He had known for a long time that the current situation in Shandong was not good, and he had already made psychological preparations for it, but when he crossed Jishui and entered Shandong, Chen Yingliang really understood what it means to have bones exposed in the wild and no rooster crowing for thousands of miles.
Looking around, the north of Jishui River is completely deserted. There are no crops in the fields on both sides of the official road. They are covered with all kinds of weeds and thorns in a mess. Occasionally, there are human bones in vain. Crows and sparrows gather in large groups. Together, seeing people come and scream and fly away, the sound makes people feel flustered when they hear it.
Almost all the villages along the way have been turned into ruins. Occasionally, there are some people in the village, and there are also some hungry refugees with yellow faces, skinny clothes and ragged clothes. Most of them are too hungry to walk. They don’t hide when they see the army, and their expressions are numb. They just silently watched Chen Yingliang and his party pass by. Among them are some strong men who don't know what they eat to maintain nutrition. They are unkempt and disheveled, holding simple wooden knives and bamboo guns. Looking at the dry food bags carried by Chen Yingliang and his party, their eyes are shining green, but they are afraid of the hands of Chen Yingliang's followers. With sharp swords and guns in his eyes, he didn't dare to rush up to stop the snatching.
Occasionally, a few skinny people knelt by the roadside, weeping and hoarsely begging for food from Chen Yingliang's team, but this time, including the kind-hearted Mulan, they chose to turn a blind eye, as if they hadn't seen it, and rode on Walking straight in front of these people, only Chen Yingliang reined in his horse in front of a woman holding a child, and threw two pieces of bread and a handful of copper coins to the ground. However, after patting the horse and walking away, Qin Qiong beside him said: "Deputy envoy, the general knows that you are a poor woman and child, but you only hurt her by doing this."
"What do you mean?" Chen Yingliang asked.
Qin Qiong turned her face away, not daring to make eye contact with Chen Yingliang, and said in a low voice, "You'll know right away."
Qin Qiong hadn't finished speaking when a woman's cries and screams came from behind her. Chen Yingliang hurriedly looked back, only to see that many hungry refugees had surrounded the woman and child, and were rushing to snatch his handouts. The woman tried her best to stop them, but was severely beaten. Chen Yingliang was furious, drew his sword and returned to his horse, and rushed to save the woman. Qin Qiong and Zhang Xutuo arranged for a hundred cavalrymen to accompany him, fearing that Chen Yingliang might lose something, so they hurried back to help, and helped Chen Yingliang disperse the hungry people easily and rescued the girl. woman.
The skinny woman who was already hungry was rescued, but the two pieces of bread that Chen Yingliang gave her were missing. At the same time, the woman hugged her child and burst into tears. It turned out that she was in the chaos just now. The child who was still in his infancy had been trampled to death by the motley crowd, and even his brains had been trampled out. Blood and brains were sprinkled all over the rags that wrapped the child, and his appearance was appalling.
"My child! My child!" The emaciated woman's heart-piercing cry echoed in Chen Yingliang's ears, directly penetrated into Chen Yingliang's heart, and stabbed Chen Yingliang's little conscience until it bleeds and hurts. Chen Yingliang understood what Qin Qiong said just now. In this land of Shandong where hungry people are everywhere, sympathizing with a hungry person will only harm her.
Standing in front of the crying woman for a long time, Chen Yingliang suddenly pulled up his horse and walked north, shouting loudly as he walked, "One day, I want this world to return to peace and prosperity!"
Hearing Chen Yingliang's outrageous shouts, the expressions of the accompanying officers and soldiers of Qi County were numb, and their emotions did not fluctuate at all, because since March of the sixth year of their great cause, the Sui Army of Qi County has always been the counterinsurgency on the land of Shandong. The main force, conquering east and west, fighting south and north, fought across the border more than once, suppressed rebellion and suppressed bandits, but no matter how hard and tired they were, the more bandits and thieves were suppressed, and the world became more and more chaotic. Like cutting leeks, one crop after another is harvested, but it can't be cut cleanly. It is already a luxury to be able to return to my hometown and reunite with my family as soon as possible, let alone a peaceful and prosperous age.
