Standing in front of the third defensive wall on the top of the mountain was an old man with white beard and hair. His back was a little stooped, and he was holding on to the stone wall with both hands, watching the flag fall, his eyes full of anxiety.
What worried him was not General Song's superb archery skills, but the strong warning contained in this arrow.
The two brothers are going further and further on the road of arrogance, which will bring disaster to the family.
"Mr. Dong, it's windy outside, it's time to go back to the house!" Two strong men behind him reminded coldly.
It sounded like he was concerned, but in fact his tone was extremely cold.
The white-haired old man looked at the flag flying far away and sighed, then turned and staggered towards the house.
The white-haired old man is Zhou Tong. He is nearly seventy years old. He has left his hometown since he was more than 20 years old and has been wandering around. Although he has gained the reputation of "bronze bow and iron arrow", he is known as the best arrow in the world, even the Imperial Army.
He also admired his reputation and hired him as the chief instructor of the archery class.
But he couldn't resist the invasion of time. After the Jingkang Rebellion, Zhou Tong returned to his hometown after an absence of forty years. He was the eldest son of his first wife, but because he had been away from the family for too long, the family was actually controlled by his two brothers.
With.
Zhou Tong had no intention of fighting for power. He had no children, so he lived alone in the backyard farming land to provide for his old age. However, after a fainting event two years ago, his body completely collapsed. His arms that could lift a thousand pounds in the past were even missing.
I couldn't even lift the stool, my legs felt like they were filled with lead, and I could only stagger around.
Last autumn, Zhou Tong witnessed his nephew Zhou Qing occupying a married woman. He couldn't stand the emperor-like behavior of his fourth brother Zhou Xintu, who bullied the people of Zhoujiabao wantonly, so he severely reprimanded him at the clan meeting.
Zhou Xin was offended, so he put Zhou Tong under house arrest in a small courtyard on the top of the mountain.
There are two cave dwellings in the small courtyard with high walls on both sides. Usually there is only a mute old man to take care of his daily life. Zhou Xin also sent a confidant to monitor Zhou Tong's every move at all times.
When Zhou Tong returned to the dark room, he saw that the strong man who was watching him had followed him in. His face suddenly sank, "Who let you in? Get out!"
The strong man stood at the door and ignored him. Zhou Tong became furious and slammed the table, "Did you hear that? I'm telling you to get out!"
"Brother, why should you be angry? This is not good for your health!" A cold voice came from outside.
Then a thin figure appeared at the door. This was the fourth brother Zhou Xin.
Zhou Tong has a total of five brothers. The second and third children have both died of illness. The fourth and fifth children were born to his concubines. They are quite different in age. Zhou Tong is almost seventy years old, but his fourth brother, Si Xixin, is only in his early fifties.
The fifth old man, Zhou Jian, is not yet fifty years old.
Zhou Xin is currently the actual person in charge of Zhoujia Fort. He is thin and has no martial arts skills, but he is vicious and cruel and can win people's hearts. No one in Zhoujia Fort is afraid of him, but many people support him.
Zhou Xin walked into the cave and took a sniff. The musty smell in the room made him feel a little uncomfortable. He simply asked his men to move a chair to sit at the door.
"Today the Song Army came to provoke me, I guess my brother also knows about it!"
"I only saw the Zhou family's flag blown away by the wind!" Zhou Tong said coldly.
"This is just an accident. It doesn't explain anything. This Song general is called Chen Qing. I've heard of him. He fought against the Jin soldiers at Jianjun Pass. He was a powerful guy, but it doesn't explain the problem either. He can't defeat him.
Move the Zhou Family Fort."
"In that case, why did you come to me?"
"I don't want to go against the imperial court for the time being, so I'm here to beg my brother to leave the mountain and live in Chengji County for a while. At the same time, I told Chen Qing that as long as he doesn't interfere with Zhoujiapu anymore, I'm willing to make some compromises."
There was a sneer on Zhou Tong's lips. He really thought that Zhou Xintian was fearless. It seemed that he was still afraid of the imperial army!
"What compromise are you trying to make?"
Zhou Xin laughed dryly and said: "I heard that Chen Qing's army is short of food. I am willing to give them a thousand dan of food as military rations."
"Then what?"
