"Go and report it, tell you about the county order, and say that Lin Jue from the capital is coming with the army, and he will take care of it himself if he can't open the city gate." Lin Jue laughed loudly at the city.

The people of the city immediately went to report it, and in a short time the gates of the city were opened, and a great crowd of people poured out from within. At first, he was short and fat, and he looked pampered, but the official uniform on his body was already black, which was quite nondescript. But looking at his face, isn't He Anmin or who is it?

"Lord Lin, Lord Lin, you are here, the imperial army has finally arrived. Woo woo, the lower official can suffer a big crime. Finally, I have come to look forward to you. He Anmin staggered in three steps and two steps, Lin Jue stepped forward and was grabbed by him, with a lot of snot and tears, all over the place, howling loudly.

Lin Jue smiled bitterly and said, "Lord He, Lord He? Pay attention to decency. In front of the people and soldiers, don't be so excited. You're an official. ”

He Anmin wiped his snot and said, "Fart official, bullshit." If I hadn't had time to resign, I wouldn't have been an official. The bandits almost killed me. If it weren't for Shang Zi as an official, I wouldn't be here either. No way, who called me or the county order here? I can only barely hold on. Now it's okay, you're here, and I'm relieved. I went back and wrote my resignation, and the county ordered me to quit. ”

Lin Jue laughed, knowing that He Anmin must have been frightened a lot and suffered a lot. That's why he said such complaints. So he comforted: "Lord He, the court knows your suffering, if you have anything to say, let's go back and talk about it." Like the first time we met, do we just stand on the road and talk? ”

He Anmin burst into tears and said with a smile: "How dare you, how dare you, hurry up and enter the city." Anyway, are these soldiers and horses coming? Didn't you say that His Royal Highness the King of Jin came with a large army? ”

Lin Jue explained the reason with a smile, He Anmin nodded again and again, and happily invited Lin Jue into the city. Pulling Lin Jue's sleeve along the way, he didn't let go, and Lin Jue's sleeve was full of stains, making Bai Bing's white eyes fly into the sky.

The county government has long been burned down, but He Anmin cleaned up the ruins and built a few simple houses. In front of one of the rooms were two broken drums, and a mirror hung on the lintel. A table and chairs were placed in the room, and several officials with wooden sticks were also standing in front of the room in a decent manner, which also looked like a yamen.

Lin Jue was quite emotional, He Anmin still acted in some rules. Although this so-called 'yamen lobby' is not what it looks like, it is by no means ridiculous. At this moment, when the people's hearts are discouraged and the people are uneasy, what is needed is for the government to come out and stabilize the situation. Although the county government has fallen, this simple county government is a sign of the existence of the oath of the government. With this simple county office, the people will have the backbone, and the chaotic hearts will have a leader. He Anmin obviously understands this.

"Lord He, I didn't expect the county government to be there." Lin Jue stood in the square and sighed as he looked at the dilapidated county office.

He Anmin said with a smile: "This official has not resigned yet. If this official does not resign for a day, he will be the parent official of Changheng County for a day, how can he not perform his duties? The people in the city will settle down when they know that the official is still there and the county government is still there, right? ”

Lin Jue nodded and smiled: "That's right." ”

Lin Jue ordered each to send fifty cavalry to disperse the four cities to take over the city gates, and ordered several cavalry leaders to lead several small groups of cavalry to start patrolling the city and take over the security of the city. After the arrangement, he and He Anmin came to the simple county government hall to sit down and rest. He Anmin shouted at the makeshift rooms behind him, and a woman entered the lobby with a teapot in her hand after a while.

"Lord Lin, everything is gone, and there is no tea, so I can only ask the cheap to serve a bowl of boiling water to quench Lord Lin's thirst. Madam, this one is Lord Lin from the capital. Come and see. He Anmin said with a smile.

The woman was good-looking and well-behaved. It's just that the clothes on his body are a little tattered and have a lot of patches. She seemed a little embarrassed, and was busy covering the patch on her hem when she was busy giving Lin Jue a courtesy. Lin Jue got up and thanked him, and the woman poured two bowls of boiled water and put them in front of Lin Jue and Bai Bing, and went away without saying a word.

Lin Jue smiled: "I was relieved to see that Mrs. Zun was fine." Is Lord He's son-in-law all right? ”

He Anmin smiled: "It's all fine, so I'm in the mood to come out and clean up the situation, if something happens to them, I'm afraid they would have collapsed long ago." Speaking of which...... I would also like to thank Lord Lin. ”

Lin Jue took a sip of white water and said with a smile: "Thank you for what I have done?" I didn't help you with anything. ”

He Anmin said: "Did Lord Lin forget? That time you came to this county, you annoyed the bandits. The bandits gathered to attack the county government. Because I was very worried, I sent my wife and children to my father-in-law's house outside the city in advance to hide. After that, the situation was very chaotic, and I didn't pick them up. Fortunately, it just escaped a catastrophe. Isn't this thanks to Lord Lin? ”

Lin Jue was stunned for a moment, and laughed loudly. That time I came to Changheng County, there was indeed such a thing. At that time, He Anmin smuggled his wife and children out of the city, and he despised him. But now it seems that He Anmin is still sophisticated. He himself has never run away, but as a husband and father, he must protect the safety of his wife and children, so there is nothing wrong with doing so. In a sense, He Anmin is a good husband and father who takes good care of his family with flesh and blood. This is much more real and admirable than those who let their wives and children suffer for the sake of so-called ideals.

