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Text Chapter 12 (10) "Cao Dian" Meeting (1)

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    In the early morning, the golden autumn sunlight shines through the treetops, over the roof ridges, and scatters in patches in the courtyard. The merchant village that has been sleeping all night gradually wakes up from the quietness of the night.  Amidst the sounds of chickens crowing, dogs barking, birds chirping, babies crying, and women calling and shouting, the men walked out of their yards carrying hoes and dragging fences.  They stared with sleepy eyes and yawned long while walking slowly towards their own land.  Amid this hustle and bustle, another lazy and peaceful day began.

    At this time, Shang Cheng had already passed through Gujiazhuangzi and entered the official road.

    It was not yet midnight, and there were almost no carriages and horses on the official road. Occasionally there were one or two people, and they were all villagers who wanted to take a long detour because they wanted the official road to be flat and walk briskly.  Looking at the empty road that ran through the north and south, Shang Cheng suddenly became interested. He lightly swept his whip back and knocked the reins under his feet, then shook the reins. The green horse that had been with him for three years snorted twice in excitement, and then  He jumped out with a kick of his legs.  Lao Dao and Li Feng were stunned for a moment, and then they whipped up their horses and hurriedly followed. Amidst the clatter of horse hooves, the six of them rode away

    Green Congma is one of the best war horses in a thousand. From July last year to now, the whole year has not been spent with mane and hooves. Today is a rare opportunity to have fun, so naturally I am in high spirits.  The four hooves were tumbling and they were galloping forward. In less than half an hour, they were left thirty miles behind.  It wasn't until he saw Hu Guanji in the distance ahead that Shang Chengcai tightened the reins with unfulfilled intentions.  He stretched out his hand and patted the young horse's neck gently twice, both in praise and with some comfort. He turned around and said to Lao Dao, who was following him: "This horse usually doesn't run much. It has only been out for thirty miles now.  It¡¯s so sweaty.¡±

    The old sword stared at Qing Cong, then smacked his lips and said: "The horse's blade is the same as a razor blade. If you don't want to sharpen it with a razor blade, you need to sharpen it a lot. It should be blunt so that it can't move when cutting people. If the horse doesn't let him run, it won't move."  Ran."

    Lao Dao's Chinese was not fluent, but his meaning was very clear. Shang Cheng patted him hard on the shoulder and praised him loudly: "Unexpectedly, really unexpectedly, your knowledge has improved during this period. That's right.  It makes sense! Hey, that's what he said. If a knife is not sharpened, it will rust, and if a person does not eat meat, he will lose weight!" Several guards heard what he said and started laughing.

    Huguanji can be regarded as one of the largest market towns outside the capital city. Although it cannot be compared with the market towns in the three directions of east, west and south in terms of prosperity and wealth, it still has thousands of households, and there are also northern Wei towns and prefectures such as Yanshan and Dingjin.  Many merchants stayed there for a rest, so it was more lively and noisy than other prefectures and counties.  There is another big market today, and villagers from far and near come with baskets and burdens to sell things in exchange for living money. The four roads leading from east to west, north and south, are full of black heads, including those who chase pigs, those who drive sheep, and those who drive sheep.  The loess kicked up by the hooves of humans and animals rose up to half the sky, and half of the market town was shrouded in dust and smoke; the cows roared, the horses neighed, the pigs grunted, and there were vendors selling food and drinks, and a baby was lost in the crowd.  The various voices calling the son father and mother formed a noisy world At exactly this time, a large motorcade also came to join in the fun.  The momentum of this convoy is extraordinary. There are more than a hundred guards alone, all with bulging bags in their arms and waists. Some are riding horses and some are walking. They are all strong men in short clothes and trousers; thirty or forty cattle drivers.  The driver shook his whip and yelled back and forth with his throat broken. More than 400 bullocks breathed heavily, dragging more than 20 Haoben carts slowly from south to west, nailed to the iron sheets.  The big wheels made a tooth-aching creaking sound and left a deep mark on the dirt road.  Twenty or thirty officers in the town also went out in full force, carrying knives, iron rulers, chains, water and fire sticks, and all the household items they could carry, and ran back and forth with sweating profusely

    Shang Cheng and the others still don¡¯t know about this Haoben convoy.  They dismounted at the entrance of the town and led the horses for a while. Seeing that more and more people were walking in front of them, they walked slower and slower. In the end, they almost stayed still. Although they didn't know what happened ahead, they  I expected that it would be impossible to walk through the market town in a short time, so I planned to turn back and follow the original route and then go around it.  When I turned around, I saw that there were so many people crowded together that I couldn¡¯t even think of walking back for a moment.

