The tenth day of the eighth month of the tenth year of Baoda is Mao hour.
Located on the northwest side of the Wuping Army Jiedushi Mansion, there is a former famous inn. Why is it famous? Why in the past, just because the owners of the inn were all Ma's family.
This inn, which was inscribed "Junan Pavilion" by Ma Yin, the former King of Chu, was a very beautiful place once upon a time.
Let’s not mention anything else for the time being. In the first year of Kaiping in the Later Liang Dynasty (907) and the second year of Tiancheng in the Later Tang Dynasty (927), when the two emperors of the Central Plains granted Ma Yin the title of King of Chu, the envoys from the guest provinces who were responsible for going south to announce the decree and confer the ceremony were not at the post office. Instead of settling in the pavilion, he was led by the officials of the Chu State to stay here and left his calligraphy treasures.
Since it was qualified to carry out the diplomatic functions of the two countries, it was enough to explain the special status of Junan Pavilion at that time. The word "Junan" also fully reflected Ma Yin's national policy of governing Chu - "serve the emperor above and serve the people below." "South" and "North".
The main entrance, with the golden plaque inscribed by Ma Yin himself, and the side doors inscribed by the kings of Chu in the past dynasties, originally had eight doors and eight bays. The pillars were cast in the shape of loach ridges, made of barrels and tiles, and were surrounded by inlaid beads and jade. The doors, railings and windows were all covered with The fine carvings of the golden dragon are not even painted with vermilion powder. The walls are polished with the same color, and the white stone steps are carved out to look like flowers and plants. All the ingenuity is amazing!
But this gorgeous and magnificent building is actually a famous inn that is making a lot of money every day. Compared with the nearby Wuping Army Jiedu Envoy Office, it is evenly matched. What does the Lord of Langzhou do inside? idea? Glory eventually ends with the change of power. The Ma brothers were in disgrace, and after Liu Yan took the opportunity to take power, Junan Pavilion, Ma's heritage, soon became a victim of political struggle.
Liu Yan's method was also straightforward. On the grounds of blocking the feng shui of the government office, he demolished the "Junan Pavilion" from eight rooms to two rooms. The remaining various gold, jade and rare stones were naturally transported to his own inner treasury. Then impose heavy taxes on them. As a result, even if Fan Li is still the owner of the inn, it will be difficult to continue running it.
By the time Liu Yan was overthrown and the Tang army occupied Langzhou, this inn had regained some of its vitality. Xu is the shopkeeper and his surname is Ma. Although he is far away from the two kings of Chu who are "recuperating" in the south of the Yangtze River, at least he can still have some relationship.
Therefore, Li Yuanjian didn't feel too embarrassed after the festival. Not only did he cancel the previous heavy taxes, but he also came over in person to enjoy some wine and food. He said he came to pay homage to the calligraphy treasures of the late kings of Chu.
Perhaps the distance was too close, and even servants from the Jiedushi government office often came over to buy fresh meat and vegetables for cooking at the house. Not only was it favored by the popular Marshal Li, it was the first of its kind, and it quickly led to the mentality of following the trend. The business in Junan Pavilion immediately improved.
Logically speaking, the shopkeeper would not only be grateful to Li Yuan for taking such care, but he should also be doing his business properly. However, shopkeeper Ma, who was only thirty years old, was helpless and pretentious. After the ancestral property was revitalized, he acted boldly. I have daydreams that are not consistent with reality, and I have been waiting for the so-called "big career" opportunity.
Just like today, Mao Shi has just passed. It was not supposed to be a good time for the inn to open, but shopkeeper Ma was fully dressed and sitting behind the counter with great interest. His eyes, which were blood red from being awake all night, stared closely at the ajar door.
Even though the shopkeeper is like this, several hard-working waiters dare not slack off. As Ma's servants, they naturally know what is going on at this moment. They also stand with their hands down and look forward to it. The morning light disperses the flying dust around them. At first glance, It was as if smoke was rising from his nostrils.
