The Record of Swordsmen in the Late Sui and Early Tang Dynasties

Chapter 143 Chapter 130

In a short time, a table of wine and food was put on the table. Cao Qiubao's father came over happily and said with a smile: "Two distinguished guests, come, come, come, please sit up, let us father and son accompany you to drink Have a glass."

Duan Wuji and Tie Niu shook their heads.

"Old man, what are you doing? It is said that we Shandong people are a country of propriety and righteousness, the hometown of saints.

Don't you still want the two of us to compete with each other?Old man, this can't be done.

Old man, you should hurry up and sit down, otherwise how can we have dinner tonight?

Hey, Brother Cao, hurry up and let your aunt eat together. "

Cao Qiubao's father laughed and said: "The rule of our place is that when there are distinguished guests at home, women are not allowed to sit at the table.

Well, let's eat together. "

Duan Wuji rolled his eyes.

"Old man, what kind of bad gauge is this? If you want to treat us as distinguished guests, then everyone in the family can eat together, and don't fix these stupid things."

Cao Qiubao's father had no choice but to tell Cao Qiubao to call his mother, and Cao Qiubao's mother came in after a short time.

"Hey, two honored guests, you four can eat together, why do you call me?"

Duan Wuji laughed and said: "Old aunt, you said we came, but squeezed your old man's job, how can there be such a distinguished guest?

Old aunt, come, sit down and eat together.

Hey, Brother Cao, is there anyone else in the family?If you have anything, come and eat together. "

Cao Qiubao smiled.

"My dear brother, there is no one else in the family anymore.

Your sister-in-law took your two nephews back to her mother's house the day before yesterday, but she hasn't come back yet, so there are only three of us at home. "

Duan Wuji listened and nodded.

Cao Qiubao's father winked at Cao Qiubao.

"Qiubao, why are you still standing there? Don't tell me to fill up the wine for the guests."

Cao Qiubao filled the wine bowl with wine, Cao Qiubao looked at Duan Wuji and Tieniu and said: "You two benefactors, Mr. Cao first thank you for saving your life last time, come on, let's drink this bowl first."

The four of them picked up their wine bowls and drank it all in one gulp.Then Cao Qiubao poured a second bowl of wine.

"You two benefactors, I took this bowl of wine for you to wash away the dust. The two virtuous brothers traveled thousands of miles to come to our house. Come, let's make this bowl again."

After the four drank the bowl of wine again, Cao Qiubao poured another bowl of wine.

"You two virtuous brothers, I hope good luck will be with you, and I hope everything will go well with the old prince tomorrow, and I wish you a lot of money and good luck.

Okay, let's do this bowl again. "

The four of them had just finished drinking when the old lady looked at her son and said, "Qiubao, don't just persuade the guests to drink, because drinking too much alcohol will hurt your health, you don't know that.

Or persuade the guests to eat more. "

Duan Wuji laughed when he heard this.

"Old aunt, you still know us well. We two brothers don't usually drink, and occasionally we drink a little to deal with it. We have to eat this meal, otherwise we won't be able to sleep at night.

Brother and Uncle, you can drink it yourself, we are starting to eat. "

After finishing speaking, Duan Wuji and Tieniu began to eat, and after an hour, the banquet ended.

Cao Qiubao helped the two unload the horses, and then led the horses to the barn to feed them with good grass and materials.

Then, Mother Cao arranged two good rooms for the two to rest. After so many days of hard work, the two of them were indeed tired. After they entered the room, they immediately undressed and untied the sandbags tied to their bodies. go to bed.

After a short time, the two of them fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, the two of them got up early, picked out five or six catties of oranges with red skins from an orange basket, and then found a box wrapped in brocade to pack them.

Cao Qiubao looked at the two of them and said, "My dear brothers, you wait at home first, I'll try it first, if it works, I should have a letter in the afternoon."

Duan Wuji and Tie Niu laughed.

"Brother Cao, you can go without worry. As the saying goes: people plan things, but God makes things happen. It doesn't matter whether they succeed or not, so you can go ahead without worry."

Cao Qiubao pulled out the horse and got on the horse with a gift, and then said to Duan Wuji and Tieniu: "You two virtuous brothers, wait for my good news, brother, I'm going.

My dear brother, it's not too early for you to see, you two should hurry up and eat. "

After finishing speaking, Cao Qiubao beat his horse and ran out.

Duan Wuji and Tieniu stood up and were about to go out for some activities, when the old boss Cao suddenly ran over.

"Both benefactors, let's go, follow me into the house for dinner."

Duan Wuji and Tieniu stood up, so they had to follow Lao Caotou into the house for dinner.

