News of the neighboring Chen Bing border has long spread, and dozens of Dahua princes and ministers have died recently. However, these have not affected the daily chatter of the people in the capital.
In a teahouse called "Qingfeng", the teahouses were full of tea drinkers, and there were many people of all ages, old and young, who were joining in the fun, either squatting or standing, surrounding an old man with a sharp mouth in the middle.
"No way? How many days does old King Duan have to live at such an old age? How can he go to such trouble?" A short, middle-aged man asked suspiciously, "He has a bad reputation for usurping the throne and seeking power."
When the sharp-mouthed old man saw someone refuting him, his face darkened and he loudly replied: "That rude man, what do you know! My boss Xu Yuan's grandfather and grandson have all been imperial dragon robe masters for three generations. Last night, a group of people came to Prince Duan's Mansion. People forcibly took the Xu family abducted, this...isn't this an obvious thing about the lice on the bald man's head?"
"Is there such a thing?" a voice came from the crowd.
"Hey, where can I get a lie? Go to Zhaijia Alley and ask around, then you will know if I have tricked you." The old man with a sharp mouth said with his face flushed, spittle spitting out several feet away.
While everyone was muttering, someone at the door answered: "This can't be true anymore. My family is from Zhaijiaxiang."
For a moment, everyone looked towards the door.
The interlocutor turned out to be a lame man, who was sitting on the tea table outside. Seeing everyone looking over, he cleared his throat and said, "What this uncle said is absolutely true!"
As soon as these words came out, the tea guests became more interested, with looks of anticipation on their faces.
"The boy is a fire-making apprentice at the iron shop at the end of Zhaijia Lane. He has been in the master's iron shop for four years. Tailor Xu is a well-known family in Zhaijiaxiang and has made dragon robes for the royal family for decades. They The tailors and scissors at home were all made by my master, and he would often take them to the shop to be sharpened and sharpened. Therefore, the boy and Mrs. Xu and Mr. Xu often met each other, and they were familiar with each other. Something happened to the Xu family, The master and I are both unhappy, as the iron shop is not open today." The lame man said sternly, "Well, I don't know if Prince Duan's Mansion will let their family go after the dragon robes are made."
He not only told his origins and his relationship with the Xu family, but also mentioned why he was here so that everyone could understand. At this time, he lowered his head slightly, his face full of worry.
After hearing these reasons, the tea guests became even more enthusiastic and urged the lame man to tell the story of last night in detail.
... ...
The smile on Zhang Suiguang's face grew bigger and bigger, and his hands gradually clenched into fists.
"Gang Leader Zhang, how do you feel after seeing these things?" Duanmu Jing half-squinted his eyes and chuckled.
"Serve the wine bowl!" Zhang Suiguang didn't answer him, but turned around and shouted.
The boy responded and brought two lotus bowls, placed them in front of the two of them, and then slowly withdrew.
"Haha, I'm in a drunken mood today. The general is a guest, so why not share a bowl of our Danyang City's fine wine." Zhang Suiguang laughed. After saying that, regardless of whether Duanmu Jing responded or not, he directly took the wine bowl in front of him, filled it and put it down before filling it for himself.
The wine is already served, how can there be any reason to say no?
Although Duanmu Jing was not good at drinking, he smelled the strong aroma of wine overflowing from the lotus bowl. He picked up the wine bowl with both hands, touched it with Zhang Suiguang, and drank it all in one sip.
hot.
As soon as the wine entered his throat, Duanmu Jing felt a burning pain in his mouth.
The country of Jue is located in the southern border, close to the sea, mountainous and hot, and the people like tea more than good drinks. And even for drinking, it is mostly rice wine mixed with water.
Although he doesn't drink it often, he is not unable to drink it. He can drink two or three kilograms of ordinary yellow rice wine, which makes up five or six large bowls. However, Duanmu Jing had never drunk such a strong drink before, and he was a little confused for a moment.
"Would you like another bowl, general?" Zhang Suiguang said teasingly, seeing Duanmu Jing choking on his throat.
one more bowl?
Duanmu Jing wanted to refuse, but was speechless. He waved his hands vigorously and said for a long time: "No more! No more!" After he finished speaking, he coughed a few more times, and after a while he said: "You are so drunk. Too strong..."
"Cough...cough...your wine is too strong, I can't drink it." Duanmu Jing almost shed tears as he coughed.
In recent years, he has never been so embarrassed. At this moment, a surge of anger slowly rose in his heart, "He did it on purpose!"
"Haha, it turns out that General Duanmu is not good at drinking. I was negligent. Please forgive me." Zhang Suiguang said with "apologetic face".
"It's okay." Duanmu Jing cleared his throat and replied with a smile, his voice already a little hoarse, "The business is over, I'm waiting for your good news. Say goodbye now!"
Zhang Suiguang stood up and said with a smile: "Okay, I can't stay too long, please!" After saying that, he sent Duanmu Jing out of the hall, turned to the steward waiting on the side and said, "Send off your distinguished guest!"
Obviously, he had no intention of sending Duanmu Jing out of the house.
Fill a glass of wine and finish it in one gulp.
Fill another glass of wine and finish it in one gulp.
In the end, I simply brought up the wine jar and drank heavily...
