According to the agreement in the letter, if the government agrees to exchange hostages, the drum will be removed, and the yamen stands in the middle of the city, and the four streets and eight squares can be seen from a distance.

Liu Laodao glanced at the fork in the road from a distance, and then walked away casually with the flag. The emperor is about to leave Beijing, Yang Hu has fled, the officers and soldiers are about to march into Bazhou, Yang Hu's green forest forces are in danger under the wrath of the Son of Heaven, and this series of news has completely disrupted his original deployment.

The Maitreya Sect originally did not intend to use the green forest thieves to start fighting the world, they wanted to take the upper route, seek to seize the throne of military power, and successfully get the world, and now there is a good opportunity for the emperor to go out of Beijing to cut off the Son of Heaven, Li Fuda is reluctant to give up this big fish for a small shrimp no matter what.

Moreover, under the full encirclement and suppression of the government, the power of Bazhou Green Forest has little use value, and Yang Hu can only play a role now is a brave assassin, and he, the military advisor, does not mind whether his identity will be exposed, and strictly orders him to protect Yang Ling by all means.

Liu Laodao secretly smiled bitterly, yesterday he was still planning for fear that Yang Ling would not die, who expected that the situation would change overnight, but now he has to try his best to protect his surname, if the world really has fate, I am afraid that no one is more blessed than him.

Pretended to claim that he was afraid of the official authority and took refuge in the government, and led the army to kill the red lady? As soon as this idea came to mind, he shook his head gently, he and Cui'er's household registration guide were all fake, Yang Hu and the green forest thieves couldn't dig out his true roots, but the government would not tolerate a person of unknown origin.

The two who were sent to the palace did walk the rivers and lakes for seven or eight years under the guise of juggling artists, Rao is so, and King Ning was sent to the palace with the dignity of the king of the vassal as a guarantor.

It is best for the red lady to be interested, and she is willing to let Yang Ling go when she knows the news that Yang Hu has escaped, otherwise, Liu Laodao secretly gritted his teeth, and the murderous intent in his eyes disappeared.

The time of the noon dynasty has long passed, and the important ministers of the court in the Baohe Palace are still gathered together, and there is no result of the boiling and noisy, Zhengde originally wanted to pass the meal to let these ministers fill their stomachs first, but when he saw this situation, he did not fight in one place, and sat there to suppress his anger and watch them quarrel, and his face became more and more blue.

The ministers also noticed the little emperor's expression, and the noise gradually became quieter.

Zhengde silently twisted the delicate jade cup in his hand, and slowly looked around, only to see Liu Jin and Gu Dayong whispering, Li Dongyang and Jiao Fang each had a shy bitter gourd face, twisting their beards one by one, Yang Tinghe looked at the calligraphy and painting on the wall with his hands, and the six Jiuqing and the servants of each department had different expressions, some were full of anger, and some were gloating.

Zhengde looked at Wu Jie, the old man who had never entered the palace, his face was covered with fine beads of sweat, and he was looking at him anxiously.

Zhengde coughed, exhaled a breath of anger in his chest, and then said: "Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that the female thief Red Lady does not know that her husband has escaped from the capital, and intends to exchange Yang Hu for Yang Shiyu, and now the bandits are waiting for the reply of the imperial court, how is the discussion of the secretaries?" ”

Liu Daxia said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that since the female thieves have sent a message into the palace, it is obvious that the Jingshi blockade is timely, and they have not had time to escape. The soldiers and horses of the capital are like clouds, the military department, the Beijing camp, the Shuntian Mansion, the five city soldiers and horses, and even the three factories and one guard, what is the difficulty of turning the capital upside down? But with the various ministries stepping up their search, can they still escape to the sky? ”

Zhengde sneered and said, "I've been looking for a day and a night, have you ever found it?" Shuntianfu presented a fold and said, the people of Jingshi have complained, how to search? Moreover, Yang Qing is in their hands, if they are forced to be in a hurry, won't they be beaten with chickens and eggs? ”

Yang Fang responded: "Your Majesty, what the minister thinks Lord Liu said is that how can the dignified court bargain with the robbers? In the past, Xiahou Chun guarded Puyang, Lu Bu sent people to rob him to defraud his property, and the general Han Haole never compromised outside the barracks, and brazenly used troops against bandits, and since then there has been no hostage captive. Now that he has committed such a serious crime at the feet of the Son of Heaven, he dares to bargain with the court, where is the dignity of the court? In the future, the bandits will take this as an example, how will the imperial court respond? This wind will not last! ”

