"How do you kill two birds with one stone?" Zhou Xuhai asked.

He Zhiyuan replied: "I have a past with these bandits. However, I only have a good impression of the big boss, and it is difficult for others to say. Therefore, if you want to make a calculation, you must first figure out how many people and horses there are on Ma Qi Mountain, which also requires the cooperation of Uncle Xu. ”

"This group of ringing horses on Ma Qi Mountain is a matter of recent years, just after the Spring Festival, the bandits of Ma Qi Mountain will also take Zhiyuan as a meat ticket, but there is no danger, although the big boss is a bandit but does not tie up good people, he heard that I was imprisoned for not paying all the taxes and grains, and personally sent Zhiyuan back to the village. It can be said that the big boss is a chivalrous man. It's not difficult to inquire, there are a lot of people from Orion in the eastern mountains in our escort team, so you can ask them. He Shaoyun said. Then he instructed his family to ask Xu Tangyi to find a reliable member of the team from Orion to come over.

After a while, Xu Tangyi took Ma Wu to the He family's house. After they sat down, He Shaoyun said: "The ringing horses on Maqi Mountain may be attacking our village recently, we must step up our precautions, do you know how many ringing horses there are on Maqi Mountain?" ”

Xu Tangyi replied: "The ringing horses of Ma Qi Mountain are all wandering around the mountains, and they have never been to our side, and it is not clear how many people and horses there are. ”

Ma Wu then replied: "This group of ringing horses on Ma Qi Mountain, we who hunt in the mountains know it. In the mountains, I often encounter them moving. We Orions generally hide from a distance and watch, judging from the team of men and horses, it is estimated that there will be no more than fifty people, but we don't know how many are still on the mountain. ”

"How many horses do they have? What is the name of the big boss? Zhou Xuhai asked.

"There aren't many horses, and I've seen more than twenty. The big boss is called Ji Chao, a pair of steel whips make it as fast as the wind, and he is superb, and people give him the nickname 'chasing wind whip'. ”

"It's a pity that such a good skill has made a ringing horse." Zhou Xuhai sighed.

"I heard that a few years ago, Ji Chao's family was forced by a village chief to pay tax grain, and his family had little land and could not hand over the grain. The lieutenant took advantage of Ji Chao and his father to take people to raid the house when they went out hunting, and as a result, his mother and daughter-in-law who had just passed the door hanged themselves. In a fit of rage, he killed the lieutenant chief, ran with his father to the Maqi Mountain, and made a living by robbing the house. Later, there were more and more people, and it turned out to be a trend. However, I heard that this Ji Chao never kills people indiscriminately, and the robbers are all rich people, and he never starts with the poor. ”

"In this way, this Ji Chao was forced by someone to embark on this road. From the point of view of never starting with the poor, it is a bit of a conscience. Xu Tangyi said with some approval and regret.

After saying this, He Shaoyun asked Xu Tangyi to stay and sent Ma Wu back first.

After Ma Wu left, He Shaoyun told Xu Tangyi about the situation just now. He Zhiyuan then said: "These ringing horses will definitely come to step on the point before they move, and when they find out the number of our guards, they will definitely not dare to come hard." In this case, the first thing the horses can do is to kidnap someone who knows the formula, and secondly, to snatch some of the ingredients to identify it. Here's what we're going to do......"

Niu Erdan got his wish and became the guardian of the Qi family, and Qi Honglie immediately entrusted him with an important task, asking him and Xie Er to take a hundred taels of silver to Ma Qi Mountain to find the wind chasing whip Ji Chao.

The next morning, that is, the day when He Shaoyun and Zhou Xuhai were discussing the strategy of dealing with the Qi family, Xie Er and Niu Erdan also came to the foot of Ma Qi Mountain, which is about 20 miles southeast of Hejia Village.

