Zhu Changfa, who is used to being pampered, spent an unforgettable night in Zhao Ying. At Zhao Dangshi's behest, Zhu Changfa was imprisoned in one of the best houses in Zhao Ying. But Rao is like this, as the prince of King Xiang, he smells the faint smell of horse manure and the musty smell of firewood and grass in the air, sleeps on the hard and ugly hard bed, listens to the whispers of the soldiers outside the house, and even though he is physically and mentally exhausted, he can't sleep no matter what.

He now regretted that he should not have put his father's admonition to the back of his mind and went out of the city at such a time to taste the wine of Narauszi, so that he had laid his life at the hands of others. At present, he still doesn't know where he is, but because he witnessed the killing of Yang Zhaofeng, Meng Aocao and others on the official road, he is sure that he must have fallen into a thief's cave.

"If you are born in the sun, you will end up, so why not die and return to the underworld? The sun and the earth are similar, only when drifting in a foreign land. The room was very small, and there were no lights, and the windows on all four walls were sealed, Zhu Changfa saw the stars in the black dome through a small skylight on the roof, and thought that he might die here, and couldn't help but feel sorry for himself.

How difficult the world is, today we know!

Although he often claims to be extremely smart and can cope with any situation, he will one day be imprisoned like an ant. Zhu Changfa thought about this, and grief and indignation surged into his heart. Under the boiling blood, he jumped up from the bed and wanted to go to the soldiers to ask for a vigorous death.

Unexpectedly, the black light blinded the fire, and only took two steps, but he tripped over the low stool under his feet, and immediately fell into a dog gnawing mud. Dizzy and struggling, his head slammed on the edge of the table again. He cried out in pain, covered his head, stumbled back to the bed, and his enthusiasm was gone.

Sitting on the edge of the bed for a long time with his head down, Zhu Changfa no longer had the heart to die. The ingenuity of the past was useless in this desperate situation, and he sighed a few times, especially in his chagrin. In the end, I made up my mind that I would not change everything. Just as he was about to go to bed and lie down, there was a clang outside the house, as if someone had unlocked the lock.

He was in high spirits and stood up again, and in a short time, the previous stumbling outside the door gradually evolved into a loud shout, and he listened attentively, and clearly heard the words "kill" and "death" faintly, and he was very nervous. Involuntarily turned sideways, unconsciously groped with his right hand on the bed, and touched a bamboo to scratch and hold in his hand, as if this would give him a sense of security.

Not long after, with the sound of "banging" of iron chains, only to hear the sound of "Peng Ka", the door of the house was kicked open from the outside, and the faint moonlight instantly shone into the room.

When I looked up, I saw a big man leaping in, and his figure was so large that it almost covered the entire door frame. Zhu Changfa couldn't see his appearance clearly, but in a blink of an eye, he saw that he was holding a waist knife in his hand, and the knife surface was quite cold in the moonlight, and he said in horror: "You...... Who are you? ”

The big man didn't answer, took two steps forward, and roared in a low voice: "I am ordered by the palm of the plate to take your heart and liver and drink." After that, he took another step and slammed the knife straight at Zhu Changfa's heart.

Zhu Changfa screamed and retreated, sat down on the edge of the bed, and saw the blade coming, and resisted the bamboo scratch in a hurry. The big man sneered, changed his squeeze to a slap, and in just a moment, he slapped the bamboo scratch and Zhu Changfa on the bed. Seeing that the blow had been completed, the big man leaned forward to check for a moment, breathed a sigh of relief, and inserted the knife back into its sheath.

"Stunned? This kid can slip his head tightly, don't play dead again. A man walked in from outside the house behind him and asked.

"Don't worry, I won't make the same loss twice. This time I used some force, but he didn't have the ability to pretend if he wanted to. The big man laughed, "He lied to me once, and I beat him, and then it was settled." ”

When Zhu Changfa woke up again, it was already early the next morning.

He opened his eyes slightly, only to feel that his skull hurt badly, and when he touched it, there was a big bag in the morning, and under the stinging pain, he was much more conscious. Looking around, I somehow slept in a rather delicate room.

Someone outside heard the sound and pushed the door in, Zhu Changfa saw that there was a face, and subconsciously forced himself to stand up and shrink inward.

"Don't move, it's important to stay safe." When a young man saw him move, he hurriedly stepped forward and said kindly.

