Yi Xiaodao was walking on an unknown country road with his hands behind his back. He saw an old man not far away, wrapped in a torn cotton jacket, sitting in front of his house to bask in the sun, so he stepped forward to chat.
"Old man, where is this place?"
The old man raised his head to look at Yi Xiaodao and asked aloud: "Huh? Are you from a foreign country too? Oh, you fled the country at a young age and suffered a lot...Hey, you don't look like a refugee, why do you still look so handsome? Fat? It doesn't look like you haven't eaten!" The old man had just sighed when he noticed something unusual and pointed at Yi Xiaodao's cheek.
Yi Xiaodao touched his cheek. The food in the army was good, and he had indeed gained weight recently. Yi Xiaodao coughed twice and said, "I'm swollen from hunger..."
"Ah? You can still be swollen when you are hungry? It's really strange...ah, this is Lincheng, it used to be a good place, but it's a pity that it's no longer possible now." The old man shook his head and sighed.
"Lincheng, how far is it to Jicheng? How to get there?" Yi Xiaodao asked the most concerning question.
The old man slapped his thigh: "Jicheng? Then how do I know? Old man, I have never traveled more than twenty miles in my life. How do I know how far away Jicheng is..."
Yi Xiaodao didn't ask for any useful information, so he had no choice but to leave. As he was about to leave, the old man stopped him: "Hey, hey, young man, where are you going?"
Yi Xiaodao turned around and said, "Of course I'm going to Jicheng, what?"
"Don't go over there, don't go over there, there's a thieves over there!" The old man hurriedly called to Yi Xiaodao, stood up tremblingly, and chased after him in small steps from behind.
"Thieves? What thieves? Are there horses over there?" Yi Xiaodao was puzzled.
The old man said hurriedly: "Hey, what kind of horses are there? Thieves are bandits! You can't go there."
"There are bandits? Then report it to the official immediately!"
"Apply to the official? What official to apply for? The county magistrate has been cut off, where can I report to the official? I see that you are not a local, so go back and forth wherever you go. No matter how hard the family is, you can still survive..."
When Yi Xiaodao heard that the county prince had been hacked, he quickly asked in fear: "Old man, tell me what's going on, so I can keep an eye out."
The old man pulled Yi Xiaodao, looked around, then dragged Yi Xiaodao back to his home, and the two sat down. The old man said: "This group of thieves is really serious. It has been happening for several months. It is said that when it first happened, they went to the county government office and beheaded the county prince. When the officers and soldiers from Ningcheng arrived, these thieves He has already fled into the mountains. In that direction, he comes down the mountain to plunder from time to time, it’s really awesome!"
"Then you just keep letting them do whatever they want? The Jicheng County master was killed, but the officers and soldiers in Ningcheng didn't catch them?"
"Arrest? What to arrest? Who dares to arrest a life-threatening fight? Ningcheng's soldiers searched Lincheng and forced people...many of them hanged themselves and jumped into the river! Later, some of them even argued with them The young man cut off his head and took it back to claim credit!" The little old man's voice became even lower.
Yi Xiaodao suddenly stood up: "There is still such a thing! No one cares about it!"
"Alas, King Donglu has been beheaded, who cares now? Let's take it one day at a time..." the old man said with a sigh.
Looking at the old man sighing, Yi Xiaodao felt an indescribable feeling in his heart and asked, "Old man, this Donglu is so dangerous, why don't you leave?"
"This is my home, where can I go? The danger here is to others, but it doesn't matter to me, the old man. What are these old bones afraid of? It's just like this at home, let them take whatever they want, and I won't argue with them. Don't. He said, the last time the ringleader came, he saw that my old man was pitiful and gave me a bag of noodles!" the old man said mysteriously.
"You haven't eaten yet, have you? It's already noon. Come on, old man, I'll steam some steamed buns for you. After you've eaten, hurry up!" The old man said and was going to the kitchen.
Yi Xiaodao took out a small piece of broken silver from his arms and looked at the room. It was really a bare house with no table to put things on. He put the broken silver on the small bench where the old man was sitting at the door and left. At the old man's house, he walked back the way he came.
Yi Xiaodao was scared. He had to go back and join the army to be safe.
After a while, the old man came out of the kitchen with two steamed buns in a broken bowl. Yi Xiaodao was nowhere to be seen, but he saw a small piece of broken silver on the small bench. He hurriedly patted his thigh: "You are still rich. ...Oh, that's bad, isn't that the stupid boy really going there? I have to go and see if this good family's child will be harmed..." After saying that, he took the buns back to the kitchen and put the money in In his arms, he went out and chased Yi Xiaodao in the opposite direction.
The old man had not gone far when he heard the sound of horse hooves. A group of big men wrapped in coats shouted at each other and came towards them: "Hey, isn't this Old Man Yang? Why? Why don't you take a walk here after you have eaten? How does the white noodles taste? How about that?" A strong man shouted when he saw the old man.
The old man trembled and stepped aside to the side of the road: "It's... not bad, you're a hardworking man... thank you, your Majesty, for me..."
The strong man's name was Chen Youcai. He was a real farmer and joined the bandits when he went to the city for the market. He was in a good mood today. This time it was his turn to lead the team down the mountain to fish for money, so he chatted with Old Man Yang: "Hey, it's trivial. My eldest brother just doesn't like poor people. If he sees one, he will help him! He doesn't like rich people either. , kill every one you see!"
When the old man heard Chen Youcai's words, he couldn't help but feel guilty, and touched the broken silver in his arms: "That silly boy seems to be rich..."
