Kai Fu Han

Chapter 18 The Covenant
Ps: A friend mentioned that sometimes Liu Qi and sometimes Liu Xinqi affect reading.I previously set that Liu Xinqi is Liu Qi’s clan name and Xin is his seniority. However, my friend is right. The inconsistency in the protagonist’s name has indeed caused reading difficulties for book friends. From now on, there will only be Liu Xinqi.

Some book friends said that my book has some "dialogues that advance the plot". I humbly accepted it. Looking back, I found that there is indeed a problem of too much dialogue. This is due to my lack of writing skills. I will strengthen my study and improvement in the future and gradually change it.

Welcome everyone to give your opinions. I am a newbie and we will grow together.

……text……

September [-]th, Chen hour.

Liu Xingqi found Luo Gao from Liu Xingang.Liu Xinqi had been busy with things before, so he didn't bother to settle Luo Gao.No matter how good Luo Gao said before, no matter how superior his family background was, after all, he was just a completely pauper who was robbed by the Jurchens.To live, you have to eat, so Luo Gao has been doing whatever work he can with Liu Xingang with the 67 villagers in the past two days to make ends meet.

Last time Luo Gao said that his father was a county captain in Dengzhou. With Liu Xinqi's limited experience, he found no trace of lying in Luo Gao, so Liu Xinqi had the idea of ​​​​taking advantage of Luo Gao.

This ethnic meeting decided to set the destination of the migration in Dengzhou. On the one hand, Dengzhou is located at the end of the Shandong Peninsula and is surrounded by the sea on three sides. If Shandong changes drastically, it will be more convenient to escape from the sea. Moreover, there are many islands around Dengzhou Prefecture. The capital of the state is by the sea.On the other hand, because of Luo Gao, Liu Xinqi wanted to use Liu Jiabao's previous life-saving grace and upcoming escort to Luo Gao in exchange for Luo Gao's father's help when Liu Jiabao settled in Dengzhou.

When we found Luo Gao, he was feeding the horses with the elders of the tribe. He probably hadn't changed his clothes since he was robbed and kidnapped by the Jurchens. In addition, he had been dealing with horses for the past two days, so his clothes were already very dirty.However, his energy and spirit have improved greatly compared to when he was first rescued. This should be due to eating enough and resting peacefully in the past two days.

"Luo Gao, come here, I have something to ask you." Liu Xinqi shouted to Luo Gao.

Luo Gao turned to look at Liu Xinqi and recognized him as the new patriarch of Liu Family Fort.Luo Gao traveled from Dengzhou to Bianjing and back again. He saw many villages along the way, but Liu Xinqi was still the youngest clan leader Luo Gao had ever seen, and this was a large village with more than 600 people.

No matter how Liu Xinqi became the clan leader, in Luo Gao's opinion, Liu Xinqi must be outstanding, otherwise how could he convince the public? The villagers of Liujiabao were not fools.

When Luo Gao heard Liu Xinqi's call, he didn't answer directly. Instead, he turned to look at the old man who was taking him to feed the horses. He must have been trained in the past few days.

"Go ahead. This is Liu Xinqi, the leader of our Liujiabao clan. Please answer your questions and obey your orders." said the old man feeding the horse.

"Okay, I'll come right now." Hearing the old man's permission, Luo Gao quickly put down his work and walked towards Liu Xinqi impatiently.

When Liu Xinqi saw Luo Gao moving, he turned around and walked towards the ancestral hall, and motioned for Luo Gao to follow.

In the main room behind the ancestral hall, Liu Xinqi, Luo Gao and Liu Lisheng were seated respectively.

Liu Xinqi first spoke to Luo Gao and asked, "You said before that you were the son of a Dengzhou County captain, was that a lie?"

"It's absolutely true, my father is the county captain of Penglai County, Luo Cheng." Luo Gao replied.

Liu Xinqi looked at Liu Lisheng, and Liu Lisheng nodded to Liu Xinqi, which meant that he looked at Luo Gao and was not lying.

"Okay, we believe you for the time being." Liu Qi believed in the old man's experience and vision, and continued: "Before, you said you wanted to borrow someone to escort you to Dengzhou, but I didn't agree. Our Liujiabao family decided yesterday that When the tribe migrates to Dengzhou, you can go with the migration team. This will not only ensure your safety, but also you will have food to eat. I wonder if you are willing?"

"As far as I know, the Jurchens' attack on the fortress caused heavy losses to the young nobles. How can you guarantee that these old, weak, women and children can safely travel a thousand miles to Dengzhou during this time of chaos?" Luo Gao did not. Instead of answering directly, he asked.

"If we can defeat the Jurchen Tatar Hundreds with 22 people, we will have the confidence and ability to deal with the bandits who covet us on the migration road. Anyone who dares to reach out will chop off their hands and kill them all the way." Liu Xinqi replied.

