There was a ferry not far from Chenjia Town, but it was immediately abandoned after the war.
In the past, most of the business between Yingzhou and Nanbian was conducted here.
People coming and going from north to south are indeed very lively. In this palm-sized place, there are many restaurants, restaurants, theaters and teahouses.
Even at the end of the street, there is a house with two entrances. It is not a brothel for people to have fun, what is it.
You know, this place is only a few dozen miles away from Yingzhou!
There is only a few dozen miles, but there is such a market. Similarly, it is precisely because it is only a few dozen miles that when the tens of thousands of Yingzhou people fled, this place was the first place they thought of.
Some went north, some went south, and the rest mostly wanted to wait and see. After all, their entire wealth was in Yingzhou... In these years, people from the Jin Dynasty came and people from the Song Dynasty came, and people from the Song Dynasty came to the Jin Dynasty. People are coming again, and everyone is actually almost used to it.
No matter who comes, life will be difficult.
However, although there were many more people in Chenjiaji today, it seemed quieter than usual.
Everyone clearly saw that before they could escape, Song Jun had already fled in front of them...
This was in line with their impression of the Song Dynasty's army. What Bai Ri Zhongfeng said was not ineffective, but the effect might not be as good as he imagined.
They are all people who have survived in such a life, and they are all people who are used to seeing life, separation, and death. No matter how good Yue Shaobao's lyrics are, after all, Liu Qi is the only one who has truly experienced it.
But it's not completely useless, at least it has awakened everyone's desire to survive.
That being said, who doesn’t want to live?
In fact, there are some people who really don't want to live. For example, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial City Division of the Song Dynasty, who is today's brother-in-law, now wishes he was dead.
He had already been treated by the doctor called by Yan Er Niang. They said that the bones were broken and the tendons were broken. The doctor said that his tendons were also broken. This would probably be the case for the rest of his life. If he could survive, it was already considered a big deal. It is the blessings accumulated by our ancestors.
Living like this is really not as good as death.
The second lady Yan opened her mouth and started to talk a lot:
"The Song army escaped, and Tu Hesu led others to chase them... There were a lot of armored soldiers. If they were caught up, it would be really difficult."
She has naturally experienced the days when Liu Qi fought against Wanyan Wushu, and she has also seen the power of Iron Buddha.
Now the two of them...and a few others who came with them were hiding together on the upper floor of a shop on the street, and they had a clear view of the outside. This place is so close to Yingzhou City that even Mrs. Yan can't tell whose relatives the store owner is and whose favor they have benefited from.
Having said that, most of the people who were able to hide in Chenjia Town were in a similar situation to them. Everyone looked familiar. When they encountered this messy world, there were many who could save their lives with just a little effort... , I don’t know how many people were crammed into the shops along the street and the private square behind the street.
No matter how mean his boss was, he became generous at this time.
"Another golden man has passed by..." Lady Yan frowned, "They are arresting people!"
They were indeed arresting people. Those shops that still wanted to do business without closing their doors suffered this disaster for no reason. But the good thing is that the Jin people did not do anything wrong. They just arrested some people and moved on. .
In this way, no one in this town dares to show up. Seeing that it is getting late, even if they want to escape, they have to wait until tomorrow.
But this night, fear is inevitable.
Zhongfeng knew that the emperor was among Zhang Junjun, and when he heard what Yan Erniang said, he cheered up:
"Yes, you can clearly see how many people have gone?"
"They are densely packed, probably no less than tens of thousands."
In fact, Zhongfeng had already made a guess based on what was going on outside.
Thinking that he had gone his own way, not only did he not do anything to Tu Hesu, but he also ended up like this.
It would be fine to say that he had incited the people of Yingzhou, but he had a clear look when he escaped just now.
Everyone was just running away and had other thoughts.
As for the only gain, I'm afraid it was that the loyal widow spoke up and preserved her innocence.
Thinking of this, he only felt sad and wished he had died before.
There was the sound of dense horse hooves outside again. Before he could ask, Mrs. Yan Er said with some doubts:
"It's only been less than half an hour, why are you back now?"
After saying that, she looked at Zhong Feng again: "Don't be impatient. They are all Jin people, not Song people."
Thinking that it was already getting late, Jin Bing only chased briefly, thinking that he had no words to go to see the emperor again, thinking of the elders in his family, and Zhong Yu who had entered the palace.
For a time, this kind of command made my mind so confused that I fell asleep in a daze.
He seemed to have had a dream, dreaming that he was still with the emperor, dreaming that he followed the spies from the Imperial City Division back and did not stay in Yingzhou... Somehow, when he thought of His Majesty the Emperor, Shadow, he felt much more at ease.
When he opened his eyes again, it was completely dark outside, and there were no lights in the room. Fortunately, the moon outside was sensible and illuminated the room.
