Chapter 5: The Tyrant's Means

  From the moment the sun rises, Fanggu City is bustling like a pot of boiling water. The nomads from various tribes on the grasslands who come to Fanggu City for trade all have joyful expressions on their faces. Trading in Fanggu City is reassuring and comforting because there is a strict Han general who has established strict trading rules, simple yet effective, which can be summed up in four words.

  Fair deal.

  Herders exchanged goods and gold and silver utensils in their hands for tea leaves, salt, and thick and beautiful Shu brocade in the hands of big Sui merchants, each taking what they needed.

  Generally, by noon, the trading is almost over. During this period of time before the city gate closes at nightfall, herdsmen often quickly rush to their favorite places for entertainment, either going to tea houses to pretend to be Han people drinking tea and listening to storytelling, or stripping off their shirts to gamble in the arena, splurging money like dirt, or going to red sleeve brothels to watch the dazzlingly beautiful dances that make one's eyes spin.

  If you're lucky, you might even see Hoshikuzu Chiru, the number one person of Red Sleeve Invitation, dance a flowing flower water sleeve.

  It is said that a prince of a small tribe was amazed by Xiuchuan's Flowing Flower Water Sleeve Dance and immediately ordered people to carry a large box full of gold, silver, and jade to buy Xiuchuan back to his own tribe. As a result, he was ridiculed and called a "small local bumpkin".

  A box of gold and silver jewelry just wants to buy everyone's breath... This thing really makes people feel amused.

  The young tribal prince, enraged with shame, immediately ordered his followers to seize people. Several dozen strong grassland warriors rushed up and prepared to use force, but were all knocked to the ground by a single old cripple who was guarding the gate. On that day, people discovered for the first time that the saying "don't judge a person by appearance" is true. The old cripple, who looked like he might fall over at any moment, had used his right hand alone to break at least three bones of each of the dozens of sturdy grassland warriors.

  And everyone he hit with just one punch, from start to finish in less than a minute.

  The border soldiers who arrived later dragged out all the troublemaking grassland people without saying a word, took them to the foot of Wolf's Milk Mountain and beheaded them one by one in front of Nirvana City. But everyone knew that the wolf cavalry on the side of Nirvana City would never come out to rescue these errant herders. This was an agreement reached between Emperor Yang Yi of Great Sui and Khan M?ngke of the Mongol Empire: any herder who entered Fanggu Castle and committed a crime would have to accept punishment from Great Sui.

  At this time, the wolf riders in Nirvana City would come over to collect the bodies after the Great Yu's border troops withdrew. They would abandon the corpses on Wolf Milk Mountain, leaving them for the wild wolves and vultures to feed on.

  It is said that later the small tribe's Ejin made a disturbance in the Mongol royal court, because he was a relative of Huihui Khatun, the wife of M?ngke Khan. As a result, without M?ngke Khan saying anything, Huihui Khatun directly ordered the Golden Tent guards to drag out that trouble-making Ejin and whip him one hundred times. The unlucky Ejin, who was seriously injured, encountered horse thieves on his way home and died with no intact corpse.

  Of course, everyone knows what's going on with that horse thief.

  Huixiu would not allow anyone to tarnish her reputation, she knew what Mengke Khan hated the most.

  Normally, by the time the sun is high in the south, the herdsmen have all gone to amuse themselves. But today was clearly different, with many Han merchants and grassland herdsmen still gathered in the market, watching the shocking scene with their hearts racing.

  Horse

  Someone actually came to Fanggu City to sell horses!

  Since the great Emperor of Sui and M?nke Khan signed the agreement, trade between the two sides has been booming. However, there are two things that are strictly forbidden, and if discovered, the merchant or herdsman will be put to death immediately.

  The Han people of the Central Plains absolutely must not sell iron tools to the grassland people.

  The people of the grasslands absolutely must not sell horses, especially warhorses, to the people of Central Plains.

  Of course, as the time of bilateral transactions gets longer and longer, the border troops who enforce the law in Fan Gu Cheng will often turn a blind eye. For example, merchants from the Central Plains sell inferior iron pots to the people of the grasslands, and the people of the grasslands sell weak and thin horses that can only pull carts to the Han people. Such transactions are still not punishable even if they are carried out in secret.

