At the beginning of April of the second year of Jingkang of the Great Song Dynasty, the imperial court appointed Xu Zhang as the commander of the guards and the pro-army infantry and military division. However, Xu Wei's resettlement was delayed, and at this time, news came from Hebei that Gao Shiyou was appointed as the pacification envoy of Hebei East Road and the general manager of all roads and horses, and on the basis of the surrender of the Song army, he absorbed Liukou, Yanyun Han'er, etc., to form an army of tens of thousands of people, and with the cooperation of a small number of Jin troops, he took over Cangzhou, Fucheng, Wuyi and other places. In Hedong, the Jin army withdrew from Daizhou, which had been occupied, and was replaced by Li Zhi, the surrender general of the Song army, as Zhizhou, and within half a month, he took charge of Xinzhou, Xianzhou, and Ninghua Army. The seed master who was still guarding Taiyuan was furious when he heard the news, and asked the army to recover the three places and kill the traitorous thieves, but the court did not allow it.

On the third day of the fourth month, Zhao Huan accepted Xu Shao's suggestion and promoted Yao Pingzhong to the Marquis of Yu, the former capital of the palace, to lead the Chang Jie army, and his father Yao Gu to be the deputy commander of the former division of the palace. Liu Yanqing stayed behind for Xijing, and his son Liu Guangshi led the army to the town. Uncle Zhang changed his knowledge of Zhengzhou at night, and his sons Zhang Bofen and Zhang Zhongxiong led the army to the town. As a result, several major generals have all arranged, and the ninth child of the Xu family has been missed.

On April 11, the day of the "ten-day rest" of the officials of the Great Song Dynasty, Xu Wei returned home from Mu Huogang. The former bustle of the Xu family no longer exists, Xu Sheng knew about Tongzhou, and took his family to take his family to work, but the family was a lot deserted, and all the housework fell on Zhang Jiuyue, who had just married.

As soon as Xu Wei entered the door, she greeted her in September, and she knew that her husband was very depressed these days. Several of his brothers went to the front line with important positions, but he stayed in Tokyo and buried himself in military training. He has made a lot of contributions to this anti-gold battle, but he has not seen any arrangements so far, and his mood can be imagined.

"Prepare more wine and food for lunch, and father-in-law and officials can also drink a cup." Zhang Jiujiu was very concerned about the appointment of her husband at the beginning, but now she never mentions the Rausch matter of the bad heart.

Xu Wei nodded, reluctantly smiled and said hard work to his wife, and then walked inside. didn't take a few steps, but I heard someone behind me say that the facial features man was coming, and then I heard a voice calling the ninth brother. When I looked back, I saw a man striding in. He was less than forty years old, and he looked like a table clock, round and thick. With thick eyebrows and big eyes, a collapsed nose, upturned lips, and a few short whiskers on his chin are red, it can really be said that his appearance is not good.

But this person is still Xu Shao's son, Xu Jiu's fifth brother, and Xu Hong, the former general of Dongping Mansion. He once led the army to aid Zhending, and launched a bloody battle with the Jin army in Luling, Luling County, only three battles, killing the Jin soldiers on their backs. Later, the second prince of the Jin Kingdom mobilized heavy troops to besiege him, but because his subordinates fled without authorization, this led to a great defeat. Or because of Xu Shao, he was not punished, and the disabled division was brought back to Shandong, and then transferred to Tokyo.

"Fifth brother, hurry up and please." Xu Wei knew that this elder brother was proficient in martial arts and was very good at arranging troops, so he admired it in his heart. Zhang Jiujiu also gave a salute and met his brother.

Xu Hong waved his hand, without a trace of expression on his face, and said lukewarmly: "I came to inform you, just a few days, rectify the subordinates, and prepare to leave Beijing." ”

Xu Wei's heart moved when he heard this, what's the matter? My appointment is down? Where is it going? Hedong? Shaanxi? Before he could ask, he heard Xu Wu say again: "I'll go first." ”

"Hey, fifth brother, what the hell am I ......" When Xu Wei said this, Xu Hong had already left the mansion. It's just the same rice to raise a hundred kinds of people, the children of the Xu family, although they have different temperaments, but each of them is a heroic and uninhibited man, but this Xu Wu is not good at words, withdrawn, when Xu Jiu got married, he buried his head in drinking, and from beginning to end, he was not close to his brothers.

