Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 430 Li Yan and the Red Lady
Sending off the foreigners, Yang Menglong was about to throw himself into the pile of money and sing "Gold is enough to defeat", when the imperial decree came: pack up quickly and go to Beijing, the emperor wants to see him!
Yang Menglong was a little guilty, and asked Cao Huachun, the dead eunuch who came to pass the decree: "That... Eunuch Cao, why did the emperor suddenly call me to Beijing?"

Cao Huachun squinted at him: "Why, others are looking forward to the stars and the moon and looking forward to the emperor calling him to the capital, but they are blinded and still don't expect it. Now it's your turn, so you are not happy?"

Yang Menglong laughed dryly: "How is that possible? I wonder, now that refugees are flooding into the Central Plains in large numbers, the bandits are getting more and more violent, and the rebels in Xiangfan area are like a prairie fire, which has the potential to sweep across Huguang. Now, I'm going to Beijing at this time, in case something goes wrong after I leave, what should I do?"

Cao Huachun snorted, "Desperate? I think you are making money, right?" Then he sighed, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty is suffering. General Yang, the one million taels of silver you gave to the Emperor last year was only a few months away. The flowers cleared up, but the western thieves became more and more violent, threatening to bring disaster to the Central Plains. Fortunately, Governor Hong and General Cao were able to encircle and suppress them effectively, and the Heluo New Army and Tianxiong Army blocked them all the way along the Funiu Mountains and Taihang Mountains. , so they didn’t let them break into Zhongyuan. Finally, the situation in the northwest has improved a bit, and something happened in Huguang, and the emperor has nothing to do. He just wants to see the general and listen to the general’s opinion.”

Yang Menglong pinched the person hard, and managed to squeeze out two drops of tears the size of sesame seeds: "Oh, the emperor is really suffering, poor..."

Cao Huachun wanted to slap him: "Come on, come on, stop pretending, you don't look like it no matter how much you pretend. Hurry up and take a few followers with us to Beijing!"

Yang Menglong laughed, ordered a dozen followers, and prepared some local products, then boarded a four-wheeled carriage and followed Cao Huachun to the north.

From Nanyang to Ruzhou to Luoyang, the area under the jurisdiction of the Heluo New Army is a scene of prosperity.The ancient canal has been dredged again, and boats loaded with goods shuttle back and forth, transporting cement, grain, and fruits from Nanyang to Ruzhou and Luoyang, coke and coal tar from Ruzhou, and raw lacquer, tung oil, and flowers from Luoyang to Nanyang. The waterways are getting busier.With the improvement of irrigation technology and the influx of a large number of refugees, more and more wasteland has been reclaimed. Those who can grow food grow grain, and those who cannot grow food grow alfalfa. There are scenes of intense labor everywhere, hidden from the refugees in other places. In stark contrast to the tragic situation of wild and hungry mayflies everywhere.Cao Huachun saw this and sighed: "General Yang is indeed a versatile military and political person. Not only can he fight, he is also a leader in governing the local area... If Xiangfan had been handed over to you to govern, I guess this rebellion would not have happened."

Yang Menglong yelled in horror: "Don't let me go to govern any more! In order to govern Ruzhou and Luoyang well, I owe a whole lot of debt! Denglai is simply a sinkhole, and I don't even know what to do. How much money is there to spend there to see improvement, and if you give me the land, I might as well commit suicide!"

Cao Huachun smiled, but said nothing.

In fact, the development of the Heluo New Army in Luoyang can only be regarded as unsatisfactory, and it is incomparable with Nanyang.In Nanyang, the Heluo New Army has been fully integrated into all aspects of the city, all prosperous and all damaged, but in Luoyang, the Heluo New Army is still rejected from time to time... The common people will not reject them, but The vassal kings, landlords, and officials in Luoyang obviously did not welcome them. They kept staring at the military fields they reclaimed and the factories they built with painstaking efforts, trying to squeeze them out, and then divide up these assets. They are fighting endlessly with the bandits in the mountainous area of ​​Funiu Mountain to protect the safety of Luoyang. They did not forget to pull back and stab a soft knife, which made Xue Siming very angry. He said many times that he would withdraw from Luoyang and take the military household All the factories and factories moved to Ruzhou, and the officials and people in Ruzhou have a much more friendly attitude towards them.But even so, Cao Huachun was impressed by the achievements of the Heluo New Army in Luoyang. Now they have 40 mu of military land and built more than 150 factories!

