"Father-in-law, you're back, how did you get on this trip, and did you encounter any trouble?"

"It's really sad that you stinky boy, you don't even ask your father-in-law's body first, and you care about how much money you made on this trip."

"Haha, as long as you look at your father-in-law's face, you will know that it is no problem, even if it is to beat me two, it will not be difficult at all."

"Hmph, you want to trick me into fighting you? I want to be beautiful, you slippery boy, I want to take revenge for the year, there is no way~"

"Then let your father-in-law give you a hand?"

"You can't do it unless you let me carry out the cannons!"

"No problem, even if you use a pawn, you can be killed, you just wait to lose the battle!"

Although the conversation was a little jumpy, the merchants and caravan guards around seemed to be accustomed to the scene, and they should unload their goods, and count each copper plate as they should settle the commission they should receive for this trip.

As for the father and son who seem to be working hard in the martial arts arena for a while, and seem to be planning to compete with board games for a while, it is probably just a way for two people to express their feelings for each other, but there is a little difference from ordinary fathers and sons.

This is not a very luxurious room, and it is not luxurious to say that it is a comparison with the other rooms here, and in fact both the size of the room, and the whitewashed walls and delicate panes show the wealth of the owner.

But compared to the dwellings of the real family of the gate valve, all kinds of furniture are very elaborate, or those nouveau riche homes are randomly piled up some expensive items, the furnishings in this room are very simple, even a little simple.

All the utensils in the room are according to the minimum number of necessities for life, and those utensils are very ordinary in terms of materials and workmanship except for looking very new. Perhaps the only difference here is that on the wall facing east, there is an apricot yellow silk cloth that looks like it has faded for a long time. And the one under the yellow cloth can be said to be the most elaborate of all the utensils in the whole room, and the workmanship can also be seen to be a wooden shrine made by a famous artist.

The apricot yellow silk cloth can be roughly divided into two parts, the upper part is mainly pictures, the lower part is completely text, the upper part occupies about two-thirds of the area of the entire apricot yellow silk cloth, and the remaining part is written densely with small characters.

The center of the upper part. A huge Tai Chi Bagua map is drawn, surrounded by the sun, moon and stars, and occasionally there will be one or two figures about the gods, holding a dusty sword and wearing armor, but they can't see the facial expressions on their faces.

The text in the lower part is too small and dense because each word is too small, so if you can't get close and observe it carefully, it won't look like it. It's like a dark cloud, hiding a divine dragon, ready to rain under the Tai Chi Bagua diagram.

In addition to these, the most eye-catching thing in the room at this time is the two people sitting on the ground, and the wooden chessboard placed on the low table between the two people. At this time, there are not many chess pieces left on the chessboard, and two stacks of tall chess pieces are stacked on both sides of the chessboard, all of which show that the chess game has entered the end of the game at this time. It can end at any time.

Well, well, the more this time comes. The more the two sides try their best not to have the slightest slack, every step needs to take a long test, even so, they often hold the chess pieces in the air for a long time and do not want to fall, and they need to be urged by the other party for a long time before making up their minds.

Although the history of the Chu River Han Realm has passed a long, long time now, the two of them seem to be in the middle of a battlefield, surrounded by Jin Ge Iron Horses. Noble generals or lowly soldiers continue to fall, leaving this world with reluctance and despair.

The chessboard is filled with gunsmoke, and outside the chessboard is also full of swords, all kinds of trash talk one after another.

I have to say that this is another seemingly small but influential change that Li Shushi has brought to this plane.

In fact, there were already very primitive wargames in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. It's just that that kind of thing is more similar to wargame deduction than this kind of thing that is more like a game, especially in the hands of the soldiers of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it is more based on actual combat, although Li Shushi has never seen any real objects, although there are many tomb robbers in this era, but those tomb robbers are obviously more concerned about things that can be exchanged for money or become money, and those things that are actually very culturally significant are abandoned.

As for the development of archaeology or something, it is even more difficult, after all, few people want their ancestral graves to be excavated.

As for the modern times, because of the changes of the times, especially the many large-scale migrations of the population, the bond between people and the ancients has gradually broken down, coupled with the fact that the powers of all parties are eyeing each other, you can't stop others from excavating, and you can't stop the robbers from plundering the treasures of your ancestors, so you still dig them out yourself and hide them in a safer place, so as not to cheapen outsiders.

In addition, they put on the cloak of research and science, and everyone gradually accepted this fait accompli.

Of course, it is also because the people of the foreign university created this discipline, which is naturally lofty, and naturally there is no problem.

