Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 368: Estrangement
"Susu..."

In the cold winter, the biting north wind whistled past, sweeping up snowflakes all over the sky, dyeing the sky and the earth a vast expanse.

In the countryside, the once peaceful villages have long been deserted, with only a few dilapidated houses left, crumbling in the wind and snow.

Even though this dilapidated house only occupied less than one acre of land and even had holes everywhere, it was still packed with dozens of people.

They are human, but they are more like wild people than the people in the city...

They squatted in the huts, wearing only simple "clothes" woven from hay. Each of them was skinny, with a sallow face, and a deep despair in their eyes.

"Gulu gulu..."

The sound of wheels rutting could be heard outside the house, and everyone looked towards the door.

I saw a horse-drawn carriage heading towards Yuanju County on the official road about ten steps away from these dilapidated houses. There were four soldiers wearing breastplates standing alert around the carriage.

The state soldiers carried guns on their shoulders and held wine jugs in their hands, taking a sip from time to time to warm themselves.

At this moment, the carriage suddenly stopped. The leading state soldier looked at the carriage, only to see the window open. A beautiful woman in her thirties holding a boy of seven or eight years old appeared in front of everyone.

"Captain Wang, there are a few dilapidated houses over there. Zhuang'er wants to go to the toilet. Please take him there."

"Hey, okay!"

Upon hearing this, Captain Wang smiled and then walked to the door, opened the door for the boy who was about seven or eight years old, and carried him down from the carriage.

The boy and Captain Wang walked towards the dilapidated house, but after a few steps, they saw refugees wrapped in straw clothes walking out of the house.

"What the hell do you want to do?!"

When Captain Wang saw that they were a group of refugees, he shouted, "Get out!"

The refugees did not dare to resist and walked out of the dilapidated house timidly.

Chief Wang raised his gun and was alert. Seeing that there were old and weak refugees among the group, he immediately looked inside the house, then bowed his head and said flatteringly, "Lord Wang, it's safe inside."

"Yeah," the boy nodded, then looked at the group of refugees wearing straw clothes.

After all, straw clothes are just clothes woven from straw. If you move too much, they will break. Therefore, the straw clothes worn by many refugees have their skin exposed.

The boy looked at a girl who was about his age but had her breasts exposed, and said with disdain: "Captain Wang, how can they be so shameless that they don't even wear clothes?"

"Mr. Wang, don't pay any attention to them. They are just a bunch of untouchables." With a smile, Captain Wang sent the boy into the dilapidated house.

Half a cup of tea later, the boy came out of the house holding up his trousers, obviously having gone to the bathroom.

"Lord Wang, let's go."

Captain Wang said with a smile, but the boy walked up to the naked girls, looked at them with contempt and said, "You have no shame."

Several girls hid in their parents' arms, but their parents didn't dare to say anything and just lowered their heads.

Seeing that they did not resist, the boy felt bored and turned around and returned to the carriage amid the flattery of Captain Wang.

As he stepped into the carriage, he heard the woman's complaining voice from inside.

"Didn't I tell you not to get too close to those refugees? It's too unlucky. You have to take a shower and change clothes when you go back."

"Mom, they are so shameless, they don't even wear clothes..."

The carriage went farther and farther away. The refugees saw them leaving and then walked into the dilapidated house.

Even though they tried to cover up the boy's feces and urine, the house still smelled of it.

For them, the only place that could shelter them from the wind and rain was the toilet of the sons of powerful families.

No one dared to complain. They continued to watch the campfire in the house numbly, feeling the hunger in their stomachs.

As time passed, the carriage gradually approached Yuanju County, and there were more and more refugees on both sides of the official road, especially not far from the city gate, where thousands of refugees were lined up.

"What's going on over there? Why did the county lord allow so many refugees to stay here?"

A woman's voice came from the carriage, with a hint of dissatisfaction in her tone.

Wang, the head of the team, looked over and saw that the refugees were surrounding several straw huts, on which there were faintly visible flags with the word "yellow". He immediately explained:

"That's Mr. Huang from the county distributing porridge. I heard that he distributes porridge once a day, so refugees from all around gathered here."

"Mr. Huang?" the woman said in a dissatisfied voice, "Since he has no official status, why didn't the county lady stop him?"

"What if these refugees gather outside the county and scare the ladies and gentlemen in the city?"

"This..." Chief Wang hurried over to the carriage and said in a low voice, "You don't know that although Mr. Huang is not an official, he is a dental dealer in Longyou Town."

