At this thought, Zhang Xing continued to nod, but after his voice gradually subsided, he looked at the person in front of Huang Pang: "Zhou Jiu... you just kept talking about your mother, your concubine, and your uncle, why didn't you mention your father?

"

"My father... I don't miss my father much. I lost my father when I was five or six years old, so I relied on my uncle to take care of me." The man agreed quickly, and his tone was much clearer than when he told himself. "Huang Er and I

The skin is different, it was too early and we moved."

"But why is it always my uncle who takes him with me?" Zhang Xing suddenly asked with a smile. "So do you, so do I, so do Huang Ping..."

"My uncle takes care of me." Someone couldn't help shouting in the crowd. "Everyone in the big family relies on the family. Only my uncle's family is willing to help us in our small family!"

Zhang Xing was suddenly enlightened and realized. He quickly wrote down this point, and then continued to ask: "Zhou Jiu, according to you, your uncle was missing during the Second Conquest of Dongyi, right?"

"yes."

"It was the same time for me... I was the only one in the army who came back alive... Your father died early, so your uncle is the mainstay of the family, right?"

"Sure."

"With your uncle gone, my wife and sister-in-law will have a hard time, right?"

"Why isn't it difficult? I'm just a strong man..."

"Did you hold grudges against the imperial court at that time?"

"To be honest, I don't hate it, and I don't know how to hate it. The main reason is that no matter how difficult it was at that time, I could get through it. I worked hard to cultivate two fields, and I could still have some left after paying taxes... It was only after the third expedition to Dongyi that I became afraid and felt

I can’t live anymore.”

"You farm two fields by yourself...your uncle has no children?"

"I have a daughter who is my cousin..."

"I know why you are not tired of farming two fields... Is it allowed to you?"

There was laughter, Zhou Jiu himself laughed, and then lowered his head.

"What about your sister?" Zhang Xing continued to ask.

Zhou Jiu almost blurted out: "Mom, my concubine is gone, and my sister must be gone too."

After saying one sentence, Zhou Jiu seemed to have come to his senses, and suddenly started to cry. The tears fell like uncontrollable raindrops, and then he quickly covered his face, but he still couldn't hide it... Everyone who was laughing just now also

Stopped suddenly.

Zhang Xing was silent for a moment, sighed, and announced that he would be temporarily disbanded today... The effect was beyond his expectation. He should have been chasing after him, but unexpectedly he couldn't bear it, and he also saw a moment

Several people were waiting outside the threshing floor... As for Zhou Jiu, Huang Erpizi and a man named Wang Qi helped him up and returned to his residence.

"Master Zhang is a person who can do great things."

After the people dispersed, Zhang Xing put away his little notebook, turned around with Xiao Zhou, and met Niu Da, Taoist Wei, and the purple-faced king Xiong Bonan... the latter two had just arrived today.

... and the one who praised it was naturally Taoist Wei, who had changed into a new set of clothes.

"I'm not afraid of showing my cowardice in front of Duke Wei." Zhang Xing responded seriously. "I don't know if it's right or not, and if it has any effect... But people can't just do nothing here, right? Just do it if you think it's right.

, do it first and then talk about it!”

Taoist Wei, who had changed into new clothes, shook his head repeatedly: "Why do Mr. Zhang have to be so modest? Since you sold the water, what have you done has not been earth-shattering? If what you have done has no effect, then wouldn't we all be useless?"

"What Mr. Wei said is true." Xiong Bonan also nodded. "Corporal Lixian, gather the morale of the army. They are all first-class and good soldiers, with donkeys and horses, and more than a dozen practitioners. I think it's better to do something.

His kung fu is quite good... I have seen the generals and servants of those in the Hejian camp are also like this."

This is some cognitive misunderstanding, but Zhang Xing is too lazy to correct it, and even wishes that his actions can be integrated into these things that everyone takes for granted.

Niu Da, on the other hand, couldn't help but bring up the old things again: "Third brother, I know you want to calm people's hearts, but before Wei Gong and the leader Xiong didn't come, you had to live and eat with the sergeants. Now that they are here, let's start today

Why don't you come out and discuss important matters with the two of us? Otherwise it will be difficult to talk to you."

