There was a foreigner in Shanglinzhuang, and the man in the family had died a long time ago, leaving a widow and two sons. The eldest is called Tan Chunming, and the second is called Tan Qiuming. Among them, the second Tan Qiuming and Lin Qian studied together in Li Baoting's private school, and they were classmates. Tan Qiuming is a few months younger than Lin Qian, and he usually plays very well with Lin Qian. And the scene of the Tan family is similar to that of the Lin family, both of them are widowed mothers with two sons, so the two families get along well.

But then the trouble came, Tan Qiuming's wife is also commonly known as Wu's sister-in-law, who is in her early thirties, and she still has some color. Be an old mother to Wang Gupeng, the landlord of the village. In the early years, the old mothers, maids, and wet nurses of some large families were actually playthings in the hands of the masters. Everyone has seen "Midnight", Wu Sunfu gave the old mother what he gave when he got angry, speaking of which, Wu Sunfu is not comparable to ordinary rich people.

Wang Gupeng's grandson is even more evil than the Lin Baihu we talked about earlier. I have a pawnshop at home. From ancient times to the present, are there any ordinary people who have opened pawnshops? No, I don't. Lin Qian entered Wang Gupeng's pawnshop, stood under the high counter and said one more sentence: "This is a new jacket, I haven't worn it." A sentence flew out of the counter: "Shouldn't it?" Don't get out, what more mouth? "If you dare to say more, the man with a bad temper will rush out of the shop, pick up a fist with a big bowl and beat people.

It is said that Wang Gupeng got Sister-in-law Wu, you can do it as much as you want, there is no way to sell yourself, but this old grandson is not a thing, not only does he not add more money, but he also tortures Sister-in-law Wu in different ways. What's even more infuriating is that Wang Gupeng's youngest son often bullied Tan Qiuming, scolding and scolding in his mouth. Tan Qiuming sometimes muttered to Lin Qian when he was wronged, what can Lin Qian say as a child? But I was really holding my breath in my heart, and I had nowhere to sprinkle, so I was in a hurry.

Lin Qian told him about Tan Qiuming's family when Lin Ziquan was free, and in the mind of the young Lin Qian, his second uncle was a powerful man who could not do anything. But after hearing this, the powerful man was bored for a long time and did not speak. Who Wang Gupeng is, Lin Ziquan knows too well, this is a gentleman who has to be respectful and polite when he sees the top figures in the county. What can he do as a little trickster?

Lin Ziquan was helpless, Tan Qiuming's brother Tan Chunming couldn't wait. A young man can't see his relatives being bullied by the bastards casually. Tan Chunming worked in the blacksmith shop and made some old customers with mysterious whereabouts, and they often came to nail the horseshoe, and they became familiar with each other. Tan Chunming estimated that these people may have "walked the water" (walking the water means bandits). One day, he made his words so thorough that the speaker had a heart, and the listener had more intention. really let Tan Chunming guess correctly. The people who came here to nail the horseshoe were indeed a group of passing kidnappers who "walked through the water". The leader is a man called "Tiger Head".

In the early Republic of China, the bandits in North China were the most famous in three major regions, one was the Northeast beard, the second was the Shaanxi and Gansu poles, and the third was the Shanxi sticks. The Northeast beard is "Leng", the Shaanxi and Gansu poles are "hard", and the Shanxi sticks are "horizontal". In fact, the bandits in the Republic of China era have long since lost the "chivalry" of the heroes of Shuibo Liangshan, and some are just countless "banditry", "anger" and "stink". Most of them are indeed cornered, but more are idle and unscrupulous ruffians and hooligans. Although they also came from a poor background and were standard "proletarians", they showed no mercy to the common people who were also proletarians. The bandits in Shanxi's history are bloody, tearful in the historical trajectory of the Republic of China, which is very typical.