    Shang Cheng broke out in sweat among the crowd. After thinking about it, he felt that it would take half an hour to walk out of Hu Guanji.  It's just past Chenzheng time, and it's almost time to touch the edge of the noon hour when you leave the town. Instead of walking twenty or thirty miles under the scorching sun to get to your county uncle's house, it's better to find a shady and leisurely place in the town to rest until tomorrow.  Let¡¯s talk about it later.  He raised his face and looked around.  On the left and right sides are households living in the market town, almost all of them are selling goods at the door. Basically, they are small shops selling needles, thread, brains and simple meals.  He didn't care about the size of the shop. The key was to find a suitable place for the horses After thinking about it, he saw a large restaurant with four rooms and three verandas in front of him, and there it was!

    The people working in the restaurant are all smart people. When Shang Cheng looked over, there were two waiters immediately in the door.He came out to greet Shang Cheng, shook the towel to dust him, and asked: "Thank you for your hard work, old customer. Please tell me, are you staying in a hotel this time or staying in a hotel?" As he spoke, he glanced at it with his eyelids.  Several horses.  At first glance, they were both military horses with branding on their buttocks. The two of them exchanged glances without saying a word, and a wry smile appeared at the corners of their mouths - unlucky

    Shang Cheng pretended not to see the expressions on the faces of the two waiters.  He knew that the man regarded them as a local garrison.  The discipline of the various garrison troops in the capital is just that; it may be better than that of the Yanshan Guards, but it is not much better. There may not be many bad acts of robbery and robbery, but it is better to drink a few kilograms of food and drink for free.  There must be a lot of trouble taking advantage of wine.  He had heard about this kind of thing many times in Yanshan; some lawsuits even came all the way to him, and he was scratching his head while holding it.  There is no way, as long as something like this happens, there is no need to ask. Nine times out of ten, it will definitely be the soldiers who are causing trouble. If it is not because of phlegm, which ordinary people would dare to provoke the soldiers?  The barracks is a hornet's nest. If you provoke one, a group of them will emerge.  Especially in frontier fortresses like Yanshan, the garrison at Wei Town is even more temperamental, because no one knows when they leave and they won't be able to come back, so if they are slightly unsatisfied, they will do any bullshit.  Moreover, life in the military is boring and boring, and there are many and strict rules. If you stay in the military camp for a long time, you will be contaminated with some hostility. If someone gets angry in the opposite direction, trivial things are likely to lead to anger.  It became a big deal then.  He didn't have any good solutions to the things soldiers committed.  He is not arrogant enough to think that he can single-handedly reform the bad habits of the feudal army, and he does not have the ability to shape this army into a model of spiritual civilization construction, so he can only follow the rules of the army.  Those who should be beaten with military sticks, those who should be whipped with whips, and a few who cut off their heads and hung them for public display, can only feel better at the time of punishment. After a few days, everything will be the same as before, with the same little ones.  There are constant disputes about right and wrong.  Over time, he became accustomed to it.  Now, when he saw the distress and worry on the faces of the two restaurant waiters, he couldn't help but feel that this scene was a bit familiar.  He even thought funnyly whether he should call the guys from the Ministry of War over to take a closer look and see what they had to say, and then suggest to them that in the newly finalized "Da Zhao Mabu Water and Land Exercise Code"  , is it necessary to add content related to the construction of spiritual civilization?

    He walked into the restaurant with random thoughts.

    Li Feng repeatedly ordered the waiter from behind: "Hurry up and arrange a clean room upstairs. If you have any delicious food and drink, just bring it over without asking the price."

    "What the hell!" Shang Cheng scolded without looking back, "I just had breakfast less than two hours ago, who can eat it now?"

    Li Feng immediately woke up, slapped his forehead and laughed: "It's wrong, it's wrong. We are all used to going to restaurants to eat. One by one, that's right. Let's serve a few pots of good tea and some seasonal fruits.  "

    It was only at this moment that the waiter managed to put in a sentence: "Generals, our place is a music restaurant, this is not a restaurant, this is not a restaurant."

    Li Feng said impatiently: "A singing restaurant is just a singing restaurant, so what? Does the singing restaurant not teach guests how to order tea and rice? It doesn't make sense." He asked in a low voice, "Since it is a singing restaurant, let me ask you something.  Is there a pretty little lady?"

