stubborn thief

Chapter 22
The night in northern Shaanxi in February was very cold, but Liu Chengzong knew that his father made up his mind to stay in northern Shaanxi's heart.

Early the next morning after returning home, Cao Yao came to discuss with his elder brother Liu Chengzu about the separation of the family.

Divide the money stolen from Bai Yingzi.

"You don't have any land we can grow, so you can't just sit and eat."

"Why don't I take the brothers out to find a way to make a living. This trip is considered to be recognized. I haven't moved the money and food. Let's share two - you and me, and go back and share with the brothers who have made meritorious deeds."

He brought two very long, one named Du Laowu and the other named Feng Fei, who used to be celebrities in Yuhebao.

The former is proficient in disguise with a horse face, and is the best at changing female corpses into male corpses. When he was a frontier soldier in Shanxi, Cao Yao and others received an extra 300 taels of paper reward with this skill.

The latter was not good-looking, and Sar Hu was defeated. He ate human flesh on the road before he lived to meet Cao Yao in Mengjin.

These two are Cao Yao's exchange-post brothers, who escaped after the Great War of Sarhu. Seventeen deserters from the Beijing Firearms Battalion formed a righteous alliance. They have been displaced since then, and only these three are left.

Both brothers knew that it was sooner or later that Cao Yao would leave sooner or later, and the money and grain would be divided sooner or later.

Liu Chengzu thought that it would be fair to divide the money and grain like this, patted the hand that had just brushed the horse, and asked after soaking in the wooden barrel, "I'm leaving now, how many days do I stay?"

"Five or six days, I saw a few places on the way that I could settle down, and I sent someone to check it out. If it suits me, I'll move there. There are a lot of good mountains nearby, and you can go anywhere in the three counties. There are two things you two have to do. Do it for me."

The brothers didn't say a word. Liu Chengzong looked around the courtyard and pointed to the wing where they slept: "Come in and talk."

Cao Guan's team entered the house with the two brothers, and left them at the door, telling them to stand outside the door to stop people.

Although the two leaders are not good-looking, they are good at dealing with people and things. Unlike the two soldiers in Liu team, they are very festive and not vicious. They know how to say hello and smile when they see people.

If it weren't for their skills and experience, they would look no different from the hard-working uncle next door in the village. They are very good people.

Everyone is a good person as long as they can eat enough.

The distance between humans and animals is never far away, only three days apart.

For three days without food or drink, a good man will either become a good dead man or a beast.

In the same way, even if an animal has enough food and drink for three days, it doesn't have much free time to bite people.

Cao Yao entered the house and sat down on the kang, saying, "I'll give you ninety stones of grain and a hundred stones of the rest. I'll give you two or eight of the goods, and I will give you both the calligraphy, painting and porcelain—but it's not for nothing."

"Last night I inquired. There are carpenters and blacksmiths in the Black Dragon King Temple. I want ten vehicles and... weapons."

Cao Guan team said a word and paused on the kang table with his hands: "Knives, spears, arrow shafts, and armor."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Chengzu shook his head: "The armor is not good."

"There are blacksmiths at home who can make knives and spears, as well as arrow shafts. Privately made armors are stabbed to death. We can't come up with anything that will make the blacksmiths die."

"Not enough food?"

"That's not enough, there is still food to eat in Xingping, and the grain can't be bought by the blacksmith, unless you can find it from outside, and send it to me to find a place to dig a kiln and settle down in the mountains, and then let my brother transport it to Fucheng to get iron, and then I want to make a piece of armor. thing."

Liu Chengzu sighed and said to Cao Yao, "There are enough risks in the family. I went to practice people's strength again in the morning, and I asked the lion to fight him later. How can I practice every day."

Twenty-eight refers to the fact that Min Zhuang was recruited by the government as a battalion in the first year of Tianshun. The officials gave pommel and horse equipment three taels of six dollars, and hired direct silver seven tael and two dollars. The ultimate ideal of the people.

