Brother Song Taizu

Chapter 121 It’s a mistake

"What? My sister is coming? Where is my sister?"

In Suzhou City, Zhao Guangmei was so shocked when she heard the news that she almost fell off her chair.

It has to be said that the eldest brother still cares about him and will send people. However, Zhao Guangmei has always had a shadow on his eldest sister, so that is another matter.

I have been beaten by my elder sister since I was a child, and I have always vowed to fight back when I grow up. Unfortunately, I have no chance. After all, my elder sister's martial arts skills have become better as I grow up.

"No, I don't know. I heard that after leaving the capital, I took a private boat with Commander Gao, and then disappeared. No one knows where they are, but after counting the time, We should be able to go to Yangzhou or other places within the next few days. How about I organize people to go to various states and counties to look for it?"

Zhao Guangmei thought for a while, shook her head and said: "That's not necessary. She and my brother-in-law are traveling together. This is purely a couple of Condor Heroes. There will definitely be no problem in terms of safety. I guess she must be following the example of her elder brother. As for the private visit in private, let them go. When the time comes, they will naturally come to us. We still have to do our own thing. Is the Chuzhou inspection team back?"

With that said, Zhao Guangmei was really busy with other things and completely ignored her missing sister and brother-in-law.

On the other side, Gao Huaide and Zhao Guanglan were going down the river. Naturally they were very unhappy even though they were in a happy mood. Even the boat shook a lot more times. Zhao Guanglan was about thirty years old, and he surpassed Gao Huaide, the third-largest person in the Song Dynasty. A master beat him repeatedly and begged for mercy, and only let him go if he couldn't get up again.

In my mind, Zhao Guanglan has never been so happy for a long time. After all, things are different now. As the eldest princess, she naturally has to pay attention to her appearance, words and deeds in Kaifeng on weekdays. Apart from practicing martial arts at home, there is really nothing else. There is nothing to do but it would be boring to death.

Even because Gao Huaide was retired, the couple had nothing to do all day long and they had no idea what to do, so they could only keep practicing martial arts. If they competed too much, it would naturally be boring. Less than two years after they got married, they already had a lot of friends. Feeling like an old married couple.

Although it is indeed very satisfying for two people in their thirties to retire early and enjoy great wealth, it is indeed too boring.

Gao Huaide didn't dare to take a concubine or drink wine. In fact, there were no other entertainment activities in ancient times.

Being entrusted with tasks at this time, at least she had something serious to do again, so she naturally felt better, especially Zhao Guanglan. On the surface, she was a family member, but in fact everyone knew that Gao Huaide was the one accompanying him this time. family members.

After getting off the boat, the two bought two more mules. They had no destination in mind, so they simply followed the horse's reins and took them wherever they went.

"It should be Suzhou ahead, right?"

"It should be. Didn't the horse dealer already tell you when we got off the boat? Walk two hundred miles west and you can see a big river. Across the river, you will reach Hong County in Suzhou. There is a town called Tonghai at the ferry. I heard that It’s fairly developed.”

Zhao Guanglan looked around and saw that there was indeed a quite wide stream passing through the mountains here. He felt very relieved. He and Gao Huaide simply followed the river freely. After walking no more than five or six miles, they saw a stream as expected. In a village.

"This should be Tonghai Town."

"Let's go, let's go take a look."

Looking at this village, there are only about a hundred households. Except for one house with blue bricks and tiles that is particularly eye-catching, the rest of the houses all look extremely dilapidated. They are all mud houses and thatched huts, and there is no human habitation. of depression and desolation.

"Why do you feel like there aren't many people around?"

With that said, Zhao Guanglan reached out and knocked on the door. He knocked several times in a row, but no one answered.

"Is there no one? Where have everyone gone?"

"There is smoke floating in that house over there. There should be someone there. Let's go take a look."

"it is good."

After that, the two people walked over and knocked on the door. After a while, there was an old man. He opened the door tremblingly and saw two strangers, Zhao Guanglan and Gao Huaide, dressed in gorgeous clothes. Each was armed with a sword and a horse. For a moment, he couldn't help but Somewhat at a loss.

"Your... noble man knocked on the door. What do you mean?"