    Looking at his expression and listening to his words and tone, the man immediately felt dumbfounded.  On weekdays, the people who come to their restaurant are either wealthy businessmen or literati, and they are somewhat famous. Who would have thought that the foreigners they met today were so vulgar that they actually regarded this place as a brothel and a red house.  He smiled bitterly and explained: "General, we are a singing studio here"

    "I know this is a singing restaurant." Li Feng glanced at him.

    "We are a singing place here." The waiter's voice fell heavily on the word "singing restaurant".

    Shang Cheng listened to the conversation between Li Feng and the waiter with a smile, and walked up the stairs, still making sarcastic remarks: "Li Feng, you and I have spent a lot of time together, why are you still a bumpkin? Everyone said the waiters  Let¡¯s be clear, this is not a brothel. If you want to find a young lady, do you want me to give you half a day off? In fact, I think the girl from Cuipinglou at the entrance of the town is quite good. How about we go there to rest?  " He originally wanted to tease Li Feng a few words, but suddenly he looked up and saw a man standing at the top of the stairs, staring down at him with a half-smile.

    ah?  It's Chen Pu!  How could this guy appear here at this time?

    Shang Cheng swallowed the rest of his words, nodded with a smile and said, "When did you come back?" As he said that, he took three steps and two steps up the stairs.

    "There was a convoy transporting money in front of me, and I was also blocked, so I came here to have some peace and quiet. It was just autumn, and the weather was still hot during the day. I also said that I would rest for a while and wait for the sun to go to the west before leaving. Who would have expected that I would meet  You." Chen Pu turned around and led ShangCheng got the Accord he wanted.  Her bodyguard Jiao'er and several female bodyguards were also in the pavilion. When they saw her and Shang Cheng walking in together, they knew they might have something to say, so they bowed in unison and left.  After everyone went out, Chen Pu sat down and asked with a smile, "If I hadn't happened to meet you here, I wouldn't have known that you actually had other acquaintances in this episode."

    Shang Cheng raised his head and laughed. He took a bowl and poured more than half of the tea soup. He shook his head and said with a smile, "Aren't you talking nonsense to Li Feng?" He added, "I guess you will stay in Gyeonggiwei until the cool autumn."  "Yes." There was something hidden in his words, but he didn't expect Chen Pu to understand.  Starting before Duan Si was promoted to the command of Sanjiang, the competition between the King of Jinan and the King of Chengdu for the crown prince gradually intensified.  First, the Minister of War, who was close to the King of Chengdu, went into battle shirtless, and killed an old subordinate of Gu Shi to make way for Shangguan Rui. Although Duan Si finally came out and snatched the command of Sanjiang, the signal that the King of Chengdu and Yan Gu were joining forces was too obvious.  However, soon after the Pingjicang fraud case broke out in Chang'an, an uncle of the King of Chengdu was imprisoned and questioned; then someone exposed a seven-murder case in Huzhou, and a dozen court officials from one prefecture and two counties in Huzhou Prefecture were covered up.  , the young prison guard of Dali Temple who was responsible for investigating this public case had sharp eyes, and he pointed the finger at the Jiangnan West Road Observer - he was a member of the King of Jinan, and it was obviously Xiang Zhuang who danced the sword with the intention of Pei Gong  Shang Cheng felt that the current situation in the capital was so complicated and changeable, and Chen Pu's brain was so slow that if she accidentally said something wrong or did something wrong, she might offend her two brothers and bring some disaster to herself.  So it's better for her to stay far away.  A place like the Gyeonggi Camp was good. It was far away from the city and it was a military camp. She had no chance of finding a puddle to jump into and roll over.

    "I came back before July Festival." Chen Pu said.

    July Festival?  beginning of autumn?  Shang Cheng was stunned for a moment.  The second day of July is the Beginning of Autumn; doesn¡¯t this mean that Chen Pu has been back for ten days?

    Seeing the expression on his face, Chen Pu knew that he was wrong, so he said: "It's not the Beginning of Autumn. The Beginning of Autumn here in Shangjing is the Beginning of Autumn, unlike the custom in Yanshan which has another name. The July Festival is the Girl's Day."

    Only then did Shang Cheng suddenly realize.  He was deeply impressed by the Girl's Day, a local festival unique to Beijing.  Last summer, he went to Beijing with a plan for the autumn of the prairie, because it happened to coincide with the Women's Day on the third and fourth day of July. The king did not give the officials a holiday, so he had to wait in the inn for two days.