"Okay, move out for now!" Zhang Xing glanced at Wei and Xiong, thought for a moment, and nodded slightly. "But again, don't give up halfway. You still have to try your best to come here every day during the day. At least let me take care of you.

Hundreds of people have gone through it and I have a good idea."

Niuda could only nod.

In this way, a few people left the threshing floor and walked deeper into the village. Then they started talking along the way. Xiong Bonan's character was naturally very open-minded and talked about his experiences in the past few months.

He was very upset about missing Li Shu and Zhang Xing's formation of a gang in Jiyang. He also praised Zhang Xing and Cheng Dalang for their reputation in the battle against Zhang Jinsheng in Douzigang. Finally, he couldn't wait and expressed his intention to do something.

Of course, you must want to join the army!

When it was Taoist Wei's turn, his speech became much more organized and the amount of information increased:

"Zhang Longtou has done a great job. The battle at Douzigang not only settled the previously discussed matter of dealing with Zhang Jinscale, but also secured a piece of land at the mouth of the river for our Qianlong Gang, gathered a troop of troops, and invited Cheng Dalang to join the gang.

But Li Gong was not idle either... When I went to my hometown to look for King Xiong and a few old friends, he went directly to Qinghe and stayed in the homes of the Fang family and the Cui family for a long time. Fang Yanlang of the Fang family had participated in the Yang family before.

Shen was the one who was in Duke Li's pocket, and they were naturally in love with each other... Even the Cui family is said to have allowed several of their children to associate with Duke Li."

"So, our situation, except for a few nodes, has gradually spread along both sides of the river?" Zhang Xing did not feel any pressure, but laughed.

"That's true." Taoist Wei couldn't help but take a second look at Zhang Xing... No matter what, his outward demeanor still seemed like that of a man doing great things.

"But how can the Cui family of Qinghe be so arrogant and do things with us?" As a native of Hebei, Xiong Bonan naturally knew the reputation of the Cui family of Qinghe, but he was uneasy.

"Of course he has resentment against the imperial court." Taoist Wei twisted his beard and sneered. "Back then, the Grandmaster of the Cui family was almost ready to become a Grand Master. However, due to the total defeat of the Eastern Qi Dynasty, he collapsed. However, the late Emperor was still dissatisfied and still wanted to

Cutting the grass and eradicating the root, forcefully forcing that person to death based on the fate of the whole clan... But even so, the Cui family still can't get the recognition of the Zhang family. It's hard to even be a county governor, and the resentment is so high that they simply don't allow family members to serve as officials. "

"So, does Ms. Cui have real foundation or empty foundation?" Zhang Xing suddenly interjected and asked.

"Those who have real foundation." Taoist Wei responded seriously. "The Cui family has a good academic background and has gathered its own children well. Everyone does not mention studying and practicing. What's more terrible is that we from Hebei want to learn and communicate.

For cultivation, you will probably have to cross the Qinghe River..."

"But I haven't seen anyone as outstanding in cultivation as King Xiong, and I haven't seen anyone as talented as Duke Wei, right?" Zhang Xing asked again seriously.

"That's not the case." Taoist Wei simply stopped and responded more seriously. "I don't want to be humble either. I feel that I am no worse than those nerds. However, since ancient times, those who challenge are mostly people with more experience. It is not surprising.

, the key point is that once the situation is established, we use the old land of Dongqi as the foundation, and we need people to do things everywhere, and we will inevitably need those who are not outstanding, but are neither good nor bad... Moreover, it is not that there are poor practitioners in the prefectures and counties.

How can we easily get together with scholars? And their families are naturally of the same mind."

"Even in terms of cultivation, my wild ways are not as good as those of the Cui family." Xiong Bonan also sighed. "I am just a person who is about to become an elixir, but it is said privately by the Cui family that there must be three or four

He is an alchemist, and I vaguely heard that there is also a Kuai Grandmaster, but I just don’t want the court to know about it..."

"But if that's the case, why did you avoid Zhang Jinsheng before?" Zhang Xing was curious.

"There is indeed a grandmaster, Cui Xiu." Taoist Wei smiled, and then looked at Zhang Xing who was full of curiosity. "As for avoiding Zhang Jinscale... I can only say that you should not underestimate these Hebei aristocratic families, nor should you underestimate them.

