Delong

Chapter 279 Pro Pop (12)

Entering October, it is a serious winter.However, when it rains in late autumn, it is often cold first, and the south wind in early winter often enters the situation of Xiaoyangchun.

North of the big river, this has been the case recently.

This is a good thing, because it can save everyone from a terrible winter. In the past year or so, Hebei has suffered too much, and the winter is destined to be difficult.

Besides, the counties in Hebei are typical large counties, such as Bohai, Pingyuan, Qinghe, Hejian, etc. It is not uncommon for a county to have a governor in other places, and it is precisely because of this that the sheriffs of the big counties in Hebei have always been decent people .Moreover, because of the task of suppressing the old land of the Eastern Qi Dynasty, they generally have a military color, which is more obvious after the Three Expeditions.

From this point of view, whether it is Li Ding, a son of Guanlong who was born in the Ministry of War, as the prefect of Wu'an County, or Qian Tang, a member of Guanlong's new affiliation from Jing'antai, who was appointed as the governor of Pingyuan, it is reasonable, but they are all gone. Great fortune.

The opportunity for them to take office lies in the compromise of the Eastern Capital to the situation in the world, the power struggle within Guanlong, and the plight of the rebel army flying all over Hebei at that time.

I don't know what Li Ding will do, but Pingyuan Tongshou Qian Tang knows it well... He knows that this life is likely to be farther and farther away from the romantic pursuit he once imagined, so he cherishes this period of love that has obviously entered a new stage. official career.

The south wind blows, the sun hangs high, more than ten miles south of Husu County, dressed in brocade clothes, seems to have returned to the Jing'antai era. Qian Tang suddenly reined in his horse, causing more than ten guards around to stop hastily. Immediately after that, well-trained people surrounded Prefect Qian and observed from all sides at the same time.

But the surrounding area is mostly clean winter fields, and the only grove where people can hide in the field of vision, there is no movement at all.

This made the guards very puzzled.

"What are they doing?" Sure enough, Mr. Qian's attention was elsewhere, and he was pointing at the fields that had no greenery at all, and there were quite a few skinny boys and girls in ragged clothes busy in the fields. . "It's this season, is there anything else to look for in the fields?"

Naturally, among the bodyguards were some clever natives, who immediately got off their horses and went to the field. After a while, they turned around and reported back: "Report to the Fujun, they are catching voles."

Qian Tang suddenly realized that as long as it is not too difficult to go out, as long as it can find food in the wild, the common people will always try their best to get food from the outside world.

And catching voles is one of the most common such behaviors in the countryside.

Because voles not only store food in their holes, but also eat food themselves, and are considered a clean source of meat... There is nothing surprising about it.

Knowing the reason, Mr. Qian could only sigh in his heart that the world is not good and the people's livelihood is difficult, and he continued to ride the horse, but after taking two steps, he stopped again, and then couldn't help asking: "Shouldn't the voles be the ones after the autumn harvest?" Did you just take advantage of the trend? At that time, there was the most food in the cave, and the voles were also the fattest, right?"

The attendants around nodded their heads one after another, and the attendant who went to check it himself was a little embarrassed.

Qian Tang asked earnestly: "Is it really a field mouse?"

"It's true." The attendant repeated helplessly, but the embarrassment on his face remained unchanged.

Seeing this, Qian Tang knew something was wrong, so he got off his horse and came directly to the field, and the attendants also rushed to follow with their swords, so that those young men ran away one after another when they saw it.

Qian Tang was helpless, and called from afar: "Don't be afraid, I like to eat voles, do you have fat ones? I will add money to buy them, which is enough for you to go to the city to buy the same heavy pork, and the pork is also convenient for you to share, right? "

The skinny teenagers obviously hesitated, then stopped.

But when Qian Tang and his party were about to arrive, the young man who was the leader had no choice but to remind him: "Master, there are no fat ones, only three or five thin ones."

"It doesn't matter," Qian Tang stepped forward and took out some copper coins from his pocket. "Let me take a look... Even if you don't buy it, the money will be given to you."

Seeing the money, the leading boy finally opened a torn pocket and showed it to the visitors.

