Chapter 1 The Wind and Clouds

875 AD, at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the vassals and towns were divided for many years, the treacherous ministers were in power, the government was corrupt, and the state affairs were becoming more and more and more.

One day in the cold winter, on the official road of Pu Changyuan, a group of wolf-like yamen with sticks and knives and guns, surrounded more than a dozen cold and trembling private salt dealers, and couldn't help cursing and beating them. The leading mouse is Xiang Jing, a lieutenant of Changyuan County, and the black-faced mustache next to him is his deputy Ji Zhong.

For many years, Xiang Jing relied on the protection and indulgence of the county magistrate Wang Geng, and has always been rampant in the countryside, doing all kinds of evil. A few days ago, Wang Geng received a warrant from Governor Xie Ang to arrest all the private salt dealers in his jurisdiction within a month. For a while, Changyuan private salt dealers did not dare to go back and hid everywhere.

Here is a brief explanation that at that time, there was a severe drought in Kanto, locusts were raging, and the people were suffering and starving everywhere. Officials forcibly levy taxes, force corvée, and monopolize the sale of salt, causing the people to have no food and clothing and no way out. And Tang Xizong Li Yan, who had just ascended the throne, regarded national politics as a child's joke, put aside regular officials such as the prime minister, and played games with the eunuch maids in the harem all day long.

As long as these people can make him happy, Li Yong is absolutely stingy to reward him. If he has no money, he will take it from the treasury and be more generous than him. Nothing in the court is big or small. Let it be handed over to the eunuch Tian Lingzi. Don't bother him. Xizong has more important things for himself. He is easier to gamble. Instead of playing mahjong and pushing cards, he likes to bet on geese. If he has nothing to do, he will go to bet with his brothers. A goose often bets up to 500,000 yuan. The ancients often used thousands of family wealth to describe a person's wealth, which has always been equivalent to 1,000 yuan. Such a family property is put In Xizong's hand, he can also buy back a few big geese.

In addition, he plays Go and Polo. It is said that he plays Go very well, and no one else can beat him. I guess no one dares to win. He is not only very infatuated with polo, but also highly skilled. He once said to the excellent stone wild boar beside him, "If I should hit the ball, I must be the champion." The stone wild boar replied, "If you meet Yao and Shun as the servants of the ceremonial department, I'm afraid your majesty will inevitably refute it." It means that if you meet a wise man like Yao Shun as the chief servant of the Ministry of Ceremonies, I'm afraid your majesty will be criticized and defeated!" Xizong just smiled when he heard such a clever answer.

"Captain Ji, please let us go. My wife and children are still waiting for us to go back. They haven't eaten for several days. Please don't arrest us in the county government. We will never dare to sell salt again!" An old man with a white beard is ragged and speaks desolately. In the roaring cold wind, he feels more and more trembling.

With the old man's pleading, other hawkers knelt on the ground and begged the servants to let them go. Xiang Jing's face was ferocious and squinted and shouted, "Listen, unruly people, you don't follow the laws of the Tang Dynasty, sell salt without permission, and escape from the seizure. I will never forgive you today!" Let's all know each other and follow us to the county government!" Ji Zhong rode on a horse, his face was depressed, and his heart was surging. He comes from a poor family and has a good experience of the tragic experience of the people.

Now Shangfeng is sent to arrest Changyuan's private salt dealer within a month, which makes it difficult for him. If you do it completely according to Shangfeng's order, the people will suffer great trouble. If you don't follow Shangfeng's order, your county lieutenant deputy will definitely not be able to do it. It is likely that you will go to prison, and the successors will definitely continue to arrest salt dealers.

Just when Ji Zhong was hesitant, Xiang Jing had commanded the servants to catch the salt dealers kneeling on the ground. The sound of crying covered the wild and shocked the sky. Xiang Jing is Wang Gengcai's nephew. He has always been arrogant and arrogant. He usually makes trouble with Ji Zhong. Ji Zhong has no choice but to let him score three points.

