Under the sky

Chapter 176: People’s support ([-])

The scene was a little quiet, no, it should be said to be extremely quiet.After spending this time together, the villagers' eyes were no longer as frightened as before, but were replaced by suspicion and suspicion.

Wang Shu shouted: "They stole the axe, either to kill someone or to escape! I told you earlier that they couldn't believe it! Village chief, they can't stay, they have to be dealt with!"

Village Chief Niu hesitated and looked at Brother Xue.

Brother Xue slowly raised his hand. He had grabbed grain, killed people, and seen large battles. He turned to his companions and asked, "Which of you took the ax and didn't put it back?"

All the horse bandits looked at each other. After a while, someone said: "Fourth brother, we are all afraid of misunderstanding. We are not allowed to use weapons and equipment, and we don't touch them on weekdays."

Another person said: "We have also taken a hoe. If we really want to do something evil, won't the hoe work?"

Wang Shu scolded: "So this is what you were thinking about when you picked up the hoe!" Some of the hot-tempered horse bandits immediately scolded them back.

Fourth Brother Xue asked everyone to be quiet and said to Village Chief Niu: "Village Chief, we have been in the village for more than ten days. We are peaceful and content, with two meals and one night, and our life is stable. I asked the brothers and found that everyone has a good heart. , who else would be wearing these shackles and handcuffs? In the early days, when the sex was fierce, this brother would be seeking death by talking like this."

Wang Shu shrank and said angrily: "What is this, a threat?"

Brother Xue said again: "Our brother said he didn't take it, so he definitely didn't take it. It's nothing to be suspicious and suspicious. If you don't believe us, let us go and return the horse to us. The people on the street also follow the rules of benevolence and justice. We have received the kindness of the village to spare our lives and will never go back to each other again."

Village Chief Niu asked loudly: "Who took Brother Wang's ax and caused misunderstanding?" The villagers discussed it for a few words and shook their heads.Village Chief Niu expected that if the villagers took the axe, they would not hide it. There is something in their village that they cannot help, and it is not valuable, so why steal it?He had no idea and looked at Ming Wuxiang: "Master Ming, please take a step to speak."

Village Chief Niu pulled Ming Wuxiang aside and asked in a low voice: "I'm worried that these horse bandits will not change their evil ways. How can we survive?"

Ming Ming asked in confusion, "Why didn't you find the ax first? If you find the ax, won't you find out who stole it?"

Village Chief Niu was stunned, then turned around and said, "It's just an axe. Our village is so big, where can we hide it? Everyone, go find it!"

The villagers went to look for them individually, leaving a group of horse bandits in the open space in front of the village. It was unknown, so they did not dare to do evil.Village Chief Niu asked anxiously: "Master Ming, if they are really hiding, what should we do? Do we... have to report to the sect?"

Ming shook his head uncertainly: "How much money is left to spend?"

The village chief was stunned. Yinliang had already gone to Qiqibaba. If he asked about the stolen goods...

Ming Wuxi seemed to read his mind: "Even if the sect doesn't ask, they will confess."

Village Chief Niu said: "We firmly believe that it is a false accusation."

Ming shook his head uncertainly: "There are so many chickens and pigs in the village. The fence at the village gate and the ancestral hall have just been repaired. Many utensils are new. There are also handcuffs and shackles on these horse bandits. The sect does not need to check them in detail. You will know, you have to confess."

"Then...what will happen?" Village Chief Niu asked hesitantly.

"If you are given a lighter punishment and you spit out the stolen goods, village chief, you will get slapped so that you don't enter the study." Ming said unclearly.

"What does it mean to enter the study room?" Mr. Niu, who lives in Niushan Village, really doesn't understand this slang.

"Go to jail." Ming said uncertainly, "I may have to stay for the first half of the year."

Village Chief Niu was shocked: "Is it so serious?"

"It's not serious. It's remote here. Just say you don't understand the law. Just return some silver and you'll be fine."

Village Chief Niu thought, if this group of people really had evil intentions, they would definitely not be allowed to stay, but he was worried and gave them a chance to change their ways. How could they be so ignorant of good and evil?How to withdraw the silver?Even if the expenses were reduced by half, it would be enough to cost an entire village.

After waiting for a long time, someone shouted: "Found it! Found it!"

The head of Niu Village was overjoyed and asked quickly: "Where did you find it?"

A man came over carrying a broken ax and said, "I found it in the wasteland east of the village. There are a few ax marks on the ground and the ax handle is broken."

Village Chief Niu frowned: "Why did it get damaged?"

