Zhou Yangong sighed, the person had been killed, and he, the imperial envoy, did not say anything to stop it. If this matter spread to Taiyuan Mansion, let alone himself, it would have a certain impact on the prince. But Zhou Yangong did not regret it.
I didn't give the order to stop Wang Xiaoniu, but I felt a sense of pleasure after revenge.
The garrison soldier was leaning against the city wall. His two hands were grasping the arrow shaft that had pierced his throat, as if he wanted to pull out the thing that was preventing him from breathing. Unfortunately, he just raised his hands in vain.
. He did not expect that his few words would lead to death. If he knew that the people below really dared to kill, he would rather take back his words and take back the arrows he shot, even if he was crawling at the feet of the victims.
I'm also willing to kiss his dirty toes.
Unfortunately, there is no if.
During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, skilled craftsmen transformed the cavalry bow designed and made by the Sui Dynasty when it was conquering Chen State in the south. Now the cavalry of the Northern Han Dynasty is equipped with this murderous weapon that has been improved over several generations. When the Sui Dynasty was conquering Chen State in the south, it took several years to gather craftsmen from all over the country.
A batch of bows and arrows suitable for cavalry were created. During the Tang Dynasty, the range of this murderous weapon was greatly improved.
At a distance of sixty or seventy steps, even thick leather armor can be penetrated, and even thin iron leaf armor can be torn, not to mention the weak flesh-body.
Wang Du was frightened by the murderous aura erupting from the cavalry outside the city. He had never felt such cold murderous aura that could freeze his heartbeat. At this moment, he suddenly realized that death was so close to him. Looking at
The subordinate who usually respected him the most was shot to death with an arrow, but he didn't even have the courage to scold the murderer.
"Killing innocent people indiscriminately, death is not a pity!"
Wang Xiaoniu cursed fiercely, then raised the horizontal knife in his hand, pointed at Wang Du and shouted: "You have committed a capital crime by blocking the imperial envoy from entering the city! One last warning, if you don't open the door, the next one will be targeted.
you!"
Wang Du was so frightened by his words that he shrank his neck. He even thought that a sharp arrow had been inserted into his throat when Wang Xiaoniu raised the horizontal knife. He subconsciously stretched out his hand to cover his neck, but his tentacles were cold.
"Open... open the city gate!"
Wang Du kicked the frightened garrison beside him hard. He could tell what he was like now from the reactions of his men. Hidden in his trembling body was a heart that was afraid of death.
In his opinion, no one can remain indifferent before death comes.
More than a hundred garrison soldiers stood like stone statues on the city wall. They also held bows and arrows in their hands. But at this moment, no one thought of using their own weapons to avenge the dead Pao Ze. They even used the murder weapons in their hands.
I couldn't hold it anymore. With a bang, someone reacted first, dropped the bow and arrow in his hand and ran down the city, shouting to his companions to quickly open the city gate.
Seeing their dirty looks, Wang Xiaoniu cursed in a low voice: "Looking like Sun Tzu, if the Zhou soldiers come over, I'm afraid they will open the city gate faster!"
Duke Yan of Zhou was startled by Wang Xiaoniu's words, which were not false at all. Look at the appearance of these garrison troops. If Zhou soldiers had not been defeated by the prince in Tanzhou, 200,000 Zhou soldiers would have been overwhelmingly killed in the north.
Come here, I'm afraid that counties like Ping'an County won't even have the courage to resist.
When he thought of the consequences of the failure of the Battle of Tanzhou, Zhou Yangong felt chills running down his spine. His experience in Xixia had fully proved what the prince said about a weak country without diplomatic relations. After arriving in Xixia, he was placed in a
In the very simple post station, five days later, the highest-ranking official in Xixia he came into contact with turned out to be the postmaster of that inn!
Although I don’t know why Wei Mingxiao changed his mind and received him in person, Zhou Yangong felt a sense of humiliation from the confident pride on Wei Mingxiao’s face and the unstoppable domineering tone in his voice.
.Although he did not agree to all Wei Mingxiao's suggestions, his resistance seemed so weak in the face of the opponent's strong strength. Facing the garrison in Ping'an County, what he felt was not humiliation, but a sense of humiliation.
It's akin to despair.
In such a country, if there was no loyal king Liu Ling who was kind to him, and if there was no Emperor Filial Piety who was talented but unable to show his talents, would he miss it?
With a creaking sound, the dilapidated city gate was slowly opened. The defenders led by Wang Du ran down from the city wall, trembling and knelt down at the city gate. It was just an arrow.
Just, it shattered their seemingly domineering arrogance, thus forcing out the cowardice in their bodies.
"Xiaoguan...Xiaguan, the Prime Minister of Ping'an County, read it, see the Imperial Envoy."
Wang Du lowered his head deeply. He looked like an ostrich with his head stuck in the sand. His fat butt was raised high, but no one felt funny because of his funny look. Zhou Yangong saw the city gate.
Opening the door, he waved his hands and said loudly: "Folks! Come with me into the city! My name is Zhou Yangong, and I am the imperial envoy sent by your Majesty to provide disaster relief! Your Majesty has graciously ordered all the prefectures, counties and counties to open their granaries to provide relief to the victims. I
He is the one sent by His Majesty to distribute food to the villagers!"
The confused victims raised their heads and looked at Zhou Yangong, seeming not to pay much attention to his words. Even when they looked at Zhou Yangong, there was a sad ridicule in their eyes. Zhou Yangong knew what the victims were worried about.
Or they simply didn't believe what he said.
Zhou Yangong unfolded the imperial edict, displayed it to the victims on his horse for a week, and then said loudly: "Folks, this is the imperial edict written by Your Majesty himself! In His Majesty's eyes, you are all the most loyal subjects of the Han Dynasty. Now you are subject to the imperial edict."
