"Who is this old man?"

"Old man, who are you?"

"What are you doing here?"

The group of naughty children, who were screaming on the ground, soon noticed that a strange old man with a white beard had mixed in on the other side.

Facing the questioning of these children, Master Chen stroked his long hair and said with a smile: "Old man, he is an officer and soldier passing by, and he sees that good cannot defeat evil, so he helps each other with righteousness. ”

"This old man...... There's something wrong, right?'

The children looked at each other.

How did they know that the old man who was surrounded by them at this moment was the most powerful minister in the Jin court?

Suddenly, a child pointed at Master Chen and asked, "Old man, you're not from the cottage, are you?" I've never seen you in the mountains. ”

As soon as the words fell, the other children were startled and immediately began to whisper.

"I've never seen this old man either......"

"Could it be from outside?"

"Spies! This old man must be a spy of the officers and soldiers! ”

Not only did the group of children who pretended to be black tiger thieves show a look of vigilance, but even the group of children who had just helped Taishi Chen and pretended to be officers and soldiers also surrounded Taishi Chen with a vigilant face, and Taishi Chen couldn't help but laugh when he saw it, and said to the group of children who pretended to be officers and soldiers: "Didn't we fight side by side before?" ”

It's a pity that the group of children pretending to be officers and soldiers didn't seem to appreciate it, and they shouted one after another when they heard the words.

"Who's fighting alongside you?"

"Yes. …… I didn't even know who you were, and I suddenly broke in......"

"Old man, who are you?"

"He must be a spy!"

"There are spies! There are spies! ”

Seeing that this group of little cubs who didn't know what to do and what was wrong actually pointed at Taishi Chen and shouted at him, Zhao Yu's forehead couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and he hurriedly stepped forward to stop it: "Don't be rude to this old man." ”

"Who are you?"

One of the children asked, pointing at Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu took a closer look, only to find that the child was clearly the 'Yingshan Tiger Zhou Hu' just now, which made him angry.

And at this moment, a group of black tigers hurried to this side from the gate of the main village in the distance, obviously, these people were alarmed by the shouts of this group of children shouting 'there are spies', although they felt inexplicable, but they still came to see what was going on.

"What's going on?"

The leader of the team was shouting.

This team leader Zhao Yu is no stranger, it is Deng Bai, who is one year younger than him.

Since growing up, with their relationship with Zhao Yu, Deng Bai and Deng Song brothers have been promoted by Guo Da and become a team leader of the 'Zhai Ban'.

Seeing him coming, a few children immediately ran to the front of the team, pointed at Taishi Chen and shouted, "Brother Deng Bai, we caught an officer and soldier spies?" ”

"Officers and soldiers?" Dunber felt inexplicable.

Today, when their big leader has become the captain of Yingchuan, who will send officers and soldiers to spy on their Black Tiger Village?

He immediately thought that it might be the messenger sent by Kunyang County Lieutenant Ishihara who was caught by this group of little guys.

At this moment, Zhao Yu raised his hand to greet him: "Deng Bai." ”

"Huh?"

Deng Bai turned his head to take a look, only to find that Zhao Yu was standing on the side, followed by Niu Heng, He Shun, Gong Jiao and others who couldn't help laughing.

He hurriedly walked to Zhao Yu's side and asked, "Brother Hu?" This...... What's going on? ”

Zhao Yu then briefly explained the matter of Fang Cai, but concealed the identity of the old man according to Taishi Chen's request: "This old man is a distinguished guest I invited. ”

When he asked, several black tigers behind him also saluted Zhao Yu one after another, calling them 'big leader'.

Hearing this honorific title, the group of children knew that the masked man turned out to be the big leader of their cottage, 'Zhou Hu', and they were immediately frightened and fled, leaving Taishi Chen standing there alone, looking at this group of energetic little guys with a smile on his face.

Seeing this, Zhao Yu walked quickly to Taishi Chen's side, clasped his fists and said, "Let the boss be frightened, please forgive the boss." ”

Of course, this is just a scene, after all, looking at the smile on Taishi Chen's face, Zhao Yu knew that this old man would not take the child's rudeness to heart at all.

Sure enough, Taishi Chen didn't care about the rudeness of those children at all, and said with a smile: "These naughty little guys, the old man can't help but think of Bo Zhi and Zhongxin when they were children, ......."