Menghai City is about two hundred and forty miles away from Dong'e, which is not too far away. Zhang Xutuo arranged for Chen Yingliang's entourage and guards to be cavalry, and they moved quickly, so even if the road was not peaceful, Chen Yingliang and his party only took two days. After a long time, they arrived at Dong'e County in Jibei County, and then, led by Qin Qiong, who knew the way, went directly to the turtledove shop at the foot of Yushan. During this period, Qin Qiong also told Chen Yingliang with some pride that this fish mountain in Dong'e was originally a natural lair for bandits and thieves, but it was because of the bravery of the villager team organized by Cheng Yaojin that they cooperated closely with the officers and soldiers. He suppressed the Yushan bandits several times in their infancy, but they have never been able to grow, nor have they been able to threaten Cheng Yaojin's hometown, the Turtle Dove Shop.
He already knew that Cheng Yaojin was a great general, and after hearing Qin Qiong's bragging, Chen Yingliang could not wait to fly directly to the Turtle Dove Shop to invite Cheng Yaojin out of the mountain, and treat himself as an accomplice. He was so impatient. Ruliao, but that's okay, the Turtle Dove Shop was originally located in the southwest of Dong'e, Chen Yingliang and his party didn't even have to go to Dong'e County, they came directly next to the Turtle Dove Shop, and finally came to the legendary hometown of the incarnate demon king Cheng Yaojin.
What shocked Chen Yingliang was that in order to protect the villagers' clans more effectively, Cheng Yaojin actually built a large Wubao in his hometown. At the same time, Chen Yingliang and his party had just seen the tower of Wubao, and there was a small group of town soldiers He stopped the team of Chen Yingliang and the others, and carefully inquired about the purpose of Chen Yingliang and the others. Qin Qiong directly told the village chief who led the team, saying: "Go and tell Cheng Achou to get out and kneel down to welcome me, Qin Shubao! I'm late, I don't care, I don't recognize people with knives! "
"General, do you know our brother Cheng?" The township fire chief was shocked by Qin Qiong's tone, and asked very cautiously and respectfully.
"Nonsense!" Qin Qiong said with a smile: "When I knew Cheng Achou, you guys should still have a runny nose with your bare buttocks! Don't be wordy, report it quickly."
"General, it's not that we didn't report it, it's that brother Cheng is not here." The township fire chief said in a very embarrassed way: "Brother Cheng went to Yuancheng and hasn't come back yet, so we can't report it for you."
"Ah Chou went to Yuancheng? What did he do in Yuancheng?" Qin Qiong was startled, and hurriedly asked: "Who is in charge of Wubao in Turtle Dove Shop now?"
"What brother Cheng is doing in Yuancheng, I don't know." The township fire chief replied truthfully: "Now the second brother Niu is in charge of Wubao."
"Second Brother Niu?" Chen Yingliang's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Second Brother Niu, what's your name?"
"Niu Jinda." The township fire chief replied truthfully.
"Niu Jinda?" Qin Qiong, who had never heard of this name, was a little puzzled. He didn't quite understand why Cheng Yaojin would reuse such a newcomer as his deputy, but Chen Yingliang beside him had his eyes shining, and hurriedly ordered: "Quick, hurry up and call!" I told Niu Jinda that Chen Yingliang, deputy envoy of the twelve prefectures of the Henan Province in the Sui Dynasty who had deposed for the arrest, and the governor of Qiao prefecture, Chen Yingliang, would come to visit him and ask him to receive him!"
The township fire chief was taken aback by Chen Yingliang's long and awkward official name, and hurriedly asked Chen Yingliang for his official name again. It was not until Chen Yingliang repeated it again that the township fire chief hurried back to Wubao to report the letter, and Chen Yingliang and others went straight forward , and went straight to wait in front of the gate of Wubao. Qin Qiong naturally had to ask Chen Yingliang why he was so polite to Cheng Yaojin's deputy, Niu Jinda. If it is done well this time, it is likely to buy chickens with cages, and by the way, get another general.
