The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 99
In the south of the city, the five granaries and warehouses of the county government were already on fire. The flames lit up half of the night sky, and the column of smoke shot straight into the dark sky.

Song Shen, Pei Jin, and Wen Tai organized the officials of the Jiedu Mansion and the county government servants to rush to fight the fire at the first time, and Wei Hu led hundreds of tooth soldiers to rush there. Unfortunately, the fire was too large to be extinguished.

"Quick! Quick!~"

Shi Kuangwei personally went into battle shirtless, carrying a bucket on his shoulder and walking as fast as he could. He poured ladles of water into the burning warehouse and shoveled up the sand and soil.

The warehouse is like a furnace. The temperature is so high that it can melt people. If you get closer, you can feel waves of heat.

With a bang, the beams of a two-foot-high granary were burned, and the roof collapsed. Soon, the entire granary fell to one side, and the people fighting the fire screamed and fled.

A few old government servants who were a little slow on their feet were leading the buckets. Before they could escape, they were hit by collapsed beams and rammed earth and fell to the ground. The buckets were overturned and their figures disappeared under the fire scene in an instant. The screams only lasted for a moment before they were killed. Swallowed in the roaring fire.

When Zhu Xiu arrived, the scene fell into chaos.

Looking at the scene of blazing flames in front of him, Zhu Xiu opened his eyes wide and his face was gray. The firelight reflected on his face, making him look particularly pale and weak.

"It's over! It's over~~"

Pei Jin fell to the ground, and the basin in his hand knocked over and splashed on his robe, but he seemed to be unconscious, his mouth trembled, and he cried loudly.

Pei Jin was woken up from his sleep. In the dream, Zhu Xiu was urging him to check and settle accounts with a small leather whip in his hand.
When he heard that there was a fire in the county warehouse, Pei Jin's first reaction was to joke.

How is it possible? Fire prevention is the top priority in this important area of ​​grain cultivation. He inspects the warehouses every day and inspects several ponds specially dug for fire prevention. He also calls the warehouse officials from time to time to give personal instructions.

It was the first time since Pei Jin took office that he was so focused on his duties.

There was no way, because his supervisor was Zhu Xiu, a guy with the title of Secretary-General, who should be ranked behind him in terms of position, but now he was in charge of the political affairs of Changyi Town.

But who would have thought that when he opened the window and took a look, from the Jiedu Mansion, he could see the blazing warehouse from a distance.

Pei Jin's legs and feet immediately collapsed to the ground.

Pei Jin's tearful eyes reflected the dancing fire. He had openly broken with the Xue family, and now he had messed up the important work assigned to him by the Jiedu Mansion. Pei Jin could almost foresee that his official career would come to an end. .

No matter who takes charge of the Changyi Army next, I'm afraid his life will not be easy.

Zhu Xiu no longer cared about questioning Pei Jin. He rushed to Shi Kuangwei and grabbed his arm tightly, trying desperately to stop him from running towards a tilted granary.

"Old Shi, calm down!"

"Daddy~"

Zhu Xiu and Shi Lingyan held him back, only to hear a loud noise, and the granary not far ahead collapsed.

This time everyone learned the lesson and saw that the situation was not right and did not dare to get closer. No casualties occurred.

Just a few hundred stones of grain in the warehouse were burned to ashes.

Shi Kuangwei's face was tense and dark, his whole body couldn't stop trembling, and the bucket he was holding fell to the ground with a bang.

Zhu Xiu sighed and said softly to Shi Lingyan: "Keep an eye on him."

Shi Lingyan nodded obediently and held Lao Shi's arm tightly, his eyes full of worry.

Zhu Xiu ran to Pei Jin and pushed him a few times. Pei Jin had no reaction and muttered: "It's over. It's over."

"Drag him over!" Zhu Xiu was annoyed and helpless, beckoning Yan Ping to come over and drag him away.

Among the noisy crowd, Zhu Xiu found Song Shen.

Song Shen's face was ashamed, his body was blackened by the thick smoke, he was drinking water from a ladle, coughing violently from time to time.

"Are you okay?" Zhu Xiu looked at him worriedly.

Song Shen waved his hand and smiled bitterly: "More than 2000 stones of grain have been burned. Now there will be a big mess!"

"There are two hundred tooth soldiers guarding this place. How could a fire break out for no reason? The smell of smoke is pungent, and water cannot be put out. I'm afraid the warehouse is doused with kerosene. What's going on?" Zhu Xiu asked hurriedly. road.

Wen Tai, whose head and face were covered with black ash, covered his mouth and nose with a piece of wet cotton cloth and walked over shakily: "Master Zhu, I don't know that most of the two hundred tooth soldiers escaped after the fire~~"

"What?!" Zhu Xiu was shocked, "You mean this fire was started by the tooth soldiers guarding here?"

Song Shen smiled bitterly: "Judging from the current situation, it should be good. A lot of kerosene was poured into the warehouse. Obviously it cannot be done in a day or two. If it was done by outsiders, it is impossible not to discover it."

