The embankment of the ancient Yellow River is like a huge dragon that is undulating and invisible, lying quietly on this ancient and vast land soaked in blood and tears. It is tall and steep, facing the wilderness and the slopes on both sides of the river, covered with green weeds, tribulus terrestris, and jujube trees, which are very vibrant. The embankment is wide enough to accommodate ox carts, donkey carts, and wheelbarrows, and it has always been a thoroughfare in the local people's sense of habit—at least in this section of the road. The embankment is made of sand and yellow mud, and there are two deep rutted ditches embedded in the embankment, like the rails laid by Dahua Company for the coal train, in this rutted ditch, the floating soil is boiling on sunny days, and the muddy water is overflowing on rainy days, so all year round, as if they are going to stay on this land forever together with the ancient Yellow River embankment, as a historical relic of human activities. Under the embankment, it was originally an empty wasteland, and the wasteland was a mass grave hill, which was often uninhabited. The dividing embankment of the Hu and Tian families, which is now the boundary street, was also reasonably built under this embankment. After the opening of the mine, this place gradually became lively, the mass graves without grave owners were gradually bulldozed, one by one, pieces of soil nunnery, grass sheds, thatched huts were built, and the gangue ballast excavated by Dahua Company began to pile up on the slope protection of this embankment. As a result, on this embankment, which was built with yellow soil, the spirits of the earth, and the painstaking efforts of several generations, a dazzling, gray-brown section appeared, which made those who were accustomed to seeing the loess and the embankment as it was very uncomfortable.

Master Tian Er is one of them.

Every time Master Tian Er sees this gray-brown embankment, he inevitably thinks of the hateful Dahua Company, and he inevitably curses a few words in his heart.

Now, the second master is in an extremely bad mood, and the second master hates it, especially when he sees this gray-brown gangue from the deep underground, he feels even more uncomfortable. The second master stubbornly believes that all the dangers that Tianjiapu is currently facing and all the problems that have arisen in front of him are caused by Dahua Company! It was Tian Laoba's murder, and it was also caused by Dahua Company! The second master understands the logic, and the logic of the second master is: if Dahua Company does not open a mine in Tianjiapu, there will be no mining disaster on May 21; If there had not been a mining disaster on May 21, Liu Yihua, a reporter from "Minxin Daily", would not have come to Tian's shop, and if Liu Yihua had not come, Tian Laoba would not have killed anyone!

The root of the evil also lies in the mining of Dahua Company!

However, the second master is strict with himself. The root of the evil lies in Dahua Company, but the second master must be strict with himself. The second master is so noble. The second master was killed by Liu Yihua and thought of his responsibility. Don't say it, he admitted in his heart that he was responsible, and there was such a ruthless and unrighteous unfilial descendant as Tian Laoba who betrayed his friends and recognized the thief as his father among the people of the Tian family, it could not be the shame of the Tian family! As the head of the clan, he had to admit at least that he had no discipline......

When the kiln people in the town caught Tian Laoba and escorted him to his mansion, he was stunned, he couldn't believe that Tian Laoba would kill a provincial reporter who had no grievances with him for one hundred and fifty yuan! He suddenly felt embarrassed, he shook his hand and slapped Tian Laoba twice, and ordered his men to lock him up in the mill.

The kiln farmers did not do it, and the two guest kiln farmers in the lead insisted that Tian Laoba be executed immediately.

He was angry, he felt that this was a distrust of him, this was a contempt for the Tian family, as if they expected him to be a favoritist to the second master of Tian!

He said coldly to the kiln people:

"What to do with this brute, you don't care. The state has national laws, the family has family rules, our Tian family is a family of benevolence and righteousness for generations, and the second master will move the family law for him! If I deal with it unfairly, you can find me again! ”

"Good! Second master, we listen to you, but there is one thing we want to say, killing people is to pay for their lives! If we see this bastard again in Tianjiapu Town, it will be no wonder that we are disrespectful to your second master! "A guest potter is hard and authentic.

The second master is on fire. Why did these stinking kilnmen talk to him in such a tone? He was about to have a seizure, but he gritted his teeth and held back, he felt that he had lost reason. There is such a scum under their Tian family, how can he still be tough?!

What a shame!

What a shame!

As soon as the kiln people left, the second master locked himself alone in the house. The second master is merciful, he doesn't want to kill Tian Laoba, he does everything possible to find a reason for Tian Laoba to kill Liu Yihua. He thought that if he could find the slightest defensible reason, he could not kill him, but in the end, he still couldn't find it. He escorted Tian Laoba to the front and asked, but he didn't ask why. Tian Laoba is just for the money, for the one hundred and fifty oceans! This made the second master very painful, and the second master thought very sensitively: Today, Litian Lao Ba can kill Liu Yihua for one hundred and fifty oceans, and in the future, he will inevitably kill him Tian Dongyang for one hundred and fifty oceans, or one thousand five hundred oceans! If this kind of evil seed stays, it will not only insult the Tianjia family, but also harm the local villagers. Moreover, for this reason, it will offend those guest kiln people, weaken their fighting spirit, and make them alienate from him, so that this war will not be able to be fought.

