Chu Jiande danced again and began to lift the evil curse just now.
Yao Xiong's eyes widened when he saw it.
He looked at Tian Zili beside him blankly, "Is this okay??"
Tian Zili said calmly: "The Xianbei people believe this. When they went out to fight in the past, they would bring shamans with them to perform divination. The shamans on both sides cast spells on each other before fighting."
"No, I mean, why does Chu Jiande know this? What's the name of his teacher?"
When Chu Jiande finished the dance and took off his clothes, many Xianbei people here breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at Chu Jiande with fear and did not dare to approach. Only the old man stepped forward in person.
After talking to Chu Jiande for a while, Chu Jiande knew the Xianbei dialect and was stunned at what the old man said.
"Dugu Gong, please take people to my home."
"I'll prepare some food at home and host a banquet for you all!"
Before Liu Taozi spoke, Yao Xiong said first: "Didn't I say that we are all going to starve to death? Can we still hold a banquet?"
The old man was very angry after hearing this, "According to my Xianbei custom, when distinguished guests come, I have to prepare meat even if I slaughter the children in my family! Entertain the distinguished guests!!"
Hearing these words, a Xianbei'er not far away trembled, looked at the people around him, and asked: "My grandpa is just giving an example, right?"
Kou Liu stepped forward at this moment, took Liu Taozi's hand, looked at the old man warily, and shook his head at Liu Taozi.
His meaning was very clear. Once he entered the countryside, he would be surrounded by these people and would not be able to escape. Moreover, these people were not trustworthy. They could escape here, but it would be troublesome once they entered the countryside.
The rest of the people also looked at the countryside ahead.
The sky is getting darker and darker. Under the night, the big tree is showing its teeth and claws. There are shadows gathering under many trees, moving back and forth, giving people a feeling of evil intentions.
The old man became anxious. He pointed at Kou Liu and cursed: "You are really a fake Xianbei! You don't even remember your own customs?!"
"I remember, I remember it so clearly, I just experienced it once."
The old man's face turned red and he was stammering angrily, but he was speechless.
Liu Taozi then said: "Don't kill the war horses, and don't kill the big dogs either."
He looked at the trembling fool in the distance again, "Don't kill your son either."
"Let's get some squirrels. This is the season for digging squirrels in snow pits. Get a few and cook them, and it will be enough for everyone."
The old man was very happy and shouted to Kou Liu: "Did you see it? This is the real Xianbei!"
Liu Taozi led everyone towards the countryside. Although the others were frightened, they did not dare not to follow when they saw Liu Taozi taking the lead. Tian Zili was very relaxed. He said to his left and right: "Don't be afraid, brother, come here.
It can keep them alive, but they won’t do anything.”
The countryside is very quiet, except for the loud barking of dogs on both sides, which can be heard from every house.
The old man Po Doro proudly explained to Liu Taozi, "When we were at the frontier fortress, we liked to raise dogs. Every household had dogs, some had four or five, and some had more than ten."
"This dog can look after our homes and courtyards, help us hunt, keep an eye on our sheep, and drive away wolves. He is very obedient."
"These things are very smart. If Liu Gong likes them, I can give you a good one. They are the puppies of a top dog, and they are very strong!"
They walked into Podoro's courtyard together, and Liu Taozi saw the dog he was talking about. It was completely black and really strong. Podoro laughed and patted the dog's head a few times.
Then he led the rest of the people into the inner room.
There was a foul smell in the house, mainly the smell of the dead animals.
There were piles of animal furs, internal organs, and some skeletons piled up in the house. It was cold winter. If it was summer and there were bugs all over it, the smell would be unimaginable.
Everyone frowned, some finding it difficult to adapt to this smell.
Potara asked someone to open the window for a meeting, and then said: "It's cold outside. There's no way to deal with these things outside. There are not many merchants this year. These bones and furs can't be sold."
Liu Taozi's face was expressionless. He even looked at the fur and then shook his head, "It's not peeled properly, so the price is lost."