Jiao Fang raised his eyebrows and said: "Lord Yang's words are wrong, as the saying goes, soldiers are not tired of deceit, Yang Hu is not in the hands of the imperial court, we will do what we want, pretend to agree to exchange hostages, why not take the opportunity to rescue Lord Yang?" Is it not a loss of the dignity of the court to sit back and watch an important minister of the court die in the hands of Xiaoxiao? ”

Han Wen muttered: "Your Majesty, the laws of the court cannot be ignored, and Lord Yang's surname and life must also be taken into account, according to the ministers, you should also think about it again, and plan carefully, if the bandits have what they want, Lord Yang will not be killed for a while, of course, the court must strictly seal the news, step up patrols in the four cities, don't escape the thieves, and don't reveal the news that Yang Hu has escaped."

Li Dongyang shook his head lightly when he heard this, Zhengde saw his movements, and hurriedly asked, "What is the opinion of Scholar Li?" ”

Li Dongyang arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, according to the ministers, if the thief Yang Hu is really in our hands, it is still to be discussed whether such robbers who kill officials and rebel and gather in the mountains and forests will compromise with the thieves, after all, the laws and decency of the imperial court cannot be ignored, and Lord Yang is deeply favored by the emperor, and he must also be considerate of the holy will, and he is unwilling to do this behavior that fuels the arrogance of the thief."

However, since Yang Hu is not in our hands, this expedient measure can be greatly made, and the minister thinks that the house search should be suspended, and it is said that this move may not steal the hiding place of the people, if it is really found, Lord Yang is in the hands of the thieves, how to suppress the bandits and save people under the mouse taboo?

Therefore, the imperial court may wish to agree to their request, and the two parties will finally reach an agreement, and it will take two or three days, and the imperial court should order the Beijing camp and the Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Division to step up the blockade and patrol to prevent the thieves from escaping, and order the secret detectives and factory guards of the criminal department to secretly investigate the place where Lord Yang was imprisoned, waiting for the opportunity to rescue, and wait for the two sides to agree on the location of the exchange of hostages, you can secretly place the archers to ambush the soldiers, and act at the opportunity. ”

Ma Wensheng took a step forward when he heard this, and was just about to speak, Gu Dayong and Liu Jin had already decided on a plan, and he had already preemptively said: "Your Majesty, the slave thinks that Scholar Li's plan is the most appropriate, and if he doesn't agree, he will harm Lord Yang's surname in vain, and the dignified ministers of the court will die at the hands of thieves, won't they also lose the dignity of the court?"

If you rashly agree, we don't have the big thief Yang Hu in our hands, in case the thief sends a minion to check the authenticity, it is bound to leak the stuffing, you might as well agree slowly, let's follow the trail while preparing here, if we can successfully rescue Lord Yang, it is the best, if not, then think of a way to hide from the world, and then wipe out the thieves when exchanging hostages."

When Zhengde heard this, he said: "Okay, the secretaries don't need to discuss it anymore, just do it according to this method, it's very useful, ask the Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Division to send a message, and wait for the thieves to send someone to contact, and you and Wu Jie of the inner factory will be responsible for detecting the thieves' nest and exchanging hostages." Remember, I want to live Yang Ling, not die as a factory governor! ”

All the ministers bowed down in unison and said, "The ministers obey the order!" ”

Liu Laodao walked through the streets and alleys, while thinking about countermeasures, if the hostages were exchanged, it would be difficult for the government to guarantee that they would not set up ambushes, even if the red lady could go, whether she could escape was a matter of two words.

In addition, the red lady kidnapped big families and extorted money, and she was an expert in kidnapping tickets.

If the truth about Yang Hu who has escaped is explained to the red lady, the possibility of Yang Ling being released is small, but the possibility of tearing up the ticket immediately is even greater, and explaining to her that Yang Ling was released to lead the emperor out of Beijing? This woman has been in the green forest since she was a child, and she is very alert, and she has such accurate and confidential information when she walked around the tightly sealed Jingshi, which is bound to make her suspicious.

