As winter deepens, the wilderness is withered and uninhabited.

There is a village on the south side of the plateau, and the villagers' houses are scattered among the leeward and sunny valleys, and there are about two or three hundred households.

There are the most houses scattered at the turn of the mountain stream, and there are forty or fifty houses. A woman set up a spinning wheel inside the fence and carefully spun linen in the thin heat of the sun, while a half-grown child turned over the hay harvested in summer and autumn.

There are a few houses in front of the chicken coop, when the chicken coop came from the hen clucking, the children suddenly pricked up their ears, squinted their eyes, if they found that the adults in the house did not pay attention, they quietly went to the chicken coop, but often the hands have not penetrated into it, the top of the head has appeared a pair of big eyes, just laid a warm skin of the chicken handed over to the male, but also to bear a few beatings from adults.

Weeping children wipe their tears out of the house, carrying wooden wedges around the dry riverbed to dig the roots of the grass buried in the ground, picking out some of the grass roots that are still tender and feeding them to the swollen but skinny sheep.

In the center of the village, there are stone mills and mortars, and the still strong farmers line up here to hull the grains. The stone grinding stone mill is pushed and pulled by manpower, and several ploughing oxen and horses with dark coats are led by people, pacing back and forth and trampling on the dung heap.

In the corner of the small square of this village, the largest number of villagers gathered, and there was a large stove with a fire on the inner and outer three floors, on which were clay urns, and the pungent black glue juice was boiling in it, but it still could not disperse the crowd of people who were greedy for warmth. When the glue cools, it becomes viscous and can be applied to the utensils to prevent fire and water.

The ashes of the plants and trees under the stove will not be wasted, and the fine dust will be taken out and put in a wooden box smeared with black lacquer for daily laundry and hair. The rest is mixed with dry manure and stored as fertilizer for the next year's ploughing.

People are in a hurry, the crowd warming by the fire from time to time someone stood up, squeezed out of the crowd and ran home with an uncomfortable expression, but after returning with a relaxed face, he could no longer squeeze into the position of the nearest fire, so he could only squat helplessly on the periphery, waiting for the people inside to can't help but vacate their places.

"Why hasn't the clan elder come back? Do you want to confess to the bandits this year? The miscellaneous adjustment in September has intensified, and it will be difficult to resupply this year......"

A villager looked at the entrance of the village and said, which immediately caused a sigh in the crowd.

"Doesn't it mean that there are strong soldiers from other states entering the country to eradicate the bandits in Longzhou? If there is really a big disaster, naturally there is no need to provide any more, and the kidnapped sons may be able to save ......"

"If the Longzhou bandits can really be easily suppressed, how many years will they be harmed? I'm afraid that there is no food for the winter, so they come to the countryside to pretend to be good enough to urge the payment of grain. These thieves are more faithless than bandits, even if they save the villagers, they have to take a few stones of food to ransom! It's okay to have sound hands and feet, but if you have a crippled body, it's a drag to come back! ”

Don't blame the villagers for being kind, there are too many hardships in this world, even if they are honest and dutiful in the township, living for a day will make people have the luck of stealing their lives.

A rickety ox cart appeared at the entrance of the village, and an old man with gray hair walked briskly in front of the ox cart, followed by a dozen villagers carrying sticks.

Seeing that the villagers gathered around, the old man stretched the wooden staff in his hand and said loudly: "If you call your name, come forward to receive it." Black dog, salt half a bucket ......"

The villagers stepped forward to receive the supplies in turn, and some people were already impatient to shout: "Clan Elder, have you had any results in the suppression of bandits this year?" ”

"The Longzhou bandits are gone, Ma Jinlong and his generals have been stripped of their skin and cramped, and they are hung on the city tower!"

A young man who went out with his entourage shouted excitedly: "The officers and soldiers who came to suppress the bandits this time are really fierce, it is said that they are from Kusangling all the way to the village and attack, and it only took less than two days to break through the old nest of Mabao, when Ma Jinlong was arrested, I heard that he was still sleeping with his head covered!" ”

When the villagers heard this, they immediately smiled: "God finally opened his eyes and accepted this group of thieves, and this year we finally saved the offering!" ”

But there are also people who are not worried and say: "It's too early to rejoice...... There are thousands of horse bandits, how many men and horses have the officers and soldiers won a big victory? If they don't have enough to eat, how can they go? The big families don't donate materials to support the soldiers, they still have to be adjusted by the people! ”

That's wrong! It is said that there are only 500 officers and soldiers on this road, and it is a brave and brave commander, and the entire 500 iron beasts with their hands and faces not exposed, let alone thousands, tens of thousands of thieves can be killed cleanly! The county government also deliberately posted a list that the officers and soldiers on this road are righteous teachers, and they will not extort food and goods from the villagers, and they will leave when they destroy ......the thieves."

Hearing the shouts of the people who went out to the village, the villagers were surprised: "There are still such benevolent and righteous officials in the world? ”

The old man raised his hand to stop everyone's discussion, and said in a deep voice: "The government has decreed that there will be no levy this winter, and those who have received the goods will return home!" ”

Seeing that the clan elders said this, the villagers breathed a sigh of relief, and each laughed and received the distributed materials and then dispersed one after another.

The fact that the bandits in the territory have been swept away, and the county government has not made any additional levies, and that this double layer of exploitation has been spared, is always a good thing worthy of great celebration.

