Survival countdown

As soon as the third watch is over, the city of Kyoto is closed, the surrounding fields are silent, and the sky is starless and childless.

A black shadow suddenly jumped down from the eaves of the high house, avoiding the patrolling guards with brisk steps, stopped at the back door of a house, turned over the wall, and heard the sound of swishing through the air as soon as it landed.

The black shadow swiftly dodges, followed by the dense wind of legs and fists, causing the black shadow to stagger. He has no power to fight back. He can only retreat step by step, climb up the branches and run on the tiles, and come face to face. It was a powerful fist.

In order to avoid it, he turned around and jumped off the wall. As he was about to fight back, he found that the master attacking him was standing on the wall with his back facing the sickle-like moon, and he couldn't see his face clearly.

Heiying clenched his fists, he was beaten bloody, and wanted to fight again, but a hand suddenly put on his shoulder: "You can't beat him."

The black shadow was startled, and turned around to see a familiar face: "Brother?" Pulling off the black cloth covering his face, it was Zhao Sanlang.

"Why are you here?"

Zhao Changfeng looked at Zhao Sanlang and puffed up in his arms: "Come to give a congratulatory gift?"

Zhao Sanlang clutched his chest, faltering and saying: "I can't sleep, I have nothing to do, and I'm thinking about the brothers anyway, Wulang's coronation ceremony didn't show anything, it's really unreasonable... I just want to sneak in, put down the gift and leave , don’t meet, don’t talk, just talk to express your feelings.”

"Well," Zhao Changfeng rarely did not reprimand him, turned around and left: "There are people guarding every part of the county palace. If you can't get in, don't waste your time. If you want to, when Zhao Baiyu is on duty some other day, you can go to the yamen to give him a congratulatory gift." It will be done."

Zhao Sanlang stopped after three steps, feeling unwilling, but seeing the masters on the wall still standing motionless on the top of the wall, he really only stopped them after driving them out of the county palace, he couldn't help muttering: "It's just a county palace, why are there so many people guarding it?" What? The king of Lin'an County is very skilled in martial arts, and he is also the leader of the Tanghe Iron Cavalry, so he still needs others to help him guard the palace?"

"What did you say?"

"Ah?" Zhao Sanlang hurried to catch up: "No, it's nothing."

He subconsciously concealed that he recognized Huo Jingtang last night as the leader of the Tanghe cavalry who was spying on Yangzhou that day. For the special department, he had to keep it a secret.

"Brother, you haven't said why you are here."

Zhao Changfeng held his right hand, the wrist was numb and painful after the fight just now, and in the cuff was his treasured gentleman jade.

"Curfew patrol after midnight, I am on duty today."

Zhao Sanlang scratched his head, but this is not a place for curfew patrols.

Zhao Sanlang was too lazy to think about it because he couldn't figure it out. Zhao Sanlang shrugged his shoulders and gave up thinking with his brain. Instead, he thought about how to find an opportunity to get close to the Prince of Lin'an, and how to send the congratulatory gift to Zhao Baiyu in a logical manner. Every step was a difficult move.

Zhao Sanlang regretted that the relationship between him and them had been very tense before, and now it is really difficult to repair it.

***

There was a rustling sound from outside, and after a while there was another news, Huo Jingtang walked in from the outside holding the lamp, Zhao Baiyu asked sleepily what was going on.

Huo Jingtang turned off the lights, went to bed, held Zhao Baiyu's shoulders and said, "Two blind mice were caught digging holes in the palace's big wall."

"Hmm..." Zhao Baiyu was in a daze, and it took him a while to respond: "Did Xuehua catch it? Did you eat it?"

Huo Jingtang: "It's too dirty. Throw it out."

Zhao Baiyu didn't respond, so long that Huo Jingtang thought he had fallen asleep again, so he suddenly said: "The mouse must be killed, otherwise it will eat food."

Huo Jingtang smiled slightly: "Next time we will definitely kill something."

And Zhao Baiyu really fell asleep this time.

***

The congratulatory gift could not be delivered, since the most suitable time has been missed, there is no chance to let go, Ren Zhao Sanlang will wait for the opportunity in the future, he will be tongue-tied every time he sees Zhao Baiyu's face, it is really impossible to calmly send the congratulatory gift.

