Tang Dynasty good man

Chapter [-] Fire at the City Gate

Cold beyond the Great Wall?I looked up at the tyrannical sun. It seemed that Mr. Cheng's courier had been on the road for at least a month. It belonged to the family letter, so there was no way to deliver the military report.The military order not to drink alcohol in the army is not strictly enforced outside the Great Wall, and the soldiers there don't even want to drink, but the generals just...

Are there many mosquitoes?Maybe it is, I think that since it is very cold, not many insects dare to go out and wander around, but Mr. Cheng's description is exaggerated, not to mention the cold weather, and the mosquitoes are rampant; the front sounds like it is stationed in Siberia, and the back has the feeling of Xishuangbanna .Subversion, I have never been to these two places, so I don’t want to make judgments, but it has greatly subverted my common sense of life and accepted my fate.

Just in the past year, three types of medicinal wine specially brewed for the old man were made according to several common preparations in later generations, namely aphrodisiac, slow tonic, and anti-rheumatism.Not surprisingly, colleagues who love to drink basically have this common sense. No matter how big or small the restaurants of later generations are, they basically put a few large bottles of medicinal wine on the counter to show off.When I go there often, I chat with the little girl who sells wine, and ask me clearly about the medicinal materials. When I go home, I also make a few bottles like cats and dogs.I once went to a Cantonese restaurant, where snakes and toads were soaked, so I avoided this kind of meat and wine, for fear of scaring others.Ying's mother's family is in the business of medicinal materials. It's close to the water. It's inevitable that I will brew a few jars. I usually have two pots to taste. To be honest, it's hard to drink, but it must be to Mr. Cheng's appetite. The old man who drinks toilet water doesn't care. What kind of wine do you use, as long as the alcohol content is high.

"Be careful," I filled the three carriages that Cheng's mansion had brought over with wine jars, and explained to the visitor, "The celadon jars are medicinal wines, each of which has a seal explaining its efficacy, so don't rub it off. The rest of the glaze jars are made of shochu, brewed at home. There are plain eggs in the wool porcelain jar, put them in a cool place.” Then he handed him a big box, “This is Jiuhua Yulu, give the old man a message It's time to make it clear, try not to drink as much as possible, the taste is not as good as medicinal wine."

"Yes, yes!" The man stated my words again without any mistakes.After driving the carriage, he retreated with high spirits.

The old man gave me a handwritten letter, which was short and straightforward, and I could understand it.First of all, thank me for taking care of Cheng Chu when he was not at home, and explain that I am in good health and adapt well to that place, and tell me not to worry about it, and then I just want things.The twist was not given to him, and it deteriorated after two months.I'm afraid that even the emperor can't bear the charge of poisoning the 'General Manager of the Congshan Road Marching Army', so let me forget it.

Being promoted has the benefits of being promoted, and Changshi is much more nourishing than joining the army, except for wartime emergency reports and some top-secret military reports.For other news, I can ask someone from the military department to send it to the door for reading, without even going out.

It seems that there is no intention of doing anything yet. Although there have been frequent military newspapers from the west recently, there have been almost no major conflicts.Except for Mr. Su's prestige action to sweep up Tubo territory as soon as he passed.Mr. Su's intention was clear, since he came, he would greet the neighbors first, so that Tubo would be prepared.Facing the peerless famous generals, the Tubo people really showed face. There were elite troops on the border to change defenses and increase their strength.

Old men.Especially for famous marshals at the level of Su and Cheng, the coordination and cooperation between the large corps has long been a tacit understanding. In this era, the communication cannot keep up, and the coordination of thousands of miles is based on experience. This battle is all in the hands of the two veterans. Shuai's tacit understanding determines the outcome.Although they are old enemies, I have confidence in these two people. They are both H-bomb-level figures. This time, let them go.The Turks and Tibetans should be more worried at this moment.

The wheat is harvested.Quan Zhuangzi was busy running around, and Man Zhuangzi even went to the ground to help children aged four or five.except me.Sometimes I appear in the watermelon field, sometimes I take Wangcai along the river to catch a couple of crabs, sometimes I pretend to be dead on the kang, anyway, I go wherever there is no one.In such a big scene, I can't get my hands in it. It seems that it's not all a good thing that the mother-in-law is too capable.

