Since the purpose of this night attack is to eradicate Zhou Hu, it is necessary to kill with one hit, at least not to let the black tiger thief repel it.

In this regard, Wei Chi said his plan: "...... I am going to lead a hundred sharp soldiers to the west side of the Black Tiger Village and launch an attack. ”

His proposal, even Yang Ding has to say yes.

You must know that so far, the attacks of officers and soldiers have basically been concentrated on the eastern, southern, and southeastern slopes of the Black Tiger Village, and they have never tried to launch a sneak attack on the west side of the Black Tiger Village, because if you want to launch a sneak attack on the west side, you must bypass a mountainous area, and even need to hide in that mountain for a period of time in order to wait for the right time, just like Ishihara and others the year before, it is not easy to carry out.

But the good thing is that as long as Wei Chi and his party pay attention to their hidden whereabouts, the Black Tiger Thieves will hardly guess that an elite will launch a sneak attack behind them.

In order to cooperate with Wei Chi's sneak attack, Yang Ding decided to lead the officers and soldiers of the other five counties to make a frontal feint to further attract the attention of the black tiger thief, and firmly attract the attention of the black tiger thief to the frontal battlefield on the east slope, the south slope and the southeast slope, thus ignoring the threat behind him.

After dark, Wei Chi took advantage of the excuse of being on duty to patrol the night, selected more than 100 Yexian officers and soldiers from the garrison, and quietly left the station.

Two hours after Wei Chi quietly left, about two o'clock, Yang Ding invited the four county lieutenants Ding Wu, Ma Gai, Huang Ben, and Zou Bu to his tent and told them the idea of attacking Black Tiger Village at night.

After hearing Yang Ding's thoughts, except for Gao Chun, the county lieutenant of Ye County, the other four county lieutenants Ding Wu, Ma Gai, Huang Ben, and Zou Bu were all taken aback, you must know that at this moment, Liu Yi, the county lieutenant of Runan County, Wang Yong, the county lieutenant of Xiangcheng County, and others are still in the hands of the black tiger thief.

Immediately, Zou Bu, the lieutenant of Xiangcheng County, questioned with a hesitant and hesitant face: "Yang County Order, Liu Yi Liu County Order and my family are still in the hands of the Black Tiger Thief, and the Black Tiger Thief has not refused to release the hostages, if I wait for the night to attack the Black Tiger Thief, it will be fine, in case things don't work out, and the Black Tiger Thief harms Liu County Order and my family, then what should I do?" ”

Yang Dingzheng said: "County Lieutenant Zou, although the black tiger thief kept saying that he would release Liu and Wang, you have also seen that from the beginning of April to the present, two full months have passed, and Zhou Hu still has not fulfilled his promise, which shows that he is just delaying time...... While I don't know why he stalled, I conclude that he must have some ulterior conspiracy. ”

"Ulterior conspiracy?"

The four county lieutenants present looked at each other.

"Could it be that the leader of Zhou is 'making friends' with Liu Yi and Wang Yong?"

Ma Gai, the only one who still knows, secretly guessed in his heart.

But if you think about it carefully, it feels a little wrong, after all, it doesn't take so long to 'make friends', he and Liu Bi, the county commander of Kunyang County, but in just a few hours, he gave in to that Zhou Hu, he didn't think Liu Yi and Wang Yong could last long.

At this time, Ding Wu, another Luyang County Lieutenant who had a secret relationship with the black tiger thief, thought of another possibility.

"I'm afraid that the second son is not not going to let go, but he doesn't dare to let go......

He glanced at Yang Ding quietly.

As a county lieutenant of his county who is still trusted by Yang Ding and others, Ding Wu knows a lot of things compared to Ma Gai, for example, Yang Ding intends to wait for the Black Tiger Thieves to release Liu Yi, Wang Yong and his party, and then lead the officers and soldiers to crusade against the Black Tiger Thieves - although Yang Ding did not say it explicitly, but seeing that Yang Ding has not disbanded the county army of the five counties so far, Ding Wu can conclude that Yang Ding must still have this idea.

From this, he deduced that the 2,000 Yingchuan County troops who evacuated from the north of Kunyang County that day may also be stationed outside a nearby county town at this moment, waiting for the Black Tiger Thieves to release the hostages and re-encircle the Black Tiger Mountain - after all, as far as the existing officers and soldiers of the five counties on Yang Ding's side are concerned, Ding Wu does not think that the Black Tiger Thieves can be wiped out, because after the 'Black Tiger Thieves attacked Runan and Xiangcheng counties', including him Ding Wu, they all sent back some officers and soldiers to return to their own county seats, which made his five-county coalition army now only about 1,000 people left.

