Hou Canghai...
Dongfang Lao narrowed his eyes. He never thought that the leader of such a refugee army in Henan had this name.
Although Hou Canghai only has one eye, he seems to be very good at observing words and expressions.
Seeing that Mr. Dongfang didn't respond, he said with a smile: "A certain person just took over this refugee army a few days ago. The original commander Fan Hutou died in the battle with the government in the southeast of Yingchuan County!"
At this point, Dongfang Laocai suddenly realized.
Fan Hutou is a well-known figure in Henan Province. People say that he is evil-minded and ruthless, and he shows no mercy to a three-year-old child.
In the past three years, Henan suffered from earthquakes, locust plagues and severe droughts. There was no good year. The imperial court was busy using troops against Rouran and Goguryeo, and taxes were not reduced, which led to rebellion by the government and the people.
Suddenly, Henan, where people were starving, suddenly had more than a dozen migrant armies. They were different from Dongfang Lao's expatriate team who migrated south. They gathered the township party, rose up, became enemies of the imperial court, and attacked each other.
However, a peasant armed force with no organization and discipline initially used the government to force the people to rebel, but gradually it changed its tune and started burning, killing, looting, and committing all kinds of evil.
Fan Hutou's team was the one that stood out from these refugee armies. They used the big to eat the small, and successively ate up several relatively weak refugee armed forces. They also continued to recruit surrenders and rebels, and only then did they achieve their later scale.
The tree was big and attracted the wind, which naturally attracted the attention of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and it was natural for it to be exterminated again and again.
Dongfang Lao originally thought that he was just passing through Henan, passing through Matou County, and heading south to Zhongli and Xuyi. There was the defense area of Cao Jingzong and Chang Yizhi, and then he entered the relatively safe territory of Southern Qi.
He originally wanted to avoid these refugee soldiers, but he didn't expect to meet them here.
Looking at Wugang and his subordinates mingling with the refugee army, I realized that they were the same kind of people and would definitely stay here and not go south with him.
If that's the case, Mr. Dongfang should be secretly happy, at least the factors that are not conducive to unity have been eliminated.
Don't think about this first. In short, in front of this group of refugee leaders, the first thing is not to show cowardice.
When Hou Canghai saw that Mr. Dongfang was thoughtful and didn't say anything, he patted him on the shoulder with a friendly expression: "Brother Dongfang..."
Mr. Dongfang said "Oh" and then solemnly raised his hand: "Marshal Hou, I have admired you for a long time. I have admired you for a long time."
Hou Canghai laughed loudly, looking so cheerful and chivalrous.
"Okay!" He waved his hand as a gesture of invitation, "Brother Dongfang, let's talk while eating up there!"
Only then did Mr. Dongfang notice that there was a high platform behind the cauldron for cooking human flesh.
There were several wooden pillars on the platform, and a simple long case was set up. The case was still empty at this time, but there was actually a gallows behind the long case.
I think that platform should have been the place where the owner of the dock used to enforce family laws against those who committed crimes, but now it is used by these refugee leaders as a place to eat, drink and discuss matters.
Mr. Dongfang looked calm on the surface, but he was still worried. What would he eat up there? Cannibalism?
But he was alone on someone else's territory, so he agreed and walked to the stage.
At this moment, a strong man with his arms crossed suddenly crossed in front of him and hit him hard.
Dongfang Lao was puzzled. He saw Hou Canghai and Wu Gang walking in front, just talking and joking among themselves, as if they didn't see them.
I couldn't help but feel angry. This was obviously a deliberate attempt to humiliate him.
Who doesn't know how to be aggressive? Dongfang Lao's behavior can also kill people.
He stared at the big man with a sly smile.
"What to do?"
The strong man also looked arrogant and raised his chin.
"Give me the knife!"
It seems that he is about to surrender his weapon.
"What if I don't give it?"
The strong man smiled coldly.
Except for his few brothers who were silent, the other refugee soldiers also laughed, including Shi DaDa, who was his brother-in-law before.
Dongfang Lao also smiled, and he punched the strong man right on the chin.
The strong man's head rose slightly, but his body did not move at all.
Dongfang Lao was shocked. The force of his previous punches was already quite strong.
