Chapter Twenty: The Guard Above

  Xue Liangchen hurriedly bowed and said: "Sir is our Xue family's great benefactor, although we are not as good at shooting as your servant, but we can also draw strong bows and ride inferior horses. If you don't think us too rustic, I will certainly run errands under your door, only I don't know how many people Sir needs by his side this time?"

  "Then thank you, good minister?" Han Xiao saw Xue Liangchen was so understanding and immediately changed his tone: "We are envoys of the Great Song, and Liao also sent elite soldiers to escort us, just in case. Two people will do!"

  "Two people?" Xue Liangchen stood up, bowed his head and thought for a moment. He thought to himself: "This is a good opportunity, why not let my fourth brother and Ah Ping go? My fourth brother is only 17 years old, but he is skilled in archery and sword fighting, and is well-known in the county; Ah Ping is my sworn brother, although his martial arts skills are not as good as those of my fourth brother, but he is resourceful and thoughtful, and can write. The two of them together can take care of each other." Thinking of this, Xue Liangchen turned around and beckoned to Zhou Ping and Xue Liangyu, then turned to Han Xiaochuan and said: "This is my fourth brother and my sworn brother Zhou Ping, let these two people follow you on your journey!"

  "These two?" Han Xiaoqu looked at Xue Liangyu and Zhou Ping, he didn't have any opinion on Zhou Ping, after all, in the report of victory, it was Zhou Ping who shot and injured the bandit leader; but Xue Liangyu's figure was slender and agile, yet his face still looked young, Han Xiaoqu couldn't help but feel displeased, thinking to himself: "I asked you for two skilled martial artists to protect my safety, but you sent over a half-grown child, do you think this is an opportunity to curry favor and get familiar? Thinking of this, he smiled and said: "Liangchen, you don't know that in recent years, the internal affairs of Liao have been chaotic, and after the Jin army's expedition, many elite soldiers were sent to the north, so there are many thieves and bandits in the country. Your fourth brother is still young, why not replace him with someone older?"

  Xue Liangchen hadn't even had a chance to explain when Xue Liangyu, who was standing beside him, became annoyed. As the youngest son in the family, Xue Liangyu's father had spoiled him since he was young, and his martial arts skills were exceptional among his peers, making him extremely proud of himself. However, he hadn't expected to be surpassed by Zhou Ping, a mere farmhand, in the matter of suppressing the bandits. What's more, he felt that Lord Han's words implied that he wasn't as good as Zhou Ping. Thinking of this, Xue Liangyu forgot about etiquette and stepped forward, loudly saying: "Lord Han, are you doubting my family's martial arts skills? I'm not one to boast, but if you don't believe me, please send someone to compare with me! If I lose even a single move or style, I'll admit defeat!"

  "This——" Han Xiaoqu was taken aback, and then smiled: "Well, the martial arts of our dynasty take archery as the top priority, but I don't know how many dou of bow you can open?" He looked at Xue Liangyu's young age and thought that he could open a bow of six or seven dou at most. After all, even the lower-ranking archers in the Northern Song Dynasty's Forbidden Army were only able to open a seven-dou bow.

  "I normally use a bow of one stone and two dou, two bows, two quivers of arrows, and one horse. Riding left and right, shooting freely, even ten or twenty people can't get close to me!" Xue Liangyu answered loudly.

  Han Xiao was taken aback and asked, "Really?" It's no wonder he was so surprised. In ancient China, the most important martial art for cavalrymen was archery on horseback. Normally, people would hold the bow with their left hand and draw the string with their right hand, so when riding a horse, they could only shoot at enemies within a 180-degree range to their left. Only a few exceptional warriors were skilled enough to shoot in all directions without any blind spots. Such warriors were extremely rare, so they were often specifically mentioned in historical records. For example, the "Book of Later Han: Biography of Dong Zhuo" records that Dong Zhuo was "a man of great talent and bravery... He could ride and shoot with both hands, and was appointed as a military commander."

  Xue Liangchen, who was standing beside him, feared that Xue Liangyu's words would offend Han Xiaoqu, so he hastily replied: "That's right! My fourth brother is young in age, but when it comes to horsemanship and archery skills, he surpasses us older brothers. That's why I let him follow Master!"

  Han Xiao nodded: "Indeed, heroes emerge in youth, and I underestimated you. Since that's the case, then it will be the two of you. Liang Chen, come here tonight, and after you both return, pack up and wait for me to return to Bianjing, then follow me together!"

  "Yes, Lord Han!"

  After the banquet, Xue Liangchen arranged for Xue Liangyu and Zhou Ping to return home overnight to pack their bags and prepare to go to Bianjing with Han Xiaochu. As soon as they arrived home, the village heads and local bullies from neighboring villages heard that the Xue family had established a relationship with the An Yang Han family through this matter, and they all came to congratulate them with wine, meat, and gifts. Xue Liangyu was even more radiant and confident, while Zhou Ping looked dull and still hadn't recovered from the sudden joy.

  "Brother Zhou, it's not easy to become one of Lord Han's trusted men this time! In the future when you rise to great heights, please don't forget about me and give me a helping hand!"

