CHAPTER XXXIV

Suizhou lacked Zhizhou at that time, and the people were unwilling to defend the city. Luo Rucai was very clear about this situation, so he only sent a few men and horses to patrol outside Suizhou City at night to prevent the gentry from escaping, and ordered most of the men and horses to rest so that they could enter the city tomorrow. Since he joined forces with Li Zicheng, he has also greatly rectified military discipline, so the place where the army outside Suizhou is stationed is bought and sold on an equal footing, and there is no matter of harassing the people. Suizhou is located in eastern Henan, and the people in the countryside know very little about the internal affairs of the peasant army, so most of the people think that it is the army of King Li Chuang who came to attack the city.

After dawn on March 22, Luo Rucai combed his hair with his concubine on the one hand, and reiterated the military order to the whole army: as long as there is no resistance in the city, no one is allowed to be killed in vain. In addition, he instructed the brothers to shoot books into the city from different places, and to inform the gentry of the city of this intention, and the first book was written "Obey the generalissimo Li Yu of Fengtian advocacy and righteousness", and the next paragraph reads "On behalf of the heavens and the people, the great general of Weide, Luo". Do not use the Chongzhen year name, only use it for the branch year.

As expected, after breakfast, the poor people in the city were in turmoil, forcing the state officials guarding the east gate to open the east gate to welcome the rebels into the city. Immediately, the south gate, the west gate, and the north gate were opened for a while. At first, only a few bold and poorer men stood at the gates of the city and on the side of the street to greet them, but then everyone saw that the rebels who entered the city were indeed very well disciplined, and were completely different from the officers and soldiers, and gradually became bolder, and opened the gates of the street one after another, and stood by the street with curiosity and anxiety to watch the freshness. There is no need to paging in the township, there are many people who automatically put tea on the side of the street and at the intersection, and also post the word "Shunmin" on the street door, and those who can't write quickly ask someone to write it on their behalf.

Yuan Shizhong's men lost no time in occupying the North Gate and half of the streets inside the North Gate. He is most concerned about protecting his benefactor Tang Hyun. At night, he had already inquired with the people outside the city to understand: the Tang family lived in the northwest corner of the city, a little far away from the street of the north gate, and did not belong to the garrison area of Xiao Yuan's camp. Although he had already told Cao Cao in person that he wanted to protect Tang Xuan last night, and Cao Cao agreed, when he resigned from Cao Ying, he forgot to receive Cao Ying's arrows. He must take advantage of the fact that the city has just been broken, personally gallop into the city as soon as possible, first go to the Tang Mansion to protect, and then receive the order from Cao Cao and insert the arrow in front of the Tang Mansion. He was very worried that Cao Ying's rebellious soldiers would rush to the Tang Mansion and kill and loot at will, so he hurriedly ordered a cronie leader to take one of his arrows, lead twenty cavalrymen, enter the city from the west gate, and rush to the Tang Mansion as soon as possible to protect it. When the leader left, he and Liu Yuqi led 200 infantry and cavalry to set off.

In the past three or four years, Yuan Shizhong has always been the head of a battalion from the beginning of the uprising to an important leader with tens of thousands of horses, giving orders on his own, saying everything and not being dispatched by others. He only had to consult with his military advisors and his cronies and generals about what city he wanted to attack, and if he thought it was appropriate, he would order the siege of the city; After the city was broken, all the food and property obtained belonged to his Xiao Yuan camp, and he disposed of it as he pleased. Under normal circumstances, he forbade his subordinates to rape ** women and kill civilians indiscriminately, so he received some praise in society. But sometimes, in order to win over the soldiers, he could turn a blind eye to robbery and adultery, as long as he did not go too far, and never worried that anyone would reproach him. But now he has to be cautious, not only afraid of breaking into the king's order, but also afraid of Luo Rucai, who is in the position of a general. He can only hold his sulk in his heart, and on the surface he has to obey his orders.

When Yuan Shizhong entered the north gate, he saw that the city was not in order, and the two nearby streets were patrolled by Cao Ying's cavalry. His little Yuan camp was stationed inside and outside the north gate, and he was not allowed to walk around the city casually without Cao Ying's arrows. He asked his generals and knew that the state and county yamen, warehouses, and large residences were all garrisoned by Cao Ying, and they were not allowed to loot grain and property. Yuan Shizhong's cousin Yuan Shitai scolded beside him:

"What is not allowed to rob, but we are not allowed to touch a little oil and water in our little Yuan camp! In the future, you see, always according to this rule, King Chuang and Cao Ying share fat meat, and throw a bone to Xiao Yuan Ying at will! ”

Yuan Shizhong glanced at Shi Tai sternly and scolded: "Don't talk nonsense!" Are you living impatiently? …… King Chuang will never treat our Xiao Yuan Ying badly, you just have to rest assured! ”

He asked for the nearest way to Tang Xuan's house, and hurried forward. Halfway through, he glanced back at Liu Yuqi, who was following closely behind, and the two exchanged glances, although they were speechless, they were thinking about what Yuan Shitai said just now.

Yuan Shizhong arrived outside Tang Xuan's gate, and the little leader who came in from the west gate also arrived. The little boss himself was guarding the gate of the Tang Mansion, and ten people were assigned to guard the back door. Yuan Shizhong asked:

"Why are you here now?"

The little leader replied, "The leader of the Cao camp guarding the west gate refused to let me enter the city because I did not have Cao Ying's arrows, and I lost time. Later, a big boss came down from the city, and let me enter the west gate. ”

Yuan Shizhong asked again: "Did anyone enter the Tang Mansion to rob?" ”

The little leader replied, "I saw a group of Cao Ying cavalry patrolling this street just now, and there have been no robberies or murders in this area. ”

Yuan Shizhong put his mind at ease, turned back to his military advisor and said: "Yuqi, you go to see the general on my behalf and report to him: the area around the north gate has been occupied by the people of Xiao Yuanying's order, and there is no crime in the autumn, and the people are living in peace." When he returned, he asked the general for an arrow to bring back and stick it in front of this gate. ”

Liu Yuqi whispered to him for a while, turned his horse to the east, and left with his own soldiers.

Yuan Shizhong got off his horse and ordered his soldiers to go and call the gate of the Tang Mansion quickly. No one opened the door inside, only the sound of crying in the inner house. Yuan Shizhong was surprised, worried that Cao Ying's soldiers had entered the house from elsewhere. He commanded the door to be called loudly, struck the door with his fist a few times, and slapped the brass knocker again.

Since the rebel army broke the city, the owners and servants of the Tang Mansion, more than 30 men and women, thought that a catastrophe was coming, and they were panicked. The masters, in particular, were ten times more panicked than the slaves, believing that they were "doomed". Tang Xuan had done a lot of corrupt things in Kaizhou Zhizhou, and was impeached and dismissed, so he used silver to work up and down in the capital, and he was lucky to return to his hometown three years ago. He usually hears people say: Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong both hate corrupt officials, local tyrants and shoddy gentry, and they will not be pardoned when they are caught. He also heard that Yuan Shizhong was from Kaizhou, which made him even more afraid, thinking that Yuan Shizhong must know that he was corrupt and perverted the law and exploited the people, and he would definitely avenge the people of Kaizhou. Last night he was leaving the house and hiding somewhere else. But he could only hide in the homes of the poor so that he could not be discovered. Several poor distant relatives and neighbors refused to hide because they knew that he had a deep grievance during his tenure in Kaizhou, so he had to sit at home and wait for death.

Gold and silver treasures, antiques and jade, the night before yesterday when they heard that the rebels were coming, Tang Xuan and his wife buried them in the backyard with the help of two loyal house slaves. Now Tang Xuan is most concerned about his young and beautiful third aunt wife and his seventeen-year-old daughter Qin Gu who has not yet left the cabinet. He must not allow them to be taken captive and adultered by "thieves." As soon as he heard the chaotic sound of horses' hooves in the street and the shouts of people that the city had been broken, he thought that he was about to be killed, and suddenly turned his heart sideways, put a prepared hemp rope into his sleeve, drew his bright sword, and strode into the room of the third aunt's wife. The third aunt had already changed into the old clothes of a servant, her hair was scattered, and her face was stained, and at first glance she looked very much like a maid, but her demeanor was not the same; And the facial features are delicate, and the skin is delicate, which cannot be hidden. Seeing Tang Xuan coming in with a sword, his face was full of murderous anger, and she thought that he was ready to fight hard with the "thieves" who rushed into the courtyard at any time to die for the country, so frightened that she couldn't help but tremble, and said in a trembling voice:

"Sir, you can't do this. Run for your life, you can't die! ”

Tang Xuan stared at her for a moment and said, "The thieves have entered the city, and our family will not be spared." You are young and beautiful, and you should not live to be humiliated. He took out the hemp rope from his sleeve, threw it at her feet, and then said, "Before the thief has entered the courtyard, you should hang yourself and be martyred for a hundred years!" ”

The third aunt was stupid for a moment, then suddenly knelt on the ground and cried: "Master, you have pity on me, let me live!" I'm three months pregnant. Master, you have to pity the fetus in my womb, it is the blood of the master! ……”

She grabbed Tang Xuan's robe, begged Tang Xuan, and cried bitterly. The two maids and the two servants knelt down in front of Tang Xuan together, pleading for her, crying. Tang Xuan was silent for a moment, and suddenly said sharply:

"You're going to die! Die! Don't make a mistake! ”

The third aunt cried again and said, "Master, I'm not afraid of death, it's because I've ......."

Tang Xuan said hatefully: "I know that you are pregnant with Liujia. But you can't lose your temper now, you have to die. If you don't kill yourself immediately, I will have to kill you with my own hands and make you the martyr of the Tang family. Kill yourself! ”

The third aunt continued to weep and refused to get up. The maids and servants also cried and pleaded, saying that the third aunt was three months pregnant, and that if she died, she would die with both lives. Tang Xuan kicked down a kneeling girl ring with one kick, and kicked another one down with the second kick, and said to the third aunt holding the sword:

"Kill yourself, leave a corpse behind, or I will hack you to death with a sword, you can choose at once. Kill you first, and then I'll kill myself. Fast! Fast! ”

The third aunt suddenly stopped crying, picked up the hemp rope on the ground, stood up tremblingly, sobbed and said, "Since the master is also going to commit suicide and be a loyal minister, the concubine will go first and wait for the master in the underworld." The lord is tall, please tie the rope for the concubine! ”

Tang Xuan took the hemp rope, tied it to the beam, and moved another stool to put it underneath. Although he couldn't help his fingers tremble when he tied the hemp rope, he was still calm and did not hesitate at all. He helped the third aunt to climb the small stool, waited for her to poke her head into the noose, and then kicked the small stool away with his foot.

When Tang Xuan tied hemp rope to the beam and forced the third aunt to hang herself, the two maids were scared away, one of the servants ran to the courtyard to cry, and the other of the servants turned pale, took a few steps back, and silently watched the progress of this matter. None of them planned to stop Tang Xuan and save the third aunt's wife from death. They were convinced that his master's idea was justified: he himself would commit suicide when the thieves came, and become a loyal servant of the emperor, and although the family died a tragic death, they all became loyal servants and martyrs.

Tang Xuan looked at the third aunt's wife who was already dead, nodded and said, "Good death, good death!" He turned around and walked out, met Han Zhong, the most faithful servant in the courtyard of the courtyard, and quickly asked:

"What's going on out there?"

Han Zhong said: "I came to report to the master, and the front and back doors were surrounded by thieves." ”

Tang Xuan had expected this, and just ordered Han Zhong to follow behind him and not leave. He walked quickly to the main house, entered the upper room, and saw that there was no one, so he turned to the west wing where someone was talking, and sure enough, he found his wife with his seventeen-year-old second daughter with Yahuan and the servants. Some wept, some sat in the shadows. The second young lady, Aunt Qin, had already changed her clothes and stained her face, and sat between the nurse and another old servant, Tang Xuan said to her:

"Aunt Qin, the thieves have surrounded the front and back doors of my house, and they are about to come in. You are everyone's lady, the pearl of your father's palm, you read sensibly, and you must not lose your temper to thieves. Kill yourselves, lest you be dishonored. Quick, Aunt Qin! ”

It was clear that Aunt Qin had already prepared in her thoughts, she was not greedy for life and afraid of death, nor did she cry on the ground, but she was relatively calm, helped her mother to stand up, looked at her father with teary eyes, and replied decisively:

"Please rest assured, the child will not lose the Tang family!" She then turned to her mother and cried, "Mom, please take care of your old man's health, and don't grieve for the child." The child listens to his father and goes first! After saying that, he turned around, did not look back, and quickly walked to the upper room. Tang Xuan was worried that she would not die and followed behind. Mrs. Tang and the nurse chased her out of the West Wing crying, trying to pull her back. Tang Xuan pushed the nurse so hard that she stumbled and sat on the ground, and then stopped his wife and said:

"You are a reasonable eunuch's wife, how can you make your daughter lose her temperament? If you weren't old, kill yourself! ”

The wife didn't dare to save her daughter anymore, and cried with a maid ring beside her. At this moment, a small group of horses' hooves, gongs and a loud voice from Shaanxi came from nearby: "The general's message, the generalissimo strictly enforces military law: no civilians are allowed, no rape of ** female ......" Mrs. Tang suddenly raised her head, looked at her husband with pity, and choked up:

"Master, you listen, you listen, and you're beating the gong again!"

Tang Xuan said: "Don't listen to the thief's message, you must know that my family is a scholarly family, the home of the official eunuch, and it is not the same as the surname of the small people!" ”

Mrs. Tang didn't dare to have any more luck thoughts, just cried. Tang Xuan walked into the upper room quickly and saw that his daughter had committed suicide by hanging from the beam in the West Pavilion. He nodded, and whispered in admiration:

"You died well, you deserve to be my Tang Xuan's daughter!"

He was going to urge a younger daughter-in-law to commit suicide, but it was too late. I suddenly remembered that I received a letter from my friend of the same year who was a lang in the Ministry of Officials last month, promising to do everything possible for him, cancel the old case of being impeached and dismissed, and seek a new job for him. Although the matter of a Shanxi pawnshop in Tuokaifeng remitting 3,000 taels of silver is not mentioned in the book, he implicitly wrote a sentence of "Tuyi worship", which is self-evident. He thought the epistle could not be lost. If he can be safe, he must plan for recovery and become a governor again. So he ran to the study, opened the drawer, took out the book and put it in his arms, and ran to a side courtyard to the east. At this time, from outside the gate came the loud shouts urging the door to open, the thump of the door with his fist, and the rattle of hitting the knocker. Han Zhong urged behind his back:

"Master, hurry, hurry, the thief is coming in!"

Tang Hyun felt his legs go limp and fell. Han Zhong immediately picked him up and continued to run forward with him. They arrived at a small courtyard that was usually uninhabited, and the courtyard was littered with firewood and grass, grinding and grinding flour. There is a small dry well in the corner of the wall. Han Zhong tied his master down the well with the rope he had prepared in advance, and threw down one of the shoes that the master had just picked up. Tang Hyun said in the well:

"Han Zhong, as soon as the thief retreats, you hurry up and rescue me!"

"Don't worry, sir. I heard that the thieves were passing through Suizhou and would leave in a day or two. Tonight, I'm here to bring something to eat to my lord. ”

"After the fact, I will reward you heavily! Deal with the thieves! ”

The knock on the door was more urgent. Han Zhong hurriedly ran to the front yard. When all the servants saw him coming, they said,

"It's good that you're here, open the door quickly, if you don't open it any longer, you will cause a big disaster."

Han Zhong, who was usually experienced and composed, was also very scared, so he had to open the door hard.

Yuan Shizhong only took ten personal soldiers, strode into the gate of the Tang Mansion, passed through the Yi Gate, and walked towards the main hall of the second courtyard. Some of the male servants of the Tang Mansion bowed down and stood on both sides of the road, not daring to make a sound, and some hiding. Han Zhong greeted him at the gate and followed in a low voice. He saw that the leader of the "thief army" was handsome and magnificent, obviously not an idle person, but he clearly did not want to kill people, and his heart was strange. Yuan Shizhong entered the main hall, turned back to Han Zhong and asked:

"Where is Master Tang?"

