Chapter 688 Arrival at Pengcheng
After staying in Suqian for two days, the Chen family merchant ship continued to head north.
Walking along the Grand Canal is smooth and labor-saving, without having to stop to climb mountains. Sun Shan couldn't help but admire the greatness of this canal.
Afterwards, the Chen family merchant ship passed through Pizhou and Xuzhou, and stopped again.
Xuzhou, also known as "Pengcheng", has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. In addition to its long history and outstanding people, it also has a famous "specialty", which is that it has produced many emperors.
It is known as the "City of Emperors" because of the presence of many great figures such as Emperor Gaozu of Han, Emperor Xiang Yu of Western Chu, Emperor Sun Quan of Eastern Wu, Emperor Wu of Song in the Southern Dynasties, etc.
The founding emperor of Daqian was originally from Xuzhou.
Although emperors came from Xuzhou one after another, they were also "afraid" of Xuzhou, always worrying that this place "produces many emperors" would produce a new true dragon emperor who would threaten their rule.
Legend has it that after the late emperor ascended the throne, he ordered his military advisors to go to the Yunlong Mountain area in Xuzhou to "cut off the dragon vein" in an attempt to destroy the "feng shui pattern" of Xuzhou.
The people of Xuzhou have a notable characteristic: "They are brave, aggressive, and easily involved in wrongdoings."
The people of Xuzhou are very martial. They are all tall and strong, very brave and like to rob.
Moreover, they are all very skilled and bold, and they become arrogant and domineering once they feel unhappy.
Su Dongpo described in "Letter to the Emperor from Xuzhou": The people are all grown up, extremely brave and strong, and like to plunder. If they are not satisfied with the slightest thing, they will become arrogant and domineering, and they are not just thieves.
People in Xuzhou start fighting as soon as they disagree with something. There is no such thing as reason.
As a hub between the north and the south, Xuzhou was a battlefield where the southern and northern forces were fighting each other, and wars often occurred in this place.
Many major battles took place in Xuzhou, such as the Battle of Pengcheng during the Chu-Han Contention and the Battle of Xuzhou between Cao Cao and Liu Bei.
Even worse was the frequent flooding of the area, which often left "houses submerged, fields barren, and people displaced."
The Yellow River "bursts its banks every three years and changes its course every hundred years." The change of the Yellow River's course is like a dragon's tail, swinging from Hebei to Jiangsu, and then from Jiangsu back to the riverside, leaving the area in between a swamp.
Due to its geographical location, Xuzhou "was affected along with other counties."
In his first year as mayor of Xuzhou, Su Shi encountered the Yellow River bursting its banks and the water level under the city gate was "28 feet."
There were many droughts after the floods, and there was another severe drought the following year. The citizens were starving and started looting.
This frightened Su Dongpo, such an open-minded man, so much that he packed his bucket and ran away to Huzhou the next year.
I never dare to be an official in Xuzhou again.
Although the world is stable now, Chen Dongling and Manager Chen told everyone to stay in the inn and not go out and play.
If you get into a dispute with people from Xuzhou, it would be like a scholar meeting a soldier, and you would be beaten into a pig's head.
Manager Chen also said: "The people of Xuzhou are brave, resolute and warlike. When the farmers are not busy, they let their children fight in the wheat field, mainly wrestling, which is called "wrestling wheels". When there is a fight in the neighboring villages, the whole village will fight together, either with bare hands or with farm tools. If someone dies, he dies, and the government can do nothing about it."
After a pause, he continued, "We are out in the field, we are unfamiliar with the place, if we get into a quarrel with the locals, we won't be able to find anyone to help us. Even if we punish the murderer severely because of our status, you will die and won't come back alive. We should stay away from people with such tempers that get angry at the slightest thing."
If you don't listen to the old man's advice, you will suffer the consequences. Manager Chen has traveled all over the country and is familiar with the customs of various places. He has never given such a serious reminder in other places.
