Along the way, he spent time in Ye Yan's narration, Mao Wenlong went from anger at the beginning to calm later, too much human suffering and the helplessness of the people made him begin to become numb.

Hong Chengchou listened carefully from beginning to end, and sometimes took the initiative to ask Ye Yan to be more careful. And his face was always calm, I really don't know what he felt in his heart?

After two days of day and night, in the early morning of the third day, Mao Wenlong and others went all the way to Yejia Village in Xuzhou. This village was the only one within a radius of ten miles, and there were many villages in other places, but they had all been deserted, and there was no one to be seen.

Mao Wenlong's army marched, and those little thieves didn't dare to show up along the way, but let them arrive at Yejia Village without incident.

The village of Yejia Village was built under a mountain, and the terrain is on higher ground, and there are many cultivated fields around the village, but this will be completely deserted. However, it seems that it has only been abandoned for a short time, and it can be seen from the fields that the land here has not cracked.

Compared to other places where weeds don't even grow, it's obviously very different. The army is close to the village, and it can be seen that the village gate of Yejia Village is closed, and a group of more than 100 imperial court troops are blocked at the gate of the village.

A person's shouting and scolding could be faintly heard: "Listen, the people of Yejia Village have come to raise money and food for you, if you don't hurry up and open the door to deliver food, don't blame this county for attacking and entering." When the time comes...... Hey! ”

Ye Yan's face immediately changed greatly, but soon he recovered again, he already remembered the army around him, and Mao Wenlong's strong backing. From this moment on, Yejiacun no longer has to be afraid of these officials who are even more arrogant than robbers.

Liu Guangzuo and Cheng Zuo, under the instruction of Mao Wenlong, went immediately. More than ten meters away, those officers and soldiers had already spotted the army quietly appearing behind them. When they saw the fluttering handsome flag with big Mao characters written on it, the faces of these officers and men immediately changed drastically.

Liu Guangzuo waved the saber in his hand a few times, and shouted fiercely: "Tell the military master, where did you jump out of the official army?" ”

A middle-aged man who looked like a master stepped forward in fear: "Bold anti-thief, dare to come and hinder our officials and soldiers from collecting rent." ”

Cheng Zuo's eyes were cold, he picked up the bow and arrow without saying a word, and then before the master could react, an arrow shot out .......

"Poof......

The blood suddenly appeared, and the master was directly pierced through the heart by an arrow, and his body was taken back a few steps by the force of the arrow, and then he collapsed to the ground weakly. just fell at the feet of the county order, and he was already out of breath in an instant.

If you don't agree with each other, you will directly ask for your life, which is something that the county order has never seen Mao Wenlongjun do. Because Mao Wenlong had not allowed his soldiers to use force in the past, these officials thought that Mao Wenlong's army would not dare to do anything to the imperial court?

However, at this moment, the master was shot in front of him, and the county order reacted at this time, and his face was pale, and he seemed to have realized that it was not good.

The county commander didn't dare to slack off anymore, and personally stepped forward to accompany the smiling face: "The two military masters, I am the county commander of Xuzhou, and I am collecting money and grain from Yejia Village. We have never had any friction with you, let alone a grudge against you, so please accept it. ”

A hint of coldness appeared at the corner of Mao Wenlong's mouth in the back, and he glanced at Hong Chengchou meaningfully. The latter's face was very ugly, and he suddenly stepped forward, the horsewhip in his hand pointed to the county order, and said coldly: "The imperial court tax law, ten households are one Jia, and ten Jia is one mile, this is implemented from the founding place, there is no problem." But now is the year of famine, and the people have almost no income, how do you collect taxes now? ”

The county magistrate looked at Hong Chengchou suspiciously, obviously not knowing, he subconsciously said: "Although the people have hardships, the imperial court also has hardships, and the imperial court does not reduce taxes, but frequently increases taxes." If I can't collect taxes, then I'm the unlucky, so if there is only one household left, then this household must bear all the taxes and grains for the other nine households! ”

"Dog officer......."

As soon as the voice of the county order fell, a loud scolding suddenly came from the gate of Yejia Village!

