The clouds are dense, the cold wind is howling, and the mountains and rivers are covered in silver. In the deep winter of the fifth year of Wanli, just like last year, a heavy snowstorm came as scheduled, and the bitter cold broke through the thin defense line composed of wooden planks and window paper, and wantonly recklessly carried out its power in the southeast land, so that thousands of people in the anointed land relied on trembling or praying to the gods and Buddhas to fight the bitter cold.

On the path, a small team trudged through the difficulty.

One snow has just ended, and another is brewing. The snow-covered dirt roads in the countryside are extremely difficult to navigate. The snow and ice have been broken and the road has become muddy, and the intact road surface is covered with a layer of ice, and there is a danger of slipping and falling on it.

The team numbered less than 100 people, and the composition was complex with a mix of men and women, both old and weak. More than a dozen young men with hoes and sticks walked in the front, acting as pathfinders, and some middle-aged men walked in the back, and in the middle were basically old and weak women and children, and the cries of children drifted along the wind, tearing their hearts.

A thin scholar also stumbled with difficulty in the middle of the team. Beside him were several women. These women did not care about the defense of men and women, but took the initiative to support him so that the scholar would not fall. He was not the only one in the team who read, there were about five or six scholars in this team of less than 100 people, most of them had shabby and tattered scarves on their heads, and their robes were patched, and they could see that their livelihood was very difficult at first glance.

The leader of the procession was an old man fifty miles away, his eyebrows somewhat similar to those of the young scholar, and the clothes on his body proved that he was also a scholar. Walking on this kind of road is also a challenge for the elderly, and in addition to this, he has to take care of other people, avoid leaving people behind, and remind people to pick up the villagers who have fallen.

There was not much ration left, and the surplus food had to be supplied mainly to the young and middle-aged in the ranks. Hunger and cold alternately attacked most of the team, slowing people down. The old man anxiously urged everyone to speed up, but these people are not soldiers, and the binding force of the team composed of nostalgia is also very average, and the speed of action is really not fast.

The old man looked at the sky, then looked at the surrounding environment, his face was full of sadness, "Go faster...... We're too slow right now. If there is another snowfall, I don't know how many people will be able to survive the ......"

This team has lost more than a third of its strength along the way. In these years, even if the troops were attrition on this scale, most of them would have to break up and flee. They were able to sustain nothing more than the threat of death. Running back is also death, and you can only move forward. If you fall behind, it's almost like dying.

A little girl with a muddy face and a braided forehead on her head looked at the old man with two big black eyes and said, "Grandpa Shen, do you have anything to eat when you arrive in Shangyuan?" ”

"Yes...... There must be. The old man exhaled a white breath and said categorically. Although he was the leader of the whole team, the old man did not have any preferential treatment, and he was as hungry as everyone else. In addition, his physical fitness is not very good, he only relied on a breath to support him and did not fall down, and he had no confidence in speaking, but at this moment, his spirit became extremely excited, and he shouted to everyone:

"Folks, work hard! As long as we get to Shangyuan, we will all have a good life. The government along the way refused to give us food and refused to take us in, but Shangyuan must be willing! As long as we have Shangyuan household registration, the government will send us rice to eat every month, charcoal and firewood, and work for us to do to ensure that everyone can live. Shangyuan County Commander White Bread Gong Fan Qingtian, is the son-in-law of today's Jiangling Xianggong, even if the governor sees him, he has to be polite, to Shangyuan, we can live, we can redress grievances, we can avenge our relatives! Everyone hold on, you must live to Shangyuan! ”

For this team, they don't have much pursuit, as long as they live to Shangyuan and can live with dignity in Shangyuan, they are already satisfied. Although they had never been to Shangyuan in their lives and didn't know what it was like there, since the old man was a scholar, he wouldn't lie to them. These people are willing to believe the words of the scholars and follow their instructions. Moreover, the situation he is facing has reached a dangerous situation where he will die if he doesn't run, even if Shangyuan's hope is very slim, there is only one way to go.

At this moment, the precautions of men and women are useless, and people no longer consider gender, but only help each other to move forward with the purpose of not falling, not being injured, and speeding up, hoping to run to the legendary paradise before the next great snowstorm arrives.

