Zhang Butcher had long since lost his proud appearance, and his whole body trembled and moved forward, his hands trembling so much that he could barely grasp the hilt of the knife. Chen Jigong was the master who didn't want to die, but when he saw that he was disemboweled, he couldn't help but turn pale, and the cold sweat on his face couldn't help dripping, seeing the sharp knife dangling to his chest, he fell to the ground with a thud, and cried: "The little one has eaten roast chicken, please be gracious to the eldest master!" ”

Yang Sichang said solemnly: "The minister recommended Chen Qiyu, the acting governor of Yansui. ”

Zhou Yanru said: "He hasn't made any achievements as acting governor yet, so it's too fast to be promoted, right?" ”

Chen Qiyu and Zhang Fengyi, the secretary of the Ministry of War, are sons and daughters, Wen Tiren saw Zhang Fengyi bowing his head and was silent, as if he had not heard of it, but in fact, he was making a show for others to see, and he must have agreed with it in his heart, and said: "Master Zhang has been friends with him for many years, so he always has something to say!" Since ancient times, the virtuous have not avoided relatives, all for the court, and everyone has no selfish thoughts about you. A few words exonerated Zhang Fengyi cleanly, without the suspicion of melon fields and plums, and faintly broke his relationship with Zhou Yanru.

Zhang Fengyi didn't think so deeply, and said with a red face: "It's better to avoid the minister, the minister...... it's better to avoid it" was in a dilemma for a while.

"I remember that I had read Chen Qiyu's resume not long ago, he was a forty-four year jinshi of Wanli, and his qualifications were not shallow. Besides, I employ people on the basis of meritocracy, what's the harm of not being promoted, as long as it can be used, what does it matter about appearance, age, and seniority? Heroes don't ask where they come from, where are there so many stale and stinky rules! He was ordered to serve as the governor of Yansui. Chongzhen looked at Zhou Yanru, a trace of displeasure flashed on his face, and asked: "Yesterday, I ordered all meritorious soldiers to transfer to the Ministry of Meritorious Service to record the records, and the tickets are to be approved. Others I won't ask, just listen to how Du Wenhuan and Cao Wenzhao voted? The battle of Yangcheng Nanshan was fought well, the narrow alleys were close to each other, the killing was like grass and no sound, and the scheming was still too fierce to rush and rush, and I couldn't treat them badly. ”

Zhou Yanru said: "Du Wenhuan was named General Shenwu, and Cao Wenzhao was named General Yangwei." ”

"How's that going to work? It's all a false title! The two of them have made a real achievement, no, this vote has to be changed. Du Wenhuan's family was killed by thieves, there are three unfilial pieties, no queen is the greatest, and after the heroes are gone, I will marry him and reward him with a house...... Well, Hong Qing don't think about thanking him, wait for him to give birth to a fat son, and then come to the capital to thank him. Cao Wenzhao, the Shanxi general army has always been vacant, this time Qin and Jin and the force to suppress the thief, it is the time to employ people, he was actually awarded the Shanxi general army, controlled by Chen Qiyu. Don't say any more, go down and draw up the purpose! ”

