Aunt Gongsun once told her son that even pigs can fly when they are in the wind. Zhong Xuan also said that the general trend is like a tide, and people are like boats on the sea, fluctuating with the waves...... In fact, these are all meanings, which are the dialectical relationship between the individual and the current situation.

From this point of view, if Gongsun Xun, Cao Cao and others in the second year of Zhongping felt the turbulence of the waves and chose to give up the current situation and take a step back to cultivate self-respect; Correspondingly, Yuan Shao is ready to go, waiting for the best and biggest opportunity in Luozhong, ready to jump up.

However, compared to these two, the one who really soared into the sky this year because of the current situation was Zhang Yan, the Purple Mountain thief, who was really the pig on the cusp.

No way, really can't ...... After hundreds of years of accumulation of internal contradictions, the survival of the people at the bottom was already in jeopardy, and then suddenly a Yellow Turban Rebellion that swept most of Hebei appeared.

The war of hundreds of thousands of people lasted for more than half a year, and after the war, there was an unstoppable epidemic, a blessing that made people completely desperate for the government, and the most unbearable famine...... In the summer of the second year of Zhongping, with the rebellion in Liangzhou, Huangfu Song led his troops to leave, or as the center selectively temporarily gave up its efforts to restore order in Hebei, the whole Hebei was naturally completely out of order.

In this situation, for the thieves, what is not a gale?

I think that Zhang Yan had just thrown himself into the thief before, and he was thrown out of the house by Huangfu Song like a rabbit, and fled in embarrassment, and there was a cruel internal power struggle in the middle of the escape, and a leader died and a family was divided. But what makes people speechless is that no matter how chaotic or defeated, the strength of this former pottery chief has rapidly expanded at an unbelievable speed. In less than two months, he actually closed up the Taihang Mountain, which stretched for thousands of miles, and cut off the road of Changshan and Zhao with an absolutely superior force.

Of course, Zhang Yan also understood that this kind of opportunity was hard to come by, so after controlling his subordinates a little, he quickly surrendered, and then he really became a general who had never dreamed of before.

Although this surrender was a great loss of dignity and a huge blow to the authority of the Han dynasty from a system point of view, it was a rare opportunity to breathe in Hebei, a land full of disasters and difficulties...... At the very least, the officials can barely muster up the courage to maintain order outside the city, the roads can be cleared, the message can be retransmitted, and the fleeing civilians can finally not worry about encountering too many swords and soldiers on the road.

In such an atmosphere of the aftermath of the catastrophe, Gongsun Xun, who was re-equipped with the seal of General Wei, led his five hundred white horse followers, escorted his family, and began to go to the west of Liao.

However, along the way, Gongsun Xun and others still had some difficulty, because from the beginning of the re-movement in Zhao Guobairen County, there were displaced people who began to follow.

"Shaojun!"

The weather was hot at noon, and not long after crossing the boundary monument between the Hejian Kingdom and the Anping Kingdom, Yang Kai suddenly rode a horse to catch up from behind. "The young master asked me to ask you, do you want to sit back in the car and rest to avoid the sun?"

"Where are you asking me?" Gongsun Xun sneered, but handed the eldest son Gongsun Ding, who was a little drowsy in his arms, directly to the other party on the horse. "Send this kid back...... She was the one who asked the child to ride with me before, and now she is also worried. ”

Yang Kai carefully stretched out his hand to take Gongsun Ding, and said with a helpless smile: "It's not that the young master mother is worried, but it's really that not only is the sun vicious outside, but there are also a lot of unsightly things on the road. ”

"A loving mother has many defeated children." Gongsun Xun was shocked when he heard this. "There are so many unsightly things that he will have to learn to read sooner or later!"

Yang Kai immediately kept silent, and saw that Gongsun Xun did not make any further moves, so he took Gongsun Ding and rode to the back car.

"The prince is too harsh." Lou Gui next to him saw people leaving, so he interjected and persuaded. "The eldest prince is still young, even if he is talking about reading with hanging hair, he should not be enlightened until next year, and these things on the side of the road are indeed a little unbearable."

"I'm not addressing him, I'm feeling the world." Gongsun Xun, who was riding on the horse, glanced at the fallen corpse on the side of the road, and shook his head helplessly, but turned to Han Dang on the other side. "Did Shuzhi ask anyone to report, and are there a lot more homeless people coming after me today?"