    Chen Pu continued: "My mother has been in poor health recently, so I didn't go back to the camp in Gyeonggi after the holidays, and stayed with her for a few days. The day before yesterday, the imperial doctor diagnosed her and said there was no problem, so I came back.  As a result, when I got home, I received a notice from the Ministry of War, saying that I would attend a meeting tomorrow." She looked at Shang Cheng and asked, "What about you, what are you doing here? You don't really want to go to a certain building, do you?"

    Shang Cheng shook his head and laughed twice, indicating that it was just an occasional joke.  He said: "What can I do? I am not like you, going to the Ministry of War to attend the meeting on the "Horse Foot, Water and Land Exercise Code"." He smiled bitterly.  This meeting would be the same with or without him, but he still had to go.

    "What do you mean?" Chen Pu didn't understand and looked at him with big eyes.

    "This meeting has been held twice last month." Shang Cheng drank up the tea soup in one gulp, held out the bowl for Chen Pu to refill for him, and exhaled with a self-deprecating smile on his lips, "  Who taught me that I belong to the Shangzhu Kingdom? I am indispensable for this kind of meeting. I am not allowed to ask for leave, and I can¡¯t even think about it. Let me tell you, in fact, the "Cao Dian" has been finalized at the first meeting. But just  The final draft was of no use. The Ministry of War wanted to find a team from the Forbidden Army to do a trial, and the Prime Minister was also anxious to see the effect, but there was a big difference in which team to let come out for the trial. Yan Gu wanted to recommend one of his own, Yang  Du also wanted his disciples to join the army, and no one wanted to fall behind, so there was a stalemate. The last two meetings were because they both refused to give in, so nothing came of it, so we had to hold a third meeting."

    Chen Pu knew that Shang Cheng and Yan Jiu had a deep conflict, and that he and Yang Du were bitter rivals. If he expected him to speak a fair word for anyone, he would obviously be asking for a fish in a tree.  So she just asked: "Gu Poyang didn't say anything to help Yang Du?"

    Shang Cheng looked at her strangely and said, "Gu Poyang helped Yang Liehuo by saying a lot, but Yan Gu was not alone, Zeng Ao was on his side. After all, he was also the Minister of War and Deputy  Prime Minister, Zeng Ao's words are more useful than Gu Shi's words, right?" He still had nothing to say.  Yang Du is really old, and he can't control his strictness in meetings; if Gu Shi hadn't been there to support him, and Gu Shi had been speaking very loudly recently, Yang Du might have lost long ago.  Not necessarily known.

    Chen Pu remained silent, carefully sorting out what Shang Cheng said in his mind.  But she neither figured out the taste nor came up with any ideas. After thinking for a while, she added some tea soup to Shang Cheng's cup and asked, "How do you?Don¡¯t you recommend one or two?  "

    Shang Cheng glanced at the former boss, past colleague, and current colleague next to him, and then moved his eyes to the picture of a lady hanging opposite.  There are a total of four ladies painted in the painting, three standing at a time; the standing one is holding a wine pot or a teapot or other utensils, and the one with a low eyebrow is obviously a maidservant serving three women kneeling on felt mats; three  One of the ladies is holding a flute, another is playing the piano, and the other is holding a handkerchief and wiping the instrument

    Chen Pu followed his gaze and stared at the picture of the lady for several times. He really couldn't see what mystery was hidden in the picture, so he couldn't help but want to ask questions.  Shang Cheng first said: "This painting should have been learned from the techniques of the Tang Dynasty, right?"

    "ah?"

    "Look at this painting, and then look at the characters. The faces of the three women sitting on the ground are round and plump, their bodies are plump and strong, and their temperaments are graceful and noble - these are the characteristics of ladies' paintings in the prosperous Tang Dynasty." Shang  Cheng painstakingly dug out a few relevant comments from the depths of his memory, nodded solemnly and said, "It seems that this painter's skills are quite good, and he quite captures the essence of Tang paintings."

    Chen Pu was a little confused.  Such a painting sells for 800 yuan a piece in the east and west markets. You can have as many as you want. The store will give you some profit if you buy more. Could it be related to the good craftsmanship?  She immediately understood that this was Shang Cheng's nonsense.  He didn't want to answer the question he just asked, so he made up lies to fool himself.

    Although she saw through Shang Cheng¡¯s tricks, she did not expose him. Instead, she stared at him with a smile and said nothing.

