Chapter 106 Heze Shan Family
Chapter 106 Heze Shan Family
In December of the second year of Renshou, a heavy snow swept across the Central Plains. Overnight, the entire Central Plains turned into a world of snow.
There is a Gaoping Inn near the east gate of Jiyin County, Jiyin Prefecture. It is a large inn. During the Sui Dynasty, which was characterized by light taxes and levies, and harmonious government, all industries flourished and business became more prosperous after more than 20 years.
Although it was winter, the inn was doing a booming business and was filled with traveling merchants.
In a room on the second floor lived a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old, who was Xiao Xia from Jiangdu.
Xiao Xia politely declined the suggestion of the head of the family, Xiao Cong, to arrange a servant for him and set out on the road alone. He liked to be alone and enjoy the world of the Sui Dynasty to the fullest. Xiao Xia discovered a truth that as long as one has money, one can live comfortably in any dynasty.
Xiao Xia was indeed rich. He had 20,000 strings of cash in savings at the Baocheng Shop in Jiangdu, which made him considered a wealthy man in any place.
Baocheng Kuifang has branches in Chang'an, Luoyang and Chengdu. Xiao Xia has transferred his money to Chang'an. He withdraws money with the counter ticket, half a jade pendant and a butterfly-shaped birthmark on his left arm, which means that he must be present in person to withdraw money.
He still had more than fifty taels of silver and a few strings of copper coins on him, enough for him to travel comfortably to Chang'an.
Although Xiao Xia was very rich, you couldn't tell from his appearance. He wore a scholar's Jinxian cap on his head, a sheepskin coat inside, and a white linen robe outside, which was filled with duck down so it was warm. He also wore a pair of leather boots on his feet.
Apart from the good-looking chestnut horse he was riding, he was no different from any other ordinary person. From his dress and appearance, one could basically determine his identity: a scholarly son of a wealthy family in Zhongzhou.
Xiao Xia was not equipped with a broadsword. The broadsword, armor, a pair of frost swords and bow and arrow were given to his elder brother Yang Zhao to take to Chang'an. He wore the Dustless Sword given to him by Xiao Lin. The long sword matched his Confucian robe, and he looked more like a scholar. Scholars in the Sui and Tang dynasties all carried swords.
Xiao Xia had a certificate of provincial tribute issued by the Jiangdu County Government to prove his identity. With this identity, he could have a smooth journey.
However, before going to Chang'an, Xiao Xia had to go to Shanjiazhuang in Heze to send Shan Xiongying's belongings back home. Shan Xiongying gave him a top-grade spear technique, and he considered it as a repayment of the favor.
Xiao Xia was not afraid of Shan Xiongxin. After experiencing the competition at the end of the year, Xiao Xia found that many things Zhang Jue had told him before were a bit exaggerated.
For example, Zhang Jue told him that martial arts rating is based on the level of internal strength, but in fact it is not the case at all. Martial arts rating does not look at internal strength at all, but is judged based on the athlete's proficiency in weightlifting, speed, archery and horse riding.
In fact, external strength is also very important. Without strong and robust muscles and bones, no matter how powerful the internal strength is, you will not be able to lift four or five hundred kilograms.
Moreover, the ratings are not accurate. For example, the eighth-grade martial arts master must lift at least 500 kilograms. How could Li Ping lift that? Where did her eighth-grade martial arts master come from?
For example, Zhang Jue said that as long as one persists in taking the medicine for a few years, the consolidation of Yuan will be completed naturally. It seems very simple, but Xiao Xia now knows that consolidation of Yuan is too difficult, and only one out of a thousand can succeed. On the contrary, breaking through obstacles is easier. As long as one has good internal energy medicine and a good physical condition, and persists in taking it for a few years, one will generally enter the state of breaking through obstacles.
But strengthening the Yuan has little to do with taking medicine. It is entirely determined by personal talent, and the window period is very short, only four to five years. If you cannot strengthen the Yuan during this period, you will not have another chance, and you can only rely on taking medicine to maintain the barrier-breaking state.
However, taking internal energy medicine to maintain the breaking of barriers has very serious side effects. Taking internal energy medicine for a long time will seriously shorten one's lifespan. In fact, the state of breaking barriers is completely obtained by overdrawing life, so the warriors who rely on taking medicine to break barriers do not live long, and they are almost dead in their forties or fifties.