Everyone followed the prestige, only to see an old man with a cane, pointing at the county order and scolding: "You dog official is so shameless, there are more than 3,000 people in our Yejia Village in its heyday, and every time we hand over money and food, we pay it in full." But in recent years, the world has been in turmoil, natural disasters and man-made disasters have continued, and we have handed over money and grain in the hope that the imperial court will protect our people. But have you done your duty to protect? ”

The old man foamed at the mouth and continued to complain bitterly: "Pity me for more than 2,000 good sons of the Ye family, but because of the inaction of you officials, you lost your life in vain. But when they die, you still want us who are alive to continue to pay taxes for them, and all the world, are there such kings in all dynasties? ”

The county commander's face turned red, he naturally understood this truth, but he was really helpless. As I said earlier, he's just a small county order. If the taxes needed by the imperial court cannot be paid, then he must be the unlucky one.

Compared with the lives of the little people, his own life is naturally important to the county, so he turned a blind eye and acted according to the rules that had become popular in the Ming Dynasty.

Everyone else does this, and it doesn't make sense to come to him. At this moment, the county magistrate didn't have the consciousness of self-blame, and he didn't feel that there was anything wrong with doing this!

Hong Chengchou looked coldly at the uncertain county order, and he asked coldly, "What else do you have to say?" ”

The county magistrate was also a little backbone, and he stiffened his neck and said: "Now that all the officials are doing this, the county is just following the trend, and there is no right or wrong." ”

"Drive!"

Hong Chengchou suddenly urged the horse to gallop forward to the county order, and his sword was already unsheathed halfway, and the cold light flashed by.

The head of the county commander suddenly flew high, his eyes were wide open, and he didn't understand why he was killed until he died.

"Good, good kill!" The old man on the gate of the wall, with tears in his eyes, saw that the county order was beheaded, and he actually clapped his hands like a child.

The remaining officers and soldiers didn't dare to move at all, and they didn't see that Mao Wenlong's army of more than 30,000 people had already surrounded this place.

The gate of Yejia Village opened with a creaking sound, and the old man, supported by several young people, slowly walked out.

Ye Yan's two siblings rushed forward quickly, and then knelt down in front of the old man, exclaiming: "Dad! ”

The old man's name is Ye Hong, the patriarch of Yejia Village, and the father of Ye Yan and Ye Ying. This time, Ye Yan's two brothers and sisters went to Ye County on the orders of the old man.

The 100 officers and soldiers had all surrendered, and they were all disarmed and guarded, waiting for Mao Wenlong's fall.

Hong Chengchou rode his horse slowly in front of Ye Hong, dismounted and said, "The old gentleman has been wronged. ”

Ye Hong smiled and said: "This general is serious, the old man has not thanked you for your rescue!" ”

Ye Hong was sincere, and as soon as his words fell, he was about to kneel. Hong Chengchou's eyes were quick, and he rushed forward in an instant, then held him up, and said ashamedly: "Old gentleman, don't thank me, in fact, I'm just a sinner, if you want to thank you, you should thank the person behind me." ”

The people are simple, and they will repay the grace of a drop of water. In fact, as long as the court does something a little, it can at least win back the hearts of many people. It's a pity that Chongzhen hasn't realized this yet, and he only knows how to ask for it but doesn't know how to reciprocate.

If it is in the era of peace, the people's lives can still be improvised, and they can endure it. But in this time of disaster and famine, the people themselves can't survive, and if your court doesn't help, you can't even do a good job.

If the people don't rebel like this, heaven will not tolerate it!

Ye Hong looked at Mao Wenlong behind him, and saw that it was a young man, tall and mighty, and he could faintly feel the breath of a superior person on his body. Ye Hong's dozens of years old have not been in vain, and this point of seeing people's eyesight is still there.

He immediately understood that this person should be Mao Wenlong, and after thinking about it, he didn't hesitate, and even bowed to Mao Wenlong: "Grass people Ye Hong thank Mao for saving my Yejia Village!" ”

Mao Wenlong didn't have any stinky shelf, he hurriedly went up to help Ye Hong, and asked with some doubts: "Old gentleman, you don't need to be polite, Xuzhou will be taken over by me Mao Wenlong from today on." Our Dongjiang Army will also be stationed later, and after that, Xuzhou will no longer be under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, let alone the tax like just now. ”

Ye Hong was so excited that he burst into tears after hearing this, he had been waiting for this moment for three years, and the good sons and daughters of Yejia Village were almost dying. He is so old that he is afraid that he will not be able to see this day in his lifetime.

Ye Jiacun couldn't be damaged in his hands by Ye Hong no matter what, otherwise he wouldn't be able to go down to face the ancestors and ancestors after he died. Now, with the Dongjiang Army and Mao Wenlong, Xuzhou will become a paradise in troubled times like Yexian.