Wang Shu was unreasonable, looked at the gap on the axe, and said loudly: "It's all chopped down. They must have used the ax to chop off the anklets, leaving traces on the ground. They just wanted to escape!"

This shout made the villagers burst into an uproar.Brother Xue turned around and asked, "Which of you wants to escape?" The horse bandits looked at each other.

Xu Liang took a step forward: "Fourth brother, I have asked everyone on weekdays, and they all said that they don't want to live the days of missing a meal and licking blood from the knife edge. Haven't we seen the death of those brothers more than a year ago? This is really not the case. They want to be unjust and start the trouble. No one can explain why. To be fair, if you catch the thief, you will at least get the stolen goods. Who saw our brother stealing the axe? "

Everyone was still doubtful, and they reached out for the ax without knowing it, looked at the fracture and blade surface, walked up to a child, and asked, "Can you open your hand and let me have a look?"

The child didn't know why, so he opened his palm and looked at it. Then he went to another child and asked him to open his hand as well.When he arrived in front of Xiao Shun'er, Xiao Shun'er blushed and put his hands behind his back and refused to open them.

Ming said vaguely: "You stole the ax for fun, right?"

Xiao Shun'er just lowered his head and twisted the corner of his clothes, or his father asked: "Xiao Shun'er?" Xiao Shun'er nodded.

Ming said unclearly: "The ax broke because of improper force. It was a novice who was holding it with both hands and slashing at the ground, and the corner broke when it hit the stone."

Xiao Shun'er's father scolded: "You took Brother Wang's axe, why didn't you admit it just now?"

Xiao Shun'er lowered his head and murmured: "I learned Kung Fu from Brother Xu. He taught me a few sword skills. I tried it with an axe, but accidentally broke it. I heard a call from the village and came back. Everyone was looking for an axe... I Afraid of being scolded...just..." His eyes turned red as he spoke, and he cried "Wow".

Village Chief Niu said hurriedly: "It's not a big deal. Since it's a misunderstanding, let's leave."

Ye You, who lives with Fourth Brother Xue and Xu Liang, said dissatisfied: "You have wronged us, and now that you have found out the truth, don't you even say sorry?"

Bao Erfu spit and cursed: "You are thieves and bandits to begin with. Have you been wronged?"

Wang Shu was a little ashamed, but after hearing what he said, he suddenly became bolder and cursed: "Have I wronged you?"

Ye You was about to curse when he was grabbed by Fourth Brother Xue. Village Chief Niu quickly calmed him down and told the villagers to disperse. He also asked the horse bandits to rest, and then the turmoil was calmed down.

■

The porridge distributed in Lengshuitan is getting thinner and thinner, and public resentment is getting higher and higher. Not only the refugees, but also the local residents of Lengshuitan are complaining a lot.Those starving ghosts gradually became unruly, committing evil acts in nearby villages, robbing and destroying, and several lives had been lost.Lan Shengqing sent people to control the situation. Ten thousand soldiers were responsible for controlling tens of thousands of refugees, and they also wanted to prevent chaos.In the past few days, Lingling City opened its doors from time to time, and hundreds of cavalry rushed out, causing the troops stationed in Lengshuitan to think that they were about to invade and were on guard.

When the refugees saw the movement, they immediately became confused and fled in all directions. Unexpectedly, the cavalry circled around the city gate and then turned back to the city.At night, Lingling City lit up torches, illuminating the city as if it were daytime, and then there was no movement.

Such shocks every day made people panic. In addition, the refugees kept causing trouble. The troops stationed in Lengshuitan were very anxious and could not sleep well at night.

Lan Shengqing knew that Lingling City was harassing the enemy, so he was not idle. He sent hundreds of cavalry to demonstrate in a circle outside the city, with the intention of asking for a fight. The Diancang defenders ignored them and didn't even bother to shoot their bows and arrows. The two armies cursed across the city wall.

Yin Molan was placed under house arrest and refused to let Yinjiabao's troops cross the river to join forces, nor did he hand over food. Lan Shengqing used his status as deputy leader to suppress him, but Yin Molan just ignored him. Lan Shengqing knew that he was rigorous in running the army. Let him handle the matter of Lingling disturbing the enemy.Yin Molan divided the garrison into several groups. If anyone disturbed the enemy, he did not order anyone to leave the post without permission except the guards on duty. He also divided people to monitor the refugees. If Lingling troops came out, any rash move would be killed.

After killing 35 disciples and hundreds of civilians, no matter how Lingling harassed the enemy, the garrison at Lengshuitan remained unmoved.

However, Hengshan's food supply still failed to arrive, and Yin Molan still asked Lan Shengqing to drive away the refugees.

