Every time he came to Ningguta for business, Yang Tong would go to the university grounds in the north of the city to watch men and bulls wrestling.
Usually, his schedule in Ningguta is very full. He has to meet with people from various yamen every day and repeatedly verify the identity of prisoners with local officials. Deputy General Qian and Prefect Shi are quite hospitable, and he is overwhelmed with various entertainments.
Yang Tong did not dare to get too close to Qian and Shi. Although the Emperor strictly prohibited the Zhenfu soldiers from intervening in the affairs of Ning Gu Pagoda, Yang Tong never cared about what evil things they did in Ning Gu Pagoda, but his intuition told him For the leader of the Suppressing Soldiers, things were far from as simple as the Emperor thought in Shenyang.
After visiting Ninggu Pagoda many times, watching the bull duel became the best excuse for the leader of the Zhenfu soldiers to avoid worldly matters.
The fight is usually held at the Ningguta Campus. Tickets range from one tael to one hundred taels, with different prices and different locations. It is said that a ticket of 100 taels can sit in the front row and have "close contact with the angry bull."
Yang Tong was not interested in close contact. He didn't have enough money to watch the entire scene, let alone a prime location.
Everything has been going up in price lately, and of course tickets have gone up in price.
The system implemented here is completely different from other places in Liaodong. It is neither a capitalist system nor totalitarianism.
If you have to classify it, the system being implemented in Ningguta is quite similar to the slavery in ancient Greece and Rome.
Freedmen, that is, ordinary people, could execute the condemned prisoners brought from the customs at will without being punished. They could also spend money to redeem them from the government. After the redemption, these slaves became his private property. "
In short, under the influence of Qian Sanwei, who was a businessman, everything here finally turned into business. I don’t know how much money this profiteer made.
Every prisoner is part of the business. After arriving at Ninggu Tower, Mr. Qian will briefly screen them. Some will be kept as hangers-on, some will be sent to mines, and some (female family members) will be directly arranged to go to brothels.
In order to attract more people to watch, fierce death row prisoners were used to fight the bulls in the arena. The scene was bloody and cruel.
Yang Tong once mentioned the chaos in these Ninggu Pagodas to the Supreme Emperor, but he did not receive any clear reply. It seemed that the Supreme Emperor turned a blind eye to this kind of disrespectful behavior of human life.
Perhaps Emperor Wuding became like that businessman, with only money in his eyes.
The large school ground, which was originally used for military training, is now filled with wooden stands, extending from the bottom of the city wall to the Langlang River.
The Langlang River is in the middle of the flood season, and there are only a dozen sand boats transporting wood parked on the river. The masts on the boats look like sparse broad-leaved forests. The human eye seems to be able to penetrate the secrets here at once.
Yang Tong took his guards and quickly found a good seat. This is not because Yang Yingguan arrived earlier than others, or because he spent more money to buy seats. The answer is obvious, because the iron hook on his left arm looks like the latest infantry gun shipped from Shenyang. Make a way through the crowd.
"You little thing! You don't have eyes. What are you looking at! You..."
Standing in front, an old Liaodong iron man who was looking back and glaring at Yang Tong and others felt that his butt was touched, and while cursing, he pulled out his sword (in Ninggu Pagoda, people are allowed to carry weapons).
But when Lao Tie noticed that the iron hook on the opponent's arm was glowing with cold light, he felt as if the muzzle of the cannon was aimed at his face.
Lao Tie was immediately frightened.
The guard pushed the man away, but Yang Tong was not as knowledgeable as this man. He had killed not only 800 but also a thousand wrapped Aha with his own hands in Hunhe and Hetuala.
The name of Living Yama is worthy of its name. Whether dealing with dead people or living people, he can maintain maximum restraint.
"Brother Yang, Vice General Qian's servant came again last night, bringing a box of Dongzhu..."
Yang Tong was raising his beloved telescope to look at the entrance of the university grounds, thinking that the irritable bull would come out earlier. Suddenly, when he heard the guard say this, he felt as if he had swallowed a fly, and a look of disgust appeared on his face. expression.
"Didn't you say you won't accept it?"
"But they come every day and it's so annoying."
A circle of flagpoles was erected around the campus. The small flag on top of the flagpole and the black pennants covering the flagpole from top to bottom were fluttering in the breeze. A wooden door was built at the entrance of the bullring, painted to look like white marble. The paint on the pillars is similar to the white marble lion in front of Guangji Gate in Shenyang, which looks quite majestic.
The base of the main flagpole is composed of four huge statues, painted colorfully, some of which are gold. The flag is made of tinplate, with a golden portrait of Emperor Wuding engraved on both sides. One painting reads "Emperor Wuding bloody battle at Hunhe River". , the picture of "Destroying the Eight Banners of Jiannu".
There was an exclamation in the distance. The fighting bull was about to appear. The stands and roofs were crowded with people, and the fanatical Ningguta people were everywhere.
