CHAPTER XVI

The area around Gucheng, which has been constantly suffering from wars, has been a little peaceful since Zhang Xianzhong's peasant army was stationed here. In the area of Junzhou and Fang County, there are now nine battalions of peasant armies united by Cao Cao, of which the two battalions of Hui Dengxiang and Wang Guangen are stationed in Junzhou. They don't loot, they buy and sell. The road towards Wudang Mountain has been sparsely populated in the past few years, but now it is open again. The pilgrims from central and northern Hubei and from Henan all met at the mouth of the old river, and then crossed the Han River and marched towards Wudang one by one. Those who have come back from Wudang and Jinding also go to the old estuary to separate, all the way to the east along the official road on the north bank of the Han River, all the way to the northeast from the old estuary, and pass through the eastern suburbs of Guanghua County, towards Henan. Although there are famines in various places, and the famine in Henan is very serious, the good men and women who have traveled thousands of miles to worship the Golden Dome are still in an endless stream on the avenues of Laohekou, Shihua Street and Caodian. There were some small shops along the road, which were opened for pilgrims, selling some vegetarian tea, and also for overnight stay. Later, due to the war and chaos, the pilgrims became extinct, and most of these small shops collapsed, and some were burned down. Now some straw huts have been erected again. Especially in the place of Shihua Street, the narrow street paved with bluestone slabs that is more than a mile long is lively again, and there are so many people every day that it is like rushing to the market.

After breakfast on this day, the weather was clear, sunny and warm as spring. Zhang Xianzhong had nothing to do, and led a group of personal soldiers out of the west gate of Gucheng to shoot hunting, shooting a few geese, a few pheasants and two rabbits. Then, when the hunting was over, he rode westward, until he reached the official road from Laohekou to Shihua Street, then he reined in the reins of his horse, turned over and dismounted, walked to a grass hut, and occupied a square table and sat down. Some of the soldiers sat with him at one table, some at other tables, some stood on the side of the street, and a few of them led sweaty horses outside the street. From Shihua Street to Laohekou, there are loyal men and horses stationed, so Xianzhong always likes to come to this official road every time he hunts. The common people who sell tea and rice know him and are not very afraid of him. Today, he was happy because he had hunted a lot of things as soon as he left the city, and he sat down and drank tea while asking the courteous chapel about his long and short questions. The pilgrims who were resting their feet could not help but panic when they saw a group of officers and soldiers coming. Then I saw that his attitude towards the cousin was not bad, and my heart was a little relieved. But when they quietly asked and knew that he was Zhang Xianzhong, the Eighth King, they were all frightened and their faces turned pale.

Groups of pilgrims walked in front of Xianzhong. They carried a yellow cloth burden on their backs, wrapped in an incense table, and a red paper was pasted on the outside of the baggage, on which was written "Incense towards the mountain". These good men and women were all tormented by famine, and after a long journey, the wind and the sun, all of them were haggard and dark. They had yellow dust on their feet and trousers. Among them there were two pilgrims who attracted the attention of Xianzhong: one was a middle-aged man, who used an iron needle more than half a foot long to penetrate through the left cheek and out of the right cheek; The other was a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old, with a large iron chain around his neck at one end and a drag on the ground with the other, making a rattling noise as he went. Their clothes were in tatters, and they were obviously poor people in the countryside. Pilgrims like this often appear, all of whom have made great wishes for their parents and come to the mountains to make vows. Xianzhong stopped this group of pilgrims and asked them to understand that they were all from Macheng County, Huangzhou Prefecture; The two suffering croppers really made a wish for their parents' illness. He also inquired about the famine in the east, and asked one of his own soldiers to give some loose pieces of silver to the pilgrim at the head of the group, and asked him to give more to the two dutiful sons. Everyone hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed. Xianzhong waved his hand and said, "Forget it, forget it, leave your head and go to the mountain to knock." But the crowd still kowtowed on the stone road, said something of gratitude, and left.

In order to inquire about the news of Li Ziyuan and some of his cronies and generals after the Battle of Tongguan, Xianzhong sent several spies to the vicinity of Tongguan to investigate, some of whom have not yet returned, and those who have returned have not brought back true news. Today he came to Chaoshan official road to sit down and eat tea, really wanted to meet the pilgrims in western Henan, and asked for some clues. But it is a pity that the pilgrims who walked in front of him did not come from Henan. Later, a man and woman who fled the famine together came to him, and he knew from the clothes and accent that they were from Henan. But when asked, they came from Nanyang Mansion to escape the famine, and they only heard a little bit of absurd news about the battle of Tongguan, which was very vague. He asked his soldiers to throw a few handfuls of copper coins on the official road for everyone to pick up, and got up and left.

"Is it really all over?" He asked secretly in his heart, and then replied, "I don't believe it!" ”

Riding on his war horse, he left the official road to Chaoshan and walked two or three miles to Gucheng, he reined in his horse and looked back at the endless stream of pilgrims, thinking in his heart: If there were no corrupt officials and no famine, the common people could live and work in peace and contentment, how good it would be!

