[R18] Will drink wine – “About Wine” Chapter 116 [English]

Chapter 113 Reunion (Part 2)

The study was silent and the candlelight flickered.

Shen Zechuan felt sore in his lower back, and there were traces of Xiao Chiye’s bite on the collarbone covered by his collar.The strange thing is that at such a serious moment, he thought of Xiao Chiye’s sweaty face, of Xiao Chiye’s strong arms, and of the kiss on Xiao Chiye’s neck when he was breathing.

He thought of everything about Xiao Chiye, but he couldn’t think of anything worse about Xiao Chiye than Xiao Jiming.

Shen Zechuan was silent for only a few moments, and You Shen only said for a moment, “I understand everything you said. Ce’an and I are here, and the food we borrowed temporarily will be returned in full next year.”

Zhou Gui immediately turned pale and wanted to explain: “Tongzhi, we are not…”

“The problem I want to discuss with you is not that you allocate too little food to the Forbidden Army, but that you allocate too much food to the Forbidden Army.” Shen Zechuan motioned Zhou Gui to sit down and said clearly, “Cizhou’s willingness to allocate so much food to the military shows its sincerity. But as we mentioned at the beginning, the Forbidden Army will only use Cizhou’s food at this moment. There are supply channels for the Forbidden Army’s future military rations, and there is no need to rely on Cizhou’s granary.”

Zhou Gui felt stupid and did not dare to answer the question without authorization, so he looked at Kong Ling and said, “Cheng Feng is the inspector who drafted the booklet. He knows some things better than me. Cheng Feng, please explain to me.”

Kong Ling stood up, held the back of his chair, and asked: “My colleague is so sure that the Forbidden Army will not be short of food in the future, and he also said that the Northeast Grain and Horse Road can be used as usual. We really can’t think of any countermeasures to do so. Please tell us, otherwise our colleague will still have to ask the Forbidden Army to accept this food.”

Shen Zechuan gently moved the tea cup and said, “Before that, I still have to ask you two, will Cizhou have to rely on the ground for food in the future?”

Kong Ling said: “Cizhou’s location is limited. If not, how could it survive?”

“What I saw is exactly the opposite, sir.” Shen Zechuan put down the tea cup and said, “Cizhou was indeed in a bad position originally. It supported Libei to the north, Chazhou to the south, was blocked by Dun and Duanzhou to the east, and was restricted by Dancheng to the west. It did not dare to move at will, and it could not move at will. But that was Cizhou stillThe situation when it was attached to Qudu, and now that you have a close relationship with Libei, Dancheng can no longer rely on the power of Qudu to force Cizhou to do things. Dunzhou is occupied by bandits, and there is a tendency to clear the vacancies.In this way, the three walls of Cizhou have collapsed, and the remaining Chazhou is not an obstacle, but an opportunity.”

Zhou Gui wanted to get up again, he rubbed his robe until it was wrinkled, and asked cautiously: “What does Tongzhi mean?”

“Chazhou is located along the waterway that can reach Hezhou. After the defeat, Hezhou merchants took advantage of it to sell sky-high prices of grain in Zhongbo and made huge profits from bandits. It would be a pity if this road was only used to make others rich.”

“But Chazhou is also dominated by bandits now, and it is related to the Yan family in Hezhou. We will not let Cizhou use the road to do business for no reason.” Kong Ling said a little anxiously, “Besides, what can we sell? Compared with Hezhou, Cizhou is a poor and remote place.”

“Selling food.” Shen Zechuan said.

As soon as he said this, Zhou Gui immediately stood up and said, “No! Isn’t that the same as the black-hearted thieves who colluded with Juexi officials and merchants and resold official grain?”

“Don’t be impatient, sir.” Shen Zechuan’s eyes were so calm that Zhou Gui sat back involuntarily.heSaid: “The reason why there are people in Juexi and Hezhou reselling official grain at high prices is because there is a shortage of grain in various parts of China, especially in Chazhou. In Qudu, one tael of silver can buy two stones of grain. In Juexi, one tael of silver can buy one stone and five buckets of grain. But in Chazhou, one tael of silver can only buy one stone and five buckets of grain.”You can buy two buckets of grain.The money that the bandits in Chazhou have is scraped from the remaining people in Chazhou. Therefore, good people with household registration cannot survive, so more and more people will take risks and become bandits.Sir, Lei Changming – that is, Lei Jingzhe,He was able to quickly expand his troops to this number within half a year.This is also the fundamental reason why Cizhou is willing to sell grain to Chazhou at a price slightly higher than that of Qudu, which is actually helping Chazhou.”

