At the end of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 39
The banquet was over, so each went back to each house, each looking for each mother, and at this time the gate of the city was closed, Gao Bufan and his son could not return to the racecourse unless they climbed over the wall, so they could only find an inn in the city to spend the night.

Gao Bufan originally promised Gao Shixiong brothers to visit the Xinghua Chunyu Building, but all the elders of the clan were present, and they couldn't get away. In addition, the 70 taels of gold from Yu Wenhua and his brothers were not immediately cashed out, and Zhou County alone Obviously, the 20 taels of silver won't be able to satisfy Gao Shixiong and his brother's ambition of ordering N fans, so they had to give up and wait for a chance to make up for it in the future.

Gao Bufan thought that his father would ask him about his sudden ability to compose poetry, but Gao Kaishan didn't mention a word until the inn opened a room to stay. The moment the father was about to close the door, he asked: "Father, don't you have anything to ask the child?"

Gao Kaishan asked in astonishment: "What are you asking?"

"Ask why the boy can compose poetry?" Gao Bufan said.

"Go, go, go back to sleep, what's the point of asking, Faner, you can go down to the river to fish for fish at the age of three, and it's so strange that you can recite two lines of poems, otherwise, I will call you Bufan Zuo What?!" After Gao Kaishan finished speaking, he closed the door impatiently, and after a while, the sound of snoring came from inside.

Gao Bufan shrugged his shoulders speechlessly. It would be easy to have a nervous father, so he went back to the next room with peace of mind. However, Gao Bufan was different from his father. He would not be able to sleep without taking a bath, so he called Xiao Er to bring a bath. Bucket and water, take a nice shower before going to bed.

Lying on the bed, Gao Bufan first took out Changsun Sheng's jade pendant and played with it for a while, then took out the iron crossbow barrel and fell into deep thought. He originally wanted to ask Changsun Sheng about the origin of this crossbow barrel, but I haven't been able to find an opportunity today, but fortunately Changsun Sheng said that he would visit the racecourse, so he must have the opportunity to ask for advice when he arrives.

Gao Bufan thought wildly for a while, but couldn't fall asleep, so he simply sat up and practiced the exercises taught by the man in black. He didn't know whether it was because of his strong concentration, or because he was really gifted, so he quickly entered the place of the man in black. The so-called "things and I forget both" realm.

Gao Kaishan and his son stayed at the inn tonight, and Lu Chisong, the prefect of Bohai County, also stayed at the inn. There was no way, after all, there was only one back house of the county government office, and now it was taken over by Yu Wenhua and his brothers, and the county magistrate Zhou couldn't find a second one. Ya came to flatter Lu Taishou, so he had to arrange him to stay in an inn.

However, the inn where Prefect Lu lived was much more luxurious than the inn where Gao Kaishan and his son lived. Not only was it a single courtyard, the courtyard was even full of bonsai, which was very elegant.

At this time, the room was still lit, but prefect Lu was wearing a purple robe and Erliang Jinxian crown, sitting on his seat, while County Magistrate Zhou was standing in front of him respectfully waiting for instructions.

"Lord Zhou, how do you plan to deal with the refugees gathered at the gate of the city?" Prefect Lu asked calmly.

County magistrate Zhou replied cautiously: "Most of these people are disaster-stricken people from Zhangnan County. I plan to mobilize the gentry to set up huts to provide porridge tomorrow. After a few days when the flood recedes, these people will naturally retreat."

Prefect Lu's face darkened, and he reprimanded: "It's ridiculous. These people's houses were destroyed, their fields were flooded, they had no fixed place to live, and they didn't have enough to eat. Even if the flood receded, they might not be willing to go back. Now they are all accumulated here. It is very easy to lead to a civil uprising, and I am afraid that not only will you lose your life, but your life will also be in danger."

County magistrate Zhou shivered cleverly, and said in a stuttering voice, "Then according to the opinion of the prefect, how should we deal with it?"

Prefect Lu frowned and pondered for a moment: "It's early autumn now, even if the flood subsides, it's too late to replant autumn grain, and it's impossible to give porridge till tomorrow's spring. Once the cold winter comes, the people who have no way to survive will either starve to death or freeze to death. If you take risks, sooner or later there will be troubles, and if you are recruited by the bandits in Gaojipo, it will be even more dangerous!"

Magistrate Zhou became even more disturbed when he heard the words. This guy is a good speculator, but his political ability is far from passing, and he couldn't come up with a good idea for a while.

Prefect Lu obviously also knows the ability of the magistrate Zhou under his command, so he doesn't expect magistrate Zhou to come up with a solution. He walked around for a while with his hands behind his back, and finally said in a deep voice: "The emperor next year Goguryeo is about to go to war, and there is still a certain gap in the quota of strong civil servants in this county, just let these people top it up, and the county will lower the age of enlistment, which will be enough to make up for the gap."

County magistrate Zhou's eyes lit up, and he blurted out: "Master Taishou has a very high plan. He not only sends away the source of these troubles, but also temporarily solves their food problem. It kills two birds with one stone. I admire you!"

Prefect Lu stroked his long beard proudly. Anyway, even if these refugees were not conscripted, it would be difficult for them to survive this winter. It is better to make the best use of everything. Although this trip to Liaodong is close to death, at least temporarily they can eat the government allotment In the end, life or death depends on each person's fortune.

