The avenue inside the North Arch Gate was crowded with people, and people with relatives outside the city were leaving the city to avoid trouble.
Because the North Gate was not official, it was originally a relatively deserted place. The prosperous ones were Dongzuo Gate, Xiangyang Gate and South Gate. But today, there are corpses hanging high in the South Gate and Dongzuo Gate, and half of the gate tower of Dongzuo Gate was burned down.
Therefore, even if the husband and servants had taken away the body, no one wanted to pass under it.
Pang Yu didn't want to take his parents through the east gate, so he chose the north gate to leave the city. Now it seems that many people think so.
Pang Yu's father is a single descendant of three generations. He only has one sister who is married in Dongxiang, but it is inconvenient to disturb him. Fortunately, Pang Yu's mother's natal family is in Kongcheng Town, and she also has a second uncle in the countryside. At least there are some tile-roofed houses in the family, so she can temporarily take refuge.
After a while, the journey was about twenty miles, so I made an appointment with some old family members who were also living in the county to return to their hometown together. It was a shortcut from the north gate to Kongcheng Town.
Just as he was about to reach the city gate, there was suddenly a loud noise in front of him, and the crowd turned around and returned.
Pang Yu grabbed a porter pushing a wheelbarrow and said, "What happened to the north arch? Is there a corpse there too?"
"There are no corpses, but you can't leave outside the city. The gang that killed last night set up a flag in Hujiazhuang, right on the road. Who dares to leave."
Another old man next to him heard this and said, "They say there are thousands of tall men."
Pang Yu asked hurriedly, "Who are the thousands of men? Who is the leader?"
"Who knows, but there are people with swords and horses. They say that the leader with a long sword and a silver helmet killed the man at the east gate with one blow."
The porter next to him also said, "You can't go through the Dongzuo Gate, so everyone is going to the Yang Gate."
At this time, another porter hurriedly caught up. He stopped the previous porter and said, "Some people in front of me said that Hujiazhuang set up a flag to summon people, saying that they wanted to redress the grievances of the people, and that they were going to kill Fang Xiangqian. They also had enemies with the Wu family and the Ye family in the city.
Everyone, go with them to take revenge."
The porter was a bit honest, shaking his head and saying, "I have no grudge against anyone. It is proper to leave the city early. You also come back to the village with me first, otherwise what will you do if your wife asks about it?"
"It's not for women to talk about men's affairs. Hujiazhuang is not far from left and right. Let's take a look first. Many people have already gone. I just heard from a man who went back to the city to pick up clothes. That group of people didn't kill people indiscriminately.
Only the evil gentry and domestic slaves will be killed."
The two porters got into an argument for a while. There were people nearby going in both directions, but most of them were avoiding the trouble.
Although Pang Yu wanted to go to Hujiazhuang to see it, he was not safe in his uniform and might be killed by the gangsters, so he decided to send his parents out of the city first.
After asking around, I found out that Hujiazhuang is at the foot of Touzi Mountain on the official road. If you go out from the north gate, it is the only way to go. Everyone was afraid, especially those with women.
Although you have to go around a long way to Yangmen, safety comes first after all.
Seeing that most of the people were heading south, several families who were traveling with them had a little discussion and had no choice but to follow them to Xiangyang Gate. Only that gate could be left.
The distance from North Arch Gate to Xiangyang Gate on this trip is not close. Fortunately, my mother is a rural woman. She had to do farm work when she was a child. The family did not have time to bind his feet. His hands and feet are so big that he does not need anyone to take care of him. He usually works in a drug store.
Once you get used to it, you can physically handle it.
As she walked, she complained anxiously, "Why don't those thousands of men want to make a living but insist on doing this beheading thing? What should I do?"
"Mother, don't believe that there are thousands of men. There are no soldiers or generals in the city. There are only about a hundred government officials, and I estimate that less than ten of them can fight.
