In the prosperous era, the officials are strong and weak, and the rivers and lakes are bloody; In troubled times, bandits are blazing and chaotic. Or attack the city and plunder the land, for the disaster party, or the banner of righteousness is held high and swept in all directions, or the crime is destroyed by heaven and the people are safe.

Daqingshan, located in the north side of Taiping Mansion (now Dangtu County, Ma'anshan), the mountain is high and densely forested, the steep wall is like cutting, several trickles go down from the top of the mountain, shuttle in the meantime, all year round. There is a mountain peak at the highest altitude in the mountains, which is called Baocalf Ridge. The road to the ridge is mostly shadowed under the weeds and dead trees, bumpy and difficult to find, and only one passage can be allowed in many places, so it is rarely visited. There is a local legend since ancient times that when the calf is just born, it is carried to the top of the mountain, and after a few years, the adult cow can no longer go down the mountain on its own, but can only die of old age on the top of the mountain. Therefore, it is called the name of Hug Calf Ridge.

Since ancient times, there have been many bandits in the deep mountains, and now there are troubled times, the war has been going on for many years, the people have been displaced, and many people who are unbearable have taken risks, and they have occupied the mountains in groups of three or five to do some forbidden things.

Because of its dangerous terrain, Daqingshan is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and has become a battleground for bandits in this area. At this time, a group of mountain bandits who have been entrenched in this mountain all year round are numerous and fierce. Repeatedly robbed the past merchants, occasionally plundered and harassed several surrounding counties, a radius of 100 miles, the momentum is day by day, now the Ming Dynasty is the year of the curtain, officials around the country to suppress the bandits, more than enough but not enough.

Some big businessmen could not bear the difficulties, and they also scraped together some silver to buy off local officials to send troops to suppress them, but they returned again and again in vain, and in this deep mountains and old forests that stretched for hundreds of miles, it was far from being able to exterminate the bandits. The bandits fled in the mountains, drifting uncertainly, and the officers and soldiers were often attacked by the mountain bandits when they were running for their lives, and suffered heavy casualties

The fame of the mountain bandits has attracted small groups of bandits from all over the vicinity to join the gang, and at this time there have been no less than a thousand minions, all of whom are outlaws.

Of course, the way to survive the bandits here is not only because of the danger of the mountains, but because of the chaos in the world, and the generals in charge of the troops in various places only want to protect themselves and expand their territory.

In troubled times, the boundaries between soldiers and bandits seem to have blurred.

At the foot of the mountain in the east of Daqing Mountain, a mountain road with a carriage wide is full of winding things, hidden in the green mountains and green waters, not near, since the rise of the mountain bandits here, few locals have fought this, occasionally some people who do not know things have passed here, it will fall into the hands of the mountain bandits, coerced to go up the mountain, make them write letters home, ask for a high ransom, if there is half a word, directly throw into the mountain to feed the beasts.

Princess Zhaoren and the maid went out of Nanjing City like snow, non-stop, all the way to the west, this day happened to pass through the foot of this Daqing Mountain, but they did not know what this mountain was, let alone that there were mountain bandits here.

The two of them rode along the mountain road, and the villages they passed along the way were almost empty, and it was impossible to find someone to beg for water.

Looking up at the rolling mountains of Daqing Mountain, I saw that under the sunlight, the forest was deep and dense, and the mountains were dark, and occasionally there were a few roars of beasts that I didn't know what kind of beast came out, and the sound was terrifying.

Zhu Yan really deserves to be the lady of the sky, in the face of such an unknown danger, she still urged the mount and rushed to the sunset.

Ruxue, who followed her closely, was not so open, the riding skills were not as good as the princess, and the mountain road was too dangerous, her two legs were tightly clamped between the horse's belly, panting, and her little face was pale, she was afraid that some fierce beast would emerge from the deep grass on the side of the road, and eat them as dinner, or maybe she would suddenly drill out a few people who blocked the road and robbed, and now the two of them are so poor that they are only these two horses, if the bandits can't find the money, will they consider robbing them.