I believe that few people present know who Taishi Chen is talking about, but Zhao Yu knows that this old lady is talking about the famous 'Five Tigers of Chenmen' today.

At this time, Mao Zheng also came to Taishi Chen's side, and when he heard this, he interjected curiously: "Five generals...... Well, are the five brothers like that when they were young? ”

The old lady stroked her long gray hair and smiled: "Bozhi is okay, he has been stable since he was a child, and the other four are not good, especially Zhongxin, who was the most unruly when he was young......"

As he spoke, he glanced at his clenched right fist, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"Good guy, it seems that General Xue was not beaten by this Taishi when he was a child."

Noticing Taishi Chen's move, Zhao Yu couldn't help but fantasize about Xue Ao being hammered by Taishi Chen.

Holding back the emotion of wanting to laugh, Zhao Yu summoned Deng Bai to him and instructed: "Deng Bai, go to the village to tell Brother Guo, just say that we have an extraordinary old man in the cottage, let him prepare wine and food as soon as possible." ”

"Yes."

Deng Bai nodded, and after glancing at Taishi Chen curiously, he immediately returned to the main village with those black tigers.

And Chen Taishi, Zhao Yu and his entourage continued to slowly walk towards the main village.

After a short time, their group came to the front of the main village.

At this time, several black tigers on duty in front of the main village had already received Deng Bai's advice, and when they saw Chen Taishi and Zhao Yu approaching, they did not make any action to stop them, but bowed their heads and saluted, and Mao Zheng was very surprised: Are these people really bandits, not county officials?

After a while, the group walked into the main village, during which Mao Zheng looked left and right, looked around, and found that there were more women than men in this cottage.

Judging from the appearance of those women with their hair coiled, they were obviously married, some of them carried baskets, some of them gathered in groups of three or five to talk and laugh, and even Mao Zheng saw a young woman holding a short stick chasing her own children all over the cottage.

Rather than saying that this is a den of thieves, Mao Zheng feels more like a peaceful mountain village.

During this period, Taishi Chen also carefully observed the surroundings, and when he saw those women, he asked Zhao Yu, "...... these women?"

Zhao Yu naturally understood what the old lady wanted to ask, and said respectfully: "Most of them are refugees who fled from Runan County to Kunyang when the rebels invaded the territory the year before last, and Kunyang was facing the onslaught of the Guanshuo rebels at that time and could not afford it, so the cottage contained them......"

"I'm afraid it's not contained for nothing, right?" Taishi Chen glanced at Zhao Yu.

"Yes." Zhao Yu didn't hide it, and said frankly after admitting it: "But the boss can rest assured that the cottage has never coerced them, everything is out of their own volition." ”

"......," the old lady pondered, brushing her long hair.

At this moment, a young woman was drying the quilt in the distance, and suddenly saw Zhao Yu and his party, and ran over on their feet, and respectfully saluted Zhao Yu: "Big leader." ”

"Hmm. …… What's up? Zhao Yu knew at a glance that there was someone on the other side.

Sure enough, the young woman asked a little shyly, "I want to ask the big chief, the one in my family, is he okay?" When will he be able to return to the cottage? ”

"This ......"

Zhao Yu was stunned.

I have to say that as there are more and more people in his Black Tiger Village, he is not recognized by everyone, just take the young woman in front of him, he doesn't recognize it at all.

"You...... Your husband, what's his name? ”

"Xu Bai." The young woman replied shyly, "He said that he is the governor of the brigade wolf, and a while ago he said that he followed the big leader to go to Liang County......

"Uh-oh."

As soon as Xu Bai was mentioned, Zhao Yu remembered, nodded and said: "Xu Bai, I know, don't worry, he has returned to Xuchang and is safe and sound." ”

When the young woman heard this, she smelled with joy, "When will he return to the cottage?" ”

"It's hard to say." Zhao Yu picked out the part he could say and explained: "At present, the brigade wolf is helping a general Xue to recover the county town taken by the rebels in Yingchuan, as short as half a month, as long as a month, and then you and your wife can be reunited." ”

The young woman's face turned red and she asked, "There won't be any danger, right?" ”

Zhao Yu smiled and said with relief: "With Xu Bai's ability, there will be no danger, don't worry." ”

"Thank you, big chief, thank you, big leader." The young woman left gratefully.