In the end, neither Zhao Changfeng nor Zhao Sanlang could deliver the coronation gift they were planning to give Zhao Baiyu.

Both Zhao Sanlang and Zhao Yuzheng wanted to find an opportunity to get close to Huo Jingtang, and each had their own goals, but the former was busy with work and could hardly spare time to do other things, while the latter was preparing for a scientific examination, and was under strict surveillance by the Xie family, but he could never find him. Opportunity to go out.

Zhao Baiyu and Huo Jingtang didn't know about this, and even if they knew, they would probably be indifferent, and would try their best to get rid of them, but it was a blessing that they were not disturbed.

Every day, I go to the place and collect taxes step by step, and learn more tax-related knowledge from Liu Dujian, and my knowledge has been enriched and expanded.

He returned home on time after work, and went out to visit the night market with Huo Jingtang from time to time. When he met Xiu Mu, he lived in Shanhelou on the outskirts of the city for a few days, or went hunting in the mountains, and Huo Jingtang taught him how to shoot arrows.

On leisurely days, time flies especially fast.

Sending away the peach blossom flood season, I heard from He Guangyou that the current situation in Huainan has stabilized, and the lives of the people are on the right track. The small treasury in Huainan has been replenished with silver from the Sima clan and the East Palace, and the river is being repaired in an orderly manner.

Chen Fangrong, who is far away in Sishui County, Shandong Province, has made great achievements in flood control last year. He heard that he is likely to be promoted at the end of the year, but he is not qualified to be transferred back to Kyoto.

He sent local specialties to congratulate Zhao Baiyu on his crown.

When his teacher Chen Shidao presided over the reform of the night market, he was superb and expected to be promoted.

The father and son's official careers were prosperous, but for a while there was a lot of traffic. Fortunately, Chen Shidao was sober-minded, closed the door and saw no guests, and assumed the attitude of not forming a clique with others.

The family style is upright, it's rare to be sober, and he can cultivate a student like Zhao Baiyu, who speaks very nicely and has an appetite everywhere. How can Emperor Yuanshou not care about Chen Shidao and his son?

Entering Fuxia, the heat is unbearable.

Huo Jingtang is like a sun-dried fish. He spends most of the time lying on the side of the waterside to enjoy the cool breeze every day. There are ice cubes in the corner. He doesn’t like hot food. He eats iced cheese and iced fruit. He looked dumbfounded.

On the other hand, Zhao Baiyu is refreshing every day, and he is not afraid of the heat. Standing in the shade of a tree seems to bring a cool breeze, and he feels calm and cool just by looking at it.

As a result, many men and women in the mansion have imitated his attire, with high hair, decorated with blue silk cloth belts, narrow-sleeved commoner clothes, and wide-sleeved gauze clothes, or sky blue or light blue, but none of them wore Zhao Baiyu's clothes. Clean and refreshing effect.

Almost every household in the mansion stores a large amount of ice cubes, coupled with the development of commerce, a wide variety of ice foods are born, which can relieve the heat caused by the dog days.

Until autumn, the weather turns cooler, the fallen leaves turn yellow, and seasonal fruits and food gradually appear in the market. Plump autumn crabs and golden autumn chrysanthemums arrive in Kyoto Prefecture together.

The dignitaries held chrysanthemum appreciation banquets and crab tasting banquets every now and then, and the county palace received a bunch of invitations, Zhao Baiyu and Huo Jingtang were unwilling to attend the appointments.

The two agreed that instead of going to a banquet full of guests, it would be more interesting to go to a restaurant with friends to order autumn crabs and get drunk amidst the crowds.

In a blink of an eye, it's September, the Queen Mother's birthday.

This year, the weather is good everywhere, the country is peaceful and the people are peaceful, so there is no need to worry about courtiers using extravagance and waste as an excuse to oppose Emperor Yuanshou's birthday celebration for the Queen Mother.

Last year's [-]th birthday was held in frustration, and this year Emperor Yuanshou has already revealed that he must let go of his hands and feet.

Announce the world, amnesty the world.

Officials from all over the country tried their best to send congratulatory gifts, and some remote places were really poor, so they tightened their belts and sent golden pheasants, which represent auspiciousness.