"How did Lord Ho survive the storm? As far as I know, the first wave of attacks by the Qingjiao bandits was the county officials and garrisons. Many state and county officials were killed by them. When I heard the news, I wondered why the adults were sweating. Lin Jue asked in a deep voice.

"Lord Lin doesn't want to laugh at me, I, He Anmin, am actually a person who is afraid of death, I don't shy away from saying this. On that day, the imperial court sent the forbidden army to escort the two prisoners to Changheng for trial, and when they were beheaded in public, I knew that Qingjiao would never give up. But I can't stop Master Pei and Hou Dutou from making their decision. There was a scuffle that night, and although they were victorious, I knew that the bandits would never stop there. After they left Changheng, I immediately summoned the county officials and the officials to keep a close eye on the situation. I used all my manpower and occupied the north gate to prevent any changes. On the third watch of the night, when the incident occurred, when the bandits searched the city for officials to kill people and set fires, I fled from the north gate with dozens of men. ”

Lin Jue didn't have the slightest contempt and ridicule, He Anmin made the most correct decision, avoid his edge, and evacuate safely. Otherwise, he and those officials would have become the ghosts of the bandits. If it were you, you would probably make a counterattack because you sensed the danger in advance. But He Anmin may not think the same as himself. Even so, he did the right thing.

"Lord He did the right thing, it should be like this. Otherwise, it would be in vain to give his life. However, you hid outside the city for many days, and when the opportunity was right, you came back and regained control of the situation, right? Lin Jue smiled.

"Exactly, a few days ago, a large number of bandits in this county went to Yingcheng to assemble, and we heard the news that the bandits were going to attack Yangwu County. As soon as they gathered like this, there were very few bandits in the city. Some of them are old and weak, women and children, and although they believe in cults, they have no strength to fight. We hid outside the city for more than ten days, and we couldn't hold it back. So he consulted with everyone and simply returned to the city and recaptured the county seat. The bandits gathered in the city of Yin, which gave us this opportunity. I came back with more than 100 people overnight, smashed the Qingjiao branch altar, and slaughtered dozens of bandits. The people of the city also woke up after being plagued by the bandits, and I personally preached along the streets to urge them to turn back, and many people were willing to follow us to control the situation. So I organized hundreds of young men to guard the city gates. Take control of order in the city. We were worried that the bandits would come back to attack us, but we didn't expect you to arrive, Lord Lin, it was like rain from heaven. In this way, the Yangwu War Sect Bandit didn't succeed, did he? ”

Lin Jue laughed: "Is that okay? In the battle of Yangwu, more than 20,000 bandits were annihilated in Bolangsha. Now the army is driving straight in, and the five counties of Jingbei can be recovered in a few days. King Huai led his army to arrive in a few hours. You don't have to worry anymore. ”

"Thank goodness, thank goodness, hahaha, that's great news. I'm relieved. He Anmin clasped his hands together and bowed to the sky, rejoicing from the bottom of his heart.

"Don't be busy, some people are fleeing to Jingxi Road after listening to rumors. You'll have to send people to post notices and set up barricades on official roads and paths to stop them. Lin Jue smiled and told He Anmin about the situation.

He Anmin hurriedly said: "This is easy to do, these guys are really ignorant, and they still believe those rumors at this time." I'll send someone to do it right away. ”

He Anmin immediately summoned a few officials and arranged to go out of the city to intercept and persuade the people. It was only after a while that he came back and sat down.

"It's rude, what else does Lord Lin command? The next official will handle it immediately. He Anmin said.

Lin Jue smiled and waved his hand, "There is nothing big about it for the time being." That's what we came early for. As for the purging of the bandits in the city, I will leave it to Du Yu to wait for them to do it after the arrival of the army, I don't want to bother with it. ”

He Anmin laughed and said: "It's okay or not, these things are left to them to do, and the lower officials don't want to bother." ”

Lin Jue said: "There is no food and materials in the city now, do the people still have anything to eat?" ”

He Anmin sighed: "Where else is there anything to eat?" They were all looted by the bandits. Originally, our Changheng County was poor, and the people were very hard. If they can all have enough to eat, how can Qingjiao spread so quickly? I found some food in the altar of the bandits, but I didn't know how long it would take, and the amount was not much, so I could only boil two meals of gruel a day for the people to eat, and the distribution had to be strictly controlled. The city has experienced this catastrophe, and even after it subsides, the people will be destitute again. Hey, that's a great misfortune. ”

Bai Bing whispered beside him: "I saw that your wife was staggering when she walked, her face was hungry, and her clothes were in tatters, so presumably your family didn't have anything to eat." ”

