The fighting has been going on for more than two years.

In the autumn of the twelfth year of Chengyuan, a gust of wind blew dark clouds, covering the clear sky, and an autumn rain was coming.

The guards galloping down the road stopped and began to put on tarpaulins to prepare in advance.

Not far ahead, there was also a group of people rushing to the road, seeing the guards in armor and weapons, passers-by immediately stopped, one of the porters did not panic, first identified the flag, saw that there were Huai characters, Dou characters, and town characters, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"This is our soldier from Dou County." He introduced it to others.

The main thing for the female marquis to reorganize the defense is to reorganize the guards.

Now there are three kinds of guards in Weidao, those who are responsible for the local security of the state and county are the town soldiers, and they are dispatched by the local state government, and those who are stationed in the fortress in the state capital are battalion soldiers, which are assigned by the guards, and the other is the guards, which are ordered by the imperial court, and the chief is also appointed and dispatched by the imperial court.

Passers-by followed and looked around, and did not need to be reminded by the porter to take the initiative to avoid the roadside, which is a well-known rule.

The soldiers quickly put on the tarpaulins and walked forward, without looking at the passers-by, let alone coming forward to examine.

The soldiers and horses passed, and the passers-by continued to run forward, arriving at the city gate of Dou County before the heavy rain came.

The city gate is bustling, and most of them are people in green shirts.

The porter looked forward in the back and asked the others, "Why are there so many people today?" They are all readers, and I didn't know that we had so many readers here. ”

"Not so many people today." The man next to him, "There are so many people these days. ”

Another pointed to the readers: "There are real readers and there are fake readers." ”

The porter was even more curious: "What is this?" In the past, no one was a scholar, and for a bite to eat, they rushed to say that they wanted to be a soldier, but now what can they do as a scholar? ”

The previous man smiled: "Have you not read the official announcement for a few days?" There is a new trend in the imperial court, and it is time to open a regular department. ”

I looked at him again, and saw that he was thin and dark, with rough skin and thick meat, and carrying heavy goods on his shoulders, which was clearly a coolie.

"You know what Changke is, right?"

The porter is in a trance, Chang Ke, how many years have you not heard these three words? It's almost ten years, right?

"Now open a regular department?" His voice was a little erratic, "There's still a war out there." ”

Singing and dancing to promote peace, and promote the white-clothed minister, that is something that only happens in a peaceful and prosperous era.

The voices of other people in my ears came from far and near.

"We're done fighting here, we've been too peaceful here."

"The maid said that the Taiping place will open a regular department first, and it is said that the princess will personally ask in the palace."

"That's far away, we can have a few people here to enter the palace, and it's good to be able to take a township tribute."

Before they finished speaking, the porter couldn't hear it, so he squeezed forward, grabbed a man in a green shirt and asked, "Where to sign up?" When does the test start? What to test? Ming Jing or Jinshi? ”

The man in the green shirt was chubby, and pushed his hand away with some disgust: "You are a porter, ask what you are doing with these, and say that you will take all six subjects." ”

All six subjects are open! It was an unprecedented event, and the porter wiped his face with his hand and threw the burden away: "I want to sign up!" I want to sign up! ”

The people around were startled, and watched the porter rush into the city gate, and hurriedly stretched out their hands to hold it.

"Are you crazy enough to make trouble at the city gates?"

"Do you dare not stand in line? Do you want to be punished with hard labor? ”

Fortunately, the porter relied on the instinct formed by so many years of habit to calm down, and fortunately, the guards at the city gate were a little more tolerant than before, only glanced at this side and did not come forward.

The noise soon fell silent, and the gates entered and exited in order.

In the end, the porter did not pick up his burden, and walked forward impatiently, and the people around him asked curiously, "Does the porter also read?" ”

The porter had a smile on his face: "I've been reading all my life, I've been reading, I've been a porter for the past ten years, and I haven't stopped reading....."

As he spoke, he began to cry, and the people passed through the gates, and ran forward with no scruples.

