On the fifth day of August, he ordered the staff of the army and the officials of the baggage team to stay at the Zhenbei Army camp. Zhao Xingde was also there, but he did not have the opportunity to see the grand scene of Hebei armies lining up to welcome the crown prince Wei. Because the control of the baggage camp was slightly loose.

After a while, the Xingyuan staff met for a drink in the women's camp at noon, and Zhao Xingde accidentally met Li Hongyu. Tong Guan's attitude towards Zhao Xingde was quite puzzling. Most of the Xingyuan staff did not know the details and did not dare to accuse him at will.

When he came to the women's camp, Zhao Xingde ordered Li Hongyu to serve him wine, but no one competed with him.

"Master Zhao." Li Hongyu lowered her head and poured a glass of wine for Zhao Xingde. She already knew Zhao Xingde's identity from Master Li. If she hadn't already been interested in Han Shizhong, a reckless man, a scholar like Xing De would be a good choice for a prostitute.

Zhao Xingde took the wine glass with a smile, drank it down, and asked in a low voice: "Where is the girl's hometown? What is her original surname? Is Hongyu the name given by her parents?"

Li Hongyu was stunned for a moment, frowned and thought for a moment, then said: "The slave family was sold to Gonglou since childhood. On the deed of sale, the slave's real surname is Liang. I heard from the old sisters in the building that the kidnapper who sold the slave family to Gonglou came from Huaibei.

Yes, I can’t remember anything else.”

"That's it." He didn't say much more, only comforting Li Hongyu that he didn't have to worry about the future. With Han Shizhong running around in many places, one day the clouds would clear up.

Although Zhao Xingde secretly revealed the fate of fate, it was like an invisible thread, and the two people of Han and Liang actually met together. The general trend of the world has been so different. In the Song Dynasty during the Xuanhe period, people were said to be treacherous and the country was in the same situation.

Flowers are decorated with brocade, and fire is cooking oil, but after all, it is a peaceful and prosperous age, and the three border camps are guarding the country with iron barrels. More than ten years later, will there still be Jin invaders? Will Jingkang suffer the shame?

While he was deep in thought, a soldier named Zong Bao came over, holding the table, smelling of alcohol, and laughed loudly: "Come, I will offer a glass of wine to the talented man who gave up the first place." As he approached, he suddenly seemed to have lost his footing.

General, suddenly fell on Zhao Xingde's shoulders. Xingde was startled, and just as he was about to help him up, a voice as small as a gnat came in his ears: "If you want to return to Beijing safely, at three o'clock in the hour, Sihai Tower.

"Xing De still didn't understand what he meant, but Zong Bao stood up on his own, raised the empty wine glass and said with a drunken smile: "Good wine, good wine!" The other announcements made the staff laugh at his drinking capacity.

shallow.

Zhao Xingde watched this man stagger back to his seat, wondering in his mind that the imperial wine as a reward for the troops in Hebei was tasteless even when he drank it. After entering the city, he found out that Sihai Tower was the busiest building in Damingfu City.

In a restaurant, he thought over and over again and finally decided to go to the meeting. After telling his name, the waiter immediately took him to the Qi Chu Pavilion on the fourth floor. The scent of tea hit his face. Next to the exquisite and small red clay tea stove, a man with a face

The thin gentleman was holding a cup of tea and looking at the bustling market downstairs from the window. Hearing the sound of people, he raised his head, smiled at Zhao Xingde, and raised his hand to motion for him to sit across from him.

"Sir Shen Yun, please tell me that I will bring you back to Bianjing intact." Wang Yan held the wide sleeves of his robe with one hand and washed the tea cup for Zhao Xingde with the other hand and filled it with tea. Seeing this, Zhao Xingde also picked up the tea cup.

First, he took a sip at the tip of his nose, and then drank the tea regardless of how hot it was. He closed his eyes and savored the fragrance of tea as it spread in his mouth and nose. He felt refreshed all over and his energy doubled. After a while, he opened his eyes and praised:

“Great tea!”

