"Beihai? This far away place, what does it have to do with us southerners?"
"It's irrelevant. The war in the North Sea has caused a huge increase in demand for elixirs and ores. The amount of anti-bleeding powder alone has doubled. I heard that the merchants who stocked up on medicinal materials last year have distributed them this year."
"Hiss, why didn't I catch up?"
"It doesn't matter if we haven't caught up. The price of medicinal materials can still rise this year. As long as we can suppress it, it's not up to us to decide whether to increase the price or not."
"Forget it, the country is in dire straits, and we deserve it. In the past few years, there have been natural and man-made disasters, and the court has been taxing and exempting us. It has been very generous to us. Now that the court is in such a difficult situation, we are still holding back, are we still human?"
Inside the breakfast shop.
Zhang Heng ate the braised pork and listened to the two men dressed as drug dealers whispering.
Time flies.
In a blink of an eye.
It has been ten years since Emperor Li fought with the sky and split the starry sky.
Zhang Heng has also become a young man in his late twenties.
And this Huwang Town has become the largest medicinal material production base in Shunzhou.
Eat the mountain by relying on the mountain.
The villagers in the town are extremely wealthy.
Not to mention those who are rich.
Open an inn, open a restaurant, open a gambling room, and make a lot of money.
Just have no money.
No matter how bad it is, there are always two shacks and half a yard at home.
The yard is nicer and is rented to pharmacists who come to buy medicinal materials.
For poor people who only have a few thatched houses, they rent them to the bodyguards who escort the carriages and the runners who carry the flags.
No more, no less, it’s still a revenue every month.
"North Sea!"
Listen to the conversation between the two.
Zhang Heng was a little distracted.
If he remembered correctly, the old tiger went on an expedition to Beihai and was ambushed and died.
Going round and round.
The Beihai Rebellion has been going on for ten years, due to the support of the Buddhist and Taoist families and the many islands in the Beihai.
The rebels have been taking advantage of their geographical advantages to fight guerrillas. They have made many expeditions to the Li Dynasty. Instead of quelling the rebellion, they have fallen into a quagmire and cannot extricate themselves.
And the North Sea is like this.
In other places, natural disasters have continued in the past ten years and bandits are rampant.
Plus there are rumors.
The real body of Emperor Li is far away in the land of heaven, and it is difficult to return.
On the surface, everyone seems to be in submission.
But it is hard to say what it is actually like, whether it is self-respect and evil intentions.
Compare.
The current scene is a bit like the late Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty.
Yang Guangdong failed to conquer Goguryeo, and the family became bigger.
"Fourth!"
Just thinking about it.
Accompanied by the roar of war horses, a young man wearing black armor and carrying a long-handled sword walked out the door.
"Good news."
The young man walked into the shop excitedly, sat down next to Zhang Heng, and drank half a pot of tea: "Mr. Ma of the county government is old. He suffered internal injuries in the early years and has recently decided to retire."
"I have already inquired about it. Your Excellency, the county magistrate, is planning to select a leader from among the group of catchers who has the strength and ability to convince everyone to take over. I think this is an opportunity."
Hear the sound.
Zhang Heng glanced at the excited second brother and asked expressionlessly: "What opportunity?"
"Well..."
Zhang Heng didn't seem interested.
Brother Zhang was a little dazed: "Fourth Brother, this is the chief arrester. If I take this position, I will be responsible for the security, anti-theft, and inspections of Anding County. I will be able to arrest thousands of people in one county and sixteen towns." Woolen cloth."
Shake his head.
Zhang Heng said nothing.
The current world is in chaos, and it doesn't make much sense to be the chief arrest officer of a county. Moreover, this position does not support idle people, and there will be a lot of troubles in sitting in it.
What did Brother Zhang say?
On his own, I'm afraid he wouldn't have the ability to sit in this position, and he would have to wipe his butt in the future.
"Fourth child, you won't support me, right?"
Seeing Zhang Heng's incomprehensible attitude, the second brother became a little anxious: "Fourth brother, we are brothers from the same mother. I have never asked you for anything in these years. Besides, when it comes to martial arts training, I practice Sanfu in the winter and Sanjiu in the summer. My hard work You can see it, your second brother is not bad at all."
Zhang Heng still said nothing.
Brother Zhang is quite diligent in practicing martial arts, and he has also been working hard these years.
Unfortunately.
This is not a world where God rewards hard work. Talent and understanding are far greater than persistence and hard work.
these ten years.
Although Zhang Heng didn't take much care of Brother Zhang, he never stopped using nourishing medicinal materials for martial arts training.
Right now, he is just a great martial artist with perfect external training, but the resources invested in him would be enough for a few internal training masters.
Obviously, he has no talent for martial arts.
"Old Four."
Brother Zhang was unwilling to give in and added: "The boss told me that I am only twenty-seven this year. I have perfected my external training. I hope to become a master of internal training before I am thirty. I have a bright future."
Speaking of which.
Brother Zhang emphasized again: "You don't need to do anything. Just say hello and invite the county magistrate to have a drink at the Marquis Mansion, and I'll be done with it."
"We are brothers. You have to help me. I have been thinking about the position of chief catcher for many years. As long as you agree, we can switch in the future. Can you be my second brother?"
Zhang Heng was a little bit dumbfounded.
No matter where you are, you can't even compare.
in addition.
It's easy to sit in the position of chief catcher, but if something happens in the future, Brother Zhang will have to rush ahead.
Just use it on the edge of the knife.
Everyone knows that Brother Zhang is behind him, as well as the Zhibei Hou Mansion.
