After Ma Xiong'an became the deputy commander of the 10th Division, he led his troops to be stationed in a valley between Guizhou and Beisha City, while training troops and reclaiming famine.

Ma Xiong'an grew up under the watchful eyes of Ma and Dong, and Ma Xiong'an can have where he is today, which is the result of Ma and Dong's hand-to-hand efforts, which the uncle and nephew unanimously recognize, and there is no doubt.

When Ma Hedong raised troops to rebel, he did not inform Ma Xiong'an, according to his thoughts, if he informed Ma Xiong'an in advance, it would be difficult to guarantee that this child would not come forward to stop him, it would take a lot of words. On the other hand, if he directly raises the anti-flag, Ma Xiongan will not stand on Li Mao's side and embarrass himself - even if he doesn't help himself, at least he can remain neutral.

Ma Hedong firmly believed in his own judgment, so he was not prepared for Ma Xiong'an's sudden arrival.

He didn't even predict that Ma Xiong'an would stab him in the soft underbelly, which was a fatal blow that hurt to the bone marrow.

Ma Hedong hadn't woken up from the severe pain, and Song Menglong and Li Hongshui's knives came one after another, which was also a weakness, and they stabbed them with all their might.

The defeat was like a mountain, Ma Hedong could only flee in a hurry under the escort of the pro-soldier guards, and the rabble of 20,000 pieces collapsed in an instant.

Ma Xiong'an, Song Menglong, and Li Hongshui made drastic moves, like the whirlwind of the wind.

……

At night, in the heavily guarded Liaodong City, a little fire suddenly ignited from the horse yard in the west of the city, and the spark turned strong in the wind, crackling, and soon burned half of the city to red.

Jiedu caused a panic in the house, Qin Niang summoned all the sisters to meet in front of Li Mao's study, everyone was wearing coarse cloth clothes, plastered their faces with the bottom of the pot, carried a small burden on their arms, and wore flat leather boots that were good at walking at night.

Since learning that Ma Hedong rebelled in Dongzhou, these days, they have not slept soundly, and they are always ready to flee.

The fire in the west of the city was reflected in the bright eyes of everyone, and what flashed was fear, sorrow, and uneasiness.

"It's coming, it's coming! Hu Sijin is here. ”

A small school ran from the outside in, out of breath, standing in front of Qin Niang rubbing his heart and speechless for a long time.

Lan'er grabbed him, shook him and asked, "What's the matter, what's the matter, you have something to say, you are talking." ”

"I, that, I ......"

Qin Niang pulled Lan'er away, took the water handed by the maid Xiaobi, splashed half of it and handed it to Hu Sijin.

Hu Sijin drank all the water in two sips, wiped his mouth, and said in a clear voice: "The fire in the horse yard led to the nearby wood yard, the fire is too big to extinguish, and it has to burn." ”

"I'm not asking this, is the city broken? Did the rebels come in? ”

"City? No, it's solid. Mr. Zheng said. ”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and looked at each other with a wry smile. Zheng Xiaozhang strode over, and said with a relaxed face: "Let a few ladies be frightened, a horse Ben accidentally knocked over the oil lamp, burned the horse material, the wind blew, and several piles of wood hoarded nearby also burned, the fire could not be extinguished for a while, but it was nothing serious." ”

Everyone's faces were a little pale, and it looked like another false alarm, these days are really frightening, and people are about to be tortured and lose their temper. Zheng Xiaozhang glanced at everyone, frowned, and said: "Ladies, there is good news: I just received a secret letter from the marshal, the Shanhaiguan garrison is anyway, and the main force of General Shixiong's third division has returned to Liaodong. ”

Lan'er shouted happily and asked again: "Only Shi Xiong came back alone, what about him, why didn't he come back?" ”

Zheng Xiaozhang said: "The big marshal escort brigade then entered the customs, the snow was too big, and the army was not moving more slowly than usual. ”

Lan'er's eyes were red, her silver teeth were clenched, and she said dissatisfiedly: "Shi Xiong can go, why can't he go?" The march of the army is slow, can't he lead the pro-army to go first? ”

Zheng Xiaozhang smiled and didn't dare to answer. Qin Niang smiled and said to Zheng Xiaozhang: "If you have work, I will send you." ”

Zheng Xiaozhang frowned, Qin Niang saw it in her eyes, although she didn't know what it meant, she knew that there must be a reason, so she needed to ask.

