"Half of the bandits."
"Whether it's a copper or a mountain of gold, we'll only grab half of it."
"Give others room, and give yourself room."
"Isn't it very meaningful?"
Zhou Jianlai, with bright eyes and an excited expression, explained the profound meaning of the name "Half of the Bandits" to Zhang Xiaozu and others, and then looked at them eagerly, hoping to get their approval and praise.
"Good name. Good name." The smooth-minded Lu Kaixue immediately clapped his hands and praised.
He has seen Zhou Jianlai's strength before. He has won five consecutive bets and is even more powerful than Zhang Xiaopou. In these troubled times, no matter whether he is a bandit or a robber, there is nothing wrong with following such a strong man.
"Okay, okay." Old Man Wu quickly echoed.
"No - not bad." Zhang Xiaozu was made uncomfortable by Zhou Jianlai's eager gaze, and gave a thumbs up against his will. He really didn't want Zhou Jianlai's pirate ship to do bandits and robbers. This was against the village chief's grandfather. The sincere teaching of being kind to others.
What's more, Zhou Jianlai also gave him a position as second-in-command. If the village chief found out, Zhang Xiaozu would become a bandit, and he was also a bandit leader. He would have to beat his ass with a willow cane.
"Grandpa, aren't bandits and robbers all bad people? Why should we be bad people?" Only the innocent little girl dared to question.
When Zhang Xiaopou heard this, he nodded immediately like pecking at rice. The little girl spoke his mind.
Old man Wu hurriedly tugged on the little girl's arm, signaling her with his eyes to stop talking nonsense, and apologized to Zhou Jianlai for fear of irritating Zhou Jianlai, "The child is ignorant and talking nonsense. There are many young masters, so don't behave like a child." .”
Zhou Jianlai was not angry at all. Instead, he knelt down in front of the little girl and explained in a kind tone: "We are not bad bandits and robbers, we are good bandits and robbers."
The little girl had big eyes and was very confused, and asked: "How can it be good for bandits and robbers to rob people of their money?"
"Do you think these people on the road are pitiful?" Zhou Jianlai asked the little girl, pointing to the refugees on the road.
"They are all poor homeless people." The little girl said sadly, because she and her grandfather were just like these people.
"Look there again." Zhou Jianlai pointed to Yancheng in the distance. Under the setting sun, Yancheng was covered with tens of thousands of rays of light, making it even more majestic, and asked: "There are many rich and unkind rich people living in that city. They have endless money to spend." , there are endless steamed buns to eat, endless meat bones to chew, endless water and wine to drink, but they would rather feed the leftovers to dogs, or pour them into swill buckets to stink and rot, than give them a bite to eat. They are given to us poor people, do you think their conscience is very bad?"
Gulu——
The little girl was greedy for the steamed buns, meat bones and water described by Zhou Jianlai. She swallowed involuntarily. She nodded vigorously and looked at Yancheng with a pair of big eyes. She actually showed an angry look, as if she had imagined what Zhou Jianlai had described. A picture of being unkind for the sake of wealth.
Zhou Jianlai chuckled and said seductively: "Then you say we rob them of half of their money, half of their steamed buns, meat bones, and clear water and fine wine, and then distribute these things to these poor people so that they can survive. What do you say? Are we good guys or bad guys?”
"Good man." The little girl replied without thinking.
Zhou Jianlai suddenly showed a look of relief and said: "So we are good bandits and robbers."
"Yes." The little girl nodded vigorously, and all the grudges in her heart were instantly wiped away.
Zhang Xiaozu shook his head and smiled. He knew that although Zhou Jianlai was trying to enlighten the little girl, he was mainly talking to him. It had to be said that it was very effective. He was no longer so repelled by Zhou Jian's pirate ship.
"Stop talking, the top priority is to treat our third master." Zhou Jianlai stood up, and at the same time, he held up the little girl with one hand, dragged her thin body onto his shoulders, walked towards Yancheng, and said: "Enter the city!"
"But we have no money." Zhang Xiaozu said with a bitter face.
"Ah. I have money. I have money." Lu Kaixue shouted quickly and took out four banknotes from his pocket. His tone was so excited that he said, "This was left by the old man who drove the car. Each one is five hundred taels. Four in total, two thousand taels. Let’s get rich!”