If this goes up, it will inevitably be used by someone with ulterior motives. When the time comes, Zhang Heng can't just ignore him.
"Second brother."
"Actually, young people, don't put too much pressure on yourself."
"You just carry the cage and walk the bird, listen to storytelling, and sing little songs every day. Why do you work so hard?"
"If you ask me, you should just lie down and enjoy yourself."
"Go whoring when you have time, just go gambling, don't think about so many things and nothing, look back, when I practice the longevity pill, I will give you a few pills, eighteen brides and eighty-year-old men, pale hair and red makeup
, it’s not difficult to live for eighteen hundred years.”
Zhang Heng told the truth.
If Brother Zhang had this qualification, he would be happy to support him.
But he didn't.
It's like going to school.
The average IQ of primary school students is about 85.
He is only 30, which is commonly known as mentally retarded.
Now that we have reached this level, why bother thinking about Tsinghua and Peking University?
The same goes for practicing martial arts.
Brother Zhang's qualifications are only considered inferior, and he is not even worthy of being considered a middle-class person.
My understanding is also extremely poor, and I am slow to learn anything.
Let’s take his most proud martial arts cultivation as an example.
The 27-year-old external martial arts master is expected to be promoted to the internal training master before the age of thirty.
Fine.
He is considered to be the number one person in Anding County, but can he be used outside to show off?
To know.
This is not a martial arts world.
The thirty-year-old internal training master, in The Legend of the Condor Heroes, is probably at the level of Wang Chongyang and Zhou Botong.
Open monuments and crack stones, point water to cross, and fallen leaves hurt people.
to this extent.
It's not difficult to step on Guo Jing's feet, sleep with Huang Rong, and become a dragon knight.
But this is a fantasy world.
Thirty-year-old Wu Xian is pretty much the same.
Going down, not to mention being an internal training master, even a great master, an innate martial saint, that means nothing.
This is what I achieved at the age of thirty.
At first glance, it looks like a passerby’s template, but it’s a shame if you can’t even see a photo.
"Old Four, Old Four!"
Seeing that Zhang Heng was prevaricating, he didn't say anything to help.
The second brother's eyes were filled with tears: "You really don't regard me as a human being. Yes, I am useless. Unlike you, when you go out for a while at the age of eight or nine, you can pick up a little tiger and come back."
"When the old tiger dies, the little tiger will be granted the title of marquis."
"If something goes wrong later on, a big demon will appear. He has a deep love for you from the past. He insists on being Mengmeng's uncle and protecting you from wind and rain."
"I don't have such a good life as you."
"But I'm a human being too, and I want to think about it too."
"Do you know that my colleagues in the county government all said that I was unlucky and that I am where I am today because of your brother?"
"I'm not trying to argue with you, I just want to show these people that there's nothing wrong with being lucky, and it doesn't matter if no one likes me. I've got the position of chief catcher."
Brother Zhang cried loudly: "Old Fourth, Old Fourth, no matter how bad I am, I am still your second brother. Do you have to let me kneel down for you?"
well!
Zhang Heng sighed: "Second brother, since ten years ago, the sky has been bleeding and the earth has been cracked. Since then, the land has been harvested less, bandits have appeared everywhere, and everyone in every prefecture and county is not a mess."
"Being the chief catcher, do you think you got an advantage?"
"I don't think so. This is putting you on the fire."
"You want to hang the horse bandits, and you want to kill the rebels."
"There are also those bandits, demons and Buddhists who are making trouble everywhere, as well as Buddhists and Taoists who are constantly making small moves in the dark. Which one does not require your attention? Why bother to be a gunman for others?"
Brother Zhang opened his mouth.
Want to say something.
Didn't wait to speak.
Two clear calls came from outside the door: "Second uncle, fourth uncle."
Zhang Heng looked back.
Enter the eyes.
Standing at the door were two eight or nine-year-old boys and girls, dressed in gold and jade.
These are the children of Third Sister and Second Brother Zhu.
My brother’s name is Zhu Chao.
My sister’s name is Zhu Mu.
Marrying each other day and night, they were two childhood sweethearts, one was nine years old and the other was eight years old.
"Xiao Chao, Twilight, why are you here?"
Zhang Heng waved to the two of them to come quickly.
The two of them ran over happily. Zhu Chao was a boy and touched Brother Zhang's simple knife with an envious look on his face.
Zhu Mu was more elegant, standing next to Zhang Heng with an obedient expression, shaking his arm: "Fourth uncle, we want to go to the Hou Mansion to play with Sister Mengmeng, okay?"
"Okay, okay."
Zhang Heng agreed: "I'll take you there soon."
Finished.
Zhang Heng looked at the second brother Zhang again: "Second brother, go ask the third sister and see if she agrees with you being the chief arrester. If she agrees, the minority must obey the majority, and I will let you give it a try."
Brother Zhang was overjoyed: "Fourth brother, this is what you said."
then.
Brother Zhang picked up the Pu knife, paused on the ground, patted his chest and promised: "You just have to wait and see, when I become the chief arrester, I will make sure that no one picks up items on the roads in Anding County, and bandits will disappear."
Zhang Heng shook his head slightly: "It's too early to say that. You swallowed the jujube and you have a whole body. Don't be the chief arrester for a few years and just treat it like a one-armed Yang Guo. Even if I give you a blessing."
Thinking of Yang Guo.
Zhang Heng was a little moved again: "Do you like big eagles? If you do, I'll get one for you later. Who knows, in a few years, you will be able to come back with the title of famous eagle hunter, and maybe you can even create a good story.