"I only heard that Han General Li Guang could shoot arrowheads into stones. I didn't expect that there is such a person in our dynasty." Zhang Shixun looked at He Ji, and his eyes met He Ji's, so he nodded to him politely.
He Ji grinned and nodded to Zhang Shixun as a greeting.
"If I have the chance in the future, I will also learn archery," said Zhang Shixun.
In the era of cold weapons, what would you do if you didn’t know how to shoot arrows?
"What's the point of learning those things? In this bright and peaceful world, no matter how good your archery skills are, they are useless... Hey! Manager, bring two wine bowls over." Gao Yanei raised his hand to greet the manager over there.
"I don't think so. Although the Song Dynasty is peaceful at the moment, the north is not very peaceful."
"Brother, you're wrong. Although the Song Dynasty suffered a brief defeat against the Liao Kingdom in the first half of the year, victory and defeat are commonplace in military affairs. The Liao Kingdom was almost destroyed by the Jin Kingdom. A few days ago, Tong Guan and Cai You reported to the court that the Liao generals Gao Feng and Guo Yaoshi had surrendered, and the overall situation in the north was settled."
"The situation is settled?" Zhang Shixun sneered and said, "Isn't the young master a little too optimistic?"
Of course, he knew something about this history. The Song army's military operation to recapture Yanyun ended in failure. The ambitious Song Huizong was instigated by several treacherous ministers to spend tens of millions of strings of cash to buy Yanjing from the Jurchens. Although the Jurchens returned Yanjing to the Song Dynasty after receiving the money, they looted all the property and people in Yanjing, leaving the Song Dynasty with only an empty city.
Gao Yanei was not someone who cared about state affairs and was not interested in this topic. "The affairs of the imperial court are not something that small fry like us should worry about. Let's not talk about this... Let's have some wine, have some wine."
Zhang Shixun opened the horse dung paper that wrapped the food. The so-called horse dung paper was not made of horse dung, but of wheat straw. It was crudely made and cheap. Because of its yellow color, people used to call it horse dung paper.
This cheap and rough paper was still in use until the early 20th century, when it gradually faded out of history and was replaced by plastic bags and paper bags.
Although he knew it was not made of horse manure, Zhang Shixun still subconsciously held it under his nose and smelled it.
"You are such a strange person. You even want to smell this thing." Gao Yanei said from the side.
"Isn't that strange?" Zhang Shixun stretched out two fingers to pick up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth to chew. Yes, it was mutton, cooked very well. He picked up another piece and said to Gao Yanei, "Why don't you try it? It's delicious."
"How can we eat meat without wine?" Gao Yanei handed over a bowl of wine.
Zhang Shixun looked around and saw that some people around him were eating melon seeds, some were eating snacks, and some were drinking and eating meat. Only then did he feel at ease to take the wine bowl, clinked it with Gao Yanei, and drank it down.
There was a sound of gongs and drums on the stage, and the performance began.
A clown-like figure appeared on the stage and mumbled a long, unrelated message. Zhang Shixun didn't understand a single word and asked Gao Yanei, "What is he saying? Why don't I understand?"
"That's just the opening remarks. Don't worry about what he says. The real show hasn't started yet."
"When will Madam Ding appear?"
"Mrs. Ding is the mainstay of the stage, and it will be a while before she makes her debut. We brothers should just eat meat and drink wine."
Seeing that the wine in his bowl was almost empty, Gao Yanei diligently filled it up again.
"Who's in charge of Madam Ding's team?" Zhang Shixun picked up the wine bowl and put it to his mouth but didn't drink it.
"Of course, Madam Ding's father is the boss." Gao Yanei took a sip of wine, looked up at the stage, and said, "His father is a man of no ability, dull and stubborn, and loves to drink. So, he is only the nominal boss, and the boss is actually Madam Ding."
"It would be difficult for a woman to manage such a team without some skills."
"Of course."
"If we encounter hooligans causing trouble, it will be very troublesome."
"Oh! It seems that you are very worried about Madam Ding's safety." Gao Yanei looked at him with a smile.
Zhang Shixun was aware of his worries and couldn't help blushing. He covered it up and said, "Why should I worry? Madam Ding is not related to me. I just asked casually."
Gao Yanei pointed to the left and said, "Do you see those two people?"
Zhang Shixun looked in the direction of his finger and saw two strong men standing under the lanterns outside the venue, chatting and not looking at the stage at all.
"What happened to those two?"
"Those are soldiers from the Military Patrol."
"Military Patrol Court, what kind of organization is this?"
"The Military Patrol Office is under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture. It's divided into the Left and Right Military Patrol Offices, one in charge of the eastern half of the city, and the other in charge of the western half. Their main job is to arrest people, but their jurisdiction is very wide, and they can get involved in everything."
"Oh!" Zhang Shixun nodded. It turned out to be the patrolman of this era.
"Look over there, the guy sitting there with his legs crossed, drinking tea. Although he looks ugly, he is a military candidate and is now a judge in the Right Army Inspection Court. His name is Wang Meng."
Zhang Shixun squinted his eyes and looked at Wang Meng. He saw that he was a big and strong man with a broad round face, thick eyebrows, and his clothes were half open, and the tattoo on his chest was faintly visible.
"These guys roam around the tile house every day. If they see anyone fighting or causing trouble, they will arrest them immediately."
Gao Yanei stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth. "In addition to the left and right military patrols, there are also soldiers from the military patrol station patrolling here, and occasionally, inspectors from the Imperial City Bureau will sneak in here to take a look."
He glanced around and said, "I don't see anyone from the Imperial City Bureau right now. I wonder where they are hiding."
Zhang Shixun asked, "It must be quite expensive to hire these people to protect the place, right?"
"Needless to say? Of course, money was spent, but money alone is not enough." Gao Yanei took another sip of wine and continued, "These people are giving me so much face because of Madam Ding's background..."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
