Chapter 51: Hidden Weapons Are Hard to Defend Against
The 30th day of the twelfth lunar month is the last day of the eleventh year of Tiansheng. This day is also called New Year's Eve, and the night of this day is called New Year's Eve.

As a time traveler, Li Si still felt the strong festive atmosphere in his first New Year after arriving in Dayan.

Children on the street sang a ballad, "Little kids, don't be greedy. After Laba, you have to stay up all night on New Year's Eve; on New Year's Day, take a walk."

Li Yuanhui did not know when the custom of celebrating the New Year in later generations began.

However, from the Former Wei Dynasty to the present Dayan, the New Year customs have been very similar to those of later generations.

Li Yuanhui was in high spirits early in the morning, following the servants to paste up peach charms, spring couplets, and door gods. Originally, they should have been pasted up on the 29th, but because they were entertaining guests at home yesterday, they changed the date to today.
Yes, there were already door gods at that time, of course they were not Yuchi Jingde and Qin Shubao, two powerful generals whose existence was not clear yet.

Instead, the most representative generals of the Three Kingdoms period are Zhang Liao and Guan Yu, who were brave and valiant.

As for who initiated it, there is no need to say.

It is not surprising that Zhang Liao appears in the position of door god. He is a famous general of Cao Wei, relied on by two emperors of Wei Wu and Wei Wen. He killed Tadun at Bailang Mountain and defeated 100,000 troops with only 800 men in Hefei. In terms of bravery, no one in Cao Wei should be able to surpass him.

But the Shu Han general Guan Yu was also listed as a door god together with him. Putting aside his ability, many people speculated that it was because Guan Erye and Wei Wu admired each other. But Li Yuanhui thought that since Emperor Xuan of Wei, Cao Mao, had always admired Zhuge Wuhou, the predecessor was most likely a fan of Shu Han.

Regardless of whether they were hostile or not, there was indeed much that could be praised and admired about the Shu Han force.

Wouldn't an emperor want to have a loyal minister like Zhuge Liang under his command? Do you like Huo Guang and Wang Mang?
As a minister, don't you hope to serve a monarch as generous as Liu Bei? Do you like to send people to scold you to death?

Let alone Liu Bei, if Yue Fei and Yu Qian were given an Adou, they would all think that they were some kind of holy emperors, too virtuous.
After finishing the pasting, Li Yuanhui wanted to go to the kitchen to take a look, but was chased out by several sisters-in-law who were arranging dishes in the kitchen.

With no other options, he could only run to the front hall and take his four-year-old nephew Li Cheng'an to watch his grandfather and his three brothers play mahjong.

It can be said that the only thing missing from the Chinese New Year in later generations is a TV playing the Spring Festival Gala.

However, children are always restless and could not sit still for a while. Li Cheng'an pestered Li Yuanhui and wanted his fourth uncle to take him to the West Market for a walk.

Li Yuanhui was bored, so he said hello to his father and brother, and went to the West Market with Li Chengan, Han Quan and several other guards.

At this moment, the West Market was dotted with reed sheds and stalls. Buddha flowers, offerings, cups, basins, pestles and mortars, and all the daily necessities for offering sacrifices to the gods were piled up everywhere on the road.

Many Chang'an residents only found time today to buy hemp straw, cypress branches, rice, flour, vegetables, fruits, wine, meat, chicken, fish and other edibles to prepare for the New Year.

People were coming and going on the street. Li Cheng'an sat on the neck of a tall guard, holding a string of candied haws in his hand and biting it very hard, while the guard supported him with one hand and held a rattle for him with the other.

Li Yuanhui walked in front, also eating a candied haws in his hand.

But as luck would have it, Li Cheng'an bit too hard, and his little hand stretched out, unable to hold it in. As he bit off a candied haws, the remaining candied haws in his hand flew out of his hand and hit a passerby in the face.

The man was hit by the candied haws, and his face, beard and clothes were all stained with sugar. Just as he was getting angry, he saw the child riding on the guard's head.

Li Chengan, on the other hand, saw his candied haws hitting someone's face, but was frightened by the other person's appearance.

Li Yuanhui, who was watching from all sides, saw this and said to the bearded man, "Please forgive me, brother. My nephew is young and I made a mistake. I am sorry for the offense. Please forgive me."

The big man was of burly build, with a majestic appearance, a dark red face, and a long beard, looking like a living Zhang Fei. He was wearing a valuable brocade coat, which looked very rough and unrestrained.