The more I think about it, the more I think about it, the more I think about it, although the reflections on both sides are like shuttles, but the mountains here seem to be playing hide and seek with them, and the mountain road is still not close, and there is only more than one person tall in front of me.

I was really afraid of something, just when Ruxue was thinking nonsense, suddenly, I saw Zhu Yan pulling the reins tightly, she let out a long hiss from the mount under her crotch, and her front hooves were in the air, retracting the momentum.

"Phew! ...... "If the snow is slow, the horse is not stopped, and he runs directly in front of Zhu Yan, but he sees a burst of dust on the road in front of him, and a hemp rope comes out of the soil, and the Ruxue who did not stop his body and the people and horses tripped to the ground, Ruxue screamed, fell into the deep grass, and in a blink of an eye, he was surged up by the mountain bandits who were ambushed inside.

"Miss, run, huh...... Fast...... Well, run" is like a snow protector, and before he has time to cry out in pain, he yells and screams.

Although Zhu Yan didn't know what was going on, she also understood the danger, a princess who came out of the deep palace, she had never seen the bandits in person.

Zhu Yan wanted to run back when she hit the horse, but before she turned the horse's head, she saw the deep grass on both sides parting in a hurry, and more than ten hideous-looking men burst out of it, surrounding Zhu Yan in the middle.

"Smack!" Zhu Yan got angry, raised her hand and whipped it, and whipped it towards the person who was closest to her, and suddenly a blood-red mark appeared on that person's face, and he rolled to the side with an 'oops' in pain.

Not to mention a female streamer, just a big man, these fists are also difficult to beat the hands of the people, in a panic, Zhu Yan fell off the horse, her hands were restrained, and Ruxue over there was also escorted over.

"Hahaha" people did not appear to make a sound, a rough and wild voice came out of the deep grass, and then three or five big men surrounded a strong man with a big chopping axe on his back and came out of the grass, and came to everyone, as soon as the strong man saw the two women in front of him, his eyes were immediately crooked, and his mouth was slanted, and the hara was dripping on the round belly, "Ouch ouch, I said that this right eye jumped straight early this morning, and this should be here, these two girls are really neat, hahaha"

As soon as Zhu Yan saw this frame, she immediately understood, it seems that this is a robbery, and they all say that the world is not peaceful, but she didn't expect that there would be a strong man in broad daylight, and she couldn't help but secretly complain in her heart, there are so many people on the other side, how can two weak women get out.

When all the minions saw the boss laughing so excitedly, they also laughed in unison, anyway, in this wilderness, it is rare to see people for a few days, and they are not afraid that there will be officials and soldiers to suppress them, and the laughter startled the grass from the birds in the woods.

A little minion shook his dung fork in front of Zhu Yan, straightened his waist, and shouted, "This tree was planted by my king, and this road is opened by us.

"Oops!" As soon as the little minion finished speaking, there were a few more handprints on his face, and this slap was really not light, so he spun around in place a few times, and fell down in a daze.

The strong man carrying the axe shook his red hand and shouted, "Nothing to promising, what wealth, all the people and wealth are left, what are you going to seal it, Xiucai, Xiucai Prime Minister, get out of here."

A thirty-three-year-old scholar with three strands of beard nodded and came out of the grass, his clothes were patched, and he seemed to be a down-and-out talent.

"Come on, come on, the emperor, you call me" This Xiucai actually called this strong man the emperor, as if he was still a prime minister.

Zhu Yan was stunned by these two titles in fright, where did this emperor come from, shouldn't it be Emperor Hongguang, Zhu Yousong is a great tomorrow no matter how he says it, how can he come to this ravine and call himself lonely, but who else in the world dares to call himself the emperor? Could it be that he stepped into Li Zicheng's nest without a head or brain? The ugly-looking, five-year-old and three-coarse man in front of him is Li Zicheng? It's impossible, doesn't it mean that Li Thief is still over there. Could it be Zhang Xianzhong? I heard that the rebellious minister and thief also usurped the emperor, and he came to the Taiping Mansion?

