No matter how many people screamed, hid, or banged on the utensils, the sun was still disappearing little by little.
A temple on the outskirts of Runxian County was crowded with people looking terrified.
While looking anxiously at the sky outside, he made random gestures and prayers in front of the Buddha statue.
Only the elderly are more pious and their expressions are calmer. They yell at the juniors and prevent them from running outside.
Tengu eclipse days are unlucky, people believe that even if they are exposed to that kind of light, they will get sick. People who beat gongs and drums stand under the porch and cannot enter the house without crossing the brazier. The longer it gets dark, the more ominous it gets.
Fengxing Pavilion Master Qiu Jing was wearing a plain robe, standing in the wing room and watching the noisy scene in the front hall of the temple.
She suffered injuries to her forehead, shoulders and back.
The injury is not serious, but the burn on the back, the flesh is festering and difficult to heal, and even if the medicine is applied, it looks terrifying.
"Pavilion Master, if there is a shortage of doctors and medicines here, it would be better to ask Doctor Mo to prescribe a prescription..."
"The situation was urgent last night. Where can I find the time to seek medical treatment? It's just a small injury. It's not raining, just keep it up."
Qiu Jing said it easily, but her subordinates didn't dare to relax at all.
If the wound is difficult to heal, it is easy to cause sores. Once the suppuration occurs repeatedly, even the gods cannot save it.
Although they are from the rivers and lakes, they carry good gold wound medicine with them, and they are very good at treating trauma. They will not lose their lives because of a small wound like ordinary people or soldiers, but burns are troublesome, not only painful, Even bandaging is difficult.
"Pavilion Master, why don't we go to Jingzhou for healing first."
Qiu Jing's subordinates suggested worriedly.
After last night, almost everyone in the Fengxing Pavilion was injured and needed a good rest.
But this situation can't be rested. They need to investigate the details of shopkeeper Sun's group non-stop, and investigate whether their Fengxing Pavilion is distributed in the nearby dark piles, and whether the sub-rudder has fallen or been monitored and controlled. At the same time, it is necessary to make great efforts to quickly spread the news of A Furong and spread it to the ears of all those who should know.
Qiu Jing didn't sleep a night, this temple is the place where one of her father's ancestors handed over her home. It is safe and reliable, and does not involve the forces of the rivers and lakes.
But, can't stay long.
The people of Xiliang have great plans, and there are more forces hidden in the dark. They should not stay in any place for a long time, otherwise it may lead to disaster.
Looking at these people who were panicking just because of the solar eclipse, Qiujing seemed to be blocked by something in his chest, and he was extremely depressed.
"Pavilion Master?" The people in Fengxing Pavilion were startled, thinking that Qiu Jing had suffered a secret injury.
"nothing."
Qiu Jing slowly put down the hand that pressed his heart, and suddenly asked: "If everyone can read and write, if they can read a few books, if they know the dangers of cults such as the Holy Lotus Altar, if they know that A Furong can't touch them, and if they understand that the sun is not eaten by tengu Spit it out, what will this world look like?"
This stopped Qiu Jing's subordinates.
Since the Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han dynasties, officials have all been "shepherds and guards". To put it bluntly, the common people are like cattle and sheep. In addition to being obedient and not making trouble, it is only necessary for the common people to reproduce from generation to generation, so that there are people who can farm the land, the treasury, the grain, and the war. The ruler can rule better.
Who would bother to teach people more things
Qin Fen Baijia's words, headed by ignorance.
Later, people of all dynasties and dynasties could read, but reading was a costly thing, and ordinary peasant children could not afford to read, nor could they learn.
"The world is prosperous and needs people. It's a pity that those who sit on the throne and those who wear official hats have added two words to this sentence."
That is, the world is prosperous, and the people need to be obedient.
When the court was short of people, it gave birth to more children, and when the court wanted money and grain, it farmed the land.
People are changeable and prone to rebellion? Then there are three principles and five constant pressures and one pressure, the country will govern the world, the clan will govern the family, and the layers will be managed and restrained.
Qiu Jing slowly clenched his fists and listened to his subordinates' whining complaints.