This group of kidnappers who walked the water have always been very hungry and can't find the "mouth", but they happened to meet Tan Chunming's revenge, which is equivalent to going out and tripping over the wallet, where is the reason to be unhappy. The bandit leader "Tiger Leader" ordered, according to the place designated by Tan Chunming, tied up Wang Gupeng's son, and then asked Wang Gupeng for 100,000 yuan, if the conditions permitted, even Tan Chunming was cleaned up, and no one here was left with any reliable mark.

Wang Gupeng's youngest son is usually accompanied by Tan Qiuming when he goes to school, but he didn't expect Tan Qiuming to be sick in the past two days, so he was accompanied by Lin Qian. When the kidnappers met Wang Gupeng's son, they saw that there were other people around them, and without saying a word, they tied up one by one. Wang Gupeng couldn't find his son at home, and it was the same as a fire house. Lin Qian's wife over there couldn't see her son coming back, and she almost fainted. People like Wang Gupeng are both black and white, and the kidnappers near Tai'an will not easily find fault, because Wang Gupeng is not thin on them. The old fellow sat down and pondered, this must have been done by the passerby. But he couldn't figure it out, since he knew Wang Gupeng's tuba, the kidnappers should also know the strength of the Wang family, right? I didn't say it at the moment, I immediately prepared money, and at the same time secretly found the two bandit leaders behind the mountain and asked them to find out, who did the "deal", and the matter on the underworld had to be solved by the underworld.

It is said that the relationship between Wang Gupeng and the government is so iron, why don't you ask someone in the official face to solve it? The truth is also clear - officials are darker than bandits.

Take the suppression of bandits as an example, once it is believed that there are bandits in a certain place, this is a good opportunity for the government to make money. Send one or two hundred people, and the county, township, and village must be entertained with good food, drink, fun, and good women, and before leaving, they will take good money, wine, and livestock. Therefore, the officials and soldiers suppressed bandits, and dogs jumped and chickens flew. Wang Gupeng is a big family, although all this money may not come from his subordinates, but these wolf-like officials and soldiers are black-eyed and can't see silver, in case there is a bad pool, Wang Gupeng will definitely not be able to eat and walk around. So, he would rather spend his money on the underworld.

Lin Qian, who was tied up the mountain, and Wang Gupeng's son were locked up in two small caves. Wang Gupeng's baby son is usually pampered, where did he suffer from this crime? At that time, I was dizzy. Lin Qian's eyes were blindfolded, but it was no problem for his eyes to turn. He went to school late and began to study at a private school at the age of nine, when he was only thirteen years old.

After staying for a while, waiting for someone to move, Lin Qian shouted violently: "Give me some Qingchuanzi, I'm thirsty!" ”

As soon as Lin Qian's voice was concerned, the black cloth covering his eyes was torn off. "Shangqing Chuanzi" is a black saying. That is, the meaning of tea. Throughout the ages, some high-risk industries have often had their own independent words and deeds. For example, if we eat fish on a boat by the river, and one side is eaten up, and we want to eat the other side, you can't say "turn over", because the people who sail the boat are the most taboo about the word "turn over", so you have to say "row over". In the same way, there is often blood and rain on the underworld, and the bandits are doing things that lose their heads, so there are naturally more taboos. The most taboo for them is the words "rice" and "tea", rice is the same offense, tea is the same check, therefore, eating is called "Chuanzi", and drinking tea is called "Shangqing Chuanzi". This is the exquisiteness of some bandits on the ground in Shanxi. If you say something wrong, they'll be able to turn the other cheek on you.

But these jargon are limited to the transmission between their bandits, and the kidnappers were surprised that the half-grown children who were kidnapped could actually come up with this sentence. These kidnappers are passing by, the so-called strong dragon does not suppress the head snake, they are also preparing to fast forward and go fast to do this list of transactions, and they will leave immediately when they get the money, they can't stay for a long time, and they don't want to provoke bandits from all walks of life on the ground. Now when I hear the child's "black words", I can't help but mutter.

