When he woke up, it was already dawn, and Zhang Ning climbed out of bed. He had just arrived yesterday, and he was a little tired after a few days of traveling on the road. He had finished sleeping this morning. He could only hear the birds chirping outside the window, and he didn't know what time it was.
Zhang Ning quickly put on her clothes and tied up her hair in a bun skillfully in front of the mirror. After living for several years in the Ming Dynasty, she had become accustomed to this long hair. Men's hair was usually tied on top of the head, with at most one hair inserted.
Hairpin, it’s not troublesome once you get used to it. He has a handsome face in the mirror, and his beard has grown a lot. I really don’t have time to trim it during this period, but it’s okay. It’s easier to gain the trust of others by looking older. In this era, middle-aged people
Everyone dares to call himself me.
When he opened the door, there was no one in the courtyard. At this moment, the door next door creaked open, and Qiu Ye walked out. Zhang Ning asked, "What time is it?"
Qiuye looked at him with a smile: "It's been an hour since dawn." He asked Wenjun again, and she replied: "I'm not feeling well. I heard that you didn't get up, so you were just lying on the bed." Zhang Ning strode away after hearing this.
After passing by, Qiuye's face suddenly became a little embarrassed: "It's not that you're sick... It's not unlucky for you to go in?" Zhang Ning was stunned for a moment, and quickly understood what was going on, and stopped.
"I'm going to get you some water to wash up. I've left some porridge for you in the kitchen. You'll be able to eat it after it's hot," Qiuye said.
Zhang Ning said casually: "It's really unbearable to have Qiuye Protector serve in daily life." According to the hierarchy within the anti-evil sect, Qiuye is higher than Monk Yao, so Zhang Ning said this.
Unexpectedly, this old lady actually looked at her with a very ambiguous look, and said softly, "I am willing to do so." Zhang Ning couldn't tell how he felt.
After washing and tidying up, Zhang Ning didn't eat breakfast. He went out and saw Lao Xu washing the horses he had brought in the stable, so he called them together. In fact, the horses were taken care of by monk Yao, and Lao Xu probably didn't know it when he got up in the morning.
What to do, find something to do. Then I met Yao Erlang. Erlang said that he was waiting for his cousin. He also brought four or five young people, mostly children of the elders, who seemed to be very close to Yao Erlang.
Erlang took the trouble to introduce them one by one. Zhang Ning was not very interested and did not remember the names and origins of the two people. However, he still nodded politely and did not show any impatience. There is no way, people actually spend a lot of time doing things.
Spending time on dealing with relationships between people is like how much practical work was done by tens of thousands of officials in the Ming Dynasty?
"This morning, my dear brother took me to see the terrain near the village and the iron mine at the foot of the mountain," Zhang Ning said.
"Okay, the mine is at the east end of the village, and the salt well is a little further away. Let's go to the mine first, cousin." Yao Erlang said politely. We just met him not long ago, and he seems to be a very easy to get along with, and he is also very nice.
An honest look.
A group of people then walked eastward along the main road in the middle of the village. Most of them were young people of about the same age. Everyone on the road was relatively relaxed and chatted from time to time. Qiuye and Lao Xu, who were in their thirties, were on the contrary.
They can't get along with each other, but they are usually very close to Zhang Ning.
As soon as he left the village, he heard a series of uniform shouts. Zhang Ning turned his head to follow the sound and saw dozens of men practicing on the green Pingba grassland. Now it seems that what happened yesterday is not completely over.
Disrupt people's order.
In the paddy fields below the pasture, people bending over to work could be seen from a distance, probably weeding the weeds in the rice fields. Only then did Zhang Ning realize that except for his own group, everyone in the village was doing what they should.
No one is idle when doing anything. Even if they have just lost relatives and friends, people's expressions are calm and natural. There is no longer panic, worry, fear. In this place, people seem to have suddenly become simpler.
Vaguely, Zhang Ning seemed to feel that there was a powerful force hidden in the mountains and rivers, such as the order of natural laws, making everything orderly.
Zhang Ning passed by the grassland and couldn't help but stop and watch for a long time.
A middle-aged man with a mustache and a Chinese character shouted, and everyone on the grassland made a move together and shouted "Huo". This was the sound that was heard at the entrance of the village just now.
Yao Erlang pointed at the man with a Chinese character and said: "His name is Wei Bin. He is responsible for training warriors and recruiting troops. He is also responsible for arranging manpower for night patrol. In a place like this where no one cares, we are outsiders, so what?
You have to rely on yourself. If you are not prepared, not to mention the thieves on the mountain, even the Miao and Tujia villages may bully you."
Zhang Ning praised: "Such warriors are even better equipped than officers and soldiers."
"Seriously? My cousin has seen real officers and soldiers?" Yao Erlang suddenly became interested.
Zhang Ning said calmly: "Not to mention the distance, last month I was supervising the armaments of Changde Prefecture as a patrol censor. Most of the local officers and soldiers were farming, and they couldn't train a few times a year. The soldiers here got up early in the morning
Drilling is incomparable, there are just too few people." He thought for a while and said: "Maybe only the three battalions left by Emperor Yongle can fight a little. Emperor Yongle fought a lot of battles, and the soldiers were on the battlefield.
Came out last time."
Yao Erlang's face showed admiration: "My cousin is only a few years older than me, and he can command an entire army, which makes us admire him very much."
Zhang Ning patted his shoulder lightly and said: "We have to do bigger things. Youth is wasted if we don't venture into things. If we have the opportunity in the future, we brothers will do it together."