"I'm just a traveler passing through here. I want to ask for a bowl of tea."

"Ah this..."

"We'll give you money. Just give us money and you can help boil some water."

"I don't dare to accept the noble's money, but there is no tea at home, only turbid well water. I am afraid that the two distinguished guests will not be used to drinking it."

"It's okay, it's okay, it doesn't matter, it's plain water. I'm really thirsty. I'm really tired."

With that said, Gao Huaide gave all the copper coins in his hand to the old man.

When the old man saw this, he was a little confused, but he still let the two of them in, then added firewood and boiled water.Within a moment, the water was boiled, and a broken porcelain bowl with a chipped opening was found to pour a bowl of hot water for the two of them.

"This is the only bowl in the house. If you two nobles don't mind it, please make do with it."

"No problem, no problem."

After saying that, Zhao Guanglan picked up the bowl and took a sip, but instinctively covered it with his hand to prevent him from spitting it out, and then quickly signaled Gao Huaide with his eyes.

This was the first time he drank such unpleasant water.

He even knew for the first time that water actually had a taste.

Seeing this, Gao Huaide took the bowl and took a sip with him, but he couldn't help but frown slightly.

"The water is bitter, and it has been boiled, but it still smells fishy. Old man, is this bitter well water?"

"It's bitter well water. The weather has been rough this year, with continuous spring rains. I heard that many counties have washed away their river banks. The water level in the bitter well has risen a lot this year. After drinking it, there is this fishy smell. I'm angry, if the noble man can't get used to drinking, then...then..."

As he spoke, the old man tremblingly tried to return the few pennies he had just received.

"It doesn't have to be like this, it doesn't have to be like this, this water...well, it's okay, it's okay."

"Um... Old man, we just saw that there seemed to be faint smoke in your house. Are you cooking? What are you eating? Can we share it with you and my wife? Give us the money."

Unexpectedly, the old man shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, no, no, the little old man's food is too simple. You two nobles must not be used to it. Let's forget it. If you two want to eat something, you can go to the center of the town. The royal palace, Mr. Wang has always been hospitable, and he will definitely entertain you two."

Seeing this, Gao Huaide smiled and said: "My husband, you have underestimated our husband and wife. To be honest, I am a soldier. I have been marching and fighting for many years. I have endured all kinds of hardships. As long as I can... I don’t eat anything except people, but I can eat everything else.”

Zhao Guanglan also frowned and said: "Me, I am the same. My father and brother at home are both soldiers, so they are not so squeamish. Dad, please bring the food quickly. Are you worried that our couple will not give you money? Oh no, No, this...is fine."

With a sigh, the old man couldn't resist the two of them, so he took out the thing, only to find it was a bowl of green goo, and he couldn't tell what it was.

Gao Huaide didn't even smell it. He picked it up and took a big sip. Then, his expression changed.

The slurry stayed in his mouth for a long time. After he finally swallowed it, his eyes were a little red. When he saw Zhao Guanglan reaching out to drink, he quickly stopped him.

"What? You can drink it but I can't?"

"Yes, there's nothing I can't drink. It's not like I haven't eaten earthworms dug out of the soil during the war, but although I can, it's not necessary."

As he said that, he couldn't help but glare at the old man. He was so frightened that the old man knelt down and begged for mercy. He felt aggrieved: "I just said I won't let you eat."

"Old man, this thing... smells so weird. What is this?"

"It's...the rhizome of the tea tree, chopped into pieces and boiled in water."

"The rhizome of the tea tree? Can it be eaten?"

The old man smiled bitterly: "In the year of the great disaster, the price of food has risen to seventy cents a dou. This little old man is a tea farmer, and he really has no money to buy food. He has no choice but to eat what he has. If he can rely on these If things survive this disaster year, maybe they will be fine next year.”

"Is there no relief from the imperial court? Hasn't it already sent an envoy? I heard that in the entire Huainan, the follow-up disaster relief funds alone are enough to reach 200 million yuan. I have never heard of such a large-scale disaster relief since ancient times. Is it possible that these Didn’t you receive any relief food?”

"Disaster relief food? It's for lending. With compound interest, if you borrow one bushel this year, you will have to pay back two or even three bushels next year. How can I afford it? How could anyone lend it to me, an old man?"

