After discussing for a while, Xun Yi offered his farewell.

When he got up to see Xun Yi off, Zhao Yu said apologetically: "Although Zhou has the heart to invite the superintendent to the post and set the wine and wash the dust for you, but for the sake of the post superintendent, I am afraid that the post supervisor can only go down the mountain hungry." ”

Xun Yi was stunned and immediately understood.

That's right, he came to meet Zhou Hu today, that is because Yingchuan County guards Li Min's order, so as not to be suspicious, but this does not include staying for dinner - as long as the black tiger thief has not yet gotten rid of the reputation of 'thief', Xun Yi, as a county official, is indeed not suitable to accept Zhou Hu's invitation.

It may be that Zhao Yu destroyed Xun Yi's handle that made this upright superintendent feel very good, and also made the relationship between the two one closer, Xun Yi smiled and said, "Don't worry." After this incident, Xun will not be polite, and he will definitely let Leader Zhou entertain him well in the future......"

When he said this, he didn't have any special meaning, but after hearing this, Zhao Yu looked at Xun Yi for a moment, until the latter showed a puzzled look, then nodded and said in a sudden tone: "...... I understand, after the matter is completed, Zhou will entertain the superintendent of the post well. ”

The word 'good' that he deliberately emphasized made Xun Yi also hear a little clue, only to see that the superintendent suddenly blushed, waved his hand again and again and said: "I didn't mean that, I ...... Alas! ”

The darker it became, he simply turned around and left.

Heaven proves that he didn't mean that at all...... Although he doesn't reject it in his heart.

Soon after Xun Yi left the cottage with his two guards, Guo Da inquired and came to Zhao Yu's house.

"Wouldn't it be a little risky?"

sat down in front of him Zhao Yu, and said with a little worry: "I mean that Xun Yi's matter." …… Thanks, Jing. ”

In the second half of the sentence, he said it to the Jingnu who poured water for him.

Of course, Zhao Yu understood what Guo Da was referring to, shook his head and said: "Coercion is just a means, and it varies from person to person. People like Xun Yi, even if they are coerced by us for a while, but in the face of major rights and wrongs, he will eventually sacrifice his life for righteousness, so coercion and temptation are better than honest friendships. …… This time, he took the initiative to reveal the true attitude of the Yingchuan County Guard to us, which shows that he still has a good impression of us, so it is wisest to take the opportunity to make friends with him and eliminate the unpleasantness of the past. ”

"What if Xun Yi betrays us in the future?" Guo Da asked worriedly.

Zhao Yu smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be faster to directly send someone to get rid of the betrayer?" ”

"Ugh." Guo Da was stunned, and then he laughed first: "That's right, look at my ......"

Zhao Yu also smiled, then shook his head and said: "But this Xun Yi, I don't think he will betray, unless I wait for the future to do something hurtful and unreasonable to disappoint him completely, but this kind of thing will not happen." ”

"Hmm."

Guo Da nodded.

They are thieves, not butchers who take pleasure in killing, robbery and looting are just the means they use to make ends meet, if they can get endless wine, endless meat and endless money every day lying in the cottage, who would be willing to spend more energy running down the mountain to rob?

And now, in the name of the Brotherhood, he has opened dozens of workshops in Kunyang County, recruited a lot of Kunyang people to work for them, and the good days of lying down and making money are coming - at that time, they can get rid of the burden of the name of 'thief', and they no longer have to rely on looting to make a living.

About a moment later, Xun Yi went down the mountain with two guards.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he came down the mountain, he saw Wei Chi and his party - the latter seemed to be waiting at the bottom of the mountain.

After seeing Xun Yi, Wei Chi immediately greeted Xun Yi and greeted Xun Yi with his fists.

Xun Yi reluctantly returned the salute, and then asked, "Why is Guard Wei here?" ”

"I'm waiting here for the post." Wei Chi clenched his fists and explained: "First, I apologized to the superintendent for today's confrontation with the superintendent, and secondly, the adult wants to know how the superintendent and that Zhou Hu talked about?" ”

Xun Yi said expressionlessly: "There is no need to apologize, after all, what Wei Huwei said is not entirely wrong, as for Yang County Ling wants to know what Zhou Hu's progress is talking about, I can only say that I will negotiate with him for the time being, but the conditions put forward by Zhou Hu, I can't make an assertion, I need to return to the county immediately and ask the county guard." As for what it is, please excuse me. ”

Seeing that Xun Yi said a few words to death, Wei Chi frowned slightly, but then he became casual and asked a seemingly irrelevant question: "Didn't Zhou Hu stay to eat on the mountain?" ”

Xun Yi is not stupid, how can he not hear the Tibetan words in Wei Chi's words?

