Zhao Jinglai left Gushan Town that day, but Dong He stayed behind and acted as a liaison between Li Mao and Zhao Jinglai. Li Mao asked Dong He: "What's the matter with your hands?" Dong He smiled and said, "I was bitten by a mosquito." Li Mao said: "Then how big should this mosquito be?" And he said, "I was almost bitten by such a big mosquito, do you know where these mosquitoes come from?" ”

Dong He said with a smile: "The mosquitoes that bite you are indeed the same as those that bite me, and I know where they come from, but I can't say it, it's taboo to say it." ”

Li Mao looked at Dong He and said, "You don't have to bluff me, you sent the assassin who entered my house that day to assassinate me, right?" ”

Dong He smiled and asked, "How can you see it?" ”

Li Mao said: "Because I don't want Gushan Town to fall into chaos, and you want Gushan Town to be as chaotic as possible, killing me can achieve your goal." ”

Dong He said: "You don't have to test me. People are in the rivers and lakes, and they can't help themselves, if Shangfeng wants me to kill you, I will not be ambiguous, but those two assassins are really not my people. There is only one copper tiger head in Ziqing, but I am not the only one in the copper tiger head, just like the Qing Navy, which seems to be monolithic, but in fact, it is secretly divided into four major factions, although these four factions are one, they are also on the same page, and sometimes they even do not hesitate to meet each other. Some people in the head of the copper tiger, such as General Zhao and me, like you, don't want the town of Gushan to be in chaos, but others don't think so, what they think in their stomachs, many times we can't fathom the depth. ”

Li Mao said: "So it wasn't the copper tiger head that encouraged Ling Tian to rescue Shang Shang?" ”

Dong He smiled and said: "Okay, now you are not an outsider, I don't hide it from you, it is the head of the copper tiger, but not us, General Zhao and I originally intended to help you be the master of the lonely mountain, and the inside and outside should be combined to take off this trouble." But some people don't want to do this well, they want to use Shang He Lai, a madman, to provoke the festival commander, drive wolves and tigers, wolves die and tigers are injured, and they are good at profiting. ”

Li Mao said: "Don't these people even buy the account of the handsome? How dare you openly disobey orders? Dong He said: "It's true that they don't buy it, but there is no disobedience." The army gathered in Caozhou, is to take Gushan Town, dismember the Qing Navy, you should know very well, as for what means to use, whether to outwit or force, it depends on how convenient, how cost-effective, this is not a fixed law. I have been in the Qing Navy for so many years, so I have many old friends, and even my wife and children are in the city, how can I bear to see each other in the two wars, and Gushan Town is full of blood? General Zhao is kind-hearted and does not want to use such cruel means, but those people don't care about these at all, they just want to encourage Shang He to make trouble, so that the two families can meet each other, whether Gushan Town is safe or in ashes, it doesn't matter to them, as long as they can knock out a tooth in Yunzhou, it will not be in vain for their hard work. ”

Li Mao took a deep breath, this explanation can be established, the copper tiger head was founded in the era of Li Zheng, and has been passed down for more than three generations and more than 30 years. Li Shidao, the assassin of Mizhou, was at a complete disadvantage in the battle with his brother Li Shigu, but he was in danger, and the fundamental reason was that there were several heavyweights of the Li family standing behind him, and the copper tiger head was the source of their power.

The forces that supported Li Shidao in the Bronze Tiger didn't want Li Shigu to win too easily in Gushan Town, so they took advantage of the situation, sent a few assassins to kill a few people, and instigated the conservative and stubborn "Skull Face" to rescue Shang Helai, and then launched a mutiny, muddying the water in Gushan Town, so that Li Shigu could fall into it or at least smack his teeth, and the investment was very small and the benefits were great, why not?

As for Dong He, he is just a pawn of the Li family, if it hinders them, why not "ding" him?

Li Mao no longer cared about who sent someone to assassinate him, and whether the envoy in the Western Military Camp who was assassinated by him was really Li Shidao's person. Dong He said well, if there is a need, he will not hesitate to attack himself, in this game of chess of the Li brothers, he Li Mao is just an insignificant chess piece, whether to stay or give up, it all depends on the situation, there are only interests here, where is the justice?