"Devouring the Starry Sky: Signing in to Become a God"

But there were still a few Zhuang people who were keenly aware of the melancholy on the face of the clan elder, so they deliberately stayed, and only came up after the villagers dispersed, and asked in a somewhat worried whisper: "What else is the clan elder worried about?" Isn't it a stone slave they ......"

When the old man heard this, his eyes sharpened sharply, and he didn't let them continue, and then sighed again: "Master Zhou summoned me to the government, telling me that this road is going to leave the country from our Zhangyuan, and asking my family to supply grass and horse feed. ”

"This week's main book is really hateful, although the old year's fight for water killed a few people from other clans, but we also gave compensation. If it weren't for Song Linggong leading his children to die in the Kanto region, would there be a place for his family to be strong in this Nanbaishui? Not only did you drive us off the hill, but all the drudgery in the county over the years had to be distributed to our clan! ”

When a Zhuang man heard this, he immediately said with hatred.

Another person said: "If it is just grass and horse food, although it is difficult, but the clansmen can gather together, they can provide it." Didn't Shichiro say that there were only 500 officers and soldiers? ”

After hearing this, the old man of the clan snorted coldly: "Lao Tzu has lived for a long time, I have seen an official being a thief, and I have seen a thief being an official, but whether it is an official or a thief, I have never seen someone who does not lick blood!" The passage of officers and troops is always a catastrophe, and it is also an arrogant army that has won a great victory against bandits, how can it be simple to ask? The heavy goods in the clan are turned and hidden, leaving more than a dozen sheep, if they are still dissatisfied, Lao Tzu will hand over his life! Just remember, don't tell the stone slaves about them! ”

The people in the village obeyed the orders of the old clan, and they were busy mobilizing the villagers to hide the grain and goods in the village. When it was learned that there would be an official and military crossing, the village, which had just shown a little joy, was suddenly shrouded in a haze again, and there was even a burst of ice rain in the afternoon.

The next day, the sky was still overcast, and the ice particles that fell turned into snowflakes, falling intermittently, covering the village with a layer of plain white, and everyone was waiting for the arrival of the officers and soldiers in fear, and no one even dared to start a fire.

In the morning, the sound of horses' hooves sounded outside the village, and more than a dozen Zhuang people stood at the entrance of the village with a worried expression. Finally, more than twenty knights in thick robes appeared in view.

Before approaching, a knight with a cloth wrapped in a face shouted to the villagers: "A certain one is the pioneer of the Governor of Li Dadu, who entered the country to suppress the bandits, and the owner of the village here is there?" Have you received any orders from the prefectural government to make offerings? ”

"The old man is Zhuang Zhenghe, yesterday he entered the government to listen to the order, and after returning to the Zhuang people to prepare, the grass valley materials have been collected in the village, please enter the village to check!"

The old man hurriedly stepped forward and said, the knight nodded after hearing this, turned over and dismounted and motioned to the Zhuang people to lead the way, and took ten people into the village to check. The other knights ran around the village, surveying the terrain around the village.

Seeing that the quantity and quality of the grass valleys stacked in the village were acceptable, Lu Chuan, who had already served as the team leader, nodded with satisfaction, and saw that the villagers were a little nervous, so he smiled and said: "Li Dadu supervises the army strictly, and does not allow soldiers to disturb the people, don't worry about you and other villagers." The grass valley materials are still comprehensive, and there is another thing that needs to be the owner of the farm. ”

Although he was very polite, the villagers did not dare to slack off, and the old man hurriedly stepped forward and bowed his head and said, "What else does the general command?" ”

"On the way home, it snowed, but the headquarters was not well prepared, and it still needed felt and fur to keep out the cold. If there is a reserve in the village, you need to borrow a hundred collars, if not, please lend it elsewhere. When the headquarters stops here, the owner of the village will calculate the expenses in detail. ”

Hearing this, the villagers first breathed a sigh of relief, and then raised their heartstrings again. If it was only a hundred felt furs, it would not be difficult, and the thousands of people in their village could barely make up for it. But the question is, is it really that simple?

They have also experienced that the soldiers in transit are especially more than bandits, and the brigade has not yet entered the village and put forward new requirements, and the commander in front of him looks polite, but if he can't meet it, he will inevitably turn his face and be ruthless.

The villagers were still muttering how to respond, and the sound of sheep suddenly sounded in the house next to them, Lu Chuan heard the words and walked over to look, and saw more than a dozen sheep in captivity in this empty adobe house, so he smiled casually: "The appearance of this village is not very eye-catching, but there are quite savings inside." It's just that these sheep don't have a lot of fat, and they have to be carefully raised to survive the winter! ”

This was just a casual remark, but after hearing this, the Zhuang people's expressions changed greatly, and the clan elder hurriedly stepped forward and said: "These raw sheep are the Zhuang people's contribution to the general. Although there are not many things, they are already the best they can give to the Zhuang people, and I implore the general to ......"

Lu Chuan's face sank sharply after hearing this, and he raised his leg to kick the old man of the clan to the ground, and shouted angrily: "Take down this powerful and evil hero, the governor of the capital has clearly ordered that anyone who takes advantage of our army to extort the township will be punished!" Gather all the households here and try this fang! ”

Soon, the people of Zuo Jinzhuang were driven to the vicinity of this courtyard, Lu Chuan raised his leg and jumped on the wall, looked at these trembling villagers and said loudly: "A certain capital water administration Li Dadu Governor's department, invited by the county magistrate to enter the country to suppress bandits, except for grass and valley horses, do not take the slightest goods from the villagers, the county government has an order. Don't disturb the villagers, the thieves have been imprisoned, if there are people who are strangled because of this, come in and get them! ”