The ace special forces who dominated the Sui dynasty's late period

  That afternoon, Yang Jishan sent someone to deliver 370 taels of silver. Xiao Xin took charge and allocated three taels of silver per household, with the remaining silver going towards public use for the entire village. The twenty taels of silver won from Yang Heihu were also meant to be left in the village for public use according to Liu Ziqiu's intention, but Xiao Xin firmly refused, so he had no choice but to hand it over to Gao Xiuer for safekeeping first.

  The salt field was officially put into operation, and the new Changshan Village was also under construction at the same time.

  According to the scale of the salt farm, Li only required Changshan Village to provide 80 young and strong laborers. With dividends, these young people did not have wages, but the salt farm would provide a free lunch. Li was meticulous in his calculations and would not casually raise idle people.

  The salt farm is well-built, with exposed salt fields and ditches, while other areas are made of green bricks and tiles. In comparison, the houses in Xin Changshan Village look much simpler, still using rammed earth walls and thatched roofs.

  Eighty young and strong men who were sent to work in the salt fields were all assigned by Xiao Xin, and Liu Ziqiu was among them. He worked at the salt fields during the day and returned to the banks of Qiantang River at night to build his new home, also teaching Gao Xiuer boxing along the way. His days passed busily yet fulfillingly.

  Half a month later, the new Changshan Village was built and the villagers moved into their new homes. The once desolate beach became bustling with activity. Unexpectedly, many years later, this place became a sacred spot for watching the Qiantang River tide.

  Another half month passed, and the salt farm finally produced its first batch of edible salt. The Yang family had already smoothed out all the connections and directly supplied it as official salt to various places, making a handsome profit. Looking at the piles of silver, Yang Jishan was in high spirits and rewarded Li with 50 taels of silver on the spot. Li was also very happy and announced that the entire farm would have a one-day holiday upon his return.

  Liu Ziqiu, who had been busy for a month, also returned home, or more accurately, to the big cow's home. Compared with the old house, the biggest change was that the thatched hut had increased from two rooms to three, and several chrysanthemum flowers were newly planted in the corner of the yard.

  Looking at the scenery in front of him, Liu Ziqiu had a feeling of unreality. A top special forces soldier had actually fallen to become a laborer in an ancient salt field, leaving him speechless. He finally made up his mind, taking advantage of tomorrow's day off to go see Yuan Tiangong.

  "Older brother, dinner is ready!"

  Xiu'er's clear and crisp shout broke Liu Ziqiu's train of thought.

  Today's dinner is sumptuous, with chicken, fish and a plate of clams, far exceeding the usual standard. Liu Ziqiu couldn't help but ask in surprise: "What day is today?"

  "Big brother, this is specially prepared for you. I've already learned the first five internal skills, and now it's time for you to teach me boxing. This is a special treat for you. Don't worry, it didn't cost you much money. The chicken was caught by Zhangzi, the fish was given by Aunt San, and the clams were dug up by Xiangcao and me on the beach."

  "Money earned is meant to be spent, don't be so stingy." Liu Ziqiu smiled and suddenly said seriously: "The inner strength of Xingyiquan has a total of twelve forms. You only spent one month learning the five forms of 'Hai Di Lou Yue', 'Shi Zi Bo Qiu', ' Shen Long Hui Shou', 'Kai He Zhuan Jing' and 'Zuo Gu You Pan'. It's not easy to achieve this in such a short time. From now on, you must practice diligently every day, without interruption, and it will greatly benefit your body!"

  "Don't worry, big brother, I guarantee you won't be disappointed." Gaixiu'er got excited and said: "Right, big brother, tomorrow I want to go into the city for a trip."

  Liu Ziqiu glanced at Xiang Cao and said, "Isn't her illness all better now?"

  Gao Xiuer smiled and said, "It's not for Xiangcao to see a doctor. It's already August, the weather is getting cooler, you can't always sleep on the ground, right? I plan to add a bed at home, buy a few more quilts, and also want to buy some pens, ink, paper, and inkstones."

