Chenzhou is on the bank of the Cai River, is the gateway to the south of Kaifeng Prefecture, with convenient water and land transportation and incomparably prosperous.

In mid-August, Du Zhongxiao, Han Jiang and Su Song traveled from Xuzhou to Chenzhou, and after a short stop, they bid farewell to Han Jiang with Su Song and went to Bozhou.

This area is the hinterland of the Central Plains, with vast plains as far as the eye can see, and there are almost no mountains in sight. However, in the late Tang Dynasty, the war of the fifth dynasty, this is the most severely affected place, coupled with the low-lying terrain, there are many waterlogs, until this time there is still no recovery.

The group stayed overnight, and when they left Chenzhou, they entered the territory of Bozhou, not to Luyi County. Rest overnight at the post house, and go early the next morning to the ferry port.

This is the upper reaches of the river, and the river is not wide, because it came early, and there is only a ferry boat floating there, and there is no one.

Du Zhongxiao turned around to see that there was a breakfast shop outside the city gate, and said to Su Song: "The sun has not risen yet, and we eat a bowl of porridge in that shop in our county." After the ferry, I don't know if I can get to Weizhen County today, I'm afraid that there will be no tea and rice on the road. ”

Su Song had no objections, and the pedestrians returned and went to the morning shop outside the city.

Du Zhongxiao arrived in front of the shop and said loudly: "Master, come and wrap your stomach with a few bowls of porridge." There are also some snacks, and there are female dependents in the car. ”

The master should be good, and a small servant quickly ran over to clean up the table and let Du Zhongxiao and Su Song sit down.

After a while, two bowls of meat porridge came up and put them on the table. Du Zhongxiao tasted it, added pepper to the porridge, a spicy taste, and said to Su Song: "It's already cold in the morning, and it's just right to add some spicy ingredients to this porridge." ”

The two men finished their porridge and sat down to rest, and saw that there were still no pedestrians on the road to the city.

The sun has risen, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help but be anxious, and asked the busy shopkeeper in the shop: "Master, this is the east-west avenue, the sun has risen, why don't you see a few pedestrians?" There is only the ferry boat there, and there is no one supporting the boat. ”

The shopkeeper said: "Official, wait, it will take another hour for Cheng Qianliu, who is holding the boat, to leave the city." Nowadays, the road is a little uneven, and the guests who come and go have to wait for the sky to dawn and walk together, and it is useless for Cheng Lao'er to go out of the city early. ”

Du Zhongxiao was taken aback, and hurriedly asked: "I haven't heard of any thieves in this area and county, how can it be peaceful." ”

The shopkeeper shook his head again and again: "There are no big thieves, but there are many small thieves." Recently, I heard that there was a big thief in the capital, who stole thousands of pieces of gold and silver from a foreign officer, and because he was chased closely, he fled here. When the nearby thieves heard about it, they committed crimes one after another, but it was chaotic. ”

Du Zhongxiao and Su Song glanced at each other, and couldn't help but be a little nervous. Because they were greedy to go fast, they did not ask the state and county to send escorts, and they did not expect that there were thieves in the place. Although states and counties are often used to refer to localities, in reality states and counties are quite different. There are many officials in the state city, and the forbidden army, the box army, and all kinds of public servants have sufficient strength, and they are generally in good order. As soon as you get out of the state city ten miles away, it is a different style of painting. Du Zhongxiao has always compared the counties of this era to the townships of his previous life, in fact, most small counties are not even comparable to the townships. There were no serious officials in the county, most of them were errand servants who did not have a salary, plus a different number of archers. There are 10 archers in small counties and less than 100 in large counties, and they are weak in the face of a slightly larger rural landlord, so how can they manage local law and order well.

The most famous story left by the Song Dynasty to later generations is that there are only dozens of heroes in history, and with the coerced subordinates, there are only a few hundred at most. Such a force is enough to run rampant in several states in the interior, and if it enters a no-man's land, it can be seen that the local forces are weak.

Looking back at the ox cart parked on the side of the road, inside was Han Yueniang and her personal maid, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help but be a little worried. The thieves on the road dared to rob the officials during the day, but once they disturbed their families, it was not good.