Just as Ding Wu was thinking about it, he saw Yang Ding say with a serious face: "...... In short, I am willing to take responsibility for the safety of Liu Yi and Wang Yong, and I ask you to help in the next step. If something goes wrong, Yang is willing to take responsibility! ”

“……”

Huang Ben, Zou Bu, Ding Wu, and Ma Gai glanced at each other and were very surprised by Yang Ding's transformation.

You must know that in the eyes of the four of them, this Yang Ding's previous actions can be called cunning: it is clear that the Black Tiger Thieves' attack on Runan and Xiangcheng counties was provoked by him Yang Ding, but this Yang Ding asked Li Min, the warden of Yingchuan County, to come forward and make the latter take responsibility.

But today, this Yang Ding was unusual, and bluntly said that he was willing to take responsibility, so that the four of them could relieve their worries, which made Ding Wu and the other four county lieutenants feel incredible.

They felt that something must have happened that caused Yang Ding's attitude to change greatly, but the four of them didn't know exactly what happened.

The four of them could only be sure of one thing, that is, Yang Ding seemed to be determined to succeed in this night attack.

And this made Ding Wu feel more and more strange: since Yang Ding was determined to succeed in this night attack, why did he let Kunyang's Ma Gai join this meeting? Didn't Yang Ding suspect that Ma Gai was the internal response of the Black Tiger Thief? Isn't he afraid that Ma Gai will secretly report to the black tiger thief?

“……”

Ding Wu quietly glanced at Ma Gai who was sitting beside him, and saw that the latter was contemplative, and he secretly guessed in his heart: This guy may be thinking about how to report to the black tiger thief at this moment.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that something wasn't quite right.

Suddenly, Ding Wu noticed one thing, that is, Wei Chi, the guard who had always been by Yang Ding's side on weekdays, was gone.

As far as he knew, Wei Chi was Yang Ding's general, and he was also one of Yang Ding's most trusted people, and Wei Chi himself could be said to be both civil and military, and he could take on heavy responsibilities, so it was too strange for Wei Chi not to attend today's meeting to discuss the 'sneak attack on the black tiger thief'......

At this moment, the words of Huang Ben, the county lieutenant of Runan, interrupted Ding Wu's thoughts: "Yang County Order, please rest assured, it is also my wish and Zou Bu's wish to rescue Liu and Wang, so I will go and gather the soldiers and accompany Yang County to attack the Black Tiger Village and rescue the two adults." ”

After he finished speaking, Zou Bu also immediately expressed his support.

Seeing this, Ding Wu temporarily put aside the doubts in his heart and also opened his mouth to express his agreement.

After him, Margay also expressed his support.

Seeing that the county lieutenant in front of him all agreed, Yang Ding's tense face relaxed slightly, and he lowered his voice and said, "Okay, in that case, please gather the soldiers immediately, and after a while, I will rush to the foot of the Black Tiger Mountain." ”

After speaking, his gaze stayed on Ma Gai for a moment, and this move was clearly seen by Ding Wu, who had always been paying attention to Yang Ding.

『…… It seems that Yang Ding did not eliminate his suspicion of Ma Gai, but had another purpose."

Thinking to himself in his heart, after Ding Wu walked out of Yang Ding's tent, he called out Gao Chun, the county lieutenant of Ye County, who was about to leave to prepare.

I saw him pull Gao Chun aside, pretending to be anxious and asking Gao Chun: "Gao Chun, didn't Yang County Ling suspect that Ma Gai was the internal response of the Black Tiger Thief?" Why did Yang County Order let Na Ma Gai participate in such a major event as the night attack on the Black Tiger Thief? I'm kind of confused. ”

"Shhh

Gao Chun hurriedly motioned to Ding Wu to be quiet, and immediately, he looked left and right, and saw that no one was paying attention around, so he lowered his voice and explained: "This time we are just feints, in order to attract the attention of the black tiger thief to the front, if that Ma Gai is really the black tiger thief's internal response, take the opportunity to report to the black tiger thief, it will not ruin our plan, and even, can we deceive the black tiger thief, so that they will not notice the threat behind them?" ”

"The threat behind you?"

As soon as he heard this, Ding Wu was stunned: Could it be that Wei Chi actually attacked the back of the Black Tiger Village?

That's not good!

