There were many beggars in Fucheng, and Liu Chengzong saw so many beggars that when he saw beggars in Fushi City, it was as if he hadn't seen them at all.
But this beggar was different. He wore a double-breasted mandarin duck war coat. Even though the black face was stained outward, and he was mixed in with a group of beggars and was chased away by the waiter, Liu Chengzong could still recognize that it was the clothes of a cavalryman.
This coat is red on the outside and black on the inside, with narrow upper sleeves and knee-length sleeves. It was the most basic military uniform of the Ming Dynasty.
There are four types of soldier collars, including cross collar, pan collar, round collar, and square collar; there are two types of lapels, namely large lapel and double lapel.
The infantry uniform has a large placket, while the cavalry uniform is designed with a double placket for ease of riding.
These clothes attracted the attention of Liu Chengzong, who took the thick wine from Cao Yao from the wine shop. Four horses happened to be tied outside the wine shop. He was afraid of losing them, so he came out and sat down with a wine pot and a wooden wine cup. On the stable railing, drinking and watching.
The man was mingling among the beggars and looked like he was being ostracized. It could also be that he didn't want to be among the beggars and stood on the outside looking away.
He has a lean face, long unkempt hair, and a pair of sleepy eyes with three white eyes that look fierce. It's hard to tell how old he is, maybe in his late forties.
He was kicked out by the waiter at the liquor store and was beaten several times. He didn't get angry and hit him. He just hid at the base of the wall where the sun was shining and squatted down, staring at the waiter. After a long time, he got up again.
Liu Chengzong looked in the direction of his movements. It turned out that a group of merchant-like people came out of the inn opposite. He followed the beggars to beg for food.
The scarcer the survival resources, the higher the cost of being a good person. Especially in disaster years when there are many poor people, you can save one person but not a group of people. What's more, everyone is in trouble these days, and few people feel that they should help from the bottom of their hearts. other people.
The two merchants and their entourage were walking out of the inn while they were talking. They were surrounded by a group of beggars before they had taken two steps. Everyone covered their noses and sighed to avoid them. The entourage rushed up to separate the beggars, and then sprinkled a handful of them with disgust on their faces. Copper coins.
It caused all the beggars to rush to the ground to pick it up. The man also wanted to push forward, but he couldn't compete with the beggars. He was pushed to the ground while fighting. Finally, he became disgraced and ran to the corner, only keeping two copper coins. Blow it carefully on your hands and put it into your chest.
"Brother, look at Sa, why don't you go in?"
Seeing Chengyun come out, Liu Chengzong came back to his senses, saw his cousin amused, patted him and said: "Go to the shop to buy some dry food, I want to use it."
Chengyun didn't know what the second brother wanted to do, but he still nodded in agreement and quickly walked into the watchtower opposite. After a while, he came out with a bag of steamed cakes and said: "Brother, the only dry food left in the store is cakes. It's a bit cold. I want some." Don’t let the store warm it up on the fire?”
Liu Chengzong waved his hand and said, "No need, bring me some more broken silver."
After saying that, he took the paper bag and put it in his hand, asked for another five pieces of silver, divided it into two parts in his waist bag, and walked towards the man.
"Are you a soldier?"
The man didn't know Liu Chengzong's purpose, so he stepped back slightly, bowed his neck, nodded and said with a smile, "General, I have been a soldier."
When he lowered his head, Liu Chengzong saw a hole in his right ear exposed in his messy hair, which made him even more convinced of his identity as a soldier.
This is a sign of punishment in the army. A bow and arrow are pierced through the ear. It is usually used to punish soldiers who get drunk, fight, and destroy people's fields. However, only generals with extremely strict military discipline will use it. It is called Guan'er Youying.
"Where did you become a soldier and how did you become a beggar?"
"Beggary? I'm not a beggar."
The man spoke extremely seriously, but seemed a little embarrassed after saying it. He whispered: "It's just a couple of coins. I work as a laborer at Shunyangmen. I haven't been able to live for several days. All the people coming are pushcarts. I won't let you go." I can only go to the city to pick up some things."
After hearing this and combining it with what this man had just done, Liu Chengzong understood.
No wonder the beggars are ostracizing him. The beggars are not ostracizing him, but he is robbing them of the fruits of their labor.
When he bowed, he didn't bow to others; when he kowtowed, he didn't kowtow to others; when someone threw money on the ground, he went over to pick it up.
"Why aren't you allowed to push the cart?"
The man stretched out his left hand and smiled. The smile was a little complicated. The dirt-covered hand was missing a thumb, which made even the most ordinary movements look terrifying: "Actually, I can do it, but they think they can't push me."
"Ever fought with Beilu?"
The man lowered his head and smiled and said nothing more. Seeing that he was unwilling to talk, Liu Chengzong did not press him. He raised his hand and handed over the paper-wrapped cake, along with five pieces of silver, and said: "We met by chance, and we have all been soldiers. Take it and take it carefully." Live life.”
His move stunned the man, and it took him a moment to react. He quickly thanked him and asked, "Which battalion is the commander of the general?"
"I am not the general, the armor of the past."
After that, when he saw Cao Yao and Lu Bin coming out of the wine shop after drinking, and waiting for him with Cheng Yun at the door of the inn, they clasped their fists and said, "I am Liu Chengzong, a member of the Black Dragon Mountain in Beixiang. Farewell."
Walking to the inn, Cao Yao said with a smile: "Little lion, you are quite kind. I think he is a soldier. You can save him temporarily by giving him cakes, but you can't save him forever. If you really want to help him, you should give him a knife."
Cao Yao's mind was different from that of normal people, which made Liu Chengzong laugh and say: "You are just worried that the world will not be in chaos, why should I give him a knife? He wants to live a stable life.
In the south of the city, when Lifu couldn't get a job, he came to beg for food. Give him a knife and let him kowtow to others with the knife like Guo Zashi? "
According to Liu Chengzong, his help to the veteran had nothing to do with the veteran himself, but only to do with himself. He saw his own reflection in that man, so he wanted to help.
As for Cao Yao's intermittent gangster thinking, he pretended not to have heard it.
Several people entered the inn, and the waiter led them to the backyard to take over the room they had booked early.
Fushi County is a mountain city. The main room of the watchtower is not upstairs or in the shop. Instead, it goes through the backyard of the inn where the millstones are placed and adjacent to the warehouse. It is a cave dwelling. On the hillside next to the cave dwelling, there is enough firewood piled up for half a year.
The cave entrance is high and the inside is very deep. The top is reinforced with thick log beams. Half of the cave is a wide earthen kang, with several thin mattresses laid on bed boards.
Other than that, there is only a wooden bucket for water on the stool behind the door.
"This room is really just for sleeping."
Cao Yao chuckled, knocking here and there, and finally sat cross-legged on the kang and said, "There is nothing but the bed!"
"It's nice to have a house to sleep in. It's strange that you, after spending so many years in the old temple in the mountains, are still particular about where you sleep?"
Liu Chengzong's words made Cao Yao frown: "What, I'm digging holes in the dirt and rolling around in the mud, don't I want to live a good life?"
“Okay, okay, live a good life, go back to the cave behind my house and live a good life with your sister-in-law for a few days.
I will go and roll in the land of Laomiaozhuang myself..." Liu Chengzong smiled evilly and sat on the edge of the kang, frowned and waved his hands: "Chengyun is still waiting for him to count the food consumption of the twenty-four households. Where did it go? "
He didn't pay attention.
However, Cao Yao had some guesses and came forward and said: "I really have to control this mouth from now on. It's probably your brother who listens to me and avoids suspicion by chatting with the shopkeeper."
