Early in the morning, someone came to report to Zhang Ruofeng about the affairs of the clan, but suddenly found that they had hanged themselves, and the matter immediately shook the Zhang Mansion, Zhang Ruofeng was in charge of the clan for more than ten years, and he was the acting head of the family.

Immediately, Taiyuan Yin Han Yannian and the county magistrate of Jinyang County led the officials and servants to Zhang's Mansion to inspect the situation, and soon came to the conclusion that Zhang Ruofeng and his wife did commit suicide, and there was no sign of his murder, but a letter found in his room made Han Yannian immediately order the government to withdraw from the case, and at the same time, the elders of Zhangfu Zongrentang also strictly forbade people in the mansion to talk about this matter, trying to downplay Zhang Ruofeng's suicide as much as possible.

But the more things were covered up, the more various gossip in private spread rapidly, and gradually, all the focus was on the letter, which was very likely to be the reason for Zhang Ruofeng's suicide, what was the content of the letter?

At noon, another shocking incident suddenly happened, Zhang Ruojin, who had died, reappeared, he did not die, but was slightly injured, as soon as he arrived at Zhang's mansion, he immediately took over the power of the mansion, and issued one order after another, ordering nearly 100 Zhang family members who were officials in various counties in Hedong to rush back to Taiyuan Sect.

One major event after another came one after another, and the whole Zhang Mansion was filled with the silence and dullness of the approaching storm, and the tension was breathless.

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Three days later, a carriage, escorted by hundreds of soldiers, appeared far away on the official road thirty miles southwest of Taiyuan City.

They came day and night to get Jang Ruoho and his party, although they couldn't get any valuable information from the woman's mouth. But their appearance itself means that Cui Yuan has taken action.

Taiyuan City will not be calm at the moment, the closer it is to Taiyuan, the slower the team will be, and finally stop.

Zhang Huan urged the horse to Zhang Ruohao's carriage and said, "Master, why don't we go to the barracks first, understand the situation first, and then enter the city." ”

Zhang Ruohao shook his head, "This matter is not a last resort, I don't want to pull the army in, so as not to give people the truth." ”

He pointed to a manor in the distance and said, "That is the manor of the former Prime Minister Miao Jinqing, we can go there to rest for a day." ”

Miao Jinqing died five years ago. The manor was taken care of by his second son, and when he reported his name, Miao Erlang warmly welcomed Zhang Ge Lao into the manor.

The hundreds of acres of land around the manor are the property of the Miao family, and the entire manor is high in the west and low in the east. On the east side of the wall is a dense wood, and on the west side there is a high knoll, which is enclosed by the wall about hundreds of acres, and the area inside is very large. There are many houses, many slaves and farms, and more than a dozen huge warehouses, and more than 300 people are not too crowded to enter.

in the room. Miao Erlang was telling Zhang Ruohao about the situation where the Zhang family happened in the past two days, although he didn't know the details, but Zhang Ruofeng committed suicide and Zhang Ruojin died and came back to life. These major events that happened in the Zhang family have already spread all over Taiyuan City.

"The little nephew only heard that Uncle Zhang's suicide was related to a letter. But no one knows exactly what the letter is. ”

"Did you say that Zhang Ruojin appeared at noon?" Zhang Huan on the side suddenly interjected and asked.

Miao Erlang spread his hands. smiled helplessly: "What I said is the news that is circulating in Taiyuan City, and there are a thousand people who say this kind of thing." But not really. ”

Zhang Huan nodded slightly, "Thank you, I will send someone to verify." ”

The room was very quiet, Miao Erlang had already said goodbye and left, and Zhang Ruohao was extremely tired, so he went to sleep first.

Zhang Huan paced back and forth in the room, thinking about the origin of this matter, if Cui Yuanzhen started with the 400,000 yuan, Zhang Ruofeng should not commit suicide, he knew very well about the 400,000 yuan, except for the endorsement, there could be no other evidence.