"Yes, a lot more." Han Dang has become more and more silent over the years, but even he couldn't help but say a few more words today. "Junhou, so many homeless people have been following us, will something happen? When he went out of Zhao State, it was just a few hundred people with him, and there were thousands of people when he walked to Julu, and now after Anping and into the river, there are actually vague 10,000 people...... It's not that I don't understand that the prince has benevolent thoughts, and I can understand that the gentlemen are unwilling to damage and damage the reputation of the prince, but so many people, in case of turmoil, what should the young master and the little prince do? We have all the wheels, we can leave them behind and speed away. ”

Whether it was Gongsun Xun or Lou Gui next to him, Qi Qi looked back at the team of homeless people who couldn't see the end at all behind the convoy, and they also sighed at each other, but they didn't say anything more.

And Han Dang immediately shut up and stopped talking about giving up the homeless.

In fact, in all fairness, as the leader of the guard, Han Dang's opinion is very correct, quantitative changes cause qualitative changes, when the number of displaced people following the team reaches nearly 10,000, even if there are 500 cavalry guards, the restraint of the team seems to be a little shaky after all. In such a situation, safety, hygiene, and speed are all at stake, and there is a real possibility of turmoil and plague if you are not careful...... In fact, when I followed thousands of people before, I didn't see Han Yigong say anything.

However, Gongsun Xun is not just an ordinary returnee after all, he is General Wei, the Marquis of Ji, and one of the few figures in Hebei, how could he make a move to drive away or get rid of the displaced people? And whether he himself or his subordinates, most of them are still people with a little sense of responsibility for their family and country, from Zhao Guobai, when the displaced people first gathered behind them, they instinctively wanted to maintain order and give correct guidance...... At least don't let them be thieves, right?

Moreover, from another point of view, the reason why these homeless people chose to follow Gongsun Xun was not ignorant and aimlessly bumped into him, but they recognized him from the beginning - the five hundred white horse cavalry were particularly recognizable in the land of Hebei.

In other words, people are specifically here for Gongsun Xun! At such a time, what is it to abandon them?

"Let's bear with it." Gongsun Xun rode forward slowly, pondering for a moment, but finally made a formal statement. "Uncle Zhi has already asked them clearly, these people are not blind, they are all good people who have not harvested for two consecutive years because of military disasters and banditry, and they have to abandon their property and move their families to Youzhou to escape the famine...... It's just a drop-way. Now that we have passed Anping and entered the boundary between the rivers, it is only two or three days away, won't we arrive in Youzhou? At that point, the team will gradually disperse on its own. ”

"Yes, Youzhou is vast and sparsely populated." Lou Gui also immediately twisted his beard and said with relief. "The local heroes are not as strong as the exploitation here in Jizhou, and when the time comes, whether it is to let the government contain them on the spot or let those heroes swallow them up, it is better than being so unreliable, right?"

When Gongsun Xun heard this, not only was he not happy, but he became more and more gloomy.

In other words, in the past few years, the famous ministers and good officials of the Han family have been fighting against the powerful and merging for their political achievements, and Gongsun Xun himself has known it for a long time, knowing that the root of the Han family's danger lies in the merger of the powerful and powerful. And now, he actually wants to encourage Haoqiang to gather the displaced people and annex the population?

It's just ridiculous!

But what if you don't?

As far as these displaced people behind them are concerned, their families are several, but most of them only carry a few worn-out clothes, dry food for more than ten days, and basically no livestock and farm tools. If it's better, there can be another wheelbarrow car, and it's almost like that, even the flat shoulder picker is made of temporary wood. Of course, because of the existence of Gongsun Auntie, today's homeless families will generally carry an iron pot, which is a necessary item on the way to escape, convenient and durable, and is the most valuable property of many families.

In such a situation, if Haoqiang is not allowed to take them in, they will soon either gather a crowd and become bandits, or they will really become starving on the roadside, not to mention the iron pot, or the clothes on their bodies will be stripped away.

And when it comes to the corpses and rotten bones on the side of the road that have been stripped of their clothes and even eaten by wild dogs, it is no wonder that Zhao Yun hoped that Gongsun would be able to make love to his father at first, but now he is thinking about locking the child in the car.

