The thick green, tall and dense weeds reached up to the horses' bellies. Looking from a distance, the horses seemed to be swimming in the green ocean until they turned into a valley. Only a dozen horses showed their complete bodies.
A burly man was riding on the horse, only Yang Hao looked a little thin.
Someone had been waiting at the entrance of the valley for a long time. The man was wearing a tattered sheepskin coat and holding a fork in his hand. He looked like a poor hunter in the mountains. From a distance, he could be seen stopping the dozen or so big men on horseback.
After the two sides exchanged some words, the man put his right hand on the chest of a burly old man on the horse, knelt down on one knee, and then led them deeper into the valley.
After turning around a clump of woods, the man let out a whistle, and more than a dozen people walked out of the dense forest on the opposite side. They were all tall, short, fat, and thin. Most of them were dressed in rags and held various long and short weapons.
Walking on the grass, they are like a pack of wolves waiting for an opportunity to move, alert and yet ferocious.
The two sides approached and stopped two feet apart. An old man with a gray beard and hair tied into braids with tassel beads narrowed his eyes and looked at the burly old man sitting on the horse, and suddenly spoke in Dangxiang language.
Said a few words.
The old man on the horse was Li Guangcen. He looked a little excited and answered a few words in the same voice. After the two exchanged a few words, Li Guangcen suddenly got off the horse, took two steps, opened his arms, and said with tears in his eyes: "Su
Ka, my brother."
The old man with gray beard and thin cheeks hugged him tightly and shouted happily: "You are Lord Guangcen, you are indeed Lord Guangcen." Hot tears rolled down his dirty cheeks, and he suddenly
Realizing this, he hurriedly broke away from Li Guangcen's arms, took two steps back, knelt down on one knee, and said loudly: "Su Ka meets Mr. Li Guangcen."
The people behind him immediately knelt down. Li Guangcen hurriedly supported him and said excitedly: "Su Ka, get up quickly. Li Guangcen is just a wanderer now and is no longer the master of the Dangxiang Eighth Clan. You don't have to pay this grand ceremony."
. Su Ka, you and I... we haven't seen each other for thirty-eight years, right? Back then, you were still a young man, and now you have become the patriarch of the Yeli clan, for thirty-eight years..."
The gray-bearded Su Ka is the current clan leader of the Yeli clan, the most proficient among the eight clans in the Dangxiang clan. He stood up, wiped his tears and said, "Yes, thirty-eight years have passed, and Su Ka thought that he would be here all his life."
I can’t see you again. We parted ways when we were young, and now you and I are already gray-haired old men.”
He said sadly, then looked back and said: "Xiaoye Ke'er, come here and see Mr. Li Guangcen quickly. You all should get up."
Xiaoye Ke'er listened to his father's instructions and raised his head. He was about to step forward to see Li Guangcen again as a nephew, when he suddenly saw Yang Hao standing behind him and couldn't help but screamed "Ah". Chen Mo'er, who had just stood up, also
When he saw Yang Hao, he immediately raised his eyebrows, pulled out his scimitar with a "choking" sound, and stepped forward to point directly at Yang Hao.
The big men behind Li Guangcen reacted very quickly. They immediately drew their swords and faced each other with cold eyes. The two sides immediately became tense. Su Ka was shocked and yelled: "Chen Mo'er, how dare you be rude to Mr. Li Guangcen? Stop it quickly."
Pick up the knife?"
Chen Moer's face turned red with anger and she stamped her feet: "Master Su Ka, the man in white is a senior official of the Song Dynasty. He... he still wants to bully me."
Su Ka's expression changed and he turned to look at Li Guangcen. Li Guangcen laughed calmly and said: "Come on, come on, Hao'er, come up and see your uncle Su Ka. Su Ka, this is my adopted son Yang Hao. He
He is an official of the Song Dynasty and the future master of our clan. I am getting old and can no longer ride a horse or shoot a bow. From now on, I, my adopted son, will have to do all the hard work. You, my uncle, need to give me a lot of support.
Help him."
"Oh?" Su Ka heard what Li Guangcen meant and couldn't help but look at Yang Hao in surprise.
