When the sun climbed over the city wall of Fan Gu and sprinkled the sunlight into the small town, the people who got up early and went out were all shocked by the scene before them. Not long after, the news spread, and all the people in Fan Gucheng, including the old and the weak, women and children, flocked to the widest main street, sighing at what appeared in front of them.
There are hundreds of tables lined up on the street, filled with wine bowls.
No food, only wine.
Except for Li Xiaozong, the general of the Fan Gu Frontier Army, more than 700 frontier soldiers in Fan Gu City are all here. At this time of day, there was not a single soldier patrolling the walls of Fangu City. More than 3,000 wine bowls are densely arranged on the table, and each bowl is filled with wine.
In Fangu City, there are four restaurants, six inns, more than a dozen restaurants, big and small, the bosses, the cooks, the apprentices, and all the handymen and nurses in Jinyuanfang have been busy all night, and almost emptied all the wine storage. to the street. The more than 700 frontier soldiers wanted to help, but the villagers refused to let them sit at the table to rest.
More than 2,000 people gathered on the main street, looking at the tables and tables arranged like a long dragon in front of them, they suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.
The frontier soldiers who have guarded Fangu City for many years are the only ones who are eligible to sit at the table. Even Fang Jie, who arranged all this today, stood aside, looking at the frontier soldiers with shame on their faces.
"Fang Jie! Do you really want to leave?!"
Someone couldn't help asking.
Fang Jie waved his hand, but did not answer.
He picked up a bowl of wine, knelt down and sprinkled it on the ground slowly: "This bowl of wine is toasted to Pao Ze who unfortunately died in battle that night. We are the ones who apologize to you!"
Except for the frontier soldiers, not many people understand what he said.
What happened that night can be hidden from the people in the city, but it cannot be hidden from these elite soldiers of the Sui Dynasty. They knew to whom Fang Jie's wine was toasted, so their expressions were a little sad. That night, at the west gate of the city, more than 20 frontier soldiers died in battle. The one who killed them... was Fang Jie.
It stands to reason that the frontier soldiers shouldn't forgive Fang Jie, but for some reason, someone in the silent crowd suddenly shouted "Go all the way", more than 700 soldiers stood up neatly, and everyone raised the wine bowl in front of them Sprinkled on the ground, and then shouted neatly to go all the way.
Qu Feng, the oldest school lieutenant in the frontier army, murmured as he poured the wine, "Don't blame Fang Jie."
More than 700 people toasted together, wishing the dead Pao Ze to be safe in heaven.
Fang Jie poured out the wine, then solemnly kowtowed three times in the direction of Ximen. The soldiers stood on both sides of the long table, and it was unknown who shouted a salute. More than 700 soldiers uniformly raised their right fists across their chests, and solemnly performed a military salute of the Sui Dynasty.
Qu Feng walked over slowly, and reached out to lift Fang Jie, whose forehead was on the cold bluestone road: "No one blames you, although what we soldiers hate most is that our fellow soldiers can kill each other, but it doesn't mean that everyone doesn't distinguish between black and white. Right and wrong. Li Xiaozong didn’t come today. He said he was imprisoned in the General’s Mansion, but we didn’t call him. Look for yourself, even the brothers on duty in the General’s Mansion came, and they didn’t treat you as Enemy!"
"Whether you are in the Yanwu Academy of the Imperial Capital, or other places. The frontier soldiers in Fangu City will always be your brother!"
"Respect brother!"
Qu Feng picked up a bowl of wine again, looked up to the sky and shouted.
More than 700 frontier soldiers immediately raised their wine glasses and said to Fang Xie in unison, "Respect brother!"
Fang Jie wanted to cry, but held back.
He took the wine bowl that the big dog handed him, and drank it down.
"I know you hate Li Xiaozong, even we hate him, let alone you?"
Qu Feng put the wine bowl on the long table, took out a stack of bank notes from his pocket, and handed it to Fang Jie: "Li Xiaozong entrusted the guards of the General's Mansion to bring it to you. I'll give it to you. This is the bonus you gave to Li Xiaozong in Fangu City in the past few years, not all, about one-third... You hate his people, but you earned the money. It needs to be managed, and it’s hard to talk to someone who wears an official uniform. Don’t refuse, money is money, if you don’t feel happy about taking this money, then each of our more than 700 brothers will drop a drop of blood on the bank note and wash it off. Get rid of the resentment in your heart!"
