In Hangzhou, on the slope of the tea tree ladder under the Dusong Ridge of Tianmu Mountain, Wang Dun'er, who has thick hands and feet and a black wrinkled face, also poured a large pottery bowl of clay tea, and then sat under the pergola that exuded the fragrance of banana leaves and pampas grass, and beautifully fanned the wind with taro leaves.

If it were in normal times, there might have been a loud scolding and scolding Zhuang Ding who suddenly came out of the bushes and fields, and perhaps kicked a few times to urge, and at the same time, he would also whip his hand as an example for the idle "lazy ghosts".

But at least for the time being, he didn't have to worry about it, or be cautious all the time; Because it has been going on for several days, from the unbelievable at the beginning to the current habitual.

It is also because recently, the villagers, stewards and officials on and off the mountain seem to have changed people; Instead of urging them to accumulate arrears over the years and the tax deficit of the year, they have become more or less pleasant or tolerant in their speech, instead of being disdainful and stern from above.

As the co-owner of most of the fields and mountains and forests in the townships of ten miles and eight townships, as well as the creditors of most of the villagers, the old man also began to give them these mud legs who refused to look at them on weekdays, and provided them with tea for drinking, pergolas for rest, and tools for use.

Even if someone can't help his family and wants to borrow some miscellaneous rice and coarse grains mixed with bran and sand; Those bookkeepers who were originally expressionless and nostrils turned into extraordinarily talkative; He even took the initiative to ask if he wanted to borrow more, so that he could have less nourishment.

In the pledge shop used to fold and change objects in the village, they no longer pick their noses and stare at the things they brought, and basically as long as they are willing to take it, they will give some price back.

However, the only condition and requirement behind all this is vigilance and vigilance against all strangers and new faces. Especially those who are obviously stronger than ordinary villagers, once discovered, they must be reported to the Zhuangzi to learn and dispose of.

As a result, even the merchants and smugglers who often come and go to the local area have fallen into bad luck. I only heard that they even brought goods and carts into Zhuangzi and never came out again.

However, Wang Dun'er, who is honest and dutiful, can't envy those who rely on outsiders to exchange a few bags of grain like others; He just thinks it would be nice to be able to sustain a little longer these days now.

After all, from the memories of his life and the extremely simple little understanding, those old men would not be kind and beneficial for no reason. It's like the example money they put out, and then turned it into fields, livestock, houses, household goods, and deeds to be taken back.

Although most of the time they always say with a hateful appearance, it is a great kindness that Zhuangzi can take in these dilapidated families in the countryside and give them land rent to eat.

Not to mention the righteous deeds and feats of raising rebels to protect the countryside and protect Li Shu in this difficult and troubled era. Therefore, no matter how hard and tired they are, compared with those displaced people in the countryside who have suffered disasters and wars, and can only be displaced and filled in the gullies on the same day, that is a great blessing.

However, in Wang Dun'er's impression since he opened his eyes, the more relief these owners and old men have done, the longer they have been protecting the township and defending the land; There are more and more dilapidated houses in the township, there are more and more rumors of robbers who go up the mountain and wander around the scourge, and the fields and forests everywhere are more and more connected, and the boundary cards of the farmer and the squire's house are played.

It's like his father and grandfather spent two generations carrying soil and picking stones, grinding their shoulders and waist, and bending the Banpo Tea Mountain that came out of the wasteland; thought that the inheritance of the family was heirloom, but when he was born, it became the land of the owner.

Just because his father secretly took in a homeless woman to be his wife at home, he also had him. As a result, Zhuang Ding came to the door with sticks and ropes to accuse him, saying that he had secretly hidden the fugitive slaves on the village; As a result, the grandfather died of anger, and his family and the tea mountain also became the owner of the village.

However, his parents soon died of exhaustion, and he continued to feed ducks and geese to the owner of the farm as a repayment. Fortunately, when he was a little older, he could go up the mountain to catch birds and mice, fish and shrimp, so he stumbled and lived to such an age.

Of course, he had also faintly heard another rumor and rumor circulating among the servants of the village. It is the grass thief who once ate countless people in the north but was driven away by the old men again, if they are allowed to succeed for a while; When the time comes, even men, women, and children will not be exempt;

In particular, the leaders like to eat the hearts and livers of young children, thinking that the evil law credentials that are driven by ecstasy to climb the city and fill the ravines. It is also good to grind the young and strong into meat sauce, and cut the women into large pieces and pickle them into dried dried foods for the march, so that they can run rampant in all directions without worrying about running out of food.

However, he never saw the rumored terrible thief; But now that most of the officials and officials are nowhere to be found, taxes and miscellaneous contributions have not decreased at all; This year alone, the manpower sent down by the old men to urge for money, food and servitude has been as eager as locusts passing through the wilderness.

Then, as more and more young people were taken away to help the thieves, the labor in the tea mountains and fields became a little stretched. Therefore, he was driven to the tea mountains and fields from the water mill house where he worked day and night, and continued to work with sweat and mud.

Therefore, when the first discovered master began to show kindness, he was also like the others and continued to be uneasy for several days, for fear that something was wrong or a taboo was committed. But after a long time, I slowly looked away, even if the old man regretted it afterwards.