After thinking for a while, Du Zhongxiao said to Su Song: "The rivers in this area are vertical and horizontal, the land is sparsely populated, who knows what characters are in the countryside." We should be cautious on the road and walk with a large group of guests to avoid accidents. ”

Su Song nodded in agreement. He was appointed alone, and after arriving in Suzhou, he would find a way to pick up his family, and naturally Du Zhongxiao would be the main one.

Several prefectures centered on Chenzhou are low-lying, with a large number of tributaries of the Huai River, serious waterlogging, and many saline-alkali lands. Although it is located in the Central Plains, there is a lot of deserted land and the population is not dense. The war of the five dynasties in the late Tang Dynasty has cultivated bad folk customs in this area, and there are many thieves in the countryside. In recent years, the use of troops in the northwest has put huge financial pressure on the imperial court, and the local government has levied many taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and the local area has become even more chaotic.

Du Zhongxiao was still a little uneasy after thinking about it, so he took his own name post, called the servant Zhou Hou who was hired when he went out, and said to him: "You took my name post and went to Luyi County Ya, only saying that I and Su Guanren were going to Bozhou to take office, and he sent a public servant with a few archers to escort us out." When they arrived in Weizhen County, there would naturally be a public servant there to replace them. ”

Zhou Hou made a promise with his hand, took the name and flew away. Luyi is already under the rule of Bozhou, Du Zhongxiao is the governor of the state, and the county should have sent someone to escort him. It's just that he was used to staying in a busy place and forgot about it for a while.

After waiting for about half an hour, Zhou Hou rushed over with Qudutou and five archers from his county.

Returning the name post, Qu Dutou sang a promise to Du Zhongxiao: "The small one is the head of the county, and the county order is sent to listen to the orders of the officials." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "I just heard from the master's family that the road has been a little uneven recently. You take a few people, be careful along the way, and escort the two of us out of the country. I've just come to take office in this state, so don't make a mistake. But there's a little bit of a difference, but you ask! ”

Qu Dutou didn't dare to say anything, and said in his mouth: "Officials must not listen to people's nonsense, now in the peaceful season, why is the road not peaceful." These roadside businessmen shake their mouths single-mindedly, and they seem to be knowledgeable. The officials just need to hurry with peace of mind, and the villain is waiting. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded, didn't say much, just asked Qu Dutou to be careful all the way.

After resting for a while, seeing that the number of pedestrians on the road gradually increased, Du Zhongxiao and Su Song got up. Qu Du led the archers in front, and the group headed towards the ferry. The archer is simply the name of an organization that has nothing to do with the bow and arrow. They are local Ding Zhuang, who take turns on errands to maintain local law and order.

Not far from the ferry, in a reed-covered mouth, three men sat together in a small boat, tearing a chicken and drinking. Seeing Qu Dutou and Du Zhongxiao on the road from a distance, a man sitting inside took a sip: "It's not unlucky!" I finally saw a fat sheep, I should have some net worth, but I didn't want to be an official eunuch, so I led the county Qudu head to escort him. ”

The man opposite him turned around and looked at him for a while, and said, "Big brother, there are only five people in Qudutou, and there is also Jiang Erlang who is familiar with us. That scholar, at first glance, was powerless, and he was considered a leader. It's better for us to rob them, and it's nothing more than to share some with Qudu's head. ”

The previous man scolded: "What do you have in your head!" If you can let Qu Dutou escort honestly, it must be an official eunuch, maybe it is still an official in this state, how dare you provoke it! These people all know us, and as long as one of them goes, it will be difficult for us to escape. Forget it, just be unlucky, and don't do business today! I heard that there is a Song Sigong, who has the means to do a big case in the capital a few days ago, was arrested by the government, and came to us. Be alert, and report to me as soon as you have news of him. ”

Another man said: "Then Song Sigong has done a big case, and there must be gold and silver treasures in his hands, does my brother want to make his fortune?" ”

"You know what! This Song Sigong is very famous in the rivers and lakes, and we have caught his line and made big deals in order to make a fortune. ”