Then Cao Qiubao left home and immediately rode into Dengzhou City. This Cao Qiubao

While urging the horse forward, he was thinking about how to deal with today's affairs. When he came to the palace of the King of the Mountain in Dengzhou City, Cao Qiubao got off his horse, tied the horse, climbed up the steps, and bowed his hands at the officials guarding the King of the Mountain.

"My lord, please inform me that Cao Qiubao, the banner officer in the army, has something to ask to see the old prince Chitose."

The door officer guarding the palace recognized it at a glance.

"Hey, isn't this Cao Banner officer? I heard that your house has guests. Didn't you ask for leave to stay at home with the guests? Why are you back now? Has the guest left, Mofei?"

Cao Qiubao smiled.

"I only came here yesterday afternoon, how could I leave this morning? I have something to ask to see the old prince, please go and report.

Brother, can we talk again when we have time? "

The gatekeeper nodded.

"Well, that's fine. Xiao Caoer, you wait here first, I'll go in and report right away, and see if the old prince is free to see you."

After finishing speaking, the door official turned around and walked in. The door official walked into the living room, and saw the old prince sitting and drinking tea alone in the room.

When the official saw this, he quickly bowed and saluted.

"My lord, Cao Qiubao, the flag officer outside the door, begged to see me. My lord, are you seeing me or not?"

The old prince put down his teacup after hearing this.

"Well, let him come in. I don't know what's the matter with this kid, so I just say that the king has an invitation."

The officer came out immediately after hearing this.

"Little Cao'er, the prince told you to go in, go in by yourself."

Cao Qiubao was very happy to hear that, and immediately stepped up the steps and walked straight to the palace.

After entering the living room, Cao Qiubao quickly knelt down and saluted.

"The Wang family is a thousand years old, and Cao Qiubao, my subordinate, greeted you."

The old prince smiled.

"Little Cao'er, do you have anything to do with my lord? Didn't you just ask me for a few days off yesterday? Why, you came to see me today. What's the matter? Tell me.

Xiao Cao'er, you're not in the official hall now, stand up and speak quickly. "

Cao Qiubao stood up, looked at the old prince and said, "My lord, today I am entrusted by a friend to beg you.

At the beginning of this year, I was escorting a batch of things from the capital back to our Shandong province on behalf of the prince. On the way, I was robbed by two bandits, forcing me to hang myself almost to death.

Later, he was rescued by two young men from Taiyuan Mansion in Shanxi Province, and after a struggle they snatched the things back.

Didn't I tell you about this when I came back?The two friends who came to my house today are the two Shanxi friends who were rescued.

It turns out that my two friends make a living selling horses. The main purpose of their visit this time is to sell a batch of Turkic horses, to see if the prince’s army wants these horses? "

The old prince laughed out loud.

"Oh, I'm really sleepy, so there's a pillow here, isn't there any shortage of good horses in our army?

Old man, I have been thinking about this matter for many days, but I still haven't come up with a clue.It's just in time for them to come today, and this king will see if they can solve this problem.

Xiao Caoer, go back immediately, invite these two people over, and say that the king has invited me, and I want to talk to them face to face.

Go, go quickly. "

When Cao Qiubao heard that there was a door, he immediately stood up overjoyed.Put the box of oranges you brought with you on the table.

"My lord, these two friends of mine respected you, so you can accept it."

The old prince smiled.

"Well, put it on the table and go quickly."

Well, this old prince is also short-tempered.

Cao Qiubao walked out of the prince's mansion excitedly, rode on his horse and ran straight to his home.

Cao Qiubao entered the house and saw that Duan Wuji and the Tieniu were practicing boxing in the yard. Cao Qiubao looked at the two of them and said, "You two, don't practice."

When Duan Wuji and Tieniu saw the smile on Cao Qiubao's face, they knew that there was something close to this matter.

The two stopped practicing duel and walked over.

"Brother Cao, how are things going?"

Cao Qiubao smiled.

"You two virtuous brothers, there is a reason for this matter. The old prince has invited you to go there."

Duan Wuji and Tieniu were overjoyed when they heard this.

"Really? It's so easy to handle! Okay, let's go now."

Duan Wuji and Tieniu pulled out their horses, and they followed Cao Qiubao straight to the city of Dengzhou.

When they arrived in front of the gate of King's Mansion, the three got off their horses and tied the horses to the horse stakes in front of the gate of Wang's Mansion. Then, Cao Qiubao led the two of them straight to the gate of Wang's Mansion.

In front of the gate, Cao Qiubao smiled at the gate officer.

"I am ordered by the prince to invite my two virtuous younger brothers, sir, please inform us again."

