PS: The map is wrong, and I need to revise it at the end of the last chapter.』

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In the early morning of June 28, when the sun rose in the east, the guards of Kunyang County saw the tide of refugees who were pressed like a tide.

"Oh my God......"

Seeing the scale of the refugee flow, the county guards guarding the city looked at each other and hurriedly reported to the county government.

Not long after, Liu Bi, the commander of Kunyang County, took the county lieutenant Ma Gai, the county Cheng Li Xu and a county pawn, and hurriedly climbed the city wall to look out of the city.

At this time, the southern suburbs of Kunyang County were overcrowded, and the black and oppressive tide of refugees crowded under the city, crying and sighing continuously, which was also full of pleas for Kunyang County, many refugees poured to the city wall, begging Kunyang County to open the city gates so that they could enter the city for shelter.

"This ...... I'm afraid there are three or four thousand people? ”

The county Cheng Li Xu muttered solemnly.

In all fairness, accepting three or four thousand refugees is nothing for Kunyang County, but the problem is that today is only the first day that refugees have appeared in Kunyang County, and there will be a steady stream of refugees coming here.

From the side, the county commander Liu Bi frowned and looked outside the city, and asked in a deep voice: "But who has seen the traces of the rebel army?" ”

Hearing this, Ma Gai's headhunter Ishihara clenched his fists and said, "Gong Liu, the rebel army will not appear immediately. ”

"Oh?" Liu Bi glanced at Ishihara, and then remembered that Ishihara and his companions had the experience of fighting the rebel army in Jiangxia County, so he asked, "Do you know a lot about the rebel army?" ”

"I don't know, but I know a little bit." Ishihara explained.

Seeing this, Liu Bi nodded and said, "Okay, tell me what you know, the rest of the people here have not dealt with the rebel army. ”

"Yes."

Ishihara hugged his fists, and immediately told Liu Bi, Ma Gai, Li Xu, Yang Kang, He Feng and others: "The rebel army you think can actually be divided into two parts, one part is the real rebel army, they are no different from the real army, the discipline is relatively strict, and the ability to fight is also stronger, which is the biggest threat to our county; There are also some so-called 'Green Forest Rebels' composed of reckless rangers, bandits, and robbers, who can be numbered from a few dozen to hundreds or thousands, most of whom are fighting on their own, and these people are like jackals compared to the real rebel army, and most of the time, they will assist the rebel army in attacking places that the latter do not look down on, or do not want to spend too much effort, such as the countryside. …… If the real rebel army is still disciplined, then these 'Green Forest Rebels' are actually more harmful, removing some of the Green Forest Rebels who still have a conscience, and the rest of the people killing, burning, looting, and raping **, all evil, and their cruelty is no different from that of thieves......"

Hearing this, Li Xu, the county magistrate, couldn't help but ask, "How does it compare to the Black Tiger Thief?" ”

Ishihara was silent for a moment, and finally truthfully stated his evaluation: "In terms of ferocity, the 'Green Forest Thief' is even worse than the Black Tiger Thief...... What's more, at least the Black Tiger Thief doesn't think of killing people as fun......"

"Do you think killing people is fun?"

Liu Bi, Ma Gai, Li Xu and others were all a little stunned, how fierce are the people in their hearts who will regard killing as fun?

As if he had guessed the thoughts of these people, Chen Gui added in a deep voice: "Three adults, I can guarantee that what Ishihara said is not necessary, when Ishihara and I were in Jiangxia County, we saw with my own eyes those so-called Green Forest Rebels killing innocents...... I can assure you that there are some of them who are not as good as animals. ”

Everyone looked at each other.

At this time, Ma Gai coughed and asked, "In other words, before encountering the real rebel army, we have to deal with those green forest thieves first?" ”

"Yes." Ishihara nodded and said: "The rebel army and the green forest thieves collude with each other and use each other, and the green forest thieves want to use the momentum of the rebel army, whether it is looting, committing violence, or catching strong men to strengthen themselves; The rebels, on the other hand, use the Green Forest Bandits to clear them of threats along the way, allowing them to concentrate on conquering the city...... The county lieutenant can be understood that the green forest thieves are the vanguard of the rebel army, and generally speaking, the rebel army will lag behind the green forest thieves for about half a month to a month. …… Considering that Dingling County has just fallen, I think the rebel army should still be stationed in Dingling to strengthen their control over Dingling, and only those green forest thieves who are as greedy and ferocious as jackals will continue to move forward, preemptively killing the villages along the way, raping **, and robbing money. ”

Ma Gai nodded silently, and then asked, "Then these green forest thieves...... Do you know where they are now? ”

Ishihara glanced outside the city and explained: "Or they are still taking pleasure in the countryside along the way, or they are lurking among these refugees, coaxing our county to open the city gates, so that they can wait for the opportunity to make trouble......"

