Sui Dynasty. He hastily paid his respects. However, Han Shiyue merely nodded slightly and said to Li Jing: "Your sister is looking for you everywhere, hurry up and follow me back home, there's something important to discuss!"

  Li Jing exclaimed in surprise: "You go first, I'll be right back. Can't let your sister-in-law know that I'm here, otherwise it will be a disaster!"

  Liu Ziqiu was surprised and said: "Big brother is still afraid of sister-in-law?"

  Li Jing chuckled and said: "Brother is a bit henpecked, henpecked..."

  That tone doesn't sound awkward, but rather somewhat proud.

  Han Shiyan was about to leave when a dozen or so people rushed in from outside. As soon as Han saw the leader, he felt a surge of anger and his fists clenched, ready to fight. Luckily, Li Jing's eyes were quick and he grabbed hold of him just in time. Someone in the hall had already stood up and was bowing, saying: "Lord Xue, what brings you here?"

  Although Liu Ziqiu did not know what grudge Han Shiyue had with the surname Xu, he himself had become brothers with Li Jing and could not stand by idly. Liu Ziqiu immediately flashed his body and stood in front of Han Shiyue.

  Li Jing whispered in his ear: "Younger brother, don't be rash! This man is a favorite of the Emperor, the eunuch Xu Tingfu."

  Xu Tingfu walked straight to the counter, "tsk tsk" admiring for a moment, and asked: "Are you Wang Guizhi?"

  Wang Guizhi didn't pay attention to him, stretched out her hand and pointed to the water sign on the wall behind her, just like when she was asking Liu Ziqiu questions.

  "It's interesting, it's interesting." Xu Tingfu "Gegere" burst out laughing. The androgynous voice sent shivers down Liu Ziqiu's spine.

  Wang Xiaoting happened to be carrying dishes out from behind, but recognized Xu Tingfu, and hastily came forward to ask: "Sir, what brings you here?"

  "This must be your daughter." Xǔ Tīngfǔ suddenly sank his face and said, "We have received the emperor's edict to select a beauty. Your daughter has such a beautiful appearance, she is indeed a rare talent, hurry up and get her ready, let's go with me."

  Wang Xiaoting was shocked, her hands shaking wildly as she repeatedly exclaimed: "It can't be done, absolutely can't be done. I only have this one daughter, the entire shop relies on her, if she were to enter the palace, how would I make a living? Please, sir..."

  "This is the imperial decree, who dares to disobey!" Xu Tingfu's eyes widened and he shouted loudly, "Guards, take him away!"

  Two attendants came in the morning, rushed into the counter, and took Wang Guizhi away. Wang Xiaoting begged bitterly, Wang Guizhi cried, and all the guests in the store who had come to see Yun Lixi were too afraid to speak out.

  Liu Ziqiu suddenly shouted: "Halt!"