"Last year's stockpiles were almost all in Lafenghe Zhuangzi, and I don't know when the government subsidized grain will arrive, and the newly harvested wheat is not tasty." Ying watched the granaries full of granaries and complained dissatisfiedly, questioning the court "If it doesn't work, just exchange some of the household's stored grain from the Zhuangzi."

"Come on, how many people can't even eat wheat, and you still pick and choose." I didn't think about new and old food at all.This morning Ying and the second daughter just came back after picking up the wheat, and I received a letter from the Lanling News that there was a flood in some areas of Hedong and Jiangnan, and because of the long rainy weather, the grain production has been greatly reduced Dozens of local officials have been investigated and dealt with. The imperial court is focusing on the war against the Turks this year, not only to provide disaster relief but also to solve the supply of frontline soldiers. Now the food in the Guanzhong and the right is being allocated in batches, and it may be implemented soon. Short-term alcohol prohibition, all breweries have to close down.He frowned and said, "Let's not care about these things, let the fourth son come here now, troublesome things are coming."

"Ah?" Ying didn't know what happened, "Trouble? The court won't subsidize us?"

"Go and call fourth child!" He waved his hand impatiently, "Tell her to stop for me no matter what she has in hand, hurry up!" Turning her head, she called Ying to stop again, "There is also a wine steaming workshop, hey, count Now, the fourth brother is here to discuss!"

The trouble is serious.The wine steaming workshop takes a high-end route. The customers are either this prince or the prince, and there are several palaces. It doesn't mean that it can stop as long as it can, which is an offending thing.If it doesn't stop, the prohibition will be imposed, and everything will be over. Now the wine business is booming, and there is no stock in the cellar except for the wine that I drink at home.Toilet water, once the production is stopped, the business will collapse, and the painstakingly managed sales network will be scrapped from now on. It doesn’t matter if the income is gone. Once the reputation and sales are gone, it will be disgusting, and the years of hard work will be in vain.

"Uncle Qian, call a dozen or so people, and leave all the work on hand to me! They all go to clean up the cellar," the housekeeper was still happily selling rent at the back door. This year's harvest is good, and everyone is smiling.Pointing to a row of rent-paying tenants, "The accountant, so many people will stop after the rent is collected, and those who come again will be called back, and they will pay when they have time." He bowed his head and said softly: "Bring the account book of the Hualushui workshop, and I will wait a while. Go directly to the back house, don't delay."

The butler didn't understand, so he said, "Little Marquis. Only half of the people have been paid, stop..."

"Stop as soon as I tell you, so much nonsense." Accountant Hu is a shrewd man. He knew something was going on when he heard me. After explaining a few words in a loud voice, after they were all driven away, "Young Master, I will pass here."

The housekeeper came to his senses and hurriedly urged the last few households to bring in the food. He hurriedly ran to gather people to tidy up the cellar, and gave a grateful look to Accountant Hu before leaving.

The fourth child hadn't received the news that the imperial court was going to ban alcohol, so he came to the meeting with a blank face. Hu's accountant had no identity, so he moved a chair to the corner of the yard by himself, while Ying and the second daughter squeezed into a soft chair.He looked rather excited, after all, it was the first time such a strange meeting was held at home.

"Dalai, after the tea is served, go down and guard the door. All the maids in the back house are kicked out, and they are not allowed to come in unless they are called." Ying put on the posture of the mistress.He greeted Hu's accountant: "Mr. Hu, sit here, there are no outsiders, so you are welcome."

"Listen to me first," I motioned Accountant Hu to sit next to me.Looking around at the crowd, "I received a news today that there is a flood in the south, which has harmed the crops. The court plans to ban alcohol to overcome the difficulties." Just now, several people in the venue took a breath, and everyone looked panic-stricken. "Fourth. Once alcohol is banned, our two businesses will have to close down, not to mention the wine steaming workshop, but the toilet water workshop must be kept."

"How many days are left?" The fourth child hurriedly asked, "Is the news accurate?"

