I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 572 Luoyang Night Scene
That night, Zhuge Liang did not invite Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others to stay overnight, nor did he take them to visit Luoyang City, which had already lifted the curfew.

After all, newlyweds are in love with each other and would never be willing to talk with others all night.

However, Zhuge Liang's solicitation at the banquet affected the mood of several people. After they said goodbye and left Zhuge Liang's house, they did not choose to go back to rest immediately, but took this opportunity to visit Luoyang City.

On the way, they naturally had an extensive discussion on the recommendations put forward by Zhuge Liang.

Xu Shu said bluntly: "I think Kong Ming is a modest gentleman. His status and resume are enough to show that the emperor values ​​him. If I can be recommended by him, it will be no less than any other way to enter the officialdom. I don't know how many years of detours I can save."

Xu Shu is the oldest and most mature of the four.

When he came to Luoyang, his desire to enter officialdom was the strongest among the four.

Pang Tong witnessed Zhuge Liang's talent tonight - someone with comparable talent to him was so much more handsome than him, which was undoubtedly another blow to him. Pang Tong could accept it intellectually, but emotionally it still made his previous training with Zhuge Jin a little broken.

But when talking about his career, he immediately regained his composure: "In the past, when someone recommended someone, the biggest worry was that I would meet the wrong person. If the recommender himself had bad morals, I would be in a dilemma."

"But now we have Ziyu and Kong Ming... They are both gentlemen, so we should not worry about this."

Meng Jian heard this and asked, "So, Shi Yuan is also moved?"

Pang Tong shook his head instinctively and changed the subject: "I think Yuan Zhi is quite moved."

Xu Shu did not hide his feelings after hearing this: "When I heard Kong Ming talk about this during the banquet, I was indeed a little tempted. You all know my family background, and I have an old mother. Now I am studying away from home, and my mother is responsible for the family. So I want to find a career as soon as possible and bring my mother to live with me and take good care of her."

The four of them studied and lived together for several years. The other three also knew the situation of Xu Shu's family, and they all agreed with Xu Shu's choice.

Pang Tong even said: "If Yuanzhi is determined, we will accompany him to visit Kongming again in two days. But I plan to continue studying in Luoyang for a year or so."

Meng Jian and Shi Tao both agreed, but like Pang Tong, they both expressed their desire to continue their studies after entering officialdom through Zhuge Liang's recommendation.

Xu Shu could also vaguely guess their thoughts - even if Zhuge Liang was favored by the emperor again, the level of attention he would receive if he recommended one person at a time and recommended four people at a time might not be the same.

Xu Shu did not expose these, but kept them firmly in his heart.

Afterwards, the four of them went to Luoyang's night market again.

They had heard that there were various markets in Luoyang City, but the most lively one at night was the South Market located in the outer city of Luoyang.

It was completely dark, but the four of them still found many people coming and going on the road.

On both sides of the road, there were patrol officers from time to time. When approaching residential areas, pedestrians consciously lowered their voices, and even if there were occasional drunken people who spoke loudly, the officers would quickly come to stop them.

It would be fine if they listened to the advice, but otherwise... the four of them watched with their own eyes as a drunk man shouting "My father is Sikong Yuan" was gagged and dragged away by patrolling officers.

As for the drunkard's companions, they initially helped the officers to persuade the drunkard, but when they saw the officers taking action, they immediately moved away from the drunkard. Only after the drunkard was subdued did they come up and leave with the officers.

Seeing this, Pang Tong became curious. He found a patrol officer, saluted, and asked in a low voice: "Excuse me, sir, where are you taking this man?"

The officer was obviously trained. After returning the greeting, he also whispered, "You just arrived in Luoyang, right? It's not surprising that you don't know. This is a residential area, and no noise is allowed after dark. For those who don't know, we usually just give them advice, but there are always some who refuse to change, like the one just now. They can only be sent to the Fourth Lieutenant to sober up."

Pang Tong thought that this arrangement was appropriate, but it would add to the duties of the officers.

However, he looked at the officer in front of him, and he did not show any sign of annoyance. He continued to ask curiously, "I saw that the man just now claimed to be the son of Sikong Yuan, but you did not hesitate at all when you arrested him."

Hearing this, the officer straightened his chest and said complacently: "If it was in the past, it would be fine. Now the county magistrate is not afraid of power. With Zhuge Gong here, we can enforce the law impartially without any worries."

