lady, please calm down

Chapter 279 Why don’t you die?

The end of Xu.

In the biting cold air, the Lu family's mansion in Lujiagang, Huaiyuan County was surrounded by the troops of Jin Taiping, a thief who escaped from the net and held a torch.

As for the more than [-] villagers who originally had high hopes, they either hid in their homes and trembled, not daring to show their faces, or fled to the county town at night to bring in reinforcements. Even some people who were loyal to the master wanted to come forward to rescue them, but they were also killed. Kill them on the spot in three or two blows.

In short, these young men who have never been on the battlefield and have never seen blood can be summed up in four words. They are embarrassing for their big job.

But half an hour ago, the many village sages who had gathered in the hall to scold Fang Qiu and point out the country were now blindfolded with black cloth, their hands and feet bound, and thrown on the horse like broken sacks.

Their entourage, as well as the young and old of the Lu family, were driven to the open space outside the Lu family's mansion. They all shrank their necks and lowered their heads, fearing that they would offend the thieves and be chopped with a knife.

The eldest son of the Lu family quietly exchanged glances with his second brother, and both of them saw some doubts in each other's eyes.

The Huaibei Rebellion had just ended, and everyone had heard of the brutality of the thieves. However, after the thieves entered the village, they had not yet started killing or bullying women, which was really surprising.

Is it because Jin Taiping was originally from the army and had more integrity than other thieves?

Thinking of this, the two brothers vaguely felt that tonight might not be a certain death situation.

Sure enough, one of the thieves, a lean man with a leader's appearance and his face smeared with black ash, sat on horseback and scanned the crowd, then said in a hoarse voice: "I wish you all know that my general Jin passed by Guibao Land, not for killing people." , just to ask for money. When you get home, you will quickly prepare 10 taels of silver. Three days later, I will send people to your houses to collect the silver. If someone's newspaper official traps a brother of the Sa family, don't blame me for being merciless. Face, tear up your master's meat ticket! As long as we can get the money safely, I will let you go home."

Hearing that the other party was only kidnapping money this time, everyone couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief at the same time and began to discuss in low voices.

It’s good to ask for money, it’s good to ask for money.

With no fear of his life for the time being, the elder man of the Lu family couldn't help but get excited. After gathering some courage, he plucked up the courage and said: "Fellow gentlemen, my Lu family usually builds bridges and roads and benefits the countryside. I use a little extra money for most of it." I came here to do a good deed. How can I scrape together a hundred thousand grains of silver in a short period of time? I’d like to ask a good man to reduce the amount by one or two.”

The Lu family has been operating in Huaiyuan for hundreds of years, so it is natural that they can afford to pay one hundred thousand grains of silver, but to give up such a large sum of money for nothing would almost wipe out the family's savings. The elder of the Lu family felt distressed, so he wanted to bargain.

But the lean man with a dark face sneered and said, "That's okay. How about cutting off one of Lu Yuanwai's arms to save you 2 taels, and cutting off one leg and one arm to save your family 4 taels?"

With that said, the black-faced man dismounted and walked to Lu Yuanju, who was tied behind his back and riding on the horse. He reached out and took out the rag from the latter's mouth, and said with a smile: "But before that, I want to hear what Mr. Lu has to say first." mean."

Lu Yuanju heard all the conversation just now. When the rag was removed, he immediately opened his mouth and cursed: "You traitor! Do you wish you could inherit the family business after your father died? Hurry up and collect money to give to the heroes. If you don't have enough money, sell the house." land."

Before the eldest son of the Lu family had time to speak, the second son of the Lu family also changed his face and scolded his elder brother: "Brother! It's too late and you are still worrying about wealth! If you don't have enough money, I'll mortgage my shop and go to hell." Even if the father-in-law's family borrows money, it won't hurt dad in the slightest!"

"." The elder man of the Lu family opened his mouth and was speechless. He didn't really want anything to happen to his father, he just wanted to leave as much money as possible for his family.

The contrast in attitude between the two brothers made Lu Yuanju even more angry. He couldn't help shouting in front of the whole family: "Listen up, descendants of the Lu family! If the elder man doesn't have enough money to save me, I will be ripped off and the family will lose a penny." inherit!"

"."

The elder man of the Lu family, unable to argue, could only kneel down in fear and kowtow: "Father, don't be upset, I will sell the iron to help you get home safely!"