Naturally, the second master also doesn't like Liu Yihua. The second master heard about it later, and it was this Liu Yihua who instigated Tian to make trouble for them to become independent behind the scenes! This Liu Yihua is really arrogant. A few days ago, the second master also wanted to use this Liu Yihua to create public opinion for the people of Tianjiapu and the war carried out by Tianjiapu, who would have thought that he was not only an enemy of Zhang Guixin, an enemy of Dahua Company, an enemy of Beijing, but also an enemy of the second master of Tian! Liu Yihua is not a thing at all! He ran from the provincial capital to Tianjiapu, and he also had ulterior motives! He doesn't admit any authority, and he doesn't look at his second master Tian at all, and now that he is dead, it is also a kind of retribution! He thought, if Tian Lao Ba killed him not for one hundred and fifty yuan, but for Liu Yihua's disrespect to his second master Tian, then he would forgive him, even if he took a little risk, he would forgive him - at least, he could secretly let him go and let him go outside to mess with the world.

Not now! He is for a hundred and fifty oceans, not for righteousness; If he kills someone, he will pay for his life! Moreover, from a general point of view - for the time being, putting aside Liu Yihua's disrespect for his second master, Liu Yihua came to Tianjiapu, or to the Tianjiapu potters, he stood on the side of the potters, opposed the company, and opposed the soldiers. Just for this point, if you don't kill Tian Laoba, you can't say it, people will scold him Tian Er for favoritism and unkindness!

The second master decided to be a benevolent and righteous patriarch.

The second master decided to kill Tian Laoba.

That night, he found the old and young masters of the Tian family to discuss the disposal of Tian Laoba, and almost no one interceded for Tian Laoba - the second master decided to kill, who would dare to intercede for him?!

So, it was decided: back the stone and throw it into the river.

So, this evening, the second master took a group of clansmen to escort Tian Laoba, sounded the gong through the noisy street of Xiyaohupu, and came to the embankment of the ancient Yellow River embankment.

So, under the domination of the noble, sacred, and ancient morality of benevolence and righteousness, the solemn family law of an ancient clan was put into practice.

The gray-brown embankment was crowded with people, and the wilderness below the embankment was also rolling with human heads, and in the gaps of the human heads stood poles with red tassels of spear heads and large blades shining with cold light. The young men of the Tian family formed a tight cordon around the second master and his party with knives and sticks in their hands, preventing anyone from pouring into the line. At first, the people standing on both sides of the embankment were in a commotion, trying to squeeze into the line, but later found that they could not squeeze in, so they gave up, and stood on the feet of stones one by one to watch from a distance.

After all, killing is a very beautiful thing, whether it is a government murder or a civilian murder, it is always very beautiful. Seeing a living life disappear like smoke in an instant, the living, onlookers will feel an extraordinary satisfaction, even the penniless, at least they will think that they are still alive, they are much better than the dead man!

It's you today, and it's my turn later!

By virtue of this, the living people have reason to be 120,000 happy and proud.

Tian Laoba was tied up by Wuhuada, and two villagers surnamed Tian were escorted to the embankment, escorted to Tian Er, and knelt down in front of Tian Er. Behind the second master Tian is a bamboo sedan chair, and next to the sedan chair is a half-heavy grinding plate. The second old man stood on the embankment with a hookah in his hand, his face was expressionless, he seemed to be facing the sky, the earth, and the ancient Yellow River relics, thinking about the major questions about human morality!

The wind was very strong, and the sleeves and trouser legs of the second master, as well as the gray hair of the second master, were all picked up behind him by the oncoming wind. The second master is very majestic, he doesn't seem to be dealing with a clansman who has corrupted the door, but as if he wants to judge heaven and earth. The people crowded at the front saw the tears on the corners of the second master's eyes.

After Tian Laoba was forced to kneel on the sandy ground, the second old man looked at the high sky and spoke slowly, his voice was old and sad:

"Eighth child, you, what else do you have to say?"

"I ...... I ......"

The second old man turned his face, still didn't need to look at Tian Laoba with his eyes, his eyes were still looking at the sky, but he was really ready to listen to Tian Laoba's last words, and the loose muscles on his face were trembling slightly.

Tian Laoba didn't continue.

The second master finally lowered his head and glanced at Tian Laoba coldly, and when he looked at him, a tear rolled down from the corner of the second master's left eye.

The second master inadvertently erased it.

"Say it, eight! If it's too late, there's no time. ”

"I ...... I ......"

Tian Laoba suddenly struggled, his eyes were staring at the second master, and he wanted to pounce at the feet of the second master. But he didn't succeed, and two of his captors pushed him to the ground.

He lay on the ground and scolded:

"Second master...... Field...... Tian Dongyang, I'll fuck your ancestors for eighteen generations! I...... I hate you bastard! You are rich and unkind, you bully the clansmen, you old bastard must not die! ”

Someone rushed up and gagged him.

The second master raised his hand and stopped the man.

The second master is magnanimous:

"You, you go on! Don't just scold! Tell me, how can I be rich and unkind, second master? How to oppress the men in the clan? Say it, don't take the words out of your stomach! ”

The second master was calm and calm, he didn't expect that Tian Lao Ba would not be able to say anything!

Tian Laoba knew that the death penalty was inevitable, so he let everything out, and lay on the ground and shouted:

"I ...... I Tian Lao Ba killed people because of you, the old bastard! You have taken my land and forced me to sell my cattle, and you want to drive me out of my land and send me to the kiln and to my death! I don't! I don't! I killed Mr. Liu to pay off your debt! You instigated me to kill you! Sooner or later, the clansmen of our Tian family will have to sink you in the river......"