Probably intimidated by Chen Yingliang's official status, not long after, a tall young man led a group of villagers to welcome them out of Wubao, saluted Chen Yingliang and the others very carefully, and said respectfully: Niu Jinda, the deputy leader of Xiangyong, has seen all the generals, who is Chen Fushi?"
Chen Yingliang first carefully observed Niu Jinda, who is also a future famous general of the Tang Dynasty, and found that he is only in his twenties, and he is at least 1.85 meters tall. Gengxi hurriedly stepped forward to help Niu Jinda himself, and said with a smile: "Please stand up, Mr. Niu Zhuang, I am Chen Yingliang."
"You are Chen Yingliang? Chen Yingliang, the Deputy Envoy of the Twelve Counties?" Niu Jinda was a little dumbfounded. He never thought that the half-grown boy in front of him, who was seventeen or eighteen years old, with a greasy hair and flour face, was actually quite old now. Chen Yingliang, a well-known anti-insurgency general.
"Of course, if it's fake." Chen Yingliang smiled, and had to imitate Yang Zhiji again, and took out the copper fish amulet he had just received to prove his identity as an official. As a result, Niu Jinda, who was quite literate, was shocked and turned pale immediately. Chen Yingliang saluted and pleaded guilty, and then ordered all the townspeople to also salute Chen Yingliang, and respectfully invited Chen Yingliang and his party to station in Wubao.
Under Niu Jinda's leadership, he went into the Wubao hall and sat down. Chen Yingliang was not polite, and directly explained his intention to Niu Jinda, saying that he was recommended by Qin Qiong, and came here specially to invite Cheng Yaojin to join the army and become an official. Qin Qiong also explained his relationship with Cheng Yaojin to Niu Jinda. Niu Jinda was overjoyed and quickly introduced himself, saying that he is from Puyang Leize in Dongjun County. Ah, he was recruited by Cheng Yaojin into the Yongjiu team in the township of Jiujiudian, and because of his bravery in combat and his meritorious service in defending the Jiujiudian and killing the enemy, he was promoted by Cheng Yaojin to be his deputy.
After secretly praising Cheng Yaojin for his knowledge, Chen Yingliang hurriedly asked Cheng Yaojin why he was going to Yuancheng. Niu Jinda replied truthfully: "Brother Cheng is going to Yuancheng for the purpose of purchasing pig iron. There are too many, and the price of pig iron is too expensive. We found out that the price of pig iron in Yuancheng is relatively cheap. Brother Cheng personally took some people to Yuancheng to buy some back to make weapons and armor. A few feet of money."
"What a coincidence." Chen Yingliang was a little annoyed that his military luck was still too bad, so he hurriedly asked, "Niu Zhuangshi, when will Cheng Zhuangshi come back?"
"I don't know. When Brother Cheng left, he didn't say when he would be back." Niu Jinda replied truthfully.
Chen Yingliang was a little embarrassed, because Zhang Xutuo and the Qiaojun army were still waiting in Menghai City, and he couldn't stay here for a long time. But fortunately, Niu Jinda added another sentence, saying: "But he should be back soon. Brother Cheng went to Yuancheng five days ago, and Yuancheng is not too far from here. It's just a little more than a day's journey. If all goes well, In a couple of days, Brother Cheng will be back."
After heaving a sigh of relief, Chen Yingliang made some calculations and said, "Niu Zhuangshi, can you please send a few people to meet Cheng Zhuangshi on the road, and if you meet him, please come back quickly. I have something important to do with him." Discuss. Also, I plan to rest here temporarily for a day. Can I provide housing for my team? As for the food, don’t worry, I will immediately send someone to contact the Dong’e County Magistrate and ask him to send a batch of grain here for delivery. We do it ourselves."
Seeing Chen Yingliang's prominent official position, Niu Jinda of course agreed to Chen Yingliang's request, and immediately organized the township soldiers to provide housing and accommodation for the Sui army, and generously provided food for the Sui army to prepare meals for the Sui army. In order not to create a burden on a small village such as the Turtle Dove Shop, Chen Fushi, who loves the people like a child, naturally had to abuse his power. He immediately wrote a pen and ordered Dong'e County Magistrate Xia Weitong to quickly dispatch and transport a batch of grain and grass to the Turtle Dove Shop for use.
