Zhang Yue, Zheng Anping and his party sent the people of Guanyi back to Guanyi. A group of old, weak, women and children from Guanyi came to welcome them ten miles away, and the sound of wailing could be heard everywhere. Seeing that the situation was not going well, Zhang Ye hurriedly and quietly drove away with a few people. Zheng Anping and the other four were left at the Great Wall Station to observe what was going on in Guanyi, while Zhang Ye and Cao Bao hurried back to Daliang, apparently to discuss further actions with Lord Xinling. Zheng Anping and the others observed for three hours, only to see people from Guanyi returning to the city and going out to collect firewood, but there was nothing unusual.
It was Zheng Anping's turn to go to the city again. After he finished, he went up to the tower, where Xiaosi put his hands on his ears and listened attentively. Zheng Anping hit him and said, "Can you smell the fruit?"
Xiaosi turned around and saw Zheng Anping, and whispered: "Shh~! Someone is out of the city!"
Zheng Anping asked quietly: "Where are you going?"
Xiaosi pointed with his hand and said: "Go south!"
Zheng Anping looked along Xiaosi's hand. The sky was dark, and the distant scenery was shrouded in confusion. But looking closely, it seems that there is really a figure walking slowly on the horizon.
Zheng Anping said: "I am on duty according to the order. You come back. There is porridge in the cauldron. Sip it quickly."
Xiaosi put down his hands, rubbed them together, and said, "It's already four pairs."
Zheng Anping asked in shock: "Four pairs?" He pointed with his hand and asked: "Are there two people there?"
Xiaosi said: "Of course, you only saw one person?"
Zheng Anping said: "I don't care what you said, I don't even see one person. But two people!"
Xiaosi said: "If you don't hear it, what's the use of watching it?"
Zheng Anping said: "I may gain something, but I don't know!"
Xiaosi rubbed his hands and went to town.
Zheng Anping squeezed his hands into a slit and put them in front of his eyes. Starting from the small town, he moved southward inch by inch. Sure enough, he clearly spotted a moving black shadow on the horizon. He stared at the black shadow for half a minute. , and finally found that this dark shadow was indeed two people. Zheng Anping began to admire Xiao Si a little. With his ears, he could actually hear that there were two people at such a long distance.
Zheng Anping used this method to move inch by inch along the horizon to both ends, without making any new discoveries. He put down his hands and rested his eyes. The soldier on night duty came over to talk to him and said, "Doctor, are you looking for a small town?"
Zheng Anping suddenly felt that he might be able to get some useful information by chatting with the soldiers who often patrolled the city, so he asked: "Brother, do you also visit the small city?"
The soldier said: "As soon as we climb the city, we can see wasteland everywhere, but there are only a few people walking in the small town."
Zheng Anping said: "I see that there are few people in the city who work on fields, what do they do for a living?"
The soldier said: "How to get rich by doing business, not by working in fields!"
Zheng Anping asked: "Why do you do business?"
The soldier said: "This city extends from Daliang in the east, to Luoyang in the west, to Zheng in the south, and across the river is Handan. It is the only city in the world. If you don't want to be rich, how can you get it?"
Zheng Anping said: "Brother, are you also in business?"
The soldier said: "The long house has it. I have heard about it a lot, and I admire it very much. But it is difficult to travel."
Zheng Anping said: "Is Changfang doing business in a small town?"
The soldier said: "Why don't we go? Merchants from all over the world gather together, and all the business depends on it."
Zheng Anping said: "It's a time of war and it's difficult for merchants to do business!"
The soldier said: "No. If the city is not closed, the merchants will not rest, and it is not possible to take a break due to war. I heard that in recent days, merchants have set up more grain ships... I don't know where they want to go."
As the conversation progressed, the sky became darker and darker, and Zheng Anping gave up all hope of finding anyone five miles away. The small town crawled darkly in the dark night, as if it was asleep, without any movement.
Suddenly, the soldier said: "Someone is coming!"
Zheng Anping said: "The sky is very dark and there is no moonlight. How do you know?"
The soldier said: "Master, it is easy to see under the moonlight, but I don't know how easy it is to see on a moonless night. What? On a moonless night, it is not only difficult for my eyes to see, but also for pedestrians, so it is impossible to do it without raising a fire. But between raising the fire , what is hidden will be exposed."
Zheng Anping looked towards the sky again, and even the horizon was lost. He had no idea where the sky ended and the earth began. A little light is very eye-catching in the dark night. Although it is small, it is as invisible as the stars in the sky.
Zheng Anping once again held the slit with his hands, put it in front of his eyes, and looked in that direction. With the reference between his fingers, he could vaguely tell that the fire was coming from nearby. Zheng Anping was very excited and said: "Brother's eyesight is also beyond ordinary people!"
The soldier said: "You can watch it more nights, so you can get it. I am not the only one, all my brothers can see it."
Zheng Anping said: "But if you have some insights, I would like to teach you."
The soldier said: "The doctor wants to see the small town, but others also want to see it?"
Zheng Anping said: "Brother, do you think there is something different about the small town?"
The soldier said: "I haven't seen him yet."
Zheng Anping said: "If there are no differences in the small town, if you see any differences, brother, you can tell me so that you can calm down the night."
The soldier really pointed out several details that Zheng Anping had not noticed, such as rabbits hiding in the withered grass, night owls lying on the trees... In the dim night, a series of killings were staged silently.
