In the 11th year of Chongzhen, Xia! Jianmen Pass, Qiang camp.

Rimai Mouxi was patrolling the camp, and Taxi and Maxi followed him. It was dinner time, and the Qiang soldiers gathered by the big pot. The way they ate was interesting. They did not put a pot in a pot, add water to the pot, and then put rice in it to cook.

Their pot was very flat and there was not much water in it. The bottom of the pot was coated with oil, and then a dry pot was placed on the fire. The oil was burnt. They took out a piece of bread from their bags, put it on the pot for a few times, and then heated the cake and stuffed it into their mouths.

This kind of noodle cake is the famous barley noodle cake, also known as barley cake. It is the favorite food of ethnic minorities living on the mountains of western Sichuan. It is not only loved by the Qiang people, but also the Tibetan people use this thing as their staple food.

Logically speaking, eating should be the happiest time for people, but Rimai Mouxi, Zhaxi and Maxi didn't look very good because all three of them knew that the Qiang soldiers did not have much food.

The Qiang people were already very poor, several times poorer than the Han people in Sichuan. They came down from the mountains to fight, and the court did not pay military salaries, so they paid out of their own pockets. Every time they ate a meal here, their tribes would face greater food pressure, but they did not dare to withdraw their troops. If the thief army entered Jianmen Pass, western Sichuan would be under the siege of the bandits. I wonder how many Qiang tribes would be unlucky.

Taxi cursed angrily: "Damn Yang Sichang, why didn't he advance? Arrive in Guangyuan as soon as possible and drive Zhu's army back to Shaanxi, so we can go back to the mountains and be free and easy. Why do we need to suffer here?"

Marcy also nodded and said, "Yes, if you drag on this, all the barley that I finally saved last year will have to be filled here. Alas! There are many women and children in the tribe who are hungry to raise these foods..."

Unlike these two people, Rimai Mouxi has a wide range of knowledge. After all, he is a great chieftain. He whispered: "Do you think Yang Sichang doesn't want to drive Zhu Jun away? He is just not able to catch up... Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong, Zuo Guangxian's guys are not convinced of his order and refuse to use his life. What can he do? Should he put a knife on Zuo Liangyu's neck and let him advance? He is a mere civil servant, but he has no ability. He can't even deal with those military gangsters."

Taxi and Maxi said in confusion: "Why are Zuo Liangyu and the others unwilling to use troops against the thieves?"

Rimai Mouxi had no choice but to explain: "It's because Zhu Jun is too strong... The general Zhenxi didn't know where the monster came from. It's really amazing. Since the uprising in the first year of Chongzhen, he has not been defeated yet. Who should be in trouble? Who should be in trouble... Zuo Liangyu and the others don't want to be unlucky. Naturally, they have to walk around Zhu Jun. What they like most now is to pursue Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. These two guys seem to be easier to deal with."

After hearing this, Taxi said with some concern: "Then... we will fight Zhu Jun soon. Will we be in trouble?"

Rimaimu Xi said: "Do you think we are those useless Han people? Hey, the bravery of the Qiang soldiers is several times better than the Han soldiers. I'm afraid they are no more than nothing."

Marcy nodded beside him: "Extremely!"

At this moment, a scout from the Qiang soldier ran over and reported: "The three patriarchs, a soldier came from outside, saying that they were the subordinates of General Zuo Guangxian. There were more than a thousand Sichuan soldiers. They were led by the three brothers Meng Changshui, Meng Changsheng and Meng Changxing. They asked to borrow the woods next to our camp to set up a camp for rest."

It would be absolutely impossible for the three brothers of the Meng family to join the Qiang soldiers. The Qiang people did not trust the Han people very much and could not join the Han people. However, it would be fine to borrow a piece of open space next to the Han soldiers to camp. So Rimai Muxi waved his hand and said, "If they are really officers and soldiers, just give the land to them to camp... but it's not a very detailed one."

The scout said: "It's not like a spy. The subordinates have checked their military talismans and seals, and they are undoubtedly officers and soldiers."