If Zhang Ruofeng destroys the approval form, there is no evidence that he approved the place, and the head of the family has not investigated the matter, so why is it necessary for him to commit suicide?

However, there is another possibility, that is, the money given to the Wang family is far more than 400,000 yuan, and the money that went out before has a handle, and this handle is very likely to be in Wang Yanluo's hands, but even if Wang Yanluo used the previous handle to blackmail Zhang Ruofeng, Zhang Ruofeng committed suicide with guilt, but what is the need for Aunt Zhang to commit suicide with her, she is a very cheerful and enthusiastic person, she still has a daughter, how can she commit suicide with her husband, take 10,000 steps back, even if she can't think of committing suicide and martyrdom, she should help her husband clear her grievances before dying.

Thinking of this, Zhang Huan smiled coldly, he had already dared to assert that Zhang Ruofeng must have been killed by him, and Aunt Zhang knew something and was killed together.

Now the question is what kind of letter came out, if you know its contents, you will also know Cui Yuandi's chess, Zhang Huan thought about it, then wrote a letter, took out another hundred taels of gold, and handed it to a personal soldier and said: "You enter the city overnight, find a way to go to Zhang's mansion to see Zhang Can, and hand this letter to him, you have to remember that there is a huge black mole on Zhang Can's seal hall." ”

The soldiers took the order, and after lunch, Zhang Huan lay down to rest, and after a day's journey, he was really a little tired, and he was reconciled after a while

Go to sleep.

I don't know how long it took, a slight quarrel woke him up, it was already dark outside, the light was faint and suddenly, Zhang Huan listened attentively, and the voice of the soldiers came from outside the door, "The general has already slept, let's talk about it tomorrow!" ”

"But the general told me to come back and report it immediately." This seems to be the pro-soldier who went to Taiyuan.

'I'm back so soon,' Zhang Huan immediately got up and opened the door, and it was indeed the soldier standing outside the door, he smiled and said, "Let him come in!" ”

The soldiers walked into the house and gave a military salute to Zhang Huan, "My subordinates are fortunate not to be dishonored, and they have already handed over the letter to Zhang Can." ”

"Thank you!"

Zhang Huan turned the lamp back on and smiled: "I didn't give it to the wrong person, right?" ”

The soldier took out a small silver medal from his arms and presented it to Zhang Huan: "This is the silver medal that his subordinates asked him for, it is indeed him, please rest assured general." ”

Zhang Huan took the silver medal and looked at it, the word 'Zhang Can' was engraved on it, and he couldn't help but ask curiously: "How do you know that he has a brand on him?" ”

"General Hui. The subordinates have already greeted in advance. ”

Zhang Huan nodded approvingly, "Good job, bold and careful, I will reward you for the rest of the gold, go ahead!" ”

"Thank you, General!" The pro-soldier hesitated for a moment, and then said, "My subordinates still have something to report." ”

"Say!"

"My subordinates saw many carriages in front of Zhang's mansion, all of them just arrived today, and I took some coachmen's words, they are all members of the Zhang family. Coming from all over the world. ”

Zhang Huan pondered for a moment, then smiled: "I know, go down and have a good rest!" ”

The pro-soldier saluted and retreated, and Zhang Huan looked at the pro-soldier named Chen Ping. couldn't help but secretly think, "This person is as careful as a hair, but it can be of great use." ”

As soon as the pro-soldiers left, the pro-soldiers team Zheng Li Pisces hurried over. He saluted and said in a low voice, "General, it seems that there is a situation!" ”

"What's going on?"

"The brothers who have just made their rounds have noticed that there are birds flying in the woods on the east side of the manor."

"Frightened birds?" Zhang Huan smiled coldly. It's going to be a hand-to-hand fight so soon.

"Order the brethren to prepare at once!" Zhang Huan gave an order and walked towards the head of the family's room, but he had just walked a few steps. Something suddenly came to mind. I couldn't help but stop. Since Cui Yuan sent them are all strong martial artists, and they are good at doing dark things. How can it alarm the resident birds, there must be another article here.