Sun Yuanhua was not born in the two lists, and he was promoted in the same year as Zhou Yanru. His hometown, Jiading County, is adjacent to Xu Guangqi's residence, and he has studied with Xu Guangqi for several years, and has studied Western arithmetic and Western firearms. After many years of rubbing in the field, it has been difficult to enter the official career, so he was transferred to the Liaodong Army, and successively worked as an errand under Wang Zaijin, Sun Chengzong, and Yuan Chonghuan, which was quite successful. As usual, it is very difficult for a person from such a background to be a feudal official, catch up with Chongzhen to seek talents, and Zhou Yanru tried his best to promote, and was promoted to the right of the Imperial History of the Metropolitan Procuratorate with diligence and diligence, and the governor of Denglai. He has been in Liaodong for many years, and many Liaodong soldiers have followed him to Denglai, but many of the Liaodong soldiers have experienced hundreds of battles and look down on the soldiers in the interior of Shandong, and battles occur from time to time. These Liaodong soldiers are fierce generals who have been accustomed to being recruited and killed for a long time, with a short temper and fierce shots, and the soldiers and people of Shandong are as fearful as tigers and wolves. Sun Yuanhua was quite sad about this matter, and received an urgent order from the Ministry of War to go to the Yaozhou Salt Field in Liaodong to contain Houjin, and invited the chief soldier Zhang Keda to discuss it, and took the opportunity to send the most fierce Liao soldiers back, which can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone, which can not only deal with the orders of the Ministry of War, but also reduce the trouble of fighting. So he ordered the guerrilla Kong Youde and the tooth general Li Yingyuan to lead 2,000 troops to cross the sea and go out of the customs, but when Kong Youde arrived at the beach, he used the excuse that the wind and flood were incompatible, and repeatedly delayed, seeing that the weather was getting colder, and under the pretext that the ship was not repaired, he still did not move. The Ministry of War repeatedly ordered strictly, and Sun Yuanhua sent two documents to defend himself, seeing that he could not wait any longer, and hurriedly asked the Ministry of War to change the order to rush to Ningyuan by land and wait for the dispatch.

Kong Youde was originally a subordinate of Mao Wenlong, the marshal of Phi Island, and fought many times with the Houjin soldiers and horses, and knew that the Jianzhou Iron Cavalry was powerful, and he had been pampered in Shandong in recent years, where could he still endure the hardships before the army.

By October, the weather was already cold, the winter clothes and armor had to wait until Ningyuan to be issued again, the soldiers wore summer clothes, secretly dissatisfied, and the incidents of stealing the people's clothes occurred frequently, Kong Youde blindly connived, did not reprimand and punished, the military discipline was loose, and the walking was slow, so that the front team entered the territory of Zhili, and Li Yingyuan's rear team still stayed in Shandong. Not long after arriving in Wuqiao County, the weather suddenly changed, and the snow began to fall one after another, although the snow was not big, but the north wind blew, and the soldiers were thin in armor, like knives piercing the bones. The Liao soldiers flocked to the city, trying to find a place to shelter from the wind and keep warm. At this time, it is the agricultural season, and a temple fair is being held in the city. Wuqiao is a well-known acrobatic township, the people of the county do not know this kung fu, the so-called "up to ninety-nine, down to go, Wuqiao plays, everyone has a hand". Rao is fluttering snowflakes, outside the south of the city is still crowded, bustling, the vendors who do business set up tents, and the hawkers selling along the street weigh a big umbrella to shield from the wind and snow. From time to time, there are Jianghu artists who carry spears and lead a monkey to perform on the ground, and there are several places where they dance with knives and swords, which is quite lively. With the sound of gongs and drums, several athletes are doing somersaults, stacking arhats, and juggling ...... on galloping horses, or turning or lying, or folding or standing, or sitting or riding, or jumping and standing, or suddenly sideways, sometimes throwing the reins with both hands, sometimes leaving the horses with both feet, and the audience applauded one after another. Kong Youde hurriedly went to the front row, followed by a lot of soldiers, and when the people in the front row saw it, they hurriedly got up and gave up their seats. Kong Youde sat cross-legged, ordered someone to serve wine and meat, and watched the play while eating and drinking.

After half an hour, the soldiers who watched the play couldn't support it. They had been on the road for most of the day, and they had forgotten their hunger because they had been so engrossed by the circus at first glance. After the circus, kick the wheels, kick the people, drill the table ring, kick the ladder, and dance the lion...... After taking turns to appear, the aroma of roast chicken and spirits in the front row penetrated into the nostrils, and the stomach growled when he landed, and he felt cold and hungry, tired and tired. A tall, dark-faced soldier bumped the soldier next to him a few times with his elbow, made a look, squeezed out of the crowd, and then two soldiers, one short and one thin, came out and asked, "If you don't look at such an interesting thing, where is my brother going?" ”

"Humph! Where to go? I went to find some food, how much oil and water was in the dry food at noon, a few bubbles of urine, and my stomach was empty. ”

