Swarms of locusts and black crows covered the sky, like hazy dark clouds, like sand mist swimming low in the sky, clumps of clumps of clumps swept across the earth. Where the dark clouds and sand and mist passed, the sky was covered with darkness and no light. The sound of smacking leaves and gnawing mulberries came from everywhere, like summer showers, and like rolling pine waves in the autumn wind. Between the ups and downs and sweeps, the acres of millet were eaten up in an instant. Not a single stalk remained. Once the locusts in the village were encountered, it was like being burned by soldiers, and all the trees, such as acacia willows, mulberry elms, and catalpa peaches and plums, were only bare tree branches, in the gray and low sky**. All the fields were eaten into white ground, and the mountains were covered with shiny and slimy locust saliva and black mud-like droppings, and the rivers, lakes, and harbors were all cloudy. Since the end of July, this locust has flown from Haiyang and Qixia in eastern Ludong, and has gone all the way to the west, eating the world and the earth changing color, the sun and the moon have no light, eating the bare land and leaving no grass, eating the mountains and bald trees and the fields without crops, and eating the villagers crying all over the field. Eat, eat, eat...... The land of Shandong, which has eaten Qianlong for six years, is desolate!

A green sedan chair passed the morning with a big gong into Jinan City, in front of the halo book honor guard holding a half-person high blue background inlaid with yellow tiger head card. One card reads:

Jinshi and Di Qin ordered Shandong Xuanfu to envoy Liu

Another reads:

Civilian, military, civilian, military, and civilian people all avoided it

The sedan chair landed steadily in front of the post house on the bank of the Xiaoqing River in the southwest of the city. As soon as the sedan chair leaned, a middle-aged official with a short figure and a dark face came out of the sedan chair. He was wearing a nine-python five-clawed official robe, and the brocade chicken patch covered on the outside seemed to be a little bloomed, the lower right corner was slightly rolled up, and his swarthy square face was full of wrinkles like knife carvings, with only two slightly raised thick eyebrows and a pair of crystal triangular eyes, telling people that he was in his prime. Xiaoqinghe Post House is a very deserted place, except for a crude medicine shop and two restaurants across the street, there are almost no shops. A few people who grabbed the medicine looked at this second-class master from a distance from the street, whispering:

"Who is this lord?"

"Liu Tongxun, Lord Liu, the word Yanqing! It's our Qing Dynasty's Baolong diagram. Now that we Shandong are suffering from a disaster, we must have released grain - you see, the one who greeted us was the lord of the domain......"

"Ah, he is Lord Liu Yanqing! Is it the one who killed Liu Fantai and killed the Khalqin Xuezheng Master? ”

"It's not him, who else? Put the coffin of Hefu in front of Dali Temple, open the coffin in public for autopsy, and I will be in Beijing. It was a terrifying scene. If Lord Yanqing doesn't capture Shuntian Mansion Yin on the spot and conduct an autopsy in person, He Luying will be wronged to the end! ”

"Tsk...... No one can look at it, and he really can't see it. Look at his appearance, he looks like the starving old long-term worker in our family......"

"Don't fart! Let's pee on yourself first, three-pointed gourd head, two tricky ears, with your dog eyes, can you see the height of the height? When the adults of the Criminal Department of the Military Department saw the eyes of Master Yanqing, they were so frightened that their legs and stomachs turned tendons! ”

"Tsk...... People are people, and we are people. Fucking people aren't the same as people. Look at the sedan chair and the top, and there is a pheasant feather ......"

"That's called Peacock Feathers! Do you think it's singing? Yue Zhongcheng can't wear this feather yet! ”

……

Liu Tongxun sat in the sedan chair for too long, and his two slightly circled legs moved two steps heavily on the ground, and he looked at Gao Heng, the political envoy of Shandong, who came up with him with a little confusion, and asked, "What about Yue Zhongcheng?" He's not in the yazhong today? ”

"Back to Zhongtang," Gao Heng said with a smile, "The victims of the disaster in Jining are fighting, and they are afraid that someone will gather to make trouble." Yue Zhongcheng rode a fast horse last night and went with Ye Zhentai. I had just been transferred to the province not long ago, and I was not familiar with the personnel, so I stayed behind. As he spoke, he let Liu Tongxun enter the post house with his hand. What does Yan Qinggong not know? The people in Shandong are strong and difficult to control, it is a nest of horses, and it has suffered such a big disaster, and the province has no harvest, and one is about to poke out a big mess if you are not careful......" Gao Heng said endlessly, and Liu Tongxun entered the upper room together, and performed the court ceremony, and then offered tea and sat down.

