In the blink of an eye, Shang Cheng and they stayed in Quzhou for ten days. Looking at the situation, the warehouse has not immediately let them return to Yixian County in the short term. Most of the packers have an indifferent attitude towards sitting here and waiting to go back: if they don't go back, they won't return, and they are not in a hurry, anyway, their wages are calculated by the day, and they will rest for one more day if they leave one day late, and they will not be tired and have money to get, which is a good errand that is difficult to find with a lantern. But for Shang Cheng and Shan Wazi, it feels like a year. Shan Wazi is worried about the embarrassment of his family. When he set off from Yixian, he couldn't open the pot at home, and after almost a month, the family didn't know what kind of rotten bag it had become. Shang Cheng was worried about whether there would be any twists and turns in the few houses he was determined to buy. Although he had not heard of anyone willing to buy it when he left, who could say for sure what was going on in the world?

In the past ten days, another caravan came from Yi County, and the accommodation of the packmen immediately became a big problem, on such a hot day, sixty or seventy people were crowded in three thatched huts, not to mention sleeping, even if they got up at night and went to a thatched house, they could wake up a room of people; If you catch up with someone who is not in a good mood, you may even get into a fight on the spot. The next night, there was such an incident, a guy peed in the courtyard, and when he entered the house, he accidentally stepped on the leg of a person who slept in the courtyard dam - no way, the house was stuffy and crowded, and the person who coveted cleanliness had to sleep in the yard - the person who was trampled on scolded his mother twice, and the guy who stepped on the person replied twice, and then tore and beat him in one place. The fight immediately turned into a group fight. Shang Cheng finally saw the cohesion of the household at this time, and at dinner, Uncle Zhao, who was still talking and laughing, did not hesitate to dance a top door stick to make the mountain baby jump up and down, and Zhao Shishi was also beaten by two partners in the same shop with a blue nose and swollen face, and finally those two guys knew that he had a red wound on his body, and there was room for his hands. When the innkeeper who received the report brought someone to persuade him, the yard was full of people lying on the ground. Shang Cheng also hung up some color in this melee - at first he couldn't understand the situation, so he didn't move, and then he saw a junior surnamed Li who didn't know where to find a woodcutter, and hurriedly went to stop it, but he was regarded as opponents by the people surnamed Li and those close to the surname Li, and four or five people surrounded him and beat him with sticks.

Fortunately, the situation was soon improved, and the government requisitioned a large number of cloth, herbs, and cowhides from the storehouse, and vacated a large storehouse, so the storekeeper immediately converted this storehouse into a place for the packers to stay, and then separated the packmen according to the household clan, and finally eased the tension between the packmen.

Shang Cheng ran into trouble when it came to allocating accommodation. In terms of feelings, he and Shan Wazi got close together, but Shan Wazi was related to people surnamed Li, and because Shang Cheng defeated several people surnamed Li that night, the vast majority of people surnamed Li were hostile to Shang Cheng. But he couldn't live with Zhao Shishi and them. Because the surname Zhao thinks that since Shang Cheng didn't stand up to help them that night, then he must not be a friend of the person surnamed Zhao. Shang Cheng had to live with a few packmen who didn't provoke either side. It also had the advantage that the living area was much more spacious, at least he could sleep with his arms open now.

He managed to get a good night's sleep, and the next morning he heard bad news.

The big guy of the warehouse informed everyone that a general of the imperial court was ordered to inspect Yanshanwei, and when he passed through Quzhou, he heard about the extermination of bandits in Liu Ji Warehouse, and he wanted to "reward and commend" the people who had made meritorious contributions to suppressing bandits, so everyone had to wait in Quzhou for two more days, and they could not leave until the general received them. Of course, this glory had nothing to do with the latter group of people, they had to return to Yixian on the same day, and send back a batch of grain and grass entrusted by the government.

Most of the packers who participated in the "crackdown on bandits" were indifferent when they heard about it. In the past few days, they have seen many officials, and they have even eaten the flowing water banquet of the county magistrate's yamen, and they don't have much excitement and freshness when they see any generals again. Moreover, in this case, they usually stood in the courtyard, boiling oil under the poisonous sun, and the officials usually ate tea and chatted in the cool hall, and then summoned a few stewards and merchants of the inn to ask a few questions, and finally stood on the steps in front of the hall and said a few words to them, which was not interesting at all.

Some people also asked the big guy: "So we can go back to Yi County the day after tomorrow?" ”

The big guys don't know when they'll be able to hit the road. He finished his sentence and left in a hurry. The sad-faced mountain baby kept sighing, dragged her legs to the eaves, and sat down slowly against the wall. He was hit with a stick on his right leg during the group beating that night, and he still can't walk easily.

Shang Cheng came over to sit down with him, squinted his right eye and said, "Don't worry about the family—your brother and sister-in-law can help you take care of it." His right eyelid is still swollen and shiny, the result of that night's scuffle.

