Zhen Ku's statement is not wrong.

Sure enough, not long after Liu Hui left, the two Taishan Army sergeants who had knocked on Zhen Ku's house door came running over.

One of them was carrying a small flag, and the other was holding a piece of paper. When they arrived, they first posted a note with "Support the Army" on the door of Zhen Ku's house, and then called Zhen Ku and handed over the note.

The small flag was also handed over to him.

The sergeant with a Yanzhou accent said to Zhen Ku:

"Hang this flag on the wall soon, and you won't have to donate rice or clothes later. You are also lucky. This flag of ours can only be awarded to those who have made outstanding contributions to us. Take it and take good care of it.

Watch over it.”

After saying that, he handed the flag to Zhen Ku.

Zhen Ku was very happy after hearing this, and hurriedly hung the banner on the door of the house herself.

But as he hung up, he thought about it and learned from the sergeant with a Yanzhou accent that the Taishan Army still had to donate rice and clothes when entering the city.

In fact, what Zhen Ku said is not accurate. This is not the first time that the Taishan Army has entered the city. They all have their own rules and regulations. In addition to not making any mistakes, which is rare in this era, they also have their own way of collecting taxes.

All in all, after entering the city, in addition to official money, millet, and silk warehouses, the Taishan Army will also clean up three categories of people in the city.

One is those who helped the Han army attack the city, and they will be punished. The other is those who have great complaints from the people, and they will be dealt with strictly. The third is those who are powerful, and they will be divided and asked to donate money and silk to support their salaries.

Zhen Ku originally belonged to the first and third categories. If luck hadn't come and saved Liu Hui this time, she would have shed her skin this time.

As for how the Taishan Army in Zhenku Shangcheng knew about it? That's pretty obvious. After all, his neighbors were too willing to testify against others.

After placing the flags and yellow paper, the two Taishan troops were ready to leave.

But Zhen Ku, who was doing business and being the best at being a good person, invited the two of them in for a meal.

The one who spoke with Yanzhou accent was obviously older than the sergeant who spoke with Zhao local dialect, so after hearing this, even though the Zhao man was moved, he still looked longingly at his companion beside him.

The sergeant with a Yanzhou accent thought for a while, but still refused. He declined and said bitterly:

"Thank you, my father-in-law, for your kindness. We still have responsibilities, and we still need to guard this street. We can't live without you. So I thank you, my father-in-law."

Most people would stop when they encounter this, but Zhen Ku hurriedly asked his servants to get the food box, ordered more meat, and then handed it to the Yanzhou scholar diligently:

"You, the Taishan Army, are indeed righteous soldiers. We who were rescued from fire and water by you will not go too far even if we build monuments and temples. So please be sure to accept this food. If you can eat well, you can better protect everyone's safety."

Therefore, ordinary people can only be ordinary people, but Zhen Ku can become a big grain merchant in Hebei. This is the difference.

Having said this, the Yanzhou scholar agreed.

Although meals are served after the meeting, in the end, this is the intention of others. Our Taishan Army prohibits plundering people’s property and is not allowed to accept any property, but people can’t help but eat food sent by themselves. This reflects the unity of the army and the people and can help the soldiers

They quickly integrated into the local area.

Yanzhou Shi took out ten copper coins from his pocket and said to Zhen Ku:

"Old man, we have ten dollars for you. You must accept it, otherwise we will not dare to eat this meal."

Seeing his determination, Zhen Ku said with emotion:

"I have never seen your Taishan Army before. You are so disciplined."

Then he didn't refuse and started eating on the street with the two of them.

The fastest way for humans to get closer is to eat. If you can eat the same meal, then trust is established.

Soon Zhen Ku became familiar with the second sergeant and learned some simple facts about the two men.

The Yanzhou soldiers were indeed senior. They were soldiers who entered the army after the Taishan Army captured Puyang. They had participated in the Battle of Fengqiu, the Battle of Yingyin, various battles in Henan and the Battle of Xingyang. They were also veterans.

The person next to him, who spoke with a Zhao Di accent, joined the army after the Taishan Army captured Handan at the end of last year, and his qualifications were much weaker than those of the Yanzhou soldiers.

But from Zhen's bitter and vicious point of view, this Zhao Shi was not an easy man. After all, he had only joined the army not long ago, and he was able to partner with this Yanzhou Shi. This shows that he must have something special about him.

Therefore, Zhen Ku did not take it for granted that he was small, and it was a temporary choice to praise both of them.

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting better, Zhen Ku boldly asked:

"Can those who don't have flags and yellow paper in the city survive?"

The Yanzhou scholar looked at Zhen Ku and replied:

"We have already said that our Taishan Army will never commit any crimes. What do you mean? We just stay at home and do not commit crimes unless we commit crimes. As long as you are not crazy and insist on being buried with the Han Dynasty, don't be afraid."

Zhen nodded hurriedly.

Yanzhou Shi saw what Zhen Ku meant and smiled:

"Are you hoping that if someone outside donates money or materials, you can save your life?"