Zhu Xiu was stunned. At first, he thought someone had stormed the warehouse or sent someone to sneak in and set fire to it. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be the result of civil strife among the Ya soldiers.

It is difficult to guard against domestic thieves day and night. Zhu Xiu has been thinking about how to prevent the Xue family from sending people to cause trouble. Unexpectedly, the trouble still broke out, but it started from within.

Wen Tai shook his head and sighed: "Alas~~The Xue family's infiltration into the Yajun is more serious than we imagined!~"

Wei Hu came over, looking tired, and his clothes still had traces of being burned by fire.

"There were a total of 27 casualties among the Ya soldiers and county government officials. All five granaries collapsed. The amount of food snatched from the fire scene was less than ten stones." Wei Hu's voice was a little hoarse.

Everyone fell into silence. Everyone knew that more than 2000 stones of military rations were burned, which meant that the Ya army would have no food to eat in the next two months!

A heavy sense of crisis weighs on everyone's heart.

Shi Kuangwei was stunned for a while, and gradually calmed down. He was no longer rushing towards the fire with a bucket of water as he had done before.

He stood up, with a black face and a stern face, comforted Shi Lingyan with a few words, and strode to the front of the crowd.

Everyone bowed, but no one spoke.

"Okay, stop crying all over the place, I'm not dead yet!"

Shi Kuangwei shouted in a deep voice. Zhu Xiu glanced at him and found that his clenched fists were trembling slightly.

"Wei Hu and Pei Jin stayed behind to count the casualties and extinguish the embers to prevent the fire from rekindling! Magistrate Wen immediately issued a notice to calm the people, and Zhu Xiu followed me back to the mansion to discuss matters! All officials and subordinates should perform their duties without any mistakes!" Shi Converse ordered one after another.

Everyone looked at each other and bowed their hands.

Shi Kuangwei lowered his voice: "Magistrate Wen County quickly sent someone back to inform his family members to move into Yacheng!"

Wen Tai was startled: "Commander Jie is worried about changes in the city?"

Shi Kuangwei nodded slightly, his voice full of fatigue: "Just in case, it's better to be careful."

Wen Tai sighed: "Thank you, Commander-in-Chief, I will send someone back to deliver the message."

Shi Kuangwei said nothing more, and called Wei Hu to whisper a few words, then grabbed Zhu Xiu and Shi Lingyan and rushed back to Jiedu Mansion.At dawn, the fire was finally extinguished.

Rammed earth walls collapsed everywhere, beams emitting black smoke after being burned, and black ash scattered on the ground after grains were burned.
Pei Jin listlessly directed the civilians to put out the open fire. The scene of ruins in front of him was like his bleak official career in the future. The more he thought about it, the more sad he felt.
Wei Hu stood on a high slope, straddled his sword, and stared blankly at the mess below.

Two big men in military robes hurried over. They were his right-hand men and two most trusted commanders, Chu Xing and Pang Guangsheng.

"General, the fire is almost out." Chu Xing wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Pang Guangsheng's face was also gray and gray. He had been busy for most of the night and was so smokey that it was uncomfortable.

Wei Hu nodded slightly and spoke in a slightly lower voice: "Have you ever been able to find out who is from that capital who set the fire?"

Pang Guangsheng said with a bitter smile: "Vice-general Zhu assigned 100 people each from the first and second capitals of the Ya Army to garrison in the warehouse. Among the people who ran away last night, there were quite a few from both capitals, including Wei Erdi, the head of the first capital. In it.”

Wei Hu stared at Chu Xing: "Kai Erdi is from Qinzhou, and you are from the same hometown."

Chu Xing's eyes widened, he knelt down and shouted loudly: "General Mingjian, I really didn't know that Wei Erdi dared to set fire to the food!"

Wei Hu's eyes were like daggers, which seemed to be able to cut into Chu Xing's chest. He said in a low voice: "You have taken a lot of the money the Xue family has invested in Yajun over the years, right?"

Chu Xing was shocked and gritted his teeth and said: "I dare not hide it from the general. Beizhi did take the Xue family's money! But this time the Xue family secretly instructed Wei Erdi to set fire to the grain. Beizhi really didn't know about it beforehand!"

Pang Guangsheng hesitated for a moment, clasped his fists and whispered: "General, Chu Xing is telling the truth, and my humble position can prove it."

Wei Hu's eyes softened slightly: "Get up."

Chu Xing thanked him hurriedly, stood up, and cast a grateful look at Pang Guangsheng.

Seeing that Wei Hu was silent with a sullen face, Chu Xing said cautiously: "General, more than 2000 shi of the army's rations have been burned, and there is a shortage of food in the army. What should we do in the future? I heard that there are only more than 500 shi left in the Yajun camp. food"

Chu Xingsheng's sharp mouth and monkey cheeks looked cunning, and judging from his tone, it seemed that there was something in his words.

"Tell me what you mean." Wei Hu said calmly.

Chu Xing chuckled and said in a low voice: "The general has been frowning since he came back from Longshan Pass. He is daring because of his humble position, but he understands the general's intentions."