"You actually have to borrow food for disaster relief? This... this... is simply unreasonable. Third brother, ah, how does the King of Qin do things?" Gao Huaide seemed to have discovered a blind spot and said: "Old man, since you are a tea farmer, why are you at home? Will there be no tea?"

"Hey~, this year's tea farm has been protected for a long time, and we won't be allowed to pick any of it. It said that these tea leaves can be exchanged for food. Only in exchange for food can we be given relief for us to eat."

"Disaster relief food, or in exchange for tea?"

The couple looked at each other, unable to understand this phenomenon for a while.

"Hey~, the one who is covered with silkworms is not a sericulture farmer."

"No, even if this disaster relief food is for reception, after all, it is 200 million gu of silver spent. If it was all replaced by food, how could the price still be so expensive? It should have been reduced long ago."

The old man shook his head and said: "This little old man doesn't know."

The two of them naturally became more and more suspicious, and couldn't help but ask: "Old man, I see that many people are not here in this village, and I don't see anyone working in the fields. What are they doing?"

"Oh, they were taken away by Mr. Wang to train soldiers. As long as they are local warriors who go to train, they will be given a pound of corn per day. Unfortunately, the little old man is too old and they don't want it."

"Is this... only one pound of corn? Can one pound of corn be eaten?"

"Have you actually started to recruit local braves yourself? The government doesn't care?"

"Control? This matter was organized by the county. It is said that the county magistrate personally served as the regiment trainer. It seems that there are too many rebels now."

"The county magistrate will be the regiment training envoy?"

Zhao Guanglan didn't think much after hearing this, but when Gao Huaide heard this, the string in his mind immediately tightened.

This is wrong, something is seriously wrong.

Huainan was the front line against the Southern Tang Dynasty. There were two frontier armies and one forbidden army. I heard that after King Qin came, he created another army, that is, there were three frontier armies and one forbidden army.

What kind of regimental training officer is the county magistrate?What kind of bandits can’t be eliminated by the Forbidden Army?
If there really are bandits that even the Imperial Army is helpless to deal with, what use will these country warriors have?
Moreover, during the Five Dynasties, it was actually a taboo thing for civilian officials to hold military power. If they dared to do this in the military area, who were these country warriors gathering to deal with?
Of course, the two of them would definitely not be able to eat this tea tree root. After chatting for a few more words, they stood up and left. After leaving, Zhao Guanglan was still muttering: "After I see the third child, I will definitely break his legs. Both legs are broken." Discount, if your character is like this, what can you do no matter how smart you are? No wonder he has done so many things."

Gao Huaide frowned: "This matter... it's better not to rush to a conclusion. Everything is weird, it's not that simple."

"The people here are really poor, and they don't even know where their 200 million yuan of money has been spent, hum!"

The two of them continued to ride their horses, but they entered the county town not far away. After asking about it, they found out that the food in the county was only twenty cents per dou.

Although it was undoubtedly still very expensive, it was much cheaper than the sixty cents the old man said. The two of them thought about it, but they simply bought a whole cart and ordered the Mipu worker to sell the entire cart. The rice grain was driven back again, he knocked on the old man's door again, and threw down a bag of rice.

"Old man, this rice is for you to eat. We gave it to you for free. Besides, your town is not far from the county seat. A pound of rice over there in the county seat only costs [-] cents. When you finish eating the rice , you can go to the county town to buy it.”

When the old man saw this, he was naturally very grateful and was about to kneel down and kowtow, but he was stopped by the two of them, and they kowtowed non-stop. In the end, he even cried bitterly while holding the bag of grain, unable to speak. .

"Hey~, Third Brother, what a sin he has done."

After finally appeasing the old man, the two of them took the rice shop boy and went to the next house to knock on the door and put out food. Although it was quite tiring, the two of them felt quite happy doing this kind of work themselves. .

But not long after, there were only three or four households, but suddenly a group of strong men who looked fierce, each holding a stick, a hatchet, or even a machete, surrounded them.

"What are you doing? Are you going to rob food in broad daylight? This is the disaster relief food we bought for the town."

"Disaster relief? Who asked you to provide disaster relief here? Are you sick?"

