The sky had darkened, and Ma Biao had reached the south side of the lake. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info Here is a different scene, there is a thatched shed on the ground, under the shed, there is wheat straw and the like, on the side of the shed, there are many wooden pillars, and there are jars hanging around the shed, and there is a fire underneath. It seems that they eat and live here. The women who were plundered, some tied their hands and feet, some were cooking, all unkempt and disheveled, and two were almost ****. There are also many half-grown children, who are also disheveled, looking at Ma Biao and them blankly. Looking to the west, the grass is full of cattle and sheep, and it looks like they have just been brought in.

The warriors dismounted and went to rescue the women and the boys, and dressed them. Maybe these people were too frightened, and they just bowed their heads and sobbed one by one, and no one dared to speak, let alone say where the bandit leader went.

Ma Biao dismounted and walked in front of the group of teenagers. There was a young man at the front, thin and unlooking, not bowing his head like the others, but looking directly at Ma Biao and the saber in his hand with a raised face, without fear.

Ma Biao was very interested, pulled the young man to his side, and asked him softly.

It turned out that there were only more than 100 people in this group of bandits, but they drove the people to follow them, and killed them if they didn't comply, and then there were more and more people, and the surrounding area was almost looted, and everyone took refuge everywhere. Just now, the group of bandits found that there was an army from the north and immediately headed south.

It turned out that there was a river to the south of this water pool, and next to the river was a dense forest, and behind the trees was this water pool. Oh, Ma Biao understood, this group of bandits saw that it was safer here, so they camped here, and if an official army came, they would either go into the dense forest or cross the river, and the army would not be able to move. It just so happened that now the king of Dongping and the Taishou of Dongjun were fighting together, and the officials and troops were gone, and the place was very empty, so they took the opportunity to attack and plunder the people.

As it got dark, torches were lit around, and Ma Biao ordered them to camp and rest, bury pots on the spot to cook rice, and let some women and teenagers participate in cooking. The atmosphere gradually eased a little, and the women and teenagers gradually became more courageous, and the words gradually increased. The sound of whispering in the clearing kept coming.

Ma Biao also finished asking, and saw that the young man was fifteen or sixteen years old, with hair like weeds, a lot of dust on his face, short and weak, thin clothes, and no shoes under his feet. Thinking of his days in Zhangjiazhuang, he ordered someone to find a pair of deerskin boots and a sheepskin coat, and let the young man put them on first.

The boy put on his coat and boots and jumped for joy. Ma Biao smiled and called him over again to inquire about his situation. The young man's name is Zhou Ren, the third in the family, because his parents died early, he has followed his eldest brother and sister-in-law since he was a child. The eldest brother and sister-in-law did not treat him well, like a slave. I do all kinds of work every day, I don't have enough to eat, I don't have warm clothes, I don't have a double shirt in winter, I don't have a single coat in summer, and I don't wear shoes all year round. Every time he sees other people's children jumping around in shoes, he can't help but think about what shoes he feels like to wear. Every day, I have to go to the river a few miles away from the village to fetch water, and in winter the river freezes, and I have to dig open the ice to get the water out, and it snows on the road, slipping step by step, sometimes falling, and the water is all sprinkled on the road, and I have to go back and pick it again. Last year, I once fell a few times a day, went in the morning, and only returned in the evening. His hands and feet were all frozen, and he was punished when he went back and was not allowed to eat.

Zhou Ren talked about his life experience, and the food here has been delivered. Ma Biao went over to wipe Zhou Ren's tears, pulled him, and ate with him.

The meal is simple, that is, it is used in the army in peacetime, there is a cake, and there is a bowl of beef soup. That Zhou Ren saw that Ma Biao really let himself eat, and he became bolder, drinking the soup and eating the cakes, constantly making the sound of chirping. Ma Biao saw that the child was eating very quickly, and thought that he had been hungry for a long time. After eating, he was no longer persuaded to eat more. Of course, Zhou Ren didn't dare to take it, and his eyes kept looking at the cake and broth.

Ma Biao looked at Zhou Ren and said, "Zhou Ren, your eldest brother and sister-in-law, are you here?" ”

Zhou Ren said: "As soon as the bandits came, they all dispersed, and I don't know where they went?" ”

Ma Biao then asked: "We will help you find your eldest brother and sister-in-law, will you go back?" ”

Zhou Ren asked rhetorically, "Can I not go back?" ”

Ma Biao was surprised, although he said that he was here to pick up refugees, it was best to come from one family to another. If such a family has a family and a mouth, if they take it away, won't it become a kidnapping?

