Qin Official

"There is a saying in Nan County that birds fly back to their hometown. I am nearly eighty years old. As early as more than ten years ago, I had begged for human remains and resigned from my official position. I am teasing my grandchildren at home and enjoying family happiness. Now, I suddenly want to Drive me out of Banli and my hometown?"

On the last day of February, the atmosphere in Banli, Yunmengxiang, south of Anlu County, was extremely tense. More than a hundred families in the entire village were ordered to gather at the inner gate. Only Yan Zheng, the most famous old man in the township, was sitting in the hall, leaning on a dove stick, and did not move even one step no matter how the officials tried to persuade him!

The relocation official sent by the county knew that Yan Zheng was once the third elder in the county and the wife of Heifu who studied law. He was highly respected and respected. As long as he could be persuaded to take the lead in leaving, the entire relocation of Yunmeng Township would be much easier, so he spoke earnestly. He persuaded Yan Zheng:

"Yan Weng, Your Majesty, Marquis Jia Wuzhong died for his country. He wanted to build a black platform in Guanzhong, move Anlu people to live there, and guard the tomb of Marquis Wuzhong. This is a great honor."

"When we go to Guanzhong, the tens of thousands of people in Anlu are at the feet of the emperor, and they have the household registration in the capital. Isn't it much more noble than the backcountry? I hope Yan Weng will go out and say a few words to let the villagers go on the road together."

Yan Zheng was not the kind of old man who would be fooled by a few kind words. He sneered and said: "Don't say that thanks to the virtue of Marquis Wu Zhong, our county is as rich as Guanzhong. Even if it is really poor, it is still my hometown. My son The mother is not too ugly, the dog is not too poor! It is your fault to force us to move!"

The county official further advised: "The imperial court has an order. Yan Weng was once the third elder in the county, so he should set an example."

Yan Zheng still shook his head: "As far as I know, there are many officials who refuse to obey. Officials are the people's livelihood. They should follow the laws and orders and do things that are beneficial to the people of the county. But this time the people are relocated. , it’s weird inside and out.”

He pointed to the half-planted fields outside and said: "It's a good county, with Yunmeng in the south and Peiwei Mountain in the north. It has convenient boating and transportation and abundant products. Moreover, the weather has been good this year, and there are no rampant diseases. Seeing that it is the busy season for spring plowing, but They want all the people to leave their homes and move them away without compensating us for the furniture, fields and furniture of our houses. In all my years of living, I have never heard of such an illegal thing!"

"What's more, I heard that General Feng ordered people to search the whole county, catch people from the countryside, and take them to the county seat. If they didn't want to leave, they burned their houses and tied them with ropes and took them away. Many people were Fleeing into Yunmengze and becoming a dead man... Is this a reward? I think it's more like being moved into exile!"

The county officials repeatedly denied it: "This is His Majesty's order. Yan Weng cannot talk nonsense."

Yan Zhen responded: "Don't lie. More than ten years ago, I saw the captives from Chu State moving south of the Yangtze River. They were forced to migrate like us, and they helped the old and young along the way, but they were all uneasy. The remnants of the Six Kingdoms, now does His Majesty the Emperor treat his loyal subjects, the fellow countrymen of Marquis Wu Zhong, as foreigners?"

After finishing speaking, Yan Zhen tilted his head, holding the dove stick with both hands and said: "You want me to leave? Unless you kill me and carry me out sideways!"

At this time, the county official was speechless. He could only curse secretly and walk out of the room.

After a while, a five-hundred-year-old master under Captain Feng Jing came in aggressively with his men and asked:

"Yan Zheng, are you serious about not leaving?"

Yan Zheng raised his chin proudly, his goatee trembling slightly: "I won't leave."

The Lord of Five Hundred was angry: "Okay, tie him up, throw him into the bullock cart and take him away!"

Several soldiers came forward, ready to fight. Yan Zheng immediately jumped up, danced like a tiger with his dove stick in his hand, and greeted the soldiers!

"I am Yan Zheng in Banli!"

"The three elders of Anlu County!"

"He is also the master of Marquis Wu Zhong!"

"Even if the magistrate of Anlu County sees me, he will have to bow to his nephew to see who dares to touch me!"

The soldiers were afraid of hurting this old bone, so they were hesitant and worried. For a while, they were forced to retreat by the dove stick. It wasn't until Lord Five Hundred gave the death order again that everyone swarmed up and held Yan Zheng down!

"Take away!"

Ignoring the pleas of Yan's children, Guan Zhong's soldiers carried Yan Zheng with all hands and legs and pulled him out. The old man's feet were off the ground, but his hand touched the doorpost, and he immediately grabbed Yan Zheng!

He will not leave his house, the home where he was born and raised, or the cemetery that has been arranged, where his old wife is still waiting for him...

The Lord of Five Hundred kept cursing and asked his soldiers to break Yan Zheng's hand.

It is difficult for one person to defeat four people, let alone an old man in his seventies or eighties, how can he defeat a strong and strong soldier?

But he still tried his best and suppressed his blush.

"A bird flies back to its hometown."

"The fox is dead... Bishouqiu!"

His hands were torn off, and Yan Zheng's strength was suddenly exhausted. When the soldiers dragged him to the carriage, he lay limply on it and couldn't move. His eyes were turned up and his mouth was slightly open. His family members came forward to take a look. After taking a breath, I realized that Mr. Yan was dead!

…

Yan Zheng is a highly respected old man in Anlu County. The Yan family is one of the most wealthy families except the Wei family and the Li family. Even their family can die due to forced eviction, let alone others.

