Shen Yikui and Bu Mu were stunned by the huge amount of information in He Renlong's words, so that they didn't notice so many foul words about the court and Shangguan in the other party's words, these two former thieves and illiterate people had not yet learned to get all kinds of information from the Di newspaper and other channels, and in their minds, the almost omnipotent image of the Ming court and Yang He collapsed all at once.

"I haven't been paid for more than a month, and the soldiers can still deal with it without pay, anyway, the court is not in arrears once or twice, but who can survive without food? I packed up the surplus food in the warehouse two days ago, and I calculated that I could save some money and survive until March, so it was easy to say at that time. But now that the Chinese New Year is coming, I think about the general need for the soldiers to work hard for a year, and they have to eat a white flour bun and thin noodles! But now where did you come from at this time, I am thinking about it, Yansui Town is afraid that you still have more money on hand, so I found you here. “

The famine was fought until the officials and soldiers borrowed food from the thieves, Shen Yikui couldn't help but smile bitterly, and asked without mud on the side: "I don't know how much Lord He wants?" “

"I have a thousand people under my hand, according to ten catties of white flour per person, it is 10,000 catties, make a margin, give me two hundred and eighty stone of wheat, if there is more millet, also give some." I didn't take it in vain, I brought some pool salt this time and exchanged it with you. “

Shen Yikui secretly calculated to himself, He Renlong could still get the amount he wanted, and he should have made a friend, so he smiled and said: "Let's make up a whole number, three hundred stones of wheat, and three hundred stones of millet, what do you think?" “

"Thank you very much!" He Renlong laughed: "Hey, it's better for you to be here, there has been a great drought over there in the past few years, even the rich man's family is about to stop, and he can't find land if he wants to get food." “

When the two sides said this, the atmosphere was already quite harmonious, and Shen Yikui called people to bring wine and food, and ate and drank with He Renlong. As soon as he took a sip, He Renlong pushed the wine glass and frowned: "This wine is very thin, and it is like white water when you drink it, so what kind of strength does it have." Someone, bring in the jars of good wine I brought! ”

"That's very good, today is a blessing to be able to taste Lord He's good wine!"

After a while, seven or eight big men came in the room, each holding a large wine jar. He Renlong opened a can casually, and the room was immediately filled with a charming aroma of wine. He Renlong poured a bowl and said with a smile: "It's not that I'm boasting, these are twenty-year-old Fen wines, first-class old bubbles, even in Taiyuan, Shanxi, I can't find so many old wines for a while." ”

There is no need for He Renlong to boast, everyone in the house is already salivating. He Renlong first saluted Shen Yikui and did not stick to the mud, and then he used the excuse of making friends with Shen Yikui's subordinates. Many of its big and small leaders were called and drank with everyone. Those big and small leaders came to drink greedily, and secondly, they also had the intention of having a good relationship with He Renlong, and they came over to drink one after another. Shen Yikui and non-muddy were originally a little wary. But He Renlong himself was sitting in the house, and there were only more than 100 people outside, what tricks could he play? This vigilance slowly went away. After drinking like this for a while, He Renlong suddenly stood up. patted his belly and said: "Forgive me, my stomach is not angry, I want to go out for convenience!" ”

Shen Yikui and Bu Mu hurriedly said that he would let He Renlong feel free. He Renlong went out of the house, and the entourage who had just entered the door with him also followed, and everyone in the house thought that they were accompanying the generals who served them, so as not to fall and hurt He Renlong, who had drunk wine. But I didn't want He Renlong and his party to just go out, and the few big men who came in with the wine jar suddenly raised the wine jar and smashed it towards Shen Yikui, Shen Yikui was caught off guard, and was smashed squarely, and immediately bled all over his face.

"What are you doing?" Bu Mu was immediately furious, and then he felt that something was wrong, and put the liquid splashed on his hand in front of his nose to smell it, and screamed: "It's oil!" “

As soon as the words fell, the big men had already thrown an oil lamp over, and when they heard a bang, the flames burned from the non-muddy body, like a pillar of fire, and he slapped his body in despair, but that only made the fire burn more vigorously, and spread to other people who were stained with oil. The others rushed to the door and tried to escape, but the door had already been closed by He Renlong's men, and a clever man jumped to the window, but was pierced in the chest by a spear.