Even Zhao Baiyu, who was staying in the busy water transportation yamen, could feel the inexplicably tense atmosphere. Tianjia's birthday is celebrated with the whole world, and the power of the whole country is to please one person. In other words, it is more of a waste of time and money.

Water transportation in the mansion extends in all directions, more than half of the birthday gifts sent from various places are by water, and many of them are tributes, so we must pay more attention to it. Therefore, Zhao Baiyu is so busy that he often goes to the wharf to inspect the goods in person before he has time for lunch.

This day, a tank boat from the south came in from Jinshuimen, saying it was a tribute from Jiangxi, and Zhao Baiyu personally recorded it.

When I came to the water gate, I saw trackers on the bank pulling the tank boat with more than [-] materials. The bottom of the boat sank deeply into the river, and the banks were surrounded by spectators.

Zhao Baiyu asked: "It's not light, but it's also a tribute?"

Liu Dujian: "Guangdong's Yingde stone was loved by the first emperor when he saw it. It became popular in Kyoto and was loved by nobles and literati. Therefore, it was included in the list of tributes during the first emperor's time. I heard that these batches are treasures. A natural Yingde stone was also found, which looks like a dragon and a phoenix singing in harmony, flowing from a clear spring, making tinkling sounds, like the sound of pearls and jade, which became a strange story, and it happened to meet the Queen Mother's birthday, so people sent it non-stop."

In later generations, Yingde stone, Taihu stone, Lingbi stone, and yellow wax stone are called the four great strange stones. In the previous dynasty, Taihu stone was the most important. In Dajing, because the first emperor loved Yingde stone, it caused a trend. The literati at least There is a Yingde stone garden.

Zhao Baiyu: "Is it sent from Guangdong Province in the name of celebrating birthday?"

Liu Dujian: "The magistrate of Hongzhou, the capital of Jiangxi, and Princess Changping jointly sent the Yingde Stone to wish the Queen Mother a long and boundless life."

Zhao Baiyu looked at the surface of the water, and laughed when he heard the words: "It seems that the princess used the name of the magistrate of Hongzhou to transport the Yingde Stone from Guangdong Province all the way, and she is not afraid of wasting money and people, so I have to sigh about her wealth."

Liu Dujian was flustered: "Your Excellency, be cautious in your words and deeds, don't let others catch you."

Zhao Baiyu: "I said this not because of personal affection, so don't worry about Liu Dujian. Forget it, work is the most important thing...Who is the person in charge of this tribute?"

Liu Dujian turned and pointed to a medium-sized cargo ship with picturesque decoration ahead: "It's inside."

Zhao Baiyu frowned: "Is he here for vacation or business?"

Liu Dujian couldn't hold back: "It's the local emperor's duty not to be so high-profile that he sings and sings every night. This man who came to run a business, the boat he took was at least one mile away from the cargo ship where the tribute was placed. In some places, people arrive first, The tribute has not arrived, or the tribute has been parked at the pier for more than half a month, and people are still in the pile of powder and powder."

Zhao Baiyu: "No one will pursue it?"

Liu Dujian: "No mistakes, who will pursue such trivial matters?"

It is true.

Zhao Baiyu: "Are all the tributes confirmed?"

"It's confirmed." Liu Dujian took a look at the sky and said, "The pier is very congested. I don't think this ship will be able to reach the pier until dark. I guess we have to move the tribute down in the dark. I hope there will be no mistakes. .I see that the water level of this ship sinks too deep, and I am afraid that the ship will sink.”

Zhao Baiyu: "Let's go, go and meet the person in charge of this batch of tributes."

The two approached the painting boat in the middle of the river in a small boat. After revealing their identities, they were allowed to board the boat only after receiving a response from the people inside.

Zhao Baiyu couldn't help being curious about what position the person in charge held in other provinces, and he was so fearless in the capital.

As soon as I stepped into the painting boat, I heard the sound of silk and bamboo inside, and even a Jiangnan style Wu Nong's soft language came to my ears, mixed with a shrill male voice humming.

Zhao Baiyu walked out of a jade screen with mountains and rivers, and he saw a few women from Jiangnan Water Town playing musical instruments. In the middle was a round wooden table with delicacies from mountains and seas, and beside the table was a man about thirty years old. Eyes, shaking their heads to the beat and humming along.

