Chapter 19 Chapter Nineteen.Injustice

He was imprisoned in this cage-like cellar, and the three who brought him had disappeared. The new guard, if not dumb, would be deaf. He didn't pay attention to it, and he didn't even want to bend down, and he didn't even bother to make a gesture. Even so, apart from confusion and anxiety, Wang Dagui didn't feel any fear. It wasn't because Baye Guan was in Wanjialou that he had a support, but because he felt that he had been implicated for no reason. It is clear and clear that there is no loss or debt. As the saying goes: people are not guilty, and they are not afraid of ghosts and gods. Maybe this is the truth: he is waiting patiently.

He always thought that maybe Gu Ye was not in the town, and the Wan family lacked someone who was in charge of the family. After Gu Ye returned to town, he might release him immediately. Oh, I haven't forgotten the message, the situation in Yanshi is so urgent, but I told the prisoner not to see Baye here, and the time was wasted, why not make people anxious? He waited and waited, and when there was no movement in the evening, he was very angry. Ai!He shook the iron window lattice with all his strength, and shouted out of the window: You put me here, what is going on? Those two trouser legs were pacing crossed, no matter how much he asked, he still paced crossed, indifferent.Wang Dagui knew that if he continued to ask like this, he would not pay any attention to the question until tomorrow, so he could only let go of his throat and yell, maybe he would raise some eyebrows.

A clumsy man has a clumsy way, Wang Dagui made up his mind, he didn't ask any more questions, he just yelled nonsense with his throat wide open, this yelling made the guy pretending to be deaf and dumb bend over .The man was a very burly man with protruding head and concave eyes, thick lips and thick eyebrows, and a look of savagery. He first smashed the butt of his gun against the iron window lattice, and then put his face against it and shouted in a low voice, "Don't be there!" Nonsense, what do you want? I want to see Gu Ye!Wang Dagui said in a hoarse voice, "You can't make up your own mind to keep me here. I sent a message for Lord Zhen in the salt market. With good intentions, I went into the forest to dig up the soil to bury the corpse. How could you be so indiscriminate?" Indiscriminate?Put the black pot on my head?

Gu Ye is not free now!said the big man, showing a row of teeth that were full of yellow stains. But I'm in a hurry.Wang Dagui almost begged and said: This is Zong Xing's urgent matter, there is really no room for delay, please try to tell Gu Ye, let me see him first You wait quietly, the man said: Maybe you have a chance to see Gu Ye tonight, if you continue to yell, I will invite you to sit on the tiger stool, and I will add you two bricks first! After the man finished speaking, he started to walk again: the western sky was still burning with a red glow like a fire, and the glow was reflected on the square brick floor through the long and thin iron windows, a gloomy and powerless crimson, Wang Dagui felt anxious for a while, He squatted down in vain, knowing that if he continued to yell, he would be asking for trouble, since he was already treated as a criminal by others, what else could he say? !I have to wait until night to talk about it!

In a corner of the gloomy prison cell, countless gnats buzzed softly in the frozen silence, the guard's footsteps twisted the dusk, and clusters of translucent blackness cast the last ray of light in the western sky Slowly, they gathered from the bottom up, and the night fell! I always want to see Gu Ye holding his head, repeating this, weakly talking to himself. And Master Gu is receiving the guests who came down from the county seat on horseback in his hall After the First Battle of Longtan, the man who loved to lie on the opium couch and puff, and often used a bong to gesture: boasting that he would expand the coalition forces of the five provinces to a million people, and at the same time, he would invent flying machines and make retro cannons to attack the Southern Army. Marshal Sun Chuanfang even had his last dream shattered. His generals, who were usually flattering and extremely obedient, would raise their guns in front of the battle, and lead their subordinates to defeat the Northern Expedition with their entire division and brigade, and turned their guns away. Hit yourself, when you cross the river to fight Longtan, you have put the only large sum of money left in your pocket on the table, and you expected to roll a six on it, but who knows that you have rolled an unlucky one.

The remnant soldiers retreated across the great river. I had painstakingly managed Jiangnan in my early years, and I couldn’t bear to look back on the prosperous Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. I retreated all the way to the Huai River. The Northern Expeditionary Army did not take advantage of the situation to pursue them. It is logical that there should be a short opportunity to rectify the remnants. This handsome man who once boasted of being brave couldn't stand the torment of repeated defeats and lost his fighting spirit. Those soldiers looked like soldiers when they were not fighting, but they didn't look like soldiers when they were defeated. , but like a litter of dogs with tails clamped!

The handsome yellow-skinned and thin-boned man has self-knowledge, knowing that no matter how he rectifies soldiers like this, he will not be able to save his luck.And the chaotic situation in the north was even more unexpected: when he was in the south of the Yangtze River, he heard that there was some trouble in Yanshi, and he reckoned it was just an itching of fleas and lice. , didn't take it to heart, but ordered to send a telegram to the local defense army, and immediately suppressed the incident. Later, when he heard that the defense army was not up to date, he mobilized the Jiang defense army again. After the order was issued, he was too lazy to bother about it. , and handed it over to Mr. Flat Nose to cut it off.

The division of the Jiangfang Army, plus the Mustache Brigade, was originally deployed on the north bank of the Yangtze River to guard the last cave. Even if his own army can withdraw northward smoothly, who would have known that it was really a critical moment, and looking at the situation on the Huai River, the itching of fleas and lice has turned into a festering sore.If in the past, when encountering such irritating and heart-warming things, you would have to slap the table, smash the cigarette lamp, and yell to kill people, but now you don't even have the spirit to yell and kill people, not to mention that you have to take care of your life first. , how much cover should the Jiangfang army with a flat nose be behind the palace?

The flat nose is not a bad guy, although he has been fighting Yanshi without end, and he has been stationed in the Huaihe River for a few months without achieving anything, but he is obedient and humble when he gets home, and he is extremely humble. Letting go of the small mansion in Hehuachi Lane, I took care of him step by step, didn't complain, didn't sigh, but said a lot of comforting words, that's enough. I said Marshal, although the southern army won the victory, there is a big river blocking the way in front of them, and they have to catch up. We have time to retreat to the south of Lunan. The words of the nose were originally taught by the chief of staff. To warm the commander-in-chief's heart: Now it's the commander-in-chief that your body is the most important thing, and your safety is the most important thing, as the saying goes: If you keep the green hills, you don't have to worry about no firewood, that's the eh.

The marshal was lying on the couch, looking at the smoke with absent-minded eyes. Don't talk about these nice things.Panting and coughing, he took a sip of tea from the small purple sand pot and pressed down, cleared his throat and said: Now everything is over!Think about it, I am above the dog-eating gangster in every aspect (referring to Zhang Zongchang, the governor of Lu Province.), but now I am forced to go to him and wait for the dew under his chin to eat. Life is easy? where, where? !Poor nose poured into the soup and said: Marshal, you have not seen the heroes of generations, they are all able to bend and stretch; although you have been wronged for a while, you have retreated to Lu Province, but in the southeast half of the sky, with your prestige, one The time has come and gone, calling for guns to scatter everywhere, so what is the problem?

