Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 385

"The Liao army drove the signing army to attack the city, and within two days, all the ravines outside Yunzhou were filled. Stone bullets from the iron barrel artillery of the Liao army fell into the city from time to time, and the Hedong army often took advantage of the gap to go out of the city with cavalry to kick the camp. The two sides are attacking and defending each other, and the corpses of the signed troops outside the city are piled up like a mountain." General Chen Qianli, the trainer of the Chang'an Regiment, handed the report to Zhao Xingde, and said with a smile, "Yang Yanqing and Zhe Kecun cooperated very well. The control is in the hands of the Song army, and the back road of the food road is well-prepared. The city of Yunzhou is strong, and the soldiers in Hedong are known for their tenacity. Even if Xiao Tachi has a [-]-jin cannon to help, it will not be easy to take down Yunzhou."

"The city of Chang'an is too deserted." He looked at the street outside the window, and said with a smile, "If brother Zhao is free, how about going for a night tour outside the city with me?" Chen Qianli stood up and stretched himself.The inner city of Chang'an is mostly military camps and warehouses, and the city gates are heavily inspected at night, so it is far less prosperous than the places outside the city where the Chamber of Commerce is autonomous.Since Chen Qianli was transferred back from the Anbei Army Division, he was reassigned as the training envoy of the Chang'an regiment.The regiment training envoys are civil servants, and ten lieutenants to protect the country manage military affairs. Chen Qianli spends most of his time in the government office.

"Isn't the imperial court just watching the battle between Liao and Song Dynasties, isn't it afraid that the situation will get out of control?" Zhao Xingde said with a worried look on his face, "I don't know how long the Huguo Mansion will have to wait?" Huoqi Battalion is temporarily stationed in Chang'an, so Zhao Xingde can't be like Longya stationed in Dunhuang The military academy lieutenant can participate in the discussions of the Huguo Mansion at any time. He and Chen Qianli met in the Huguo Mansion before.

"Last year, the Song State suddenly sent troops to compete with our dynasty, forcing us to withdraw from Yunzhou. When did the Huguo Mansion suffer such a big loss?" Chen Qianli said with a smile, "The captain of the Huguo Mansion has always been very stingy, and this is not enough for Song Guoliu." blood, he is absolutely unwilling to send troops to intervene." He seemed to see Zhao Xingde's worry, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Liao and Song Dynasties are both great powers in the world, and the Yang family and Zhe family in the Guanghe East camp hold hands. With 15 elite soldiers and hundreds of years of foundation, this battle is not so easy to finish. The key is how to end it is more beneficial to me? Come on, I will take you to see a good show." Pulling Zhao Xingde to stand up, He is five or six years older than Zhao Xingdexu, and he behaves like a senior brother in every gesture, but he is much calmer than Chen Kang.

Zhao Xingde stood up helplessly, Chen Qianli's suggestion was always hard to refuse.Zhao Xingde could not excuse himself because he was busy with military affairs, because Chen Qianli knew the internal situation of the Longya Army very well.Because the soldiers work hard and the officers are capable, the captains of the Dragon Tooth Army are actually more relaxed than other lieutenants. Even for the newly built firecracker battalion, Zhao Xingde only needs to formulate a training plan, and the centurion and ten commanders will carry it out with all their strength. , he only needs to adjust it according to the training situation.At the beginning, Zhao Xingde was not at ease, but after more than a month of training, everything went smoothly, and the whole battalion was like a machine that was running precisely, which made him stare secretly, but also relieved a lot, and gradually let go Let the centurions do their work.

The perimeter of the Chang'an city wall is nine miles. During wartime, it can accommodate more than 80 soldiers and civilians to take refuge in the city. However, in normal times, there are not many people living in the city, and there are few pedestrians at night.Zhao Xingde changed his military robe and rode out with Chen Qianli. When he was about to approach the gate of the city, he heard the noise of the streets outside the city, which made him yearn for it.Zhao Xingde sighed: "The place outside the city is so prosperous, no wonder the people don't want to live inside the city wall." Chen Qianli said with a smile: "If there is no strong city and strong soldiers to rely on, no matter how prosperous the market is, it will be just a passing cloud." The two pressed Rider rode slowly, boarded the plane at the city gate, passed the antler sentry of the city guards, and entered the autonomous area of ​​the Chang'an Chamber of Commerce outside the city.

The night market in Chang'an is more prosperous than the daytime. The shops on the side of the road are all open, the tall lanterns are as bright as daytime, and the colorful goods reflect an attractive luster. Drapes, bronze mirrors, clay figurines, fruits, Sichuan brocade, tea, raisins and precious stones from the Western Regions, ginseng and mink fur from Liaodong, rare treasures from Kang, bustling crowds lingered in front of the stalls to choose.Above the restaurant facing the street, there was the sound of silk and bamboo orchestras, and the younger brother was loudly selling new wine at the door. The lively scene reminded Zhao Xingde of the market in Bianliang.

