When Yuan Shao came to Runan in the first ten months of the month, and when his great career began to take off, a very inconspicuous little man unknowingly moved the horse under Yuan Shao's command.
He is Deng Dang who was supposed to die but survived by jumping into the Huai River.
Since he is not dead, his story will naturally continue. It is a pity that Deng Dang is a small person after all and cannot shoulder the main body of historical narrative.
So, the camera turned to the so-called big shots and the so-called hot topics of the times.
…
The third year of the Republic of China, the sixth day of March. Dongping Mausoleum, Jinan.
In the wine shops in the city, there are constantly people like Rangers drinking wine and bragging about what they saw in Xishikou today.
They were all talking about one thing, that is, Jinan Prime Minister Cao Cao beheaded the wealthy landowners of Licheng Dongxiang one by one at Xishikou.
At this time, there was a ranger in the wine shop who spoke like this:
"Xiang Cao killed well. I think those evil tyrants in Dongxiang should have died a long time ago. I don't know how many times I have heard that these people in Dongxiang are forcing them to sell their sons and daughters. The moth thieves can't be killed."
They, on the other hand, are the wealthy people who ruined their homes. How shameful."
When the ranger wanted to say more, a friend next to him had already pulled his hem with his hand and asked him to look around.
Sure enough, maybe after he said the word moth thief, some other people in the wine shop who were also dressed as knights turned their eyes.
The ranger immediately knew that he had violated a taboo, and quickly changed the topic:
"Hey, this Prime Minister Cao is good at everything. When we came here, he first destroyed the temple of prostitution and punished the bad guys. Neither of them was very satisfying. The only problem is that he has started to ban alcohol."
After saying that, the ranger drank the contents of the cup and hurried away with his friends.
The ranger led his friends around the area several times, and then suddenly jumped into a pit and held his breath without making a sound.
Sure enough, a few figures hurried past on the street above, the same figures who had just been in the wine shop.
Seeing that the few people walking away were all carrying long swords across their bodies, the ranger couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.
The friend next to him couldn't help but said:
"Yuan Zhi, I'm not telling you, why can't you take care of your bad habit of making trouble with your talk? I have been with you all the way east, so I am lucky enough to accompany you to Jinan."
The man named Yuan Zhi, whose surname is Xu and whose name is Fu, is from Changshe, Yingchuan.
He was originally a knight-errant in the Changshe area, and he was also a respectable figure in the local area. But three years ago, the Taishan Army went north and captured Changshe after the Battle of Yingyang.
Some of Xu Fu's companions thought that the Taishan Army could succeed, so they surrendered to the army after the Taishan Army entered the city. Originally, they took Xu Fu with them, but Xu Fu hated that his little brothers praised the Taishan Army too much, and felt that his former majesty was offended.
, after criticizing the Taishan Army as nothing, he left.
Afterwards, the Han army really counterattacked, and the Taishan army evacuated Changshe in a hurry. But most of his younger brothers were unwilling to leave their hometown, so they fled back to Changshe.
However, after the Han army entered the city, they did not block the people. Instead, they began to investigate those who collaborated with the enemy during the bandit occupation. In this way, Xu Fu's rural party members were betrayed and all were beheaded by the Han army.
Now Xu Fu couldn't sit still, he wanted to avenge his fellow countrymen.
So, after half a year of preparation, he took his only remaining manpower to attack and kill the traitors who had betrayed the Township Party, wiping out one of their clans.
After committing such a big case, Xu Fu naturally had no choice but to flee Changshe. He did not want to join the Taishan Army because he felt that the Taishan Army had a huge responsibility for the death of his fellow villagers.
So, Xu Fu and Shi Tao wandered around the lake and sea, working as guards for the caravan to earn some food while looking for opportunities.
Later, while accompanying a business trip, they heard about the deeds of Jinan Prime Minister Cao Cao from these businessmen.
They all said that this person was a meritocracy, and as long as he was talented, he would be reused, so they wanted to come to Jinan to try their luck.
Hearing Shi Tao's complaint, Xu Fu chuckled, spat at the rangers who missed it, and said:
"Nai Gong is afraid of them? Nai Gong holds the sword in his hand. Even if ten people come here, I won't be able to kill them. I'm worried that their blood will splash on my straw sandals."
Shi Tao has become accustomed to Xu Fu's knight-errant temperament.
He and Xu Fu are actually people with completely different personalities. He is stable while Xu Fu is anxious. He is resourceful while Xu Fu is fierce. But they are both the same type of people, that is, loyalty comes first.
Even though they knew that revenge for the villagers would put them in a desperate situation, they still had no hesitation.