Liu Tongxun's deep gaze stared at the personable Gao Heng. He was not yet thirty years old, and his thin figure seemed to be weak. Rong has a long face, thin eyebrows, red phoenix eyes, and a female appearance. He was born in a famous family, and his father Gao Bin was a scholar, minister of military aircraft and governor of Zhili, and is now deceased. His brother Gao Jin is still there, serving as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and signing the seal of the governor of Zhili; There is also a sister of a mother, who is the favorite concubine of Emperor Qianlong, the imperial concubine of the Gao Jia family. One door and two phases plus the mother, natural officialdom is proud. In the first year of Qianlong, he was appointed as the head of the household department with Yin Sheng, and within a few years, he was changed from Yanzheng to the chief soldier, and then transferred to Shandong to act as the Yamen of the Domain, as if he was a big member in one aspect. Gao Heng was a little uncomfortable stared at by Liu Tongxun's gaze, turned his face to look at the locust tree in the courtyard that was eaten by locusts and only left the old trunk, and said with a smile: "People say that Yanqing Gong is the current Baolongtu, but unfortunately I have always been on an errand in Shanhaiguan Salt Administration, and there are not many opportunities to meet in Beijing." This time the adults came to Shandong, and they should ask for advice on many matters. I am young and a relative of the country, and if I am a little careless, people will say that I am the uncle of the country. It's okay to have a bad reputation, and if you drag down the emperor, this sin will be great. Liu Tongxun didn't expect him to see through his mind at a glance, and he was stunned for a moment and smiled: "Isn't Fu Heng the same as you?" His sister is still the queen of the main palace! It turned out that there was some gossip in Nanjing, and after the battle of Heichashan, people looked at it differently. Now there is no one behind him called 'Uncle Guo'. The dignified and upright No. 3 Minister of Military Aircraft - fame and fame are earned by blood and sweat, and people have a scale in their eyes! Liu Tongxun got up and paced a few steps, stood in front of the window, looked at the lonely autumn sky outside through the bright window, and asked, "Yue Zhongcheng, have you ever had a meeting on disaster relief?" His folds are not written in detail. When he was about to leave Beijing, the emperor repeatedly instructed that the important thing was to see what difficulties there were. ”

"Food is the number one priority." Gao Heng's thin eyes flickered, and he muttered: "Shandong has been overturned with locusts, and the autumn grain is out of harvest, but the summer grain and wheat are harvested, plus early corn, early rice, red vetch, yam, and ...... Over the years, there are still 1.2 million stone of grain stored in the feudal treasury, and about 500,000 stone of grain stored in Yicang in various places, and according to half a catty of grain per person per day, there is still a shortage of about 1.7 million stone in the province to cross the famine. Some large households in provincial towns and prefectures also have grain in their homes, no less than 400,000 stones. In total, the shortage of grain in our province is between 100 and 1.3 million stones. As he spoke, he stood up, frowned, and paced as he asked himself, "Where do you get these 1,300,000 stone grain?" Of course, the emperor must still have an edict, but as courtiers, we must be considerate of the sacred heart, share the emperor's worries, and cannot sit there and wait for grace. I thought about it, I could send a document to Yin Jishan, the governor of Liangjiang, to buy 700,000 stone brown rice from him, and the migrant workers used in Jiangnan to dredge the Qingjiang River next year will be sent by us in Shandong. Work for food. I am in charge of the salt administration, and several salt farms in Shandong are all exempted from collecting gold this year, and this alone is 300,000 taels, and 100,000 stones of grain can be purchased. The aquatic products in the northern part of Lubei are such as lotus root, water chestnut, reed, salmon and shrimp, and there are actually some states and counties in the eastern part of Ludong that have not been affected. In general, if you fish with all your might, and don't want a penny or a tael of grain from the imperial court, Shandong can also save itself. But my emperor is as benevolent as heaven, and he will never allow us to be courtiers to loot the people's wealth and make chickens and dogs jump, and there must be grain to be allocated. I think that if the imperial court can allocate 700,000 to 1 million stone grains, even next year's seed grain will be available. ”

