"Widow? Fuyu Fengzhang's ex-wife? And children?" Li Xiayu was startled: "Suwen, please don't talk nonsense. Who is Governor Wang? How could he be with a widow? He is still a rich man. children's?"
"Sister, do you know Sancho?" Li Suwen asked.
"I know! Isn't he the personal servant of Governor Wang?" Li Xiayu said: "He is from Baekje. He followed Governor Wang when he was still humble. What's wrong?"
"Sangqiu's wife is that woman's maid!" Li Suwen said with a smile: "Sister, if that woman can marry Buyeo Fengzhang, she must be a noble chief of Baekje. Her appearance and figure must be good, and she will know how to care after giving birth to a baby. Man, Governor Wang was also alone at that time, so it’s not surprising that someone was there to help him!”
Li Xiayu snorted coldly and said nothing. Her sister's words touched her heart, but she didn't know how to speak for a while.
"Actually, sister, don't worry too much. Now Governor Wang is already a fourth- or fifth-grade official, and he will have a bright future in the future. The position of the head wife next to him is definitely not something that the little widow can occupy!"
"Su Wen, when it comes to identity, I'm afraid we are not as good as that Baekje girl! At least she is not a criminal wanted by the court." Li Xiayu sighed: "Don't talk about this, I can leave Chang'an and be as cute as Tian Tian and Yanliang With our children together, what else can we not be satisfied with?”
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Yingzhou.
"What a hell, we have to go out on patrol in this damn weather!" The horses walked south, and Wang Kuan complained again and again during the journey: "I bet we will both catch a cold before we return to the Wangting Pavilion!"
"It's not a big deal to get wet in the rain. We are not papery!" Azhiluo replied. His wet hair hung down heavily, and a bunch of loose hair stuck to his forehead. It was not difficult to imagine what he looked like. How embarrassing it was, but he didn't care. The early autumn drizzle is soft and gentle, and he likes to feel this feeling with his cheeks. The feeling took him back to his childhood, to those gray days spent in the tribe. She remembered the damp oak forest with drooping branches; she remembered him chasing his brother through piles of wet leaves and laughing loudly. He also remembered various scenes of shooting squirrels and birds with small bows and picking wild fruits in the woods with his companions. He also remembered the weight of raspberries in his hands and the feeling of the sticky raspberry juice between his fingers. One time, many of the raspberries they picked were unripe. He ate too many, resulting in vomiting and diarrhea. If it weren't for the shaman's herbal soup, he almost died. He was so young at the time!
"My whole body is wet," Wang Kuan complained, "wet to the core." The woods around them were dense, and the sound of rain falling on the leaves was accompanied by the sound of horse hooves walking in the mud. "Boss, let's walk faster. We should be able to get back, sleep in a dry place, and eat something hot!"
"No need!" Ah Zhiluo said: "Turn east at the intersection ahead and walk two miles away. There is a wine shop. As long as you can afford the money, the grain wine there is okay, and the stewed rabbit and grilled fish are also quite delicious. !”
"Rabbit meat, grilled fish, grain wine?" Wang Kuan repeated yearningly: "But there are still people opening a wine shop so close to the thieves? Isn't he afraid that the Mohe thieves and Goguryeo will rob them?"
"Because the man who opened the wine shop is a Mohe man!" Ah Zhiluo said, and then he laughed: "It should be said that he is a bastard, the son of father Mohe and mother Tiele. Let me ask you, how many battles have been fought in this battle? Years old?"
"How many years?" Wang Kuan was stunned. He stretched out his fingers and counted: "Since the Zhenguan Dynasty, it has been more than thirty years at least, right?"
"Zhenguan Dynasty?" A Zhiluo smiled and shook his head: "When my ancestor came to Yingzhou to serve as a garrison soldier, the Central Plains was still the emperor of the Wei Dynasty! There are still three dynasties separated by the Qi Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty now. !”
"You said you were at war with Goguryeo at that time?"
"Yes, otherwise why would my ancestors come here? Wouldn't it be better to go to the Central Plains?" Ah Zhiluo said with a smile: "Think about it, neither side has been able to destroy the other for so many years. A war is a war, and we still have to live our lives. Whether the two sides communicate with each other or not, there must be some communication!"
"You mean this is how this wine shop came to be?" Wang Kuan asked.
"Well, so no matter who it is, as long as this wine shop doesn't go too far, they just turn a blind eye. After all, everyone can use it!"
