Shanjiabao is located in a dangerous mountain pass. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack in terms of military tactics, so it will not be abandoned.
However, when the art of lifting became popular, the city walls were abolished, and there were no cities that were easy to defend and difficult to attack.
The imperial court let Shanjiapu deviate from the official way. Anyway, they paid commercial taxes according to goods, bought labor services in spring and autumn, and paid filial piety in summer and winter.
As long as you have enough money, just don't provoke the powerful.
As for how many Baodings there are in Shanjiabao, they are named Orions and are actually soldiers with swords and bows.
Shanjiabao will report how many fields have been cultivated around it, how many households there are, and how many workshops there are.
Anyway, you have to pay for the goods before they hit the road, and you have to pay taxes on the transactions.
There are many people and many goods, but few people and few goods. It’s all in there.
…
Yamazaki followed Uncle An all the way down the mountain, walked along the market outside the fort, and walked quickly into the fort gate.
The fort wall is five feet high and the gate is three feet high.
Without the lifting technique, there is no way to climb the wall.
But with the lifting technique, any third-rate master holding an iron griddle can rush forward in three or five liftings.
…
There were no guards at the gate of the fort, and no one questioned him after entering. They did not stop until they reached the gate of the side courtyard.
Tian Rui is the third wife, her natal family is a businessman in the southeast, and she and Shanjiabao have a serious marriage relationship and are dependent on each other.
However, the Tian family relies more on Shanjiabao, so they are willing to let a daughter grow up.
Although martial arts people don't care about the difference between wives and concubines, they still have some calculations when dividing the family business.
…
Tian Rui is good-looking and exudes the air of a lady, but she is not liked by the castle owner because of this.
The coy one is not a martial artist.
Not to mention arrogance, red tape can be avoided.
But Tian Rui couldn't do it, so Yamazaki had to follow the etiquette when he saw her.
That was tiring, so Shandai simply hid. Anyway, she was a woman who would always get married.
…
Yamazaki stood at the gate of the courtyard, announcing, waiting for the announcement, listening to the announcement, paying homage, saluting, sitting down, and listening to the instructions.
By the time she finished speaking, it was dinner time.
Also going there were her two nephews, Tian Yunhao and Tian Yunqing, both disciples of Southeast Tianze Academy.
They were her brother and his children. They were sent not only to help her with business, but also to gather information and see if they could marry the second lady.
The two are also graceful and artificial characters. Although they look good, they feel tired when facing each other.
…
Main hall.
Yamazaki, along with his adoptive mother Tian Rui, and his two cousins Tian Yunhao and Tian Yunqing, paid homage to the old castle master's wife, the third castle master, and the third castle master's wife one by one.
The old castle owner's wife is named Lin Xuan. She is sixty-one years old this year. Her martial arts skills are also top-notch and she wears elegant clothes.
After the old fort master Shan Yi died in the war twenty years ago, Shanjia Fort was propped up by his wife until the current fort master Shan Rong was able to take charge of it alone.
The Lin family was also a member of the Southwest Gang. She and the old boss were childhood sweethearts. The old boss did not marry more than one son.
The old castle owner had a second sister named Shanji. The father of the old castle owner was reluctant to let his daughter go out and suffer, so he simply hired a scholar as his surrogate son-in-law.
As a result, the scholar actually took the imperial examination and became an official, and left with Shantou.
The scholar is a bit stupid and unwilling to use Shanjiabao's money. Now he is just a minor official in the capital, otherwise he can at least climb to the third rank.
The master of Laosan Fort, Shanshan, is fifty-five years old this year and has first-class martial arts skills.
His wife, Zhang Yaner, came from Canglan Pavilion, a large sect in the southwest. Her father was a minor deacon back then and is now the leader of the branch.
The two had no children, and Zhang Yaner once persuaded her husband to have a younger child, but the third castle owner refused, fearing that a son would cause trouble at home.
…
Then came the current owner of the castle, the eldest lady, the second lady, and their children also came to pay homage to Tian Rui.
Shan Rong, the owner of the castle, is forty-three years old and in his prime.
The eldest lady Gong Zhenzhen's martial arts skills are even higher than those of the castle master. Her father Gong Chengfeng was once the ninth sword in the martial arts world, the Wind-Zhanying Sword. Later, he challenged the sixth sword, the Nujiang Sword, and failed, so he retired.
Jianghu Sanren are usually not short of money, but when they are injured, it is another matter.
The owner of the fort, Shanrong, has no shortage of money, and Shanjiabao also produces medicinal materials.
After encountering each other by chance, they met each other's eyes after going back and forth.
The eldest brother Shan Jin has just turned twenty this year. He has martial arts skills. Except for the lack of fire, his palm skills and sword skills are already top-notch.
The second wife, Du Xiaoyun, is a disciple of Lengmei Palace in the north, and she and the castle master are serious parents and matchmakers.
But unfortunately, the eldest lady cut off my beard.
In the end, we had to go on a first-come, first-served basis and became the second wife.
Lengmei Palace has no competition with the world, and has produced top masters from generation to generation.
With the Lengmei Quick Sword in one hand, he was trained to have twenty-five stabs per sword, and when he struck out with the Lengmei Sword Intent, not many people in the world could stop him, let alone the sword energy.
But that was the inner palace, and the second lady belonged to the outer palace with her father.
There is no distinction in name, but in reality they are just servants running errands, serving their master and focusing on practicing.
So after I got married, I didn't go back much.
Lengmeigong's skills were passed down from female to male, but she happened to have a daughter, so it happened to be passed on.
Although it is only an outer sect skill, it is enough to make the second sister Shan Fei first-class.
…
Regarding Yamazaki, due to the unfamiliarity, the attitude of everyone in the castle was lukewarm. They were not as enthusiastic as the two boys from the Tian family. After all, he had a good skin and was pleasing to the eye.
Yamazaki didn't care either. Today he was just going through the motions so that he could wander around the world and get away from right and wrong.
As for money, just find a corrupt official to borrow some.
Jianghu people who are short of money usually lack means.
…
After finally exchanging pleasantries and scolding Shan Dai for not coming, they all sat down.
The castle owner announced the eldest brother's marriage in public, saying that it was a marriage and the boss liked it.
He said frankly that no man would miss marrying such a stunning woman.
Then he also reminded the elder brother to practice well to prevent jealous villains from plotting against him.
In the world of martial arts, there are many villains who look down on the good things of others, even if they have no grudges in the first place, so you must be careful.
…
Yamazaki looked like an outsider, watching everyone talking and laughing, waiting for the meal to begin.
I was thinking about having a few words with my eldest brother after dinner, and that I should be happy but also a little sad, so that I could lay the foundation for running away from home.
Unexpectedly, the old lady named him and told him that she had something for him.
Yamazaki stood up to listen, and then answered with his hands raised, "Grandma, you asked my sister and I to go to the capital to deliver a message to the second grandma. If you are sure that our ability will not delay things, then we should obey your order."
The old lady nodded, "Everyone else has something to do, but you two are free. Considering that you are already sixteen years old, you should go out and practice. Traveling in the world depends on more than just kung fu. If you compete in kung fu, people in the world will stop going out."
Yamazaki bowed, "Yes, let's prepare tomorrow and leave the day after tomorrow. But after delivering the letter, if the second mistress decides to come to the wedding, we don't dare to escort her. It's not that we don't want to, but we really can't afford it."
"There's a lot to think about. Just deliver the letter. Someone will come over when it's time to escort."
"Yes, grandson takes the order."
"Okay, let's have dinner now. The atmosphere becomes tense when there are more people. Eat early and leave early."
…
