Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 46: Journey to Pinglu

Chapter 46: Journey to Pinglu
"Juehai, Liangyu, and Duan girl!" Huang Chao shouted at the top of his voice from inside the commander's tent, greeting the three newly summoned disciples. He then cast his shining eyes back at the gourd-shaped bronze vessel before him: "Look what this master has made?"

Duan Hongyan cooperated with a curious look and pulled Huang Chao's arm: "Master, what is this? It looks so interesting!"

Looking at her considerate appearance, one would never have thought that when she first met Huang Chao at the age of eleven, she pulled out his beard.

Huang Chao treated her almost as his own daughter, and immediately showed a look of great doting on her.

Meng Kai raised his nose, sniffing the strong aroma of wine in the air: "Such a strong smell of wine, Master, what good wine have you found?"

"I didn't find it, I steamed it myself." Huang Chao's eyes were full of pride.

Zhu Wen, a man of great experience, spoke last: "I know that in the Kingdom of Daqin, there is a method of distilling strong liquor that can make the liquor extra strong..."

Huang Chao clapped his hands and laughed, "You're right. You wouldn't have guessed that this method was already known to us Chinese as early as the Han Dynasty!"

"Han Dynasty?" Meng Kai was stunned. He looked at his teacher with a confused look, then at Zhu Wen and Duan Hongyan.

But Zhu Wen immediately figured out the key.

After all, he had not yet spent all the horseshoe gold he got last time.

If Zhu Wen knew anyone who liked to excavate Han tombs, it would only be Xue Chong, the former governor of Tianping Army.

A few months ago, in the Battle of Yunzhou, Huang Chao's army fought hard and finally beheaded Xue Chong. That was also the first time that Zhu Wen made a contribution to the Cao army.

Then the soldiers found a large amount of horseshoe gold from the captured baggage, which was the ill-gotten gains that Xue Chong had obtained from digging graves.

Zhu Wen did not speak immediately, but smiled.

Soon, Junior Sister Duan Hongyan also showed a look of surprise: "Master, are you saying that among the baggage we seized when we killed Xue Chong, there were instruments used by the Han Dynasty to distill wine?"

During the Battle of Yunzhou, Duan Hongyan and Meng Kai were sent out by Huang Chao to gather intelligence and did not participate in the battle. It was not surprising that Junior Sister was slower to think.

Huang Chao nodded with satisfaction.

"Master has always believed that the Tang Dynasty didn't have this kind of technology, and that only the Arabs possessed it. Now it seems that our ancestors already had this method, but it was simply lost in the long river of history."

Meng Kai seemed to have just woken up from his dream. "Lost? Why? Isn't the stronger the wine, the better? It makes you feel better when drinking it."

Huang Chao cast his eyes towards the three bowls of wine on the black lacquer-inlaid mother-of-pearl dining bed. The strong aroma of wine emanated from the bowls, filling his mouth and nose. "Try it and you'll know."

Meng Kai grabbed a bowl and guzzled it down.

His expression changed immediately, and he pursed his lips and clenched his teeth to prevent the wine from spurting out of his mouth.

"This is real strong liquor." Huang Chao looked at his senior disciple with a hint of joking. "How does it taste?"

Meng Kai didn't say anything. After a while, he finally caught his breath and shouted, "It's so spicy! It's so spicy that it's killing me!"

"Perhaps our ancestors didn't like this taste." Zhu Wen picked up a bowl and took a sip. "It tastes like dogwood."

Cornus officinalis is divided into Evodia rutaecarpa and Cornus officinalis, among which Evodia rutaecarpa is a commonly used spicy seasoning.

Compared to the slightly tipsy taste of rice wine, the taste of this steamed liquor is really weird.

Zhu Wen held the wine in his mouth again and tasted the flavor with his tongue.

He came to two conclusions.

What Huang Chao used for steaming must have been some fine wine.

But it's hard to say anything good about this wine that's so strong it cuts like a knife.

"It tastes bad." Zhu Wen expressed his opinion frankly.

"That's right." Huang Chao smiled slightly.

Meng Kai was a little stunned. He didn't know why this junior brother who was always smart gave a bad review to the teacher's masterpiece, but Huang Chao seemed quite happy.

"Master finds it hard to drink, too." Huang Chao patted the dining bed lightly, causing the remaining bowl of wine to ripple. "This is the conclusion I came to after drinking at least ten bowls."

Huang Chao was undoubtedly a man full of thirst for knowledge and curiosity.

Zhu Wen placed the wine bowl he had taken a few sips of back on the dining table and leaned over to fiddle with the gourd-shaped bronze vessel. It was actually two bronze vessels stacked together, a steamer and a cauldron, connected by a male-female joint. The upper steamer had a thin tube, while the lower cauldron had a thicker tube.

