Father Zhu really fulfilled his mission and came back, which made Zhu Yiyuan very curious, "How did you get it?"
Dad chuckled and said, "It's not too much trouble. I just played a few games of chess."
"Then you won it back?" Zhu Yiyuan asked doubtfully.
The father pondered for a while and said with a wry smile: "How dare I win? I've all lost."
"Lost?"
Zhu Yiyuan thought for a moment and then burst into laughter. Sure enough, there were some things that were the same in ancient and modern times. Xie Qian was their immediate boss, who controlled their life and death.
How dare you win when playing chess with others?
The only thing is that you have to lose beautifully so that no one can tell. This requires a lot of chess skills, Dad is not easy.
Zhu Yiyuan asked again carefully, and Father Zhu finally told the truth. When he went there, Xie Qian had just finished eating and was resting. Father Zhu found that Xie Qian had a chess set at hand, so he took the initiative to ask. It turned out that Xie Qian liked playing chess very much.
, when he was in the Han family, he played chess, gambled and drank with the servants, and no one was his opponent.
Father Zhu saw the opportunity and clamored to have a game with Xie Qian.
In the first game, the two of them fought against each other, going back and forth, and in the end Zhu lost to Xie Qian due to a careless move.
Then Father Zhu was unconvinced and continued to bet on the second game. Not only did he bet, but he also added some chips... Then he lost five games in a row. In the end, Father Zhu lost so much that he sweated on his forehead, looked up to the sky and lamented, and completely gave up.
He confessed to Xie Qian that he originally wanted to win back a few stones of grain and give some porridge to the old, weak, women and children in the village. This had been their family's habit for many years, but he was afraid he would have to wait until next time.
Xie Qian won Chang Kuang and couldn't even use three successes against others, but when he got to Zhu Lao, he had to use 80% of his skills to barely be considered an opponent.
When he was happy, he gave Mr. Zhu two shi of food.
Xie Qian also said that he had no choice but to expropriate the big guy's house. After they captured Zichuan County, they would be able to talk about anything.
Of course, Mr. Zhu said yes again and again and thanked him profusely.
After Zhu Yiyuan listened to the narration, he was quite curious, "How come you, a descendant of the clan and a nobleman from Tianhuang, know these methods and can figure out the thoughts of the superiors so clearly?"
Father Zhu sighed helplessly, "There are as many as one million clans in the Ming Dynasty, and your father can only be regarded as the lowest one. In the Tianqi Dynasty, there were tax supervisors and eunuchs here, and other clans could only receive 30% of their salaries, and the rest were
If you fold it into a treasure note that is not worth as much as the paper used to wipe your butt, your father will receive 70% of it. Tell me, how is this skill?"
Zhu Yiyuan's eyes widened, and he felt a little admired for some reason... The tax inspectors and eunuchs were here to collect money, but daddy was able to take money out of people's hands. It was really an old fairy's fart, it was extraordinary.
"Let me tell you, those eunuchs are greedy and they are bastards! But in the Chongzhen Dynasty, the eunuchs lost their power and the situation became even more chaotic. You want to make connections and do things, but you are carrying two jars of wine and a big pig's head.
I can't find the temple gate, do you think it's annoying or not?"
Zhu Yiyuan had no choice but to smile bitterly. The whole court was in full swing, but that was not the case. The clan could not receive any salary, so even the postmen were abolished, so they dug a grave and buried themselves.
Zhu Yiyuan was also convinced by this operation.
But now is not the time to lament these things. It is better to cook porridge quickly and send it to the folks.
Father Zhu not only brought back two stones of food, but also kidnapped a horse, which was a big help.
When their dilapidated car loaded with several buckets of porridge and many bowls and chopsticks appeared at the threshing floor outside the village, all the folks in Qingshiji cried. It was so miserable for everyone.
First, they were robbed, and then many people came and kicked them out of their homes. They were not allowed to live in a good house and had to sleep in the open outside the village.
The adults are fine, but what about the children?
We came out in a hurry, there was no food at all, and the children were screaming with hunger.
The sun was about to set, and we were hungry and cold. It was uncertain whether the elderly and children would survive.
"Mr. Zhu, Mr. Zhu, you are so kind and virtuous. You are such a timely and life-saving bodhisattva!"
I accidentally became Song Jiang.
Zhu Yiyuan was a little embarrassed because it was just a little food and nothing needed.
I couldn't help but speed up the serving of porridge so that everyone could eat it quickly.
Since they were all villagers and there were no outsiders, the order was pretty good. The elderly and children were all given their share, and with food in their bellies, the children finally stopped crying, and some even ran around the carriage, very happy.
They were carefree, but how could the adults be so happy?
How are you spending your days?
