Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 107 Sighing Your Suave Talent (2)

There are not many pedestrians in the streets of Chang'an City, but there is no hustle and bustle outside the city walls, and there is a kind of deep and distant ancient city.There are tall warehouses everywhere, storing grain, cloth, spices, porcelain, jade, tea and other goods.Occasionally a team of carriages parked on the side of the street, porters with white towels across their shoulders, carrying packed goods, sometimes unloading the goods from the carriages, sometimes loading the goods from the warehouse into the carriages.Even in the cool weather of early October, the porters were still sweating profusely.

Outside the city, there are eight rivers of Wei, Jing, Feng, Lao, 潏, 滈, Chan, and Ba that surround Chang'an.Longyou Guanzhong is covered with forests, which reduces the sediment content of the river. Every year, the Prime Minister's Mansion organizes the people to dig out the old silt from the bottom of the river and sell it to nearby farmers to replenish soil fertility.Most of the water transport channels were silted up at the end of the Tang Dynasty, but the prime minister's government used the power of the people in Guanzhong to dredge them again.Nowadays, there are wharves everywhere outside Chang'an City, especially Guangyuntan Wharf, which can be used by [-] tank ships at the same time.The goods transported by water from all over the world are loaded into carts at the wharf and transported to the warehouses in Chang'an City. Then the required goods are taken out from the warehouses and loaded on water tankers, or transported to Dunhuang by horse-drawn convoys, and then exchanged in front of Yumen Pass. The camel team embarked on a difficult and long journey.

Zhao Xingde and Li Ruoxue came to a place that looked like a restaurant in Bianjing Zhengdian. They saw many merchants coming in and out. The two went up to look curiously, but they saw notices posted on the two screen walls at the door, and one of the notices read "Offer a reward "The two big characters, the notice means that the Ordnance Department of the General's Mansion is now trial-producing artillery. Whether it is Xia or a foreigner, under the condition of keeping the power of the artillery unchanged, how much can each recruit reduce the weight of the artillery? And if there is no problem in repeated manufacturing according to his method, the same weight of gold will be rewarded.In addition, every time the Ordnance Department casts a cannon, it will give [-]% of the cannon's price to the conscripts according to the ratio of the weight reduction in the front and back, and in accordance with the rules of paying apprenticeship money.

Several businessmen from the Xia Kingdom were also reading the notice, and one businessman calculated with his tongue: "A catty is 16 taels, and a catty of gold is equivalent to 160 taels of silver. Cannons cost a thousand catties. If the weight of a thousand catties can be reduced by 300%, then you can get A reward of 8000 catties of gold is offered, which is equivalent to 10 taels of silver. If the weight of each type of artillery is reduced a little in the same way, then the reward will add up to [-] taels of silver. It's done." His mental arithmetic is admirable, but another businessman next to him said: "Do you think it's easy to make money? The best artillery casting in the world is my gun department, which surpasses what they cast. How could it be that easy. Even if you don’t use copper for the cannon, you only use iron, and every time you try to build one, it costs a lot, and how many times you fail, no matter how rich your net worth, you will be paid for it.”

A middle-aged man was also standing in front of the notice. His face was a little swollen, and there were a few stains on the hem of his robe. What the businessman said just now made his pupils shrink. He looked away from the notice and murmured "That's all, the result that people can see at a glance, but I am greedy for profit, thinking that I am superior to others, and I deserve to be ruined." He turned around and walked out dejectedly. When he walked not far from Zhao Xingde, suddenly He pulled out a dagger in his arms.Zhao Xingde was startled, and hurriedly blocked Li Ruoxue behind him.

The clinker man did not commit any crime, but stabbed the short knife towards the left chest, intending to commit suicide.Zhao Xingde took a step forward, he didn't have time to snatch the dagger, he pushed the man violently with both arms, the man staggered and fell to the ground, the dagger also fell out.He wanted to die with all his heart, since he had no time to care who pushed him, he stood up and slammed his head down against the pillar.Several people around hurriedly hugged him by the waist.This man looked like a madman, and shouted loudly: "What are you stopping me for? I don't owe you any money." It's gone." "Did you see the bag bearer across the street? He lost all his wealth, and now he is living well." "With the green hills still there, there is still a chance to make money." After struggling for a while, this The human strength was exhausted, and he just sat on the ground panting heavily.