  But today is clearly different.

  That merchant wearing a dirty leather robe is selling more than 500 horses, and they are all warhorses that can be fully equipped for an army!

  The reason why the border military police did not arrest this person is that his identity was somewhat special.

  He was not purely a Mongol Yuan Empire herdsman, he was a Northern Liao person.

  The Northern Liao is not even considered a country, but rather a semi-nomadic super tribe living in the mountains with a population of over 100,000. The population is less than one percent of the Mongol Empire's, and it does not border the Great Sui, with a large grassland belonging to the Mongol Empire in between. However, the Northern Liao people are extremely fierce and warlike, living in the harsh environment of the White Mountains and Black Waters for generations, making their character tough and bold. Although they have few warriors, even the Wolf Riders do not dare to provoke them easily.

  Northern Liao was a vassal state of the Mongol Empire.

  Bei Liao and Great Sui had no direct trade exchanges.

  This is the most troublesome thing.

  The Northern Liao envoys had gone to the Great Sui capital Chang'an several times to pay homage to the Great Sui Emperor, expressing their willingness to surrender. However, the emperor never met with them, only letting the officials from the Ministry of Rites entertain them well. When the Northern Liao envoys left, they often received very generous rewards. The court's attitude towards Northern Liao was always unclear.

  So Li Xiaozong was very worried.

  If this matter is not handled properly, it may lead to a dispute.

  Standing on the second floor of the wooden building in the market office, Li Xiaozong waved his hand with some anger and said: "Clear away all those onlookers, whether they are Han people or herdsmen... Close the market! And... Send someone to fetch Fang Jie, quickly!"

  ……

  ……

  Red Mansions

  Red sleeves invite

  No one knows why the excellent song and dance troupe, like Hongxiu Zhuo, chose to settle in this small city of Fanggu at first, and no one would doubt that with such a powerful song and dance troupe, even if they went to Chang'an, they could quickly establish themselves, and it's not impossible for them to become the leader of the song and dance industry in Chang'an.

  Fan Gucheng is too small and too remote. Even if you plant a paulownia branch, how can you attract the golden phoenix?

  For Fan Guccheng, Hong Zhaoyi was indeed a golden phoenix.

  Although they have settled in Fanggu Castle for a year and a half, the origin of Hong Zhuo is still mysterious. No one knows where they came from, nor does anyone know why they chose to settle down in this remote and quiet place.

  Although there is a Red Sleeve Building here, it's undeniable that no matter how luxurious the building is, it can't match up to these heavenly women. Even General Li Xiaozong of Biancheng is still puzzled as to why the owner of Red Sleeve Building would be so foolish as to let them stay without leaving. What's most intriguing is who set the rule that Red Sleeve Building only performs songs and dances but doesn't receive guests.

  On the second floor of Hongxiu Building, directly opposite the stage, there is a luxurious room that is always reserved for someone. No matter whether this person comes or not, this room will never be let to anyone else. Even the master of Hongxiu Building, Fang Jie, cannot easily enter this room.

  The house has a flat roof and his name is also written on the deed.

  But he had neither the right nor the power to enter that luxurious room facing the stage, and not just him, even Li Xiaozong, the commander of Fan Gucheng's army, did not have the right or power to enter this room. Once, Li Xiaozong tried to enter, but he found himself unable to get past that old cripple no matter how he walked.

  Fang Jie had always been curious about who this room was reserved for.

  Even the little maid Xiaoding, who was closest to him, refused to tell him, saying it was a strict order from the two mistresses. There were two mistresses in Hong Xiu's residence, one was Hong Xiu's mistress, Mistress Xi, and the other was naturally Xi Zhuixin, who could dance the Flowing Water Sleeve. Xi Zhuixin was not Mistress Xi's daughter, but shared her surname Xi.

  Idle and having nothing to do, Fang Yexian watched the song and dance in the Hongxiu Pavilion, but couldn't help turning his head to glance at the elegant private room on the second floor. He shook his head and asked Xiaoding, who was sitting next to him cracking melon seeds: "Really won't reveal anything?"

