A knife in love

Chapter 1172

Zhang Shi stood at the bow of the boat and remained silent.It wasn't until shopkeeper Hu and others changed their clothes and walked to the bow of the boat to disembark with Qin Laowu that he said in a deep voice: "After going ashore, all shopkeepers, remember not to cause trouble, so as not to cause conflicts with others and miss our important event .”

As soon as Zhang Shizhen finished speaking, Xiao Dong interjected: "Mr. Zhang is right. If someone makes troubles and causes trouble, be careful that Xiao will turn his face and deny anyone."

Shopkeeper Hu and others saw Xiao Dong's gloomy expression, and felt a little uneasy.It's just that after suffering more than [-] days on the boat, everyone's heart is miserable.So after Xiao Dong finished speaking, everyone glanced at each other, although they knew that Xiao Dong was unhappy, but finally followed Qin Laowu off the big boat.

Zhang Shi saw Li Qiufeng standing on one side, neither going ashore nor going back to the cabin, he didn't know whether he should go or stay.So he said to Li Qiufeng: "Brother Zhu, what are your plans?"

Li Qiufeng had no intention of getting off the boat to wander around, but he saw Xiao Dong standing aside with a gloomy face, his eyes rolling around him from time to time.He thought to himself, if he stayed on the boat, this person would find him in all likelihood, making indirect remarks and finding out his origin.This person is very scheming, it is better to avoid him.So Li Qiufeng thought for a while, cupped his hands to Zhang Shi and said: "I also want to go to the shore to have a look, and buy some things by the way."

Zhang Shidao: "I just want to go to the shore for a walk, let's go together."

Li Qiufeng nodded, and said to Zhang Shi: "Mr. Zhang please."

The two were about to get off the boat when they suddenly heard Xiao Dong say from behind: "Xiao also wants to get off the boat for a walk, can you go with the two of you?"

Zhang Shi is also quite afraid of Xiao Dong, and he is not willing to go with this person.It's just that he couldn't open his mouth to refuse, and secretly regretted in his heart, if he knew that this person would also get off the boat, he might as well stay on the boat to rest.Li Qiufeng was even more wary of Xiao Dong in his heart, and he couldn't help but tremble when he heard that he wanted to walk with him.

Seeing that Zhang Shi and Li Qiufeng did not answer, Xiao Dong sneered and said, "Are you two unwilling to go with Xiao?"

Zhang Shi gritted his teeth, squeezed out a few smiles, and said in his mouth: "Since Lord Xiao has such a taste, we can't wish for it. Lord Xiao, please go ahead."

Seeing Zhang Shi and Li Qiufeng step aside, Xiao Dong asked himself to get off the boat first.He smiled, without giving way, and staggered off the big boat.Zhang Shi and Li Qiufeng looked at each other with wry smiles on their faces.

After the three of them disembarked, Xiao Dong rode straight ahead, walking towards the right side at a leisurely pace.Zhang Shi and Li Qiufeng followed behind him, looking around while walking.I saw that the pier was not big, and there were five or six wooden boats parked here and there.There were quite a few passers-by on the shore, but all of them were poor people with shabby clothes, thin bodies and miserable faces.Zhang Shi whispered to Li Qiufeng: "I have long heard that in the bitter cold land of Liaodong, the people don't have enough clothing and food to eat. When I was in the south of the Yangtze River, I didn't believe these rumors. But at this moment, I'm afraid of these rumors." It’s true. Look at the appearance of these people, they all look like walking corpses. If the wind is stronger, I’m afraid they will all be blown to the ground.”

Seeing the appearance of these common people, Li Qiufeng was quite shocked, and was speechless for a while.Xiao Dong walked in front of the two of them, and said without turning his head: "It's not that those big bosses in the court are foolish bastards, timid and afraid of getting into trouble, for fear of conflict with the Tartars, they proposed to abandon Liaodong. Fortunately, there are some knowledgeable people in the court. The ministers mediated from it, so the officers and soldiers were not retreated to Shanhaiguan. However, only a few thousand old and weak soldiers were left outside the pass, and they were stationed in various places. It is cruel, but it regards this place as a chicken rib, and does not attack it in a big way. It is only occasionally that a small group of Tartar soldiers come to harass, so that it has not taken Liaodong from Daming. However, there are many barbarians in Liaodong, and they are very sturdy. , harassing the people of the Han people. They not only robbed food and property, killed the old and weak people, but also robbed women and strong men as slaves. Dongliao County is an important town in Liaodong, and its status is only lower than Liaoyang where the governor of Liaodong is located. But the people here are so poor , It can be seen how corrupt the various parts of Liaodong have become."