Liu Laodao thought about it, and finally put his heart sideways, or go back first, probe her tone and then say, if it really doesn't work, for the big fish of Emperor Zhengde, for his own future, I have to give up this red lady, but it's a pity that this little girl doesn't slip away.

Liu Laodao counted a life for the two old ladies, got a few copper coins, and then wandered to the front of the Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Division after noon, only to see that the shelf was empty as a field, the big drum had disappeared, at this time the sky was gloomy, the sparse snowflakes fluttered down, and the pedestrians on the street gradually decreased, Liu Laodao was afraid that it would arouse suspicion, and he also turned back to the Beicheng District and walked slowly, to the alley, to see that no one was paying attention, Liu Laodao hurriedly flashed into the Taoist temple.

The Taoist temple does not even have a door, and the wind is permeable in all directions, and the first night yesterday sent people to control the wind outside, but during the day, people can not wait outside, for fear of being noticed by the people passing by. Liu Laodao opened the mechanism and quietly entered the stone room, and the two big men with swords saw that it was him, so they put down their blades and asked eagerly: "Mr. Liu, has the government agreed?" Is Brother Tiger still safe? ”

Liu Laodao smiled slightly and said: "Fortunately, the government has shown its willingness to exchange hostages with us", at this time, Cui Ying'er and Cui'er also heard the news and greeted them, Liu Laodao and them avoided a stone room, made up a word, and then asked: "What are the plans of Madame?" When the big boss is rescued, how will Yang Ling deal with it? ”

The red lady bit her lip and said softly: "This morning we have decided that more than 200 lives cannot be ignored, and as soon as they are rescued, they will kill Yang Ling and pay tribute to their souls in the sky."

Liu Lao Daoqiang said with a smile: "This overall situation is important, madam, the big boss is going to do big things, if this angers the government, the foundation that the big boss has worked so hard to build will inevitably be hit, why not let him go."

Cui'er was stunned, and looked at him strangely, I don't know what trick he was playing, Liu Laodao smiled a little bitterly, but there was suffering.

The two bandits standing at the door walked in when they heard this, and a big man with a full face said disapprerovingly: "Why is Mr. Liu so kind to a woman? If we don't kill him, let's make such a big battle, and the government will be willing to give up easily? ”

Another bright man said with his eyebrows fluttering: "Exactly, we are not afraid of offending the government, we are afraid that the font size is not loud enough, this time I broke two hundred brothers in Beijing, how can I explain to the cottage if I don't kill him?" If you kill him, who wouldn't admire the heroes of the three mountains and five mountains? Brother Tiger's name must be even louder, even if this mountain is destroyed, it will be easy to start anew."

When the red lady heard this, she turned her heart and said: "Just do it, what faith and righteousness do you have to talk about with the government?" Hu Dazhui, since the government has agreed, we are going to force out of the city early tomorrow morning, you go to the government to see your eldest brother first, don't be cheated by them."

Hu Dazhui, who was full of meat, nodded indifferently and said: "Sister-in-law, don't worry, with that dog official here, how about the government still treat me as a little minion?" I will definitely accompany Brother Hu to Fengtai safely, and the officers and soldiers will not want to play tricks with me."

Liu Laodao's heart was cold when he heard this, and the red lady still felt a little ashamed when she thought of Yang Ling, but her husband had already embarked on this road, and as a wife, what else could she do besides accompanying him all the way?

She sighed abruptly and said to Liu Laodao: "Mr. Liu has worked hard, you can rest first, survive the Ming Dynasty, and then we will go away and fly high."

The red lady turned around and folded into Yang Ling's room, Hu Dazhui and the bald man and the black harrier followed behind with a ghostly head, Cui Ying'er turned her head and glared at them, the two bandits looked at Yang Ling with ill will and smiled, and Shi Shiran walked out.

Yang Ling stood up against the wall, there was no fire in the cave, although it was warmer than the outside, it was still very cold, his body was not as good as these thieves, and it was very difficult to stand alone in the stone cave, so he meditated cross-legged according to the method taught by Wu Hanchao, and now he didn't know how to make a big deal, and he didn't dare to show off under the supervision of the bandits, but it was only a small plate for more than half an hour, and his knees were numb.

He looked at the red lady's face and asked, "Did the court agree to exchange?" ”

The red lady looked at him a little haggard, and her heart couldn't help but soften, how many officials are willing to give up porridge to help the people? He was still trying to improve his crops, and he was a good official.

