Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 13 I'll show you the way

Since the Song Dynasty moved south, the population of Lin'an has skyrocketed, and now exceeds one million.

But Lin'an City was not big, so even the imperial palace could not be built in a regular manner.
Most private houses also began to have second floors, developing from the horizontal to the vertical.

The Song Family Snack Shop in Qingshi Lane is a business handed down from the Song family’s ancestors and is now a two-story building.

Among the people doing business in this alley, not many can own their own businesses, and the Song family is one of them.

The old house of the Song family is in the shape of a hole. The main room in the front is used as a restaurant, and the side rooms on the left and right sides of the back courtyard are where people live.

The back row of houses opposite the main house were used as a firewood room and storage room.

There is a back door in the middle of the back row of houses, and when it is opened, there is a river.

The left and right wing rooms are both two-story buildings. The wing room on the left is where Old Man Song and his daughter live, and Lu Xi lives upstairs.

The second floor of the right wing is smaller, so it is used as a storage room for the two brothers Yang Che and Yang Yuan.

The two brothers lived downstairs, with two beds placed end to end against the wall, separated by a curtain in the middle.

The vendors on Qingshi Street mainly sell a variety of snacks from the north and south. Those who come here to "order" takeout often come to order some special and delicious snacks for their customers in addition to the main meal.

At night, the snack street is crowded with people and business is booming, so basically no orders are accepted.
Therefore, Yang Yuan had nothing to do at night.

However, this "nothing" only means that there is no business to do.
In fact, Yang Yuan is the most tired at this time of day because he has to practice martial arts.

In the front shop, Old Man Song and his daughter were busy with their business, and customers came in an endless stream.

In the courtyard, the two brothers Yang Che and Yang Yuan were shirtless, each showing off their eight strong abdominal muscles. They were holding a straight sword with a ring handle, and the swords were sharp as they compared their martial arts.

The Song Dynasty ring-handled straight swords used by the two men have undergone great changes compared to the ring-handled swords of the Han and Tang Dynasties.

It is made of wrought iron, with carbon steel added to the blade. The blade has been shortened to less than one meter, but the blade has become wider and the head has been thicker.

This ring-head straight knife can be held with one hand or with two hands.
If it is added with a long handle, it will become the famous saber, a variant of the Mo Dao of the Tang Dynasty.

In fact, among the eight standard knives in the military equipment of the Song Dynasty, except for the halberd knife similar to the Fang Tian Huaji, the other seven are all this kind of wide-blade knives.

This is not because the Tang sword with its sophisticated craftsmanship has been lost, but because the Song Dynasty's war opponents are evolving, and the Song Dynasty's weapons and equipment will naturally have to change with the changes of its opponents.

Chen Tang, a famous general of the Western Han Dynasty, once said: "Five Hu soldiers are equal to one Han soldier. Why? Their weapons are simple and blunt, and their bows and crossbows are not effective. Now I hear that they have learned some of the Han's skills, but they are still equal to three to one."

What he meant was that at that time one Han soldier was equal to five Hu soldiers. Why?

Because the Han Dynasty was better equipped, the Xiongnu's manufacturing industry was completely incomparable to that of the Han Dynasty.

When the Han army was using steel-made ring-handled swords, the Xiongnu army was still using bronze weapons.

Even though the Huns learned iron smelting in later times, the fact that nomadic peoples find it difficult to settle down also meant that their manufacturing industry was naturally at a disadvantage.

In terms of technology, they were still no match for the Han Dynasty, and their manufacturing was also far inferior. At this time, one Han soldier was still equal to three Hu soldiers.

This situation continued until the Tang Dynasty, and there was not much change. Most of the Tang Dynasty's opponents lacked sophisticated armor.

But by the Song Dynasty, the Song State's opponents were no longer the purely nomadic peoples that the Han ancestors had faced.

Countries such as Liao and Jin began to transition to feudal dynasties, and the state system was undergoing major changes.

Their military strength, war mobilization capabilities, and war sustainability capabilities are developing rapidly.