Han Zhong bowed down and replied, "The master of the family fled to the countryside three days ago, far away from the city. The two young masters also fled to the countryside with their masters. ”

Yuan asked, "Who else is in the house?" ”

Han Zhong replied respectfully, "Leave the male and female servants to take care of the house." The villain is also a house slave, and his cheap name is Han Zhong. ”

Yuan Shizhong paused and said, "It's a pity! Pity! He sat down to rest, remembered that he had just heard a cry, and asked, "Didn't the stragglers come in from elsewhere to harass them?" ”

"No, sir." Han Zhong felt that the leader's face was indeed kind, and his tone was not malicious, so he was even more surprised in his heart, and took the opportunity to ask, "May I ask the lord's surname?" Have you ever known the same master? ”

Yuan said: "I am from Kaizhou and the commander of the small Yuan camp. I know your master, but he won't remember me. Did he really flee to the countryside? ”

Han Zhong quickly knelt down, kowtowed and said, "The villain is disrespectful, and I sincerely forgive my sins." The general has seen the head of the family in Kaizhou? ”

"It's a long story. I think Master Tang is not out of the city, so there is no need to hide it from me. You quickly find Master Tang, and I want to meet him. Your Tang Mansion, I have sent volunteers to protect the front and back, and it is foolproof. I just have to wait to see your master, and then I will go out of the city. I'm busy today, and I can't stay here for long. Where is Master Tang hiding? Come and see us! ”

Han Zhong smiled and asked, "How can the general be so kind to the Tang Mansion?" Why are you in a hurry to see the head of the house? ”

Yuan Shizhong said: "You don't have to ask more, invite Master Tang to see him quickly, and you will understand." ”

Han Zhong didn't dare to ask again, so he immediately stood up and said with a smile: "Please wait for a while, the general will go and look for it." ”

After a while, Tang Xuan was half shocked and followed Han Zhong to the living room. He had already decided in his heart that since Yuan Shizhong saw him wholeheartedly and respected him quite much, he should be polite when he saw Yuan Shizhong, so as not to lose his identity. Unexpectedly, he just bowed down, but Yuan Shizhong quickly stopped him and pushed him to the first Taishi chair and sat down. Yuan Shizhong knelt down on both knees in front of his feet and kowtowed three times in a row. Tang Xuan was greatly surprised, quickly stood up and shook it, and when he picked it up, he asked in a loud voice:

"General, General, may I ask why? Why is that? ”

Yuan Shizhong said: "Master Tang is the life-saving benefactor of Shizhong. A few years ago, if it wasn't for Master Tang to save Shizhong's life, Shizhong's bones didn't know where to throw them, how could there be today! ”

Tang Xuan couldn't remember when he had saved Shi Zhong, so he had to see Shi Zhong again, let Shi Zhong sit down in the guest seat, and sit down opposite. At this time, a handsome little family member brought tea, and Han Zhong was still standing aside and waiting. Tang Xuan instructed Han Zhong to prepare a banquet quickly to entertain all the soldiers who came with General Yuan, and then asked Shi Zhong:

"Just now the general said that the student had saved the general's life, and the student can't remember it. But what about Kaizhou? ”

Yuan Shizhong said: "That was in the spring of the ninth year of Chongzhen. When Mr. Tang first came to Kaizhou, he took office. In the middle of the time, due to the great disaster in the spring of the famine, he became a thief with the young man in the township, and was caught by the soldiers and escorted into the city. The old man is cracking down on thieves and clearing the township, vigorously and resolutely, and many people caught every day are asked to be beheaded. ……”

Tang Xuan interjected: "At that time, the constitution was very urgent, and the students had no choice but to 'govern the troubled times with heavy codes'. ”

Yuan Shizhong seemed to understand him very well, and did not reproach him for his indiscriminate killing of civilians, and continued: "At that time, a large number of black crows knelt under the lobby of the state yamen, and many people were sentenced to beheading, hanging, standing cage, and some were sentenced to prison, which was light enough. When the old man asked me, he suddenly looked at me a few times, showed compassion, and asked: "Yuan Tiedan, I see that you are very young, and your appearance is not vicious, and you do not look like a habitual thief. I confessed and said, 'Because my mother is widowed and has only one son to feed her.' The famine spring catastrophe was big, the old mother was sick and couldn't afford it, and the small people were helpless, so they followed others to block the road and rob, and the gang robbed a ploughing cow is real, and it did not hurt the cattle owner. Ask the lord to show mercy and suffering, and grace not to kill! Master Meng Tang was unusually gracious, looked at me a few more times, and said, 'Since you are only a first-time offender, and you have never hurt the Lord in gaining wealth, I remember that you have an old mother who is sick and has no one to support you, so you will be lightly distributed.' I'll give you two bunches of money, and you can use it to do a small business to support your mother. You must wash your heart and do not be a thief again, and do not break the law of the king. If you steal and rob people again, you will be caught, and you will be punished for all the crimes, and there will be no way to live! Yuan Tiedan, are you willing to never be a thief again? I replied: 'The villain swears to heaven that he will never be a thief again.' Life and life, forever feel great grace! Master Tang really ordered someone to take two strings of money for me, and he was released on the spot. Do you think, how dare you forget this life-saving grace? ”

Tang Xuan remembered that there seemed to have been such a thing, and looked at Yuan Shizhong's face, pretending to recall it completely, as if he had met an old man he hadn't seen for many years, and asked with a warm smile:

"What, the general is the iron egg of the year?"

Yuan Shizhong smiled and said, "Tie Dan is my nickname. My father died soon after I was born, and my body was sick, and my mother was afraid that I would not be able to raise an adult, so she called me an iron egg to take good luck. The big name is called Shizhong. It's just that I'm a poor child, and the adults in the village call me a nickname, and few people call me Shizhong. ”

"Lingtang can be in the army now?"

"Xianci had already died of hunger and cold. Xianci came to life, and there was no other concern in the time, so he gathered the young people in the township and started an incident in the mountains. However, when I got into trouble, Master Tang had already stepped down and left. ”

"Didn't use your old name again?"

Yuan Shizhong said with a smile: "When Master Tang released me, I swore to heaven that I would never be a thief again, so this time it was a righteous rebellion, and five or six hundred people were entangled at the beginning, and everyone pushed me as the leader, using my big name Yuan Shizhong." In just three months, there were four or five thousand men; After another year, there were 20,000 or 30,000 people, who crossed the Yellow River, and the wind was shaken. I also hit the area of Wuyang and Mengcheng, and there were more people and horses, and my little Yuan camp became famous far and wide. ”

Tang Xuan twisted his beard lightly, looked at Yuan Shizhong's handsome and cheerful face, and could no longer recall what the cattle thief Yuan Tiedan looked like back then, but he said to Shizhong:

"To be honest, I saw that although the general's appearance was yellow and thin, with smoke and dirt, he was no different from the ordinary hungry people and thieves, however, the general's facial features were upright, the heavens were full, his eyes were bright, and there was a handsome air hidden between his eyebrows. Students usually boast that they still have the ability to discern people's eyes, and now the results are tested, tested! He smirked, and smiled very naturally.

Yuan Shizhong bowed and said: "If it weren't for Master Tang's rescue, there would be no interruption today." ”

"The same cannot be said. This is providence. Providence made the student to be the governor of Kaizhou that day, and let the general go in the Red Sheep Robbery. If there is no providence in the dark, I will not see the general again today. ”

They talked very speculatively, as if they were reunited. Later, when the wine and dinner were ready, Tang Xuan invited Yuan Shizhong to the study to drink, and the soldiers were invited to drink in the opposite hall inside the gate, and the brothers who guarded the door before and after each sat in the door. Liu Yuqi came back from Cao Shuai and was immediately invited into the study. Shi Zhong first introduced him to Tang Xuan, and after he sat down, he asked him:

"Have you seen Cao Shuai?"

Liu Yuqi bowed and said, "I saw Cao Shuai in the state government." Cao Shuai knew that our Xiao Yuan Battalion had not committed any crimes in the autumn after occupying the area around the North Gate, and he was very satisfied. Cao Shuai also said that he would ask the general to go and meet him, and discuss with the general in person. ”

Shi Zhong asked: "Did Cao Shuai's order arrow be taken?" ”

"I've already taken it and handed it over to the little boss guarding the gate of the Tang Mansion."

Yuan Shizhong said to Tang Xuan: "Most of the people in the city are Cao Ying, and our camp only occupies the area around the north gate. This street in the house is also under the control of Cao Ying. I specially asked Cao Shuai for an arrow to keep the house safe. ”

Tang Xuan first bowed deeply to Yuan Shizhong, and then bowed to Liu Yuqi, saying that he "is so favored, and I really feel endless." Then he asked: "May I ask you, the students are mostly innocent and good people, fair and gentlemen, how can we save their lives?" Since Cao Shuai ordered the arrow to protect the house, can the neighbors on the left and right come to the house for refuge? ”

Yuan Shizhong nodded and said, "It's okay, it's okay." ”

Tang Xuan immediately ordered the house slaves to secretly notify the nearby eunuchs and gentry, rich families, to take refuge in his mansion as soon as possible. Later, when the ordinary civilian homes heard the news, they also fled. Han Zhong followed his instructions and took out four hundred taels of silver, which he caught and put down on the table in front of Yuan Shizhong with both hands. He said to Yuan Shizhong in a cordial and respectful tone:

"This is a mere four hundred taels of silver, and I would like to ask the general to reward the brothers of your army who have come with us to our house. There are also two thin gifts, dedicated to the general and the military division, because they were not ready for a while, they will be sent to the willow camp later. ”

Yuan Shizhong glanced at Liu Yuqi, smiled at Tang Xuan and said, "Okay, accept these four hundred taels of silver, and reward the brothers in your mansion." As for other gifts, don't prepare them. No matter what expensive gifts Master Tang gives, I will never accept them. ”

Liu Yuqi also said: "Yes, yes, there is no reason for this." We, General Yuan, are here to repay our kindness, how can we receive a generous reward! ”

Tang Xuan said: "I'll talk about this later." Please take a seat over there and drink a few glasses of water and wine to relieve the two pommel horses. ”

The food and wine had already been set up on another table of eight immortals, and the three of them immediately walked to take their seats. In accordance with Tang Xuan's secret instructions to Han Zhong, the banquet was served by two sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls who were selected from the Tang Mansion to be more beautiful. When Yuan Shizhong was drinking, he often couldn't help but peek at the two girls. Tang Xuan said with a smile:

Although the two girls are not good-looking, they have learned to play and sing since childhood. The singing voice is like a turn, and it is still a wine. How about ordering them to play and sing a song for the general? ”

Yuan Shizhong hesitated, looked at Liu Yuqi, and thought that Cao Cao was waiting for him to discuss major matters, and it was not appropriate to delay, so he said:

"When I was on official business, I didn't dare to sit here for a long time, and I didn't need them to play and sing."

Tang Xuan nodded, and said, "Okay, in the afternoon, how about I order the servants to send them to the tiger tent in a two-passenger sedan chair?" ”

Yuan Shizhong immediately said: "Don't, don't." I don't need them there, please don't send them. ”

Tang Xuan was slightly surprised by Yuan Shizhong's refusal to accept the gift of a beautiful woman, and asked with a smile: "Could it be that they can't do what the general wants?" There is no shortage of beautiful women in the big families in the city. How about I look for another beauty for the general? ”

Liu Yuchi didn't wait for the time to speak, and hurriedly replied: "Since Master Tang is willing to give General Yuan a gift with Meiji, how can he not be unreasonable?" Okay, please ask Master Tang to tell them to pack up and dress up, and they don't have to be sent to Yuan Ying, I will personally come to pick them up for the general in the afternoon. ”

Yuan Shizhong was taken aback, and was about to speak, when he saw Liu Yuchi winking at him. He didn't know what to say, and he was at a loss for a while. Liu Yuqi urged him to say:

"General, Cao Shuai has to go there quickly, let's leave here."

Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuqi got up at the same time to say goodbye. Tang Xuan didn't dare to force them to stay, and sent them out of the gate respectfully. The female relatives in the inner house wept again because they knew that Yuan Shizhong had left. Tang Xuan entered the second gate, and when he heard the crying, he couldn't help but feel sad in his heart, rolling down tears, regretting that he shouldn't have forced his daughter and concubine to commit suicide too early. He was afraid that his wife would pounce on him and cry for his daughter, so he didn't dare to go to the inner house, so he sat down in the study, bowed his head and wept, thinking about how to write his concubine and daughter into the "Suizhou Chronicles" that was about to be completed, so that they would "live for a hundred years", so that future generations would admire his Tang family's filial piety and family style and a double martyr.

Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuqi left forty brothers to guard the Tang Mansion, and then led a large group of personal soldiers to gallop to the state government. On the way, Yuan Shizhong asked Liu Yuqi to walk slowly with him, and asked in a low voice:

"Why did you promise to give off those two handsome girls on my behalf?"

Liu Yuqi deliberately asked: "Why not?" ”

Yuan Shizhong said with a distressed smile: "Mrs. has a lot of character, and she is newly married, how can she hide such a thing from her?" Wouldn't she be angry when she found out? Aunt Jin is a vinegar jar, and she is still unwilling to be willing to the new lady, how can she tolerate two more? Besides, King Chuang himself is not greedy, and the military order is purging ......"

Liu Yuqi didn't wait for the middle of the time to finish speaking, laughed, and said: "The jade ruler has its own ingenious arrangement, please don't worry about it." ”

Yuan Shizhong was afraid that Huimei would make a fuss about him and report to King Chuang and Mrs. Gao, and was about to criticize the military advisor for being inconsiderate; Suddenly, Cao Cao sent his own soldiers to meet him, urging him and Liu Yuqi to go to the state government to discuss matters, so he stopped talking. But he secretly complained in his stomach:

"Jade ruler, you will definitely cause trouble for me!"

When Yuan Shizhong saw Cao Cao, he thought that Cao Cao was going to discuss the military affairs with him, but he only told him that he had received a message from King Chuang, and Cao Ying and Xiao Yuan Ying would only stay in Suizhou today and tomorrow, and they would rush to Shangqiu City on March 25 to join King Chuang's army and besiege Fucheng. In addition, Cao Cao told him that today Cao Ying sent several detachments of men and horses to collect grain, mules, horses, and property in the city of Suizhou and in the four townships, and that tomorrow afternoon he would distribute 30,000 horses to Xiao Yuanying's military rations for January, and asked him to send a competent man to discuss with the Cao Ying general how to distribute the military rations. Cao Cao and Ji Jue did not treat him with special respect and did not leave him for lunch. Lieutenant General Yuan Shizhong Liu Yuqi stayed behind and left the city by himself. He was disappointed and sulked. He thought that he was the master of a battalion, unique between Henan and Anhui, and was never controlled by anyone, but after he voted for King Chuang, he was treated as an ordinary general. He began to regret his decision to defect in his haste that day.

After lunch, he slept in Kim's tent. Because he was in an unhappy mood and suspected that Luo Rucai's indifference to him was due to King Chuang's instructions, he began to be dissatisfied with King Chuang, so he was not interested in going to Huimei's residence after returning to the old camp. When I woke up in the afternoon, it was already the beginning of Shen. When he heard that Liu Yuqi had returned, he returned to the hall of a landlord's house where he lived. I saw that Liu Yuqi, Zhu Chengju, Liu Jingyi and several cronies and generals were waiting for him, and Han Zhong of the Tang Mansion was waiting in the patio with two loads of gifts.

After Yuan Shizhong sat down, he first punished Han Zhong for coming to give gifts. Han Zhong went in, knelt down in front of him and kowtowed, saying:

"The head of the family is protected by the general, the house is safe, and many neighbors have been preserved. The special villain came, paid tribute to Feiyi, talked about the heart, and pleaded with the general. After speaking, Han Zhong took out the red paper gift list from his arms, presented it with both hands, and then stood up, bowed to the side, and prepared Yuan Shizhong to ask when he looked at the gift list.

Yuan Shizhong saw that the gift list listed three thousand taels of silver, two hundred taels of gold, silk and satin, and a lot of jewelry, so he immediately handed over the gift list to his own soldiers, and said with a smile to Han Zhong:

"You go back to Master Tang, originally I repaid Master Tang for saving his life in Kaizhou and sent troops to protect the Tang Mansion, which is right. I really dare not accept such a generous gift. However, if they are all returned, it is unreasonable. Helplessly, I'll take half of it. ”

Han Zhong hurriedly said: "General Implore must accept all of them, and the villain dares to go back to restore his life." In the general's camp, there are naturally a lot of gold, silver, jewelry, silk and satin, etc., which are mere and respectful, and are not in the eyes of the general. However, if the general refuses to accept it all, the head of the family will blame the villain for not being able to do things, and the villain will not be able to bear the guilt. ”

Yuan Shizhong felt a little embarrassed and looked left and right. Liu Yuqi, Zhu Chengju and Liu Jingyi all said that since the gifts were sent out of sincerity, it was advisable to accept them all. Yuan Shizhong had no choice but to agree to accept them all, and ordered his own soldiers to reward Han Zhong and the two servants who came with him, and they were still escorted back to the city by the ten soldiers of the small Yuan battalion who escorted them. After Han Zhong left, Shi Zhong said to everyone:

"Master Tang has lost his official position for several years, and it is not easy to take out this generous gift today, so I refuse to accept it all."

Liu Yuqi smiled and said, "The general is mistaken. In my opinion, most of Tang Zhizhou's generous gift is not from him. ”

"Why isn't it on him?"

"In the afternoon, in order to deal with those two beauties, I went to the Tang Mansion again. At that time, the Tang Mansion was full of people who had taken refuge, mostly rich families, large families, eunuchs, and gentry, and the baggage brought into the Tang Mansion was piled up everywhere. Tang Xuan's generous gift is set on these people, and the general thinks that there are too many of them, but I still think that they are too little. When he finished speaking, he laughed.

Zhu Chengju nodded and said: "What the jade ruler has seen is very much, the wool can only come out of the sheep. The general is loyal to others, so he never thought of this layer. ”

Yuan Shizhong also smiled and said: "I was born after the crops, and I only experienced the world after the uprising, how can there be many holes in the hearts of people like Zhizhou!" Jade ruler, those two handsome girls who can play and sing, where did you go? ”

Liu Yuqi said: "The general doesn't want it, naturally there are people who like it." ”

"You sent it to Cao Shuai?"

"Yes, this is really called borrowing flowers to offer Buddha."

"What did Cao Shuai say?"

Liu Yuqi twisted his short yellow beard, laughed proudly, and said: "I sent the two girls to Cao Shuai and told him: Our General Yuan met these two girls, and he didn't dare to touch ......."

Shi Zhong asked, "What did you say?" ”

Jade ruler: "I said that the general didn't even dare to touch it with his fingers, and ordered the jade ruler to send wine for Cao Shuai, and talk about a little filial piety." Cao Cao looked the two girls up and down, was satisfied, and said to me, 'It's okay, it's okay. Stay. I said to Shizhong that I appreciated it. Then he asked them to play and sing a song, and became more and more satisfied, and nodded frequently. ”

Zhu Chengju whispered: "Sure enough, he is a wine-colored man with no ambitions!" ”

Liu Jingyi has never liked to say much, so he couldn't help but shake his head and said: "I think, Cao Cao looks like a drunken man, and An Zhi is not Taoguang among the heroes, so he has no other plans?" If he is really a mediocre person, why is the soldier in his heart, and the soldiers and horses are strong, second only to King Chuang? ”

Zhu Chengju said: "Jingyi's words are very reasonable. Of course, Cao Shuai must have something extraordinary, and he must not be taken lightly. He and Li Shuai were reluctantly combined, sharing different dreams in the same bed. Although he regarded Li Shuai as the leader of the alliance, he was not Li Shuai's subordinates, and he was almost on an equal footing. We must deal well between the two heroes, not to offend Cao Shuai, but also to make Li Shuai trust more. ”

Liu Jingyi said coldly: "No one will trust us. Although the two battalions of them look like each other, they are all old Shaanxi, and they all have relatives from the countryside, and they all regard our little Yuan Ying as outsiders, which is very clear! ”

Yuan Shizhong sighed and said, "The current situation of our little Yuan Ying is very different from what we originally thought! ”

Liu Yuqi glanced at Yuan Shizhong's personal soldier leader Yuan Dahong and the two personal soldiers. They immediately withdrew, and waved their hands to make the soldiers standing outside the door stand back a few feet away. Two people were about to report to Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuqi, but Yuan Shizhong's personal soldiers greeted him and asked in a whisper, knowing that the matter was not very important, so they blocked back.

The room was completely in a whisper, and although Yuan Dahong, the leader of the pro-soldiers standing in the courtyard, wanted to know what confidential matters were being discussed in the house out of curiosity, he couldn't hear it clearly, and only guessed that he was talking about various things since he returned to King Li Chuang. He also understood that in recent days, many soldiers have often discussed in private, some people say that they should defect to the king, and some people say that they should not defect to the king. Some people say that our leader has been a mother-in-law for a few years, but now he has become a daughter-in-law; There is a strict mother-in-law on the top, and an aunt with a shelf. Yuan Dahong also heard some people complaining: It was not the adopted daughter of King Li Chuang who married into the Xiao Yuan camp, but our leader who married into the camp, and even the entire Xiao Yuan camp was married. What to do in the future, Yuan Dahong often thinks about this question. Although he was Yuan Shizhong's close nephew and the leader of his own army, he was not allowed to inquire about such a major issue, let alone discuss it with others.

