Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 43

Unfortunately, Xiang Kang's crow's mouth said that in mid-April, the newly expanded Shilingting blacksmith shop had just entered the right track, and Xianyang issued another edict to recruit the third round of soldiers to serve in the frontier. All adult males whose parents and grandfathers have been sons-in-law or businessmen have to bring their own dry food and travel expenses, and follow the officials of the county and county to go north to the bitter cold land, or south to the smoky Nanyue land to guard the Great Wall for Daqin And expand the territory.

In addition, because Qin II, the famous emperor of the ages, decided to continue to build the Afang Palace, the Great Qin court unceremoniously recruited a large number of craftsmen to Xianyang to serve in corvee.At the same time, in view of the lack of feed for the famous dogs, horses and various rare birds and animals raised by the royal family, Hu Hai, the Great Qin Mingjun who was on the parade, also adopted the suggestion of his teacher Zhao Gao and ordered counties and counties across the country to send various beans, miscellaneous grains and fodder to Xianyang. It is also specifically stated in the imperial edict that civilian vehicles transporting grain must bring their own dry grain and fodder to avoid waste. (Contained in "Zi Zhi Tong Jian")
When the news spread, there was a great uproar among the people, and it was the same with Xiaxiang County Magistrate Zhou Zeng. To avoid commotion, the guards belonging to the third round fled one after another, and the craftsmen and craftsmen who were to be forced to go to Afang Palace and Lishan to do coolies also rushed to run away. The folk production and life that had not been able to recover their vitality were once again threatened Seriously affected, Feng Zhong and other grassroots officials in Daqin were devastated, but there was nothing they could do.

There were even fugitives among Xiang Kang's neighbors. A neighbor named Jiang Fan was included in the list of military service in the frontier because his grandfather was a businessman. Going back and forth again, Jiang Fan, who was on the same team as Xiang Kang, gritted his teeth and decided to take advantage of the unpreparedness of his neighbors, and simply escaped from the Shiling Pavilion overnight and disappeared into the depths of the night, implicating Xiang Kang and others. The three families were unlucky together, and each family was fined with a shield, and the captain who was in the same army as Xiang Kang was fined with two shields.

Fortunately, Xiang Kang's current economic situation is completely different from before. A shield of 380 yuan is already a trivial matter for Xiang Kang, and he doesn't feel bad about being fined.At the same time, Xiang Kang was somewhat surprised that under the circumstances that the production and life of the common people were affected by heavy corvee, the business of the Shilingting blacksmith shop was not affected in any way, on the contrary, it became more and more prosperous, especially self-defense weapons such as swords. The supply is simply in short supply, and they are usually ordered and bought before they are cooled and formed in the mold.

Xiang Kang soon knew why the swords and weapons in the Shilingting blacksmith shop were selling so well. Feng Zhong kept bringing news, saying that in order to survive, the fleeing civilians gathered crowds to steal money, and also because they could grab money and food. To make a living, constantly trying to steal and buy various weapons.The resulting vicious circle is that local officials, wealthy households, and large caravans selling goods are also desperately purchasing weapons in order to protect themselves or catch thieves. That's why the high-quality Shilingting iron weapons are so sought-after.

"The troubled times are slowly beginning." While sighing, Xiang Kang, who had long been restless and kind, also took the opportunity to say to Feng Zhong: "Brother, if things go on like this, it seems that we don't have any need to build any farm tools. It’s better to use all the iron to make knives and swords, even if it can’t be sold temporarily, it doesn’t matter, and it may be sold at a higher price after hoarding.”

"I won't intervene in business matters, brother, you can do as you see fit." Feng Zhong was also generous, and he didn't bother to worry about the reason why Xiang Kang hoarded swords and weapons. He just said, "Be careful, I heard that Maling Mountain There are also bandit activities over there now, and they have robbed business travelers and civilians passing by there several times. Brother, don’t run there if you have nothing to do. Some people come from Xiapi to buy weapons and farm tools. Tell them to be careful and don’t let us fight hard. The swords and swords of the Maling Mountains are cheap."