After leaving Luoyang, leaving the sphere of influence of the Heluo New Army, it is a completely different world.Like a bird last year, this spring has been terribly dry, with so little rainfall that the land has cracked open.Irrigation wells have been drilled or waterwheels erected in some places, technologies that are desperately battling the drought.However, the four words "misfortunes never come singly" are also very appropriate when applied to natural disasters. The long-term drought has caused pests to breed in the land. As soon as a little greenness appeared in the wheat field, the pests rushed over and could not be driven away or caught. They won't stop until the last trace of green is cleared from the wheat fields.The Nanyang people and the military households in Ruzhou and Luoyang can also use rotenone powder and insecticidal inulin powder to kill insects. The common people in these places do not have such pesticides, so they can only leave the crops that have been gnawed clean and leave their homes. joined the ranks of refugees.The entire Central Plains has now become a pile of explosives. As long as there is a spark, it will explode and smash the empire to pieces. The fuse is burning rapidly in Shaanxi and Shanxi, and it is getting closer and closer to this pile of explosives. One could hear the increasingly distinct hiss of the fuse burning.However, everyone is not in the mood to take care of these now, and just keep their heads on the road.

On this day, when the motorcade was passing through Anyang, the sound of rapid horse hooves suddenly came from behind. Yang Menglong, who was bored and riding a black front while walking and watching the scenery, turned around and saw a scholar in white with his crown crooked and his look on his face. Panicked, he rushed forward on a green horse, out of breath, and accidentally thought there was a tiger chasing him!Looking at it again, there is really a tiger chasing him behind——mother, this tigress is wearing a bright red dress, riding a bay red horse, gnashing her teeth, and there are several tigers behind her. Pretend to be a big man, all armed with weapons, quite aggressive, just like a bandit, he would run with his heel and hit the back of his head.Yang Menglong was overjoyed, women chased men so fiercely, let alone in the Ming Dynasty, even in modern times it was rare.He shouted: "Brother, why are you running away?"

The scholar in white's horse was spraying white foam and could no longer run. He kept kicking the horse's belly to urge the horse to run quickly, and had no time to pay attention to Yang Menglong.The horse of the woman in red was not much better, and could not run any better, but she whistled, and a black horse with an empty saddle ran over. She jumped on the black horse's back with a leap, The horse speed did not decrease, and continued to chase.Yang Menglong praised, bringing two horses is an advantage. Not only can they ride in turns, which reduces the burden on the horses, but they are no longer afraid of odd and even numbers.The woman in red shouted sternly: "Li, run, run as hard as you can, I'll see where you can go! I have to catch you today!"

The scholar in white turned around and shouted in a tearful voice: "Girl, please, stop chasing me. If you chase Li's horse again, he will vomit blood!"

The woman in red giggled: "Grandma is going to chase the leg of your horse today, let's see how you run!"

Before he finished speaking, the horse of the white-clothed scholar stopped, and his whole body was shaking like chaff. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans gushed out from every pore, dripping wet, and his four legs trembled violently.The scholar in white was still kicking the horse's belly desperately, urging it to run quickly. Jiang Zheng couldn't stand it anymore, and called: "Stop urging, didn't you see that your horse can no longer run? Kick again, kick again tonight You can stew horse meat!"

The scholar in white probably didn't notice until now that there was such a group of people just a dozen steps ahead of him, riding on tall horses, he jumped off the horse, rushed over like a savior, bowed to everyone, eagerly He said: "Everyone, Li is being chased by a strongman. Please do me a favor and borrow Li's horse to escape. Li will be paid a lot later!"

Yang Menglong asked with interest: "Brother, what is your surname? Why did that woman chase you?"

The scholar in white was not in the mood to explain so much, he was so anxious that he was about to grab the horse.However, at the sound of a whistle, the woman in red had already led the team of well-dressed men to catch up, completely ignoring the dozen or so soldiers protecting the convoy. Ah, keep running, why don't you run?"

The white-clothed scholar gritted his teeth, pulled out his long sword with a choke, and sternly shouted: "Girl, I see you as a woman, so I give in repeatedly. You don't know how to flatter you! If you continue to push hard like this, don't blame Li for being rude to you." Already!"

The woman in red twisted her neck and said with a smile, "You're being rude to me? Well, I'm going to see how you're being rude to me!"

Behind the woman in red, a man in his thirties with a Chinese face said with a smile: "Mr. Li, you have run for hundreds of miles, but you still haven't escaped. In my opinion, don't bother and go back with us. With this skill, we will start our honeymoon after praying to heaven and earth!"

The white-clothed scholar blushed, and said: "Marriage has always been about a good match since ancient times. The bright matchmaker is marrying, and Li has already had a marriage contract. Girl, you have a beautiful face, and you don't have to worry about finding a good husband. Why bother to force you?"

