Go back to ancient times to engage in sideline business

Driving away from Qingjiang County, the water area becomes wider and wider.

There were more boats coming and going on the river, and a cargo ship was among them going down the river, and no one took a second look.

On the plywood of the bow of the cargo ship, Cheng Li stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the faintly visible pier in front of him, and told his subordinate Pu Guang to stop the ship and dock in a while, and quickly go to the city to buy some dry food and come back.

"Don't worry, Commander, the people in the household department never thought that we have already taken Tang Zhong away secretly. Presumably, their troops have just entered Qingjiang County at this moment!"

Different from Pu Guang's complacent look, Cheng Li's brows are still full of worry.

"Although we kidnapped people secretly, we should not be careless before arriving in Minzhou. This is the territory under the jurisdiction of Governor Qi. We have robbed people on his territory, so we have to be careful."

Cheng Li turned the finger between his thumbs and heaved a long sigh, hoping that the rest of the journey would go smoothly.

He knew better than anyone else what the household department was up to.

Ever since they knew about the donkey-moving boat, the people in the household department immediately went around to ask who the designer was, just wanting to recruit this craftsman, hoping to follow the example of Wuhou Zhuge and build some grain-carrying vehicles such as wooden cows and flowing horses. , To make up for it, to cover up the previous fault of poor food transportation.

Even the governor of Qi turned his elbows to the household department. Relying on his old friends with several adults in the household department, he insisted on sending a case of dismissal of a small county magistrate to the governor's yamen to investigate and handle it himself.

I just want to hide the truth from the Ministry of War and find out who the designer is first.

Cheng Li has never been interested in these methods of fighting for merit. He only believes that good steel must be used wisely.

In the current war, all talents must serve on the battlefield!

If the skin is not there, the hair will be attached. These people who live in the inland, how do they know the suffering of the coastal pirates.

Fortunately, there is a definite number in the dark.

Although the people from the Ministry of Households rushed ahead of him and picked up the man from the governor's yamen, they found in the end that the coffin merchant Chen Yuanbao who claimed to have designed the donkey-moving boat actually knew nothing about the mechanism locks, and was a complete waste.

This gave him the opportunity. After investigating the people around Chen Yuanbao, he finally dug up Tang Zhong's treasure from his former buddy Wang Jiu, and rushed to Qingjiang City before he could take him away.

Now that the battle on the front line is anxious, I hope that he and his Tiger Wing Guards can serve as soon as possible, and together with the soldiers, end this disaster.

Not long after, the cargo ship arrived at the wharf, and the boatmen dropped anchor and docked, resting their feet on the wharf to take a rest.

Seeing Tang Zhong coming out of the warehouse, Cheng Li handed over a package of things brought by his subordinate Pu Guang.

"Your official outfit is too eye-catching, and you will change it later. Right now, it's not convenient for us to expose our traces."

Tang Zhong took the cloth bag and opened it, it turned out that it was dressed in ordinary coarse cloth.

The one in front of him, who claims to be the leader of the Tiger Wing Guard who is directly under the Ministry of War, is also dressed in ordinary clothes, and has been hiding and hiding his tail on his way.

It doesn't look like a serious sergeant, but it looks like...a spy...

If Tiger Wing Guard is similar to Jin Yiwei and also works as a spy, then he has to make it clear that with his thin arms and legs, he is definitely not made to be a spy in this life.

Holding the folded clothes, Tang Zhong suddenly frowned, with a look of deep distress: "Master Cheng, to tell you the truth, the villain has been weak since he was a child. He used to fight with others in the village and never won. No. I was in the cabin just now, and I have thought about it carefully, thinking about the job of the Tiger Wing Guard, I am afraid that the villain is not worthy of it. Otherwise, the villain will disembark here too, go back by yourself!"

Cheng Li didn't want to pay attention to his nonsense, and asked directly: "Do you know what a Tiger Wing Guard is?"

Tang Zhong had heard of Habayashi Guard, Jin Wu Guard, Jin Yi Guard, plus the current Tiger Wing Guard. As a gate guard in a small county far away from the capital, how could he tell who was who?

Before Tang Zhong could speak, Cheng Li continued: "During the Warring States period, when the six countries attacked Qin, Zhang Yi relied on his three-inch tongue to lobby the countries and broke the alliance. During the Three Kingdoms period, Wu and Shu formed an alliance, and Zhuge Kongming set up an altar to sacrifice Borrow the east wind to help the Wu army burn the serial warships. And the craftsmen who made the magic weapons such as ladders, attack vehicles, and continuous crossbows are all capable men and strangers who can turn the tide of battle at critical moments."

"Lord Shang Shu established the Tiger Wing Guard precisely because he wanted to imitate the ancients, borrowing the power of capable people and strangers, assisting the soldiers in front, and adding wings to them."

Tang Zhong was stunned for a moment, he really didn't think of such an upright reason.

Saying that, Cheng Li took out a waist card from his pocket and put it on the shirt Tang Zhong was holding.

"I almost forgot to give this to you. From then on, we Tiger Wing Guards have a total of six people, and you are one of them!"