Yang Hao smiled happily and stepped forward and bowed: "Yang Hao has met Uncle Su Ka, Ono Ke'er, and Miss Chen Mo'er. Are you two okay? You didn't suffer any injustice yesterday, right? Haha, it was all a misunderstanding.
We can say that if we don’t fight, we won’t get to know each other, and if we don’t fight, we won’t get to know each other.”
Chen Moer snorted and sneered at him: "Have we ever fought? You only have the guts to bully a girl whose hands are tied."
Mu En chuckled and said leisurely: "My young master has a noble status, how can he fight against you? If you are not convinced, I, Mu En, can teach you your skills." He glanced at Ono Ke'er and said demonstratively: "You two
You can come together."
"Back off!" Li Guangcen and Su Ka said in unison, each yelling at their own men. Li Guangcen smiled and explained yesterday's misunderstanding. He was present at the time and naturally knew the whole situation.
Su Ka laughed after hearing this and naturally ignored the matter. Seeing his father's attitude, Ono Ke'er and Chen Mo'er didn't dare to say anything more. They just looked at this pretty boy who might become their master and felt a little aggrieved.
Everyone turned into the bushes and sat on the ground in an open space. Li Guangcen and Su Ka, childhood friends, talked about their separation and expressed their sadness. Li Guangcen briefly introduced the origin of his adopted son to Su Ka. Northwest
The three vassals were all ministers of the Song Dynasty, and they did their own things secretly. Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Li family of Xiazhou had offered allegiance to the Six Dynasties in order to protect themselves. Whoever is stronger is the king, which has a bit of a breast-like effect. So Su
Ka was not surprised at all, and had no suspicion at all. Then the two sides got down to business.
As soon as Li Guangrui of Xiazhou was mentioned, Su Ka's thin and old cheeks flushed with anger: "Sir Li Guangcen, when our father-in-law Li Yi died of illness, you should have taken over the post of Jiedushi. I don't want your third uncle to
However, Li Yiyin bribed the adults of the Tuoba tribe and supported him as the new leader. When your fourth uncle Li Yimin, the governor of Suizhou, launched an army to attack, my father also thought of supporting the army. Who would have thought that he had just made an alliance with other tribes and had not yet waited for him?
After sending troops, Lord Li Yimin was defeated and killed. Later, I heard news about you from time to time, but it was too difficult to find you."
He patted his thigh and said: "Over the years, Li Yiyin, Li Guangrui and his son have exploited our Seventh Clan too hard, and the various ministers have deep grudges. When Li Yiyin died and Li Guangrui succeeded to the throne, they repeatedly launched troops to resist. But we
The Seventh Clan has never been Li Guangrui's opponent. This time, we thought, we must find a leader. Who else can fight against Li Guangrui? Besides your lord, who else can you have? You are the real master of Xiazhou, and it is destiny to defeat Li Guangrui.
So we seven clans formed an alliance and sent messengers to look for you on the grasslands of the Tufan people. Unexpectedly, we never heard from you. We are short of food, medicine, and weapons, and we want to attack Xiazhou.
I had no choice but to plunder some supplies in Fuzhou first, but Yuxun suddenly had a brilliant idea and gathered his horses to actively fight with me, killing the Seventh Clan and defeating me. I also said that the Lord will not come back."
Li Guangcen said: "After receiving the message from your messenger, I brought some people to meet you. However, when I arrived in the Northern Han Dynasty, I learned that you had been defeated. If the large group of people stayed in the Northern Han Dynasty, they would inevitably cause trouble.
People were suspicious, so I had to send my subordinates back, and I stayed behind to inquire for further information. It was also a coincidence. At this time, the Song Dynasty sent troops to attack the Northern Han Dynasty, and moved the people of the Northern Han Dynasty in a large scale. I was trapped by them without thinking.
Here, I heard your son’s true identity yesterday, so I managed to inform him of my identity and secretly rescued him from leaving.”
Su Ka became happy, held Li Guangcen's hand and said: "Sir, it is the blessing of the Great God Baishi that has sent you back to us. Now, now that you are in charge of the Seventh Clan, we, the Seventh Clan, will definitely be able to defeat Li Guangrui.
Let you become the Lord of Xiazhou again."
