Tianzhu: The Record of Foreign Stories in the Republic of China

Chapter 15 Rat Killing (1)
Ma Xiang, whose name is natural, was born in Yanguan, Hangzhou.He was a small county official in the world, but Hunan is good at classics and history, attacking literature, and governing Taoism... Later he traveled to Changzhou, met Ma Zhi, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, and relegated the governor of Changzhou.I have heard of Hunan's name for a long time, but I invite you to meet each other, and the extension ceremony is very different... I also said that there are a lot of rats in this city.A talisman in Xiang Nai's script makes people paste it under the south wall, hit the plate with chopsticks, and scream.Rats come in groups, and when they walk, they will fall down and prostrate themselves.Xiang is Hushu, and there is a big one approaching the front.Xiang said: "You caterpillar microscopic things, the sky and grains of food, how can you pass through the wall and cave house, and disturb your husband day and night? And with compassion in mind, I can't kill all of you, so it's better to leave here!" Back, all the rats came forward, and if they kowtowed to apologize, they formed a team and went out of the city gate without knowing the number.Since then, there has been no trace of rats in the city...

--Bright?Lu Ji's "Speaking of the Sea in Ancient and Modern Times?Say Yuan Ren Ji?Horse Nature Biography

1
In the middle of the courtyard was a table of eight immortals inlaid with marble. There were two mice on the table, grinning and staring at each other. The atmosphere on the field seemed tense and extremely tense.

The one sitting in the middle of the table with its two front paws supporting its body is a big white mouse, male, with thick and long beard, protruding mouth, more than one foot long, shiny fur and bright eyes, looking toward the center of the table. Sitting down, there is an air of awe-inspiring and inviolable king.Standing opposite it was a large gray-yellow chipmunk with a strong build and thick and long limbs. It looked like it might have weighed two to three kilograms. He has a fierce and stubborn spirit, and the hair on his whole body stands on end like a halberd. At first glance, he looks like a hedgehog.

The two mice sat and stood, staring at each other, wishing they could pounce on each other and bite off each other's neck.The two sides confronted each other for a long time, and finally the chipmunk couldn't bear it any longer. It let out a "squeak" and jumped up suddenly. Its two gray-black front paws poked forward, like an eagle catching a chicken, and pointed at the big white mouse. catch.The white rat is like a martial arts master who is used to big scenes. Seeing the opponent rushing down like Mount Tai, he is still calm and not flustered. Chi slip" and slipped under the opponent's belly.

The big chipmunk missed the shot, and without a pause, it immediately turned around and opened its mouth to bite the big white rat's ass.The rat was tall and strong, unable to turn around in time, suddenly rolled down on the ground, with all four feet in the air, and with a "chuck", urinated.The big chipmunk was caught off guard, was drenched by the hot urine, screamed "Zhizhi", and hurriedly backed away, very embarrassed.

A lot of onlookers stood in the courtyard, and when they saw the rat performing this funny move that was both good and evil, they couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The thing is like this, today is the [-]th birthday of Mr. Chen Liangyou, the big cloth merchant in Xiulin City.Boss Chen is a person who loves ostentation, so he not only invited the Huagu opera troupe from other places to celebrate his birthday, but also specially invited Ma Shiqi, a well-known mouse taming artist in Xiulin City, to perform the mouse show. reward guests.

Ma Shiqi's family lives in Xiulin Taipingfang. It is said that he is a descendant of Ma Ziran, a foreigner from the Tang Dynasty. He is good at taming rats and makes a living by selling rat plays.In normal days, he always takes his apprentice Yao Waquan with him, carrying a special wooden frame with small towers, bamboo rings, windmills, ladders and other props, blowing the suona, walking through the streets and alleys, attracting audiences.When there are many people, they stop to perform.