Wow, snatching a kiss, or a girl snatching a boy!
The eyes of Yang Menglong, Jiang Zheng, Zhaji Chongweng, Shi Tianbao and others suddenly became brighter than a light bulb, and even Cao Huachun and other dead eunuchs pricked up their ears... This, although they lack a very important It is destined to be unable to marry a wife and have children, but everyone has the heart of gossip, and eunuchs are no exception. It is rare to encounter such a miracle, how can we miss it?Yang Menglong asked enthusiastically: "I said, can you tell me what you are doing?"

The woman in red glanced at him, then at the guard behind Yang Menglong, her eyes quickly returned to the scholar in white, and said impatiently: "Go away, little brat, it's none of your business!"

Yang Menglong felt that he was seriously despised: "Little boy? Who are you talking about? Who are you talking about? Let me tell you, brother, although I am not very old, I am already a general in charge of a party, and I am surrounded by half of Ming Dynasty. It's been a circle!"

The woman in red snorted: "Oh, you have become a general in charge at such a young age? My sister is so scared!" She squeezed her throat and said it in a weird way, and it didn't sound like she was afraid. After finishing speaking, she took out a piece of stuff Dong threw it over: "Go on!"

Yang Menglong caught it and saw that it was a small mirror, quite beautifully decorated.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

The woman in red smiled: "It's nothing interesting, I just want this general who sits in one side to take care of the nipple hair on his lips has faded!"

Yang Menglong almost didn't let her get angry and crooked her nose.

The woman in red said: "Little boy, if you have played enough to be a general, you can just step aside. My sister still has important things to do, so I don't have time to play with you... It's your fate, if you bump into me in the area of ​​Jigong Mountain, I'm afraid you will have to stay there on the fertile land!"

The boss is despised again, Jiang Zheng and others have long been accustomed to this, and have no reaction, but this is the first time Shi Tianbao and Zhaji Chongweng have encountered such a thing, and the sense of justice is bursting... The boss is despised It means that all of them are despised, which is fine!These two unanimously got off their horses, stepped forward to stare at the woman in red, and shouted in a deep voice: "Bold woman, how dare you be rude to our general!"

The deep voice full of oppression, and the fierce eyes full of wildness shocked the heart of the woman in red, and said secretly: "What a scary look, like a wild beast!" They also suppressed their smiles, surrounded them with solemn expressions, and each held their weapons.

The woman in red still had a nonchalant smile on her face: "Little kid, it's not bad. I hired two masters to be bodyguards. Unfortunately, they can't scare me!"

Yang Menglong threw the mirror back to her, stared at her and shouted: "Forget it, I don't have the same knowledge as you! I don't think you are kind people. Normally, I would arrest you all and throw them into a labor camp on the farm. But Today, the general is on his way, so you are lucky. Hurry up and stop pestering me here again!"

The woman in red said: "It seems that you are making trouble? It is you who should leave quickly!"

Yang Menglong yelled: "Let's go, whoever is afraid of whom!" With a wave of his hand: "Let's go!"

The scholar in white was terrified, and stood in front of Hei Feng, begging faintly, "Young master, please don't leave, you must give Li a hand!"

Yang Menglong shouted angrily: "Help me! I don't even know your surnames or what you are doing. How can I help you?"

The scholar in white blushed again and was speechless.

The woman in red smiled and said for him: "My sister's name is Hong Niangzi. She is a gangster. She has taken a fancy to him and wants to capture him and go up the mountain to become the leader of the village. What's wrong, you little brat? You want to stand up for him?"

Catch him up the mountain to be the head of the village?

Cao Huachun and the others nearly dislocated their jaws, this woman is too fierce!No wonder this scholar wanted to run away. He really found such a wife, but it was bad luck for eight lifetimes!

Yang Menglong pointed to the unfortunate white-clothed scholar, and asked, "Her name is Hong Niangzi, what's your name? Could it be that your name is Li Yan?"

The white-clothed scholar cupped his hands with a depressed expression on his face, and said, "My surname is Li Mingyan...Your Excellency, do you know me?"

Yang Menglong laughed loudly: "So you are the Li Yan who was forced to kiss and chased by the red lady? You are so worthless. Fortunately, you still..." There seemed to be a pair of invisible hands pinching his neck, laughing It stopped suddenly, his eyes were wide open, and he looked at this embarrassed scholar in disbelief, his voice suddenly raised twelve tones, and he screamed: "You are Li Yan!?"

(End of this chapter)