The officer immediately turned around and ran in after hearing this, and after a while, the officer ran out again.

"Little Cao'er, you two, the lord has an invitation, please invite inside."

Cao Qiubao waved his hands at Duan Wuji and Tieniu after hearing this.

"You two virtuous brothers, come with me."

The three entered the palace, and the two followed Cao Qiubao and walked straight towards the living room with their heads lowered.

Entering the living room, Cao Qiubao first knelt down to salute the old prince.

"The Wang family is a thousand years old, and my two brothers brought it here.

Two virtuous brothers, why don't you come and meet the old prince? "

After hearing this, Duan Wuji and Tieniu took two quick steps, and quickly knelt down behind Cao Qiubao to kowtow to the old prince.

"My lord is here, grassroots Duan Wuji and Duan Tieniu pay my respects to my lord, I wish my lord good luck and happiness forever."

The old prince looked down and saw two young men kneeling behind Cao Qiubao. The old prince looked, ho!These two young men are energetic enough, I can see that these two people have a dignified appearance and a good appearance!

After watching for a long time, the old prince laughed.

"Qiubao, both of you, get up. Come on, come on, sit down quickly, let's talk when we sit down."

The three had no choice but to stand up and sit at the bottom of the table. The old prince shouted loudly to the outside: "Come on, hurry up and serve tea."

The waiter outside the door immediately came in with a pot of new tea after hearing this, and poured a cup of tea for each of the four people.

Then turned around and backed out.

The old prince looked at Duan Wuji and Tieniu and said: "I heard from Tianbao that you rescued him last time, so it shows that you two have good skills!

Tianbao is my banner officer, I know your martial arts, why, your martial arts are better than him? "

Duan Wuji laughed when he heard this.

"My lord, we've only learned rough fists and clumsy legs for a few days, and our martial arts are actually not very good. As for our chance to win that time, it was all due to luck, and there is nothing to praise."

The old prince twisted his long beard and smiled.

"You two are humble enough, but it is indeed a blessing for our Great Sui Dynasty to have subjects like you.

Hey, you two, I heard from Qiubao that you traded horses from that Turkic country to our Great Sui Dynasty. Is there such a thing? "

Duan Wuji listened and nodded.

"My lord, there is indeed such a thing. My lord, is there a shortage of horses in our army? If there is a shortage of horses, can we sell some for you?"

The old prince laughed out loud.

"Okay! I happen to be short of a batch of army horses in my army. Hey, Wuji, when will you sell these army horses?"

Duan Wuji thought for a while and said: "I guess it will be in April or May.

My lord, I would like to ask you a question.Do you have silver? "

The old prince thought for a while and said: "There should be in April and May. Are you still afraid that the king will default on your money?"

Duan Wuji smiled when he heard this: "My lord, we are running a small business. Once we owe us money, we will have no way to live! This depends on the size of the old lord."

"Well, what you said is also reasonable, this king will prepare money for you in advance, please don't worry about it.

Hey, Promise, how small is this horse, two taels of silver?Can you quote me a price? "

Duan Wuji laughed and said: "My lord, is this horse expensive to sell to your old man? How about it, I don't want to shake it, it's meaningless to shake it. How about our one-buy price?"

The old prince smiled.

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

"My lord, what do you think of this? How about we count 50 taels of silver for a horse? This is the price of horses in our farming area. If it is less, we will not be able to get it."

The old prince laughed out loud.

"Okay, okay, okay! Let's go with the price you said. None of us are allowed to go back on our word!"

Duan Wuji laughed when he heard this.

"Your Majesty, as the saying goes: A gentleman's words are hard to follow. There is nothing to regret. My lord. May I ask how many horses do you want?"

Old Wang also thought for a while and said, "Well, I'll just ask for [-] horses first. How about it? Can you sell them to me?"

Duan Wuji smiled.

"My lord, with so many horses, I'm afraid they'll come back in several batches, and I'm afraid they won't be able to do two taels at a time.

However, my lord, we have to make it clear in advance that these fine horses sold from the Turks are untrained bastards, so don't you find reasons not to want us when the time comes. "

The old prince laughed loudly after hearing this: "Does it need to be said? How many horses on the grassland have been trained?

Wuji, you don't have to worry about this. This king is the best person to deal with. As the saying goes: Words must be believed, actions must be resolute.You don't have to worry about this king's character.

Well, let's just settle it. "

The old prince stood up and shouted towards the outside: "Come here."

Immediately a royal official ran in from the outside.

"My lord, what are your orders?"

The old prince said with a smile: "Notify the kitchen and ask them to prepare food and wine. I will have a big banquet for my guests at noon today."

(End of this chapter)