Under the sky

Chapter 177: People’s support ([-])

With the news of killing wolves and saving children, the villagers almost dropped their guard against this group of horse bandits, losing their previous vigilance.Every morning, I asked who needed manpower. These 19 people, no, Xu Liang was still recovering from his injuries. Almost every household was competing for these 18 people. As long as they had two meals to eat, they would have a good coolie.Only Wang Shu's job of picking up dung, firstly, Xu Liang was injured, secondly, the group of horse bandits ignored him, and thirdly, it was a dirty job with no one willing to help, so it had to fall back on him.

The only drawback is that they have to do a lot of work and eat a lot. The 18 people are all in good health, and every household is competing for them. If they can't keep enough food, they are afraid they won't come to work.

Widow Zhao is the most troubled. She was widowed at a young age, with no children or relatives. She is a woman in her forties and cannot farm. She relies on a few fruit trees in the yard to make a living. She also eats long fasts and has no money at home. Fortunately, Fourth Brother Xue knew that she was in trouble, and whenever he saw that she needed help, he would go to her house to help.

Accidents always happen and people are caught off guard.

This was a major event that almost changed the fate of Niushan Village.

On this day, Xu Liang was still recovering from his injuries, and the other horse bandits went to work. The village was busy every day, and I thought it was another ordinary day.

There was a sound of horse hoofbeats, and two people came to the village entrance. Old Liu, who was working at the village entrance, saw that he was a disciple of the Lengshui Sect. He hurriedly ran to the village chief's house and shouted: "No, the disciples of the Lengshui Sect are here." !”

This shout startled Village Chief Niu. The nineteen horse bandits in the village were all shackled, and they knew something was wrong at a glance.The village chief said hurriedly: "Old Liu, you delay them, and I'll tell Brother Xue to hide!"

Old Liu said anxiously: "How to delay?"

Village Chief Niu said hurriedly: "That's the opposite. I'm going to delay them. You tell Brother Xue and they hide!"

Old Liu asked anxiously: "Where to hide?"

Village Chief Niu didn't care to think about it: "It's the room where they were locked up before."

Old Liu was busy informing everyone, and Village Chief Niu rushed to the entrance of the village. The two disciples had already entered the village without anyone stopping them.The head of Niu Village hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and asked, "What business do you two bring to Niushan Village? Although our Niushan Village is remote, we still pay taxes and pay grain."

The two disciples were one tall and one short. The taller disciple said: "It's nothing. You also know that Dian Cang has violated our boundary in Hengshan Mountain. We are just patrolling to check if there are any spies."

Village Chief Niu said: "There are no strangers in our village."

The short disciple said: "We will find out after one round."

Village Chief Niu said: "Hey, what's the point of patrolling? This village can be seen all the way and it's remote. How can we explore the military situation? The sun is so hot. Why bother to find a place to enjoy the cool weather?"

The tall disciple frowned and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? We are on patrol?"

Village Chief Niu said: "Yes, yes, you two have worked hard! Why don't you come to my house to drink a glass of water, eat some fruit, and rest for a while before checking again?"

The two disciples discussed it for a moment and said, "That's okay."

Over there, Old Liu had already informed everyone that harboring horse bandits was a serious crime and it was difficult to explain these shackles. Secondly, the villagers were getting closer to the horse bandits and were worried about them. Seeing the two disciples enter the village In the longhouse, he quickly asked them to take shelter.Several horse bandits crouched down and hid in the broken house in the east of the village.

Village Chief Niu entertained two disciples for tea, and asked Yueji to go to Widow Zhao's house to ask for some fruit as a treat.The short disciple asked: "You reported horse bandits last year, are you still being harassed this year?"

Village Chief Niu said hurriedly: "No, no, not coming again."

The tall disciple asked doubtfully: "No, no, why are you in such a hurry?"

Village Chief Niu pretended to be surprised: "Am I anxious?" He added: "No, just... you two also know that this village is so remote, how can there be any sect disciples here on weekdays? This... I am the villager I have been in charge for more than [-] years, and I have never... entertained any disciples of the sect, so I am inevitably... afraid that the hospitality will not be good enough."

The tall disciple smiled and said: "Old village chief, don't worry, we won't beat the autumn wind, and we won't ask for anything from you. You have treated us very thoughtfully with these glasses of water and fruits."

