It was still dark in the east, so Zhang Yanshou was woken up by the village lieutenant. He ate some food to fill his stomach, held a spear in his hand, and followed the lieutenant out of the village to patrol.
Not long ago, the immortals drove away the pig-headed barbarians. Zhang Yanshou was favored by Li Wei, who praised him for his courage and strength. He did not retreat in the face of battle and killed several pig-headed barbarians. For this reason, Zhang Yanshou was given to Zhang Yanshou in the village.
Yanshou's family gave him a piglet as a reward.
In fact, Zhang Yanshou had no idea how many pig-headed barbarians he had killed at that time. He just hid behind his shield and thrust his spear fiercely. Afterwards, his arms were so sore that he could not lift them up.
Because of this, Zhang Yanshou was promoted to a senior position by Lieutenant, and he was in charge of ten local warriors.
However, in a place like Qiaozhang Village, there are no official laws and regulations, and people live by the established rules. No matter how long they are, Xiang Yong, his subordinate, is nothing more than a brother and friend of his neighbors.
"I will take you for a walk today." Lieutenant Li walked on the ridge of the field and said to Zhang Yanshou: "From now on, you will lead people to patrol this area. If you see any suspicious footprints, insert a branch or other things to do something.
Good mark, remember to tell me when you get back."
Zhang Yanshou nodded and couldn't help but yawned. He saw Lieutenant Li's face full of energy and he was holding a ring-headed sword in his hand. He didn't know where he got the military weapon.
"Boss, aren't you sleepy?" Zhang Yanshou asked, "It seems that you were also on duty yesterday."
"I'm fine." Lieutenant shrugged his shoulders and led Zhang Yanshou to an old tree: "Also, I brought you here this time to give you some experience."
After saying this, Zhang Yanshou watched as Lieutenant Li hit the root of the tree several times with his scabbard. After a moment, a ball of earthy yellow light stretched along the ground not far away.
Zhang Yanshou was so frightened that he took several steps back, but was held by the calm Lieutenant by the arm, and then a man jumped out from the ground.
"You came early today... Huh? Did you bring someone with you?" The visitor was dressed in ocher red short brown, with a pair of brass bracelets on his hands. They looked thick and heavy, more like without chains.
shackles.
"This is the young man of our village, his name is Zhang Yanshou." Li Wei said: "Before the pig-headed barbarians invaded the village, he stabbed three or four pig-headed barbarians to death by himself. I saw that he was a talent, so I planned to introduce him to him.
Take a look."
Although Zhang Yanshou was shocked, he did not panic too much and asked: "Who is this immortal?"
"My surname is Yu and I am the second eldest brother. Just call me Brother Yu." The man smiled and looked at Zhang Yanshou by the way: "He has good bones and is a good material for martial arts training."
Lieutenant Li said: "I taught them some introductory battle formation marksmanship, but they haven't practiced it deeply yet. Now that the war is approaching, we still need to practice more during the slack time."
Brother Yu nodded and said: "It should be so. Before I went to Jiyin Valley to rescue Shiliang Village, there were also barbarian attacks there, so I didn't have time to rush back. How is the situation in Qiaozhang Village?"
Lieutenant Li replied: "The pig-headed barbarian broke into the village at first, but luckily everyone tried their best to block it for a while. But it was a few monks from the temple who really rescued us."
"I have also heard about this." Brother Yu said: "The imperial court of Huaxu Kingdom sent a group of monks from Guanjia to Jianjia Pass, but I didn't expect that they would rescue such a remote village."
"I originally planned to keep them as guests and try to find out more information, but the old people in the village were not happy." Li Wei said helplessly.
"What? Is it because of Zhenjun Xuri's incident again?" Brother Yu was a little annoyed: "Whenever I have free time in the past two years, I used earth escape to search the surrounding area. As a result, these rat demons were so good at hiding that they were killed several times.
After passing by each other every time, I could only catch a few old, weak, sick and disabled people."
"They are all a bunch of old stubborns! When they fled here, they began to be blackmailed by those rat demons. After worshiping them for so many years, they turned into a disaster!" Lieutenant said angrily: "It's not enough to just demolish the shrine.
Sooner or later, the rat demon's nest will be uprooted!"
Brother Yu shook his head: "Don't be impatient. Rats are cunning, and you can't just rely on courage to destroy temples and punish evil spirits. It's a pity that we in Chiyun don't have enough manpower. Now Huaxu and Jiuli are about to go to war. The situation in Cangwu Ridge and Jianjia Pass is
It's chaotic, everyone is busy working separately, and Qiao Zhang Village may not be able to take care of it."
"I understand." Lieutenant Li did not complain.
"He, he is Chiyun..." Zhang Yanshou was frightened when he heard this, and he almost blurted out the word "rebellious party".
