Kuian's question was also a concern in Zhou Zhi's heart.

He sighed slowly, his expression gradually became solemn, paused slightly, and finally said the last thing he wanted to happen: "It seems that there are ghosts in the city. ”

Kuian and Zu Ling glanced at each other, and there were varying degrees of changes on their faces, but neither of them was so obvious.

Zu Ling said solemnly: "The speculation of the adults is not unusual, looking at the methods of Zhang playing the rebel thief and the yellow turban thief to conquer the city, he will often lurk in the city in the current arrangement. Earlier, in my Xu Wu and Lingzhi County of Liaoxi County, such methods were also used. Not to mention anything else, even if the former Taishou Mansion was attacked, it was also planted in advance. This time, I'm afraid it's also a repetition of the same old trick. ”

Quian nodded again and again, echoing and said, "That's right, that's right, it must be so." ”

Zhou Zhi fell into deep thought, he originally wanted to ask Zu Ling, Kuian, and Zu Zhao in Yunli Township first, what was their next step after killing Zhang Wan. But even if he knew this Jihua now, if he couldn't handle the matter of the ghost clearly, it wouldn't be so easy to act according to Jihua.

At this time, Zu Ling said again: "No matter what, we must find out the inner ghost." ”

Quian nodded again, but didn't know what to do.

The worry and depression on Zhou Zhi's face became more and more serious, and his mind became more and more entangled.

The three of them sat in silence for a while, and they didn't know how long it was, until the sound of men and horses gradually came from the distance, and it was the volunteers who pursued and routed the fleeing thieves and turned back one after another. By this time the sky was already showing signs of thickening, and although everything was still so dark, it was enough to give the impression that dawn was approaching.

Zu Ling suddenly said: "If not, you can plan it." ”

Zhou Zhi and Kui An looked at the ancestral tomb together, and Zhou Zhi asked, "How to calculate the plan?" ”

Zu Ling said: "I will wait for this to go to the county government with Lord Zhou, and after arriving in the city, I will make a big fanfare, and then spread a false news, deliberately leading away the thieves outside the city, at that time, not only can we fight against the thieves, but also facilitate us to break the thieves together." It's really a win-win-win-win-win ”

Zhou Zhi nodded slowly: "This plan is feasible." Regardless of whether it can succeed or not, it can also make the thieves unable to distinguish our real jihua. No matter how bad it is, it is strictly guarded everywhere, and maybe it can lure the snake out of the hole and eradicate this inner ghost. ”

Zu Ling echoed and said, "Well, it's settled. ”

By dawn, Zhou Zhi, Zu Ling, Kuian and others were largely cleaned up. The four hundred cavalry brought out by Zhou Zhi were killed by nearly eighty people, and many more were wounded, while the volunteers from the north brought by Zuling and Kuian were much better. Everyone supported each other and returned the same way with the wounded, and the captured thieves were also escorted back first. Grain and grass in the county capital is a big problem, and the captives are also counted as the population, and bringing them back will inevitably increase the burden, but at this time, they naturally cannot be released on the spot, or all of them can be killed. I can only wait until I return to the city to make plans.

The news of Zhou Zhi's return to the city soon reached the county government, and Liu Cheng was furious when he heard the news, thinking that Zhou Zhi was playing tricks on himself. However, after the person who reported the matter was clearly stated, Liu Cheng calmed down, and at the same time was very relieved that the righteous and brave soldiers in the north of the county were able to enter the city. Of course, when Zhou Zhi, Zu Ling and Kuian came to the Taishou Mansion to meet Liu Cheng and informed them that the thief chief Zhang Wan had been beheaded in Xiyang County three days earlier, Liu Cheng was even more overjoyed.

At noon that day, Liu Cheng issued a notice in the city, announcing the good news that the thief chief had been killed, and at the same time arranged a feast to entertain the ancestral tomb, Kuian and more than 400 righteous people who entered the city. Although Zhao Yu, the county minister, repeatedly persuaded him, he thought that at this moment, the original grain and grass in the city were insufficient, and he should reduce the cost and open source, and should not be extravagant and wasteful. However, Liu Cheng insisted that since the thief chief Zhang Yu was dead, and the matter of breaking the thief was just around the corner, there was no need to worry too much about it, not to mention that the top priority also needed to boost morale.

After the banquet, Zhou Zhi arranged for Zu Ling, Kuian and others to go to their personal mansions to discuss the specific thief Jihua, during which Wen Chou, Zhao Yu and other relevant bureaucrats of the county government were naturally invited. In order to guard against the eyes and ears of this meeting, Zhou Zhi made a comprehensive arrangement, not only were all the relatives on the left and right, but also the idle people were not allowed to approach easily.

Early the next morning, Zhou Zhi quickly released the news, claiming that he would gather the whole city within two days, launch an attack from the south city gate, cooperate with the county outside the city, tear a gap in one fell swoop, and then take advantage of the victory to break the thief. In order to make this fake news look true, he even mobilized troops from various barracks in the city to gather in the southern city. Throughout the day, you can see the soldiers heading south in the streets and alleys, and even military rations, equipment and other materials are also dispatched to the south city.

