The first news that came from Hejian Prefecture was the increase in taxes and levies.
Ever since the Female Zhenren came and the Wu dynasty was forced to move south, the Central Plains had never had a good time. According to the old people and sorcerers, the officials of the Wu dynasty had lost their luck, so the years were bad. Sometimes there were floods, and sometimes there were droughts. Last year, there was also a great plague of locusts that ravaged the Central Plains. People who had lost their way to survive turned into "hungry ghosts" and went all the way south. No one knew how many wandering souls there were on the banks of the Yellow River.
The hungry ghosts crossed the Yellow River. This year, the north of the Yellow River ushered in a rare peaceful year. There were no more natural disasters and no more refugees. The wheat in the fields grew taller, and then there was a heavy harvest. In the Kuangzi Village, Wang Laoshi was ready to find a wife for his son, but the officials from the yamen came to visit.
This year, the taxes and corvee labor had been greatly increased. In the officials' hesitant tone, they were about to calculate 60% of this year's income. The wheat that could produce less than two shans per mu had to pay more than one shan, so they couldn't live in the following days.
Wang Laoshi was usually a gentle person, but this time, he couldn't help but say some harsh words to the officials in the yamen, "You are also human beings, and you are raised by your parents. You are going to force the villagers to death."
After the officials left in embarrassment, Wang Laoshi lost his strength and sat in the yard in a daze, looking at the three mud houses in the house. It was so hard to live, and it was meaningless. After thinking about it, he still felt that it was better when the Wu dynasty was still around.
Not long after, his son came back. When he learned about the taxes, he blushed and couldn't say anything. His son was also an honest young man. He was already twenty-three this year, but he still hadn't married a wife. It was not that there were no women around, but it was too hard in the early years. He didn't dare to marry, and he couldn't raise a wife. If the taxes from the government were to be pushed down, he would have to eat leftovers again this year, not to mention raising another woman.
On the dreary autumn night, many people had the same heavy feeling in their hearts. The next day, a meeting was held in the village's ancestral hall. They couldn't go on like this. They had to tell their masters about their suffering and ask them to be kind and give them a way out. After all, "Even when the Female Zhenren came, she didn't go so far."
The clan invited the old squire. In order to smooth things over, they also contributed some money and grain. Wang Laoshi and his son were chosen as the porters. They carried wheat, cured meat, and other things, and followed the elders into the city. Soon after, they got in touch with the neighboring villages. They all sent representatives to their superiors to present their grievances one by one.
Seeing more and more people, Wang Laoshi and the others began to feel excited. The officials along the way also let them pass. Soon after, they came to the Hejian Prefecture. The magistrate Wang Manguang came to appease them. The two sides negotiated several times, but it was not successful. When the people below talked about the cunning of the corrupt officials, they began to scold them. Then, a rhyme of cursing the corrupt officials spread in the city.
Two days later, a large number of soldiers suddenly poured into the city, and martial law was imposed. Wang Laoshi and the others were scared. They thought that the rebellion against the government had become a big deal, but they didn't expect that the soldiers didn't arrest them. Instead, they went directly to the magistrate's office. It was said that the corrupt official Wang Manguang was imprisoned.
After that, things developed quickly. Within two days, there were many people outside and inside the city, and the officials were imprisoned one after another. Only two days later, a huge execution platform was set up at the entrance of the market in the Hejian Prefecture. On this day, Wang Laoshi and the others received the news and went to the market to see the heads of the corrupt officials, the government runners, and the officials being beheaded.
These originally tyrannical and tyrannical officials were escorted out in groups. Wang Manguang was very fat, his head and intestines were full of fat. At this moment, he was tied up and his mouth was gagged with a piece of cloth. He looked extremely battered. Such a corrupt official deserved to be killed. People picked up the things on the ground and threw them at him. Soon after, he was the first to be pressed in front of the execution platform. The female official who came down from the platform announced that he had neglected his duty.
Most people didn't understand the accusation, so they just cheered. Wang Manguang's head was broken, and his forehead was bleeding. When he was about to be beheaded, the executioner took off the piece of cloth in his mouth. The fat corrupt official glanced at the crowd in front of him and said one last sentence. In this era, Wang Manguang was not a good official. It could even be said that he had a bad record. But because of this sentence, he was recorded in the history later.
"Run … folks …" the corrupt official with a bloody head said.
After a while, the executioner's knife fell.
On this day, in the cheers of the people, almost one-third of the original management of the government in the Hejian Prefecture were killed. Heads rolled, and blood flowed like a river. Wanyan Chang, the "Marshal" from the Northern Region, presided over the justice.
