The King of Qi sent troops to capture the Cui clan in Qinghe County, but they were caught in the act after only half a day's journey.
The superiors originally ordered to go back quickly, but the implication was to arrest people at the place and leave. The leading general accepted a bribe from the Cui family and stayed in Qinghe for one night. Fearing that he would be criticized by his superiors for being late when he returned, he hurried on hard and the soldiers were tired.
They continued to feel sleepy after noon. From a distance, they saw a house on the roadside in front of them. It was the same restaurant they had visited yesterday, so they stopped to take a rest.
A prisoner gave the soldier in front of the prison car a piece of silver and asked him to ask the general to come and talk. The general walked to the prison car. The prisoners inside were two young men in their early twenties. The one who spoke had a straight nose, a broad mouth and a square mouth.
At first glance, he looked like a good man, but the other one seemed to be sulking. The man stretched out a hand lowly from the prison car. The general understood and reached over, taking a jade plaque from the prisoner's hand. The prisoner whispered: "This is
The villain's grandfather was given it by the late emperor when he was young." The general trembled and tightened his grip on the jade plaque. The prisoner added, "I am all tired and thirsty. I beg the general to allow the villain to buy some tea as well. The place where the tea is sold must be there.
There is a well. If hot tea is not enough, well water will be enough."
The general took a closer look at the jade plaque, which was carved from the finest mutton-fat white jade. There were orchids on the front and two lines of poetry engraved on the back. He couldn't read the characters very well, and he couldn't make out what was written after looking at it for a long time. The whole jade plaque was completely devoid of moisture.
Xia Zi nodded and took it away, ready to go back to his son. He then said with a smile: "It's been a hard day traveling on the road today. Anyway, I'll get you some water to drink."
When I entered the restaurant, I saw that there were still three or four groups of guests resting here. The owner went to the back kitchen to check, and the waiters were still the same as yesterday. The hot tea would be enough for the soldiers to quench their thirst, and the prisoners could only drink from the well even if they were given money.
Water. Fortunately, these prisoners had no complaints and all thanked the official for the water. The general secretly praised the Cui family for being a rich family and that the people were very sensible. After a while, he saw that all the soldiers' eyes widened and saliva flowed from the corners of their mouths.
You pulled me back and I fell down. The general thought, "No," and got up. Unexpectedly, he himself was dizzy and fell down with a "plop". His heart was clear, and his body was numb and unable to move.
The guy exclaimed: "What's going on!"
"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious, it has nothing to do with your shop." Then he saw a man coming out from the back of the restaurant and said with a smile, "If you don't open for half a year, you will eat for half a year after opening. This guy comes from Cui's house, and he will definitely receive benefits from others.
Guys, search carefully!" All the merchants responded "Yes."
A merchant said: "Your Majesty, what should we do with those in the prison car? They are all sober."
The king glanced at him: "What should I do with it? The best goods, the men will be sold to South America, and the women will be sold to the Kingdom of Wu. They must have a lot of valuables with them, even their clothes are made of good materials, and they will all be safe."
The state is sold.”
Another merchant said: "In my opinion, there are not many of them. Call all the brothers over, strip off the clothes of these Eagle Claw grandsons and let us wear them. How about we become officers and soldiers for a time? Your Majesty, we also want to be a general for a time."
The king sat on the table with his legs crossed and leaned over to look at the general's wife. He said leisurely: "Interesting, that's it." The merchants cheered and swarmed up and stripped off Qi Jun's uniform. At that time, Qi Jun was not completely unconscious.
They just stared at each other with their eyes open.
Several of the guys' legs had gone weak, and they knelt down and begged for mercy: "You good men, don't have anything to do with villains!"
The king smiled and said: "Although it has nothing to do with you, we still think the government is noisy. Just wait a moment, we will let you go after we finish the business." He ordered the younger ones to be tied up. Someone else pushed the boss who was already tied up.
He came out and left him with the men. He heard a cry of father and mother, and the officers and soldiers fell asleep one after another.
It was already afternoon when they woke up, and they found that all of them were lying on the official road, and the prison car and horses were missing. The general was so frightened that he felt cold all over. He looked around, but there was no trace of the banknote box, but the jade plaque he had just obtained was still there. He
I had my suspicions that it was the Cui family's fault, but such an important jade token was not taken away? It seemed that it was not the case anymore. When I returned to the restaurant, not one of the boss's waiters was left, and there was still money on the counter. Although it was a waste of time.
, still had to go back to resume his life. The general collected the money from the restaurant and led his people back to the capital in dejection.
Mr. Lu was shocked when he heard the report. He slapped the case and yelled: "We encountered a black shop?! Please explain it from the beginning!"
The general said with a bitter face: "I ate there when I went, it was good; who would have thought of being targeted by thieves." Not daring to hide it, he replied carefully from the beginning, and finally took out the jade token from his arms.
