Chapter 724: Benbo is here, Datong is here
The restaurant is run by an elderly couple, and judging by the greasy coating on the tables, it must be at least thirty or fifty years old.
The war was approaching, and the restaurant's business was extremely slow, with only one customer.
"Fifteen... twenty meat buns." Jiang Qingzhi took a look at the size of the meat buns, "If not enough, take more."
The shop owner was an old man in his fifties or sixties. He was startled at first, then after taking a closer look at Sun Chonglou's figure, he said with certainty, "We need five more!"
"Eat first." Jiang Qingzhi still didn't like wasting food.
"Would you like some food?" asked the old woman.
"Two plates of vegetables, any meat?"
"Pig face in soy sauce. I'm not bragging. My family's pig face in soy sauce has a very good origin."
"Oh! Tell me."
"You know Long Wilbur?"
"Know."
"When Chang Wei Bo led his army to Datong, he felt hungry after the battle one day. It happened that the butcher had a pig's head left, and said he would give it to Chang Wei Bo for free. Chang Wei Bo was a man, how could he take advantage of him? He gave him money and took the pig's head back..."
"Those people laughed at Long Wilbur, saying that pig heads were smelly and unpalatable. Long Wilbur just smiled and turned around to make this pickled pig face. Tsk tsk! The smell..."
"Half of it is enough. I want the whole pig face."
The two found a place to sit down, and then the food and wine came.
"Young master, you can't drink." Sun Chonglou said.
"It's okay." Jiang Qingzhi took a sip of the wine and felt it was bland.
He also needs to relax before the big battle.
The braised pig's face was cut into pieces and served to him. It looked delicious. Jiang Qingzhi took a bite and found it soft and glutinous with a strong flavor of sauce.
"Not bad!"
The old woman was looking at him expectantly, and after getting a good evaluation, she smiled and said, "It seems that the guests are from outside the city. They are trapped in the city, right? If you have no place to arrange meals, just come."
"Okay." Jiang Qingzhi nodded and found that the old man was staring at him blankly. He turned around and saw Sun Chonglou eating two big meat buns in three bites.
Jiang Qingzhi also tasted it. The meat filling was good and the gravy was rich. Jiang Qingzhi had to bite a hole in the bun first and suck up the delicious gravy before he could enjoy the bun.
The vegetables were stir-fried lightly, but the original flavor of the food was retained to a large extent, neutralizing the heavy taste of the braised pig's face and meat buns.
"That's right." It is true that delicious food is found among the people.
Sun Chonglou ate ten meat buns in one breath, eating half of the pig's face. Only then did he slow down. He lowered his head and said, "Master, I..."
"You've already noticed that something is wrong with Shan De."
"Ok!"
"But Shan De has an aura that makes you feel good."
"Ok!"
"So you couldn't help but bring him to see me."
"Ok!"
"This matter... is God's will."
"It was my fault."
"If you are stupid, I am stupid."
"Master!"
"You were stupid at the beginning. You took the initiative and sent yourself to prison, just to accompany me to be exiled south... Stupid, isn't it?"
"I...I'm not stupid!"
"Then what are you hesitating about?" Jiang Qingzhi raised his hand, and Sun Chonglou subconsciously wanted to dodge.
"Don't move!" Jiang Qingzhi shouted at him. Sun Chonglou sat down obediently. Jiang Qingzhi stretched out his hand and rubbed his head a few times. After sitting down, he looked at Sun Chonglou's messy hair with satisfaction. "Okay, I feel relieved. This matter is over."
"Oh!"
Sun Chonglou said happily: "Master, Shan De said that I have Buddha nature!"
"The so-called Buddha nature is not fate, but the nature of the mind." Jiang Qingzhi took a sip of wine and said slowly: "The world is dirty, and those who can maintain a simple way of life in this filth are considered to have Buddha nature and fate with Buddha in the eyes of Fangwai."
"He also said that if I go to Dahu Temple, I will definitely become the abbot within ten years." Sun Chonglou said proudly.
"Are you willing to go?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
Sun Chonglou shook his head without hesitation, then hesitated for a moment.
"Hmm?" Jiang Qingzhi knew him well and knew that this guy was worried.
"If the young master is here, I won't go anywhere." Sun Chonglou said.
"What if I'm not here?"
Jiang Qingzhi smiled.
Sun Chonglou raised his head, his eyes suddenly reddened, "Why isn't the young master here? But that's what Old Hu said."
"What did Lao Hu say?"
"Old Hu said that one day His Majesty will become suspicious of the young master, and might even take action!" Sun Chonglou's eyes flashed with murderous intent, "Young master, how about... killing him!"
Jiang Qingzhi blinked his eyes, "Who to kill?"
"Your Majesty!" Sun Chonglou said seriously.
Jiang Qingzhi knew that this guy never compromised on his words, and he couldn't help but want to beat Xu Wei up.
"Aren't you afraid of being hunted down?"
"Whoever wants to kill the young master, I will kill him!"
The boy still had a pure look in his face, but his eyes were now more ruthless. "Don't worry, there won't be such a day." Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile.
Jiang Qingzhi drank half of the pot of wine, and the rest was drunk by Sun Chonglou in one breath. He smacked his lips and said, "It's so bland."
Jiang Qingzhi stood up to pay the bill, and at the end he asked, "I heard that Altan's army will be here soon, aren't you afraid?"
The old man took the coins and counted them while saying, "If the sky falls, there is a tall man to hold it up! Chang Wei Bo is in the city, and Yan Shoufu is in the city. They are not afraid, so why should we be afraid?"
