When the sun climbed over the solid city wall and poured sunlight into this small town, people who got up early and went out were extremely shocked by the scene they saw in front of them. Not long after, the news spread, and all the people in Fangu City, including the old, weak, women and children, all rushed to the widest main street, looking at what appeared in front of them and sighing.
There are hundreds of tables lined up on the street, filled with wine bowls.
There is no food, only wine.
Except for Li Xiaozong, Fangu¡¯s frontier general, more than 700 frontier soldiers in Fangu City are all here. At this time of the day, there was not a single soldier patrolling back and forth on the walls of Fangu City. More than three thousand wine bowls were placed densely on the table, and each bowl was filled with wine.
There are four wine shops, six inns, and more than a dozen restaurants of various sizes in Fangu City. The bosses, assistants, cooks, and apprentices, as well as all the handymen and nurses in Jinyuanfang have been busy all night, and almost all the stored wine has been evacuated. On to the street. These more than 700 border troops wanted to help, but the villagers refused to let them go. Instead, they asked them to sit at the table and rest.
More than two thousand people gathered in the main street. Looking at the tables arranged like a long queue in front of them, they suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.
Only the border soldiers who have guarded Fan Gucheng for many years are qualified to sit at the table. Even Fang Jie, who arranged all this today, stood aside and looked at the border soldiers with shame on their faces.
"Fang Jie! Do you really want to leave?!"
Someone couldn¡¯t help but ask.
Fang Jie waved his hand but did not answer.
He picked up a bowl of wine, slowly knelt down and sprinkled it on the ground: "This bowl of wine is dedicated to Pao Ze who unfortunately died in the battle that night. It is only from me that I feel sorry for you!"
Except for the border soldiers, not many people understand what he said.
What happened that night could not be hidden from the people in the city, but from these elite soldiers of the Sui Dynasty. They knew who Fang Jie's wine was for, so their faces looked a little sad. That night, more than twenty border soldiers died in battle at the west gate of the city. The person who killed them was Fang Jie.
Logically speaking, the soldiers on the border should not forgive Fang Jie, but for some reason, someone in the silent crowd suddenly shouted, "Walk along." More than 700 soldiers stood up neatly, and everyone picked up the wine bowl in front of them. Sprinkled on the ground, and then shouted neatly, "Go all the way."
Qu Feng, the oldest captain in the border army, murmured as he spilled his wine: "Don't blame Fang Jie."
More than 700 people toasted together, wishing the deceased Pao Ze to be safe in heaven.
Fang Jie spilled all the wine, then kowtowed three times solemnly in the direction of Ximen. The soldiers stood on both sides of the long table, and no one knew who shouted a salute. More than 700 soldiers uniformly placed their right fists across their chests and solemnly performed a Sui military salute.
Qu Feng walked over slowly and reached out to pull up Fang Jie, who was resting his forehead on the cold bluestone pavement: "No one blames you. Although we soldiers hate the most when our comrades kill each other, it doesn't mean that we don't distinguish between right and wrong. Right or wrong. Li Xiaozong didn't come today. He said he was imprisoned in the General's Mansion, but we didn't call him. See for yourself, even the brothers on duty in the General's Mansion came, and they didn't take you seriously. Enemy!"
"Whether you are in the Yanwu Academy of the Imperial Capital or elsewhere, the border troops in Fangu City will always be your brothers!"
"Respect brother!"
Qu Feng picked up a bowl of wine again and shouted to the sky.
More than 700 border troops also immediately picked up their wine glasses and all said to Fang Jie: "Respect brothers!"
Fang Jie wanted to cry, but held it back.
He took the wine bowl handed to him by Big Dog and drank it all in one gulp.
"I know you hate Li Xiaozong, even we hate him, let alone you?"
Qu Feng put the wine bowl on the long table, took out a stack of silver notes from his arms and handed it to Fang Jie: "Li Xiaozong asked the guards of the General's Mansion to bring this to you. The guards of the General's Mansion said they have no face to see you, so let I'll give it to you. This is the dividend you gave to Li Xiaozong in Fan Gucheng in the past few years, not all, but about one third You hate him, but you earned this money. They all need to be taken care of. It¡¯s hard to talk to someone in official uniform. Don¡¯t refuse. Money is money. If you don¡¯t feel happy about taking this money, then each of us, more than 700 brothers, will put a drop of blood on the banknote. Wash away the resentment in your heart!"
