Therefore, both the brother and sister said that there must be someone who follows Yang Xianmao to see his relatives, and they must discuss with his relatives and ask Yang Xianmao to continue to help his father heal. They still have some savings, and they are willing to spend twice as much, because there is no choice at this time.

Yang Xianmao heard them so resolute, and he couldn't refuse. As soon as I rolled my eyes, I thought of an idea. Anyway, I saw that many houses were empty on the road, so it can be seen that many people in the city have fled. Just find a random family in these empty houses and say that they are their relatives. When the door was opened, he said that the whole family had fled, and he could follow the brothers and sisters to live in Luo's house. Anyway, this is also the Luo family's greatest wish, but Yang Xianmao must make up a lie for himself on the road.

At that moment, Yang Xianmao nodded in agreement, which made the Luo brothers and sisters extremely happy, and after discussion, they asked Luo Xiaomei to follow Yang Xianmao. Of course, Luo Dakuang's calculation in his heart is that his sister is a young and beautiful girl. If Yang Xianmao is not allowed to treat his father because of something delayed, it will be much more useful for his sister to beg than for a big man like him. Yang Xianmao can refuse a big man with a hard heart, but few young people can refuse a beautiful girl's pleading.

Yang Xianmao took Luo Xiaomei to Dongcheng, Luo Xiaomei's home is in Nancheng, Yang Xianmao should be as far away from their home as possible, so that she will not be familiar with it. lest they find a family that happens to be known to them, then the lie will be exposed. Although it is not a big deal, it may cause unnecessary doubts among the Luo family brothers and sisters and affect their future actions.

There were no horse-drawn carriages or ox carts for rent on the streets, and although there were some poor people who made their own hand-pushed carts to solicit business, Yang Xianmao certainly wouldn't sit on them. It is better to rely on someone else's feet than to rely on yourself. Looking at Luo Xiaomei's body, it is relatively strong, and it shouldn't be a problem to walk for a while.

Yang Xianmao deliberately looked around, saying that he had been here when he was very young, and most of these street scenes were similar to his childhood memories, but many of them were already very vague. So along the way, Luo Xiaomei introduced him to some of the main buildings along the way, including restaurants, inns and large shops.

They passed through the center of the city and saw the prefect's yamen in Longzhou, and Yang Xianmao couldn't help but be stunned when they saw this yamen, because this yamen was too dilapidated, and the green bricks and green tiles on it were already covered with grass. Looking through the walls, many of the tiles on the roof had fallen off. Holes in the roofs of the houses are also covered with weeds that have begun to turn yellow, proving that these buildings have gone through an unknown number of years.

There was no one at the entrance of the yamen, even the gatehouse was nowhere to be seen, and the door was closed. Yang Xianmao was a little strange, looked at the sky, it was just past noon, and it was still early before the time of the next ya, why did he close the door?

Luo Xiaomei saw Yang Xianmao's doubts, and said with a smile: "It was already like this before leaving the city, because it was rumored that the Jin army was going to fight over for a long time. Before the Jin army really began to fight, the Zhizhou who defended the city had already begun to focus on defending the city, collecting food everywhere, and preparing to recruit troops and horses. At the same time, he also collected all kinds of equipment for defending the city, and no longer focused on the work of the yamen. Lawsuits and other matters will be handed over to the local Lizheng, and what can be handled by Lizheng will be directly decided by Lizheng. If there is a murder, someone will be sent to investigate. However, the official business of the Yamen has basically stopped, so there are actually no people working in the entire Yamen. The prisoners in the prison were also released to the city tower to help defend the city, saying that this could be regarded as a meritorious service for the crime, and they could be lenient in the future. So the whole yamen was empty, and of course the door was closed. ”

Yang Xianmao sighed, and looked at the yamen that had become an empty house with interest. I thought to myself, now the Jin army is moving south, burning all the way. If the soldiers defending the city can't defend the city, they will die on the left and right, so it is better to resist to the end. Now that the defense of the city has become the first or even the only task, the so-called official duties of the other yamen will be put aside, and they will go all out to defend the city, so they will leave the huge yamen aside.

All the officials and horse archers in the city went up to the castle tower, participated in the defense, practiced day and night, where was there time to deal with daily official business, and even food and accommodation were on the castle tower. In order to ensure that these people who have never experienced a major war have a long time to adapt to the war environment, and will not be overwhelmed when the real fight starts.