It was a black waist card engraved with tiger patterns, made of unknown material, but under such a bright sun, it did not reflect a gleam of light.

Seeing that Cheng Lizheng was staring at him and didn't respond to his resignation request, Tang Zhong could only smile wryly.

I've heard of people who rob people's daughters by force, but I've never seen someone like him being forcibly pulled to work as an errand.

After a short rest, the cargo ship continued to go down the river without stopping along the way, and finally entered the boundary of Fujian Province in the afternoon of the second day.

Tang Zhong had heard Shan Jiuye talk about Minzhou before, and this was the starting point for their smuggling of salt.

If God blesses you, maybe you can meet Jiu Ye's salt fleet at the front pier.

Every time they sell salt, they gather in groups. Maybe they can escape back to Qingjiang by virtue of the large number of people.

Thinking of this, he felt somewhat hopeful.

But to Tang Zhong's surprise, after the cargo ship landed again, Cheng Li took his subordinate Pu Guang and him, and the three of them boarded the carriage prepared in advance on the shore and left away from the pier.

Hearing Pu Guang's yelling to hurry the horse with a whip, and looking at the new boss in front of him, who was meditating with his eyes closed, Tang Zhong felt as if someone had stuffed a lot of Coptis chinensis into his heart.

Bitter!

The carriage traveled quickly for a long time, and before the sun had completely set, it finally stopped in front of a remote farmyard.

There are no shops in front of the village or behind, only a road running across the courtyard.

As soon as Cheng Li opened the courtyard door, four people quickly came out from their respective rooms and bowed to him.

"Commander!"

"The commander is back!"

Cheng Li nodded in greeting, then looked behind him, and introduced to everyone: "This is Tang Zhong, the sixth Tiger Wing Guard!"

Everyone looked over and bowed to him to greet him. Tang Zhong squeezed out a smile and returned the greetings one by one.

Of the four people in front of them, the oldest one had gray beard and hair, while the youngest was a girl, who looked a few years younger than him.

In addition, there is a middle-aged man dressed as a Taoist priest, and a dull-witted, not very bright scholar.

Except for the Taoist priest who was wearing Taoist robes, the remaining three people were also dressed in ordinary clothes, the kind that could never be found after being thrown into the crowd.

Only the black tiger-striped waist card around his waist is the only thing that can prove his identity.

I don't know what kind of "capable men and strange men" they are.

Almost without any time for greetings, Cheng Li looked at the Taoist priest and asked without end: "Peng Daoist, how are you?"

The Taoist priest understood immediately: "Chang Geng's eyes are shining, Xuan Wu is lying low, tonight we will go north, no matter the wind or rain."

"Very good, it's not too late, let's go!"

Before Tang Zhong could understand, everyone dispersed.

After a while, several horses were brought out from the backyard and lined up outside the yard.

Is this... to continue traveling overnight?

"Can you ride a horse?" Pu Guang, who had been by Cheng Li's side all the time, came over and stuffed the filled water bag into his hand.

"I haven't ridden before, or..."

"It doesn't matter, let's ride a horse!" Pu Guang didn't wear a waist badge, but he was more active than the other Tiger Wing Guards. Tang Zhong wanted to separate from the main force, and it was useless before he announced it. .

"Where are we going?"

"Go to Ningzhou! The main force of the imperial court is stationed there!"

Tang Zhong's heart skipped a beat. If I remember correctly, the main force of the Japanese pirates who had confronted the army for nearly two months was also there!

Just as the Taoist said, even though they were going out at night, the sky was full of stars above their heads, making the road surface faintly discernible, and they were able to reach it unimpeded.

Squeezed in the same saddle with Pu Guang, Tang Zhong felt a little aggrieved, turned his head to look behind him, and saw that dull-headed scholar, who also couldn't ride a horse like him, was huddled with the oldest old man.

Now, I feel more balanced.

The team traveled northward all the way, until they passed a mountain temple in the middle of the night, and Cheng Li, who was at the head of the team, ordered to rein in his horse and enter the temple to rest for a while.

Tang Zhong had never rushed across the road so desperately like tonight, and when he got off his horse, he was knocked to the ground.

Looking at the scholar who was like himself, whose legs were trembling with exhaustion, Tang Zhong felt very kind to him, and when he entered the temple to eat dry food, he consciously sat down next to the scholar.

"Tell me, why do we have to rush on the road in such a hurry, sharpening our knives does not miss the woodcutters, why don't we go on our way after getting a solid sleep, right?"

Relying on the friendship between brothers and sisters in trouble, Tang Zhong got close to the scholar, and bumped the other's arm with his shoulder after speaking.

The scholar just turned his head slightly to look at him, and said indifferently: "Perhaps, you thought it was just a sleep. For some people, if it is a moment late, they will never be able to open their eyes again."

Are you stupid to read books?It's as if the lips of the donkey are not right with the mouth of the horse.

Tang Zhong just thought it was a hot face with a cold butt, making it boring.

Seeing that the little girl traveling with him was sharing dry food with everyone, he also consciously reached out and grabbed half of a scone, smashed it into small pieces and stuffed it into his mouth.