"When the food runs out, they will cause chaos." Yin Molan said, "Drive them away first, otherwise there will be chaos."

Lan Shengqing also knew that the situation was urgent and could not wait any longer.Especially in the past few days, in order to help the refugees, the military rations of the disciples have been reduced. There are countless complaints, but Lan Shengqing only wants the disciples to wait.

The army gathered at Lengshuitan and will run out of food in just over half a month. This is simply unreasonable!He didn't know what the other two deputy heads were busy with, he just hoped that the head would come back soon to take charge of the overall situation.

Just when he was in a state of panic, Ying Chenghu suddenly arrived and said happily: "Deputy leader, we have food!"

Lan Shengqing was overjoyed: "Did Deputy Commander Mao deliver the food?"

Ying Chenghu said hurriedly: "No, he is a rice merchant, his surname is Wen, and his name is Wen Jingren."

Lan Shengqing was surprised: "Rice merchant? Are there any rice merchants now?"

Lan Shengqing's question was not unreasonable. Before the army moved, food and grass would go first. How could he not know such a simple truth?Although Lingling, the rice warehouse, was lost, as early as the gathering in Lengshuitan, he had purchased and stockpiled rice at high prices from Qiyang and Dong'an. With the continuous rice grains sent from Hengshan, more than 1 soldiers and horses were enough to manage them. It took tens of thousands of refugees to overwhelm the garrison.

Where did this businessman named Wen Jingren get his food?Could it be that someone among the rice merchants in the two places was hiding grain?This is a serious crime.

Lan Shengqing summoned Yin Molan and Ying Chenghu, and ordered Wen Jingren to be invited in.

"I'm from Hengnan." The rice merchant named Wen Jingren has a beard, a bit bookish, and his accent is not like the locals.

"Aren't you from Xiangdi?" Lan Shengqing asked, "It sounds like a northern accent."

Wen Jingren saluted: "My ancestral home is Tianshui. I moved to Hunan this year and now live in Hengnan."

"How much food do you have?" Lan Shengqing asked straight to the point.

"Five hundred stones will arrive first, and there will be another five hundred stones behind." Wen Jingren replied respectfully, "The grain truck is at the Yangxi Monument in the east. It is only two miles away. It will be there soon."

Although one thousand kilograms of rice is not much, it is enough to relieve the current difficulties. Lan Shengqing was overjoyed: "I want it all!"

"Slow down! Deputy Commander..." Yin Molan suddenly interrupted Lan Shengqing and turned to look at Wen Jingren. "How did you deliver one thousand kilo of rice?" Yin Molan asked.

Lan Shengqing suddenly realized that the food roads in Hengshan were not able to provide relief, so how could these thousand stones of rice be sent from Hengnan?How much manpower is needed?Besides, Hengshan is collecting grain, and Hengnan is near Hengyang. Instead of risking hundreds of miles to transport grain, why not just sell it to the local sect, which can make a profit?

"We hired a large number of bodyguards to bring him here slowly." Wen Jingren was still polite and couldn't find anything suspicious. "It's only three to four hundred miles away, and it won't take ten days."

"That is to say, you transported food ten days ago? Including recruiting people, preparing food trucks and other things, it will take several days to prepare." Yin Molan asked, "How do you know we are short of food? How do you know whether Hengshan will provide relief? superior?"

He had to be suspicious. It was only more than 400 miles from Hengshan to Lengshuitan. The lack of food was an accident. Why did this businessman seem to have known about it?

"I don't know." Wen Jingren said, "Businessmen will chase profits after profits. I think there will always be people who want these rice when it comes to the battlefield."

"You are from Tianshui, and you just settled in Hunan this year. As soon as you settled, you bought a thousand kilo of rice and hoarded it? Did you hoard it until today and bring it to Lengshuitan?" Yin Molan stared at Wen Jingren coldly, "Even if the price of rice is the previous , plus the manpower and material resources transported along the way, I am afraid it will not cost you three or four hundred taels of silver. Not only will you be wealthy, but you will also have good fortune and vision. It seems that you knew you would fight a long time ago."

Wen Jingren smiled and said: "To be honest, I just put all my wealth on this bet. If I win, I will double it several times. If I lose, I will die."

Yin Molan thought for a while and asked, "If you risk transporting grain, what price will you sell it for?"

Wen Jingren smiled and said: "It's not too much. According to the recent price of rice in Yongzhou, one thousand shi sells for one thousand, five hundred taels."

"Five times the price?" Yin Molan said, "In fact, there is no shortage of food in Lengshuitan, did you know?"