More than a hundred auxiliary soldiers dressed in Mongolian, Korean, and Jurchen costumes, with the flag of the Eleventh Corps embroidered on their armor, holding spears and knives, were arrogantly circling around the campus.
The people who were eager to see the Bulls on the field were impatient. They waved the small wooden signs in their hands - this was the certificate to watch the game - Yang Tong knew that soon the place would be dripping with blood, feces and urine, and there would be... Will bleed.
He lost his left arm and could no longer aim and shoot as leisurely as before. He could no longer experience the thrill of killing on the battlefield. However, when watching the duel between humans and cattle at close range, he could often feel the long-lost excitement.
Amid the enthusiastic calls of the people in Ningguta, a gate on the north side of the university grounds was opened, and the first bull appeared.
The bull suddenly rushed into the main campus and rammed directly into the nearest prisoner. The prisoner was not wearing armor, and the only weapon on his body was a not-so-sharp spear.
The entire campus seemed to have been bloodbathed. The rich and noble ladies were laughing, shouting, and applauding non-stop.
The bulls died one after another, and there were several corpses of prisoners on the ground. The dead people were even more humble than the dead cows, and no one cared about them.
Yang Tong stared at a fallen bull. The bull drooped its head, opened its mouth, and stuck out its thick tongue. It could no longer eat grass in the field. Maybe it could only go to the other world of the bull. Grazing on the ethereal grassland, I don’t know whether it is in hell or heaven.
~~~~~~~
"Have you painted? I will stand up after painting."
At the east gate of the arena, a policeman in red uniform was lying on the ground. There were some dates and raisins scattered around. A vendor looked at the policeman who fell to the ground with horror on his face. The soldier didn't bother to pick up the dried fruits, his face turned pale with fright.
"I...I didn't touch you just now. You fell down on your own."
The hawker pushed the wheelbarrow and was about to run away. As soon as he took a step, the soldier who had fallen on the ground stood up instantly and waved to his companion who was sketching. The soldier immediately stepped forward and the two of them, one after the other, pulled him Vendors clogged the center.
"Two official brothers, the younger one doesn't dare anymore. Let's leave now. We won't set up a stall and sell goods here anymore."
"Want to leave? Do you think this is a vegetable market where you can come and leave whenever you want? Private sales are not allowed in the arena, don't you know?"
"Isn't it okay if I don't sell it? Let me go!"
"No! You are a thief who joins the army and gets a thousand cuts. It is a crime for you to cough in front of me! This is Ninggu Pagoda. If you fall into my hands, I will beat the shit out of you with a hundred killing sticks!"
The pacifier soldier roared like a wolf, raised his wooden stick and waved at the soldier's head.
"You won't have eyesight! You won't have eyesight!"
At this time, I suddenly heard a dull voice coming from behind:
"Why are you here if you don't patrol the city properly? Is your skin itchy again?"
When I looked back, I saw it was Yang Tong, the Living Yama.
"Director Yang, my little eyesight is so stupid that I didn't see you. I just met a fake jujube seller and I'm still questioning you..."
"Fake dates?"
Yang Tong looked the jujube seller up and down, the expression on his face kept changing, probably thinking of the jujube seller he dealt with when he was in Kaiyuan.
"Where did it come from?"
"Go back to me, sir," the jujube seller said as he was about to kneel down, but Yang Tong helped him up.
"The younger one is from Sanyuan, Shaanxi. My hometown was hit by a disaster the year before last year. I heard that Liaodong had enough food, so I came here."
Hearing that this man was from the same hometown as Wu Xiao, Yang Tong's heart moved slightly.
~·····~~~~~~
"Yang Yingguan, I asked the master to tell me that Ninggu Pagoda is in such chaos, I'm afraid you will be implicated when you return to the capital,"
"Why don't we do something big together."
What's the big deal? Yang Tong was full of vigilance.
Qian Sanruo's servant took a step forward and said with a smile on his face:
"The group of birdmen from Shenyang want to knock Ning Guta's bones and suck out its marrow and eat it clean. Yang Yingguan, if you don't take action, the thousands of brothers guarding the city may mutiny."
Yang Tong remained silent. The two Qian family servants wanted to speak again. Yang Tong raised his left iron hook:
"roll!"
~~~~~
"Fire arrows and shoot them to death!"
"Who dares?" Wu Xiao yelled: Put down your bow, arrows and firecrackers! The army will arrive soon, and those who assassinate the imperial officials will be exterminated! "
Shi Yousan said angrily: "He is here to rob us of our money. Don't listen to his monstrous words to deceive the public. Kill him and reward him with a thousand taels of silver. The Supreme Emperor will also give you another reward!"
Yang Tong led his men and stood at the entrance of the alley, shouting to the people inside:
"Put down your weapons and don't move!"
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