Liyang Post Road, centered on Tai'an City in the capital, is a well-deserved official road. It was once hailed as the blood of the country by the Yamen of the Ministry of Veterans. It even compared the prosperous dynasty that unified the Central Plains to a land fairy who has never been seen before. The magnificence of essence and blood can be said to be the best in the past and present.
Because Liangzhou Qingma Station is close to the state city, it is located in a bustling town. Since this is the only place to pass in and out of Liangzhou City, not only the scale of the post house is quite large, but also there are many post houses on Beiliang Road. The only garden, there are as many as 70 postmen, and there is also a garrison of light cavalry stationed nearby all the year round. It is said that the personal guard of the young vassal king is from Baima Yicong. Half of the troops in the early years came from this cavalry army, and the combat power is natural. It should not be underestimated. For example, the lunatic Hong Shuwen, who has already ascended to the sky in the Beiliang Army, was born in this unobtrusive army.
Li Gongde, who has always firmly maintained the top position in Beiliang's civil servants these years, stayed at the Qingma Post in his early years, and splashed ink whenever he was so excited, leaving behind a "unique" calligraphy. , or because those four words are too "iron painted with silver hooks", they have not been framed and hung for so many years. Bei'an Town, where the Qingma Station is located, is also an extremely prosperous thoroughfare in all directions. Lingzhou has always been known as Jiangnan outside the Great Wall, and Bei'an Town is known as Xiaolingzhou. It can be seen that this big town in Liangzhou is different. In recent years, with the strong rise of the young feudal lords, Bei'an Town has seen a lot of grasslands in the Central Plains, a mixed bag of fish and dragons, pouring into the rivers and lakes of Beiliang. Over time, the local residents of Bei'an Town have become accustomed to it.
As one of the few places in Liangzhou that does not have a night ban, Bei'an Town is a veritable gold-selling cave, just like the two adjacent restaurants and brothels. And the two golden signboards of "The World's No. 1 Huajiu", the tone is very loud. The restaurant says that it has all the best wines in the world, which is not inferior to the court tribute, while the brothel claims to be their girl, which is not inferior to the draft of the emperor's family. Ladies and gentlemen, many unbelieving people from other places went upstairs one after another with the mentality of smashing the scene, but almost without exception, they all entered vertically and exited horizontally, and they all drank themselves down, or lay on the bed of the young lady, As a result, the second floor of Bei'an Town became more and more famous, resounding through Beiliang Road and Lianghuai Road, especially the farce of a brothel oiran eloping with a scholar who was studying in Qingludong Academy. The brothel, which should be furious, not only did not beat the mandarin ducks, but took the initiative to burn the deed of prostitution of the oiran woman, and the restaurant even subsidized the scholar to buy a hundred volumes of books with a thousand taels of silver. , Even the Jiangnan area of the Central Plains has heard of it, so much so that a celebrity in the literary world was amazed in public, and personally praised the chivalry everywhere in the Beiliang city. If it was three or four years ago, if he dared to say one or two good words for Beiliang, I am afraid that no matter how virtuous and respected this famous literary figure is, he would be reduced to a street mouse, and his family would be accused by thousands of people. There is absolutely no one who will seriously compete.
By the time the three eunuchs in python from Yinshoujian returned to Bei'an Town from the small ferry of Longju River, it was already dark. Previously, Qingmayi had to dispatch more than 20 Jingji Jingqi out of the town to meet them in fear of accidents. If they can't find any trace, Qingmayi must skip the local government and directly notify the garrison 20 miles away. After all, this group of eunuchs who sent the decree symbolized the face of the Liyang Zhao family. Eunuch Liu and his party who entered Bei'an Town on foot were already hungry, so when they passed the restaurant that was extremely crowded with people, and smelled the strong smell of wine that was not afraid of the deep alley, it was inevitable that they were a little moved. I'm sorry for the two colleagues who are as tired as dogs, so they just smiled and said how about everyone going to the restaurant for a tooth-fighting festival. The tall and majestic Ma Gonggong is more cautious. Although he did not refuse, he still suggested that it is best to go back to Qingma Eunuch Song, who is dressed in ordinary clothes and is bloated but able to walk as light as a swallow and walk like flying in the palace, wanted to say something big. Could it be that there are assassins under the nose of the Northern Liang Palace? It's just that since Eunuch Liu, the "big shopkeeper" of Yinshoujian, nodded, this Eunuch Song, who hadn't been very smooth when he arrived in Beiliang Road, could only swallow his words quietly.