“But,” Kong Ling frowned slightly, “if we sell grain to Chazhou, there will inevitably be a vacancy in the granary. We only have money in our hands, so wouldn’t we be in the current situation of Chazhou? Then the unscrupulous grain merchants in Juexi and Hezhou will only intensify their efforts to ask for money from us.”

“Hezhou is far away. Cizhou wants to do business with it, so there is no rush in one or two years. When I left Qudu, I knew something about Huaizhou. Huaizhou contributed half of the effort in preparing the military rations, and the granary was very full. heWe go southwest to Dicheng around Qudu, and Dicheng is directly connected to the Juexi seaport. Huaizhou wants to do business through Dicheng, but it happens to be short of money.Cizhou can sell the grain to Chazhou first, and then buy it back from Huaizhou at a price lower than Chazhou. The remaining money can subsidize other places, and the granary can always remain sufficient, leaving a way out for the Libei Iron Cavalry or Cizhou itself.”

Jin Yiwei has the job of “listening to notes”, which is to record prices in detail in the streets and alleys.Shen Zechuan managed the Jinyiwei army craftsmen when he was in Nanzhen Fu, and he was able to read Jinyiwei’s records of various places every year.Ge Qingqing originally wanted to copy it down, but Shen Zechuan stayed up all night and memorized it all.He is prematurely wary of the unknown future and is unwilling to hand over important things to paper easily.Facts have proved that he did a good job. They left the house in such a hurry that they had no time to bring anything.But when he left, the records, files, and old books he had read left with him.

Zhou Gui fell into deep thought, thought about it again and again, and said, “If Huaizhou refuses…”

“It’s feasible! To the east of Huaizhou is Luoxia Pass. It can transfer some border scenery from Libei, and it’s just the same line to transport it to the seaport.” Kong Ling became more and more excited as he thought about it. He couldn’t help walking around a few times, patted his thigh, and said, “Yes! It should have been like this a long time ago! If Cizhou still doesn’t know how to adapt, won’t it still be in the previous prison? It’s feasible, it’s feasible!”

Shen Zechuan never answered how he wanted to continue using the Northeast Liangma Road, but Kong Ling had no time to care.In the candlelight, he seemed to see the vitality belonging to Cizhou.He felt that Shen Zechuan was a “treacherous” person in Lei Changming’s matter, but he completely forgot about it now. He wanted to hold Shen Zechuan and thank him properly. He stretched out his hand and thought of Xiao Chiye. He quickly and politely took it back, and said repeatedly: “In this way, if there is too much food in the next few years, there will be no fear of mold in the warehouse.”

“Then let’s talk about the garrison,” Zhou Gui said across the table and chairs, “and the defense of the city wall.”

Shen Zechuan was drinking hot tea. Before he could speak, he saw Ding Tao showing her head outside the study door and waving vigorously at him.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Zechuan stood up and walked to the door.

Ding Tao went out just now, and his face was covered with sweat from running.He opened his mouth and said: “Master, Master! Here we come!”

Zhou Gui and Kong Ling also approached and saw that Ding Tao was still excited one moment, but closed her eyes and burst into tears the next.Shen Zechuan seemed to feel something and walked out of the door in a daze.Sure enough, I heard Ding Tao choke and say: “Master! All the brothers are back! Qiao Tianya is back too! And Na Ji——”

Shen Zechuan had already strode out to the yard. It was already dark outside.He was still holding the cup of tea in his hand, and he spilled some while walking, burning his fingers until they turned red, but he seemed not to notice and had completely forgotten about it.He walked outside the house in one go. It was a short journey, but he was covered in sweat.

There were several carriages transporting goods parked outside the house, and a few tall men stood scattered under the lanterns.The shorter one, still wearing a cloak, rested beside the carriage, standing sideways.

Shen Zechuan’s chest was rising and falling, his eyes were already red, but he was suppressing his will to show his face here.

Ji Gang listened to the noise and turned around. When he saw Shen Zechuan, he forgot the stone steps in front of him and almost tripped.He revealed his disheveled white hair, his lips moved, and before his name could be spoken out, he was already in tears.

