Yang Zhen left Chengdu. Although the Shu Road was difficult to travel, Yang Zhen was not afraid of difficulties in order to complete the last mission left behind by the former emperor. Yang Zhen was alone. Whenever he was tired, he would stop and rest for a while. He had never seen Wei Yan before and did not know why the former emperor would make such arrangements. He also did not know how capable Wei Yan was to make the former emperor think so highly of him. Along the way, Yang Zhen would always change horses after passing by the relay stations. He would not change horses, and he traveled day and night. Finally, he arrived at Hanzhong County seven days later.
Hanzhong Prefecture had nine cities and twelve counties. It had a vast territory with mountains and cliffs. The terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Its strategic location was extremely important. It bordered Liangzhou and Yongzhou of Wei and was the northwest barrier of Han Dynasty. Yang Zhen entered the boundary of Hanzhong County and rode his horse straight to Nanzheng. Nanzheng City was the residence of the prefect. As the prefect of Hanzhong, Wei Yan had to be here to handle official business. Therefore, Yang Zhen asked about the location of Nanzheng City while browsing the scenery of the county.
Yang Zhen rarely went out when he was young, so he had no chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the middle of the river. This time, he went out on a business trip and saw more than half of the scenery in the middle of the river. Now that he was in Hanzhong, he was even more unwilling to let it go. Therefore, Yang Zhen gradually slowed down his journey. After all, they had already reached Hanzhong and Southern Zheng City was just around the corner.
Ever since Yang Zhen entered Hanzhong, he saw a large number of soldiers farming in the fields. This was rarely seen in other counties, which made him feel very strange. Yang Zhen slowly walked to a market. He felt a little tired. He saw a restaurant in the market from afar, so he dismounted and led the horse to the restaurant. He tied the reins firmly to the pillar in front of the restaurant and strode into the restaurant.
"Shopkeeper, get me a jug of good wine!”Yang Zhen sat down at a table and shouted.
The restaurant was very deserted. Other than the staff in the restaurant, Yang Zhen was the only customer. Yang Zhen was also very puzzled. Why was there no business in such a huge restaurant?
A shopkeeper walked out from behind the counter and bowed to Yang Zhen before saying,""Sir, I'm really sorry. This shop doesn't sell wine. Please forgive me for the inconvenience!”
Yang Zhen was secretly surprised and asked," Shopkeeper, this is such a good restaurant. Why don't you sell wine? What's the reason? Why do you want to open this restaurant?"”
"From your accent, you shouldn't be from Hanzhong County, right?"”
"Shopkeeper, you have good hearing," Yang Zhen said."I came from Chengdu."”
The shopkeeper said," It's no wonder. You may not know this, but in Hanzhong County, no matter which restaurant you go to, there will definitely be no wine for sale." If you want to drink water, I can still supply you with it.”
Yang Zhen was even more puzzled when he heard this. He asked,"Shopkeeper, why is this?"
"It's all because of the alcohol ban!"”
"Alcohol prohibition?" Yang Zhen asked.
The shopkeeper nodded and said," A while ago, a group of soldiers were fighting and causing trouble. They were drunk and accidentally caught fire. More than half of the camp was burned down. The prefect enforced military discipline and issued a ban on alcohol. He even beheaded the group of troublemakers.”
"It's a good thing that the prefect handled it this way," said Yang Zhen.”
"A good thing?" the shopkeeper asked. Sigh! The lowest class of scholars, farmers, merchants, and businessmen are us merchants. Originally, we could barely make a living by opening a restaurant. Now, with the ban on alcohol from the prefect, more than half of the restaurants in Hanzhong have closed down.”
Yang Zhenxin said," The shop owner is right. Scholars, farmers, businessmen, and merchants are seen as the lowest level of society. There are no merchants who are not treacherous. This level difference has been going on for many years. It's not that the prefect doesn't sympathize with the merchants. It's just that merchants are everywhere.”Yang Zhen looked at the shopkeeper who had a troubled expression and comforted him,"Shopkeeper, since it's not easy to be a businessman, why don't you go farm?”
The shopkeeper said," Sigh, it seems that this is the only way. If I don't understand the alcohol ban, I really won't be able to survive. My family has to wait for food."”
Yang Zhen laughed and said," Shopkeeper, don't worry and go back to farming. The imperial court has policies to reward farmers. It's much better than you guarding the restaurant here." Shopkeeper, can you get me a bowl of water to drink?”