Since the Marshal of the Jurchen Clan was here, the elders were no longer qualified to meet him, so they all returned to the village. Three days after Wang Manguang's death, the new yamen and the team of bailiffs resumed their operations. This time, the two bailiffs who came to Wang Laoshi's house had a completely different attitude compared to the last time.
This time, they came to save their lives.
After a series of notices, more taxes were suppressed. Wang Laoshi was dumbfounded. Then, he cursed just like last time. Then, he was hit on the head with a stick. When his head was bleeding, he heard the bailiff scolding, "If you don't listen, everyone will be killed because of you!"
On this day, people around the Hejian Prefecture began to remember what Wang Manguang said before he was beheaded.
However, it was too late to escape.
The runners and soldiers around the Hejian Prefecture began to take action, blocking all the roads and traffic. The same thing was happening in Hebei, Jingdong, and other places ruled by Pingdong General Li Xizhi. On the North Hebei Road, the 300,000 Jurchen troops who had knocked on the pass went all the way south. The vanguard led by Wanyan Zongbi had already passed Zhending.
In the small Kuangzi Village, Wang Laoshi and the others did not understand what was going to happen next. But on the stage of the world, the southern expedition of 300,000 troops meant that the war aimed at destroying and conquering the Wu dynasty had been completely sounded, and there was no room for negotiation. A ferocious battle soon unfolded in front of them.
On the 24th of July, the "wolves" raided the Daimyo Mansion!
Since the Wu dynasty moved south, the power of the Wu dynasty, led by Wang Shanyue and the Hu family of Dulonggang, who had been operating in the East Jingdong Road and Liangshan area for several years, finally revealed its long-hidden fangs.
Since Liu Yu established the power of Daqi with the support of the Jin Kingdom, the East Jingdong Road had been the core of this power. But the East Jingdong Road, later known as the Liangshan area of Shandong, was still a blind spot in this power's jurisdiction. At this time, Liangshan was still a pool of water that covered hundreds of miles. Nearby places such as Dulonggang and Zengtou City were remote and full of bandits.
Where the Wu dynasty was difficult to rule, the fake Qi was also difficult to rule. When Liu Yu's court was infiltrated by the Black Flag Army, the emperor was beaten in the palace, and Liu Yu moved south, this area belonged to the Qi family led by Li Xizhi and the great scholar behind her, Qi Yan. Li Xizhi failed to suppress the bandits many times. Later, with great effort, he flattened Dulonggang and reported his mission hastily. But behind him, Wang Shanyue and the others were still able to connect and expand their influence in the name of the "orthodox Wu dynasty". In the past few years, they had completed the actual rule of the entire Liangshan area.
The bandits nearby came to join them and the righteous people gathered. Even some of Li Xizhi's righteous subordinates either contacted Wang Shanyue on their own initiative or in private. They also communicated with Wang Shanyue in private. This time, as the order was issued, the area around the Daimyo's residence was shown to Li Xizhi and her people what it meant to be "infiltrated into a sieve". On the 24th, Liangshan's 30,000-strong army suddenly appeared outside the Daimyo's residence. Outside the city, the city was in chaos. In less than half a day, the 50,000-strong army guarding the Daimyo's residence was completely routed. Wang Shanyue and Hu Sanniang, who led the team, completed the takeover of the Daimyo's residence.
This was the eruption of almost all the resources that the Wu dynasty had left behind. It was also where Wang Shanyue, who had once followed Ning Yi, learned the most about the Black Flag Army. This time, there was no room for turning back the spear against the spear and the cannon against the cannon on the table.
The Daimyo's residence was one of the supply relay points for the Jurchen army heading south. As the grain collection unfolded these days, the amount of grain gathered here was even more astonishing. The Wu dynasty's first attack struck the Jurchen army where it hurt. As the news spread, the 100,000 troops that Li Xizhi had already gathered, along with the 10,000 troops that the Jurchen Daoists had originally stationed in Jingdong, joined forces and fiercely charged in this direction.
With this first attack, the war spread with a loud rumble. The road north of the lake was already a mess and desolation. Occasionally, empty ruins and villages could be seen. A caravan of carriages was heading north along this road.
At this moment, the caravans that could travel on this kind of road were not ordinary people. Although there were few people in this caravan, it was still possible to see the agility of the men. The carriage ahead was jolting. Occasionally, a woman's voice could be heard. It was the soft humming of a song. Sometimes it was the "Lilies of Orchids", sometimes it was the "Children of Peach Days", and sometimes it was "Li Sao" and "Big Mouse". There was no accompaniment, but listening to it made one feel relaxed and happy.
However, the disorderly singing also revealed that the singer's state of mind was not calm.
Lu Junyi was at the front of the carriage. He glanced back.
"Miss Shishi, it's not peaceful up ahead. You really should have listened and headed south."
