Drawing The Sword

March's weather, the weather has already started to slowly warm up, this means that the spring has arrived on time with its stealthy footsteps. This was also when all things grew. Some trees were already green. Ran Qiang rode on his horse and gazed into the distance. The guards around him were scattered with alertness as they surveyed their surroundings. This was the first time that he didn't have a purpose in riding his horse to relax. He had been in this world for two months, and to be honest, he was not used to it. There was no toilet paper, the toilet was used, the house was too dark, the style of speech, the tone of voice, the will of the body, the strength and strength of the players on the battlefield were all alternating.

After walking for half an incense stick of time, there was not a trace of human life. There were broken houses and walls everywhere, and there were even some corpses hanging on trees. This was the bankrupt Han people that died hanging from their necks when Shi Hu was the emperor. Historically, Chenghan's envoys sent out an envoy from Chengdu to the kingdom of Zhao and saw the corpses of Chinese hanging from trees all along the way. The reason for this was that the post-Zhao Kaiguo Emperor, Shi Le (Capricorn), had publicly determined that the Hu people would plunder and extort free Han Chinese, and that Hu people could take anything they wanted. At the same time, it is forbidden for the Chinese to call the nomadic people the barbarians, but for the "people", the violators will be beheaded. In Shihu as emperor, sent 160,000 men and women, moved the soil to build Huayuan Garden and the long wall in the north of Ye. Tens of thousands of people had been driven away to the Luoyang and Changan Second Palaces in the more than four hundred thousand camps in Handing, resulting in the accumulation of corpses in the fields. A soldier of Xiulin Garden, five hundred thousand manmade armors, and 170,000 people had built ships, resulting in more than two-thirds of the deaths, and fifty thousand Han women had entered the imperial harem to wantonly kill and humiliate people.

Ran Qiang sighed as he led his horse forward. This kind of scene where they couldn't see anyone was visible only on the Gobi Desert in Xinjiang. He looked around at the personal guards guarding the area. None of them showed any signs of pity. Perhaps it was because they had experienced too many wars and witnessed too many tragedies, so they were already used to it.

The middle-aged man composed himself and sized up Ran Qiang and the personal guards around him. His expression became visibly relaxed as he exhaled a few times and said with enthusiasm, "General, do you have anything that you want me to do?"

Ran Qiang smiled, "Sorry for disturbing your meal. I just wanted to have a casual chat with you."

The middle-aged man hurriedly said, "I didn't disturb you, I didn't disturb you." He then turned his head and shouted into the room, "Mother, quickly move a few chairs over."

A woman dressed like a village woman came out with two small wooden stools. She lowered her head, placed the stools in front of the middle-aged man, and walked into the house with her head lowered.

The middle-aged man hastily wiped the two stools with his torn sleeves. These were made from hemp fiber. At this time, there were two main types of cloth in the Central Plains. One was silk, while the other was linen. The sackcloth was a very coarse material, and neither its comfort nor appearance was very good. Even so, the linen clothes worn by the middle-aged man were still tattered. His face had obviously gone through years of hardships and hardships, and was now filled with fatigue and vicissitudes of life.

The middle-aged man bent over the chair that he had wiped clean, smiled apologetically and placed it beside Ran Qiang. "Please take a seat, sir."

Ran Qiang sat down and said with a smile, "Brother, please sit as well."

The middle-aged man hurriedly said, "Me doesn't dare, Me doesn't dare. It's fine as long as the Army Lord is sitting. Me is squatting."

Ran Qiang smiled and waved his hands, "Take a seat, brother. I still have something to ask you."

The middle-aged man awkwardly sat down and smiled apologetically at Ran Qiang.

"Brother, don't be afraid. We are here to protect the Han people by killing the Hu. You have to tell the truth. "

The middle-aged man hurriedly said, "Army lord please ask, I am an honest man."

For a moment, Ran Qiang was stunned. He suddenly felt like he didn't know what to ask. He had never experienced the war before, but after seeing the desolate scenery outside the city, he felt extremely depressed. The corpses on the trees further confirmed the authenticity of this part of the records. Those dilapidated walls and houses had clearly experienced the destruction from the fire. The slaughter of the war had caused the population to rapidly decline, which simultaneously brought about the tension of the food. At the same time, the tension of the food had also further stimulated the looting and burning.

The middle-aged man smiled apologetically as he looked at him, not daring to speak. Although they were part of the army, he still maintained a cautious demeanor due to his fear of looting and looting. Only then did Ran Qiang ask, "In the past, did Hu Man come here often to steal things?" Historical records, the stone tiger regulation: Hu people can grab Zhao people's property at will, Zhao people can not resist.

The middle-aged man's cautious expression suddenly turned to one of hatred: "Hu Man is an animal, not only do you always rob things, you even rob women, all the women in our village have died."