Just when Zhu Yan was thinking nonsense, the strong man pointed at her and said to Xiucai, "Xiucai, what is the emperor's daughter-in-law?" ”

That Xiuzi lowered her head, really thinking that the courtiers saw the emperor, "Hmm...... Empress? What's wrong, concubine? It doesn't seem right."

Listening to his hesitation for a long time, he didn't say a reason, and the strong man raised his hand and slapped him, "Damn it, it's still showy, I don't know this?" ”

Na Xiucai covered his face, "Oh yes, I think, I remembered, Queen Mother, yes, yes"

The strong man thought about it, felt that he had some scores, nodded and said, pointed at Zhu Yan and said, "Yes, this will be the queen" and then he pointed at Ruxue again, "Then this, what is sealed?" ”

"Guifei, yes, that's it" Xiucai said while covering his face with both hands, for fear that what he said was wrong.

Zhu Yan understood this time, and didn't dare that the other party was Li Zicheng or Zhang Xianzhong, today's master and servant can be regarded as suffering a great disaster, and they are about to fall into the clutches of the devil.

"Help, help, robbers" Ruxue shouted anxiously, but this is useless at all, there is not a single village within a radius of dozens of miles, and there are also those who have been looted by this strongman, and no people or animals are left.

Zhu Yan is quite calm, those who dare to do evil in broad daylight must not be afraid, no one will hear it, she said to Ruxue, "Ruxue, don't scream, no one can hear" Then she turned her head to the strong man and said, "You are the emperor?" Li Zicheng or Zhang Xianzhong? ”

But when the strong man heard these two names, he laughed even more presumptuously, "Hahahaha, listen, brothers, I Luo Damao and Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong are equally famous."

When Zhu Yan heard this, it wasn't the two of them, so where did the emperor come out? Luo Damao, never heard of it? How many emperors have there been in this world? No matter which one it is, it's better to find a way to get out first, but don't really be a queen for this kind of person in this barren mountain and wilderness.

This is really no tiger in the mountains, the monkey is also called the king, since the death of the father, the world does not know how many people are kings and how many people are dominant, even the cats and dogs in this ravine dare to call themselves emperors, and the mountains will be thin tomorrow.

Zhu Yan struggled with her arms that were tightly clamped, and her tone became kind, "This eldest brother, we are passing by here, I don't know that this place is owned by the eldest brother, offended, we still have a little broken silver on us, so please take it to buy some wine and eat, let us go."

Hu Damao has never seen such a woman with such a sign in his life, his skin is much whiter than the mother-in-law in the mountain, he wants to take a bite when he looks at it, how can he put the fat in his hand so lightly, he laughed and threw the axe into the arms of the minions beside him, "Little lady, don't be afraid, I won't hurt you, I am the emperor, from today on, you are my queen and, and the concubine, follow me up the mountain, eat fragrant and drink spicy, what do you want, I will grab it for you, ah, haha"

Ruxue would not let the princess be humiliated even if she died, she struggled hard, "Robbers, bandits, you are so bold, do you know who she is?" Hurry up and let my young lady go, or the officers and soldiers will arrest you all in prison as soon as the officers and soldiers arrive."

Hu Damao felt even more coke when he heard this, and took a sip angrily, "I'm sorry! The officers and soldiers, where did the officers and soldiers come from, the officers and soldiers are more powerful than me, I rob the rest of them, how can they have this spare time to take care of me, in Daqingshan, I Hu Damao is the official army, that is, the emperor, the small ones, take them up the mountain, tonight in the cave room, everyone drink enough, ah, haha, I am happy"

Everyone was overjoyed when they heard it, the beautiful daughter-in-law didn't expect it, it was not bad to be able to eat and drink, and at that moment, the bandits pushed the second daughter towards the deep mountains.

Ruxue scolded along the way, even Zhu Yan wondered, where did you learn this, aren't you usually very gentle.