Liu Zhuang walked out from behind the screen, took a look, and said, "The late Emperor ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to make a December flower card made of mutton-fat white jade. Could it be this one? I heard that the Empress Dowager has a peony one."
Mr. Lu wondered: "Mr. Liu still knows this?"
Liu Zhuang smiled and said: "I grew up in the palace, and I am familiar with every brick and tile in the Forbidden City." Mr. Lu was stunned. Liu Zhuang continued, "But I have never seen this. I wonder if the prince has seen it.
, take it to trouble the old man to recognize it."
Mr. Lu thought for a moment and said: "Even if it is truly a gift from the late emperor, it may not be the work of the Cui family."
Liu Zhuang said: "South America is too far away. Send people to Wu Guoren City to find out if they can buy their women. Then go to Ping'an Prefecture... Ping'an Prefecture is a bit difficult. Most of the shops have sold stolen goods." He thought for a while.
, "Everyone in the country, except the Yan State, has people in the market. Why do you want to sell it to the South American Wu State? Aren't the Lu and Chu states all closer? Japan is also the closest overseas."
Master Lu unconsciously let him lead him away: "Is it possible that the thief is a native of Wu?"
The escorting general immediately shouted: "Sir! The thief has a Wuyue accent!"
Another soldier who accompanied him in to testify said: "The king has a Qi accent, and the minions who suggested pretending to be officers and soldiers have a Wuyue accent. I also heard a Shu accent."
Liu Zhuang smiled and said: "If it is really the crime of thieves and bandits from all over the country, the Cui family is responsible for it. These people were originally scattered in various countries, but they were gathered here. Now that the Cui family has fallen, the Green Forest people immediately turned against their master. The true justice of heaven is clear retribution.
accurate."
Mr. Lu stroked his beard and sighed, saying apologetically: "It's just that the prince agreed to Mr. Liu's business..."
Liu Zhuang said: "Whatever you have, it is not short of the prince's money. If there are still criminal officials in the future, no matter how big or small, just keep it for my sister."
Mr. Lu smiled and said, "Sister, you have such great courage."
Liu Zhuang said: "My sister knows the goods. What use can a rough villager do? Scholars are of great use. Besides, England is an island, the palace is like a fortress, and the Westerners outside the palace cannot understand Chinese, and the whole of Europe is at war all the year round.
Even if they have a hundred thousand tricks, they can't come up with any tricks. They have no choice but to help my sister with all their heart."
Mr. Lu sighed: "This trip involves many of my old colleagues, and I can't bear it. Although it is going overseas... it is a way out. Sure enough, God has a good life."
Liu Zhuang said with a smile: "It can be considered as a beard."
Mr. Lu immediately nodded repeatedly, clapped his hands and said: "Not bad, not bad! It's also a Hu Hu!"
Then he took the jade plaque and sent it to King Qi for viewing. King Qi took a look and found that it was indeed one of the sets made by the late emperor. He himself had seen the osmanthus flower on the late emperor when he was young. There is a poem by Prince Yi Zhong.
For doing well, the late emperor gave him a piece of plum blossom. King Qi couldn't help but marveled: This thing is so precious that the Cui family's children actually used it to exchange water with the escorting officers and soldiers. Nai rubbed it for a long time and admired it, and he liked it very much. Mr. Lu looked at him.
, then he knew that the Cui family was not responsible for the matter. There were many doubts at first and he could have investigated further, but now he simply gave up. Not only was the general not blamed for presenting the jade token, but he was also rewarded with two boxes of snacks. His life was very exciting.
.
At the other end, the Yan army robbed the prison car and turned into a small road. The mountain king just now was Liu Xiaoqi. Jia Cong was pretending to be an ordinary soldier and rode in front of him. He sang along with the mountain wind: "The river flows eastward.
Wow, the stars in the sky join the Beidou." All the soldiers joined in and said, "Hey, hey, hey, join the Big Dipper. A bowl of wine is the friend of life and death." It was very lively.
After walking around for a long time, there was a forest in front of them. Liu Xiaoqi asked everyone to stop. It was not until this moment that he opened the prison car with a knife and released everyone in the Cui family. The young man who had just presented the jade plaque got out of the car and moved around.
Jin Gu sighed, "It's only now that I dared to believe that you are really here to save us." Shen Zhimo stepped forward to comfort the women and children.
The soldiers worked together and chopped all the prison cars into pieces. Rubber tires were very expensive, and the prison cars had wooden wheels, which were also chopped into pieces. With the strength of the people, more than 80 prison cars disappeared soon after. The soldiers were throwing firewood away.
Entering the woods, they suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves on the road. The Cui family were so scared that they paralyzed. Liu Xiaoqi smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, the ones who fought are back."
When they were cleaning up Qi's army just now, they sent two groups of brothers to fight at both ends of the official road to prevent passers-by from coming in. Everyone singing the hero song was a signal, telling the brothers on both sides that they could call it a day. Then they had to move the people on the path.
