Under the guidance of Qu Cheng, Zhao Hongrun and his party came to Yanling County. ([[[(?(?
Since Qu Cheng had sent soldiers to Yanling to report the news in advance, when Zhao Hongrun and his party arrived at Yanling, the county magistrate and officials from the county were waiting at the gate of Yanling.
The magistrate of Yanling County was called Peng Yi. He was in his thirties or forties. As soon as he saw this person, Zhao Hongrun felt that he looked familiar. He had a photographic memory and always felt that Magistrate Peng had seen him somewhere before.
After asking, Zhao Hongrun suddenly realized that this magistrate of Peng County was actually one of the five Chu nobles who ordered the Pingyang army to confiscate their family wealth when he led his army to attack Xiong Tuo, the king of Yangcheng. The head of the Peng family.
"Your Peng clan has also defected to Wei Dynasty?"
Zhao Hongrun was really surprised, because in his opinion, only the common people of Chu State would defect to Wei State. Unexpectedly, even the Peng family actually defected to Wei State.
You know, the Peng family had 90% of their property confiscated by the Pingyang Army.
After hearing Zhao Hongrun's inquiry, Peng Yi said respectfully: "Good birds choose trees to roost in. The Wei Dynasty has a wise royal family like you, Young Master Run. I believe that the country will become more and more prosperous..."
Peng Yijin said good things, but in fact, the Peng family defected to Wei because they were afraid that the Pingyang army would confiscate 90% of their family property and be squeezed dry by Xiong Tuo afterwards.
After all, before the war between Chu and Wei, the Peng family and several other nobles in Xiong Tuo's fiefdom did many things that made Xiong Tuo unhappy for the sake of profit. Originally, Xiong Tuo would have been worried about the joint resistance of the five nobles, and still He will tolerate them a little, and since Zhao Hongrun has led the Pingyang army to sweep through the castles of these nobles and kill all the servants who tried to resist, Xiong Tuo will still be afraid The resistance of these nobles?
You know, Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo is not a soft-hearted person, he is more ruthless than Zhao Hongrun.
So, Peng Yi took his family and defected to the Wei State. After all, in his opinion, Zhao Hongrun's army had already robbed them once, and logically they would not be able to rob them a second time. Furthermore, the political environment of the Wei State was also difficult. It is much better than Chu State. With only 10% of the family property left, the Peng family can take root in Yanling and slowly develop.
And if you stay in Chu State, you may really have the only way to die.
This is not Peng Yi's guess. In fact, after his Peng family took root in Yanling, he sent people to Chu State to inquire about it.
As expected, those small and medium-sized nobles who chose to stay in Chu State were all drained of their property by Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng. The previous channels of making a living were also taken over by Xiong Tuo and Xiong Hu.
Otherwise, how could Xiong Tuo have the money to buy grain and weapons from the Wei State, and quickly build a new army of 100,000 men?
After learning about this, the former Chu nobles who defected to the Wei State were all secretly lucky, because those nobles who chose to stay in the Chu State all fell victim to Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo's plan to build a new army. On the other hand, they, Although it was hard work to move to Yanling in Wei State, it took root in this county and quickly expanded again.
This is no wonder, after all, neither Zhao Hongrun nor the Wei court suppressed the nobles who defected from Chu, as long as these nobles obeyed the law.
No, the imperial court even asked these former Chu people to recommend themselves for the county magistrate positions in Yanling, Changping, and Shangshui. It can be said that they gave them generous treatment. I believe that the imperial court's practice is no less than buying horse bones for a thousand gold. , in the future, it will definitely attract some people who cannot be reused in other countries, so that talents from all over the world will continue to gather in Wei.
While chatting, Peng Yi and Qu Cheng invited Zhao Hongrun and his party to the county government office in the county.
Along the way, Peng Yi carefully accompanied Zhao Hongrun and was very respectful in his words and deeds. It was obvious that he was still full of fear of Zhao Hongrun.
This is no wonder. After all, Zhao Hongrun was far more intimidating than the Wei court in the southern part of Yingshui North County in Wei State, including the northern part of Yingshui South County in Chu State. After all, it was Zhao Hongrun nearby who defeated Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, with an outnumbered enemy. place, and fought all the way to the territory of Chu State.
