Xiao Tang invited Xiao Jiasui into the house, and lifted the teapot to pour hot tea for himself and Xiao Jiasui, and after sitting down, he said, "Brother, do you have anything important to discuss with me?" ”

Xiao Jiasui thought for a while, and asked Xiao Tang in reverse: "Brother, what do you think Tian Hu will do next?" ”

Listening to Xiao Jiasui's question, Xiao Tang thought to himself that now Tian Hu's strong men led by Zhulu had openly rebelled, only in terms of the current situation, he could even be said to have the upper hand in terms of troops in the southern part of Hedong Road, if he hadn't led the army to Hedong in time to curb Tian Hu's expansion. He, the soil emperor who crisscrosses the green forests of the Jin Dynasty, may still have the opportunity to become the puppet Jin monarch of the separatist side.

Xiao Tang thought of the scene when he first saw Tian Hu's real body in Shimuro Mountain, and he could also see that he had a ruthless and cruel temperament, and he could be said to be a character who did everything to achieve his goals. Continuing to consider the next move of the thieves he led, he personally led a group of soldiers and horses to launch a raid attack in Pingyao and other western counties and towns of the Weisheng Army, and if he advanced to the east, there were tens of thousands of soldiers and horses of the forbidden army whose combat strength was much higher than that of the weak brigade of the ordinary Hedong official army stationed in Tongyun County, considering the cost of looting and expansion, Tian Hu should not be reckless to launch a general attack on several of his own troops and horses now.

Thinking of this, Xiao Tang also had a rough number in his heart, so he said to Xiao Jiasui: "Presumably Tian Hu's guy will plan to come to attack this Mianshang County, right?" ”

Xiao Jiasui immediately struck the knot: "Exactly! I look at this person, born with the eyes of a jackal on the shoulders of an iris, and he is a vicious character. Let's not talk about many of his people in Shimuro Mountain, the strongman leader shot by the Hua Rong brothers at that time, Tian Hu's reaction should also be very friendly with him. What's more, after listening to Tian Hu and the words of the enemy Song family before, he also knew that the people he killed and the women he wanted to take captive were all from big families here. Now that Tian Hu is rampant, but he can't wait for me to report for a while, what will he do to vent his hatred? ”

Xiao Jiasui suddenly stood up again, paced a few steps in the room, and said slowly: "At that time, Tian Hu only brought about a thousand men and horses, presumably because he sent strongmen to plunder in various ways, and he didn't expect to meet me and others on the narrow road in Shimuro Mountain. Their gang of thieves did not get a bargain, but it was very easy to gather a few more strongmen...... Tian Hu is about to stand up in front of the thieves in Hedong, so since he has already fought with our people, he will definitely not be indifferent now. ”

Xiao Tang nodded and said, "That's true, so there's a good chance that Tian Hu will gather men and horses in a short period of time and launch a fierce attack on Mianshang County...... Since the brother anticipates the enemy's opportunity, he must have a plan in his heart about how to deal with the thief army now, right? ”

Xiao Jiasui smiled slightly and said: "On that day, my brother and Luo Xueyu, Huyan Commander, Guan Dujian and others agreed to first guard the key places of the Weisheng Army's territory such as Tongyun County, and a few soldiers and horses should not be moved lightly, just because the thieves in Hedong are several times larger than our army, and they are familiar with the local terrain and path, which is convenient for them to flow around and make trouble. If we fail to grasp the enemy's movements, we will only be exhausted and unable to grasp the opportunity.

But now the situation is different, if our calculations can be one step earlier than Tian Hu's movements. When we can figure out where he wants to lead a large number of thieves to attack, our men and horses can also prepare early. What's more, Tongyun County is not far from Mianshang County, so it is also possible to take this opportunity to make deployments first and hit the thieves and horses hard! ”

In the original book, Xiao Jiasui hated all kinds of evil deeds of the fierce gangsters in the green forest, but he disdained to bend his waist to the officials and magnates and traitors in the court for the sake of fame and fortune, that is, Xiao Tang as an official general to conquer the cruel robbers in the green forest road, but he can fight against the corrupt officials and bullies in the Great Song Dynasty as the co-owner of the green forest.