"I can finally be a reader! I'm finally able to learn and succeed! ”

Watching the porter run away, the people in front of the city gate were dumbfounded, and shook their heads and smiled: "I heard that Kai Changke is going crazy, and I don't know how many more crazy people will be in the future." ”

Douxian County was noisy and crowded outside the county, but fortunately, the officials had a clear division of labor, and they were busy but not chaotic.

There were two people sitting in the main hall, one was the former county commander and the other was the current county commander.

"Old Wei, we're already very busy here, aren't you busy preparing for the scientific expedition, what are you doing here?" said the current prefectural magistrate.

Wei Zhifu said: "What attitude towards Shangguan!" I warn you, it's different now than before, and the rules that should be in place must be set up, and they will be assessed at the end of the year. ”

He took a sip of his tea, still unsatisfied.

"This is our local old mountain tea, such a cheap tea, I rarely drink it now."

The current county magistrate of Dou County has a dark face: "If you want tea, just say it clearly, as for showing off?" ”

Bickering is bickering, and the business still has to be said.

"I'm not idle to come and see you." Wei Zhifu said in a low voice, "I'm here with the adults above this time. ”

The current county magistrate stood up in shock: "Which one?" Is it surnamed Liu or Huang? ”

There are two inspectors in the imperial court, who are ruthless and do not enter the oil and salt, and I don't know how many magistrates have died in their hands in the past two years, and the local officials are all famous.

"What are you afraid of?" Wei Zhifu glared at him, "Weak heart? ”

The current county magistrate said: "I'm not weak-hearted, but I'm still a little afraid." ”

Governor Wei comforted him: "Don't worry, it's not an inspector." ”

The incumbent prefectural magistrate sat down with a sigh of relief......

Governor Wei continued: "It's the Governor of Wudu. ”

The current county magistrate jumped up again, Governor Wudu! It is more terrifying than Liu Huang and the two patrol envoys.

He's Houf!

"Where is he now? Me, how do I greet it? ”

"Houfu, no, no, how many soldiers and horses did Wudu Governor bring?"

"Although our Dou County is small, it is not a problem to provide a day's diet for tens of thousands of soldiers and horses."

The current prefectural magistrate is restless and walks back and forth in the house.

Governor Wei sat upright like a mountain and said with a smile: "Don't be nervous, Wudu Governor is not an outsider." ”

Dou County is the maiden family of the first marquis, and their mother's family has nothing to be nervous about when they see their son-in-law.

"That's not right." Dou County Commander came back to his senses, "Wudu Governor actually has nothing to do with Madame, Madame is, the eldest lady of Jiannan Dao." ”

Whether this Hou Fu is true or false has not yet been decided, it is said that the people on the Jiannan Road side laughed when they heard this question and did not answer.

"It shouldn't be fake." Wei Zhifu thought about it and affirmed, "Regardless of whether the marriage is true or not, the relationship between Mrs. and Wu Dudu is true." ”

There is no doubt that the governor of Wudu is so good-looking!

The county magistrate of Dou County had not seen the Wudu Governor yet, so he was very curious, and straightened his clothes: "When will the Wudu Governor arrive?" ”

Wei Zhifu said: "It's already here, but don't let me follow, just walk around by yourself." ”

The county order of Dou County was suddenly nervous again, so it was still an inspection, or a private visit to the microservice!

I hope the officials in the city don't trouble him!

The thunder on the mountain road in autumn was rolling, and soon the raindrops of beans fell down, and the road surface was steaming with smoke instantly.

"Crow, there's a village ahead." Wang Li shouted, his head and face were wet under the rain cloth, "Go and shelter from the rain." ”

Wu Ya'er looked ahead in the steam, and a village loomed in the col, and he said hello and urged the horse to gallop.

......

.....

The lid of the cauldron was lifted, the heat engulfed the stove room, and the old man waved a spoon to scoop bowls of ginger soup on the tray.

"Husband." Wang Li squeezed in, "I'll come, I'll come." ”

He took out three bowls of ginger soup, and the rain was pouring down, and soon it was about to stop, and the horses were crowded into the woodshed, and the guards stood under the porch.

