Wucheng is more than a hundred miles away from Linqing, and the official roads are connected, flat and smooth.
A group of people rode horses and drove cars at a very fast speed.
We set off at noon and saw the city wall of Linqing before the sun set.
But the closer to Lincheng, the more solemn everyone's expressions became.
I saw that the official road leading to Linqing was filled with shambling refugees.
When the generals arrived at the city gate, they were blocked by soldiers and made a fuss. Then a large number of people were driven away from the city gate and hid under the city wall.
In such cold weather, whether you live or die depends entirely on God's will.
The horses and chariots of Zuo Menggeng and others were particularly conspicuous. When they reached the city gate, the crowd gave way.
In this day and age, who can ride a horse or drive a car without being a noble person?
A small flag ran over and was about to interrogate him when his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Oh, isn't this Mr. Zuo?"
Zuo Mengeng didn't expect that he was still a celebrity, so he smiled and said, "Master Jun, do you know me?"
The little flag waved its hands repeatedly.
"You don't dare to call me Master Zuo. Who in Linqing doesn't know Master Zuo? Two years ago, the fight between you and Master Liu's family outside the city gate was so shocking that it made people cry. Everyone said,
At the height of martial arts in Linqing, Master Zuo and Master Liu divided the world."
Zuo Mengeng was embarrassed, remembering the absurdity of the past.
As a second-generation general, Zuo Mengeng was also very dandy in the past. Coupled with Zuo Liangyu's strict training, his martial arts are truly extraordinary.
When dudes fight, no one is his enemy.
Only Liu Yiyuan of the Liu family also had extraordinary martial arts skills, and even went toe-to-toe with him, but the outcome was always indistinguishable.
Zuo Mengeng also remembered that Liu Yiyuan was a descendant of the Liu family, one of the nine most prominent families in Linqing, and his father was the famous Liu Zuo.
Historically, Liu Yiyuan came from a scholarly family and passed the martial arts examination.
While he was reminiscing about the past, Xiaoqi revealed shocking news.
"Young Master Zuo came back just in time. Yesterday, the old housekeeper of your house was carried back from outside the city. He seemed to be seriously injured. I heard that there is no one in charge of the house now, and there is a chaos."
"oops……"
When Zuo Rong and Zuo Hua heard this, their expressions changed immediately.
Zuo Hua couldn't bear it anymore, so he galloped on his horse and entered the city first.
Zuo Mengeng's heart was also filled with turmoil, and he never expected that such a big event would happen in his house.
There are two housekeepers in Zuo Mansion, one is Zuo Yan and the other is Zuo Kuan.
Zuo Yan is the chief steward and the father of Zuo Rong and Zuo Hua.
Zuo Yan is not strict, on the contrary, he is a very kind old man.
He was originally a coachman in the Liaodong Army. Later, Zuo Liangyu saw that he was old and frail and could no longer stand up to the army, so he came over to be his personal attendant.
Later, Zuo Yan was asked to return to Linqing to manage the internal and external affairs of Zuo Mansion.
Zuo Yan was so grateful that he took his two sons and changed their surnames to Zuo.
Similarly, the second housekeeper Zuo Kuan is not generous at all.
This is a fierce man on the battlefield, and now he is also the head of Zuo Liangyu's bodyguards, always following Zuo Liangyu.
Zuo Liangyu was born in a poor family and soon became rich. He and his wife Huang were a poor couple.
In Zuo Mengeng's impression, the Zuo family started to gain momentum in recent years. To be precise, it was after Zuo Liangyu became the capital secretary.
The daughter of the Huang family is illiterate, timid and has no ideas.
Zuo Liangyu is away at war, and Zuo Yan needs to handle all matters in the Zuo Mansion.
Now that the backbone has fallen, the Zuofu will be in chaos.
Thinking of this, Zuo Mengeng also became anxious.
He threw two taels of silver to the little flag and said, "Thank you for letting me know."
He quickly entered the city and went straight to his house.
The little flag was happily put away after receiving the benefit, and went back to directing the eviction of the refugees.
Miss Xu heard everything that happened before in the carriage.
She opened the curtain and saw Zuo Mengeng and Zuo Rong both looking solemn, and asked softly: "But something happened at home? How about... I'll go to the inn."
She was rescued by Zuo Mengeng, and now she is a weak woman alone. Before returning to Xu Guangqi, it would be better for her to live in Zuo Mansion.
But something happened to someone's family, and she was an outsider, so she could still figure it out.
She was considerate, but Zuo Mengeng couldn't agree.
A pretty girl who can't even comb her hair would be surprised if nothing happens if she leaves her alone.
"Don't worry, I'm here."
Miss Xu has read many story books, and the famous generals in the books who move freely among thousands of armies always make her heartbroken.
She had never seen a real general, but Zuo Mengeng had been protecting her these days, fighting in and out of the army several times, and he was well-strategized and commanded decisively, which made her know that he was a trustworthy person.
With his mind settled, he became curious about the surrounding environment.
The city she was in now was vast, far larger than any city she had ever seen.