As soon as Gong Wen sent someone to send it out, Cheng Yaojin's old lady also came to the hall and met Qin Qiong who hadn't seen each other for many years. Niu Jinda, who worked for Jin, dared not neglect even more, and hurriedly ordered people to prepare food and drinks, and hosted a banquet for Chen Yingliang and Qin Qiong and his party.
The main show started, in order for Cheng Yaojin to obediently follow him to Qiao County to work as a cow and a horse, Chen Yingliang naturally had to reveal his official status to Cheng's mother, and tried his best to persuade Cheng's mother to let Cheng Yaojin become an official and serve under his command , He also promised to find an official official position for Cheng Yaojin, and promised to give it to him. From the perspective of caring for her son, Cheng's mother certainly didn't want her son to stay in a small village like Turtle Dove Shop for the rest of her life. She also heard that Chen Yingliang had traveled hundreds of miles to recruit her son. She felt that Chen Yingliang was very sincere, so she decided to He also agreed to persuade his son to accept Chen Yingliang's solicitation. Chen Yingliang was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked Cheng's mother again and again, and made it clear that he would take Cheng's mother to go south to live in the relatively peaceful Qiao County.
After persuading Cheng's mother, who had hoped for his son Jackie Chan, Chen Yingliang immediately turned around and began to recruit Niu Jinda with his tongue, urging Niu Jinda not to bury his talents in the mountains and forests, but to seize the opportunity to serve the country in the ranks of the army and serve the country faithfully. Get promoted and get rich, and in the future, you will be awarded a marquis and a noble wife and son. Although Niu Jinda couldn't understand why Chen Yingliang was so optimistic about him when they met for the first time, he was still very tempted by Chen Yingliang's recruitment and said that he could consider going to Qiao County with Cheng Yaojin to join the army and be Chen Yingliang's thugs and accomplices.
At this point in the matter, there is actually no big problem. As long as Cheng Yaojin comes back, let's say Cheng Yaojin takes a post in Qiao County, Chen Yingliang can bring Cheng Yaojin and Niu Jinda, the two thugs, back to Qiao The county continued to help Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty to abuse him. However, I don't know whether Chen Yingliang's general luck is extremely bad, or God really doesn't want Chen Yingliang, who has done all kinds of evil, to get his wish. It just so happened at this time...
"Second Brother Niu, Second Brother Niu, it's not good! It's a disaster! It's a disaster!"
When Chen Yingliang and Niu Jinda were promoting cups and changing cups, at this moment, a few dusty Xiangyongs suddenly stumbled into the hall and shouted from a distance: "Second Brother Niu, what a disaster! Brother Cheng was arrested by the Yuancheng government!"
Chen Yingliang and Niu Jinda stood up almost at the same time, but Cheng Mu's face changed drastically, and she almost fell off the chair. Fortunately, Mulan helped her in time. Immediately afterwards, Chen Yingliang and Niu Jinda asked almost at the same time: "For what?"
"Brother Cheng, he killed the son of the county magistrate of Yuancheng!" The village soldier who came back to report the letter said with tears in his voice, "He killed the son of the county magistrate in the city, but he couldn't escape and was stopped by Yuancheng officers and soldiers. After entering the city, he was arrested by the officers and sent to death row, and all the pig iron we bought was also confiscated!"
Hearing this, Cheng's mother fainted immediately, but Chen Yingliang wanted to point the middle finger at the sky and scold the thief God, but Niu Jinda and Qin Qiong were calmer, asking for details while asking for Cheng's mother to be rescued. After being introduced by Xiangyong who came back to report the letter, Chen Yingliang and others knew that Cheng Yaojin and his party went to Yuancheng to buy pig iron. Everything went smoothly, but no one expected that two days later, Cheng Yaojin was going to leave Yuancheng and return to Turtle Dove. While in the store, I happened to come across a young woman molesting a common girl. Of course, the chivalrous Cheng Yaojin stepped forward to stop him, and clashed with the young woman. Yao Jin's shot was too heavy, and Huahua Eishao's body was too weak, he stretched his leg and died on the spot after falling to the ground.
