Chapter 7 Sacred Tree
Of course, Deng Changjiang paid special attention to Guan Shengyun's situation. Especially in the early years, although I couldn't tell everything clearly, I could even vaguely guess that they were close to each other.
Guan Shengyun climbed over the border wall and headed west along the Mongolian side. He didn't turn back around the Qingshui River until he passed the Weiyuan Guards in Datong Prefecture. Being familiar with the living customs of the Mongolian compatriots, and having money in their pockets and knives in their hands, the herdsmen on the grasslands also knew to some extent the Great Khan's favor for this group of bloody men. No one encountered any trouble along the way to Hangmatai, Tucheng, and Yulin. Instead, they took in some more refugees along the way, and the number expanded to about a hundred or so people. Guan Shengyun and others were very familiar with the border army's checkpoint defense and patrol rules. These experiences allowed them to run all the way to the border of Shaanxi Province in the Ming Dynasty without any danger. Refugees continued to join along the way. By the time they arrived at Dachong Ridge in the north of Taiyuan Prefecture, there were already two to three hundred people. By the time they entered Shaanxi, Guan Shengyun's tribe had numbered six to seven hundred, both Mongolian and Han. These people , he used to lead the team from time to time to search and capture those who were taken back to serve as auxiliary soldiers, so he was very easy to collect them.
When there are two to three hundred people, rich households can always temporarily solve the problem of food and clothing by robbing some villages. When there are more people, supplies become a big problem.
At first, Guan Shengyun had no idea of going to any county town. Having come from a regular army background, he was fully aware of the combat effectiveness of a mob with only a hundred swords, not to mention heavy equipment such as siege weapons - grabbing a stronger stronghold often cost several lives, let alone climbing with bare hands. wall. So everyone dug wild vegetables and caught voles, but no one dared to touch the county seat. It was a long time to go without a meal. Later, I was so hungry that I couldn't bear it any longer. With the idea of grabbing a handful and running away, I came to the outside of Shenmu County to try my luck.
Unexpectedly, I discovered that although the county town in front of me was considered a border gate, there were not even a few bricks left on the city wall, and the exposed adobe had already become dilapidated after years of wind and rain. Guan Shengyun, who has been living in a military camp since he was a teenager, certainly understands what this means: there is no defensive power - and at the same time, of course, there is no defensive value.
No matter how worthless a county town is, you can always fill your stomach, right? So hundreds of people without any rules or tactics rushed directly into the county town with a shout. It was even easier than grabbing a stronghold - not even a token resistance was encountered. The guard watching the city gate was an old government official. From a distance, he saw such a large group of rags and hungry ghost-like guys rushing towards him, howling and screaming. He threw away the stick in his hand that was used as a walking stick and scampered home. It ran faster than a rabbit chased by a dog.
So Guan Shengyun sat in the lobby of the county government and started to eat and drink.
Standing beside him with hands hanging down to wait on him was a guy in his forties with a grimace on his face: the clothes on his body were patched and patched, and they had been washed so many times that it was almost impossible to identify the original colors of the pieces of cloth. Very conspicuously, there is a piece of white cloth on the chest, with an unidentifiable bird on it... Well, it seems that he must have painted it on it with a brush - wait a minute!
There is a piece of cloth with what kind of bird painted on it sewn on the front of the clothes?
Isn't this just a compliment?
This is really a bonus!
——This is actually the magistrate of Shenmu County!
Well, at such a young age, he was thrown into such a useless place to be a sesame official, and he was so poor, which shows the connections and status of this magistrate in the Ming Dynasty officialdom - Guan Shengyun completely understood why this guy didn't immediately To be loyal to the Holy One, he immediately brought out the Qiangu account book for himself...
The subordinates brought a sheep from nowhere and put it down. They also slaughtered a few chickens raised in the backyard of the county government and threw them all into a big pot to stew. Guan Shengyun ate the thick flour cake until he was satisfied and stuffed it no more. Without putting anything in, I opened the account book with my oily hands and was dumbfounded: Everyone could have guessed that this county was very poor, but no one could have imagined that it would be so poor! The great ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang divided the counties into three grades: the first grade was for those producing 100,000 shi of grain and was called Shangxian; the second grade was for those that produced 60,000 shi of grain and was called Zhongxian; and the third grade was for those that produced less than 30,000 shi of grain. , called Xia County. Regardless of whether they are in the upper county, middle county or lower county, they all have to pay the imperial grain. The difference is more or less. However, this Shenmu County is amazing - not only does it not need to pay the imperial rations, even the expenses of the county yamen, including the magistrate's salary, are all allocated by the imperial court!
Everyone on earth knows about Ming Dynasty’s low wages. The salary of the county magistrate... Let's put it this way, if you are not corrupt, this money will definitely be enough to raise two sheep. If the sheep are replaced by a horse, it can survive if it is fed more carefully, but don't I hope I can grow fat and strong... The total annual expenses of Shenmu County are one hundred and dozens of taels~ Note, this is not the salary of the master, but the total expenses of all the people in the county who eat the imperial food! Watching the county magistrate groping for a key from his belt, he tremblingly opened a wooden box that would break into pieces if stepped on: inside were a dozen or so taels of broken silver scum of different colors and sizes. and a small stall of scattered copper coins.
Guan Shengyun felt a little embarrassed. In order to cover up, he pretended to be angry and asked: "Is this all your property?"
The magistrate nodded solemnly: "Returning to the heroic king, it is indeed true. If there is even half a lie, I am willing to be struck by five thunders from heaven..."
