Han official!

Chapter 3 Lion Circle

Zhang Qian blushed and tried to defend himself, but he couldn't find an excuse. In the end, he could only say awkwardly, "I, Zhang Qian, will definitely go down in history. I won't let you down for your meal. I'll send the money over in a few days."

Being poor is changing.

He secretly swore in his heart that a real man should not live his life in vain, and sooner or later he would accomplish something great that would go down in history!

Zhang Qian?

Guo Jie was shocked. He wondered whether the official in front of him had the same name as Marquis Bowang, or was the real Zhang Qian. Regardless of whether it was true or not, today's meal was not wasted, and he even made a lot of money.

"You seem quite courageous."

Zhang Qian was embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, saying, "There's a lion enclosure southwest of Weiyang Palace. If you can wrestle and spar with a sword, and kill a lion, or a pig, or a tiger in front of the imperial relatives and dignitaries, you might be noticed by Princess Pingyang and taken to her residence, where she lives, and become her guest."

There were nine animal pens and one pig pen in Chang'an, all of which were built by the emperor to raise wild animals such as pigs, tigers, bears, and other ferocious beasts.

Beast fighting was the most popular form of competition among the imperial relatives and the rich and powerful. Every autumn and winter, the emperor would order his warriors to fight beasts in the beast enclosure.

The emperor would go up here to watch the shooting of animals.

The upper class of the Han Dynasty was filled with a strong martial spirit, and the powerful and wealthy personally participated in beast fights to demonstrate their own martial prowess.

According to historical records, Emperor Wu of Han could fight bears and tigers with his bare hands. After Liu He, the King of Changyi, ascended the throne, he "drove around the Beigong and Guigong palaces, and used pigs to fight tigers."

Guo Jie thought about it carefully and decided that wrestling and swordplay were a quick way to become famous, and could also bring out the greatest advantages of this body.

He is skilled in swordsmanship and can even kill dozens of people alone.

The heavy snow outside the house gradually stopped, and the road in front of the door was covered with a layer of snow. Merchants and servants appeared in the streets one after another, and the deserted Gao Street became more lively.

The heavy snow turned into a light snow of salt grains, the cold wind was still biting, and people could walk on the streets.

Guo Jie stood up, slung his sword over his shoulder, and walked under the black-tiled eaves. Looking at the streets covered in white, he prepared to go to Liushi to find his good friend Ji Shaogong, which was also where he stayed in Chang'an.

It is a good idea to win fame in the Lion Circle, but you need to understand Princess Pingyang's movements and wait until she goes to the Lion Circle to watch before taking action.

He turned around and wanted to say hello to Zhang Qian before leaving.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Qian came over and said, "My good friend Ganfu has a house with two bedrooms in Liushi. If you don't mind, I would like to sleep on the same couch with you tonight. It will be my repayment for the meal."

"Sleeping on the same bed?" Guo Jie's heart moved. Sleeping on the same bed could deepen the friendship between the two sides. Zhang Qian mentioned a good friend named Gan Fu, and concluded that he was most likely the Marquis of Bowang who opened up the Western Regions.

Ganfu, also known as Tangyifu, was a Hu man who accompanied Zhang Qian on his diplomatic mission to the Western Regions. The journey was difficult, and he used his superb archery skills to kill animals to satisfy his hunger. Later, he and Zhang Qian were captured by the Xiongnu. He followed Zhang Qian for more than ten years while being held captive, and he never changed his mind. It was not until thirteen years later that he found an opportunity and escaped from the Xiongnu with Zhang Qian.

Guo Jie thought to himself that although Gan's father was a Hu man, he had followed Zhang Qian for more than ten years and had not surrendered to the Huns. He was a person worth making friends with.

"I'm bothering you, gentleman."

Guo Jie bowed and said, "I have a good friend named Ji Shaogong who lives in Liushi. I'd like you to lead the way. When we get there, I'll ask Ji Shaogong to come along, buy him a glass of wine, and we can have a good chat."

Gentleman is a more respectful title.

