The devil is coming

Chapter 85 Mourning Hall
Nanwang City is much larger than Tuman City.
Rather than saying this is an important border town, it is more like Shenzhen.
Business travel is constant, the population is dense, and industry and commerce are extremely developed.
It is not difficult to explain why the fort system including Cuiliu Fort is so depleted. This Yinlang County still has half the atmosphere of a border county. It is simply the wealthy little Jiangnan of Dayan.
Zheng Fan closed the window and no longer looked at the hustle and bustle on the street.
When a new official took office, except for the veteran Tie Sanzhu, no one lit the fire for Zheng Fan;
But you still have to meet your boss.
Zheng Fan does not intend to be Dayan's lone minister, at least, he is not interested now, so he brought two boxes of silver ingots with him this time.
Xiao Dahai, the commander-in-chief of Nanwang City, is the person Zheng Fan came to establish relations with this time.
Since he came with money, he couldn't make such a big show of it. Zheng Fan simply brought Fan Li and A Ming, a total of three people, and first found an inn to settle down in Nanwang City, and then prepared to see the situation and invest. Famous post.
"Squeak..."
The door of the inn was pushed open, and Fan Li walked in with a lot of food in his hand, and said cheerfully:
"My lord, Beihou cakes, Beihou fried dough sticks, Li family buns..."
Although the Zhenbei Hou lineage has been stationed in the north of the town for hundreds of years, they are extremely popular in Yinlang County. After all, the ancestral home of the Li family is Yinlang County.
Because of this, many snacks in Yinlang County are related to Zhenbeihou or the Li family. It's a bit like the snack shops in various places in later generations. You can always see the bulletin board saying that Qianlong ate my family's snacks when he went to Jiangnan. What a lot of praise and so on.
Zheng Fan took two Li family buns from Fan Li and said while eating:
"In the afternoon, we'll go vote for the names."
There are still a lot of things waiting to be dealt with at Cuiliu Fort. We can't let everyone live in tents all the time. Are they here to get promoted and make a fortune or are they here to escape?
A Ming didn't eat anything and was still trimming his nails patiently. After listening to Zheng Fan's words, he nodded.
"You don't eat?"
Zheng Fan remembered that A Ming used to eat even Maoxuewang, but now he feels a little bit otherworldly.
A Ming smiled and said:
"Well, thank you Lord for your concern. I can carry it for many days with a full meal."
As he spoke, A Ming licked the corners of his mouth subconsciously.
"Don't overeat, try to eat more regularly."
"Yes."
A Ming nodded in agreement, and then continued to trim his nails.
"Should I change my clothes?"
Zheng Fan pointed at the sweatshirt he was wearing.
Beifeng County is a place where all kinds of people gather, so it doesn't matter how fancy your clothes are, but here in Yinlang County, the folk customs are a bit "simple".
"I'll look for it."
A Ming stood up, went to the package of the three of them, rummaged through it, found a white gown, and handed it to Zheng Fan.
Dayan is still black, but because Yinlang County is close to Qian Kingdom, it is inevitable to be tainted with a little "literary style". Scholars or aristocratic family members here also like to wear a pure white gown or robe when going out.
The clothes were prepared by Siniang for Zheng Fan before she came. According to the plan, she would stay in Nanwang City for at most two days and go back after settling down the relationship, so she didn't bring too many clothes.
After changing his clothes, Zheng Fan opened his arms and admired himself.
Fan Li, who had just put the last piece of Beihou cake in his mouth, looked at Zheng Fan and smiled silly;
"Ali, how are you? Do you look like a scholar?" Zheng Fan asked.
Fan Li nodded vigorously,
Road:
"Like mourning."
"..." Zheng Fan.
...
"Actually, are you really mourning?"
At the entrance of the Nanwang City General Military Mansion,
It was hung with white lanterns, and the servants standing at the door were all wearing white clothes. Guests who came to express their condolences kept coming in and out.
Zheng Fan stood in the front, A Ming stood beside Zheng Fan, and Fan Li stood at the back carrying two boxes of silver ingots.
"A Ming."
"Ah."
"Go to the nearby merchants and ask who is the person from the General Military Mansion who died."
"Yes, my lord."
After a while, A Ming came back and said calmly:
"My lord, it's Xiao Dahai who died. He said he died of illness last night."
After confirming the news, Zheng Fan was really dumbfounded. After hesitating for a while, Zheng Fan still felt that since he was here, he had to go up to pay homage and give his share of the memorial money.