Although they were talking, Zheng Anping did not give up the small fire for a moment, and he could not ignore it, because during the chat, the light became brighter and brighter - although it was only a small bright spot.
Brother Su has come to take over. Zheng Anping pointed out the bright spot to Brother Su. Brother Su said he saw it. Brother Su said that it was already midnight and Zheng Anping had to make a festival charm, otherwise everyone would not be able to leave the post house at night, let alone be on duty. Zheng Anping agreed and introduced Brother Su to the soldier and said to Brother Su: "This brother is very talented and has extraordinary eyesight." The soldier said: "It's just too much work!"
After Zheng Anping went down to the city, he came to the guardhouse and applied for the talisman for the night march. The city gate guard complimented: "Who dares to ask if you have the uniform of a military soldier?" Zheng Anping smiled and said, "Just in case something unexpected happens."
After leaving the guardhouse and returning to the post house, although I met several people on patrol on the way, I saw the soldiers' uniforms and passed by without asking. Brother Quan and Xiaosi were busy in the dark, so they laid out straw mats early, put on their clothes and lay down. Zheng Anping came in and couldn't see anything in the darkness, so he went to the kitchen and lit a torch, and then found his place. The straw-baled torch burned out shortly after. Zheng Anping put the festival talisman on the table and said: "The street has been cleared. When you leave the post, you must hold the festival talisman to pass." The two men agreed.
Zheng Anping lay down, and Brother Dog said, "Brother, where do you see him?"
Zheng Anping said: "I didn't see anything. But I saw the people my fourth brother saw leaving the city, and then I saw people coming with fire. They must go to the city."
Brother Dog said: "A person who walks at night can avoid committing adultery?"
Zheng Anping said: "Even if you commit adultery, what can you do? But you have an eye for observation."
Brother Dog said: "Mr. Zhang asked me to wait for the secret sentry, but there was nothing unusual in the middle of the night..."
Zheng Anping said: "This is the middle of the night, there is still the middle of the night, how can I guarantee that nothing will happen? Don't be careless!"
Brother Dog said: "That noble man holds his fur against the fire, eats meat and drinks alcohol. He is the only one who has won me. He is braved by the wind and cold, and can't sleep at night!"
Zheng Anping said: "That noble man, even if he holds his fur against the fire, eats meat and drinks wine, he can't sleep. He must have spent the whole night plotting, scheming, and planning... How can he be like us, but he is the lowest value, that is, he lies down high and sleeps." "
Xiaosi sneered and said: "How can you lie down high when you have nothing but a pillow?"
Zheng Anping said: "Lying on your arms, how can you lie down without height?" Everyone laughed.
Zheng Anping was lying on the mat with his arms as pillows. Although he was chatting and laughing with his companions, his heart was filled with ups and downs. The soldier's words gave Zheng Anping a revelation. If a small town of only a few miles, lacking in arms, with a short city and shallow ditches, could still gather merchants from all over the world, if it could build a big city with the name of Lord Xinling, it would have With thousands of soldiers, wouldn't that be worse than Tao? The only fly in the ointment is that there is only a chasm flowing here. It would be even more perfect if it could carry a large boat like Jishui.
"I will definitely consult with you, sir, to decide on a strategy!" Zheng Anping thought to himself. Although the brothers around him can live and die together, they are obviously not business materials, but they can be useful and give them a few pointers, that's all.
He thought of Xiaonu again. Lord Xinling granted him a marriage, but he didn't know what to do with it. My house in Donghongli was built according to the standards of the common people, without a platform or steps. Now that there are five nobles, they are considered to be sergeants. According to the ceremony, they can raise the base of the house to a height of two feet and set up three steps. But when I thought about how much soil and work it would take to build a two-foot-high platform, I gave up. But it would be a pity to marry a bride but not have a new house...
Xiaonu and she had had skin-to-skin contact, but her child seemed difficult to get along with... Mr. Xinling said that the child was very talented and needed to be trained well. How should he be trained? When he grows up, he can be sent to Xiangxu.
If you want to deal with people in a small city, especially if you want to do business with people in the city, can Xiaonu help? If Xiaonu can help, then...
Still have to find a way to tidy up the house...
Zheng Anping was thinking wildly and gradually fell asleep.
The two shift changes at night woke him up. He drowsily greeted those who were working and those who were leaving get off work, and then fell asleep again. It was already dawn when I woke up. He brought Xiaosi back, and he was no longer on duty. He summarized what he saw and heard at the post house at night. In a simple sentence, there was nothing unusual. The spark went out on its own, and I don't know where the man ended up. Everyone guessed that he stayed in the city for the night. People who went out in the city did not know where they went. Whether they came back overnight or stayed outside for the night was unknown. Even Xiao Si, who has a very good ear, didn't hear any special information. Zheng Anping decided to report the information he knew to Zhang Noi.
But the person who came here today was not Zhang Zou, but Mr. Jin. He and Cao Bao took a car and rushed to the post house before dawn. It can be seen that they set off from Daliang very early - maybe even the city gate was opened.
The four of them invited the two gentlemen into the post house, went to the kitchen to get millet, salt and other supplies, and started making breakfast.
Mr. Jin said that today, the main task is to patrol the terrain of Guanyi in order to plan the boundaries of the country. Ask four people to help and bring two people a ride. There are also some practical things on the car, which should be used for drawing albums.
Zheng Anping reported the results of the night observation. Mr. Jin seemed to have no impression and just praised: "Thank you for your hard work!"
