Since the Song Dynasty moved south, Lin'an's population has skyrocketed and now exceeds one million.
But Lin'an City is not so big that even the imperial palace cannot be built neatly.
Most private houses also start with the second floor, starting from the horizontal direction and developing vertically.
The Song Family Snack Shop in Qingshi Lane is a property passed down from the ancestors of the Song family and is now a two-story building.
There are not many people doing business in this alley who can own their own property, and the Song family is one of them.
The old house of the Song family is shaped like a hole. The main room in the front is used as a restaurant, and the wings on the left and right of the back patio are where people live.
The house in the back row opposite the main house is used as a woodshed and utility room.
There is also a back door in the middle of the back row of houses, which opens into a river.
The left and right wing rooms are two-story pavilions. The wing room on the left side is occupied by Father Song and his daughter, and Lu Xi lives upstairs.
The second floor of the wing on the right is smaller, so it serves as a storage room for brothers Yang Che and Yang Yuan.
Both brothers lived downstairs, with two beds placed end to end against the wall, separated by a curtain.
The vendors on Qingshi Street mainly deal in various snacks from the north and south. Those who come here to "ask for" takeout orders often come to order after they prepare some special and delicious snacks for customers in addition to the main meal.
And at night, the snack street is crowded with people and business is booming, so basically no orders are taken.
So at night, Yang Yuan had nothing to do.
However, this "nothing" just means that there is no business to do.
In fact, Yang Yuan is the most tired at this time every day because he has to practice.
In the front store, Father Song and his daughter were busy with business, and there was an endless stream of customers.
In the courtyard, the two brothers Yang Che and Yang Yuan were topless, each showing eight strong abdominal muscles. They were holding a straight sword with a ring head, and they were competing in martial arts.
The round-head straight sword used by the two men in the Song Dynasty has changed a lot compared to the ring-head sword in the Han and Tang Dynasties.
It was made of wrought iron, and the blade was made of carbon steel. The blade was shortened to less than one meter, but the blade became wider and the blade head was thickened.
This kind of ring-head straight knife can be held with one hand or with both hands.
If a long handle is added, it will be the famous horse-killing sword, which will become a variant of the Tang Dynasty Mo Dao.
In fact, among the eight types of standard knives prepared by the Song Dynasty, except for the halberd knife similar to Fang Tian's painted halberd, the other seven are all this kind of broad-bladed knives.
This is not because the Tang knives with exquisite craftsmanship have been lost, but because the Song Dynasty's war opponents are evolving, and the Song Dynasty's weapons and equipment will naturally change due to the changes in their opponents.
Chen Tang, a famous general in the Western Han Dynasty, once said: "If five Hu soldiers are to be used as one Han soldier, who is better? The weapons are simple and blunt, and the bows and crossbows are not good. I heard that the Han soldiers are quite clever, but they are still three to one."
What he means is that one Han soldier at that time could withstand five Hu soldiers. Why?
Because the Han Dynasty's equipment was more sophisticated, the Huns' manufacturing industry was completely incomparable with that of the Han Dynasty.
While the Han army used the Huanshou sword made of steel, the Xiongnu army even used bronze weapons.
Even though the Huns learned to smelt iron in the later period, due to the difficulty of nomadic people settling down, their manufacturing industry was naturally at a disadvantage.
Technically, there is still no way to compare with the Han soldiers, and the manufacturing is also greatly inferior. At this time, one Han soldier can still be worth three Hu soldiers.
This state lasted until the Tang Dynasty, and there was still not much change. Most of the opponents of the Tang Dynasty lacked sophisticated armor.
But by the Song Dynasty, the opponents of the Song Dynasty were no longer the pure nomads that the ancestors of the Han people faced.
Countries such as Liao and Jin began to transition to feudal dynasties, and the national system was undergoing major changes.
Their military strength, war mobilization capabilities, and war sustainability capabilities are all developing rapidly.
Whether it is the Tielin Army of the Liao Kingdom, the Iron Kites of Xixia, or the Iron Buddha of the Jin people, their armor coverage rate is even higher than that of the Song Army.
