Chapter 3 The Fight for Hegemony (Part 1) In an instant, Li Xu regained consciousness from confusion.
He knew that he had no reason to be angry. He was an official now, and those who were killed, insulted, and harmed were thieves. Although they looked similar to his parents, and although they could see the shadow of his past in each other,
Officers and soldiers should catch thieves, which has been the law since ancient times.
He also knows that he can't do anything. Unless he rebels, he has no power and no way to save so many people. Even if he saves these people at all costs, he has no power to resettle them unless he also imitates Shi Zihe and becomes a bandit.
, leading a group of innocent people to rob and kill even more innocent people!
Looking at Qin Shubao's concerned eyes, Li Xu felt that his body was weak and sleepy. This was a complete feeling of powerlessness. Back then, he was powerless in Su Chuanbu. Today, under the same situation, he still felt nothing but anger.
can not do this
"Zhongjian, have you been too tired recently?" Qin Shubao smiled and helped Li Xu find the steps. At that moment, he could clearly feel the anger on Li Xu, but the young man in front of him had amazing concentration, and his anger quickly disappeared.
Being controlled by himself made Qin Shubao value the other party even more, because at the same age, he would never be as mature as the other party. As a person who has experienced this, Qin Shubao understands that if you feel that there is nothing you can do in the world, it only means that you are not yet mature enough.
When will a grown-up understand that his own power is limited, and will he truly mature?
"Well! I'm a little tired, and I'm not used to the atmosphere here!" Li Xu answered so lowly, as if he was moaning from his soul. He couldn't explain to Qin Shubao why he lost his composure, and how people view things and their personal experiences.
Closely related, Qin Shubao's father was not a small businessman who was on the verge of losing his family fortune. He would not understand the hardship of ordinary people in the city, nor would he understand why Xuzi would hurt others.
"There are too many people here. If Shixin's family wasn't in a hurry to hire people, I wouldn't be here!" Qin Shubao echoed Xu Zi's words very generously, with a calm and friendly smile on his face.
"I want to go back and have a drink first. If Brother Shubao doesn't mind, I'll take the first step!" After the anger, Xuzi felt not only powerless, but also disappointed. When she was watching the barbaric behavior of the herdsmen in Su Chuobu,
Having read the books of sages, he firmly believed that the same thing would not happen in his Sui Dynasty. At that time, he also asked the caravan to bring some books from the Central Plains, hoping that after reading the words of the sages, the barbaric herdsmen would be influenced by the elegance of the Central Plains.
But now, Xuzi, who smiled wryly, finally understood how naive his original thoughts were. Remove those prosperous appearances, and the people of the Central Plains are actually as cruel and barbaric as the people outside the Great Wall.
After receiving Qin Shubao's affirmative answer, Li Xu slowly led his horse, turned around and walked back. Just after taking a few steps, the crowd around him suddenly became chaotic, and a louder noise came from behind, as the visitors and buyers shouted excitedly.
Shouting, waving their money bags, they rushed toward the prison door.
"What's going on?" Xuzi turned his head in surprise, and saw that another batch of goods had been replaced on the wooden platform not far away. To be exact, this time only one person was replaced, one was in ragged clothes, his body was weak, and his hands and feet were all broken.
The shackled girl lowered her head weakly, her body trembling with fear.
"The official sold the wife of a gangster, and she is a virgin at the age of 28, and she is innocent!" Old Xu, who joined the army in Sicang, saw the crowds in the audience and shouted harder and harder.
"Buy it back and use it as a slave or as a concubine. You are the daughter-in-law of the bandit leader Shi Zihe!" As if to let the audience see the appearance of the goods clearly, he pulled hard on the chain in his hand and there was a clatter, and the girl was dragged forward by him and staggered several times.
When she almost fell, a kind-hearted soldier stepped forward to give her a hand. The girl raised her head to thank her as she stabilized her body. Wherever her eyes flickered, she was filled with desolation and fear.
That gaze was like a knife, stabbing into Xu Zi's heart. He suddenly remembered the little wolf Gan Luo. When he killed the she-wolf and brought her home from the cave, Gan Luo opened his eyes. It was like this, mixed with fear.
Desolate and begging eyes
"How much, how much!" In my ears, countless people shouted loudly
"Sell to the brothel, and everyone will take turns to take revenge at night!" The atmosphere in the audience boiled instantly, with spectators and buyers pushing and shouting at each other.
They don't care about the beauty or ugliness of the girl on the stage, nor whether she is guilty or not. What they care about is the name Shizihe. Think about it, last night they slept with the daughter-in-law of the bandit leader Shizihe. How can that be as proud as defeating the bandit leader himself on the battlefield? What?
