Chapter 46: Adventure (I)
Unlike the legendary incognito visit, the group of people coming up the official road were dressed in distinctive armor, and there were several people in yellow vests. There was also a group of soldiers trotting behind the horse team...
There was no need for them to rush them. Huo Chong made a gesture to Yang Youfang, and the two of them quickly pushed the cart and left. However, the soldiers had already set up a cordon at this time. Seeing that Huo Chong and his men wanted to take a detour and continue walking along the official road, the soldiers scolded them with a frown, "Get out of here!"
After being scolded, Yang Youfang's face immediately became angry. Huo Chong hurriedly pulled Yang Youfang away. The people in front of him were not the People's Liberation Army, but the Qing army. Huo Chong had been adjusting his cognition during this period of time. The positions of the Qing army and the people were opposite. In a sense, it can even be said that the Qing army was the enemy of the people.
Just as Huo Chong was fleeing, the Qing soldier was still not happy. He shouted, "Stop! Why are you running!"
Huo Chong could only stop and turn around to apologize with a smile, "General, we dare not disturb the master in front. Just raise your hand and let us go."
The soldier stared at Yang Youfang, obviously very unhappy that Yang Youfang dared to show his anger. Huo Chong quickly pulled Yang Youfang, and Yang Youfang managed to force a smile, "Yes, General, let us go."
The soldier saw that he was still angry, so he suddenly raised his gun, pointed at a wine jar on Huo Chong's cart and shouted, "What is this?"
"This is some wine." Huo Chong replied.
"Is it really wine? I don't believe it!" The soldier said, and then he stabbed the wine jar hard with the barrel of his gun, and the ceramic wine jar shattered immediately.
At this time, the wind was blowing along the official road, and the soldier who was in the downwind position was immediately enveloped by the strong smell of alcohol and sneezed loudly. Not only was the soldier fume the alcohol, but several people in the downwind position were also attracted by the smell.
A man in a yellow vest smelled the temperature, walked over quickly and shouted, "What's going on?"
The soldier immediately replied, "Master, I chased them away. They broke the jar on purpose."
Huo Chong clearly felt that Yang Youfang was angry again. In fact, Huo Chong also wanted to be angry, but this was not New China, this was the Qing Dynasty in 1717. If he confronted Yang Youfang and this group of people, Huo Chong would definitely be the one who suffered.
Huo Chong replied with a smile: "Sir, my jar is not solid. I walked too fast and it got rotten."
The yellow vest didn't seem to want to bully Huo Chong. He looked at the broken jar and said to Huo Chong, "You guys leave quickly."
Huo Chong thanked him and immediately pushed the cart away. After walking a few steps, Huo Chong sighed inwardly. It seems that there is such a big difference between being an official or not. If I had a reputation, I would n't be . When Xu Youlin comes back, I have to do this anyway. Without an official position, there is really no place for reason.
As soon as they walked a little further, Yang Youfang began to curse. It was obvious that he was extremely angry about this incident. Huo Chong advised, "Brother Yang, wait until we are far away before cursing."
"Hit!" Yang Youfang said viciously. It seemed that he was very angry.
Just after walking a distance, he heard someone shouting and the sound of horse hooves behind him. Huo Chong turned his head and saw the man in the yellow vest riding a horse to catch up. Yang Youfang was startled and asked in a low voice: "What do they want to do?"
Huo Chong didn't know what the gang wanted to do, but he knew he couldn't escape. He stopped and said to Yang Youfang, "Let's not move. These people from the capital are very aggressive."
The man in yellow vest rode up to Huo Chong and pointed at another jar of wine and asked, "Are these two jars of wine the same?"
"Yes. All the same." Huo Chong just hoped that this man would take the wine and leave.
"Follow me." The man in the yellow vest pointed at Huo Chong and the other man with his whip and ordered them.
The two helpless people followed the yellow vest back and stopped outside the cordon formed by the soldiers. The yellow vest jumped off the horse and walked away. Not long after, he came back and pointed at Huo Chongming and said, "Bring the wine and follow me."
Huo Chong picked up the wine jar. Fortunately, the wine was only ten pounds, so he could carry it. When he passed the circle of soldiers, the soldier who had shown off to Huo Chong seemed to be still angry. He secretly moved his spear, and the spear shaft tripped in front of Huo Chong's feet. Huo Chong didn't pay attention at first, but after all, he had practiced his lower body for so long , so he was slightly tripped, but he didn't fall.
I thought I could hold it in for a while, but I didn't expect the yellow vest to turn around and whip him. The soldier was whipped and screamed. The yellow vest whipped him and cursed, "You just broke the wine, I don't care. This time it's the wine that the fourth master wanted, what can you say if you broke it?"
