The red shadow flickered in the sunlight for a long time, and finally disappeared at the end of the field.

The climate of the Liaohe Plain in winter is cold and dry, and when the wind blows white, the people who go out are simply miserable. However, the weather was sunny and the wind was light, and it was close to noon, so Zhu Qiming did not feel half a chill.

Disturbed by the two letters and the arrival of Saihan, he slowly walked towards his horse and wanted to ride away. Suddenly, there was a loud shouting on the other side, and more than a dozen horsemen and horses chased a meatball-like figure close to the Langpu River.

Tartars! Zhu Qiming was shocked, and his eyes immediately fell on the chased figure.

The man was wearing too many clothes, his figure looked bloated, and he seemed to be carrying a large basket on his back, he was not tall, but he was agile, and he reached the river bank with three turns and two turns, and his feet did not slip when he crossed the river on the ice, but he crossed the Langpu River, and a high slope on this side blocked him, so anxious that he frequently looked back in a hurry.

Just as he was terrified, he saw a man in armor and a mask appear, and then a gloved hand reached out to him. After a moment's hesitation, he reached for his hand.

The person who reached out to save the meat ball was naturally Zhu Qiming! Zhu Qiming lifted the person below up the slope, looked at him, and saw that he was a half-sized man, his eyebrows, eyelashes and a few strands in front of his forehead were already dyed with frost, obviously he had been still in a cold place for a long time, and the moist breath exhaled attached to the hair and condensed into frost.

The basket on his back was full of fish.

On the other side of the river, thirteen Tartar thieves lined up, all taking bows and arrows. Wang Lie beckoned the guards to block in front of Zhu Qiming, and twenty strong bows were instantly aimed at the Tartar thief.

The two sides are tense and confrontational.

"What are you doing on the other side of the river?"

Not all the common people are willing to stay with the army, the so-called "thieves are like combs, soldiers are like grates", the ancient army was still loose in peacetime, not to mention the current situation in Liaodong? Zhu Qiming was dressed in a military uniform, like a general, so a trace of fear flashed in the boy's eyes.

However, a well-disciplined army will invisibly exude an awe-inspiring momentum, so that the common people have the psychological expectation that after the army, the autumn will not commit any crimes. At this moment, the boy obviously read the kindness from Zhu Qiming's demeanor, and his complexion gradually eased.

"General, boy, go over there to dig ice and catch fish."

Zhu Qiming smiled, "Oh, are the fish over there fatter than here?" ”

Xu was infected by Zhu Qiming's calm tone, the boy grinned, and the whole person was completely relaxed, "There are many puddles over there, the water is shallow, and if you dig the ice surface, you can catch fish with your hand." Besides, it was originally our place, but it was forcibly occupied by Tartar thieves the year before last! ”

Zhu Qiming felt depressed for a moment in his heart, but he was quickly relieved, "Why did the Tartar thieves drive you away?" ”

The boy touched his head, "The kid doesn't know. Last winter, there was not a single Tartar here, but not long ago, a large number of Tartars suddenly came to inspect it. The general didn't know, but many of us went over there to catch fish and hares, and if we lost this livelihood, we wouldn't have a good time all winter. ”

Visits? Zhu Qiming's heart sank, and he suddenly felt that the Tartar thief's move was extremely unusual! "Do Tartars kill people?"

"Kill, they are so fierce, if they are caught, they will die. The general looks, that guy is the most fierce, he killed several of us, and we all call him the Great Demon! ”

Looking in the direction of the boy's finger, Zhu Qiming's gaze swept towards a burly Tartar thief. This person's body is a little frighteningly wide, enough to be worthy of three Wang Lie, a pair of eyes bigger than Niu San, holding a wolf's tooth hammer, fixed on the back of the horse staring coldly at this side, and there is a vicious aura all over his body.

"Go home and don't go over there."

"Thank you, General!" The boy bowed, turned around and left, leaving a sentence on the way: "If you don't go, you can't do it, there are many younger brothers and sisters in the family." ”

Zhu Qiming withdrew his gaze from the boy, raised his eyes to the other side, and saw that the Tartar thieves all looked at him, the prince in military uniform, in surprise, and then turned to look at the guards in civilian clothes, and finally looked at each other with disdain for a moment, rode away, and shouted loudly with weapons along the way, looking at the posture, the Tartar thieves didn't pay attention to the people here at all.

Wang Lie took a sip, "Your Highness, the Tartar thieves are so arrogant, they must have regarded us as local people, and simply chased after them and slaughtered them!" ”

Zhu Qiming was a little suspicious when he heard this, could it be that Saihan didn't inform the Tartar thieves of his whereabouts? Or is it that Saihan and them are not all the way at all?

