The sun had just set in the west, and Shang Chengcheng rushed to the boundary stone with his family. The villagers, who didn't know what was going on, shouted one by one, and they all ran to see the excitement; Even people came to Gujiazhuang on the other side of the Qujia River. A lot of people soon gathered near the small boundary marker, and a large area of black crows and crows looked very lively.

When the sun was in the west, Gao Xiaosan and a few warehouse guys who went to sea with him arrived escorted by more than a dozen officers and soldiers of the sailor in civilian clothes. Like heroes who welcome a triumphant victory, people flock to welcome them into the village.

When entering the gate, Yue'er told everyone that in order to celebrate the safe return of Gao Xiaosan, all the people in the village were distributed according to the head of each family, 300 yuan per adult and 200 yuan per mouth, dolls under the age of 12 and the elderly over 55 years old, regardless of men and women, were all 500 yuan, and each person added a pound of white rice or fine noodles; Each of their tenants still has half a catty of sesame oil. At the same time, she announced that starting tomorrow, a flowing water feast will be held in the courtyard in front of the gate for three consecutive days, and no matter who you are, you can eat and drink as you like. Actually, this flowing water feast should have started tonight. But things came in such a hurry, and in such a short period of time, she couldn't get everything in order. It is not a trivial matter to feed and drink hundreds of people, and many of the food and drinks have to be procured in the nearby big market towns, and there are enough tables, chairs, stools, dishes and chopsticks to be prepared...... It all takes time.

The decision was immediately unanimously supported by everyone. The dealer who has received benefits and benefits has no mouth to say praise. While praising the "wisdom" and generosity of the main family, they quietly inquired with each other about the origin of the senior juniors. Many people speculated that this should be some relative of Ying Xianbo. But someone immediately pointed out that the guards around Ying Bo said that the county uncle's original home was in Jin County, Bohaiwei, and his family had suffered a military disaster from the Tu Duci people, and he was the only one who escaped alone, where were his relatives? But this argument is also untenable. Uncle Ying has no relatives, what does the girl say? Who doesn't know that she is Uncle Ying's cousin, and the two of them are cousins? Among the different opinions, there is a saying that does not go its own way: when Ying Bo was not Ying Bo or Shangzhu Kingdom, he once fought on the grassland, unfortunately he was seriously injured, and he couldn't even ride a horse, and it was Gao Xiaosan who carried him back......

Of course, this statement with a strong sense of romance is also incorrect. But in a way, it's partly closer to the truth of the matter. From Shang Cheng's point of view, Gao Xiaosan does have a great favor to him, and it can even be said to be a kindness for life. But this is not the fundamental reason why he greeted the senior so ceremoniously. The reason why he walked a few miles to greet Gao Xiaosan was not only because the love between them was worthy of him, but also because he respected Gao Xiaosan very much!

Some people may find it strange. It is incomprehensible that a county magistrate and a Shangzhu country would respect a businessman who came out of a small place. Even if this businessman once had a life-saving grace to Shangzhu State, it can only be said to be gratitude, not respect, right?

No, it's not surprising at all. The reason why he respects Gao Xiaosan is not because Gao Xiaosan has been kind to him, but because of Gao Xiaosan's behavior and behavior. From his promotion to lieutenant to general, and finally to the admiral, in the four or five years before and after, although he and Gao Xiaosan were both busy with things, and there were not many times when they met, Gao Xiaosan never mentioned the events of the year in front of him, let alone asked him to help him. The only time Gao Xiaosan opened his mouth to ask him for help, it was to get into trouble Liu Ji Warehouse; As a result, he also refused. With these alone, Gao Xiaosan deserves his respect!

That night, Shang Cheng drank a lot of wine and said a lot of things. He also took the wine bowl twice and three times to toast the guys who went to sea and the officers and soldiers of the Quanzhou Navy. Whoever doesn't drink it can't do it, and if he doesn't drink, he won't give him face; If you don't give him face, that is, you don't give Da Zhao Jun face; If you don't give the military a face, then say it yourself, what do you want to do? With these words, who would dare not drink. Someone who ended up drunk in a room. He didn't have anything to do with himself, but his eyes straightened from time to time, and he couldn't control his tongue at all, pulling Gao Xiao up and down for three days. In the end, Yue'er couldn't stand it, so she snatched the wine bowl from his hand and broke up the feast, which was likely to drag on until the second half of the night. Really! When you can't speak, you have to pick at this time!