Whether it was the Iron Forest Army of the Liao Dynasty, the Iron Harriers of the Western Xia, or the Iron Pagoda of the Jin People, their armor rate was even higher than that of the Song Army.

At this time, using the knife of the previous dynasty to chop the current opponent is obviously not reliable.

Since most of Song's opponents had organized armored units, Song's swords naturally had to change accordingly.

Therefore, even the lightest hand knife prepared by the Song army was designed with armor-piercing capabilities in mind.

The ring-handled straight sword that Yang Yuan and Yang Che are currently using also has a certain armor-piercing ability.

In a flash, every move of the two men's swords was filled with ferocious power.

Yang Che stabbed fiercely, and Yang Yuan pulled back quickly.

Yang Che took advantage of the situation and rushed closer, his knife spinning like a wheel, and the handle of the knife pushed into Yang Yuan's heart.

Yang Yuan spun like a top, and when he turned back, his feet suddenly stopped, his waist was like a whip, and he pulled back, and returned a ruthless stab with his knife...

At this time, when Yang Yuan fought with his elder brother Yang Che, he was no longer as flustered as when he first learned the swordsmanship.

The movements of hanging, swinging, wiping, blocking, intercepting, twisting, collapsing and chopping are all very well-organized.

Occasionally he would counterattack with elbows and side kicks, but with Yang Che's deliberate let-up, Yang Yuan was able to cope with it quite well.

Yang Che and Yang Yuan do look somewhat similar, but their temperaments are completely different.

Yang Che...always gave people the look of someone who was filled with deep hatred and resentment, with his brows slightly furrowed and a serious expression.

But Yang Yuan is different, he is very friendly.

The two have great differences not only in their expressions and temperaments, but also in their personalities.

Yang Che, who works in the Imperial City Department, is calm, steady, and rigid, while Yang Yuan is enthusiastic, cheerful, and very talkative.

The two brothers have completely different temperaments, but are both handsome.

There were no tattoos on Yang Che's face. In fact, the Song army had no rules against tattoos from the beginning to the end.

However, the Song State liked to send criminals into exile, and the criminals and surrendered soldiers were required to have their faces tattooed to prevent them from escaping. With tattoos on their faces, it would be more difficult to escape.

By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, military discipline had deteriorated and desertions were common, so some generals began to tattoo ordinary soldiers.
However, since these ordinary soldiers were not criminals or surrendered soldiers who were sent to exile, most of them had tattoos on their arms just to facilitate the inspection of their military records and prevent them from deserting.

However, after discovering that this method was very effective, some imperial guards also began to tattoo their soldiers.

They would also tattoo the unit number, name and place of origin on the arms of the imperial guards.

This phenomenon disappeared in the Southern Song Dynasty. When the country was in crisis, the status of soldiers was much higher than that in the Northern Song Dynasty, so the generals did not dare to do this.

Moreover, the soldiers in the Song Dynasty were different from those in the Ming Dynasty. They were not hereditary military households. If you didn't want to serve in the army and receive a salary, you could change your military status.

If you have the ability and want to pass the imperial examination, no one will care about you. But if you have tattoos on your face, how can you change your career?
Of course, a famous general in the early Song Dynasty, Huyan Zan, had the words "Kill Khitan with a Loyal Heart" tattooed all over his body, and he also required all the men in his family, including the servants, to do the same.

For example, during the transition from the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, the Eight Character Army commanded by the famous anti-Jin general Wang Yan all had tattoos on their faces. That was just the personal behavior of the head of their family or the commander of an army.

Yang Che was twenty-five years old, only two years older than Yang Yuan, but the idea that "an elder brother is like a father" was deeply rooted in his heart.

Ever since he recognized his second brother Yang Yuan, he has shouldered the responsibility of "eldest brother is like father" and has been worrying about his brothers.

My second brother Yang Yuan had been wandering in the north for many years and had lacked education due to the displacement, so when he just came back, most of the words he wrote were incomplete.