Let's not talk about whether to inherit the family property or not. If the eldest son of the Lu family today is known as deliberately not saving his father and indirectly killing his father, his life will be over.

"Your second son should be filial."

The black-faced man who was not too embarrassed by the excitement said with a smile, and was about to gag Lu Yuanju again, but the latter confessed a moment before his mouth was blocked, "Don't report to the official, don't hurt the hero of Tiyin."

At the beginning of Haishi.

The thieves wrapped up more than a dozen village sages and fled with the magistrate of Huaiyuan County.

The followers who felt that they had escaped the disaster gathered around the Lu family and started discussing with sad faces.

"Master Lu, what should I do?"

"Mr. Lu, you should make up your mind!"

The eldest son of the Lu family glanced at his second brother coldly, and then said in a low voice: "Now that the situation has come to an end, what can we do? Everyone, hurry up and go home to raise money! Du Er, your master and this palace are both under the control of Qi'an Your Excellency, please send someone to Suzhou quickly to bring in reinforcements!"

"But..." Du Er hesitated for a moment, but then said: "But Mr. Lu just said that he would not be allowed to report to the official! What if he is reported to the official, what will they do?"

"You can't let the officers and soldiers act rashly after you report to the government! We will just give it to the thieves after three days. After they get the money, they will definitely return to their lair, and let the officers and soldiers follow them quietly to find out the thieves' lair. After they release the masters, we will let them The officers and soldiers are encircling and suppressing us to get back everyone's money!"

"good idea!"

"Fortunately, Mr. Lu is here!"

Despite being frightened, he was able to think so clearly that all the attendants couldn't help but praise him, and then rushed home overnight.

But over there, after the thief captured the person, he was not in a hurry to hide it, but went to Huaiyuan County to kill him.

In the county town, Zhuang Ding reported overnight.

Hearing that the county magistrate and many local sages had been captured by thieves, the other officials did not dare to neglect, and quickly organized more than a hundred signing troops, three squads of government officials, and jailers, barely gathering 200 people, and went to Lujiagang in fear.

Unexpectedly, just ten miles out of the city, they ran into a large group of thieves. Only one of them came face to face. Huaiyuan County temporarily gathered the gang and they were scattered and fled back to the county seat.

The thieves were still unhurried and rushed to the city at the end of the day.

The four gates of Huaiyuan County were tightly closed, and the people on the city wall who were temporarily called to defend the city looked at the rebels below in horror.

The reputation of the thieves who frequently massacred the city had already spread throughout the surrounding counties. Even the chief registrar, dianshi, county lieutenant and other officials were also frightened.

But what made them even more speechless was that Cao Fenglai, the county magistrate, was forced by the thieves at knifepoint and came to the city trembling, shouting: "I am the magistrate of Huaiyuan County. The heroes outside the city want to enter the city to rest for the night. Open the city quickly, hurry up." Let’s open the city quickly”

"."

There was an uproar in the city. After all the officials looked at each other, they tacitly pretended not to hear.

The magistrate of a county is responsible for guarding the land and protecting the people, but the magistrate of my home has come to call the door for thieves. Do you need any shame?

Cao Fenglai was kicked several times and threatened to chop off his fingers. He couldn't help shouting more and more loudly, and he was already crying.

The city remained deaf.

It wasn't until half an hour later that Cao Fenglai's throat was broken by shouting that the thieves escorted him slowly back into the cold winter night.

The next day, news of the explosion that the remnants of the rebel army that had brought trouble to Huaibei entered Suzhou spread rapidly.

For a time, the four counties of Suzhou were in panic. Qixian and Lingxian, which are close to Huaiyuan, did not even dare to open their city gates during the day.

The Suzhou government office naturally did not dare to neglect them. After all, the people who were kidnapped were all respectable gentry, and they had deep connections with all levels of the government office.

For example, the kidnapped Lu Yuanju was the father-in-law of Cao, the governor of the government; the other kidnapped Du Yirong was the brother-in-law of Qi'an.
On the third day of the twelfth lunar month, Yu Qi'an led two battalions of sergeants to Huaiyuan County. On that day, he secretly recruited Lu Yuanju, Du Yirong and other family members to formulate a plan.

At dusk on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the thieves came to the house with the tokens of each family head to collect money as promised.