But in fact, Zhao Hongrun still had a good impression of Peng Yi. After all, the Peng family obediently handed over all their property. In the end, Zhao Hongrun felt sorry and left them 10%. In other words, Peng Yi The clan is a people who are very aware of current affairs.
Of course, what impressed Zhao Hongrun most about Peng Yi was the current situation in the city that Zhao Hongrun saw with his own eyes after entering the city.
I remember that in order to plot against Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu, Zhao Hongrun asked the aboriginal people of Yanling to move to Anling and set a fire to burn Yanling. However, now, the buildings in the city have been roughly completed, and the public security situation in the city is not good. It also made Zhao Hongrun very satisfied.
In view of these two points, Zhao Hongrun didn't care whether Peng Yi was from Chu or whether he had any private dealings with Qu Cheng.
What? It seems that Peng Yi and Qu Cheng have nothing to do with each other?
Oh, without the support of Qu Cheng, who commanded 20,000 Yanling troops, would Peng Yi be able to become the magistrate of Yanling County today?
Of course, Zhao Hongrun didn't mind this. Anyway, whether it was Qu Cheng or Peng Yi, as long as they could manage Yanling well, Zhao Hongrun would not be stingy with one or two positions at all.
After arriving at the county government office in Yanling County, Peng Yi invited Zhao Hongrun to the county and ordered the chef to serve the wine and dishes he had prepared.
Zhao Hongrun discovered with great interest that although the newly built county government office in Yanling County resembled the architecture of the Wei State, it had a strong Chu style.
Well, to be precise, the buildings in Yanling County now generally have a strong Chu style. No, Zhao Hongrun saw several times that the buildings and furnishings of the county government were carved with figures that looked like gods and monsters. There are similar images, which the Wei State does not have.
In addition to the belief in the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother, the Wei State only has the dragon flying above the auspicious clouds, the legendary Qilin that rules the earth, and the most common tiger on the army flag.
As for the Chu State, there are many strange mythical beasts such as fire phoenixes and giant tortoises, and there are even many images of gods that resemble humanoids in certain parts.
Perhaps noticing that Zhao Hongrun was using a lot of decorative carvings, Peng Yi quickly explained: "Your Highness, King Su, don't be surprised. We originally wanted to follow the local customs and build buildings with the customs of the Wei Dynasty, but your country...ah no, It’s some people in our great Wei Dynasty, they... are not willing to help us, so they can only..."
Looking at the wry smile on Peng Yi's face, Zhao Hongrun understood immediately.
Obviously, Peng Yi and others originally planned to find some Wei people to consult them on the architectural style of the Wei state. However, after thinking about it, it is clear that the Wei people in Zhaoling, Anling, Huaiyang and other places around Yanling, because the Chu and Wei How could you help them build the buildings in the city if you hate these Chu people because of the war?
"It doesn't matter. Since I, the Wei Dynasty, have accepted you and others, I, the Wei Dynasty, will naturally tolerate your culture and customs." Zhao Hongrun said with a smile, showing the tolerance of a big country, showing the magnanimity of a great noble.
And this was one of the reasons why Peng Yi was respectful to Zhao Hongrun. After all, Zhao Hongrun was born into the largest noble family in the Wei Kingdom and was a descendant of the royal family surnamed Ji. In Chu, the homeland of Peng Yi and others, only the Xiong family with the surname Mi could compare with him.
If you were a commoner from a certain background, I believe that even if you defeat the Chu people, the Chu people who value their bloodline may not really surrender.
There is no way, the nobility of blood has already penetrated deeply into the hearts of Chu people. It may seem invisible, but it is something more powerful than strength.
After three drinks, Zhao Hongrun told Peng Yi the main purpose of his trip south. He frankly told Peng Yi that he came here specifically to resolve the dispute between the people of Yanling County and Anling County.
.
Hearing this, Peng Yi showed some hesitation on his face. After thinking about it, he raised his hands and said to Zhao Hongrun: "King Su, the fault for this matter does not lie with us, the people of Yanling, but with Anling... It's too much.
Got it!"
Zhao Hongrun had known that Peng Yi would do this. Hearing this, he smiled and said: "Okay, okay, I also know about it. In fact, in my opinion, this matter is due to the grievances between the two parties, which escalated the misunderstanding step by step, so it was
It just leads to disputes."