It's okay to accidentally kill someone by mistake, but what makes people vomit blood is that this flamboyant young man happens to be the only son of Yuancheng County Magistrate Murong Chou. As a result, Murong Chou was furious, and of course immediately closed the four gates and searched for him throughout the city. The murderer, and also invited the garrison outside the city to help, Cheng Yaojin failed to escape outside the city in time, and was caught in a urn by Yuancheng officers and soldiers, and was taken into prison. The pig iron he finally bought was all He was confiscated, and many of his accompanying companions were also arrested. Fortunately, a few Xiangyong escaped by chance and hid in the city overnight. After the city gate was martial law yesterday morning, they immediately fled back to report.
After listening to this extremely bloody introduction, Cheng's mother, who had finally been rescued, burst into tears, while Qin Qiong and Niu Jinda were very anxious, and then very naturally, Niu Jinda immediately discovered Chen Yingliang's existence, and hurriedly told Chen Yingliang Make a plea, asking Chen Yingliang to come forward to rescue. Chen Yingliang smiled wryly and said, "Niu Zhuangshi, you don't need to tell me, I will reach out, but Yuancheng is under the jurisdiction of Wuyang County, and Wuyang County happens to be not among the twelve counties in Henan, so it is difficult for me to reach out."
"Vice Envoy Chen, can you find a way to intercede and ask Yuancheng County Magistrate to let Brother Cheng come back?" Niu Jinda said hastily.
"Of course I can come forward to intercede." Chen Yingliang said with a wry smile, "But the one Cheng Yaojin killed was none other than the county magistrate's only son. I didn't take care of him, so even if he came forward, he would give face."
Niu Jinda was stunned, but Qin Qiong quickly said: "Vice Envoy Chen, you can go through the official channel, and go to the imperial court to ask the Holy One to investigate the matter thoroughly. Ah Chou is not guilty of injustice. As long as the imperial court sends someone to find out the facts, Ah Chou You can't die if you're ugly."
"If I do this, then Cheng Yaojin will die." Chen Yingliang said with a sneer: "Shubao, you can be regarded as an official of the court. Don't you know how many twists and turns these local officials have? Not to mention that the emperor is in Zhuo County, it is very difficult for my memorial to be delivered even if it is difficult for the imperial court's investigation envoy to arrive in Yuancheng to investigate the case within ten and a half months. Revenge, a sack can kill Cheng Yaojin."
"Then what should we do?!"
Cheng's mother burst into tears, and hurriedly came to Chen Yingliang, saluted and bowed, begged Chen Yingliang to rescue her son, crying bitterly, but Chen Yingliang hurriedly returned the salute and said, "Old lady, please don't worry, the younger generation is here for you." Since he has something to do, it is my duty to do so, of course I will not stand by and watch, don't worry, I will go to Yuancheng right away, and no matter what I do, I will definitely rescue Cheng Yaojin."
Cheng's mother was overjoyed, and quickly thanked Chen Yingliang. Chen Yingliang immediately ordered Qin Qiong to arrange ten soldiers to accompany him on the road, and asked Niu Jinda to accompany him. Mulan led the rest of the soldiers to stay here and wait, and Mulan reluctantly agreed. While making tense arrangements, while Chen Yingliang was thinking hard about the rescue strategy, he suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly asked Niu Jinda: "Niu Zhuangshi, the Xiangyong you reported to the letter just now said that the Murong county magistrate used the city Cheng Yaojin was captured by the foreign garrison, whose subordinate is the garrison in Yuancheng?"
"It should be a subordinate of Wuyang County Cheng Yuanbaozang." Niu Jinda replied truthfully: "The seat of Yuanbaozang is also in Yuancheng, so it should be his subordinate."
"There is hope." Chen Yingliang was overjoyed immediately, and hurriedly said, "Although I have never seen Yuan Treasure Treasure, I know Yuan Wendu, the patriarch of the Yuan Clan, and I helped Yuan Wendu a lot during the Eastern Capital War last year. With this relationship, I should have the hope that Yuan Baozang will come forward to suppress this Murong Qiang and rescue Cheng Yaojin."