"We train our troops only for self-preservation, and crossing this river is the boundary of Uliangha, why should we cause trouble?"

"But it's clearly Daming's territory over there!"

"Whether it's Daming's territory or not, let's say it doesn't count!" Zhu Qiming stepped on the horse, wanting to ride the horse, but there was a moment of hesitation.

"Your Highness, you can't care about the lives and deaths of the common people, right?"

Zhu Qiming stared, "You go back and tell Tang Ji that he will send a hundred guards in civilian clothes to patrol every day, and if the Tartar thief crosses the border, he will be killed!" ”

Back in Penglu, with lunch, Zhu Qiming pretended to have a stomach full of thoughts, instinctively realizing that something big might happen here, he thought about it, and ordered someone to call He Yuan.

"Liaodong has had a strange relationship recently?"

He Yuan opened his eyes and thought for a long time, "Occasionally, a small group of Tartar thieves crossed the border to plunder, but other than that, there is no other strange feeling?" Oh, and last month the North Korean mission passed through Liaodong Dusi, and I happened to be present when I received the mission. I heard from the North Korean side that Warat sent someone to Korea to lobby secretly, but the king of North Korea was unmoved, destroyed the book and destroyed the envoy, and completely fell out with Warat, and the DPRK was worried about Warat's retaliation, so he sent an envoy to Beijing to report the matter. ”

Destroying books? Zhu Qiming's eyes lit up, and he rushed to Shi Feng, who came to wait outside the door, and ordered: "Shi Feng, you take ten people, change into civilian clothes, and go to Changsheng Fort with this king!" "Look at the source," you are the guide. ”

He Yuan grinned a little proudly, "Down there is the Changsheng Fort clan, and the family moved to Zizai Prefecture six years ago. The leader of Changsheng Fort is the lord of the young castle, and he has known him since he was a child. ”

Cold? Zhu Qiming's heart moved, and the figure of the uninvited guest last night immediately appeared in his mind. He really wanted to meet this cold castle lord, and before that, he had to see what kind of scene Changsheng Fort was like when the people kept the law and order.

······

"How many people does Changsheng Fort have?"

Back to His Royal Highness, there are more than 3,000 mouths. If you count the merchants who gathered from all over the world, there are no less than 6,000 people. ”

"Is there a well-informed place to go in Changsheng Castle?"

"Yes, yes, yes." He Yuan frowned and said: "However, those restaurants are mixed, and there are no shortage of vulgar people, so His Highness should not go." Suddenly, he frowned, and said happily: "Oh, there is a teahouse just south of the castle, called 'Tea Rhyme Pavilion', and there are some people with status who go to taste tea." ”

While speaking, he unconsciously arrived at the west gate of Changsheng Fort.

They reined in their horses, and a solid stone wall lay in front of them. The gates are made of giant wood and the panels are made of thick wood. Above the city gate are engraved two large characters in regular script: "West Gate".

At this moment, the city gates were wide open, but there were only a handful of pedestrians, and only a few people stood there, apparently maintaining order.

"There are few people at the West Gate, but not at the East Gate and the South Gate, where pedestrians are shoulder to shoulder, so it is not lively." He Yuan explained.

After a short pause, the group rode into the city.

What He Yuan said is true, there are many shops in the castle, all kinds of merchants and travelers are mixed in the street, their costumes are varied, and there are both Ming people, Koreans, Jurchens, and the faces of merchants from the Western Regions.

Obviously, this is a convenient place for goods to pass through the east, west, north and south, and it is not a wild place! Zhu Qiming immediately realized that the Liaodong Metropolitan Division did not station heavy troops here, and I am afraid it was just a simple choice made based on the military level.

The further east, the more crowded the pedestrians became, so that later they had to dismount and lead their horses on foot.

Suddenly, a plaque with the three words "Tea Rhyme Pavilion" jumped into Zhu Qiming's eyes, and he looked at it fixedly, and the foothold was only dozens of zhang away from the Tea Rhyme Pavilion.

Zhu Qiming instructed Shi Feng: "This king will go to the Chayun Pavilion first, you leave the three of you here, and the others will go shopping in the market. ”

With Zhu Qiming's current skills, he didn't need others to be close guarded, so Shi Feng naturally wanted to take the opportunity to go shopping in the market, and when he heard this, he happily agreed.

