Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 491: I haven't paid 45, but I have paid ! [Thank you! Goodbye! I owe you K]

Xu time (around 8pm)

On the palace wall,

The guards looked up from their heights,

Lanterns were lit in many places inside and outside Bianjing.

There is not much sound pollution in the night.

The neighborhood where the brothel was located some distance away was even more lively than during the day, and the noise of soliciting customers could be faintly heard.

not far away,
The streets are filled with the sounds of hawking.
The night breeze occasionally brought the aroma of food from the night market, causing the guards to swallow their saliva.

"Ha~"

A knight's shout came from not far away in the palace.

After a while

The two horses stopped at the palace gate under the wall.

A knight led two horses, and another knight dismounted and came over holding a token.
A faint voice came from behind saying, "Zhao Zhushi can take up his post in the palace."

Concubine Rong’s bedroom,

The little princess had been taken away by the maid.
In the bright yellow candlelight,

The emperor closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair with a look of contentment.

Behind him, Rong Fei, who was wearing her daily clothes, was slowly pressing the acupuncture points on the emperor's head.
The eunuch walked in with light steps: "Your Majesty, Xiao Zhao is waiting outside the palace."

The emperor did not open his eyes and asked, "What is it?"

"Your Majesty, Xiao Zhao said that Xu Jia Wulang just remembered what he asked this afternoon."

"Huh! That's a pretty quick reaction."

"Your Majesty, Xiao Zhao said that Xu Jia Wulang also drank some wine, and just by chance he remembered the scene that night."

The emperor hesitated for a moment, still with his eyes closed: "Yes! I understand, let them go back."

The eunuch responded and turned and left.

"You may be young, but you have a very short memory. Humph!"

Listening to the emperor's whispers,
Rong Fei behind her continued to massage and continued:

"Your Majesty is right! Is my strength still okay?"

"Well, use a little more force," said the emperor.

Rong Fei followed the instructions and exerted a little force, then continued:
"Your Majesty, speaking of which, this Xu family's fifth son went to the northwest at a young age. He either served as a bloody scout in the front army, or he was a dozen people who were ready to die to stop thousands of enemy troops."

"Not only do we have to penetrate deep into the enemy's capital, but we also have to confront the fake king of Baigao and make him surrender willingly. Finally, we have to escort him back to the capital."

"Xu Jiawulang is still studying for the imperial examination. I heard from Brother Xian that Xu Jiawulang often sent letters back to Beijing when he was on the battlefield, asking the teachers in the academy to correct him."

"Everything is extremely exhausting! So I think it's not surprising that Xu Jia Wulang is a bit forgetful!"

"When there's a chance in the future, I'll ask the Queen to give him some good prescriptions and precious medicines to nourish his mind."

Rong Fei felt the emperor nod gently with her fingertips.

Looking at the smile on the emperor's lips, Concubine Rong blinked.

"Well, this kid! It's up to you to decide how to reward him."

"Yes."

On the second day,
It's time (ten o'clock in the morning)
Chai family,

forecourt,

A dozen well-dressed male and female managers of the Chai family shop stood in a line outside the main hall with account books in their hands.

"Next person."

As Zi Teng was speaking, a female steward with a serious face crouched down, crawled through the door curtain, and walked out of the hall.

Then a middle-aged steward walked towards the main hall.

When they reached the end of the team, the female manager who came out was gently pulled by someone: "Why do you come out with a stern face today? Did you get scolded?"

The female steward shook her head and said, "She didn't scold me, but it seemed that the girl was in a bad mood."

"Oh oh! Then I'll be more serious when I enter the room, so as not to upset the girl!"

When the two housekeepers were talking,
Seeing Chai Zhengzheng's personal maid Fu Yi walking in from outside the courtyard,
The two of them bowed quickly and said, "Greetings, Miss Fuyi."

