Deng San's judgment was very accurate.

Wen Huaguo came back earlier than Monk Li, who went to the river to fish. A dozen miles to the east, there is a small village. Wen Huaguo didn't go in, he had to look at it from a distance, as if someone was living there.

"I saw the smoke and heard a few dog barks." He reported to Deng San.

Deng San said another thing to him: "I have to send a few people to Yunnei and Dongsheng, and see if I can find Chen Laoba." We can't leave him behind. ”

Chen Laoba is the Chen Hu who was sent to Yunnei to report the news before, and there are ten thieves on the horse, and they are righteous brothers, and now only three of them are dead. Wen Huaguo nodded and personally sent someone to arrange it. Deng San called over the two old brothers who were picked again: "Whether we can find Chen Laoba or not, we will wait for you in the village in front for two days." If you arrive late, go all the way northeast, and we'll see you above. ”

From being a horse thief to the present, Deng San has always remembered a proverb for dealing with people, and he often taught Deng She: never lose a brother under any circumstances. Because of this, the old brothers have always followed him, except for dying on the battlefield, none of them have slipped away.

The sun rose high and shed light on the earth. It's not hot, it's cold, with a bit of morning breeze and a few bird calls.

Monk Li brought back dozens of fish, and their bodies were wet. came back with him, as well as Brother Huang Donkey, who brought a hundred and ten people. Brother Huang Donkey, the commander of the light pole, was a little anxious, gathered the remnants of the soldiers, starved and did not choose food, even those who ran away and lost their horses and lost their weapons, there were twenty or thirty such soldiers.

Deng San was surprised, he didn't expect Brother Huang Donkey to come back. Brother Huang Donkey didn't actually want to come back, he originally wanted to take someone and go directly to Fengzhou to see the situation. It's just that the people he collected really didn't have much combat power, so he changed his mind and thought that it was safer to follow Deng San.

Deng Sanpi greeted him with a smile and turned his face to ask Monk Li, "How is it?" ”

"No, no tartars, it's very, very quiet on the other side of the river." Monk Li fought with his teeth, hugged his arms, jumped off the horse and trembled and went straight to the bottom of the horse's belly,—— where is it warm. He was so cold that he didn't care about hating Deng San, and Deng San noticed that his bald head was cold.

"Are there any of our soldiers?"

"Nope." He replied briefly, and with the request to Deng San, "Hurry up and make a fire." ”

The soup was boiled in a hurry, and the soldiers in helmets drank a little each. With calories in my body, my stomach is hungrier. Thinking of the village in front of Deng She, four or five hundred people were eager to arrive as soon as possible. With a slight formation of the team, Deng San motioned for Deng She to walk ahead. Deng She knew that this was an opportunity for Deng San to show his face in front of everyone and establish his prestige, so he endured the pain of the wound and the weakness of his body, barely supported himself, and led the way with Wen Huaguo.

More than ten miles, riding a horse in an instant.

There were indeed people in the village. The size of the village is one or two hundred, and there are only a dozen or so families left, most of whom are old, weak, sick and disabled, unable to walk, so they can only stay and resign themselves to fate.

A few sentinels were left behind, roughly dividing the area, and the hundred households led the team into the village. Wen Huaguo shook his horsewhip, leaned over and grabbed the thin earth dog stuck at the entrance of the village, and it only had time to bark. Dust and smoke billowed and enveloped the entire village.

War can change a person, and hunger can change a person.

Accustomed to death, accustomed to precarious days, the heavy pressure caused the red scarf to be no better than the Yuan army in many cases, or even worse. Especially when he was driven by hunger, more than once, Deng She saw with his own eyes that the red scarf had caused ten rooms and nine emptiness.

The first time I saw this situation was in the Shaanzhou (Sanmenxia) battle three years ago, and there was a shortage of food in the army for half a month. He was not a hundred households, and he served as a personal soldier by Deng San's side, and when Deng Sanbu was plundering a small village, he tried to stop it.

He told Deng Sanyue's army that he would not demolish the house if he froze to death, and did not loot if he starved to death, so he could win all battles. He knew it, and he asked Deng San, weren't we the same as the people you robbed before joining the army? We can't survive to join the army, but why don't we think about them? They, like us, are also Han Chinese.

In exchange, Deng San slapped him twice, kicked him to the ground, and asked him: "Are you hungry?" ”

"Hungry."

"Can you conjure up food?"

Dunshe couldn't, so he kept his mouth shut.

For this reason, he suffered for a long time, robbing and plundering the common people, and this kind of thing was in serious conflict with the education he received in his previous life, and the moral and world outlook he formed as a result. In the end, he figured out that the times are different from the times, and discipline, restraint, and morality can only be found in times of peace; And in the era of war, it was a luxury, and you need to choose, there are only two, one is alive and one is dead.