The second old man listened, shook his head painfully, and didn't speak quietly until Tian Laoba finished shouting:

"Old eight, in the third year of the Republic of China, did you borrow my money? Should I repay the borrowed money? You can't afford to pay back, have I been to your house to remove the pot and pick up the stove? Did you pawn it to me, or did I take it away from Tian Dongyang? Man, speak with your conscience! Without conscience, even a dog is not as good! I ask you again, do you have to kill in order to repay my money? If you want to kill someone, you shouldn't kill Mr. Liu, you can kill me! Kill me, won't this debt be written off?! ”

"You're a fake benevolent, you're a fucking smiling tiger!"

The second old man let out a long sigh:

"Look, scolded again! Scolding again! If you have any reason, you can tell me! What to scold? Let me tell you clearly, no matter how much you scold and chew today, you will not escape death! Killing people to pay for their lives, paying off debts, ancient and modern! I, Tian Dongyang, can't save your dog's life, don't want the ancestors and ancestors, and don't want the generations of our Tian family to be benevolent! I'm not afraid that you will scold me now, nor am I afraid that you will scold me in the underworld, I, Tian Dongyang, am not afraid of crooked shadows, and I can't scold you if you scold! Now, I advise you to think about it, what else do you have to say, and you regret it when you get there! ”

At this time, a woman with unkempt hair was squeezed out of the crowd, and the woman rushed to the second master desperately, hugged the second master's leg and cried:

"II...... Second master, you are always kind, spare ...... Spare the eighth! The eighth is not a human being, the eighth is a ghost who has lost his mind for a while! Second master, you ...... You chopped off his hand! You cut off his leg, but you can spare his life! He has a seventy-year-old lady above him, and we orphans and widows below! Second Master...... Second master, you ...... Your old man will spare him this time! Let him give you the old cow, horse, and dog, you ...... You spared his life! ”

The second old man ordered someone to help the woman up.

The woman couldn't afford it, she was still holding the legs of the second master, lying on the feet of the second master and crying:

"Second master! Second master! I can't write two Tian characters in one stroke, and the eighth child is a member of the Tian family......"

The second master's eyes were full of tears.

The second master himself bent down and helped the woman with trembling hands.

The woman didn't get up, the woman kowtowed vigorously to the second master, her head banged on the ground, and blood came out of her forehead!

"II...... Second master, you ...... If you don't promise me, I won't get up! ”

The second master has no choice.

The second old man sighed on his back, tears flowed out of his eyes, he let the tears flow on his broad face, and said stubbornly and solemnly:

"I can't show favoritism! No! Our ancestors have never had such a person who forgets his righteousness! I kept his life, went against the principles of heaven, violated the family law, and the brothers of the Tianjiapu had to point to the backbone and scold me! I...... I can't, can't do this! ”

Tian Laoba shouted again:

"Mao damn, don't ask for this old king! Don't ask him! He's a rich thing! If you don't have any money, he won't recognize his relatives! Don't beg him! You stand up! You stand up for me! Don't kneel in front of this old dog! To be poor, you have to be poor and have ambition! Don't be like me, go kill that innocent man! If you want to kill this old dog in the future! ”

The second old man didn't hear Tian Laoba's shouts in a trance, he still lowered his head and said to Tian Laoba's daughter-in-law:

"I'm not afraid that you will hate me, I really can't help it, I have to do things according to the rules of our Tian family......"

"But the second master...... Second Master...... The eighth is gone, how can we, the three generations, live? Second master, second master, your old man is okay! ”

The second old man was very kind and said very sincerely:

"Don't be afraid! Unafraid! The eighth is gone, and there are big guys! The piece of land that Lao Badian gave me, I will pay you back; The eighth owes me an account, and I write it off! Okay? If you can't live your life, you will come to the second master and me, and if the second master and I do it in one bite, you girls will be indispensable! Second master, my words count! ”

The second master said this in a loud voice, the second master is not a hypocritical person, the second master is not for others to hear, but the people around the second master still heard it, and the people were all moved by the second master's broad and benevolent mind, and a sound of admiration suddenly sounded in the crowded crowd.

"Second master, alas! Alas! Second old man, yo ......"

"Righteousness! This is called benevolence and righteousness! ”

"Look at what else he has to say!"

…………

While the onlookers were chattering, an elder of the Tian family shouted from afar:

"Old eight, are you sorry? Do you really have the face to live? You bastard still don't admit your mistake to the second master? ”

Tian Laoba's heart was also touched by the words of the second master. This is something he didn't expect! He never dreamed that the second master would promise to repay his land and forgive his debts at this time and on such an occasion, in front of so many people! This means that his eighth child is dead, and his wife and children can still live decently! That means none of his three sons will be forced down into the ground! Oh my God, there is such a thing! The second master is so generous and magnanimous, and he arranges the things behind him so reasonably, what else can he say? He deserves to die, he was confused for a while, he fell into the hands of the commander of the barracks, killed people, and did unkind and unjust things, no wonder the second master, if the second master didn't kill him, those guest kiln people would also kill him!

It turned out that it wasn't Master Tian Er who wanted to kill him!

He blamed what a good man!

He's a bastard, he's a bastard!

He cried guilty and frightened.

He kowtowed respectfully to the second master, his voice choked, and he said a sincere word:

"II...... Second master, I'm ...... I was wrong! ”

The second master nodded solemnly and said slowly:

"It's good to know what you're wrong...... That's it! Second master, I don't blame you! You also hate the second master, me, I ...... I...... I can't help it......"

The second master couldn't bear to say any more, and with a wave of his hand, he motioned to the escort to implement the family law of backing the stone and sinking the river.

The two family members carried the half-heavy grinding disc and pressed it on Tian Laoba's back, and a rope was tied to the grinding disc hole, and the rope was wrapped around Tian Laoba's neck twice, tied into a dead knot, and the remaining part was stuffed into Tian Laoba's armpit.

