idyllic tranquility

He Ning sat for several hours, the whole person was so quiet that he didn't exist, and even the waiter in the store ignored him.

Unknowingly, it was afternoon tea time, and the number of people in the store increased, and a few people came down from the upstairs room. Suddenly, the inn, which had been quiet for a long time, became lively again.

"Xiao Er, first bring two pots of good wine, and then serve two tables of good food for the gentlemen. The wine must be strong enough and the meat must be full!"

At the entrance of the inn, people arrive before they arrive.

After the man finished speaking, everyone looked up and saw a group of seven or eight strong men entering the door of the inn.

"Okay, wait a moment, guest officer, let's get you some wine and food."

As soon as he saw the big business, Xiao Er immediately became energetic, and the voice of declaring food was three points louder.

"Hey, isn't this Escort Zhao?"

The guards traveled all the year round, met many people, and knew many people.No, just after the group of people waiting to come in chose their seats, someone recognized the leader of the bodyguard.

"Shopkeeper Meng!? What a coincidence, come here, my little brother treats you to a drink."

Escort Zhao is in a good mood, and would like to chat with someone he knows for a while, and exchange the information in hand.So, a self-proclaimed "little brother" instantly shortened the distance between the two.

"Then it's better to be respectful than obedient. Judging by my brother's expression, it's another dart shot smoothly, right?"

"Hahaha, you can't hide anything from Brother Meng's 'poisonous eyes'."

He received a word of praise from others, and the boss Meng was happy but not satisfied. He is an old fritter who has dealt with the mall for many years, and he would not really take other people's greetings seriously.After joking around, Boss Meng continued to ask.

"Brother, are you going to the west again? I heard it's not peaceful there."

coming!

He Ning, who was sitting in the corner, was shocked when he heard the word "west side". Although he didn't turn his head to look at the speaker, he listened intently.

"How can it be? The commotion in the west is so fierce. Although my little brother's life is worthless, I really don't want to take it for a gamble." Xu felt that his words were unpretentious, and Zhao Escort added: "Don't say it." We are now, and now, even several big escort agencies, have seldom accepted errands in the west recently, and we small characters went there, didn't we just serve the robbers?"

"Brother's words are too self-effacing. The strength of Zhao's bodyguards is there, not much worse than those big bodyguards, and their reputation is well known everywhere. You said that the west is not safe, those big bodyguards Naturally, you have to weigh and weigh your own abilities, so proceed with caution."

Shopkeeper Meng's words are definitely exaggerated, but his sincere tone and serious expression give people a feeling that he thinks you are very powerful from the bottom of his heart.

This skillful flattery made Escort Zhao very happy, and he was more willing to have an in-depth conversation.

"Boss Meng is really flattering you. To be honest, brother, I went to the north this time, not the west that I used to go to." Speaking of this, Zhao Escort subconsciously lowered his voice, as if he was saying something big. secret.

"Huh, the north side? You mean the barbarian side?"

Zhao Escort's mysterious expression made shopkeeper Meng realize that the north side mentioned by the other party may not be simple, and the most likely thing is the Beimeng Kingdom.

In recent decades, apart from the regular seasonal turmoil that is about to form on the border between the two countries, the other time periods have been harmonious and peaceful.If there is such a peaceful diplomatic environment, shouldn’t the merchants who come and go have seized the opportunity to make a fortune by doing business?However, almost all the businessmen who travel across the country know that it is okay to do business in the northern cities, but it is better to save money when doing business with the fierce countries in the north.

In the cities in the north that are close to the Beimeng Kingdom, there are some areas where the two countries can trade. The people of the Beimeng Kingdom can only buy and sell bulk commodities with the people of the Xia Kingdom there.But the bad thing is that although the people above put on a face of unlimited trade, their actions are completely opposite.The most obvious thing is that the business tax in those trading areas is frighteningly high, and there is no solid relationship. If you want to do business in the north, let alone make a profit, the remaining travel expenses that can be compensated are good.

Therefore, generally those who do large-scale business do not go to the north, and the escort agencies that help merchants escort goods and commodities do not often go to the north.

"Isn't it? The west side has been in chaos recently, but the north side seems to be more peaceful."

Escort Zhao didn't hide it either, although he compared the two together, there was a hint of a joke in his words, so he didn't think much about it.

"I remember Zhao's bodyguard agency only accepts big business? Why...?"

Boss Meng's words seemed to be wrong, but the two people who were familiar with the business experience in various places understood what the unfinished sentence was.

"Hey, business, there is no distinction between big and small businesses. Big businesses are divided into small businesses, and small businesses are combined to make big businesses!"

Zhao Escort's words seemed simple and meaningless, but after hearing Boss Meng's words, he came to his senses like enlightenment.

