The young man was originally submissive, but now his face showed a look of dissatisfaction. But because he was afraid of the sharp sword in his hand, he just muttered: "Other than asking for money and food, the government never does anything good..."
Zhuo Yifan breathed a sigh of relief: "How can you call it no good? You are sitting in the wild land of Hainan for two hundred years, enjoying no worries about food and clothing. Isn't it the kindness of my Ming Dynasty? As for paying the money and food, it is yours in the first place. Duty. Furthermore, I heard you say that your family was originally a tenant farmer, and the money and grain were not paid by the farmers..."
"Before the chief came here, we had been having trouble with Li bandits, and the government never paid attention to it. Besides, the money and grain from the grain farmers also came from our tenants..." the young man said, "Mr. Zhou's family has increased the rent every year in the past few years. It is said to be the decree of the imperial court. But after the chiefs came, Mr. Zhou did not dare to increase the rent, and even reduced the rent a lot!"
Zhuo Yifan sighed and said, "Could it be that the thieves forced him to reduce the rent?"
"That's not true," said the young man. "The chiefs have opened many industries in Nanbao, including mines, shops, and large factories. My parents don't have much ability. They only know how to farm, so they go to the farm to work as long-term workers. Although it is hard work, at least the whole family has food and clothing, and now the house has been renovated. It is much better than the half-starved and half-fed days when I was a tenant of Master Zhou. Who would go to share his land?" At this point, he said He couldn't help but feel a little proud, "Master Zhou is now begging others to share his land, who cares!"
There are still places in the world where landowners beg farmers to share their land! Zhuo Yifan couldn't help but be a little surprised. He traveled around the world and had a lot of knowledge. He had seen many things that resulted in people's lives because of the disputes between landlords and tenants: unless there was no king's law on the ground or farmers were dispersed after a major disaster; Otherwise, the matter of tenant land will always be a seller's market. The main themes of the struggle between landlords and tenants are "seizing/counter-seizing tenants" and "increasing/reducing rents".
The world of Lingao is too strange. Grain households are the foundation of the imperial court. If the thieves treat grain households like this, sooner or later all people's hearts will be lost. He sighed slightly, and suddenly felt that these thieves were quite capable in "ruling the world", but they only followed the fallacies and heresies of an unknown family. If they continued like this, their talents of "hundreds of industry and merchants" were wasted in vain. Thinking of this, he felt a little regretful. He couldn't help but said: "What a pity! Kun Thief has the ability of Lu Ban. He is also good at Tao Zhu's talents, but it's a pity that learning is not the right way." After saying that, he looked at the young man again and felt that he was a talent that could be made. He sighed and said, "Kun thief is really misleading people! They are all useless miscellaneous knowledge!"
Zhuo Yifan didn't know that children in this period have the strongest interest in learning and the strongest thirst for knowledge. Even though this boy has only been in school for a few months, the "Australian" has been in Nanbao for several years. He is Watching Nanbao transform from a deserted village in the mountains to a prosperous town, it is another new generation that feels the changes in life firsthand. Upon hearing this, Zhuo Yifan belittled the knowledge of the "chiefs" in every possible way. He said that it was useless to read the chief's book, so he couldn't help but argue: "Sir, you are too arbitrary to say such a thing. In the future, if I learn the chief's knowledge, I can grow more rice, weave more cloth, and make Useful farm tools make work easier, we can all live in tile-roofed houses, and our children and grandchildren will no longer have to endure hunger..."
When Zhuo Yifan heard this, he sneered in his heart: The thief Kun used to draw big cakes to fool the people. Clay Legs is Clay Legs, and he was confused by these few words. Look at the pious look on his face. He was probably deeply deceived, so why bother doing this when he was in an unexpected situation? He was not talking at the moment.
He was seriously injured, but despite medication, there was no inflammation. But I lost too much blood and spent another night running around last night. After talking for a while, he felt dizzy and alert. Before realizing that he was about to faint, he quickly pulled off a piece of rag and blocked the boy's mouth.
I don't know how long it took, but suddenly I felt someone shaking me. Zhuo Yifan opened his eyes and saw Sima Qiudao with an anxious look on his face.
"Sima..."
"Where is that young man?!" Sima Qiudao asked abruptly.
Zhuo Yifan was startled and looked towards the tree again, only to see only a schoolbag strap left on the ground. The schoolbag strap was made of canvas, which was very strong, but the texture was very hard, so it was not tightened and the boy broke free.
"not good……"
"Let's leave quickly." Sima Qiu said, "It's not suitable to stay here for a long time!" After saying that, he helped Zhuo Yifan up.
"Where are Brother Huang and the others?"
Sima Qiu said: "I entered the town, but before I had gone far, I heard a noise in front of me. The bandits had sent a group of Japanese pirates to surround Huang's medicine shop!" He said with a very sad tone, "I don't either. If you dare to go there again, you will come out quietly."
Zhuo Yifan's heart sank, but he didn't care much at this time. Now he was taking care of himself, so he could only seek happiness for himself.
"Let's just go around Nanbao. It's not far from Li District." After saying that, he supported his body with a wooden stick and walked forward.