Considering that the officers and soldiers had so far carried out frontal attacks on the eastern, southern, and southeastern slopes of the Black Tiger Mountain, and had never detoured behind the Black Tiger Village to launch a sneak attack on its west side, Ding Wu had no doubt that the Black Tiger Thieves would definitely relax their garrison on the west side......

In case when they feinted to attack the front of the Black Tiger Village, Wei Chi suddenly killed behind the Black Tiger Village, this is no joke.

In view of the fact that the number of black tiger thieves is far less than that of the officers and soldiers of his five counties, it is not possible that this night attack can directly wipe out the black tiger thieves, and even the second son who is in the thief village is afraid that he will be unexpected, or fall into the hands of Yang Ding......

Thinking of this, Ding Wu couldn't help but become anxious.

He wanted to ask how many soldiers Wei Chi had brought and when he had left the camp, but he was afraid of arousing Gao Chun's suspicions.

Suddenly, a thought flashed in his heart: Why should I ask about Wei Chi, I just need to reveal Wei Chi's 'suspected attack on the back of the Black Tiger Mountain' to Ma Gai, and ask Ma Gai to report to the Black Tiger Thief?

Thinking of this, he deliberately asked Gao Chundao: "I see...... Then do I still have to keep an eye on the horse cover? ”

"This ......"

Gao Chun was also a little hesitant, and after thinking about it for a while, he frowned and said hesitantly: "Keep an eye on it." …… Whether or not Ma Gai reported to the Black Tiger Thief this time is not of much interest, but if you can find evidence, we can let him ...... Alas. ”

In the end, he sighed slightly, obviously he didn't know how to grasp the scale in this matter, or rather, he still didn't believe that Ma Gai was indeed the internal response of the Black Tiger Thief.

In fact, is Ma Gai really the internal response of the Black Tiger Thief?

Of course he is!

As Ding Wu guessed, when Ma Gai participated in the meeting presided over by Yang Ding, he was thinking about how to report to the Black Tiger Village, after all, in his opinion, the officers and soldiers of the five counties did not move outside his Kunyang County and were stationed for two months, and tonight Yang Ding suddenly decided to sneak attack the Black Tiger Mountain, and the Black Tiger Village may not be guarded, so it is necessary for him to report to the Black Tiger Village.

Originally, the best way was for him to enter the city and secretly contact Chen Cai of the Brotherhood, or Ma Hong of the Black Tiger Yishe, as long as he told the two of them about the situation, the two would naturally send someone to contact the Black Tiger Village.

But unfortunately, now that his county seat in Kunyang has already closed the city gate, and Yang Ding ordered them to prepare for departure within a moment, how can Ma Gai have the opportunity to pass on the news through the black tiger thieves in Kunyang City?

Since it is impossible to pass on the news through the black tiger thieves in Kunyang City, and this news is very stakes, it is necessary to warn the Black Tiger Village in advance, Ma Gai thought about it and finally decided to take a risk.

Of course, his so-called taking a risk did not mean that he personally went to the Black Tiger Village to report the news, which was no different when he personally told Yang Ding that he was a Black Tiger thief.

After some thought, Ma Gai called one of his county guards named Deng Ren.

This Deng Ren is a rare county pawn with a very special identity in the Yali of Kunyang County, he was captured by the Black Tiger Village in the third thief-that is, the thief campaign presided over by Zhang Jing, and signed a confession to become the internal response of the Black Tiger Thief, and then, he thought that his family background was the reason for joining the brotherhood founded by Chen Cai.

However, in addition to the identity of the Black Tiger Thief and the members of the Brotherhood, this Deng Ren is also Ma Gai's person and admires Ma Gai very much, so he not only told Ma Gai everything, but also volunteered to act as Ma Gai's internal response in the Black Tiger Thief and the Brotherhood......

Ma Gai didn't feel bad about this, after all, he also thought that there should be someone by his side who could contact the Black Tiger Thief and the Brotherhood at any time, so he secretly promoted Deng Ren and kept him by his side.

All in all, it's quite confusing.

After a short time, Deng Ren came to Ma Gai's tent.

Ma Gai didn't talk nonsense, beckoned Deng Ren to come closer, and then said in a low voice: "Ye County Commander Yang Ding has just summoned me and other county lieutenants, and if you want to launch a night attack on the Black Tiger Village immediately, you immediately sneak out of the camp and go to the Black Tiger Village to report to the Zhou Tiger." ”

Hearing this, Deng Ren showed a look of astonishment: "County lieutenant? ”

It is undeniable that he is the internal response of the Black Tiger Thief, but that is only out of desperation, as for joining the Brotherhood, it is only because his family needs the Brotherhood to buy him the money, he thinks to himself that in the face of the great right and wrong, he will stand firmly on the side of the county lieutenant Ma, and will not hesitate to fight against the Black Tiger Thief and the Brotherhood......

