Chapter 3: The East Gate (7b)

"Do you really think I'm a fool?" Zhang Jincheng's face was filled with black air, as if there was a thunderbolt of lightning hidden.

"What do you have to say to him, kill Lai Suo early!" Without waiting for Cheng Mingzhen to answer, the guy with the duck's throat sneered and reminded.

"This group of dog officials always thinks that they are the smartest people in the world!" The rough and sloppy bandit followed, lest he fall behind and lose the limelight in front of everyone.

They didn't believe in the sincerity of Guantao County, and in the entire big tent, no one believed that Lin County's order was a sincere surrender. Cheng Mingzhen's stomach was beating a drum, but his face had to be full of honesty, "No one dares to be a fool who spans thousands of miles and controls 100,000 arrows under his command." Unless this person lacks his own heart! You should always take a closer look at the gift slip and note that it says the first batch of labor supplies, not all of them. And you only have to wait a day, and you will get this batch of grain and grass tomorrow morning. By the way, you can also know whether the prefectural commander really intends to surrender! ”

"As long as I go in, I can get this batch of grain and grass today!" The male duck always likes to take the lead and responds for Zhang Jincheng on his own.

"Kill it! Lao Zhang, don't be deceived by these petty profits! "A rough man knows a little more politeness than a duck, but it's also very limited.

"Kill it!"

"Don't be fooled!"

"The three-hour deadline has passed!"

The rest of the mountain kings were gossiping, and nine out of ten sentences were to persuade Zhang Jin to ignore the city's request for surrender and directly break the city and plunder. The whole tent was noisy like a bazaar, and it was impossible to speak calmly.

Cheng Mingzhen had no way to explain, so he had to smile helplessly at Zhang Jincheng. He noticed that smoke was about to come out of Zhang Jincheng's eyes, half of which was angry with him, and the other half of his anger was due to the people in the tent. It's a great opportunity, and the best option is to pour some oil into the fire. But instead of doing so, he cautiously kept his mouth shut, allowing the flames in the tent to erupt or extinguish on their own.

Zhang Jin's patience is amazing, Cheng Mingzhen saw him raise his palm high several times, and after it landed on the table, it turned into a gentle tap, "Du, Du, Du", "Du, Du, Du." "He is as patient as a late husband knocking on his own firewood door, lest he frighten his sleeping neighbors." Tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk", "tuk, tuk, tuk", came a second time if it didn't work, and finally suppressed all the noise in the tent, and finally made the bandits realize that their big boss had not yet spoken, and that this military tent still had an owner.

"Why should Zhang Da be in charge of the ......" In the silent tent, the shouting of the male duck's throat was particularly abrupt. The man finally realized his transgression, smiled wryly, and swallowed the second half of the sentence into his stomach.

"Yang Dangjia has a point!" Zhang Jincheng nodded at the male duck's throat, and then turned his gaze to the strong man with a rough voice, "Wang Da is right!" But since this man dares to come to my camp, if we don't let him finish speaking, it will be stingy. Spread the word, I'm afraid some people will say that the three of us have no stomach, and even those who surrender will be killed! ”

"Whatever you want!" The male duck shrugged his shoulders slightly, completely unwilling to take it seriously. The rough-voiced man sneered and turned his gaze to Cheng Mingzhen, "Since Master Zhang wants to hear what flowers you can say, you kid will seize the opportunity!" Lao Tzu doesn't have much patience, it's windy outside the city, and Lao Tzu wants to find a girl in the yamen tonight to warm the quilt! ”

"Thank you Wang Dangjia and Yang Dangjia for giving the kid a chance to speak!" Cheng Mingzhen arched his hand with a smile and thanked him solemnly. From Zhang Jincheng's words just now, he guessed that the duck voice and rough man should be Yang Gongqing and Wang Dangren, who Zhang Jincheng invited to help. But the relationship between the two distant guests and Zhang Jin said that the landlord was very delicate, and it felt more like they had come to see the demolition than to help. Especially the demeanor of the male duck when he spoke in his throat several times, he looked like he was coaxing and watching the excitement in a standard manner, which did not seem to have any common interests with Zhang Jincheng at all.

