Under the scorching midday sun, the dust raised on the uninhabited country roads carried the heat with it. Five or six men with waist knives drove two ox carts down the road in the scorching sun. On the ox cart in front of his head, Li Zhensheng made a cameo appearance as a coachman, holding a soft rattan short whip to drive the listless cattle for a while. Next to Li Zhensheng sat a man wearing a round-necked robe, a hood on his head, and a pair of flat-toed soft-soled shoes on his feet. On such a hot day, Li Zhensheng and several officials were already sweating on their chests and backs, and this old man, who was half white with black silk and white hair, was still dressed properly, and a big pu fan in his hand was swaying back and forth, looking very uncomfortable.

"Zhijie, we are so bold as to drive the ox cart to your place to pull grain...... It's rude. Have you sent a message back to your family in advance, so that your family can be prepared? Although the kind image of this old man is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, but in the end, he eats in the yamen, Deng Tiezhu knows what kind attitude the king has towards the small people, and what kind of attitude he has towards them. The former is Maitreya Buddha, and the latter is Lord Yama. The swordsmen and penmen who were eating under Wang Fang's hands were all sad, and none of them could see the smiling face of this top boss. If this is the case with his subordinates, the village chiefs who report directly to the chief are even more unlucky.

However, the cold storm and snow of the old master of Wang Lao have never been able to wipe the side of the common people, so the official reputation has always been the best. And this person can really be regarded as a good official for the welfare of the people, although his subordinates say that it is difficult to do a little, but they do not hold a grudge behind their backs. The last time Li Zhensheng presented the Quyuan plough and was praised by the king in front of all the lieutenants, Li Zhensheng happily drank a little wine alone all night, because this kind of praise is too rare. So when this son, who was the same generation as Li Zhensheng's father, kept saying that he was a close friend of his uncle, and insisted that he worshiped his uncle's Wang Zhushu and called him 'Zhijie', Li Zhensheng's hand holding the whip couldn't help but tremble like Deng Zhutou's heart.

I have known the temper of this master since his eldest brother, and it has been almost ten years. Suddenly changed to this kind of treatment, Li Zhensheng really couldn't adapt to it. But no matter how much you should say something, Li Zhensheng still understands it clearly in his heart. "Back to the Lord Bookkeeper, I entered the county alone, and the matter was decided suddenly, so I haven't had time to inform my family yet."

Master Wang nodded knowingly, shook the pu fan and said in a nostalgic tone: "Hey, I haven't been to this Li family's old village for more than ten years." When your uncle was the patriarch, I was invited by him to drink the wedding wine. Hey, at that time, your uncle also told me that the mountain road is not easy to walk, and I didn't take this to heart because I was young and strong. I regretted it when I came to the end. By the way, I was wearing such a pair of thin-soled shoes in the first place. When I got to the mountains, let alone my shoes, my feet were worn out. In the end, after drinking, it was your uncle and your father who carried me out of the mountain. Hey, I still remember that I was dizzy from drinking, and I couldn't help but vomit on your dad's back at the end. Hahaha"

This is directly related to Li Zhensheng's father, what can Li Zhensheng say. smiled with him, but he really admired the memory of this old man. It's been so many years, and his dad doesn't necessarily remember it. There are so many things to be busy in the king's book, and when it comes to a person, he can still think of the old things more than ten years ago, even those who have never forgotten the book may not have this ability.

The ox cart slowly drove into the mountains, and there were more shaded roads on the side of the road, which made people feel much cooler. However, the road became more and more rugged and difficult, and stumbling was inevitable, and it hurt even more when sitting on the ox cart. Wang Fang also had to stop, and stretched out his hand to support the edge of the car to prevent himself from falling down. Seeing this, Li Zhensheng followed what he had just said and said: "It is said that Qingshan has not changed, the master has not been here for more than ten years, and this mountain road is still the same as it was back then?" ”

"Hehe, not really. This section is not bad, but I still remember the rest of the road. Can this ox cart pass? ”

"Lord Bookkeeper, that's wrong. Although Qingshan has not changed, this road is very different from back then," Li Zhensheng said with a smug look on his face. This kind of thing is also a great achievement of his chief to let the master know about it.