If there were thousands of men with swords, they would have entered the city long ago."
The father of the Pang family also said worriedly, "Since we are setting up flags, there are quite a few people there. There are so many outside the city, and there must be others inside the city. Otherwise, how could the city gate be opened last night?"
Pang Yu was speechless for a moment. Yesterday, Wang Jiaoyu did arrange to close the city gate early and sent additional strong and fast squads to guard each gate. However, someone opened the door in the middle of the night. At this time, his father said that there must be someone in the city.
Nei Ying opened the city gate, maybe even a government official, otherwise why would he open the city gate silently?
Moreover, both the east and west gates of the south gate were opened. The Ye family at the east gate and the Wu family at the south gate both had their concierges burned. In addition to Yin Deng at the east gate, there was also a head hanging at the south gate. Rumors in the city were divided, and Pang Yu has been
We still don't know who the body is.
(Note 1) However, the two corpses showed that those anonymous posts the night before yesterday were not just false threats, so there was a peak of people evacuating out of the city early on the 24th.
Rumors abounded along the way, some said he was a leading member of the rogue bandits, some said he was another group of domestic slaves in Tongcheng, and some said he was a righteous citizen somewhere who just wanted to redress the injustice of the people.
Her parents kept urging her to leave the city, and Pang Yu hadn't had time to go to the county government office in the morning, so she didn't know who to trust.
The doors of the shops along the way were all closed, and some people were whispering to each other on the street. The hawkers who usually walked the streets were nowhere to be seen, and people continued to join the flow of people fleeing.
He arrived at Xiangyang Gate in a panic. Finally, the city gate was still open and there were no government officials at the door. Pang Yu stopped for a moment in front of the door. There was actually a post "Enforcement on behalf of the Emperor" posted in a conspicuous place. I wonder if it was posted again last night.
Going up.
Pang Yu looked around and suddenly felt an uneasy feeling, as if someone was observing the surroundings. Anyone who tears up the post will be retaliated by those people.
Pang Yu took a deep breath. He also knew that this feeling was probably due to psychological suggestion, especially the corpse in the east gate that strongly stimulated him.
But he didn't dare to tear up the post. He stayed there for a while and didn't dare to reach out. He shook his head and hurried out of the door.
Pang Yu stopped at the door and handed the bundle to Pang Ding, "Pang Ding, send our parents to the countryside. Remember that the medicine knife is in this bag."
Mom held on to Pang Yu's sleeve and said, "Son, let's go to the countryside with mom."
"Why don't you have to guard the medicine shop? There are so many medicinal materials stored in it that you can't move it away. No one is guarding the house, and someone just comes and steals it."
"No matter how much medicine there is, it's not as important as Yu'er. When the medicine is gone, we'll make more money slowly. As long as people are around, it'll be easier."
Pang Yu shook his head. He didn't know why he had to stay, but since he saw the corpse, he only felt a little uncomfortable at first, but later he was in a state of fear and excitement.
Pang Yu has experienced this feeling many times, it is a trait of his own personality, but this is the first time it has appeared since time travel. It was only stimulated under such conditions, and now he really enjoys this feeling.
After thinking about it, he persuaded his mother, "I can't listen to you on this matter, and you can't listen to me either."
My mother was surprised and said, "Who do you want to listen to?"
"You have to listen to the old man with white beard. He said that I will be fine and I must stay. I can live to be eighty-four years old."
"But Yu'er, why are you staying in the city?"
Pang Yu said righteously, "Because this is my duty as a slave, and I should fulfill my duties.
When someone is causing trouble in the city and the people are in panic, how can you worry about your own personal safety? Your son is a man who is upright and upright, even though there are thousands of people going there."
"Yu'er, don't go there. Mom doesn't want you to be upright. Mom wants you to live well and rely on you to provide for your parents in their old age."
"I know, mother."