He Yuan was careful, and politely reminded Zhu Qiming: "The Tea Yun Pavilion should be an elegant residence, which can be used for His Highness to rest in peace. ”

Zhu Qiming said "I know", threw the reins to Shi Feng, and walked straight towards the Tea Yun Pavilion, and immediately heard the hustle and cold sounds of several shopkeepers and He Yuan behind him, and the enthusiasm made Zhu Qiming also moved.

The weather is sunny for several days, most of the snow on the roof melts away, and the tea rhyme pavilion reveals the red wall and blue tiles, carved beams and painted buildings, which makes people suddenly feel the feeling of "Saiwai Jiangnan" after seeing it.

In such a place far away from Middle-earth, it is incredible that there is such a chic teahouse!

When I entered the door, I saw that the huge hall was a room, and it was divided into more than 20 tea houses with only the vermilion fence. The furnishings inside are simple yet elegant.

I chose a dimly lit side seat and sat down, and soon a tea boy came to serve tea, bowed and left.

Zhu Qiming glanced sideways, and saw that no one paid attention to his existence, so he carefully looked at the guests.

Together with Zhu Qiming, there are a total of six tables of guests.

There was only one guest in the first seat in the center, nearly fifty years old, dressed in a white green shirt, quite a Confucian temperament, this person let the tea cup on the table steam hot, closed his eyes and meditated, as if he was in a state of meditation.

Pang Zhe! Zhu Qiming almost jumped up. It was a great joy to meet the old acquaintance in another country, so I wanted to run over to greet the old man, but after thinking about it, I was dressed in a military uniform and wearing a mask, if I wanted Pang Zhe to recognize myself, I was afraid that it would take a lot of words, not to mention that in front of so many people, how could I easily expose my identity?

So, he settled down and looked up at the others again.

To Pang Zhe's left, there are five middle-aged people dressed in fine clothes, their words and clothing revealing their identities - Jin Shang; In the test of the Jin merchants, there are six men in strong suits, sitting in danger, only five Jin merchants are looking at the horses, and at a glance they know that they are the bodyguards hired by the Jin merchants; On Pang Zhe's right hand, there are ten young female Taoist priests, all equipped with long swords, all with solemn faces, as if waiting for someone; There are two tea houses separated from the female crown, but there are eight people with strange clothes and figures, and they carry a variety of weapons, and they know that they are people in the rivers and lakes at a glance.

This is really a place where the sky is high and the earth is far away, and the gods can't control it, so everyone has it! Even the elegant teahouses are like this, aren't those restaurants even more mixed?

Zhu Qiming secretly sighed and wanted to raise his cup to drink tea, but found that he had to remove the mask first······ Alas, it's just that.

At this time, the five Jin merchants somehow argued loudly, attracting the attention of all the people in the audience.

"The Ming Dynasty was too weak, and let Warat wreak havoc everywhere, causing the vassal states to deviate from Germany, Hami, Uliangha, and Jurchen all secretly colluded with Warat, and even North Korea was forced to suffer."

"How does Brother Tai know the deep meaning of the imperial court? This is the art of Huairou, Taoguang and obscure, with the intention of the long term. ”

As soon as these words came out, Jin Shang immediately made a noise, and he was not afraid of disturbing the tranquility of other tea customers.

"Ridiculous!" Pang Zhe slowly opened his eyes and said quietly: "Whoever is friendly with the Ming Dynasty and the feudal state and friendly neighbors will be bullied by Wara; Who is embarrassed by the Ming Dynasty, but they can taste the sweetness of both the Ming Dynasty and the Warat. Today's northern neighbors, whoever does not make friends with Warat is embarrassed by the Ming Dynasty, who is a fool! The funny thing is that the Ming Dynasty also sends countless rewards to Warat every year to reassure him, which is a strategy for weakening his own enemies! ”

A Jin merchant argued: "Sir's words are wrong! The officials of the DPRK and China are all well-educated, how can they be so unbearable? ”

"A gentleman seeks a country, and a villain seeks a life." Pang Zhe slowly spat out eight words, and then just shook his head.

Another Jin merchant said: "The whole country is an ode to the prosperity of the world, why is Mr. alarmist?" ”

Pang Zhe said: "I only see how difficult the people's livelihood is, the society is in danger like tired eggs, and if you don't repeat the mistakes of the Song Dynasty, you will burn high incense, how can you deceive yourself?" He took a sip of tea, looked up to the sky with a solemn face and sighed: "A glimpse of the Qingming and prosperous era of Heqing Haiyan is my life's wish, but it is hopeless in this world!" ”

The audience shook their heads, thinking that Pang Zhe's words were mostly bizarre.

Just when everyone was silent, a pair of young boys and girls broke in in a panic.

