Preface
In the long river of history, a mysterious leopard, it is not an ordinary beast, but a Hulei leopard that can shock thousands of horses. Its legendary experience is staggering, and it has changed six masters successively, and it is famous in the Sui and Tang dynasties. However, what kind of mystery is hidden in this leopard with a mysterious background, and is its existence an accident of history, or is it inevitable?
With the passage of time, we can't help but ask: Is the story behind Hulei Leopard a myth or a reality?
The strange beast in Zhang Qing's hand was a blockbuster
In 580 AD, Yang Jian, a powerful minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, usurped the throne and established the Sui Dynasty. At that time, the world was not peaceful, and heroes from all walks of life responded one after another, embattled. On Langya Mountain in Shandong, there was a mountain king named Zhang Qing, who led the mountain people to plunder the mountain repeatedly. On the way down the mountain, Zhang Qing found an extremely unusual horse, gray and yellow, interspersed with tiger stripes, and black spots on its hooves. Its peculiar demeanor and mysterious demeanor made Zhang Qing immediately see that it was extraordinary. Zhang Qing immediately snatched the horse and named it "Hulei Leopard" as his mount.
It turned out that this Hulei Leopard was Dong Zhuo's mount back then, and when he came to the Central Plains with the rebellious army, he fell into the hands of the horse traders in the Western Regions. It is as fierce as fire, and ordinary people can't control it, so it will stay in the horse market. Now that it has fallen into the hands of Zhang Qing, Zhang Qing is naturally so happy that he can't keep his mouth shut.
Soon, Zhang Qing discovered the mystery of Hulei Leopard. There is a sarcoma on the top of the horse's head, and a handful of long hairs on it, and a slight drag can make the Hulei leopard let out an earth-shattering roar, which is simply infinitely powerful! Zhang Qing often drives the horse down the mountain, and when he encounters a violent person, he only needs to roar the thunder leopard to shock the opponent and make the people happy.
Zhang Qing has used such a clever plan for more than two years. It wasn't until the winter of 583 that Zhang Qing met a man named Shang Silang on the way to plunder. The two fought, and Zhang Qing angrily found that he was not Shang Silang's opponent at all with the power of Hulei Leopard!
Shang Si Lang Debao, helping King Yang Lin to raise troops
It turns out that this Shang Silang is not an idle person. He studied under the famous Ning Luchen and obtained the Eight Treasures armor in his early years. After Ning Luchen's death, he was determined to serve the country and went to Shandong. This time he met Zhang Qing, and Shang Silang defeated the enemy with one move and captured Hulei Leopard. Since then, Hulei Leopard has changed its second owner.
After Shang Silang won the Hulei Leopard, he was full of spirit and made contributions everywhere. In 584, Yang Lin, the son of Emperor Wen of Sui, rebelled against King Yang of Qin, and Shang Silang came to defect when he heard the news. The two men with thick arms hit it off, and Shang Silang became a fierce general under Yang Lin.
In several outbreaks with the Sui army, Shang Silang made great contributions. He wore an eight-treasure helmet on his head, held a hundred refining spears, and straddled the Hulei Leopard as if he had entered a no-man's land. repeatedly fought against Qin Yi, a famous general under the command of Li Yuan, the king of Qin, and won and lost each other. Qin Yi also had to admit that one Shang Silang was enough to be ten thousand enemies!
However, the good times did not last long, and in 588, Yang Lin was defeated, and Shang Silang was wounded in the second battle with Qin Yi. Because of the relationship between Hulei Leopard, Shang Silang fought hard to the end and was not captured by the enemy. But he did not escape this catastrophe after all, and was soon martyred in the rebellion. Before he died, he instructed his friends to pass on the Hulei Leopard to his son Shang Shifu.
Shang master and apprentice guard Chang'an, and his ambition is not rewarded
Master Shang is the only son of Shang Silang, and he is also a famous man in the world. He inherited his father's orders since he was a child and Xi martial arts. After the death of his father, he devoted himself to serving the Great Sui.
In 613, Li Yuan was proclaimed emperor, the country was called the Great Sui, and Shang Shi and his apprentices joined the Sui army. He soon became known for his bravery, and became the chief soldier of Chang'an. With 10,000 soldiers and horses, he was the key point of the town guard in the northwest border of the Sui Dynasty.
At this time, Master and Apprentice Shang were also in the prime of their forties. He was heroic, and he sat on Hulei Leopard and practiced every day, which made the people in Chang'an City look sideways. Some people praise him as a new generation of Shang Silang, who will definitely be able to make a name for himself.
However, the good times did not last long, and in 617 Wang Shichong led his army to betray and attack Chang'an in the south. In the face of the menacing rebels, Master Shang and his apprentices resisted bravely. He fought with a white blade and personally rode the Hulei Leopard to fight the enemy. After three days and a whole night, Master Shang fought his way out of the encirclement. It's a pity that the general trend has gone, the enemy army has entered the city and looted, and the master and apprentice are helpless.
