knife

Chapter 50 That City, Those People

The city wall was made of rammed clay and was only a little over ten feet high. On the simple city gate tower, a large banner with the character "Xiao" fluttered in the wind and snow.

Yesterday's heavy snowfall left a half-foot-thick layer of snow on the ground, but the city walls remained a dark black, with no snow visible. Clearly, someone had cleared the snow off them.

Fully armed soldiers, carrying guns and swords, walked back and forth on the city wall, looking spirited.

In fact, in such a snowy and icy place, there was not a single person to be seen, not even a stray dog, but these soldiers still appeared meticulous.

Even though it was Xiao Dongwei who arrived, the most trusted general under General Xiao Changche, the city gate guards still registered him according to the rules. In particular, they even described the appearances of strangers like Zhang Ruo and Yuan Rong. Although their vocabulary was limited, they still managed to write down most of the details.

The description of Zhang Ruo portrays him as a frail scholar, while Yuan Rong is depicted as a burly, imposing man. The names Yuan Rong and Yuan Tong are circled, indicating that this document is to be handed over. Heroes like the Yuan brothers are definitely under close surveillance.

We were delayed at the city gate for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Xiao Dongwei, as their superior's superior, showed no displeasure whatsoever.

This is the rule.

Everyone must abide by and respect this.

Xiao Changche had only three thousand cavalrymen under his command, but their fighting strength was second to none among Linghu Ye's army of one hundred thousand. Xiao Changche had more face in front of Linghu Ye than anyone else, and this was accumulated little by little from these things.

To see the whole leopard from a single glimpse.

Cold and aloof like a mountain, resolute and unwavering—this was the first impression Yuan'an City left on Zhang Ruo.

We finally entered the city.

There wasn't a single tall building in the city; all the buildings were made of rammed earth, covered with thatch, and then a layer of mud was laid on top of the thatch. At this moment, many residents in the city were poking at the snow on the roofs with sticks. After a few pokings, large swaths of snow poured down with a whooshing sound, and then men, women, and children all burst into laughter.

Upon seeing Xiao Dongwei and his group, everyone greeted them loudly, and Xiao Dongwei responded warmly.

It gave the impression that the military and civilians were one family.

This is somewhat different from the image that Zhang Ruo had in mind.

People like Zhang Ruo have never had much affection for the military.

Within the Great Wall, whether commoners or gentry, the mere mention of the army elicited frowns and few kind words.

The people here all seem very happy and relaxed.

Although they look very poor.

“Yuan’an City is a true frontline fortress!” The one-eyed general Zhou Dongwei, who had just entered the city and was leading his horse, said to Zhang Ruo, “Scholar Zhang, do you know? We are less than fifty li away from the Northern Yuan border. Cavalry can reach us in an instant! However, along the entire border, Yuan’an City is the place least attacked by the Northern Yuan. In the past two years, the Northern Yuan army has not dared to come. Do you know why?”

“Of course it’s because of your Xiao Cheqi!” Zhang Ruo replied.

Xiao Dongwei slapped his hip and laughed loudly, "That's the main reason. Another reason is that the people of Yuan'an never let their revenge go unpunished! If the Northern Yuan people dare to raid one of our villages, we will fight back and slaughter ten of their villages. If they kill one of our people, we will not stop until we have killed ten of theirs!"

"An eye for an eye only breeds more hatred and resentment!"

"So you people have absolutely no idea what's really going on on the frontier!" Zhou Dongwei scoffed. "Here, if you try to repay evil with kindness, they'll only take advantage of you. If you kill them until they're terrified, they won't dare to mess with you anymore. The cavalry said that as for the Northern Yuan people, if they provoke us, we'll kill them; if they don't provoke us, we'll still kill them. Even if they beg for mercy, we'll still kill them!"

Zhang Ruo didn't want to discuss such matters with Xiao Dongwei because he knew very well that talking to a brick wall was a waste of effort and might even provoke the brick wall into kicking up its heels in anger.

Xiao Dongwei may not have been well-educated, but he was certainly perceptive. Just by looking at Zhang Ruo's expression, he knew what she was thinking. He wasn't angry, and chuckled, "Once you've stayed here long enough, you'll understand whether what I'm saying makes sense or not. Who knows, you might even be more ruthless than me by then. Our Yuan'an City magistrate is also educated, and now, that guy's bloodthirstiness is much greater than mine."

After half an incense stick's time, the group stopped in front of a house. It was a rammed earth and thatched house, but much larger than the previous ones. A long rammed earth wall enclosed a huge piece of land. In the area outside the pass, the one thing that was never lacking was land. You could enclose as much land as you wanted.

A sign for the Yuan'an County Government Office was hung in front of the gate. On the wall to the left of the gate were some notices and similar items, which were now blurred by the ink from being soaked in snow water. On a shelf to the right was a large drum, but the drumhead had a large hole in it, making it just a decoration.

There were no guards or soldiers standing at the gate; the gate was wide open, seemingly open to anyone, regardless of their status. "Come on, let me show you what the scholars of our Yuan'an City are like!" Xiao Dongwei said with a big laugh.