Master Wang's curiosity was aroused, and he looked sideways at Li Zhensheng: "Oh? How is it different? Well...... I remember that I had only built official roads over the years. By the way, the year before last, Miao County ordered that the roads to Ren Village were also smoothed. But this mountain road ......"

"Hehe, the master doesn't know. Since...... cough, in order to transport the tax grain out of the mountain, our Lijiazhai reopened a mountain road that can cross ox carts. It turned out that the trail that needed to be climbed over the mountain had long been left unattended. Last year, when the reservoir was being built in the village, we brought the silt out of the valley floor to the outside of the valley, and then paved the stone road outside the valley with us. Therefore, although this section is difficult to walk, it is much easier to walk after the front hill and the front of the valley. ”

After listening to the praise, Wang Zhushu said to Li Zhensheng: "Building roads and bridges is a good thing for the people, and there is also the reservoir that has made great contributions this year." Zhijie did a good job, why didn't you tell me about such a good thing before. I'll also be able to arrange for some labor to come and help. ”

Li Zhensheng nodded humbly in thanks, knowing in his heart that the back of the king's book was full of polite words: "It's all my Li Jiazhai's own business, how to work in the county." We mobilized the whole village of young and old, and did it when the farm was slack, and finally did not delay the farm work. ”

"Well, your brother is fierce and decisive, although his temperament is a little impetuous, but he was not in a good year at that time, but he also kept the Li Jiazhai side safe. Zhijie, you are more suitable to be the leader in this peaceful year, treat the clansmen and benefit the people, very good, very good. ”

Wang Zhushu heard these two praises, but in Deng Tiezhu's ears, he cast a surprised glimpse of Li Zhensheng who was blushing in front of him. I'm afraid this Li Zhensheng is really going to rise. Although the king is not the chief official, but with the connections of the king, the county has to give three points of courtesy, and it is really a matter of one sentence for him to promote a person. What's more, Li Zhensheng relied on the great merit of 'offering food', which is a county lord to take care of. Alas, there are no eyes, I should have been polite to this person before.

The ox cart turned the hill and came to the narrow path in front of the valley. There was a lot of loess on the ground, and the ox carts were much smoother on it. Shaking the pu fan leisurely again, Wang Zhushu looked at Li Zhensheng's eyes beside him and became more and more appreciative. Then he looked at the gate of the fortress standing in the middle of the valley, Wang Fang, who was nearly sixty years old but still good-looking, noticed that something was wrong after looking at it for a while, his eyes squinted at Li Zhensheng, and asked jokingly: "Why, how many years has this been peaceful, and the habit of putting the gate of Lijiazhai is still there?" Isn't it, there are still bandits to guard against in this mountain? If this is the case, Zhijie should have reported it to the yamen earlier. ”

There is no need for the reminder of the king master book with a gun and a stick, but at first glance, Li Zhensheng saw that there was a problem with his door. He looked more closely, and there were clearly figures standing on the gate of the wall! What's going on? Li Zhensheng was puzzled, but he knew that if it wasn't for the big thing that threatened the village, his father would never have ordered the valley gate that had not been used for several years to be lowered. But the king's words still have to be answered, if you don't answer, it will really make the king's master think that he has a ghost in his heart. Putting down the gate is nothing, but if people with guns and knives were sent to guard the gate every day during the Taiping years, it would be a bit ...... 'threatening national security'. "Zhijie is also puzzled, the big village gate in this valley has never been put down since the Zhenguan Dynasty, maybe there was an accident in the village. Later, when Lord Wang was here, I went to open the gate and asked what had happened. ”

After Li Zhensheng finished speaking, he jumped out of the ox cart and trotted towards the gate of the village. As soon as the king pulled the reins, he stopped the ox cart, turned around and glanced at the head catcher behind him, and asked everyone to be careful. Wang Zhushu suddenly felt that he was a little reckless to rush over in person as soon as he heard that there was food, in case he ...... This Li Jiazhai is hungry and crazy, so he made a trick to trick himself, and then used him to blackmail the yamen to ask for food? It's possible. Carelessly, the water in the entire Guanzhong has dried up. Can Lijiazhai really survive by building a reservoir? Alas, I've arrived here, and it's not easy to run, I just hope what Li Zhensheng said is true.

