"Don't worry, everyone." The tall and thin man suddenly said, "We might as well listen to Leader Zhang's words." ”

Monk Zhang nodded, got up and said: "Leaders, the monk recruited everyone with flying feathers today, not to do business, but to tell everyone one thing, this morning in [***] monk Wang Zongbing, Wang Zongbing asked the monk to convey a word to everyone!" ”

"What, did you see General Wang?"

"At Widow Xu's house?"

"God, isn't your identity revealed, monk?"

"Monk, could it be that you have already taken refuge in the official army, and then colluded with the official army to set this trap, trying to lure everyone together in a pot?"

As soon as these words came out, except for the thin and tall man, the other twelve men had already stood up.

"Don't be nervous!" Seeing that everyone was about to draw their swords at Monk Zhang, the thin and tall man suddenly said, "Everyone has been brothers for many years, and you still don't know what kind of person the monk is?" Do you think he will do something like colluding with the officials and soldiers to betray his brother? ”

Monk Zhang also ripped off his shirt, patted his chest and shouted: "If you can't trust the monk and think that the monk will collude with the official army to betray the brother, then you can dig out the monk's heart and liver now, if the monk frowns, he is not raised by his father and mother." ”

The man who spoke just now asked rhetorically: "Since you have already met General Wang, why doesn't he take you?" ”

"That's why the monk summoned everyone to come!" Monk Zhang said solemnly, "Mr. Wang said, as long as we are willing to follow him, we can go to the camp in the north of the city to find him after three days. ”

A dozen leaders couldn't help but start whispering.

"Can we really undo the murder we did in the past?"

"If you can really become a soldier of General Wang, it will be a good thing."

"Yes, I heard that after General Soldier Wang returned to Datong, he gave a pension of 500 taels of silver to the fallen soldiers, and the families of some of the fallen soldiers who had made outstanding achievements in the war even received a pension of 2,000 taels of silver!"

"But can this be true? Will General Soldier Wang be playing with us, I can't figure it out that this is a trap, and we will go to the camp in the north of the city in three days, maybe we will turn our faces and take people. ”

"This is impossible, Mr. Wang is a man of promises."

"That is, in order to save his subordinates, Mr. Wang even dared to rob the law field, how could such a good man be a villain who was untrustworthy?"

Monk Zhang looked at everyone with burning eyes, and said in a condensed voice: "No matter what everyone decides in the end, anyway, the monk will definitely go to the camp in the north of the city in three days!" Feng'er Niang has been waiting for the monk for three years, and the monk can't let her wait like this all the time, and she will never let her live this frightened day again, even if it's a trap, the monk also closed his eyes and jumped in! ”

The eyes of the leaders turned to the tall and thin man.

The thin man took two puffs of the dry tobacco horn in his hand, and said in a deep voice: "If you want to say that it is indeed not a long-term solution to continue to rob homes and houses like this, with the murder we have created, if one day it really falls into the hands of the government, it will definitely not be a good death, so we can't miss this opportunity!" However, what Leader Liu just said is not unreasonable, in case this is a trap, then we will not talk about ourselves, and we will also pit the surnames of more than 800 brothers under our hands. ”

"If you become the leader, you can just say it, what do you mean?"

"Yes, usually you are old and scheming, so you can make a move."

Monk Zhang also said: "Lao Cheng, you can give a happy word." ”

The tall and thin man said: "Just in case, we can go to Toucheng, but we don't go to the camp in the north of the city!" ”

Monk Zhang asked, "Where to go?" ”

The tall and thin man said: "Wangjiazhuang! ”

"Why go to Wangjiazhuang?"

"Because Wangjiazhuang is the property of the Wang family, if General Wang is willing to give up Wangjiazhuang to us and not allow other officers and soldiers to settle in, then we will surrender, otherwise we will go our own way."

Monk Zhang said: "This, will Mr. Wang agree?" ”

Tang Gao said: "If Mr. Wang wants to be a big deal, he will agree!" ”

"Okay." Monk Zhang said helplessly, "Monk will go to the camp in the north of the city tonight and convey Lao Cheng's words to General Soldier Wang." ”

■■■

It's night, north of the city.

