Chapter 181 Be Prepared for Danger in Times of Peace

Just as Lord Liu was flirting with his beautiful concubine, Weizhou and others had already arrived at the city gate.

Under the guidance of the messenger holding a lantern with Jinping County Yamen written on it, the city gate officer cooperated very well to open the north gate, lower the drawbridge, and then respectfully escorted Weizhou and others out of the city.

Of course, Weizhou can be said to be the best candidate in Keelung officialdom in terms of dealing with people, otherwise he would not be Qin Hao's guard officer. At the moment of riding out of the city gate, he still dropped a purse containing 20 silver dollars, "A small gift, please have tea with the brothers!"

"Thank you, sir!" The city gate officer took the unexpected wealth with a smile.

Walking out of the city gate, looking at the residents who were looking for the remains of their relatives on the battlefield in the daytime with torches, listening to the faint cries drifting in the wind, Yu Xuan, the team officer who followed Weizhou into the city, felt a little reluctant, "Sir, have we killed too many people? These people don't seem to deserve to die?!"

"A woman's kindness cannot tolerate love; a man's courage cannot tolerate anger, both can disrupt great plans!" Weizhou scolded, then whipped the horse and drove away without looking back.

Yu Xuan had to shake his head, gritted his teeth at the faint fire in the distance, and urged the horse to catch up.

Just half an incense stick of time after they left the city, another fast horse rushed out of the dark city. The person on the horse looked coldly in the direction they were going, clamped his legs on the horse's belly, whipped the horse's butt hard, and rushed into the night towards the south of the county town.

Jintian Yonganwei is one of the six walled villages of the Deng family in Jintian. It was first built by the ancestor Deng Zigong during the Tianshun period. Together with Shangchengwei, Sishuiwei, Cheluwei, Beiwei and Xinwei, it is collectively known as the "Six Walled Villages of Jintian".

Starting from the third year of Tianqi, in order to prevent roaming bandits, the Deng family deliberately strengthened the defense function, and the whole family reinforced this walled village no less than ten times.

The Deng family prospered during the Chenghua period. By the Wanli period, it had become a wealthy local noble family. Apart from other things, the clan leader Deng Wentian alone owned 30,000 acres of fertile land. And these lands do not need to pay taxes.

Of course, the entire Deng clan not only owns the rich land in the Jintian area.

A cunning rabbit still has three burrows. The scholars of the Deng family naturally knew the dangers of gathering together, so they separated the family early and took many people out.

Today, the Deng family also has many children and land in other areas of Jinping County. It can be said to be the most prestigious family in Jinping County.

As the location of the Deng clan ancestral hall, Yong'anwei is the leader of this prosperous family.

As the base camp of the Deng family, the entire Yong'anwei is naturally repaired and operated all year round, and the wall is expanded outward from time to time.

Nowadays, the entire Yong'anwei covers an area of ​​60 mu (about 120 meters long and 100 meters wide), which is like a small city. The central axis symmetrical layout is adopted in the enclosure, which is a typical enclosure village building.

The blue brick wall is 5 meters high and 3 meters thick. The entire wall foundation is built with stone. There are gun muzzles on the wall. This is a mixture of stone, sand, and burnt ash, combined with purchased wrought iron bars, and rebuilt with blue bricks.

There are gun towers at the four corners of the wall. There are houses and small alleys in the enclosure, and in the middle is a street extending from the main gate to the village end. There is an eight or nine-meter wide moat outside the enclosure. The entire enclosure has only one entrance and exit, with a chain iron gate.

On the wall, young men carrying spears and muskets patrolled along the wall under the leadership of the big men wearing long swords. Although the festival has passed, spring ploughing is about to begin.

However, there are bandit troubles everywhere, so the Deng family has to be more cautious, fearing that if they are not careful, the family business accumulated for a hundred years will be lost in one day.

Entering from the main gate of Yong'anwei, along the main road in the village, they soon arrived at the ancestral hall of the ancestors of the Deng family. On the right rear side of the ancestral hall, a house with five entrances and five exits stands here. The house looks like a respectful child standing in front of the elders.

It is elegant but still humble, and looks ordinary. If there were no maids coming out from time to time, it would even make people feel deserted.

Entering the house, there is a different world inside. There are two huge beams and pillars made of huanghuali at the door. Inside the house, the decoration is gorgeous, needless to say, and it looks like a Suzhou garden.

On the table was a piece of blue and white porcelain from the best official kiln in Keelung. The maids and women who came in and out were all wearing exquisite and colorful cotton robes made from the Keelung cotton satin factory. The experienced maids and women were all wearing new styles of clothes made from Suzhou silk.

Several large pots of kumquats were taken care of very lushly, and the densely packed small kumquats on the branches looked like small lanterns, which was very beautiful.

In the hall, there were many distinguished guests, and the seats were full. The Deng family was holding a banquet in the ancestral hall.

Dozens of pretty maids stood behind everyone with wine jugs in their hands, ready to fill the guests' glasses at any time. Needless to say, the decorations in front of the guests were full of rare delicacies from the mountains and the sea. Just talking about the bowls, plates, cups, spoons and other items on this table, they were all made of gold by Jinling craftsmen. And under the guests' buttocks, there were also Huanghuali chairs, Huanghua octagonal stools, etc.

Their luxury was no less than that of kings and princes. Even Qin Hao, a big landlord in Keelung, would be dumbfounded when he came here. He would never have thought that the luxury of a small landlord in the countryside would be more than a thousand times better than his mansion.

Sitting on the main seat of the ancestral hall, an old man with ravines and wrinkles on his face, full of vicissitudes of life.

His trembling behavior and wrinkled face clearly show that time is a butcher knife. No one can escape it, even if you are the ruler of a country or the head of a clan.

Time has harvested the best part of his skin, leaving only the loose part.

The banquet where both the host and the guests enjoyed themselves made the old man seem a little drunk. He closed his eyes slightly and dozed off to keep himself awake. Only when the party became lively did he open his eyes to watch his children and grandchildren drinking and writing poems with the guests, with a little joy on his face.

However, the occasional gleam of light in his cloudy eyes made the guests know that this man was not simple, like a beast that seemed to have entered the late stage of life.

He was old but still majestic!

This man is the current patriarch of the Deng family in Jintian, Deng Wentian.

The de facto leader of the five major families, the local emperor who has the final say in Jinping County.

"Everyone! Today we are invited to Yong'an to eat the famous eight hot pot dishes of the Deng family in Lingnan. First, to celebrate the birth of another male in the Deng family, and second, to congratulate the old man of the Deng family for living together for four generations. I wish the old man Deng another fifty years and the Deng family will prosper for a thousand years!"

A young man from the Ueda Bai family raised his wine glass and proposed, which immediately resonated with everyone in the hall. A group of people stood up and toasted Deng Wentian.

After standing up and drinking half a glass of wine, Deng Wentian sat back in his seat, unable to hold his liquor, and asked in a rather strange tone: "I wonder what you think of today's wine and food?"

"Superior wine!"

"Rare delicacies!"

"Then everyone should eat and drink well!" Deng Wentian said sinisterly.

A pair of old eyes scanned the people in the hall. Those who were caught in his sight couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts, and wondered what this old beast was going to do.

"If I tell you, my dear nephews, that this fine wine, this delicious food, as well as your houses, furniture, land and women, will all be gone in the future, what will you think?"