Wulong Inn

Cangzhou Heishui County

Today's Heishui County has lost the hustle and bustle of the past, but is a little more desolate and chilling.

The Heishui County Yamen, which is located in the middle of the county where the troubles occurred, was also quite deserted. After passing through the spacious front hall and stepping into the inner house of Mr. Qian, the magistrate of Heishui County, he saw that there were only a few servants left in the deserted courtyard. Looking at the solitude of the courtyard, people felt a bit of panic about the imminent disaster for no reason.

In the most secret inner vault of the inner house, there is a person shuttling through the room full of valuables.

The bloated Mr. Qian was walking like flying at this time. He moved a few times among the many items and picked out the most valuable ones. Quickly ran to the next one.

As soon as Yu entered the door, he saw such a scene, and there was a little bit of surprise on his worried face: "Husband, you are..."

"Quick," interrupting Madam's inquiry, Mr. Qian grabbed her hand and said, "Go and pack up the things, the carriage is parked outside the county government office, pack up in a while, let's leave here immediately."

"This house lives well, where do you want to move?" Gently breaking away from Master Qian's hand, Yu frowned lightly.

When Mr. Qian heard that his wife was thinking about something, he couldn't help but said anxiously: "The people from Qiang Yuan are calling, we have to leave this small county as soon as possible, or it will be too late if we don't leave!"

Seeing that Master Qian was extremely anxious, Yu thoughtfully took a towel to wipe off the fine sweat from Master Qian's forehead, and said softly, "Where does the master want to take this concubine?"

Master Qian also calmed down a little. At this time, he frowned, he didn't know what he was hesitating about, but he said to himself: "Of course it's going to another state, the farther the better, anyway, get out of the right and wrong place first!"

"My master is the head of a county, so if I leave like this, my master will not be afraid..." Yu Shi hesitated for a moment, then said worriedly.

"I can't care about that much anymore. Anyway, this official position is bought, so I'll lose this black yarn at worst!" Master Qian had a determined expression on his face, obviously he had made up his mind.

"But..." Mrs. Yu wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Master Qian.

Holding Yu Shi's hand, Mr. Qian said anxiously: "Let's talk about it on the way, your private house is not worth much, so don't take it, don't clean it up, it's not too late, let's go now!" Come on, pull Yu Shi and go out.

At this time, Master Qian's fat body seemed extremely light and agile, but when he reached the door, Master Qian stopped in his tracks. Looking at the people standing in front of the door, Master Qian's expression was a little uncertain, and he said after a long while, " Zizhan, I have nothing to do today, what are you doing in my house?" It turned out that the person standing at the door was Mr. Qian's most beloved Master Wang.

"It's nothing, it's just that it's not for cleaning today. The students just came to see the lord not going to the yamen for a long time." As he spoke, Master Wang glanced at the bag in lord Qian's hands without any trace, and said calmly: "But I don't know where this is going, my lord?"

Seeing Master Wang's aggressive gaze, Lord Qian couldn't help but glance away, and said with a guilty conscience: "This... I'm a little bored recently, I'm taking my wife to live in another place for a few days."

"That's right. My lord is busy with business all day long, so it's okay to go out and relax." Master Wang said flatly, without much emotion.

"Exactly." Lord Qian laughed a few times, and said insincerely.

"However," seeing Master Wang's eyebrows raised slightly, he changed the subject: "Nowadays there are constant bandits and bandits all over Cangzhou. It's extremely unsafe. As a parent of a county, it's safer to stay in the county!" Saying that, Master Wang took a step forward to block Master Qian indistinctly, but actually blocked Master Qian's way with a calm face.

"You! How dare you!" Looking at Master Wang in front of him, Mr. Qian said with a look of shock and anger.

"The student did something wrong to make adults so angry." Master Wang pretended to be puzzled and said in surprise.

Master Qian looked uncertainly at Master Wang standing in front of him, and said for a long time: "What if I have to go?

Taking a deep breath, Master Wang said solemnly: "Although the student is alone and alone, for the sake of the stability of our county, I might as well stop it."

"It's up to you!" Mr. Qian sneered, without saying much, he pulled his wife around Master Wang and was about to leave.

"My lord!" Master Wang's voice came from behind: "Now the Qiang Yuan cavalry has infiltrated into the interior of our Cangzhou. When my lord arrives, where do you want to escape to?"

Seeing Mr. Qian's figure paused, then turned his face, Mr. Wang continued: "Although Mr. Qian's carriage is fast, is it faster than the Qiang Yuan iron cavalry? Madam is a female class, so it's inexperienced." Suffering from bumps, if not caught by the Qiang Yuan people..."

"That's enough, what are you going to say!" Interrupting Master Wang's words, Master Qian asked with a gloomy expression. Obviously, Master Wang's words expressed the hidden worries in his heart.

"My lord," looking at Mrs. Qian who was furious and angry, Master Wang said calmly, "I don't dare to force you to do anything, but I just want you to follow me to Kaiyuan County. At least you will do it for me. Parents, even if you want to leave, you should take a look before you leave."

