[R18] Will drink wine – “About Wine” Chapter 150 [English]

Chapter 145 Beggar

A few days later, the Cizhou garrison escorted the grain truck to Chazhou. Fei Sheng returned to his house and reported the details of Chazhou to Shen Zechuan. He also handed over the price records of Huaizhou and Fanzhou.Not only that, he even found out the details of Lei Changming and Lei Jingzhe.

Lei Changming was from Chazhou and had a background in a bodyguard business, which was a well-known background on the surface.Fei Sheng made inquiries everywhere in Chazhou and got an explanation from Juexi Shop. According to Chazhou elders and others, Lei Changming had been involved in skin and flesh trade during the Yongyi period.At that time, the Chu Guan in Dun and Duan Prefectures was flourishing, and famous prostitutes such as Shen Zechuan’s mother Bai Cha emerged in Zhongbo. Therefore, Lei Changming traveled around Deng Prefecture, coaxing women of good origin and selling them to Dun and Duan Prefectures as prostitutes.Later, Shen Wei ordered the brothels along the Chashi River to close down, causing Duanzhou’s business to plummet. Lei Changming had no connections at the Duanzhou checkpoint, so he had to find another way out.

At this time, Lei Changming wanted to resume his old career, so he used Zhu’s influence to make friends with Zhongbo officials everywhere.It was during the process of making friends with officials that he discovered that these people were very afraid of the Metropolitan Procuratorate’s field work every spring.The censor has the power of impeachment, and the reputation of the officials involved will definitely be affected. This is a major matter related to promotion and transfer. For this reason, they dare not go to a brothel easily.

Lei Changming was moved, and he opened the “Famous Book Hall” in Fanzhou. On the surface, it was a poetry teahouse, but secretly he placed the women with good citizenship there and used them as secret prostitutes to bribe various officials.However, this business did not last long and fell into the hands of Shen Wei.

Fei Sheng remembered this and marked it on the side.

Shen Wei has spies in every state. Since he married Bai Cha, he has severely suppressed the brothel business in every state.Less than a year after its opening, Lei Changming’s Famous Book Hall was destroyed by Shen Wei at lightning speed.Abducting and selling women of good nationality is punishable by law. In order to escape the blame, Lei Changming instructed his subordinates to pretend to be his wife. He rushed to Dunzhou and gave Shen Wei real money and silver, and spent a lot of money to get him out.

After this incident, Lei Changming once again began to eat and wait to die.He’s wife and children died early, but he didn’t take concubines at that time. He had the hobby of raising young children as early as when he abducted and trafficked women of good citizenship, but he was ruthless and no one survived.At the end of the year of Yongyi, Lei Changming accepted the escort of the Yan family in Hezhou in order to make a living, and gained the favor of the Yan family. From then on, he began to truly rise to the top.

There was no mention of jade beads or earrings in this record. Shen Zechuan closed the book, thought about it for a moment, and said, “It’s strange. Children who can wear earrings are either rich or noble. Even if Lei Changming dares to kidnap and sell Zhongbo Liang, he would not dare to touch the heirs of the aristocratic families in the eight cities of the capital.”

“Master, you guessed it right. I also found out about it, but there is no evidence. I can’t write it down directly. I have to report it to you in person.” Fei Sheng stood by the table, looked back at Li Xiong in the courtyard, and said, “I also chatted with this guy, and I guessed it.Probably.During the Yongyi period, Lei Changming rescued Yan Heru, the young master of the Yan family. The child was born with a pair of earrings and was said to be very popular in the Yan family.Alas, the master had also met him.He is just a beast, he actually has a crush on that young master Yan.”

Shen Zechuan buttoned up the folding fan.

Fei Hehe continued: “But he didn’t dare. It happened that the Shao family of the Ministry of War was imprisoned at that time, and all the male heirs of the Shao family were to be executed. In order to preserve the bloodline, the old lady of the Shao family disguised the only remaining grandson of the he family as a girl. This Shao family’s direct grandson was taken to Zhongbo for exile, and happened to fall into the hands of Lei Changming.”

When Fei Sheng said this, Qiao Tianya, who had been holding the book, suddenly sat up and said, “Shao? The Shao family of the Ministry of War during the Yongyi period? Shao Chengbi, the minister of the Ministry of War!”

Fei Sheng clapped his hands and said, “Hey, this is the place, do you recognize it?”

Qiao Tianya stood up in an instant, he was stunned for a moment, and said: “Of course I know…Master, I have said before that I am the son of Qiao from the Ministry of War, and Shao Chengbi and my father are close friends. Not only that, Shao Chengbi is an official promoted by the Taifu, but he is not good at socializing, so he does not often interact with the Taifu.”Later, he married the sister of Chen Zhen, the current Secretary of the Ministry of War, so he survived the investigation in the East Palace and was not driven out by the Queen Mother.”