Upon hearing this, the soldier immediately fell to his knees and allowed himself to be whipped while shouting, "Sir, spare my life. Spare my life."
The man in yellow vest whipped Huo Chong a few more times before saying to him, "Be careful, stop hitting him!" After that, he continued to walk inside with Huo Chong.
After passing through the circle of soldiers, I saw that this group was the only one left in the mule and horse shop. Even the boss was driven away. The leader was sitting inside. Huo Chong was not brought to the Fourth Master, but to the side. A person was lying on a straw bed, surrounded by several people.
The left leg of the man on the straw mat was rolled up to the knee, revealing his twisted calf. Huo Chong couldn't help but look away when he saw this rather complicated fracture .
The man in the yellow vest put his hand on the shoulder of the man on the straw mat and said, "Brother, you said you wanted to drink this wine, so I called it for you. Take a sip quickly, and then we'll start."
After hearing this, the man on the straw mat gritted his teeth and nodded vigorously. Suddenly, tears flowed down his face and he cried, "Brother Gou'er, I don't want my legs to be chopped off! I don't want my legs to be chopped off!"
The man in the yellow vest sighed, "Brother, I don't want you to lose your legs either. But you know if you delay any longer, you might even lose your life."
The man on the straw mat gritted his teeth and made up his mind for a moment, then suddenly said in despair: "I...I would rather die than cut off this leg!"
The person next to him wanted to persuade him but didn't know how to say it. Huo Chong felt that he could completely understand this person's thoughts. If it were him, he would probably have the same idea. Death is fine, but living with a disability for the rest of your life is really more painful than death.
Just as he was sighing slightly, he saw the man in the yellow vest, who also had a look of regret on his face, turned around and said to a man who had come over at some point, "Fourth Master! Please tell me about him."
Huo Chong couldn't help but turn his head to look, and saw a man in a dragon robe had come to the side. He was thin, looked about 40 years old, with smooth skin that was slightly tanned, and a few of the two mustaches on his upper lip were white, which made him look a little vicissitudes of life.
Unexpectedly, after just a glance, the guard beside him slapped him on the back, "What are you looking at?"
Huo Chong lowered his head quickly. The man on the straw mat shouted at this time: "Fourth Master, I have lost my legs. I can no longer serve you. I might as well die."
The fourth master did not say a word to this cry that was almost like a wail. After a while, he sighed and said, "Dog, try to connect the bone again."
Several guards immediately stepped forward to hold the man down and put a piece of cloth in his mouth. The yellow vest and another person held the injured man's leg with complex fractures. With just a slight pull, the injured man bounced up like he had been electrocuted. Several people couldn't hold him down. The yellow vest had no way to help the injured man set his bones.
The Fourth Master sighed slightly, "Forget it. If you continue like this, he will die. Give him some wine."
The injured man was already in tears when he heard this. The yellow vest let go of his hand and turned to Huo Chongming and said, "Pour some wine."
Huo Chong felt that something was going to happen when he heard this, and regardless of whether there were any other dangers, he quickly said, "No!"
"Why?" asked the man in yellow vest unhappily.
"My wine is very strong. After drinking it, the blood will flow much faster than usual. If you guys want to... that, blood will flow out in a short time and someone will die!"
"Hmm?" The Fourth Master seemed to be somewhat interested in Huo Chong. "Bleeding profusely? Are you a doctor?"
The Fourth Master's voice was a little cold, and it was unknown whether it was his natural character or intentional. Huo Chong felt a chill on his back, but quickly denied it, "I'm not a doctor. I just practiced martial arts, and I brewed this wine. That's all."
"From what you said, you have a solution?" The Fourth Master's tone was still cold, revealing a kind of coldness that could see through people's hearts.
Huo Chong felt a chill on his back, although he was not sure how he accidentally revealed his inner thoughts. However, Huo Chong did think of a solution. The solution was simple. With alcohol and sulfur, he could fractionate ether to burn sulfuric acid.
Huo Chong now had a small bottle in his pocket. Without this last resort to save his life, Huo Chong might not have dared to follow Yang Youfang out.
Huo Chong suddenly remembered that he had played tricks on others and had been extremely passive. He didn't want to repeat the same mistake, so he replied, "I brought some medicine with me when I went out, which can make the injured person unconscious. I wonder if it can be used on this brother."
After saying this, Huo Chong felt even more uneasy. He didn't know whether this uneasiness was directed at the group of guards around him or at the Fourth Master.
The Fourth Master wasted no time. After hearing what Huo Chong said, he ordered in yellow vest, "Call someone to come and test the medicine."
