The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

People poured into the small restaurant by the side of the road, the business in the shop was very light, the dozen tables were empty, the weather was hot and tired in the afternoon, the shopkeeper and a few waiters were dozing off on the counter, suddenly a dozen customers poured in Come on, startle them.

The shopkeeper came to understand and hurried forward to say hello: "Several guests, please invite inside, may I ask if you want to drink tea or eat?"

Su Jin cupped his hands and said, "Just get some food, we will go to the city after eating."

The shopkeeper repeatedly agreed, and loudly ordered Xiaoer to go to the kitchen to prepare meals, while leading Su Jin and others to a large table on the right, wiped the table and chairs with a dry cloth, and invited Su Jin and others to sit down.

Everyone sat down, took off their bamboo hats, and took out sweat towels to wipe off the dust and sweat on their faces. The shopkeeper with a big belly held a pot of tea and a dozen small pottery cups and poured tea for everyone.

Su Jin asked hesitantly: "The shopkeeper's small restaurant is quite elegant, and the market entrance is also good. The business must be very good."

The shopkeeper laughed and said, "It's not good or bad, it's just a matter of making ends meet. Now at this time, it's not easy to feed and clothe a family. The business used to be good, but recently the war has slowed down the business."

Su Jin smiled and said: "Business should be better in wars. A large number of soldiers gather in Huizhou, and this is the only way to go to the battlefield. How bad is it?"

The shopkeeper said with a sneer: "There are more people eating, but less people giving money."

Su Jin was taken aback, and understood what the shopkeeper meant. He must have eaten too much of the overlord's meal for free. The soldiers would naturally go to the battlefield to fight their lives, and they didn't care about life and death. How could they eat and pay in a proper manner.

Su Jin comforted: "That's something that can't be helped. The war is in chaos, and it's the Bodhisattva's blessing to survive."

The shopkeeper said: "What this official said is very true. The old man has nothing to complain about. It looks like the costumes of the few are local Han people. Could it be that they are from the south?"

Su Jin smiled and said, "Do local Han people look different from those from the south?"

The shopkeeper said with a smile: "That's right, the local Han people don't have the same posture when they dress and walk. Look at you walking with your head held high, which is completely different from the way the local Han people walk with hunched backs, and the local Han people are the same. Members of our party always wear round-neck and wide-sleeved shirts, so why would anyone wear brocade robes and long gowns?"

Su Jin was startled. Today is the second time that someone has been identified as coming from the Song Dynasty in the south. It seems that the preparations in advance were not sufficient. I asked people who had been to Xiaguo in Weizhou beforehand, and they said that the Han people were in Xiaguo Many, Xixia's speaking customs are almost the same as those of Song Dynasty, so they deliberately pretended to be merchants. They thought that they would not be noticeable among the crowd, but they were first spotted by the officers of the Xia army, and now even an ordinary tavern owner is also hiding it. no.

As for the clothes and walking posture, it is not difficult to understand why this is the case. The clothes are naturally required by the Xixia Kingdom to assimilate the Han people, so it is reasonable to wear party clothes, but it is mostly because of the Han people when they walk stooped and dare not raise their chests. He is a second-class citizen in Xixia.

Now that he was seen through, the concealment would make people suspicious, Su Jin simply continued the lie just now, and said with a smile: "The shopkeeper has good eyesight, we are indeed from the Song Dynasty, and we are merchants. Although the war broke out, the way of business is safe I can’t stop it, so I came to your country to buy some things from your country and go back.”

The shopkeeper laughed in a low voice: "This official is very courageous, and he is a merchant who crosses the border privately, so he is not afraid that the government will take you."

Su Jin smiled and said, "We are neither officials nor soldiers, what are we going to do with us?"

The shopkeeper said with a smile: "Yes, more and more merchants have crossed the border privately recently, and the government has not seen any large-scale raids. Are you going to enter Huizhou City or go north around the city?"

Su Jin said: "Go to the city, the seller you have agreed to is in the city, how can you trade if you don't go to the city."

The shopkeeper wrinkled his chubby face and said, "Then you guys came at a really bad time."

Su Jin hurriedly asked: "How do you say this?"

The shopkeeper looked at Su Jin in surprise and said, "Don't you guys know about that?"

Su Jin said: "When? We drove all night and didn't meet anyone talking. I really don't know what the shopkeeper said."

The shopkeeper looked around and asked in a low voice, "Did you come from the original road of Dasong Jing?"

Su Jin shook his head and said, "No, we came over the mountains from Lanzhou."