Fei Sheng nodded and said, “That’s what happened, but Shao Chengbi didn’t show favor to Hua and Pan. In order to get rid of he, Hua Siqian borrowed his power at the end of Yongyi year and asked Ji Lei to lead the Jin Yiwei to frame him. He was a participant in the East Palace rebellion and ransacked his house.”

Shen Zechuan understood that Lei Changming did not dare to touch Yan Heru, so he took the Shao family’s direct grandson instead.

Fei Sheng continued: “Although the direct grandson of the Shao family was older than Yan Heru, he was only nine years old at the time. When he was in the Shao family, he was also the direct grandson of many people. Before his death, Mrs. Shao asked all her old acquaintances before changing he out of the capital. Unexpectedly, when he arrived at Zhongbo, he was ruined by Lei Changming. Lei Changming was very ruthless, firstly because heHe likes to drink before doing things. It’s not serious. The second reason is that he wants to avoid future troubles. If the person dies, it’s okay to drag him out and bury him.Cai Yu found out about this. Lei Changming later fell out with the Yan family. I guess it was also because of this incident.”

This was Fei Sheng’s first errand in front of Shen Zechuan, so naturally he had to do it beautifully.Fei Sheng then reported the details of Luo Mu in Chazhou. While listening, Shen Zechuan glanced at Qiao Tianya.

Qiao Tianya’s thoughts were not here.

After Fei Sheng exited, he took advantage of the free time to chat with Qiao Tianya.

“You don’t have to ask me,” Fei Sheng rubbed his hands and cleaned the gaps between his fingers. “I learned about the Shaw family’s direct grandson from the Chazhou bandits. You also know that it didn’t matter that he didn’t have Yan. How could anyone remember his life or death at that time? In the hands of Lei Changming, nine out of ten people would die, even if they didn’t…” Fei Sheng sighed with a complicated mood, “You can’t survive.”

Qiao Tianya pretended to be relaxed and just said: “Did I ask you? I didn’t plan to ask.”

Fei Sheng looked at he with disgust, gestured with his fingers to mark the distance between the two people, and said, “You know, you came here to ask about something. How many years have passed since this happened, and if you really feel bad about it, just treat he as if he is still alive.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘treating’,” Qiao Tianya took a few steps down the stairs, raised his arms, put them behind his head, squinted his eyes slightly against the sunlight, and said nonchalantly, “Death is death. It would be cooler to lie down underneath.”

* * *

In a few days it will be the end of July. The grain carts from Cizhou will go out and the silver carts will come back.Seeing that autumn was coming, Zhou Gui was worried that Huaizhou’s grain would be bought elsewhere. Now that they had money, Zhou Gui discussed with his staff that the Huaizhou business should be settled as soon as possible.

Shen Zechuan went to the study to discuss matters. After listening, he only asked: “What do you think, Mr. Cheng Feng?”

Kong Ling hesitated for a moment and said, “I told you last night that it is too urgent to go to Huaizhou now, and I don’t agree.”

Zhou Gui sat down with Shen Zechuan and nodded, saying: “We discussed the details last night, and Cheng Feng did say so. But I know that this year, there are places in Juexi that have been hit by disasters, and the chief envoy Jiang Qingshan has been transferred. The places that are short of food will have to buy from other states. Huaizhou is close to the capital, and there will be another autumn harvest soon. I’m worried that Juexi will finish the business before us.”

Zhou Gui’s worry is not unreasonable. The granary vacated by Cizhou is to be reserved for emergencies. Now they are holding on to the money and feel unsure.

Shen Zechuan has also been estimating his trip to Huaizhou in recent days, but the reason for his hesitation is not only this, but also the fact that the capital has not yet issued the dispatch documents to JiangQingshan.Whether this person returns to Juexi or is promoted elsewhere, he will affect Cizhou’s grain trading to a greater or lesser extent.If □□shan is transferred to Huaizhou, the business currently being negotiated with Huaizhou will most likely be cancelled.

Shen Zechuan was in trouble and only said: “The concerns of sir and your lord are not unreasonable. I have also been thinking about Huaizhou in the past few days. According to our original plan, the sooner the better, but now looking at it, how to avoid Qudu’s eyes is also a problem.”

Kong Ling said from the side: “Besides, our silver chariot needs to borrow a road from Libei, and this matter needs to be discussed with the prince. However, the prince will not stop this matter. We borrowed the horse road from Libei’s cavalry and turned it into food to make up for it. Libei is naturally happy at the moment. I am only worried about one thing, how to get through Luoxia Pass? The Luoxia Pass garrison is still under the direct control of the capital, and they are neither short of food nor silver. Libei can still follow himWe talk about friendship, but what about Cizhou?”

According to the relationship between Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye, really speaking, Shen Zechuan can also have a relationship with Luoxiaguan.But this must be done on the basis that Xiao Fangxu and Xiao Jiming are willing to recognize Shen Zechuan. Otherwise, based on Xiao Chiye alone, I’m sorry, the current second master doesn’t have that much face.