He immediately asked with a straight face, "What does Wei Huwei mean by this?" ”

Seeing that Xun Yi wanted to have a seizure but was hindered by something bad, Wei Chi nodded secretly in his heart, and hurriedly changed his words and said: "Don't misunderstand, I don't mean anything else in Xia, I just think that the black tiger thief is so unruly and has never left the post to eat on the mountain." Saying that, he took the opportunity to invite: "If the superintendent does not dislike it, my lord has ordered someone to prepare wine in the camp, please overseer the poster must appreciate his face." ”

“……”

Xun Yi glanced at Wei Chi a few times, and then said lightly with a little coldness: "The hospitality of Yang County's order, Xun understands it, and Xun has to return to the county immediately, it is inconvenient to delay, please forgive me." …… Leave! ”

So saying, he ordered the two guards to find the carriage from which they had come, and set off in the carriage.

Watching Xun Yi and his entourage leave in the carriage, Pang Pei, the guard beside Wei Chi, frowned and said, "This Xun Yi is just a post supervisor, so it's arrogant." ”

“……”

Wei Chi didn't answer, glanced at the direction where Xun Yi and the others left, and then turned his head to look at Black Tiger Mountain.

He made a special trip to wait here, not to invite Xun Yi to his camp for dinner, but he wanted to see when this Xun Yi would go down the mountain - through Xun Yi's time on the mountain, he could roughly judge the relationship between Xun Yi and that Zhou Hu.

Overall, it's not that long.

Looking at Xun Yi's dry lips, it is obvious that this superintendent has not eaten on the mountain.

Thinking of this, Wei Chi immediately returned to the camp and told Yang Ding what he had seen.

Yang Ding nodded after hearing this and said, "In this way, that Xun Yi only has a heart for the black tiger thief, but it may not have anything to do with it. Or, that Zhou Hu was cautious and afraid of suspicion, so he didn't dare to stay with Xun Yi to eat on the mountain. ”

Although he said these two completely opposite possibilities, Yang Ding himself was not sure what the situation was.

After all, he had already felt it at this time, and the opponent he met this time was an extremely intelligent and cunning guy.

"Let's wait and see the negotiations with the black tiger thieves in Yingchuan County for the time being."

He finally made a decision.

On the same day, Xun Yi returned to Kunyang County, had a casual meal at the post station in Kunyang County, and hurriedly returned to Xuchang by car.

Three days later, at noon on March 18, Xun Yi returned to Xuchang County and asked to see Li Min, the county guard.

When summoning Xun Yi, Li Min asked in a deep voice, "Have you ever seen that Zhou Hu?" Then Zhou Hu promised to release Liu Yi and Wang Yong together? ”

Xun Yi arched his hand and said: "Back to the adult's words, I have seen the thief Zhou Hu this time." Zhou Hu said that he did not want to be an enemy of the imperial court and the county, and the attack on the county was a helpless move......"

"Hmph."

Li Min sneered, not taking these words seriously at all.

After all, most of the thieves in the world will say this, how many dare to blatantly make enemies of the government? Enemies of the Imperial Court?

But it's a pity that the black tiger thief committed the evil act of robbing officials and burning the government, and Li Min will never allow such a rebellious thief to exist under his rule!

He immediately interrupted Xun Yi's words and asked, "Don't say these useless things, then Zhou Hu can promise to release people?" ”

Xun Yi nodded and said, "Back to the adult, Zhou Hu promised to release him, but he put forward a few conditions. ”

Hearing this, Li Min said with some displeasure: "Didn't this mansion let you agree to everything?" ”

Seeing this, Xun Yi was embarrassed and said: "Back to the adult's words, I want to agree to it, but Zhou Hu was cunning and cautious, and asked the county to fulfill his promise first." ”

Li Min showed a little anger on his face and scolded in a low voice.

After scolding a few times, he asked with a little annoyance, "What did Zhou Hu ask for?" ”

Xun Yi arched his hand and said: "First, Zhou Hu asked the people of the five counties who surrounded and suppressed his black tiger thief, as well as my two thousand county soldiers to evacuate immediately. ”

Li Min stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then nodded.

This condition is nothing, after all, even if you retreat, you can still send it over again - as long as the black tiger thief is coaxed to release Liu Yi, Wang Yong and others, he will order heavy troops to destroy this group of bandits that day!

"What else?"

"And ...... Zhou Hu wanted the imperial court to issue him a charter for pardoning crimes. ”

"What?"

