"When was the last time you saw this sea? I still vaguely remember that it was probably when I just said goodbye to my teacher and went on a long trip. I went all the way down the Yangtze River. Although the water of the Yangtze River is extremely wide, it is bumpy.
The sea surface still makes me fall in love with the feeling of surviving a disaster, which is really a medal for warriors. Later, I saw the spectacular spring tide of Zhejiang in the south of Wu County. The tide with a height of several feet is probably only as big as the sea.
Only then can we set it off."
"It turns out that you, Xianzhuang, are not a peaceful guy. At first, everyone thought that you would secretly return to the master to help him after completing your studies, but they didn't know that you were actually traveling around for who knows how long before you were willing to go back."
"It's not as carefree as you said. It's just because I have seen the scenery of the North Country and heard the teacher talk about the customs of the South Country, so I am somewhat interested in those so-called 'barbarian lands' as others call them. However, it cannot be denied that the harvest is indeed not great.
Small."
"Interesting. Since we are still some distance away from our destination, Xian Mang might as well tell me about your travel experience here."
"You Xun Binruo, you actually want to talk nonsense and get valuable information from me without giving anything. Don't you think you should become a businessman? Maybe it will be better than that of Bingzhou.
Maybe the store clerk can do better."
"Yes, yes. Nowadays, any boy can guard a state, but you and I, who are considered well-educated people, have to run around and work hard for that little glimmer of possibility. This world is really embarrassing.
Know whether to praise or despise."
"If it weren't for this troubled times, you and I might not even be able to see such a dawn. But speaking of that little guy, do you really think that kind of person can support such a huge family business in Bingzhou, just a puppet?
Maybe you don’t know it yet.”
"But it seems that your father's opinion of that young man is not low. Why..."
"Haha, Binruo, you are so good. You can make Fang lose his composure with just a few words. This time, I am convinced that I lost."
"You... why do you always have to work so hard..."
The two friends seemed to have suddenly fallen into silence for a moment. Perhaps they recalled some past events, perhaps they were touched by a deep heartstring, or perhaps they just felt embarrassed for some reason.
After a long time, when a vague dark gray outline appeared on the hazy sea. As if some strange switch had been activated, the two people looked at each other and smiled, and looked into the distance together.
scenery.
"No wonder Gongsun Bogui has nothing to do with you. Choosing such a place is unexpected and easy to defend and difficult to attack. But it seems that this place is still a bit small after all. I'm afraid it can't accommodate too many people.
population."
As they got closer and closer to their destination, the two of them could finally see the scenery in front of them clearly - it was a long building about five thousand steps long from east to west. Although the north and south could not be estimated due to the perspective, it should be quite large.
An isolated island on the sea far away. Although the distance from the coast is not unreachable, it is enough to become a fortress that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
The vegetation on the island is lush and green. Although the neighboring Youbeiping County has not been freed from the influence of the drought, you can feel the strong vitality here, and there is only a shallow inlet between them.
Even though Yi Jing was considered a well-informed person, the two people couldn't help but sigh with emotion, and one idea after another flashed through their minds.
"Two distinguished guests, I have sent them here according to Commander Qu's order. Someone else will come to greet them during the rest of the journey. If the two distinguished guests have no other instructions, I will go back to the village.
And thank you for the copper coins you gave me. The color of those copper coins is really good, much better than the ones given by the merchants who came to collect overseas goods, and they are heavy and bright. I will definitely be able to buy a lot of good things for my mother."
The two people had just set foot on the land again and had not yet gotten rid of the dizziness caused by the bumps in the waves. The fisherman responsible for delivering them to the island was about to say goodbye and leave, but there was no other movement in sight, only
There was a messy beach and strange rocks washed out by the sea. How could the two people, who were slightly worried, let the fisherman escape so easily.
"Has this young man always lived in a fishing village by the sea? Is he familiar with the customs of this island?"
