The summer is scorching, and the mountains and forests are secluded.

And Ding Dazhuang and others, who were worried about Xia Jing, were in Jigong Mountain at this time.

The terrain of Jigong Mountain is dangerous, and the mountain road is difficult to walk, but it is still captured by them.

After a tiring all-nighter, everyone in the guard camp was hungry, smelling the smell of meat from the open space, and everyone was salivating.

Not to mention the captured captives.

In the morning, I steamed white rice, burned the bacon and sausages saved by the bandits, and brought back all the vegetables planted next to the bandits' den and fried a vegetable hodgepodge.

As soon as the leader of the gang shouted to start the meal, the guards held a large bowl of rice and vegetables, and ate it in a big gulp, it was fragrant!

It seems that the delicacies are not as good as the food in the bowl.

If anyone with anorexia sees their eating appearance, he will be cured immediately, and he will pick up his rice bowl and cook his three bowls!

"Boss"

"Call the squadron leader!"

"Oh, squadron leader, it's better to be a bandit than a civilian these days, you see that all the civilians have become refugees, fleeing everywhere, all of them are hungry and skinny, and even more exaggerated Yi Zi eats. And what about these bandits, the grain warehouse is full, the bacon is hung all over the beams, and there are vegetables in the field, if it weren't for the inconvenient transportation in the mountains, this would be a paradise on earth. ”

Ding Dazhuang put the last bit of rice in the bowl into his mouth and said with a smile: "You like it here, after I go back to report to the princess, let you stay here?" ”

"Ha, forget it, captain, I'm joking, don't take it seriously." The team scoffed.

Ding Dazhuang put down the bowl and wiped his mouth, "Okay, don't be poor, hurry up and finish eating, clean up the loot, and let's go home." It's been so long since we came out this time, and the princess must be thinking about us. ”

After eating, the physical strength is replenished.

Even if I didn't sleep all night last night, because of the rich harvest, the guards of the pro-guard battalion were all like chickens and full of energy!

This time they brought 500 guards out to suppress the bandits, and there were not many of them. Of course, they dare not touch the big bandits.

Along the way, a small group of bandits were exterminated, and the harvest was not bad.

There are four or five hundred bandits in Jigong Mountain, of which nearly two hundred are old and weak, and in addition to some of the bandits who attacked and resisted last night, there are still more than three hundred people left.

"Captain Ding, the bandit leader let him take the carriage, in my opinion, let him walk, so that our carriage can pull more goods."

Cheng Gu is the leader of the seventh squadron of the Guards Battalion, and the little sister in the family has lost because of the scourge of bandits, so he has hatred for bandits in his bones.

Ding Dazhuang shook his head and asked, "The bandit leader is as cunning as a fox, what if he is allowed to escape?" Thus he sat in the cage fixed in the carriage, and we could feel much more at ease on our journey. ”

Chen Ming fixed the carriage and came over and patted Cheng Gu on the shoulder, "Da Zhuang is right, after all, we have to watch hundreds of people on our way this time, and the manpower is a bit tight." ”

Cheng Gu gritted his teeth and clenched his fist and waved at the bandit leader in the carriage, and after being ignored by the bandit leader, he wanted to rush over and beat people, but let Chen Ming stop him.

The original name of the bandit leader was Li Dingguo, an Annan clan, a standard Annan figure, not tall, in the words of later generations, about 1.7 meters.

In addition, his appearance is soft, his facial features are three-dimensional, and he is a standard southern beauty man.

If the brocade robe is added, it is hard to imagine that this man will be a ruthless bandit leader.

Chen Ming dragged Cheng Gu aside, tried to keep him away from the bandit, and warned: "You can stop in moderation, now that we are escorting the prisoners back to the city, who knows what will happen on the way?" In order to avoid accidents on the road, we have to rush back to the city as soon as possible, you don't have nothing to do, as for what to do with him when he is escorted back, the princess will decide at that time. ”

Cheng Gu withdrew his hand and snorted coldly, "You don't need to remind me, I have my own measure!" ”

Chen Ming sighed and said helplessly: "I hope you can restrain your emotions." ”

He didn't want his brother's impulsive temperament to be known to the princess, and if he did, he didn't know if the princess would let him serve as the squadron leader of the guard battalion.

The team made a slow march along the rugged mountain road.

It was not easy to transport the supplies taken out of the bandits' den on a cart on a cart.

When the low-lying soil pit was sunk in, several men had to push and lift it out of the pit.

With such a difficult march, at the end of the day, the convoy could not travel more than 30 miles.

In the evening, the team found an open space to rest, and except for the old and weak women and children who got a steamed bun at noon, the other bandits did not eat for a day except for drinking some water.

When they arrived at the ground, the bandits with shackles on their hands and feet collapsed directly on the ground, hungry and really unable to walk again.

