- Since then, one of the places that Wang Zhe has always talked about is the Daqingchuan River Basin.

It wasn't that he would go there on the next leg of his travels, he was just worried about his emperor's father, and he always observed that if people get drunk, they should be the first to get drunk. However, the eyes of Xiao Chao, who was sitting opposite, except for the somewhat strange behavior and the fact that he liked to watch other drunks drink, were still so bright and agile when he looked back at him, without a little astigmatism and sluggishness.

This discovery has to make people feel a little shocked, Xiao Chao's drinking amount for most of the day is not adulterated at all, he comes to drink alone, there is no need to drink and vomit quietly like people at the banquet, right?

Looking at the wine jar that surrounded Xiaochao and had a total of five or six wines, Boss Xiao was also confused, and some doubted whether he was drunk by the smell of alcohol.

Just then, a new customer arrived.

The curtain of the door flickered, and a scribe with a slender figure and a plain shirt and a bookish look on his face in silence walked in. His gaze circled around the restaurant, and finally landed on the table where Boss Xiao was sitting, and at the same time, his gaze almost met Boss Xiao's.

Boss Xiao immediately got up from the bench next to the table and greeted him. As the operator of the liquor store, although he had some doubts in his heart that the real purpose of this person's arrival might not be to drink, he still quickly smiled and said: "Please sit down first, what kind of wine do you order?"

As a businessman, you must always be aware of one thing. That's to make money.

It doesn't matter if he drinks it or not, he has to pay for the wine, and there are often customers in other people's restaurants who can't finish eating the food that is thrown away. But still pay the bills!

Boss Xiao quickly made a small calculation in his heart, but the truth was as he initially expected. The plain-shirted scribe just said with a clear meaning: Thank you for the hospitality, but it is getting late, and it is not suitable to drink again. In the next time, I will come to your store to pick up a friend and go back, and if I have the opportunity, I will definitely come with my friend next time to buy drunk.

The words are gentle, and the politeness is more than enough, and this scribe carries a slight momentum. It is completely different from the usual drinkers here, so that Boss Xiao, who must encounter the grievances of the guests every day, feels a little flattered, and at the same time, there is no reason to disagree.

Looking at the scribe's eyes when he came in, it seemed that the scribe was coming to pick up Xiaochao. Boss Xiao subconsciously walked away a few steps, but he was still a little suspicious, so he called out to him: Xiaochao, your friend is here.

If it weren't for the fact that this Sushan scribe seems to have a mysterious identity, he would have been a Sven in general. Boss Xiao is afraid to wonder if Xiaochao is in trouble.

Hearing the innocence of the innkeeper to the young man holding the bowl, the scribe's eyes moved slightly.

When Xiao Chao heard this, he put down the wine bowl, looked at the person standing opposite him for a moment, and then suddenly said: Lin ...... Forest......

Maybe he's really drunk, but he looks pretty sober on the outside. The operation of thinking has begun to slow down, and the word 'Lin' has been stuck for a long time, and he has not said the following.

Went back. The scribe did not hesitate to persuade him, but only said three words, and then walked to the table.

Oh...... Xiao Chao replied more briefly, and then stood up immediately with great obedience, but when he left the table, his steps finally slipped a little.

When the scribe saw this, he stretched out an arm, did he need help?

Xiao Chao didn't even answer this time, he just shook his head, but his shaking looked more like he was sobering himself up.

Taking a big step, Xiao Chao walked out of the wine shop first, and the scribe was a few steps behind, and said to the wine shop owner: My friend owes money for wine?

Boss Xiao hurriedly shook his head and said: It has been settled in advance, and your friend seems to be not drunk, and his mind has been very clear.

He'll get drunk, it's just a matter of time before the momentum rises. The scribe smiled. Walking to the wine cabinet, he glanced at the display shelf on the inside of the counter, and then pointed to a pitch-black jar on the shelf, but the bottom and lid were gray and white, and said warmly: That jar of wine, but a burning knife?

Boss Xiao nodded in surprise: The guest officer has good eyesight.

I don't have the eye to see through the things in the altar directly. The scribe said calmly: "I remember the first batch of spirits that were brought to Kyoto by caravans from the north ten years ago, and among them was a batch of burning knives that was such an altar. The sand wax is still there, no matter how clean you wipe this jar, there is still a lot of fine dust on the sand wax, and it seems that the wine in the jar is still intact.

Boss Xiao was stunned for a moment, but this time his surprise was in his heart. I was amazed by the sight of this scribe, and even more shocked by his unknown identity.

