The morning glow of June casts a red glow on the sky, and then the sun rises as red as a girl.

On the nineteenth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, Uncle Zhao went down the mountain on the second day.

Early this morning, Li Zhanyi, a guest of the Yu family, brought two maps to everyone for reference, marking the triangle for the bandits, the square for the yamen inspectors, and the circles for the Jianghu sects.

Zhao Daochang changed into a long robe today, with his appearance has a bit of graceful temperament, the most conspicuous among more than ten people, he looked at the map, and found that there were hundreds of bandits, and also secretly sighed the suffering of the people in Shu.

So two groups of people separated from Shilipo, Zhao Zhengli and his party had a strong man Lao Yue, and a middle-aged man who snatched chicken legs with him yesterday, that person is called Hu Hai, a swordsman in the rivers and lakes, and the two masked women, I heard that they are repairing Bihua Sword, Jasper, Birou, two sisters, but I don't know what the veil looks like to cover my face.

The five of them took the west road, from Daba and Luxian to Emei, Pingxing, and converged on the east and west lines of Muchuan.

The roads in Shu are difficult, most of them are small roads, and the lack of repair of the official roads is already barren and full of grass and rocks, and the long distance is not suitable for horse-drawn carriage walking, so the young Zhao Daochang has the first car on the second day of going down the mountain, a dark horse!

Although it is not a good breed, it is better than meek, suitable for him as a novice, and it is more than enough to replace his feet in the mountains, and he follows far behind on a black horse.

It's not that his dark horse can't run fast, but the good-faced Zhao Daochang doesn't want to step forward and embarrass people, because the two sisters ride more smoothly than him, and sometimes wield a long whip heroically.

The five people rode on the road of the mountains and rivers of Shudi, and the five people did not lead the team. Bandits, collect evidence, stir up the rivers and lakes, and the yamen will do it openly. Wade can also be completed ahead of schedule, secretly dry. Wade nature pretends to be confused and cleans it up together.

Zhao Daochang was dressed in a long robe, after a few hours of running-in, riding a horse gradually became proficient, he began to appreciate the beautiful scenery of mountains and rivers all the way, this is his first experience of fast on horseback. The feeling is very wonderful and incomparably fresh.

sighed in his heart, the horseback rivers and lakes turned out to be so happy, but he always felt that there were shortcomings, looking at the appearance of a few people in front of him with sticks and swords, and suddenly woke up, it turned out that he was still short of a worthy weapon.

Less than ten miles ahead like this, the five people clearly felt that there were figures in the barren mountain restless, and the metal utensils that were obviously dazzling by the sunlight were already surrounded by people with knives and guns before and after a few people reacted.

"Phew! Rob! ”

There was a roar, causing the five people to laugh one after another.

Lao Yue, a strong man with an iron rod, looked at the team of dozens of people before and after and laughed: "The hairy thief who doesn't have long eyes, quickly take the grandfathers to wait for the lair, otherwise you will die with a stick." ”

After speaking, he saw the sisters holding the thin sword on the side: "And your two grandmothers!" ”

Jasper and Birou's faces immediately darkened after hearing this, Hu Hai couldn't help laughing, and the young Zhao Daochang couldn't help but laugh.

The strong man Lao Yue felt that he had said something wrong, and he felt that he had not said anything wrong, seeing the two women. It's not easy to say anything with a gloomy face, so he picked up the iron rod and threw it at the robbers who blocked the way.

Seeing this, the bandits retreated in an orderly manner, and the rear was suppressed with bows and arrows, but the five people present were not idle, and they fought into the crowd on horseback.

Lao Yue's iron rod whirred, a stick down to smash five or six people, Hu Hai even waved a long sword, the sword light was shining, those bandits were like melons and fruits, the two sisters of the Xiu Bihua sword killed more than that, the two worked closely together, and the thin sword was like a silver snake interspersed with bandits everywhere.

Seeing that the situation was already out of order, the archers in the rear turned their heads and ran, and the bandits who thought they were smart saw that Zhao Zhengli was young and defenseless, so they rushed to pinch the soft persimmons and swarmed up.

Although Daochang Zhao was profound, he had never killed anyone, so he had to dodge the slashing sword, and if he couldn't avoid it, he kicked him in the air, and he had no intention of hurting people's lives.

After a battle, the bandits found that this white boy was also a master, so he was merciful under the other party, otherwise the bandits in his hands would not be less than the other four, and a few of them would react and choose to retreat, where could they take care of their companions who were kicked and knocked unconscious by Zhao Daochang.

Lao Yue, who had his free hand, chased after the fleeing bandits with a stick: "Daochang Zhao, it is not suitable to walk in the rivers and lakes with a soft heart!" ”

The other three people also intercepted the bandits in a few steps in the air, and the three or two swords took the rest of their lives, and the only living mouth was already frightened, looking at the corpses all over the ground and being intimidated by Hu Hai and others, trembling and taking a few people to the lair.

