Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 6 Fish

Liu Yu loved gambling, but he was a generous person and made many friends. He often played Chupu with the Meng brothers, so they had a close relationship.

"Brother Liu, you don't know that starting from tomorrow, the Xi and Diao families will build fields here, and we won't have any fish or shrimp to eat." A person nearby said sadly.

The silt in the mudflats is excellent fertilizer, and since it is located next to the river, there is no need to worry about drought. If a dam is built, there will be thousands of acres of fertile land, and a harvest will be guaranteed regardless of drought or flood.

"The Diao family is not giving us a way to survive!"

Liu Daogui was calm, but Liu Zun next to him was angry.

He is alone and fearless.

"If I'm forced into a corner, I'll join the Taoist priest!" Liu Xinzhi sat down in the mud.

Refugees from the north flocked south, the nobles and powerful families engaged in frantic annexation, and a small drought left this once prosperous land full of famine.

The only way for ordinary people to avoid starvation is to sell themselves as slaves to the nobles and aristocrats and become immortals by joining the Tianshi Dao.

"Can your family still afford five dou of rice?" Liu Daogui poured him a basin of cold water.

It is not easy to become a Taoist priest.

Nowadays, people who can afford five dou of rice are either rich or noble. It’s okay if you can’t afford five dou of rice, but you need to be introduced by someone you know.

Tianshi Dao was originally considered an orthodox religion. Zhang Daoling established twenty-four jurisdictions to educate the people, "three proclamations and five decrees to let the people know the law." During the Cao Wei period, tens of thousands of Tianshi Dao followers were resettled by Cao Cao from Hanzhong to Chang'an, Luoyang, Yecheng and other places, and the sect became increasingly powerful.

Because he was good at making "Wu Shi San", he won the hearts of the powerful and wealthy and became popular for a time.

During the Jin Dynasty, countless powerful people were living a life of luxury and were flocking to it.

Anyone whose name contains the character "zhi" is a disciple of Tianshi Dao. Wang Xizhi and Gu Kaizhi are among them. Even the Northern Palace General Liu Laozhi has some connection with Tianshi Dao.

Liu Xin's name also contains the character "zhi", which means he was just trying to be cultured and had not really joined the religion.

The Tianshi Dao has developed for four or five hundred years. There are many sects, and the internal structure is relatively loose, with good and bad people mixed together. It is not a monolithic entity.

When they heard that it would cost five dou of rice to join the religion, Liu Xinzhi and Liu Zun were speechless.

With these five pecks of rice, I can survive, so why would I join the Heavenly Master Dao...

"Okay, let's talk about it tomorrow. Let's catch more fish and shrimp today."

After all, Liu Yu had a high reputation. With just one word, everyone went into the water, built a mud dam, and started scooping water.

There is strength in numbers. Dozens of young and strong men scooped out the water in the puddle in less than two hours. The ground was full of fish, shrimps, crabs, snails and clams jumping around.

If you are willing to put in the effort, you will find eels and loaches in the mud.

Everyone picked up the food at will, filling up the plates and baskets.

Jiangzuo is rich in products and has fertile land. There are carp and black carp weighing four or five pounds, as well as mandarin fish and sea bass that are loved by dignitaries, as well as catfish, shad, and knife fish.

The most precious one is the whitebait, which is two inches long, with thin bones and no scales, silver in color, and extremely delicious. It is known as one of the "Three Fresh Fishes of the Yangtze River" along with white shrimp and knife fish.

Liu Daogui specifically picked white shrimps and silverfish.

There was so much catch that many people took off their sackcloth to hold the fish.

Everyone had a rare smile on their face.

But at this moment, a fire dragon suddenly appeared in the southeast, and people started shouting, "How dare you steal Diao's fish? Don't even think about getting away today!"

Then several fast horses came with a "da da da" sound, and the long swords in their hands flashed coldly under the light of the torches.

The servants following behind were tall and strong. The ones in the front row were actually wearing iron armor. Behind the armored soldiers, long swords were raised. They were divided into three teams and formed a strict formation.

Regardless of their combat power, just this momentum is enough to make people tremble with fear.

In an instant, the vast mudflat was filled with deathly silence.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. The Diao family has been waiting here for a long time, just wanting to catch them all in one fell swoop...