The guest officer was right, when the shop started operating ten years ago, because the funds were a little unable to operate, so when the price of this yakitsu was reduced, a large number of goods were purchased, but I didn't expect that this wine did not sell very well in Kyoto. Boss Xiao didn't mean to be tactful anymore, and explained bluntly that the roasted knife wine did not have the stamina of grain wine, but it was too spicy, and people who had drunk this wine had suspected that it was mixed with medicine. Later, I was afraid that I would smash the signboard and not sell it again, so I drank a little occasionally, and the last remaining jar was put down, and the right was regarded as a memorial to accompany the small shop to build a business.

The scribe smiled faintly and said, "So, I'm embarrassed to buy it."

Boss Xiao was a little forgetful when he talked about the old past just now, and it was not until this moment that he suddenly understood the true intention of this scribe to talk about this wine. For this reason, he couldn't help but regret a little: how could he unconsciously forget what he should value most as a businessman?

If the guest officer likes it, he may wish to take it directly. Boss Xiao is anxious for money, this jar of wine has been alone for many years, and today it was taken by the guest officer, so that there is no need to bear ashes in the store, and you can get the taste of the people who know it, it is not the best destination for wine.

Shopkeeper, you're very good at business. But this wine has not been sold, maybe it is really waiting for me! The scribe had a smile in his eyes, but he didn't know if it was because of the shopkeeper's tactful words to worship money, or if he really praised it. He glanced out the door. After turning around, he said: I want this wine, please trouble the store to tie it with hemp rope for me.

Let's talk about it. The scribe didn't ask any more questions, but took a piece of silver from his sleeve and placed it gently on the counter.

Only Boss Xiao knew the value of this jar of wine when it was shipped ten years ago, but looking at his positive appearance when he took off the wine jar and tied it at this time according to the scribe's instructions, it was obvious that selling this stagnant goods today was not only a matter of his heart. I also made an easy profit.

The scribe walked out of the liquor shop with a jar of wine tied with a rope, and before he left, the atmosphere between the counters was a little delicate. The scribe did not explicitly say that he did not need to look for money, and Boss Xiao did not say whether he gave more or less. I don't know who was negligent and who did it on purpose.

After the scribe went out, a few more whispers came from outside the liquor shop, the content of which was vague, but it was not difficult to guess who was speaking.

After Xiao Chao was picked up by the scribe. There were only two drinkers left in the wine shop, and when the sound outside the house faded away, the drinkers sitting at a table by the door also got up and called Boss Xiao to settle the bill.

Boss Xiao recognized the guest who came to the store in the evening, and hurriedly greeted him with a warm face.

This well-dressed but always neat man was not only a regular customer of the wine shop, he never took credit. is rarely drunk, and every time he comes to the wine shop, it is estimated that it is almost evening, and his behavior and habits that seem to be limited to a certain category naturally make Boss Xiao have an impression of him.

But since the first time the strong man patronized the liquor store, he has always been a loner and a relatively withdrawn person. The customers who come and go to the wine shop every day are not all residents of Kyoto, and Boss Xiao will not deliberately check the identity of the drinkers, but for more than a year, Boss Xiao, who has been in contact with this strong man in the business, has not even obtained any information about the identity of this person, which is very strange, and at the same time makes Boss Xiao more and more wary of him.

The strong man paid for the wine and pushed the curtain out and left.

Kyoto is near the sea, and the wind is fast, and most food and beverage businesses will hang leather curtains on the doors to block the wind after winter. Although the spring is strong in the current season, people can still feel a trace of the chill of the spring tail in the morning and evening, and the wine shop has few people, and it will open until late at night, so the leather curtain hanging on the door of the wine store has not been removed.

The leather curtain was thick and stiff, and after being lifted by the strong man who went out, one of the corners of the skin never calmed down, curling to reveal a hollow, slightly pouring wind into the wine shop. The night breeze in spring is no longer as cold as a knife in the cold wind of the winter night, but Boss Xiao is still diligent and immediately walks to the door, ready to smooth out the folds of the leather curtain.

Maybe it was because on today's night when business was not very good, he met three people who made him feel strange at once, so subconsciously, Boss Xiao couldn't help but be curious, lowered his body slightly, and looked out of the wine shop through the hole in the leather curtain.

The streets were empty, and Boss Xiao's peaceful gaze couldn't help but stare for a moment.

The strong man should be a practitioner, Boss Xiao has usually seen a lot of drinkers with martial arts, he has reason to be sure of this, but the strong man disappeared without a trace after going out, which seems a little weird.

Generally speaking, people who are slightly drunk should walk unhurriedly, because they come to the wine shop but do not drink heavily, and most of them are people who come for wine tasting and are in a good mood.

The strong man came after the evening, and the wine was drunk slowly, and no one else came to tell him what to do in the middle, and there was no money for the wine at the end, so why did he run as anxious as a rabbit after settling the wine money?