Liu Tongxun originally planned to wait for Governor Yue Jun and Ding Guodong to discuss these matters together, but unexpectedly, this "Uncle Guo", who seems to be a merry boy, has already made up his mind and planned so carefully! When he heard this, his eyes were blazing, and he turned around and bowed and said, "Eighth Master Gao, you are so willing to work hard, there is no hunger in Shandong!" Just by doing so, it is necessary to offend all the big grain farmers. Also, there are some extremely poor households who have no money to buy food, and they can't afford to pay for the low price, so how can they take care of it? Gao Heng said with a smile: "Don't say that you suffer such a catastrophe, even if it is a good year, it is inevitable that there will be people who will die of cold and starvation." The above is only a rough outline, in fact, there are some details, such as each town must set up a porridge field, from the treasury to distribute grain, except for the officials layer by layer, to the mouth of the victims can not be less than 200,000 stone. For this alone, Curry has to prepare to trample on 200,000 stones, and a total of 400,000 stones! Liu Tongxun frowned and sighed, and said with a smile: "This is no way, how many times have I let go of grain, half of it goes to the people's mouths, even if it is very good." ”

"Let the officials be as clear as water, and the helpless officials are as smooth as oil, and it is indeed impossible to eradicate corruption." Gao Heng's eyes wandered, looking at the dim shadow of the sun in the courtyard, and slowly exhaled and said with a smile: "Zhongtang is here this time, you can sit in Jinan and watch me kill." Those who pretend to receive relief food, hoarders, I have to slaughter a few of them! The more Liu Tongxun listened, the more surprised he became. Gao Heng has been on a business for ten years in Shanhaiguan Salt Administration, and the household department has secretly checked the accounts three times from the eighth year of Yongzheng to the fifth year of Qianlong, and the silver accounts and objects are compared with each other, which is as clear as water and as bright as a mirror. The Ministry of Officials made an unannounced visit, and the resident officials were also very honest. But he has a reputation as a "national uncle", and even Liu Tongxun thinks that he is just a relative who is honest, self-controlled, cautious and self-loving. In today's first day of conversation, the longitude and latitude in his chest are no less than those of Li Wei and Yin Jishan! Thinking about it, Liu Tongxun smiled lightly and said, "The eighth master is so carefully planned, and it is really impeccable. What else can Tongxun say? It's just that there are two things to worry about after the catastrophe, one is the plague, and the other is the thief. ”

Gao Hengge smiled and said, "These two emperors have already sent secret edicts. People have been sent to procure rhubarb and coptis from Liangjiang, Liangguang, and Yunnan and Guizhou to prevent the plague. As for catching thieves and thieves, that's not my forte. Yue Zhongcheng is the son of Jiangmen, and Ding Shixiong fought with Fu Liuge. Lord Liu, you are also the secretary of the criminal department who is in charge of the world's anti-theft affairs, and now you are sitting in Shandong, and you are afraid that a few grass cowards will not succeed! Brother is absolutely assured. Liu Tongxun said with a smile: "Actually, disaster relief is good, and there is no reason for thieves to swarm up." I came this time, and I brought Huang Tianba here for this. Although the bandits in Jiangxi and Shanxi have been exterminated, and although Piaogao has been caught, the 'Yizhihua' is missing, and the two widows of Shandong Qi have been defeated all the way, but they have not yet taken it. These are not ordinary robbers who rob homes and houses, they are huge thieves who are against the imperial court, and they must be guarded against. If they wander to Shandong, take the opportunity to preach, and gather people to rebel, it will become a great matter. Before I came here, the emperor summoned me three times, one to say disaster relief, and the other to prevent changes. If there is no disaster relief, the people will inevitably revolt, and public order chaos will hinder disaster relief. As for the plague, it is now the end of autumn, and it will definitely not spread before March next spring. When Yue Zhongcheng comes back, we will do our best to do it in advance. First issue a notice to stabilize people's hearts. As he was talking, the postman on the second gate hurriedly came in and said, "Lord Liu, we are here to worship!" When Gao Heng heard that Ding Shixiong was coming, he got up to greet him, held Ding Shixiong's hand with a smile, and said hello: "I count that you will come back tomorrow as soon as possible!" What about Yue Zhongcheng? - Who is this? Gao Heng saw that Ding Shixiong was followed by a young military attaché, and asked casually.