Ran Qiang sighed and asked again, "How many people are left in your village now?"

The middle-aged man was slightly numb. "Hai, we only have twenty or so people left."

He would rather be a peaceful dog than a chaotic human. Ran Qiang suddenly recalled these words. He asked again, "Do you have enough food to eat?"

The middle-aged man smiled apologetically, "Army lord, you must be joking. All we have here is wild vegetables and bran, but we're almost done."

Ran Qiang forced out a smile and asked, "It's about time for Summer Seed to arrive. Do you have the seeds and tools for cultivation?"

The middle-aged man quickly nodded his head, "Yes, yes. Now, General Ran has sent someone to send us seeds, and we even sent a plow here. General Ran is really a God sent by the Gods to save us. After we finish our meal, we still have to go down to the ground. "

Ran Qiang could not help but thank Yue Shan for handling these troublesome matters. It was fortunate that most of the big clans had fled to Jiangnan, in this era where the concept of a clan head was very strong. After all, there were only a few powerful individuals left in Jiangbei Province who would be able to defend themselves. The high-ranking officials and noble families of Ye City kept a low profile as they quietly massacred the Hu people. In addition, they had finally found a Chinese man with some prospects. It was only natural that he would be able to recover his Central Plains robe.

Ran Qiang ordered his personal guards to get some beef jerky and gave some to the middle-aged man. While the middle-aged man was thanking him with tears of gratitude, Ran Qiang and his personal guards all ate some dried rations. After hurriedly eating lunch, the middle-aged man gingerly finished the wild vegetable bran porridge that his wife brought him, and was led away by the middle-aged man, walking towards the fields.

Ran Qiang and his personal guard led their warhorses and stopped at the side of the field. At first glance, there were only a few farmers in the fields, busy with their work. The field was overgrown with weeds, and it was obvious that no crops had been planted for a long time. Only the hundred acres of land at the side of the village looked very clean. It seemed like this was where the village grew their grain.

Seeing a group of soldiers holding long swords and holding long spears leading their horses close to the edge of the fields, the busy farmers were obviously frightened. A few of them hurriedly gathered together, preparing to escape to the other side.

When the middle-aged man saw this, he hastily shouted: "Eldest Li, Sixth Yan, don't run. These military officers are under the command of General Ran."

The few people who were about to escape heard the middle-aged man's shout and turned around. He looked around and hesitated for a moment before slowly walking over.

These were all similarly worn out clothes, but one of them was actually wearing the clothes of a scholar. Although it was worn out, it was still very clean. It didn't look like they were going to work in the fields, but rather like they were on an outing. Ran Qiang could not help but size him up a few more times. He was a man in his forties. Although there was panic on his face, it was clear that he had a different temperament from the other farmers. This was the result of having received a good education.

The middle-aged man hurried forward and said, "Big Li, don't be afraid, this is our army. "These military officials are here to take a look."

The farmers looked at each other in panic, not knowing what to do.

Ran Qiang smiled and said, "Everyone, don't be afraid. We are just here to take a look at the farmlands. . Have you all received the seeds? "

The farmers all looked at the scholar, obviously afraid that their answer would be inappropriate. The Confucian Scholar spoke up, "Reporting to General, the seeds have already been sent down."

Ran Qiang looked at this scholar with interest and asked, "You've read a book before?"

The Confucian Scholar looked quite pleased with himself, "General, I am Cui Xi, a branch of the Qing River Cui family."

However, he wasn't very clear about this. All he knew was that in history, starting from the Han Dynasty, due to the remnants of the Spring and Autumn War Country's aristocracy, the clan started to form a large clan and a famous clan that had inherited their clan's knowledge and wealth.

However, under the conditions of the unification of the Han Dynasty, the aristocratic families did not have a fatal influence. However, when it came to Wei Jin, the selection of officials would begin. The power and influence of the Wealthy Class families would be able to influence the governance of the country. There was also a key factor in this, and that was before the new dynasty. Because most of the written word was written in bamboo slips and the books were unable to be popularized, those who were able to receive a good education were all the rich and powerful families, leading to the selection of those who could rule over and manage political affairs.

By the time the Zhu Hu invaded the Central Plains, most of the wealthy northern clans had fled to the south. Most of the remaining people were powerful experts who used their wealth as a shield to build their own fortresses. On the one hand, this has created difficulties for the Hu people to govern the North, and on the other hand, it has also created good conditions for the removal of the feudal power. This period was a critical period. The humanistic temperament left behind by the Qin and Han Dynasties gradually formed a strict hierarchy under the rule of the Northern Wei Dynasty. For example, as early as the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the protection of the direct descendants was not very strict in the northern society. However, during the Northern Dynasty, the internal hierarchy of the large clans had once again become distinct, turning into a "division between the nobility and the lowly."