Hearing this, not to mention that Liu Bi and Li Xu's faces changed drastically, even Ma Gai frowned and asked, "You mean, among these refugees outside the city, are there those green forest thieves?" ”

"I'm just guessing." Ishihara shook his head and explained: "When I was in Jiangxia County, I heard from Jiangxia's soldiers that there were green forest thieves who disguised themselves as refugees who had fled and infiltrated the city. …… During this period, the county seat of Runan County was frequently lost, and some could not even hold it for three days, and it was suspected that there must be green forest thieves pretending to be refugees to assist the rebel army to seize the city. ”

"Hmm......"

County Commander Liu Bi nodded slightly.

It is undeniable that the speed of the rebel army's march is far beyond everyone's expectations, so he also feels that the rapid fall of those county towns in Runan County is likely to be mixed into the city by green forest thieves disguised as refugees, as Ishihara said.

Thinking of this, he frowned and said, "Can you find a way to drive these refugees to other counties?" For example, Ye County? ”

Hearing this, Ma Gai, Li Xu and others knew that the old mistake of the county magistrate had been committed again.

I still remember that seven or eight years ago, when the refugees from Nanyang County flocked to him Kunyang, the county commander did the same, and in the end, Luyang and Yexian absorbed nearly sixty percent of the refugees, and the rest of the refugees either died, or they fell into the grass on the Ying Mountain - most of the fourteen bandit dens on the original Ying Mountain were absorbed by the displaced people, including the only remaining black tiger thief.

Probably Ishihara had also heard of the 'bad deeds' of this county magistrate, and hurriedly persuaded him: "Liu Gong must not forcibly drive away, although the combat ability of the green forest thieves is far inferior to that of the rebel army, most of them are despicable and cunning, and they instigate public opinion without authorization...... If there are really green forest thieves among these refugees outside the city, then once Liu Gong forcibly drives them away, these green forest thieves will definitely instigate the refugees to cause a riot, and then those green forest thieves will use the refugees to attack the county seat, and even attack the county seat......"

"Attacking the county seat?"

Liu Bi's eyes widened in astonishment, and he said in his heart that these refugees still dare to attack the county seat?

But thinking about it carefully, he felt that Ishihara's persuasion was not unreasonable, after all, refugees also want to live, once they are in despair and lose their minds, who can guarantee that they will not take risks?

You must know that this refugee wave is different from the refugees in Nanyang County back then, and this refugee wave may be mixed with those green forest thieves, who are eager to instigate refugees to attack the county seat, so that they can have the opportunity to invade the county seat, kill people and loot.

As soon as he thought of this, Liu Bi subconsciously clenched his fists.

Although he doesn't think that he can talk about a county order that loves the people like a son and is high-spirited, at least he will not let a group of outlaws who kill people without blinking an eye break through the county town and wantonly slaughter and persecute the county people under his rule.

With a slight breath, he asked in a deep voice, "Ma Gai, are you sure that you will retreat from the enemy?" ”

Ma Gai was silent for a moment, and pretended to hesitate and said, "Gong Liu, I think it should be ...... to unite with the Black Tiger Thief."

Hearing this, everyone on the city wall was silent, some were really silent, such as Li Xu, the county prince, and then Shi Yuan and Chen Gui, several head catchers; As for the others, like Liu Bi and Ma Gai, they are more observing the reactions of the rest.

Not long after, Xun Yi, the superintendent of the western part of Kunyang, who was still temporarily staying in Kunyang at the moment, also received the news sent by Liu Bi, and hurried to the city wall to look at the situation of the refugees outside the city, and at the same time discussed with Liu Bi and his party how to deal with it.

However, the first priority is not how to deal with the refugees outside the city, but whether to unite with the Black Tiger Thieves.

"Vote on it."

Xun Yi looked back at Liu Bi, Ma Gai, and Li Xu.

In Kunyang County at present, there are only four of them who have the right to vote on the matter of the black tiger thief.

Among these four people, Liu Bi and Ma Gai are the internal responses of the Black Tiger Thief, Xun Yi is Zhou Hu's friend, and there is only one county left, Li Xu, who used to support the Zhao'an Black Tiger Thief......