After returning to Qingmayi to wash and change clothes, the three eunuchs were accompanied only by the commander of the Imperial Forest Army surnamed Qian, and the four of them walked into the restaurant named "Restaurant" together, because next door was the most famous restaurant in Bei'an Town. The famous Goulan, you can vaguely hear those soft and seductive Yingge laughs, which made Eunuch Liu laugh for no reason. If the drinking trip of the four of them spreads to the capital, it will most likely be a eunuch who becomes Yinshoujian and goes to the brothel. ? That's a big joke. The restaurant has three floors. Even though it was late at night, the lobby on the first floor was still overcrowded, and there were not many seats left on the second floor. The restaurant staff who was good at observing words and expressions gave the four of them the private room on the top floor with the best view. The exquisitely embroidered large floor-to-ceiling screen partition is just a partition. After Song Gonggong sat down, he leaned comfortably on the back of the yellow rosewood chair whose wood core was naturally gourd-shaped after being cut open, and said with a soft smile: "The layout here is similar to ours. The market is somewhat similar."
Eunuch Ma, who had changed his clothes and looked more like a big man outside the customs, looked around and was quite satisfied. Compared with the bottom two floors, it was much quieter and more elegant, and nodded with squinted eyes.
Eunuch Liu said to the young waiter in the restaurant with a cotton towel on his shoulders, "Jizhou Laojiao, Jiangnan apricot flower brew, and ripe flower wine, two pots each. As for the dishes and snacks, your restaurant can handle it according to your needs." .”
The young man smiled, bowed his waist and patted his horse, saying: "This master is really an expert, he deserves the title of wine master. It is true that ordinary guests come to our restaurant and spend a lot of money. Most of them choose Xishu tribute wine Jiannanchun to drink. In the eyes of the younger ones, the wine is good, but in terms of its mellow aftertaste, it is actually not as good as ripe flowers, and in terms of burning in the throat, it is far inferior to our authentic green ants in Beiliang. , Our restaurant has an unwritten rule, when you come here, as long as the guest officials want to drink green ant wine, they will not charge money, and you can drink as much as you want!"
Eunuch Song asked curiously: "Even if you drink ten altars and eight altars, you don't need money? Are you afraid that your restaurant will be poor? And if someone comes to your restaurant and only drinks green ant wine, does your rule still count?"
As soon as this incident was mentioned, the originally flattering and stooping young man immediately said proudly: "Fine, why not! The visitor is a customer, our shopkeeper has already spoken, and he is willing to drink and can drink our Beiliang Green Ant Wine. If he drank his job, his job was nothing, so he just made friends with the heroes, and the shopkeeper made a special rule for this, whoever can drink six pots of the building's signature green ant wine in one go, Not to mention all the money for a banquet is free, even if you want to go to the building next door to sleep for a night, our restaurant will also help pay for it!"
Eunuch Liu smiled and said, "It's really rare to see such a restaurant open for business. It's interesting."
Eunuch Song smiled, leaning on the edge of the antique and comfortable chair with both hands, and looked at the eloquent young man, "It seems that although your shopkeeper is full of copper stink, you are not a vulgar person. Today our family... I am in a good mood today , just give your shopkeeper a side, and ask him to toast a glass of wine to Mr. Liu next to me, to tell you the truth, if you miss this face, you will never get it back in your life."