Wang Yan was surprised to see that his moral character had changed, and he praised: "In the Hebei camp, it is rare to meet a tea ceremony master like Yuan Zhi." He drank a cup by himself, and then slowly said: "I am Wang Yan, the Sima of the Hebei camp. He is also the commander of the Imperial City Division and Jinyan Mansion in Hebei Province." The Imperial City Division and Jinyan Mansion are unknown to ordinary people, but Zhao Xingde knew something about the Imperial City Division from Song An, so he didn't make a fuss when he heard about it. He only raised his glass and said in tribute: "Zhao Xingde, a late-born imperial scholar, served in the Hebei Army. I hope Lord Wang will take care of you." The name Wang Yan always felt vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it.

Wang Yan smiled slightly and said: "There is no need to be polite. Chao Buzhi and I have been friends for many years, and I have also met Zhao Shizhi several times. I am your elder. Without Master Shen's care, I would not ask you to be here." Hebei was framed." Next, Wang Yan explained to Zhao Xingde that Zhao Xingde was the first scholar in the Imperial Academy and was sent to serve in the army of Hebei without being awarded an official position. Apparently someone was in trouble with him, but the Imperial City Secretary The official Shen Yun knew that the official family wanted to cultivate Xing De, so he told Wang Yan to take care of Xing De during his stay in Hebei and not to let anyone kill him.

Liang Shizhong, Tong Guan and Shen Yun were all eunuchs, so they were somewhat jealous of each other. Prime Minister Cai Jing and Councilor Zhao Zhifu both recommended Tong Guan to take charge of the Hebei camp, and Shen Yun wanted to keep this one who was suppressed by the two prime ministers. A young man. If Tong Guan upholds the moral character of others who intend to harm him, the Imperial City Secretary will at least use him as a basis for future use. But Wang Yan, the commander of Jinyan Prefecture in Hebei Province, is Zhao Xingde's elder friend, so he will use it as a basis. The affairs of Jinyan Mansion were extremely complicated and could be handed over in a day or two, or in a year and a half. As long as Tong Guan didn't rush him, Wang Yan planned to personally bring Zhao Xingde back to Bianjing in a year.

Coming out of Sihai Tower, the evening breeze blew, carrying a damp and fishy smell of pickles, and the city was filled with the clanging of hammers from blacksmith shops. Zhao Xingde looked back and saw the bright lights next to the tall and towering Sihai Tower. , the surrounding houses are only two-story at most, most of them are one-story houses, and there are many simple shacks built along the street. There are no lanterns on the dark streets, and the way is illuminated by the faint light from the windows of each house. There are bright lights, and the roads in Damingfu are also full of potholes, smelly puddles can be seen everywhere, and there is always a smell of urine near the remote walls.

Daming Mansion is also a famous city. Looking at this sparsely populated street, it is incomparably different from the prosperous Bianjing. No wonder officials are attached to the capital and do not want to serve as officials elsewhere. Zhao Xingde shook his head, although he was in Bianjing I haven't lived there for too long, but I still have a deep attachment to that prosperous city.

"The scholar is finally back. No matter how late it is, don't say that Old Han didn't take care of you because he had good things to do."

As soon as he opened the door curtain of the camp, Zhao Xingde smelled a pungent smell of alcohol, "High-strength liquor?" Zhao Xingde was a little surprised to remember the familiar smell. When he looked up, he saw Han Shizhong and several other officers. Sitting around the room, there was a pot of fragrant meat and vegetables on the charcoal fire in the middle, and a wine pot in front of everyone.

Han Shizhong introduced to Zhao Xingde the officers present, Zhou Dingchen, the secretary in charge of the distribution of supplies for the Zhenbei Army, Xu Wei, the commander of the First Cavalry Battalion, Yuan Guangfu, the commander of the Second Yunqi Army in Daying, Hebei, and Pei Yan, the deputy commander.

"This is Han's brother, Zhao Xingde." Han Shizhong stretched out his hand and said proudly, "No more than Han, who only knows a few words. Being moral is a person's status. The talent who ranks first in the imperial examination in the capital is no different from the number one scholar."

How much, after this experience in the Hebei Army, the officials will entrust him with important responsibilities."

"Brother Han, thank you!" Zhao Xingde quickly stood up and thanked him. He usually stayed in Tong Guan's shogunate, surrounded by scheming subordinates and officials, as well as the battalion commanders who actually caught the soldiers.

