In late autumn, the cold wind that swept through the Sanggan River valley already had some chilly breath.

Far from the dry season, the Sanggan River looks much smaller than usual, revealing a large riverbed. Children are giggling and churning through fish and shrimp on the shore.

The fields on both sides of the bank had been harvested, and the ears of wheat had been picked up cleanly, and there were only sheaves of wheat stalks in the east and west on the black fields.

High up on the south bank of the river, there is a small village, surrounded by a fence and equipped with watchtowers, which are standard in rural villages as border counties facing the Turks.

Xu Le stood on the wall, looking at the harvested field in contemplation.

Xu Le is only a few years old, and he has only recently stepped into a young man, at the age of nineteen. In later generations, he was about 178179 tall, with flat shoulders and narrow waist, and a sharp figure.

Nineteen years old, he has sword eyebrows and starry eyes, soft lines, and the corners of his mouth are upturned when he laughs, and he actually has the rare taste of a borderland boy. This kind of talent is placed in Luoyang, Chang'an, and then has the identity of a family, I don't know how many ladies will be in the deep dreams of women.

Even in Shenwu County, when the girls in the county mention Le Langjun, they always have spring in the corners of their mouths and their eyes are drunk. If Mrs. Xu could let Xu Le join the eagle army back then, or break some money to buy an official status, I am afraid that those who have official status in the county will also be willing to recruit this son-in-law. And the country woman proposed, and Mrs. Xu was afraid that she would wronged this grandson, so she kept delaying.

Footsteps sounded, and a sturdy young man was walking up to the wall, shaking his head at Xu Le.

Xu Le frowned: "Han Yue, what's the matter?" ”

Han Yue is the son of a servant brought back by Xu Taigong back then, grew up with Xu Le, and also followed Xu Le to escape Xu Taigong's custody and fight in Shenwu County.

Han Yue shook his head after hearing this: "It's not good, even if the rations are halved, this rent will not be paid." ”

Han Yue looked at Xu Le: "Taigong hasn't ordered his family background yet?" ”

Xu Le shook his head: "For a few years, the Turks have been in the Kou, grandpa has stopped returning to Yi, and he refuses to hand over to the government, and the rent that should be paid is indispensable. ”

Han Yue clenched his fists: "Then don't hand it over!" After the disaster, the emperor still opened a warehouse to release grain, how could this Wang Taishou still have the face to search? ”

Xu Le smiled: "You go and talk to Wang Taishou?" This is a well-known stubborn character, and in this Mayi County, he is a man of his word. If you want to go to the Taishou Mansion to make trouble, I will stand up and cheer you on. ”

Han Yue shook his fist in a daze: "Who are we afraid of Hedong Xia?" ”

Xu Le sighed, his sword eyebrows frowned slightly: "Xia Shao also has to have a family and a mouth, I can do it, what about the grandfather lying on the hospital bed?" At this age, he suffered a broken family? What about so many folks in Xujialu? ”

Xu Le patted Han Yue, who was still unconvinced, on the shoulder: "It's time for me to take this responsibility too." ”

Han Yue looked at Xu Le hesitantly, and stopped talking.

Xu Le smiled: "Don't do this twisting, your head looks hairy............ I know what you mean, my friends have come to the door these days to persuade me to join the eagle army, or to worship a door and serve as an official. Anything will be said then. But do you think my grandfather is willing? ”

Han Yue shook his head, Xu Taigong, who was lying on the hospital bed, was so hard that he was afraid that he would not let this Wang Taigong, who was still desperately searching in the disaster year, keep a little. Xu Le is not allowed to enter the eagle army, and he is not allowed to worship the door of any large or small family for his drive. Let this Le Langjun only mess around in the township. He felt sorry for Xu Le.

But those friends only dared to persuade Xu Le, and no one dared to say it to Mrs. Xu. Xu Taigong was the one who swept the bandits in the Sanggan River valley with a bow and a horse!

The characters of the older generation of this generation still remember the appearance of Mrs. Xu back then - the good looks inherited to Xu Le, who is not young and personable, and his posture on horseback is not inferior to that of a teenager. Widowed and eccentric, but absolutely protective of the people around him. When you are angry, your eyebrows are high, which makes people feel cold when you look at it!

But now Mrs. Xu is just an old man who has difficulty moving after a stroke.