An eagle swept through the air, and in such bad weather, there were no birds in the air, and an eagle seemed very abrupt. The little girl with braids pointed to the sky, pulled her mother's arm and said, "Mother...... Look there. ”

The woman looked at her daughter's hand, and shivered inexplicably. The woman in the country was actually very bold, and the eagle did not pounce down, so it did no harm to her and her daughter, but somehow the appearance of this flat-haired beast always made the woman feel creepy, and she had goosebumps all over her body.

Several sharp whistles suddenly sounded, and in the woods, dozens of men in cotton robes and carrying knives and sticks suddenly came out, blocking the way of this team. The man at the head of the group held the nine-ring wind splashing knife in his hand, looked at the front of the team and was holding farm tools, desperately trying to show courage, but his body kept trembling and growing, and he didn't even bother to say anything about the scene, so he only pointed the knife wantonly towards the team, "All the men are killed, and the girls take them back." It's the same with kids, hands-on! ”

The men behind him swarmed up like wolves, and the white snow was soon stained red with blood in the flash of the sword. The leader looked at a man beside him and said, "This is less than sixty miles away from Shangyuan County, and the brothers are at great risk." Our silver this time ......"

"Last year, Liu Kanzhi led people to sweep through Jiangning, and the people in this green forest were almost wiped out, if it weren't for the master, you would have been captured and beheaded. Just do such a trivial thing and add money, I said, where are the righteous anger that you guys praise in ordinary times? ”

"Don't say that, your mansion is rich and rich, and you can reward a few of them, which is enough for a few brothers to have a fat year. This is more than 100 lives, and if the case really happens, we are afraid that we will have to hide in other provinces for a few years. This Shangyuan Fan Zhixian hates thieves the most, and Old Man Feng is his lackey again, and it is common to go out of the county to arrest people. If you don't bring a few more coils, we won't be able to run far, will we? Besides, now Shangyuan County is really alive and well, if the brothers under him didn't have human lives in their hands, they would have gone to the Shangyuan bodyguard home early, or they would have been a nose for the door of the mansion, who would still stay here to suffer? The money is less, and the brothers don't want to do it. ”

The man snorted coldly, "Alright! Isn't it just money? With our lord, then it is not a matter. Do a good job, and the matter of silver is easy to say. As for human life...... After a while, the dead bodies will be cleaned up, and then there will be a heavy snowfall, and everything will be suppressed. When Kaichun finds out, where does he go to check? Even if you really find out, don't be afraid, Master Fan has our people by his side, as long as my family members say a word, you will be safe and sound! ”

"It's still the housekeeper who is open-minded, it's better for us to speak, as long as we have silver, it's easy to kill people!" It's just such a poor stick, it's nothing, and if you say kill, you will kill it. ”

During the conversation between the two, the fight had basically ended, and the fifty-year-old scholar fell in a pool of blood, with several stabs on his body, and the little girl who he desperately supported before his death had been carried by a big man on the shoulder, and the girl had been knocked unconscious and could not resist. And her mother was held in the arms of another big man, struggling and crying, but to no avail. The big man was touching the woman's arms and let out a strange laugh.

No one in the team was standing, including the scholars, and no one was spared. A middle-aged scholar fell to the ground, pointed at them with his finger, and said weakly: "You ...... Dare to kill the ...... of reading People"

The man next to the bandit leader took a knife from the hand of a minion and walked towards the scholar with a sneer. "What about the readers? Last time, the outsider also thought that he was an official of the imperial court, but when he was cut, he didn't see how many more knives he could get than others. You've read the book and you're a showman, and you think you're very good, don't you? I tell you, the money we have outside of our staff is the most useful thing in the world, much better than your sages' writings! Don't you study at home, mix with these people, and want to sue our master? Sue! I'll let you sue! ”

As he spoke, the man held up his knife and stabbed downward. As soon as the knife fell, the scholar's body trembled for a while, the blood spread along the knife edge on the snow, and the perpetrator poked down with a proud knife, enjoying the pleasure of an illiterate person depriving the scholar of his life.