Wen Jingren smiled and said: "Of course I know. Hengshan will be here to help in a few days. I sent people to check on the way. It won't take seven days. There will be enough food and grass."

Yin Molan nodded: "We will accept the thousand stones from you, and we will pay you back the thousand stones in seven days, plus some travel expenses so that you can transport the grain back."

Doesn’t this mean that people don’t even earn a penny?Lan Shengqing was surprised and said: "Master Yin!"

Yin Molan glared at Wen Jingren and said slowly: "You came to Hengshan and sold the rice produced in Hengshan to the sect that defends Hengshan, and you still want to make five times the money?"

"Not just five times." Wen Jingren shook his head, "Maybe twenty or thirty times. My rice is old rice that no one wants, so Hengshan won't accept it, so I can only send it here."

Now Lan Shengqing could no longer suppress his anger. Ying Chenghu took a step forward and stood up angrily: "What did you say, Chen Mi?"

Wen Jingren nodded: "It's all five-year-old rice. It's less than [-]% of the price of new rice. The cost of hiring bodyguards along the way is more than buying rice."

No wonder he didn't sell it to the local rice sect. Old rice was rotten and it was said that eating too much would be harmful to the body. There was no shortage of rice in Hunan. This old rice was something no one cared about.

Lan Shengqing said sullenly: "You transported a batch of old rice from Hengnan that no one wants to eat, and you want to sell it to us for 500 taels?"

"Old rice is old rice. If the refugees still want to eat new rice, is this still considered a refugee?" Wen Jingren answered politely but confidently.

"I'll trade you a thousand shi of new rice for a thousand shi of old rice, and you won't lose anything." Yin Molan said, "I'll send someone to deliver it to you and put the rice into the warehouse immediately."

Wen Jingren smiled and said: "I can only sell the rice but not exchange it." He was calm and calm, not afraid at all.

Yin Molan shook his head: "It's not up to you."

Wen Jingren smiled and said: "I can't help it, the oil is on the rice."

Everyone was stunned, wondering what he meant.Wen Jingren knew that everyone was puzzled, so he continued: "I poured vegetable oil on the rice and tied it with hemp. If I couldn't sell it, I burned it all."

He bowed his head and said, "Wen has invested all his wealth on this thousand shi of rice. If he can't earn any silver, Wen will burn it all together with these [-] shi of rice."

Lan Shengqing didn't expect this person to be such a rogue.

"I have nothing more to ask." Yin Molan looked at Lan Shengqing, clasped his fists and asked for instructions, "Please let the deputy commander make a decision."

■

"Waist, sink down. Legs, open up, thighs are flush with the ground." Xu Liang directed with the branch, and as he walked, the shackles on his hands and feet could not stop clanking.

The four children clenched their hands into fists, with their palms facing the sky, their feet spread apart, their waists lowered and their horses lowered, and they squatted in a semblance of a posture.

Since the incident of throwing the axe, the villagers felt deeply guilty towards the horse bandits, and the relationship between the two parties became even better.Knowing that Xu Liang was teaching martial arts to Xiao Shun'er, the other children were also interested. The four teenagers and a half-year-old boys followed Xu Liang to compete outside the village after busy work, and they seemed to be having a good time.

On this day, Xu Liang taught his children to stand on the horse and raise their strength from the ground. The first lesson in all martial arts is that the horse step must be stable and the waist and legs must be strong enough to move and receive freely.Zamabu is a hard skill that cannot be taken advantage of. It can only be practiced every day. It is also very boring. The children are so tired that they complain of backache.

Xu Liang said: "In the past, when we practiced martial arts in the village, we would spend two hours on horseback."

Several children complained incessantly, and one said: "Master, I don't want to learn anymore. This is more troublesome than transplanting rice seedlings!"

Xu Liang smiled and said: "If you learn how to do it, the waist and horse will be strong, so transplanting rice will not be painful. You see, we are stronger than you when we go to work in the fields."

Suddenly, Xiao Shun'er stood up straight, his feet gave way and he fell to the ground. Xu Liang thought he had no strength, so he laughed and said, "Why did his legs become weak so quickly?" Just as he was about to reach out to pull, Xiao Shun'er's expression changed. Frightened, he pointed forward and said: "There is... there is a wolf!"

Xu Liang turned his head and was surprised to see an old wolf hiding deep in the grass.The old wolf seemed to have noticed that he had been discovered, and no longer hid, he walked slowly out of the grass, with a fierce look in his eyes and drooling at the corner of his mouth, obviously hungry.

The other children were frightened when they saw the wolf and turned around to run away. Xu Liang hurriedly shouted: "Don't run away!"

