West wind, ancient road, snow all over the sky, rugged and thin horses, and an old man as skinny as a horse, sitting on a creaking cart, wrapping his hands in the sleeves of his cotton-padded jacket and dozing off with a riding whip.
Old horses know the way, and there is no need for the owner to expend extra energy to find the road. Two such old horses can be used to pull a similarly decayed cart, and the old driver cowering on the shaft of the cart makes people feel the strong sense of twilight when they meet him.
Come, even the brand-new flag of the cart is hanging there listlessly, and the word "peace" can be vaguely seen.
He took off the wine gourd tied to his waistband, unscrewed the stopper, brought it to his mouth and took a sip, then swung it around to listen to the sound. There was still some left, so he opened a small slit in the heavy car curtain that had been made from a broken quilt.
He turned half sideways and handed the gourd to the carriage behind him: "The snow is too heavy, and the horses won't be able to support it if we continue walking. There is a Yamen post station a few miles ahead. It's not too late to rest for a night before leaving."
A hand covered with chapped frostbite stretched out from between the car curtains to take the wine gourd, but after a while he threw it back, and soon there was laughter and curses in the car:
"This wine is really bland. If you have the opportunity to go to Qishan County, Jiangzhou in the south, I will definitely try Xu's brew, which has been brewed for many years."
"Jinzhou is no better than the Yumi Township in the south of the Yangtze River. The land output is far behind, and there are wars every year. There is no extra grain to make wine. This gourd light wine is still mixed with water, and it costs eight coins."
The old man put the gourd back on his waistband nonchalantly, "Xu Niang, hey, I've tasted it a few years ago. The expensive stuff that costs ten taels of silver a pot in the Bingyuan City Restaurant is not for poor escorts like us."
A drink you can afford."
The young people in the carriage listened dumbly for a long time, and then they couldn't help laughing: "Ten taels of silver for a pot! A veteran like you, the escort, will be slaughtered by someone like this, in our Qishan County
The oldest and best Xu Niang can be sold for just over ten taels of silver, ten taels per pot, and you will have to swallow it if you lose your head!"
In the wind and snow, the old man didn't answer, but the wrinkles on his face were full of self-mockery. A banquet that almost emptied the remaining wealth of the Ping An Escort Bureau, and invited all the famous people in Jinzhou's arena.
He came to a place where the delicacies of the mountains and seas were piled up into a small mountain during the banquet. He watched the wine that had been delivered from thousands of miles away and had multiplied in price in Yuancheng being splashed on the floor of the banquet and flowing freely. From the beginning, his heart ached to his heart.
The knife was twisted until I was relieved that this was considered a good use, and finally I was indifferent after three rounds of drinking.
The last attempt to revitalize the Ping An Escort Bureau still failed to achieve any effect. The scene of forcing most of the family's fortune to support it seemed to those who were interested that this already declining and dying Escort Bureau was becoming more and more powerful on the outside, and those in Jinzhou Jianghu.
Very few of the promises made by famous celebrities on the Internet can be fulfilled afterwards. Those wealthy businessmen who have had close contacts with the Security Guards act more calmly - all traveling convoys that need escorts and road protection are on the way.
All of a sudden, they all switched to Wuhe Escort Agency.
Those days when he had to rely on the support of the pawn escort agency all day long, there must be four or five years, but he finally got through it. During this period, the huge escort agency fell down and the hozens scattered, and all the pillars that could be used went out to find another way out.
, there are only some old, weak, sick and disabled people like him who have nowhere to go, relying on some scattered jobs and sparse escorts.
The escort client and the half-hearted person are living the day.
He's about to start his career! The old man tightened his cotton-padded jacket tightly, squinted his eyes, and pinched his waist and eyes hard. After all, his energy and physical strength were a little weak as he got older, so he had to use this method to prevent himself from being too lethargic.
With such a big white snow, if this old man really sleeps outside for an hour, a life worth not much money may have to be handed down here.
The war in Jinzhou has been raging for several months. I heard from people in the northern counties that the spies of the barbarian vanguard have arrived dozens of miles outside Bingyuan City. The business of escorts and bodyguards has also become prosperous with the spread of the war. To put it bluntly,
In his heart, the business of the escort agencies in the peaceful and prosperous times was definitely bleak, but in times of chaos, there were many opportunities to seek wealth and wealth. Many of the founders of the escort agencies opened their agencies in the early years by relying on their family fortune in the troubled times. The old man knew this well.
There will be no shortage of scandalous incidents that have not been passed down to future generations of the Escort Bureau.
The Wuhe Escort Agency, which used to have almost monopoly on the entire escort business in Jinzhou, is said to have suffered a huge setback in the south. A local snake that refused to eat anything had eaten up several escort teams and only paid compensation.
The money given to the owner of the cargo was an astonishing amount. It was said that Mr. Song, who had already retired, was forced to leave the mountain, and took most of the elite soldiers left behind in the entire escort agency to go south to recover the situation.
