Gaotang County.

Deep in the rugged mountain road lies a valley that few people know.

In the valley, there are scattered grass houses, bamboo buildings, and mud houses......

Skinny men and women are looking at the crops in the fields.

A group of children and teenagers covered in mud and dirt were lying on their stomachs in a dry field, staring at a place of mud with red eyes.

An older boy was pulling out the mud.

Suddenly.

A hint of gold flashed in front of the children's eyes, and the quick-eyed children quickly pounced.

"Caught!"

"I got it!"

The child was overjoyed, and hid the slender eel in a tattered pocket.

Immediately, the child ran away!

The older boy was furious, rushed at the child, and then snatched the yellow eel from the child's pocket.

"This is to honor Qu Shuai, who allowed you to rob it?" The boy yelled viciously.

The child cried, "Brother Hai, my mother hasn't eaten for three days, and she's dying of hunger!" ”

The boy froze.

But the next moment, the young boy snatched back the yellow eel and ran away.

With a thud, the child fell to the ground.

But even so, the child did not cry out in pain, but struggled to get up and ran to a dilapidated thatched hut.

In the thatched hut, there was a lying woman, equally skinny and ragged.

The eye sockets are deeply sunken, and there is only breath in and out.

The child held the slender yellow eel to the woman's side, and shouted happily: "A-Niang, there is something to eat, you wait for Mu'er, Mu'er will cook a yellow eel soup for you, it is A-Niang's favorite yellow eel soup!" ”

Women can no longer see.

Hearing the cries of the child, the heart hanging in the woman's heart fell like a stone.

"Mu'er, can find food by yourself......"

Half an hour later, a young boy with a gray face came to the woman with a black bowl of yellow eel soup.

But no matter how the child cried, the women on the bed were indifferent.

The young man who heard the sound probed the woman's snort, closed his eyes and sighed: "Ah Mu, don't shout, your aunt is dead." ”

The child's eyes were as fierce as wolves in an instant, and he protected the dead woman with both hands: "No! No! No! A-Niang is still there! There you go! There you go! ”

The boy was silent and withdrew from the thatched hut.

The houses in the valley were expensive, and when the child's mother died, the house had to be redistributed.

It's the rules of the valley!

Even if the teenager can't bear it, he can't change the status quo.

A bamboo house halfway up the mountain.

Qu Shuai Xu Qi's face was pale, and he sat on the ground, with a sharp steel knife standing in front of him.

Recently, Xu Qi has been unlucky.

The cooperating Gao Tang Ling died, and the new Gao Tang Ling was Liu Bei, the county lieutenant of Gao Tang County, who failed to kill last time.

Liu Bei is a ruthless man.

When he was a county lieutenant, he was determined to sweep away the yellow turbans in Gaotang County.

Now that he is a county magistrate, he is even more unconstrained.

The spies in the city spread the news that Guan Yu, the new county lieutenant of Gaotang County, was practicing the county soldiers every day.

This made Xu Qi feel a crisis.

Last time, the predecessor Gao Tang ordered to ventilate the news, and the ambush of Liu Bei halfway was unsuccessful, this time Gao Tang Ling became Liu Bei, who would dare to ventilate the news?

What made Xu Qi even more uncomfortable was that it hadn't rained in Gaotang County for a long time.

The fields of the valley have dried up!

Xu Qi had to limit the supply of grain and rice to eat, so that he starved every day.

But even so, the valley's grain stocks could not last long.

"Can't sit still!"

"If you want me to die, I'll be buried with you!"

Xu Qi stared at the steel knife in front of him viciously.

Since the new Gao Tang Ling insists on conscription, he has to be ruthless!

"Qu Shuai, Amu's mother is dead." The young man's tone was sad, as if he was begging: "Can you leave the grass hut to Ah Mu?" He was still young. ”

Xu Qi glared at the young man: "Guan Hai, put away your sympathy!" ”

"Rules are rules, since the woman is dead, this grass hut should be taken back and rewarded to those who have merit."

"Otherwise, who will give me my life?"

Guan Hai gritted his teeth and said: "But that thatched hut was obtained by Ah Mu's father!" ”

Xu Qi got up and looked down on Guan Hai, his strong body gave Guan Hai a lot of pressure: "Are you teaching me to do things?" ”

Guan Hai bowed his head: "Don't dare at the end!" ”

Xu Qi pulled up the steel knife, and the sharp blade refracted the scorching sun: "Take care of ourselves in troubled times, only if we survive, can we save others." ”

"Guan Hai, you have also read books, so you won't not understand this truth."

Guan Hai was silent, and his ten fingers were deeply embedded in his palm.

The way of General Tiangong is not like this!

Seeing that Guan Hai was unwilling, Xu Qi's tone eased: "Guan Hai, the valley has the rules of the valley, and what we should consider more is how to get the food for the winter." ”

"There will be too little rain this year, the harvest will not be very good, and if you want to survive the winter, at least half of the people in the valley will have to starve to death."

Halfway?

Guan Hai was shocked: "Qu Shuai, I have calculated, even if the harvest is not good, it is no problem to survive the winter." Just ......"

Xu Qi's eyes were cold: "Guan Hai, it seems that you still haven't understood Ben Qushuai's words." ”

"If you don't store food, winter will pass, but what about next spring?"

"Do you want all the people in the valley to starve to death?"

"When the old, weak, women and children are dead, the remaining young and strong will have no worries."

"In this way, you can get real elite soldiers!"

"When the time comes, where can I go to attack the city and the pool?"

Xu Qi's ruthlessness made Guan Hai feel scared and cold.

Starve the old and weak women and children, and attack the city with mourning soldiers, even if they slaughter the city, there will be no worries!

"That's it!"

Xu Qi didn't want to explain more.

"Send a letter to a few nearby Qu Shuai for me, this Qu Shuai has something important to discuss with them!"

……

County office.

Although it was a hot summer day, the air was dry and scorching.

But Liu Bei listened to the county Cheng's report, and a chill couldn't help but rise from his back.

"In the grain depot of Gaotang County, there are only 500 stone of grain and rice left?"

"You dare to deceive this county?"

One stone of rice is enough for one person to eat for about forty days.

500 stone ......

Gaotang County still has 300 county soldiers!

When Liu Bei was appointed by the Gaotang Order that day, he was in a hurry to go to Gaomi, and did not check the grain and rice stocks in Gaotang County.

I thought that a county's grain stock would have to be at least 5,000 stones, but it turned out to be only 500 stones?

The county Cheng was frightened and said: "County order, this is really not a trivial matter!" ”

"Although there are 4,000 stone of grain and rice in the county, most of them have been sold to the Yellow Turban thieves."

"When Chen Xiang left, he took another 500 stones......"

Zhang Fei on the side was so angry that he shouted: "When Chen Xiangzhi took grain and rice, why didn't you say it?" ”

The county Cheng lowered his head: "If you say it, can the lower official still have a life?" ”

Zhang Fei drew his sword angrily: "Chen Xiang can kill you, but I can't kill you?" ”

The county man pounced and knelt in front of Liu Bei.

"Spare my life, although there is no grain and rice in the county, but there is a lot of gold and silver."

"It's all left over from the previous county magistrate."

"The villain knows where the gold and silver are hidden."

Liu Bei was not happy.

If there is gold and silver, then someone has to sell grain and rice!

While thinking about it, the city guard came to report.

"Hey, eleven horsemen came from outside the city, and one of them, claiming to be Beihai Zheng Ping, came to the appointment."

Liu Bei suddenly got up!