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At dusk, Guan Luoyang and his party came to Zengjiazhuang.

This Zengjiazhuang is just an ordinary village in name, but a canal has been dug around the entire village.

Going to the village from the east, there is only one entrance. You have to use a wooden bridge over the canal to pass. There are people guarding both sides of the wooden bridge. There is a high wall on the inside of the canal. At first glance, it looks like an earth wall. You can only feel it when you get closer.

, the wall is thick and heavy, and it must have taken a lot of big stones to build it up.

At regular intervals within the wall, there are small wooden buildings higher than the wall, with people on duty upstairs.

With such a posture, let alone blocking some bandits, even if Yizhou City sent some officers and soldiers to fight, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to defeat them easily.

In the past, Mr. Zeng was always proud that his family could run the Zeng Family Village like this, but today, no arrangement inside or outside the Zeng Family Village could give him the slightest sense of peace of mind.

He only wanted everything to be done to Guan Luoyang's liking, and he must not let Guan Luoyang pick any thorns, so that he might be able to avoid a fatal disaster.

After everyone entered Zeng's village, Mr. Zeng immediately ordered a banquet to be held in honor of them. He also consciously ordered every household in the village to cook more meals to entertain the miners.

Guan Luoyang had an easy-going attitude, as if he was really a guest. He followed Mr. Zeng to his home. He ate the same carefully prepared dishes, and he accepted everyone who came to toast him. After eating to his heart's content, he went to bed.

Late at night, Mr. Zeng specially found a remote room, as far away as possible from where Guan Luoyang lived, and then he dared to cry to his five sons.

Mr. Zeng's five sons were all fed with delicacies from the mountains and sea, and precious medicinal materials. Later, when they got older, they invited masters like Shi Wengong to teach them martial arts and magic techniques.

Therefore, when the five of them grew up, they all had handsome features and strong backs. Even if Mr. Zeng could straighten his stooped back, he could only barely put his head on the chests of these five sons. It was simply not his kind.

.

Especially the eldest son, Zeng Tu, was the most favored. He was proficient in martial arts. He usually dealt with matters in the village and was even more resourceful and capable in both civil and military affairs.

When Mr. Zeng told the whole story, the other four sons couldn't help showing resentment on their faces.

This one said: "How dare you, the Taoist, bully my old father like this?! Why don't we use some gunpowder and kerosene to blow up the place where he lives while the guy is sleeping, and smash him to pieces to avenge this hatred!"

The one said: "No, he can kill General Shi. He is very powerful. I'm afraid the explosives won't kill him. He also has some strange poisons specially collected from Yanyun at home. Why don't we pretend to give him a supper and cook it?"

A pot of sobering soup, all these poisons were put into the soup, and the poison caused his intestines to pierce and rot."

Only Zeng Tu remained as calm as before and said: "None of them are right. The reason why my family is so prosperous is precisely because of our good relationship with Shi Wengong. You should also know that no one in the five hundred miles can defeat Shi Wengong. The methods of our Zeng family will not be able to kill anyone if they are killed."

Without Shi Wengong, can we kill this Taoist thief?"

Mr. Zeng wiped his tears: "I mean the same thing. My family will definitely not be able to resist him. We can only try our best to satisfy him, send him away, and report to the court later."

The sons of the Zeng family looked at each other and said, "I'm just afraid that he will be greedy."

"Don't be afraid." Zeng Tu said, "The biggest property of our Zeng family is this Zhuangzi. He is looking for a boat to take away the miners. After the boat is full of people, how much wealth can it carry? As long as Zhuangzi

It's still there, and the things you owe him can be recovered sooner or later."

Now that they had made up their mind, the Zeng family didn't mention anything else and stayed busy all night with lights on.

The next morning, when Guan Luoyang opened the door and came out, he walked inside the village and saw a carriage waiting nearby.

The miners actually all put on new clothes, each had a package on their shoulders, and they were carrying pancakes made overnight. They were weeping and thanking the people of Zengjiazhuang for their kindness.

Many young Zeng children could not suppress the look of disgust on their faces and refused to approach these miners at all, but those who were older had many instructions from the old man and the managers, so how could they dare to let these miners go?

He knelt down and held on tightly.

