As a prisoner, Fan Zuo is now forty-seven years old. However, the years of wind and frost left him with gray hair and deep furrows on his face, as well as deep calluses and clefts on his hands and feet; But it can't erase the spirit and brilliance of perseverance in his eyes.

Even if he was imprisoned in the tent, it still did not affect the inquisitive feeling in his eyes; To tell the truth, he was full of a certain confusion and incomprehension of this "thief army" that suddenly appeared in Annam; Because they are too well prepared and well-prepared, too orderly and disciplined.

It's not like the legendary thief who only leads beasts and cannibals, but more like an upright veteran master. On the contrary, it is the army that follows on his side, and there are mostly rabble people who are closer to the style of thieves. This huge contrast made him very lost and confused.

There are also the local people who rushed to join the young and laboring army along the way, and the joy and excitement of seeing each other and being free; Those Tutuan and township soldiers who spontaneously came to invite the division and the soldiers were all impacting and shaking step by step, and his position and mentality as an official and military party and the imperial court belonged. In the end, the boundaries between who is the official and who is the thief are becoming more and more confused.

Could it be that his side is really so unpopular that the people would rather go to and help these people, obviously a rebellious foreign thief army of the imperial court. Don't you want to come to Daluo City to consolidate the law and governance of the imperial court, and make more efforts?

Because, the other party did not deliberately abuse him, nor did he impose special restrictions, but let him witness the process and changes of all this; But it also made him more confused and stuck. What do these grass thieves want, or what do they want to achieve from themselves? Of course, most of the time it's actually him overthinking.

In this ancient period, as long as the soldiers can be maintained and restrained by the prohibition, and basically do not indulge in harassing the people or doing the things of forcible plundering, it can be called the evaluation of Qiu without committing any crimes; If we add the bonus of fair trade, paid requisition, and other factors such as suppressing bandits and relieving sieges for local people, it is simply a model of an upright, benevolent and righteous teacher.

In his early years, he tried repeatedly and was discouraged about serving the country, and then with some kind of mind and ambition to travel thousands of miles and read thousands of books, he began to travel the world and walked through many places in the Southern Wilderness, trekked many hardships and obstacles, and saw all kinds of scenery and people; Only then did he have the intention to gather what he had seen and heard, and left a manuscript of the "Nanban Book" for future generations.

In the end, he was invited by his old friend Cai Xi, and he was able to settle down as a staff member in this remote Jiaozhou place; But the good times did not last long, Nanzhao entered the Kou, Jiaozhou fell, and Cai Xi, who was courteous and valued him, also died for the country, and only he was able to protect the seal and escape. However, for the first time, he also had doubts and wavering about what he had learned and pursued.

Later, Gao Linggong regained Annam, and he resolutely joined the army and made great contributions to the local affairs and customs; After the war, he was sponsored as the governor of Jiaozhou, and he continued to contribute to the local township. During his tenure, he worked hard to educate the local area and encouraged farming and weaving, and walked in the mountains and barbarian villages, and also contributed a lot of strength to the recuperation of the people of Jiaozhou after the war.

Although he was a lieutenant general, he did not have much authority in the army, and was only a signboard as a local representative under expediency, responsible for miscellaneous tasks such as recruiting Ding Zhuang and raising materials. He didn't feel that he was of any great use to those grass thieves, and he was even more confused and uneasy about this kind of courtesy and preferential treatment that was different from others.

You must know the truth that courtesy must be sought from others; In contrast, An Youquan, a fierce general who really led the battle, was cut off his head, and the much-anticipated Dade Jingxian was also imprisoned and did not see the light of day; And Zhang Biao, the Fengzhou tycoon who also used his life in the army but took the initiative to subdue the grass thieves, was still trying to gain the further trust of these thieves, and worked hard to kill the barbarians and bandits in the place before and after, as a step of dedication.

Under a large frame of assembled stone cannons, Fan Zhuo saw the commander of this army from a distance; The person who is called a "ghost monk" or a "monk Shura" is personally teaching the corresponding operators what kind of "measurement" and "data collection" are performing.

And after waiting for a while, this huge stone cannon, which was three feet high, suddenly stilted backwards and threw the first huge stone with the roar of the wind, amid the shouts and orders of sweat like rain; After a brief whistling of burning smoke in the air, it crashed into the inner side of the moat, causing a dense and high splash of water and mud.

Then, near the stone cannons that were bombarded one after another, the general of the grass thief also turned around and showed his true face to him. It's just that Fan Zhuo was surprised that the other party was a little too young, and the whole body was very clear and neat, except for a big hat and a hat with cherry blossoms, it was no different from what most people were wearing;

Although the sleeves and crotch of the blue-gray tone robe have been stained with mud and dust, it does not detract from his stature and appearance that stands out from the crowd among the vicissitudes of life, or heavy, or blatant, or fierce, or majestic, or heroic, as well as the refreshing spirit and natural reassuring bearing.

It's just that the other party's hat and helmet are exposed, and only a little thin hair stubble and tight and fine skin color are left blank, reminding the other party of his experience and past as a Buddhist person; It's hard to imagine that leading such a division with such a strong lineup means so many indescribable young people with indescribable traits in one.

"I don't know what the general wants to do."

