Chapter 51: The Single Character Military Strategy

  Last time I wrote, Jiang Zhenzi finished telling the story behind Chen Qiao's mutiny, and all the brothers suddenly understood.

  Jiang Zhenzi sighed and said: "One drink, one bite, each has its own share; cause and effect cycle, reward and punishment are not missed. The elder brother was 'crowned with a yellow robe' by the younger brother. After the elder brother ascended to the throne, he handed over military power with a cup of wine. Later on, it became 'the shadow of candles and the sound of axes', the younger brother killed the elder brother after drinking wine, and also came up with 'crowning with a yellow robe'. Who is more ruthless and more fierce? It can be said that among the ruthless there are even more ruthless ones, and among the fierce there are even more fierce ones!"

  After sighing, Jiang Zhenzi said to his brothers: "I told you the story of 'Chen Bridge Mutiny' for two reasons. Firstly, I want you to know that when looking at things, don't just look at the surface, think more; secondly, this 'Chen Bridge Mutiny' is also the first chapter of the 'One-Character Military Strategy' that I will teach you."

  Niu Gao smiled and said: "Is there really a 'single-character military strategy'?"

  Jiang Zhenzi's face twitched a few times, seemingly slightly annoyed, and said: "That's natural, but to learn the 'One Character Martial Arts' you need to have a medicinal guide, only then can you enter the door."

  Wang Gui burst out laughing beside him: "Studying the art of war still needs a medicine guide, this is unheard of, Jiang Da you're really something else."

  Jiang Zhenzi lost his patience and said, "Whether you learn or not is up to you. Inside Bianliang City, five blocks north of Wufu Street, there's a street called Silk Fabric Street. The entire street is lined with shops selling all sorts of clothing-related goods: fabrics, ready-made clothes, tailoring services, and various accessories. What you need for your martial arts training is a large Qinghua Gong silk cloak, and the only place to get authentic ones is on Silk Fabric Street. On that street, there's an old shop called 'Longxing Hang' with the best quality clothes and fabrics."

  Jiang Zhenzi said, suddenly stood up and continued: "It's not even half past the hour of Wu, you must bring back the medicine guide to my inn before noon, if it's late, it's your own fault, you handle it yourself." After finishing speaking, he didn't even settle the bill, turned around and walked out of the small inn, returning to the city.

  Yue Fei and his brothers were left staring at each other in confusion, bewildered.

  Wang Gui said: "Brothers, this big fat guy won't be bluffing and got exposed by me, so he ran away in a huff?"

  Yang Zai Xing said: "Dà Pàng Zi should be serious about it, otherwise he wouldn't have brought us to this kind of place so early in the morning."

  Yue Fei nodded and said, "Brother Yang is right. Let's not bother with the rest for now, let's go buy a cloak first and see how he explains himself later. However, time is a bit tight now, so let's hurry up."

  The brothers all agreed and settled their accounts, then they mounted their horses and rushed back to Bianliang City.

  Yue Fei and his brothers were all riding fast horses, and within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea after Jiang Zhen left, they were already chasing with all their might. However, they couldn't catch up with that big fat man, which was also a strange thing.

  Back in the city, after asking around and spending some more time, I finally found Silk Street and the "Longxing Bank" that Jiang Zhenzi mentioned. At this point, it was probably still an incense stick's worth of time before noon.

  Longxing Store is an old brand, located in the middle section of Silk Street, which is considered to be the most prosperous area. Longxing Store has two storefronts on the street, one selling fabric and the other selling ready-to-wear clothes.

  Yue Fei and his entourage dismounted their horses, tied them in front of the store, and entered the clothing store.

  As soon as you enter, the first thing you see is the cashier's counter, and inside are all kinds of clothes.

  It's indeed an old brand, with a wide variety of clothing inside, dazzling to the eye, suitable for men and women, young and old. Except for Yang Zai Xing, several brothers were from small towns, seeing so many clothes for the first time, it was also an eye-opener. Niu Gao even saw some bellybands and fur coats used by women, grinning from ear to ear...

