The pirates came in a rage and went away. On the wall, the group cheered and thundered.

Zhao Xingde raised his bow and arrow, only to see Peng Rui looking at him dumbfounded, Zhang Bao and the others showed even more awe, only Luo Huan's face was slightly normal. Over the years, there have been many events in the north, but Lingnan has not been prosperous, and marksmanship like Zhao Xingde is also rare in the northern army, and it is even more unseen in Lingnan. So everyone was a little stunned for a while, in addition to admiration, there was more of a layer of awe, seeing Zhao Xingde turn around, Peng Rui squeezed out a smile and praised: "Xing, General Xing is true, he is really a god!" ”

Zhao Xingde put away the hard bow and said with a smile: "Without him, only the hand is familiar." ”

This is an allusion to Chen Kangsu Gong of the Dynasty, several civil officials are familiar with it, he meant to be modest, clinker, his hand archery skills are too amazing, Peng Rui and Luo Huan are still in shock, no one treats him as an ordinary person. Seeing that no one is interesting. Zhao Xingde only opened his mouth and smiled silently. Everyone followed behind Zhao Xingde and returned to the banquet hall.

Before the banquet, Peng Rui had sent someone to report the news of the invasion of the Haikou and asked the Gaozhou government to send officials and troops to help the defense of Shilian Village. Zhao Xingde also sent a letter to the Gaozhou government, saying that Shilian Village was in the middle of the main post road, and it was best for the officials and troops to set up a stockade here to choke the main road for the Haikou to invade the hinterland of Gaozhou. Peng Rui originally wanted to keep the Qingyuan battalion stationed for a while, but after knowing that the Qingyuan battalion could not stay, it was difficult to hide the disappointment on his face. Luo Huan hinted that his Gaozhou Mansion would definitely pay attention to the suggestion of the Qingyuan camp, and after the new camp was built in Shilian Village, Peng Rui showed his face a little and kept thanking Luo Huan.

For the people of Shilian Village, the people of Qingyuan Camp are real life-saving benefactors. Therefore, under Peng Rui's arrangement, the banquet was extremely rich, and each family moved the dining table from the house to the stone street, and each table was filled with fragrant wine and dishes, such as white chopped chicken, braised duck with yellow fruit, braised fish, button meat, snake soup, chicken offal vegetable soup, plus seasonal vegetables from Lingnan, and the plates were fragrant and attractive. Compared to the food served by the government during the march, it was much more abundant.

The people of Shilian Village mostly abide by the clear stream law and pay attention to "men and women do not sit together", so the women in the village only cook in the back kitchen, and only two or three men entertain the officers and soldiers at each table. However, the folk customs here are simple, in addition to doing their best to serve good food, the villagers also took out their own rice wine, first poured the wine into a large bowl, and then used a pottery spoon to serve to the guests' mouths, called "toast", the guests do not drink will not give face. Originally, it was not allowed to drink alcohol during the march, but last night's bloody battle soldiers used their lives, and the hospitality of the master's family was difficult to resist, Zhao Xingde specially allowed it, and the drinking was limited to three soups, and the rice wine of this farmer's house was mellow and sweet, and the three soups were only about one or two wines, and the officers and soldiers naturally would not get drunk. However, for a while, the soup came and went, but it was also the joy of the guests and hosts.

When the wine was hot, the officers and soldiers of the Qingyuan battalion and the people also chatted, and the people spoke in the Lingnan dialect, the rough voice, guessing the boxing order, the chicken and the duck spoke, Zhao Xingde couldn't understand a word, as if he was in a foreign country, fortunately, Peng Rui and Luo Huan both spoke official language, Peng Rui's ancestral hometown Yichuan, and after talking with Zhao Xingde for a few words, it was a Luoyang Zhengyin, and both sides had a sense of embarrassment.

"Listening to the accent, General Xing seems to be from the Central Plains?" Peng Rui sighed, "During the Xuanhe period, we were framed by the traitorous party and exiled to Lingnan for more than ten years. Yu's parents have died of old age, and the child grew up in Lingnan. "The Song people are the most important to the countryside, Peng Rui couldn't help but burst into tears when he said that he was emotional. Zhao Xingde was also moved by it and said with relief: "The so-called misfortune and blessing depend, later Liaokou went south, nearly half of the people in the north died, displaced, and the family was ruined. For Lord Peng's family, when they were exiled to Lingnan, the disaster became a good thing. ”

"The land of mulberry, the ancestral tombs, is always unforgettable." Peng Rui dipped his eyes and feet in the placket of his clothes, looked at Zhao Xingde and asked, "Listening to what the general said, could it be that General Xing once participated in the Northern Expedition and saw the ruined scene of the Central Plains with his own eyes?" After receiving Zhao Xingde's affirmative answer, he gritted his teeth and said: "The Peng clan still has a lot of clansmen in Yichuan, and since the Central Plains Bandang, they have lost news. Liao thieves invaded my Central Plains and killed my clan, and this great revenge must be avenged. He poured himself a glass of wine, and filled the wine glass in front of Zhao Xingde, and said, "It turns out that General Xing is a strong man in the Central Plains of the Northern Expedition, no wonder his martial arts are amazing, please accept Peng's worship." After saying that, he stood up and slammed it to the ground, and Zhao Xingde hurriedly stood up to avoid it.

After the two sides gave in politely, they sat down again, at this time, the villagers came up to say that the empty plate was removed, and served a full plate of meat and vegetables, Zhao Xingde couldn't help frowning when he saw this, and said to Peng Rui: "Your kindness, we understand it, but after the feast, the people's lives have to go on, and the wine and food can not be served." After saying that, he put the bowl aside and signaled that the feast was over. Luo Huan, Zhang Bao and others saw him like this, and they also put down the dishes and chopsticks.

