A few days passed in a hurry. During this period, in addition to traveling around the mountains and rivers, Li Mu also began to further control the subsequent layout through the branches of Zhuji and Longmen Escort Agency in Hangzhou.
At the same time, in preparation for a rainy day, several large-scale ships were prepared in advance at the Hangzhou Bay Pier.
On this day, Li Mu suddenly received a famous invitation from Qian Xiwen, inviting him to participate in the poetry meeting held in Xiaoyingzhou tomorrow.
Li Mu silently looked at the name post, and it seemed that a big change was about to begin. Su Tan'er also rushed over after hearing this. In the past few days, I have been visiting partners and heard people talk about the Beginning of Autumn Poetry Club. I heard that the threshold is extremely high.
, at this time I couldn’t help but pick up the post and read it.
Xiaoyingzhou, where the poetry meeting is held, is actually just one of the three small islands on the West Lake, also known as Santan Yinyue Island, and is known as the most scenic spot in the West Lake.
Because there is an island in the lake, and there is a lake in the island, it is like Penglai Island, so it is named Xiaoyingzhou. It is one of the more famous scenic spots in Hangzhou.
According to the person who sent the post, tomorrow's Xiaoyingzhou Beginning of Autumn Poetry Festival will not only be attended by literary talents. Since the prefect is taking the lead, local gentry, officials, as well as wealthy businessmen and prominent figures will also attend.
Although he didn't care much, Su Tan'er wanted to go there. The Su family wanted to expand their business in Hangzhou, so they would inevitably have to deal with these people, participate in poetry gatherings, show their presence, or make some connections, which would help them develop in the future.
Very necessary.
Li Mu wanted to say that it would be in vain if he went. Less than half of the people who participated in the poetry meeting would be able to survive in the future, and nine out of ten of them would be ruined. But Su Tan'er didn't know this.
Then go there. Qian Xiwen also took the trouble to do it. There was a poetry meeting and he didn't forget to send him a post.
Su Tan'er looked at the name post and said, "This Mr. Qian is a really nice person."
Li Mu nodded and told him about the Qian family's coral pen grid.
Su Tan'er sighed with emotion: "As expected of a scholarly family, with a profound foundation, good rules, and good management of the family."
Li Mu smiled and said: "He is indeed a good person, and he is not rigid. He is quite interesting."
…
The next morning, there was the Xiaoyingzhou Poetry Meeting.
Li Mu gave the stewards and shopkeepers of the Su family a day off and arranged for them to take their families for an outing in the countryside. All expenses would be borne by the firm.
Li Mu, an employee of Zhuji and Longmen Escort Bureau's branches in Hangzhou, also made the same arrangement.
So, he and Su Tan'er took a few maids and guards and rushed to Xiaoyingzhou.
Although it is the Beginning of Autumn Poetry Festival, it is actually still in the dog days of summer. The summer heat has not faded away, and the heat wave is rolling so that a layer of water vapor seems to be steaming above the West Lake.
However, the water is cooler than the land after all, and with the breeze blowing, it's not that hot.
Those who can receive invitations to today's gathering are basically people from Hangzhou who have family backgrounds, or have certain talents.
As the crowd gathered, more and more boats were seen on the lake, and many of the boats were hung with the logos of various companies. The Cao family, the largest local rice merchant, the Long family, a cloth merchant, and the Chen family, which ran a brothel, also set anchor.
's official ship.
At this time, everyone opened the windows, rolled up the curtains, and let the boats slowly wander on the lake. Mainly because the weather was too hot, and those who arrived early would rather float on the lake for a while.
However, although the poetry meeting in Xiaoyingzhou has not yet begun, a small gathering has already begun on the lake, where some rich people, some wealthy people, and some scholars, are chatting and laughing, and giving advice.
Similar to these people, Li Mu and Su Tan'er were also sitting on the boat, with the breeze floating on the lake. He was not interested in today's poetry meeting, and he didn't care when it started.
Looking down from the boat, Xiaoyingzhou is lush and green, and the scenery is extremely beautiful. You can even see Baoning Temple in the distance. I stretched and looked around boredly.
He had excellent hearing, and the impassioned voices of several scholars on a boat next to him suddenly reached his ears.
"Brother Wang, have you heard? Jin and Liao are now fighting in the north. It is said that Jin is suppressing Liao."
"Yes! How powerful the Liao Kingdom was in the past... I didn't expect it to decline like this now."
At this time, a scholar next to him said impassionedly: "I will definitely seize this opportunity and swear to fight for the Northern Expedition. When the war in the north is over, I will join the army and go north to follow my king's army to drive out the Hu barbarians and recover Yanyun..."
"
A scholar loudly praised: "Brother Zhang is very righteous, and my younger brother has the same idea. However, the war between Jin and Liao has been going on for a long time, but there is no news about the use of troops in the capital. I don't know when troops will be sent north. The imperial court used to fear Liao like a tiger.
