The nights in northern Shaanxi are very cold in February, but Liu Chengzong knows that his father is determined to stay in northern Shaanxi.
Early the next morning after returning to his hometown, Cao Yao came to discuss the separation of the family with his brother Liu Chengzu.
He wanted to divide the money and food stolen from Bai Yingzi.
"You don't have any land for us to farm, so we can't live without anything."
"Why don't I take the brothers out to find a living? This trip will be regarded as recognition. I haven't touched the money or food. Let's divide it into two parts - one for you and one for me. When we go back, we can share it with the brothers who have done meritorious service."
He brought two senior officers, one named Du Laowu and the other named Feng Yu, who used to be celebrities in Yuhebao.
The former has a horse face and is proficient in disguise. He is best at changing female corpses into male corpses. When he was a frontier soldier in Shanxi, he used this skill to allow Cao Yao and others who killed good people and took credit for their crimes to receive an extra three hundred taels of silver reward.
The latter's appearance was not good, and Saerhu was defeated. He ate human flesh on the road and survived until he met Cao Yao in Mengjin.
These two are Cao Yao's exchange brothers. They escaped after the battle of Sarhu. Seventeen deserters from the Beijing Army Firearms Battalion became sworn brothers and have been displaced to this day. Only these three are left.
Both brothers knew that sooner or later, Cao Yao would leave sooner or later, and the money and food would have to be divided sooner or later. It was just a matter of a few days earlier and a few days later.
Liu Chengzu thought that it was fair to divide the money and food in this way. He patted the hands that he had just combed the horse, soaked them in the barrel and asked, "You are leaving now, how many days will you stay?"
"Let's take five or six days. I saw a few places where I could stay on the road. Send someone to check it out. If it suits me, I'll move there. There are a lot of mountains around here. You can go anywhere in the three counties. There are two things you two have to do.
Help me do it."
The two brothers remained silent. Liu Chengzong looked around the courtyard and pointed at the wing where they slept: "Come into the room and say."
Cao Guandu and the two brothers entered the house, left the two elders at the door, and asked them to stand outside to stop people.
Although the two elders are not good-looking, they treat people well. Unlike the two soldiers in Captain Liu who have a straight face all day long, they are quite cheerful and not evil-looking. They know how to say hello to people and put on a smile when they see them.
If it weren't for their skills and experience, they would look like the uncle next door in the village, they are very good people.
As long as we have enough to eat, everyone is a good person.
The distance between humans and animals is never far, only three days apart.
After three days without food or water, a good person will either become a good dead person or a beast.
In the same way, even if an animal eats and drinks enough for three days, it doesn't have much time to bite people.
Cao Yao entered the room and sat down on the kang, saying: "I will give you ninety shi of food, and the remaining hundred shi will be given to you. I will give you two and eight of the wealth. I will give you both calligraphy, painting, and porcelain - but it is not for free."
"I asked around last night. There are carpenters and blacksmiths in the Black Dragon King Temple. I want ten cars and... weapons."
When Cao Guandu said a word, he paused with his hand on the Kang table: "Knife, spear, arrow shaft and armor."
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Chengzu had already shaken his head: "Armor is not good."
"There is a blacksmith at home who can make swords, spears, and arrow shafts. If someone stabbed someone into making armor privately, we can't come up with something that the blacksmith would have to sacrifice his life for."
"Not enough food?"
"It's not enough. There's still food to eat in Xingping. You can't buy blacksmiths with food. Unless you can find it from outside, send it to me. I'll dig a kiln and settle it in a mountain col. Then my brother will take it to Fucheng to import iron. Then I can make armor.
matter."
As he spoke, Liu Chengzu sighed and said to Cao Yao: "There are enough risks at home. I went to practice Minzhuang in the early morning, and asked the lion to go and attack him later. How can I practice every day at twelve or eight?"
The "Twelve Eight" refers to the fact that Minzhuang was recruited by the government as a camp soldier in the first year of Tianshun. The official gave him three taels and six coins for pommel and horse equipment, and hired seven taels and two coins of straight silver. He was responsible for guarding the city and preventing the bandits from returning to farming.