Zhou Jianlai had been talking about bandits and robbers just now, but he couldn't interrupt and didn't find a chance to raise the banknotes.
Zhou Jianlai glanced at the bank note in Lu Kaixue's hand, raised the corner of his mouth and said with a smile: "The donkey-faced old man is loyal and trustworthy. Next time we meet, I will give him two more tricks."
Zhang Xiaozu's eyelids twitched twice, and he thought to himself that it was better not to be arrogant, or he would be slapped into pieces.
Zhou Jianlai carried Xi'er on his shoulders, Zhang Xiaopou held Niu Dawa, and a group of six people went to the checkpoint and handed over 240 taels of silver. Each person received a wooden identity token three inches wide and five inches long, and was He was told that identity tokens must be kept properly and that any lost or damaged ones will not be replaced. The city patrol army will randomly check identity tokens from time to time. Those without identity tokens will be punished with twenty canes and expelled from the city.
After passing the checkpoint, it was still ten miles away from the city gate, and it was getting dark. Zhou Jianlai spent ten taels of silver to hire a carriage on the side of the road.
Lu Kaixue said it was too expensive and asked the carriage driver to make dirty money.
The carriage driver's name is Zhao Daqiang. He is about forty years old, dark-skinned, broad-faced, and honest-looking. He is a native of Yancheng.
Zhao Daqiang complained to Lu Kaixue while driving, "I'm afraid this uncle doesn't know the current prices. White rice has almost risen to one tael of silver per pound, a bucket of water costs five taels of silver, and a pound of meat costs eight taels." Silver. Horse materials are the most outrageous. They used to cost two cents a pick, but now they cost ten taels a pick, and they are still expensive but not marketable. Most of the money I made from your business went to the horses. Hey, when will these miserable days end?"
"This - this -" Lu Kaixue was dumbfounded. He was frightened by the prices that Zhao Daqiang said. He couldn't help but shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "The common people have no way to survive."
"That's not true." Zhao Daqiang also smiled bitterly.
Zhou Jianlai sighed and said: "The prices are soaring, I'm afraid there will be a war. The Daya people used the dry underground rivers to invade the Black Forest without anyone noticing, and then came out of the Black Forest and directly bypassed Yancheng's strong defense line. , penetrated directly into the hinterland of the southern border. Now the southern border must be under a frenzied attack by the Daya Army. If the Black Armored Army cannot withstand the attack of the Daya Army and the border defense line is lost, the Daya Army will surely march straight in, capture the city, and reach the gates of Yancheng City in the blink of an eye. By then. Cooperating with the Big Tooth Army invading from the Black Forest, attacking the city simultaneously from the north and the south, Yancheng may not be able to hold on. And once Yancheng is lost, the Big Tooth Army can do whatever they want throughout the entire southern border. The tragedy of sixty-eight years ago will definitely happen again. Therefore, Yancheng must not be lost. If Yancheng is not lost, the southern border will not be destroyed."
"With the war, we ordinary people will have no way to survive." Zhao Daqiang, the coachman, lamented.
"It's useless to think too much. Just live one day at a time." Lu Kaixue forced a smile on his face.
Old man Wu held Xi'er tightly in his arms and murmured a prayer: "May the gods and Buddhas in the sky bless my Xi'er through this disaster and grow up safely."
"Brother Zhou, you know so much." Zhang Xiaozu looked at Zhou Jianlai with admiration, scratched his head, and said shyly: "I don't even know where our Baiyun City is. Brother Zhou, can you give me a general introduction? "
"Okay. Stretch your hand over." Zhou Jianlai nodded and asked Zhang Xiaopou to spread his palm. Then he put his left index finger on Zhang Xiaopou's palm and said: "For example, this is Yancheng where we are now. To the north of Yancheng It is Jincheng, and further north is Haoyue City. To the north of Haoyue City is our Baiyun City. It is about 1,200 kilometers away from Baiyun City. Our Baiyun City is just an ordinary first-level main city. Compared with the vast and majestic Yanyan City The city is far behind."
"What?! One thousand two hundred kilometers?!" Zhang Xiaozu exclaimed, looked at Niu Dawa, and said in disbelief: "How could he travel such a long distance to Yancheng in just one month? He is How did you do it?"