Now, Shi Tao was thinking, and he said to Xu Fu:
"It seems that you said the word moth and thief to offend these people."
Xu Fu's face was indifferent. He didn't understand and said:
"I scolded the moth thieves, what does it have to do with them? As for using a knife to fight for my life? I have heard before that people in Qingzhou are fierce and will draw a knife when they disagree. I think this statement is true."
Shi Tao glanced at Xu Fu:
"Yuan Zhi, you have to study hard, and no matter how bad you are, you have to think more. Do you know where this is? It's Jinan. Where do those Taishan bandits come from? They are from Jinan. How many people do you think the Taishan Army has? Are they from Jinan?
How many people are there? Which family here is not related to the Taishan bandits? When you scold the moth bandits, don't you do it in front of others?"
Xu Fu suddenly realized and smiled:
"Yes, yes, yes, Mr. Nai needs to study more. Didn't you see that we have changed our names? We just want to change our minds and abandon martial arts and become literary."
Shi Tao really believed what Xu Fu said, and actually bowed to Xu Fu seriously:
"Yes, your name is Xu Shu, Xu Yuanzhi, no longer Xu Fu."
Then I heard our Xu Shu laughing non-stop.
Shi Tao was helpless, but he also reminded:
"You said that Cao Cao is an idea, but from now on, Cao Cao doesn't even control Dongpingling. Otherwise, why would there be so many rangers with Yellow Turbans wandering around?"
After Xu Shu heard this, he was stunned for a moment and felt that what Shi Tao said made sense.
So Xu Shu became anxious:
"What should we do? We spent all our money to come to Jinan. If we don't vote for Cao Cao, what will we do next?"
Shi Tao looked embarrassed and could only comfort Xu Shu:
"It's okay, let's go vote first and see if Cao Cao knows the goods."
In this way, the two of them reluctantly walked to Cao Cao's Juxian Pavilion in the West City because they were stumped by a penny.
This pavilion is said to have been expanded from the previous post house.
Neither of them knew the way, so they asked a local firewood seller.
When the firewood seller heard that the two people were asking about Juxian Hall, he became more energetic. Not only did he show them the way, he also told them in a serious manner:
"Do you know what happened in the pavilion three years ago?"
Seeing the old man's cold tone, Xu Shu couldn't help but say:
"What happened?"
Then I saw the old man showing his teeth and claws:
"Three years ago, General Chongtian of Taiping Road killed the people of Junsi here until rivers of blood flowed out. At that time, it was said that the blood on the streets was not drained for three days and three nights the next day. And that was the killing.
, all of them were killed by General Chongtian alone. It was because the killing scene there was so great that no one wanted to pass there anymore, so it was used by the new Prime Minister as the Gathering Hall."
After listening to the old man's narration, Xu Shu and Shi Tao looked at each other, as if they were listening to a story told by an old man under the big locust tree.
Since the two of them entered Dongping Mausoleum, they have been listening to such stories from various people.
There were even a few good people who led these two foreigners to the east city gate, and then pointed out two potholes on the city wall to Xu Shu and Shi Tao, and said proudly:
"Did you see it? Those are the fingerprints left by General Chongtian. I saw with my own eyes that night that General Chongtian climbed over the city wall with his hands on it. This is Chongtian, do you understand?"
At that time, Xu Shu and Shi Tao already felt that they were listening to myths. Then when they saw another wave of foreigners being attracted by the locals from Dongpingling, they felt that this was the poor Qingzhou people who were exaggerating.
Who are you lying to? We Yingchuan people are so smart, how can we be fooled by you Dongyi earth hammers?
But what the two of them didn't know was that on that day, after Cao Cao entered the city from Dongpingling and West City with 3,000 troops, he walked through the city specifically to look at this fingerprint.
At that time, Xia Houchun saw that this kind of thing had gained people's prestige for nothing, so he wanted to have it erased. But Cao Cao stopped him.
Even the three arrows Zhang Chong shot under the Junguo Temple when he broke into the Dongping Tomb were preserved by Cao Cao.
Its meaning is unknown.
Xu Shu and Shi Tao listened to the old man's story for a while, and then walked to the Juxian Pavilion under the guidance of the old man.
But when there was still some way to the Juxian Pavilion, the old man was unwilling to leave.
Xu Shu asked the old man why?
The old man said complexly:
"Of course I know what this Gathering Hall is for. When you two go there, you will definitely vote for those who demolished the temple. Then you people will still go to fight the Yellow Turban soldiers. Alas, the world has changed now.
If the Taishan Army and Taiping Road were still there, I would not have brought you here even if I killed the old man."