Zhu Changfa saw that this person was dressed well, although his face was fair, but he was more heroic than Confucian, and he didn't look like a villain, so he asked, "Your Excellency?" ”

The young man replied: "My lord, Zhao Dangshi, the general of the villain deer head shop." As he spoke, he pointed to the two people who followed behind, "The one on the left is the king's rule, and the one on the right is He Shang's envoy." ”

"Zhao Dangshi?" Zhu Changfa repeated the name, and his face suddenly became cramped, "You, you are a rogue." ”

Zhao Dangshi heard what he said and said with a smile: "The prince said that he was laughing. The villain is a general of the imperial court, responsible for guarding Xiangyang and Nanyang, how can he be a rogue. ”

Zhu Changfa thought for a moment before muttering: "Yes, you and that Zhang Xianzhong have both been recruited recently." Although he has lived in the palace for a long time, he often goes in and out of the palace, and he also knows more or less about the current situation. Zhang Xianzhong and Zhao Dangshi are both the most well-known forces in northern Chu, and as locals, he is no stranger.

However, even though Zhao Dangshi emphasized that he had "reformed his ways", in the end he had a "criminal record", and Zhu Changfa's eyes obviously harbored fear and distrust of him.

In order to resolve the embarrassment, Zhao Dangshi took the initiative to change the topic and said, "But I don't know how the prince is in Huyang Mountain?" ”

"Huyang Mountain?" Zhu Changfa was stunned, "I'm ......" After a while, Fang Yan tilted his head and said, "Don't hide it, I and the two companions in the house should go out of the city...... Out of town to run errands. Unexpectedly, on the way back, he encountered gangsters and kidnapped them to the point where he didn't know where. Now it seems that I am afraid that it is Huyang Mountain. ”

Zhao Dangshi sighed and said: "I see, when the villain first arrived at Lutoudian, he was ordered to lead troops to clean up the nest of thieves in the four wild fields, and last night he happened to exterminate a group of thieves entrenched in Huyang Mountain. At that time, the situation was critical, and if the villain was one step late, the prince would probably ...... I'm afraid ......" said and looked back at Wang and He, both of whom showed a look of relief.

"Huyang Mountain Bandit?" Zhu Changfa asked, "I often travel around Zaoyang, but I haven't heard that there are thieves there. ”

Zhao Dangshi shook his head and said, "The prince is wrong. If thieves swarm up today, even in the land of the Son of Heaven, thieves will inevitably run around, not to mention my Huguang, Henan and other places? Today's people are lawless, rampant and rampant, often more than ten people climb the mountain and set up a village to gather in the mountains and forests. In the past two months, many of the big thieves in Henan have infiltrated northern Chu, and it is not surprising that Huyang Mountain has become a thief cave overnight. ”

Zhu Changfa heard this and sighed: "If this is the case, I can't know it." ”

Zhao Dangshi Zhengse said: "I got the identity of the prince from the thief, and I didn't dare to slack off at all, and the starry night sent the prince back to the deer head shop to recuperate, but fortunately, the prince of the world has strong bones and bones, and there is no big problem." It's a pity that the thieves are cruel, and the two companions of the prince are chopped up for them as snacks. The villain was a little late and failed to save them. ”

Zhu Changfa's eyes were red, and he wept and said: "These two people are old people in my house, and they watched me grow up, but because I ...... them."

Zhao Dangshi said: "Dozens of thieves on Huyang Mountain, all of whom have been beheaded, are all picked up with long poles to show the public on the school field. If the prince is interested, he can take a look at it to eliminate the resentment in his heart. After speaking, he was secretly glad that the head that Guo Ruke brought back from the edge of the water still had this trick.

Zhu Changfa slowly shook his head and said: "That's it, people can't be resurrected after death, so I will cut off the heads of these beasts with my own hands, what's the use." In the future, I will ask the government to support my two companions more. ”

Zhao Dangshi praised: "The prince is benevolent. At the same time, he called the servant and said, "Bring the rice soup." ”

Zhu Changfa excused himself and said, "Thank you Lord Zhao for your kindness." But I've eaten a meal early last night and I'm not hungry. ”

Zhao Dangshi observed his words and looks, knowing that Zhu Changfa had not fully trusted himself, and he was not in a hurry, with a wave of his hand, the servant was interested, and put the rice soup and side dishes on the table first. At this time, Wang Laixing stepped forward and said a few words to Zhao Dangshi, Zhao Dangshi nodded again and again, and then said to Zhu Changfa: "The prince forgives the sin, the villain should not disturb the rest of the prince, but here, there is an important person, I hope to introduce it to the prince." ”

"Someone?" Zhu Changfa frowned, "What person?" ”

Zhao Dangshi smiled slightly, and at the same time, he saw a Su Ying walking into the house, and in a light step, except for Zhao Dangshi, Wang Laixing and He Kewei all respectfully retreated to the back.