Thinking of Liu Xin'ang's performance against the stone lion before, Luo Gao replied: "Well, I am willing to return to Dengzhou with your migration team."

After hearing Luo Gao's agreement, Liu Xinqi continued: "Since you agree, let me get straight to the point and put the ugly words first. Let's talk about the reward for escorting you."

"It should be." Luo Gao responded.

"Don't blame me for repaying my kindness. In troubled times, I was forced to do nothing for the survival of the Liujiabao people." When Liu Xinqi said this, a hint of embarrassment appeared on his young face: "We don't want you to pay. In return for gold and silver, I only ask that when we Liujiabao people arrive in Dengzhou, Luo County Lieutenant can give us some help within our ability to help us settle down in Dengzhou smoothly."

"Can you be more specific?" Luo Gao felt that "to the best of his ability" was too broad. Although he could agree casually, it seemed very insincere.

"Okay, we plan to buy some residential land in Dengzhou Fucheng. We will buy it with our own money and will not let Luo County Lieutenant spend any money. When we first arrive in Dengzhou and are not familiar with the place, we will inevitably be ripped off and deceived, so I hope Luo Xian The county captain can help take care of a thing or two." Liu Xinqi said carefully.

"It shouldn't be a problem. Although my father is only a county captain in Penglai County, Dengzhou Prefecture, he has been an official in Dengzhou Prefecture for many years. It shouldn't be difficult to take care of your normal business," Luo Gao replied.

"That's the best. I have no other requests. I would like to thank Brother Luo first." Liu Xinqi made no other requests. Although he wanted to repay the favor, it would be too much for him to be on someone else's territory. It won't end well.

"How dare you, how dare you, it's me who should be grateful, first for the life-saving grace, and then for the escort. I should have gone all out for Liu Jiabao's request." Luo Gao said politely.

"Xingang, come in and take Brother Luo to change into clean clothes. Don't arrange any more work for Brother Luo later." Liu Xinqi shouted to the door.

Liu Xingang walked in from the door, cupped his hands and said, "Yes."

"Thank you very much. I'm really too embarrassed right now, so I won't refuse." Luo Gao thanked him again.

"Brother Luo, you're welcome." After Liu Xinqi finished speaking, he sent Luo Gao out of the door.

……

In the following days, Liu Xinqi was guided by Liu Lisheng, Liu Lizhen and Zhou Xinyuan to arrange the relocation of Liujiabao.The migration route has been determined and basically proceeds along the official road, first going north to Zhangqiu, then following the official road to Zibo and Weifang, and then continuing northeast along the official road through Ye County (Laizhou), Huang County, and finally to Dengzhou Fucheng.

Although in the middle of the Zhao Dynasty, the city system had collapsed, people no longer needed road guides when traveling far away.However, this is a family migration after all, with nearly 700 people gathered. In order not to cause misunderstandings with the officials and cause unnecessary trouble, this migration will not enter cities above the county seat. All purchases along the way will be carried out by small teams, so preparations are needed before the migration. The most common thing is the tent.

The tents prepared this time, in addition to the dozen or so that the clan had before, Liu Xinqi designed a tent with a wooden frame, cloth cover, and straw mat outside, which can be easily disassembled.When the tent is set up, it is six feet (2 meters) wide and two feet (6.6 meters) long. The lowest part of the tent is five feet (1.7 meters) high and the middle is six feet high.The tent is high in the middle and low on both sides, forming a spire that prevents rainwater from being trapped.Viewed from the front, the cross-section is a rectangle with a triangle on top.A tent can accommodate eight people in a loose fit and ten people in a tight fit.

The inside of the tent is made of wood and has a mortise and tenon structure for easy disassembly.There is a cloth cover on the outside of the wooden frame. There are some ropes on the cloth cover to fix the outermost straw curtain to the cloth cover.In this way, when the tent is set up, it is windproof, rainproof, and has a good thermal insulation effect.

The disadvantage is that it is time-consuming to set up and dismantle. However, because there are strong soldiers to help, a lot of manpower is saved in the heavy work. The planned ninety tents can be set up in just one hour, and it only takes half an hour to dismantle them. .

I believe that if everyone becomes proficient later, the time will be further reduced, and usually not all of them are set up. Generally, sixty sets are enough, because there are still people on duty at night.

Nearly half of the entire clan's manpower worked hard to make these ninety tents, which took ten days. Including making one hundred horse-drawn carts, vehicles with simple roofs for people (children, the elderly and the weak). During the cross, we also repaired the captured bows, arrows, swords, armor, etc., packed soft goods, food, belongings, etc., and when they were all ready, it was already the end of September, and winter was about to begin.