Xu Wei was stunned for a moment, and suddenly walked out, Zhang Jiujiu saw it, and shouted behind him: "Official, it's not too late to go back after lunch." ”

The next day, Xu Weiwang's long-awaited placement finally came down, and the appointment was signed by the privy envoy himself. Huaxian County, Shaanxi Province was changed to the "Dingrong Army", and Xu Weiquan knew the military, and after the order was issued, he set off immediately. The "Dingrong Army" here is not the name of the army, but a first-level administrative division. In the Song Dynasty, the division was based on the road, the military supervisor of Fuzhou and the county. This "army" has the same status as the "county" and the lower state. Most of them are set up in the border passes, the roads are rushing, and the mountains and rivers are dangerous and there are many places where thieves gather. Because the "army" level is mostly set up in remote places, garrison troops, and have fewer household registrations, the army knows the army to take charge of local military and political affairs, and is directly under the jurisdiction of the road and even directly under the central government.

In addition to the post of "Zhijun", Xu Wei's "Patrol Envoy of the Lianghe Loyal and Righteous Patrol Society" was removed and renamed as the "Chief of the Hedong Righteous Army". The appointment of the Privy Council did not introduce the situation of the "Dingrong Army", but the official who came to convey the appointment, entrusted by Xu Shao, specially reminded Xu Wei that the situation in the place where he was about to go was very complicated, and it could even be said to be dangerous. His first priority is to see if he can pull up the banner.

This is strange, I went to the master of ceremonies with the appointment of the imperial court and stationed the army, who would dare to stop me? I still have to pull up the banner first? However, since the third uncle told him so, there must be a reason for it, so it is better to be careful.

Therefore, he patiently gathered his troops, loaded supplies, and only then made an official report to the Privy Council and prepared to go. Although Xu Wei was anxious to go to work, he still didn't forget that from then on, only the old man was left in the family, so he took time out to go to the third sister's house, and asked his sister and brother-in-law to simply move back to their parents' house to live, so that they could take care of it. Fan Jing is just a knife and pen officer, and it is also hard to support his family, so he agreed, and Xu Wei was relieved.

On 15 April, the Hujie Township Army marched from the camp of Mutuogang and advanced westward. After Zhengzhou, through Luoyang, it took less than ten days to go out of Tongguan, cross Weishui, and step into the boundary of Shaanxi. Along the way, where the Jin army passed, the towns were empty, most of the people fled, all industries were deserted, and the earth withered. The crops that were about to ripen were unharvested, and it was a desolate scene.

Seeing all this, Xu Wei vaguely felt that the third uncle's reminder was not so simple.

On this day, when the army marched to one place, it saw the undulating mountains, the terrain was dangerous, and the roads were narrow, and the army was not allowed to move quickly. Xu Wei asked his subordinates, and he knew that he had reached the south of Huashan, and about forty miles further on, it was the "Dingrong Army". Xu Wei then ordered Zhang Qing, Wang Yan, and Wu Jie to lead most of the troops to follow up, and he led Yang Yan and Ma Tai to lead only more than ten personal soldiers to take the lead. On an April day, the weather had turned hot, and more than a dozen people had taken off their armor and rode forward in civilian clothes. Xu Wei's move was to first see what the situation was in the place where he was about to take office, so that the third uncle reminded him that it was "complicated and dangerous".

"Brother Jiu, there is a village." Yang Yanyao pointed three or four miles ahead, and saw a house looming in the forest. In the past, foreign officials who had a little brains would go out on patrol and get first-hand information from ordinary people. Xu Wei also had this thought, so he led everyone to the village.

Entering from the west, see that the scale of this Zhuangzi is not small, there are dozens of blue brick houses alone, and the road surface is also paved with stone slabs, which should be quite lively, like a paradise. But when more than a dozen horsemen rushed into the village, they found that the village was empty, and there was not even a dog in sight. Where have all the people gone?

Yang Yan was in a hurry, jumped off the horse, and raised a big gun to pick people from door to door, only to see that everything in each house was there, and some people were still steaming steamed buns in their pots. Stealing one and taking two bites, Yang Yan ran out of the farmhouse and said to Xu Wei outside: "Brother Jiu, I think it's not long since I left, you see, the steamed buns have just bloomed." ”

"Put it back and lose a few more bucks." Xu Weibai glanced at him, looked around, didn't the people of Zhuangzhong treat us as strongmen and fled first? It's not like that, I can scare away a village with a dozen people?

When he was wondering, he suddenly heard the soldier shouting: "Someone! ”

Looking for prestige, I saw half of my head poking out of the low tiled house in front of me, and suddenly shrank back. Xu Wei whipped his horse, and the two soldiers urged the war horse to run over, kicked the door, and rushed in. Immediately, I heard the sound of fighting, the sound of the house pole colliding, and suddenly heard a "ouch", and saw a figure fall out of the door. Take a closer look, hehe, it's weird, it's actually a pro-soldier.