The bandits who "walk on the water" are called "one knife", and the second level is called "two knives". At this time, the "two knives" in the kidnapper group spoke: "Which family is this baby?" The kidnappers told him that they were with Wang Gupeng's son, so they had to be tied up according to the rules, and they didn't know whose child it was.

"Two knives" asked Lin Qian: "Who did you learn this sentence from?" ”

Lin Qian's little head raised and said, "I learned it from my second uncle." ”

"Who is your second uncle?"

Lin Qian paused, when the time came, he replied loudly: "Speaking of my second uncle, it is really a character, first give me a clear mouth and moisten my throat." ”

"Two knives" motioned for Lin Qian to drink saliva. Lin Qian, who drank the water, continued: "My second uncle's big knife ability is ancestral, and he has it in my second grandfather's generation, my second grandfather used the 'magic horse' of 'running water newspaper' to save the life of the 'iron crotch', Lin Jinkang rode alone to retreat the pursuers, who doesn't know?" Lin Jinkang is my second grandfather, Lin Ziquan is my second uncle, you listen to it! ”

When the "two knives" heard this, they immediately beckoned to their kidnappers: "Call the eldest brother quickly"

After a while, "a knife" came. "Two knives" asked Lin Qian to repeat what he had just said, and Lin Qian's head flicked: "Don't say good things twice"

"Two knives": "Okay, you kid." He repeated what Lin Qian had just said to "a knife", and after hearing "a knife", his eyebrows immediately stood up, and he walked a few steps to Lin Qian: "Little brother, you said that your second master's name is Lin Jinkang?" Saved the 'iron crotch'? Do you know what the 'iron crotch' is called? ”

Lin Qian thought for a while and said: "We don't know the name of the iron pants crotch, but we know that everyone calls him Qin Yibiao, why do you call him Qin Yibiao, because my second uncle said that he has two sons, and he is angry." ”

"A knife" heard this, and became even more anxious: "Is your second grandfather still there?" ”

Lin Qian said: "My second grandfather has already ascended to heaven, and my second grandfather is still there, and he is old and strong." ”

"A knife" waved his hand, and asked the people below to loosen Lin Qian's bonds, and the people below were also stunned.

As soon as Lin Qian untied it, his small mouth chirped faster: "My second uncle said that Qin Yibiao not only has the trick of 'iron pants crotch', but also the trick of practicing 'Jin Dart', known as 'Jin Dart Tang'"

As soon as the latter sentence was finished, "a knife" shouted: Serve the wine!

Serving a glass of wine, "one knife" and "two knives" saluted Lin Qian with wine glasses: "Little brother, our brothers toast you a glass, and then talk about it after drinking." ”

This time it was Lin Qianmeng's turn.

Why did the two kidnapper leaders of "one knife" and "two knives" suddenly toast Lin Qian? There's a story to talk about here.

Lin Qian relayed the "Qin Yibiao" in Lin Ziquan's mouth, which was one of the good friends Lin Ziquan's father Lin Jinkang made when he was walking on the dock in Henan. Qin Yibiao is a person in the dart game, and he has a lot of strength, especially when he practices Jin Darts, he has a set of rules, and he is obeyed in the industry. We often talk about the legends of "Golden Dart Huang Santai", "Golden Dart Huang Tianba" and so on, in fact, that is not accurate enough, because no one uses gold to build a dart in the first place, a dart is less than a pound in weight, and it is heavy in the hand, let alone flying. Secondly, the golden dart is a false rumor of the Jin dart. Everyone in the dart game knows that there are only people who practice jin darts in the world, and they have not heard of flying gold darts.