"In the Qi Dynasty, Lu Zhang stole the country and usurped the throne, his son Yongchen Emperor murdered the monarch and seized the throne. The noble family violated the Lu family's yin and yang, and the officials in the remote areas did not obey the king's orders, hiding all kinds of calamities. After the three-year drought in Yongzhou, the holy lotus Tan's ulterior motives incite the ignorant people, and war is about to break out in the southwest. The three kings of Chu Chu in the south are either sidelined and drunk, or Xiaoqiang is fighting with each other, and his eyes are high and his hands are low. That's not bad, but as a result, another group of people from Xiliang appeared."
Some people go crazy and want to make achievements, and naturally some people don't want to fight again.
Once a war is fought, the seemingly prosperous and numerous Fengxing Pavilion will collapse in an instant, because most of them are ordinary people with a little knowledge of fists and feet, just because they don't want to wander in the rivers and lakes without food, and they don't want to join the army and be governed everywhere. This is the business of selling news. Maybe they seem to be much stronger than ordinary people, they can fight and run, but if the world is really in chaos, the horseshoe of a cold arrow and a group of disorderly soldiers will also kill them.
The most important thing in Fengxing Pavilion is not people, but the news chain distributed in various places, as well as the channels to detect intelligence and search for the price of rice and salt.
Together, these channels and news chains will vanish into thin air.
"... Pavilion Master, there is new news from Run County! There is an accident in the area of Chenghuang Temple!"
Qiu Jing cheered up and took over the information sent by his subordinates.
- The battle of the unfamiliar masters caused the roof of a street to disappear. People saw the whirlwind of suspected monsters, and the people in the county rushed to the city gate in panic and fled.
Qiu Jing first took a breath of cold air, and then showed a stern look.
"The man behind the scenes has appeared."
The real leader of the killer organization, the backbone of the Xiliang people, and the benefactor of the swordsman Su Li.
Although they did not receive the order from Qiujing, the people from Fengxing Pavilion began to dispatch personnel immediately to investigate the situation after the Sun's business was evacuated.
"I don't know who is better than Meng Qi's martial arts."
"Isn't there Doctor Mo beside Meng Qi?"
"If you want to say that, that person is still the leader of the killer organization. He can train a swordsman, and maybe there is a second one. I heard that the martial arts of Mojieti Temple in the Xiliang Kingdom in the past were quite advanced, not as good as If the Hengchang Temple and the Tianshan faction are sent, if the people of Xiliang have been plotting for a long time, I am afraid that they will have a large number of masters."
Qiu Jing's expression became more and more solemn as he listened to his subordinates' speeches.
In the end, they looked at each other and asked cautiously: "Pavilion Master, why don't we go back first and ask your father to come forward... The matter has already involved the general trend of the world. This is not something we can easily reverse, and we must get other assistance."
Qiujing frowned and said solemnly: "People are looking for them, but we can't leave. We won't come again when the opportunity is lost. The forces of the Xiliang people in Run County were messed up by Meng Guoshi, and they had to give up. Go, who can catch their fox tails?"
Looking at the hesitant expressions of the masters of Fengxing Pavilion, Qiu Jing said with a more accent: "Don't forget, Meng Qi was the national teacher of the former dynasty, although it was the Chu dynasty that destroyed the Xiliang kingdom, the Chu dynasty was basically already at this time. No, only the three kings of Chu are left. If the people of Xiliang are determined to restore the country, as long as their leader is not a fool, they will not waste their energy to seek revenge on Meng Qi, and for Meng Qi... why does he have to stop this group Are you from Xiliang?"
Everyone was shocked when they heard the words, and then their color changed.
Qiu Jing sighed and continued in a deep voice: "Meng Qi is alone and has nothing to do with him. It's easy for a master like him to hide in the mountains and forests so that no trace of him can be found. Isn't that what he did for many years? Whether the world is surnamed Lu or Li, whether the Xiliang people are in power or the king is granted the throne, will he care? It is us, not Meng Qi, who will be affected if they are truly threatened."
"But Meng Guoshi..."
The experts of Fengxing Pavilion were hesitant to say anything.
They want to say that Meng Qi should not be someone who just sits and ignores it
The founding hero of the Chu Dynasty, who is famous in the history, everyone knows what kind of person he used to be. When Meng Qi appeared in front of people, they subconsciously doubted, and when they encountered a dangerous situation, they instinctively believed this person, which was contradictory enough.
Qiu Jing did not say a word.