After a long time, the people who participated in the secret discussion began to come out of the house, and everyone went to do their own business, only Liu Yuqi and Liu Jingyi were temporarily left by Yuan Shizhong. Shi Zhong asked Liu Jingyi:

"Jingyi, this gift from Tang Zhizhou, how do you think you can collect the debt?"

Liu Jingyi suddenly remembered and said: "As soon as I discuss major matters, I forget about collecting accounts." Generals, silver, gold, and large quantities of silk are collected in the public account as usual, and the gold, silver, and jewelry have always been handed over to Aunt Sun and Aunt Jin, but I do not collect them. Now that the general has a wife, please ask the general to tell how to dispose of this gold, silver, jewelry, and jewelry. ”

Yuan Shizhong was afraid of causing Aunt Jin and Huimei to fight, so he groaned and said: "Aunt Sun has always given way when encountering problems, but Aunt Jin is used to dominating and has to be considered. Give it to the wife, and she will find the two aunts and wives, and the three of them will discuss it together. ”

Liu Jingyi hesitated and said, "Aren't you afraid?" Although Mrs. is a newcomer, her name is correct, and she is the adopted daughter of King Chuang, and she is a female general in the healthy women's camp, how can she take Aunt Jin's wife in her eyes? She wouldn't have consulted with the two wives. ”

Yuan Shizhong was used to spoiling the Jin family, and he also found it difficult to do, and said: "This, this ......"

Liu Yuqi suddenly raised his head and smiled.

Liu Jingyi asked, "What is the proper way for the military advisor?" ”

Liu Yuqi said: "In my opinion, you don't even want to enter the two hundred silk horses into the account." And he brought the gold, silver, jewelry, and silk and satin, with four hundred taels of silver and fifty taels of gold, to his wife, and asked her to dispose of them. Whoever she gives to, how much, or to whom she gives, listen to her respect. The general already has a lady today, so why bother with this little thing? ”

Shi Zhong asked: "If she deliberately didn't give it to Aunt Jin, wouldn't it make my ears unclear?" ”

Yu Qi said: "Mrs. Gao grew up with Mrs. Gao and has seen the world, I don't think she will keep all this thing in her hands." If she stays all, then it's nothing, you can give the two aunts some gold, silver, jewelry, and silk and silk. ”

Yuan Shizhong said: "She has only been here for a short time, which will make her accustomed to a temper that dominates the world." ”

"The general is bad. The day after tomorrow, we will go to Shangqiu City to meet with the old mansion. King Chuang and Mrs. Gao must be concerned about all the circumstances after his wife's marriage, why should the general be concerned about trivial matters at this time, so that his wife will not say more good things? ”

Yuan Shizhong smiled and said, "Yes, yes." Reasonable! ”

All the gifts sent by Tang Xuan, Liu Jingyi will not be recorded in the account for the time being. After a while, Yuan Dahong led his own soldiers to carry 200 horses of silk and satin, gold, silver, jewelry, and gold and silver, and a gift list rewritten by Liu Jingyi, and went to the house where Huimei lived.

When the things were delivered, Huimei was galloping outside the village and shooting arrows. She often had some unspeakable distress and had to ride horses, shoot arrows, or dance with swords. She got the report and hurried back, and saw Yuan Dahong and two personal soldiers sitting outside the upper room where she lived waiting, Shao Shixin and Aunt Lu were gossiping with them. Seeing Huimei come back with a group of female soldiers, everyone stood up. Although according to the clan relationship, Yuan Dahong should call Huimei his aunt, but because Shizhong is the master of a battalion, and Huimei is very majestic, he respectfully called out according to the common rules of civil and military officials:

"Ma'am!"

Huimei smiled slightly and asked softly, "What's the matter?" ”

Yuan Dahong hurriedly explained his intention and presented the gift list with both hands. When Huimei broke into the camp, when she encountered such a thing, Mrs. Gao handled it personally or Huiying handled it on behalf of Mrs. Gao, and she didn't pay attention to it, so she had no idea at first glance, and said:

"Let's go outside and wait."

Yuan Dahong replied, "Yes!" The same two pro-soldiers were withdrawing, and Shao Shixin, who was careful, suddenly said:

"Da Hong, you stay for a while, let me order things according to the list, so as not to make mistakes."

Huimei didn't bother anymore and went into the room to rest. Shi Xin and Aunt Lu counted the items one by one, and then let Da Hong go out and wait. He came in and smiled at Huimei and asked:

"Girl, what are you going to do?"

Huimei said: "Brother Shi Xin, I have experience in fighting, but I am a layman in this kind of thing. You told Aunt Lu, how should I be punished? ”

Second Aunt Lu said with a smile: "Aunt Yuan asked the girl to dispose of so many gifts, which is a special respect for the girl. The girl naturally wanted to keep a part, and asked the aunt to share the rest with the two aunts. The girl is a wife, and there are many female soldiers around her, so she naturally wants to keep more. ”

Huimei turned to Shao Shixin and waited for him to help with his idea.

Shao Shixin thought for a moment and said, "In my opinion, it is better to keep less things." There are four horses of silk and satin, four bags of good jewelry, and no gold and silver. ”

Aunt Lu asked: "There are more than 400 male and female soldiers around the girl, if the men don't say it, shouldn't the women be rewarded?" Ordinary female soldiers don't say, shouldn't those female soldier leaders and girls who are always by their side be rewarded? ”

Shao Shixin said with a smile: "I think, our Huimei girl is newly married to Xiao Yuanying, and the more generous she is, the better, because she is the adopted daughter of King Chuang and Mrs. Gao." As for our many female soldiers, there are other ways to reward them. In fact, not only the girls who marry should be rewarded, but also the male soldiers should not be treated badly. After lunch today, because I knew that Cao Shuai's old camp had moved to the city, I went to the city to do business on the girl's order, and went to ask Mrs. Cao Shuai and the second lady to say goodbye, and listened to Cao Shuai's old camp manager say that Cao Shuai had already ordered him to come down and send some things to the girl tomorrow. I have reported this to the girl when I have returned from the city just now. Cao Shuai is generous, will there be less things sent by Cao Ying? ”

Huimei said happily: "Brother Shi Xin said it well, just do it according to your idea." Second Aunt Lu, you should leave the four pieces of silk and four bags of jewelry that should be left, and give the rest to Dahong to take back. ”

Shao Shixin said: "Girl, you still have to send someone to go with Dahong and make your words clear to your uncle, lest your uncle see that you only leave a few things and refuse to dispose of the gifts, which will make his second monk confused." ”

Huimei said, "Then please go for a trip." ”

Shao Shixin said with a smile: "Between the girl and the aunt and the wife, it is appropriate for Aunt Lu to pass the word." ”

Huimei nodded again and again and said, "Okay, good." Second Aunt Lu went to pass the word. Aunt Lu wants to bring two female soldiers by her side......"

Second Aunt Lu smiled: "Don't worry. I'm a big old woman, I'm not afraid that someone will tease me, do I need female soldiers to escort me? ”

Huimei said: "I'm not afraid that someone in Xiao Yuanying will eat leopard gall and dare to tease you Second Aunt Lu." I want to have two female soldiers by your side, so that those people under our Yuan Jiangye who don't know the height of the sky know that your second aunt Lu is my female manager, and they don't dare to look down on you. ”

Shao Shixin said: "Yuan Dahong and the two brothers who came with him want to reward Fengzi, please ask Second Aunt Lu to seal it quickly." ”

Huimei asked, "I'm their wife, and I'll give you the reward?" ”

Shi Xin said with a smile: "It stands to reason that they are my uncle's personal soldiers, that is, the girl's personal soldiers, and they should not be rewarded to Fengzi when they come to give gifts." But after the girl got married, she still seems to be a guest. The people of Xiao Yuan's camp also joked behind their backs, saying that the more than 400 people we came with the girl were Xiao Chuang camp in Xiao Yuan's camp. Therefore, the girl should be more kind to the people around her uncle, and slowly make them happy and convinced, and talk less gossip. ”

Huimei suddenly understood that it must be Shao Shixin who heard a lot of gossip and refused to tell her to know. Her heart sank, and she instructed Aunt Lu:

"Give Dahong a two-tael seal, and the rest of each one or two."

When Aunt Lu sealed the reward with red paper, Shao Shixin made a list of the gifts left on red paper, handed them to Aunt Lu to bring to Yuan Shizhong, and then sent someone to call Yuan Dahong in.

Huimei said to Yuan Dahong: "You go back to our general, I will leave four bags of jewelry and four pieces of silk, and please dispose of the rest by yourself." ”

Yuan Dahong hurriedly said: "Madam, you only leave a few things like this, and you refuse to take charge of the rest of the things, I can't reply to our general." He would have rebuked me for saying the wrong thing, which upset my wife. ”

Huimei smiled and said, "You don't have to be afraid of being blamed, I asked Second Aunt Lu to go with you, and she will pass the word for me." ”

Aunt Lu then gave three rewards to Da Hong, but Da Hong refused to ask for it, saying that there was no such reason. After Shao Shixin's half-persuasion and half-reluctance, he accepted it. After Aunt Lu took two female soldiers to follow Yuan Dahong and others, Shao Shixin also left to calculate and distribute the forage for mules and horses at each post. Huimei returned to the inner room, sighed softly, felt sad for a while, and her eyes turned red. She secretly thought: If King Chuang promised her to marry Zhang Nai, the husband and wife would be united everywhere to ensure that King Chuang would fight the country, how good it would be!

However, it was said that Aunt Lu took two female soldiers with Yuan Dahong to the outside of Yuan Shizhong's upper room, and it happened that Yuan Shizhong was talking to the guests, so it was difficult to go in, so she stood outside the door and waited. Sitting in the guest seat was a man in his forties, dressed in a shabby blue silk robe, and looking sven. There was a young man dressed as a long-term worker squatting on the ground next to the door. Yuan Shizhong first saw Yuan Dahong come back with two personal soldiers carrying things, and he was puzzled in his heart, and immediately stopped talking with the guests, called Dahong in front of him with his eyes, and asked:

"How did you bring things back?"

Da Hong said: "My wife only left four pieces of silk and four bags of jewelry, which is a list. She ordered Second Aunt Lu to come and talk back, and now she is standing outside the door. ”

Shi Zhong then glanced at the list and said, "Please invite Second Aunt Lu to come in." ”

After Aunt Lu came in, she first said the words of greeting, and then said: "Mrs. ordered me to go back and forth to the general, she has only been in Xiaoyuan's camp for a short time, she is not familiar with many things, and she has no experience in breaking into the camp, so she does not dare to make false claims, so please deal with these things yourself." ”

Shi Zhong asked: "How did she stay so little?" ”

Aunt Lu smiled and said: "I really don't hide it from the general, when my wife got married from the camp, there were a lot of soft and soft jewelry for the dowry and the box, and even the things for the male and female soldiers were also rewarded." Mrs. thought that in addition to Aunt Sun and Mrs. Jin in Xiao Yuan's camp, there were many wives of other generals, and everyone should be allowed to share something. So she only left four bags of jewelry and four pieces of silk, and refused to keep one more, not a tael of gold and silver, please dispose of it personally. ”

Yuan Shizhong was no longer too concerned, and said: "Mrs. really grew up next to Mrs. Gao, she is very reasonable and open-minded!" ”

Second Aunt Lu blessed Yuan Shizhong with a blessing and quickly withdrew. As soon as he came out of the house, he suddenly heard the young man who was squatting on the ground stand up and say:

"Master Yuan, don't believe his nonsense. He doesn't have the surname Chen, and he doesn't sell books. His surname is Tian, and he is a wealthy man in Tianjiazhuang, with a herd of mules and horses and a pile of gold and silver treasures. As soon as you do it, he will tell the truth. ”

The air in the room changed suddenly, and there was silence for a moment. The middle-aged man in the blue silk robe turned pale, and Zhang Huang was at a loss, and quickly stood up, his legs trembling. Yuan Shizhong first looked at the young man, and then asked the frightened guest:

"You just told me that your surname is Chen, and you sell books, as well as pen, ink, paper, and inkstones, and he is a guy you hired to pick out books and the four treasures of the study room for you, but it turns out that it is not true?"

The middle-aged man bowed his head and was silent, trembling more and more.

The young man said hatefully: "He read the books of the sages in vain, he is still a talented man, and his ancestors are also eunuchs, and he relies on his family's wealth and power in the countryside to oppress the common people." Hang him up and smitten him severely, and he will offer his treasures of gold and silver. ”

Yuan Shizhong heard that this middle-aged man was originally a Xiucai of the Huangmen, and looked him up and down again, and saw that this person was indeed a rich man, and asked with a smile:

"Is he telling the truth?"

The middle-aged man was speechless, and was about to kneel down and beg for mercy, but he heard Yuan Shizhong say repeatedly: "Sit!" Sit! He looked at Shizhong in confusion and sat down again.

Yuan Shizhong asked the young man, "How do you know the details of his family?" ”

The young man replied, "I have been a slave to his house for a long time, so I know the details." Please don't spare him, General! ”

Yuan Shizhong's face changed, and he scolded: "Bastard! Damn it! I have slaughtered you, you unrighteous man! ”

The young man was puzzled for a moment, hurriedly knelt down, and argued: "Master General, what the villain said is all the truth. If there is a sentence that is not true, I am willing to suffer a thousand cuts! ”

Yuan Shizhong looked at the young man angrily and said hatefully, "Do you want me to kill your master?" Though I am a thief, I will not let you go! …… Come on, tie me up, push it out and cut it off! ”

Immediately two of their own soldiers went in and tied up the young servant. The servant shouted:

"I died unjustly! What a wrongful death! ”

Yuan Shizhong urged his soldiers to be cut quickly, and said to this servant: "You have harmed the master with your servant, and you are not wronged!" ”

The young man was pushed out of the house, struggled to turn his head, and said hatefully, "I died unjustly, indeed." It turns out that you have thrown yourself into the king's banner in vain, and you are not a person who does the right thing for heaven! ”

Yuan Shizhong said to his soldiers: "He dares to scold Lao Tzu, cut a few more knives!" ”

The young man was pushed into the courtyard and yelled. The soldiers slashed him several times before he fell to the ground, rolling in pain and scolding. Another soldier stepped on his body and slashed twice on the ground, cutting off his head. There was a bloody stain in the courtyard, which frightened Aunt Lu and the two female soldiers and couldn't bear to look at them more.

Yuan Shizhong asked the middle-aged man, "I have already punished the unrighteous slave for Mr., what else do you have to say?" ”

The middle-aged man stood up and said, "Please give the general a mat and wrap the body of this unrighteous slave of mine and bury it outside the village." ”

Shi Zhong nodded and said, "You are really an elder, kind-hearted!" He instructed his soldiers to roll up the corpse with a mat and carry it to the outside of the village to bury it, and asked the middle-aged man, "Where are you going now?" ”

The middle-aged man replied, "I really want to flee to Bozhou, but I am afraid that I will be caught by the patrols of the general's men again." ”

"It's not early now, how can you go?"

"I heard that five or six miles to the south there will be no of your men and horses. After walking more than ten miles, I have a place to stay, and there will be no more accidents. ”

"In that case, I will send some of my brothers to send you five miles away."

The middle-aged man took a deep look and said, "Thanks to the general's love, I was able to live without dying and send someone to escort me, I am really grateful." The villain's name is Tian Huiyou, and the cursive characters are written in words. As long as he escapes safely, he will repay the general one day. Farewell to the general now. ”

Yuan Shizhong did not leave him behind, and instructed Yuan Dahong to send four brothers to see off the guests. He also sent the guests out of the hall and said goodbye.

When Aunt Lu came out to see off the guests, she quickly pulled the two female soldiers to dodge, and then returned to Huimei and told her about it from beginning to end. As she spoke, the two female soldiers kept interjecting and adding. They were very upset about the matter, and they were very sympathetic to the servant who had been slain, so they wept with emotion when they told it, and sometimes gritted their teeth, saying that they should not have killed in vain and let the bad people go.

At this time, Hui Jian and other seven or eight female soldier leaders of all sizes had just received the drill and came to Hui Mei's house to play. When he heard this, he was furious, and openly complained in front of Huimei that Aunt Yuan was unreasonable, and said that there had never been such a thing in the camp. Huimei's eyes were filled with tears of excitement, and she bit her lower lip for a long time, biting out white marks, but she didn't make a sound. After the girls quarreled for a while, she ordered someone to call Wang Da Niu, the leader of the male soldiers, and asked Aunt Lu to tell Da Niu about this matter from the beginning, and then she instructed Da Niu:

"You yourself led twenty horsemen and pursued them. When he saw them, he said to his uncle's soldiers, "I have been sent to do an urgent business, and I have passed them and continued on my way, stopping and resting seven or eight miles away." When the man came alone, he was killed, and the body was pushed into the ditch, and he hurried back, so that no news could be leaked. ”

Wang Daniu said excitedly: "Yes, I understand." ”

Second Aunt Lu hurriedly stopped the big cow and said to Huimei: "Girl, if you want to calm your anger, don't make a mistake!" ”

Huimei said: "My uncle killed a good person in vain, and I had to kill that unrighteous rich man again, why not?" ”

Aunt Lu ordered someone to invite Shao Shixin, and advised Huimei: "No matter how big the girl is, she can't be as big as her uncle." Even if he has done a great mistake, you can only secretly persuade him when it is convenient, how can you kill the people he protects? Isn't this to make his face ugly in the whole camp? Girl, you can't help it! ”

Huimei asked, "Didn't my uncle kill the wrong person?" ”

Aunt Lu said: "Uncle killed the wrong person, and the reason he said is also crooked." But, girl, as the saying goes, the husband is the wife's heaven. When a woman marries, she must obey her husband and learn to be docile and forbearing, so that the husband and wife can be harmonious. Even if a husband does something wrong and does something wrong, a wife cannot cause him to lose face in front of everyone. What's more, our uncle is the master of a battalion! ”

Shao Shixin already knew what was going on when he arrived. waved his hand to make everyone withdraw, leaving only Aunt Lu in the house, and then said to Huimei:

"Girl, you must not care about this! King Chuang married the girl to Xiao Yuanying, not to make the girl meddle in her affairs......"