Mr. Qian took a deep look at Master Wang, and after a long while he closed his eyes slightly, and said in a neutral tone: "Forget it, I'll go and see what tricks you have." Tightening the burden in his hand, Mr. Qian Holding Yu Shi's hand, he walked ahead proudly.

Seeing Mr. Qian walking ahead quickly, Mr. Wang was taken aback, and hurriedly followed behind. He was approaching the gate of the county government office. , regardless of Master Wang behind him, he hurriedly ordered to the coachman: "Hurry up, get out of the city!"

The carriage sped out, and Master Qian pulled back the curtain, seeing the figure of Master Wang getting smaller and smaller behind him, he couldn't help laughing strangely.

"Master..." Seeing Master Qian like this, he looked at Master Qian suspiciously.

"It's okay." He patted Yu Shi's hand reassuringly, and Master Qian said slowly, "That Wang Zizhan still wants to play tricks with me, who am I, Qian Xiang? He died together, what kind of family and country righteousness, I bah!"

After venting the depression in his heart, Master Qian let out a long breath, and said to Shi in a soft voice: "Don't be afraid, I have prepared all the escape routes. Yanzhou has my old friends, and there are garrisons and food there, so it is the safest , that is, the central capital has been captured, and we can persist there for a long time, we will go there..." Master Qian was still drawing a beautiful blueprint for the future, when the carriage stopped abruptly, Master Qian was startled, and suddenly Pulling the curtain, he said to the coachman in a vicious voice, "Why did it stop suddenly!

Seeing him shouting and asking, the coachman looked at Mr. Qian in embarrassment, and couldn't help pointing forward, "Master, look.".

Master Qian followed his line of sight, and saw that the originally empty square in front of him was already crowded with people, and there was a high platform among the crowd, where someone was talking about these things.

"What's going on, go and see!" Master Qian ordered, patting the coachman who was still in a daze.

The coachman took the order, and after a while, he reported back and forth: "My lord, all the citizens of Heishui County are in front of me.

"Oh?" Lord Qian raised his brows slightly, and asked suspiciously: "What are they doing there, and who is that on the high platform?

"Well," the coachman hesitated for a moment, and then said: "There are too many people gathered in front, and the younger ones didn't make it to the front, so I don't know."

"Useless things!" With a low curse, Master Qian climbed down from the car, looked at the crowd gathered in front of him and said with hatred: "It's really audacious to dare to gather crowds to make trouble in broad daylight, it's simply rude. Go and see!"

At this point, Master Qian remembered that he was the magistrate of this county, and when he saw this, he got out of the carriage very rudely and squeezed into the crowd.

Arbitrarily squeezed to the center of the crowd, the men and women on the high platform were already vaguely distinguishable, but the man was wearing a heavy filial piety with a miserable face, and the woman looked at the man from time to time, with encouragement in her expression.Master Qian felt that the woman looked familiar, and was wondering who she was, when he heard a clear male voice from the high platform.

"Fathers and elders," seeing the man clasping his fists towards the crowd and saluting, he said calmly, "I think there are a few of you who know me. In Xialu Daxing, I was originally a businessman in Cangzhou, and my family has been doing business for generations. It's a little thin. However, he is not a big man." After a short pause, Lu Daxing said again: "A few days ago, my father and the caravan went on a business trip as usual. In the past, life and death were uncertain, but now, I am afraid that something will happen!" When he said this, the man's voice was a little choked up.

In the crowd, because of his sad voice, there were a few more sighs of emotion.

Seeing that Lu Daxing stabilized his mood, he continued: "I only hate that I was not by my father's side at that time. I didn't want to kill the enemy for the country. At least I can block the butcher's knife when I attack my father." At this time, Lu Daxing's voice turned into anger: "Speaking of which, this was originally a family matter, no matter how sad it is, I would never bring it here to talk about it, but now the Qiang Yuan barbarians have invaded the inland of Kaiyuan, and they are in Cangzhou. It is an unforgivable crime to run amok and plunder indiscriminately..."

There were many echoing voices around him when he said this, but he saw that the young man's words evoked grief from the bottom of his heart, and the voices of discussion in the crowd continued to grow louder. Some said that the Qiang Yuan people were very cruel. , never left a mouth alive, some said that the Qiang Yuan barbarians plundered women and children, their actions were simply sensational!

A woman's terrified cry came from the crowd, many of them hugged their children subconsciously, and many of the county residents had retreated on their faces, but the ones whose eyes rolled around began to think about their few Can you cope with the coming troubled times?

Looking at the county residents who became anxious all around, Lu Daxing's voice became agitated: "Everyone, now that the chaos has just arrived, everyone only thinks that I am a big Kaiyuan, and there are many shelters, but do you think about it? However, how sad it is when we leave our hometown and lose our possessions. Cangzhou is the place where we have lived together for generations. Is it possible to hand over to the Qiang Yuan barbarians like this? It is said that the Qiang Yuan bandits are extremely cruel, burning, killing and looting wherever they go. Could it be that my men from Cangzhou are all cowards, seeing their homes being trampled on and relatives being slaughtered, they actually let it go!"

