I

At the end of April, Ehu Town Pier.

Chaoguan, east of Ehu Town, has now been turned into a military station, and eunuch Wang Heng is organizing the suppression of bandits.

It's really nonsense. The eunuch who was hated by everyone last year has become the hope of officials, gentry and merchants.

The county magistrate was a man without eggs, and the gentry were not united, so they had no choice but to ask the eunuch to take the lead. At this time, 1,500 local warriors have been recruited, as well as more than 600 eunuchs' personal armed forces, who are practicing day and night, and are equipped with warships converted from merchant ships!

Shanglu Town is not far from Ehu Town. A tributary of the Xinjiang River originates from the Wuyi Mountains.

Therefore, Shanglu Town is also a big commercial town. You can go straight into the mountains along the river, and then you can reach Fujian by taking the trail.

The rebellious members of the Esoteric Cult can attack Ehu Town and Xinzhou when they advance, or they can hide among the mountains when retreating - this town is surrounded by mountains on all sides, making it very difficult to clear out.

"Brother Chun," Zhao Zhenfang took out a purse, "I embroidered this with my own hands. Please pass it on to my second brother."

Fei Chun took the purse and put it away, smiling: "I can do it, don't worry, sister."

Zhao Zhenfang is twelve years old and living a good life. I usually play with the second young lady, read and learn calligraphy together, and learn female needlework together. She can embroider better than Fei Rumei.

The Lou family sent their eldest daughter to Luling County, but kept Zhao Zhenfang and continued to be her second daughter's playmate.

Zhao Zhenfang reminded in a low voice: "There is something in the purse."

"I don't have to, don't worry, sister." Fei Chun had already found some money in his wallet, which should be Zhao Zhenfang's private money.

Zhao Zhenfang warned again: "Let your second brother work hard. If money is tight, use my money to tell him not to save it all the time."

Fei Chun smiled and said, "Brother Han is rich."

After saying goodbye, Fei Chun led the team to set off.

Upstream from Chaoguan, eunuch Wang Heng also led his troops on an expedition.

This guy took 2,100 soldiers and quickly arrived at Shanglu Town by boat.

The two demons had spies along the river, and even local farmers took the initiative to report the news. When the eunuch arrived at Shanglu Town, the congregation had already gathered three thousand troops to prepare.

The situation in Shanglu Town is very abnormal. It produces paper, tea and other commodities. It is also located on a waterway, and its business is relatively prosperous. However, there is a serious lack of arable land. Except for the relatively fertile river floodplain, most of the rest is barren mountainous land.

As a result, the peasants were miserable and joined the Tantric rebellion one after another.

The two sides fought a battle by the river. Although Xiangyong had fewer troops, his weapons were relatively sophisticated and he also organized military formations. It would be difficult to defeat Zhao Han with this kind of thing, but it would be very easy to spy on the secret cultists.

After just a cup of tea, the secret cultists began to collapse, and the demonic path led the followers to flee to the mountains.

Wang Heng raised his sword and shouted: "Kill the thief, kill the thief!"

The village heroes followed the eunuch in a mad pursuit. Wang Heng actually rushed to the front, slashing down several people with his sword, and even killed the secret leader Ma Liaoyang with one sword.

Seeing the thief's head being beheaded, the village warriors became energized and chased him into the mountains.

On the hillside, the deputy cultivator Zhang Puwei held a mahogany sword and began to dance the great god while mumbling words. Suddenly he shouted: "Please ask the ancestor to drop the stone, hurry up like a law!"

Countless stones fell from high altitude, causing Xiangyong to be in chaos.

Zhang Puwei was still dancing with her sword, threw out a handful of beans, and shouted: "Throwing beans makes an army!"

Hundreds of believers who were ambushing in the mountain suddenly came out with bamboo guns. Two thousand Xiangyong collapsed instantly, and they fled out of the mountain in embarrassment surrounded by Wang Heng.

The members of the congregation who had fled earlier also began to turn around and fight back, chasing Xiang Yong back to the shore.

Most of the country warriors didn't even have time to escape back to the boat, so they could only run along the river bank.

In this battle, Ma Liaoyang, the leader of the Tantric Cult, was beheaded by the eunuch Wang Heng himself. However, they won first and then lost. When they returned to Chaoguan and counted the number of soldiers, they found that only more than 800 of the 2,100 soldiers were left. In the afternoon and evening, hundreds more fled back one after another, resulting in a loss of about 500 soldiers.

Although Wang Heng was resentful, he immediately reported victory and said that he had killed the secret leader.

It's a pity, it's better not to cut it.

Ma Liaoyang and Zhang Puwei, two demons, had secret conflicts after the incident.

