"Is this Zhang Shangshu's bicycle frame?"
After waiting for a long time, Zhang Xingcai, slightly tipsy, came to ask Brother Liu, the owner of Liufang.
Brother Liu, who was usually smart, watched the carriage enter the depths of the workshop, and then he seemed to have come back to his senses and shook his head: "Who else could it be if it weren't Zhang Shangshu? The Eastern Capital has only been built twenty years ago, and most of the high-ranking officials are from famous families. They are all mansions given by saints, and they are all located in Luoyang County opposite Luoshui... On the contrary, some of the great families like Zhang Shangshu, who entered the court later and became more powerful, lived here along Luoshui or The Fangshi Dazhi Industrial Mansion on Tianjie...it has been twelve years since the Zhang family moved here."
"It's also a good thing." Zhang Xing replied casually. "The Minister of Punishment lives here, and no one who commits crimes would dare to come to our house."
Brother Liu smiled when he heard this. He seemed to want to complain, but he was obviously worried about the crowd and swallowed it hard. Then he turned around and mentioned a serious matter:
"Captain Zhang, some friend of yours suddenly came to see you in the afternoon. Seeing that you were not there, he said he would come back in the evening before the gate closed."
Zhang Xing was slightly startled, and then asked: "But a person who is about the same age as me, has the same accent, but is dressed as a patrolman in brocade?"
Brother Liu nodded immediately.
Zhang Xingqing knew who it was, so he thanked him again, then turned back to his residence, washed up for a while, and started reading the book again.
And when it was about half an hour before the square gate closed, the man arrived as promised, and it was none other than Qin Bao and Qin Erlang.
Now that Qin Bao is here, he doesn't say anything and just sits in the courtyard. Zhang Xing, as the owner of this place, ignores him and just continues to read with his head down.
Finally, it was Brother Liu's daughter who broke the silence. She knocked on the door and gave Zhang Xing a jar of sour soup to sober up.
"Are you wronged?"
Zhang Xing thanked Qin Bao profusely and came back, setting out two bowls and sharing them with Qin Bao. He took a few sips before asking.
"It's not a grievance." Qin Bao replied angrily, holding a bowl. "Everyone in the capital is so slippery that they don't show off their words at all. It's hard to tell anyone who bullied you..."
"But I still vaguely exclude you and resent you. Not only do I not treat you as one of my own, but I also remind you from time to time that you are a country boy, which makes you feel uncomfortable?"
"Not bad." Qin Bao felt a little sad for a moment.
"What's there to be depressed about? Just bear it and let it pass." Zhang Xing became more and more disdainful. "Who hasn't had this experience? When I went to your village that day, wasn't it also rejected by you on guard? Xenophobia is inevitable everywhere in the world."
Qin Bao stopped talking, just lowered his head and drank a bowl of sour soup.
"Can't bear it?" Zhang Xing glanced at the other party, still slightly tipsy.
"I can't bear it, especially when there is a young white-belted man named Li who is in a weird mood all day long and makes it difficult for others to get close to me." Qin Bao asked breathlessly. "Brother Zhang, I know you are a courageous and resourceful person, so I came here to ask you, do you have any ideas?"
"There are so many ways." Zhang Xing rarely showed a smile. "If your family is as rich as Xu Dalang's family in Caozhou, it would be simple. Today, we invite them to drink the latest sour plum wine. Tomorrow we go to Wenwenfang together, and the day after tomorrow we go to Nanshi to buy new tea as a gift for the newlyweds. Who is short of money? Just give money and give horses to anyone who needs them... In a few days, you will be recognized as the Timely Rain Qin Erlang of the East."
Qin Bao listened patiently and asked coldly: "What if I don't have money?"
"If you don't have money, it doesn't matter if you have advanced cultivation or are famous, or you have a good family background. Anyway, you need some capital. Use these capital to help whoever is in trouble..."
"My cultivation level is about the same as yours. You have accessed four of the twelve main meridians, and I have accessed five. How can I be considered a master? I only have dozens of acres of farmland at home to make ends meet. As for reputation...one village and one town. What's the use of your name? It's not as good as Brother Zhang, who has carried your body for hundreds of miles and made people sad."
