Delong

Chapter 13

In early summer, when the sun was rising, a layer of mist covering the eastern capital gradually dispersed, revealing what might be the largest city in the world.

To the north of the city is Beimang Mountain. An extremely magnificent palace group stands on the back of Beiman Mountain and across the river from the mountain, named Ziwei Palace; and from Beiman Mountain to Luoshui, there are not only palace groups, but also Ziwei Palace. There are more than [-] squares on the east side of the palace, which is Luoyang County; there are more than [-] squares on the flat land south of Luoshui, which is Henan County. Together, they constitute the fundamental body of the city.

In addition, there are seven or eight functional small towns around the city. To the west of the city, countless artificial lakes and canals have been dug to form the huge Xiyuan, which also forms a natural water system for protecting the city. .

It is precisely because of Xiyuan and Luoshui passing through the city that the increasingly hot Eastern Capital is shrouded in mist every morning.

It has been ten days since Zhang Xing arrived in Dongdu. Unlike Qin Bao, who joined the Jinyi Patrollers in Jing'an Taichung Town Fusi as soon as he arrived, the bandit army only lived in Ji'an Hou's Mansion located in Tongtuofang, north of Luoshui, for the first three days. From the fourth day onwards, he moved to Xiuyefang, rented a small courtyard alone, and became a sergeant patrolling the streets of Jing'an Taidong Town Fusi.

Commonly known as Jingjie Tiger is also.

The rent was paid by the public, so after the matter was explained to the official at the north gate of the workshop, he directly rented the side yard of the official's house, and because the small courtyard was next to the gate, so during these seven days, Zhang Xing almost every day When it was foggy in the early morning of the first day, I was awakened by the movement in front of the square gate, and then I got up to eat at the breakfast stall of the square official's house, and then came back to read a book, but I developed a good habit of going to bed early and getting up early.

Usually, after the fog cleared, the entrances and exits of the square were unobstructed, and the street gradually became lively, there would be Jingjiehu colleagues from Dongzhen Fusi to look for him.

This day is no exception.

"Lieutenant Zhang, is Captain Zhang there? It's time to patrol the streets. Your two companions are already waiting for you in front of the square gate." The voice of old brother Liu, the official of the square, sounded on time.

Zhang Xing, who was dressed in standard civilian clothes, didn't respond to the words. He just put the books borrowed from the Ji'an Hou Mansion into a box on one side, tied a wipe on his forehead, and then picked up a knife next to him and covered it with an embroidered curved knife. The knife came, then got up to open the courtyard door, held the knife directly on the threshold and saluted the knocker to thank:

"Thank you Fang Master Liu, I've settled down here, let's go out now."

One more thing, the main job of the so-called Fangmen gatekeeper is to open and close the gate, and may also serve as the morning and evening summons on the street in front of the gate... To put it bluntly, he is the lowest-level official official. It is a folk nickname.

A similar situation is Zhang Xing's "Xiaowei", who is not a real officer, but the lowest-ranking sergeant of the Jingcheng Jiefang Division of the Dongzhen Fusi Special Administration under Jing'antai, commonly known as Xiaowei, Lishi, It just sounds nice.

Looking back, Fangzhu Liu, who was about fifty years old at that time, seemed to have expected Zhang Xing to be so agile, but he still poked his head in the courtyard after Zhang Xing closed the door: "Reading again early in the morning?"

"Yes, there is nothing left and right, it's better to read." Zhang Xing turned around and closed the door, and answered casually.

"It's not about practicing martial arts, it's about reading books and practicing calligraphy. You can't be idle for a moment... It's rare for a young man like you to be so motivated." As the two walked to the outer square gate, Brother Liu couldn't help but sigh with emotion along the way. "With such ambition, it is bound to become a big situation in Dongdu."