At this time, the sound of horses neighing and rain splashing came from the road, and Azhiluo hurriedly stopped. "There are people." He warned while reaching out to hold the handle of the knife. It was always right to be cautious in a place like this.
They followed the sound, rounded a slow bend, and saw five or six people riding in a column, noisily crossing the swollen stream, led by a familiar figure. Wang Kuan waved his arms excitedly: "Brother Dahe, Brother Dahe, it's us!"
"It turns out it's you guys!" Dahe Huaien was overjoyed. He galloped over, grabbed Azhiluo's arm and said with a smile, "I went hunting today, but I didn't expect to meet my brothers. Where are you going?"
"I just came back from patrol. Let's go to the restaurant ahead to eat some wine and meat and have a barbecue!" A Zhiluo was also very happy to see Dahe Huaien: "I didn't expect to meet you, brother!"
"Is it the pub of Pugu's house? I happen to be going there too, so let's go together!" Dahe Huaien said with a smile.
"Okay!" Ah Zhiluo was also very happy, and the two groups worked together and headed all the way to the wine shop. Fur-covered hunters, medicine collectors, vendors, and bee collectors can be seen everywhere on the road. These people make the narrow road crowded, forcing A Zhiluo and others to dismount from their horses sometimes.
"Why are there so many people on the road today? There are not so many people on weekdays?" A Zhiluo asked.
"First of all, it's autumn, and these people have to stop before winter; secondly, they also heard the news that there is going to be a war, and they probably want to make a last profit before the war!" Dahe Huaien said with a smile.
"Do they also know about the war?" A Zhiluo asked.
"These people are the ones who eat between the two knives of Tang Dynasty and Goguryeo. Are they well-informed?" Dahe Huaien said with a smile: "If you underestimate them, you will be in trouble sooner or later!"
The wine shop is located right at the intersection of two small rivers. It was almost dark when they arrived. The owner of the wine shop stood behind the log counter, chewing something unknown. He was much fatter than A Zhiluo remembered. He seemed to be very familiar with Da Hehuai'en, and he smiled while talking. Finally, he took a money bag from Da He Huaien, called the servant to take away the horses, and led them into the restaurant hall and to the long table.
The hall is long and well-ventilated, with a row of large wooden wine barrels standing on one side and a stove on the other. The waiter ran around with the tray and the iron pole holding the barbecue, and Pugu poured fermented birch sap, grain wine and other drinks from the wine barrel, chewing in his mouth all the time.
Nearly forty long tables in the hall were packed, and guests from all walks of life sat side by side. The wild-haired fur trader sat next to the horse-smelling cattle trader; the muscular blacksmith huddled next to the skinny trader; the bear-like pig herder and the soft-spoken bee driver were like old friends. They exchanged their respective news.
Almost everyone at the long table had weapons on their waists, and next to the pig herder was a crossbow. This thing was obviously a military weapon. Wang Kuan's eyes widened and he pulled A Zhiluo's arm. They pointed in that direction, but neither A Zhiluo nor Dahe Huaien looked like they saw anything.
"Azhiluo, didn't you read the invitation? That's a big deal! It's absolutely against the rules!" Wang Kuan whispered.
"Don't worry about it!" Dahe Huaien said with a smile: "What can I do? This is not a place where there is king's law. Everyone can only protect their own property by themselves!"
"My own property?" Wang Kuan muttered: "I'm just a pig herder, return my property!"
"He has at least four to five thousand pigs, which is not a small number!"
"Four to five thousand pigs?" Wang Kuan was startled: "So many? Can he have so many pigs by himself?"
"Of course he can't do it alone, but he has four wives, more than 20 strong sons and a dozen sons-in-law! Don't you think this is enough?"
"Why doesn't he raise pigs instead of farming when he has so many sons and sons-in-law?" Wang Kuan asked.
"Farming is much more troublesome than raising pigs!" Dahe Huaien sneered: "Think about it, to cultivate land, you have to open up wasteland, and after clearing up wasteland, you have to dig ditches, and the weather must be good. The most important thing is that you have worked so hard. The grain you grow may not be yours. As soon as autumn comes, officials and servants will come to you to collect rent and taxes. Herding pigs is much easier. First of all, there are large tracts of forests here, which are full of acorns and nuts, which are enough for pigs to eat. Moreover, pigs give birth to piglets quickly, and there are more than ten piglets in a litter, which are easy to feed. The most important thing is that pigs have long legs, and the tax collector cannot find them on their heads. They are all his own. Every autumn, he takes the extra piglets All the fat pigs are killed and made into bacon, and a large part of them are sold to Pugu! Then he buys what he needs, which is probably what he came here to do this time!"