"Work harder!" Gongsun Xun thought about it for a long time, and he could only say that. "Then divide two hundred cavalry and hand them over to Shuzhi (Wang Xiuzi), Bohuai (Chang Linzi), and Wen Gong (Zaoyi) in the back, so that they must strictly restrain the order of the team...... Send more people to explore the way, tell Yuan Hei (Han Haozi), don't go to the way of marching and camping to find a place to stay, don't get too close to the city and cause panic, it is better to take the open space next to the woods, it is convenient to get firewood and cook water, and if you can't find the woods, it is better to use the water of the river and stream, and the living water is cleaner than the stagnant water! And Wei Yue there, let him go ahead of schedule and go to the front county to buy food, and be sure to report my name! ”

Many cronies and servants around listened to the order, either leading troops to look for Wang Xiu and Chang Lin, or looking for Han Hao and Wei Yue. And Lu Fan, Yang Kai, and Xi Zhong, who were guarding the family behind them, knew Gongsun Xun to some extent, and they didn't send anyone to admonish them...... It must be known that Gongsun Xun sent a hundred horsemen to Wang Xiu, Chang Lin, and Zao Yi in the back to restrain the order of the displaced people, and now with the addition of two hundred horsemen with them, and then counting the team that opened the road, sentry and purchased grain in front, then there are basically only a few dozen horsemen left to protect Gongsun Xun and the convoy of family members behind him.

"Prince!"

In this way, as Gongsun Xun issued a series of orders in a strong spirit, this team with more than 10,000 homeless people seemed to have the meaning of cheering up, however, it was only half an hour, and Han Dang suddenly spoke again. "Hurry up, trouble is already here."

Gongsun Xun and Lou Gui didn't react for a while, they just instinctively looked behind them, but they didn't see any excessive commotion.

"It's going to rain!" Han Dang reluctantly pointed to the east side of the sky and reminded. "Find a place to shelter from the rain. Now I just hope that the rain is not heavy enough, otherwise I am afraid that there will be no fire among the displaced people tonight. ”

Gongsun Xun and Lou Gui looked at the sky together, and then changed color together...... Sure enough, there are already dark clouds in the distance, but the distance is still far away, and I really can't see the specifics.

The summer rain was urgent, and the dark clouds were still on the horizon before, and after half an hour, they had already pressed in front of them, and although the team was also a little flustered, they barely held down the formation because of the increase in the number of patrolling cavalry around them. However, as the raindrops fell, the vision was blocked, and the panic still spread involuntarily, some people couldn't help but delay, and some people couldn't wait to push and grab the road, and then caused a riot.

Of course, Wang Xiu was also a trained and capable official, and immediately put his heart into order to rectify the order, and the cavalry also followed his order, directly dismounted and intervened, drawing swords and killing people...... The bright knife was cut off from the head of the young man who was showing the public, and there was a sudden news from the front, saying that there were still five miles to reach Zhongshui County in the river.

In the end, the team was reborn. So, the old and weak held the iron pot to block the rain, and the young and strong took what little possessions they had and accelerated forward, which made this strange team in the rain show a strange order.

Of course, five miles is a lie when you open your eyes, and the real distance is ten miles.

Moreover, with a team of nearly 10,000 displaced people, it is impossible for Zhongshui County to open the city and let people in, even Gongsun Xun cannot allow them to enter the city...... How do you settle down when you enter the city? Judging from the current situation, if there are more than 10,000 displaced people in a small city, I am afraid that in a few days, the city will also be coerced by the displaced people.

In fact, the real place of resettlement was nothing more than a clearing outside the city next to the city walls, and then it was hoped that the heavy summer rain would not last long, and that it would stop in the evening, and the city would provide some dry wood to make a fire.

"Prince!" Wei Yue, who was the first to explore the way, came out of the city gate cave first, and there was a young man with a black ribbon and copper seal behind him, as if it was the Zhongshui County Order. "Coincidentally, this Zhongshui County Commander is actually a student of the Marquis in Zhao Kingdom, my cheap family Wei Chang! He has done all the things for dry firewood and food, let's go to the city to rest! ”

"Wei Chang?"

Gongsun Xun was drenched like a chicken in soup, and when he came to the city gate, he saw clearly the person who took the initiative to support him just now, and looked at it, it was indeed the old acquaintance of Zhao Guo, the son of Wei Song, the prime minister of Lu State, and Wei Chang and Wei Zhongmao, who had a little teacher-student theory with him.