A guest named Wang Youtian was waiting for him in his old camp, and Xianzhong was very happy. Wang Youtian is blind and good at criticizing eight characters, and is a famous warlock in the rivers and lakes, who is a guest under Zhang Dajing, the military supervisor in Xiangyang. Prime Minister Xiong Wencan and many high-ranking officials believed in him very much, so he became a guest of Xiangyang's dignitaries and gentry, and he was quite lucky. A month ago, Xiong Wencan sent Zhang Dajing to Gucheng to supervise Zhang Xianzhong's army, and he came to Gucheng with him. Zhang Dajing recommended him to Xianzhong, and Xianzhong also wanted to meet him, but he was invited by Xiong Wencan to Xiangyang for half a month, and he never had the opportunity to meet. He only came back from Xiangyang last night, and this morning he came in a sedan chair to pay his respects. Xianzhong hit him off at first sight, and after a few words, he told him the birth dates of himself and his son who had just completed the moon, and asked him to calculate.

"Dude, you have to be outspoken!" Xianzhong said with a smile. "Don't worry, just say whatever is on the eight characters. If you flatter a few words casually and don't tell the truth, Wang is blind, you are not our friend of Lao Zhang! ”

"I am the famous Wang Tiekou, and I never flatter people casually." Wang Youtian also said with a smile.

Wang Youtian pinched his fingers, muttered and calculated for a while, and his face showed a look of surprise. He looked up to the sky, blinked his blind eyelids, recalculated for a while, and then took Xianzhong's left and right hands and touched them for a while, and suddenly stood up with surprise and joy, and said:

"General Jingxuan, sit down, sit down, and be bowed twice by the foolish brother!" After speaking, he hurriedly bowed deeply twice.

Zhang Xianzhong understood that there was a lot of article here, and while returning the salute, he asked in a joking tone:

"How? Will both my father and son be called sons? Could it be, huh? ”

"What a word! What a figure! The blind man whispered mysteriously. The foolish brother has been in the rivers and lakes for half his life, with footprints all over the sea, up and down the government and the opposition, and there are many people, and he has never seen such a good character as Ling Qiaozi! ”

"How's the palmistry?"

"It's as good as the general's eight characters."

"How good should it be? Man, don't think I'm as fond of wearing a high hat as anyone else, and deliberately flattering us! ”

Wang Youtian said very seriously: "I will never dare to deliberately flatter. If you want to know how to make the eight characters, please ask the general to retreat left and right. ”

Xianzhong waved back left and right, and asked in a low voice: "Say it quickly, how good should it be?" ”

"General Jing Xuan, have you asked someone to count the eight characters before?"

"I asked someone to do it, but they didn't tell the truth."

"What do they say?"

"They all say that I want to be a big official and a big general, but no one is willing to say that I am a thief, this is staring at my eyes and talking nonsense." Zhang Xianzhong laughed out loud, his long brown beard shaking on his chest.

"Hey, the general is really good at telling jokes! Your Excellency, hey, this ......."

"What the hell is going on?"

Wang Youtian stood up again, shook it deeply, and then leaned forward, leaned close to Xianzhong's ear, and whispered:

"It's too expensive!"

Xianzhong asked suspiciously, "Really?" ”

"It's really expensive! It's expensive! ”

Xianzhong deliberately asked: "Can you be a real generalissimo?" ”

"More than the Generalissimo! This is something that can only be known to me: it will be unspeakably expensive in the future! ”

"Brother Tian, are you joking with my old man?"

"How dare you! How dare you! ”

"If only it were ......"

"Really, really."

"I must thank you very much."

"This matter is very important, and the general must not leak it."

"Don't mention it again."

"Of course I don't dare to talk nonsense."

Zhang Xianzhong left Wang Youtian for lunch, and asked Wang Bingzhen, a famous scholar in this city, Fang Yuezong, and Yingcheng Xiucai Pan Duao to accompany him. Fang Yuezong is the elder brother of Fang Yuegong, the current prefect of Songjiang, who is generous and chivalrous, uninhibited, likes to drink, and is very talkative. When Xian Zhongcai entered Gucheng, he borrowed his family's house to settle his family, thinking that he was very rich, so he detained him under the pretext and asked him to pay for his salary. Then he knew that Fang Yuezong really had no money, and his younger brother Fang Yuegong had a reputation for being an honest official, so he quickly released him, apologized, and became friends with him, often asking him to eat and drink, and talking freely. Xianzhong hated ordinary court officials, and once vowed to pacify China and cut off corrupt officials, but did not put forward a higher goal of the uprising. So not long after arriving in Gucheng, he unexpectedly wrote a letter to Fang Yuegong, the prefect of Songjiang, who was thousands of miles away, to express his admiration for the other party. In his letter, he said frankly: "Let everyone who is an official be like my father, and the people will not suffer from being cheated. He asked Fang Yue's family to send the letter to Songjiang, and said that he knew that the Fang Governor's Mansion would not reply to the letter, and he did not want to receive a reply.

