The stakes are very high, as the chief general in the west of Zhao Ying, Xu Hui did not dare to make his own decisions, so Zhao Dangshi also received a military report that Guo Hutou was defeated and captured in the early morning of the next day.

In these days in Hanzhong, because of the negative performance of Sun Xianzu, Liu Shaozong and other officials and soldiers, Zhao Dangshi was able to scatter his soldiers and horses, and almost all the two counties of Beiyang and Chenggu in Hanzhong Mansion became Zhao Ying's sphere of influence except for the county seat. Zhao Dangshi has been looking for the traces of the main force of the little red wolf, but the other party seems to have guessed his intentions in advance and intends to dodge. Qin Jinxiao and Meng Aocao even went deep into the area of Buckwheat Mountain in the west of Xixiang County on the south bank of the Han River, but found nothing but a few abandoned camps.

Zhao Dangshi didn't actually have to find the little red wolf, but if he could get in touch, he could at least squeeze some supplies out of his hands, instead of having to search around with great effort. Seeing that several soldiers and horses were scattered farther and farther away, and the Chinese army was empty, Zhao Dangshi was about to issue a military order to shrink his troops, but the news of Guo Hutou's defeat disrupted his plan.

Guo Hutou is a battalion general he is very optimistic about, and he is also relatively confident in this person's ability, and he never imagined that he would lose his footing.

Don't trust things to be foolproof at any time.

This is a sentence that Zhao Dangshi reminded himself after being surprised. Although Zhao Ying's strength is increasing day by day, it is really not to the point where he can sweep away thousands of troops. Smooth sailing is not a good thing for a developing group, Guo Hutou's defeat is like a slap in the face, which makes Zhao Dangshi, who is proud of the spring breeze, slowly begin to slack off the heartstrings again.

Zhao Dangshi understood the seriousness of this matter, which was not only Guo Hutou's business, but also involved the strategic intentions of the Hanxiao Red Wolf and other departments for Zhao Ying. Because of this, after receiving the news, Zhao Dangshi stopped what he was doing, ordered Hou Dagui and Wang Laixing to guard the Chinese army camp, and brought more than a dozen horsemen to the Xu Hui camp in the west to participate in the handling of the follow-up situation.

In addition to Zhou Wenhe and other guards, there were also Qin Qigong, Mu Gongchun and Liu Xiaohong. Qin Qigong and Mu Gongchun are Zhao Dangshi's advisers, and it is reasonable to take them together. But as for why Liu Xiaohong from the rear camp was brought along, some people couldn't figure it out.

Liu Xiaohong's fiery temper has been heard by Zhao Ying, and he even gave him the nickname of "Wenmian Zhang Fei" in private. This person is notoriously hard-boned, and he will not give a good face to the generals such as Hou Dagui and Xu Hui in the army, because of Zhao Dangshi's protection, no one dares to touch him, so he can only stay away from him. Judging from his attitude of refusing to cooperate with Zhao Ying, Zhao Dangshi took him, and it was absolutely impossible for him to contribute to Guo Hutou's matter.

Speaking of which, this time following Zhao Dangshi's request, Liu Xiaohong took the initiative to put it forward. It's not that he changed his sex and softened, but because he had nothing to do in the back camp all day, he was very bored, and he heard that Xu Hui had seized a batch of books here, so he wanted to come over to find a few classics to pass the time.

Zhao Dangshi will not brush Liu Xiaohong's intentions, and after getting along recently, he can clearly feel that Liu Xiaohong has slowly lost his previous resistance and began to adapt to Zhao Ying's life. This is a good start, some people are obedient on the surface, but not necessarily on the inside; And this Liu Xiaohong is true temperament, and everything is written on his face. Zhao Dangshi is willing to flow for a long time and gradually transform him, rather than want him to be inconsistent with his appearance, being in Cao Ying's heart and being in Han.

The military situation was urgent, and Zhao Dangshi and more than ten horsemen rode horses along the road. Qin Qigong didn't say anything, Mu Gongchun was not very good at riding horses, but when he first entered the Zhao camp, how could he fall behind at a critical moment, so he tried his best to follow on horseback. And Liu Xiaohong looks white and clean, with long robes and big sleeves, but he never thought that he was also a good equestrian, which made Zhao Dangshi and Zhou Wenhe a little impressed.

First of all, Zhou Wenhe found that there was something unusual in the front road, and after watching from a distance, Zhao Dangshi confirmed that it was just a group of soap officials, and there was no danger, so he urged the horse to appear and surround these soap officials from Xi'an Mansion.