Walking out of the door, Zheng Xiaozhang glanced left and right, lowered his voice and said, "There have been frequent activities in Wicker Lane recently, please pay attention to the movement of the plum garden." ”

Zheng Xiaozhang said goodbye and left, but Qin Niang's heart was soaring, Wicker Lane was where Xue Qing's mansion was located, after Ma Hedong's rebellion, the momentum was very great, it seemed that Liaodong changed overnight, and those who were dissatisfied with Li Mao jumped out one after another, making a lot of trouble.

In this case, can Xue Qingbao be quiet? It has been rumored that Xue Qingyu is secretly contacting the old department, and he has paid a lot of money to hire heroes from the rivers and lakes, and wants to cooperate with the inside and outside to give Liaodong City.

Liaodong City is steep, if there is no traitor, it will not be able to attack for a while, Xue Qingyu saw this, so he took a risk, he really can dedicate Liaodong City to Ma Hedong, it is a miracle, the future glory and wealth of the Xue family is indispensable, if Ma Hedong does not make it, he will return this city to him.

After all, Ma Hedong is not Li Mao, he has no strength and no ambition, he will choose to be the boss of Liaodong as a family, and let the people who obey him be the second and third, each according to one side, and each will be the king.

Zheng Xiaozhang's words reminded Qin Niang that since the rebellion of Ma Hedong, she asked all rooms to be prepared and ready to evacuate Liaodong City at any time. However, Xue Dingding, who has a quiet personality, deduced that he was sick and hid in the yard and refused to show up. She still hates Li Mao in her heart, and her temper is also a little weird, Qin Niang tolerated her and didn't care too much.

"Let's go, let's go to the plum garden."

The plum garden is the residence of Xue Dingding, and the several courtyards of the back house of the Jiedu make the house have their own aliases, such as the courtyard where Qin Niang lives is called Songzhu Courtyard, the orchid hall where Lan'er lives, and the place where Su Ying lives is called Canglangju, the most talented Xue Dingding refuses to name his yard, and everyone named it Plum Garden because there are more than a dozen plum trees planted in her yard, she does not accept or object, so it is called.

Qin Niang said that she would leave, and took Xiaobi to the plum garden.

The lights are on on the small building of the plum garden as usual, and Xue Dingding's work and rest time is day and night, sleeping during the day, reading, writing, and playing the piano at night, and the lights in the house are often not extinguished all night.

The yard is quiet, there is no sound at all, this is not surprising, Xue Dingding is a quiet person, except for playing the piano, almost no sound can be heard in her yard, her maid Duck is usually light-handed, often appears in front of you silently, and is nicknamed "flower-faced cat" by Lan'er.

Xue Dingding was born in a large family, he has been spoiled since he was a child, he is a little arrogant, and his temper is a little eccentric, but his temperament is not bad, except for the occasional trouble with Li Mao, he is a very good person.

This bad relationship between her and Li Mao is mostly sympathetic to Qinniang.

After hesitating outside the plum garden, Qin Niang still asked Xiaobi to come forward and knock on the door.

Knock on the door, the door won't open.

After Lan'er asked Han Zhenzhi to pry the door open, she heard a whining sound coming from the side room, and when she looked at the lantern, everyone was taken aback: Yang Er was tied up and thrown on the bed with a rag in her mouth.

……

In Wicker Lane, Xue Qing's mansion, sixty sturdy men lined up in front of the main hall to stand by, they were wearing light armor, with a palm-wide belt around their waists, and all kinds of strange weapons were hung on the belt, each of them carried a bundle of hemp rope on their backs, one end of the hemp rope was equipped with a grappling hook made of stainless steel, and most of them also carried a black cloth bag, which was bulging and I didn't know what to contain. The faces of the people were solemn, like a statue made of black iron standing in the wind and snow.

