Jiaohua

Chapter 518 Dilemma (Part [-])
The sky is wide open, the setting sun is like fire, black gold covers the mountains, the frost and snow in the thousands of mountains and valleys are melting, the clouds are steep and rolling for thousands of miles, and the cloud shadows hit the empty and vast Guhuai Plain. Several villages on the plain lie peacefully on the ground. Quiet and uninhabited.

On the official road at the end of the sky, there was a lot of noise, and the people who came out of the capital were like a long dragon, heading south along the Anhe River.

People who are acquainted try to stay together as much as possible, and those who have no relatives or friends have the courage to go with other people who are alone.

Some were talking and laughing, some were frowning and miserable.

"Mother," a six or seven-year-old boy gently tugged at the corner of the woman's clothes, and whispered, "I'm hungry. You said before that you'll give me a bite of cake in an hour."

The woman carried a burden in her hands and walked hard, her lips were dry and wrinkled by the strong wind, she bowed her head when she heard this, the boy looked at her eagerly, and was about to cry.

The woman felt distressed, and walked to the side: "Come with mother."

Putting down the burden beside the official road, she took out a small oily paper from her bosom.

The boy licked his lower lip, his hungry eyes glowing.

There were two cakes wrapped in oiled paper, one of which had been broken in half.

The woman broke off another small piece from the cake and fed it to the boy's mouth. The boy opened his mouth impatiently and bit it off. At this moment, a big hand stretched out and snatched it from the woman's hand and held it back. oiled paper.

The woman got up in a hurry, but she saw several tall men surrounded them. The leading man was about 40 years old, holding her cake in his hand. He opened his mouth, and more than half of the two stacked cakes were bitten away. .

"That's mine!" the woman exclaimed.

As soon as she finished speaking, the load she was carrying was kicked by the man immediately, and the contents of the basket in front were dumped, and the contents inside were scattered on the road. Apart from clothes, there was also a small bag of rice and two tubes of pancakes.

"Your? I tell you, this fucking belongs to me!" the leading man shouted.

The woman rushed to protect her, but was torn away by another man. The woman grabbed the pole in a panic, and before she could hit her, another man came up and kicked her in the leg.

The leading man turned around, ate the cake in his hand, biting it casually, and then looked at those passing by with sloppy eyes.

No matter big or small, male or female, no one dared to look at him, everyone avoided his eyes, walked in a hurry, passed by silently, and turned a blind eye to the mother and child who were beaten and kicked behind them, begging for help.

"Haha." The man laughed, licked his tongue between his big teeth, and suddenly raised his foot, kicking at an old man who happened to pass by.

The old man staggered suddenly from being kicked, and hurriedly got up, not daring to say a word, and smiled a few times at him with a pale face, was supported by his wife, and left quickly.

"Brother Du, there's nothing left," a man came up behind him, "it's just a little bit of rags."

The man called Du Ge was the one who stopped Xia Zhaoxue more than ten days ago and asked him if he wanted to join the gang.

At that time there were only five people, but now they are "recruiting soldiers and buying horses" and recruiting people all the way, there are already eleven or twelve people, all of them are big men with strong arms.

As long as you avoid the galloping army of warhorses, and the wealthy families with a large number of guards, none of the remaining ordinary people can be their opponents. The food and money they have robbed in the past few days have made their faces ruddy. , The strength to beat people is also greater.

After robbing the orphans and widows, Du Ge took them away.

The woman was disheveled and embarrassed, crying and packing up the scattered clothes, there was nothing left to eat, nothing left.

The crowd didn't stop, the cold wind was blowing, like a sharp knife scraping on the face, it was cold and painful, and it was already numb.

The 26 city gates of Jingzhao, the Renguan Gate, Juyang Gate in the east, and Zhenwei Gate in the west, were suddenly opened at si o'clock in the morning without any announcement six days ago, four days ago, and opened for two hours.

During these two hours, the people in the city can leave as much as they want, but there are restrictions on the food they take away, and they will be searched one by one, and all food and money exceeding the government's regulations will be confiscated.

In contrast, it was more difficult to enter the city. The officers and soldiers strictly controlled the search. If they came from outside the city empty-handed and did not bring rations, they would not be allowed to enter the city.

Shen Lie went to Juyang Gate, and it took some effort to enter the city.

Thousands of lanes in the city are depressed, but the order is generally under control. Except for the occasional couple of men pushing carts passing by, there are basically no elderly, women and children on the street.

Shen Lie first took Dai Yu and Du Xuan back to the Guo Mansion. There was a backlog of more than 30 letters in the mansion. Several of his subordinates rushed over when they learned of his return. Come back in three hours.

After all, after driving for two days, and Shen Lie's body was full of old injuries and new ones, although he didn't say a word, Du Xuan knew how painful it was.

Also, Shen Lie didn't elaborate on what happened below Longyuan, but Shen Yan is dead, so one can imagine how serious and critical the situation is.

Hearing the desolate wind outside Daoju, Du Xuan stood for a long time, looked at the study, paused, and walked towards the study.

The doors and windows were all open, and there was a faint fragrance of flowers in the elegant ink fragrance. The room was very quiet. Du Xuan walked in lightly. After entering the room, he looked at the desk. His young master fell asleep lying on the desk after taking a bath.

She is dressed in white clothes that beat the snow, her black hair is not yet dry, it is loose and loose, and the wind blows in through the window, and the tips of her hair are flying lightly.

Du Xuan looked at him, sighed softly in his heart, not daring to disturb him, quietly closed the window, and left quietly.

Song Qingtang only learned of Shen Lie's return to Beijing at night.

At present, the situation in the capital is still in danger. Ouyang Jun is temporarily in charge of the military, and Zhu Xian is in charge of the order in the city and the general dispatch of internal affairs.

There are still many officials in Beijing who have not left the capital with Emperor Xuanyan, some of whom are higher than Zhu Xian, and now they have to accept Zhu Xian's deployment and orders.

Inside, Song Du, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Huang Mi, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, are still in the capital.

Now, Song Qingtang just came back from Yongding Gate, got off his horse at the side gate of Jingzhao Mansion, and strode towards the gate. Liu Ying followed him, telling big and small news quickly.

After Song Qingtang went in, he didn't go directly to his father, but asked for two steamed buns, sat in the backyard and ate them.

Liu Ying was next to him, continuing to report to Song Qingtang what happened during his absence in chronological order.

Finally speaking half an hour ago, Liu Ying's expression became serious: "Half an hour ago, the fourth imperial decree came, and it was still aimed at Master Zhu..."

Song Qingtang remained expressionless, and continued to eat. After swallowing, he curled his lips into a smile that wasn't real.

But the words spoken have nothing to do with this.

He looked down at the last bite of steamed bun in his hand, and said, "Then, did Shen Lie come back alone? What about Ah Li, did she follow?"

"No," Liu Ying shook his head, "Only Shen Lie and two guards."

"En." Song Qingtang nodded, raised his hand and fed the steamed buns into his mouth.

　Thank you Yiluozhisu for your reward~~(#^.^#)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)