At breakfast, Huang Zhenkun asked Zhou Yizhi for leave, saying that he wanted to get familiar with Liaocheng when he first came to Liaocheng, and asked Xu Hu to accompany him for a walk. Zhou Yizhi didn't want Huang Zhenkun to help, so he naturally agreed, and asked Xing Hongying if he wanted to go around together, so that Xu Xudong could drive with them. She immediately expressed that she was not interested, and would rather serve tea and water next to him than do boring things. He also told Zhang Mingyuan that he would meet at the store at ten o'clock, because he had made an appointment with Ji Tang and the foreman to go next door to the stele forest to discuss the construction of the new plant. Zhang Mingyuan smiled and said that there was no problem, Lao Cao and they also discussed going to the side to do something. Lu Jiaxun said that it was okay to be idle, and he could go around with Huang Zhenkun and them. Huang Zhenkun happily agreed, and suddenly said that he would go to the bathhouse to take a bath first, and then get a haircut by the way. Lu Jiaxun said that those half days were not enough, so it was better to turn around.

Zhang Mingyuan and Cao Ying entered from the main gate of Gu's house, Zhu Qiaozhen was about to interrogate after seeing it, Gu Xi'er came out of it, recognized Cao Ying at a glance, and let them into the side hall to serve tea. After they sat down, they directly said that they heard that Gu Xinyi was in poor health, and they would visit her as an old friend, and by the way, they would see if they could see the cause of the disease and help her recover as soon as possible. Gu Xi'er had heard Ji Tang say that Zhang Mingyuan was a strange person, so she hurriedly smiled and agreed.

There was not much time, and Gu Xinyi was accompanied by Gu Xi'er, Fat Ya, and Qiu Hong to the side hall. After seeing Cao Ying, the corners of his eyes showed joy, and he subtly sat diagonally opposite the two of them after saluting with all blessings, and affectionately called Cao Ying "Uncle Le". Cao Ying introduced Zhang Mingyuan to her as Mr. Jiang, who was in the tea business, saying that he knew a little about medicine and hoped to take her pulse. She smiled and nodded in agreement, and walked away from the three people next to her. After they went out, they didn't rush to check the pulse, but took out a square box from behind them for Cao Ying to see, and asked him if the box was broken. He knew it was fake at first glance, and couldn't help but ask her when she became like this. She couldn't think about it, and thought about it that it would be good when she married into the Ji family. Suddenly, she felt that her mind was a little messy, and she couldn't remember what had happened before. In fact, she wanted to talk about the changes in the box before and after the marriage, but found that there was no way to talk about it, so she cried anxiously. Then the emotions became more and more excited, and the words became messy, what "Junsheng left without saying a word", "I can't remember the order of the letters", "Cuiying is dead", "The devil didn't give money for her things", she didn't understand herself. Zhang Mingyuan hurriedly stretched out his hand to hold her pulse, and found that the pulse was extremely slow and irregularly intermittent, and there was an obvious long-term weakness of qi and blood. told Cao Ying that her disease is not easy to treat, and even if she goes to an advanced hospital, she needs long-term observation and cannot be easily medicated.

At this time, Gu Qingyuan, Mrs. Gu, Gu Xi'er and more than a dozen other people ran in, probably hearing Gu Xinyi's cry. Gu Qingyuan was furious when he saw Zhang Mingyuan holding his daughter's wrist, and scolded and asked someone to knock them out of the Gu family, and he didn't even listen to Gu Xi'er's explanation. Zhang Mingyuan and Cao Ying had no choice but to leave and go to Yiju Grain Company to find Zhou Yizhi.