Potara was stunned for a moment, then became more convinced.
Just as Liu Taozi said, the feast that everyone prepared was the meat. They boiled it, minced it, mixed it with wheat grains, added as much water as possible, and cooked it again. This meat porridge
It's enough for everyone to smell the meat.
Everyone sat around the house, with a bonfire in the middle and stone formations placed beside the bonfire.
Those who couldn't sit down sat in the surrounding side rooms, with the doors wide open so they could see each other above.
The strong Xianbei people also sat beside them, eating meat porridge together with thick mist spraying from their mouths.
The old man wiped the juice from the corner of his mouth and looked aside.
The man took out a horn flute and began to play it slowly.
The sound of the flute is melodious and sad, carrying an unknown sadness and loneliness.
Potra raised his head and hummed a song.
The next day, everyone got up and the whole countryside became extremely lively.
People of all ages, some riding horses and some on foot, were all walking around in a hurry.
Food was extremely scarce in the entire countryside, so they could only go out to get some food when the weather was not so cold.
Podoluo brought Liu Taozi to the door, "The Anping county soldiers cannot exceed five hundred people, right?"
"Four counties, I want two thousand people."
"Ah? You want to recruit people from four counties from here?"
Podoluo smiled and nodded, "Yes, this is a good thing! There were fifty or sixty thousand Xianbei in Ningzhou, and Boling and Changshan accounted for the majority. Now, among the Xianbei in Boling, we are the only ones left.
Outside Anping, the Xianbei people in other places have long been unable to ride horses or hold bows and arrows, so they have all become tenants."
"Give me some time and I'll see if I can gather two thousand people."
Yao Xiong hurriedly asked: "Didn't you say that there are more than thousands of Xianbei households here? Why do two thousand people still have to gather together??"
Podoro scratched his head, "Aren't I trying to scare you? I don't know your origins, so of course I have to tell you more. We actually have a population of less than a thousand households here, not counting the old, weak, women and children. There are only a few who can ride a horse and fight.
Probably over a thousand years old”
"But don't worry, our half-grown children can also fight on horseback."
"Then take a thousand people and bring them to the school grounds."
Potara nodded, "Okay, Mr. Liu, don't worry about it. Although there are only more than a thousand people, they are all good fighters. Even the few who have never fought have been trained by us since they were young. They have seen blood."
, Zhijun formation, you can obey the order, do you need us to bring the remaining horses? Generally speaking, there are one person and three horses in the war, we are the fodder for the horses."
"You just come and discuss these matters with Tian Zili."
"well."
Everyone was about to mount their horses when Liu Taozi suddenly asked: "Did you send anyone to the city yesterday?"
"Never."
"Then is there someone who took other people's money and went to the city privately without telling you?"
Podoro struggled for a while and then said: "Well, the people in the city have some misunderstandings about us, so every time we go to the city, it will cause a huge commotion. Even if my people are bribed, it will be difficult to enter the city.
.”
"Yeah, I got it."
Liu Taozi got on the horse and looked at Tian Zili, "You stay and discuss recruitment with them, and get to the school as soon as possible."
"only!!"
Liu Taozi led the other knights and flew away, while Hatora just stood there, watching the other knights leave.
His silly son stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "Master, can this person really be trusted?"
"If you don't believe me, what are you going to do? Even if you survive this winter, what will you do next winter? Are you really going to fall into a trap?!"
Potara glared at his son, and then looked at Tian Zili.
"Hahaha, don't worry about me. I haven't studied since I was a child. Let's talk about horses and ordnance!"
Liu Taozi led people back to the school grounds.
The school gate is open.
There were many trampled marks inside and outside the door, and the heads outside the door had long since disappeared. When everyone entered the school grounds, they found that the two prisoners who were originally hung were also missing.
Yao Xiong yelled and searched around the school grounds several times, but he never found the old official in charge of cleaning.
Yao Xiong cursed loudly.
"I knew that Old Man Cui couldn't believe it!! I couldn't believe it!!"