It's just that with her as the head, other women in the cottage also surrounded Zhao Yu and asked Zhao Yu about his man, some of whom Zhao Yu recognized, and some of whom he didn't even recognize.

After a full stick of incense, it was not until Guo Da and Chu Jiao learned that Zhao Yu returned to the cottage with an extraordinary old man and led several black tigers out to greet him, which relieved Zhao Yu.

"I've kept the old man waiting."

Zhao Yu apologized a little and confessed to Taishi Chen, who was hanging aside.

Although he felt that with Taishi Chen's strength, he wouldn't care about this kind of thing, but who made this old man have a high position?

He had to be cautious.

But it turned out that Taishi Chen was not angry, on the contrary, he also nodded towards Zhao Yu: "Seeing the appearance of those women worried about their husbands, the old man believes that they are not being coerced. ”

He didn't suspect that Zhao Yu deliberately arranged this play, after all, he had lived for most of his life, so he naturally distinguished the truth from the fake - those women were worried about their husband's appearance, and the wives of the soldiers under his command were worried about their husbands.

Subsequently, Zhao Yu introduced Guo Da and Chu Jiao to Taishi Chen: "Boss, this is the village of the cottage, Guo Da, the affairs of the cottage are all in charge of him." This is the deputy Zhai Cheng, Chu Jiao. ”

"Zhai Cheng? Vice-Zhai?'

A slight subtle look appeared on Taishi Chen's face, and he said with a smile: "It seems to be an annoying position." ”

"Ah...... Not really. ”

Guo Da and Chu Jiao didn't know the specific identity of Taishi Chen, but from Zhao Yu's respectful attitude, they also guessed that this old man's identity was extraordinary, so they naturally showed great respect.

Guo Da said with a smile: "I heard that the boss came to my cottage as a guest, and some wine and food have been prepared in the village, and I hope the boss will not dislike it." ”

Chen Taishi laughed: "Haha, Guo Zhaicheng is polite." ”

From the side, Zhao Yu also asked in a timely manner: "Boss, please." ”

"Hehe, please."

Taking advantage of Zhao Yu and Chen Taishi's time to go away, Guo Da and Chu Jiao hurriedly grabbed Niu Heng and He Shun, and asked in a low voice: "Manniu, who is this old man?" ”

Niu Heng naturally did not hide Guo Da and Chu Jiao, and lowered his voice and said casually: "The Taishi of the Jin Imperial Court is said to be the most powerful minister beside the emperor. ”

"It's too ......" Guo Dazhi felt his legs weak.

Chu Jiao, who was on the side, also widened his eyes in shock.

It's no wonder that for them, if there is no Zhao Yu, the Kunyang County Order alone is an insurmountable high-ranking official, let alone the Taishi of the Jin Kingdom?

What's even worse is that Guo Da was still plotting with Zhao Yu a few days ago on how to accumulate strength and overthrow the Jin Kingdom.

"He Shun, isn't it ......" he looked at He Shun with an ugly face.

As if he had guessed Guo Da's thoughts, He Shun said in a low voice: "This old lady just wants to see how the big leader is, he came to my cottage and wants to see it with his own eyes, but he doesn't know anything else." ”

He deliberately aggravated 'other things'.

"Oh." Guo Da breathed a sigh of relief at this time, and hurriedly ordered left and right: "Quick, tell the guy, get a few more dishes, don't slack off." ”

At the same time, Zhao Yu had already led Taishi Chen to the front of Juyi Hall.

Looking up at the horizontal plaque engraved with the words 'Juyi Hall', Taishi Chen was slightly stunned, and then walked into it with a subtle smile.

After entering the Juyi Hall, Zhao Yu naturally gave up the main position to Taishi Chen.

Taishi Chen was not polite, he sat down on the main seat with his robe, and immediately beckoned everyone to take a seat.

Seeing this, Mao Zheng led the twenty guards and sat down in the seat on the right, while Zhao Yu took Niu Heng, He Shun, Gong Jiao, and then Guo Da and Chu Jiao to sit down in the seat on the east side.

I saw that Taishi Chen stretched out his hand and touched the table in front of him, looked at the room a few times, and then asked Zhao Yu: "I heard that you are no longer robbing the caravans that passed under the mountain?" ”

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the Juyi Hall immediately became awkward, of course, the main people who were embarrassed were Zhao Yu and Guo Da.