The shopkeeper said," Sir, look at what you're saying. I won't sell you the wine, but there are enough water pipes!" Wait here for a while, I'll be right back!”
The shopkeeper came back quickly with a pot of water and walked in front of Yang Zhen. He said to Yang Zhen,""Sir, please wait. If you want to eat something, just tell me!”
"By the way, do you know how to get to Nanzheng from here?" Yang Zhen asked. How far is it?"
The shopkeeper said," Southern Zheng isn't far from here. After you leave the market, turn left and walk straight for about five miles. Then turn right and walk along the main road. One road will lead you to Southern Zheng."”
"Thank you, shop owner!" Yang Zhen said. After saying that, Yang Zhen poured a bowl of water and drank it in one gulp. He was really thirsty. It was July, and the sun was high in the sky. The heat was unbearable. He had only seen this market along the way, and he had already finished the water he brought. Now that he had just drunk a bowl of water to relieve the heat, he poured three more bowls and drank them all in one go.
The innkeeper had already gone to the backyard to do his own thing. Yang Zhen was the only one in the restaurant. Yang Zhen finished the entire pot of water and patted his bulging belly. A smile appeared on his face as he shouted,"Shopkeeper, bill!"
The shopkeeper walked from the backyard to the front desk and said to Yang Zhen,"Sir, this water is free!”
Yang Zhen said," You're also a businessman. I used to drink alcohol. Since the entire county banned alcohol, I'll drink this water and wine as alcohol. Here's the money for the wine. You can keep it."”After saying that, Yang Zhen placed a few coppers on the table and turned to leave. However, he saw that the entrance of the restaurant was blocked by a group of soldiers. The commander shouted,"How dare you! The prefect has already ordered the entire county to ban alcohol. How dare you disobey the order and sell alcohol privately?”
Two soldiers walked in and walked straight to the shopkeeper. One on each side, they carried the shopkeeper out. The shopkeeper wanted to cry but had no tears. He shouted,"General, I'm selling water, not wine!”
"How dare you! I heard you very clearly. Take him away!"”
Yang Zhen saw this scene, and this matter was caused by him. How could he be willing to stand by and watch? He shouted,"Stop!"
The ten-year-old and his soldiers had just stepped out of the restaurant when they heard someone shout. They all turned around and looked into the restaurant. Yang Zhen was wearing coarse clothes, carrying a bag on his back and a steel knife tied to his waist. He was walking out of the restaurant. "This person is also breaking the ban on buying wine," the chief said."Take him down too!"”
Two soldiers walked up and reached out to grab Yang Zhen. Yang Zhen took a step back and said,"It's true that I bought wine, but the shop owner didn't sell wine. I drank water, not wine. How can you arrest me without distinguishing between right and wrong?”
"I led my troops to patrol here and happened to hear you say,'This is the money for the wine. You can stay.' Are you trying to deny it? Capture them and bring them back to the general for interrogation!”
Yang Zhen didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard this. He wanted to explain, but before he could say anything, he saw two soldiers reaching out to grab him. Yang Zhen cursed this muddle-headed leader in his heart and said,""You muddle-headed soldier. If I don't teach you a lesson, I'll ruin the reputation of the Han army.”
Before the two soldiers could catch Yang Zhen, Yang Zhen turned around and grabbed the two soldiers from behind. He grabbed the two soldiers by their collars and threw them back. The two soldiers fell heavily to the ground. Seeing this, the ten-year-old raised his spear and said to his soldiers,"Go, catch him!"
The ten-year-old and the other eight soldiers attacked together. Yang Zhen stretched out his leg and kicked one of the soldiers. His right hand grabbed the spear of a soldier and swept the spear horizontally. The other soldiers were all swept and fell to the ground one after another. Yang Zhen stood in front of the restaurant and pulled the shopkeeper behind him. He said to the captain,"Today, I'll teach you a lesson. You have to be clear about everything.”
Seeing that Yang Zhen was so agile that even he and his soldiers were no match for him, the ten-year-old got up and clutched his chest. He said to Yang Zhen,"Good boy, if you have the ability, don't leave. Wait here.”
Yang Zhen said," I don't have the time to wait here. I have something important to do. Don't make things difficult for this shop owner. Everything started because of me. If you want to find him, come and find me."”
