Chapter 26 Preparation before Promotion Not all the apprentices in the inner courtyard could have a room of their own. After asking clearly, Li Yuan thought about it and decided to go to the middle courtyard and live with Fatty Sun. At least I can have a free meal. "The Divine Weapon Valley, the Heaven of Zhelong Mansion." Li Yuan never left his hammer and walked back to the front yard weighing the master carpenter's hammer. On the way, he was still digesting the information that Old Zhang had said. He was greatly shaken and seemed a little dazed. "I'm afraid Qin Xiong has known this news for a long time, so Niu Gui came to the Middle Court not only for the Inner Court... If it is really postponed for a year, I'm afraid he will miss it." Li Yuan felt a little cold in his heart, and a little lucky. If he really concealed his incompetence and avoided Tang Tong for a year, without being noticed by Tang Tong and becoming Zhang Ben's disciple, then by the time he knew that the Divine Weapon Valley was recruiting disciples, it would be too late. "Connections, intelligence, and the importance of showing your talent." It was already dark, and there were only a few apprentices left standing and dancing with hammers on the martial arts field in front of the central courtyard. Li Yuan reflected on himself, and tried to figure out how he would act in the future. The differences between past and present lives are not only in language, writing, environment, customs and habits, but also in the way people behave. Adjustments and changes are inevitable.
…… When we returned to the courtyard, Fatty Sun, who had not drunk much before, had already set up the table. There were four dishes and a soup, chicken, duck, meat and wine, which was much richer than in the morning. "Thank you for the hospitality, chef." As usual, Li Yuan filled Fatty Sun's glass first and toasted with a smile. "Don't call me chef. My name is Sun Hao. If you like, just call me Brother Sun." Fatty Sun responded with a smile. Of course Li Yuan accepted the advice. He was still grateful to Fatty Sun. The money he used to buy medicine for the breathing method in the past few months came from him. If it weren't for Fatty Sun, his progress in learning martial arts would have been somewhat compromised. "Come on, eat!" "Another drink." The two of them were toasting each other, and were much more harmonious than before. Both of them had big appetites, and even though they had eaten at a banquet not long ago, they could still fill their stomachs at this time. "You know about the Divine Weapon Valley, right?" Fatty Sun burped. Li Yuan nodded: "The Divine Weapon Valley will open its gates next year, but I estimate that it will be difficult to enter." “It’s difficult, but this opportunity is so rare.” Fatty Sun was a little drunk and a little envious: "In the past few years, the Divine Weapon Valley only recruited children under the age of twelve. Not only did they have to have excellent physiques, but they also had to pay three hundred taels of silver..." “That’s pretty harsh.” Li Yuan was a little shocked.
A person with superior root bones is at least one in a thousand, if not ten thousand. There are more than 200,000 households in Gaoliu County, including the townships and villages below it, and there may not be many people with superior root bones every year. Not to mention three hundred taels of silver. In the entire Gaoliu County, there are not many families that can take out so much cash at once. "Harsh? You still don't understand the importance of the Divine Weapon Valley." Fatty Sun said with awe: "For so many years, the wealthy families in the inner city have all been proud to send their children to Zhelong Mansion. For this opportunity, they would not hesitate to spend all their wealth!" Even more exaggerated than the exam editor... Li Yuan understood a little, but also felt it was weird. Thousands of years in the past, it was rare to find local forces that were more powerful and popular than the imperial court. The Divine Weapon Valley was simply a country within a country. "Qiu Long, you know that, right?" Fatty Sun asked. "The commander of the Gaoliu County Army?" Li Yuan had some impression. After the nine murders that year, the commander returned to the city with three hundred guards patrolling the streets. The grand scene left a deep impression on him. "He is a disciple of the Divine Weapon Valley. He came down the mountain and returned to Gaoliu City a few years ago. Now, his family is the most prominent family in the inner city. People from all walks of life have to send him expensive gifts every year..." As he spoke, Fatty Sun lowered his voice: "I heard that even the bandits outside the county have to pay him a large sum of money every year, and even the 'Venomous Snake Gang', which claims to have thousands of members, is no exception. I was afraid that he would wipe them out. I even heard from Lin Dianshi that he would give him a percentage of the city’s tax money…” "This……" Li Yuan was a little stunned. I didn't know what to say for a moment, but I had a deeper understanding of the deterrent power of the Divine Weapon Valley. It's fine for the bandits to pay "protection fees", and it's not uncommon to raise bandits for self-protection in the past, but how can you collect taxes? Is this still a sect? It is simply a local vassal state, a country within a country. "If you can enter the Divine Weapon Valley, that would be like a fish leaping over the dragon gate, soaring into the sky!" Fatty Sun's face was flushed, and he patted his chest: "If you need my help, just tell me. I will never hesitate!" He spoke so heroically that Li Yuan took him for granted and raised his glass to toast: "Then leave the gold matter to..." "Hiccup~" Fatty Sun was no longer drunk, and his head shook like a rattle: "What? You, you want gold? No, no, absolutely not..."