Han Yue still looked at Xu Le with a blank eye, and there seemed to be a prayer in his eyes.

Xu Le smiled faintly, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he had a sense of ease: "Only by continuing to walk back to Yi that road, otherwise it will be a broken family, and this Wang Taishou can really send troops to exterminate him." Grandpa has been guarding Xu Jialu for so long, and now it's time for me to come. ”

Han Yue nodded: "Anyway, I'll go with Le Langjun." ”

Xu Le nodded: "It's time to serve grandpa and take medicine, you go and take care of the things on the road, and set off tomorrow morning!" ”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the small village of Xujialu, it is quiet and quiet, and there is no one in sight. It is the harvest season, and most of the village elites are busy in the fields. There were only women in the village, preparing meals, and smoke was rising from all over the village, creating a calm scene.

Literati and scholars, seeing this mountain, this water and this small village, it is inevitable to have the poetry of the harvest year in the fragrance of rice flowers. But only when you are in it and see the gloomy expressions on the faces of the scattered villagers can you understand how difficult life must be in this troubled world and facing the Turkic borderlands!

At the beginning of last spring, Bi Khan led the Turkic army southward and besieged the Son of Heaven and Yanmen County. Mayi County, which borders Yanmen County, was also affected. Soldiers and horses come and go, and the levy is as urgent as a spark.

In the autumn of last year, Li Yuan, the prince of Tang Guo, who guarded Jinyang, and Wang Rengong, the Taishou of Mayi County, joined forces to fight the southward Turkic army, and although they won, most of the local reserves were consumed.

Since the ninth year of Daye, Mayi County has been in drought for many years. However, the Turks were powerful, and Wang Rengong doubled his rent in order to prepare for war, and if he was strong and should not be transferred to an eagle, he would be exempted from paying ten times. The tax collectors rushed to the occasion, and Wang Rengong, who acted so strong and tough that he was almost paranoid for the sake of taxation, had already destroyed many villages. The heads of the so-called anti-tax mob were hung in rows and rows at the gates of the city.

At present, in addition to the Turkic external troubles, in addition to natural disasters, Mayi County is also in chaos. Before the Son of Heaven went south to Jiangdu, he made new arrangements for personnel in various places.

Mayi County has strong soldiers, and Wang Rengong has been in office for a longer time, with a domineering personality. The Son of Heaven promoted Liu Wuzhou, who had made meritorious contributions to the expedition to Goryeo, and appointed him as the general of the Eagle Attack Lang of the Right Tun Guard Heng'an Yingyang Mansion to divide Wang Rengong's power.

Wang Rengong is now wantonly looting and expanding the army, increasing the strength of the Yingyang Mansion in his hands, and constantly sending men and horses to the north, in the name of the Turks, to oppress Liu Wuzhou, who was in the clouds, and force him to submit.

I can't wait for the Turks to go south, and the Mayi County will fight first!

At this time, Wang Rengong was even more ruled by strict punishment and strict law, and he looked more and more tightly about money and food. If it falls into his hands, Wang Rengong will not break his family once or twice.

Xu Le walked in the village, nodding and greeting the villagers from time to time, and glancing at the small village that was already a little decayed.

In the past 19 years, he was raised by his grandfather in this village, and when he was a child, he played all over the mountains and fields, and grew up to practice literature and martial arts. If you are older, you will be rebellious and have secretly climbed over the fence countless times at night, and taken Han Yue out to hang out with the young men of Hedong.

Every family in the village has people who have watched them grow up, and every corner of the village has traces left by their own naughty tricks.

Maybe I once hated my grandfather why he was confined in this small world and raised his own skills, didn't he want to live here all his life and live an ordinary villager life!

But when his grandfather, who had always been as strong as a pine, suddenly suffered a stroke and fell, Xu Le naturally felt that this responsibility was his own.

Grandpa, grandpa, just look at me and make a show!

Xu Jialu is very small, and in the blink of an eye, Xu Le has already come to his own mansion in the village. Han Yue's mother was guarding the door - the Han family was one of the servants who settled here with the old lady, Han Yue's father died early, and the old lady was still doing some chores in the Xu family - and now she is taking advantage of the sun to dry the dried vegetables ready for winter with a plaque at the door.