"Pour wine into the pot below, and then steam it on the fire. The rising wine vapor will condense when it gets cold, and will be discharged from the small tubes on the wall of the steamer, gathering together drop by drop." He quickly figured out the principle of this thing.

"Not bad." Huang Chao agreed. "It's not complicated at all. It doesn't require any advanced technology to make something like this."

Zhu Wen said slowly, "If someone likes to drink this kind of stuff, there is only one reason - human nature is aggressive."

Huang Chao laughed and said, "But a contest of this kind of strong liquor would easily determine the winner, and it would be embarrassing. It could even kill someone."

Zhu Wen agreed, saying, "If Li Bai and Du Fu drank this kind of strong liquor during their poetry competitions, they probably wouldn't have lived past the age of thirty."

Meng Kai then slapped his head and said, "I understand! No wonder this thing was lost."

Duan Hongyan smiled sweetly and said, "After the Han Dynasty, as culture and education flourished, scholars gained increasing influence. Scholars don't usually hold their liquor well, but they're very concerned about their reputation."

Zhu Wen understood that although Huang Chao was a man who was very interested in new knowledge, he summoned the three of them not just to taste this not-so-palatable liquor.

The rebel army's activities require money to sustain, and looting government treasuries and wealthy households is not the only way to make a profit.

In fact, there was a group of people under Huang Chao who were hiding in the dark, concealing their true identities and providing financial resources for the Cao army through business.

Duan Hongyan said, "Since this kind of wine was probably popular during the Han Dynasty, there must be a way to make it popular again."

Huang Chao showed his approval: "Hongyan, what are your ideas?"

Duan Hongyan said, "My disciple believes that the northern borderlands are cold in the winter, and the border troops would appreciate stronger liquor. I heard that the Uighurs in the north also buy liquor from the Arab Empire."

Zhu Wen was somewhat surprised. He had no idea that the northern barbarians would buy strong liquor from the Arab Empire.

Junior Sister's knowledge is often unlike that of a hunter's daughter.

"That's a good idea." Huang Chao stroked his short beard. "But it's not enough. A large part of the Tang Dynasty's borders are controlled by the three independent towns of Heshuo. Doing business there is not easy."

Duan Hongyan sighed, "The remaining population isn't large either. The soldiers guarding the border don't have much money to buy alcohol."

She was quite tactful in pointing out the flaws in her own opinion.

Then, she smiled brightly and placed her jade-white hand on Zhu Wen's shoulder: "Junior brother, you are our think tank, why don't you come up with a solution?"

Zhu Wen was stunned for a moment, then said honestly, "I have no other choice."

"I was counting on you, why are you so useless!" Duan Hongyan rolled her eyes at him.

"Maybe in a few days." Zhu Wen said, "I can be very slow in thinking of ideas sometimes."

This is the truth. It took Zhu Wen many days to see through Qi Kerang's three-fold strategy and come up with a solution.

"To help you come up with something quicker, how about a military order?" Duan Hongyan raised her voice and said, "If you don't come up with a brilliant plan within three days, I'll strip you and spank you in front of the entire army!"

"You are not a child anymore, don't play such naughty jokes on Liangyu." Huang Chao said solemnly.

Duan Hongyan let out a soft "ah", stuck out her tongue, and stopped talking.

Zhu Wen knew that his junior sister had no ill intentions and was simply being straightforward and endearing. However, Zhu Wen was quite pleased that his teacher had asked her to stop.

"Don't be too hasty about the idea," Huang Chao said gently, "making wine won't be profitable in a short time."

"But there's something I need a capable person to do recently. Would you like to go?"

Leaving the army to do something was not surprising. When Zhu Wen joined the group, he discovered that Meng Kai and Duan Hongyan were not in the army at the time.

And I haven't gone out once yet.

So Zhu Wen certainly had no reason to refuse.

"Where?" Zhu Wen asked briefly.

"Pinglu."

"Is it related to the old thief Song Wei?"

In addition to being the commander-in-chief of the campaign against the Cao Army, Song Wei was also the governor of Pinglu in the Tang Dynasty.

"That's right. During the pursuit phase of the Songzhou Battle, Juehai pierced the old thief's lower abdomen with a lance. Now the old thief is bedridden and won't live much longer."

"But people like Song Wei, the old villain, will never give up their power unless the Lord of Hell comes to ask for it."

"And the various factions within Pinglu Town are probably all thinking about how to curry favor with their new superiors after the old thief's death."

"So now, the land of Pinglu must be quite chaotic."

Huang Chao clenched his left hand into a fist and said, "Chaos is a good opportunity for us to take advantage of the situation."

Zhu Wen knew that his teacher certainly did not want him to do something as unrealistic as instigating officials to rebel or directly occupy Pinglu Town.