After a few stabs in succession, seeing that the person was out of breath, he pulled out the knife and said to the minions: "Don't touch it, you can still do things here in the ice and snow?" Back in the cottage, you have to touch it. Find out the people and papers for me, and move the dead bodies away, and get to work! ”

The leader of the cottage also commanded, but at this moment, a minion ran over and said in a panic: "Oh no! Someone's coming! ”

"Someone? Who?"

"There are more than 30 people from Shangyuan County, and there are phoenix flags on the car."

As soon as he heard the phoenix dart flag, the leader of the cottage changed his complexion, carried the big knife, and said loudly: "Brothers, take the ladies and shout!" ”

"Dead bodies! What about the dead bodies yet, what to run? There are more than 30 people in total, less than you, and I'm afraid of what he will do! ”

"Kill you as a corpse, if you don't leave, I'll turn you into a dead corpse first!" The leader of the cottage glared at the housekeeper who had lost his good face, and scolded angrily: "Didn't you hear? Phoenix Dart Flag! Feng Siye's dart car! Let his men see us, and we all die!" Hurry up, hurry up, go away! Don't let the fourth master block it. ”

The team carried the women and children they had taken, and fled in disarray, leaving the dead bodies all over the place to be disposed of. After a while, several overlapping corpses slowly fell to both sides, and a figure covered in blood rose from the pile of corpses little by little. It was the thin scholar, his body and head were already covered with blood, looking at the corpses around him, his eyes were glazed. He searched around, and finally found the body of the fifty-year-old man, staggering forward and shaking desperately, but there was no response.

A wail sounded in the mountains, and the evil eagle in the air flapped its wings and circled, swooping downward!

"Master, listen, our son is kicking me."

In Shangyuan County, it is as warm as spring.

The chimney coaling furnace built by Fan Jin has benefited the entire Jiangning City. All wealthy families use these instead of braziers, and the number of people who die from charcoal poisoning has dropped dramatically, unlike in the past, when many people died as soon as the winter passed. The earth dragon and the stove make it impossible to wear thick clothes at all. Song, who was already pregnant, was wearing a small jacket, lazily leaning on Fan Jin's bed, looking at Fan Jin's appearance of lying on his stomach, his heart was extremely sweet.

Feeling the budding of the fetus in the womb, looking forward to the child growing up little by little in the future, shouting about her mother's appearance, her eyes are full of maternal kindness. When she was pregnant with this flesh and blood, she didn't want to consolidate her position in the Yang family, ensure that no one could seize power, and she could also tie Fan Jin's heart. But as the months go, her utilitarian mind fades away, replaced by the pursuit of life.

In her opinion, now Fan Jin is her husband, she gave birth to a son for him, and the family of three will live happily together in the future. What about the main room, anyway, the first child was born by himself, and whoever can serve the man in the end is happy, who is capable. This daughter came to Jiangning once, and took away the Siamese fat cat that she raised since she was a child, and if she didn't snatch her father-in-law, how could she show her means?

Buckle waited on the sidelines, looking at her belly in disappointment. During this time, the Song family could not serve, so she could do it for her openly. Looking at Fan Jin's love for her own young lady, she wished that she was lying there now, and her master could be so gentle and merciful to her.

Song Jin's body moved, and Fan Jin immediately moved to help her. Hmph, men are like this, no matter how domineering they were at the beginning, now that they have his flesh and blood, why don't they obediently serve themselves?

Moved his body slightly, complaining coquettishly: "This is really a hard thing to give birth to, especially recently, the body is becoming more and more inconvenient, there are so many things piled up at home and outside the house, I can't do it without me, I ran from morning to night, and my feet are sore." ”

As he spoke, Song raised his lotus feet with a lazy look. Fan Jin pinched the arch of her foot and smiled: "This little thing is also worth complaining about?" I'll give you a pinch and promise to be fine for a while. ”

"It's still the old man who knows how to hurt people. It's just that your pinching of your feet is good, and it shouldn't be good elsewhere. I still wish to give birth to the child as soon as possible, so that I can accompany the old man to be happy and have a second one in the future...... Be light, my heart will be pinched by you. ”

The two were talking, the door was suddenly kicked open, and Xue broke in with five strides, as if he didn't see the Song family, and only beckoned Fan Jin and said, "Xianggong came out, something happened." ”