"Duan Muyu, I have to say that I underestimated you before. However, I, Zhang Suiguang, am not Xia Muyan. You'd better see this clearly, otherwise... haha!" Zhang Suiguang leaned on the red sandalwood chair, leaning on one hand and another on the other hand. Carrying the empty wine jar, he muttered softly, "Xia Muyan naturally wants to deal with it, but I can't do it according to your methods. I don't want to become a pawn of last resort."
... ...
At 2:00 p.m., it was lunch time, and the "Jun Yue" restaurant was full of customers.
This restaurant is located at the intersection of cross streets. Opposite is a brothel and on the right is an inn. There is a constant flow of people all day long. It is really an excellent location.
"Waiter, why haven't the dishes I asked for been served yet? We're eager to leave the city!" A strong man with a beard shouted at the counter.
When he roared, all the diners on the floor looked at him. Seeing this, the waiter hurriedly ran over, looked at the table of four strong men, and replied with a smile: "Master, wait a moment, I will go to the kitchen to urge you, so I can't miss your schedule. Haihan! Haihan!" After saying that, he quickly ran to the kitchen and called in, "The roasted stuffed chicken, steamed snail fish, stir-fried beef kidneys, and sour fruits and vegetables for the distinguished guests of the second table, hurry up!"
"Hey, my dad, why don't you eat first and get out of the city quickly?" Sitting across from the bearded man was a middle-aged woman wearing a headscarf. She said to him anxiously, "It's important to save your life!"
"No way! We don't have to worry about it, but we can't starve two babies." The strong man shook his head and said seriously, "Although there are tens of thousands of soldiers gathered outside the city, it won't be enough for just a short while." When it comes to fighting, eating a meal will not waste time. Sharpening the knife will not waste time chopping wood. We are nearly three hundred miles away from Quzhou. We have to have a good meal to have the strength for the journey."
The two of them spoke loudly, and people at several tables around them were very curious when they heard that they were talking about going out of the city, saving their lives, and fighting.
A young man dressed like a scholar at the next table came closer and asked: "Brother, you guys are talking about the city protecting your life, this... where do you start talking about this? I haven't heard anything unfair from the capital city. "
The bearded man looked around and saw that everyone was looking over. He lowered his voice with some "taboo" and replied, "Don't you know? The white-clothed army and Chen Bing are in the south of the city, and they will attack the capital today!"
"Is this happening? Is it impossible?" The scholar looked shocked and asked.
"You can't be wrong." The bearded man came closer to him and said, "My uncle is a servant of the White Army. Yesterday he sent an urgent message, saying that they might attack the capital in the near future, and asked me to take my family out of the city and escape. .”
"How dare this white-clothed army come to attack the imperial city?" The scholar shouted loudly, "Do you want to rebel?"
More and more diners listened to the conversation and gathered around unknowingly.
A dark-faced man in the crowd suddenly said loudly: "Hey, I thought it was weird, and it turned out to be true!"
Everyone was curious when they heard the sound and looked over in unison.
The scholar asked: "What's the matter? Why don't you explain it more clearly?"
"Alas!" The black-faced man sighed in annoyance, "These white-clothed troops have always been stationed in Xiahe County, but they actually drove to the south of the city a few days ago. What do you think these tens of thousands of elite soldiers are doing here after traveling hundreds of miles away?"
Tens of thousands of soldiers in white clothes and soldiers in the south of the city could not cover up the matter, and the matter had already spread in the capital. However, no one thought that they would come to attack the capital.
Another old man also came up and said, "I heard that King Duan transferred them here. Does any of you know who the coach of the White Army is?"
"It's Prince Zhi, who doesn't know this?" someone in the crowd replied.
Xia Muyang is called "King Wu" by the world because he is the commander of Dahua's most powerful white army.
"It's one moment and another." The old man who talked to him before sighed, "King Wu was framed by the Jue people in Binan, and now the commander of the White Army is his deputy general Xia Jingyu. And Xia Jingyu is King Duan's favorite disciple!"
"Oh, there is such a relationship? Could it be a mistake? I don't know." The strong man with the beard asked "oddly".
"I have heard about this." The scholar answered, "Prince Duan has taught at Huazijian for many years, and many generals in the army are their students. It makes sense. However, all of this is enough to prove that it was King Duan who ordered him to lead the army to the south of the city. It is not enough to prove that he will attack the capital!"
"That's right! What the young master said makes sense." Many people agreed with the scholar's words.
"You only know one, but not the other." The old man who spoke before said again, "Think about it, when did the three kings die? When did King Duan start to control the government? When did the white-robed army come to the capital? How come there are so many coincidences in these piles and pieces. Haven't you heard that Tailor Xu's family in Zhaijia Lane was kidnapped by people from Duan Palace last night. So what does Tailor Xu do? That's a family The third generation made dragon robes for the emperor. Tsk tsk... I won’t say more, or you’ll get into trouble if you say too much.”
The old man stopped mid-sentence, with a look of self-confidence on his face.
Dongcheng, Xicheng, Nancheng, Beicheng...
In wine shops, teahouses, outside inns...
The news that King Duan and Xia Jingyu conspired to usurp the throne spread more and more widely, and gradually became true.