Among this group of people, there was a middle-aged man named Tan Laoqi. This man was tall and had scars on his face. He was considered a somewhat prestigious figure in the village.
He looked solemn, hesitated for a moment, then walked to the Zhu family and his son, and said in a low voice: "Mr. Zhu, Mr. Zhu, I have something to say to you."
Father Zhu was startled for a moment, and then said to Zhu Yiyuan: "I'm greeting the folks, you go and talk to Master Qi."
When the father took the initiative to let his son take the lead, it did feel like a father and son changing positions, but the Zhu family and his son seemed to take it for granted, and Zhu Yiyuan followed Tan Laoqi to the willow bush next to him.
"Master Zhu, I see that Xie Qian is very courteous to your family, but I don't know if you still have any fellow villagers from Qingshiji in your hearts?"
Zhu Yiyuan smiled calmly, "Seventh Master, Xie Qian has just arrived. We have been neighbors for decades. Although our family does not have much contact with the village, we all live in the same place and our hearts are still together. Otherwise, we would just
We won’t bring porridge to everyone. However, our power is limited, and Xie Qian doesn’t really take us seriously. We are just puppet tablets. So we can only help a lot, and we hope that the folks will forgive us.”
Tan Laoqi was immediately disappointed. He looked at Zhu Yiyuan and saw that his face was sincere and did not seem to be hypocritical. He lowered his voice and said: "Master Zhu, what do you think we should do? To be honest, someone is planning to invite the imperial court.
Send troops to help drive away Xie Qian."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yiyuan's expression changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Seventh Master, what do you think?"
Tan Laoqi sighed silently, "Master Zhu, only my grandson is willing to shave his hair and become a slave to the Tatars! If we get the Qing dog now, we will lure the wolf into the house, and we will not let the big guy go. But, let Xie Qian live like this
, big guys can’t survive. Look at these old ones, small ones, after a few nights, they’ll be dead.”
When Tan Laoqi said this, his eyes turned red, he lamented sadly, and almost cried.
Zhu Yiyuan nodded, understanding his mood very well.
"Master Qi, can you tell me about the current situation of the villagers?"
Tan Laoqi composed himself, and then said: "Master Zhu, since Xie Qian's people came to rob, many people ran away and never came back. The ones left now are all old and weak, women and children, and there are only two men.
Thirty of them. My mother is also there, as well as my wife and daughter. I can run alone, but I can't leave the three of them alone! The others are in a similar situation to me. The big guys can't leave, and they can't.
If you can’t run away, you can only wait to die.”
Zhu Yiyuan thought for a moment and understood the situation of the villagers... Xie Qian just drove them out of the house. If Xie Qian left after a few days, they could still come back and at least have a place to live.
But if they run away, they will completely lose their home. They don't want to leave, but they can't leave. The old, weak, women and children are dragging them down. If they leave, it means that the family is completely torn apart, and relatives are separated from each other and will never see each other again.
It's just that they have nothing to eat now, and people will die in a few days. By then, they will have no choice.
Or take the risk of escaping to other places. There will be bandits on the road, and you will definitely have a narrow escape.
Either he would join Xie Qian and become a rebel. Then he would definitely have to abandon his hometown and move around to fight. Most of the old, weak, women and children present would be ignored by the rebels and would only starve to death.
Zhu Yiyuan suddenly figured out why Xie Qian would drive out the villagers without killing people or forcing them to join him. He was probably waiting silently for the useless people to disappear naturally, leaving only some who were strong enough.
Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, they all played like this.
But as Tan Qiye said, the villagers still had a way to defeat the enemy, which was to actively surrender to the Qing court and lead the army to destroy Xie Qian. But in that case, the life and death of the people all depended on the Qing court.
No matter what, it is the common people who suffer.
But in comparison, if you can survive by shaving your hair, this is still the least bad choice. So it does make sense for someone to want to go to the Qing court.
"Master Qi, you know, I committed suicide by jumping into a well to avoid shaving my hair. It's just that I died once, but now I don't want to die again. However, the Qing court will not let us surnamed Zhu go.
.”
Tan Laoqi was startled and sighed, "Master Zhu, everyone sees your integrity. If there is a choice, no one would be willing to be a slave with a pig's tail." Tan Laoqi blushed.
, almost pleading: "Master Zhu, can you help me? Please thank the leader, show mercy, and give the villagers a way to survive?"
Zhu Yiyuan naturally did not have such a big reputation. He said solemnly: "Master Qi, you want me to say that life is not given by others, but earned by oneself."
Tan Laoqi frowned, "What do you mean, Mr. Zhu?"
Zhu Yiyuan said: "I think we should maybe think about what we can do for the rebels!" This chapter has been completed!
