As dusk falls, the fragrance of rice emerges from the backyard of the Zhu family.
I have to say, I am really a genius.
In recent years, chaos has become a mess, bandits are everywhere, and rogue bandits are rampant. Even the Qing army invaded several times, and Shandong was not spared.
The survival experience honed over many years can be summed up as being prepared for any danger.
Next to the vegetable cellar, I dug a dark room to store food.
Usually, some radishes and cabbages are placed outside. They are dark and dirty. No one would have thought that there are actually good things inside. And because the door is hidden, even if you go down, you may not be able to see it.
If the people outside hadn't rushed in too quickly and had no time to move the dishes outside, I would have hid inside.
This world has forced a housewife to become a survival master, and Zhu Yiyuan could only lament.
"Master, how long do you think this chaos will last? Can we escape it?" I tried to ask.
Dad paused and lowered his head silently, unable to speak.
My mother became anxious and subconsciously looked at Zhu Yiyuan, wanting to see what this thoughtful son had to say.
After pondering for a moment, Zhu Yiyuan said slowly: "I'm afraid I can't hide... The Qing court promotes hair shaving, and the Zhang family is in trouble. How long can we hide at home? As long as we are discovered, there will be no good end. I think we must go
!”
"Go? Where?" Dad asked.
Zhu Yiyuan lowered his head, with a sullen face, and said after a while: "If I shave my head, I can survive, okay?"
Father Zhu was shocked. His son Zhu Yiyuan just didn’t want to shave his hair, so he jumped into the well. Now he said that he could survive if he shaved his head... What does this mean?
I didn’t care about this, and said with a straight face: “I still say the same thing, it’s better to live than to die! As long as the three of us can be together, it’s better than anything else!”
Zhu Yiyuan was stunned for a long time. After two lifetimes, he didn't want to die. He simply said: "Then there are only two ways left. One is to escape to a place beyond the control of the Qing court. You can live without shaving your hair. This
It’s not easy.”
"The second is to leave Qingshiji. You don't need to avoid the Qing court, but you have to stay far away from the Zhang family. They have sent so many servants to help the court today, and they will definitely not give up. Only by avoiding their eyes and ears can you survive.
"
Father Zhu was slightly startled. He didn't want to die. If his son could look away, he wouldn't have to worry about anything.
"Even Yingtian has been lost. I heard that Emperor Hongguang was captured. We definitely can't run that far, so we can only find a way nearby." Father Zhu also meant to avoid the Zhang family.
Zhu Yiyuan just arrived and really didn't have much idea.
At this time, it was my mother who spoke again: "Our family has relatives in Yanzhou Prefecture, and we have some family business and reputation. As long as we escape south, we will have a way to survive."
When my father heard this, he couldn't help but couldn't help himself. "Madam, you are really a female Zhuge. If our family didn't have you, I don't know what we would do!"
The old woman snorted, "Don't talk nonsense. Now that you have escaped, you can no longer rely on your status as a clan member to do nothing. Life will only get harder and harder. I can't stand it alone."
Dad's face turned red and he nodded repeatedly, "I can write and do calculations. I will definitely find a way to support the family with you."
Zhu Yiyuan also followed: "I, I will also think of a way."
"You, if you can take good care of your health, don't jump into wells to scare your mother."
I helplessly glared at Zhu Yiyuan.
Now that I have decided to leave, I have to pack some things. Although my home was robbed, I can still find two pieces of rags and food rations.
"Master, you and your son should go and have a rest. He escaped from death and is already tired. I'll go get some food. When everything is ready, we can leave."
Zhu Yiyuan wanted to help his mother, but he was really weak and had to go to rest first... He slept very sweetly. When he woke up, he found that the sky was getting brighter and it was dawn.
Zhu Yiyuan quickly sat up and moved his arms and legs a little. He recovered a lot and could at least walk. Zhu Yiyuan breathed a sigh of relief. He was dragging a burden and couldn't run far even if he wanted to.
When he arrived at the courtyard, his father happened to be there too.
"Leave now?"
Father Zhu hesitated slightly and said uneasily: "Why did I hear the sound of horse hooves? It seems to be coming this way."
Zhu Yiyuan was startled, and he quickly leaned down and put his ears to the ground. Indeed, there was the sound of horse hooves.
Is it possible that you can't even run away?
As expected, this group of people came straight to Zhu's house.
Zhu Yiyuan and his father hurried to the back, and my mother also came out. When fetching rice, she moved the vegetables in the cellar away, just in time to hide in them.
But before he had taken a few steps, someone rushed into the Zhu family's door. He came so fast that there was no time to escape.
"Is Mr. Zhu here?"
"Where is Mr. Zhu? Our leader wants to see you!"
When Zhu Yiyuan heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned. Calling him Mr. Zhu didn't seem to be malicious, but he couldn't tell...
At this moment, another deep voice came, "I, Xie Qian, have come to pay a special visit to Mr. Zhu to discuss important matters."
Just as he was about to run away, someone came unexpectedly. Dad's face suddenly changed. What should I do? See you or not?
"Let's meet. There are so many people and we can't hide away." Zhu Yiyuan said with a sullen face. The name Xie Qian made him feel inexplicably familiar, as if he had heard of it somewhere...
Father Zhu had no choice but to move forward. He originally wanted Zhu Yiyuan to stay behind. It was enough for him to face it alone. But Zhu Yiyuan followed closely and reached the front yard.
