[Cehua] The wind and rain are like dark

Li Jin told He Xiaoxiao about the grain requisition, but He Xiaoxiao was surprised.The family to which Li Jin was assigned was Yu, a big family in the city, who had been doing business in Jianghuai and other places all the year round, with a wealth of wealth and a lot of grain.Not long ago when they first arrived in the city, Luo Xiaoxue was invited by the Yu family to see women's diseases for the family members. He Xiaoxiao happened to be there at the time, so she was worried that Luo Xiaoxue went to the big Yu's house alone, so she went with her.At that time, the rebels had not yet besieged the city, and the atmosphere in the city was relatively relaxed.Luo Xiaoxue went to the back to see a doctor for the female relatives, and He Xiaoxiao was waiting for her in the hall, and saw a few paintings hanging in the middle of the hall, all of which were made by famous artists nowadays, she couldn't help but linger, and looked at them carefully.Later, when the master of the Yu family came out and saw it, he chatted with He Xiaoxiao about Hua'er.After talking, it turned out to be very speculative. Although the Yu family is a wealthy family, they have a lot of insight into Jinshi calligraphy and painting.Unexpectedly, the mission that Li Jin was assigned happened to be here, He Xiaoxiao thought it was a coincidence, so he told Li Jin about the past, saying that he would go there with him tomorrow.

On the second day, Li Jin led people to meet He Xiaoxiao at the gate of the camp, and the two went to Yu's house together.Along with Li Jin, apart from his soldiers, there were also people from the government.Seeing that they were people from the government office and the garrison, the Yu family didn't dare to neglect them, and immediately let them in.But it seems that the head of the Yu family is not there, only the young master is at home.After He Xiaoxiao inquired, it turned out that the master of the Yu family went out of the city to Jianghuai to handle some errands while the siege was over, and hadn't rushed back yet.He Xiaoxiao immediately knew that this matter might not be as easy to handle as before. Firstly, Mr. Yu was not in charge of the family, and secondly, this Mr. He Xiaoxiao had met last time, so he was not a very easy person to deal with.

Obviously, Li Jin didn't want to waste any more time, so he went straight to the point and explained the purpose of his visit. The general idea was that although the people on the street didn't know the situation, in order to prevent the rebels from making a comeback sooner or later, the garrison and the government had already ordered rich households in the city who had surplus food to donate food for supply. For possible wars in the future, when the difficulties are overcome, the government will definitely compensate them with money.Moreover, he has brought a lot of people in this line of work, and it is obvious that he wants to finish the matter immediately.

It was wartime, and the entire city had almost been taken over by the garrison. The government's government orders were not as good as those of the army, and the few officials who followed couldn't say anything, but Li Jin's order was to obey, to help him witness.He Xiaoxiao originally wanted to smooth things over, but he came with Li Jin after all, so he couldn't speak immediately, so he could only stay silent for a while.

Yu Litong, the son of the Yu family, probably felt unhappy when he heard Li Jin's tone.Originally, as a merchant, family wealth is not easy to come by, and there must be some means. It is not easy to accumulate gold, silver and food, so no one is willing to give it away easily.And everyone knows that, to put it bluntly, why talk about repaying it after the war?These things should be regarded as offering sacrifices to the heavens or in vain.In addition, Li Jin's tone was serious, without the slightest sloppiness, which inevitably sounded blunt and made people feel conflicted.

"I just told this Mr. Wanhua just now that I can't make the decision on my own without my father."

"Even if your father is not in the city at this time, Mr. Yu can still make the decision." Li Jin's tone couldn't hear obvious ups and downs, but even He Xiaoxiao could hear an unusual bluntness in the tone inside, and there was no room for change, " This is a confiscation order issued by the garrison, and if your father does not come back, it is actually the same."

After listening to Li Jin's words, Yu Litong's expression turned ugly and he said: "Master, since it was a confiscation order issued by the garrison, there is no reason why he didn't know what is good and what is bad. It's just that my father is not in the city right now, and the previous food is also not available. It has already been paid out for other matters, and there is no surplus food at the moment, I have never cared about family affairs, and my father has not returned, so I don’t know where to get the food.”

He Xiaoxiao felt bad after hearing this.This Yu Litong didn't say anything else, but he said that there was no food in the house anyway, even if Li Jin had a lot of people, he couldn't just break into other houses and rummaged through the boxes, right?The few people were silent, and suddenly they saw Yao Jun, who had been away from Li Jin, come in and report to Li Jin: "Brothers have checked the granary of Yu's family in the north of the city according to the previous instructions, and they are all full."

Li Jin smiled slightly when he heard the words, but didn't speak, just tilted his head and looked at Yu Litong, as if asking you to lead the way.Yu Litong didn't expect that the soldier in front of him looked simple and rude, but in fact he had a backhand, and his face turned blue and red for a while, which was very exciting.

