Qingzhou is mountainous, high and vast, and its special geographical environment has caused many bandits to be here since ancient times. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, Xie Qian continued to attack through various means and annexed other bandits, and eventually occupied the entire Yimeng Mountains and became the number one giant thief in Shandong. He had more than 8,000 subordinates and nearly 2,000 cavalrymen, and was invincible in all directions.

Ding Keze in front of him was one of Xie Qian's many subordinates, his second in command. At this time, Zhou Xian finally understood why Xie Qian came to him that day and forced him to ask for one of his horses at that time. I think this person must be responsible for collecting information among Xie Qian's bandits, and he happened to catch his eye. As for why Xie Qian did not kill him at that time, it might have something to do with him.

Zhou Xian rubbed the deer-shaped jade pendant in his hand. It was bought by him for Zhou Tai when he first met the foreigner, Ruowang. There was an unfolded letter on the table next to him. He recognized the handwriting as written by Wan Ji. As for how they got together and were captured by Xie Qian, it was not something he could know now. "The head of Ding Er, we won't say much nonsense. You are going to get from me, just say it directly!"

Ding Keze smiled and said, "In the past, the token given to Zhou Junmen, you used that to gain the trust of the two leaders, Yunmenshan and Yishan, and took advantage of the situation to attack them. This led to the damage to the reputation of the boss in the Tao. No matter from any perspective, the Zhou Junmen should give him an explanation!"

Zhou Xian raised his eyebrows slightly and asked in a deep voice: "I wonder what kind of explanation do you want from the boss?"

"It's very simple. Please go to Mengshan and be a guest at our mountain village. We promise that we will not hurt the military gate at all, and will safely return Mr. Zhou and Mr. Wan afterwards. In this matter, Mr. Yu Qi can be the middleman of this as a security guard."

Zhou Xian looked at Yu Qi, and the latter nodded slightly, but said nothing. Zhou Xian pondered for a moment and said, "Give me two days to wait until I properly arrange the military affairs and go with you. As for these two days, let Lewu accompany you around the city! Penglai is on the verge of the sea and the scenery is beautiful, no worse than the Yimeng Mountains."

Ding Keze clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Thank you for Zhou Junmen, I'm just trying to do this."

When Ding Keze was taken down, only Zhou Xian and Yu Qi were left in the house. Zhou Xian took a sip of tea and asked in a very calm tone: "Lewu, are you very familiar with Xie Qian?"

Yu Qi frowned and nodded, saying, "It is very difficult to maintain the huge Yu family business. Sometimes you need to do some special things, and some things that are not convenient for you to do by yourself. So..."

Zhou Xian nodded and expressed his understanding. "Then do you know why he insisted on letting me go to his place this time?"

Yu Qi was silent for a moment and said, "I am not completely clear about the specific situation, but Ding Keze said that it should be related to the rapid expansion of military forces during this period. He probably wanted to make a good relationship with you now so as to avoid disaster in the future. Generally speaking, he would not do stupid things that are enemies of you at this time."

Zhou Xian couldn't refuse and said lightly: "I understand. You can go back first! Prepare by the way, and you can accompany me to go there."

Yu Qi bowed and retreated outward.

A snow and ice swept across the land of Liaodong, and the cold was like a sharp arrow, piercing the hearts and spleens of every soldier in the Ming army in Jinzhou.

Most of the forts outside the city have been cleared by the Qing army. Only near the city gate are there a few left. They are all within the range of crossbows on the city. With the assistance of the soldiers on the city, they can ensure that they are not lost. The Qing army retreated ten miles away, and dug a trench about five miles away, and set up an outpost to monitor the movements of the soldiers in the city.

It has been nearly two years since I was surrounded in May of the 13th year of Chongzhen, and the food that can be eaten has been almost all the food that has been eaten by the defenders in the city, including food, horses, birds, field mice, and even field mice. A doctor once said that eating the food that is stored in the mouse cave is the root cause of the plague, but how can people who are extremely hungry still care about this? It is a group of soldiers, or the people, here, there, and there are clusters, digging everywhere to find everything that can be eaten.

But more soldiers were huddled in the corners of the wall, leaning against each other, maintaining the only remaining body temperature. There may be a fire next to it, but the front chest is burning and the cold wind blows on the back. From time to time, people whisper inwardly, but no one can hear what he is cursing. Is it this world or God.

Most of the fires were equipped with a large pot, which was cooked many times, without any huge horse bones. The soup boiled and made a sizzling sound. From time to time, people picked up broken bowls and scooped out some of them, but they did not feel full, which made the stomach and intestines more eager to eat.

Ten days ago, the food was banned from supplying to the people in the city, and the food rations of each soldier in the city were reduced from half a pancake to one quarter. In fact, the standard configuration for each soldier should be two thick cakes per day, a bowl of thick porridge, and some other things. But now, except for this quarter pancake, the only thing is this horse bone soup that has no taste. Even if you sit still, this little thing cannot meet the daily needs. Not to mention that the Qing army also came to invade from time to time to mobilize their last little energy.

Every soldier asked in his heart how long this damn life would last.

Zu Dashou was wearing a sperm armor and came to patrol the street with more than a dozen guards. This was his must do every day. When the soldiers on both sides of the street saw him coming, they stood up to salute, and he smiled and waved his hands to reply. He was the hope of all the soldiers in the city and their pillar. No matter how sad he was, at least on the surface, he should show enough confidence.

In the past, Yuan Chonghuan was executed by Lingchi, and he led his troops to break through the Great Wall and return to Liaodong. Since then, he has never been to the Central Plains again. Liaodong is his roots and the sphere of influence of his ancestors. The emperor needs his help to resist the Qing army. As long as he is in Liaodong, he can ensure his absolute safety. It is hard to be loyal ministers and hard to be a master. What is under the world? What is the king's land? What is the king's land? What is the king's head? The long-term life experience tells him that those are bullshit, and only strength is eternal.

He did not trust Emperor Chongzhen and looked down on the Qing Dynasty. Nurhaci was just the leader of a small barbarian tribe. He used to be unworthy of carrying shoes to the ancestors. But now his son Huang Taiji is trying to be king and emperor, which is ridiculous. He faced the Ming Dynasty from the bottom of his heart. This stubbornness in his bones and his contempt for the Qing Dynasty made him persist until now.
Chapter completed!