The more complicated the relationship between the thieves, the more opportunities Cheng Mingzhen can grasp. He continued to make a gesture to the surrounding groups, regardless of who was under Zhang Jincheng's command and who was the hero who dominated the party. After attracting everyone's eyes to himself, he put away his smile and said solemnly: "You masters must have seen that the gift list is written with 30,000 stone of grain, plus 1,000 hanging money, and 40 live pigs. As long as Zhang Da agrees not to enter the city for the time being, the gifts will be delivered to the door of the barracks early tomorrow morning! ”

"That's it? You should send it to Hanako! When Lao Tzu invaded the city, didn't he take as much as he wanted? Yang Gongqing stole the limelight from Zhang Jincheng for the third time, causing many people around him to look at him angrily.

Cheng Mingzhen has explained similar questions to different people many times, and he is more proficient each time. But this time, he deliberately smiled contemptuously, and said very shamelessly: "Can Master Yang guarantee that Guantao County will be taken down by himself before tomorrow morning?" Last night and this morning, Cheng didn't see Yang Da in front of the battle! ”

"Coax!" Many bandit leaders who were not accustomed to Yang Gongqing's arrogant appearance immediately laughed out loud unjustly, not caring who was in the same camp as them at the moment. Yang Gongqing was so angry with laughter that he stood up, his hand almost poked Cheng Mingzhen's nose, "Lao Tzu came late last night, so I didn't let you taste Lao Tzu's power." If Lao Tzu had come one step earlier, this Tao County would have been broken, which would be your turn to show off your lips and tongue in front of Lao Tzu? ”

"In this case, I should thank Yang Dang's subordinates for showing mercy?" In the face of Yang Gongqing's arrogance, Cheng Mingzhen reacted very calmly. He believed that Zhang Jin, no matter how good his cultivation was, would not tolerate Yang Gongqing's repeated and repeated prestige in his own military tent. Unless Zhang Jin said that the golden chair under his ass was too hard, or that Zhang Jin said that the big and small minions under his command were all born soft bones.

"Don't have a relationship with Lao Tzu. On this day, you can't deceive your brothers! Yang Gongqing quickly realized that his actions might offend the public, and waved his arm to the left and right, confessing loudly.

"Cheng is also an official, how dare he make friends with Yang Dangjia." Cheng Mingzhen's words were sharp, "But if you wait one more night, you can kill thousands of brothers less, and this account is not too difficult to calculate!" Yang doesn't care about his brothers, and the other masters here may not care! ”

As soon as the words fell, a murmur surged around. Speaking from the heart, the combat effectiveness of the Xiangyong of Guantao County has far exceeded the expectations of the bandit leaders, so they withdrew the minions to rest and recuperate, and asked the Guantao defenders to surrender within a limited time. If the other party really breaks like an egg, the heroes don't have the heart to listen to what Cheng Mingzhen is rambling here!

In front of everyone's eyes, Yang Gongqing was clearly aware of his isolation. He raised his eyes and looked at Zhang Jincheng, expecting the other party to find a step for him. Unexpectedly, Zhang Jincheng didn't care how the young man bewitched the public, and was turning his head and muttering to the Jade Rakshasa Cuckoo. He suppressed his anger and turned his head to Wang Dangren again, and found that the expression on Wang Dangren's face seemed to be smiling, as if he was full of appreciation for the young man in front of him.

This is my brother? Yang Gongqing's heart was cold, and the expression on his face became more and more hideous, as if people all over the world owed him a blood debt, "Even if Yang pays an extra three thousand brothers, he can still enter the city." And after entering the city, there will be no buds left in Tao County! ”

Cheng Mingzhen has heard this kind of threat more than once. He shook his head with a smile and gave a well-prepared answer, "Don't forget, Master Yang, after the rabbit is forced to be in a hurry, it will also bite!" The townspeople of Guantao County may not be able to hold the county seat, but it is not a laborious task to set fire to the grain depot and all the shops on the streets before the city is broken! Anyway, in the end, it's all a death, burning yourself to death and being hacked to death by Yang Dangjia, the ending is no different! ”

"If there's a kind, you'll try!"

"I don't have to try! Whatever Yang Dangjia wants, just do it! Cheng Mingzhen flicked his sleeves, turned his head coldly, and no longer looked at Yang Gongqing's obscure face.

Annoyed and angry, Yang Gongqing immediately reached out and drew his knife, preparing to splash the blood of the young man who didn't know the height of the sky. This outrageous move was beyond the limit of tolerance for Zhang Jincheng and others, and before he could completely pull out the knife, the scar-faced butcher who had previously led people to tie up two teenagers had already jumped up and quickly blocked Cheng Mingzhen's back, "Master Yang, do you always drink saliva first to quench the anger?" ”

"Du Scar, are you blind? Can't see that this person is sowing discord? Yang Gongqing pushed the scar-faced butcher hard and shouted.