In addition to the few people who came with him, there were several strangers. He saw that Mrs. Yan was still leaning by the window, looking down at the street below...
It was clear that there was still a lot of noise down there, but she didn't even want to hide anymore!
"Sister-in-law...sister-in-law, be careful."
As soon as he opened his mouth, he realized that he hadn't drank water for a long time and his throat was almost stuck together.
Lady Yan still didn't look back. She almost leaned out of the window. Zhongfeng couldn't see her face clearly and didn't know what she saw.
The commotion on the street became louder and louder. Taking advantage of the moonlight, he saw several people crowded together in front of the window across the street, all making the same gesture as Yan Erniang.
It was a little weird, but what he was more concerned about now was what they saw.
It was obvious that Jin Ren had arrested someone before, and he had obviously hid well before, but why was he so careless now?
He whispered to wake up the old man who was snoring beside him. He told him what was wrong and asked him to help him to the window.
This person rubbed his eyes and was also shocked by Yan Er Niang's actions:
"Hey! Be careful! Don't lure the golden man here!"
As he spoke, he was really showing his loyalty and carried Zhongfeng to the window. Just as he was about to let him go, he seemed to be frozen in place.
Without using any strength in his hands, he subconsciously dropped Commander Zhong to the ground.
Zhongfeng gritted his teeth. It hurt, but at least he was at the window.
He stuck his head out, and the first thing he saw was not the people on the street, but a street passing by, a street more than a mile long. There were all people in the windows upstairs, and they all stretched their heads. People who come out but remain silent.
When he saw the banners with the characters 'Shunchang Mansion' and 'Liu' below, he immediately reacted.
Marshal Liu...has arrived?
Then he must have reunited with the emperor, and his majesty should also be here.
Thinking of this, he suddenly became a little happy.
Just when he was thinking about shouting, he realized that... by such a coincidence, his emperor's brother-in-law happened to be downstairs.
The voice is as loud as a bell:
"Why are you so cowardly? If you do something wrong, you have done something wrong. We just have to admit it! You are so timid and timid, how can you still have my demeanor!"
It was okay for Liu Bang to say this, but Liu Qi still sounded a little uncomfortable.
It was clear that you didn't want to leave at the beginning, but you insisted on returning to Lin'an, and you were offered a promotion and a reward. You couldn't resist, right?
It's good now that I have abandoned Yingzhou City after listening to your orders. It is I who will be hated by the people, and it is myself who will be blamed by you...
No matter how good Uncle Liu Xin is, it is normal for him to feel unhappy and unhappy at this time.
Furthermore, when he arrived at Chenjia Town, he knew that Yingzhou was not far away... When he stayed here last year, he didn't know every corner of the surrounding terrain, mountains and rivers, and the households.
In the middle of the market town, there was a well under the old locust tree. Wanyan Wushu was stationed here at that time, and Liu Qi had people come and poison it.
But the more familiar and understanding he became, the less he dared to face the people of Yingzhou.
It's not that he hasn't inquired about the news here, but what he got, apart from the news that the people who helped him defend the city were liquidated and that many innocent people suffered together, he didn't even hear a good thing.
If the emperor hadn't summoned him personally, Liu Qi wouldn't have come...at least he wouldn't have come before the Jin people were driven out of the north of the Yellow River.
Seeing that the boy became more and more silent, Liu Bang asked directly:
"What a simple thing, just lower your head and admit your mistake!"
"What's wrong? Do you feel aggrieved?"
Liu Dushi quickly denied: "Your Majesty, I don't feel aggrieved."
"It's just that I really have no face to face the people of Yingzhou!"
He is a good person in every aspect, but the bad thing is that he has been a general in his family for generations. He is a son of a serious family. In addition to marching and fighting, he also reads a lot of books.
The more you read, the more you will inevitably think.
Liu Bang couldn't scold him, so he thought about it and asked again:
"Then I ask you, do you feel guilty towards them?"
The emperor's words...if he wasn't ashamed, why would he be so coy.
"Ashamed, ashamed of my minister for abandoning them, and ashamed of betraying their trust."
"Your Majesty, in the past year, I have woken up from dreams several times, and I wish I could lead my troops here to protect them."
"To tell you the truth, whenever I close my eyes, I often see women and children in the city asking me for their husband-in-law, asking me for their son... I really deserve to die, deserve to die!"
Seeing that he became more and more excited as he spoke, Liu Bang patted his shoulder:
"Then show how you admit your mistake. Regardless of whether they accept it or not, this is what we men should do."
As he spoke, the emperor shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Liu Qi is back!"
"Liu Qi is here to apologize to everyone!"
"Liu Qi is back in Yingzhou!"
Then he shouted a lot, which made Liu Qi stunned.
I haven't passed the test in my heart yet, why did Your Majesty...
