In the second year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, the imperial kiln factory was established on the basis of the original Fuliang Porcelain Bureau, which was called the Hongwu official kiln, mainly in exchange for porcelain for materials needed for war. In the Yongle period, the form of government-run private burning was adopted, and an official factory was set up to specialize in firing porcelain for tribute.

During this period, the rapid development of porcelain production in Jingdezhen is the period of China's porcelain refining on the Song and Yuan dynasties, under the Qi Kangqian, and extensive exchanges with foreign countries, and also developed into Yongle sweet white, blue and white, glaze red and other new varieties, more pleasing to the eye, led to the unprecedented prosperity of Jingdezhen ceramic economy.

The Zheng family is the largest merchant in Jingdezhen, with 100 merchant ships and more than 1,000 seafarers, mainly engaged in the purchase of Jingdezhen porcelain and Zhejiang silk, and then sent sea ships to sell them overseas to obtain huge profits.

Today, the 22nd day of the lunar month, is the day of great joy for the Zheng family: the third son got married, invited many relatives and friends, and the pomp was huge. The bride is a native of Fuliang County, and the welcoming team blows and blows all the way, and it is not until noon that she enters Jingdezhen. Local customs are prevalent when women get married, crying for a few days in the countryside, the bride should cry loudly, expressing her reluctance to leave her parents, if you don't cry, you will be accused of unfilial piety.

What's more, a few days before the bride is ready to get married, the mother begins to cry for her daughter, generally crying from dusk to midnight, until the bride gets on the sedan chair. It's just that Liu Hanyan didn't know it, and thought that people were robbing the people's daughters, so he stopped the welcoming team.

These people are all stunned, and they pay attention to being obedient and obedient, and they are most taboo to be blocked, isn't this obvious that they want to make trouble? And don't look at whose family is doing a happy event, this is the Zheng family who stomped on the whole Jiangnan to shake! Who are these four veiled men? Ate bear's heart leopard gall?

A person with a quick reaction rushed up, kicked Liu Hanyan is cigarette, and scolded in his mouth: "Where did the 'mule' run out?" Dare to come here and go wild! Liu Hanyan couldn't be kicked by him, and at the same time, he gave way to one leg at the same time, and the man squatted on the ground with his legs in his arms.

No matter how slow the reaction of the people in the back was, they also understood at this time: someone was making trouble! It's just that everyone who greeted the relatives didn't have weapons on them, and more than a dozen people surrounded the four of them with their bare hands, scolding something in slang, looking extremely angry. At this moment, the coachman ran out of the restaurant, and when he saw the situation, he was shocked and shouted: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, give face, they are friends of the Salt Gang." ”

The crowd around was stunned, the coachman in front of them was very unfamiliar, but the salt gang was not something they were willing to provoke, and they didn't know what to do, so they heard the groom in red and hanging colors shouting: "What kind of salt gang, dare to come and make trouble, but you don't take our Zheng family in your eyes, brothers, arrest it first." ”

Liu Hanyan was about to make a move, and was pulled to his side by Wang Hou, so he heard Wang Hou hug his fists and said: "Misunderstanding, we think we are robbing relatives, since we are wrong, let Your Excellency dispose of it, and there is no need to waste our efforts, we will go with you." ”

Hearing this, the third son of the Zheng family was even more arrogant, and instructed the four people: "Take them all away for me." Wang Hou said to the coachman on the side: "Brother Liu, you go back to Hangzhou, don't worry about us, say hello to the Jiang Duo master." Zheng Gongzi seemed to be reminded, a little coachman: "Do you still want to ventilate the news?" Take this man with you. ”

Wang Hou smiled bitterly, and the five of them walked forward with the welcoming procession. On the way, Wang Hou took out a hundred taels of treasure money and stuffed it to Zheng Gongzi: "The groom, if you don't fight, you don't know each other, this bit of silver is our gift money, and I will ask you for a cup of wine." If you don't like it, buy wine for the brothers. ”

Zheng Gongzi was born in a wealthy family, although he didn't look down on the treasure of one hundred taels, but the ordinary gift money was only one tael, at most only two taels, and the man in white in front of him was willing to take out so much silver, so he naturally looked at it differently, and most of the anger in his heart disappeared: "Today is the day of great joy for this son, so I don't care about your rudeness just now...... Find a place to sit down in a moment. ”

Wang Hou hurriedly hugged his fists and thanked him, and sighed in his heart: "Money is really a good thing, it can be easily resolved, people say that money is something outside the body, but if there is no thing outside the body, I am afraid that even the body will not be at peace." ”

After a while, the team arrived in front of a mansion, the crackling sound of firecrackers was deafening, and the sedan chair passed between the two fires in front of the door and landed steadily in front of the door. Two girls walked out of the door, pulled the bride out of the sedan chair, and entered the house along the red carpet, and the sound of firecrackers was even more shocking.

The courtyard is very large, from the entrance hall to the main entrance is a bluestone slab passage two zhang wide, there are no less than 100 tables of banquets on both sides of the passage, Wang Hou and the five people found a seat to sit down. Most of the people who went to the wedding banquet were locals, and many of them were doing business or walking the rivers and lakes, so it was not surprising that the four of them were veiled. The food and drinks were quickly served, and the table was full.