Because he knew that he would faint after entering the room, Zhou Yizhi was very nervous, and he was a little flustered as soon as he walked outside the office door of the procurement and supply department. Zhang Mingyuan first said some words of encouragement, and then asked him to adjust his state first. Just in case, put the palm of his hand on his back and send true qi to protect his heart. When they were ready, the two of them slowly walked inside. Xing Hongying, Xu Xudong, Ji Tang, Luo Sanneng, and Zhang Gen all followed closely behind, not even daring to breathe, ready to rescue Zhou Yizhi at any time. Cao Ying stood calmly outside the door, he understood that no matter how nervous he was, it was useless, if Zhang Mingyuan couldn't save him, no one would give it in vain.

"Something seems to have flashed past. Sir, I'm afraid! ”

"Don't be nervous, go forward, I will protect your heart. Relax, close your eyes and concentrate your mind, and say what you see and what comes to mind. ”

"Yes, understood."

"There are so many bookshelves, so many books, and there is a thick layer of dust on them, and there are two people who can't see clearly."

"Well done, keep going. You can do it. ”

"I could see clearly, there was a vicious eye, and the chubby man was not very tall. He has a round face, a black face, and a flat nose with two mustaches. He asked me for a box, yes, the seven-trick exquisite box of the thirteenth swastika. Ah, he's got a knife, and he's going to kill me! I'm bleeding! ”

"Don't worry if you're here, go on."

"There are also two eyes in the back, bright little eyes, triangular eyes, yellow eyes, squinting a little crazy-"

"Boss, Nanxun's wife from your hometown came to call you, and she hasn't hung up yet." An employee ran to the door to interrupt Zhou Yizhi.

"Ahh Zhou Yizhi opened his eyes and wiped the sweat on his head, turned his head to see Zhang Mingyuan nodding, and saw that his hand was also released, so he breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, here we go." Turning around and walking out, glad he didn't faint this time.

The call was made by Lu Jiayu, which tensed Zhou Yizhi's nerves that had just been relaxed. When he spoke, he looked back and saw that everyone was in the room, so he had to simply respond and comfort her, and after hanging up the phone, he hurriedly pulled Zhang Mingyuan to a place where no one was. said that she followed Wu Liu to find Huang Zhenkun's father Huang Youfu a few days ago, and the two went to an old house in Shuanglin Town together, and vaguely heard someone crying inside. When they had left, she tried to get closer, and there were three rammed-earth houses in the courtyard, and cries could be heard from them, and there were two strong men in front and behind the house, and an old woman in ragged clothes sat outside the old wooden door. She thought that they must have done something unseemly, and the people inside must be important to Huang Zhenkun, but she didn't dare to ask. Not to mention their own dangers, they are also worried that it will be more difficult to find them if they transfer people.

After telling Zhang Mingyuan, he was still nervous, and he was really worried that Lu Jiayu would be in danger for this matter, she was already pregnant. He wanted to go back to Nanxun immediately, but he was worried that Huang Zhenkun and Xing Hongying were getting tired here. Zhang Mingyuan thought about it for a while, decided to take a trip for him, and reminded him to be careful of Ji Tang, because Ji Tang's expression in the procurement department just now reacted very much, and it was inseparable from the things in his dream. He thought that the box had something to do with Gu Xinyi, and said that when Zhang Mingyuan came back, the two of them would come over and try again. Zhang Mingyuan explained a few words to Cao Ying, mainly to guard against Yu Banshan, and after receiving Sun Zhixiang's news, he put it into the house on Weicang Street in time. Go back to Zhou's house to pack up some clothes and lead the horse away, go to the north of the city to see Sun Zhixiang, and let him have news to find Cao Ying.

It was just dark, and dozens of gendarmes came, and they couldn't help but say that they were rummaging in the room where Zhang Mingyuan and Cao Ying lived, and they took Cao Ying away without finding anything. Zhou Yizhi was afraid that something would happen, so he hurriedly asked Xu Xudong to follow them to ask about the situation, he and Ji Tang went to the county party headquarters to find Dong Hua, and the three of them went to the Xiaoweizi Gendarmerie Department to rescue people.