The shrunken and curled legs made the smoker tap his palm thoughtfully, and said sadly: Forget it, you didn't fight the Southern Army, so you don't know how powerful they are. They are not only good at lighting. , They are more popular than us!popular support!He repeated these two words repeatedly and said: As the saying goes, the people are prosperous. I put it aside for many years, but now I see it from the other party.This kind of army, don't say that I can't do anything, even those who eat dog meat can't do it!Once the fences of the five southeast provinces are withdrawn, he will not last long as the governor of Nalu Province. Once the Southern Army crosses the river, I am afraid that his legs will be longer than mine! The flat-nosed listened stupidly, but still couldn't turn the corner for a while, he just felt a little strange, strange that the handsome man had become so fast, the domineering look he had in the early years had disappeared without a trace, and his face was full of tears. Listless gray melancholy. But he still searched his brains to find some words to comfort him. you listen.The commander-in-chief was a little sullen: You are responsible for the troubles in Yanshi. You should see how far the hearts and minds of the people have deviated in this large area.Scattered soldiers dare not go to the countryside, and when they go to the countryside, they will beat dogs with meat buns and never return!All villages and towns set up civilian guns. Which of the people's power of those business groups, militia groups, self-defense forces, rural protection teams, and security groups is following us?If we attack a city, occupy a territory, and fight a fire, although I am defeated, I am confident that I still have this strength, but if things go on like this, can we still stand firm? That's handsome, what do you mean? I'm a fucking asshole just running for my life! The warlord leader who has been in chaos for most of his life, the remnant people, started as the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian, occupied the five southeastern provinces for many years, and commanded millions of troops. Sun Chuanfang, the Beiyang general who is known as the commander-in-chief of the five provinces' coalition forces, finally suffered a disastrous defeat in Longtan Finally, I huddled on the opium couch, and uttered these human words out of self-reflection, self-examination, and remorse, and this sentence I just want to run for my life!He himself didn't know that his words would spread among the general public in the future, and become an immortal saying left to future generations by a person who brutally and brutally killed the common people! This sentence fully expresses the remorse of those who hold violence! This sentence fully shows the desolation of all militarists when they are approaching the end! It shows that all violence against the wishes of the crowd and formed by guns is extremely illusory and unreliable. It penetrates into the future time of the nation and depicts an image of the inevitable outcome of all possible violence. But a man with a flat nose doesn't understand this, he hastily patted his chest on the side, put on a face that intends to make amends, and said: Commander-in-Chief, you know that I should do my best in times of crisis. Just leave it on me!Let me figure it out, uh uh, figure it out What do you think?The marshal said with a sad face: Although there are not many guns in Yanshi, they are holding the throat with a strong sword spirit, and they can't retreat northward unless they forcefully break through it.Your Jiangfang army, with all the strength of the army, can't attack repeatedly, what else can you do?Even if you can capture Yanshi, those refugees in the Northland who wield knives, forks and sticks are even more impressive. If you anger them, you will lose your life. What I mean is, Commander-in-Chief, you must not mix with the defeated soldiers. You have to lead a group of guards, go through the wilderness first, and go straight to Shandong quietly without disturbing anyone.Flat nose lowered his voice and said: "It just so happens that I have someone from the North to contact us. As far as I know, go out of the west gate, turn to the northwest, turn north from Wu's Ferry, cross the wilderness for forty miles, and pass through thousands of miles." The family building, swept into the corner of the lake (the name of the lake, in the north of Hongze Lake, connected to Hongze Lake.) Entering Luxi, the big households along the way are compared with us, uh uh, have not torn face, if you think it is feasible , I immediately sent someone to manage. You go ahead.The marshal felt distressed, held his chest and hummed: I want Yinyang, I have it here. As for the Yanshi, Snout took the opportunity to say: I can call the traveler from the west again, gather some follow-up remnants, and tell them that if they don't attack the Yanshi, it will be a dead end. The attack is over, after the attack is over, I will lead them into Lu, and then wait for your dispatch, but I hope the commander-in-chief can temporarily add me as a name or something! That's OK, that's OK.The commander-in-chief nodded hurriedly and said: You have the right to step back as commander-in-chief!Don't think the word retreat is disgraceful. If you can retreat to Shandong alive without letting Yanshi bite your