    Actually, it wasn¡¯t that Shang Cheng didn¡¯t want to tell her, but that he felt that he really had nothing to say when faced with the slowness and insensitivity of his comrades.  But just like he had to go to a meeting even if he didn't want to, now he had to say it even if he didn't want to.  He found that Princess Changsha's hand was already holding the tea cup, and she would probably throw the cup down the next moment.  It doesn't matter if you drop a cup. You won't pay a lot of money. The key is that if the cup doesn't fall to the ground but falls somewhere else, it won't be fun He stared at Chen Pu's hand holding the cup.  He shook his head and said with a grin: "Can I still recommend someone? Before Duan Si went to Sanjiang, someone was saying that I had a big appetite and stretched my hands too far. They saw that I didn't even let the navy go.  Is this okay?" He stopped talking, glanced at Chen Pu, drank the tea soup in two or three sips, let out a long breath, and was silent for a moment, then looked out the window at the stacks of mountains near and far.  The tall and short thatched tile-roofed house continued what he had just said, "Fortunately, this is your recommendation, and Duan Si has a reason to go. Otherwise, even if your father spares me, the prime minister will not let him go."  I."

    Chen Pu was so frightened by his words that he shivered.  She just recommended Duan Si, how could she endanger Shangcheng?  She stared at Shang Cheng for a long time, making sure that this time he was not lying to her, and then asked cautiously: "No way? I just recommended a Sanjiang commander. Are the consequences really that serious?"

    Shang Cheng rolled his eyes and glanced at her, snorted and said angrily: "What do you think? I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. At that time, I was ready to resign and go back to the countryside." Of course, things were far from what he said now.  serious.  The bigger reason why Duan Si was able to go to Sanjiang was because the safety of the millions of loans needed to be guaranteed; this had nothing to do with him.  But he cannot speak on the "Cao Dian" matter, let alone fight for the interests of the Yanshan faction. This is also the consensus of everyone.

    Chen Pu asked anxiously: "Then, there can't really be anything wrong with you, right?"

    "It'll be fine if you don't talk. Just stay in the capital for a few years with peace of mind." Shang Cheng said in a depressed tone.  At the moment, it looks like he may not have to stay for a few more years, but maybe he will stay like this for more than ten years or decades in the future.

    "There shouldn't be any trouble, right?" Chen Pu frowned and tried hard to imagine what kind of bad consequences this matter would bring.

    Shang Cheng grinned.  Of course there will be consequences, but they won't be serious, at least no one will die.  The most likely outcome is that he ends up in the same situation as the old Prince of Qinghe, where he can say anything, but nothing will work

    It¡¯s good that there are no serious consequences!  Chen Pu immediately felt relieved.  She immediately asked about another matter that she was very concerned about: "I estimate the date, it's almost time. Do you think there will be any accidents?"

    Shang Cheng wanted to laugh, but the corners of his mouth twitched and he held it back. He lowered his eyelids and stared at the clear tea soup in the bowl and said, "Accident? Impossible. The biggest accident can only be an accident. As long as Duan Si and their ship are not there  If it sank at sea, if half of the two thousand men and horses could reach the shore, there would be no accident."

    ¡°But I¡¯ve been feeling frizzy these past few days, and I can¡¯t calm down"

    Shang Cheng wanted to laugh again.  A few years ago, when Sun Zhongshan was still a guard commander, he once said the same thing to him, and then heBegged him to help find Yang Dou'er to arrange a match for marriage Several years have passed in the blink of an eye, and now that I think about it, it's like it happened yesterday.  He smacked his lips and said, "That will be troublesome. It will take at least four or five months for the news to come back from Dongbo. You will suffer a lot in these six months."

    Chen Pu banged his finger on the table, glared at him and said unhappily: "Can you be more serious? We are talking about military and national affairs!"

    Shang Cheng immediately choked on the tea soup and spurted all the water to the ground.  He bent over and coughed hard, even coughing out tears.  He finally stopped coughing, blinked his tears and said, "What I'm talking about is business. You need to look at the wind direction when sailing on the sea. Where does the north wind come from in this autumn? We have to wait until at least October before the news about Dongbo can come back."  He wiped the snot and tears from his face, took a few breaths, and said, "Don't worry. I am quite clear about Duan Si's ability. As long as he can get ashore, there is no possibility of losing the battle. Duan Si is a surprise attack with light armor.  It¡¯s a small country like Dongwa, so it¡¯s not easy for him to lose this battle.¡±

    "Can you guarantee that he won't lose?"

    Shang Cheng guaranteed the vote without hesitation: If Duan Si loses, he will, he willhe will eat this table!

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