This...... How can it be ...... ...... like this"

When she took the copied official document from Zhao Yu's hand, after seeing its contents, Jing Nu muttered in disbelief.

At this moment, her mood was as complicated as Zhao Yu's, and she couldn't tell whether this was good news or bad news.

At this time, Zhao Yu stood up and slowly paced in the room with his hands behind his back.

Linzhang Zhao's ......

A moment ago, when he first swept the 'Linzhang Zhao Clan' on that official document, his first reaction was to be stunned - where did this relative come from?

But after thinking about it carefully, Zhao Yu suddenly vaguely remembered that this seemed to be really a relative of their family.

"There are four years...... No, it's been almost five years......

Slowly walked to the window, Zhao Yu stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the gradually darkening sky outside the window, and a memory gradually flashed in his mind.

About five years ago, he Luyang Zhao had not yet suffered the catastrophe.

At that time, a man who claimed to be a child proverb went to the mansion of the Marquis of another country to meet his father, the Marquis of Luyang.

Zhao Yu still remembers that his father said at that time that Tong Yan said that he wanted to arrest a key criminal named 'Zhao Yu', and he was suspected of having something to do with him Luyang Zhao.

So that night, Zhao Yu followed his father Luyang Xianghou to the side house dedicated to the ancestors of the Zhao family in the mansion, and looked through the ancestral genealogy of his Luyang Zhao lineage.

At that time, Zhao Yu saw it on the ancestral genealogy, and saw that his grandfather had two brothers, and even his father, Luyang Xianghou, added notes to the names of his father's two brothers, one was 'Linzhang' and the other was 'Xiapi'.

“……”

Zhao Yu glanced at the official document that was still in Jingnu's hand.

If he didn't guess wrong, this Linzhang Zhao clan was probably the Linzhang Zhao clan that his grandfather's eldest brother separated, and in terms of seniority, he was afraid that he would have to shout 'Uncle Grandfather', or more precisely, it should be called 'Chang Bozu'.

According to this line of thinking, his grandfather's second brother marked with the word 'Xiapi', that is, Zhao Yu's 'second uncle', and his family is 'Xiapi Zhao'.

Xiapi Zhao's ......

As soon as he thought of this Xiapi Zhao family, Zhao Yu subconsciously thought of the Jiangdong rebel general who is now in the limelight, Zhao Zhang.

As far as Zhao Yu knows, Zhao Zhang was originally the county lieutenant of Xiapi County, and he had never heard of any bad deeds, but suddenly one day, the calculation date was about four or five years ago, this Zhao Zhang suddenly rebelled against the imperial court, not only killed the county commander of Xiapi County, but also dedicated Xiapi City to the originally weak Jiangdong rebels, and he himself defected to the Jiangdong rebels.

Since Zhao Zhang's defection to the Jiangdong rebels, the Jiangdong rebels have greatly increased in momentum, so there is a matter of the imperial court's 'Jiangxia general Han Yan' leading the army to Jiangdong to quell the rebellion - this Han Yan, who was adopted by Chen Zhong and Taishi Chen like Zhang Jing, is one of the famous Five Tigers of Chenmen.

But who would have thought that Han Yan, one of the Five Tigers of Chenmen, would be defeated by Zhao Zhang in May and June this year, losing tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, so that now the rebels south of the river are generally demoralized, and all signs indicate that they are ready to jointly launch a counteroffensive against the Jin State next year at the latest.

Well, a bit of a stretch.

The question is, could it be that Zhao Zhang, the former lieutenant of Xiapi County, is the son of the 'Xiapi Zhao family' recorded in his family's ancestral tree?

Thinking about it carefully, Zhao Yu also felt that this guess was all reasonable.

After all, as far as he knew, that Zhao Zhang was originally a good county lieutenant in Xiapi County, but suddenly he rebelled somehow, which is really a bit strange according to normal thinking, but if Zhao Zhang is really his Luyang Zhao family, the son of the Xiapi Zhao family, then everything seems to make sense.

After his family suffered that day, someone in his family reported to the Zhao family, so Zhao Zhang immediately reversed.

Then the question arises: who sent the message to the Xiapi Zhao family?

『…… Zhao Yin!!'

The corners of Zhao Yu's mouth couldn't help but raise a little smile.

Although he didn't dare to say that he was completely sure, he probably felt that his brother Zhao Yin should still be alive.

Because he remembers very well that when his family was in trouble that night, his father, the Marquis of Luyang, handed over the ancestral genealogy to his brother Zhao Yin.