Outside the door, where was there still a hint of alcohol on He Renlong's face, he pulled out his waist knife and said sharply: "Light the fire, blow the trumpet!" “

With the sound of the horn, the Hutou Village was full of fires, and there was already a sound of killing inside and outside the village.

Yanzhou, the city of thousands of households

"My lord, this is the bird gun made this month, and the gap has been filled!" Tang Muyao pointed to the neatly arranged bird guns in the box and respectfully said to Liu Cheng.

"Hmm!" Liu Cheng nodded, he casually picked up a bird gun and made a few strokes in his hand to check whether the barrel was straight, whether the lid of the medicine pool was tightly closed, and whether the arquebus clamp was made of the right length. Satisfied, he put the bird back in its place.

"Everything that is made is greased and kept with care." Speaking of this, Liu Cheng's voice suddenly became stern: "Regarding the matter of the bird, no one should talk too much, otherwise they will be killed!" ”

"Yes, sir!" Tang Muyao lowered his head timidly, he hesitated for a while, and finally asked cautiously: "My lord, seeing that the New Year is about to be celebrated, do you want to let the craftsmen go home, they can't say one, two, or three about this matter, but if they don't let them go home, I'm afraid that there will be more gossip outside." ”

Liu Cheng did not immediately reply to Tang Muyao's request, as Tang Muyao said, if he continued to detain these craftsmen in the factory and worked overtime to make weapons, he was afraid that there would be more rumors that were unfavorable to him outside. But if you put it back, it will take at least fifteen years to recruit it, and the production is on the right track, but I am afraid that it will be even later. According to his own estimates, with the deterioration of the military situation in Liaodong, the resources that the Ming Dynasty can invest in the northwest will only become less and less, and the spring famine will soon be after the New Year, and the outbreak of a new peasant uprising is almost a sure thing. Whether from the point of view of self-preservation or military achievements, it is extremely necessary to store a large number of weapons for the expansion of the army. Do you cherish your wings and wait for the opportunity, or do you want to do it regardless of everything? Weighing the pros and cons between the two, Liu Cheng couldn't make up his mind for a while.

Just as Liu Cheng was hesitating, there was a rush of footsteps outside, and then the door was pushed open suddenly, and Du Guoying rushed in panting, and said in a low voice: "My lord, it's not good!" ”

Liu Cheng made a gesture. Motioned for Tang Muyao to step back and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

"He is a dragon fire, and the gods are not muddy!" Du Guoying lowered his voice, but from his voice, he could hear that he was very excited: "I killed a lot of people, and I happened to give a New Year's gift to the New Year, and I was hit by two arrows on my body, and I finally killed it." “

"What about others? Is there a danger to life? “

"In my room, I was afraid that the news would leak out, so I asked my soldiers to lock the door, and no one was allowed to enter or leave except the doctor. He was hit by an arrow in the leg and an arrow in the buttocks. Life should have been saved. “

"Well done!" Liu Cheng nodded: "I'll go over right away!" Speaking of this, Liu Cheng turned around and said loudly to Tang Muyao: "Pass my order, all craftsmen are not allowed to go home, I will pay twice the salary, and work overtime!" “

Liu Cheng walked quickly to the door of Du Guoying's house, and heard the thick voice of Tofu Buhua inside. Liu Cheng slammed the door and walked in, only to see Totobuhua lying on the kang next to it, next to it was a copper basin filled with blood and water. Fire, gauze, and a doctor with tongs. Liu Cheng nodded to the doctor and asked, "How is his injury?" ”

"Tell your lord, he was lucky that the arrow in his thigh was pierced. Just cut off the shaft and pull it out, the arrow on the butt doesn't shoot deep. Now that it's all taken out, it's good to take the medicine and slowly recuperate. ”

"Hmmm! Thank you, doctor! Liu Cheng said to Du Guoying on the side: "You take him down." Give more rewards! “

"Yes, sir!" Du Guoying answered, and led the doctor out of the house. At this time, there were only Liu Cheng and Totoku in the room, Liu Cheng asked: "Toto, what's going on, tell me about it!" “