Fu Yi smiled slightly and nodded, then walked straight into the main hall.

in the hall,
Looking at Chai Zhengzheng, who was looking at the account book with a stern face across the screen from the middle-aged manager, Fu Yi stood aside.

When Zi Teng asked the middle-aged steward to leave the hall and called the next person, Fu Yi walked quickly to Chai Zhengzheng and said, "Miss, when I went out, I ran into the personal nanny that Madam specially sent back."

Chai Zhengzheng stopped writing with the brush in his hand, frowned slightly and looked up and asked, "What's the matter, mother?"

Fu Yi smiled and nodded, then leaned over to Chai Zhengzheng's ear and whispered something.

Subsequently,

Chai Zhengzheng looked at Fu Yi with some doubt: "Did the palace give rewards to the Xu family this morning? What was the reward?"

Fu Yi nodded repeatedly: "Yes, girl! Mammy said that it seems to be some medicine to nourish the mind."

Hearing this, Chai Zhengzheng's eyes were full of thought, and soon, a slight smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

When the housekeeper who had just been talking in the yard came into the room, Chai Zhengzheng was in a good mood as could be seen from her expression, and a smile also appeared on the housekeeper's face.

Time flies,

It's September.

Before the Double Ninth Festival.

Jiying Lane,
Sheng family,

3:30 am (before 8:00 am)
Shouantang,
The old lady sat on the bed and gently stirred the porridge in the bowl with a spoon.

Sheng Hong, who was on leave today, sat on a chair under the Arhat bed. There was a chest-high table in front of him. At first glance, Sheng Hong looked like he was sitting in a baby chair.

"Hong'er, you have a day off today, but do you have to go on duty tomorrow during Chongyang Festival?"

Sheng Hong, who had just taken a sip of meat porridge and was about to pick up a piece of pickled radish, quickly swallowed the food in his mouth, put down his chopsticks and said, "Mother, my son will also take a day off tomorrow. He switched with his colleagues in August."

The old lady smiled and said, "Good! How are your official duties these days?"

Sheng Hong bowed in his chair and said, "Don't worry, mother! There isn't much going on in the government these days. It's mainly about the transfer of military officers from Beizhou and Huaizhou in western Hebei."

The old lady nodded and said, "Well! Hong'er, you have been an official for many years. The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of the selection and examination of military officers. It is of great importance. It is unpredictable what the situation will be in the north in the future. You must be upright! Don't let others point out your mistakes easily."

"Remember this, son!"

The old lady looked at Sheng Hong approvingly and started to have breakfast.

After they finished their meal,
Sheng Hong nodded to Fang Mama who was clearing his dishes, then stood up and said, "Mother, I'll take my leave now."

"Wait!" said the old lady, picking up a pile of notes from the table beside the Luohan bed.

"Hong'er, this is the post that Zhang Ge'er sent in this morning."

Sheng Hong quickly reached out to take it.

The old lady continued, "Now the Xu family manages the horse trade with the Mongolian tribes on behalf of the court. A thousand new horses arrived two days ago. Your cousin asked me to go and pick the horses."

"Now that I'm old, I don't want to endure that kind of hardship, so you can go for me!"

Sheng Hong looked at the old lady with some doubt: "Mother, these posts are a bit too many, right?"

The old lady smiled and said, "Then tomorrow, Hong'er, you can invite some colleagues from the court to go with you!"

"Yes, mother!"

On the Double Ninth Festival,
The end of Chenshi (around 9 am)
West of Bianjing City,

The polo field outside Jinming Lake,

As in previous years, it was filled with all kinds of blooming chrysanthemums.
Pots of chrysanthemums and plants with felt around them,
The entire polo field is divided into several paths.
There were already people walking on the path.

The wooden tent beside the court was also doubled up like in previous years.

On the open-air second-floor terrace of Yongchang Marquis Mansion,

Mrs. Wu and her sister-in-law stood there, watching the two brothers of the Wu family walking among them.

"Sister, look today, there are not enough brothers in our stadium. Your two nephews are quite conspicuous among them!"