Now seeing that Tian Hu is also a fierce scoundrel who does not hesitate to butcher innocent people for his own selfishness, Xiao Jiasui is also trying to cut off Tian Hu's wings in various ways. After all, if we can get rid of those thieves as soon as possible and as much as possible, the more people will be saved from being harmed.

Xiao Jiasui's proposal is also in line with Xiao Tang's wishes, although now he orders several officers and troops to fight steadily in Tongyun County, and he also knows that such a major event as completely quelling the bandits in Hedong cannot be accomplished overnight, but blindly guarding against hard work is definitely not Xiao Tang's combat style. Although Xiao Tang had also sent a messenger back to Bianliang, Tokyo, to ask the imperial court to send another group of soldiers and horses to assist him in his conquest of the Hedong thieves, this did not mean that Xiao Tang was only willing to maintain the status quo and remained indifferent before the reinforcements arrived.

Thinking of this, Xiao Tang also bowed his head and said: "Brother's advice is exactly what I want, I am going to write a military order, and send light cavalry to order Huyan Commander, Guan Dujian and others to survey the terrain and prepare early." When Tian Hu really wants to send troops to attack Mianshang County, he can dispatch troops to fight the thief army here! ”

Xiao Jiasui thought about it again and said, "Brother, don't you plan to return to Tongyun County earlier?" We now only have more than 100 horsemen and horses under our command, and there are only a few yamen officials left in Mianshang County, which are of great use. If you are not afraid of 10,000, you are afraid of what happens, and my brother must also act with the army, so it is more secure. ”

Xiao Tang shook his head and said with a smile: "Although we can roughly guess Tian Hu's next move, as you said, brother, we are not afraid of ten thousand, just in case, you and I are not the living immortals of the unpredictable prophet." Tian Hu's guy is determined to take my life, if I stay in Mianshang County, wouldn't it be more certain that he will lead a large number of thieves to attack here? Brothers, although they are at ease, even if there are few soldiers in Mianshang County now. At that time, there will be our troops and horses outside the city, how can the thief army break this city? If you want to catch a turtle and take the bait, don't you also need to use fragrant bait? ”

Hearing that Xiao Tang planned to use himself as bait, Xiao Jiasui also knew that if he was properly deployed, he should not let Xiao Tang fall into the siege of the thief army, he pondered for a moment and said: "But after all, my brother is the commander of the three armies, and you stay in the county, how can you dispatch men and horses and arrange troops to fight with the thieves?" ”

Xiao Tang only paused for a moment, and then said, "Don't I still have a brother to you?" Although you are only a staff member in my house, you do not have an official rank. However, Wu Xueyu, Guan Dujian, and Huyan not only have a deep relationship with me, but also trust your methods of planning the soldiers. I don't think it's better to do this, you lead some men and horses to return to Tongyun County first, and I will write a letter to explain my intention to stay here to Guan Dujian and Huyan Commander, and I have full authority to appoint you to temporarily take over the authority to transfer troops and horses, which can be said to be a military order decided by me. ”

Xiao Jiasui also knows that the relationship between himself and Xiao Tang is not only heart-to-heart, according to the ambitions of the two, it can also be said to be like-minded brothers who can cut their heads and change their necks, and if it weren't for the previous discouragement of such a world, Xiao Jiasui often wants to emulate his ancestor Xiao Wei, the king of Zhongwu, who has experienced military affairs and governed civil affairs to benefit the people.

"Wang Zunshang wants to block the river embankment, why should I avoid it?" "King Siheung... Going to people is urgent, like fire and water. When will I come back to breastfeeding? ”

Xiao Jiasui's eyes closed slightly, and his mind recalled the deeds of his ancestor Xiao Xun and Xiao Seng Da who loved the people like a son in the past, as well as the songs that circulated for a while because of the people's gratitude and love, after a while, Xiao Jiasui's eyes opened open, and said to Xiao Tang loudly: "Brother trusts, I will definitely not live up to it!" ”

Xiao Tang and Xiao Jiasui had just made up their minds, but they heard a commotion outside the guest room. When Xiao Tang pushed open the door and went out to take a look, he saw more than 30 people rushing to the side of the Qiufu hall, walking in the front about forty years old, dressed in brocade robes, the man was also stunned when he saw Xiao Tang, and immediately stared at Xiao Tang and asked, "Which one are you?" How can it be in my brother's mansion? ”8)