The fourth year of Yan Ping's reign in the Han Dynasty.
September twenty-fifth.
In the city of Chengdu, every fifth day is the temple fair season. Generally speaking, on this day, even those from poor families have to spare two dollars to go to the temple fair market, even if they can't eat dragons.
Making fried onion pancakes and drinking a bowl of fermented glutinous rice wine can be regarded as a festival. When you return home and are surrounded by neighbors, you can also set up a dragon gate formation, which is more or less a prestige.
Today is another sunny day, with crisp autumn air and pleasant temperature. The streets and alleys near the temple fair in Chengdu are full of crowds of people. The stalls and vendors are occupying their own territory, and they are shouting loudly to attract people.
Even the voice reflects the joy of being busy.
Although the war in Sichuan and Sichuan has not completely subsided, and the entire Central Plains is also in turmoil, like a pot of porridge with unclear numbers or dozens of mouse droppings, Chengdu is still Chengdu, and the hustle and bustle of this temple fair
, still not losing half the points, in the teahouse, some tea drinkers, or those drinking Shama wine, still crossed their legs and set up the gantry leisurely, contentedly.
At Shuimen in Chengdu, where the shacks originally belonged to Bangbang'er and the coolies at the wharves outside the city, there were actually flowing water tables surrounding a small shop, which stretched for a long period of time.
It is set up on the open land of Shuimen. There are several wooden boards set up left and right, and a tent is erected on the top. It is a snack shop with two entrances. Behind it is a large pot directly set up on the ground. It is simmering.
What, next to it is a big steamer that is steaming. I don’t know what is being steamed. On the other side, there are three newly added pots, cooking some meat and vegetables. The five large stoves are all burning so fast that the person in charge can’t even wear a single coat.
He was shirtless, sweating profusely, and fell into the pot one by one.
There are no wooden boards in the store, and all the small tables and benches are placed on the ground. The ground has been stepped on for a long time. Although the height of each small pit is not very smooth, it is extremely hard and it is not necessarily difficult to walk on it.
What kind of dust is there? Such a store is naturally not a business for wealthy merchants. The people who come and go are ordinary people. Naturally, the food is not very good. The quantity is large. Of course, it must have enough salt.
Otherwise, someone in the store would shout, "Are you sick or crazy inside? How can you eat such tasteless food..."
Next to the shop, near the water, some young men were processing river fish.
There are many freshwater fish bones, and most nobles don't like to eat them, but these coolies and sticks are not so particular. Even the smell of fish that hits their nostrils is very pleasant, and many people even sit on it specially.
I was sitting closer, watching the workers cleaning up the fish, and thinking about how I could get two pieces from my seat, right?
Such a banquet here in Watergate is already considered excellent, even luxurious. Many beggars smelled the smell and gathered over, sitting at a distance, waiting, looking forward to finally being able to eat.
Divide some leftovers or something.
There are also many idle people standing around in the distance, pointing and just swallowing their saliva. But no one dares to come forward to disturb it. There is no other reason. Today's scene was arranged by Mr. Minato Chen. Who dares to cause trouble in front of him?
I'm afraid even he himself doesn't know the specific name of Minato Chen, but this does not prevent him from being very prosperous at Minato in Chengdu. He himself is also a powerful character, with hundreds of desperadoes under his command.
, he can be regarded as a generous person. In Shuimen, Chengdu, all the people in the market would give him three points of face.
In the past, it was just repayment, but in the past two months, Minato Chen seems to have a lot more manpower, with bigger hands and more magnanimous temperament. In addition to the original hundred and ten coolies, some additional manpower has been recruited. This Chengdu
In Shuimen, the territory is fixed, and there are not many merchant ships coming and going. When there are more people, Shuimen Chen has to post his own books for food and drink. He usually secretly wants to work as a small worker and picks things up on the dock.
The goods, those who received the lottery and received some coolie money, shorted Minato Chen's income, all had to bear the risk of being reported and beaten. But now Minato Chen seems not to care about this at all, and he has raised so many idle people in vain.
But there are also advantages. With more brothers under his command, his power will be greater. In addition, with his large hands, Shuimen Chen has become a heroic figure in the city of Shuimen in Chengdu. Even if he is an inspection commander above Shuimen, he will lead the guards.