As he spoke, a rich-looking middle-aged man dressed in brocade squeezed out of the crowd. First, he glanced back and forth between the two of them, and saw that both of them were dressed in fine Shu brocade, simple and elegant. But he is not simple, he has an extraordinary temperament and is definitely no ordinary person.

But his face suddenly changed, a flower bloomed on his face, he smiled and bowed his hands and said: "Wang Danwei, a junior student, has met you two. If you don't give up, you are willing to make friends with Wang and go to the humble house to have a drink." How many drinks, so that I can prepare wine and food for you two and show your friendship as a landlord?"

"The friendship of the landlord? So you are the Mr. Wang who recruits local braves?"

"Exactly, it's all the neighbors who love me. I've lived here for a long time, and I often do good deeds. Therefore, I'm quite respected by my neighbors. It's not worth mentioning. It's not worth mentioning."

"Huh, there's no need to eat or drink. The two of us were passing by here and saw how difficult the people's livelihood was, so we bought some food for relief. If Mr. Wang has nothing else to do, please get out of the way."

When the man saw that the two of them were so disrespectful, he couldn't help but change his expression immediately, and said in a Chen Sheng voice: "You two, is this boring? I know that you two must be people of high status and want to make friends with you. But if you want to bully me like this, don’t you understand the principle that a strong dragon will not overwhelm a local coward?"

"Ah? Mr. Wang, what do you mean by this? How did the two of us deceive you?"

"Why do you two need to pretend to be confused? The relief grains for this town and the surrounding villages all come from my hands. You two are releasing grains without even saying hello. Don't you think you are too overbearing?" "

"Joke, since it is food for disaster relief, why do you have to release it?"

Gao Huaide was thoughtful: "I understand, he wants to collect loan sharks by releasing disaster relief grains. Also, the reason why the price of grain in this town is so much higher than in the county must be because he is up to something."

As he was talking, he saw that the door of the first old man's house had been kicked open, and a strong man had already snatched the bag of grain that the old man had just obtained. He kicked the person and sent him flying away.

"Old man, you still want to eat rice. Is this something you deserve?"

Seeing this, Zhao Guanglan was already furious. Without considering that there were only two of them, he flew up and kicked Mr. Wang in the face.

"Kill you bastard!"

After saying that, she took out a coiled dragon stick from her back, danced it, and hit the crowd with a crackling sound.

Seeing this, Gao Huaide could only smile bitterly, then drew out his knife and followed closely.

Mr. Wang was furious: "The rebels, no, they are rebels. They are all rebels. Beat them to death. The angel has an order. Rebels and rebels will be killed without mercy. Come to me. If you beat them to death, it is mine."

As soon as he heard about the angel, Zhao Guanglan became angrier and more ruthless. While beating people, he muttered: "I made you an angel, I made you an angel, I made you provide disaster relief, I made you lend money, and you colluded with bandits, just wait for me. If I don’t break all your limbs when we meet, I’m not your sister.”

Then, while Mr. Wang was in a state of confusion, all of his more than 30 followers were knocked down by these two men with sticks and knives.

These guards of his are all pure farmers. They are no match for Gao Huaide and Zhao Guanglan. Moreover, these two men really killed people. Only a few died, and all the farmers ran away in fear.

Mr. Wang was so frightened that he knelt down and wet his crotch.

"Okay, hero, spare your life, hero, spare your life. I have money in my family. If I have money, I will give it to you. Don't kill me."

"Bah! You've blinded your dog eyes and treated us as bandits and robbers? If I tell you my aunt's identity, I'll scare you to death. Come, follow me to the Suzhou government office. I want to see how King Qin will protect you. ."

"Ah? Suzhou, why do you want to go to Suzhou?"

"Haha, didn't you just say that you knew angels?"

"Yes, but this is Taizhou."

"Ah? Isn't this Suzhou Prefecture, Hong County, and Tonghai Town?"

Mr. Wang was about to cry, "No, this is Taizhou, Hailing County, Hetong Town."

"Ah... Husband, when we got off the boat, did we go the wrong way?"

"It seems that we accidentally came to the east, and Suzhou is in the west."

(End of this chapter)