Before this one could get up, the other one fell out again! Du Feihu snorted coldly, immediately jumped off the horse, did not draw his sword, and rushed over, shooting an arrow into the room. The crowd didn't hear a sound, but they saw him holding a man's neck and carrying him like a chicken. He shook Xu Weima in front of him and said with a smile: "It's still a hard product." ”

The man was estimated to be less than thirty years old, wearing a gray cloth straight jacket, a cloth towel wrapped around his head, a square face, or a perennial farming reason, and his body was extremely strong. It's just, how can this belly hold up so high? How many months have you had?

"Who are you?" Xu Wei asked.

The man raised his head and glanced at him, a mouthful of spit almost sprayed on Xu Wei's face, and scolded: "If you want to kill, kill!" If grandpa frowns, he is not a hero! ”

Yang Yan happened to come out of the farmer's loss just now, and when he saw him spitting at Brother Jiu, he was so angry that he gave a curved blade gun, caught the tail of the gun and stabbed it straight over, and yelled in his mouth: "Grandpa stabbed you in a hole with a shot, see if you are a good man!" ”

The man's eyes were quick, and when he saw the head of the gun approaching, he wrapped his hands around him, pulled it into his arms, and jumped up while taking advantage of the situation. However, he looked down on Yang Yan, and before he could snatch the gun, he was picked up by the opponent with a gun, slammed it to the ground, and fell into a lot of meat, and he couldn't get out of breath for a while. still wanted to commit murder, Du Feihu's knife was already on his neck.

This guy is a tough guy, spat again, gritted his teeth and said nothing.

Xu Wei saw his abdomen rise, thinking that he was carrying a sharp blade, and ordered a body search. When the soldier relieved him of the waist, he actually rolled out the money in a place, Yang Yan picked it up with the head of the gun and counted it, and there were several times.

"It's probably a thief who stole the beam into the house, so let's correct the law on the spot." Yang Yan said.

"Phew! You deserving plague thief! Grandpa hates not being able to slaughter three or two! The man scolded.

Xu Wei heard something meaningful, and asked with a smile on the saddle on the horse: "Do you think I look like a thief?" ”

"You look like you, roe deer, you're a bandit leader! Sooner or later, he was taken by the official army to open the knife and beheaded! The other party scolded endlessly. As soon as these words came out, not only did they not anger these tiger warriors, but they caused a burst of laughter.

Yang Yan scolded with a smile: "What an ignorant villager, do you know who he is?" Speaking out scares you to death, has Zijin Tiger heard of it? ”

"What is the Purple Gold Tiger, Grandpa is still a Rolling Dragon!" The man said disdainfully.

Yang Yan is really angry this time, you haven't even heard of the Purple Golden Tiger? Damn it! I wanted to stab people with a gun, but Xu Wei stopped him and said to the man: "I am all the officials and soldiers of the imperial court, and I ask you, where are all the people in this village?" ”

"Officers and soldiers?" When the man heard this, he was taken aback, got up with a bone, and looked at Xu Wei and the others. Shaking his head, he said, "You don't look like an official soldier!" ”

"That looks like a thief?" Mattei asked.

"Looking at it like this, it doesn't look like a thief, if it were, it would have cut me down a long time ago." The man shook his head.

Xu Wei smiled when he heard this, he was not stupid, he got off the horse, swept the dust on the other party with a horsewhip, and asked in a deep voice: "Where have all the people in this village gone?" Why are you sneaking around with all this money? ”

The man looked at Xu Wei for a long time, and then said: "Yesterday, there was a rumor in the village that the thieves on Huashan Mountain were coming to loot the villagers, so they all fled. I thought about how many coins my mother had hidden in the rice jar, so I came back and got it. ”

"Ask for money, don't die, you idiot." Yang Yan scolded with a smile.

"You know what? This is my gift money! Can you lose it? As soon as these words came out, he quickly leaned down and grabbed a few copper coins in his arms, staring at them.

Xu Wei couldn't cry or laugh, whipped him falsely, and said loudly: "Okay, go and call the farmers back, the wheat is also ripe, and harvest it as soon as possible." If there is really a thief in Huashan, I will send an army to exterminate it in the near future. How far is Huaxian from here? ”

The man hugged the money tightly and snorted to the east: "It will be more than ten miles to the county seat." ”

"Let's go." Xu Wei stepped on the horse and wanted to move forward. Unexpectedly, the man grabbed the reins, and Xu Wei was so panicked that his own soldiers raised their knives and shouted to stop.

"Official, don't bully my Zhuang family and don't see the world, but it's really the official army of the court?" The man asked, letting go of the reins.

