Zhang Fei met Guan Lin early in the morning, and after handing his daughter over to the brat, he hurried to the outskirts of the west city.

According to Kong Ming's instructions, he still wanted to pay a visit to the military advisor's "father-in-law."

After all, he came to Jingzhou with two tasks.

First, investigate the true identity of Hong Qigong.

Second, find a good doctor and treat the patients with Dharma, Dharma, filial piety and uprightness!

Can…

What surprised Zhang Fei a little.

As soon as I left the west city gate, I saw... many villages on the outskirts of the city were holding funerals, and the sound of crying and howling could not be heard.

Of course, it is not strange to have a funeral.

It's almost October.

In ancient times, October was a very dangerous season for the elderly. It was easy for them to freeze to death or die of illness because of their thin clothing.

Even in the Han Dynasty, if the results of the summer harvest and autumn harvest were not ideal, then for an ordinary family, if an elderly member of the family died of illness in winter, it was very likely that they would have no money to pay for the funeral.

And because of the Little Ice Age, the cold came earlier and got colder, so... before October came, some poor old people had already been sent away.

Zhang Fei couldn't help but move over to take a look.

Poor...

I just feel that these farmers are so poor.

How can we survive a whole winter wearing only thin clothes?

But even if you are poor...

Even if you are wearing thin clothing.

But in the coffins, the deceased were still wearing thick and gorgeous clothes.

The body has also been cleaned, and things have been placed in the mouth and hands. From this, it can be seen that the Han Dynasty "ruled the world with filial piety".

According to custom, male dead can be buried on these days: Zi, Mao, Si, You, and Xu;

Noon, Wei, Shen, Chou, Hai and Chen are the days for burying female dead.

The location is often chosen at a high place in the hometown or next to a mountain.

Looking at this scene, Zhang Fei felt a sigh of relief.

Rather…

As he walked further west, he found that there were almost no funerals here.

In this village... going from house to house, some are making dried meat, some are using the koji made in July to make wine, and some are pickling vegetables. You can even see people wearing big coats, looking busy and wealthy. scene.

Zhang Fei thought, this is only two miles apart, is the gap so big?

Zhang Fei couldn't help but asked an old man.

"Old man? What's going on? The people over there are so poor and their clothes are as thin as fly wings, but here, everyone is rich and wearing thick coats, but they are still making bacon?"

The villagers were simple and honest, so they blurted out after hearing Zhang Fei's words.

The old man replied, "To tell you the truth, a few months ago, our village was the same as the village next door, but now it's different... Mr. Huang's 'Mianshui Villa', for some reason, suddenly had an influx of people. Two thousand people...so many people have to eat and live...so our village has to make a living! Our village...is being fed? Mr. Huang is so generous that he has never cut us off, and every household has done so. There will be enough food left."

The old man said this...

A middle-aged man carrying half a pig on his back happened to pass by and couldn't help but add: "That's not all. I heard that Mianshui Villa is also full of homeless people and beggars... Mr. Huang is so kind and righteous that he can't just feed him." In our village, there are between 1,000 and 2,000 refugees and beggars supported by him. Isn’t this... Recently, Mr. Huang has been recruiting people from all walks of life! From the next village, those who are strong and poor have come over one after another. !”

Hearing this, Zhang Fei rolled his eyes, "Then why don't you go?"

The middle-aged man waved his hand, "Not just anyone can go. Mr. Huang is very strict about checking. Either three generations of ancestors are in our area, or they escaped from the turmoil in the Central Plains. There is a member of the mortal clan who is here."

Soochow, those who are officials in the north, or those who have committed crimes... all are not accepted?"

"How did he know that someone in your family was in the north or serving as an official in the east? How did he know that some of you were committing crimes?"

Zhang Fei blinked his eyes repeatedly, he was too curious.

"Hey..." this time it was the old man who explained, "They are all from eight villages within ten miles. Who doesn't know who? If there really is someone who doesn't know anyone, then how can Mr. Huang be willing to use it?"

--Hey!

Zhang Fei's eyes were fixed, and he murmured in his heart, this "Mianshui" villa is a bit interesting.

etc…

After a long mental process, Zhang Fei came back to his senses.

——"Refugee, beggar?"

——"Then Hong Qigong, didn't he establish a beggar's gang? Beggars' gang...beggars' gang? Could it be that they are just a group of beggars gathering together?"