Hearing this, Peng Yi and Qu Cheng looked at each other, and then cautiously asked Zhao Hongrun: "Prince Su, can you tell me frankly what you know?"
Zhao Hongrun was a little puzzled when he heard this, and said in confusion: "Isn't it because two groups of people went up to the mountain to hunt at first, and they accidentally bumped into each other, and they started fighting..." He then told Peng Yi what he had heard.
Unexpectedly, after Peng Yi listened quietly, he was silent for a moment, and then said to Zhao Hongrun: "No, King Su, the conflict between Yanling and Anling is not just a conflict as King Su knows.
farce."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Hongrun frowned.
"First." Peng Yi raised a finger and said sternly: "I, the people of Yanling County, went up to the mountains to hunt. What I bumped into were not ordinary people from Anling, but nobles from Anling. Secondly, those people from Yanling County
The people did not argue with them about whether this mountain belonged to Yanling or Anling as His Highness said. In fact, it was the group of Anling nobles who cursed the people of our county as defeated untouchables and indulged their servants.
Its killing..."
"Kill him?" Zhao Hongrun frowned even more tightly.
"Yes." Peng Yi nodded and said seriously: "Five people, four dead and one seriously injured." After that, he paused and continued: "The seriously injured person is a member of my noble family in Yanling.
Although the son had lost his noble position after defecting to the Wei Dynasty, he still had some servants following him. After the son fled back to the county, he died of his injuries not long after."
"..."
"The surname of that family is Gong. Gong comes from Duanmu, and Duanmu comes from Mi. The head of the family is called Gong You. He has three sons, the eldest son is named Ying, the second son is named Fu, and the one who died is his youngest son, named You. . . .
Gong Ying and Gong Fu brothers were both brave and took their servants to seek revenge. They lurked in the hills for three months and finally waited for the group of nobles. The two brothers and their servants came out together. However,
The nobleman escaped. Afterwards, the magistrate of Anling County sent someone to ask me for the murderer. I knew that once the two brothers Gong Ying and Gong Fu were handed over to Anling, the two brothers would die, so I refused.
However, that nobleman brought his troops to the outside of Yanling County to beg the murderer. He said that if he did not hand over the murderer, he would break into the city. At that time, brothers Gong Ying and Gong Fu were so angry that they led their men to kill outside the city. Both sides
There was a bloody battle outside the county... At that time, the Yanling Army was transferred to Dangshan, and I had no choice but to send people to Shangshui to seek help from the Shangshui Army. Fortunately, General Wuma arrived in time, otherwise the casualties on both sides would be even greater."
"Mutual casualties?" Zhao Hongrun frowned. As far as he knew, it was just a farce and there were no casualties.
"Yes, there were about 1,300 casualties from each other," Peng Yi said in a deep voice.
Hearing this, Zhao Hongrun's eyes showed horror and he said in disbelief: "How come there are so many?...Where is the Anling County Magistrate? As far as I know, he has sent county soldiers."
Peng Yi snorted softly when he heard this and said mockingly: "The Anling County magistrate did send county soldiers, but he did not intervene and just watched from the sidelines. I even suspected that these county soldiers were clearly to support the Anling nobleman.
Come."
"That's unreasonable!"
Zhao Hongrun slammed the table, knocking the wine bottle to the ground, and the wine spilled all over the floor.
"Peng Yi, is what you said true?"
"Every word is true!" Peng Yi said with cupped hands: "If King Su doesn't believe it, you can ask General Wuma Jiao. If you still don't believe it, you can ask any citizen of Yanling County."
"Okay!" Zhao Hongrun nodded, looked at Peng Yi and said in a deep voice: "If you have half-truths, I will kill you when I find out about this matter; if you are truthful, I will stand up for you Yan Ling! ...
…Do you dare to agree on this matter with me?”
"Dare!" Peng Yi said sternly, cupping his fists.
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun looked deeply at Peng Yi, then stood up suddenly and walked out of the hall with his sleeves fluttering.
"Let's go! Wei Jiao, go to Anling!"
"yes!"
Wei Jiao and other five clan guards followed closely. (To be continued.) 8