Huimei asked: "Is it idle to let go of those who should be killed, and to kill those who should be rewarded?" ”

Shao Shixin said: "What the girl should pay attention to is the major events in the army, and when it comes to major events, what happened just now is also an idle matter." ”

Huimei asked again: "What are the major affairs in the army that I should be in charge of?" ”

Shi Xin said: "Get along with General Yuan in harmony and make him loyally support King Chuang, this is the hardship of King Chuang marrying you to Xiao Yuan's camp, don't you understand?" ”

Huimei sighed, choked back tears sadly, and lowered her head and walked into the room. After a while, Aunt Lu and Shao Shixin knew that she had changed her mind and would not send someone to hunt down the person surnamed Tian, so they glanced at each other and quietly withdrew. When they walked out the door, they heard Huimei whispering to herself in the window:

"I'm going to tell Madame about this!"

CHAPTER XXXV

At noon on March 26, the three groups arrived outside Shangqiu City. According to the order of King Chuang: Laofu Renmatun is in the southwest; Caoyingtun is in the northwest; Xiao Yuan Yingtun is in the west, that is, in the middle of Laofu and Cao Ying. In Li Zicheng's mind, Yuan Shizhong's status after surrender cannot be compared with Cao Cao, but belongs to the ranks of generals, the same as Li Guo, Yuan Zongdi, etc. His men and horses must obey the command of King Chuang at any time, so they must be close to the old mansion and cannot be separated by Cao Ying.

At this time, if you stand at the head of Shangqiu City and look out, you can see that not far outside the city, far away, from west to south, and from west to north, tents are all over the field, forming a huge semicircle. Everywhere the camp is dotted; People and horses come and go like ants, and there are too many to count. Among them, there was a group of men and horses, that is, the siege troops led by Li Guo, who had begun to carry firearms, ladders, shields, pickaxes and other things, divided into several roads, and walked towards the edge of the city.

Huimei also accompanied Yuan Ying's men and horses from Suizhou to the outside of Shangqiu City. As soon as the camp was set up, she sent a personal soldier to ride to the old mansion to see if Mrs. Gao had stayed. Second Aunt Lu said with a smile on the side:

"Girl, you are so anxious to see your wife, your mood is like a fire, even the most filial biological daughter is nothing more than this!"

Huimei also smiled: "Have you forgotten, didn't we already make up our minds when we were in Suizhou, and we would go to see Mrs. as soon as we arrived in Shangqiu?" ”

"How could I forget? Don't say you're in a hurry to see Madame, even us people. ”

At the moment, Huimei freshened up and dressed up, changed into a new dress, and looked particularly handsome. At that time, the young women in the army of the king of Chuang practiced martial arts, rode horses, and advocated frugality, and the girls did not wear bright dresses, jewelry, powder, or long skirts, and Huimei was no exception. But because she is a "bride", returning to the camp today is to "go to relatives", that is, to "go back to her parents' house" for the second time after getting married, so she naturally has to dress up more carefully than ordinary times and ordinary girls. After dressing up with the help of Aunt Lu, the female soldiers around her all looked around, and some of the girls looked stupid. Huimei was embarrassed to look at her, and said with a smile:

"You stupid girls, don't you know me? What do you do with your eyes staring at me? ”

The female soldiers were embarrassed to say it bluntly because she looked so good when she was dressed, but they just giggled and didn't dare to stare at her anymore, but each girl couldn't help but take the opportunity to sneak another glance at her.

Huimei fully understood the thoughts of the female soldiers, and even she couldn't help but pick up the freshly polished bronze mirror to take a look at her face. She instructed the ten female soldiers who went to the old mansion with her to quickly dress up and change into new uniforms, as if they were relatives, so that Mrs. Gao would be happy to see them. But just as he was smiling and commanding, a light mist of distress drifted into his heart. She hoped to meet Zhang Nai in King Chuang's old camp, but she was afraid to meet him. So far, how embarrassed are the four eyes? Even if there are a thousand words in the stomach, unless in a dream, what is there to say in person? If he had seen that I had not been miserable and haggard since I had been married, but more radiant than when I had been a daughter, would he not have mistaken my heart? Don't you hate me secretly? The joy on her face vanished, the brilliance in her eyes diminished, and her bright eyes were suddenly enveloped by a faint layer of tears. Fortunately, none of the female soldiers around them noticed this sudden change. In order to hide her feelings, she deliberately admired her newly acquired sword, but secretly sighed in her heart:

"Marriage is all fate, who is worthy of whom!"

Taking advantage of the temporary nothingness, she ordered someone to call Huijian and Wang Daniu separately and asked about the placement of the soldiers. Later, she thought that it would be okay anyway, so she came out on her own and went to the various tents to see it herself. When she returned to her tent, the soldier who had gone to the old mansion to report had already returned, telling her that Mrs. Gao was waiting to see her. When Huimei heard this, she immediately said:

"Prepare your horses and go at once!"

Aunt Lu asked, "Which horse will you ride today?" ”

Huimei was stunned for a moment and didn't speak for a moment. Second Aunt Lu completely guessed that Huimei refused to ride the licorice yellow given by Yuan Shizhong in order to maintain her unforgettable feelings for Zhang Nai, so she had to quietly persuade:

"Girl, even if I am your old servant, my wife specially sent me to serve you, I am a handful of years, and I have seen a lot of people in the world, some things I say, don't blame me for talking too much."

"Say it, I didn't treat you as an outsider."

"I see that my uncle gave you so many gifts when he was married, and you didn't pay attention to it. But you are a female general, this steed, and with such a good saddle, stirrups, and brins, you should always ride it! But you don't even look at it, how can he get down on face? Anyway, you are already husband and wife, according to me, he is also gentle to you, and listens to you for everything, so you can't ride licorice yellow? ”

Huimei's eyes were a little red, and she shook her head slightly. Aunt Lu said again:

"Of course, you have to make your own decisions about this matter, but I think that since you and your aunt have already married, you will grow old together in the future, so the more harmonious the better, and if you can, don't make awkwardness. I see that Madame and King Chuang also wish for harmony between your husband and wife. When I returned to the old mansion today, Madame inevitably asked if you were in harmony? Just to put Mrs. at ease, you should also ride licorice yellow back to your old mansion today, and it's not too late to change that white horse later. ”

Huimei didn't speak, didn't shake her head, didn't nod, but felt that Aunt Lu's words also made sense. Since marrying Yuan Shizhong, although Yuan Shizhong is the head of a battalion and has 30,000 horses under his command, he has been obedient to her and has not taken out her husband's shelf. Yuan Shizhong is also good-looking, a talent, no worse than Zhang Nai. Besides, he and he have become husband and wife, so why bother to make his heart unhappy for the trivial matter of riding a horse? However, how can Zhang Nai be forgotten once? Could it be that the deep affection between her and Zhang Nai, which cannot be expressed in words, can be cut off with one sword? Is it to ride licorice yellow from today, she feels conflicted in her heart, and she secretly stings. Seeing her hesitating, Second Aunt Lu said again:

"Madame's main concern is for you to live in harmony with Aunt Yuan. If you ride licorice yellow, your lady will be relieved when she sees it; If you go on a white horse, and the lady sees it, she will feel very uncomfortable if she doesn't say anything. ”

Huimei listened to it and felt that what Aunt Lu said was indeed reasonable. She also thought that riding licorice yellow has another advantage, that is, if she meets Zhang Nai, it can also make Zhang Nai forget her early. Anyway, after breaking the Kaifeng, Zhang Nai is going to marry Huiqiong, why let Zhang Nai still think about her in his heart? So she nodded to Aunt Lu and said:

"Okay, I'll ride licorice yellow, but ...... later"

Second Aunt Lu smiled with relief, and then said, "Let's talk about it later." Please ask the girl to say more good things about Aunt Yuan in front of King Chuang and his wife. If you say a few more good words for him, one is that King Chuang and his wife are happy, the second is that the aunt will be grateful for the girl's affection when he hears about it, and the third is also good for the future of the uncle. ”

Huimei smiled: "I've only been married to him for a few days, and I haven't quarreled before." ”

There was no quarrel, but for him to protect Tang Xuan, the next day the girl knew that the surname Tang was a big corrupt official, and she was very unhappy. There was also the rich man surnamed Tian, whose uncle let him go, but killed his slave, which made the girl even more angry. Girl, you marry into Xiao Yuanying, unlike a small civilian family to marry a girl. You are wearing a small Yuan camp to protect the king forever. As long as Aunt Yuan can be loyal to the king and fight the country, the rest are small sections. ”

Huimei sighed and said, "Well, I won't mention these things in front of my wife." He is now my husband, of course I can only hope that he is good, that King Chuang likes him, that his wife likes him, and that everyone likes him. As long as he is loyal to King Chuang, no matter how many unsatisfactory things I have, I can rot in my stomach and never say it to my wife and King Chuang. ”

At this time, the horse had been prepared, and Huimei took Aunt Lu, Huijian and ten female soldiers, as well as many gifts prepared last night, and set off to the generalissimo's old camp. As soon as she left the village, she saw that Hui Ying, Hui Zhu, and three or four girls who had come to greet her at the order of Mrs. Gao had arrived. Everyone got off the horse and saw each other, very affectionate. Huimei pulled Huiying tightly, took a few steps away from everyone, looked at each other, smiled at each other, but didn't know what to say. After a while, Huimei called softly: "Sister Ying! The tears that had barely endured the well-up just now suddenly flowed with this choked call. Huiying has always understood her heart and sympathized with her suffering, but she couldn't help but have a sour nose and shed tears. She whispered:

"Huimei, don't be sad. I'm about to see my wife, and she sees that your eyes are red and crying, can you not feel sad? You don't know how happy your wife and the aunts, sisters-in-law, and sisters in the old camp are to know that you are coming back today! Wipe away your tears and happily follow me to meet Madame! ”

Huimei wiped away her tears and asked, "Everyone hasn't forgotten me yet?" ”

"Stupid words! Who can forget you? Take Madame and say that she is so busy with her affairs, and she mentions you three times a day! ”

Huimei was very moved, sighed and said: "As the saying goes, the water spilled by the daughter who marries out, not to mention that I am still a righteous daughter!" As long as Madame and all of you can always remember me, no matter how bitter my heart is, it will be sweet. ”

Huiying said: "Two or three days ago, Cao Shuai sent someone to report the military situation to King Chuang, and yesterday Aunt Yuan also sent someone to report the matter to King Chuang, saying that Uncle treated you extremely warmly, and your husband and wife were harmonious. The person from Xiao Yuanying also said that the two aunts are very deferential to you, and since the uncle got married, he rarely went back to their tents. Madame was very happy to hear this, and smiled at us and said, 'Thank God, I am relieved!' ’”

Huimei smiled reluctantly, refusing to confide in Huiying.

Huizhu, who was talking to Huijian, jumped over and said, "Sister Mei, get on the horse and go, Madame is waiting for you in the old camp." Guess who's waiting for you? ”

Hui Ying hurriedly glanced at Hui Zhu, and then said, "Sister Hong is also waiting for you." ”

Huizhu quickly corrected and said, "I'm not talking about Sister Xing. Sister Mei, guess who else? ”

Huimei saw Huiying winking at Huizhu again, and she had already guessed eight or nine, and secretly said in her heart: "Oh my God, what does he have to say to me?" But she took Huizhu's hand and said:

"You're still talking so fast, as if you're going to put on a plate. Anyway, I guessed that there were also Sister Hongxia, Huiqiong, and Laneige waiting for me in the old camp. Are they all from the camp for healthy women? ”

Hui Zhu leaned close to Hui Mei's ear and whispered, "I'm talking about Brother Zhang Nai." ”

Huimei couldn't help but blush, her heart skipped a few beats, and she covered up and said, "I can't hear you clearly, don't be sneaky about me!" ”

Hui Ying said to Hui Zhu, and then ordered everyone to get on the horse. After a while, this small group of female soldiers slowly galloped towards the old camp of King Chuang a few miles away. Huimei was silent on the horse, her heart was extremely uneasy, and she didn't know how to meet Zhang Nai......

Hui Mei and Hui Ying walked side by side on the main road. Although she was separated for less than a month, Huimei felt like she had been separated for a long time. She asked Huiying about the situation of many people in the old camp and the camp of healthy women, but she avoided asking about Zhang Nai's situation and his firearms camp. How she hoped that Hui Ying would take the initiative to tell her more about Zhang Nai's recent situation, but Hui Ying was as strict as usual and refused to say a word!

The generalissimo's old camp was already in sight, and they were about to speed up, when suddenly they saw a man in front of them swaying on his horse, as if he were drunk. Huimei was happy for a while, raised the whip, and rushed to the nearest place, only to see that it was Wang Changshun. Wang Changshun didn't notice that someone was following behind, and he was muttering words in his mouth. Huimei thought it was funny, and turned around and gestured to everyone not to greet him and listen to what he said.

Wang Changshun muttered to himself vaguely: "Alas, it's better to fight a big battle." Fight a small battle, attack a city, and hundreds of thousands of horses will follow! Eat wherever you go, like a swarm of locusts. Locusts, locusts, a swarm of locusts! ”

Huimei couldn't help but scream: "Uncle Wang, what are you talking about?" ”

Wang Changshun looked back and laughed: "Oh, it's you, good girl!" Coincidentally, I've met you here. Are you going to the old mansion to see our generalissimo and his wife? Hye-young, are you and Hye-joo here to pick her up? ”

Huimei said happily: "Uncle, I didn't expect to see your old man here!" Are you drinking again? ”

Wang Changshun said with a smile: "You see, I just went out for the sake of forage, and I met other gentlemen who were drinking, and I insisted on pulling me to pour three bowls." I used to have a very shallow amount of wine, and my face was flushed when I poured it, but now I ride on a horse like a cloud. ”

Huiying asked, "Uncle, what do you mean by locusts and locusts just now?" ”

Wang Changshun said: "Oh, you heard this too. Alas, Huiying, there are some things that you don't know, because you don't care about these things. You see, our three battalions are now combined, there are hundreds of thousands of horses, and there is no fixed place here today and there tomorrow. Everywhere they went, they asked for food and forage, and they ate and drank all of the places. The common people are also suffering, and they have to supply the army. It is said that the king of Suichuang does not pay food, but not all the food eaten by the army is from the people! I see the food very clearly, but I can't control it. I'm in charge of this old forage business, what do you want me to do? Not to mention that bran and beans are not easy to get, even grass is difficult to get! Now that there is a war going on, you can't spread the horses out to find grass to eat. Can our war horses be hungry? No way. Therefore, many camps now have to let the horses eat wheat seedlings and pea seedlings. Isn't this a harm to the people? ”

Huimei asked, "Doesn't the generalissimo have a ban on harassing the people and damaging the crops?" ”

Wang Changshun smiled bitterly and said, "Today's things are like the past!" Hmph, a ban is a ban, but now there is not much to control below. Some people only do things for their own convenience, and they don't hide their superiors and subordinates, and they don't hide their officials from their own interests, as long as they hide from the king. Actually, even Uncle Gao knows everything, but what can he do? I had to turn a blind eye. Some people happened to be seen by King Chuang, or killed or beaten, which was considered his bad luck. But there are many people who are not unlucky. People can't make horses hungry, how can they march and fight hungry? ”

When Huiying and Huimei heard this, they exchanged glances, and they all understood in their hearts. Huiying is a caring person on weekdays, and she has also heard the red lady and Mrs. Gao talk privately about the difficult things about the army's food and grass, and now thinking that Wang Changshun just scolded the army for crossing the border like a swarm of locusts everywhere it went, she secretly felt the same way, and couldn't help but say in her heart: "Yes, this is not a long-term solution!" Huimei thought that she had just come all the way, and she did see wheat seedlings in many places being eaten by livestock, and pea seedlings were also eaten by livestock. She was about to speak, Wang Changshun waved his hand and said:

"Alas, I'm all drunk, drunk, don't listen to it. I'm drunk and start talking nonsense. Drunken talk, drunken talk. ”

Huiying said: "Uncle Wang, what you said is very reasonable, you are not drunk. If you don't say these things, I can see a little bit of a problem, but I can't make it as clear as you say. ”

When Wang Changshun heard this, he couldn't help but say: "It's not just the grain and grass that are in trouble. If you think about it, our area is not like western Henan, there are no mountains and forests, and it is very difficult for ordinary people to cook and burn fires. We burned the little firewood that was left by the common people, and we cut down the woods, but it was not enough, so we burned people's furniture, doors and windows, and most importantly, demolished and burned people's houses. said that it was not to disturb the people, and Qiu did not commit any crimes, but in fact, he could not help but commit them. The discipline of our old house has always been strict, but now there are many people, and the stomach is stricter than discipline! Whoever doesn't eat his stomach can't stand it and can do anything! ”

Huiying asked, "Uncle Wang, do you think there is any way to do this?" ”

Wang Changshun said: "What can I do! That's how we play now. Do you think, the city of Shangqiu needs hundreds of thousands of horses to drive? But now it's all open, and it's the same for other places. I just ran to a few places to find forage, and I saw that the doors and windows of other people's houses were torn down and cooked. Alas, I can only say this to you, but don't tell it to outsiders. ”

Huiying nodded and said, "Everyone knows this situation, there is no way. ”

Wang Changshun looked at Huimei and said, "Huimei, you are a girl who has been married, and going back to the old camp today is like going back to your mother's house." When you see us breaking into the prince, like the drunken words I just said, don't talk nonsense to him, lest he be unhappy! ”

Huimei said: "I grew up under your nose, you don't know who I am? I won't say what I should say. But what you just said, I think it makes sense, why don't you tell King Chuang about it? ”

"Oh, you girl, see if you're confused! Now King Chuang is the generalissimo of the whole army, and he tells him big and small, how can he manage so much? And I, a person who used to go to King Chuang at every turn, and say to him, 'King Chuang, I have something I want to talk to you about,' and he immediately pulled me down affectionately and listened to me talk about it. I, a straight man, poured out to him what I saw and heard. Now it's different, King Chuang himself doesn't pay attention to these, we also have to talk about individual system. He is the generalissimo, and the military advisors and generals in front of him are like clouds, and big things have to be discussed and planned by these people. I'm an old groom, and I talk a lot about everything, so what kind of system do I have? As long as I take good care of my horses, and let the soldiers of the old battalion ride on their horses when they fight, and they are all fat and strong, I will be satisfied, and I will be worthy of the errand that King Chuang has given me. It's better not to say anything else. ”

With that, he waved to Huiying and Huimei, and rode off the other way. Huimei and the others continued to walk towards the old mansion.