"Buying what he needs? Then why is he looking for a bee chaser?"
"Honey and beeswax are both good things!" Dahe Huaien laughed and stretched out his hand to draw a circle: "Most of the people at the long table here are here to do this. Otherwise, do you think this place would be so lively? Let me tell you , Don’t underestimate these guys, don’t look at them all with unkempt appearance, in fact their life is much better than that of many inland farmers in the Tang Dynasty! After all, they don’t pay rent, and they don’t do hard labor!”
Wang Kuan was stunned when he heard this. He looked around. Sure enough, as He Huaien said, although the people at these long tables all had disheveled hair and strange smells, there was a lot of wine and meat on the long tables, and they were all tall and tall. His voice is loud, his waist is straight, and his nutritional status is much better than that of the farmers I saw in Hebei in the past who were weighed down by rented labor.
At this time, the pig herder seemed to have reached an agreement with the bee driver. The two raised their glasses, clinked them, and both drank the wine in the glasses. The pig herder stood up, hung the crossbow on his waist, lifted the wooden stick leaning on the long table with his other hand, and walked towards the counter, as if he were going to collect money. But after taking two steps, he stopped and stepped back, his face full of surprise. The next second, Ah Zhiluo understood why this was the case - the thunderous sound of horse hooves came from outside.
"Is the owner here?" The door was pushed open, and a voice shouted: "Where is the person who feeds the horses? Also, prepare wine and food for my owner!"
Pugu showed his signature smile and was busy bowing. "Mr. Lang, I'm so sorry, but we are really full."
"My master is the governor of Xiongjin Governor's Mansion and the ambassador of Japan's comfort! There are really a lot of people here," the speaker was a capable warrior with a reserved smile on his face. Ah Zhiluo thought he would use his power to attack He drove the people out of Pugu's shop, but the warrior did not do this. Instead, he took out a coin from his waist pocket, threw it over his head, caught it, and flicked it again.
"You can see clearly, this is not a copper coin, it is a gold coin, it is real gold!" The warrior said loudly: "We need two tables, and anyone who is willing to make room can get one of these cute little things!"
The pig herder was the first to stand up: "If you don't mind, you can use this table!"
"Smart man!" The warrior threw the gold coin over. The pig herder quickly caught the gold coin, examined it carefully, and cheered excitedly: "It's really gold, it's gold!"
Following the example of the pig herder, at least six or seven people behind him stood up and expressed their willingness to vacate their tables. The warrior chose a table next to the pig herder, and then said to the door: "Captain, everything is ready. You You can come in!"
Wang Wenzuo walked in. He threw his cloak to Cao Wenzong behind him and said with a smile: "Do you know? This place gives me a familiar feeling. When I was in Sixi City, when I was a young boy leader, I often visited Come to this wine shop with your friends!"
"Then it's not suitable for you to come here now!" Cao Wenzong frowned and said, "There are too many people and it's too dangerous!"
"There shouldn't be too many people here who want my life, right?" Wang Wenzuo smiled and sat down at the long table, and said to the servant standing beside him: "Just bring some food here! I am also from a military camp. , not so particular about food!”
"Yes, yes, then pork sausage, roast rabbit, roasted mushrooms, what do you think?"
"Okay, that's it!" Wang Wenzuo glanced at the wine barrel next to the fire: "Bring some birch sap up, so there's no need for wine, we're still marching!"
"Yes!" Pu Gu responded and quickly retreated. Wang Wenzuo spread his arms and twisted his neck comfortably: "The imperial court has issued an order to arrive in Yingzhou before the fifteenth day. Hurry and slow, I finally caught up!"
"In my opinion, it's just making a fuss out of a molehill!" Master Shen said, "It's going to snow soon, and Yingzhou hasn't prepared anything yet. What's the use of arresting us all? Is it possible to send troops in winter? The Goguryeo people Why are you still laughing so hard? Since everything has to be discussed after next spring, why are you in such a hurry now?"
"The British father-in-law is personally in charge of Yingzhou. Isn't this enough?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "The imperial court sent this great god from Chang'an. With just one order from his father, he will go up mountains of swords and into seas of fire. Who dares to say no? ?”
The subscriptions have dropped drastically, so I would like to ask for subscriptions, votes, and rewards as a routine!