I saw the strong man lowering his head slowly, with a contemptuous smile on his fleshy face, and his chin was already black and blue.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and suddenly stretched out his kick with such force that it hit Mr. Dongfang's lower abdomen.
Dongfang Lao didn't even shout, and was kicked out directly.
The refugee army immediately set off a burst of enthusiastic shouts, cheering vigorously for this powerful move.
Dongfang Lao was kicked to pieces. He rolled several times in the air before landing heavily on the ground again.
At this time, he heard a burst of screams from men and women. He stood up and shook his head, and saw that he fell right in front of the detained family members of the dock owner.
The group of frightened men and women saw him as if they were seeing the god of plague, and they all backed down, fearing that they would have any contact with him.
Dongfang Lao sat on the ground and calmed down. His ears were buzzing and his eyes were opening and closing.
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and a low and weird laugh came from his mouth.
"Hey Hey Hey……"
At this time, he saw a little boy about five or six years old walking up to him and trying to pull him up.
"Uncle, the ground is cold." The little boy said to him.
Dongfang Lao also wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and made a face at the little boy.
At this time, I saw a girl coming from behind the boy. She looked timid, like an injured kitten, but she still stayed with the boy.
He saw the boy smiling at him, that smile was very clean.
"what's your name?"
"Chu'er."
Dongfang Lao nodded.
"Chu'er, pull uncle up."
The little boy nodded, then took Old Dongfang's arm and pulled him back.
This frightened the girl behind the boy.
Old Dongfang pretended to be pulled up by the little boy with great effort.
He touched the little boy's clean face, and the little boy smiled again, and he smiled very cleanly.
He also laughed, and his laughter was uglier than his tears.
The girl behind the little boy looked at him steadily, with no fear in her clear eyes, and she was looking at him with curiosity.
Dongfang Lao also smiled at the girl. The girl couldn't help but cover her mouth, her eyes were smiling, but she glanced to the upper right corner of her eyes.
Dongfang Lao sighed and looked around. There was such a clean pair of siblings in such a hellish place.
At this moment, a refugee soldier suddenly stepped forward and kicked the girl on the waist.
The girl was in pain, with an expression of pain on her delicate face, but she did not cry out.
The refugee soldier wanted to kick him again.
"This is the case for everyone!"
Boss Dongfang cursed, stood up and kicked the refugee soldier down. The kick was so fierce that the soldier couldn't stand up for a long time.
"It's no use bullying women and children. If you do it again, I won't spare you."
The refugee soldier was obviously unconvinced, but he just glared at Old Dongfang fiercely.
Dongfang Lao looked at the siblings again and saw an old woman going up to help the girl up. She glared at Dongfang Lao with dissatisfaction.
Dongfang Lao had no choice but to look away. He began to move his muscles and bones, and the joints creaked.
He walked up to the strong man again, with a smile on his face.
"Aren't you going to collect someone's weapons?"
The arrogant and strong man smiled sinisterly, with a proud look on his face.
The veteran Dongfang thrust the Huanshou knife into the ground hard, and the handle of the knife trembled slightly.
Hou Canghai and Wu Gang, who were already seated on the high platform, looked at each other and smiled, with expressions of satisfaction on their faces.
And Mr. Dongfang in the audience was walking towards them with difficult steps.
When he passed by the arrogant man who blocked him, he whispered a few words.
The smile on the strong man's face immediately froze, and he stood motionless.
Naturally, no one noticed this detail. People's attention was all on Mr. Dongfang, and even more on the leaders of the refugee army on the high platform.
When Mr. Dongfang stepped onto the high platform, he saw Hou Canghai standing up quickly, leaving his seat with enthusiasm and greeting him. Several other leaders also stood up.
Hou Canghai smiled with a smile on his face and cupped his hands: "Brother Dongfang, forgive me. I have just taken over the position of commander and have neglected to discipline my subordinates. I hope Brother Dongfang will calm down about what happened just now."
Mr. Dongfang smiled cheerfully and said: "It doesn't matter, Marshal Hou is so lucky to have such loyal subordinates!"
Hou Canghai was stunned for a moment, and the smile on his face became brighter. He pointed to the seat next to him and said: "Brother Dongfang, sit here. It's too late for you and I to meet each other. Let's have a good talk tonight!"
Mr. Dongfang was not polite to him. He said a few words and sat down.