He shouted too slowly, and the wolf pounced on him. The children were stupefied for a long time, their legs were weak and they couldn't run two steps. Xiao Shun'er fell to the ground. The hungry wolf pounced on Xiao Shun'er with both claws. It bit his throat with a bloody mouth, and Xiao Shun'er could only scream at the top of his lungs.

Xu Liang stepped forward, locked the wolf's throat with the iron chains on his wrists, and pulled the wolf away at the critical moment.

The wolf missed the target and was very angry. It turned around and went to catch Xu Liang. Xu Liang was not a good martial artist and could not dodge. He only felt a pain in his chest. The wolf's claws had already made deep marks on his chest. Blood flowed profusely.

"Run away!" Xu Liang shouted.He ignored the danger and struggled to throw the wolf to the ground. His hands and feet were shackled, making it difficult to move. He pressed the wolf with his body, grabbed the wolf's neck with both hands and pushed hard. The wolf's claws kept scratching, and he felt severe pain all over his body. I don’t know where I was injured.

The wolf's strength was far greater than he imagined. He couldn't hold it down. Seeing that the children had escaped, he breathed a sigh of relief. The wolf twisted its waist and kicked him away.Xu Liang turned around to run away, but in a hurry, he tripped over the shackles and fell to the point where a hungry wolf stepped on his back and opened its mouth to bite him.

For some reason, the wolf suddenly stopped moving.Xu Liang raised his head and saw a man in white standing not far away. Wasn't it clear that he was unknown?

The wolf looked at the unknown, and the unknown looked at it.

Mingming slowly approached the wolf, and Xu Liang felt that the wolf's claws on his back seemed to have weakened.His claws had been retracted. He knew that Wu Ming was highly skilled in martial arts, but he still couldn't help but remind him: "Danger!"

Ming Ming didn't feel it was dangerous. He reached out and touched the head of the hungry wolf. The wolf was as docile as a dog. It stuck out its tongue and kept licking Ming Ming's hands and face. Xu Liang even felt that he was wagging his tail.

"Go ahead, if you are seen by the villagers, you will get hurt. Don't come to the village in the future, and don't hurt anyone, you understand?"

He actually ordered this wolf?Simply unbelievable.

The hungry wolf turned and ran away, disappearing deep into the woods, never to be seen again.

When the adults in the village heard the shouts, they rushed over with farm tools. Seeing that Xu Liang was covered in blood, Brother Xue was worried about his brother and hurriedly stepped forward to check.Xiao Shun'er's parents were surprised and happy. They hugged Xiao Shun'er tightly. Xiao Shun'er cried and said how dangerous it was just now.Village Chief Niu thanked Mingwuxi, who shook his head, pointed at Xu Liang and said, "He saved the child."

Xu Liang was seriously injured. The parents of several children came forward to express their gratitude in turn. Even Bao Erfu, who hated Xu Liang the most, did not dare to speak.

"Isn't it because he took the child out of the village that he caused trouble?" Wang Shu couldn't help but muttered something, and many people heard it.

Fourth Brother Xue was supporting Xu Liang. When he heard this, he looked at Wang Shu angrily.Wang Shu was startled by his glare and hurriedly said: "Isn't that what I said?" After saying that, he felt guilty and ran away.

That night, the village chief Niu sent his daughter Yueji to deliver medicine to Xu Liang, but he found Mingming himself.

"Do you think these gangsters have really reformed?" Village Chief Niu asked, "Can we let them go?"

Ming Wuxi thought for a while and said, "I think maybe it is."

Village Chief Niu said: "I also think they have changed their ways, but..."

Ming said vaguely: "It's not enough for us to believe, we have to make the villagers believe."

Village Chief Niu asked: "What should we do?"

Ming said vaguely: "If they really want to settle down, they need to spend more time to make the villagers believe in them."

■

Yueji came over with some medicine for wounds, but how could there be any good medicinal materials in this small village?Fourth brother Xue took off Xu Liang's shirt, and the bloody wound was rolled into a ball. Yue Ji turned her head away, not daring to look, and asked, "Is Xu Liang okay?"

"Fuck! Brother Xu has already done this, and he still needs to be tied up?" Ye You was dissatisfied and turned to ask Yue Ji, "If your father still doesn't trust us, he might as well let us go."

"Stop talking." Fourth Brother Xue still said the same thing, raised his head and said to Yue Ji, "Miss Niu, you can go back. We will take care of Brother Xu ourselves."

Yue Ji glanced at Xu Liang, nodded and left.

(End of this chapter)