This is the consensus of the entire Bianjing city that Wang Jiaerlang is a dandy, the kind that cannot be defended. He fights, steals, listens to music... He does nothing that a gangster does, and he does not do anything serious.
"It's a pity that General Wang's family's good reputation has been ruined by this dandy!"
An unrelated passerby cannot help but sigh with his friends when passing by the gate of the Prince's Mansion in Rulin Alley.
"Isn't that right? I heard that the son of Zhu Jiedu's family was beaten a few days ago. They even went to court over this matter..."
The passerby friend wanted to say something but suddenly stopped, because at this time, the door of the palace opened from the inside with a "squeak" sound, and a rich young man stepped out, followed by two attendants. The passerby saw this He quickly grabbed his friend and walked away quickly.
The young man was dressed in black clothes, with his hair in a bun, and a golden armband on his wrist. His height was very different from his age. At only seventeen years old, he was already over seven feet tall. He had sharp edges and corners, was tall and strong, and had a good skin. With his airy walking posture, the big wooden stick on his shoulders, and the inexplicable whistle he was blowing in his mouth, anyone who looked at him would have to praise this handsome young man.
It's a pity that this outfit feeds the dogs. When the dandy goes out, his attendants will clear the way, and the people will hide when they encounter him, for fear that they will be out of reach.
The spring breeze was warm, peaches were red and willows were green, and everything grew in the wind. The three people from Xuande Street carried Chu Yang on their backs and walked along the Bianhe River towards Xicheng.
There are many shops in the ten-mile long street, and the rising sun shines faintly on the eaves of the pavilions, reflecting the faces of the Song Dynasty people who are old, elegant, young, or sophisticated. It can be clearly seen that the farther you go west, , the pedestrians' clothes become darker and darker, washed gray and tattered.
The prosperous city cannot hide the desolation here. Xicheng is the elegant name here. In the eyes of some dignitaries, there is another name here - slums.
"Agui."
Walking to a pastry shop, Wang Zhi shouted softly without stopping or looking back.
Agui is the younger one of the two attendants behind him. His name is Wang Gui. He looks about seventeen or eighteen years old. He is only lame in one foot and blind in one eye. He is covered by a black donkey leather belt. Wrapped up diagonally from the back of the head, it looks really fierce.
Wang Gui responded without asking why his young master called him. He walked straight to the pastry shop, put the big stick in his hand on his waist, reached for the cloth bag on his waist, took out a bunch of copper coins and threw it on the chopping board of the shop. Some stuttered, "Old...the rule is, it all has to be stuffed with pig...pork.
"Hey, Mr. Agui, please wait a moment, I'll wrap it up for you."
The middle-aged store owner was not afraid of Wang Gui's fierce appearance. He was a regular customer. He would come to the store every now and then to buy steamed buns. He knew the rules. The store owner neatly wrapped the steamed buns and handed them over with a smile: "Put it away. Walk slowly, walk slowly.”
The steamed buns in the Northern Song Dynasty were not the stuffed dough buns of later generations, but the stuffed buns. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that the names of steamed buns and steamed buns were reversed.
Wang Gui held a stick in one hand and a steamed bun wrapped in lotus leaves in the other. He jogged a few steps to follow Wang Zhi.
It is still Xuande Street, but its appearance has changed a bit. The pavilions and pavilions that have faded over time are mixed with shacks and shops, and occasionally a few silks and brocades can be seen among the coarse linen clothes.
In fact, going forward fifty years, Xicheng did not look like this. It was just that during the Renzong Dynasty, there was a flood in Kaifeng, which destroyed countless houses and fertile fields. Bao Zheng, the then powerful magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, took pity on the homeless people, so he built a small area around Xicheng A piece of land was allocated to accommodate the refugees.
This person always yearns for prosperity and despises poverty. As if the rich and powerful people are poor next to them, they will lower themselves and move to Dongcheng to settle down. If you look at it from the perspective of future generations, you will know that when the economic talent of a city is extraordinary, If you move, the prosperity will be annihilated, and now it seems to be the scene of the West City.
The three of them turned from Xuande Street into an unknown side street, and walked another hundred steps before stopping in front of a dilapidated courtyard. The stone walls of the courtyard were mottled and incomplete, and some were leaning too far out. They were standing with difficulty relying on several logs. , the gate of the courtyard has disappeared, and there are two wooden boards standing symbolically, which can barely be called the gate.
There were two young men standing on the left and right of the gate. They were about eleven or twelve years old. They were unkempt and dressed in coarse linen. They were thin, with pale faces and obvious malnutrition.
The two young men saw Wang Zhi and the other two coming, and hurriedly ran up to greet them, "Hall Master, you are finally here. Everyone is here and waiting for you in the courtyard."
Wang Erlang looked at the appearance of the two of them and cursed: "You two are idiots. How many times have I told you to wash your hair, wash your hair, and pay attention to your appearance. Look at you two. If you don't know, you'd think we are beggars." Help those dirty guys."
When the two young men heard this, they just laughed and said they would pay attention next time, not daring to talk back.
Walking to the gate, the two Xiaosi picked up the two gates and moved them away. When Wang Zhi and the others entered the courtyard, they closed the gate with their backs and followed them in.
The courtyard of Sanjin is overgrown with weeds, withered old trees, stone platforms, bricks and tiles scattered randomly in the courtyard. There are groups of poor teenagers chatting and spanking in the courtyard. There are about forty people in total. , when they saw Wang Zhi and others coming in, they all gathered around, shouting for the hall master.
