Three carriages drove slowly through the street outside the west side gate of Princess Yongning's mansion.
In late spring, the weather is full of spring, with green willows and crowds of people on the roadsides.
Xiao Yu looked out through the gap in the carriage window. He still didn't understand why three private carriages came to pick him up.
Apart from herself, Qingxue was the only one who could be considered a female dependent, but she could just ride in the same carriage with him.
Manager Cui, who had the highest status in the mansion, was not in the car either. He had been following on foot outside his car window, occasionally saying something to Zhang Huyuan, but Zhang Huyuan looked respectful and nodded frequently.
Xiao Yu looked back and saw Qingxue sitting next to him smiling at him.
I really don’t understand where the pomp and pomp came from when the ancients traveled. Two extra carriages would be a complete waste.
When the carriage arrived at a busy intersection southeast of Tongxiali, the carriage stopped for a moment.
Xiao Yu saw Cui Guanshi and Zhang Huyuan saying something there again, and finally the carriage turned around and headed north.
Xiao Yu frowned slightly and knocked on the side wall of the carriage.
The carriage stopped immediately, and Manager Cui and Zhang Huyuan appeared in front of the window at the same time.
Xiao Yu asked: "I heard you muttering along the way, what's the matter? Why did this good-looking person start to change roads again? Where are you going?"
Ever since Manager Cui was beaten up by Xiao Yu last time, he has kept a very low profile in the house and is polite to everyone he talks to.
Seeing the master asking questions at this moment, he quickly and respectfully replied: "Little prince, Zhang Huyuan just told the villain some of his experiences when he came here. Chunhefang is a place outside the law, and you must never leave again. For the safety of the young prince, the old slave made his own decision and walked northward to Buddha Lane and Arena. It only takes half an hour longer to return home."
Zhang Huyuan echoed: "Yes, yes, there is the Jianchu Temple in the Buddha. The incense is very prosperous, the market is also prosperous, and there is a fighting market in the fighting arena. You can watch dog fighting and cockfighting. If the young prince likes to be lively..."
Xiao Yu frowned and said, "Go to Chunhefang and buy some rice and meat along the street."
After saying that, Xiao Yu closed the car window.
Zhang Huyuan looked surprised. He opened his mouth but hesitated, looking at Manager Cui eagerly. The young prince looked different today than before.
Manager Cui remained calm and shouted to the groom driving the car: "Lao Guo, turn around, let's go to Chunhefang!"
…
The gatehouse of Chunhefang is still in tatters, and a row of wooden fences spreads from north to south under the gate, enclosing this lawless place.
There are dilapidated scenes of broken bricks and tiles everywhere, and several ditches that have not been dredged for a long time are winding among the ruins. The black-green dirty water glows strangely in the sun, giving off a strange glow under the baking of the afternoon sun. A bad smell.
Mr. Dongfang was sitting on a higher broken wall, gnawing on a piece of dry steamed cake and watching every move in the territory.
Just one night not long ago, a group of refugees who claimed to be from Xiangzhou broke into his territory for some reason, stole some things, and got into an argument with his men. In the end, a fight broke out, and both parties died. In the end, he and his people drove out those ignorant outsiders.
I remember that the other party made harsh words before leaving, saying that sooner or later he would come back and kill all the members of the Qingzhou Gang. No one from the Qingzhou Gang would be able to leave Jiankang City alive.
Mr. Dongfang was not a vegetarian. He said harsher words to the other party, which made the other party return in despair.
But when he turned around and looked at the men, women, old and children who had followed him across the Yangtze River from Qingzhou to this land on the left of the Yangtze River, his mood was still complicated. He dreamed of giving these thousands of people a good place to live and settle down. place.
It's just that there is always a huge gap between ideal and reality. The only person who can give him some hope is the young prince.
But on the evening when the young prince left, the Tongxiali fire spread to most of the sky.
He led a group of young and old people to lie down in front of the rubble and watched for most of the night. He just felt that the red half of the sky was more beautiful than the Lantern Festival Lantern Festival.