The Pinglu Army was known for its elite troops, abundant food supplies and strong strength.

But Huang Chao also started his career in Qi and Lu. He must have had a lot of undercover power in the territory of Pinglu.

The same is true for Alliance Leader Wang Xianzhi.

Shortly after Zhu Wen killed Yan Jingming, Wang Xianzhi's troops split up with Huang Chao's troops again, so he didn't have to worry about Yan Jingming's friends causing trouble for him.

But the two armies must have some means of communication.

"This journey is not easy, you don't have to go." Huang Chao said in a meaningful tone.

Zhu Wen quickly shook his head: "It is my duty, there is no reason to avoid it."

Huang Chao nodded approvingly: "Then I look forward to you acting according to the circumstances."

In this way, Zhu Wen received the task from Huang Chao to go to the Pinglu Army territory and act accordingly.

Maybe it's recruiting soldiers, maybe it's gathering intelligence, maybe it's inciting an uprising, in short, there are many things that can be done.

But in such matters one must travel light to avoid being caught.

After returning to his camp, Zhu Wen explained the situation to Zhu Cun, Huo Cun and others, and began to pack his luggage. He decided to take two horses with him - a red horse and a white horse.

There is also his newly hired military advisor - Lan Suting.

When Zhu Wen told her this, Lan Suting happened to find a book in the tent.

Her figure remained slender and still, but her eyes were filled with joy.

"Captain, can you lend me this book?" Lan Suting asked softly.

She didn't try to please anyone, but her quiet and well-behaved tone made it difficult to refuse any of her requests.

Zhu Wen took a look and found that it was a book called "New Notes on the Original Meaning of the Book of Changes", which was given to him by Huang Chao.

This thing is also an old friend of the rebel army, one of the relics left by Jiedushi Xue Chong. The author is Xue Chong's ancestor, the famous founding general Xue Rengui.

Zhu Wen said nonchalantly, "Give it to you. I don't like to see it anyway."

Lan Suting raised her eyebrows, showing surprise: "Does the battalion commander not like the Zhouyi?"

"My grandfather was known as 'Zhu Wujing' during his lifetime, but he only had time to teach me one." Zhu Wen smiled and said, "Except for the Book of Songs, I haven't finished reading the other four, let alone the annotations."

Lan Suting nodded: "The battalion commander needs to practice martial arts when he is young, so he probably won't have much time to study."

"You're really good at giving me a way out." Zhu Wen couldn't help but touch her soft hair. This didn't seem out of the ordinary to him. In his eyes, they were just like rabbits and cats, just very cute. "Actually, I'm just lazy."

"How can a lazy person break the plan of Xue Shuai Qi Kerang?" Lan Suting opened her mouth slightly in surprise.

Zhu Wen felt helpless.

It's really hard for him to explain.

There seems to be no point in showing off how smart and talented you are in front of such an innocent girl.

"You should have noticed that I sleep for more than five hours a day..."

After hearing this, Lan Suting couldn't help but think: "Hmm... looks quite lazy."

"Actually, I can only think clearly about many ideas when I'm dreaming." Zhu Wen said nonsense without thinking: "Look, I have to sleep so long every day, of course I don't have time to study."

"Su Ting understands." Lan Su Ting nodded seriously. "Jiang Yan, a great scholar in the Southern Dynasty, also received a magic pen in his dream. He then often wrote poetry and prose in his dreams. This is what we call 'dream pen produces flowers.'"

"So, Captain, you're not lazy. You're just different from ordinary people, just like Jiang Yan."

Seeing that Zhu Wen did not respond, Lan Suting said again, "I cannot accept this book."

"Why?" Zhu Wen asked, "I gave it to you, so it's yours."

"I want to copy a copy myself." Lan Suting's beautiful eyelashes trembled slightly. "If I copy it myself, I will understand most of it."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wen couldn't help but think of the room full of books of his grandfather Zhu Cheng, almost all of which he had copied by hand.

Because the aristocratic families monopolized knowledge, it was very difficult for ordinary people to study.

Lan Suting took out a stack of paper from somewhere. It was the "hub paper" that was first used in this dynasty. It was made of tree bark fiber. Compared with the previous hemp paper, the paper was relatively smooth, but the price was not expensive.

She was obviously a book lover and was always ready to copy a book by hand.

Lan Suting laid out paper and ground ink at his desk, silently copying. His gaze, gentle and indifferent as clear water, rested quietly on the paper.

The font is the small regular script with hairpin flowers passed down by Lady Wei, which is extremely beautiful. The tip of the pen flows on the paper like an extremely graceful dance.

"Hub paper" is particularly suitable for such elegant brushwork.

Zhu Wen didn't know anything about paper or calligraphy, but he could see that the girl's calligraphy was quite skillful.

Perhaps he is not inferior to his teacher Huang Chao, a great talent with decades of accomplishments.