In the brightly lit and warm spring-like house, Xue Qingyu was still persuading Xue Qingyu to finally make up his mind to fight with Li Mao.

"Don't look at the few of them, they are all masters of the rivers and lakes with one enemy and one hundred, we suddenly attacked, attacked his back house in one fell swoop, took his wife and concubine as hostages, and forced Zheng Xiaozhang to open the city gate. Today's Liaodong is already anti-flag, he is trapped in Youzhou and can't come back, this Liaodong is about to change. ”

"Changing the sky? What kind of day has changed, what has changed is the day of Ma and Dong! I don't know how Ma Hedong is, but if he commits the following crimes, it will be a loss of virtue! If he can betray the Lord today, why can't he betray his friends tomorrow?! Such a person, I don't think it's as good as Li Mao. Although Li Mao is domineering, my Xue family can still keep the wealth and nobility, and if Ma Hedong becomes the lord of Liaodong, I am afraid that you will not get anything. ”

Xue Qingyu said: "You can't say that, once Li Mao is defeated, this Liaodong will be in chaos, and the world will be in chaos, which is our opportunity." ”

Xue Qing was dumbfounded and roared: "What chance, do you still want to recapture Liaodong City?" ”

Xue Qingyu ignored the anger of the eldest brother, and said lightly: "'Heroes in troubled times rise in all directions, and if there is a gun, he is the king of grass', this was said by Li Mao, and I will pay tribute to him today." ”

Xue Qingbao forcibly suppressed his anger and asked Xue Qingyu sharply: "Are you ...... with Ma and Dong?"

Now, Xue Qingyu had no choice but to admit it: "Yes, I have an appointment with him in advance, as long as I take Li Mao's dependents and force Zheng Xiaozhang to open the city gate, he will return Liaodong City and Liaozhou to us." Big brother, don't miss the opportunity, it's not going to come again. ”

Xue Qing laughed angrily, laughed, but sighed, shook his head and said, "You, you're too naïve." is just a few concubines, and he shows affection in front of Li Mao, just to gain a good reputation. Do you think he would really bow his head for a few women? Even if he is a loving and righteous person, so what, will Zheng Xiaozhang let you go, how can he explain to Li Mao if he loses Liaodong City? The lesser of two evils and the preservation of Liaodong City, he is a great hero. As long as he can win, he will be able to count the deaths of several female dependents on our heads, and when the time comes, he will at most be charged with a poor guard, and then what is it. Li Mao will attack his henchmen because of a few women? Hmph, that's why I say you're naïve. ”

Xue Qingyu sneered: "You said this, because you recognized that Li Mao would win, but I thought it was ......."

"You think, you think Ma and Dong will win? Dick, are you confused? With his 20,000 rabble, can he bring down Li Mao? You, you, what a ...... Li Mao only needs to use Shi Xiong's division to pinch him to death, believe it or not? ”

Xue Qingyu knocked on the table unconvinced: "You are inevitably too cautious, Li Mao's main force is in Youzhou, the heavy snow has sealed Shanhaiguan, the road is impassable, not to mention, Shanhaiguan left behind Han Wei is a person from Ma Hedong, you haven't seen that pass, but I have seen it, how can he come back?" In the past few years, he has been reckless, conscripting everywhere, without any regard for the people's strength, and the people's hearts have been lost. People's hearts are back. ”

"People's hearts are back? The hearts of bullshit people are back! When he beat me Liaodong City back then, there was anyone in the city who rose up against me, the six major families all stood on my side, and the people's hearts were towards me, what was the result, Liaodong City belonged to him! Who did the hearts of the people go to when he conquered the Bohai Sea in the east? Ma Hedong openly opposed, Shi Xiong and Qin Mo refused to fight, but the Bohai Kingdom was united, the monarchs and ministers were unanimous, and even the unruly forest tribes quit their troops and truce, and walked out of the forest to go to the national disaster together. That is the heart of the people, the hearts of the whole country! What does Li Mao have, his army has not broken up by relying on strict punishment and strict laws, and the people who transported grain for him are strung with hemp ropes, and without hemp ropes, people will run out in the blink of an eye.