At first, he was hungry and just kept eating regardless. Now that he was full, Guan Shengyun felt some unbearable thoughts rising in his heart. He slurped and asked again: "Those chickens in the backyard..."
The magistrate shook his head with a grimace: "In the beginning, I raised them to eat eggs. After raising them for many years, I got old and stopped laying eggs. I didn't have the heart to kill them to eat, so I just let them go. Well, now they also It’s considered transcendent.”
Guan Shengyun heard something wrong with these words. In order to relieve his inner embarrassment, he slapped the table and shouted: "Nonsense! The exam for Beijing officials every six years is called 'Beijing inspection', and the exam for foreign officials every three years is called 'big plan'" , after the examination, you will be promoted, transferred or dismissed! It will take at least five or six years for the chickens to be exhausted and they can no longer lay eggs, and you are still here? Absolutely impossible! You said that these chickens have been raised for many years, which is obviously a lie !”
The magistrate smiled miserably: "Back to the hero king, you know how to read and write, and there is an extraordinary air in your movements. How dare you deceive me in this humble position? Besides, this place is so shabby, why should you deceive me? I have been here for more than seven years in this humble position. La. Who wants to waste this place? Every year when the imperial court is planning something big, humble officials eagerly look forward to changing places, even if they are demoted. However, the adults in the official department must have forgotten this place..."
Without thinking, Guan Shengyun knew that what the magistrate said was the truth: the blue official uniform of the seventh-grade magistrate had been washed so that the true color could not be seen, and the large patches piled on top of the small patches turned white after washing, but the colorful and toned clothes of the past could still be faintly revealed. He actually drew it by himself, especially since he could hardly bite the chicken just now. That means he was too hungry and didn’t bother to chew it, so he swallowed it whole... Feeling guilty again, he asked without saying anything: "Then, What are your plans in the future?"
The magistrate spread out his hands and said with a wry smile: "What else can you do? Open the door and bow down to the thief, you should be punished according to the law. Of course, if you are lucky enough to escape from the king's sword, you can wait for the heroes to leave, and then repay the "bloody battle for an inch of land" Go up without losing. In such a bitter cold place, no one would be willing to come and suffer. It is said that they were robbed, and the total was only a dozen taels of silver. The imperial court was just a person who was demoted to one level and retained. , I won't take my humble position seriously - unless a more unlucky guy offends the adults and ends up dying. But at that time, after what happened to the heroes, the common people will really not be able to live anymore, and they will probably be killed in a few days. The official rebelled and followed him away. I guess it won't be long before you see the head of Beizi... to be used as a certificate of submission to the king. Beiji is destined to die anyway."
At this time, Guan Shengyun had just fallen into the grass, and he had not yet completed the complete transformation from an officer to a rebel in his heart. Hearing this, he felt compassion and hesitated for a moment: "Then, how about going with me?"
The magistrate, who was already devastated, never thought that he would still have a way to survive, and couldn't help but be stunned on the spot. It stands to reason that from the moment one of the parents becomes an official in the imperial court to the one who commits treachery, there is no limit to the distance between them. But after staying in this place for seven or eight years, the ideal of cultivating Qi Zhiping has long been blown to pieces by the desert wind carrying yellow sand in reality. There can be no more than half a stop out of ten. Moreover, everyone is afraid of death, so he quickly I found countless excuses for myself in my heart: sooner or later, if I stay, I will die in an ugly way. If I follow you, I can persuade them not to hurt innocent people, I can persuade them to accept the imperial court's recruitment at the right time, and even, if necessary, I can follow them. The court cooperates with others to make merits and mistakes... As long as you find a suitable excuse for yourself, the rest will fall into place.
The magistrate bowed his head to Guan Shengyun and said, "I thank the general for his kindness in not killing me because of my humble position. Zhuojing died early and the puppy has grown up, so I don't care much about it. However, Bai Wuyi is a scholar, and the two humble father and son may drag down the general." Please forgive me."
Guan Shengyun wiped away the lingering guilt in his heart (mainly caused by stewing the old hen that made other people feel affectionate like a family member), and he was relieved and said happily: "It doesn't matter, sir, I will do it from now on." It’s my family, so don’t be polite. Marching and fighting have their own merits. From now on, I will have to trouble you sir with the text and copy of the notices for peace and security..."
While talking, I accidentally saw that the magistrate's eyes glanced at the chicken and mutton bones left on the case from time to time, and his Adam's apple moved involuntarily. He scratched his head in embarrassment, "Hey, I'll tell you the truth. I haven’t had any meat for ten days, sir, I’m laughing at you! If you don’t mind, sir, please do as you please.”
The magistrate calmly responded in a low voice: "Your Majesty, it's only ten days. If a student says that he can only eat meat once a year, would you believe it?" After saying that, without another word, he walked to the table and reached out to pick up the root. He bit down the mutton bone with a lot of meat in it, and with the meat in his mouth he shouted vaguely to the back: "Luo Shifan, come here and eat some meat!"
Someone in the back hall responded, and a frail young man of eighteen or nineteen years old came out, pulled by the two unkempt thieves who were responsible for guarding him.
From then on, Luo Yonghao (alias Wenguang) and his son Luo Shifan (alias Zhongmou), the magistrate of Shenmu County in Shaanxi Province during the Ming Dynasty, disappeared, while Guan Shengyun's army had two more Luo masters, big and small, appearing out of thin air.
In order to avoid embarrassment, Guan Shengyun said goodbye and walked to the gate of the county government office, stroking his stomach.
Then, he was stunned by the sight in front of him.