When Pang Tong saw this, he once again affirmed Zhuge Liang's ability.

However, Pang Tong thought that even if Zhuge Liang married the princess and had the emperor's favor, if he wanted to enforce the law so strictly in Luoyang City, he would probably offend the powerful... such as the drunkard who was just arrested.

After he finished asking, he suddenly said to the people who were listening attentively not far away: "Did you listen carefully? Do you have any questions?"

The leader of the group not far away stepped forward and apologized in a low voice, "What you asked just now is exactly what I was confused about. I hope you can forgive me for being abrupt."

Pang Tong looked over and although the person's face was not as clear under the light as it was in the daytime, it still could not hide the other person's appearance.

Pang Tong had just met Zhuge Liang, and when he saw the newcomer, he felt that he was on par with Zhuge Liang, and couldn't help but secretly cursed his bad luck in his heart.

The officer had no idea what Pang Tong was thinking, so he reminded them, "I see that you are all humble gentlemen. Even if you don't know the rules here, you haven't spoken loudly... Once you pass the Pingcheng Gate in front, you can speak freely."

"If there's nothing else, I'll go on patrol first."

"Thank you for clearing up my doubts." Pang Tong and others thanked him one after another.

After the messenger left, Pang Tong heard a young man behind the handsome man sighing, "As expected of a man under the emperor's feet. Even a messenger knows how to behave."

Afterwards, he bowed to the other party and prepared to go out of the city gate with Xu Shu and others to the South City in the outer city. If the other party was not so good-looking, or if he had not met Zhuge Liang today, he might have tried to make friends with the other party, but now, he was not in the mood.

He didn't want to, but the other party did. He introduced himself: "I am Zhou Yu from Lujiang, and this is Lu Yi and Lu Ji from Wujun..."

"I heard that General An Dong has a talented person by his side, named Zhou Gongjin. Could it be you?" Xu Shu asked curiously.

"I am so humble, I am sorry to make you laugh at me." Zhou Yu replied modestly.

After they knew each other's names, Pang Tong did not hide it. After he finished speaking, he found out that Zhou Yu had also heard of their names. He knew that they were disciples of Huang Chengyan, a famous scholar living in seclusion in Jingzhou, and Pang Degong. He immediately wanted to make friends with them.

Pang Tong said: "This is not a place for us to talk. Why don't we go out of the city and find a tavern?"

"Good!" Immediately the two sides joined together and headed towards South City.

At the same time, on the top of the Pingcheng Gate, Liu Bian was enjoying the breeze and saying, "It has been years since I went out with Yunchang in private clothes, but when I think about it now, I still remember it clearly."

That’s right, Guan Yu is back.

"I often missed Yuyang when I was there." Guan Yu felt the same way. After returning from abroad, the emperor treated him as kindly as before.

Then he looked outside in the direction the emperor was looking, and saw that the Nanshi market south of Pingcheng Gate was brightly lit, with people walking around, and it was very lively. Standing on the top of the city wall, he could faintly hear laughter and cheers coming from there.

"After returning this time, I feel that Luoyang City has changed a lot compared to the past."

Liu Bian pointed to the South Market and said to Guan Yu: "Yunchang, do you still remember that when I first became regent, I ordered Yunchang to lead the generals to inspect Luoyang. This South Market was the starting point for Yunchang to seek redress for the people at that time - the thatched pavilion at that time is still in use by the School Affairs Department today!"

Guan Yu followed what Liu Bian said and thought about the past.

As they were talking, Guan Yu noticed that another group of people were leaving the city. After leaving the city, they did not go straight to the South City, but instead found a tea stall not far outside the city gate and sat down.

His intuition from previous experiences in protecting the emperor told him that this tea stall was temporarily set up at night, and usually served people who came back from South City to rest. However, this group of people did not go to South City after leaving the city, but instead started chatting here. He couldn't help but be alert.

Liu Bian also noticed this scene, but he was not too worried because there were people in disguise protecting him at the tea stall.

Seeing that Guan Yu was suspicious, Liu Bian simply sent someone to find out their identities.

Anyway, I might as well go out and chat with Guan Yu and hang out, since I have nothing to do anyway.

On the other side, the two groups of people talked a little more deeply and realized that both sides came with General Anton (Annan).

In this case, it is estimated that everyone came here for career advancement. However, the two sides did not regard each other as competitors because they were both confident in their abilities, and the relationship between the two sides became even more harmonious.