It took some effort to smooth out the wheel marks, so we just arrived now.
After hearing the reason, the young man from the Cui family put his hands on his hands and said, "What a sophisticated strategy."
Liu Xiaoqi proudly handed over his hand: "It's just a small trick."
The young man asked: "Everyone, how dare you conclude that the officers and soldiers will stop for tea there?"
Liu Xiaoqi said: "Firstly, they had checked out the restaurant when they came here, so they are quite relieved; secondly..." He smiled, "When you were having lunch, I put medicine in the general's water bag, and he
Will be thirsty."
The young man nodded: "That's it."
A seven or eight-year-old boy suddenly said loudly: "Since you adults are so capable, why don't you just kill him?"
Liu Xiaoqi frowned slightly. Jia Cong asked: "Why do you want to kill him?"
The boy said confidently: "He is a bad person."
"Do you know him? Do you know his name?"
The boy was stunned: "I don't know."
"Then why do you say he is a bad person?"
Just as the boy was about to speak, the young man hurriedly pushed him away: "He is still young and doesn't know anything."
Jia Cong said sternly: "So you should teach him. Human life is at stake. That general is just an errand. Seriously speaking, is it because your grandfather and brother committed a crime when you put them in the prison car? He is the innocent one. Again.
Or, as someone who can outwit me, I always oppose a strong enemy, which will damage my own strength." He glanced at the boy, "The Wu army is all equipped with muskets. The life of any one of our soldiers is worth more than the two hundred of you put together.
If there is any risk, I will not meddle in this nosy matter. Qi soldiers are also ordinary people. They all have families and children, and there is nothing wrong with them. If you want to live in Yan State, you must first remember two things: First, Yan State has no
Lower-class people, scholars, peasants, industrialists and merchants are all equal. Second, human life in the Yan Kingdom is very important, and every life is equally important. In the Yan Kingdom, killing someone requires a life. Even if you are the son of a wealthy family and kill an illiterate mud-legged man,
You have to die for him. If you can't do it, just stay in Qi or change your route to Chu."
Liu Xiaoqi said: "Yan State has opened adult literacy classes for many years. It is not easy to find people who are illiterate."
A woman in her thirties slowly walked out from the crowd of the Cui family. She looked like she was a widow. She stepped forward and said, "I know that there must be differences between Yan and Qi. I have to die if you save me."
If I escape, I will never act arrogantly again. I beg you, noble one, to calm down."
"It's okay. You need to get used to it for a while. If you can't get used to it, leave again." Jia Cong said, "Let me warn you first, there are too many differences between the Yan State and the Qi State. For example, no one in the Yan State will think that you are loyal if you are a widow.
Being virtuous is a good thing. Others will only guess whether you have a particularly good relationship with your ex-husband that makes you look down on other men. If you wear plain clothes, others will not know that you are a widow. They will only think that you like plain clothes.
The widows of Yan State do not wear plain clothes, and they wear whatever they like. Also, Yan State does not want women to stay at home and take care of the housework, and will use all possible means to drive all women out to work. Men and women also work together at work. Your
If a male colleague falls in love with you, he will definitely pursue you. Most of his colleagues or neighbors will agree, and even do him a favor and advise you to marry him. Your husband's family has no right to say no, because your marriage is
Your own affairs have nothing to do with them. The same goes for your daughter. Neither father nor brother has the right to choose whom to marry his daughter or sister. You have to make your own decisions about marriage." He glanced at everyone in the Cui family and said, "Please be mentally prepared.
.Many families have moved away from Beijing in the past few years, but most of them have adapted. Naturally, there are more immigrants from other countries. You, Qi State, know this better than we do."
The expressions of everyone in the Cui family suddenly changed. After a while, an old woman shouted: "This is unreasonable!"
Jia Cong shrugged and said: "In the early years, Yan State collected the land tax from the prince's family, and there were more complaints than this. Not even a copper coin was collected."
The young man frowned and said, "Why do you have to break the rules so much? Aren't you afraid of chaos in the world?"
"Is it chaos?" Jia Cong asked, "Is it chaos in Yan, or chaos in Taiwan? Is it chaos in Guangdong and Guangxi, or chaos in Jiangxi? Aren't these places getting better and better? Qi State abides by ethics and has national strength.
Isn’t it getting weaker and weaker? Young people, practice is the only criterion for testing truth.”
A woman in the crowd shouted: "Don't go to Yan State! Go to Chu State!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a girl of fifteen or sixteen years old ran out, shouting as she ran: "Sir, is what you just said true?"
Jia Cong said: "Of course it's true."
The girl said: "If they go to Chu State, I want to go to Yan State with you, is that okay?"
The woman shouted: "Second girl, come back!"
Jia Cong ignored her. "Of course!"
The girl raised her face: "I don't want to have a marriage arranged by my family, is that okay?"