There was no war in Song and Liao for a hundred years, and the Western Song Army led by Tong Guan defeated Western Xia two years ago, and now with an open mind, even the capital Bianliang is like an undefended city. Standing in the horse market, foreigners dressed in various costumes were everywhere, half of them were Chinese, and half of them were half-sounding languages; and Xie Shi pointed and walked through a dozen stalls, Yang Zhi realized that the blue-faced beast actually had some language talent, and could understand four languages, such as Khitan and Western Xia.

The horse market of the Song Dynasty was almost the same as that of later generations, and there was no edge in sight, but it was neatly planned, and each stall was fenced with wood, among which there were not only horses, but also camels and cattle. Yang Zhi looked at the two white camels with great interest, this kind of white camel is slightly higher than ordinary camels, two humps, and the whole body is as white as practice; Yang Zhi remembered that Helan Mountain and Juyanhai, where the white camels were produced, were now the territory of Western Xia, and asked Xie Shi casually: "Now you have completely opened the passage over there in Western Xia?"

Xie Shi said with a smile: "Tong Guan and his generals have made a fortune, these days there is a joke about a little rich man, saying that Tong's mansion decoration entertained a foreman to eat, with a gold bowl, silver bowl and jade bowl, and when the foreman finished eating, the Tong family gave the gold, silver and jade bowls to the foreman, not counting, even the two maids who were waiting on the side to give it away, so the foreman returned to his hometown and became the richest local family." ”

Yang Zhi said with a smile: "That Gao Yu is not panicked in his heart. ”

Gao Yu was born in the market scoundrel, recruiting people who specialize in recruiting skills, people who have no skills don't want it, Yang Zhi was originally in the ordnance workshop, and he knew that there were more than 5,000 people in the front of the palace who specialized in the production of goods for Gao Yu, but Gao Yu made money in this way, and it was far inferior to Tong Guanlai. As he spoke, two Uighurs with high noses and long hair approached, wrapped in silk cloth and draped in clothes, and Yang Zhi instinctively sensed that the person walking in front was a master.

Xie Shi greeted politely: "Fu Cheng, Mobi difficult, you haven't left yet?"

Fu Cheng, who was slender and had the bearing of a famous man, saluted politely, and said in standard Chinese: "Mr. Xie, we are waiting for the business group behind us to go back together." There has been a letter from China, and this time three hundred Khotanese horses have been sent, and they have now entered the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, asking us to open up the situation in Bianliang. ”

Because the four towns of Dunhuang and other places in Hexi fell into the hands of the Western Xia, the Silk Road since the Han and Tang dynasties was cut off by the Tanguts, and this time Tong Guan commanded the army to defeat the Western Xia, and the Gaochang Uighurs began to try to restore trade. However, the merchants of Persia, Dashi and other places now take the sea route, and the most accessible commodity in Gaochang is horses; the Great Song Dynasty has lost all horse farms due to the reasons of the Great Liao and Western Xia, and even if the six states of Xihe are recaptured at present and hit the Minshan Mountain, the places where horses are raised are still limited, and the demand for horses is unlimited.

Xie Shi said movingly: "That's a big deal, Tianshan Gaochang, Qiuci, Yanqi, Wusun, Khotan all over the country produce horses, Wusun horses are the tallest, Qiuzi horses Tianji Longlin, Khotanese horses are mainly five-flowered horses. Fu Cheng, this is my brother Yang Zhi, the two of us are preparing to open a horse shop, can you let some horses for us, a small business, twenty or thirty horses. ”

Fu Cheng also needs friends in Kaifeng, purely take the route of the government, that is, the fat sheep in the eyes of the powerful, Xie Shi and Yang Zhi are both well-known people, and they will definitely come in handy, Fu Cheng nodded and said: "What did Mr. Xie say, we asked you to help find a doctor last time, and it saved our lives, what are the horses, I will definitely leave you thirty horses, and I will go to the divination hall to find you when the time comes." ”

Yang Zhi didn't expect Fu Cheng to be so generous, so he hurriedly struck while the iron was hot and said, "Why don't you have a light meal together at noon?"

Yang Zhi still knew each other before the crossing, and many people were not surprised, but Fu Cheng shook his head and said: "Yang Daxia is arrogant, thank you, it's just that the gap between our eating habits is too big, and everyone is awkward when we eat together." The two of you looked slowly, and we left first and said goodbye. ”

Yang Zhi looked at Mobi Nan's back with some doubts, and whispered to Xie Shi: "That Mobi Nan is skilled in martial arts, I'm afraid I can't deal with it." At first, I thought he didn't know martial arts, but when he walked around, I had the feeling of meeting a master. ”

Xie Shi was shocked after hearing this, which showed that Yang Zhi's kung fu was not a little worse than Mobi's difficulty, Yang Zhi was already a character who could compete with the Seven Buddhas of the Southern Dao Fang, how high was that Mobi's difficult kung fu. Yang Zhi and Xie Shi asked about the situation with two horse dealers they knew, and Huangfu only brought ten horses this time, all of which were rare and good horses, and they were bought when they entered the horse market. The two of them observed for an hour and then left the horse market, and discussed all the way to the state bridge to the bustling place.

The houses in the downtown of Bianliang are majestic, the façade is broad, and the shops are full of dazzling and dazzling, and there is everything. The young men and girls along the street, carrying the horse-head bamboo basket, the sound of selling is strange like a song, melodious and beautiful, the basket has peonies, peonies, begonias, duck pears, etc., all of which are fresh goods such as flowers and fruits. Most of the restaurants and restaurants along the street have set up take-out counters, hot snacks, fragrant, Yang Zhi couldn't help but be reminded in his stomach, bought a pack of duck tongue strips and a pack of fried clams, and Xie Shi ate while walking.

The taste is good, the duck tongue is tender and delicious, the clam taste is plump, from the perspective of a modern foodie, the people of Kaifeng are not shallow, no wonder after the Jingkang year, a large number of subjects of the Song Dynasty fled to the south, whether it is to mistake Hangzhou for Bianzhou, or to live a life of exile, one by one the hearts are still flashing with the rich scene of Bianliang, frequently looking back on the life that satisfies the hearts of the people; the words and prose left behind, full of infinite nostalgia for the past and infinite sadness for the reality.

But no matter how good the ancient buildings are, no matter how prosperous the world is, compared to Yang Zhi, some are just memories; Xie Shi smiled and tasted the duck tongue, Yang Zhi's personality changed a lot, in the past, it was unimaginable. The two adult men are eating while walking like this, which is really a bit unusual, and the painting style is too beautiful, attracting passers-by to watch it constantly, but Yang Zhi and Xie Shi are both characters whose hearts are higher than the sky, and they are not sad about this matter, and they are still shopping on their own, and they still look leisurely.

Turning the corner, it is the Nine Star Chess Club, the first chess building in Bianliang, there are many people in front of the door, all pointing and pointing, it turns out that the chess club is setting up a gambling game; Xie Shi himself is a good Go player, and he is also a frequent visitor to the Nine Star Chess Club, and motioned Yang Zhi to go in together. The two guys at the door were a little confused, Yang Zhi's outfit didn't look like a chess player at all, but Yang Zhi was now a celebrity in Kaifeng, and Xie Shi was with him; the guy was helpless, so he had to put up a smile and greet him: "Mr. Xie, Yang Daxia, come to play chess?"