These military attachés had always known each other until Han Shizhong. Although they seemed rude, they never lied. When they heard that Zhao Xingde was the top scholar in the capital, they were all horrified and raised their glasses to toast him. You must know that this dynasty values ​​civility over martial arts.

, Civil and military affairs have different paths. A military commander hangs his head on his trousers and fights for half his life, which is not as good as an article by an examination leader like Zhao Xingde.

When they met for the first time, Zhao Xingde naturally drank until his glass was dry. When the wine was in his ears, Han Shizhong smacked his lips and said, "What's the name of this strong wine?"

"Although Tokyo is good, there are a few things that are not as good as Hebei, and this 'wine sweat' is one of them." Yuan Guangfu held the open bowl, smelling the aroma of wine, and said with a smile.

"What a good name," Zhao Xingde praised. After a glass of wine like this, the feeling of burning from the throat to the stomach has been something he hasn't tried in a long time, "sweat of good wine."

"Master Zhao Yaxing," Yuan Guangfu said with a slight smile, "the name of this wine sweat comes from the re-condensation of the wine sweat after repeated cooking. It usually takes ten liters of good wine to produce one liter of such good wine."

Zhao Xingde was stunned, and the faces of several generals of the Zhenbei Army froze. This high-strength wine was made from repeated cooking and was very popular in Liao and Xia. However, due to excessive waste of food, brewing was strictly prohibited in the Central Plains. The wine produced in Xia State

It is made by steaming wine and is called "blood and sweat". Just like the sweat-blooded horse, only wealthy families can taste it.

Seeing this, Yuan Guangfu confidently took a sip of wine and then smiled and said: "Don't panic, everyone, this is Hebei Daying, Daming Mansion sells private wine all over the streets, and the wine supervisor himself is engaged in the Liao wine business."

"The wine sold privately in Hebei is actually produced in the Liao Kingdom?" Zhao Xingde asked curiously, "Is it possible that the Liao people already have so much food?"

"No," Pei Yan seemed to be a scholar who decided to join the army. He put down his wine bowl and sighed, "Daoguang, Nanjing, Liao Dynasty, used Han slaves to cultivate the fields. These slaves ate less food than dogs, so the Khitan nobles had a surplus every year.

The amount of grain is huge, storage is inconvenient, and long-distance sales are not very profitable. Brewing wine is both convenient for storage and sales. It is said that the five northern countries, Mongolia, and Jurchen tribes all like this food very much."

"So that's it," Zhao Xingde smacked his lips. He seemed to taste a bit of Xianjinjin on his tongue, and most of his drunkenness had dissipated. Several generals from the Zhenbei Army and the Hebei camp soon left Xingde behind and drank together.

As the saying goes, one speaks the truth after drinking. Yuan Guangfu and Pei Yan had originally intended to make friends with the generals of the Zhenbei Army, and gradually introduced in detail several ways for the troops in the Hebei camp to supplement their military needs. In addition to trafficking in highly illicit liquor from the Liao Kingdom,

Private salt could also be trafficked in the Liao Kingdom, and the manpower of military households could be used to make extremely salty pickles and cured meats instead of table salt. Since all the inland state capitals implemented a salt monopoly, the price of salt was extremely high, so the business of pickles and cured meats was natural.

In addition, the Liao Kingdom and the grassland tribes are rich in cattle and sheep, but the tanning and processing of leather are crude. There are also many people in Hebei Daying who traffic raw and cooked leather from the Liao Kingdom, and mercenary soldiers and civilian households are meticulous.

The processing was completed. The private wine, pickles and leather were all transported to various places by the yamen's mules and horses. After the upper and lower officials took care of it, no one dared to cause trouble.

By the end of the drinking, everyone except Xing De was so drunk that they staggered to sleep in Xing De's room. The ground was cold, so Zhao Xingde supported these people and laid them down on the kang.

"Xijing is close to the Xia Kingdom, and there are many rich and noble people. The Xijing camp sells sugar, green salt, white cloth, wine, carriages and horses, and all kinds of fancy toys, which brings more oil and water. Our Hebei camp is not enough.
Chapter completed!