If he didn't guess wrong, after Zhao Yin escaped and ascended to heaven, he must have defected to the Xiapi Zhao clan according to the address of the division recorded in the ancestral genealogy, so Zhao Zhang, who was the county magistrate of Xiapi County at that time, rebelled without warning.

And this speculation, by the way, also explains another mystery that remains to this day, that is, who reported to the Zhou family in Yuncheng.

Zhao Yu still remembered what Ding Lu said that after he suffered in the Luyang Township Marquis Mansion that day, Zheng Luo, the loyal guard of his family, ran to Yuncheng the next day, preparing to report to Zhao Yu's maternal grandfather and grandmother, but he didn't expect that the second elder had already gone to the empty building.

If Zhao Yu didn't guess wrong, it must have been his brother Zhao Yin who ran to Yuncheng to pick up the second elder after escaping that day, including his two uncles who later lost his news, probably also received Zhao Yin's warning, and quickly fled incognito.

Of course, these are just Zhao Yu's optimistic speculations, but it is undeniable that this speculation really excites him.

Although he is said to be the closest to Jingnu, it is undeniable that Zhao Yin and him are the closest brothers, and when he realized that Zhao Yin was very likely to be alive, Zhao Yu's mood was very excited.

He couldn't help but tell Jingnu about his guess, and when he heard Jingnu's eyes widen, he subconsciously covered his mouth.

"Great...... Great, young master......"

Jingnu lay in Zhao Yu's arms, crying with joy.

She was sincerely happy: although the townsman and his wife were gone, the eldest prince and the young master were still alive.

She said happily: "The young master is finally not alone......

Zhao Yu was stunned, then reached out and scratched Jingnu's nose, and said with a smile: "I am not alone, I have you." ”

Jingnu was embarrassed and overjoyed, and buried her head in Zhao Yu's arms.

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she raised her head and hurriedly said, "Young Master, since you know that the eldest prince is still alive, the young master should contact him immediately." ”

"It's not easy......

Zhao Yu frowned and said, "First, this is just my guess, and second, Xiapi is too far away...... Taking a step back, the area around Xiapi is so chaotic now, even if I send someone over, I may not be able to find Zhao Yin's whereabouts. ”

"That'...... So what to do? Jingnu asked anxiously, "Don't you look for the eldest son?" ”

"What's the hurry?"

Zhao Yu raised Jing Nu's right hand, took the official document from her hand, and said with a chuckle: "Isn't this a 'bait'?" If my brother is really alive, as long as he learns about this, I believe he will not be able to sit still, and he will definitely send someone to Luyang to find out, and even come in person, so ......"

"So?" Shizunu tilted her head.

I saw Zhao Yu scratch Jingnu's nose and said with a smile: "That's right, as long as we send someone to keep an eye on this Zhao Bing, maybe my brother will take the initiative to show up." ”

"The young master is so smart."

Probably out of joy, Jingnu, who has always been shy, rarely took the initiative to kiss Zhao Yu on the face, and Zhao Yu was stunned for a moment.

He patted Jingnu on the back and signaled, "Okay, I'll write a letter to Gong Liu and ask him to pay attention to this matter, so that when Zhao Bing arrives in Luyang, I can install the internal response." ”

As soon as the words fell, I suddenly heard a tuk tuk knock on the door outside the house, and a thief whispered: "Childe, Chen only asks to see." ”

"Chen Cai?"

Zhao Yu was slightly stunned, nodded and said, "Please let him in." ”

With Zhao Yu's permission, Chen Cai pushed the door in, saw Zhao Yu and Jingnu at a glance, and arched his hand towards the two: "Leader." ”

After looking Chen Cai up and down a few times, Zhao Yu said with a smile: "Chen Cai, you are getting more and more stylish. ”

Hearing this, Chen Cai showed a slight smile on his face, but he still said humbly: "The first person smiled, I am still far away." ”

As he spoke, he took a few steps forward, clenched his fists and said: "Chief, I just talked to Ma Gai, Ma Hong, and Zhang Feng, according to Ma Gai, the county government is already hoarding grain and grass; On my side, I also talked to Huang Shao, and he promised that he would find a way to collect leather and other items to meet our needs for making leather armor; Only Zhang Feng's side was not very smooth, and those families in the county were not very willing to donate a sum of money......"