County government offices across the country are roughly the same. After entering the main gate and passing through the snow-covered courtyard, you arrive at the main hall of the county government office. There is a plaque with the words "A bright mirror hangs high" hanging on it. However, the plaque, which should have been painted with gold paint, is now severely faded, which immediately diminishes the solemnity and seriousness of the hall.

The main hall of the county government was naturally drafty and as cold as an ice cellar. Zhang Ruo even saw long icicles forming on the edge of the large table at the head of the table, and couldn't help but shake his head.

“There are basically no lawsuits in Yuan’an City, so this main hall is rarely used. It’s only used a few times a year to receive people from higher-ups. In accordance with the principle of not wasting money, we won’t spend any more money here. Money should be used where it’s most needed,” Xiao Dongwei said.

Zhang Ruo naturally agreed with the idea of ​​saving money. When she was in Chang'an, she thought that the army outside the pass spent money like water, a bottomless pit. But after arriving in Yuan'an County and seeing the current situation, she couldn't help but wonder, where is the money?

"Let's go, let's go see Liu Yi, the magistrate of this county. He's a very learned man!"

Xiao Dongwei's words made Zhang Ru roll her eyes, implying that she wasn't a good scholar!

After passing the main hall, we arrived at the second courtyard, which was still a rammed earth and thatched hut, but much smaller. At this moment, smoke was swirling above the roof of one of the huts, giving it a somewhat ethereal feel.

"Liu Yi!" Xiao Dongwei's hoarse voice roared, and the door immediately opened. The person who came out instantly made the ethereal feeling disappear without a trace.

She wore a thick cotton-padded coat, which, unusually, was without patches. The coat was tied in the middle with a leather belt, making it fit her much better. Her hair was a mess, tied haphazardly with a blue cloth ribbon and then threaded with a wooden hairpin. Her eyes were bloodshot, and tears streamed down her face.

"Liu Yi, what are you doing?" Xiao Dongwei's eye glared brightly. "Is this smoked meat?"

"We're running out of charcoal!" Liu Yi, holding a writing brush in one hand and an account book in the other, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, making them even redder. "Most people from the yamen went down to the villages to check on things today. It snowed heavily yesterday, and we were worried about people dying. Only two or three of us stayed in the house, and to be on the safe side, we didn't use the underfloor heating. But the firewood got wet, and there's so much smoke. Oh, why did you all come back early?"

“I came back early because I had something to do!” Xiao Dongwei said.

"Did you get the money? Did you get the supplies?" Liu Yi asked, his tone as if he were a creditor who had suddenly seen his debtor suddenly have money.

"Don't you know who our cavalry are? Of course we got them, but it will take some time to transport the supplies and money!" Xiao Dongwei chuckled. "Wan Feng was slaughtered by the commander-in-chief!"

"A high-ranking official of the third rank, killed just like that?" Liu Yi only showed a slight surprise before returning to normal, seemingly not finding anything special about Linghu Ye killing a high-ranking official of the third rank, which made Zhang Ruo's heart sink.

The laws of the imperial court are truly worthless outside the Great Wall.

This Liu Yi is a scholar!
If even he was like this, then it goes without saying that those martial artists and ordinary people from beyond the Great Wall who couldn't read a single character were even more so.

Overall, however, he had a good impression of Liu Yi. As the magistrate of a county, although he looked slovenly, he was willing to be smoky in this way rather than burn firewood, which made him a model official.

"Come, come, let me introduce you. This is Zhang. He used to be quite remarkable. He was a scholar and a vice minister!" Xiao Dongwei pulled Zhang Ruo in front of Liu Yi.

Liu Yi's eyes lit up. "Scholar Zhang Ruo, haha, the Marshal didn't chop off his head, but actually sent it to us?"

"What, do you have a problem with that?"

Liu Yi shook his head repeatedly, "No objection, no objection. You asked Cheqi to send him here, are you planning to have him replace me as the county magistrate? That's great, that's great, hahaha! I can go to the army to take up a post, as a logistics officer, I can be competent."

He tucked the pen behind his ear, tucked the account book into his waistband, and with his hands at eyebrow level, performed a standard scholar's salute: "Liu Yi, a junior scholar, greets Scholar Zhang!"

Zhang Ru returned the greeting: "This sinner, Zhang Ru, greets Magistrate Liu!"

Liu Yi laughed loudly, "Let's not talk about guilt or guilt for now. Come, come, help me take a look at these accounts. You used to be the Vice Minister of Revenue, so you've seen a lot. These things shouldn't be difficult for you."

Seeing Liu Yi pull Zhang Ruo into the room where smoke was still billowing out, Xiao Dongwei refused to go in and shouted from outside, "Scholar Zhang is in your hands now. Arrange his food, clothing, and lodging. Also, don't even think about running away from the position of Magistrate of Yuan'an. Scholar Zhang's carriage and horses will be taken care of!"

After saying these words, Xiao Dongwei turned around and looked at the dumbfounded Yuan Rong and his brother, and said with a smile, "Scholar Zhang, please settle down here for the time being. Didn't you two want to join the army? Why don't you meet the general first? Your martial arts skills are quite impressive. Speaking of which, our army really needs good fighters like you."

(End of this chapter)