The third day of February in the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty.

Yin time.

Dongfang was slightly pale, but it was not yet dawn.

On the stage of the hall of the Shu King's Mansion, Zhu Chun, the king of Shu, held the pipa in his hand, made it on the Huanghuali high chair in the middle, and was playing the "Ambush on Ten Sides" that he talked to He Bin about yesterday.

"Don't have gloom and hatred, silence is better than sound at this time. The silver bottle burst through the water slurry, and the iron rider stood out with the sound of knives and guns. ”

I don't know if the song Bai Juyi heard when he was doing this "Pipa Xing" is this "Ambush on All Sides", but Zhu Chun, the king of Shu, is worthy of these four praises on this song. Zhu Chun's eyes on the stage were slightly closed, his left hand was holding the pipa, and his right hand was swaying wantonly on the strings, which was in line with the description of "the big strings are noisy like torrential rain, and the small strings are cut like whispers".

His focused and devoted appearance seems to have affected He Bin, his only audience in the audience.

Originally, there was still some worry and apprehension, but now it has completely calmed down, and even a little excited.

The King of Shu is so confident in this lord of the land, what does he have to worry about.

But he didn't notice where Zhu Chun's most loyal "audience" Steward Wang went?

Applause, He Bin couldn't help but hum softly.

Zhu Chun's cold gaze swept over the stage, He Bin couldn't help but shrink his neck, remembering that Zhu Chun hated the audience the most to affect him when he was performing. He Bin calmed down, but Zhu Chun's heart was a little annoyed, and his right eyelid jumped all morning, which was really not a good sign. Finish the trick, and the good news should arrive.

But his play today is destined to be endless.

The gate of the Shu Palace

"You... What do you say?" Looking at the little soldier with a dark face in front of him, still covered in burns, and a frothing face, Steward Wang felt as if he was hallucinating, or had he not woken up yet, and was he dreaming?

"Smack"

Steward Wang's big-eared post hit his right cheek, his back molars swayed slightly, and his cheeks bulged at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Grandpa Wang!" Little Soldier Li San fell to his knees with tears in his eyes. "Seven thousand brothers, all of them are dead, and the handsome man has not come out. He asked me to come back and tell you ... ”

"Poof" casually spat on the ground, and the spit seemed to be bloodshot. However, Steward Wang didn't have the heart to care about this, and he didn't have the heart to listen to Li San's words, so he reached out and grabbed Li San's neck, and dragged him up from the ground, "Cry your mother's turtle son!" scolded angrily, and then grabbed his neck and walked to the hall of the mansion, where the prince was. Don't you need to pass on the word first? Spread a fart, do you still need to go through this kind of thing step by step? Is there still time to pass it step by step? The rules must be broken at such a time! The most urgent task at the moment is to report to the prince as soon as possible. As long as the prince is still there, the sky will not fall. What's the use of his steward listening more?

"Lord Wang!" At the door of the hall, Steward Wang shouted, still holding Li San in his hand.

The sound of the pipa in the hall stopped abruptly, and Zhu Chun raised his eyes to look at the door.

"Speak!" After many years of getting along, Zhu Chun has never seen Steward Wang lose his temper like this. A glimmer of foreboding welled up in my heart.

"The seven thousand army is ambushed in Matou Mountain, the enemy is attacking with fire, only this Li San is still alive in the whole army, and Zhou Ji has committed suicide!"

"Ahh

"Waste" Zhu Chun glanced at He Bin coldly, and then turned his gaze to Steward Wang and Li San, who had already approached.

Looking at Steward Wang's red and swollen cheeks, Zhu Chun frowned, then looked at Li San, took a deep breath, and stood up, "Who are you?"

Xu is Zhu Chun's composure affected Li San, and he had already stopped his panic and tears. After snorting hard, Li San knelt on the ground, "Lord Wang, villain Zhou Ji, Zhou Dashuai's personal soldier Li San." ”

"Where's Zhou Ji?"

"The big boss is dead. ”

"How did you die?"

"I was ambushed, I was ashamed of the prince, and I killed myself. ”

"What kind of ambush did you fall into? Why didn't you die?"

After the marshal led the army to Matou Mountain, Matou Mountain started from the bottom of the mountain and caught fire on all sides. The whole army was killed and wounded. The villain wanted to follow Da Shuai with him, but Da Shuai told me and other brothers that we must run out, and as long as one person is alive, we must also tell the truth to the prince. ”

"What truth?"

"Sichuan Jinyi Wei Zhen Fu envoy Zhang is a traitor, he is a member of the White Lotus Sect, he betrayed us. The big marshal has already cut him down, these are all things that the villain has seen with his own eyes!"

"Oh" Zhu Chun nodded when he heard this. Then he tilted his head slightly, closed his eyes and pondered. Now that something has happened, what matters is no longer the process and the result, but the next response.