One year, Qin Yibiao offended the government, and the government wanted to take him to a cage. What is a standing cage? To put it bluntly, it is hanging, but it is more sinful than hanging, before pumping bricks, the general Jiangyang thieves with a little cattle are also colorless. The two most ruthless tricks in the Qing Dynasty to deal with bandits, one is to stand in a cage, which is a public punishment, that is, to deal with it publicly, within the scope of the criminal law, there is also a kind of lynching, the most cruel, commonly known as "stabbing horse's eye", what is "stabbing horse's eye"? It is to pierce the urethral opening of a male with a pig's bristles, and once it is pierced, the person is not dead but also crippled. Don't look at Qin Yibiao's nickname "Iron Crotch", if you use the trick of "stabbing the horse's eye", all the crotch will be finished.

The news of the government's round-up of Qin Yibiao was known to Lin Jinkang, who was working in Henan at the time, and Lin Jinkang sent a letter to Qin Yibiao that night with a horse that "ran the water report". What is the "running water report"?

It turns out that there is a Qianjin Pond in Luoyang, Henan, which leads to the Yellow River, and if the water in this pool is bullish, then the water of the Yellow River will also rise. When encountering the rising water in Qianjintan, use a fast horse to gallop to Kaifeng to report the message, this is called "running the water report", the horses used to run the water report are all superior thoroughbred horses, never "eye fork" (eye fork refers to the horse walking, encounter something that may be frightened and not panic to run, panic) but run the water report the most hurt horse, no matter how good the horse runs through the water newspaper also lives soon. The "Jade Top West Liang Pony" under Lin Jinkang's crotch is famous, running through the water newspaper but still very hard, usually it is a double material waiting. Using this horse to report to Qin Yibiao, that is really a kindness to home.

Lin Jinkang let go of Qin Yibiao, and the government soon found out, and sent someone to chase after him, Lin Jinkang's horse was given to Qin Yibiao, and he rode another "chrysanthemum green", and his foot strength was obviously not as good as the god horse that ran the water report. Seeing that the people from the government were about to catch up, Lin Jinkang was not ambiguous, he covered half of his face and held a Mauser gun in his hand. At a glance, there were four pursuers behind him. As soon as Lin Jinkang raised his hand, the gun went off, and it was fired six times in a row.

The pursuers behind immediately understood that the hardest guy in the hands of the Henan patrol battalion was five fast guns at that time, and when they heard the movement of the six consecutive rounds, they immediately took the reins and stopped chasing.

Otherwise, why did Lin Ziquan always say "let" to Lin Qian? This is handed down by his father Lin Jinkang, at that time, if Lin Jinkang turned around and shot, not to mention the four pursuers, even eight were also knocked down, but the matter was also a big deal, killing the people in the government is also a capital crime from ancient times to the present. Lin Jinkang is saving people, not killing people, so he flashed his gun, and also made the brothers behind him understand that the five-shot rapid gun of the patrol battalion is not good in front of him. In this way, everyone has face, and when the chasing soldiers go back, it can be said that they have encountered a hard guy, it is not easy to chase, he doesn't hurt anyone here, and he still runs away. How else to say that "let" is philosophy.

However, in the end, it was the government that was shocked, Lin Jinkang walked back to Caozhou from Xiayi, Henan, and then went to Tai'an, and it was inconvenient to go to the border of Henan in the future, and he changed his name to Lin Houqi. But Qin Yibiao still remembered this life-saving benefactor until he died, and later confessed to his two sons before he died: "Be sure to find your Uncle Lin Jinkang, and you must repay this favor, otherwise you brothers will not go underground to see me in the future." ”

The brothers of the Qin family didn't inquire a lot, but Lin Jinkang changed his name and changed his boundary, where to find it? If Lin Qian hadn't said it today, it would really be nowhere to find it.

When Lin Ziquan taught Lin Qian to practice the big knife, he told him about Lin Jinkang's things, Lin Qian had a smart brain and a heart, so he remembered it. After tying up the kidnappers on the mountain, Lin Qian originally meant to say that Lin Jinkang and Lin Ziquan gave themselves the courage to strengthen themselves, that is, to pull the banner as a tiger skin, but he didn't expect that the two kidnapper leaders in front of him had a relationship.