hind legs, it will not be easy. Thank you, handsome!Flat nose gave a respectful salute, then backed out with self-satisfaction. The reason why the flat nose is proud is because he has another abacus and a secret account in his heart. He is a short-sighted and genuine third-class little warlord. When retreating, as long as the opponent does not chase after him closely, the rear of the palace is really a fat job. The commander whipped the horse, raised his buttocks and galloped away for his life. The sky is high and the emperor is far away. Put on the face of the little imperial court as you like, and walk around without any restraint. Besides, if I stay here for one more day, there must be many scattered soldiers who have crossed the river and fled north. They are afraid that they will be swallowed up by the guns of the villagers, and they will definitely rush to the city. I am holding my arms open. Enter the gun. When people gather enough guns, they have to swallow this piece of fat in Yanshi. These days, they have been unable to attack it, but have been repeatedly humiliated and gritted their teeth with hatred; The bottom line of the 18 merchants and the 18 salt stores is sufficient. The gold they dig up can make a gold house, and how many boxes of pearls, agates, and emeralds and corals can be produced?As long as you kick the salt market and search for this money, how can you worry about the future?If the opportunity is good, I will be self-respecting as a mother, and dominate one side, and seal a fun official to do things for myself; if the opportunity is not good, I will run away with this money! that's what he's thinking The group of uninvited guests sitting in Master Gu's living room are the ones who were dispatched by Mr. Big Nose after contacting Wanjialou to help the commander-in-chief to make an escape route first, and to buy Guan Ba ​​Ye's life. Led by the adjutant, they dressed up casually, and led by the gun team guarding the gate of the second house, they went to Master Gu's house. Regardless of the strength of the Beiyang Army, Little Guy is fighting with a bat-like idea of ​​talking about birds, and talking about animals.Sun Chuanfang's defeat in the south of the Yangtze River is just a rumor that cannot be fully believed, but it is a fact that he led tens of thousands of guns to retreat to the north. According to his expectation, the long-besieged Yanshi City ran out of ammunition and food. Once Yanshi was breached by Beiyang officers and soldiers and Guan Ba's wings were cut off, it would of course be much easier to get rid of him. However, if after the Beiyang army withdrew, the Northern Expeditionary Army in the south crossed the river and knew that Wanjialou had colluded with Beiyang to destroy Guan Dongshan, the leader of the Yanshi rebel army who echoed the militia army. Therefore, in this ambiguous and indistinguishable chaotic situation, he does not want to blatantly help one side and offend the other. He just wants to seize this kind of chaos, use this opportunity, and get rid of the guanba that will endanger him. . The adjutant who was sent by the Commander Snub Nose to work in Wanjialou was a shrewd guy. He knew what the Commander meant, but he just hoped to open up the way of retreat and let the Commander take the guards and some remnants of the army to retreat at night. Except for this Well, he didn't want to force Wanjialou to do something, lest the matter get into a stalemate, and both sides would be unable to step down and lose face.So in that hall, there was a situation of external tension and internal tension, and both sides were cautious enough to speak. What the teacher meant was just that the adjutant said: I just told my brothers to come down and contact your land, hoping that your land will not pull guns to help and fuel the arrogance of Yanshi; it will allow the troops going north to pass through the border safely. This is not a problem, Little Guy said with a smile: Over the years, the defense troops stationed in the Huaihe River and Huaihe River have never disturbed our land. The land of Wanjia is governed by Wanjia himself. The money and grain received. Yes Yes.The adjutant nodded. The fact is that everyone in the West Road can leave, and Wanjialou is not a tiger's mouth. Gu Ye also said: Talking about the gun team, it is not only in Wanjialou. Where are the major households in the North without guns?But our gun team is only to defend against bandits and stabilize the place, so as not to embarrass the officials. Yanshi has been fighting with the officials for a long time, and the fact that Wanjialou did not follow suit is proof. Yes, yes!The adjutant said with emphasis. The fact is, Gu Ye rolled his eyes, paused and said: As long as Wanjialou itself is not disturbed, that is to say: as long as the officers and soldiers withdrawing from the north do not enter Wanjialou town, we will not stop anyone from going around. Crossing the border at Weigang. That, that's fine, that's fine!The adjutant hurriedly said: The troops withdrawing to the north are only a part, um, a part, but when they get there, the food and grass will always be provided by the local government. Naturally, naturally.Gu Ye said: This is natural.The government is always a government after all, and we will be ready to do everything. And that Guanba.The adjutant lowered his voice and said, "Our