The person who came was Huaqing, and Zhu Changfa Bu was shocked when he saw him. Since thinking about the countless beauties in the palace, there has never been a person with a posture and demeanor, and it is difficult to speak for a while, looking at Zhao Dangshi.

Zhao Dangshi and Huaqing glanced at each other, turned to Zhu Changfa and said, "Shizi Ye, this is not an outsider, he is the lord of Huaqing County of Rui Domain. ”

This time, Zhu Changfa almost bounced up from the bed. Hua Qingguan was surprised by him, and said with a smile: "Uncle, in the past, in Hanzhong, I often heard my father mention the friendship of Xiangrui. I thought it would be difficult to meet in this life, but who knew that creation would make people, and now there is a time when my family meets. ”

Zhu Changfa is older than Hua Qing, but the two are about the same age, and Hua Qing talks steadily, behaves beautifully, and is more mature, so Zhu Changfa heard her call her "uncle", and his face turned red.

Zhao Dangshi said: "The county lord has been in my camp for a long time, and he also heard the news of the prince, so he hurried here." ”

Zhu Changfa heard the news that the county lord of Huaqing had "fallen into thieves", so he forced himself to settle down and asked: "You have taken the county lord all the way from Hanzhong to ...... Brought the lake wide? ”

Zhao Dangshi was about to explain, Hua Qing said first: "Uncle, in Hanzhong, I volunteered to go with the camp, and General Zhao didn't force me for half a minute." Seeing that General Zhu Changfa was suspicious, he sighed briefly, "The reason why I joined the army, it is difficult to explain the truth here for a moment. But along the way, General Zhao was very respectful and took care of me, and he did not insult me at all. This time, Zhao Ying's ability to recruit peace smoothly is also inseparable from Zhao Shen's righteousness and heart. ”

Zhao Dangshi said: "Zhao made some mistakes in the past, and he can't regret it. I only hope that after returning to the imperial court, I can do my best to help my Ming family, although he has not regretted his death. ”

As soon as Huaqing came forward, the effect was extraordinary. She looks beautiful and pure, her words are sincere and natural, Zhu Changfa has seven points of faith in his heart, coupled with Zhao Dangshi's rescue and sincere self-statement, Zhu Changfa's vigilance is gradually let down.

But Zhu Changfa is quick in the end, even if most of them believe it, he will not be completely at ease, he thought for a while and said, "Lord Zhao, there is something I want to ask." After a pause, he continued, "At that time, leaving the county lord in the army may be unspeakable. But now you have become my Ming general. It may be inappropriate to keep the county lord in the army again. This may seem like a simple question, but in fact it has a lot of content. On the one hand, he can try to find some signs from Zhao Dangshi's treatment of the county lord, and on the other hand, he also has the intention of testing the authenticity of Hua Qing.

Zhao Dangshi secretly said that this kid is really witty and thoughtful. Fortunately, I have been fully prepared in front of the head, and I will not be in a mess at this moment. So he replied according to the plan: "The question of the prince is right in the middle. To tell the truth, the county lord wants to go to your mansion to stay in order to temporarily avoid the military disaster. ”

Zhu Changfa was stunned and said, "Go to Xiangyang? ”

Zhao Dangshi nodded solemnly and said, "Exactly." Hanzhong is thousands of miles away from here, at present, Shaanxi, Henan, and northern Chu are all eroded by thieves, chaotic and abnormal, thorns and thorns along the road, tigers and wolves are rampant, even if there are soldiers and armor to protect each other, it is difficult to ensure the safety of the county lord. Once there is a loss, the villain will be unable to escape the blame for his death, and he will also lose a precious jade in our country. In the opinion of the villain, the most feasible plan is to take refuge in the nearest Xiangyang, and wait for the thieves in the provinces to be peaceful, and then it is not too late to return to the domain. Speaking of this, he added, "In this way, it is good for the villain and the county lord." For the Xiang Domain, it was not without benefit at the beginning. ”

When Zhu Changfa heard this, he pondered slightly, but in the afterglow, he caught a glimpse of Hua Qing's eager gaze cast by his bright eyes, and all his thoughts turned into nothing in an instant.