Old Cui staggered a few steps and was immediately thrown to the ground. His hands were tied behind his back, his face was covered with cloth, and his mouth was blocked. He could only hear the sounds around him.
Shortly after Liu Taozi and others left, a group of knights rushed into the school grounds. They snatched the heads and prisoners. Old Cui himself was also forcibly taken away by these people.
Old Man Cui was blindfolded, tied up, and thrown on a horse.
He didn't know how long he walked, but he was finally thrown down and pushed forward. Suddenly someone said in his ear: "Go in!!"
Old Cui was pushed hard and fell to the ground again. Someone took off the cloth from his face.
Old Man Cui raised his head panting. This was a claustrophobic hut.
The room was dark, with only a small candle, and it was impossible to see the faces of the people around him.
The man who pushed him in raised his head and looked at the superior.
"Young Master, everything has been cleaned up. This is the old official we originally sent to the school grounds. You can ask him about the specific matters."
Old man Cui narrowed his eyes and looked at it. The person in charge seemed to be a young junior.
The man held tea in his hand and took a sip.
"Logically speaking, you are also a member of the Cui family. How could you help those bandits?"
Old Man Cui was shocked, "How dare you, how dare you, after I won the reward, I have been working hard in the school, and I have never done it before."
"Okay, don't be afraid. We are from the same family, so I won't make it difficult for you. I just have something to ask you."
The superior person put down the tea and immediately asked: "I heard that someone gave you a few bags of stuff before and asked you to feed those thieves. Why didn't you do it?"
Old Cui explained helplessly: "It's not that I don't want to do it, it's that these people haven't cooked since they arrived. They eat dry food all day long, and they draw the well water from outside. I have no chance at all."
"Ah! That's it!"
The superior suddenly tore off his sleeves and looked a little restless.
"I also heard that someone gave you a dagger earlier and asked you to act accordingly. Why didn't you do it?"
Old Cui trembled all over, "Those people are tall and burly, how can I, an old man, compete with them?"
The superior suddenly stood up and walked quickly to Old Man Cui.
Now, Old Man Cui could see clearly.
The person standing in front of him was only a teenager, quite immature, with a red face and disheveled clothes. He squatted directly next to Old Cui and grabbed Old Cui's clothes.
"Everyone in the Cui family held each other hostage, so that we can achieve today's results and have today's family business."
"You didn't take action because you were afraid, but you killed twenty people. Don't you feel guilty at all?"
"That's twenty living lives!!"
The man's face was very sad. He pushed Old Cui away, and his face became fierce again, "How can there be such an immoral and cold-blooded person like you?!"
Old Man Cui quickly begged for mercy: "It's all my fault, please forgive me!!"
"It's easy to say I forgive you. Go and recall all the conversations between those thieves and bandits word for word. Don't miss a single word. If you can do that, I will forgive your life."
"Thank you, noble man! Thank you, noble man!"
Someone threw the paper and pen in front of Old Man Cui. Old Man Cui knelt on the ground, recalling and writing at the same time.
The noble man strode directly over his head without bowing his head.
Surrounded by several people, the young man walked out of the claustrophobic room, came outside, and took a deep breath.
He was really in his teens, with a pale face, swollen eyes, and a sickly look. When he left the house, he was surrounded by various courtyards and pavilions, which were extremely luxurious. Tall courtyard walls surrounded the surrounding area, not far away.
There are various kinds of beasts in the cages, and they are lying listlessly at the moment.
He picked up the wooden stick, walked quickly to a cage, and stabbed the beast inside with the wooden stick.
It was a large spotted insect. It was extremely thin, with a sunken abdomen and an unkempt appearance. It weakly opened its mouth toward the noble man outside, but it had no teeth.
The more the noble man played, the happier he became. The stick in his hand almost stuck into the eyes of the big insect.
After playing for who knows how long, someone finally came out of the house and handed the paper with densely written small characters to the noble man.
"Young Master, he has written it all for you to read."
"Third brother gave me some fish not long ago, let's feed him."
"only."