Yes, Meng Qi may not be a "shepherd", not a person who treats the people as cattle and sheep, but—
"A ruler is short, an inch is long, and the chaos is about to break out, who can stop it? When the people of the world are working together, if you blindly rely on others to shelter from the wind and rain, and covet a little respite, I will be afraid in the future. It's a place to die without a burial."
Qiu Jing looked solemn, and everyone understood what she meant.
The people of Xiliang have conquered the world, will Meng Qi die? Will ink carp die
No, it doesn't even matter, the top experts just need to disappear into the mountains and forests, and it's them who really suffer.
If Fengxing Pavilion backs down at this time and does not contribute in time... there may be no chance again.
"Isn't it rumored in Runxian that the monster is alive? In addition to the current solar eclipse, we will start from here." Qiu Jing's eyes had firm and firm belief, and she calmly commanded, "The rumors spread, and the disaster will start in the northwest and reach the southwest. , the wolf's ambition is to swallow the sun and the moon."
***
As the saying goes, with a waist of 100,000 kangaroos, riding a crane down to Yangzhou.
In fact, Jingzhou, adjacent to Yangzhou, was more prosperous before the rise of salt merchants.
In ancient times, Jingzhou was a place where famous people came out in great numbers. The soil was fertile, and there were eight counties and twenty-seven counties under its jurisdiction. It is a pity that after the fall of the Chu Dynasty, the north and the south were divided into rivers, and Jingzhou was forcibly divided into two parts, the northern part was smaller and the southern part was larger.
In this way, large tracts of land have been converted into military camps, where troops from both sides are stationed.
Most of them are navy.
Most of the troops of the Qi Dynasty were from the north, and they were not good at water warfare. Although they managed to build a navy division, none of the generals and soldiers were willing to take the initiative to fight the Chu regime in the south.
The navy soldiers were reluctant, because they were mostly recruited for the local area, and their ancestors were closely related to the Jiang side; the generals were reluctant, because they did not accept the throne that the Lu family had won, why would they want to usurp the throne and seize power? The villain conquers the world? Fighting with blood and fighting all his belongings to the south, he will be rewarded at most, and he must also beware of being hidden by the Qi Emperor.
Besides, since Lu Zhang came to power, in order to prevent others from gaining military power and forcing the palace to rebel, he repeatedly suppressed the military generals. In addition, the civil servants in the court who did not do anything were fanned the flames, and the Qi Dynasty military generals group had long been complaining.
Although the treatment of the Jingzhou defenders was better than that of the frontier army, it was not much better.
There is no hunger, there is no sand in the rice porridge, and the cotton-padded clothes are not stuffed with paper.
Some people in the south wanted to make money, but the Qi Dynasty in the north was short of money.
"… Hey, what's the fight! Nobody wants to fight unless it's too long?"
The river is long, and there are two small boats hidden in the reeds. The boatmen are born in five and three thick, and there is no fishy smell on their bodies. They look like they were born in the army.
"Well, is it really possible to cross the river here?"
It was an old woman who was talking, and she was holding a child in her hand.
"Master, Laoshen's son and daughter-in-law are gone, and all the relatives who can defect are on the other side. Laoshen can't swing his hoe and can't make money, so he just hopes to entrust his grandson to the same clan on the Jiang side. Baojia sees Laoshen as pitiful, Saying that we can cross the river here, I beg the official to do well and give my grandson a way to live!"
The old woman said that she was about to kowtow, and the boatman waved his hands again and again: "What official, there is no official here, you can cross the river if you give enough money."
The old woman hurriedly took out an old purse, emptied it, and handed over half the money tremblingly.
"That's it?" The boatman looked at it with disgust. "This is only enough for one person's boat. Our court and King Jing over there have stipulated that the board is not allowed to go down the river. What we did is a head-scratching business."
With tears all over her face, the old woman knelt down and didn't get up.
The boatman frowned in annoyance, and looked into the reeds again.
I saw three people standing on the shore, a man who looked like a businessman, and the other two looked extraordinary.
The man on the left was wearing a washed-white coat, dressed as an old boy, and carrying a dilapidated book bag. Although his clothes were poor, his eyes were bright. He had grey beard and silver hair. . The one next to him stood a little further away, with white hair and white beard, like a hermit in the mountains, with a look of Xiao Yan who was far away and did not touch the fireworks of the world.
Although they were dressed in plain clothes and had nothing long, as long as they were not blind, they could see at a glance that they were not ordinary people.
