The head of Wang's village was originally a scholar from a poor family, with the same surname, and guarded the village for the Jingling family. Zhuang Ke did not deceive people, he was indeed called to a meeting by the county order, and the content of the meeting was: Shile's army is in the nearby Yingchuan and Xiangcheng, and it may come over soon, so should we defend the city, or flee? Either surrender and forget it......

The county magistrate's order, commonly known as "Baili Hou", has great power in the local area, especially in the Jin Dynasty, the county magistrate did not place the county Cheng, and the county magistrate is the main book, the record history, etc., are all self-established subordinates, not official officials, and the respect of the county seems to be completely unrestricted. The reason why I say "as if" is because although the county order is not subject to colleagues and adjutants, it is also subject to the local gentry and heroes, especially in this county, which is full of wealthy families, and if you don't have a good relationship with them, the county magistrate may be involved in a book at any time and be dismissed.

As for the major matter of defending the city or lowering Hu, of course, the Yangzhai County Commander did not dare to be self-dictatorated, but must first listen to the opinions of the gentry. If you want to defend it, the gentry will not allow it, maybe they will attack in groups first, and cut off your head to sacrifice to the Hu army; If you want to descend? If the gentry are still interested in the Jin Dynasty, they will dare to tie you up on the spot and sign your own order......

Therefore, it is necessary to hold a meeting first to discuss and unify thinking. The head of Wang's village was also invited today, but because everyone said their own words and it was difficult for everyone to agree, there was almost a quarrel at the meeting, and there was no result at all, so he didn't stay overnight in the county, and rushed back to the village overnight. When I entered the door, I heard, what, the master's brother actually fled here? How could this happen?!

The guest door surrounds the head of the village, and there are different opinions. Someone said, "It will be false." The nobles steamed lamb for cooking and boiling pork for drink, no matter how hungry they were, how could they be accustomed to eating coarse food? The two of them were like hungry ghosts, two bowls of brown rice were swept away, how could there be a little bit of noble dignity? Others said, "Mostly true." I saw that although the faces of the two were dusty, they wiped them, and their faces were still white; Although the clothes are dirty, the materials are good......"

In the end, the big guys feel that no matter how much they argue, they can't get a result from the argument, since the head of the village is back, then you go and take a look, isn't it clear?

The head of the village asked, "Where are the people?" ”

"The firewood room has been cleaned and they are put to sleep."

Zhuang Tou immediately held the torch and went to the firewood room to check. The Wang brothers ran around all day, extremely nervous, almost desperate for the future, and finally reached their own territory, and barely got full, as soon as their nerves relaxed, they snored loudly when they fell. They don't worry about it anyway, we are real, and when the head of the village comes back and identifies it, it will inevitably bow down, then we will definitely be able to have good food, and there is no need to sleep in the firewood room, even if there is nothing good in the small place, can the worship be worse than when he fled with Sima Bi, and was forced to stay in the carriage?

Zhuang Tou held the torch and shone on their faces for a long time, but they never woke up, so he retreated silently outside the door. Zhuang Kemen gathered around again, asking for clues, Zhuang Tou lowered his head and groaned, and said after a while: "In the past, when I went to Luoyang Jingling Mansion to pay tribute, I could only stand at the bottom of the steps and look at the master's house from afar. When I saw its face, it seemed to be, but it was difficult to assert ......"

The dealers asked what should they do? I can't even recognize you...... Zhuang Tou lowered his voice and said to everyone: "I have a word, you listen quietly." Now Hu Kou is raging, Luoyang is in danger, most of the nobles abandon the city and flee, then the Jingling Gong brothers encountered bandits on the road, and it is not surprising that they are empty. However, if you admit it, you must devote all your strength to worship the second duke. Last year's harvest dropped sharply, and I was always worried that if I couldn't pay enough tribute this year, how would the second prince punish him...... Then with all the property of my village, it is not enough to support the second duke, if it causes his anger, it is possible to cut off my head, what about you? ”

When all the villagers heard this, they couldn't help but show frightened expressions on their faces. Zhuang Tou took the opportunity to say: "Anyway, I can't confirm it, why don't you denounce it as fake and kill these two." If it is a fake, it is natural to kill it; If it is true, if you go to these two people, then there is no need to worship this year, and you and I share these dozens of hectares of fields and villages, and work together to make a living, wouldn't it be good? ”

When many people heard this, their eyes immediately flashed with light, and they nodded their heads one after another; The few timid ones left, seeing that the opinions of the big guys were unified, did not dare to stand up and express their opposition. But although this is the plan, when it comes to killing people, you push me to let me, and no one dares to step forward to answer the order.

Among them, no one may have the courage to kill, but the big guy knows it in his heart, listening to the words of Zhuang Tou, these two goods have seven achievements are really Jingling brothers, they are both nobles and heads of the family, so who dares to do it himself? Slave and kill the master is a great crime, and it will be divided into five horses!