Tian Laoba was pressed to the ground and knelt softly, his head hanging very low, almost touching the ground overgrown with weeds.

The second master waved his hand again, and the four of them lifted Tian Laoba, who was carrying the broken grinding disc, and walked down the embankment.

When walking down the embankment, Tian Laoba instinctively struggled, but he didn't scold. As he struggled, the half-mill slipped off his back and hung from his neck, causing him to roll his eyes.

With a "plop", he was thrown into the river by four people with arms and legs, not too far, and the place where he fell into the water was only five or six steps from the river.

This is obviously very disappointing.

After Tian Laoba was thrown into the river, he never came up again, and those who were close to him said that they saw his feet, saying that his feet had appeared twice on the surface of the river, and the river water was kicked out of a circle of new ripples. Most people don't see it. Those who have a great interest in watching murder are all very disappointed, they originally thought that the famous "Back Stone Sinking River" is very good-looking, but now that they have seen it, it is nothing more than that!

They unanimously agreed that "sinking the river with a rock" is not as beautiful as killing a pig.

The onlookers scattered with their own disappointments. The second master also got on a sedan chair and walked down the embankment to the boundary street. Tian Laoba's daughter-in-law fainted from crying, and the second master did not forget to leave someone to take care of her before leaving......

Very good.

Everything was fine.

The embankment of the ancient Yellow River is still lying quietly on this ancient land like a dragon, the water in the river is still flowing quietly in the direction that has not changed for eternity, the blood-red sun is still hanging high in the distant sky, and the wind in the wilderness still carries the smell of dirt and wetness wafting on the land around Tianjiapu......

It's just the death of a person who should have died.

Second Master Tian has no regrets. In the face of ancient benevolence and righteousness, in front of the simple and simple truth of this land, Tian Er showed his irreproachable nobility and justice.

When the gunfire in all directions fell again, Li Shicheng, general manager of Dahua Company, led two mine policemen dressed in civilian clothes and carrying short guns to slip along the wall of the company's official building to the edge of the outer mine moat, and escaped to the outside of the company's living area through the temporary wooden bridge erected on the mine moat.

At this time, the blood-red remnant sun had sunk below the distant horizon, the western sky was covered with orange-red mottled clouds, and the vast field rose with a light veil-like wet fog, which was mixed with the smoke of the cooking above Tianjiapu Town, and drifted into the night sky high in bursts. The gunfire stopped, and the town of Tianjiapu and the mining area of Tianjiapu under the embankment of the ancient Yellow River appeared surprisingly quiet, as if there was no catastrophe here at all, and there was no war at all. When he walked along the drainage ditch dug by the company to the embankment, Li Shicheng's anxious heart gradually calmed down, and he was like a fish that got rid of the whirlpool and the vicious current, and once again appreciated the taste of freedom and ease, and he suddenly felt that no matter at any time, life is not a burden.

The spectacular scene on the embankment of the Yellow River has been performed, damn it, dead; It's time to go, it's gone; Even Tian Laoba's daughter-in-law, who was crying and fainting on the embankment, was helped back by the women of the Tian family. No one was left on the embankment, and the undulating embankment was like a strict and dilapidated city wall, embracing a river of clear waves, stretching from the distant horizon with no end in sight to Li Shicheng's feet. He was at ease, he was not afraid, he did not know that a criminal had just been executed on this fortified embankment. When the footboards of his leather shoes struck this gray-brown embankment, the night had already hung in the misty light smoke, and three or five stars had faintly appeared in the dark blue sky directly in front of him, and he had a sense of security, and he thought that as long as he quietly passed this embankment, he could intersperse the path in the wilderness, and he could rush to the county seat of Ningyang in the second half of the night, at the latest, early tomorrow morning. Next, he can flee to Tianjin, or Shanghai......

He is not irresponsible in doing this, he is willing to be responsible, willing to take all the responsibilities that should be borne by him, he is willing to accept the fair verdict of **, but he cannot accept the oppression and bullying from any side! The war was not provoked by him, and the consequences of the war should not be swallowed by him alone! He had agreed to seal the well, but he did not want such a bloody, forceful solution to the problem of the kilns' riots, and he would even prefer to make greater concessions to the kilners than to go to war. Yes, the kiln people are too arrogant, too unreasonable, the kiln people intercepted the committee in Beijing, occupied the mining area, and stopped the ** well sealing plan, but this can't be beaten! In the end, Zhang Guixin and his soldiers left, how did he clean up this ruined situation? Should Dahua Company continue? He was an industrialist, not a military strategist, he wanted coal, he wanted money, not the corpses of the kilnmen!

Before the outbreak of the war, through the county governor Zhang Heran, he repeatedly persuaded Zhang Guixin and asked him not to fight, but Zhang Guixin did not listen. Zhang Guixin wants to save face, Zhang Guixin wants to make up for the face he lost in front of the committee members and grandfathers in the kiln people, Zhang Guixin wants to fight! He once promised to donate 10,000 yuan of military pay to him, but he still had to fight! At that time, Li Bingchi, the special mining office of the Department of Industry, also reminded in a threatening tone: The underground fire is spreading, and if the well is not sealed, the Tianjiapu coal field will be over! He had no choice but to let him fight - no matter how he stopped it, people still had to fight! His fate, which began with the May 21 explosion, was beyond his control.