The young man who led them in stopped where he was, without any intention of stepping forward to remind them.

Liu Dujian couldn't help being annoyed, and was about to yell at him, but Zhao Baiyu stepped forward first, and sat across from the man to enjoy the music of silk and bamboo.

The boy who seemed to be dead before came back to life now, trying to stop Zhao Baiyu's arrogance: "You——" Liu Dujian quickly covered his mouth and nose with his hands and dragged his hands and feet.

The singing girl was frightened and played the wrong note, and the man immediately said, "Fifty salary fine. Next time if you make a mistake again, you will be hit with ten sticks."

The singers turned pale, and hurriedly concentrated on playing.

Zhao Baiyu smiled, "It's so majestic! May I ask who you are?"

The man opened his eyes, looked at Zhao Baiyu for a moment, then sat up straight, cupped his hands casually and said, "Ma Deyong, the magistrate of Hongzhou, Jiangxi, may I ask you?"

Zhao Baiyu gesticulated with a little bit of his tail and said: "A certain surname is Zhao, a small Zhima official. In this capital city, it is like a small stone falling into the four canals. You can't even hear the sound."

Ma Deyong found him interesting: "Master Zhao, what are you doing on my boat?" He cast his eyes on the boy who was restrained, with a cold expression: "Are you coming to Ma to show off?"

"Brother Ma, what are you talking about?" Zhao Baiyu turned his head in surprise, and berated Liu Dujian to let go quickly when he saw this.

Zhao Baiyu is very sincere: "The people below are ignorant, and they thought you were using the same status as a poor province who didn't know where you came from. How can it be compared? But he is one of my subordinates, and if I hit you in the face, I will hit you Face, if I offend you, I offend you, I hereby offer you three glasses of wine, I hope you don't blame me."

Ma Deyong, a magistrate of the local government, really watched Zhao Baiyu drink and make amends, but he hurriedly stopped him when he drank the third cup: "Hey, those who don't know are not guilty, not to mention that everyone is on business for the court. What is the responsibility? There is no offense or no offense! In this way, I will give you two cups in return, and I am new here, and if I offend you, I will look at Haihan."

Drinking two glasses of wine unrestrainedly can be regarded as an end to this chapter.

Ma Deyong: "What business are you here for? Which yamen?"

Zhao Baiyu: "Hey, if you can come to the pier, what else can you do besides the Water Transport Yamen?"

Ma Deyong sat up straight: "Oh? Are you?"

Zhao Baiyu: "The capital supervisor of the water transportation yamen, the nine-rank sesame official, there are so many miscellaneous tasks and there is not much money to be made, so poor that I want to be pants!"

Ma Deyong: "Not necessarily, this water transport has always been the most lucrative, no matter how poor it is, it will not go anywhere."

Zhao Baiyu is not very embarrassed: "I can get some money, but I have some hobbies that are not on the table, that is, I like to play two games. When I get the money, I don't even want to cover it, so I spend it."

Ma Deyong became interested: "How many games can you play?"

Zhao Baiyu: "You like it too? How are you doing?"

Ma Deyong is complacent: "Pai Gow, dice, Guan Pu, leaf cards... I can play anything related to gambling. I can't say that every bet is guaranteed to win, but in general, the wins are less than the losses."

Zhao Baiyu: "Two?"

Ma Deyong: "I have no objection, but can you have a valuable business with your whole body?"

Zhao Baiyu hissed, groped around his cuffs and waist, and found a piece of white jade, hesitating for a moment or slapping it on the table: "The fine jade from Nanzhao is worth a thousand taels of silver, how about we bet ten?"

"Row."

Ma Deyong wanted to pick up the white jade to look at it, but Zhao Baiyu held it tightly, his face full of pain: "This is a family heirloom left to me to marry a wife by my old man who died early, if I hadn't met Mrs. It looks like a gambler who lives on a gambling table at first glance, and he is in the same league as me, so I will definitely not take it out!"

Ma Deyong usually gets a lot of flattery, and ordinary level of flattery is really not appreciated, but Zhao Baiyu's demeanor is more flattering than his flattery.

He ordered the servant to remove all the food from the table, in exchange for a dice cup and three dice to play with.