Zhou Jianlai's eyes followed Niu Dawa, and he didn't find it strange at all. He said, "His fighting skills are fully open. It's normal to travel such a distance in a month."
"Ah?!" Zhang Xiaozu was a little confused, wondering if his ears had heard it wrong. He pointed his finger at Niu Dawa, looked at Zhou Jianlai, and asked word by word: "You said he - Zhanmen is fully - fully open ?”
"Yes, the war gate is fully open. Any questions?" Zhou Jianlai nodded with certainty.
"This - this -" Zhang Xiaopou's mouth was half-opened and his eyes were wide open. He was puzzled by this for a long time, and finally spread his hands towards Zhou Jianlai and said: "He didn't even know what Zhanmen was a month ago. Ying—shouldn’t you know?”
Zhang Xiaozhu was suddenly a little unsure, because Niu Yao was Niu Dawa's father, and maybe he secretly taught Niu Dawa how to practice war.
"Impossible!" Zhou Jianlai denied it without thinking, and said: "He opened three battle gates in a month. Do you think he is a peerless wizard who has not been seen for the first five hundred years and will not be seen for the next five hundred years? Even the century-old wizard Su Mou of Baiyun City , and it took a full five years to penetrate the three war gates."
"Hmph. A hundred-year-old wizard is not very good either." Zhang Xiaozu curled his lips with a look of disdain. He didn't despise Su Mou's strength, but despised Su Mou's character.
"Why, do you have a grudge against Su Mou?" Zhou Jianlai heard Zhang Xiaozhu's evaluation of Su Mou, and immediately became interested and asked curiously.
Zhang Xiaopou said: "I dare not hide this from Brother Zhou, but I have a grudge against Su Mou. I almost died in his hands."
"Oh, did you have a fight with him? How many sword blows did you take from him?" Zhou Jianlai asked with urgent eyes.
Zhang Xiaozu smiled bitterly and said: "I was still very weak at that time, and I was no match for him. I could only let him control me."
"It's strange. He has always been arrogant and conceited, with his eyes above his head. Why would he be in trouble for you?" Zhou Jianlai asked in confusion.
"Yes - it's okay not to say it." Thinking of the relationship between Zhou Jianlai and Qin Xinru, Zhang Xiaozu waved his hands and refused to say more, not wanting to create a gap with Zhou Jianlai because of this matter.
Zhou Jianlai thought it was something he was embarrassed to say, so he didn't ask further questions. He patted Zhang Xiaozu's shoulder and said, "When I return to Baiyun City, I will fight him and avenge you."
"Brother Zhou has a grudge against him?" Zhang Xiaozu asked in surprise.
"No." Zhou Jianlai said, "He is the number one prodigy in Baiyun City. He practices swordsmanship. I also practice swordsmanship. I have lived in his shadow since I was a child. I am eager to fight him and defeat him, otherwise it will be difficult. Relieve. But now I am still far behind, far from his opponent."
"I'm also eager to fight him." Zhang Xiaozu clenched his fists and said. Thinking of Su Mou's despicable behavior in the dark forest, he couldn't help but feel angry and felt that he couldn't calm down in his heart.
When the carriage drove to the North City Gate, it was completely dark.
The towering city gate is closed, and only a foot-wide corridor on the right side is open. In another hour and a half, this corridor will also be closed.
A handful of burning torches were hung on the mottled stone walls on both sides of the city gate, illuminating the city gate as brightly as day.
Two teams of heavily armed soldiers stood on both sides of the city gate, exuding a cold and murderous aura, making people involuntarily fearful. Those sharp eyes like knives scrutinize everyone who enters the city. If there is suspicion, they will stop and interrogate them carefully.
There is another group of soldiers guarding the entrance of the corridor. Everyone is carefully inspected and interrogated. Carriages, trucks, large boxes and barrels, any place where someone may be hiding is strictly inspected. The main purpose is to prevent the Big Ya people from sneaking into the city.
Zhang Xiaozu and his party successfully passed the inspection, passed through the long corridor, and finally entered Yancheng.
Zhang Xiaozu originally thought that the scene in the city would be much better than outside, but what he saw was still a desolate and silent scene of disaster.
Both sides of the road were filled with refugees fleeing, wailing everywhere, and the scene was no different from the scene outside the city.
"Go to the largest medical clinic!" Zhou Jianlai told the driver.
