With a cannon shot, the rebel army fought out on all sides, surrounding Cao Wenzhao, and Cao's army was divided and surrounded into several sections. Due to the dispersion of Cao Wenzhao's troops, it was difficult to take care of the beginning and the end, and completely lost the combat effectiveness, although Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao were brave, after more than ten rounds of fighting, their men suffered heavy casualties.

The general came to persuade Cao Wenzhao to retreat: "Master Cao, our army has suffered serious casualties, and we can't fight with the thieves like this, so we quickly ordered to retreat." ”

"Grandma is a bear, if you are afraid of death, you should withdraw first, Lao Tzu must kill all these rabbit cubs." As he spoke, Cao Wenzhao stabbed an enemy cavalryman to death with one shot.

"Master Cao, these thieves are different from the past." Ping'an also killed a cavalryman, "I think that back then, we had 3,000 iron cavalry, chasing and killing Wang Jiayin's 100,000 troops, and the momentum was like a bamboo, so let's chase the enemy and cut it." These thieves in front of us are all lifeless masters, it's not that we chase them and cut them, it's that they don't want to come at us! ”

Cao Wenzhao stabbed down another cavalryman, he was already so tired that he couldn't take it anymore, and said to Ping'an breathlessly: "It seems that this high mountain is still a piece of material for war, and the cavalry he trained is by no means inferior to our recruits." ”

"Master Cao, you're right, most of our men and horses are recruits, so we can't have a hard time with Gao Junshan." Peace and persuasion.

Cao Wenzhao finally obeyed Ping'an's words and ordered the whole army to retreat while fighting, but fortunately, with Feng Ju behind them, they were able to leave the battlefield safely, count the number of people, and lose thousands of cavalry.

Cao Wenzhao led more than 1,000 remnants of the army all the way to the west, ran for an hour, unconsciously his stomach was drumming, and suddenly encountered a small mountain village, where every family was cooking, looking at the misty cooking smoke, he became more and more hungry.

He reined in the horse's head at the entrance of the village and said to Cao Bianjiao: "Go and investigate, what kind of place is this?" ”

Cao Bianjiao took two people into the village, and after a while, he came back to report that this was a small village with only 30 households, and called for a halt to the horse village.

Cao Wenzhao laughed and said, "Stop the horse village? It seems that it is time for Lao Tzu to stop and have a full meal here. ”

Cao Wenzhao dismounted and came to a large family, saying that he was a big family, because this house is the only mansion in this village with blue bricks and green tiles, with walls outside the walls, courtyards in the courtyard, pavilions and attics, painted beams and carved buildings.

A white-haired old man stood in plain clothes, with a cane in his hand, and looked at Cao Wenzhao who came in in the middle of the courtyard with an expressionless face.

Cao Wenzhao arched his hand: "Old man, we are officers and soldiers who have suppressed the Kou, and now we have reached the point of exhaustion, and we don't ask for him when we come to your house, we just want to borrow food from you to satisfy our hunger." ”

"We have nothing to eat ourselves, so where will we lend you food?" The old man coldly refused.

Cao Wenzhao didn't have much patience, his face sank, he pulled out his saber and said: "Grandma is a bear, if you don't want to borrow Lao Tzu, you will rob it!" ”

The white-haired old man's face was fearless: "My son is the Zhan Shi of the Zhan Mansion in the palace, and he is the person next to the emperor, you must not come nonsense!" ”

Zhan Shifu is the yamen in charge of the affairs of the queen and the imperial palace, and the white-haired old man played his son's brand, just to suppress Cao Wenzhao's spirit, Cao Wenzhao became even more angry when he heard it: "What about the people in the palace?" Lao Tzu is now hungry and fighting, even if the emperor is here, he has to give us food. ”

The white-haired old man replied to Cao Wenzhao: "You can ask the emperor for it, and the emperor levies three salaries every year (Liao, and Lian Yu), isn't it just to fight for you?" ”

"Search for me!" Cao Wenzhao gave the order.

The white-haired old man stepped forward to stop him, Cao Wenzhao pushed the old man to the ground, and the place where they were standing was on the edge of a stone bench, and the old man happened to fall on the corner of the stone bench, blood flowing, and the woman on the side screamed.

Feng Ju squatted down to inspect the white-haired old man, then got up and said to Cao Wenzhao: "Master Cao, this person has lost his breath. Before the words fell, there was already a cry in the courtyard.

Cao Wenzhao was upset, this old man is dead, his son must not give up, rather than let people catch the handle, it is better to kill them all, and then put the charge on the head of the thief, anyway, the dead man will not speak.

The military order fell like a mountain, Cao Wenzhao gave an order, and for a while, the entire mansion became a hell on earth, and unarmed men and women were killed.

After finishing the matter, Feng Ju came to Cao Wenzhao and reported: "Master Cao, no one is left, all of them are clicked away." ”

"None left?"

"Yes. None of them are alive. ”

After confirming that all the people in this courtyard were dead, Cao Wenzhao suddenly ran out of ideas, and didn't know what to do next. He was stunned for a long time, and suddenly said: "If you don't do it, you will kill the whole village for me!" ”

"Kill the whole village?" Feng Ju asked puzzled.

Cao Wenzhao made up his mind, anyway, he wanted to blame others and kill the whole village, and see who else could come out to testify.

He stared at Feng Ju and asked, "Didn't you understand what I said?" ”

"Understood!" Feng Ju turned around and went to assemble the team.

After a while, Cao Wenzhao heard the sound of chickens flying and dogs barking.

Quiescence. The whole mountain village suddenly fell silent, and fell silent from the noise of shouting and shouting.

