Jiankang has four major markets, Nanshi, Xikou City, Yanshi and Beishi, which are distributed around the imperial city. In addition, there are more than 100 large and small markets along the Qinhuai River and a small number of grass markets, which connect Jiankang's trade. net.

The four major markets are all modeled after the Luoyang Market. The Xishikou covers an area of ​​several acres and is surrounded by square walls. The cross street divides the market into four blocks, and there are shops on both sides of the street.

There are more than a thousand merchants in the city, which are managed by city orders. A flag pavilion is set up in the city, three feet high, and city soldiers monitor the market transactions.

Yang Anxuan had never been to Xikou City. He followed the bustling crowd into the market gate, and the noisy hawking sounds came like a heat wave, filling his ears.

Looking around, the shops on both sides of the street sell silk cotton, celadon, lacquerware, stone honey, as well as all kinds of jewelry, colored glaze, coral, gold, silver and bronzeware, and even ivory, spices, and seafood. It is really a dazzling array.

Zhang Feng said loudly: "Sir, the weapons are laid out in the southeast corner. Follow me."

Leaving the cross street, the inside is subdivided into rows, mostly with pergola-style buildings, which are not as neat as the shops on the street.

The sound of "ding-ding-ding-ding" came from the forging. Zhang Feng smiled and pointed with his front finger and said: "That's where the weapons are sold."

In the arbors on both sides of the alley, there are blacksmiths, furniture sellers, and clay pots sellers.

Two muscular men in the front bunk were shirtless, sweating profusely, and pounding the red-hot iron blocks one after another, which looked like they were making swords.

Zhang Feng led Yang Anxuan to a shop selling bows. There were many bows hanging on the wall without strings.

Yang Anxuan even looked at a few bows and was not satisfied. The bows hanging on the wall for sale were flashy and they were mostly sold to the young masters as a pretense.

The old man surnamed Meng who sold the bow looked at Yang Anxuan and asked: "I wonder how powerful the bow is?"

Knowing that Yang Anxuan wanted to use a bow with more than two stones, the old man smiled and said: "Then these bows outside are really not suitable for you, sir. Please follow me inside and take a look."

There is a small courtyard across the shop and three tile-roofed houses on the opposite side. The old man asked Yang Anxuan to wait for a while, then went into the house and took out three bows.

These three bows were obviously much better than the bows listed for sale earlier. The old man said proudly: "These are the best bows that I have obtained over the past decades. In the entire Jiankang City, I can't find anyone better than these bows." The bow is ready."

These three bows are yew, cypress and cypress wood respectively. Yang Anxuan is very familiar with bows and knows that all bows made of these three materials are good.

He asked the old man to string up the bow, and Yang Anxuan tried to draw the bow. The strength was at the top of two stones. There was no test shooting. Yang Anxuan didn't know which bow to choose.

There was a noise from the front, and the old man hurriedly went out to check. The noise became louder and louder, and seven or eight men poured in.

The old man excitedly pointed at a man and cursed, "...Bad boy, sooner or later I will be pissed to death by you, a beast."

The man cocked his head and said nothing.

The man in green shirt next to him said with a serious smile: "Dad Meng, you have to teach your son a lesson later. He can't let go of the 20,000 yuan gambling debt he owes you."

Father Meng said angrily: "If you don't have any money, just use it to pay off your debts."

The man in green shirt sneered: "Dad Meng, don't try to use those rags to scare me away. I heard from Brother Meng that he has an ancestral bow in his family. Take it out and have a look."

"Evil son." Father Meng slapped his son hard in the face, breathing heavily.

The man raised his head, looked at his father pitifully, and said: "Dad, Colonel Ma of the Xiaoqi Army wanted to buy a good bow. Brother Chang learned from somewhere that there was a treasured bow hidden in his home, and asked him to set up a game to fool people into gambling. The child is Forced."

Chang Kuan, a man in green clothes, said with a smile: "You've already gambled, why are you still gossiping? Take out your bow quickly. I'll give it to Captain Ma. Maybe Captain Ma will be happy and reward you with some money."

Father Meng looked up to the sky and shouted: "Oh my god, where is the way to survive?"

Yang Anxuan's heart moved, and he said: "Dad Meng, you might as well take out your treasured bow and have a look at it. If it's suitable, you can buy it with money." Seeing Yang Anxuan's hand, Chang Kuan squinted and sneered: "Friend, are you?

Whatever you're doing, don't cause trouble."

How could Yang Anxuan put such green skin in his eyes? He just pretended not to hear.

