Tang Minjie led Xu Xiaolin, passed the inspection at the city gate as Xi Ren, and walked in the direction of the post station outside the city. The official road outside Yunzhong City was lined with gray land, and there was no thatch left.
.
There are manors, workshops, and simple slums in the distance. In the field of vision, you can see the zombie-like Han slaves moving on that side. In the field of vision, an old man is walking slowly holding a small bundle of firewood, with his body hunched over - right here.
In terms of environment, it is actually difficult to say whether he is an "old man" or not.
There are mountains and trees further away, but Xu Xiaolin remembered what Tang Minjie said. Because of their hatred for the Han people, many people now don't even allow the Han people to pick up the trees in the mountains. The houses in the field of vision are simple, even if they can
Many people die in the winter to keep warm, and now that there are such restrictions, when the heavy snow falls, this place will truly become a hell on earth.
When he came up with the caravan, he also saw these slum houses, and he had never felt anything like this at that time.
Tang Minjie walked beside him with his head lowered and spoke: "...I can't write much about the grassland people in the letter. When you go back, please be sure to ask Mr. Ning clearly. Although the Wu Dynasty allied with Jin to fight against Liao, it was
They did stupid things, but that was because the Wu Dynasty itself was weak. Now that the Southwest War is over, it will still take some time to fight north. It might be a good idea to drive the tigers and devour the wolves here. The grassland people came here this year, not to seize the city.
They went specifically to steal the Jurchens' weapons. I think their intentions are quite big..."
"I will convey this matter in detail." The issue about the grassland people may become a major policy for future work in the North. Xu Xiaolin also understood the key to this, but then he had some doubts, "But the work here, this
Bian already has the power to make temporary decisions, why not make a judgment first and then convey it to Nanbian?"
"Mr. Ning's attitude towards the grassland people is a bit strange. I didn't explain it clearly at the beginning. I was afraid that I might have misunderstood him, or there might be some clues that I didn't know about."
Tang Minjie said, briefly mentioning it to Xu Xiaolin. Mr. Ning once went to Xixia, and after he came back, he only said that the grassland was an enemy. But at that time, these grassland people had never set foot in the Central Plains, and nothing happened.
Ning Yi's judgment regarding the incident that besieged Yunzhong in the first half of the year may have seemed a bit simpler. Now that there is a more specific situation, there can naturally be new ways to deal with it.
"...Yunzhong was originally a big city, but with Zong Han placing the 'Western Court' here and adding a million captured Han people, the city could no longer live in the early years, and more people were added outside.
These villages and workshops. When the grassland people came in the first half of the year, a small number of Han slaves outside the city ran into the city, and most of the rest were captured and gathered around the outside of the city. Most of the surrounding villages were burned..."
Seeing Xu Xiaolin looking at this scene, Tang Minjie also introduced the surroundings.
"...The purpose of the grassland people was the ordnance stored in Fengzhou, so they did not carry out a massacre here. After leaving, many people still survived. But so what, the surrounding area is not good in the first place.
After the houses were burned down, it was more difficult for people to live in them when they were rebuilt. Now the firewood is not allowed to be cut down. Instead of doing this, why not let the prairie people come more often? Their cavalry come and go like the wind, although attacking the city is not possible.
, but he is good at fighting in the field, and he also likes to throw corpses that have been dead for several days into the city..."
"... At that time, Yunzhong sometimes had Li'ai in charge, and the plague had not yet broken out, so other cities were probably unable to prevent it. When more people died, the surviving Han people might be able to live a better life..."
Tang Minjie chattered, and his words were as calm as a southwest woman walking on the road while doing household chores. In the past, Xu Xiaolin would have had many thoughts about the consequences of attracting prairie people, but at the moment when he saw those rickety figures, he suddenly felt
Understand the other person's state of mind.
After that, they chatted all the way and arrived at a place not far from the inn to meet up with the previously arranged Xiren caravan. Tang Minjie communicated with the caravan boss and came back to give some instructions on what to pay attention to on the way.
They separated under the gray sky. When Xu Xiaolin looked back for the last time, the seemingly inconspicuous figure had merged into the many pedestrians heading towards the clouds and was no longer visible in the blink of an eye.
…
Passed the inspection at the city gate, and then walked through the streets and alleys back to the place where I lived. It looked like it was going to rain, and the pedestrians on the road were walking in a hurry, but due to the north wind, the stench in the mud on the road was reduced.
point.
When approaching the dilapidated street where he temporarily lived, Tang Minjie slowed down as usual, and then made a small circle to check if there were any signs of a follower.
It was overcast and there were not many people on the road, so it was easier to judge. However, when approaching the dilapidated courtyard where he lived, Tang Minjie's steps slowed down slightly. A black figure in shabby clothes staggered against the wall.
He staggered forward and slumped down under the eaves outside the courtyard gate. He seemed to be trying to use the eaves to take shelter from the rain, and curled up into a ball.