When the salt dealers were tied up and bound to go on the road, there was a rapid sound of horseshoes behind them. About seven or eight big men swept over the servists like the wind, and in a blink of an eye, they stopped Xiang Jing and other servists in the middle of the road. As a big man, a red horse in a red robe, holding a Sirius machete, the tiger's eyes are round and majestic. This person is Wang Xianzhi, the owner of the nearby Wangqiangzhuang and the famous salt seller in Changyuan.

Wang Xianzhi is born with great strength. She always likes to use guns and sticks to make friends with the world's heroes. It is his principle of life to fight against iniquity. Due to social unrest, people are poor, and people who are frozen and hungry often occur. He automatically gathered the villagers, built a house to protect himself, and resisted donations and refused taxes. The government had no choice but to treat him. He always regarded Wang Wallzhuang as a thorn in his side and a meat, and he would want to get rid of it quickly. Because he was engaged in salt trafficking and adopted an armed operation, many private salt dealers automatically elected him as the head of the salt dealer.

Just now, Xiang Jing and others forcibly escorted this group of salt sellers to the county government. A Zhuang Ke reported the news to him in time. Xianzhi didn't say anything. She took a jujube red horse under the old locust tree and brought several Zhuang customers to chase them up, which led to the scene just now.

"Well, Xiang Jing, how dare you catch my people and let them go!" Xianzhi's anger was like thunder, which scared the officials and stopped one after another. Xiang Jing blocked his neck: "Wang Xianzhi, you have repeatedly fought against the government. Master Wang is hindered by the villagers in the countryside and tolerated you for many times. Today, I was ordered by Master Wang to come to capture these unruly people. This matter has nothing to do with you. Don't mind your own business.

"Xiang Jing, let me say it again, you still don't let it go!" Wang Xianzhi picked up the reins and put the Sirius machete in her hand with a frosty face. Xiang Jing didn't know where the evil spirit came from at this time. He really ate the courage of the bear heart and leopard, choked out the knife from the sheath, and shouted hoarsely, "Wang Xianzhi, the county lieutenant is ordered to act. If you hinder me from carrying out your official's official duties again, don't blame me for being ruthless this time!"

When a pot of water always boils, people are emotional animals. In a society where they can't cover their bodies and eat, Wang Xianzhi's peasant salt sellers and vassals representing decadent feudal forces are a pair of natural contradictions, and their conflicts are inevitable. Today, Xiang Jing vowed not to let go of the arrested salt sellers, and Wang Xianzhi tried to keep the salt sellers safe and out of danger. When they went to the county office, the fate of these captured salt sellers was miserable. They were either killed or punished for hard labor.

As soon as the two spoke, it can be said that they raised their knives almost at the same time. As soon as the two horses pedaled, they killed them together. Wang Xianzhi can be said to be full of energy and went straight to the top of Xiang Jing's head. As a county magistrate, Xiang Jing was not a fuel-saving lamp. His head shranked back, and the horse's reins was faster than the monkey. Avoiding Xianzhi's deadly knife, he made a move "shock Kyushu". The knife drew a long arc in the air and flashed cold light to Xianzhi's chest and abdomen. Xianzhi's good kung fu unexpectedly hit it out with the back of the Sirius machete knife when the tip of Xiang Jing was only about half an inch away from him. Xiang Jing immediately felt it. At the mouth of the tiger, a blood mark oozes out. He shouted, "No good! Brothers, withdraw!"

When the officials saw Xiang Jing's defeat, not Wang Xianzhi's opponent, they all left the salt seller and fled to the government office in Changyuan County. Xianzhi laughed: "These turtle grandchildren are usually vicious to the people, and they are afraid when they meet the true gods. Hahahaha, they are happy, so happy!" The guests quickly came forward to untie the rope tied to the salt seller, and the salt seller knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Xianzhi: "Thank you, Lord Wang for saving our lives!" I cried while thanking him.