It's just right for one of them to die, so Zhang Puwei can be upright and become the leader. Not only did they stay in Shanglu Town, but they also sent people to preach along the Qianshan River. Tantric believers began to appear around the county.

As far away as Nanfeng County, the Tantric Cultists have already captured the county seat!

Pingxiang County rebelled against thieves and captured the county seat!

Duchang County rebelled against the thieves and captured the county seat!

The field soldiers in Ruijin County were chased into the mountains by Jie Xuelong. A large number of them froze to death in the winter, but they also came back in early spring. He also became more violent and began to kill landlords to grab food. After having enough food and clothing, he captured the county seat!

If Jie Xuelong was still alive, these rebels would not be able to stand up at all.

Either they were killed in the mountains and dared not come out, or they were directly exterminated by the governor. After Jie Xuelong's death, no one could suppress the rebels, and Jiangxi lost four counties one after another.

Compared with the rebels who attacked the county, Zhao Han, who took the initiative to withdraw from the capital, seemed so gentle and friendly.

Sichuan direction.

The rogue bandits captured Kuizhou Prefecture (northeast of Chongqing) in one fell swoop, and then they kicked the iron plate and were driven back to Shaanxi by Qin Liangyu's troops. They were really helpless.

Hannan direction.

The rogue bandits plundered many places in Henan and Huguang, taking countless prisoners with them and plentiful food. Facing the encirclement and suppression by officers and soldiers, they gathered again in Hannan and fell into the shrinking encirclement network of officers and soldiers.

However, drought broke out again in Shaanxi and Shanxi. There was no rain for ten consecutive months, and new rebels emerged one after another.

Emperor Chongzhen finally allocated funds for disaster relief, and he used private money.

This was the first time that Chongzhen used internal funds to do something, which was very rare. The previous Ming Dynasty emperors refused to do so.

In this difficult time, the Tatars will break through again.

…

"Zhao Chen is really willing to divide the land?" Liu Ziren was half convinced.

Fei Chun said with a smile: "Isn't that right? The young master and Brother Han are doing business together in Jiujiang. They made a fortune last year. They are short of manpower to help. As long as you go over, your family will be allocated land."

Xu Ying was puzzled: "But I just got admitted as a scholar."

Fei Chun said: "It is better to be a scholar. There are many famous teachers and scholars in Jiujiang. You can study and help with work at the same time. You can make money and take the imperial examination."

Liu Ziren said: "How about Xu Ying and I go first and leave our family behind in Qianshan?"

"Are you relieved to leave your family behind?" Fei Chun said deceptively, "Young Master and Brother Han have bought a lot of land in Jiujiang. It doesn't matter if we give you dozens of acres as a family!"

Liu Ziren hesitated and said: "But the food has been planted in the ground, how can we stay away from people?"

Fei Chun said with a smile: "How many bushels of land do you still have left after paying the rent and miscellaneous stalls? Don't worry, I will give you food after I go to Jiujiang."

When the two of them returned home, they couldn't resist the temptation of land and decided to move their family to Jiujiang.

They didn't believe in Fei Ruhe, but they believed that Zhao Han could fulfill his promise.

Confused, the two families boarded the pirate ship.

During this trip, Lou even sent a boat to announce that Fei Rulan was returning to her grandmother's house to visit relatives. He also said that Fei Ruhe followed his cousin and made a lot of money doing business in Jiujiang to cover up Fei Ruhe's whereabouts.

After picking up the Xu and Liu families, when the boat just passed Hekou Town, Fei Yuanjian suddenly waved from the shore.

After the guy got on the boat, he asked directly: "I heard that Ruhe did a big business in Jiujiang?"

"You know everything?" Fei Chun said in surprise.

Fei Yuanjian smiled and said: "It has spread throughout the Fei family, and Mrs. Lou talks about it to everyone she meets."

Well, Mrs. Lou also took great pains, fearing that her son would be suspected of being a rebel.

Before Fei Chun could speak again, Fei Yuanjian said: "I didn't pass the scholar exam this year, and I probably won't pass the exam, so I will simply join Ruhe and the others. My mother (Chen) also said that she would go to Jiujiang to see the world. Okay, let’s travel for a year and then come back to get married and start a business.”

"That's just right, the young master is short of manpower." Fei Chun secretly laughed in his heart: If you go, you probably won't be able to come back in a year and a half.

As a result, Fei Yuanjian and Fei Yu, master and servant, also took the initiative to board the pirate ship.

Everyone went down the Xinjiang River and soon took a tributary to Nanchang.

Xu Ying and Liu Ziren both couldn't tell the direction.

Only Fei Yuanjian raised doubts: "This seems to be the wrong move."

Fei Chun explained: "There are rebels in Duchang County, and the water bandits in Poyang Lake have also rebelled. They can only go up the Gan River from Nanchang."