"Then kill someone!" Zhang Xing spread his hands. "The one named Li is the meanest, right? He was killed secretly..."
"Do you think the twenty-eight red ribbons of the three major towns and cities in Jing'an are just decorations?"
"Then give him a beating!"
"Don't be joking..."
"It's not just a joke." Zhang Xing drank the second bowl of sour soup and responded seriously. "These rejections are normal. If you want to be faster, it is nothing more than showing favors and establishing prestige... But giving favors depends on capital, and establishing prestige depends on ruthlessness. If you can't do it, you can only endure it for a while and rely on your ability and character. People will gradually be attracted by sex, or they will improve their cultivation and official position, and then they will have personal capital."
Qin Bao was silent for a while, then suddenly asked: "Brother Zhang, where are you? When we came to Dongdu, I accepted your righteous deed. But when we arrived in Dongdu, I directly joined the Jinyi patrol of Fusi in Zhongzhen. You But he came to be a street cleaner with no future... a street patrol captain... don't you feel resentful in your heart?"
Blame the devil!
Zhang Xing secretly complained in his heart... Not to mention that the entire army on the front line was wiped out and the court deliberately covered it up, so that people like him could not show off too early. He only said that he faked amnesia, which was enough to make Bai Yousi's thoughtful little girl skinny. I'm suspicious. I don't even have a Dongdu household registration. Isn't it natural for someone to give me an inspection period?
Even Jingjiehu, who has degenerated to the point of being like a gang, knows to give a seven-day inspection period, let alone a truly rigorous patrol in uniform? !
This is a mid-level civil servant at the feet of the emperor!
Let’s go back to my own time, let alone the probation period and the inspection period, I’m afraid I might get involved in the Battle Royale game.
It is said that a programmer with an annual salary of one million is not as good as a civil servant with an annual salary of 50,000... In Zhang Xinglai's world, this was a joke for people like him who were key to politics and history, but these days, I'm afraid that's really the case.
Of course, this is what Zhang Xing feels in his heart, but Zhang Xing doesn't show it at all on his face, and his words are too noble: "No, if you can borrow books from Ji'an Marquis Mansion or Jing'an Terrace Langya Pavilion for me, I would prefer it. This kind of life now, with a basket of food, a cup of drink, a book, being in a back alley, and being overwhelmed with worries, I won't change my joy... isn't it beautiful?"
Qin Bao was stunned for a moment, obviously respectful, but after a moment, he hesitated and continued to ask: "Brother Zhang... tell me the truth, you really didn't think about revenge for your partner's family or anything. ?”
"I'm thinking about it." Zhang Xing raised his eyes to look at the other party. He spoke clearly and clearly, as if he had suddenly sobered up. "I'm really thinking about it! But at least I know that I shouldn't have even the slightest thought until I reach the master level... And I'm not just thinking about Hongshan, I'm also thinking about Luolongtan. But by the same token, not Even if I become a minister or a marquis, I will not go to the court to find excuses... A man should strengthen himself. Only when he is strong can he be qualified to think about certain things. Do you have anything else to ask?"
Qin Bao shook his head.
"I have something to ask you." Zhang Xing suddenly smiled.
"Brother Zhang, just ask." Qin Bao was also calm and composed.
"Your family only has a few dozen acres of land, but you are willing to let you practice martial arts and buy horses from you? You are a hero in the village, and you are so well-educated. When you have the opportunity to come to the capital, you don't hesitate for a moment... Is it just because Inspector Bai is pretty?" Zhang Xing asked jokingly.
"I knew I couldn't hide it from Brother Zhang." Qin Bao's expression didn't change much this time, as if he really expected it. "But it is not deliberately concealed, but it is not important, or it would be a hindrance to say it... When the Eastern Qi Dynasty was at its peak, my great-grandfather was the governor of one of the 120 counties in the Eastern Qi Dynasty. My grandfather was also the son of a ruling prince of the Qi State. If you record affairs and join the army, you are more or less an official... But in the Wei Dynasty, you should also know."
