Struggle in the early Tang Dynasty

Because Tucheng is simple and only depends on the Yellow River, the transportation is not all-round, and there is no permanent population, the imperial court did not set up an official office in Fenglingdu.

But it is precisely because of this that without the levies of the yamen, there are all kinds of businesses in Fenglingdu, ranging from inns and restaurants to small vegetable stalls and butcher shops.

After decades of replacement, Fenglingdu has gradually become a resting place for merchants and tourists crossing the river, and it has also become a place where swordsmen, bandits, and rogues run rampant. It is a strictly no-nonsense zone.

The largest inn on Fenglingdu is the Fengling Inn located in the very center of Fenglingdu. It seems that this inn has existed since Fenglingdu became populated.

So far, the Fengling Inn has been in operation for decades, and the owner of the inn, Gu San, has also taken root in Fenglingdu for decades. Respectfully call him the third master of the ancient times.

Because Gu Sanye has been running the Fengling Inn for decades, it has been safe and sound for decades, and it stands still in Fenglingdu, so its prestige is very high.

According to rumors, Gu Sanye and the swordsmen and bandits in Fenglingdu area are quite friendly, so no rogues have ever caused trouble in the inn, and I have never heard of bandits and swordsmen having troubles in Fengling Inn.

Therefore, Fengling Inn is often the first choice for business travelers and tourists to rest overnight.

It is precisely because of this that the Fengling Inn is often overcrowded and the business is booming.

In recent days, the weather in the Northland has been suddenly cold, and the snow is falling freely, which makes it impossible to pass through the Yellow River, and also makes the Fengling Inn full of business again.

At this time of dusk and dusk, it was time for dinner, the lobby of Fengling Inn was full of seats, and the tables and tables were full of guests.

Fenglingdu belongs to the Guanzhong area, so the food is different from the mainland of Sichuan. There are large plates of stewed beef, large plates of lamb legs, large plates of white flour buns, and altars of spirits, which can be seen everywhere on the tables.

Different from the delicacy of Sichuan small dishes, Guanzhong dishes are bolder and grander.

The entire lobby was extremely noisy, with the sound of clinking cups and clinking bowls everywhere, as well as the sound of chattering, mixed with the sound of wanton laughter and cursing from time to time.

This situation can only be described in four words: Guanzhong Hawker.

But even so, there is still a table of guests who are different from everyone in the lobby. A table of guests located in the small west corner of the lobby, two men and one woman, eat slowly, drink small glasses, and speak in a low voice Whisper, for fear of disturbing others.

Among the two men, one has a handsome face, about 20 years old, wearing a gray and white robe, with a rather leisurely expression, if there is an extra folding fan in his hand, he looks like a handsome young man; as for the other man, he is dusty. Wearing a double-breasted dress, his face is also quite handsome, with a large gold-threaded ring knife on his shoulder, he looks like a follower of the courtyard.

As for the remaining woman, although her face was facing the sky, her expression was extremely charming, and she was slowly breaking off the white flour buns and swallowing lightly.

The two men and one woman were Guo Ye, Zhao Jiuchou, and Zhenniang who went to Chang'an from the middle of Shu and stayed at Fengling Inn temporarily because the Yellow River was impassable.

Guo Ye looked at Zhao Jiuchou and listened to the extremely noisy yelling, frowned from time to time, couldn't help but put down the cup in his hand, and asked, "Jiuchou, what's the matter? Are you feeling unwell?"

Zhao Jiu shook his head and said, "You're in good health, but it's too noisy here, and I'm not used to it. It's okay, it's okay..."

Zhenniang on the side gently put the white flour buns in her hands on the plate, frowned slightly, and sighed: "I don't know when the ice and snow on the Yellow River will melt, and when will the boats be able to pass? If we continue to delay I'm afraid we will miss the date when the senior officials will go to the Imperial College to report."

After Zhao Jiuchou heard this, he echoed Guo Ye: "Yes, my lord, what Zhenniang said is very true. Otherwise, let's think of other ways. You don't have to cross the Yellow River to enter Chang'an, right?"

Guo Ye said: "We have all reached the bank of the Yellow River, and how much time will it be wasted if we enter Chang'an by other means? If you have time to find other routes, why not stay at Fenglingdu for a few more days and wait for the snow to melt. Fenglingdu is quite interesting here, hehe, it’s an interesting place.”