The ultimate ideal of people's prosperity.
Generally speaking, Minzhuang does not receive such good treatment. For example, there are currently 24 soldiers in the Black Dragon King Temple Mountain. The tax collected by the government is 7 taels per person, but the labor and food money given to them is only
Four taels.
In fact, it was pretty good. The militiamen ate from local finances and could still get some money, but the border troops couldn't even receive military pay.
And compared with the regular army, the Minzhuang only needs two days of group training in a month. No one will practice every day-except Liu Xiangyu, the Juren of Black Dragon King Miaoshan.
"Mr. Liu is practicing his military skills to protect the country and the people. It's a good thing."
Cao Yao clapped his hands and said to the two brothers: "Then it's settled. I'll find a craftsman outside and bring it over. Also, our family members will be left here with you. You have to take care of them."
The so-called family members are nothing more than the wives and children of a few soldiers. There are less than ten people together. Compared with making armor privately, this matter is extremely simple. Liu Chengzong naturally patted his chest and responded: "This is a good thing. Don't worry, Brother Cao."
, the family members live in a cave near the house, and a few older children come to study with us, but..."
Liu Chengzong just kept talking, and only came back to his senses after he finished speaking. Now that Li Xue is no longer teaching, he could only smile bitterly: "Now Li Xue has switched to martial arts training."
His two casual words stunned Cao Yao, who was in high spirits before, and he couldn't help but ask: "Brother Cao, what's wrong?"
"Your children are still in school?"
Cao Yao's eyes under the scar showed confusion that Liu Chengzong had never seen before, as if he had been hit in the chest by a huge rock. He was stunned for a long time, shook his head and smiled naively: "It's okay, there are books to read, there are books to read."
He took a breath and returned to normal. He sat on the edge of the kang and pursed his lips and sighed: "Ten years have passed. In the past ten years of Salhu, I ran through Northern Zhili, from Mengjin to Jin, and then from Jin to Qin."
"Everywhere I passed, there was desertion, killing, robbery, and no distinction between humans and animals. Great! It's so good. I didn't expect to see farmers farming and children studying again."
There was no civilization in Cao Yao's eyes. Perhaps civilization existed before joining the army in Baoding Prefecture, but after that, civilization gave way to barbarism, and two-legged wild dogs were everywhere in the jungle.
They are not wolves. They just go and bite wherever they go for food. They don't care about propriety, justice and shame, and they also forget about the loyalty, filial piety and fraternity of the bereaved dogs.
Always be vigilant and use the knife in your hand to seek food in your mouth.
The hometown of the Liu brothers was like an incomprehensible paradise to him, and everything was silently urging him to leave as soon as possible and hit the road.
This is not the place he should be, he will lose all his claws.
"That's it. I'll let you know when I find a good place - be careful with the Zuo Guazi, that thing is going to Hancheng. If it makes too much noise, it will be suppressed."
"Don't let Zuo Guazi's defeated army take over such a good nest in Black Dragon King Miaoshan."
"Hancheng releases iron." Liu Chengzu nodded, without much worry on his face: "Earlier, the prisoners said that Bai Yingzi who died in the hands of the lion was also one of the people gathered by Zuo Guazi. They were really vulnerable to Shangguan's army.
But there are so many people, so if they burrow into the mountains here, it might be difficult to stop them."
"Or just tell me!"
Cao Yao patted his thighs that were wrapped on the kang and said: "If they are a little bit more powerful, I will vote for them. They will say that Xingpingli of the Black Dragon King Temple is my home. We will not suffer any loss if we keep our family members safe."
"Grandma, I don't know where Zhang Wu's brothers have gone. Your former team leader ran away with a group of frontier troops. I even played cards with that bastard. I heard that now I have been numbered Tianxing, and some of them have
It is more reliable for men and horses to go to him than to go to Zuoguaizi."
Speaking of which, Cao Yao was actually more anxious than the two brothers. He waved his hands and went out, saying as he walked: "I have to urge them to find another nest quickly. If you are attacked later, you will have a place to escape!"