Pan Duao, who accompanied the guests, was originally a small landlord in Yingcheng County, but half a year ago because he was fighting for land with a rich and powerful gentleman in his county, he lost the lawsuit with reason, and was so angry that he had no way out, so he killed the county magistrate and the gentleman's family, set up an anti-flag, and voted for loyalty. He was well treated, and recently sent him to camp a small group of men and horses at the Xianrendu where the Nam River meets the Han River, to collect taxes on merchant ships.

Among the guests was also a Ding Ju from Xinye County, Henan Province. In the first month of this year, his sister got married, and the sedan chair was walking on the official road from Xinye to Nanyang Wadian Town. The "Zi" in the "Ling Qiao Zi" that the blind king Youtian said to Xianzhong was the baby born to Mrs. Ding. Within three or four months of being snatched away from his sister, Ding Juren thought it was a great shame and hated that his sister could not be martyred and be a "century-old" martyr. Every time he heard his mother crying bitterly about her daughter in the hall, he was so dissatisfied with her that he went into the inner house and said to the old man:

"You're still crying about her? Hmph, I can't wait to kill your precious daughter with my own hands! Our family is a scholarly family for generations, and the poetry heirloom is a family heirloom, but I didn't expect this person who is incorruptible and shameless, and who is a thief! Your son is a lifter, and this ugly thing happened, so that I have no face to see people, how can I mix in the officialdom in the future? She, a cheap thing who is greedy for life and afraid of death, has lost all the eight generations of our Ding family's ancestors! Alas, alas, you old man is so confused, still thinking about her! ”

The old lady cried and said, "If I knew that there was today, I might as well throw her into the urine jar when she landed, so that she would not grow up and be disgraced!" ”

"Alas, it's all because our tutor is not good!" Ding Juren said resentfully and sadly, tears rolling down. He originally wanted to rebuke his mother bluntly, but in order to set an example of filial piety in front of the whole family's wives, concubines, brothers, brothers, sons, and nephews, he swallowed the words again.

However, after Zhang Xianzhong was "appeased", his sister sent someone to bring ten horses of silk and two hundred taels of silver to the house, and Ding Juren's attitude immediately changed greatly. He was conflicted in his heart for half a month, and at the urging of his mother, he personally came with gifts to confess his loyalty. When people talked about his sister being General Zhang Xianzhong's wife, he smiled and stroked his beard with a spring breeze on his face and said:

"The eight characters of the sister, I have seen it by several masters in the past, and they all said that it was a good birth. Besides, born in the years of war and chaos, literature is not as good as martial arts, and it is good to be able to marry a military general, but it can't be said whether it is a scholarly family. For the sake of face, he flatly denied that his sister was "Mrs. Ru", and insisted that it was General Zhang's "Mrs. Xuxian".

He often came to Gucheng to visit his sister and brother-in-law and fight the autumn breeze. But his appetite was not great, and he was satisfied with a hundred and eighty taels of silver at a time. In addition to visiting relatives in Gucheng, he also often went to Xiangyang for activities. The people around Xiong Wencan wanted to encompass Xianzhong, and the other had been bribed by Xianzhong, so they were very polite to Ding Juren. Even the prime minister himself invited him to dinner and sent the so-called "Cheng Yi". Ding Juren likes to come to Xiangyang and Gucheng for a walk, in addition to fighting the autumn wind, there is also a political purpose. Although Xinye and Xiangyang are not in the same province, they are neighboring counties, and Tonggucheng is not far away, so he can travel with the officials and generals, one can elevate his status, and gain greater respect for the gentry and common people in the county, and the other is also for himself to find an opportunity to advance in his career. This time he came to Gucheng, under the pretext of his nephew's full moon, he came to congratulate, in fact, he wanted to ask his sister for one or two hundred taels of silver, taking advantage of the great famine in his hometown and the end of the old age, to buy a Zhuangzi and a very rare good cemetery. This cemetery is said to be able to produce more than three grades, and several large families are fighting for it; Because he wanted to, everyone was afraid of Zhang Xianzhong, so they had to let him.

The banquet began. There is a table of eight immortals in the middle, Wang Youtian is the first, and Wang Bingzhen is the second. Zhang Xianzhong personally sat down at the next table to toast. On the other table of eight immortals, Xinye Ding raised the first seat, Fang Yuezong took the second seat, and the loyal military advisor Xu Yixian sat on behalf of the master. Zhang Xianzhong was very happy today, and kept shouting, guessing and punching with everyone, and enthusiastically persuading everyone to drink. While others were swinging fists, Ding Juren took the opportunity to come over with a tin wine jug and toast Wang Youtian and Wang Bingzhen, causing the guests and hosts at the table to stand up. After Wang Youtian accepted the toast, he quickly complimented and said:

"Uncle is going to have a few more drinks today. I pinched my nephew, and it was a rich and noble life. Rare, rare! ”

"The eight characters of the housesister are also very good, Mr. Wang has ever counted them?"

