Zhang Zhongyao did not dare to speculate on the holy will, and only focused on sorting out the products of the Western Regions this tribute, because the power of the sandbar was becoming more and more embarrassed, and this time the tribute was more shabby, with 3,000 catties of good jade, ten pairs of jade belts, 20 pairs of white jade, 500 catties of dipterocarp, 20 night pearls, and 300 healthy horses in Hexi. Zhang Mei and Liu Yanrang had many mansions inside and outside Bianjing City, and the two stayed overnight in the post house and returned to their homes the next day. A few days later, the officials of Duting Xiyi came to arrange for the envoy team of the Shazhou Guiyi Army to live in the Zhongyi Pavilion in Bianjing City, and by the way, the tribute was registered. It's just that because the emperor was busy with court affairs and had not arranged a meeting for the time being, this Zhang Zhongyao began a long wait in Bianliang again.

The world is prosperous in Bianjing, Zhang Zhongyao often walks around to play, but he doesn't feel that life is difficult.

The outer city of Bianjing is ordered to be built by Chai Rong in the second year of Xiande, only more than 20 years ago, Bianjing with a cluster of new rammed earth city walls, compared with Chang'an and Luoyang, which has been through war and vicissitudes for a long time, is young and energetic, as if the sun is rising in the Great Song Dynasty. The developed water system, the smooth transportation, more and more officials and forbidden troops, all made Bianjing's commerce extremely prosperous, the war of the five dynasties and the collapse of the imperial court system, on the contrary, made the traders break through the restrictions of the neighborhood, Bianjing's street market changed the solemnity of Chang'an and Luoyang, from morning to night, small merchants and hawkers along the street to sell endlessly.

Keju is the most popular sport in Bianjing City, from dignitaries to idlers in the market, quite enjoyable, but Zhang Zhongyao likes more intense polo, only curiously stopped to watch for a while and then left with An Sidao. If it weren't for his unremitting daily sword dancing, bowing and horseback, An Sidao would have thought that Zhang Zhongyao, who had lived in Hexi for a long time, had been fascinated by the bustling Bianjing.

In the early morning of this day, the wind and the sun were beautiful, Zhang Zhongyao took An Sidao to ride a horse from the suburbs, looking at the willows on both sides of the Bianhe River, the green grass, only to see under the fragrant trees, between the gardens, the wandering ladies and ladies wandered around, listed cups and plates, persuaded each other to pay each other, singing and dancing girls, all over the garden pavilion, a scene of peace and prosperity. Zhang Zhongyao was happy and forgot to return, galloped on the horse, and did not return to the city until dusk, and waited for idlers to ride horses in the city, so Zhang Zhongyao and An Sidao led the horses.

Before walking to a restaurant, Zhang Zhongyao said "huh" and stopped in front of a man on the side of the road.

At this time, not only did the imperial court stipulate strict clothing for the officials and the people, but even all walks of life had their own rules for dressing, such as the incense wrappers in the incense shop, who must have a hat and a back, and the head of the quality warehouse (pawnshop) wore a soap (black) shirt and horn belt, and did not wear a hat. The man's appearance was unbearable, and when he saw that he was dressed as a military man, a rag was spread out in front of him, and a knife was drawn out of its sheath, and it was neatly placed on the rag with the scabbard, and at first glance it was a knife seller.

What attracted Zhang Zhongyao to stop and watch was this knife. The blade is covered with veins like a silk weave, with a dazzling luster, and a layer of blood light faintly appears. Zhang Zhongyao lived in Dunhuang for a long time, saw the weapons of the Quartet, knew the pattern on the knife, this knife is from Persia, although it is not a treasure knife carved by the hands of famous craftsmen, but it is also a rare sharp blade, and the difference between the treasure knife is only in the absence of gold and jade. Zhang Zhongyao leaned over and picked up the knife to watch carefully, and the man didn't stop it, only to see the blood on the knife faintly, which showed that although the owner of the knife wiped it carefully, the knife often drank blood, and over time, it left blood lines. With a flick of his fingers, the blade of the knife was slightly bent and straight, and it made a "buzz" like a long sword.

"Good knife!" Zhang Zhongyao secretly praised in his heart, and then looked at the shabby military robe on this man's body, and asked, "Strong man, how much does your knife sell?"