Early the next morning, the merchant village was busy. Since the beginning of the Chenshi, the three roads connecting the north, south and west of Zhuangzi have never been interrupted. On the first day of Yue'er, he taught people to order a lot of things, from the wine and meat dishes for eating and drinking, to the bowls and plates for serving vegetables, from the mat tent to the charcoal for the stove, and the charcoal that has just come out, almost everything, and now it has been sent in an endless stream. In the corner of the courtyard in front of the merchant, a large tent has been erected overnight, and under the tent are thirty or forty large iron furnaces. Almost all the masters of the feasts in the nearby villages and market towns were invited; But they sat five or six tables outside the mat. No one touched the fine tea soup and fine snacks on the table, and the masters all looked at the three people sitting at the first table with a solemn expression with a sense of admiration. They all heard just now that these three people are the master invited by the master from Taibai Mansion in the city, the real master! If these people are all pawns in the military, then these three people must at least be a pillar country if they are Shangzhu countries. They even found that even the steward of the merchant was cautious when he spoke to them. And except for the steward surnamed Xun, the three masters of Taibai Mansion treated everyone with a disdainful look. But they are very stubborn; Obviously, Steward Xun's status in the county mansion is extraordinary. Therefore, these noodle chefs, who were very good in the vicinity, also became more and more polite and respectful to Steward Xun. Later, they heard that Steward Xun was not actually in charge, but the first guest of the Shang Bo family......

Today is the first day of the flowing water feast of Yingbo merchants, and the tenants have spontaneously come to help; Some yeoman farmers who felt that they had a head and a face to walk into the county uncle's mansion also came to join in the fun. These people can't make a living on the stove, but they have no problem carrying coal, transporting charcoal, carrying large objects or something. In less than two hours, the wooden tables and stools were received from the front of the merchant to the entrance of the village on three sides, which was still because the carriages and horses transporting the tables and stools could not keep up with the trip, so it was delayed to this time. Otherwise, I am afraid that I will be able to arrange the place where the flowing water feast will be held in a moment.

Now, just wait for the masters to do it, and the flowing water feast will begin. Of course, it is indispensable to wait for Uncle Ying to come out and say a few words.

When everyone was busy, Shang Cheng was talking to Gao Xiaosan in the study.

“…… We arrived in the city of Hopona on the 14th of December. It is a large port in Dai Viet, and those who go to Chenla on the western line usually anchor there to replenish food and fresh water. I thought about it later, and that's probably where we were targeted. We stopped for two days in Luxe, and on the third day of our voyage we were followed by two pirates' clippers. After a trip to the sea, Gao Xiaosan was not knocked down by the defeat empty-handed. On the contrary, the piles and piles he has experienced in the past year have made him more and more energetic. He was not yet twenty-five years old, and he had not learned to grow a beard like others, and his long face, which had been somewhat pale, was now blackened and thin by the sun and the sea breeze. His body was originally a little thin, but after going through the wind and rain, he has now become stronger. Now, he sat in his chair and talked eloquently to Shang Cheng, carefully recounting the various experiences of the year. "They chased us for three days and three nights. The ship we were on was almost a decade old, moving slowly, and gradually being left behind by the fleet. In the end, I couldn't run, so I had to lower the sails and drop the canopy......"

Shang Cheng didn't say anything, just listened quietly.

He saw that Gao Xiaosan's teacup had bottomed out, so he picked up the teapot and refilled the tea soup for him, and interjected and asked, "After Haikou caught up with you, didn't you make a move?" Did they hurt people's lives? ”

"I don't know what happens when other people meet pirates. However, this group of pirates did not move. I heard from those on the ship who were accustomed to running by sea that the Haikou near Da Viet only sought money and did not harm their lives. It is said that it is because ten years ago, our Da Zhao had a general surnamed Zhen, who led the sailor to suppress the Haikou over there, slaughtered more than a dozen cities in one go, and killed tens of thousands of people; They were all scared to be killed. Gao Xiaosan took a sip of tea soup and continued, "Those pirates boarded our ship and instructed the boatmen to drive the boat to a desert island, and then dumped us there. The island was close to the sea, and we only stayed for four or five days before a Mingzhou fleet passed by, and we were saved. ”

Although Gao Xiaosan lightly skimmed over the desert island, Shang Cheng could still see that when he mentioned the desert island, Gao Xiaosan's eyes showed a trace of deep fear. Obviously, it was an unbearable experience!

