A desolate cold wind swept from the sky above Xichuan City, and the yellow leaves and dust in the city covered the heads and faces of pedestrians.
Before Dong Cheng could cover his mouth and nose with his sleeves, he choked on a large mouthful of dust and coughed until his face turned red. He finally calmed down after the wind stopped.
The boy behind him struggled to push a wheelbarrow with a banner on it, and followed Dong Cheng towards the alley. But at this moment, countless people suddenly poured into the alley, pulling Dong Cheng and the boy together.
People and cars crowded aside.
Before Ning Ci left office, he lifted the ban and allowed refugees to enter the city.
At one time, tens of thousands of hungry people poured into Xichuan City. A mixture of fish and dragons crowded the small town. Thefts also increased sharply, and houses and houses were robbed frequently. It was not until the new county captain took office that the situation improved.
However, there was no way to drive out all the hungry people for a while. Now the streets and alleys are still full of people begging for a living, or huddled under the eaves of the house.
Seeing a large number of government officials walking through the long street outside the alley, Dong Cheng, like everyone else, looked out and wondered what was going on. What happened?
There is a big movement in Jingjie.
The sound of horse hoofbeats came from the long street outside the alley. After a while, the newly arrived county lieutenant Liu Wugong reined in his horse and stopped at the entrance of the alley. Two teams of government officials followed closely behind him, holding killing sticks and beating one head after another.
They beat the ground and roared in unison to further drive away the hungry people and pedestrians crowded in the alley.
Under the collision, the young and weak boy could no longer hold the wheelbarrow steady, and it tipped over. The pen, ink, paper and inkstones in the cage suddenly spilled all over the floor.
These are the tools Dong Cheng relies on to make a living.
The boy was so anxious that he shouted: "Don't step on me, don't step on me!" However, he had little strength and could not push anyone away. However, he was bumped into by hungry people who fled in panic. He sat on the ground and was stepped on several times.
Cheng finally dragged him out.
I don't know whether it was due to urgency or pain, but the boy sobbed and almost cried.
Only then did Liu Wugong notice Dong Cheng and the boy who were squeezed under the eaves, unable to move. He got off his horse and led people to drive away the hungry people. He stepped forward and cupped his hands and said, "Why did Mr. Dong come out of the stall so late today?"
There are many twists and turns in Xichuan City, but there is only one main street running north-south.
Dong Cheng set up a pen and ink stall on the main street every day, writing letters for others and prescribing medicines to support his family. Several times he saw Liu Wugong passing by him without looking sideways.
Dong Cheng knew that Liu Wugong could not recognize him, but was taboo about having anything to do with him. Dong Cheng didn't think there was anything to make a fuss about, but when he saw him approaching him, Dong Cheng frowned slightly in confusion.
, glanced out of the alley, bowed his hands and said in return:
"Liu County Lieutenant has promoted me. How can Dong Cheng, a common man, dare to be called an adult? I caught wind and cold occasionally two days ago, and I felt a lot of discomfort. Today I feel a little better. The house is cold and there is no firewood. The rice bucket is almost empty. Looking at the weather, it will still be better."
Before it was too late, I took the boy to the street and served people with pen and ink to earn a few coins..."
"This stall has also collapsed. The pens, inks, papers and inkstones have been trampled into shape. It seems that Mr. Dong will not be able to leave the stall today," Liu Wugong said with a smile, "Can I come to Mr. Dong's house to ask for a cup of tea?"
"Is it possible that an old friend suddenly became interested and wanted to see with his own eyes how shabby and embarrassed Dong was before he felt happy?" Dong Cheng asked coldly.
Liu Wugong remained silent, and just motioned to the government officials to clear the alley and not to let anyone else stay in it.
Soon a group of armored cavalry came and entered the alleyway to disperse the guards. Some people stood on the eaves of the courtyard wall to look out and be on guard.
Dong Cheng sighed softly and walked back, ignoring the pens, inks, papers and inkstones scattered on the floor and the overturned wheelbarrow.
"What's going on?"
Dong's wife was washing clothes in the yard with her two daughters. When she saw Dong Cheng and the boy returning empty-handed, she came over and just asked a question. Then she saw Liu Wugong in official uniform walking in. Her face turned pale with fright and she did not dare to ask any more questions.
What.
Liu Wugong saw that the small yard was full of debris, pulled out a few clotheslines to dry the washed clothes, and signaled the yamen servants to collect all the washed clothes.
"These clothes are all owned by owners, so we can't mess them up." Then Dong's wife stood up and murmured in a low voice.
"Don't be so frivolous, look carefully inside and out," Liu Wugong ordered the servants to inspect the house, and then asked Dong Cheng, "Except for Mrs.
"The two young ladies are here, where is the eldest son?"
"Dong Yi is working in the Liu family's private school in the east of the city - what, does this old friend plan to spare my family?" Dong Cheng asked coldly.
"The envoy came from Jingzisai to Xichuan. On the way, he casually asked about the current situation of Mr. Dong's family. I didn't know the truth. I can't wait for the envoy to ask again. I am speechless, right? Don't you, Mr. Dong?
Think too much." Liu Wugong said.
On the huge Jingxiang Road, there was only one person who could be called the "envoy". Dong's wife looked at Dong Cheng in fear, worried that the fear of these past few months would become a bloody reality.
After a while, I heard the sound of armor's footsteps outside the courtyard. I could imagine that the alley was full of armor and soldiers. The two generals moved the wheelbarrow that Dong Cheng and the boy had abandoned at the entrance of the alley directly into the yard.
Come.