The man raised his head, and Zhang Zhongyao saw that he had a rough face, an arrow scar the size of a copper coin on his forehead, a stubble on his beard, and a color of wind and dust, obviously living a rather embarrassing life. Seeing that Zhang Zhongyao was holding a Hexi Jian horse in his hand, with a bow and arrows hanging on the saddle, the man's face was happy, and he smiled far-fetchedly: "If the son can see it, take it fifty times." ”

"Fifty guan?" Zhang Zhongyao's brows furrowed, with his eyesight, this knife was worth at least one hundred. The four sides are in chaos, there is no sharp blade to defend oneself, and no matter how much money there is, it is just for others to keep it. This man seems to be from the military, and he is a knowledgeable person, how can he be willing to sell this good knife so cheaply?

Seeing his hesitant face, the man was a little panicked, if he wasn't poor, he wouldn't be willing to sell the knife, but although his knife was good, there were not many people who were willing to pay a lot of money to buy it. "I see that Gongzi is also a person who practices martial arts, and the sword is matched with a hero, forty times. Seeing that Zhang Zhongyao was still undecided, this man had a sad face, he had sold knives for three days, except for a few idle men in the market who came to make jokes, there was no one to care. In the peaceful years, if you want to solve the trouble, the knife is not as good as silver.

"Thirty times, it can't be lower, the son will leave some money for the little one to return to his hometown. The man was about to cry, kept rubbing his hands, and looked at Zhang Zhongyao expectantly.

"Do you own this knife?" Hearing him quote such a low price, Zhang Zhongyao became even more suspicious, tightened his brows, and asked sharply. He was born noble and has been in the military for a long time, and this question has a domineering momentum. But the man begged hard, ate his question, and hurriedly said: "Childe, do you suspect that this knife is coming from the wrong way?" Seeing that Zhang Zhongyao was noncommittal, he explained: "Childe doesn't know, the villain is a tooth soldier under the account of General Cai Hanchao of Guannan Inspection, named Zhu Dao, the deceased died last month, and the minions of our generals escorted the coffin back to Beijing, who knew that the general's mansion said that it was inconvenient to take in the warriors in the peaceful years, and only gave some entanglement to send our brothers back to their hometowns. The villain can't plow the fields, the second can't do business, and he just sits and eats empty mountains when he returns to his hometown, and he wants to rely on this martial arts to find the master's family to run, who wants to live in Bianjing for half a month, but he runs into walls everywhere, and there is little left of the coiled entanglement given by General Cai's mansion, and in desperation, he just waits for the sword that has been around for several years to be sold. ”

Seeing that Zhu Dao's face became more gloomy the more he spoke, Zhang Zhongyao sighed secretly, the imperial court's jealousy of the fathers and important ministers was clearly revealed, it was when the rumors were blowing, who in Beijing would dare to recruit warriors? This person was able to be appreciated by Cai Hanchao, the inspector of Guannan, and was selected as a tooth soldier, but he was a strong man among our Han people, but he fell so badly, it is really sad.

It is necessary to know that the pass in the inspection of the south of this pass is Waqiao Pass, Yijin Pass, and Sikou Pass, which is the key place of the Song and Liao borders, and every month of the year, there are countless large and small conflicts around the three passes, just because after this pass in the south of the pass, it is the northern Hebei Plain that can be defended without danger, and the cavalry of the Liao State can pass unimpeded. However, Cai Hanchao, the Guannan Inspector, had only 3,000 soldiers under his command, but he was able to restrain the Khitans and could not go south to plunder the Han people, which shows his elite. If this Director Zhu is really as he said, it is Cai Hanchao's tooth soldiers, and he is a first-class warrior.

Zhang Zhongyao pondered for a moment, returned the knife to Director Zhu, and said in a deep voice: "I am Zhang Zhongyao, the judge of the Guiyi Army in the Shazhou of Hexi, the Guiyi Army is located in the group of Hu, and the soldiers are fighting every day, and there are battles every month, if you don't go out without him, are you willing to return to Dunhuang with me? I will not treat the strong man lightly!" He did not wait for Director Zhu to answer, took out a silver ingot of about five taels from his arms and handed it to Zhu Dao, and said: "A little silver money, talk about the respect for the strong men of Guannan." At this time, the Central Plains is still passing money and silk, and the people do not use silver taels, but Dunhuang business travel is prosperous, and the custom of using gold and silver as currency in the West has also been introduced to the Han people.