Taking a deep breath, Lu Daxing said loudly: "I, Lu, am not talented. I would like to donate all my wealth to be a strong man. Anyone who kills the Qiang Yuan barbarians will be rewarded with a lot of money! I vow to drive the Qiang Yuan barbarians out !

For a while, there were bursts of discussion around again, and many people became excited, as if they wanted to confide loudly that they were not the coward Lu Daxing said. Blood surged.

But there was an untimely voice coming in, and I heard a man with a yin and yang shriek in a sharp voice: "What else is there to guard in this Heishui County, and now even the magistrate of the county is going to run away, and the court will not care about it." We live and die, we must pay for our own lives!"

For a while, the atmosphere that had just heated up cooled down again.

"Bold, who dares to talk about the imperial court's order, the county magistrate is here, making troubles by spreading rumors!" Just when the atmosphere was condensed, a male voice said righteously.

Master Qian followed the voice, and saw Master Wang standing there at some point, obviously he had just arrived not long ago, and he was still panting slightly.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, Master Wang unhurriedly pointed at Master Qian's position and said in unison, "Master Qian is here!"

Immediately afterwards, Mr. Qian was horrified to realize that countless real eyes were focused on him. Seeing the situation here, Mr. Qian took a step back unconsciously, but the ups and downs of his career over the years still made him calm down quickly, and threw away Feeling cautious at the bottom of his heart, Lord Qian looked at the people around him proudly.

I heard the voices of discussion all around, and then, the voices merged into a bunch: "Please sir, please explain to us, seeing the chaos in Cangzhou, what should we, the people of Kaiyuan, do?" The old man stepped out of the crowd and said sincerely.

"This..." Mr. Qian was suddenly asked. In the past few days, he only thought about how to escape, and how could he care about the imperial court's regulations.

But looking at the earnest eyes in the audience, Master Qian felt a little afraid of the attention of all the people for the first time, but this question must be answered, coughing lightly, Master Qian searched his stomach, He wanted to find a few words to respond to the emergency, but his voice sounded a little dry: "Everyone, elders, this officer..."

Everyone in the audience didn't have the patience of Mr. Qian. The problems came one after another. My lord, the imperial court will definitely not leave us alone. When will the troops be sent, can we ordinary people make arrangements...

"Everyone, please be quiet." At this moment, the honest old man's voice sounded again: "Now that my county magistrate of Heishui County is still here, it means that the imperial court will definitely not abandon us, everyone should listen to the magistrate's words. "As he spoke, he looked deeply at Lord Qian who was pushed onto the high platform, and said in a deep voice: "Your Excellency is my parents from Heishui County, we all listen to you!"

"We all listen to the adults." Someone shouted loudly, which attracted a lot of echoes from the audience.

Mr. Qian directly presents himself, surrounded by a wonderful feeling, which is a kind of excitement of being expected and valued, mixed with a deep sense of responsibility.

Taking a deep breath, Lord Qian hissed almost with all his strength: "Everyone, listen to what I have to say!" Seeing that the surrounding county residents had quieted down, Lord Qian took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "If the current crisis in Cangzhou is allowed to expand, it will definitely endanger the entire Kaiyuan. How can the imperial court ignore it, but Cangzhou has a vast area, and my Heishui is just a small county. I am afraid that the imperial court will not be able to control us for a while. .”

Although Master Qian's words were cruel, they were all the truth. For a while, everyone fell silent and listened to what Master Qian had to say.

He only heard Master Qian's expression calm, and he said with emotion: "But I, Heishui County, just sit and wait to die like this, and go into exile with the young and the old!"

"I can't!" Almost shouting out what was in his heart, the atmosphere in the audience was unprecedentedly high.

"Yes, I, Heishui County, will never sit idly by," Mr. Qian agreed loudly. After saying that, he seemed to have made some major determination. He took a deep look at Mr. Wang under the stage, and then shouted loudly : "I, Qian Xiang, swear here that this time, the Qiang Yuan barbarians will fight to the death. Will there be a strong man with me to resist foreign humiliation and defend our homeland!"

"I, Lu Daxing, would like to go!" The young man on the high platform said first.

"The daughter of the people, Yue Qinlian, is also willing to follow the lord." The girl who had been following the young man also said loudly at this time.

"Little people are willing to follow adults...

The villain is also...

There was only a moment of silence in the audience, which was soon overwhelmed by a huge echo...

Looking at the passionate county residents around, Master Wang breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled at his father in the crowd, the honest old man who had spoken out many times just now.

The Qiangyuan people's invasion war, because of its sudden start, caught the Kaiyuan army and people by surprise, but as the Qiangyuan people drove straight in easily with their iron cavalry, the shocked Kaiyuan people finally woke up, and the war also changed from the original one-sided stalemate. ,

Qiangyuan people never dreamed of the weak Kaiyuan who they regarded as a flock of sheep