Li Guangcen shook his head and said: "Su Ka, after so many years of wandering alone on the grassland, my ambition is gone and my body has weakened. I can no longer control the horse and lead you to fight on the grassland. A wolf king, treat it like a wolf king."
When its fur has lost its luster, when its feet have no strength, when its teeth can no longer bite the enemy's bones, a strong, new wolf king is needed to replace it. I am here, but I can no longer
To be your king, I have brought you a new king, my adopted son Yang Hao. If you seven clans are still willing to accept me as your co-lord, I would like you to regard him as your leader, my adopted son.
He will treat all our tribesmen well."
"He?" Su Ka once again received Li Guangcen's confirmation and couldn't help but look at Yang Hao seriously. Chen Mo'er was angry and couldn't help but said contemptuously: "Master Li Guangcen, is this him you are talking about? He...
Are you worthy of being the wolf king on the grassland?"
"I'm not worthy!" Yang Hao smiled and said: "If it comes to being brave and good at fighting, among the eight Dangxiang clans, no one can compare with the Yeli clan. The Yeli clan is the bravest and bravest among the eight Dangxiang clans.
A good warrior."
Hearing this praise, everyone from Su Ka on down had a smile on their faces, and even Xiaoye Keer looked at him with a gentler look. Yang Hao changed his tone and said: "But Party Xiang Qi
Together, they are far more powerful than Li Guangrui in Xiazhou, and among them is the Yeli clan, who is the most adept at fighting among the eight Dangxiang clans. Why have they never gained the upper hand in all these years?"
The smiles on the faces of Su Ka and others froze, and Yang Hao added: "If there were two wolf packs, I think the outcome would have been clear. The Dangxiang Qi clan would definitely win. Why did we lose? Because we are not wolves. I am righteous.
Father's words are just a metaphor. It does not mean that we are completely like wolves. I have always thought that the biggest difference between humans and beasts is that humans have wisdom. The power of a beast must be reflected by its claws and fangs; but humans
Strength does not necessarily have to be embodied by muscles. It is because of this that we have grown from eating hair and drinking blood to becoming the masters of the earth today."
Ono Ke'er clenched her fists, and the muscles in her arms stood out like mounds. She sneered: "On the grassland, strength is king. Isn't it right?"
Yang Hao smiled and said: "What you said is correct, but to measure a person's strength is not to judge whether his personal martial arts is extraordinary. What a leader needs is brains, not force. As far as I know, Li Yiyin has a strong waist and belly.
As big as a tree hugging each other, with a fat body, even if you take a few steps, you will be out of breath. If you want to use force, at least it will not be my opponent, Yang Hao, right? But when he was alive, no matter how ruthless the exploitation was, the Seventh Party Department would still
Do you dare to be angry but dare not speak out? Until Li Yiyin dies and Li Guangrui succeeds, the Seventh Clan dares to raise an army. Are you so afraid of Li Yiyin? Are you afraid of his force or his scheming?"
Xiaoye Ke'er was speechless, Li Guangcen stroked his beard and smiled, Su Ka looked at Li Guangcen and suddenly smiled and said: "You have a son like this, no wonder you are willing to entrust him with such a heavy responsibility, but I don't know... Young Master, how do you think about the crusade against Li Guangrui in Xiazhou?"
What insight?"
Yang Hao spread his hands and said with a smile: "What's the point? My nephew doesn't have any."
Xiaoye Ke'er rolled her eyes, but Chen Mo'er snorted and raised her chin high. Yang Hao said again: "My nephew just wants to ask Mr. Su Ka. Dangxiang Qi clan has repeatedly raised troops, but has been defeated repeatedly.
In the hands of Xiazhou Li Guangrui, what is the reason?"
Xiaoye Ke'er couldn't help but said: "Who doesn't know the reason? Li Guangrui has worked hard for Xiazhou for many years. The city is high and the walls are deep, the soldiers and horses are strong, there are countless rations, and the armor is complete. Although we and the Seventh Clan dare to die and fight bravely, we have no big leader to rule us.
In the overall situation, each unit is fighting like a piece of scattered sand, and there is no food, grass or weapons. The soldiers even go into battle with wooden sticks to fight with the enemy's spears and swords. How can we defeat the enemy?"
