In Shibalibao, Hu Laizi’s horse meat restaurant, the business has been getting better and better since the end of the year. Once the business was good, even the lame man’s legs and feet became much better. The shop also hired two helpers, but the mute aunt was still
I work in the kitchen, and only show up in the front when there are not enough people.
Hu Laizi's status has now increased, and no one who comes from north to south is allowed to address him as "Boss Hu". After all, he is also the elder of the Yuan team leader in this county. It is not okay to call him "Hu Laizi" like before.
Hu Laizi was fiddling with the abacus behind the counter when he suddenly saw a drunk guy opening the curtain and entering the backyard. He quickly chased after him and shouted, "What are your orders, sir?"
The guest was drunk and looked around the backyard with squinted eyes before saying: "Thatched cottage, I'm looking for a thatched cottage."
"The latrine is across the street, there isn't one behind here." Hu Laizi said and pushed the drunk out of the yard without taking it seriously. He also said to the mute aunt who poked her head out to watch, "Has the meat been cut? Can you do it alone?"
?Otherwise let’s hire another guy.”
…
After the caravan leaves Heishan Gorge, it still has to stop at Shibalibao, change horseshoes, buy some dry food, and stay for one night. But now there is a new program, which is to listen to Lao Suntou talk about the little swordsman under the flagpole.
story.
It was summer, and the nights in the northwest were cool and comfortable. The passing merchants sat around under the flagpole and listened to Lao Suntou's story for half an hour before leaving with satisfaction. A drunkard who had just come out of the Hu's Tavern walked up to a middle-aged man.
The person next to him whispered: "We have found out that the lame boss and two waiters are not staying in the store at night. Then there will only be father and daughter."
The middle-aged man said: "Yes, we captured someone tonight. We will leave as soon as the fort gate is opened in the morning. Be careful not to hurt anyone."
The man said: "There are a lot of people with knives in the fort, and there are also night watchmen at night. When they show up tomorrow morning, we will definitely chase them. It remains to be seen whether we can run out."
The middle-aged man said: "There is nothing we can do. This is a major task assigned by the fourth shopkeeper. As long as it is done well, we will not have to worry about food and drink for the rest of our lives."
The two went back to their residence and lay down. It was late at night when they quietly got up, put on their black night clothes, and walked out of the room silently. For fear of disturbing other people, they did not dare to go through the door, so they climbed over the wall and went out, sticking
Walk along the wall towards Hu Laizi's Tavern.
To be honest, tonight is not a good time to do such illegal things. There is a huge moon hanging in the sky, shining brightly on the ground. The two of them had no choice but to sneak into the shadows as much as possible, avoiding the night watchman Baoding and slowly came to the scene.
The back wall of the tavern.
The courtyard wall of the Hu family is not high. The man rushed up as soon as he got angry. He grabbed the top of the wall with both hands and flipped over. He sat on the top of the wall. He stretched out his hand and the middle-aged man followed. The two fell silently.
Entered the yard.
As soon as his four feet touched the ground, a huge creature rushed out from the darkness. He was too fast to see clearly. He only saw pale fangs and a big blood-red mouth. The man quickly drew the knife, but it was too late. The fangs locked fiercely.
He grabbed his neck, twisted and flicked it, blood rushed out of Lao Gao, and his scream was suppressed before it could even come out.
The middle-aged man was terrified. He had never seen such a ferocious beast. The white fur all over his body looked particularly weird in the moonlight. His eyes were pale green. He was as big as a calf. He could kill with one strike due to his agile movements. What did Hu Laizi have?
I raised such a monster when I was young.
The monster finished off the man, turned around and looked at the middle-aged man with a pair of green eyes, bared his teeth suddenly, and was so frightened that he almost sat on the ground. His two legs were trembling and unable to escape, and even if he tried to draw the knife, he couldn't. After his lips were dry,
Back is cold.
The monster slowly walked over and walked around the middle-aged man, as if admiring its prey. The ferocious smell from the beast mixed with the bloody smell of the dead, making it difficult for the middle-aged man to breathe. Suddenly he felt his crotch
As soon as he got hot, he actually lost control of his urine. At the same time, his voice was finally able to make a sound. He let out a long howl, like a comet streaking across the night sky, and the silence of Shibali Fort was finally broken.
The monster seemed very unhappy and was about to pounce. Suddenly the lights came on and two stomping sounds were heard in the room. The monster stopped and stared at the middle-aged man.
After a while, the dumb aunt appeared with a lantern, and hurried footsteps were heard outside the yard. This was the night watchman Baoding rushing over. The lights in the fort came on one after another, and the lights in the small yard were brightly lit.
Only then did people see clearly that the monster was just a big white dog. It was squatting next to the mute aunt and licking her hand. It looked so well-behaved and well-behaved. It looked like a ferocious beast that had just killed a person.
The middle-aged man was tied up by Baoding Wuhuada, and everything he had on him was searched out. The cowhide rope, sacks, sweat medicine, and daggers were thrown all over the floor. It was obvious what the two people were doing, and Hu Laizi was so angry that he took them
He beat her hard with a cane, and cursed at the same time: "You daredevil, you dare to take a chance on my daughter, I'll beat you to death!"
The guards were also very angry. They folded their arms and watched coldly as the middle-aged merchants were being beaten. The cripples were hitting their heads with sticks. They were about to kill him. The mute aunt quickly stepped forward to hold her father and shook her head gently.
, then Hu Laizi said: "Humph, you bullied no one in my family, right? I kidnapped him and sent him to the county to let the lord punish him."
