Chapter two hundred and sixty second ominous place
During the Xinmang period, there were twelve states, 116 counties, and 1,500 to 600 counties in the country. Each county had a county seat and several villages.
In addition, due to geography, climate or other reasons, people sometimes migrate to a certain place to settle down, and gather in larger numbers. Such places are usually called so-and-so gatherings.
Nanjiuju, Xiaochanganju and Yiqiuju in Nanyang County all belong to this type. The place where Liu Xiu will set up an ambush this time is Yiqiuju.
Yiqiuju is located on the northeastern bank of the Tang River, upstream of Pingshi County. The local people at most times exceeded a thousand, but currently there are less than 500 people. Some make a living by fishing, while others make a living by farming.
Because Yiqiuju is next to the Tang River, it has very rich water resources and fertile land. When droughts continued in the world, it was less affected. This is why Yiqiuju was able to gather thousands of people in the first place.
It's just that during Wang Mang's reign, especially in the later period of Wang Mang's reign, Wang Mang's mind was short-circuited and he became more and more stupid. On the basis of various exorbitant taxes, salt tax, iron tax and other miscellaneous taxes were added.
Anyone who fails to pay taxes will be punished with a serious crime, and places outside the formal establishment like So-and-so Ju have become areas hardest hit by tax revenue.
Today one county government sends people to collect taxes, and tomorrow another county government sends people to collect taxes. Exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes are repeatedly levied. Even when the crops are harvested, the people live in poverty and often go hungry.
Due to heavy taxation, Yiqiuju gradually became depressed and its population decreased rapidly, from thousands of people to about 300 people now.
Lu Zhi rested in Pingshi County for less than two days, and then took more than 500 surviving county troops, crossed the Tang River at the Pingshi County Ferry, and marched northwest along the banks of the Tang River.
In the evening of that day, the team marched to the vicinity of Yiqiuju.
As Lu Zhi was walking forward, a soldier ran towards him. When he came to Lu Zhi, he stepped in and saluted, saying: "General, five miles ahead is Yiqiuju."
"Hmm." Lu Zhi looked at the scout who came back to report the news and asked, "Is there anything unusual about Yiqiu Ju?"
The scout bowed and said: "Reporting to the general, no abnormality was found!"
"I know, let's investigate again and report again!"
The scout stepped in and took the order, then ran forward again.
Lu Zhi was cautious. Even though there were only about 500 defeated soldiers left, he still marched in a measured manner. Before the army arrived, the scouts arrived first to explore everything ahead.
The five-mile journey was approaching in a blink of an eye. Lu Zhi led a group of subordinates and entered Yiqiuju.
Walking on the street, you can see that this place was once prosperous.
There are many shops on both sides of the street, and many of them are two-story buildings. However, they are now dilapidated and have not been operated for an unknown period of time. The doors and windows of some shops are rotten.
Lu Zhi sighed secretly. When he saw Yiqiuju, he felt like he saw all parts of the country. They were once prosperous and prosperous, but now they are in a state of desolation and smoke.
The imperial court was now like a broken ship riddled with holes. Water kept pouring in, and there was no way it could be drained out. And he was sinking along with this broken ship.
It was not dark yet, and Lu Zhi suddenly stopped. The generals around him stepped forward and asked in confusion: "General, what's wrong?"
"Something's wrong here!" Lu Zhi looked around deeply and said in a deep voice.
Hearing this, everyone subconsciously raised their hands, holding the swords under their ribs, while constantly scanning their surroundings. They did not see anything wrong.
A general asked suspiciously: "General?"
"It's just evening, why can't I see anyone here?" Lu Zhi expressed his doubts.
After he said this, people suddenly realized, yes, it is clearly not night yet, how can there be no pedestrians on the street? Even if Yi Qiuju is now in despair, not everyone has fled, right?
?
A scout quickly stepped forward, stepped in and saluted, and said: "General, there are jugglers performing in front of us. All the people in Yiqiuju have gone to watch the jugglers."
"So that's it!" All the generals looked at each other and smiled, their hearts finally falling back into their stomachs.
Lu Zhi also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, raised his head forward and said, "Let's go!"
More than 500 county troops headed by Lu Zhi continued to march forward. After walking for another quarter of an hour, sure enough, the front became lively, with many people gathered around, and cheers could be heard from the crowd.
The officers and soldiers of the county army couldn't help but crane their necks to look around. A military commander approached Lu Zhi and said with a smile: "General, how about we stop here to rest?"
Lu Zhi pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "Keep on going. We have to return to Wancheng overnight, so we can't delay on the way."
Hearing this, everyone around was disappointed, but the general had given the order and no one could say anything more.
Lu Zhi squinted his glasses and had an unclear expression on his face. The reason why he didn't want to stay in Yiqiuju was because he was in a hurry. The other reason was that he suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.
He couldn't tell what was the specific problem. Anyway, he just felt panicked and a cold wind was blowing down his spine.
This place is ominous! He said in a deep voice: "Send the order, speed up, and leave Yiqiuju as soon as possible!"
