On the eve of New Year's Eve, Zhang Xing and Qin Bao had a full meal of fried crispy pork.
It's New Year's Eve. Let's indulge. Not to mention that we have just gone on a very hard errand. Without this errand, in addition to those who are responsible for planning work and supervising the construction of Mingtang, there are also those in the public gates of Dongdu. A famous saying?
Let’s talk about it later in the year. . .
In fact, the entire Dongdu is filled with the atmosphere of the New Year. People burn bamboo, cross the brazier, worship their ancestors, and give each other copper plates with small red notes... Of course, the main thing during the New Year is eating.
The dignitaries in the north gave a feast like water, but they were full early in the morning. However, no matter what they did, every time they changed the process, they had to change the chicken, duck, fish and meat into a whole set, so that the servants were all full of fat after eating; Although the poor are poor, they still ask their neighbors to chip in to buy a pot of oil and fry some dough for their children to chew; even the new batch of laborers received a gracious reward from the Ministry of Works, adding winter clothes to their routine. A fried sweet cake...of course, you must thank Tianen to get it.
It is strange to say that people who have left their hometown should miss their loved ones more during the festive season, but while drinking with Qin Bao, they suddenly wiped their tears and called mother in a low voice without realizing it, and they were not like Yueniang who looked carefree on the surface and sat in private. Unlike staying at the stable for a night with two horses and a mule, Zhang Sanlang was unexpectedly happy this year.
In other words, he is heartless. He should be eating and drinking, but he doesn't seem to care about anything and never mentions family affairs.
And on the second day, which is the first day of the Lunar New Year, all the real officials have to go to the Zhengdan Palace to suffer. Especially this year, the Mingtang is still under construction, so they can only go to the Chengming Hall next to it... Knowing why, Zhang Sanlang, who was entitled to enjoy annual leave, was even more joyful.
First, he forced Qin Bao and Yueniang to pay him New Year's greetings, and then they each held a red paper bag. When they opened it, it turned out to be just two copper coins tied with a red rope... Of course, it didn't matter if Qin Bao and Yueniang didn't come to pay homage to him. It doesn't matter if someone pays homage to him, at most he is stingy with the red envelope.
Then, the Bai Shoufu from Jing'an Terrace dropped down a basket of small crispy pork and dough balls that he was tired of eating and went out to wander around. When he met a child, he gave two slices to them and asked them if they could write "small crispy pork". "The word "su"... Those who knew it would naturally know that it was a white ribbon from Jing'antai, a young and promising official. Those who didn't know it thought it was a street kid.
However, these gazes could not stop Zhang Xing from wandering around the shop singing "It's not too much", and when all the pieces of his flesh were gone and only the dough was left, he naturally followed Qin Bao and Yueniang. The figure came to the commune in the square.
This commune is not that commune, but a simple ancestral hall in the commune that enshrines the three splendors and four emperors. It is also called a public temple or a public hall. In short, that’s what it means.
In fact, in addition to the commune temple, each temple usually has a decent independent temple. For example, the Qingdi Temple in Wenwen Square is particularly large, and the kidney-tonifying medicines sold there are particularly good. There is also a White Emperor Temple in Chengfufang, which has been engaged in the business of making iron tools, digging wells, treating injuries and illnesses, and building foundations for enlightenment. It is quite famous... But the problem is that it is the Chinese New Year and it is the first day of the Lunar New Year. Lord Bai, why don’t other supreme beings pay their respects?
Therefore, today, when almost everyone in every neighborhood in the city goes out to pay New Year greetings, they inevitably stop by the public temple in their own neighborhood.
Zhang Xing came over with half a basket of dough. Of course, he didn't go in with Qin Bao and Yueniang to worship the three splendors and four emperors. He just came to watch the fun. But don't even mention it, you really let him find new fun.
It turns out that the Taoist priest of the Trinity Orthodox Church here is telling people's fortunes... There are two kinds of fortune-telling, one is to draw lots to interpret the fortune, which costs ten cents; and the other is a high-level one, which requires using a light cinnabar to write the birth date and horoscope. This costs fifty copper coins, which is extremely expensive.
