Tao Ranju
It was already noon. Jia Zhen ordered a table of dishes. With a wine cup in her hand, she called a few singing prostitutes and waited for Jia Rong.
"Master, Brother Rong is here." Lai Sheng led Jia Rong to the box.
"Dad." Jia Rong entered the box and called.
"Well..." Jia Zhen made a long sound from her nose, waved her hand towards the prostitute who was singing, and said, "Are you going there to play?"
Jia Rong said with a smile on her face: "I went hunting in the western suburbs with a few friends from the Feng family and Chen family, and I just came back. But I was afraid that I would be called by you, so I didn't dare to delay for a moment."
"You bastard!" Jia Zhen put the wine cup on the table and scolded: "You are not young anymore. You are used to having some bad friends, flying eagles and lackeys. You don't take care of yourself day by day. There is nothing wrong with me in Jia's family room. He looks like a great-great-grandson!”
Jia Rong trembled with fright, lowered her head, and did not dare to respond. She glanced sideways at Jia Zhen, and was relieved when she saw that she just scolded her and no one took action.
Jia Zhen scolded her and said, "You are not young anymore. You need to find a match. My father has taken a fancy to her... The girl from Qin Ye's family who is a doctor in the Catering Department of the Ministry of Industry has a good appearance and will be a good choice for you." match."
Jia Rong had doubts in her eyes, waiting for her father to say more.
"It's just that this girl from Qin Ye's family has made an engagement with Jia Si'er from Liutiao Hutong in the back street. I heard that you and Jia Heng are familiar with each other, so I went to give him fifty taels of silver and let him quietly cancel the marriage. , Don’t say anything." Jia Zhen ordered.
Jia Rong said: "This..."
"What, is it difficult?" Jia Zhen raised her eyebrows and snorted coldly.
Jia Rong forced a smile on her face and said: "Dad, it's easy to handle. Then Jia Heng is still fawning over his son. It's only fifty taels. Jia Heng is probably not happy. If there is a dispute, it will not be good for his son." manage."
Jia Zhen snorted coldly. Didn't he know what his son was thinking? However, thinking of the appearance and figure of Miss Qin's family, her heart felt hot. She took out a banknote from her sleeve and said, "This is two hundred taels." , if you still can’t do it, watch your skin!”
Jia Rong bowed, took it with both hands, and said with a smile: "Dad, just listen to your son's good news."
"Get out of here!" Jia Zhen cursed.
Jia Rong, on his side, turned around and walked out of the box with the banknote in his pocket, heading to the back porch of Ningrong Street.
Not to mention that Jia Rong went to look for Jia Heng, but after Jia Heng returned home, he had lunch, changed into a warrior uniform, went to his cousin Dong Qian's house to borrow a horse, bought some food and wine, and went to An Xie Zaiyi's family rushed outside Huamen.
Xie Zaiyi made an appointment with him to take one day off for five days and one day off for three days. During this free time, he went to Xie Zaiyi's home to learn the art of riding and archery from him.
The so-called mounted archery is shooting arrows on a high-speed horse. Even in Jia Heng's previous life, he had never been exposed to it when he was on the southwest border.
After all, the previous life was in the era of hot weapons, and bows and arrows were not used very much. In addition, due to the geographical environment of the southwest border defense, there was no chance to learn these.
If it's just riding a horse, there's no need to worry.
As soon as he entered Xie's house, Xie Zaiyi had just had lunch. When he saw Jia Heng, he was very happy and said with a smile: "Brother Jia, why didn't you come this morning?"
Jia Heng said: "I went to do some things this morning."
With that said, he brought the wine and food to Xie Zaiyi's wife.
The two simply finished their meal and wiped their mouths. Xie Zaiyi stood on the wall, took two bows and a pot of arrows, and said with a smile: "Brother Jia, let's go outside the city to practice. It's open there."
Jia Heng agreed, and the two cavalrymen left the city. It was afternoon, and the autumn sunshine was shining softly on the earth. The two cavalrymen rode through the wilderness and arrived at a wasteland deep in sagebrush.
"Brother Jia, you have good riding skills." Xie Zaiyi praised Jia Heng when he saw his dexterity and ease on the horse.
If he has no foundation at all, he will have to go through a lot of trouble to teach him from the beginning. If he has riding skills, he will give him guidance for a period of time. In time, he will definitely become a master.
Jia Heng said: "I used to practice casually with my friends, and I also asked Brother Xie for advice."
Xie Zaiyi smiled and said: "Actually, this horseback shooting is not difficult at all. The key lies in the coordination of the body, eyes, and hands on the saddle. I think with Jia's background, he should be able to practice it in three months."