"The eastern capital city is huge, and it is under the feet of the emperor. It has never been easy to live in." Zhang Xing, who tied a knife to his waist, was also frank. "I didn't expect anything big. Reading books and cultivating is just a matter of interest, and I don't have any place to have fun."

These words were sincere, but Fangzhu Liu naturally didn't believe them.

The two chatted a few more casual words, and came to the gate of the big courtyard outside, and saw a fourteen or fifteen-year-old daughter in a light yellow shirt coming down with a bamboo drawer from the breakfast stall, Zhang Xing naturally avoided it a little, Brother Liu's eyes are also gentle and gentle... There is no one else, the person who came is the youngest daughter of the doorman... After the daughter's family blushed and bowed his head, Zhang Xing went straight forward, and he saw When they arrived, two colleagues, one older surnamed Wang and one younger surnamed Zhao, had already waited inside the gate of the workshop, where each of them was holding a free steamed stuffed bun from the owner Liu Fang's stall to eat. When they saw Zhang Xing coming out, they After swallowing the buns, Qiqi waved hello.

Zhang Xing went forward, said a few words, each smiled, and started to patrol the streets together.

The so-called street patrol is nothing more than walking back and forth twice on the cross street formed by the four symmetrical squares of Xiuwen, Xiuye, Shangshan, and Jeongseon, pretending to suppress the law and order, and at noon you can go home and have a leisurely afternoon Yes, and then we will meet up again in the evening, and go to Jiekou Bridge to meet a serious Zheng Qipin Jinyi General Banner, and just give an explanation and handover.

The work is very leisurely, and Zhang Xing also likes it very much, and he has been doing this for the past seven days.

However, this time, the three of them patrolled the streets until noon, and came to the intersection as usual. Zhang Xing was about to go back and continue reading, but unexpectedly, the two walked ahead without saying a word, turned around and headed north, and then turned to the road on the south bank of Luoshui River. On half of the water street.

Luoshui crosses the eastern capital, used by the capital, and worshiped by the soldiers and civilians of all states. Large quantities of goods from the north, south, east, and west come in through this waterway. There are countless warehouses and wharves. The Secretary (internal servant), Jing'antai, Miyagi Forbidden Army, and the Nanya government all have dedicated and serious officials to connect with, or directly participate in supervision and management.

Because of this, even though Zhang Xing knew that half of the bustling water street was located next to Shangshan and Jingshan two squares in the past few days, he always thought that this place was not within the scope of his work.

But now it seems that there is another way to say it.

"Brother Zhang, we will not hide it from you."

After walking more than a hundred steps along the bustling street under the Jindi in Luoshui, seeing that Zhang Xing was still silent, accompanied by a slightly younger Zhao 'Lieutenant', he couldn't help but speak first after admiring him. "Your call was too abrupt, it was almost pushed in by the superior, and we couldn't find any details, so Feng Qizhu and we didn't dare to admit it easily, so we just let the two of us take you to patrol the cross street, Don’t dare to let you come to Water Street here, and don’t resent our brothers.”

Zhang Xing smiled: "This should be the truth, how can you hate the two brothers?"

"That's good." The Wang Xiaowei who was a few years older also nodded. "Besides, I brought you here today. I'm also below the banner owner, and there are both of us. We both think you are a proper person, and we are determined to recognize you as a brother... Let's go to Feng Zongqi's house to chat about your origin. , and our brother's usual way."

"All the two brothers." Zhang Xing remained calm.

Just like that, after walking a few more steps, the same old king suddenly stopped and pointed to a flag-hanging wine shop that protruded from the wall of Jingshanfang and made a brief introduction:

"This is the property of Feng Zongqi's own family. My sister-in-law sells wine in person. The big guys usually gather there, and I have never had any scruples... The banner owner and the other brothers are all waiting... But Brother Zhang , What do you want to ask at the end? Our brothers have been with you for six or seven days, and we are considered a closer group, so don’t worry about it.”

