Chapter 29 fourth quarter

In the second half of the night when it disappeared very slowly, their journey was even more difficult. Even though there was a crescent moon like a thin carrot, it was surrounded by dense layers of red clouds, and it was difficult to play the role of illumination again.Sometimes when walking, it is completely in the dark, and one foot does not know whether it is mud, dead leaves, rocks, or walking on the edge of a dangerous cliff.The functions of vision and hearing are constantly weakened, and walking is guided by the feeling under the feet.Although Liu Qipai still said: "It doesn't matter, Lianfang will come with me", his tone is not so confident, but full of doubt and hesitation, and sometimes he wants Ma Kuo to lead the way.

Thank God, they finally found a winding path behind a forest of towering trees.With the arrival of twilight, Ma Kuo suddenly found a gate at the end of the path, and gradually saw that both sides of the gate were wooden pile walls erected according to the height of the mountain.The wooden stakes are as thick as the mouth of a bowl, and they are densely packed, and they are covered with straw and reed foil to prevent outsiders from seeing the details inside. "We're here, we're here!" This is the back door of Heshangdong Village, and Liu Qipai finally brought Ma Kuo there without incident, and he couldn't help letting out a long breath.

There were more than ten people guarding the wooden fence gate, some of them were dozing off, and some were wearing old leather jackets and slowly patrolling back and forth along the wooden fence wall.When Liu Qidi and Ma Kuo approached the gate, the sound of footsteps had already awakened the people inside.There was a stout noise in the middle of the darkness. "Who? Who is running wild in this restricted area?" A complete and effective password system has not yet been established in the grassroots cottage. "Guo Youheng, what are you making such a fuss about? Can't you hear your seventh father's voice?"

"Oh! It's been a long time since Father Liu Qi!" Guo Youheng, the little leader guarding the gate, ran out of the darkness, separated a wooden fence wall, and started fighting with Father Liu Qi. "Guo Youheng, you are so confused. I just went out this door for business early the day before yesterday, and it was only two nights away. Even if it's been a long time, have you completely forgotten it?" "I sent out Brother Liu with a black beard the day before yesterday, but now we welcome Father Liu Qi with white beard and hair!" Guo Youheng burst out laughing, "Father Seven, you dare say that Wu Zixu who crossed Zhaoguan at night, Turned your head gray overnight?"

Father Liu Qi touched up and down, only to find that the whole body of clothes and hats and the man's hair were covered with a layer of frost.It turned out that they had already forgotten the cold during the intense night travel. Haha called, and then Guo Youheng went about his business in a decent manner.He took the initiative to greet Ma Kuo and asked, "Is there another Ma Lianfang who dares to love you?" "This is Ma Lianfang who Big Brother Zhang asked me to pick up in Baozhou." Father Liu Qi was obviously proud of accepting such an important task, "How dare they wait in the cottage for a long time?"

Then he heard Guo Youheng give some instructions to his subordinates in a low voice, and then chatted with Liu Qifather through the wooden fence. Guo Youheng was very close to Liu Qipa, and when Liu Qipa introduced Ma Lianfang to him, he seemed to know that the meeting in the mountains would not start until this distinguished guest arrived.He paid tribute to the well-known Ma Lianfang in his own way, with a horizontal bar as a gift.But the strange thing is, he still let the two of them wait outside the wooden fence to enjoy the wind and dew, instead of opening the fence, he invited them to go in and rest.

"Guo Youheng, what are you waiting for?" This time it was Liu Qi's father who gave the order, "Quickly open the door and welcome Lian Fang in." "It's right, it's right." The little leader Guo Youheng, who is well-versed in the world and is very friendly to Liu Qi's father, puts military discipline and regulations as a priority.He had no right to open the door to let in a guest who came for the first time, so he had no choice but to answer irrelevantly, "Seventh father saw with his own eyes that I have sent someone to report to brother Zhang and brother Zhao? Seeing that they are about to come to form a line Let's welcome Ma Lianfang into the mountains, Qi Dad, why are you so anxious!"