Wang Hou saw that no one was moving the chopsticks around, as if he was waiting for something, so he quickly stopped Liu Hanyan, took the chopsticks in her hand, and said softly: "Wait a while before eating." Sure enough, I didn't do much effort, and I saw an old man in his fifties and gorgeous clothes come out of the house, and laughed loudly: "Haha...... Today is the newlywed dog, thank you to the villagers for their love, but also to thank the friends from afar, all the words of thanks are in the wine, the wine is not intoxicating, today everyone must drink happily! Dry! ”

Everyone roared in response: "Congratulations to Zheng Ye!" Then he picked up the chopsticks and began to eat and drink. Liu Hanyan had been waiting impatiently, stretched out his chopsticks to clip a piece of Leping dog meat for Wang Hou, and picked up a piece of Jingdeban chicken for himself, gnawed it with relish, and said from time to time: "Well, it's delicious, Elder Li, Elder Jin, you two eat too much, come, drink a bowl of catfish pork rib soup......

The other people at the table saw her cross fifteen, and they didn't dare to complain when they saw her dressed like this, so they all put down their chopsticks and looked at her. Seeing that there was no movement on the table, Liu Hanyan looked at it and laughed roughly: "Have you all eaten well?" This dish tastes good, eat some more......"

Suddenly, at this moment, someone outside the door shouted loudly: "Old man Zheng, don't get out and die!" The sound shook the tables and bowls as if they were shaking, and two figures flew in from outside the door, and fell to the ground with two thuds, and then two more figures flew in, and it turned out that the family at the door was thrown in, and it seemed that the injury was not light. Everyone turned their heads towards the door, but no one came in, and after a while, Zheng Ye came out of the house and said loudly: "It turned out to be President Pan, Zheng has a happy event today, let's put aside our grievances and come in for a drink." ”

Someone outside the door sneered a few times: "Lao Tzu knows that you are doing something today, so I brought a few friends over, just to let everyone know what kind of person you Zheng Wei is!" If you are happy today, kowtow to Lao Tzu nine times, and our previous grievances will be written off, otherwise...... You simply do the marriage and funeral together! ”

Wang Hou frowned when he heard this: This person's words are too vicious, just now Zheng Ye said that it was President Pan, could it be that at the martial arts conference, the chairman of the Wanshi Society who entered the top three in the Fujian ring? What is the deep hatred between the two families, and they have to rush to find trouble at this juncture?

I heard Zheng Ye say angrily: "Pan Huozi, you are so arrogant, could it be that you are bullying me and there is no one in Jiangxi?" …… Master Liu, did you also come with Pan Huozi to make trouble? ”

Someone outside the door laughed and said: "Master Zheng, don't ask knowingly, who doesn't know that you have 100 merchant ships, 10,000 seamen, dominate one side, your Jingdezhen porcelain has been pressing our Dehua white porcelain, robbing our business, not to mention, four months ago killed 17 of us, at that time, because I and President Pan were going to participate in the martial arts conference, I didn't have time to settle accounts with you, and now this account should be calculated!" ”

Wang Hou said secretly: Hearing this, President Pan must be President Pan of the Fujian Wanshi Association, is this Liu Island Master who is also in the top three in the Fujian Ring of the Martial Arts Conference? It seems that they are all in the shipping business, and it is normal to have contradictions, but it is really the Zheng family who killed seventeen of them?

Zheng Ye laughed loudly: "Haha! Kill seventeen of you? Why don't you say that you are secretly ambushing people and preparing to rob my merchant ships, how different are your practices from pirates? What's the difference with the Wakos? Although you brought hundreds of people today, in addition to my martial arts friends in Jiangxi, there are also Suzhou Menle Sect Master and Qixia Temple Yunxiang Abbot here. ”

Wang Hou was shocked: Why is the master of Suzhou Menle Gate and the abbot of Qixia Temple Yunxiang here? The two of them were in the same ring as Dao Feng at the martial arts conference, and they were the top three in that ring, and outside the gate, in addition to President Pan and Lord Liu, I don't know how many people came, and this posture has become another martial arts conference?

"Hahaha! We know that you have a lot of guests today, but since we dare to look for today's day, we have never been afraid of you, so that people will say that we are bullying you in Fujian! Today, if you don't kowtow and beg for mercy and compensate 170,000 taels of silver to the dead brothers, don't say whether the guests will help you, even if someone is willing to stand up against us in Fujian, we will definitely accompany you to the end. ”

At this time, two more people came out of the house, both of them were about forty-five or sixteen years old, one was slightly fat, the other was slightly thin, and the slightly fat man hugged his fist outside the door and said: "President Pan, Lord Liu, and Master Zhishan, under is Le Da of Suzhou Gate, this is the abbot of Yunxiang of Nanjing Qixia Temple, I didn't expect to be able to meet here in Beijing." After listening to the words of you and Zheng Ye just now, it seems that the contradiction is very deep, and it is difficult to resolve it for a while, and besides, today the Zheng family is full of guests and friends, not to mention the face given to Zheng Ye, that is, the more than 1,000 people here always have to give face? ”

Someone outside the door said loudly: "It turns out that the master of Lemen and the abbot of Yunxiang are really here, it's not that we don't give the two of you face, you also know the situation just now, it's really this Zheng Wei who deceives people too much, otherwise, we wouldn't have picked today's day to settle accounts with him." ”

The abbot of Yunxiang recited: "Amitabha! Abbot Zhishan, you and I are both Buddhists, why do you want to get involved in these mundane things? Why don't you come in and have a sip of tea? ”