Li Zhensheng didn't expect that the king, who had always been cautious and prepared for danger in times of peace, would have so many thoughts in the blink of an eye as soon as he saw the walled gate. Li Zhensheng was full of guessing what happened to Lijiazhai, and the people came to chaos? Mountain bandits? Bandit? It seems possible. hurriedly ran to the gate of the village, raised his neck and shouted: "Hey-the person above, I am the patriarch Li Zhensheng!" Open the gate! Hey—"

The figure on the gate of the village turned his head to look at Li Zhensheng, who was shouting below, and exclaimed, turned his head and ran. I only heard the shouting from above: "Uncle-uncle-patriarch is back, patriarch is back!" Six sons, quickly hang up the gate of the village. Uncle, the patriarch is back! ”

As soon as this person ran away, Li Zhensheng was anxious to ask a few more questions. I had to stomp my feet and watch the big village gate squeak a little bit up, only to see a few figures exposed under the hanging walled door, and I couldn't wait for the gate to fully rise, I couldn't wait to bend down and drill out, and the one in front of my head was the fourth Li Zhenxing.

Li Zhenxing strode down to Li Zhensheng with a stick in his hand, and shouted at the top of his voice: "Second brother is not good!" Our village has recruited bandits, and the grain depot has been stolen! The voice was so loud that it seemed that he was afraid that Wang Zhuzhu and others dozens of meters away would not be able to hear it.

"What! What's going on? How's the food going? Who did it? Did you hurt anyone? "Food is the root of life, as soon as he heard that the grain depot was stolen, Li Zhensheng couldn't care about the king's book, grabbed Li Zhenxing's arm and asked a series of questions to make Li Zhenxing, who was prepared, stunned, and didn't know which one to answer first. And the anxious Li Zhensheng could still bear his temperament, seeing that Li Zhenxing was speechless with his mouth open, he couldn't help glaring at him angrily, turned around and prepared to enter the village.

Not far away, Wang Zhushu saw Li Zhenxing and others holding sticks out of the gate and was about to retreat, but seeing that Li Zhenxing did not bring people to rush over, he heard him shouting 'grain depot' or something. When he saw Li Zhensheng's anxious face, he seemed to leave them and run back to the village with people, thinking that Li Jiazhai might really have an accident, so he hurriedly greeted: "Zhijie!" Chi Festival! Let's wait for the old man. ”

No matter how anxious Li Zhensheng was, he didn't dare to leave the adult and leave alone, so he had no choice but to turn around and take Li Zhenxing and the others towards the king and his party. The two sides looked at each other, and as soon as Li Zhensheng introduced the king's book, Li Zhenxing didn't expect that the old man would come in person, so he hurriedly abandoned the stick and bowed. Several people behind him threw the sticks in their hands in the same way. Seeing this, Master Wang was completely relieved, and looked at Li Zhenxing in front of him with a smile and a kind face: "Well, don't say it." But looking at his posture of walking with a tiger, and your eldest brother was almost printed in the same mold back then, it must be the fourth child of your family! Right? ”

Li Zhenxing smirked and nodded restrainedly: "Master Wang guessed correctly, I am the fourth Li Zhenxing, and Li Zhenping is my eldest brother." ”

"Well, you and your eldest brother were both Taoists when they were young, and I was quite impressed. By the way, what did you just say to Zhijie, in a hurry to be like that? "The king master's book was almost finished, and he asked about the matter as soon as his tone changed.