When the three of them went to Xiaoweizi, they also felt that the matter was serious, and it was not the two Japanese soldiers and a dozen puppet soldiers who were usually guarded. Around the courtyard wall, there are three steps, one post, five steps and one sentry, all of which are Japanese soldiers with loaded guns and ammunition, and there are two more machine guns on both sides of the main entrance. Xu Xudong was anxious outside, and when he saw them, he hurriedly ran over to report, saying that these people were very strict, and they didn't let them in, and they didn't say where Cao Ying was charged. Dong Hua stepped forward and was also stopped, no one was allowed to enter without the order of the captain of the wood, and he looked for Kimura Hongchuan again, but the guards said that they were not there. He felt that things were troublesome, so he asked Zhou Yizhi to hurry up to find Liu Tonghai, and if he was too late to save him, he would not be able to be tossed to death by heavy punishment. Zhou Yizhi asked Xu Xudong not to go, and he drove to the special office to find Liu Tonghai. Liu Tonghai happened to have an appointment to drink that day, and came back at eleven o'clock in the evening. Seeing that Zhou Yizhi, who was waiting for him, was very polite, he comforted him a few words, saying that he couldn't see Kimura Hongchuan now, and the two of them would go again at dawn.

After Zhou Yizhi went home, everyone was waiting for him to have dinner, and Huang Zhenkun suggested that he should find a way to find Mr. Zhang quickly, so as not to affect these people. He said that his husband had gone out to run errands and couldn't come back for a while, so he had to help, and he had to help carry all the big things. He went back to the room without eating, tossing and turning and couldn't sleep, I was really afraid that Cao Ying would have something to do, and he couldn't explain it to Zhang Mingyuan. Thinking about it again, if Zhang Mingyuan was there, he would also be arrested, since he was a general, he would definitely be able to deal with this kind of thing. But why did the Japanese arrest Cao Ying? Why did they go into the city so many times to do it? Does this have anything to do with the real purpose of their visit to Liaocheng? What did Huang Zhenkun and Xing Hongying do when they came to Liaocheng? Who is locked up in that dilapidated house? He began to worry about Lu Jiayu in Nanxun again. finally got to dawn, and went to find Liu Tonghai without washing his face.

Liu Tonghai's special car drove directly into the courtyard of the gendarmerie department, and the guards at the gate ran over to open the door for him. After the two got out of the car, they saw Dong Hua, Ji Tang, Huang Zhenkun, and Xu Xudong all standing across the road, waving their hands to let them come over, but this time the guards did not stop them. At this time, Kimura Hirokawa came out of the inside and let them into the office with a smile. Before he could say a few words after pouring the tea, he heard the sound of horses' hooves and a commotion outside, and the guards ran in to report that Zhao Zhenhuan had something to ask to see, and Kimura Hongchuan waved his hand to invite him inside. There was not much time, and the heavily armed Zhao Zhenhuan and Yu Banshan walked in with a smile and greeted everyone one by one.

After taking their seats, Mu Hongchuan asked them what was the matter with coming over so early. After listening to what Zhou Yizhi said, he knew that Cao Ying was arrested by his subordinates, and it was the same when he asked other people, all of them were concerned about Cao Ying's safety. Yu Banshan also shed a few tears in front of everyone, and seemed very close to this senior brother. Kimura Hirokawa seemed to be completely unaware of this, so he called the adjutant and was directly furious, and slapped the adjutant twice. Then he told these people that it was a misunderstanding, he had been busy greeting the commissioner sent from above recently, and his subordinates must have mistakenly arrested Cao Ying because they thought Cao Ying was suspicious, and immediately ordered him to be released.

Zhou Yizhi didn't expect it to go so smoothly, and thanked him again and again and presented 100,000 fake fiat currency. When he saw Cao Ying, his heart immediately rose to his throat, because his clothes were soaked with blood, and although he was awake, he was weak, and obviously only half a life was left. Kimura Hongchuan lost his temper at his subordinates again, and kept saying that he wanted to shoot the officer in question, but was persuaded by Liu Tonghai and beckoned Zhou Yizhi to take the person to the hospital for treatment first.