, unable to take into account the local bodyguard customers in Jinzhou, so the Ping An Bodyguard Bureau, which had been in decline for a long time, took advantage of the situation, borrowed money, recruited manpower, expanded carriages and horses, and vaguely competed with the Wuhe Bodyguard Bureau.
Unexpectedly, before he died of old age, he would witness the comeback of the Ping An Escort Bureau. The old man sighed and forcibly resisted the urge to touch the wine gourd. He was too drunk to get into trouble, especially in their line of work, where everything is worth 12 points.
Be careful. This car was originally part of the escort team going south. It was vacated due to some changes on the way. It happened that the guest dressed as a knight in the car behind him was going north to Jinju. Although the whole team was surprised at that time.
At this juncture, there will still be people going north to Jinju to stir up the pot of boiling soup and muddy water, but there is no point in not using this kind of money that is almost free. The old man is old and does not want to travel with the team anymore.
Going south, this time I returned to Jinzhou, and it was time to go to Hanyi to play with my grandson.
"If the guest wants to surrender to the army, he can just go and join the round city. The general has reorganized the warrior's team in the previous war. If he surrenders to other places, if he is not regarded as the work of the northern barbarians, he will most likely be treated as cannon fodder.
Shield." The old man seemed to have remembered something, and kindly reminded him, "The round city is high, and it is also a state city. There is a lot of food stored in it, and there are soldiers to protect it. There will be no big trouble, and you may not be able to accumulate some military merits when the guest arrives.
You can also have an official status in the Jinzhou army. "
"A few years ago, a swordsman from other places came to our Jinzhou and made several great achievements, which are still spread throughout Jinzhou." The somewhat sad old man cheered up as he spoke, "Zai.
The leader of the barbarians was killed and their siege equipment was destroyed. This was not over yet! When the barbarians were approaching the city, spies sneaked into the city and took advantage of the chaos to open the city gate. At that time, there were hundreds of thousands of people in the city! If the barbarians were to really surrender,
Once the city is destroyed, there will be no room for mediation!"
A young man stood up and stood up, one person with one knife, one man in charge.
"I also have a friend who also uses a knife. He also came to Jinzhou back then." The ranger behind the carriage was silent for a long time.
"He saved my life."
"The grace of saving one's life is the greatest kindness to a person." The old man rubbed his face, "What's more, everyone in Bingyuan City has accepted such a kindness from him, and they don't know what to give in return. "
"The sect that my friend belonged to was framed by others. Everyone in the sect died and fled. The number of people who were still alive can be counted on one hand. He was one of them."
When we first met that friend, he risked his life to save me and several fellow travelers. A group of people guessed his identity as a wanted criminal wanted by the government. Several people who could barely be considered fellow travelers wanted to take him away. In exchange for some reward money from the government, I was afraid of our two skills and endured it until the end without causing any trouble. Otherwise, I really don’t know what to do with these people.
"When I left, his parents were still waiting for him to come home."
When the disheveled knight-errant said this, he immediately strangled his wrist tightly, and veins popped up on his face. It took a long time for him to recover, but the sad look on his face could not be completely concealed no matter how hard he tried.
There are so many swordsmen in the world, who is willing to be a fish?
"There are not many people in Qishan County, Jiangzhou, and the entire Dayao who are willing to speak justice to the Zhang family in Qishan County." Xu Xian gritted his teeth and said, "They don't even speak, so let me tell you, Qishan County is not enough. Then go to Wuhang City, visit all the cities in Jiangzhou, and then go to the other fifteen states! People from the Zhang family in Qishan County are not traitors!"
People from the Zhang family in Qishan County are not traitors!
He shouted loudly, but the sky and the earth were all a blur, and the only one who could hear him shouting was the old man from the Ping An Escort who was driving the car.
My friend, Wei Changpan from the Zhang family in Qishan County, is not a traitor as the government calls him!
The old man driving the cart shook his head: "Jinzhou and Jiangzhou are thousands of miles apart. Even if you stand at the market entrance in Bingyuan City and shout, you will probably be taken away by the government servants and sent to squat in the prison. Time..."
What the old man didn't know was that when Xu Xian was shouting these words at the top of his voice at the busiest vegetable market in Bingyuan City, a general as elegant as a Confucian scholar was riding by on horseback, and he stopped him. Wanting to capture this madman's personal entourage, he dismounted and told him that he knew that Wei Changpan of the Zhang family in Qishan County was not a traitor but a hero. Song Zhiwen of Jinzhou, all the soldiers of the state army, and those in Bingyuan City All the villagers and elders can testify.
"If he wants to take me, he has to wait for me to shout."
Xu Xian curled his lips, but he didn't have any confidence in his heart. In addition, the old man said half jokingly and half seriously that it was the time of war and he needed someone to scare the monkeys. Don't behead others for such a big deal. He He also became more and more worried.
"You still remember your benefactor's name and don't forget to repay your kindness. But we, the people of Jinzhou, don't know how many of us will still remember that there was a young man who saved a whole city. ." The old man said with some self-deprecation, "I hope I won't be so stupid that I can't remember the existence of such a person."
I will remember it, Xu Xian said firmly, I will definitely do it.