Generally speaking, Min Zhuang is not treated so well. For example, the 24 soldiers in Miaoshan of the Black Dragon King are currently being recruited. The government collects taxes at seven taels per person, but they are only given four taels of labor and food silver. .

In fact, it is already very good. The militia eats the local finances, and they can still get some money, but the frontier army can't even get the army salary.

Moreover, compared to the regular army, Min Zhuang only needs two days of regimental training in January, and no one will practice every day - except for Liu Xiangyu, a juror from Temple Mountain of the Black Dragon King.

"Master Liu is practicing mechanic and soldiers to protect the country and the people. It's a good thing."

Cao Yao clapped his hands to the two brothers and said, "Then it's settled, I will find a craftsman outside and send it over. Also, our family will leave you here, and we will take good care of the brothers."

The so-called family members are nothing more than the wives and children of a few soldiers, and there are less than ten people plus one piece. Compared to privately making armor, this matter is extremely simple, and Liu Chengzong naturally patted his chest and responded: "This is a beautiful thing, Brother Cao, don't worry. , the family members are placed in the cave near the house, and a few older children come to our school to study, but..."

Liu Chengzong just focused on talking, and he came back to his senses after he said it. Now Li Xue no longer teaches classes, so he could only smile bitterly: "Now Li Xue has changed to martial arts."

He casually said a few words, causing Cao Yao, who was still enthusiastic before, to be stunned on the spot, and he couldn't help asking: "Brother Cao, what's the matter?"

"Your children are still in school?"

Cao Yao's eyes under the scar showed a confusion that Liu Chengzong had never seen before, like being hit in the chest by a boulder.

He let out a long breath, and his expression returned to normal. He sat beside the kang and pursed his lips with emotion: "Ten years ago, in the past ten years of Sarhu, I ran through Beizhili, from Mengjin to Jindi, and then from Jin to Qin."

"Wherever I have traveled, I have fled and looted, and there is no distinction between people and animals. Good! It's good. I didn't expect to see a place where farmers farm and children study again."

There is no civilization in Cao Yao's eyes. Perhaps civilization existed before Baoding Prefecture joined the army, but after that, civilization gave way to barbarism, and two-legged wild dogs were born everywhere in the jungle.

They are not wolves, they are biting where they go for food, they do not care about etiquette, righteousness and shame, and they also forget the bereaved dogs of loyalty, filial piety, righteousness.

Always be vigilant and seek food in your mouth with the knife in your hand.

The hometown of the Liu brothers was like an incomprehensible peach blossom garden for him, and everything was silently urging him to leave as soon as possible.

This is not the place for him to be, he will lose his minions.

"That's it, I'll let you know when I find a good place - be careful of Zuo Hangzi, that thing is going to Hancheng, and it will be smashed if there is a lot of noise."

"Heilongwang Temple Mountain is such a good nest, don't let Zuo hangzi's defeated army grab it."

"Iron from Hancheng." Liu Chengzu nodded, but there was not much worry on his face: "Earlier, the prisoners said that Bai Yingzi who died in the hands of the lion was also the one who was collected by Zuo Hangzi, and they were really vulnerable to Shangguan's army. But there are so many people, if you go into this mountain, I am afraid it will be difficult to stop.”

"Or just say it!"

Cao Yao patted his crossed thighs on the kang and said, "If they are a little bit more powerful, I will vote, and they say that Xingping in the Black Dragon King Temple is my home, and we will not be at a loss to keep our family safe."

"Grandma, I don't know where Zhang Wu's brothers have gone. Just your former team leader, led a team of frontier troops to run away. I even played cards with that bastard. I heard that the number is Tianxing now. People and horses, it is more reliable to go to him than to go to the left."

Speaking of which, Cao Yao was even more anxious than the two brothers, he waved his hand and went out, saying as he walked, "I have to urge them to find another nest quickly, and when you are attacked, there is still a place to escape!"

(End of this chapter)