The flexibility and beauty of brushwork are similar to many techniques in martial arts.

"If you go out and sell calligraphy, you will definitely make more money than working as an accountant."

"I know." To Zhu Wen's surprise, the girl quickly gave a firm answer.

"But I don't want to go out and shout like a vendor. I feel embarrassed." Lan Suting said softly again.

She could suck out the poison from the sores for soldiers without feeling dirty at all, but she thought it would be embarrassing to shout and promote her calligraphy like a vendor.

This is what a truly principled scholar should be like.

Zhu Wen felt more and more that those "poor people" who were self-righteous and had never done anything ordinary were really vulgar, which he hated in his daily life.

After copying some, she rubbed her slightly stiff wrists and arranged the copied pages neatly.

Tonight, the maid Zhu Wen hired for her happened to be sick and on leave, so she took a broom and swept the floor in the tent herself.

While sweeping, she held the book in her other hand and looked at it carefully, which did not hinder her precision and meticulousness in sweeping the floor at all.

Zhu Wen had to admit that she was indeed good at taking care of people and did not need any maid to take care of her.

Moreover, Zhu Wen, a recognized genius, found it difficult to achieve this legendary ability of "multitasking".

He could use two weapons with both hands at the same time, but if he was asked to concentrate on reading a book and chop people at the same time, it would undoubtedly be extremely difficult.

When Zhu Wen met such a rare girl, he felt like he had found a treasure.

It seems that she is more than just Wei Zheng who offers unpleasant advice.

In time, Lan Suting might really become a great military strategist.

Zhu Wen thought about it and realized that when Wei Zheng served under the Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, he was also a top-notch advisor. It was just that Emperor Taizong had too many advisors, so he asked Wei Zheng to advise him specifically.

The next morning, Zhu Wen set off with Lan Suting.

"I don't know how to ride a horse." Lan Suting said with some distress.

"Then the other horse can only be used as a pack horse." Zhu Wen tied the reins of one horse to the tail of another horse together and put the luggage on the back of the pack horse.

He originally wanted to let Lan Suting sit in front of him again, but suddenly felt that it was not appropriate.

The saddle is a military square high-bridge saddle, which would be very crowded if two people sat on it.

Let the girl sit in front of him, as if he was holding her in his arms.

Although Zhu Wen decided to make her his "little brother", he still felt it was a bit inappropriate. After all, the journey would take quite a while.

"Sit behind me." Zhu Wen taught her how to mount the horse by stepping on the stirrups.

After going up, Lan Suting hugged Zhu Wen's back with both hands.

As the horse accelerated, her upper body pressed against Zhu Wen's back, feeling a slight softness.

Zhu Wen suddenly said, "I remembered something interesting."

When the horse was galloping, the wind was a bit strong, so he raised his voice especially high.

"What's the matter?" Lan Suting chose to put her head slightly closer to Zhu Wen's ear. The faint fragrance from the girl's mouth blew into her ear hole, which was a little itchy.

Zhu Wen smiled and said, "When I was twenty, my mother said I was old enough to marry, so she asked her niece to come live with me to see if she could bring us together."

Lan Suting asked, "Isn't that your cousin?"

"I was reluctant in my heart. When I was a child, my family had not yet moved to Xuzhou and the two families lived together, I beat her!" Zhu Wen was not embarrassed at all when talking about beating girls when he was young.

"That night, I drank a little too much during the day and was a little confused when I got up to go to the bathroom. I mistakenly walked into the guest room and turned on the light."

Zhu Wen paused for a moment. "Then my cousin screamed loudly, grabbed a fruit bowl beside the bed and smashed it on my face. Then she immediately packed her bags and went back home."

Lan Suting was surprised: "What did you do? I thought you were not the kind of person who would mess around, right?"

"I didn't do anything," Zhu Wen said helplessly. "I just saw her bedding being pushed open by the cat servant at home. The old cat curled up on her chest because it felt flat and soft, like its own nest."

"Then I couldn't help but wake her up, but the cat wasn't awake yet."

Lan Suting rubbed his forehead and fell into a daze.

When she noticed that her chest was pressed against Zhu Wen's back, she realized why Zhu Wen told this story.

Zhu Wen thought that if it was his junior sister Duan Hongyan, she would have punched him in the lower abdomen by now.

But Junior Sister's life was not smooth at all.

Lan Suting just leaned back as if frightened.

"Su Ting doesn't like this joke." She said softly.

She did not deliberately show her grievance.

But Zhu Wen quickly sensed the grievance in her heart and suddenly felt very regretful.

He had seen many girls who were prettier than her, but Lan Suting did have a particularly endearing temperament.

She is obviously a little white flower, but she is extremely serious and brave.

"Then forget about it. Just pretend I never said anything."