Wang Erlang smiled and greeted everyone, carrying a big stick and entering the light and airy lobby first. There was a relatively complete wooden chair placed in the upper part of the lobby, and in the middle was a wooden table with broken legs supported by stones. There are dozens of stones in the two rows on the left and right, barely enough for one person to sit on. When I look up, I see a broken wooden board hanging in the middle hall, with three big characters crookedly engraved on it - Juxian Hall!
Wang Zhi took the lead and sat down on the upper wooden chair. Agui followed him and placed the steamed buns wrapped in lotus leaves on the wooden table and untied them. Everyone immediately gathered around and saw the steaming pork steamed buns, and they couldn't stop swallowing. The eyes are all straight.
Seeing everyone's appearance, Wang Zhi didn't talk nonsense and said, "The wise men can have their meal first and discuss matters later."
After hearing the words, everyone rushed up, but they didn't take more. Each person took two. After getting it, they returned to the stone pier and sat down. They didn't fight or grab it. It seemed that they had been fed many times.
Someone finished eating first and asked: "Master, Zhu Ruxian and his gang were beaten so hard by us last time that the birdman fled out of the west city. Now he dares to come for a fight this time. Could it be that he has something to rely on?"
Wang Zhi heard this and looked down at a shrewd young man with a monkey-like face sitting down and said, "Monkey, you are the head of the intelligence department of our Juxian Hall. Please tell the wise men."
The young man named Monkey did not dare to savor the sweetness of the pork steamed buns when he heard this. He hurriedly swallowed the steamed buns in two or three times and introduced them in a hurry, "That's it. Since the last time we After crippling Zhu Ruxian and his gang, the hall master was afraid that they would resort to cruel means to retaliate against us, so our Intelligence Department kept an eye on them. These days, our brothers saw that Zhu Ruxian often came in and out of the back door of the Gao Mansion, often with the three sons of the Gao family. Gao Yaofu walked in and out of Yanliu with his arms around his back, I guess he must have taken advantage of the Gao family's influence."
All the sages were shocked when they heard this, and a young man asked, "Is this Gao Yaofu the son of Gao Qiu, Captain Gao?"
"Exactly!"
When everyone heard the monkey's confirmation, some lowered their heads in deep thought, some showed embarrassment, and some started talking to the people around them.
Wang Zhi looked at the faces of the sages below, and they all looked the same. He raised his hand to signal for silence, "Zhu Ruxian is the son of Zhu Meng, the Weiyuan Jiedu envoy, one of the 'six thieves' of the imperial court. Zhu Meng and Gao Qiu are in cahoots with each other. It is normal for his sons to have friends if they bring trouble to the government. I, the Juxian Hall, have encountered a formidable enemy now, can any of the sages have a way to defeat the enemy?"
All the sages are just half-grown fools, and there is no way to defeat the enemy. They chattered for a long time, but all they heard were nonsense words.
Wang Erlang couldn't stand listening anymore and directly named the first clean boy on the left, "Chang Qing, you are the Minister of Government Affairs of Juxian Hall, please tell me."
Chang Qing stood up and straightened his white clothes, raised his fists and said, "Hall Master, I don't think we should accept this battle rashly. We need to consider the long term. Zhu Ruxian Nas knows how powerful our Juxian Hall is. This time we had a battle with our hall, and we were still slightly superior in numbers, but we were still beaten hard. If we were not completely sure this time, how could we dare to provoke again..."
"Brother Zhi..."
Before Chang Qing could finish speaking, the first red-faced boy on the right, Wang Fei, the director of the Military Department of Juxian Hall, rushed to interrupt him. Wang Zhi glared hard and changed his words, cupping his fists and saying, "Hall Master, I don’t agree with what Minister Chang said, if the Zhu family’s pups are like chickens and tile dogs, even if they are ten times more numerous, what should I fear from my Juxian cousins? Come and kill one by one, come and kill the litter of litters!”
"Yes, yes, come and kill one by one, come and kill the nest by one!"
After hearing this, all the sages stood up and drank.
Wang Erlang looked at the people below who were full of fighting spirit, laughed and asked, "You just say you want to fight, but do you know why you want to fight?"
A young man said quickly: "Fighting for territory."
Seeing the hall master shaking his head, another young man rushed to say: "For protection..." As soon as the word "fei" came to his lips, he suddenly changed his words, "Fight for management fees!"
Seeing that the hall master still shook his head, Chang Qing thought for a moment and then said: "Fight for the people of Xicheng!"
Wang Erlang smiled and nodded, signaling Chang Qing to continue.
Chang Qing received the hall master's approval and said excitedly: "Brothers, do you still remember what Xicheng looked like before the hall master arrived a year ago, and what we looked like?"
Everyone suddenly became quiet after hearing this, as if they were recalling some terrible nightmare. Some people's shoulders were shaking, some people's eyes were red, and even the younger boy was sobbing softly.
"Yes, a year ago, Xicheng was full of horse urine and cow dung, and there were hooligans everywhere, and we were all beggars wandering the streets of Xicheng. We had no place to stay at night, fighting for food with wild dogs, and were bullied by ruffians every day. If I don’t have enough food and clothing for a day, I don’t know when I will freeze to death and starve to death.”
Chang Qing took a deep breath, calmed down and continued: "It was the hall master who gave us clothes, food, and dignity as human beings. It was the hall master who led us to drive away the scoundrels and protected us and the people of Xicheng. "
"Now those bastards from the Zhu family want to take away our food and clothing from us, and drive us back to the days when pigs and dogs were inferior to us, brothers! Can we agree?" Chang Qing raised his fists and shouted.
"cannot!"
All the sages shouted in unison and their voices were so loud that dust even fell from the dilapidated house.