They came and went, and the head of the village said that it would be better to let them sleep for the night, and then get up tomorrow morning, and pretend that I had not returned, and you should prepare some shoddy food and some poison, and give them to eat—so that no one would have to do it himself.

The Wang brothers slept very deeply, and naturally they were unaware of this. The next day, the two of them got up, because there was no Zhuang head to come to recognize each other, so it was inconvenient to call the villager, so they went out by themselves, and washed in the well. Wang Yu said: "I don't want this bucket to be so heavy...... Isn't the head of the village going back? When he returns, I will make him carry a hundred buckets of water to relieve his anger. ”

Immediately, I saw a few Zhuang customers trembling with trays coming over, saying that the head of the village has not come back yet, you have had breakfast first, and wait slowly. Then put down the food, and run away and generally disappear without a trace.

Wang Yu picked up the bowl and was about to eat, but the food he had eaten last night was still in his stomach and had not been digested, and now he had no appetite when he saw brown rice and pickled vegetables again. turned his head to ask his brother to move his chopsticks first, but saw Wang Zhuo staring at the direction where the villagers were leaving, twisting his beard with his hands, his face gloomy, and he didn't move for a long time.

Wang Yu asked, brother, what's wrong with you, can't you eat it too? It's better to wait for the head of the village to come back and confirm our identity, and there will be delicious food to serve at that time - it's no big deal if we don't eat breakfast.

As he was talking, he saw a dog hanging his head and tail, and when he was about to come over, Wang Zhuo suddenly picked up the bowl and leaned in front of the dog. Wang Yu hurriedly said: "Why bother, the food is not eaten, and there is no need to feed the dogs......" Wang Zhuo waved his hand, asking him to be a little calm.

Sure enough, the dog ate the brown rice, and there was nothing wrong at first, but after two more turns, Wang Zhuo began to doubt his judgment, and was about to reach out and eat the bowl of rice in front of his younger brother, but the dog suddenly screamed and fell to the ground and convulsed. Wang Zhuo's face changed greatly, and he pulled Wang Yu and said, "They have murderous intentions, go quickly, go quickly!" ”

The two brothers hurried out over the wall - fortunately, there were firewood to tie up their feet, and everyone in the village was afraid of taking the name of the master, so they wanted to wait until the two were dead before coming to collect the corpses, so that they escaped from the heavens. Afterwards, Wang Zhuo explained to his brother, saying that I saw that the faces of the people who delivered the food were wrong, and they didn't dare to look at us and the others - "If the head of the village really didn't return, then their attitude should be the same as yesterday, why did they change suddenly?" ”

And not only did they not dare to look at us, they didn't even dare to look at the food in their hands, their eyes deliberately avoided, and they looked like they were thieves, so I judged that there must be something strange in the meal, and they tried to take the dog, and sure enough, "I will see my brother in trouble, and the head of the village has a different heart, and wants to kill us and occupy the courtyard and the land by himself!" ”

Wang Yu was afraid after thinking about it, and even tears flowed out, and even said: "How dare you have a different heart, right and wrong, right and wrong!" Wang Zhuo sneered: "The villain is free from evil and extravagance, if there is no national law constraint, he will naturally do everything - in today's chaos, the ministers can force the monarch and Hu Neng to Ling Jin, and then they will enslave the master, and it is inevitable that they will ......."

After two days of running all the way, I didn't choose the way to go, and I actually climbed a small mountain, and I almost couldn't find a way to get down. When looking for a way down the mountain, Wang Zhuo suddenly froze, like a statue, and did not move for a long time. Wang Yu stretched out his hand and shook it back and forth in front of his eyes, saying Brother, what's wrong with you? Are you scared silly?

Wang Zhuo slapped his brother's palm away and said in a deep voice: "I'm not afraid, I'm really thoughtful." ”

Wang Yu smiled bitterly: "I should think about where my brother is going, how to live, what can he think about?" ”

Wang Zhuo straightened his chest and replied: "I think of the words of Mencius: 'Heaven will descend on people, and they must first suffer their minds, strain their muscles and bones, starve their bodies and skins, empty their bodies, and act chaotically. 'In the past, but he kept his father's and ancestors' foundation, and had nothing to do, who would have thought that there would be today? If we die on the way, it is our destiny, if we are lucky not to die, do you know why our ancestors punish us and want my brother to revive the family business? ”

As he spoke, he grabbed Wang Yu's hand and said, "Mao Xuan, if you go here, you can drink the canal water and beg for food, but you don't want to die." Even if you go to the Zhong family, you must also endure the dormant and do not return to the habit of anointing the sorghum. The Zhong family is a scholar after all, and they will not be like such villains, who dare to harm my brother's heart, but if they are arrogant, it will be difficult to protect ......."

Wang Yu nodded again and again, and said Brother, you are right, I will no longer drag you down by looking for death and life, our brothers and sons will endure hardships together, and support each other to live - his wife and children are still in Taiyuan, how can he die without seeing each other?

