By noon, the battle was over, Xu Hong's 4,000 men and horses were drowned and killed, and most of the remaining **100 people surrendered to Qi Jiguang.

After greeting Liu Xian and Wang Chonggu, who were in a hurry to return to defense, Qi Jiguang escorted the captives back to Suzhou City. Most of the captives were tied together with ropes, but a big leader like Xu Hong was still given preferential treatment, and he couldn't help but be untied hand and foot, and after lying that he had a thigh strain, he also got an ox cart so that he could travel without his feet.

Lying on the hard cart, Xu Hong looked up at the dark clouds in the sky, and his heart was also full of gloom, he was carefully pondering why he was ambushed by the Ming army this time - listen to Qi Jiguang's meaning, it was because the Ming army knew their marching route in advance, so he let himself fall into this trap.

But how did it get out? Xu Hong bit a straw and analyzed in his heart: "Everyone is leading the troops outside, and the relationship between the eldest brother and them is not harmonious, it is impossible to discuss everything with them, and it is unlikely that they will learn my march route from my eldest brother...... Unless...... he thought of a possibility, and quickly took out a letter from his bosom, which was the letter written to him by Xu Hai, the culprit who ordered him to go south to Jiading.

Xu Hong took a closer look at the signal hidden in the envelope, there was no problem, and then carefully looked at the letter, looked at it, and really let him see a clue - the handwriting of this letter is indeed the handwriting of his eldest brother, but how awkward it looks when put together.

"What's going on?" He couldn't think of a reason, and his brain hurt so much that he fell asleep. But the road was uneven, and the car inevitably bumped and bumped, and after a while, he woke up again, and when he opened his eyes, he felt that the sun was a little dazzling, so he casually held up the letter, trying to block the sun.

Who knew this move, he couldn't help but be stunned, only to see that the stationery, which was normal when looking at the head-up, looked at the back in the sun, there were several places that were uneven and mottled, uneven light and dark! Sure enough, there is a mystery!

Xu Hong's eyes widened, and he carefully looked at the thicker places, only to find that the words on them were glued...... His eldest brother will definitely not do such a thing in order to solve the paper, that is, someone is making trouble!

'Sure enough, there are inner ghosts! Xu Hongqiang held back the pounding heartbeat and carefully put away the letter, because his excited movements had already attracted the attention of the guards, so let's wait for the idea to get out.

In the evening, they had to camp for the night, and the troops set up camp and set up camp to make fires and cook, needless to say. Usually the prisoners eat pickles, but Xu Hong was given preferential treatment and could drink the porridge that was chopped and boiled by Wotou...... He did not complain, and when he had finished eating, he obediently went to bed, and in the middle of the night, he got up and said to the soldiers guarding him, "I will go up to the hut." ”

The soldier was woken up by him and muttered reluctantly: "You can pull out by eating the nest, you are really happy." So he got up and took him to the edge of the camp and said, "Find a place to solve it." ”

Xu Hong found a far away bush, untied his trouser belt and squatted, and asked for a long time before he said in a consultative tone: "Can you turn around, someone can't look at me." ”

"It's pretty particular." The soldier muttered, but he turned his gaze elsewhere, perhaps so sleepy that he was napping against a tree.

"Okay, no?" When he was almost asleep, he opened his throat and said, but it sounded like 'ran away'.

lived up to his expectations, Xu Hong had already run...... "It's really cooperative!" The soldier snorted quietly, and then shouted: "Oh no, Xu Hong has run away!" ”

The camp was in chaos, and the soldiers began to chase around, but Xu Hong, relying on the good surname of Shui, had disappeared into the vertical and horizontal river network and was never seen again...... When Qi Jiguang's army returned to Suzhou City, Xu Hai had already received the news that he had retreated, and after settling his troops, he entered the city with his own soldiers, and the soldier who guarded Xu Hong also followed him closely.