The big man, who prided himself on his agility and superb skills, was a little annoyed when he was "ambushed" today, but when he saw that it was a child of a few years old, he naturally lost his temper.

Li Yuanhui, who apologized to him, was obviously a child of a noble family. He was handsome and polite, not an overbearing person. So he generously explained what happened just now: "My dear, there is no need to apologize. Your nephew was just careless. He is just a child. It's okay." Li Yuanhui continued: "Thank you for your magnanimity, but I don't know how much your clothes are worth. I will definitely compensate you according to the price."

The big man laughed rudely, "Hahaha, my lord, you don't have to do this. It's just a little sugar stain. How dare I ask you for compensation? If I take your money, wouldn't it be blackmail? I will lose face from Yangzhou to Chang'an. Hahaha, I can't do this."

Li Yuanhui exchanged a few words with the big man, and seeing that he still did not want compensation, he did not give in, but before leaving, he still left his name; "I am Li Yuanhui, from Chengji, Longxi."

The big man didn't dare to neglect Longxi Li when he heard this: "I'm from Jiangdu, Yangzhou, Zhang Jian."

The two of them just thought it was a chance encounter and parted ways, never thinking that they would have any more interactions.

Li Yuanhui bought his nephew a string of candied haws and a bag of maltose, and then took him back home.

After strolling around the West Market, the big man named Zhang Jian bought some drinks and food, and returned to his inn with the bags.

This inn was booked by Zhang Jian, a group of about twenty people.

Among them, there were more than a dozen of his own escorts, and another five were good friends he met on the road. They were Qin Bogui, Qin Zhongyu, Chen Dengyun, Yang Xianguo, and Cui Xiaotong.

These five people were the subordinates of Murong Xuan, the governor of Qi County. Among them, Cui Xiaotong was Murong Xuan's military officer, and the others were his confidants. Murong Xuan sent these people to the capital to give New Year gifts to several important figures and to deal with the current unfavorable situation of suppressing bandits in Qi County.

The two groups met in Junyi County, and boarded the court's official ship at the same time. Who knew that they would encounter bandits soon after leaving Junyi. Fortunately, these people were brave and killed most of the dozens of bandits who boarded the ship. The remaining bandits saw that they were too tough and ran away.

After fighting together and enjoying a few meals together, they naturally became friends. When the two groups knew that the other's destination was Chang'an, they set off together.

After Zhang Jian came back, he gave some of the food to his bodyguards, and then was called over by five friends who had just returned from business to have a drink together.

Two of them with the surname Qin were brothers, and they were from the same hometown as the other three. When they saw Zhang Jian coming back, they greeted him warmly.

"Brother Zhang, come and have a few bowls of wine."

"Have you finished your work, brothers?"

The leader, Qin Bogui, said, "Hey, we have some clues. It's really hard to see the nobles in Chang'an. I can't even give them gifts. It's really an eye-opener."

Zhang Jian said: "Then let's not talk about these things. By the way, I went out today and was ambushed by someone."

Qin Zhongyu immediately asked anxiously when he heard this: "Oh, who plotted against Brother Zhang? Is it serious?"

Zhang Jian laughed and said, "Brother Qin, don't worry. I was just kidding. I was tricked by a child using a candied haws. Hahahaha."

"Hahahaha." Several people laughed when they heard this.

So Zhang Jian talked about his encounter with Li Si's uncle and nephew today, and finally said, "That young man was very polite. Before leaving, he even gave his name, saying that his name was Li Yuanhui, and that he was from the Longxi Li family. Most of the noble children I have met are arrogant and domineering. Even those who are older have learned to restrain themselves. When they see us, they look down on us, and some are too lazy to pretend. But this young man today has a very good character. It's rare to see him. Speaking of which, his name sounds familiar."

After hearing this, the five people from Qi County also felt that this name was very familiar. After a while, Cui Xiaotong suddenly asked in surprise: "Li Yuanhui? Is it really Li Yuanhui?"

Zhang Jian nodded: "That's what you told me, he is from the Longxi Li family, Li Yuanhui."

"Brother Zhang, you are right. He is Li Yuanhui, who killed Brother Yang Xun and was named Marquis of Ye by the Saint. He will marry the Princess Jinyang of the Saint's family after the New Year. We have a gift for Princess Jinyang on this trip!"

(End of this chapter)