"Oh, this is Huang Observation, the Inspection Department of the Criminal Department, who came to Shandong with Lord Yanqing, and the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is in it, let's talk about it after we meet, there are still important matters!" Ding Shixiong said and went up the stairs. When he saw Liu Tongxun, he knelt on the ground and asked for St. Ann.

"St. Ann!" Liu Tongxun replied on behalf of the sky, helped Ding Shixiong to get up with a smile, and said with a smile while giving up his seat to call for tea: "There is something in Jining, why rush back in such a hurry." Everyone is a messenger, and it's not fun to be polite. Ding Shixiong sat diagonally opposite Liu Tongxun and said with a smile: "Jining's affairs have been taken care of." Yesterday, Lord Yue picked the tops of 12 officials of Jining Dao and waited for the survey. The head of the smashing porridge shed and rushing the yamen was arrested for more than 20 years, and the matter has calmed down. Today, Jining Prefecture had a big business trip, and together with the robbers and bandits who had been in custody, they were going to kill a total of 40 or 50 people. Yue Zhongcheng personally supervised the beheading, and Ming'er went back to the provincial capital. Last night, there was a secret report that the bandits gathered on the Black Wind Cliff in Boshan were going down the mountain to rob grain, so they rushed back on horseback, and met Huang Observation again, and saw Qin Cha here, and immediately wanted to handle this case. Now people's hearts are unstable, if you let the bandits make trouble, it will not be easy to press it down......" Liu Tongxun's eyes were blazing when he heard this, he stood up with the back of his chair, stared at Ding Shixiong and asked, "Black Wind Cliff?!" How many bandits are there? ”

"Back in the middle hall, that place is remote and desolate, and there have always been strongmen haunting. Some of the common people were also bandits and peasants, and when the officials and soldiers came, they were 'common people'; when the caravans passed by, they rushed to rob, and they were bandits. The bandit leader on the top of the cottage is called Liu Sanbald, and there are about one or two hundred bandits who live in the mountains on weekdays. ”

"The year before last, it wasn't reported that the bandits' nest had been leveled at the Black Wind Cliff. Who reported this? ”

"It was the former commander-in-chief Mu Zhang'a, and now he has been transferred to the Heilongjiang Metropolitan Command."

"Since you have received the seal of the Yamen of the Provincial Division, such a big banditry, and a big case of theft and fraud, why don't you report it to the Criminal Department?"

Ding Shixiong hurriedly stood up and replied solemnly. Hearing Liu Tongxun's question, he glanced at him timidly, and said in a snort: "Zhongtang, the matter of stealing, the magistrate knows it, and every province has it-" Before he finished speaking, Gao Heng interjected coldly beside him, "The elder brother was recommended by Mu Zhang'a, I'm afraid that if I join him, my brother's top can't be saved, right!" Ding Shixiong was silent.

"Don't theorize about that now." Liu Tongxun woke up from his anger. "Tell me about your plans, and then let's get the mission done."

Originally, this black wind cliff is located in the Taiping town of 60 miles northwest of Laiwu realm, only 70 miles away from the provincial capital, its mountain is steep, the forest is dense, the black boulder of the wolf squatting and the tiger is full of cliffs, only a sheep intestine trail along the river in the middle is forked from the northeast of the mountain, a meandering leads to Shimen Mountain, a leads to Jinan, it is the junction of Laiwu, Tai'an, Boshan and Jinan provincial capital, known as "four regardless of the ground". During the Kangxi period, Shandong giant Liu Da Scar gathered in the green forest, and here was his warm village for the winter. Later, the rebellion of the three feudatories, in order to stabilize the Central Plains, Zhao Liangdong led his troops to sweep and encircle and suppress several times, but they were not able to eradicate it. It wasn't until the twenty-third year of Kangxi that Liu Dasa was recruited and subordinated to the imperial court, that the bandits were eliminated, and it was peaceful for decades. During the Yongzheng period, Tian Wenjing, the "model governor" of Henan, forced the people with families and jobs to leave their hometowns to "reclaim famine". Tian Wenjing was the number one "model" of Emperor Yongzheng, and Mo Daxing, the governor of Shandong at that time, was a famous "Mo face batter", and he couldn't suppress the bandits and didn't dare to sue Tian Wenjing. However, Yue Jun arrived, from the south to the north to suppress a few formations, such as hugging the calf, Meng Lianggu, Guimengding, Lushan several bandit nests have been destroyed, only this "four regardless" ground, as soon as the wind is tight, there will be "no" bandits, the wind is still the same in the past, this Liu San's bald idea is stable, big cases are not committed, small cases are continuous, the imperial grain is not robbed, the treasury is not robbed, just "scratch and itch", just get by, and the prefecture and county will turn a blind eye and let it go.