And Mr. Qian just took a look, and instantly understood why his confidant and attendant had such an expression—these teenagers were right at all, there were only three or five scrawny vole corpses, and they were not adults. Rats are echoing these skinny juvenile bodies.

Qian Tang's face turned red, he only put a handful of copper coins into the cloth bag, and then asked seriously: "In fact, in this field, field mice have been caught once after autumn, right?"

"Responding to my uncle, I have been caught four or five times." Seeing that the nobleman is easy to talk, the thin boy quickly answered. "But you have to catch it, and it's the same in the ditch."

Qian Tang nodded, he didn't dare to ask any more questions, and he didn't dare to stay any longer, so he turned around and walked on the road... Back on the road, the Pingyuan Tongshou slowed down for a long time, but he just didn't move on his horse.

The reason couldn't be simpler. He is a smart man, and he knows what this situation means. People say that it is wrong to try to catch fish. Under his rule, even field mice have had four or five stubbles, and they are almost extinct in the end. It can be seen that What is the state of people's livelihood.

However, this is Pingyuan County.

From the name of this county, we know that this is the granary of Hebei.

"How did things come to this point?" Qian Tang finally asked with a wry smile when his trusted servants were hesitant to persuade him.

The attendants looked at each other, of course they knew what their lord was talking about, after a while, one of them bit the bullet and answered: "My lord, the main reason is that it's too messy, even if you want to do something to calm the people, you should also kill the thieves." The army is defeated, let's talk about other things."

Qian Tang nodded, tried his best to smile, and beat Ma Dong to leave.

In fact, how could Qian Tang, who was from a good family and experienced in security inspections, not understand what was going on?Even if he didn't know it before, this year's career as a county guard is enough for him to understand what's going on.

Not to mention the second expedition to Dongyi, the third expedition to Dongyi that started preparations at the end of last spring was the beginning of everything. All production and order were disrupted at that moment. After the situation was out of control, the rebel army was followed by the joint raid of the Hejian camp and the Youzhou camp.

The bandits pass like a comb, and the soldiers pass like a grate.

The social order may have been "reorganized" by Hejian's elite, but production has basically been scrapped, and the most terrible thing among them is the huge food shortage caused by the two autumn harvests.

So, this goes back to the most classic question in the disaster year, what should I do if there is less food and more people?It's very simple, according to the consistent thinking of Guan Long and Dong Du, it is enough to kill some people.After the last round of autumn harvest, the officers and soldiers relied on their strong combat effectiveness to make the rebels and some ordinary people into this group of people.

However, last year's autumn harvest has not been resolved, and this year's autumn harvest has been delayed, so it is not known who should die and how many people should die.

In other words, Qian Tang took the risk of leaving the semi-encircled county town and crossing the dangerous "enemy-occupied area" to Bohai County next door, including listening to the persuasion of his subordinates.

In this way, everyone continued eastward, and soon came to a manor located at the junction of Pingyuan County and Bohai County. The manor was so huge that the edge of the wall could not be seen at all, and there were earth barriers and ditches outside the wall, and there were arrows on the wall. There is a scull, and there is a high platform inside. Even as early as entering the boundary of about twenty miles around the manor, he has already met the inspectors and the long-awaited welcome.

After all, Qian Tang was the lord of a county, even though he came here in a humble manner, no one dared to neglect him, just for a moment, the owner of the manor, who was in his prime, and two older guests who had arrived earlier came out to welcome him.

The owner of the manor is surnamed Gao, called Gao Shizan, who is about [-] years old this year. The regulated manor in his family is placed here, and it is in this position. Don’t even think about it. It must have experienced the massive expansion of the Eastern Qi Dynasty. The "Bohai High" flooded in Hebei and Northland, and it looks like a powerful family that exists in a form similar to Xu Shiying and Shan Tonghai.

It is conceivable that once this person raises an army, at least he can gather three to five thousand people like Shan Tonghai.

The other two guests are also not simple,
One is a hero from Xindu County in the northwest, Zhuge Yang, a master of alchemy who has been famous for a long time. He became a Zhonglang general under Xue Changxiong of the Hejian camp... It can only be said that under the policy of the Great Wei in the past, the masters gathered around the two capitals returned to their hometowns after the war, and now it is increasing day by day .