He Anmin smiled bitterly: "As a parent official, I have to lead by example. My family of seven only eats some gruel to suffer. That's no way around it. What's the point if your clothes are torn? At this time, it is good to have a piece of clothing to wear. It's good that it's not winter, otherwise it would be really difficult. Lord Lin look at me, I'm not afraid of your jokes, I've never worn such dirty and torn clothes in my life. It's not that I'm not unfamiliar with this official uniform, but if I take it off, I won't have any clothes to wear. ”

Lin Jue nodded and said, "Lord He, the army is coming, and the soldiers and horses will bring grain and grass over." Today is the day when Changheng County sees the light of day again, and the people want to eat a full meal to celebrate. You don't have to limit your rations, so that the people can eat to their heart's content. Our 500 cavalrymen have some dry rations on them, as well as some dried meat and other food, and we will give them all to you. ”

He Anmin's eyes lit up, and he smacked his lips and said, "Dried meat?" It was great that the people could finally taste some meat. ”

Lin Jue smiled and said to Bai Bing, "Didn't Madame carry some clothes with her?" Give me two of my shirts for Lord Ho to wear. Lord He is a decent person, and it would be a loss of decency to wear such tattered clothes. And your own clothes, check a few and give them to Mrs. He to wear. ”

Bai Bing carried a package with her, which contained her own clothes and Lin Jue's clothes, which were used for daily washing. Although they wear armor during the day, they still have to change into casual clothes at night. Bai Bing is also in women's clothes in the room.

Listening to Lin Jue's instructions, Bai Bing nodded in agreement. When he came to the door, he unwrapped himself from the saddle, picked out two long shirts and tights, two skirts, and even a few boxes of rouge gouache wrapped in a small bag and handed it to He Anmin.

He Anmin hurriedly said: "How can this be made? How does this work? ”

Lin Jue smiled: "Take it in, I'll go to the city for a walk, and we'll talk later." ”

Lin Jue got up and came out with Bai Bing, and he heard He Anmin's excited shouts behind him: "Madam, madam, come quickly, come quickly." You've got new clothes to wear, and rouge gouache. ”

……

At noon, dozens of cauldrons were set up on the county government square, and they were steaming. The cavalry of the forbidden army contributed all the dried meat they carried with them, put them in a pot and cooked them with rice, although there was only a little bit of dried meat, but the fragrance filled the whole city. Before everyone could greet them, the people had already smelled the incense, gathered around the square, stretched their necks and drooled, waiting.

Some of the so-called grain in He Anmin's mouth is just a few dozen bags of rice, and this bit of grain is indeed only enough for more than 4,000 people in the city to drink a few meals of gruel. If Lin Jue and the others don't come today, it will only be enough to last for three or four days. In order to keep the people fed, Lin Jue had to order someone to contribute the dry food carried by the cavalry, plus the bean cake fines of hundreds of war horses. The horses were very unlucky, chewing hay at the edge of the square, and looked at the humans who were robbing their horses of food, and wondered why they were so miserable.

In any case, this meal still filled the stomachs of the people of the city. The people, who had not eaten a full meal for many days, were gulping down their tongues. Some of them wept and wept as they ate, how could they have ended up in such a situation? Some old people recalled the time when they used to have no worries about food and clothing, and recounted that the situation had gradually declined in the past few years, so that now they can't even eat a mouthful of food, and they can't help but cry and sigh. Year by year, life is getting more and more sad, they don't know what went wrong, how did it fall to this point.

Lin Jue and He Anmin personally rolled up their sleeves to serve meals to the people, and Mrs. He and Bai Bing also helped by the side. At the end of the meal, everyone was busy sweating profusely. After all the people had eaten, Lin Jue and the others had some leftovers and ate them. To be honest, this is the most difficult meal Lin Jue has ever eaten, the bean cake rice and dried meat smell really good, but it tastes weird and tasteful, which makes people really unbearable. Although Lin Jue is not from a noble background, he also does not worry about food and clothing, and likes food. After only two chopsticks, he gave half a bowl of rice to a half-grown child who was looking around and had not yet eaten. Seeing this, Bai Bing also gave the rice in the bowl to the people, and He Anmin also wanted to do the same, but was stopped by Lin Jue.

"Lord He, you should be full, it doesn't matter if we are hungry, but you have been hungry for many days like the people. There's a lot of business ahead, you can't fall, you have to be fed. Lin Jue said.

He Anmin sighed: "Lord Lin, why did you say things have come to this point?" How could my Great Zhou make the people suffer like this? The people have worked hard and are not lazy, how did they get like this? Whose fault is this? ”

Lin Jue said in a deep voice: "Lord He, this is naturally the fault of the politicians. Naturally, today's events can be attributed to the rebellion of the Qingjiao, but the reason behind it has to be attributed to the imperial court. The imperial court could not escape the blame. ”

He Anmin said softly: "It's rare to have someone like Lord Lin who dares to speak, but will the imperial court understand all this?" In any case, how innocent are the people? Even if the counterinsurgency is successful this time, the five counties of Jingbei and Jingxi Road will be a catastrophe, and it will be difficult to recover their vitality. ”