I heard Wang Zhuo say again: "It's not just about not dying, it's just about living." How did we end up here? Mourning for the country also. Why is the country in turmoil? Jiyun is a 'meat eater', is my brother not a meat eater? The ancestors used to lead the army to destroy Wu, and helped Emperor Wu to dominate the world, and the descendants were able to inherit the rest of the Ze, and they were fascinated by the five colors, and they were disgusted with sweet and fat, but the so-called 'gentleman's Ze, the fifth generation and beheaded', how could it last long? If we have the opportunity, we should work hard for the country, expel Hu Kou, restore the community, and restore the country, and we will be worthy of being the descendants of Wang Xuanchong (Wang Hun)! ”

Immediately pointed to the sky and swore: "If I, Wang Wenxuan, can't be a famous minister of Zhongxing and become famous in history, I will not be able to die and enter the ancestor of the Wang family!" ”

Wang Yu hurriedly went to cover his brother's mouth, saying that your oath is too much, just us with thin arms and legs, how can we serve the country and expel Hu Kou? And you have to make sure that you don't starve to death or freeze to death, brother, you can't help but think too far......

The two of them came down to the mountains and searched for their way to the east. In order to survive on the way, he really didn't care about any system, thirsty for canal water, hungry for acorns, and even begged for face-to-face, and walked for several days - naturally took a detour - before finally arriving at Yingchuan Changshe. When they arrived at the door of Zhong's house and begged, they really let them in.

However, the two kings did not meet the head of the Zhong family, and they were received by a young man named Zhong Sheng, whose name is Aihua. According to him, because of the raging Hu Kou, the head of the Zhong family led the whole clan south and fled to Jingzhou, leaving him alone to guard the ancestral property. And the current situation in Yingchuan County is extremely bad - "The thieves are in Xuchang, and we can only rely on the Xun clan, on the one hand, we refuse to defend ourselves, and on the other hand, we can barely get it all." ”

Zhong Aihua left the Wang brothers, although they had never met, but he was also a scholar himself, and he had been to Luoyang many times, so under the conversation, it was not difficult to distinguish whether the other party was true or false. However, he said first: "The slaves are urging very urgently, the food at home is limited, and the second prince can't be as ...... as when he was in Luoyang, he was by brocade clothes and delicacies" Wang Zhuo hurriedly said: "But it's enough to have enough food, how dare you look at others?" ”

It's a pity that I can't even eat a full meal for long. Soon after, the Shile general Kong Chang Suo could not pay tribute—the Zhong family really couldn't come up with anything more—so he sent his brother Kong Cheng to lead his troops to attack. Zhong Sheng led hundreds of villagers to the enemy, and was soon defeated, and asked Xun for reinforcements, but no reinforcements arrived. In the evening of the same day, he summoned everyone and said that it was obvious that we could not hold it, more than 60 people had been killed and wounded, and tomorrow the thieves would attack again, and the barrier would be broken, and no one would be lucky. Only by taking advantage of the darkness of the night, let's flee quickly.

So he fled with the remnants of more than 1,000 people, half of them old and weak, women and children. Xuchang was in the south, so they had to run north, and then in order to avoid the pursuers, they were forced to turn to the west, until they entered the Huoyang Mountains, and then they barely settled down.

These more than 1,000 people, like many of their contemporaries - such as Xi Jian - hid in the ravines, cultivated their own fields, and worked for a living. Zhong Sheng himself also carried a hoe to the ground, so the Wang brothers were naturally embarrassed to eat white rice with him. It's a pity that they don't have anything to do and can't do anything, so they finally coordinated and let them help herd dozens of goats, plus pick up sheep manure, which is a light job that doesn't require much skill.

Wang Yu still took the shelf at the beginning and refused to do it, but he couldn't afford Wang Zhuo to take off his long clothes first, carry the dung basket on his shoulder, and hold the shepherd whip in his hand - my brother has gone to work, so can you not do it as a brother? In this way, the Wang brothers waited like servants, and followed the Zhong family to survive the long years of hunger and fullness......

It wasn't until Zu Ti's Northern Expedition that he entered Henan, and after several battles, he finally gained a firm foothold. The news in Huoyang Mountain was blocked, and it took several months for the Zhong family to hear the news, and Zhong Sheng hurriedly sent someone to the Changshe to investigate and contact the truth, so he abandoned the foundation in the mountains and returned to his hometown - anyway, I took the field deed with me, since the Jin people are still in power, my Zhong family's land should always be returned, which is much fatter than the fields in the mountains.

When he took back his old business and settled down again, Zhong Sheng immediately pouted the Wang brothers, saying that I am a commoner, and I don't have much to do with the nobles, you are all princes and nobles, why don't you go to Luoyang to ask General Zu to seek a half-official position? The implication is that in the past I took you in and kept you alive, and now it's time for you to repay me—take it with you.