Xu Shu was surprised now and asked:
"Old man, aren't the Taishan Bandits, Taiping Dao, and Yellow Turban Soldiers the same thing? What's the difference?"
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the old man sneered at Xu Shu:
"What are thieves? What if the Taishan Army were thieves? Are there any good people in the world? Of course they are different. In the past, the best people for poor people like us were the Taishan Army. When they were there, who was the leader of this place?
Dare to bully us? If you bully us during the day, the Taishan Army’s field guards will break down the wall of the dock at night.”
The old man seemed to be reminiscing about the past, and then sighed:
"Then we, the Taiping Dao, also made decisions for us, but there were also those who bullied us, insisting that we pay for the education. But then the Taishan Army left, and the Taiping Dao also left, leaving behind the Yellow Turban Soldiers. Those people
, are really bad. They are also from us poor people, but they are united with those powerful people to oppress us. So if you go to demolish the temple, we, the old man, have no objection and will show you the way. But you will never go there.
"
At this time, Shi Tao asked:
"Old man, is it Cao Cao, the Prime Minister of Jinan, who demolishes the temple you are talking about?"
Seeing this man address Cao Cao directly, the old man glanced at Shi Tao and said with a smile:
"He is a half-good man. Although he is worse than the Taishan Army, he is much better than other officials. Our Jinan is suffering, especially in this ancestral hall. Each wizard takes turns to come to you.
If you are asked to pay money to worship ghosts and gods, you are really going to peel off the skin and extract the marrow. Originally, the Taishan Army was in the east of Jinan, and the Taiping Road was in the city and the countryside, so these wizards couldn't do anything. Once these two sides left, we Jinan people
It’s a disaster.”
At this point, the old man became even more complicated:
"Later, last year, the households who demolished the ancestral halls brought troops to Dongping Mausoleum. Within a few days, they began to demolish those ancestral halls. Except for those with good reputations, all other ancestral halls were demolished. Even some wizards who had great complaints from the public were buried in the pond.
.After that, we will ask him to demolish the temple."
Shi Tao remained silent, but Xu Shu asked about other things:
"Do you think those remaining Yellow Turban soldiers are still in the city?"
At this time, the old man realized that he was afraid. He looked around quickly and saw no one, so he whispered:
"Don't tell anyone. These Yellow Turban soldiers are actually some rangers who colluded with the Yellow Turban soldiers in Qi State and specialize in oppressing us. If you encounter those with swords, stay away. Don't
It seems that you want to join the demolition of ancestral households, but if you offend these people, no one can save you. Didn't you see that one of the men who demolished ancestral households was drinking outside and offended these people, and was directly hacked to death by these people.
What next? What about demolishing the temple? I don’t dare to put anything away. I also told the people below not to drink anymore.”
Hearing this, Shi Tao already understood that this old man had common knowledge, and he would just pick up rumors and talk about them casually.
So how could Cao Cao ban alcohol because one of his subordinates drank and caused trouble? Shi Tao Qian Qian guessed that Cao Cao was hoarding food before cracking down on the alcohol industry.
Seeing that he had been delayed here for so long, Shi Tao was about to drag Xu Shu away.
But at this time, Xu Shu asked the last question, which was also the question in his mind:
"Old man, are all Taishan soldiers really good people?"
The old man said categorically:
"Yes, they are the best people I have ever seen. Although they have left now, I believe they will come again. By then, our grandson will have grown up, and we must let him join the Taishan Army. In this way, our family
I will never be bullied again.”
So Xu Shu fell silent.
He didn't know why the old man was so relieved. It was clear that the two of them were going to surrender to Cao Cao, and the Taishan thieves were iron rebels. Wasn't he afraid that the two would be highly secretive and then arrest the old man?
At this time, Xu Shu didn't know that the hearts of one person are the hearts of thousands of people. As the old man thought, how could he be the only one? If he really wanted to catch him, would he be able to catch him completely?
Finally, Xu Shu was pulled away by Shi Tao. They came to the well in front of the Juxian Pavilion. They first shook the water up and cleaned it briefly, and then found a set of clean clothes from the baggage.
Both of them are from poor single families with a certain foundation. They are not as good as the above, but they are much better than those mud-legged people.
After simply tidying up and putting on new clothes, the two of them were ready to post.
Just as Xu Shu was walking towards the Juxian Pavilion with the invitations from himself and Shi Tao, Shi Tao grabbed him.
Shi Tao said seriously:
"How about we go and join the Taishan Army?"
When Xu Shu heard such abrupt words, the two bamboo talismans in his hands dropped to the ground in shock.