During the performance, Ma Shiqi first asked his apprentice to support the wooden frame, and then pulled down a rope ladder from the top of the frame. Then he put down his long sleeves and rang the small gong. After the gong sounded three times, he heard There must be a "squeak" sound, and more than ten small white mice that have been trained before, under the leadership of a big white mouse, ran out of his sleeves one by one, jumped up the wooden frame along the rope ladder, and performed ladder climbing. There are small programs such as drilling hoops, turning windmills, swinging, wrestling with two mice, and walking on a single-plank bridge. Some mice will dance to the rhythm of the gong, and the movements are funny and lifelike.After the performance, there was another sound of gong, and all the rats lined up, bowed in groups to thank the audience, and got back into Ma Shiqi's sleeves one by one.A curious spectator tugged on Ma Shiqi's sleeve and looked inside and out, but he couldn't see even a mouse hair, and couldn't help but wonder.

The performance of the mouse was full of wit and humor, and the audience was very happy, and most of them would not hesitate to take out a few cents and throw them into the circle.The rewards were not much, but Ma Shiqi had only one daughter, Ma Wansu, besides his apprentice Yao Waquan, a family of three, relying on the rewards from these rat-selling shows, they could barely make ends meet.If you are lucky, you may meet a wealthy family and invite them to perform for a happy event, and you may even get a reward of one or two silver dollars.

Because the number of white mice he tamed was exactly seventeen, so everyone called him Ma Shiqi. As for his real name, it was gradually forgotten by people.

On Boss Chen's birthday, Ma Shiqi was invited, brought his apprentice Yao Waquan, and came to Chen's house on time with all his clothes.After lunch, I set up a venue in the yard, and was about to call the white mice out to start a performance, when suddenly I heard footsteps of "嗵嗵嗵", a big man in Tsing Yi broke in from outside the gate, his sleeves were raised, and his chest was bare With bare arms and long sideburns, a small wooden box is carried vertically on the left shoulder, and an oilcloth umbrella is slung across the right shoulder.

After this person entered the door, he yelled: "Who is Boss Chen? I'm looking for Boss Chen."

When Chen Liangyou heard this, he hurriedly stepped forward and cupped his hands and said, "My lord, Chen Liangyou, what can a strong man ask me for advice?"

The man said "Oh" and bowed with his hands clasped in fists, and then he announced his family name and explained why he came.It turned out that his surname was Zhu, and his name was Zhu Dapeng. He was a rat-player. He was living in Xiulin County recently. He heard that Boss Chen had a big party for his [-]th birthday today. The play, to help the drinking, is lively and lively, and it is also good to ask for some rewards for money.He speaks with a Shandong accent, so he must have come from Shandong.

When Boss Chen heard this, he immediately showed embarrassment, pointed at Ma Shiqi, and said to him: "Zhu Zhuangshi, it's really a coincidence that you came here. We have already invited a master Ma to play with the mouse here, and the place is open." Now, the show is about to start. Look at this..."

Zhu Dapeng was slightly taken aback, and followed his fingers to look over, but saw that the Master Ma he was talking about had a sallow complexion, a thin figure, and a long gown that dragged the floor. He turned out to be a little old man over fifty years old. He walked up to Ma Shiqi, bowed his hands to him, and said politely: "Master Ma, I, Zhu, wandered in the rivers and lakes, and ended up here. Apart from this outfit, I have no money and can't move a single step. Please also For the sake of the Jianghu family, Master Ma gave me the business of Boss Chen's family, and I, Zhu Dapeng, are very grateful."

Ma Shiqi was originally a kind-hearted person, seeing his dusty appearance and speaking pitifully, he felt pity immediately, and said hesitantly, "This, this..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Yao Waquan, an apprentice standing behind him, quietly tugged at his skirt, and hurriedly said to Zhu Dapeng: "You are wrong to say that, we came out to wander the rivers and lakes, who didn't want to mess with you?" Food? We gave you this business, you are full, but we will be hungry?"

As soon as Ma Qiqi heard what his apprentice said, he felt that it made sense, so he swallowed back what he wanted to say just now, and said with a wry smile: "Zhu Zhuangshi, you heard what my apprentice said, it's not that Ma refused to give in, it's just that Ma Making a living by selling rat shows, with his apprentice and daughter by his side, all the food and clothing of the family of three will be settled here. If Ma quit this business, the family of three will probably starve for several days."