Although it is not wrong to say this, at least Li Shushi feels that the thick burial of the Han Dynasty, especially the system of accompanying the burial of all kinds of gold and silver utensils and copper coins, not only makes the currency circulating in the market scarce, but also increases the burden of ordinary people and even the poor.

He doesn't believe in the way of ghosts and gods, even if there are indeed a few cute things on the top of his head, but the dead are destined to be the dead, and those buried gold and silver treasures or anything else are destined to not be able to travel through time and space to enter another world, well, if there is indeed such a world, and if that kind of thing really happens, this world will long have no tomb robbers.

Well, that's a bit of a stretch.

Although it is said that there was a prototype of chess in ancient times, until the Han Dynasty, and even at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, where Li Shushi lived, there was still no form of game like modern chess, and the boss of board games was still unshakable Go.

Li Shushi played chess in his previous life, but he was just a stinky chess basket, and he liked to watch Go, but it was only at that level. However, it did not mean that he could not "invent" the game of chess, not to mention that he had seen a board game similar to primitive chess in Botuo called Chaturanca during his expedition to the Western Regions, and he was even more confident.

Of course, in order to show the little "self-esteem" in his heart, Li Shushi did not completely copy all the rules of Chinese chess - although he said so, he only changed the chess pieces originally called "shi" in Chinese chess to "wei". Then the original "elephant" was changed to "shi", and the rules of chess were introduced, that is, when the pawn crossing the river reached the bottom line, it could be upgraded to one of the three kinds of chess pieces, which was considered to add some difficulty to the defender.

If many things in Go are closer to strategic confrontations, then chess is closer to tactical battles, although Li Shushi's game of "creating zào out" has become a place to be ridiculed because of his own stinky chess basket attributes, but this has not stopped this kind of game from quickly becoming a way for many people to relax after tea and dinner in this era of lack of entertainment programs.

As for those students in military schools. Although they also like this kind of game, they don't take it to great heights, at most they think that such things are good for them to exercise their thinking skills, but it does not fully help them win the war.

Well, this world is all about real-time strategy games, and if it's really a turn-based game, maybe it would be more important?

"Whew, it looks like I'm going to win this game."

"Hey, hey. The little slippery head is playing a good game, if you are one step late. My pawn will be promoted, and it's hard to say who will win and who will lose at that time. But this is also the law of the battlefield, but also the law of life, sometimes just one step short. ”

"What is my father-in-law feeling?"

"What can you feel? The leader is gone, and my heart is dead. Li Zhoumu did a good job, although his ideas were very different from those of the sect leader. But at least I think she's doing a good job, and I won't hate him if he makes someone like him emperor. Maybe if he had been the emperor in the first place, neither I nor the sect leader would have considered such a thing as rebellion. ”

"yes. The child absolutely agrees with the words of the father-in-law, which is obviously very hard in the wind and rain, but the father-in-law, you are also fat, and you have married a lot of beautiful wives and concubines, and now you even have several children, and life is just afraid that it is boundless. ”

"Hehe, I've been busy for most of my life, in fact, I don't think about it for any ideal, it's not for anything else, it's just to eat, and then I can eat a good meal. The ideal is too far away from me, that's what the sect leader and Li Zhoumu have to consider, anyway, I only know that the sect leader is a good person, and I will never suffer if I follow a good person. Li Zhoumu is probably also a good person, so it's always good for you kid to follow him, if you can be a thousand households or something, I can not boast when I see acquaintances in the future, look at me Zhang Niujiao Although I don't have any great skills in this life, but I look at people very accurately, and I accepted such a child as Feiyan. ”

"Father-in-law, how can you say that, if you are the Taishou, you must do better than me, an unsuccessful child."

"Okay, okay, let's not learn from those officials who push around, what is that called...... Hypocrisy, yes, too hypocritical. Okay, play three more games with me, and then follow me to see what good things you brought back this time. ”

As a result, the sound of crackling chess pieces hitting the table and chess pieces sounded in the room again.

Zhang Niujiao, a distant relative of Zhang Jiao, is a generous person in Taiping Dao and Hebei Province, Zhang Jiao's absolute cronies, and was also the most influential Dafang in the Yellow Turban Army after the "Three Princes General" and Ma Yuanyi, who has the level equivalent to the deputy sect leader.

But now, after the complete failure of the Yellow Turban Uprising, he has taken off his clothes and become a big businessman who wanders around the border area, which not only promotes trade and cultural exchanges between the Central Plains and the border area, but also informs his son Zhang Yan of the movements of the Hu people in the border area and even further areas, so that he can more accurately grasp the changes in the grassland.