Then, Xie Zaiyi taught Jia Heng the essentials of riding and shooting. This teaching lasted for two hours until the sun set in the west and the sunset glowed brightly.
Looking at the distant mountains and woods under the setting sun, Jia Heng said with emotion: "The country is really picturesque, and there are so many heroes in one moment."
Xie Zaiyi took the cowhide bag hanging on the saddle, took a sip of wine, and said with a smile: "I don't look like a martial artist, but more like a scholar."
Jia Heng smiled and said: "Famous generals throughout the ancient times also had scholars. If the enemy is a hundred people, there is no need. If the commander has a hundred thousand soldiers and is a talented general, he must know the art of war and understand the tactics."
Xie Zaiyi laughed and said: "My ambition is not small."
Jia Heng also smiled and said, "It's just a few casual remarks."
He rubbed his sore wrist, put away his bow, and said with a smile, "Brother Xie, why don't you hunt some game in the forest?"
Xie Zaiyi smiled and said: "It will get dark soon. The road in the mountains and forests is uneven. Let's go back and have a drink."
Jia Heng smiled but did not insist.
The two cavalry galloped towards Anhua Gate and were about to enter the city. It was just getting dark when suddenly the sound of horse hooves came from the distance. A young man wearing a Hanyang bamboo hat, riding his horse and whipping his whip, came towards the city gate.
"It's the eight-hundred-mile express delivery from Ji Town." Xie Zaiyi said in a deep voice with a relaxed smile on his face.
Jia Heng said solemnly: "Could this be what happened?"
Xie Zaiyi said bitterly: "As soon as autumn comes, the Tatars in the north will come from the pass to Hebei and other places. The general soldiers of Ji Town are here to ask for help from the imperial court."
After Chen Han accepted the Ming Dynasty, he also set up nine borders on the border. However, unlike the previous Ming Dynasty, Liaodong was lost, and Chen Han's border affairs had fully shifted to defense. Fortunately, Chen Han learned from the lessons of the previous Ming Dynasty and the Song Dynasty and set the capital in Chang'an. City, this place is well protected by mountains and rivers, so Kyoto will not be surprised overnight.
Returning to Xie's house, Xie Zaiyi's wife prepared the meal, and Jia and Xie drank and talked about things.
"Brother Jia, you don't know. The Tatars in the north cross the border every year to rob and kill. Tang Kuan, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, huddles in the city and just sits and watches the people under the rule of Beiping Prefecture being robbed. He is really a bastard." Xie Zaiyi drank wine. , while cursing the general soldier of Ji Town.
Jia Heng picked up the jug and poured a glass of wine for Xie Zaiyi, and asked curiously: "Brother Xie, has he ever fought against a Jurchen?"
Xie Zaiyi said: "Why haven't we played against each other before? I killed seven Tatars before I was promoted to this hundred households. Brother, let me tell you, what is the difference between these Tatars and us? They are just two shoulders fighting against one head. , thanks to those generals and generals who claimed that the Tatars were no more than ten thousand and that they were invincible if they were ten thousand."
Jia Heng looked thoughtful and thought to himself, this situation is almost the same as the situation he faced in the late Ming Dynasty in his previous life.
However, Chen Han set the capital in Chang'an, which was stronger than the previous Ming Dynasty, but the land of Shaanxi... was in chaos with rogue bandits.
"You make a fuss about it, and then I come on stage after singing, but you think that a foreign country is your hometown. It's ridiculous. In the end, you are just making wedding clothes for others."
When Jia Heng thought about this, he couldn't help but be shocked.
Zhen Shiyin's annotation of the song in "A Dream of Red Mansions" is really chilling.
"If the bandits cause trouble within the country, and the Tartars outside the pass invade the country, and take advantage of the situation of Chen and Han to drink the Yellow River and sweep across the Central Plains, is this not like making wedding clothes for others?"
Jia Heng sighed. Now that he has come to this world of Red Mansions, I am afraid that there is really only one way to go. He must take power as soon as possible and prevent the Han family and Chinese clothes from sinking under the iron hoof of the Tartars.
"Brother Jia, don't talk about these troublesome things and just drink." Xie Zaiyi raised the wine cup and motioned to Jia Heng.
Jia Heng smiled, raised his wine cup, and said, "National affairs are decided by carnivores, so we'd better drink."
"That's right, haha." Xie Zaiyi laughed, raised the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp. Perhaps because of the alcohol, his eye circles were a little red, and he took a mouthful of vegetables.
Seeing this scene, Jia Heng sighed inwardly, this is also a person with a story.
After a long drinking session, Jia Heng walked home.