Pang Yu hung all the baggage on Pang Ding and said casually, "What the old man with the white beard said is absolutely fine. You go to my second uncle's house for a while first, son, so that I can protect the people with peace of mind."
Tears welled up in my mother's eyes, "At worst, we won't be that servant anymore. We won't work for any amount of money. As long as our son is here, it's better than any amount of money."
Pang Yu looked at his mother's old face. He had never had any special feelings for the role of the mother in front of him, because he didn't actually get along with her for long and was unable to establish a deep relationship. He rarely considered the advantages of his mother and father. Pass.
At this moment, facing my mother's eyes, I could see the natural care and concern in them, and suddenly there was a strange tangerine feeling in my heart.
But my father came out and said to my mother, "We have discussed it at home, but when the end comes, we have to change things. Since Yu'er said it was the god's wish, I just let him stay. The god was already very effective." , if you are really worried, just leave Ponting behind."
"Let Ponting take you back to your hometown first..." Dad interrupted, "There are several families with us, and they only bring a few pieces of soft clothing. There is no need for Ponting to send you back to your hometown. It's useless to talk more. You go back to your shop. Someone needs to take care of it."
Pang Yu didn't want to continue arguing. There were indeed several fellow villagers who lived near my mother's natal home, so they could take care of each other, so she agreed immediately.
Pang Ding reluctantly took off all the baggage and put it on the cart of a fellow countryman next to him.
My mother kept looking back all the way, and she was still looking back after walking a long way.
Pang Yu kept waving to him, indicating that she didn't need to worry, but she didn't know if her mother could understand this gesture.
Pang Ding said sadly at the side, "I don't want to stay in the city. Is it okay for the young master to ask me to go to my second uncle's house to take care of the master and his wife?"
Pang Yu didn't answer him at all, "My parents have returned to their hometown, so I feel relieved now."
Pang Ding cried sadly and said, "Master, why do you want to stay? The city is in such chaos. The man was burned to death and hung on the Dongzuo Gate. Aren't you afraid?"
"Why are you not afraid? But those who dare not take risks will not make a fortune. Only when there is danger are there opportunities.
When there is danger, all investments are leveraged, and profits will be magnified, and losses will also be magnified. It’s exciting to think about it.”
"What does stimulation mean?"
Pang Ding looked at the young master carefully, "Master, what are you talking about?"
"I mean you have to be bold, but you have to be cautious."
Pang Ding said in fear, "I don't dare to take action."
"There is no need to take action now, Master, I am not acting blindly, otherwise it would be no different from gambling.
Our first priority is to collect information. Information about the Yamen is easy to find out, but no one knows about the troublemaker, so we have to find a way to find out."
"How to find out?"
"After all, the Yamen has more news than we do. I'll go to the Yamen, and you can go to Hujiazhuang to find out the news about the rebel group."
Pang Ding knelt on the ground with a bang and started wailing on the side of the road, "Master, spare your life, I won't go. It's a den of thieves who want to be beheaded. If you go there, you'll be dead. Even if you beat me to death, I won't go." , let me go after the master and the others, okay..." Pang Yu kicked Pang Ding on the ground several times, and Pang Ding fell to the ground, like a dead dog that couldn't get up.
In the end, Pang Yu couldn't help it. He kicked a few more times in frustration. Looking at Pang Ding who was lying on the ground, he frowned and said, "Why is it so difficult to find a place where you can do things? Come on, you get up first. I don't want you to go. You go back."
Keep the shop.
The young master goes to the Yamen first, and then I go to Hujiazhuang by myself!"
……….
Note 1: For the history of the Tongcheng Civil Rebellion, please refer to "Tongcheng Rilu" written by Jiang Chen, a student in Tongcheng, and Zhang Guowei's "Fuwu Cursive Script".
Huang Wending, Wang Guohua, Zhang Ru, Zheng Lao, Zheng Chao, Yin Deng, Yin He, Wu Bing, Yue Ji, etc. were all real people at that time.