Doubts flashed in Tang Minjie's mind. He walked slowly and observed for a moment. He saw the figure struggling to get up again and staggering forward. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the courtyard door. On one side of his field of vision, that figure
The figure hesitated on the roadside for a moment, then came back. Perhaps seeing that he was about to open the door, he took two quick steps to reach out and grab him.
"Help……"
Tang Minjie leaned away from the opponent's hand. It was a haggard and thin Han woman with a pale face and a wound on her forehead, asking for help.
"Help, kind man, help... please take me in..."
Over the past ten years, the Jin Kingdom has successively captured millions of Han slaves. Very few of them have free status. At first, they were working as coolie prostitutes like pigs and dogs. Today, not many of them can still survive. In the following years, Wu begged to buy
It is forbidden to kill Han slaves at will, and some wealthy families have begun to use them as maids and servants. The environment is slightly better, but in any case, too few will give Han slaves free status. Combined with the current environment of Yunzhong Mansion, it can be inferred according to common sense
Then we can know that this woman must be a slave who ran away from someone's family because they couldn't survive any longer.
Someone was coming towards this side of the street. For a while, it seemed that she hadn't noticed the situation here. The woman's expression became more and more anxious, and her thin face was covered with tears. She stretched out her hand and opened her clothes, only to see her right shoulder to her chest.
They were all scars, and large areas of flesh and blood had begun to fester, emitting a permeating stench.
She cried and said: "If they take me back, I will die... I beg good people to take me in..."
Tang Minjie looked at her. He couldn't tell whether this was a trap set by others.
Servants from an unknown house on the other side of the road were running towards this side. Someone pushed Tang Minjie away, then kicked the woman to the ground and started punching and kicking her. The woman's body curled up into a ball on the ground and she screamed several times.
He was tied up with a chain and dragged back like a pig or dog.
It's not a trap... I'm sure of it now.
Tang Minjie watched all this blankly. When the servants came to question him, he took out the household registration document from his arms and whispered: "I am not Han." Then the other party left.
It started to rain coldly from the sky.
Open the door to go home and close the door. Tang Minjie hurried to the room, found two books that contained some key information, wrapped them in cloth and put them in his arms, then put on his raincoat and bamboo hat and went out. Closed the courtyard door
At this time, in the corner of my field of vision, I could still see the traces left by the beating of the woman just now. There were blood stains on the ground, slowly mixed with the black mud on the road in the rain.
He glanced at it, then without stopping, walked through two streets and alleys in the rain, and knocked on the back door of a house in the agreed way. Then someone opened the door. This was a man who had been working with him in Yunzhong Mansion for a long time.
Deputy.
The order to enter the dormant stage of espionage work had been passed down from level to level at this time. This was the meeting Tang Minjie had arranged with him. After entering the room and checking for a while, Tang Minjie stated his intention straight to the point.
"Starting from today, you will temporarily take over all my work in Yunzhong Mansion. We have some key information and we will hand it over..."
As Tang Minjie spoke, he took out the two books from his arms. The other party's eyes were puzzled, but he nodded first and began to carefully write down what Tang Minjie said.
The whole process lasted for a while, and then Tang Minjie solemnly handed the book to the other party. After the matter was done, the deputy asked: "What do you want to do?"
"I'm going to Beijing." Tang Minjie said.
The deputy frowned: "Didn't I say before that even if you go to Beijing at this time, it is difficult to intervene in the overall situation. You asked everyone to save their lives, why did you go there to join in the fun?"
"Read the first-hand information more carefully. Although you can't intervene at the time, it will be easier to think of ways in the future. The Jurchens and the East and West may have to fight, but the possibility of a fight means that it is also possible that they will not fight."
The deputy frowned: "...Don't be reckless. Shopkeeper Lu's style is different from yours. He focuses on intelligence collection and is less focused on action. When you arrive in Shangjing, if the situation is not ideal and you try to force yourself, they will be killed.
"
"I won't do it forcefully, don't worry."
The other party looked over, and Tang Minjie looked back. After a moment, he reluctantly withdrew his gaze. Tang Minjie stood up.
"That's it, take care."
"You have to take care of yourself after traveling two thousand miles north."
the deputy said.
In the process of sending him out, I couldn't help but warn him: "In this situation, they will definitely fight. Just watch and don't do anything."
"I got it, don't worry, mother-in-law."
…
All the way back to the courtyard where I live, the rain seeped into my raincoat. The weather in August is surprisingly cold. Think about it, tomorrow is August 15th. The Mid-Autumn Festival has a full moon, but how many moons are really full?
Tang Minjie stood outside the yard for a moment. At his feet was the place where the woman had been beaten and bled. At this moment, all traces had been mixed into the black mud and could no longer be seen. He knew that this was the land of Jin.
The color of the Han people. Some of them - including myself - can still bleed red blood when they are beaten, but sooner or later, they will all turn to this color.
The next day, August 15th, Tang Minjie set out for the north.