The dwarf smiled: "It's not that my brother doesn't know, the little brother's few taels of scattered silver were all lost when he was in Dengzhou, where is the silver to call?" ”

The thin man also said: "The younger brother's silver is also lost." ”

The black-faced man scolded: "You two are really useless, playing pai gow all day long, why do you always only lose and not win, and give away the silver to others for nothing, but you don't feel distressed?" ”

The dwarf scratched his head and said: "The little brother usually has itchy hands, so he can't help but gamble a few times, but his luck is so bad." Wait for the end of the month to pay the silver, so I can get the capital back! ”

The thin man answered, "We have lost less!" Nothing! Master Li of Youfu lost all the money that Sun Futai went to buy horses outside the Saiwai. ”

"Fifty thousand taels of silver! Who won? The black-faced man couldn't stop listening.

"Which one else? Geng Zhongming, the old man of Youfu! ”

The three of them talked and entered the city, wandering around the streets, faintly smelling a strong fragrance. Turning a street corner, I saw that there was a shop with a high banner on the street, which said Wang Ji Roast Chicken Shop, and the shopkeeper with a white apron was guarding a big food box to bake the fire, the food box must have been around for some years, and the oil was swaying with fragrance. The dwarf secretly swallowed his saliva and stepped forward to ask, "Is there still roast chicken?" ”

The shopkeeper listened to his shabby clothes and armor, not a local accent, slanted a glance, and said, "The roast chicken that has just come out of the pot is three dollars of silver, how many do you want for three?" ”

The short man glanced back at the black-faced man, and the black-faced man hugged his fists and said, "Let's have two first!" ”

The shopkeeper opened the food box, and the dwarf scolded: "You kid is deaf? My eldest brother said he wanted two, so don't you take them quickly! ”

"Master Jun", the shopkeeper pointed to the store's guise and said: "Our Wang Ji Roast Chicken Shop has always paid money with one hand and held chicken with the other, so you can't break the rules." ”

The black-faced man reached out and touched it in his arms, and said in surprise: "It's broken, those one or two pieces of broken silver were lost at some point." ”

The short man and the thin man urged: "Look for it again, see if it is misplaced?" The shopkeeper couldn't help sneering.

The black-faced man took off the waist knife and said, "Little second brother, I will give you the right to this waist knife in exchange for two roast chickens, can you take it to the camp tomorrow to find me for silver?" ”

"No, no...... shopkeeper shook his head like a rattle, "This is a roast chicken shop, not a pawnshop." Even if it is a pawnshop, it is not a sword, a gun, or an ordnance in the camp. Otherwise, the government will ask and there will be no way to explain. Besides, you soldiers passing by, maybe you have left camp overnight and hurried away, where are you going to collect the debt? ”

The dwarf stepped forward and grabbed it, and said viciously: "When did our eldest brother say soft words to others?" Needless to say, if you only roast chicken to eat, what if you take it for nothing? ”

The thin man lifted the food box, scooped up one, tore the chicken thigh, handed it to the black-faced man, and ripped off the other chicken leg and chewed it, and said vaguely: "It's not!" Grandpas in front of the army, cough ...... "He spit out a piece of chicken bone, "Serve your life, when you come to your shop, you should pick up the roast chicken and send it, and what do you have to do with these tongues, I don't know each other!" ”

The shopkeeper was not panicked, and said: "I'm just a little guy who works hard, if our owner is willing, I can afford to give it away, even if I am ten hundred, I am afraid that you will not dare to eat it if you know!" ”

"What is there you don't dare to eat? If you want to go to the official mansion, just go, but the uncle is not afraid of you! The dwarf let go of his hand and pushed him, and the shopkeeper finally stood firm, and said: "There are three people who cut a knife on the door of the store and report their names, and we have to explain to the owner, otherwise there is a chicken missing out of thin air, and the owner asks about it, and he can't argue." ”

"Fulfill you!" The black-faced man pulled out his knife, the white light flashed, and a piece of wood flew down from the door of the store, "My name is Chen Jigong, the short and fat one is Li Shangyou, and the thinner one is Cao Degong, don't be mistaken." With that, the three of them walked away.