"What is the result, Da Songxuan died of misery, Da Yuanyu became his prisoner, and the three thousand concubines of the palace were taken captive by him to Liaozhou, and he also supported a puppet king called Da Shimu, who regarded the Bohai Kingdom as his money bag, and took whatever he wanted, who dared to say nothing? What is the use of people's hearts, people's hearts are not as hard as fists. Besides, how many people are in favor of sending troops to Youzhou this time? …… So what you said about people's hearts and minds is completely nonsense, people's hearts and minds decide the rise and fall of people's hearts, fake, rotten Confucianism created to deceive people, people's hearts only go to the strong, and they have always been harder than people's hearts. ”

Xue Qingyu's heart was also cold when he said this large paragraph. If people's hearts can determine the success or failure of rise and fall, how can there be bad people in the world, and bad people who are unpopular will die early; If people's hearts can determine the success or failure of rise and fall, Li Mao should have been defeated a long time ago, he lost the hearts of the people, but instead of perishing, he became stronger and stronger; If people's hearts can decide the success or failure of the rise and fall, and Tama and Dong have already broken through Liaodong City, why bother to ask themselves to act as internal responses?

The brothers sighed in unison, lowered their eyebrows and did not speak, and at this moment, a person flashed in from the night, it was Xue Dingding, she was wrapped in a dark mink cloak, and she walked steamingly.

Xue Qingyu was stunned, looked at Xue Qingyu, and suddenly his forehead was bruised, and he shouted angrily: "Second brother, you are going to kill my Xue family." ”

Xue Qingyu took his niece out without telling his brother, the purpose was to have a complete showdown with Li Mao, he was full of confidence, but after listening to what he said just now, he couldn't make up his mind now, he was drunk by his brother, he couldn't speak, his eyes flashed, but he asked Xue Dingding for help.

Xue Dingding shouted dissatisfiedly: "Father, can your waist pole be straight, others are in Youzhou, the heavy snow is closed, and you can't come back, if you can't wait for the snow to melt next year, Liaodong will change the sky." ”

Xue Qing's forehead jumped violently: "You shut up for me, what do you know?" ”

Xue Dingding was not to be outdone, straightened his chest, and said in a defensive voice: "I don't understand anything, I just know that instead of living like a dog, it is better to stand up and fight, win to be a man, and die to be a ghost, just don't be a dog." ”

"What do you say, you ...... Scolding me for being a dog? You ......"

Xue Qing was furious, and before he finished the word "you", he covered his heart and fell down, which frightened Xue Dingding so many times that he hurriedly rushed to the rescue.

A new idea suddenly flashed in Xue Qingyu's mind, and while instructing the Xue family's housekeeper to help Xue Qingbao in for treatment, he pulled Xue Dingding's arm and said, "It's too late for the love of children to grow, quickly, you lead the way, and we will kill it while it's dark,"

Xue Dingding glanced at his father and hesitated.

Xue Qingyu sneered: "At this time, you don't want to avenge Marshal Jin Tiyong?" As far as I know, Generalissimo Jin Tiyong was poisoned to death by the people in the right wing, don't you believe it? Okay, you go with me to get Zeng Zhen, and you ask her in person, who killed the generalissimo Jin Tiyong. ”

The three words "Jin Tiyong" made Xue Dingding's head, which was gradually cooling down due to her father's illness, heat up again, she bit her teeth, took the short sword handed by her uncle, and turned around and went out.

A strange sneer flashed at the corner of Xue Qingyu's mouth, and with a wave of his hand, the sixty heroes standing in the courtyard divided into two rows and erected their cloaks, and instantly disappeared into the snow.