Brother Yu smiled and said nothing. Lieutenant Li raised his hand and patted Zhang Yanshou on the shoulder: "Otherwise, why do you think I dared to smash the shrine of Lord Xu Ri a few years ago? If Chi Yundu didn't take care of me,
The trouble caused by those rat demons will be even greater!
Also, our village has been able to barely keep enough food to eat in the past few years because Chiyun has tipped us off. Whenever an official official comes, we can always know in advance and hide the money, food, cloth and silk."
Zhang Yanshou thought about it carefully and realized that although there were still rat demons occasionally coming and stealing, life in the village had indeed improved a lot in the past few years. He still remembered the days when he was hungry as a child.
"By the way, those monks from Guanshi rescued your village, did they ask for anything in return?" Brother Yu suddenly asked.
Lieutenant Li shook his head: "No. The leading monk asked a few questions about Lord Xu Ri, said that he had no time to care about it at the moment, and then left with the people."
Brother Yu's expression was subtle: "This is rare. The monks from Guanji took the initiative to come to a remote village to rescue the siege without asking for anything in return. Two years ago, a monk from Chongxuanguan left Jiaohui Cave and passed by a village. He was treated after being treated.
The village chief's daughter, who was possessed by a spirit, then took advantage of the situation and directly raped the woman."
The expressions of Li Wei and Zhang Yanshou were not very good. Brother Yu said: "So you should be on guard. If there are monks from the temple coming again, it is best for the village women not to show up. But you should not rashly contradict them.
, if it doesn’t work, prepare some food and wine to cope with the occasion.
In addition, I will teach you a trick. These pampered monks don’t like to be dirty. It is best to make all the men in the village shirtless, not wear shoes, smear mud on their bodies and faces, and let children urinate at the intersection. They can’t stand it.
, will naturally leave."
"Thank you, second brother!" Li Wei cupped his fists and said with a smile, "I will teach it to everyone in the village later."
"There is one more thing." Brother Yu said: "I received news that the government may be conscripting men again. You should pay more attention during these days. If there are official officials coming, remember to let the young people escape into the mountains to hide for a while.
"
"Understood!" Lieutenant Li nodded heavily: "As long as we make it look like the village is full of old, weak, sick and disabled people, we can easily cope with it."
Zhang Yanshou didn't quite understand: "But... isn't the government recruiting men to resist the barbarians? If we escape, who will fight?"
Lieutenant Li slapped Zhang Yanshou on the back of the head: "You are stupid! The official wants to make a future for himself, but he wants us to work hard. If you die, you won't even have a straw mat!"
"Anyway, you should be careful. If anyone comes to Qiaozhang Village again, please contact them immediately," said Brother Yu.
"Got it!" Lieutenant Li looked at Brother Yu making his hand and chanting a mantra, his body sank, and it turned into a piece of earthy yellow brilliance and left quickly.
Gu Hao
On the way back to the village, Lieutenant Li gave Zhang Yanshou a few more words, asking him to keep it a secret. It was not appropriate to publicize to too many people the fact that Zhang Cun and Chi Yun were in contact.
No matter what, in Huaxu's country, Chi Yun was already labeled as a rebel and traitor, and the overseas Chinese in Zhangcun had contacts with Chi Yun. If someone from the government noticed, I'm afraid not only Li Wei and Zhang Yanshou would suffer.
Returning to the village, Lieutenant Li summoned the young and old in the village to explain what had happened, but before he could finish speaking, someone hurried over:
"Oops! An official is here!"
Lieutenant Li was surprised. Normally, if Yu's second brother reported the news in advance, and officials came to Qiaozhang Village for work, they would have to wait at least three to five days, leaving enough time for the village to prepare. How could it be so fast now?
"How many people have come from the official mission?" Lieutenant Li asked.
"Looks like over a hundred!"
"It's too late to hide the money and food!" Lieutenant Li made a decisive decision: "The strong men and women are going through the Shecang tunnel. Leave quickly and don't take anything with you!"
When Zhang Yanshou saw others running away in a hurry, he couldn't help asking: "What about you?"
"There has to be someone left to deal with official duties." Lieutenant Li leaned close and whispered, "If I can't come back, you will have to contact the second brother Yu from now on. Let's go!"
After saying this, Lieutenant Li stuffed his saber into Zhang Yanshou's arms, pushed him into the tunnel entrance, and moved debris to cover it up.
While Qiao Zhang was busy hiding and hiding in the village, Zhao Shu, who slowly approached the village, used the paper crane in the sky to see clearly what was going on in the village, with a strange expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" He Dangguan stepped forward and asked.
"The people in the village all hid as if they saw thieves." Zhao Shu blinked and said after a moment of silence: "There is actually a tunnel that leads to the distance. This village is quite well prepared."
Zhao Shu found the people fleeing from the tunnel exit to the distant mountains and forests, and thought to himself that he was not more ferocious than the pig-headed barbarian, right? Previously, this village could pull out hundreds of villagers to fight to the death.