Will..."
"Brother Li is overly worried. You all know that my father is on good terms with Commander Liu. I once heard my father accidentally say that the imperial court has begun to organize the army and will go north to recover Yanyun at any time. Besides, you also know that the person who provoked the Jin-Liao dispute
The Prime Minister of Qin has returned to power, and the imperial court has been planning this matter for eight years, and it will never end. After a while, everything will be clear."
A scholar nodded thoughtfully: "Brother Zhang is right. In my opinion, the time for the imperial court to mobilize troops should be after the autumn harvest. It will not delay the autumn harvest and there will be sufficient food and grass."
At this time, a scholar sighed and suddenly interjected: "Don't just look at the Battle of Jin and Liao in the north. We are not at peace in the south either. Banditry is getting more and more serious. A few days ago, I heard someone talking about Fang La.
It is said that the attack has spread hundreds of miles away. Many states and counties in the southwest have been swept in, and officials are being killed and rebelled everywhere."
One person answered: "Brother Chen, there is no need to worry about this. Hangzhou is an important place for commerce and trade, and the imperial court relies heavily on it. We also have Wude troops to guard it. Even if banditry becomes more prevalent, we can still keep it out."
…
"Yes! Brother Chen, the banditry is nothing more than a disaster for Xianjie. There is the Wuwei Army led by Chen Shisheng in the south, the Wusu Army led by Kang Fangting in the north, and the Wude Army intercepting its east road in Hangzhou to prevent its spread. It is said that the banditry has been eliminated.
control."
A scholar echoed: "Brother Li's words are reasonable. The banditry in the southwest is no more than Xianjie. Kang Fangting sent troops to the southwest at the beginning of the year. When Fang La and his like encountered them, they all fled. The most important thing now is the Northern Expedition to recover Yanyun."
The scholar surnamed Chen nodded silently: "I hope I have thought too much!"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Li Mu listened silently, glanced at the scholar named Chen, and wanted to say that your guess is absolutely correct, and the city of Hangzhou will fall soon.
However, few people would believe this kind of thing. In the current situation, the banditry in the southwest cannot affect Hangzhou. If it were not for a sudden earthquake, the city of Hangzhou would not have fallen.
Thinking of the big earthquake, Li Mu looked at the lake. There were a lot of fish on the water today. They were running around everywhere. From time to time, fish would jump high.
It’s not like no one has discovered these anomalies. In the past, the fish in West Lake were not so active. But the reason is easy to find. Look at how many boats and boats have gathered in West Lake now... so many boats have gathered, disturbing the fish, and there are some strange phenomena.
Understandable.
Not only is it a fish, he has excellent eyesight. On Xiaoyingzhou not far away, large swaths of ants crawled out of their nests and seemed to be moving. Although the weather is hot now, it is not stuffy and it doesn't look like rain. Why are the ants crawling?
All climbed out.
After thinking about it again, I realized that the cats and dogs I met this morning were also a little abnormal, and the rooster was still crowing in broad daylight.
These visions may not mean anything, but then a big earthquake came.
Li Mu looked at the sky. The scorching sun was high and there were no clouds in the sky. It was a normal day. The people on the boat were talking and laughing, and they were all happy. No one could have predicted that a tragic earthquake was about to happen.
With a sigh, Li Mu walked back to the cabin.
Time passed quickly, the poetry meeting officially began, and many people began to land in Xiaoyingzhou.
Now that he is here, Li Mu also plans to go for a walk.
Xiaoyingzhou itself is a long and narrow circular island. Although it is a poetry meeting, there are many people here. People walk and sit in the forest and enjoy the scenery. It looks similar to an outing.
Li Mu and Su Tan'er took several maids and walked off the boat. At this time, the large and small boats parked here were almost connected together, which was very spectacular.
When we came to the island, there were crowds everywhere and the experience was not very good.
From time to time, I heard complaints: "It's still too hot at the beginning of autumn. Isn't it a shame to hold a poetry meeting at this time? What on earth are those officials thinking?"
Some people also explained: "Actually, the poetry meeting was not held at this time before. Speaking of which, it was the precedent set by Xiong Ruming, who was the prefect here a few years ago. At that time, disasters hit various places. In order to raise relief materials, I don't know who gave them.
Magistrate Xiong came up with the idea to invite many people to visit the island, ask the wealthy families to provide some supplies, and let the talented people write some poems."
"At that time, we also invited Qian Xiwen, Qian Gong, Mu Bo, Chang Mu Gong, Chang Yu'an and Chang Gong, these great Confucian scholars to build their momentum. Now that Magistrate Xiong has been transferred, there are several great Confucian scholars here, so the Beginning of Autumn Poetry Meeting has been preserved."
