In the early morning of the next day, in front of the Pei County Yamen, a long line of 300 prisoners stood waiting to set off. The common people came to say goodbye, including mothers to see off their sons, and wives to see off their husbands. Everyone was sad and shed tears for the departure of their loved ones.
After a while, Liu Ji and Zhou Bo came out of the county government office, both of them fully armed. Those who had good relations with Liu Ji also came to see him off and generously gave him travel aid. Each person gave Liu Ji three hundred dollars. Xiao He asked someone to send five hundred coins. Liu Ji was very moved and thanked everyone who donated the road supplies. At this time, everyone saw Fan Kuai and Xia Houying in the queue and gave them some money. Suddenly there was a gong sound, and County Magistrate Zhao led Cao Shen, Wan Qitu and others out of the county. He came straight to Liu Ji, handed him a roster and said: "This book says Each person’s name, a total of three hundred people.” The county magistrate asked Liu Ji to name them on the spot. Liu Ji finished calling the names and held the roster in his arms. The county magistrate ordered again: "Liu Ji listens to the order!" Liu Ji then stood up and said: "Take the order!" The county magistrate deliberately raised his voice so that everyone could hear him, and said: "It's a long way to Xianyang. If there is anyone who disobeys me on the way, you can kill him first and then tell him!" Liu Ji accepted the order, pulled out half of his sword, and raised his hands high to signal, meaning that if there is any disobedience, he will be punished. Don't be lenient. The blade of the sword was as bright as frost and snow, and the cold air was so intense that it made people shudder. The county magistrate turned back and said to everyone: "You must obey Mr. Liu's control along the way, and you must rush to Xianyang to complete the mission!" Then he ordered to set off.
In the walking team, Fan Kuai and Xia Houying were walking behind in chains. Before they left the city, Fan Kuai said to an official beside him: "Go and call Chief Liu Ting over. Old Fan has something to say!" The official said: "He is an adult now, don't call him by his first name?" Fan Kuai said angrily: "What adult? It's my eldest brother, go quickly!" The official was startled and ran to report to Liu Ji. Liu Ji knew that Fan Kuai wanted him to open the shackles, so he thought about it and ignored it. When Fan Kuai saw that Liu Ji was ignoring him, he shouted: "Liu Laosan, you ungrateful guy! You promised to save me, but ended up putting Lao Fan in jail, and now you want to send me to Lishan. If Lao Fan doesn't go, Let me go quickly, or you will break the shackles!" After listening to Fan Kuai's words, all the prisoners complained together: "Yes, what crime did we commit, and they arrested us inexplicably!" At this time, Zhou Bo came over, When Fan Kuai saw it, he cursed: "Zhou Bo, you are such a loser, why don't you let me go?" Zhou Bo felt guilty, so he listened silently to everyone's complaints.
After leaving the county, Liu Ji ordered someone to open Xia Houying's shackles, and then said to him: "This is far away from Xianyang. I am worried that someone will escape, so I asked you and Zhou Bo to guard the prisoner together." Fan Kuai saw that Liu Ji was not giving him any permission. After opening the lock, he mumbled: "Liu Laosan! I would rather be a robber than go to Lishan. Please let me go!" Zhou Bo also persuaded Liu Ji to open Fan Kuai's shackles. Liu Jidao: "This thing wants to escape, so don't let go of the shackles!" He urged everyone to leave quickly.
While everyone was walking, an official suddenly came to report: "Master Liu, someone behind has escaped!" Liu Ji hurriedly asked Zhou Bo and Xia Houying to chase him. After a while, the two chased the escaped man back. Liu Ji shouted: "Why did you escape?" These people replied in unison: "We are not guilty, but we were forcibly captured by Zhou's prison guards?" Liu Ji asked Zhou Bo what was going on. Zhou Bo was very ashamed and said: "The county guard asked the county to send out 300 prisoners. There are not enough in the prison, so the county magistrate asked me to arrest them everywhere." When Liu Ji heard this, he stood up quickly and grabbed Zhou Bo. The collar said: "Why do you arrest people?" Zhou Bo said helplessly: "Brother, the county magistrate asked me to convict people at will. I, Zhou Bo, am sorry for everyone, but there is no other way. Who dares to disobey the order?" Liu Ji pushed Zhou Bo away bitterly. To the side. Zhou Bo took two steps back, then angrily punched a tree by the roadside. Seeing this, Fan Kuai shouted: "Brother, I have told you before that Magistrate Zhao is not a good person! Everyone has been wronged, and I have been wronged too. If Brother Xiahou and I are sent to Lishan, you will We will never see our brothers again, so let us go!" Liu Ji stamped his feet and angrily shouted: "You are unjust, you are unjust! You have killed so many people, and you are still unjust. If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will kill you first. Get off your butt!" Fan Kuai stopped saying anything. Liu Ji thought for a moment and then shouted: "Everyone, listen carefully. From now on, if anyone escapes again, they will be beheaded immediately!" Everyone was shocked, but they were still unconvinced.