"A Ming, do you have any money on you?" Zheng Fan asked.
"I don't take money with me when I go out."
Zheng Fan looked at Fan Li again and said:
"Ali, give me all the money you have left."
Ali placed the two boxes on the ground and pretended to open them.
"Don't, don't, don't touch that money."
Fan Li scratched his head in confusion. Didn't he ask him to carry this money and give it to the Commander-in-Chief?
"When he was alive, it was no problem to send two boxes. Now that he is dead, just..."
A Ming on the side answered:
"Depreciated."
"Yes, it has depreciated."
Fan Li nodded and said:
"Yes, dead chickens are cheaper than live chickens in the market."
Zheng Fan stepped forward, stretched out his hand and took out some broken silver from Fan Li's body, which was left over from when Fan Li bought food on the street.
I weighed it in my hands and felt the weight.
"Almost, that's all. Ali, you carry the money back to the inn. A Ming, you and I go in to express our condolences. By the way, Ali, wash your mouth after you return to the inn. I feel like your mouth has opened up today."
Fan Li nodded and obediently picked up the pole again and headed back to the inn.
Zheng Fan walked into the gate of the General Military Mansion with A Ming.
There was a servant leading the way at the door. After entering the inner door, there was a long table with five or six civil servants sitting on it.
Zheng Fan stepped forward and handed over the silver in his hand.
The clerk in charge of registering Zheng Fan looked at the pieces of silver and was stunned for a moment. After the death of the Commander-in-Chief, all the respectable people in Nanwang City would come to express their condolences, but he was still the first person to send memorial money like this. encountered.
To use an inappropriate analogy, it would be equivalent to attending someone else’s wedding in a later life and holding a handful of five- and ten-dollar gifts when giving them.
However, the people in the General Military Mansion were indeed of high quality and they still followed the rules. They first took out a small scale and weighed the broken silver, then turned the book of favors to Zheng Fan, and at the same time handed over a pen, indicating that Zheng Fan would leave it here. Write your name.
Zheng Fan signed his name and turned the book of favors to the clerk.
The civil servant lowered his head and looked down. He smacked his lips. He had never heard of a high-ranking official named Zheng in Nanwang City. Of course, a high-ranking official would not send pieces of silver as a memorial tribute, but he still reminded:
"Excuse me, please leave your place of birth. If you have an official status, please leave your official status."
This is the exchange of favors, what comes and goes.
Zheng Fan shook his head and said:
"No need, the boy's family is in decline. He was favored by the Commander-in-Chief. However, his official career was not going well and the family business was difficult to prosper. Hearing the bad news about the Commander-in-Chief, he borrowed some money and came over to express his gratitude. The rest of the traces are unknown. It’s okay to stay.”
When A Ming, who was standing behind, heard these words, he lowered his head slightly to make his smile less obvious.
I also have some emotions in my heart,
When Zheng Fan first woke up, he didn't even dare to leave the inn, but now he seems to have completely integrated into this world.
When the civil servant heard this, he stood up and raised his hands to Zheng Fan. He looked deeply moved and said sincerely:
"Respect and justice are high."
"you are welcome."
After saying that, Zheng Fan pointed inside and said, "Let me go and put the incense sticks on your Excellency."
"Please."
Zheng Fan no longer hesitated and turned around and entered the inner house. In the inner house, banners were hung everywhere, paper money and ashes were flying everywhere, and the air was filled with the strong smell of incense candles.
More than 30 Taoist priests were reciting sutras. However, because it was the first day and there were many guests who came to express their condolences, they just sat cross-legged and recited sutras quietly without any real "practice".
In the corridor, Zheng Fan saw a man wearing a blue gown sitting there. The man was about thirty years old, very tall and had sharp edges. Although he was sitting there, he had a heroic aura about him. .
The reason why Zheng Fan paid special attention to this person was not because he was forced by his "heroic spirit".
Simply because this person looked a bit familiar, coupled with this ancient style of dress, Zheng Fan couldn't help but think of Lu Bu in the old version of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Well, he was later the leader of the [-]th Regiment.
The other party seemed to have felt Zheng Fan's gaze. Not only did he look directly at Zheng Fan, he immediately stood up and walked towards Zheng Fan.
The moment he stood up, Zheng Fan also noticed that the other party seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
This detail made Zheng Fan seem to see himself back then.