He grabbed the knife and said, "Go!" Look at it. ”

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The place where the situation was discovered was in the woods on the east side, where the terrain was low and gentle, and the wall was easy to climb, Zhang Huan climbed the high guard tower, and a personal soldier pointed to the front and whispered: "Just now, another group of resident birds was startled, and it is estimated that two groups of people came." ”

Zhang Huan looked in the direction of his finger, there was a shallow stream outside the wall, about 200 steps after the stream, a large black pine forest stretched for three miles, and it was dark at night, and the situation in the pine forest could not be seen.

Zhang Huan pondered for a moment, the Tiancai Battalion is the elite of the 30,000 Hedong Army, and his 300 personal guards are the elite of the Tiancai Battalion, all of them can block ten with one, Cui Yuan can't not know, there are only a few hundred people in the pine forest at most, if they attack head-on, they may not be able to avoid the rain of arrows, but if the other party implements the sound of attacking the east and the west, they break in from the other side and carry out close combat, and their subordinates are afraid that they will suffer.

"General, look!" A pro-soldier suddenly noticed the situation.

Zhang Huan looked intently, only to see some black shadows swaying on the edge of the pine forest, Zhang Huan smiled coldly, the other party must have seen someone on the sentry before deliberately showing up.

"You think you're smart, and you'll show your feet if you do it too much." He muttered to himself.

After the Anshi Rebellion, most of the manors of the Tang Dynasty were rebuilt, often built according to the terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack, like a small castle, the Miao family this manor is the same, built on a high ground, backed by a hill, the east is the main gate, the terrain is gentle, and there are large forests, and the north and south sides are a horse and a flat river, there is nowhere to hide.

Zhang Huan's eyes fell on the hill to the west, if the people in the woods in the east are false soldiers, then the real killer must be ambushed on the hill, this is an opportunity, if you can take advantage of the situation to wipe them out, things will be much smoother in the future.

At this time, Miao Erlang also climbed the sentry, "General Zhang, they told me that you are here, what happened?" ”

Zhang Huan glanced at him and said, "Some people want to be bad for the head of the family." ”

Miao Erlang's face turned pale, the landlord in the manor just escorted Qian Liang into the city this morning, what should I do? As soon as he thought about it, he suddenly remembered Zhang Huan's three hundred cavalry, and then he relaxed slightly.

"What does the general need me to do?"

Zhang Huan thought about it for a moment and asked, "How many people are available in Zhuangzi?" ”

"And a few hundred slaves," he said, "but they are all farmers, and I am afraid they will not be of great use." ”

"Might as well be! Bring two hundred young men and tell them that there are thieves who want to steal food, and if they can fight the thieves, give them freedom. ”

Speaking of this, Zhang Huan smiled apologetically again, "The loss of the Miao family,

It will be compensated later. ”

Miao Erlang nodded in agreement, then climbed down the sentry, Zhang Huan suddenly stopped him again, "Is there a hidden place in the manor?" ”

"Yes! There is a basement that my father built to take refuge during the Anshi Rebellion, which is very secluded, and only me and an old family member know about it. ”

Zhang Huan nodded, "There may be danger later, you and the head of the family are hiding in it." ”

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Time is gradually coming to a watch. Two hundred slaves dressed in Tang army armor crouched on the wall, each with a knife and gun, looking nervously at the woods to the east, while Zhang Huan left dozens of people to assist them, and ordered another hundred people to ambush at the high wall in the west.

He himself led more than 100 brethren with bows and crossbows and long knives on their backs, and climbed out of the southern wall and quickly outflanked the hills to the west.

The moon had set in the west, and the moonlight was blocked by the hills. The hill was pitch black, and a thick cloud of smoke rose from the shadows on the other side of the hill, spiraling upwards to obscure the moonlight that was sinking in the west. There is a hot spring.

