Chapter 156 The winner is the king, the loser is the bandit Half a month later. Under the escort of the remnants of the Tiger Army, tens of thousands of border residents finally arrived outside Zhongyuan City. Fortunately, the Tiger Army had food and fodder to sustain us during this period, otherwise the number of people who could arrive here would be at least halved. However, because they had only been able to fill their stomachs for a long time and could not eat enough, everyone was already too hungry to bear the consequences. When they arrived outside the city, they collapsed on the ground, exhausted. However, the gates of Zhongyuan City were tightly closed, allowing no one to enter or leave the city. Gu Chan was sitting in the carriage, watching this scene, and immediately got off and ran to the carriage behind to ask Shen Sanfeng, "Godfather, why don't they open the door? Doesn't the magistrate of Zhongyuan City let us in?" "Nonsense! Tens of thousands of refugees need to eat, drink, defecate and urinate when they enter the city. How much food will the county magistrate have to provide to help the refugees? In my opinion, it may not be so easy to enter the city easily this time." Shen Sanfeng sighed as he sat in the carriage. When he was about to arrive at Zhongyuan City, he guessed that this city was not so easy to enter. Sure enough, everything that happened before his eyes was within his expectations.
Xue Lihua, who was leading the group, was extremely angry. She rode her warhorse to the gate and shouted, "The Border Tiger Army has escorted tens of thousands of border civilians to live and work in peace in Zhongyuan City. Please open the gate and let us pass." "Please wait a moment, female general. I have sent someone to inform the county magistrate, and he will be there soon." The city guard answered from the top of the city wall. Xue Lihua was angry, but faced with such a situation, she had no choice but to calm down and wait. About an incense stick of time later, a thin county magistrate with a pointed face and monkey cheeks, wearing a green official uniform, hurried to the top of the city wall. Gu Chan stood at the foot of the city and looked up carefully. She found that the county magistrate of Zhongyuan City was really thin. He looked about meters tall, but seemed to weigh only about 120 pounds. Not only that, there was an evil aura between his eyebrows, and his face was a little sallow. At first glance, he gave people a feeling of overindulgence. This was in sharp contrast to Ding Sheng, the magistrate of Wuheng County. The two men were one fat and one thin, completely two extremes! Shen Sanfeng looked at the top of the city wall and said, "This is Zheng Shixian, the county magistrate of Zhongyuan City. Before he became the county magistrate, he had a nickname called Zheng Monkey." "Godfather, at first glance, this man doesn't seem like he's fit to be a county magistrate! How come he could become a county magistrate?" Gu Chan asked curiously. It was because Zheng Shixian, although only in his thirties, looked quite old, like a man in his forties. Moreover, no matter from his temperament, appearance, or figure, he did not look like an official at all. Anyway, to sum it up in one sentence, he always gives people a careless feeling, which makes people feel that he is not a good person. Shen Sanfeng explained, "The Zheng family is the largest family in Zhongyuan City, and runs many businesses in the entire Zhongyuan area. His father donated this position to him. His father and I are old acquaintances, and we had a good relationship when we were young." "So that's how it is! No wonder." Only then did Gu Chan realize that this was how one got the position. It turns out that no matter what era it is, money makes the world go round! It is indeed quite ironic that a person like Zheng Shixian, who is not suitable to be an official, can become a county magistrate just because his family is rich. While Gu Chan and Shen Sanfeng were chatting. Zheng Shixian, who arrived at the top of the city wall, stared at the refugees crowding below the city with a frown on his face. Xue Lihua rode on a warhorse, took out the border tiger talisman, raised it above her head and shouted coldly, "Here is the border general's tiger talisman. Please ask the local county magistrate to quickly open the city gate and let them pass." "Where is General Long Zhenlong?" Zheng Shixian asked. Xue Lihua looked back at the soldiers behind her and the big black coffin they were protecting, and then she said, "General Long died in battle at the border, and his body is now in the coffin in the back." "Oh! So your Tiger Army suffered a defeat on the border, lost to the Diyue Kingdom, and even lost the border, right? Then you are still so arrogant, acting like a large army is approaching, causing me to run here without even having time to eat lunch." After hearing this, Zheng Shixian's face suddenly changed and he sneered with disdain. Xue Lihua was so angry that she put the tiger talisman into her sleeve, stretched out her hand to draw the long sword at her waist, pointed at Zheng Shixian and roared, "My Tiger Army was defeated, so what? Now we have at least tens of thousands of troops, and it is not a problem to attack your small Zhongyuan city. If you don't open the city gate to welcome us, I will order an attack on the city."
"Hey, you are such an unreasonable woman! You suffered a defeat, and you don't allow others to say anything? Besides, we are all on the same side, why are we attacking the city? Have you been hit in the head by the enemy?" Zheng Shixian put his hands behind his back and cursed with a cynical look. "You..." Xue Lihua was so angry that she was speechless. At this time, Shen Sanfeng hurried over from behind, stood beside her and whispered, "General Xue, please calm down. As far as I know, Zheng Shixian has been an unlearned person since he was a child, and he doesn't have much culture. Don't argue with him, otherwise you won't get the slightest advantage." "Ah! If we had won the battle, none of these things would have happened. It's all our fault that we lost, otherwise they would have opened the city gates and welcomed us with drums and gongs." Xue Lihua retracted her sword and sighed helplessly. As the saying goes, the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit! Since the Tiger Army had lost, she had no choice but to accept the current treatment. And most importantly, now is not the time to waste time here. We must enter the city as soon as possible and find a place to hold Long Zhen's funeral so that we can choose a good cemetery for him to rest in peace. Otherwise, it has been more than half a month, and although the body has been embalmed, it will still rot over time. Thinking of this, Xue Lihua finally suppressed her temper. When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head! Shen Sanfeng saw her difficulty and took the initiative to smooth things over. He clasped his fists towards Zheng Shixian and said, "Zheng County Magistrate, do you still recognize me?" "Who are you?" Zheng Shixian squinted at Shen Sanfeng, but couldn't remember who he was for a while. "Shen Sanfeng, the head of the Shen family in Wuheng County on the border." Shen Sanfeng introduced himself. Zheng Shixian was stunned when he heard it, then he smiled and said, "Oh! After all this time, I finally knew who it was! It turned out to be Mr. Shen! Sorry! Forgive my poor eyesight, I really didn't recognize him just now." "It's okay, Magistrate Zheng, how is your father's health recently?" Shen Sanfeng stopped and asked. "Mr. Shen, my father is fine! It's a good thing that you are here. I will take you to see him in the evening. You can play chess with him to relieve his boredom." Zheng Shixian said with a smile. Shen Sanfeng raised his eyebrows and said, "Then please open the city gate and deal with the Tiger Army and these refugees first!" "Now that Mr. Shen has spoken, everything can be discussed easily." Zheng Shixian gave Shen Sanfeng enough face. After saying that, he immediately waved his hand at the city guard and ordered, "Go, open the city gates, let everyone in, and then go to the north of the city to plan a refugee area to accommodate them." "Yes, Your Excellency the County Magistrate." The city guard responded respectfully. Then he immediately led his men down and personally helped open the city gate to welcome everyone into the city. (End of this chapter)