Whether it was in Yunzhong and Shangjun before, or now in Jincheng, Zhang Niujiao seemed to be able to quickly re-establish various channels in the local area, and it didn't even take a few contacts to get those Hu people to invite him as a guest and treat him politely. Then it was the brothers, and from then on, the caravan controlled by Zhang Niujiao not only had a lot less trouble on the grassland, but also had a lot of news channels.

At this point, even Zhang Yan, who feels that she is already very good, has always been very surprised.

For every curious inquiry from Zhang Yan, Zhang Niujiao's answer is always the same:

"It's all the legacy of the Sect Master. I haven't read a book. Therefore, I can only learn the method that the Sect Master used to use. ”

Zhang Yan naturally didn't believe such an answer, but for his son's incomprehension, Zhang Niujiao just smiled indifferently.

Because, this is really not his deliberate prevarication and concealment, but it is indeed the true feelings and heartfelt words in his heart.

As Zhang Niujiao said, he was born in an ordinary peasant family, and his main job was to farm the land, and of course he would also work for the landlord's family or the established wealthy merchants to earn money to subsidize the family. He also used to serve as a substitute for the children of the landlord's family to serve the sons of the good family. Although he is only a soldier, he has somewhat learned a lot of military knowledge, and even participated in a few small-scale battles, and this is one of the few scenery that can be called "different" in the first half of Zhang Niujiao's ordinary life path.

And the person who changed the trajectory of his life was naturally Zhang Jiao.

Speaking of which, because he had been to Biansai and fought in the war, he also learned some tricks from the army, although Zhang Niujiao was not very old at that time, he also had some fame in the nearby seven miles and eight villages. At least you can guide the village militia during the slack time and change some sour village mash.

It is precisely because of this experience that I have this experience. He knew Zhang Jiao through the followers of Taiping Dao among the guò militia.

At that time, Zhang Jiao was in his prime, although he could not be said to be high-spirited, but he was also full of ambition, thinking that he could use the spells he learned from the "Taiping Qing Lingdao" to change some things. It's just that even if Zhang Jiao has great powers, he also hopes to use his power more for the benefit of the township, rather than to deal with those troublesome bandits and heroes.

Zhang Jiao needs to have a guard that can help him. And Zhang Niujiao is a bit of a famous soldier in all seven miles and eight towns, Zhang Jiao is naturally very satisfied with Zhang Niujiao, and Zhang Niujiao also thinks that Zhang Jiao's salary is good, and later recounted the genealogy and found that the two are still distant relatives. So they feel that they seem to have a unique bond.

Zhang Niujiao didn't have much knowledge, so when Zhang Jiao was preaching, he just stood aside, didn't say anything, didn't do anything. He was just watching—watching how Zhang Jiao preached, watching every word and deed and every expression of the believers. Just listening to the teachings propagated by Zhang Jiao, listening to some of the subtle explanations of the teachings by Zhang Jiao in front of all kinds of people, listening to how Zhang Jiao traveled between the parties.

In fact, for Zhang Niujiao, he couldn't understand or understand many of Zhang Jiao's words and deeds.

But time is so magical, as if those pawnshops will first let him see the real thing, only the real thing, and after three years, he will naturally have an instinctive reaction to the fake. The same is true for Zhang Niujiao, time has made him understand a lot, and even more so that he understands a lot of things even if he doesn't understand why, but in the same situation, he just needs to learn Zhang Jiao's way of coping.

So when Taiping Dao developed and Zhang Jiao asked Zhang Niujiao to go to northern Hebei to preach independently, ready to see what this guard who had been by his side for so many years had learned, everyone was stunned to find that Zhang Niujiao had done so well.

Maybe this can be regarded as a kind of talent, just like people who can use TV sets do not necessarily know how TV sets work, anyway, the direction of Zhang Niujiao's preaching is mainly the middle and lower class people, and they don't need those advanced theoretical knowledge, with what they have seen and heard after following Zhang Jiao for so many years, it is enough for Zhang Niujiao to become the "wise and generous" of folk rumors.

And this is also an important reason why Zhang Niujiao can quickly establish a long-term and stable friendship with the local Hu people in a different place every time he goes to a different place - in terms of intelligence, both the villagers and the Hu people have short-sighted but cunning simple wisdom; In terms of reverence for the mysterious, the villagers are no different from the Hu people, they are all in awe of this heaven, or there are few people in this unique plane who do not worship the gods as much as Li Shushi.