After hearing this, many people suddenly realized and complained less. After all, the people hosting the poetry meeting were all big shots, and there were many children of these people present.
A few people walked around for a while and rested for a while in a pavilion in Xiaoyingzhou. Su Tan'er saw the female relatives of several cooperative merchants and went over to chat and say hello with a smile. Li Mu also walked out of the pavilion and looked at the grass on the side of the road.
It was dark inside and a group of ants were moving.
After squatting down and watching for a moment, a voice suddenly came from the side: "You are the Ning Yi from Jiangning!"
Li Mu turned around and saw a young man in his early twenties, wearing a luxurious robe and accompanied by two strong followers. At this time, his chin was raised high, looking a bit bossy.
He looked Li Mu up and down and said with disdain: "Who did I think he was? A mere son-in-law with no shame is actually qualified to participate in the Poetry Fair. This Beginning of Autumn Poetry Fair is getting more and more popular.
No more."
Li Mu glanced at him quietly. He hadn't been ridiculed to his face in so many years. He originally planned to come just to have a look, but now it seems that he needs to move his hands and feet.
His expression did not change at all, and he said calmly: "Do we know each other?"
A follower behind the young man jumped out and said: "You don't even recognize our Mr. Lou. Remember, this is Mr. Lou Shuheng of our Lou family."
Li Mu shook his head helplessly. He had not planned to contact him at first, but he suddenly jumped out at this time. He heard about Lou Shuwan's experience of returning to Hangzhou, and felt that a son-in-law would dare to stab him. If he didn't give face to the Lou family, he would teach him a lesson.
Well!
It’s really… there’s everyone for everyone!
Lou Shuheng raised his head with a look of disdain on his face and opened his mouth to say something else.
Li Mu chuckled and walked over. It didn't look like he was walking very fast, but he arrived at the place in an instant.
With a snap, Lou Shuheng was sent flying out by a palm and fell to the ground, one cheek immediately swollen.
After a scream, the two followers reacted and were about to rush forward. Li Mu kicked each other, and the two followers flew a few meters away. They lay on the ground and groaned for a long time without getting up.
Lou Shuheng was frightened by the scene in front of him and staggered to his feet. This was when some people nearby were alarmed and turned their heads to look over.
Seeing this, Lou Shuheng hurriedly shouted: "Hitting people! Beating people! Come here quickly, people from Jiangning have come to Hangzhou to run wild."
As the son of the Lou family, he often attends brothel poetry clubs. The Lou family is also a well-known wealthy businessman in Hangzhou, with a fortune of tens of millions. Lou Shuheng is also well-known in Hangzhou, and many people know him.
This was a shout, and many people recognized him. Some wanted to build friendship, while others were encouraged by his shout and ran over one after another.
Running and shouting:
"presumptuous!"
"How dare you hit someone? It's so arrogant."
"People from Jiangning dare to go wild in Hangzhou."
…
Li Mu ignored these people and walked up to Lou Shuheng in a few steps. Without giving him a chance to react, he grabbed his hair and said, "Pah, pah, pah..." and slapped him several times in a row. There was blood at the corners of Lou Shuheng's mouth and on his cheeks.
Completely swollen into a pig's head, the arrogance in his eyes was completely gone, only endless fear and fear.
Li Mu gently let go and fell to the ground softly.
At this time, the scholars finally arrived. Someone hesitated for a moment and shouted: "Master Lou, let me help you..." and rushed forward. Several scholars and followers also rushed forward.
Li Mu shook his head helplessly, gave one person a slap in the face, and all of them flew out. Then more people heard the noise and ran over to watch the fun.
Some people heard that the Jiangning people were running wild in Hangzhou, and their blood was stirred up. They also rushed forward, and Li Mu all gave them a slap in the face.
In less than a minute, there was a crowd of people lying on the ground, holding their swollen cheeks and wailing on the ground.
Li Mu smiled faintly and glanced around. Everyone would subconsciously avoid his gaze. They shook their heads, wiped their hands with a handkerchief, and turned to leave. The crowd gave way to a road in an instant. No one dared to say a word.
Then he looked at his leaving figure in horror.
I found Su Tan'er and a few little girls. They had just come from a distance to watch the excitement. Before they got there, they discovered that it was Li Mu who had done it.
"Ms. sir, are you okay?"
Li Mu said: "If you don't even use your strength, what can happen?"
Su Tan'er looked around and knew that staying here would inevitably lead to trouble, so she whispered: "Mr. Sir, why don't you go back!"
Li Mu raised his head and looked at the sky. He didn't know when the earthquake would come. It was probably not far away. It was really time to leave.
He nodded: "Then let's go back to Huafang!"
Several people returned to the boat and continued to cool off in the lake.
More than half an hour later, the ground shook, followed by a loud rumbling sound, and the earthquake came...