At the beginning, I was obsessed with creating comics in the studio. In fact, I was a standard otaku. Sometimes I would look like this when I went out to attend some public events.
It's very embarrassing. When you sit there, you don't know what you are going to do. You can only pretend to be calm and play with your phone, as if your phone is such a fun thing.
At this time, if someone can chat with me, talk, and have a few conversations, even if I sell comics and you sell floor tiles, we can have a lively conversation. Anyway, we are all making a living in the grid.
"My dear friend, are you from the military?" The other party took the initiative to greet Zheng Fan.
Having been a captain for such a long time, I am used to giving orders all the way from north to south, so I naturally have such a smell on my body.
In fact, Zheng Fan feels that there is another most important reason, that is, after wearing the armor for a long time, its shaping effect is much better than that of any back. Even if you take off the armor, your walking and standing posture will be different. There is a big difference from ordinary people.
Zheng Fan immediately raised his hand and responded: "Yes, I am the new guard of Cuiliu Fort, Zheng Fan."
"Oh? What a coincidence, I have the new garrison of Ji Tui Fort, Zuo Jiqian."
Chicken drumstick?
good,
It’s also considered my family,
He is a chicken burger.
Anyway, Zheng Fan is no longer interested in complaining about the Yan people's ability to name names, and he doesn't blame Rengan people for laughing at you for being uneducated and acting like a KFC.
In fact, Ji Tui Fort was named in memory of the general named Ji who refused to retreat despite knowing that there were no reinforcements in the rear during the Northern Expedition of the Qianguo army a hundred years ago and died in the battle.
"Brother Zheng is also here to express condolences to the Commander-in-Chief?"
"Exactly."
Zheng Fan felt that there was something wrong with the guy in front of him, or that he simply didn't know what to say.
There's a funeral here. Is it possible that I'm not here to express my condolences or to have an outing?
"Oh, the prefect ahead and more than a dozen family heads near Nanwang City are offering their condolences. I'd better wait."
Oh, and there’s still a line.
Zheng Fan nodded, walked to where Zuo Jiqian was sitting before, and sat down as well. A Ming took the initiative to stand behind Zheng Fan.
After Zuo Jiqian sat down, he immediately faced Zheng Fan, smiled, and pursed his lips. He was probably anxiously looking for a topic and whether to stay silent.
Seeing this, Zheng Fan took the initiative and said:
"Where is Brother Zuo from?"
"The powerful Zuo family."
Zheng Fan raised his chin slightly and said, "You are a rich second generation."
There are seven counties in Yan State, and there are many families. There are many people with the same surname. Some of them may have been one family hundreds of years ago and later branched off. But most of the people with the same surname have nothing to do with each other. Therefore, when introducing yourself, in order to distinguish yourself, you will often say " Add a prefix in front.
For example, a certain house in a certain place.
Just like the Zhang family in Guangdong and Guangxi and the Zhang family in Yangjiawa,
Can it be the same?
Zheng Fan suddenly thought of a question and asked:
"Brother Zuo, does your Chicken Leg Fort still have its walls?"
Upon hearing this question, Zuo Jiqian immediately showed a bitter smile on his face, shook his head and said:
"To be honest, Brother Zheng, I just took office not long ago. It took me a long time to find my station. Except for the rammed earth, not even a brick was left for me."
"That's okay for me. I have a lot of bricks there."
Zheng Fan felt much better when there were people worse off than himself.
"Brother Zheng, where is your ancestral home?"
"I am from the North and have no family background."
No family background means no family background. Zheng Fan did not say that he was from a poor family. In fact, in ancient times, a poor family did not refer to ordinary people. According to the standards of later generations, it is almost the same as your parents are both division-level cadres. It can be called a humble family.
As for ordinary people's homes further down...you don't even have a door.
"Northland?" There was no look of disdain on Zuo Jiqian's face. This young man from a wealthy family had excellent self-cultivation, and he looked like an honest person at first glance.
Zheng Fan added:
"Northland is actually just one door."
Zuo Jiqian opened his mouth, his body trembled slightly, and said:
"Brother Zheng is from the Hou Mansion?"
Zheng Fan nodded slightly, implicitly and politely.
"Disrespect, disrespect!"
After all,
Zuo Jiqian actually stood up again and saluted Zheng Fan.
Road:
"The Hou family has suppressed the barbarians for hundreds of years, and all our soldiers in Great Yan look up to them!"