There was a strange light in Wei Hu's eyes, and he seemed to be smiling but not smiling: "Oh? You should tell me."

Chu Xing became more energetic and said: "The general's worries are still on Vice Envoy Zhu's body."

Chu Xing paused for a moment, then looked at Wei Hu's face and saw that his expression was indifferent. He swallowed his saliva and continued: "General, as the tooth commander of the Zhangyi Army, Shi Jie Commander has only one son, Shi Xiangwen, under his command, but Shi Xiangwen is born stupid. It is absolutely impossible for the commander-in-chief to pass to him in the future. In this way, the general, as the right-hand man of Commander Shi Jie, has fought for Changyi Town for many years, so it is logical to take over the commander-in-chief~~"

Wei Hu's expression was calm, without any fluctuations.

Pang Guangsheng opened his mouth to remind Chu Xing not to say too much, so as not to violate taboos. Unfortunately, Chu Xing said it in a hurry, and seeing that Wei Hu didn't show any displeasure, he said again before Pang Guangsheng could speak:

"But Deputy Envoy Zhu suddenly appeared, and Commander Jie trusts him even more than you, the general! I heard that Commander Jie intends to give Lady Lingyan to him! In this way, his son-in-law will take over the throne in the future. The position of commander of the rebel army is not impossible."

Chu Xing was amazed and his smile was very playful.

Wei Hu said indifferently: "I don't have any foundation in the imperial court. Whoever will take over the Zhangyi Army in the future will naturally be decided by the handsome man."

Chu Xing said: "The general is a local military general. First, he has no family background, and second, he has no support from dignitaries. If he is not recommended by Marshal Shi, it will be difficult for him to take over the position of Commander-in-Chief in the future."

Wei Hu smiled strangely and said, "Do you mean to persuade me to join the Xue family?"

Chu Xing laughed twice and said hurriedly: "Joining the Xue family is a way out! Now that Shi Jieshuai has offended the Li family of the condemned army outside, and lacks food and grass inside, how can he maintain his troops? When the news spread, the Ya soldiers were panicked and mutinied. Only in the blink of an eye! The tooth soldiers cannot follow him hungry. Shi Jieshuai can appease him for a while, but how can he appease him for the rest of his life?"

Pang Guangsheng couldn't help but said: "It's not necessarily a good outcome if you join the Xue family!"

Chu Xing smiled and said: "So I thought of a second way out for the general."

"Say." Wei Hu was as calm as a black tower.

Chu Xing looked around, leaned closer and whispered: "Find a chance to get rid of Zhu Xiu!"

Chu Xing made a gesture of wiping his neck, his face full of sternness.

Wei Hu's eyes darkened and he remained silent.

Pang Guangsheng said in shock, "How can this be done?"

Chu Xing sneered and said: "Why not? As long as Zhu Xiu dies, Shi Jieshuai will continue to rely heavily on the general! When the time comes to help the commander-in-chief destroy the Xue family, the general's position in the Zhangyi Army will still be unshakable! Even if he is unable to fight against the Xue family in the end, As long as the general is willing to donate Anding County, I believe the Xue family will not make things difficult for the general. In short, no matter how you say it, getting rid of Zhu Xiu will be beneficial to the general without any disadvantages!"

Pang Guangsheng swallowed: "You are crazy!"

Chu Xing glanced at him contemptuously: "What do you know! Chaos is everywhere, which is an opportunity to make profits! If we don't think about it now, whether Shi Jieshuai and Zhu Xiu win or the Xue family successfully usurps power in the future, The general won’t get any benefit!”

Wei Hu smiled, but his eyes were sparkling.

"I leave this matter to you, can you handle it?" Wei Hu said with a smile.

"General!" Pang Guangsheng was shocked.

Chu Xing immediately clasped his fists and shouted: "I am willing to share the worries of the general! Zhu Xiu is just a scholar and a naughty boy. If he doesn't leave for three days, he will beheaded for his humble position!"

Wei Hu nodded and said calmly: "Be prepared carefully and don't leak the news."

"Don't worry, General!"

Wei Hu didn't say anything, turned and left.

Pang Guangsheng said worriedly: "Are you crazy? How could you think of killing Deputy Ambassador Zhu?"

Chu Xing sneered and patted him on the shoulder: "Brother, you are really stupid! Do you think I want to take action? Wrong, our general has already had this intention in his heart, I just said it for him!"

Pang Guangsheng was startled: "You are crazy! The more you talk, the more outrageous it becomes!"

Chu Xing proudly said: "Believe it or not, the general's thoughts come from the fact that he knows that Zhu Xiu will be the commander of the vice capital! I can see it, but you can't!"

Chu Xing walked away with a smile, leaving Pang Guangsheng alone on the high slope.

Pang Guangsheng looked at his back, then looked at the ruins of the warehouse below, shook his head and muttered: "I would rather be a fool. How can you and I get involved in this kind of thing?"

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(End of this chapter)