As soon as Liu Heiqi died, the mining thieves immediately lay on the ground and surrendered.
But Su Ze did not take it lightly. Instead, he asked them to drop their weapons and ordered Old Orion Lu to lead people to tie up the mining thieves before he stepped forward.
The old Orion and his son stood next to Su Ze. They only saw a group of people wearing long bows. They were obviously not the same group as the mining bandits kneeling on the ground. They should be the descendants of Ye Zongliu's rebel army that the old Orion said. .
"Where is the cottage?"
The old hunter said: "Liu Heiqi took over our village as a cottage, right behind that mountain."
The mountain was not far from here. Su Ze escorted them over the hidden mountain road, and they saw a small village.
There were many people in the village who came out to watch when they heard the sound. Su Ze saw at a glance that they were mostly women and children.
Su Ze ordered the young Orion to call the people in the village to the square. He said to the old Orion: "The bandit leader who followed Liu Hei's seven sins is extremely evil and has human lives on his hands. You can't forgive him. You lead the people to push the bandit leader out."
The old Orion immediately stepped forward and read Su Ze's intention. After a while, more than a dozen mining bandit leaders were escorted to Su Ze.
Su Ze said to Lin Deyang: "Seal them into the mine and have a taste of how they will kill the people."
These mining bandit leaders kowtowed to Su Ze and begged for mercy, but Su Ze was unmoved. After dragging them out, Su Ze said to everyone:
"Those who were dragged up the mountain by mining thieves can come down."
There was a commotion in the crowd, but only a few people came out. They saluted Su Ze, turned around and ran down the mountain.
Lü Huihu's son said to Su Ze: "Mr. Xie Yuang, many people here have no way to survive even if they go down the mountain."
Su Ze raised his eyes and saw that many of them were women. They had been robbed up the mountain and lost their reputation. They had no place to stay when they came down.
There are also landless victims who have no choice but to starve to death after coming down the mountain.
Su Ze looked at the village. There were ordinary thatched houses in the village, and there were not many fields on the mountains.
"What do you do for a living?"
The old hunter said honestly: "When times were good, I could barely survive by hunting and peeling some furs to sell in Jianning Mansion, but now it is difficult to make a living just by hunting in the mountains. If it weren't for Liu Heiqi If we fight here, it will be difficult for the people in the village to survive."
"Why not open fields?"
"Mining has been open in Xianxia Mountain since the Tang and Song Dynasties, and now there is illegal mining, and farming has long been impossible on the mountain."
Sure enough, there are landslides everywhere on the mountain, and the surrounding mountaintops are bare. In modern terms, this means that mineral resources have been over-exploited here, resulting in serious soil erosion and serious damage to the ecological environment.
The old hunter said: "But bamboo can still grow on the mountain. The women in the village used to be bamboo craftsmen, or go to the mountain to pick bamboo shoots in spring, which can be considered a livelihood."
Li Zhi and others were silent. They did not expect that the life of the mountain people was so miserable.
This mountain village is located in a hidden location and is very close to Xianxia Pass, the most dangerous place in Xianxia Mountain.
Su Ze had the idea of leaving a backup here. He asked Old Orion Lu, "How many people can the mountain accommodate?"
The old Orion said honestly: "A maximum of a hundred households."
Su Ze saw behind him the people who had been kidnapped by the mining thieves, including women and children, totaling a thousand people. If these people were not illegally mined and robbed, there would be no way they could survive on Xianxia Mountain.
Su Ze said to everyone: "Those of you who are willing to stay in Xianxia Mountain stand here."
The sparse crowds separated, and those who were willing to stay in Xianxia Mountain were basically the residents of the original mountain village.
To the remaining people, Su Ze said: "If you believe me, take my token and go south to Ningwei, the head of Nanping County in Yanping Prefecture, to find Lin Baihu, and he will take care of you."
There are probably more than 800 refugees who are unwilling to stay on the mountain. Some of them are refugees who followed the mining thieves up the mountain to mine, and some are common people who were robbed and went up the mountain. They don't want to stay on Xianxia Mountain anymore, but they don't want to go down the mountain. ways to survive.
However, the road from Xianxia Mountain to Changningwei is long and short, and these people are also retreating.
After a while, a dark-skinned middle-aged man came forward, bowed to Su Ze and asked:
"My husband, can you tell me your name?"
Su Ze said: "Su Ze, Xie Yuan Yanping Prefecture, Xiaben Province."
The middle-aged man was even more frightened and said: "I am Yan Dalang, a miner from the official mine. I fled into the mountains and was coerced by Liu Heiqi before becoming a thief. I have never done anything to oppress good people."
Everyone behind Yan Dalang nodded. Sure enough, he was very popular among this group of refugees.
Yan Dalang stood up and said to the people behind him: "Since it is Mr. Jie Yuangong in person, and Yan can be trusted, I am willing to go to Changning Guard!"