When they arrived at Defu Front Street, the soldier asked, "Big brother, do you want to go home first, or do you want to go to Wu Dafu Lane first?" ”

Qi Jiguang was silent for a while, shook his head and said, "Go to the mansion first." ”

"Brother, how long do you want to delay?" The soldier was actually Qi Jiguang's younger brother Qi Jimei, Wang raised him single-handedly, pawned all the dowry jewelry, and married him a daughter-in-law, so in his heart, his sister-in-law was like a mother, and he naturally wanted to complain about her.

"Hey, I'm having a hard time riding a tiger now." Qi Jiguang whispered: "Qi Guan wrote from there that your two sisters-in-law have already given birth, and your eldest sister-in-law must also know, presumably she will not forgive me now." ”

"Then you don't plan to go back for the rest of your life?" Qi Jimei asked.

"It's a must to go back." Qi Jiguang sighed and said, "Let's wait until I'm done with business." While speaking, when he arrived at the front of the government office, Shen Mo had already received the letter and waited at the door with a smile.

As soon as he saw the prefect, Qi Jiguang hurriedly turned over and dismounted, and bowed to him.

Shen Mo stretched out his hand to help him up, and laughed: "Brother Yuan Jing, you did a good job!" ”

"Adults are amazing." Qi Jiguang smiled, and the two walked inside hand in hand.

Shen Mo smiled: "can make Xu Hai return in vain, first, you fought well, which made him afraid; the second is that his sister-in-law is comparable to Mu Guiying, who can lead troops and fight; The third is that Suzhou City's 'millions of people and millions of soldiers', how can little Xu Hai be bullied. ”

The two entered the signing room, sat down as the guest of honor, Qi Jiguang said with a smile: "It seems that the adult has long been in the hands of Zhizhu, and no matter how cunning the thief is, he has to enter the adult's hand." ”

"Brother Yuan Jing has an overreputation." Shen Mo waved his hand and said, "Let's talk about your side." ”

Qi Jiguang told Shen Mo how to release the water to flood Xu Hong, how to catch him, and how to release him, and finally said his own question: "Why is the adult sure that as long as Xu Hong is released, he can separate the relationship between Xu Hai and Ye Ma and Xin Wulang?" ”

Shen Mo smiled faintly and said, "According to reliable information, the contradiction between Xu Hai and the two of them has been going on for a long time. Needless to say, that reliable news must have come from He Xinyin.

He Daxia told Shen Mo that when he and Lu Lianxin arrived at Xu Hai's lair, Xu Hai and Ye Ma were secretly competing to snatch the power left by Chen Dong, but because of their good relationship for many years, they didn't tear their faces for a while.

He Xinyin kept in mind the requirement of silence to sow discord, and immediately joined the front line and led a group of horses to help Xu Hai grab the territory. He has high kung fu and black hands, Ye Ma's subordinates are not opponents, but he was killed by him and retreated, and as a result, Xu Hai ate most of his head.

If it weren't for Xin Wulang's entry into the gang later, Ye Ma would not even have bones left to eat, he would naturally hate He Xinyin to death, and he would also be very dissatisfied with Xu Hai, the master.

But Xu Hai is very arrogant, and he feels that he accounts for three-fifths of the strength, Ye Ma should no longer treat himself as a partner, but should regard himself as a subordinate. Therefore, his speech and demeanor are not as respectful to Ye Ma as he used to be.

He Xinyin once talked about such a thing...... said that a few years ago, Ye Ma plundered a young lady from a big family in the south of the Yangtze River, not only loved it very much, but also worshiped the church to marry his wife. If a few years passed, the young lady was homesick and begged Ye Ma to let her go back.

Ye Ma was obedient to her, and wanted to agree, but he was reluctant, so he confided in Xu Hai when he was drinking, Xu Hai also had wine, and said: "I'm used to some stinky problems, let that girl go, it's better to play with me." ”

Ye Ma was angry at that time, that was the lady he worshipped, Xu Hai actually said such bastard words, he must have had a dirty mind a long time ago, so he bluntly reminded him: "Friend's wife, don't bully!" ”

Xu Hai smiled: "It's okay once or twice. ”

Ye Ma was completely angry, and couldn't help but say: "In that case, you can also play with Wang Cuiqiao for me!" ”

Xu Hai stopped doing it as soon as he heard this, scolded Ye Ma with a mouth, and pulled out a knife to kill him, forcing Ye Ma to kneel in front of him to apologize, and repeatedly smoked dozens of ear scrapers before it was over.

