Gao Xiaowu, because he was the fifth in the family, so his father gave him such a name. His family was originally a peasant family outside Hangzhou, but when he was seven years old, his parents were beaten to death by the landlords in the city, and his brothers and sisters also left home early, leaving him alone.

And he became a famous ruffian outside Hangzhou, because he didn't care, so he fought with a very vicious method. So outside Hangzhou, it can be regarded as a famous hall, although the name is "Little Five", but everyone on the road has to call him "Fifth Brother"!

However, he, the so-called "fifth brother", is just a bully of the people in the township and a gang of gangsters to do some things like stealing chickens and dogs...... With the deterioration of the situation in Nanqing, the villagers he usually "patronized" gradually couldn't stand the suppression of various local officials and squires, and they all stepped on the refugee brigade. And Gao Xiaowu had no choice but to lose his goal, so he was also treated as a refugee by the officers and soldiers in Hangzhou and rushed to Yangzhou together.

And after he joined the refugee brigade, because of his ruthlessness and brains, he soon "stood out" again. He gradually found that he was better than before in this group of refugees, and the younger brothers under him gradually increased! So his courage is getting bigger and bigger, from stealing chickens and dogs at the beginning, and gradually starting to rob houses!

Today is the Qingming Festival, which should be a day to worship the ancestors, but Gao Xiaowu doesn't know about these things. He doesn't care if he is clear or not, in his opinion, only whether he can eat enough and eat well today is the most important thing.

Yangzhou, the main garrison of refugees from the south of the Yangtze River, is starving to death every day, and the order outside the city is also chaotic. Therefore, the soldiers of Yangzhou are also very hard, they have to patrol the refugee pile outside the city every day to maintain order outside the city. But the main purpose is to clear the official road and prevent these refugees from plotting against the commercial vehicles coming and going on the official road! After all, these merchants are going to pay them......

But today, because of the rain, the commander of the patrol was lazy and did not go out of the city to inspect.

At this time, Gao Xiaowu was sitting in a wooden shed outside Yangzhou with a group of his "little brothers", with a bonfire in front of him, on which several peeled and picked up mice were roasted...... The blazing flames squeaked the rat meat on the fire, though it was not yet cooked. But I couldn't help but let the people around me start to swallow saliva...... And Gao Xiaowu looked at the burning flames with a grim look, holding a rusty dagger that he didn't know where he got it.

Because the officers and soldiers of Yangzhou City have recently investigated very harshly, he has not met a "fat sheep" for three days! Now I'm hiding here and eating rats! This upset him......

And today's rainy weather finally let those Yangzhou soldiers go to rest, I thought that today was finally an opportunity. But at noon, I met a team of chariots and horses entering the city, and I wanted to grab some silver, but the owner of the chariot and horse was not a good stubble! He didn't even see that a group of people under him were already lying on the ground wailing, so he quickly turned around and ran!

Although he didn't want to die in a fight, his methods were very ruthless. But he wasn't stunned, he knew that there were some people he couldn't mess with...... He originally wanted to wait for the next trip, but now that the rain is getting heavier and heavier, there are not even a single caravans and pedestrians who used to have to walk several times a day...... I'm afraid, there is no chance!

So, he had no choice but to roast the rat again! It is precisely because of this that he is in a little unhappy mood at this time. If today's rainy day passes, those officers and soldiers will have to go out on patrol again, and when the time comes, they will have to grab some chaff, rice porridge, and ...... with these refugees These grilled rat meats!

A few rats on the bonfire have been roasted until they are browned, although there is no salt and oil, but the sizzling aroma of meat, as well as the smell of burnt in the air, still can't help but make the people around them salivate!

Today, not only did the soldiers not come out to patrol, but even the soldiers in the city who were supposed to deliver food did not come out to deliver food! These refugees are still hungry. But for most refugees, this has long been a habit. The rice porridge delivered every day can only feed half of the refugees, and many more can only rely on the passing caravans on the official road outside the city to beg, or dig some bark and wild vegetables outside the city to satisfy their hunger......

Gao Xiaowu saw that the rats on the bonfire had been roasted, so he picked one off with the dagger in his hand, and cut off the two largest hind legs for himself, and then cut the remaining rats into several pieces with a knife and threw them to his little brother sitting next to him......

Only when these people get benefits will they obediently follow themselves...... This is the experience that Gao Xiaowu has summed up after mixing for so long.

And the rest of the mice, he did the same, and in a short time, those roasted rats were divided up by a bunch of them.

Gao Xiaowu took out a bone from his mouth and was about to pick his teeth, but suddenly stuck the dagger in his hand on the ground...... Because he saw that not far ahead, there were many refugees walking towards the official road, and in this case, there were commercial vehicles passing by on the official road.

"Go, you go and see!" Seeing this, Gao Xiaowu kicked the buttocks of a person who was holding half of a rat's tail next to him, and the man couldn't help but stumble, so he hurriedly held half of the rat's tail in his mouth and ran forward......

On the carriage of the Lin family, Brother Shi had just finished reading the poem, and before he even had time to show off to Qingshuang and Qinglu, the carriage suddenly stopped.

"Lao Yang, why did you stop, are you ......" Brother Shi, who was puzzled, said as he raised the curtain and poked his head out. But after he saw the scene outside the car, his tone couldn't help but stagnate......

At this time, there were many refugees standing on both sides of the official road, although it was not bustling, but the front and back of the car were already full of people, and many people were running towards this side...... In the carriage where Lin Yingyue and Shen Wei were sitting in front, there were more than a dozen people kneeling in front of them at this moment, begging for food loudly...... "Ladies and gentlemen, please give alms some food...... In the crowd, you can still hear the cries of many children and young children......

"Old ...... Lao Yang, where have you gone? These people ...... "For these completely unaware Brother Shi, I thought that Lao Yang had gone to the wrong place, so I asked suspiciously.

"Childe...... These people are all refugees outside Yangzhou! It's just that...... I didn't expect it to be so many now......" Lao Yang's tone was also shocked.

When Brother Shi heard it, he couldn't help but be stunned again: "It turned out to be a refugee...... Looking at these people with yellow faces and thin muscles and longing in their eyes, he swallowed hard: "What...... Will there be so many refugees in Yangzhou? ”

"This ......" Lao Yang is just a horse driver, he may know this, but he doesn't know how to answer Shi Yuan for a while. Seeing this, Brother Shi didn't ask any more questions, turned his head to Qingshuang and Qinglu and said, "You stay in the car, don't get out of the car, I'll go to the front and have a look!" ”

The two sisters, Qingshuang and Qinglu, seemed to be seeing such a scene for the first time, and they were slightly scared. Hearing Shi Yuan's words, he couldn't help but nodded. But just as Brother Shi was about to jump off the carriage, the two said in unison: "You...... Be careful! ”

(End of chapter)