At this time, the siege had begun, and the sound of artillery shook the sky, mixed with shouts of killing. Huimei couldn't help but stand in Ma Dong and look at the smoke of gunpowder on the edge of the city from a distance, some watchtowers and battlements at the head of the west city were partially destroyed by artillery fire, and faintly you could see people carrying ladders to run to the city wall. She could see it, and thought to herself: "Ahem, such a good battle, but unfortunately I haven't heard that the sisters of the Generalissimo Ordered the Healthy Women's Battalion to attack the city together with the male soldiers!" Then I thought about it, it was the healthy women's camp to attack the city, and she was no longer a member of the healthy women's camp, and she didn't have her share. Thinking so, she sighed slightly.

When Huimei arrived at Madame Gao's residence, everyone who saw her greeted her warmly. She seemed to have been separated from everyone for a long time, laughing and greeting, and at the same time couldn't stop crying. Mrs. Gao took her hand and looked at her all over, wanting to see from her demeanor whether she was happy after marriage. Roughly speaking, Huimei is no different from the past, but Mrs. Gao, who is attentive everywhere, noticed that there were some slight changes between her eyebrows, which seemed to hide some thoughts. All in all, she is no longer the same as before, and she is no longer a carefree girl who only concentrates on training and fighting. sat down and talked for a while, and everyone knew that Mrs. Gao and Huimei had something to say, so they left one after another. Taking advantage of the small number of people around her, Mrs. Gao asked Huimei:

"Are you newlyweds happy these days?"

Huimei's face flushed, she was very embarrassed, and bowed her head silently.

Mrs. Gao said again: "Except for me and Huiying, there are no outsiders here, what is there to say?" When you got married, I didn't feel good in my heart, but I was afraid that if you didn't get along with Xiao Yuanying and his wife, then I would regret it for the rest of my life. You tell me the truth, are you young couples living in harmony? ”

Huimei lowered her head, smiled slightly, and said, "Mom, don't worry, I won't let my mother worry about us too much." ”

"As long as that's it. In fact, how can there be perfection between husband and wife? As the saying goes: When there is still a discord between the teeth and the tongue, let alone between people? Therefore, husband and wife always have to tolerate each other and respect each other as guests. As long as your young husband and wife live in harmony and can always sincerely support King Chuang, I will be relieved. ”

Huimei whispered: "I think he really supports his father, whether in front of me or not, he always says that his father's name is in "The Chronicles", and he is indeed the true master of life, and he must serve his father and shuai." It seems that what he said was sincere, and there was no hypocrisy. ”

Mrs. Gao nodded and said, "That's fine." ”

Huimei said again: "Besides, since my father has married me, I can only grow old with him with all my heart." Mom, rest assured, as long as I live, I will never let him do anything to be sorry for my father. ”

Mrs. Gao said in a reproachful tone, "How can you not speak tabooly? Young girl, what dead and alive, say something unlucky! ”

Huimei smiled: "I don't mean anything else. I want to say that we still have to fight, and we have to work the battlefield anytime and anywhere. ”

Mrs. Gao said: "In the future, our situation will be very different from before, although you are very good at martial arts and have experience in fighting, it seems that there is no need to fight in person anymore." Even in our camp of healthy women, until the last resort, King Chuang will not let them go to the two armies, the white knife goes in, the red knife comes out, and the person is killed on his back. Now I no longer hope that you will be able to fight and serve the king; I only hope that you can always support King Chuang in the middle of the time, lay down the country, and enjoy the wealth together, and this is it. ”

"I'll do what my mom says."

Mrs. Gao smiled again, and suddenly said: "Look, Cao Shuai's military advisor Ji Jue also said some nice things on the surface, when you got married, he also congratulated our generalissimo on getting a fast son-in-law and a general, but behind my back, I heard that he was talking cool things, which made people really angry." ”

Hui Ying smiled on the side: "What did he say?" I haven't heard it yet. ”

"Haven't you heard? He said behind his back: "I don't think Yuan Shizhong is so reliable, and in the future, the generalissimo may lose his wife and lose his army." Mrs. Gao laughed as she spoke, and then scolded: "Look at this old thing Ji Jue, it's really a shame that he can say it!" ”

Huimei felt uncomfortable when she heard this, and she also felt that it was difficult to say what the future would be, but she didn't make a sound. Hui Ying said angrily:

"How could he say that?"

Mrs. Gao said this intentionally to give Huimei a hint. She knew that Ji Jue often corresponded with Yuan Shizhong's military advisor Liu Yuqi in the days when Huimei got married, and Ji Jue was a very attentive person, so maybe she saw something wrong with Liu Yuqi. However, at this time, she didn't want to talk too much in front of Huimei, so she smiled indifferently and said:

"Whoever wants to say whatever he wants, let him be round, and his tongue is soft. As long as our Aunt Yuan is determined to follow King Chuang to fight the world, what others say with him, why bother! ”

When Huimei came, she knew that because the siege had begun, King Chuang went to the edge of the city with Cao Cao, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Ji Jue and others. Huizhu originally said that Zhang Nai was waiting for her at Mrs. Gao's station, but she didn't see it, not even any of Zhang Nai's personal soldiers. She didn't want to ask a word, she just thought that the city was being attacked now, and the artillery fire was very fierce, Zhang Nai must have hurried to the outside of the city to command the firearms battalion. But even though she knew so well in her heart, she still couldn't help but feel secretly melancholy, but on the surface she couldn't reveal the slightest. Mrs. Gao was the most considerate of Huimei's heart, and said with a faint smile:

"The siege of the city started early today, you didn't see your father and ask for peace, and even the two brothers can't wait for you."

Huimei's heart moved, and she understood that Zhang Nai was among the "two brothers" that Mrs. Gao said. She knew that she really wouldn't see Zhang Nai today, but that melancholy disappeared, and her heart was much more relaxed. She replied:

"I know that Double Happiness buddies are busy people, and of course they are busier today."

Mrs. Gao said, "If you can't see it today, you will definitely see it tomorrow." Today, look at the sisters, sisters-in-law, and sisters-in-law. ”

Huimei and Mrs. Gao gossiped for a while, trying to hide her inner pain after the marriage, which made Mrs. Gao feel relieved. Later, she left Mrs. Gao and rode to the camp for healthy women.

When the sisters of the women's camp saw her come back, they were all indescribably happy, and they pulled her to laugh and ask long and short questions. Laneige also ran over, grabbed her tightly, and said:

"Sister Huimei, you have been gone for the past few days, we have been thinking about you every day, and today we can look forward to your return. Will you go back tonight? ”

Huimei was embarrassed to answer. Since Huimei left, Huiqiong went to the women's camp and worked with Hongxia to assist the red lady in taking care of the women's camp. At this time, after listening to Laneige's words, she immediately said to Huimei:

"You must not leave tonight. I see that if you don't go back to Xiao Yuanying overnight, your new aunt won't do anything to you. ”

Huimei punched her: "Look at you girl, you talk nonsense." Okay, I won't go back tonight, and later you will send someone to our Xiaoyuan camp to tell the soldiers and tell them not to wait for me. If he asked, he would say I'm staying here. ”

Huiqiong smiled: "Who is he?" ”

This question caused everyone to giggle. Huimei's face was flushed, and she said anxiously:

"If you make fun of me like that, I won't stay here."

Hongxia hurriedly said, "You must stay and have a good time with everyone." Everyone misses you very much, and I also listen to your new things in Xiao Yuanying these days. We only heard how Aunt Yuan was good, but we didn't know that the rules of Xiao Yuanying were as different as ours here. ”

Before Huimei could speak, a girl asked about something else, everyone, you said, I asked, endlessly. In the blink of an eye, it was time for dinner, and Mrs. Gao sent someone to take her to dinner. After the meal, she said to Mrs. Gao that she wanted to go to Li Gongzi's camp to see the red lady. Mrs. Gao said:

"You don't have to go. I have sent to tell her that you have returned. She'll come here to see you right away. You know, the eldest sister also misses you every day. She often said that since you left the cabinet, she seems to have lost an arm in the camp of healthy women. ”

Sure enough, after a while, the red lady arrived with a personal soldier. When she saw Huimei, she was very affectionate, and pulled her to look here and there, and while looking, she smiled, and said:

"Huimei, you cried so much when you got married, and now I see that you little husband and wife are living in harmony, right?"

Huimei's face turned red again, and she said, "Eldest sister, you also make fun of me!" ”

The red lady giggled for a while, and said, "I see that your eyebrows and the corners of your eyes are sweet, and I am indescribably happy in my heart, so I want to make a few jokes with you." ”

They talked for a while. The red lady heard that Yuan Shizhong married two aunts first, and one surnamed Jin was very favored, Huimei and the new aunt's relationship was not very harmonious, and the old camp hid some of the real situation from Mrs. Gao. Now that she saw that Huimei was tight-lipped, of course she didn't ask a word herself. But she saw Huimei talking several times, and suddenly tears seemed to well-up in her eyes, and she quickly lowered her head or covered the past in the shadows of the lamp, unwilling to let others see it. The red lady also heard Li Yan say that King Chuang once heard Gao Yigong say that Huimei was not very happy in Xiao Yuan's camp and was often angry. But King Chuang focused on the great cause of fighting the country, and said to Yigong: "You sent someone to tell Huimei to listen to me, 'marry and obey the husband', and be docile and considerate to the times, which is the reason." You tell Rucai that there are more than 400 men and women in Huimei's pro-army, and after breaking Suizhou, in addition to distributing food and property to Xiao Yuanying's army, ask him to give Huimei some extra things, so as not to make Huimei feel wronged. She knew that the people who went to Suizhou only spoke to Cao Cao, not Huimei. Now the red lady can only sympathize with Huimei in her heart, hoping that Huimei can think about things a little, and nothing else can really help. After talking for a while, she stood up and said:

"I'm leaving. Tonight you will be staying in the camp for healthy women. Tomorrow morning, I will go with you out of the city to see them break the city. I heard that there will be continuous cannon shooting tonight, and by the fifth watch tomorrow, we will have to climb the city by the ladder. ”

Mrs. Gao said, "I'm going to take a look too." We are all the way over, only Shangqiu is a city, there are many people guarding the city, and yesterday there were new officers and soldiers, it seems that it will take a little effort. ”

Huimei said: "I was thinking about going to the city tomorrow morning to have a look, it must be very lively." It's a pity that our women's battalion can't go to the city together this time, otherwise I will rush into the city with them. ”

The red lady said: "Yes, after you left, you made up for Huiqiong, and the two of them were with Hongxia, and they still practiced with the healthy women every day." But our generalissimo won't let us fight, only let us have a leisurely meal. It's not good to eat. Mrs. Gao and Huimei both laughed.

Soon after the red lady left, Huimei was accompanied by Huiying to see the aunts and sisters-in-law, and then returned to the camp for healthy women. Because military discipline is very strict, everyone goes to bed early. Huimei slept with Huiqiong until they were quiet, and the two of them were still talking quietly. Huimei suddenly remembered something and said to Huiqiong:

"Huiqiong, when I came back last time, I asked you to make a sachet for Brother Zhang Nai, did you do it?"

After Huiqiong heard this, her heart jumped a few times, and she felt that her face was hot, but fortunately, it was night, and others couldn't see it. She whispered:

"I'm not going to do it. He wouldn't want it if I did. ”

"He'll ask for it. You probably know about this, Madame has already said it, so I let you do it. You'd better give it to him before the Duanyang Festival. ”

"I'm not going to do it. If I did it, he would have done it reluctantly. ”

"You have the right to do something for me, okay?"

Huiqiong had no choice but to nod on the pillow. Although Huimei couldn't see it, she felt that she had agreed, so she stopped talking. Each of them could not sleep for a long time with unspeakable thoughts, listening to the rumbling of artillery and the shouts of the siege.

At dawn, the sound of the cannons became thicker, and the shouts of killing became more ferocious. Soon after Huimei and Huiqiong fell asleep, they were woken up by their female soldiers, saying that they were about to break the city. They hurriedly got up, freshened up, and quickly tied, put on their armor for arrows, and walked out of the tent with their whips. Huimei's horse has been brought in. She took the reins and said to Huiqiong:

"Let's go, call Huijian too."

At that moment, Hui Mei, Hui Qiong, and Hui Jian took a group of female soldiers and set off from the station of the healthy women's camp. Huimei felt sorry because Hongxia wanted to stay in the camp to preside over the camp and couldn't go together. Before they got on the horse and parted, she took Hongxia's hand and whispered affectionately:

"Sister Hongxia, if I hadn't been forced to get married, I would still be in the healthy women's camp, living among all the sisters, like in my own home, how good it would be!"

Hongxia knew Huimei's hardships, smiled with tears, and persuaded her: "The girls are big trees, they always have to get married, what is the way?" What's more, you are to help King Chuang achieve great things, and marry to Xiao Yuanying, which is extraordinary. As long as Aunt Yuan loyally supports King Chuang, you will repay King Chuang's great kindness and make great contributions to King Chuang. ”

Huimei nodded lightly and jumped on the horse. Hongxia couldn't help but feel goodbye, stroked the horse's mane, and asked casually:

"Is this licorice yellow riding okay? How about that white horse? ”

Huimei replied: "This is what he gave, you have to ride it if it's good or not!" ”

Hongxia regretted her words and silently watched Huimei ride away until the shadow of a small group of centaurs disappeared in the wilderness.

When Huimei and the others passed by the old camp, Mrs. Gao had already packed up and was surrounded by a group of male and female soldiers, standing on the side of the road waiting for them. It just so happened that Aunt Lu didn't go back last night because Huimei didn't go back last night, and she was afraid that she would have any orders, so she also came from the fifth watch of Xiao Yuanying. She first dismounted to Mrs. Gao to say goodbye, and then told Huimei that there was nothing to do at home, and her uncle led the soldiers to attack the city. Mrs. Gao was overjoyed to see that Aunt Lu was so loyal and diligent to Huimei, and said:

"I was about to send someone to call you, and here you are. You will be with me today and gossip. ”

Second Aunt Lu understood Mrs. Gao's intentions, and hurriedly said, "I also want to go to see the siege city, so I will stay by Madame's side with our girl today." ”

So Mrs. Gao raised her whip, Yuhua Cong walked first, and the male and female entourages in front and behind, Huimei and other cadres lifted the reins and urged the horses, and galloped towards the edge of the city together. Hui Mei was still the same as in the past, and Hui Ying followed closely behind Madame Gao's horse, which made her recall many times of the march, and sometimes she thought to herself in her heart, the situation will be different in the future, Madame will no longer need me to sacrifice my life for her to kill the enemy! On the way, I saw one or two thousand cavalry passing around the southwest corner, and a puff of sand and dust was raised in the distance. Mrs. Gao pointed with her horsewhip and said:

"This is the cavalry sent by your eldest brother, and it is necessary to go to the south and east of the city to prevent the people in the city from escaping across the city."

While she was talking, the red lady also chased after her with a group of female soldiers, first greeted Mrs. Gao on the horse, and then said to everyone: "Let's go quickly, I heard that many ladders have leaned against the city, which is very lively." ”

They came to a distance of more than a mile from the city and reined in their horses' heads. Here, the siege can be seen clearly. Half a mile to the left is a major artillery position, filled with gunsmoke, sometimes with strong fire, and the sound of artillery is deafening. Most of the west city gatehouse had been destroyed, and many of the battlements had been broken to pieces, but at this moment they were firing cannons into the city, and the cannonballs flew over the city with rolling thunder. Thousands of crossbowmen stood outside the moat, shooting arrows at the city. The defenders of the city did not dare to raise their heads under the onslaught of arrows and artillery fire.

Someone reported to Mrs. Gao: Zhang Nai lit the cannon in the place on the left where the smoke of gunpowder shrouded him. Mrs. Gao was on a whim and asked the red lady, "Let's take a look?" The red lady originally wanted to go, but she was afraid that Mrs. Gao would be in danger, so she was hesitating, and suddenly saw Huimei glancing at Huiying, showing a look of impatience, and she immediately replied with a smile to Mrs. Gao:

"I also want to see Xiao Zhang's skills, let's go together."

When everyone followed Mrs. Gao to a distance of about twenty feet from the place where the cannon was placed, they were stopped by a small colonel of the firearms battalion, and asked Mrs. Gao not to approach to avoid danger. It turned out that at that time, in addition to the cannons cast with the help of Westerners, the cannons cast by ordinary mainland craftsmen according to the local method were often in danger of exploding. Mrs. Gao was also very aware of this situation, so she no longer forced forward, and ordered everyone to quickly dismount and stand in a slightly low-lying place to watch, and all the war horses were handed over to a few personal soldiers to lead behind. Fortunately, there were only a few cannons on the city, some of which had been damaged by the cannonballs flying from outside the city, and some of the gunners were dead or fled. The only thing that made Mrs. Gao and everyone regret was that Zhang Nai and his group of gunners were completely active in the smoke of gunpowder and could not see clearly. Regardless of the schoolmaster's dissuasion, Mrs. Gao led everyone forward a few feet away, and came across a half-man-deep road ditch, where she stopped. Here, everyone can see a little clearly. Huimei saw that Zhang Nai was running around nervously, sometimes he ordered the cannon to be fired, sometimes he himself lit the cannon, and sometimes he participated in the charge himself. She saw that his face was stained by the smoke, and that his eyes were bigger than usual. Her heart was very excited, and she secretly cried out:

"Oh my God, look at how busy he is, just like a soldier, and he is not afraid of danger at all!"

Someone told Zhang Nai that Mrs. Gao was watching the cannon fire from a close distance, but he did not leave the gun carriage, but only commanded loudly: "The cannons are hot, please Madame retreat!" "Ten cannons were erected on positions less than half a mile from north to south, three of which were useless, and one of them even had a crooked gun carriage. According to the order of King Chuang, it is necessary to continuously fire cannons into the city, causing as much serious damage and terror as possible to the soldiers and civilians defending the city, and then use ladders to climb the city at the same time from many places. At this moment, it was about to be the time to climb the city by the cloud ladder, so Zhang Nai risked the explosion of the cannon body and personally lit the remaining seven cannons in turn. Someone else told him that the Red Lady and Huimei had also come, and they came to a close place with Mrs. Gao, stood together and watched, only ten feet away from the cannon, and refused to retreat. Zhang Nai shouted in an almost angry tone: "Please hurry back quickly, it's dangerous here!" Then he jumped to the side of the fifth bronze cannon with a lunge, violently pushed away a gunner who was sluggish due to excessive fatigue, quickly turned the wheel wheel in front of the frame, raised the muzzle of the gun slightly, lit the fuse himself, and then quickly jumped back, and then took three steps back. Several gunners took a few steps back with him, watching the lead burn rapidly. When the lead was exhausted outside the cannon body, Zhang Nai and the gunners habitually opened their mouths and turned their bodies into cats, but their eyes never took off the cannon body. There was silence for a moment, and then the cannon muzzle erupted with fire, and the round iron cannonball flew out, and almost at the same time, there was a loud bang from the muzzle, and the cannon jumped, and the earth shook violently, and the rumble of the cannonball resounded from the air over the city and fell into the city. With the glow of the muzzle and the loud sound of the shells, the cannon body was quickly enveloped in thick black smoke and the smell of sulfur spread. Zhang Nai, because he was standing on the slope, was shocked and fell to the ground. He immediately jumped up, ran close to the gun, knew that it had not exploded, but the gun carriage was a little tilted, and ordered the gunners to quickly hold up the gun carriage, clean the chamber of the gun, recharge, and run to the third cannon.

