... Although Shen Zangfeng was reluctant to leave his wife, he still rejected Wei Changying's suggestion after careful consideration. The reason is that he still doesn't know how important the expert in Diecuiguan is. If he has a false reputation, it would be okay for Wei Changying to follow him; but if that person is really talented, Shen Zangfeng cannot let him go. You must find ways to get people to serve under you.
The key is that this expert has repeatedly rejected offers from other members of the Shen clan, including the former governor of Xiliang, which more or less left the impression that he was relying on his talents.
Therefore, Shen Zangfeng was worried that if this person was worth recruiting, it would be inconvenient to take Wei Changying there. The main reason is that he went alone, and the ready-made reason can be said to be that he made the trip specifically for this person, which shows his sincerity; but if he brought his wife... and let the other party know about it, he might misunderstand that he was traveling with his wife, and the solicitation was just a way - This kind of master who is truly knowledgeable and arrogant may think that Shen Zangfeng doesn't pay enough attention to him because of such a thing, so he puts on more airs...
Shen Zangfeng is racing against time now, and naturally he doesn't want such a possibility to ruin things.
After hearing her husband's explanation, Wei Changying had no choice but to give up and said, "I hope that person doesn't take advantage of Qiao too much." Because there were previous examples of Wei Xinyong concealing a surname close to that of Wei Changfeng, she reminded her husband again, "You should be more careful. Don't you think there are many traitors in the Wei people who have been bribed by the Di people? The Di people's raid on Diecuiguan failed last time. It was not a plan designed by both inside and outside, just to lure you there!" "
"Don't worry, the guards at Diecuiguan have found out all the generations of his ancestors and grandsons early in the morning." Shen Zangfeng said with a faint smile, "Besides, it was found that I had nothing to do with this person when I was assassinated last time."
Seeing that Wei Chang Ying was still worried, Shen Zangfeng laughed and hugged his wife, lowered his head and rubbed her cheek, and chuckled, "How can I take risks when I have a lovely wife in my arms and I haven't even seen my eldest son? Don’t worry, Ying’er, your husband’s life is extremely valuable now!”
The matter was settled, and early the next morning, Shen Zangfeng led "Ji Li" on horseback.
After sending her husband away, Wei Changying was in the mood to care about other things. The first thing he wanted to ask was: "Sister Xinmiao, have you received any news from the free clinic these days?"
Duanmu Xinmiao frowned and sighed: "It's a little bit, but I don't know if it can be accurate!"
Wei Changying just asked casually - she speculated in her heart that Ji Qubing's relatives might have died in the wilderness long ago. The reason why she gave Duanmu Xinmiao this free clinic was in the hope of just in case. When he saw it, he was surprised and said: "What is it? You might as well tell me so that I can give you the details."
"Zhu Lan and Zhu Shi found out that the direction in which the master's relatives escaped was the direction of Caojia Fort, and they might have been taken into Caojia Fort." Duanmu Xinmiao said with a frown.
Wei Changying asked in confusion: "In that case, why didn't you mention it earlier and send people to Cao's Fort to inquire about it?"
"How could I not mention it?" Duanmu Xinmiao snorted and said, "I just got this news, and my third brother is back. Sister-in-law, your heart is tied to your own husband, how can you control me? Here? I don’t dare to be a spoiler, but I’m just smart enough to find Manager Shen to entrust me with?”
Wei Changying smiled awkwardly and asked with concern: "What did Manager Shen say?" She thought to herself how powerful the Shen family was in Xiliang. Although Shen Youyi had been appointed as the manager of Mingpeitang not long ago, Firstly, the status of myself and Shen Zangfeng in the clan is gradually becoming more and more stable. I think that Shen Youyi, who has single-handedly supported the rise, will not be ignored; secondly, Shen Youyi's brother Shen Youjia is the captain of Xiliang. Even though he was still leading the army back on his way, with his connections as a captain for many years, now that Shen Youyi knew the place, he would have no problem checking up on the individual.
Unexpectedly, Duanmu Xinmiao frowned and said: "The place where Mr. Shen's pipe is located is too remote and no Shen clan members live there. So we have to send someone to ask. It will take at least ten days and a half to go back and forth. I still have to inquire." It’s better not to waste time. The people who went to inquire about the news haven’t come back yet!”
"Really?" Wei Changying had previously neglected Duanmu Xinmiao because of her husband's return. Of course he wanted to make up for it now, so he said diligently, "I have something to explain to him later, so I just want to ask you. If it's difficult to inquire over there, , and send some smart people."