In the first seven rounds, Zhao Baiyu won four rounds. He was so happy that he smiled, and Ma Deyong became more serious. In the end, he lost another five rounds, allowing Zhao Baiyu to win 600 taels.

Holding the silver ticket, Zhao Baiyu couldn't help but smile from ear to ear: "I'm sorry, I went out today to worship the God of Wealth, and I got shit luck. You see, I usually lose all my money, so I just wanted to get rich today... Please bear with me, my lord, I-I will put it away."

Ma Deyong looked at Zhao Baiyu again: "You are good at gambling, but I underestimated you."

"It's a fluke." Zhao Baiyu chatted with him as if thinking of something: "To be honest, what I said when I got on the boat was a compliment to you, and maybe I was sincere, but now I see that you lost a full 600 taels , without blinking, just sincere admiration! What kind of man are you talking about to lose 600 taels, like throwing this money into the water, without feeling distressed?"

Ma Deyong laughed loudly when he heard the words, his voice was still thin: "You can't be considered a man!"

Zhao Baiyu was anxious: "Why not? Do you know the heroic man mentioned in the scriptures? He spends a lot of money, the hero of the world, the man among men, the hero among heroes!" Thumbs up, "You are this one!"

Ma Deyong was amused: "You can talk too."

Zhao Baiyu: "Master Ma, you are so generous, is it because your ancestors have a family business or is there some way to get rich?"

Ma Deyong raised his index finger and nodded Zhao Baiyu from the air: "Sure enough, you are thoughtful. Forget it, you are very clever, so I will tell you. Me, I have no way to get rich, just follow the nobleman. When the nobleman is happy, A little leak through my fingers is enough for me to squander."

Zhao Baiyu: "Who is your nobleman?"

Ma Deyong hesitated to speak, and then he laughed: "Isn't it the prefect of Hongzhou? Let's play another game, and the winner will be determined in one game. You bet the jade and the 600 taels of silver. If you win, I will add more money." How about 3000 taels for you?"

Zhao Baiyu showed hesitation, but the gambler couldn't refuse the temptation.

"I'll just gamble, just gamble." Zhao Baiyu took a sip of wine, bet down the jade and the bank notes together, pressed the dice cup and said, "I'll roll! Just bet on size!"

Ma Deyong followed closely behind: "I bet small."

Buying and leaving, Zhao Baiyu shook the dice in a fancy way, nervousness floated on the surface, swallowed his saliva and suddenly opened the dice cup.

Take a closer look, two, three, six!

Immediately collapsed and sat back on the stool, as if he had lost his fortune by gambling with dogs, it is not uncommon to see too many mediocrities.

"Brother Zhao, can I accept it with a smile?" After saying that, he took away the jade pendant and banknotes, humming a Jiangnan ditty to himself, and saw off the guests: "Are you done with your errands? Please disembark."

Zhao Baiyu got on the boat in a daze, left the Jinshui River, and was immediately full of energy as soon as he landed.

Liu Dujian stared dumbfounded: "Are you alright, my lord?"

"Huh?" Zhao Baiyu: "Of course I'm fine."

Liu Dujian: "But you lost a thousand taels of white jade just now."

Zhao Baiyu: "Street stall. I bought it at a street stall at Qiaotou this morning. It costs ten taels of silver."

"..." Liu Dujian was puzzled: "Why did you do this on purpose?"

Zhao Baiyu: "Who do you think Ma Deyong is?"

Liu Dujian said strangely: "The magistrate of the Hongzhou yamen seems to be backed by some nobleman who has a way to make a lot of money. He must be the local emperor."

Zhao Baiyu: "He is an eunuch."

Liu Dujian was shocked: "I see that he is tall and big, with some stubble, he is no different from a normal man."

"His voice is thin, his back is habitually bent, and there are singers in the cabin but he didn't touch any of them, let alone other small movements. If you often contact eunuchs, you can tell."

Liu Dujian was surprised and wondered: "How can there be eunuchs in Hongzhou? How can eunuchs be judges in the yamen?"

Of course he didn't expect Princess Changping to be a sinner.

Princess Changping has been demoted to Hongzhou for 20 years, and there is almost no news. She is so low-key that it seems that there is no such person.