Everyone around him also saw that Lu Zhi suddenly became nervous. People looked around again. Everything was calm and there was no abnormal situation.
Soon, the county army came to the crowd of common people.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, the people on the periphery turned to look, and suddenly saw so many officers and soldiers. People were so frightened that they backed away one after another, and kept saying: "Master Jun!" "Master Jun!"
Soon, the common people present discovered the county army, and one by one they all retreated to the roadside. As they retreated, the officers and soldiers of the county army finally saw the acrobat in the center of the crowd.
I saw a big man standing in the center of the field, bending down and lowering his head. On his back, there were three stone piers stacked on top of each other. Each stone pier was not small and seemed to be heavy.
Two other young men were working together to carry the fourth stone pillar, struggling to put it on the big man's back. Another stone pillar was added, and the big man was only shaken, and there was nothing to crush him.
trend.
Although you can't see his face, you can tell from the high veins on his neck that he is exerting strength at this time.
If one stone pier weighs more than a hundred kilograms, these four stone piers must weigh more than 400 kilograms. It is too scary for one person to be able to carry more than 400 kilograms of stone piers.
Many of the officers and soldiers passing by had their tongues hanging out and their eyes widened. Lu Zhi also saw it. He frowned and slowed down involuntarily.
Even though he couldn't see the big man's face, he felt like he had seen this man before.
Before he could remember exactly where he had seen this big man, a sound of laughter suddenly came from beside him, and a military commander said disapprovingly: "Fake! It's just a little trick to deceive people. I've seen it a lot before!"
In addition to this kind of trick, swallowing swords, breathing fire, and crushing rocks from the chest are all deceptive illusions. Once you know the secret, they are not worth mentioning.
The words of the military commander immediately aroused whispers from the people around him. Some people in the crowd said unconvinced: "Shi Dunzi is all real. We just mentioned it, but we can't mention it at all!"
"That's right, you haven't tried it, how do you know it's fake?"
After hearing the sarcasm of the people present, the military commander stared, walked out of the queue, glanced at the people present, and asked in a deep voice: "Who is talking?"
Seeing the ferocious look on his face, naturally no common people dared to stand up and admit it, so people retreated one after another.
The corner of the military commander's lips curled up, and he walked into the field, looked at the big man carrying four stone pillars on his back, and sneered. He walked to a stone pillar, looked around at the people around him, and said: "Today, the military commander will let you open your eyes.
I can lift this stone mound with one hand!"
"Bragging you!"
There were sarcasm again from the crowd of common people.
The military commander raised his eyebrows, and without saying a word, he bent down, grabbed the handle of the stone pier, and lifted it up with all his strength.
Shi Dunzi did not move at all on the ground. Seeing this, the people around him burst into laughter. Even the officers and soldiers of the county army who were watching the excitement twitched the corners of their mouths, looking like they wanted to laugh but dared not.
The face of the old military commander turned red. He used his strength again and suddenly lifted it up. The stone pillar still did not move at all. The laughter around him became even louder.
At this time, the military commander could no longer hold back his face. He held the stone pillar with both hands, shouted loudly, and used all his strength. But even so, the stone pillar only lifted a little off the ground. Then, there was another bang.
Fall back to where you were.
Ah? The military commander took a deep breath. The stone pillar he was carrying probably weighed no less than two hundred kilograms.
Look at the big man's back. The size of the stone pillars is almost the same as this stone pillar. So, he is carrying eight hundred kilograms of stone pillars? How is this possible!
The Marquis rolled his eyes, stepped on the stone pillar, and said, "This stone pillar is real, but the stone pillars on his back are all fake!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the two young men who were carrying the stone pillar stopped working.
One of the young men said: "Master, aren't you talking nonsense and slandering people? Young people go out and rely on their own strength to make a living. Master, by slandering us like this, aren't you deliberately destroying our jobs?"
"
Another young man said: "Since the military master said these stone pillars are fake, come and try to pick one up!"
As he spoke, he shook his head to his companion, who understood. The two of them walked up to the big man and worked together to remove a stone block from his back.
What everyone present did not expect was that the two young men worked together to throw Shi Dunzi towards the military commander.
Seeing that they threw it casually and obviously without much effort, the military commander sneered in his heart and raised the corners of his mouth. He reached out to catch it nonchalantly.
But the moment his hand touched the stone pillar, he suddenly realized that something was wrong. The weight of this stone pillar was not at all as light as the one he mentioned just now.
However, when he tried to avoid it, it was already too late. There was a muffled sound in his ear, and the stone pillar hit the military commander's stomach firmly, forcing him to sit directly on the ground.
The military commander's face turned purple, his mouth opened, and he didn't say a word. He spit out blood with a pop, and then his body sitting on the ground fell straight back.
Looking at him now, his eyes are wide open, his mouth is wide open, his face is ashen, and there is no trace of breath left?
The scene was silent for a moment, and then someone screamed, "Oh no, someone is dead! Someone was crushed to death by a stone block!"