The old woman went to clean up the dishes and turned back to say, "They said that Chang Wei Bo killed Altan Khan's general and destroyed the Jingguan. With Chang Wei Bo here... I don't think Altan Khan will get any good results."
Then the old woman asked, "What did the guest say?"
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "Yes."
He walked out of the restaurant and looked at the deep alley, and suddenly remembered the experience of wandering around the alley with his wife.
"Hey! Go this way!"
"My dear, there aren't many houses here. It's scary."
"Good things only come from poor families. Maybe there are houses from the previous dynasties!"
"What's there to see?"
"Watching this will help you understand the truth of the vicissitudes of life, and the truth that fame, wealth and desire are all fleeting. It will be good for you."
"I am going to take the imperial examination. Aren't you bringing bad luck to me?"
"You've been tossing and turning lately and can't sleep. Aren't you worried about the imperial examination next spring? Let's go and take a look at those old houses. Those nobles were so glorious in the past, but in the end they became a pile of bones and mud. Husband, let's just go with the flow. If we pass the exam, we'll become officials. If we don't, we'll do business..."
Jiang Qingzhi stopped and looked at a young couple walking towards him.
"Then I'll become a monk!" the man said angrily.
The young woman chuckled, "Last time we went to the temple, the senior monks there all said that people shouldn't live for fame and fortune. Everything is predetermined by fate, so just do your best. The rest is your fate. Can you go against fate? Don't worry, my husband, you can't be a monk."
"Why?" The young man saw Jiang Qingzhi, and the young woman said, "Because you don't have Buddha nature."
"You are..." The young man looked at Jiang Qingzhi and suddenly said happily: "Chang Wei Bo!"
Jiang Qingzhi didn't expect to be recognized and smiled slightly.
"Where's Long Wilbur?"
Someone rushed out of the house.
"Why would Long Wilbur come here? Who is talking nonsense?" An old man walked out of the house.
The young man saluted and said excitedly: "I have seen you at the city gate, but I didn't expect to meet you here."
The young woman looked at Jiang Qingzhi in surprise and squatted down, "Hello, Master."
"It's Long Wilbur?" The old couple from the restaurant came out, and the old man stamped his feet, "Quick, go back, go back!"
The old woman asked, "Why are you going back?"
"Long Wilbur fought for us, how can we accept his money?"
"Yes." The old woman turned and went in, and when she came out she was dumbfounded.
The alley was full of people.
The two old people tried to squeeze in, but were pushed out by the crowd.
Jiang Qingzhi was surrounded in the middle, and someone shouted, "Don't crowd Uncle!"
But no one listened, Jiang Qingzhi raised his hand, "Everyone, be quiet, be quiet!"
The alley gradually became quiet.
Jiang Qingzhi said, "There are old and weak people in the crowd, so don't crowd them to avoid hurting them. Listen to me, and slowly retreat. Yes, just retreat a little. Be careful not to retreat into other people's homes, otherwise you will be beaten as a thief and I won't care."
Everyone burst out laughing.
Seeing a stone pillar nearby, Jiang Qingzhi stood on it, looked around, and felt relieved when he saw that the crowd had dispersed a lot.
"My Lord!" The young man bowed, "I heard that Altan Khan's army of 200,000 is approaching Datong. I wonder if my Lord...will be able to..."
"Are you confident?" Jiang Qingzhi asked with a smile.
"Yes." The young man said with embarrassment, "I have been having trouble sleeping lately. Besides being worried about the imperial examination next spring, I am also worried about this war..."
"It's the same for us. Please tell us something, sir!"
Jiang Qingzhi nodded, and everyone fell silent.
"The so-called 200,000-man army is fake news." Jiang Qingzhi didn't know whether the news was a rumor or a spy. "Why do you say 200,000-man army is fake news? With the little food and grass that Altan has, it's already precarious to supply 100,000 troops. 200,000... Even if we sell Altan, we can't afford to support him!"
Jiang Qingzhi said calmly, "The civilians who transported the food and fodder along the way need to eat and drink, right? It's not a short distance to transport the food and fodder from the royal court to Datong. By the time the 200,000-strong army reaches Datong, Altan's food and fodder will probably be almost used up."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Long Wilbur!"
Someone outside waved his hand and greeted him. Jiang Qingzhi looked and saw that it was a staff member close to Yan Song.
He nodded and asked to wait.
Shen Jun looked at Jiang Qingzhi with complicated eyes, "Isn't this guy afraid of being assassinated?"
The accompanying guard said, "I heard last night that the assassin rushed into Jiang Qingzhi's bedroom and almost succeeded. It has only been a few hours, and this man dared to show up in a crowded place. I am ashamed of my courage."
Jiang Qingzhi stood on the stone pier and said loudly: "In the previous two battles, our Ming border troops and the Beijing guards joined forces to resist the enemy, defeated Lin Siyuan, and repelled two enemy divisions..."
Although the battle report had been passed on, only when it was spoken by Jiang Qingzhi himself could people's hearts be reassured.
"The so-called iron cavalry under Altan is nothing more than that in my opinion. In a word, I am here!" Jiang Qingzhi raised his hand.
He looked at the people who were looking at him with hope and trust, and suddenly he felt a heavy weight on his shoulders.
I am responsible for their fate!
I!
We will not let down this expectation and trust!
"As long as Benbo is here, Datong is here!"
(End of this chapter)