Looking at it this way, it seems that the matter of Kunyang County uniting with the black tiger thieves is already a certainty, even if a few county officials such as Ishihara and Chen Gui have prejudices, they will not be able to reverse the situation.

However, under this general trend, Xun Yi, Liu Bi, Ma Gai, and Li Xu, who have the right to vote, also have concerns.

Among them, the county Cheng Li Xu's concern was aimed at Zhou Hu himself, after all, the 'Five Counties Suppressing Thieves' incident had just happened, and he was very suspicious that his Kunyang County could still maintain the tacit understanding with the Black Tiger Thieves in the past, while the other three were worried about the attitude of Yingchuan County and the attitude of Li Min, the county guard.

After some discussion, Xun Yi made a decision: "Whether it is a green forest thief or a rebel army, the threat of the two is worse than that of the black tiger thief, if the black tiger thief is willing to advance and retreat with Kunyang, I personally support the alliance with the black tiger thief, as for Li Junshou's side, I will explain to him face to face in the future...... If there is any responsibility, Xun is willing to bear it together. ”

Hearing this, Liu Bi and Ma Gai did not hesitate anymore - of course they did not dare to prevent the black tiger thief from 'entering the master' of Kunyang, but they were afraid of taking responsibility for this matter, and they lost their official positions because they violated Li Junshou's wishes.

Since Xun Yi is willing to take responsibility, the two of them are naturally willing.

Only the county Cheng Li Xu was still a little hesitant: "How can I ensure that the black tiger thief is willing to advance and retreat with me Kunyang?" ”

Seeing this, Xun Yi Zhengse said: "I should personally lobby Zhou Hu!" ”

Yes, the reason why he stayed in Kunyang was to ensure that Zhou Hu was on the side of Kunyang and on the side of Yingchuan County, if it was really as Yang Ding said, Zhou Hu had secretly defected to the rebel army, then he would probably have to apologize with death - of course, before he died, he would definitely turn against Zhou Hu, and then expose the latter's hypocritical mask.

"Then please oversee the post."

Liu Bi nodded and agreed with Xun Yi's proposition, and Zhengse said: "In that case, Ma Gai, you immediately send someone to escort the post superintendent to Black Tiger Mountain to negotiate with that Zhou Hu." The rest of the people, etc., continue martial law. ”

"Yes!" The crowd took orders.

After Liu Bi finished his instructions, Ma Gai summoned Shi Yuan and Chen Gui to the front and instructed: "At present, Liu Gong has decided to try to join forces with the black tiger thieves to resist the enemy, and ask Xun Du Post to lobby on his behalf, and you two will wait for a number of county guards to protect Du Post from the north city gate, and be careful of the refugees." ”

"Unite with the Black Tiger Thief?"

Ishihara and Chen Gui looked at each other.

Since they came to Kunyang County by coincidence a few years ago, they have fought several encirclement and suppression battles with the black tiger thief, and both sides have always been enemies, until later the black tiger thief made a 'trick' and founded a brotherhood in the county, and the hostility between the two sides was slightly eased, and it became a well water instead of river water.

But now, it's actually going to join forces with the black tiger thief?

Ma Gai saw through the thoughts of the two, and Zhengse explained: "At the time of employing people, although the black tiger thief is a bandit, it is not a big threat to my Kunyang, and the black tiger thief is all brave, and its thief Zhou Hu is even more strategic...... The Black Tiger Thief, the Green Forest Thief, and the Rebel Army, you two know best which of the three is the greatest threat. ”

“……”

Ishihara and Chen Gui looked at each other.

Although they are reluctant, they must admit that the black tiger thief is indeed much better than the green forest thief, at least the black tiger thief does not kill indiscriminately, and belongs to the mountain thief who still has a conscience.

Nodding, Ishihara Masasei said: "Don't worry, the county lieutenant, the two of us will definitely protect the superintendent." ”

A moment later, under the protection of Shi Yuan, Chen Gui and the other four county officials, Xun Yi took a carriage out of the city from the North City Gate and went straight to Black Tiger Mountain, and after driving for more than two hours, they came to the foot of Black Tiger Mountain.

The carriage was parked at the foot of the mountain, and two county guards were sent to guard it, and Xun Yi took Ishihara and Chen Gui and his party up the mountain.

The southeast slope is the longest because of the narrow cobwebs, while the south and east slopes are the shortest, and of course more laborious.

And Xun Yi was in a hurry to go up the mountain at this time to get Zhou Hu's promise, so he naturally chose the nearest and most laborious southern slope.

Not surprisingly, they soon encountered the Black Tiger Thieves patrolling the mountain.