Rimaimu Xi said: "Even officers and soldiers, you should not believe it easily. All the Han people are as cunning as foxes, and their hearts are full of ghost ideas. We must be wary of them. Send people to monitor them closely and don't let them touch our camp while we are not paying attention."

After the order was sent, a while later, news of the scouts was heard, saying that the Sichuan soldiers led by the three brothers of the Meng family had already set up camp beside them, and they did not show any hostility to the Qiang soldiers. After a while, the scouts came to report that the three brothers of the Meng family asked to see the three clan leaders.

Although Rimai Muxi was a chieftain of the Qiang tribe, he also took the title of general of the court. He could not completely ignore the court officials' request for advice, so he asked someone to invite the three brothers of the Meng family to the tent.

After a while, the three brothers of the Meng family walked in, and a small group of personal soldiers followed behind them. The personal soldiers were carrying a huge basket filled with some golden rods, which looked a bit like the fruits of some kind of plant.

The boss Meng Changshui gave an official etiquette to Rimai Mouxi, and Rimai Mouxi asked, "You are from the north? Isn't the territory of Zhu Jun? What's going on?"

Meng Changshui explained: "We are under Lord Zuo Guangxian's command. Lord Zuo Guangxian was defeated by Zhu's army. We were separated from Lord Zuo, so we had to cross mountains and ridges to escape here."

There was not much doubt in Rimai Mouxi. This kind of thing often happens in wars. Not to mention the Han soldiers who lack organizational discipline, even if the Qiang soldiers with strong cohesion were defeated, there would be a small group of missing troops who crossed mountains and ridges and fled from another road. This was normal.

Meng Changshui said: "When we crossed mountains and ridges, we got some strange food on the road. Thanks to the general, we borrowed a piece of land to camp for us. I'll give this basket of corn to you to taste."

"Corn?" Taxi was the first to shout: "Isn't this what the thief named Li Yan said? He said that this thing is delicious and has a high yield per mu. When he heard it was a scam, we didn't believe it. Where did you snatch it from?"

Meng Changshui laughed and said with a strange look on his face: "We robbed several villages in Zhu Jun's territory and stolen them."

After he said this, the three leaders of the Qiang tribe couldn't help but look at him. Although it was the territory of the Zhu army, the people in those villages were actually Sichuan people after all, and they were good people. The officers and soldiers robbed their food? What's the difference between this and the bandits?

All three leaders looked at Meng Changshui with bad eyes, but Meng Changshui said without blushing, "So what if I rob it? The village has now become the village of Zhu Jun. This strange grain was also cultivated by Zhu Jun, and those villagers have long become the help of the thieves. If I don't take it, Zhu Jun will take it, and in a blink of an eye it will become the military rations of the thieves. It's better for us to use it."

After hearing this, the three Qiang tribe leaders thought about it. This was the same. They looked softer.

Meng Changshui waved his hand and said, "Don't be polite, come and taste this kind of thing called corn."

Rimai Mouxi looked at the corn. This thing was yellow and a big one. It looked strange. If it was sent by the thief, he would definitely think it was poisonous and dare not eat it, but the officers and soldiers sent it differently. Although he did not trust all the Han people very much, the officers and soldiers who were dealing with Zhu Jun would never give him poison. Then he said, "Well... I heard that Li Yan praised this corn for heaven, so let's try it."

Someone brought a big pot, took mountain spring water, and put the corn in the pot to cook it. After it was cooked, the three Meng brothers and their personal soldiers in the tent were first arrested to eat to show that it was not poisonous. The three Qiang tribe leaders also arrested and tried it. They didn't eat it, but they couldn't stop eating it.

The corn is fragrant and sweet. Although it may not be more delicious than the barley they are used to eating, it has a unique flavor and feels really good.

Taxi was a straight man and said whatever he thought: "Huh? This thing is quite delicious. At least in terms of taste, the Han man named Li Yan didn't lie to us."