"I take!"
Fang Jie nodded vigorously, and solemnly took the bank note.
"Fang Jie, are you coming back?"
A little girl with a baby voice was hugged by her mother, her pure eyes were full of reluctance. Although not as rich as the adults, it is more pure.
"return!"
Fang Jie nodded and said with a smile.
"I planned to treat everyone to a bowl of wine before leaving, and spend all the money in the luggage before leaving. But all the shopkeepers in the city don't charge me, so this bowl of wine is not so much that I invite everyone to drink. They said that everyone invited me to drink! Our solution is not a man who is upright, but he is also a man! This wine is a parting wine, but not a heartless wine! I think I am worthy of being friends with you, so I will do it together today This bowl!"
Everyone had wine in their hands, even children were stuffed into a bowl.
The little girl who asked Fang Jie if she would come back before looked at the wine bowl in her hand and said timidly, "Mother, the wine is spicy, I don't want to drink it."
Her mother rubbed her sore nose and said, "My dear baby, you have to drink even a sip. After drinking this bowl of wine, you must remember Fang Jie. He is the relative of everyone in our Fangu City. It's family."
The little girl seemed to understand but still nodded.
Not far away, a rough man dipped his fingers in some wine and put it into the mouth of the baby in his wife's arms. The baby sucked subconsciously, but the wine was too spicy, and the baby immediately frowned, and stretched out its small arms from the swaddle. After shaking it hard a few times, he grinned and cried.
When the baby cried, I don't know how many people followed him.
"Let's say goodbye today, I hope we can meet again!"
Fang Jie drank all the wine, but tears still flowed out after all. Da Quan sighed, even a woman like Mu Xiaoyao had a sore nose.
…
…
On this day, Fan Gucheng ran out of wine.
Or maybe they didn't want to see such a scene, so the people recruited by Hongxiu had already left the city last night. On the widest street in the city, I don't know how many people passed out drunk. The girl in the cardamom age, after drinking the wine, her face turned red like a mountain peach blossom blooming in the spring breeze, but her eyes were red and swollen from crying.
For them, Fang Jie is not just a name, maybe many years later when she marries and becomes a wife, she will smile shyly when she recalls the past, and she can't forget the young man she never forgot when she was young. Perhaps Fan Gucheng was too small, so Fang Jie changed it. The imperial capital is so big, maybe he is the one who changed.
More than 700 frontier soldiers drank, and went back to perform their duties under the leadership of the school lieutenants. In the upper city, the inspectors who went out of the city also led their horses out of the city, Qu Feng was the last one to leave, patted Fang Jie on the shoulder and said drunkenly: "Whether you pass the exam or not, you have to come back and have a look. If you don’t pass the exam, it’s best to drink and kill thieves together when you come back. Others don’t know, but I know it very well... Every time you kill thieves, you hide, but the most threatening horse thieves are all shot to death by you secretly. The most unconscionable thing Li Xiaozong did was to demean your military achievements."
"You are a qualified scout with a radius of hundreds of miles. As long as there are horse thieves on the side of Langru Mountain, which one did you not find out? In three years, the people in Fangu City have become rich and peaceful... Fan Gucheng has been around for decades, and the surrounding area has never been so clean.”
"Brother Qu..."
Fang Xie opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
Qu Feng smiled and said: "However, I still hope that you can be admitted to the Yanwu Academy. The worst thing you can do is to be a captain. I know your ability. What are you afraid of if you can't practice? Purely physical training can compete with masters of cultivation, such as in the military." There are not many generals. Don't forget that Luo Yao, who guards the southern border of our Great Sui Dynasty, is said to be comparable to a ninth-rank master in pure external skills, and he can still rule the world! It's best to be a general, come back and let us Fan Gu be a general!"
"Um!"
Fang Jie nodded vigorously.
"Let's go, today I will lead the army to patrol the Langru Mountain side, I can't see you off, don't be surprised... have a good trip!"
After saying this, Qu Feng turned his head and left.