Ma Qi Mountain is the highest peak in Juzhou, the highest peak has more than 2,200 zhang (author's note: 662.2 meters above sea level). It is the trend of the fierce horse galloping, the mountain range is lined up from west to east to the south, the landform is steep in the southeast, the northwest is gentle, the northeast peak is high and the wall stands, showing the trend of pulling out the earth and reaching the sky. Ma Qi Mountain is surrounded by water on three sides, the peaks and peaks are uneven, there are 16 dangerous peaks, dozens of steep streams.

In modern times, Maqi Mountain is the location of Shandong Tianma Island Tourist Area, a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, a national geological park, a demonstration site for leisure and vacation in Shandong Province, a demonstration site for self-driving tours in Shandong Province, and one of the top ten film and television bases in Shandong Province. Shandong Tianma Island Tourist Area is located 16 kilometers north of Junan County, Linyi City, with a radius of 46 square kilometers, including 20 square kilometers of Tianhu Lake and 26 square kilometers of Tianma Island.

Ma Qi Mountain used to be the base camp of the Red Jacket Army to resist the Jin and the Red Turban Army to resist the Yuan, but in the Ming Dynasty, especially in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, it became a nest of bandits and thieves for the horses.

As soon as Niu and Xie arrived at the northwest foot of Ma Qi Mountain, two people with steel knives suddenly burst out of the dense forest and shouted to them: "What person!? ”

Niu Erdan hurriedly stepped forward and replied: "Hero, I am a friend of Chu Ying, the second master on the mountain, and I came to find the big boss today for a big deal, please report it." Let's just say that Niu Erdan, a friend of the second master, is here, and he will let me go up the mountain. ”

"Wait here!" Although the two men didn't know the two of them, they heard that they were natural friends, so they didn't embarrass them. One of the men went up the mountain to report, leaving one person on guard, and after a while the man who went up the mountain came back and said, "The second master asks the two to go up the mountain blindfolded." ”

The two men blindfolded the two with black cloths, and led Niu Erdan and Xie Er up the mountain with a rope. The two stumbled along the rugged mountain road to the mountain, and were led by the man to a house that looked like a hall.

After removing the black cloth, Niu Erdan opened his eyes to get used to it for a while, and saw a young man about thirty years old sitting on the main seat, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a slightly dark complexion, and a burly figure. Sitting next to the main seat was a thin and short young man, who was Chu Ying, whom Niu Erdan knew. Of course, the main seat is chasing the wind and whipping Chao.

Niu Erdan and Xie Er bowed their hands and said: "I've seen Ji Da in charge, I've seen Chu Er in charge!" ”

"Niu Erdan, what big deal do you have? Do you have to come here? Who is that guy next to you? ”

"His name is Xie Er, and we are from the same village. He's ......"

"Then tell me about your business." Ji Chao obviously didn't have much patience, so he asked.

"This is a big deal that our owner has entrusted the two of us to negotiate with the big boss, and the fewer people who know about it, the better. Please also find a quiet place. ”

As soon as Ji Chao heard this, it was estimated that he was not robbing the small business of ordinary rural landlords, so he said to everyone: "You all go out first." ”

After everyone left, only Ji Chao, Chu Ying, Xie Er, and Niu Erdan were left in the hall.

Chu Ying said: "Let's talk about it now, don't be mysterious anymore." ”

"The two of you are in charge, do you know who is in Hejia Village?"

"What do you mean by paying for the construction of the reservoir? Of course you know, that man is good, and if you say let me hurt him, don't talk about it. ”

"No, no, not to hurt him. Just trying to get something from him. The He family bought large fields on both sides of the official road and built a soap workshop, and our owner wanted to ask the big boss to tie up someone and then ask for the formula of the soap. Our proprietor was willing to give a thousand taels of silver as a reward, which was a deposit, and he took out fifty taels of silver and put it on the table. ”

Chu Ying was not happy when she heard it, and said scoldingly: "Niu Erdan, what kind of heart do you kid have?" I heard that the He family recruited a hundred guards from the family, such beans (beans are the local vernacular, which means the object of robbery. You also use it for trading? Aren't you intent on harming us? I think you're tired of TMD, right? ”

"More than a hundred? That's not good, this bean is too hard, and I ate a tooth, and if I can't get it, I have a mouth full of teeth. Ji Chao heard that it was a deal from the He Li family, but he was reluctant to accept it. Hearing Chu Ying say this, he didn't agree anymore.