At this moment, he had only one thought in his heart, that is, to follow King Chuang's order to quickly and continuously fire cannons to "open the way" for the soldiers to attack the city by cloud ladders, as for Mrs. Gao, the Red Lady and Huimei watching the cannons from a very close distance, he almost forgot about it.

However, it is said that Zhang Nai's relationship has changed three times since the day Huimei got married: at first, although he did not show special sadness on the surface, he actually hated it, so he hunted the tiger alone, and was willing to be bitten to death by the tiger when fighting with the tiger. Immediately, he no longer had the idea of dying, but he deeply hated Song Xiance, Niu Jinxing and others for ruining his beautiful marriage with Huimei, and was also jealous that Yuan Shizhong should not marry Huimei. He thought that he would never forget Huimei, and that there would never be any girl who could fill Huimei's place in his heart, and secretly vowed never to marry, preferring to be a widower for the rest of his life. In recent days, his mind has changed again. He knew that King Chuang and Mrs. Gao had decided to marry Hui Qiong Xu to him, and they would marry after breaking through Kaifeng. First, he could not disobey the will of King Chuang and Mrs. Gao, and second, he did not hate Huiqiong (although he did not love her), and there was no reason to refuse to marry Huiqiong. He thinks that he and Huimei's love since childhood has finally become a mirror, but Huiqiong, who has no clue about his heart, has become a dependent, all of which is completely destined. At this time, he no longer hated Song Xiance and Niu Jinxing, and understood that they were thinking about King Chuang's affairs, so he instigated King Chuang to marry Huimei to Yuan Shizhong. He is no longer jealous of Yuan Shizhong, but secretly hopes that Shizhong and Huimei will be harmonious and grow old together. He imagined that in the future, if Yuan Shizhong was surrounded by enemies on the battlefield and King Chuang ordered him to save him, he would be willing to risk danger and die in bloodshed, but also rescue Shizhong. It's not that he loves Shizhong, but that he is happy for Huimei's life. He also often thought that he was going to fight hard for King Chuang, and constantly build up great achievements, so that Huimei was secretly happy when she heard it. He sometimes dreams of Huimei in the quiet of the night, and after waking up, he recalls the vague dream scene for a long time, infinitely confused. Sometimes he woke up from his dream, as if Huimei's shadow was still in front of him, he couldn't see her in the emptiness, and quickly closed his eyes, hoping to fall asleep again while he was sleepy, and continue the previous dream. However, he soon became completely awake, and not only could he not continue dreaming, but he could not even remember the scene in the dream just now. Often at this time, while thinking of Huimei, he felt pity for Huiqiong, and sighed in his heart and said:

"Huiqiong, Huiqiong, even though I will be your husband in the future, my heart has been given to Huimei forever!"

He raised the muzzle of the cannon according to the method just now, hoping that this cannon would hit farther and reach the prefect's yamen. When he turned the roulette wheel of the gun carriage to raise the muzzle of the gun, he suddenly felt a lot of pain in his left leg, and he realized that his left leg had been severely stabbed by the dry branch of a small tree when he fell just now, and it was bleeding. But he left it alone, limped behind the gun, pushed away the gunner who was the point lead, and wanted to light the gun himself. The gunner pulled him and shouted:

"Little Master Zhang stepped back! This cannon is loaded with five catties of medicine, let me have some! ”

Zhang Naigang pushed away the gunner again, and was about to light the cannon himself, when suddenly there was a loud noise on the left and right at the same time, and the earth jumped violently, making his injured left leg stand unsteadily, and he fell to sit down. It turned out that the first and seventh cannons were ignited almost at the same time, and the cannonballs were discharged at the same time, so it was so loud that even Zhang Nai's ears lost most of his hearing for a while. He had just risen from the ground when he saw Huimei rushing to him, and without saying a word, snatched the firerope from his hand, and at the same time pushed him so hard that he staggered backwards and almost unsteadily. He suddenly understood what was going on, and immediately shouted loudly: "Huimei, danger, give me the fire rope quickly!" But Huimei had already quickly lit the lead, took a few steps back, opened her mouth, covered her ears, and stared at the bronze cannon. Zhang Nai said again: "Danger, Huimei run!" Huimei deliberately covered Zhang Nai with her body, and said in her heart: "Blow up and pull down!" At this critical moment, several of Huimei's female soldiers chased after her, and Huiqiong also chased after her. They all said to Huimei, "Madame orders you to retreat!" Huimei didn't back down, didn't seem to hear. Zhang Nai's ears were still out of order, but he understood that the female soldiers and Huiqiong were here to tell Huimei to leave here, so he pushed Huimei and said loudly again: "Huimei, run, danger!" Huimei covered him with her body again, and said excitedly in her heart: "If you want to blow up, I will die with you!" But she made no sound, and no one had time to persuade her to go again, when the cannon suddenly went off with the light of the fire.

Knowing that nothing happened to the cannon, Huimei suddenly relieved her heart and suddenly completely regained her senses. She glanced at Zhang Nai's face, which was black and dirty from the smoke, and without saying a word, she turned around and left, quickly returning to Mrs. Gao and the red lady. Several of her female soldiers and Huiqiong also returned.

Because Huimei came and went suddenly, Zhang Nai was stunned for a moment before he went to touch the very hot cannon body, and decided to order the fourth cannon that had been filled with medicine. But just then, a small leader rushed to him and reported:

"Little Master Zhang, the chief sentry Liu Ye waved the blue flag and ordered us to stop firing artillery." The little boss excitedly added: "I'm about to climb the city by the ladder!" Pour it in! ”

The drums of war for the siege sounded. At first in one place, then in many places, the drums of war were deafening. To the sound of war drums, dozens of ladders waiting in the dry moats suddenly left the moats and were carried towards the base of the city walls. Eight people carried each ladder, followed by twenty or thirty people. Thousands of crossbowmen stood on the edge of the moats and fired arrows at the city, killing and wounding the defenders as soon as they appeared. There were also tens of thousands of horses standing behind the crossbowmen, shouting and cheering, intimidating the enemy.

Li Zi set up a high place outside the moat of Masi, Cao Cao was on his left, Song Xiance was on his right, and many other civil and military dignitaries were behind him. Liu Zongmin immediately commanded the siege with a small red and blue flag two or three feet in front of them. Thousands of paces and cavalry lined up in the area of Xiguan, waiting for the city gate to open, they split their way over the moat (the drawbridge was destroyed) and rushed into the west gate. Outside the other city gates, there are similar deployments.

When the ladder was about to reach the root of the city, Liu Zongmin waved the blue flag on the horse. When the crossbowmen on the edge of the trench saw the blue flag, they immediately stopped firing to prevent their brothers from being accidentally injured by stray arrows. Just moments after the archery stopped, dozens of ladders leaned against the city wall at the same time. The rebels scrambled to climb up the ladder. However, due to the temporary cessation of artillery fire and crossbow fire, the defenders of the city stood up again and put up a desperate resistance. Some of them threw down "10,000 enemies" from the city, and with a loud bang, several of the rebels under the city were also killed, and some were burned. But the rebels did not flinch, and still bravely climbed up the ladder. On a ladder, there was a rebel wearing red cotton armor, climbing and shouting: "Fill it! Fill it! Poured in! As soon as he climbed to the top of the city, one of the officers jumped up and slashed at him with his sword. He slashed it with his sword, but another officer stabbed him with a spear, stabbing him with a stab. As soon as he let go of his hand, he fell off the ladder and died under the city. The rebel army who had been behind him continued to climb up, and before he could reach the top of the city, the people on a ladder next to him had already gone up to the city, shouting, "Go to the city!" Go to town! In an instant, many people went up to the city, and everyone shouted, "Kill!" Kill! It's already in town! "There was a great order in the city, and there was a panic, running for their lives, but there were also some officers and soldiers who continued to resist. The rebels were getting bigger and bigger, and after a short time of scuffle, the city was soon occupied by the rebels. After a few more moments, the west gate was opened, and the rebels rushed into the city. Li Guo, who was waiting in Xiguan, commanded with a sword on the one hand, and rushed into the city with the men and horses on the other. The streets of the city were filled with terrified running and shouting:

"The thieves are in town! Run for your life! Run for your life! ……”

After a while, the rebels outside the city had rushed into the city, and the fierce fighting scene just now suddenly disappeared, and the surroundings seemed unexpectedly quiet. The sun has risen in the east, and the sky is as clear as water, making the rising sun look particularly delicate. At the head of the city, a big banner is waving in the wind in the bright sunshine. Mrs. Gao looked back at the Red Lady and Huimei, and said:

Let's wait until it's quiet inside before we go in and see. Looks like we're going to kill some people this time. Yesterday, King Chuang had a book shot into the city, saying: "Sacrifice the city and don't kill it, resist slaughter." Now I don't know what to do, I'm afraid I'll have to kill some people. Let's go back first, and then go into the city after breakfast. ”

CHAPTER XXXVI

When the city of Shangqiu was broken, many Ding Zhuang and the defeated soldiers who defended the city went down the city from the east and south, trying to cross the moat. But Li Guo had arranged cavalry outside the city in advance, as if there was a big net, and none of them could escape. There was a short street fight in the city. One of the officers and soldiers surrendered first, and after surrendering, they turned over their clothes and put them on, and also shouted with the rebels: "The city is broken!" The city is broken! "They are murders and robberies. But a large force of officers and troops, about a thousand people, with a deputy general surnamed Zhang, killed in Beicheng. There was a temple of the Three Treasures, and they ran into the temple and resisted desperately. Later, Ma Shiyao and Liu Tichun rushed at the same time, unstoppable. Seeing that he couldn't stay in the temple, Deputy General Zhang rushed out with his men and horses and ran towards the east gate, intending to escape from the east gate to seize the road. Unexpectedly, the east gate had been stuffed with soil by the rebels, and it couldn't be opened for a while. Ma Shiyao and Liu Tichun's men and horses have arrived. Vice General Zhang was outnumbered and wounded, so he was quickly caught. As soon as this army was eliminated, the fighting in the city ceased.

According to the prior decision, as soon as Li Guo entered the city, he occupied the prefect's yamen and commanded everything in the prefect's yamen. He sent people to arrest the current officials and eunuchs who had fled to Tibet, and many of the current officials and eunuchs were arrested one after another, but Liang Yizhang, the county magistrate of Shangqiu, was the person in charge of the defense of the whole city, and he couldn't find it anywhere. It wasn't until a few days later that he learned that he had escaped at night by hiding under a pile of dead bodies.

Around midnight, Li Zicheng took Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others to ride into the West Gate. At this time, the order in the city was not completely calm, and there were still murders in some places, robberies in others, and adultery was constantly occurring. Li Zicheng twisted his eyebrows and asked Liu Zongmin:

"Why have you been in the city for more than an hour, and it's still so messy?"

Liu Zongmin replied: "The soldiers and civilians in the city are stubborn, not surrendering and offering the city, so it is bound to kill more people." Second, the team is so miscellaneous now, there are those from our old mansion, Cao Ying, and Xiao Yuanying, and it is inevitable that it will be chaotic for a while, unlike the situation when we broke Luoyang. ”

King Chuang felt that it was not possible to go on like this, so he sent someone to see Li Guo, and asked him to immediately send someone to patrol the city with an arrow and tell him to "seal the knife", no matter who he was, anyone who continued to rape ** women or kill people casually after the "sealing the knife" was beheaded. After giving the order, they continued to walk on, and at a crossroads, King Chuang saw that several houses were burning, and hastened another order: Do not light a fire to burn the houses, and put out those that have already been lit.

At this time, Luo Rucai also came with a group of people, and they would form a group of people and run to the yamen together.

In the second gate of the prefect's yamen, there are many people tied, and at a glance, some are officials, and some are squires. Li You stood in the center of the courtyard with great vigour, and a scribe-like figure stood respectfully next to him, pointing out to him the people who had been tied up: who was an official, who had money in the family, and who was a bully. Whoever is pointed out is pulled aside and waits for it to fall.

After King Chuang and Cao Cao entered the courtyard, they looked at it for a while. Let's look at the people who have been identified first, they are indeed rich people. Then he looked at those who had not yet been pointed out, and suddenly found that there was a man who looked like a local citizen who was also tied up. King Chuang called the scribe over and asked:

"Is this man guilty?"

"He is a small people, and he has no sin."

King Chuang said to Li You, "Hurry up and let him go." ”

Li You also asked for instructions: whether to deal with these identified bad things now. King Chuang nodded and said:

"Deal with it immediately, to appease the anger of the people, and not to leave the root cause."

So, Li You ordered, regardless of the thirty-seven twenty-one, those officials, eunuchs and rich people who were identified were all escorted out and pushed out of the West City Gate to be beheaded.

King Chuang just wanted to talk to Li Guo about pacifying the people in the city, and suddenly someone pushed a white-bearded eunuch in, and when he asked, it turned out to be Zhou Shipu, who had been a secretary of the Ministry of Works. Before attacking Shangqiu, King Chuang had already received many people's accusations against Zhou Shipu, accusing him of cruelly harming the people. King Chuang himself asked:

"Zhou Shipu, you are guilty, do you know it?"

Zhou Shipu was dressed in servant's clothes and looked very much like a simple old man. When he heard the question, he quickly knelt down and replied:

"General, since I returned to my hometown, I have been living a poor life and have not committed any crimes."

Before King Chuang could answer, a person dressed as a servant came out next to him, pointed to Zhou Shipu and said to King Chuang, "King Chuang don't believe him." He has fourteen cellars of silver in his house, and I know where he is buried, and I will take you to pick them out. He is rich and unkind, cruel to one party, and must not spare him. ”

King Chuang nodded, looked at Zhou Shipu and said, "Zhou Shipu, don't be cunning, I know all your sins." Okay, push it out! ”

A few more people came over to Li Guo and said that the scribe who identified someone else for Li You just now was not a good thing himself, and he had harmed many good people, and now he was pretending to be courteous to the righteous army in order to save his own dog's life. Li Guo glanced at the man and said, "I don't think he's a good thing." Then he instructed Li You: "In this case, you first tie him up and lock him out of the palace gate, and see if there are many people accusing him." If there is a great sin, he will still be beheaded; If the sin is not great, let him go. Not long after he was kidnapped, many people came to accuse him, saying that he had relied on the power of the government to extort money from the people and to commit adultery with his wives and daughters. Li You stood outside the yamen for a while, and when he heard these accusations, he did not report them to Li Guo again, so he ordered him to be beheaded.

In the courtyard, Li Guo told King Chuang that he had ordered the rebels who entered the city not to kill again, not to rob, and not to rape ** women. King Chuang and the others heard someone riding a horse running down the street, shouting loudly:

"The knife is sealed! Sealed knives! Don't kill anymore! Those who kill again pay for their lives! ”

King Chuang asked, "How is the Hou Mansion?" ”

Li Guo said: "After entering the city, I will send people to the gate of the Hou Mansion, and the soldiers will not be allowed to enter casually." Now the eldest son Hou Fangyu is still in Nanjing, and the second son Hou Fangxia escorted his family to escape from the east gate two or three days ago. The defenders of the city did not allow them to escape, and his men forced the gates open and escorted their master out. Now there are only a few men and slaves left in the Hou Mansion who stay to guard the door. ”

King Chuang said: "Even if there is no master, no one else is allowed to enter the Hou Mansion. ”

Luo Rucai smiled slightly, fully understanding King Chuang's intentions.

King Chuang also ordered Li Guo to lead the siege men and horses to be stationed outside the city, leaving only 1,500 people in the city: 1,000 in Laofu and 500 in Cao Ying. Liu Zongmin stayed in the city, and Tian Jianxiu assisted him and presided over all major affairs in the city.

After the order, Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai withdrew from the city and returned to their respective villages. He knew that the soldiers of the little Yuan battalion would not be happy, so he called Yuan Shizhong to his generalissimo's tent, asked about the situation in the army, gave a few words of encouragement, and then said:

"Tell the brethren that we did not strike in Shangqiu for robbery, nor for adultery and burning, but for a moment's speed. Now we are fighting the country, and we must act like a country. We must eliminate harm for the people, and we must not harass the people. Today I see many people being killed. Although those who resist will slaughter the city, in fact they never slaughter the city, only those who openly resist, and not many innocents. When I entered through the west gate, I saw the corpses of women lying on the side of the road, some of whom had their pants stripped off. This was strictly forbidden among the soldiers of the old mansion. But now that there are many people, it is not clear who did the bad things for a while. Thou shalt command thy men and thy men and men to obey the orders of the army and do as I command. What happened before the knife was sealed, the past is not to blame; After the knife is sealed, no more adultery and burning are allowed. ”

Yuan Shizhong listened solemnly, feeling very frightened, and beads of sweat oozed slightly from his sideburns. He knew that his men had committed many murders, arsons, robberies, and adultery. Although the people in the old mansion are not all so obedient, in comparison, the people of Cao Ying and Xiao Yuan Ying violate military discipline more. He didn't dare to say a word, and said in a loud voice:

"Yes, yes. I will obey the order, restrain my subordinates, and not violate military discipline again. ”

King Chuang smiled slightly, and said in a gentle tone: "Don't be afraid, I treat you well with this advice." Originally, we are now overcrowded, and it is not as easy as in the past to do what is ordered and what is forbidden. As the saying goes: there are more than a hundred people, all kinds of people, and ten fingers are not ordinary. What's more, I had originally issued an edict to Shangqiu: open the door and surrender, and Qiu will not commit any crimes; Dare to defend it, and slaughter the whole city. Because the soldiers came in because they braved arrows and stones to break through the city, it was common for them to punish the soldiers and civilians defending the city in order to vent their hatred. Now many people have been killed, some houses have been burned, and there have been rapes and robberies. None of this has to be pursued. I have already ordered the 'sealing of the knife', and it will not work if it continues. So I withdrew all my troops outside the city, leaving only a few men and horses to suppress the city. The words I said above are not specific to you little Yuan Ying; It's those people in our old eighth team, and sometimes there are people who do bad things. ”

Yuan Shizhong listened to it with great admiration, and felt that King Chuang was extraordinary after all, and how open-minded he was!