Father Meng sighed and walked into the house. He quickly took out a wooden box. Chang Kuan rushed forward, hoping to get it.

Yang Anxuan raised his leg and kicked it, hitting the crotch of the man in green clothes. The man was kicked five or six feet away and fell to the ground.

"Ouch", the man in green caressed his crotch and cried out in pain, roaring: "You are all dead, give me a beating."

Five or six men stepped forward to take action, and they fell to the ground happily to keep company with the man in green.

Father Meng was a little timid and said tremblingly: "Young master, these are all green men from the West Market. If I offend them, I'm afraid this shop will not be able to continue. I just heard them say that there is some kind of horse racing school behind the scenes."

Lieutenant, what should we do?"

Yang Anxuan said with a smile: "Don't be afraid, dad. Foolishness is the son of the Imperial Academy. Yang Anxuan, if anything happens, just ask someone to come to the Imperial Academy to learn from Foolishness."

I heard that the young master in front of me is a son of the Imperial Academy. Father Meng is very courageous and can enter the Imperial Academy. His family is at least a fifth-grade official son. There is no need to be afraid of these young men, not even Ma Xiaowei.

Dare to cause trouble.

Yang Anxuan reached out and took the wooden box and opened it. Inside lay a blue eucalyptus bow with a smooth bow body decorated with brocade patterns with gold thread. The two corners were inlaid with rhinoceros horns. The bow body was coated with varnish, as if it was new.

There was a string beside the bow. Father Meng pointed at the bow string and said, "This string is made of tiger sinew, leopard sinew, and ox sinew. It can't be pulled apart without the strength of two and a half stones."

Yang Anxuan hung up the string and reached out to draw the bow. It was just right. Unfortunately, the yard was too small and there was no place to test the shot.

The man in green stood up with a groan, pointed at Yang Anxuan from a few feet away, and said, "If you have the guts, don't leave. I'll ask Lieutenant Ma to reason with you."

Yang Anxuan liked this bow very much and was determined to settle the matter for Father Meng. He bought the bow and said with a smile: "Go back quickly, I will wait for you for an hour."

The man in green and several other men stumbled out. Yang Anxuan said to Father Meng, "Dad Meng, since you have to wait for Colonel Ma, let's just ask for a cup of tea and talk about the price."

Father Meng agreed repeatedly, invited Yang Anxuan to sit in the house, and ordered his son to boil water to make tea.

Looking at the bow on the table, Father Meng was filled with reluctance and sighed: "This bow was mortgaged by a Hu merchant in the shop ten years ago for 20,000 yuan. He promised to redeem it in six months, but the result was...

I haven’t returned yet.”

Yang Anxuan smiled and said: "It is indeed a good bow. I offered you 50,000 yuan and helped my father deal with Captain Ma."

Father Meng let out a long sigh and said, "Thank you very much, sir. This bow belongs to you."

Yang Anxuan was overjoyed and asked Zhang Feng to go back to get the money while he waited in the store with peace of mind.

…………

The imperial court set up a Chinese army to guard the capital. The Chinese army was divided into six armies, four armies, six schools and two battalions. The current general of the Chinese army is Sima Daozi, King of Kuaiji.

The six armies command, protect, left guard, right guard, valiant cavalry, and guerrilla armies. There are generals, and subordinate officers include Sima, Gong Cao, Chief Secretary, etc. These six armies are the palace guards, with each army having a thousand people.

The four armies refer to the front, rear, left and right armies, which are the guards of the palace gate. Each army has the same thousand men.

The six schools are Tunnel Cavalry, Infantry, Yue Cavalry, Changshui, and Shooting. Together with the newly added Yi Army, each battalion has a full strength of a thousand men.

The second battalion is the Jinu and Jishe battalions, with each battalion having a full strength of 2,500 men.

In addition, there are five guards of the East Palace, left, right, front, rear and center, with a strength of 10,000 people.

In the Western Jin Dynasty, the Chinese army numbered as many as 100,000, but now the Chinese army has less than 40,000. In addition to guarding the imperial city, it also has to garrison Stone City and Jincheng, so the number of troops is stretched thin.

There is a serious shortage of troops, many positions are empty, and the strength of the central army is far inferior to that of the foreign troops in the prefectures and counties.

Yang Quanqi was transferred to the post of governor of Tangyi and military commander of Stone City. On the other hand, he became an important general of the Central Army from a local force. Sima Yao also wanted to use the strength of the Yang family army to strengthen the Central Army.