At this time, it is obviously unreliable to use the previous sword to chop the current opponent.
Since most of the Song Dynasty's opponents had established armored troops, Song Dao naturally had to make changes accordingly.
Therefore, even the lightest hand knife prepared by the Song Army took into account the armor-breaking ability.
The ring-headed straight knives used by Yang Yuan and Yang Che now also have certain armor-breaking capabilities.
When the rabbit rises and the falcon falls, every move and every move of the sword in the hands of the two men is full of fierce power.
Yang Che stabbed fiercely, and Yang Yuan quickly retreated.
Yang Che took advantage of the situation and rushed closer, the knife turned like a wheel, and the handle of the knife pushed into Yang Yuan's heart.
Yang Yuan spun like a top, and when he turned back, his feet were firm, his waist was like a whip, he whipped back, and then returned it with a very cruel stab...
At this time, Yang Yuan was fighting against his eldest brother Yang Che, and he was no longer as busy as when he first learned the sword skills.
The various movements of hanging, swinging, wiping, blocking, cutting, twisting, collapsing, and chopping are precise and orderly.
Occasionally, he would counterattack with elbows and side kicks. Under Yang Che's deliberate effort, Yang Yuan was able to deal with it well.
Yang Che and Yang Yuan do look somewhat similar, but their temperaments are completely different.
Yang Che... always gave people an air of bitterness and hatred, with his brows slightly furrowed and his expression unsmiling.
But Yang Yuan is not like that. He has a full sense of intimacy.
The two are not only very different in expression and temperament, but also in personality.
Yang Che, who works in the Imperial City Department, is calm, steady, rigid and upright, while Yang Yuan is enthusiastic, cheerful and very talkative.
The two brothers have completely different temperaments, but are equally handsome.
Yang Che did not have any tattoos on his face. In fact, the Song Army had no tattoo rules from beginning to end.
It's just that the Song Dynasty liked to send criminals into the army, and the criminals who were sent to the army and the surrendered soldiers had to be surrendered.
The purpose is to prevent them from escaping. Having tattoos on their faces will make it harder for them to escape.
By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, military discipline was broken and deserters were common, so some Xiang army generals began to tattoo ordinary soldiers.
However, since these ordinary soldiers were not convicts or demoted soldiers, most of them had tattoos on their arms, just to facilitate checking their military status and prevent them from becoming deserters.
But after discovering that this method was very effective, some of the Imperial Guard also began to tattoo their soldiers.
They will also tattoo the number and name of the unit they belong to on the arms of the Imperial Guard soldiers.
This phenomenon disappeared in the Southern Song Dynasty. The national crisis was looming and the status of soldiers was much higher than that in the Northern Song Dynasty, so the generals did not dare to do this.
Moreover, soldiers in the Song Dynasty were different from those in the Ming Dynasty. They were not hereditary military households. If you no longer wanted to be a soldier and receive pay, you could change your military status.
If you have the ability, no one will care about you if you want to take the top exam, but if you have tattoos on your face, how can you change your industry?
Of course, Hu Yanzan, a famous general in the early Song Dynasty, had the words "Kill the Khitan with all his heart" tattooed all over his body, and required all men in the family, including domestic servants, to do the same.
Another example is that during the transition period between the Southern and Northern Song Dynasties, the Eight-Character Army commanded by the famous anti-Jin Dynasty general Wang Yan all had tattoos on their faces. This was just the personal behavior of the head of their family or the commander of the army.
Yang Che is twenty-five years old, only two years older than Yang Yuan, but the concept of "elder brother is like father" is deeply rooted in his heart.
Since he recognized his second brother Yang Yuan, he has taken the responsibility of "eldest brother like father" on his shoulders and worried about his brother.
The second brother, Yang Yuan, had been living in the north for many years. He was homeless and lacked education, so when he first came back, most of his writings were missing arms and legs.
Yang Che urgently started tutoring his brother and taught him how to read and write.