Looking at the bloody, dying and convulsive old men on the ground and the trembling soap officials, it was clear what had happened before. Zhou Wenhe jumped off the horse, waved a knife and slashed over a soap official, with a fierce face: "You thieves and birds, if you don't want to be stabbed, you can quickly report to the calendar!" ”

The soap officials didn't think he was so ruthless, knowing that they had encountered a thief, and the arrogance of bullying the old man at the beginning had long disappeared, and they trembled like a cold winter, and stammered: "Few, a few grandfathers are angry, small, villains, etc. are just miscellaneous in Xi'an Mansion, and they can't afford to be the treasure knives of your masters." ”

Zhao Dangshi sat firmly on the horse, looked down at a few people, and said indifferently: "Since you are from Xi'an Mansion, are you here to beg for death?" ”

"This ......" a few soap clerks and six gods have no master, looking at each other. Only after this hesitation, Zhou Wenhe raised his knife and chopped down another one. The rest were so frightened that they knelt on the ground, kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Grandpa Hero, don't do it, Grandpa Hero, don't do it." The villain and the others were ordered by the top to escort Guo and Lu to Hanzhong on business! ”

"Guo, Lu?"

Zhao Dangshi frowned slightly, and the soap officials hurriedly covered their heads and poured beans and said, "It's Guo Mingtao and Lu Xingyun." One of them is the Zhaoma in the Zhaoma Institute, and the other is the governor of the provincial capital, and I heard that they were ordered by Sun Junmen to come to Hanzhong to ask King Rui for money. ”

"Guo Mingtao, Lu Xingyun......" Zhao Dangshi went through the names of the two people in his mind, and found that he had no impression, so he didn't think about it anymore, and instead pointed at the old man on the ground with a horsewhip, "You killed this person?" ”

The soapman who stabbed the old man with a stick was clever, said no repeatedly, and pointed his finger at the two colleagues who had just been cut one after another: "No, no, grandpa is wronged." They killed the people, and the villains were trying to save the old man, and the grandfathers arrived......"

Before he finished speaking, Liu Xiaohong, who was on the left side, suddenly shouted angrily: "Dog, you obviously killed the person." The husband dares to act, why did you frame the dead? ”

The soap officer's face changed greatly, sweating profusely, and he repeatedly told forgiveness: "Mr. spare his life, Mr. spare his life." People are not killed by villains, and villains are not big husbands. ”

No matter how much he denied it, he couldn't imagine that everything he did was seen by Zhao Dangshi and others. He refused to admit it, but the sweat on his face became more and more.

Liu Xiaohong said angrily: "This old man and you are waiting for Pingshui to meet, don't talk about hatred, I'm afraid I haven't even said a word." How could you bear to kill him like this? Then he turned to the other soap men and said, "Not only do you not persuade him to stop, but you act for the tiger and join him in the search for the money of innocent people." How many of you are still in the government, what is the difference between this ugly state and the thieves who cut the path for their business? He spoke excitedly, forgetting for a moment that he was now in the company of a group of thieves, but the soap officials dared to say anything else at the moment, and they all bowed their heads and fell silent.

"People say that 'thieves also have a way', and they think that ordinary thieves are only for money, not deliberately embarrassing the poor, and they will not wantonly harm people's lives! You are really not as good as thieves, no, human faces and beast hearts, not even pigs and dogs! Liu Xiaohong said, his face was flushed, and it could be seen that he hated the behavior of the soap officials. And although he forgot to take into account the feelings of some people from the green forest in Zhao Ying's people, he listened carefully to its content and did not directly belittle Zhao Ying's gang. So this rebuke certainly makes people feel pedantic and sharp, but it does sound from his heart, so Zhao Dangshi and others can understand his indignation, and they can't help but be moved.

"There are you rotten wood beetles in the country, and the foundation is rotten, even if the building is towering, how can it not fall?" A hundred-foot room, burned with the smoke of the crack', honestly! After Liu Xiaohong scolded for a while, it was really difficult to face this situation, and after a few lamentations, he left more than ten steps away.

A few soap officials were drenched in sweat and speechless. Not only them, Zhao Dangshi also felt something after listening to Liu Xiaohong's generous statements. originally thought that Liu Xiaohong's refusal to completely belong to Zhao Ying was just because he was pretentious, but today, it seems that he is really loyal and brave. Not to vote for Zhao Ying, not hypocrisy, nor self-restraint, but he still has a strong feeling. Scholars "worry about the worries of the world first, and enjoy the joy of the world after the world", Liu Xiaohong may be a little strong, but what really supports him to carry it to the present is probably the sentiment of worrying about the country and the people.

This kind of sentiment seems a little ridiculous to Liu Xiaohong, a down-and-out literati who is too busy to take care of himself, and even overwhelmed. But Zhao Dangshi's situation was almost the same as him, so he believed that the mountains could be moved and the will could not be moved. If it weren't for the hard work of scholars like Liu Xiaohong, who are not happy with things and not sad for themselves, and take the world as their own responsibility, the Ming Dynasty would not be able to hold on for so long.

In every era, there will be no shortage of such people. Even if these people can only be covered with sediment forever, they will be obliterated in the long river of history.

"Make ......" Zhou Wenhe's face was dark and gloomy, and he looked at Zhao Dangshi. Zhao Dangshi didn't speak, only nodded slightly. The two of them get along day and night, and there is no need for words to give orders and actions, and the meaning can be conveyed without mistake with just one look.

With the screams, Zhou Wenhe killed several soap officials one after another. It was so fast, so fast that none of the soapmen had time to get up and run away.