With doubts in his heart, Zhao Shu came to Qiaozhang Village again. This time, instead of Yu Feng Feitian, he brought six or seven monks and a group of soldiers.
If it weren't for the purpose of showing his identity as an official of the imperial court, Zhao Shu would not have wanted to bring so many people. Considering the depleted armaments of Jianjia Pass and the surrounding counties, as well as the fact that Gao Pinggong was such a silverfish, it is no wonder that the people in the village were afraid to avoid the officers and soldiers when they saw them.
This is why Zhao Shui hates Gao Pinggong deeply. The incompetence of such a person is secondary, but when he lets others do things, he adds a lot of difficulties and unnecessary troubles.
Feeling dissatisfied, Zhao Shui came to the outside of Qiaozhang Village and took the initiative to dismount. He turned around and once again told the soldiers accompanying him that they were not allowed to disturb the people's daily life, let alone ask for money, food and property from the people without permission.
Now Zhao Shui has been granted the power to make emergency decisions by General Wei. Soldiers who violate military discipline can be killed first and then punished.
After restraining his troops, Zhao Shu led He Dangguan into the village. Before it was his turn to call the door, Lieutenant Li took the initiative to open the door to greet him.
"The Immortal has come again, I am deeply honored!" When Lieutenant Li saw that the leader was Zhao Shu, he was surprised in his heart, but he greeted him with a smile on his face.
"I was in a hurry last time and didn't have time to reveal my identity." Zhao Shui cupped his hands and said, "I am the minister of Sanqing of Huaiying Hall, the deacon of Jinding Division, and the commander of Wu Kui Army, Shi. My surname is Zhao and my name is Shui."
Zhao Shu almost laughed out loud when he mentioned this title. When did he become a guy who relied on his status and power to dominate others? The more titles he had, the more hypocritical and ridiculous he felt.
On the other hand, Lieutenant Li was a little surprised, as if he was really frightened by these titles. He responded: "The villain's surname is Zhang, and he is the Lieutenant of Zhang Village."
Zhao Shu had no choice but to put down his arrogance and said with a smile: "Qiao Zhang Village? This village was built by refugees and overseas Chinese?"
Zhang Liwei replied: "Yes, the ancestors of our village are from China. The whole family fled during the Five Kingdoms War and finally settled here."
"So that's it." Zhao Shu nodded repeatedly: "The last time I came to Qiaozhang Village, didn't I mention the rat demon thing? This time I came back, and I planned to use the precious land to open an altar to practice Dharma, summon ghosts and gods, and hunt down demons.
I wonder what Zhang Liwei thinks?"
"This..." This time it was Zhang Liwei's turn to think about it. In his impression, which of the monks raised by the Imperial Palace was not arrogant? Only Chi Yundu would take care of them sincerely.
"Our village is dirty and poor. I'm afraid we have neglected a few immortal leaders." Zhang Liwei said.
"It doesn't matter." Zhao Shu said: "I may not be setting up a mandala in the village, but I will probably have to explore the surroundings for a few days. As for the food and rice needed by the accompanying soldiers, I don't need to pay for it in Zhang Village."
Zhao Shu signaled He Dangguan, who took out a package with more than a dozen silver cakes in it: "Just think of us as staying here temporarily. If Zhang Liwei agrees and takes the trouble to clean out some vacant houses, I will definitely restrain him."
A good soldier has military discipline and does not offend the people in the village."
Zhang Liwei really opened his eyes, not because of these silver cakes, but because Zhao Shui was completely different from other monks in Guanshe. Considering that the other party had rescued Qiao Zhang Village, his words and deeds should be somewhat credible.
"I wonder if Mr. Zhao, Mr. Zhao, would allow me to discuss something with the elders in the village?" Zhang Liwei was trying to test Zhao Shu.
According to common sense, when the monks from the palace came with soldiers and horses, how could they be polite to me? They didn't even think about discussing it. Those with a bad temper could just kick themselves away, force their way in, and grab everything.
.
"Then it's time to work." Zhao Shu simply stuffed the bag of silver cakes into Zhang Liwei's hand.
After Zhang Liwei entered the village with the silver cake, He Dangguan whispered: "Deacon Zhao, this Lieutenant's intentions are not pure. This is not a wealthy family, so we don't need to use gold and silver to open the way.
of."
"Of course I understand, but there are at least hundreds of warriors in this village who can fight and fight. If a dozen pieces of silver cake can win their goodwill, recruiting soldiers to join the war in the future can save a lot of trouble." Zhao Shu sighed: "And before.
To deal with the Boar Beak people, we also relied on their bloody battles to contain them. I can consider this little silver cake as a substitute for the pension reward given by the government. It is better than nothing."
Zhao Shu knew very well that if the current situation really required recruiting strong men as soldiers, doing so forcefully would be counterproductive, so he should not be stingy in order to benefit.
After a while, Zhang Liwei appeared again. He said respectfully: "Zhao Xian has been waiting for a long time. Please come in quickly!"