After saying goodbye to Duanmu Xinmiao, Wei Changying asked Shen Youyi to come over and asked about Caojiabao. Unexpectedly, she just mentioned it, and Shen Youyi waved her hand with a wry smile. : "Aunt, you don't know, even if you don't call your nephew over now, your nephew will come to ask for an idea - Caojiabao sent people to ask more than ten years ago, where is the need now? Send someone else?"
Wei Changying was confused and said: "What?"
Shen Youyi leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice to explain: "Miss Duanmuba just sent the maid to talk to people seeking medical treatment during the free clinic, so that she could find out about Caojiabao. Where can we find out about it?" Don’t you know? As early as more than ten years ago, when Mrs. Song entrusted the Lord with the order to arrive in Xiliang, we sent people to Caojiabao to inquire. "
"Then what happened? Where did Doctor Ji's relatives go?" Wei Changying asked hurriedly.
Shen Youyi sighed: "I'm gone, but... the person is already dead!"
Wei Changying was shocked and said: "Dead?"
"Isn't that right?" Shen Youyi said with his hands raised. "Originally, the Ji family was born and raised in the imperial capital, so they are not used to the climate in Xiliang. In addition, the exiles have to do hard labor every day - of course, because of the Qian family after the abolition of Our family has taken care of it a little, but someone from the Deng family has bribed some people in the clan... My aunt is also from a wealthy family. When she knows that there are many people in the clan, not everyone may be on the same page. What's more, many of the people in the Ji family's exile are. They were women and children, and they died very quickly. The one who escaped seemed to be Ji Ying's youngest son Ji Gu. He was only fourteen years old at the time and had insufficient energy and blood. He was lucky to be able to escape from the police for a while... "
After Shen Youyi's detailed explanation, Guard Chief Ying realized that the reason why Ji Gu was able to escape this time was really an extremely rare thing - because of the bitter cold in Xiliang, although the police officers who guarded the exiled prisoners were able to blackmail the prisoners' families, Those who are reduced to being exiled must have lost power or not been taken seriously. Their income is limited and they are usually very poor.
The day before Ji Gu escaped, the police guarding their group happened to shoot a hare. There are quite a few people working together, and no matter how fat a hare is, it cannot be taken home and shared by several people. So the messengers decided to enjoy it on the spot and ordered the prisoners to cook the hare into broth for them. One of the two prisoners who were called to serve them was Ji Gu... He was called because he was thin and weak, and his work was always worse than others. If he was asked to serve there desperately, he couldn't do much.
It would be convenient to just send him to do some trivial things.
As a result, these policemen had become accustomed to tyrannizing over prisoners. Even if they knew Ji Gu's origin, they underestimated the century-old medical skills of the Ji family, especially Ji Ying's lineage. Ji Gu just carried the skinned hare to the stream to wash it in the sight of the police, and then cooked a pot of soup with another unfamiliar prisoner in full view of the public... Right here. In the meantime, he took the opportunity while cleaning rabbit meat by the stream to mix up a few herbs that can be said to be everywhere...or weeds in the eyes of ordinary people, and mixed up a pair of laxatives!
Not only that, God knows what method he used to put the medicine into the soup in front of the police...
So soon after those police officers ate rabbit soup, they all had diarrhea!
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ji Gu encouraged everyone to escape together. He and his only remaining brother Ji Jian were also among them - but Ji Jian was unlucky. He was discovered by the patrolling police not far away and was killed on the spot!
But this time, Ji Gu was lucky enough to run into Caojiabao.
Here we have to talk about Caojiabao. This place is called a fortress. There is indeed a fortress, but it is different from ordinary fortresses.
As mentioned before, some people were forced into desperation by taxes or land rent, and had to take the risk of cultivating and living in the wasteland at the junction of Wei and Di. At the risk of being massacred by the Di people and being held accountable by the Wei government, Caojiabao was struggling to survive - Caojiabao was such a place.
Ordinarily, if there are such disobedient and unruly people in the territory, the government will always suppress them. It's just that the terrain of Caojiabao's fortress is so good - the phrase "one man can guard the gate and ten thousand men cannot open it" was simply coined for this place!