Seeing that he was polite, Village Chief Niu felt a little relieved. He wondered if the group of horse bandits were hiding.So he asked: "Where do you two want to inspect? I will take you there."

The short disciple said: "It's just a walk."

Village Chief Niu said: "How about I let my wife cook and treat you to lunch?" He then shouted: "Yueji, let your mother kill a chicken to entertain the uncle!"

The tall disciple said hurriedly: "No, no, no, we have dry food."

Village Chief Niu said hurriedly: "It should, it should."

The tall disciple said: "If you insist, we will have to patrol the village first and then leave."

When Village Chief Niu saw that they were determined to leave, he said: "Then we won't need to eat. You two can rest for a while."

The tall disciple said: "No need, this village is not big. Let's walk around in a circle, finish our business and then come back to hide from the sun."

Village Chief Niu couldn't stop him and had to follow the two disciples.

Unexpectedly, there was no one on the streets of this small village.It turned out that everyone was so frightened that they all hid in their homes and did not dare to go out. This turned out to be suspicious.

The tall disciple frowned and said, "Aren't the people in the village busy?"

Village Chief Niu just scolded his mother in his heart, and said hurriedly: "People in the village have never seen the world, and they are hiding from these two masters."

The tall disciple smiled and said: "What are you hiding from? You don't eat people. Call everyone in the village. I want to question you."

Village Chief Niu had no choice but to shout at the top of his lungs: "Don't be afraid, everyone, come out and work! You two want to ask questions!"

After shouting, every household poked their head out, and they were a little timid. They all gathered at the entrance of the village timidly.

The tall disciple smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, everyone, I'll leave after I ask you a question. Have you seen any strangers in the past few days?"

Everyone shook their heads and said no. Wang Shu was about to speak, but when he saw the villagers looking at him, he immediately shut up.

The tall disciple saw a man with an angry face, pointed at him and asked, "Have you seen a stranger?"

The villagers felt uneasy and heard Bao Erfu say: "I saw no strangers, only animals. A pack of wolves came to the village just a few days ago."

Although he did not accuse the horse bandits, he could still hear the anger in his tone.

The tall disciple looked for another child and asked, "Have you seen any strangers?"

The kid shook his head and said, "No."

At this point, the villagers started to feel a little relieved with their throats raised.

The tall disciple was asking, and the short disciple strolled to the edge of the cliff and saw military formations arrayed at the foot of the mountain. He pointed at the foot of the mountain and said, "Brother, come and take a look. You can see the battlefield clearly."

The tall disciple was also surprised: "The terrain is pretty good. You can see both Lengshuitan and Lingling City. It's just that it's a little far away. If you don't look carefully, it's hard to tell the news."

The short disciple pointed to the observation platform: "It's high there, go and have a look."

With this statement, everyone's hearts, which had just been relieved, rose again to their throats.

Why did you forget to know whether it was clear or not?He is on the rooftop.Just now they said they didn’t see any strangers, so it’s unclear...

Village Chief Niu wanted to stop him, but he didn't know how to speak. He just said that the scenery there was the same as here, so there was no need to make the extra trip.The two disciples ignored him and walked all the way to the rooftop viewing platform and climbed up. Village Chief Niu secretly thought something was wrong and quickly followed him up.

There was no one on the observation platform, only two disciples stood on the platform and looked into the distance.

Where did Ming unknown go?Village Chief Niu was stunned.

There is only one road to the rooftop, and there is a cliff next to it. Where did Ming go?While the two disciples were still watching the scene, Village Chief Niu silently walked to the side to watch. When he lowered his head, he almost screamed in fright.

Ming Ming was seen climbing on a protrusion outside the cliff with one hand, hanging there and swinging in the wind. Below him was an abyss of [-] feet. If he missed it or the stone came loose, it would be too thick to turn him into a pulp.

However, Ming Xiang's expression did not change, and he just hung there. A gust of wind blew, and Village Chief Niu felt that his feet were about to be blown weak, and he turned his head away.

The short disciple said: "The location here is good. Why don't you inform the sub-rudder and send someone to watch here? Maybe you can see some movement so that you can report it to the superiors."

The tall disciple nodded in agreement and shouted: "Let's go."

Village Chief Niu quickly followed, and before leaving, he didn't forget to look back at the place where the unknown hanging was.

