Unlike Qin Shubao, Xuzi was more worried about how he would face his former friends on the battlefield than about the combat effectiveness of the county soldiers after they were far away from home. In the past, he only had to face Xu Maogong, but now Li Mi came to Wagang
The people who followed him up the Wagang Village were Zhang Liang, a fake businessman, Niu Jinda, a wild man, and Wu Heita, who liked to use pitchforks as weapons. To be fair, Li Xu felt that the heroes of Wagang Village were all good men.
, including Cheng Zhijie, who once had a neck-and-neck fight with him, but with the exception of Li Mi. This man is a ruthless and thick-skinned man. God knows how a group of heroes could be willing to be driven by such an ambitious man who has no responsibility on his shoulders.
The reality is getting closer and closer to what Shi Erya described when he was angry. All his friends have become enemies, and only he is still loyally helping Sui survive. This time last year, Xuzi could still use
This sentence of guarding his home with the Qijun brothers freed him. But now, the county soldiers are about to go on an expedition, and his behavior has nothing to do with guarding his home. Moreover, more and more thieves are being suppressed around, and it has become a problem.
There is an indisputable fact. Nowadays, except for a few counties adjacent to Qi County, the entire Henan Province is slightly peaceful. From Donghai County in the south to Hongnong County in the northwest, a large number of rebels are active in almost every area.
.They are like leeks in spring, one crop is cut and another sprouts. Although the officers and soldiers have successively won the victory, the result every time seems to be that the bandit leader changed his name. As soon as the officers and soldiers left, the local chaos immediately remained.
What makes people feel more helpless is that compared with other parts of the world, the counties in Henan are still one of the most stable areas in the Sui Dynasty. Since General Yu Juluo was unjustly killed the year before last, the various places in the south have become a mess.
The area that seems relatively peaceful at the moment is only a few dozen miles away from Jiangdu where Wang Shichong is guarding. The only way out of Jiangdu is to Xuancheng to the south and to Huainan to the north, which are the safe havens of thieves. Many counties in Henan have been raped by Zhang Xu
The bandits who had no place to hide after being beaten by Master Tuo all ran to the Huai River, and took advantage of the complex terrain between the Huai River and the Yangtze River to confront the government. The number of thieves, large and small, in one place far exceeded a hundred.
As for the counties in Hebei, which are known for their fierce folk customs, the situation is even more turbulent. First, Zhang Jin said that he killed General Feng Xiaoci of the Youhou Guards in Qinghe County, and then Gao Shida and Dou Jiande took Gaojipo as their home base and spread their influence everywhere.
Attack the city and plunder the territory. What is even more surprising is that when the Liao army was marching in the fall last year, a man named Yang Gongqing actually captured the rear of the imperial army. According to the imperial court's newspaper, Yang Gongqing was violently attacked by the imperial army.
The thieves counterattacked, but the conspiracy failed and they only stole 42 horses from Feihuang's stable. In fact, the thieves' goal was only to seize the horses to strengthen themselves. If they set the goal of the battle to kill the king, the soldiers and horses of the six armies of Yulin may not be able to fight back.
Can withstand it.
Nowadays, there are not only Zhang Jincheng, Gao Shida and Yang Gongqing who are active in various places in Hebei, but the three groups of more famous rebels. Wang Bo, Lu Mingyue, Meng Rang, Peng Xiaocai, etc. who were defeated by the Qijun brothers back then also fled there, looking for each other.
They settled on a hilltop. In addition, there were many rebels who were not very powerful but caused great harm, such as Mantian Wang, Li Shanfei, etc., who also led tens of thousands of bandits to travel around. In the end, the activity areas of the two were close to Xu.
Zi's hometown, so the news from there always worries Xu Zi the most. Although the warrior Xun wrote a letter recently telling him that Tang Gong Li Yuan had sent people to Yi County to protect his parents, Xu Zi was still worried about the safety of his family.
In the letter, the warrior Xun mentioned Li Shimin's actions on the fortress, and he highly praised the second son of Tang Gongfu who had just come of age. He also seemingly casually mentioned in the letter that if he had replaced the brothers in the food protection army that day,
The person guarding the retreat is not the prince Jiancheng, but the second prince Shimin. The brothers will definitely face a different ending.
"Alas!" Before going to bed, Li Xu took out Samurai Yu's letter and read it again, and couldn't help sighing. Deep in his heart, he missed those days in the food protection army. Although he was just a soldier at that time.
He was a famous captain, but because he was standing at a low position, he couldn't feel the storm outside.
But now, his official position is getting bigger and bigger, his title is getting higher and higher, but his heart is getting more and more lonely. Almost no one can understand his depression, not even the closest woman around him. The two of them are obsessed with the court and bandits.
There have been many disputes over different opinions. Recently, Erya always carefully avoids talking to him about similar issues. In fact, in addition to being concerned that the food on the street is a few cents more expensive, the paddy fields in the upper reaches of the Ji River are cheap.
After many years, Erya almost voluntarily gave up caring about the current situation. However, in terms of financial management, she cooperated with the housekeeper and continued to show her talents. Although she became Xuzi's woman for less than a year, she had already transferred the land under Li Xu's name.
Almost twice as much. If you add in the food towns granted by the imperial court, Xuzi is now a veritable rich man who owns thousands of acres of fertile land.
"Is Mr. Lang unhappy?" Shi Erya clearly sensed that Xu Zi had been preoccupied in recent days, so she squeezed towards him and asked with concern.
The weather in May has not yet completely warmed up. At night, two people can still hug each other and warm each other. The soft feeling coming from the chest made Xuzi feel a little more comfortable. He opened his arms and held Erya
Holding each other in his arms, he whispered: "It's not peaceful over there in Shanggu. I'm afraid that thieves will threaten the safety of my family. The post road in Hebei has been closed for some time. How are my father and mother's health? I, my son,
Not sure at all!”