Qin Shubao, Luo Shixin, do they have such luck and courage?
"At least, at least five hangings, whoever pays more, I, I will sell it to him!" Lao Xu, who was responsible for handling the prisoners, did not expect that people would be so enthusiastic. He first instinctively quoted a high price, and then quickly changed his mind.
strive for maximum benefits
With the tacit approval of the government, there were unmanned and mature girls in the surrounding counties and cities who were sold for two ounces of gold at most. Even those with more beautiful looks could only be sold for three ounces of gold at best. Old Xu reported to a bandit.
The price of the five hangings offered has far exceeded the market price. Therefore, there were many voices of dissatisfaction among the crowd.
"Bah, it's not like a peerless beauty is selling it at this price!" Someone pinched his wallet and turned to leave.
"That's right, it's just a female prisoner! It's not like there's gold there!" someone echoed in extremely vulgar language.
At the same time, more people were attracted by the fresh gameplay that Lao Xu said, and quoted better prices: "I'll add three hundred cents!" "I'll add five hundred!" "Six hangings!" "Six hangings and one.
Hundreds of Wen!" In the blink of an eye, the girl's worth has risen to more than Qipiao
"Shi Diao, Lao Xu, leave this person to me." Xuzi couldn't bear it anymore and shouted loudly. The girl on the stage, like Gan Luo, floated from the river of destiny. He couldn't refuse, no matter what happiness came with it.
It's still a disaster. If he turns around and walks away without doing anything today, he knows that he will never be at peace in this life.
Wow, countless pairs of eyes turned back to the past. Ten ounces of money, even in a place like Licheng where food prices are expensive, is enough for a family of five to spend seven or eight years! Where can a rich man be so wealthy? Is he the prodigal son of a wealthy family?
With full of suspicion, everyone saw a young man holding a black horse, with a curly beard and a broad back, striding away from the crowd and walking step by step under the wooden platform.
"It's General Li. Do you really want to buy this girl?" Lao Xu nodded and bowed, letting the onlookers in the audience understand that the person coming was Li Zhongjian, who had become a general at the age of eighteen. No wonder he dared to pay this price, but he
There is no need to buy it. If he likes this woman, he can just ask Zhang Juncheng to take her home after the war. Why wait until now and spend more money?
"Old Xu, unlock this man and I will take away the money, and then you send someone to my house to get it!" Xuzi ignored the confused looks around him and ordered in a deep voice.
"Alas, alas!" Lao Xu agreed repeatedly and looked at Qin Shubao. The ten slings of money are ten thousand, which is enough to push a small cart to move. No one would carry so much with him, so he did not plan to take it away immediately.
I got cash, but the identity of the woman in my hands was shady. Anyone else could buy it, except Li Lang. It would be a disaster if he bought it.
This woman was captured by Qin Shubao. On the battlefield, she once claimed to be Shi Zihe's kidnapped daughter-in-law, and personally killed the dying Shi Zihe. However, after being reported by other prisoners, this woman was Shi Zihe's daughter Shi Erya. Shi Zihe went to
Pei Changcai was poisoned while attending a banquet there. When the army attacked the Xujiawopu ancestral hall, he had already died.
The county magistrate Zhang Xutuo, who saw through the other party's tactics, could not let the bandit leader's biological daughter go, but he couldn't bear to kill her, so he pretended to be confused and ordered Lao Xu to sell her to a wealthy family as a slave. This was tantamount to doing so.
It left a way for the other party to survive, and at the same time saved Qin Shubao and others from some trouble.
"Old Xu, since Li Lang is going to buy it, just sell it to him. Don't ask him for ten hangings, but five hangings!" Qin Shubao smiled at Lao Xu and ordered
"Alas, alas!" Lao Xu stretched out his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, "Grandma, the sun is quite harsh in this winter." He muttered to himself while untying the iron chain bracelet on the woman's feet.
But he didn't understand the iron chain on his clothes, so he handed the key, one end of the iron chain and the government-stamped deed of betrayal to Li Xu.
"General Li, take hold of her. This woman is very fierce. Since you bought her, you must discipline her well!"
"Trouble Lao Xu, please trouble Brother Shubao!" Li Xu took the pile of groceries handed over by Lao Xu, said hello to Qin Shubao first, and then gently led the woman down the wooden platform.