Yang Xianmao sighed very much, sighing at the determination and careful organization of Zhizhou, who was defending the city, to live and die with the city. Yang Xianmao said: "Looking at this yamen in tatters, it can be seen that it has been very old. ”

Luo Xiaomei smiled and said: "I heard that this yamen was built when Emperor Taizu was here, and it has been almost two hundred years now, and it has not been overhauled since then. For I have a relative who was a scribe in the yamen, and now he has gone up to the city to guard it. He said that there is a rule in the yamen, which is called that officials do not repair the yamen. That is, the officials do not take money to repair the yamen, and the imperial court does not have this expense. ——The iron-clad official of the yamen and flowing water. Officials who have been in office for a few years are transferred to other places to become officials, so why do they need to make dowries for others? Therefore, they will not take the initiative to ask the imperial court to allocate funds to build the yamen, and the imperial court does not want or want the county officials to spend their minds on building the yamen, which gives people the impression of being greedy for pleasure. ”

Yang Xianmao nodded and said: "Yes, if the officials and masters put their minds on how to make the place where they live more comfortable, then of course they will not have more thoughts to care about the people, and this kind of thinking is also right." But this yamen is also too dilapidated, so it is not impossible to repair it a little and make up for the leakage. ”

Luo Xiaomei laughed: "Yes, but I heard that our Zhizhou is all about defending the city, and all the money of the Yamen is spent on it." As for the yamen, it has not been repaired since he came. He also said that every penny and every penny must be used on the blade, and the city can't be saved, even if the yamen is repaired beautifully, the Jin army will burn it all when it comes in, what's the use. ”

Yang Xianmao was very emotional when she heard her say this, and this was indeed the case. They walked past the yamen, continued to walk forward, and after walking for a while, Yang Xianmao stopped and looked around, and said, "It seems that this is the area, and I have to find out which one it is, because I haven't been here for many years." ”

Luo Xiaomei asked with concern, "What kind of relative are you?"

"It's my third uncle. The house is quite large, and when I was a child, I was still playing hide and seek in the yard. I fell asleep and they couldn't find me, and the family was terrified. ”

Yang Xianmao made it up casually, making Luo Xiaomei giggle and say that he must have been very naughty when he was a child.

When Yang Xianmao walked through a house, he found that the house was also very old, with a big copper lock hanging on the door. And the steps were already full of dust, and it was clear that the door hadn't been opened in a long time. It can be seen that the family should have left here a long time ago, because many rich people moved their families south when the Jin army moved south, wanting to stay away from the military disaster as soon as possible.

So Yang Xianmao stood still and looked around, looking hesitant.

Luo Xiaomei was a little strange, so she asked, "What's the matter?"

Yang Xianmao hesitated for a moment and said, "It seems to be here, but I don't remember accurately, so I went up and knocked on the door." ”

Yang Xianmao glanced at the thick dust on the steps, hesitated a little, but finally walked up the steps, grabbed the copper ring on the door and knocked on the door. He knocked on the door a few times and called out loudly: "Is anyone at home?" Third uncle, I'm Yang Xianmao." I'm Yang Xianmao from the same state. Is the third uncle at home?"

Yang Xianmao screamed for a while, but of course he didn't hear any sound. He shook his head in frustration, turned back to Luo Xiaomei and smiled bitterly and said, "My third uncle may have fled, and no one is here." ”

Luo Xiaomei was very happy in her heart, if this was the case, then Yang Xianmao could stay in her own home. My father's illness was saved, at least for the time being.

So Luo Xiaomei said very sympathetically: "He didn't know that you were coming, so he might take his family to avoid the military disaster first, don't worry, they will definitely be fine." ”

Yang Xianmao nodded and said, "He's not at home, so what should I do." ”

Luo Xiaomei immediately said: "Then you can live in our house......" Before she finished speaking, she heard someone on the top of the wall beckoning: "Who is it? Is it Young Master Cousin?"

Yang Xianmao was taken aback, and quickly looked back, only to see a person leaning out of the high wall. It was an old lady with gray hair, a wrinkled face, high cheekbones, and sunken cheeks, staring at him. Yang Xianmao was very shocked, it turned out that there were still people at home in the courtyard where the gate was locked, which made him a little overwhelmed for a while.

Yang Xianmao squinted at the old woman and asked tentatively, "Who are you?" ”

The old woman suddenly grinned and said, "You are the eldest young master Yang Xianmao, right? ”

When Yang Xianmao heard this, he felt that the back of his head was cold and the hairs stood upside down. This old man actually knew himself, and he called out his name accurately, but what was the matter with him calling himself the eldest young master? Even if there were, it was more than a hundred years ago, and there were no relatives at all in this era, so how could an old lady suddenly run out and recognize herself as the eldest young master, and she also said her name accurately.

Luo Xiaomei stared at Yang Xianmao with wide eyes, looking surprised.

Hearing the wall again, the dragon woman continued: "Young master, this door has not been opened for many years, and it has always been through the side door, and you go around to the side door, and it is in that alley. ”

Yang Xianmao secretly complained in his heart, it turned out that the door of the people was not open at all, no wonder there was so much ash in the gate. However, why this old man was able to call his name made Yang Xianmao's heart full of curiosity, and he also wanted to find out. So he agreed, and walked in the alley with Luo Xiaomei, who was full of doubts, and walked into the alley not far away, and sure enough, there was a small door. The door was open, and inside stood the old lady who had just greeted him.