Boss Xiao was puzzled for a moment, and then he suddenly thought of a possibility in his heart, so he couldn't help but half-open the leather curtain and take a big step outside. But he quickly stepped back again, lowered the curtain, moved his lips silently, and finally sighed lowly.

In fact, the possibility that Boss Xiao thought of was extremely probable.

However, the actual situation needs to be slightly modified.

The strong man seemed to leave like a frightened rabbit, but in fact he walked out of the wine shop with the same mood as a cheetah, and the plain-clothed scribe who left one step ahead of him and the drunken Xiaochao were the frightened rabbits in his eyes. It's just a pity that based on his true identity, he is at most a fierce dog of the master's family, and although the two people in front of him are the prey that the master's family needs, they may not be frightened at this time.

According to Lin Shan's instructions, he left the old house in the morning, and Jiang Chao said goodbye to him halfway, and then he went to the old acquaintance's wine shop to learn to drink.

In the last years of the Zhou Dynasty, several years of war and chaos in the supply of materials that the death of the dynasty would inevitably bring. Separated relatives and broken families have multiplied across the country, and at the same time there are a huge number of orphans. Most of these children are left with mental defects due to the sudden disaster of their originally peaceful families, except for their own parents. It is difficult to be educated by others. The helpless children have limited ability to work, and most of them wander with other people who have fled from the army. In the ranks of refugees who lack supplies and care. Every day, children starve to death.

Children who have been honed by real life and can survive to the end are growing rapidly, and some of them are even deformed beyond their age limit. They knew that Kyoto had always been a place where dignitaries and nobles lived, and that the emperor at that time would not care about the stability of the people's livelihood, and the place where he lived must be the last place to catch fire, so most of the surviving children of the displaced people chose to blend into Kyoto.

In this place, even if they live a begging life, they pick up the leftover food residues in the swill that large families have dumped in the garbage heap. It is also better to have a chance of survival than wandering in other places, which is that those children have lost their dreams and happiness in the cold reality, and finally there is only one hope left to live, and they have only found this way out.

Jiang Chao was one of many orphans who fled to Kyoto and blended into the city to beg.

This group of children is except for the part that has died for various reasons in the past ten years. In the rest of the part, some people became little beggars forever. This is mostly because the spiritual pillars in their hearts have collapsed, and they have nothing to do but passively rely on the charity of others to survive. Such people are pitiful and hateful, and it is difficult to integrate into the life of normal people.

And some people. is like Jiang Chao, who lives by selling coolies. They either braved the danger of fierce beasts to cut wood deep in the mountains in exchange for living expenses, or went to the port near the sea in Kyoto to fight goods and earn some hard-earned money.

Because of the complexity of Kyoto's population, the imperial court issued a restrictive ordinance for homeless orphans. Although the law and order of the capital city was maintained on a great extent, it was inevitable that the interests of some people would have to be sacrificed. A person like Jiang Chao, who has no ancestral home to follow, even if he has a sound body and hope for the future, no matter how hard he tries, he can only live at the level of low-class coolies.

However, there is a semi-open secret among the high-ranking people in Kyoto, that is, among the high-ranking officials and nobles in Kyoto, there are many people who take in such homeless orphans and train them to become their own dead soldiers. What is even more surprising is that the original source of this statement is actually the garrison of the inner courtyard of the palace.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, if the original statement is true, maybe the purpose of a certain emperor's family to take in these children is good on a macro level.

Many of these children are extremely high in congenital elements, or they are in Zhimin or physique. If they are allowed to wander outside, they will continue to be one of those who die of sickness and starvation; Either it is to waste the talent in the strong labor of daily survival; Perhaps there is also a result, which is to become a very difficult villain to deal with, and endanger the lives of ordinary people.

The family is broken and difficult to repair, and what they need most physically is only three full meals a day, and the lack of spirit is the most complex and critical. This group of children's way of thinking was still in the growth stage of the war and life was severely bruised, it is not easy to learn well, but if taught well, this group of people will become a group of behemoth new forces, because they have not yet lost the power of creation, they have tasted the taste of survival, more skilled than ordinary children to master the perseverance of the disposition, more able to keep the faith of survival again.

It was only rumored that among the children who were included in the royal compound, this idea was the original version, and the benevolent intentions were relatively intact; However, when some of the other nobles in Kyoto began to follow suit, the purpose of this practice became more and more local; In addition, when the nobles began to engage in similar activities, the street children in Kyoto had already been selected by the royal family, and the remaining street children had some problems with their qualifications. In this way, between the dead soldiers and the masters of the house, who were trained by the homeless children, the slave master rule gradually emerged.

