"In summer, lotus flowers bloom all over the pond, and suddenly a pair of mandarin ducks fly over. A gust of wind blows them apart, and I, Meng Jiangnu, are in my heart. In autumn, the fragrance of osmanthus comes, and Meng Jiangnu is so miserable at home. Since her husband left, she has been feeling miserable all the time.
I keep it in my heart. Winter is coming, and Meng Jiangnu is sending cold clothes to her husband. On the way, she suddenly hears a crow crow on the tree, and Meng Jiangnu is so frightened that she walks away..."
In the early morning, a warm sun has just climbed up from the Western Mountain, dispelling the slight coolness left in this late autumn and September night. Several women with their heads wrapped in coarse cloth and wearing gray linen with many patches were squatting in a trickling stream.
On the other side, he was tapping his clothes with a mallet in his hand, humming a sweet but somewhat sad tune in his mouth.
At this moment, four men leading horses came over. They were of different ages. The older one had white hair, while the younger one had white and tender skin, like a girl.
Among them, the handsome young man continued to take a few steps forward, straightened his thickened rough clothes, stopped next to a kind-looking woman, clasped his fists and said: "Sister-in-law, I dare to ask how far away Yan is from here."
How far is it to Shuixian County?"
The woman was so focused on singing that she didn't notice the people approaching. She was startled when she heard the sound and almost fell into the river. She exhaled, turned her head and observed the people, and saw that they all had weapons in their hands.
, couldn't help but become nervous, but seeing the smiling face of the man in front of him, he didn't look like a bad guy, so he raised his hand and pointed to the upstream direction of the river: "After passing through the forest in front, walk ten miles further north to Yanshui City."
Hearing that there was still such a long distance, Tang Ji frowned slightly and glanced at Su Qing beside him: "I just said that we can't make it before dawn. If I had known, it would be better to sleep in Qingxian County before setting off."
Su Qing smiled and did not answer.
They have been out for more than half a month. If it were not for Tang Ji, he might have arrived in Yingzhou long ago, so sometimes it is necessary to urge him.
Tang Ji did not continue to complain, but instead thanked the woman in front of him: "Thank you, eldest sister."
After listening to their words, the woman was sure that these people were not mountain bandits or horse bandits. After all, those people would not know the distance from Qing County to Yanshui County. She stopped what she was doing and said, "Little brother, this Yanshui County
Banditry is rampant and it is very unsettled, so it would be best for you to leave as soon as possible."
Tang Ji smiled calmly: "Thank you, sister-in-law, for reminding me that we are here to visit relatives and will leave later."
"Well, if you can, just take your relatives and leave together. This Hengzhou is really not a place for people. I heard from my son that the northwest is already in chaos, and it is estimated that it will not be long before there is war and chaos!"
The woman's face had a smile just a moment ago, but in an instant it turned into melancholy.
Seeing this, Su Qing took a small step forward and said comfortingly: "Sister-in-law, don't worry, the imperial army is already on its way and will ensure that the northwest is safe."
Hearing this, the woman snorted coldly: "The imperial court? Does the imperial court treat us as human beings? That dog official in Yanshui County is addicted to wine and sex, colludes with bandits, and poisons countless people. Even if nothing happens to the northwest, there will be no trouble."
, then will our life be easier? That damn dog officer..."
Listening to her endless complaints, Tang Ji sighed, looked at Su Qing, and left quietly.
Along the way westward, he had heard complaints like this dozens of times. He had seen the state of Ningguo go from prosperity to desolation, officials from integrity to corruption, and the people from living and working in peace and contentment to living in poverty. He finally understood why the northwest became the center of Ningguo.
It is a cancer, because it is rotten from the root, so no matter what kind of political and economic policies are implemented, it will have no effect. The only way is to get rid of these local officials.
However, they have more important things to do now. Besides, it is difficult to attack those dog officials without the permission of the Dog Emperor. Since they can't help, it's better to listen less to these voices.
Soon, everyone got on their horses again and ran towards the northern woods.
...
Although the journey was still a bit long, fortunately, several people rode fast horses and arrived at Yanshui County in no time.
Fifty steps away from the city tower, the four of them got off their horses. Tang Ji raised his eyes and looked around. The city tower not far away seemed to have been ravaged by time and was not neat at all. There was even a small piece missing from the crenels.
I don't know if the wooden building has faded or is stained with dust, giving people a dilapidated look. The three characters "Yanshui County" engraved in the center are extremely blurry, and there are scattered inscriptions on the city gate below.