"I take!"
Fang Jie nodded vigorously and solemnly took the banknote.
"Fang Jie, are you coming back?"
A little girl with a milky voice was held in her mother's arms, her pure eyes filled with reluctance. Although not as rich as adults, it is purer.
"return!"
Fang Jie nodded and said with a smile.
¡°I planned to treat everyone to a bowl of wine before I left, and I spent all the money in my suitcase before leaving. But all the shopkeepers in the city didn¡¯t accept my money, so this bowl of wine was not so much something I treated everyone to. , it¡¯s better to say that you all invited me to drink it! I¡¯m not an upright man, but I¡¯m still a man! This wine is a parting wine, but it¡¯s not a wine of love! I think I¡¯m worthy of being friends with you, so let¡¯s join you today. Finished this bowl!¡±
Everyone had wine in their hands, even the children had a bowl stuffed into their hands.
The little girl who asked Fang Jie before if he would come back looked at the wine bowl in her hand and said timidly: "Mother, the wine is spicy, I don't want to drink it."
Her mother rubbed her sore nose and said, "My dear, you have to take a small sip. After drinking this bowl of wine, you must remember Fang Jie. He is the relative of everyone in Fangu City. It¡¯s family.¡±
The little girl seemed to understand but still nodded.
Not far away, a rough man dipped his finger into some wine and put it into the mouth of the baby in his wife's arms. The baby subconsciously sucked it, but the wine was too spicy. The baby immediately frowned and stretched out his little arms from the swaddling clothes. I shook it hard a few times, grinning and crying.
When the baby cries, I don¡¯t know how many people shed tears.
"We say goodbye today, but I hope we can get together again!"
Fang Jie drank all the wine, but tears finally flowed out. The big dog was sighing aside, and even a woman like Mu Xiaoyao had a sore nose.
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On this day, Fan Gucheng ran out of wine.
Or maybe they didn¡¯t want to see such a scene, so the people recruited by Hongxiu had already left the city last night. There were countless drunk people on the widest street in the city. A girl in her cardamom years, after drinking wine, her face turned as red as the peach blossoms blooming in the spring breeze, but her eyes were red and swollen from crying.
¡°For them, Fang Jie is more than just a name. Maybe many years later, when she gets married and becomes a wife, she will smile shyly when she recalls the past, unable to forget the young man she missed so much when she was young. Perhaps Fangu City was too small, so Fang Jie changed it. The imperial capital is so big, maybe he is the one who has changed.
More than 700 border soldiers drank wine and went back to perform their duties under the leadership of the captains. Going up to the city, those who were out on patrol also led their war horses out of the city. Qu Feng was the last to leave. He patted Fang Jie on the shoulder and said drunkenly: "Whether you pass the exam or not to enter the martial arts academy, you have to come back and have a look. If you don't get the best grade, come back and drink together to kill thieves. Others don't know, but I know it very well You hide every time you kill thieves, but the horse thieves who pose the greatest threat are all shot to death by you secretly. . The most unscrupulous thing Li Xiaozong did was to ruin your military exploits."
"You are a qualified scout. Within a radius of hundreds of miles, you have not found any horse thieves here in Langru Mountain. In the past three years, the people in Fangu City have become extremely rich and peaceful Fan Gucheng has been around for decades, and the surroundings have never been so clean.¡±
"Brother Qu"
Fang Jie opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
Qu Feng smiled and said: "But I still hope that you can enter the martial arts academy. The worst you can do is become a captain. I know your ability. What are you afraid of if you can't practice? You can compete with masters of practice through pure physical training. This is the case in the military. There are not many generals. Don¡¯t forget Luo Yao, who guards our southern territory of the Sui Dynasty. His pure external skills are said to be comparable to those of a ninth-level master, and he still dominates the world! It¡¯s better to become a general and come back to our Fan Gu as a general!¡±
"Um!"
Fang Jie nodded vigorously.
"Let's go. I'm leading the troops to inspect Langru Mountain today. I can't see you off, so don't be offended Have a good trip!"