With goods in his belly, sleepiness soon struck, Tang Zhong leaned his head against the wall, and could not help dozing off.

"Get up, it's time to go!"

I just felt that I was woken up just after I closed my eyes.

Tang Zhong had already been on the cargo ship for three consecutive days and hadn't had a good rest. Now when he disembarked from the ship, he was tossing and tossing about in a carriage and on a horse.

Can't eat enough to sleep well, even if it's a muddy beach, it should be turned into a mush by now!

These Tiger Wing Guards, speaking of being under the direct control of the Minister of the Ministry of War, their life is not as good as he was eating chaff and swallowing vegetables in Fengshan Village.

What kind of errand, did not ask him if he was willing, so he was forcibly tied up.

"Quick! Let's go!" Cheng Li saw that everyone had mounted their horses, except Tang Zhong, so he came over to urge him personally.

Tang Zhong suppressed the anger in his stomach, and now he finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"What are you breaking the Tiger Wing Guard? I'm quitting! Anyway, you asked me to join before and didn't ask for my opinion. Now that I want to quit, I don't need the approval of Commander Cheng!"

"What did you say?" Cheng Li's eyes froze.

Tang Zhong sat on the ground, but he really didn't have the energy to get up, and he said in a bad mood: "I said, I want to go back to be my city gate guard! I can't do the job of the Tiger Wing Guard!"

"Shut up!" At this moment, Cheng Li's eyes were full of sternness.

"Huyiwei, you can come and leave whenever you want!"

Without any explanation, he directly lifted Tang Zhong from the ground, dragged him by the back collar, and dragged him out of the temple gate.

Next, it was another day and night of rushing on the road.

Every two hours, Cheng Li would order the horses to rein in and feed the horses with water and grass.

But every time he rested for less than a stick of incense, he would be urged to get up again.

Tossing back and forth, Tang Zhong's skeleton was about to be torn apart.

Picking up a lush bush, he stretched his limbs and lay flat on the ground, barely feeling that he could take a good breath.

Holding on to Pu Guang's belt for a long time, his fingers were already sore and hard to stretch, his knees ached from the wind, and his hips were even more sore.

I really don't know how long his body can barely last.

The dawn sun cut through the shade of the trees and fell on the face from the gaps in the leaves.A bird's call came from afar, breaking the silence in the woods.

Tang Zhong narrowed his eyes, for the first time he felt that the early morning birdsong could be so annoying.

Hiss, no.

That's clearly... a crow crowing!

"Commander!"

Pu Guang, who had just gone out to find water, came back with an empty water bag.

With a pale and heavy face, he walked up to Cheng Li and whispered, "The whole village is gone."

Tang Zhong listened clearly, a corner of his heart seemed to be stabbed deeply.

He didn't know where the strength came from, he stood up in astonishment, stepped over the thorn bushes in front of him, and looked in the direction of the crows.

The sea breeze blows into the woods with a sense of tide, and with it, there is also the smell of blood and death.

The eastern sky was filled with flowing clouds, dyed blood-colored by the rising sun, which weighed heavily between the sea and the sky.The rays of the sun shone from afar, covering the scorched earth in front of my eyes with a layer of mournful residual red.

Below the hillside in front were dozens of collapsed houses.After being devoured and burned by the fire, there are only a few scorched black and jagged beams standing on top of the ruins, like the struggling fingers of a dead man, questioning the sky feebly.

In the scorched earth and dust, there are still buried bodies that have also been scorched by the fire.A group of crows hovered above it, constantly making ear-piercing cries.

On the beach next to the village, fishing nets are still drying, and fishing boats are pulled by long ropes, as if they are waiting for fishermen to go out to sea as usual.

There, it was supposed to be a peaceful fishing village.

Tang Zhong's chest rose and fell violently, and his palms clenched into fists at some point, trembling uncontrollably against his side.

"This is Japanese chaos, it's the first time you've seen it." Cheng Li walked to the side, and the sadness and anger in his tone deepened.

"They are just like the people in Qingjiang County. They are ordinary people. They fish with nets and work hard every day. They only ask for three meals and food and clothing, and their families are safe.

Like you, they have family, neighbors, trivial worries, and expectations for tomorrow.The only difference is that there is no sea in your hometown, and there are no bandits who are not as good as beasts..."

Before he knew it, the fingertips of his ten fingers were deeply embedded in his palm.Tang Zhong had never felt such heartache, let alone tasted such strong hatred.

The life being poisoned in front of him is a compatriot, a fellow, an ordinary person like him who just wants to live a good life.

If there were no Japanese invasion, they might be Aunt Gu who raised her daughter, Uncle He who cut wood and helped him, shopkeeper Liu who ran his ancestral business, and Hu Touer who took orders as errands.

They could have lived ordinary lives like the people in Qingjiang County.

What are they doing wrong?

Tang Zhong tried his best to suppress the flame rising in his chest, and spoke in a low voice, but it was more like saying to himself: "Go, set off and hurry."

The boy turned around and stepped over the thorns, and quickly disappeared into the mottled shadows of the trees...