The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 131 This Zhao Da Doesn't Look Like a Good Man
Starting from late March, refugees began to appear outside Anding County, some in groups of three to five, and some with their families. The number was not large, only about one or two hundred in a few days.

After interrogation, it was found that they were all common people from Pizhou.

Zhu Xiu personally came forward and talked with several village elders, only to find out that they were rural farmers living near Wucheng in Pizhou. Their land had been occupied and the government did not care about it. The price of salt was getting higher day by day, so they had to secretly buy private salt to eat. .

Most of them have salt dealers among their relatives and friends. It was from the salt dealers that they learned about Jingzhou's generous policy of accepting refugees and resettlement, so they made up their minds to gather relatives and friends to Jingzhou.

The arrival of these people showed that Bi Zhenhai's propaganda work was initially effective.

The route they took was exactly the ancient river course in the southeast of Yangjinchuan. Along the way, they received support from officials and soldiers, which further strengthened their determination to settle in Jingzhou.

Zhu Xiu immediately decided to set up a resettlement leading group, with himself as the leader. Song Shen, Pei Jin, Wen Zhongping, Guan Tieshi and others were members of the group.

An area was set aside in Guocheng to set up temporary resettlement sites. According to the order of first come, first served, for every [-] households, a land drawing ceremony was organized. With Anding County as the center, the refugees were resettled in the newly established villages from near to far.

The arrival of the refugees in Pizhou was faster than Zhu Xiu expected. The work of clearing the land has not been completed yet, and the resettlement of the refugees must be handled non-stop.

Fortunately, there is a work manual for guidance, and the officials handle it in an orderly manner, just follow the manual's details and give out charity in sequence.

On this day, outside the county town, a man came out of the two or three refugees. He was tall and straight, with a white face and no beard. His cloth robe was covered with dust. He had a simple knife hanging from his waist and was leading a yellow gelding horse. He stood out among the crowd.

He saw the plaque hanging high above the county town from afar, and looked at the mottled and blurred words "An Ding". He felt refreshed and could not help but speed up his pace.

Guan Tieshi is going out of the city today to inspect several nearby villages to prevent any villagers from being dissatisfied and causing trouble during the process of dividing the fields.

Shi Xiangwen caught a golden snake in the back garden of his house this morning and pestered Zhu Xiu to play with the snake.

Although Wang Jin Snake is not poisonous, it is still a bit outrageous to hang a snake that is as thick as a child's arm and more than two meters long around his neck as a toy. Zhu Xiu declined politely.

While Guan Tieshi was about to leave the city, Zhu Xiu asked him to take Shi Xiangwen with him to prevent the unlucky boy from causing trouble in the house.

At the same time, he also took the opportunity to carry out general cleaning in the house and spread some lime and sulfur in the back garden to drive away snakes and insects.

The king snake that Shi Xiangwen caught was also coaxed by Zhu Xiu, and several aunts noisily divided the spoils, saying they would take them back to make snake soup.

Guan Tieshi asked the city gate guards about the situation of refugees entering the city in recent days. Out of the corner of his eye, he inadvertently saw a white-faced man leading a yellow gelding horse preparing to enter the city.

Guan Tieshi became alert the first time he saw this person.

This man is dusty, as if he has come from afar.

When walking, his steps are steady and powerful, his shoulders are broad and his back is broad, his hands are thickly calloused, and his eyes are full of tiredness, but it is difficult to hide the sharp light in them.

This man with fair face and big ears is not simple!
The white-faced man was asking a soldier on duty at the city gate. Guan Tieshi held the knife in one hand and walked over calmly.

Before he even got close, the white-faced man noticed something and glanced at him warily.

Guan Tieshi's hand holding the knife tightened, and he was even more sure that this man was no ordinary person.

"You want to enter the city?" The soldier whispered in Guan Tieshi's ear. Guan Tieshi nodded, looked at him and asked.

The white-faced man cupped his fists and said, "Exactly."

"What's your name? Where are you from? Take out your passport for inspection!" Guan Tieshi said.

The white-faced man said in a deep voice: "A certain family, Zhao Kuangyin, came from Kaifeng. When passing through Wugong County, the road was blocked due to the rebellion of Hou Yi, the former Jiedu envoy of Yongxing Army, and he was trapped for half a month. All the documents for passing the place and the petition were left. It was lost during many searches.”

Guan Tieshi frowned and said, "So, you are still an official?"

Zhao Kuangyin smiled and said: "A certain person is under the command of Tianxiong Army, and anyone will be killed."

"Oh? Really?" Guan Tieshi suddenly sneered and pointed at the sword on his waist: "You claim to be under the command of the Tianxiong Army, how come the sword is engraved with the word Forbidden Army?"

Zhao Kuangyin was stunned. He didn't expect that his observations were so detailed.

However, Zhao Kuangyin never liked to reveal his family background. He hesitated for a moment and said, "It's not surprising that friends give gifts to each other."

But in Guan Tieshi's eyes, his hesitation turned into a vague concealment, making people have to doubt his origin and purpose.

"Why did you enter the city?" Guan Tieshi asked again.

Zhao Kuangyin looked at the refugees and civilians who were able to enter the city after simple questioning, but he was interrogated for a long time. He said slightly unhappy: "Why don't you stop these people from entering the city and check them? You only show care for a certain person?"

Guan Tieshi said coldly: "They are just ordinary people, and their accents are all from the Yingning Jingyuan area. But you are different. You speak Luoyang Mandarin, have a Forbidden Army-style saber, and claim to be soldiers but have no credentials. Shouldn't you be suspicious?"

