Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Reception Banquet

"Even if it's it!"

Yang Yuanqing looked at the materials and weapons piled up like a hill, a team of prisoners of war, and more than 10,000 pieces of money, and said with a smile: "I don't need all of these, give them all to Master!" “

"Then you're welcome. ()”

Zhang Xutuo turned over and dismounted, walked quickly to the pile of supplies, picked up a spear, and looked at it. He threw it away, picked out a war knife from the middle, waved it twice, and shook his head.

Yang Yuanqing stepped forward and said with a smile: "These earthen weapons, do you still have to compare with the weapons of the Sui army?" ”

Zhang Xutuo sighed and said: "Last month, 1,000 soldiers from Langya County were defeated by 5,000 anti-thieves from Changbai Mountain, and they didn't use any strategy, it was a hard battle in the wilderness. With crude weapons, no armor and shields, not even bows and arrows, and your three hundred and fifty cavalry can defeat four thousand anti-thieves, while a thousand infantry are still defeated by five thousand anti-thieves, is our county army so poor? ”

Yang Yuanqing didn't say anything, he rummaged through the weapons pile for a long time, and finally shook his head and said: "Master, the thieves who defeated the Langya soldiers are not this army, since they have defeated the county soldiers, they should have captured the weapons and armor of the Sui army, but there is none of them, or Meng Rang's army, Master can ask the prisoners of war again." ”

"Go and ask!"

Zhang Xutuo ordered his subordinates, and his subordinates immediately went to ask, and then Yang Yuanqing glanced at Zhang Xutuo's subordinate generals again, and found that none of his old friends had been seen, so he couldn't help but ask strangely: "Master, what about Qin Qiong?" ”

"Qin Qiong and Luo Shixin are guarding the city, and Cheng Yanjin is no longer in Qi County."

"Why?"

Yang Yuanqing was stunned, and hurriedly asked, "Has he been transferred?" ”

Zhang Xutuo shook his head and sighed: "At the beginning of last year, his mother had a serious illness, he looked for doctors everywhere, and later someone told him that there was a famous doctor in Danyang County, named Zhao Zhishan, who could cure his mother's illness, so he asked me for leave, and went to the south to see a doctor behind his mother's back, and there was no news from him this time, I sent someone to find him, and the doctor said that he left a year ago, and he was missing, hey! Although that bastard is rude, he is a dutiful person. (，)”

Yang Yuanqing also had a little regret in his heart, he didn't know what Cheng Yanjin's life trajectory was in history, and he only hoped that the next time he met him, he would not be on the battlefield.

At this time, Zhang Xutuo's personal soldiers came back to report: "Juncheng, the thief who defeated the soldiers of Langya County was not Wang Bo's subordinates, but Meng Rang. ”

"It turned out to be him, no wonder!"

Zhang Xutuo's eyes were a little gloomy, Meng Rang was his old subordinate for many years, and he had a good relationship, but he ran to be the leader of the anti-thieves, which was really difficult for him to accept.

Zhang Xutuo immediately ordered his men to pack up their supplies, and half an hour later, they carried more than 1,000 prisoners of war in the direction of Licheng County.

On the way back, Zhang Xutuo and Yang Yuanqing walked side by side, and Zhang Xutuo asked slowly: "Yuanqing, what do you think of the current situation?" ”

Yang Yuanqing said lightly: "The world will be in chaos, the heroes will compete for the world, the winner will be the king, and the loser will be the villain!" ”

Zhang Xutuo was shocked, looked back at Yang Yuanqing and said, "What about Da Sui?" ”

Yang Yuanqing could feel the shock in Master's heart, he knew that some words could not be said too early, so he smiled and said: "Master don't be nervous, this may be my alarmism, the current situation should not be so bad." ”

Zhang Xutuo breathed a sigh of relief, and also sighed: "The Holy Lord really shouldn't start the Goryeo War!" ”

