Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 9 Acanthus
In winter, straw sandals and straw shoes are especially popular.

Brothers Liu Huaisu and Liu Huaijing often sent some thatch and miscanthus. Xiao Wenshou and Zang Aiqin weaved day and night, and even their little niece Liu Xingdi came to help.

Liu Daogui and Liu Yu were responsible for the sales.

Uncle Xiao Yuanzhi finally brought back the news that his second brother Liu Daolian had gotten his wish and entered the Imperial College.

The Imperial College originally only accepted descendants of officials of the third rank and above, dukes, and great-grandsons of high-ranking officials of the second rank and above. However, when Huan Wen was in power, he implemented the "Gengxu Tuduan" to suppress the powerful and cliques and recruit commoners.

The Imperial Academy also opened a small door to accept talented children from poor families.

The reason why the Battle of Feishui was won was actually due to the foundation left by Gengxu Tuduan.

The Jingzhou Western Army, led by Huan Chong, also fought a bloody battle.

However, after the great victory, the Huan family, like the Xie family, was kicked out by the court. In addition, Huan Chong happened to die of illness, and the Huan family was also suppressed and gradually weakened.

"Our family has finally made progress!" Mother Xiao Wenshou wiped her tears, reluctant to leave.

The second brother Liu Daolian almost became the only hope of the family.

Graduates of the Imperial Academy were generally of the upper fifth rank. Staying in Jiankang, they could become censors, chief censors, secretaries of the imperial court, etc. If they were sent to prefectures and counties, those with strong connections and a high social status could become prefects. If they had neither, they could still become longshi or military officers...

Of course, official positions are also divided into clear and turbid.

The Chief Secretary and the Military Assistant were both corrupt officials, destined to work hard, but at least they had a ladder to climb up.

"Don't be too happy too soon. We don't know what the future will be like." Liu Yu glanced at Liu Daolian lazily.

Xiao Wenshou raised his eyebrows, "That's better than you being idle and addicted to gambling!"

As if to deliberately irritate Liu Yu, Liu Daolian said proudly, "When he rises to prominence one day, you and your younger brother can come and join me. It will be better than stealing chickens and dogs in the countryside."

Liu Daogui frowned, "Second brother, you are too much."

Liu Yu also stood up, but he was not angry. He chuckled, but looked a little lonely.

Liu Daolian stayed at home, oblivious to the world outside and devoted himself to reading books of sages. However, he did not know that it was Liu Yu who worked hard for the family, otherwise he would have no chance to study.

"Dao Lian." Xiao Wenshou's face was also full of anger.

Liu Dao Lian quickly bowed and said, "I just said something wrong, please don't blame me, brother."

Once something is said, it is not so easy to take it back. Normally, the two of them are not very close and they rarely talk to each other.

Liu Yu waved his hands, turned around and walked out without saying a word.

Liu Daogui didn't want to see Liu Daolian's expression, so he followed Liu Yu out. What was supposed to be a happy event ended up making everyone unhappy.

Towards the end of the year, Jingkou was bustling with people and cars, with ox carts coming one after another. The celebrities on the carts wore wide robes and belts, with powder on their faces and a touch of bright red on their lips.

In contrast, there were more and more refugees in the city, dressed in rags, with pale faces, huddled in the corners and shivering.

Liu Daogui thought they were from Jiangbei coming south, but when he heard their begging accents, he found that it was actually the soft Wu dialect.

Liu Yu went straight to a small building. On the plaque in front of the door were written the four characters "Fugui Bofang" in running script. The handwriting was smooth and round, steady and elegant, delicate and beautiful, quite in the style of Wang Youjun.

In the ninth year of Emperor Mu's Yonghe reign, Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface" became famous throughout the world and was regarded as the best running script in the world. It attracted countless celebrities to follow in his footsteps, and running script became popular in the world.

From the level of these four characters, we can see that this gambling house has a complicated background.

"Come on, today I will teach you some military tactics, which are much more interesting than that of Wu Zi." Liu Yu waved his hand.

"Are you going to gamble again?"

Just when things were looking up at home and we had overcome the difficulties, he returned to his old ways.

"What do you mean by bad gambling? You sounded way too harsh. Now that I'm here, I might as well take advantage of my good luck these past few days and win more."

Once his gambling addiction came to him, he ignored everything and dragged Liu Daogui into the gambling house.

