Aggrieved Fish Sprite

Xuanchuan Pass is a fortress, except for the guards and soldiers, there are no people living in the pass.

Those common people who got a job at Xuanchuan Pass are actually inextricably linked with the garrison.

For example, the servants of the Ning family, the artisans of military households who have been raising horses for the Xuanchuanguan garrison for several generations, the lonely old man whose sons and daughters died in battle, and the other brothers of the deceased who were too poor to support their parents... Chuanguan has insufficient troops and manpower, and the existence of these common people is extremely necessary.It is impossible for the soldiers to wash clothes, feed horses and chop firewood on an empty stomach after fighting and killing the enemy without even a mouthful of hot soup and rice.

In addition, some people’s families are in difficulties, especially those whose men died in battle and only women and children are left. They have empty fields and no labor to cultivate them, and they may even be sold after being seized by the tribesmen and villagers. It is also willing to not get money, as long as the orphans and widows can survive.

Therefore, although the origins of these people are different, they are not considered "outsiders".

The worst thing is that the family members within three generations have been conscripted and guarded this grand pass.

Who would have thought that such a person would betray.

There was chaos in the city that day, and the time was not enough to find out all the traitors, but just like this, it also caused Yan Cen to suffer a great blow.

"...It's fine for those from military households and artisan households who have not had civil registration for generations, and the old people who have other sons in their hometown. Why did the woman in the kitchen betray you? You told me last time that she was homeless Gui's widowed mother! Didn't the Ning family army save their lives?"

Although Yan Cen was unable to stand up after being hit by acupuncture points, his resentment and resentment could not be calmed down easily.

"If Xuanchuanguan didn't take them in, they wouldn't even be alive today!"

Strictly speaking not today, because the person died a month ago.

The crowd didn't correct his mistake, after a while a soldier whispered: "Aunt Zhang's in the kitchen, her son is fourteen this year."

Fourteen is a half-adult, able to marry and have children. The Chu Dynasty did not allow men of this age to serve in the corvee and military service, but the Qi Dynasty did not have this rule.In harsher places, children have to pay labor tax as soon as they are born, and at the age of 12, they have to be regarded as half corvee, which can be redeemed by paying money.

After all, Yan Cen arrived at Xuanchuan Pass not long ago, so naturally he doesn't know such trifles as how old the children are.

Hearing this man's words now, he stared, still unable to understand.

"...Maybe it's because I'm afraid of being registered as a military household."

The soldier wiped his face, squeezed his fists to suppress his anger, and said in a hoarse voice.

After entering the military household, the descendants will all be military households, and the child grew up in Xuanchuanguan since he was a child.

The monks at Baoxiang Temple paused and continued to chant sutras.

The old servant let out a loud bah, some people's eyes were tearing apart, some people were in pain, and regretted why they hadn't noticed these "crises" earlier.

——Everyone just didn’t expect that when they heard the first reason for betrayal and found out that there is still this side of people’s hearts, and things can be thought of in this way, following this logic, other reasons for betrayal naturally surfaced.

"Afraid of becoming a military household, why don't you leave Xuanchuan Pass? Could it be that someone tied her hands and feet and prevented them from leaving?" Yan Cen said bitterly.

"... how do they make a living without their possessions?"

The person speaking in the crowd was a wrinkled, bookish and bureaucratic man who looked like an old staff member.

His foot seemed to be injured, and his lungs were choked by the thick smoke on the day the city was broken, and he would cough from time to time, "I wouldn't rashly use strangers in such important places as the kitchen, they are all old people with many years of experience." , no relatives to turn to, no way to make a living... Ahem, I guess the woman was recruited into an accomplice by the person who was going to poison her. She only needs to say one thing and follow them back home, so that she can marry her son. will be shaken."

At this moment, it is meaningless to speculate whether the woman intended to betray or was persuaded.

Perhaps the Ning Family Army's admission prevented the children from being sold and forced to remarry, and prevented the orphans and widows from becoming slaves, but they are grateful that they can't be used as food for a lifetime. Some people may think that military households are worse than slavery , at least being a slave does not necessarily kill one's life.

If you are extinct, how can you be worthy of your ancestors.

"Old General Ning saved many civilians, not for the purpose of incorporating those people into military households! Not to mention expecting their children to work for the Ning family after they grow up... What a villain's heart." Yan Cen almost bite Broke his own teeth, then bowed his head slumped.

Old General Ning didn't think so, but as the commander-in-chief, he didn't have much time to ask the low-level soldiers and common people, let alone put himself in the shoes of the common people and think about things from the perspective of these common people.

In the past two years, Xuanchuan Pass has become more and more embarrassing. From the imperial court to the local yamen's procrastination and perfunctory, the heaven-sent king's sudden attack, the soldiers eat and sleep on the city wall at the most critical time, and children, women and children also help deliver hot water and meals under the city wall. With such a shortage of manpower, whether to organize military households or not, do others think that Old General Ning has the final say?

No, the wolves, tigers and leopards outside have the final say.

Emperor Yongchen came to the throne and Baoxiang Temple came to help. The officers and men of Xuanchuanguan thought that all the crises were over, but they didn't know that some "insiders" whom they could see every day didn't think so, and had other plans.

Everyone has selfishness, don't think it's strange.

The harm of selfishness lies not in the size, but in the bottom line.

Asking others to pay a great price to satisfy one's own selfishness, even if it is only a small selfishness, will cause terrible consequences.

Meng Qi closed his eyes slightly, his heart was blocked by many emotions, almost breathless.

Yan Cen said that those people did not take advantage of the chaos to open the city gate after being poisoned, and the city wall was blown open by the martyrdom during the chaos in the army.