Knowing that the treasured bow he was looking for had been snatched away by an imperial student, Ma Hong, the commander of the Xiaoqi Military Academy, frowned and hesitated in his heart.

Behind every official born in the country, there is an official of fifth rank or above, and behind an official of fifth rank or above, there must be a noble family. A bow is not worth offending.

Chang Kuan felt pain in his waist and hip. He rubbed it with his hands and grinned in pain.

Seeing Ma Xiaowei's hesitation, Chang Kuan encouraged him: "Ma Xiaowei, I have seen that bow. It looks like a green branch. It is a treasure at first glance. It would be a waste if it fell into the hands of that Imperial College student."

Ma Hong's heart skipped a beat. As a military general, a good bow is as important as his life. He can't find it but can't find it. He said: "Let's go and have a look."

Half an hour later, the sound of horse hooves sounded, and Captain Ma of the Xiaoqi Army came with his men.

Father Meng glanced at Yang Anxuan timidly. Yang Anxuan stood up with a smile and said, "I will go with you to have a look."

In the shop, Ma Hong was looking at the bow hanging on the wall with his hands behind his back. When he heard the sound of footsteps, his eyes fell on Yang Anxuan's face.

Yang Anxuan has a tall and straight figure and a heroic face, which is completely different from those weak scholars who apply powder and incense.

Ma Hong cupped his hands and said, "You are so polite, Captain Ma Hong of the Xiaoqi Military Academy."

Seeing that the visitor was polite, Yang Anxuan smiled and saluted, "Hongnong Yang Anxuan has met Ma Xiaowei."

Ma Hong's eyes lit up and he said, "But Yang Anxuan, who went to Changzi City to find out the reality of the Yan army?"

This was the first time that Yang Anxuan heard someone not starting with the song "Small Window" or "Farewell", and he felt very good about it and said: "It's just a trivial one."

Ma Hong took a step back, looked Yang Anxuan up and down, and praised: "Young Master Yang is full of courage, riding dozens of horses deep into the land of Yan. I heard that you also met the Lord of Yan, Murong Chui, but I didn't know that this man has a head as big as a bucket and is too tall.

ten feet."

Murong Chui's reputation spread far and wide, and his reputation became even greater after the annexation of Xiyan. According to folklore, Murong Chui was like a King Kong in the temple.

Yang Anxuan smiled and said: "Master Yan is also an ordinary person. Although he is extraordinary in martial arts, he is old."

The two of them talked and laughed. Seeing Father Meng's eyes, Chang Kuan felt relieved. Only Chang Kuan was dejected. It seemed that the beating was in vain.

After Ma Hong learned Yang Anxuan's identity, he immediately made a decision not to fall out with his son.

Not only did this son have a bright future, but his father, Yang Quanqi, was transferred to the post of governor of Tangyi and commander of the military affairs of Stone City. He could not offend him.

The heroic cavalry troops guard the Imperial City, but they will also take turns guarding Stone City and Jincheng. If they offend Yang Anxuan, they will indirectly offend Yang Quanqi. Then they will find a way to deal with themselves.

After chatting and laughing for a while, Ma Hong couldn't restrain his curiosity and said: "I heard that the young master got a good bow. Ma likes bows and arrows. Can I take a look?"

Yang Anxuan signaled Zhang Feng to hand the bow box in his arms to Ma Hong. After opening it, Ma Hong's eyes lit up and his affection was beyond words. He stretched out his hand to gently touch the bow and praised it repeatedly: "What a good bow, what a good bow." "

Yang Anxuan smiled and said nothing. If it were famous generals like Shen Tianzi and Wang Zhene, he would have given up his love. As for Captain Ma, he was just a nobody and was not worth paying such a high price.

Ma Hong picked up the bow, played with it for a while, and said, "Master Yang, have you ever tried shooting? There is a school ground not far from here. Why don't Master Yang go and try the bow?"

Seeing that the power of this bow was more than two stones, Ma Hong thought that if Yang Anxuan couldn't draw the bow, he might be able to transfer it to himself.

Yang Anxuan was about to try out his new bow, so he followed Ma Hong to the South School Field five miles away, strung up the string, and fired five arrows at the swan fifty steps away, and the arrow hit the target.

Ma Hong lamented in his heart that this archery skill could not be compared to his own. It seemed that getting this bow was just a dream.

"Qingyun Bow", Yang Anxuan excitedly waved the bow in his hand and said: "The name of this bow is Qingyun."

The bow body is cyan with gold threads decorated with cloud patterns, so it is appropriately called Qingyun Bow.
Chapter completed!