Suping City, which is located on the trade route, is a small city with a small population, and it is not comparable to the terrifying number of hundreds of thousands of people in Xuanguo and Shudu, but there are still 20,000 small working people.

The master and apprentice have limited strength, even if they forget to sleep and forget to eat, it is still a drop in the bucket, and now they are facing the problem of lack of herbal medicines. Looking forward to the two of them saving the people of the city is tantamount to whimsy.

Outside a desolate thatched hut in the north of Suping City, an old man who is a year old is repairing the eaves that have been blown down by the rainstorm a few days ago.

Benevolence and benevolence do not confiscate any money when they see a doctor and treat people, and sometimes they even prescribe prescriptions for free, but also send some herbs in their own medicine boxes to poor families, and because of the doctor's prescription, the business of the Chinese medicine hall in the city has also flourished recently, which is really a good sign.

Thinking that the number of people going out of the city has gradually decreased, and the errand of "moving gold" by himself is now a lot more leisurely, so he took advantage of these days to take good care of this broken grass house, and then buy some broken wood from the carpenter, and make some tables and chairs at home, so as not to have his grandson work a broken board every time he reads.

After the old man repaired the low eaves with his feet, he wiped the sweat from his head and a smile leaked from his face. "Four hundred and ninety-nine, it's almost there. ”

Today, the crowd outside the Rift Inn is not as crowded as in the past, not that the number of patients with the plague has decreased significantly, but this respected old doctor told everyone that the symptoms of the plague are similar, so he opened a general list to the city medicine hall, so that patients with symptoms that are not in a hurry can take medicine by themselves.

At first, people were reluctant, and they all felt that the prescription prescribed by the old doctor himself had the effect of medicine to eliminate the disease. Only some people who watched the crowd and knew that it was their turn and didn't know that it was going to be the Year of the Monkey hurried to the pharmacy, and most of them were still unmoved. Until the old doctor said that all patients here are seriously ill, and patients with mild symptoms are easy to get burned and aggravate their condition.

The original Laifu Inn, which was still full of people, was reduced to less than 30% of the original in less than half a day, and on the second day, 80% of the people rushed to the pharmacy invariably, scaring the pharmacy Xiaoer so much that he didn't know whether he was happy or sad.

"Master, when this plague is cured, we will brag about it when we return to the village, and put up our signboard well. Jiang Chengzi took a bench from the inn and sat outside the door, thinking about the recent momentum of fame in the city with his master, and said to his master slyly. "Then make a lot of money, and then become an imperial doctor in Xuanguo Shudu, the emperor must also treat us as guests, after all, the emperor is also a human being, and he also has a heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys, and he can't escape the common feelings of people who are sick and take medicine. ”

"When the time comes, the master will wait for you at home with good news, and after you become famous, don't forget to tell the master, at that time, the master will have a bright face when he chats with the neighbors. The master looked at his proud protégé and said with a smile.

"Master, why don't you go to Shudu with me to be the imperial doctor? Jiang Chengzi propped his chin with his hands and said worriedly.

"No, Master's bones are about to fall apart on this trip, and he is old and can't stand the toss, so he thinks it's better to be in his hometown. If it dies, it is buried under the pear blossom on the edge of our ground, and it can be regarded as a fallen leaf returning to the roots. "Master grabbed the herbs and was revising a medical book, which was exhaustive but had some details to be considered. The old master, who has always been meticulous, knows that this kind of medical book that has been handed down to future generations cannot be sloppy, so he is correcting it and calmly responding.

"Bah, what about death, Master is a long-lived old man who wants to live to die. The boy gestured and slapped himself in the mouth.

"What about after the end of the day?" asked the master with a meaningful smile.

"Hmm... , then live long enough for my expectation. The young man thought about it for a long time and didn't come up with an answer, but the young man who had made up his mind since he was a child and accompanied his master to see a doctor and save people for the rest of his life said sincerely.

When the master heard this, he stroked his beard and smiled, noncommittal.

Recently, the number of seriously ill patients has been decreasing, and the inn has gradually returned to its former calm appearance.

While Master was struggling with a patient suffering from many complications from the plague, a scholar appeared outside the inn carrying an old man on his back.

Xu Erniang looked at the uninvited scholar with a vigilant face, thinking that the inn was about to be murdered again. But when he noticed the unconscious old man Lu on the back of the scholar, he was silent.

The scholar bowed to the master, and said with a sad face: "Old man, my grandfather helped the soldiers at the city gate carry the infected corpse for a while a while ago, and he has had some symptoms of the plague in the past few days, and he has not seen any improvement after taking a few ordinary medicines. As soon as I went back today, I saw my grandfather fainting outside the house unconscious, does the old gentleman have a way?"