Later, I heard that this "silly little prince" from the Jiangxia Palace was running around in the streets, and was stabbed on the ground by an assassin who was going to assassinate the eldest princess Yongning. He lay in the eldest princess's mansion for more than half a month, which seemed like an hour and a half. I won't be able to get out of bed for a while.
I heard him beating his chest and feet for a while, not only because of the incense love of Prince Jiangxia, but also because of the thousands of fellow villagers who had no food and clothing.
But the obsession in his heart has never been extinguished, and the agreement he made with the young prince is also being carried out as promised.
Whether they are children who go out to beg or young men who go to work as coolies in the busy ferry market, as long as there is a densely populated area, you will always see some men and women in tattered clothes and speaking with a northern accent who will go around asking about the candidates for the Northern Dynasties whenever they have free time. news, which makes people suspicious.
Mr. Dongfang was also concerned about the situation of the young prince. He once took two of his men to Tongxiali.
But there was nothing he could do in front of the heavily guarded eldest princess's mansion. He walked away with a smile. Before he could open his mouth, he was blasted out by a heavily armored soldier with a long halberd.
There was no way to find out what was going on inside, so Mr. Dongfang had no choice but to climb higher every day in the days to come.
From the highest point, looking at the bustling streets to the west, I just hope that the young prince can turn the danger into safety and turn his adversity into good fortune.
At the very least, this can make Prince Jiangxia feel at ease, right?
Dongfang Lao was munching Hu cakes and thinking about this when he suddenly heard someone calling him from below:
"Brother! Brother!"
Dongfang Lao didn't take a deep breath and almost choked on the steamed cake. He quickly opened the water bag and took two gulps. He poked his head down from the ruins and was about to curse.
I saw a brother named Zhang Abao stretching his neck and shouting: "Brother, there is a fat pig coming to the door, do you want to kill it?"
"Fat pig?"
Dongfang Lao squinted his eyes and looked to the west, only to see a line of three carriages on the uneven road, protected by about twenty nursing staff, slowly approaching here.
Generally speaking, Dongfang Lao and his gang would not have any idea of ordinary pedestrians passing by here. The passers-by themselves didn't have much money, so it was not worth their trouble.
If the other party has a large number of people, they will usually hesitate. Who knows which dignitary they will meet, so as not to cause trouble for themselves.
Their goals are all between the two, and the three carriages in front of them are somewhat ambiguous.
It seems that this kind of business has never been done these days. It seems that the original grain storage is about to bottom out now. If there is no robbery, there will be no surplus grain to survive.
"What should I do?" Zhang Abao asked, "Do it or not!"
Soon, no less than twenty young men gathered under the ruins. Some of them used to carry hoes, but now they are forced by the environment and are willing to do those things of blocking roads and robbing.
In short, the blocking and robbery in this "qiaoqiaoqiao", as long as no one is killed, the Tingwei Department and Danyang Yin will turn a blind eye and it will come to an end.
"Do it!" But Dongfang Lao scratched his lice-infested head again and thought for a while, "Let's take a look first and then decide whether to do it or not!"
As usual, Dongfang's veterans quickly gathered young men in their 60s and 70s who were so hungry that their chests pressed against their backs.
As usual, they took advantage of the terrain to hide behind the ruins everywhere, quietly waiting for the opportunity.
Dongfang Lao looked out from the broken window of a broken wall and saw three carriages slowly driving towards his direction.
Hungry people, old and young, were already approaching with broken bowls begging for food.
The guards of this family were very surprised. Instead of driving away the beggars in a vicious manner, some people took corn and mutton from the second and third carriages and distributed them to everyone.
Dongfang Lao blinked. He had never encountered such a situation before. The unknown teacher made him a little at a loss.
The three carriages just stopped and kept distributing things for most of the day. After hearing the news, many expatriates from other states who lived in other places dared to come over and ask for things.
The group of people under the veteran Dongfang couldn't stand any longer looking at the people coming and going. They also left the ambush one after another and came forward to ask for rice and meat.