"Then why don't you bring your father-in-law and mother-in-law to you?" There was a small hand gently scratching his chest. Shi Erya asked gently while being naughty. Except for a few rare occasions when he has a bad temper, most of them
She has been as docile as a cat all the time. Like a cat, she is full of attachment to people, and like a cat, she tries every means to gain the sympathy of her owner. "Although I am not your wife, I should still show some filial piety in front of my parents-in-law!"
"The road is not peaceful. Unless we send a regiment brother to pick them up, it is better to let them stay in Shanggu for safety!" Li Xu sighed and replied. He has sent more than 300 loyal soldiers to protect his family, but
If thieves came in large numbers, the thirty brothers and the dozens of servants sent by Tang Gong, no matter how good their martial arts skills were, would not be able to provide much protection. And he could not send more soldiers, as the court regulations did not allow it.
, Secondly, Master Zhang Xutuo also does not want his subordinates to abandon public service for personal reasons.
"When the war stops one day, you can take me home to visit relatives. That way you can bring more guards, and others won't be able to gossip!" Shi Erya raised his face and put himself in Xu Zi's shoes to give him advice.
.Her method is not very good, but it is indeed feasible. But will there be days without war in the future? Li Xu shook his head, with a wry smile on his face.
"What, you're going on an expedition again?" The body in her arms visibly stiffened, and then, a worried voice slowly rose from her shoulders. It penetrated into her ears, entangling the feeling of attachment in Xuzi's heart.
"Maybe he will be sent by the imperial court to destroy Wagang Village." Li Xu sighed again and said quietly. Today, he really wanted to find someone to chat with for a while, although Erya in his arms would not understand his difficulties.
"Wagang Village, isn't that far away from Qijun?" Sure enough, the first thing Shi Erya thought of was the distance between Qijun and Dongjun.
In her eyes, the distance of 800 miles is enough for both sides to avoid conflict. But Xuzi knows that this is impossible. If the expansion continues at the current rate, even if the county soldiers do not attack Wagang Village, Li Mi's minions will sooner or later.
Knock on the door.
"I don't want to go either, but I'm an official of the imperial court and I can't disobey the order!" Li Xu tightened his arms and replied in a low voice. He knew that the other party didn't like to hear the words "official army" and "bandit". It was too easy to let him down.
She thought of her past. But the fact was that he couldn't escape it.
The delicate body between his arms became harder little by little, and Li Xu could almost clearly feel the struggle in the other person's heart. Slowly, Shi Erya's body softened again, just like Xu Zi's heart, full of
Sadness and helplessness.
Two different streams of sadness intertwined and intertwined, slowly converging into a river, slowly engulfing the two of them. Language is no longer a necessary tool for communication. They have each other in the light, trying their best to forget the world outside them.
After the sound of wind and rain stopped, Erya hugged Xuzi's solid body with her hands, mustered up all her courage and asked: "Xu Lang, can you not be an official?"
As if he heard the thunder, all the muscles in Li Xu's body immediately stiffened. Not being an official of the imperial court? He had never thought about it. What would he do if he was not an official? Why did he work so hard for so many years? If he was not an official, how could he protect himself in these turbulent years?
His family? All the questions came one after another, and he couldn't find the answers for a while.
"I, I'm afraid!" Shi Erya put her head on Li Xu's chest, explaining in an urgent and aggrieved voice. "I don't want to delay your future, I'm afraid that one day you..." She didn't dare to continue.
He said, gritting his teeth and tears rolling down the other person's chest.
If that happens, she will have nothing. Although, she never owned anything, she just tried hard to hold on to a dream and didn't want it to break prematurely, that's all.
"I know you are thinking about me, but the method you said is not easy to do." Li Xu's heart was quickly softened by tears, he sighed and said softly. He silently followed this train of thought.
, When I left Yixian, my goal was just to be a county captain. Now, this goal has been achieved, why am I still more and more dissatisfied?
Suddenly, all the setbacks he had encountered in the officialdom came to his mind. He discovered that Erya's idea might be a way for him to get rid of the encounter with his friends, but in order to achieve this, he
The price to pay is too high.
"When the world is a little more peaceful, I will resign and take you back to your hometown in Yixian County. Well, there is one more thing I need to tell you!" Li Xu bent his head, looked at the black hair in his arms and said softly. He is about to leave.
Before, he wanted to tell Erya about another content in the letter. According to the warrior Xun, the fourth daughter of Tang Gong's family left her parents without saying goodbye with a few confidants. The public statement of Tang Gong's family was that she went to the capital to join her sister, but
The warrior Xun hinted in the letter that Li Qier might come straight to Licheng to fulfill his long-cherished wish.
"Tang Gong has a daughter," Li Xu thought hard about what to say. He had never seen what Li Zhe'er looked like. The warrior Yun said that she looked very similar to Wan'er, but since arriving in Qijun, Xuzi was so busy that even Wan'er
His appearance has almost been forgotten, so how can he piece together a figure in his mind that has never appeared before?
But no matter what, he had to settle down Zhen'er. Tang Gong was kind to him, and he couldn't let his benefactor's daughter live on the street. However, how to let Erya entertain this little murderer who was about to rush to the doorstep, especially with Tang Gong.
When marriage between public and private households has become an impossible goal, how to grasp the appropriateness of hospitality is really a headache.
Xuzi thought hard and tried to persuade Erya to help. But soon he found that he didn't have to exert any effort. The person in his arms was already asleep, as quiet as a cat, and a light snore came from his nostrils. (To be continued)