teacher thinks that he is really the culprit for raising the gun this time and causing such a big disturbance in Yanshi. Since you said he is in Guizhen, is it convenient?" ! Gu Ye lowered his head, put his hands on his knees, and flicked his fingers on his pants, as if thinking about something for a moment. If it is convenient, the adjutant leaned over, put his palm over his mouth and said: You can hand over the man, and you will make a price.If you can control the eight nests, Yanshi will have no leader and it will be easy to deal with.He added in a louder voice: This is all what the teacher meant. It's not that Little Guy has never thought about it. It's not only easy to hand over Guan Bafu to the other party, but also get a huge sum of money similar to bonuses. The heavy weight, I can't rashly miss a few guns, and tie him up if I say it. If I do this, the huge sum of money is easy to get now, and there will be more troubles in the future.He deliberately removed Guan Ba, but he didn't want to leave any clues. So he shook his head and said: Logically speaking, people like Guan Ba ​​should be sent to the officials and handed over to the defense army for execution; however, there are still several suspenseful cases related to him in Wanjialou. Need to hold him softly, find out the truth That one rubbed his hands together and said "oh". In short, Gu Ye said: Guan Ba ​​came to the Northland this time, trying to persuade the big households in the Northland to pull their guns. We don't want to follow him in this muddy water, so of course we can't let him leave Wanjialou easily! Yes, the other party said: With your words, we can talk back to the teacher. Until sending the other party away, Master Gu was always thinking about how to get rid of Guan Ba ​​without a trace?Guan Ba ​​is easy to deal with now, all because his gun wound has not healed. Once he is healed, he will have ten or eight guns, and it is difficult to take him down with confidence; His opportunity to recuperate from his injuries started, and this opportunity is fleeting. It would be easy to shoot Guan Ba ​​to death if someone shot someone in the dark. However, Guan Ba ​​has so many wings and such a great reputation. On his own head, in this way, black guns seem to be unworkable!It won't work to frame him, and it won't work to shoot him black, so what should we do?With his hands behind his back, he paced back and forth in the hall, the more he walked, the more anxious he felt, the more troublesome he felt. He couldn't bear this anxiety, so he had to divert his thoughts away, and brought it up to the matter that the second-fang gun team found the body of Red-eyed Wanshu in the miscellaneous forest today. Wan Shu was sent out by himself to hunt down Wan Xiaoxier. Yes, who knew he was useless?Xiao Xi'er didn't kill her, but took her life instead!Among the younger generation in Wanjialou, Wan Xiaoxi'er is the most witty ghost. I have long doubted that he would find out the real cause of Master Ye's death. , forced myself to hunt him down when he rode a donkey to Shahekou at night, now that Red Eyed Wanshu is dead, needless to say, that kid Wan Xiaoxier must have fled to Shahekou, if he tells the truth to Grandpa Zhen and his sister To be clear, that would be bad. If I send people to Shahekou immediately to identify him as the murderer of Red-eye Wanshu, it will be like showing my guilty conscience to the brothers and sisters of Zhenye, and also confirming that what Wan Xiaoxier said is true, Master Zhen will definitely believe that Red-eye Wanshu is I'm about to go out and hunt down Wan Xiaoxi'er.In this way, Master Zhen will never hand over Xiao Xi'er. Even if he is willing to hand over someone so that he can prove Wan Xiaoxi'er's crime of murdering and taking his life through the family discussion, it is still difficult to guarantee that Wan Xiaoxi'er will not be killed. say? !In Wanjialou, a person in charge of family affairs can directly judge the life and death of a person with a foreign surname without going through the clan discussion, but if he wants to publicly execute a person surnamed Wan, he must go through the clan discussion and punish Wan Xiaoxi. Son, the difficulty lies in this level. Young Master Gu furrowed his eyebrows like this, walking around depressedly, suddenly he remembered Wang Dagui who had been detained in the cellar. It was a coincidence that the gun team was able to bring back this man; this man was sent to see Guan Ba ​​from Yanshi, and he was also a member of the Liuhe Gang. The corpse of the tree, and he had dug up the soil to bury the corpse, so this bloody case happened to sit on him.In this way, Wan Xiaoxi'er's truth in front of Master Zhen became a lie. If she let him go now, she will find another chance to get rid of him in the future.It is very simple to put this case on Wang Dagui's head, there is no need to go through the clan discussion, just use the punishment, force him to make a cross on the confession, make a hand model, and then drag him to Hongcaopo to be executed. It's done! Get rid of Wang Dagui first, and then it's time to go through the whole round; after the whole round, you have to deal with the two fleeing clansmen Wan Xiaoxi'er and Da Banya. This series of things made Master Gu very distressed . He wants to vent his distress on Wang Dagui first After a night of hard work and a day of exhaustion, Wang