"Hahaha, my brother's words are wonderful. It's Meng who is a heretic, so he should punish himself with a drink."

……

Although the conversation between the two had a part of lowering their voices, it was just to increase the mystery, and it was not really shady.Therefore, what the two said was frank, and He Ning wrote down every word without politeness.

Although many parts of these words were slapstick, and some parts were vague, but combined with the context and meaning, He Ning also understood the main content of the conversation between the two.

In addition to sitting here for an afternoon, He Ning roughly summed up the following points:

First of all, there may indeed be natural disasters at the beginning, but the level of the disaster should not be very high, and the time of occurrence is relatively early, probably in the autumn and winter of last year.

Second, after a natural disaster occurs, it may not be promptly remedied by the local official agency, or the remedial measures implemented by the official agency may be disrupted due to other things.In short, something happened, which made the post-disaster situation not only not alleviated, but further aggravated.

Furthermore, the western region is likely to be in chaos until now, and it is still organized and armed chaos.The preliminary judgment may be that many gangs of robbers have sprung up, and it is not ruled out that the local residents have turned into bandits.

After clarifying his thoughts, He Ning also connected the situation he had inquired before and today into a line, and had a general understanding of the situation in the north.However, these did not make He Ning feel relieved, he was a little puzzled, what role did those local and central governing agencies play in such a situation.

Why is it that there are no major actions such as the recent policies issued by the court or the dispatch of local troops to suppress bandits?Instead, what was passed around was all gossip about the prince getting married in the capital, and the minister getting promoted.

He Ning didn't know much about the bureaucracy of this era, and he wasn't familiar with the few ministers that were rumored by the people.Therefore, it is difficult to infer the changes in the court from the transfer and promotion of some officials.

But he knew one thing, the Emperor Xia was getting older, and all the princes were getting married one after another, participating in state affairs, and the battle for the crown prince was bound to intensify.And the peaceful Xia Meng boundary always makes him feel like the calm before the storm.

Under the internal and external troubles, if there is another foreign trouble, Xia Guo's peaceful life for decades may not be able to last.

"Hey..." He Ning couldn't help sighing when he thought that the peaceful days that hadn't passed in a few years were about to leave him, but he was thinking in his heart, go back and make a plan, and make preparations for the war in advance.

He Ning lowered his head and was engrossed in thinking, but he didn't notice that he had become a person on the table at some point.Moreover, the other party not only sat beside He Ning silently, but also brought tea and poured a cup for He Ning.

"This little brother, why are you sighing?"

A deep question interrupted He Ning's contemplation, and what surprised him even more was that the other party was actually sitting next to him.But soon, He Ning recognized this person from the other person's clothing and body shape, as well as the one standing behind him.

These two came later than He Ning, and they had been sitting at the table in front of him with their backs to him.

"Oh, it's nothing, it's just a family matter."

After reacting, He Ning was unwilling to say more, and dispelled the other party's idea of ​​continuing to ask with a blunt sentence.

The man on the side is very young, nearly 20 years old, with a handsome and elegant appearance, and a slender and powerful body.In terms of figure, He Ning dares to say that this person is definitely skinny in clothes and fleshy in clothes; the clothes are simple and plain, and his performance is not ostentatious, but from his demeanor of serving tea and drinking quietly, He Ning can see that the other party's identity is absolutely It's not as ordinary as he appears; plus the fact that the other party can quietly move to his side in front of his eyes (? Isn't he in a daze?) is enough (not) to prove that this person is still a good practitioner.

He Ning just wants to be an ordinary commoner, and doesn't want to provoke such unknown characters who pretend to be pigs and tigers.

As soon as He Ning said his refusal, he felt an angry look shot at him from the attendant behind the man.

Xiao Zhi waved his hands behind him, thinking that the boy in front of him, no, maybe a girl, was more interesting.

In fact, from the moment they sat down, they already knew the situation inside the store like the back of their hands.He Ning sat for an afternoon, but after hearing the conversation between Zhao and Meng, he sighed, Xiao Zhi couldn't help but think about it, and paid attention to the middle-aged man behind him.

It wasn't until he sat in front of He Ning that he realized that this half-grown boy had white skin, red lips, bright almond eyes, and was very delicate and pleasant.Although the content of the "boy" was cold and indifferent, but the three-part childlike voice revealed before the voice change period made people feel suffocated.

At this time, Xiao Zhi could almost conclude that this "boy" in men's clothing and with a man's bun was a woman disguised as a man.If so, what he did just now was indeed a bit abrupt.

Xiao Zhi was about to apologize to Meng Lang just now, but saw that the other party was attracted by the two people who entered the door.