Things would be easier if someone took the lead, and everyone expressed their willingness to follow Yan Dalang to Changning Guard.
Su Ze called Yan Dalang forward and asked Lin Deyang to take out a bag of new money and hand it to him.
Then Su Ze wrote another letter and gave it to Yan Dalang and said:
"This is a letter written to Magistrate Li of Jian'an County. After you come down from the mountain, take my letter to him and ask him to use the money to buy food in Jian'an Mansion. You should be able to persist to Changning Guard."
Su Ze sent another bodyguard to ride back to Changning Guard and informed Lin Mojun to send someone to deal with the refugees.
Yan Dalang's eyes were wet and his eyes were red, and he kowtowed to Su Ze and said, "Yan has no way to repay the kindness of Mr. Xie Yuan, but I am willing to accompany Mr. Xie Yuan to repay him!"
Su Ze heard that he spoke in a formal manner and couldn't help but ask: "Have you ever read a book?"
"I haven't read the Bible, I just know a few words."
Su Ze said with satisfaction: "Take everyone back to Changning Guard and then go north to catch up with me."
"Thank you very much Mr. Xie Yuang!"
Yan Dalang took Su Ze's letter, the new money to buy food, and the token for Lin Mojun, and led more than 800 refugees behind him down Xianxia Mountain and headed directly to Changning Guard.
Su Ze looked at Old Orion Lu again and said, "Since you are willing to stay in the mountain, I, the Changning Guards, will send a caravan over for trade in the future. You can exchange furs and dried bamboo shoots for food."
The old Orion was overjoyed. He looked at his son again and gritted his teeth and said:
"Mr. Xie Yuangong, although my son is dull, he is very familiar with Xianxia Mountain. He can lead the way for Gong Xie Yuang."
"When we get to Qinghu Town, if Duke Jie Yuang thinks this guy is useful, let him follow you."
After the old Orion son was at a loss for a while, he also made up his mind to salute Su Ze. Su Ze helped him up and said:
"That's very good. I don't know your master's name yet."
"When his mother was pregnant with him, there were birds building a nest outside the house, so the nickname made the birds happy."
Lu Quexi raised his hands to Su Ze and said, "Master's house."
Su Ze nodded, recognizing this personal follower. Su Ze also saw that Orion and his son had high prestige in the mountain village, and they could control the mountain village through Lu Quexi in the future.
After everything is settled, it is natural to search for the loot after the war.
A lot of silver nuggets were found from Liu Heiqi's village, but the purity of these silver nuggets was too poor, and some were even black.
After counting, these silver bars were equivalent to fifty taels of silver of ordinary quality. Su Ze simply folded the silver into new money and distributed it one by one to the guards participating in the battle.
There were only two wounded in this battle. One of them was Li Zhi's bodyguard, who fell down due to the slippery mountain road. The other unlucky guy was Huang Maochong's servant, whose arm was cut by shrapnel ejected from the firearm.
Su Zedu used his "medical" skills to bandage them.
In order to build up his reputation in the mountain village, Su Ze used his skill as a barefoot doctor to identify herbs near the mountain village. He took Old Orion Lu to collect herbs, told him how to use these herbs, and also treated diseases in the village.
After finishing all this work, Su Ze led the team to continue setting off. Lu Que said goodbye to his father and took the lead in leading everyone to Xianxia Pass.
The closer you get to Xianxia Pass, the steeper the mountain road becomes, and some places can only accommodate one person.
It was rainy in the mountains, so Su Ze had someone wrap his feet with linen cloth, and finally arrived in front of Xianxia Pass before sunset.
There was a huge boulder inserted into the mountain in front of the pass, and finally there was a flat land where we could set up camp.
Seeing that it was getting late, Su Ze ordered everyone to set up camp.
"Brother Rulin, look, this is a stone carving!"
After setting up camp, Zhao Bingzhong wandered around the stone platform and saw the stone carvings hidden in the moss. He called everyone in surprise.
However, this stone carving seems to be very old, and no one has been stationed at Xianxia Pass since the early Ming Dynasty. The stone carvings have been eroded by half of the time.
Su Ze looked at the stone carvings and recited:
"My life is really a withered tent, and I have traveled all over the world without ending."
Everyone started studying the stone carvings. Just when everyone started to examine whose work it was, Su Ze said:
"This is Lu You's poem."
Li Zhi nodded and said: "It is indeed Lu Fangweng's style, but it's a pity that only half of the stone carvings remain."
The stone carvings have been eroded by time, and the lower part is no longer visible.
Just when everyone was sighing, Su Ze read from memory:
"For a while, I heard that the court chickens were under the double palace, and they were riding on the thin horses in the mountains.
The heavy fur is no match for the power of the morning frost, and the old trees are fighting for the title of the night valley wind.