His skills were already far above Du Scar, and under his anger, he couldn't control his strength. Suddenly, Zhang Jincheng's third master, Du Scar, was pushed to the sky. This caused a greater "misunderstanding", and more than a dozen big men immediately rushed over with weapons, and surrounded Yang Gongqing in the center. The guards beside Yang Gongqing were not slow to react, and quickly pulled out the horizontal knife at his waist and rushed towards his own leader.

Seeing that a fire was about to break out in the military tent, Zhang Jincheng, who was sitting on the handsome case, slapped his face with a smile, "Wonderful, wonderful!" Zhang is a feast for his eyes today! Someone forced Yang Da into a dead end with a few words! Someone will pick out a right and wrong in my military tent with a few words! He also said that he didn't treat us bandits as fools, and this knife really has to be chopped down, and our group of people should be fools! ”

The laughter was not loud, but every sentence hit the nail on the head. Yang Gongqing was so red that he was counted, and he slammed the knife back into his waist, and scolded left and right: "What are you rushing over for, are you still afraid that I won't be able to clean up a half-grown child?" Get out of the way, don't be embarrassed here! ”

"Stand down. Kill me in an army of 100,000, I guess no one has the guts! Du Scar, who was helped up from the ground by Cheng Mingzhen, patted the dirt on his buttocks and scolded loudly.

Seeing that the lord was unwilling to make a big deal out of the matter, the guards on both sides agreed curtly and quickly retreated. Seeing that the turmoil had calmed down, Du Scarry waved his arm vigorously again, shaking off Cheng Mingzhen's support, "Don't pretend to be a good person here." Little bastard, if you can't see the military rations tomorrow morning, Lao Tzu will be the first to dig out your heart! ”

"If there is one or two less things on the gift list tomorrow morning, and you don't wait for your hands to do it, Cheng is willing to commit suicide to apologize!" Cheng Mingzhen took a few steps back and made a guarantee.

Seeing that Cheng Mingzhen swore by him, many leaders who didn't believe him also became active. 30,000 stone of grain, 40 live pigs. Although it is not enough for 150,000 minions to eat for a month, it can also solve the urgent needs of many people. What's more, there are still a thousand hanging meat to share? Since the war has not yet begun, it is natural that those who see it have a share, and whoever has the most people under his command has to take the lion's share!

Counting the chips in their hearts, some of the village owners who had fewer people under their command began to look for people to discuss. This time, the topic of their discussion was no longer how to teach the liars from the city a lesson, but how to maximize their own interests. Some people even moved the idea of withdrawing their troops after getting the first "dividend". Although this may reduce the dividends of money and food, the risk is also very small, at least there is no need to worry about the officers and troops of several surrounding counties rushing in all directions and annihilating everyone on the west bank of the canal.

All of this did not escape Zhang Jincheng's eyes. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart. If it weren't for Yang Gongqing's repeated disturbances, he would rather attack the city with his army than first accept the "reward" in the city, and then slowly bargain with the other party. Although Guantao County is a small place, there is a shortage of major generals. However, Wuyang, Qinghe and Liyang were stationed in a large number of county soldiers. Especially in Liyang at this moment, Yang Xuangan has a large number of soldiers and horses guarding his nest there. The army arrived by boat along the canal, and there was only a three-day delay on the way. Three days later, whether Guantao County surrendered or not, he had to withdraw his troops and flee away.

But being stirred up by Yang Gongqing like this, in order not to let the other big and small village owners who came to help the war look down on him, and for the sake of his own majesty, he had to first talk to Guantao County and make a mistake. Even if you turn your face, you have to wait until the first reward is in hand, which means that the risk increases exponentially, and the difference in the final return is very small.

"The big boss is still doubting the sincerity of Guantao County?" Seeing that Zhang Jincheng's face was uncertain, Cheng Mingzhen took half a step forward and asked with a smile.

"Ugh!" Zhang Jin, who was in deep thought, was stunned by the question, quickly squeezed out a sneer, and responded loudly: "Let Lao Tzu believe that the official will be sincere, unless Lao Tzu is poisoned and stupid." But you can rest assured that Lao Tzu will wait until tomorrow morning. If the things promised by the dog official are not shipped out tomorrow morning, Lao Tzu will kill you first and sacrifice the flag, and then personally lead the troops into the city, and rip out the heart and liver of the dog official for wine! ”

"Tomorrow morning, the big boss will know at a glance!" Cheng Mingzhen shook his head with a smile. He knew that the first batch of things could be made up from the county treasury, and with the courage of the county order, he would definitely not dare to repay the account. But the rest of the supplies are estimated to be a bit more tortuous. In short, he successfully completed the first goal of the mission, and also gambled his own life.