Shangqiu City is not an ordinary state or county seat, but an important capital city in eastern Henan, that is, the seat of the government of the Defu Prefecture, which has a total jurisdiction over one state and seven counties. During the time of Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Shangqiu was promoted to Nanjing, which shows its important position. Since the end of the Apocalypse, Henan has been full of famine and war; In comparison, eastern Henan is quite peaceful, and Guide Mansion is also very wealthy. Some famous families are still singing and dancing as in the past, raising a large number of domestic slaves, and having more and more property. In addition, due to the war every year, many wealthy families in various states and counties also joined relatives and friends and came to live in Shangqiu City. Therefore, after breaking Shangqiu, the army had to stay here for a few more days to collect mules and horses, military rations, and goods. The nearby states and counties also have to transport grain, so Gao Yigong and others are very busy every day.

About three days later, Li Zicheng celebrated the capture of Shangqiu and decided to feast important generals and some scholars. In addition to the brothers Niu, Song, and Li Yan, there are also poor scholars who have come to Shun in the past year, all of whom are small intellectuals with unfavorable reputations, and also include a group of apprentices of Shang Shenxian. There are many important generals in Cao's camp, and in addition to the military advisor Ji Jue, there are also some talents who handle literature and ink and participate in planning. There are also Liu Yuqi, Zhu Chengju and others in Xiao Yuan's camp. In addition, after the destruction of Shangqiu, some poor lower-class scholars joined the rebel army and assisted Wenmo in the army. All these people are invited by King Chuang. In addition, the banquet was held at the place where Tian Mihide was stationed in the city, that is, the house of the great eunuch Zhou Shipu.

King Chuang is the host, and although he is extremely respected in the army, he came early. Every time Luo Rucai went to a banquet, no matter who invited him, he was in accordance with the social customs of the time, not punctual and needed to be urged again and again, and "came" very late. This morning he gambled with his men in his large tent, and his interest was so great that he refused to come early on time. However, Yuan Shizhong did not dare to slack off, and led his civil and military dignitaries to come earlier.

Long after noon, the banquet had not yet begun, waiting for Cao Cao. Guests sit in the hall and gossip. King Chuang smiled and listened to everyone's chat. Among the generals, Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, and Yuan Zongdi also listened to everyone's chatter in the hall.

These scholars know that King Chuang likes to listen to all kinds of ancient knowledge of the previous dynasties, and especially likes to listen to the stories of the rise and fall of the previous dynasties, so the topic focuses on these aspects. Everyone learned from each other, and the conversation was very lively. Seeing King Chuang smiling and nodding his head there constantly, they were more unrestrained and talked more interestedly, sometimes talking about the ancient art of war, sometimes talking about some anecdotes of famous generals, and sometimes talking about the knowledge of Qimen Dunjia and Fengjiao Liuren. That Liu Yuqi was originally a bold character, and he didn't admire Niu and Song very much in his heart, but he often talked with Ji Jue and was more compatible. At this time, he talked a lot, and he knew almost everything about learning. Li Zicheng admired Liu Yuqi's erudition, but he always felt that this person was a bit like Xu Yixian under Zhang Xianzhong. He was still smiling, and while continuing to listen to Liu Yuqi and others, he said to himself in his heart: "This is not a decent person. After listening for a while, he turned back and whispered to Wu Ruyi:

"Ziyi, you personally went to urge the general, and said that the guests had arrived, just waiting for him to come to the table."

As soon as Wu Ruyi left, suddenly Shuangxi walked in, walked directly to Niu Jinxing, and whispered: "Mr. Niu, the people who went to Lanyang have returned." ”

Niu Jinxing hurriedly asked, "Have you caught the people of Liang Yun's family?" ”

Shuangxi shook his head: "No." The entire Liang family fled two days ago, leaving only an empty house. ”

Niu Jinxing said hatefully: "Alas! It's too cheap, Liang Yungou! He himself was in Beijing, and he said that he would catch someone from his family, and it would also eliminate the hatred in my heart, but I didn't expect us to be a step late. ”

King Chuang had already heard their conversation, so he comforted Niu Jinxing and said, "Qidong doesn't have to be angry. Although we didn't catch the Liang family, but in the future, if we enter Beijing, will Liang Yungou still be able to escape? He turned his head and asked Shuangxi again: "The brothers who entered Lanyang City have all returned?" ”

Double Happiness replied: "It's all back." ”

"Entering the city without hindrance?"

"I heard them tell me that the 200 cavalry we went to have run away as soon as they arrived outside Lanyang City. When the people saw that it was our flag, they opened the gates of the city. After our cavalry entered the city, they went straight to the house of the Liang family, and there were only a few servants left in the Liang family, and they said to our men, 'The master's family, men, women, and children, fled two days ago, and the things were not moved, and they were left to the disposal of the rebels. Our cavalry did not kill any of the Liang family's slaves, but set fire to the Liang family's house. The surrounding people were originally oppressed by the Liang family, and they hated them to the core, and they were very happy to see that the Liang family's house was burned. ”

"The brethren did not harass the people, did they?"

"Autumn didn't commit any crimes."

"This time we sent someone to Lanyang in order to avenge Mr. Niu. First, it is not to occupy the place, and the second is not to ask for things, as long as there is no offense against the people, it will be fine. ”

While speaking, Luo Ru arrived. Everyone quickly stood up and greeted them. Luo Rucai smiled apologetically:

"I'm a step late, please don't see the generalissimo."

Zicheng smiled and said, "Please come to the table, just wait for you to come to the banquet." ”

After you took your seat, you sighed and said, "This wine is dumb wine, and a few glasses of wine at the banquet are not enough. ”

King Chuang smiled again: "Let's drink a dumb bar today." We still have a lot to do in the afternoon, so don't get everyone drunk. ”

Luo Rucai said: "Okay, let's do it as the generalissimo wants today." The day after tomorrow, I will pay tribute to Bo Xi and return to the Generalissimo. All the civil and military friends who came to the banquet today are invited. Generalissimo, will you appreciate the light? ”

Zicheng said: "As long as you are a general and have a treat, everyone will naturally go." ”

"Well, that's a deal, so please come by then. When you come to me, it's not like drinking dumb wine here. There are playing and singing, and maybe there will be more lively things. ”

King Chuang asked, "What's the matter?" ”

"I'm a happy person, we can also find two troupes, drink and watch the play at the same time, and have a great time."

King Chuang nodded and said, "You will indeed be happy." ”

"That's who I am. I'm not afraid to fight, but I'm not like you, who work hard day and night to win the world. I'm a drunkard, according to others, well, that is. ”

Everyone burst into laughter.

While laughing, eight kinds of food and drink dishes have been served, mostly cold dishes and steamed dishes. Liu Yuqi and others had more people at the table, drank happily, and began to talk about the past and the present again. I only heard Liu Zongmin laugh and say:

"Master Liu, I am a blacksmith, I don't believe in your story at all, don't use the words in the books to bluff us, a military general who doesn't read poetry and books!"

Because Liu Zongmin's voice was particularly loud and seemed to have a sense of alcohol, it attracted the attention of the entire hall. King Chuang was accompanied by Luo Rucai, Li Yan brothers, Yuan Shizhong, Niu Jinxing, and Tian Jianxiu, while Liu Zongmin was accompanied by Ji Jue, Song Xiance, Liu Yuqi, Zhu Chengju, Liu Jingyi, and Cao Cao's close generals Sun Shenzu sat next to each other. Li Zicheng knew that Liu Zongmin hated Liu Yuqi, and after breaking Shangqiu, he was very dissatisfied with Xiao Yuanying's military discipline, and wanted to take the opportunity to suppress Liu Yuqi's pride. He turned his head and asked Liu Zongmin and Liu Yuqi with a smile:

"What interesting topics are you talking about? How about we all hear about it? ”

Cao Cao was afraid that Xiao Yuanying would not cause trouble, so he immediately said: "Jie Xuan, what did Liu Junshi say just now? He is a man full of knowledge, and he is an expert when it comes to the ancient affairs of the previous dynasty, so let's listen to him more! ”

Liu Zongmin reluctantly smiled and said, "General, did you hear the story that Liu Junshi just said?" ”

Cao Cao said: "I was drinking with the generalissimo, and I never heard a word. He encouraged Liu Yuqi with his eyes and said: "Yuqi, I, a big old man, respect learned people very much, and I love to listen to people talk about the past and the present. What's the story you're just talking about? ”

In order to cheer up before the banquet, people urged Liu Yuchi to tell the story he had talked about again. Yuan Shizhong didn't dare to look at Liu Yuqi in the crowd, and only looked at Zhu Chengju frequently. Zhu Chengju was also afraid of having trouble with Liu Zongmin, and he was at a loss for anything, and when he saw Yuan Shizhong looking at him, he quickly touched Liu Yuqi's toe with his right foot. Liu Yuqi was confident that the story he was talking about was not made up, second, he felt that Liu Zongmin was too disrespectful to him, and third, he was instigated by everyone and was about to retell the story he just told when he was suddenly kicked by Zhu Chengju, and he couldn't help but hesitate. But he saw that Liu Zongmin was looking at him with mocking eyes, and Ji Jue said to him:

"Liu Junshi, the generalissimo and the general are all waiting to listen!"

Liu Yuqi looked at the faces around him, thinking that he couldn't make the civil and military forces who broke into the camp mistake him for that there was no one in Xiao Yuan's camp and could be bullied casually. So he first stood up and toasted to King Chuang, to Cao Shuai, and then to Liu Zongmin and all the civil and military personnel, and then said with a smile in his heart:

"The jade ruler is ignorant and ignorant, if there is any lie, please forgive the sin. I just mentioned Li Guang, a famous general of the Han Dynasty, and I just want to use this to show that there are indeed extraordinary places in ancient times. For example, Li Guangba, one day he went out hunting, and suddenly saw a tiger squatting on the side of the road, startled, and quickly shot an arrow and killed the tiger. Later, when I looked at it, I realized that it was not a tiger that was shot, but a stone. Because Li Guang was a famous archer with great strength, the arrow kept shooting into the stone, not only the arrow, but also the eagle feather on the shaft and tail of the arrow. This name is called 'shooting stones without feathers'. You say, is this kind of divine power amazing? ”

A few scholars next to him echoed and said, "Yes, this story of shooting stones without feathers is indeed recited through the ages." Li Guang was born today, and he must also be a general under King Chuang. ”

Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance are both familiar with this story that has been popular for 2,000 years, and Li Zicheng is also familiar with it. They were all a little confused: why did Jiexuan find fault with this story? Ji Jue looked at Liu Zongmin with encouraging eyes, seeing how he, a general who had little reading, could raise the bar with Liu Yuqi. Many eyes were also looking at Liu Zongmin, waiting for him to speak. Although everyone knows that he is not the kind of person who likes to pick bones in other people's eggshells, why did he laugh at Liu Yuqi's story? Suddenly, Liu Zongmin laughed, drank a full glass, and said:

"Jade ruler, do you think this story is true? Don't look at me as a rough person, there are some things I like to think about with my brain. How can an arrow shoot the shaft of an arrow into a stone? This is not to be trusted. ”

Liu Yuqi is usually good at observing words and feelings, and under normal circumstances, he would not argue with Liu Zongmin, but at this time, he drank a few glasses of wine and was in a state of excitement, so he immediately said:

"This is clearly written in the "Historical Records"!"

A Xiucai next to him also echoed with a three-point wine and said: "I have read this "Historical Records", the article is really well written, Taishi Gong ......"

Liu Yuqi didn't wait for him to finish speaking, pushed the cup to the side, and continued confidently: "This Taishi Company Ma Qian, but no one has doubted it." "Historical Records" is an immortal work through the ages, the same as "Zuo Chuan", "National Policy", and "Book of Han" below, all of which are glorious. The story of shooting stones without feathers is clearly written in "Historical Records: The Biography of General Li", and this matter is also recorded in the "Book of Han". ”

Liu Zongmin smiled (this smile contained a lot of contempt) and said, "You scholars drink ink all over your stomach, and you speak from books. I'm a big old man, and I can't read a few cars, but I like to look at everything and think about it. Let's take archery as an example, we have learned since we were teenagers, and now we are in our thirties, and we don't know how many arrows we have shot, and we have seen that the soldiers have shot countless arrows. Even a piece of mud won't work, and if you shoot less than halfway in, the mud will suck the shaft of the arrow. You can't unless you shoot a piece of tofu. Speaking of this, he laughed out loud to himself, and continued: "To say that shooting a stone can shoot feathers into it, I think this is nonsense. Otherwise, let's give it a try and see who can into it. You don't have to shoot stones, you can shoot bricks and adobe, give it a try. ”

These words made Liu Yuqi and some talents look at each other, and they don't know how to answer. Li Zicheng, Niu Jinxing, and Song Xiance all felt that Liu Zongmin's views were very fresh, and to their surprise, they couldn't help but nod their heads in their hearts. Even Cao Cao couldn't help but change his attitude, nodded to King Chuang and said, "Jie Xuan is really a very knowledgeable and smart person!" "Some people came from Cao Ying and Xiao Yuan Ying, and they didn't know as much about Liu Zongmin as the people in the old mansion, but they were afraid of Zong Min's prestige, and they saw the ridicule in his eyes, even if they thought that there might be an exception to this archery matter, they didn't dare to raise the bar in front of him. Niu Jinxing saw Gao Yigong looking at him, and clearly wanted him to say something, so as not to make Liu Yuqi unable to get off the stage, so he said with a smile:

"What Liu Ye said makes sense. The story of shooting stones without feathers is doubtful, and I have also paid attention to this matter, and I remember that when Ban Gu's "Book of Han" wrote about this incident, the word "no feather" was changed to no feather, which is the arrow. The Book of Han only says that the arrow was shot into the stone. ”

Liu Zongmin smiled: "This is not good, and the arrow can't shoot into the stone." I've never seen anyone shoot an arrow into a stone. Have any of you seen it? Our generalissimo is famous for his archery, his ability to hold a strong bow, and a hundred paces away, to penetrate double cotton armor. But, I see, he can't shoot a stone. King Chuang, can you? ”

Zicheng smiled and said, "Of course you can't." ”

Yuan Zongdi also laughed from the seat and said, "In Shangluo Mountain, when I went to catch Zhou Mountain, my arrow ran out and I was trapped on a mound. The king went to meet me, and an arrow was shot at a cliff, and the arrow was bounced back, and the stone was shot off a little of its skin, which I saw with my own eyes. King Chuang, have you forgotten? ”

King Chuang said, "Yes, that time I drew a full bow, and the arrow hit the stone and bounced back, and the stone was touched a little, and a spark burst out." Jiexuan has experience and is right when he says it: an arrow can't penetrate a stone. ”

Liu Zongmin said: "You see, our generalissimo, so strong, can only touch the stone off a little skin and burst out of sparks. How can you, learned people, believe that everything in the book is true? I read that there are things that are right and some are not right, don't read the book and be fooled by the book. ”

When they talked, Li Yan listened attentively. After he arrived in the army of King Chuang in the winter of the previous year, he quickly got to know Liu Zongmin, and admired him Although he didn't read too many books, he was smart and witty, and he had a lot of insights when encountering problems. Moreover, he also saw that Liu Zongmin was going to use this topic today to bring Liu Yuchi and others into an army, so that they would not talk about it. But he felt that Liu Yuchi and the others should not be too embarrassed, so he glanced at Song Xiance, hoping that Song Xiance would come out to round the field. Who knew that Song Xiance was also a person who liked miscellaneous studies, and had read many miscellaneous books, and when he heard them talk lively, he also interjected:

"This matter of shooting stones without feathers is mentioned in several places in ancient books, not specifically to Li Guang. Sima Qian wrote on Li Guang's body, and others wrote it on another person, but in fact, it is not enough to rely on faith. ”

"Strategist, I don't know what other books mention shooting stones without feathers, dare to hope for teaching." Liu Yuchi didn't believe how many books Song Xiance had read, and asked while showing a sarcastic smile on the corner of his mouth.

Song Xiance thought for a while and said: "Oh, I think about it, it seems that when I read "Lü's Spring and Autumn", there was a sentence in the article "Mastery": 'Yang Youji shoots the middle stone, and the stone is to drink the feather. This is now the rhinoceros and the bison, and when he was about to shoot it, it hit the stone, and even the eagle behind the shaft of the arrow was shot into the stone. I didn't pay attention to it at the time, I just thought that it was not only Li Guang who had this ability. ”

Li Yu was young and vigorous, and when he heard this, he couldn't help but interject: "There is, there is." I have seen Liu Xiang also say in "New Preface" that Chu Xiongquzi walked at night, saw a stone, thought it was a tiger lying down, bent his bow and shot an arrow, and the arrow was completely shot in, even the feathers were shot in. ”

Everyone looked at Li Yan in amazement, but they didn't expect that Li Yan's brother was so knowledgeable. At the same time, the matter of shooting stones without feathers is more suddenly understood. Liu Zongmin smiled:

"You see, I casually mentioned that several of them are people who read a lot, so I will lead to other examples, which shows that this matter is complete nonsense."

Li Yan didn't want Li Yan to show his edge in the Chuang Wang army, so he quickly gave him a look and asked him not to talk too much. But Li Yu hated Liu Yuqi, and he had been holding back for a long time, regardless of his brother's eyes, and said:

"Actually, when I used to read "Historical Records: The Biography of General Li", I used to compare the "Book of Han", and it was not said that 'shooting stones without feathers'. The "Historical Records" says 'no arrow', and the "Book of Han" says 'no arrow'. Just now, Liu Junshi said that the "Historical Records" and the "Book of Han" wrote that Li Guang 'shot stones without feathers', but I am afraid that he was also wrong for a while. Of course, the word "no arrow" in the "Book of Han" includes the arrow shaft, and the arrow feather is also among them, but after all, the word "no feather" has never been used. The 'no feather' mentioned now is not the original phrase in the book, probably from 'drinking feathers'. The word 'drinking feather' was first seen in "Lü's Spring and Autumn". ”

Liu Yuqi couldn't help but blush, only feeling hot, and didn't know what to say. Yuan Shizhong felt that his face was very disgraceful, although he still had a smile, but the smile was already stiff.