In the Song Dynasty, especially in the Lin'an area, even ordinary people were rarely illiterate.
If my brother wants to make a fortune here, how can he be semi-literate?
However, what pleased him was that his second brother was talented, made rapid progress, and could learn everything quickly.
This made Yang Che both gratified and often blamed himself.
With the talent of the second brother, if he had not been left in the north, but had been sent to study since he was a child, he might have passed the Jinshi examination and honored his ancestors.
Now that the two brothers have grown up, it is probably too late to think about studying Chinese literature anymore, so Yang Che not only teaches his second brother how to read and write, but also pays special attention to teaching him martial arts.
Although martial arts training may not necessarily be used on the battlefield, martial arts training not only strengthens the body, but also exercises courage and will, so Yang Che naturally teaches him everything he can.
"Yes, my second brother's sword skills have improved a lot. Let's finish it today."
Seeing that Yang Yuan's forehead was covered with sweat and his breathing was a little messy, Yang Che finally put away the knife with satisfaction.
He took the knife from Yang Yuan's hand, walked to the corner, raised his leg and kicked, and a big gun flew towards Yang Zhi.
Yang Yuan raised his hand to take the big gun and took a stance, holding the gun in both hands and holding it in the air.
This large rifle for infantry combat is one and a half feet long and weighs ten kilograms. It has a flat end and will feel strenuous if you don't move for even a moment.
Yang Che put down the two straight knives against the bench, sat on the bench, picked up the teapot from the low table next to him, took a few sips, wiped his mouth, and then picked up a rope from the corner of the wall.
Three bricks were tied to the straw rope. Yang Che lifted the string of bricks and put the straw rope on Yang Yuan's big gun.
The tip of the gun in Yang Yuan's hand suddenly sank, and he hurriedly added strength to hold the gun steady again, and the muscles in his arms instantly stretched.
However, Yang Yuan didn't say anything.
His elder brother has always been strict when teaching him skills, and it is useless to beg or lie to him.
Concepts such as "Elder brother is like father" and "Mother is kind and father is strict" have deeply penetrated into Yang Che's beliefs.
"Second brother, you have been living abroad since you were a child and have suffered a lot. With the blessing of our ancestors, we can be reunited as brothers.
Now that our parents are no longer alive, I, as the eldest brother, should naturally take on the responsibility of taking care of you. "
Yang Che paced around Yang Yuan with his hands behind his hands, and started lecturing with a serious look on his face.
Yang Yuan held the big gun and followed Yang Che's body with his eyes. He didn't know what the elder brother wanted to do.
Yang Che sighed and said: "You have never had a serious career, and this is my biggest worry.
Originally, the eldest brother wanted to get you into the Imperial City Division, so it would be good to be an inspector.
But the Imperial City Division is really not that easy to get into, so you have to wait for the opportunity. "
Yang Yuanping was holding a long spear, and his arms were sore after just a cup of tea. What's more, three bricks fell from the head of the stick.
At this time, he heard his elder brother speaking slowly, and he took the opportunity to put down the gun: "My elder brother suddenly mentioned this matter. Could it be that he got some kind of job for me?"
Naturally, his lazy idea could not be hidden from Yang Che. Yang Che glared at him and said solemnly: "Pick it up!"
Seeing that he couldn't get over it, Yang Yuan had no choice but to sigh and pick up the big gun again after three bricks had fallen.
Yang Che sat down at the table and said, "Yes, eldest brother has found a job for you.
The Imperial City Department cannot let you in for a while, but just letting you idle like this is not an option.
You have a family and a career, but if you don’t have a career, who’s girl is willing to give it to you?
Therefore, my eldest brother asked someone to find two jobs for you. You can think about it and see where you want to go. "
Yang Yuan held the big gun and slowly adjusted his breathing.
If you breathe evenly, you can last longer, so he didn't speak any more.
Yang Yuan just glanced at his elder brother and motioned for him to continue.
Yang Che said: "These two envoys, one is a businessman and the other is a worker!"