The boatman seemed to be taken aback, and just squinted at the other side.
Xingshang timidly avoided it, and Lao Tongsheng slowly paced over, opened the book bag, and gave the boatman the money.
The boatman weighed it and saw that it was a solid copper coin from Qi Chao, his face suddenly opened with a smile, and his eyes were desperately looking into the book bag.
As a result, I only saw some semi-new clothes, the material is muslin, other than herbs, books, ink, brushes and so on. The boatman pouted, looked away reluctantly, and waved impatiently, "Get on the boat."
The hermit-like person bowed his head slightly when he passed by the crying old woman.
The old woman hurriedly kowtowed to him, as if to beg for money.
"It's alright, don't be a jerk there. Today's business is inhospitable and dissatisfied. The horizontal and vertical are empty boats crossing the river to bring goods. There are not many with you. Come up." The boatman looked at the sky and strode to the riverside. .
The old woman was overjoyed, and hurriedly dragged her grandson, clutching her baggage tightly, and jumped on the boat in front of the two grey-bearded and silver-haired old men, as if she was afraid that the boatman would go back on it.
It was getting dark, and the boatman untied the ropes, greeted the two squatting companions who were smoking pot bags, and boarded the boat together.
Accompanied by the creaking sound of the boat scull, the boat traveled through the reeds as high as one person against the shore.
The old woman huddled in the corner of the cabin with her grandson in her arms, but the traveling businessman seemed to be relieved, and smiled and took the initiative to greet the boatman: "Why did you come in person today, Master Chang, I'm really sorry for being a little kid. , this is money for tea for the brothers."
The boatman raised his hand and took the purse, saying in his mouth, "Hey, it's all to blame for the next day's dog eating the sun, the fart is unlucky! A bunch of bastards are as timid as mice, and they won't come out, shouldn't I have to go out in person? It takes only three days to go once, and this is one less entry, how can I explain it to the above?"
The traveling merchant nodded again and again: "That's what it is, it's not easy."
After speaking, he glanced at the bow of the boat again, and flattered: "Chang Ye is a bodhisattva, so I don't want to spare that old woman half a coin, and you don't even want those two."
The boatman followed and looked at the two people standing on the bow, and said with a smile: "Originally, this boat's price, whoever is, is one price that goes back, and another price that doesn't turn back. Those gang of boys will only catch The fat sheep and big fish are blackmailing, but the tricks are not polished. Wang San, what do you think those two people came from?"
"This... may be a well-known scholar."
The merchant on foot was very cautious, and the boatman shook his oars and said in a low voice, "That's right, their clothes are shabby, but the inner clothes in their luggage are made of good materials. Can ordinary people afford them?"
"That-"
There was a stern look in the eyes of the traveling merchant, and he pretended to be submissive again in a flash.
The boatman glanced at him indifferently and taught a lesson: "Wang San, Wang San, you have been working for our general for so many years, why are you still looking like you can't hold back your breath? Even if they are extraordinary, so what if they carry money with them? Scholars are the most difficult to handle, especially this kind of old man who is buried up to his neck. Maybe there is an old friend of the same year who is an official, and there are people here and there. Not to mention blackmail and humiliation, if you rob and kill... You think that no one will pursue their whereabouts, and then no one will die, just those of us who are running errands below."
The traveling merchant came to a sudden realization, and at the same time understood why the boatman was so talkative, so he took the old woman with him.
"So, you should respect this kind of person and take the money and send them there." The boatman said, sighing, "Are there still fewer scholars who have been going to the south over the years? The south is rich and prosperous, The north is dry, everyone thinks that Jiangnan is good... In fact, except for famous scholars and great scholars, such as the squires and scholars who escaped with their families, I can feel regretful!"
"How do you say that?"
The sudden sound startled the boatman and the traveling merchant, and when he looked up, he saw that the old man who looked like a hermit had arrived here at some point.
The boatman thought to himself why this man walked silently, the river was swaying with wind and waves, and the boat was not moving steadily, but the two of them stood at the bow of the boat looking at the scene as if nothing had happened. He wiped his face immediately, guessing that it was someone with a history, but it had nothing to do with him, so he waved his hand as if he was inadvertently saying, "It's my nonsense that disturbed the purity of the old man."
"It doesn't matter." Lao Tongsheng also walked over slowly, his beard and hair neat, his face clear, and the moment he spoke, it made people invisibly half short.
