Sanyuan is located in the north of the Guanzhong Plain, because it has Fengyuan in the south, Menghou Yuan in the west, and Bailuyuan in the north, so it is named. Of course, this Bailuyuan is a different location from the Weinan Bailuyuan known to later generations.

Li Tai and his entourage stayed in Jingyuan for a day and then continued westward, searching and investigating the detachment along the way, but they did not find any obvious clues, and did not arrive in Sanyuan until the third day.

"Master Lang, after the servant got the news from the north, he traveled day and night, and arrived in the countryside last night."

As soon as Li Tai and his entourage entered the country, a scout led Mao Shijian and others, who were waiting to greet him on the road ahead. After Li Tai expressed his acceptance of Mao Shijian and his fellow villagers on the banks of the Luoshui River, Mao Shijian no longer regarded himself as a simple subordinate, but regarded himself as a protégé.

After entering the front meeting, Mao Shijian introduced a few fellow villagers to Li Tai, and when he saw that Li Tai's department was so majestic, he couldn't help but ask: "The former summoned the story is unknown, and the generals of Lord Lang are here, but what is the important matter?" There is still a little bit of affection in the township, if there is a need, the lord of Lang will ask for instructions. ”

Later generations knew the three original celebrities, and the most famous was Li Jing in the early Tang Dynasty. But at the moment, there is naturally no Li Jing, and the most powerful on the surface here is the Mao clan in the north.

Mao's people are rich and wealthy in the north for generations, especially the brothers Mao Hongyuan and Mao Hongbin are the most famous. When Wan Qian Chounu and Xiao Baochun were in chaos, the Mao brothers called on the township to resist the traitors.

Therefore, Emperor Xiaoming of the Northern Wei Dynasty took Beidi County as Beiyongzhou, named Mao Hongbin as the assassin of Beiyongzhou, and set the three ancestral residences of the Mao family as Jianzhong County to praise his merits. The glory of Kansai's heroes is nothing more than this.

When Xiaowu moved westward, he led Mao Hongbin to guard Tongguan, but was taken away by the Eastern Wei Dynasty and died in Bingzhou. Mao Hongyuan, who stayed in the pass, entered the court and led the book with Zhou Huida, and died on the job.

Mao Hongyuan is Mao Yao, Mao Shijian is his young son, and since Li Tai has entered the country to do things, of course he has to summon this local tyrant to refer to it.

"Shijian doesn't have to be polite, and I'll talk about all the things in Beizhou later. There is something else to call you home, and this trip is because of Liu Langzhong's ......"

Li Tai told the story a little, and after Mao Shijian heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said: "This demon happened in the realm!" Please rest assured, when all the people settle down, I will visit the township, and I will investigate it as soon as possible! ”

Li Tai nodded after hearing this, and turned to look at Liu Min, who was traveling with him. Liu Min naturally has nothing to say, he has no power to fight in this realm, he can only listen to Li Tai.

So under the leadership of Mao Shijian, the group went to a suitable camping location.

While Mao Shijian rode his horse to lead the way, he frequently looked back at the retinue behind Li Tai. Li Tai followed his line of sight, and saw that Zhang Shinu in the team was also flirting with him, so he asked with a smile: "Are you two old acquaintances?" ”

Mao Shijian nodded after hearing this: "When I was young, I also wanted to worship under Master Chen, but I regretted that the Taoist edge was shallow, and I had met Shi Nu a few times, how did he become Lord Lang's entourage?" ”

Li Tai was a little stunned when he heard this, no wonder your kid was not soft when he killed Shamen in the north before, and there is such a reason for his feelings, he admires the Taoist Xuan Xian in his heart, and naturally he is not afraid of Shamen Buddha.

He raised his hand and motioned for Zhang Shinu to come in, let the pair of old acquaintances talk while walking, and after traveling more than ten miles north, he asked again: "How far is this place from Yong'an City?" I've heard about Shijian's ancestors for a long time. ”

Yong'an City, also known as Hongbinzha, is named after Mao Hongbin's uncle, the former Yongzhou Prefecture of Beiyongzhou, and now it is the county seat of Jianzhong County, which is the biggest proof of the glory of Mao's Township in Beidi. Li Tai may not be very curious, but since he is a guest, of course, he has to compliment a few words.

But after Mao Shijian heard this, his expression was a little embarrassed and secret, and he said in a deep voice: "The clansmen have not lived in Yong'an for many years, and because of their discord with the king of the county, they have now moved to Bailu Plain......

Li Tai was a little surprised when he heard this, and when he saw Mao Shijian's expression like this, he soon realized that it might be another plot that was strong and lost power and could not be tolerated in the township, and it seemed that the situation was still relatively serious, forcing the Mao family to dare not live in the ancestral business anymore and needed to move elsewhere.

"Now that you have entered the country, you can do whatever you want. But crossing the border without telling the county guard is a bit rude after all. ”

Li Tai is not sure whether there are official forces involved in this matter, so he does not plan to use the power of the local government to investigate. But if he has so many people entering the country, and he doesn't know how many days he will stay, if he does not announce it, it is inevitable that some misunderstandings and contradictions will occur.

So he went to the direction of Yong'an City and told the county guard, naturally using the same excuse as before.

On the way, Mao Shijian told Li Tai about the specific situation of their family in the county now, in short, it was difficult to say.