With this in mind, Zhang Fei immediately asked.

"Then do you know who Hong Qigong is?"

The old man and the middle-aged man looked at each other and immediately shook their heads.

However, the middle-aged man reminded, "Hong Qigong is very powerful. With a little trick, he can defeat Soochow and Jiangling City... Everyone mentioned it and said that Hong Qigong is like a dragon that sees its head but never its tail.

How can we know who... Hong Qigong is? But..."

Zhang Fei was about to sigh, but a sudden "but" cheered him up again.

He quickly took out a large bag of money from his arms and gave each of the two people in front of him a handful, "I won't let you talk in vain, tell me everything you know!"

this…

The old man and the middle-aged man looked at each other. The old man put away his money and said truthfully: "Actually, there is nothing we can't talk about. Everyone in the village is talking about it."

"What are you talking about?" Zhang Fei was so anxious. Damn it, old man, can you please stop beating around the bush?

The old man said slowly: "Hong Qigong, although we don't know who it is, but... the 'Huang Laoxie' who is always mentioned in the market recently... we guess..."

The old man maintained his slowness as always, but it was the middle-aged man who was the first to say: "The villagers guessed that 'Huang Laoxie' is Mr. Huang from the 'Mianshui' Villa... Think about it, his surname is Huang, now

...Recruiting so many people again, and the legendary artifacts and weapons? Besides Mr. Huang who has this ability, who else can do it?"

hehe…

Zhang Fei was delighted. Regarding the identity of "Huang Laoxie", he had originally thought this way.

However, there is no direct evidence.

But now...

Zhang Fei's eyes must be bright.

It's not bad. I didn't find Hong Qigong, but I found Huang Laoxie, which can be regarded as an unexpected surprise!

Thoughts on this…

Suddenly the door of Mianshui Villa opened.

Zhang Fei noticed that at the gate, an old man, wearing leather clothes, riding a donkey, with a wine gourd hanging on his waist, was walking leisurely outside the villa. He shook the wine gourd from time to time, as if he was talking.

He was so greedy that he came out to beg for drinks from the villagers.

As he walked, he was still chanting a little poem.

——"The north wind was cold one night, and thousands of miles of thick clouds were thin; the wind in the sky was fluttering, and all the old mountains and rivers were changed."

——"Looking up at Taixu, I suspect it's a jade dragon fighting; the unicorn is about to fly, and it will fly across the universe one day. I ride on a donkey to beg for wine, and sigh alone for the thin plum blossoms."

This poem seems to be predicting...

Heavy snow is coming.

Hearing this, Zhang Fei could not remain calm. He stretched out his arms and crossed his legs and ran towards Huang Chengyan, like a fifty-year-old child, shouting as he ran.

"Lao Huang, Lao Huang..."

"I finally found it. It turns out you are that Huang Laoxie!"

In Zhang Fei's opinion.

If you can't find Hong Qigong, it doesn't matter... if you find Huang Laoxie, it's enough to explain to Zhuge Kongming.

…

…

But it only took one night, and the weather suddenly became cold.

The air is so dry that it makes people's faces extremely dry and chapped. This is a sign that the "dry season" is coming.

After bidding farewell to Yang Yi, Guan Yu did not return directly to Jiangling City. Instead, he rushed to the camp where the Guan army was stationed to handle some military affairs.

Ma Liang also came over to advise Guan Yu.

Guan Ping is the general of Yamen, and he is waiting for orders under Guan Yu's tent.

Guan Xing, Guan Yinping, and Guan Suo, as village commanders, should not be here.

But because of their special status, seats are reserved for them in the big tent.

"In Changsha County, when an armed fight was discovered and the ordnance was seized, Prefect Liao Li made an immediate decision, which is a great achievement. But General Liu Pan's thousands of miles to attack is also an indispensable contribution and should be commended!"

At this moment, Ma Liang is reporting.

Just now, what he and Guan Zhenggong were discussing was the large-scale weapon fight with corpses in the Guanshan cave in Changsha County, and the eventual seizure of the weapons by the Changsha County Sheriff.

In the meantime, due to the concern of Guan Yu and Ma Liang, Liu Pan was assigned in advance to rush thousands of miles to alert Changsha County Governor Liao Li.
To be continued...