Wang Ping'an was stuffed into a sack, his heart filled with unspeakable panic. This was the first time he had encountered such a thing in modern times, and he had no experience to draw upon from his past life in the Tang Dynasty. He could only try to reason with them from within the sack, as it's not wise for a good man to take a beating over something that can be avoided by giving in.

  He said: "Two good men, I really have no money, just passing by, you tied me up is useless, I have neither wealth nor beauty, what's the point of robbing me?"

  A sturdy man hoisted him onto his back, patted his buttocks over the sack and laughed: "Who says that just because someone is carrying a stick in the middle of the night, they must be a bandit and need to be tied up? We're from the Horse Release Village, we're honest citizens, not bandits!"

  "What's the point of putting a sack on me if you're not going to rob me?" Wang Pingan was so frustrated, wanting to struggle but also afraid of losing out in front of everyone.

  Another strong man said: "You send him back first, don't hurt him, otherwise it will be hard to explain in the yamen, I'll wait here and see if anyone else comes looking for trouble."

  He grunted and, carrying Wang Ping'an on his back, strode off with large steps, jogging along the way. No matter how many times Wang Ping'an asked him questions, he didn't respond!

  After a long bumpy ride, the strong man finally stopped, seemingly arriving at someone's home. Wang Ping'an, still covered with the sack, couldn't see but heard many men talking. In his heart, he cried out in despair, "I've fallen into a den of robbers! I'm going to die!"

  Someone asked: "He Lao San, why did you lie in ambush for half a day and only bring back one person? Don't the people from Wuli Village come to look for them, leaving these few people on our Zhuang?"

  The sturdy man carrying Wang Ping'an said: "I don't know what people in Wulicun want, it's not even midnight yet, I guess they didn't expect us to catch someone!" He put down the sack and let Wang Ping'an out.

  Wang Ping'an only felt the light in front of him was dazzling, and after adapting for a moment, he opened his eyes to find himself in a large courtyard. In front of him was a spacious hall that looked like an ancestral temple. The courtyard had two teams of sturdy men standing neatly, each holding torches, with their waists straight and their posture upright. From their stance, they seemed well-trained, with the air of military soldiers, and didn't look like mountain bandits.

  "Peace, peace! How did you also get caught!" Someone suddenly shouted out.

  Wang Ping'an was taken aback, wasn't this his father's voice?! He looked inside the ancestral hall and saw several rows of memorial tablets on the altar, with a big man sitting beside them. Next to the big man sat his own father, Wang Youcai, with five or six people squatting beside him, surprisingly all villagers from Wulicun. Behind them stood five or six sturdy men, each tall and straight as nails.

  Before Wang Ping'an could respond, the big man on the platform said: "What is Master Wang talking about? How can you say that he was caught and also say 'also' caught? Our Ma Zhuang is a place where imperial soldiers are stationed to rest, we follow the rules and laws, and we have never arrested people indiscriminately! When Master Wang comes to our place, we treat him as a guest. This young master comes here, we invite him!"

  Wang Youcai didn't have the mood to reason with the big man, he stood up and said: "Son, how did you come here? There's something at home, hurry back home!" As he spoke, he wanted to come over, but a big man behind him pressed his hand, pressing Wang Youcai back into the chair.

  A robust man named He Lao San pushed Wang Ping An, pushing him into the hall. Wang Ping An was pushed into the house, and he was very surprised in his heart. It turned out that this was not a den of thieves, but some kind of rest home for government soldiers? How did his father offend someone from the military, what's going on here?

  He came to Wang Youcai's side after his death, grasped his father's hand and said: "Dad, what's going on? Didn't our family pay enough taxes?"

  Wang Youcai grasped his son's hand tightly and shook his head with a bitter smile: "If this matter is not resolved well today, then we will really be unable to pay taxes in the future!"

  The big fellow grunted and said, "Master Wang is joking. We're not taking all the river water. Why do you have to say it so sadly, as if we're bullying you?"

  Wang Youcai thought to himself, "Isn't this just bullying? They're detaining me and bringing my son in, isn't that bullying? Are they serving people or what?" He was unhappy in his heart but didn't dare say it out loud.

  The big Han on the hall picked up two papers from the tea table, shook them, and said: "This contract will you press your handprint or not? If you are unwilling to press it, let your son press it. Hmm, is this your little prince? The appearance is quite handsome, but the body is a bit thin!"