Zhang Qian blushed and said, "How can I be worthy of being called a gentleman? I am just a poor, low-ranking official who can barely afford to eat. Just call me by my name. I don't know yours."

"Help!"

"There's a tiger, help!"

"The tiger in the lion's circle escapes!"

"Fierce tiger?" Guo Jie and Zhang Qian shuddered, their hands quickly reaching for their waists, pulling out their two-foot-long swords from their leather sheaths. They hunched their bodies slightly and stared at the end of Gao Street. It made their scalps tingle.

Not far away, two gorgeous tigers appeared. They were huge and extremely ferocious. They were gnawing on the bodies of two common people. One tiger bit the commoner's flat-capped head to pieces with one bite, and the other tiger slapped the commoner's flat-capped head with its paw, smashing it on the spot.

Guo Jie and Zhang Qian saw this and couldn't help but feel terrified.

The other people in the room were even more terrified, including the guard, who rolled and crawled over the window lattice on the back wall and hid as far away as possible.

Only the man in the gorgeous clothes gritted his teeth, suppressed the fear in his heart, and came to the door of the extraordinary house: "If I run away with him, I will definitely be looked down upon. I would rather be killed by a tiger than be looked down upon by others!"

Guo Jie's heart sank. "No wonder Wu Song's tiger-slaying story is so legendary. In the Water Margin, a story full of fierce heroes, Wu Song became a top-notch hero simply by slaying the tiger. He even rose from an ordinary citizen to the deputy director of the county public security bureau. It turns out tigers can be so ferocious."

He turned and walked into the extraordinary room, picked up the ring-handled sword left behind by a guard, held it in his palm and walked out again.

The cool touch of the ring-handled sword alleviated his innate fear of tigers as a human being.

"Two tigers."

Guo Jie held a two-foot sword in one hand and a ring-handled knife in the other. He narrowed his eyes and said, "I have a lot of blood debts on my back. I want to buy a title to atone for my sins. These two tigers should be able to sell for a lot of money."

Zhang Qian and Wei Guang were stunned.

The ferocious tiger that was so frightening to look at became just half a tael of money in Guo Jie's eyes?
The people hiding on both sides of Gao Street were all stunned and looked at Guo Jie who suddenly appeared in shock.

There was only a vast expanse of snow-white Gao Street, silent and deserted, with everyone fleeing in panic and hiding in nearby houses.

Suddenly a person came out.

Guo Jie stood alone in the middle of the snow-covered Gao Street.

In the white snow.

He faced the tiger alone.

Zhang Qian's heart trembled, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Even if I can't be remembered in history, I can at least leave a line of words in the annals of miscellaneous stories: 'In the first year of Jianyuan, Zhang Qian fought and killed a fierce tiger in Gao Street.'"

He was so excited when he thought of this that he shouted angrily and rushed out: "A real man is born in this world, how can he die in obscurity!"

Wei Guang, a young man in fancy clothes, saw that he had to hide alone at the door of the extraordinary house. He suddenly felt like a thorn in his back, and the eyes looking at him from all directions seemed to be full of contempt.

He likes fancy clothes because he doesn't want to be looked down upon.

Three people stood at the door of the extraordinary house, and he was the only one who dared not go forward, acting like a coward who was afraid of the tiger.

"drink!"

Wei Guang shouted and rushed out without hesitation: "Even if I die today, I won't be looked down upon!"

"Ha ha!"

Guo Jie turned around and saw Zhang Qian and Wei Guang approaching. He laughed heartily, his confidence surging. "One tiger is still manageable, but two will be too much for me. I'll take care of the left tiger, and I'll take care of the right one."

Zhang Qian and Wei Guang nodded heavily, tightly gripping their two-foot swords, secretly regretting not bringing a strong bow. If they had brought a bow and crossbow, they would have a better chance of defeating the ferocious tiger.

Guo Jie strode forward and took the initiative to attack, holding a two-foot sword and a ring-handled knife in his left and right hands, and let out a long roar.

"I will chop off your heads today!"

(End of this chapter)