Zhao Kuangyin said patiently: "I have already said that I lost my identity in Wugong County where I filed my complaint. I grew up in Luoyang and came from Kaifeng. My close relatives are serving in the Forbidden Army. It is not uncommon to have a few standard weapons."

Guan Tieshi said: "You can go to the city if you want. You can hand over all the weapons on your body. Every move you make in the county must be under surveillance." Zhao Kuangyin was a little annoyed. Why was he always regarded as a key inspection target wherever he went?
"Are you a subordinate of Commander Shi Jie of the Zhangyi Army?" Zhao Kuangyin looked at Guan Tieshi, "There is a man named Zhu Xiu in the Zhangyi Army. Do you know him? I came here on an order to find him! Call Zhu Xiu and meet him. I will know the truth and falsehood.”

Guan Tieshi's eyes flashed with sharp light. As expected, this man really came for Zhu Xiu.

He winked at the soldiers, who understood and gestured towards the city gate. Soon, a group of soldiers with guns came and surrounded Zhao Kuangyin.

Zhao Kuangyin was startled, drew his sword and jumped back, looked around cautiously, and said sternly: "This is unreasonable! Are all the people in the Zhangyi Army so unreasonable? Or is it because your brain is not working well that you can't understand what I say?"

Guan Tieshi was furious, drew his sword and shouted: "Take him down!"

A group of soldiers gathered their spears and surrounded them. Zhao Kuangyin gritted his teeth and took a step forward before the encirclement was formed. He jumped up on the ground, cut off several spear heads with his sharp knife, and jumped out of the encirclement.

Guan Tieshi hurriedly swung his knife forward, Zhao Kuangyin landed on the ground, and before stabilizing his figure, he slashed forward with his strength, Guan Tieshi blocked his head with a horizontal knife, and a golden cry rang out, shaking his arms numb and his ears dazed .

"This guy is so powerful!" Guan Tieshi's heart sank and he raised his hand to shout: "Stop it all!"

A group of soldiers clamped Zhao Kuangyin front and back and did not go any further.

Guan Tieshi sneered several times, his ideas were thorny, and he just used strong words to destroy the soldiers in vain.

Guan Tieshi called someone to come closer and whispered a few words. The man nodded and ran into the city gate.

Zhao Kuangyin stared coldly, not knowing what he wanted to do.

Soon, a small mountain-like figure appeared in the city gate and staggered out.

It was Shi Xiangwen!
Zhao Kuangyin's eyes suddenly shrank, his face full of shock. This was the first time he had seen such a giant man!
Shi Xiangwen was holding a large stick of maltose, licking it happily, and wandered to Guan Tieshi.

"Dalang, catch this man quickly!" Guan Tieshi pointed at Zhao Kuangyin with ill intentions.

"Uh." Shi Xiangwen glanced at it, slurped the sticky syrup in his mouth, and said dullly: "Zhu Xiu said he wouldn't let me fight outside, and besides, I didn't bring a stick."

Guan Tieshi laughed loudly and said: "This person is deceitful, he is not like a good person, you should catch him first! No stick, a hemp rope is enough!"

A soldier handed him a bundle of rope.

Shi Xiangwen swallowed the syrup in a big gulp, nodded his head, and said vaguely: "Okay."

With that said, Shi Xiangwen strode towards Zhao Kuangyin. The soldiers around him quickly dispersed and laughed as if they were watching a good show.

Zhao Kuangyin saw such a giant man walking towards him, as if a hill was moving, and the ground seemed to be shaking with every step he took. He was horrified and quickly backed away: "Wait! I really know Zhu Xiu."

Shi Xiangwen didn't listen to him, and stretched out his thick long arms to capture Zhao Kuangyin.

Zhao Kuangyin hurriedly dodged away.

Shi Xiangwen was disappointed and said unhappily: "Don't hide, I won't be able to catch you."

The majestic body didn't look bulky at all when it moved, Zhao Kuangyin tried his best to dodge, but he still couldn't escape, and soon he was out of breath.

He gritted his teeth fiercely, found the right opening, leaped high into the air and struck out with a knife.

Shi Xiangwen opened his mouth and smiled innocently, dodged steadily on one side of his steps, and then swung out a seemingly light punch, heading straight for Zhao Kuangyin's chest.

Before Zhao Kuangyin landed, he folded his arms to block, and the huge fist hit his crossed arms. The force penetrated into his chest, and he felt a majestic force that lifted his whole body away.

With a muffled groan, Zhao Kuangyin's chest seemed to have been hit by a heavy hammer, and he fell to the ground. He knelt on one knee with a knife in his hand, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Shi Xiang threw the hemp rope knotted trap and caught Zhao Kuangyin steadily and accurately. With a gentle tug, he pulled him over and rolled forward.

A group of soldiers rushed forward and pinned him down with all their hands and feet. Before Zhao Kuangyin could blush and roar, Guan Tieshi took out a handkerchief to wipe sweat and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Hmm~" Zhao Kuangyin was so angry that his thick eyebrows stood up, he roared in his throat, and the veins on his neck popped out.

"Take this guy to the salt factory and dig out rocks for a month to see if he tells the truth!"

Guan Tieshi laughed and ordered Zhao Kuangyin to be put into a prison car and sent to the salt factory to work as a coolie.

Zhao Kuangyin was put into the prison car and banged his head against the wooden pole, as if he wanted to explain something.

The wheels of the carriage creaked and rolled, and Zhao Kuangyin could only watch as Anding County got further and further away from him.

　Thanks Ziqi for the reward!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)