Zhao Daochang's legs also trembled, although his Taoism was profound, facing corpses everywhere still had a great impact on him, and he was also shocked to see a few people killing people.

It turns out that the rivers and lakes of happiness and enmity are such a happy method?

On the road, the middle-aged Hu Hai saw the young Zhao Zhengli Daoist embarrassed and enlightened: "Daoist knows our purpose for this?" ”

The already white face became even whiter due to nervousness: "Naturally, I know that I will collect the evidence of the crime of the Shu County Guard." ”

"The incompetence of the Shu county guard and governance has led to the people's misery and banditry. is rampant, although we are doing things with money this time, isn't it also a fire to save the people in the long run? Isn't collecting evidence, defeating the county guards, and letting the virtuous ministers govern for the benefit of the people? ”

The strong man Lao Yue also interjected: "Although these thieves are mortals, they can only be said to be in the wrong way, and the knights of the rivers and lakes will be killed sooner or later, the Taoist chief does not have to be merciful, just now you were unarmed and saw the scene of them swarming towards you." ”

In this conversation, Zhao Daochang had a lot of balance in his heart, but he heard a few people who were different from him: "Are you doing things with money?" ”

The strong man Lao Yue spread his hands: "Otherwise? Who does it without capital? ”

“……”

He really wanted to say that he was the one who did no business, but after thinking about it, maybe it was for the mountain gate?

The middle-aged Hu Hai pointed to the sisters who were hurrying away: "They are not for money, they just want to take revenge after overthrowing the county guard, the reason is that the county guard Liu Yuanji sent troops to destroy Bihuazong that year." ”

Zhao Daochang looked at it, it was really a bitter and hateful face, he had never seen the two of them laugh, and he was even less pitiful.

During the chat, under the leadership of the bandits, they went to a cliff hanging on the wall, this bandit den is not big, dozens of people, except for the killed, there are only a few thieves who guard the gate and guard the courtyard in the old nest.

Even if you are vigilant and blow the warning whistle, you still can't get rid of the end of being served in a pot, and to the surprise of several people, the thief boss is still in the hole, and he didn't have time to put on his pants when he was killed.

The woman in the nest was already frightened, revealing a large piece of spring light, the strong man Lao Yue licked his dry mouth, the middle-aged Hu Hai was obviously not surprised, and the two sisters of Jasper and Birou put their faces aside, only the young Zhao Daochang saw a living body for the first time, although he had strong theoretical knowledge, it was inevitable that he would be overwhelmed with such a naked face.

The strong man Lao Yue quipped: "Isn't it that the Taoist has never opened meat?" Hey! Now that he is walking the rivers and lakes, he has to empty Lao Yue Twilight, a little lady who matches the Taoist chief, and will never treat the Taoist chief with such a pretty appearance with red lips and white teeth. ”

The middle-aged Hu Hai looked at the white-faced Taoist priest with a cautious face, after all, the other party was tested at the dinner table yesterday, and he didn't want to lose his life with a joke.

The strong man Lao Yue also realized the problem after speaking.

Although Zhao Zhengli was young, he didn't feel at ease when he joked about him, and then he smiled, and the atmosphere eased.

A few people didn't do anything, let the woman go, and rummaged through the bandits' den, there was nothing special, except for scattered broken silver and copper plates, not even a single volume, let alone expect them to have anything to do with the yamen.

Obviously, this was a failed crackdown for several people.

He stepped on the road again, and was robbed again after traveling more than ten miles.

To the surprise of a few people this time, there were actually many people who practiced martial arts among the robbers, some of the realms were not low, the leaders had already entered the peak of the Kaidan realm, and there were several monks in the Hinayana realm, but they also resisted in vain, and they were annihilated one by one.

That's how the five of them rode horses and pushed several bandits. nest, soon found a subtle change, that is, every time a bandit nest is destroyed, the nearby villagers' farmhouses will point fingers at a few people behind their backs, and the villagers will be closed and hiding when they enter the village and cross the alleys.

At first, a few people thought that the villagers were afraid of their bloody fight, but they shouldn't be afraid of all the villagers. Bandits are also for the people, why are they so unpopular?

The five of them deliberated and decided not to suppress it for the time being. Bandits. Nest, from the mouth of the villagers to find out the situation, travel several miles, as a tourist in the rivers and lakes in a farmhouse to inquire, the feeling that the villagers are not completely afraid of the rampant bandits, because some of the villagers fall into the grass for the sake of cowards, they do not burn and loot the poor peasants, only rob the villagers outside the road, as well as the rich traders, and then rob the chariots and horses that the Yamen pays grain taxes every year.