…… …… No, not that there isn't. Fatty Sun brought a surprise, exchanging an IOU for one or two taels of gold, and left the house with the latter's painful look. "I have one tael of gold, but I still need silver and pig iron. Pig iron is easy to get. I have the master's relationship with me, so I won't show off. It's only a few thousand pounds, so it's not difficult to get it. But this silver..." Playing with the master craftsman's hammer, Li Yuan pondered. He had a silver note of 100 taels from Qianbao, but he had to exchange it for silver. And in Gaoliu County, there was only one silver shop in the inner city called "Yuanda Piaohao". "If I were a yamen runner, Qin Xiong, I would definitely keep an eye on anyone trying to withdraw cash..." Li Yuan walked through the streets and alleys and came to the inner city. The inner and outer cities are separated by a wall and have similar layouts. From the outside, the only difference is that the streets are cleaner and the clothes of pedestrians are cleaner. But to go from the outer city to the inner city, you have to pay a copper coin as an entrance fee. "So naked..." Pinching his nose and taking out the money, Li Yuan found a secluded place, stuffed the gold into his Liuhe boots, and threw it back on the gray stone platform. He felt uneasy placing his valuables anywhere except the Liuhe boots. Even when he came to the inner city, he was still carrying the Master Craftsman's Hammer, and he couldn't let it go. "The inner city is so lively. It's only the New Year and all the stalls are already set up..." Yuanda Bank is located in the middle of Xingyuan Street. The plaque on the door is very eye-catching. However, Li Yuan did not go near it. He just watched from a distance. The inner city is very prosperous and crowded. He looked around a few times, but he didn't know if there were people from the government or Qin Xiong following him. "Although there may not be anyone watching me, it's unnecessary to take risks if you can avoid it..." After wandering around for a while, Li Yuan shook his head, turned around and left Xingyuan Street. …… …… "Brother Qiu, after all these days, is there no clue about the thief?" Opposite the Yuanda Bank, in a private room on the third floor of the teahouse, Qin Xiong asked with a serious face. "That thief Nian Jiu has not been arrested yet, and the government is really short of manpower. I can't take care of him for the time being. I hope Brother Qin can forgive me." Qiu Da glanced at the Yuanda Bank across the street: "I sent two brothers to wait here for ten days. Magistrate Lu was quite dissatisfied and ordered them to be recalled several times to search for the big thief Nian Jiu..." Qin Xiong's face turned black. He wanted to rage but he had no choice but to knock on the table angrily:
"If Liang Ashui can't be arrested, what about Li Yuan? He also has a loan relationship with Qian Bao, and his martial arts skills are good enough, so he is also a suspect!" On the day of the inner court assessment, he became suspicious after seeing Li Yuan perform amazing hammer skills. Before Qian Bao got into trouble, he followed his instructions and went to threaten Li Lin. "Although Zhang Ben has not yet achieved internal strength, he has accumulated a lot of connections through his years of blacksmithing. If you don't want to provoke him, then I am willing to do so?" Qiu Da put down his teacup and his expression turned cold: "Don't forget, my uncle's Broken Dragon Sword was repaired by Zhang Ben!" After a disagreement, both of them snorted coldly and were about to disperse. At this time, a yamen runner trotted up the stairs and first glanced at Qin Xiong. Qiu Da nodded and then said: "A brother said that two days ago, someone pawned a hundred-liang silver note at the Jinyi Pawnshop for ninety-three liang!" "?!" (End of this chapter)
