The laborer also said that he had provoked Ma Kun again by saying something inappropriate, and hurriedly knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and said, "Ma Kuai, grandpa spares his life!" ”

Ma Kun was too lazy to take care of it, and said, "Feed my two horses!" After speaking, he walked all the way up the courtyard wall of the Balcony Palace, came to the sheep intestine path that Li Feibai walked not long ago, and hurriedly chased after him.

He had to hurry after Li Feibai. After drinking last night, he went to the yamen to tell Zhao Xuefei that he was going to go back to Xiapan Village with Li Feibai today, but Zhao Xuefei just said lightly: "Treat him like me." ”

What does it mean to treat them as they are? is to treat Li Feibai like Zhao Xuefei.

If, when Li Feibai rushed back to Xiapan Village, he happened to encounter a food urging, it would be a big incident. Ma Kun has urged the grain countless times, and knows what kind of scene it is, chickens and dogs jump, and people turn over on their backs. Li Fei is white-blooded and strong, if he clashes with the initiation of food urging, the beatings will be light, and it is not impossible to be disabled.

Don't say that Li Feibai was beaten, he was wronged, how can he explain to the county magistrate? The so-called king worries about the humiliation of the minister, and the king humiliates the minister to death. Although the matter has not come to this point, it will inevitably make the county magistrate have thoughts: "This is how you defend Li Feibai?" As the head of the government service, you can't even manage the head of the fast team, what else are you doing as the head of the government service. ”

These officials only look at the results, who will care what difficulties you have? He won't pay attention, you can't be by Li Feibai's side for a while, so that such a disaster happened.

The more Ma Kun thought about it, the more afraid he became, he only hated that the sheep intestine path under his feet was too difficult, if it was a little easier to walk, he didn't have to rely on two feet, he rode directly on the horse, maybe he would catch up with Li Feibai earlier. Since Li Feibai had been out for half an hour, he could only secretly decide: "I won't rest if you rest, I won't sleep if you sleep, I must intercept you before you go to Xiapan Village." But he often rode a horse and didn't walk much over the years, and his body was blessed, even if he made up his mind, he didn't have enough strength. After walking for two miles, he was so tired that he pressed his hands to his knees and gasped for air. couldn't catch a few breaths, and hurriedly rushed forward. If he wasn't anxious, he must intercept Li Feibai before Li Feibai rushed to Xiapan Village, he would have already laid down in the shade by the road and slept beautifully.

When Li Feibai arrived at Xiapan Village, it was already noon on the second day. He has been accustomed to big fish and meat these days, and he misses his mother's hand-rolled noodles with mountain eggs very much, and he can't help but speed up his pace when he sees the village close in front of him.

When he arrived at the entrance of the village, he felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere. First, it was time for lunch, and there should have been smoke curling from the cooking, but there was no cooking smoke rising in the kitchen of every household. Second, the village was so quiet that nothing could be heard except the occasional bark or two.

Li Feibai wondered: "Where did everyone go at noon?" "I went down the stone path to my house, and when I came to the door, I saw many people standing inside and outside the wall. Li Feibai secretly said something bad: "Could it be that something happened at home?" "What can happen to people in the mountains? Apart from the death of someone, what can attract the whole village?

Li Feibai couldn't help but sour his nose. Since the crossing, possessed to Li Daning's son, under the influence of the original owner of the body he possessed, he regarded Li Daning as his biological father, and Li Daning's wife as his biological mother. ”

He walked to the gate of the courtyard and looked through the crowd in front of him, only to see his father holding a hoe at the door of the house, but his mother was sitting on the ground, silently holding back tears.

Li Feibai was a little confused: "The two old men are here, why are there so many people around the house!" After careful inspection, I found that the people gathered around my father in the courtyard were the villagers of this village, except for the strong laborers who went to serve in the forced labor, and almost all the remaining old, weak, sick and disabled were there. Gathered at the gate of the courtyard were two groups of people dressed brightly; One was led by the lieutenant commander Jiang Guoxian, with about 30 people, each holding a large wooden stick. One is dressed as a servant, a total of five people, all with waist knives hanging from their waists. The five men pressed the scabbard in one hand and held the handle in the other, looking tense.