In his free time, he still farms and breeds animals like simple farmers.

The strong man Lao Yue was taken aback: "In this way, there are villagers who we meet three or five nests of bandits along the way?" ”

He didn't mention the fact that he was killed by the counter-slaughter, and the old peasant thought that a few men and horses would escape quickly: "A few heroes will go to the town to be safer after resting and taking advantage of the dark." There are only a few people who really occupy the mountains and claim the king of the Sichuan and Shu mountains, and the villagers are helpless to fall into the grass, and the flow of the year is not good, and the natural disasters and man-made disasters do not care about the yamen, and the grain is levied every year, and the strong men are arrested, and the grain is paid, and half of the days of the year are starving, and the strong men are caught, and no one goes back. In order to survive, the bold had to drop his hoe and pick up his sword to be a bandit. ”

This news really subverted the original cognition of several people, no wonder they were pointed at by the villagers earlier, and they were not welcomed, and it was the local villagers who killed them emotionally.

Zhao Zhengli asked: "Go up the mountain for Kou and don't be afraid of the county yawei. Exterminate? ”

The farmer smiled bitterly: "The county government is busy with the real bandits. People collude and make profits, where is there a place to manage our poor mountains and bad waters. ”

The middle-aged Hu Hai asked: "The real bandit. Where are the people? How do they collude? ”

This remark also attracted everyone's interest, and even the two sisters of the Bihua Sect, who were silent, both focused their eyes on the farmers.

The old peasant didn't want to say it, so he sighed: "It's not a secret, there are one or two real bandits near the county seat, they rob and kill the passing traders, squeeze the people from all over the world, and then pay the local county government a monthly "tolerance fee". The county government has things that are inconvenient to deal with and hand them over to the bandits. When people come forward, they should be combined inside and outside, and not a drop of water leaks, but they have to suffer the people. ”

A few people wanted to ask more, but the old farmer saw that the trimming was almost done, so he ordered the eviction of the guests, and when they came, the horses tied to the door were too dazzling, for fear of causing trouble. The second is that these people don't look like ordinary people with swords and swords, and if they leave early, he will be at ease.

The farmer pointed to a trail leading to the county seat.

Before dark in the afternoon, a few people traveled six or seven miles of mountain roads and settled in Nanhe County.

This county is not prosperous, it is a street built by the river, with more than 200 residents, and three or five nearby villages trading here.

It was getting dark, there were few pedestrians on the street, and the five people were clattering on the empty stone streets.

A few people took out tokens, which were the signs of the Jianghu people acquiesced by the imperial court, and the officials didn't care about these, only recognized the way. How many people are alone in the rivers and lakes, where is the official road?

The servants will be black. The household detained a few people, and after several pulls, the officials let a few people go, but warned the merchant inn, saying that the identities of several people were suspicious and they were not allowed to stay in the county seat.

As soon as these words came out, all the streets closed their doors and refused customers, which made several people angry, but they couldn't help it.

Hu Hai, who has been walking the rivers and lakes for many years, rarely has a black face, he said that this kind of thing is rare in the rivers and lakes, and it is obvious that the official is deliberately provoking trouble.

It is difficult for Zhao Daochang to imagine that this is the long-awaited Jianghu.

A few people didn't want to make trouble, and planned to go out of the city before dark to find a roadside inn, or to stay in a farmhouse, at most spend more money, and then turn over and go out of the market.

On the other side, the official who had just been checked hurriedly took off his official uniform and rushed to the other side, and the innkeeper Xiao Er on the street all shook his head and sighed, and then took advantage of the sunset to close the doors and windows of each household, obviously this kind of thing is not uncommon.

The five of them were only three miles out of the county seat and were stopped by a team of people.

It was dark at the moment, and there were as many as fifty people holding torches, swords and shields, and this formation was not weak in the slightest for a small army, and there were even cavalrymen in armor.

The man at the head was dressed in horizontal meat, carrying a long knife several meters long, his crotch was restless and stubborn, and he was strangled by a rein, and roared with great pride: "Leave valuable goods, men can leave, women stay." ”

The five people at this moment are on fire, and even Zhao Zhengli, who is kind to others, can see that the officials are and the bandits. The collusion is too obvious, if it weren't for the sake of hiding his strength, he would have been eager to slap this group of bandits who did all kinds of evil to death. Person.

He thought like this, and the other four people had already sprung up with murderous intent at this moment and found a person to vent to.

The stubborn man seemed to notice: "There is no one who resists." ”

"Poof!"

The next time he was attacked by a clever sword qi, but fortunately, he jumped up in advance, and the sword slashed directly on the back of the stubborn horse under his crotch, and immediately halved the corpse, and the stubborn horse didn't have time to neigh.