"It should be reliable." I nodded, "The date is uncertain. The wheat harvest has not yet been completed, and the court has not estimated the large number, so it is not easy to issue this ban. According to my estimation, the ban will be half a month later." thing."

"How many days is the ban?" Ying didn't care about face.Xiaopao went into the room and took out the abacus, "Did you tell me the exact date?"

"No." I turned my head and asked, "Mr. Hu, has the imperial court banned alcohol before because of disasters?"

"There were two times during the founding of the country, one was two years, and the other was shorter, about a year and a half." Accountant Hu flipped through the account book and came out. If so, according to the requirements of our dew water workshop, at least five thousand catties of good wine must be hoarded to ensure non-stop production..."

"Five thousand catties is not enough." The fourth child frowned, and interjected, "I just discussed with the inner government. Starting from the second half of the year, we will increase the supply by six hundred catties a year. Based on this calculation, it will be about seven thousand catties. up and down."

"The special confession in the inner mansion, can we give our family a side?" When mentioning the inner mansion, Ying immediately reacted to favoritism and fraud, "How can the prohibition of alcohol be decided by the emperor, maybe it can be accommodated. Turning around, he asked the fourth child: "Go and see if you can find a relationship and think of a way. After all, if there is no wine, his inner house will not suffer."

"Impossible." I knew what Ying meant. It's better for the fourth child to find a relationship than me. Anyway, he was looking for Lanling. If Lanling can cover him, there is no need to send someone to rush to give a message.It stands to reason that once the prohibition is imposed, it is a sin to make or store wine. Lanling's meaning is very clear. Hurry up and get ready, and the wine making will be avoided. She will cover the wine storage. so big. "I don't think about the convenience that others can provide us now. The key is to solve it by ourselves. It is a big help to be able to say hello in advance." There is no problem with seven thousand catties of wine in the wine cellar. Get so much back. "Can the wine steaming workshop stop export sales first, and keep a batch at home?"

"It's only half a month from now, people have orders." The fourth child bit his finger in embarrassment, and was rewarded by Ying. "It's not an ordinary customer, and no one is easy to offend. Besides, even if the wine steaming workshop stops supplying, it won't be able to steam seven thousand catties of wine in half a month." Eyeballs rolled, "Our family knows this news ?”

"I don't know, maybe a few days earlier, it's hard to say in the future." Lan Ling has no problem getting first-hand information, but there is no fire in the paper, and the wind will be heard in three to five days. The workshops in the capital are messed up with a pot of porridge, and it is even more difficult to collect it. "It needs to be early, otherwise it will be difficult to say seven hundred, let alone seven thousand." Once the passers-by know it, the big households in the capital will start to store up a lot of wine for themselves, and it will be too late to start.

"Well," the fourth child nodded, turned his face to look at Ying, "there are probably quite a few wineries at the north gate, why don't we send someone over there to collect some?"

Ying looked at me, "Take it, anyway, the ban on alcohol is coming. He can't do it if he doesn't drink it. Let's do good deeds and help him." She put the abacus on the stone table and pulled it up, "Don't worry too much about him The price, how much we charge, pinch his output for half a month and then order it all, and in the next half month, he will make wine for our family."

"Give him [-]% of the price," the fourth child nodded, "It will count towards the back. [-]% of the price is an extra reward, and it will be given to him only if we can complete our order. Our workshop will be open all day from today. Let’s start work, I’m going to arrange for the craftsmen to rotate shifts now, a little more steaming is a little bit.”

"Not only high-grade wine, but also the distillery that supplies the raw materials of shochu, and asks for goods at a higher price. There are also various wineries and restaurants in the capital. The shochu can be bought back without any delay. Spend some money It doesn't matter, the key is to store enough food in the cellar for at least two years." Two years depends on the grain harvest in various parts of the country, if disasters continue, let alone two years, ten or eight years is possible.But it will be easier to fight against the past for two years.After a long time, there must be someone secretly brewing wine for huge profits, and it will be more expensive in the future, and some can be collected back.The first two years were hard. "Mr. Hu, you are responsible for us to collect the liquor bills, and the money will go from the dew workshop." The family of the wine shop on the north gate is not easy to come forward, "I will find a way to go to the north gate, the fourth child will Start to work overtime to collect raw materials for shochu, second daughter, you also go to help."