"Well...I still have to go home to take care of my mother. If I go back late, she will be worried about me."
"It doesn't matter, as long as you answer our questions, you can get more of such beautiful copper coins. Not only can you buy more things for your mother, but it may also help you find a wife~"
"Then ask quickly, and I will definitely tell you everything I know." Sure enough, the speed of this change should not be too fast.
However, such a result has been expected by the two of them, or it would be strange that it was not such a result.
"Then tell me about the situation in your village and nearby seaside villages, as well as the situation on this island in recent years."
Seeing that there still seemed to be no sign of anyone coming to greet him on the island, the man named Binruo luckily started chatting about home affairs.
"I haven't left the village very much since I was born. The furthest I've ever been is to go fishing on weekdays, and when there is a market in the village, I pick fish to the market to earn a little money or exchange for something. This island
Well, there weren't many people there originally, but I heard from people in the same village that there were a lot of snakes and birds here. My mother is the only child, so
I was not allowed to go to the island, but my fellow villagers Wang Wu and Wu Qi were so brave. Not only did they go to the island several times, they also caught a very big snake and gave it to the county master. I just heard that the master was very stingy.
Because I didn’t want to give them a reward, I sent someone to beat them both, and since then I haven’t heard of anyone coming to the island.”
"So when did these people on the island come here?"
"Well... it was probably seven or eight years ago, or maybe a little earlier... By the way! I remembered it. That year I heard that the barbarians from the north came to cause trouble again, but they just met a god with great magic power.
, not only were they easily repelled by the god-man, but many barbarians were enlightened by the god-man. They swore never to be bandits again. This was widely spread in the village, and I was young at the time.
I love hearing stories like this, but now that I think about it, I’m afraid it’s just a trick played by adults to tease us kids. How could there be such a powerful person? If he was really that powerful, even the emperor in the capital would invite him to eat there every day.
Let's eat meat and drink wine and sleep on a warm mattress... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I accidentally said something irrelevant and made our distinguished guests laugh."
"It doesn't matter, the person to pick us up hasn't arrived yet anyway, and we want to hear more. The story is very interesting. Let's go on."
"In that year, several Taoist priests and Feng Shui masters came to our village. I heard that they also went to several other villages on the seaside, but they lived in our village the longest.
Li Er from our village was also taken away by several masters. I heard that he was a great master
The teacher's examination found that he has good qualifications. He is a 'manufacturable talent'. A master is a master. Li Er has been very smart since he was a child. He can clearly understand things that I didn't understand for a long time by scratching the ground a few times. In our village,
The old village chief also said that he will be a figure in the future."
"Then do you know why those foreigners came to you?"
"I don't know about this. I only know that several masters hired my father and several of my uncles to sail to this island, and they also brought a lot of objects that I heard were called 'magic weapons'.
I don’t know what it is, but I know that the big shots I met once in my life took a boat to this island, stayed for a long time, and then came back. No one was bitten by a snake or a vicious bird.
peck and then they
Then left, mysterious and strange. Oh, by the way, I seem to remember that they did not bring those 'magic weapons' with them when they came back. I don't know whether they threw them on the island or in the sea. My father and uncles
It seems that they have not said anything about what they saw and did on the island. Anyway, it is better for us little people to ignore the affairs of the big shots, otherwise we may be punished by God one day..."
"The 'magic weapon' of a mysterious figure? Could it be that legendary figure? It seems that this mission may have some unexpected gains. Could it be the legendary 'dragon-breaking method'? It makes people a little bit confused.
So excited."
While the young fisherman was telling his story, Yuan Fang, who had been standing quietly aside, suddenly had an inexplicable smile on his face. However, he did not talk loudly to himself, so he was easily distracted by that.
The fishermen's voices, who were in high spirits, were drowned out. Even the man named "Bin Ruo" only heard the scaly claw intermittently.
Out of trust in his friend, Binruo did not interrupt the fisherman's story, but continued to guide the topic.