Ma Biao asked: "After all, there are big brothers and sisters-in-law when you go home, I think they say that although they are not good to you, they teach you to be very bold and can do things." You see, everyone didn't dare to look at me just now, but you dared to look at me, and you dared to look at the knife. ”

The young man said lightly: "I'm not bold, it's that I want to see my parents early." ”

"Aren't your parents gone, if you see them, aren't you ......" Ma Biao didn't want to ask, he immediately understood what Zhou Ren had suffered, and pulled him over and said: "You will follow me in the future, and let you be fed and clothed every day." ”

Zhou Ren looked at Ma Biao timidly and said, "Then will there be meat soup to drink and cakes to eat?" ”

"Of course, aren't these trivial? But you can't eat it today, and after three days, you can eat as much as you want. ”

Although Zhou Ren didn't necessarily believe Ma Biao, he felt that this person was very reliable, so he followed Ma Biao with peace of mind.

The warriors and the women, and the boys, had eaten. Each one is under control, I don't know how long they have been hungry, and if they eat too much, they are afraid that they will have problems with support.

Piles of bonfires were lit in the clearing, and piles of people sat around under the firelight. Ma Biao sent cavalry to continue the pursuit of the bandits, and settled the group of refugees. He told them that if they wished, they would be able to leave tomorrow morning, and that they would not be hindered here. If you don't feel at ease, you can wait a few more days, and they will kill the bandits before letting them leave. If you want to go with the army, let the soldiers go up to the Golden Causeway tomorrow.

After Ma Biao finished speaking, the earth was silent, only the flames of the bonfire continued to shine, and from time to time I heard the crackling sound of wood, and saw the sparks flash like scattered flowers.

At this time, a woman stood up, her eyes flickering a little, but she still said, "General, are you really willing to let us go?" ”

Ma Biao nodded and said, "That's right." ”

The woman said, "Then you just said that you will also take people away, can I take my family with you?" ”

Ma Biao said: "Of course you can!" We don't make any restrictions, as long as they want to go with us, we want it. ”

The woman asked hesitantly, "Where did we go to you, and what do we do for a living?" ”

Ma Biao smiled: "We can't plant enough land, you can farm and work, we are all short of people there." ”

The woman nodded and said, "Then can you let us go now?" ”

Ma Biao said: "The road is not safe at night, aren't you women afraid?" ”

Another woman stood up crying and said, "I don't know what happened to my child yet, I want to go and see him." ”

This sentence is like an opening in the golden embankment, and the tears of many young mothers are as uncontrollable as the Yellow River bursting its embankment.

Ma Biao immediately agreed, and the women ran for a while. There are also some who are timid and don't leave until dawn. But they settled down and knew that these people would not embarrass themselves, and it seemed that what these people said was true.

The night was uneventful, and the day was bright, and the cavalry who had gone to pursue them came to report for duty, and had surrounded the woods, and no bandits came out all night. But in the woods, the trees are very large, and the roads inside are not familiar, so they have been monitored last night. Ask for the pikes to cooperate, and then use some cloud thunder to drive them out, and then wipe them out.

Ma Biao sent people to do it immediately, and the people here were sent to the Jindi one after another, but some people came down from the Jindi to ask if they could go with their families, Ma Biao naturally couldn't ask for it, and told the soldiers about this, so that they could handle it of course.

Maybe the neighborhood was too badly plagued, or maybe the food of Ma Biao's army attracted refugees, and all of a sudden the people here were full. Supporting the old and the young, dragging the family and the mouth, driving the chickens and ducks, leading the cattle, driving the horses, carrying the sheep, carrying all kinds of farm tools, and driving the carriage. No matter how big the ship was, it was difficult to arrange it, and in the end we had to negotiate the exchange of salt for some livestock, so that they could be arranged to get on board.

At this time, I received a letter from Jiang Hexing, so I immediately asked if I could send someone away first.

Ma Biao arranged for the refugees to board the ship, and at the same time arranged for the encirclement and suppression of the last bandits. Later, a regimental commander reported to him that the pikemen team entered the woods, and after releasing a few cloud thunders, the people inside fled to the river to the south, and our cavalry in ambush shot them into hedgehogs one by one, and finally left a few alive to identify the bandit leader, and confirmed that the bandit leader Chao Zhongshu and Cao Shaoyou were all shot to death. Those few people will eventually be brought to the ship, and the work of drying salt will also be expanded.