"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"
"Bang bang bang!"
The sound of shovels and wooden hammers hitting bricks and stones still echoed over the city wall, and there was a lively scene at the top of Youtun City.
While others were gritting their teeth and working hard, wielding pickaxes and hammers to repair the city wall, Gu Sinian was lying beside the city wall in a daze, frowning, thinking about how to solve the food problem.
You can't really come to Zhang Lan and beat him up like the blacksmith said, right? It is even less possible to ask directly why the money is not being used.
If you really break your face, life will not be easy in the future. It is not for nothing that the first level of officialdom kills people.
"Brother Gu, you seem to have something on your mind?"
Bai Yan appeared again and said curiously:
"Has the food problem not been solved yet?"
"Alas~"
Gu Sinian sighed and shook his head:
"If it could be solved, I wouldn't have to be like this anymore."
Bai Yan frowned and lowered his voice:
"Did I not make it clear enough? You didn't go give him any money?"
"Of course I sent it."
Gu Sinian told the truth:
"I promised well at the time, but when the food was delivered, it was half mixed with sand and gravel, and it was placed in a pile. I was hungry whether I should or not."
Gu Sinian had met Zhang Lan several times in the past two days. This guy acted like he had nothing to do and didn't even mention a word about food.
Bai Yan was a little confused now:
"You did nothing after collecting the money? How much did you give?"
"Five taels?"
"Just five taels?"
Bai Yan couldn't laugh or cry:
"Brother Gu, Brother Gu, you underestimate him too much. After all, he is a member of a hundred households, and he is a military attaché no matter how big or small he is. Five taels of silver is not enough for him to take him seriously.
In order to have enough food, we brothers scraped together nearly twenty taels of silver and gave it all to our family, so that we could only eat half full.
He is doing this to reward you. As long as you send more, there will be food. "
"So that's it."
Gu Sinian suddenly realized that no wonder someone with no grievances and no grudges wanted to join him, and co-authoring it was too few.
Gu Sinian muttered with some dissatisfaction:
"What do you think he did withholding so much military rations? Where to put it? Do you really dare to sell it out? Aren't you afraid of being discovered?"
Bai Yan hesitated for a moment, looked up and made sure there was no one around before saying:
"In the alley in front of our camp, there is a row of uninhabited houses at the corner, and Zhang Lan always runs there.
I guess that's where he hides the food, and when he gets enough, he sells it on the black market. He's not the only one in the military who does this.
As for whether you are afraid or not, haha, he is the distant nephew of our captain and has a background. What do you think he is afraid of? "
The captain in Bai Yan's mouth was Zhang Lan's immediate boss. It was a military position with a serious official rank, which was unattainable for local braves like them.
Bai Yan babbled a few words to explain things clearly, but none of these words made sense.
When he heard about the place where Zhang Lan hid his grain, Gu Sinian's eyes lit up unconsciously.
"Ahem."
Bai Yan put away his cautious look and said:
“So Brother Gu, you’d better collect money as soon as possible.
You can survive being hungry for ten or eight days, but you will be useless after being hungry for a month or two. If the Yan soldiers come, it will be difficult to escape even if they are hungry.
If that doesn't work, I'll ask my brothers if they have any more money, and I can lend it to you for the time being. "
"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Bai. I won't ask for your help with the money."
Gu Sinian suddenly asked:
"But Brother Bai, why do you want to help us?"
Gu Sinian was very curious. He had never done anything to help Bai Yan from beginning to end. There were conflicts at the beginning, but he showed his kindness several times. Why?
Is it just because they are all civilians and out of sympathy? Judging from the contacts in the past few days, Bai Yan is not such a kind-hearted person.
Bai Yan did not answer this question, but asked:
"Brother Gu, why did you come to the front line?"
Gu Sinian said calmly:
"I am Fengchuan County Dianshi, and I have been ordered to lead the team."
"Haha, so Brother Gu didn't come here voluntarily."
Bai Yan smiled:
“Many people come here unwillingly, but I, Lao Bai, do it voluntarily.
Everyone thinks that the front line is a place that eats people, but in my opinion, the front line can have a promising future. As a government servant in Jin County, you will never get ahead in your life, so why not come here and give it a try. "
Gu Sinian's eyes changed. It sounded like this guy was just like him. He had been promoted and made a fortune.
Bai Yan said to himself:
"In the frontline, you can either rely on your background and join a hundred households casually like Zhang Lan; or you can rely on your ability and climb up step by step.
It just so happens that we are all the kind of people with no background.
Brother Gu can lead people to kill those Yan soldiers, which shows that he is capable. Your brothers don't look bad either. For this reason, they are worthy of my respect, Bai Yan.
I will help you today, but if I encounter trouble in the future, Brother Gu will help me no matter what, right? "
After hearing this, Gu Sinian finally understood that Bai Yan was trying to win over him to pave the way for the future. To put it bluntly, it means forming a clique and having someone to look after you in the future.
Gu Sinian nodded and said:
"Brother Bai is very cheerful and doesn't beat around the bush.
Don’t worry, if you find us useful in the future, just ask! "
"Haha, deal!"