Hou Canghai stroked the beard on his chin and smiled, without showing any displeasure on his face.
He looked attentive and said straight to the point: "Brother Dongfang doesn't know, this commander and Brother Wu have known each other since childhood, and they also did some business of robbing families and houses together. Later, they were wanted by the government, and they broke up. I wonder if God has opened my eyes recently. Let me wait until my brother gets in touch again.”
Dongfang Lao remained calm and just listened silently. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Wu Gang looking at him secretly, and he couldn't help but sneer in his heart.
"I have long heard about the reputation of Brother Dongfang and served as an official in the Southern Dynasty. I want to contact you to discuss the plan. We will first capture the Liujiawu Fort together as a token of surrender. I am just thinking about it. , the messenger from Brother Houjiu Wu is here, tell me if we are destined."
Dongfang Lao smiled perfunctorily.
"I heard that you are having trouble with food and grass. Have you been without food for many days?"
Wu Gang answered: "That's right. Not to mention the smell of meat these days, I can't even eat a single grass seed."
Hou Canghai slapped his thigh: "That's just right. We are not short of food. We just happened to capture this fort. Look at the back. They are all granaries. I have already had people check them. The rice grains in each warehouse are all It’s full, I have two to three thousand people under my command now, plus the people under Brother Dongfang and Brother Wu, it’s enough for two to three years.”
Wugang also answered: "That's right, that's right. Brothers and I have food to eat together and clothes to wear together. The three of us work together, not to mention dominating Henan, even to Luoyang and Jiankang. Why not get a dragon chair and sit on it?"
The other leaders also complimented him, and they were talking and laughing.
Hou Canghai said Dongfang Lao didn't say a word, his face darkened slightly: "Why didn't Brother Dongfang say a word?"
Dongfang Lao smiled and said: "I'm sorry for my ignorance, but I still don't know what the commander-in-chief means?"
Hou Canghai stroked his beard and smiled.
Wugang also laughed and said: "The merger of the two armies is a good thing! I didn't discuss it with Brother Dongfang in advance because I was afraid that Brother Dongfang wouldn't be able to truly appreciate my brother's kindness."
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, a leader on the side who knew how to watch people suddenly shouted: "You lazy guy, why don't you have wine and meat? Where are the women? Why are there none?"
A voice came from the audience: "Ladies, we've gone to look for it. The meat hasn't been cooked yet, and the wine is ready."
"Aren't there any girls there? Grab two good-looking ones and bring them up. Kill the bad ones and use them!"
A woman's cry immediately came from the audience.
Dongfang Lao couldn't bear it anymore and started to protest.
"Wait!"
As soon as Old Dongfang finished speaking, thunder suddenly appeared above his head.
Some people on and off the stage were stunned and looked directly at Mr. Dongfang.
Dongfang Lao noticed that he was among a bunch of monsters and monsters, but for some reason, his courage was not diminished and he was more calm than before.
He cupped his hands and said: "Marshal Hou, I, Mr. Dongfang, go straight. I don't like twists and turns, and I don't like intrigues. You and I have different paths and we don't want to conspire with each other. I'll say goodbye to you, Mr. Dongfang!"
With that said, Mr. Dongfang left his seat and headed towards the audience.
Hou Canghai and Wu Gang looked at each other with murderous intent in their eyes.
But Wu Gang acted as a peacemaker at this time. He quickly got up and stopped in front of Dongfang Lao.
"Brother Dongfang, why are you so angry? If you have something to say, this is not the Hongmen Banquet. My brother is a reasonable person. If you really can't pee in a pot, my brother won't force it."
"I have made up my mind, no need to say more."
Wu Gang seemed to be really anxious. He said: "This time it's my brother's fault. I didn't discuss with you about joining the gang, but this is also for the good of our two or three thousand old brothers! You must know that Marshal Hou has long admired the methods of Brother Dongfang, arranging troops. Setting up formations, marching and fighting is not a problem. The general's army is lacking talents like Brother Dongfang. If Brother Dongfang can join the army, Marshal Hou said, let alone the deputy commander, he will give up the position of commander to Brother Dongfang, so what? Then what? Let's unite our forces and sweep across Henan. We will first capture Matou County, then attack Chenliu and Ruyang, and finally capture Luoyang, drinking from the Yellow River. Think of the folks who have been without food for many days. Brother Dongfang can't bear to let them suffer from cold and hunger?"