Lu Yi is young and has not grown up yet. When he sees people who are no less capable than him, he is unwilling to admit defeat and has a strong desire to show off.

But in the eyes of Pang Tong and others, it was a bit childish arrogance.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves came from not far away, accompanied by laughter and strange cries.

Pang Tong frowned immediately. This place was not far from Pingmen, the south gate of Luoyang. If these people on horseback continued to make such a noisy noise, the sound would definitely be heard in the city. He immediately thought that these people might be doing this on purpose because they had been punished for the laws enforced by Zhuge Liang in the city.

Everyone present was smart. When they saw a group of horsemen coming up the road and galloping wildly at the city gate on their horses instead of entering the city, they all had the same guess as Pang Tong.

Lu Yi couldn't help himself and showed it - "These people are not doing it on purpose, right? They know that loud noises are not allowed in the city, so they only dare to make noise outside the city. It's really ridiculous."

Moreover, although Lu Yi was often taught a lesson by Lu Kang, he never looked down on such a playboy who relied on his power to do whatever he wanted and disturbed people at night.

However, he knew that he was a newcomer, so he did not speak loudly to attract attention. He just watched the people riding horses like Zhou Yu beside him.

Lu Yi felt that when his uncle knew about this after returning, he would definitely think he was prudent.

Soon, officials came from the city. The chief official said to the people on horseback: "Everyone, this place is close to the city gate. It is not appropriate to ride your horse recklessly or make a noise..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a man on horseback: "Is there any law to back it up?"

"He, Zhuge Kongming, only asked that no noise be made in the city, but now I am outside the city!"

The clerk felt helpless after hearing this, as the other party had indeed found a loophole.

But he also recognized the person who came and knew why he did this, so he bowed and said helplessly: "Mr. Yuan, I apologize for offending you a lot these days, but we are just following your orders. Why do you have to bother with us, Mr. Yuan?"

After hearing this, Yuan Yao became even angrier.

A few days ago, he was just in high spirits and shouted a few words in the city, but he was detained by the police without any reason. Putting aside the fact that he scolded the police who tried to dissuade him, what was his fault?

But later, this matter accidentally reached his father Yuan Shu, who immediately beat him severely. Yuan Yao knew that his father, who was the Minister of Justice, felt that he was ashamed of breaking the law knowingly, so after recovering from his minor injuries, he brought his friends and finally found the loopholes in Zhuge Liang's management of the night market.

Seeing the petty official in front of him begging for mercy helplessly, Yuan Yao felt even more proud: "Why should I bother with you? You can patrol your city, and I will have fun outside the city. We won't bother each other."

After saying that, Yuan Yao immediately swung his whip in the air, which made a crisp sound. He moved his foot and his mount happened to neigh. After a while, the sound of horse hooves and laughter spread out again.

The clerks and runners were helpless when they saw this.

If they wanted to leave the city to stop Yuan Yao, they had no support because the other party was the son of the Minister of Justice and could be considered a royal relative. Even County Magistrate Zhuge might not be able to protect them afterwards.

The clerk had no choice but to turn around and tell someone beside him, "Go to the princess's mansion and tell Lord Zhuge about this. I hope Lord Zhuge is still awake..."

At the same time, Xu Shu, who was standing by the tea stall, saw that the clerk failed to stop the other party and roughly understood the reason. He suddenly asked: "If you were an official and encountered this situation, what would you do?"

Pang Tong suddenly seemed to have thought of something and answered first: "We'll see what to do when we're an official, but right now I have a way to help Kong Ming."

Zhuge Liang had not been mentioned before, and Zhou Yu did not expect that they knew Zhuge Liang, but after hearing what Pang Tong said, he still became curious.

Lu Yi even asked directly: "Brother Shi Yuan, what can you do?"

Pang Tong first pretended to be profound and said to Zhou Yu and the other two: "The next thing is what we are doing for Kong Ming. You and Kong Ming are not acquainted, so you don't need to get involved. Just pretend that you don't know us."

Then Pang Tong stood up, pointed at Yuan Yao and shouted, "That kid, why are you yelling in the middle of the night? It's making my ears hurt!"

Now, even Lu Yi understood that the horse riders before were difficult to deal with, but once a conflict broke out at the city gate, wouldn’t that be easy to deal with?
(End of this chapter)