"General Gaoyi, but," Peng Rui smiled and picked up the cup, "Since Princess Chen ruled Guangzhou, the imperial court has vigorously developed the South China Sea reclamation, and the land reclaimed by the people belongs to itself, and the Guangzhou government has supported workshops and trade, and the prices of grain, ironware, sugar, wine, and tea have been steadily reduced, but the life of the people is much better than before, mules and other draft animals. Even ordinary people can eat meat several times a month. ”

Zhao Xingde's face still showed disbelief, but Luo Huan and other local officials in Guangnan thought so. "Rest assured, the people have three years of accumulated grain, and a banquet is not endless." Luo Huan explained, "Lingnan experienced the Nong Zhigao Rebellion, and the imperial court put the inevitability of provoking popular rebellion in the first place in local governance. As early as the Xuanhe period, our society Qingliu has not yet been in power, and the foundation has been rooted in the rural people early, but the court has harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and one side of Qingliu will encourage the people to oppose it. After Princess Chen Xiang took charge of Guangzhou, she also treated the people with kindness, appeased the immigrants, and did not compete with the people for profit. In addition to the imperial grain, the taxes taken by the yamen from the people are only limited to one year's consumption, and if the year's consumption is higher than in previous years, it is necessary to convene a party of virtuous people to discuss and listen to the people's feelings, and if they can not increase the tax, they will not give it. Over time, the Fuli Cangli in Guangnan Prefecture County was so poor that he could run a mouse, but the people were indeed very wealthy. ”

"Exactly." Peng Rui said with emotion, "Zi said that the harsh government is fiercer than the tiger, and it is true." Lingnan was originally a miasma land, just because there were many barbarians, the imperial court deliberately appeased with gentleness, coupled with the efforts of the people in our society, all these years of recuperation, the life of the people is far better than that of Jiangnan. In recent years, many poor people from the southeast have moved their families to Lingnan, and even stayed here for a while, and then moved further afield to the reclamation of the South China Sea. ”

Luo Huan is also a disciple of the Liuguan, nodded with deep sympathy, and sighed: "I still remember when I first came, the art of witches and ghosts was still prevalent in Lingnan, and the three religions of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism were not prosperous. In the past few years, the people have become richer and richer, and the people have bought ironware, silk, porcelain and other daily things, and their habits have gradually become the same as those of our Central Plains. However, after the population yielded, the easy land reclamation gradually became insufficient, and the landless people could not make a living, some went to work, and some could not stand the poverty, so they simply went to sea to become sea bandits. In fact, before the big cannibals came, there were already bandits who colluded with the Annamite people on the two roads in Quang Nam, but they were not as rampant as they are now. ”

Peng Rui sighed, the two roads in Guangnan are backed by mountains and facing the sea, and bandits have always been a big trouble, and they have almost never been banned.

The composition of the Song Haikou was very complex, with only a small number of real bandits, and the rest were either fishermen who had been coerced, tenant workers who had lost their lives, and ordinary people who had been taken captive and put on the boats. Therefore, although the number of pirates is large, there is nothing to be afraid of head-to-head confrontation. Before the appearance of the Great Water Eater, the harassment of the coastal areas by the Haikou was not very strong, and the Song court did not pay attention to it. However, when the Great Water Eater colluded with the original Haikou, it immediately became a big problem. This time, Zhao Xingde and the Guangzhou government conspired to deal with the big food and sea cowards, but the clinker first encountered these rabble.

"I see." Zhao Xingde nodded, he had been in the north for a long time and didn't know much about the situation in Guangnan.

After the wine was hot, Dubao Peng Rui once again revealed the intention of retaining, but Zhao Xingde still refused. He suggested that before the arrival of the Gaozhou official army, Peng Rui temporarily blocked Shilian Village, planted more flags on the wall, burned more cooking smoke in the village, and pretended to be an army still in the village, while Zhao Xingde and others were just a team that set off first. Peng Rui saw that Zhao Xingde refused to stay longer no matter what, so he had to order the villagers to make more cooking cakes, plus air-dried bacon and other things, and give them to the soldiers of the Qingyuan battalion to eat on the road.

After the feast, the Qingyuan battalion finished its equipment and left Shilian Village to continue its march westward.

According to the confession of the prisoners, the pirates were not just this group, but the actions of many bandits and robbers. Zhao Xingde ordered the Qingyuan battalion to throw away its baggage and carry only armor blades to speed up the march. Originally, he was worried that the Haikou would not be able to go ashore, but not long after he left Guangzhou, he encountered a large-scale invasion of the Haikou invaders, and he was inevitably worried that the South China Sea Navy Division would not be able to react, and before he could block the way, the coastal prefectures and counties would be devastated.

............

In the Red Shark Reef in the South China Sea, there are many fewer ships sheltering from the wind in the reef, and those Song pirate ships flying red, yellow, blue and white flags sailed out a few days earlier.

On the ship of the commander of the Great Food Navy, a blue-robed Song man stood in the center of the cabin.

In the face of the fierce cannibal, Mo Tianbao rarely said sharply: "King Famaitu, my host has already contacted more than 100 heroes of the Great Song Dynasty to go ashore, if you don't go out again, I am afraid that Guangzhou Nanbi will be robbed by the Song people themselves, and when the time comes, there will be no part of your big cannibals, don't blame our Qiu Dongjia upside down." ”