"Not yet. Another day must be carefully calculated. However, although Ling Mei's eight-character foolish brother has not yet been calculated, he is the wife of General Jingxuan, and he can be known without calculation. If it weren't for the eight characters being particularly good, it wouldn't have been such a coincidence that he met General Jingxuan among the Jin Ge Iron Horses. ”

"Yes, yes. Marriages are all predestined, and non-human beings can be forced. ”

Everyone toasted Wang Youtian, so that he was simply overwhelmed. Fortunately, he was massive, not drunk. Everyone was so polite to him, not only because he was a guest here for the first time, but also because he counted the eight characters for Xianzhong's father and son today. People guessed from his mysterious attitude of telling Xianzhong to retreat left and right and talking in a low voice, from the fact that neither he nor Xianzhong would say what the result would be when he counted the eight characters, and from the various feelings they gained from observing their words and feelings, they all guessed that the eight characters of Xianzhong must be "unspeakably expensive". These people are very sensitive on this issue. Therefore, everyone was very excited at the banquet, and everyone had their own thoughts. For example, Ding Juren hopes that his sister will become a mother in the future, and he himself can be the uncle of the country and the title of prince and marquis. Slightly regretted that Zhang Xianzhong currently has a large group of ladies, and his sister is ranked eighth, which is a fly in the ointment, obviously destined for his sister to have no share in the main palace, and can only be a concubine who cannot be favored. Xu Yixian is a person with great political ambitions, and he regards himself as Zhuge all his life. He hoped that he could become the founding prime minister and establish an immortal career. Wang Bingzhen's vote for Zhang Xianzhong was a last resort, and he once escaped once and was chased back by Xianzhong. At this time, he also hoped that he would succeed in offering loyalty, like Emperor Taizu of this dynasty, because in this way, he would not only not have a bad reputation as a "thief", but would be a "minister of the dragon" of the new dynasty, which was more than Song Lian and Liu Ji's appointment by Taizu, and his "biography" was indispensable in the history books of later generations. As for Pan Duao, because he was forced to go to Liangshan by the local authorities, of course he was eager to change hands. There are also a few people here, although they have different psychological activities, but they are the same in the hope that Zhang Xianzhong will succeed. Only Fang Yuezong didn't know about Wang Youtian's fortune-telling for Xianzhong because he came too late, and second, he didn't want to betray the court, so he didn't pay attention to this issue at all. He was excited and happy at the banquet today, just because he liked Zhang Xianzhong's unrestrained and heroic temperament, and he couldn't help but feel happy when drinking with such a person.

When everyone drank seven points of alcohol, Zhang Xianzhong still continued to toast to the guests, especially to Fang Yuezong, who was the most fierce, changing from a small cup to a large cup, and a large cup to a large bowl. He likes Fang Yuezong, who is honest and bold, does not rely on the power to bully people in the local area, and never asks for anything from him, nor is he afraid of him like others, he deliberately offers him courtesy, but sometimes dares to say to his face that he has done something wrong and should be corrected. However, Fang Yuezong knew that he was already getting drunk, and when he was drunk, he would often make trouble, which was not very elegant, so when Xianzhong poured him wine with a large bowl for the third time, he rudely pushed away the wine jug, and said loudly with his tongue unable to turn:

"Don't toast me again, toast me again. If I drink more, I'll go crazy! ”

"With me, as long as you drink well, it doesn't matter if you get drunk. Anyway, let's drink and have fun today, don't think about going back if you don't get drunk! ”

"Again, again, again, drink again, and I'll become, become a mess of mud." Fang Yuezong said to him.

"There is a sedan chair to carry you back to the house, what are you afraid of?"

Zhang Xianzhong not only forced Fang Yuezong to drink, but also asked everyone to toast Fang, intending to watch his friend's drunken state for fun. Fang Yuezong was already unsteady on his feet, and his face seemed to be separated by a layer of fog. At first he wanted to "stop in moderation", but as he drank, he became very drunk and excited, cried out loudly, patted his chest, and said:

"Well, come on, give your life to accompany the gentleman! Don't look at me drunk, I, I, I can still, 'drink like a long whale - whale - suck a hundred rivers'! ”

Xianzhong smiled and shouted, "Yes, Brother Fang! That's what it looks like! ”

"Respectfully...... General Jing Xuan! Come, come, I'll drink a bowl with you! Fang Yuezong shook all over, held the wine bowl, and continued to shout: "Drink!" Drink it! Don't dare to drink ...... You're a bastard! ”

Xianzhong looked at his friend's drunken state, heard him say rude drunken words, and laughed happily.

