Whoever wins the crouching dragon wins the world

In the early morning of the next day, Sima Yi bid farewell to Kong Ming and me outside the city gate of Hanoi with his entourage waiting behind him.

The sky hadn't fully lit yet, because the market didn't open until more than one hour into the night, and there were very few pedestrians entering the city at this time, Kong Ming and Sima Yi were talking about state affairs in a low voice, while I was yawning and looking at the sky and the ground, doing nothing.

"Yesterday's game was really wonderful, but time was limited and I couldn't enjoy it to the fullest. If we get together again in the future, we will invite Mr. Confucius to compete again." A few words flashed across my ears, with a smirk on my face, but my heart was full. I can't understand their excitement about meeting their opponents.It's only been one month in Hanoi, apart from playing chess with Sima Yi every day when the grain is harvested, Kong Ming has no intention of getting bored at all.When they came to bid farewell yesterday, Sima Yi graciously persuaded Kong Ming to stay overnight, playing the so-called ancient endgame against Kong Ming, and the two were in high spirits, talking about chess until dawn.

Because Kong Ming didn't come back all night, I didn't sleep very well last night, and I was woken up when the sky was about to vomit in the morning, and now I'm sleep deprived.Why do they have so much to say... I complained, pursed my lips and couldn't hold back, and yawned again.

Sima Yi looked over suddenly, as if thinking of something extremely funny, and hinted that Kong Ming would look at me: "Brother Kong will inevitably work hard in the future after marrying a wife like this."

Kong Ming smiled broadly: "Since it's a foregone conclusion, we must do our best to take care of her and protect her well."

These two are so annoying!I couldn't help grunting to express my protest, but unfortunately the two "gentlemen" who discussed right and wrong face to face had no self-consciousness of repentance, and they still talked lively with each other.

"It is said that my sister-in-law ordered my wife to peel the zongzi yesterday. After being rejected by my wife, she made trouble unreasonably, but it really made my brother panic..."

"My wife and lord don't remember the faults of villains, but Brother Zhong Da has such a wife and sister, I'm afraid the future will not be easy..."

"My wife is also kind. She wants to support my sister-in-law. She doesn't know the identity of Mrs. Kong..."

I simply thought that I boarded the carriage first, and the conversation outside the carriage took a long time before it ended.

It's been so long that I almost fell asleep!While I was drowsy, the edge of the carriage suddenly lowered a few inches, the curtains were pulled open, and Kong Ming came in short: "Nan Shuang, let's set off now." Looking out from where I was sitting, it was just We can see Sima Yi cupping his fists, bowing to us and saying, "Farewell, Yi, the two of you will cherish the journey together."

"Let's go!" The steed snorted, and accompanied by Lu Laosi's loud singing, the wheels rolled along the ground in a straight line, rumbling forward.

The tragedy of traveling in midsummer repeats itself again.Although it had just rained not long ago, the August sun was still fierce, and we were the only passers-by in a hurry on the deserted avenue.Because Sima Yi sponsored the best horses in Hanoi, our footsteps were much faster than before. The hurried horseshoes rolled up dust and rumbled, and the places we passed were like yellow smoke rising.

"Are you really sure about the coming famine?" There are gratifying crops everywhere in Hanoi. Thinking of the grain that Kong Ming bought with huge sums of money, I can't help but feel a little worried.He didn't really want to collect grain. Both Hanoi and Hongnong were too far away from Jingxiang. It was risky and expensive to transport grain, and it was not cost-effective.Every time he buys grain, he will sign a contract with the grain merchant, agreeing that if the grain cannot be delivered on time, he will need to collect four times the deposit as compensation. In return, he will charge [-]% higher than the market price, and the deposit will be equal to Not small.

In other words, from the very beginning, he just wanted to earn the four times the deposit.

When I first heard about the plan, I was a little confused, so I said, "How do you know they will breach the contract?" breach of contract.

"I watch the stars at night." Kong Ming shook his feather fan triumphantly, promoting his superstition theory for the one hundred and zeroth time, "I once taught you that you can know God's will by looking at the sky. A month ago, I learned from the sky Knowing that this summer's grain harvest is bound to fail, it is doomed for the grain merchants to default."

"You're nonsense!" I didn't believe a word, and expressed my dissatisfaction with the title he gave him when he taught me to read the astrology, "You are a fool of Zhuge, if I believe you, I will be a ghost!"

"Why?" Kong Ming asked with a good temper, "When you were in Nanyang, you didn't fear ghosts and gods, and you didn't believe in celestial phenomena. It's really against common sense."

Because of the low level of science and technology, the ancients were mostly superstitiously dying.Especially women and children with low education level, highly respect divination, stargazing and other methods that can peek into the future. There are few women like me who do not take this knowledge seriously.

"There's no particular reason." After organizing my thoughts, I tried to find an excuse, "I just feel that these calculation methods are too mysterious, and many explanations are ambiguous. They are completely determined by people's subjective will, and there is no fixed interpretation." Just like not long ago, many people observed meteors rushing into Tianshiyuan, because in the Han Dynasty, Tianshiyuan was a market in the heaven, corresponding to the living quarters of the poor, so some so-called celebrities stood up to speak and tried their best to It is believed that this is a sign of catastrophe in the world.However, the official statement is exactly the opposite—in order to stabilize the hearts of the people, they insist that the passing of a meteor is a rare auspicious omen once in a hundred years. The reason is that one of their star masters found a sentence in an ancient book, saying "When the meteor enters the mansion of heaven, the sky will have forgiveness and rewards, the treasury will overflow, the grain will be abundant, and the king will be happy." This is undoubtedly auspicious.

"The princess is really smart." Kong Ming half praised and sighed, and actually agreed with my statement, "The prince once said that astrology is just a weapon for fools, usable but not credible. Although this statement is crude and straightforward, it speaks to the truth."

He didn't hold back any more, and stretched out his hand to open the curtain of the window, leading me to focus on the field.

"What's so good about the wilderness..." I paused.

Luoyang is located in the middle of Hongnong County and Hanoi County, so our trip is equivalent to turning back the same way.The official road under our feet is built parallel to the waterway when we came here. Looking up from a distance, you can still see sparkling lights not far away, but the farmland sandwiched between the land and the Yellow River has changed beyond recognition.A month ago, they were still golden, but now they are withered, yellow, sparse and decayed.Counting the farming season, the double robbing should be in the final stage, but there are no traces of farmers in the field, not even seedlings, leaving only a mess.

"What happened?" I was stunned.

"It's migratory locusts." Kong Ming patiently explained, "This summer's high temperature and hot flashes are just right for the larvae to grow. This locust plague started from the south of the Yellow River. Now it is just about to start, but it has already caused a small-scale crop failure. The promulgation of the countermeasures will further worsen the situation.” He said that locusts live in groups and like to fly in groups, and if they meet a convoy in the wild, it is easy to frighten the horses and cause accidents.That's why Sima Yi specially replaced us with well-trained war horses for safety's sake to prevent accidents from happening.

"But why didn't I hear any news when I was in Hanoi?" The scene of devastated lives in front of me was in stark contrast to the tranquility and peace of Hanoi.

"The government has blocked the news." Kong Ming smiled, with deep meaning in his eyes, "The local government is afraid of affecting its political performance, so it conceals it. However, migratory locusts are greedy and act swiftly. After half a month, it will start a prairie fire."

Where to hide!The locusts traveled eastward along the Yellow River, and when Kong Ming and I arrived in Luoyang, even Gunzhou and other places fell.

The lives of the people are devastated, and the mourning is everywhere, but that's it.