"No, no, no! How can I collect your things?" Luo Sanmu repeatedly emphasized, "A few wild pears are not worth much."
But Meng Changqing had already handed the bag to him.
Luo Sanmu could only reach out and take it. As soon as he touched the bag, Luo Sanmu knew that it was grain. Judging from the protrusion on the side of the bag, it might be white rice.
"It's just a few liters of white rice. It's not something expensive. Let's take it back and give it to the children."
"This..." Luo Sanmu hugged the bag in his hand, his cheeks and ears turned red, "How can this be so embarrassing? White rice is very valuable."
"Thank you for thinking about the Yamen. I appreciate your kindness with a few liters of white rice. I hope you don't dislike it."
"How dare you despise such a good thing." Luo Sanmu said these two sentences back and forth.
"There's something else I want to tell you."
"You said."
"When you came from Yangmen County, did you see two high mountains?"
"Yes, I saw two mountains."
"There are bandits in those two mountains. I was robbed by them not long after I came to Beishan County at the beginning of the year. Although they did not succeed in their purpose, they have privately made weapons. If you ordinary people go against them, I am afraid that you will be killed. Not that easy to talk about.
The yamen has not yet figured out the situation on the mountain, so if you are traveling to and from Yangmen County, I will basically ask people from the yamen to escort you, for fear that you will have an accident on the way. ”
This era was not peaceful. Although the common people were timid, they were not surprised when they heard words like robbery and robber.
After Luo Sanmu heard this, he thanked Meng Changqing directly, "You are really kind to our people."
Meng Changqing waved his hand and continued, "You have also seen that the two high mountains are connected to the mountains on the east and west sides. If not, the bandits will follow the mountain roads to the mountains on both sides. You must pay attention to safety when you go to chop firewood. You cannot go into the mountains, and those who enter the mountains must not be left alone.
I understand that you want to store firewood, but before you go down, you must come to the Yamen and let me know. I will send someone to escort you there. If the Yamen's car is idle by then, I can lend it to you, which will save you a lot of running. ”
After Meng Changqing finished speaking, Luo Sanmu knelt down directly, "I have grown up so big, and this is the first time I see such a good official like you."
"Get up, there's no need to say such things. It's getting late. You can go back."
Luo Sanmu kowtowed to Meng Changqing several times before he got up, "I will definitely tell the whole village about your kindness."
After Luo Sanmu left, Meng Changqing called Bafang to ask about the time.
Bafang said: "I have forgotten the time since I was still in Youshi. I will go to the water room to have a look."
"No need." Youshi is between five and seven o'clock in the afternoon, which is not too late. "Go and call Malay Fu from the west group."
"Hey."
Bafang ran away and came back after a while to report, "Master, I'm still having dinner. I asked you to call him."
"Let him in."
Bafang went out and brought in the people waiting outside the door.
"Okay, don't kneel down." Meng Changqing said, "I asked you to come because I have something to say to you."
"Yes, your order."
"Things on the dangerous mountain side. You said before that you wanted to lure people down from the mountain, and you asked me to think about it. Now that I have thought about it, I feel that half of what you said is right, and the other half is wrong. Realistic.”
Malay Fuli bent slightly and looked at Meng Changqing, listening to her carefully. "It's right to let people go down the mountain, but as you said, posting notices at the foot of the mountain is useless even if you don't have to do it." Meng Changqing said, "You have other ways."
Malaifu has it, but he dare not say it.
Meng Changqing called him over just because he knew that he still had something to say that day.
Now Malay Fu is still hesitant, can't he express his thoughts like this?
"I asked you about Ma Lishan before." Meng Changqing said: "You said that he was originally on the mountain, but later he was driven down by the people on the mountain because his hands and feet were unclean.
In this way, he knows the situation on the mountain better than we do. ”
"Yes."
Meng Changqing looked at Ma Laifu, "I have said this, can you please say it?"
Ma Laifu felt embarrassed that someone had exposed his thoughts, "As for you, I have also thought about it privately. Letting these people who came down from the mountain go up the mountain is to persuade, or just to bring them with you, but then I thought , then Ma Lishan is not a trustworthy person. If he goes up the mountain and never comes back, it will not be a good thing for us. "
Meng Changqing nodded, "Tell me, among the two hundred people including you, who else came down from the mountain?"
"I'm not sure." Malaifu said, "If you want to know, you can send someone to ask them directly."
"It doesn't have to be so troublesome. I believe you. Just say it."
"Sir, many of the two hundred people came down from the mountains. There was no Beishan County before, and there was no city wall. If you don't want to die at the hands of the Yan army, you can only ask the people on those two mountains to take you in.
Only when you really can't go up the mountain will you hide in other mountains. ”
Meng Changqing walked on the open space in the house, pacing slowly.
"Those of us who can't go up the mountain, or are driven down the mountain, most of us will not be involved with the mountain." Ma Laifu hurriedly defended himself in case Meng Changqing became suspicious, "Just like me, I follow the rest of the Ma family After I was sent here, because the previous owner had offended the current leader, those people wouldn't let my mother and I go up the mountain at all.
When I was starving and freezing, my mother and I carried it hard, and finally watched my mother die of cold and hunger.
With something like this caught in it, there is no way I would have anything to do with the mountain. ”
"I don't doubt what you said." Meng Changqing said, "Among those two hundred people, I especially trust you, so I am willing to tell you something."
"Thank you for your trust, sir."
"Since you know that the people who were driven down the mountain are just like you and have nothing to do with the mountain, why did you think of Ma Lishan before?"
Ma Laifu was stunned. He didn't expect there to be such a flaw in his words.
He could only say, "I'm not saying bad things about Ma Lishan. I knew him before I came to Beishan County. He is a bit shameless. Even if others kick him, he will still laugh for some benefit." Put it on.
If a person like him goes up the mountain, although the people on the mountain won't trust him much, they won't doubt him much either. ”
Ma Laifu followed up and said: "But for a person like Ma Lishan, there is no guarantee that he will stand on which side. If you use him, I'm afraid there will be a lot of risks."
Meng Changqing nodded, "What if I use you?"
"Me?" Malaifu said, "I can't go up the mountain at all.
Although the Ma family only occupied the mountain on the east side. But the wall on the west side is higher, and the people on it are more arrogant and unreasonable. When they see us outsiders trying to go up the mountain, they just throw stones at us. "(End of Chapter)