One sentence reminded Liu Qi's father, and he realized the reason why he couldn't open the door for so long, but he was afraid of offending Ma Kuo, so he turned his head to look at him.Ma Kuo nodded approvingly, which meant that this brother did a good job. How can a decent army let a stranger in without the leader's consent? Not long after, Zhang Guanyu, Zhao Jie, Wei Shoushuan, Li Chen, Shi Ziming, etc. all rushed over. After everyone had met and talked for a while, Ma Kuo asked him to go and see the cottage first. The whole picture, and then meet and talk with all the brothers.

"Third Brother is still going up the mountain for the first time, so he should go around the village. Let the younger brother and Liu Qipai accompany him, and it is scheduled to return to the front village at noon to meet and talk with everyone. Brother, look How?" Zhao Jie accepted the task of guiding first. "That's very good," Zhang Guanyu nodded and said, "Zhao Xiandi will accompany Brother Ma to go for a walk around the whole village, and I will go to the front hall to prepare wine to welcome Brother Ma." Obviously, the owner of the cottage gave Ma Kuo a very high standard of reception.

During the first Liao war, Ma Kuo, accompanied by Zhao Jie and Zhao Jie's brother, went to the southern suburbs of Yizhou to visit a small cottage, which left a deep impression on him.Now, after three and a half years, he once again visited the famous monk cave village accompanied by Zhao Jie and Liu Qipai.The difference is that at that time, I visited it purely as a third party and viewed it more objectively.Now, he feels that part of himself has been integrated into the rebel group, and his thoughts and feelings are gradually unified with the rebel army, not to mention that his mother, wife, and nephew will all move into the cottage.This may be his home, it may be the foothold of his career for the rest of his life, or it may be an important stronghold for the people to fight against the Jinlu.Now his observations are strongly subjective.