While the young man continued to play with the beast, someone hurriedly walked in and whispered a few words in his ear.
The young man stood up suddenly, "What is he doing here? Didn't I pay him a visit?"
"have no idea"
The younger generation's face was full of disdain, "He is nothing. He is just from a humble background. He rose to power through flattery, and even did the evil thing of beating the emperor. He is also a court official, but he can't compare with my father at all!!"
The servant did not dare to say anything and just stood aside with his head lowered.
The young man threw away the wooden stick in his hand and looked arrogant.
"Oh, forget it. I'll go see him!"
The servants prepared the carriage, and the young man got on it. The carriage moved forward inside the mansion. After leaving the courtyard wall, you could see a larger circle of outer walls. To walk back and forth in Uburg, you needed to pass the carriage.
I don’t know how long they walked before the young man jumped out of the car, cleared his throat, and then walked quickly towards the house directly in front of him.
The young man hurriedly walked into the courtyard, opened the door, and saw an old man and a young man in a pavilion on the side.
The house here is on a higher ground, and you can see many scenery below while sitting in the pavilion.
The young man looked frightened at this moment, and he hurriedly bowed and said: "Greetings, uncle!!"
The people sitting in the pavilion were Cui Jishu and his son Cui Gang.
Both of them were wearing ordinary clothes and were looking around. When they heard this, Cui Gang quickly stood up and returned the greeting, but Cui Jishu smiled and touched his beard, "Master, there is no need to be polite, just come here."
Cui Renshi then stood up and said anxiously: "I don't know if it's disrespectful for my uncle to come here."
"Hey, you, it's always like this, come here."
Master Cui then carefully sat down next to Cui Jishu, pretending to be respectfully listening to the teachings.
Cui Jishu looked into the distance, "Before I came back, I met your father. Your father didn't want to leave just like that, so he stayed at King Changshan's house. I only told you about this matter, and don't let it be spread outside.
.”
"only!!"
"He knew I was coming back, so he asked me to warn you, saying that he wanted you to study hard and prepare yourself for an official career. Among you brothers, you are the only one who has not taken the exam to become an official."
Cui Renshi lowered his head, "It's my fault for letting uncle worry."
He looked very sad.
Cui Jishu advised: "I know that your brother's incident has hit you hard. Don't worry, the King of Gaoyang who framed your brother is probably going to die too."
"ah?"
Master Cui raised his head and asked, "Are you going to die?"
"Yes, he was rude at the state funeral, so he was beaten with a stick by the Queen Mother. As a result, he fainted. He is still awake and takes medicine all day long. I'm afraid he won't survive this month."
Cui Renshi's eyes were lonely, "My eldest brother is usually the most loyal, and he often advises us to be righteous and moral. But now, he has the reputation of being a thief, and his body was humiliated. I think of this every time he is torn apart.
I felt so heartbroken that I could no longer concentrate on studying."
Cui Jishu said: "Your father learned something about you in court, saying that you kept wild beasts here, fed them with humans, and were cruel and cruel. Is this true?"
Cui Renshi's eyes widened, "How is this possible? Could it be that it's not enough to frame my brother, and you want to frame me as well?"
"It's okay if we don't have one. Our Cui family has been a long-standing family for thousands of years. We have passed down poems and books, and govern the world with morality. We are different from those who suddenly become rich. There are many people watching us, but we must not do anything shocking."
Cui Renshi saluted again, "Uncle, please don't worry. I will tidy up the second room and this situation will not happen. I have no control over the other rooms."
"It's best that you don't always worry about your elder brother's affairs. Alas, life and death are matters of fate. It's useless to think about it anymore."
"My nephew understands!"
Cui Renshi lowered his head, but his eyes flashed with a fierce light.
ps: When the emperor suddenly died, Rong then entered Luo, because he would usurp the throne. Shenwu's advice was afraid that he would not listen, so he asked him to cast an image for divination. If he couldn't cast it, he stopped. ——"Book of Northern Qi: The Benji of Shenwu"
Chapter completed!