He also hated those scoundrel kiln people, and the trouble that has come to this point is completely caused by the kiln people! These kiln people were not reasonable at all, regardless of the overall situation, and even used guns and cannons, repeatedly causing trouble and provocation, which finally led to the outbreak of war.

At the beginning, although he was worried and uncertain, he still thought that the kiln farmers would not be beaten, and the war would end smoothly in half a day or a day, and the kiln farmers would have to leave behind their corpses and escape from the mine in embarrassment. From June 4 to June 6, they confronted the soldiers of Zhang Guixin's two regiments for three days, and the soldiers of these two regiments were helpless! Zhang Guixin failed to attack the mine for three consecutive days, and his mood became extremely irritable, and he scolded people when he opened his mouth, not only scolding his subordinates, but also scolding him Li Shicheng! scolded him for not repairing the mine river, not building a high wall, not building the mine gate like a castle, as if the responsibility for the defeat of the war should also be borne by him Li Shicheng!

Associate Chen Xiangyu is smart, he advised him to leave the mining area early, go to the county seat first, talk to the members of the ** committee group who stayed in the county, and do some dredging work; After that, I went to Tianjin and Shanghai, opened up all joints in Beijing through relations, and prepared to deal with the aftermath. He thought about it and thought it was feasible, so he told Zhang Guixin about his plan to leave the mine. Zhang Guixin became angry when he heard it, and he slapped the table and smashed the bench again:

"! Your surname Li is also running? Where are you going?! Oh, Liu Yunlin ran away, Zhang Heran ran away, you all fucking ran away, you want to leave Lao Tzu here to wipe your ass? You're fucking beautiful! I'll be honest with you! If my surname Zhang doesn't leave, you can't go on a dog day! The brothers are giving you their lives, you have to pay for the army, you have to take care of the grain and grass, you have to bury the dead, and you have to feed the living! If you dare to run fuckingly, Lao Tzu will ask the brothers below to practice marksmanship at your brain! ”

At that time, he really couldn't hold it back, he really wanted to scold Zhang Guixin in the most vicious language, he felt that his personality and dignity had been insulted.

But he didn't dare. His good times were over before the May 21 explosion, and he was no longer an ambitious industrialist in front of Zhang Guixin, but a failed upper-class beggar.

But he still spoke, and he said without humility or arrogance:

"Brigade Commander Zhang, I'm not trying to escape, and I'm not ignoring you and your brothers, I'm leaving, Deputy General Manager Zhao is still there, and Assistant Manager Chen is still there. Everything, they will take care of it! Besides, Shanghai and Tianjin are also the territory of the Republic of China......"

Zhang Guixin interrupted him viciously:

"Don't fucking play tricks on Lao Tzu! Shanghai and Tianjin are the territory of the Republic of China, but they are not fucking Lao Tzu's territory! Lao Tzu wants you to stay in Ningyang and stay in Tianjiapu! ”

He was simply stunned by Zhang Guixin's arrogance, and retorted angrily:

"Stay wherever I want! I have my freedom until the umpire of ** comes down! ”

Zhang Guixin pulled out his pistol and slapped it on the table with a "snap":

"You have freedom, Lao Tzu has a gun! Lao Tzu can kill you with one shot! ”

At this moment, Chen Xiangyu walked into the house, he obviously heard their quarrel outside the door, and as soon as he entered the house, he persuaded:

"Why are you so angry? Li Gong, you don't have to say a word; Brigade Commander Zhang, you are also discouraged, Li Gong is just talking casually. Now there are potters everywhere outside, where can I get out......"

Under Chen Xiangyu's persuasion, a small turmoil subsided.

This is this morning.

In the evening, Chen Xiangyu quietly came to him and brought him two mine policemen who had changed into civilian clothes. He himself was ready to leave, a dozen gold bars for emergency relief had been wrapped around his waist, and a seventy percent new, inconspicuous gray silk robe had been taken out of the box and put on his body. Chen Xiangyu sent him to the edge of the moat. When parting, he held Chen Xiangyu's hand, tears fell from his eyes, and said to Chen Xiangyu sadly:

"Xiang Yu, I'm leaving, I'll leave it all to you here, Lao Zhao is incompetent, everything is still hard for you, everything you did for Dahua Company today, I Li have all in mind, as long as I can avoid this catastrophe, I ...... I will repay you doubly! ”

Chen Xiangyu was also emotional:

"Gong Li, don't say that, all this is what I should do, and I can't talk about anything in return!"

"Yes...... But I used to give you too ...... Too little! I haven't given you a raise for two years in a row......"

Chen Xiangyu smiled, narrowed his eyes, and said sincerely:

"It's okay! I didn't come to you as an associate for two salaries! Now, I won't hide it from you, let's tell you everything! I want to learn to run a mine with you, and I want to set up my own coal mining company one day in the future! ”

He was stunned and said in surprise:

"You...... You want to start a mine too! You?! ”

"Yes! I want to start a mine! On the first day I arrived at Dahua Company, I thought that in the future, I would rely on my own strength and experience to run a mine, and I was really not for salary, I was exploring an experience! I used Dahua Company's mining and Li Gong's mining to exercise my ability to do things. That's a huge bonus! From this point of view, the company has given me not too little, but too much! Li Gong, I, Chen Xiangyu, am sincerely grateful to you! ”

He froze, he couldn't imagine that the young man he met every day in front of him was so ambitious! He was infected by his vigorous spirit, and suddenly he felt that he had become younger! It was as if he was not fleeing from a vortex of turmoil, but on a journey to a new, more seductive destination, and the journey of his life was still very long!