At this time, the hunger rushed to his heart, and he ordered all the heads of the dead to be cut off and then buried in the pot to make food.

Feng Ju didn't understand, everyone was killed, what did he do with the head? He approached Cao Wenzhao and asked in a low voice, "Master Cao, what do you want people to do?" ”

Cao Wenzhao said viciously: "Take it to Hong Chengchou to receive merit." Then he softened his tone again, "Gao Ming, have you forgotten that incident four years ago?" ”

"What happened four years ago?" The second monk Feng Juzhang was puzzled, "Master Cao, I really can't think of it." ”

"Think about it again, four years ago, we served Gao Yingxiang's nest in Ansai." Cao Wenzhao reminded.

"Four years ago, that is, the third year of Chongzhen, I was in Ansai." Feng Ju fell into deep thought, and after a long epiphany: "Oh, I remember, it was the beginning of March in the third year of Chongzhen, when we were in Ansai, and joined forces with He Renlong, the general of Yansui Patrol and Hong Chengchou, to encircle and suppress Gao Yingxiang. ”

Cao Wenzhao nodded: "It was that year." We took Gao Yingxiang's old camp and killed more than 400 of them, because we did not cut off their heads, and our merits were not recognized. ”

Feng Ju understood what Cao Wenzhao meant, and he also nodded: "Yes, I went to report that time, because we couldn't come up with any credentials, and we didn't write this in the credit book." Not only is it not recorded in the merit book, but even the historian will not record it. ”

Cao Wenzhao sighed: "It seems that no one will mention this matter again in the future." ”

"Just let it sink into the sea!" Feng Ju's eyes dimmed, and he sighed, "Ahem——, as a soldier, if you put the butcher's knife at the people, the sky will not allow us." Master Cao, do you remember that night? After we slaughtered more than 400 unarmed civilians, the sky was furious, and a meteor fell from the west, emitting a blinding red light, and thunder exploded. That's a bad omen! ”

Cao Wenzhao shook his head: "I don't think so, the deafening explosion that day was because of this troubled world!" I really hope that God sent a divine soldier down to save the common people! ”

"Master Cao, what does that matter have to do with the present?" Feng Ju asked with a wink.

Cao Wenzhao said helplessly: "With a head, we can repay the merit." Since the war with the high thieves, every battle has not taken much advantage, this time the army sent to the town, but also repeatedly defeated, 3,000 men and horses came out, and now there are less than 1,000 people left. If we go back like this, will Hong Chengchou let us go? If we have the merit of killing the enemy, we may be able to offset our guilt. ”

Feng Ju agreed: "What Cao Ye said is true. Hong Chengchou has always been at odds with us, and has always given us small shoes to wear, for such people, it is a lot of embankment. ”

After a day of fighting, the soldiers were very tired, so after a full meal in the horse village, Cao Wenzhao ordered to rest on the spot, and he himself chose a first-class wing room in the mansion, fell asleep on the bed......

Sleeping until midnight, Cao Wenzhao felt in a daze that someone called him, he opened his eyes and saw that it was a eunuch, standing by the door and waving to him, and in the fog he got up and followed him.

When they came to the courtyard, the bright moon was in the sky, illuminating the whole courtyard like day, although it was a March day, there was not a trace of wind, and it was as cold as falling into an ice cellar.

In the middle of the courtyard stood a man in a black cloak, surrounded by royal guards, and behind the man stood several eunuch-like figures.

"Cao Wenzhao, don't hurry up and kneel down and worship the saint!" The eunuch who led him out shouted.

Only then did Cao Wenzhao recognize that it was the emperor Zhu Youzhen who was neutral, and he hurriedly knelt on the ground and shouted: "Long live my emperor!" Banzai! Hooray! ”

"Cao Wenzhao," Zhu Youzhen asked sternly, "are you guilty?" ”

This question was like a thunderbolt exploding above Cao Wenzhao's head, and he was shocked in his heart, I just killed someone, and the emperor will know? couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and he didn't dare to look up at the emperor, and muttered: "The last general doesn't know what crime he has committed." ”

Zhu Youzhen sneered: "You fought with the high thieves, and you have been defeated repeatedly, and now you are breaking into private houses and killing good people." What sin do you say you have committed? ”

Cao Wenzhao distinguished: "What the last general did was for a reason, and the last general was detailed." ”

"Needless to say! I give you death. Remembering your credit for Wang Jiayin's conquest, you can use your own sword to kill yourself! ”

Cao Wenzhao knelt on the cold ground, he really didn't want to die, he didn't draw his sword, and fought for Zhu Youzhen's pardon for him. He knew that the imperial court was facing a difficult situation at home and abroad, and on the one hand, he had to deal with thieves from all over the country, and on the other hand, he had to deal with the constant attacks and harassment of the Eastern Prisoners, and the Eastern Prisoners were Zhu Youzhen's confidants.

Cao Wenzhao bowed to the ground and said: "The last general is willing to serve the country with his body, please allow the emperor to allow the last general to lead a partial division and fight to the death with the eastern captives." ”

"Hahaha......"

Cao Wenzhao didn't hear the emperor's reply, and bursts of wild laughter kept repeating in his ears.

Listening to it, he felt that this laughter was a bit perverted, not like the momentum shown by the emperor's identity, he boldly looked up, and the person standing in front of him was no longer Emperor Chongzhen, and it was the white-haired old man who was pushed to the ground by him during the day and died, and some of the people behind him also became those men and women in the courtyard during the day.

Cao Wenzhao was furious, drew his sword and stabbed these people wildly, shouting incessantly: "Demon! Demons! ”……