Zhenniang didn't speak anymore, she lowered her head and stretched out her light-white hands to pick up the white flour buns on the plate, and continued to tear them apart.

Zhao Jiuchou wanted to say a few more words of persuasion, but suddenly a loud shout interrupted his words...

"Hey, gentlemen, have you ever heard of it? A hundred miles away from Fenglingdu, several state capitals in the lower reaches of the Yellow River have had major incidents."

Someone made a thunderous sound in the hall, attracting everyone's attention. The hall, which was noisy just now, suddenly fell silent, and there was no sound at all.

Zhao Jiuchou was also taken aback by the sudden yelling, his face suddenly became a little hostile, and he wanted to stand up and scold the uninvited guest.

Unexpectedly, Guo Ye held his arm, and Guo Ye shook his head slightly, and then said in a low voice: "I am not familiar with the place, so don't cause trouble. Let's listen to what he said, what happened to the state capitals in the lower reaches of the Yellow River?" What is it?"

Hearing what Guo Ye said, Zhao Jiuchou had no choice but to give up, took a glass of wine from the table and poured it into his mouth to show his anger.

At this time, someone in the hall pointed out the name of the caller, and shouted: "So it's the third master Gu, what new things did you bring us today?"

As soon as the name of the person who called out was announced, a strong old man on the counter immediately became the focus in the lobby, and dozens of eyes all focused on Gu Sanye.

Guo Ye secretly blinked at Zhao Jiuchou, and said softly, "Fortunately, you didn't blow the thorns. It turned out to be Gu San, the shopkeeper of Fenglingdu. You and I stayed at Fengling Inn these few days and heard a lot of rumors about him, hehe , it seems that the background is not small!"

Zhao Jiuchou turned his head and glanced at Gu Sanye on the counter, and snorted, "Others are afraid of him, but I, Zhao Jiuchou, am not used to him, unless he wants to try our old Zhao's sword fast, hum!"

Guo Ye immediately stopped him and said, "Come on, we're just passing through Fenglingdu, so we don't need to cause trouble. Let's listen to him first, I'm curious about what happened in the lower reaches of the Yellow River."

Obviously, after the gossip in Guo Yeye's heart, it ignited again.

The eyes of all the guest officials in the hall were focused on Gu Sanye, which seemed to be like a star.

Gu Sanye seemed to enjoy the feeling of being valued, and shouted at the waiter in front of the counter: "Mule, go, let Sanye go to the back kitchen and pour a bowl of old Shanxi mature vinegar for a few sips." , the third master just likes this one."

The waiter in the hall responded, and quickly ran towards the back kitchen.

Guo Ye was secretly happy, grandma, this Gu Sanye is quite pretentious, but he is also quite different.Others like to take a sip of wine to moisten their throats when they talk, but he is fine, so he drank the old mature vinegar directly.

Dare to be affectionate, this ancient third master is still from Shanxi.

Soon, the waiter came to the third master Gu with a bowl of vinegar in his hands.

Gu Sanye took the Chen vinegar and took a couple of sips, then sighed with enjoyment: "Ah...you're so excited!"

Then he put the bowl of mature vinegar aside, ran to the counter like an old monkey, sat cross-legged on the counter, rolled up his sleeves and said to everyone: "Do you know what happened to the state capitals in the lower reaches of the Yellow River?" ?Hey, say it to scare you!"

Speaking of this, he deliberately paused to make a fool of himself, and kept silent.

All of a sudden, everyone was whetted by Gu Sanye, including Guo Ye.

However, he didn't rush to ask this bad old man, because he knew that his own guests would ask questions.

Sure enough, one of the guests who was sitting hurriedly shouted: "My third master, you always like to play tricks, tell me quickly, what happened downstream?"

"hey-hey……"

Gu Sanye sat cross-legged, showing a triumphant smile, stuck his head out like an old turtle poking out its shell, deliberately lowered his voice, and said:

"Don't you know? People are dying in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Many people have died. That guy is really littered with corpses. Tsk tsk, that's really miserable!"

hum~~

This news immediately shocked all the guests in the hall, including Guo Ye.

However, Guo Ye's shock is shocking, but he thinks more...

plague?

famine?

Natural disaster, or man-made disaster?

Chapter 353 Famine in the lower reaches of the Yellow River

No wind, no wave!