Chapter 7: Shenmu

Regarding Guan Shengyun's situation, Deng Changjiang certainly paid special attention to it. Especially in the early years, although I couldn't say everything about it, I even knew that eight or nine were not far from ten.

Guan Shengyun climbed over the side wall and went all the way west along the Mongolian side, until Wei Yuanwei of Datong Mansion turned back in the area of the Qingshui River. Familiar with the living customs of the Mongolian compatriots, coupled with the silver in their pockets and knives in their hands, the herdsmen on the steppe also knew more or less the Great Khan's favor for this group of bloody men. Hanmatai, Tucheng, and Yulin, the people along the way did not encounter any trouble, but on the contrary, they sheltered some displaced people along the way, and the scale expanded to about 100 people. Guan Shengyun and others were very familiar with the border army's sentry post deployment and patrol rules, and these experiences allowed them to run all the way to the border of Daming and Shaanxi without danger. Along the way, there were constantly displaced people to join, to the north of Taiyuan Mansion Daworm Ridge, there were already two or three hundred people, and when they entered the territory of Shaanxi, Guan Shengyun's troops had as many as six or seven hundred, and there were both Mongolian and Han - these people were the ones he used to lead the team out from time to time to search for and arrest them back as auxiliaries, so it was very handy to collect them.

When there are two or three hundred people, robbing some rich households in the village can always temporarily solve the problem of food and clothing, and when there are many people, supply becomes a big problem.

At first, Guan Shengyun didn't think about what county town to fight at all. Born in the regular army, he knows exactly what the combat power of a rabble with only 100 swords, not to mention siege weapons and other heavy equipment, and even a rabble with only 100 swords. So the big guys scavenged wild vegetables and caught voles, and no one dared to touch the idea of the county. There was a day without a meal, but then I was so hungry that I couldn't bear it, and I came to Shenmu County outside Shenmu County in a daze with the intention of grabbing a handful and running.

Unexpectedly, I found that although the county town in front of me was regarded as a border pass, there were not even a few bricks left on the city wall, and the exposed adobe had long been dilapidated after years of wind and rain. Guan Shengyun, who has lived in a barracks since he was a teenager, certainly understands what that means: there is no defensive power – and at the same time, there is certainly no defensive value.

No matter how valuable the county is, it can always fill its stomach, right? So hundreds of people and horses did not have any rules and tactics, and rushed directly into the county seat with a shout. It's even easier than grabbing a stockade – not even a token resistance. The guard at the gate was an old man, and when he saw from afar such a large group of rags, fierce and hungry creatures, he screamed and pounced, threw away the stick in his hand as a crutch, and ran home with his legs and smoke, running faster than a rabbit in a dog's house.

So Guan Shengyun sat in the county hall and ate and drank.

Standing beside him was a man in his forties with a bitter face: his clothes were patched and patched, and he had been washed so many times that he could barely make out what color the cloth was. It is conspicuous, with a white cloth on its chest, on which is a bird of an unrecognizable species...... Well, it looks like I should have drawn it with a brush - and wait!

What kind of bird is sewn on the placket of the garment?

It's not a complement, is it?

This is really a complement!

- This turned out to be Shenmu Zhixian!

Well, being thrown away at such a young age as a sesame official in such a place where birds don't, and being so poor can show the connections and status of this county magistrate in the Ming officialdom - Guan Shengyun completely understands why this guy didn't immediately do his best for the saint, but took out the money valley account book for himself as soon as possible......

The subordinates brought a sheep out of nowhere and put it down, and slaughtered a few chickens raised in the backyard of the county government, and threw them all into the cauldron to stew, and Guan Shengyun ate the coarse dough cake until he was satisfied, and he couldn't stuff anything into his stomach anymore, and opened the account book with his oily hands, and was dumbfounded: anyone can guess that this county is very poor, but no one would have thought that it would be so poor! Zhu Yuanzhang, the grandfather of the emperor, divided the county into three classes: the first class is the grain production of 100,000 stones, called the upper county, the second class is the grain production of 60,000 stones, called the middle county, and the third class is the grain production of less than 30,000 stones, called the lower county. Whether it is an upper county, a middle county or a lower county, they all have to pay the imperial grain, which is more or less different. However, this Shenmu County is very powerful - not only does it not have to pay the imperial grain, but even the expenses of the county yamen, including the county magistrate's Yulu, are all allocated by the imperial court!

The low wages of the Ming Dynasty are known to everyone on the earth. What is the salary of the county magistrate...... Let's put it this way, if you don't embezzle, this money will definitely be enough to raise two sheep, and if you change the sheep for a horse and feed it carefully, it will make do with it, but don't expect it to grow fat and strong...... The total annual expenses of Shenmu County are one hundred and dozens of taels~ Note that this is not the salary of the grandfather, but the sum of the expenses of all the people who eat imperial grain in the county! Watching the county magistrate fumbling for a key to untie from his belt, he trembled and stabbed open a wooden box that would break apart if he stepped on it: inside were a dozen or two scattered pieces of silver slag of different colors and sizes, and a small bunch of copper coins.

Guan Shengyun felt a little embarrassed. In order to cover up, he asked angrily: "This fruit is all your belongings?" ”

Zhixian nodded solemnly: "Back to the King of Haohan, this is indeed the case." If there is half a lie, the humble duty is willing to be hit by five thunders from the sky......"