As for the other one, it is quite simple, it is Zhang Shiyu, the magistrate of Bohai County... The name is self-explanatory, and he is a man of the right age in a certain house of the Zhang family in Hedong.

Of these four people, two are prefects, and two are tyrants with cultivation or local strength. At this time, they are avoiding people's eyes and ears, and they get together at this time. Naturally, they will do big things.

Sure enough, the four of them entered, and after a little etiquette, they went directly to the inner room to plot first.

Besides, such things as tyrants lack political foresight. For example, the tyrants in the east, the two counties in the west because they ran into Zhang Xing and Li Shu, naturally rose up against Wei; Xu Guo naturally became the main force of the official army; while the tyrants in Dengzhou chose to attach themselves to the powerful rebel army from outside, so they fell behind, and so on.

Here in Hebei, because of the existence of Youzhou Daying and Hejian Daying, it is only natural for the powerful to choose to cooperate with the imperial court.

Of course, if Zhang Xing and Zhang Sanlang were here, he would definitely say that no matter who the tyrants go with, it would represent the collapse of Wei’s rule, because the local officials had lost control of the place and had to seek peace. Cooperate with the targets of repression and prevention, and will likely require the transfer of substantial political power to strike a deal.

Specifically this time, it is actually the same.

"...That's it, a simple trick to lure the enemy, you will attract people, and the Hejian camp will have [-] elite troops surround you and outflank it. After this is done, General Xue has something to say, allow you to be a general of Zhonglang .” Zhuge Yang summed it up in this way.

"Naturally, I, Gao Shizan, can't afford to be a general?" Gao Shizan answered proudly. "However, I remember that Brother Zhuge also has acquaintances in his clan over there. Don't we need to make contact? It's better to take the two roads together, right?"

"For this kind of thing, there is one more path and one more flaw." Zhuge Yang explained helplessly. "As long as you can fool Gao Shitong and let him easily drive the army over, everything will be fine. Why bother?"

"It's because you have been living in the western capital for a long time, so you have lost your call to your younger generations?" Gao Shizan thought for a while and sneered on the spot. "Forget it, I will do it! However, if the matter fails, you can't blame me, because Gao Shitong is also a big man after all, and I am known in the county as well. With his ability, It’s impossible to say that you will see one or two.”

"Gao Shitong will definitely fall into the trap." Zhang Shiyu, the prefect of Bohai Sea, interjected a little impatiently, which could be regarded as stopping Zhuge Yang's anger. "This guy is actually bad because he's a little smart... He knows better than anyone else that he was kicked out by the Deposed Dragon Gang; he also knows better than anyone that Sun Xuanzhi and those in the Yuan Army are dissatisfied with him. Not rebelling is just a scruple to dethrone the Dragon Gang... So, if you now connect with him with the friendship of the same clan, he must be ecstatic, and regard you as a reliance, and use this as a means to get rid of the Dragon Clan."

"Hurry up!" Qian Tang also became a little anxious. "To tell you the truth, what I'm worried about right now is not Gao Shitong, but the dismissal of the Dragon Army. If Gao Shitong can't be defeated quickly, or let Gao Shitong regain a foothold in the Bohai Sea and the plains, he himself will be fine. I'm afraid that the people from the Dragon Clan will take this as an opportunity to go north... The soldiers at Douzigang are already difficult enough, so what if the Dragon Clan army goes north?"

"The army in Douzigang is stronger, but the army was mopped up before, so couldn't they just retreat into the salt marshes of Douzigang?" Gao Shizan seemed to be not very polite to Qian Tang. "Why are you afraid of dethroning the Dragon Gang?"

"Are you really not afraid?" At this moment, Zhuge Yang interrupted suddenly and asked coldly.

But Gao Shizan just stared coldly, but didn't refute anything.

After a while, Zhang Shiyu was the one with the highest status and the oldest age. He softened his words a little: "Okay, the country's affairs are difficult, and the bandit army is making trouble. I can't think too much about it. Since today's plan is well planned, we should implement it quickly, so as not to have long nights and dreams."