"Then I can agree that after the harvest every year, I will pay half of it as a field tax. This is also in line with the court's regulations of one tax per twenty."
"Any more?"
"The other thing is to sacrifice my brother and ask him to put his family first and move to Chengji County. All my brother's expenses will be borne by Zhoujiabao!"
Zhou Tong immediately understood that this Zhou Xin wanted to take him to Chengji County as a hostage.
Zhou Tong thought for a while and said slowly: "I can go to Chengji County to be your hostage, but I want to remind you that your conditions are not sincere enough to impress Chen Qing."
Zhou Xin smiled lightly, "I know I can't impress him, but we can talk slowly! Wouldn't it be nice to let him attack Lengfan Village and Zaojiao Fort first?"
Zhou Tong looked at his brother's cunning eyes. He suddenly understood his brother's intention. He deliberately showed weakness to confuse Chen Qing, and asked Chen Qing to attack Lengfan Village and Zaojiao Fort, which were also tightly guarded. Zhou Jiabao watched the Song army's strength, and then attacked again.
decide their next move.
"Don't you regret letting me go?" Zhou Tong laughed sarcastically.
"Actually, brother is very much in my way. Lao Wu has advised me more than once to get you a glass of poisoned wine and send you on your way, saying that you have died of old age and illness. With your current body, no one will doubt it, but I always feel that eldest brother
What else can I do for the family? That’s why I have never agreed. Whether it’s going to Chengji County for retirement or being a hostage, I just hope that my eldest brother will put the interests of the family first and not destroy the family because of the grudges between our brothers.
, otherwise we would not be able to see my father under Jiuquanxia and the ancestors of the Zhou family."
A big family hat came down, leaving Zhou Tong speechless for a moment.
"What do you want me to do?"
Zhou Xinxin was secretly happy and said quickly: "Pretend to agree if you can. In one sentence, try to drag it back as much as possible to make Zhoujia Fort disappear from Chen Qing's sight."
This is the cunning point of Zhou Xin. There are hundreds of forts in Qinzhou. Let Chen Qing deal with the other forts first, and it will take half a year. When the war breaks out between Song, Jin, Song Qi, Song and Xia, Chen Qing will not be able to take care of the Zhou family.
Castle.
Anyway, Chen Qing didn't understand the situation in Zhoujiapu. He thought that Zhou Tong was very important in Zhoujiapu. With this hostage, he agreed to some conditions that did not touch the essence of Zhoujiapu, such as taxes and so on. Chen Qing should
Zhoujiapu will be spared.
The key is that brother should not talk nonsense, so Zhou Xin came to persuade brother today.
Zhou Tong looked at his brother for a long time, and he suddenly realized that it was not himself who really ruined the family, but this brother's misbehavior. It was his undue ambition for power as a local emperor that ruined the family.
Zhou Tong said coldly: "I did not destroy the family. I am worthy of my father and the ancestors of the Zhou family. I only do what I should do. Those little tricks and tricks of yours have nothing to do with me. Don't let me let you down."
I will cooperate with you!"
Zhou Xin was furious and stared at Zhou Tong fiercely: "In that case, shut up and stop talking nonsense. If your nonsense brings the Zhou family into disaster, you will be the sinner of the family!"
"I want to see who is the family sinner in the end?"
Zhou Xin felt very annoyed, snorted heavily, turned around and walked away angrily.
.........
Zhou Xin returned to Houshan Dazhai, and his brother Zhou Jian hurriedly greeted him, "Did that old guy agree?"
Zhou Jian and Zhou Xin are from the same mother, but he is the opposite of Zhou Xin. He is extremely strong, has strong martial arts skills, and is especially good at archery. However, he has a simple mind and is basically Zhou Xin's thug. Zhou Xin makes him responsible for commanding the Zhou family.
Elite archer.
Zhou Xin said with a gloomy face: "He is just dissatisfied with me. I used the family to pressure him, so he had to agree."
"It's a pity that this old thing is cheap!"
When Zhou Xin saw a clan member next to him, he said hypocritically: "You can't say that. After all, he is the eldest son of the direct family and is famous in the world. Let him be a hostage on behalf of the Zhou family. It can be regarded as him doing his best for the family!"
"Goodbye, brother!"
Zhou Xin snorted and then ordered: "Let Manager Jia come to see me!"