Zhen smiled bitterly and was about to explain when she heard the Yanzhou scholar:

"Relax, as long as they don't violate the taboos of our Taishan Army, their lives will naturally be good. But it doesn't mean that our Taishan Army is all stupid and can't kill people. It's just that we all follow a certain rule when killing people. If you don't violate it, you'll be fine.

.But it’s a crime, hehe.”

Behind his laughter, it’s self-evident.

After eating for a while, Yanzhou Shi patted the dust on his legs, adjusted his clothes and armor, and left with his companions. Before leaving, he specifically told Zhen Ku:

"We are patrolling this street. Generally speaking, there will be no discerning bandits or rangers who will come to rob you. But if there are, you should remember that anyone who does not come knocking on the door will not open it."

This is so important, because after the city is broken, there will always be a group of rangers and stingy people who take advantage of the chaos to make a fortune. People like Zhen Ku are naturally among the key groups to be robbed.

After the two sergeants left, a moment later, four people, also tied in yellow scarves and holding ring-headed knives, viciously blocked the door of Zhen Ku's house.

One of them stepped forward and knocked on the door hard, while another shouted in a low voice:

"Open the door, we are from the Taishan Army."

Zhen Ku's heart tightened, she glanced at the yellow flag that was still floating, and said uncertainly:

"Heroes, there is a flag at our door, and the army of Taishan will never invade."

There was silence outside for a while, and suddenly he became angry:

"What is a yellow flag and not a yellow flag? This is public knowledge. Open the door quickly, otherwise you will be unable to survive or die."

Zhen Ku never expected that the four Taishan soldiers outside were completely different from the two before. How could they be more bandits than bandits?

Zhen Ku first glanced out through the crack and saw the first one with a beard and a fierce face. The next three were also rough and wild. Zhen Ku guessed in her heart that these four were not from the Taishan Army.

But he wasn't sure, because the accent of the first speaker was not from Xiangguo, but rather had a Yanzhou accent, which was somewhat similar to the Yanzhou scholar's accent before.

This made Zhen Ku not dare to gamble. After all, what the two people walking in front said, Zhen Ku was still unsure. What kind of virtues did these soldiers have? Wouldn't Zhen Ku know it when he traveled all over the country? In his opinion, the four people in front of him were

People are more real.

Just as he was hesitating whether to open the door, a familiar shout suddenly came from outside the door:

"Where are you from? What are you doing here?"

When Zhen Ku heard it, wasn't the voice the same as Liu Hui who left in the morning? She didn't expect him to come back so soon.

The four people who were blackmailing Zhen Ku outside were startled by the sound and subconsciously wanted to run away.

But when the bearded man looked back, he saw that the person scolding them was only a young man with a knife in his hand, so he cursed:

"Donkey Qiu, do you dare to throw Nai Gong away? Stop running away and kill this man."

As he spoke, he took the lead and stabbed Liu Hui with his sword.

But Liu Hui just lowered his body, thrust the knife in his hand at the bearded man's legs, and picked the man's hamstring. Then the bearded man screamed and fell to his knees.

Then Liu Hui flipped his sword and chopped off the man's head in a standard beheading posture, and the blood spurted from his neck spread all over the floor.

The remaining three people saw their eldest brother being hacked to death as soon as he took a breath. Their legs were weak and they couldn't run away. Then Liu Hui came and stabbed them to death one by one.

In an instant, there was blood on the ground at the door of Zhen Ku's house, and four corpses were lying there.

Liu Hui wiped the blood on the knife with her sleeve, and then said to Zhen Ku, who was looking at the crack in the door in horror:

"Old Zhen, it's okay."

Looking at Liu Hui who was killing people like drinking water, Zhen was covered in cold sweat, as if she had really gotten to know this person at this moment.

…

Guan Yu's army captured Xiang State, and even Jushou, the governor of Wei County, was captured by his subordinates. It can be said that this Northern Expedition was a complete success.

But there are still two shortcomings. One is that Jushou is too strong and is not afraid of death or surrender. But don't tell me, Guan Yu appreciates such loyalty, so after letting people take care of him, he plans to dedicate it to Qu Shuai to see what Qu Shuai has.

There is no way to convince this person to take action.

Another shortcoming is that the Zhang Nan and Guo Mo troops he originally deployed in Yiyang failed to hold the eastern defense line, allowing the Julu Han army to reach Handan in the rear.

He already knew that Commander Qu led the main force of the Central Guard Army northward to relieve the siege of Handan, and told Guan Yu to lead his army to stay in the Xiangguo area to clean up the remaining forces of the Han army here and establish the grassroots forces of the Taishan Army.

At the same time, Qu Shuai quickly notified Guan Yu to replace the two cavalry units Feilong and Feihu in the Bairen area from the front line, and then asked these two cavalry units to move to the Julu area to the east, directly threatening the Han army's food supply in Julu.

road.

Obviously Qu Shuai planned to use a combination of punches to annihilate the Julu Han army at the foot of Handan City.

I just don’t know what’s going on with Qu Shuai now?
To be continued...