After the disaster, Your Majesty felt very sad! The imperial edict clearly states that His Majesty ordered all counties to open granaries to provide relief to the victims! I was sent by Your Majesty to urge the localities to open granaries and distribute food. Please believe me!"
The crowd was silent for a moment, and then burst into cheers like a roaring tsunami.
"Long live your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty has not forgotten us!"
"Your Majesty has us common people at heart!"
The crowd surged, and the victims all pushed forward, wanting to take a look at the imperial edict in Zhou Yangong's hand. Although most of them were illiterate, and even those who were literate could not see what was written in the edict, they all learned from it.
The bright yellow scroll showed the hope of survival, very close at hand.
Zhou Yangong shouted loudly: "Folks! Folks, please don't cause chaos! Enter the city in an orderly manner, and I guarantee that everyone will have a hot meal soon! I, Zhou Yangong, will guarantee with my head that as long as everyone enters the city
There’s food for everyone!”
Wang Xiaoniu also shouted: "Folks, don't be disorderly. Enter the city in an orderly manner and gather in the open space. Lord Zhou will arrange to open the warehouse and release grain as soon as he enters the city!"
Under the command of Zhou Yangong and Wang Xiaoniu, the victims did not cause chaos, but walked into Ping'an County in an orderly manner. With the help of two fellow villagers, the woman carried her husband's body and walked at the front of the team.
As she walked, she lowered her head and looked at her husband's face and said: "Open your eyes and take a look. Long live has not abandoned us. Long live has sent Mr. Zhou to save us. We will take you to see the food together. Let's go together."
look."
When the victims were halfway through, Su Hui, the magistrate of Ping'an County who came after hearing the news, ran to the city gate out of breath. As he ran, he adjusted his official hat that had been crooked. When he rushed to the city gate, he looked at
The victims who filed in were obviously stunned for a moment, but then they quickly ran over to meet Zhou Yangong.
"I will serve as the magistrate of Ping'an County, Su Hui, and join the Imperial Envoy."
From the men who reported the news, Su Hui already knew that the imperial envoy had arrived outside the city gate, and also ordered the shooting of a blind garrison soldier. He didn't mind at all the death of his men in name. Although it was safe
The 300 soldiers in the county garrison were all children of wealthy families in the city, and they all got in after giving him enough money. However, it seemed to Su Hui that the two parties were already settled after he took the money to do something.
No one owes anyone anything.
For an insignificant young man, he is more worried about not being able to keep the black gauze hat on his head. Although he has always claimed that he is from the Su family in Taiyuan, he is actually a member of a distant lineage that has been alienated to the point where he is almost separated from the same clan.
The most accomplished member of the Su family in Ping'an County is Su Hui. His father spent a thousand taels of silver to buy it from the governor of Qingzhou County.
On weekdays, he always considers himself a member of the Su family in Taiyuan, but he knows better than anyone else that he and the Su family in Taiyuan are thousands of miles apart, and perhaps they will never meet in this life. In his eyes,
Su Xiu, the high-ranking bachelor in the Su family in Taiyuan, was so towering and towering that he was not even qualified to look up at him.
The imperial envoy in front of him is the greatest official he has ever seen in his life. If he can serve the imperial envoy well, he might be able to go a step further. He has done enough since he was a seventh-grade county magistrate. Ping'an County is only so big, so he can
He doesn't have much money, and he has just recovered the money used to buy his official position after ten years in office. Ping'an County is so small that a family with dozens of copper coins is considered a wealthy household.
The only truly wealthy family has been separated from his wife and children by his continuous exploitation for ten years. However, except for the 1,500 acres of land and a big house, he did not get much money. In addition,
After all these years of spending on high places, the county magistrate in ten years has only saved less than two thousand taels of silver, which is embarrassing to tell.
If you can curry favor with the imperial envoy and transfer yourself to Gyeongju, your future will be bright.
Therefore, Su Hui, who was kneeling in front of Zhou Yangong, was extremely nervous and covered in sweat.
"Master Su, please get up."
Duke Zhou Yan knew something about Su Hui when he was in Fengning County, and he was even more disappointed after arriving in Ping'an County. It's no wonder that the imperial court uses such a person as a local official, and the people don't suffer!
Zhou Yangong did not dismount, but pointed his horsewhip at the victims who were following the orderly process and said: "I have inspected the six prefectures according to the imperial decree and urged local officials to open warehouses and release grain to relieve the victims. I still need a lot of cooperation from Mr. Su. So,
I can also deliver a message to His Majesty."
Open a warehouse to store grain?
Su Hui thought he heard wrongly. What did the imperial court do with the victims? Didn't it say that the reserves in the granary were used to meet the annual tribute of Liao Dynasty?
But he didn't dare to question Zhou Yangong's words. Su Hui couldn't help but nodded and said: "Everything depends on the orders of the Lord. No subordinate dares to disobey."
Zhou Yangong smiled and said: "That's very good. Let's do this. Mr. Su will arrange for people to build a porridge shed on the open space. Each person will have two meals of porridge a day. At least the victims will survive this winter. In addition, we need to mobilize
Some people have built houses for the victims to live in, providing them with food and shelter. When spring comes, the victims will be able to work in the fields again."
Zhou Yangong glanced at the sweat on Su Hui's forehead, leaned down from the horse and whispered: "Master Su, if you do well, I can tell your Majesty the truth, right?"
Su Hui's body stiffened, and then he kowtowed as if pounding garlic: "Thank you for your cultivation, thank you for your cultivation!" (To be continued)