…
Night fell slowly, and there were still some people working on the city wall, but Gu Sinian and a few confidants gathered in the house.
Gu Sinian was the first to ask:
"How did your job go?"
Qin Xi was the first to answer:
"I went to the place Bai Yan mentioned. The door was locked in broad daylight and an iron rope was used. It was definitely not an empty room.
I squatted there for two days and saw with my own eyes two of Zhang Lan's cronies sneaking in once. There must be something hidden inside, probably food that should be distributed to us. "
Zeng Lingchuan took over and said:
"I also went to talk to other civilians. This Zhang Lan is indeed greedy. As long as the food comes into his hands, everything will be withheld.
I guess he hid a lot of food. "
"asshole!"
The blacksmith angrily said: "We are hungry and build the city wall. It is better for him to enrich his own pockets!"
"If this continues, sooner or later we will starve to death."
"Sir, we need to make an idea."
"There are only two ways to go now."
Gu Sinian narrowed his eyes slightly:
"The first way, according to Bai Yan, is for us brothers to collect more money to satisfy Zhang Lan and give us food!"
"But how can we have any money~"
Qin Xi smiled bitterly. Most of the people from Fengchuan County were prisoners and very poor. He, the bandit leader, was also a pauper.
Even if he took out the five taels of silver left in Gu Sinian's pocket, it would be a drop in the bucket and probably wouldn't be able to satisfy the appetite of this man from a hundred households.
The blacksmith didn't say a word, just spread his hands:
No money.
Lin Yihuai said coldly:
"Sir, I feel that even if you have money, you can't give it to me. This kind of person is greedy.
No matter how much you give, it will get worse in the future, and sooner or later we will be sucked dry by him. "
After all, Lin Yihuai was born as a private salt dealer. He had dealt with such money-grubbing people too many times and knew what their character was.
"you are right!"
Gu Sinian said fiercely:
"So, I don't want to give him any more coins!"
Qin Xi asked hurriedly:
"Then the first way is dead, what about the second way?"
"The second way~"
A sneer curled up at the corner of Gu Sinian's lips:
“Take away his grain store and get our own grain back!
dare? "
Everyone looked at each other in shock. It turned out that Gu Sinian was too bold to have his mind set on those private houses.
Zeng Lingchuan said worriedly:
"Sir, if he is discovered doing this kind of thing, our brothers will never have a good day in the future.
You have to think clearly. "
"I know, so I have to make sure everything is safe! Don't let any news leak out."
Gu Sinian said expressionlessly:
"I took three hundred of you out of Fengchuan, but I don't want to see you starve to death in vain.
Therefore, no matter how risky it is, I will definitely do it. Whoever supports it, please stay and do it together!
It doesn't matter if you don't support it. Once you leave this room, just pretend that nothing happened and I will do it myself! "
"I'll do it!"
The blacksmith was the first to stand up:
"I will have trouble with anyone who doesn't feed me!"
"Dry!"
"Just do what the adults say!"
They were also fooled by this Zhang Lan, and everyone rose up in response.
"As expected, we are all good brothers!"
Gu Sinian smiled happily:
"Then let's do this..."
The room was very quiet, only Gu Sinian's thin voice echoed.
After listening to Gu Sinian's plan, Qin Xi said in shock:
"Brother, how come you have such a brain? Are you so smart?"
"Brother Qin, thank you very much."
Gu Sinian chuckled: "It's all just to make ends meet."
Zeng Lingchuan raised his own question:
"My lord's plan is good, but there is a problem. We don't have the keys to those private houses?
Just that big iron lock, if you force it open, there will be too much movement, and someone will be discovered as soon as you do it. "
Wu Xiang slapped his thigh and said:
"I heard someone say that Zhang Lan never lets anyone enter his inner room. The key must be hidden there!"
"Then how to get it? He won't deliver it to us by himself."
Everyone stared, seemingly discovering a flaw in the plan.
"hey-hey."
Gu Sinian smiled mischievously and looked at Xiao Liuzi:
"Do you know what his nickname is?"
"What?"
Everyone looked at Xiao Liuzi in unison.
Xiao Liuzi smiled knowingly:
"The best golden finger in Fengchuan County!"
…
Another dark night fell, and the faint moonlight filled the earth.
Gu Sinian's room was crowded with more than a dozen men, all of whom were trustworthy brothers.
Everyone's expressions were very complicated, including excitement, nervousness, anger...
Gu Sinian paced back and forth in the room. Although the expression on his face was normal, everyone knew that Mr. Gu was a little anxious.
Time passed little by little, and the atmosphere became oppressive and uncomfortable.
"Crunch~"
Finally at a certain moment, the door was gently pushed open, and Xiao Liuzi rushed in from the outside.
"How about it?"
Gu Sinian looked up instantly:
"Did you get it?"
"Hehe~"
Xiao Liuzi spread his palms: "It's a piece of cake~"
In his hand, lying quietly, was a bronze key.
"Huh~"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Sinian looked at the crowd and waved his hand:
"Then do it!
Remember, no evidence can be left behind! "
