In fact, there is no need for the children of the Xiang family to deliberately spread it at the request of Xiang Kang, there is no impermeable wall in the world, and within a few days, the news that Qin II ordered the recruitment of the fourth round of soldiers quickly spread throughout the townships and pavilions of Xiaxiang County, and immediately caused a huge sensation.

There were no people who were not complaining, and in the first two rounds of conscription, the conscripts were all criminal officials, sons-in-law, merchants, and adult men who had been sons-in-law and merchants, and most of the people were not affected, and most of them did not say anything. In the third round of conscription, the people whose parents or grandparents had been sons-in-law and merchants were recruited, although the conscripts felt that they had been wronged and many fled, but most of the people whose ancestors were innocent could endure it. However, the fourth round of conscription was aimed at the remaining half of the ordinary people, and the innocent people could no longer bear it.

In addition, the conscription is also too heavy, in order to build the Lishan Mausoleum, Afang Palace and expand the Xianyang Palace, countless people must bring their own food and travel expenses to Guanzhong as free coolies, and have to transport grain and forage from all over the country to Xianyang to feed rare birds and beasts, ordinary people have long been miserable, this will Qin II will force the remaining half of the adult men to go to the frontier to serve as soldiers as coolies, and the common people can only be called strange if they can endure it any longer. Therefore, after the news spread, before the officials at all levels of the lower ministers officially began to recruit and transfer soldiers, the men of appropriate age whose household registration belonged to Zuo Lu had already begun to flee, and the people quickly showed signs of chaos.

In this context, after the children of the Xiang family spread the rumor that Qin II would soon recruit the fifth round of soldiers, the Dongxiang area of Xiaxiang County, which was first affected by the rumors, was of course even more panicked, and every family was in a panic, for example, if there was an adult man in the family, there was no one who was not worried, for fear that the backbone of the family or the main labor force would be forcibly taken away by the government, which would affect the livelihood of the whole family, and they were even more worried that their family members would suffer great hardships and sins after being recruited, and even innocently buried in the bitter cold of northern Xinjiang and sacrificed in the miasma of the south.

During this period, although the townsmen, the three elders and the pavilion chiefs in the township stood up to refute the rumors, saying that the imperial court absolutely did not have the following to recruit the fifth round of soldiers, but because of the frequency and intensity of the military conscription of Qin II's pit father, the common people still preferred to believe that there is none, and the worried people continued to add fuel and vinegar, spreading the rumors more and more evilly, and also expanding the spread area more and more widely, which not only caused the fluctuation of people's hearts in the whole territory of the lower phase, but also affected the hearts of the people in the surrounding counties. The atmosphere among the people was in a panic.

Then, when the Xiaxiang County Temple officially began to recruit the fourth round of soldiers, the people of Xiaxiang were of course even more chaotic to the extreme, and the ordinary people who did not want to go to the frontier to suffer and suffer were constantly fleeing, or going away from foreign lands, or gathering in mountains, forests and swamps, and falling into the grass, and the Malingshan bandits who were once exterminated by Xiang Kang and Feng Zhong and others also reappeared in the rivers and lakes, and also developed rapidly, far exceeding the past, seriously threatening the social security and people's livelihood safety in the two counties of Xia Xiang and Xia Pi.

It was very unexpected by Xiang Kang's buddy Feng Zhong, during this period, not only did not one of the children of the Xiang family who had countless opportunities to escape in advance, but several children of the Xiang family who were going to be recruited to serve in the frontier also took the initiative to come to him under the leadership of Xiang Kang, and clearly told him that the children of the Xiang family would not embarrass his good friend, and they all volunteered to follow him to the frontier to serve in the garrison, and would try their best to help him control and appease the soldiers, and try not to let the soldiers escape on the way, so as not to affect Feng Zhong, who was in charge of escorting.