People from the town arrived one after another, and they were a little scared when they saw the bloody scene. They thought that the tiger racing in Hu Laizi's house was really powerful. No wonder they were locked up with iron chains and not allowed to go out, for fear of hurting people.
Ah, but luckily there is Sai Hu here tonight, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.
Zhao Ding'an arrived with people and saw that the murderer was a businessman who had stayed yesterday. He quickly made arrangements to control all outsiders and check them one by one to see if there were any accomplices.
There was a commotion all night, and all the caravan members were inspected, and in the morning they were all kicked out as soon as the fort gate opened. From then on, it became a custom that outsiders could only spend the night outside the fort.
Who was the instigator of that middle-aged man who refused to confess even to death? Everyone didn't make it difficult for him and just tied him up and sent him to the county government. Anyway, there are so many enemies in Shibalibao. Either the Yuchi family or the Li family of Lanzhou sent someone to do it.
.
Yuan Feng heard the news five days later. He was in Lanzhou and judged the situation more accurately. This matter was definitely done by the Yuchi family. They just wanted to win back the situation, but the disputes involved family members.
Big taboo, what the Yuchi family did was very unkind and disrespectful. Since the other party is unscrupulous, there is no need to show mercy to them.
The 1,500 dans of brick tea that were originally detained at Shibali Fort were expected to be returned to the Yuchi family after they surrendered. Now it seems that there is no need to wait any longer and they can be asked to drive camels directly to Xining. Now Xining has been occupied by the Qiang people.
After being beaten down, these bricks of tea can be used to pay for a group of Qiang horses.
The Yuchi family's goods are not allowed to flow for the time being. Regardless of whether they are legal or illegal, they will all be seized. There is no other way. Who made them offend Fan Daotai's sworn brothers?
No matter how powerful he is, no matter how wide his connections are, he cannot stop someone from taking charge. The current situation is still unclear, and the official does not dare to offend the new Daotai master for the sake of the Yuchi family. There are rumors in the public that Fan Daotai is in the court.
Some people have a tough relationship.
Now the Yuchi family is a little overwhelmed. Although their business is big, their stalls are also big. Their manpower is distributed on thousands of miles of transportation lines, and they have shops in every city. If they want to gather a large-scale armed force
It’s really not easy. In addition, merchants pay attention to turnover. This trade route was stopped by the Shibalibao people, which greatly affected the capital turnover. The brick tea and horse business are big projects that the Yuchi family depends on for survival. These two
Once the items are stopped, the pot cannot be opened. In addition, the business of spices, porcelain, fur, and jade will also suffer. Goods from the Western Regions cannot be shipped in, and goods from Guanzhong cannot be shipped out. Isn’t this suffocating people to death?
The governor's Yamen maintained a calm and neutral attitude and did not participate in the struggle between the two families. On the one hand, it was because of the relationship with Master Zhou of the Ministry of Revenue, and on the other hand, Yuan Feng also spent a lot of money.
There was so much loyalty that Yu Chijiong was so angry that he even threw several precious vases.
The head of the family was very angry when he learned that Yu Chijiong's unauthorized actions had caused a violent reaction from the other party. He wrote a letter to reprimand him in person, warning that the other party was coming fiercely and had to avoid its sharp edges. The Yuchi family could thrive for hundreds of years not only by being brave and ruthless, but also by fighting fiercely.
It is a word forbearance.
A true hero is one who can endure. In the past, Han Xin was willing to suffer the humiliation of the Japanese because of his tenacity. Although the Yuchi family is not Han, they have a thorough understanding of Chinese culture. It is not good to be too pretentious in everything, like Yuan Feng.
There have been many arrogant and domineering young people in history, but they were as bright and short-lived as meteors. Either they were killed by their enemies because they were too arrogant, or they were killed by the government too quickly. Yuan Feng must not have been able to escape this ending.
Ordering Lanzhou to be patient is to actively show weakness and let the other side relax their vigilance. The boy Yuan Feng is coming too fiercely. If he continues to tolerate it, Yuchi's family may collapse before the meteor dies, so Yuchi Guang prepares another plan.
trick.
In Chang'an, in a certain village in the south of the city, the Huqin and Suona played exotic music. A Western lady with fair skin, a high nose and concave eyes exposed her slender waist, and danced in front of the guests wearing baggy bloomers. The blue behind the veil
The yellow eyes are captivating.
The green mare milk raisins, the golden roasted whole lamb, the blood-red wine in the luminous cups, the beautiful dancers and the guests in various ethnic costumes all show that this is a city in Chang'an that is famous for its Western characteristics.
Flower Street and Willow Lane.
Several men in fine clothes walked in, ignored the waiter's greetings, and went straight to the boss to ask questions. The two sides said a few words in Persian, and then the boss spread his hands and shook his head, and the men turned around and left, continuing to go to another place.
Looking for a wine shop.
No one noticed this scene. Maybe someone's servant was looking for his drunken master, maybe a spy from the imperial court was hunting down some important criminal, or maybe a swordsman was looking for his enemy. In short, this kind of thing is too common.
This place is the most chaotic in the city of Chang'an, with a mixture of fish and dragons, hidden dragons and tigers, and anyone could be hiding here.
Only a Persian dancer who was dancing on the stage saw the boss's mouth shape when he spoke. After the song ended, she hurried off the stage and walked through the crowded hall to the dancers' residence in the back alley and opened a wooden door.
, there was thunderous snoring inside, and a man with a slovenly beard was lying on the carpet and fast asleep.
The dancer kicked him hard and said, "Ye Tianxing, get up quickly, someone is looking for you everywhere."