Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 202 Spending a lot of money (Part [-])
Today's Beijing Normal University ushered in the warmest sunny day since the beginning of spring, and the streets were extremely lively.

Turning south from Erlang Temple Square on the east side of Dengshikou Street is Miaoyou Hutong, and facing west is Miaoqian Hutong.This is the most famous cricket fighting place in the capital.

Cricket is also known as Zhizhi. The game of cricket fighting originated in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Southern Song Dynasty.Jia Sidao, the treacherous prime minister of Emperor Lizong of the Song Dynasty, was an expert in this field. He once wrote a special book "Promoting Weaving Classics", which gave a detailed elaboration on weaving, color identification, grasping, recuperation and fighting skills.

After the death of the Song Dynasty and the prosperity of the Yuan Dynasty, the game of weaving was spread from Hangzhou to Yanjing. After the death of the Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, especially after Emperor Yongle moved the capital to Yanjing, the game of cricket fighting was played in the capital, which was full of nobles, gentlemen, Qi Wan, and even dudes. It has been in existence for 200 years.

Especially in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, this drama has reached its peak.When Emperor Xuanzong heard that there were top-quality crickets on the ground in Suzhou, he secretly ordered Kuangzhong, the magistrate of Suzhou, to capture a thousand crickets and send them to the capital as a tribute.As the saying goes, what is good at the top must be good at the bottom. For a while, Suzhou crickets were a rare commodity to live in.Wu Bian of Suzhou Weizhong, the reward for catching a cricket is like beheading a captive.

There used to be a small school in Weizhong who was good at catching crickets, and because he caught so many crickets, he was awarded the post of hundreds of households in the guard, which is an unprecedented miracle.The cricket pots in the Xuande kiln have also become treasures in porcelain.It has been passed down to the present that a mere five-foot basin is worth hundreds of taels of silver.At that time, there was a ballad that singled out this matter. The song said: "Promote the weaving of Qu Qu, and Emperor Xuande wants it."Department stores are cheap, but crickets and pots are pretty.

Due to Xuanzong's advocacy, when the capital entered the autumn, every household hunted and raised weaving, and fighting and weaving fields abound.There was once a He Jingxian from She County who was an official in the capital, and wrote a song "Song of Watching Crickets", which was dedicated to the grand occasion of fighting and weaving in the capital.

After Longqing, although the fighting and weaving in the capital was not as grand as in the previous dynasty, whenever the weather warmed up, gambling was still open, and half the city was crazy.The Miaoqian Hutong is the most concentrated place for fighting and weaving in the capital. On a small street, houses and households are all fighting for weaving.Therefore, over time, people forgot the real name of Miaoqian Hutong, and called it Rijuzhi Hutong.

At the turn of the night between You and Xu, the Cuzhi Hutong was brightly lit and crowded with people.There are more than 30 Doucu weaving farms on the street, each of which is full of people. The largest Doucu weaving farm is called "Fei Teng Lou".

The entrance is the screen wall, and after bypassing the screen wall and entering a door, there is a hall with five couplets, which is the main arena for weaving.There is a low mahogany table and three chairs in the middle. The masters of the main fight sit facing each other, and the one sitting in the middle is Yaro in the shop, who plays the role of arbitrator.There are many long benches around, one floor above the other from the inside to the outside, all of which are for the audience.

There are many separated private rooms on the inner side of the two verandas and upstairs, which are reserved for those who have status.They can drink and have fun here, or they can fight each other, and if the fight starts in the main hall, they will even participate in betting.

It should be noted that all those who promote the weaving market are gamblers who come to the market with money.If it is said that most of the gamblers in the other houses on Zhuzhi Street are ordinary people, then this Feiteng Building is a place for gambling with huge sums of money.There used to be many people who got rich overnight here, but more people only got the tragic end of bankruptcy here.

Tonight in the Feiteng building is a man named Wang Dengbang. Judging from his name, his father must very much hope that he can study hard and become famous in the gold list in the future, but at this moment his nickname is "King Zhizhi". It seems that there is no hope of being on the list.But just by listening to this nickname, one can know his fame in Cui Zhi Dao.

Wang Dengbang lived in the capital for generations. He was naughty and wild since he was a child. He studied in a private school for three years and couldn't even memorize "Hundred Surnames". They are all experts.Since he started playing with Zhizhi when he was nine years old, he couldn't stop it. He simply ran away from school and devoted himself to tinkering with the bug. His parents had no choice but to let him go.

When Wang Dengbang was 15 years old, he brought straw cages, bamboo tubes, and cricket pots to the streets of Zhuzhi to fight. Although it was a small fight, he won more than he lost.After more than ten years of experience, he finally got the title of "King of Zhizhi". There is no other person in the capital who can compare with him.With this ability, he actually accumulated tens of thousands of wealth and became the respected uncle Wang in Zhizhi Hutong.

Youshi is over, and the Feiteng Building is brightly lit and crowded with people.It's just that the three chairs beside the mahogany table in the hall are still empty.It's not for other reasons, but because Wang Dengbang is playing here, and he has won twelve games in a row.Many masters who did not believe in evil inside and outside the capital were defeated without exception, and a lot of money flowed into Wang Dengbang's pocket, and now no one dared to fight.

Yalang in the store was afraid that the scene would be cold, so he stood in front of the mahogany table and shouted loudly, "Masters in front of the table, Mr. Wang said that everyone who fights tonight will give way. You say What kind of way? Ha, as long as the bug king you tamed can bite his 'Golden Winged Eagle', even if it just loses a leg, breaks a wing, or breaks a tooth, any of these will appear , even if Your Excellency's treasure worm dies in battle, it will be considered that Uncle Wang lost, and you can get Uncle Wang's 100 taels of silver. Tell me, is this a big deal?"

"Big!"

"Is Uncle Wang very generous?"

"Big!"

All the gamblers roared like thunder.

Yalang shouted again, "Okay! Then, which master will come out to fight?"

The hall was silent again.

Everyone sitting on the stool knew Wang Dengbang's unrivaled stunt, so no one would be fooled by it.

Seeing that no one said anything, Yalang ran into the first elegant room on the right side of the hall, where Wang Dengbang, the "King of Promoting Weaving", sat idly there.

Not long after, Yalang came out again and shouted again: "The little one asked Uncle Wang for instructions to increase the lottery, 120 taels, which master will fight?"

Some people in the crowd began to whisper, but still no one answered.

Yalang panicked, his nose became even tighter, he only heard him increase the number and shouted: "150 taels."

Still no one cares.

"180 taels."

"190 taels!"

"Two-hundred-two!"

Yalang kept raising the stakes, causing commotion among the crowd.These gamblers are all here for money, who would not be tempted to hear this big fortune?All of a sudden, there are those with green eyes, some with flushed cheeks, some with whispers, and some with eagerness to fight.But the excitement is the excitement, after all, no one has the courage to stand up.

It was this Yalang who was so eloquent that he tickled people's hearts: "Gentlemen, you have already seen those war insects of Uncle Wang. Are they really invincible? You all embroidered your bamboo tubes and straw cages. Take a closer look at the basket, maybe there is a Sun Dasheng in it who can win the 200 taels of silver. What a waste of 200 taels of cash, my man!"

(End of this chapter)