He grabbed Chen Xiangyu's hand and said earnestly:

"Good! Good! Let's go! Xiang Yu, do a good job! When you can really run a mine independently, I, Li, will help you! ”

Chen Xiangyu shook his head and said:

"I thank you, Gong Li! But I have a hunch that I feel that Dahua has no hope......"

There was a desolation in his heart, yes, there was no hope for Dahua Company, and even the young man in front of him who was getting along with him day and night thought it was over!

He forced a smile and said:

"So, Brother Xiang Yu, seeing Dahua Company doing this, do you really dare to run a mine?" He unconsciously added the word "brother" to Chen Xiangyu's name, and as soon as the words came out, he himself was surprised.

Chen Xiangyu's attitude is resolute:

"I'm going to do it! A must-do! Coal is the foundation of all industries today, and if we want China to have our own strong industry, we must have dozens or hundreds of powerful coal mining companies! Otherwise, industry to save the country is an empty word! Li Gong, I always think so, now, it's up to us to control the fate of our own industry! It's up to us to arrange the order of China's industry! The coal mines on our Chinese soil can no longer be sent to foreigners one by one! ”

Chen Xiangyu shook his hand excitedly and said:

"Gong Li, I admire you. Despite your failures, I admire you! Because you are far ahead of many Chinese industrialists, and you were the first to devote your life to the coal mining business, you have opened up a bloody road for us who come after us! I believe that your efforts will not be in vain, and future generations will remember you, because you are thanks to our Republic of China! ”

The words were like fire, which warmed his frozen heart, and he was so moved! The young man in front of him understood him so much, which he didn't expect!

"Li Gong, there is one more thing that I also admire you, that is, the attitude towards the Japanese Taro Yamamoto! On this issue, you have shown the backbone of the Chinese, and this backbone is not found in our ** officials and in a considerable number of Chinese industrialists! That's why I've been working with you for so many years! ”

"But you lied to me!" He wanted to make a joke, but as soon as he said it, he didn't think it was funny......

At this time, he suddenly remembered a very critical question:

"Brother Xiang Yu, you talked about running a mine, but do you have the capital to run a mine?!"

Chen Xiangyu said:

"Yes! You may know my father, you may have heard of it......"

"Who?"

"Chen Hanqi."

He was taken aback: "Chen Hanqi? Chen Hanlao, chairman of the Northern Syndicate? You...... You...... Brother Xiang Yu, you were Chen Hanqi's son? ”

It dawned on him that it was a dream. Six years, a whole six years, the son of the chairman of the northern syndicate was dangling under his nose, and he didn't even know at all! When Chen Xiangyu first arrived at the company, he reprimanded him and scolded him, he was able to endure it quietly, he listened to his drink so obediently, what patience should be needed! Just for this point, he has to admit that he is better than him!

However, he also hated this deceitful young man in front of him! How many times, Dahua Company's money is tight and facing a crisis, this young man who can help him completely, but he stands by and does not help him! He is definitely experimenting with his capital, with his mines! This is really not commendable, and there is a bit of a sinister hint in it. Now, he has failed, but Chen Xiangyu has won, Chen Xiangyu can easily fly away from now on, and he can start his own business from now on......

His hand was withdrawn from Chen Xiangyu's hand, his face changed a little color, and he said lukewarmly:

"Brother Xiang Yu, you succeeded, but I failed, I admit it. But one thing, please remember, you stepped on me, stepped on the shoulders of Dahua Company to start! ”

Chen Xiangyu said solemnly:

"Yes, I will always remember this, remember Dahua Company, remember you Li Gong! Because of that, I don't want to leave ...... right now."

He interjected coldly and said:

"You're going to take the last experience of how to deal with cataclysm?"

"No!" Chen Xiangyu said, "I want to help you at this last critical juncture, so as to repay you for your years of cultivation of me!" Li Gong, this, this is indeed my Chen's sincere words! ”

He was silent.

There was no point in talking about this issue any longer, whether he believed it or not, no matter what he said of this young man, everything was irreparable, and he did not want to turn his face with him at this final breakup.

He finally explained the company's affairs to him, and finally said goodbye to him amicably. As he took a step to say goodbye, he stubbornly thought: he still wants to come back, he must come back!

He must not let Dahua go bankrupt because of this!

Walking on the embankment, he began to figure out: how will he deal with those ** committee members; how to open up the joints of the ** department through the directors of the company's board of directors; How to re-raise funds to pay compensation for mining disasters and open new wells. He thought: Even if the Tianjiapu Coal Mine is finished, and the coal fire cannot be extinguished, he will also go to the neighboring Qingquan County and open a new mine near the British's DeRocker Coal Mining Company! He wants to let his colleagues in the industrial circles see the indomitable spirit of Li Shicheng's career! He is not just opening the way for future generations, but for his own career! He is not old, he is not yet fifty years old, and on the journey of life, in the bloody world, he can still open up a new world with punches and kicks!

The appearance of the ambitious Chen Xiangyu was like a bolt of lightning, suddenly illuminating the dark road in front of him, strongly stimulating his nerves, summoning up his courage to fight hard, and he felt that his decaying life had injected new vitality. He can't just do it, he has to do it, he has to face this harsh reality with the courage of a true industrialist! He's coming back, he's going to be back! His fourth aunt is still here, his mining is still here, and his hope is still here......

His face was hot and hot. The blood around him circulated vigorously in his unhardened veins, his strong man's heart was pounding, and his vast lungs were breathing the night wind from the wilderness, from the riverbed, from the ripe wheat tips.