Rimai Mouxi and Maxi also thought it was delicious, but they didn't speak. They just kept their faces calmly and ordered the soldiers in the tent to share the basket of corn.

After eating, Meng Changshui stood up and said, "Sir General, we three brothers are going back to the camp to rest now. Haha... we will go to harvest grain tomorrow, and then go to Zhu Jun's territory to grab some corn. Haha, you can't go to bed early."

Rimai Mouxi asked curiously: "Cooking grain? Grabing corn?" If someone had said he wanted to grab corn an hour ago, Rimai Mouxi would never have any interest. Now that he tasted the taste of corn, his interest increased greatly.

Meng Changshui spread his hands and said, "Oh, we are separated from Lord Zuo Guangxian, so we can't get food and salary from the court. We have to make all the food by ourselves. It just so happened that Zhu's territory was harvesting corn, so we naturally had to grab it, hehe." He said this, and we must know that the court must first send food and salary to the superior officers, and then distributed it one by one.

Since the army of the three Meng brothers was separated from their direct superiors, they would naturally lose supplies. The court could not directly send food and pay to them three of them, and it was reasonable that they raised their own food.

Rimai Mouxi couldn't help but ask, "Where are you going to pick up food?" He had to ask this. The Qiang soldiers could not get the food and wages from the court, and all the food had to be prepared by themselves. Now that the barley brought by the army was about to be eaten up, he also had to find some solutions to solve it.

The three brothers of the Meng family looked at each other and shook each other a few times. Obviously, they didn't want to tell Rimai Mouxi about the place where the grain was harvested.

Although Rimai Mouxi is a minority, his mind is not inferior to that of the Han people. He keenly captured the expressions of the three brothers of the Meng family, so he said, "Three generals, I heard that Zhu Ba is good at using troops and his troops are strong. You only have more than 1,000 troops, so it would be inconvenient to grab grain? If you are caught by Zhu's army, wouldn't it be a place without a burial? Look, I happen to have three thousand Qiang soldiers here, so you might as well take us to grab grain together. Then you get the grain, and add five more!"

The expressions of the three brothers of the Meng family changed. It was obvious that Rimai Mouxi's words came to their hearts. The boss Meng Changshui sighed and said, "This...is reasonable... The last time we went to collect grain, we were targeted by Zhu Jun's black-rod soldiers. We almost couldn't come back. If you help, the chances of success will increase greatly."

Early in the morning of the next day, the three brothers of the Meng family led the way, and the three clan leaders followed behind. More than 4,000 people crossed mountains and ridges and sneaked into the territory of Zhu's army. They did not follow the right path because the Zhu's black-rod soldiers were crossed on the right path. They were not interested in fighting with the Zhu's black-rod soldiers here, and they just wanted to get more food as soon as possible.

Climbing mountains and ridges is very difficult for ordinary troops, but it is no problem for Sichuan soldiers of the three brothers of the Meng family. The Qiang soldiers are even less afraid. The Qiang people have lived in the dense snow-capped mountains on the western Sichuan plateau since childhood. They are better than ordinary Sichuan citizens. They are especially good at fighting in oxygen-deficient places on the plateau, and have a strong ability to survive in the wild. They cross mountains and ridges like playing.

Without the gods and without the ghosts, they crossed the Zhu army's defense line and came outside a small mountain village near Guangyuan.

Due to the high terrain of this village, the temperature is a little lower than that at the foot of the mountain. Spring comes later. Therefore, the corn here is ripe later than in other places. In recent days, it happened to be the harvest period, and the corn in the fields is covered with scattered on the cob and hangs its head.

On the top of a mountain outside the village, Meng Changshui pointed to the village and said to the three Qiang tribe leaders: "Did you see it? The corn in this village has not been harvested yet. Hehe. It just so cheap us."

The three patriarchs were a little dazed. Looking at the golden cornfield outside the village, I couldn't help but feel happy. How many corn cobs do you have to grab? It seems that our food is in place. Zhaxi couldn't help but say wonderingly: "The location of this village is very high. I can feel that the air here is very light, and it should be a plateau area. Why can the food here be grown so well?"