Li Min showed a little surprise on his face, and after a few sneers, he said coldly: "This week's tiger ...... Wish for the moon! ”

Want a copy of the court's pardon?

Who did Zhou Hu think he was? It's just the leader of a group of hundreds of bandits, if it weren't for his despicable means and kidnapped two county commanders and their families as a threat, he, Li Min, would have ordered the county soldiers in Kunyang County to wipe them all out.

Glancing at Li Min with an angry face, Xun Yi lowered his head so that Li Min could not see his complexion.

The reason is very simple, because the so-called conditions of Zhou Hu that he dictated were actually the result of his discussion with Zhou Hu.

Of course, he knew that Li Min couldn't report to the court for a group of hundreds of thieves and embarrass himself - the reason why he put forward this 'non-share' request was actually to pave the way for the real conditions.

But in order to avoid being seen by Li Min and suspected by Li Min, Xun Yi lowered his head and remained silent at this time.

Anyway, in his opinion, Li Min will still seek his opinion in the end, and it will not be too late for him to mention it when the time comes.

Sure enough, after scolding a few words, probably this Li Min also thought that it was useless to just scold angrily, so he gradually calmed down.

After calming down, he saw Xun Yi who lowered his head and didn't say a word.

He immediately asked, "Xun Yi, why don't you speak?" ”

Xun Yi bowed his hand: "Don't dare to speak falsely." …… When he went to Kunyang County, he had heard Liu Bi, Liu County, Ling and others tell about the recruitment of the black tiger thief, and the humble post also thought that the disadvantages outweighed the benefits, so he supported the recruitment of the black tiger thief since then...... He went to Kunyang to negotiate with that Zhou Hu on the orders of his lord, but he did not dare to express his opinion on this matter, for fear of being harassed by rumors. Please forgive me. ”

"Are you afraid too?" Li Min glanced at Xun Yi in surprise.

After all, in his opinion, Xun Yi is one of the few 'hard stones' among his subordinates, and his personality is like a stone in a pit, smelly and hard, but anyone who is not used to seeing it, no matter who the other party is, will not color it, and it is precisely for this reason that Xun Yi was excluded as the northern superintendent until. Wang Shangde's cross-county thief's incident occurred, and Wu Fu, the former governor of the western post, was afraid of Wang Shangde and did not dare to obey Li Min's orders, but Xun Yi dared to go to Wancheng to fight with Wang Shangde, and finally forced Wang Shangde to withdraw his troops, giving Li Min a long face, and Li Min then reappointed Xun Yi as the governor of the western post.

Therefore, seeing Xun Yi claiming to be afraid of rumors, Li Min was really surprised.

However, it is not difficult for Li Min to understand this, after all, he also knows that people like Xun Yi, even if they don't value power, they are equally eager for a good reputation, so it is not surprising that Xun Yi's reaction.

Thinking of this, he nodded and said, "It's okay for you to say it directly. ”

"Yes."

Xun Yi arched his hand and said, "According to the observation of the humble position, Zhou Hu was a very cautious person......

"Cautious?" Li Min suddenly laughed: "A cautious person, dare to rob officials and burn officials? ”

Xun Yi shook his head and said: "That can only show that Zhou Hu had the courage to take risks and do things that ordinary people dare not do, which does not conflict with caution." …… Adults can compare with the bandits in other places in the world, most of those bandits kill people without blinking, only for immediate interests and do not care about the future, on the other hand, this Zhou Hu, only robbing money and trying not to kill people, I am afraid that it is not that he does not dare, but he knows that if he does too much, he will be surrounded and suppressed by the heavy soldiers of the county and even the imperial court......"

Li Min nodded slightly.

He must also admit that before the black tiger thieves robbed officials and burned the government, the black tiger thieves did not kill people much, and they did not cause public resentment, which was also the fundamental reason why he acquiesced to the recruitment of black tiger thieves in Kunyang County a while ago.

He asked Xun Yi with a little surprise: "Xun Yi, it seems that you don't have a bad impression of that Zhou Hu?" ”

In order to prevent Li Min from suspecting, Xun Yi shook his head and said: "It's not that the impression is not bad, but I feel that Zhou Hu is quite capable this time...... Adults may not know that this Zhou Hu has blocked the encirclement and suppression with General Zhang Jing. ”

Li Min was stunned and asked, "Zhang Jing?" Which Zhang Jing? ”

"The Five Tigers of Chenmen, General Zhang Jing stationed in Jinan."