Yang Che immediately began tutoring his brother and taught him how to read and write.

Throughout the Song Dynasty, especially in Lin'an, there were few ordinary people who were illiterate.

If my brothers want to make a name for themselves here, how can they be semi-illiterate?

However, what made him happy was that his second brother was very talented, made rapid progress, and learned things quickly.

This made Yang Che feel both relieved and often blamed himself.

With my second brother's talent, if he had not been left behind in the north but sent to study since childhood, he might have passed the imperial examination and brought honor to the family.

Now that the two brothers have grown up, it is probably too late for them to learn literature, so Yang Che not only taught his second brother to read and write, but also paid special attention to teaching him martial arts.

Although martial arts may not necessarily be useful on the battlefield, they not only strengthen the body, but also train courage and will, so Yang Che naturally taught him everything he knew.

"Yes, my second brother's swordsmanship has improved a lot. Let's stop here today."

Seeing that sweat was already oozing out of Yang Yuan's forehead and his breathing was a little disordered, Yang Che put away his knife with satisfaction.

He took the knife from Yang Yuan's hand, walked to the corner, raised his leg and kicked, and a big spear flew towards Yang Yuan.

Yang Yuan raised his hand to take the spear, struck a stance, held the spear with both hands, and held it in the air.

This kind of infantry combat spear is ten and a half feet long and weighs ten pounds. If you hold it horizontally in your hand and don't move for a moment, you will feel tired.

Yang Che put down his two straight swords against the bench, sat on it, picked up the teapot from the low table next to him, gulped down a few gulps, wiped his mouth, and then picked up a rope from the corner.

There were three bricks tied to the straw rope. Yang Che picked up the bricks and put the straw rope around Yang Yuan's spear.

The tip of the gun in Yang Yuan's hand suddenly sank. He hurriedly exerted more strength and held the gun steadily again. The muscles in his arms swelled instantly.

However, Yang Yuan didn't say anything.

His elder brother was always strict when teaching him skills, and it was useless to beg or cheat.

Concepts such as "eldest brother is like father" and "mother is kind and father is strict" have been deeply engraved in Yang Che's beliefs.

"My second brother, you have been living away from home since you were young and have suffered a lot. Thanks to our ancestors, we have been reunited.

Now that our parents are no longer alive, I, as your eldest brother, should naturally take on the responsibility of taking care of you."

Yang Che put his hands behind his back, paced back and forth beside Yang Yuan, and began to lecture him with a serious face.

Yang Yuan held the spear in his hand, his eyes following Yang Che's body, not knowing what his elder brother was going to do next.

Yang Che sighed and said, "You have never had a proper job, and this is my biggest worry.

Originally, my elder brother wanted to get you into the Imperial City Bureau, and it would be nice to be an investigator.

But it’s not that easy to get into the Imperial City Division, you have to wait for an opportunity.”

Yang Yuanping was holding the spear, and his arms were sore after just a moment's effort, not to mention that there were three bricks weighing on the tip of the spear.

Hearing his elder brother speaking slowly, he took the opportunity to put down his gun: "Brother, you suddenly mentioned this matter. Could it be that you have found some job for me?"

His lazy thoughts naturally could not be hidden from Yang Che, who glared at him and said in a deep voice: "Put it up!"

Seeing that he could not get away with it, Yang Yuan could only sigh and pick up the gun that had three bricks weighing on it again.

Yang Che sat down at the table and said, “Yes, my elder brother found a job for you.

The Imperial City Administration cannot let you in for the time being, but letting you stay idle like this is not a solution either.

Get married and start a career, get married and start a career, but if you don’t have one, which girl would be willing to give you one?
So, my elder brother asked someone to find two jobs for you. Think about it and see where you want to go."

Yang Yuan held the spear and slowly adjusted his breathing.

If his breathing was regular, he could sustain it longer, so he didn't say anything else.

Yang Yuan just gave his eldest brother a look, indicating him to continue speaking.

Yang Che said: "These two jobs, one is a public official, the other is a worker!"

(End of this chapter)