Zhang Abao saw that everyone else had gone, so he added his lips and wanted to follow.
As soon as he showed his head, he was stopped by Dongfang Lao: "Zhang Abao, what are you doing!"
"Go get something to eat!"
"You don't want to rob anymore?"
Zhang Abao looked at him like an idiot, and he said calmly: "If you don't fight, what kind of robbery will you do if you have food and drink? If you go late, you may not even have a grain of corn."
This sentence makes sense, Dongfang Lao couldn't help but nodded.
But he thought about it, and he always felt that something didn't make sense. It didn't look like a robber's behavior, it seemed to be a little irregular!
He began to waver in his heart. He was weighing whether to rush out to cut the path or climb back to a higher place to have a good sleep. When he saw a group of strong men of five to three sizes coming "menacingly" from the east. Come.
This group of people was also accompanied by a group of half-grown children. Dongfang Lao seemed to see those children often in his territory.
Because they were just a bunch of kids, he usually didn't care too much and let them play by themselves, but... today's attitude really seemed like they were looking for a fight.
And he also knew the leader of that gang, named Yu Tianmin, who was the boss of the Jizhou Gang who occupied a small piece of territory east of Qiaomin Square.
Although the expatriates from the two states had some friction and fights on a daily basis, it was not to the extent of bloodshed.
Why did they come?
Dongfang Laozheng was puzzled when he saw the Jizhou Gang stopped in front of the first carriage.
A group of people adjusted their appearance, knelt down in front of the carriage, and kowtowed when they fell to the ground.
Dongfang Laozheng couldn't understand what they were singing, but he saw the door of the first carriage opened at that moment.
A graceful girl came out of the car first, and several children immediately gathered around her happily.
Dongfang Lao recognized that girl. She was the girl Qingxue beside the young prince.
That little prince...
I saw a handsome young man with a handsome wind god also got out of the carriage. That was the young prince who Dongfang Lao missed day and night!
The young prince stepped forward and helped Yu Tianmin up, and then called the others to stand up.
It's just that the stupid strong man didn't know what he said to the young prince, and the two of them laughed heartily.
That kind of intimacy made Mr. Dongfang feel sour in his heart, and he felt like he had been abandoned.
At this time, Zhang Abao came to the young prince, knelt down and kowtowed.
The young prince also helped him up, and the two of them said something, and their expressions were very cordial.
I saw Zhang Abao pointing to the young prince where his old man Dongfang was, then he put his hands to his mouth and shouted:
"Brother! The young prince wants to see you!"
Old Dongfang felt warm in his heart. He jumped out from behind the broken wall with gratitude and murmured to himself with joy: "Young prince, you have not forgotten me, Old Dongfang."
…
Xiao Yu was standing among a group of ragged men, women, and children. He didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary. Instead, he enjoyed the feeling of being respected and thanked a thousand times.
The strong man in front of me is called Yu Tianmin. He is two heads taller than me. He doesn't speak much. He always has a simple and honest smile on his face that is unique to farmers. He is A Guo's uncle.
As for A Guo, she is the little girl who asked Qingxue for help last time.
If it had not been for meeting Xiao Yu and his entourage that day, there would have been no hope of hiring a doctor for his mother, and A Guo's mother might have been in danger of her life.
Ever since Yu Tianmin found out about this, he has always been grateful to the handsome young master he had never met.
Today, I heard that my benefactor was passing by here again, so I brought the Zhongxiang Party here to express my gratitude.
Xiao Yu only said that it was a trivial matter and nothing to worry about.
That was a life-saving grace, not to mention that it was his only living sister. How could Yu Tianmin not care about it?
Yu Tianmin couldn't help but look carefully at this philanthropic noble man, and felt that although he was noble, he was so friendly that he seemed to have no distance from anyone.
He didn't show any displeasure because an old woman in tattered clothes touched him, and the same was true for the beautiful girl Qingxue next to him.
Yu Tianmin wanted to repay this noble young master, but thinking about himself, except for his brute strength, he had nothing to offer, so he couldn't help but smile.