Several figures lowered their heads and bent their waists, looking as if their souls had been sucked out.
Hengzhou, one of the prefectures in the northwest, adjacent to Yingzhou, has a vast territory and governs nine counties. He had seen this scene yesterday in Qingxian County next door. Tang Ji was not surprised. He sighed and walked straight over.
But what happened next almost made his jaw drop.
Because I was too far away just now, I couldn't see clearly. When I got closer, I found several chairs beside the city gate. The city defenders who were supposed to perform their duties were lying lazily on them one by one. Some of them had red faces and dull eyes.
, obviously drank too much, the fat man at the back was still stuffing pastries into his mouth, the man at the front looked a bit fierce, with one foot on the chair, his head on his knees, holding a long whip in his hand, and said
The people who passed the customs were pointing and pointing.
Seeing this scene, Su Qing took the lead and couldn't help it any longer. She gritted her teeth and was about to scold him, but was stopped by Tang Ji.
"Lao Su, be more restrained."
Chu Chenghu soon noticed the four people and saw that they were all holding horses, and the horses looked quite good. He immediately became energetic, waved his hand to signal the people who were queuing to step aside, and then called:
"What are you doing!"
Tang Ji gave Su Qing a look, then laughed innocently, and quickly greeted him: "Master, we are here to find relatives. The son of my uncle's mother's daughter is in the city. We have been separated for several years, and now
I missed him very much, and I heard that he was not having a good life, so I thought of coming over to visit him."
After saying that, he handed over the customs clearance document that Tianxuan forged for them.
Chu Chenghu took the document and glanced at it casually. He was about to speak, but was interrupted by the younger brother waving his fingers next to him.
"Brother, isn't the son of my uncle's mother's daughter his own?" the thin soldier asked.
"Shut up!" Chu Chenghu slapped him on the head. Now that the northwest is in chaos, how could someone come to visit relatives? Naturally, he didn't believe the other person's lies, but he didn't bother to expose them. After all, he didn't want to expose them two days ago.
There was also a young man who said something similar and gave him ten taels of silver in tolls. I wonder if this person today... ahem, he stopped thinking about it and said with a naive smile: "Maybe he is the brother of this young master.
!”
Tang Ji didn't expect that someone would really bother with the nonsense he made up casually, but he also saw what the guy in front of him meant, so without thinking much, he took out a silver ingot from his pocket and stuffed it into the other person's hand: "Hahaha, that's right, that's right.
My brother, he is an illegitimate child. I was afraid that it would get a bad reputation, so I didn’t say much."
Chu Chenghu weighed the silver in his hand twice, raised the corner of his mouth, raised his hand to signal the soldiers to let them go, and did not forget to say a few polite words: "The Double Ninth Festival has just passed, and the master's love for his family is really touching. Come on, come quickly
Go in, don't waste time."
Seeing the other party's hypocritical look, Tang Ji refrained from vomiting out the food he had eaten last night. He raised his hand to say thank you and led the three of them into the city.
After they walked away, Chu Chenghu put the money to his mouth and took a bite, then put it into his pocket, leaned on the seat again, and murmured: "If there were more stupid people like this and rich money every day.
That’ll be fine.”
The next second, he saw a man in black clothes and a half-mask walking straight into the city. He raised his hand to stop him: "Hey, hey, what's the matter with you? If you want to enter the city, you have to pay five
A copper plate, or grandpa will break your legs!"
But as soon as he finished speaking, the man in black spit out a slender piece of grass in his mouth, stabbed it directly into the table next to him, and sneered: "What did you just say?"
Chu Chenghu looked at the tabletop that was penetrated by fine grass. He couldn't help feeling cold behind him. A few drops of sweat squeezed out from his forehead. He shook his head crazily: "Master, I...I was wrong. Just think that I was farting just now."
Please, please..."
The man in black grinned, and then spread his hands: "After traveling all night, grandpa is about to starve to death. By the way, I don't seem to have any silver coins with me. Can I borrow ten taels of silver?"
The corner of Chu Chenghu's mouth twitched. This guy obviously did it on purpose, but considering the opponent's strong martial arts, he could only choose to swallow his anger and said with a smile: "Of course you can."
After saying that, he took out the silver he had just received from his pocket and handed it over.
"Thank you!" The man in black waved his hand casually and walked straight into the city.
Looking at his back, Chu Chenghu slammed the table: "Damn it, today is so fucking unlucky!"