When he went to visit his house, his wife was also amiable and had no official wife, but if he didn't kill him, how could the more than 200 lives be explained to his brothers? Besides, since her husband has embarked on this road, the more useful the official to the court, the more our great enemy, who would have thought that this time in Beijing, the emperor did not succeed, but let him be a scapegoat?

Cui Ying'er felt ashamed in her heart, her tone softened a lot, and she nodded lightly and said: "Well, it seems that the emperor appreciates you very much, for you to blockade the entire capital, we proposed an exchange, and the government agreed without thinking about it, and I will send someone to meet with the official family, as long as they don't play tricks when exchanging hostages, you can go back."

Cui Ying'er roared in the mountains and forests, killing people and plundering goods is also a ruthless master who doesn't blink an eye, otherwise how could there be so many unruly thieves who surrendered, but when it came to this, her face was hot, and she couldn't hold her face, she turned around sharply, took off her cotton cloak and threw it to him with her backhand: "You officials can't compare to us, don't put on an official stand here, put it on, I'll ask someone to get some wine and meat back at night, you won't be as cold and unable to sleep as last night."

Yang Ling heard that the imperial court agreed to change people, and he was also ashamed in his heart, knowing that the imperial court must have seen the hint in his letter that he wanted to deceive Cui Ying'er, and he was afraid that he would set up an ambush at that time.

In the other room, as soon as the red lady left, Cui'er approached Liu Laodao and said in a low voice, "What the hell are you doing?" Didn't you say that you were going to incite the red lady to kill him? Why did you change the hexagram again? ”

Liu Laodao smiled bitterly, looked outside, and said quickly: "Alas! The world is unpredictable, the sect leader sent someone to personally summon the emperor, this is a great opportunity. Yang Ling is an important person who accompanies him, and without his support, I am afraid that the emperor will not be able to make the trip, so he must be saved, and he must not be allowed to die no matter what."

Cui'er was taken aback and whispered, "Is there such a thing? It's miserable, what should I do now? Those guys insisted on avenging their brothers, and I also helped persuade her, if the red lady made up her mind, but she was very stubborn, and few people could persuade her to come back."

Liu Laodao said coldly: "You have been with her for a few years, and you are most familiar with her temperament, she has treated you as a sister, and you will persuade her when you go back." I live in the back of this Taoist temple in the Hongyuan Wai house, here I can't hear the watch, you estimate the time, about two watch or so I will bring someone to come, you pretend to get up at night to see me, if she changes her mind, then it's just that, if not, you come forward to solve the wind first, let's break up with her! ”

Cui'er lost her voice and said, "What? In that case, our efforts in the green forest over the years? ”

Liu Laodao said hesitantly: "They fell to the bottom of the imperial court, do you think they have achieved anything big under the encirclement and suppression of officers and soldiers?" Our Pokko isn't betting on this gang of bandits! ”

It was night, the torches in the cave were getting brighter and darker, Cui'er, who was sleeping at the entrance of the cave, suddenly opened her eyes and sat up slowly, her hand pressed on the ground, and looked at Cui Ying'er a little nervously, she leaned on the stone wall, her hands on her shoulders, the short sword in her arms, and her breathing was steady and natural.

Cui'er looked into the cave again, Yang Ling was not used to sleeping in a sitting position, wrapped in the cotton cloak and leaned on the ground, Cui'er sighed softly, stood up and walked out quietly, tonight the entrance of the cave is guarded by Hu Da Hammer and Fan Lao Er, seeing her come over prettyly, Hu Da Hammer smiled and said: "Cui'er, but I can't sleep in the cold, do you want my brother to hold you for warmth?" ”

Cui'er smiled at him and said, "you, don't do anything with me, let the young lady hear it and see if you clean up, stay out of the way."

Cui'er went up the ladder, although Hu Da Hammer dared to make some jokes, but he didn't dare to move with the Red Lady's people, and he also knew that this woman's martial arts were much better than him, he smiled and let go aside, watching the round buttocks twist and disappear from sight.

Behind the Taoist temple is a short forest, in the evening the cold wind howling, but at this time the wind is much smaller, large snowflakes fall silently, no stars and no moon, the sky is like ink.