The most important thing is that people are in Hongzhou, Jiangxi, but they can transport Yingde stone all the way from Guangdong to Kyoto, which consumes a lot of manpower, material and financial resources.

The Princess Changping in the original book is a flat symbol to Zhao Baiyu. She was given the identity of Emperor Yuanshou's dark chess in Liangjiang in her subsequent appearances, and she escorted Zhao Yuzheng after her return.

Zhao Baiyu didn't know the power of Princess Changping in Jiangxi, but now he could get a glimpse of the Yingde stone carried by the other party.

***

The servant served wine for Ma Deyongman: "My lord, is this Zhima official surnamed Zhao here to scout the way?"

Ma Deyong: "He is just a gambling dog who wants to get money from me."

"Isn't it? Who dares to lay their minds on you?" The servant: "How did you find out, my lord?"

Ma Deyong snorted: "He said in the first sentence that this jade came from Nanzhao, and in the second sentence he said that it was a family heirloom left by his dead father. They are inconsistent and full of lies. It seems that the family lives on the gambling table, and nonsense comes out of nowhere .”

The boy was stunned: "Then this jade?"

Ma Deyong: "Street stalls."

***

Before sunset, only one of the two tank ships carrying Yingde stone docked and unloaded smoothly.When night fell, the sky changed suddenly, and the storm hit. The tank boats in the middle of the river were eager to dock. However, too many tank boats from other provinces have entered Beijing recently, so that the wharf was congested.

Among them were two tank boats from Liangzhe. Because they were carrying official food, they were most afraid of getting wet in the rainstorm, so they blew their whistles to call other boats to get out of the way.

Since ancient times, food and grass have been the first, and other tank boats have given way after hearing the name.

The supervisor in charge of escorting the official rations shouted loudly: "Don't let down the sails! Speed ​​up! Turn the rudder——" Under the dual factors of hazy night and rain, he could vaguely see the outline of a tank boat in front of him, and he was so shocked that he was immediately blown away. He blew his whistle, rushed to the bow of the ship and shouted hysterically: "Get out of the way! Get out of the way quickly! The official food is the first, and the front quickly gives way—"

However, the tank boat in front did not hear it, and insisted on standing in front of the tank boat carrying the official grain, trying to get to the pier first. However, due to the change of the wind direction and the rush of the grain tanker, the sail did not drop, and it was too late to turn the rudder or slow down.

Under the terrified expressions of the people and horses on both sides, the two ships collided violently.

With a loud bang, the tank boat carrying official food was cut off at the middle, while the tank boat carrying Yingde stone capsized.

***

Under the torrential rain, the guard in coir raincoat scrambled and rushed into a post station, and pushed away the boy who stopped him: "Quickly call someone to report to Magistrate Ma, the boat that escorted the tribute has capsized! Six people died in the official ration tanker, and the supervisor who escorted the official rations died on the spot!"

The little servant was frightened, rushed in and pulled out the red-eyed Ma Deyong from inside, and reported the matter.

Ma Deyong's brain, which was so excited by alcohol and gambling, was stunned for a moment, and then he shuddered suddenly, his face was horrified: "What did you say?!"

Before the words fell, the Ministry of Criminal Justice came outside to arrest him.

The servant of the punishment department led the officers and soldiers to surround the station, glanced at the chaos in the room, and sneered: "Take it away!"

--------------------

The author has something to say:

Yingde stone, also known as Yingshi, was produced in Yingde City, Guangdong Province. It was listed as a tribute in the Northern Song Dynasty, and it is also a strange stone that is often used for diplomatic gifts in modern times.

PS: The Taihu stone is located in Suzhou, Jiangnan. Song Huizong wanted to use the Taihu stone to build a royal garden, so he asked someone to bring the Taihu stone, no matter how difficult it was.Taihu stones are high and low, and the key to quarrying them from the river is very, very heavy. They have to be carried by large official ships, one after another, and the water transportation alone has caused many people to go bankrupt. Local people quarrying stones is also a fortune. History of blood and tears.

Then you will encounter bridges on the way. If you can’t get across, you have to demolish the bridges that others have worked so hard to build.

Anyway, this batch of Taihu stones caused anger and resentment among the people, and the people complained and suffered unspeakably.