The moon crossed the sky in the quiet night, and in the city above the earth, the lights were gradually extinguished, and after the darkest night, the fish belly white was revealed slightly from the winter sky.
The rooster croaked three times, and the city of Zezhou became lively again. The hawkers who got up early entered the city in a hurry, but today they were no longer in the mood to shout loudly. Most of them looked worried and uneasy. The patrolling yamen and arresters lined up in a long line to pass through the streets of the city. You Hongzhuo had already got up and watched a small group of soldiers pass by in a chilling manner, and then the soldiers who were escorting the bandits.
Most of the gangsters held by the soldiers who entered the city were wounded, and some were even covered in blood. Unlike the prisoners I saw yesterday who shouted that they were a hero after 18 years, the group in front of them occasionally opened their mouths with a hint of blood. An air of despair. If those who were killed yesterday wanted to show that "Grandpa is a hero", today's group of bandits are more like ghosts crawling out of a miserable and desperate situation, angry and yet people feel desolate.
"You look at the retribution!" A man covered in blood was tied with ropes, and was locked in a prison car at his last breath. Suddenly, he shouted to the outside, and the soldier next to him slammed the handle of his sword and slammed it down. Hit him in the mouth, the man fell down, his mouth full of blood, it is estimated that half of his teeth were severely smashed off.
There were voices of discussion in the crowd, panicking: "Hungry ghost... it's a hungry ghost..."
"Hundreds of thousands of people were scattered on the banks of the Yellow River... Arrived this morning..."
"If you can't get to the south... you will come to eat us..."
"Criminal..."
This morning, thousands of hungry ghosts have come from the south. As everyone said, if they can't cross the Yellow River, they will turn back and eat people. Zezhou is the cusp of the storm.
During the discussion among the crowd, You Hongzhuo watched the group of people pass by. Suddenly, something happened in front of him, and one of the officers and soldiers shouted loudly. You Hongzhuo turned his head to look, only to see a man stretched out his arm above a prison van, holding up a black cloth. The officer next to him saw it and shouted loudly. A soldier rushed up and swung a steel knife, cutting off the arm with one knife.
Blood was flying, and in the noisy voice, the wounded shouted: "I can't live anymore, what did the people who want to go to the south do wrong, what did they do wrong, you will starve them to death..."
His violent shouting was accompanied by the pain of breaking his hand, mixed with the exclamations of the crowd, which was especially sad, and the surrounding soldiers and officers were also drinking violently, and one person swung a long knife and stabbed him in the mouth. At this time, some people in the crowd also reacted and thought of another thing, only to hear someone whispering: "Black flag, black flag..." This voice spread like ripples in the crowd, You Hongzhuo was a little far away, I couldn't see clearly, but I already understood at this time that what the man was holding was probably the flag of the Black Flag Army.
The crowd discussed for a while, and then someone shouted: "What about the black flag!"
But it was the officer who led the team. He got off his horse, grabbed the black cloth on the ground, and held it up high.
"No matter what other people are, I, the people of Zezhou, live and work in peace and contentment, and have never competed with others. Hundreds of thousands of hungry ghosts traveled south, slaughtering several cities and killing lives, only then did our army dispatched to do justice for the heavens! Now I'm waiting for the king, Shitong Yi. The evil leader of the party has never affected others, so what else can I say! Brothers and sisters, my soldiers are here to protect the family and the country and protect everyone. Today, Zezhou is here, whether it is a hungry ghost or a black flag, as long as there is trouble , we will definitely give our lives to defend Zezhou, there is no ambiguity! As long as you live a good life, as usual, obey the law, then Zezhou will be peaceful, and no one will be able to move.”
The general's words were impassioned and loud, and when he finished speaking, he took out his steel knife and chopped the black flag into pieces. In the crowd, there was a sudden burst of shouting: "Okay"
Someone shouted: "That's right"
"I waited for the people of Zezhou, and I didn't provoke you"
"You are going to starve to death, then come to make trouble, what about the people you killed?"
"Bah, you beasts, if you really dare to come, I will kill you",
"dross!"
The emotions of the crowd had an outlet. Among the shouting and scolding, someone picked up a stone and hit the prison car. For a while, the sound of beating and scolding boiled over on the street, and it was like raindrops.
Outside Zezhou City, the army moved towards the south of the city like a long dragon, guarding the main roads outside the city, waiting for the arrival of the crowd of hungry ghosts still dozens of miles away. Even in this situation, the city gates of Zezhou have not been closed. On the one hand, the army appeases the hearts of the people, and on the other hand, it has strengthened its defenses in various parts of the city. General Sun Qi led the guards into the state capital and began to really sit in the center.
The wealthy gentry and big families in the city were even more flustered. They only visited Lu Anmin, who was relatively easy to talk about, last night. Looking at the army's posture today, it was obvious that they did not want to be forced to close the city by the refugees. They were in series, discussing whether to put together money and materials to ask the general to take it seriously, or to strengthen the guards of the soldiers in everyone's homes.
When the Wu Dynasty was prosperous before, there were occasional waves of refugees and hungry people in winter. Whether the big cities were closed at that time had to be considered. But now the situation is different. These hungry people have also been on the battlefield and killed people and even slaughtered the city. If they take the risk, even if the army can subdue them, if they are not stingy, they will be buried with them.