"Lord Wang!" He Bin on the ground woke up at this time, screamed miserably, and then cried loudly.

"Oh my God. It's over, it's all over."

"Lord Wang" He Bin turned over from the ground, and then knelt on the ground, his hands were afraid of hitting the ground, "It's amazing." The army of seven thousand is finished. ”

Hysterical, babbling non-stop, turning over and over are just these two sentences. He howled here, but he didn't notice Zhu Chun's forehead on the stage.

"Steward Wang. Zhu Chun's eyes were still closed and not opened.

"In," Steward Wang replied respectfully.

Zhu Chun raised his hand and pointed at He Bin: "Give this king a slap in the mouth, and beat it until this king says stop." ”

"Yes," Steward Wang walked in front of He Bin.

"Lord Wang~, it's over, it's over" He Bin was still crying, and he didn't hear Zhu Chun's instructions.

"Smack"

"Ah!" He Bin covered his cheeks, looked up at Steward Wang in front of him, and was stunned on the ground, "You... You're hitting me?"

Steward Wang didn't reply, and his backhand was another slap.

"Smack"

"I'm cloth. ”

"Smack"

"Envoy!"

"Smack"

"From the second product"

"Smack"

Since the prince didn't say to stop, he just kept fighting. He Bin also stopped the nonsense in his mouth, just shaking his head from side to side, and his arms were randomly supported, but it didn't have any effect.

Long.

Zhu Chun opened his eyes, glanced at Steward Wang and He Bin lightly, and said, "Stop."

"Yes" Steward Wang put down his right hand that had been waving for a long time, and then stood quietly aside.

Looking at He Bin's blue nose and swollen face again, Zhu Chun snorted and laughed.

"Lord Wang... He Bin looked at Zhu Chun on the stage pitifully, but this time he didn't dare to yell anymore.

"Hahahaha" Zhu Chun laughed, bent over when he laughed, sat back on the chair, stretched out his hand to hold his stomach, and couldn't stop for a while.

"Haha, okay, haha" Zhu Chun reluctantly stopped laughing for a long time, and then said, "Okay, don't worry, the sky won't fall on your head." ”

He Bin naturally didn't believe this kind of statement, and it was true that it couldn't fall on Zhu Chun's head.

"This king is serious," Zhu Chun said, "When this king wrote to his father and emperor before, he already mentioned the information given by Zhang Zheng and the decision of this king to send troops. Since my father agreed, it means that we have done the right thing. ”

Zhu Chun's eyes were deep and calm, "Since we are not wrong, there must be someone who is wrong." ”

"Who?"

"Zhang Zheng!" Zhu Chun paused, and then said, "Zhang is the envoy of Sichuan Jinyiwei, and Jinyiwei is directly under the command of his father, and he is an eagle dog under his father. This king believes that his information is indeed the fault of this king, but this king does not believe him Zhang Zheng, but Jinyi Wei Zhen Fu envoy, who is his father. ”

"The only thing that went wrong with the one-ring plan was my father's place. That being the case ... Why are we wrong?"

"Yes. . . Is it?" He Bin looked a little confused, "We're not wrong?"

"No, no, no," Zhu Chun waved his hand and said in a playful tone, "This king will definitely be fine, but you may not." ”

"Ah?" He Bin exclaimed, and then there was a saping posture, "Lord Wang, it has been seven years since Xia Guan became the political envoy of Sichuan, and in the past seven years, Xia Guan has always been the only one who looks at the prince, and there is no merit and hard work, can you ignore me." Rajah... ”

"Okay" Zhu Chun snorted, looking a little impatient again.

He Bin hurriedly covered his mouth with his hands.

"Since the White Lotus Sect dared to destroy the seven thousand elites of this king this time, and openly stood in the open, there must be other actions behind it. Coupled with the fact that the earth dragon turned over before, and the victims were in groups, they were thinking... ”

"Rebellion!"

Zhu Chun nodded heavily, and the more he said, the more he felt reasonable, "The victims of the Xuzhou Mansion were blocked by you before, and they already had a grudge in their hearts. ”

"Counting the distance, the five thousand soldiers and horses of the twelfth brother will still arrive in five days, and they alone will not be able to stop this group of mobs. How long can your porridge shed be open?"

"Two days! It can be opened for two days," He Bin hurriedly replied.

"Two days, there are still three days in between" Zhu Chun thought for a while, "The White Lotus Sect has used a secret son of Zhang Zheng's level, it can be seen that they must have been planning for a long time, and this disaster rebellion must not be suppressed, but as long as they can be trapped in Xuzhou Mansion, as soon as the five thousand soldiers and horses of the twelfth brother arrive, then the rest will be handed over to the twelfth brother." And you, as long as you can persist until that moment, it will be a great achievement, and when the time comes, the king will say a few kind words for you, and you will be fine. ”

"But the prince" He Bin was full of sadness, "There are no soldiers under the lower officials, but there are tens of thousands of victims, and the lower officials are afraid that they will not be able to support the day when the army of King Xiang arrives." ”

"No, you can! You must be able too!" Zhu Chun glared at He Bin viciously, "You must continue to open the porridge shed, five days, not a day less." And five days is the minimum, if the twelve brothers' soldiers don't open for five days, you will open for six days, and if you don't have a month, you will open for a month, understand?"