"Not to mention the county lord, even the envoy of Caozhou would have to be polite and would not dare to stop him from distributing porridge."

"Longyou Town?" The woman snorted coldly, "You people in this small place don't know that Longyou Town has occupied the prefectures and counties of Jiannan Road. It's rumored in Chang'an that the court will send troops to Longyou soon."

"Really?" Captain Wang was shocked. The woman was too lazy to respond and urged, "Take me to see the county lord quickly. There are refugees everywhere outside the county. It smells terrible."

"Yes, yes, yes..." Upon hearing this, Captain Wang nodded quickly and then led the carriage into Yuanju County.

Compared to outside the county, the streets and alleys inside the county were very clean, and the carriage the woman was riding in arrived at the backyard of the county government office a quarter of an hour later.

The gate opened, and Wang Shizhi, the magistrate of Yuanju County, came out in a hurry in his official robes. He held out his hand and helped the woman down the driveway.
"I wanted to go to the city gate to pick up Xijun, but I was tied up with government affairs and neglected Xijun."

The woman was Wang Shizhi's wife. The reason why Wang Shizhi was able to pass the Jinshi examination was because someone in his wife's family was an official in the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel.

Otherwise, given his status as a minor commoner, his fate in the imperial examination would not be much better than Huang Chao's.

"Let's go in first." The woman said as she walked in, and the boy hugged Wang Shizhi's calf: "Aye!"

"Hey! My dear Dalang, have you missed me?" Wang Shizhi hugged Wang Zhuang in his arms and walked inside without stopping.

Soon, the couple walked into the inner hall of the courtyard and asked the old woman to take Wang Zhuang downstairs. The two sat in the inner hall and chatted.

"How is it?" Wang Shizhi leaned forward and asked nervously.

Li didn't respond when she heard this, but just pinched her shoulders.

Wang Shizhi immediately stood up and walked to her side, gently pinched her shoulders and said, "Aye said that if there are no problems, you can be transferred to Ruzhou as a Sima next year."

"That's great!" Wang Shizhi couldn't help but feel happy when he heard that he would soon be transferred to the provincial government to serve as a Sima.

But then he changed his mind and said with a sad face: "It's a pity that I spent two hundred taels of gold and also lost my father's favor."

"Fortunately, Mr. Lu has accepted the money, so I think this matter should be finalized."

Listening to Wang Shizhi's words, Li also spoke:

"Next year, as long as you collect the summer and autumn taxes well and pay them properly, the position of Sima of Ruzhou will be yours."

"Yes!" Wang Shizhi nodded to show that he understood. Li also remembered what happened outside the city and couldn't help asking, "When did Huang Ru get to Longyou Town?"

"It's not him, it's his family's Erlang." Wang Shizhi replied, and Li also remembered it, so she couldn't help but ask: "Huang Chao Huang Erlang?"

"Yes, that bastard who failed the exams many times." Wang Shizhi's tone was full of envy. As his bedmate, Li naturally understood what he meant, so she comforted him:

"Don't worry. When I rushed back from Chang'an, I heard that Liu Jilong had sent troops to invade the six states of Jiannan Road, and the court was discussing whether to send troops to defeat him."

"If the imperial court can defeat him, you can take the opportunity to annex the property of the wronged Huang family. If you manage it well, you may be able to get a position as a provincial governor."

"This..." Wang Shizhi hesitated for a moment and frowned:

"The soldiers and horses of Longyou are strong. If the imperial court uses force without authorization, can it really defeat them?"

Although Wang Shizhi did not understand military affairs, Wang Xianzhi and Pang Xun had previously caused unrest in the He and Huai regions with only a few thousand rebel soldiers, and they almost broke into Caozhou.

Wang Shizhi had experienced that period and naturally knew the consequences of using force without authorization.

"Humph, the imperial court has a million troops, are you afraid that you can't defeat a small Longyou?"

"But you, Huang Erlang is just a tooth dealer without official status, and now he is distributing porridge outside the county on your behalf, and you think it has nothing to do with you."

"If the imperial court sends people to inspect, how will you, the county magistrate, respond to this unjust complaint?"

Li teased her husband, and Wang Shizhi felt very embarrassed after hearing it. He couldn't help but laugh dryly and said, "If the court really wants to defeat Liu Jilong, I will definitely use Huang Erlang as a target. Don't worry, my wife."