"By the way, why don't I see Liu Lang? Those brothers from the noble families with good family backgrounds aren't here either?"

Listening to her sister-in-law's words, Mrs. Wu smiled and said, "Liu Lang and the others will be here in a while!"

Then Madam Wu's eyes lit up: "Sister-in-law, wait a moment. I will go downstairs to greet Madam Rong and Miss Feiyan."

"No need, I'll go with you!" Liang Han's aunt said with a smile.

On the way downstairs,
After looking around, Aunt Liang Han whispered, "Sister, do you think there is any possibility between those two people in my family and this girl from the Rong family?"

Madam Wu shook her head: "Sister-in-law, maybe it was possible a few years ago! But now, Concubine Rong has a princess, and look at Miss Feiyan's appearance!"

"Even Empress Rong may not look down on any boy from a noble family!"

Walking aside and listening to Madam Wu's words, Aunt Liang Han looked at Rong Feiyan who was walking towards them and said, "Hey! What does Miss Feiyan look like? She looks so beautiful when she dresses up."

Then, in a voice that only the two of them could hear, he said, "I think Miss Feiyan is even better than Concubine Rong in some ways."

Madam Wu nodded: "That's right! At her age, Concubine Rong is still in the market! And Miss Feiyan's sister has been a favorite concubine since she was old enough to understand. How can they be the same when they grew up in luxury!"

So close,

The two stopped talking.

"Hey, Madam, Miss Feiyan, you are finally here! Please go upstairs!"

Looking at the enthusiastic Madam Wu, Rong Feiyan and her maid bowed.

The wife of the Marquis of Fuchang took the opportunity to link the arm of the wife of Wu, and looked towards the field full of blooming chrysanthemums, and said, "Madam, are the sons of the Dukes and Marquises of Qi, Gu, and Xu all here?"

"Go up and take a look, and I'll tell you."

Then everyone went up to the second floor platform together, chatting and laughing.

When they got to a higher place and looked around, the wife of Marquis Fuchang said, "Oh, it seems that there are not many young men in the capital. I just thought Yan'er was talking nonsense."

Madam Wu smiled and glanced at Rong Feiyan, then pointed to the north with her handkerchief in her hand and said, "More than a thousand horses arrived at Maotuo Hill, twelve miles northwest of the city, two days ago. Several of their best friends went to see the horses."

"They will come around the 4:00 p.m."

Listening to Mrs. Wu's words, everyone on the second floor nodded repeatedly.

Northwest of Bianjing City,
Twelve miles away,

Maotugang,
In previous years,

This is one of the preferred places for people in Bianjing to go to for gatherings.

The reason is that there is water on three sides of this place, and there are dozens of sand dunes of varying heights and lush grass and trees nearby.
The highest mound is more than ten zhang high (about thirty meters).

It is in line with the custom of climbing high places during the Double Ninth Festival.

This year, besides many officials and common people from Bianjing who went out of the city to climb the Maotu Hill,
There were also more than a thousand new horses surrounded by the hills.

The reason why it is said to be new is that this Maotuogang was originally the place where the Bian Jing imperial guards raised military horses.

The horses have their riders,
But these new horses didn't have that.

“Boom boom.”

Groups of horses, driven by horsemen, galloped through the valleys between the hills.

On a mound,

Sheng Hong, Kang Haifeng, Liu Fuming and others who were sitting on chairs stood up from their chairs when they saw this scene.

"Dong Rong, go and ask how many horses there are!"

Hearing Sheng Hong's instructions, Dong Rong hurriedly responded and ran down along the mound.

After a while

Dong Rong ran up panting and said, "My Lord, the horseman said there are more than 200 horses in this herd! If you like any of them, tell him and he will harness the horses to you."

Liu Fuming, who was standing by, stared at the herd of horses below and said, "There are only more than 200 of them? What would it be like if there were 10,000?"

It was not only Lord Liu who joined the Dali Temple in the same year as Sheng Hong who made such an exclamation.