To the west of Peixian County is Fengyi. When the elders in Fengyi City heard that Liu Ji was passing by the city with his children from the county, they came out to visit him. Liu Ji was afraid that his father would be sad, so he ordered them to go around the city. When the elders heard that Liu Ji had escaped, they became even more angry. They caught up with Liu Ji in twos and threes and accused him. Liu Ji hurriedly explained. After the fathers visited their sons, they said goodbye in tears. Then everyone continued on their way, and after walking for more than ten miles, it slowly became dark, and Liu Ji had to order to camp.
It wasn't long before the sun had already set. After dinner, the moon rose slowly again. Three hundred prisoners were staring at the moon in the camp in a daze, while some of them were chattering about something. Liu Ji held his sword vigilantly, wandering around the camp, and ordered the officers not to sleep, and to keep an eye on the prisoners. Another hour passed, and the only sound in the camp was snoring. At this time, Liu Ji came to a highland with a lot of thoughts. Facing the vast wilderness and the reed flowers and the autumn moon, he felt the thought of leaving his hometown and cherishing his relatives. He remembered what his fathers had said during the day, and thought about this time. Send the prisoner to Lishan, and you don’t know when he will come back? When Liu Ji thought of this, he looked up at the sky again and saw the moon disappearing into the unfathomable dark clouds. He suddenly felt that his future was bleak.
Late at night, Liu Ji was still patrolling the camp. He turned around a few times and suddenly noticed a black shadow moving in the distance, so he shouted: "Who is there?" The men turned around and ran away without speaking. Liu Ji shouted: "Where is Xia Houying?" At this time, Xia Houying rushed after hearing the news and caught the escapee. Liu Ji tied up these people and took them to the roadside for execution. Liu Ji cursed first, then raised his sword to kill them. At this time, the tied prisoners knelt on the ground with a plop, and begged for mercy together: "Master Liu, please spare your life! If we go to Lishan, it doesn't matter if we die. What matters is that we have seniors above us." You Xiao, I'm afraid that if we leave, the whole family will starve to death! If we don't escape tonight, when we arrive in Meng County tomorrow, everyone in the county will be together again, and we will have no chance. Mr. Liu, please let us live. ? I will be a cow or a horse in the next life, and I must repay you for your grace of survival?" After those people finished speaking, they started to cry, and they cried very sadly. Suddenly, another person said: "Master Liu, if you perform meritorious service this time, you will be reused by the county magistrate when you come back, and you can also be promoted to a noble position, but we are doomed!" After hearing this, Liu Ji was deeply touched. Trembling, he said, "Am I just trying to get promoted and get rich, so I take credit from you and receive rewards?" All the prisoners were silent. Liu Ji's heart suddenly softened. He could never act without conscience, so he slowly lowered his raised sword, then raised his head and shouted that he would make the right choice between justice and evil. choice.
When the prisoners saw this scene, they just cried. Liu Ji was silent for a while and then said: "This place is hundreds of miles away from Xianyang. When can we get there? Besides, you are all children from poor families and were forced to serve as prisoners. This is how unethical the Qin State is! "Liu Ji walked to the middle of the crowd and saw that everyone was in ragged clothes and pitiful appearance. He immediately felt compassion, so he looked up to the sky again and shouted: "What sin do you have? What sin do you have? God, you let you bear it. Such suffering? What should I do?" Liu Ji roared in pain, and then said angrily: "Come on! Come on! Come on! Come here, I have something to say?" People didn't know what he was going to say. , he walked over tremblingly and surrounded Liu Ji in a circle. Liu Ji looked around everyone and suddenly ordered the officials: "Unlock all their shackles!"
When the officials heard this, they were shocked. You looked at me and I looked at you, but they didn't dare to open the yoke. Liu Ji was furious and personally opened the shackles of several people. At this time, the officials opened everyone's shackles. The prisoners murmured in their hearts that they didn't know what Lieutenant Liu was going to do. Oddly enough, when the prisoners were locked up, they all tried to escape, but now that they are free, no one has escaped. Liu Ji ordered everyone to light a bonfire to keep warm.