"Good, good!" The captain turned around and said to the soldiers behind him,""You guys guard here. Don't let him escape. I'll call the general! This person is very likely a spy from the Wei Kingdom!"
When Yang Zhen heard this, he was even more unreasonable. He wanted to leave, but when he saw the shopkeeper hiding behind him timidly, he was afraid that the soldiers would capture the shopkeeper again. Yang Zhen walked into the restaurant and pulled out a long bench. He placed it at the entrance of the restaurant and sat down on it.
At this moment, there were already many onlookers. The soldiers were on standby. Seeing Yang Zhen sitting calmly at the entrance of the restaurant, they relaxed slightly. If Yang Zhen really wanted to leave, they would not be able to stop him.
In less than a moment, the ten-year-old ran back, followed by a group of soldiers. The onlookers had already spread out on both sides of the market. There were more than a hundred soldiers. As soon as the soldiers arrived, they sealed off all the exits of the market. Then, they heard the sound of horses 'hooves and saw a general in armor.
Yang Zhen sat at the entrance of the restaurant and saw the general riding a horse. His face was as white as jade, his skin was tender, and he was very young. He carried a large knife and a long sword tied to his waist as he headed straight for the restaurant. When the general walked to the restaurant and reined in his horse in front of the restaurant, Yang Zhen sized him up again. This person was thin and slightly lowered. He wore a steel helmet on his head, and the cherry blossom on the back of the helmet showed his official rank. When Yang Zhen saw that the helmet behind him was red, he was shocked. He had never expected that this thin and young general in front of him would have such a high official rank.
When the general saw Yang Zhen sizing him up, he immediately dismounted and sized up Yang Zhen at the same time. He was sitting on the bench, his face slightly dark and his eyes bright. The outline of his face outlined his appearance. He was dressed in a coarse short coat and looked very capable. He carried a bag on his back and a steel knife tied to his waist.
The two of them sized each other up for a long time. The general was the first to speak,"Were you the one who hit my soldiers just now?”
Before Yang Zhen could reply, the previous squad leader said,""General, it's him!"
"That's right, I did it!" Yang Zhen said.”
"Why did you beat up my Han soldiers? Don't you know the consequences of beating up soldiers?" asked the general.”
Yang Zhen said," I didn't do it on purpose. I only acted in a moment of desperation. I hope General will understand!"”
The general pointed at the sergeant and said to Yang Zhen,""He said that you violated the county's alcohol ban and deliberately protected the restaurant owner. Is that true?”
Yang Zhen said," He made up a story. That Chief heard a one-sided story and arrested people at will. I couldn't stand it, so I taught him a lesson to avoid ruining the reputation of the Han army."”
The general said," He is my soldier. I should be the one to teach him a lesson. Since you injured my soldier, you should pay the consequences."”
Before Yang Zhen could answer, the general threw the broadsword in his hand to his soldiers and drew the long sword at his waist. He pointed the sword at Yang Zhen and attacked. Yang Zhen immediately got up and pushed away the restaurant manager behind him. He kicked out the long bench and it flew towards the general.
The general turned his wrist and cut the bench in half with his sword. Yang Zhen was shocked and thought,""This person's strength isn't weak!" In the blink of an eye, the general's longsword stabbed forward. Yang Zhen immediately drew out the steel saber at his waist and blocked the general's longsword. There was a clang. When the saber and saber collided, sparks flew.
The moment the swords came into contact with each other, they separated. The general's sword stabbed out one by one, all aimed at Yang Zhen's vital parts. Yang Zhen's steel saber blocked left and right, continuously dodging the general's sword technique. His footwork was not chaotic, and he calmly accepted the challenge. After a dozen moves, the general saw that he couldn't break through his attack. His sword technique suddenly changed. It was slightly feminine, but there was no lack of strength in it. At this moment, Yang Zhen brandished his steel saber and attacked fiercely. He used all his exquisite saber techniques.
"Good saber technique!" the general shouted.”With a twist of his wrist, he stabbed out with his sword and pointed it at Yang Zhen's forehead.
Yang Zhen didn't know how the general managed to stab out from under his saber net, but the sword was so fierce and unstoppable that Yang Zhen cried out in his heart. It was too late for him to block with his saber. Yang Zhen saw the long sword stabbing towards him, but he had no choice but to dodge.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]