Henan province was severely affected by the drought locust, millions of people were displaced because of it, and bandits swarmed the prairie fire.

However, this time, because of the lessons of the previous Shaanxi civil uprising, the Ming court sent a large number of troops into Henan at the first time.

It was precisely for this reason that Zheng Chongjian, the governor of the three sides, led his troops into Henan, and the few great cowards in Henan were also exterminated.

Henan is not as good as Shaanxi, because it is in the interior, there are not many horses in Henan Province, and there is not as complex terrain as Shaanxi, plus the Ming army spared no effort to strangle, so there has never been a large-scale rogues.

However, this soon changed.

As the situation in Shaanxi became more and more urgent, Zheng Chongjian, who was quelling the rebellion in Henan, was ordered to leave Henan and lead the Qin army through Tongguan and into Xi'an Mansion in Shaanxi Province.

The withdrawal of the Qin army did not cause much turmoil, and most of the cities in Henan Province still followed the trajectory of the past.

Although the thieves swarmed due to the influence of the drought locusts, they were either defeated by the attack of the officers and soldiers, or they retreated between the mountains and valleys to survive.

After a long period of calm and long-term isolation, they did not threaten the Ministry of Accidents.

Both the officials and gentry in Henan felt that the remaining bandits could not set off any storms and make much trouble.

And this contempt has also created their bitter consequences in the future.

The lights of thousands of homes are full of spring breeze, and the moon is bright for ten miles.

In the twelfth year of Chongzhen, on the fifteenth day of the first month, the Lantern Festival.

During the Lantern Festival, the lanterns will be read.

The Lantern Festival in the Ming Dynasty has been lit on the eighth day of the first lunar month, and the lights are not set off until the night of the seventeenth day of the first lunar month.

The city is lively during the day, and the lights are lit at night, which is spectacular.

Kaifeng Prefecture, Qi County.

In the bazaar, there are lanterns, pedestrians coming and going, and traffic is busy.

The hustle and bustle inside the city and the dead silence outside the city are in stark contrast.

Separated by a wall, but two worlds.

Zhumen's wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road.

In the prison of Qixian County, it was dim and damp.

The orange lights were barely audible in the darkness, and only two jailers were left on duty during the Lantern Festival.

It's better to say it's on duty than to have fun.

On the table was the wine and food delivered by the restaurant, and the two jailers were drinking and eating slowly, laughing and talking about the recent harvest.

Other than that, the interior of the prison was silent.

Li Xin lay on the cold ground, staring at the dark ceiling.

In the cold winter of the ninth year, how can the thin prison clothes block the invasion of the cold?

But the coldness of the body is not as cold as half of Li Xin's coldness.

"Why ......"

There was darkness in front of him, and Li Xin's eyes were dull, like a quiet deep pool.

Li Xin couldn't understand why the world was so desperate.

The drought locusts are continuous, and the grains are not harvested, but the taxes are heavy.

Thousands of miles of red land, starving all over the wilderness, but no one to take care of it.

Those eunuchs and magnates who used to claim to be the parents of the people are now arrogant and lascivious.

Those gentry and nobles who are full of benevolence, righteousness and morality on weekdays are now pretending to be public and private to enjoy happiness.

Hunger was everywhere outside the city, and countless people had nothing to eat, and they endured hunger and cold, and even a bowl of gruel was a luxury.

However, the Lantern Festival is being held in this city.

Wang Sun Gongzi hugged in front of him, and warblers and swallows surrounded him.

In the courtyard of the restaurant, the guests pushed the cups back and forth, and everywhere they came into view, they were singing and dancing.

Li Xin slowly closed his eyes, his heart was already desperate.

The whip marks he had received during the day still ached faintly, but no amount of pain could compare to the pain in his heart.

Li Xin couldn't figure it out.

All the books of the sages are not to guide people to goodness, and all of them are to lead people to self-cultivation.

The county orders and prefects in various places are on the gold list, and they are full of poetry and books.

Those gentry and nobles are all poetry and books, and they have private schools to practice since childhood.

But why is it that in the face of the suffering of the people, the turmoil of the country is turned a blind eye, and even drinking and having fun.

The people are hungry and destitute, but even so, the county order of Qixian County is still constantly urging money and grain, and there are countless people who sell their children and daughters, and destroy their families.

Those gentry and nobles hoarded grain, raised the price of rice, and took the opportunity to buy fertile land and slaves at low prices.

The only food provided for the daily relief was a few pieces of rice porridge, and many people died because of it.