"... After those people left, about half a year passed. In the meantime, I heard that there seemed to be natural disasters and riots in the south. However, our village is small, and the old village chief said that being small has small advantages, and no one cares about it.
.I thought about it, it’s true
For this reason, if I see a big fish on the sea, I will definitely try to catch it. But if it is a small fish less than the size of my palm, unless it crashes into my net or hook, I will definitely catch it.
I will absolutely ignore it."
In response to the fisherman's simple words, the two thoughtful guys looked at each other and saw the embarrassment and helplessness in each other's eyes.
However, for the two of them, this kind of relationship comes and goes even faster. After all, the two of them have already engraved their wishes and ambitions into their bones, and even if there is a slight wavering occasionally, they will immediately
Leave it behind.
"More than half a year later, a large and dense group of people came to our village, maybe seven to eight hundred, maybe three to five thousand... Who knows, anyway, I have never seen so many people before. Some of them were in rags, some were
He looks like a wealthy family
Some of them look very fierce, while others look very kind and knowledgeable. Although they are male and female, old and young, the only thing they have in common is that they all have khaki cloth strips wrapped around their heads.
And the strips of cloth look very clean.”
It can be said that there was only one family in the late Han Dynasty that did not have a semicolon wearing such a distinctive dress. However, for the two people who had already known the background of the person they were visiting on this trip, such a message could be said to be something they had already known. It was natural to hear it at this time.
Can't make waves.
"There are many of them, many of them have weapons, and the leading ones are quite fierce. They found the old village chief and said that they were going to the island and needed our village to prepare a boat for them to get to the island.
They also want us to prepare meals for them.
Nothing can be grown on the land around our village, and our ancestors left a legacy not to touch the forest. So what we eat mainly depends on what is produced in the sea. It is common to be hungry if we are unlucky, so how is it possible?
There is plenty of food for them to eat.
Because of this incident, the old village chief quarreled with those fierce leaders, and finally took action. However, they had weapons in their hands, and we couldn't beat them even if they were raiders. So we could only go to the sea to catch fish for them.
, we also had to give them the dried wild vegetables that our family had saved so easily and the food we exchanged from the market. It took us five days to transport them all to the island.”
"I see that the relationship between the people in your village and the island is not bad. I didn't expect that there would be such a relationship."
"Because I heard that the leader of that group of people is a very powerful and good man. Not only did he use secret methods to stop the snakes on the island from hurting people, but he also made the ferocious birds and beasts docile. He also opened a new plant on the island.
You can even grow 'food' in the fields and in the sea. We have learned a few tricks along the way. Although we are still hungry when we are unlucky, we are much better than before."
"You can also 'grow' food in the sea. It's interesting. It's so interesting." Yuan Fang couldn't help but show a little ridicule after listening to the fisherman's story. However, because his voice was very low, he didn't let it go.
The fisherman noticed.
"The big leader later negotiated with our new village chief and gave our village some weapons. He sent people to teach us how to use weapons. He also told us that if anyone behaves well, the girl on the island and the widow will be
Marry him. I didn’t really believe it at first, because the people sent by the island are so powerful. Even the five or six young people in our village are no match for him. I heard
He said that because he was a "Yellow Turban Army" with a very powerful profession, how could he be interested in a child from a small place like our village? But he never expected that Li Xiaosi, the most powerful person in our village in the past two years,
Because I was able to stand alone for a long time in the hands of the people sent by the island, I actually got married to the girl on the island. The girl looked like...hehe..."
"Is that so? So besides fishing, have the villagers in your village organized group outings? Or have the people on the island taken you out to other places?"
"This... I think there shouldn't be any. Except for the occasional people on the island asking the villagers in our village to help change some things outside, they have never had any contact with the outside world. And even if they go outside to change things, every time
There are only three or two people at most. But because this kind of thing is relatively lucrative, guys who are not very clever are not allowed to do it, so I have never had a chance."