Everyone understood this principle, so much so that most half-baked warriors stopped taking medicine and turned to practicing martial arts and external skills after passing the imperial rating.
This is the real reason why Xiao Hu did not participate in the Three Xiaos’ Martial Arts Competition. He has not taken medicine for many years and his ability to break through obstacles has long been lost. However, he did not say it and no one knew.
After understanding these inside stories, Xiao Xia believed that Shan Xiongxin's internal strength was at most similar to Zhang Jue's, slightly better than his brother Shan Xiongying. Perhaps he had successfully built his foundation, but it was impossible for him to have an internal strength of the eighth level. If he had an internal strength of the eighth level, he would have become one of the most famous generals in the Sui Dynasty.
Early in the morning, Xiao Xia packed his luggage and prepared to leave the restaurant. At this time, there was a knock on the door. "Sir, bring some water!" It was the waiter's voice.
"The door is not closed, come in!"
The door opened and the waiter came in with a kettle, "Hey! Are you leaving, sir?"
Xiao Xia nodded and handed him a handful of copper coins. "Thank you for your hard work these past few days."
The waiter took the copper coin and said happily, "Sir, please have breakfast before leaving! Breakfast is included in the hotel fee." "I see. Let me ask you one more thing, how do I get to Danjiazhuang in Heze?"
"Shanjiazhuang?"
The waiter was a little nervous. He closed the door and whispered, "Shanjiazhuang is not a good place. It's best not to go there if you can."
"What does Shanjiazhuang do? Why is it so scary?" Xiao Xia asked with a smile.
"Shan Family Manor is very ordinary, but the owner, Shan Xiongxin, is a well-known tyrant in Jiyin County and does big business."
"Is he a robber?"
The clerk shook his head. "He is not a robber, he is the grandfather of robbers. When robbers steal a treasure, they will sell it to him at a low price. He has shops in Chang'an and Luoyang, and the treasures will be sold at high prices in his shops. Even if the victims know about it, they dare not report it to the authorities, otherwise their families will be destroyed. The only way for the victims to get the treasure back is to buy it back at a high price."
Xiao Xia nodded. This was a bit like money laundering and selling stolen goods.
"Thank you for reminding me. Just tell me how to get there."
"Young Master, walk along the Heshui River outside the city for about thirty miles, and you will see a lake. This is Heze. If you ask around, everyone there will know about Shanjiazhuang."
Xiao Xia then went downstairs to pay the bill for breakfast. He added twenty cents and got double the breakfast.
Breakfast consists of four meat patties and a large bowl of hangover soup. The hangover soup is the Hu La Tang of later generations. People here drink this soup in the morning.
The place for breakfast is on the side of the inn lobby. There is an area enclosed by railings and four or five small tables.
In front of one of the small tables sat four officers, all of them were around thirty years old, of sturdy build, wearing a fu hat, a green robe with a red border, and a ring-handled straight sword on their waists. The leader was a young captain of the police in his twenties. Although his clothes were the same, this man had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and was tall and sturdy with an extraordinary demeanor. Several officers surrounded him and talked to him.
At this time, the waiter walked up to Xiao Xia and whispered, "Those four officials are going to Shanjiazhuang. Just follow them, young master."
"Thank you!"
Not long after, after finishing their breakfast, the four officers set off first, and Xiao Xia also followed them, paid the bill and set off.
He rode his horse slowly behind the four officials. There was ice and snow all around, the river was frozen, and the village in the distance seemed to be submerged in the snow. The big trees on both sides of the official road were bare, which looked particularly bleak.
There were only five of them on the entire official road. The four officers kept looking back at him. After walking for more than ten miles, the four officers finally stopped. The young officer in the lead urged his horse forward, clasped his fists and asked, "Why is this young man following us?"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "I'm going to Shanjiazhuang, but I don't know the way. The innkeeper said you guys are also going to Shanjiazhuang, so I'll follow you."
"I see. Judging from your accent, you must be from the Jianghuai area!"
Xiao Xia's predecessor stayed in Jiangdu for five years and spoke Jiangdu dialect. He had forgotten his original Luoyang dialect.
"My surname is Xia, and I came from Jiangdu!"
The young captain nodded and said, "We are the constables of Licheng County in Qi County. My surname is Qin. We are here in Shanjiazhuang for work. You can come with us, young master."
(End of this chapter)