So who is Zhang Sanlang? There will be three-foot waves at any time, let alone seeing this kind of feudal superstition to cheat money? So he went straight over, drove away the Taoist priests, put down the basket himself, sat behind the case, and used the cinnabar to write on the fortune tellers.
That's right, Zhang Sanlang didn't need others to write for him, but took the initiative to write for others. He cut the paper into square buckets, but only dipped it in cinnabar and wrote a big word "福"... There is no tradition in this world of posting Spring Festival couplets, and Zhang Xing also He didn't mean to popularize it, but it didn't stop him from writing it down and telling people who had a certain level of education to turn the words upside down and paste them on the door with batter. The other person also woke up instantly and dropped them as if they were flying. Qian ran back with the words in his hands.
In this way, Zhang Sanlang wrote forty or fifty words in a row, nothing more than "luck, wealth, longevity, wealth" and the like. He lost interest just now, but he didn't even care about the long queue in front of him and only wrote for his own family. He wrote the word "福" in a big word and then directly killed them and escaped without burying them.
But it didn't matter. The Taoist priest who had been driven away woke up early, but immediately changed his business on the spot and continued - this was much easier than fortune-telling, and the scope of his business was not comparable to fortune-telling.
Looking back, Zhang Xing went home with an empty basket. Qin Bao and Yueniang had not returned from their visit to the temple, so he pasted the character "Fu" on his head and went to the courtyard to stretch his muscles... Although it was boring, there is something to be said for it... You must know , this time out, Zhang Sanlang also gained a new understanding because of Qin Bao's performance. Perhaps the great realms of cultivation such as Zhengmai, Qimai, Ningdan, Chengdan, and Grandmaster will produce a qualitative difference in the martial arts of practitioners, but Obviously, horseback kung fu, muscle and muscle training, and weapon proficiency, like courage and will, are undoubtedly some terms on the line between life and death.
One of the simplest and most straightforward expressions is that despite Zhang Xing's cheating, he was ahead of Qin Bao, a recognized martial arts talent, in a positive line of cultivation, but if the two of them were to fight to the death, Zhang Xing did not feel that he had two You can win with more than 100% probability.
A wave of that big iron spear and then a charge of the horse were absolutely invincible by Zhang Xing from the point of view of his normal pulse.
While he was practicing, there was a sudden knock on the door and he opened the door. His confusion was instantly eliminated. The person who came was actually Mr. Zhou Xingfan, who was personally carrying large and small bags to pay a visit.
Mr. Zhou's father is the legitimate confidant of the saint. He has the same title and rank. Naturally, he has his own big mansion in the eastern capital city. However, his family are all in the south, and only dozens of servants stay here to take care of the house. Maintain the real fire, so come over when you are free.
After coming over, I could only stand there stupidly. I waited until Qin Bao and Yueniang came back, and then there was no sound of people in the yard, but it was already noon, so I hurriedly started cooking.
The so-called people coming and going, eating and drinking, talking and sleeping, and having holidays and holidays, this is about it.
In the evening, Zhou Xingfan, who had had two meals, said goodbye first. Then, Qin Baozi focused on the newly bought weapons from Baidi Temple, Yueniang began to recalculate the firewood, rice, oil and salt at home, and Zhang Xing started as usual It's up to him.
However, as the sky got darker, the three of them went back to their rooms. When they were about to go to bed, Zhang Xing heard an obvious sound from the roof tiles above his head, so he got up helplessly, got dressed, went out and climbed up.
Sure enough, Bai Yousi had been sitting on the roof early, waiting for him for a long time. At the same time, there were two bottles of wine and a plate of cold-cut braised beef.
"Happy New Year." Bai Yousi, dressed in men's clothing, said with a smile and threw a copper plate tied with a red string.
"Happy New Year to the inspection." Zhang Xing rarely had any excuses, so he just cupped his hands slightly and put away the coins and sat down.
