Zhao Qiong was a little confused when she saw her mother and brother and sister-in-law in such a state, "Mom, you..."
The general's wife ignored him and shouted to her eldest son, "Don't be afraid. If an enemy comes, we will fight him. If a flood comes, we will block it with earth! Inform everyone to kneel and receive the imperial edict!"
Soon, everyone in the mansion arrived at the front yard one by one.
The incense table was set up and everyone knelt down.
The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict was not a harsh person. He did not make fun of it. He unfolded the imperial edict and read it aloud.
The Zhao family listened with trepidation, then breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the emperor has not yet decided to kill them, and the Zhao family just needs to reflect on their mistakes.
Zhao Zhi stood up and took the imperial edict, then stuffed a heavy purse into the eunuch's hand and asked a few questions in a low voice.
The eunuch, paid for his services, revealed a few details. "Someone in the court spread rumors, saying the general was seeking fame and reputation, undermining the dignity of the royal family and the court. The emperor was furious, but fortunately, a few elders persuaded him. The emperor ordered a trip to the border to reprimand the general and ordered your family to reflect on their mistakes. As for the rest... we'll have to investigate before we can say anything more."
Zhao Zhi suppressed his anger, smiled apologetically and sent the eunuch away. When he returned to the yard, he heard his brother complaining.
"Mom, what's going on? What did we do wrong? Why do we have to stay at home and reflect on our mistakes? I even made plans to go hunting with my friends!"
Zhao Zhi couldn't bear it any longer and slapped him hard.
Zhao Qiong was knocked to the ground, his vision went dark, and he didn't know why his elder brother had gone mad, but before he could curse, his elder brother kicked him again.
"I'm going to beat you to death, you useless thing! Not only are you stupid, but you can't even control your mouth! Daddy's not home, so I, your eldest brother, will discipline you! Rather than letting you kill your whole family, I'd rather beat you to death first!"
Chen was terrified and dazed. After a long while, she screamed in a shrill voice, "Someone's been beaten to death! Help! My elder brother has beaten his younger brother to death! Mother, please stop him!"
Jiang thought about her two young children, wondering if they would be implicated by the family. She was already feeling very anxious. After hearing what her sister-in-law said, she could not bear it any longer. She raised her hand, pulled her sister-in-law's hair bun, and slapped her twice!
In the blink of an eye, the four brothers and sisters-in-law started fighting.
No, it should be said that it was Zhao Zhi and his wife who unilaterally beat Zhao Qiong and Chen.
Zhao Qiong rolled on the ground, and Chen screamed as if she had been stabbed. All the servants who saw this were stunned and wondered if there was something wrong with their eyes.
Chen Qiong crawled to his mother in a panic, complaining loudly, "Mom, my eldest brother is going to beat me to death! Mom, please take care of him, Mom, help me!"
The general's wife looked numb and didn't understand why her life had become like this.
The son is useless, the daughter-in-law is a troublemaker, and when will the husband, who is far away at the border, know that the family has been punished? Fortunately, the banknotes and things he prepared have already been sent away...
The sunset in early autumn is beautiful. The orange-red setting sun shines on the golden cornfield, which is particularly eye-catching.
Every household was busy repairing shoulder poles, weaving baskets, and setting up grain storage.
Taijia Village is particularly busy, even the children walk without touching the ground, with the wind blowing.
Recently, the adults have been busy preparing for the autumn harvest and patrolling, so they took over the job of taking care of the horses.
It would be no easy task to herd more than 200 horses. Fortunately, there were the big black horse and the big white horse as the horse kings, plus a sesame ball as the sheepdog.
At this moment, the herding team came back from the foot of the mountain. More than a dozen boys were sitting on horseback, holding their heads high and chests puffed out with such pride that people who didn't know them would think they had just returned from a victorious battle.
Zhuzhu was riding on a big black horse. She was wearing a red dress and was plump and white. Her pigtails were tied with golden bells that rang and swayed, making her look very cheerful.
Tai Yongan came back from going out with He Xiong and others. When he saw them from afar, he hurried forward, jumped onto the big black horse, held his sister in his arms, and turned around to teach his younger brothers a lesson.
"Why let Zhuzhu ride the horse by herself? If she falls, I'll see if grandpa will break your legs!"
Tai Yonglu and Chen Ruiyang were so scared that they shrank their necks. They wanted to explain a few words.
The big dark horse is about to become a spirit, and he listens to Zhuzhu the most, so how could he possibly let Zhuzhu down.
But the eldest brother didn't listen to them at all. He got on his horse and led the way to the village.
Old Man Tai was looking around at the entrance of the village. Seeing his granddaughter and grandson coming back, he picked up his granddaughter and greeted He Xiong.
"Brother He is back!"
The rest of the villagers were sitting at the entrance of the village with their bowls of rice, chatting and eating, while others were still weaving baskets after eating and drinking their fill. There were also soldiers who were about to take turns on patrol and were waiting outside the straw hut, eager to eat.
Hearing this, they also greeted him.
He Xiong looked a little unhappy and nodded casually.
Master Tai San came forward, puffing on his pipe, and asked, "What's going on? Did someone bully you? It's not that serious, who is so bold?"
He Xiong realized that he couldn't hide it anymore, so he said, "No one bullied me, it was the court that bullied the general and the border guards!"
What does this mean!
Everyone looked over in confusion, and one soldier asked, "Captain Qian, is it that the imperial court hasn't distributed military rations again?"
He Xiong waved his hand and replied, "The court has been in arrears with military rations and salaries for three months, and now they need to buy seeds. The general has no money, so he sent someone back to the capital to ask the general's wife to sell her land to raise money.
"The news accidentally leaked out, and some people in the court said that the general was seeking fame and reputation, and was destroying the dignity of the court and the royal family. So they issued an imperial decree to go to the border to reprimand the general!"
"What?!" Everyone's face changed and they were very angry.
"Does the imperial court have any shame? This is simply too much!" A soldier threw down his saber. "We live on the edge of a knife all day long, and for what? Isn't it to protect the peace of Wei and ensure the people live and work in peace and contentment? Those good-for-nothings in the imperial court have been withholding our food and military pay! They are so heartless, worse than pigs and dogs!"
"That's right! How many of our brothers died hungry at the hands of the enemy!" Another soldier's eyes were red as he cursed hoarsely, "We're not afraid of death, but we can't die unjustly like this! Forcing us to fight on an empty stomach, the people in the imperial court must be heartless!"
"Don't bully us like this! Did we dig up their ancestral graves or rape their wives? Why do they keep bullying us like this?"
"Never mind, I'm done with this! You can't bully me like this! Go back and ask the general. At worst, I'll kill him in Kyoto!"
The rest of the soldiers also started to cry out and make a fuss, each of them wishing they could rush to Kyoto to take revenge!
Old Master Tai saw that the situation was not good and quickly shouted in comfort, "Don't worry, brothers, there is a solution to every problem! The court has only reprimanded you and has not really punished you! The general must have some considerations. After all, if we plant corn next year, we won't have to worry about not having enough to eat in the autumn!"
Uncle Tai San also chimed in, "Yeah, isn't it just because of the corn seeds? That's no big deal! You can only guard the border if you have enough food and clothing. Only when the border is stable can we live and work in peace! We have to contribute too. My family's corn is free, no money required!"
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