．．．．．．．

At noon the next day, the cavalry escorted the prisoners of war to Licheng County, a few miles away from the county seat, Yang Yuanqing and they saw the long-lost wheat field, the golden wheat field stretched for several miles, endless, the green was pale yellow, the thick ears of wheat were about to ripen, and the wheat field was like a windless sea. ，

Seeing this situation, not only Yang Yuanqing and his cavalry exclaimed, but even the captured prisoners of war were very excited, kneeling in front of the wheat field and weeping bitterly, the wheat field reminded them of their previous life and their relatives, but as long as there is still a little hope, they will not fall into the grass.

"Now I know how to cry, I know that I regret it!"

Zhang Xutuo said hatefully: "The drought has ended, but everywhere is still a barren, isn't it just these thieves who are harmed, and when they see a little human population, they go to burn and loot, who dares to farm?" ”

He said to Yang Yuanqing again: "Now we can only grow some grain at the edge of the county seats, and there is the protection of the army, and the thief army does not dare to invade." ”

"How many people are there in Licheng County now, and can the wheat planted be fed?"

"There are more than 200,000 people gathered in Licheng County, it is very crowded, the big households have a little grain in their hands, some grain in the official warehouse, plus a little outside the city, each person is rationed every day, basically able to maintain half full, but this winter will definitely not be able to sustain it, I must do it before the summer harvest, and annihilate Wang Bo and Meng Rang, so that I can also replant millet, millet, beans and the like, to protect the winter food."

"What are you going to do with these prisoners of war?" Yang Yuanqing asked, pointing to more than a thousand prisoners of war.

Zhang Xutuo hesitated and said: "The will of the Holy Lord is to kill them immediately after they are caught, and there will be no future troubles, but now the population of Qi County has decreased dramatically, especially the shortage of young and strong men, I plan to let them join the army with more than 1,000 prisoners of war, and it would be a pity to kill them." ”

Yang Yuanqing nodded, this is Zhang Xutuo's own business, he doesn't want to worry about it, the two of them said, and came to the city gate of Licheng County, Qi County Taishou Yang Zhiji has been waiting here, Yang Zhiji has been the Qi County Taishou for five years, and he has been in a daze for five years, he almost doesn't care about anything, all of them are thrown to the county Zhang Xutuo, it can be said that he is mediocre, but he is not ambiguous at all about receiving things like the imperial history of the imperial court, the etiquette is thoughtful, and the arrangement is perfect.

Yesterday's twelve imperial historians had already arrived first, and they were arranged by him in the best post house in Qi County, sent special people to serve, and specially found more than a dozen beautiful singers to accompany them.

Zhang Xutuo and Yang Zhiji have worked together for many years, knowing that he is actually pretending to be confused, mediocre on the surface, but in fact fine, the two of them have long had a tacit understanding, Zhang Xutuo is in charge of the affairs of the county, and Yang Zhiji is in charge of the affairs of the court.

The last time Yang Yuanqing went to Liaodong, he passed through Qi County, met Yang Zhiji, and had a good relationship with him, and this person was also very polite to meet, at this time Qin Qiong and Luo Shixin also rushed to hear the news, in front of Yang Zhiji, they were not good at talking about the past, and they all saw each other one by one.

Yang Zhiji specially arranged a reception banquet at Jishui Restaurant, and Zhang Xutuo, Qin Qiong and Luo Shixin also attended and accompanied him.

Although it is called a reception feast, the dishes are already very simple, stewing a local chicken, burning a few fish, cooking two hares, and the rest are mountain and wild dishes.