At this time, the man was still in the hands of the thieves. None of the sons and nephews in the family wanted to be known as being stingy with money and harming their father, so they cooperated obediently.

After the thieves left with the silver, the Suzhou Xiang Army who was ambushing nearby sent their elite soldiers to follow them quietly, waiting to find out where the thieves' lair was.

The nephews and nephews of each family followed Yu Qi'an in the rear. Don't worry if you don't follow!Most of the wealth of the gentry is concentrated in real estate such as fields and shops. It is not easy to raise one hundred thousand yuan in a few days.

Except for the Lu family, the Du family and other large families that had been sitting on the land for hundreds of years, the rest of the gentry families mostly used their fields, houses and shops as mortgages to borrow such a large sum of money. No one dared to take it lightly.

At [-] o'clock that day, the sergeant following in the front sent a message to Yu Qi'an who was following behind: More than ten groups of thieves gathered in one place and headed south.

Huaiyuan is located on the north bank of Huai River, heading south.
Han Jun's son, who has gained a lot of money, couldn't help but said nervously: "Yu Tongzhi, the thief went south, is he trying to escape through the waterway?"

Yu Qi'an said calmly: "I have already arranged for naval warships to wait by the Huai River. Don't worry, we will follow you."

"Ah! Your Excellency is still thoughtful!"

"With General Yu here, I, a gentleman from Huaiyuan, are at peace!"

There was a burst of compliments from all around, and even the eldest son of the Lu family relaxed a lot after hearing this. One hundred thousand grains of silver, not ten taels!My father is in need of saving, and this money must be protected too!

child time.

It's late at night in midwinter, and everything is silent.

'Cuckoo~cuckoo~'

In a pine forest near the Huaihe River in Huaiyuan, several melodious birdsong sounded.

On the dark river surface, two solitary lights suddenly lit up, drawing three circles toward the shore, and then two merchant ships docked.

Mabondang, whose face was smeared with pot ash, led his brothers and pulled donkey carriages out of the forest. As soon as the two sides met, Mabondand greeted in a low voice: "Marquis Shi Yu, you've been waiting for a long time."

"Haha, it won't be long. Come on board." Dalang, the chief officer of the Ningjiang Navy's front camp, returned the salute with his fists raised. Shi Wulang, who was on the side, saw the heavy boxes being moved into the cabin one by one. He couldn't help but smile and said: "Master Marquis did it. It’s a big business, and my brothers could work on the water for three lifetimes and still not get even [-]% of the money tonight.”

It took half an hour to carry the silver. It was not until the end that the two merchant ships with extremely deep drafts retracted their gangplanks and set sail.

After walking more than ten feet away from the shore, Mr. Shi, who was standing at the bow of the ship, suddenly laughed twice towards the shore and said loudly: "Captain Jack, who has been pinched, would like to thank you all for sending me off!"

"."

There was silence on the shore, as if there was really no one there.

"Brother, where is the trap? Who is Captain Jack?"

"I don't know, Lord Marquis asked me to shout like this."

Boss Shi answered what his seventh brother Yao'er said and turned from the bow to the stern. Just when Shi Yao'er didn't know why, he faintly heard the sound of sails being blown by the night wind not far behind.

The boat they were riding was at the end of the team, and there shouldn't be any more boats behind it. Shi Yaoer thought about it and said in surprise: "Brother, we were bitten by a boat from the Suzhou Navy!"

However, Mr. Shi's expression did not change. Instead, he said in a tone of approval: "Sail at night without lights. I think the pursuers are also very familiar with the waterways."

As if to be a footnote to his words, on the dark river surface, the boat behind was afraid of losing sight of it, so it speeded up the boat, and the white sail was already faintly visible.

"Brother, what should I do?" Shi Yaoer was a little anxious.

Boss Shi turned around with a smile and said, "Are you ready?"

"Hey, brother, we are already ready."

Under the dim starlight, I saw Shijia Saburo, Shiro, and Wuro leading more than ten men who were good at water. They had kingfish swim bladders hung around their waists for ventilation, and they each held chisels and drills in their hands.

In order to prevent the rapid loss of body temperature in the cold river water, he was smeared with a thick layer of lard, which reflected the starlight and made him appear stronger.

"Go ahead and be careful."

"Hey, brother, sit back and wait for the show."

The fifth day of the twelfth lunar month.

noon.