"Young Master Yu, lead the way?" Someone interrupted.

"This... this can't be done," Yu Litong's face turned blue, "This grain has been cashed out a long time ago, and it is not my family's property. I can't just give it to you. My family has always been in a serious business. How can I communicate with others like this? Confession."

"Tsk, tsk tsk, Mr. Yu, you really don't like what you say, what do you mean for us?" Li Jin's expression became more mocking, "It's as if we are robbers with open flames, and we are forced to rob Your family is average. You have read the documents of the garrison army, and you have seen the seal of the government. What do you mean by saying this now? Mr. Yu, lead the way?"

"No, it's not! Even if you want to have a good or bad, you have to wait for my father to come back!"

Who knows that this Yu Litong is also a tough one, he would rather guard the little food and clash with the garrison, but his face turned pale, and he would not agree to anything.

"Right now, the lonely city is in danger. You rich and noble families, with deep houses and large courtyards, don't know what's going on outside." Hearing this, Li Jin suddenly stood up. Not to mention starvation for miles around, even the government offices have already begun to struggle, not to mention the people in the city! If the Spike Army captures the city, none of you will be able to escape, and you are still pushing back and forth, Mr. Yu, but Good for you."

He Xiaoxiao stood aside, he could already hear the wind and thunder in Li Jin's words, obviously he could not tell when he would turn his back on him.He also knew that what Li Jin said was right, although the people in the city were not too bad, they were already starving.At this moment when the lonely city is crumbling, this Yu Litong is indeed considered rich and unkind, and he doesn't know what is good or bad.But if Li Jin turned his back on him and used soldiers to forcibly requisition food, if the Yu family added fuel and jealousy, some rumors would come out, and the hearts of the people would be divided, which would not be good for defending the city.He Xiaoxiao thought about this, and immediately stepped forward to smooth things over and said: "Let's go first, even if we want to collect grain, the deadline is still two days? Since it is said that it was paid to someone else, I believe Mr. Yu is not an ignorant person." , at least let Mr. Yu prepare to prepare, explain to the other party, and finish the matter in one go, isn't that good?"

What he said was indeed reasonable. Although it could not cure the problem, it did ease the tense atmosphere after all.Li Jin seemed to be concerned about He Xiaoxiao, and understood that it was really inappropriate to start a conflict, so he suppressed his emotions and said, "Alright, then please Mr. Yu get ready, and I will come back in two days."

When Yu Litong heard the words, he just snorted, and didn't even seem to see off the guests.Li Jin didn't care about it, he just glanced at him, turned around and walked away with him.He Xiaoxiao followed behind, and the group went out of the gate of Yu's house. Li Jin sent Yao Jun to take the others back first.It wasn't until everyone had gone away that He Xiaoxiao shook his head again and again.

"You speak too bluntly, so how can you get things done?"

"Ha," Li Jin was still angry, but he laughed when he heard the words, "Are you qualified to say that other people are straightforward? Of all the people I've known over the years, you are the most straightforward."

"I don't treat everyone like this, you clearly know that." He Xiaoxiao glanced at him.When the two eyes met, Li Jin seemed to have calmed down a bit, shook his head and said, "I've never seen such an ignorant person."

"It's not that he is ignorant of current affairs. For a businessman, money is easy to come by." He Xiaoxiao shook his head and lowered his voice, "The compensation the government said is actually an empty wish, right? They don't want to It's normal to give. And people like them," He Xiaoxiao said in a lower voice, "I'm afraid that even if the city is broken and the Spike Army snatch it, it's better than offering it with both hands willingly."

Hearing this, Li Jin took a deep look at He Xiaoxiao, then suddenly stretched out his hand to stroke He Xiaoxiao's hair hanging from his temples.

"Xiao Xiao," he shook his head, his eyes seemed to be looking at immature children, "if the city is broken, no one in this city, men, women, old and young, rich or poor, high or low, will survive."

He Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment, Li Jin didn't wait for him to ask, and said: "You don't understand this... unless you surrender the city at the beginning, you can keep safe. The Spike Army started to besiege last year, and it has been more than half a year. Taking this place will cost more soldiers and generals... Once the city is broken, the city will be slaughtered."

"But..." He Xiaoxiao only felt a chill, and he was a little dazed, "According to what you said, this is an empty city, and the people in the city will not resist. The Spike Army is clearly plotting this country, and they always hope for more. Why do you have to work so hard to turn this place into an empty city?"

Li Jin smiled and shook his head.He Xiaoxiao could tell that he didn't want to explain.

"...You said that I can't speak just now, but I don't understand the reason behind it. Under such circumstances, I don't have time to negotiate conditions with him slowly-in the first place, there is no such reason. Right now the isolated city is in danger, as a city If middle and rich households can recognize the situation clearly, they should contribute to this, and there is no reason to push back. It is a matter of course, Xiao Xiao, this is what they should do as a matter of course."

