phoenix knot

"Actually, I don't understand one thing. To rob food, you can go to the big households in the city, the landlords outside the city, or the caravans that escort food and grass. Why would these Mongols attack the army guarding the border? This is the most risky way. There is not much food, which is unreasonable." Dong Liu said while eating.

Su Mingyue was pouring wine for him and Li Mingtang, while Cailian and Hongling were busy in the next room, and Lianxiang was not idle, and brought up the stewed duck just out of the pot.

"They're all home-cooked dishes, and there are so many things you can buy in the capital." Dong Liu helped Li Mingtang pick up the dishes, "Come, come, you're welcome."

Li Mingtang was drinking and eating duck, feeling very happy, at this moment he greeted Lianxiang, "Don't be busy in the kitchen, let's all come over to eat together."

Dong Liu called someone, sure enough, Hongling Cailian and Lianxiang packed up after a while, and came together to wish Li Mingtang good luck, but they didn't eat together, they only said that they had eaten in the kitchen.

Li Mingtang said: "Where are there so many rules, sit down together, come on."

Dong Liu said with a smile: "Master Li, let's sit together."

Cailian said: "It's the rule in our place that women don't eat at the table. I heard it's the same here."

Li Mingtang said: "I was an orphan since I was a child, and I grew up eating a variety of meals, so I didn't know there were such rules." He pointed at Su Mingyue, Hongling Cailian and others, "These people have been in the kitchen all the time. Busy, but brother Zhongjin's younger sister?"

Hong Ling said: "I am Miss's dowry girl."

Cailian said: "I am also a servant girl."

Lianxiang smiled dryly: "Me too."

Li Mingtang turned to Dong Liudao: "Which daughter of the general's mansion you married, the maids alone brought three of them over."

Dong Liudao: "My wife is pregnant with Liujia, and she can't smell the kitchen fume, so I bought some maids for her."

Li Mingtang said: "Women are troublesome."

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that the faces of everyone in the room changed slightly, and Su Mingyue became even more unhappy. Lianxiang coughed a few times, "My sixth master said that he bought us to be my lady's company. That's a nice way of saying it. I When I was seven years old, my hometown was hit by a disaster, and my parents wanted to sell me. I was too young and shriveled, so I didn’t want to sell it to anyone. It was the young lady who bought me back for three taels of silver, and Ren Yazi laughed at her for not knowing how to look at goods. Pick up the one that no one wants and buy it."

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh, I offended someone, look at my mouth." He poured himself a drink as he spoke, "You should be punished, you should be punished!"

"My wife has a kind heart. A few days ago we passed a house in Songcheng. There was a kiln there. A few skinny girls were being punished. She wanted to buy them at that time. But there is no room for a house full of women here. There are more." Dong Liu said.

Li Mingtang said: "That's that, those who didn't know thought Dong Liuye had asked for a few more concubines, hahahaha..." After laughing a few times, he regretted it, knowing that he had said the wrong thing again.

As expected, Hongling Cailian blushed, Lianxiang became even more angry, "Don't talk nonsense, ruin people's reputation, I promised them."

When she said this, everyone looked at her, even Dong Liu was stunned, and said with pity: "Didn't you ask Xiyu to marry me?"

Dong Liu laughed awkwardly: "That... yes, I mentioned it to him, and he said let me make the decision."

Lianxiang stood up with a "huh", "Why? He doesn't want to? Could it be that he wants to marry a young lady like a golden branch and jade leaf? It's good that my aunt likes him. Everyone comes from a poor background, who can't look down on others?"

Su Mingyue quickly asked her to sit down, "Calm down, calm down!"

Li Mingtang said: "Why isn't your bodyguard, Dong Xiyu, here? I remember you brought a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy with you."

"He is training soldiers in the camp today. During the busy farming season, it will be almost midnight when he comes back after training. Now he can go out and take care of himself. I will leave some things to him." Dong Liu greeted Li Mingtang as he spoke. eat vegetables.

"Your surname is Dong, and he is also surnamed Dong. Could it be that he bought it too?" Li Mingtang asked.

"He was picked up by wild dogs from the pile of corpses on the mass grave. He was dying and didn't even have the strength to shout. The young lady saw that he could still move a few times, so she ordered someone to check it out. Just like this, I got my life back. "

Li Mingtang looked at Su Mingyue, looked up and down, "Your lady is really a living Bodhisattva."

Seeing that there was a loophole in Lianxiang's words, Dong Liu quickly changed the topic, "We just said that the Mongols are coming, let's continue. It's unbelievable that Mongols suddenly appeared in this pass, and they came to grab food for the garrison army. How are you?"

Li Mingtang drank a cup, and Dong Liu quickly poured it for him again, "This is about the profiteer in the biggest kiln in Songcheng. This man's name is Mu Linlang, and he is known as Master Mu Shisan. I heard that he is the only one in the family." The root is only a seedling, and Yuemo is afraid that he will not be able to support it, so he is called Shisanye, and it sounds like the 13th is thriving."

"You told me that." Dong Liu interrupted him.

"It's not that my wife and the girls haven't heard me!" Li Mingtang continued, "Mu Shisan came to the border to do business. In addition to bringing money, he also brought a large amount of grain. Thousands of stones are piled up in warehouses. In order to avoid being robbed along the way, the caravan transports grain to cover up people's eyes. Now I don't know where he hides the grain. It takes a lot of labor to transport grain, and now there are no chariots and horses , and no labor was seen, even by water, the canal was broken when it reached Beijing, and it was a long way to the west from Beijing. How did he do it? This is one. , in the market inside the Yanmen Pass, you have to pay taxes and silver to the government. If you trade with gold and silver, what can people outside the pass do with the silver? They have to buy grain, which is worth more than silver outside the pass. The Erdao businessman in the pass, and then exchanged grain for silver, and made a lot of money. This is Er. He eats and drinks hot and whoring women in the kiln all day long, and he has to keep his eyes on his business, but who What about running errands for him inside and outside the gate? Who can turn a blind eye and let Mu Shisan pass in and out of Yanmen Pass under his nose?"