At this time, a scout quickly ran back, "General, there are indeed people in ambush on the mountain, about three or four hundred people. ”

"Everybody, be light. Slowly ascend the mountain! ”

Zhang Huan divided his troops into two roads, outflanking the hill from the left and right, this small hill looks like a fish, and the trees are thick. There is no road up the mountain, and the low areas are covered with large shrubs, which are very easy to hide.

A hundred steps from the ambush spot discovered by the scouts. Zhang Huanming's men stopped. By this time, he could already see a figure swaying at the top of the mountain. All the soldiers drew their arrows and crossbows in unison, and slowly tightened their strings. Suddenly, there was a faint shout of killing from the side of the manor, and the black shadows on the top of the mountain stood up all at once.

"Shoot!"

Zhang Huan gave an order, hundreds of arrows on the left and right rushed out like a torrential rain, the arrows were strong and fast, the crying on the top of the mountain suddenly sounded, and one by one the figures fell, and some people began to run in all directions, shouting 'spare your life!' ’

Zhang Huan's eyes slowly narrowed, where is this killer with high martial arts, it is clearly a group of rabble, and the real killer is in the woods to the east, and he has been fooled!

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In the pine forest to the east of the manor, more than a hundred black-clothed people attacked fiercely to the wall, fortunately, Zhang Huan left dozens of pro-soldiers, under the command of the pro-soldier team Zheng Li Shuangyu, barely resisted the first wave of tentative attacks of the black-clothed men, and those slaves in Tang Army uniforms were frightened silly, where are these people who come to steal food, they are clearly robbers who kill people without blinking, although there is a temptation of freedom, but freedom is important to save life, and some people are ready to slip away.

Seeing that these slaves were intimidated by the momentum of the thieves, Li Shuangyu rushed up and cut down a slave who was about to slip away, and shouted: "Whoever dares to run, I will kill him!" ”

When the slaves saw him kill with a knife, they were all shocked for a while, Li Shuangyu glanced at them and said coldly: "If they rush in, none of your wives and children will survive!" ”

Everyone slowly lowered their heads, this is indeed the case, these thieves are extremely vicious, their wives and daughters may not be able to escape their hands, Li Shuangyu saw that the words had an effect, and immediately shouted loudly: "Kill a person and reward fifty times, if you die, your wife and daughter will be free." ”

Inspired by the protection of their families and the reward, the slaves grew courage, they were no longer as scared as before, and they rushed to the wall again to fight the thieves to the death.

In the pine forest, Li Chuanyun stared at the wall coldly, and attacked tentatively, she had already determined that the other party was not Tang Jun, but Zhuang Ding, who had been put together temporarily, that is to say, her strategy to lure the snake out of the hole was successful.

Li Chuanyun smiled gloomily, the people who were ambushed in the pine forest were the real killers, and the rabble in the back mountains were just hundreds of ruffians and hooligans she recruited with 10,000 yuan, she ordered her subordinates to surprise the birds to confuse the other party, and sure enough, Zhang Huan was fooled.

In extreme excitement, her original ice crystal jade face became a little distorted, the light and shadow floated, and the fairy suddenly turned into a demon girl, she muttered: "Zhang Huan, do you think those water ghosts in the Yellow River died in vain?" ”

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There was a sudden cry on the side of the hill, this was Zhang Huan's move, the time was up, Li Chuanyun pulled his bow and shot a rocket into the sky, the rocket crossed a red line in the air, and the dark night was extremely dazzling.

This is a signal to the other ten people who are ambushed in the south, they are the main force to assassinate Zhang Ruohao, all of them are strong in martial arts, and they are very good at light skills and hidden weapons, and they are the people with unique skills specially selected by Li Chuanyun for this operation.

As the red light of the rocket gradually became faint until it disappeared into the night sky, but the southern wilderness was still quiet, without a single movement, and in the dim night, ten corpses lay on the river beach, their eyes were cold to the sky, and some people even had a trace of consternation in their eyes that had not yet dissipated.