Don't read too much... If I tell you something, Mr. Zhang will understand what it is about."

Zhang Xing immediately raised his hands solemnly and said: "Wei Gong, please speak."

Others are also curious.

Taoist Wei was not polite and did not return the greeting. He just walked slowly with his hands behind his back and said:

"Yang Shen's eldest son married the granddaughter of Cui Xiu of the Cui family in Qinghe... When the marriage was arranged, Yang Bin was still alive and stationed in Xingyang, suppressing Guandong, and had the right to appoint the hometown of Eastern Qi...

…Therefore, when they got married, it was said that the wedding banquet was extremely extravagant, with countless civil and military ministers and famous families coming and going, and the pomp and ceremony was extremely grand... As a result, after waiting for half a day, the bride’s grandfather, Cui Xiu, rode a hairless bald horse.

The tailed donkey came to the banquet and left without saying a word to anyone... After Yang Bin sent him away, he specially presented Cui Xiu with a thousand taels of gold and five thousand pieces of cloth, but he did not appoint any of Cui's children as officials. "

When Taoist Wei said this, everyone seemed to understand.

Wei Xuanding also twisted his beard and laughed: "To put it bluntly, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. And if the eight families in Jiangdong are completely skinny camels, these Hebei families are still camels..."

"There is a huge difference between the living and the dead." Zhang Xing stopped with his hands behind his hands and stood directly under the wall of the village, sighing for a moment. "Especially now that the current situation is Ganlin."

"Who says it's not the case?" Wei Xuanding also stopped and sighed for a moment.

"However, when Yang Shen rebelled that day, the Fang family participated, but the Qinghe Cui family, as an in-law, did not participate?" Zhang Xing suddenly became curious again.

"Yang Shen was defeated too quickly." Taoist Wei sneered. "Many people speculated that Yang Shen contacted at least one great master at that time, and if there was a little continuity and momentum, the Cui family would definitely respond...

…Because Yang Shen’s style is very similar to that of the literary cultivators of the past…but it failed too quickly.”

Wen Xiu is a term that Zhang Xing is not unfamiliar with. Similarly, there are martial arts cultivation and spiritual cultivation...not to mention the latter two. Among them, Wen Xiu refers to the war between the previous emperor and his successor after the Eastern Expedition, and the Tang Emperor

The victory created a core dynasty that occupied 70% to 80% of the world and lasted for hundreds of years. With the long-term peace and the huge social hierarchy, the gap between the rich and the poor widened, causing practitioners to become more and more concentrated in the middle and upper classes... They

He began to pay attention to the so-called family education, pay attention to the sense of ritual in various spiritual practices, and pursue the unity of cultural etiquette and spiritual practice.

Even on the battlefield, a remote command and a non-bloody cultural attitude are important.

Of course, you can imagine the outcome with your eyes closed. In the end, there was turmoil on the border, people moved south, the Tang Dynasty turned into the Southern Tang Dynasty, and then the north was in chaos for hundreds of years. It was basically a routine of the so-called martial cultivators fighting the Han and using reality to defeat the literary cultivators.

This is also an important reason why Zhang Xing has always felt that this world is particularly direct and cruel. In the previous few hundred years, it was a process in which etiquette, law and morality were destroyed, and the victors did not even know how to rebuild.

But on the other hand, cultural inheritance itself is vital, and history is a reactionary reaction. People gradually become disgusted with those naked predatory gestures and demand morality and dignity... And many high-ranking families are still adhering to the so-called

Some of Wenxiu’s routines.

"Did Mr. Wei go that day?" Zhang Xing pondered for a moment, walked a few steps forward, came to the threshold of the inner courtyard of the manor, and then stopped again to ask.

"Yang Shen? Or the Cui family?" Wei Xuanding sneered, with the utmost simplicity. "I am a poor person, how can I be qualified to enter? So I didn't go that day, and I came to see you today."

"Then are you a literary or martial arts cultivator?" Zhang Xing continued to ask out of curiosity. "Or are you a spiritual cultivator?"

"Good question." Taoist Wei smiled when he heard this, stepped directly on the threshold, and spread his hands. "I can cultivate whatever is useful!"
To be continued...