Ji Tang and Xu Xudong carried Cao Ying to the courtyard to get into the car carefully, and Zhou Yizhi and the others politely said goodbye and left. Not far from the small enclosure, dozens of disheveled soldiers armed with rifles suddenly poured out on the side of the road, surrounding the car in the middle. Xu Xudong recognized it as Zhao Zhenhuan's subordinate at a glance, and hurriedly stopped to tell Zhou Yizhi that he was a bandit in the west of the city. Zhou Yizhi and Ji Tang got out of the car to greet these people, and then saw Zhao Zhenhuan and Yu Banshan coming over unhurriedly on horseback.

Yu Banshan got off the horse and waved his hand, shouting loudly: "Don't be afraid, Boss Zhou, these are all your own people." When he walked up, he said to a small leader, "Zheng Tong, you have taken the guys away, quickly help my senior brother into the soft sedan chair." ”

The officer named Zhou Tong waved his hand to put the gun away, and someone carried the two of them (1) over, and he walked to the side of the car to open the door.

"Wait a minute!" Zhou Yizhi hurriedly stopped, "Master Yu, what is this for?" Mr. Cao's injury is like this, it is inconvenient to visit your place, I have to go to the hospital to treat my husband's injury immediately. ”

"Boss Zhou, don't get me wrong, I'm also anxious about my senior brother's injury. Before I came, I guessed that the little devil was not benevolent, and I had already prepared the doctor. Yu Banshan said that he had come to the side of the car, and his eyes looked at Cao Ying in the back seat through the glass.

"I am deeply grateful for Master Yu's hospitality, and I can't help but go to Tangyi to recuperate!" Zhou Yizhi didn't know what medicine was sold in the gourd in Yu Banshan, and he was worried that Cao Ying would not be able to explain to Zhang Mingyuan if he went on a business trip again.

"Hey! What Rausch can't do? Master's senior brother is Lao Zhao's senior brother, and he must be taken back and served well! Zhao Zhenhuan also arrived, but did not get off the horse. glared at the subordinates next to him, "What are you stunned about?" Put the senior brother on the soft sedan chair? How can a car be so bumpy? I haven't seen the doctor yet, so I'm going to break up first. ”

"Ouch, Head Zhao, don't dare to move Mr., you see that Mr.'s injury really can't be delayed." Zhou Yizhi hurriedly moved to block the car door.

"What do you mean you don't dare to move? Nonsense! Isn't the sedan chair softer than your car? Zhao Zhenhuan said as he clamped the horse's belly between his legs and walked forward by himself.

When Zheng Tong and the soldiers heard Zhao Zhenhuan's words, they all came over as if they had heard a military order, obviously moving Cao Ying's momentum. Ji Tang had already flashed to the side, but his mouth was shouting dissatisfiedly: "Hey, hey, hey, what is this for?" They were all people from the city, and they didn't look up to see them. Head Zhao, Master Yu, what does this mean? ”

The rear door on the right was slammed open, and it should be said that it was pushed out from the inside, causing the two soldiers who were close to the door to take a few steps backwards. Huang Zhenkun got out of the car, looked coldly at Yu Banshan on the other side of the car and said, "Are you going to rob it openly?" ”

"How can there be a hard robbery? Have it? Yu Banshan still looked like he was smiling, "The brothers are also for the sake of the senior brother's injury, and the sooner you take it back, you can treat it as soon as possible." ”

"Mr. Cao is our guest, so I don't have to worry about this master. Without my young master, no one would want to touch a finger of Mr. Cao. Huang Zhenkun said and stretched out his hand to push the approaching soldier, and the soldier withdrew seven or eight steps and fell directly.