After the frontier soldiers left, the common people surrounded them again. Talking to Fang Xie in a hurry, Fang Xie couldn't hear what was said in the confusion. Some people said that Fang Xie treated Fan Gu as his mother's family, and only after being scolded did he realize that Fang Xie was not a woman.
But I don't know why, everyone has a kind of reluctance like parents marrying a daughter in their hearts.
"Boss shopkeeper, don't worry about Jinyuanfang, I will take good care of it. If you don't come back, I will send someone to send you the annual accounts for you to check."
Chu Huaili, the second shopkeeper of Jinyuanfang, rubbed his eyes and said.
"Well, the prairie barbarians make money easily, and Jinyuanfang cannot fail. Although the Hongxiu Building is missing, Keshengju and Jinyuanfang are still the cash cows of Fangu City. As long as there are these two buildings, the folks will be happy. It won't be as hard as it used to be."
Fang Jie confessed, then lowered his voice and said: "If Li Xiaozong wants to get rid of the traces of money greed on his body, he will definitely burn all the previous accounts. You keep a copy and hide it well. Also, he will definitely have a relationship with the city. Leaving aside all business relationships, this is an opportunity... Without him, the profitable business will become the folks' own, and even without the red sleeves, the dividends will be much greater than before."
"I remember the shopkeeper!"
Chu Huaili nodded vigorously.
He was originally a down-and-out scholar in Fangu City, but his life was changed because of Fang Jie. If it weren't for Fang Jie, he, a poor man who was looked down upon by others, wouldn't be able to end up wandering around the world.
"Save some money for yourself."
Fang Jie smiled: "You are too honest, you haven't saved enough money to get a beautiful daughter-in-law. But after I leave, I guess you will be the object of admiration for the girls in Fan Gucheng."
The honest and dull Chu Huaili blushed, embarrassed and didn't know how to answer.
…
…
"Let's go! Let's all go back. It's not about life and death. If I become as rich as Wu Yidao one day, I will take you all to live in Chang'an, the imperial capital! Of course, don't hold your hopes up."
Fang Jie stood on the carriage, waved his hand, and said loudly: "Let's not change the green mountains to the green waters... there will be a time later!"
Aunt He tiptoed in the crowd and shouted: "No matter how beautiful the girls in the imperial capital are, the girls from Fan Gu are the most reliable to find a wife!"
"Aunt He... Let Chu Huaili transfer some money from the account to you later, and set up a special pimp... Uh, no, it's a marriage agency. I've already thought of the name, it's called Century Baihe!"
"Fang Jie! Remember me, I'll wait for you to come back and marry me!"
"Give up! If I won't come back for ten years, could it be that you won't marry for ten years?! No one wants you when you're old, so pick and choose while you're still young!"
"Fang Jie, the imperial capital is too big, don't lose yourself!"
"Don't worry, I'll report to the police if I lose myself!"
"Fang Jie, they said that your little brother grew up violently. Before you leave, tell me how you did it!"
"Brother, you are exposed!"
General's Mansion.
Li Xiaozong poured a glass of old wine and drank it down. Listening to the lively shouts outside, he laughed at himself: "The fortune in life is so wonderful. I never thought that I, a general, would be far inferior to him as a philistine businessman. I didn't know that I left Fan When I was solid, how many people sent me off, how many people scolded me... Fang Jie... all the 700 multilateral troops are going to send you off, do you want to tell me... you are better than me?"
Fan Gu Dongmen.
Under an oil-paper umbrella, a woman in a snow-white mink velvet dress looked at the scene in the city and smiled, then turned around and said lightly, let's go. I don't know whether it is the oiled paper umbrella that depicts the peony that makes her look like a fairy, or her face adds charm to the oiled paper umbrella.
Three sixteen or seventeen-year-old maids followed her to the outside of the city. Not far from the city, the red-sleeved horse-drawn carriage parked quietly by the side of the road.
"how?"
Aunt Xi's voice came from a carriage.
"It's nothing, you're just a commoner."
The stunningly beautiful woman replied, and then boarded the carriage.
"When will he lose his street spirit...he will have great achievements."
"It would be even worse if he didn't have this street spirit."