"It's me! The student has met the teacher. Wei Chang hurriedly gave up his hand and explained slightly. The students were ordered to reclaim water after the Yellow Turban Riot last year...... The teacher can rest assured, the students will do their best to make up firewood and some food, and please take the teacher into the city as soon as possible, and rest in my official temple! As for the teacher's obedience, I immediately asked Haoyou and Duting in the city to prepare and make room for it as much as possible. ”

"Nakamao." Gongsun Xun was embarrassed, but when he heard the words, he just shook off the water stains on his body and laughed for a while. "I'm glad I met you on the way, but the rain is still raining, and I'm afraid it's not the time to enter...... Let your wife take the women and children into the city, I still have something to do. ”

Wei Chang, Wei Yue, and even Lou Gui and Han Dang, who had just come over, all didn't know why.

"Righteous father." Gongsun Xun asked with a smile. "Did you notice the small platform we passed by just now outside the city?"

Han Dang immediately bowed his head.

Wei Chang also hurriedly interjected: "That is the sacrificial platform used to appease the people's hearts during the plague in this county before, two feet high, it was only built in the spring, and now only the mound of earth remains." ”

"I just said how coincidentally, it's actually right at the intersection." Gongsun Xun laughed more and more. "Yigong, you quickly take out my guard of honor, umbrella cover, and white horse flag, and choose a few strong people who will not get sick to set up with me on the stage, and I want to watch the team all settle down in the open space in front of the city."

"Prince!" Before Han Dang could speak, Wei Yue was speechless. "The umbrella cover is so tall and obviously shaded from the sun, how can it keep out the rain? I'm afraid that instead of being soaked in water, I will pour it on people's heads! ”

Gongsun Xun ignored the other party, just urged Han Dang to do it, and directly smiled and shook his hand out of the city gate hole, and urged the cars carrying the female dependents to enter the city quickly.

Han Dang was a little helpless, so he could only do what he said, but before leaving, he inevitably glanced at Lou Gui for help.

"Junhou, there is Shuzhi to take care of it in the back, and he will definitely not let anything go wrong." Lou Gui reluctantly walked out of the city gate cave and persuaded.

"It's not the same thing as putting people at ease." Gongsun Xun disagreed. "Now that the rain is quite heavy, no one knows when it will stop, and those displaced people who have no shelter from the rain are helpless, but what they are more afraid of is that they are drifting away and helpless, and they don't know if they can survive this time, let alone what the road ahead will be...... And if they had come with me in my name, and had come to know me, if I had waited for them to come one after another, and had waited with them for the rain to cease and the bonfire to be kindled, they would have been at peace tonight. Besides, I'm outside the city, and those who are in the city don't dare not help as best they can. ”

"The prince still wants to spend the night outside with them?" Wei Yue was speechless. "Why is that?"

Gongsun Xun glanced at Wei Yue, and then sneered: "Wei Zidu, you must know that everything is people-oriented, if I hadn't treated you Wuyuan immigrants with sincerity that day, how could you and Cheng Lian follow me here?" ”

After speaking, seeing that Han Dang began to prepare for the honor guard in the rain on the stage not far away, Gongsun Xun ignored it and walked directly out of the rain.

In fact, what people like their henchmen like Lou Gui don't know is that these 10,000 Gongsun Xun will not give up no matter what, not only for any practical considerations. What's more important is that from the very beginning, when someone followed, our General Wei remembered the old acquaintance 'General Zuo' in the story who 'could win people'. In other words, Gongsun Xun didn't believe it, he had worked hard for ten years, isn't he as virtuous as Liu Bei, who lost his family like a lost dog in history?

Moreover, at that time, Liu Bei's kid was Cao Cao's sword soldiers behind him, and there were 100,000 people around him, what was he? If you easily abandon people at this time, what face will you have to fight for the world in the future? It's better to really return to Liaoxi and never return!

On the other side, when Wei Yue heard this, he was rarely shy, but he also lowered his head and sighed, and chased forward again.

And the county commander Wei Chang actually sighed, but looked at Lou Gui again, and stopped talking.

"Zhongshui ordered and went to the city hard," Lou Gui said disapprerovingly. "You find Lu Ziheng in the city and assist him in dispatching supplies as best as possible to sleep in the best place...... Leave us alone. ”

After that, Lou Gui actually braved the rain to go to the stage.

In the summer thunderstorm, Gongsun Xun on the small stage was beaten by the rain, but he was still wearing a full honor guard flag, with a double purple ribbon and gold seal, and sat condescendingly on the stage. Coupled with Lou Gui and Han Dang behind him, and Wei Yue and Han Hao, who rushed over after hearing the news, led dozens of warriors to stand with swords on top of each other.