Yunmengxiang is close to Daze, which is hot and humid, so the villages are located in high and dry areas. In front of each door, a large banyan tree is often planted as a symbol, with lush branches and leaves like a canopy for carriages and horses.

The banyan tree is the social god of the local people. After each of them is born, the parents will be taken inside and outside to thank the banyan tree, let the banyan tree see the new life, and bless them with no illness or disaster.

When children in Yunmengxiang were young, they played, rested, enjoyed the shade, and took naps under trees almost every day. They often climbed trees to pick leaves for whistles. During the famine period, they also ate tree fruits to satisfy their hunger. The fruits were sour and smelly.

Every time during the wax festival, they would drape the banyan tree with silk cloth and satin, light a bonfire at night, and drink and celebrate under the banyan tree all night long. When it is time to die, the coffin must pass under the banyan tree and then be buried where the banyan tree can be seen.

The dead cannot live without the big banyan tree, let alone the living.

The Chinese people have resettled their hometowns and resettled their hometowns. Like Yan Zheng, almost no one in Anlu County is willing to leave their hometown. Earlier, the forced relocation of people in several townships in the north of the county caused some violent incidents, and many people fled into Yunmengze. In order for this forced eviction to proceed smoothly, Feng Jing asked the Nanjun officials to deceive the people and declare to the residents who did not want to leave: If they did not want to move, they could gather outside the big banyan trees on the last day of February for an inventory.

As a result, on this day, the people who believed the government's promise came to the banyan tree, but they were surrounded by the army and forcibly moved away. Those who refused were beaten and whipped, just like detaining prisoners.

When the moment of departure came, many people went to touch the big banyan tree one after another, just like a wanderer who is about to leave his hometown and wants to touch and hug his parents. They also pulled the beard of the banyan tree and held on for a long time.

The soldiers couldn't drive them away with sticks, so they drew their swords, cut off the beards that the people were holding, and drove them away.

County residents can only console themselves in this way: "There are male and female banyan trees. The female tree will grow beards and bear fruit. When the beards fall to the ground, they will grow into new banyan trees. Just break off a branch and insert it into the soil. It will survive, just like a human being." It’s the same, if the tree is moved, it will die, but if the person is moved, it will live!”

People were in tears, reluctant to say goodbye, and there were sounds of crying and wailing everywhere. To prevent them from escaping, the soldiers tied the villagers up behind their backs, connected them with a long rope, and escorted them on the road.

The big banyan tree in my hometown gradually disappeared, leaving only the beard in my hand.

But what awaits everyone is a more cruel nightmare. In order to facilitate supervision, the young and strong are tied with a rope, and the old, weak, women and children are tied with a rope. There are many elderly and sick people who have only walked for a while and then collapsed halfway, but the soldiers will not pity them. Most of them were thrown on the side of the road and left to die. Their family members were tied to ropes and pulled forward. They could only keep looking back and watch the old people being abandoned.

The escort journey was full of separation, blood and tears.

On the way to the county seat, the people in the county sighed.

Anlu County has developed well in the past ten years. Ditches and waterwheels have been built everywhere in the county. The popularization of compost retting has doubled food production, and there is almost no need to freeze or starve.

Under the guidance of the Heifu family, the burgeoning sugarcane plantation and brown sugar industry have further boosted the county's economy. Many people even have some spare money at home, and their lives are much more prosperous than before reunification. In Nanjun, Anlu people are highly respected regardless of whether they are doing business, joining the army, working, or farming. After all, who doesn't know that Anlu is the hometown of Heifu?

But now, they are in this situation.

"Didn't His Majesty the Emperor come to Anlu in person and commend Marquis Wu Zhong? Why did the government suddenly turn its back and treat the people of Anlu so harshly, as if we were bandits?"

This question lingers in the minds of Anlu people, but now it is too late to regret it. If I had known this, I should have fled to Daze, like those who do not believe in the government,

"If Marquis Wu Zhong is still here..."

During the march, some people began to murmur to themselves that they missed Heifu so much.

"Yes, if Marquis Wu Zhong is still here! With him protecting the people of Anlu, who dares to treat us so harshly? Who dares to let the countrymen who have always been kind and law-abiding suffer such a crime!"

It's a pity that Marquis Wu Zhong has died in the battle, his body was wrapped in horse leather, and he can no longer return home.

There is no one left who can protect the entire county...

However, just when everyone was in despair, they pulled the long snake-like team and marched to a mountain forest on the edge of the river. They heard a cry of killing coming from the reed swamp!

A group of seven to eight hundred men, lightly dressed and armed with swords, rushed out like an eagle attacking a rat, directly attacking the escorting soldiers and breaking up the long queue of relocation prisoners.

They either fought with the soldiers at hand-to-hand combat, or quickly helped the Yunmengxiang elders cut the rope in their hands. When the other party was in a daze, they said in the earthy Anlu dialect:

"Let's go!"

Only then did everyone react and ran towards the center of the lake.

Contrary to the direction in which ordinary people fled, people kept pouring out of the swamp, all holding sharp blades. Behind them, accompanied by the sound of drums with a clear rhythm, like stars holding the moon, a team also appeared in front of everyone.

But they saw that at the head of the team were two nine-foot tall men, holding flagpoles, one on the left and one on the left, with a long plain white cloth hanging on the poles.

A literate Sangzao took a closer look and saw on the right a white cloth written "The treacherous minister killed the king and usurped the throne without mourning"!

The one on the left reads: "The officers and soldiers of the Southern Expedition wear secret edicts to protect Heaven and calm them down!"

In the middle, towards the back, is a large flag with five words:

"Wuzhonghou of Great Qin!"

…

ps: Chapter 2 before 12 o'clock