How good it would be to be alive!

…………

He walked on the embankment, as if he were not running away in a hurry, but taking a leisurely walk. Two mine policemen in civilian clothes, one walking far ahead, the other quietly following behind, as if they didn't know each other.

After walking for more than ten minutes, Li Shicheng and his entourage had quietly passed the embankment close to the West Kiln Shop. In the past ten minutes, he also ran into a few villagers passing by, but no one noticed him. He looked at ease and generous, and when a few villagers came to the opposite side, he also took the initiative to make way for them......

After passing through the section of the gangue slope protection embankment, there was a field path in the wilderness that could lead directly into the main road, and the mine policeman who walked in front gradually slowed down and waited for him at the junction of the path. Li Shicheng caught up and was about to walk down the slope when he was unexpectedly greeted by seven or eight potters from Tianjiapu.

He wanted to hide, but it was too late. He had no choice but to turn his back to the oncoming potters, trying to wait for them to pass before going down the embankment. These potters had just returned from collecting donations for the potters in the county town, and the three or five potters who walked in the head rubbed his back scoldingly. When the last middle-aged man in a broken straw hat walked past him, he inadvertently turned his head to look at him, but he didn't seem to recognize him at once. He seemed to be a little surprised and a little puzzled, so he turned his head again to look at him, and then caught up with the crowd in front of him with three feet and two steps, and whispered something; Immediately, the potters turned around and surrounded him:

"Surnamed Li, where the fuck are you going?"

Li Shicheng was shocked, and suddenly felt a great fear, he muttered a few words in his mouth, and then retreated to the end of the embankment.

"Damn, do you think that if you change your clothes, your uncle won't recognize you?! Li Shicheng, even if you have picked your skin, the uncle also knows you! Walk! Come with us to Tianjiapu! The middle-aged man threw a heavy straw bale in his hand to an old man beside him, and went up to grab him by the collar.

At this time, the mine policeman who followed him rushed over, suddenly pulled out a short gun from his arms, and pressed the muzzle of the black black black against the middle-aged man:

"Don't move, I'll beat you up if you move!"

The middle-aged man didn't dare to move, but his mouth was grunting:

"What? Brother, what is this for?! I...... We just want to talk to someone named Li......"

"Let him go! Let go! ”

The middle-aged man let go of his hand.

Just as the middle-aged man let go of his hand, another big man grabbed the gun-wielding mine policeman. The mine policeman immediately opened fire, and the muzzle of the gun was deflected a little in the twist, and it did not hit the middle-aged man's head, but hit him in the shoulder, and he screamed, and fell on the embankment, and blood suddenly gushed out of the wound.

The mine policeman who had fired the shot was then also twisted down, and several potters pounced on him, hitting him without a head or face, kicking him, stomping on his face and head, and hitting him in the leg with a sand stone. He howled desperately.

All this frightened the mine policeman at the intersection in front of him, and he didn't dare to move forward at all, so he ran away along the path......

Li Shicheng fell into the hands of the Tianjiapu potters.

It's like a joke.

His hands were tied by them with two trouser belts, and they tied them to death. He was still struggling when they tied him up, and he couldn't accept the humiliation anyway, and he felt that it was unreasonable. Who is he? He is the general manager of Dahua Coal Mining Company, a person with status and status, and they have no right to treat him like this! ……

He shouted:

"Stop! Stop! I, Li Shicheng, won't run! I want to see you Second Master Tian, I have something to say to him! ”

The injured middle-aged man slapped him in the face, causing blood to come out of his nostrils:

"Dog's day! Now I think of my second master! What the fuck are you doing? ”

The blood in his nostrils flowed like a spring, to his mouth, to his neck, and he was afraid, he had never experienced such a thing, he was afraid that all the blood in his body would flow out of his nostrils, and in this way, he would die. He tried to plug the bleeding nostrils with his hands, but his hands were tied, so he had no choice but to beg them:

"Let me go, let me go, I'...... I...... My nose is bleeding ......"

Another slap in the face to answer him:

"I can't kill you! How much blood are you shedding? How much blood will it take for more than a thousand of our brothers to die under the kiln?! Walk! Honestly follow us! ”

He was dragged away by them. He didn't expect too much danger, he concluded that the gang of bandit-like kiln people in front of him would not poison him, they didn't have the guts—not only them, but even their second master Tian didn't have the guts to kill him! Anyway, he is still the general manager of Dahua Company, and he is still a faceless figure!

He just wanted to see Tian Dongyang and Tian Er as soon as possible. He and the potters did not have a common language, he was not equal to them, and could not talk; But the second master of Hetian is reciprocal, and it is possible to have a dialogue.

He hardened, he couldn't show his cowardice and incompetence in front of the ignorant potters, he wanted to deter them with the majesty he deserved.

Walking on the embankment, he said to them coldly:

"You can't do that to me! You will regret it, and you will regret it in the future! Dahua Company can't collapse, you still have to work in the company, I advise you to think about it! ”

The gang didn't pay any attention to him. They had sent two men to the town to report the news, and the rest stood by his side alertly, punching and kicking him incessantly, forcing him to go quickly. They are also afraid of something unexpected that will happen suddenly.

At this time, he had a hint of luck again. He thought, maybe the mine policeman who slipped away would rush back to report the news, as long as he could rush back in time and tell Chen Xiangyu about the situation, Chen Xiangyu would never die without help, and he must have a way to urge the town guard Zhang Guixin to bring troops to rescue him.

He was to extend the road ahead as long as he could.