Zhang Shi and Li Qiufeng were shocked when they heard Xiao Dong's words.Zhang Shi said: "That's how it is. Thank you, Mr. Xiao, for your guidance. Qin Lao Wu just told me that he wanted to replenish food and water here. Qingshui is fine, but here is so poor, I'm afraid we can't buy enough food. But what should I do?"

Xiao Dong sneered, and said in a deep voice: "It's not uncommon for common people to die of starvation, but have you ever seen an official starve to death? You don't have to worry about the food. This official holds the Ministry of Military Affairs and will transfer to the Yamen when the time comes." Food, discipline everyone so that you don’t go hungry.”

Listening to Xiao Dong's words, Li Qiufeng was quite dissatisfied with the imperial court's abandonment of Liaodong, and thought to himself: "When I was in the capital, I also heard that the court officials were arguing endlessly about the guarding of Liaodong. Originally, the imperial court controlled the whole of Liaodong. However, after the Tumu Fortress War, the imperial court turned from offensive to defensive against the Tartars, and withdrew all the elite soldiers originally stationed in Liaodong into the pass to defend the capital. Liaodong has been troubled since then, and has suffered from the invasion of Tartars and barbarians. It is advocated to abandon it. The ministers guarding Liaodong only want to guard Shanhaiguan Pass and save their own lives. As for the life and death of the Han people outside the pass, they don’t take it seriously. Before Master Liu became an official, he always advocated not only guarding Liaodong, but also rushing Taking away the Tartars, exterminated the barbarians, and relieved the danger of the people of Liaodong. Listening to Xiao Dong's words, it coincides with Master Liu. It seems that although this person is arrogant, he can be regarded as quite knowledgeable."

The three talked and talked, and they walked out of the pier before they knew it.I saw a street in front of me, about two feet wide, with uneven road surface and many puddles.Some of the puddles were filthy and foul-smelling.The houses on both sides of the street were low and dilapidated. Although it was already dark, few of them had their lights on.

Xiao Dong walked in the front and smelled the stench that made people want to vomit, so he had to cover his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his left hand.Zhang Shi also frowned, and said as he walked: "No wonder the plague is rampant in Liaodong. These people poured all their defecation on the street in front of the gate, making the place where they live filthy. How can there be no plague?"

The three of them resisted the stench, quickened their pace, walked for half a stick of incense, and finally walked out of this filthy street.I saw a river several feet wide in front of me, gurgling from west to east.A stone bridge was erected over the river, with a tall pole at each end, and a crossbar tied to the top of the pole, and a huge lantern hung on each end of the crossbar.On the other side of the stone bridge, the lights were brightly lit, and there were many people walking freely on the river bank.

Xiao Dong stopped by the bridge, heaved a sigh of relief, took a breath, and said in his mouth: "Even my body smells foul. If I didn't bring a change of clothes, I really want to jump into the river Wash your body clean."

Li Qiufeng and Zhang Shi also had the same thoughts, but seeing the situation on the other side of the stone bridge, compared with the filthy street they passed just now, it seemed like heaven.The two were surprised, although they heard Xiao Dong's words, they didn't pay attention.The three of them stood in front of the stone bridge, staring at the opposite bank, without speaking for a while.

At this moment, only the sound of footsteps could be heard from a distance from the stone bridge.After a while, I saw two men in Tsing Yi walking over the stone bridge one after the other.It's just that when they saw Li Qiufeng and the other three standing by the bridge, they were slightly taken aback and stopped at the same time.

Li Qiufeng saw the two men in Tsing Yi standing still, holding the hilt of the sword with his right hand, his heart trembled, and he thought to himself that the clothes of these two men were somewhat similar to the assassins of the Liu Sheng clan.When he was wondering, he saw two men in Tsing Yi looked at each other and walked down the stone bridge side by side.

When Zhang Shi saw the two men walking in front of him, he immediately retreated to the right.But Xiao Dong who stood at the front was motionless, showing no intention of giving way.

Zhang Shi saw that the two men in Tsing Yi had long swords hanging from their waists, and they were walking vigorously and fiercely. He knew that they were not good friends, so he hastily made way for them.Unexpectedly, Xiao Dong was still standing in the middle of the road, staring at the two men in Tsing Yi, quite provocative.Zhang Shi thought to himself, now that you are here, why are you still putting on airs like an official?When you were on the boat just now, you asked shopkeeper Hu and others not to cause trouble.Now you are blocking the way of others, making it clear that you want to fight with them.Anyway, there are two official characters, the left side makes sense, and the right side makes sense.You want to fight with people, just fight.It's best to fight both sides, and you can't go to Fusang.Without your brother staring at me, I would be much more relaxed!

(End of this chapter)