“Chuan…” Ji Gang was like a white-headed child, angry at himself for not being able to complete his shout, and at the same time waving anxiously, “You, you…”

Shen Zechuan walked down the steps in two steps to help Ji Gang.Ji Gang grabbed Shen Zechuan’s arm and looked him up and down.In his life, he first worked as a guard in Qudu and then as a blacksmith in Duanzhou. Later, he suffered a catastrophe and lost his wife and children, but he always acted like a tough guy in front of others.But when he saw Shen Zechuan at this moment, he couldn’t control his tears.

“Chuan’er…” Ji Gang wiped his tears with rough fingers and looked at Shen Zechuan over and over again. His thousands of words turned into one sentence: “It’ll be fine if it’s okay.”

He has lost a lot of weight due to his travels.Qi Huilian died, and he couldn’t live with it, and he was afraid that Shen Zechuan would suffer after leaving Qedu, so he worked hard all the way and couldn’t eat or sleep well.All the pain was accumulated on the already rickety back. He was no longer a world-famous disciple, but his thin body was still willing to protect Shen Zechuan from the wind and rain.For this son, he can travel thousands of miles and punch the heroes of the world.He really doesn’t ask for anything, he just wants to see Shen Zechuan live well.

“Why are you so thin?” Ji Gang said uncontrollably.

“Master,” Shen Zechuan’s voice was trembling, “Master, why have you lost so much weight?”

“I’m old and can’t bear the torment.” Ji Gang wiped his tears hastily and said happily, “Now that I see you, Master, everything will be fine!”

Qiao Tianya pushed away the broken tea cup, knelt down on one knee, and deliberately diluted the sadness, and said with a smile: “Although it is a few more months of journey, fortunately it is not a disgrace. Master, is it okay to enjoy a meal and a drink? Master, let’s sit down and talk!”

* * *

The originally small courtyard was full of people. Kong Ling asked the kitchen to heat up the pots for cooking, then set up a table in the courtyard and used his horse to serve the Jinyi Guards and Libei Guards.

Qiao Tianya chased Ding Tao’s fat sparrow with chopsticks and said, “Everyone has lost weight, but you have to feed it until it is shiny and shiny, so you can prepare it for your brothers to drink, right?”

Ding Tao was originally happy, but after hearing this, she picked up the sparrow and said anxiously: “No!”

Gujin was very hungry, and while he was immersed in eating the rice, he did not forget to stretch out his chopsticks to knock Qiao Tianya back, and said in a low voice: “Are you itchy? You have to bully a child.”

“I didn’t deprive you of food on the way,” Chen Yang said while sitting and eating wine, “Why are you still so hungry?”

“Brother Gu distributed all the food to the children begging on the road,” Fei Shengcai was dealing with them. Knowing that everyone would be on the same road in the future, he said carefully, “I think Brother Gu is also a hero. He spent a lot of copper coins to buy buns for them.”

“It’s not about helping the poor,” Chen Yang said earnestly, “You have to change your habit of being soft-hearted when you see people crying. There’s a shortage of food everywhere now. It’s not that you’re not allowed to do good, but you have to have a sense of proportion.”

“Have you spent all the money?” Ding Tao said while lying on the side, “Brother Jin, didn’t you say you would give it to me last time? I saved it for you to get a wife. I told you to keep it here, I remember it clearly.” He said and took out the notebook again, “During the Chinese New Year the year before last, you still wrote about how you lent me three cents for a drink. Of course I don’t care about this little money, I don’t care, really brother, I just…”

Gujin ate happily, stuffed the cotton he brought with him into his right ear, turned to his left, and said, “Wine at home? Make me a jar.”

“Only three drinks,” Qiao Tianya had already stopped using his chopsticks and said, “I have to report to my master later. You are so drunk. Did you forget the punishment from the Marquis last time? At this time, I advise you to act with caution.”

He usually seems to be laughing and joking, but he used to be a member of Jinyiwei, and now he really shows off his style, and he is really a bit powerful.The tone was very calm, but the words were not that nice.

Gujin frowned irritably, but still nodded and said, “I’m just greedy. I haven’t drank for months.”

Ding Tao gradually closed the conversation.He is the youngest among these people. He is always raised as a younger brother. None of the brothers has ever been stingy about buying him candy.Just like this, he is not afraid of anyone and dares to get close to anyone. He is born with insight and is particularly sensitive to the flow of emotions between people.He noticed that his brothers were not as relaxed as they seemed, so he held his little sparrow and sat aside honestly without making any noise or fuss.