In the Huaiyuan County government office, Yu Qi'an was sitting at the top of the lobby. The gentry and nephews below all had dark circles under their eyes, their faces were tired and their bodies were depressed.

Last night, everything went according to plan. Unexpectedly, something went wrong while the navy warship was following the pirate ship.

The warship seemed to be alive and well, but it actually sank.
This time, neither the location of the thief's lair nor the clue of money was found out.

Everyone wanted to complain, but seeing Yu Qi'an's expression also gloomy, they couldn't help but suppress their complaints.

At noon, in a depressing atmosphere, we finally got good news. Cao Zhixian, Lu Yuanju and other gentry were found three miles west of the city!
Two quarters of an hour later, Magistrate Cao and others were sent back to the county government office.

The originally decent and elegant gentry didn't say anything, and immediately asked a restaurant in the county to send a table of banquets, and packed them directly in the lobby of the government office.

Han Jun and Du Yirong even quarreled over an elbow. They were obviously very hungry.

After filling their stomachs and washing their hands and faces, the gentry sat in a circle in the lobby, drank tea and talked about the rest of their lives after the disaster. After sighing and sighing for a while, they gradually regained their dignity.

Only then did Yu Qi'an take the time to ask, "Dear local sages, do you still remember where you have been imprisoned these past few days?"

"The thieves robbed us, so they were blindfolded and couldn't tell north from south. I really can't remember."

Just as Lu Yuanju answered, he saw Han Jun beside him suddenly became furious when his son leaned over and said something, "You prodigal thing! You actually pledged your land and house to raise money? I'm not dead yet, who let you make your own decisions?" !”

"Dad, if we don't raise money, my son will worry about thieves ripping off the vote!" Han Jun's son said aggrievedly.

'Boom~'

Han Jun slapped the table and cursed: "That thief may not have the guts to kill me! Besides, even if he died for his father, he shouldn't have used his family's assets to save me! Now that we have emptied our family's money, our family will drink dozens of northwest drinks. Feng! It’s better to let my father die!”

Han Jun spoke impassionedly, but when he was tied to the horse that night, he was not so fearless of life and death!
The look in his eyes at that time was looking at his son pitifully, as if he was afraid that the latter would not save him.
Also, he was really facing life and death at that time, so he naturally cherished his life.

Now that he has gained peace, the "scholarly spirit" cultivated by talking and talking on a daily basis has emerged again.

The same thing happened to Lu Yuanju and others, who suddenly felt a pang for the money and couldn't help asking Yu Qi'an: "Yu Dutong, just watched the thieves take away the gold and silver and didn't do anything to stop them?"

I stop you!
If I hadn't been worried about alerting the enemy, the thief would have injured your lives, and I wouldn't have had a chance to let the thief board the ship!Last night I sank a boat and killed dozens of brothers, but you still have the nerve to ask me!
Fortunately, his brother-in-law Du Yirong stood up and said a few words. Yu Qi'an suppressed his anger and sincerely suggested: "The thieves took the waterway last night. Now the three prefectures in Huaibei are under the control of Marquis Lu An. If you want to track down It would be better to ask Caizhou Left-behind Secretary to investigate the traces of the thief."

"No!"

Before Yu Qi'an finished speaking, he was interrupted by Lu Yuanju: "Marquis Lu An is extremely ambitious. If he finds the thief's lair, the money will definitely be in his pocket!"

Damn it, even now, I still care about money!
Yu Qi'an glanced down and found that the gentry all seemed to agree with what Lu Yuanju said, so he simply stopped talking.

During the awkward silence, a follower suddenly came to report, "Caizhou's left-behind governor, Lu Anhou Chen, has personally led an army three miles outside the city, and the forward cavalry army is rapidly approaching the county seat."

There was a sudden silence in the hall. The county magistrate Cao Fenglai, who had been sitting at the bottom in despair, heard this and stood up suddenly, subconsciously saying: "Close the city gate quickly!"

"No!"

However, Yu Qi'an yelled and stopped Cao Feng from coming. Then he frowned and explained: "Marquis Lu An is an official! If the city gate is closed to prevent thieves, it will definitely offend Caizhou's army! Marquis Lu An and I are in Tokyo City If you have a chance to meet each other, first invite the person in and find out clearly what the other person is doing."

At the beginning of Weishi, Yu Qi'an, Huaiyuan officials and many gentry met Chen Chu at the city gate.