Zhang Xing nodded, thought for a while, and immediately came to ask: "Our Feng Banner is a serious seven-rank general banner, in charge of four workshops, and can be regarded as an extravagant figure on the street. I don't know if he has a nickname? If not What scruples, can you tell my brother?"

The two 'School Captains' looked at each other, the young Xiao Zhao was a little anxious, but the older Lao Wang smiled and replied: "Brother Zhang, there is nothing to hide, our banner owner is indeed There used to be a nickname, I heard old people in the nearby gang call it in the early years, it is said that it is called muddy sugar iron hand... the muddy water, the sugar of honey, the iron of steel... This is probably the same as the candy made by Zongqi in the early years It is related to the business on the Internet, what exactly it means is not clear."

Zhang Xing raised his eyebrows, but he found it interesting, and his face was rarely lively.

Just like that, the three of them stopped talking and entered the store directly from the wooden steps hanging from the wall of the workshop.

It was afternoon, and although the shop was full of people, it wasn't noisy and lively, but it was still very crowded, which was quite unique.But unlike other places, seeing three Jing'antai "school captains" wiping their foreheads and wearing embroidered knives enter, the laughter and discussions in the store did not stop at all, as if they knew whose property it was.

In other words, it was because they knew whose property it was that they came here to discuss business, eat and drink.

"Xiaoyu."

The young Zhao 'Captain' greeted a young maid who was serving wine from a distance. "Can the banner owner be on the second floor?"

"Ask a fart!" The young servant girl turned her head and scolded, throwing out seven parts of her color, one part of her breasts, and two parts of her sweat. "Can it be elsewhere? If you have time to flirt with me, why don't you help me with some work!"

Xiao Zhao, who was being scolded, didn't care. Instead, he laughed and went forward to tease the other party. Even the old Wang didn't care at all. As he walked in, he handed over a graceful middle-aged woman behind the counter: " Sister-in-law, if you tire Xiaoyu so much, I'm afraid Xiao Zhao will die of love."

"Then let Xiao Zhao redeem her...I bought Xiaoyu from Ren Yazi for thirty guan in the past, but now that I have cultivated it like this, it is worth a hundred guan. There is no market for the price, who would let the shop rely on her? But Xiao Zhao is his brother after all, if he really comes to redeem him, he only needs fifty guan..."

The woman raised her head, she said Xiao Zhao, her eyes were twitching, and she didn't know whether she had blood from other ethnic groups or the legacy of the Lich clan mentioned in the book, but she stared directly at Zhang, who had just arrived. Row.

"This is the new brother Zhang, right? With his body and physique, he looks like the leader of the fifth army."

"Sister-in-law has good eyesight." Zhang Xing smiled and clapped his hands.

The mid-mature woman was about to smile and say something again, but suddenly she was stunned together with the senior captain next to her, and after a while, she quickly pointed to the second floor: "Hurry up, I'll see you off." Good food and wine."

Zhang Xing nodded and went upstairs directly, that year Elder Wang also turned his head and called Xiao Zhao who was teasing with the maid, and hurriedly followed.

When I went upstairs, I saw the bearded Feng Zongqi leading two small flags, and seven or eight "school captains" were waiting in the largest room in front of him.

Those who know this posture will naturally know that this is the sergeant of the capital security department under the Fusi of Jing'an Taidong Town.

Of course, it is estimated that it is almost the same.

Zhang Xing was not pretentious, he still bowed his hands in greeting, saying:

"Banner owner."

"What banner owner?" In his forties, General Banner Feng surnamed Feng, who was said to be nicknamed the sugar-wrapped hand, smiled slightly and stepped forward to help him up. "Unless there is some chance, it will be difficult to get promoted in this life. Those who have never cared about it, just eat on the street, just call me brother... But Xiao Zhang, you are so young, I heard that you still can't put it down all day long I’m afraid that there will be big promises in the future.”

