Zhu Nao

On the winding and rugged mountain road, a team moved forward slowly.Walking in the middle is a caravan, with porters carrying heavy loads and leading donkeys and mules full of goods.

And those walking at both ends of the line are young men, dressed in black, holding long knives, sticks and other weapons, and those walking in the front are holding a big black flag with the words "Eternal Brightness" written on it. Words can be seen by anyone hundreds of meters away.These people are bandits from Changming Village.

People from Changming Village are escorting the caravan through Longcheng Mountain.Because this caravan paid filial money to Changming Village, Changming Village specially sent people to protect them from other bandits.

Going out of the mountain road, there is a flat road ahead.The line stopped.The bandits in Changming Village left the team one after another.The bandit who led the way said: "You will be safe after passing here. There are no other fortresses in front of you. Go on your own."

The leader of the caravan raised his hand, and several porters immediately came out to deliver several baskets of goods to the bandits in Changming Village.The leader of the caravan laughed and said, "Thank you brothers from Changming Village for escorting us all the way. You have worked hard. Take these small gifts back."

People from Changming Village opened the baskets and saw that there were several cotton clothes inside.It just so happened that winter was coming, and the mountains were damp and cold, and they were worried about how to keep out the cold for the frail elderly and women.So the two sides thanked each other and parted ways here.

Everyone in Changming Village went back to the mountain, and the caravan continued on its way.

They didn't realize it, but in the forest not far away, many eyes were staring at them.

……

On the top of the mountain, several women are weaving, and children are playing nearby.A few men are free and help out.

Suddenly, footsteps came from a distance, and someone hurriedly shouted: "Village Master, Village Master! Something has happened!"

Yu Changming was helping the women tidy up the weaving thread, and he put down the things in his hands and stood up: "What's wrong? What happened?"

The man gasped and said, "The caravan we escorted was robbed by bandits from Longcheng Mountain!"

"What?" Yu Changming was surprised, "You didn't send them out of the mountain safely?"

"Send, send them away!" the man said, "As usual, we sent them to the plains before leaving. Who would have thought that those bandits have been quietly following behind, and when we are all gone, they will rush up and rob people Already!"

Yu Changming frowned: "Which village made it?"

The man shook his head: "I don't know. I heard from the people in the caravan that there were only a dozen of them, and they all covered their faces with cloth. They killed a few people in the caravan, grabbed a few loads of things and ran away. The people in the caravan did not dare to chase."

Yu Changming frowned even more.

In the past few years, many new cottages have sprung up like mushrooms, most of which are hidden in the Longcheng Mountains.Longcheng Mountain is tens of miles away from the top of their Changming Village, whether it is far or close.When Yu Changming sent people to escort caravans, they would often fly a prominent banner, just to remind those copycats that this team was under the protection of their Changming Village, and anyone who dared to make things difficult would have trouble with their Changming Village.

However, there are still some bold ones, not daring to fight against them openly, so they are slandering in the dark.When something like this happened, Changming Village naturally couldn't let it go.Firstly, the caravan gave them money gifts, but they failed to keep the caravan safe, and their loyalty could not be overcome; secondly, this incident damaged their prestige and reputation. In the long run, which caravan would still give them filial money?Who would dare to step out of their way?

Therefore, no matter what, Changming Village must give the caravan an explanation.However, those small villages in Longcheng Mountain are messy and messy. Once the robbers cover their faces, the sufferer doesn't know who to turn to to settle accounts.

Yu Changming thought for a moment, and said, "Take someone to warn those copycats that whoever robbed the goods, as long as they return them in full within three days, I can spare them this time, no exception."

The little brother said: "Village Master, what if none of them are willing to admit it?" Since they came out to rob with their faces covered, it was clear that they didn't want to admit it.

Yu Changming said coldly: "Prototyping first, soldiers later. Tell them, let them recognize it as soon as possible, if I find out, there will be no place for them in Yilong."

As soon as the words fell, a disdainful sneer suddenly came from the side.Yu Changming turned his head and saw Yu Ping standing up.

"What do you mean before the soldiers? Let me tell you, let's take hundreds of people to kill them, and go directly to their stockade to search. Whoever dares to stop them will force their way in. Whoever finds the caravan's goods will slaughter that stockade! I would rather Look, who will dare not to take us seriously in the future?"

Before Yu Changming could speak, Yu Ping said again: "Brother, I told you a long time ago that you are too kind. Uncle insisted on teaching you to read, which made you confused. Are we thieves or officials? You just Those people in Longcheng Mountain should not be tolerated! Yilong is our territory, if they want to be thieves, they must submit to us or die, there should be no third way! If you keep them, they will harm us!"

Yu Changming gave him a cold look and did not argue with him.

What Yu Ping said was not completely unreasonable.If the group of people in Longcheng Mountain were indulged, they would definitely cause trouble, and they had already caused trouble.But the reason why Yu Changming didn't kill them all was because he still had compassion.Those who fall into bandits are mostly desperate people.You can't be a citizen, you can only be a thief.Although there are vicious people among them, there are also some poor people who live in seclusion in the mountains and forests just to avoid exorbitant taxes.If they are all killed regardless of their likes and dislikes, what is the difference between them and corrupt officials?