Zhao Yu frowned and thought for a moment, and asked, "Which ones?" ”

Hearing this, Chen Cai took out a piece of paper from his arms, handed it to Zhao Yu and said, "Zhang Feng has already made a list. ”

Zhao Yu took the list and glanced at it twice, then handed it back to Chen Cai, and said calmly: "Time is still free, let Zhang Feng continue to persuade, if you wait until the next year, when the rebels really attack the Kunyang area, these people will still not pull out a dime, and then tell these people to get out of Kunyang." ”

"Understood." Chen Cai nodded.

Immediately, he thought of Ma Gai's entrustment, clenched his fists and said, "Chief, there is one more thing. …… According to Ma Gai, Ishihara's kid intends to send his two companions, Xu Bai and Wang Ping, to infiltrate my Black Tiger Village and find out the details of your leader. ”

"Oh?"

Zhao Yu was happy when he heard it.

It's a shame that Ishihara and the others can still come up with such a trick, but the problem is that he is not in the main village most of the time.

"What do you mean?"

Zhao Yu said with a smile: "I remember that he also admired Ishihara, why did he sell those people?" ”

"Instead, he thinks he's smart."

Chen Cai said with a smile: "He concealed it and didn't report it, which was the one who harmed those people." However, I think there is some truth in what he said, Ishihara and others have fought with the rebels in Jiangxia, and it doesn't seem to be a bad idea to keep these people to deal with the rebels next year. ”

Zhao Yu looked Chen Cai up and down a few times with a little surprise, and asked with a smile, "Are you pleading for those people in Ishihara?" ”

Chen Cai didn't refute either, smiled and explained: "A while ago, when Ji Rong led the army to seize my Chengnan Workshop, that kid from Ishihara stopped the Nanyang soldiers from beating several young people in my workshop, and he didn't identify me in front of Ji Rong afterwards, so I don't have a bad impression of him. …… In addition, several of them are quite capable, and if they can be subdued, they will definitely be able to serve the leader in the future......"

"Huh."

Zhao Yu nodded slightly: "You send someone to send a letter to the main village, telling Chen Mo, Wang Qing and others not to embarrass these two, and treat them as ordinary villagers." ”

He didn't think that Ishihara's people could make any waves, so with Ishihara's trust in Ma Gai, he would eat them.

"Yes."

Chen Cai arched his hand and prepared to retire.

Seeing Zhao Yu shouting again: "Wait a minute, you wait a while, I have a letter, you will send it to the main village and hand it to Brother Guo Da." ”

"Yes."

That night, Zhao Yu wrote a letter to Liu Bi, the commander of Luyang County, and asked Chen to send it to the main village and hand it over to Guo Da.

There is no need to guess to know that after Guo Da saw this letter, he would immediately realize that this was a letter to Liu Bi, the commander of Luyang County, and then sent his henchmen to Luyang.

The next day, Ishihara and Chen Gui bid farewell to Xu Bai and Wang Ping at home.

He told the two: "Brother, you two must be cautious when you go to the Black Tiger Village, if there is a slight sign of revealing your identity, immediately find a way to escape back to the county, although the Black Tiger Thief also has strength in the county, but no matter how much you believe it, you don't dare to commit murder in public." ”

"Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Xu Bai and Wang Ping said with a smile.

Bidding farewell to Ishihara and Chen Gui, Xu Bai and Wang Ping, who disguised themselves as ordinary rangers, left the county seat and went to the north of the county to go to Black Tiger Village.

To say that you are not nervous at all, of course this is false, after all, the black tiger thieves are famous, and it is said that they killed hundreds of Nanyang soldiers a while ago - even the regular soldiers have suffered, how powerful do you say this gang of bandits is?

After driving for two or three hours, Xu Bai and Wang Ping finally came to Yingshan in the north of the county.

The two looked at each other again.

Well, unkempt hair, dirty clothes, full of thieves!

The dress was fine, and the two went up the mountain.

Coincidentally, they walked on the narrow cobweb road on the southeast slope of the Black Tiger Main Village.

Although the road is quite smooth, the road is winding and long, which makes Xu Bai and Wang Ping a little suspicious of life - after walking for most of the day, they are still halfway up the mountain.

Unlike ordinary people, Xu Bai and Wang Ping immediately noticed that something was wrong with this road.

Xu Bai said to Wang Ping in private: "I'm afraid this is what the black tiger thief used to defend against the enemy......"

"Hmm."

Wang Ping nodded solemnly.

The two were very suspicious that the Nanyang army of 2,000 people a while ago failed to break through the Black Tiger Village in nearly 20 days because of these strange mountain roads.

While groping for these mountain roads, the two of them wrote down the correct paths, and prepared to find a way to inform Ishihara afterwards, telling Ishihara to tell the county government and tell the county lieutenant Ma Gai.