As a shopkeeper, he naturally has no eyes for idlers. Shopkeeper Ma was about to instruct the waiters, who were standing slightly dozing off, to wipe the tables and chairs in the inn again when suddenly there was a muffled "squeak" sound at the door of the inn. The extremely bright sunlight came in and suddenly disappeared again.
Then, like dark clouds falling from the sky, they blocked the morning light at the door of the inn, and the light inside suddenly became darker. After overcoming the discomfort caused by the continuous changes in vision, shopkeeper Ma and the waiters were shocked to see several tall bodies like iron towers standing upright in front of the inn door, almost squeezing the door shut.
"I wonder if Junan Pavilion can entertain guests from Jiangnan today?" came a thunderous voice, with a hint of coldness in it.
As if it was a secret message, shopkeeper Ma gave a slight wink, and a waiter came up to greet him with a smile: "Living in the south means living in the south of the Yangtze River. We don't even entertain guests from the south of the Yangtze River. Why are you still opening an inn? The guest officials are here to invite you!"
"Yes." These tower-like men walked in slowly, and the blocked sunlight soon shone in again, making the inn suddenly bright again. At the same time, shopkeeper Ma and several waiters were not idle. After counting exactly ten customers who came in from the door, they immediately locked the door.
These men are all dressed in civilian clothes, and each of them is carrying a heavy package. At a glance, others often cannot tell who they are. Judging from the clothes alone, he looks like an ordinary citizen, but just looking at his physique and posture, he looks like a military man. There was an indescribable fierceness in his facial expressions and his whole body.
Shopkeeper Ma immediately led the ten people into the inn lobby, bypassed two doorways, and their backs disappeared into the inner room. Suddenly, the crowds that had just appeared in the entire inn lobby suddenly turned into silence.
As expected of the innkeeper, he was always well-informed. After inviting these ten people into a hidden room, he quickly made out the shape of the weapon from the bulging packages these people put down.
But shopkeeper Ma was completely calm at this time, as if he had expected it. He smiled and said: "You are finally here! I have been waiting for a long time and am very upset..."
He was barely halfway through speaking respectfully when he was interrupted by the leading man using his palm as big as a cattail leaf fan. There was a noise, and several large packages full of copper coins were scattered on the table. The strong smell of copper immediately filled the air.
"From now on, we will take care of this inn. All this money is rewarded to you by His Highness, and you will be rewarded even more when you succeed!"
"Why are you doing this just for these common things?" Shopkeeper Ma was anxious, as if the copper coins piled up like a hill in front of him had tarnished his ideals. However, the hateful reality still defeated his ideals for the time being, and he glanced at a few After speaking, the words suddenly stopped, and his eyes suddenly lit up. This was almost equal to the total income of the inn for a month.
Shopkeeper Ma still bent down, swallowed his saliva and said in a low voice: "Um, thank His Highness for the reward! Haha, Jiangnan is indeed a rich land, and the money is so generous!"
The leading man was not eager to cater to this. He still lowered his head and packed other packages with the nine people accompanying him. He skillfully laid out various weapons and at the same time responded indifferently: "Well. Today you will do it." Just follow our request and remember to pick a smarter waiter to drive! The other two carriages ordered last night should be prepared quickly!
Time is tight, I am leaving soon, and I don’t like to be disturbed, so don’t disturb me by talking too much, but if you talk too much, ten thousand yuan of rent will be deducted from you. If you talk too much, be careful with your head!
In addition, this inn has been booked by us, and you are not allowed to receive other guests. If I find that there are other guests staying in the inn, you will be buried with them..."
This scene of coercion and inducement is obviously far from the "joint righteousness" envisioned by shopkeeper Ma, as if the dream of "great cause" has been shattered.
But at this time, because of these bright guys in front of him, he could only endure it, rubbed his palms at a loss and said: "Okay, okay! Just follow your instructions! Since last night, the inn will not entertain other guests. There are twenty rooms in the backyard. The guest rooms are all empty! When the side door of the Jiedu Governor's office opens later, I will ask Ah Fu to drive you in..."