He took out the surplus grain at home, but the grain of hundreds of stones was just a drop in the bucket for Qi County, let alone for the entire Kaifeng Mansion.

He went around exhorting for help, but all he got was the white eyes of the crowd and the closed high door.

It is said that good will be rewarded with good and evil will be rewarded with evil, but in the end, those gentry and nobles who watched coldly and made a fortune sat back and relaxed, and their voices were dogs and horses.

But now he is being sentenced to prison on the charge of colluding with bandits, and even his family is ruined.

Li Xin's heart was painful, he thought about it for countless days and nights, but he couldn't understand these things.

The dance music between the streets lingered in Li Xin's ears like a magic sound, tormenting Li Xin's spirit.

Li Xin's eyes became more and more distracted, and his mind drifted out of the sky with the sound of dancing and music, and he knew that he was destined to not get out of this prison.

The squires regarded him as an anomaly, and the officials of the government regarded him as a traitor, and they all wanted to kill him as soon as possible.

The corners of Li Xin's mouth showed a miserable smile, in the end, he was too naïve and ridiculous.

He still believes in justice and morality.

It's ridiculous......

It's just that......

If you give him another chance.

He will still stand by his morality, but he will certainly not repeat the mistakes of the past.

It's a pity......

In this world, there are not so many ifs......

The lights in the prison were dim, and the orange-red lights seemed to be blown out in a while, and Li Xin saw it in his eyes, and only felt that he was like this faint lamp, and there was thick darkness in all directions.

Outside the dungeon, the wind howled, blowing into the prison through a narrow outlet, bringing with it a terrifying roar.

The night was deep, and the noise outside the prison should have stopped at this time, but I don't know why the noise outside the prison not only did not stop, but became louder and louder.

The abnormal situation also caused a lot of commotion among the prisoners in the prison.

Li Xin's eyes moved slightly, and he subconsciously looked towards the narrow window, and his intuition told him that something big was happening in Qixian County at this time.

The noise grew louder and louder, and all kinds of sounds came together, because the sounds were far away and could not be heard, but they were not the kind of noise in the bazaar......

Li Xin slowly propped himself up, leaned against the cold and damp wall of the cell, and stared at the dark cell door in front of him.

At this time, many of the prisoners in the prison had also woken up from their sleep.

"Why is it so noisy outside?"

The prisoners in the prison were puzzled,

"The jailer is gone?!"

In the cell near the door of the cell, someone noticed that something was wrong.

In any case, one or two people should have been left on duty in this prison, but the jailer who had been on duty was now nowhere to be seen, and it is not known when he had left the cell.

And most importantly, the dishes on the table have not been eaten yet, and they are in a hurry.

In the face of the sudden disappearance of the jailer, there was also an obviously unusual commotion outside the cell.

The prisoners in the cell were all fluctuating and imagining.

But it all quickly subsided.

A rapid sound of horses' hooves came from far to near, accompanied by the neighing of war horses into everyone's ears.

The noise of neighing became louder and louder outside the cell, and soon some people entered the cell, and judging by the sound of footsteps, there were at least one or twenty people.

Li Xin turned his head to look in the direction where the sound came from, through the wall of the cell, he naturally couldn't see the scene at the gate of the prison, but none of this affected the ups and downs of his thoughts.

In the next moment, the voice that he was very familiar with sounded in the prison.

"Give me a cell and a cell search, search it all carefully!"

Li Xin's heart shook, and his gloomy eyes gradually brightened at this moment.

The sound of footsteps came from far to near, and the dazzling light shone into the dim cells, illuminating the entire cell as bright as day.

"Li Gongzi, it's Li Gongzi!"

Li Xin was tortured for many days, and for several days he did not eat or drink, and he did not have the strength to stand up at all.

Li Xin is handsome, his face is like a crown of jade, and he is a personable and noble son.

But now he is pale, almost no body, and his body is covered with blood, and even his prison clothes are dyed red.

"Li Gongzi ......"

When everyone saw Li Xin miserable like this, they all burst into tears and choked up.

Li Xin was helped out of the cell by everyone.

The originally dim cell was now as bright as day, and the darkness of the past was no longer in all directions.

In the field of vision, standing at the door of the prison, a heroic female general in a red robe stood with a sword, surrounded by a group of armored soldiers at the forefront.

The red-robed female general is called the Red Lady, who was originally a son and daughter of the rivers and lakes who showed off her martial arts, and later because of the drought locusts, the grass fell into the bandits, and gathered a lot of displaced people in the mountains and forests not far from Qi County.