The sky is about to dark, and the gongs and drums on the altar are beating loudly, and it has reached the ** of the day. An old man on the stage was playing with a flying fork, the flying fork was shining around the body and flying up and down, the iron ring of the fork head rattled and rattled, and he shouted loudly, and put the steel fork in his hand on his neck, his hands crossed his waist, and he kept swinging his body and head, and the fork was going around the neck, flying in groups. "Flying forks! Good flying fork! The crowd couldn't stop cheering. The old man put away the flying fork, beckoned a little girl, and threw out an empty bamboo, and the old man turned over to catch it, and only shook it a few times, and then heard a buzzing sound coming out. The little girl stepped forward to take it, and a set of tricks such as "Wind Swinging Lotus Leaf", "Cucumber Stand", "Looking Back at the Moon", "Piece Horse", "Meteor Catching the Moon" and other tricks were used one after another. After playing for a while, I changed the monolith, teapot lid, and wine jug to shake, and the audience applauded constantly. Kong Youde has been in the army for many years, and today he has opened his eyes, he is drenched in joy, and he slaps the table and shouts good. was on the rise, and someone shouted from behind: "Get out of the way, the county lord wants to find someone." ”

A magistrate dressed in a crown suit came to Kong Youde, and Shi Li said: "This official is Li Qilong, the magistrate of Wuqiao, dare to ask if it is General Kong?" ”

Kong Youde looked him up and down a few times, and a seven-rank magistrate called himself a non-grade guerrilla general, and he felt that he was useful, and he got up and bowed and said, "It's the young general." What does the old man have to do? ”

"If there is something to be decided, please ask the general." Li Qilong shouted behind him, "Bring it up!" ”

Chen Jigong, Li Shangyou, and Cao Degong were tied up and escorted up, followed by more than a dozen officials, and when the three saw Kong Youde, they shouted wronged. Kong Youdehuo stood up and asked, "What does this mean?" At this time, the people watching the drama gathered around, three layers inside and three layers outside, and the stage also stopped the play in advance, and the artists stood on the side of the stage, looking high.

Li Qilong said: "General Su Wen is strict in governing the army, but these three people are looting in the city and disturbing the people for no reason. ”

"How many things did they rob?"

"Lord Youfu, the little ones didn't grab anything, they framed them, and begged the adults to make decisions for the little ones." Chen Jigong straightened up and said very unconvinced: "It is said that the little ones have robbed things, what about the human and material evidence?" ”

Li Qilong attached himself to Kong Youde's ear and whispered: "Although they didn't grab much, the owner of the Wang Ji Roast Chicken Restaurant is the close relative of Lord Fan Jingwen, the squire of the military department. ”

Kong Youde listened, and asked Chen Jigong and the others, "Are you telling the truth?" ”

Chen Jigong stiffened his neck and replied: "Every sentence is true, the little ones don't dare to damage the power of the adults." If there is even the slightest falsehood, be willing to accept the sin. ”

Li Qilong smiled, narrowed his eyes and said: "Since this is the case, the official will be promoted to the court on the spot to ask about the case, and the trial will be clear." Come on, ascend to the church! ”

The servants quickly set up a table in the center of the altar, moved two benches and put them, and lit more lights to illuminate the altar, and those who watched the play had long forgotten to go home for dinner, and a few vendors selling baked cakes carried baskets and shuttled through the crowd, taking the opportunity to peddle. Li Qilong sat in the center, asked Kong Youde to sit with him, Chen Jigong and the three were escorted forward, standing instead of kneeling, the officials raised sticks to hit their legs, he waved his hand to stop him: "No need, General Kong is here, you must be a little decent, you must not abuse the punishment, I have my own way to interrogate." Don't look at their hard mouths at this time, they will naturally kneel down and beg for mercy when the time comes. Bring the ID card with you! ”

The shopkeeper came up and knelt down and kowtowed, and Li Qilong asked, "Can you understand it at that time?" ”

"The villain understands."