Although the next day, Xu Haijiu woke up and deeply regretted it, so he wanted to go to Ye Ma to apologize, but he was persuaded by He Xinyin: "You apologize, he is still afraid of him, this time he covets your wife, next time he should beat your idea." ”

Let him say this, Xu Hai didn't even go again...... That Ye Ma originally calculated that Xu Hai would come to apologize today, because with his understanding of Xu Hai, he knew that this guy would regret it when he woke up, but he couldn't wait left and right, so he couldn't help but feel cold: "People say that friends can share weal and woe, not wealth and nobility, but now this guy has become a leader, so he no longer takes me seriously." He formed an alliance with Xin Wulang, and became more and more strangers to Xu Hai.

"You can also see from the position where the Wakou is," Shen Mo said: "Ye Ma and Xin Wulang have obviously been close to each other, just to take care of each other, in addition to targeting us, why not guard against Xu Hai?" ”

Qi Jiguang nodded slowly and said softly: "So the adults intend to appease Xu Hai and the others?" ”

looked at him silently and said, "What about Brother Yuan Jing?" ”

At this time, the two were already sitting at the dinner table, Qi Jiguang took the wine cup and drank it all, lowered his head and said: "Then dare to be kind, the big man will appease the widows, and there must be a perfect plan, just wait for the widows to obediently put down their weapons, and when the world is peaceful, you can also disarm and return to the fields, return to your hometown to fish and study, wouldn't you be happy?" Saying that, he put down the wine cup, and said a little suppressively: "In this case, please don't allocate any more food and salary to your subordinates, I disbanded the army!" ”

Silence could hear his dissatisfaction...... Knowing that the young general was very unimpressed by his way of appeasement, no matter what he thought, he had to be appeased first at this moment. Thinking of this, Shen Mo smiled and said: "Brother Yuan Jing misunderstood me, I have been dealing with the Japanese Kou since the thirty-third year of Jiajing, and it has been five years now, how can I not know the wolf ambitions of these guys?" These Jiangyang thieves who burn, kill and loot are the most capricious, even if they can be at peace for a while, how can they be at peace for a lifetime? ”

Saying that, he frowned and said: "Maybe when you are dissatisfied, you will definitely rebel again, and the people will suffer again?" When the time comes, I don't need Jinyiwei to take me, I will have to die to thank the world. ”

Qi Jiguang was confused at this time, and said strangely: "Since the adults think like this, why do you still want to be appeased?" ”

"You've seen the Water Margin, right?" Shen Mo sighed.

"My lord is saying," Qi Jiguang said slowly: "Do you want to caress first and then suppress?" ”

Shen Mo neither nodded nor shook his head, but in Qi Jiguang's opinion, he acquiesced, and immediately dissipated all his resentment towards Shen Mo, but he was still worried about him and said: "Have you thought about the consequences of this, my lord?" ”

"It may be very serious...... "Shen Mo poured wine for Qi Jiguang and said: "The rumors and rumors are blowing in my face, and the saliva is thick and the phlegm sprays on me!" "Those imperial historians who eat dry rice are all standard angry youths, whether they treat me or the widows, there has always been only one attitude, that is, kill! Kill! Kill! It doesn't matter if you have that ability or not.

"Since you know that the consequences are serious, why do you want to appease you?" Qi Jiguang asked softly.

"I'm also full of bitterness...... "Shen Mo let out a long sigh and said, "There are various factors that make me have to do this." Saying that, he stretched out a finger and said: "Let's talk about the situation in front of us first, although we have eliminated Xu Hong and his gang, they still have a three-way army, which is each other's horns, and if we attack one point, tens of thousands of Japanese will come to the rescue." Since the arrest of General Yu Zongbing, only the 3,000 soldiers and horses of Brother Yuan Jing are still left in our army, and the rest are as ...... It is not the opponent of Xu Hai and his gang at all. Now that they have suffered a loss, they will definitely not be fooled again, and next time they will have to fight gun-to-gun and real battles, how can our army resist it? ”

"We can hold out until reinforcements arrive......" Qi Jiguang comforted.