Along the way, he looked very carefully, and asked questions whenever he saw any doubts.These two competent guides answered any questions. Sometimes, before he asked a question, they saw a question mark in his expression, and they put out the answer first, fully satisfying his curiosity. This cottage is called Monk's Cave. According to Liu Qi's father, there is no such a cave in the mountain, and I have never heard of any eminent monk in any dynasty who came to Zhuoxi to place orders and practice in secret. The reason why it got this The name is because of the separatist rule of the feudal towns in the late Tang Dynasty, Chengde was a town, dominating the hinterland of Hebei, fighting and defending everywhere, frequent disasters.At that time, there was a resident named Zhao "Monk"—of course, a descendant of Zhao Zilong, who led his family into the mountains to avoid disaster.Afterwards, the disaster of the war was indisputable, and people came here to avoid the chaos for decades, not only the Zhao family, but also the construction of the cottage became more and more prosperous, and gradually became the scale it is today.Everyone commemorates Monk Zhao, the founder.That is to say, the village is named after him.There is a mound not far from the back door of the cottage, which is said to be his tomb. Every Qingming Festival, his descendants still come to pay respects.Monk Zhao wore a monk's uniform in his later years, and he lived like a monk. People called him a monk, but his real name has been buried.The mound where he was buried is also called the monk's tower accordingly.But why the Monk Pagoda became the Monk Cave, this father Liu Qi couldn't answer. Then Zhao Jie supplemented the tragic and glorious struggle history of the residents of the cottage with a passionate tone.He said that at the end of the Five Dynasties and Shijin Dynasties, this place became the base for the villagers to fight against the Khitan army.At that time, the Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang was beaten by the people of the Central Plains so that he could not save himself anywhere, and was forced to retreat northward, intending to retreat to his hometown outside the Great Wall.Traveling to Luancheng, more than sixty miles south of Zhendingtang, he fell ill with a fever, and his subordinates piled ice cubes on his chest, abdomen, siblings, and died of anger overnight. "The place where Lao Hu died of illness is called 'Killing Fox Forest', and the investigators misrepresented it as 'Killing Hulin'." Liu Qipai added again, "He was so angry when he heard the name of the place that he became ill. During his illness, he Shouting at the top of his voice, he grabbed ice cubes and stuffed them in his mouth. He was also full of evil, and ice cubes could not cure his fever. Before dawn, he stretched his legs and walked. Even if he died, he would not be able to return home." "After Yelu Deguang died, the Khitan camp was in turmoil. Volunteers from all over the country rose up and killed the disabled. Yelu Deguang's nephew, King Yongkang, wanted to establish himself as the Khitan Lord, so he took Zhending as Zhongjing. Anguo Jiedu envoy Ma Da Staying behind for Zhongjing, staying in Zhending, intending to stay in the Central Plains, for a plan to make a comeback in the future. This Ma Da was born with a dark face and a long body, extremely greedy and cruel. I heard that there are precious beauties among the people, and they will do everything possible to plunder them. Satisfied. When the common people complained a little, he falsely accused him of being a thief, peeled off his face, cut off his eyes, cut off his hands and feet, cut off his nose and ears, and roasted them slowly until he died. He used them as a demonstration. The instruments of torture were brought with him, and the liver, gall and brothers of the dead were hung on the wall of the tent. Immediately beheaded to report. Zhending's army and civilians were unbearable. Taking advantage of the opportunity of rebels from all over the city and the Khitan army in the city to fight against the emptiness of the city defense, they gathered a crowd to revolt, broke into the government office, and drove away the Khitan army. At this time, fireworks were everywhere in the city, and drums shook the ground , from all directions, I don’t know how many people came to help the battle. Wu Yu had fled a day earlier, Ma Da and other nobles were also shocked and horrified, and they went to Baobei City tower full of treasures and good women, trying to resist. At this critical moment, Monk Dong The villagers made great achievements. At this time, they had gathered thousands of people. With one order, they came down the mountain and shouted to attack the city outside the northern city. Ma Da dared not fight, so he broke through and left. The people in the city elected the old military officer Bai Zairong was the lord of the city. He was greedy for money and abused the people. His behavior was no different from that of Ma Da. The common people gave him the nickname "Bai Ma Da". Resurrection, broke into Zhending North City. Black and white Ma Da fought in the streets in the city, the Han soldiers were in danger, and relying on the strength of the villagers, they sent reinforcements, and finally drove Hei Ma Da away. The overall situation in the Central Plains must be stabilized." Zhao Jie's ancestor was originally from the Baimaguan family in the northwest of Zhending Mansion, and he was considered to be the family of Monk Zhao—of course, it was Zhao Zilong's blood. Later, during the war, he was captured and moved to the north, and he was born in Guci County, Zhuozhou. In terms of seniority, it is not far from the descendants of the Zhao family who live in Monkdong.He told this history with national and family pride. "That Heimada didn't escape either," Liu Qipai, who had the habit of supplementing others' words, corrected immediately, "Later, he was caught by the villagers and tied up under the burnt jujube