Maling Mountain is the place where the famous Battle of Maling took place in history. It is located in the northwest of Shiling Pavilion, only more than 30 miles away from Shiling Pavilion. Second, I know that although the mountain is not high, the terrain is very complicated, with dense trees and dense water networks. It is an ideal paradise for bandits and robbers.So Xiang Kang nodded immediately, thanked Feng Zhong for his kind reminder, and then asked curiously: "Brother, how many bandits are there on Maling Mountain? Why didn't the government think about exterminating this group of bandits?"

"God knows how many bandits there are, but I just heard that their leader is called Wei Qiu, so I don't know if it's his real name." Feng Zhong answered smoothly, and then said lazily: "Ma Ling Mountain is in the territory of Xiapi, even our prime minister It doesn't belong to us, nor does it belong to Sishui County. Whether it is suppressed or not is a matter for Donghai County and Xiapi County, and has nothing to do with our officials. As long as those bandits don't come to us to make trouble .”

Xiang Kang was a little disappointed when he heard this—Originally, Xiang Kangke planned to persuade Feng Zhong, who was in charge of catching the thieves, to take action with the bandits in Maling Mountain, and practice in actual combat, but Feng Zhong lacked interest in this and at the same time There was no reason or excuse to make a move, so Xiang Kang had no choice but to give up the idea, and changed his mind to talk to Feng Zhong about other things.

It was also a coincidence that after accidentally learning from Feng Zhong that there were bandits in and out of Maling Mountain, in the afternoon of the same day, Xiang Bo, who was hiding in Xiapi territory, sent another letter from the servant of Han Liang's family to urge Xiang Kang to make a promise. There are thirty steel knives left.Xiang Kang, who had just owed a big favor to Han Liang's confidant family, Han Li, had no choice but to obediently pay out of his own pocket to make up for the shortfall. He took out thirty knives from the blacksmith shop that had expanded its production scale, and handed them over to the servants of the Han family. He took it north and sent it to Xiang Bo.At the same time, Qian urged Wan to tell the servants of the Han family not to go north on the road of Maling Mountain, so as to avoid any accidents.

After handing the knife to the servant of the Han family, Xiang Kang didn't care about it anymore. However, to Xiang Kang's great surprise, just in the evening of the next day, his nephew Xiang it rushed into the blacksmith As soon as we met, he said in a panic: "Uncle Ji, it's not good. The thirty knives were robbed in Maling Mountain yesterday. Xiang You was also injured. The person who bought the knives also died."

"What?" Xiang Kang's shock was no small matter, and he hurriedly asked, "Why did Xiang You send the knife again? Why didn't he tell me? Also, didn't I tell them to avoid Maling Mountain? Why didn't they listen?"

"I don't know, Uncle Ji, you'd better go back and have a look." Xiang it urged, shaking his head.

With no choice, Xiang Kang could only temporarily hand over the matters in the blacksmith shop to his old apprentice. Following Xiang Ta, he rushed to the third aunt's house to check the situation. As a result, as soon as he arrived at the door, Xiang Kang heard the third aunt Crying heartbreakingly inside, when Xiang Kang hurried into the hospital again, he saw that the children of the Xiang family had arrived. Xiang You was lying on the ground in the front hall covered in blood. On the other side burst into tears.

With an outsider present, of course Xiang Kang would not be so stupid as to immediately ask why Xiang You was sent to deliver the knife to Uncle Xiang, but he just deceived the medical worker and asked him about Xiang You's situation. There is no fatal injury, the bleeding has stopped, as long as he can survive tonight, it will be no problem to save his life."

"It's a pity." Xiang Kang muttered regretfully in his heart, and hypocritically asked the medical staff for a few words, then got up and pulled Xiang Zhuang aside, and asked him the specific reason in a low voice.