In order not to let the heavy winter snow block his people on the road, Liu Xinqi stopped delaying and gave up large and overweight items such as large furniture and large farm tools.Prepare to set off on the morning of October [-]st and travel thirty miles a day to reach Dengzhou in November.

Fortunately, during this period, the Jurchen Tatar branch in Changqing County was still scattered and looting, and had not sent troops to Liujiabao to investigate.However, the tracking personnel placed in Lujiazhuang recently reported that the Jurchen Tatars in Changqing County have begun to gather, and it should soon be discovered that there is something wrong with the hundred-man team attacking Liujiabao.

On October 67, Liu Xinqi summoned [-] nearby villagers who had previously taken refuge in Liujiapu and told them:

"I think you have been clear for more than half a month. Liu Jiabao intends to move his family to Dengzhou for refuge. Now I will give you two choices again."

"First, Liujiabao will give each of you 150 kilograms of grain. You can each find relatives to join you. If you save some money, you should be able to survive until the summer harvest. By then, you can harvest whatever is in the Liujiabao fields."

I plan to harvest the bean sprouts in the field in advance before I leave, and I don’t plan to continue planting them. However, the original bean sprouts in the field should still produce some food.

"Secondly, you continue to migrate with the Liu Family Fort. If you choose this path, I am here to welcome you to officially join the Liu Family Fort on behalf of the Liu Family Fort. In the future, you will be treated equally with the Liu Family."

Sixty-seven villagers discussed it among themselves, and only seventeen of them received the food and went to live with relatives.The remaining fifty people decided to stay and migrate with Liujiabao.

After the 17 people went out, Liu Xinqi said to the remaining 50 people: "Since you have chosen to join Liujiabao, please swear an oath to the ancestors of Liujiabao in this ancestral hall to love each other and be loyal to the family in the future. Abide by family rules, work together, be diligent and frugal, and be kind to others.

"I swear! From now on, I will love each other, be loyal to my clan, abide by clan rules, work together, be diligent and frugal, and be kind to others." Fifty villagers swore in unison.

After the oath was completed, Liu Xinqi heard the system prompt.

system hint:

New tribe members: 50
Increased power: 50, remaining 692
Fame increased: 50, remaining 57
"This method works." Liu Xinqi was secretly happy.

"Okay, go down and work. We will set off tomorrow. The clan has prepared two sets of clothes for each of you, and each of you will receive 500 coins. This is a thank you for your hard work for the past half month.

Based on the previous price of ten cents per pound of rice (10 kilograms) in Changqing County, even if food prices have increased now, those who stay will still make a lot of money compared to those who leave.

……

In the evening, Liu Xinqi returned home after drinking some porridge at the place where the clan had a big pot of rice.

Mother, master, master, wife, and Zhou Yue are all at home. Everything that can be packed at home has been packed and loaded on the carriage assigned by the clan. Every three families in the clan are assigned a carriage to carry their own private belongings, so they can coordinate and mix freely.There are only a few sets of bedding left at home for use at night. We will pack the truck after getting up tomorrow.

Everyone can't sleep. It is inevitable that they will be reluctant to leave the home they have lived in for decades. The future is unknown.

"Xinqi, you're back." Liu's mother saw Liu Xinqi entering the door and said, "I want you to follow me to the south to see your father. After leaving, I don't know if there will be a chance to come back."

"Okay, let's leave now." Liu Qi said, taking the paper money and paper clothes from his mother's hand, and followed his mother towards the door.

"Wait a minute, let's go together and say goodbye to the in-laws." Master Zhou Xinyuan said from behind, and followed him with his wife and Zhou Yue.

When I came to the grave of my father Liu Zhiqing, the grave looked new, and weeds had not yet grown on it. After this farewell, there was a possibility that I would never come back to pay homage.

Liu Qi knelt down and kowtowed four times to the wooden tombstone in front of the grave.

"My father has worked hard all his life, but he has not yet enjoyed the filial piety of his children and grandchildren, and has not yet enjoyed the pleasure of being under his grandson Chenghuan's lap. For the sake of Liu Jiabao, he left early. My son Liu Xinqi will definitely continue to inherit your will, take good care of his mother, take good care of his people, and take good care of Liu Jiabao." Family fort." Liu Qi knelt down and whispered to his father in the grave.When Liu Xinqi took refuge in the mountains before, he had advised his father Liu Zhiqing that it was more important to save his own life. However, Liu Zhiqing still sacrificed his life to protect the Liu Family Fort. Liu Zhiqing's considerations were much more selfless and greater than Liu Xinqi's.

"I promised my father that my son will definitely come back. It won't be long. When the time comes, I will come back openly and no one can chase me away. When the time comes, I will bring my tribe and my children to see you again. you."

After finishing speaking, Liu Qi kowtowed four more times.

(End of this chapter)