  Xiao Dingdian is indeed a young Dingdian, only twelve or thirteen years old. With rosy lips and pearly whites, she's already a stunning beauty. Although small in stature, she's already beautiful to the point of being almost scandalous. It's said that she's currently studying dance techniques with Xi Chuixin, and it's highly likely that she'll become the next star pupil of Hongxiu Zhaoyi.

  She was Xi Dainiang's personal maid, and her status was far above that of a ordinary maid.

  All the girls in the building are polite to Xiao Ding, not to mention that their monthly dividends are all issued through Xiao Ding. From this point alone, Xiao Ding's status at Red Sleeve is self-evident.

  The little girl wore a goose-yellow velvet skirt and looked extremely cute.

  She cracked a melon seed with her teeth and shook her head, saying very seriously: "Didn't I tell you, this is the one thing that absolutely cannot be said in this building. If Old Mistress Xi finds out that I've been blabbing my mouth off, she'll definitely beat my butt to a pulp."

  "A rotten butt can be cured, but curiosity is something that cannot be suppressed."

  Xiao Ding glared at him and cursed: "How can you be so heartless? You only care about your own curiosity, without considering my butt?"

  As soon as she finished saying this sentence, she suddenly realized something and blushed immediately.

  After a moment of silence, Xiao Ding suddenly came over and asked in a low voice: "Fang Jue Xiao, you didn't come here for nothing, did you take a liking to one of the girls?"

  Fang Jie was taken aback for a moment, then smiled mysteriously.

  "Go on, which one is it? You're not a bad guy, every time you come here you bring me good food, I'll help you out and pull some strings... If it really happens, no matter which girl ends up with you, it's not a bad deal. After all, you're a rich man. And you're not a bad person either, seems like a devoted one."

  "Are you soliciting...?"

  "I won't take your money"

  Xiao Ding said with a serious face.

  *sigh*...

  "Alas, it's true that all fortresses are breached from within. What if I said I've taken a liking to you?"

  Xiao Ding's face turned pale with fright, and he suddenly scolded Fang Jie, pointing at his nose: "Shameless!"

  He burst out laughing: "What kind of thinking is this? I can choose any other girl, but not you? If Xi Da Niang finds out about this, she'll probably spank your butt!"

  "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

  Xiao Ding's momentum suddenly weakened.

  "Alright, then tell me, who is that suite room reserved for?"

  No

  "I'll go see Old Lady Xi right now and tell her you're a pimp!"

  "Don't..."

  "Shall we talk?"

  "It's... it's... ah!"

  Xiao Ding suddenly let out a loud cry, as if someone had touched her butt. Of course, no one in the Hongxiu Inn dared to touch her butt, she was really scared. Fang Jie turned back with some confusion, wanting to see what had scared this silly little girl so much.

  "It is... it's him"

  Xiao Ding's body trembled as he stared at the door, his face filled with incredulity: "He really came... He actually really came!"

  A man stood at the door

  A man who can make Fangirl remember for a lifetime at first sight.

  He wore a pale blue robe with a slightly faded wash, his long hair tied back casually. His eyebrows were like distant mountains, his eyes like the sun and moon, looking extremely clean and refreshing, his face calm, his eyes serene. This was the kind of man who could instantly captivate a group of young girls, around thirty years old, exuding an air of mature charm. Although he wasn't the most handsome man, nor was he the most robust man.

  Some are elegant and refined, while others are uninhibited and free-spirited.

  But judging from his attire, he didn't look like a rich man. What made Fang Jie certain of this was...this person had come in empty-handed, with nothing on him.

  Who would dare enter Hong Xiu's brothel empty-handed? Without a bundle of silver on his back, he wouldn't have the face to enter!

  Of course, Fang Jie often comes over as a landlord to drink tea and freeload.

  It seemed that he had sensed Fang Jie's gaze, and the middle-aged man who looked ordinary but somehow felt handsome also slowly shifted his line of sight over. He glanced at Fang Jie lightly, suddenly raised an eyebrow, couldn't help but take another look, and then let out a very light "hmm".

  "What a tyrannical move!"