Chen Chu looked unkind and led his troops into the city.

After entering the county government office, Yu Qi'an asked Chen Chu to take a seat. The latter was not polite and sat down at the table with a smile on his face, looking around at everyone coldly.

The atmosphere was cold, finally because Qi'an took the lead and asked, "I wonder why Marquis Lu An led his army into our Suzhou?"

"Suppress thieves!" Chen Chu said coldly.

Yu Qi'an was slightly unhappy, but before he could speak, Cao Fenglai said first: "Will Marquis Lu An's move be ordered by the court? There is chaos in Suzhou, and we have our own control to quell the chaos. Why do we need Caizhou's left-behind department to cross the three prefectures?" Come to rescue?"

Chen Chu glanced at Cao Fenglai lightly and suddenly said: "Are you the magistrate of the county?"

"." Cao Fenglai's face suddenly turned the color of pig liver.

Mao Dan, who was standing behind Chen Chu, laughed out loud.

When Lu Yuanju, the subordinate, saw this, he hurriedly explained to Cao Fenglai: "Marquis Lu An, the county magistrate at that time was threatened by thieves at knifepoint, so he had no choice but to do this. Magistrate Cao is my parents in Huaiyuan County, and Marquis Lu An cannot be insulted lightly."

Chen Chu nodded, looked down at Lu Yuanju again, and asked without any emotion: "Are you the gentry who funded the thieves?"

"."

This hat was bigger than the one in Cao Zhixian County. Lu Yuanju could not help but be furious, but he knew that there was no good in contradicting the military leader in person. After forcing himself to calm down, he said: "Where did Marquis Lu An start with these words?"

"Where do you start?"

Chen Chu stood up and looked at the sky at a 45-degree angle, with a touch of sadness in his eyes, "Do you know that Ma Maoxing, the commander of General Yuan Ning, who was also my brother and friend, died at the hands of the thief Jin Taiping?"

After saying this, Chen Chu suddenly changed his expression, stared at Lu Yuanju and said bitterly: "Our army has been chasing the enemy for several months, with many casualties. It was not easy to push Jin Taiping's troops into a desperate situation. How about you, every capital thief?" One hundred thousand silver! The thief has made a lot of money. It only takes a moment to recruit troops and make a comeback! Didn’t my brother Ma die in vain! If Huaibei is in chaos again, can you and your family be able to shoulder this responsibility?"

He said this as if someone is willing to give up to thieves. Then aren't you the masters kidnapped by them?
"Marquis Lu An, the thief kidnapped us. If we don't pay him, we will die!" Du Yirong explained quickly.

But it's okay if he didn't say that. Chen Chu laughed angrily after hearing this, "What a magistrate who cherishes his life, what a group of officials who cherish their lives! The dynasty has always treated the gentry favorably. What they want is for you to set an example and serve the people in times of crisis. Set an example! When the thieves came to the city, Magistrate Cao ignored the honor of the officials and knocked on the door for the thieves! Because of your greed for survival, all the gentry did not hesitate to lose money to the thieves and provide help in the snow."

This was said harshly, but there was no way to refute it.

After all, the highest pursuit of scholar-bureaucrats is to protect the country and the people, and to sacrifice their lives to be benevolent. Even if few people do this in practice, they cannot refute what Chen Chu said is wrong.

This is the great meaning in the history of Ziji!

Anyone who dares to disagree with it simply disagrees with the fundamentals of scholar-bureaucrats.

Seeing all the gentry and Cao Fenglai in the hall blushing and muttering speechless, Chen Chu stretched out his finger and tapped Cao Fenglai, then Lu Yuanju, and then Du Yirong.
After counting one by one, Chen Chu said slowly: "You, you, you, you, why don't you die? Only by dying can you repay the country's kindness. You are simply a disgrace to the world's scholars! Come on, kill these silverfish. They have money to support the thieves, and they will also have money to support the army in the future. Mao Dan will take people to various houses to seize the family property, and let the court decide how to deal with it!"

Although Chen Chuyue was acting on his behalf, Yu Qi'an could not find any reason to stop him in such a hurry.

After all, after Lu Anhou’s analysis, it was reasonable and legal to detain the gentry.
　Although there are not enough updates, I would like to get a double monthly pass. I also beg for a monthly pass...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)