The two disciples returned to the village chief's house. The villagers had dispersed. They were about to say goodbye and leave when they suddenly saw a girl hurriedly walking out of the house opposite the village chief's house. Wasn't she the village chief's daughter?She looked panicked, and when she went out, she was surprised to see two people standing at the door.

Seeing her pale face, the tall disciple asked, "What are you doing on the other side?"

Yueji couldn't tell lies. Her teeth trembled when she opened her mouth, and she stumbled and said, "I...talk to my neighbor."

The tall disciple noticed something was wrong and saw that the door of the room was not closed. He was about to step forward. Yue Ji quickly closed the door and could not stop trembling all over.Village Chief Niu shouted hurriedly: "Yueji! The two uncles won't eat you, so what are you afraid of?"

Just as Village Chief Niu was about to cover up, the tall disciple got suspicious early and pushed Yueji away and opened the door. He saw an injured person lying on the ground with shackles on his hands and feet.

The short disciple asked: "Who is this? What's going on?"

Before Village Chief Niu could answer, the tall disciple grabbed Xu Liang and asked, "Who are you?"

Xu Liang was seriously injured, but still endured the pain and said: "I am a villager and I made a mistake, so I am punished."

The tall disciple still didn't believe it. Seeing that he was seriously injured, he let go and put him back on the ground.The two disciples searched houses one after another, but Village Chief Niu stood behind them to stop them. How could they possibly do anything?

The tall disciple came to the door of the east house in the village and kicked the door open.

More than a dozen figures rushed forward.

Brother Xue and his group were hiding in a broken house in the east of the village. They heard the village chief's voice outside the door and knew they were exposed. Brother Xue ordered his companions to hide behind the house. As soon as the door was kicked open, a group of people rushed forward.

The tall disciple was thrown to the ground and wanted to draw his sword, but was held down by several horse bandits and unable to move.Fourth Brother Xue raised the chain around his neck and strangled him so hard that he felt like he couldn't breathe.

The short disciple stood a little further away and saw the taller disciple being knocked down. He was about to step forward, but saw that there were many people on the other side, so he turned around and ran away.The horse bandits have shackles on their feet and cannot move forward. How can they catch up?Just as he was about to escape, a figure rushed towards him and grabbed his clothes with both hands.

Is it rose?Where does this little girl get her strength?
The short disciple kicked Yue Ji to the ground and rolled twice. If he hadn't been in a hurry to escape, he would have killed her with a knife.

However, after just such a delay, he saw black shadows on the ground, which were the figures of horse bandits rushing towards him.

In an instant, he received countless punches and kicks on his face and body until the chain was wrapped around his neck, just like his senior brother...

In less than a moment, there were two more corpses on the ground, as well as a group of horse bandits sitting on the ground panting.

Village Chief Niu knew that this matter was serious and two sect disciples died.

Now the village is an "accomplice" of these nineteen horse bandits.

■

"King Mangxiang is angry because he feels sorry for his concubine." Zhuge Yixian said, "As for the benefits he said he would give Dian Cang before, I don't have the shame to ask for it from him, so let him do it."

Zhuge Ran twisted his cane: "You didn't sleep with him, did you?"

"Bah!" Zhuge Yixian spat: "Twenty years ago I was still a little interested, and he was still a little interested, but more than twenty years later, your sister has a lot of good clubs, and he has no shortage of women. "

Zhuge Ran said: "I owe you this time. I will send some gifts to your temple later."

Zhuge Yixian said: "You owe me a lot and I can't even pay it back."

Zhuge Ran tilted his head: "Okay, I don't have to worry about the debt."

Zhuge Yixian said: "You can return my favor if you want. Aren't you attacking Hengshan? Kill my parents-in-law and their entire family, and I'll let you offset half of it."

Zhuge Ran shrugged, noncommittal.

Speaking of this eldest sister, he really owed something.Zhuge Yixian's late husband had some connections with Hengshan. As for now... Not to mention that the husband's family does not have this daughter-in-law, many people in Diancang pretend to have forgotten this relative.

That was more than twenty years ago, before Li Xuanxuan took over as the leader.

As early as when King Meng Wa was still here, whenever he came to visit Dian Cang, he would point at Zhuge Yixian and say: "This girl is beautiful, my son. She will be my son's wife and queen in the future."

