There is draft everywhere in the dilapidated house, and winter nights are particularly cold.
From time to time, bursts of crying and wailing sounds could be heard in the county town. It was because bandits were wreaking havoc and relatives of a certain family were being bullied.
But under the general situation, who would dare to act righteously?
All we hope for is that the imperial army will arrive soon, drive away the rebels, and restore order to the past.
Jin Dayong curled up in a pile of hay, wrapped in a wet and cold quilt, and gradually fell asleep.
The biting cold wind outside the house made a banging sound against the doors and windows. He was vaguely awakened, but he vaguely heard someone calling his name.
"Jin Dayong, Jin Dayong~!" The voice sounded far and near, with a somewhat majestic air.
"Is Jin Dayong here? Is Jin Dayong here?"
The voice seemed to come outside the door, and the strong wind slapped the door, as if someone was about to come in.
"Who is calling me outside the door?" Jin Dayong stood up in a daze and wanted to open the door.
"Bang~!"
But a gust of wind came, and the door was suddenly blown open. Suddenly, a cloud of smoke rolled up in front of the eyes, and the person who was blown by it could hardly open his eyes.
There seemed to be a ball of golden light emerging at the gate, and in the golden light there were officials from the imperial court. Soldiers in armor stood there. A young official headed by him suddenly took out a document and said: "Jin Dayong, King Li Liangjin of the Nine Mountains is here."
Did you kill him?"
"I killed him." Jin Dayong didn't feel scared and replied directly.
The official said: "Did you know that whoever kills Li Liangjin, the king of the Nine Mountains, will be rewarded with a thousand gold? You came home before you received the reward. Now I have sent you the reward. Come on, please move in."
"Yes, sir."
Several soldiers behind him responded with clasped fists, and then they saw two men in black armor walking out of the golden light. Each of them carried a box into the house, and then put it down.
"This is a thousand taels of gold, the reward for killing Li Liangjin. In addition, there are two quilts and three pieces of brocade cloth here, which are the hatchets I paid you back." The official said: "The rewards and goods have been
I have delivered it to you. I hope you will take care of yourself. Bandits and soldiers are raging in the county here. Please be careful.
It can be exposed, otherwise it will easily lead to trouble. Remember, remember."
Jin Dayong nodded subconsciously to express his understanding. He looked at the two boxes and saw that a smaller box contained gold and silver, exuding gold and silver light, and the larger box contained soft brocade quilts and silk satins.
It was something that only wealthy people could afford. Ordinary people like him had been wearing burlap clothes all their lives, and had never even touched such brocade quilts or silks.
"My mission has been completed, let's go."
At this time, Jin Dayong saw the official waving his hand, then leading the soldiers, getting on the carriage and horse outside the door, and gradually leaving.
The golden light outside the door also quickly disappeared, disappearing as the official left.
"Huhu~!"
The wind howled, and the broken door suddenly slammed shut again, plunging the house into darkness.
"Ah~!"
Jin Dayong, who was sleeping in the haystack, suddenly trembled all over and sat up suddenly, with cold sweat on his forehead and breathing heavily.
"I was scared to death. It turned out to be a dream. I thought officials really came here at night and knocked on the door." Jin Dayong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He looked at the door, only to find that it was still bolted.
, and there is no trace of being opened.
I glanced at the window outside the house, only to find that there was no one outside, and there was no movement at all.
Sure enough, it was just an extremely real strange dream before.
Jin Dayong calmed down and was about to go back to sleep. The moment he lay down, he suddenly saw two large boxes in the room. At this moment, the box was opened, and he vaguely saw a box containing
Thousands of gold and silver, a box containing brocade quilts, silk
satin.
It was exactly the same as the reward that the official in the dream said he wanted to give him.
"No, it can't be." Jin Dayong panicked for a moment, and a cold sweat broke out from his back.
The dream I had before was not fake, but real.
He swallowed his saliva, got up and touched it out of curiosity and fear. When he came to the two boxes, he reached out and touched them. The heavy gold and silver, the soft and smooth silks and brocade quilts all told him that this was not a box.
It was an illusory dream, but it actually happened before my eyes.
"This really contains one thousand taels of gold, two brocade quilts, and three pieces of silk and satin." Jin Dayong counted the treasures inside, but found that they were exactly the same as in his dream.
After the color of fear and fear gradually faded away, the color of excitement and joy was indeed replaced.
The reason why he didn't exchange Li Liangjin's head for reward was not because he didn't like money, but because he didn't want to be a seller seeking glory.
