Hearing that his eldest brother described the current situation as "natural and man-made disasters," Liu Xiu subconsciously looked to the left and right. Fortunately, everyone nearby was watching the notice, and no one paid attention to them.
He pulled Liu Yan's sleeve and walked quickly outside the city. After exiting the city gate and seeing no one around, he let go of Liu Yan's sleeve and reminded him: "Brother, be careful of trouble coming from your mouth!"
What are natural and man-made disasters? These words are tantamount to criticizing the current government and the current emperor. This is a serious crime of beheading!
Liu Yan did not take Liu Xiu's reminder seriously and said indignantly: "The reckless thieves are unethical and perverse. The world is in chaos and the people are in dire straits. Now in the green forest, red eyebrows rise up to overthrow the tyranny of the reckless thieves. It's just around the corner!"
Liu Xiu and Liu Yan are both descendants of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty. They can be regarded as members of the Han clan with upright roots. To overthrow the Xinmang regime and help the Han clan, this is of course the wish of both of them.
It's just that Liu Xiu was cautious by nature and would never say such treacherous words, while Liu Yan's character was completely opposite, rebellious, bold and chivalrous.
He had long wanted to imitate Lu Lin and Red Eyebrow, hold high the banner of supporting the Han Dynasty, and overthrow the tyranny of Xin Mang, but he had no financial resources to support him.
The two brothers left Caiyang County and returned to Chongling Village where their family was located.
Liu Xiu's father passed away when he was nine years old, and he was sent to his uncle Liu Liang's house. He has two brothers, two sisters, and one sister.
The eldest brother Liu Yan and the second brother Liu Zhong are both married and established. The eldest sister Liu Huang lives in her maternal grandfather's house, the second sister Liu Yuan married to the Deng family in Xinye, and the younger sister Liu Boji, like Liu Xiu, also lives in the home of her uncle Liu Liang.
Back in the village, Liu Yan shook his head and said: "Axiu, let's go and sit at eldest brother's house!"
Liu Xiu said: "Brother, there is still a lot of farm work to be done in the fields. I have to work in the fields!"
After hearing his words, Liu Yan couldn't help but sigh softly. He felt helpless and pitiful in his heart. My younger brother is a student of the Imperial College, but now he can only farm at home, and has nowhere to put his talents and knowledge to use.
How can such a court last long if the reckless thieves are so ignorant and ignorant?
Opportunity! He urgently needs an opportunity now, an opportunity to change himself and the fate of his family!
Liu Yan nodded to Liu Xiu and warned: "Axiu, just plant the land until it is almost done. Don't let yourself be too tired. Your hands..." are used to hold the pen, not the hoe.
He didn't say the rest of the sentence.
His father died of illness, and as the eldest son in the family, he was unable to take good care of his younger brothers and sisters, which made Liu Yan very upset.
Liu Xiu understood what the elder brother was thinking. He said cheerfully to the elder brother: "Brother, I understand. You can go back!"
Watching his elder brother go away, Liu Xiu went to his own field, hoeing and plowing the ground.
While he was busy, the sound of rapid horse hooves could be heard faintly in the distance.
Liu Xiu subconsciously put down the hoe in his hand, straightened up, and raised his eyes to look for sound.
He saw a white horse galloping towards his field. When he was far away, he didn't see anyone on the horse. When he got closer, he saw a person lying on the horse's back.
As the horse got closer and closer, its speed gradually slowed down. When Liu Xiu came closer, the man lying on the horse seemed to be unable to hold on any longer and fell off the horse.
Liu Xiu was startled and hurried forward to help the man up.
He took a closer look, and the more he looked, the more familiar he felt. When Liu Xiu saw the oblique scar on the man's forehead, his heart suddenly moved, and he couldn't help but blurt out: "Are you Long Yuan?!"
This man's appearance is almost identical to the portrait posted in the county town.
The man who fell off the horse was already in a semi-conscious state. When he heard Liu Xiu say the word "Long Yuan", his body suddenly shook, his eyes suddenly opened, and two electric lights shone directly on Liu Xiu's eyes.
face.
Before Liu Xiu could react, he suddenly felt a chill on his neck, and saw a cold dagger in the man's hand, which was pressed firmly against his throat.
"Who are you and why do you know my name?" The man's tone was so cold that it could freeze an elephant to death.
Liu Xiu acted very calmly and said seriously: "Now the county has posted a notice to arrest you. I just came back from the county!"
This man was Long Yuan, who was wanted by the court for assassinating Wang Mang. He stared at Liu Xiu and asked in a cold voice: "You want to take me to court?"
Liu Xiu waved his hand and said: "Don't misunderstand me, strong man. If you assassinate a traitor who is a usurper, how can I send you to an official?"
Hearing this, Long Yuan's eyes gleamed obviously, and he subconsciously looked at Liu Xiu again.
You must know that Wang Mang is the current emperor. Dare to say that he is a usurper and traitor. This is a crime of great disrespect and will require the execution of the whole family. This is definitely not something ordinary people can say!
He frowned and asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm Liu Xiu."
"Liu Xiu..." Long Yuan had no impression of this name.
Liu Xiu added: "My father was Liu Qin, the magistrate of Jiyang County, and my ancestor was Liu Fa, the king of Changsha."
Ah, it turns out that he is a descendant of the Liu family and a clan member of the Han Dynasty. No wonder he said that Wang Mang was a usurper of the Han Dynasty!
After knowing Liu Xiu's identity, Long Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His hand holding the dagger dropped weakly, and he gasped and said: "There are reckless soldiers chasing me behind. Please give me a drink of water, little brother. I'll be there soon."