Hearing the fat man's Central Plains official accent, the young man put on airs that were even bigger than the sheriff's master. In fact, he was full of slander, but he didn't show the slightest bit on his face, begging for mercy: "My lord, I'm really sorry." Well, our chief shopkeeper is not a person in our Bei'an town, and even the young one has never seen it. Unfortunately, the second shopkeeper in charge happened to have a table next door that couldn't be pushed away. Rest assured, I will order six pots of wine for you, and as soon as the second shopkeeper returns to the restaurant, I will go to him immediately to inform him, so that the second shopkeeper will not miss the four masters."
Eunuch Song, who was not able to satisfy his will, already had a somewhat displeased expression on his face, and was about to explode, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Eunuch Liu taking out a lot of silver from his wallet, instead of throwing it away like ordinary high-rollers. Give it to the restaurant guy, but put it on the table, push it forward slowly, and said with a smile: "Don't think too little of your reward."
The young guy already had the best impression of the old man sitting in the main seat, like a kind-hearted rich man, and also like an elderly scholar who came out of a scholarly family. He was kind to everyone. If you have money in your pocket or not, it is the restaurant of the uncle, which is rare.
The young guy hesitated for a while, and then he heard the burly middle-aged man who had been taciturn before saying coldly: "If you want to accept it, just accept it."
When the young man carefully put away the money and left, Eunuch Liu asked in a low voice, "How?"
Commander Qian, who is well-known both in the Imperial Forest Army and in the yamen of the Ministry of Justice in Tai'an City, said softly: "There is nothing unusual. Looking all the way, the guys in this restaurant are ordinary people who have never practiced martial arts. It's just that there are a few tables on the third floor... It's not simple. .”
Eunuch Liu smiled lightly and said: "If you think about it at the worst, it's only half a stick of incense away from the Qingma Station, and the arrival of the cavalry on horseback is even more fleeting. Besides, I believe that the Beiliang spies who are secretly watching are not some Useless decoration, let's drink ours, don't worry too much."
The cautious and cautious Eunuch Ma still had some secret worries, while the wider-minded Eunuch Song shouted, "Drink, drink! Brother Qian, later on, you should try the ripe flower wine from our hometown. Ah, but I have missed it for half my life!"
The six jugs of good wine, which are well-known in the government and the public, were quickly brought up, and the young man who won the silver reward even made it his own way to bring two jars of high-quality green ant wine from the restaurant.
Compared with the calm eunuch Liu Gonggong and the careless eunuch Song Gonggong, the commander of the imperial forest army who has gone through the rivers and lakes has more cares. An Wei, to put it mildly, if any old eunuch who is qualified to wear a python suit makes a mistake, his officialdom in Tai'an City will come to an end, and to put it seriously, there will be a turmoil that cannot be suppressed. His surname is Qian In addition, the whole family and even the benefactor behind it can't afford to go around. Therefore, for a drink that seemed impromptu, the leader who wore a golden sword from the royal family on his waist had been watching all directions and listening to all sides. There is a screen to hide the view, but there is still enough space between the screens. The two tables near the stairs are not surprising. They look like ordinary drinkers. They are accompanied by young beauties who are full of dust. They are obviously invited to the brothel next door. The girl from Goulan came, but the guests at the three tables on the left, right and opposite of their table were hidden dragons and crouching tigers with palm prints. At the table on the left of Eunuch Liu across the Shu embroidered screen, there were four people sitting. The woman was outstanding in appearance, especially the middle-aged man on the opposite side of her table who kept holding the handle of the knife with one hand while toasting and drinking. There was a subtle response in an instant, although he didn't turn around or draw the knife, but the hand under the table obviously changed from rubbing the handle of the knife to a five-fingered grip, so Commander Qian simply gave up the other two men's scrutiny to prevent complications .