When the Mao Hongyuan brothers were alive, the Mao family had unlimited natural scenery, and was promoted by the people in the township as the leader of the alliance, which was once able to affect the power pattern of the entire Guanzhong, which can be seen from the reward given to them by the Northern Wei court.

When Xiaowu moved westward, the Mao family was also very active, Mao Hongbin led the children of the villagers to welcome him, and also transported a large number of materials, so that the people in the west could eat enough.

However, Mao Hongbin was arranged to stay in Tongguan, and after the fall of Tongguan, he was not in the Eastern Dynasty, and very few of the soldiers who chased after the east could come back, so the Mao family suffered a great loss to the countryside.

Such an arrangement, to put it bluntly, is to make a big deal and let you go to death. Whether it is Yuwentai's Beizhen Legion or the Luoyang magnates who followed Xiaowu to move westward, they must not want Guanzhong to still have such a strong local force, and the nest is on the Weibei Plain, which is a step away from Chang'an.

After Mao Hongbin's death, although Mao Hongyuan was still serving in the court, it was no longer a problem, and Mao Hongyuan also died soon after.

After the death of the two brothers, the once-glorious Mao clan in the north declined rapidly, and there was no leading figure in the court or the opposition to represent this local force.

This can be regarded as the usual fate of the heroes in troubled times, as strong as the Hoba brothers, they inevitably end up making wedding clothes for others, and there are very few who can really survive and taste the fruits of victory.

Mao Shijian also has an elder brother who led the remnants of his subordinate to serve as a general under Li Yuan in western Henan, but his local forces have been almost swept away. Otherwise, with Mao Shijian's family background, there is no need to serve under Li Tai, who has just come out of the hegemony, and even consider himself a protégé.

The current county guard of Jianzhong County is named Wang Qingde, a member of the Jingzhao Wang clan, that is, the son of the Wang Zhen clan who blocked Gao Huan in Huazhou City before the Battle of Shayuan.

According to Mao Shijian, there should be some old feuds between the two families, so Wang Qingde also targeted the Mao clan after his arrival, which made the situation of his clan even more difficult.

However, even if there is no grudge against each other, as a local governor, he always does not want to have an overly strong local tyrant family under his rule. Although the Mao clan is declining, it still has local influence, after all, this Jianzhong County was established to honor his family's merits, of course, he wants to take advantage of your illness to kill you.

After learning this, Li Tai looked at Mao Shijian and Zhang Shinu who were riding in front of him, and sighed in his heart, you two are really difficult brothers.

But then again, if it weren't for the great suppression of their own township, these two members and their respective clans might not be used for themselves.

Guanzhong folk style xenophobia, Li Taineng based in Shangyuan, one is Huazhou as the base camp of the hegemony, the head of the army is gathered, and there is no strong and strong, and the other is also because of the construction of Longshou Canal Dayi Township, in order to gain the recognition and acceptance of the local villagers.

For this kind of nostalgia struggle, Li Tai just listens to it, as long as it does not harm his own interests, or there are no obvious interests to be gained, he is too lazy to intervene.

Although the Mao family has suffered a great loss of nostalgia, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, and it still has hundreds of hectares of manor land on the Bailu Plain, and there are hundreds of clansmen gathered, and it is more than enough to receive Li Tai's department.

However, Li Tai has just made a small fortune against the bandits, and with Liu Min, the rich man, supporting the reimbursement, the supplies he carries on this trip are also sufficient, as long as he borrows Mao Shijian's village, he doesn't need to call too many materials.

Bailu was originally an extremely vast plateau, with not only the Mao family, but also many manors and villages, and many kilns were billowing and smoking.

Li Tai was more sensitive to hand-industrial production, and when he saw this, he smiled and said: "The people of Sanyuan are quite happy to govern their business, what utensils are being fired in those kilns?" ”

Mao Shijian looked at the tumbling smoke, a trace of disgust flashed in his expression, and he lowered his head and replied: "These are all villagers worshipping Buddha and burning statues. ”

Performing the ritual of the Buddha statue, Li Tai knows. In the late Northern Wei Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Hu and her father Hu Guozhen were devout Buddhists, and at the age of eighty, they had to participate in this ceremony on foot, and after returning home, they were so tired that they fell ill, and died not long after.

But now when he heard this, he suddenly felt bad in his heart, and he glanced at Liu Min, each with worry in their eyes.

The lost materials, grain, silk and miscellaneous items are not clearly marked, and only the confiscated metal Buddha statues can be regarded as conclusive evidence. But if those people take advantage of the time when the Buddha statues are cast in the village, they will re-smelt those utensils, and then they will be difficult to identify and investigate.

After he expressed his worries, Mao Shijian hurriedly said: "There are only a few places in the township that can make grand melting statues, and the servants will immediately visit and investigate, if the goods enter this township, they will never disappear out of thin air!" ”

After hearing this, Li Tai nodded, and asked Liu Min to tell the details of the characteristics of his branch personnel, and then avoided Liu Min, motioned for Mao Shijian and Zhang Shinu to come closer, and commanded in a low voice: "After the visit, see where there are models of casting evil Buddha statues, and order a few." ”

Although the overlord destroyed and banned obscenity, the current policy implementation is mainly aimed at the temple, and it will take some time to sink into the township, and there should be such crafts in the township.

Li Tai has always been prepared with both hands, and it is of course best to be able to track down the real culprit and recover the lost goods, but if he can't, he can't run in vain. If the old one is gone, then find the new one, anyway, the Buddhas are very wide, and he doesn't pick it, and the money and food are in the bag, which is the real one.