"One knife" and "two knives" gave Lin Qian a full meal and arranged for him to sleep for a while. The two brothers discussed. Obviously, this child not only can't move, but also has to be sent back to Lin Ziquan intact, which is the minimum. But thieves don't go empty, this is also the ancestral teaching.

The two bandit leaders considered at least leaving Lin Qian on the mountain for a while until they got the ransom from the Wang family. However, another scene that happened now made the bandit leader change his mind somewhat.

When they served Lin Qian food, they served a bowl of chicken, and Lin Qian tore off a thigh just to the side, never moving. "A knife" asked Lin Qian: "Why don't you kid eat this chicken leg?" Lin Qian said: "I have eaten such a good meal, my mother has not eaten it, I left a chicken leg to bring to my mother to eat, bad mountain rules?" ”

"One knife" and "two knives" looked at each other for a while. Although the kidnappers are ugly, they are also human beings after all, and they also have a little bit of humanity left, or it can be said that this residual thing was hooked up by Lin Qian's words at this moment. The brothers decided to let Lin Qian go down the mountain first.

But this kind of herding is not a herding of sheep, it is a task. "A knife" ordered to chop off the little finger of Wang Gupeng's son and wrap it up and give it to Lin Qian to take back, the meaning is very clear, the thief who "walks the water" is impatient.

Lin Qian, who was still masked as usual, was carried down the mountain on a horse and placed in a place where Lin Ziquan often passed by, which was learned by the kidnappers who had secretly followed Lin Ziquan in the past few days.

This can also be regarded as a favor given to Lin Ziquan by the brothers of "one knife" and "two knives", and this can also be regarded as a great favor for Lin Jinkang who saved Qin Yibiao's life back then. This is already particularly "kind" in Shanxi Xiangmadui.

The calculation of "a knife" is not really to repay Lin Ziquan's kindness, and it is not a good thing for Lin Qian to go back with the finger of the little young master of the Wang Gupeng family. With the degree of wealth and ferocity of Wang Gupeng and others, it is very likely that Lin Qian's life will be killed. If this is the case, it is the "heart" of "a knife", and all strangers who have seen their brothers will either join the gang and go with them, or they will be ghosts under the knife. "Two Knives" naturally understood the mind of being a big brother, but he asked with some concern: "If Lin Ziquan's kindness is not repaid, it will be difficult to see my father under Jiuquan in the future." His eldest brother snorted with his nostrils and said: "You and my brother have come to this point, robbing the house, and the grass is no longer able to see his old man, and hitting the wall is also breaking the ground, which is not bad for this trick." If we don't be ruthless, then it will be the turn of others to be ruthless to our brothers. ”

"People are not as good as heaven", Lin Qian was discovered by Lin Ziquan and rescued Shanglinzhuang. But instead of a simple murder as "One Knife" had envisioned, it triggered an even greater catastrophe.

After Wang Gupeng's youngest son was kidnapped, two opinions were formed in the Wang family, one was the eldest wife's insistence on reporting to the official, and the eldest wife's brother became a small boss in the county police station, and he was always worried about the property of his brother-in-law's family. She insisted on reporting to the official, not at all to save Wang Gupeng's life, but to cut off the lifeblood of Wang Gupeng's family. The "big truth" of "black eyes can't see silver money" often has to deal with many "small truths".

Waiting for Wang Gupeng's little wife, although her stomach was angry and gave birth to a son, there was no one in her mother's family. can only rely on the old man to support him. This saw his son's little finger and fainted immediately. After waking up, Lin Qian must be tied to the stable and hanged alive. At this time, Lin Ziquan spoke: "There are rules in the kidnappers, if they kill the 'living mouth' of the 'water release', they may take the life of the little master if they can't keep it." Wang Gupeng nodded again and again after hearing this: "Brother, what do you think is going to happen now?" "Pingsuli, Wang Gupeng saw that Lin Ziquan was the master who didn't even bother to hum when he breathed out of his nostrils, and now he has reached the point of desperation, and he has actually pulled on the relationship of "brother" (according to the blood relationship in the clan, Wang Gupeng and Lin Ziquan are brothers of the same generation). Lin Ziquan said: "The one who reports to the official or not is all in the master's words, but the little master's life is also on the master's words." Lin Ziquan's answer was actually the same as not saying anything, but Wang Gupeng, who was in a panic, didn't hear such a little flower, but nodded again as if he was calm.