Dagui was unexplainably taken into a prison cell and locked up with a ox bracelet. Now, the prison cell is dark and poisonous, and there is a buzzing sound of mosquitoes. Those mosquitoes have been hiding in the empty room for a long time without sucking human blood. They are all hungry mosquitoes with flat stomachs, nailing people like needles. Although Wang Dagui was hungry and tired, he had to slap the swarms of hungry mosquitoes so hard that his palms were red and swollen. While slapping the mosquitoes, he was thinking drowsily; he thought that it was unreasonable for Wanjialou to be such a muddleheaded detainee, and he thought that even though he was close to Baye who lived in Wanliangpu , but unable to meet for a while, this is really an unexpected heartwarming thing; he thought about what the watchman said, saying that he would see Gu Ye tonight, and seeing the situation, he had no choice but to pin his hopes on Gu Ye. It was about time to wake up, he was so sleepy, if it wasn't for the mosquitoes biting him, maybe he really fell asleep.In the half-sleeping trance, he heard the sound of the iron door knocking at the entrance of the cellar, a light came in, and swirled between the stone walls above his head, followed by the sound of chaotic footsteps. Maybe it’s Gu Ye who’s here?He rubbed his eyes and thought. The sound of footsteps came down the stone steps, it sounded like it wasn't just one person, he opened his eyes and waited, always thinking that when Master Gu came, he didn't need to spend much words, just speak a few words, and he would be rewarded After washing off, I can go to see Ba ​​Ye. But when he heard the tone of the people who came, it seemed that it was not Gu Ye who came, and listening to those voices, it seemed that he wanted to deal with himself.He shook his head secretly and took a deep breath. Raise the charcoal fire!A voice said: Insert the soldering iron. Bring down the watering thing.said another. Bring it down!Someone above answered. The whip is wet with water.One smiled: This guy has thick skin. Prepare the bar for lifting the legs on the tiger bench! Oh My God!Wang Dagui cried secretly, what is this for?Are they really going to interrogate me as a murderer?Soon he felt that such questions were unnecessary, he could hear the people outside spreading out the instruments of torture in a hurry, the sound was chilling. When he was walking around in his early years, he stopped by Wanjialou more than once. When the old man Wan of the long house was in charge of the Wanjialou, everyone was in harmony. He never heard of anyone being tortured. He didn't bow down to the bandits wantonly; the ordinary gangsters admired Mr. Wan, and they also admired his generosity and benevolence!He didn't expect that Gu Ye would set up torture chambers in his house privately, and use these to impose on himself in vain. This is what he hates the most in his life! Most of the men in the countryside have the experience of being arrested by the officials for owed food and taxes, and most of them have the scars of being flogged and tortured; It hurts like a cloudy day, and a gloomy wet cloud is pressed on the tip of the furrowed brow!Those helpless anger and pain converged on many familiar faces around them, which hurt people's eyes so painfully, causing sparks to burst out in the pupils of people's eyes, a spark that seemed to burn something, and when it burst out, it was so intense. It is hot and powerful, but it always disappears in the bright and dark space in front of me after a moment, as if a person has gone through the silence after that indignation! Who knows for what reason man has been so cruel to man since long ago?Who knows what method to use?What kind of power?Can this cruel and unfair punishment be wiped out from the world? ! From childhood, children have heard stories about tobacco fans in history from many ancient legends: stories about a hideous executioner wearing a big red robe and holding a ghost knife, who can swallow people's hearts alive.After the executioner kills someone, how does he run away with a knife in his hand, and hide under the God's case in the Town God's Temple to wait for the reward?Talk about exterminating three families and punishing nine clans, abandoning the city at the waist, exposing corpses in Yunyang, talking about the Tieqiu tomb watered with lime and glutinous rice juice, and full of injustice! He still remembers some ballads and songs mocking the dark, copper-smelling and blood-smelling government offices in the past, some ballads and songs spit out from the mouths of old men with white beards, always with a tone of half resentment and half lamentation : Officers and soldiers fear thieves as they fear wolves, It's hard to stop the army's thieves! or it could be: The eight-character yamen opens to the south! Don't come in if you have a reason and no money|come. Killing and arson free God, Take the money and walk through the back door! Poor scholar, rich man, There are officials to raise people, A scholar has no horse to ride Countless such ballads and songs spread the deep sighs of the general public like the wind. It described the various faces of the government at that time, the filthy old habits in the officialdom, the gloomy hall like a ghost town, and the bloody tiger teeth. Nailed boards covered with cloth, red lacquered large boards and