At this moment, Yu Tianmin suddenly saw the gangster named Zhang Abao from the Qingzhou Gang coming to the noble man and whispering a few words to him. The two seemed to know each other.
I saw this noble young man smiling at me, and Zhang Abao had already started to call for people.
Xiao Yu watched the astonished Dongfang Lao walk out coquettishly, and couldn't help but want to laugh at his expression.
Looking at Yu Tianmin again, he turned away from looking at Mr. Dongfang. In short, his expression looked a little strange.
When two expatriate leaders, representing two equally powerful forces, stood together, the atmosphere was naturally particularly awkward.
Xiao Yu stood between the two of them. No matter which overseas Chinese they came from, they looked at these three people with wide eyes.
Xiao Yu stepped in and bowed to both of them.
Mr. Dongfang couldn't stand it any longer: "Young prince, you can't do this, you are really trying to defeat the enemy!"
Dongfang Lao deliberately emphasized the word "final general" in order to tell Yu Tianmin his past identity and his unusual relationship with this noble young master.
Yu Tianmin's focus was obviously different from Dongfang Lao. He only heard the three words "Little Prince" and knew that the other party's identity was special, and he was a little at a loss.
He is a young prince. Although I don’t know which young prince he is, when meeting a relative of the emperor, how can a pariah have the right to speak upright? He bent his knees and started to kneel again.
But his arm was immediately held by this "little prince".
"What is the fish warrior doing?"
"Little...little prince, I am just a commoner, how can I..."
"Yu Zhuangshi, what you said is wrong. I admire the loyal and righteous people the most. We don't care about that here." Xiao Yu smiled generously and looked at Mr. Dongfang again, "Old Dongfang, are you here to talk to this Mr. Yu? "
When Yu Tianmin heard Xiao Yu use "we", his heart felt as warm as a furnace. He looked at the other party with a grateful face.
Dongfang Lao was stunned for a moment. He looked at Yu Tianmin. Yu Tianmin no longer had any resistance in his heart and looked at him.
But no matter what, the two people felt that it was a bit strange to be able to stand together. It seemed that the two people had been fighting against each other for so long on behalf of two forces, and they didn't know why they were fighting.
Thinking about it, both of them couldn't hold back and laughed at the same time.
When Xiao Yu saw that things were settled, he patted the two of them on their backs, then took their hands and put them together.
The two grown men looked at Xiao Yu gratefully.
Xiao Yu said solemnly: "Although Yu is not talented, he was protected by his ancestors and came from a royal family. However, Yu's lifelong wish is to make friends with the world's heroes. I feel very happy to be able to make friends with two of them in my lifetime. Yu wishes. I will share life and death with these two heroes, and travel thousands of miles together!"
Yu Tianmin bowed solemnly: "The young prince treats me like this, if I need you for anything, I dare not spare my life!"
Old Dongfang said: "The young prince has the same style as his father Ling Yun, and Old Dongfang will follow him until his death!"
Xiao Yu looked at the surrounding expats again: "You were born in the North, but you never forgot where your clothes are. You have traveled thousands of miles to come to our Southern Dynasty. I am grateful to all of you who have come to join us, and I am also ashamed of the treatment you have received."
Someone shouted: "These are corrupt officials, what do they have to do with the young prince?"
Xiao Yu bowed deeply to the man: "I am a member of the Daqi clan, how come it has nothing to do with me? What I said is that I don't want to embarrass the Han people who returned to the south."
Everyone looked at Xiao Yu.
"I am willing to spend all my possessions to rebuild Chunhefang, so that all the villagers can settle down and live their lives!"
For a moment, the crowd was filled with excitement. It seemed that these immigrants had broken through the restrictions of states and counties at this moment. At that moment, they were just one kind of people, Han Chinese.
Xiao Yu accidentally glanced at Cui Guanshi standing aside. His eyes were complicated, but he remained calm.
He seemed to notice Xiao Yu looking at him and quickly lowered his head.