After a while, everyone sat down in circles to warm themselves up by the fire. Liu Ji then ordered the officials to fill the cups with wine. He also picked up a large bowl of wine and said loudly: "Brothers, I'd like to toast you a drink!" Distributed it to everyone, and called Fan Kuai and Xia Houying to drink with them. Zhou Bo asked in confusion: "Brother, why do you have to drink so much?" Fan Kuai shouted: "When you drink, you have to drink as much as you can. Brother and I used to do this a lot. Are you afraid that I will run away?" Liu Ji said nothing and drank again. After a few bowls, he stood up and said, "Brothers! I, Liu Ji, like to drink, and I especially like to sing when I'm drunk! I'm going to sing a song now, and you guys should sing along with me." After that, he drew his sword in his hand and pointed it at After rubbing the moon for a while, she sang passionately:
The night is heavy, the road is far away, the people are swaying, and my heart is anxious. And the fire is burning in the sky?
Three hundred prisoners also sang along with Liu Ji. They sang several times in a row, and because they were all so impassioned, they burst into tears. After Liu Ji finished singing, he said to everyone: "Brothers! The people have suffered from the rule of Qin for too long. You are all children of poor families and have no sin, but you are condemned as sinners today. This is so unfair! This is so unfair!" If you go to Lishan Mountain, when will you turn around? I, Liu Jiting, came from a long background and know you best. You are all suffering! It’s too bitter! Going to Lishan Mountain now is also death, and not going is also death! You all go, the farther you go, the better! "When the officials saw that Liu Ji was about to release the prisoners, they were all stunned for a moment. Someone shouted: "Master Liu, if you let them go, how will you explain to the county guard and magistrate? Is this a serious crime of decapitation?" After hearing this, Liu Ji looked up to the sky and laughed, saying: "You all should go, I'm going to fly far away too!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Fan Kuai understood what Liu Ji meant and was the first to jump up and shout: "I have said before that my eldest brother is an upright man! Hahaha! Today, it seems that eldest brother is really a hero!" Zhou Bo also stood up suddenly and said loudly: "Fan Kuai is right! When we work for the Qin State, we are helping the tyrants to do evil! It is better to live in exile than to do evil things that cannot be done to the people! Brothers, I, Zhou Bo, can't do anything to you!" From now on, I, Zhou Bo, will never set foot in the county government again, and I will completely break with the government!" Seeing what Zhou Bo said, Fan Kuai shouted happily: "Why are you all standing there in a daze? My elder brother has spoken, why don't you leave? ?" At this moment, the three hundred warriors all knelt down on the ground and said in unison: "Thank you, Mr. Liu, for your generous rescue! If I have the chance, I will definitely repay your kindness!" After saying that, some of them disappeared. In the night.
But there were more than a hundred people left who were unwilling to leave. They included Fan Kuai, Zhuang Bushi, Peijia, Qi Gill, Wu Hu, Dong Zhu, Yan Zechi, Gong Shixi, Dan Ning, Bing Qian, Zhu Jin and others. , these people are willing to flee with Liu Ji. Among the official officials, Zhou Bo, Xia Houying, Kong Tong, Yin Hui, Liu Sheng, Wuru and others were also willing to follow Liu Ji. At this time, all the heroes said in unison: "We are willing to follow Mr. Liu and we will never leave him until death." Abandon!" Fan Kuai said: "That's right. If you are a man, come with my brother!" Liu Ji looked at them and said very happily: "Everyone, since you don't want to leave, you have to suffer with me. !" Everyone said: "If we are caught by the county when we go back, we will die anyway. We would rather follow Mr. Liu and flee to the end of the world!" After hearing this, Liu Ji said with satisfaction: "Okay, it seems that tonight, We are close friends after drinking! We met in this deserted wilderness, and our fate is the same. Maybe this is God's arrangement? Come on, let's get drunk and then rest!" Everyone then poured wine again and started drinking. .
Liu Ji drank a few more bowls, and was already very drunk. He took advantage of the wine and said: "Now the Qin State is carrying out construction projects, and the burden on the people is very heavy. In order to find the medicine of immortality, the First Emperor sent thousands of boys and girls out to sea. Seeking Immortality, I heard that the people in Shandong hated him very much. The Qin State also built the Great Wall, built palaces, excavated Mount Li, and opened the Five Ridges. Millions of workers kept running around the frontiers all year round, doing hard work. I heard that the people in the frontiers Many women have also been exhausted to death. This is simply a mistake that has lost the support of the people! How can the Qin State enslave the world for a long time?" Everyone said excitedly: "Yes, the people have long been complaining!" Liu Ji He went on to say: "I, Liu Ji, can't rule the country and bring peace to the world, and I can't help the people. I'm really living in this world. I went from the pavilion chief to the acting county captain. It's really boring when I think about it. This one is not even as good as sesame seeds. How could I be a small official in my heart? But what am I? What can I do? They say I am a farmer, but I don’t like farming in obscurity; I say I am a scholar, but I don’t know "The Wind", "Sao" "What is it? I won't study hard like a nerd. What can I do? What can I accomplish? I don't know, who can tell me?..." Liu Ji shook his head and beat his head in pain. Chest, tears stained breasts.