  In front of the wardrobe, several attendants were greeting guests, and in the innermost part, there was an accountant who was tapping on an abacus.

  Several brothers were watching, an old fellow came up and asked: "What would you gentlemen like to buy?"

  This old fellow is slightly hunchbacked, with white temples and a kind face, gentle in manner. He matches this old brand perfectly.

  Wang Gui asked his old friend: "Do you have any large-sized blue and white porcelain tribute satin cloaks?"

  "What? Speak louder." The old fellow leaned sideways and put his ear to Wang Gui's mouth: it was clear that the old fellow was a bit hard of hearing.

  "Is there a large-sized blue flower tribute cloak?" Wang Gui asked his old friend in a loud and clear voice, enunciating each word carefully.

  Old fellow listened carefully this time and hastily said: "Yes, yes, please wait a moment, sir." He turned around to the wardrobe beside him and took out several cloaks.

  Wang Gui casually picked up a piece of clothing and put it on, feeling quite comfortable and looking good. At this moment, a young fellow suddenly walked over and said: "Sir, my boss asked me to find you to borrow five taels of silver to buy fabric next door and send it back to the countryside."

  "Hmm" Wang Gui didn't think much and took out a piece of white silver to hand over to the fellow, continuing to try on clothes. The fellow ran off to the side to sell fabric at another store.

  "Come on, let's hurry up and buy it, don't dawdle."

  Wang Gui asked the old fellow: "How much is this windbreaker?"

  "Wait a minute." The old fellow turned around and asked the accountant inside, "How much is this large Qinghua Gongjin cloak that the guest tried on?"

  "Seventeen strings of cash," replied Mr. Guan loudly, his voice slightly hoarse.

  Niu Gao was taken aback and stuck out his tongue. Zhang Xian said from the side, "That Jiang Da Bao clearly wants to fleece us badly."

  The shop assistant seemed not to have heard clearly and asked again: "How much money?"

  "Seventeen kan of copper cash."

  "Did you hear that?" said the old fellow to Wang Gui, "eleven strings of cash in total."

  "How much?" Wang Gui could hardly believe his ears.

  Old chap's left hand clenched into a fist, right hand stretched out with index finger, "Didn't hear clearly? Eleven silver coins, young man, your ears are worse than mine."

  Wang Gui and Zhang Xian exchanged a glance, then took out the silver and placed it on the counter in front of them. "This is eleven taels of white silver." After saying that, he picked up his cloak and left.

  "Hey, won't you bring some over and wrap them up?" The old fellow asked as he chased after.

  "It doesn't matter." Wang Gui chuckled and quickly walked out of the store. The other brothers followed him out of the door, mounted their horses and rushed to "Jiang Zhenzi Anju Merchant Inn".

  Back at the inn, a fellow came up to deliver a message: "The master is waiting for you gentlemen in the elegant parlour on the second floor."

  Yue Fei and his brothers went upstairs to the second floor, where they saw that Jiang Zhen had already served wine and dishes, set out bowls and chopsticks, and was quietly waiting for them.

  The brothers sat down and exchanged a few pleasantries with Jiang Zhenzi, just as they were about to pour the wine. Suddenly, Jiang Zhenzi said: "Hold on to drinking and eating meat, let me first talk about the rules."

  All the brothers looked at Jiang Zhenzi, and Niu Gao spoke up: "Old fatty, if you're going to drink, just drink, why so many rules?"

  Jiang Zhenzi's face was stern as he said, "This wine table is called the Heroic Feast, and it's to be paired with your medicine. Your medicine has six levels: A, B, C, D, E, and F. This wine table has five dishes of meat: chicken, goose, duck, pork, and beef, plus fine wine, making a total of six items. The level of your medicine determines how many dishes you can eat. If your medicine is the highest grade, then you can finish this entire wine table; if it's the lowest grade, then you're on your own to drink water."

  How many dishes can Yue Fei and his brothers eat? To be continued next time.