"Got it!" Li stood up and walked out of the hall, and Wang Shizhi hurriedly followed.

Compared to this newlywed couple who were reunited after a short separation, most of the people in Yuanju County and its surrounding areas were filled with gratitude towards Huang Chao.

However, for Huang Chao himself, these days were not easy. "Xinglin, how is my father?"

In the Huang family courtyard, as the doctor walked out of the central hall, Huang Chao and others who were waiting outside immediately went to greet him.

This doctor is over 70 years old but still very vigorous. He is a famous alchemist in Caozhou, so he is respectfully called Xinglin.

Facing Huang Chao's question, he shook his head and said, "The oil is running out and the lamp is dying, even the gods can't save me..."

"How is it possible?!" The young Lin Yan couldn't help but said:

"Yeye was fine a few days ago, how come he suddenly became ill?"

"Maybe my medical skills are not good enough." The doctor shook his head, then bowed to Huang Chao and said:
"Brother Huang is already on the brink of death, Mr. Huang, please take someone in to take a look..."

"Let's go!" Huang Chao reacted and hurried into the hall.

Huang Kui, Huang Ye and others hurriedly followed him into the hall, and then saw the skinny Huang's father lying on the couch, breathing weakly.

"Aye, you'll be fine!"

Huang Chao knelt in front of Huang's father, held his hand, and continued to comfort him.

Mr Huang's cloudy eyes flickered inexplicably for a few times, but then gradually dimmed.

He didn't know where he got the strength from, but he held Huang Chao's hand tightly, and then looked at Huang Kui and others with all his might.

At this point, how could Huang Chao not know what his father meant?

"Aye, don't worry... I will definitely take good care of Saburo and the others!"

He couldn't help but lower his head, tears streaming down his face, sobbing uncontrollably.

After getting Huang Chao's promise, Huang's father gradually loosened his hand and drooped on the couch.

"Aye—"

The cries of several Huang family members could be heard from the main hall, and the servants in the mansion also lowered their heads and sighed.

Although Huang's father was the head of the family, he seldom scolded the servants, which undoubtedly made him a very good head of the family in an era when "slaves and servants were treated like animals."

Now that the head of the family is gone, even though the servants admire Huang Chao, who has taken over, they still feel uneasy.

The dark clouds over Yuanju County seemed to be even thicker, but the Dabie Mountains, hundreds of miles away from Yuanju County, were not peaceful either.

"Bah! It's rat meat again. Is there nothing else to eat in this mountain?!"

In the cold winter, when Huang Chao lost his relatives, Wang Xianzhi, deep in the Dabie Mountains, threw the roasted rat meat back into the bowl in annoyance, with a complaining tone and mixed emotions.

His legend as "the great general who is blessed by heaven and the commander-in-chief of all the nobles in the country" seems to have happened just yesterday. At that time, he had no shortage of wine and meat, and even less of beautiful women.

But now he is surviving in the Dabie Mountains, eating mountain rat meat and empty corn porridge, and using thin clothes to resist the cold winter.

It was still midsummer when we fled to the Dabie Mountains, but now as spring has gone and autumn has arrived, we have entered the second winter.

"General, in the past six months, there have been at least 20,000 bandits who have fled into the Dabie Mountains, if not 30,000. We have taken almost all our possessions."

"The bandits in the mountains are going crazy now. They have even killed many hibernating bears and tigers."

"We can still have porridge to drink and meat to eat, which is good enough..."

Shang Junchang explained to Wang Xianzhi, but Wang Xianzhi said anxiously, "Damn it, we have to find a way to get out, otherwise we will have no chance of survival!"

"What else can we do?" Chai Cun and others complained.

At this moment, they were living in a cave. Of the more than 300 armored soldiers, only more than 200 were left and they had already accepted their fate.

"General Jie, I may have a way..."

Shang Rang, who was so skinny from hunger, couldn't help but speak. Wang Xianzhi's eyes lit up when he heard it: "You say!"

"I think we can surrender to the government troops, and then contact all the bandits in Dabie Mountain. When the government troops are relaxed, we can break out from their weak points!"

"Okay!" Shang Rang revealed his plan in full, and Wang Xianzhi's eyes became brighter and brighter, and he couldn't help but cheer, but in the end he said with a dim look:
"Damn it, even if we can escape, what's the use? We are only 200 people, and if we escape, we will just be surrounded and killed by the government troops."

Wang Xianzhi sighed, and Chai Cun and others did the same, completely losing their initial high spirits.