He didn't care whether the potters listened or not, but still said to himself:

"Workers, why did you get to this point? Why do you have to go all the way? When dealing with the world, you always have to think about leaving a way out for others and a way out for yourself, you ...... Didn't you think about that? ”

The gang still ignored them.

The road leading to Tianjiapu Xiyaohupu was shortened little by little under their feet, and gradually, Li Shicheng saw a piece of lights in Xiyaohupu, saw a piece of people disappearing from time to time under the embankment, and heard the shouts and noise coming from the night sky in the direction of Xiyaohupu.

Obviously, the two people who went to Tian Er's mansion in Tianjia District to report the news leaked the news, and before Tian Er heard the news, the kiln people in the town had already learned the news, and they all got out of their broken grass hermitage, broken thatched huts, and broken earth houses, and poured into the streets, and poured onto the road connecting the embankment. Many of them held torches, the flames of which faintly illuminated their angry faces.

He heard their shouts in a loud and low voice:

"Punch! this **! ”

"Let the bastard surnamed Li give our brothers their lives!"

"Sink the river with the back of the stone, sink Li Shicheng into the river with the back of the stone!"

"Beat it, guys, go beat it!"

…………

He suddenly became nervous, suddenly felt the danger of his life, a kind of extreme fear that really came out of his heart, mixed with the blood around him, and made his whole body tremble involuntarily. He couldn't tell anything in front of the potters, tormented by anger and madness, to lose their minds; Even if they could say it clearly, they wouldn't listen! They decided that he was the one who killed the more than 1,000 potters, and not someone else! They want revenge, they want to pay off their blood debts, they want to avenge their dead fathers and brothers!

At this time, how he wished to see the second master Tian among these ignorant and hateful potters! Although this Second Master Tian is also his opponent, although this Second Master Tian is also quite unreasonable, he knows that at this time and on this occasion, only Second Master Tian can save him! Because, after all, they all belong to the upper class of society on this land, and the norms, order, and laws of the upper class will undoubtedly protect his life, he knows all this, and Tian Er also understands all this; And these ignorant potters don't understand, they only obey their own stubborn feelings, and driven by this stubborn feelings, they do everything!

He's not leaving.

He stood on the embankment and did not want to take a step.

He cried out in almost despair:

"I ...... I want to see Mr. Tian Dongyang, I want to see your second master......"

"Fuck off!" Behind him, a man cursed viciously and kicked him off the embankment.

He stumbled down from the embankment, and before he could gain a foothold, a group of potters rushed to him, and before his eyes there was a crowd of people, and a mountain was overturned......

He collapsed on the ground embedded in the sand, his bound arms pressed under his own bulky body, and the dry sand hurt his arms and palms. He felt like a poor ant, overwhelmed by the sudden clamor of the rushing swoop, and before his eyes flashed a tumbling starry sky, tumbling torches, and tumbling human heads. He screamed and closed his eyes. At this moment, his head, his upper body, his legs, every part of his body was attacked. Fists, toes, and clubs whistled around him like a whirlwind, almost completely swallowing his cries for help.

The gang on the embankment ran down, and they tried to stop the frenzied kiln people, and he heard them shouting in a trance:

"Stop! Stop it! Let the second master send him ......"

He couldn't hear the rest of the words......

By this time, his mind was still clear, but he no longer had the strength to scream. He curled up on the ground like a poor dog, listening to the madness of the people to vent their hatred on him. It's over, everything is over, because of such a small mistake on the road of life, he was sent to the meat case first by these people who will be sent to the meat case by others sooner or later!

The huge world turned out to be a terrifying big meat case!

It's a find. However, he found out too late, he sank too deep and he couldn't pull out his own feet! Perhaps, he thought, he shouldn't have come here to run a mine at all, maybe he should have spent his life wandering around after the twelfth failure, and he would have mixed well—at least not so unjustifiably at the hands of these angry potters!

In the last moment of his death, he thought of Chen Xiangyu again in the pain of blood and tears, and remembered his ambitious words: "If we want China to have its own powerful industry, we must have dozens or hundreds of powerful coal mining companies!" "It's not easy, it's not easy! After only two hours, he changed his concept, and he deeply felt that Chen Xiangyu was too naïve! I love fantasy too much! It is impossible and will not appear in this land, this land of suffering, dozens of powerful coal mining companies! In front of this ancient and vast land, Chinese industrialists are too young and too small!

Naturally, he hopes that he is stronger than him, that he can succeed, that he can completely conquer the land under his feet, but hope is hope after all......

His train of thought was interrupted here, and then he saw the stars in his bloody eyes, and the sharp, shiny three-toothed grappling hook that hung above him in front of him under the starry sky, which he knew was used by the villagers to plow the ground. The grappling hook fell, and the first time it missed him, the man with the grappling hook leaned forward and lifted the grappling hook up again. He heard the last words of the world, a word full of hatred:

"Raised by a son of a bitch, I want you to pay for my three sons who died under the kiln!"

The grappling hook fell again, and he screamed, he struggled in a pool of blood, his soul drifting away from his body in the excruciating pain of death......

When Second Master Tian heard the news and rushed over, everything was over. Under the dark blue starry sky, on the land next to the embankment of the ancient Yellow River, a large number of ragged people stood quietly, these people looked at the second master Tian blankly, as if they wanted to hear what their second master had to say.

The second master didn't say anything.

The second old man stood dumbfounded. Illuminated by two torches, he resembles a bronze statue of a god.

Muddy tears rolled out of the second master's faint old eyes again, and the tears fell loudly on the ground under his feet......