I don't want others to borrow or owe money on credit like others, and even take the opportunity to mortgage many things to take advantage of a big advantage; Isn't it just to drink more tea and take a few more breaths while working? Is it possible that there are still people who can make themselves vomit as they are?

Suddenly, there was the sound of gongs and drums beating at the foot of the mountain in the distance, and someone was shouting loudly: all the people who were working and resting on the mountain were startled.

"Good news, great news."

"Wu County Sun Lao Sima broke the thief army, and the Taiping thieves have been invincible since then, and the whole territory has been safe."

"Xiao Langjun was ordered to pursue the thief and won the victory."

Then he trembled and saw a banner dyed in the shape of the Big Dipper; Several gong and drummers opened the way, and the youngest son, who was said to have the body of a historian, also rode a variegated horse and looked to the left and right with his toes proud.

Behind him, a group of disheveled Tutuan soldiers were proudly holding bright knives and guns, holding pigs and sheep in their hands, holding chickens and ducks, talking loudly and laughing and walking slowly on the dirt road.

And among them, there were also some unkempt captives, but most of them were disheveled women and weeping; But what kind of situation will make these women become thieves, Wang Dun'er neither dares to think about it nor can bear to look at it.

Because it will make him can't help but think of his mother in his early years, in the vague impression of the hard-working woman who was born in exile and had a difficult fate, and always held on to what he had survived, but in the end he didn't get through it.

It's just that when they came down to the mountain with their hearts and minds, but the wooden flail that had been vacant for a long time at the entrance of the village, they were tied up again with many people who were begging and waiting; There were even several Zhuang Ding with whips in their hands, shouting a lesson.

Wang Dun'er couldn't help but be both afraid and glad that the things and cheapness of the old man were really not so easy to take advantage of; No, after Ma Xiaolangjun and the others came back, everyone was happy that the good days were for a while, and everything ended with those stewards and Zhuang Ding who turned their faces faster than dogs.

Because he also knew some of these people who were in chains. Some of them have not paid off their old accounts and have taken the opportunity to borrow new debts from their masters, some have mortgaged a large amount of tattered belongings, and some are those who have won a reward by being born in a foreign country at the beginning.

And he just drank some more tea and rested for a while, and if he really wanted to investigate afterwards, it was just compensation for a few more days of work; Anyway, what he owes to the master in this life is no longer repaid, let alone the descendants who may not have it again.

However, Wang Dun'er and the others were quickly stopped, and a Tutuan soldier wearing a half-body leather pocket loudly declared:

"Xiao Langjun has a merit for the township to beg for thieves, and everyone in the township must contribute as a reward. Each Ding Zhuang pays five cents, and women and children are all three cents."

The other Tutuan soldiers who ate with greasy corners of their mouths pressed their hands on their knives and guns and looked coldly at these people who showed their stunned feelings, and begged for mercy on the spot, obviously ignorant of the good and bad mud legs; Although there may have been people who had been one of them before.

"If you don't have enough money and goods, let everyone think of three buckets of millet. It's also for everyone's thoughtfulness and the safety of the township."

Then the steward of the side came again and offered kindness and mercy.

"Of course, if you don't have the money, then press a deed to the village, and find something as a guarantee, and it will be better in the future. It's all the folks.,The lord can't sit back and watch people starve to death.。。 ”

And among them, Wang Dun'er also encountered his own trouble, a crooked neck and squinted eyes Zhuang Ding put a stick on his shoulder, and sneered:

"You're not honest at all. These days, I can see clearly, how many bowls of tea and soup I have drunk in one go, and how many times I have secretly grinded my idle work! You say, "How do you count that?"

At this moment, Wang Dun'er's originally stiff back seemed to have been broken and collapsed all of a sudden, and he fell to the ground with a thud, turning into a mournful creeping sound.

"I... I.. Just ask for a good line. ”

- I'm the dividing line -

At the same time, in the territory of Fengzhou, Shannan West Road.

After temporarily solving the problems faced by the Dasanguan, the privy envoy Yang Fugong also began to go south to welcome the holy car under the escort of the people and horses led by Lu Hongyan.

So it was the turn of the fleeing generals who were occupying the states of Li, Ji, Lang, and Bi to be sad. First of all, Li Shitai of Lizhou, who bore the brunt of the attack, was welcomed into the city by his subordinates in a sudden situation, and was captured alive between the drunk bed.

Then Bizhou Zhai never dared to resist and wanted to lead the troops to run, but he was sacrificed by his subordinates. Pang Cong from Jizhou heard the news and gathered troops to resist, but on the other hand, he secretly took his relatives and the softness he looted, and fled to Xingyuan Mansion to defect to Song Hao.

In the end, only Wang Jian, who was in Langzhou, saw the opportunity quickly, wrapped in the nominal Shanxi Jiedu envoy Niu Xuan, and led the crowd to the south all the way to Guozhou and Hezhou.

In Hanzhou, north of Chengdu, Gao Renhou, who was in full battle, successively defeated the nearby Shu, Ling, Jian, and Peng prefectures who came to support, and captured Jianzhou and Pengzhou. But there is still nothing that can be done about the high walls of Chengdu Taicheng.

At this time, he received the Jianmen Pass north of Dongchuan in the rear, and was broken through and occupied by unknown armed forces.