However, in view of the fact that Xun Yi has traveled back and forth to the Black Tiger Village many times in recent months, the Black Tiger thieves on the mountain are no strangers to this post governor, and they heard that the leader Zhou Hu seems to be quite respectful to this post governor, so they are also very polite to Xun Yi.

"Xun Du Post came to see the chief?"

"Ah, I don't know where Chief Zhou is?"

"In the main village, I will lead the post forward."

After some conversation, a thief named Chu Fei volunteered to lead Xun Yi and his party up the mountain, and the secret whistle encountered during the period was all repelled by him, so that Xun Yi and the others easily came to the main village on the top of the mountain.

This is the first time that Ishihara and Chen Gui have observed the main village of the black tiger thieves up close after the comeback of the black tiger thieves last year.

Just as Ishihara was observing the main village of this black tiger thief, suddenly Chen Gui bumped him with his shoulder.

He raised his head, and even saw that the black tiger thief Liu Tu was walking out of the village with Xu Bai and Wang Ping, two of his companions—Xu Bai and Wang Ping were obviously stunned.

"Xun Du Post?"

Liu Tu also recognized Xun Yi and immediately stepped forward.

Xun Yi smiled and nodded, and asked, "Is Leader Zhou here?" I have important matters to discuss with him. ”

"In, in, in the village, I will lead the superintendent to the post."

Liu Tu nodded with a smile, and instead of Chu Fei, he led Xun Yi and his party to the depths of the cottage.

During this time, he glanced at Ishihara with a deep meaning, apparently recognizing the latter.

It's no wonder, after all, among the top catchers in Kunyang County, Ishihara is quite famous, and even the black tiger thief knows that this guy is not easy to mess with.

But some people, the more difficult it is to provoke, the more they want to provoke, such as Liu Tu, at this moment he is thinking about how to give Ishihara a dismissal.

After a while, the group came to Zhao Yu's house, and Zhao Yu also got the news at this time, took Jingnu out of the house to greet him, and invited Xun Yi into the house to talk in detail.

Shi Yuan and Chen Gui originally wanted to follow Xun Yi into the house, but they were stopped by Liu Tu with his hand.

"What do you mean?" Ishihara glanced at Liu Tu.

From the side, Zhao Yu's guard Zhuang Ping explained: "Shi Zhutou can rest assured that we will not be unfavorable to the postal superintendent." Saying this, he reminded Liu Tu in a low voice: "Liu Tu, don't make trouble, don't spoil the leader's plan." ”

However, Zhuang Ping couldn't reprimand Liu Tu, who patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'm just saying hello to Shi Zhutou......"

As he spoke, he looked Ishihara up and down a few times, and sneered: "Ishihara, in the past, you killed a lot of us......"

Hearing this, Xu Bai and Wang Ping, who were standing behind Liu Tu, were anxious.

You must know that after a period of lifting, they knew Liu Tu's character very well, and as soon as they heard the latter's tone, they guessed that Liu Tu was looking for Ishihara's stubble.

And the embarrassing thing is that they can't help Ishihara, because Liu Tu treats them as henchmen.

On the other side, Ishihara had already guessed a few points from Zhuang Ping's attitude.

He guessed that the Black Tiger Thief must have also received the news of the rebel army's entry, and he did not dare to make trouble with Kunyang County, which showed that Liu Tu's finding fault was just his personal behavior.

Since it was a personal act, Ishihara naturally would not show cowardice, so he sneered and said lightly: "Isn't it natural for officers and soldiers to kill thieves?" If you black tiger thief continue to do evil in the future, I will still show no mercy! ”

"Wow, what a big breath!"

Obviously, Liu Tu was very unhappy with Ishihara's attitude, and sneered when he heard this: "Count you lucky, you didn't meet Lao Tzu ...... at the beginning."

"Didn't you run into it today?" Ishihara raised his eyebrows and sneered, "Do you want to make a comparison?" ”

"This stone catcher also seems to be a short-tempered ......

Zhao Yu's bodyguard Zhuang Ping saw it and hurriedly dissuaded: "Two, two, Xun Duyou came to see the leader, there must be something important, don't disturb the two of them." ”

It's a pity that Zhuang Ping couldn't control Liu Tu at all, and the latter said with a smile: "Zhuang Ping, why are you bothered by your mother-in-law like a girl?" Since the stone catcher head has to make a comparison, how can we show weakness to others? As he spoke, he glanced back at Xu Bai, and Nunu said, "Xu Bai, teach him a lesson for me." ”

"......" Xu Bai opened his mouth, glanced at Ishihara opposite awkwardly, and said in a low voice: "Boss, it's not good...... The Great Commander is going to scold you again......"

