Volume 1: Xiao Yuanba Chapter 38: Passing the Nine Peaks
"This guy is unreasonable, but what he did is his brother's fault!"
Gu Da raised his leg in disgust and was about to kick it away. Suddenly, he heard someone behind him shout happily: "Who made Brother Gu angry? You are so brave!"
When I looked back, I saw Song Xiaoniu and Zhang Bo walking in side by side.
Song Xiaoniu raised his hands in high spirits and said, "Sir, Song Xiaoniu is back to pay the order. I have brought him!"
Looking behind him, a short but strong man came in. Song Xiaoniu pulled him over sideways, pointed at Li Dan and introduced:
"This is my Li Sanlang. Brother Huang, come and see me!"
The man stepped forward and knelt on one leg, cupped his fist on top of his head, and said in a loud voice: "I have been to Huang Qin of Jiufeng, and I have met Li Sanlang!"
Seeing what they were doing, and seeing Zhang Bo's cheerful expression, Li Dan knew what he was doing, and hurriedly stepped forward to support his arms:
"Brother Huang, please rise. I will lead my team to serve in the Ten Thousand Years Army. There will be many disturbances when I pass by your place." He raised his hand lightly, feeling angry in his Dantian.
Huang Qin was also a hunter who fought against tigers and wolves, but he was unexpectedly lifted up by this little brother. He was shocked! He was sincerely convinced at the first meeting and said hurriedly:
"What did Sanlang say? I was deceived by others and stopped you here. The fault is mine. Where did you say 'disturbing'?"
Brothers Song and Zhang just made it clear to me on the road. I feel ashamed and have come to apologize!"
Li Dan laughed loudly, waved his hands and said it was okay, saying that if it weren't for this misunderstanding, how could we have met each other by fate? Everyone secretly admired this.
Song Xiaoniu was gesticulating beside him and explaining what had happened. Only then did everyone realize that the call "Crossing the Nine Peaks" was not for real. The ambush had been discovered so far away.
But Huang Qin did not escape. He was a brave and talented man, and he did not know what the other party's ambush was about, so he hid behind a tree and asked loudly.
Seeing that he had found out, Song Xiaoniu simply brought people out to surround him, asked him if he was with the Fire Temple, and claimed that he had been ordered to come and get him.
Huang Qin said inexplicably that I was invited by someone to help him stop the evildoers in the temple. I had done nothing for several days except hunting some game to satisfy everyone's hunger. Why did you arrest me?
Fortunately, Song Xiaoniu was a newbie, so he didn't quite understand what he was saying. He knew that there must be something wrong, so he didn't take action rashly. Instead, he told him that he had been waiting for ten thousand years to go on a military mission.
Huang Qin was shocked and knew that he had been deceived, so he lost his weapons and voluntarily followed him back to fight. After everyone packed up and walked halfway, they met Zhang Bo, who happened to be returning all the way.
"It turns out that everything happened all because of you." Li Dan said to Zhao Jingzi with a smile.
"Oh, brother, I was also deceived and coaxed into coming here, and I was a little greedy for the silver. I didn't mean to deceive Brother Huang." Zhao Jingzi replied awkwardly.
"Now that things have happened, the truth is roughly clear. It seems that this misunderstanding was instigated by someone, and I can't blame you all. Fortunately, I only stole a few horses, and I didn't steal any property or hurt anyone."
Li Dan walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and turned around: "Brother Zhao, Brother Hei and Master Ba, I will show you two ways to choose for yourself:
First, if we take the three of you with us, if you don’t hand them over to the governor after ten thousand years, we will send you to the government office for a few months and a half.
Second, you surrender and stay with my team from today on for protection until I safely return to Yugan for dispatch, and then you three can go wherever you like, as you please."
Isn't this an easy choice? The three of them unanimously expressed their willingness to surrender, so Li Dan called for pen and ink, and Yang Yi wrote the confession and surrender letter.
Then he untied their ropes one by one, went over one by one to sign and press fingerprints, and performed the ceremony of master and servant to Li Dan.
Huang Qin saw the injury on Master Ba's shoulder and went out to the woods to look for herbs.
Li Dan estimated that it was already midnight, so he asked the chiefs to seize the time to gather in line, and sent Song Xiaoniu to go ahead to report the news to the convoy in the direction of Tuanji.
Zhao Jingzi turned around and handed a baggage to him sheepishly, saying that it was thirty taels of "illegal gain" he had obtained two days ago just to pretend to be a robber.