black lacquered sticks, iron locks and iron chains, wolfish officials and yamen servants, shuttles, clamps, wooden cages for detaining people, number one flail boards, those old and moldy officials Powerful authority! Hearing these at the beginning, there are always images floating in the dark, and I feel extremely panic and fear in my heart. For some reason, I always feel that these resurrected images in the world of legends and ballads are related to another part of the underworld. The descriptions are similar, and the two are often confused and blended together. I wonder if the Yin Division is learning from the world?Or is the world learning from Yin Division?Seeing those images alone oppresses and surrounds people, although it makes people panic and fear, there is no escape! The human heart is like iron but not iron, and the law is like a furnace!Such ballads and songs contain the lament of watching with cold eyes. In that unbearable furnace, I fainted again and again, and poured cold water over and over again. I have to confess my grievances. How much grievance? !Later, when I heard it a lot, I resigned myself to my fate like a jumping and struggling fish in a net. It seems that the government offices from ancient times to the present are always so greedy and vicious, wrapping the truth in money as stuffing, and tyrannizing their hearts. Swallow it in one gulp; it's like kowtowing to see the blood, saying that the blue sky is the master, like a mirror hanging from the blue sky scolding, it's the small people's duty to take off their buttocks and beat the board.After the Qing Dynasty was changed to the Republic of China, the Beiyang Army was replaced by the self-sufficient Beiyang Army, and the local governments in various places intensified their methods of torture. All the brothers in the Liuhe Gang have been imprisoned, tortured and beaten, and even sacrificed their lives for others. The famous Guan Baye also left many scars that are difficult to get rid of. The most deplorable thing is that some local tyrants and evil gentry among the people, relying on the somewhat evil power they gained from colluding with Beiyang, have followed the example of the government and set up private criminal courts, making torture popular everywhere. Falling into the hands of Young Master Gu, he also caught this bad wind.Does he need to torture an innocent person like himself? And the guys outside didn't care what Wang Dagui was thinking about, they just cared about being so busy.Wang Dagui could see the huge black shadow of a stove appearing on the stone wall in front of him illuminated by the light, the black shadow was sometimes covered by the shadows passing by, and then revealed again, the stove mouth was inserted obliquely. Several soldering irons, with smoke on the flickering red flame; and he saw a tall, fantastic figure shaking a snake-like whip, dipping it into a bucket, and on the other side the stone wall reflecting the light, like Movies and pictures generally reflect these images. Looking at these, he felt his scalp numb and his spine chill, as if those shadows were biting his body, and he couldn't help thinking of the feeling of being tortured.No matter how courageous he is, he is a man of flesh and blood, facing the punishments that will be imposed on him, he is so terrified that he doesn't know what to do. Is it easy to mention someone?A carnivore-like voice said with a smile: "First come up and whip it thirty or fifty times, and then peel him a layer of skin." Don't be impatient, one said: Gu Ye hasn't come yet! Where did Gu Ye go? Shh The other lowered his voice: Went to the ancestral hall to see Wan Zhenquan who was imprisoned.In order to ease Guan Ba, he had to take Zhenquan into custody, which was a way to save Guan Ba. Don't talk about this, Gu Ye explained before he left, that if this guy confessed honestly and admitted that he was the murderer who intercepted and killed Hongyan Wanshu, he would not be tortured, if he didn't confess, he would be beaten to death, knocked to death Yes, drag it out and pull it down! Who will judge? It's the same for everyone, I'll do the trial!The first one with a rough voice shouted: "Take care, I've been here tonight to have a good time. I'm going to interrogate the murderer in the woods. Let's use it to beat a deer into a horse!" Following the man's voice, two guys in soap clothes came in, looking like a bull's head and a horse's face, each with one arm, crossed Wang Dagui up, and a person behind him unlocked the lock for him, and crossed Wang Dagui outside like this. The snake-like iron chain was still coiled around his neck, and the bell was clanging and dragging. Wang Dagui was standing there, and he heard a rough shout in his ear: Get down on your knees, you! Not allowing him to struggle any more, the two guys grabbed his arms instead, and the one behind followed his leg and kicked him fiercely, and he fell to his knees involuntarily.A guy with a Kongming lantern, shining the light on his eyelids. May I have your name?The other party asked him in a rough voice. My name is Wang Dagui.Wang Dagui said helplessly: Why do you bother to correct my wrongs so deliberately?If you have anything to say, please allow me to say it in front of Gu Ye, okay? ! Take off this evil clothes for me!said the man. When Wang Dagui heard this tone, he knew that the other party