"Brother Zuo, you're welcome, you're welcome."
Zuo Jiqian sat down again and immediately spoke again:
"Brother Zheng, as far as I know, many other forts have recently sent new guards. I feel that the court intends to reorganize the Yinlang County defense line and plans to go south..."
Zheng Fan reached out, patted Zuo Jiqian's shoulder, and said meaningfully:
"Brother Zuo, you and I are both soldiers, not those scholars."
"Brother Zheng is right, he is right, it's me, Meng Lang."
At this time, Zheng Fan saw a group of guests coming out of the mourning hall after paying their condolences.
"Brother Zuo, let's go lay some incense sticks for the Commander-in-Chief first, and later we'll find a wine shop to have a detailed discussion."
"Okay, it's exactly what I want."
Zheng Fan and Zuo Jiqian walked towards the mourning hall. When they entered, they saw a tall and thin man comforting the widow and his filial son. Behind the tall and thin man, there were more than ten old people standing.
Zuo Jiqian lowered his voice and said to Zheng Fan:
"That person is Mr. Lin, the magistrate of Nanwang City, and he is surrounded by the heads of the nearby big clans."
Zheng Fan nodded, and he and Zuo Jiqian stepped forward to take the incense.
The mourning hall is very big.
A fine sandalwood coffin was placed in the center.
Perhaps it was because there were too many guests to express their condolences, and the Yan people were not very fond of etiquette, so in pursuit of efficiency, incense tables were placed around the coffin.
This is equivalent to increasing the number of security checkpoints from one to four to facilitate the flow of people.
Even so, people standing nearby waiting to offer incense still surrounded the mourning hall several times.
Especially the prefect, who was still doing a show of being friendly to the people, and accompanied by so many patriarchs of nearby prominent clans, hindered the evacuation of people.
But no one dared to rush them, and they even had to match their expressions.
When the prefect is serious, everyone must be serious. When the prefect smiles, everyone must smile to the same degree.
Zheng Fan was almost dizzy from the smoke, and he felt a little regretful. He would have known that he would come in and wander around twice before leaving. He had to put some incense on it, and he didn't come here to draw a lottery.
At this time, A Ming, who had been standing behind Zheng Fan, suddenly put his mouth to Zheng Fan's ear and whispered:
"Lord, there is a voice in the coffin."
Zheng Fan's eyes immediately focused, he tilted his head back slightly and said:
"you sure?"
"determine."
Exclude the unrealistic possibility that the family members of the General Soldier deliberately threw the pet dog or cat that the General Soldier had during his lifetime into the coffin to keep him company.
That can only mean one thing...
Zheng Fan suddenly felt what was going on in this world. He was in the north, and it was understandable that the barbarians liked to play with corpses. Why did he encounter corpse scammers again in the south?
"If I had known earlier, I would have asked Liang Cheng to come with me."
Zheng Fan joked.
When a zombie meets a zombie, it's like a fellow villager meets a fellow villager, and they can always chat with each other.
However, at this moment,
The mutation happened suddenly!
"boom!"
A loud bang came,
The coffin lid suddenly shot into the air,
Everyone in the mourning hall immediately shouted,
immediately,
A hand was raised from inside the coffin,
The palm of his hand held something like a ball with many dense pores on it.
Before anyone could react,
There was a "click" sound inside the ball,
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!!"
Countless fine needles shot out from inside the ball in all directions!
At the critical moment, A Ming grabbed Zheng Fan's shoulders and pulled Zheng Fan back while actively blocking in front of Zheng Fan.
"Ahhh!!!"
"Ahhh!!"
"Ahhh!!"
In the mourning hall, countless screams were heard.
Zheng Fan also felt that A Ming's body in front of him trembled several times. Apparently, he also received several injections.
"hiss…………"
During the chaos in the mourning hall,
A Ming took a breath first,
Then he deliberately turned his head and glanced at Zheng Fan, who was protected by him behind him.
asked:
"Lord, I didn't hear what you just said clearly. Can you say it again?"
----
Thank you Si Yan for becoming the 54th alliance leader of "Demon Arrival"!
Well, in addition, occasionally driving can cultivate your sentiments. Don't drive too much in the barrage. Originally, the names of Yinlang County and Cuiliu Castle were not explained by the number of words...
Well, please write more useful comments, please, knock on the blackboard!
(End of this chapter)