Several soldiers next to him were annoyed, and at the same time smashed Huang Zhenkun with gun handles. He didn't care at all, he knocked them all to the ground in three or two strokes, rolling in pain, worse than the one who fell before. Zhao Zhenhuan reined in his horse when he heard the voice behind him, turned to look at Huang Zhenkun, and the other soldiers raised their guns in a hurry, including Zhou Tong's pistol, all aimed at Huang Zhenkun. Xu Xudong, who was in the driver's seat, also took out a box gun and aimed it at Yu Banshan next to Zhou Yizhi.

"Hey! What does this old brother want to do? Rebellion, isn't it? Yu Banshan's smiling face sank, and his eyes narrowed into a slit at Huang Zhenkun's face, he didn't expect Zhou Yizhi's subordinates to dare to fight back so boldly.

"Don't don't, everyone, don't get excited, don't hurt the peace." Zhou Yizhi hurriedly waved his hand. At this time, what I am most afraid of is a wave of unsettled waves.

"Don't worry, young master, unless Mr. Cao wants to leave by himself, no one wants to go wild." Huang Zhenkun still has a nonchalant expression.

"Humph! A subordinate, what kind of big cloves of garlic do you put in front of Lao Tzu? Zhao Zhenhuan didn't pee on these businessmen in the first place, but now he pulled his face down directly, "Xiaotong, anyone who hinders the treatment of senior brothers will be treated as gangsters!" Summarily executed! ”

Huang Zhenkun didn't say anything, turned around and pulled out a German-made MP18* from under the saddle, and held it diagonally in his hand. Zheng Tong and a few people who were close to the car unconsciously took a few steps back, looked at Zhao Zhenhuan and looked at Zhou Yizhi, and froze. The others were stunned when they saw this scene, and they all understood that the battle was imminent, and the casualties were difficult to predict, but no one would give in.

At this time, a few fast horses drove in the direction of the embankment of the small canal. In the blink of an eye, it was Sun Zhixiang and a few of his subordinates. Sun Zhixiang looked at Zhao Zhenhuan and looked at the car again, and said with a smile: "Yo, Head Zhao, Master Yu, there is Boss Zhou here!" Guys, where are you singing? What are you doing to keep your security team safe? Or are you uneasy? ”

"Ah, it turned out to be Head Sun?" Zhao Zhenhuan was a little nervous when he saw Sun Zhixiang from afar, and hurriedly dismounted and his tone was much weaker, "This, this, master, you tell me!" Although Zhao Zhenhuan is also the head of the regiment, he is self-appointed, and the three or four hundred people under his command only have more than 100 guns. Although Liu Tonghai and Dong Hua did not object, they did not admit it in writing. The materials and ammunition were half bought and half borrowed from Lin Pu at his own expense, which was completely incomparable with Sun Zhixiang. Sun Zhixiang was Han Fuguang's old department, and was sent to the Sixth Prefecture before the Anti-Japanese War. When Liaocheng defended the city, he joined forces with the magistrate of Fan County, and after the loss, the army was scattered, and after the convergence, there were only seven or eight hundred people left, at most two battalions. But they were equipped with all German equipment, and the Nanjing side sent people to talk to him about the adoption several times, but they were vaguely rubbed over, even if they took the government's money and were not completely controlled by the government, they became a local force that was both good and evil.

"Back to Chief Sun's words. Hehe, that's right. Yu Banshan immediately changed to a smiling look again, "My senior brother was injured by a misunderstanding by Little Japan, and we are discussing with Boss Zhou how to take it for treatment, and there is a little difference in opinion." ”

"Your senior brother? The senior brother that Master Yu said can't be Lao Cao, right? Sun Zhixiang asked disdainfully.

"Yes, yes, Cao Ying is my senior brother." Yu Banshan said with a smile.

"Hehe, as far as I know, this old Cao is running tea business with Mr. Jiang, is it possible that he is also a bandit? Liu Heizi's people? Master Yu used to be with Liu Heizi, right? Sun Zhixiang looked at him unhurriedly.