"This is the second reason why I have to fight," Shen Mo got up and walked inside, and after a while, he took out a letter and handed it to Qi Jiguang and said, "You see what our lord said, right?" ”

Qi Jiguang took it, took out the letter and looked at it, only to see Hu Zongxian complaining at the beginning: "Zhejiang is full of wolf smoke, and the Japanese are rampant, and my brother is too busy to take care of himself and is unable to support Suzhou." Then he asked Shen Mo to think of a way by himself, saying that no matter what method he used, it would be counted on his head Hu Zongxian, just like Tang Seng sang: 'I will come with the black cauldron, and I will send you to death.' ’

"See?" Shen Mo sighed and said, "This is the attitude of our Governor. As he spoke, he took out a yellow silk from his sleeve and said, "I'll show you this again." ”

Qi Jiguang saw it and immediately stood up, because of this color, there is only one person available in the whole world, and that is His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

"Sit down, there's no outsider here." Shen Mo smiled and said: "No matter how much you respect the emperor, he will not send heavenly soldiers to save us in the future." ”

Qi Jiguang laughed, took the yellow silk with both hands, and saw that the upper half was full of words of consolation, and the second half was extremely confident in the ability to be silent, and asked him to use his brains and find a way to survive this paragraph, believing that he could eliminate all difficulties and solve the problem.

"See? There is no sincerity at all, saying that they want to cut this year's target, but they don't give a specific number, it is clear that they are not willing to pay those tariffs and silver, and they want me to pay the full amount. Shen Mo smiled bitterly: "This is called not only wanting the horse to run fast, but also not to eat grass." ”

Qi Jiguang was silent, he knew for the first time that the adults were carrying such a heavy burden on their shoulders...... Usually I can't see it at all, and I can't help but admire the silence more and more.

"There is a third one," Shen Mo then said in a deep voice: "If the city is stopped for a month, the loss will be millions of taels, and if it is stopped for half a year, it will be tens of millions of taels...... I can't accept it, so I have to save myself! ”

"Don't you care about those officials anymore?" Qi Jiguang said in a low voice.

"Let them scold." Shen Mo raised his wine glass and said to the north: "If you don't want to be scolded, you have to stop doing things, if you want to do things, you can't be afraid of being scolded, I Shen Mo is ready to be removed from my post at any time, because I don't plan to go with the flow!" ”

Listening to Shen Mo's inscription, Qi Jiguang got up and saluted in shame: "The last general is wrong to blame the adult, I thought you had changed...... Shen Mo laughed loudly, held him with both hands and said: "Brother Yuan Jing, I will always be the Shen Humble Yan who talks with you about Longshan, no matter what happens in the future, I will be unswerving!" ”

Qi Jiguang was so excited by him that he couldn't help but clench his fists and shouted: "The last general swears to follow the adult!" ”

"Brother Yuan Jing, let's create a career together!" Shen Mo also said excitedly.

After the two of them finished their excitement and sat down again, Qi Jiguang asked: "Since the adults are determined to appease, then the battle before must also be in the plans of the adults, right?" ”

Shen Mo bowed his head and said: "Yes, it turned out that the Japanese were menacing and sharp, and even if I tried all my tricks, it would be impossible to achieve my goal, so I decided to take a head and break Xu Hai's arm first, so that his strength no longer has an overwhelming advantage, so as to separate the relationship between the three parties." ”

"That's why the adults asked me to lead the suspicion to Ye Ma and Xin Wulang, and then deliberately let Xu Hong go," Qi Jiguang said suddenly: "As long as Xu Hong goes back, Xu Hai must be on guard against those two guys." ”

"Yes, that's the next step we need to take." nodded silently and said, "Brother Yuan Jing, I still need your cooperation." ”

"Don't dare to disobey!" Qi Jiguang replied in a deep voice.

(To be continued)