"You laugh? You laugh? Fang Yue Zong said with squinted eyes. You've got to laugh right — right — three bowls! …… If you don't drink, if you don't drink, I'll beat you...... Three punches! He drank the wine in the bowl in one gulp, then looked at Xianzhong and shouted, "Drink quickly!" Drink it! Don't pretend! ”

Xianzhong had already sent his adopted son Zhang Dingguo to the county border to prepare, and he himself was going to meet him soon, so he resolutely stopped drinking, but looked at Fang Yuezong's drunken state and continued to laugh. Half of the people in the room were amused, half of them were funny, and they laughed.

"Drink! Drink it! Fang Yuezong shouted indistinctly. If you don't drink, I'll beat you...... Three punches! ”

Zhang Xianzhong only took a sip of the full bowl of wine and continued to laugh. Fang Yuezong suddenly pounced, grabbed the round collar of Xianzhong's brand-new blue satin sable fur robe with his left hand, clenched his right hand into a fist, and hit him the back. When the second punch was about to fall, Xianzhong flashed his body violently, but he didn't expect the neckline of the leather robe to tear a three-inch-long hole with a bang. The guests at the two Eight Immortals tables and the people serving on the left and right were all shocked, and their faces changed color. Fang Yuezong's drunkenness suddenly woke up for the most part, but it was difficult to turn around and step down temporarily. He let go and continued:

"You drink! You drink! ”

Many people thought that Fang Yuezong had caused a big disaster, and his life could not be saved, and at the same time, this wine banquet would also be dissolved. But before they could open their mouths to persuade them, Xianzhong had already stood up with a wine bowl, and said with a grin:

"Brother Fang still has a way, a way. Okay, I'll do this bowl! After speaking, he took his beautiful beard aside, drank it all, and showed the bottom of the bowl to Fang Yuezong.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Bingzhen's hands were clenched very tightly, but when he let go, he felt a cold sweat in his palms. He was about to ask Fang Yuezong to say a few words of reparation, but he didn't expect Xianzhong to seem like there was no such thing, and poured a full wine for himself, picked up the bowl and looked at everyone with a smile and said:

"Please, let's all clear the door!"

Sending a small sedan chair to send away the drunken man Fang Yuezong, Zhang Xianzhong talked to the blind king Youtian for a while, and then gave him fifty taels of silver as a thank you gift. Wang Youtian refused on the one hand, took it in his hand, smiled all over his face, gave up his hand again and again, and sat in the sedan chair. After Xianzhong sent the blind man away, he turned around and asked Xu Yixian:

"What, Lao Xu, are you going to Taiping Town?"

"I'm going right away. In the past few days, I have been practicing the phalanx, and I haven't done it yet. ”

"Okay, there you go. I'm going to the school yard too. Will you be back tonight? ”

"I'll come back and hear what happened to Lin Mingqiu. I'll go back after dinner, because tomorrow I have to start the drill on Friday. ”

Xu Yixian jumped on his horse and went straight to Taiping Town. This place is fifteen miles away from Gucheng, on the north bank of the Han River, formerly known as Wangjia River. Because it was the place where Zhang Xianzhong pretended to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, he changed it to this name, which means that he wanted to share peace with the people of Gucheng. There were more than 10,000 elite soldiers stationed there, led by his adopted son Zhang Kewang, to prevent the official army from Xianrendu to attack Gucheng. Xu Yixian's family lives in the city, and he himself often lives in Taiping Town, according to the pattern of the ancient art of war, referring to the training experience of modern famous generals such as Qi Jiguang, and carefully maneuvering people every day.

"Good military advisor, good military advisor. Damn, I can't find the lantern! Zhang Xianzhong looked at Xu Yixian's back and scolded affectionately in his heart. Sometimes he is particularly kind and appreciative of someone, and he scolds him very rudely. If he is polite and polite to someone, this person must be alienated by him, or he will be unlucky in front of him.

He walked back to the hall, took off his torn mink satin robe, changed into an arrow suit, mounted his majestic north horse, and ran to the school field with a group of generals and personal soldiers.

1,000 pacesetters of the Chinese army are conducting drills in several units in the school field. Some are galloping horses and archery, some are competing with swords, some are practicing single or double knives, some are practicing marksmanship, and some are practicing mace. Xianzhong's troops did not use maces in the past, but since they asked Xu Yixian to be a military advisor, they adopted Xu's suggestion and added this weapon. In the center of the school field, there are several stacks of square tables and bar tables, all of which are one or two feet high. Some have a chair on top of it, and a coffee table on the chair, which looks very dangerous. At the sound of a command, the soldiers climbed to the top like monkeys; One more command, quickly come down. Sometimes the soldiers take the top on the top, then flip a few times in the air and gently jump to the ground. But there are also people who have just practiced for a short time, and they are a little timid and clumsy, which makes people look ridiculous. Zhang Xianzhong stood nearby, looked at it for a while, praised some people, and laughed at some people. Since he was so happy today, he didn't lose his temper with the soldiers who had trained the worst. He laughed at them and scolded them a few times, very rudely, but kindly. The people who were scolded felt ashamed, but they felt comfortable, looked at him and grinned, and assured that they would be able to practice well.