In this regard, Feng Zhong was not only overjoyed, but of course more grateful, and took the hands of Xiang Kang, Xiang Guan and others and said in a loud voice: "Brother, good brother, thank you, thank you so much, eldest brother, I really didn't expect you to be so reasonable, not only didn't make me embarrassed, but also helped me like this." Don't worry, don't worry, as long as we can come back smoothly, I will definitely thank you, big brother, I don't dare to say, in the future, under my rule, you just want to go sideways, big brother, I will support you. ”

"Big brother, you will see the outside world when you say these words, how much help you have helped our Xiang family during this time, our Xiang family has it in mind, and now you have something to use us, we have the reason to stand by and watch?" Xiang Kang smiled and waved his hand repeatedly, indicating that he didn't need Feng Zhong's thanks, and asked curiously: "Big brother, how many people are we going to recruit to serve in the military this time?" How many soldiers are there in Dongxiang? ”

"If all the conscriptions are in place, there should be more than 1,800 soldiers in Xiaxiang County, and more than 500 soldiers in Dongxiang." Feng Zhong replied truthfully, and said: "But brother, you also know that there are too many people who have escaped, and those who can really be recruited are estimated to be six or seven percent, and Dongxiang is amazing enough to go to more than three hundred people." ”

"Big brother, can you go through a back door and arrange for my brothers to be hundreds of chiefs and tunchangs?" Xiang Kang asked again and said: "I remember that the establishment of the garrison is five people and one army, two soldiers and one tithe, five tithes, one tun chief, two tun and one hundred chiefs, if there are three hundred people here in Dongxiang, there will be three hundred chiefs and six tun chiefs, can these positions be prioritized for my brothers?" ”

"No problem, wrap it up on me." Feng Zhong patted his chest and said: "Actually, you don't need to say it, brother, I will also give priority to arranging Baichang and Tunchang to your Xiang family brothers, and there are also your brothers who watch those soldiers for me, and I dare to close my eyes when I sleep." ”

"Then it's decided." Xiang Kang smiled and said: "I'll take the brothers back to prepare first, and when we assemble the soldiers, we must ensure that we arrive on time, and then I will ask the eldest brother to bother arranging it." ”

Happily, he thanked the Xiang brothers again for their great help, and Feng Zhong was a little relieved, knowing that he had escorted the soldiers to serve in the north this time, and finally had a few capable helpers available, and the hope of successfully completing the task was much greater than before. However, after sleeping soundly in the pavilion for a night, just after dawn the next day, Feng Zhong was woken up by his wife, who was not too ugly, and said that the pavilion guards in the pavilion had an urgent report.

"Eighty percent of them are who escaped." Feng Zhong got up while putting on his clothes, and said to himself with a yawn: "Run, run, anyway, now it is the responsibility of the townsman and Lidian, Wu Chang, and Shi Chang, and it has nothing to do with me, as long as you don't run away on the road." ”

"Brother Feng, have you gotten up? Hurry up, something big is wrong, something strange is wrong. The anxious shouting of the pavilion guard outside the door interrupted Feng Zhong's self-talk, and then opened the door angrily, before Feng Zhong could open his mouth to question the situation, the pavilion guard couldn't wait to say: "Brother Feng, go to the shrine temple, something strange is happening there." ”

"What strange things can happen to the shrine temple?" Feng Zhong asked with a yawn.

"Last night, there was a fox screaming on the side of the shrine temple, shouting what a big Chu Xing, Qin should die." The pavilion guard said nervously: "Also, there are countless ants climbing onto the wall of the shrine temple today, lined up into six words: Da Chu Xing and Qin Dang Die!" ”

"What?" Feng Zhong almost suspected that he had misheard, and asked in exclamation, "Countless ants climbed onto the wall of the shrine temple and lined up into the six words Da Chu Xing and Qin Dang died?" Really? Is there such a miracle in the world? ”

"It's true!" The pavilion guard replied loudly, and then said: "Big brother, go and take a look, the people in the pavilion have heard the news and have already gone countless times." ”

Stunned to look at the pavilion guard who came to report the news, and confirmed that his panicked expression was not deliberately pretending to tease himself, Feng Zhong screamed at this time, and then didn't even have time to eat, and immediately ran to the shrine temple in the pavilion. As a result, when I arrived at the scene, sure enough, the area around the shrine temple was already crowded with people, and there were countless people gathering to discuss, and there were people kowtowing to the shrine temple, which was much more lively than when the shrine was usually held.

