Yuan Tao walked at the front holding a paper lantern in a depressed mood, followed by fourteen brothers, one of whom drove a carriage towards the shed area in the east of the city.
At this time, the sky was still dark, and there was only a single white star dotting the dark blue sky, surrounded by the outline of the rooftops. Diaochuan City was under curfew. Only they, soldiers of the Tang Army, could walk on the streets with dignity.
After entering the shed area, one person stayed at the carriage to wait, while the others gathered around Yuan Tao to discuss in low voices.
"The four months' salary for us people is just enough to house a family. We still use the old method of drawing lots to decide."
Yuan Tao took the bamboo stick bucket from his waist, solemnly held it in his hands and shook it back and forth until a bamboo stick fell out of the bucket.
One of the chiefs bent down and picked it up from the soil and handed it to Yuan Tao. Yuan Tao came close to his face to identify it carefully. The chief hurriedly struck the flint with a fire sickle. With the flickering light, he could vaguely distinguish "Lu Sanjing's
Wife Xu Liu Niang" eight small characters.
"Okay, it's time to get to the wives and daughters of the Mitsui brothers. Let's wake them up while it's dark, pack their things and leave the city as soon as possible. We have to be careful, so as not to wake up other ladies and let them see how sad they are."
Everyone crossed their hands and responded, bending down and groping forward lightly. After passing through five or six sheds, they saw a collapsed and messy open space in front of them.
Yuan Tao blinked in surprise: "Is this what happened? We didn't go to the wrong place?"
"No," a chief said firmly behind him: "We have been to this shed alley dozens of times, how could we go wrong?"
Another person said: "Could it be that you encountered a ghost and hit the wall?"
Yuan Tao turned back and glared at the speaker, and decided to continue exploring forward. After walking a few steps, he vaguely saw a woman wrapped in a headscarf in front of her, bending over to pack things into a basket. Behind her was a pony, and at her feet
One basket contained sheep's felt water jars and other junk items. Another basket contained two young children.
"Sixth Lady?"
Xu Liuniang straightened up, took off her headscarf and knelt down to salute, with a look of gratitude and excitement on her face: "Marshal Yuan, you are finally here. They said you are on official business... In short, the slave family would like to thank Lu Lang and his brothers who died.
Your great kindness."
After she finished speaking, she knelt on the ground with a thud, turned around, took out the two young children sitting in the basket, and forced them down on the ground: "Kowtow to your uncles quickly, thank you Marshal Marshal and Army Gentlemen, thank you for your kindness."
It’s a way for us widowed women to survive.”
"This can't be done!" Yuan Tao hurriedly stepped forward to help her up, and asked excitedly and excitedly: "What on earth is going on? Also, where have the other ladies gone?"
Xu Liuniang asked with a surprised expression: "You don't know? It wasn't you who sent people here yesterday to distribute money and dry food for the journey to us, and each family also gave us an animal."
Yuan Tao and his brothers stood there stunned for a long time without reacting.
They hurried forward and helped hang the basket on the pony's back. Yuan Tao asked: "What does the person who gave you money look like? When did the other ladies leave? Can anyone look after them on the way?"
Xu Liuniang ran her hands through her hair and said, "They all said he was Pao Ze from your eighth regiment. Although we didn't know any of them, we came here to give money after all, so we didn't have any doubts. One of the captains was strong and strong, but his work was...
He was particularly careful. He was afraid that we would not be able to take good care of us on the road with so much money, so he exchanged part of it for gold coins. He also said that gold is cheaper in Anxi and can be converted into more copper coins when we get to Guazhou and Dunhuang."
"The captain specially found a caravan for them to accompany them on the road, and there is also an escort team from the Suo family in Guazhou. Don't worry, they are acquaintances of the captain, and they will be able to escort them to Longyou safely."
Yuan Tao nodded in a daze. It was indeed thoughtful and meticulous. Even if he, Yuan Tao, arranged it, he would not be able to do it to this extent.
A chief asked: "Xu Liuniang, why didn't you leave with them yesterday?"
Xu Liuniang looked a little sad, lowered her head and said: "Yesterday they left in a hurry and didn't bother to burn incense sticks for the men on the graves. But I was a little reluctant to leave. It was Lu Lang who took me to Anxi.
We have changed cities, and now we are going back to our hometown, but we are leaving him here alone..."
She raised her hand and wiped her tears and said: "Yesterday I stayed and burned incense at the grave for them, offered sacrifices, and dug a jar of soil to take back to my hometown. There should be some in the soil.
Lu Lang’s soul.”
Yuan Tao and the brothers couldn't help but feel sad. Their loyal souls were buried in thousands of miles of green mountains. This might be their future destination.
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Yuan Tao personally led the pony in front and said, "I have prepared a carriage for you and arranged for two brothers to take you back to your hometown in person."
Xu Liuniang waved her hands repeatedly: "How can I trouble you again? It takes more than two months to go from Anxi to the Central Plains. You have military affairs, how can you delay because of me."
"It doesn't matter. I have already asked the captain for leave on their behalf. We are not worried about you traveling alone."
A group of them surrounded Xu Liuniang and came to the street. One of them was driving the car in front, and the other was holding the pony. Xu Liuniang and her child were put into the carriage.
At this time, the sky was already bright, and the rays of light gilded the female wall at the top of the city. The bell on the city tower had rang six times. The caravans stationed in the city had begun to sort out the goods and feed the camels. The tinkling camel bells were heard everywhere.
Rings.
The carriage carrying Xu Liuniang was among the caravans, waiting for the city gate to open slowly with a creaking sound. She poked her head out of the window and waved to Yuan Tao and his party who had fallen behind.
"Let's go back!"
"When you come back to the Central Plains in the future, Liu Niang will entertain you with chicken millet!"
The carriage ruts were rolling against the lush green grass, and the green hills with ice-capped peaks spread over Xu Liuniang's way home.
Yuan Tao turned around in a lonely manner, holding the paper lantern and preparing to return to the regiment camp. The others followed him slowly. He lowered his head and slowly savored his thoughts. Suddenly he turned around and asked: "That day I followed them to rob
When we were eating caravans, the food merchants asked us how much the goods left behind were worth?"
The brothers were confused and didn't understand why he asked such a question.
"I remember, it seemed like two million dollars."
"Two million dollars..." Yuan Tao thought carefully: "With these two million dollars, apart from distributing the salary of the entire regiment and settling twelve ladies, is there anything left? How much can be left?"
"There isn't much left. The Eighth Regiment's four-month military salary adds up to nearly a million dollars. It also costs more than 900,000 dollars to accommodate the ladies. Maybe it's just enough."
In this way, Li Siye's motive for taking his soldiers to rob the Dashi caravan was found. He could not measure what Li Siye had done. It may also be that he was not knowledgeable enough and could not find any relevant information in the yellowed ancient scriptures.
Answer.
Yuan Tao stopped, turned around and said with a serious expression: "Remember this! You may not understand his behavior of robbing property, but you must never forget his kindness to the dead brothers of our sixth regiment.
Righteousness, even if he has a utilitarian intention, he must not live up to it!"
After saying these words, he strode away away, leaving his brothers standing there looking at each other.
One of the chiefs muttered angrily: "Who can't stand it? I've wanted to do this for a long time! If it weren't for you, Marshal Yuan, who pretends to be noble, I..."
The other brothers quickly grabbed him and said, "Don't let him hear it, you will consider yourself unlucky!"