Not long after Wang Pu returned to the general army from [***], Zhen Youcai also rushed back to the camp.

"Youcai, how are you over there?" Wang Pu asked, "Does Zhang Zi'an, the old eunuch, cooperate?" ”

Zhen Youcai said: "Zhang Zi'an is very cooperative, after all, this matter is related to his net worth and surname, hehe." ”

Wang Pu asked, "Then do you think you can really make 500 new muskets and 5,000 dragon king cannons before New Year's Day?" ”

Zhen Youcai said: "It should be no problem, Zhang Zi'an said that if he really can't catch up, he will find several other weapons workshops in Shanxi Town to help build it." ”

"That's fine." Wang Pu nodded and said, "With this batch of firearms, there will be no problem with surprise attack naturalization!" ”

Zhen Youcai said: "General, how is the matter of appeasing the horse thieves?" ”

Wang Puying said: "It's hard to say now, I'll let them surrender to the north camp of the city three days later." ”

"General." Wang Pu's voice fell, and Xiao Qi suddenly entered the account and said, "There is a guy outside the gate clamoring to see you." ”

Wang Pu asked, "What's that person's name?" ”

Xiao Qi responded: "It is said that it is called Monk Zhang." ”

"Monk Zhang?" Wang Pu turned back to Zhen Youcai and said, "It's one of the many leaders of that gang of horse thieves." ”

After that, Wang Pu turned back to Xiao Qi and said, "You let him in." ”

Xiao Qi said: "General, since this guy is the leader of the Ringing Horse Thieves, the villain should call them with the beard and Scarface, just in case." ”

"I don't need to." Wang Pu said, "You let that Monk Zhang come in now." ”

"Yes."

Xiao Qi answered and took the order.

In less than a moment, Xiao Qi took Monk Zhang into the general army, and when he saw Wang Pu sitting at the back of the case, Monk Zhang hurriedly knelt on one knee and said respectfully: "The villain Monk Zhang sees General Wang." ”

"Get up."

After Wang Pu finished speaking, he waved his hand to Xiao Qi, Xiao Qi understood, and retreated to the outside of the line to hold the door.

"Leader Zhang." Wang Pu's gaze fell on Monk Zhang and said, "Have you already discussed it with the leaders of the thirteen families?" ”

Monk Zhang nodded and said, "It's already been discussed." ”

Wang Pu asked, "What do they say?" ”

Monk Zhang said: "They are all willing to serve the general, but they are still a little worried. ”

Zhen Youcai on the side suddenly sneered: "You are worried that this is a trap, just wait for you to reach the camp, the general will turn his face and take people, right?" ”

Monk Zhang showed a hint of embarrassment on his face, and he didn't say anything, which can be regarded as acquiescence.

Wang Pu's expression turned cold, and he asked in a deep voice, "Then what do they want?" ”

Monk Zhang licked his lips and said, "They want to give up Wangjiazhuang to the general, and they will be stationed there." ”

"Presumptuous!" Wang Pu took the case and said angrily, "You dare to fight the idea of Wangjiazhuang, hum!" Monk Zhang, you go back and tell the leaders of the thirteen families that this general took care of their skills before he moved the idea of appeasement, but if they think that this is the general begging them, it will be a big mistake! General Ben can't tolerate half a grain of sand in his eyes, they can come if they want, and they don't want to come and pull it down! If they don't come to join the army after three days, let them do their own thing! ”

"Yes." Monk Zhang said in a low voice, "The villain will go back and tell them the general's words." ”

Wang Pu said: "Go ahead." ”

"The villain quits."

Monk Zhang hugged Wang Pu with his fists, turned around and walked out of the tent.

When Monk Zhang walked away, Wang Pucai said hatefully: "These thieves who don't know the height of the sky and the height of the earth actually want me to give up Wangjiazhuang to give them troops, which is really unreasonable." ”

Zhen Youcai's eyes rolled and he said in a low voice: "General, the villain thinks that this is just a test of your sincerity by the horse thieves, not their real intentions. ”

Wang Pu's expression moved, and he asked, "How do you say this?" ”

Zhen Youcai said: "The villain thinks that the thief who put forward this condition is a scheming person, he deliberately put forward the condition that the general you can't accept, and asked Leader Zhang to come to the camp to report the news, which contains two meanings. ”

"What do you mean?"