According to Shen Youyi's description, this Caojia Fort actually has neither a fort wall nor any solid building - because it doesn't need it at all! This place is surrounded by steep cliffs on three sides, as if cut with a knife or an axe. The lowest part of the cliff is dozens of feet high! When the siege cloud chariot arrives, we can only look forward to it and sigh... In fact, the cloud chariot cannot arrive yet, because although the river at the bottom of the cliff is not very fast, it is enough to submerge the base of the cloud chariot...
Moreover, it is bitterly cold in Xiliang, and the cliffs are not covered with alfalfa like the cliffs in the south. It is completely impossible to expect that there is such an old vine that has grown for hundreds of years and is extremely tough for a surprise attack...
So unless you have wings, you can only think about attacking from three sides!
Besides, the remaining side is the only way up.
This road is a real trail! When we reach the trail, the most experienced porters have to lean over and hold on to the ropes to avoid rubbing against the rocks on both sides when picking up a basket...
Such a Jedi already makes those who want to attack despair!
The most terrible thing is that this Jedi place is not small! There are about three thousand people in Caojiabao. Not only can they live there together, there are even fields... and mountain springs... In addition to the need to go out to buy salt, they can completely seal off the only path and live leisurely. A paradise life, completely self-sufficient!
Although the Shen family has strong troops and horses, they are mostly prepared for the Di people. Previously, from Shen Youjia to Shen Zangfeng, they were all eyeing the life of Qiu Di's great Chanyu Mu Xiuer. How could they have the time to take care of such a group... uh, You can say that you are a traitor, but you cannot say that you are a traitor - Caojiabao has such a unique environment, but he has always been very cautious and did not do any unprofitable business, so he used the government to eradicate these people on the land of the Wei Dynasty. They have never been ranked among the strongholds that cultivated but did not pay taxes to the Wei Dynasty.
After all, they don't cause trouble - the matter of not paying taxes can be easily covered up. After all, Xiliang is not Jiangnan, and a large area of land has become a battlefield. I am afraid that even the officials in the yamen who specialize in this area don't know the exact number of acres - mainly because Today's fertile land may become a battlefield tomorrow; today's battlefield may be cultivated in a few days...
But if these people who are illegally cultivating crops still come out to do some business without capital during the slack period, the government cannot just sit back and watch!
After all, no one wants to worry about their own home while fighting against the Di people. Don't let robbers take advantage of it!
The Shen family is very strong in this regard. In the entire Xiliang territory, as soon as there are bandits, whether they are Di people jumping in or Wei people making trouble, they will be suppressed immediately! And for such gangsters, the Shen family never surrenders, usually leaving no chickens or dogs behind, and showing off their heads to the public!
So far, all those who dare to violate this rule have been spared, except for a very small number of people whose number is too small and whose hiding place is too secret for the army to annihilate.
The cleverness and topography of Caojiabao have been the basis for its existence for decades.
It's just that the successive owners of Caojia Fort were also very sensible. The number of people in the fort was always controlled at three thousand. After the number reached three thousand, if anyone tried to defect to the fort to make a living, they would use the excuse that there was no room in the fort and would not do it. Accept it.
In addition, we try our best to meet the moderate demands of the government, the Shen family, and some wealthy local families in Xiliang.
Therefore, everyone in Xiliang turned a blind eye to the existence of Caojiabao. After all, the people in Caojiabao are just making a living - even if the place pays taxes, they really can't collect much.
Anyway, there are only 3,000 people, so it can't be a big deal. If it does happen, it will always be a civil unrest, and it is difficult to completely hide it from the wind.
"... At that time, the clan sent an uncle to Cao Family Fort in person and brought Ji Gu's portrait. At that time, it had been more than ten years since Ji Gu escaped without a trace." Shen Youyi sighed, " He was a teenager when he escaped, and his appearance might change when he becomes an adult. But the clan thinks that he has good medical skills. How can there be too many doctors in the Cao Family Fort? After the fort, as long as you ask about the medical skills, you won't be able to find out the clues among the three thousand people!"
Wei Changying frowned and asked, "What then?"
"Then I found out that Caojiabao indeed rescued a young man in ragged clothes after Ji Gu escaped. This young man did have medical skills." Shen Youyi sighed, "It's a pity that this young man was killed by the people of Caojiabao." When he was rescued, he had not eaten for many days and was almost dying! Because he knew medical skills, he was brought into the fort as an exception... He nursed himself back to health for a while with the medicinal materials accumulated in the fort, but he survived... "
Wei Changying said in surprise: "Didn't he live? How did he die later?" (To be continued)