The other three obviously gave Zhang Shiyu face, and they all stood up to respond, and Gao Shizan even showed a smile: "Although the three of you came secretly, it is not easy to hold a big banquet, but as a landlord, you have to entertain... Please go and clean your hands, there will be a dinner later, it’s okay to come back tomorrow morning.”

This seems to be nothing to say.

Only Zhuge Yang turned pale immediately, and bowed his hands in public: "General Xue is still waiting for a reply, and those of my generation in the army will not delay."

After finishing speaking, regardless of Gao Shizan's ridicule, he bowed his hands to Zhang Shiyu and Qian Tang respectively, then pushed open the door of the inner room, just relaxed his true energy, and jumped away.

However, since this person left, it gave Zhang and Qian a chance to communicate in private.

The two were led into the ear room by the maid, Qian Tang couldn't bear it anymore, and took the initiative to ask: "Mr. Zhang, what's the matter with these two? It's okay to be arrogant and rude to each other. How did they get along with each other?"

"Pingyuan County's security is in the south. You have been overwhelmed by military affairs for the past few months. After Gao Shitong came back, he blocked the news. So naturally, I don't know that Zhuge Yang has made enemies with Gao Shizan within a few days after returning." Zhang Shitong It's normal to meet the complexion. "It is said that the battle was caused by the banquet..."

"Is anyone rude?" Qian Tang couldn't ask in time.

"No...it's because Dou Fudou has vented his anger." Zhang Shiyu briefly introduced. "When Zhuge Yang came back from Kansai, Gao Shizan went to visit and congratulate him. Probably because he was unprepared just after he came back, he only killed a dozen chickens to entertain him, so Gao Shizan laughed at him; On the second day, he directly picked the biggest livestock that he brought back and killed them. It is said that the pigs and sheep are eight feet long, and the pancakes are more than ten feet wide; Here, chicken, duck, fish, pork, sheep and cattle are not mentioned, it is said that in the end, he simply found a pair of twin teenagers, washed them clean and steamed them, and divided them into human flesh..."

Qian Tang was dumbfounded.

"That's not enough. It is said that Zhuge Yang will invite him after he returns. First, he will send a beautiful concubine to serve him. Then he will also cook this beautiful concubine and eat it in front of Gao Shizan." Zhang Shiyu shook his head in response. "Probably that's what it says."

"Is it true or not?" Qian Tang asked immediately after he was young. "Cannibalism?"

"Fighting the rich is probably there, and I guess there is wanton killing of slaves, but I guess there is no cannibalism. At least I haven't heard direct testimony. It's more like this year's famine. People around see them extravagant, and they don't like it. The servants and farmers are too harsh, so they are specially arranged. And these two people are all afraid of the Chulong Gang. It won't do well for the Chulong Gang." Zhang Shiyu is quite experienced.

Qian Tang breathed a sigh of relief, but felt that something was wrong—this kind of bastard, afraid of dethroning the Dragon Gang, but not afraid of the government?

"However, this does not mean that these people can't do this kind of thing. It's just that we are still here, the saint is still there, the emperor is still there, and General Xue is still there, so they can't do their best." Zhang Shi Yu didn't know what the other party was thinking, so he said with emotion again. "But if the world continues to be chaotic, no one cares about this kind of people. They rely on force, financial power, and influence to be unscrupulous and aggressive. Gradually, they are afraid that they can do any disgusting things... When the Southern Tang family just went south, It is a real thing if a guest is persuaded to drink by a relative of the emperor and a maid is killed, anyway, life is cheap in troubled times, and it is not as good as a bowl of millet. And how is that behavior different from cannibalism?"

Qian Tang sighed, but shook his head again: "If we unite with this kind of person, the situation will be resolved this time. I'm afraid there will be many people who arrange us in the future."

Zhang Shiyu laughed, as if he wanted to say something more.

And at this time, a maidservant suddenly brought basins, racks, towels and other things, as well as brand new clothes, and the two immediately shut up.

Then, they all froze again.

Because in the basin brought in by the maidservant, there is milky white milk soup, and the milky smell is clearly audible.

"What is this?" Qian Tang felt dizzy.

"It's human milk...is it right or not?" Zhang Shi said immediately when he met Duoguang.

The maidservants immediately nodded cautiously, and then came up in groups of two to hold hands for the two county lords.