Under the pretext that there was a military rebellion in Gushan Town, Li Zhenke ordered the Pinglu army stationed in Caozhou and Chengwu County to go to Gushan Town to assist the Qing Navy in quelling the rebellion, and the 30,000 army gathered in Wuxian County, 30 miles away from Gushan Town.

Gushan Town fell into a panic again, is the "peace" is the "war" generals arguing endlessly, Duan Yingya is unable to decide, at this time, the city bureau made Li Mao Li to make peace with the Pinglu army, this proposal was unanimously attacked by the main battle faction, Li Mao and everyone in the council hall for a morning, the main battle faction was speechless.

Unable to fight Li Mao in words, the main battle faction gave Li Mao a problem, asking him to go to the Pinglu Army camp on behalf of the Qing Navy with full powers, and persuade Li Zhenke and Yang Yuanyin to withdraw the army for 30 miles within three days. The clerk hesitated between the war, and at this moment saw that the main battle faction was so embarrassed Li Mao, so he stood up and spoke for him, under his efforts, the main battle faction increased the withdrawal period from three days to ten days, and if the Pinglu army took the initiative to retreat thirty miles within ten days, Gushan Town would make peace with it, otherwise they would meet each other.

After Li Mao returned to the city bureau, he immediately summoned his subordinate generals and took two major measures: first, in the name of the city bureau, he issued a notice to the people, telling the people in the city that the Pinglu army was here to assist the Qing navy in suppressing the place, not to take Gushan Town and dismember the Qing navy as rumored in the market.

Secondly, he mobilized the gentry and merchants in the city to raise 10,000 yuan in three days to reward the army, and used the money to buy sheep wine, and personally led the team out of the city to the Pinglu military camp to reward the soldiers.

The Pinglu army knew that Yang Yuanyu personally greeted him, and the entourage of the deputy general and above reached 100 people, and the specifications were so high that the gentry and wealthy people in Gushan Town were dumbfounded. After Yang Yuanyin received the gifts, he held a banquet to entertain local leaders, and the soldiers presented a sword and shield dance during the banquet, and hundreds of soldiers smashed the shield with knives, and the sound of the air was earth-shattering, and the momentum was extremely majestic.

Li Mao proposed that the Pinglu army retreat thirty miles during the banquet to eliminate the panic in the city, and Yang Yuanyu got up and apologized to the gentry in Gushan Town: "A certain thoughtless has frightened the father and elder, and he is guilty and guilty. He immediately ordered the camp to be withdrawn thirty miles the next day.

Yang Yuanyu did this, undoubtedly gave Li Mao a great face, the gentry who went to the camp to condolence returned to the city, and they added fuel and vinegar to publicize the courtesy that everyone received after entering the camp of the Pinglu Army, and at the same time spread the strong goodwill of the Pinglu Army on this trip while elevating himself, but one day, the gossip that Yunzhou favored Li Mao and was going to be the lord of Gushan Town spread in Gushan Town.

Early in the morning of the second day, eight young people went out of the city to check the movements of the Pinglu army, and when the sun rose over the treetops, the teenagers rushed back, shouting along the street that the Pinglu army had withdrawn from the camp.

As soon as the news spread, the people in the city cheered in unison, and the ants gathered in front of the gate of the city bureau to coax Li Mao's merits in unison, so that the people in the city were settled, and the army's heart was not chaotic. Duan Yingya saw this scene, so he officially authorized Li Mao to come forward to negotiate with the Pinglu Army to jointly suppress the bandits, and during the consultation, the transfer of the garrison in Gushan Town must be reported to Li Mao, and Li Mao has the right to ask for a stop if he thinks it is inappropriate, in fact, he handed over the military power of Gushan Town to Li Mao.

Knowing that Li Mao had actually controlled the military power of Gushan Town, Li Zhenke immediately ordered the Qing Navy Zhu Zhenyuan and Huang Fenglai to go out of the city to suppress several bandits active on the east bank of Caohu.

Several bandits on the shore of Grass Lake were not in the climate, and the flags of the officials and soldiers suddenly collapsed. It is a pity that Huang Fenglai accidentally contracted malaria on the way to suppress the bandits, and he couldn't afford to get sick and died in the army soon after.