really came with a boat without a rudder!He tried to struggle, but his arms were gripped even tighter, and the severe pain of pulling his shoulders and back made his forehead sweat.Someone put his hand on his collar and tore it off forcefully, and with a chirping sound, the jacket on his upper body was torn off. The light blinded his eyes and made him see nothing. The man asked his age and place of origin, he said. I said, Wang Dagui, the man said: Since you are a walker, you have to keep your eyes bright. You should nod your head and admit it in the miscellaneous forest case. If you admit it, we will not Make it difficult for you, lest you procrastinate and tire your own flesh and blood. If you want to blame me, you can blame me.Wang Dagui said: Why must I confess? !In the morning, I was passing through the miscellaneous woods, and I heard a group of crows singing. When I entered the woods, I saw the dead body of Wan Shu. You asked me a thousand times, but I couldn’t come up with another word. Since Wan Shu was not killed by you, why did you sneakily intend to bury the body?The man said: "Now that things are going on, you still use cunning?" ! Wang Dagui gritted his teeth and said: At that time, some of you also saw the corpse there, they should be able to testify, if I killed Wanshu, wouldn't the corpse immediately stink and maggot?You forcefully hold me, what can I do? ! According to this, you are arrogant and refuse to admit that you committed the murder? How can I admit Fa'er?Wang Dagui shouted, "I didn't kill you, man." good!The man said: I will beat you for not admitting it.Make a wet leather whip for me first, and try to whip it fifty times. If you don't let him taste it, he won't learn to behave. The light shifted slightly, and the two guys holding his arms crossed him and dragged him diagonally in front of a stone wall, so that his face was facing the wall, and he inserted his wrist into the iron ring embedded in the wall, tightening the rubber band , another guy raised the whip behind his back. When the first whip was whipped, Wang Dagui gritted his teeth desperately, and his whole body trembled like an electric shock. The piercing pain caused a series of continuous convulsions in his back; when the whip was whipped again, his face turned brown. Lost blood, his arms twisted like wounded snakes between the iron rings.And the leather whip was chopping the wind, and it swam towards his naked back with a whimper. Every time the whip went down, there was a red and purple welt on his back. The guy who swung the whip to beat Wang Dagui twisted his body and whipped him, while counting in a murmur.Whip marks on Wang Dagui's back also increased one by one, those flat and concave welt marks raised rapidly and turned into some round fleshy columns, and Wang Dagui gradually fell into a coma. Knowing that all begging for forgiveness is useless, Wang Dagui gritted his teeth while being whipped, and did not make a sound; he closed his eyes in a semi-conscious state, and the whip fell on his back When he fell asleep, orange-red flames burst out from the darkness of his eyes, and many memories of the past that had been torn apart by pain turned into meteor-like blood rain and red poisonous anger, reappearing in his heart. When he was being whipped, he seemed to be thinking of something, but the successive shadows of the whip stripped his thoughts, shattered all the consciousness he could gather, and turned into countless floating and swirling bubbles, expanding and rising, Constantly breaking apart, he couldn't connect it into a more obvious meaning. He passed out! Throw him a ladle of water! 一瓢兜頭澆下的冷水使王大貴從游離飄忽中醒轉，他嘴裏漾著異樣腥甜的血味，四肢軟軟的舒陳著，彷彿連骨頭也被脊背上的創痛熬化了。一聲不能自禁的模糊的呻吟從他咬緊的牙縫中流出來，他的頭萎嚲著，前額抵觸在石壁上面。 你學點兒乖罷，王大貴，那個聲音說：這樣跟你自己的皮肉為難，何苦呢？ ! 王大貴沒說話，他的牙關死死的咬著，有半晌張不開嘴來；當左右把他的腕子從鐵環中鬆脫時，他便像一堆死肉似的蜷縮著癱伏在地上。 我要見牯爺他緩緩的說。 你究竟招認不招認？ 王大貴抬起臉，這回燈光沒直刺著他的眼，他看見眼前的石室裏一付地獄般的景象；一爐熾燃的炭火吐著紅舌，像許多分叉的蛇信，舐著幾柄燒紅的烙鐵，問話的那個漢子把一隻腿高搭在石凳一端，歪著身子，雙手抱著膝頭，把伸著的下巴抵在交叉的手背上，兩眼灼灼的，有野狼食肉時那種貪婪的神情；另有幾個皂衣的漢子環列著，兩手叉腰，臉上掛著漠然的冷笑，挽鞭的漢子把那條皮鞭又浸回木桶裏去，一隻大鐵壺裏發出一股難聞的煤油的氣味，一付梭子摜在他的面前。 我要見牯爺他重複著說。 讓他先坐坐老虎凳，這個潑皮！ 這當口的王大貴，業已變成刀俎上的魚肉，祗有聽由人擺佈的份兒了，兩個傢伙把他叉上石凳時，他軟得像一具尚沒變殭的屍體，祗有凹下去的兩眼還活著。 人都說走鹽的漢子全像是金剛，那人說：原來也不過如此，吃不住一頓鞭子就抽萎了腦袋！來罷，替我先加他一塊磚頭。 老虎凳那種玩意兒算是惡毒的刑具，普通人朝上一坐，三魂就走了二魂；王大貴被拖上石凳，靠牆坐著，兩腿併直平伸在石凳的凳面上，一個人用手指粗的麻繩，在他膝蓋上部連著凳面捆緊，另一個把木槓從他足踝下面穿過去，然後兩人抓著槓頭朝上猛提，硬扳他的小腿，在他腳跟下面墊上了一塊磚頭。 滋味怎樣？那人說，帶著關心的、嘲弄的語調。 王大貴滿臉的皺紋朝一處聚攏，臉孔扭歪著，露出兩排緊咬著的牙齒；很顯然的，這種新的刑罰又像木榨一般的，以另一種痛苦刺入他的神經，把他身體裏面僅賸的精力榨出來，他一會兒咬牙，一會兒張大嘴吞氣，掙扎得像一條離水的魚。 他處在這種絕望中，突然想到這群人這樣存心磨折自己，必定是牯爺授意的，牯爺明知自己是六合幫的人，偏要這般藉機留難，不讓自己跟關八爺碰面，這裏面必定大有文章，照這種情形看來，想活著見到八爺是很難的了！想到這兒，他眼圈發赤，不勝欷歔的滾下淚來，竟把他正在受刑的疼痛忘了。 嘿嘿，這才放你一塊磚頭，瞧你那兩泡熊人淚就滾成這個樣兒了！那個說：你還是畫供罷。要不然，我叫他們再加你兩塊磚，你的腿骨非斷不可！ 我沒什麼好供的，王大貴說：我業已說過了！我死活祗要見牯爺一面，問個明白，究竟為什麼要這樣折磨我？不讓我去見關八爺？ ! 你甭癡心妄想了，關八如今祗怕是泥菩薩過河自身難保。你除了死心塌地的認供之外，再沒第二條路可走，你懂罷？ 王大貴軟弱的喘息著，深陷的眼裏含著悲憤。 你打算熬刑？ !那人剔起眉毛說。 我不得不熬他說：橫豎命祗一條，你愛怎麼擺佈，就由你怎麼擺佈罷！我認命了！牯爺他跟北洋防軍有勾結，怕我把消息漏入關八爺的耳朵，你們就安排著這麼整我，我王大貴想通了。 你想通了更好，萬樹這條命案，你死活全都賴不掉，來罷，再加他一塊磚頭！ 扳著小腿的槓子朝上抬，王大貴的兩條小腿被曲成弓背形，疼得他骨肉分家，張開嘴，呵呵的斷續的嚎叫。 畫供罷，那人的臉在虛空裏搖晃著：畫了供，你就安逸了！你想再嘗嘗烙鐵？ 王大貴就覺得那張在虛空裏晃動的人臉，不斷的變形，不斷的擴大，波漾波漾的飄開去，祗留下恫嚇性的聲音，像鐘鳴一般，在空虛裏嗡嗡然的響著，那彷彿又不是聲音，而是一些透明的閃光的箭鏃，從四面八方射過來，穿透他的肌膚，射入他的心臟，那種肉體的劇痛已由局部擴展到全身，他覺得那已經不是熬刑之痛，那是在這塊老蒼天底下做人的苦痛，這苦痛原和自己的生命相連。 熬著罷，王大貴；是的，我正在熬著關八爺那樣的人，不也正跟弟兄們一起熬著麼？ !天在旋，地在轉，燈焰拉長，跳起，人臉像浮泡般的上升，這一切全像是醉中所作的噩夢，他不會再跟關八爺見面，也不會再回鹽市去赴死了！他不能跟野火般的難民群捲在一起，自沙窩子中躍起去截擊北洋的敗軍了！ 他暈過去了！ 潑水。 再一瓢水澆下去，使他從噩夢裏醒轉，有一張臉貼近他，他認出那是牯爺。 