"The anger of the two masters, we said that if the beans are hard and it is not easy to start, if you steal the recipe or get the raw materials on the recipe, you can also do it, and it is also a reward of a thousand taels of silver. Our host also said that he could give you a break from the inquiry. Wouldn't it be a good deal if you could steal it out without knowing the devil and take some silver taels in your hands? ”

"Our owner also said that he only needs a sample of the formula or ingredients. In fact, we also know two kinds of raw materials, and we only need to get another raw material. But the He family was strictly guarded and it was not easy to start, so they found the big boss. ”

Ji Chao heard that it was much easier to just steal recipes or ingredient samples. In addition, there is a shortage of food in the mountains right now, and if it doesn't open this spring, it will be a problem for so many people to eat. So he said: "If it's just stealing formulas or raw materials, then this deal can be considered." ”

Seeing Ji Chao's statement, Niu Erdan hurriedly said, "Then let's just make a decision?" ”

"Wait! You said your host could give us some information. Then you have to find out where are the ingredients and recipes you said? How many of them are guarded against? If you can't find the formula, can you just get the ingredients? Also, how do I exchange it after I get it? We'll have to make all of this clear. Chu Ying has a lot of eyes and naturally thinks a lot, and asks many questions in one breath.

"We'll inquire about this news right away, and you've also sent spies to step on the spot in the past few days. I'll be back in two days. Niu Erdan replied.

Ji Chao then asked, "Who are you talking about?" If we can't find you, who will we ask for the money? ”

Xie Er immediately said: "Don't worry, for our host, this recipe is worth ten thousand gold, if you succeed, our boss will definitely let the two of us look for you again." As for who the owner is, this is the rule of the road, we can't say, and please don't ask. When the time comes, you will be indispensable. ”

"Okay, we'll take the deal." Ji Chao agreed, and then said loudly: "Send them down the mountain!" ”

After Niu Erdan and Xie Er went down the mountain, they did not take the small road to return to the city immediately to restore their lives, but turned south from Ma Qi Mountain and walked four or five miles west along the main road to Zhu Chendian. Zhu Chendian is a town, there are many people in the town, and there are many shops, the two of them found a small hotel, asked for a table of good dishes, and two jars of good wine, and began to eat and drink.

These two ruffians got fifty taels of silver today, and they were very happy, so naturally they wanted to go and have a big drink.

The two of them were pushing glasses and drinking at the wine table, while discussing how to find the distant brother of Niu Erdan and inquire about the things in the workshop.

Xie Er said: "Give him a few taels of silver and let him talk about the recipe and raw materials." I don't believe he doesn't see money! ”

"You're wrong! No...... You can't give him money. I...... My brother is timid...... Afraid of things, giving him silver makes him afraid, but he doesn't say what he should say. Niu Erdan drank a little too much, and stammered: "Tomorrow, I'll make some wine, make two side dishes, and drink with him...... After a drink, a cliché, and he said everything. ”

"Okay, you still know your brother, so it won't cost a few pennies to get things done."

"That's, I...... My brother, I know best! Niu Erdan drank some wine, spoke loudly, and his face turned red.

"Erdan, it's still your kid ghost, the transaction of 1,500 taels of silver, so you insist that it is 1,000 taels of silver. After the deed is done, we will each get two hundred and fifty taels. When the time comes, buy a small courtyard in the city, marry a daughter-in-law, and we will live the life of a city person, and we will never go back to that little broken mountain. ”

"Yes, yes, yes, go to the city to buy a small courtyard and buy a daughter-in-law! Come, drink...... Drink! ”

These two two hundred and five are still dreaming of yellow sorghum, but they don't know that the bad luck of the two of them has quietly arrived.