"You won't grow in a few days, be careful that Lao Tzu makes your ass bloom!" Xianzhong made a threatening appearance with a horse whip, and added: "Everyone will whip your mother's twenty lashes less!" ”

"I must learn!" Several people replied in unison with smiles on their faces.

"Come, let's take a look. You turtle sons, damn it, stupid as bears! ”

He handed the whip to one of his soldiers, rolled up the sleeve of the arrow, spat in the palm of his hand, rubbed it, climbed up with great ease, and then climbed down again. After climbing up the second time, he grabbed the corner of the chair, took the top with one hand, and landed on his heel. The soldiers all looked at him with amazement, and some couldn't help but exclaim, "Good! Xianzhong calmly straightened his hat, and while pulling down the arrow sleeves, he scolded with great interest:

"You little bastards, give me practice, follow the example of Lao Tzu!"

He was afraid that some of his new brothers did not understand the importance of practicing this skill, so he explained to them:

"It's a good practice. If you practice well, it will not be difficult to climb mountains, jump cliffs, climb cities, and cross villages. Damn, the people of Gucheng have never seen such a military training, and they all say that I am the reincarnation of a monkey. Turtle sons, rare and weird, nonsense! He laughed, and then joked again: "Yiduo is not pressing." In the future, if you don't want to follow Lao Tzu to fight the country, you can go to Nanjing to run horses and sell food, and you can't go hungry. This sentence made everyone laugh.

His beloved Ma Yuanli Pegasus came to the school field, and only jumped off the horse in front of him and reported to him: Lord Patrol has almost arrived at the border of Gucheng County.

"Shall we go and greet it now?"

"Yes. I've got all the centaurs. ”

"What about Dingguo?"

"He's waiting at the border."

"Okay, let's go. Turtle son! ”

Zhang Xianzhong and Ma Yuanli immediately rode back to the old camp, and there were already 200 soldiers wearing one-color uniforms and riding one-color horses, standing outside the gate and waiting. In front of the procession, a large red silk flag fluttered, and the center of the flag was embroidered with a large black "Zhang" character. Xianzhong walked into the house, and according to the rules of the solemn etiquette of meeting the chief, he changed into full armor, put on his back, hung up his sword, and strode out with great strides. Just as he was about to get on the horse and set off, Ruan Zhitian, the magistrate of Gucheng County, came in a small green sedan chair carried by four people, and before he got out of the sedan chair, he shouted to him:

"General Zhang, please wait a moment, the student has a few words to talk to the general."

Immediately, the sedan chair fell to the ground, and Ruan Zhitian bowed and walked out of the sedan chair. This is a figure in his forties, with a sparse beard, a little pedantic and stubborn temper, who walked up to Xianzhong in a figure-of-eight step and bowed deeply to him. Xianzhong was very tired of him in his heart, but he also had to return the salute and asked in a mocking tone:

"What are the instructions of the parents and officials in person?"

"The general is going to greet Lord Tai?" Ruan Zhitian asked respectfully.

"Yes. You want to come with me? ”

"The students walked slowly in a sedan chair, and they couldn't accompany the general, so they had to greet them in the suburbs." Ruan Zhitian took a step closer, with a very unnatural smile, and lowered his voice and said, "General Zhang, the students are here to pay their respects today, not for anything else, but because there are some soldiers under his command who do not abide by military discipline and openly rob outside the city. The students did not dare not come to plead to the general to strictly deal with the law in accordance with the law, so that the gentry in the suburbs could live and work in peace and contentment, and they felt great virtue. ”

"Is that the little thing?" Zhang Xianzhong asked with a contemptuous smile.

"That's it. It is a matter of the general's prestige, and the students dare not rashly admonish it. ”

"Didn't I already do what you told me before?"

"It's happening again today. The soldier who robbed the rich family was a subordinate of General Bai Wenxuan, and the student had just handed over the captured soldier to him, and had already interviewed him face to face. ”

"Why did you come to me again when you talked to him?"

"As the commander of the whole army, the general is known for his commands, so our county does not shy away from being presumptuous, and I have come here to plead, please strictly investigate and govern the army, so as to enforce military discipline and settle the place."

Zhang Xianzhong scolded in his heart: "Turtle son, I will take Lao Tzu's army again!" ”

Bai Wenxuan sent people to pretend to be bandits to rob and kill some wealthy and wealthy people, which was loyal and instructive. In order to maintain the hypocrisy of being appeased, he could not openly punish these rich and wealthy people in the name of his own army. However, the brothers who went were sometimes negligent, and they were once secretly tracked down by the landlords from behind, found out the details, and complained to the county yamen by name. He didn't expect that even people would be arrested today, which is really unreasonable! Frowning and silent for a moment, Zhang Xianzhong said with a helpless, cold and indifferent look:

"If my boss doesn't pay, I can't help it. Is it possible to tell the brethren to drink the northwest wind on an empty stomach to strictly observe military discipline? You were born to drink ink, you have never led a soldier, and you don't know my difficulties. The brethren were so hungry that they borrowed food from large families to satisfy their hunger. When the imperial court pays silver, naturally no one will rob it anymore. ”

"This, this ......"