King Mangxiang was still young at that time. Although he looked rough, at least he still had a strong figure polished on the battlefield, and he was not as fat as he is today.He was 14 years older than Zhuge Yixian. Every time King Meng Wa said this, King Mangxiang would smile and ask Zhuge Yixian if he would marry him?It made the little girl blush, and she didn't know how serious she was.In short, King Mangxiang loves this sister very much. For Zhuge Yixian, if she can marry the king, it will be more than 01:30 points higher than marrying the nine families.

The head of Hengshan must follow the Tao and never marry without marriage, but marriage may not be a matter of his own accord.At that time, the person with the best chance of taking over was Li Xuanxuan's senior brother He Junqiao. He was of the right age and was well regarded. Li Xuanxuan was not very old at the time and could not even be ranked among the top three.Zhuge Ran saw the clues and urged his eldest sister to marry He Junqiao's younger brother He Qiaoyue, which undoubtedly increased He Junqiao's bargaining chips to fight for the position of leader.

Even at a young age, Zhuge Ran's talents were highly valued by his father. For Dian Cang's grand plan, if he could connect with the strong support of Hengshan and the subsequent Beggar Clan, although the future is difficult to say, it is almost a big deal. Certainly.

There is only one embarrassment in this, which is not a big deal, and that is that He Qiaoyue is not as majestic as his name. Not only does he not know martial arts, he is also a tuberculosis ghost.

But that's all for the daughter of the Nine Family.Zhuge Yixian married into the He family and was waiting for He Junqiao to take over as the head of Hengshan. She was considered to be related by marriage to Dian Cang.

Unexpectedly, Li Xuanxuan emerged as the leader, and within a few years, he became a strong candidate for the leadership. Despite this, He Junqiao was still the first choice to succeed the leader regardless of his talent, age, and knowledge. Therefore, when Li Xuanxuan took over as the leader, That caused such a shock.

It was just a failure. What was even worse was that He Junqiao lost his position as the head of the family. Many grievances made Li Xuanxuan dissatisfied. He was gradually not reused. In the end, he made a big mistake and was demoted from the center of power. He became a The leader of a small sect.

He Qiaoyue died of illness a few years ago, and Zhuge Yixian became a widow before she was thirty and had no children.

Zhuge Ran didn't make many mistakes in his life. Zhuge Yan's death was due to a barbarian sneak attack, and more of it was an accident. After all, it was impossible for Zhuge Yan not to participate in the Kunlun discussion. Only this time, it was Zhuge Ran's miscalculation that harmed his eldest sister's life.For Zhuge Yixian, she went from being a queen - at least a noble concubine or a jade concubine - to an ordinary daughter-in-law who was only better than Bai Ding.

However, the Zhuge family does not have the blood of obedience, whether it is Zhuge Yan, Zhuge Ran, or even niece Zhuge You.Zhuge Yixian disliked her husband's family and said that she wanted to become a Taoist nun. She asked her brother for a few thousand taels and built a "Wu Bei Taoist Temple" on the mountain of Guilin, Guangxi. Relying on Juexu Tang, she still maintained her health after she was over forty. A bit youthful.

He also accepted hundreds of male and female disciples... The handsome men and the beautiful women attracted many distinguished guests to come to worship - and only real distinguished guests, such as King Mangxiang, could visit.

As for what he is participating in...you can imagine it and understand it tacitly.

Speaking of which, my eldest sister's lower body, no, the second half of her life is also going well.What's more, Dian Cang pays a lot of money every year. Her disciples are kicked out when they are old and they are often renewed. Aren't they living a happier life than themselves?

Thinking of this, Zhuge Ran felt less guilty.

A few days later, King Mangxiang was going back to Hongguo, and Zhuge Ran wanted to see him off. As for Zhuge Tingguan, he could go as far away as he could.

"I know you are at war, and it is not good to delay you for too long." King Mangxiang said, "I will not take back the promise I made before."

Zhuge Ran felt grateful and said, "If the king wants any compensation, just ask, and I will definitely do it."

King Mangxiang was silent for a long time, and then he said: "I want you to kill him, and you will be the leader."

"You can't help this child."

"He is my brother's son." Zhuge Ran tapped his stick on his hand.

"Your brother doesn't have only one son."

"I only have this brother." Zhuge Ran was silent for a long time and said, "Don't worry, I will keep an eye on him."