The master nodded in return, and after checking the pulse, he had to shake his head frequently. "Forgive the old and incompetent, the sick are rarely infected with the epidemic, many old diseases are hooked out by the plague, and incurable diseases are coming one after another, where can the bones of the old body be able to stand up to this old age?" the master had to sigh lightly. "Terminally ill, lack of skills to return to heaven, may the son mourn. ”

This Lu Wenping, who has always had an indecent reputation in the city and has been in collusion with the ruffians and hooligans in the city all day long, is surprisingly calm. There was no such posture that the ruffians would make a fuss when they encountered such quacks who could not cure people, but turned around and went to the city gate with the dying old man on his back.

"Old man Lu, these two doctors are quacks, obviously you have such good bones, they have to say that you have an old disease, and also say that you are old and weak, don't you just repair our broken thatched hut this morning? Let's go out of the city now and go to Shudu to hire a famous doctor. ”

"When the time comes, I will give you a big fat great-grandson, no, give birth to three or five for you, lest you say that I can't even do this sesame thing. Do you think it's okay?"

"Grandpa, are you talking, why are you still stubborn to me?"

On this day, a young scholar came to the West City Gate and wanted to go out of the city with an old man on his back, and the soldiers at the city gate recognized the old man from a distance that was the old man Lu who helped the official family "move gold" a few days ago.

The scholar who was polite and polite did not behave in the slightest, and after being stopped, he carefully placed the old man on his back under the shade of a willow tree on the side.

Kneeling in front of the city gate without saying a word, he stood under the scorching sun, causing the people in the market to look sideways, thinking that there would be more to talk about after tea and dinner.

"Master, you should find a way to save the old man, that scholar is kneeling like this under the sun, he is going to die. Jiang Chengzi, who had always been at odds with the scholar, couldn't help but be anxious when he saw this scene.

"It's not that Master doesn't want to save it, but when the manpower is finally exhausted, people are old and frail, and all kinds of complications caused by the plague, how can the already skinny body and bones endure. Master said helplessly.

"Let's save it, do our best, and obey the destiny of God. Jiang Chengzi still hasn't given up, and wants to persuade the master to give it a try.

"Sometimes knowing the destiny of heaven, and then doing your best, is nothing more than adding to the thoughts that should not be there. Jiang'er, you have been studying medicine with a teacher since you were a child, and some patients will not understand the truth that you can learn from a slight glance by taking a pulse and looking at your complexion. The old gentleman waved his hand, signaled not to mention it again, and resumed his concentration on the medical book.

The scorching sun was getting slanting, and from noon to noon, the scholar knelt in front of the city gate for two hours, fainted several times and then woke up, but still did not leave half a step.

The master, who doesn't know how to speak of people's hearts, doesn't have too much ill feelings towards scholars. Seeing his behavior again, he couldn't help but feel something, sighed to himself, and walked towards the city gate.

Cure people and hearts.

This is the only insight that the old man has gained from studying medical techniques and pharmacology all his life.

The old man came to Lu Wenping, whose face was pale, and he had an indescribable emotion towards this stubborn young man in the refugee land.

After all, the four countries are still exchanging courtesies on the surface, but in fact they are secretly full of intrigue, and which country has not smashed a lot of money on the horses and weapons of the army to take precautions? And the already crumbling cultural context has become even more precarious, and there is no longer the scene of the unification and prosperity of the world in the past.

Now in this Suping City, where the emphasis on martial arts and light literature has reached the incomparable, there can be such a scholar in the refugee land, who can explain the luck and misfortune? !

"Lu Housheng, how can there be an immortal person in this world? People live for seventy years, and it is rare for Old Man Lu to live for this age, and it is not in vain to go on a trip in the world, why is Wen Ping obsessed with this?" said the old gentleman looking at the scholar with an expressionless face.

"The old gentleman is too worried, the younger generation has no obsession, but he just doesn't want his old man to die like this. Forgive the younger generation for being short-sighted and being a useless scholar, and now he can't even keep his own old man, it's all his own fault. The pale scholar replied calmly.

"Since ancient times, Bo Gu Tong can be called Confucian. Virtuous, for the country and the people can be called virtuous. Tracing back to the source is just a scholar, and most of the scholars cannot escape the trap and are drowned alive in the word 'wind and bones'. The old gentleman sighed, stroked his beard and said: "Lu Housheng's love and righteousness can be seen from this, but if the scholars of the world know that they can't do it, then how much luck can be left in the already declining cultural context of the West Mountain?"

"If you don't do it if you know that you can't do it, why bother being a scholar?

And the old man Lu, who was unconscious in the distance, seemed to wake up like a refresher, and said angrily: "Our old Lu family can produce a scholar who can read and write, that is a great blessing, it is for our old Lu family's face, how can you say that if you don't read, you won't read?"