The betrayal is for selfish desires, of course they will not go to death, I am afraid that they did not even think about opening the city gate, as long as they run away before the Tianshou Wang army attacks the city, there are city gates before and after Xuanchuan Pass, take advantage of the chaos to collect a little money When the time comes, they will mix with the crowd and walk away from behind.

It's not offering the city, and I don't plan to stay. Of course, I'm not afraid of massacring the city.

Their hometown is even more impoverished, not much better than Yizhou where the Heaven-sent king came. Everyone knows that once the Xuanchuan pass is broken, the rebel army can enter the Central Plains to plunder, and they will not stay here, so naturally they have no worries.More importantly, the officers and soldiers of Xuanchuanguan at this moment are mainly the Ning family army from northern Xinjiang, they are not their children and fellow villagers, and they will not be lenient when they poison.

If Xuanchuanguan is not a fortress but a city, many people in the city are still living with their relatives and families, and the people are not regarded as "our own people" by the soldiers, and the Qi Emperor has never suppressed the Ning family's army, and it is the Chu Dynasty that dominates the world It's not that the Qi Dynasty, which only occupies half of the country, the King Tianshou and the Holy Lotus Altar are not so notorious, etc... As long as there is one of these things, betrayal is very difficult to happen.

However, the truth is not. Looking back, we can find that many coincidences came together, and it happened so abruptly and tragically.

After the fire was extinguished, the monks picked up the remains and put them into a small jar.

The remaining ashes and bones were scattered down the cliff while reciting Buddhist scriptures, and let the wind blow away.

Baoxiang Temple does not enshrine relics, nor does it build golden stupas.

There are not only the remains of Master Yuan Zhi in this altar, but also the bones of some uncles, uncles and fellow disciples they found in the ruins afterwards. As many people came out, they wanted to take them back one by one, and finally buried them in the forest of the temple. inside.

The corpses that Meng Qi saw everywhere were the result of their efforts to bury them.

Including Yan Cen, most people's residual poison has not been completely exhausted, and they are unable to do heavy physical work.

In addition, Master Yuan Zhi was in critical condition and could not be easily moved, so they hid in the cave for so many days.

This complex underground karst cave has a secret passage leading directly to the Xuanchuan pass, which is also a back-up that the Ning family secretly prepared to prevent the city from being breached in case of an accident, and the remnants of the pass can have a hiding place.There is running water in the cave, so you only need to prepare oilcloth and easy-to-store food.

If Emperor Yongchen hadn't ascended the throne, Old General Ning would have had more money, and he still couldn't find any extra dried meat to put in.

It is no problem to feed and drink food for the remnants of the army for three days.

Yan Cen also went to the ruins to search for supplies from time to time, finding some usable things, such as pots, pans, spoons, and all sundries that were not destroyed by the fire.

"If Meng Guoshi is a few days late, we may have to leave."

The monks of Baoxiang Temple put their palms together and said.

"Where are you going, masters?"

"Inquire about the movements of the Heavenly Granted King's army, and perhaps return to Yongzhou."

The head monk looked at Yan Cen, with a bit of worry in his eyes.

Meng Qi stretched out his finger and pressed Yan Cen's wrist Mingmen. He didn't understand Qihuang and could only distinguish the flow of internal energy. He pondered: "The true energy instilled in him by Master Yuan Zhi is too pure. Fortunately, he has a good foundation in martial arts. Once the key point is opened, don't use the internal force for three days, and let the internal breath circulate for a few big circles."

"Amitabha." The monks breathed a sigh of relief.

The leading monk smiled bitterly and said: "We are not strong enough, not as good as Junior Brother Yan, even if we want to help, we can't help."

Meng Qi shook his head, he couldn't help at all.

Master Yuan Zhi passed away, and the Thunderbolt Hall did not use a new gun.

——Except for understanding how the city of Xuanchuan Pass was broken, I have gained almost nothing from this trip.

"Where did the Meng Guoshi come from? Did the rebellious army go to Jingzhou or Yongzhou?"

"It's Jingzhou, burning, killing, looting, committing all kinds of evil..."

When the monks heard the words, they all showed sorrowful expressions, and immediately said impulsively, "Why don't you go back to Yongzhou, why not go to Jiangnan."

"Could it be that King Jing was defeated for thousands of miles and didn't stop the rebellious army?" The old aide asked in surprise. He didn't understand where the name Meng Guoshi came from, but seeing that Yan Cen and the monks of Baoxiang Temple trusted Meng Qi very much, he couldn't help being solemn a bit.

"The Jingzhou army was too careless. They didn't pay attention to the rebellious army. They had lost the opportunity. Before reorganizing their troops, King Tianshou has already rushed to Nanping County."

Meng Qi didn't explain too much, and with just a few words, the old staff member's face turned pale as paper.

More people don't know the art of war, haven't read the map, and only vaguely understand that King Jing is useless, and they were beaten to the door by the King of Heaven within a month.

The crowd was excited and scolded continuously.

Yan Cen said nothing, but clenched his fists tightly.

Seeing how old and sick they were, Meng Qi thought about it and turned around to help them find things in the ruins.

After leaving the crowd, he calmed down a bit. Every time he felt that he had seen misfortune in the world, something more shocking to his mind happened.

Meng Qi stared at the vine-covered cliff, thinking that something was wrong with Moli, and once the matter here was over, he had to rush back to Nanping County as soon as possible.

"Ok?"

Meng Qi raised his head suddenly, he seemed to hear the sound of horseshoes.

Standing on the ruined wall, he saw a group of people galloping forward on horseback in the distance, the person in front was majestic, even if Meng Qi lost his memory, he would never forget that face.

——When you see it, the eight raccoon slaves lying on that person's arms and on top of their heads will first appear in your mind.

"Gong Jun?"