Zhang Xing shook his head again and again, still sincerely: "It's just that I am more curious, and I think reading is interesting, and I have no other hope... I made the banner owner laugh."

"It's okay." Feng Zongqi waved his hand for a while, pointed to the three reserved seats, sat back, and then got straight to the point. "Old Wang and the others all said that you are a decent person, but there is one thing, if we can't ask clearly, we will always feel uneasy...Xiao Zhang, what did you do before?"

"The middle base army is pawning." Zhang Xing didn't hesitate at all, nor did he intend to hide anything.

"Looking at your behavior, we all guess that you are from the army." Below President Feng, except for the old Wang downstairs who already knew about it, everyone's expressions changed, so that they pondered for a moment before replying. "But I didn't expect it to be the Upper Fifth Army...Xiao Zhang, let me ask again carefully, aren't the Upper Five Armies still fighting against the Dongyi people in the eastern border?"

"Big brothers all understand the situation, I'm afraid I guessed it too." Zhang Xing answered without haste, half-truth. "Yang Shen rebelled, cut off the army rations, and the front has already been defeated... Now here in the capital, it is not clear whether the imperial court deliberately blocked the news, or the defeat was too miserable and terrible, so that it has not been transmitted yet. Anyway, as far as I know , The upper five armies are basically gone. I came back alone and happened to meet a team of patrolling riders in brocade clothes. Among them, there was a black belt who acted fairly. He wrote a letter for me, and then came back to Jing'antai to do it This arrangement... However, when I returned to the capital, I found out that all the old relationships were in the army, and all of them had disappeared, like disappearing into the sea. door to read."

There was still noise downstairs, but there was a moment of silence upstairs.

After a long while, Feng Zongqi smiled wryly: "Actually, as officials, we always know more news than ordinary people. With Yang Ni's wave, everyone can guess that the front line will be defeated, and it will be defeated. , but I didn't expect such a miserable defeat, so defeated that only a few people escaped back, so defeated that almost no one dared to say defeat... But now that the 20 elite are gone, the Dongyi people will definitely invade the coast again, and the news will be slow sooner or later The slow spread, coupled with Yang Ni ruining the Central Plains like that, sooner or later there will be a big storm here in the Eastern Capital, and all of us have to be prepared."

These words seemed to be addressed to Zhang Xing in the front, but they seemed to be addressed to everyone in the back, and several people in the room also nodded their heads a lot.

"But no matter what, Xiao Zhang's details are not far from our guess, so I can rest assured." Feng Zongqi recovered and continued to sigh. "From now on, it's a common practice here on Water Street to share with him... Newcomer, but also crawling out of the dead, there is no need to rush to make him work hard, just take your time... Also, work at night There is no need to come here specially, just come here to play when you have time."

Saying that, without waiting for Zhang Xing to thank, Feng Zongqi got up and passed the crowd and went out.While everyone sat down for a while, Feng Zongqi didn't come back. On the contrary, drinks, meat and vegetables were delivered in a continuous manner. The crowd was probably used to it here, and they directly opened the door to eat and drink.

Only since it was mentioned that the situation is about to deteriorate, it did not bring the topic to Zhang Xing, who was supposed to be the main character. Instead, he talked about the increase in the price of rice and noodles, Yang Ni's prison, Dongyi's invasion of the coast, including the western capital of Daxing-Chang'an There is a routine administrative struggle with the eastern capital Luoyang-Henan.

Of course, some people accidentally mentioned a little bit of "business" in Water Street, which basically followed the gang, and there was even news of rivalry with other gangs.

Regarding this, Zhang Xing was also happy to be an audience.

When he was full of wine and food, he calmly bid farewell to everyone, and in the afternoon, he returned to the gate of Xiuyefang alone, but was stopped by a string of extremely high-standard frame guards of honor, and took a rest in front of the gate.

PS: Thanks to the new leader, Master Xue Luofeng, this book is 27 cute, and he is also an old book friend.

(End of this chapter)