The team has guards who are good at hunting, and they can get some catch when they go into the woods and walk around, and there are always a few hares and pheasants.

Ding Dazhuang checked the situation of the team, then sat down, watched a few guards cleaning up pheasants and hares there, and said with a smile: "Don't say that this Lingnan is much richer than our hometown, at least there is abundant rain here, and there are more wild animals in the mountains and forests than we are." ”

Chen Ming nodded, looked at the mountains and forests in the distance and sighed: "If there is more rain in our hometown than there is in Lingnan, there will be no drought." ”

When I think of the people in the village fleeing from the north to the south with all their lives, I often think about how nice it would be if the water in the great rivers in the south could fall to the north.

"In the past, when I was in my hometown, whenever I heard that anyone was exiled to Lingnan, I always thought that Lingnan was a wild land, uneducated, and lived like a savage."

Saying that, Ding Dazhuang was ashamed of his ignorance at the beginning.

He laughed at himself: "After I came, I realized that in fact, Lingnan is really rich in products, at least the people's lives are better than our hometown." ”

Although the life of fishermen living by the sea is hard, there is no such thing as starvation and death with the sea there.

There are mountains and trees everywhere on the land, and the high temperature and rain mean that the plants grow luxuriantly, even if there is no food at home, you can still fill your stomach by digging wild vegetables outside.

Chen Ming nodded, grabbed a handful of wild vegetables on the slopes and ridges of the Lingnan wilderness, as long as you want to eat, you can eat until you die.

The two chatted for a while, and then each inspected the situation around the team.

In today's rampant banditry, they don't dare to be careless outside, if they encounter a larger team of bandits, then they are the ones who suffer.

King Qian took the list of confiscations handed over by Anu, first he counted how many pieces of paper were used in the list, and after counting, he was secretly frightened, the Lou family is not the strongest family, and the family background is so rich, how thick is the Tong family at the top of the list?

"Is it really poverty that limits the imagination of this king, or does the capital limit the imagination of this king, I don't know that the background of the family outside Gyeonggi is so thick!"

Mr. Zhang stroked his beard and sighed helplessly: "The government decree cannot reach the place, and the government is like a fictitious one, and the family has no respect for the government and the imperial court, so that they have slowly become a local tyrant, land annexation, and wealth are all concentrated in the hands of the family, and the people have a miserable life, but the family has slowly become a rat and a cancer."

This time, the prince can be regarded as removing a cancer for Lingnan, and returning those hidden households who are attached to the Lou family's power Lang Lang Qiankun. ”

King Qian was indifferent to Mr. Zhang's sycophant, he smiled coldly while flipping through the list, "Hmph, it's too early to say this, the hermits may still be complaining in their hearts that this king is meddling, breaking the peace of their lives, leaving them without a backer, and they are going to start running for their livelihood again." ”

Mr. Zhang retorted: "How come? The reason why the hidden households are hidden households is that the government has not received their land tax, poll tax, etc., but the family protects them, and there is not a lot of grain to pay. Now that the prince is here, if they register in the yamen and pay taxes according to the regulations in the future, who will embarrass them is definitely better than being a hidden household. ”

When you are a hermit, your net worth and life are pinched in the hands of the powerful family, how can you be free?

King Qian relied on his background before, and he had a sense of superiority in front of the family.

Looking at the list in his hand now, he has the illusion that he used to live in a slum.

The slums in the slums became rich overnight!

"Sir, do you think this king is considered to be rich overnight?"

"Lord Wang, don't be presumptuous, you are rich in six counties and twenty-four counties in one state, how can you be compared to a second-rate family like the Lou family."

King Qian pulled the corners of his mouth self-deprecatingly, and browsed to the Lou family's real estate, there are really a lot of mansions.

He took a sip of the teacup and stood up, "This king has something to do and goes out for a while, and you continue to be busy." ”

With that, he picked up the list on the table and left the study.

Mr. Zhang touched his chin thoughtfully, and after a while, he asked Mr. Yan, "Old Yan, where do you say the prince is going?" ”

Mr. Yan raised his head and glanced at him, and said lightly: "Go to the backyard to find the princess." ”

Mr. Zhang's eyes lit up, and the fire of gossip was ignited, "The prince and the princess have reconciled?" When did I not realize it? ”

Mr. Yan rubbed his temples and was a little speechless when he heard his words, but he didn't forget to warn him, "You don't have to get involved in the affairs of the prince and the princess!" ”

"If you lend me the guts, I don't dare to get involved in the affairs of my masters. I'm just here to ask you and me. ”

If he was really stupid, he went to ask about the affairs between the master and his wife.