It seems that people from Xuzhou are really hard to mess with.
So the group of people who were traveling had to squat in the small courtyard of the inn.
It didn’t matter to Sun Shan. He had gotten used to it and was used to this kind of “prison” life.
This was extremely uncomfortable for the lively and active Chen Sange.
After seeing Sun Shan, he said sadly: "I have no freedom, I have lost my freedom, I am heartbroken and tears are flowing..."
Sun Shan: ......
Chen, a middle-aged scholar from the Chen family, sighed and said, "Ten years ago, when I passed through Xuzhou, I was warned to stay in the inn. Ten years later, when I passed through Xuzhou, I was still warned to stay in the inn. It seems that Xuzhou has not changed at all in the past ten years."
Chen Dongling said with a smile: "Brother, the local environment shapes the local people. If the local environment doesn't change, how can the people change? But it's good to be aggressive and brave. At least you won't be bullied."
Fellow villager Lu Yuming shook his head and said, "I still prefer places where people are reasonable. If they are unreasonable, no one will come to this place. How can it prosper if no one comes?"
Sun Shan couldn't help laughing when he saw that they regarded Xuzhou as a scourge.
But it was just a laugh, and he didn't have the chance to play around and see more.
Coming to Xuzhou is the same as not coming to Xuzhou.
After staying for two days, Sun Shan set off on the third day. He witnessed the ferocity and bellicosity of the people of Xuzhou, proving that he had indeed been to Xuzhou.
Manager Chen had arranged the boat, and Sun Shan and others were preparing to board when suddenly a loud noise was heard.
Sun Shan looked in the direction of the sound. At first, there were only a few people arguing. Less than a minute later, hundreds of people gathered to argue. Five minutes later, they started fighting.
Manager Chen looked pale and said nervously, "Hurry up and get on the boat. We'll leave first."
Although everyone in Daqian likes to watch the fun and gossip.
If you encounter a large-scale fight, you should run away immediately if you think your life is too short.
Manager Chen, who was away from home, undoubtedly valued his life and quickly arranged for Sun Shan and his group to leave quickly.
After the boat sailed for a while, the fight was still going on at the dock.
Fortunately, it was at the dock instead of in the village, and fortunately, iron tools were contraband, so the two groups of people at the dock could only fight with bare hands, punching each other.
Sun Shan watched intently, having never seen such a large-scale fight before.
As for the struggle between Sunjia Village and the neighboring village for water, Sun Shan had never witnessed it because he was young.
When I got older, I was either studying or reading, and I had no chance to witness it.
After he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar at the age of thirteen, Sunjia Village became the "bully" in the surrounding area, and no one in the village ever went out to fight together again.
Seeing the men on the dock fighting each other, Sun Shan felt more scared than excited.
He was afraid that he would be dragged into it. With his small body, he would be killed by just a few punches from the big man.
Gui Ge'er, Sun Dingnan, and Sun Dali surrounded Sun Shan in a circle. Even when the boat had been away for a long time, the three of them did not relax.
Gui Ge'er didn't understand and asked, "Brother Shan, why did those people fight?"
Due to the language barrier, when those people were talking, Sun Shan could only hear a miscommunication, and they, the outsiders, could only stare blankly.
Sun Shan could probably guess: "It should be a fight for work."
Two teams may be competing for a porter job, but they cannot reach an agreement, and their tempers are volatile, so they start fighting as soon as they disagree.
If you win the fight, you get a job and don't have to go to jail. If you lose the fight, you not only have to pay for medical expenses, but also lose your job.
This is Sheda’s terminal ecology.
In the end, the truth was almost exactly what Sun Shan had guessed.
Manager Chen told everyone that the two groups just now were relatively large gangs at the dock, and they were fighting over the transportation of cargo on a ship.
Manager Chen didn't know the details, but he warned Sun Shan and others that if they saw such a scene, they would run away with their buckets.