"It's good not to worry about it." Shan Wazi sighed, and said after a while, "My brother's life is not as good as mine, what can I take care of?" He stared at a team of ants on the ground. The team of ants sent a black line out of the ground, dragging a meat worm. After staring at it for a long time, he took another breath, "My sister-in-law is a sick seedling, coughing all year round, my brother has to take care of the crops, and he has to take care of the three dolls to eat and drink, and take care of him, alas, if I don't have two heads for three days, I have to take care of him" He felt that it was not good to say this in front ......of people, and he stopped talking halfway.

He folded his arms around his knees and buried his head deeply. Shang Cheng opened his mouth and didn't know what to say, so he sighed with him for a while and said, "It's useless for you to worry about it now......"

Two days passed quickly, and another two days passed, and the general was still nowhere to be found. The empty warehouse in the warehouse was once again full of goods, all bags of grain. There are also some rectangular objects wrapped in linen. When he moved these into the warehouse, Shang Cheng also groped curiously. Each of these objects is one and a half feet thick and more than two feet long, and they are not too heavy, and they are layered to the touch, and you can smell a mixture of cooked cowhide and varnish through the linen. According to experienced fellows in the warehouse, this is the leather armor of the border army. Sure enough, at noon a few soldiers moved into the storehouse, and in the evening a few more came, and without saying a word, they called all the packmen out to carry things—still leather armor.

It wasn't until the morning of the fifth day that someone came to tell you that the general was going to see you today, and the time was about noon; No one is allowed to leave. Then there were clerks from the yamen who took the roster and took the roll call, and there were officers with soldiers who came to inspect them, and although they were not searched, everyone was interrogated several times. Not only the packers, but even the border soldiers who escorted the ordnance and food were interrogated one by one. Then the front and back yard doors were double-guarded, and no one was allowed to enter or exit, not even a piece of paper.

Where did the packmen see this kind of battle, they all trembled a little, and hid in the hut in a state of anxiety. The border soldiers were experienced, but they were not afraid, and they laughed loudly in the courtyard, and the sentry did not stop them much. Gradually, the packmen also saw that the sentry was only strictly forbidden to people to enter and leave, and they didn't care about anything else, and they also had the courage to come out and speak, and some people curiously asked the border soldiers, what kind of general was this general who summoned everyone.

The small officer who led the border soldiers was about thirty years old, not tall, but very sturdy when he looked at it, and the two eyes on the face of the national character were always squinted, as if he was observing others and thinking about something at any time, and his face was a little difficult to approach, but he was very good at talking, and when he saw that the packer was curious, he smiled and reassured them, saying that the adults were just coming to see, and it was impossible to embarrass them. As for which general this is, it is difficult to say, because now there is even a general of Zhuguo in Quzhou City, and there are several other officers of the fourth and fifth grades, some of whom have the rank of general, and some who do not have the rank of general, but these people can be called generals...... Of course, it is impossible for him to tell a group of packmen about this matter, but he vaguely said that he is not too clear, and he can only see from this guard that the general who came must be of high rank......

"Can you compare to the prefect?" The Li surnamed Housheng, who punched Shang Cheng's eyelids and swollen, asked.

The little officer surnamed Sun laughed when he asked this. The prefect of Quzhou is on the sixth grade, and one of the generals in that group of generals is also on the fifth grade......

Whether it is on the sixth grade or under the fifth grade, the packmen don't know it, but after talking and comparing with each other, they know that although the officer in front of them is only a chief, there is also an official rank who is loyal and brave from the ninth grade, and he is a serious officer.

The noon meal was much better than usual, the soup bucket was a finger thick of oil, the meat and vegetable soup could see white fat slices, although the wheat cake was still the usual color and taste, you could eat as much as you wanted, and there was no limit of three per person as usual, as well as fried pork and roast beef with green vegetables and tofu, all of which were filled with large wooden pots. It's a pity that there is no wine, which is a fly in the ointment.

After eating, everyone hid in the house to rest and cool off, and when they were stunned, they seemed to be asleep, and suddenly heard a shout from the yard: "Get up, get up!" As he spoke, four or five officers and soldiers rushed in dancing to see who was slow. In the blink of an eye, the packmen who had participated in the "bandits" were all driven into the yard, and there was no preferential treatment for the two injured people who had not yet completely healed. Another officer came over to point out the wounded in front and made the great contribution in front, so that everyone stood in two full rows. The officer ran to the front to see if he was not satisfied, and then let him stand in three rows; Seeing that he was still not satisfied, he made it into two rows. After tossing back and forth a few times, I finally decided to stand in two rows.

The packmen stood in line, and the border soldiers giggled and stood under the eaves in the shade to watch the excitement. However, at this time, they did not open their undershirts and pull up their trouser legs as they did before dinner in the morning, but they were neatly tied up and down, but they were not wearing armor.

Within half an hour, they saw two guards at the gate of the courtyard suddenly straighten their waists and stomachs, holding the handle of the knife with one hand and touching their chest with the other, and everyone knew that the general was coming. In the blink of an eye, the ten border soldiers who had just stood under the eaves and did not sit in each other stood in a line like javelins, with solemn expressions and not squinting. The officer who was hand-in-hand in disciplining the packman was startled, not to mention the packers who had long since stood crooked, and they were all dumbfounded.