Zhang Xing certainly knows that. He has been reading books these days. Although many descriptions are obviously foggy, for him who has experienced the explosion of information, other things can be regarded as clear-cut.
For example, the Eastern Qi actually existed as early as the Great Zhou Dynasty, the predecessor of the Great Wei Dynasty, and once it was based on the eastern border and Hebei and connected to Huaidong, and it dominated four to five points of the world; while the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Great Wei Dynasty, plus the previous A dynasty in China was obviously an internal change of the same ruling group. It was just a group of warlords who took Guanlong as the foundation and controlled Bashu to change their positions... In this case, the war between the two countries lasted for hundreds of years. As the main military and political opponents of Wei and Zhou, Qi's ruling class was naturally going to be severely suppressed after the country was destroyed.
In fact, not only the hometown of the Eastern Qi Dynasty, but also the Jiangdong area in the south where Daliang was located before, and the Northern Wasteland area that had always obeyed the Central Plains but was never included in effective rule for some reasons, all had serious political barriers with the imperial court.
And this not only explains why Qin Bao wants to get ahead, but also explains why Xu Dalang mocks Qin Bao, and why Xiong Bonan and Xu Dalang, two heroes from the East, want to save Li Shu?
It even explains why the rebellion of Yang Shen and Li Shu had such a serious impact? Why were the great nobles in the DPRK so sensitive to this rebellion case that they temporarily ignored such a huge defeat on the front line?
You must know that although the Wei Dynasty today dominates the world and has outstanding prestige, it has only been passed down for two generations. The founding emperor of the country, whose achievements were extremely high and made the world breathless, also first ruled and then held power as the Shangzhu Kingdom. military power, and then take advantage of the young master's suspicion of the country, suddenly undergo an administrative coup, and easily take over the country.
Of course, this is too far off the mark.
Seeing Zhang Xing nod, Qin Bao calmed down: "I'm not saying that I have to be rich and powerful, but my father and brother died early, and I raised me alone. I have always said something to me. As a son, I have to earn some merit and go back." , which made her feel at ease... Originally I was thinking that it would be okay to join the army and go to Dongyi to work hard, but today I came to Dongdu by chance, how can I still be angry about such a trivial matter? "
"So you figured it out?" Zhang Xing wiped his mouth and asked back.
"I understand. All we can do now is to strengthen ourselves as a man like you, Brother Zhang! Practice martial arts with your heart, study hard, be a good person and do things with your heart. Sooner or later, you will accumulate your own capital and not be looked down upon by others." Qin Bao shouted. Take a breath. "Among these, the one I am most confident about is martial arts training. I must practice seriously and not mess around with people named Li."
Zhang Xing nodded, finished the last bit of soup in the bowl, and said without urging: "That's good, I won't charge you this time... People used to charge me for asking questions in private... Go back early Well, by the way, tell Inspection Bai that I have finished reading these books and ask her to help find some history books or literary classics, otherwise there will be another shortage of books."
Qin Bao looked at the other party blankly, put down the bowl, wiped his mouth, and went directly.
After Qin Erlang left, Zhang Xing put a few copper coins into the earthen pot and returned it. He returned to the courtyard and finished reading the last half of the history book of the previous dynasty. Then he went out to fill his stomach for a while, then turned back to the courtyard to start his work. Simple exercises such as push-ups were used to prepare for meditating and unblocking the meridians before going to bed... And just as he was sweating profusely, Brother Liu suddenly knocked on the courtyard door again:
"Colonel Zhang, is Colonel Zhang here? Your partner who patrols the streets suddenly comes to see you."
Zhang Xing felt strange, but he responded immediately. When he went out, he saw Xiao Zhao waiting for him.
"Brother Zhang." Xiao Zhao held his knife and stood in the square gate without any scruples. "Let's go to Water Street... The flag owner just said that he is afraid that you won't have enough capital when you come back, so he will give you two months to settle down."
Zhang Xing was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