When some Zeng children saw Guan Luoyang coming out, they were so frightened that they were accidentally knelt down by the miners next to them. They were so frightened that they knelt down too and kowtowed face to face with the miners. They kowtowed more than the miners.

Guan Luoyang touched his face: "Am I so terrible?"

Gongsun Sheng walked up to him unknowingly and said: "The Zeng family's children who were supervising the work in the mine all came back yesterday. They relayed the battle situation, and the news became more and more suspicious."

"When Pindao got up this morning, he heard someone talking, saying that Shi Wengong had become three-headed and six-armed in the mountains, three feet tall and ten waists wide. As a result, you grabbed him and bit off half of his body. While chewing

, I can still hear Shi Wengong screaming, it hurts so much."

Guan Luoyang laughed, looked around and said: "That old guy is quite cunning. If the Zeng family pretends to treat those miners like this, it will surely make everyone soften their hearts and miss them a lot. It's really true.

It makes me uncomfortable to kill in front of everyone."

Gongsun Sheng said: "Are you going to let them go?"

"They can only pretend for a while, and they will definitely take action soon."

Guan Luoyang said, "After I go to Liangshan and settle these people first, when I come back, it will be their time to die."

While they were talking, Mrs. Zeng and the others came over and asked Guan Luoyang to get on the carriage first, and the Zeng family went out together to see him off.

They were sent several miles away to the water's edge, and the miners were asked to board the boat. Mr. Zeng opened the boxes of goods in front of Guan Luoyang, and then asked people to transport them onto the boat.

Guan Luoyang said goodbye to them with a smile. Mr. Zeng covered his heart and his voice was choked with sobs. He wished Guan Luoyang all the best.

It was a favorable wind in the morning. When the boat was far away, Guan Luoyang looked back and saw the group of people still standing on the shore silently saying goodbye.

The waves are rippling, the sound is clear to the ears, and the wind on the water is mixed with mist, which is cool and pleasant. It is a pity that this place is not far from the mine. It has been mined for many years and is smoky. There is often haze nearby. If you smell it carefully, you can still smell a little bit of it.

An unpleasant smell.

Guan Luoyang stood on the bow of the boat, watching the water waves parting to both sides. Suddenly he remembered something and asked Gongsun Sheng: "I used to study and saw some records saying that when Zhao Ji was in power, he was stupid and incompetent, favoring traitors and sycophants.

There are already complaints among the people."

"Some people go to the mountains and rivers to become bandits and bandits, and some people rise up and declare themselves kings. I wonder if there are a few of them who can really make a big splash?"

Gongsun Sheng pondered for a while and said: "In the years of Emperor Daojun, there was indeed some chaos among the people in the Song Dynasty."

"However, when the Emperor of Destiny first came to the throne, he made every effort to select talents and appoint them. He promoted many depressed masters and generals in various state capitals, allocated resources, and let them fight and kill everywhere.

He killed many bandits and bandits, and denounced Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Gao Qiu and others as the six thieves. They ransacked their homes and imprisoned them one after another. They stopped the Hua Shi Gang, the Birthday Gang, etc. After hearing this, the people all clapped their hands and praised them, and the people became much more peaceful."

"As for the people who could make a big splash, there should have been a few. For example, there was a lacquer garden owner Fang La in Qingxi, Muzhou at that time. He was born with great ambitions, learned a lot of magic, and was quite famous in the neighborhood. Even the high officials of the court

Some of them became friends with him and often visited his home."

"But in the second year after Emperor Tianming ascended the throne, he suddenly sent a group of Taoist officials and mobilized soldiers and horses to kill Fang La's family, wipe out many of his family's nursing homes, and kill thousands of wealthy slaves, so that everyone's property was burned to the ground."

"It was later discovered that Fang La had secretly mobilized tens of thousands of troops and was revered as a Holy Duke. If those Taoist officials had left a few months later, perhaps Fang La would have become the rebel king of the separatist party.

"

After hearing this, Guan Luoyang shook his head and said with a smile: "This emperor is really a prophet, but he could rely on these actions in the past to depose the six thieves, comply with the people's sentiments, and suppress the turbulent situation. Now he himself is acting in the opposite direction. Is it possible that he is doing the opposite?