However, now, the county lieutenant Ma wants him to report to the black tiger thief?

Ma Gai has already said in this regard: "Are you surprised that I want you to report to the black tiger thief? You are from Kunyang, and you know the matter of the black tiger thief, can it be easily eradicated? …… Since it can't be easily eradicated, let's retreat to the next best thing to ensure that the Black Tiger Thief will not do anything that harms my Kunyang people. ”

He didn't lie about this, his position was more and more inclined to the Black Tiger Thief, because he found that Kunyang, which was secretly controlled by the Black Tiger Thief, was actually more prosperous and stable than before.

That...... So be it, he can't resist anyway.

“…… However, Yang Ding didn't understand this, and blindly provoked the black tiger thief, wanting to completely drive the black tiger thief to a dead end, you say, if the black tiger thief is cornered, who will be implicated at that time? I'm not from Kunyang yet......"

"Hmm." Deng Ren nodded solemnly.

I have to say that the people of Kunyang, especially people like him, actually do not reject the Black Tiger Thief and the Brotherhood, because the Black Tiger Thief does not harm the ordinary people of Kunyang County and has no conflict of interest with them; And the Brotherhood will even create jobs for the ordinary people of Kunyang and bring jobs to live on, and the reason why he volunteered to be a spy in the Black Tiger Thieves and the Brotherhood is only out of personal respect for Ma Gai.

Therefore, although he was puzzled by Ma Gai's request for him to report to the Black Tiger Thief, after Ma Gai finished explaining, he immediately nodded and agreed: "County Lieutenant, you are right, how can those outsiders know this?" Even if they knew, they probably wouldn't care. ”

As he spoke, he was about to say goodbye and leave, but suddenly heard a county official outside the tent: "County Lieutenant, County Lieutenant Ding of Luyang County asks to see you." ”

"Ding Wu?"

Ma Gai frowned slightly, nodded and said, "Please let him in." ”

After speaking, he whispered to Deng Ren: "Go quickly." ”

"Yes."

Deng Ren nodded, turned around and walked towards the tent, and walked out at the same time as Ding Wu walked in the tent.

“……”

Probably realizing something, Ding Wu turned his head and glanced in the direction of Deng Ren's departure.

Seeing his action, Ma Gai was startled for no reason, and immediately stepped forward to greet Ding Wu, trying to distract Ding Wu's attention: "County Lieutenant Ding, what's the matter?" ”

"It's not a big deal." Ding Wu returned the salute with a smile, turned his head to look at Ma Gai, and said with a smile: "I just came to want to know, how is the preparation of the county lieutenant Ma?" In addition, I will act with the county lieutenant Ma later......"

"Acting together? Well, Margai couldn't ask for it. …… Have a seat. ”

"Okay."

The two sat down at a table, talking and laughing with each other, without moving.

"This Ding Wu must have been sent by Yang Ding to spy on me...... I don't know if Deng Ren just walked out, has aroused the suspicion of this Ding Wu?"

Thinking secretly, Ma Gai poured a bowl of water for Ding Wu.

"How can I leak Wei Chi's affairs to him and tell him to report to the Black Tiger Thief? …… If I speak directly, he will inevitably suspect that I was sent by Yang Ding to deceive him, and it may be self-defeating......

"Thank you." Ding Wu took the bowl of water handed to him by Ma Gai, and thought secretly while sipping it.

The two of them had their own thoughts, so that they couldn't even say a few words, so that the atmosphere in the tent gradually became awkward and weird.

I don't know how long later, the head catcher Ishihara walked into the tent, and saw Ma Gai and Ding Wu sitting in the tent silently, he was stunned, but he still hugged his fists and made his intentions clear: "I've seen Ding County Lieutenant." …… Lieutenant Ma, there was a message from the people of Ye County, ordering us to march towards the Black Tiger Village. ”

"Okay, I got it." Ma Gai nodded, and Ishihara clenched his fists and left.

Seeing this, Ding Wu realized that the time was pressing, and if he didn't want to find a way to reveal it to Ma Gai, Ma Gai would not have time to report to Black Tiger Village.

Thinking of this, he stood up and said with a smile: "It's finally time to go, Lieutenant Ma, then I'll go back first, and I'll ...... you and I will join forces later."

"Okay." Ma Gai smiled quietly and nodded.