King Mangxiang shook his head, got into the carriage, and drove away.

■

The grain trucks were put into storage, and the food shortage problem in Lengshuitan was finally solved.Although he knew that Wen Jingren was taking advantage of the situation, Lan Shengqing could not really kill people and seize food.

The war has just begun. If word spreads about the killings and the seizure of food, no matter how you explain it to the merchants who are hoarding rice, they will not completely believe it.

As long as they have doubts, although they dare not refuse Hengshan's grain requisition, they can sell the rice they have to the people at a low price. Even if they lose money, it is better than losing everything. Then it will be even more difficult for Hengshan to requisition grain.

The prestige of a sect will directly affect governance, and at least it cannot be sold for 500 taels.

Lan Shengqing remembered that this person, Wen Jingren, was not only a profiteer, but also a talent.

Yin Molan distributed one thousand kilo meters to the refugees in one breath and drove them eastward. He told the refugees that a war was about to start here. If they stayed in Lengshui Beach within three days, they would all be killed.

This is what Lan Shengqing should have done long ago, but in the end he did it. Lan Shengqing didn't know whether Yin Molan would look down on him. At least on the surface, Yin Molan's respect remained the same as before, without much Not a little bit less.

The reinforcements from the Tianyun faction finally arrived. Unlike Yin Molan, they crossed the river to join the main force, with a total of 3000 people.Including other sects who came to help, there are 5000 people in Lengshuitan, with sufficient food and grass.

As for the 5000 troops in Yinjiabao, Lan Shengqing just pretended that they did not exist.I just waited for Yin Molan to have a good meal with the boss afterwards.

It's time to attack Lingling.

When the horn sounds, the first battle between Hengshan and Diancang will begin.

This will be the largest war after the Shaosong War.

■

There was a strangeness permeating the village, and even after burying the two Lengshui Sect disciples, the strangeness could not be concealed.

The hole where the disciple was buried was dug by Brother Xue. It was very deep, but Village Chief Niu always felt that it was not deep enough. He kept asking Brother Xue to dig deeper, dig deeper...

"If you dig any further, you will be digging a well." Brother Xue looked up at Village Chief Niu. The hole was deeper than one person.

"It would be better to dig deeper. Let's dig another two feet." Village Chief Niu said.

The body was buried, and a tree was planted so that the newly dug soil would not look out of place, but it was still as out of place as the newly built ancestral hall, the newly repaired fence, and the earth temple.

From then on it was routine.Every morning, the villagers light people in sequence, and the horse bandits go to each household to help. At sunset, the horse bandits return to their homes.

On this day, Brother Xue did not follow him to work, so he approached the village chief Niu.

"There are some things I think we should discuss with the village chief." Brother Xue said, his attitude still very respectful.

Village Chief Niu poured a glass of water for Brother Xue.

"We have always been grateful to the villagers for not killing us." Brother Xue said: "And your kindness for taking us in. To be honest, we are not resentful at all, nor are we aggrieved."

In order to express his gratitude, Fourth Brother Xue stood up and bowed again. Village Chief Niu said hurriedly: "You have also helped the village a lot, so there is no need to be polite."

"I'm a rough man, I speak out. We have been in the village for more than a month." Brother Xue said: "These shackles on my hands and feet always have to be removed. Wait, I don't mean now, I know that the village is still Somewhat apprehensive."

Mr. Niu Cun, who had reached this level, was not polite and said: "That's true."

"I think there is a time limit, and the brothers also think so. We can't bother everyone with two meals a day. The land in the village is so big, how many people can we feed? These 19 extra people are just mouths."

"Brother Xue, if you have anything to say, just say it."

"There is a piece of wasteland in the east of the village. We continue to help the villagers work every morning. We hope to give us some time to open up the wasteland. Even if it is harder, it doesn't matter."

"When we turn that land into a field, it will take several months, maybe longer, to have enough food for 19 of our brothers, and then we will plant crops."

"When the time comes, please ask the village chief to remove our shackles. We are self-sufficient, and we will all be fellow villagers from now on. The affairs of Niushan Village are all our brothers' business. We will never refuse to run errands, guard the hospital, or do official business."

"Let 19 of us settle down and settle down." Brother Xue said, "Chief Niu, what do you think?"

(End of this chapter)