Now that money has been delivered to his home, how could he not want it?
"Ahem, Da, Da Yong, why are you still up so late? Did someone come here just now? How did I hear someone calling your name?" Suddenly, the father-in-law in the house woke up at night and said something.
.
Jin Dayong said hurriedly: "No, no one has been here. It was me who was dreaming and talking in my sleep."
"Oh, then go to bed quickly. The weather is very cold. I don't know if my old bones can survive this winter. Ahem." My father-in-law said again.
Seeing this, Jin Dayong hurriedly took a brocade quilt and sent it into the room inside: "My father-in-law, please don't say such unlucky words. I want to provide for you until the end of your life. You will definitely be able to survive this winter."
"If you can get through this year, what will you do next year? The business in the county has been ruined, and some food in the house has been looted by the bandits. Hey, Dayong, where did you get this quilt? Why is it so warm? This material is not
Ordinary people have it, so what did you do at night?" The father-in-law raised his head in surprise and asked.
Jin Dayong didn't know how to lie to get through it, so he had to bite the bullet and said: "I killed Li Liangjin, and the officials of the imperial court rewarded me with a thousand taels of gold, which I keep in the house."
The father-in-law was not doubtful, but said happily: "You are promising, you are promising. I have received so many rewards, including gold and silk. Why don't I give you an official position?"
"I'm just a thief. How can I be an official? I'll be content with the reward."
"Yes, yes, if you become a thief, you won't be able to be an official in the future, so you have to be a decent person, but if you live a good life, who would be willing to be a thief?" The father-in-law sighed: "By the way,
, how much is one thousand taels of gold?”
"It can last a lifetime."
"That's terrible, that's terrible. You have to think carefully about the flowers. You have to retreat and buy a decent house, find a wife, and buy dozens of acres of fertile land. From now on, you will be more prosperous than that landlord. Dayong, you are poor.
This time in half my life, I have finally become prosperous. No, no, no, the traitors haven’t retreated yet.
Well, Dayong, don't sleep now, go and hide your money, don't be discovered by the thieves, otherwise they will all be robbed."
The father-in-law said with emotion and relief, then suddenly remembered something and reminded him urgently.
"My father-in-law reminds me that I will hide the money right now."
Jin Dayong was so excited that he couldn't sleep at all. He hurriedly dug a hole in the house and buried the gold and silver. He also buried several more places to avoid being taken away by the whole family.
After he finished his work, it was almost dawn, so he returned to the house and said, "My father-in-law, I have already hidden you. It's tight."
My father-in-law was curled up in the warm brocade quilt, sleeping soundly and sweetly.
It's been a long time since he had such a peaceful sleep.
Jin Dayong did not disturb his father-in-law's rest. He walked out of the house, preparing to get some food and drink. When he just walked to the street, he heard the golden bell ringing in the city, and thieves rushed from all directions in panic.
Come and go towards the city gate.
"Which leader are you from? What are you doing standing there? The imperial troops are surrounding the city. If you don't come to support quickly, do you want to defect?" When a small leader saw Jin Dayong, he shouted angrily, drew his sword and strode forward.
Come.
"I am..." Before Jin Dayong could answer, he heard a loud noise from the city gate.
"The city gate is broken, the city gate is broken, and the people of the imperial court are coming to kill them." When the thieves who had not rushed to support heard this cry, they turned around and ran away in fright.
When the leader saw the thieves on the street, he turned around and ran away. He was so frightened that he dropped his knife and ran away with him. As for Jin Dayong, who would care about him?
Jin Dayong didn't run away. He was no longer a traitor. This was also his home. Why would he run away now that the imperial troops were coming?
About a moment later, the crisp sound of iron hoofs stamping on the ground came from that direction of the street, and at the same time, the screams of thieves came. In every direction in the city, there were cavalry wearing golden armor and holding long spears.
Recruit surrender and kill the bandits wandering around the city.
"Tap~!"
A group of cavalry walked along the avenue, headed by a young man wearing black scales and a sword hanging from his waist. He was riding a slender, dragon-like horse.
He said nothing and looked straight ahead.
An aura of majesty that was difficult to discern emanated, making people afraid to look directly at him.
"General, be careful, there is another thief." A soldier next to him suddenly saw Jin Dayong and thought he was here to assassinate the general. He immediately threw the spear in his hand. With a whistling sound, the spear went straight towards Jin Dayong.
go.
Jin Dayong suddenly came to his senses, and just wanted to dodge, but it was too late, the spear had already flown in front of him.