The junior officers in the county army smiled a little more when they met and greeted them politely.
Everyone was secretly guessing, what happened to Minato Chen that made him so prosperous all of a sudden?
At this moment, Minato-chan was wearing a newly made robe and was standing at the door of the store, smiling and greeting the invited guests.
Today, in addition to the more than 300 men under his command, he also invited some Shuimen County soldiers with whom he usually has a lot of contacts and whose faces he recognizes. Although these soldiers usually have some military pay, they can fool themselves even if they are tight.
, but there were not many people who could see meat and fish, so when I heard that Shuimen Chen was having a feast with water, and there was also fish and meat to eat, there were no people on duty, so everyone came in droves.
If there is a banquet between noble families, not only the post must be prepared in advance, but also the door-to-door and thank-you gifts. Then the host must not only accept them, but also prepare the guests' accompanying gifts in return. The etiquette is extremely complicated, but for poor people, there are not so many.
Things are over, just arrive when people arrive. In addition, these county soldiers near Shuimen, some of whom have the habit of visiting casinos and brothels, are even more hungry. Even if they don't know each other, they still have the courage to come over.
Minato Chen was generous and did not care about anything. He would only ask the name of someone he met, and then he would greet him and sit down, and let the helper inside bring some hot soup and hot pancakes to fill his stomach. In this way,
Naturally, more and more people were attracted, and the original mats were no longer available, so they were temporarily spread out on the street.
Minato-chan was walking among the crowd, talking and laughing loudly, looking as bold as a wealthy man in the city. But no one thought that under his robe, he was wearing a middle coat and small clothes, which were already soaked with sweat.
Today is the day to take action...
…………………………
Naturally, the bustling situation at Watergate was also reported to Captain Minato, who was in charge of Watergate's security and defense. After all, there are some powerful sticks in Watergate. If a manager accidentally causes trouble, he will naturally
The one who was beaten up, so Captain Minato also had a few eyes and ears, so he did his duty today and reported the investigation to Captain Minato early.
Lieutenant of Minato, it's not a good position, but it's not too bad either. Apart from anything else, if merchant ships want to enter Minato to unload their cargo, there's always a first-come, first-served basis, right? If you say you're late,
The goods on the ship cannot be delayed, so what should we do? Isn’t this business just coming? In addition, the daily filial piety of the surrounding coolie leaders, so generally speaking, compared with those grassroots civil servants who can only receive some salary, it is still more or less
Much stronger...
After hearing the report from his subordinates, Captain Minato frowned slightly.
There are four to five hundred people?
This number of people is neither too large nor too small. If it were normal, some soldiers would have to be dispatched to control the situation. But this is Minato Chen holding a flowing banquet. Minato Chen also mentioned such a thing before.
It's just that I didn't say there would be so many people.
What does Minato-chan want to do?
I heard that Old Man Yang, the Bangbang leader on the other side of the water gate, is not in good health?
Could it be that Minato-chan wants to grab territory?
Captain Minato was thinking, and subconsciously touched the hard silver beans in the money bag at his waist. This was provided by Minato Chen, who was obviously much richer than the old Yangtou in the east, so he waved his hand and said, "
Got it, let him go, it's a flowing banquet, it's normal for there to be more people...don't bother with it..."
…………………………
Several ships were approaching the deep waterline slowly from a distance. On the bow of the ship, a Wu family's recognition flag fluttered in the wind.
A young boy guarding the Shuimen County soldiers was about to yell, but was pulled aside by a veteran on the side. He rushed forward and shouted with a smile: "This is General Wu's ship? I don't know what it is packed with?"
So that the old man can register..."
A middle-aged man wearing a brocade robe stood on the bow of the ship, who seemed to be a shopkeeper. Hearing this, he smiled and said: "What could it be? The salt for the envoy is here..." As he said this, he took out the
A small cloth bag, only the size of two or three fingers, was filled with some salt. He threw it to the veteran casually, "...find a good position...the water is deep, don't hit the bottom shell."
…”
Ordinary soldiers only need to be given some salt. If they were given gold and silver directly, it would be more suspicious.
The veteran grabbed the cloth bag with a quick slap and immediately put it in his arms. Then he licked his fingers and showed no intention of boarding the ship for search. He nodded and bowed and said, "Don't worry! Don't worry! It's absolutely fine, absolutely fine."