However, as an official of the imperial court, he was reserved and decent, so he couldn't help but take the initiative to speak.

"I want to carry forward Fan Sheng's knowledge and pass it on to the next generation."

Zhou Huai'an patted the dust in his hands, and said without time to think.

"I set up a training center in Guangzhou, which is dedicated to teaching to all kinds of people, so as to benefit the people's livelihood and make a living."

"What..."

Now Fan Zuo is a little uncalm, doesn't he want to use himself to persuade the city to surrender or call on those villages, how can he easily make up his mind and the style of painting has completely changed.

"Didn't you persuade me to surrender to the city?"

So the words he had thought of at once couldn't help but get stuck in his mouth, and then blurted out like a ghost.

"That's too condescending."

Zhou Huai'an is a little half-truthful.

"Fan Sheng's knowledge is much more important than the gains and losses of a Jiaozhou Daluo City. How could I do such a tyrannical thing? ”

"How... How can this be ... Fu'an dares to comment on this product?。。 ”

At this time, Fan Zhuo's mind was completely confused. Originally, he still had the idea of competing with the other party, and even taking advantage of this to have a good distinction between righteousness and benefit.

"I've read the Nanban book you made,"

Zhou Huai'an showed a rather serious and sincere expression.

"Except for the words of those who are good for attack and strategy; But there are many more things that can benefit the people of Lishu."

"Whether it is trade and goods, or the products and terroir of various places, the pros and cons of people's livelihood, there is a lot to be done... As long as it is managed and used well, it may be a good strategy for prosperity and health. ”

"The servant is the official of the imperial court...

Fan Zuo seemed to be shocked for a while, and only then did he spit out such a sentence in a little silence.

"So what, after being an official of the imperial court, can't you sympathize with Li Shu and have a conscience to ask for the people's life?"

Zhou Huai'an smiled with confidence.

"Even if you are a member of the imperial court, as long as the knowledge you have is genuine, beneficial to the people and has no position or inclination, why should I abandon it."

Fan Zuo's heart was suddenly confused and extremely full of mixed feelings. The ideals and goals that he pursued all his life were finally fully affirmed and recognized by a grass thief who rebelled against the imperial court.

He almost wanted to lament a lot about this, but he found that he couldn't cry out at all, but was attracted by the topic thrown by the other party, and couldn't help but ask for some details in his writings.

Then after some talking, Fan Xuan couldn't help but have some kind of absurd feeling and sigh in his heart. The other party seems to know the inside story of this "Nanban Book" better than himself; And it can be pointed out and evaluated with substance, or there are controversies and omissions.

You must know that the Nanban book you have made has only completed most of it, and has neither been fully revised nor really published and printed and passed down through the generations; In fact, he only had some hand-copied manuscripts, which were used to dedicate to a handful of deceased people, including the late Du Hu Cai Xi and Gao Linggong, who is now the envoy of Huainan Jiedu, as counselors in the army; How could someone among the grass thieves be so familiar with this?

and then related to the other party's conversation is good and the quotation of rules and classics is omniscient, and the kind of self-confidence and calm attitude between the heads and feet are far different from most scholars from humble backgrounds; Even if you are in the middle of the ugly and vulgar and noisy construction, it is like living in a high hall full of people and facing many questions calmly and the city government is like a deep abyss, as well as the faintly transcendent pattern and vision in the speech.

After suddenly thinking of all the details, Fan Zhuo couldn't help but suddenly think about it and became extremely frightened, and didn't dare to figure it out more; But I couldn't help but lament in my heart that I had been involved in some kind of great right and wrong.

After all, as far as he knew, sometimes the imperial court and the feudal towns were not entirely of ordinary mind, and there were also differences and controversies between the different factions of the court; Especially in the attitude towards such local thieves, in fact, there are many examples of open and secret games and wrestling. So they were helpless and caught in the middle, and the local officials and subordinates were the most uncomfortable.

In addition, when the other party was still insufficient, he was able to command a rigorous and orderly marching army, and he was an example of crossing hundreds of miles of sea to conquer abroad; This is no longer the way that ordinary thieves who chase food and live in a fixed place can act. There are also some rumors and observations from the business trip to Guangfu, which also made him more and more sure of his guesses and speculations.

Then he felt a little sad and helpless, he refused Gao Linggong's solicitation, and avoided the southern frontier outside the mountains, wanting to bury his head in writing and passing on the world and doing some practice, but he still couldn't escape the country's right and wrong.

"But I don't know that there is a place for the general to serve now."

Thinking of this, Fan Xuan also sighed secretly in his heart, and unconsciously lowered his posture and said.

"Can you make the local Li Shu more vigorous?"

"After all, most of the people in the city are the children of the Han family, so they can have less casualties and losses, so it will be good for the future."

At this time, a horse from afar suddenly galloped in, and the running men and horses were full of foam and fell off their horses outside the camp gate, and then they were helped into the camp by the military history of the receiving place.

"What, Fengzhou found that there are barbarians who have invaded the border on a large scale?。。"

Zhou Huai'an couldn't help but turn around and said to Fan Xuan.

"It seems that we really have to rely on Fan Shengyi or two."

"But please tell me."

Fan Xuan was also a little helpless and a little solemn.

(End of chapter)