  Liu Ziqiu was surprised and said: "What is the use of buying pen, ink, paper and inkstone?"

  Gaixiu'er said proudly: "Big brother is illiterate, I want to teach big brother to recognize characters."

  Recalling the scene where Xiao Xin snatched the contract from his hand, Liu Ziqiu found it amusing. He didn't expect this little girl to be so thoughtful, and he couldn't help but gently pat her head, saying: "Who says big brother is illiterate? Big brother knows many characters that you don't know!"

  When learning boxing, it's inevitable to have physical contact. After a long time, Gao Xiuer was no longer as shy as before and didn't dodge anymore, but her face would still turn red. There was one thing that Liu Ziqiu had observed for a long time and found strange: every time Gao Xiuer's left cheek would flush, while her ugly right cheek wouldn't change at all, and he didn't know what kind of illness she had.

  Gao Xiuer couldn't believe Liu Ziqiu's words, secretly sticking out her tongue and whispering: "Bragger!"

  Tonight, there is no moonlight, only a sky full of stars. Gao Xiuer began to practice her moves in the small courtyard. The courtyard's fence and walls were tightly woven, so she didn't have to worry about being peeked at from outside. She also didn't need to wait until very late to practice martial arts.

  After watching Gao Xiuer's practice, Liu Ziqiu nodded and said: "You're practicing well, I can teach you the fist method now, let's start with the pounce punch."

  Gao Xiuer blinked and asked: "Why not a cannon punch?"

  Liu Ziqiu smiled and said: "As a daughter belongs to water, of course she should learn the Water Fist first."

  The sky brightened, and the three set off towards Yangguan City. Under the sunlight, Gao Xiuer's half-right face looked particularly ugly, and passersby couldn't help but steal glances. However, Liu Ziqiu had seen more than that and didn't think it was that unsightly.

  Unlike last time, today the city gate of Yan Guan Cheng is crowded with many people, and there are several soldiers guarding it, as if something has happened.

  Vanilla said: "It's really lively. Sister, let's go take a look."

  Today, I came into the city without any urgent matters. Liu Ziqiu also came with enthusiasm. Relying on his tall and strong physique, he squeezed in after a few pushes. He looked up to see that there were several notices posted at the city gate, each with a picture of a person and a large "X" marked through it.

  Suddenly, a loud cry of "ah" was heard from behind, followed by the sound of Xiang Cao frantically shouting: "Miss, miss, what's wrong with you, what's wrong with you......"

  Liu Ziqiu turned his head and saw Gao Xiuer lying on the ground, Xiang Cao was shaking her desperately, and he couldn't help but ask: "Xiang Cao, what did you just call her?"

  Vanilla was in tears and begged: "Big brother, please save the young lady quickly, I'll tell you everything later, okay?"

  The people surrounding the notice were also attracted, and when they saw Gao Xiuer's half face, they covered their faces, with some even making exaggerated gagging gestures.

  Liu Ziqiu felt a surge of disgust and had no time to save her, so he picked up Gao Xiuer and said, "Let's go! Xiangcao, let's go home!"

  The new Changshan Village is not far from the county town of Yanguan, Liu Ziqiu ran with all his might, running like flying. Before long, Xiangcao also ran back, without catching her breath, and asked repeatedly: "Daniu Ge, how is the young lady?"

  Liu Ziqiu comforted him, "Don't worry, I've already helped her pulse. She just had a sudden anger attack and fainted, but there's no serious harm. Tell me, what exactly happened?"

  Martial artists often understand some medical principles, and Liu Ziqiu practices internal school boxing, so he can basically judge that Gao Xiuer was stimulated by something, likely related to the notice at the city gate.

  Vanilla choked and said: "Big Brother Niu, we deceived you, Miss is..."

  It turned out that Gao Xiuer was the youngest daughter of Gao Jiong, a famous minister of the founding of the Sui Dynasty. The three people on the notice just now were He Ruobi, Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi, who had been executed by Emperor Yang Guang for "slander against the court" a few days ago.