Faced with their negative attitude, Shang Rang continued, "The court has increased taxes this year, so things are bound to be uneasy outside."

"As long as we can get out, why should we worry about having nothing to rob or no bandits responding?"

Shang Rang said this, and Wang Xianzhi was somewhat tempted by what he said, but he was still weighing the pros and cons.

Seeing him like this, Shang Rang could only stand up helplessly and shouted to everyone: "If you stay here, you will starve to death. At least you can survive if you move."

"If you are willing to support the ideas of the Marshal and me, then stand up and help me win over those bandits!"

As he finished speaking, many people stood up.

Seeing that so many people still supported him, Wang Xianzhi stopped hesitating and looked at Shang Rang: "I'll leave this matter to you. If I can leave the mountain, I will never forget this kindness!"

"Thank you, Marshal Jie, for your kindness!" Shang Rang did not have the energy to waste words. After bowing to express his gratitude, he immediately took dozens of people and began to travel through the Dabie Mountains, which covered tens of thousands of miles.

However, there were dozens or even hundreds of bandits in Dabie Mountains, and it was not so easy to persuade them. Shang Rang could only do his best and leave the rest to fate.

While he was working hard, the methods Liu Jilian used also caused waves in Guanzhong, Dongchuan and Shannan West Road.

Many rumors began to spread, until someone told Wang Zhongren the content of the rumors, Wang Zhongren urgently told Gao Pian about the matter.

"General Jie, this must be Liu Jilong's trick. He wants to sow discord!"

Outside the city of Chengdu, although it is the coldest time of the year, the construction sites outside the city are bustling with work.

Gao Pian was standing in a thatched hut. Behind him was Wang Zhongren who was reporting the rumors to him, and in front of him was a construction site where tens of thousands of people were working at the same time.

He did not respond to Wang Zhongren's words, but pointed to the construction site in front of him and said:

"Everyone in the world praises the benefits of one and two. In the past, Chen Zi'ang once said, 'Shu is a metropolis in the southwest, a national treasure house, and all the precious goods in the world are gathered there. Moreover, the people are rich and there is a lot of grain. If it flows down the river, it can benefit China."

“Although Chengdu is prosperous, its city defenses are not well maintained. It is like a child holding a gold brick and parading through the streets.”

"Today I have changed the flow of the two rivers to make them flow together, and I will use the water of the two rivers to protect the city. I will also build a Luocheng to encompass the inner city. Can this be called impregnable?"

He asked Wang Zhongren, and Wang Zhongren looked at the excavated river channel and the mountains of blue bricks.

It is hard to imagine how solid Chengdu would become if so many blue bricks were used to build city walls.

"Of course it's as solid as a rock!" Wang Zhongren nodded in agreement.

Hearing this, Gao Pian raised his head slightly, as if looking down at the entire Chengdu city: "Liu Jilong wants to use a strategy of alienation, so why can't we use it?"

"General Jie, do you mean to spread rumors and provoke the relationship between Longyou and the imperial court?"

Wang Zhongren immediately thought of the key point, but Gao Pian shook his head and said, "The alienation strategy is not used on him, but on us?"

"Use it on us?" Wang Zhongren was surprised, but Gao Pian said:

"Allow 800 taels of gold to Yu Gongchu, and have him stir up trouble in Guanzhong. The more exaggerated the rumors, the better!"

"I understand!" Wang Zhongren's eyes flashed with a gleam, he knew what his commander was thinking.

Spreading rumors to alienate the relationship between the monarch and his subjects is not an uncommon method, but it needs to be done in moderation.

If the rumors are not serious, they will not be able to alienate the relationship between the monarch and his ministers.

The rumor is too exaggerated and is just for fun, no one will take it seriously.

Now Liu Jilian spread rumors in moderation, so so many people believed it and thought Gao Pian had rebellious intentions.

But if the rumor spreads more widely, it will at most be just a topic of conversation among the people after dinner. Those who truly understand the truth will at most laugh and will not take it seriously at all.

Eight hundred taels of gold, equivalent to nearly ten thousand strings of cash, was enough for Yu Gongchu to operate smoothly in Guanzhong.

Thinking of this, Wang Zhongren bowed and retreated. After walking out of the straw hut, he rode his horse back to Chengdu city.

Looking at his receding back, Gao Pian gradually understood many things and could not help but narrow his eyes:

"Liu Muzhi..."

(End of this chapter)