And the original county government sitting in Qi County, the old man who was engaged in the hall, but the magistrate of Qi County knelt on the ground and trembled like a lost dog.

Li Xin opened his mouth, his throat swelled, and he wanted to speak, but in the end he didn't speak.

He didn't know what he could say, and he didn't know what he should say.

"Noburo ......"

The silent air was finally broken by the red-robed female general.

The red lady looked at Li Xin's miserable appearance, and her eyes were already red in an instant.

"Dog officer!"

The red lady kicked the Qixian county magistrate who was kneeling on the ground to the ground, and ordered angrily.

"Drag me down, give me a hundred lashes, pluck off his head, and hang it at the gates."

"Even the old and young of the family, don't leave any of them, kill them all!"

The county magistrate of Qi County trembled, his expression was frightened, and he no longer saw the slightest arrogance of sitting on the high hall in the past, and said in a trembling voice.

"You, you...... How can you not respect ...... promises?"

Before the words of the county magistrate of Qixian County were finished, the two soldiers had already walked up, punching and kicking, and they were immediately speechless.

A trace of unbearability flashed in Li Xin's eyes, but in the next moment, the trace of unbearability in his eyes had already dissipated and became resolute.

The red-robed female general finished the order, looked at Li Xin again, and then her expression flashed a trace of hesitation, and she wanted to give the order again.

Because she remembered Li Xinshan, she always didn't like her being too murderous and abusing her power.

"You're doing the right thing."

Just when she was about to give another order, saying that she would let go of the county Ling's family, Li Xin's words affirmed her previous order.

The red lady's eyes moved slightly, and she had already seen the emotion in Li Xin's eyes.

"It's me who was wrong before......"

Li Xin looked at the red lady in front of him, he had already understood what he had never understood.

For this woman who kidnapped herself and forcibly wanted to get married, Li Xin did not have any complaints in his heart.

Even if it was for this reason that he was identified as colluding with thieves, he was imprisoned, and even his family was ruined.

Li Xin knew very well that the real reason for all this suffering he was suffering now was not like this, and colluding with the rogues was just an introduction and an excuse.

If this thing hadn't happened, those gentry and nobles, and those eunuchs and officials would still look for other excuses and other reasons.

"Noburo ......"

The red lady stepped forward and hugged Li Xin, she stroked the scar on Li Xin's arm, and tears flowed down in an instant.

"I Hurt You......"

"It's not because of you."

Li Xin shook his head, his voice was extremely weak, but it was extremely firm.

"They can always find a crime, and they can always find an excuse."

They always have a reason, and they always have an excuse.

In the past, they could put Yue Fei to death on "trumped-up" charges.

If you want to kill him Li Xin, a squire, why is it difficult?

Li Xin has completely abandoned all illusions.

The red lady stared at Li Xin's cheeks, Li Xin's expression was resolute, his eyes were as deep as a well, and he had a trace of indescribable temperament compared to before.

Li Xin and the red lady stepped out of the prison surrounded by everyone.

Everyone outside the prison couldn't help cheering when they saw Li Xin, and they all asked to see him.

In the past, Li Xin almost scattered his family wealth to help the victims, and his reputation inside and outside Qixian County was extremely high.

"Lady, are you willing to believe me?"

Li Xin clenched the hand of the red lady, his eyes were resolute, and people couldn't help but want to be convinced.

The red lady's body shook slightly, she waited for so long, and finally waited for this lady.

"Tell me what your plans are next."

"Plan?"

The red lady looked puzzled, and replied after a moment of silence.

"I'm single-minded, just to save Shinro, and I haven't thought about what to do in the future."

The red lady's answer, in fact, Li Xin has long been clear, and the reason why he asked is just to pave the way for the follow-up.

"If Qixian is broken, it will be like a shock, and the officers and soldiers will inevitably flock here, and it is impossible for the lady to return to her former hometown and continue to be stable......"

"We have embarked on a road of no return."

The red lady was startled at first, and then quickly calmed down again.

In this era of male superiority and inferiority, as a woman, she can survive in troubled times, and even become the leader of a force, which has proved her extraordinary.

"Isn't Shinro already having a plan?"

The bright moon is bright and clean, like a jade plate, cold and cold.

Li Xin didn't answer the words of the red lady, he looked up at the bright moon in the night sky, and completely made up his mind.

"From now on, I will no longer be called Li Xin, there is only Li Yan in this world, and there will be no Li Xin."

He wants to be a rock, a rock that will stand no matter how hard it is.

There's another chapter later.,It's estimated that the card point has been updated.,If it's too late.,You can wait until tomorrow to read it.。