Dongfang Lao laughed and looked at Wugang with contempt: "I'm afraid you don't have much meat, so let my thousands of elders serve as food for you! Bah, I, Dongfang Lao, was born in the world and ate grains and animals, but not those Human flesh, you are all evil ghosts and monsters in hell, how can I join in with you and insult the foundation of my life?"
Wugang was furious: "Mr. Dongfang, don't toast me and eat the fine wine. Since you are in this fort today, unless you agree to join forces, you can't even think about going back!"
Dongfang Lao narrowed his eyes and sneered: "Who do you think you are? What can you do to me, Dongfang Lao? You are all beasts, eating human flesh, drinking human blood, and being crazy and crazy. God does not allow it. How can I, Dongfang Lao, associate with beasts? What are you doing? Between heaven and earth, lightning strikes!”
As soon as Dongfang Lao finished speaking, he heard thunder rolling, it seemed that the sky was really angry and people were complaining!
Everyone present was shocked, and all the young people in the audience began to tremble, not daring to move amid the thunder and lightning.
Pale lightning flashed across, and Dongfang Lao looked like a god. Wu Gang, who was originally blocking him, couldn't help but feel scared, pushed back, and fell to the ground.
But at this moment, Hou Canghai roared and overturned the table.
He reached out and pulled out the long sword beside him, raised the sword and stabbed Dongfang Lao in the heart.
Old Dongfang was calm and contemptuous, how could he put this beast in his eyes.
He turned sideways deftly and cleverly avoided Hou Canghai's thrust.
Hou Canghai exerted too much force. Out of inertia, his body rushed forward a few steps, and half of his body was exposed in front of Dongfang Lao.
I saw a flash of cold light in Old Dongfang's hand, and for some reason, there was suddenly a flying tiger claw.
It's too late, but it's soon.
There was only a cold light, and no one could see clearly the movements in his hands.
But a pool of blood was thrown into the air,
The flying tiger claw was seen passing through the left half of Hou Canghai's neck like a fish bait.
Hou Canghai's eyes trembled. He didn't even know what happened, so he started coughing violently. Blood spurted out from his mouth and neck.
Everyone on and off the high platform was stunned and had no reaction for a moment.
Hou Canghai stood there with a blank expression on his face and blinked. Just as he was about to reach out and touch his neck, a huge force suddenly pulled his neck and suddenly pulled him back.
The rope connecting Feihu's claw suddenly tightened.
Dongfang Lao San jumped over the gallows behind the high platform in two moves. The rope suddenly tightened, and Hou Canghai was hung on the gallows.
He rolled his eyes and died without even kicking his legs twice.
At this moment, a bolt of lightning pierced the sky, and Hou Canghai's tragic death was particularly terrifying and frightening.
Blood flowed down his body and soon formed a pool of blood.
Everyone looked at the high platform and their refugee commander in horror. No one dared to act rashly. Is this really a punishment from God?
At this moment, a leader of the refugee army came to his senses first. "Kill him!" He shouted, raising his knife to kill Dongfang Lao.
I saw Old Dongfang narrowing his eyes. He was holding the rope hanging Hou Canghai with one hand, and the other hand had a long sword at some point. That long sword was the one that Hou Canghai had taken before. .
Before the leader of the refugee army with the sword could rush forward, the long sword in Old Dongfang's hand had already flown out.
He stabbed the man's heart impartially and penetrated both sides.
The man fell to the ground and rolled off the platform.
At this time, except for the thunder, the earth was deathly silent. Everyone looked at each other, and no one made a sound.
Dongfang Lao's eyes widened angrily, with an evil look on his face.
He yelled: “Who else???”
No one on or off the stage dared to answer, and that majestic voice echoed between heaven and earth accompanied by rolling thunder.
Time stopped turning for a moment, and the whole world seemed to be frozen.
Someone suddenly knelt down and said, "I would like to follow the commander-in-chief!"
There is a second, third...
Someone kept shouting loudly: "I would like to follow the commander-in-chief... I would like to follow the commander-in-chief..."