Sima Qiudao couldn't help but feel nervous when he saw Zhuo Yifan's pale face and lacked blood on his lips. He took a step forward, helped Zhuo Yifan up with his right hand, and said, "I'll help you walk. Let's rush to Fanbao Mountain before dark, and sneak across the pass when dark. Qi Ye said that there There is no barracks anymore, there is only a management checkpoint, it is easy to get through."
The two of them supported each other and walked down the mountain, crossing the field ridge and heading towards a hill in front of them. Although he was being supported, Zhuo Yifan felt pain from his wounds every step he took, especially under his ribs. It hurt for a long time just to take a breath.
Could it be that he is going to die?
He dragged his feet reluctantly, only to feel his body getting heavier and heavier, and his head gradually became dizzy.
Worried about being discovered by the bandits, the two of them walked in a large circle, avoiding inhabited areas and only traveling through dense mountains and forests. This time it became increasingly difficult.
After walking for about half an hour, Sima Qiudao saw that Zhuo Yifan was swaying so much that he couldn't walk anymore, so he sat down behind a big rock.
"You take a rest for a while, and I'll go find you some water." He said, untying Zhuo Yifan's clothes, but saw that the blood had stained the bandage, and he knew that the wound had not healed after a long journey.
Sima Qiudao was secretly worried: If this continues, Zhuo Yifan will die on the road sooner or later!
The only thing he could hope for now was to escape smoothly into Li District, relying on the local connections of the volunteers to see if he could find a secluded place for him to recuperate.
He picked up the bamboo tube and was about to get water when Zhuo Yifan grabbed his arm and said in a deep voice: "Listen!"
Sima Qiudao listened attentively, but didn't hear anything. Just as he was about to speak, a strange sound came from far and near, coming from the hill where he rested last night. It seemed like a roar.
"It seems like a dog barking." Sima Qiu said. However, this was not the barking of an ordinary dog seen on the street, it was a sound similar to a growl. Sima Qiudao quickly pushed aside the tree branches and looked towards the place where the sound came from. I saw a black and yellow dog emerging from the woods on the opposite hillside. The dog had a round head, drooping ears, and two big white spots on its eyes, which looked like four eyes. It was strange. Son, this dog looks like he has no tail!
Behind the dog were three or four short, strong soldiers wearing lacquered hats and piercing their waists. Sima Qiudao knew that these were Japanese pirates raised by the bandits!
The dog was tied by a chain, and a man was holding it and sniffing it on the ground. The dog was surprisingly big, as big as a calf. The person holding it can hardly hold it back, and always drags the person holding it forward and backward, as if about to fall. At this time, three similar dogs came out of the woods one after another, and they were all sniffing on the ground. Behind the man holding the dog appeared more than ten sergeants with cannons, including Japanese pirates and ordinary soldiers. There was a young man standing next to one of the men who looked like an officer. He was pointing and pointing. Sima Qiudao was shocked: This is the young man who escaped!
Zhuo Yifan also saw it now, and he was secretly annoyed. But it was useless to say anything at this point. You can only shrink your body and try to reduce the number of targets.
The dog opposite was sniffing on the ground and walking towards here. Zhuo Yifan whispered: "Maybe it smells blood."
"The thief is so cunning that he actually used this trick!" Sima Qiudao looked at the other side without turning around, and said: "Brother Zhuo, let's go separately, otherwise once they come up, none of us will be able to escape. Climb this hill and walk a few more steps. The road ahead is Fanbao Mountain, so walk slowly, as long as you arrive before dark, you will have a chance to escape at night!"
He paused and then said: "I will go down the mountain immediately, pass through the valley in front, take the hill on the left, and then go to Fanbao Mountain to meet you."
Zhuo Yifan was shocked. Sima Qiudao took this road almost under the nose of the thief. He was deliberately trying to lure the thief away.
"Brother Sima, no! I'm seriously injured. I'm afraid time is running out. If you're not injured, walk faster. Just go. Leave Yifan here to hold off the thieves who are pursuing him. I'll kill every one I can!"
"Brother Zhuo, don't refuse. I, Sima Qiudao, crawled out from among the dead and escaped from the chaos. Now I have earned a living. Besides, I run fast, and the thieves will definitely chase me with all their strength. In this way The farther I run, the more time you have to escape - let's go one by one!"
As he spoke, he tightened his clothes and trousers and tucked the knife into his waist.
"Please, Brother Dao!" Zhuo Yifan choked up and was speechless.
Sima Qiudao looked at him and smiled deliberately: "Brother Zhuo, how do you know that I can't escape? Don't worry! The Tatar cavalry didn't catch up with me back then. What are the dogs running for? We'll see you later!" After saying that, he raised his hands He cupped his fists and said, "Sima is here to seek the truth!"
Just as he turned around to leave, Sima Qiudao suddenly stopped again. He turned his head and turned his back to Zhuo Yifan and said, "Brother Zhuo, if you can escape with your life and have a chance to go to Beijing, you can go to Mr. Yuan Yingtai's house for me." Burn a stick of incense on the grave. I worked for him as an aide and should have died with him when Liaoyang City was destroyed... Let’s go!” (To be continued.