  Gao Jiong was a man Liu Ziqing had heard of, because he had done something very famous. After the Sui army broke through Jiankang, Gao Jiong ordered the execution of Zhang Lihua, the favorite concubine of Chen Houzhu. However, this Zhang Lihua was someone Yang Guang wanted, and Gao Jiong thus offended Yang Guang, ultimately meeting a tragic end, which was also reasonable.

  Liu Ziqiu did not expect that Gao Xiuer was actually the daughter of Gao Xian, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh. He instructed, "Xiangcao, take good care of your young mistress, and call me when she wakes up."

  Gao Xiuer slept for a whole day, until midnight, when she heard Xiangcao shouting: "Daniu Ge, Daniu Ge, the young lady is awake, the young lady is awake..."

  Liu Ziqiu quickly ran into the inner room and saw Gao Xiuer sitting on the bed in a daze.

  As soon as Liu Ziqiu came in, Gao Xiuer suddenly buried her face in his shoulder and burst into tears. Liu Ziqiu gently patted her back and comforted her, "Cry, cry, it'll feel better after you've cried."

  Suddenly, Gao Xiuer stopped crying and said, "Actually, my father had expected this day to come, but he didn't think it would come so soon."

  The strong girl had dried her tears and began to tell her story.

  Gao Jiong's offense against Yang Guang was not only because he killed Zhang Lihua, but also because he supported the former Crown Prince Yang Yong, whose daughter was Gao Shu'er's elder sister. Later, Gao Jiong fell out of favor with Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian and was dismissed from office, which made him very happy, thinking that he could thus avoid disaster. However, soon after Yang Guang ascended to the throne, he issued an edict to reappoint Gao Jiong.

  At this time, Gao Jiong knew that his life was not long, and the narrow-minded Yang Guang used him for the purpose of killing him. More tragically, his wife and children would also be made slaves. Among them, what Gao Jiong worried about most was Gao Xiu'er. So before he went to take office, he sent his trusted family members to send Gao Xiu'er and her servants to Jiangnan.

  Who would have thought that when they passed through Shandong, Yang Guang had just ordered the excavation of the canal. The family was forcibly taken away as laborers, and Gao Xiuer's servants could only continue south alone. Their funds gradually ran out, and later they drifted to Changshan Village where they were taken in by Dà Niú's mother.

  As they spoke, Gao Xiuer burst into tears again, and Xiangcao also cried uncontrollably beside her.

  "Poor girl, don't worry, I'll be here for you from now on and won't let you suffer again." Liu Ziqiu had long suspected that Gao Xiuer was hiding a secret behind her back, but he hadn't expected her to have suffered so much. After a moment of emotion, just as he was about to help her wipe away her tears, he suddenly froze and asked in surprise, "What's wrong with your face?"

  Gao Xiuer touched her right cheek and said lightly: "Xiangcao, go get some water."

  Liu Ziqiu had already seen a sticky patch on Gao Xiuer's hand, and suddenly understood that her face must have been painted with something like oil paint.

  As expected, after Vanilla helped Gao Xiuer wipe her face with a handkerchief, the one presented in front of Liu Ziqiu was an absolute beauty, without a single scar.

  Gao Xiuer looked up at Liu Ziqiu and suddenly said: "Big brother, I deceived you."

  Liu Ziqiu understood and said: "Your family has encountered a sudden change, you are doing this to protect yourself, how can it be called deception? Big brother doesn't blame you."

  "Xiangcao, you go out first, I have something to say to your Big Brother Niu." Gao Xiuer waved her hand and watched as Xiangcao went out of the room before turning to Liu Ziqiu and saying, "Langjun."

  Liu Ziqiu was taken aback: "What did you just call me?"

  "Lang Jun, I am your wife." Gao Xiuer suddenly lowered her head and muttered, "Tonight, I want to be your woman!"