Take the warehouse back to the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 423 Interrogating Fan Wencheng

At this time, there were patrolling soldiers everywhere in Jiexiu County, and all the people in the county closed their homes and hid in their homes.

In an open field at the east end of the county seat, dozens of corpses were hung on wooden poles, covered with snowflakes.

These people were officials, guards and other order maintainers in the county who took advantage of the chaos to attack the people in the city after they fled.

Because Zhao Wen was stationed in Jiexiu County relatively quickly, these green-skinned hooligans were suppressed by Zhao Wen's soldiers and horses not long after they rebelled.

Zhao Wen didn't have any sympathy for these green-skinned hooligans who harassed the people in the city.

As long as it dares to harass the people in the city and cause casualties, there is only one dead end.

These green-skinned hooligans who harass the people in the city are basically green-skinned hooligans who have been around for a long time in the county. These people often bullied Goodness when the government was still in existence, but the government is watching, so it is relatively better.

But when the government was gone, these people acted like crazy, venting their desires.

It's a pity that after Zhao Wen entered Jiexiu, none of these people could escape. They were all cleaned up by soldiers under Zhao Wen's command, and their bodies were hung on wooden poles to deter criminals.

Zhao Wen did not stop the soldiers from doing this.As the saying goes, this is the reason why the law is used in troubled times.

Jiexiu county is not big, it is a very ordinary county, because it used to be the home of Shanxi merchants Fan's family, so there are many people in Jiexiu who are related to Fan's family.

After Zhao Wen cleaned up Shanxi merchants that time, many gentry related to the Fan family in the entire Jiexiu County were cleaned up by Zhao Wen.

Therefore, many houses in Jiexiu County were vacant.

In addition, this time, when the government in the county was evacuated, there was another wave of gentry and government fleeing south, which made more houses vacant in Jiexiu City.

Zhao Wen stopped at the entrance of a small alley with several jinshi memorial archways. He looked at the snow-covered alley with no one in it, and asked, "Is there no one in this alley?"

Guo Yi replied: "My lord, this place is called Jinshi Alley in Jiexiu, and the Zhang family lives in the alley. This Zhang family is a well-known gentry family in the local area. There have been many Jinshi in the family.

In the Jiajing Dynasty, Wanli Dynasty and Tianqi Dynasty, there were people who were selected as Jinshi.The Jinshi memorial archway at the entrance of the alley was built by the local county magistrate to curry favor with the Zhang family, who had a high reputation in Jiexiu.

Even the Shanxi merchants in those days had to give some thin noodles. Unlike the Shanxi merchants who were half-official and half-merchant, the Zhang family was a very traditional farming and studying family, and they often helped the poor people in the city, and they were quite well-known in the local area.

According to the people in the city, after Wu Zhen came to Jiexiu, the Zhang family took all their belongings and people with them, and fled south with Wu Zhen.Today only a few yards remain. "

Zhao Wen nodded, then walked towards the alley.

In ancient times, being a Jinshi was a very honorable thing, especially for a family like the Zhang family who had passed several Jinshi.

Zhao Wen walked on the road in the alley, making a creaking sound as he stepped on the snow.

There is a willow tree planted every ten steps on both sides of the road, but because of the winter, the willow tree is withered and yellow, and it is covered with snow.

Not long after, Zhao Wen arrived at the gate of Zhang's residence.

Different from those businessmen who were desperate for extravagance, although the courtyard of Zhang's family was very large, it was very simple.

Walking into the gate, you will be greeted by a screen wall with an upside-down blessing character engraved on the screen wall.

Walking through the screen wall is a moon gate, and behind the moon gate is the front yard of the Zhang Mansion.

There is a small garden that has been reclaimed in the front yard, and some plum blossoms are planted in it.

It was the twelfth lunar month of winter, and because there was no one to take care of it, the branches of plum blossoms were very low under the weight of snow.

But despite this, the plum blossoms are still in full bloom in the wind and snow.

Although if you don’t smell it carefully, you may not be able to smell the fragrance of plum blossoms, but in this cold and bleak winter, seeing a plum blossom suddenly will make people feel much better.

There is a locust tree behind the small garden, and there is a stone table and several stone benches under the locust tree.

In the middle of the yard there is a huge water tank, and the edge of the water tank is covered with snow.

Further forward is the front hall of the Zhang Mansion.The front hall of the Zhang Mansion also looks very simple. The pillars, beams, doors and windows of the front hall are just some simple patterns, and there are no auspicious animals.

The tables and stools in the front hall were neatly arranged, and they didn't look messy because of the escape.

It seems that the people in this mansion still pay attention to people.

"Besides this house, how many empty houses are there?"

Zhao Wen walked into the hall, he looked at the neatly arranged tables and stools in the hall, and looked at Guo Yi behind him.