But this year's locust plague is too serious, seeing the grasshoppers all over the world eating Shandong has become a "bald province", the village can not support the grain until the end of the year, and next year there is nowhere to "borrow grain", Liu San bald man was in a hurry, sent a post to Ma Dashan people in Taiping Town, to borrow 700 stones.

"This is a post that Ma Benshan asked someone to fly over." Ding Shixiong said the general situation, took out a horse manure paper fold from the page of his boots, and handed it to Liu Tongxun. While saying: "It seems that Liu San's bald man wants to take advantage of Ma Benshan's daughter-in-law to rob tickets and borrow food......" When Gao Heng hurriedly came over to look, the paper was written in a disorderly manner:

Ma Dashan (good) people, August 22, you marry your daughter-in-law, let's congratulate (congratulations)! We who go in with white knives and come out with red knives don't have any tricks (congratulations), give you a cart of pecans, and ask that mother-in-law to give you a bunch of grandchildren. The mountain (good) has the mountain (good) reward, and your old turtle grandson deserves it. The wharf (cottage) is now short of food, and the wine exempts you from filial piety. Seven hundred stone grain, turn over your ancestors day by day, and you have to vomit it out to Lao Tzu - not a word is missed, just write it to the old dog's day!

Gao Heng was stunned, Liu Tongxun smiled and said: "The master in this thief's den is also a bad person, calling him 'not missing a word', and he even records the words behind his back—but how are you going to cook?" Ding Shixiong looked up at Huang Tianba and said with a smile: "Brother Beizhi and Brother Tianba already have a plan. When I met the adults, I just wanted to borrow Tianba for a few days. ”

Huang Tianba always had a smile on his face that was neither humble nor arrogant, he was standing behind Liu Tongxun, flashed out and waved at Liu and Gao, and said calmly: "Although the strongmen of Black Wind Cliff are not many in number, the officers and soldiers have not achieved success in several attacks, so they are too smart for their ears and eyes. The provincial capital sent troops here, and the thieves over there have already flown away. So this time, I discussed with Brother Ding and took advantage of the happy event of Ma Benshan's family to outwit the lair of Black Wind Cliff. Brother Ding had already ordered 200 officers and soldiers to go to Taiping Town disguised as grain dealers. Brother Ding and I rushed to Ma's house overnight and had a big fight with Liu San's bald man at the wedding banquet! ”

"Good!" Gao Heng was refreshed when he heard this. Thinking about it, he also wanted to take this credit, and clasped his palms and smiled: "This is a very lively play." I was born in Beijing and grew up in Qiluo, so I can't help but grow this insight. I took more than 30 children and slaves from the Beijing Mansion and went to Ma's house to have fun. ”

Liu Tongxun felt that it was novel and interesting, but after all, he was an old official in the officialdom, and the city government was very deep, so he stood up and paced a few steps, looked up at the ceiling, and said slowly: "Although there is this kind of thing in the play, the soldiers are fierce and dangerous, and they must not be played as a play." I suspect that there are collaborators in your yamen. If two senior officials and an official of the Criminal Department make trouble on the small hill of Black Wind Cliff, how can the face of the court be maintained? - I don't disagree, but I want you to think carefully and be more thoughtful. Ding Shixiong immediately replied: "We have considered this matter from the beginning. The soldiers are all personal soldiers brought by Yue Zhongcheng from Sichuan, and they are not used by one of my yamen. Now the trees and flowers on the mountain have been eaten, and the bandits are not easy to hide. They want to survive the winter, they have to prepare for famine, and it is imperative to grab food. Let's be careful, we can be sure. "If you don't come to me, it's just that. Now that I know it, I'm certainly responsible. The more Liu Tongxun thought about the consequences of "failure", the more he felt that the matter was very important, and said with an indifferent smile: "Use my token to secretly transfer the Boshan Green Battalion to a shed, and go to Taiping Town on time on the night of August 22 to respond." That's all it takes. What do you see? ”