The Diao family's control over Jingkou and Guangling is pervasive. With so many people coming to fish, the Diao family, unless they are blind, would not have been unaware of it. They must have set up an ambush long ago and kept their troops in place, just waiting to reap the benefits and rob the robbers.

"The sky in Jingkou is named Diao, the land in Jingkou is named Diao, and the water in Jingkou is also named Diao. You lowly people, do you think you can turn the sky over?" The leading member of the Diao family was holding a ring-handled sword, very arrogant.

The people were increasingly terrified. If they were caught, they would be severely beaten at best, or even prosecuted, with their property confiscated and forced into slavery.

"Brother Liu!"

"Ji Nu!"

At the critical moment, everyone automatically moved towards Liu Yu. Liu Daogui took a quick look and saw nearly 300 people, including the Meng family, as well as Xiang, He, Zhao and other families from Jingkou.

They are all people who have been forced into desperation by natural disasters and man-made calamities.

Liu Daogui was not afraid at all. Instead, a surge of blood rushed to his head. "The Diao family is bluffing. They only have 400 to 500 people. We also have more than 300. When we meet on a narrow road, the brave will win!"

There's no point being afraid at this point.

"Yes, fight with them!"

"Fight!"

In the mud, hundreds of swords and bows were raised, none of them were timid, and all were eager to try.

People have long been complaining about the Diao family.

The three Diao brothers were all greedy. Although their family was already very rich, they still competed with the common people for profit and occupied the mountains and swamps.

As soon as the drought began, the Diao family started lending money at high interest rates everywhere, forcing countless families to sell their children as slaves.

The Diao family was originally furious, but when they saw the murderous intent of the crowd, as if ready to fight to the death, they softened their stance. "Little lowly people, don't be ignorant of the heaven and the earth! If you know what's good for you, hand over the fish quickly and save yourself from physical pain!"

The customs of Jingkou people are well known far and wide.

Since its establishment, the Northern Palace Army has been invincible, with the exception of Liu Laozhi's disastrous defeat in Linzhang, it has suffered almost no defeats.

The Battle of Linzhang was also because the soldiers scrambled for the property abandoned by the Yan army, which led to the disorganization of the formation. The opponent was the famous god of war Murong Chui, who launched a surprise attack with cavalry. The Northern Palace Army was caught off guard and was defeated.

If the two armies were to fight head-on, it would be hard to tell who would win or lose.

"If you hand over the fish, we will have no way to survive!" Meng Huaiyu hated the Diao family to the core.

"Let's just take advantage of the dark night and strong wind to do it once and for all!" Xiang Jing on the left was more radical. He picked up a handful of black mud and smeared it on his face.

Many people followed suit.

There are more than 100,000 refugees in Jinling County. If you add Guangling in Jiangbei, the number is at least 300,000, and the number is still growing.

Not to mention the Diao family, even the imperial court did not dare to completely offend the refugees in the two places.

Many times we turn a blind eye.

Call——

The cavalrymen of the Diao family had already rushed to the shore, but seeing this momentum, they hurriedly retreated, pulling the reins too quickly, causing their horses to neigh in fear.

When the situation became tense, Liu Yu laughed and said, "Chu Pu has a trick to deceive people by making a preemptive move."

Everyone was puzzled. Liu Yu had already rushed out with his sword in hand, pointing to the east and shouting, "Meng brothers, make a detour from the east and encircle them from behind. Xiang family, lead your men to attack from the west. Everyone else, follow me and fight head-on. No one can escape!"

The loud voice tore through the night sky.

"Yes, sir!" Everyone shouted in unison, regardless of whether it was true or not, with great momentum.

The team split into three, scrambling for the lead, mud and water splashing, the ring-handled swords shining in the moonlight. Although the formation was scattered, the murderous aura emanating from each person was substantial.

Many of them were veteran soldiers who had retired from the Northern Army.

In Jingkou, there is no essential difference between soldiers and civilians. Over the past sixty or seventy years since the migration to the south, every male household has had the tradition of wielding swords and spears, in order to one day return to their homeland.

Perhaps the Diao family was better equipped and appeared to be more well-trained.

But the momentum of the two sides is incomparable. Fighting and killing rely on momentum.

To put it bluntly, the servants of the Diao family were just trying to make a living, while the people of Jingkou were just trying to survive...

(End of this chapter)