"No, no, no, Chief Sun has made a mistake, my senior brother and I used to be apprentices in the lock shop. It has nothing to do with Liu Heizi. Misinformation, all misinformation. Yu Banshan hurriedly nodded and explained. He knew that Sun Zhixiang was the battalion commander when Han Fuguang suppressed bandits, and later he used bandits to make money, so he didn't dare to ask for the big hat of bandits.

"Lockshop? Is it a swastika lock shop? The legendary Seven Tricks exquisite brocade box was made by you? Sun Zhixiang's tone seemed to be smiling, and his eyes were staring at his face.

"What's the matter? I've never heard of a brocade box. Chief Sun probably heard the mistake (2). Yu Banshan said and glanced at Zhao Zhenhuan, knowing that today's matter was hanging. Arched his hand again, "Chief Sun is here on business, right?" Then we won't delay you. He turned around and smiled at Zhou Yizhi again, "Boss Zhou, since you have worked tirelessly to take care of your senior brother, my junior brother will thank you first." If there is anything you need, please inform the voice and take your leave. ”

"Okay, good, don't send it." Zhou Yizhi also arched his hand, hoping to calm things down, he didn't want to get involved in the fight.

Yu Banshan waved his hand and walked towards Zhao Zhenhuan with people. Zhao Zhenhuan also politely said goodbye to Sun Zhixiang and Zhou Yizhi, got on the horse and ran to the embankment. thought to himself, it was to avoid a bloody fight, thanks to Sun Zhixiang, who came just right.

Sun Zhixiang got off the horse and pulled the car door, looked at Cao Ying's injury, and comforted: "It doesn't seem to hurt your muscles and bones, let's treat it quickly." By the way, tell Mr. Jiang that the guest has already left. There are still a lot of people, and we have to wait for news about the specific situation. ”

Cao Ying raised her eyelids and nodded laboriously, knowing in her heart but weakly unable to speak. He knew that this was the news that Zhang Mingyuan had sent to that room, but he couldn't help but start worrying about how to pass on the Fa with his current injury. Sun Zhixiang turned around and said a few words to Zhou Yizhi, saying that if you encounter trouble in the future, you can find him, and everyone living in the same city should take care of each other. After saying that, he went back the same way, he was originally here for Cao Ying, and now there is no need to go to Xiaoweizi.

Both groups of people left one after another, and Zhou Yizhi asked Xu Xudong to quickly drive Cao Ying to David Hospital. On the way, Zhou Yizhi persuaded Huang Zhenkun to hide the gun, and it would cause a lot of trouble if it was discovered by the puppet army and the Japanese. Huang Zhenkun repeatedly said yes, saying that carrying a gun with him was also for self-defense, but in fact, he had not fired a single shot. Zhou Yizhi agreed on the surface, how could he believe it in his heart, and secretly pondered that there was a * buried around him. There is also the matter of the Japanese arresting Cao Ying, which is by no means a misunderstanding that Kimura Hirokawa said, maybe there will be actions later. It can be seen that Sun Zhixiang also has another purpose, and he seems to be a little friendly to Zhang Mingyuan and Cao Ying, but when he mentions what brocade box, he shows a greedy look. However, at present, there is no other way but to wait, I only hope that Zhang Mingyuan will find out about Nanxun as soon as possible, and only by relying on Zhang Mingyuan's ability can he gradually uncover the ugly faces of these people.

After Cao Ying's examination, the doctor confirmed that there was no major problem, treated the wound and let him be hospitalized for infusion to reduce inflammation, and checked the wound every day. Zhou Yizhi was relieved to make sure that he didn't hurt his muscles and bones, and let Xu Xudong accompany him in the hospital, and the others did their own things. In the evening, Liu Tonghai accompanied Kimura Hongyi to visit the hospital, and Kimura Hongchuan apologized again, looking very polite.

Note: (1) A recliner is set up with two wooden sticks left and right, and the chair is covered with bedding, and the front and back are carried by two people. (2) Dialect refers to errors and omissions.