In front of them, hundreds of people suddenly appeared, and they were packed inside and outside the courtyard.
The first one was a burly man with piercing eyes and murderous intent.
This formation really shocked the Zhu family and his son.
However, the leader jumped off his horse and took the initiative to say hello, "Xie Qian, I have taken the liberty to come here. Mr. Zhu, is this your son behind you?"
Dad Zhu hurriedly said: "Yes, yes."
"Didn't he jump into the well?" Xie Qian asked doubtfully. Before he came, he had already asked the villagers. Everyone saw Zhu Yiyuan throw himself into the well, but they didn't know that he was rescued by his father again.
"Thanks to the blessing of our ancestors, this child jumped into the well for more than half an hour and survived." Father Zhu sighed.
When Xie Qian heard this, he couldn't help but look at Zhu Yiyuan a few more times, and said with emotion: "King Long Jing doesn't dare to accept it. It turns out that if you survive a disaster, you will have good luck in the future. Mr. Zhu, let's talk inside!"
How dare the Zhu family father and son refuse, "Please, please quickly!"
Father Zhu was in front, and Zhu Yiyuan followed, leading Xie Qian to the living room. Due to looting, it was in a mess, and the tables, chairs and benches were incomplete. The three Zhu family members wanted to run away, but naturally they had no intention of cleaning up, so they could only sit down casually.
Xie Qian didn't care. As soon as he sat firmly on his back, he took out a small yellow notebook, and then read calmly and calmly: "When Zhao Taiyang is healthy, watch for longevity and prosperity. To promote good things and achieve prosperity, Kangzhuang meets the people."
Ning...Master Zhu, is this your family's genealogy?"
Both of them were startled. These twenty words were indeed given by Zhu Yuanzhang to the lineage of King Lu. Their clan identity was not just mentioned casually. How did Xie Qian get it?
Could it be that Xie Qian's people came to their house to rob them and took away all their food and property?
However, at this moment, the two of them dared not speak out in anger. Father Zhu said with a trembling voice: "If you want to thank the leader, our family is indeed the royal family of King Lu, and the villagers all know it."
Xie Qian was overjoyed and immediately said: "Master Zhu, my subordinates did not intend to offend. I, Xie Qian, am here to apologize to you. To express my apology, I offer you a special gift."
After saying this, Xie Qian turned around and saw his subordinate bringing a box.
After opening it, there was a bloody head inside!
Father Zhu's vision went dark and he almost fainted.
Fortunately, Zhu Yiyuan had quick hands and quick eyes and helped him quickly. He was also angry. What kind of gift is a human head? What on earth is this Xie Qian going to do?
"Master Zhu, and Mr. Zhu, take a closer look and see whose head this is."
As he said this, Xie Qian grabbed the pig tail and lifted his head up.
Only then did the two men see clearly that this young man was none other than Zhang Xu, the young master of the Zhang family who forced Zhu Yiyuan to jump into the well.
he died!
The enemy who was so arrogant and domineering yesterday and forced Zhu Yiyuan to commit suicide by jumping into a well unexpectedly lost his head so quickly. The father and son looked at each other in shock.
Xie Qian smiled and explained: "Master Zhu, Mr. Zhu, this Zhang family has received favors from the Ming Dynasty. Instead of repaying the favor, they rush to shave their heads and work as slaves for the Tatars. Let me ask you, my fellow villagers, who doesn't despise him? Yesterday he brought
When people came to Qingshiji, Xie mobilized his brothers and besieged Dazhuang Village. Zhang Xu led his men in a hurry to rescue them. I led the elite brothers to intercept and kill him halfway, scattered his men, killed dozens of them, and chopped down more
It’s so satisfying to take this beast’s head off!”
Talking about this experience, Xie Qian was very happy and happy. He had finally done something big since he started the army. His words completely cleared up Zhu Yiyuan's doubts.
Yesterday, the Zhang family's servants and the officials forced everyone to shave their heads. They would definitely not retreat without any reason.
It must have been Xie Qian who sent troops to scare them away.
In this way, Xie Qian really saved the two of them.
"Thank you for your great righteousness, chief. I, I am very grateful." Father Zhu thanked him quickly.
Xie Qian smiled again and said: "Master Zhu, you don't have to be polite. In fact, I also have something wrong. Yesterday, a group of brothers failed to restrain them. They were originally here to attack the government lackeys in Qingshiji. But for some reason, the government eagle dogs were gone.
, they just... But it was a mistake. When I checked the stolen things, I found this family tree, and then I found out that there was a Ming Dynasty clan in Qingshiji."
Xie Qian spoke vaguely, but Zhu Yiyuan understood clearly that his men were called rebels at best, but they were thieves at worst!
Do we expect these people to obey orders and prohibitions without committing any offences?
It's obviously unrealistic. Qingshiji is next to Zhang's Dazhuang Village, so a group of people happen to come to Qingshiji to rob. It's also inevitable.
It’s really hard to explain the mess of grudges here.
But if Xie Qian came over, he wouldn't just give Zhang Xu his head to vent his anger on them, right?
Sure enough, Xie Qian smiled and said: "Master Zhu, at this time, there are many rebels in Shandong and the people's support is available. I plan to make Master Zhu the king of Lu and command the heroes of Qi and Lu. Let's work together to drive away the Tatars."