"Who knows what's going on!" Totobuhua spat out: "I was eating wine with a few relatives in the courtyard, and I heard the noise outside while eating, and I thought there was some social fire to see." As soon as he came out, he saw He Renlong's dog cub soldiers coming in, if it weren't for Lao Tzu's quick snatching of a horse, he would have fallen into the tiger head village. ”

Liu Cheng frowned, he asked a few more questions, but he didn't answer the answer that satisfied him, obviously in the chaotic situation at that time, he had already drunk a lot of wine, and he didn't have time to notice those details. In the end, Liu Cheng, who was a little disappointed, asked one last question: "Then do you think He Renlong acted on his own initiative this time, or was he ordered from above?" “

"I guess I was ordered from above." Tokhoff replied: "I heard that He Renlong's subordinates are shouting orders to beg for thieves, and there are still people fighting for the head, if it is a fire merger, who will count the head!" “

"Hmm!" Liu Cheng nodded, the last sentence of the detachment was very powerful, it was true that if He Renlong made his own opinion, why did his subordinates fight for the first rank? After all, only by following the orders of the official family can the head be used as a certificate of merit. And whose order is this?

Seeing Liu Cheng bowing his head and thinking about it, he turned over cautiously to the side of the detachment lying on the kang so as not to press his wound, and asked in a low voice: "My lord, didn't that He Ren Long Mo do something terrible?" “

"Big deal, hey, it's really a big deal!" Liu Cheng sighed: "Take off, you should take care of your injuries first!" ”

Outside the house, Du Guoying saw Liu Cheng walking out, his face was full of sadness, and he asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with my lord?" What happened to the injury? ”

"It's not a big deal!" Liu Cheng sighed, walked to the grinding table on the side and sat down: "It's just that the situation is only afraid of big changes, you hurry up to the barracks, gather the soldiers, and check the armor and equipment, medicine and arrows." ”

"Yes, sir!" Du Guoying saw Liu Cheng's solemn face, answered, and was about to turn around and leave, but was stopped by Liu Cheng: "Don't leak out the things that don't take off, and those who violate the order will be killed!" ”

"Yes!"

Looking at the back of Du Guoying's departure, Liu Cheng fell into deep thought. Although he had already deduced from the intensification of the war in Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty that it was only a matter of time before Yang He's appeasement policy failed and the Shaanxi People's Revolt broke out again, he never expected it to break out in the form of a dragon fire and a god without mud. Obviously, He Renlong's actions were not self-made, and there should be someone else behind him, otherwise, with the power of Yang He's military department, the right attendant of the military department, and the governor, He Renlong would have sabotaged his appeasement policy without authorization and disobeyed military orders. Although He Renlong is nicknamed "He Maniac", he is only crazy in front of the people and the peasant army, but he is not crazy in front of his boss, at least not so crazy until now. There was only one possibility, there was a force behind He Renlong, and this force was strong enough for him to believe that he could protect Yang He's safety after openly betraying him, and only under such a situation could He Renlong have the courage to do such a thing.

Will this force succeed in its scheme? Or can Yang He still sit in the position of governor of the three sides? After careful consideration, Liu Cheng finally had to sadly admit that Yang He was finished, and his political life had been closely tied to the Ming Dynasty's appeasement policy in Shaanxi, and since this policy had gone bankrupt, his only fate was to be buried with him, which no one could change. The political struggle is not a court trial, no one cares about those subtleties, since He Renlong's fire against Shen Yikui and the fire that does not stick to the mud has announced the bankruptcy of the appeasement policy, then Yang He's political life will be over, as for whether Yang He caused it himself or the result of the conspiracy behind the hostile forces, no one cares, at least Emperor Chongzhen will not care, what awaits Yang He is the Jinyi Guard and the edict who are captured in Beijing. For Liu Cheng himself, what should be considered now is not how to change this fait accompli, but how to escape from this catastrophe and even profit from it.

As a traverser, Liu Cheng has no parents and in-laws, no fellow villagers of the same year, and is an "outsider" without any foundation in Daming. Man is a social animal, and no matter how talented a person is, the role that he can play depends largely on his position in the vast network of human society, rather than on his personal talent. For Liu Cheng, if he hadn't been appreciated and reused by Yang He, it would have been impossible for him to climb to his current position in such a short period of time and do so many things with his own talents. (To be continued.) )