"My lord, besides this place, there are more than 40 houses that are unoccupied. Not only in the county town, but according to the soldiers and horses who came back from the countryside, these gentry's manors in the countryside have also been abandoned." Guo Yi pointed at Zhao Wen Gong cupped his hands and spoke.

Zhao Wen stood in the center of the hall, looked at the words hanging on the wall at the back of the hall, and said slowly: "Let someone record all these houses. Since no one wants these houses, we will take them over. Anyway, they are empty. It's empty here too."

After Zhao Wen finished speaking, he turned around and walked out of the front hall, heading outside.

After leaving Zhang's mansion, Zhao Wen wandered around Jiexiu County again.

The sky is getting darker and darker, and the dark clouds are getting denser.

The snowflakes in the sky suddenly became bigger, and a gust of north wind blew, making people unable to open their eyes.

Just when Zhao Wen was about to turn back to the county government office, he suddenly heard a low and hoarse singing voice.

"He was born like a gull on the water, and he crossed Nanzhou with a bamboo stick.

The rice bag is full of the waning moon in the evening, and the singing board sings Xiaoqiu in the wind.

Kick the dusty world with two feet, and carry all the worries of the past and the present with one shoulder.

Now if you don't eat and come to eat, why should the yellow dog bark endlessly. "

This song is full of desolation, it sounds like the loess on the Loess Plateau mixed with wind and snow, which makes people feel melancholy.

Zhao Wen stopped and looked for his reputation.

"What's going on here?" Zhao Wen pointed to the direction of the voice, and looked at Guo Yi suspiciously.

Guo Yi listened attentively for a while, and said, "My lord, this is Liu Juren from the south of the city. This Liu Juren was a Juren in the Wanli period. He is now in his 40s or nearly 50 years old. He can be called a good man in Jiexiu on weekdays." .

Because of his honesty and duty, Liu Ju's family is not very rich, but he often helps poor people.When the Jiexiu government fled south, Liu Juren did not leave for some reason and stayed in Jiexiu.

After the government fled south, Liu Juren's family was targeted by the green-skinned hooligans in the city.

When our troops entered the city, he was the only one left in Liu Juren's family. "

Hearing this, Zhao Wen sighed a little, "It is estimated that he helped the poor people on weekdays, and was targeted by those green-skinned hooligans in the city. These green-skinned hooligans mistakenly thought that his family was rich, so after the government fled south, they attacked him. gone."

"Your Excellency is right. According to the situation I have, after the green-skinned hooligans in the city rushed into Liu Juren's house, they did not find any money, so they vented their anger on Liu Juren's family. In the end, only Liu Juren was left. One, and Liu Juren's mind is also a little abnormal." Guo Yi also looked at the place where the singing came from with a look of emotion on his face.

The singing became more and more obvious, and amidst the numerous snowflakes, a hunched figure gradually appeared in front of Zhao Wen.

After a few breaths, the figure became clear.

A middle-aged man wearing a black shabby jacket, with a hemp rope tied around his waist, his hair tied up with a piece of rag, leaning on a tree branch he got from nowhere, with a dark face and dull eyes Stumbled over from the heavy snow.

He kept singing, his voice hoarse, as if helpless, wronged, or angry.

Liu Juren looked at Zhao Wen in front of him, and suddenly stopped walking, even the singing stopped.

"Are you Zhao Wen, the commander-in-chief of Xuan Town?" A bright light suddenly appeared in Liu Juren's dull eyes. He pointed at Zhao Wen and asked.

Although Zhao Wen was only wearing a black cloak, the guards behind him wearing new military uniforms exposed Zhao Wen's identity.

Zhao Wen nodded and said, "That's right, I am Zhao Wen, the chief soldier of Xuan Town."

Liu Juren walked towards Zhao Wen slowly, his face full of complex expressions.

The personal guards guarding Zhao Wen suddenly became vigilant, and they all put their hands on the weapons around their waists.

At a distance of three or four steps away from Zhao Wen, Liu Juren stopped. He looked at Zhao Wen's face, and the expression on his face changed. In the end, he sighed heavily, and then stared at Zhao Wen sharply, " Why did you rebel? If you hadn't rebelled, such a thing would not have happened in my family!"

In Liu Juren's view, although the death of his family was not directly related to Zhao Wen, it was more or less related.

He believed that if Zhao Wen hadn't rebelled, it would be impossible for Taiyuan Mansion to fall.If Taiyuan Mansion had not fallen, it would be impossible for Wu Tong to flee south.

If Wu Xin did not flee south, the government in Jiexiu City would not follow Wu Zhen to flee south.If the government hadn't withdrawn, the green-skinned hooligans in the city wouldn't have been so arrogant.