The merchants also gradually dispersed, but Zhao Xingde and Li Ruoxue stopped to watch from a distance, saw the look of determination in his eyes, and touched the knife that fell on the ground.Zhao Xingde looked at Li Ruoxue's sympathetic eyes, sighed, and said in a deep voice: "My friend, life is short, why bother to seek death." He stepped forward and stepped on the dagger.

The man raised his head and stared at Zhao Xingde viciously, and shouted: "Although I, Chun Yuzhen, am down and out, I don't want people like you to take pity on me." After speaking, he pushed Zhao Xingde's leg with one hand, and tried desperately to pull out the dagger with the other hand.Zhao Xingde practiced martial arts every day, and the Hebei army deliberately strengthened their waist and legs to practice riding skills. This step on the dagger was as heavy as Mount Tai, and the man could not shake it even with all his strength.

Just when the two were at a stalemate, Shi Wenhu was walking out of the ticket shop with Qiu Shiliang, and greeted loudly: "Zhao De, what's going on?"

Chun Yuzhen recognized the captain's attire, and immediately withdrew his hands, but still sat on the ground, looking numb.Zhao Xingde smiled awkwardly and said: "This friend may have mishandled his business, and he has become weary of the world. I am here to persuade him." He spoke lightly, still firmly stepping on the dagger, fearing that Chunyu Zhen would suddenly snatch him away. Killed himself with a knife.

Shi Wenhu smiled and said: "This kind of persuasion is similar to my Kanxi sergeant's style." Zhao Xingde cupped his hands and said with a smile: "This brother is just thinking about it for a while. When he realizes his repentance, he will definitely be satisfied with his actions just now. Very frightening."

Mr. Xia valued righteousness, but most despised the self-made man who committed suicide when he encountered setbacks.Qiu Shiliang glanced at Chun Yuzhen, who was paralyzed on the ground in a daze, and said to Zhao Xingde with a smile, "Are you also visiting Chang'an's coupon market?" Come down to earth, play with these things a little, but subsidize some money for the elderly." After saying that, he took Shi Wenhu to do other things, without even looking at Chun Yuzhen who was underground.According to his concept, this kind of death-seeking coward, one more is not more, one less is not much.

Zhao Xingde looked at Chun Yuzhen on the ground, then at Li Ruoxue's unbearable eyes, sighed again, and said in a deep voice: "Brother, I just promised my friend that I would persuade you, it's not easy to talk here, you and I go to the restaurant Eat and drink first, then talk." After speaking, he pointed to a shop with a wine curtain in front of him.

Maybe it was because of the pointing and pointing of passers-by in the ticket shop, which made Chun Yuzhen feel uncomfortable, or maybe it was because he wanted to have a good meal before he died.After listening to Zhao Xingde's words, he did not refuse, stood up and patted the dirt on his body.Zhao Xingde picked up the dagger under his feet, weighed it in his hand, his hand was slightly dropped, he saw the hair-like carbon lines on the dagger, he couldn't help secretly praising it, it's a good knife.Now he didn't dare to return the sharp weapon to Chun Yuzhen, stretched out his hand in front of him, and said in a deep voice: "Bring the scabbard." Chun Yuzhen is a person who wants to die, how could he care about the gain or loss of a small knife, he was slightly taken aback, Sighing, he called the scabbard in his arms to Zhao Xingde, and sighed: "This treasured sword can pierce transparent light armor, so let's repay your life-saving grace."

Zhao Xingde put the knife in his arms, and gave Chun Yuzhen a deep look. He didn't expect this person to be so determined to die that he would not owe him a favor, and the idea of ​​"persuading him" became more and more intense. .