Therefore, with the communication skills that he had cultivated as a generous Taiping Dao, Zhang Niujiao not only became a guest of honor in the Hu tribe, but also gradually spread the Taiping Dao to the Hu tribe, after all, compared with the primitive and simple totem worship and shaman teachings, the Taiping Dao teachings rooted in the wisdom of the Han Dynasty have the same advantages as crushing. Even if some shamanic witch doctors will ask some more obscure questions, they are experts in spreading the Taiping Tao for more than ten years. At this time, Zhang Niujiao was no longer afraid of these shamanic teachings who could not quote scriptures, chew words, or personally attack the defenders of the shamanic teachings of the enemies of humanity and thought, and even succeeded in convincing some shamanic witch doctors to become followers of the Taiping Tao in order to learn the wisdom of the Central Plains people, which may have become a taboo in the Central Plains. But on the prairie, they don't care about that.

Of course, Zhang Niujiao's success also relied on the strength of the Bingzhou Army, and many of the ruling class of the powerful Bingzhou Army came from the Yellow Turban Army back then, which also became another huge tiger skin for Zhang Niujiao's successful mission, and even he did not shy away from the evaluation of Li Shushi that circulated in the Yellow Turban Army back then - that was Zhang Jiao's real successor, the only immortal disciple who was qualified to sit on an equal footing with the Tiangong General, which made many Hu tribes who heard this rumor even more reluctant to be enemies with the Bingzhou Army.

Naturally, he was not willing to be an enemy of the caravan with Zhang Niujiao.

Since not the enemy. Then you can be friends. Since you become friends, you can naturally get great benefits.

Li Shushi may not know that he originally just planned to put Zhang Yan in Longxi to beat and beat, but he inadvertently pushed a man hidden behind Zhang Yan who seemed to be idle clouds and wild cranes but had huge energy to a very peculiar position.

Of course, what Zhang Niujiao did in Yunzhong and Shangjun is naturally not unheard of, and Zhang Niujiao's set in Longxi was compiled into a book by the intelligence department of the state army and sent to the General Staff Department and studied for a long, long time.

It's just that at that time, Li Shushi hadn't remembered the huge interests contained in the plateau in the west, and Li Shushi, who had spent all his energy in the north and the east, didn't care too much about this matter.

It's a pity that when he used the two things of usury and currency war to throw out the bait of the western resource land. only to find out that it had only been less than two years, and Zhang Niujiao had once again successfully laid a deep foundation.

However, I muttered to Jia Xu, Guo Jia and Fa Zheng for a long time. Li Shushi finally felt that it would be good to let it go, and even if Zhang Niujiao could make those Hu people put down their butcher knives and become Buddhas, well, Li Shushi didn't think that this kind of thing could be achieved, and even if it was achieved, it would be like a certain island country, killing hard when he was young. Then after killing enough Ben and getting older, he put down the butcher's knife and became a Buddha on the spot, so his soul was liberated, and his merit was earned. Even some guys continue to kill as monks, anyway, it would be good to go back and make up a few verses, even if it is a sister with a strong sense of justice.

Therefore, what Li Shushi really expects is that if Zhang Niujiao can reorganize those Hu people into a Yellow Turban Army in this way, and then become a sharp weapon that can be driven by the state army, it will obviously be something that can make Li Shushi wake up with a smile when he dreams.

Even if the highest goal is a little delusional, the minimum goal of adding a group of leading parties should be achievable.

Of course, there is some necessary work to be done.

"By the way, father-in-law, have you heard of the 'Westward Expansion Plan' of the State Shepherd?"

"Hehe, don't say it's me, even the leaders of those Qiang tribes have heard about it, but there are too many kinds of news, even they don't know what Li Zhoumu wants to do."

"Then father, have you been affected by this incident when you went to trade with the Qiang people this time?"

"There will be influences, but not all of them are bad, after all, if you want to live a better life, self-reliance is a good way, but it is also a good way to be attached to some strong people."

"Father, what do you mean ......"

"I can be regarded as traveling from south to north with the sect master, what kind of things and what kind of people have never seen it. I used to think that without the sect leader, no matter what I did, I couldn't be motivated, so it would be good to be a businessman and walk around. But now that I have a family and a child, I understand why some people do things that seem silly to me.

You're doing a good job, and I can't promise you'll do better than you, so the only thing you need to do is keep doing it with peace of mind. To be honest, following Li Zhoumu is much more promising than me following the sect leader.

As for me, if this thief can let me continue to live like this for a decade or two, maybe I can try to accomplish some of the things that the Sect Master unfortunately couldn't accomplish. ”

"It's good to feel the courage that you exude from your father-in-law that makes people can't help but follow you."

"I also feel good, like I'm ten years younger.

It seems that finding a goal you like to achieve is much better than living the rest of your life in a mess! (To be continued......)