When the city was broken, Master Shang and his apprentices killed themselves sadly. Before he died, he entrusted Hulei Leopard to his old friend Qin Yi and asked him to take care of his wife and children. Qin Yi promised that he would definitely fulfill his wish. In this way, the third owner of Hulei Leopard died before his ambition was rewarded!
Qin Shubao was unwilling
Hulei Leopard has changed its owner, but what has not changed is its fate with the battlefield. In 621, Qin Shubao defeated Wang Shichong and pacified the world, and Hulei Leopard was also in the Qin army. It's just that it's no longer obtained through normal means.
When the master and apprentice entrusted Qin Yi at the beginning, Qin Yi agreed to transfer Hulei Leopard to Qin Shubao. Qin Shubao was naturally very happy to get this treasure. It's just that thinking about the miserable fate of the original owner of this thing, he also has some regret in his heart.
This guilt was even worse when Qin Shubao used tricks to seize Hulei Leopard's furnace spear many times in the future. When the master and apprentice were fighting the front line, Qin Shubao designed it to be defenseless; How complicated was Qin Shubao's mood when Master and Apprentice were killing themselves? Perhaps it was this estrangement that made something always missing between Hulei Leopard and Qin Shubao.
Even so, Qin Shubao and Hulei Leopard have also fought side by side for many years. In many battles, Hulei Leopard has played a key role. In the battle of the Bronze Banner Array in 626, it let out a long roar and saved Qin Shubao who was on the verge of danger. Two years later, in the battle for Yangzhou to win the championship, it saved Qin Qiong's life. Although this magical ability disappeared under Cheng Biting Jin's pranks, the figure of Hulei Leopard was still tall, like thunder and fire in the Qin family's army.
Qin Huaiyu's Northern Expedition was still ambitious
In 640, Qin Shubao died shortly after unifying the world. His son Qin Huaiyu inherited Hulei Leopard and also inherited the important task of the Northern Expedition to Eastern Xia. A young man came out of his father's order to warn the world once again that the great cause of the Qin family is by no means easy!
Qin Huaiyu has a strong personality, he is bent on the Northern Expedition to Eastern Xia, and Xue is ashamed of the defeat of the Great Sui ten years ago. In 641, he personally led his army on an expedition and fought all the way to Liaodong. However, Qin Huaiyu, who was so happy, was ambushed by the Eastern Xia army and fell into a heavy siege.
On the occasion of his death, Hulei Leopard once again exerted his might. It let out a long howl of anger, which reverberated through the north, directly shocking the mounts of the Eastern Xia Army. Qin Huaiyu barely got out of trouble, and although he did not win the battle, he also preserved the safety of the northern border of the Tang Dynasty.
After that, Qin Huaiyu led Hulei Leopard to conquer the north and south, and was invincible. It was not until 648 that he was killed by an arrow in a frontier battle. Before his death, he entrusted Hulei Leopard to his son Qin Meng, hoping that Qin Meng would inherit his legacy in the future and succeed in retreating from the enemy.
Qin Meng was martyred, and the horse stepped on the immortal
Qin Meng, the last "Hulei Leopard Knight" in Datang. At the age of seventeen, he inherited his father's mantle and led his army to conquer the Western Regions, Gaochang and other places. The scale of this westward expedition was unprecedented, and when the Tang army marched out, the momentum was magnificent and shocking. And the legendary Hulei leopard has been in service in Datang for more than 60 years. It is no longer the style of the year, but it is still under Qin Meng, and it is very brave.
But it's twilight after all. In his life, he has gone through six masters. It followed six generations of knights to the battlefield and made countless feats. Now that Datang's fortunes have been exhausted, it's time to come to an end. In 655, the Tibetans invaded on a large scale, and Qin Meng led his army to meet the battle. In this final Jedi counterattack, Qin Meng led his own soldiers to fight hard and died on the battlefield. No one knows the final outcome of Hulei Leopard, which also lost its trace in this battle.
There is a legend in later generations, saying that after Qin Meng became a heroic man that day, the thunder leopard roared for a long time, soared into the sky, and finally became a heavenly horse. It carried Qin Meng and his six former masters, dancing. Since then, the legendary Shenkun has never appeared in the world again, and I don't know which piece of Shenzhou he went to with the six masters?
epilogue
In a hundred years, six knights, three dynasties. From Zhang Qing to Qin Meng, they each have different life trajectories, but they are connected by a horse. Some of them succeed and some fail, and their lives pass quickly in ups and downs. But Hulei Leopard will always remember the years when they fought side by side.
No one can predict what the future holds. But the figure of the six knights turning their hands into clouds and covering their hands into rain, and the hissing of the Hulei leopard, will always be remembered in this land!