"Don't be a sissy. I can't see tears in my life. Get up, brothers, come to my village with me for a glass of thin wine to protect yourself from the cold and suppress the shock." Xianzhi waved her hand, and the villagers picked up the poor salt sellers and went straight to Wangqiangzhuang. At the time of a bag of cigarettes, they arrived at the front of the Zhuangmen. The salt sellers saw that the courtyard wall outside was quite unique. It was a large wall and a small wall, and the long wall surrounded the short wall, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

When it comes to the history of building Changyuan, it can be long. During the Warring States Period, Weizhi Kuangyi and Puyi were annexed by the State of Wei and placed in Shouyuanyi. At that time, there was a long wall, or fence. This wall is either used for waterproofing or for military defense. At this time, it has the name of "Changyuan". The siege of Wei and the rescue of Zhao took place here, which is known as the Battle of Guiling. In 221 BC, Qin merged with the world, set up a county and changed the first city to Changyuan County.

When everyone entered the Zhuangmen, Wang Xianzhi arranged for the guests to let the salt sellers eat something and had a family meeting with each other. Everyone admired Xianzhi's chivalrous actions. The winter day was short, and the night came quickly. Xianzhi thought for a while and said to the salt sellers, "Brothers, you have suffered today. It's dozens of miles back to your hometown. Let's rest here tonight and rush home early tomorrow morning."

The salt sellers thanked themselves: "Thank you for your kindness." At this moment, a man as strong as a cow came to Xianzhi like a whirlwind and said with a panicked look, "Brother Xianzhi, it's not a big deal! Xiang Jing returned to the county government office and told Wang Geng that you privately helped the salt seller, openly disobeyed the order, and should be severely punished! Wang Geng just got angry this time. He has concentrated at least five or six hundred elite officers and soldiers, led by himself and rushed straight to Wang Wallzhuang. The situation is very tight! Brother, please make a quick decision!"

At a glance, Xianzhi saw that it was his brother Yue Lingfei. This man's martial arts skills were quite good, especially a steel gun. He wandered around the world to fight injustice. He had the same temperament with Wang Xianzhi and formed a life-death friendship. When everyone heard this, they panicked. Wang Xianzhi pondered for a moment and resolutely said, "Brothers, the officers and soldiers came here this time, which is different from the past. Because Governor Xie Ang ordered Wang Geng to seize Changyuan salt dealers within a time limit, Wang Yanzhuang has always protected the salt dealers from harm, so Wang Geng hated Wang Ganzhuang. This time it seems that he really wants to compete with us."

Wang Xianzhi took a deep breath and said loudly, "Those who come are not good, and those who are good do not come." Since Wang Geng, a dog official, does not give the people of Wang Wallzhuang a way to live, we can only fight to the death to protect Wang Wallzhuang! Brothers, are you right? Everyone said in unison, "Brother Wang is loyal and courageous, and we are willing to accept Brother Wang's arrangement. Brother, order it!"

Wang Xianzhi looked at everyone's anxious and trusting eyes, and his heart fluctuated. He clenched his fists, raised his thick eyebrows, and was impassioned: "Now that the vassal town has been under occupation for many years, and there are as much harsh miscellaneous taxes as cattle. The people are displaced, hungry and cold, living is not as good as a dog, and dying is not as a pig. It's better to take risks than to sit and wait for death! It's not that Wang Xianzhi wanted to rebel in the Tang Dynasty, but the Tang Dynasty forced Wang Xianzhi to rebel! Brothers, for the sake of Wang Wallzhuang and our survival, we have no choice but to rise up today! There are seeds, kill dog officials with me Wang Xianzhi, open warehouses and release food, and average the world's wealth! I declare that the uprising has begun!"

Everyone's eyes spewed anger, picked up knives, swords and halberds and other weapons, and concentrated in the courtyard. Wang Xianzhi said to Yue Lingfei, "Lingfei, go to Shangjiazhuang in the west quickly, inform Shang Junchang and Shang Rang brothers, take Quanzhuang's strong brothers, pick up the enemy's back, and block Wang Gengcai's retreat. Don't let him run away. Today we are going to take his dog life!"

Shang Junchang and Shang Rang are also the righteous brothers of Wang Xianzhi. The two brothers are skillfully and brave. Wang Wallzhuang and Shangjiazhuang assisted each other and made a life-and-death alliance. Therefore, Wang Xianzhi is full of confidence in this uprising. He wants to put on battle, uphold justice, fight against Wang Gengcai, and do an earth-shaking event!