Thinking about it, if he really said he was one year older, he would be thrown away directly.
"Has your mood gotten better in the past few days?" Bai Yousi waited for the other party to sit down, then directly raised the pot.
"Not bad, not bad." Zhang Xing smiled dryly. "It's the Chinese New Year. There's always something to say about coaxing the kids. I've done a lot of messy things..."
"Are you still worried about what happened in Huaibei?"
"yes."
"Why is this so?"
"The focus is different from the values... The common people always regard the life and death of the common people as the fundamental, and regard meat-eaters as contempt, just as the meat-eaters always regard the rise and fall of the meat-eaters as the fundamental, and regard the common people as trivial... In addition, I am a small-minded person. People who don’t handle the matter from beginning to end will always feel uncomfortable.”
"I see."
"Do you understand the inspection?"
"Aren't you watching and learning?"
"In this way, it seems that I am biased."
"If you are not biased, how can you catch my eye?"
"Don't they reflect each other? They have to learn and change."
"Right."
"Drink."
"Drink."
The two touched the wine bottles and each just drank a sip of wine.
"Chen Ling's matter was not worth mentioning to the Nanya officials, but they also made the decision to transfer him to the northwest to guard the poisonous desert of the witch tribe." After a while, Bai Yousi suddenly lowered his hands. The wine bottle held up his cheeks and smiled. "After the new year, when we go to deal with the Long Whale Gang's affairs, we can announce the transfer order along the way..."
"I don't know if he dares to hate Jingantai or the Bai family." Zhang Xing shook his head in response. "But isn't the inspection going to Fulongwei?"
"That's true." Bai Yousi answered frankly. "In Nanya, there has always been a rivalry between Zhongcheng and Duke Zhang... Then my father went there, and naturally formed an alliance with Duke Zhang... Do you understand?"
"Understood." Zhang Xing blurted out. "Zhongcheng is an old minister left by the late emperor, and he is not the same as the other old ministers. He is naturally unshakable. He has become his own pole in Nanya, and the veterans are willing to obey him. And Zhang Gong's achievements were only achieved after the current saint ascended the throne. Yes, so this can be regarded as a typical confrontation between the old and the new. As for the respected father, although he is a noble of the Bai family, he came under the command of the saint. He is a new noble promoted by the saint, so he is roughly a newcomer. "
"That's what I mean." Bai Yousi nodded repeatedly. "However, these are not obvious. There are few conflicts of spirit in Nanya. The previous enmity between Zhongcheng and Zhang Gong was only about the conquest of Dongyi... My father also had a dispute because of the recent saint's insistence on cultivating. Only then did I have some arguments with Zhongcheng about Mingtang and Tongtian Tower."
Zhang Xing nodded naturally.
To put it bluntly, the imperial rulers in Nanya are all human beings. At least on the surface, they are still talking about matters.
But it is obvious that this level of confrontation is likely to be just a word. Once the corresponding departments are summoned to provide evidence, it will trigger fierce partisanship and confrontation below.
The most obvious thing is that since the beginning of winter last year, the series of actions of the second patrol team, as well as the continuous encounters of Zhang Xing and others, are essentially inseparable from the small verbal argument in Nanyanei.
"What my father meant was that there was no need to make me tired of dealing with such a trivial matter. Therefore, as early as when we encountered a murder in Xiajiangdong, he complained to Zhongcheng in front of everyone during lunch break in Nanya. Zhongcheng was You have to hold on, you can only agree in public and wait for me to come back and transfer to Fulongwei." Bai Yousi said slowly. "I actually agreed, but I told my father and Zhong Cheng that everything has a beginning and an end. After the New Year, I will take care of the affairs of the Long Whale Gang together, and then make respective arrangements with Sima Zheng. .”
"Thank you very much." Zhang Xing was grateful from the bottom of his heart.
"Not just for you...of course it's also for you, but the words you promised that day were originally for what I asked for that day by the river. How could I ignore it based on emotion and reason?" Bai Yousi sighed. "Moreover, all your strategies and decisions can't stop the sword of the second son of the Zuo family. If I don't go, who will kill this whale for you?"