Buzz~!
However, when he closed his eyes, he did not feel pain, but heard a buzzing sound.
When he opened his eyes, he saw that the young general had arrived on horseback without knowing it, holding the flying spear firmly in his hand.
"Are you Jin Dayong?" Li Xiuyuan glanced at him and recognized this person.
"Yes, yes." Jin Dayong said in shock.
Li Xiuyuan said: "Nine Mountain King Li Liangjin died in your hands? It's good. You killed him but didn't take his head to receive the reward. This shows that you didn't kill him because of money. If it wasn't money, it would be hatred.
Yes, you dare to take revenge, which shows that you have extraordinary courage. You really live up to your name.
But you should not walk around in the streets wearing the clothes of a thief, otherwise my men will kill you as a thief."
After saying that, he threw it away casually and threw back the spear in his hand.
After the soldier took it, he said shamefully: "General, it was a small mistake."
"I don't blame you. You were worried about my safety. How can you be wrong?" Li Xiuyuan got on his horse and continued: "Jin Dayong, I still have a lot of things to do, so I won't chat with you, but your courage makes me proud.
I admire you and you are worthy of my praise."
After saying that, he turned around and shouted: "The word was spread three times in the city that the person who killed Li Liangjin, the king of the Nine Mountains, was Jin Dayong from this county."
"The general has an order. Please pass the message three times. The one who will kill Li Liangjin, the king of the Nine Mountains, is Jin Dayong from this county." Immediately, a soldier on Pegasus sent the message.
Then similar words were heard from other directions in the county. It was the soldiers under his command shouting on Pegasus: The general has sent word that the person who killed Li Liangjin, the king of the Nine Mountains, was Jin Dayong from this county.
"The general sent word that the person who killed Li Liangjin, the king of the Nine Mountains, was Jin Dayong from this county."
The sound rang over and over again, echoing throughout the county. After being sung three times, it gradually calmed down.
Li Xiuyuan glanced at Jin Dayong, then rode the dragon horse and led the soldiers away along the street.
Jin Dayong felt his blood boiling all over as he listened to his name being sung from all directions in the county. He seemed to have suddenly become a celebrity in the county.
At this moment, he felt that many people in the nearby village looked at him with wrong eyes, with admiration, respect, and envy.
For ordinary people, it is such an honor for a general of the imperial court to have his name chanted in the army. Although it is not enough to honor the ancestors, he is still considered a prominent figure in this county. He will be criticized wherever he goes.
respect.
The fate of a poor man who is looked down upon by others will completely change after today.
"Thank you, General." Jin Dayong knelt down and kowtowed in the direction where Li Xiuyuan left.
But Li Xiuyuan walked too far, and I don't know if he heard it or not.
"A reward of a thousand gold coins, a pardon for innocent people, and a roll call in the county. The general treated Jin Dayong too kindly." A Dutong said somewhat sourly.
Li Xiuyuan said without looking back: "If you can kill Li Liangjin, I will give you the same treatment. Not only that, I will also give you a promotion and lead an army."
As soon as these words came out, all those under his command opened their eyes wide and suddenly became excited.
"General, can you take this seriously?"
"There are no jokes in the army, so of course we take it seriously. But if you want to earn this credit, you may have no chance. There has not been another Nine Mountain King in the world yet."
"Aren't there four leaders under Li Liangjin who are still alive? Does it count if the general takes their heads?"
"The four major leaders? The water thief Chen Gongzi, the big thief Shi Hu, the White Lotus Sect Hua Gu, and the Maitreya Sect King Ze? Put away your naive ideas. They are more difficult to deal with than the Nine Mountains King Li Liangjin. They are not something you can compete with, and the Maitreya Sect
Wang Ze has been executed, and only the three chief thieves are left. These people I
I will personally take action to deal with it. If any of you dare to attack without permission, I will kill you without mercy." After saying this, he looked cold.
He doesn't want the people under his command to be greedy for credit and be taken over by these thousand-year-old demons.
To deal with these things, victory cannot be achieved by relying on large numbers of soldiers, but by fighting skills.
"Yes, General." The commanders under his command were shocked. They didn't know why the General paid so much attention to the four major thieves.
Li Xiuyuan said in a calm tone: "Let's stop chatting. I'll leave the second battalion behind. One of the staff will go to the county to deal with the aftermath. I'll go and take down a city with the others."
After saying that, he quickly led the army to leave the county and attack the next city occupied by bandits.