Since then, he hasn't cared about it. As time passed, as similar scenes repeated over and over again, and as he struggled to survive in this era, he could now see them again and be almost indifferent.

As soon as he entered the village, he found a courtyard where no one lived, and the task of looting grain was entrusted to his ten-division commander.

The yard was dilapidated, with mud walls, pitted and collapsed in several places. It's been a long time since it's been inhabited, and the house is full of cobwebs and rat droppings. Dunsher frowned, and then came out of the house again, and sat down in a courtyard of broken bricks and rubble. As soon as he finished checking the injuries on his body, he heard several terrible cries in the distance.

He sighed and waved his hand to order the two soldiers who were cleaning the house: "Go, go around." Only stealing things, not killing people and setting fires. ”

This is his bottom line, and the old brothers know it, but he is afraid that some of the people who will do this kind of thing will do it impulsively. He's seen a lot, and to be honest, he feels like he's being hypocritical. What if you are not allowed to kill? The villagers' food is gone, there is no green and yellow, and there are many wars, can they still survive?

Maybe I can change all that? Changing this era of war? He remembered who he had crossed over, and immediately gave up on such an idea. Those who know others know nothing more than themselves. He is a man who can know people, he knows himself. He didn't think he had the skills.

Let's look at the opportunity and vote for Zhu Yuanzhang. He pondered. In his territory, life will always be better. However, the way south was blocked by the Yuan army, and he couldn't leave Deng San and his old brothers behind and sneak in alone. In this way, it seems that there is only one way to cross the sea from Liaoyang.

"The journey is thousands of miles, and you have to pass through the important towns controlled by the Yuan army in the middle. How do you think, it's more dangerous than diving over Taihang Mountain. He muttered, but finally decided, take a step, look at a step.

A pro-soldier rushed in: "Less in charge!" ”

- Some of the old brothers will call him that.

"How?"

"Under Guan Baihu, a soldier killed someone."

Afraid of something, Deng She's heart sank suddenly. He stood up: "Take me to see it." ”

Outside the courtyard, inside the village, it was a mess. Red scarves run back and forth on the road, and when they see yards and houses, they rush in. Rummaging through boxes and cabinets, throwing things everywhere. Passing by a courtyard still inhabited by people, an old couple, hidden in the corner. The old man closed his eyes, and the old woman screamed and cried at the red towel poured from the noodle bowl: "Kill me!" Kill me! But in the face of the bright knives and guns, she didn't dare to rush forward.

Deng She pretended to turn a blind eye: "Does the old master know?" ”

"Now we should know."

What to do with this soldier? Deng Shena couldn't make up his mind, and three years ago, he must have chosen to be executed without hesitation. Now it's different, the first thing he thinks about is whether the army will be unstable after killing him? Will it make the soldiers who have just gathered centrifugation?

He also noticed the change in himself, and he didn't know whether to say that he was sensible, or whether to say that he had become only interested and profitable.

The area assigned to the second brother Guan is in the west of the village, and when Deng She arrives, the second brother Guan has already arrived. Deng San is also there. The two elder brothers pressed the assailant to the ground, and a woman rolled on one side. Unkempt, disheveled, and weeping bitterly.

Dun She knew at a glance what was going on, but he was relieved that there were no deaths, at least he could give himself an excuse not to execute the culprit, and therefore he didn't have to worry about the soldiers. But at the same time, this feeling of relief made him feel guilty, as if he was looking for some comfort for himself, he turned his head and glared at the soldier who reported the news: "It's not that people are not dead!" ”

"The dead are over there."

I followed the fingers of the soldiers to see where a two- or three-year-old child was lying in the hall with his brain bursting.

Military spirit, centrifugation, all the consequences have been left behind. Dunsha did not remember how he had rushed to the soldier's side, how he had snatched his knife and slashed off his head, and how he had continued to slash at the dead man's body. Until a few pro-soldiers grabbed him desperately, desperately grabbed his knife, and shouted loudly in his ear over and over again: "Young owner! He slowly regained consciousness, and the redness in front of him went down a little bit.

"It can't go on like this!" The flesh and blood of the corpse on the ground were blurred, and the shape was invisible. Deng She threw away the knife, pushed away the pro-soldier who pulled him, and shouted to Deng San, "This is what people do? It's a beast! ”

Deng San and Second Brother Guan didn't speak, only the woman's cry.

After a long time, Deng San said, "You can't go on like this." He'd seen more killings ten times more than this one, and he was thinking about another aspect, "If this continues, no one can control them." He ordered his soldiers, "Hang the head of this beast on a tree, assemble, and Lao Tzu will teach this group of kings and eight lambs a lesson." ”

"Are you still looking for food?" Second Brother Guan agreed with Deng San's approach.

"I'm done training, I'll look for it again."