In Tashi's impression, decent food cannot be planted on the plateau, and only highland crops, such as barley, can grow normally. Don't think of any good harvest for other crops.

Meng Changshui said with a sneer: "I don't understand this either. I snatched a village last time. I heard from the villagers in the village that corn can grow on the plateau. Now it seems that this is true."

After he said this, the three patriarchs' eyes revealed a little eagerly. Crops that can grow on the plateau? This is a good thing! The three of them couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

At this time, Meng Changshui said again: "After a while, the army will enter the village. You will be responsible for controlling the villagers in the village. My soldiers will quickly harvest the corn cobs... After the harvest, we will retreat immediately. Don't be chased by Zhu Jun and caught."

Both Tashi and Maxi nodded, and Rimai Mouxi was more scheming. He still didn't dare to trust the Han people very much. Therefore, he frowned at the proposal of the three brothers of the Meng family and hummed: "No, there is a problem with such division of labor. I don't trust you Han people... Maybe you will keep the victorious products privately. I think you should control the villagers and my soldiers will harvest the corn."

Meng Changxing said: "What if your soldiers secretly hide corn?"

Rimai Muxi snorted angrily: "We Qiang people are not as cunning as you Han people. It is impossible for any private trophy to hide privately... We have as much as we should, and we will never covet you a corn cob."

The three brothers of the Meng family looked at each other a few more times, and finally agreed to the conditions of Rimai Mouxi.

The two armies were about to stop. The soldiers quietly dispersed from the periphery and surrounded the small village. Then with a shout, the three brothers of the Meng family led the village to rush into the village. A burst of screams from the villagers came from the village, and the sounds quickly disappeared. The officers and soldiers quickly controlled every house in the village, and the men, women, young and old in the village were all locked up in a ancestral hall in the center of the village.

Rimai Mouxi quickly ordered the Qiang soldiers to harvest corn. Since the Qiang soldiers were not responsible for the battle, all the matters related to the battle were handled by the three brothers of the Meng family, so they had to concentrate on harvesting. Three thousand people worked together, and the speed was beyond the speed. In an instant, it was like a wind storm the remaining clouds. All the corn fields outside the small village were harvested.

All the golden corn cobs were put into the large pockets prepared by the Qiang soldiers and carried them on their backs. Each of the three thousand Qiang soldiers carried a cloth bag, looking like a thief stealing.

When these Qiang soldiers harvested corn, they naturally couldn't help but summarize how many they had collected. Several Qiang names squatted together and whispered: "Brother, how many pounds did you collect?"

"Look at my pack, I'll say at least seventy kilograms!"

Another person next to him said, "Tsk, look at my pack, at least fifty pounds."

After a few people calculated together, their faces changed color. A soldier couldn't help but run to Rimaimuxi and reported: "Clan leader, we... harvested 700 kilograms of corn from one acre of land...700 kilograms of corn, harvested in one acre of land, my God!"

After hearing this, Rimai Mouxi suddenly showed a horrified expression on his face: "Is this... a mistake? If we grow barley, we can only harvest sixty to one hundred kilograms per acre... This corn actually harvests seven hundred per acre? Is this a dream?"

"That's right, it's really 700 kilograms!" The soldier quickly explained how many kilograms the third brother collected, how many kilograms the sixth brother collected, how many kilograms the sixth brother collected... Before he finished speaking, another soldier came next to him, and he said in horror: "Clan leader, our acre has collected 640 kilograms..."

"What?" Rimai Muxi had no doubts anymore: "This is too exaggerated."

The Qiang soldiers gathered back from various fields. You were a big bag, I was a big bag. After a while, the ground was filled with sacks, and at least tens of thousands of kilograms of grain were piled up. Only then did they collect less than a hundred acres of land... If you rob a few villages of similar size, wouldn't you easily get hundreds of thousands of kilograms of grain?

Rimai Mouxi only felt his heart beating violently: "I've got rich, oh, I've got rich!"
Chapter completed!