"It was only at noon that I found out that Xiang You went to deliver the knife to the third uncle in person again." Xiang Zhuang lowered his voice and said, "I heard from the third aunt that Xiang You missed the third uncle and wanted to see the injury that the third uncle suffered last time. Later, when Xiang You came back, he still passed out, and told us that he and Han Shi, the servant of the Han family, met bandits near Maling Mountain, killed Han Shi, chopped him up, and cut him down. Those thirty knives were taken away."

"Idiot, you clearly said that there are bandits on Maling Mountain, but you just don't listen." Xiang Kang complained in his heart, but at the same time he had an idea, and secretly said: "This is a legitimate opportunity to send troops to suppress the bandits. The disciples of the Xiang family and those apprentices in my blacksmith shop are on the battlefield, so don’t they just gain experience and level up?”

After making up his mind on this idea, Xiang Kang did not rush to act according to the plan, and chose to stay by Xiang You's side with the Xiang family's children, and when he woke up, he learned the details and colluded with the confession to avoid revealing his flaws.Not to mention the result, in the middle of the night, Xiang You, who had lost too much blood, really developed a high fever. Unfortunately, the two aunts kept watch all night, feeding Xiang You with water and wiping his forehead. You's body temperature dropped, and it helped Xiang You to save his life. It also allowed Xiang You to regain some consciousness when the sky was twilight, and he spoke for a few minutes.

Seizing this loophole, Xiang Kang, who couldn't close his eyes all night, hurriedly asked about the robbery of Xiang You. After learning that Xiang You was robbed by about twenty bandits, Xiang Kang was a little relieved, knowing that he could only rely on himself and himself. With the current manpower and material resources in Feng Zhong's hands, there is absolutely no problem in dealing with this small group of bandits.Then Xiang Kang asked what kind of banner Xiang You was using to send the knife to the north. After confirming his statement, he finally sent Xiang It to come forward, ran to Feng Zhong to inform the news and formally reported it to the official.

After receiving the news, Feng Zhong rushed to Xiang's house to check the situation, but Xiang You had passed out again, so Xiang Kang had to come forward and introduce the specific situation to Feng Zhong on his behalf.As a result, Feng Zhong was filled with resentment as soon as he heard it, and complained to Xiang Kang: "Brother, brother just told you the day before yesterday that there was a group of bandits on the Maling Mountain, and they had robbed people several times. Why didn't you tell you?" brother?"

"I said it." Xiang Kang said with a sad face: "I told him more than once, and the man from Xiapi who came to buy a knife, I also told him that there are bandits in Maling Mountain, and told them to take a longer detour. Also don’t go near Maling Mountain, but they just don’t listen and insist on going that way, what can I do?”

"Oh." Feng Zhong sighed, and said with great regret: "There are thirty knives again, and only ten gold deposits are charged, and the rest are thrown away."

"Brother, you can't catch the water." Xiang Kang said quickly: "Although the gang of Malingshan bandits committed the crime in Xiapi County, they were injured by our servants from the Lingting Pavilion. Brother, you are in charge of arresting them." You, a bandit, just happens to be able to send troops to suppress the bandits, and our brothers from the Xiang family can help you and avenge our brothers."

"That's right, Brother Feng, take the pavilion soldiers to arrest people." Xiang Zhuang and others who had already done the ideological work in advance by Xiang Kang shouted one after another, encouraging Feng Zhong, who happened to be in charge of this aspect, to send troops to suppress the bandits and capture those horses The bandits in Lingshan avenged Xiang You and took back the steel knife they had robbed.

The disciples of the Xiang family were excited, but Feng Zhong smiled wryly and said, "Brother Xiang, and brother Xiang Kang, do you think it is easy to suppress the bandits? Do you think that all the officials in Xiapi County are really Waste, even twenty or so small thieves can’t be dealt with? There is a reason why Xiapi ignores these bandits.”

"What's the reason?" Xiang Guan asked.