Ye Hong didn't have the slightest doubt about this, after all, Mao Wenlong's reputation was there, whether it was the generals under his command or those big-headed soldiers, he had never heard of these women doing anything inappropriate to the people.

In this troubled world, in this troubled world where he only cares about himself and does not care about the lives of others, and even kills others in order to survive for himself. can have such a military force appear, Ye Hong's experience in the past few decades tells him that Mao Wenlong is a person who can really do great things.

At least Mao Wenlong can really win the hearts of the people, he is not like Li Zicheng and those righteous soldiers, although those people shouted beautiful slogans, but the army was sloppy, there were no rules at all, and they were more like high-level robbers.

It's just that they robbed the gentry, landlords and officials. At the end of the day, they don't have any foundation and will never be able to achieve great things.

At the invitation of Ye Hong, Mao Wenlong slowly walked into Yejia Village, and Ye Yan's two brothers and sisters personally supported Ye Hong. Mao Wenlong then remembered Ye Yan, Ye Ying just called Ye Hong his father.

This is not right, he remembered that Ye Yan had said that their family had all died, and only their two brothers and sisters were left. But a father suddenly appeared at this meeting, and Mao Wenlong suddenly had doubts.

He opened his mouth and asked, "Old man, I heard Ye Yan's two brothers and sisters call you father just now, this is ......." ”

Before Mao Wenlong finished speaking, Ye Hong already understood what he meant, and explained with a smile: "Adults don't know, as the patriarch, all the young people in this Ye family village, including children, are my children. ”

After a pause, a trace of pain flashed on Ye Hong's face, and he continued: "This was not the case in Yejia Village before, but then there were less than five hundred people left in our entire village, most of whom were still old and young, and there were only about fifty young adults. The villagers in the village have long been indistinguishable from each other, and all the elders are the fathers and mothers of these children, which is also to make the villagers who have lost their children and family members feel better. ”

After listening to this explanation, Mao Wenlong suddenly came over, he nodded and said: "The old gentleman is really a great wise man, so that he can unite and unite the entire Yejia Village." ”

Ye Hong waved his hand and said: "My lord, the old man has just lived a long time, and he has experienced a lot of things, so he has a little experience." ”

Mao Wenlong smiled and didn't speak, he threw a meaningful look at Ye Hong, and then quietly entered the village.

Ye Hong received the look from Mao Wenlong, his heart shook slightly, and then he sighed helplessly in his heart. didn't say anything more, and took Mao Wenlong to the clan in the village to serve in the village.

There is no doubt that Yejia Village, as the name suggests, is a village inhabited by people surnamed Ye, and this service hall is naturally an important place in the village. Usually, any important things in the village are gathered here to discuss.

The service hall is also the most magnificent and beautiful building in the village, and the courtyard of the three entrances is very feng shui.

In the lobby of the main hall, there are dense spirit tablets, according to Ye Hong's introduction, Mao Wenlong learned that these are the villagers who died for Yejia Village, as well as the ancestors!

Ye Hong then put Mao Wenlong and Hong Chengchou at the top, while he and many villagers stayed at the bottom.

Ye Hong then indicated to Mao Wenlong that Yejia Village would pay taxes to him in the future, hoping that Mao Wenlong would accept all the villagers of Yejia Village.

Of course, Mao Wenlong did not postpone it, he readily agreed, and promised that he would clean up all the robbers around Yejia Village before leaving.

Ye Hong and all the villagers thanked him again and again!

Mao Wenlong didn't quench their appetite, so he immediately ordered Cheng Zuo and Liu Guangzuo to immediately lead troops to clean up the robbers within a radius of ten miles.

After hearing this, Ye Yan asked for his own life and was willing to lead the way for Mao Wenlong, after all, he was the one who was most familiar with the terrain near Yejia Village. Mao Wenlong laughed and agreed, but secretly informed Liu Guangzuo and Chengzuo, asking them to take care of Ye Yan and not let him take risks!

The two patted their chests in reassurance, and then the three of them hurriedly retreated. Go and encircle the robbers!

Ye Hong then invited Mao Wenlong and others to live in Yejia Village, but Mao Wenlong politely refused and returned to the barracks where the army was stationed outside with Hong Chengchou.

Hong Chengchou has been silent since he killed the county order, his face is gloomy as water, and he doesn't know what he is thinking in his heart?

Mao Wenlong couldn't help but ask: "Are you unhappy because you are disappointed in the imperial court?" ”