Yang Yan was extremely impatient, and said, "What are you coaxing a villager to do? The imperial court changed your Huaxian County to the 'Dingrong Army', and this is the new Zhijun. ”

The man's eyes widened when he heard this, and his mouth was wide open, and he could almost stuff two eggs into it. Zhimei looked at Xu Wei for a long time, suddenly threw the money in his arms, fell to his knees with a plop, and bowed: "My lord!" I almost injured my lord! Forgive all sins! ”

Xu Wei, who was as knowledgeable as him, said casually: "It's okay, I see that you have some ability, if you have the intention of being a soldier and being paid, you will come to the county to join the army." "After that, I want to move forward again.

The man hurriedly stopped in front of the horse's hooves, waved his hand again and again, and said, "My lord can't go!" Can't go! ”

"Why can't you go?" Xu Wei was puzzled.

The man waved again, pointed to the east and said: "There are not many people in this radius of more than ten miles, just our small village, seven or eight miles ahead, there is a stone slope, and seven or eight men run a wine shop." ”

When the soldiers heard this, they came to their senses, and Yang Yan also laughed and said: "That's right, go buy a bowl of wine to eat, walk for a long time, and thirsty a bird." ”

The man's hands trembled as if he was swinging, and he said quickly: "I can't eat wine!" Those are all traps set by thieves on Phoenix Mountain, if you meet a passing merchant, look at some oil and water, then make the Menghan medicine hemp turn over, take the money, and kill your life! ”

Sun Erniang's human meat buns? Xu Wei thought, shouldn't it, Shaanxi is a military powerhouse of the Great Song Dynasty, and the Western Army is stationed here, can it still be like this?

"I have more than a dozen people, all of them with weapons, and I am still afraid of his thieves?" Mattei sneered.

"That's useless, if you encounter a prickly hand, you won't turn it over. He dragged you and moved a large group of people to Phoenix Mountain, and the average person lost both money and money. The man spread his hands and said.

When Yang Yan heard this, he smiled bitterly: "I said that you are a robber's den?" There are thieves in Huashan, and there are thieves in what mountains more than ten miles away? The officers and soldiers of Huaxian County don't care? ”

"Huaxian? Officers and soldiers? What else are there to be officers and soldiers! As soon as the golden dog came, the magistrate ran away, leaving a county lieutenant in charge. There are countless displaced people on the east side of the river, and there is nowhere to live, so most of them have fallen grass, gathered in the mountains and forests, and robbed houses. Huaxian was still in charge at first, but later the western army went to King Qin, and these thieves became more and more arrogant. ”

As soon as the man's words came out, everyone from Xu Wei to the soldiers was dumbfounded. What kind of is this? I finally got an appointment from the imperial court and came here to be a magistrate, but my jurisdiction was occupied by thieves! No wonder the third uncle reminded me before leaving, the first task is to see if I can pull up the banner.

Seeing that these court officials and soldiers did not speak, the man persuaded: "Your Excellency, don't hurry up, and rest for a while in the village, there are a few elders in the village, who have read a few words of sage books, and will come back to discuss and discuss, and then make plans." ”

Xu Wei heard it strangely, what do I discuss with you, the military and political chief of the same place?

Du Feihu heard the meaning of his words, and asked tentatively: "Do you think that when Lord Zhijun takes office, he will take these dozen people with him?" ”

The man shook his tiptoe and wondered, "You don't have twenty more centaurs, right?" ”

Yang Yan snorted coldly, disdainful of words, Xu Wei smiled, regardless of the other party's dissuasion, and marched forward. The man was still jumping behind and shouting, which provoked Yang Yanmao, and turned around and yelled: "Grandpa is the home of thieves!" ”

More than a dozen rode five or six miles of road, sure enough, there was not a single family, and then went forward, then I saw a hillside blocking the road, the forest was very dense, the road changed direction here, the intersection of the mountain, set up a series of two pergolas, carrying a wine flag. Looking from afar, I saw a few pairs of seats in the shed, two or three men were busy cleaning up the table, and a few others were lying on the table or standing outside the shed.

"Let's eat itachi noodles." Xu Wei whispered.

"I'm going to treat them to wonton noodles today." Yang Yan said.

The man was extremely lean, and there was no threat at first glance, his little eyes turned dripping, and he asked diligently: "A few guest officers, this road is not easy to walk, and it is good to go to the small shop to eat a bowl of wine and use some meat?" ”

Xu Wei deliberately asked arrogantly: "Is it that the wine is filled with Mongolian and Han medicine, and I have been turned over and so on, the fat is made of buffalo meat, the thin one is made of yellow beef, and the semi-fat and not thin ones are cut into steamed buns?" ”