Coming out of the noodle shop, Wang Ruohai looked at the bustling streets and praised: "The small town of Ruzhou is so prosperous, so the guards must be capable. Cao Zhiyan, who guards here, heard that he was a monk from Qingliang Temple. How could he know so much? I still think about it.

Credit goes to Wang Xiaolie."

Lu Qing said: "I guess so. Although Wang Xiaolie is young, he is calm in his work. Moreover, many of his ideas are unexpected and often have miraculous results. In these extraordinary times, the court should reuse this kind of person."

Wang Ruohai shook his head and said nothing. Wang Ruohai was a Jinshi during the Jianyan period. The Jin soldiers went south and wrote many letters. Kaifeng city was destroyed, and Wang Ruohai came out of the city. He met Zhao Gou and asked him to take the throne. This was regarded as a tribute to his support.

However, Wang Ruohai is a staunch fighter and is not appreciated by his superiors. If he himself is not reused, why should he reuse Wang Xiaolie?

The two of them walked on the street and took in some street scenes.

This is the central area of ​​Ruzhou City, and most of the industries recently opened by Wang Xiaolie are concentrated here. Looking along the way, there are restaurants, noodle shops, steamed bun shops, dumpling shops, etc., which look extremely lively.

After walking a few steps, I saw a big sign on the street with "Roasted Chestnuts with Sugar" written on it. Many people gathered in front of it.

Wang Ruohai said: "I've seen roasted chestnuts before, but it's rare to see them roasted with sugar. There are so many customers, so I think they taste good, so let's go buy a few."

Not long after I arrived in front of the store, I saw a big pot outside. Inside was gravel, with a shovel on top, and a boy turning it. Inside the gravel were plump chestnuts, which were dark brown in color and very attractive.

Wang Ruohai asked: "How do you sell chestnuts here?"

The boy said: "I'll give you one penny for your return. These chestnuts are sweet and delicious, and they are the most delicious."

Wang Ruohai said: "Then bring twenty pieces and put them together for me."

The boy sang the promise loudly. He took twenty coins from the pot and handed them over with a withered lotus leaf.

Wang Ruohai paid the money and said to Lu Qing: "The chestnuts have just come out of the pot and are still a little hot. Come on, let's have a taste."

I peeled one and put it in my mouth, chewed it and swallowed it. I couldn't help but praise: "It's really delicious! Chestnuts are naturally sweet and delicious, and they are even more delicious when fried with sugar. I didn't expect that in the small place of Ruzhou,

There are so many delicious foods.”

Lu Qing nodded and said nothing. He was a military commander, so it was always a bit weird to eat snacks like this on the street.

Not far away, I saw another store in front of me. The sign on the sign said "various candies." Wang Ruohai said: "It's weird, there are some candies in such a small place, let's go and have a look."

When I arrived, I saw a case with several grids on it, and each grid was full of candies. Unlike other places, the candies here were wrapped in paper, and there were patterns printed on the paper. In this era, paper was valuable

I have never seen anything used to wrap candy.

He stepped forward and asked the price, and it was also a penny each. Wang Ruohai saw that it was a rare thing, so he bought several packages worth fifty pence, wrapped it into a big bag and carried it in his hand. The candy can be stored for a long time, and he can give it to his children as a gift when he returns home.

Gift.

At this moment, a soldier walked over quickly. He crossed his hands and said, "Two officials, Official Ji will leave early tomorrow morning. Cao Tongzhi has held a banquet in Chunfeng Tower to see you off."

Wang Ruohai looked at Lu Qing, shook his head and said, "We just had a big bowl of noodles, how can we eat it all?"

As he spoke, he, Lu Qing and his entourage walked towards the Chunfeng Tower on one side.

Chunfeng Restaurant is now the largest restaurant in Ruzhou. It is run by the government and its business is very prosperous. When Ji Ling came to Ruzhou, he would not use the food and wine of Chunfeng Restaurant. It was absolutely impossible for him to go shopping like Wang Ruohai and Lu Qing did.