"That's it, that's it. Listening to what I said is really an eye-opener for me. Come on, although the money is not much, it is enough for you to go to the market and pull a few feet of cloth to make new clothes for me."
Vaguely feeling that a few unclear shadows seemed to flash in the distance, and receiving a lot of unexpected information, the young man named Binruo ended the chat with the fisherman and took out a bag of
There were nearly a hundred five-baht money bags.
Although this amount of money is nothing in the eyes of these two people now, they are not the kind of dudes who are not suffering from the common people. Even though they are well-dressed now, they have experienced sad and difficult years and know that the world is difficult. Such a sum of money
The money may be in the capital of Luoyang, no, don't say big
Among the most prosperous capitals in the Han Dynasty, even in metropolitan cities such as Wancheng, Yecheng, Linzi, Tancheng, and Chengdu, where the costumes are everywhere, the number is not that big, but in this kind of rural and despicable place
Land is a considerable amount of wealth, which can roughly buy one acre of land (note).
Faced with such a generous "tip", the fisherman who got the advantage was naturally grateful. After all, this unexpected income does not need to be handed over to the people on the island. As long as he is not too lax, no one will notice him.
of this “unexpected income”.
It's just that the two people he was thanking had turned their attention away from him at this time. Although it was still unclear, based on the trembling branches and the faint colors emerging from the bushes, it was certain that
The rightful owner must have arrived.
Sure enough, the two people who had been waiting for a long time were not allowed to wait any longer. After only about a cup of tea, the appearance of the person who came to greet them could be seen clearly, and the two people also showed their faces in time.
There was a dissatisfied look on his face.
"Sorry, sorry, Mr. Qushuai has already given instructions to us, saying that when the two distinguished guests come to our remote place, they should come out to welcome them in person early. However, something happened on the island a few days ago, which hindered Mr. Qushuai.
, so please forgive me for any rudeness."
Among the team that came to greet them, except for the person who spoke first, who was wearing a yellow cloth robe that was washed slightly white, the rest of the dozens of personal followers were all wearing half-length leather armor, washed white linen trousers, and black robes.
Colored leggings.
The faces of these people are all normal. Although they cannot be compared with the well-nourished and rosy-faced aristocratic children, they can be regarded as people with a good life among the common people. Kong Wu's powerful body makes people believe that this person is at a glance.
The team's fighting ability, and the khaki turbans they all share on their heads faintly exude an inexplicable flavor of madness.
It seems that this army is quite good. Perhaps it can be regarded as an elite soldier even among the troops of Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao who are fighting.
"What a boring trick." But for Yuan Fang, who had already learned the details of the other party through various channels, the "welcoming etiquette" of the other party was really not good enough.
"The two of us were ordered by the Marquis of Zhongxiang to invite Gongsun Qushuai to participate in the grand event, but now it seems that Gongsun Qushuai has other important matters that he cannot get away from. Although I feel a little sorry for the entrustment of the Marquis of Zongxiang, we will still
Report the situation of your department to Hou Xianghou and tell him such regrettable news. Of course, the materials that have been given to your department before should be regarded as being given to friends by Hou Xiangxiang and Gongsun Qushuai."
As Yuan Fang spoke, it was obvious that the other party's face seemed to be getting worse and worse. However, facing the aggressive attitudes of dozens of people on the other side and the sea behind him, although not far away, it was by no means easy to cross.
, Yuan Fang and the young man named "Bin Ruo" bowed their hands to each other:
"That's it, I'll take my leave." x2.
At that moment, the two people's upright postures showed indescribable chicness.
Note: The one-acre land mentioned here for one hundred dollars refers to the saline-alkali land near the sea that is almost impossible to farm. Only this kind of land can be so cheap. Otherwise, if it is fertile land, in peacetime it would be impossible to buy it without three thousand dollars.
Even in turbulent times, the price will not be this low. After all, land prices are often directly linked to land productivity. (To be continued...)