Li Dan told him that from now on the team would have its own salary and food would be included, and told him to cherish his reputation and his life and never commit the same crime again. Zhao Jingzi had no choice but to retreat.
They were chatting happily on one side, and seemed to be turning enemies into friends, but on the other side, Shen Wu was so anxious. He glanced at an opportunity and yelled:
"Hey, hey, gentlemen, don't forget the little man, me, what should I do?"
Everyone else had untied it, but he was still sitting in the dust like a meat dumpling left over from the Dragon Boat Festival.
"You...?" Li Dan raised his eyes and looked at Gu Da.
"Kill!" Gu Da gestured with his hand, causing Shen Wu to scream in fright.
"Wait, don't scream. What did you say about your brother just now? You haven't finished speaking yet?" Mao Zaidi pushed him and reminded him.
"Ah, yes, I haven't finished speaking yet!" Shen Wu responded quickly, but suddenly remembered that he was going to follow the army to the battlefield. His bones softened and he said with a cry:
"I, I don't have the ability to serve all the masters, so I can let my brother ensure that my position is perfect, right?" After finishing speaking, he looked at this and that expectantly.
"After talking for a long time, you still haven't explained clearly to me, what does your brother do? How much ability does he have?" Zhao Jingzi glared at him and reminded him.
"My brother is a locksmith." He just finished speaking, and the people around him burst into laughter. Shen Wu hurriedly shouted: "He is not an ordinary locksmith! Does Shenjinfang Lock Shop know? The fourth generation of my family has been in this business.
"
"That's why you are a thief. It's easy to open a lock." Yang Yi's words caused another burst of laughter.
"It's true that he was invited to build the Water Transport Time Platform in Prince Ning's Mansion in Nanchang and the Armillary Sphere on Longhu Mountain!"
No one laughed when I said this. This is not an experience that ordinary locksmiths can have.
"He... is also good at martial arts. He was taught by the Taoist Priest of Longhu Mountain. Unfortunately, Niubi said that he was not destined to be the right one and refused to accept him as an apprentice in the mountain. My brother had no choice but to go home and continue working as a locksmith."
"Then...where is he now?" Yang Yi asked.
"Shanggrao."
Li Dan blinked: "Okay, let's set off first. Sooner or later we have to go to Shangrao for a walk. When we get to Shangrao and see your brother, if he is really capable and agrees to join the team, that's all. Otherwise, I have to hand you over.
Government!"
Li Dan, Yang Yi and Gu Da set off as the second group after Song Xiaoniu. Zhang Bo took behind him with Master Ba and Zongzi Shenwu who had just finished applying the medicine and their arms were pricked like chicken legs, with their forearms hanging on their chests.
Huang Qin was released home. Li Dan heard that he agreed to go on this trip because he had a wife, children and a blind mother, so he gave him five taels of silver for living expenses and forty kilograms of rice collected by everyone.
Ask him to choose and go back to settle down with his family first, then meet back at Wannian City.
Huang Qin put his bow on his back and swore an oath, and then left with a lot of gratitude. The sambar deer he had hunted was hung on the other end of the pole, dangling behind him.
In those days, people valued integrity and trust, and those who wrote a letter of surrender and agreed on the terms of ransom, like Zhao Jingzi and others, would not escape even if they were not tied up;
For someone like Huang Qin who has sworn to come back, he will appear by himself without having to find him. His integrity is gone, his reputation is ruined, and he is looked down upon in the world, let alone a foothold.
So Li Dan is not worried about Huang Qin. He is not only a good bow and arrow player, but also a person who values reputation and credibility. This is the style of a chivalrous person. It doesn't matter whether he lives in a forest, a cave or a mansion!
The conversation was brief, and the two teams quickly met under the archway outside Tuanji Village.
They had not been in it before, but now that Zhao Jingzi and the others had entered the car formation, they realized that their opponents were really unusually powerful!
As soon as the assembly whistle sounded, the teams quickly stood up one by one on the side indicated by the commander, reported the number, and then boarded the train in sequence starting from the first group according to Li Dan's command...
The rope nets brought back have been re-hung on both sides of the carriage, and bamboo guns and bundles of camping fences are placed inside. The team members are sitting on both sides of the carriage, with luggage, backpacks and other equipment at their feet.
The weapon sat at the back of the car, and the chief and corps commander sat at the back.