"Zhongtang is well-calculated!"

"What a 'clever plan', but it's just a matter of prevention! You can rest assured, I will never 'take credit'," Liu Tongxun said with a smile, "Yue Zhongcheng and I are sitting in Jinan City, waiting for you to deliver good news!" ”

"Yes!" The three of them bowed down in unison and said.

Seeing the three of them out of the post house, Liu Tongxun planned in his heart, so he sat down to write a chapter, wanting to explain the details of the relief arrangements in Shandong to the emperor. wrote about Gao Heng, but I felt that I couldn't write. I simply put together the fold, called the three masters who accompanied me, and discussed how to transfer reed mat wood from Zhili, Anhui, Henan, Shanxi and other provinces, and buy a large porridge pot for porridge, as well as the firewood and grass needed by the province is even more headache...... One by one, for the sake of ordinary people's lives, it is very trivial and unbearable, and it is not until midnight that I can figure out my eyebrows.

The richest man in Taiping Town, Ma Benshan's family, was in a panic at the moment. It is also common for bandits to borrow grain, and this "four-regardless town" is located in the old ravine of Yishan. There are also many people in their tenants who often come and go with Liu Sanbald son in the village, and a sentence in the village is passed down, borrowing 3,200 catties of grain, and without saying a word, he asked the long-term worker to send it up. He thinks he is the bandits' "nest grass", both bandits and officials, soldiers come to support troops, bandits come to capital bandits, accommodating on all sides, for decades, get along with officials and bandits safely, Liu San bald man will not even want this nest of grass. I didn't expect to be so unsympathetic this time, and one mouth is 700 stones! He has 700 stone grain, but he has also vacated the bottom of his reservoir, and next year he will have to eat the rice of the porridge shed with those mud feet and poles - this face is too big, and the price of grain in Jinan City has risen to 30 taels of silver and a stone, and with a "borrow", more than 20,000 taels of silver will be gone out of thin air, which is really painful. That's why he secretly handed Liu Sanbald's letter of borrowing grain to the provincial capital. But when the letter was sent, he immediately regretted it, and he dared to guarantee that there were no bandits in the Yamen? Once the stuffing is revealed, this family, this family business will be ruined. Besides, if the province does not send troops, leaving this "handle" in the hands of others, sooner or later a catastrophe will come...... If you want to go bankrupt to support this Liu Sanbald man, the government will know about it in the future, and if you are charged with "banditry", you will inevitably be stabbed with a death card on your back - there is no place to settle down in your heart. Three days after the letter was sent, Ma Benshan was as difficult as an ant on a hot pot. All matters such as sending marriage letters and dowry gifts to Zhangjiawan's in-laws were carried out by the eldest son Ma Jiyao. The second son, Ma Jiyuan, is the groom, and he is going to marry his daughter-in-law. Please uncle and aunt; The matter of sending invitations, inviting the troupe, arranging the wedding hall, setting up the feast, and inviting the drummer is run by the third child. A large family of dozens of people was busy in a mess, and no one paid attention to the old man's anxious heart, but just asked the old horse head in charge of the door to "look" outside the door. It makes the family members who don't know the inside story inexplicable.

Until the 22nd, there was no news from the bandit government. Ma Benshan, who was very nervous, relaxed on the contrary, got up without the chicken, looked at the second son's happy hall, and went to the reed shed to watch the masters slaughter fish, kill chickens, cook meat, and croquettes, and come out of the stove shed overflowing with white mist, stood in the courtyard and sniffed the fragrance of meat, and saw the old horse's head full of frost coming in from outside, and hurriedly beckoned: "You come here!" ”

"Sir!" The old horse's head rubbed his face that was a little wooden, and he ran over in a few steps and said, "Old boss, get up early?" Tell your old man a piece of news - someone is coming! ”

"Who?!" Ma Benshan shuddered, "Which side?" ”

"The government's is still a big official!" The old horse's voice trembled with excitement, "Ding Zhentai in the province personally led the troops, and now I am waiting to see you outside the door!" ”

Ma Benshan's legs were weak and he almost sat on the ground. When the old horse's head came to help, he stood up and said, "Quick, please!" He walked out of the gate in three steps and two steps, but saw three people standing next to the tethered horse stone at the gate, a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing two open-air robes and a black silk horse coat, and was snorting with two young people with a stone under his feet. The two young men were also dressed as businessmen, dressed in azure robes, blue satin buttoned vests, and their braids were casually put on their shoulders and were talking lively. Ma Benshan saw that there were no soldiers around the compound, and his heart was tense again. The old horse's head came up and said in a low voice: "These three are all chiefs, and they came from Zhangjiawan." Ma Benshan snorted for a moment, looked at Gao Heng and Huang Tianba who came over, and didn't know what to call them. Huang Tianba said with a smile: "We came from Zhang Taigongzhuang to give our girl a marriage letter and a dowry gift!" ”

"It's a dowry gift," Ding Shixiong waved his hand, and a soldier dressed as a captain led a donkey over, Ding Shixiong pointed to the two big wooden boxes on the donkey's back, and said with a smile: "It's all here, you are happy to see it!" Only then did Ma Benshan understand that these three were officers and soldiers dressed as Qiao, and opened his mouth for a long time with "ah", let go of his hand, and said, "Understood!" Please come inside and have tea! He stopped suddenly, staring at the north of the street with wide eyes, like a man in the aisle who suddenly saw a snake, and was so startled that he was incoherent, "Old horse, please—please—a few people come in—please—please settle!" The old horse's face was also as earthy, and he said to Ding Shixiong in a trembling voice: "Third Brother Jiang is here on the Black Wind Cliff!" ”

Ding Shixiong and the three of them were also stunned, when they turned their faces to look north, they saw a middle-aged fat man riding a donkey over with a donkey, this person was also a bald man, and there was no hair on the top, but the hair along the root of the ear was black and thick, and it was a braid, plus his beard and garlic rosacea, how to look awkward, wearing a short coat on the upper body, big pants on the lower body, open arms, a belt wrapped around the thick belly, pinned two daggers, and the little donkey was snatched from nowhere, and he was pressed and trembled step by step, panting for air. The third brother Jiang saw that Ma Benshan and the four of them were standing at the gate early in the morning to talk, leaned off the donkey, threw the reins away, came over crookedly, glanced at the three of them with squinting eyes, and said to Ma Benshan: "Are you ready?" ”

"It's ready," maybe Ding Shixiong was in front of them, Ma Benshan was only startled, then regained his composure, smiled all over his face, and said: "I'm still bothering the third brother, you will come down the mountain in person!" - The back warehouse is packed in sacks, a total of 689 stones, and the brothers just have to carry it! Third Brother Jiang approached, glanced at the three of them seriously, suddenly smiled, and said, "I mean about your marriage to a daughter-in-law—who said about borrowing grain?" Without waiting, he turned around and went to the courtyard, and Ma Benshan and the other four had to follow up and go to the hall. As he walked, Jiang Sange said: "There are still jokes, we came to you to borrow grain, and someone rushed to our cottage to 'borrow grain', saying that it was a 'hero' from Jiangxi who wanted to save people and help the world!" it, the green forest is full of weird things now...... In the famine years and disaster months, there is a shortage of food everywhere! So the third master told me to come to inform me first, he wanted to come down to eat the wine and make trouble in the flower hall in person, and then bring the food back to the mountain, don't call any thief the dog to take the lead. The third master said that you are refreshing this time, and you have done a great favor in the village, and you will pay back the 700 stone grain next year, and you will add another grandson next year, your old dog is beautiful......" Jiang Sange said, and he had already entered the house with everyone, because he saw that Ding Shixiong, Gao Heng and Huang Tianba also followed up, and he was very unhappy.