There is more than just Chupu in gambling games. There are also cockfighting, dog fighting, pot-to-pot throwing, leaf games, etc.

Fuguibofang is located in the downtown area. It has twenty or thirty connected attics, a cockfighting arena and a dog fighting arena in the backyard, and even the ground is paved with bluestone.

A red carpet stretched across the wooden steps, leading directly to the elegant rooms on the second floor. A plain white screen and brocade curtains could be vaguely seen in the corridor. A young and beautiful maid, with a snake-like bun and a goose-yellow skirt, wore a rosy lipstick, her waist swaying as she walked, a uniquely charming presence. A few gamblers approached to chat with her, but she went upstairs without even looking up. They didn't dare step onto the red carpet, so they could only stare longingly.

Liu Daogui had never imagined that there was such a place in the inner city of Jingkou.

"Lu, Lu, Lu!"

"Pheasant, pheasant!"

"Black pheasant, white pheasant, tower, five colors!"

"Ugh--"

"Hahaha--!"

Some are disappointed, some are happy.

Liu Daogui looked in the direction of the sound and saw six or seven Chupu chess tables placed in the huge main hall, surrounded by people, each of whom was concentrating on playing chess.

"Given our brothers' backgrounds, the only way out is to dare to gamble at the table." Liu Yu continued with his twisted logic. Without waiting for Liu Daogui to speak, he hurriedly took out money to exchange for "arrows" and went to the table to gamble.

Liu Daogui looked depressed and could only watch from the side.

Chupu has five objects: a chessboard, five pieces of wood, a cup, a horse, and arrows.

The throwing tool is made of five pieces of wood, one side of which is painted black with a calf, and the other side is painted white with a pheasant.

Chess pieces are called "horses" and chips are called "arrows".

There are seventeen squares on the chessboard, with six "horses" on each side, which can accommodate ten players. The gaps between the chessboards are called "guans". The chess position before each guan is called a "pit", and the chess position after each guan is called a "ditch", and there are three of each.

The general way to play is that the gambler shakes the cup and throws out five pieces of wood. According to the number of pieces picked, the player moves the chess piece forward or backward. If the chess piece lands on the enemy chess piece, the enemy chess piece will be knocked back to the starting point.

If it falls on a "gate", "pit" or "trench", you need to throw a fixed "Gui Cai" to move it away, otherwise you will be stuck in it and unable to move.

If three black or three white are thrown out from the five woods, it is a noble lottery.

The highest-ranking ones are "Lu" (black and black calf) and "Zhi" (black and black pheasant), also known as Wangcai.

The first team with six horses reaching the finish line wins.

The rules were quite complicated, and Liu Daogui read them for a long time before he had a general understanding of them.

Among the people sitting around the table were idlers in coarse linen clothes, rich young men in silk and satin, and Confucian scholars and celebrities wearing silk scarves.

Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for this group of people to be in the same room, but they can in Bofang.

"Lu, Lu, Lu!" Liu Yu shouted the loudest as he stepped onto the chessboard.

Perhaps it was a change of luck, as he threw a "Lu" at the start, caught seven arrows in a row, made sixteen moves on the chessboard, and even stepped on an enemy horse, sending it back to its starting point.

The man complained, "Ji Nu, you're really lucky today."

Liu Daogui felt the voice sounded familiar, so he looked in the direction of the voice and saw a rich young man dressed in silk. His face exuded wealth but also showed his honesty. Liu Daogui felt that this face was familiar.

Suddenly I remembered, isn’t this Liu Jingxuan?
Every year on the third day of March, during the Shangsi Festival, they would offer sacrifices to the Liu ancestors and they would meet and exchange a few words.

Liu Laozhi was the chief general of the Northern Palace, so naturally everyone knew his husband.

"Hey, after losing so many times, it's time for me to show off my skills." Liu Yu put away the five pieces of wood and threw them again.

Black calf, white calf, owl, mixed collection.

The knight can only take two steps.

"Hahaha, I haven't seen you for a long time. Come, come, let me introduce someone to you. He is Huan Lingbao, the concubine of Huan Xuanwu, Huan Jingdao!" Liu Jingxuan introduced a fat man in his twenties next to him very familiarly.

Although he is fat, he has a handsome face and an imposing bearing.

But the two rays of light that shot out of his eyes made people feel quite uncomfortable.

"Greetings, Duke of Nanjun." Liu Yu bowed carelessly without raising his head, concentrating on the chessboard.

(End of this chapter)