After saying this, Qu Feng turned around and left.
After the border soldiers left, the people gathered around them again. They were talking to Fang Jie in a flurry of words, but Fang Jie couldn't hear clearly what was said in the chaos. Some people said that Fang Jie should regard Fan Gu as his natal family. After being scolded, he realized that Fang Jie was not a woman.
But I don¡¯t know why, but everyone has a kind of reluctance in their hearts like parents marrying their daughter.
"Big shopkeeper, don't worry, Jin Yuanfang, I will take good care of it. If you don't come back, I will send someone to send you the annual accounts for you to check."
Chu Huaili, the second shopkeeper of Jinyuanfang, rubbed his eyes and said.
"Well, the grassland barbarians are making good money, so Jinyuanfang cannot fail. Although the Hongxiu Building is missing, Keshengju and Jinyuanfang are still the money trees of Fangu City. As long as these two buildings are there, the folks will Life will not be as miserable as before.¡±
Fang Jie confessed, then lowered his voice and said: "Li Xiaozong will definitely burn all his previous accounts if he wants to get rid of all traces of greed for money. You keep a copy and hide it. Also, he will definitely communicate with the city ??Some businesses put aside relationships, this is an opportunity Without him, all the profitable businesses will become the villagers' own, and even if there is no red sleeve recruitment bonus, the dividends will be much greater than before. "
"I remember the big shopkeeper!"
Chu Huaili nodded vigorously.
He was originally a down-and-out scholar in Fangu City, but his life changed because of Fang Jie. If it weren't for Fang Jie, he, a poor man who was looked down upon by others, would never have ended up wandering around the world.
"Save some money for yourself."
Fang Jie smiled: "You are too honest. You haven't saved enough money to get a beautiful wife now. But after I leave, I guess the object of admiration of the girls in Fan Gucheng will be you."
The honest and dull Chu Huaili blushed, not knowing how to answer.
¡¡
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"Let's go! Let's all go back. It's not a separation of life and death. If one day I am as rich as Wu Dao, I will take you all to live in Chang'an, the imperial capital! Of course, don't get your hopes up."
Fang Jie stood on the carriage, waved his hand, and said loudly: "Our mountains will remain green and our waters will flow forever See you there in the future!"
Aunt He stood on tiptoe and shouted in the crowd: "No matter how beautiful the girls in the imperial capital are, the most reliable girl to find a wife is a girl from Fan Gu!"
"Aunt He I'll ask Chu Huaili to give you some money from the account later to set up a special pimp er, no, it's a marriage agency. I've already thought of a name, it's called Century Lily! "
"Fang Jie! Remember me, I'm waiting for you to come back and marry me!"
"You should give up! If I don't come back in ten years, why don't you stay married in ten years?! No one will want you when you are old and beautiful, so while you are still young, make more choices!"
"Fang Jie, the imperial capital is too big, don't lose yourself!"
"Don't worry, I will report it to the official if I lose myself!"
"Fang Jie, they said your little brother has grown so fast. Before you leave, tell me how you did it!"
"Brother, you are exposed!"
General's Mansion
Li Xiaozong poured a glass of old wine and drank it in one gulp. Listening to the lively shouts outside, he laughed to himself: "What a wonderful situation in life, I never thought that I, a general, would be far inferior to him, a philistine businessman. I didn't know that I left Fan When I was solid, some people sent me off and some scolded me Fang Jie More than 700 soldiers from all sides came to see you off. Do you want to tell me that you are better than me? "
Fangu East Gate
Under an oil-paper umbrella, a woman wearing a snow-white mink velvet dress looked at the scene in the city and smiled, turned around and said lightly, "Let's go." I don¡¯t know whether it was the oil-paper umbrella depicting peonies that made her look like a fairy, or whether her appearance made the oil-paper umbrella also add charm.
Three maids aged sixteen or seventeen followed her towards the outside of the city. Not far from the city, a convoy of horse-drawn carriages with red sleeves parked quietly on the roadside.
"how?"
Aunt Xi¡¯s voice came from a carriage.
"It's nothing, just a common citizen."
The beautiful woman answered, then got on the carriage.
"When will he lose this businessman spirithe will achieve great things."
"It would be even worse if he lost his business spirit."