Hearing this, Li Zhenxing also accepted the virtue of silly music, and said to Li Zhensheng and Wang Zhushu with a serious face: "There were thieves in the mountains last night!" In the middle of the night, Li Yi, who was guarding the grain depot, was knocked down by them, and my Kun'er happened to pass by and bumped into him. Otherwise, no one knows. Li Zhenxing just praised his son, and scolded again: "Kun'er is also stupid, he didn't know to ring the gong to warn him first, but he ran back to call me." When the alarm signal is issued, everyone is gone! The stinky boy just didn't practice, and I beat him up this morning. It's only been a few years since it was peaceful! I don't know what to do when I encounter something, and my mother dares to stop it, I ......"

"Fourth. Let's talk about what happened later, did anyone catch it? How much food is lost? Li Zhensheng angrily grabbed the fourth child, this is just in front of his family, there is still an old man standing here, haven't you heard that the ugliness of the family should not be publicized? If you are willing to Yang, people must also be willing to listen.

Master Wang still showed a good demeanor, and he still didn't look impatient on his face, and he comforted Li Zhensheng and said: "Don't be in a hurry, let Shiro speak slowly." By the way, let's stop here, enter the village, and talk as we walk. ”

Li Zhenxing led the way, glanced at the two ox carts out of the corner of his eye when he turned around, and muttered to himself in his heart: This appetite is not small. The expression on his face remained unchanged, and he continued: "Although my stinky boy was delayed for a while, fortunately, although the people in the village have not moved for so many years, they are not unfamiliar. The old man guessed that the thieves must be in a hurry to get out of the valley, so Lao Wu and I took people to take the small road to put down the gate of the village. And then they searched for them all over the mountains...... Well? The king's book? Hearing the footsteps behind him stop, Li Zhenxing, who was telling the thrilling 'story' of last night, couldn't help but stop and look back.

If the path outside the valley is reasonable to clean up, then the valley across the gate can be regarded as a cave. Although the road on the mountain from the Zhaimen is also smooth, Li Zhenxing is not the one who leads the king. In the valley, a wooden bridge with a T-shaped line was built, and the T-shaped one was horizontally connected to the mountain walls on both sides, and one vertical led to the valley mouth walled gate. The bridge deck is less than a zhang wide, just enough for an ox cart to travel alone. The bridge deck is only half a zhang high from the ground, and there are no fences on both sides, which is relatively simple. However, compared to the road on the ground, the bridge deck is much smoother. However, this did not surprise the well-informed Wang Zhushu to forget to move forward.

Walking along the wooden bridge is only ten zhang away, and when you look up, your vision suddenly opens up. On both sides of the valley, on one side are neatly sloping fields, and on the other side are houses and villages hidden among green hills and green trees. Wang Zhushu has also studied and participated in the imperial examination, and the most important thing is that he is still a peasant family in his bones. Although there are no crops planted in the fields on the hillside, you can see at a glance that the owner's family has taken care of them, and it is not like the barren fields in the villages outside. The village on the mountain is hidden in the mountain forest, and the faint smoke of the cooking smoke fills the green leaves that have been tormented under the scorching sun, bringing a touch of water color to the green. As an old man who is over half a hundred years old and has no hope for a career, how can the scenery in front of him not make Wang Zhushu feel like Mr. Jingjie in his heart.

After standing stunned for a long time, after hearing Li Zhensheng call twice, Wang Zhushu woke up from his dream, and shook his head with a wry smile: "Li Jiazhai has really changed a lot, and it is completely different from the old man's impression." Chronicles...... You're doing a good job, you're doing well. After sighing with emotion, the king moved forward again, admiring the scenery on both sides, and said with admiration: "Alas, even the old man wants to come here to retire." How about it, Zhijie, maybe prepare a house for the old man to live in? ”

"If Master Wang wants to come and live, it is my Li Jiazhai's honor. As long as the king wants to come, all the young and old in my Li Jiazhai can build a room for the boss in one day. Wang Fang listened to the great music, and couldn't help but raise his head and laugh for a while, and suddenly reacted in his heart after laughing: Li Zhensheng is not a person who can say such kind words that are a bit sycophant. Time of day...... It only takes one day to build a house in Lijiazhai...... What kind of house? Li Zhensheng will definitely not talk about that kind of simple wooden house, so ......