In his understanding, although the Central Plains was at war, the soldier clans were always soldiers. They could either flee to the south, rely on the Hu people as officials, or suffer an unlucky death due to the slaughter of the Hu people. However, it was beyond his expectations to become a farmer.

Cui Xi's face turned red, he lowered his head and coughed a few times before saying, "I am ashamed of my family, the Hu people are cruel, in order to survive, I have to learn farming from a farmer."

The middle-aged man interjected, "Master Military, Mister Cui is someone who has a knowledge of universities and often teaches us children. He is a good person."

Just then, a guard approached and reported, "General, a woman has come to deliver lunch to a man named Cui."

Everyone's gaze followed the finger of the guard. Fifty steps away, there was a young woman dressed in sackcloth and carrying a bamboo basket. Her appearance was very ordinary, around twenty years of age.

Ran Qiang nodded, "Have her come over." The guard then walked over and signaled the woman to come over.

The woman carried a bamboo basket and walked over. She first bowed to Ran and then said to Cui Xi, "Daddy, I've brought your lunch."

Cui Xi's face was filled with nervousness as he scolded in a low voice, "Can't you see that there is a military lord here? Who told you to come and disturb them? "He was hinting at his daughter:" There are ferocious soldiers here, why are you here!

I have been observing them from the side for a while now. Since these military experts were able to have a peaceful conversation with Uncle and Father for so long, it can be seen that they are not the soldiers of the barbarians from the past. They will not harm everyone.

Ran Qiang was secretly impressed. This girl was bold, but she also had a meticulous heart. He asked curiously, "Lady, aren't you afraid that you might have guessed wrongly?"

The woman smiled and bowed, "General must be the great general Ran, right? I guessed it when I saw your two masterwork weapons on the horse. The Great General was sent by the heavens to save the people of the Central Plains, so how could he do something that would harm us? "She was not surprised at all by the term" lady "that she had never heard before.

Ran Qiang couldn't help but laugh at him. How could he have forgotten something so obvious? Perhaps Cui Xi was already afraid of being robbed, but when he saw the soldier, he lost his mind.

Hearing these words, the farmers and Cui Xi hurriedly kneeled down and kowtowed. Some of them were shouting "Great General", some of them were calling "Old Master", and some of them were calling "Grandpa God". The woman, on the other hand, merely stood there and bowed.

It wasn't easy for him to wake these people up, so he asked the girl that he was more curious about with interest, "Who told you I was sent by the heavens?"

The girl smiled and said, "Now that the Central Plains is in chaos, the barbarians will kill my people and rob me of my possessions. A learned man like my father was forced to plough for a living, not to mention the poor. Although this little girl is unaware of the major events of the world, seeing that the Imperial Court has not reclaimed our Central Plains for so many years, we can tell that the Imperial Court is useless. At this moment, the people of the Central Plains all hoped that the heavens would send a man of God who could save us and save us. Right now, in the Central Plains, besides the Great General saving the people, who else would do this? If the Great General didn't come from the heavens, then who else could it be? "No matter how sad or happy the girl was, she still wore a faint smile.

Ran Qiang stared at the girl in shock. If the girl wasn't pretty, she might be able to motivate him to read.

Right at this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from the road. The guards immediately became vigilant, and the four javelins jumped on their horses, running towards the sound of horse hooves. After which, the sound of the horse's hooves stopped, and a moment later, two guards came over with a man in the garb of a general.

This person was actually Zhang Liang, the first one to reach the top of the city when they were attacking the Ye Chen. Because of his bravery, Zhang Liang was recommended by the Northern Battalion Captain Zhou Jin to guard the General's Estate.

Wasn't that the soldier who had been cheered at the top of the city?

Zhang Liang knelt down and saluted, "Great General, Lord Guardian has invited Great General to return. He said that there is an urgent matter."

"Are you the warrior who attacked the city of Ye?" he asked.

Zhang Liang was overjoyed, and cupped his fists, "Great General still remembers me? "I beg the Great General to accept me as his personal soldier, I will definitely protect the Great General with my life."

Ran Qiang was stunned for a moment. This young lad was quite straightforward and bold. He actually asked to be accepted as a personal soldier in front of him. Ye Zichen smiled and nodded in agreement. Zhang Liang was overjoyed. As he stood straight, his eyes became fervent.

Ran Qiang turned to Cui Xi, who was still trembling in fear, smiled and said, "Is Mister Cui willing to help me?" His original intention was naturally for that girl, but this was their first meeting and they did not know the details, so they could not directly ask for her daughter to become an advisor. Furthermore, he was not sure what kind of reaction he would have if he asked a woman to be his advisor.

Cui Xi was overjoyed and quickly agreed.

Therefore, Ran Qiang ordered his personal guards to stay behind while his guard Cui Xi went back to clean up. He led the others back to Ye City.