He didn't go to investigate the matter on the desert island, but asked about something else: "You just said that the Haikou of Dayue only seek wealth and do not harm their lives. Isn't that what the pirates in other places do? ”

Gao Xiaosan nodded and said, "The Haikou over there in Zhenla has a very broken heart, and there are often murders and boats, and when we came back, we saw floating corpses on the sea." There were also people on the boat who recognized one of them as his fellow countryman. I heard that the hearts of the pirates near Gorofusha are even more broken, and they don't kill much, but if a person falls into their hands, it is worse than death......"

"How?" Shang Cheng asked with a frown.

"They sold all the people they caught to the country of Lu'e, saying that they were cultivating some kind of Buddha house."

The Kingdom of Lue? In Southeast Asia during this period, was there such a country? Shang Cheng couldn't remember what was going on in this Lu Er country, let alone how to write the word "Lu Er", and after pondering for a long time, he finally found a name that could barely be touched. He hesitated and said, "Are you talking about Angkor Wat...... Angkor Dynasty? But he really can't remember when the rise and fall of the Angkor dynasty took place.

"I guess so." Gao Xiaosan was also not sure whether the Kingdom of Lu and the Angkor Dynasty were the same thing. "All this mess of names is turned to the accent of the locals," he said. Just like that Gorofusha just now, that's what the people of Mingzhou call over there; Quanzhou people generally call it 'Liyou Qiasha'......" He curled his tongue and learned to say it several times in a row, so he finally made the words "Liyou Qiasha" clear. At the same time, he dipped some tea soup, wrote these four words on the note, and then said embarrassedly, "...... I don't know if it's these words. ”

This time, Shang Cheng's reaction was very fast, and he immediately found a familiar place name in his mind that matched these two pronunciations: "Malacca!" ”

Gao Xiaosan grinned. It's a new name again, and he still doesn't know how to write it.

Shang Cheng glanced at the world map hanging on the wall, and then turned the topic back to the country of Lu'e. He doubted that this was the Angkor dynasty he remembered. But except for Gao Xiaosan, he has never heard anyone talk about this Southeast Asian country. He was very curious, what kind of relationship did this Angkor Dynasty or Lu Er Kingdom have with Zhenla and Da Yue? The pirates of Malacca are plundering ships and people in Chenla, and trading with the kingdom of Lue, which seems to be a bit strange.

Sure enough, as he expected, Gao Xiaosan said: "I heard that Zhenla has been fighting with the country of Lu'e, and both sides have been fighting for hundreds of years. It seems that Jinla has been losing the battle all along. Anyway, I haven't heard anyone say that Zhenla has won. ”

"Losing wars for hundreds of years?" Shang Cheng said in surprise. He admired Zhenla a little. After being defeated for hundreds of years, the country has not been destroyed, how can this be said to be a kind of ability, right?

Gao Xiaosan laughed and said, "You don't know, Zhenla...... Hey, I don't even know what to say. He lowered his head, took two more sips of tea soup, sorted out his thoughts in his mind by the way, and tried to organize the situation he knew. He said, "How do you say La, this place, this place, it probably, I mean 'probably'...... It is probably not a country, at least not a country like the Qin, Han, Wei, Sui, and Tang dynasties on our side. I've only been there for half a year, and there are seven or eight of the 'Zhenla Kingdom' that I know. The city we are in is the capital of 'Wakhan Zhenla', because the capital is called 'Wahan', so it is 'Wakhan Zhenla'. On the north side of the city of Wakhan there are also streams and hairy waters; To the west there is a mountain, and in the mountains there is a dry mountain Zhenla; Turning over the mountain is the white thorn in the real wax, and what else does I have to do with the real wax......" He snapped his fingers and counted them one by one. “…… The other side of Gorofusha is also Zhenla, so it is called Gerofusha Zhenla. One by one, eleven real wax! ”

Shang Cheng raised his head and laughed. He asked, "What about their king?" It is impossible to have eleven Zhenla countries, you are Zhenla country, I am also Zhenla country, and then we are all the kings of Zhenla country, right? ”