"Can you identify the three people who snatched the roast chicken again?"

"You can't be wrong."

"You see, but the three of them?"

"It's these three military masters."

Chen Jigong stomped his feet and said: "You little rabbit cub is flat and white blood spews people, when has the uncle been to your roast chicken shop?" ”

The shopkeeper sneered, "I'll prevent you from defaulting on your debts!" You haven't been to the roast chicken shop, I don't have to argue, when you left the store, this ** master slashed on the door of the store, and told the name, if you haven't been to the store, how do I know? ”

Chen Jigong didn't expect that he was not afraid of the formation, and he was so open to ask, but the words of the account had already been spoken, so he had to grit his teeth and not admit it, and said with a glare: "Uncle has been to the store, and he robbed your roast chicken?" You are alone, do you say that the uncle robbed it, what about the physical evidence and circumstantial evidence? ”

Seeing him like this, the shopkeeper cursed: "That physical evidence has already arrived in the stomach of the military master, where can I get it?" I'm the only one in the store, there is no circumstantial evidence, the conscience of heaven and earth, for no reason, how dare I slander the military master! Ask the lord for wisdom. ”

"Don't be noisy, the master knows it." Li Qilong looked at Kong Youde, and said Senran: "The innocence of the person who is related to the physical evidence, this official has a way to get it, but it is a little vicious, General Kong is not strange." ”

"It helps to solve the case, and the young general will not dare to stop it."

"This officer has thanked the general." Li Qilong arched his hand at Kong Youde and said, "Invite the Zhang butcher from Beiguan and bring a quick knife for slaughtering pigs." ”

Everyone was inexplicable for a while, and they were talking about how the county magistrate's judgment was useful to Zhang Butcher, and some whispered that since the ancient soldiers and bandits, why bother to cause these troubles. While they were discussing, the butcher Zhang, who was full of meat, held a sharp knife and followed the official to the stage proudly. Li Qilong waited for him to meet him, and said with a cruel smile: "Butcher Zhang, how many pigs have you slaughtered?" Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and Kong Youde also felt that the question was becoming more and more incomprehensible, and he patiently watched how he closed the case.

"Back to the eldest master, the villain can't remember clearly, and I can't think of less than four or five thousand heads."

"Good! Have you ever used a knife on a person? ”

Zhang Butcher was frightened, and said in a trembling voice: "No, no, the villain will never dare to kill people, and the old man can't say a joke." ”

"Master Ben will ask you to try the knife on the three of them tonight." Li Qilong pointed at Chen Jigong and shouted: "First disembowel, see if there is roast chicken in his intestines?" If you can't find it, the official will pay you for the life of the shopkeeper! What are you still doing in a daze, do it! ”

Disembowelment! Needless to say, Chen Jigong and the three people around him, even a fierce general like Kong Youde couldn't help but be terrified, seeing that a roast chicken was about to cause a murder, the ruthless Li Zhixian actually came up with such a vicious method. Zhang Butcher had long since lost his proud appearance, and his whole body trembled and moved forward, his hands trembling so much that he could barely grasp the hilt of the knife. Chen Jigong was the master who didn't want to die, but when he saw that he was disemboweled, he couldn't help but turn pale, and the cold sweat on his face couldn't help dripping, seeing the sharp knife dangling to his chest, he fell to the ground with a thud, and cried: "The little one has eaten roast chicken, please be gracious to the eldest master!" ”

Li Qilong laughed, "You said it a long time ago and it was over, why bother with all these chapters?" General Kong, this official has already asked about the case, these three people are your subordinates, it is inconvenient for this official to overstep his responsibilities, so hand it over to the general! ”

Kong Youde's face was full of depression, understanding that there were people in the Wang family's court, if he didn't give him justice, the Wang family would be difficult to stop, once the matter became big, the military department would investigate it, even Sun Futai would not dare to protect it, and it would be even more difficult for him to end up, he slapped the table and scolded: "You three dogs, you have violated military discipline and denied it in many ways, and when you appear in front of the public, the face of the soldiers of the whole battalion has also been disgraced to you." Come on, escort down, insert arrows and parade to the camp to set an example! With that, he hugged his fist at Li Qilong and walked away without looking back.