But no matter how Ruxue is, it won't help, everyone is holding the two niangniangs who fell from the world, and they have climbed up the mountainside, Zhu Yan looked at the last trace of the remnant sun in the sky, her heart was bitter, but she couldn't do anything, like a walking corpse, Da Ming, can she still see the day when Da Ming recovers?

Further up, is the highest peak of Daqing Mountain, Baoqi Ridge.

Hugging the calf ridge, a dangerous place. The more you go up, the more dangerous it is, after turning and twisting, there is a place where the terrain is slightly slower, and here is the place where Hu Damao and his bandits are accommodated. After several years of operation by Hu Damao, it is also quite large-scale. Dozens of eaves are undulating and connected, rows of grass huts are hidden between the pine forests and verdant greenery, there are also several stone courtyards looming in the mist of the mountains, a wide and flat stone platform is embedded in the group of houses, and the distant view is the rolling mountains.

At this time the spacious platform was crowded with men, all of them gossiping and gossiping, and not far away a crowd of ragged men were being whipped to carry stone and timber, men and women, young and old, and it seemed that they had come up from the bottom of the mountain.

More than ten zhang away from the platform, according to the mountain, there is a wide stone house, Zhu Yan was pushed in front of the stone house, only to see the gate of the stone house, a big bluestone, on which three words were written crookedly "Jin Chaodian".

Zhu Yan wondered, why is there still business on this mountain?

The bandit leader Hu Damao pointed to the stone house and said with a smug smile, "Little lady, do you see, this is my palace, I heard that there is also a Jinluan Palace in Beijing, I estimate that it is similar to me."

Zhu Yan was almost amused by what he said, this is his palace, what a 'golden shop', don't be ashamed if you can't write.

Zhu Yan can't run anyway, just now this way up the mountain, not to mention that there are no official troops, even if there are officials and soldiers, it is difficult to attack, it is too dangerous here, and I came all the way, there are bandits set up cards along the way, it seems that there are a lot of bandits in this gang, it is too difficult to run, especially now that it is getting dark, where to run, is it a blessing or a curse, it is a disaster and it has also collided, the ancestors and ancestors bless it.

Zhu Yan laughed, if she wants to keep her innocence, she has to rely on herself, thinking that these people can't even recognize all the words, they should all be mountain people with little knowledge, to see if they can get out of danger with the power of their tongues.

Hu Damao was stunned, "You, what are you laughing at?" ”

Zhu Yan said, "Laughing at your group of illiterate people who dare to call themselves emperors, and also 'golden mess shop', it's ridiculous, you dare to call yourself the emperor if you can't recognize all the words."

Hu Damao turned his head and looked at the three words at the gate of his palace that he was satisfied with but couldn't recognize a word, scratched his head, thought for a long time, and suddenly slapped Xiucai on the head again, "Xiucai, didn't you write this word?" Right?"

Xiucai rubbed his face, and also went to look at the three words, reading while reading, "Jin, chaos, shop, yes, that's the name, right?"

"What about you?" Hu Damao slapped him again.

Xiucai's eyes were full of gold stars, and he said with a sad face, "I, I don't know if it's right."

Hu Damao knocked him down with a kick, "Aren't you a showman, you can't even write a word, and you'll be embarrassed in front of the little lady."

Xiucai even crawled, hugged his head and said, "I haven't been admitted yet" People who can't write these three words, it is a miracle that they can be admitted to Xiucai.

The bandits laughed.

Zhu Yan shook off her arm and said to Hu Damao, "Let me go, I'll help you write" In the end, she is a princess, she loses anywhere, she is full of aura, and her tone of voice is even more high.

Hu Damao was stunned, he had never seen such a horizontal girl, she was just so horizontal in this bandit's den, where did she come from, he waved his hand and let go of Zhu Yan.

Zhu Yan walked over, with a good demeanor, raising her eyebrows, "Pen and ink are waiting!" ”

Hu Damao looked at the three big characters in the fine silk style, and still didn't know any of them, but it looked much better than what the show had written, and he was overjoyed, "Okay, my Hu family can even marry a mother-in-law who is literate and hyphenated, hahahaha......"