"Really?" Li Min's eyes widened in surprise, and he said in disbelief: "That Zhou Hu once blocked Zhang Jing? ”

Different from his attitude towards Wang Shangde, Li Min has a lot of respect for Zhang Jing, because the Five Tigers of the Chen Sect and their father-in-law, Chen Zhong and Chen Taishi, are all unswerving 'loyal monarchs', loyal to the Son of Heaven and the Li family, so Li Min, who was born in the Li family, is naturally close to their father and son.

"I can't stop it." As he spoke, Xun Yi briefly told Li Min about the 'three counties to suppress thieves' in Kunyang County, and Li Min heard Li Min's voice.

If Li Min's impression of Zhou Hu before was just 'the head of hundreds of bandits', then it is obviously much higher at this time.

Seeing this, Xun Yi took the opportunity to say: "At the beginning, I heard that Zhou Hu had such a ability, and he also knew how to advance and retreat, so he supported recruiting him...... From a humble point of view, if Zhou Hu can't guarantee that he will be eradicated, it is better not to force him, if he is pressed, it is very likely that he will be forced to make some ...... That kind of behavior. ”

“……”

Li Min glanced at Xun Yi and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

Of course he knew what Xun Yi meant, because Zhou Hu had already made an example, and he had fully conveyed a message with a series of stunned evil actions of 'attacking the county government, killing the county guard, robbing the county order, and burning the county government': If he is forced to be in a hurry, he can do anything!

In case he completely angered that Zhou Hu, and Zhou Hu led people to make a series of retaliatory actions in his counties in Yingchuan County, that ......

I have to say that even as the county guard of Yingchuan County, Li Min is also a little jealous.

It's not hard to deal with a crazy guy, but the worst thing is that this madman is quite strategic, and ordinary people can't get him.

After pondering for a moment, Li Min said in a deep voice: "Xun Yi, what do you mean to let this mansion pretend that nothing has happened and recruit Zhou Hu again?" ”

Of course, Xun Yi wanted this, but listening to Li Min's tone, he also felt that it was not very likely.

"Nope."

Xun Yi arched his hand and said: "I just think that if the adult intends to eradicate the black tiger thief, he should also stabilize that Zhou Tiger first, lest that Zhou Tiger be forced to a dead end, and take revenge desperately." What's more, the two county orders of Liu and Wang are still in the hands of the Black Tiger Thief, they are all my courtiers of the Great Jin, and the subordinates of the Lord, if the Lord does not rescue, the two of them will die in the hands of the Black Tiger Thief, and the humble position may damage the reputation of the Lord......"

Li Min was quite hesitant when he said this.

Yes, he is afraid of damaging his reputation, and will send Xun Yi to negotiate with Zhou Hu, after all, he is different from Yang Ding, he is the county guard of Yingchuan County, Liu Yi and Wang Yong are both his subordinates, and he must come forward.

Seeing Li Min's hesitant expression, Xun Yi struck while the iron was hot and said: "My lord, although I can't give the amnesty of the Zhou Tiger Imperial Court, if the black tiger thief is pardoned in the name of the county and in the name of the adult, then Zhou Hu should also agree......

“……”

Li Min glanced at Xun Yi and stroked his beard in contemplation.

I have to say that since he learned from Xun Yi that Zhou Hu actually had a strategy that rivaled Zhang Jing, Li Min did not have the intention of loving talents, but the problem is that the black tiger thief has committed the evil act of 'robbing officials and burning officials', if it is not punished heavily, where is the majesty of the imperial court?

In other words, the Black Tiger Thief is unforgivable!

And as the leader of the Black Tiger Thief, Zhou Hu can't be pardoned!

Of course, Zhou Hu can't be pardoned, it doesn't mean that Zhou Hu has to die - if Zhou Hu really has the ability to match Zhang Jing, Li Min doesn't mind finding someone to replace Zhou Hu to die, and let Zhou Hu change his name and surname to become his subordinate.

Thinking of this, he said in a deep voice: "You go to see Zhou Hu again, if he really has the ability to match Zhang Jing, as long as he is willing to be used by this mansion, this mansion can not only keep him safe, but also promise him a high-ranking official." But Zhou Hu and the black tiger thief ...... This government will never pardon. ”

Hearing this, Xun Yi sighed secretly.

Because he knew that he would run for nothing: sacrificing the entire Black Tiger Thief in exchange for him, Zhou Hu would never agree to this condition.

But he couldn't help it, after all, he had tried his last try, but unfortunately he still couldn't convince the county keeper.