Seeing Xu Le coming back, Han hurriedly greeted him. Xu Le asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with grandpa?" ”

Han is in his early forties, rough hands, and has taken care of Xu Le since he was a child. Seeing that Xu Le was also like his own child, Xu Le was beaten by his grandfather when he was rebellious, and he was beaten by his grandfather. also complained to Mrs. Xu for the delay in making a marriage for Xu Le.

Han Shi also lowered his voice: "I was lying in the courtyard basking in the sun, covered with felt, the medicine was hot in the stove under the corridor, and Xiao Liu was guarding the fire............ Today's temperament is not so great. ”

Xu Le nodded, and Han looked at Xu Le, wanting to speak again.

Now Xu Le is very familiar with the look of the people in the village looking at him. Since my grandfather fell, I decided to go north and go back to Yi Road, and everyone has this demeanor.

After hesitating, Han still decided to speak: "Le Langjun, it's better not to go or not to go." Now that the army is in chaos, there is a ............ How much tax should be paid, let's just grit our teeth and pay, and we can live without eating chaff. ”

Xu Le shook his head with a smile: "Auntie, this is not a matter of renting those grains and silk linen, it is free of money!" ”

Sui Shi paid taxes, rent Yong three words. Rent is grain, and Yong is all kinds of local things, mainly silk and linen. It covers the most important words of food and clothing. The adjustment is hard labor, which is mainly how many days of free labor for the government in a year. The military system of the Sui Dynasty is also counted in the transfer, and if you are unwilling to serve, you can replace it by paying money, which is called exempting money.

But now Wang Rengong, not to mention the tyrannical expropriation of rent, the most ferocious hand is to increase the exemption money tenfold. If you can't pay the money, you have to go to service.

Originally, it was just a matter for the people to serve some labor, but now Wang Rengong has turned all the labor into military service. Trying his best to expand the forces of the Yingyang Mansion under his command! How many people are either less heroes in Hedong, or because they can't afford to pay the exempt money, or they just have the intention of getting ahead in the troubled times, and actively and passively join the rapidly expanding Mayi Yingyang Mansion.

If you raise so many soldiers, you will have to double the expropriation. After the expansion, the mixed Mayi Yingyang Mansion allowed Wang Rengong to have sufficient manpower to levy under his rule. Most of Mayi County lives under such high pressure.

Or be tied to Wang Rengong's chariot and fight for some of the ambitions that Wang Rengong may have in the future. Or just try your best to support, once you can't deal with it, there is a danger of breaking the house.

“………… The exempt money used to be 120 yuan, but now it is 1,200 yuan, not to mention that the rent and double the rations are not enough, even if you don't eat or drink with your mouth tight, you can't get so much money after selling the rations. At present, there is only a way to go north, exchanging grain for horses, and the price of horses in the county is now high enough. A trip will be able to cope with it this year. ”

Han Shi was stunned for a while, and suddenly his eyes turned red, and he wiped the corners of his eyes: "Why is the world suddenly chaotic like this?" Le Langjun, you are such a talent, you have to settle accounts one by one, when it comes to Le Langjun's identity, you shouldn't have suffered this hardship............"

As soon as Han cried, Xu Le, who was not afraid of heaven and earth, also had a little numbness in his scalp, and hurriedly greeted: "I'll go in and see grandpa first!" Immediately, he wiped past Han and stepped into the courtyard.

The Xu family's mansion is also the appearance of an ordinary country house, with a two-entry pattern. It's just that the house is small and the yard is large, the front yard is also used as a martial arts training ground, and the back yard is a stable. In the front yard of the house, the Han family was cleaned up a little spotlessly.

Now under the porch of the house, there is a teenage child guarding the medicine jar, the medicine soup has been boiling, exuding a strong smell of medicine.

In front of the porch, the old man who was half-lying and half-leaning on the Hu bed, basking in the sun with a layer of felt, heard the sound of Xu Le entering the room, and opened his eyes.

The old man is over sixty years old, full of white hair, and the outline of his eyebrows can be seen as Yingting when he was young, although he has a sick face, his gaze at Xu Le is still like cold electricity.

It was Grandpa Xu Le, who took one or two people to defeat the horse bandits and thieves in the Dongsangan River Valley in Shenwu County, single-handedly established Xujialu, and once returned to the north alone, and personally killed no less than ten Turkic wolf riders.