"You should have been to Maling Mountain." Feng Zhong replied very helplessly: "The mountain is indeed not high, but the place is too big. It is called the Maling Mountain of [-] miles. Fengshan, Doushan, Hushan, Grandmashan And the five hills of Huanghuacai Ridge, where there are dense forests everywhere, and people can hide everywhere, let alone twenty or so small thieves, even if thousands of troops hide in, they can disappear without a trace. Your name is Xiapi County. How do the officials suppress this group of bandits? And how do you ask me to suppress this group of bandits? With the soldiers under my command, plus your brothers from the Xiang family, entering Maling Mountain is like throwing a handful of sand into the sea , what effect can it have?"

The members of the Xiang family, who had no experience in suppressing bandits, kept their mouths shut. Only Xiang Yang, who was younger, was more naive, and suggested, "Can you set a fire and burn all the bandits out?"

Feng Zhong laughed when he heard this, and said with a wry smile: "Brother Xiang Yang, let's not talk about whether we have enough kerosene to light such a big fire, or whether Maling Mountain is the land of Xiapi County. If we do this, even if we can set fire to the mountain, we can still burn those bandits out. Those bandits go to other roads, what are we going to do to chase them? How can we surround the eight-hundred-mile Maling with nothing?"

Xiang Yang closed his mouth in shame, Feng Zhong sighed, and said, "Brothers, I understand that you want to avenge Brother Xiang You, but it's too difficult, we can only catch it when we have a chance in the future." They, snatch back the knife we ​​threw and avenge your brothers."

When the members of the Xiang family were in complete despair, Xiang Kang, who had been thinking hard all the time, suddenly raised his head and said, "Brother Feng, can you use the method of luring snakes out of the hole to lure the bandit surnamed Wei out? Lure them out of Maling Mountain, even Lured to Shiling Pavilion, fell into our trap, and then we suddenly launched an ambush to catch them all?"

"A method is a method, but how to introduce it?" Feng Zhong asked.

"Brother, do you have anyone under your command who is familiar with the situation of the bandits and who is more eloquent?" Xiang Kang asked: "Give him a little reward, and promise him a little reward, let him go to Maling Mountain to pretend to be a bandit, and tell Wei Qiu that group of bandits He said that he knew that there was a rich family near Shiling Pavilion. It was a big fat sheep that was easy to slaughter, and he was willing to lead the way to rob this family. The bandits tricked me into Shiling Pavilion and delivered me to my death."

Feng Zhong decided not to speak, but Xiang Kang encouraged him again: "Brother, if this matter can be successful, not only can we get back the thirty good knives we lost, but you can also make a big splash and make Xiapi and Heilongjiang come back. The two prefectures of Xiaxiang know how powerful you are, so it will be of great benefit to your future career."

"And it doesn't matter if you don't succeed." Xiang Kang said again: "We are just one of your subordinates who came here for nothing, and there is no loss for us at all."

Considering the small investment and generous rewards, Feng Zhong finally nodded, and quickly said: "I have a diner named Wei Shan who can talk. He has done a lot of robbers and robbers. He is quite familiar with robbers." However, should he be told to trick Wei Qiu and the bandits into serving the Lingting Pavilion and robbing which family?"

Xiang Kang smiled and didn't speak. Feng Zhong was a little stunned at first, and then suddenly came to his senses, pointed at Xiang Kang with his finger, and said with a big smile, "Mr. His family is the most fat sheep worth slaughtering in the entire Shiling Pavilion."

After all, he is an experienced case-handler who specializes in catching thieves for a living. After laughing, Feng Zhong suddenly found an important question, and hurriedly asked Xiang Kang: "Brother, we can send people to lure snakes out of their holes and lure Wei Qiu's gang of thieves here." Shiling Pavilion is sent to death, but there are only thousands of thieves, there are no thousand days to guard against thieves, I don't know when they will come to Shiling Pavilion to be thieves, how can we arrange an ambush to kill them?"

"Brother, don't worry." Xiang Kang smiled and said, "I have considered this issue just now, and I have already figured out a way to solve it."

(End of this chapter)