Hurriedly pushing away the crowd and approaching, just after taking a look at the wall of the shrine temple, Feng Zhong suddenly had a feeling of coldness all over his body - on the wall of the shrine temple, there were indeed countless black ants crawling, using their bodies to form six big characters that were constantly changing - Da Chu Xing, Qin should die!

Rubbing his eyes hard, he took a few steps forward, and then carefully looked at the six big characters of Da Chu Xing and Qin Dang Death, and once again confirmed that these six words were composed of ants, Feng Zhong couldn't help but feel terrified all over his body, and his body couldn't help but tremble a little, and muttered in a low voice: "Da Chu Xing? Qin should die? What does this mean? Could it be that Daqin is coming to an end? ”

At this time, Xiang Kang appeared silently beside Feng Zhong and said in a low voice, "Big brother, what's the matter?" How could an ant climb into these six words? ”

"How do I know?" Feng Zhong replied in despair: "Could it be a ghost god, a ghost god who made the ants line up these six words?" ”

"Big brother, this is no joke." Xiang Kang said kindly: "If the county knows what happened here, I'm afraid that it won't give up, and when the time comes, the county will ask and investigate, and you will not be the first to run away from responsibility, let alone go to prison, and it is possible to kill your head." ”

Feng Zhong, who knew how serious this matter was, nodded quickly, and asked in a low voice, "Brother, what do you think should be done about this matter?" ”

"Gotta get this down." Xiang Kang kindly pointed out and said: "The people who called you, pick up a few buckets of water, wash the ants down the wall, and then tell the people here not to talk nonsense, maybe this matter will not spread to the county." ”

Feng Zhong nodded hurriedly again and again, and hurriedly ordered the pavilion guards and doormen he brought to carry water to wash the ants, but several pavilion guards and doormen were scattered, and they all said: "Brother Feng, this is the ghost god let the ants do it, if we wash these ants with water, the ghosts and gods will ask us for sin, how can we afford to eat the sin?" ”

"Less nonsense! Hurry up and fetch water! Feng Zhong, who is usually quite mild-tempered, rarely got angry, stomped his feet and roared: "If you don't carry water again, I will treat your sins now!" ”

Unable to resist Feng Zhong's repeated urging, several pavilion guards and doormen had to follow the order to find a flat pole and a wooden barrel to carry water, during which more and more people rushed to watch after hearing the news, and finally almost the entire men, women and children of the Shiling Pavilion came to the scene, during which there were countless overly superstitious people who burned incense and prayed, praying for ghosts and gods to bless themselves. And when the pavilion guards brought the water, these superstitious people also stood up to prevent them from watering and flushing the ants, and said: "You can't use water to flush, this is the ghost and the gods, if you wash with water, the ghosts and gods will not let you go, and they will not let go of all the people in our Shiling Pavilion." ”

I didn't have the courage to offend the ghosts and gods, and then I was stopped by the superstitious people, and of course the doormen and pavilion guards under Feng Zhong didn't dare to step forward to make a move, Xiang Kang saw the big hurry, and hurriedly urged: "Big brother, pour it quickly, otherwise the townsfolk and the three elders in the township will hear about it and see these words, and you won't be able to say it clearly even if you have a hundred mouths." ”

Afraid that he would be implicated, Feng Zhong, who was still the head of the Shiling Pavilion, could only quickly speak, shouting loudly, forcing his subordinate pavilion guards and doormen to hurry up. However, what Xiang Kang and Feng Zhong didn't expect was that they were forced by Feng Zhong to be in a hurry, and several pavilion guards and doormen simply knelt down on Feng Zhong's knees, and pleaded with tears: "Brother Feng, we don't dare, we don't have the pavilion guards, and we won't eat your family's food, but we really don't dare to offend the ghosts and gods!" ”

"Useless dog thing, get out!" Feng Zhong was also forced to be in a hurry, so he simply stepped forward to carry a bucket of water, kicked away the people who were trying to stop him from watering, strode in front of those ants, and poured a bucket full of water directly on it.

