More than 130 cavalrymen galloped along the northwest border. They set off from the Zhenrong Army in the morning and soon arrived under the jurisdiction of the Huaide Army.
In just three hours, the sky and the earth changed colors, and the people they met along the way gradually turned from welcoming to wary, and finally turned to hostile.
"We can't go any further, Commander Wang!"
Wu Dutou quickened his horse and ran to Wang Zhi's side, admonishing him earnestly. This was the fifth time he had said this today.
Wang Zhi still ignored him and continued to move forward.
I met more people along the way, and it seemed that Pingxia City was not far away.
Wu Dutou looked at the people along the road with trembling eyes as if they wanted to eat people. Some villages even wanted to organize people to stop them.
Is this still a military town in my Song Dynasty...
He felt as if his group of more than a hundred people were like a group of lambs entering the den of wolves.
"We really can't go any further, Commander Wang. If we go any further, someone will be killed!"
This was his sixth request, and this time he succeeded. Wang Zhi gradually slowed down his pace.
"Okay, let's not leave. Let's camp here temporarily."
"Camp here?"
Wu Dutou looked at Pingxia City not far away and asked again with some uncertainty, "Commander, are you sure you want to camp here? It's only a quarter of an hour away from Pingxia City by horseback."
Wang Zhi nodded and said matter-of-factly: "Yeah, that's why we have to camp here."
Camp here, dear mother, why don’t you go directly to Pingxia City to camp, it will save you the trouble.
Wu Dutou wanted to give some advice, but Wang Zhi waved his hand and said, "You camp here and don't move around. I'll go to Pingxia City first to check the situation."
Wu Du was so frightened that his scalp was numb. Look at the way the people around us look at us. This is not the Pingxia City of the Song Dynasty. It is a den of thieves!
However, he did not advise this daring boy that it would be better if he died. If he died, he would have a reason to run away.
"Wang Fei, you and your brothers will camp here with Wu Dutou."
"Pengju, you and Wang Fu Wanggui will follow me into the city."
Wang Zhi waved back a group of young men from the Wang family army who wanted to follow him into the city, led the three of them to mount their horses, and walked slowly into the city.
"Pengju, what do you think?"
When Yue Fei heard the young man's question in front of him, he rode forward a few steps to join Wang Zhi and said, "Back to General, this trip seems risky, but as long as we don't do anything drastic, Xixia won't touch us."
Wang Zhi nodded, as if to cheer himself up, "Well, I think so too. If Xixia can allow the Great Song Dynasty General to continue to garrison Pingxia City, at least there will be no quarrel with him on the face of it."
Yue Fei hesitated for a moment and then asked: "General, this Pingxia City cannot be captured unless it is a large army. Are we here?"
"I have an idea in my mind, but I don't know if it's feasible or not, so I have to come to Pingxia City to verify it."
Wang Zhi wanted to say something else, but he didn't know where to start, so he could only say: "It's a little troublesome to explain, so just watch."
Yue Fei said nothing, and the four of them walked to the gate of Pingxia City with the gazes of strangely dressed people all the way.
Some soldiers from the Song Dynasty came to inquire. They were not happy when they saw that it was the Imperial Guards of this dynasty. Instead, they frowned a little. However, they did not stop him and put him into the city.
The four of them walked all the way to the government office in the city.
Yes, although the military town is small, it is administratively at the same level as the state capital, so it naturally has a government office.
Wang Zhi looked at this slightly humble government office and went in without saying a word.
"Who are they? The imperial army. They don't see anyone when they come. Let them get out!"
As soon as Wang Zhi and others entered the government office, they heard someone yelling at them.
The sound was so loud that a government office could not contain it.
If you listen carefully, it sounds like there is also a woman's laughter, and if you listen more carefully, it sounds like there is more than one woman.
Wang Zhi and the others were stunned in place. Not long after, they saw a young boy walking quickly and apologized to Wang Zhi and others: "I'm really sorry for you officials. My master is ill today and it's not convenient to see him." Guests, please come back."
Are you feeling ill?
Is it the owner with a loud voice just now?
Wang Zhi was furious, and when he was about to get angry, he was stopped by the servants, who made an inviting gesture to them.
Wang Zhi was startled for a moment, then walked out the door without getting angry.
After a few people left the house, Wang Zhi led a few people to stroll around this exotic military town as if nothing had happened.
There are also teahouses, restaurants, and cloth stores in the city, which are no different from the cities in the Song Dynasty. The difference is that they are more simple than government offices. Some shops just have a few wooden stakes erected randomly and a shed is built to become a qualified shop. .
Sure enough, where there are people, there is a market.
Before Wang Zhi lamented that these people wanted money rather than their lives, he realized that the items here were ridiculously expensive. Take rice, for example, one stone in Bianjing cost about 500 renminbi, but here it jumped to 2,000 renminbi per dan.
There are also silk, tea, and porcelain items that are commonplace on the streets of Bianjing, but they are ridiculously expensive here. There are actually many foreigners buying them, and some people are carrying them in boxes by boxes.
While walking, Wang Zhi saw a shop crowded with people, and it looked like they were all Han Chinese.