Then the old man Lu staggered to the city gate with his last strength, and said to the gatekeeper in a hoarse voice: "Soldier, the grass people have been plagued by the outbreak of the plague, and when Suping City was closed, he agreed with the soldier that as long as the grass people moved enough five hundred pieces of 'gold', they would let the old man leave the city with his grandson, and now it has reached four hundred and ninety-nine yuan, and the grass people are cheap, infected with the plague, it seems that they can't move enough five hundred pieces of 'gold', can you ask the soldier to be accommodating, let the grass people take their grandchildren out of the city to find out of the secluded mountains, and then take root." ”

The honest soldier who had already been sympathetic to him couldn't help but hesitate when he saw the scene in front of him. But the head of the soldier smiled sadly and said, "Old man Lu, we have agreed that you will move 500 pieces of 'gold', and then let you out of the city, not one less." Looking at the terminally ill old man Lu, the head of the soldiers looked playful again: "You have to move the 'gold' with your own hands, and your grandchildren will do it for you, and you can't count it." ”

After being silent for a long time, the dying old man Lu knew that his time was numbered, so he struggled to get up with his hands on the ground, and pulled a loud voice like a flashback, and said in a long tone as before: "Come on, Master Bing!"

On this day, the old man Lu, who had never offended people inside and outside the refugee field, crashed to death in front of the west gate of Suping City, and before he died, he tried his best to say word by word: "Master soldier, five hundred pieces of 'gold', one is a lot, all of which were moved by the grass people themselves." ”

And there was a white-clothed scholar wearing a scarf, who fell to the ground in front of the city gate and wept bitterly.

The people who were once known as the "Dart Game City" had critics, indifferent people, and weeping when they saw this, but none of them stepped forward to help.

In the east of Suping City, there are rows of pavilions and pavilions, among which the Taishou Mansion is the most noble, standing in the center of the East City.

He once spent a lot of money to invite a calligraphy master to inscribe a plaque with his own handwriting, which said:

"Honest and honest, and civil. ”

At first glance, it is the "parent official" who benefits the people here. Only the people who have taken root in the city know how dazzling these eight big characters are!

Only Lu Wenping smiled from ear to ear every time he saw it, and praised him for being a calligrapher, and the pen he mentioned hit the nail on the head!

As for whether it is "honest and honest" or "honest and lost", what does it matter?

Recently, there has been a hot rumor that a miracle doctor has arrived in Suping City, but this Taishou, who doesn't care about the people's livelihood and only knows about corruption and wealth, only heard about it today, and the news is so closed that it is smacking.

Taishou was worried about how to take off the last piece of fat from the hands of the people, so he rushed to Shudu with his family, and used real money and silver to open up official fortunes with the help of human connections. However, the decree promulgated a while ago of "going out of the city to seek medical treatment and collecting taxes in the whole city" had little effect, and now it has become a problem in the heart of Taishou.

But fortunately, his son found this excuse to leave the right and wrong place, and he really couldn't get the last trace of oil and water, the big deal was the difference between a few points of light and a few points heavier in his pocket, and it was also insignificant to the official road paved by himself in the back.

But it is a little bit to be greedy, otherwise how can you be worthy of the title of the third-grade official on the hat of the Taishou official? The more the merrier, the word is not groundless.

Listening to the report from the next person, there is really a miracle doctor entering the city, and he immediately feels that there is a successor to the black gauze hat on his head, although his son is usually a real conscience in the city, but if he really wants to buy the hearts of the people, it will not be in vain to teach for so many years.

As an official, you can know nothing, because talent and knowledge are the icing on the cake, and if you have it, it is good, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter.

Only the popular will and public opinion are the most difficult to grasp, but it is also the most important. Don't be too anxious, the people are easy to mess up. It can't be too slow, and you can't eat enough to feed your own waist bag.

Ascend to fight the small people, ascend to fight the small people, what they ask for is just a liter and a bucket.

If it weren't for such careful calculations and so much more real money in his hands, how could he let the dart heads of the major dart bureaus in the past few years be willing to be his own disciple and look forward to himself?

In the final analysis, people in the rivers and lakes are inseparable from the worldly objects of firewood, rice, oil, and salt.

Now that my son has sent two miracle doctors to the city, it is a good time to push the boat down the river. Let the subordinates prepare a sedan chair first, wait for the heat to subside, and then go out to welcome the divine doctor to the mansion, which is a means of coercing the people to have to give that share of the silver.

It's not over.

The heat gradually subsided, and there were eight sedan chairs in the inner city to the city gate, followed by many entourages, and when they arrived at the city gate, they stopped the sedan chair, and a three-grade official wearing a peacock complement court uniform came out on it.