"Afraid of what?" Liu Tu's eyes widened, and he pulled Xu Bai over and whispered: "This guy named Ishihara has killed a lot of us in the past, although we can't move him at the moment, but we can make him make a fool...... How? Are you scared? ”

"It's not that I'm scared......

Xu Bai didn't know how to explain to Liu Tu, and stood in front of Ishihara as if he was being driven to the shelf.

On the other side, Ishihara was also a little dumbfounded, opened his mouth, and stopped talking.

He didn't mind comparing himself with Liu Tu, but with Xu Bai, his old companion......

From the side, Chen Gui and Wang Ping were also speechless.

"Stone catcher, that ...... Offended? ”

Under Liu Tu's triumphant watch, Xu Bai hugged his fist towards Ishihara with a little embarrassment.

"Oh......"

Ishihara was also full of strangeness, and he didn't know what to say.

At the same time, Zhao Yu had invited Xun Yi to sit down at the table in the room.

I saw that Xun Yi said to Zhao Yu with a little eagerness after sitting down: "Today, refugees from the south have crossed the Shahe River and come to Kunyang City...... I wonder if Leader Zhou remembers the original promise? ”

After saying this, he looked at Zhao Yu intently, and his tense face proved that he was actually a little nervous in his heart, for fear that Zhou Hu's original promise to him was just a deception.

Fortunately, Zhao Yu didn't let Xun Yi wait for a long time, and immediately said with a smile: "Of course! Xun Duyou is a friend of Zhou Hu, and Zhou's promise to his friend is naturally fulfilled. …… Rest assured, I, Zhou Hu, will firmly stand on the side of Kunyang and the people of Kunyang, resolutely resist the rebel army, and will never allow the rebel army to act recklessly in Kunyang! ”

Hearing Zhao Yu's promise, Xun Yi's tense mind was finally relaxed, and he nodded with relief: "Okay, finally I didn't misunderstand you." …… You don't have to worry about Li Junshou's side, when you go to Kunyang to meet Liu Bi, Ma Gai and others, I will set off to see Li Junshou, this time I will definitely persuade Li Junshou to pardon you Black Tiger Thief, so that you can get rid of the notoriety of 'thief'." ”

Zhao Yu smiled and arched his hand: "Then it depends on the post superintendent." ”

As they were talking, they suddenly heard the sound of fists and feet fighting outside the house, and there were bursts of cheering.

Thinking that something was happening, Zhao Yu and Xun Yi walked out of the house, and immediately saw Ishihara and Xu Bai fighting under the watchful eye of a group of black tiger thieves.

Even, many unknown Black Tigers are still cheering for Xu Bai.

"Okay, Xu Bai, teach this guy a good lesson!"

"Get this guy down!"

Knowing what had happened from Zhuang Ping, who was walking quickly, Zhao Yu shook his head speechlessly, turned his head to Xun Yi and said, "Without further ado, Zhou will go to Kunyang with the post supervisor." ”

"Hmm." Xun Yi nodded with satisfaction.

No matter what others say, at least in his opinion, this Zhou Hu is a reasonable person.

Of course, in fact, he was not unaware of Zhou Hu's secret control of Kunyang, and even he vaguely guessed that there must be Zhou Hu's people in Kunyang County, but none of this mattered, as long as Zhou Hu firmly stood on the side of Kunyang County Ya, on his side in Yingchuan County, and on the side of the imperial court, these are all tolerable.

After all, he can't ask a bandit to follow the rules, as long as he grasps the big principles.

As for the worst-case outcome, it is nothing more than Zhou Hu replacing Liu Bi's authority to enforce the county order, which is much better than the rebel army taking control of Kunyang.

On the same day, Zhao Yu took Chen Mo, Wang Qing, Liu Tu and other tyrants from his Black Tiger Village to Kunyang County, and in the county government of Kunyang County, he discussed with the county commander Liu Bi, the county lieutenant Ma Gai, the county Cheng Li Xu and others on countermeasures against the rebel army.

Secretly controlling Kunyang, he has already achieved it, what he has to do now is to take this opportunity to completely whitewash his black tigers, so that his black tigers can appear on the streets of Kunyang in a grand manner, and try to become Kunyang's savior while taking the opportunity to grow stronger.

Of course, if he has spare strength, he will also pull the two counties of Runan and Xiangcheng, after all, he is not willing to give up Liu Yi and Wang Yong, the two friends he just made.