"You're not much better." He Xiaoxiao's voice could not detect any emotion, but Li Jin knew that he disapproved of his words, and was suppressing his anger and a sense of anxiety that came from nowhere, "Did you say something when you were collecting food?" The people in the city have no food to eat, what you are saying is the truth—but it is your garrison army and the government, seeing that there is going to be a famine in the city, you will not open warehouses to release food. Let me tell you..." His voice dropped, But he finished the sentence completely, "If I enlist you, it's better to stay in Yu's house. If you are in danger, even if the people in the city rob his family's granary, at least it can save many lives. It's better than giving it to you." .”

"Xiao Xiao!" Li Jin raised his voice.

He Xiaoxiao frowned and lowered his head. He knew what Li Jin said was true, but he still didn't agree with it in his heart. This disapproval turned into a strange anxiety. He knew what he just said was angry. He came to disregard the overall situation, but why didn't his angry words bring a little sincerity?He himself cares about Li Jin so much, and he has no doubt that Li Jin also cares about himself—two people like them should be able to understand each other unconditionally, but the reality is often not as good as imagined. As expected.

Although the isolated city is in danger, this kind of behavior is no different from robbery to put it bluntly. It is no wonder that the wealthy family feels uncomfortable.Coupled with Li Jin's tone, it seemed that he deserved to kill the rich and help the poor. He Xiaoxiao thought, even if it was supposed to be like this, he should judge the situation, say a few good words, and get the food, so what's the matter?But he also felt in a trance that what Li Jin said seemed to have his own reasons.The words about Tucheng just now were still pounding in his heart, making him restless and speechless for a while.Li Jin was also silent, and the two stood on the street, each thinking about his own thoughts.

The weather seems to be getting hotter, but it's not so hot. It seems to be an unusual kind of overcast heat, which makes people very uncomfortable.Both of them seem to be anxious about not being able to convince each other, but they are silent at the same time.This anxiety came from the bottom of my heart, and I couldn't tell what was going on.There has been no siege of the city recently, and although some people in the city have fled, most of the people have remained in the city.It was noon at this time, and there was no one on the street, so it was very quiet.

The two were anxious about each other, and suddenly a few children ran out from the alley next to them.Li Jin and He Xiaoxiao turned their heads to look together, but they were surprised to find that even though it was the midsummer of June, these children were all wearing heavy winter clothes, laughing and singing while running.

"...the wind and rain are desolate, the cocks are crowing! The wind and rain are light, the cocks are crowing...the wind and rain are dark, and the cocks are crowing..."

These children sang while running, turned into another alley by the side of the road, and the singing disappeared soon.Looking at them, He Xiaoxiao suddenly felt a coldness rushing up from the back of his spine, the whole back of his neck was numb, and even his shoulders trembled.He quickly chased after the alley where the children turned into. After noon, the sun was westward, and the deepest part of the alley could not be illuminated. It was empty and there was no one there.He Xiaoxiao pulled back all of a sudden, turned around and saw Li Jin following him, his face was also pale.

"Just now... what were they singing?" He Xiaoxiao felt a little dizzy, and the scorching sun was shining brightly, but he couldn't help but start to feel cold.

"I can't hear you clearly," Li Jin didn't know that his face was also pale. He was fearless on the battlefield, but at this moment he couldn't help feeling an extreme uneasiness, "... like the three hundred poems What's inside...they don't seem to be singing quite right...Xiao Xiao, come here, come here. Don't think about it, children are ignorant, they are singing nonsense. Come back with me."

He Xiaoxiao raised his sleeves and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Strange, it's broad daylight, this is seeing—"

"...Xiao Xiao." Li Jin interrupted him.The sun shines quietly, making the street hot and white.

He Xiaoxiao suddenly turned his head to look at Li Jin, and said in a low voice: "Have you checked the calendar? After August this year, there will be a leap month. It is said that leap seven is not leap eight, leap eight... we just saw Yes, that's..."

"Xiao Xiao, what nonsense are you talking about! Come back with me!" Li Jin interrupted him again, dragging He Xiaoxiao away.The alley behind them was empty, and the two walked a long way, but they seemed to hear a child singing faintly from nowhere, and it was still what they had just heard, the chapter of wind and rain in the three hundred poems.

After returning to the camp, Li Jin didn't say anything else. Anyway, he told Yu Litong before that he would go back in two days.He Xiaoxiao couldn't sit still, he believed that Li Jin's method would definitely lead to bad things.No matter what you do, try not to cause conflicts.The situation is so tense right now, who knows when the rebels will come again.He made up his mind and went to Yu's house alone the next day.