The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 231 Yang Tong Buys Dates

Yang Tong walked into a clothing store next to the Seven Stars Tower. Half an incense stick of time later, when he came out, his imposing pacification soldier uniform had been replaced with a black robe.

Yang Tong hid the loaded flintlock pistol under his robe, retracted the iron hook, and then began to observe his surroundings carefully.

There was a wheelbarrow parked in front of the Qixing Tower, with several cloth bags piled on the cart, which were filled with red winter dates.

A thin vendor was fiddling with his dates while looking back at the restaurant behind him.

Yang Tong looked around and saw only a few pedestrians. He walked straight up, stopped beside the wheelbarrow, grabbed a handful of dates and smelled them.

A light sweet smell.

When he loosened his right hand, the red dates flowed back into the cloth bag like drops of blood.

"Hey buddy, how much is this jujube per pound?"

The vendor replied nonchalantly, "Three cents a pound."

The pacification soldier frowned. It was so damn expensive.

"Is this date pit made of gold, or is this date skin made of gold?"

The vendor looked at Yang Tong impatiently, grabbed a handful of dates from his bag, and stuffed them in front of Yang Tong:
"Look, where can I find dates now? They're all shipped from Mizhi, a thousand, eight hundred miles away. It's a struggle for both men and horses. You get what you pay for. If you think it's too expensive, I think so too."

Yang Tong didn't look at Zaozi, and the hook under his empty sleeve began to tremble slightly.

"Pick up two pounds."

The vendor threw away the scale and said casually, "Okay."

"Are these dates ripe?"

"I'm selling dates. Can I sell you green date eggs?"

Yang Tong suddenly asked, "How long have you been in Kaiyuan?"

The vendor raised his head alertly.

"Two years, what's wrong?"

"fine."

After saying that, Yang Tong grabbed a few and hurriedly put them into his mouth.

The peddler sneered, turned around, took out a small scale and started weighing.

"How can this be two pounds?! In Kaiyuan, if you shortchange someone in a business, you'll be punished with a stick! Do you understand the rules?"

Veins bulged on the peddler's cheeks. He threw two more coins into the scale and pointed at the scale mark, asking Yang Tong to see for himself.

"More than two kilograms, give me money!"

While the vendor was fiddling with the scale, Yang Tong took two more and secretly observed his fingers out of the corner of his eye.

There was blood between the nails.

The vendor wrapped the dates in oil paper and waited for Yang Tong to hand over the copper coins before giving the dates to this difficult customer.

Yang Tong didn't take the paper bag. He suddenly stepped forward, put his arm around the vendor's shoulders, and acted intimately.

The next moment, the date vendor's eyes widened into cow eyes, full of fear.

Yang Tong stood close to him, using the wheelbarrow as a cover, with the iron hook in his left hand pressing against the peddler's chest and the dagger in his right hand against his lower back.

The pacification soldier calmly observed the surroundings and said to the vendor, "I've been watching you for a long time, but you won't move the dates. Also, the scale is not big enough. I will only fine you silver and not be beaten with a stick.

"You've been exposed. Whose blood is that on your hand?"

"Where are the accomplices? The pacification soldiers who just passed by? Speak!"