Zhang Xianzhong didn't wait for Ruan Zhitian to speak again, flew on his horse, raised his whip, and ran out of the east gate with Ma Yuanli and his soldiers like a gust of wind, leaving a billowing yellow dust on the street.

"He's a turtle son, this 'old man'," he scolded on his horse, "what a whistling ghost on the Wangxiang Terrace, who doesn't know how to die!" ”

Because Zhang Xianzhong had been to Luzhou Mansion and knew that Hefei people could not pronounce the two sounds of "mother" and "chicken", he said that the hen was "Mengzi", which was interesting, so he saw Ruan Zhitian's short and fat body and swaying walking, so he nicknamed him "Lao Mengzi".

Zhang Xianzhong went out of the east gate of Gucheng, crossed the Han River from the Xianren Crossing Pontoon Bridge, and ran east along the avenue leading to Xiangfan on the north bank of the Han River. More than an hour later, they arrived at Banzhadian, which is now Taipingdian, fifty miles away from Gucheng, and every horse was sweating. The 3,000 horse infantry stationed in the area had already lined up on both sides of the Xiangjiang River under the leadership of his adopted son Zhang Dingguo, and dozens of large and small boats were leaning on both sides of the river, each mast had a red flag waving, and on the bow and stern stood all the soldiers in full clothes, and the military appearance was very neat. Zhang Xianzhong arranged the two hundred cavalry he brought with him on the north bank of the Xiangjiang River, and all of them rode on their horses and did not move. He himself immediately waited under the banner for the seven large ships that sailed from downstream. Seeing that the seven big boats were less than two miles away, Zhang Xianzhong swung his chin at Ma Yuanli, so the young general with a beautiful face and dashing demeanor immediately dismounted, jumped into a small boat, and sailed downstream like an arrow. Immediately after, the flag and drum officer waved the small flag in his hand, and three cannon shots rang out from a large boat, and drumming on both sides of the strait was loud.

In fact, Zhang Xianzhong not only held a grudge against Huguang Patrol Yu Shi Lin Mingqiu, but also despised it very much. In February of this year, Lin Mingqiu, together with Wang Ruizheng of the Xiangyang Sub-Patrol and Zuo Liangyu, the general soldier, secretly planned to arrest Zhang Xianzhong when he went to Xiangyang to meet Prime Minister Xiong Wencan after his surrender, and at the same time besieged his troops by surprise. It's just because Zhang Xianzhong is very vigilant and doesn't go to Xiangyang for some reason, and the other is that Xiong Wencan, who is mediocre and corrupt, and his left and right civil and military forces all think that Xianzhong is a sincere surrender and insist on disagreeing, and Lin Mingqiu's plan has not been realized. Afterwards, Zhang Xianzhong knew about it, on the one hand, he hated them for being insidious and vicious, and on the other hand, he laughed at them for being stupid. "Damn, this bunch of bastards are playing tricks, and they treat us Lao Tzu as a fool!" Now Lin Mingqiu's seven big boats are getting closer. The second boat was particularly large, with several cronies wearing horned hats and round-necked silk robes standing at the bow, as well as a group of soldiers in trumpet clothes and soap-clad servants standing at the stern. Outside the cabin door are "avoidance" and "quiet" tiger head signs and various deacons, as well as a pair of large official rank yarn lanterns. Zhang Xianzhong said in his heart: "Dick! It's not small! Then he gave an order to a junior colonel next to him, and immediately three cannons rang out on the riverbank, and the drums played loudly. He subconsciously straightened the bronze helmet and jumped off the horse. Although welcoming Lin Mingqiu with a very grand etiquette like this was discussed in advance with Xu Yixian, Pan Duao, Ma Yuanli, etc., the purpose was to coax the imperial court, so that he could settle in Gucheng for a period of time and rest his troops to recuperate. But at this moment, he suddenly felt very uncomfortable that he was so groveling in front of the soldiers, standing on the riverbank waiting to be heard, and said in his heart:

"Our Lao Tzu has rebelled for more than ten years, crisscrossing several provinces, and has braved some winds and waves, who doesn't say that our eight kings are heroes, and now they are low to meet a dog official, what kind of brand name is this! Damn, next time I do this, Lao Tzu is not raised by people! ”

Ma Yuanli stood on the bow of the small boat and saluted Lin Yushi's boat, and loudly reported that Zhang Xianzhong, the "chief general of the Gucheng garrison", greeted him on the shore. On the large ship, there was a priest in a robe who was transferred to the cabin. Lin Mingqiu didn't make a sound, and nodded slightly. The official came out of the cabin and said to Ma Yuanli: "Lord Tai knows, please lead the way in front." Ma Yuanli turned around and waved to the soldiers, and the small boat immediately turned its head and led the big ship forward.