Just as they were scrambling for the mountain road, someone suddenly shouted, "Hey, you two, what are you doing?" ”

Xu Bai and Wang Ping subconsciously raised their heads, and even saw several bandits standing in the mountain road above them, looking at them with unkind expressions.

Wait a minute!

These people ...... Is it a black tiger thief?

Wang Ping was a little incredulous.

Because he saw that the men were all wearing leather armor, and they looked quite new.

What's even more incredible is that the hair of these people is tied back in the head, although it is not neat, but it is very different from the image of the 'unkempt' bandit in the impression of Xu Bai and Wang Ping.

"You...... Who are you? Wang Ping asked in astonishment.

Hearing this, the bandits on the road were slightly stunned, and then laughed.

One of them pointed at Xu Bai and Wang Ping and laughed: "It turned out to be two fools!" ”

As he spoke, he stepped on a stone on the side of the road, and said condescendingly and domineeringly: "You two listen, this is Black Tiger Mountain, your Black Tiger grandfathers live here, if you want to survive, leave quickly!" ”

"Sure enough, it's a black tiger thief! But how can these black tiger thieves ......?"

Wang Ping's heart flashed a little incredible.

To tell the truth, they have known the Black Tiger Thief for a long time, Kunyang County has surrounded and suppressed the Black Tiger Thief three times, and several of them have participated, but after the Black Tiger Thief made a comeback this year, they have not yet come here to deal with the Black Tiger Thief.

Unexpectedly, after nearly a year of not seeing each other, the image of these black tiger thieves has changed so much that Wang Ping is a little unrecognizable.

"Hey, don't understand people?"

Seeing that Xu Bai and Wang Ping had no reaction, several thieves on the road were unhappy and kicked a few stones down.

Xu Bai was the first to react, and after avoiding those stones, he hugged his fists and said: "It turns out that you are the righteous people of Black Tiger Village, and the two of us have made a special trip to Guizhai. ”

As he spoke, he took out two bamboo sticks engraved with the word 'tiger' in black from his arms.

"Huh?"

The thieves on the road squinted their eyes for a long time, and then beckoned, "Come up." ”

"Good, good." Xu Bai and the others agreed repeatedly, and then, under the guidance of the bandit, they made a long detour, and finally came to the front of the bandits.

During the detour, Xu Bai whispered to Wang Ping: "Do you recognize it?" That person was Liu Tu. ”

"Hmm."

Wang Ping nodded slightly.

'Tu Wanwan' Liu Tu, the fierce among the black tiger thieves, and the henchman of 'Winged Tiger' Chen Mo, although this person's image has changed, and he is still wearing leather armor and dressed like a soldier, Xu Bai and Wang Ping still recognize it at a glance.

A moment later, Xu Bai and Wang Ping made a detour to Liu Tu and the others.

I have to say that Xu Bai and Wang Ping are still quite nervous at this time, after all, Liu Tu is the number one fierce in the Black Tiger Thieves, even they dare not guarantee that they can kill each other, not to mention that there are several bandits wearing leather armor from the side.

Fortunately, Liu Tu didn't seem to recognize Xu Bai and Wang Ping in disguise, and when the two approached, he beckoned and said, "Take out the token and I'll take a look." ”

Xu Bai hurriedly handed over the token.

After repeatedly confirming that there was nothing wrong with the tokens, Liu Tu nodded, handed the two tokens back to Xu Bai and Wang Ping, and immediately said to several thieves around him: "You guys, continue to patrol the mountain." ”

After saying that, he beckoned to Xu Bai and the others: "You two, come with me, and I will take you to see the commander." ”

"Grand Commander?"

Xu Bai and Wang Ping looked at each other.

About half an hour later, under the leadership of Liu Tu, Xu Bai and Wang Ping finally came to the main village of the Black Tiger Thief.

Seeing that there were several bandits standing with spears on both sides of the gate, their bodies standing straight, Xu Bai and the others suddenly had a strange feeling in their hearts.

This...... Is it really the Black Tiger Thief's lair? How does it feel like a barracks?

The two remained silent and followed behind Liu Tu.

At this moment, a group of children on the left chased and ran over, and one of the children slammed into Liu Tu's leg, but fortunately, Liu Tu was quick and grabbed the child, so that the latter did not fall.

I saw Liu Tu pretending to be vicious, pressing the child's head with his hand, and pretending to grit his teeth and scolding: "Little rabbit, it's you again?" I warned you last time......"