The Arrow Parade is a parade in the barracks with arrows on their ears. Although it was much better than being beaten with a stick, he was humiliated and had no face. Chen Jigong and the three of them didn't expect a mere roast chicken, it was not a big deal to talk about it, but they ended up with an ear arrow, and they were escorted to the camp, the more they thought about it, the more angry they became, and they shouted loudly on the road: "Brothers, listen, we can't get paid, we can't eat enough, we are so hungry that our legs are shaking, and we have to go to our hometown thousands of miles away to die, for what, isn't it to prevent the Tartar soldiers from entering the pass?" We just ate a roast chicken from him, it's not a crime, we owe money and pay back, just give him silver, how can we intervene in the camp and make such an ugly state, it also tears the face of our Liaodong brothers! Speaking of sadness, Chen Jigong and the three of them cried loudly. The camp was full of Liaodong soldiers, all of whom were miserable and embarrassed when they heard it, and some couldn't help but cry and sigh secretly. There was an uproar among the soldiers, shouting and scolding.

"Crying for what? When did our brothers in Liaodong become so! A general in his thirties came out of the camp, walked up to Chen Jigong, cut the rope on his body with a knife, pulled out the arrow from his ear and broke it on the ground.

The escorted soldier was surprised: "Governor Li, this is the military order of the guerrilla lord, how dare you despise it so much?" ”

"I am not flouting the military order, but I am crying out for these three brothers. The guerrilla adults blame me, Li Yingyuan, and it has nothing to do with you! ”

The escorting soldier saw that he was vicious, and he didn't dare to provoke him, so he went back to tell Kong Youde. Kong Youde was furious: "Tie up Li Yingyuan!" ”

"No need! I delivered it myself. Li Yingyuan entered the big tent with a smile, unarmed.

Kong Youde shouted with a cold face: "You are so bold! ”

"He's not the only one who has the guts." An old man in his fifties, dressed in a soldier's armor, smiled and clenched his fists at him.

"Y-Why are you here?"

The old man sighed and said, "If I don't come, this old life will stay in Dengzhou." ”

Seeing this, Kong Youde waved his hand to avoid it left and right, and left his seat and asked, "Brother Jiucheng, what happened?" ”

The old man blushed, shook his head and sighed. Li Yingyuan said: "My father lost all the money that Sun Futai prepared to buy horses outside the Saiwai. ”

"What can I do? How to make up tens of thousands of taels of silver? Kong Youde was shocked.

Li Jiucheng blamed himself: "I was confused for a while, and I gambled so much, and I bet on the silver ticket." Alas! If you make a mistake in this step, you can't change it. But I can't look at you wrong! ”

"What is wrong brother?"

"What's wrong?" Li Jiucheng sneered twice, "Isn't it a big mistake that you are going to die?" ”

"I know I can't hide, there's no way!" Kong Youde was stunned, and his face was full of pain.

"There's a way, see if you're brave enough."

"Brother's Meaning......"

Li Jiucheng raised his eyebrows, gritted his teeth and said: "Kill back to Phi Dao, go to live a happy and leisurely life, and save yourself from other people's bird anger!" ”

"We don't have much food and grass, how can we go? Besides, the court got the news and intercepted and killed everywhere, can it go? ”

"By sea!"

"Can Sun Futai agree?"

"When we take Dengzhou, we can't help him."

"This is a great sin to exterminate the Nine Clans, who wants to follow us?"

Li Jiucheng pressed the steel knife on his waist and said, "I have been prepared for this matter for a long time. You and I, plus our old brother Mao Chenglu, the deputy chief soldier of the Dongjiang River, the commander of the right infantry battalion, Chen Shi, and the soldiers of the whole battalion, are all waiting for you to swear a blood oath! Li Yingyuan stepped forward and lifted the curtain high, and there were rows of soldiers standing outside the tent.