In the confusion of everyone, the local civilians in the cities have become turbulent, and they are not friendly to foreigners. On this afternoon, in the south of the city, the chaotic begging and migrating teams approached the soldiers' blocking point in twos and threes. Then, they saw the corpses and heads inserted on the flagpole in front. These were the corpses of Gu Dahao, Tang Side and others. There is also the body of Li Guifang, who was bombed to black and tattered. People can't recognize him, but they can more or less recognize the other one or two.
The crowd gathered more and more, their clothes were tattered, their stature was thin, and their hair was like grass. Some people were pushing unicycles, and some people were carrying some kind of baggage behind their backs, and most of them had the color of despair in their eyes. Most of them were not beggars. , Some even had a wealthy family when they set off to the south, but now they have become almost the same.
The crowd began to feel at a loss in front of the army and the corpses. After a long time, the white-haired old man brought a large group of people to kneel in front of the army, kowtow and begged for worship, and the crowd burst into tears. The human wall formed by the army was unmoved. In the evening, the military officials who led the team waved their hands, and the carts containing porridge and steamed buns were pushed out, and the hungry people began to line up to receive food.
With food, large tracts of hungry people began to obey the command of the army. The officers in front looked at all this with smug expressions on their faces. In fact, without their leaders, most of them were civilians who could not do much harm.
Threats, incitement, strikes, divisions... That night, what the army did outside the city was introduced into Zezhou City, and the people in the city were enthusiastic, and they talked about what Sun Qi had done. Without the tens of thousands of refugees, even if there are bad people, they can't make waves. Originally, they thought that Sun Qi's army should not disperse the hungry ghosts by the Yellow River. The general is really the reincarnation of the Marquis of Wu, and the magic trick.
On this day, even in the temple of the Great Light Sect, You Hongzhuo could clearly feel the restless emotions in the crowd. People abused the hungry ghosts, the Black Flag Army, the world, and the Jurchen in a low voice, balancing their emotions in this way. Several groups of gangsters were found by the army from the city, and various small-scale fights took place. One of them was near the Daguang Temple. You Hongzhuo also quietly went over to watch the excitement. The gangsters who were fighting against the officers and soldiers were blocked in the room. Here, let the army shoot all the bows and arrows to death.
You Hongzhuo couldn't help but worry in his heart, in such a situation, individuals are powerless. There are many ways to hide in the old rivers and lakes that have been in the world for a long time, and there are also various ways to communicate with the underground and green forest forces, but You Hongzhuo is not familiar with these at this time. He was in a small mountain village, and his family was forced to death by the Daguang Sect. He could climb out of the pile of dead people and kill all the men and women in a small temple. At that time, he would put his life and death to the extreme. After all his life, he could ask for help Take a chance.
However, there is no point in fighting these armies desperately, and the end is only death.
When he entered Zezhou City, Mr. Zhao once got him a guide, but at this time, You Hongzhuo didn't know whether the guide was really useful. Gotta get out of here earlier.
He considered this matter, and felt that this emotion was too timid. Still undecided, the army came to Liang'an Inn that night, and started to check one by one. You Hongzhuo was ready to fight for his life, but fortunately that Zhang Lu Yin played a role, the other party asked a few questions, and finally left. .
After this little episode, he felt that he didn't need to leave immediately.
This day was the twenty-seventh of June in the eighth year of Jianshuo, and there were four days before the day when Wang Shitong was to be beheaded. During the day, You Hongzhuo continued to go to the Daguang Temple, waiting for the appearance of Tan Zheng and others. He listened to the news in the crowd, and knew that another person was arrested for robbery last night, and there were several waves of chaos, and some people even died in the east of the city. By the afternoon, Tan Zheng and the others hadn't appeared yet. He watched the sloping west, knowing that there might be no results today, so he left the temple.
Walking down a few streets, he found himself being targeted.
There were not many pedestrians on the street in the evening. When a man with a knife on the opposite side approached, two people from behind also surrounded him, forcing You Hongzhuo into the alley next to him. The martial arts of these three people seem to be quite high. You Hongzhuo took a deep breath, thinking about how to speak, and a figure came into his eyes on the other side of the alley.
"... Fourth brother." You Hongzhuo whispered softly. On the opposite side was his former "fourth brother" Kuang Wenbo. He was dressed in white and had a single whip on his back. He looked at You Hongzhuo with a faint smug look in his eyes.
You Hongzhuo calmed down and smiled: "Fourth brother, how did you find me?"
"The fifth brother taught me a truth, only a thousand days to be a thief, and there is no thousand days to prevent a thief, if I did such a thing, and ran away from you, I can't just go to drink flowers and find fans carefree now. So, in order to wait for you, I also worked hard."
I did something like that... Hearing these words, You Hongzhuo sighed in his heart.
"Then... Fourth brother..." His heart was heavy, and it was a little difficult to speak at this time, "A few brothers and sisters, are you still alive?"
Kuang Wenbo looked at him, was silent for a long time, and suddenly smiled: "How is it possible, in your opinion." He reached out and touched the single whip, "I am really relieved that you are gone today."
"But... why is this?" You Hongzhuo said loudly, "We have sworn in!" (.)