Shi Erya, who had carefully seen everything that had just happened, no longer resisted, lowered his head, and walked slowly behind Li Xu. The onlookers all made way for a passage. For the general sent by the imperial court, everyone always had a feeling in their hearts.
with a hint of awe
After walking a few hundred steps, Xu Zi was sweating profusely and left the market. He turned around and opened the handcuffs for Shi Erya. Although he did not kill the woman's brother, and it was not his idea to sell her as a slave, Xu Zi
Zi still felt guilty. He didn't understand why he felt this way, and he didn't know why he was so impulsive just now. When he saw the helpless eyes of the other party in the crowd, he was already a little confused.
"Let's go!" he whispered. Before the other party could express his gratitude, he quickly jumped on his mount, knocked his legs in the stirrups, and ran towards the city gate.
There were soft footsteps coming from behind, vague but very clear. Li Xu knew that Shi Erya was chasing him, so he had to hold Hei Feng back.
"General, don't you want me to be your slave?" the man who caught up asked breathlessly.
"You shouldn't be a slave in the first place!" Li Xu jumped off his horse and turned around and said, "Let's go, don't be a bandit anymore. There is no future in robbing families and homes."
"But my contract of betrayal is still in the hands of the general!" As if sensing Li Xu's embarrassment, Shi Erya smiled softly, reminding the smile on his face that soon entered her heart with her breath. She felt that she
My heart also laughed, piercing the depths of my soul like a knife
"Oh!" Li Xu touched the back of his head in embarrassment, then found out the deed of betrayal as quickly as possible, and stuffed it back into Shi Erya's hand. After doing this, he found more than two hundred coins from the purse behind the saddle.
The money was handed to Shi Erya along with the wallet and a piece of paper, "Take the money, too, and buy some food on the way!"
"What's your surname, general?" Shi Erya raised his head and asked.
"My surname is Li! I'm new here!" Xuzi replied incoherently. He didn't want to be remembered as a benefactor forever. In a daze, he always felt that the gods had done it by his own hand, just like he had left behind
As for Gan Luo, what else do the gods in the world want to do with his hands? Xu Zi doesn't want to make it too clear that he is an official and the other party is a thief. It is enough for both parties to remember this.
"Little girl Shi Lan, thank General Li for surviving!" Shi Erya held her purse and knelt down. Her eyes were bright and her fiery gaze swept over every inch of the young man who was not much older than her and the tall bridge of his nose.
, Thick eyebrows, a beard that has just started to thicken shortly after birth, hard lips, strong arms... He is different from every man I have ever seen. Although he is young, he feels very safe and reliable.
"Girl, please get up quickly!" Li Xu saw the other party kneeling down to him, and quickly reached out to help him. The moment their skins touched, a strange feeling surged into his heart. It was warm and delicate. He had not tasted this feeling for a long time.
Xuzi has gradually forgotten the feeling of it
Somehow, he looked into the other person's eyes and whispered again: "Don't think about revenge anymore. On the battlefield, no one is anyone's enemy after either being killed or killing the enemy. Besides, Qin Shubao is very skilled in martial arts."
, you are definitely no match for him!"
"I have never hated General Qin!" The woman opposite was always calmer than Xuzi imagined. She had prepared all the words when he said the first sentence. When the kind words were over, she immediately gave him a positive affirmation.
reply
As for whether this statement is true, no one can judge
"Okay!" Xuzi nodded, feeling relieved that he had done everything he needed to do. He thought about it and found that there was nothing missing this time, so he jumped on the horse again.
"Is the general just leaving like this?" Shi Lan raised his head, with a hint of expectation in his eyes.
"I, I still have something to do in the city!" Li Xu felt that his heart was beating wildly again, and quickly turned the horse's head. "You can hire a car at the gate of the city, girl, go slow!" He left a rather awkward sentence.
After saying a decent farewell, he finally fled away like the wind
"It turns out he is a reckless boy who doesn't understand the world!" Shi Lan held her purse and watched Hei Feng's back disappearing inside the city gate. It was rare to see such a young man. She silently calculated, her eyes slowly becoming sad.
She never hated Qin Shubao, not at all, but she lost her father, her brother, and everything she once owned in one night...
A tear fell from the corner of her eye and slid across her dirty face, revealing the fair skin under the dust. Then it mixed with the blood flowing from the corner of her mouth, slowly rolled over her chin, and fell on the cold ground.
Shi Lan wiped his face vigorously and walked towards the city gate with his head raised.
Drunkard's Note: Recommended works by newcomers, Chronicles of the Modern Han Dynasty, ISBN: 26188. Although a little immature, the seedlings grow into big trees, and someone always needs to water them.
