The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Ma Ming'er returned to the north end of the alley, called the fifth junior brother and said earnestly: "Old Wu, the situation is urgent right now, and there is a big event that belongs to you, the fifth brother. Fast update"

The fifth junior brother straightened up and said, "Second senior brother is so flattering, he just said it if he had something to say, do you want my younger brother to lead someone to break through the blockade of officers and soldiers?"

Ma Ming'er laughed dryly and said: "That's impossible. The officers and soldiers didn't do anything, so how can we do it? Besides, the reason for the officers and soldiers' visit is unknown, so if you do it rashly, it will ruin Master's affairs. Right now, Master is worshiping Buddha in Daming Temple and dealing with the government. You I can't sit still, so I still have to ask Master to show me."

Fifth Junior Brother frowned and said, "How can I ask Master to show me? You also said that Master is still in Daming Temple, how can you tell him to know? Master is also true. He usually returns after half a day to worship the Buddha, but today he has been doing it for a day and a night. Could it be that he is going to eat vegetarian food?" Do you want to become a monk by reciting Buddha's name?"

Ma Ming'er put on a straight face and said: "Young brother can't talk like that, the master is the elder, we apprentices can't talk about the old man behind his back."

Fifth Junior Brother murmured: "What master, our brothers came here from the northwest with him back then, and we also conquered this country together. Although we worshiped him as our teacher and entered the Dragon and Tiger Gate, we are still brothers when we say that we are masters and apprentices. , he enjoys the blessing all by himself, we brothers stand aside, second senior brother, let me say something, is it reasonable?"

Ma Ming'er patted him on the shoulder and said: "Lao Wu has a lot of temper recently, so it's fine for me to talk about it, but I don't dare to talk about it with others, especially Li Manzi, you can't talk about Feng Ye's tricks. It's not that I don't know; it's not the time to talk about these things right now, brother, I understand your thoughts, but things have to be done step by step, don't they? Under the current situation, Master Feng is indispensable; right now Li Manzi and I are guarding At the entrance of the alleys on both sides, someone needs to go out and inform Master Feng. Brother, I thought about it. In terms of martial arts and wit, you are the fifth. The big shop is entrusted to you to take care of, so your fifth child can be considered to have survived?"

Fifth Junior Brother said: "Both sides are blocked, how can I get out?"

Ma Ming'er said: "It's up to you to find a way, brother, do I have a way to ask your fifth junior brother to come out?"

Fifth Junior Brother thought for a while and said: "I did it, but after you succeed, you have to say a few words in front of the master. You also know that the wine shop at the South Gate is doing a good job. Letting an outsider watch over it made me panic. , if it falls into the hands of my brother, the second senior brother's share will be indispensable."

Ma Ming'er laughed and said, "Then thank you, Fifth, how do you plan to get out?"

Fifth Junior Brother said: "Look at me."

The Fifth Junior Brother went into the inner room and came out after wandering around. He had changed into a new set of outfits. He was originally neat and clean, but now he had replaced it with a tattered, bloated cotton robe, and his hair was messed up. , stood in front of Ma Minger and said, "Look, brother, does it look like that beggar in the daytime?"

Ma Ming'er covered her mouth and said with a smile: "It's really yours, where did you get the robe? It's really fucking like that."

The fifth junior brother said: "What is it like that? Isn't this what we used to do? Second senior brother, don't you remember the time when we went to the city to buy goods, and we all sneaked into the city in tattered clothes? The officers and soldiers are so fucking stupid, they hide faster than anyone else when they see beggars, that time we robbed three big families, and the head of the family almost died of joy."

Ma Ming'er laughed and said, "Yes, yes, there was a time when Lao Wu was going to pretend to be a beggar and get out? His face didn't look like it, it was cleaner."

The fifth junior brother said: "That's not easy." He reached out and grabbed a handful of putty on the ground and wiped it on his face, his face was immediately covered with dirt, even his beard was a mess of black dust, he looked like an old beggar at first glance .

Ma Ming'er raised his big finger and said, "This time it's absolutely true, my brother wishes you great success."

The Fifth Junior Brother laughed and said, "Look good." He turned around and walked out of the house, walking slowly towards the entrance of the alley along the shadow under the eaves.

Ma Ming'er beckoned and led the people to look around in the distance, secretly praying that the fifth brother would get out smoothly, but the fifth junior brother pretended to be like that, with his head bowed and his sleeves coughing continuously, he came slowly In the bright place illuminated by the fire at the entrance of the alley, a figure from behind was dragged by the light of the fire and danced non-stop.

Suddenly, Ma Ming'er who was behind felt a little uneasy. The officers and soldiers on the opposite side neither asked nor reprimanded loudly. A group of black shadows sitting on the horses just quietly watched the fifth junior brother dragging his feet step by step towards the entrance of the alley. .