Xu Huai, Xu Wuqi, Shi Zhen, Han Gui and others walked into the yard and glanced at the yard full of debris. The main house and the wing rooms were all low and dim, and then they looked towards the people standing aside indifferently and vigilantly.
Dong Chenggong cupped his hands and asked with a smile: "Why, when old friends meet, they even give each other a cup of tea?"
After saying that, Xu Huai walked straight towards the low main room.
Xu Wuqi cupped his hands towards Dong Cheng and said: "This time Xu Huai and I went to Jingzi Fortress to inspect the military. We were passing through Xichuan on our way to Xixia Fortress. I thought that Dong Gong lived in Xichuan, so I thought of visiting him temporarily, without any prior notice.
We meet, please don’t blame Mr. Dong..."
Among so many people, only Xu Wuqi could be regarded as Dong Cheng's real old friend. He explained the reason for coming to visit and bowed to Dong's wife.
In the main room, there is an Eight Immortals table and a wooden cabinet for worshiping the ancestors' tablets.
Dong Chengzhi sent his wife, children, and boys to boil tea, and Xu Wuqi, Shi Zhen, and Han Gui walked into the room and sat down calmly, saying: "The house is simple and simple, and I can only entertain guests with a cup of crude tea..."
Xu Huai looked at some of Dong Cheng's handwriting hanging in the hall, and then said: "Cai Qing, Cai Yuanyou and his son, and Xu Huai have a life-and-death feud with Chushan, but there were many courtiers who advocated the Northern Expedition of Khitan.
The reasons are quite complex. I don’t think that all of them are minions of the Cai family. If I really thought that, I would be ashamed of Duke Guo, who died heroically in Yingcheng..."
Guo Zhongxiong was a member of the Cai family. During the two campaigns of Dai Yue to the north of Yan, he successively served as the magistrate of Lanzhou and the deputy transport envoy of Hedong Road. He was also a backbone figure who was the main force in the northern campaign against Khitan. He had always actively served Cai Yuanyou and Liu Shizhong as commanders.
He made plans for the Northern Expedition, but in the end he was trapped in Yingcheng and refused to surrender. He was killed by the Red Husbands without losing his integrity.
Wen Hengyue was still Ge Boyi's direct general in the early days.
"..." When Xu Huai mentioned Guo Zhongxiong, Dong Cheng also sighed slightly and was speechless.
Dong Cheng's ancestral home was Yingchuan, which had already fallen into enemy hands. Xichuan was where Dong's wife's family was located.
Dong Cheng was demoted from Tangzhou to civilian status and could not return to his homeland, so he brought his wife and children to Xichuan to seek refuge with his wife's brother who was serving as an official in the county government.
When Dong Cheng came to know Tangzhou as a minister of Chongwen Pavilion, he was an upstart in the Cai Party. His wife and family were very proud to be the influencers in Xichuan. However, after the Cai Party became a street rat that everyone wanted to beat, his wife and brother were in the county.
The life of the county government was not easy. He was also involved in several old cases and was expelled from the county government.
The year before last, Dong's brother-in-law had a lawsuit with someone and was imprisoned. He almost lost all his money and had to take care of himself before he was able to escape. However, he has never been able to afford it since then, and the two families are still living together.
It became increasingly difficult for Xichuan to make a living.
Dong Cheng recalled the past and felt sad for a while, but after listening to the noise outside the door, he saw his son Dong Yi hurriedly walking in with a look on his face and asked:
"what happened?"
"This, this," Dong Yi said breathlessly and panicked, "I heard that some officers and soldiers were coming to my home. I didn't know why, but I hurried back and didn't know that you were here."
Xu Huai glanced at Dong Yi and continued to say to Dong Cheng:
"I rushed to Jingzi to see the army and passed through Xichuan to go to Xixia. I thought that Duke Dong lived in Xichuan and came to visit me. I guess Dong Gong also knew about Jingzi and Xixia, right?"
Dong Cheng remained silent.
Dong Yi waited for a while and saw that his father still refused to answer Xu Huai's questions. He stood aside and said:
"Jingzi is one hundred and fifty miles away from Xichuan City in the west. Its ridge leans on the mountains, with clear streams below, and connects Qinchuan and Ezhu. It has always been a place for military strategists to compete. The terrain is still dangerous above Xichuan. In the old days, there was
The wooden bridge is built over Danshui. It was once named Caoqiao Pass. It was also commonly known as Jingzi Pass because of the Jingzi flowers in the field. They are the seeds of grass seeds. After the establishment of the Dai Viet Dynasty, the purple gas was changed to purple from the east. Jingzi Road has always been remote.
Until the end of the previous dynasty, many vassal towns were established, blocking the Heluo and Huaihe rivers. In order to allow grain from the Jianghuai River to reach Sichuan and Shaanxi, the servants dug a transport road from Jingzi to the west between the mountains. Since then, there has been an endless stream of merchants. Since the establishment of the Dai Viet Dynasty, in
Jingzi set up patrols to control the danger. The Xixia is located on the Xi River, with Chongyang River in the west. The water flows along the Shancao River to the east and joins the Xi River in the north of Sishan Mountain. From the Chongyang River to the west is Shangzhou.
Shipingzhai in Shangluo County, although the road there is rugged, is popular with private traders..."
"Mr. Dong, what your noble son said is true that there is some real talent and learning. There is a shortage of scribes, so I don't know who can handle them?" Xu Huai looked at Dong Cheng and asked.
Dong Yi stared at his father eagerly.
Dong Cheng sighed softly after a long while, bowed his head to Xu Huai and said: "The dog is young and ill-educated, and behaves recklessly. If there is anything wrong in the future, please forgive me..."