The so-called "living, moving, nourishing, moving", people's behavior and tone of speech are all different.
When the boatman came back to his senses, he realized that he was half-bowed.
He cursed inwardly, but fortunately, he didn't lose his head, this is trouble.
This "boatman" surnamed Chang didn't want to get in trouble at all, he squeezed out a bit of a smile and said briskly, "Well, what I'm going to say later will be blown away by the wind on the river. Jiang, don't take it to heart, old man, I don't recognize it either."
The hermit frowned.
The boatman put down his oars and smoked his cigarette pot bag and said, "We are in drought in the north, and the grains are not harvested. In the south, the weather is good and the weather is good, and what is planted is not false. But the premise is that you can buy land. In other words, buy You have to be able to keep it! No, there was a life lawsuit in Jingzhou last month. Li Xiucai's family has a family of cultivators who have cultivated and studied 20 acres of good land. I bought it. Twenty acres, I gave three taels of silver... Li Xiucai had no way to file a lawsuit, and the family hung directly at the gate of the state government. The door is here. What about the south? People pulled down the mass grave and lost it, nothing happened."
"How unreasonable!"
"Old man, calm down and talk about being a scholar. How many ordinary country gentlemen are ruined for this family. This is the south side, looking at the prosperity of the world, everyone is prosperous, but if you honestly become a tenant, everyone in the family will have food to eat, and you will be so poor. Peace of mind, I'm afraid that you have a family."
The boatman continued slowly, "For example, Li Xiucai, is he provoking someone? No, his family is honest and responsible. Is that his family's fertile fields and attractive? No, put it on The north is considered fertile, but the south is nothing. I know that my old man wants to ask, where did the disaster come from? Hey, there were scattered fields near his home, but they were gradually bought by the powerful over the years. It looked so refreshing, but in the middle, 20 acres of the Li family were included. This makes people unhappy. All directions are their own, and the middle is someone else's. What's the matter? The Li family is also pedantic. If he refuses to sell his ancestral property, if he is willing to suffer a little loss, it would be fine to sell the land to get the money. But now, Li Xiucai, who is not enough money at the market price, is not reconciled, and as a result, his family is ruined."
Saying that, the boatman suddenly felt goosebumps all over the back of his neck.
This... murderous
The boatman was startled and looked up quickly.
The old man who looked like a hermit walked to the side of the ship, as if looking at the scenery.
In fact, in this dark day, the moon has not yet come out of the East Mountain, and the river water is not very beautiful, but the literati are a little stinky.
The boatman wanted to be a good-tempered scholar, and it was interesting to scold the whole article and set off a storm in the south of the Yangtze River.
"I can't read and have no knowledge, but I heard people say that it is better to be a peace dog than a troubled world... I think this is a wonderful saying. In a peaceful and prosperous world, only dogs can do it, and people can't do it." The boatman snorted haha. , continue rowing.
The author has something to say: Meng Qi: This is what Meng Guoshi looks like, with his head held high.jpg
Mo Li: ... I recalled Mr. Qin's dress up and followed it.
What is easy, the dragon pulse can be done with one click [no], you can change your body
Meng Qi: Doctor, you are 80 years old, you are so graceful, handsome and good-looking... A mountain [pharynta back the last three words]
Mo Carp: ... Forget it, it's better to be eighty years old than eight years old.
It is impossible for two fat dolls to cross the river in a boat arm in arm
——
Land annexation in feudal society is a very serious social problem.
In fact, there are some famous civil servants whose families bought fields and land in their hometowns, which caused many problems. Forcing buying and selling basic operations, others took the initiative to invest in basic national conditions with their fields. The more domineering thing is to directly take the people's fields after the catastrophe. occupied. When the exiled refugees returned to their homeland, they had no land to cultivate. When the imperial court built the dam, it only built the land to protect the officials' property, and the common people were left alone, and the flood washed them away. When the floods are released... the same is true.
The matter of Li Xiucai was the merger of the land, and the people at home were miserable from the land. Smart people may see the situation is not good, find that the surrounding land is divided up by one or several families, and quickly sell and run away when they see the signs.
So if you travel through and through the prosperous world, your land is fertile, and you focus on farming well... If you can't plant it, it must be overhead, or it must be overhead, otherwise the farming text can't be written, and if you don't work as an official, your family will be ruined.