Wu Kun got into Yang Yi's car, and they got along and chatted happily.
Wu Kun wanted to send them all the way to Wannian and help them meet with his brother-in-law. He also wanted to hold a cleansing party for Li Dan and ask his two younger brothers to come and get to know him.
"Now I know why they came so quickly." Zhao Jingzi said.
He and Hei Laosi were arranged to board the car of Li Dan's group. When he stretched his head and saw Zao Liu with a bridle in his shaft, he was startled again: "You actually have such a good horse? We didn't see it before.
!”
"It was originally a war horse. Today, I asked it to temporarily change its role."
Li Dan ordered the whole team to set off, then explained to Zhao Jingzi, and then introduced him to Chen Salmon, who was looking at Hei Laosi with strange eyes.
In order to avoid the embarrassment of the other party, he asked Hei Laosi: "Your ancestors came from the south sea, why don't you go back? Don't you miss your hometown?"
"Because of the marriage proposal." Hei Laosi explained: "Our hometown is Muslim, but it will be more troublesome if we marry the locals.
So my grandfather simply announced to convert to Buddhism outside the team, so that he would not have to eat any meat. In this way, my family also forged a fate with the Buddha."
"So you are a vegetarian?" Chen Salmon looked at the other person's size in disbelief.
"Well, I'm not just a vegetarian. I've also had a lot of food and wine. Maybe that's why the host didn't want to be tonsured." Hei Laosi scratched his scalp in embarrassment.
"Nonsense, you just said you scared them because of your fierce looks."
"Well, maybe it's both reasons."
Everyone laughed and thought that although the black charcoal ball was ugly, it was quite interesting. After sitting together and talking and laughing, everyone's original grudges disappeared a lot.
"So...you don't understand the Muslim religion and the language of your hometown?" Li Dan's concern is different from others.
"Actually... when our ancestors worshiped Buddha, they recited sutras and many rituals were based on Muslim teaching. He also taught me when I was a child, telling me the difference between Muslim teaching and Buddhism, and how to say it there."
Hei Laosi looked at Zhao Jingzi: "When we were wandering, I sometimes helped merchants and sailors on the dock. Gradually, I became familiar with the people there, but it was still difficult to read their books."
Li Dan was very satisfied, and turned to Zhao Jingzi and said: "Xianfu (Zhao Jingzi), you are not familiar with me when you just arrived. I will gradually assign your errands."
Normally when camping, I am responsible for issuing and taking back camp fences. There must be no shortage of fences. If they are broken or loose, they must be repaired in time.
I don’t think we will go to the battlefield for the time being, but if there is a gangster attack, your task is to guard our big car, including the livestock, the jujube horse and the supplies on the car. Do you understand?”
In fact, he didn't say anything. Locked in the bed box under the seat were the drawings he drew for Chen Sanwen, his own notes, and the three hundred taels of silver notes that his aunt secretly stuffed with a needle.
Wannian is located just east of Yugan. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Yugan was the governor of Raozhou. At that time, Wannian was just a military town and belonged to Yugan.
In the former Song Dynasty, the prefecture was moved to Poyang, and Yugan established a county. In Wannian, it was changed to be directly under the prefecture.
When the former dynasty destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty and unified the country, rough management unleashed the vitality of the people, and the Jiangnan economy became increasingly prosperous. For thousands of years, due to the boom in iron ore and silver mining, counties were established and governed.
At the end of the day, Li Dan's motorcade arrived outside the North Pass of Wannian City and was picked up by Ma Jiu, who had been looking forward to it.
"You are finally here!" Ma Jiu expressed her eagerness, pulling Li Dan and whispering:
"Convoys from all counties were not allowed to enter the city, and they were all concentrated at the camp at the foot of the mountain outside Xiguan.
When you enter the city, you first report to the Service Bureau of the Marching Department. After you get the ticket, you can lead the team into the camp. You can use the ticket to receive errands, supplies and armaments."
"Okay, Uncle Jiu, don't worry." After saying that, Li Dan called Wu Kun to introduce him to him. Ma Jiu was overjoyed when she heard that this was the uncle of Jiao Baihu, the Marching Secretary.
Said: "I don't have to worry now, Saburo will definitely have everything going smoothly!"
So Li Dan took Wu Kun and Mao Zaidi on mules and horses to go into the city on business. Ma Jiu took the convoy to the west of the city and turned to the outside of the camp to wait for him to come back.