In the distance, standing on a mound of about 60 to 70 meters high were Xu Zaijing's classmates Chang Bai/Feng, Gu Tingye, Qi Heng, Liang Han, Qiao Jiulang and others.

Zai Zhang stood on the other side of Xu Zai Jing and said, "Xiao Wu, I heard that big brother has more than 5,000 cavalrymen under his command in the northwest? Did you see 5,000 cavalrymen deployed in the battle outside Keyi Gate that day?"

Hearing this,

Several people around looked at Xu Zaijing one after another. After all, Xu Zaijing was the only one among them who had been to the battlefield.

Xu Zaijing looked at the crowd and shook his head regretfully, "Brother, I haven't seen you guys! I was hiding in the mountains at the time."

Liang Han on the side shook his head: "Brother Jing, are you hiding? Are those white and tall enemy soldiers rats?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone on the mound started laughing.

Xu Zaijing also smiled and said, "I have never seen 5,000 cavalry troops dispatched, but I have seen around 10,000 cavalry troops dispatched!"

Seeing the confused and surprised expressions of the people around him,
Xu Zaijing explained: "That day, General Cao led more than 10,000 elite cavalrymen of the Western Army across the Yellow River pontoon bridge to the outside of Xingqing Prefecture to accept the surrender, and I was among them."

"Brother Jing, tell us quickly, what is the scene?"

Liang Han on the side said anxiously.

Xu Zaijing looked at the herd of horses in the valley below the slope, thought for a moment with a nostalgic look, then looked in the direction of Bianjing and said, "How many miles is it from here to Bianjing?"

Qiao Jiulang said, "About twelve or thirteen miles."

The others nodded.

Xu Zaijing said: "There are more than 10,000 cavalrymen, and they are endless. A row of four or five cavalrymen can stretch from here directly to the entrance of Ansu Gate."

"Ah? That would be so spectacular!"

Gu Tingye looked towards the direction of Bian Jing, looked at the scenery along the way, and said with eyes full of fantasy.

[In Uncle Long's movie "Legend", the scene from 31 minutes 44 seconds to 54 seconds in this movie is probably the scale of cavalrymen, one man and one horse.]

In fact, they often had the opportunity to see the Imperial Guards cavalry dispatched in Bian Jing, like the time when Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye were chased and shot by Zhang Shipan.

However, this is mostly a scale of more than a hundred cavalrymen.

If you want to see thousands of cavalry, you probably have to go to the battlefield.

"Let's go down and see if there are any good horses among these horses!"

Hearing Xu Zaijing's words, several people on the mound followed Xu Zaijing's footsteps and walked down the mound.

Buwei followed Qingyun, and Alan and Xunshu beside him said, "Two brothers, you must help your younger brother when the time comes!"

Alan and Xunshu smiled and nodded.

When Xu Zaijing and his men were looking at the horses,
In Bianjing City,

Constable Li Mubai looked at the criminals disappearing in the crowded crowd near the temple and spat in hatred: "You thief, you really know how to find a place!"

Today is the Double Ninth Festival. There are many vegetarian gatherings and lectures by eminent monks in the city.
There are many more people near the temple than usual.

Several yamen runners nearby bent over with their hands on their knees, breathing heavily. One of them asked, "Li Tou'er, what should we do?"

Before Li Mubai could answer, someone else said, "That villain stinks!"

Li Mubai looked around and said, "Do you guys still remember those thieves from Wuyou Cave (a large sewer in Bianjing) that year when there was a heavy snow?"

Several yamen runners looked at each other and said, "Remember! Boss Li, don't mention it! The guy who escaped is really similar to those thieves who were killed!"

"Let's go back to the government office and find some hunting dogs!"

"Tou'er Li, this is a good idea!"

Then they continued to move forward.

"Li Tou'er, what did you say happened in Wuyou Cave that forced all these 'rats' out?"

(End of this chapter)