Surrounded by a large group of local officials, two young men stood at the door and looked at it. There was no speech as Shang Cheng imagined, and there was no reward as the packers imagined, anyway, none of the people in this group came to say something, and then disappeared. Immediately, the guard at the gate was also removed, leaving two rows of packmen looking at each other.

That's it...... Finished? There was such a question in everyone's minds.

The crowd was chattering about the inexplicable summons, and about how to pass the time this afternoon and evening, and they swarmed into the house. Only Shang Cheng was still a little confused staring in the direction in which the group of officials had left. It was so strange that one of the two young men who had just come was a woman! Although the woman wore a bun like a man, wore a crown, and was dressed almost exactly like the man next to her, her delicate face and plump breasts still revealed her gender. Woman dressed as a man? The officer accompanying him still pretended not to know? Acting or fooling around?

When he was about to return to the house with a belly full of questions, he happened to see the officer surnamed Sun sitting under the eaves with a pampa fan to relieve the heat. He went over and bowed first. The officer was an easy-going man, and had heard some of his stories, and when he saw that his etiquette was not appropriate, he did not care, waved his hand, and pointed to the stool beside him to signal him to sit down and talk.

Shang Cheng sat down, but he didn't know what to say for a long time. Female generals? This is something that is rare in dramas, why should these people be blind and pretend not to see it? However, if it was a common thing for a woman to join the army and fight, he recklessly inquired, and the officer in front of him became suspicious, would it be self-defeating to involve himself? After thinking about it, he felt that he had done too little consideration in this matter - no matter how curious he was, he could wait until he returned to Yixian County to inquire slowly, even if Huo Shiqi didn't know, at least Huo Shiqi could still ask others......

Officer Sun saw that he was a little at a loss, so he said first: "I heard that you used to be a monk, and then you returned to the vulgar?" ”

Shang Cheng's mind was wandering, and he said a few times before he could: "Ah...... Yes, I have been a monk for a few years......"

"Why do you think about it again?"

This is a difficult question to answer. In an instant, Shang Cheng's mind turned countless answers, but each of them had logical blind spots, and it was easy to find fault with them. He had no choice but to remain silent.

Sure enough, the officer happily thought of the answer for him: "You want to ask for a daughter-in-law, right?" Seeing that Shang Cheng nodded in acquiescence, he was a little happy that he had guessed correctly, and said with a smile, "The little monk's precepts are not strict enough." But your body is indeed a waste of being a monk. Hmm, which girl did you fall in love with, and you were willing to give up even her robe? How many years did you become a monk before you were still a monk? ”

Seeing that Shang Cheng still didn't speak, the officer didn't ask, just shook the pu fan and looked up at the sky, as if he was recalling something. After a long time, he said, "It's good to be vulgar." - The temple is not a clean place......" He said this, his expression couldn't help but become a little gloomy, the pu fan in his hand was not shaken, the smile on his face disappeared, and he looked fixedly at the place that was swayed by the sun, and only after a long time retracted his gaze and swirled on Shang Cheng's face, a pair of small eyes flashed, because he asked, "The little monk came to me, a little officer, wouldn't it be boring to come and hang out with me?" Do you want to be a soldier and eat food? He pursed his lips and thought for a moment, and said with a smile, "Now Yanshanwei is recruiting troops all over the country; You don't have to run towards Yanshan Mansion, there is a recruiting station in Yi County. I know the captain of Yi County, and I am an acquaintance with a bit of incense, and when I go back, I will tell him that when you go back from Beizheng, you can put on a military coat. Solid strength has been in the guard army for two or three years, maybe I will have to call you an adult when we meet again......"

"My lord is joking."

The officer shook his head and said, "I'm not joking. You are a good son of a clean family, and you have been a monk, you must be able to read a few words, so there are few people in the army, this is one of them; Second, look at your body, most of you have some ability, and you can order books and follow the list after a little training in the army - I said that I would stay up for two or three years, but in fact, I also said upwards, maybe I won't even have this time. Depending on the situation, the guards are going to make a big move when they speak......" He paused, probably thinking about whether he could say the next words, his brows furrowed slightly, and he smiled. "Although Shangfeng said that he would not fight with the north, but this grain, grass, and military equipment were piled up in the mountains and headed north, but anyone who is not blind can see that this battle is a matter of time. If you want to join the army, this is a good time, and it must be no problem to find a background after two or three battles......"

Shang Cheng could hear that he was thinking about his coming, but this was exactly what he expected, so he didn't interrupt the officer's words. Seeing that the officer's words were over, he asked about the affairs of the guard, and then found an excuse and left.

Early the next morning, the eastern sky just showed a little fish belly white, and a long pack horse came out of the east gate of Quzhou, and went along the post road, and when it was about to disappear from the sight of the sentry on the gate tower of Quzhou, it turned around and stepped to the north......