Chen Qianli came to the door of a restaurant called "Changshenglou", took out an invitation card from his arms and handed it to the young man at the door, and said with a smile to Zhao Xingde: "This place is opened by the hereditary Korean government, and it is also a frequent banquet for the aristocratic families in Guanzhong. The gathering place happened to be a good show tonight, so I brought my younger brother over to have a look." Zhao Xingde nodded with a smile, although he was curious, he didn't ask the bottom line.This restaurant is located in the middle of the busy city, and the horse posts at the entrance are densely packed with riding horses, each of which is tall and handsome, and is taken care of by the restaurant's young horse boy.Zhao Xingde thought to himself, Xia Guo's horses are indeed the best in the world, if the Guandong also has a herd of war horses like this, why should they be afraid of the Liao cavalry going south. "

The servant received the invitation, this is the style of the most honorable guest at the host's banquet, he didn't dare to neglect immediately, he hurriedly led Chen Qianli and Zhao Xingde to go inward.As soon as you enter the building, you can see the dancers performing dances in the center of the carved fence, and the guests on the three floors around are enjoying the dances and listening to the music while drinking and chatting.Chen Qianli pulled Zhao Xingde to sit down on a loose seat on the first floor, and was about to speak, but a person next to him shouted: "Brother Chen, are you free today, or do you come here to see Jing Wan's palm dance?"

Chen Qianli frowned slightly, then smiled and said: "That's not as good as Brother Maocai, he comes to join us every night." Zhao Xingde turned around and saw a handsome man standing beside him, and there were several other people beside him. A man dressed as a rich man.Brother Maocai pulled Chen Qianli to talk, and asked him to go up to the private room on the third floor to enjoy the dance together, but Chen Qianli refused, saying that tonight he was playing with Zhao Xingde, and it would be more casual to sit downstairs, so it would be inconvenient to disturb him.At this time, brother Maocai realized that Zhao Xingde seemed to be neglecting him a little bit, and asked with a smile: "May I ask who this brother is?"

Chen Qianli first said to Zhao Xingde: "This is the eldest son of the Korean government, Director Li, named Maocai." Zhao Xingde smiled and cupped his hands, and Chen Qianli introduced: "This is my friend Zhao Xingzhi." Director Li was slightly surprised , thought for a moment, smiled and asked, "Brother Zhao, where does he live?" Before Zhao Xingde could speak, Chen Qianli said with a smile, "Brother Zhao is from the Kanto region. It looks like the Five Classics are written by Brother Zhao's ancestors." Director Li said with a smile, "That is also a family of hairpin tassels for generations, and it is a pleasure to meet you." At this time, the Korean Gong Li Chan upstairs sent someone to invite Chen Qianli went to sit on the third floor, but Chen Qianli declined, so Director Li gave up.

Chen Qianli looked at his back, shook his head and sighed: "Brother Zhao Haihan. I don't ask about the background of the hero. The one next to Director Li is okay, but he cares too much about his family background."

Zhao Xingde smiled slightly and said: "It doesn't matter." But he was a little surprised in his heart, Chen Qianli said that "Five Classics of Justice" was written by the ancestors of the Zhao family.Zhao's great-grandfather is known for his regular script, and the "Five Classics of Justice" published by Guozijian is still in use today.After his death, the official family abolished the dynasty, and his posthumous posthumous title was Wending.From the reign of Xiande in the Later Zhou Dynasty, the four generations of the Zhao family all became officials with Jinshi articles, but because of the cleanliness of the officials, they never bought a lot of land, and there were few males from generation to generation.Therefore, Zhao Xingde's father, Zhao Tixin, was once praised by Wen Yanbo as a filial man, but he was not famous for his family background until he was exiled and died.It would be strange if Chen Qianli really knew these secrets.

While the two were talking, the singing and dancing in the center of the shop had reached its climax. Several muscular wrestlers worked together to hold up a crystal plate inlaid with gold and silver, and a dancer with a high bun and slim clothes was stepping on the palm of the wrestler. Climbing up the stairs, they finally stood on a crystal plate with a diameter of no more than five inches and danced. Around the Tower of Lishi, five dancers also performed a spinning dance. Hurry up, the one dancing on the crystal plate, the wide skirt spreads out like a peony in full bloom, the red silk flutters and almost flies into the air, the surrounding guests cheer wildly, Zhao Xingde is also amazed, and even secretly applauded The dancer became worried.

"Don't worry." Chen Qianli saw his expression and said with a smile, "Lin Jingwan has already acquired the essence of palm dancing, let alone a five-inch ice tray, even a three-inch ice tray, she won't fall off Come down." Accompanied by the sound of drums and the enthusiastic shouts of the customers in the store, he held a chopstick and tapped the edge of the table lightly and rhythmically, but his expression was much more normal, obviously used to such exquisite dancing skills.

It wasn't until Lin Jingwan walked safely from the palm of the strongman to the ground that Zhao Xingde breathed a sigh of relief, clapped his hands and sighed, "Dancing skills in the world stop here." "Lin Jingwan is the number one dancer in my Guanzhong. Behind her is Bowanghou's mansion has long belonged to her physically and mentally, that guy is Li Sihai. It is not easy for others to take advantage of her. Don't look at her slender and petite, her legs and feet are strong enough to kick a wooden pile." Chen Qianli smiled and tipped a few silver coins.

Unexpectedly, this dancer and Li Sihai still had a relationship, Zhao Xingde smiled at Chen Qianli and said, "Didn't Brother Chen specially ask Zhao to experience the music and dance in Guanzhong?" A silver coin was placed on the tray sent by the waiter.Chen Qianli shook his head, and said with a slight smile: "Although the music and dance are wonderful, they are just to warm up the scene. The real good show is yet to come. Brother, just wait and see, and be optimistic about the methods of our Xia people."

While speaking, he took the teapot himself and filled the teacup in front of Zhao Xingde.Seeing the smile in his eyes, Zhao Xingde didn't pursue the question even though he was puzzled, so he had to wait and see what happened to the "good show" that Chen Qianli said.