The sky was gray, the air was a little oppressive, and there was a dead silence in Xingyang.

The army returned to the city, stepping on the bluestone slabs on the streets, making a dull sound, and the people who woke up, through the windows, secretly observed everything outside. When they were convinced that there was still an army of the imperial court on the streets, their hearts were relieved.

After Zhang Xutuo entered the city, he didn't say a word to Li Xuanba, and he didn't even look at him. Li Xuanba understood Zhang Xutuo's mood and followed him silently.

Jia Wuben's body still had a trace of temperature, Zhang Xutuo took a look, then bowed and bowed, and did not get up for a long time.

"General, your health is important, you better rest early." Qin Qiong walked to Zhang Xutuo's side and said softly: "Brother Jia has a spirit in the sky, and I don't want to see the general grieve excessively. ”

"You send someone to make a coffin for Wu Ben." Zhang Xutuo raised his head and said weakly: "He has no family, so he will be buried in Xingyang." As soon as Zhang Xutuo finished explaining, he fell, Qin Qiong's eyes were quick, and he hurriedly supported him.

Li Xuanba saw Zhang Xutuo's appearance like this, and felt remorseful.

If he insisted on persuading Zhang Xutuo at the beginning, maybe Jia Wuben would not have died. But he didn't expect that Zhang Xutuo survived, but Jia Wuben was seriously injured and died.

Luo Shixin and Niu Jinda helped Zhang Xutuo back to the house to rest, Qin Qiong gave some orders, then hesitated for a moment, and said to Li Xuanba: "Xuanba, are you willing to talk to me?" ”

Li Xuanba nodded silently and followed Qin Qiong to a camp tent.

"Xu Shiji ran away." Qin Qiong poured a cup of herbal tea, took a sip, and said with a hint of apology: "The martial arts of the Wagang thief generals are not bad, and Shixin and I are not completely sure to leave them, so we can only let them go." Then, he briefly described the situation at that time.

"I actually made a trip to bite the gold halfway." After Li Xuanba heard this, he sighed: "Maybe Xu Shiji's life should not be extinguished." ”

"Xuanba, how do you know that the man's surname is Cheng?" Qin Qiong stared at Li Xuanba and asked, "I only said before that he claimed to bite gold and did not mention his surname. ”

Li Xuanba was stunned for a moment, then quickly calmed down again, and said lightly: "The so-called knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent, invincible in a hundred battles, has caught a lot of tile gang thieves before, and under torture, naturally everything is clear." ”

When Qin Qiong heard this, she dispelled the doubts in her heart.

Li Xuanba did interrogate the captives of the Wagang thieves, and Qin Qiong and others also knew about it, but what Qin Qiong didn't know was that Li Xuanba didn't ask about the process of biting gold, he only cared about whether Li Mi was in Wagang at that time.

Of course, Li Xuanba now knows that Cheng Yanjin has defected to Wagangzhai.

"Before you left the city, you explained a few things, but you didn't have time to ask in detail at the time, can you explain them now?" Qin Qiong invited Li Xuanba to sit down, and asked casually, "How do you know that the Wagang thieves will lay an ambush?" ”

When Li Xuanba was waiting on the city wall, he had already thought of the answers to all the questions, he knelt down casually, and replied: "General Zhang is guarding Xingyang, but the Wagang thieves still dare to attack, which is a suspicion in itself. The Wagang thieves suffered a lot at the hands of General Zhang, and they would be afraid when they heard General Zhang's name, so how could they take the initiative to provoke General Zhang? ”

Before Zhang Xutuo set out on the expedition, Li Xuanba used this reason to persuade Zhang Xutuo, but unfortunately Zhang Xutuo didn't listen, and others didn't care.

