Chapter Thirteen: Encountering Bandits on the Road
This stay lasted for five days. Every day, Wei Feng trained his body with high-intensity loads. He got up at Mao hour (5 a.m.), and first ran for a long distance of twenty miles with heavy loads. After dinner, he went up and down trees hundreds of times in a row. After a while, he used homemade simple equipment to train. This fell into Wang Man and Xiaolan's eyes, and it was like self-abuse!
Fortunately, Wei Feng placed more than ten animal traps, and he could gain something every day, which ensured sufficient nutritional supply. He did not miss his spare time, so he asked Xiaolan for advice on calligraphy. With modern Chinese characters as the basis, ancient characters were actually very fast to learn. In just a few days, he could already write hundreds of commonly used fonts. Such a terrifying learning speed made both women secretly shocked!
It was just dawn on the sixth day. The three of them left the valley and continued to walk to the south. In order to facilitate crossing mountains and ridges, Xiaolan and Wang Man took off their mourning clothes and changed into Hu's clothes. They only tied their hair with hemp ropes. The upper body was a tight shirt with narrow sleeves and small striped pants on the lower body. Compared with the complicated long skirt of Han women, it was indeed conducive to action. At that time, Hu Feng was drifting eastward, and even there were many women wearing Hu's clothes in Jiankang.
Along the way, except for a few cities, there were almost no people. The fertile land was abandoned in large quantities and the houses were empty, which saved the three of them from the risk of open-air accommodation.
It was another five days. After calculating the itinerary, I should have arrived in Yixing (now Yixing and Liyang cities in Jiangsu). It has six counties under its jurisdiction, including Yangxian, Guoshan, Linjin, Yongshi, Pingling, Yixiang. The county is Yangxian. Yixing is located in the east, and Yixing is surrounded by Taihu Lake. The land is fertile. It is a land of fish and rice, but it is as rare as along the way. In addition to several large and heavily guarded manors, in September, there should be overgrown in the farmland covered with golden rice, which is a barren scene.
Wang Man couldn't help but sigh: "The court had been innately deficient since Emperor Xiaoyuan decided to settle Jiangdong. Jingxiang had long been occupied by powerful vassals. Jiangbei fought with the Hu tribes in the north, and the territory was large and small. What he could really control was just the size of the three Wus.
This also caused heavy taxes in the Sanwu area, the court imposed heavy taxes and demanded excessive amounts, local officials were greedy and cruel, and the people had worked hard for a year but did not pay all kinds of taxes. The mountains, forests, and Chize were occupied by scholars, and all those who chop wood and fish were required to pay taxes!
Especially the collection of corvee labor is even more inhumane. The 3rd quota of five people is extremely harsh. Sometimes even women must perform corvee labor. According to regulations, corvee labor should not exceed 20 years per year. But in fact, there are many levies for several months. During this period, all the food and supplies are produced by the people. In order to evade labor taxes, the people were forced to self-injure and cut off their hands and feet. I heard that in the Battle of Feishui more than ten years ago, countless people hang themselves or committed suicide by throwing themselves into the water!
In recent years, especially after Emperor Xiaowu was killed by Zhang Guiren Shi, the government affairs were all under the hands of Sima Daozi, and the harsh government was even worse than in the past. The people of the Three Wus often fled in villages, some were refugees in various places, and some occupied the mountains, forests and grass as bandits. The people in the Yixing area were mostly descendants of Shanyue, and they were brave by nature and fighting the people. Therefore, the bandits were the most serious. The more than 300 miles from Yixing to Zhejiang, Weilang, you should be careful."
Wang Man's pretty face showed unconcealed concerns. No matter how powerful Wei Feng is, he is still alone. If he meets bandits, if he and Xiaolan fall into their hands, he will never dare to think about the consequences.
Wei Feng looked at Wang Man in surprise. The woman's knowledge was really beyond his expectations.
Wang Man shook his head and smiled bitterly, "As a woman, how can I have such insight? These are just my father's words before his death. It's a pity that my father was framed by a capricious evil thief like Liu Laozhi before he could fulfill his ambitions. I really don't open my eyes!"
Wei Feng was in a heavy mood. No matter what, Wang Gong was his father-in-law. Seeing that his father-in-law was different from his body and head, he felt really uncomfortable.
"Wang Man, I won't say anything extra. Let's go. Let's hurry up while the sun is high!" Wei Feng's greeting just now, when there was a sudden loud footsteps coming from the front. The three of them couldn't help but look up, and their faces changed drastically. Xiaolan and Wang Man couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, their bodies were trembling, and they hugged them tightly!
On the road ahead, with a scream, about forty or fifty ragged men rushed over quickly. Some were holding spears and short swords and other standard weapons, while others were holding hoes and sickles. Obviously, they were bandits who fell into the bride!
Wei Feng hurriedly shouted: "Don't panic, let me do it!" Then he took two steps forward, held his hands and stared at him with his chest and his eyes.
When they rushed to the vicinity of ten steps, the bandits stopped one after another and surrounded the three of them in a semi-arc shape. One of the strong men came out. The man was in his thirties, seven feet and eight inches long (one meter eight), with big eyes on his face, big waist and round arms, making Kong Wu powerful.