There are endless houses and buildings, and pedestrians rub shoulders with each other on the road. Looking at the past, countless flags are brightly fluttering, and the wealth of the world is gathered here. The variety is so rich that she cannot fully understand it with her experience.
"People say that Jiangnan is the most prosperous place in the world. I think this place is no less prosperous than Jiangnan."
Hearing Miss Xu's exclamation, Zuo Mengeng couldn't help but smile and said: "Although Linqing is a prefecture, it is an important thoroughfare for five provinces and has a population of one million, so it is extraordinary."
In the Ming Dynasty, there were only five cities with a population of more than one million. The other four were all prefectural cities, except Linqing, which was a state city.
Linqing owes its scale and status to the canal.
This place is the intersection of Huitong River and Wei River, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Sui Dynasty Grand Canal all flow from here.
Whether you are going north to the capital, south to Suzhou and Hangzhou, or west to Heluo, it is extremely convenient.
It is one of the five major warehouse locations and is known as the No. 1 dock in the world. The safety of the capital depends entirely on this city.
It can be said that if this place is occupied, millions of people in the capital will immediately be cut off from food and clothing and become a place of death.
With Miss Xu chatting and laughing, Zuo Mengeng's worries disappeared a lot. He walked in a hurry and soon arrived at Shuaifu Street.
Far away, I saw many people filing out of a mansion.
Seeing Zuo Mengeng, these people all showed expressions of ecstasy.
"Master!"
"Master, you are finally back."
Zuo Mengeng sat upright on his horse and looked at several people with sparkling eyes. He couldn't help shouting: "Why are you crying? I, the Zuofu, built my family with martial arts and wrapped my body in horse leather. I will die without regrets. I will bleed, sweat, but not shed tears, and I will not be afraid of death, so what is there to fear?"
"
A murderous aura from the battlefield rushed towards them, sweeping away the dejection. All the people in Zuofu could not help but hold their heads high, and their momentum changed 180 degrees.
Miss Xu secretly opened a corner of the curtain and saw that Zuo Mengeng had decided the world with just one word. She couldn't help but feel happy and heartbroken.
There are many elegant and elegant people in the Jiangnan area. Although they are full of economics and talents, they are not as strong as men. That kind of domineering attitude of overlooking the world without anyone else, no matter how many moral articles, it is difficult to compete with it.
The incident in the mansion worried Zuo Mengeng and made him unwilling to delay.
He pointed to the carriage drive: "Open the middle gate and welcome the distinguished guests into the house."
The servant immediately followed the instructions, and after a while, the middle door of Zuofu, which was always closed, opened on the left and right, indicating the arrival of distinguished guests.
A servant came over, took the carriage from Huang Er, and escorted him into the mansion.
Zuo Mengeng walked to Huang Er and asked, "Is there somewhere to go?"
Huang Er knew that his mission was accomplished and smiled honestly.
"The young one has hands and feet and can drive a car, so he can find a job to make a living."
Zuo Mengeng nodded, feeling a little relieved.
He asked Zuo Rong to take twenty taels of silver and stuff them into Huang's hands.
"Thank you for your hard work along the way. You have this little money, but you still have to find a way to make a living."
Although Huang Er was displaced, he was still a commoner. The Zuo Mansion was not big and could not support many servants, so Zuo Mengeng did not ask to take him in.
After receiving twenty taels of silver, Huang Er was already very satisfied.
This is a huge sum of money. Even if he does nothing, he can live for two years on this money.
"I'll take my leave now, little one. I'm worried about you."
Huang Er knelt down, kowtowed a few times, carefully put away the money, and went to find his new life.
This is a small person, inconspicuous in these troubled times.
If he hadn't met Zuo Mengeng, he might have died on the battlefield in Nanpi.
At this time, there was an extra life, and the future became different again. His thin figure walked into the crowd and quickly blended into it.
No one noticed that several idle men on the street corner also got up and chased Huang Er in the direction where he disappeared.
Zuo Mengeng stepped into the house, crossed the front yard, and came to the back yard.
At this time, the carriage has been delivered here, the male servants retreated, a few maids and the mother-in-law came up, and put down low stools next to the carriage.
Zuo Mengeng stepped forward and said, "Miss Xu, we are here. Come with me to meet Jia Ci."
Miss Xu opened the curtain, puzzled.
"Are you getting off the car now? Why don't you bring some water and a face towel, and wait for me to wash up before you come in to see me. Is this... polite?"
The maids and wives on the side lowered their heads in shame.
They didn't understand what Miss Xu said at all.
Zuo Mengeng knew that the Southeast was very extravagant at this time, and the ostentation of the wealthy families was astonishing. What Miss Xu said was probably the most ordinary.
"Oh, I, Zuofu, am good at wielding swords and guns, but I don't understand these complicated rules."
Miss Xu rolled her eyes wildly, knowing that he did it on purpose, and couldn't help but muttered: "a grosseria e o maior inimigo do homem."
Zuo Mengeng sneered and replied: "ganancia e o maior pecado do homem."
Miss Xu was so shocked that her tongue dangled.
"you you you……"
Zuo Mengeng stretched out his palm toward her and said: "Beautiful lady, it's no big deal that she can speak Portuguese."