That night, Xu Wuyiyong's scout team outside the city detected the changes in the Yellow Turban Army besieging the city.

Yunli Township is located in the northeast of Pinggang County, and it is agreed that a general attack will be launched from the northeast in the evening of the next day, striving to tear through the defense line here with one blow. The reason why Zu Zhao chose this direction was not because it was close to Wuzhong, but because of continuous investigation and observation, he found that most of the Yellow Turban Thieves' grain and grass were gathered here.

Although he had successfully killed Zhang Wan, which shook the morale and confidence of the besieging rebels to a certain extent, the problem was that there was still a certain difference between the Yellow Turban Thieves and Zhang Wan's rebels, without Zhang Wan, the thief chieftain, Zong Hai, Deng Mao, Yu Hu and others naturally took over Zhang Wan's more than 4,000 people, and they were more unified in strategy. What's more, the biggest weakness of the Yellow Turban Thief is the lack of military equipment, and Zhang Wan's men and horses are very thorough in this regard, and after merging the two, their strength will naturally increase greatly.

The strength of the county government is very limited, and there are only more than 1,000 people in the north of the county.

Even if this sneak attack is successful, facing twice as many thieves as you, the next battle will still suffer a little.

If you want to give the Yellow Turban Thief the most fatal wound, you still have to fight a psychological war after all. As long as the grain and grass of the Yellow Turban thieves can be cracked, no matter how many thieves there are, it will be a burden. It is even very likely to cause a split between Zhang Wan's old department and the Yellow Turban Army, and there will be an opportunity to take advantage of it at that time.

The scouts who reported to Zu Zhao informed that the Yellow Turban Army in the northeast had transferred two teams of men and horses one after another, as if they were heading south. But where exactly to go, it is not known for a while. Now the Yellow Turban Army left outside the northeast city has a total of less than 1,000 people, and it is nothing more than lighting torches and many tree flags, swaggering and deceiving, hoping to hide the defenders in the city.

Zu Zhao believed that Zu Ling, Kuian and others must have entered the city, and it was precisely because of this that the Yellow Turban Thieves would have a troop transfer. In the end, it is not difficult to guess that he was going to attack from the northeast, but the day before the attack, most of the Yellow Turban Army in the northeast withdrew, and it must have been a deliberate trick in the city to win these thieves.

That's a good thing, and the chances of tomorrow's attack are one more good.

In the middle of the night, a small alley in Xicheng, Pinggang County.

A sneaky figure crept by, and an elongated figure was reflected on the wall of the alley.

I saw that the man was very lean, with a light walk, and there was a habitual cat body when he walked. After some rounding, he walked out of this alley and into another alley next door, and from time to time he looked back twice, as if he was worried that someone was following him behind him.

There were ups and downs along the way, but fortunately, it was safe. He pushed open the door of the courtyard and walked quickly to the door of the main house, and his face couldn't help but be filled with a beautiful smile. He was very happy that Shicai had successfully delivered an important message to the Yellow Turban Army outside the city, and he was still thinking in his heart about what kind of reward he would receive after the county government was captured, maybe he could be rewarded with a hundred stones, grain, grass and gold, and these outsiders were definitely not familiar with the situation of the county government, and they might even appoint themselves to a half-official position.

Immersed in the fantasy of beauty, he reached out and pushed open the door, deciding to have a good time with his mother-in-law tonight, but to let his mother-in-law know that she is "capable".

There was no light in the room, it was quiet, and he called softly: "Cui'er, hurry up and turn on the light, Ye will drink some wine tonight, and then treat you in bed, hehe......"

There was still no movement in the room, and he suddenly suppressed his laughter, feeling that something was wrong.

Just as he was about to turn around and exit the door, suddenly, the fire fold was polished in the darkness, and a lamp instantly lit up the surroundings.

Shocked, I saw that the room was already full of officials wearing soap clothes and holding long knives.

The county lieutenant of Pinggang County strode forward and reprimanded viciously: "Okay, you Zhang Laizi, I thought you were courteous in serving tea and pouring water on the city tower, but I didn't expect that you would do the next three indiscriminate acts of colluding with thieves." If you are arrested today, we will seek justice for those soldiers who have been killed by you. ”

Zhang Laizi's face was extremely pale, and he wanted to turn around and escape, but although the city was large, it had been besieged for more than ten days, and where could he escape if he fled again? His legs trembled, and he suddenly sat down on the ground, and said in a weak voice: "Adult, adult, small...... Where's the little one...... Where will it ...... Little wrongs......"

The county lieutenant didn't bother to argue with Zhang Laizi, and ordered to the left and right: "Take him and take him back to the prison to be tortured to see if there are any other accomplices." Hmph, Zhang Laizi, I can tell you, you'd better be tougher, so that Lao Tzu can clean you up for a long time. Look at Lao Tzu who doesn't skin you alive. ”

hugged left and right, grabbed Zhang Laizi and dragged him out-

[Ask for collection, ask for collection, ask for collection! ] 】