"First, to see if this is a trap set by you, general, if it is, you will readily agree to their conditions; Second, asking Monk Zhang to report the news was a test in itself, they wanted to see if the general would send someone to follow him, whether he would send an army to follow him, and wait for Monk Zhang to gather the thirteen leaders to wipe them out. ”

"Talented." Wang Pu frowned and said, "Are you thinking about the problem too complicated?" Can those horse thieves have this mind, can they have this crooked intestines? ”

"If the villain thinks too much, there will be results tomorrow." Zhen Youcai said, "If things are really as the villain thinks, tomorrow afternoon at the latest, these horse thieves should come to the camp to join the army!" If things don't go as the villain thinks, and these rattling horse thieves are just simple-minded guys, then the general can also give up his plan to appease them. ”

Wang Pu thought for a while and said in a deep voice: "Anyway, let's wait until the day after tomorrow!" ”

■■■

On the official road from Datong to Lushan Mountain, Monk Zhang was galloping on his horse, and the horse's hooves stepped on the cold ground, raising billowing dust, reflecting the light of Bai Sensen under the illumination of the moonlight.

The howling north wind blows in the wilderness, and it freezes a man.

Monk Zhang rode his horse just over a gentle dirt slope, and suddenly a ghostly figure appeared in front of him, and the galloping mount was almost about to hit the figure, Monk Zhang hurriedly shouted and strangled the reins of the horse, and the mount under the crotch neighed and suddenly stood up, and the strong front legs kicked in the air, and he stopped rushing forward.

Monk Zhang wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, and when he was about to get angry, he suddenly found that this figure was tall and thin, and he carefully distinguished it by the cold moonlight, and found that it was Cheng Yu, one of the leaders of the fourteen families! Monk Zhang swallowed the swear words that spit out into his mouth back into his stomach, and said in amazement: "Leader Cheng, why are you here?" ”

Cheng Cheng greeted Monk Zhang and said with a smile: "Not only am I here, but the leaders of the other families are here." ”

When Monk Zhang hurriedly looked around, dozens of black shadows appeared in the grass on both sides of the official road, and by the moonlight, Monk Zhang found that the leaders of the other twelve families were also among them.

Monk Zhang asked confusedly, "Leaders, what are you doing here?" ”

"Leader Zhang." Cheng Cheng smiled, "Soon you will know." ”

"Someone." Another leader next to him waved his hand and shouted, "Lead Leader Zhang's horse down first." ”

Cheng Cheng pulled Monk Zhang behind the sheltered mountain, and Monk Zhang was already impatient and asked, "Leader Cheng, what are you doing?" ”

Cheng Cheng didn't answer and asked, "Leader Zhang, did General Wang agree to our conditions?" ”

"Nope." Monk Zhang replied with a dark face, "I said earlier, it is impossible for General Soldier Wang to agree to such conditions." ”

Contrary to Monk Zhang's expectations, Cheng Cheng didn't get angry but smiled: "As expected, hum!" ”

Monk Zhang became more and more unable to hold back, and asked anxiously: "Leader Cheng, what is going on?" ”

A leader next to him said: "Leader Zhang, let me tell you the truth, Leader Cheng proposed to garrison Wang Jiazhuang and let you report overnight, just to test the sincerity of Wang Zongbing!" Leader Cheng said that if Wang Zongbing had no ghost in his heart, he would never agree to the conditions, and if he agreed, he would have a ghost in his heart! ”

"There's some truth to that." Monk Zhang nodded, and then asked, "Then what are you staying here in the middle of the night for?" ”

The leader replied: "It's still to see that Wang Zongbing really seems to be as bright and upright as the legend." ”

Monk Zhang asked, "What do you mean by this?" ”

"We'll find out later." The leader said, "If General Soldier Wang didn't send someone to follow you, then he would be sincere in trying to appease us, and if he sent someone to follow you, he wouldn't be at ease!" ”

Monk Zhang said angrily: "You are called a villain's heart, and the belly of a gentleman." ”

"That's not right." Cheng Cheng corrected, "This is called the heart of guarding against people. ”

(To be continued)