"Human milk...drink?" Qian Tang was extremely careful.

"Wash your hands and face." Zhang Shiyu sneered, and put his hands directly into the warm milk.

Qian Tang was taken aback for a moment, but glanced at the maid beside him, recalling the allusions in the history books, but he dared not refuse, but directly bowed his head and cleaned his face, almost vomiting.

After washing their faces, the two turned out, and a small banquet was set up in a small pavilion outside. However, for the three cases, it was Gao Shizan and the two county lords who each received one case, and then they saw the open space outside the small pavilion. The maidservant came out and stood there.

Gao Shizan's face was bright, but he apologized again and again, saying that the hospitality was not good enough.

But the next moment, whether it’s desserts and fruits, or pork, mutton and beef, or seafood, fish and shrimp, flesh and brains, or cooked or boiled or steamed or fried or pickled or mixed, there is no shortage of food types that can be imagined in early winter.

Not to mention that there are seven or eight kinds of drinks.

Qian Tang sat there, moved his chopsticks a little, drank two cups, but then remembered the group of teenagers he met on the road and couldn't find the voles, and the related rumors of cannibalism. He was restless and really lost his appetite.Even the other Junjun Zhang didn't eat much.

But this does not delay the pan like flowing water, quickly go up, go down quickly.

Mr. Qian Dafu saw with his own eyes that the dishes that went down were placed on an ox cart in the courtyard, and it was filled up quickly, and after he finished his dinner in a daze, the ox cart came three times.

How is this extravagance different from cannibalism?It's no wonder that everyone calls the two tycoons who are fighting for wealth cannibal thieves.

After eating, Qian Tang couldn't stay any longer, so he took the initiative to flee overnight on horseback because of the seriousness of military affairs.

The next day, he returned to Ande City in the half-surrounded Plain County, took a short rest, and slept almost until dark before waking up, but he couldn't help thinking on the couch—if the person who was in Gao Shizan Manor yesterday was What will happen to Bai Yousi?

The answer seemed obvious. Bai Yousi chopped up Gao Shizan with a single knife, and then took out the grain from the manor.

However, that was Bai Yousi's outstanding cultivation, what about someone else?The kind whose cultivation level is similar to his own?For example, what would Zhang Xing do?
The answer seemed to be obvious, Zhang Xinghui finished the meal calmly, and then went back to ask Bai Yousi to continue chopping up Gao Shizan, and then put out the food.

But still not right.

Qian Tang was keenly aware of the difficulty - neither Zhang Xing nor Bai Yousi would allow a bastard like Gao Shitong to conquer half of the county and drive him to the city.But he himself was facing the embarrassing situation of soldiers approaching the city, even if he wanted to deal with a bastard like Gao Shizan, or even just wanted to muster up the courage to open up the stockpile to release food, I'm afraid there was no basis in reality.

Just like that, Qian Tang, who was still too young, came back after a night.

But on this day, he received two reports.

A spies from the other side of the river, the spies told - the Huaiyou League Huaixi directly surrendered the Dragon Gang after the incident, and the Dragon Gang in the Jishui area changed all over the line, and now the people on the other side of the river are full of rumors, saying that the Dragon Gang Help that left-wing leader Zhang Xing to personally lead the army northward and open up Hebei!
It's just that I don't know the route to march, and I don't know whether the rumors are true or false.

The second report came from Gao Shizan, whom Lord Qian hated so much. He was triumphant and said that the plan worked.

If it is said that Qian Tang barely maintained his composure in the first report, because he knew that after the incident of Huaiyou League, the Dismissing Dragon Gang would inevitably set off a discussion about marching, and Hebei must be one of the discussion directions, then the second report made Qian Tang was a little bit out of control... The reason couldn't be simpler, the second report was probably just the evidence of the first one.

Gao Shitong could not have gotten the news, so he couldn't wait to accept Gao Shizan's invitation.

Qian Tang, who took a long time to calm down, has made up his mind. He wants to quickly defeat Gao Shitong, then kill the donkey and kill Gao Shizan, and then open the warehouse to release grain privately to rectify the hearts of the people.

This is called cleaning the house before treating guests.

PS: Good night.

(End of this chapter)