Everyone looked up and saw that the two of them were about fifteen years old, their clothes were a little thin, and they looked very depressed.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, etiquette was very strict, and most families lived a life of male farming and female weaving, and it was inconvenient for women to show their heads, and it was even more unimaginable for men and women to mix together. By the time of Renxuan and orthodoxy, commerce and trade were flourishing, and the bustling cities basically entered a commercial society, and the stronger people's desire for money was, the more ways to make money, and some of the confinements of etiquette and religion became more and more useless. The women of the aristocracy and the eunuchs are naturally "raised in the deep boudoir and are not known", and ordinary people still have to cherish manpower, so many women are involved in the tide of business, and they have to show their heads, so that the daily interaction between men and women is inevitable.

However, having said that, even though there was no shortage of good stories about "the willow tops on the moon, and people about after dusk" at that time, it was still rare to see a case of men and women openly entering and leaving each other in broad daylight. Therefore, the arrival of this pair of boys and girls has attracted a lot of discussion.

Suddenly, five men in strong suits burst in with knives, and when they saw the pair of young men and girls, the first one sneered again and again, "You two have long legs, so you can travel thousands of mountains and rivers and chase you to this bitter cold place, hum!" Watch your own bones! ”

The young man said to the girl, "Yu'er, quickly hide to the side!" ”

The girl named Yu'er gritted her teeth stubbornly and started a fight in the face of five men in strong suits. Obviously, she is a martial arts practitioner, but her posture is really clumsy, and she knows that she is not good at learning at a glance.

The young man turned around and hugged his fists to salute the tea guests, "Under the surname Geng Mingfeng, a native of Tangyi County, Shandong, three years ago, his family fled to Huairou County, Changping with hundreds of fellow villagers, and settled down. Hundreds of people went to Huairou County to complain, but were beaten and dispersed by the officials, in desperation, I and my sister Wu Yu practiced martial arts for three years, and went to Beijing to sue the emperor," turned around and pointed to the five men in strong suits, and continued: "Unfortunately, I was chased and killed by this group of wicked people all the way to this point. ”

Sue the royal court does not go south, but all the way to the north, it is really the modern version of the south! When everyone heard this, they felt a little funny in addition to pity.

Geng Feng said sadly: "It's not a pity to die in the next, but hundreds of villagers and their fields are occupied, and they live like a year. I would like to thank you for your great kindness. After saying this, he took a deep look at the tea guests, and then turned around to protect Wu Yu.

The man in the suit sneered: "Why waste your lips? The gods can't ask you two! ”

The five of them slowly approached Geng Feng and Wu Yu.

Someone among the Jin merchants broke off and shouted: "Do you all think that there is no one here!" ”

Hearing this, the six bodyguards stood up and showed their blades.

The five men in strong suits stopped and looked coldly at the table of Jin merchants and the six bodyguards.

At this time, a well-dressed young man hurriedly walked out of the room, and said to the five people: "The next surname is Xun, and he is the proprietor of the Tea Yun Pavilion, please make it convenient for you, don't disturb the peace of the distinguished guests." ”

The man in charge of the suit said coldly: "We have no intention of seeing blood here, just take this man and woman." ”

Xun Dongzhu said warmly: "After all, the two of them are in the Tea Yun Pavilion, and this place belongs to the territory of the Cold Castle Lord after all, if the Cold Castle Lord learns about this, I am afraid it will be unfavorable to you." ”

The man pursed his lips disdainfully, "It's so cold, what's the point!" Even if Wang Ao and Cao Yi learned about this, what could they do! ”

The Jin merchant who came out of the country was shocked, and then glanced at the six bodyguards, who put away their blades and sat down obediently.

Businessmen are heavy on profits, who dares to provoke such a strong man? Jin Shang's retreat was expected, and the man in the strong suit led by him raised his neck and looked quite satisfied.

Zhu Qiming was a little angry, and at this time, he didn't take Liaodong Admiral Wang Ao and Cao Yi as the chief soldier seriously in his words, but calmed down.

It seems that this group of people is not small and unscrupulous.

The five of them approached Geng Feng and Wu Yu again.

I only heard Pang Zhe get up and sighed: "Under Lang Lang Qiankun, such a bully, where is the way of heaven!" It's a pity that chivalry is dead, and all living beings are confused! ”

When the words fell, I saw the figure shaking, and ten female Taoist priests quickly flashed in front of Geng Feng and Wu Yu, and put out a sword formation, and the sword array was gorgeous and exuding awe-inspiring righteousness.

"Ling Xuan Sword Array!" I don't know who let out an exclamation.