"That's true." Perhaps because he was used to it, Zhang Xing wasn't too embarrassed. "But I can't always count on the patrol inspector to be my support or my protector. I still have to work hard to improve my cultivation."
"Speaking of this." Bai Yousi suddenly asked. "Do you want to go to Fulongwei with me?"
Zhang Xing was silent for a long time, and then asked cautiously: "I heard that the Fulong Guards just live in Xiyuan and occasionally come out to serve as guards of honor and bodyguards?"
"Fulongwei is not as relaxed as you think." Bai Yousi said with a smile. "How could there be less trouble in the royal family? Zhang Xing..."
"Why."
"The reason why I agreed to this is, firstly, because I felt that what Luo Fang did before was too stingy and meaningless; secondly, because of some of your ordinary words, I wanted to get in touch with the real court and see the real ruler. What are the people doing... Not to mention, when you get to Fulongwei, you can go to Xiyuan Langya Pavilion to check the documents and documents to know the true story of the matter." Bai Yousi's eyes were burning and he looked at Zhang Xing again. "Do you want to come?"
"I think so." Zhang Xing responded simply. "But if that's the case, does Fulongwei just come in when he wants?"
"Of course not." Bai Yousi replied with relief. "For ordinary people to enter, there is a hard condition in terms of cultivation, which is the Perfect Meridian... So, according to the truth, in our patrol group, I can only take Brother Hu and Qian Tang there."
"What's the truth?" Zhang Xing couldn't help but laugh after hearing the meaning of the words.
"Actually, Brother Hu had a grudge against me last time, so it was difficult for him to come over and continue to help me." Bai Yousi answered calmly. "But at Fulongwei, because of the tradition, we can discuss merits and deeds..."
"I know." Zhang Xing couldn't help but let out a long breath and interrupted the other party on the spot. "I only learned about the provisions of the "Dawei Code" after Jiang Dong, and it is the legacy of the late emperor... One penny can kill someone, but there are eight exceptions when discussing crimes, the so-called discussion of relatives, discussion of old friends, discussion of virtuous people, discussion of talents, Discussing merit, discussing nobleness, discussing diligence, discussing guests... Those who are officials above the ninth rank, those who are related to the emperor, those who the emperor thinks are talented, those who are of noble birth, and envoys from other barbarians can publicly reduce their crimes and exempt them... This Just treat the people below as human beings...Forget it, I'm cynical again, no dynasty or generation is like this, it's just not as clear as the "Laws of the Wei Dynasty", the inspection will continue."
Bai Yousi shook his head: "In short, besides Qian Tang, Li Qingchen and Zhou Xingfan can discuss matters, and you and Qin Bao can also discuss merits... Especially you, this trip has really shocked everyone, you can definitely go to Huaihe first Go up, come back and add the black ribbon, and then discuss the merits and transfer to Fulongwei. As for Qin Bao, it is actually a little more difficult, so I can only give it a try by adding the white ribbon."
"Very good." Zhang Xing nodded in response. "That's how the inspection is arranged."
Hearing Zhang Xing's promise, Bai Yousi wanted to say something else, but for some reason, he paused for a while and just nodded lightly: "Zhang Sanlang, do you know? I thought you were going to leave me after this." And go."
"Although the world is big, it's hard to find a boss who is better than an inspection officer." Zhang Xing responded with a wry smile. "The road of life is difficult, so we need to temporarily use the wings of inspection to cover it."
"Okay." Bai Yousi stood up and brought the wine. "Let's support each other and go on a journey together, and we'll talk about it in the future."
With that said, Bai Yousi raised the wine bottle, drank it, and then jumped away.
Zhang Xing also sat on the ridge of the roof and drank a pot of wine in one gulp. He rubbed the copper plate in his hand and looked at the night of Dongdu City without moving for a long time.
ps: Welcome the God of Wealth on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Good night everyone.
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