Dong Liudao: "Do you suspect that the Mongols were running errands for Mu Shisan? And Ma Yu deliberately turned a blind eye to benefit from it?"

Li Mingtang slapped his thigh, "Talking to smart people will save you trouble."

Dong Liu stroked his mustache, "The Mongols who attacked the garrison were sent by Mu Shisan to test us?"

Li Mingtang nodded, "Ma Yu's corruption can't be done without the involvement of Mu Shisan, but Ma Yu won't be recruited even if he dies. Colluding with the Mongols is a serious crime of collaborating with the enemy and treason."

"Ma Yu was arrested, Yanmen Pass is now directly guarded by Mr. Chang Qinghe, and this source of income is cut off. The imperial court issued a death order to close the door and lock the country. Mu Shisan was anxious, and the Mongols outside the pass were even more anxious. That's why there are Mongols. Come out and test the weight of the defenders guarding Yanmen Pass. The Mongols who attacked the grain harvesting team easily succeeded, but Dong Liuye was killed halfway. If you don’t go to Mu Shisan now, Mu Shisan is afraid I have to come to you first."

Dong Liu frowned. Su Mingyue was pregnant with Liujia, and she was going to give birth in two or three months. It didn't matter if Mu Shisan came to him, but his family was in Baishui Town, Songcheng. up.

Su Mingyue said: "The imperial court closed the country, and this year coincided with the white disaster, the Mongols couldn't buy food, wouldn't they all starve to death outside the customs?"

Li Mingtang said with a smile: "Sister-in-law's heart is kind, but when the Mongols go to the pass to kill people and set fire to them, they don't have compassion in their hearts. The previous dynasty trampled all over the Central Plains, and the people were devastated."

Su Mingyue said: "At this time and at that time, as the saying goes, when you return to your teacher, don't cover up the poor and don't chase after them. If the Mongols still had a bite to eat, they wouldn't rush into Yanmen Pass with their heads on their waistbands to grab food. They did so, It was not only the Mongols who were killed or injured, but also the Han Chinese."

Li Mingtang turned to Dong Liudao: "Sister-in-law is very knowledgeable!"

Dong Liu smiled, "It is the ancestral motto of the Tai-zu Emperor."

That being the case, there is nothing more to say, Li Mingtang said: "Come, come, let's eat vegetables."

Li Mingtang drank a little smoke, seeing that it was getting late, he got up to leave.Dong Liu sent him to the door, but he didn't want to go back to the barracks mansion, so he said to Dong Liu secretly: "Why don't you go to the brothel?"

Dong Liu was very cautious, "Another day, another day will definitely be with you!"

After sending Li Mingtang away, Dong Liu called Lianxiang into the room and reprimanded her. She said too much about herself and Xiyu's life experience.

Su Mingyue said: "You said that the seven-year-old lady bought you for three taels of silver. The lady you mentioned is not me. Li Mingtang can tell that you are older than me. If you were seven years old, how much money would I have at that time?" age"

Lianxiang also knew that she had made a big mistake, so she knelt there and dared not defend herself.

Just when Xiyu came back from the camp, after hearing the cause and effect, she didn't get angry, she just sighed, "I said earlier that you will lose your words if you talk too much, so you can't control your mouth."

Dong Liudao: "Forget it, I hope Li Mingtang drank too much and forgets such trivial things. If he asks, you don't want to say more, just let him guess."

Xiyu led Lianxiang out, and Su Mingyue and Dong Liu also took a rest.

In the darkness, a hand reached out and gently stroked Su Mingyue's now large belly. The fetus in the womb moved from time to time, which made Liang Guanjing feel even more uneasy.

"I want to find a chance to meet Mu Shisan in the kiln, what do you think?"

Su Mingyue knew what she was worried about, "You are the garrison of Yanmen Gate, Lord Qianhu is responsible for fighting against the Mongolian rogues. If Mu Shisan troubles you, then he will not be a profiteer."

"I'm afraid he'll trouble you, so I can't take the risk."

Su Mingyue said: "If he troubles me, how can you prepare for the aftermath? How can you spare him? He always knows the stakes."

Liang Guanjing said: "If I don't eat oil and salt, he may come to trouble you. If I pretend to be a snake, what is the difference between Ma Yu and Ma Yu?"

Su Mingyue touched her face, "A gentleman is always poor. If doing something is easy, then anyone can be a gentleman. I have no objection to you going to meet Mu Shisan in a kiln, as long as there is no conflict." good."

Liang Guanjing said: "He can mobilize the Mongols to fight for his life. This man is too scary. It's better to kill him with one knife, and treat it as an end to the people. The Great Wall is the boundary anyway, and the Mongols' iron hooves can't get through."

Su Mingyue shook her head, "If you think so, others may not be so. After killing Mu Shisan, there will be Mu Shisan and Mu Shisan. As long as it is profitable, someone will go to Yanmen Pass to open the gate for the Mongols and lure the enemy into the pass. .”

Liang Guanjing admired her very much, "The Great Wall is certainly indestructible, but the most easily destroyed is the human heart. Fortunately, I have been battle-tested, and I have some fine skills in capturing it, but I should listen to you about Mu Shisan. "