"But... ”

"No, but" Zhu Chun waved his hand and interrupted He Bin's words, "Even if you open a porridge shed, the victims will definitely riot in the past five days, but if your porridge shed does not stop, the riot will not spread to the entire Xuzhou Mansion, because they will still have hope for the imperial court, plus there are still some old, weak, sick and disabled under this king and those quick servants under you, they will definitely be able to control the situation, but once the porridge shed stops, the victims see that the imperial court can't count on it, and it is not impossible to sweep my entire Sichuan, when the time comes... ”

What will happen then? Zhu Chun did not explain it, but He Bin understood that even if the emperor did not kill him, the victims would eat him, and Zhu Chun would not be able to escape.

He Bin thought about it, but still gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Wang, you ask the lower officials to open the porridge shed, and the lower officials have no opinion." But the subordinates of the lower officials do have five grains, you also know what our Ming Dynasty looks like, and you also know how much the lower officials have. If it weren't for your care over the years, Xia Guan himself would have become a disaster victim, and Xia Guan really has no choice. ”

"The king has no grain. But money, this king has it, Steward Wang" Zhu Chun looked at Steward Wang.

"Please command. ”

"In a while, you take Master He to the library to get the money" and pointed at Li San on the side, "Take him down and make good arrangements, remember, you must not let him die!"

"Yes"

"Listen to what I said clearly, you must not let this Li San die!" Zhu Chun repeated again.

"Yes. ”

Steward Wang bowed down and picked up He Bin on the ground, "Lord Wang, please come here." ”

"Good"

"Lord He" Zhu Chun looked at He Bin's back, "You are here, this king is your backbone, but when you return to your political envoy yamen, you are the pillar of others, think about it carefully." Think about what you should do ... ”

Looking at the figures of the three leaving, Zhu Chun shook his head, and then picked up the pipa again. What are you going to play this time? Zhu Chun squinted his eyes and thought about it. The strings were plucked, and this time it sounded, it was "Fisherman's Q&A". But I don't know who is the fisher and who is the woodcutter in his heart.

"White Lotus Sect, provoke this king, this king also wants you to look good."

Matou Mountain is the closest to Pingshan County, but it is not far from Fushun County.

Early in the morning, Wang Siliu took his wife and children, took the basket and the cover roll, and walked to the side of Matou Mountain. There are no mountains around Fushun County, and Matou Mountain is considered to be close.

Wang Siliu is a farmer in Fushun County, he hates his name very much, not four six, not four six, so that he seems to be very out of tune, but this can not blame his father, he was born on April 6 of the twenty-eighth year of Zhizheng, when it was still the world of the Yuan Dynasty, according to the law of the Yuan Dynasty, he can only call this name. Zhu Yuanzhang was originally called Zhu Chongba, but it was because he was born on August 8.

Wang Siliu's greatest wish is to get rich, and he farms diligently every year and lives honestly. He only has this little ability, he can take some grain from the soil, go to eat, and pay taxes, and there is not much left, so he put the hope house on his son, save money every year, just wait for his son to find him a gentleman when he is older, study, take a fame test, and then be promoted and make a fortune, this wish and expectation can be seen from the name he gave his son. Anyway, now that the name is taken casually, he thought about it for three days and chose a good name for his son: Wang Chongba, which shows his warm expectations for his son. I finally have a little bit of a deposit. This is where the natural disaster comes.

It's been two months since the natural disaster struck. After the floods, there was not much food left. Wang Siliu tried to run out, but was blocked back by the big-headed soldiers on the official road. It's still not a good fate.

The mother-in-law behind "his father" took the child and screamed.

"What's wrong?" Wang Siliu didn't look back.

"What are we going to Matou Mountain for? The porridge shed in the county is still open, and I can't die of hunger, so why do we go to Matou Mountain to dig wild vegetables? ”

"You know a, stupid, with long hair and short knowledge. Wang Siliu scolded and said, "You see that the porridge in the porridge shed has become thinner and thinner day by day in the past two days, and the relief food from the imperial court has not yet been believed." I see, in a few days, the porridge shed will not be able to open. When the time comes, those big-headed soldiers continue to block the official road, and we will starve to death. ”

"But that porridge. . . ”

"Let's go to the mountains to dig up the wild vegetables, find a place to store them, and turn around and take turns to go to Napingshan County to drink porridge, don't you delay at both ends, won't it be over?"

dragged a noun, Wang Siliu was deeply moved by his wit, and his face was indescribably proud.