And at the table on the right hand side of Liu Gonggong, there are six men and three women, with great age disparity, and different weapons. Most of the trips with allies and sects are to accumulate prestige and experience for the young disciples in the sect. This is not uncommon in the Jianghu of the Central Plains, and the words are mostly chatting about the anecdotes of the Jianghu. Speaking of the current rumor, Xuanyuan Qingfeng watched the snow and enlightened longevity on a snowy night at the end of last winter on the side of Daxueping Cliff, which relieved Commander Qian.
What really troubled him was the table opposite Eunuch Liu, which was the real reason why Commander Qian chose to sit opposite Eunuch Liu. There was a couple sitting on the wine table twenty steps away, separated by two screens. The middle-aged man and woman, the man has a kind of battlefield atmosphere that Commander Qian is very familiar with, but only saw a woman with a gloomy side face, her appearance was ordinary, but her aura was extremely cold and fierce. The masters of ordinary Jianghu sects are completely different. The latter's actions are often for the sake of fame, but her actions must be life and death, just to kill.
When the wine was half drunk, there were two groups of people who went upstairs almost at the same time. It was no coincidence that the group who arrived first were those young heroes and heroines flying over the small ferry of Longju River. Excited, like seeing a ghost during the day, the strange thing is that these young people have also changed their clothes, and they have to take a shower and change clothes after drinking? Commander Qian, who was a junior master, weighed their strength. Although he felt a little weird, he didn't think about it. Although he knew that it would be difficult to enter the first-rank Vajra realm in this life, but among the second-rank junior masters, especially those Jianghu martial arts masters outside the battlefield, he dare not say that he is invincible among the same realm in the world, but as long as he catches the right Fighting, he is very confident that the one who survives will only be himself. We must know that even Gu Jiantang, the well-deserved master of swordsmanship in the world, admired the swordsmanship of this little captain of the Imperial Forest Army. If he hadn't been promoted to the deputy commander by the imperial court at that time, maybe he would have followed Gu Dazhu The country went to the Liangliao and returned to the frontier battlefield together.
As for the second group of people, three men and two women, the young man at the head looked like a young hero who wished everyone in the world to know him, so he couldn't get into Commander Qian's eyes, but the next four made him feel more frightened than the other. The blind woman next to the "Young Hero" walked with the piano in her arms, and the dull middle-aged man with the sword box behind her had a strong sword spirit, but this was under the premise that he had deliberately suppressed it! Behind him, a man and a woman who looked like husband and wife walked side by side. The young woman was extremely eye-catching, with a plump and enchanting figure, and she was wearing colorful tie-dye clothes. A string of small and exquisite silver bells was tied to each of her hands and feet. There was a curved short knife with a snow-white scabbard hanging crookedly in the middle. Commander Qian, who had a very high vision, could tell at a glance that it was clearly the costume of the Miao people in the 100,000 mountains in the southwest, and she just held the arms of the five short men beside her, There was an undisguised smug look in his brows and eyes, as if he and her man were the top heroes in the world. Against her background, the originally inconspicuous middle-aged man also stood out from the crowd, wearing a linen double-breasted blouse and wearing a blue turban , with white leggings wrapped around the calf.
One wave of ups and downs, another wave of unrest, Commander Qian almost blurted out the heart that was already hanging in his throat.
After less than half a glass of wine, another young woman with many stars and moons came to the second floor, followed by four figures who were squires.
Commander Qian's face turned livid after he withdrew his gaze. What kind of woman can afford to hire the four worst top masters who started as second-rank junior masters to serve as worshippers
In this way, a small restaurant suddenly becomes a situation where there are as many masters as roadside dogs.
Even Commander Qian, who was used to strong winds and waves, also began to sweat profusely.
Eunuch Liu asked calmly, "Is there any trouble?"
Commander Qian smiled wryly and said: "Not necessarily, but as long as there is a conflict, it must be a big trouble that pierces the sky. Maybe it can't be resolved even if one or two thousand cavalry are mobilized urgently."