However, the child didn't seem to be afraid of Liu Tu, slapped Liu Tu's hand away, kicked and ran a few steps away, and grimaced at Liu Tu.

Liu Tu's eyes widened, and the group of children laughed and ran away.

"These bunnies!"

Looking at the backs of the group of children, Liu Tu scolded with a smile, and then turned back to Xu Bai and Wang Pingnu: "Follow me." ”

“……”

Xu Bai and Wang Ping glanced at each other, and slowly followed Liu Tu, while looking around.

As far as they could see, there were not only bandits in this black tiger main village, but also many women and children, and it seemed that those women and children were not afraid of those bandits, and they would greet and laugh with each other.

The whole main village gives Xu Bai and Wang Ping the feeling that it is like a mountain village.

"Bandit...... Do you have any family members?'

Xu Bai and Wang Ping thought secretly.

It is actually a very normal thing for the thieves to have families, but Xu Bai and Wang Ping never thought of it before, until they infiltrated this cottage as another person today.

"The Black Tiger Thieves who were killed by us in the first place, are their wives and children among them?"

The two of them couldn't help but look at the women walking around and the children running around.

Suddenly, the two of them shook their heads with a smile.

And just then, they suddenly heard the shout of 'drink'.

Stunned in their hearts, the two raised their heads and looked ahead, and saw the direction in which the sound came from, and immediately, they saw that in the open space not far ahead, there were about more than a hundred bandits lined up neatly, holding spears and practicing in unison.

"Drink!"

"Drink!"

Looking at those black tiger thieves who were practicing, Xu Bai and Wang Ping's eyes widened in astonishment.

What do they see?

Bandit ...... Actually practicing?!

And it's still drilled in the way the army is trained?!

“……”

Glancing at each other, Xu Bai and Wang Ping both saw the shock in each other's eyes.

Liu Tu, who was walking in front, obviously didn't notice the different colors on the faces of Xu Bai and Wang Ping, and urged: "The Great Commander is in front, follow me." ”

Following Liu Tu, Xu Bai and Wang Ping came to the great commander.

At this time, they knew who the great commander in Liu Tu's mouth was referring to - Chen Mo, a winged tiger!

One of the toughest of the Black Tiger Thieves!

“……”

Xu Bai and Wang Ping subconsciously swallowed their saliva.

"Boss...... Uh, no, the Great Commander, these two boys are here to join our cottage, and they have tokens. ”

Liu Tu pointed at Xu Bai and said to Chen Mo.

After that, he whispered to Xu Bai and Wang Ping, "What are your two names?" ”

At this time, Xu Bai was staring at the black tiger thieves who were practicing, and the shock in his heart had not been alleviated, and when he heard Liu Tu asking, he subconsciously said: "Xu Bai ......"

From the side, Wang Ping was also stunned to look at the black tiger thieves who were practicing, and subconsciously said, "Wang Ping." ”

After a breath, the faces of the two changed suddenly, and they subconsciously held their breath, and cold sweat broke out in their heads, secretly praying that this group of black tiger thieves would not recognize their names.

“……”

At this time, Chen Mo was looking at the villagers who were practicing in front of him with his hands behind his back, and when he heard this, he turned his head and glanced at Xu Bai and Wang Ping.

"That's what Chen Cai said, these are the two, right?"

A few different colors flashed in his eyes, and they disappeared in a flash.

"Don't, God forbid, don't recognize the two of us, otherwise there will really be no place to die......

Seeing that Chen Mo turned his head, Xu Bai and Wang Ping lowered their heads and prayed secretly.

And at this moment, I heard Chen Mo say lightly: "Join the team." ”

"What?"

Xu Bai was stunned, as if he didn't hear clearly.

Seeing this, Chen Mo said calmly: "Anyone who defects to the cottage must be trained by me every day, and only after passing can they move freely...... Join the team and practice with these guys. ”

With that, he took out two spears with wooden poles from the wooden frame next to him, and threw them to Xu Bai and Wang Ping.

Catching the spear thrown by Chen Mo, Xu Bai and Wang Ping hurriedly stood at the front of the team according to what Chen Mo said.

"God forbid, God forbid."

While praying secretly, the two learned to practice trick by trick like the rest of the bandits.

What made them feel at ease was that when they made a mistake in their movements during practice, Chen Mo would correct them, and his expression was very calm.

After two or three times like this, Xu Bai and Wang Ping gradually relaxed their hearts.

They felt that the matter of infiltrating the black tiger thief should be done.

"God forbid, I didn't expect it to be so easy......

took the time to look at each other, and the two secretly rejoiced in their hearts.