緩緩的抽掉一塊磚，我要跟他講話，牯爺說：他認了沒有？ 早得很，審問的那人說：他慣會熬刑。 抽去一塊磚之後，王大貴回過氣來，陰鬱的瞧著小牯爺。 你甭瞪著瞧我，牯爺說：我也知道雜樹林那宗命案不是你幹的，紅眼萬樹原是死在萬小喜兒手裏，不過，你既是關八的人，我就不便留你活著：你認，也是死，不認，也一樣。你認了我打算給你一口棺材。 我寧願餵餓狗！王大貴說：生死是另一回事，為人不能沒是非。你若圖謀八爺，你甭以為你能得好死！ 罵得好。牯爺說：我就是圖謀關八，也不會落得你這樣下場，你已經死到臨頭，犯不著為我擔憂。你說你有是非？我偏要來它個顛倒是非！來人抓著他的手，替他在供狀上把指模捺上，日後我要說：王大貴在雜樹林截殺萬樹，他自己供認了的！ 王大貴狠狠的挫著牙，但牯爺業已拂著袖子走了；臨走回頭交代幾句說：供狀弄妥後，用不著再留著他，趁黑拖出南柵門，替我打掉。屍首埋妥，不用驚動旁人，這事務必在天亮前辦妥。 一個更次之後，幾個傢伙回到牯爺宅裏，鐵鏟上面猶自沾著潮濕的新泥他們並不知道，他們埋下去的不單是一個王大貴，而是鹽市上那一群力抗北洋，渴盼援兵的死士。 王大貴被害後的第二天，萬梁鋪裏的關八爺就接到了牯爺差人送來的晚宴帖子，帖子上寫的有茲有要事，需當面懇商字樣。 關八爺看了帖子，對來人說：你回去跟牯爺回稟，就說我準時到府就是了。我的腿傷轉好了許多，正打算轉赴柴家堡和三星寨去，趁這個機會跟牯爺碰碰面，該是再好不過的了。 來人剛剛一走，老賬房程青雲就踱近關八爺身邊來了；他端著水煙袋，一臉的愁容。 我說八爺，依我看，牯爺這餐飯，您就是推辭了也罷，您沒仔細瞧瞧萬家樓的光景，在在都對您不利。這些日子，不堪入耳的謠言這麼多，族議時，他老二房的萬振全當面污辱您，牯爺雖在面子上敷衍，實則就是軟扣著您，萬家樓在牯爺手上，根本缺欠拉槍援救鹽市的誠意，所以才有這麼多的是非和磨難。如今您腿傷還沒痊癒，最好是少出門，以您的聲名，萬家樓任誰也不敢明明白白的怎樣您，若是施暗箭，那可就不同了。 您放心罷，老爹。關八爺淡淡的說：甭說在萬家樓我跟誰都向無仇隙，即算有仇隙，我也不避著誰。我能去羊角鎮單會四判官，也就能去會牯爺；我這回來萬家樓，祗是替鹽市求援來的，我想，牯爺他決不至於因為這事記恨我我沒強著萬家樓定非拉槍不可。您說是不是呢？ 說是這麼說，老賬房悶悶的說：我弄不懂，您難道就不覺得您料事有時太大意了麼？八爺，我知道，我不該這樣頂撞您。 關八爺輕嘆了一口氣，他內心異常感謝老賬房對他所抱的那種固執的關心，這些日子來，焦急和悶氣把心裏塞得滿滿的，彷彿因著槍傷，自己便陷進一座黑黑的深井，風暴在井外捲旋著，而井底祗有令人窒息的鬱悶。 他原以為在羊角鎮收了朱四判官那撥人槍後，北地各大戶都能迅速拉槍赴援，解除鹽市危困的，誰知這些大族大戶，看樣子都缺少遠見，當驚天動地的亂局來臨時，不能一致奮起，掌握機勢，使一方生靈免於塗炭，而祗求自保，甘作縮在硬殼裏的烏龜！ 自己的傷勢雖沒痊癒，但經悉心調治後，業已能扶杖行走，為了早一日打破這種鬱悶，就不能在此地多作停留，趁此見一見牯爺也好，最後把話說明，自己就該走了！如果柴家堡、三星寨也像萬家樓一樣的短視猶疑，自己祗有匹馬赴鹽市，還他們一個信字，也許程師爺掛慮是對的，處身局外的人，多半是心明眼亮，如今自己徒有虛名在外，祗是赤手空拳緊抱著一個理字作為依恃，萬一遇上不論理的人，真對自己下手，自己又有什麼辦法？不過這些有關本身安危的事情，業已不遑多顧了。 八爺，您實在要出門，我勸您還是把短槍貼身帶著。老賬房說：俗說：欺人之心不可有，防人之心不可無，帶把槍防身，總多一分仗恃。 用不著了，老爹。關八爺笑笑說：我一生處事，所仗所恃就是不虧理，遇上不論理的人，多把短槍也沒有什麼用處，可不是？我若是不放心萬家樓的人，還能在這兒療傷？ 老賬房一時語塞了。關八爺是那種人，吐話出口，四稜四角都是理字，有著抬不動的份量，你不能批斷他有什麼不是，但你又不能不為他擔心；他不聲不響的咈著火煝兒去吸水煙，一朵花樣的藍焰映著他緊鎖的眉。 您甭過份為我掛懷，老爹。關八爺看在眼裏，深為感動，反拿話安慰說：我這半生，可算是屢經厄難，凡事我自會如您囑咐，格外當心，遇有人力不能保全的兇險，我相信天會助我。 天會助您，是的，天會助您！老賬房喃喃的，又像是自語，又像是祝禱，忽然他像獲得什麼似的舒展了愁顏。 天色還早，關八爺扶著杖，在圓門相隔的小院裏閒閒的試了一會兒步，又到馬棚裏去看視他的白馬，白馬一塊玉真是一匹了不得的神駿的牲口，關八爺自從帶傷來到萬家樓之後，這還是初次來看視牠。 略略西斜的日頭照著圓門外的前大院子，陽光麗亮金黃，關八爺緩緩的走在方磚鋪成的通道上，寂靜裏，祗聽見他手中拐杖杖頭點地的聲音，篤、篤、篤篤，這聲音聽在關八爺的耳裏，總有些寂寞蕭條的味道。他遲疑了一忽兒，偏過臉去看著自己孤獨的扶杖的影子，在那一剎間，有一陣淒涼的黯影掠過了他的眼眉 拴在棚陰中的白馬一塊玉，很遠就認出了牠的主人，不安的刨著蹄子，搖著鬃毛，發出一連串短促的、歡悅的噴鼻聲。 關八爺抬臉看著牠，那匹馬經過鋪裏照看牲口的夥計悉心調理，渾身不沾半點泥汙，更顯得潔白如玉，那些短而密的白毛順著牠的軀幹根根緊貼著，現出一片白漆般的光澤來，彷彿要衝破一棚陰黯直飛向藍空。 是的，牠是一匹罕見的好馬，在這樣的亂世，正要有豪士騎著牠去除妖靖患，幹一番不負此生的事業，他看著牠，便憶起當初業爺贈馬的厚意，憶起保爺生前澤被江湖的隆情，如今對馬懷人，倍增悽惶之感。 也許是一個人在孤獨傷病中易生感觸罷，滿心的愁情使人豪情銳氣都消滅了很多，偶爾念及朝朝代代，有過多少豪傑英雄？更有過多少駿馬名駒？他們有的南征北討，東蕩西除，把半生的歲月消磨在馬背上，有的忠心保主，誓師勤主，血染征袍，效命在荒浩浩的沙場！他們竟終生之力，究竟為人們帶來了多少安樂？多少承平？如今萬里山河依舊是滿目瘡夷，前人的愛心，前人的恩澤，卻都蕩然無存了！ 由是可知，人心的貪婪欲念不除，愛字無法生根，再多的英雄豪傑也無法在石上栽花！在世道終久得不著真的太平！我關八算是什麼？也不過是狂風中的一粒飛沙罷了！念起拯世救民來熱血湧騰無法自已，提到奸暴邪淫時目齜欲裂，憤恨填胸，其實這都是人之常情，也祗是為人的本質，半生捲在血淵裏，非但沒拯得誰，救得誰，反而使一幫跟隨自己的兄弟慘死在自己的左右，使愛姑那樣的弱女受辱，使得業爺兄弟依舊沉冤，關東山、關東山！你究竟做了些什麼？鹽市之圍沒解，萬人寄望你拉槍救援，在這黑夜欲去未去，辰光欲臨未臨的時辰，你竟陷在往昔追思的愁情中，祗知向空無感嘆麼？ 去罷，真的也該去了！用這帶著傷的殘軀投入鹽市的烽火，那就是你這一生被注定了的模式，在悲慘的抗爭之中，那悲慘的本身就將是唯一無憾的完整義行！好拿它告訴活著的，我是如此生，如此感，如此抗爭，如此慘死的，再沒有比這樣更真實的了！ 我說八爺，您這樣不言不語的呆站著，究竟是在想些什麼？ 關八爺一回頭，原來老賬房程青雲不知在什麼時候來的，正站在自己的背後望著自己呢。 哦，我祗是來看看白馬罷了！ 業爺當初贈馬給八爺算是贈對了！老賬房說：好馬贈壯士，像一塊玉這樣的馬，也祗有八爺才配騎牠，記得那夜牠在暴雨裏馱著八爺來這兒，渾身盡是泥汙和汗氣，那種白茫茫分不清點的暴雨，那樣蓋著人頭頂的焦雷，虧得是牠，若是常馬，非驚得離路不可！ 不錯，牠確是救了我。關八爺回憶著說：那夜牠若是驚躓，我非在半途上摔馬，依當時的傷勢，一摔馬就再難攀得上鞍我這條命，算是牠替我撿回來的。 您瞧！老賬房指著白馬說：牠老遠就認識了你，您瞧牠那種撒歡的樣子。 一塊玉的不凡就在這裏，關八爺說：牠不但老遠就能認出我，在黑夜裏能嗅出我的氣味，無論何時，即使牠在槽上拴著，祗要我一吹喚馬的呼哨兒，牠就會掙斷韁繩，奔到我的面前這也許是我跟白馬一塊玉特別投緣罷！ ah!這真是稀奇事兒！老賬房驚說：不過，飼馬刷馬的夥計就夠慘的了，這牲口大約祗認一個主兒，不認旁人，旁人近牠，牠不單踢，還會咬，上回刷馬，得召好幾個人挾制著牠。 其實牠並不十分暴躁，關八爺說：遇上懂得馬性的飼馬人，牠還算很溫馴的，祗是不服旁人騎牠罷了，但凡好馬，沒有不認主兒的。 老賬房兀自在讚嘆著。關八爺緩緩的走進馬棚。 一塊玉，一塊玉！他輕輕的撫了撫馬項，那匹白馬便攏過來，無限溫柔的使馬項擦著他的肩膀，更咬弄著環結、親他、嗅他、嚄嚄的噴鼻代替牠心裏的言語。 一塊玉。他喚著牠的名字：那夜你曾救了我，但我卻無法救得你，咱們祗有同生共死，同一命運明天也許咱們就要離開萬家樓，到別處去了 八爺，您真的打算動身了？老賬房跟過來說。 Yes.關八爺說：我今晚見過牯爺之後，回來就要走，煩您著人先把鞍子給備上，肚帶拴緊，槍替我插在馬囊裏，再煩替我備份乾糧！ 您不嫌太急促？我是指您的腿傷 腿傷差不多也算是好了。關八爺說：我無法再等下去，萬家樓位在荒蕩中央，消息不通，我像被囚困在甕裏，也不知外間情勢變化成什麼樣子了！也許牯爺處消息靈通些，我得聽聽他的看法和說法。 就因著關八爺急於會見牯爺，故此在那場晚宴當中，關八爺這位主客到得最早。他在黃昏初起時扶著拐杖走過大街，拐進靠近南門的牯爺宅前的橫街，一路上跟街坊上的萬家族人打著招呼，拐進橫街時，有穿皂衣的槍隊上人過來接著他。 八爺您來得真夠早。一個漢子過來攙扶說：瞧您的腿傷，好得多了。 多承關注，關八爺笑說：著實好得多了！ 從萬梁鋪過來，走有大半條街，您該騎馬的。 不，試試步兒，也許好得快些。 他們這樣閒話著，就走到牯爺的家宅門前。 在萬家樓，七支旁族中的祖宅在建築形式上都是差不多的，祗是位處萬家樓東南隅的老二房的祖宅曾遭火劫，所以屋頂、大顯門和影壁長牆都是後修的，看上去新舊滲合在一起，顯得很不調和。 快去通報牯爺，關八爺來了！ 登上石級的關八爺雖沒喘息，卻覺得傷口以上關節部位的筋肉一經費力，仍有著針刺一般的抽痛，由此可知槍傷損及了筋骨，若不經長時的調息，雖然長合了傷口，也談不上真正痊癒。他站在顯門的平臺上，手撫著顯門邊的獅獸的背脊，回臉西向，西天的霞雲璀燦，正燒成火橙色的黃昏，一群盤繞的鴿群飛過那片透明的火紅光，落在萬家宗祠的高樓尖頂上。那彷彿是一種意欲向他顯示什麼的天象；大火般的紅光是整個北方大野的真實處境，那鴿群是人們卑微的渴望承平的意願，在那種處境中，連人們的意願都被大火煎熬著。 他皺著眉，陰影棲息在他的眉間，他不能相信偏處在萬家樓的人們能不感覺到這個，感到這種巨大的煎熬。 八爺，牯爺來接您來了！ 關八爺轉過身，小牯爺業已跨出高門檻兒，一路上抱拳嚷著奔出來，說：不知您來得這麼早，八爺，真是得罪得罪，您的腿傷不妨事了？ 哪裏，哪裏？ !關八爺也還了個揖說：多承掛念，兄弟的腿也算合了口，勉強行得了。 經過一番揖讓，關八爺穿過兩進通道，來到牯爺家的大廳裏落了座，沒等關八爺先開口，牯爺就爽快的提起正事來。 我說八爺，您這回帶傷來到萬家樓，本是來向咱們替鹽市求援的，這許多日子來，因著業爺橫死，族事紛繁，萬家樓實在是有負厚望不，我這並非謙詞，您先聽我把話說完。我召族人開祠堂門議事，拉槍赴援的大事沒決，萬振全那個惡魯人，反而當眾辱及了您，這都是我的錯失，趁這個機會，容我當面告罪，至於萬振全他無憑無據的信口開河，容我以族規重責他 黃昏光落在大廳外寬敞光潔的方磚天井裏，由清澄變為渾濁，大廳裏也逐漸的沉黯朦朧了；關八爺看不清牯爺背著窗光的臉上的神情，單聽他的語音卻是真誠的，爽直的，並不迴避自己心中疑慮的事情。 算了，牯爺，萬振全你就開釋了他罷，算是看我的薄面，如何？關八爺說：萬家樓族議時，兄弟在場，各房族猶疑著不能立時決定拉槍援赴鹽市，這事也怪不得您，鹽市當初張出護鹽保壩的帖子，開罪北洋防軍，我關八卸不脫這付擔子，如今他們陷入危境，等著盼著我，我即使不動此地的人槍，也得隻身回去，對他們算是有一番交代。 燃上吊燈。牯爺叫喚說：來人把吊燈燃上。又轉朝關八爺說：八爺，您的處境，兄弟知道得夠清楚，不過，請您放心的是我探聽得消息，老七房的珍爺，業已領著沙河口的壯丁，一路召喚各地零散槍枝赴援鹽市，如今正跟鹽市的方爺在一起！ 噢，關八爺被這消息撼動了，旋即讚嘆說：想不到珍爺那樣文弱的人，到生死關頭，竟能有這份大仁大勇！ 珍爺既是萬家樓的人，萬家樓可算是業已開罪了防軍，牯爺說：人到一撕開臉來，也就顧慮不了那許多了我打算即時著人運糧草去接濟那邊，再把這消息傳告族人，也許他們會及早拿定主意，再遣出幾百條槍去協助珍爺。 Well!Well!關八爺帶著興奮和感激說：既然這樣，我打算今夜就轉道去柴家堡，三星寨和七星灘，盡快邀集人槍拉過去。 牯爺微微的笑著，自覺過去把關東山估得太精明了，事實正相反，他是個直性得不會轉彎的人，自己從王大貴嘴裏掏得的一點兒消息，再加上幾句不兌現的允諾，就把他給穩住了。至少日後他關東山遇著什麼意外，不會再疑心到自己頭上。 他這些時處心積慮安排的，也正是這個 這時候，大廳當中的六盞大吊燈全燃亮了，把偌大的廳房照得通明，牯爺另外柬邀的一些族裏的陪客們也都陸續的進屋，暫時打斷了他們的談話。一直到大夥兒入了席，牯爺才又重新拾起話頭來。 我有宗事，要當著諸位的面跟八爺明說。他舉起酒盞來，跟關八爺碰了碰杯。