Yang Hao said happily: "That's it. Now that we know the reason, if I can prescribe the right medicine and solve this problem, are you sure we can fight Xiazhou again then?"
Su Ka's body was shaken, and he opened his mouth to ask but held back. Ono Ke'er was already surprised and said: "You...you have a way?"
Zhe Ziyu arrived at Luhe Ridge with food, grass and weapons. He saw that the houses in the valley had begun to take shape. Fortresses and arrow towers had been built at the valley mouth and on the top of the mountain. Some far-sighted people had spontaneously designated areas on the fertile grassland.
, hoe the weeds and turn them into fertile fields. The fertile fields here are thousands of miles away, and the people will not have disputes over the land. More people have nothing to do, just wandering in the valley.
Zhe Ziyu took a cursory look at the situation in the valley, then went straight into Chizhong's military tent, and ordered people to find Chizhong and Ma Zongqiang to see her. After a while, Chizhong and Ma Zongqiang came after hearing the news, and entered the tent to see her dressed in black clothes.
She was sitting there drinking tea leisurely. She hurriedly stepped forward to greet him and said, "I have finally met the fifth young master."
Zhe Ziyu put down the tea cup and said with a slight smile: "You two generals, you're welcome. Please sit down."
She turned her beautiful eyes and asked casually: "Where is Imperial Envoy Yang now?"
Chi Zhong said hurriedly: "Yang Qin sent some people to study the geography nearby."
"Oh?" Zhe Ziyu was slightly surprised and thought to himself: "Looking at the geography? Judging from the way he argued with his uncle that day, it was obvious that he had seen through that this was a dangerous land and wanted to move the people away. I was still thinking about how to persuade him.
.Now that he is studying geography, has he changed his mind?"
Seeing that she was thoughtful, Chi Zhong exchanged strange looks with Ma Zongqiang. Ma Zongqiang said: "If the Fifth Young Master wants to find Yang Qinchen, I will send someone to look for him."
Zhe Ziyu came to his senses and said hurriedly: "No need. I came this time and brought some food, farm tools, and weapons. Because we have missed the farming season this year, there is no rush for the cattle and farm tools."
Her fingers subconsciously turned the tea cup, her eyes moved on the faces of the two generals, and she said: "I came here just now and took a quick look at the people in the valley. The leader of the Red Army is a military man and has no knowledge of civil affairs. But I see that the people are now
He is still stable and can spontaneously do what he can. The leader of the Red Army is attentive."
Chizhong smiled and said: "Fifth Young Master, Chizhong only knows how to march and fight, and he really has nothing to do with the affairs of this place. Fortunately, although there are tens of thousands of people here, there is nothing to do now. Every day he just
I'll help build the walls of the city and provide them with food, so I'm not afraid of any trouble."
Zhe Ziyu nodded and said: "They have gone through many hardships and just escaped. They will be content with living a peaceful life and having food to eat. But these days will not last long. These Northern Han people are the officials who are preparing to withdraw their troops." Some of them were hurriedly moved out in time. Some of them were people from the cities and some were villagers from the towns. Some were businessmen, some were officials, some were scholars, some were herdsmen, and some were farmers. They had to be allowed to carry out their own business so that they could settle down. , otherwise it won’t take long for people’s minds to change, and all kinds of chaos will appear, and you won’t be able to suppress it even if you want to suppress it.”
She sorted out her thoughts briefly and said: "When I came this time, I brought some experienced subordinates, who will register the households of these people, compile a book, and sort them out. How will these tens of thousands of people be resettled now? , the imperial court has not yet issued a decree on how to organize Luheling. However, the minimum township system must have: Li Zheng, household head, township clerk, who supervise taxes, manage civil affairs, elders, and strong men, who can hunt down thieves. Delegations to maintain order must be established.
After the household registration is established, the township is determined, and everything is planned and orderly, it is necessary to find a way to let everyone live in their own way and carry out their own business. Only in this way can the people's hearts be stabilized. Those who used to be village officials and minor officials in the Northern Han Dynasty are now You can assign them a job. This is what they were originally doing, and they are familiar with it. Those who were originally scholars can be allowed to continue studying, and schools should be opened for the wealthy gentry to send their children to study; shepherds should demarcate grazing areas and provide credit To sell their livestock, farmers need to allocate land and borrow farm tools, cattle, and grain seeds on credit. Merchants also need to gradually let them return to their old businesses. This place is created from scratch and lacks many things. Taxes can be temporarily canceled to encourage businessmen to come here. Do business and encourage merchants among these common people to return to their old businesses..."