When Kong Ling raised this matter, he also expressed tactfully that he and Li Bei were not close to each other, so he would have to settle accounts if he borrowed roads, and it would not be that easy if he borrowed troops in the future.Originally, they all thought that Xiao Chiye went back to succeed his father and brother in making contributions, but now it seems that Xiao Chiye is shorter than the general at the battle site.This is not to say that the baggage general is unimportant, but it is simply incomparable in terms of reputation and prestige.

They talked about it in the study at dusk, but there was no conclusion to the discussion.

When Shen Zechuan returned to the house, he saw Ding Tao and Li Xiong waiting at the door.

Ding Tao didn’t go back to Libei, and his shift didn’t count. He and Li Xiong practiced boxing next to Ji Gang all day long. After boxing in the morning, they had nothing to do in the afternoon, so the two of them ran around and went crazy in July.Ding Tao is no longer sad now. He even forgot about Chenyang Gujin. No one cares about eating sweets at night. He only got a toothache from Qiao Tianya and gave him a lesson.

“Sir, there are a lot of beggars in the city today.” Ding Tao followed Shen Zechuan and said, “They are all so hungry that their faces are yellow and their muscles are thin. They said they came from Dancheng. Mr. Yu went out to buy a bag of steamed buns this morning, and they even started fighting over the steamed buns.”

Shen Zechuan paused for a moment. Seeing that the sky was still bright, he said to Qiao Tianya, “Go and have a look.”

Cizhou has just begun to reorganize the registration system. If refugees come, they must report their name and place of origin to the prefectural government office to prevent rogue bandits from sneaking into the city.Someone is taking care of this matter. Shen Zechuan came here specifically because Ding Tao mentioned Dan City.

When they arrived, Yu Xiaozai was making steamed buns.Fei Sheng and Qiao Tianya stepped forward to help, and Yu Xiaozai thanked them profusely.

“You are respectful,” Shen Zechuan said warmly, “lead people to the Yamen of the state capital, and someone will distribute the steamed buns and rice porridge without any expense.”

Yu Xiaozai walked to Cizhou and didn’t have much money on him.He now has no official position and refuses to be Zhou Gui’s staff. He lives in Shen Zechuan’s house and is raised by Shen Zechuan.But he is very frugal and usually shows calligraphy and paintings to others. He has only saved a few taels of silver these days, and now he is giving them steamed buns.

Yu Xiao said again: “The yamen distributes rations, so much every day. Most of the people who come late are the old, weak, sick and widowed. It’s very pitiful to be hungry. Money is something external to the body, something outside the body.”

Shen Zechuan saw that there were many refugees and became suspicious.Dancheng is one of the eight cities in Qudu. There has been no disaster this year. It has also provided supplies to Han Jin’s eight camps. The imperial army also had a feast when they passed by. Why did so many refugees suddenly appear?

Qiao Tianya was stuffing buns one by one when he suddenly heard a commotion behind them.

Shen Zechuan turned his eyes and saw a few ruffians making trouble together, trying to pull someone else’s donkey.When Fei Sheng saw Shen Zechuan’s expressionless expression, he immediately picked up the steamed buns, waved to Jin Yiwei to step forward and pull him away, shouting, “What are you doing? You’re making a lot of noise here!”

One of the gangsters saw Jin Yiwei doing something and was pulled off his feet. He hurriedly said: “Master, this is not us making trouble! These people first said they wanted to sell the donkey, I paid all the money, and now they don’t give it to me, don’t you think this is a money trap?!”

When Fei Sheng heard this, he turned his head and said to the crowd: “You came to Cizhou to deceive and swindle, and you didn’t ask who is in charge here? Hurry up and give the donkey to others!”

Those disheveled men shrank and pushed the rope into Fei Sheng’s hands.The donkey was being pulled so hard that it brayed, and one hand was squeezed behind by the hens. It slapped the ground randomly and muttered vaguely: “That’s my donkey…”

Fei Sheng had a good ear, but he didn’t want to cause trouble and pretended not to hear.The hand was painfully stepped on by the thugs, and turned into a fist, hitting the ground again and again.But I don’t know who was pulling him from behind, and the hand disappeared suddenly.

Fei Sheng handed the donkey over. The upper part of the shoe was slightly heavy. When he lowered his head, he saw that it was a dirty and dusty milk cat.Fei Sheng leaned over and picked it up, shouting: “Taozi, here’s a little toy for you -”

Before Fei Sheng finished speaking, the hand was exposed again, only the fingertips were exposed, and the gaps between his fingers were filled with blood and mud.

“My…my cat!”

The man was lying on his hands and knees, rubbing his forehead against the ground.The rogue behind saw Fei Sheng turning around and hurriedly dragged him by his ankles and hid behind him.

Fei Sheng noticed that the man’s legs and feet were not good and he wondered if he had been interrupted.