Wang Li beckoned to them, "Go drink ginger soup yourself." ”

The guards responded that Wang Li and the old man entered the house, Wu Ya'er and Hu Aqi were wiping the water on their heads and faces, and when they saw the old man coming in, they nodded and thanked them.

"You're welcome, you're welcome." The old man said, "This is how the rain in the mountains comes and goes. ”

Wu Ya'er drank the ginger soup and looked out: "Uncle, there is a mountain near here, I don't know if you know it, it ..... nine years ago."

Before he finished his words, the old man laughed: "You mean the place where the marquis met the bandits back then, right?" ”

Wang Li hurriedly said yes, yes, and smiled: "Uncle, how do you know what we are looking for?" ”

"In recent years, more people have come to see this mountain." The old man smiled and said, "I want to see where the gods land." ”

Wang Li laughed: "What kind of immortal landed, it was the eldest lady of Jiannan Dao, she happened to be passing by." ”

The old man smiled: "No matter who she is, our village just suffered a catastrophe that night, she fell from the rain in the middle of the night and rescued us, for us, she deserves to be called a fairy." ”

Wang Li was a little refuted.

Wu Ya'er asked, "When did she come to your village?" ”

The old man nodded proudly: "And it is a coincidence, it is my house that came, the rain was much heavier than now, we were robbed by bandits during the day, there were dead and wounded, the old man I was also beaten and almost broke his leg, I hid in the house and cried, and suddenly I heard someone calling the door outside, what can I block this broken door, the thieves kicked it with one foot, but the person who called the door has been outside the door, only waiting for me to answer before willing to enter, I was bold to hold the lamp and look out, and I saw the ..... at a glance"

Wang Li pretended not to care on the side, pricked up his ears to listen, and when he heard this, he couldn't help but ask, "What do you see?" ”

"I saw the lady standing in the clouds." The old man's expression seemed to return to that day, and his ruddy face shone.

The clouds were still steaming, Wang Li was discussing, and he couldn't see clearly, but this time he didn't make a sound.

Wu Ya'er smiled.

"Later, Madame stayed with me for the night." The old man said, "I want to leave the next day, give me back the money, I don't want it, she said, then help you take revenge." ”

He reached out and gestured outside.

"Madame personally led people up the mountain to suppress the bandits and rescued our relatives."

also rescued his mother, Wu Ya'er looked outside, and the rain outside stopped.

"Let's go up the hill and have a look." He stood up.

The old man said with a smile: "The mountain has been taken care of, there are signs, and you can also ask a guide from our village to explain." ”

also made a mark, and explained, what is this, Wang Li is supporting his forehead in the back.

"We don't need a guide, we just have nothing to do and just take a look." Wu Ya'er said, and smiled again, "But I want to stay at my father-in-law's house tonight, I don't know if it's convenient?" ”

The old man smiled happily: "It's convenient, I have built two new rooms in the past two years, and more than a dozen people can live in it." ”

Wu Ya'er smiled and said hello, walked out with Wang Li and the others, and went in the direction pointed out by the old man.

The old man saw them leave, turned around and called out the boy from the next family, and asked him to write down the fifteen people who claimed to be businessmen, their foreign accents, their ages, and their appearance......

"There are too many people." The boy squatted in the yard and wrote crookedly with a pen, complaining, "It's too troublesome to write." ”

The old man scolded: "Don't be lazy, you study hard and practice calligraphy, the female marquis has opened a regular course, and when you grow up, you will take the test for a show." ”

The boy bit the pen: "My father actually knows a few words, he can't teach me anything..."

"Xiaoqian said that the county will open a county school." The old man said, "When the time comes, let him send you to school." ”

The child was immediately happy, it didn't matter whether he learned or not, thinking of the lively street market in the city, all kinds of food, and juggling, his saliva suddenly flowed down, and he didn't need to be urged by his father to write hard.

......

......