tree at the west mountain pass. The man took the tree and burned it to death. Brother Zhao, how dare you not know the tree?" "I've never heard of it. I only know that there are six big characters 'Ma Da Zou, Khitan perish' engraved on a cliff in the northern suburbs of Zhending, which were carved by the residents to commemorate this battle. Later, the Song Dynasty government wanted to curry favor with the Khitan , I sent people up the mountain several times to dig it out. Although the handwriting is blurred now, the traces still exist, and if you look carefully, you can still recognize it." These two relics are not in front of our eyes, and we won’t be able to see them today. Father Liu Qi asked Zhao Jie to take Ma Kuo to see the Monk Pagoda—Monk Zhao’s Tomb. It’s almost on the way, so don’t take a few more detours. .Zhao Jie refused, saying that he didn't have time to look at it today, but he walked two or three miles in the opposite direction and took them to see another messy mound. It is said that there are buried folks who fought against Khitan in the last years of the Shi Jin Dynasty. their loyalty.They found a cracked stone tablet among the vines and grass, and wiped off the dirt and moss on the tablet. The writing on the tablet was still legible, also in six large characters, called "Tomb of the Loyal and Righteous Han People".They paid their respects there again and again, combined with the battle scenes that Zhao Jie and Liu Qipa had just described, Ma Kuo's expression became very serious. Leaving the chaotic mounds and returning to the right road, Zhao Jie pointed out the situation of the cottage and continued to introduce: "After the founding of the Song Dynasty, the two states of Song and Liao were roughly bounded by the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun. Zhending Xingxi was included in the Song Dynasty, but it was located on the border. The Han children in the Liao territory could not bear the harassment of the Khitan people and often fled back to the Song Dynasty. After the Chanyuan alliance, the Song Dynasty became weaker towards the Liao Dynasty. They were afraid of offending their neighbors everywhere, and did not dare to pick up the righteous people who had fled back, and let them live and die for themselves. The officials of the Song Dynasty also pretended to be deaf and dumb, just as if they didn’t know. The Han who entered the country escaped the pursuit of the Liao people by chance, but they still couldn’t solve their livelihood problems, so they had to be forced into the cottage to protect themselves. Near Zhending There are 20 to 30 cottages, the largest of which is Monk Cave, and the largest number of Han children come to live. Over the past 100 years of Song Xing, the residents have never been cut off here. Today, it is only more prosperous than in the Five Dynasties. This time the rebel army moved south, and it had already established good contact with the residents of the cottage. With the help of the residents, the original camp site was repaired a little, and it became a large scale. The residents of the rebel army are very friendly. Shifu is like a family brother. There are more than 30,000 rebels who have come here to gather, and they can all be tolerated. The weather in the village is updated every day, and the third brother has seen it with his own eyes." Then Zhao Jie brought up the old story again, Asked about Ma Kuo, he said: "I remember that three years ago, my elder brother Zhao Jun accompanied my third brother to visit the Shuanggu Village in Muye Mountain, Yizhou. At that time, the third brother was amazed and admired. How does the Shuanggu Village compare to the monk Dongshan here?" "The Shuanggu Village is well-arranged and has everything to offer, but the scale is small and specific. It can't compare to the grand layout and open-air atmosphere here. Comparing the two, there is really a big difference." Ma Kuo He answered happily, and then asked, "Around Zhending, how many cottages of this size are there?" "From the south of Zhongshan Mansion to the northwest of Zhending, there are cottages all over the place." Liu Qidi, who is familiar with the geography of this area, replied, "Among them there are Beigang cottage, Yanzhiling cottage, etc..." "The owners of these two villages have come here for a gathering, and the third younger brother will meet them after a while." "To the south of Zhending," Liu Qipai continued to introduce, "the counties of Huolu, Yuanshi, and Zanhuang are surrounded by mountain villages. Among them, the Sixteen Panling Mountains have the most difficult terrain. It takes sixteen detours to climb to the top. On the top of the mountain. The predecessors chose a dangerous place to build a fence, and there is really a man guarding the gate, and it is a pity that these villages are all barren, and the scale is not comparable to this place." "Father Liu Qi has been to Wuma Shanzhai in Zanhuang County? I have heard for a long time that Brother Zhang said that Wumashan's family is not inferior to this, and the situation is even more dangerous. Brother Zhang said that after the battle with Jin Bing , in case the Monk Cave is lost, my entire army will withdraw to Wuma Village and defend there for two or three years. I said for a long time that I would go to see it, but I didn’t go to the garrison.” "Brother Zhao didn't make it, but I went to the mountain a long time ago. Is there a place I haven't been to in the thousands of miles of Zhending Mansion?" Liu Qi's father became proud again, "Wuma Mountain is here. Between Zanhuang County and Zhaozhou, it is under the jurisdiction of Qingyuan Prefecture. The villages have a radius of hundreds of miles. Among them, Chaotian and Tiebi villages are in a better situation. It is said that they were built during the Xiaochang period of the Northern Wei Dynasty. It has been 600 years old. After a long time, the remains of the fortress have been hidden, but they have not yet collapsed. I visited it a few years ago, and