"Don't move! If you dare to move, I'll dig out your heart and kidneys!"

~~~~~
“C’est dingue! (Oh my God, that’s crazy!)”

"Satan's accomplice!"

"Where is Brother Yang? Where is Jesus' Holy Grail? Liar!"

Wu Xiao pulled off the black cloth covering Jin Ni Ge's eyes.

On a winter night in Zhangjiagang, the cold wind was blowing and flames were shooting into the sky in the northwest.

The raging fire formed by the violent explosion in the arsenal seemed to engulf the city of Tianjin under the cover of night.

In the area near the dock, there were chevaux de frise, deer antlers, caltrops, and some defensive fortifications that Ginnige couldn't name.

Some well-armored soldiers were busy pushing the tiger squat cannons to the position they felt was appropriate, while more people were carrying cargo to a huge three-masted ship on the shore.

Just now, they killed the warehouse guard and stole the goods in the warehouse.

Ginni knew that this warehouse stored precious tea and spices.

Their owner was a garrison officer named Lü Demin.

Ginni had met this gentleman several times. Lü Demin was a portly man with a kind and elegant demeanor. He was very talkative and had a particular interest in ocean trade.

He asked Ginni more than once:

Are there Ming Dynasty women for sale in Macau? What is the price offered by the red-haired barbarians?
Although the Ming Dynasty repeatedly prohibited the sale of Tang people (Ming people) to the Red-haired Barbarians, the spirit of free trade shown by Lu Tongzhi still left a good impression on European missionaries.

Seeing Lu Demin’s goods being robbed, Jin Ni Ge was furious.

"God, forgive these wicked pagans! They don't know what they are doing."

Jin Ni Ge was tied up and unable to move. He could only pray to the Lord silently and repent for the pagans who were killing and looting in front of him. A giant figure appeared in the dim vision, and he quickly stopped praying.

Lin Yu walked past the missionaries holding a large bundle of Miao Daos, without even looking at the red-haired barbarians. He went straight to the back of the carefully arranged fortifications, and with the tips of the swords facing down, he inserted the sharp Miao Daos into the pile of earth, inserting one every five steps. Then he brought a bundle of spears.

The Miao Dao and the long spear formed a steel forest on the ground.

The surrounding firelight illuminated the forest of weapons, which looked like weeds swaying in front of a grave, whistling in the wind, making Ginnige feel uneasy.

When the giant walked away, Ginni began to curse:
"Evil pagans, do you want to destroy this beautiful city?"

Wu Xiao held up a goose-feather knife and pointed at the red-haired barbarian:
"Let's go! Get on board!"

"Where's Paul (Xu Guangqi's Christian name)? Where did you take Paul? You damned pagans!"

The missionary, who was as strong as a bear, suddenly jumped up, broke free from the ropes on his body, and pounced on Wu Xiao like a mountain of flesh.

Wu Xiao tilted his body slightly and kicked the opponent's calf. Jin Ni Ge staggered and fell into the sand pit.

The goose-feather knife was pressed against the back of the missionary's neck.

"Paul's on board. He's no longer an official of the Ming Dynasty, and he can no longer keep his salary! Get out of here! If you dare to move again, I'll chop off your hands and throw them into the sea to feed the fish!"

Ginni raised his hands and surrendered to the infidels.

He just turned forty this year. Eight years ago, he inherited Matteo Ricci's legacy and came to this mysterious and rich oriental country from faraway Europe.

He spread the gospel of God in China and made the acquaintance of a large number of scholars and officials, such as Xu Guangqi, Wang Zheng, Li Zhizao and others.

If Liu Zhaosun had not traveled through time, this missionary who was good at Western boxing and eager to spread Western learning to the Ming Dynasty's intellectual class would have continued to be unknown in the south, far away from the center of power, until he died of illness in the early years of Chongzhen, and his dream of translating "7,000 Western books" would have failed.

Jin Ni Ge was tied up tightly, and Wu Xiao personally took him onto the Fu ship.

In the dim cabin, Ginni was locked up with a group of war horses.

He met Paul, whom he had always been concerned about.

Paul was in a very bad mental state. He was tied to a pillar by the pagans, his hair was messy, his robe was torn, and he was cursing at the guards.

The guard was a thin woman. According to Paul's description, she was an Annan musician who had escaped from the Jiaofangsi.

"You have betrayed the Emperor's grace, deceived the Emperor and betrayed your country, you deserve death! Emperor Shenzong showed mercy and did not execute the Annan rebels. Instead, he took you into the Jiaofang Bureau, provided you with food and clothing, and allowed you to receive the teachings of the Celestial Empire. You should..."

Cai Lian picked up a piece of horse manure and stuffed it into Xu Guangqi's mouth.

~~~~
When Wei Zhao hurried to Zhangjiagang with his trusted servants to guard Master Yang, it was already three quarters past midnight.

Yang Jinglue looked at the piles of horses and sharp caltrops in the distance, stroked his beard and smiled at Pei Dahu:

"Well, you've already arranged everything in such a short time. You're truly worthy of being the powerful troops under the command of Marquis Ping Liao!"

"These ten men are the Yang Mansion's death warriors, each of them highly skilled in martial arts. They escorted me to Liaodong. Now, they are all under your command!"

After the ten servants joined, Pei Dahu had a total of thirty-five people under his command, plus himself, a total of thirty-six people.

Thirty-six people guarded Zhangjiawan and fought against the three thousand-strong army.

It was already late at night, and the seaside was blowing cold winds, the icy air penetrating into his bones. Yang Hao wrapped himself in two layers of fur coat and stood shivering beside the campfire.

Shen Lian looked at him for a few seconds. This old man was willing to risk his life for his son-in-law.

"Sir, please get on board first. There are guards on board. Lu Tongzhi's goods have been moved. There is nothing for you to do here. We are enough."

Yang Hao nodded, patted Shen Lian on the shoulder, and said to him:

"Good! Good! Shen Lian, I've noticed you since we were in Tianjin. You're capable of doing things! When we return to Kaiyuan this time, I'll have General Liu promote you to the position of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

Shen Lian smiled awkwardly and did not answer. There was neither the Embroidered Uniform Guard nor the Eastern Depot in Kaiyuan.

Everyone gathered around the campfire, chatting with each other. Lin Yu leaned on a long pickaxe, closed his eyes and took a nap beside the fire.

Pei Dahu talked about his experiences when he followed Liu Jing to fight in Annan. He said that the Ming army often encountered pythons thicker than buckets in the southern rain forests, which made everyone marvel.

At this time, a chaotic sound of horses and men neighing suddenly came from the direction of the East Gate City.

Countless armors and weapons rubbed against each other, and the sounds merged together, like a giant snake crawling in the dark night.

Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
The scar on Pei Dahu's face was reflected by the bonfire, shaking violently, looking particularly hideous in the dark night.

"Put out all the fires, the enemies are coming."

"Copy guy!"

(End of this chapter)