Along the obviously artificially built mountain road, soon reached the halfway up the mountain, Wang Li looked at the word "thief cave" on the big stone on the side of the road and laughed, thinking of what else along the way, where the female marquis entered the mountain, where the female marquis came to the battle.... I really convinced these villagers......

The group soon arrived at the cave, which had not been repaired, was dilapidated, and faintly visible traces of fire.

"At that time, there were weapons hidden here, and in order to avoid startling the snakes, the maid took the initiative to set fire to them." Hu Aqi said, "Pretend to destroy the corpse." ”

Several people looked at it here, and then followed the instructions to see the places where the people were suffering..... A mountain stream, the stone here is carved in detail how many people were killed and thrown down at that time.

There are no bones in it.

Most of the bones were from nearby mountain people, who were brought back by relatives for burial, and some passers-by became ownerless bones and were buried by the female marquis.

There is only one tomb on the cliff side, and there is no inscription.

"This is it." "Yuan Ji said, asking the surviving villagers to recognize the body and bury the bird here. ”

Wu Ya'er took the burden handed over by Wang Li and said, "This girl was bought by Aunt Wan, she is hardworking and clever, Aunt Wan is also a lot easier, and she also praised the brothers who went to visit." ”

Aunt Wan was already sick at that time, and said that with this girl, her mother would be able to take care of her in the future.

Hu Aqi said: "Yuanji said that she jumped off the cliff with a thief in her arms, and she was very heroic. ”

Wu Ya'er nodded, placed the sacrifice in front of the grave, and thanked him: "My mother is fine now." ”

He stood up and looked around.....

"The others who escorted the aunt were all killed at the bottom of the mountain." Hu Aqi said, "The bones can't be found." ”

Wu Ya'er opened a pot of wine and poured it around in front of the grave: "You can rest in peace." ”

......

......

Returning to the village from the mountain, the old man cooked a big pot of broth for dinner, the villagers also helped to take care of the horses, feed good beans, and the village women helped wash the rain-soaked clothes to ensure that they could be dried overnight.

Everyone and horses were well fed and drunk, changed into new clothes of the villagers, and slept well in clean rooms.

However, some people couldn't sleep, Wu Ya'er lay on the bed, listening to Wang Li on the other side count Hu Aqi's money.

“.... You don't have to pay for ginger soup, but you have to pay for eating other people's broth. ”

“.... You don't have to pay for washing horses, you always have to give some beans. ”

“.... You don't have to pay for washing clothes, you always have to pay for wearing other people's new clothes. ”

“.... Lao Hu, I don't think it's right, we're being slaughtered, right? ”

“.... What do you say, how can it be Jae? People said that it is thanks to the grace of the female marquis that we can have today's good days, and this is to repay the female marquis...... Let's give money, not to them, but also to the lady. ”

Listening to the two of them, Wu Ya'er smiled and turned over and closed her eyes and fell asleep, the sound of talking gradually faded away, and there was a sound of rain in her ears, it seemed that it was raining again, and a thunderclap made Wu Ya'er open her eyes.

It was dark in front of him, but his keen instincts woke him up for a moment, this was not where he slept, and he wasn't sleeping.

Wu Ya'er stood in the heavy rain, the darkness in front of him gradually dissipated, a firelight, there were crying, there were men's laughter, the firelight was shining, and the swords in the hands of the men were shining.

A group of women were pushed and pulled, their clothes disheveled.

A woman suddenly ran out of it, a man laughed and stretched out his hand to stop him, the woman hugged him and screamed and rushed to the edge of the cliff, disappearing in an instant.

Laughing men rushed to the edge of the cliff, shouting and cursing.

It's a dream, Wu Ya'er relaxed her body, because she went up the mountain to pay respects during the day, so she dreamed of these.

He looked up at the sky, the rain hit his face, not the colorless, tasteless, unconscious, cold and biting in his previous dreams.

This dream is very real.

He lowered his head, his flabby body tensed again, and there were no scolding men or weeping women in front of him, only corpses on the ground.

And he stood in the middle of the corpse, looking at a familiar face.

"Mother?" He said.