At first, he was hungry and shriveled and ate recklessly, but now that he was full, Guan Shengyun felt a little unbearable thoughts rise in his heart, and asked again: "...... the chickens in the backyard?"

Zhixian shook his head with a bitter face: "At first, I raised it to eat eggs." I've been raising them for many years, but when I'm old, I don't lay eggs, and I can't bear to slaughter them to eat, so I have been going with them. Fortunately, they are also detached now. ”

Guan Shengyun heard this, and in order to alleviate the embarrassment in his heart, he slapped the table and shouted: "Nonsense! The six-year examination of Beijing officials is called 'Jingcha', and the three-year examination of foreign officials is called 'big plan', and after the audit, they will always leave after being promoted, transferred or deposed! It will take at least five or six years to consume chickens from laying eggs, and you are still here? No way! You say that these chickens have been raised for many years, and you are clearly lying! ”

Zhixian smiled miserably: "Back to the king of heroes, you are literate and hyphenated, and there is a faint extraordinary style in your gestures, how dare you deceive your humble position?" Besides, this place is so withered, why deceive? I've been here for more than seven years. Who wants to spend this place? Every year when the imperial court has a big plan, the lowly officials are looking forward to changing places, even if they are demoted. But, the adults of the Ministry of Officials, they must have forgotten about this place......"

Without pondering, Guan Shengyun knew that what Zhixian said was the truth: the cyan official uniform of Qipin Zhixian County was washed so that it could not be seen its true color, and although the large patches were stacked on top of each other and the small patches were washed white, they could faintly reveal the colorful colors of the past, and the complement was actually painted by himself, especially the chicken just now that he could barely bite it, that is, he was too hungry to chew it hard, so he swallowed it...... The guilt rose again, and he asked without words: "Then, what are you going to do in the future?" ”

The magistrate spread his hands and said with a wry smile: "What else?" Open the door and thief according to the law. Of course, if you are lucky enough to escape with your life under the king's sword, you can wait for the heroes to leave, and then report a 'bloody battle without losing an inch of land'. In such a bitter cold place, I don't think anyone would want to come over to drink the wind and suffer the crime, saying that it was robbed, and it was only a dozen taels of silver in total, and the court was just a demote to stay in office, and it would not be more serious with the lowly position - unless a more unlucky guy offended the adults to death. But at that time, after the heroes this experience, the people should really not be able to live, most of them killed officials and rebelled after a few days. It won't be long before you'll see the lowly again...... The head of the king - used to make a petition for the king. Despicable and vertical are just death. ”

At this time, Guan Shengyun, not long after falling into the grass, has not yet completed the complete transformation from an official army to a thief in his heart, and his heart of compassion suddenly rose, and he hesitated for a moment: "Then, how about going with Ben General?" ”

Zhixian, who was already dead, never thought that he would still have a way to live, and couldn't help but be stunned on the spot. It stands to reason that from the parents of the court officials to the great rebellion, how can there be no difference between the heavens and the abyss? But after staying in this place for seven or eight years, the ideal of cultivating Qi Zhiping has long been blown by the desert wind with yellow sand in reality, and there is no more than half of the ten stops, and everyone is afraid of death, so he quickly found countless reasons for himself in his heart to excuse himself: if he stays, sooner or later, he will die an ugly death, and if he follows, he can persuade them not to hurt the innocent, and he can persuade them to accept the court's recruitment at the right time, and even, when necessary, he can cooperate with the court to make a contribution...... As long as you find the right excuse for yourself, the rest will be fine.

The magistrate shook Guan Shengyun to the ground: "Humble and thank the general for not killing." Clumsy Jing died early, and the puppy is also becoming an adult, but there is nothing to worry about. It's just that it's useless to be a scholar, and the lowly father and son are afraid that they will drag down the general, and they pray for forgiveness. ”

Guan Shengyun wiped away the lingering guilt in his heart (mainly brought by the stew of the old hen who raised everyone to be like a family member), and was also relieved, and said happily: "It's okay, Mr. will be his own family in the future, don't be polite." The march and war have their own kind of thing, and the text of the future Anmin notice will be bothered by Mr. ......"

As he spoke, he inadvertently saw that Zhixian's eyes glanced at the remaining chicken and sheep bones on the case from time to time, and his Adam's apple also moved involuntarily, scratching his head embarrassedly, "Hehe, it's not a secret, Guan hasn't been touched by meat for ten days, so Mr. smiled!" If you don't dislike it, sir, please, please. ”

Zhixian replied quietly: "The king is just ten days." If a student says that they can only eat meat once a year, do you believe it? After finishing speaking, without another word, he walked to the table and reached out to pick up the mutton bone with a lot of meat and bit it down, and shouted back vaguely with meat in his mouth: "Luo Shifan, come and eat meat!" ”

Someone in the back hall answered, and a weak young man of eighteen or nineteen years old pulled out with the two unkempt thieves who were in charge of guarding him.

Since then, Luo Yonghao (Zi Wenguang) and Gongzi Luo Shifan (Zi Zhongmou) of Shenmu Zhi County, Shaanxi Province of Daming have disappeared, and Guan Shengyun's army has two more Luo masters out of thin air.

In order to avoid embarrassment, Guan Shengyun muttered a plea, touched his stomach and paced to the door of the county office.

Then, I was stunned by what I saw.