Gao Xiaosan didn't dare to talk casually. He pretended not to hear Shang Cheng's words, and was silent for a moment before he smiled and said, "I heard that the king of Zhenla changed the name of the country and changed Zhenla to Lu'e. But I met a man over there, whose family had fled there during the Anshi Rebellion of the Tang Dynasty; He had another argument. He said that it was because the country of Zhenla believed in Buddhism, while the country of Lu and the country believed in another Buddhism, and then there was a dispute. He couldn't go on anymore. Shang Cheng also listened very confusedly. But he knew that Gao Xiaosan must have been relatively depressed when he was in Wakhan Zhenla, and naturally he didn't have the heart to care about these things that couldn't be played together with eight poles, so he couldn't talk about the various entanglements between Lu Er and Zhenla, which was understandable.

Gao Xiaosan thought hard and said, "...... It seems to have come from Tianzhu or somewhere to pass Buddhism, but it is not the same as Buddhism. I've also seen them in Wakhan City, and the statues of those Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are different, and they all have several arms. ”

He can't say clearly, it doesn't mean that Shang Cheng can't understand. What else could the religion that passed down from Tianzhu be? In addition to Buddhism, it is Hinduism; And, of course, *** teach. However, if you can fit a few arms on a random bottle of Buddha statue, it can only be Hinduism. Since Chenla is still at war with Angkor, it seems that the Angkor Dynasty has a long way to go to unify Indochina. It's a pity that Zhenla doesn't have a big monk called the first three and the last three, and he doesn't send someone to Da Zhao for help, otherwise he can still have a gangster time in Indochina or something......

He smacked his lips and sighed regretfully, then put all these messy things behind him, and solemnly said to Gao Xiaosan: "Little third brother, I have something I want to ask for your opinion." ”

Gao Xiaosan immediately sat upright in the seat. Since he set foot on the land of Da Zhao again, he has been prepared for this moment, after all, he has lost more than 30,000 yuan of money and goods in the warehouse, and he has also pulled down a deficit of several thousand. With such a big loss, no matter how good his relationship with the monk brother is, he must have an explanation for Shang Cheng!

"That's right, I have a plan, and I want to discuss it with you." Shang Cheng said.

Gao Xiaosan pursed his lips and waited for Shang Cheng's next step.

"I have a friend who is in Chengdu right now......" When the words came to his mouth, Shang Cheng suddenly felt a little bad about the words, and paused before continuing. …… It's the righteousness of the Duke of Yiguo, you know. He is now in charge of logistics in Jiazhou Xingying and has been stationed in Chengdu for a long time. A while ago, he wrote to him that he lacked a suitable person at hand and wanted to teach me to help recommend one. The first person that comes to my mind is you! Well, would you like to join the army? ”

Gao Xiaosan was stunned and speechless. He couldn't have imagined that Shang Cheng was so solemn that he would actually talk to him about it.

All of a sudden, his mouth became dry. Although Shang Cheng said that he was in the army, he didn't understand that this was actually giving him a chance to become an official. With Shang Cheng's recommendation and the care of Yiguo Gong Wang Yi, as long as he nods, the road ahead will be smooth sailing, not to mention smooth progress. But is he going to be an official? Does he want to be an official?

Shang Cheng looked at him hesitantly, as if he was a little hesitant and worried. But he didn't persuade Gao Xiaosan. If Gao Xiaosan is willing to eat food and become a soldier, with Gao Xiaosan's understanding and his care, there is still hope for him to become a guerrilla general within 10 years. But the premise is that the junior is willing. If Gao Xiaosan was unwilling, he would not insist on persuading him. This kind of choice that will affect a person's lifelong path is better for the parties to make their own decisions.

At this time, Li Feng said outside the door: "Governor Shuai, Mr. Jiang and Director Yang of the Ministry of Industry are here." And he said, "The young lady is also asking, and it will be noon soon." When do you go out to toast everyone? ”

"Talk to Miss, and I'll go over. You let Lao Jiang and Director Yang follow me as well. One by one, after all, it is a festive event. As he spoke, Shang Cheng stood up. He said to Gao Xiaosan, "You don't have to answer me in a hurry. You think about it, and you can reply in a few days. ”……