Let's say that County Magistrate Zhou left in a hurry after getting the instructions from Prefect Lu, and was going to conscript refugees into labor service tomorrow, regardless of whether he was male, female, old or young, as long as he could walk.

……

It was late at night, and the lights were still on in a private house in the east of the city. Ma Xingkong, the owner of Feiyu Racecourse, had a gloomy face, so that his big bald head seemed to be covered with clouds. , kept silent like a cicada, not even daring to breathe out.

At this time, there was another young man in the room, about 27 or [-] years old, wearing a black long gown, with a stern and proud face, and there was a long sword on the coffee table next to him. With five fingers, he tapped on the handle of the sword lightly.

"Ma Xingkong, who are you? How can you teach me a lesson!" The man in black said disdainfully, staring at Ma Xingkong's throat with malicious intent.

Ma Xingkong suppressed the anger in his chest, and said with a sneer: "I am indeed not qualified to teach you, Fan Yi, but today you sent dead soldiers to attack and kill Gao Kaishan and his son without authorization. Killed two dead soldiers, if the identity is revealed and the lord's important affairs are ruined, you, Fan Yi, will die without redemption!"

The face of the man in black changed slightly, and he forced himself to be calm and said: "The dead men in the mansion have been kept in secret since childhood. No one knows them at all, and there is no clue to find them, so it is impossible to reveal their identities." After finishing speaking, he sneered With a sound, he continued: "If it weren't for your ineffectiveness in handling the affairs of Ma Xingkong, a small Flying Eagle Racecourse has not yet been won, so I don't have to make such a bad move!"

Ma Xingkong laughed back angrily: "So the responsibility lies with me?"

"Isn't it? The faint king Yang Guang is now in Jiangdu, and he is about to send troops to Goguryeo. The chaos in the Sui Dynasty has already occurred, and it is a good opportunity for the Lord to rise up. The Lord trusts you so much, and ordered you to speed up the collection of horses, but how do you do it? What? A small Flying Eagle racecourse has not been settled for a long time, so I kindly helped you, and instead of thanking you, you even blamed me, what's the reason for that?" Fan Yi said indignantly.

Ma Xingkong took a deep breath and said: "If you don't keep secrets, you will lose your ministers, and if you don't keep secrets, you will lose your body. If you don't keep a few things secret, you will be harmed. My lord wants to make a big event, but now is the time when I will not do it. If it is leaked If there is a rumor, the matter will fail, and everyone will have to pay for their lives, such a serious consequence, can you, Fan Yi, afford it?"

Fan Yi curled his lips and said: "Those who achieve great things don't talk about small things. If you are afraid of the first and the last, and look forward and backward, how can you achieve great things? It's better to go home and farm!"

Ma Xingkong suppressed his anger and said: "Being cautious doesn't mean being timid. That's fine. Since my lord has entrusted me with the responsibility of collecting horses, I will take care of it myself. You don't need to worry about it, Brother Fan. You don't have to worry about my affairs from now on." .”

Fan Yi sneered: "Although the lord is in charge of you, he also ordered me to assist you. Well, from now on, I will do my own thing. I won't interfere with your work, and you don't want to interfere with me. Let's see who collects more horses in the end." .” After speaking, he picked up the long sword on the coffee table and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute!" Ma Xingkong shouted in a low voice.

Fan Yi stood still suddenly, holding the sword in his hand and said coldly: "Ma Xingkong, I have already made my words very clear, if you tremble again, don't blame me for being rude!"

Ma Xingkong frowned and said, "Gao Kaishan belongs to the Bohai Gao clan, and his son Gao Bufan is deeply appreciated by Changsun Sheng. You don't want to touch them anymore, so as not to cause trouble. Moreover, Changsun Sheng and Gao Shilian are also the objects that the lord strives for. So don't offend them."

Fan Yi's face darkened: "Then the Flying Eagle Racecourse is gone? The two dead men under my command also died in vain?"

Ma Xingkong said indifferently: "If there is no Flying Eagle Racecourse, there will be Flying Deer Racecourse, Flying Tiger Racecourse, what's the matter, as for the dead, they are used to die, as long as the lord can achieve great things, everything else is insignificant!"

Fan Yi snorted coldly: "Ma Xingkong, I, Fan Yi, am a warrior, so I don't need you, a powerless counselor, to teach me how to do things!" After speaking, he turned and walked out the door.

At this moment, Ma Xingkong's eyes flashed brightly, and his fat body suddenly exploded, and he punched Fan Yi on the back of the heart, as fast as lightning.

With a muffled bang, Fan Yi was sent flying out of the door, and fell to the ground with a plop. Blood gushed out of his mouth like a fountain.

With difficulty, Fan Yi turned his head and stared at Ma Xingkong who was slowly walking out of the house, and said in amazement: "You...you know martial arts?"

Fan Yi swallowed his breath after finishing the last sentence, Ma Makong approached him and felt his pulse, and confirmed that he was dead, then he shook his sleeves and said coldly: "You self-righteous waste, I wanted to spare your life Yes, I want to seek death, and keeping someone like you will spoil the Lord's affairs sooner or later."

"Take care of it!" Ma Xingkong gave an order and left with his hands behind his back. Manager Ma hurriedly found someone to clean up Fan Yi's body and pack it up, leaving it to be transported out of the city for burial tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)