The strong man glanced at Wei Feng with his eyes swept away, frowned, and looked at Wang Man and Xiaolan again. A stunning look burst out. Just as the sound of the sound was about to open, Wei Feng had already bowed and asked, "I am Wei Feng from Hedong. I am taking my wife to Shanyin. I don't know who my brother's surname is, so why should I block our roads?"
"You fucking asked knowingly, right? Leave the two ladies behind you, and I might let you have a chance! Hahahaha~~" A bandit couldn't help laughing wildly, and the rest of them laughed in a row!
Xiaolan and Wang Man were so scared that their pretty faces turned pale. Wei Feng turned around and handed them a calm look, and his eyes burst out and shot at the big man. He understood that if he could not do anything today, try not to do anything. Once he did it, even if he was covered in nails, how many people could he kill? And this strong man looked good and thought he was a sensible person.
Sure enough, a hint of surprise appeared in the tiger's eyes. He waved his hand to stop his subordinates, then held his knife and bowed: "I am Xiangmi, Xiangyang. I believe you will not know what we are doing. You and the three of you are all women and children. I don't want to deceive you. You just need to follow the rules and leave some money to buy the road and leave."
Wei Feng couldn't help but nodded secretly. This is the way of the thief. At the same time, he also had a vague impression of the name Xiang Mi. In history, he seemed to be a tiger general under Liu Yu's command, and his heart suddenly moved!
"Hmm?" Wei Feng's eyes saw that Xiaolan was about to put down her bag, as if she wanted to take out some gold and silver jewelry, so she quickly shook her palm and signaled not to be busy. She asked again: "More than a hundred years ago, the Shi Han Xianting Hou (Xiang Lang) was also a Jingxiang person. I wonder what connection has with you?"
Wei Mi's old face turned slightly red, and he responded a little loudly: "It's the ancestor of the clan!"
"Hahahaha~~" Wei Feng smiled with his hands behind his back: "You ancestor Xianglang and Xiang Chong were both loyal to Shu Han for a while, and they were valued by Liu Bei, Liu Chan and his son, and they were all enthroned in the seal. Unexpectedly, in just a hundred years, the Xiang family had withered to this point, and later generations were willing to be bandits! If the second prince had a spirit in the sky, I wonder what he would feel? Brother Xiang might tell him? Hahahaha~~"
"Shut up!" Xiang Mi's face turned red in anger and said in anger: "Shu Han was destroyed, and my Xiang family's natural scenery was no longer there, and it is understandable to live in various places. Now the court's taxes are harsh and cannot survive. What can you do if you don't fall into a bandit? I saw you beautiful and beautiful, and I thought you would be a good child and not want to take your life. Today, since you are seeking death, I can't blame me!" As he said that, a ray of fierce light flashed in his eyes!
Wang Man and Xiaolan immediately put their lowered little liver back into their throats. They said it well before, why did they insist on poking someone's foot hurt? They couldn't help but be anxious and annoyed. Wang Man even bit her teeth even more hatred, and almost shouted that I didn't know this person anymore.
Wei Feng snorted coldly and continued to stimulate: "The clan has withered, not for the reason for the bandits. I think that the Wei clan in Hedong was also prominent for a while. Later, after the chaos of Jia Hou and the Yongjia Rebellion, the clan had long lost its glory. But Wei Feng would rather take his family to Shanyin than be a bandit or a bandit, and he was afraid of being shamed for his ancestors!"
"You are fuckingly speaking lightly!" A bandit couldn't help but curse: "My family has lived in Yixing for generations. It was a good thing to come here, but since Sima Rui's devil, Wuma, crossed the river, all kinds of tycoons have come one after another. Humph! Looking at your tender skin and tender flesh, you are also a family of a deceased scholar who has never suffered. I'm afraid there are many things you can't imagine!
In addition to land tax, you have to collect the cap tax according to Dingkou, and you have to pay the regular money for your marriage and death. In addition, you have to go to the market to sell goods. The first person to come to the door was a tax collector, and there are various mountain and wood products and miscellaneous taxes, which are all in a variety of different types, and there are nearly a hundred kinds! What’s more, some of the taxes collected by the county town have to be re-collected. It’s not that you can’t survive. Who is willing to put your head on your belt? Hum?"
"Kill this little boy! Sir Qu, hurry up and give an order!" As soon as these words were said, the bandits were filled with righteous indignation and waved their weapons to ask for their orders, as if Wei Feng was the court official who forced them to survive!
Xiang Mi's face showed a look of struggle. After a moment, he waved his hand and waited until the noise gradually stopped. Then he said with a sinister face: "I don't know, I will give up this time. You can leave. Don't talk nonsense again in the future, so as not to lose your life in vain!"
Xiaolan quickly pulled Wei Feng, but Wei Feng had no intention of being separated. Instead, he smiled and said, "Brother Xiang is indeed a rare kindness, but it is not a long-term solution. Please forgive me for being rude. Since ancient times, anyone who is a bandit has not been able to die well! Chen She and Wu Guang took the lead in rebelling against Qin, but died one after another. In the late Han Dynasty, the green forest and red eyebrows were in the limelight. In the end, it was Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, who finally won the world. At the end of the Later Han Dynasty, the Yellow Turbans carried out affairs and created the Three Kingdoms. I think that Brother Xiang is not a mediocre person, how can he not make a living with his brothers?"
Chapter completed!