Okay, I won’t miss the honorable person’s business…”
…………………………
Guan Yu was feeling a little stuffy in the cabin.
The main reason is congestion, there are people and weapons everywhere, and when there are more people, there are naturally all kinds of smells, including stinky feet, bad breath, and farts. In addition, merchant ships are not cabins, and they don’t pay attention to ventilation.
The smell lingered in the cabin, not to mention how sour and refreshing it was.
Guan Yu was doing relatively well. He was closer to the cabin door and the air was still fresh. If he had been in the innermost cabin, his red face would have turned into the same color as the clothes on his body.
Shopkeeper Wu also knew that the cabin smelled bad, so he was a little cautious. After passing the water gate, he went to the door of the cabin and whispered: "General Guan, he has come in... At some time, it will be dark..."
Guan Yu still closed his eyes and meditated, but hummed low to show that he heard it.
…………………………
Wu Yi was not in his own house at the moment, but in another house in the city.
Since it is not a serious Wu family residence, it naturally cannot be that big. There are only three exceptions. At this moment, both inside and outside are crowded with people.
Although the Wu family has severed the relationship with the Liu family's relatives since Liu Yan and Liu Mao died, the skinny bones are still there, and some old officials in the army are still there.
And because Wu Yi was squeezed out of the Sichuan-Shu army ruling class, the military sergeants who originally followed the Wu family were more or less implicated, some were demoted, and some were even expelled from the army.
Fortunately, the Wu family still knows how to be a good person, so she gave some money to these people to feed them, and also gathered a group of such soldiers.
But for the Wu family, losing some money is not a big deal. Losing power is the crux of the problem. Wu Yi of the Wu family went to Guanghan before, originally wanting to discuss the conditions with Zhengxi and weigh the price.
, but he didn’t expect that Wei Yan would be humiliated before he even met Zheng Xi...
Chengdu has been in turmoil these past few days.
It's not that Liu Zhang did anything to the Wu family, but that Zhengxi sent a former Hanzhong farewell, the current Zhengxi Jijiu, Yang Song, as an envoy, even brought an agricultural bachelor and an engineering bachelor with him.
to Chengdu.
Wu Yi still clearly remembers that when he heard that Zhengxi was going to teach farming techniques to the people of Sichuan and Sichuan, the Chengdu surnames who were originally like wood carvings moved involuntarily, with a kind of orgy in their eyes.
Red or green light…
Damn you, what a fairy!
Wu Yi could even imagine that if Zhengxi really took control of Sichuan and Shu one day, then the first unlucky family with a big surname would not be Liu Zhang, but Pang Xi. After all, no matter what, as long as Liu Zhang did not commit suicide, he could save his life.
It's not difficult, and Pang Xi is definitely doomed...
And what’s next?
It was Wu's turn.
As a relative of the former Liu family, the Wu family did not completely break away from the relationship with the Liu family. On the other hand, she had close contacts with Jingzhou soldiers and horses. If Zhengxi really captured Sichuan and Shu, could she let it go so easily?
Wu Yi persuaded Liu Zhang to completely ban the large surnames in Sichuan and Sichuan and Zhengxi from engaging in such farming techniques to prevent Zhengxi from encroaching on Sichuan and Shu. But on the other hand, the other surnames in Chengdu kept telling Liu Zhang about the benefits of this
, and even sent private soldiers to protect the envoys conquering the West. Such a situation naturally made Wu Yi feel an urgent crisis.
Although Liu Zhang was still hesitant and undecided, Wu Yi could see that Liu Zhang had gradually turned to the other side. After all, more money and food meant that he could recruit more soldiers, and for future potential
Those crises are also future and potential, haven’t they not happened yet?
Others can wait and see again, but Wu Yi can't wait any longer.
The entire situation must be controlled before the situation changes to the worst. If you want to control the situation, you must have military power, and it is obviously impossible for Pang Xi to let go of the military power in his hands, because those military powers are also Pang Xi
At the same time, there was no basis for cooperation between Pang Xi and Wu Yi. After all, it was Pang Xi who drove Wu away from her status as a former relative and squeezed her out step by step.