Zhou Wenhe pulled up the hem of the shirt under the armor, wiped the bloody knife body, and there was already a corpse at his feet. Everywhere he looked, the old man was not dead, he was still writhing in pain, and blood bubbles kept coming out of his festering mouth.

"Help him finish it." Zhao Dangshi sighed lightly and threw down the next sentence, took the horse's head and left. Zhou Wenhe was silent, and after everyone had beaten their horses away, he slowly inserted the blade into the old man's chest.

Zhao Dangshi and others rushed to Xu Hui's camp before sunset, and Xu Hui and Bai Wang went out of the camp for five miles to pick them up. After listening to Xu Hui's face-to-face Chen, Zhao Dangshi roughly judged what happened: Guo Hutou was captured, purely by accident, and it is unlikely to be a trap for the little red wolf's scheming subordinates.

With this layer of consideration, Zhao Dangshi's heart is a lot more stable, but Guo Hutou is a fierce general in the battalion, and his ability to command troops is obvious to all, giving up him will not only cause losses to Zhao Cheng, but also seriously hit the sense of belonging of the generals. As far as Zhao Dangshi himself is concerned, he is not a merciless person, so he naturally will not sit idly by and ignore Guo Hutou.

"Before the envoy came, the people from the little red wolf had already been here. After capturing Guo, the general is called Wu Dading, and now it is the other part of the Little Red Wolf, and his strength is very strong, and there are six or seven thousand people under him. Xu Hui truthfully told the matter of receiving Wu Dading's envoy not long ago, "Wu Dading asked us to hand over the county lord of Huaqing in exchange for President Guo." The subordinates didn't agree for the time being, so they only asked him to come back the next day. ”

Zhao Dangshi let out an "um" and looked at Mu Gongchun: "Mr. Mu, what is the origin of this martial arts?" "Mu Gongchun, like Qin Qigong, took the position of joining the army in the battalion. Compared with Qin Qigong, who has lived in Shizhouwei for a long time, he has been in several provinces for a long time, and he has been in the wandering circles for several years, and he knows very well the origin of the plates of each family. Knowing himself and knowing that the other side can survive a hundred battles, Zhao Dangshi has been at the bottom for too long, and the news is not very well-informed, and the role that Mu Gongchun brought to Zhao Ying was quickly revealed at this time.

He only pondered for a short while, and then opened his mouth and said: "This person is a native of Guyuan, Ningxia, and in his early years, he was a ringing horse galloping in the northwest. Chongzhen's first year and the old, the old king, the little red wolf, Hu Jiusi and other first righteousness, can be regarded as an old qualification. When he said the words "Lao Chuang Wang", his face was obviously darkened.

"Do 100,000 Hu Jiusi...... Zhao Dangshi thought in his heart, "This surnamed Wu may also have a friendship with Yuan Tao...... "Yuan Tao used to be Hu Jiusi's younger brother, and Zhao Dangshi already knew it when he was in Sichuan.

But it didn't matter now, he quickly pulled his thoughts back and asked: "Not only is he an old man who rebelled in the first year of Chongzhen, but also a man who was born in charge of the plate, and he hasn't died all these years, how did he sell his life to the little red wolf?" ”

Mu Gongchun thought for a while and said: "I heard that this person is repeated, extremely undetermined, and has changed hands several times in the past few years, and it is also a matter of being close to follow the little red wolf." For this reason, the other battalions were more wary of him and rarely united. Speaking of this, he added, "In addition, subordinate speculation, luck is also a major factor. ”

Zhao Dangshi is the head of the world, and luck is generally not put on the bright side. But to be honest, it can sometimes play a very big role in the success or failure of people. Zhang Miaoshou on the side of Zhao Ying is a living example of ill-fated people, and it doesn't make sense that Wu Dading is mixed like this.

Xu Hui said at this time: "This surnamed Wu is really cunning, and after capturing Guo Jiang, he transferred the camp in the starry night. We are not familiar with the path, and if we want to find him to forcibly rescue people, it may be difficult to make the trip for a while. ”

Zhao Dangshi was silent, the little red wolf thought that he was afraid of being beaten last time, and resolutely did not contact him, and took the people and horses to be erratic. Although the Zhao battalion fought sharply, its troops were limited, and it was impossible to release all the soldiers and horses in the huge Han Dynasty. Casting a net all over the sky to find traces of the enemy, the drawbacks of this have appeared, and that is the fate of Guo Hutou. As another part of the little red wolf, Wu Dading should also be the implementer of this policy. The other party has been prepared and occupies a favorable position, judging the situation, Guo Hutou is indeed not able to save it.

Guo Hutou wanted to be saved, and Zhao Dangshi, the lord of Huaqing, was unwilling to let go easily. What can be done to properly maintain these two ends of the scale? Zhao Dangshi and the generals in the tent fell into deep thought for a while.

After a while, Zhao Dangshi's thoughts were complicated, he couldn't figure it out, and he was a little irritable. At this time, a soldier outside reported loudly: "Envoy, emergency military report from the southeast!" ”

As soon as these words came, it was like hot iron melting ice, and the atmosphere in the tent like a pool of silent snow springs was instantly enlivened.