  "Brother, you're making me laugh!" Zhou Ping had already lost count of how many people had run over to cling to him tonight. In order to force a smile, the muscles in his cheeks were twitching. But even so, the man in front of him, who looked like he was over 30 but not quite 40, calling him "big brother" with such enthusiasm still made Zhou Ping feel a bit nauseous. At this moment, Zhou Ping couldn't help but think: "Who says ancient people were simple and honest? They're just as shameless, grabbing onto any opportunity they see and clinging to it for dear life!"

  "But must I really follow Han Xiaoji to Liao State?"

  The bitter smile on Zhou Ping's face disappeared, and although he had gradually dispelled the idea of running away with his savings after being persuaded by Master Zishan, following Han Xiao to Liao was a different matter altogether. He was very clear that the current situation in Liao was definitely precarious, for a simple reason: the destination of this Song envoy was Youzhou, and although the Jin army's blade had not yet reached Liao's land, they had been winning battle after battle in Liaodong these years. To avoid the war fire, a large number of defeated soldiers and Liao civilians would definitely flee to the relatively more stable southern provinces. With Liao's administrative ability at that time, it was impossible to arrange for the lives of these refugees in a short period of time. Among these refugees, strong and lawless villains would inevitably lead good people to do evil for their livelihoods. This example is indeed frequently seen in history. Secondly, if he didn't remember wrong, the Northern Song had long obtained intelligence on the Liao-Jin war from the escaped population of Liao, and even had a plan to form an alliance with Jin to attack Liao and retake the Yan-Yun sixteen states. In this context, the dispatched envoy must have been entrusted with the secret mission of gathering intelligence for the central government to make correct decisions, and perhaps there were even more tasks. As an outsider getting mixed up in this matter, he would easily end up with a tragic fate if he wasn't careful.

  "Should I go or not?" At this time, Zhou Ping's eyes suddenly appeared with the image of Zhishan. His stern face suddenly appeared with a smile and nodded slightly to Zhou Ping, as if encouraging him.

  "If he were in my position, even if he knew that ahead of him was a sea of knives and a mountain of fire, he would not retreat! Zhou Ping's face showed a hint of melancholy: "Unfortunately, I am not him."

  At this time, only a loud noise was heard, and the door was suddenly slammed open. Zhou Ping looked up in surprise, and saw Xue Liangyu stumbling in, his face flushed with wine. Zhou Ping hurried forward to support him, asking: "Young master, how did you drink so much wine——"

  "Let me go, I'm not drunk!" Xue Liangyu struggled free from Zhou Ping, swung his arm violently and shouted: "Second brother told me to listen more to you this time, but it seems like you want to be the boss of both of us. Ah Ping, tell me why second brother values you so much, are you his brother or am I his brother?"

  "Xiao Langjun is indeed the brother of Xun Jian!" Xue Liangyu looked at his opponent's face full of wine and felt a wave of disgust, he was currently worried about how to find an excuse to shirk off, but this half-grown child came out to disturb him.

  "Why did he let me listen to you more, instead of letting you listen to me?" Xue Liangyu stepped forward and asked loudly.

  Zhou Ping exerted himself to endure the nature of the answer: "The inspector is cautious in handling affairs, this is to let you and me discuss more, and the final decision is naturally up to the young master!"

  "No, not at all!" Xue Liangyu waved his arm vigorously, and with a drunkenness of 70-80%, he sat down on Zhou Ping's bed with a thud. He shouted loudly: "Don't think I don't see through you, Ah Ping! You didn't take this matter seriously at all. Not to mention this time, in fact, you look down on everyone in your heart, including that Han Shanggong! And it's not like my second brother chose you, probably wouldn't have even bothered with this affair!"

  When Zhou Ping heard Xue Liangyu's words, he couldn't help but be shocked. He never thought that this rough and impulsive Xue Si Lang would unintentionally expose his own secrets. As a time-traveler, Zhou Ping had an inexplicable sense of superiority towards all ancient people deep down in his heart. He always felt that he had more knowledge than them, and the current situation was only temporary. Even the emperor in Bianjing City was just a prisoner who would be confined to a well in the Five Kingdoms in over a decade. However, he didn't expect that despite trying to conceal it, he still revealed his true nature through his words and actions every day. If there were people with ulterior motives, they would naturally discover this and might even bring about disaster. Thinking of this, Xue Liangyu's back was already drenched in cold sweat, and he hurriedly forced a laugh, saying: "Young master, you're joking! Han Gong is an imperial scholar, how could I, a humble person like grass, dare look down on him? I just suddenly heard the news and got excited. Please forgive my rudeness. What we said earlier was just between us two, please don't...

  Zhou Ping stopped talking and saw that Xue Liangyu was already lying on his bed, snoring loudly. It seemed that he had fallen asleep. The words he spoke earlier were probably unintentional, and even if he were awake, he might not have been able to say them. Zhou Ping walked over to the bedside and looked at Xue Liangyu's face, which looked like a child's in his sleep, and couldn't help but sigh. He moved Xue Liangyu's right leg from the bed frame onto the bed and covered him with the quilt. Then he turned around and walked out of the door, sat down on the steps, and gazed at the bright moonlight in the courtyard, lost in thought.