Yao Erlang suddenly had a look of longing on his face. Young people are full of hope and energy, always feeling that there is still an endless road in life.
Zhang Ning didn't want to say anything more when he said this. People here only know that they are officials, and there is no big use in bragging. The key is to do real things and let people see them. Besides, Zhang Ning thought that he was in the officialdom.
The situation above is still very uncertain. It is very likely that I will not be able to survive, and I will not be able to brag too much.
He then changed the subject and pointed at those practicing and asked, "Erlang has also practiced?"
Erlang looked like he had "finally talked about his strengths" and patted his chest and said, "I know most of the people on this grassland. Except for Wei Bin, no one I choose can be my opponent."
It happened that the men were resting, so Zhang Ning smiled and said, "Brother, I really want to see something."
Without saying a word, Yao Erlang jumped off the road, strode to the edge of the crowd, folded his hands and said loudly: "Which brother can give me a favor and learn two moves with Erlang?" People squinted at him, and some people looked at him with squinted eyes.
I stood still and waited to watch the show. Someone yelled a few words. After waiting for a while, a sturdy young man stood up, waved his arms and said, "I'll play with Erlang for a while."
Yao Erlang said: "Hey, the third son of the He family was beaten to the ground by me last time. Are you still not convinced?"
A few people watched the show and started making noises. The young man suddenly lost his composure and said in a slightly angry tone: "A good man may not mention his bravery in the past, but you were lucky last time."
"Okay, short or long, it's up to you." Yao Erlang walked a few steps and picked up a wooden stick on the ground and made several gestures.
Seeing this, the young man named He Sanwa also picked up the same short wooden stick and stood up to start a battle. Zhang Ning, who was watching the show, didn't know much about "martial arts", but he guessed that the young man chose the short stick because he felt that he was
He's big and can't afford to lose, so he can play wrestling?
At this time, He Sanwa stopped talking and suddenly rushed over with a stick. Before he could see what was going on, he only heard a "click" sound of wood colliding with each other, and He Sanwa stumbled over his head and almost fell.
A somersault, a move that judged strength and weakness, and everyone immediately started laughing in good faith.
He Sanwa's face turned red, and she turned around and rushed over again. Yao Erlang easily dodged him and slapped him on the buttocks. The people next to him laughed "haha" for a while.
"Stop embarrassing yourself." Wei Bin, a middle-aged man with a Chinese character who was watching the battle, shouted, "Come back and practice more!"
The sturdy young man surnamed He had a face full of shame and anger, so he had to throw away the wooden stick with all his strength. Wei Bin turned around and nodded and said: "Erlang is very skilled. If you don't blame me for bullying the young, will Uncle Wei help you?"
Zhang Ning looked at the situation calmly and thought to himself: This man wants to regain face for his apprentice, but since he can call himself uncle, it doesn't matter if Yao Erlang loses; I guess Erlang will definitely lose, so uncle
Since a senior man took the initiative to challenge, it is enough to show his confidence.
Sure enough, Yao Erlang stopped smiling and turned serious. He cupped his fists and bowed politely: "It is better to obey orders than to be respectful."
Wei Bin returned the greeting and said: "Come on, because I am the elder, I will be empty-handed. If you hit me, you will win." After saying this, he spread his legs slightly and stood firmly on the spot.
Yao Erlang slowly raised the wooden stick in his hand. After standing for a moment, he quickly stepped forward and slashed diagonally with the stick. The speed was so fast that the sound of the wind could be heard on the road. Wei Bin suddenly stretched out a hand to support Erlang.
The wooden stick was coming and he took advantage of the momentum to release the force downwards. One side of his body and shoulder slammed into Yao Erlang. Yao Erlang took a step back. The strength of his right hand holding the stick was obviously not exhausted, so he turned to strike sideways halfway. Wei Bin turned around and dodged.
He passed the wooden stick and hit Yao Erlang in the abdomen with his elbow. The whole movement was extremely smooth, and he looked unhurried but at the right time.
"Yeah" Yao Erlang screamed in pain, Wei Bin took advantage of him not to react and knocked the wooden stick out of his hand with one palm.
Zhang Ning, who was watching the battle, felt that the sparring was over. Unexpectedly, Erlang hugged someone else's thigh angrily, trying to pull Wei Bin to the ground. There was a muffled sound of "swelling", and he was kicked again.
Thrown to the ground.
Seeing this, Wei Bin stepped forward to help, but Erlang opened his hand, reached out to grab the wooden stick, stood up with difficulty, turned around and vomited "Bah", grabbed the wooden stick with both hands and hit the head.
.
Wei Bin reached out and grabbed the wooden stick and said: "It's just a discussion, don't hurt your harmony. Winning or losing is normal, don't care too much about it."
Erlang gritted his teeth and said, "I haven't lost yet!"
Wei Bin advised: "Your father can defeat me, but Erlang is still not close enough."
"You don't have to blame my father, I will definitely be able to beat you one day!" Yao Erlang let go of the stick, turned around and left rudely.
Zhang Ning remained silent, beckoning his entourage to leave the road on the grassland. When Yao Erlang came over cursing, he comforted him and said: "No matter how good you are, you can only be defeated by one person, but a real hero is an enemy of ten thousand people. Erlang does not need to take it personally.
go."
Yao Erlang said angrily: "Wei Bin has been practicing martial arts longer than me!"
Zhang Ning smiled and suddenly felt that Erlang became more and more friendly, because Zhang Ning himself occasionally had such a stubborn temper.
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