King Chuang and Cao Cao exchanged a smile, and they both found it very interesting. King Chuang was afraid that Liu Yuqi would not be able to get up and down, so he hurriedly raised his wine glass and said to everyone:

"Good, good. Well said by everyone. Please drink quickly, the wine is already cold. Please, please! ”

Liu Yuqi felt isolated and embarrassed when he saw that Ji Jue didn't help him speak. With a dark aura, he had to pick up the cup, and said with a reluctant smile to Liu Zongmin:

"General Liu is really high-minded, high-minded."

Liu Zongmin said: "Actually, you are much more knowledgeable than me, and you are also experts in archery, but you believe in books too much, drink too much ink, and take every word of the ancients as true, and dare not doubt it." I'm a big old man who pays attention to reality, the ancients are right, of course we have to believe it, if it is unreasonable, I don't believe it. Even when Confucius speaks, I'm afraid that there are times when he can't speak on the board, how can anyone speak everything right? ”

Li Yan said with a smile: "Yes, even Master Meng said: 'It is better to believe in books than to have no books.'" There are many unreliable things in the book, sometimes reversing black and white, sometimes concealing good and promoting evil, some are false hearsay, some are deliberately planted, and the list goes on. ”

When everyone heard this, they all nodded. Just when the banquet was very lively and pleasant, suddenly Wu Ruyi came in and whispered a few words in King Chuang's ear. King Chuang asked:

"Is that really the case?"

"If this is the case, it will be coming soon."

King Chuang's heart was very unhappy, and he whispered, "Okay, bring him in when you come." When the people at the table saw the generalissimo's serious expression, they did not know what was going on, and they stopped laughing, and even put down the wine glasses that had been raised. Cao Cao couldn't help but ask:

"Brother Li, what's wrong?"

Li Zicheng didn't make a sound, his eyes looked outside the second gate, waiting for Wu Ruyi to bring the group in.

Although Li Gubi was scolded by Liu Zongmin for painting a portrait of himself outside the northern city of Kaifeng in the first month, after the injury was healed, the annoying flashy old problem was still the same. Because he interceded with generals such as Gao Yigong and Tian Jianxiu, Li Zicheng still used him and sent him to be the leader of 400 people to see the after-effects. He always wanted to come up with a trick and do something to make a name for himself and gain the favor of King Chuang. He still often boasts to people who don't understand his details that he has followed King Chuang for a long time and has made many military exploits, but because Chongzhen lost his way on the way to Sichuan for ten years, he led a group of men and horses to be scattered by the official army and had to go back to Yan'an Mansion for three or four years, so now he has not been reused by King Chuang. He also said that Liu Ye was responsible for him, and he planned to reuse him in the future, and he knew this reason.

Now, Li Gubi seemed to have returned from meritorious service, and proudly led a group of people to the front of the hall. He himself went up the steps and reported to the king:

"Report to the generalissimo, because the last general had nothing to do yesterday, he took a few of his brothers to Xiayi, and the county officials have fled. The people of Xiayi heard that King Chuang sent people, and they were all happy and burned incense to greet them. ”

King Chuang asked, "Have you harassed the people?" ”

"Nope. Autumn did not commit any crimes. ”

King Chuang asked again: "Whose general did you order to go to Xiayi?" ”

"The last and last generals have not been commanded by anyone. Because the army broke through Shangqiu, I saw that there was nothing else, so I thought: Since the king of Chuang wants to relieve the people everywhere and declare the purpose of hanging the people and killing the people, I will take my men and horses to Xiayi. ”

King Chuang said, "Do you know that I have an order first: in the future, when the army marches and fights, no matter what, it is not allowed to act without my command." Nowadays, there are many people, if everyone is like you, and they can do whatever they want, how can we make the whole army like one person? How can there be orders and prohibitions? Isn't that a chaotic bee without a king? ”

When Li Gubi heard this, he felt that King Chuang was determined to deal with him, so he was so frightened that his face turned like dirt, and he quickly knelt down and said, "Yes, yes." I only thought about doing my best for the generalissimo, and I didn't think much about anything else, I was really guilty. ”

King Chuang's face was grim, he groaned slightly, looked at the neighbors, and asked in a calm voice, "Jiexuan, how do you say it should be punished?" ”

Zong Min smiled coldly and said, "Leaving the camp with troops without authorization, the generalissimo's military law is like a mountain, of course, it should not be spared." ”

King Chuang shook his head and said, "Those who violate military discipline will be beheaded and pushed out!" ”

Li Gubi touched his head on the ground and begged: "I beg the generalissimo to spare me this time, I will never dare in the future." ”

King Chuang was silent. Liu Zongmin waved his big hand and shouted:

"Push it out!"

There were many martial arts at the banquet, although many people thought that the punishment was too heavy, but no one dared to stand up to intercede for Li Gubi, and silently watched Wu Ruyi order two personal soldiers to push Li Gubi out. This happened just after everyone was talking about it, so many people were surprised. In particular, Yuan Shizhong and his cronies were very shocked, they didn't expect King Chuang's military law to be so strict, and they were also afraid that they would follow King Chuang in the future and not know when something would go wrong.

King Chuang also ordered Wu Ruyi to call all the fathers and elders from Xiayi to the tent. The fathers and elders came to the hall in fear, knelt down and kowtowed to King Chuang. King Chuang stood up from the table, and came out to comfort the people, saying:

"Rise up, all of you. My generals did not listen to my orders and went to your Xiayi City without permission. I beheaded him today, not because he had committed any other crime, but because my military orders had to be obeyed. If you change to someone else, if you go to break the city without permission, you will also be beheaded. As for you fathers, I am very grateful to have me Li Zicheng in my heart and Li Zicheng in my eyes. You're drinking with me. Then he ordered his soldiers to set up two tables in the gate, and let the fathers and elders sit down and drink.

When the feast was about to end, King Chuang said to his fathers and elders, "Since you have come, it is all right." I have commanded that you will be given a little money and a little seed. And the money was taken back and distributed to the poor people, and the seed was taken back to sow crops. Planting autumn crops now, albeit a little late, is better than not at all. If you don't grow crops, what will you do after autumn? In addition, I think you must not have many ploughing cattle there, and the soldiers are in chaos, and the ploughing cattle are all slaughtered. I will give you twenty ploughing oxen, and you will bring them back. ”

When the fathers and elders heard this, they knelt down and kowtowed together to thank King Chuang for his great kindness. Some shed tears, saying that they had never met anyone who was so benevolent and righteous and had such compassion for the people as King Chuang, and that it was really the savior of the people. King Chuang asked everyone to get up, and then instructed Wu Ruyi to tell the chief manager: Immediately take out a thousand taels of silver, take more autumn grain seeds, and then choose twenty good ploughing oxen, and let the fathers and elders take them back to Xiayi.

After the order, King Chuang turned back to Luo Rucai and said, "Let's go back, there are still many things to discuss together." ”

"Let's go. The day after tomorrow, I invite you to drink, and the Generalissimo must come. ”

King Chuang nodded, smiled slightly, and then turned to Yuan Shizhong, asking him to stay with Liu Yuqi for a while. Yuan Shizhong looked at his military advisor, and he couldn't help but be suspicious in his heart, but he couldn't help but listen, and waited for King Chuang to send Luo Rucai away, what did he have to talk to him. He understood that after the destruction of the city, his own troops had poor military discipline, and that the indiscriminate killing of civilians and adultery were worse than those of Cao Ying, and he secretly guessed in his heart: Could it be that King Chuang wanted to talk to him about this? Liu Yuchi was originally holding a suppressed mood, but at the moment he was calm. Since the meeting in Shangqiu, he has better understood that the two camps of Chuang and Cao are indeed inseparable, and Li Zicheng is deeply afraid that Cao Cao will leave, so he thinks that Xiao Yuanying has a decisive position in the battle between Chuang and Cao, and he does not need to be attached to King Chuang everywhere, let alone be too afraid. Because there were people left and right, it was inconvenient for him to say what was in his heart, so he only showed Yuan Shizhong a sneer that he didn't care.

After Li Zicheng sent Luo Rucai away, he invited Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuqi to talk in the prefect's signing room behind the second hall. Except for leaving Song Xiance, he did not ask others to accompany him. Only two of the soldiers were left behind to wait outside the signing room. He did not discuss any confidential matters with Yuan Shizhong, but only asked the soldiers in detail about their usual training, what difficulties the soldiers had, and said some words of encouragement to Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuqi. His attitude was very cordial, not only like talking to the generals who had been with him for many years, but also like talking to relatives and juniors, and the stern look when he ordered Li Gubi to be killed at the banquet was not visible at all. He also said:

"In the middle of the time, you have to tell your soldiers that from now on, you must never have the view of Xiao Yuanying and breaking into the camp in your hearts. If you still have that kind of knowledge, you will fail my heart to value you. If I had not valued you, I would not have betrothed my adopted daughter to you. Although my adopted daughter is not my biological daughter, our husband and wife regard her more seriously than our biological daughter. Whether it is public or private, when the great work is done, I will never treat you badly, nor will I treat the meritorious people under your command badly. You are my confidant and beloved general, and you are also my son-in-law, so your little Yuan Ying is different from Cao Ying. In the future, there should be no difference between the small Yuan camp and the camp, it should be turned into one. I want to treat everyone equally, and the palms and backs of my hands are full of meat. You must also understand that Xiao Yuan's camp is a camp, and it is the people of the old mansion. I speak from the bottom of your heart, and you must remember it in your hearts, and tell it to all that is under your command. ”

Yuan Shizhong hurriedly stood up and said: "Generalissimo Meng is so loving, it will be difficult to repay the generalissimo." The generalissimo's edict must be kept in mind, and the civil and military personnel under his command must be aware of it. ”

Liu Yuqi stood up solemnly with Yuan Shizhong, and after listening to what Shizhong said, he bowed down and said: "After returning to the station today, I will immediately send the generalissimo Jun to the leaders to know." What everyone looks forward to every day is to eliminate the domain, not to talk about Shaanxi and Henan, not to distinguish between inside and outside, whether old or new, to become one, and work together to lay down a unified world for the generalissimo. The jade ruler is a scholar, in troubled times, and he lives in Pengshu, and he does not dare to hope for a future. Two years ago, I had to meet General Yuan's righteous banner to the south, and I tended to talk to Yuanmen, and under the talk, I reluctantly stayed to serve. Yu Qi and General Yuan often said that Fang is in trouble today, and the heroes rise together, and in the end it is just to clear the ears for the new saint. Later, when I heard that the generalissimo should be in charge of the plan and meet the people's expectations, I knew that the destiny of heaven was in return, and there was no doubt that he would win the world. The soldiers of the small Yuan battalion, following General Yuan's loyalty, are willing to follow the gallop, hoping that the people of the world will see the light of day as soon as possible and regain the joy of peace. In the future, if anyone in Xiao Yuan's camp dares to have two hearts, people and gods will not tolerate it. According to the intention of our General Yuan, since he has joined the command of King Chuang and has to become an in-law, the title of this little Yuan camp should not be asked for in the future. General Yuan originally said that as soon as he arrived outside Kaifeng City, he immediately passed on the order to go, and no longer used the old title. As for the new titles, they should be followed by the Generalissimo's explicit observance. Only in this way can the Xiao Yuan camp and the old mansion camps be regarded as a case and become one. ”

King Chuang nodded happily and said, "Please sit down, sit down, you don't have to be formal." The jade ruler is in the position of the first battalion of military divisions, and this is a good thing to say, a good one. There is no need to rush this matter. For the time being, you only need to know my good intentions in your hearts, and you do not need to be in a hurry to proclaim it to the soldiers. The whole army system is being drafted by Song Junshi and Mr. Niu, and it will be announced to be implemented after the opening of Kaifeng. The title of Xiao Yuanying will be used at that time. ”

Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuqi are the only ones.

Song Xiance has been observing them, but he can't tell how much of their words are not sincere. The same goes for King Chuang. He always smiled at them and nodded his head frequently, making them feel that he believed in the sincerity of their words. After King Chuang finished saying the above few words, Song Xiance said to Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuqi:

"If the Generalissimo had treated you as outsiders, he would not have spoken to you today. This is completely for your good, for General Shi Zhong is both a beloved general and a delicate son-in-law. Now Cao Ying and Xiao Yuan Ying are under the command of the generalissimo, in terms of the relationship in the past, Cao Shuai and the generalissimo are in the same township, and they are brothers, but like the heartfelt words just now, the generalissimo is unwilling to say anything to Cao Shuai. ”

Yuan Shizhong bowed and said: "The generalissimo and the Song military division don't treat me as an outsider, I fully understand, so I will be grateful to the generalissimo for the rest of my life, and I will not have a second thought." ”

Liu Yuqi added: "All the soldiers of Xiao Yuanying also have this idea, and they are loyal to King Chuang. ”

King Chuang also said: "When I came into the city today, I had already instructed the head of the old camp to send you three thousand taels of silver and two hundred horses of silk to reward the soldiers, and I am afraid that they would have been sent to your old camp and handed over to Liu Jingyi." ”

Yuan Shizhong said some words of gratitude.

Song Xiance said: "The generalissimo treats the small Yuan camp as well as Li Buzhi, Yuan Hanju, and Liu Mingyuan's camps. Today, because the soldiers of Xiao Yuanying have returned to the old mansion not long ago, they are specially rewarded to show their preferential treatment. He turned to look at Liu Yuqi, smiled kindly and said, "Brother Yuqi, General Jiexuan raised a few words with you at the banquet just now, please don't take it to heart." Every time he talks behind his back, he admires you for your talent and resourcefulness. Today he eats a little more and drinks a little more, and there are some important things that bother him. He is a person, you probably all know, he treats his friends and subordinates with sincerity, sincerity, and cheerful language, so the whole army loves him, and even the generals call him the chief whistle Liu Ye. Some people have been heavily reprimanded by him, but they still like him afterwards and respect him in their hearts. Brother Yuqi, don't take today's little things to heart! ”

Liu Yuqi hurriedly said, "Strategist, how can I be so confused? Today's little brother has a banquet and talks in vain, but it is just to cheer everyone's ears. After saying that, he laughed and smiled very calmly.

Yuan Shizhong said: "Yuqi is also a cheerful person, he will never take it to heart." ”

Li Zicheng nodded and said, "That's good." We are an army of uprisings, and we treat each other sincerely, not accustomed to paying attention to small details, and there is no pretense. Jiexuan was loyal to me, but he would sometimes steal a few words from me. I like the temperament he has. You will be pleased with him as you spend a long time with him. ”

After talking for a while, Yuan Shizhong saw that King Chuang had no other instructions, so he got up with Liu Yuqi to say goodbye. Li Zicheng and Song Xiance sent out the signing room, but still came back and sat down. A personal soldier came in to serve, and Li Zicheng ordered him to go out, and then asked Xiang Xiance:

"What do you think of the two of them?"

Song Xiance groaned and said: "In my opinion, Liu Yuqi is very unreliable. Yuan Shizhong relied on him to plan everything, which made me the most uneasy, and I must get rid of this person first. ”

King Chuang said: "What Shi Zhong said is similar to what Liu Yuqi said, and it seems that most of them are sincere. ”

Song Xiance rolled his eyes and said, "I'm afraid that these nice words were discussed by the two of them in advance. ”

King Chuang said, "No, not so." I told them today, how did they know beforehand? ”

Offering advice said: "The people around the time, Liu Yuqi's scheming and thoughtful thoughts, he is known as Xiao Zhuge in Xiao Yuan Ying, but sometimes his arrogance is exposed, which is his shortcoming. There are also Zhu Chengju and Liu Jingyi, both of whom are very deep in the city. An Zhi They usually don't make a lot of discussions with Yuan Shizhong, and they have prepared all the words of the temporary answer? ”

King Chuang was silent for a moment, and said, "If those two people are really bad, they must be removed one after another, but it is better not to leave them alone for the time being, so as not to be uneasy from time to time." Since I have betrothed Hui Mei to him as an adopted daughter, I have made sure that he may be at ease. ”

He said: "Yesterday, as a son-in-law, he paid a visit to his wife with Miss Huimei, and he was very respectful. He also told his wife that he supported the generalissimo to fight the world and was willing to be crushed. ”

King Chuang smiled and said, "Shao Shixin and Aunt Lu both told Madame that he and Huimei are now very harmonious, which reassures me. ”

"I'm relieved too. Otherwise, how can I be worthy of Madame and Miss Huimei? ”

They smiled at each other, and rode around several places in the city.

When King Chuang and Song Xiance were still staying in Shangqiu City, Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuqi had already arrived at the village where Xiao Yuan's old camp was stationed.

Sure enough, the three thousand taels of silver and two hundred pieces of silk rewarded by the generalissimo had already been delivered, and Liu Jingyi accepted them. Now Zhu Chengju, Liu Jingyi, and two or three of the most trusted leaders who can participate in the secret discussion are all waiting in Yuan Shizhong's house.

Zhu Chengju and some of his cronies came back from a banquet in the city, and when they saw Liu Zongmin laughing at their military advisor Liu Yuqi in public, they were all depressed. They were anxious to find out what Li Zicheng had left Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuchi to talk about, so they all waited at Shizhong's residence and talked in whispers. When discussing the pros and cons of defection at that time, Liu Jingyi and some leaders were skeptical, and even expressed their opposition. Because the pro-Chuang faction had the upper hand, Yuan Shizhong decided to surrender and went to meet King Chuang near the Luohe River. King Chuang decided to marry his adopted daughter to Shizhong, and the good news was transmitted back to the army, and the whole camp rejoiced, which was a golden day for the Chuang faction. But after Yuan Shizhong returned to the army with his new wife, especially in Suizhou, the skeptics quickly gained the upper hand, and even Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuqi regretted it. In the three days since they arrived in Shangqiu, the 30,000 horses of the Xiaoyuan battalion were sandwiched between the hundreds of thousands of horses of the two battalions of Chuang and Cao, and they could not be free everywhere, and the soldiers of Shaanxi had a very strong sense of locality, and not only regarded the leaders and soldiers of the Xiaoyuan battalion as outsiders, but also looked down on the new people who surrendered to Shun. Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuqi regretted it even more.

Yuan Shizhong retired from the idlers, and Liu Yuqi secretly repeated the words of King Chuang and Song Xiance just now to everyone. Everyone was surprised, and some people unconsciously said: "Isn't this preparing to eat our little Yuan Ying?" Just as he was about to discuss countermeasures, Shao Shi believed in Huimei's order to come to see Shizhong, saying that Mrs. Gao and the wives of several generals such as Niu, Song, and Liu Zongmin had arrived in Huimei's tent, and asked him to hurry up and visit them. As soon as Shao Shixin's words were finished, someone flew in to report: Master Cao Shuaijun Shiji has entered the village, please Yuan Shizhong hurry up to greet him. Yuan Shizhong said to Shao Shixin: