There were lively crowds in front of the road, and there were dense patches of long sheds, hanging all kinds of guigns, shouting and shouting, and the crowds of people coming and going came from that side, and there were no gates or walls.

A thin man took a few steps forward: "According to the direction and map, this is it." ”

He is everyone's most trusted guide, his thin body has led countless roads, and he himself trusts himself, but this time his voice and eyes are a little confused.

It doesn't look like it.

"It's not surprising." Another man grabbed his hat and looked forward, "It seems that Dou County was not only slaughtered by bandits, but the city walls and gates were also demolished. ”

When the people who walked by on the road heard this, they immediately scolded.

"What do you say?"

"Our Dou County was not slaughtered."

"We have strong soldiers and strong horses in Dou County."

"You unseen redneck! This is not a city gate, and the county seat is still more than ten miles away. ”

The stout and fierce-looking man was not angry because he was scolded, and he was puzzled: "It's not the city gate, what are you looking for there?" ”

He stretched out his hand and pointed ahead, and there was a taller wooden frame over the long shed colored flags, on which there were larger colored flags, and there were crowds of people lining up under the wooden frame, and there were more than a dozen officers and soldiers to inquire, and there were also grass huts on both sides, and there were three small officials sitting in it, and from time to time people were brought by the officers and soldiers to stand in front of the small officials, asking and bowing their heads to write something.

The gates they came along were rarely so heavily inspected.

"What's more, it's clearly a street market." The man also pointed to the bustle of the long shed.

As you get closer, you can see that there are restaurants and tea and wine under these long sheds, and more of them are all kinds of goods for sale, from large chariots, horses, and livestock, to small sugar people and silk flowers.

Passers-by laughed: "This is a street market, but not Dou County." ”

A passer-by carrying a burden interjected: "It's Dou County, it's Dou County, and this is the out-of-town town of Dou County." ”

"It's your own screaming." The previous passers-by were not convinced.

The passer-by who was carrying the burden smiled: "If you don't believe it, the people from the county government are measuring inside, saying that they want to regulate the streets, and some merchants have come to sell bricks, stones and wood, which is to build a house." ”

If there is a person from the government, it can be trusted, and the previous passers-by were a little unhappy: "You outsiders have become our Dou County people?" ”

The passer-by who was carrying the burden smiled: "The government said that as long as one person is a soldier, everyone in the family can become a native of Dou County." ”

The two passers-by argued, and when they heard this, Wu Ya'er, who had already walked over, stopped and turned around: "Be a soldier?" ”

"It's not a soldier, it's just a people." The previous passerby pouted.

"No matter what, anyway, the government said that the suppression of bandits and the people is the same as the officers and soldiers to protect the family and the people." The passers-by who were carrying the burden were in good spirits on happy occasions, and when they looked at these men, they couldn't help but think of their former selves, and they were very sympathetic, "You also fled here?" Has there been a plague at home? I think you are young and strong, why don't you also go to the barracks to be a strong people, not only can you kill the bandits to take revenge, but also eat and clothe yourself. ”

"When the people are strong and bandits?" Wu Ya'er continued to ask.

"Yes, there were bandits in our Dou County, and the officers and soldiers were killed, and at that time, in order to protect themselves, we people picked up swords and guns by themselves." The previous passers-by finally had a chance to speak, and hurriedly rushed, "Later, the government was benevolent, and people who suffered in other places could also come to be the people's strong, but many people ate a bite of food." ”

"We didn't eat in vain." The passer-by who carried the burden retorted, "Although I am old, I can go and burn wood for the porridge jar every day." ”

The passers-by argued again, Wu Ya'er walked straight forward without asking any more questions, and the others followed him, passing through the lively long shed, and the expressions of several people became more and more surprised.

Although they are all simple grass huts, it is easy to tell whether it is a temporary gathering place or a mature street market, just by looking at the children chasing and laughing in the meantime.

Children can play with peace of mind without worrying about leaving at any time, and this place has become a place where they can make it their home.

After passing through the bustling street market, they came to the place where the officers and soldiers were located, and the officers and men had a very sharp gaze and a restrained attitude, and briefly checked their belongings and asked them where they came from and where they went.

If you are just passing by, you can go by yourself, if you want to stay, whether you want to do business or make a living, you have to register and get a simple identity tag to enter Dou County.

Several people reported their origins and chose to make a living, and were brought to the shed clerk separately, where they asked for records and got a sign.

"If you want to be a strong people, go west to the barracks from here, and if you want to be a handyman, you can go around the towns and cities, and the government and merchants will come to recruit workers if they need to hire people." The scribe enthusiastically introduced, "There are also hungry and want to eat a full meal first, so go east, there is a porridge jar in front of the city gate, drink as you like." ”

The men thanked him, and there was no more checkpoint when he walked under this wooden frame, and a city appeared in front of him, which was Dou County.

Wu Ya'er raised her head and looked ahead: "This is not to suppress bandits and recruit people, this is to recruit soldiers." ”

He threw the sign in his hand, the officers and soldiers inquired simply, the clerks registered in detail, plus this identity sign, the people who entered Dou County every day were in the hands of the government.

Don't underestimate this small registration, only by grasping the number of people can you know how many troops you can have, how much grain and grass you need, and so on.

The others thought of the strangeness they had seen, and reacted as soon as they were reminded of it.

"Crow, the government of Dou County is so powerful that it dares to send troops privately." A man was surprised, "We didn't dare to make such a big deal about it." ”

I thought that Wu Ya'er was bold enough in the Zhenwu Army, but I didn't expect the government in the hinterland of the Central Plains to be even more unscrupulous.

"With such a powerful government, how could the magistrate and the officers and soldiers be killed?" Wu Ya'er frowned, "Things are strange. ”

Dou County was the first to make a riot, and it was also the worst in the rumors, the officers and soldiers of the county were all killed by the bandits, but standing in front of them to see the tragic situation of the thieves at all, and it was not like other towns passing by that the gates of the towns were closed to the thieves.

Dou County is extremely prosperous.

Along the way, there are many vendors, and whether a place is prosperous or not, merchants are the first manifestation.

"Where is there a disturbance in a place like this?"

"How can a chaotic place attract so many people?"

The men discussed.

"It's because there's food to eat." Wu Ya'er said in a low voice, "If you have a job to do, you have food to eat, and you can only live if you have food, everyone wants to live, is there anything more attractive than this?" ”

"Say that there is still porridge at the city gate, drink it as you like." The other man said, looking up and letting out a sigh, "It can't be that thing!" ”

What is it? Everyone looked up, the winter mist dissipated, and a large vat in front of the city gate appeared in sight, like a small mountain.

There is a long procession at the bottom of the mountain, surrounding the vat like ants carrying food.

Each ant leaves the tank with a bowl of fragrant porridge.

A man leaned over and put his face in front of the porridge, not seeing the reflection of his big face in it, but smelling the aroma of meat except for the porridge.

"It turned out to be meat porridge!" He shouted.

The little boy who was stopped by this reckless man holding the bowl turned pale with fright, but he didn't cry, let alone throw down the bowl and run, but gritted his teeth and shouted: "If you dare to snatch my porridge, you will be caught and taken back your identity card and driven out of Dou County." ”

The people next to him heard it and didn't hide from it, and they were afraid of it.

"Don't be stupid."

"If you're hungry, go get porridge."

"I robbed once and ate enough, but I was caught and driven away, but I couldn't eat enough."

The misunderstood man did not defend or shout, and asked curiously: "Is there still meat in this porridge?" ”

Because of this, the atmosphere eased when the topic shifted, and the little boy took the opportunity to run away with the bowl, and the elder politely pointed out: "You just came, luck, today is porridge cooked in bone broth." ”

The man snorted: "Go and grab it." ”

The elder stopped him: "No need to rush it, everyone can eat it, it won't be eaten up, this porridge jar will never be empty day and night." ”

The man's eyes widened: "Never empty!" Did you Dou County government dig up a cornucopia? ”

Dare to say such a big thing, it's not porridge, it's money!

"This is not done by the government, this is the benevolent act of Mrs. Wu." The elder said with a smile, "It turns out that the government only set up a porridge jar in the military camp for those strong family members to enjoy, but it was Mrs. Wu who saw that the weather was cold and there were many people who came to the city to be pitiful, so a porridge jar was also set up at the city gate, so that everyone could drink a bowl of hot porridge at any time and not go hungry." ”

"There's also porridge every five days." Someone on the side was holding his own bowl and snoring, flattening his mouth, "I'm going to drink another bowl." ”

The man's eyes widened: "Drink as much as you want?" Whoever can drink it? Isn't it a waste for some people to drink rice when they have rice at home? ”

"Mrs. Wu Shao said that as long as the porridge is drunk in the stomach, it is not a waste." Someone next to him despised the stingy countryman, "It doesn't matter who it is, as long as you can drink, it doesn't matter how much you drink." ”

"Of course, the master bookkeeper told each person to only take one bowl and queue up again to get it after drinking." Someone interjected, "Young Lady Wu is kind, and she still has to have rules." ”

"Who is Mrs. Wu?" Wu Ya'er, who had been quiet with his hat hanging down, asked.

The people around them scrambled to answer, but there was a commotion at the city gate, and people from afar were running towards it.

"Young Lady Wu is out."

People rushed to the city gate like a tide, Wu Ya'er and the others were like stones hit by the water, they didn't move, looking in the direction of the crowd running, there was a group of people on the city wall coming out, a group of officials hugged a small woman with a black cloak and a big hat, and there was a young man holding a black umbrella next to the little woman.

"Why does this person wear a black umbrella on a sunny day and look like a ghost." A man was startled and couldn't help but shout.

"This is Mrs. Wu! Don't talk nonsense. The passers-by who rushed forward retorted excitedly, "Young Lady Wu let us eat a full meal and invite us to drink, she is as kind as a fairy." ”

The man pouted: "What kind of immortal is this young lady Wu?" ”

Passers-by turned their heads to look at the closed countryman: "Mrs. Wu Shao is the wife of the martial general of the Zhenwu Army. ”

Wu Ya'er, who had been lowering her hat, raised her head.

Whose wife?