choke element

In a land of peace for hundreds of years, the folk customs are very different from those in the weather-beaten north. Even if life has been difficult in the past two years, even if ordinary people are familiar with walking in the streets, they will not object to going to the city to survive... But Chen Ziming directly said that he wanted to go under the control of the Northerners For ordinary people in the Song Dynasty, this step was a bit big and abrupt.

Chief Li and Chen Zixin chatted nonsense for a while, and then they responded to Chen Ziming's suggestion.

The leader of the Li family left first. He planned to go home and carefully consider which people in the village were suitable to follow Chen Ziming and go out for a living. Chen Zixin chatted with his cousin in the courtyard for a while and planned to leave.

Chen Zixin was not surprised at all that his cousin would make such a suggestion. Chen Ziming studied medicine since he was a child, and he had the drive to travel thousands of miles to taste hundreds of herbs. He traveled hundreds of miles at every turn, which was different from ordinary people who settled down at home. Two years ago, when he planned to set off for Lin'an, pass through Qingyuan Mansion, and go to the South China Sea to see the local customs and medicinal materials, he made an appointment with Chen Zixin to go with him.

But Chen Zixin felt at the time that since Prime Minister Shi Miyuan began to cooperate with the north, many of the shipowners and giant merchants active in Lin'an and Qingyuan Prefecture had a background in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. However, in places such as Lianghuai and Jinghu, the armies of the Song Dynasty often confronted the Zhou army. This huge military and economic contrast would cause trouble sooner or later.

After all, the warriors in the north are extremely ferocious. There is no guarantee that one day the northern and southern families will fall out, and anyone who has anything to do with the north will be implicated.

So he declined his cousin's invitation and stayed in his hometown.

In the next two years, he received letters from his cousin, telling him that he was employed by a trading firm in the Great Zhou Dynasty and had witnessed many magnificent things at sea. But Chen Zixin always burned the letter on the spot, and immediately buried some of the money accompanying the letter and never used it.

He also quietly inquired about news from far away every few days, thinking that if there was another dispute between the north and the south, he would immediately take his cousin's wife and daughter and abscond, so that women and children could not suffer.

What Chen Zixin didn't expect was that the situation between the northern and southern families would continue so bizarrely. Politically, it is known as a country of uncles and nephews; militarily, troops at various borders are often dispatched for intimidation; economically, the exchanges are close, and the interest bundles are deepening. These three directions are so uncoordinated, but they can be maintained. There must be a reason. .

Chen Zixin saw all this. But his mind hasn't changed. He still feels that this situation will change drastically sooner or later, and when the changes occur, the people involved will definitely not get well off.

My cousin has changed a lot in the two years since he left. He no longer looked like a scholar, he looked much stronger, and there was a strong and rough atmosphere in his every move. He must have faced many difficulties and endured many storms to be like this.

However, now that I have returned to my hometown, I have to consider the situation in the village.

Chen Ziming's experience in the past two years has inevitably led to various speculations among the villagers; the officials and subordinates in the countryside are all like wolves and tigers, and I am afraid they have long regarded him as a fat sheep with a rich wealth. On the road today, the villagers swarmed around him and divided all his money with great fanfare, which was a way to protect themselves.

But if my cousin is making connections again, saying that he wants to lead people across the border to work for the northerners to make money... This kind of thing has been unheard of before, and the court has no way of talking about it. If word spreads, someone will inevitably frame it and cause trouble. .

This is very dangerous.

During the Kaiju Year, the imperial court sometimes talked about the Northern Expedition, and sometimes asked for peace. The ordinary people below did nothing. Suddenly, a certain group became traitors who resisted the Northern Expedition, and two years later, another group became rebels who responded and encouraged trouble.

Traitors who rebel against the party will inevitably suffer misfortune. Although they may not injure human lives, they will inevitably suffer physical and flesh pain, and they will also have to spit out their family wealth. Just in the vicinity of Chen Lizhuang alone, Chen Zixin saw with his own eyes more than a dozen examples of families being destroyed. And because of this, the ones who are full and fat are not the wolves and tigers?

Therefore, the best way right now is for my cousin to stop talking nonsense and deal with the situation. Leave trivial matters to others to prepare slowly. In any case, with the support of the money he brought, dozens of families in the surrounding area can eat bran for a while, and they will have no problem until the autumn harvest. After the autumn harvest, they will have food in their hands, and maybe they will be able to breathe a sigh of relief?

"It's hard to say!" Chen Ziming said sternly.

Chen Zixin shrank his head: "What, what?" Chen Ziming slapped the earthen wall with his palms. His hand was very strong and made a thumping sound, but he didn't pay attention at all. He frowned and said: "In the past two years, I have seen a lot of different things. I always feel that the world will become faster and faster, and the Song Dynasty..."

He stopped and fell into deep thought.

Chen Zixin was looking slovenly and lazy outside. He was a little in awe of his cousin, so he stood aside and waited patiently.

After a while, Chen Ziming waved to his cousin.

Chen Zixin came closer and heard his cousin say: "What I see alone may not be accurate. What I say alone may not be fully believed by the villagers. In order for everyone to respond positively, we need to be more convincing." That’s all.”

"Brother has the reputation of helping those in need for so many years..."

Chen Zixin had just complimented him when he was interrupted by Chen Ziming: "You pack up, take our medical books with you, and go to Yangzhou. Set off now and memorize the medical books on the way!"

"what?"

"This time in the Great Zhou Dynasty, fourteen ports were opened along the rivers and coasts to recruit useful people from the Song Dynasty who were willing to go to the north. I asked on the road that the people recruited from Yangzhou will mainly be placed in various places in Shandong. It will be used to help develop local military households’ farms. You go there and spend three to five months to see how the military households in the Great Zhou Dynasty are doing, and then see how the army in the Great Zhou Dynasty is doing. In the autumn, our You will soon have a clue as to whether you can live a better life. Come back just in time and tell the villagers what you saw."

"This……"

Chen Zixin waved his hands repeatedly and shook his head like a rattle: "Brother, you know me. I have always been timid and afraid of getting into trouble. I have been crazy for more than 20 years. I have only been to Linchuan City as far as I can, and I am used to being lazy...I Where can I have such ability? Besides, there are many ferocious barbarians in the Northern Kingdom. I heard that they not only kill people without blinking an eye, but also drink human blood and eat human flesh. Wherever I go, wouldn’t it be..."

Chen Ziming frowned.

Chen Zixin only felt that his brother's majesty was ten times stronger than before, and he couldn't help but complain in his heart, feeling that his brother was not as honest as before.

Finally, the two brothers had a good relationship and never fell out. Just at this time, Chen Ziming's wife poked half of her face out of the door and asked, "How many pancakes have been made today? Do you want me to use some first?"

Chen Ziming nodded: "First take two pieces of cake, one for each person, and talk while eating."

"Eat the cake!"

Three months later, in midsummer, on a deserted island off the coast of Shandong, several Zhou army officers and soldiers carried large plates of cooking cakes and walked outside the military camp and shouted: "There is also mung bean and licorice soup to relieve the heat. !”

Under the shadow of the outer wall of the military camp, between the gaps in the large rocks, and under the shadow of the trees, people's voices echoed one after another. Chen Zixin stood up first and urged his companions with his hands on his hips. His companions included people from the Song Dynasty, as well as poor people from Nanjing Road, Shandong Road and other places in the Zhou Dynasty. After more than ten days of living and training together, they have become familiar with each other.