Zhu Dapeng immediately turned his face down, and said, "So, is Master Ma really unwilling to give in?"

Ma Shiqi said apologetically, "It's not that I don't want to, but I really can't. Today is an auspicious day, and Boss Chen is not the only one holding weddings in Xiulin City. I also ask Zhu Zhuangshi to come."

Zhu Dapeng said with a sneer: "Today, there are quite a few people who hold weddings in Xiulin City, but there are not many people like Boss Chen who are rich and powerful and give generous rewards. Since Master Ma refuses to give in, then we have no choice but to follow the rules of the world. Here we go."

Boss Chen was confused, so he asked, "What are the rules of the world?"

Zhu Dapeng took a look at Ma Shiqi and said, "Since Master Ma and I are both people in the rivers and lakes who make a living by playing with mice, let's have a rat fight and see the difference on the mice."

Ma Shiqi was taken aback when he heard the word "rat fight", and asked, "How do you fight?"

Zhu Dapeng said: "It's very simple. Master Ma and I each choose one of the most valiant and combative mice from our own training, put them together and let them fight and bite each other. It's like a duel between two people. Whose mouse will fight?" Whoever wins will stay, and whoever loses the mouse has nothing to say, so I have to ask him to go to another family."

"Okay, okay, this is a good way. It is lively and beautiful, and it can be distinguished..." After hearing Zhu Dapeng's words, the guests who had already had good things applauded.

Boss Chen didn't know Ma Shiqi's details, so he couldn't help but turned his head and looked at him with inquiring eyes.Ma Shiqi coughed twice, and while hesitating, Yao Waquan behind him couldn't help but jumped out, angrily said: "Master, a duel is a duel, are we still afraid of him?"

Ma Shiqi turned his head and stared at him, as if blaming him for his talkativeness, but then turned his head to look at Zhu Dapeng, and saw that he had a fierce face, determined to win, and knew that the comer was not kind, if he wanted to win the business of Boss Chen's house today, look This "rat fight" is inevitable, so I couldn't help but sighed, and said: "Since Zhu Zhuangshi proposed to follow the rules of the world, the old man can only bite the bullet and fight."

Seeing that he agreed, Zhu Dapeng couldn't help but sneered, shrugged his shoulders, put down the small wooden box on his back, opened the lid a crack, reached in, and grabbed a big chipmunk.Some good people moved to the Eight Immortals Table, and set up the "ring" in court.Zhu Dapeng put the chipmunk on the table, raised his chin, and looked at Ma Shiqi provocatively.

Ma Shiqi ignored him, closed his eyes slightly, muttered something, suddenly shook his sleeves, and shouted: "Shu Wang Shu Wang, if you don't show up, when will you wait?" It flashed out of the sleeve, and it landed in the middle of the table, impartially.When everyone looked closely, they realized that what came out of his sleeve was a big white mouse, which was about a foot long.Everyone knows that white rats are lean and thin, usually only the size of an egg. I have never seen such a huge white rat. No wonder Ma Shiqi wanted to call it "Rat King" just now.

One flower and one white, as soon as the two big rats entered the ring, they immediately glared at each other, posing for a duel.The guests had seen the mouse show, but they had never seen the "rat fight". They all opened their eyes wide and held their breath, staring at the two mice on the ring, for fear that if they blinked, they would miss something wonderful. scene.Not to mention the arena, even the atmosphere in the entire courtyard became extremely tense.

Let's say that Zhu Dapeng's big chipmunk couldn't hold back and rushed to attack rashly. After Ma Shiqi's big white rat drenched his head with hot urine, he became timid and shrank back to the table, never daring to attack again.Zhu Dapeng was in a hurry, rushed to the table, bent down, and kept giving orders to the chipmunk with an aggressive mouth.Under his repeated urging, the chipmunk finally plucked up the courage and slowly approached the big white mouse.