If his identity is exposed face-to-face, Jiang Chao will find that he and the strong man who has been following him not far behind him since he left the wine store are actually the same passerby, but the one who took him in a few years ago was the commander of the Kyoto garrison who represented the royal family, and the strong man was one of the last batch of homeless children who were selected and taken away by a certain high-ranking official.

However, even if he doesn't expose this identity, Jiang Chao also has an impression of this person. Because he felt that this person had always wanted to find out who he was, and this feeling lasted for more than a year.

Jiang Chao's identity in the eyes of ordinary people is that he is a woodcutter who supplies firewood for the Xiao family's wine shop; The strong man was a coolie who unloaded and carried bags for merchant ships in the port every day. Jiang Chao knew that the strong man was called 'Tie Da'. It's not because he still has a brother below him, the eldest in the rankings. but because he was big, and he was famous for his strength in carrying goods in the port, so he got his name; The strong man who called the big iron man also knew Jiang Chao's name, because the owner of the Xiao family's wine shop often shouted at him.

But Jiang Chao and Tie Da are both suspicious of each other's identities. The reason is very simple, both of them know that the other party is a practitioner, and Jiang Chao has been chopping firewood for so many years. has never been injured, Tie Da has been carrying bags in the port for more than a year, rain or shine, which shows that the kung fu of both of them is good. A person with such martial arts. But they do simple and repetitive labor every day, and the reason can only be because this kind of work is simple and unchecked, and it is convenient to hide their true identity.

Of course, most people who think this way are extremely observant and meticulous. Or someone who has been assigned by someone.

And when it comes to this, Jiang Chao belongs to the former, and Tie Da belongs to the latter.

Originally, Jiang Chao wanted to continue to maintain this unclear relationship, as long as Tie Da didn't mess with him, he didn't want to have more complications on the issue of identity. In the days of more than a year. Except for Tie Da, no one has ever doubted his identity, and before the task assigned by the Commander-in-Chief is issued, protecting his identity is his main task at present.

But now that the task has come down, he has to change his way of doing things in order to accomplish it.

At the end of a street, Tieda stood behind the wall of a house on the corner. He waited quietly for a while before he walked out of the corner of the street.

There is another street ahead, but this street is more winding and difficult to see at a glance. The Xiao family liquor shop is a small business, and its location is not a prosperous place in Kyoto, and the patrol team does not walk too often on the streets of this area, and the ever-bright lanterns lit at night are also blind in a few places due to negligence in care. At this time, the night is completely dark, and the lights on the street are dim, so that the images of people and objects are visually adhered to under the dilution of distance.

Tie Da stood at the corner of the street, his eyes were stunned, he watched the two people turn into the street, calculated the speed and time of their walking gradually to the range suitable for his tracking, and then continued to follow, but he did not expect that these two people would disappear out of thin air.

If it's not that their figure enters a visual blind spot in a crooked street, it's that they've discovered themselves. Quickly hiding in a gap between the walls of a house, Tie Da, who was listening quietly against the wall, felt a trace of uneasiness in his heart.

After standing quietly for a while, Tie Da finally heard the sound of slight footsteps coming from the street, but what made him even more alarmed was that the footsteps were actually coming in the opposite direction, and they were getting closer and closer to his hiding place.

Tie Da groaned for a moment, and at last he gritted his teeth, and suddenly pulled out of the gap between the walls of the two houses, and took a big stride, but he turned and walked towards the street from which he had come.

The stalking behavior has been exposed, and you can no longer let your face be seen by the other party.

It's just that he is the last child in the group of homeless children to be picked up, and on the basis of this, he is inferior to Jiang Chao, and the quality of the training he received from the mansion of the great official the day after tomorrow is far inferior to the power personally taught by the commander of the garrison who has the legendary color of the martial god. From the moment he left the restaurant, he was moving in the wrong direction, until he received the bitter fruit condensed by a mistake in judgment.

On the street he walked on when he came, as soon as Tie Da turned around, he saw the river tide standing two or three feet away on the opposite side.

At the corner of the two streets, Jiang Chao had already crossed the wall and overtaken, but he didn't notice it at all, was it really because of drinking that his judgment was affected? But this person drank so much, but he was not affected at all and performed an extremely high level of vertical leaping kung fu, is he a monster?

Tie Da was stunned for a moment, and then he heard the increasingly clear footsteps behind his ears continue to approach, and his mood was a little complicated. Being outflanked by one's own target is not very pleasant.

But he only froze for one step, and then continued to move forward, indirectly towards the river tide.

And what he expected, when he was already very close to Jiang Chao's side, he heard Jiang Chao suddenly say: Brother Tie, why are you following me? What do you want me to do?