Don't look for the lost dream again, the beautiful face will be transformed into nothing. "
Lu You had no chance to realize his ambitions in his life, and he ended up depressed when he saw that there was no hope of recovering his motherland. Everyone present was a young man, and they still didn't like this kind of poetry.
Only Su Ze had some resonance with Lu You's poems. Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty is experiencing constant natural and man-made disasters, but Su Ze has not yet been able to change the world.
"Is there a small temple over there?"
Everyone walked over and saw that a piece of the mountain in front had been dug out and a stone statue was placed in it.
"This is a niche. Hey, this is not a Buddha statue, nor is it a Taoist statue?"
Although Su Ze's "Religious Knowledge" is only Level 3, he can still tell that this stone statue is neither Buddha nor Taoism.
Huang Maochong saw a line of inscriptions next to the stone statue: "Soaring to the sky?"
"General Chongtian?" Su Ze walked over and took a look. Although the last two words were blurred, he could still make out the word "general".
I see.
Seeing Su Ze's expression, Li Zhi asked: "Rulin, which statue of Buddha is this?"
Su Ze said: "General Chongtian, this is the stone statue of Huang Chao."
"Huang Chao!?"
Everyone exclaimed, they did not expect to see a niche dedicated to Huang Chao under Xianxia Pass.
Su Ze murmured:
“The rustling west wind fills the courtyard with plants, and the flowers are cold and fragrant, and butterflies are hard to come by.
If I were the Qing Emperor in his future years, I would be rewarded with peach blossoms. "
"What a poem, what a spirit!" Li Zhi and others applauded, but when they looked around the entire cliff, they couldn't see a single flower at all, but they didn't know why Su Ze composed this poem?
Su Ze then remembered that he still suffered the disadvantage of being educated. This poem, which was popular in later generations, was not widely circulated at this time.
The reason is naturally very simple. This is an anti-poem, and Huang Chao's deeds are mentioned in "New and Old Tang Books" with only one stroke, and this poem is not included.
When people at that time were compiling all Tang poems, they were naturally unwilling to include Huang Chao's anti-poems.
So when Su Ze read it out, Li Zhi and others thought it was Su Ze who had the inspiration to compose the poem.
Su Ze quickly said: "This poem was not written by me, but by this great general."
Huang Maochong read it a few more times, and felt that it was even more exquisite, and that the poem was unparalleled in its power. Everyone was young, and they felt that it was written with great courage.
Huang Maochong sighed and said: "If Huang Chao had been born a hundred years earlier, maybe he would have had a place among the poets of the prosperous Tang Dynasty."
Su Ze said disapprovingly: "The court in the late Tang Dynasty was unruly, and people with corpses sitting in plain food were all over the court. Scholars with real talents could only be left behind among the people. How could the world not rebel?"
"If you ask Huang Chao, he would rather be a rebel than a poet praising the prosperous times."
Everyone was silent again. Su Ze arranged for people to camp overnight. Huang Maochong couldn't fall asleep even while reciting Huang Chao's poems.
When Huang Maochong yawned the next day, he saw Zhao Bingzhong who was also yawning. The two looked at each other and smiled, each leaving some tribute in front of Huang Chao's niche. The group climbed the mountain again and finally crossed the fairyland at noon. Kasumigaseki.
After passing Xianxia Pass, the mountain road turned out to be much smoother. From this moment on, everyone officially left Fujian and entered Zhejiang.
Lu Quexi pointed to the winding mountain road ahead and said: "Following this road is Qinghu Ancient Town!"
Su Ze looked up and saw the smoke in the distance, and everyone felt like they were back in the world.
Li Zhi suddenly asked: "Does Qinghu Town belong to Quzhou?"
Su Ze only had a map of Fujian in his hands, and he had copied this map from the Fujian Chief Envoy's Yamen through his connections.
The governor's office of a province only has maps of its own province, and only the capital has maps of the whole country.
The map of Zhejiang in Li Zhi's hand only had approximate directions, and everyone could only look at Lu Quexi.
Lu Que nodded happily and said, "Qinghu Town belongs to Quzhou Prefecture."
When they heard that they had arrived in Quzhou, the three of them except Su Ze were a little excited.
Li Zhi said: "In those days, Mr. Yangming gave lectures in Quzhou many times. Quzhou Academy is now a major school of spiritual studies. Rulin, we can drop by Quzhou Academy to have a look!"
Although Li Zhi was influenced by Su Ze and was not so interested in the study of the mind, at least the study of the mind is now the number one academic field in the Ming Dynasty. Li Zhi was naturally excited when he came to the holy land of the study of the mind.
The same is true for Huang Maochong and Zhao Bingzhong. They don't have deep contact with mind studies, but it would be good to visit the world-famous Quzhou Academy.
Su Ze also understood their mentality, so he said: "Let's take a rest in Qinghu Town, and then we will go to Quzhou Academy."
(End of chapter)