The rat crouched in the middle of the table, ready for battle, not afraid.When the chipmunk approached three to five inches away, it suddenly attacked first, and before the chipmunk could make a move, it leaped up like lightning, and bit the back of the chipmunk's neck.The big chipmunk screamed in pain, turned around suddenly, opened its mouth, and bit the big white rat's back.The rat felt the pain and jumped away hastily.Each of the two mice was injured, bleeding from the bite.

The big chipmunk is like a bloodthirsty killer, turning back to lick the wound on its back, smelling the blood on its body, instead arousing its fighting spirit, becoming more vicious and fearless, screaming strangely, like a Like a wheel, it kept turning around the rat, its mouth and claws, flapping, rolling and biting, constantly attacking it.Since the rat is known as the "Rat King", it has its own special features. It moves around and defuses the opponent's fierce attacks one by one.All of a sudden, the arena was tossing and turning to attack and resist, and the shadows of the mice were criss-crossing. The two mice fought inextricably. All the guests in the arena were dazzled and stunned.

The two mice did not give in to each other. You came and went, you tore and bit each other. After more than 20 rounds of fierce fighting, the chipmunk became more and more courageous, and the more they fought, the more aggressive they were. Bite the opponent's neck with sharp teeth, which is to use the move of the raptor's claws, using two sharp front claws to grab the opponent's eyes.As for the white rat, it has always been calm, and does not fight head-on with it. Instead, it adopts a dogfighting method, constantly wandering around the field, developing agile footwork and dexterous body skills, and skillfully avoids the opponent. The opponent attacked again and again.

The guests were also divided into two factions. One group thought that the chipmunk was strong, aggressive and sure to win, and they all applauded for it; Will lose, all clenched their fists secretly cheering for it.

But Ma Shiqi watched the performance of the rat in the ring, but he couldn't help but secretly frowned.Rats use defense instead of offense. Although they can ensure that they are invincible, it is not an easy task to defeat the opponent and win the final victory.He raised his head and glanced at Zhu Dapeng, and saw that he folded his hands in front of his chest, and he was also looking up at him with a smug expression on his face, as if his big chipmunk had already won.

Although Ma Shiqi's face was calm, he was secretly worried: if the fight continues like this, it won't take more than half an hour, and I'm afraid there will be no winner.At that time, even if his "Rat King" wins, he won't have the energy to perform in front of the guests. If so, wouldn't it be a blow to his own brand?If you want the "Rat King" to save as much energy as possible, you have to let it fight quickly, defeating the opponent in the shortest time and with the least amount of effort.How can this be done?

Just as I was in a hurry, I suddenly saw a big tabby cat walking leisurely from under the wall.His heart moved, and he quietly waved to the big tabby cat. The big tabby cat didn't recognize its identity at all, and actually walked towards him.When it came up to it, Ma Shiqi suddenly raised his toes and stepped on its tail lightly while no one was paying attention.The big tabby cat let out a loud "meow" in pain, and hurried away.

Cats are the nemesis of mice. The big chipmunk on the ring heard the meowing, as if a person had been hit by a numb hole, his limbs were weak, he could hardly stand up, and his attack was also slowed down.At this moment, the big white rat seized the opportunity, leaped up like lightning, and with a move of a hungry tiger, it precisely bit the back of the big chipmunk's neck.The cat is the natural enemy of the mouse, why is this rat not afraid of the cat?It turned out that in order to temper and cultivate the kingly spirit of this "Rat King", Ma Shiqi often put it and the cat together for training. Over time, the "Rat King" made friends with the cat. It is also not afraid.

The big chipmunk was bitten by it, screamed in pain, struggled to turn around, and wanted to repeat the same trick, biting the opponent back, the big white rat was already on guard, and turned away, but its mouth was still dead Clinging on to the opponent, he dragged the opponent to the edge of the table step by step, then raised his head high, dragged and bit the chipmunk and swung it violently, not only biting off a large piece of bloody flesh from the opponent's neck Flesh, also threw the big chipmunk's huge body under the table with a bang.The big chipmunk was seriously injured, screamed, blood flowed profusely, lying on the ground, unable to move anymore.

It took a long time for the guests to come back to their senses, and they all applauded the rat.

(End of this chapter)