In this situation, it is really like a commander sitting in the army

And as Gongsun Xun had guessed before, the panicked team of displaced people came here, stagnating for a while, and then magically restored order one after another, and then even if they were not allowed to enter the city, they actually had no complaints.

Not only that, but the ranks of the displaced people are not only the bankrupt poor, but also the sons of good families who have been forced to abandon their homes in the past.

And Gongsun Xun actually kept laughing, and raised his hand to the salute one by one.

The summer rain was not very long, and it did not wait for the evening at all, in fact, before the team of more than 10,000 displaced people could fully arrive, the sun suddenly reappeared.

Dry firewood was sent from the city, and some food was sent to Wang Xiu, who was in charge of managing the ranks of the displaced people. At the same time, dragonflies are flying around, attracting many children to chase, and in the small river outside the city, when people go to get live water, they find the movement of frogs, fish and shrimp, and many young people who still have spare strength have gone to catch frogs to prepare for the night to satisfy their hunger.

For a while, under the sun after the summer rain, there was such an indescribable anger in the camp outside the city.

"I kind of got it today!" On the small stage, Lou Gui, who had been standing stiff for a long time, suddenly spoke.

"Understand what?" Gongsun Xun only felt that the smiling face he put on to appease people's hearts had stiffened.

"I understand how Zhang Yan's gang gathered the so-called millions of people." Lou Zibo sighed. "We have 500 cavalry, and it is so difficult to maintain order along the way, so you can imagine how this kind of outcasts will not become bandits once they are dispersed and disorderly? Moreover, spiritual qi and diseases are generally contagious, such as the prince sitting in the rain like this, which makes people feel at ease, and the people's hearts are easily so stable; Then come to think of it, if there is no restraint, and a few of the 10,000 displaced people are thieves, then within a few days, all of them will be bandits...... I'm afraid that the leader will be elected, and the ants may be attached to the siege of the city. ”

Gongsun Xun's heart moved slightly, but he was silent.

However, Han Dang, probably a little unacceptable to Zhang Yan's matter, couldn't help but say a few words to Lou Gui at this time: "If the millions of people gathered like this, it is no wonder that Zhang Yan is unstable in his heart, not only quickly please surrender, quickly surrender, and even write a letter to greet the prince, and his words are extremely humble. ”

"His humble letter shows that there is something rampant about his people now." For Han Dang, Lou Gui is naturally straightforward. "However, Yigong is right in one meaning, that is, millions of people, in his hands Zhang Yan is destined to be just a rabble of bandits. If it is according to the people-oriented attitude of our princes, there are millions of people...... I'm afraid that Luoyang has fallen, why go to Purple Mountain and Jinshan? ”

Han immediately shook his head.

On the other side, Gongsun Xun finally moved his stiff facial expression at this time, but he was slightly surprised: "Actually, I really didn't expect that along the way, Hebei would be like this...... Everything in the world is really the general trend! ”

——————I am not divided by people————

"Xunbei will return to Liaoxi, Jizhou will be in chaos, millions of bandits, people will attack each other, and the road will be pillowed. Xun brought his own family, and the repetition was from five hundred, all of whom were white horses and warriors. At first, it was discussed to be sharp in the army, and it was necessary to return to the north as soon as possible. Xun said: 'War and epidemic, although they are called bandits, they are actually outcasts, if they return quickly, they will be killed and wounded, and I can't bear it. 'It is stationed in the people of Bai for more than a month. and Zhang Yan descended, the road was slightly cleared, and he returned. When the displaced people continued, and bandits, since the beginning of the Bai people, there were many people who went to follow Xun, and wanted to take refuge outside the secluded state in Youzhou. Compared to the river, there are tens of thousands, hundreds of baggage, and more than ten miles a day. When it rains heavily, everyone is embarrassed, or Xun said: 'We are all in order, we should go fast, now the public is with us, lack of food and few things, if the night is roaring, or one of the diseases suddenly occurs, the children of the Ming Gong are all there, all young and young, why should it be?' Xun said: "From the bundle of hair to study, or widowed mother, or teacher, all have taught me that everything must be people-oriented, and this person is mine, why can I bear to abandon it?" 'When everyone went to the outside of Zhongshui City, they were embarrassed in the rain, and they were all persuaded to enter the city. Xun is a full guard of honor, standing on the stage with the flag, waiting for the crowd to come, in order to show that he will not give up. It will be sunny and everyone will return to their hearts. ——"Heroes of the Late Han Dynasty". Wang Cang