Wang Zhi walked to the shop and stretched his head to see what he was selling, green and white salt!
Let’s look at the price, five cents per pound!
Good guy, the green and white salt that costs fifty cents per pound in Bianjing City only costs five cents here!
At this time, Wang Zhi remembered a certain saying from later generations: When the profit reaches 100%, some people dare to take risks; when the profit reaches 200%, they dare to risk the guillotine; and when the profit reaches 3%, they dare to take risks. 100, they will trample all laws in the world.
Between these five and fifty coins, there is more than a profit of three hundred. This is a profit of one thousand percent. It is conceivable how many people will risk their heads to dig for gold in this place of knives and blood. .
He knew that the imperial court prohibited this kind of Xixia specialty green and white salt from entering the territory. At least no one in the Zhenrong Army dared to sell green and white salt.
But Wang Erlang has been eating this kind of salt since he was a child, so it can be seen that smugglers are rampant. The bitter and astringent local salt of the Song Dynasty and this Xixia salt are not at the same level in terms of taste.
After walking for a while, Wang Zhi looked up at the corner of the street and saw four big characters written on the cover: Bianjing Restaurant.
Then he reached out and looked at the small piece of paper in his hand. There were also four words written on it, Bianjing Restaurant.
"walk into."
Wang Zhi took the lead into the restaurant and was led by the waiter into the private room on the second floor.
Wang Zhi waved his hand to the waiter to watch the food being served.
After the boy retreated and closed the door, Wang Zhicai showed the small note in his hand to the three of them.
After the three of them looked down, they all understood.
It's a pity that the lord of a city still needs to communicate with people in this way in the city under his jurisdiction.
Not long after, a boy came to serve the meal. Yue Fei was alert and inadvertently put one hand on the handle of the knife, because he could see that this boy and the boy who had just led the way were not the same person at all.
After the waiter put the food and wine on the table, he didn't move away. He knelt on the ground and begged softly: "Can you please save my master?"
Several people looked at each other and knew that the real drama was coming. Wang Zhi also asked softly, "Who is your master?"
"My master is the governor of Huaide Army and the guard of Pingxia City."
Wang Zhi knew that this boy was arranged by the guard general with a loud voice just now.
I came to the city to find him just to ask about the situation in Pingxia City. Now it seems that there is no need to ask, the situation is already in front of me.
No wonder my uncle warned me repeatedly before I came here. I originally thought that my uncle was making a fuss, but now it seems that the situation in Pingxia City is probably worse than what my uncle predicted.
"You go back and let him feel at ease as his city guard. We will get this city back soon."
The boy wanted to say something but Wang Zhi drove him away.
Are you kidding me, asking a few of us who dare not speak loudly in Pingxia City to save him as a guard general?
Even if we bring in the hundred or so people from outside, I'm afraid they won't be able to get out of the government office.
Even the very nervous Wang Erlang noticed the vague but ubiquitous glances along the way.
Several people in their group were stared at after entering the city.
Not only the Xixia people, but also the Song people in the city, Wang Zhi, didn't like them very much. They just wanted to do business quietly and make a profit. Anyone who wanted to destroy their financial path was the enemy who killed their father.
Wang Zhi suspected that as long as he and his group made any inappropriate moves, the Song people would swarm in and kill him without the Xixia people taking action.
Everyone in the party, small tribesmen, including Song people, except for the guard general whom he had never met, everyone in the city did not welcome him.
Wang Zhi came to the conclusion and angrily picked up his chopsticks and started to eat. However, he was stopped by Yue Fei before he could take off his chopsticks.
Yue Fei shook his head at Wang Zhi, his meaning was very clear, he couldn't eat it!
Wang Zhi was angry, not at Yue Fei, but at this unfair world.
There is no reason to put delicious food in front of people but only let them smell it.
"Brother Fu."
Wang Zhi called Wang Fu over and whispered a few words, and Wang Fu responded.
The three of them discussed quietly in the box for a few words and then dispersed.
It was getting late, and all the shops in the city were closed. The lights were not brighter than Bianjing City in the middle of the night. This small border town became quiet after nightfall. Except for the occasional one or two houses with lights on, the streets were basically dark.
On a dark and windy night, it is not only a time for murder and arson, but also for banquets and gatherings with friends.
In the main hall of a small house, there were friends gathered around a table, and they were all dressed up from various tribes. It could be said that fifty-six ethnic groups were one family, with wine, food, and beauties dancing.
After three rounds of drinking, a wealthy businessman from the tribe held his big belly and said in broken Song dialect: "Shopkeeper Wang, please invite all of us here. You don't just want to eat and drink and watch the women dance. If you have anything to say, you can say it directly. We are all in the same boat." Well, if you can help, just ask."
When this person spoke, everyone at the table agreed.
The middle-aged Han man known as Shopkeeper Wang clapped his hands, and the foreign dancers bowed and left.
"I invite you here today not because I am asking for anything from you, but because I want to give you great wealth."
"I will introduce someone to you."
Shopkeeper Wang smiled mysteriously, stood up, and bowed back with a very respectful attitude.