If you can't be persuaded, you can only take Zhou Hu's method - drag!

dragged to the rebel army's territory, hoping that the county guard could see that it was the time to employ people, and make an exception to forgive Zhou Hu and the black tiger thief, so that they could get the opportunity to atone for their crimes.

Of course, although he knew that Zhou Hu would not agree, Xun Yi still had to go to Kunyang, after all, he couldn't let people see the flaws.

On the same day, Xun Yi went back to his mansion for a night, and the next day he immediately set off for Heihu Mountain in the north of Kunyang County.

On March 21, Xun Yi arrived in Kunyang again and met Zhao Yu on Black Tiger Mountain.

As soon as he said what Li Min meant, Zhao Yu was immediately happy - the Black Tigers were his foundation, how could he sacrifice the Black Tigers?

He smiled and said to Xun Yi, "How could he make such a proposal? ”

Seeing that Zhao Yu purely regarded this matter as a joke, Xun Yi was not surprised, and after staying on the mountain for a while, he went down again.

On March 24, Xun Yi returned to Xuchang and asked to see Li Min, the county guard.

When he saw Xun Yi again, Li Min asked, "Did Zhou Hu agree?" ”

Xun Yi shook his head and said, "Back to the adult's words, Zhou Hu refused this matter. …… He hoped that all those who followed him would be forgiven by the county and the adults. ”

Hearing this, Li Min couldn't help but be slightly angry, and scolded with a sneer: "I don't know how to lift!" ”

can be scolded and scolded, what should I do with Zhou Hu's request?

"I'll think about it."

Li Min sent Xun Yi away with a word.

After Xun Yi left, a staff member offered advice to Li Min: "My lord, it is better to send a fake pardon to the black tiger thief, if you want to come to a group of bandits, you will not know what the adult's official seal looks like, if the black tiger thief talks about it in the future, we can say that the black tiger thief forged the pardon." ”

Hearing this, Li Min hesitated slightly.

Making a fake pardon to deceive a gang of bandits doesn't sound like what he should do, but it's better than sending a real pardon to the bandits, right?

After weighing it, Li Min finally listened to the advice of his staff and fabricated a fake pardon.

The so-called fake pardon is no different from the real one in other places, just make a fake official seal and stamp it, Li Min immediately sent people to recruit several craftsmen in the city, and ordered them to carve a fake official seal.

As his staff had said, he didn't think a gang of bandits would know what his official seal looked like.

It is undeniable that Li Min and his staff's ideas are indeed right, even Zhao Yu may not be able to distinguish the real from the fake, but the problem is that Xun Yi can recognize it......

On the first day of the fourth month, Xun Yi came to Black Tiger Mountain again with this fake pardon.

Sure enough, Zhao Yu didn't recognize that this was a fake pardon, and after spreading out the pardon that threw Xun Yi into his arms, his face under the mask showed a little surprise: "Li Junshou was actually persuaded by you?" ”

"Persuasion?" Xun Yi snorted lightly, and immediately revealed the truth: "Do you think this is true?" …… Fake! Take a closer look at the official seal. ”

Zhao Yu took a closer look at the official seal, although he didn't see any clues, he still believed Xun Yi's words.

Fake is fake, anyway, the situation has changed.

It turned out that a day ago, the brothers sent by Xu Fen back to the cottage to report the news returned to Kunyang County, and the news was passed to Zhao Yu's ears through Chen Cai's arrangement of the brotherhood.

At this time, Zhao Yu learned that last month, that is, on March 15, the rebel armies in Changsha and Yuzhang crossed the river in a big way and broke through the county through the combination of inside and outside.

Then, on March 19, the rebels broke through Xiling City.

You must know that Xiling is the city where Zhang Jing's righteous brother Han Yan is stationed, and it is also the seat of Jiangxia County, but unfortunately because Han Yan was dragged by the rebel army in Jiangdong at this time, Xiling was broken in just four days.

The breach of Xiling meant that the rebel armies of Changsha and Yuzhang could drive straight into the north towards Runan County.

Runan County is next to Nanyang County to the west and Yingchuan County to the northwest.

"It's finally time to wait......

After Xun Yi left, Zhao Yu stood at the window with his hands behind his back, looking at the mountain scenery outside the window.

He was relieved that the rebel army south of the river had finally launched a counteroffensive frenzy.

Next, it depends on whether this rebel army can invade Yingchuan County and whether it can bring him a key opportunity.

Although he also understood that as the rebel army advanced, there would inevitably be countless casualties along the way, but his Black Tiger people really urgently needed the rebel army's disruption to save their lives.

"Please give me some strength......"

Looking out the window at the mountain view, he muttered.