Eunuch Liu waved his hands and laughed it off, "As long as this is Beiliang, that's enough."
At that moment, Commander Qian really looked at the eunuch in charge of the seal and ribbon with admiration.
But outside the restaurant where fish and dragons gather to make Yunbo treacherous, a young boy with a knife and a horse suddenly stops in the street.
As soon as he stopped, the bustard soliciting customers at the gate of the brothel could see his appearance clearly, and his eyes immediately lit up. The two gorgeous girls beside her could not wait to go hungry and prey on the sheep, and take the down-and-out girl with her sleeves rolled up. Brother Jun was swallowed alive and executed on the spot.
The dazed young man didn't seem to hear what the bustard was saying, and let her grab his arm and drag him towards the brothel.
He just remembered that many years ago, he and Li Hanlin, Yan Chi, Kong Zhenrong and the three of them drank flower wine together. At that time, Li Hanlin always paid for it, from his father who was recognized as a penny-pinching iron rooster by the official circles in Beiliang. The money stolen from the side, every time it is a posture that if you are happy tonight, you will rush to the execution ground the next day. At that time, Yan Chiji, who was nicknamed Yan Chiji, couldn't let go of his hands and feet. No matter how he was surrounded by red and green, it seemed that he was being mopped from beginning to end. And Kong Wuchi, that big fool, every time he went to the brothel, he went there to rescue those who are suffering. As soon as he entered the door, he put down the mantra: Which girl in the building has not been able to pick up customers for the longest time, I will order her! So every time Kong Wuchi was there, there must be an absurd scene where the most beautiful woman and the ugliest woman in a brothel appeared at the same time on the wine table.
The young son finally came back to his senses, and asked with a smile: "His Royal Highness drinks flower wine, can you not give me money?"
The bustard with trembling chest happily replied: "This young master is really fond of telling jokes, even if the prince comes, he still has to give money!"
Brother Young Master, who had been dragged a few steps, stopped, still holding the horse with one hand, and said with a bitter face: "Then I won't go into the building."
The aged woman in the brothel glared charmingly, "Master, you are dishonest. If you dare to wear this kind of knife and walk on the street at this moment, will you have no money? I can promise you first, even if you don't have a copper coin on you. It's okay, I owe you!"
At the critical moment when the young son seemed to be at war with heaven and man, an unattractive man suddenly appeared beside them, tried his best to hide the excitement in his words, and said in a low voice: "Second-class room, site number sixteen, if you want report."
The young man nodded, and quietly broke free from the arms of the three brothel women, smiled apologetically at them, and then led the horse forward.
The young man turned his head to look at the elite spy from Fushuifang with hot eyes, "Is there an emergency?"
The latter said in a deep voice: "I just found out that someone intends to assassinate the three eunuchs of the Yinshou prison. If I hadn't discovered the whereabouts of the prince, my subordinates had temporarily claimed without authorization. At this time, my subordinates should have used the secret soldier talisman of Qingmayi to mobilize the garrison into the city." .”
Speaking of this, the spy who was considered to be of high status in Beiliang Fushuifang lowered his head and said: "Please forgive me, my lord!"
The young man jokingly said, "As expected of him, he came out of Fushuifang. He has the same virtue as Chu Lushan. No matter what crime he asks for, his merits are almost the same."
The Fushuifang spy, who was in charge of information on the size and size of Bei'an Town, was obviously at a loss. After a little distraction, he hurriedly reported the situation in detail to the young man leading the horse in an orderly manner.
The young man was Xu Fengnian, the young vassal king. After hearing this, he nodded, "You don't need to interfere with this matter, this king will handle it by himself."
Just when the spy was about to turn around and leave, Xu Fengnian said in a deep voice, "Thanks for your hard work."
Fushuifang spy was stunned for a moment, hesitant to speak, but in the end he still didn't speak, grinned, and then left silently.
Xu Fengnian led the horse slowly towards the restaurant.