  Wang Youcai shook his head like a rattle drum, saying repeatedly: "I cannot press this seal, this contract will cut off the livelihood of our entire village, how can I agree to it? I won't press the seal, I won't!"

  One of the tall men guarding them shouted angrily, "Don't refuse to drink the penalty wine. Now we just want to divide some river water with you, if it gets to the government office, then your land will also be divided!"

  Don't look at Wang Youcai, normally a good and gentle Mr., quite easy to talk to, but when encountering major issues, he is not weak in the slightest. No matter how the big men scolded and threatened him, he wouldn't nod his head in agreement. Wang Ping'an couldn't figure out what was going on and had no way of speaking up to help his father.

  The man who was shouting loudly suddenly stopped, and then a young servant rushed into the hall, leaned over to the big man's ear and whispered a few words. The big man's face changed color, stood up and said: "Master Wang, think carefully again, if you can't figure it out, we'll go to see the official in the city tomorrow!" Saying that, he strode into the back hall, his expression flustered, unknown what he was going to do.

  Wang Ping'an then asked his father in a low voice, "Who is this person? What happened that it had to be taken to the officials?" Wang Youcai said a few words to him, and only then did Wang Ping'an understand.

  It turned out that Fangmazi Village and Wulicun were different, Wulicun was a place where ordinary civilians lived, while Fangmazi Village was a resting place for retired soldiers, half-farming and half-soldiering, up to now, it is still providing the imperial court with a source of garrison troops.

  The old master of Fangmazuang was named Qi Laoda, who followed Li Yuan, the Emperor Gaozu of Tang, to rebel against the Sui dynasty at the end of the Sui dynasty. He was a brave soldier in the army at that time and had been a traveling general. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the soldiers were allocated land, Qi Laoda and his soldiers were allocated land outside Xuzhou City, which was the most fertile land, located upstream of the Xiaoxigou River. The name Fangmazuang comes from "release armor and return to the fields", meaning horses are released in the southern mountains.

  The Xiao Xi Gou River is a tributary of the Yellow River, not very large, with little water flow. Fang Ma Zhuang is located upstream, while Wu Li Village is downstream. For farmers who make a living by farming, water is life. Without water, crops cannot be irrigated, and there will be no harvest, and therefore no food to eat. Therefore, the river water of Xiao Xi Gou is an extremely important productive resource.

  Today, Wang Ping'an saw a doctor for Wang Fusheng. He mentioned not to drink river water before. Wang Youcai took it to heart and felt that the river's water level seemed to have dropped significantly in recent days. So he led the villagers along the riverbank to see what was causing this.

  The result went all the way to Fang Ma Zhuang and found that the people in the village had opened a fork in the river, dug a new small river, and diverted a lot of water, which reduced the water volume downstream! Wang Youcai immediately stopped doing it. When Fang Ma Zhuang was first built, he had made an agreement with Wuli Village, specifically mentioning the issue of river water. At that time, the old owner Qi Lao Da was new to the area and was easy to talk to, promising not to arbitrarily divert the river course, so as not to affect the harvest due to insufficient water volume downstream.

  This year, the old master of the Qi family, Qi Lao Da, no longer manages things. His son, Qi Huan, took over and became the new master. Without consulting Wang Youcai, he diverted the river course. When Wang Youcai came to reason with him, he even detained Wang Youcai and demanded that he sign a new contract, explicitly agreeing to re-allocate the water! This is something Wang Youcai cannot agree to, as it concerns his future livelihood and is absolutely non-negotiable!

  Wang Pingan's head was throbbing with pain, and he whispered: "Father, they were originally government soldiers, there must be someone in the government office, if we fight a lawsuit, we will likely suffer!"

  "So, I'm telling you, son, you must take the imperial examination in the future and not let your old man suffer this kind of humiliation at such an old age!"

  Also: If book friends think this book is okay, please put it on your bookshelf. If you have a recommendation ticket, vote for this book. I'll be eternally grateful! Thank you all here!

  Chrysanthemum and Goji Berry Tea

  Friends who have been staring at the computer for a long time, or students who read books at home, often feel that their eyes are dry and gritty, with bloodshot eyes. You must try this tea because juhua is very effective in treating eye fatigue and blurred vision, while gouqi is rich in vitamin A and is a mild eye-protecting food.

  Chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea is made by infusing chrysanthemum flowers and wolfberries together. Each time, use 10 grams of Hangbai chrysanthemum and 10 grams of wolfberries, add them to a large teapot, pour in hot boiling water, and it can be drunk after 10 minutes.