At this moment, Ding Wu, who was suddenly walking towards the tent, stopped, turned back to Ma Gai and said: "When I entered the tent, I saw a county guard leaving, I don't think it should be the county lieutenant Ma who sent someone to report to the Black Tiger Thief, revealing that I will help Wei Chi attack Black Tiger Mountain at night today, right?" ”

『！！』

Ma Gai's heart shook violently, and he barely squeezed out a few smiles, and laughed: "How come? Does the county lieutenant also think that he is the internal response of the black tiger thief? ”

He looked at Ding Wu with a smile, and his right hand quietly touched the saber on the side.

"Hey, Hey, Hey......"

Seeing Ma Gai's actions, Ding Wu quietly took two steps back, it's not that he can't beat Ma Gai, the problem is that it's unnecessary.

"Haha, Ding is just joking, don't mind County Lieutenant Ma. …… In this way, let's see you outside the camp. ”

“…… Good. ”

Ma Gai watched Ding Wu leave with a complicated expression.

Suddenly, he was stunned for a moment.

Wait a minute? Assist Wei Chi in the night attack on Black Tiger Mountain? Tonight's night attack on Black Tiger Mountain, what does it have to do with that Wei Chi?

Having said that, when Yang Ding gathered everyone just now, it seemed that he really didn't see Wei Chi......

Could it be ......

His face changed slightly, and he immediately summoned a head catcher under his command, Yang Kang, and instructed in a low voice: "Go and ask the county guard of Ye County to see where Wei Chi has gone?" Inquire again, there has been a county magistrate from Ye County going out tonight. ”

"Yes!" Yang dared not know why, but he still hugged his fists and agreed.

After a while, he came back and told Ma Gaidao: "County lieutenant, according to the lowly inquiry, there are indeed many patrol county guards of Ye County who have gone out tonight and have not returned, as for Wei Chi, the guard next to the Yang County Order, the lowly official has not heard about his whereabouts. ”

"Okay, I got it."

Ma Gai nodded and sent Yang Kang away.

At this time, he recalled in his mind what Ding Wu had said to him in a joke, and there were a few words that he particularly cared about: assisting Wei Chi in attacking Black Tiger Mountain at night.

Although I don't understand why Yang Ding was unusual, he decided to attack Heihu Mountain at night tonight, but the specific tactics, Ma Gai still understands, it is nothing more than that the officers and soldiers of several counties of him took advantage of the black to attack Heihu Mountain, specifically, it is to attack the east slope, south slope, and even the southeast slope of Black Tiger Village - these directions are all regarded as the front of Black Tiger Village.

Considering the words 'assist Wei Chi', it means that Wei Chi will not act with them, or rather, he will not necessarily attack the front of the Black Tiger Village.

Since it's not a front, it's a back?

Thinking of this, Ma Gai immediately recruited a county official who knew the roots, and whispered an order, ordering him to sneak out of the camp immediately and report to the Black Tiger Village.

In all fairness, he didn't dare to guarantee that Yang Ding would send Wei Chi to attack Black Tiger Mountain by another route, but it was always right to inform Black Tiger Village and let Zhou Hu be on guard.

Fortunately, a county guard like Deng Ren who has several layers of status, and Ma Gai has a lot of around him, just to be used at this time.

But then again, what exactly does Ding Wu mean?

So why did Ding Wu deliberately reveal this news to him?

A moment later, on the way to the Black Tiger Mountain in the north of the county with the Luyang County Army led by Ding Wu, Ma Gai looked at Ding Wu who was acting with him inexplicably.

Although Ding Wu kept saying that it was just a joke, Ma Gai didn't believe it, after all, if Ding Wu hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't even notice that Wei Chi suddenly disappeared.

If Ding Wu was instructed by Yang Ding, then there was no need to reveal the matter of 'assisting Wei Chi' in this matter, right?

Thinking about it, Ma Gai always felt that it was a good move to sneak attack the back of the black tiger thief at this time, and since he could think of it, there was no reason not to try it.

Or did Yang Ding deliberately use this incident to lure him into taking the bait?

Magai couldn't figure it out either.

Anyway, it's not like this county lieutenant Ding, like him, is actually a friend of the black tiger thief, right?

『…… If that's the case, that's interesting.'"

Magai shook his head with a smirk.

After all, Yang Ding had intended to let Ding Wu spy on him, if that Ding Wu was really also a friend of the Black Tiger Thief, would there be anything more interesting than this in the sky?

『…… Wait until dawn, and I believe the truth will be revealed.'"

Margai thought to himself.