Yu Changming instructed lightly: "Do as I tell you."

The younger brother hurriedly said: "Yes, the village master." After speaking, he hurriedly took people away.

Yu Ping, who was ignored, stared at Yu Changming's back, sneered silently, turned his head and walked away.

Yu Changming bent down and continued to arrange the weaving threads for the women.

After a while, someone ran over again: "Village Master, Village Master, someone has sent you a letter."

"A letter?" Yu Ping was slightly surprised, and reached out to take it.

The people around were curious: "Master, who wrote you the letter?"

The letter was signed, but unfortunately, few people in Changming Village could read it, except Yu Changming.He stared fixedly at the word "Junao" and found it inconceivable.

He knew who Junao was.A few months ago, against his orders, Yu Ping hijacked a passing caravan with a team and snatched back ten carts of grain.That caravan belonged to a merchant named Junao.He was furious when he learned of this, and ordered people not only not to move the ten carts of grain, but also to make up for two carts and send them back together as an apology.Unexpectedly, just as his team set off, they ran into Zhu Nao's men on the way.

However, Jun Nao sent someone not to avenge him, but to bring him another ten carts of grain.He was shocked and asked the team what this meant, and the leader said reluctantly: "Our boss said that the master of Yuzhai has always valued friendship and has made meritorious deeds in protecting the caravan many times. What happened a few days ago is This is the first time in two years. The owner speculates that Changming Village may have taken in many new brothers recently, making their livelihood difficult. Therefore, the owner specially ordered us to send another ten carts of grain, hoping to relieve the worries of the owner of Yuzhai Village."

Twenty carts of grain made Yu Changming feel ashamed, and he deeply remembered Zhu Nao.

He unfolded the paper and read the letter.After reading a few lines, he was surprised at first, then frowned, and finally fell into deep thought.

……

The abandoned sacrificial temple outside Langzhou City has always been a place where refugees settled.Ordinary people passed by, and when they smelled the sour smell, they would immediately hold their noses and walk away.

At this moment, the stench emanating from the temple was actually stronger than usual.Because the small abandoned temple was crowded with people, bustling and crowded.

A middle-aged man stood on the altar, scanned the audience, and counted the number of people.They drove out all the old people and children. At this time, all the crowds in the temple were men, 40 to [-] people.

After counting the number of people, he said with satisfaction: "Let's move separately in a while, so as not to attract attention. After Shenshi, we will gather in the small street in the south of the city. When it gets dark, we will start!"

A young man named Wang Zhongqi asked timidly: "But those big families have many servants..."

The middle-aged man said: "So we don't do anything until dark. After dark, how many people can they have to look after the home? There are always enough of us."

Wang Zhongqi swallowed his saliva, and said again: "We...are we going to kill people?"

The middle-aged man didn't answer his question, and sneered: "They want to kill you, so you don't have to fight back."

Wang Zhongqi was terrified, and hid behind another older youth.

Another elder asked, "Will we be caught by officers and soldiers?"

The middle-aged man waved his hand disdainfully: "I have observed for several days, and few of the officers and soldiers on the night watch were patrolling properly. They were either drinking and chatting there, or finding a place to sleep soundly. After we grabbed the things, we quickly spread out and hid. They must not find us."

People will be suspicious.

Most of the people crowded in this temple today are refugees from homeless.Some of them make a living by begging, some by stealing, and some are lucky enough to work for a living, but they are paid so little that they don’t have enough to eat every day.Only the middle-aged man standing on the altar was not a refugee.His name is Yang Lao Er, he was originally from Langzhou, his family was poor, and he was idle, and he didn't marry a wife in his forties, and he was very angry.There was a recent flood, and there were many refugees in Langzhou. Other people hated these refugees who were causing trouble everywhere, but Yang Lao Er was very happy.

When he heard about many refugees stealing in the city for their livelihood, he felt that his chance had come.So he spent a lot of time secretly contacting these refugees, spreading news among them, and finally gathered all the stronger people among them who were willing to follow him to form a team.

Younger Yang said: "If you act alone, you can at most rob a few women and children, and steal some loose money, so what's the use of that? With so many of us acting together, we can do big things. Now the richest people in the city are It was Jun Nao, we broke into his house at night, ransacked his house, and got enough money for each of us to settle down, marry wives and have children."

Everyone looks at me, and I look at you.Most of them used to be common people living in An'an, and they didn't want to live such a life if they were not desperate.

Yang Lao Er looked around at the crowd and noticed some people's hesitation.He asked: "Will you all do it? If you don't want to do it, get out early, and no one will care about you if you starve to death. If you want to do it, stay, and I will talk about the details of the night's operation."

The abandoned temple was quiet for a long time, but no one left after all.Now that they have been reduced to such a field, it seems that there is no other way to go.