Dongfang Lao remained unmoved. As soon as he let go of his right hand, Hou Canghai's body fell from the gallows and lay in a pool of his own blood.
He staggered to the steps in front of the high platform.
Looking at the people on and off the stage who were kneeling before him, he said nothing.
He walked down the steps step by step.
The tall, strong man who had humiliated him before fell to his knees on the ground. Dongfang Lao didn't even look at him, but just walked past him.
He walked over to the cauldron where human flesh was cooked, and kicked the hundreds of kilograms cauldron over with one kick. The boiling broth spilled out and sizzled on the ground.
He glanced at the dependents of the imprisoned owner of Wubao.
"Let them go!"
The refugee soldiers who were guarding them put down their weapons and stopped embarrassing the men and women.
Dongfang Lao continued to walk forward, and he saw the boy again.
The boy was looking at her with his big eyes blinking.
He walked over, squatted down in front of the boy, and looked at him.
He was very good-looking, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. The important thing was that he was not afraid of him and was smiling at his ugly face.
Dongfang always wanted to pinch the baby's face, but he gave up when he saw the blood on his hands.
He smiled too, and he knew that it looked uglier when he laughed than when he cried, but he still laughed.
"My dear, uncle is leaving, please take care of yourself."
Dongfang Lao said, stood up and walked outside.
"Wait, benefactor!"
It was a clear girl's voice.
Dongfang Lao was suddenly stunned and turned around.
I saw the fair-faced girl holding the little boy's shoulders from behind, standing there and looking at him steadily.
"Take us away!"
The girl's voice was clear and firm, and she had already made up her mind.
Dongfang Lao was stunned for a moment: "A certain person is going to the Southern Dynasties."
"We will also go to the Southern Dynasties with you."
Dongfang Lao smiled and said: "You are too good-looking. It is not safe to follow someone."
The girl couldn't say anything, so she grabbed the mud on the ground and wiped it on her face, until her face was completely black.
The dark-faced girl was smiling at Dongfang. She also looked so ugly.
At this time, a middle-aged woman's voice came from not far away: "Young Master, Miss, can't you go?"
The girl didn't answer, she just held the boy's little hand and followed behind Mr. Dongfang.
"Uncle, I will call you uncle from now on."
"Okay...who is that little kid to you? Adi?"
"His name is Chu'er."
"Chu'er...oh, I know, it's Wen Zou Zou's. I'm afraid it won't be easy to raise..."
"What's that called?"
"Dog...this name is so fertile..."
"Okay, let's call him dog."
At this time, a man who was not tall but rather wretched took a delicate girl and a small child. The three uncoordinated figures disappeared into the endless darkness.
The rain began to pour down at night, just to wash away the sin and cruelty in this world.
…
This is the end of Dongfang Lao's story.
"In the seventeenth year of Chengyou, the Wugang refugee army fought against the Northern Dynasty Zhongshan Wang Yuanying in Laixiang, southwest of Chenliu. The battle lasted for three days and three nights. Wugang was defeated and captured. This ended the three-year Henan Rebellion.
"The last general heard that Wugang was escorted to Luoyang, paraded in Tongtuo Market for three days, and was punished by being broken into pieces. Some people say that he cursed Dongfang for being a bastard until his death."
Xiao Yu felt a little disappointed. He looked back and saw that there were still bright lights outside the shack where Gou'er and his brother lived.
"Human cannibalism... it's such a tragedy in the world. If that memory remains in their hearts, it may be a permanent pain for them!"
Mr. Dongfang smiled calmly: "I was born in troubled times, and human life is like duckweed and grass. It is only because of the kindness of the young prince that I feel this way. Mr. Dongfang was born in poverty and is well aware of the difficulties. However, for such kind-hearted masters as the young prince and prince, I have seen too many princes and officials who are unkind and greedy for wealth."
Xiao Yu stood up and patted Mr. Dongfang on the shoulder.
"Let's not talk about this today, let's go back!"
"Here."
"Mr. Dongfang, what is the name of Gou'er's barbarian friend?"
"She Quli."
"She Quli? How to write these words?"
"Ah? I don't know what will happen next."
"Then let's go back and figure out how to save the child and his family!"
"My young prince, just do it in the end. There is no need for my young prince to take action."
“There is strength in numbers, but not together.”
"Here."
