Flying Clouds in Another World

Chapter 144 Anping County, in front of the city gate

At the north gate of Anping County, just after dawn, Young Master Gao Jinda arrived with two guards, Sun and Qian. This frightened the soldiers guarding the gate. They wondered if Young Master Gao, who had just been humiliated by the Crown Prince a month ago, would vent his anger on them.

Gao Jinda looked around, looking towards the official road from time to time, muttering: "Why hasn't he come yet?" "What time is it now? It should be here by now!" "Is the prince playing a trick on me?"

The guard at the side looked at the sky in the east which was just beginning to lighten, and muttered in his heart: The prince? The prince is coming? But the sun hasn't risen yet, the prince must still be sleeping in the mansion!

The red sun finally rose slowly in the east, and as it rose higher, more and more people came and went. At this time, Gao Jindayijiu was standing outside the city gate, looking north.

Not long after, three riders were seen running towards them, followed by two big men over ten feet tall running very fast. They were Liu Feiyun and his group of five.

Gao Jinda was very happy when he first met Liu Feiyun, but when he looked at the two big men again, he felt a chill down his spine: a month ago, he almost robbed someone's sister, and now Liu Feiyun brought them here again. Could it be that what he asked was to let these two men beat him up to vent their anger?

Just when Gao Jinda was feeling uneasy because of seeing the Tiemu brothers running towards him, Liu Feiyun had already approached him.

"Brother Gao! Your clothes are so wet. Have you been waiting for me here all morning? How can I live with this? Although it is not cold at the end of autumn, it is still very wet and cool!" Liu Feiyun got off the horse, led the horse and walked to the city gate, smiling at Gao Jinda. At this time, the soldiers guarding the city came forward and took the horses of Liu Feiyun and the other two to the side to take care of them.

"Your Highness, what are you saying? It's my duty! It's my duty!" While talking to Liu Feiyun, Gao Jinda kept glancing at the Tiemu brothers who were already behind Liu Feiyun, with a nervous expression.

Tiemuling glared at him with his big, bull-like eyes, thinking, "Why are you here, you bastard? Are you waiting to be beaten by us?"

Tiemushan slammed the nearly 100-jin wheel-shaped axe on his shoulder to the ground and said, "Beat him? It's too easy for him! If we beat him lightly, we won't feel satisfied. If we beat him hard, he will die in a few hits. It's better to let him live a life worse than death to feel satisfied!"

"What should I do? Brother!"

"If that doesn't work, let him carry my axe for me. Hey! Come here, do you want me to chop the axe on you, or do you want to help me carry the axe?"

Gao Jinda saw Tiemushan's nearly 100-jin axe sticking on the ground, and heard him say that, and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He didn't dare to respond to Tiemushan's words, and could only look at Liu Feiyun for help.

Liu Feiyun had no choice but to say to the Tiemu brothers: "Please stop making things difficult for Master Gao. Although he did make mistakes in the past, he has changed for the better now, right? We should give him a chance to correct his mistakes, right!"

Gao Jinda also said quickly: "Yes, yes! Now I have changed my ways and will never do those bad things again. Brothers, please give me a chance! If you have any sexual demands, just ask, I will definitely do it."

The Tiemu brothers looked at Gao Jinda, then at Liu Feiyun. After several rounds of this, Tiemushan finally said, "Since my master has pleaded for you, we have to give him some face. But you are too abominable. You actually want to take our sister to be your wife. We have to let you vent your anger. Look at your small body. I think you can't stand a beating. We can't beat you up. Then you can invite us to the best restaurant in the county today, let us eat well and drink enough, and we will let you go. What do you think?"

Gao Jinda finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, thinking, isn't it just a meal? This is too easy. He quickly replied, "Okay, okay, let alone a meal, even a day, a month, or even a year is no problem. I wonder if you two are hungry now? How about we go eat something first?"

Liu Feiyun said first: "There is no rush for this. Brother Gao, why don't you take us around Anping County first? Especially the places where refugees gather. I want to buy some eight or nine-year-old children there to serve as private slaves."

Gao Jinda quickly responded, "Your Highness wants to buy refugees as private slaves? And he only wants children? How many do you want?"

"That's right! But the number has not been decided yet. It depends on how many such children there are among the refugees. After all, you are more familiar with the situation of refugees in Anping County than I am. Moreover, the document of selling one's body needs the help of the county clerk to issue it for filing. You are more familiar with the situation of the clerk than I am. That's why I came to ask Brother Gao for help. I wonder if Brother Gao is willing to help me with this?"

"Your Highness, what are you talking about? It's my honor to be able to do you a little favor. Uncle Qian, please go to the county government office to find a few clerks and ask them to bring more indentures. Uncle Sun, please investigate the current situation of the refugees in the city and how many children are eight or nine years old. The prince and I will go around a few refugee gathering places first, and then we will meet you at the Zhenhuang Tower restaurant."

"Yes, young master!" "Yes, young master!" The two guards Sun Qian took the order and left.

In recent years, Yan Bo, the Duke of Zhenyuan in Jinzhou, has been constantly recruiting refugees to open up wasteland and cultivate the land. The court far away in the imperial capital has completely ignored it and let it go.

Firstly, the various civil and military officials in the court were constantly fighting among themselves, and they had neither the intention nor the ability to control the territorial princes such as Duke Zhenyuan who were far outside the heartland of the empire.

Secondly, Jinzhou is originally vast and sparsely populated, but the black soil suitable for farming is widely distributed, especially in the territory of Duke Zhenyuan.

Back then, the Yuanyan family, which made its fortune in Wutu, Jinzhou, also entered the heartland of the empire and founded the eighth dynasty of the empire, the Great Jin Dynasty. They ruled the empire for hundreds of years but were finally overthrown by the Chen Dynasty.

At the end of the Chen Dynasty, the world was in chaos again. The Yuan Yan family took advantage of the situation and attempted to restore the dynasty, but they were ultimately defeated by the Taizu of the dynasty and had to return to their ancestral land, pay tribute to the Taizu, and were granted the title of a local vassal. In order to prevent the Yuan Yan family from revolting, the royal family of the Chen Dynasty implemented a strategy of suppression. However, the Yuan Yan family was not the only noble family in the empire to enjoy this treatment.

When Taizu of this dynasty conferred titles on the nobles, they could be roughly divided into two categories. One category was the separatist forces that were difficult to eliminate for the time being, such as the Yuan Yan family, and the other category was some of the ministers and clan members that Taizu trusted the most. However, these initial nobles were all conferred titles in border states and counties without exception.

As the decline of the Chen Dynasty became increasingly apparent in recent decades, these princes located in border areas inevitably became active again.