Zhe Ziyu talked about it one by one, in an orderly manner. If these people were taken to Dafu, a large city with a sound order, and dispersed and resettled, there would be no such problems to consider. As long as they registered their households locally and included them in local management, they would naturally Step by step, it was incorporated into the local orderly management.
However, this Luhe Ridge originally had nothing, and there were tens of thousands of people from all walks of life. If a reasonable and stable social structure could not be established, various contradictions and conflicts would soon emerge. But these issues have not been considered. However, Chi Zhong, a military general, only wanted to bring them here and give them a place to live and a stutter. He never considered how to manage them in the future or their future. Tens of thousands of people just herded sheep. Similar.
Zhe Ziyu spoke one by one, and Chi Zhong nodded frequently, as if he had suddenly realized something. He felt in his heart that every sentence of the Fifth Young Master hit the point, and everything was as it should be. However, if you ask him why he should do this and how to do it specifically, he still Confused and clueless.
Seeing his confused look, Zhe Ziyu couldn't help but smile and said: "I shouldn't have told the Red Army leader these things. Haha, you don't need to pay attention to these things. I will tell the subordinates to take care of them."
Chi Zhong, who was feeling that the dog bit him and had no idea what to eat, breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and said: "That's good, that's good."
Zhe Ziyu said again: "The other thing needs to be taken care of by the leader of the Red Army. The army of the Red Army leader cannot stay here for a long time. These tens of thousands of people have settled in this dangerous place, but they must not be without the ability to protect themselves. Therefore. , we must select young people from tens of thousands of people as soon as possible to form a people's army to fulfill the responsibility of defending the land. This organization, training people and people, has been started by the leader of the Red Army."
Chi Zhong said hurriedly: "The general will obey the order. This matter... the general can still do it."
Zhezi Yu smiled and said: "You still need to select a prestigious person from the people to serve as a temporary envoy to command and manage the people. This person must be proficient in martial arts and well-respected in order to be able to subdue everyone. I don't know if you can
Is there any favorite candidate?"
Chi Zhong said: "When the Fifth Young Master said this, the last general remembered a person. If this person is appointed as the training envoy, he will be popular among people and can take responsibility. But... this person's identity is really a bit strange."
Zhe Ziyu narrowed his eyes and asked, "What's the doubt?"
Chi Zhong said: "This man's surname is Mu. He is an old man with extraordinary bearing. He has more than ten followers, all of them are sturdy men. They are all good at riding and shooting, and their martial arts are very outstanding. The day before yesterday, the party members came to plunder
, almost rushed into the valley, causing an uncontrollable situation. At the critical moment, it was this person's followers who seized the horse and assisted the general in the battle, and defeated the party bandits."
Zhe Ziyu turned his eyes and asked, "Didn't you ask about his identity?"
Chi Zhong said: "This man only said that he was a horse trader in the Northern Han Dynasty. However, these people came from all over the world and did not know each other's roots. It is difficult for us to distinguish the truth from falsehoods in his words. If he said that he was a horse trader, he had such superb people.
Equestrian skills are not uncommon, but their superb martial arts and superb archery skills, especially their unflinching expressions and fearless appearance in the face of battle, do not look like horse traders. This person helped me wait the day before yesterday.
There should be no malicious intent in resisting the enemy, but after all, the origin is suspicious, how can we take a heavy responsibility lightly?"
Zhe Ziyu became curious and said, "I would like to see where this person is."
Chi Zhong said: "Qin Envoy Yang wanted to study the nearby geography and invited him to go with him. It was this person and his dozen or so personal followers. Now they have all followed Qin En Envoy Yang out of the valley. If not for his extremely skilled subordinates,
Then, how can I trust Yang Qin to send someone out?"
Zhe Ziyu was startled, and his eyebrows slowly raised: "Yang Hao again? This guy has abandoned his officers and soldiers but wants them to accompany them. Could it be that... he knows the true identity of these people?"