Xie Ming

Chapter 303 Fisherman Yan Bo
A quarter of an hour later!

The ninth day of the sixth lunar month, 45: p.m.

Xiao Lang and his entourage set up camp three miles southwest of the river, near the shore.

"Uu——"

"Changting, there seems to be a fisherman fishing on the shore ahead!"

"Let's go over quietly and find out the situation." Xiao Lang pulled the reins to slow down the horse and talked to Changting behind him.

"Yes, General!"

"Look, there are houses not far ahead!"

"The village should be ahead too!"

"It would be better to inquire about the situation first!" Changting replied.

Afterwards, a group of people slowly ran towards the fisherman.

After a while, he approached the man and saw that he was wearing a conical hat and a short civilian uniform. His gray beard was visible under the brim of the hat.

Seeing the situation, Xiao Jingchuan dismounted his horse more than ten steps away to avoid being hit by the fierce force.

"Haha, old man! May I ask if there is a fishing village ahead?!" Xiao Lang led the horse and walked towards the fisherman in a straw raincoat and hat, and asked softly.

Hearing the sound, the old man who was fishing tilted his head to look, and saw that the people coming were all strong warriors, with blades hanging on their bodies and wearing half armor. It was obvious that his neck shrank subconsciously and he looked afraid.

At this moment, Xiao Lang didn't wait for any further explanation.

Suddenly!

In the bushes beside me, a half-grown child, holding a few grasshoppers in his hands, also popped his head out from nearby. When he saw these strangers, he blinked his big eyes and threw himself into the old man's arms in fear.

Seeing this, Xiao Lang and Chang Ting, Sang Menxing and others behind him looked at each other in surprise.

Fearing that he might frighten the old and young, Xiao Lang suppressed his smile and hurriedly spoke to explain.

"hehe!"

"Don't be afraid, old man!"

"We are soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. My name is Xiao Jingchuan. I am leading my troops to the bank of the Yellow River, intending to cross the river!"

"I have no boats to use, so I asked around to see if there were any fishing villages that could hire some fishermen and boat captains to help me get going!"

"Don't worry, we have military rules in our army. When we march, we never harm the people!"

"If there are boats available at the fishing village ahead, it will be a great relief for everyone!"

Xiao Jingchuan tried his best to appear kind.

Looking at them, the old man seemed to look them up and down for a long time before he could speak.

"Uh"

"Look at the clothes you are wearing. You must be a general!"

"These days, there aren't many soldiers who are willing to speak so kindly to ordinary people and ask for advice!"

"Okay, since you want to cross the river, then go forward, ah, yes, go forward."

As he spoke, the old man turned around and raised his hand, pointing to the west.

"Over there, one mile away, turn north and there is a fishing village just down the slope!"

"There weren't many people, and there were only about seven or eight boats, all of them small sampans."

"I don't know if it's enough for your army to use!" The old man spoke slowly, enunciating each word, but his words were clear.

Following the accent, Xiao Lang suddenly heard a strong Beijing accent in this person.

So I couldn't help but be curious and talk about it casually.

"Eh?!"

"Uncle, are you from Beijing?!"

"Your accent is not Shandong dialect!" Xiao asked.

Upon hearing this, the old man was startled and stopped in his tracks, then looked at De Xiao Lang again.

After all, this question concerns himself, and it is reasonable for the old man to remain silent, fearing that he might get into unnecessary trouble by talking too much.

But when he took a closer look at the man named Xiao in front of him, he frowned as if he suddenly remembered something.

"Uh"

"Yes, no, that's right!"

"I, an old man, am fleeing from the capital!"

"No, no, this little general!"

"Why do you look so familiar to me?" the old man said in surprise.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lang was also stunned.

As he paused, the old fisherman suddenly raised his hand and took off his hat, revealing his withered and weather-beaten face. Upon seeing his face, Xiao Lang suddenly spoke in surprise.

"Eh!"

"Yan, Uncle Yan!"

"How...how could it be you!" Xiao Lang meets an old friend in a foreign land.

"Hoohoho!"

"Yes, it's me, Old Man Yan!"

"Oh, Mr. Xiao, you've lost weight and got a lot darker!"

"Well! But, you look stronger now!"

"When I first saw the old man, I didn't dare to recognize him, huhuhuhu!"

The old man, whose surname is Yan, has a slightly sunken mouth when he smiles and has fewer teeth, making him look even older.

A few months ago, when he was in the capital, he was the owner of a breakfast stall on the corner of the street in front of the Duke's Mansion. He got up early and went to bed late every day to earn a few hard-earned dollars.

He has been working there for more than 20 years. He is quick and efficient and likes to be clean. Therefore, the neighbors in that alley are willing to visit him in the morning!
Xiao Jingchuan is no exception.

After a few visits, the two sides became familiar with each other.

Who would have thought that fate would play such a trick on us. Right now there is chaos and war, the capital city has changed hands one after another, and we don't know what the current situation is, which has caused ordinary people and peddlers like us to have no place to live!
Thinking of this, Xiao Lang couldn't help but sigh, and then he spoke more.

"Ugh!"

"Uncle Yan, it's only been two months since we last met. Why did you bring a child to Shandong?!"

"Where is your stall? You're not selling tofu pudding anymore?!" Xiao Guan said concernedly.

"Hey! Mr. Xiao!"

"Don't mention it!"

"Look, Beijing is really unsuitable for living here!"

"Ugh"

"Ever since Li Chuangwang entered the city, the city has been in chaos!"

"But at least, we can still support our livelihoods!"

"But who would have thought?!"

"Later, the Tartars from the north invaded again and occupied the capital!"

"This time, it's finally over!"

"Let's not talk about anything else! Let's just talk about our hair!"

"Everyone must shave their heads and leave those indecent rat tails!"

"Ouch! How can this be possible?"

"Killing people is not the right path! You, you say, what should I do?"

"This is not an insult to our ancestors!"

"No! What a bullshit! I am an old man, even though I am just a commoner, I am old and feeble!"

"But you can't squeeze people like this!"

"So, I and my old brothers took advantage of the chaos and fled from the capital!"

"Wow along the way!"

"There are quite a few people who are walking with us."

"But as soon as we arrived in Gu'an, a lot of soldiers came after us!"

"Some died, some escaped, and finally, wow, they all got scattered!"

"I am an old man dragging a child with me. After many twists and turns, I finally managed to escape from Debei Zhili!"

“It’s really difficult!”

"Okay! That's good. Seeing you guys here means that Shandong can be saved!"

"Xiao Langjun, you are leading the troops, you can't retreat anymore!"

"What time do you want to go back to Beijing?"

"I am an old man, and I am no longer useful!"

"But I still have a son who is a Dianshi in Jiangyin!"

"Haha, even though it's just a trivial job, but if you guys can use it, just let me know!"

"When I surrender to him, I will make him fight you, ah, fight those Tartar soldiers!"

It turned out that Mr. Yan's narration was full of righteousness, which made Xiao Lang and others admire him very much!
(End of this chapter)