This person has a fat head and big ears, and the head on his head seems to be incompatible with it because he is too small and jasper, and he is the Taishou of Suping City's "incorruptible and dedicated".

As soon as the man came, he walked towards the master, who was dressed as a doctor, and his eyes were squeezed by a smile. Taishou, who has always been perfect in observing words and colors, saw the current situation, so he thought about it in his heart.

After saluting the old gentleman first, the wicked man first complained: "Suping City, poor mountains and bad waters, and rampant people, don't be surprised by the old gentleman." Under is the Taishou of Suping City, who has seen a miracle doctor. ”

The old gentleman, who has always seen everyone and put courtesy first, even when he saw the mountain bandits, still did not forget to salute, but he turned a blind eye to the three products in front of him, and just watched the corpse of the old man Lu from the side.

And the little doctor who stood next to the old gentleman and was extremely unsophisticated retorted: "The two of them are not Diao Min, they are good people." ”

When Taishou heard the little doctor speak like this, he didn't show displeasure, but still smiled and said, "It's a good person, it's a good person, it's the official's words." The two of them are the miracle doctors invited by the dogs, and they both blame the negligence of the officials, and they are also invited to the house to gather together to discuss the important affairs of the people of Jicheng. ”

The old gentleman was about to refuse, but was interrupted by the little doctor.

"My master is not invited by your gentleman, it is my master who came by himself, and your gentleman doesn't seem to ask for a miracle doctor when he goes out, but more like going out to escape from disasters and avoid epidemics, and go to the mountains and rivers. The little doctor, who has always been realistic, said truthfully.

The small people who were originally watching the bustle heard the words of the little doctor, and their faces changed in an instant.

Hearing this, Taishou, who was originally greeted with a smile, turned pale, and he originally wanted to use the gimmick of the eldest prince to go out of the city to ask for a doctor, and then wipe his mouth and leave. Unexpectedly, this little doctor clarified the reason in front of the public, which made him a commotion.

And there were people in the crowd who took advantage of the situation to make a commotion, perhaps because they were tormented by the plague and made their mood uneven. Someone shouted: "If you are too conservative and greedy, now that the plague is rampant, you will force us to death, and then you will at most fall into the name of being incompetent, which is really hard to fill." ”

Just as people were searching for the source, a swordsman walked out of the crowd, holding the corpse in one hand.

The spectator who spoke loudly just now is now a dead corpse, and the tragic death is terrifying.

"If the little doctor is a quack doctor who goes into the city to confuse the public and disturb the people's hearts, I can behead the two of you according to the law. Taishou saw that the long-pent-up public anger might collapse, and said hideously.

The old gentleman, who had been silent, looked at the little doctor meaningfully and finally spoke: "This son is dull, I want to guard Lord Haihan, and the two of us are the doctors invited by the eldest prince to prescribe prescriptions for the people." But the Taishou Mansion will not bother, and our master and apprentice will stay in the guest house, which is very good. ”

Tai Shou, whose face had changed again and again, listened to the old gentleman's words, and then laughed again.

"There are crows everywhere, why compete for the dark?" A piercing voice echoed at the city gate, and Lu Wenping, who was originally crying on the ground, said to Taishou with cold eyebrows.

Taishou, who was trying his best to restrain his emotions, heard the down-and-out scholar who was insignificant to him say this, and the emotions that had been accumulated for a long time should burst out.

"Come on, take down this Diao Min. With a wave of his hand, the swordsman with a sturdy body slashed his sword in front of the scholar.

"Beicheng scholar Lu Wenping, beg for death!" The scholar who was originally disheartened when he saw his grandfather crashing to death in front of him looked at the sword-wielding man, and his momentum suddenly increased.

Outside Suping City, a group of mountain bandits stepped down the mountain, and the black pressure was overwhelming, like a dark cloud falling into the city.

The leaders rode several sturdy yellow horses, and one of the young men with a sword was particularly chic and happy. A knifeman beside him drew an arrow from his horse, and pierced the head of a dozing soldier eight hundred paces away through the head. Then he laughed and asked the young man with the sword next to him. "Second master, my swordsmanship is not good, but my archery skills are outstanding. Accurately?"

The young man with the sword quickly whipped his horse and said loudly: "Accurate!"

On this day, a man's head outside Supyeong City rolled over a high wall and fell at the feet of everyone. The old man was so frightened that he didn't know what to do, the girl was so frightened that her face was pale, and the young man was secretly happy.

This head is no one else's, it is the head of the eldest prince Xiang Shang, who went out of the city to seek medical treatment a few days ago.

Then I heard a rough voice coming from outside the city. "Three away from the road, three from the village, the grass is a good man, come here today, rob the city!"

The mountain bandits who have never entered the city and only committed evil on the three roads broke into the city!