In terms of official positions, Ji Ling is equal to Lu Qing, and Wang Ruohai is much lower. However, this is not a peaceful season, and there are not so many etiquette restrictions. Especially since Lu Qing has been in the north and is not with Zhao Gou, he is not subject to

Officials in the court paid attention to it.

When they arrived at the pavilion on the second floor, Ji Ling was drinking tea by the window and looking at the scenery outside the window. Seeing Wang Ruohai and Lu Qing come in, he said: "It is late spring now, when the weather is the best, we still have to hurry up as soon as possible. Wait until

When the weather is hot, it’s difficult to walk.”

Wang Ruohai said: "What Sheren said is that it is the rainy season in the south of the Yangtze River and the Han River is open to ships, so we should leave early."

While talking, Lu Qing and Wang Ruohai sat down.

Seeing that Cao Zhiyan was not there, Lu Qing said, "Why don't you see Cao Tongzhi?"

Ji Ling said disdainfully: "This Cao Tongzhi, I heard that he was a monk in Qingliang Temple two years ago. Now he is in charge of a state. It makes people laugh when he talks about it. He is not comfortable with us.

Willing to come."

Wang Ruohai said: "The country is in dire straits, but capable people with lofty ideals have risen up. We must not underestimate them. I heard that Cao Tongzhi followed Wang Xiaolie and made many military exploits, which made us what we are today. Heroes don't care about their origins, so why bother mentioning his past

identity."

Ji Ling said: "These reckless people just took advantage of a moment of chaos to find an identity. What kind of heroes! Just like Wang Xiaolie, who also took advantage of the fact that there were no imperial soldiers and horses on Jingxi Road at this time, so he occupied several states.

Earth. Let me tell you, what is the difference between him and a group of thieves?"

Lu Qing said: "You can't say that. A group of thieves plundered people's property, burned and killed without restraint, and did not listen to the court's orders. Wang Xiaolie was not like that. He led his troops with strict military discipline and never harassed the people. A few days ago, Yang Jin caused chaos.

Peering into Luoyang City, even Zhai Zhizhi unfortunately died in battle. If Wang Xiaolie had not led his troops to come forward, Luoyang would have been in danger! Yang Jin fled south, officials fled to avoid disaster, and Wang Xiaolie occupied those places."

Ji Ling smiled brightly, shook his head, and said nothing more. No matter how much he looked down on Wang Xiaolie, he was on his territory at this time, and Wang Xiaolie had soldiers in his hands, so he couldn't say anything more.

Not long after, Cao Zhiyan arrived at the restaurant and made a promise to Ji Ling and the others with their hands crossed.

After sitting down, Cao Zhiyan said: "You envoys are on official business and don't want to stay in Ruzhou for a long time. Today I will prepare some wine to see you off. Chunfeng Tower was originally the property of Yang Shen in the army. Because he was an official, the government funded it."

Bought it——"

After hearing this, Wang Ruohai wondered: "So what if I'm an official? What's the delay in finding a supervisor to look after me?"

Cao Zhidao said: "I don't know, but this is the rule of Wang Zhizhou. Those who serve as officials cannot have property in the local area, and some have to be sold. Even Wang Zhizhou's own family owns the original land.

All sold."

Wang Ruohai said: "This rule is unkind! The family is not allowed to have property, and the salary is meager. How can we support the family?"

Cao Zhiyan said: "To be honest with the prison, all Wang Zhizhou's subordinates have generous salaries, so how can they not be able to support their families? Zhizhou said that if an official has property in the local area, if there is a dispute, it is inevitable that he will be in a dilemma. How to deal with it?

No matter how good the property is, it will cause the people to gossip. Rather than doing this, it is better to sell all the property and send more money than to let the people gossip."

After hearing this, Wang Ruohai was surprised. In the Song Dynasty, there was an avoidance law. When serving as a local official, he and his relatives and friends were not allowed to have property. But at this time, who still cares about these rules?

Wang Xiaolie's subordinates were originally from Ruzhou's Qinwang Army, and most of the generals in the army were from Ruzhou. When he returned to his hometown, he ordered these people to sell all their properties and not to violate the avoidance law. This was a bit strange.
Chapter completed!