It was night, and the Dengyun Mountain Village was decorated with lights and colorful decorations everywhere. In the large open space in front of the Juyi Hall, dozens of bonfires were crackling and burning, illuminating the surrounding area as if it were daytime.
The venue was filled with ten large square tables. In addition to freshly cooked chicken, duck, and fish, there were also uncommon pork and mutton on the tables, and all kinds of vegetables and fruits were served at low prices.
It was so tempting that all the minions sitting around were drooling, and a hand seemed to be stretched out from their throats. They wanted to grab all the delicacies on the table and put them into their stomachs. The atmosphere of joy between people was even greater than during the Chinese New Year. warm.
Just because the leader Zou Run and Zou Yuan had not arrived yet, everyone did not dare to make a mistake and could only endure it. The first room of the largest square table was empty. Several old and new bosses were sitting at the lower end chatting privately. Chen Xuan was naturally also there.
This group of people usually have a bit of oil and water in their stomachs, but they don't look like the usual starving ghosts reincarnated like the common minions, so they can generally maintain it on the surface, but it's unknown how much saliva they secretly suppress.
Perhaps he was too tempted by the aroma of the food on the table. In order to distract his attention, someone started talking after a short break. First they talked about their ages, then they talked about each other's qualifications, and finally they talked about going up the mountain separately for some reason. The reason.
"We all come from poor backgrounds and are kind-hearted people. Which one of us is not forced by the big family? Which one is not harmed by corrupt officials? At this age, we want to be able to pay the royal rations and pay the national taxes at home. If Without two brothers advocating for righteousness here, I really don’t know how big the world is, how can there be a place for us..."
The person who said this was a confidant of Zou Run and Zou Yuan named Wang Si. He was a street vendor. He accidentally received a bronze mirror from the Han Dynasty in the countryside and was about to resell it to make a fortune. When he was writing, he was seen by a local wealthy man.
The rich man was really good at it. He first tricked the treasure into his hands with fake money and a real contract. After waiting for three to five days, when Wang Si came to ask for money, the rich man ordered his servants to close the door, knock him down and tie him up, and force him to send it to the government. Local officials forcibly charged him with breaking into a house and committing theft.
After a killing blow with a powerful stick, he was assassinated and imprisoned in the city camp. He became a thief in the Xiang army who was despised by everyone.
Fortunately, Wang Si later found an opportunity and escaped to Dengyun Mountain while he was on a mission. Since then, he has been following Zou Yuan and Zou Run, working hard through wind and rain.
During the day today, I was first happy to see that my brother around me had been re-employed, and then my family was promoted to the head of the family. In the midst of my joy, I suddenly remembered the sad things in the first half of my life. The big man's eyes were red at that moment, and he just kept shaking his head like a cattail leaf fan. use his big hands to rub it.
"Who can say otherwise? In the current court, thieves such as Cai Jing and Tong Guan control the government and coax the officials to have all kinds of fun and enjoyment all day long. They don't care about the life and death of our common people. I am originally a low-income person in the countryside, but I insist on After the local chief tampered with the yellow registration book and wrote it as a registered household, the county dog officer forcibly sent a Yaqian officer to escort the money and grain. This was a life-threatening situation. He had no choice but to abandon his family's land, house and ancestral property, and fled his hometown overnight. , thanks to the two leaders and brothers taking me in, I was able to save my life."
A man sitting next to Wang Si was also aroused by sad things. He thought about the evil things in his hometown where big families and county officials colluded with each other. His teeth itched with hatred, and he only focused on smashing his fists on his sticks, ignoring the pain.
After listening to it for a long time, Chen Xuan was about to express his bitterness, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them down. He just closed his eyebrows and eyes, gritted his teeth, and said in a hateful voice: "My brothers all know my sufferings." , I only regret that I will never have the opportunity to kill my enemy with my own hands in this life. How pitiful God is, if the great revenge can be avenged, I will be willing to die."
The men sitting together all had red eyes, each of them had been touched by sad things deep in their hearts, and the atmosphere was tense for a moment. Just at this time, Zou Run and Zou Yuan came out from the back of the hall while joking. Seeing this, he couldn't help being a little surprised and quickly asked the reason.
Wang Si stood up and apologized. He first said that he should not disturb the leader's interest, and then repeated what Chen Xuan and others had just said. Zou Run's heart moved when he heard this. He wanted to display his ambitions. Not to mention the distance, the first thing that mattered was You want to twist all your subordinates into one, and if you want to achieve this effect, you must perform deeds that are convincing and grateful.
The previous promotions and rewards of food and wine were just routine means, and they were just small favors to these minions. If you want them to truly surrender to you and admire you, you need to do more and bigger things.
Zou Run's face darkened, and he poured a bowl of wine on the table. Under the confused eyes of everyone, he picked up the porcelain bowl and drank it all in one gulp. After wiping the remaining liquid from his mouth, he then The wine bowl slapped the ground hard!
"boom!"
The sound of breaking porcelain bowls attracted the attention of everyone present. Zou Run had firm eyes, straight body, walked straight to the middle of the banquet, and shouted in a deep voice:
"I don't want Wang Si, Chen Xuan and other brothers to be so unjust! When I heard this, I felt so angry that my hair stood on end. If I couldn't vent my anger for you, how could I be the master of this cottage?"
"Today is the day that I become the master of the cottage, and it is also the day that I seek justice and revenge for you! The big dog who harmed the Chen Xuan brothers is near the cottage. It is better to choose a day than to hit the sun. All the brothers will have enough to eat and drink tonight. Now, how about we go down the mountain and take revenge on Brother Chen Xuan overnight?"
"Okay! The village leader's brother is kind and righteous!"
"What my brother is pointing out, I'll just go straight to it and chop off the bird's head with a knife, regardless of whether it's Wang or Li Dahu!"
"That's right! It all depends on my brother's orders!"
As soon as Zou Run said this, there was thunderous cheers on the spot, and everyone clapped their hands and applauded.
Think about the reign of Emperor Huizong Zhao Ji of the Song Dynasty. Although corruption and extravagance were common, the country was mostly peaceful. If it weren't for the local officials who exploited the people too much, how could nearly a hundred people gather on Dengyun Mountain? Who would be willing to fall into the trap of a bandit unless they really had to?
Now seeing that the leader of the new village had to stand up for everyone since he took office, everyone was jumping on the spot with joy. They all rushed to get close to Zou Run and complained about their grievances.
"Brother makes the decision for me. Five or six acres of good paddy fields from my family have been taken away by force..."
"I also ask the owner of the village to uphold justice for me. My family was set up by a big family to lure me into taking away the ancestral property..."
"The police officer in the county wanted to rob my wife's family by force, and forced my whole family..."
Seeing the excitement among the crowd, Zou Run comforted the excited people around him and took the time to say to Chen Xuan:
"Brother Chen Xuan, if I'm sorry to bother you, please get some pen and paper and write down all the grievances of everyone. Count them one by one. Don't miss anything."
Hearing the noise, Chen Xuan reacted like he was waking up from a dream. Instead of going to get paper and pen, he struggled to separate the people around Zou Run, knelt down directly on the ground, and kowtowed firmly to the ground.
"This little man is kowtowing to the leader of the village. If I can get revenge, Chen Xuansheng is my brother's man, and his death is my brother's ghost. In the next life, I will work as a cow and a horse with my brother, and tie a ring with grass to repay my kindness!"
After saying that, he started banging again, and the solid strength made everyone gasp. They all said that Chen Xuan was a real man who knew how to repay his kindness.