Just leave.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the faint rumble of dense and rapid horse hoofbeats coming from the distance.
Long Yuan was shocked and did not dare to delay any longer. He gritted his teeth, stood up, inserted the dagger into his back, and walked towards the horse beside him.
Liu Xiu rolled his eyes. In a very short time, he had already made a decision in his heart.
Long Yuan was walking towards the horse. Liu Xiu came behind him with a quick step. Before Long Yuan could react, he snatched the dagger from Long Yuan's back. Long Yuan was shocked and subconsciously
Said: "You..."
He only said the word "you", and Liu Xiu decisively swung the dagger out.
His sword did not swing towards Long Yuan, but struck the horse's buttocks.
The horse was in pain, neighed, and galloped along the country path with its hooves flying.
When Long Yuan saw this, his expression suddenly changed and he asked sternly: "Why did you scare my horse away?"
In his current state, if he didn't have a horse to ride for him, he wouldn't be able to escape the pursuers behind him.
Liu Xiu looked at the horse's retreating figure, turned around, and said seriously: "Looking at your current state, I'm afraid you won't be able to run very far. I'll help you hide!"
Long Yuan looked at Liu Xiu as if he were a monster. This place was so flat, where could he hide?
"Where can you help me hide? If the reckless soldiers see you and me together, the reckless soldiers will definitely regard you and me as their accomplices in order to claim credit..."
Before he could finish his words, Liu Xiu returned the dagger to Long Yuan, shook his head and said, "Come here and help!" As he spoke, he didn't even look at Long Yuan. He picked up the hoe, walked quickly to an open space, and worked hard
Started digging.
Long Yuan was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses and said in surprise: "You want to bury me in the ground?"
"Is there any other better way?" Liu Xiu turned around and asked while digging the ground quickly.
Long Yuan frowned and stared at Liu Xiu. The sound of horse hooves coming from behind became clearer and clearer. Looking from a distance, the dust was flying, as if a hurricane was blowing. He couldn't help but think more, he could only live and die.
The horse is healed.
He staggered to Liu Xiu's side, knelt on the ground, and helped Liu Xiu dig the hole with his dagger.
The fields had been plowed by Liu Xiu for a long time. The soil was soft and the pits could be dug quickly. Moreover, they were only used to hide people and did not need to be dug too deep.
After a short time, the two dug a shallow pit as long as one person. Liu Xiu asked Long Yuan to lie in it, and then used his hands and feet to fill the pit.
In order to prevent Long Yuan from being suffocated to death, Liu Xiu specially left a small hole in his nostrils.
Liu Xiu had just buried Long Yuan, and the officers and soldiers chasing Long Yuan were only a few dozen meters away from him. Liu Xiu leaned on the ground with his hoe, pretending to be surprised, and stared blankly at the group of cavalry rushing towards him like lightning.
.
This team of cavalry running up was different from the officers and soldiers Liu Xiu had seen before. They were all wearing black helmets, black armor, and black tassels on their heads. They were holding long spears and sabers under their ribs. They were also all black horses. They were running.
Like a moving dark cloud.
This group of cavalry ran to the front and rear of Liu Xiujin and stopped one after another.
Liu Xiu swallowed subconsciously. His behavior was very consistent with the psychology of an ordinary man seeing the officers and soldiers of the brigade.
A black-armored cavalry urged his horse out of the queue, first came to Liu Xiu, then raised his eyes and looked around, and finally set his eyes on Liu Xiu.
After looking him over roughly, the black-armored cavalry asked coldly: "What are you doing here?"
Liu Xiu lowered his head and looked at the hoe in his hand, and stammered: "Plowing... plowing the land..."
"Just now, did you see a man riding a white horse passing by here?"
Liu Xiu stammered: "No! Ah, yes, I saw it!"
"Is it there or not?" the black-armored cavalry's tone became even colder.
"Yes, yes, yes...he ran that way!" As he spoke, Liu Xiu pointed to the field path on one side.
The black-armored cavalry looked in the direction of his finger and wanted to continue asking questions. Another black-armored cavalry said urgently: "There are blood stains on the ground!"
Hearing his words, all the cavalrymen looked in the direction of his finger.
Sure enough, there were a few bright red blood drops on the ground not far away, and it was obvious that they were fresh blood that had just dropped to the ground.
The direction of the blood stains is consistent with the direction of Liu Xiu's fingers, indicating that Long Yuan did run in that direction!
The black-armored cavalryman in front of Liu Xiu suddenly lifted the reins, and the horse took two steps forward. Liu Xiu was so close to him that he was almost hit by the horse's head. He involuntarily took several steps back, and his heel was just right.
When he stepped on Long Yuan's body, his feet went weak, his body lost balance, and he sat down on the ground.
The black-armored cavalry didn't know that Liu Xiu tripped over Long Yuan who was buried under the earth. They only thought that he was intimidated by his companions, and they all laughed in unison.
One of the black-armored cavalry called out: "He's just a country boy, why are you trying to scare him? Let's go, we don't have that much free time to waste time here!"
The black-armored cavalryman who urged his horse to hit Liu Xiu sat on his horse with a look of contempt on his face. He looked at Liu Xiu condescendingly, snorted, turned his horse's head and came out of the field.
This group of cavalry rumbled away in front of Liu Xiu.
If they walked slower, they would find that the soil beside Liu Xiu was shaking slightly. If they paid closer attention, they would definitely find the corners of his clothes exposed from the cracks in the soil.
Without it, they would not have taken a second look at a country boy like Liu Xiu, let alone thought that he would be so bold as to harbor important criminals arrested by the imperial court.