Yang Zhiji took out a bottle of wine from his arms and said apologetically to Yang Yuanqing: "This bottle is my last bottle of wine, and it may also be the last bottle of wine in Licheng County. ”

Zhang Xutuo next to him also smiled: "I issued a ban on alcohol in Qi County in October last year, not to ban alcohol, but to prohibit wine, now food is precious, and it is too luxurious and wasteful to use it to make wine." ”

Yang Yuanqing knew that the master was extremely good at wine, and it was really not easy for him to issue a ban on alcohol, so he smiled and said: "I have hundreds of cans of the best peach wine in my cellar in the capital, I will keep them for everyone, if you go to the capital, I will give you two cans each." ”

Yang Yuanqing's words suddenly made the banquet lively, and Luo Shixin laughed strangely and said: "Senior brother is too stingy, only give me two cans, in my opinion, each person can send ten cans." ”

Yang Yuanqing patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Do you kid also drink?" ”

Luo Shixin has a lively temperament, and he doesn't pay attention to etiquette, his eyebrows fly and he smiles: "Master doesn't drink, but I also secretly drink a little, I have heard that Dali peach wine is good, I went to the capital on a business trip the year before last, and I didn't have money to taste it, and then I heard that Dali peach wine is a shop opened by my brother's family, I regret it!" If I had known, I would have shipped a cart back, and now it can be sold for a high price. ”

Yang Yuanqing smiled, "The peach wine in my house can't be bought outside, no matter how rich you are, you can't buy it, even Queen Xiao specially sent someone to ask your sister-in-law for wine, and only gave her five cans, and even my father-in-law only gave two cans." ”

After all, Yang Zhiji is a royal family, and he has a little knowledge, and he was moved when he heard this: "But Dali is a cellar of wine? ”

"It's still too knowledgeable!"

Yang Zhiji's eyes showed excitement, he is a person who has good wine, Yang Yuanqing was willing to give him two cans of Dali and a cellar of wine, he hurriedly said to everyone: "This kind of only produces 100 cans a year, all of them are paid tribute to the saints, and they are used in state banquets, and they can't be bought outside at all. ”

Qin Qiong, who had been silent next to him, suddenly asked: "Since only a hundred cans are produced a year, and all of them are paid tribute to the Holy Lord, how can there be hundreds of cans in the Yuanqing Mansion?" ”

Yang Yuanqing gave a thumbs up and praised: "It's still Brother Qin's heart that is careful and asks the point." ”

Yang Yuanqing smiled at everyone again: "I don't hide it from everyone, the key to brewing a cellar of wine in Dali is actually in the peach, in the east of Dali City, there is a peach orchard of more than 30 acres, or what is the reason for the soil, the peach planted in this peach orchard is different, the yield is not high, but the wine is particularly mellow, and then cellared for a year, it is the most famous cellar wine, but in fact, the peach grown in this peach orchard can make one hundred and fifty cans of wine, one hundred of which are tribute to the saint, and the other fifty cans are owned by the owner of the peach orchard. As for the owner of this peach orchard! ”

Yang Yuanqing pointed at himself and said with a smile: "It's down!" ”

There was an exclamation at the banquet, and Yang Zhiji laughed and said, "Then speaking of which, can Brother Yang give me two more cans." ”

"I simply gave Taishou ten cans, thank you Taishou for taking care of my master over the years!"

Yang Zhiji's eyes narrowed with a smile, in fact, the drunkard's intention was not in the wine, but in the relationship between Yang Yuanqing and Zhang Xutuo, in the identity of Yang Yuanqing, the imperial historian who held the festival inspection, if Yang Yuanqing was willing to speak for himself in the inspection report, and let the saint transfer him away from the war-torn place of Qi County, he was also willing to recommend Zhang Xutuo as the Taishou of Qi County, of course, this cannot be said now, and he has to talk slowly with Yang Yuanqing in private.

At this time, Zhang Xutuo pondered and asked, "Yuanqing, why is the first stop of your inspection this time Qi County?" ”

Yang Yuanqing thought about it and sighed: "It's for the sake of last year's master's private release of grain for disaster relief, the Holy Lord specially decreed that Qi County should be checked first!" ”

．．．．．．．．．．