"What about the others? How many materials is Guantao County finally prepared to come up with to show its sincerity? Zhang Jin said that he was very vigilant, and bit Cheng Mingzhen's words and asked.

"This ...... Actually, I don't know. As you know, I've only been a soldier for more than ten days, and I can't talk about many things in the city. But there is one thing I can guarantee, as long as the big boss does not attack the city, how much grain, grass and wealth is needed, you can mention it to the Lin County Order. Cheng Mingzhen pretended to think about it and replied solemnly.

"No matter how many Lin County orders there are, will they agree?" Zhang Jincheng continued to sneer, his eyes suddenly flashed, and he pointed at Cheng Mingzhen's heart like a knife.

Cheng Mingzhen's heart immediately began to beat wildly, "No matter how much, you can mention it!" He tried his best to avoid the other party's eyes, and used all his strength to find a suitable explanation, "But I think the prefectural lord will definitely bargain with you?" This, you should always know, Guantao County is a small place! ”

"Ha, what a sincere surrender! It turned out to be an idea to stall for time! Wang Dangren immediately burst out laughing, unceremoniously debunking the trap in Cheng Mingzhen's words.

Zhang Jin said that he changed his comfortable posture and leaned firmly on the back of the chair. This chair is actually a shrunken bed with a thick layer of silk on its back, which is cool and soft to lean on. He was waiting for the teenager's answer, and at the same time for a better excuse for the attack.

The young man in front of him was a young child, always showing a little nervousness when he spoke, but his self-control was so good that his peers could not match it. Zhang Jin, such a young man, said that he had only seen one before, and his future had made everyone's eyes shine with envy. Cheng Mingzhen is the second, and he is a little less stubborn than the one he saw before, but a little more sleek.

The sleek boy groaned slightly, and soon gave a ridiculous answer. "Have you ever done business? Know why people bargain? ”

"Hahaha!" The people in the military tent laughed unscrupulously again, and Yang Gongqing laughed the loudest. "Lao Zhang, he's arranging you!" Laughing, he reminded as he could. lest others forget Zhang Jincheng's origin.

"What does this have to do with doing business?" Zhang Jin said that he was not irritated by his words, and asked Cheng Mingzhen with a smile.

"In general. Bargaining is the one who really wants to buy something. If you don't ask the price, you'll be able to wrap the goods. Either you are a loser, or you are not sincere in buying and deliberately making fun of you! Cheng Mingzhen let out a long sigh and replied with a smile. In the same way, if the county commander surrenders sincerely, he will naturally do his best to meet the demands of the big boss. But if he can save a little for the people under his rule, he will definitely save a little. Otherwise, after you leave, his county order will not be able to continue! After working in vain, but ending up with a chicken and egg, you always think about it, who would be willing to do such a stupid thing? ”

"You're good at making excuses!" The corners of Zhang's mouth were upturned, and his yellow-brown teeth were peeking out from the edge of his upper lip. "What if I insist on going into town? How is he prepared? Resist to the end, or tie your hands down? ”

This is the most difficult question to face, and Cheng Mingzhen knows that whether or not he can let the "negotiations" continue depends entirely on the answers he gave. The request of the Lin County Decree was that he tried every means to cover Zhang Jincheng with nonsense, so that he could stay outside the city for three days, and after three days, he would make a decision depending on whether the reinforcements could arrive. And Cheng Mingzhen didn't believe that random nonsense could deceive Zhang Jincheng. Since entering the military tent to the present, he has not seen any greed and joy in Zhang Jin's eyes. This notorious demon has a calmness beyond ordinary people, and even when he is angry, he vigilantly weighs the benefits and losses.

"If I were a big boss, I wouldn't have entered the city, and I wouldn't have made a request that exceeded the capacity of Guantao County!" Facing the eyes of the vicious wolves around him, Cheng Mingzhen talked eloquently. "I think you know better than I do about the military discipline of the brothers. And destroying the Pavilion Tao City is not necessarily a good thing. If you are hunting, you will definitely not set fire to the mountains just to catch a few prey. Leave some vitality for Guantao County, and the next time you come again, you will receive the same amount of rice and grain. If you destroy Guantao County or force it to have no pennies left, you don't have to come again next time! ”