"Uh... hero, where are you going? What did you gain on the way here?" Seeing that the strong man was in a good mood, the old man chatted along.
"Hey, there aren't many people around Lincheng anymore. I asked my eldest brother to go to the city, and he won't do it. I'm struggling here..." Speaking of the current situation, Chen Youcai still complained a little in his heart: "Hey, Old Man Yang, your cotton-padded jacket is in tatters." What's going on? The cotton has all flown out and you still have to wear it! Ergou, give him a cotton-padded jacket."
The young man called "Two Dogs" jumped off the horse and handed the cotton-padded jacket to the old man.
Chen Youcai saw that old man Yang was trembling and had not taken the cotton-padded jacket for a long time, and said: "As people get older, their hands and feet are not strong enough. You put it on for him, so as not to freeze."
Ergou grabbed Old Yang's torn cotton-padded jacket, pulled it off, and was about to put the cotton-padded jacket in his hand on him.
"Ding"
Before Old Man Yang could cover the money, the money rolled out of his ragged cotton-padded jacket and fell to the ground.
Old Man Yang was about to squat down to pick it up, but Ergou, with quick eyes and quick hands, picked it up in front of Old Man Yang and looked at it carefully: "What is this? Silver! You still have silver!"
Chen Youcai was looking around. When he heard "Yinzi", he was startled. He jumped off the horse and came to Ergou to check carefully.
"Really, Old Man Yang, I didn't expect you to have such a big piece of silver hidden in your house? That's a lot!" Chen Youcai looked at Old Man Yang with a somewhat unkind look.
Old Man Yang shook his head and waved his hands quickly: "It's not mine...it's not mine..."
"Whose thing does it fall from you if it's not yours? Why do some moneymen want our eldest brother's white noodles? Are you tired of living, aren't you?" Ergou vehemently rebutted Old Man Yang's words.
"It's really not mine..." Old Man Yang took two steps back.
Chen Youcai stopped Ergou who was about to have a fit, and stepped forward to collect Old Yang's cotton-padded jacket: "Old Yang, I know this money is not yours, how can we not know what's going on at your house? We also know you. What you are thinking is that you are afraid that we will harm others."
Old Man Yang didn't say a word, he was just scared.
"People live for nothing more than a mouthful of food. Our white flour does not fall from the sky. We promise to only seek wealth and not harm our lives. In fact, this is also for the good of others. Now there is a mess everywhere. If someone robs us first, say The uncertain fate is gone..." Chen Youcai continued to persuade.
After thinking about it, Old Yang felt that what Chen Youcai said was quite reasonable. Then he said: "Actually, I don't know who that young man is or where he comes from... He just came to me to ask for directions and how to get to Jicheng. I didn't know, so I just wanted to let him have a steamed bun... Come in When they came out of the kitchen, they disappeared, leaving only this piece..."
"Then where is he now?" Chen Youcai asked with a smile.
Seeing Chen Youcai's kind smile, Old Man Yang also laughed too, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out: "I don't know, I didn't think he was coming this way, so I looked for him..."
"puff"
Chen Youcai covered Old Yang's mouth and stabbed his chest: "I don't know why you are laughing. You should have lived enough at your age!"
Ergou was so frightened that he almost lost the money in his hand: "Brother Youcai, the eldest brother gave him a bag of white noodles last time... Why did you bother to kill him? Just scold him..."
Chen Youcai pulled out a sharp knife and kicked Old Yang to the ground: "Look, brothers, this is what rich people are like. We give them free noodles and don't care about us. Others give money and they help outsiders! That's it! Damn it!"
Old Yang was kicked to the ground, his chest bleeding continuously. He turned around and tried to crawl away. After struggling for a long time, he did not turn over...he died.
"Brothers, let's go! Follow me to find the fat sheep!" Chen Youcai got on his horse and said with great skill, "Follow me!"
A group of bandits groped away in the direction of Yi Xiaodao.
Yi Xiaodao's team just left the Nanhuai Territory and entered the Donglu Territory today. After entering Donglu, neither of them dared to take risks, so they set up camp here. Yi Xiaodao went out alone to inquire about the news. Wei Youming originally planned to send a few people to follow Yi Xiaodao, but Yi Xiaodao did not agree. He had his own way of doing things, so in the end Wei Youming had no choice but to give up.
Now that Yi Xiaodao was back, the sergeant reported it to Wei Youming. Wei Youming hurriedly came to the handsome tent set up for Yi Xiaodao, opened the curtain and entered the tent, asking: "Master Yi, how is the situation?"
"I walked all the way and didn't meet anyone. An old man said that there were thieves here and asked the brothers to pay attention. It seems that Shandong is really bad... This is the junction of Nanhuai and Donglu. I don't know what Jicheng is. Regarding the situation, I really don’t know what to do." Yi Xiaodao said truthfully.
Yi Xiaodao wanted to know the news about Wan Yanzong more than the government, but looking at Old Man Yang, he probably didn't even know whether Wan Yanzong was eaten or used, so Yi Xiaodao didn't bother to ask.
Wei Youming saw that Yi Xiaodao had no idea, so he didn't push him. Master Yi always had more ideas than him, so he was quite surprised by the Nanhuai conscription. I thought that the new soldiers recruited from Uicheng and Jiacheng would take time to train, but who knew that they were all able to run and fight, no less than the Yulin army in the capital.
"Have a rest, don't be in a hurry." Yi Xiaodao showed a relaxed smile to Wei Youming.