Without waiting for his reaction, Liu Bang called the Imperial City Imperial Guards around him, and asked Huang Yanjie and Lu Zai to move one to the north and the other to the south, and asked everyone to shout together.
Just now, we had inquired, and at least 10,000 people had escaped from Chenjia Town. Although no one showed up now, Liu Bang knew that they would definitely be able to hear it.
Zhang Jun's troops, plus the forbidden troops he brought, the 10,000 people brought by Yue Yun, the 30,000 people brought by Liu Qi, and the more than 2,000 captured just now...
Nearly 80,000 people gathered around Chen Jiaji and shouted. It may be an exaggeration to say that it was ghosts crying and howling, but it was clear that even the Jin soldiers in Yingzhou heard the movement clearly.
Thinking that the Song people were coming to attack the city, the guards called over the two kings Gaitian and Zhenguo. The whole army was on alert, staring in the direction of Chenjiazhen.
"Liu Qi is here!"
I don’t know how far the four words spread. Anyway, Han Chang heard it and said in his heart that he was not panicking, but that was a lie.
Uncle Liu Xin used his troops like a ghost, cunning, cunning, and sinister.
In addition, Sai Li said that he saw Yue Yun wielding double hammers with his own eyes... Han Chang's eyelids kept twitching, and he only thought about whether to ask the Fourth Prince to send more troops.
The emperor took the lead and shouted for a while, then withdrew to the side.
He knew very well in his heart that the people in Yingzhou should hate the Jin man first, then himself, and finally Liu Qi.
But there is no way, he is the emperor.
We can only let Liu Qi take charge of this task. Who can tell him to be honest?
After shouting for who knows how long, Liu Bang's ears hurt from hearing it, everyone was tired, and his voice gradually became lower.
Liu Duzhi still stood there, lowering his head and not knowing what he was thinking.
Liu Bang was angry and annoyed when he saw it, why was he so stubborn?
Just as I was about to go up and talk to him, I saw several figures coming from the other end of the street.
Why, these tens of thousands of people called out just like this?
How much resentment do the people of Yingzhou have!
When those people came closer, they were stopped a few steps away from Liu Qi by the imperial army. Someone among them shouted:
"Is Marshal Liu really here? Is Marshal Liu really here?"
After hearing this voice, Liu Qi suddenly raised his head:
"Cao, Cao Cheng? Is it Cao Cheng?"
As he spoke, he walked forward. When he got closer to those people, Uncle Liu Xin couldn't bear it anymore and burst into tears.
"Is it Marshal Liu?"
"It's me, it's me! Why did you..."
He saw that the man was blind, his right hand was broken off from the arm, and he was holding a bamboo stick to explore the way... But if this man was not Cao Cheng, who could he be!
I originally wanted to ask him how he became like this, but as he spoke, he remembered that only a golden man could do such a cruel thing, so he was asking knowingly.
"Marshal Liu, you are here. We said you will come back, you will come back!"
As he said this, this man grinned:
"As soon as the news of Qin Hui's death came, I knew you were coming."
"Everyone said you were lying to us. Today just proves that the villain's vision is not bad, not bad!"
Then he shouted to both sides: "You all come out! It's really Marshal Liu!"
"Mr. Chen, didn't you make a bet with me?! Now that Marshal Liu is back, you owe me three kilograms of wine!"
"Come out, all of you, come out!"
While he was shouting, Liu Qi looked at the man in his early thirties, his eyes seemed to be filled with a whole Qiantang River, and he couldn't stop.
Although this Cao Cheng has the same name and surname as the Cao Cheng who was a bandit in Hunan, they are not the same person.
This man is a blacksmith in Yingzhou City. He is a good man who often says, "Whoever has his own responsibility in the world would be better off than me."
He was also the first one to run around and cry out during the last-ditch battle in Yingzhou last year:
"The Jin people bullied me too much. I want to kill the enemy bravely under Marshal Liu!"
Still forged swords for his Eight-Character Army, followed his orders to poison and poison the Jin people, and finally joined the death squad to chop off the iron pagoda's feet...
After the Battle of Shunchang, Liu Qi wanted to take him to the army, but he said:
"There are no eggs left in the nest. It is my duty to protect the hometown and the land. The golden soldiers have retreated, but I still have the skills of a blacksmith."
Later, when Liu Qi was leaving, he went to say goodbye to him and even wanted to take him back to Lin'an with him.
But he refused.
"Marshal Liu has big things to be busy with, and the villain has nothing big to do. When the golden dog comes again, the villain will still have to work hard for his hometown. After all, it will be of some use."
The few people who came with him either had broken legs or had their tongues cut, and they were all Xiang Yong who had helped a lot last year.
How did it become like this, how did it become like this!
Despite their greetings, Chenjia Town seemed to be a cemetery... The cemetery was better than here, at least there were still ghost fires.