Without waiting for Wang Fang to ask a few more questions, he was taken aback by the big guy who came into view.

Four large platforms. The huge platform, separated by two on the left and right, almost connects the valley. Most of the wooden bridge that connects the valley is directly on the edge of this stone platform. Wang Fang glanced at it curiously, had a guess in his heart, and asked curiously, "...... is this?" ”

Li Zhensheng was listening to Li Zhenxing muttering in his ear, and when he heard Master Wang's inquiry, he hurriedly turned around and replied: "This is the reservoir that our Li Jiazhai repaired." Oh, let's cover this. The sun is too poisonous, and it is difficult to save this water, for fear of drying it out. ”

"Oh, Zhijie is far-sighted, no wonder Lijiazhai can survive this year's drought." Seeing Li Zhenxing's quiet speech, Master Wang raised his fan and patted his head with annoyance: "Look at my brain, when I saw your transformed Li Jiazhai, I forgot about it." Shiro, let's go on, did the bandits catch it? ”

Li Zhenxing secretly handed Li Zhensheng a look, turned his head to the king and said respectfully: "Back to the king's book, I caught a few when I was bright." Seeing that the valley couldn't be rushed, the bastards sneaked away to the back mountain. Unbeknownst to you, these bastards took advantage of the chaos in the mountains of our cottage to kidnap one of my nieces. ”

"Huh?! This gang of bandits is so reckless and lawless, and this official will definitely make it clear that County Lieutenant Zhang will be heavily responsible for these people. ”

The king was indignant here, and Li Zhensheng, who also heard it for the first time, had just woken up from his shock and grabbed Li Zhenxing: "Who did you kidnap?" Have you ever been saved? ”

Li Zhenxing felt more and more at this time, patted Li Zhensheng's shoulder, and said softly: "Second brother, don't worry, if Lin Er's girl is not rescued, I can still stand here like this?" It's not easy for these bastards to go anywhere, so they are going to our clouds...... hit in the mountains, and lost half of his life by the jackals, tigers and leopards in the mountains. In the end, there was no way to light a fire to resist, but Cheng Mu, who happened to be searched on the mountain, saw the fire, and before dawn, we took people into the mountain to arrest people. Li Zhenxing said that Yunshan gave the second brother a look, as if you understand. Then he looked sorry and hated: "But these bastards still don't stop, we chase after them, and they run." As a result, although Lin Er's girl was rescued safely, a few people were also caught. But I don't know how much more I ran, and the most important thing is food! When they fled, the grain was scattered in the woods, and I don't know how much of it was fed to the animals! Lao Wu is still leading people to search in the forest, people don't care about him, if the grain can be recovered, it will be counted as a bag, alas......"

Li Zhensheng hurriedly asked: "How much grain has been lost?" Have you counted? "This is a question that Master Wang is also concerned about, he is here for the grain of Lijiazhai, but he didn't expect that there are bandits who come one step ahead of him. He also borrowed it in the name of the government, and the other side grabbed it directly, and this group of damn robbers couldn't spare them.

Li Zhenxing is not responsible for this problem, his task is almost completed, 'Say things, pretend to be pitiful' Well, he pretended to be pitiful enough, right? It's time to leave the rest to the third child. So, Li Laosi touched his head blankly: "This, I don't know how to count this number, second brother, you have to go to the third brother." ”

"What about the third child?"

Li Zhenxing, hehe, how obscene his expression looked, "Third brother, third brother, he is kneeling at the grain depot and crying!" ”

"Huh!?" Li Zhensheng and Wang Zhushu were dumbfounded, how much did they have to lose to make a seven-foot man cry bitterly. The king couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart: This borrowed grain seems to be hanging.