In Liu Juren's view, all of this was Zhao Wen's fault.If he hadn't rebelled, there would have been no such incidents, and his family would not have died for this reason.

"Why do you think it's my fault? Isn't this the government's fault? If the government didn't flee south, how could something like this happen to your family? Besides, I led the army into the city, did I ever harass the people? The rioters in the city Did I put down the green-skinned hooligans? As for why I rebelled, you may have to ask the court." Zhao Wen asked back.

Liu Juren listened to Zhao Wen's words and recalled all the things Zhao Wen did after entering the city. He was speechless for a while, and the expression on his face changed again and again.

After a long time, Liu Juren sighed heavily, then passed by Zhao Wen, sang in a hoarse voice, and limped away in the wind and snow.

Looking at the back of Liu Juren leaving, Zhao Wen said to Guo Yi: "Be kind to this person and help him well. The people in the city should also be kind to them. The wind and snow have been blowing up these days, so take out the extra rations and quilts in our army. , to these people in the city.

As for the people in the villages and towns outside the city, they should be distributed in a timely manner. I don't want to hear the news of people freezing to death this winter. "

After all, Liu Juren was stimulated, and now his mind is a little unclear, so there is no need for Zhao Wen to hold on.

"But my lord, in this way, the pressure on our logistics will increase exponentially. Now there is heavy snow, the road is difficult, and it is very difficult to transport supplies..."

Before Guo Yi finished speaking, Zhao Wen interrupted Guo Yi's words, "The people are the foundation of the country. If the people are not stable, the country is not stable. Just do what I say. The people of Ming Dynasty will not care about it. Zhao Wenguan."

Guo Yi had no choice but to bow to Zhao Wengong and obey Zhao Wen's order.

The next day, the wind and snow were still heavy and showed no sign of stopping.

Yesterday, the extra military rations and quilts among the soldiers and horse generals in Xuanzhen were also sent in.

At the beginning, the people in the city were a little wary when they faced the grain and quilts that Zhao Wen handed out.

The people in the city did not believe that these so-called rebels would give them winter supplies.

Seeing the state of the people in the city, the soldiers and horses of Xuanzhen put things in front of their doors without explaining, and left directly.

After the things were put down, these people still dare not move.But as time passed, these common people gradually became bolder.

When they found that nothing happened after they took the things, they all became excited and moved all the things that Xuan Zhenbing left at their doorstep back home.

At this time, most of the people in the city were poor ordinary people, and the wealthy gentry had already fled with Wu Sheng.

Therefore, these poor people suddenly worshiped Zhao Wen, and no longer treated Zhao Wen as a rebel who ate people and didn't spit out their bones.

At this time, Zhao Wen was fully dressed. He stood in the hall of the county government, looked at the heavy snow outside the hall, and said to Li Xiaosan beside him: "You lead 1000 people to station here, and I will give you Keep enough supplies for the winter, and you must distribute these items to the people in the countryside in time.

Now the south of Shanxi is about to be hollowed out by Wu Tong. If these cities are not taken over in time, many people will freeze to death this winter. "

Li Xiaosan cupped his fists at Zhao Wen, and said loudly, "Don't worry, my lord, I will definitely live up to my lord's entrustment!"

Zhao Wen nodded, and then led the guards towards the gate of the county government.

Zhao Wen came to the open space outside the county government office. At this time, the vanguard had already set off, and now only Zhao Wen's personal guards and the troops left for Li Xiaosan remained.

Zhao Wen stepped on a war horse, waved the whip in his hand, and headed out of Jiexiu City.

The heavy snow kept falling, and the traces of the army's departure were quickly covered by the heavy snow.

……

The snow on the grassland is heavier than that in Shanxi.The entire grassland was covered by heavy snow, and the vast expanse of whiteness made it difficult to tell the way forward.

In Horqin City of the Horqin tribe, Buhe sat in the main hall of the royal city.

The ground dragon under the hall was burning hot, and the whole hall was so warm that one could not feel the slightest bit of cold at all.

Buhe sat on the throne and drank kumiss.

After a while, he put down the wine glass in his hand, and looked at Wu Keshan, who was sitting at his lower head, "Did Fan Wencheng say something? He didn't say what he wanted to do when he came to the grassland?"

Wu Keshan replied: "Father, Fan Wencheng hasn't said anything about this bastard yet, so I plan to interrogate him myself."

"In that case, you should hurry up. Fan Wencheng suddenly appeared on the grassland. He probably obeyed Huang Taiji's order. Now that General Zhao has raised his troops, although we can't help much, we can't let the grassland go wrong. " Bu He said in a deep voice.

Wu Keshan nodded, stood up from his seat, saluted Buhe, and then walked outside.

(End of this chapter)