Zhao Yu immediately said respectfully: "Please forgive me, I had to rob the king's caravan at the beginning. ”

"Hmm." Taishi Chen nodded slightly, noncommittal or not, and then asked Zhao Yu, "Then how do you make a living?" ”

Zhao Yu explained: "Two years ago, the two sides had reached an agreement with some businessmen in Ye County, and the two sides cooperated to create the 'Kunye Mutual Benefit Chamber of Commerce', purchasing raw materials from Xiangcheng and Runan counties, processing them in the workshops opened in Kunyang County, and then transporting them to the military market of General Wang in Wancheng, Nanyang, to sell ......."

"Wang Shangde's military market ......" Chen Taishi stroked his long gray hair and thought for a while, and asked Zhao Yu: "Do you have a way to do this?" ”

"I'm ashamed." Zhao Yu said with a wry smile: "In view of our past evil deeds, General Wang did not wait for us at first, and even sent troops across the county to encircle and suppress us, and later it took a lot of effort for us to reach an agreement with that General Wang, in order to 'no longer offend the Luye Freemasonry', in exchange for the qualification to trade with the military market." ”

"Luye Freemasonry?" Taishi Chen stroked his long hair and thought, "Zizheng, you seem to have mentioned it to the old man?" ”

Mao Zheng nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, sir." …… Lu Ye Freemasonry, is the Luyang Township Marquis led, by Luyang, Ye County businessmen formed a chamber of commerce, how to operate, my father's letter did not mention, but according to my brother, my father was very happy to help promote this matter, but unfortunately after the Luyang Zhao family suffered, the Lu Ye Freemasonry collapsed on its own, and their own people were inseparable, and there was no prosperity and liveliness when the second son of the Luyang Zhao family was alive, which can be said to exist in name only. ”

By the end, his tone grew heavier.

And Zhao Yu also listened with a heavy heart, but it was a pity that it was inconvenient for him to speak on this matter.

At this time, seeing that Taishi Chen had not made an evaluation of their 'looting of the passing caravan under the mountain', Chu Jiao couldn't help but say tentatively: "The boss doesn't ask me to wait? ”

Hearing this, Zhao Yu, Guo Da and others looked at Chu Jiao one after another, and said in their hearts, why don't you open which pot to mention?

Looking at Guo Da and Chu Jiao's nervous expressions, Taishi Chen said with a smile: "It seems that you know the identity of the old man. ”

"Uh......"

Guo Da and Chu Jiao smiled, obviously acquiescing.

Seeing this, Taishi Chen stroked his long hair, chuckled and said, "Don't worry, how can the old man be an unreasonable person?" Since you have abandoned the old evils and abandoned the darkness to the light, the old man will not be held accountable for the previous incident for the sake of Zhou Duwei's face. ”

Zhao Yu glanced at Taishi Chen in surprise.

He really didn't know that his face was so big.

"It seems that this old lady has a good impression of me."

Zhao Yu thought to himself, and at the same time breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, he didn't forget to signal Guo Da and Chu Jiao with his eyes, telling them not to mention anything inappropriate.

Just when he intended to reveal the matter, it happened that the black tigers in the village served wine and food.

Among these people, there is also a figure that Zhao Yu is familiar with, it is Ning Niang, who has grown up to fourteen or fifteen years old.

"Brother Erhu."

Taking advantage of the efforts of those black tigers to serve vegetables, the little girl quietly ran to Zhao Yu's side and complained in a low voice: "Brother Erhu finally went back to the cottage last time, why didn't you come to see me?" If it hadn't been for Da Deng telling me this time, I wouldn't have known. ”

Zhao Yu turned his head to look at Taishi Chen, who was smiling and groaning, and said in a low voice: "Don't make trouble, Ning Niang, I'm entertaining a distinguished guest, don't mess around." ”

"Is that the old man?" Ning Niang secretly Chen Taishi.

Zhao Yu nodded and urged, "Get out quickly." ”

"Oh."

Ning Niang stuck out her tongue mischievously and left with those black tigers.

Seeing Taishi Chen's inquiring gaze, Zhao Yu did not hide it, and said truthfully: "It was a little girl I met when I first entered the cottage when I was lowly and I was only six or seven years old at that time, and she grew up in a flash......

Master Chen smiled and nodded, without asking more.