"The fourth child will rest at our house." Ying looked at me, and seeing that I had no intention of objecting, she turned to the fourth child and said, "Send someone back to say hello to my parents. I will be busy in the next half month. I can't leave. Let the wine shop over there stop, and all the wine bought in bulk will be recycled."

"Don't stop for now." I hurriedly stopped and said, "You just have to say hello, and the wine can be sold in a limited amount. We can't let people be alerted, and we can talk about it after I buy all the wine from the workshop on the north gate."

The arrangement went well, so I hurriedly galloped towards Cheng's house. It would be more appropriate for Cheng Chu to come forward, as it is common for the Duke's mansion to prepare a large amount of wine.Will not arouse suspicion.Lan Ling was not in front of him.Some questions are not clear, and I have no idea.Up and down.

"Prohibition of alcohol?" Cheng Chu was a little surprised, "My little brother's granary can't be filled and he is worried. Who spread the news?"

"Your home is your home. What's the matter with your home that is more than 1000 miles to the south?" Give him a detailed assignment of the wine collection, "As much as you want, if you know where alcohol is banned, you don't allow it. Spread the word outside, wait until the house is full and talk about it!"

"It's not bad," Cheng Chu became anxious when he heard it, "Is it hard to live without wine? Brother Zihao, just wait, my little brother will copy it all for Chang'anli wine shop immediately, and if you don't sell it, you will die." Wait till you die."

"Family collection, no fanfare is allowed, first take the ones on the north gate, follow the method I told you, and don't be violent." After thinking about it, "Also, move all the wine to my house to store in the cellar, and drink it later. The processed food from the Chen family will be sent to you at any time, and it will not be short of your drink."

"That's right," Cheng Chu nodded, "I can't even drink wine from other houses except Chen's. Although the north gate is considered a good place for wine, I'm so angry that I have never been there. Listen to your advice." Order!" After that, he asked the steward of the Cheng family to go out to copy the wine himself, and told him: "Tell him to rush to work day and night, and then send someone to stand by the winery in front of his house, and let him know if there is a disturbance when guests come. If we don’t sell our house, we have to close it!”

Otherwise, there are bullies, a specialty of the Cheng family.As a student, we didn't learn anything from the teacher, so we are used to it.No one can do this, except for the Cheng family, which has a special flavor that will never arouse suspicion. "Have you delivered all the things you brought in a few days ago to the old man?" After the matter was assigned, he sat on a chair to do household chores, waiting for news.

"Grandpa, too, he went so far away to ask for things." Cheng Chu was a little embarrassed, and smirked a few times, "Actually, my younger brother should have come to the door in person that day. If you are dissatisfied with you, I am really embarrassed."

"Nonsense! I'm sorry. The wish of the old man, the bitter cold outside the Great Wall, how can it be achieved without a few sips of wine? It will be too much to distinguish it from me in the future!" The bachelor's words comforted him: "The old man fights on the battlefield, for the sake of the country and the people, and he can't ask too much. This is the reason."

"But..." Seeing me say that, Cheng Chu couldn't complain anymore, and scratched his head, "Brother Zihao, Siye is going to Jiannan next month. Once Jiannan's defenses are in place, Grandpa should take action." , I’m really worried, little brother.” As he spoke, he patted his thigh in discouragement, “My little brother is tall and big, and he even eats half a bowl more than others, just watching grandpa fight outside at such an old age, he will help with any help If you don’t, you will inevitably feel aggrieved.”

Cheng Chu is different from me. He is a person with ideals and ambitions. He has practiced martial arts so hard that he wants to show off his power in the battlefield and expand the territory for the country. However, there is a man with great achievements over his head, Mr. Cheng, who is stuck at home. More than 20 years, really pitiful.After thinking about it for a long time, I don't know what to say to comfort me, "The old man has his own plans, our brothers have only lived for a few years, how can we compare with the old man's insight? Don't worry about this, with your ability, there is room for use. "

"Hey..." Cheng Chu smiled helplessly, and was about to start a conversation when the butler rushed back to report that the wine had already been rounded up, and after beating and scolding, the boss couldn't even get a drop out.