"That's it." Fei Yuanjian believed it immediately, because it was all the truth.

After arriving in Nanchang, Fei Chun called everyone into the cabin to eat and took the opportunity to let the boatman sail south.

After traveling for several days, everyone began to feel confused. Why haven't they arrived in Jiujiang yet? But they had never traveled far and didn't know how far Jiujiang was, so they could only keep their doubts in their stomachs.

Until they entered Helu River, Fei Yuanjian finally couldn't help but said, "Didn't we enter Poyang Lake? Why did we enter a small river!"

"Please talk inside." Fei Chun smiled slightly and invited Liu Ziren and Xu Ying in.

Fei Rulan sat in the cabin, stood up and saluted: "Bless you, three gentlemen. I am Fei Rulan, brother Han's first wife."

Zhao Han is married?

Judging from this name, she is still Miss Fei.

Facing the female family members, the three of them did not dare to neglect and called them brothers and sisters one after another.

Fei Yuanjian couldn't help but ask: "Which room in the Fei family do my siblings belong to?"

In ancient times, maiden names were kept secret, and even Fei Yuanjian had never heard of Fei Rulan's name. Moreover, most women in the boudoir wear veils when they go out, and no one has seen Fei Rulan's true face.

Fei Rulan replied: "Ruhe is my younger brother."

"It turns out it's Miss Ehu," Fei Yuanjian said with a smile. "I heard from Mrs. Lou that she sent her eldest daughter to visit relatives in Jiujiang. It turns out she has been on this boat all along."

Fei Rulan smiled and said, "Fei Chunyan can reach Yongyang Town within two days."

Xu Ying was confused: "Which Yongyang Town?"

"Yongyang Town, Luling County," Fei Rulan asked after finishing speaking, "do the three ministers know about Zhao Yan, the giant bandit in Luling?"

Liu Ziren nodded and said: "I heard it. It is said that Zhao Yan is eight feet long, strong enough to carry a cauldron, and versatile in both civil and military affairs. Because he failed in many trials and hated corrupt officials, he led his people to rebel. It's a pity. , what a shame!”

Fei Yuanjian also heard rumors and started talking nonsense: "I heard that Zhao Yan has one hundred and eight generals under his command, all of them are Jiangxi green forest heroes. There is a man named Zhao Yaonian who knows Wudang Tiyunzong Kung Fu, stepping on his left foot with his right foot. Then he jumped up to the city of Ji'an and killed all the officials in the city."

Well, it seems that "Legend of the Condor Heroes" has spread, and Tiyunzong Kung Fu is also widely known.

I just don’t know if any of Zhao Han’s men can master the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.

Suddenly, Xu Ying asked: "Zhao Yan, the giant bandit, doesn't he know the name Zi?"

Liu Ziren and Fei Yuanjian were shocked and looked at each other.

Fei Rulan was a little helpless, and then she forced out a smile: "Zhao Yan, the giant bandit, is named Zizi."

"Then Zhao Yaonian is Young Master Ruhe?" Xu Ying asked again.

"Ms. Xu guessed correctly again," Fei Rulan said.

"well!"

Xu Ying sat down slowly and murmured to herself: "I knew it, I knew it. As soon as I heard about the giant bandit Zhao Yan, I thought it was Zhuo Chen. He and his husband (Pang Chunlai) had long thought about rebelling. , sooner or later there will be such a day." As she said that, Xu Ying smiled bitterly, "I just passed the scholar examination, maybe I can win the exam."

Liu Ziren scratched his head crazily and walked around the cabin: "Why bother? This is a beheading business."

It was Fei Yuanjian who slapped the table and said: "If you go against it, you will go against it. It just so happens that I can't pass the examination as a scholar, and my family only has more than a thousand acres of land left. To buy an official position, you have to donate tribute first (the Imperial College donates students), so why don't you rebel and start a big rebellion?" !”

Fei Rulan bowed and saluted again: "My husband did something stupid and deceived three thieves. I will apologize to everyone."

"That's all," Liu Ziren was silent for a moment and sighed, "This year there was a religious turmoil in Qianshan, the landlords increased the rent, and there was a spring drought. It's hard to survive anyway. Even if I don't become a thief, I'm afraid. Gotta be a bandit.”

Xu Ying remained silent and did not express her position.

In fact, he had already made some guesses before boarding the ship. But Pang Chunlai and Zhao Han were both very kind to him, and this trip was just to repay their kindness.

The three of them bid farewell to Fei Rulan and left the cabin together.

After they left, Fei Rulan sighed. She didn't want to be a thief, she just wanted her family to have hundreds of acres of land, raise some maids and servants, and live a peaceful life with her husband.

But at this point, what choice does she have?

Not only must she stoop to be a thief, but she must also comfort her husband.