Except for the moon, there is no light at all here.
Not to mention a human figure.
Liu Qi had not cried like this for many years. Although he was a Confucian general, he was also a soldier and had always been very determined.
Only today...
He hugged the shouting people, hugged their heads together, and touched his own head. Everyone didn't think it was anything at first, but hearing that he was crying so sadly, some people were silent at first, and then Finally I couldn't bear it anymore and started crying.
"Marshal... you should have come earlier... so many brothers are... dead, why didn't you come earlier!"
When the surrounding imperial guards saw this scene, they also wiped away tears.
Even Liu Bang himself couldn't bear to look at it anymore, his eyes wandered around, trying to divert his attention.
Coincidentally, I met the person upstairs.
He narrowed his eyes, kicked open the wooden door, and went straight upstairs.
"His Majesty……"
Zhong Feng shouted weakly, and Liu Bang was slightly startled. He didn't expect Zhong Feng to be here.
He just saw a pretty woman, and the emperor really didn't notice Zhong Feng, who had only half of his head exposed.
He coughed lightly, concealing his original purpose.
Only then did Liu Bang investigate Zhong Feng's situation.
And the people below...
How could you not complain?
How could there be no complaints!
However, it finally came.
No matter how late it is, it comes.
Liu Qi was almost heartbroken. Finally, he took a step back, wiped the tears from his face, and then...
He knelt down towards several people.
"marshal?"
"marshal!"
Cao Cheng couldn't see it, so he naturally didn't know what happened.
But from the voices of several people, they also knew that Liu Qi had done something terrible.
He took out a piece of paper from his chest, tilted his head and said:
"The temple built for you in the city will be ready soon. We haven't studied at all, so we just asked Mrs. Yan's man to write a couplet. You can see if it's OK."
With that said, he handed over the note that was already stained with a lot of oil. Liu Qi knelt on the ground and took it with both hands.
Under the moonlight, I could see the words above clearly:
"The iron pagoda is very sharp, and it is rampant in the Central Plains. It is only afraid of our Shunchang flag."
"Jin Wushu was so arrogant that he kicked down a fortified city. How big is the toe of his boot?"
When Wanyan Wushu besieged the city before, all he needed to break Yingzhou City was a light touch with the toe of his boot.
Liu Qi knocked his head on the ground, and after a while he said:
"I failed you!"
"But I, Liu Qi, swear here that from today on, I will never let down the people of Yingzhou again... Everyone, are you willing to give me this opportunity?"
"What are you saying, Marshal? If you want to kill the golden dog, we will definitely follow you!"
Cao Cheng touched his eyes: "Even if I can't hit the iron and can't see things now, I still have my mouth open. When the time comes, you take me to the front of the battle, and I will definitely make them tremble with fear!"
He was still so arrogant, as if he had not suffered the unreasonable disaster he had suffered.
Liu Qi looked at them deeply, then started from the street, knelt down, kowtowed, and shouted:
"Liu Qi is here, would you like to give me a chance?"
Then stand up, take a step, and repeat the above actions.
The dignified commanders of the three yamen made such a gesture...
Kowtow one step at a time, and never look back for a hundred steps.
I don’t know where it started, but the candles upstairs suddenly lit up.
Liu Qi walked forward and knocked on each other, and the two rows of houses lit up.
Like a prairie fire, one room after another lit up.
By the time he reached the middle of the street, the entire Chenjia Town was already bright, and the night was completely driven away.
But he didn't stop his actions and kept repeating.
Seeing this scene, Zhongfeng was a little worried:
"Guan, is that all right? Don't hurt Marshal Liu's body."
"You are considerate and know not to let others get hurt!"
Liu Bang glared at him, having already roughly understood the whole story.
This kid is just messing around!
"He owes this. How he wants to pay it back is up to you!"
He said this without any guilt. It was clear that Liu Qi was repaying his debt, but he was so confident.
Zhong Feng already knew the news of Tu Hesu's death, so he allowed the emperor to talk without feeling upset.
Many people in the room were crying. Knowing that they had forgiven Liu Qi, Liu Bang felt a lot more relaxed.
He looked at Zhongfeng:
"Have you ever heard of Dong Shi's imitation? That's the girl who imitates Xi Shi."
The commander didn't know what the emperor meant: "Of course I've heard of it."
"I've heard that, I've heard that you have the nerve to imitate me and recite poems. Do you really think that reciting poems is just a matter of talking up and down the line? Bah! You are just a douchebag!"
Zhongfeng is a bit embarrassed, it is indeed a poor imitation.
Liu Bang looked at the lit up market town and knew that Yingzhou City was already half destroyed.
Liu Qi finally came, and the people here finally waited for him.
But there are also many people who never saw him coming, and never looked forward to him until they died.
…
However, it was just as Liu Dushi said.
This should never happen again.
(End of chapter)