Cui'er coped with the thief of the wind, quietly flashed into the forest, listened to the movement behind him, then quietly hid forward, touched the low wall outside the woods, Cui'er listened to the movement, and lightly slapped three palms with both palms, and someone not far away shouted: "What person?" ”

Cui'er also lowered her voice and said, "Maitreya Buddha descended from heaven."

The other party happily replied: "Be the master of the world!" Liu Protector, people are coming".

Cui'er touched it, the other party didn't dare to light the lamp, and under a little light, I saw six or seven figures surrounding her, and a person in the middle whispered: "Cui'er, how is it?" ”

Cui'er heard that it was Liu Laodao's voice, and hurriedly greeted her and said: "The red lady is alert, I persuaded her to kill Yang Ling in the morning, and I didn't dare to persuade her again after persuading for a while at night, for fear of arousing her suspicions.

Liu Laodao said: "No way, now it seems that for the sake of the sect leader's plan, as long as she kills her, this girl is very good at martial arts, and she will be clever for a while, but unfortunately we don't have medicine, otherwise it will be much more convenient."

Cui'er whispered and blamed: "How can there be a colorless and odorless poison in the world? Besides, I have been with her for a few years, and I know very well that she is powerful, and she can smell it as soon as she smells it, so don't have bad ideas, it is better to give her a cruel blow while she is unprepared. ”。

Liu Lao said: "Okay, everyone must pay attention, be ruthless and fast, never let one go, count the death of the red lady on the heads of the officers and soldiers, even if it is a knife mountain, Yang Hu has to break through."

A black shadow seemed to have a high status, and he chuckled obscenely when he heard the words: "What a plan to drive away the tiger and chase the wolf, but unfortunately, the famous Yang Hu is a stupid tiger, and he buried two hundred powerful henchmen for us in vain, and now even his wife is going to catch him, I heard that the little lady is a fist and a stick martial arts, but she looks charming and has a bewitching body. ”

Liu Laodao was also itchy when he thought of the delicate appearance of the Red Lady, but to be among the eight protectors of the Maitreya Sect, he was a person with a firm will, and he dispelled this idea after weighing the benefits and disadvantages, and said: "Absolutely not, the Red Lady is good at martial arts, and she must take advantage of her unpreparedness, kill it quickly, and go!" ”

A few people followed Cui'er and quietly touched the Taoist temple, and saw the black houses in front of her, Cui'er stopped behind a tree, and said in a low voice: "There is a wind on the beam of the temple in front, you wait, I lure him down, and I will bear him first."

Before Cui'er's words fell, the person who fell at the end suddenly screamed, and then fell silent, several people clenched their blades and looked back in shock, only to see the black shadow shook a few times and fell to the ground.

Several people had a creepy feeling, their bodies were tense and motionless, the snow fell densely, and even the snowflakes were hung on the tips of their eyebrows, but no one dared to brush them.

All the people stared at the dark surroundings with wide eyes, and after a while, Cui'er said in a trembling voice: "What's wrong?" ”

On the left side, there was a sudden clanging of blades, and I saw two black shadows entangled very quickly, and then the figures made a mistake, one escaped into the night, and the other groaned, and crashed back, crying out in pain: "Someone sneak attacked, and I was hit by a sword in the ribs."

Liu Laodao hurriedly said: "What's the matter?" Who is it? Is it the officers and soldiers who are here?" he suddenly turned around and whispered to Cui'er: "You betrayed this religion? ”

Cui'er said in a panic: "I don't, who is it?" ”

A woman's voice said, "It's me!" ”

Cui'er and Liu Laodao's bodies were shocked, and Cui'er suddenly lost her voice and said, "Red lady? I shouldn't have persuaded you, I made you suspicious! ”

The low voice laughed, the laughter stopped, and the voice said leisurely: "Cui'er, you don't know that I have been surrounded and suppressed by officers and soldiers, and I haven't slept for twenty consecutive days, right?" What's more, this is an important place in Beijing, surrounded by layers of officers and soldiers, I will sleep so soundly?

I don't doubt what you tell me, it's just that you shouldn't have spied on me like you did at night, wild beasts are most sensitive to the hostility of others, and I'm a tiger in the woods! ”

She said with hatred: 'White Lotus remnant! Now in the woods, when I hunt, let you die!'

(To be continued)