Mr. Yan put his mind at ease, "It's good that you know the measure." ”

Mr. Zhang was unwilling and asked again: "Then tell me, how do you know that the prince is going to find the princess?" ”

Mr. Yan shook his head helplessly, "A few days ago, the princess had been looking for a house for the Xia family, and even threatened to rebuild the north of the city. At this time, he searched the Lou family and got a lot of real estate, do you think the prince will pick one out and give it to the princess, so as to please her? ”

Mr. Zhang suddenly realized, "The prince took the list and passed?" ”

After that, he looked back at the prince's desk, and there was really no list on it.

"Lao Yan, your observation is sharp, I am not as good as you in this regard."

When King Qian went out, he didn't pay attention to whether he took anything or not.

Speaking of Prince Qian, he took Anu out of the study and walked briskly to the backyard.

When passing by the garden, he also said to Anu with great interest: "I used to think this garden was quite big, but recently I run around the garden every day, and I feel that the garden is a little small when I get used to running." ”

Saying that, he looked down at his big belly, "Anu, do you think this king has lost weight recently?" ”

Anu glanced at King Qian's waistline, bowed his head and said, "I've lost a little weight." ”

"Haha, you, you still like to tell the truth, so you can't exaggerate and make this king happy."

"Lord Wang, I met something happy today, I heard your laughter from afar."

On a fork in the road, Aunt Sun walked out slowly followed by a few maids.

King Qian's smile was slightly retracted, his eyes were squinted by the sun, and he stared at her and asked, "Why are you in the garden at this time?" ”

Aunt Sun slowly shook the fan and frowned slightly, as if there was something annoying.

She smiled a little reluctantly, "The concubine has been busy with the matter of clearing the wasteland recently, and she hasn't been to walk around the garden for a long time, and it is rare to walk around today, I never expected to meet the prince, it is really an unexpected joy." ”

"Lord Wang, where are you going?"

King Qian was very satisfied with the positive attitude of his wives and concubines towards the reclamation.

"Well, yes, when you plant crops in the summer, you can harvest a lot more grain in Lingnan during the autumn harvest."

He smiled with satisfaction: "If there are any difficulties in the matter of clearing the wasteland, you can tell this king, and if it can be solved, this king will let people do it." ”

Hearing this, Aunt Sun was pleasantly surprised: "Really, the concubine is here to thank the prince first, don't say it's a coincidence, the concubine is really encountering some problems here." ”

"Oh, what's the problem? Let's hear it. ”

Hearing that he could help the concubine, King Qian was still very happy in his heart.

Anu who followed behind looked at the sky speechlessly, and the prince was fooled by Aunt Sun again.

Aunt Sun looked at King Qian affectionately, twisted her body, and seemed a little embarrassed to speak.

King Qian's self-confidence was bursting, and he asked patiently: "It's all a family, just say anything you have any questions." ”

Aunt Sun hesitated for a moment, stepped forward and took King Qian's arm and pulled him to the shade of the tree, "Lord Wang, don't stand in the sun and talk, the shade of the tree is cool." ”

While talking, he fanned him, and finally said hesitantly: "Actually, this matter is also a concubine who has no experience, if you have experience in handling chores, this situation will not occur." ”

"What's the situation?" King Qian enjoyed the waiting of his concubine.

Aunt Sun made a full gesture before she spoke, "It's that the area of this wasteland is too large, and the concubine body has not planned all aspects from the beginning, so that now the wasteland has just opened, and there is no cash in her hand, and then she has to plow the field, breed, and plant seedlings, but the concubine lacks ploughing cattle, seeds and silver money." ”

"This"

King Qian's face was embarrassed, this time he copied Lou's family, he copied a lot of livestock, including ploughing cattle and mules and horses, of course, seeds, grain, and a lot of money.

It's just that he has other arrangements for these materials, otherwise how can nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses be fed?

Aunt Sun saw King Qian's hesitation, so she shook his arm and said coquettishly: "Lord, you can help the concubine." The concubine has been with you for decades, and only you can rely on it. If you don't help, the concubine really doesn't know who to ask for? ”

"Ahem! Come on! ”

King Qian coughed lightly and pulled out his arm, it was strangely hot this day, and he was holding his arm, as if he was holding a fire.

"You make a list of this matter and give it to Anu, and this king will look at it."

This matter can be regarded as a reluctance to agree.

Aunt Sun didn't have much hope, but she didn't expect it to happen, so she was so happy that she smiled, "Ouch, thank you so much, Lord Wang, I will make a list of this matter and hand it over to Anu when the concubine is ready." ”

King Qian nodded, and his joy lightened slightly.

It wasn't until the figure of King Qian's master and servant disappeared at the end of the garden that the maid beside Aunt Sun asked, "Auntie, I didn't expect the prince to really agree." ”

Aunt Sun shook her fan slowly and said proudly: "Man, as long as you find out his character and make good use of it, you can pinch him to death." ”

The maid looked at the end of the garden and nodded: "The palace belongs to the aunt who knows the prince best, and the others are not as good as you." You said that the prince came to the backyard at this time, which yard are you going to go to? ”