The rattles of the fire were rattling, but they couldn't cover up the whistling sound of the arrows. Fifth Junior Brother Minrui felt something was wrong, so he scrambled to the ground, but it was too late, the feather arrows brought strong wind It was inserted straight into his chest, and the exposed arrow feathers trembled, making a muffled buzzing sound.

The fifth junior brother looked at the feathered arrow that had sunk into his chest in disbelief, and uttered a terrified cry. He reached out to pull out the arrow, but he was unable to do so. He slowly sat down on the ground, looking at the blood bubbling on his chest. Panting, he said, "Damn it, I... I'm a beggar... I'm a commoner... Damn it... dog officers and soldiers... You... even kill beggars..."

Before the words were finished, the body fell to the ground, and the body quickly became cold.

Ma Ming'er's liver and gallbladder burst violently, what kind of officers and soldiers are these?Shooting without saying a word, without even asking a word, it seems that this time it is for real, the officers and soldiers moved their hands, which means that tonight will definitely not be good, the only reason why they did not charge in That is, they have too few people, and they can't take advantage of it when they come in. They are waiting for the support of other officers and soldiers.

Why are there only so few soldiers and horses here?Why are the other officers and soldiers missing?Ma Ming'er was thinking rapidly, her mind that had not been used for a long time was now a blur, and she always felt that everything went well and logically with Master Feng on weekdays, but when Master Feng was away, she immediately became at a loss, Master Feng, Master Feng, you fucking Where is it?

Ma Ming'er's mind suddenly flashed, goose bumps all over his body, where did the other officers and soldiers go?Is there even a need to ask?Since the officers and soldiers dared to block the alley, didn't that mean they didn't care about Mr. Feng at all?Their brigade must have gone to Daming Temple to search for Master Feng. When they catch Master Feng, they will turn around and target everyone in this alley. Judging from their methods, once they attack, they will be merciless. This is about to bloodbath three miles north of the mouth.

Ma Minger's heart was thumping as if it was about to jump out of his throat. He firmly believed in his own judgment, just like when he was a bandit before, he believed in his own judgment countless times and escaped from death. His brain became brighter in critical moments.

"Quickly call the third senior brother and tell him that I have something urgent to discuss with him." Ma Ming'er regained his composure, and hurriedly said to a brother beside him.

The disciple immersed in horror hurriedly rushed to the south entrance, and after a while Li Manizi rushed over panting.

"Did the fifth one go?" Li Manzi asked with a straight head.

"He's over there." Ma Ming'er pointed at the lump of cold meat under the firelight.

"Hiss..." Li Manzi gasped.

"Brother, I'm afraid I can't get through this matter today. The officers and soldiers shot and killed the fifth child without even asking a word. Brother Yu is thinking about it, and the master may not be able to control it."

"You mean Master was arrested by them? They don't accept Master's account anymore?"

"Master's ability is hard to catch, but no matter whether Master is caught or escaped, we may have to rely on ourselves tonight."

"This... Brother means..."

"The reason why the officers and soldiers just blocked them from coming in is that my analysis is that there are too few troops, and these are the cavalry who made trouble that day. They are only [-] to [-] if they are full. They are afraid that they will not be able to get anything in the alley, so they want to block Stay with us and wait for the reinforcements from Yangzhou to attack us; those soldiers are probably chasing Lord Feng, and the day they return to reinforce us will be the time when we will die without a burial."

"so……"

"So we can't sit and wait for death. We have to gather our brothers and rush out. As long as we leave this alley, the sky and the earth will become big. After we leave the city, we can find a cottage and squat, and we can still do our old job. The days are still chic and comfortable.”

"However, even if you go out of the alley, there must be soldiers and horses guarding the gate of the city. How can you get out of the city?"

"It's very simple. One person catches two civilians and mixes them with the team, and goes straight to the city gate. I wonder if the officers and soldiers really don't care about the lives of the civilians. If they want to kill us, they will kill twice as many civilians as me. Master Feng said, when It’s fine for officials to gain fame and do bad things secretly, but they will never dare to order them to shoot people, because it has something to do with the black hats on their heads, I think Master Feng is right, so I want to take a gamble.”

"Is there no other way? Brother always thinks it's not appropriate." Li Manzi hesitated.

"Forget it, then you stay here, brother, I'm going to take half of the people out, we live and die according to our fate, I'm not like you, I value my own life preciously, my brother's head is always pinned to the waistband Up."

Li Laizi hurriedly said: "Brother, why did you say that? How can we go our separate ways at this time."

Ma Ming'er stretched out his hand and pulled out the steel knife at his waist and turned his head, "Don't blame my brother for not reminding you, if you stay here and get caught by the officers and soldiers, you'll still be dead. It's not an exaggeration, so don't imagine that you can escape this little life."

Li Laizi slapped his thigh, gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, it's done, I'll go gather my brothers, kill one to make money, kill two to earn one, I want Li Laizi to be caught without a fight, there is no way."