"You asked me to lead troops to rescue General Zhang, but you said that if the Wagang thieves are defeated and retreat, they will be desperate to chase and kill the past." Qin Qiong continued to ask: "The art of war is cloudy, and the poor are not chased, not to mention that the main force of the Wagang thieves at that time was not damaged, and they can't be called poor at all." ”

"The strength of cavalry lies in speed and impact." Li Xuanba explained unhurriedly: "As you said, the main force of the Wagang thieves has not been damaged, and it is the first time that they have defeated General Zhang, and their morale is high, do you think that they will be afraid of less than 2,000 cavalry with tens of thousands of them?" ”

Qin Qiong pondered for a moment, and suddenly realized: "I understand, the Wagang thieves retreated to confirm whether there were reinforcements behind the cavalry. ”

"Exactly." Li Xuanba nodded and said: "If you retreat after saving General Zhang, the Wagang thieves will inevitably come back, and the cavalry can escape at that time, but the others are afraid that they will never come back." ”

Qin Qiong was full of admiration, and arched her hand and said: "I really didn't expect that you are so old and so thoughtful, Shubao really admires it." ”

"It's just that I just happened to be right." Li Xuanba said modestly: "But Brother Shubao is willing to trust Xuanba, and without hesitation, he led the cavalry to rush into the enemy formation, which moved Xuanba very much. ”

"Thanks to the horseshoe you sent." Qin Qiong thought of this, her spirit was shocked, and she said: "You don't know, at that time, the Wagang thieves saw that our war horses were completely unaffected by the gravel, and the expressions on their faces were wonderful. ”

Li Xuanba chuckled, and he could imagine the picture at that time in his mind.

Qin Qiong led the cavalry, walking on the ground on the road full of rubble, this kind of thing was completely out of Li Mi's understanding, and even Li Mi was shocked, not to mention the other Wagang thieves?

Seeing that Li Xuanba was not as proud as he imagined, Qin Qiong felt that Li Xuanba was amazing, he drank his saliva in embarrassment, and continued to ask: "Xu Shiji and Shan Xiongxin are both strong enemies, Xuanba, why did you mention Xu Shiji?" ”

"Because compared to others, Xu Shiji is a greater threat to the imperial court." Li Xuanba said calmly: "The only person in the army who can defeat Xu Shiji is General Luo, if one day, General Luo has something to leave, then who can stop him?" ”

Li Xuanba's explanation was very reasonable, Qin Qiong didn't have the slightest doubt, and he couldn't have thought that the reason why Li Xuanba attached importance to Xu Shiji was to prevent what would happen in the future.

"Last question, why did you let that person go?" Qin Qiong hesitated for a moment, but still expressed the doubts in his heart, he said: "I didn't pay attention at the time, but now that I think about it, that person is very likely to be the traitor Li Mi who escaped." I won't tell General Zhang about this, but I hope you can clear my mind. ”

When Luo Shixin and Qin Qiong trapped Xu Shiji, Li Mi galloped to the rescue, in fact, Qin Qiong could have killed Li Mi first, but Li Xuanba had told him that even if the cavalry rushed into the enemy formation, don't kill people who have not been seen before. At the beginning, Qin Qiong didn't understand what Li Xuanba meant, but after seeing Li Mi, Qin Qiong understood.

"Li Mi followed Yang Xuangan to rebel, the crime is unforgivable, of course he should be killed." In fact, Li Xuanba has never thought of a reasonable explanation for this problem, and under Qin Qiong's questioning at this time, Li Xuanba could only reluctantly explain: "But after killing Li Mi, the Wagang thieves are still cowering in Wagang Village, and the court has no way to deal with them, so Xuanba feels that Li Mi is more useful alive than dead." ”

According to the development of history, Li Mi will eventually fall out with Zhai Rang, and then kill Zhai Rang, and it is from this time that the Wagang thieves began to decline.

"If it was before, I would definitely feel that letting Li Mi go would be raising tigers." Qin Qiong didn't question it, and said casually: "But now that you are here, what can Li Mi do if he is alive?" ”

"Brother Shubao, you are exalting me too much." Li Xuanba shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Xuanba and Li Mi don't know each other, but it is said that this person is very scheming and very good at winning people's hearts, in fact, Xuanba doesn't know whether it is right or wrong to let him go." ”

"Now that I've let him escape, it's useless to regret it now." Qin Qiong comforted: "After experiencing this incident, I feel that with your intelligence, there is no need to be afraid of him at all. ”

Li Xuanba sighed and said in his heart: If I am really smarter than Li Mi, how can I worry?

Zhang Xutuo did not die, and the world did not collapse, which made Li Xuanba feel relieved, but at the same time, he began to worry again: If the direction of history has completely changed, what advantage does he have in living in this world?