"No wonder you don't know." The fat shopkeeper suddenly realized: "Let me tell you, I, Queen Daxia Yeli, came to Huizhou City, because the two elder brothers of Queen Yeli and the two kings of the left and right military commanders were in Weizhou. The front line was killed by a surprise attack sent by the Song Army. Queen Yeli was distraught, so Yujia came to Weizhou in person and said that he would see the city of Weizhou break down with his own eyes, and see Su Jin, the general of Weizhou, die in front of him. "Because of the empress's presence in the city, the interrogation is very strict now, and all private businessmen from the south will also be interrogated and interrogated. Isn't it a coincidence that a few of you have come?"

Su Jin asked in surprise: "The two great kings of the Yeli clan? Could it be the famous Yeli Yuqi and Yeli Wangrong?"

The fat shopkeeper said with a smile: "The little officials know quite a lot. It is those two great kings. Hey, they are the mainstays of my Great Xia. I don't want to die in Weizhou, but they were attacked on the way back. It's really a pity. "

Su Jin asked, "When did this happen?"

The fat shopkeeper said: "It's understandable for you not to know. It happened four days ago. After getting the news, the queen came here in a hurry. It is said that after walking for two days and two nights on the road, she fainted after seeing the corpses of the two great kings." It’s better for you guys not to enter Huizhou City, so as not to get into trouble.”

Su Jin thought to himself, he was still in Weizhou City four days ago, why didn't he hear that anyone sent troops to attack Yeli Yuqi and Yeli Wangrong? Li Yuqi and Ye Liwangrong's whereabouts, and they can't send troops to sneak attack; Zhoucheng is probably a dangerous place, and because of this, Empress Yeli vented her anger on the Han people, so she must be very strict with the Han people, and people like her group can be recognized as coming from the south at a glance, and they will receive extra care.

Su Jin suddenly felt dizzy, and his mood became depressed and irritable.

Everyone also heard this matter, and they were equally depressed. After the food was served, although everyone was hungry, they had no appetite. After a few mouthfuls, they all stopped eating.

After the meal, everyone left the hotel and did not dare to enter the city in a hurry, so they found a secluded forest to discuss countermeasures. Everyone said nothing, and Su Jin got up and walked slowly around a few trees to think. Get up; everyone knew Su Jin's habit, so they kept silent, just stared at Su Jin's body eagerly, and turned their necks back and forth.

Finally Su Jin stopped and said, "Let's get ready to go into the city."

Everyone was stunned, Wang Chao said: "Young master, don't you throw yourself into a trap by going here?"

Su Jin smiled and said: "That's not the case. What the shopkeeper said may be true. Queen Xixia Yeli may have really come to Huizhou, but do you remember the grain transport team we met on the official road just now? The officer It can also be seen that we came from the south, but he didn't have any special surprises, and he didn't mention that we can't enter the city. On the contrary, he asked us to mention his name after entering the city; so I It is concluded that the situation in the city is not very bad, the big deal is that the investigation should be stricter."

Wang Chao said: "How can the dog's words be taken seriously?"

Su Jin said: "Of course we can't take it seriously, but if you think about it, since he didn't arrest us, it means that the city didn't issue a strict order to arrest merchants from the south; and although the officer had no good intentions, it didn't seem like he was lying. The way we were arrested in the city, we have no enmity with him. On the contrary, he has benefited from us. If the city is very dangerous, he should mention it in return. If it is anyone, how can we let him take money? If the other party steps into a dangerous situation without giving any hints, compare your hearts with each other, will you do this?"

Everyone thought about it for the same reason, unless the official knew that his gang was going to make trouble in the city, but how could he know the details of the people, if he knew, he would not have taken it on the spot.

"I originally wanted to find a village to buy a few costumes of party members, and pretend to be local Han people to enter the city, but I thought, the habit can't be changed for a while, and it would be easy to show off and make people suspicious; we have to go to Huizhou no matter what. In the city, unless we kill the Han people in the city, then we can only go back home, but the current situation is not yet time to give up, so we have to break into the dragon's lake and tiger's den; don't worry too much, everyone. Take some money and bring it with you, money can be magical. At critical times, we still use the old method to buy roads with money; but don’t reveal large amounts of money, lest Xia Bing take advantage of the strict investigation of the Han people to take advantage of the money. It's a disaster."

After listening to Su Jin's analysis, everyone felt a little more at ease. Su Jin also asked everyone to pay attention to each other's address, and pay attention to the words they responded to during the interrogation. Go to the city gate of Huizhou.