However, the eldest wife and brother couldn't wait, so they reported to the official without saying hello to Wang Gupeng. The government was really happy when they heard it. I haven't had meat for many days, and this time it was a big incident in Wang Gupeng's family. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Of course, the happiest person among them is the county magistrate.

The county magistrate is commonly known as "Baili Hou", and in ancient times, there was a saying that "the county was destroyed". Illustrate the power in his hands. People who have served as county magistrates in local areas and regiment commanders in the army have always had some skills and means, and these two positions are also the only way to be promoted or promoted in the future. Being a county magistrate usually has to learn to play four roles: first, in-laws; the second is Hades; The third is the tiger; The fourth is Sun Tzu. For wealthy families, the county magistrate is the in-laws, who must not only protect them, but also prevent them from climbing on their heads; For ordinary people, the county magistrate is the king of Hades, and if you don't pay all the taxes, there will only be a dead end. For hooligans and bandits, the county magistrate is a tiger, and he must shake his tiger power from time to time. For the boss, the county magistrate is the grandson, and there is no other possibility than to listen and drink.

In the face of hooligans and bandits, the real purpose of the county magistrate is not to protect the territory and the people, but to protect himself and his own hats and purses. There can't be too many hooligans, and there can't be too little, too much of your county magistrate's gauze hat will be a problem, too little of your county magistrate's wallet will also be a problem. "Raising self-respect" is one of the tricks of being an official since ancient times. The other side of "raising self-respect" is "slaughtering fat ducks". The group of kidnappers encountered at the moment gave the county magistrate a good opportunity and good skills to "slaughter the fat duck".

The county magistrate came to Wang Gupeng's house with dignity, shh

The garrison sent a company, and the county police station mobilized more than 60 policemen to cooperate, and searched the mountains for a week, but there was no trace of the kidnappers, but one of Wang Gupeng's son's ears was sent to Wang's house again. At this moment, the Wang family was completely stunned. Wang Gupeng had to let Lin Ziquan help find some way, and finally Lin Ziquan went up the mountain with a huge amount of money to negotiate with the kidnappers, from Lin Qian's mouth, Lin Ziquan already knew the origin of the "one knife" and "two knives" brothers, and the two brothers no longer hid, especially when they saw that the huge amount of money was alive, they were naturally released, and Wang Gupeng's youngest son, who was missing an ear and a little finger, finally "returned safely". But Tan Chunming was kidnapped by the kidnappers, and his life and death are unknown. And the most troublesome thing is that Tan Chunming's contact with the kidnappers in the blacksmith shop leaked the news, and in order to cover Tan Qiuming's escape, Wu's sister-in-law hanged herself in the stables for Wang Gupeng's house.

This unexpected disaster allowed the young Lin Qian to see the "mighty" of the bandits and the "tyranny" of the official army. Lin Ziquan hugged his head and said, "Child, if you don't talk with the butt of a gun these days, you don't count it." This was the beginning of Lin Qian's first concept of the word army. Five years later, the year before Lin Qian left his hometown, an armed force drove to the vicinity of Shanglinzhuang, and one night, a fire broke out in Wang Gupeng's house, and Wang Gupeng was burned and died soon after. The Wang family suspected that the fire was related to the garrison, and the lawsuit reached the county yamen, and the county magistrate sent a post to the battalion commander of the garrison, but the battalion commander did not even take a picture. This incident undoubtedly made a deeper impression on Lin Qian. "Soldier" has become a new desire in his mind.

As for his re-meeting with Tan Qiuming, it has been several years later.