The rapid current of water instantly washed the ants into pieces, and they were no longer written, but after the ants were washed away, Feng Zhong, who was terrified to the extreme in his heart, felt a cold air rise from his feet and rushed directly to the top of his head, and his body couldn't help but shake a little. Xiang Kang next to him saw that the situation was not good, so he hurriedly came up and hugged Feng Zhong, and asked anxiously, "Big brother, what's wrong with you?" Are you okay? Don't scare me, don't scare me! ”

"I'm ......, I'm fine."

Feng Zhong's trembling answer didn't have any effect, after carefully looking at Feng Zhong's expression, and then putting his hand under Feng Zhong's nose with concern to try his breathing, Xiang Kang suddenly shouted loudly, "Brother Feng is angry!" Brother Feng turned his back on his anger and went! Come on, help me carry Brother Feng to his house for rescue! Hurry! ”

Not to mention, Xiang Kang, a good brother, is indeed a little righteous, after carrying Feng Zhong with the help of a few pavilion guards and doormen, Xiang Kang really rushed to the pavilion of Shiling Pavilion, Feng Zhong, who had been poisoned by feudal superstition since childhood, lay on Xiang Kang's back and was dying, no part of his body felt comfortable, and his mouth kept chanting, "Ghosts and gods, I am the duty, I am the duty, you must not pester me, you must not settle accounts with me." ”

The party Feng Zhong himself was still panicked and afraid of becoming like this, not to mention the people of Shiling Pavilion who were watching from the side, Xiang Kang had just walked away with Feng Zhong on his back, and the temple was immediately densely kneeling with superstitious people, desperately kowtowing and praying constantly, and the news that ants formed the six words of the death of Da Chu Xingqin appeared on the wall of Shiling Pavilion soon spread like wings, and soon spread to all the townships and pavilions in Xiaxiang County, causing a huge sensation and causing a huge panic at the bottom of the folk who are generally superstitious about ghosts and gods.

On that day, the township-level officials such as the township husband and the three elders who heard the news all ran to the Shiling Pavilion to visit Feng Zhong and inquire about the specific situation, but Feng Zhong followed Xiang Kang's advice and bit it to death and said that the ants were just crawling on the wall, and did not form the six taboo words. Although the townsman and the third elder knew very well that Feng Zhong was lying and was afraid of being implicated, because of the fact that the incident happened under his own rule, he also did not dare to report the matter to the above, and tacitly helped Feng Zhong to bully the superiors and subordinates, and comforted the dying Feng Zhong with kind words and left.

That night, Feng Zhong was still bedridden, and the yellow-faced woman and several young children had been crying beside him, and in a trance, Feng Zhong also read those six words from time to time, and said in his heart: "Da Chuxing, Qin should die?" Could it be that Daqin is really going to die? If that's the case, what should I do? What should I do? ”

While Feng Zhong was lying on the bed and scaring himself, of course, the children of the Xiang family also whispered and snickered in the dilapidated courtyard of his good brother Xiang Kang, praising Xiang Kang's clever trick - six words written in honey could cause such a big sensation. And when the children of the Xiang family asked about the next step, Xiang Kang replied: "The most important thing in the next step is to find a way to lead the Zhou County Order from the county seat to Shiling Pavilion to take him down on the day when the Dongxiang soldiers gathered. If not, our business will not be so easy. ”

"How did you get him there?" Xiang Zhuang asked.

"I'll have to think again." Xiang Kang replied: "I have thought of several methods, but the certainty is not too great, so I have to think carefully again to see what method can attract him with the greatest certainty." ”

Knowing that no one who plays with their brains is Xiang Kang's opponent, the children of the Xiang family closed their mouths together, waiting for Xiang Kang to come up with a way, and after Xiang Kang thought about it again, he suddenly smiled at his nephew Xiang It and said: "Xiang It, I have to wronged you this time, I have wronged you for a disease." ”

"Uncle Ji, you made me sick? What is wrong with me? Xiang asked inexplicably.

"It doesn't matter what kind of illness it is, as long as it's a disease that can't go to the frontier." Xiang Kang smiled and said, "Then I went to the county to see the Zhou county commander, and said that I was willing to serve the military service for you." ”