The woman in the carriage was Li Shishi. She was dressed in coarse clothes. As she hummed, she mended the tattered clothes in her hands. She had once been the most popular woman in Fan Lou, so naturally she didn't need to do too much needlework. But over the years, she had gradually grown older and had been tossed and turned on the bumpy road. Now that she was sewing and mending in the swaying carriage, it actually didn't hinder her.
"In today's world, there's no peaceful place anyway."
"If you head south, you'll definitely find a place to rest. With our people around, hungry ghosts can't catch you."
"I'll head southwest. Will he be willing to see me?"
"The one with the surname Ning is not a coward."
"But I don't want to see him."
Shishi lowered her head and smiled. She bit off the thin thread in her hand. After a while, she put down her things and leaned against the window to look out. The wind messed up her hair. Over the years, she had been tossed and turned, but she didn't become old and weak. On the contrary, age had solidified on her face. Only time had turned into a free and easy temperament, embellishing her brows.
Lu Junyi shook his head and sighed. "Xiaoyi went to do his work. I don't understand you women's thoughts. But war is not a game. If you're ready, I have nothing to say. "
"Yes." Shishi nodded in the carriage. "I know. I've seen him."
She looked down at her hands. It was more than ten years ago, when she was in her early twenties. The Lady Zhenren finally came and attacked Bianliang. At that time, she wanted to do something and helped clumsily. She thought of General Xue Changgong, who was guarding the city at that time. She thought of his lover, He Lei 'er, who lived in Fanlou. Because she was pregnant with his child, she didn't dare to go to the city wall to help. Later, they didn't have a child. Did they get together?
It was all gone.
More than ten years had changed, and the surroundings had been turned upside down. It was the same between her and Ning Yi. Due to a freak combination of factors, they became "old lovers". In fact, at many critical times, she almost became his "lover". But fate made a fool of people. In the end, it became distant and alienated.
She used to have a good impression of him. Later, she admired him. Later, she couldn't understand him. Now she understood part of it, but there were still many things that she couldn't understand. The world had been turned upside down, and some budding feelings were no longer important. In the few years after she learned of his "death," she left Dali and moved around. Thinking back to last year, they might have almost met in Zezhou, but he didn't want to see her. After that, she didn't want to see him. Perhaps one day, when she understood everything, she would go see him again.
"I'm sorry, Ning Liheng. I wronged you." She hoped that when that day came, she could say such a sentence to him, and then confess to an insignificant relationship. However, she wasn't qualified yet. There were still too many things that she didn't understand.
But there were also some things that she could understand now.
As the Lady Zhenren went south again, Wang Shanyue's attack on the Lady Zhenren finally began. And the team that had accompanied her from the south to the north finally began to have their own business. A few days ago, Yan Qing led a group of people to leave the team and go north to carry out a mission that belonged to him. And after Lu Junyi failed to persuade her to go south, he led the team to the lake.
"It's time to see some old friends," Lu Junyi said.
"… When I was young, I practiced the spear and brandished the stick. I had a rough understanding of military strategy. I thought that my martial arts were unparalleled, but no one appreciated me. Later, I went to Liangshan, and Ning destroyed Liangshan. I joined the army, and then my hands and feet were tied. Only then did I realize that I didn't have the talent to be a great general. Over the years, I walked around, and now I know that there's no room for hesitation. "
The young master of the Wang family, who used to work under Ning Yi, had already mobilized his forces. The forces of the Black Flag that had been waiting in the Shandong area were finally no longer silent. It had been more than ten years since the former Prime Minister Qin Siyuan led the troops to defend the city, and the Wu Rui Battalion fought a bloody battle in Xia Village. It had also been several years since the bloody battle at Little Canghe. When the Lady Zhenren came south again, it was still this force that stood in front of the raging tide.
Thinking of this, and recalling the twists and turns of the past ten years, Shishi couldn't help but sigh. She couldn't help but feel a surge of lofty aspirations.
Not long after, she saw the troops of the Black Flag gathered at the destination. "Burning City Spear" Zhu Biao led the troops, "Big Blade" Guan Sheng, "Thunderbolt" Qin Ming, "Golden Gunner" Xu Ning, Zhu Long and Zhu Hu of the Zhu family, and other generals were already waiting here. Then, "Jade Kirin" Lu Junyi returned to the troops.
The reeds of this year's Liangshan Lake had withered. The gathering of heroes brought more or less sighs to each other, but more than that, it was the lofty aspirations and lofty aspirations that gathered in front of them. Compared to what they were going to experience at this moment, the former Liangshan Lake and Ju Yi Hall were just small dust in their memories. Song Jiang, Wu Yong, and the others were just clowns that remained in the past.
The autumn wind was bleak, and the flood surged.
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