As soon as the food and wine were served, the atmosphere in the house immediately recovered a lot.

Even Taishi Chen had forgotten about Fang Cai, and said with a smile while holding a wine bowl full of wine: "I haven't used a bowl to drink wine for many years......

Zhao Yu said with a smile: "The village is vulgar, don't be surprised. ”

"Haha, when the old man drinks with a bowl, you still don't know where you are, boy?" Taishi Chen smiled and made a joke, and then picked up the wine bowl and drank it all: "Happy." ”

Seeing this, Mao Zheng and a cadre of guards also praised: "The boss should be strong and strong." ”

I have to say that for the age of nearly eighty, this old lady can really be called old and strong, and in the blink of an eye, she ate several bowls of wine, half a chicken, and a large piece of meat, and her appetite was amazing.

And everyone in the house also seemed to be infected by this old lady, and they staggered for a while, eating and drinking.

While eating and drinking, Taishi Chen also talked to Zhao Yu about the current situation.

"Zhou Hu, although the rebels' rebellion has been temporarily contained, there are still troubles...... The situation between the DPRK and China is now very difficult. Last year, the river burst its banks, flooding millions of acres of fields downstream, causing food shortages north of the river. And the counties south of your great river have been delayed by the rebels. Your Yingchuan recovery is quite fast, and there should be a good harvest this year, but Henan, Liangjun, and Chenliu may not, and as for Nanyang, Chenjun, and Runan, I am afraid that farming may not be able to resume in the coming year...... The old man has talked to Li Junshou, and I hope you Yingchuan can take some responsibility......"

Of course, Zhao Yu understood what this Taishi meant, and hurriedly said: "Please rest assured, my lord, I will definitely urge my Yingchuan farming to fully resume spring plowing this year, strive for a variety of grains, and help the ...... of various counties."

Although he said this, he thought the opposite thing in his heart.

For example, how to further increase the burden on the Jin Kingdom.

It's a pity that the current righteous teachers from all walks of life are almost completely defeated, and the Jiangdong righteous teachers are also destined to have a period of recuperation, so even if Zhao Yu has the heart, he does not dare to act rashly.

After all, as his brother Zhao Yin said, his Yingchuan County is sandwiched between Henan, Nanyang, and Chenliu counties, isolated from the territory occupied by Jiangdong Yishi.

Probably because Zhao Yu was wearing a mask, even Taishi Chen, who had lived for most of his life, did not expect Zhao Yu to be unreasonable, and seeing that Zhao Yu agreed quite responsibly, he nodded with satisfaction.

In all fairness, Taishi Chen was indeed very satisfied with Zhao Yu.

In his opinion, although this 'Zhou Hu' was born as a thief, his words and deeds do not have the gangsterism of a thief, and he knows at a glance that he is a well-educated son of a good family, but he was forced to become a thief for a while because of the difficulties in his family.

And what he saw and heard along the way also gave Taishi Chen a general understanding of Zhou Hu's temperament.

For example, in Kunyang County, Zhou Hu's assurance that "no one has died of starvation so far", and in this cottage, the women who worry about their husbands, those naughty children.

He had no doubt that it was this Zhou Hu who sheltered these women and children, Kunyang, and even the entire Yingchuan County.

In terms of ability, this Zhou Hu held this Yingchuan County, causing the rebels led by Guan Shuo to sink in the sand here; In terms of morality, this week the tiger sheltered the disadvantaged groups, and never bullied men and women and ran rampant in the township.

For such a capable and virtuous local lieutenant, Taishi Chen really couldn't ask for more, even if he privately suspected that Tong Yan's death might have something to do with this Zhou Duwei.

Suddenly, Taishi Chen's heart moved, and he turned his head and asked Zhao Yu: "Zhou Hu, are you willing to be the old man's son?" ”

"Poof—"

Niu Heng, who was drinking, squirted out a mouthful of wine and coughed repeatedly.

However, no one in the room cared about Niu Heng's gaffe, and they all turned their heads to look at Taishi Chen and Zhao Yu, their faces full of shock.

Including Mao Zheng and the twenty guards brought by Taishi Chen, they were also holding chopsticks or wine bowls at this moment, motionless, their faces full of shock and shock.

For a while, there was silence in the Juyi Hall.

And Zhao Yu, as a party to the party, was also dumbfounded at this time, and couldn't believe his ears.