there are thousands of households living in the mountain village. You can still make ends meet, but unfortunately the residents inside are scattered and scattered, and have not yet been restrained by the Ministry of War." Hearing this, Ma Kuo sighed and said: "When the soldiers were famine and the horses were chaotic, the people were suffering a lot, so they had to move to the mountain village as a way to avoid Di Di. At the beginning of the foundation, the rebellious soldiers came one after another, and the mountain people had to use the law of war to fight against them. The fortress was so prosperous. Today, my younger brother saw with my own eyes that our fortress is well-arranged and suitable for both battle and defense. It is enough to deal with the enemy for a while. After hearing what the two said, it is true that there are so many fortresses in the surrounding area. According to He statistics, I don’t know how many cottages there are. In another day, when the Jin soldiers go south, even if all the cities are lost, our rebel army will use the cottages and water villages as a foothold. , share the horns of the gold bandits, there is nothing to worry about in the world!" Zhao Jie's reaction was indeed very sensitive. As soon as he heard Ma Kuo mentioning the words "cooperating with one heart", he immediately retorted: "The third brother's words are never true. We just want the officers and soldiers to work together with our rebels to protect the gold." Kou, but it's easier said than done? Don't say anything else, just like this, my brother is so sincere in negotiating with Liu Fan about the incorporation, and he uses evil words to harm the third brother. The leaders of the rebel army listened, everyone I am filled with anger. In fact, I have joined the Jingzhai Regiment, and I have received the response of the heroes from the east of the river. In a few months, all the volunteers from the south of Hebei will return, and their strength will be even stronger. What do you want from Liu Wei?" He saw the disapproving expression in Ma Kuo's eyes, and quickly expressed his point of view, saying: "In my opinion, Liu Fan will not submit to my example, let's put him aside for half a year and six months. At that time, I wasn't in a hurry, but he was going to be in a hurry." After saying that, he laughed loudly, and then asked Liu Qi's father: "Father Qi, you have been working in the Zhending government office for a long time, and you have seen Liu Fan's face. He became anxious, but this look of frowning, scratching his hair, rubbing his hands and stamping his feet? I am lucky to have seen him before." He also imitated Liu Fan's appearance, and asked vigorously: "Qi Dae, Liu Fan is getting anxious, but does this look look like it to you?" From Zhao Jie's ridicule at Liu Fan, Ma Kuo suddenly realized that it was not a question of whether Liu Fan was in a hurry, but a question of whether Zhao Jie himself should be in a hurry.Now that the situation is changing so quickly, he should be anxious, but he still looks indifferent, which shows that he still lacks a correct judgment on the current situation, and this is where their differences lie.He realized something, and suddenly asked: "Second brother Zhao, don't worry about Liu Fan. When will the Jin people enter the bandits?" Zhao Jie was stopped by one sentence, and he really thought that it was a very distant thing in his mind, so he replied casually: "every day it is said that the golden soldier is coming, and it has been said for two years, but it always does not come. It may not come when it is said. , this time we are really going to mobilize troops.” "Second brother also said that he may not come just as soon as he said it, and he said that it will take half a year or six months." Ma Kuo cut off his words and said decisively, "In my opinion, within a month, the Jin people will definitely fall into the army." , At that time, the overall situation will change drastically, and the two sides will not hesitate to fight against each other, and you still say that you will fight against gold with all your strength, second brother, you think too calmly!" In less than a month, it means that the golden people will soon enter the bandits within the year, which is a question that Zhao Jie has never thought about.Zhao Jie couldn't accept this earth-shattering prophecy for a while, so he asked in doubt: "The third brother said that the golden man will come within the year, do you have evidence?" "How not?" Ma Kuo told him about his recent visit to Yunzhong to meet with Nie Rare, and then presented all the arguments. The combined information has been verified repeatedly, and there are many circumstantial evidences. The most convincing one is that they In a recently intercepted Jinjun military document, it was clearly stipulated that the Eastern and Western armies would join forces under the city of Tokyo in the next spring. This does not need Ma Kuo pointing it out, Zhao Jie himself can come to a conclusion, which greatly touched his mind.It turns out that all his arguments are based on the assumption that Jin Kou is still slow. If the premise changes, all the arguments will be invalid. He fell into deep thought, and his expression suddenly became serious. Now he admits that Ma Kuo's prophecy is correct. If the Jin Dynasty is in trouble, it will be urgent to negotiate with the Song Dynasty. This is again Ma Kuo's correctness.However, a prophecy is a prophecy after all, and the planned plan of the Jinren may change when it is actually implemented. The prophecy always has to wait for the final proof of the facts. He pondered for a while, and suddenly asked Ma Kuo to end his inspection of the cottage ahead of schedule. Before noon, they returned to the front hall together. After a hasty lunch, they began to talk. The conversation between Ma Kuo and Zhao Jie obviously accelerated the pace of time in the cottage, and now Zhao Jie is really anxious.

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