Aren't you afraid that there are thousands of people in the world who are not expected to rise up in rebellion?"

Guan Luoyang's words actually refer not only to himself, but to the aborigines of this world.

According to Lin Lingsu, when Emperor Daojun was in power, he once checked the total number of copper, iron, tin, and cinnabar mineral deposits in the Song Dynasty through court files, and it was only a little over three hundred.

According to Gongsun Sheng, in the past ten years, Emperor Tianming sent people to explore more than 600 mineral veins in various state capitals using secret methods.

Originally, the mines were also privately owned, and the government was mostly only responsible for collecting taxes. However, in all the newly opened mines in the past ten years, the government has to intervene, urging the excavation and transportation day and night. The workload of the miners is much higher than before.

People in the countryside live far more quickly than they die, and there are fewer and fewer people working in the mines.

Take the Cangshan Mine as an example. When the number of people was at its largest, it was said that there could be nearly 5,000 young men, but now the miners brought out by Guan Luoyang are only more than 2,000.

The Cangshan Mine is particularly important because it can produce red crystals and synthesize Purple Qi Divine Sand. In fact, in terms of the number of people, the scale here is far from the largest, but it can be seen from the inside.

In the past ten years, in the new mines in the Song Dynasty, the total number of miners who died due to work, illness, and accidents has probably reached an appalling level.

What’s even more frightening is that ten years is a very long time for ordinary people. In this era, transportation is inconvenient and information is limited. It is difficult for ordinary people to find out what is happening in the distance. When they are in it, it is difficult to realize that there is something going on in the distance.

How many people lost their lives.

When ten years pass, or even in a few years, the drought in the countryside becomes more and more serious, and the dull pain accumulated year after year will suddenly wake up and turn into a war that makes people unable to escape, enough to crush them to death.

Ordinary people are desperate to cut off their heirs and destroy their families.

Even if Luoyang is not closed, people in the world will still rebel after all, and there will still be those heroes who are willing to devote themselves to the side of the people who cannot survive and have no choice but to rebel.

Gongsun Sheng said: "Perhaps Emperor Tianming felt that the current Song Dynasty official and army had swept away the weak wind, made strong soldiers and horses, and had a cloud of powerful generals, which was enough to suppress any unrest in the countryside."

Guan Luoyang said: "Have you met this emperor? What kind of person is he?"

"Back then, Pindao had just left the army and was traveling. The imperial edict to recruit talents came unexpectedly, so he was invited to Bianliang and became a Taoist official. Along with other Taoist officials, he had met the emperor many times."

Gongsun Sheng fell into memories, "The emperor at that time was still a young man, but he was wise and wise, and his city was already very profound. Except when he followed the Taoist officials to discuss the method of cultivation, he would occasionally show some emotions. No matter what decision he made, he was confident.

, Pindao really can’t tell what he is like deep down in his heart.”

"It's just that by chance, Pindao later saved some innocent souls in the ditch leading from the imperial dining room to the outside of the palace, and heard some secrets that were no longer known to anyone."

"It is said that when I was still a prince, I was already worried about the country and the people at a young age. I worked hard for national affairs. I had nightmares for several months. I don't know what I was dreaming about. I almost went crazy. I screamed and ran around the palace.

When the palace doors were closed, someone could still hear him sobbing in the palace. He even wrote a letter to Emperor Daojun, asking himself to be deposed as the crown prince. He cried out that he had no talent for governing the country, so it was better to stay away from Bianliang and go to the mountains to learn Taoism.

"

At this point, Gongsun Sheng let out a long sigh and shook the whisk, "Later, Emperor Daojun encouraged him and invited some Taoist officials to diagnose and treat him, and he was able to recover. He calmed down, burned ointment, turned to the sundial, and studied Tao Lue day and night.

.I really can’t understand how such a kind-hearted prince could become like this."

Guan Luoyang frowned slightly and thought, and his speculations about the destined emperor took a step further.

But if you want to really get the exact answer, there is no need to rush now.

Anyway, Guan Luoyang has made up his mind to leave in person sooner or later to meet the emperor.

The ship had been traveling for most of the day, and with the scorching sun in the sky, the miners couldn't bear it. They crowded around the deck to get some air, and Guan Luoyang ordered the ship to slow down.
To be continued...