Li Feibai immediately understood that he was here to urge food. Before he went to the county to serve in the conscription, his family was worried about this year's imperial grain, under the great drought, the harvest was already small, and once the imperial grain was handed over, there would not be much grain left in the village, and the whole village would have more than 100 mouths, wouldn't it be to starve to death. Fortunately, Zheng Haoran's letter relieved everyone's urgent need, and it was mentioned in the letter that the emperor's grace is vast, and the emperor's grain will be halved this year. This made the whole village frown a little and bow to the north, the emperor is sage.

Li Feibai was a little confused, since he was here to urge the grain, why did he gather here to hand over the imperial grain that should be handed over?

At this time, the one headed by the five officials spat on the ground and shouted, "Old boy, do you pay the imperial grain?" ”

Li Daning crossed his eyebrows and said coldly: "Deliver, why don't you pay!" ”

The official at the head said: "Hurry up, don't delay your affairs." ”

Li Daning said: "The imperial grain is stored in the threshing floor, and I planned to send it to the township in two days, but since the master is here, take it away!" ”

Li Chang Jiang Guoxian said: "Li Daning, who are you coaxing every day?" We have checked the grain in the threshing floor, and the quantity is not enough at all, at least half is missing. ”

Li Daning said: "My godson said that the emperor's grain will be reduced by half this year. There is only a lot of grain in the threshing floor, and I don't believe you to measure it. ”

The head of the official frowned, Jiang Guoxian looked carefully, stepped forward and bent over: "Deng Bantou, his godson is called Zheng Haoran, and he is a talented scholar. I studied in the county school for a few years, but I didn't get into the exam, and now I have an errand in the yamen. ”

Deng Bantou let out an "oh" and asked, "What kind of errand did you ask for?" ”

Jiang Guoxian said: "I heard that it seems to be a clerk in the sixth room. ”

Deng Bantou snorted coldly and said, "I thought it was an errand?" It's just a scrivener! I'm also on an errand in the yamen, so why haven't I heard about the halving of the imperial grain? ”

Li Daning also served as a servant in the yamen when he was young, and knew that the six-room clerk was the lowest errand in the yamen. And the head of the Deng squad in front of him is a fast squad leader, and he is very close to the county commander and the county lord, what news does the court have, it must be that the team leaders know better than the clerks, could it be that Zheng Haoran's news is wrong? He suddenly felt a little weak, and said: "Poor master, this year's drought is great, the land in the mountains is poor, and the harvest cannot be compared with previous years. If the previous imperial grain is paid, there will be no surplus grain in the village, and I am afraid that many people will starve to death this year? I hope you can make it convenient and collect less. ”

Deng Ban waved his hand and said, "Whether you are hungry or not, it has nothing to do with me." I came to urge the grain on the order of the county commander, and the acquaintance quickly handed over the grain, don't let us do it. ”

Li Daning was speechless for a while, and the villagers next to him said nonsense: "Li Jiashou, there is no way to live anyway, fight with them!" ”

Deng Bantou took a step back, pulled out half of the knife, and shouted: "Why, in order to resist the imperial grain, you want to gather people to kill officials?" Is this a rebellion? ”

Accused of rebellion, who dares to say a word again? The villagers suddenly did not dare to say anything. Deng Bantou was shocked when he saw the scene, and said: "I can also give you a way to live, you don't need food, take something to pay." He turned his head to the four officials behind him and said, "Go, move out all the valuable things in the house, and we will leave if it is enough for the imperial grain." It's not enough, search for me one by one until it is enough to reach the emperor's grain. ”

The villagers heard about it, and they also knew what the result of being searched by the officials was, and they all had tears in their eyes, but they couldn't do anything about it.

Li Daning's wife cried on the ground: "I can't live, I can't live!" My son is not married, what can I do! ”

Li Daning raised the hoe in his hand and shouted angrily: "Whoever dares to enter the house, I will discount his leg." ”

Deng Bantou snorted coldly and said, "Just because you are a young man, you dare to stop the way of the masters?" Brothers, give it to me, and let him know what the law of the land is. ”