Soon, the soldier who was whipped by the yellow vest was called in. Huo Chong wrote a point on a piece of cloth, handed it to the soldier and said, "Sit down, cover your mouth and nose with the cloth and breathe in."
The soldier looked at Huo Chong with hatred, but he did as Huo Chong said, took the cloth and covered his mouth and nose and took a few deep breaths. Then his body slowly softened and he soon fell to the ground.
Several guards pushed and shoved him, pinched him, kicked him twice, and finally whipped him. No matter how they tortured him, the soldier remained motionless as if dead.
After watching the experiment, the Fourth Master ordered, "Treat the wound."
The man in the yellow vest took the ether from Huo Chong with a distrustful look and anesthetized the injured man as Huo Chong had just done. Soon, the injured man fell into a coma. Several people tried to move the injured man's arm, but the strong arm was as soft as noodles and could be easily moved.
Then several people pulled the injured part again. Despite the severe pain, the injured person still had some reaction. But this reaction was completely unable to affect the external force. After a while, the injured person's twisted fracture was finally restored to its original position. Although the calf was purple and black, at least it looked normal.
Huo Chong couldn't help but suggest using wooden strips to fix the injured area to prevent it from being dislocated again during subsequent vibrations.
After hearing what Huo Chong said, another guard who had met Huo Chong before shouted, "You still say you are not a doctor! Did you just lie to me?"
"I'm not lying. I only know how to treat injuries, I don't know anything about medicine. Even though I can give some advice, it's just this little bit. If you ask me to set a bone, I can't do it right."
After hearing this, the Fourth Master sneered, "You are so fluent in answering questions. You have always been a robber."
Huo Chong already felt that he was unlucky this time, and he was even more shocked and angry when he heard this. He raised his head and looked at the Fourth Master. Before he could finish his sentence, "Why do you slander someone's innocence?", he was whipped on the shoulder. The yellow vest shouted angrily, "What are you looking at!"
Huo Chong could only lower his head. Then he heard the Fourth Master continue to sneer: "Humph. You carry knockout drugs, have practiced martial arts, and are not a doctor. How can you be a good person just walking around like this?"
"I..." Huo Chong wanted to defend himself, but he didn't know how to defend himself. He just felt that the Fourth Master was really good at making up charges. After he said that, no one would believe Huo Chong even if he was a good person.
After saying the word "I", the guards rushed over from both sides and held Huo Chong down, forcing him to kneel on the ground. The fourth master said coldly, "Dog, go and see what luggage he brought."
Soon, Yang Youfang and Huo Chong's carts were dragged over. The glass cups, strong liquor, and solid alcohol on them were turned out and placed in front of the Fourth Master. Fortunately, Huo Chong did not bring a dagger when he went out, but only a short stick, and Yang Youfang did not bring any weapons either, so he finally looked a little less vicious.
"What is this?" The Fourth Master asked, pointing at the solid alcohol.
Huo Chong felt that the situation was completely beyond his imagination, so he could only tell the truth: "This is something I made. I heard from the brother who sold it to the capital that he named it Liuli Fire."
The Fourth Master didn't say anything, and the guards around him were already sneering. Huo Chong didn't know how the Glazed Fire was promoted in the capital, but with Xu Youlin's efforts and the reactions of these guys in the capital, it was probably several times more exaggerated than Huo Chong imagined.
The Fourth Master did not sneer this time, but asked calmly: "What's your name, where are you from?"
"My name is Huo Chong. I'm from Liujia Village, Zichuan County."
"Is the shop where you make this in Zibo County?"
"My shop is in the village."
"Oh. Huo Chong, you said you built this."
"yes."
"Did you make all of these?"
"yes."
"So you still have a lot left at home, right?"
"There is less than a hundred kilograms of this Glazed Fire left."
"One hundred catties is too little. I am going to Zibo County. When I get there, you and my men will go to your village and make me two thousand catties. If it is good, I will take it all."
Since the man said this, Huo Chong had no other choice but to agree readily, "Okay, I'll make it for you."
"Haha! Huo Chong, if you can't make it, I will send you to the authorities and convict you of being a bandit. If you didn't make it, you should tell me , so you can suffer less."
Hearing the vicious words of the Fourth Master, Huo Chong could only smile bitterly and said, "My Lord, if I were a bandit and fell into your hands, I would accept it. But I am just a commoner, and I cannot bear the responsibility for something I did not do."
"Haha." The Fourth Master laughed cheerfully, "Okay, lock him up and take him away now."
When the iron chains were put on him, Huo Chong felt as if he had traveled through time again. Everything that happened was completely beyond his imagination. This was probably the most bizarre thing that could happen.