After a while, Lin Mingqiu's seven big boats and Ma Yuanli's small boat all arrived at the place where Zhang Xianzhong and the horse infantry stood and greeted them, and stopped against the pier on the north shore amid the sound of drums and firecrackers. Zhang Xianzhong jumped on the big boat, bowed, arched his hands, and said in a loud voice:

"Humble general Zhang Xianzhong see my lord!"

Lin Mingqiu should have walked out of the cabin a long time ago, in order to show that he was a member of the imperial court, the governor of a province, he deliberately sat in the cabin, and only when Zhang Xianzhong saw it did he put down the teacup in his hand and bent out of the cabin. But on the one hand, he tried his best to make a dignified appearance, so as not to despise Xianzhong, but on the other hand, he couldn't help but panic in his heart, forgot to bow his head when he got out of the hatch, touched the top of the gauze hat, and quickly straightened it with his hand.

As soon as Zhang Xianzhong saw Lin Mingqiu walk out of the cabin, he immediately bowed extremely respectfully, and knelt on the bow of the boat after kowtowing and deliberately did not dare to raise his head. Lin Mingqiu didn't expect Zhang Xianzhong to be so polite to him, and when he saw this situation, he was overjoyed, and hurriedly went to support Xianzhong, saying:

"General, please get up, please get up. Please go to the cabin to talk. ”

When Lin Mingqiu and Zhang Xianzhong walked into the cabin, the drumming on both sides of the strait stopped, and only then did the cavalry in line dismount and rest, but it was still not chaotic at all.

Lin Mingqiu met with Zhang Xianzhong's big ship, some of whom were sitting in the back cabin, and some were standing on the bow of the ship to watch Xianzhong's military appearance. Immediately behind is also a very large boat, sitting Lin Mingqiu's concubine, two old mothers and four girls, and two cabins containing large and small suitcases and delicacies from the mountains and seas. Most of these boxes were empty, and after living in Gucheng for half a year, they were to be filled with silk and satin, gold and silver jewelry, antiques and jade, celebrity paintings and calligraphy, and shipped back to Wuchang. According to the system of the Ming Dynasty, the inspector was not allowed to bring his family members while in office, but in the last years, the old rules had been broken.

There were four other big boats behind, one of which was carrying Lin Mingqiu's staff and Qing Ke, and three were carrying the guards. These staff, cleaners, and guards all stood on the bow and stern of the ship, looking at Zhang Xianzhong's soldiers with curious eyes, whispering and praising them.

After letting Xianzhong into the cabin, Lin Mingqiu gave up his seat with a reserved smile. Xianzhong was very humble and refused to take his seat, but bowed down and said, "Your Excellency, please take a seat." Adults, please be seated. How can there be a seat for the last general in front of adults! After Lin Mingqiu's repeated requests, he respectfully made a gesture to the Inspector to thank him, and then sat down sideways in the guest seat. An old family member brought two cups of tea and placed them in front of his fellow host, and he respectfully owed himself. At this moment, he glanced at Lin Mingqiu's well-maintained, slightly fat face, and immediately felt a feeling of nausea flooding his heart, as if he had eaten a fly. He scolded secretly: "You bastard must have eaten enough people's fat and people's ointment to raise such a fat head and brain, shiny and shiny!" One day...... "It was as if he saw such a fat head not on the body of a living man, but hanging on the gate of the Valley City or something."

Lin Mingqiu was very satisfied with Zhang Xianzhong. Over the past few months, he, his aunt's wife, and his cronies have all accepted bribes from Xianzhong in different ways, and have already begun to change all their preconceptions about Xianzhong. Now seeing Xianzhong greeted so ceremoniously and bowed so politely, he believed that Xianzhong was indeed sincerely obedient to the imperial court.

"The student came to Gucheng this time to ......" Lin Mingqiu said half a sentence, suddenly stopped, picked up the teacup with a fat, thin-skinned, white-skinned, and long-nailed hand, and whispered at the same time: "Please!" Please! ”

Xianzhong respectfully picked up the teacup and said, "Your Excellency, please." ”

Lin Mingqiu drank half a mouthful of tea, put down the cup, stroked his beard, and continued:

"The students came to Gucheng this time to meet with the general."

Xianzhong quickly stood up, bowed down and replied: "Xianzhong is ignorant and ignorant, and everything is subject to the instructions of the adults. ”

"Don't be too modest, don't be too modest." Lin Mingqiu nodded and said with a smile. "Please sit down and talk, don't be formal. Since the general returned to the imperial court, the people of Gucheng congratulated each other, which is really a blessing for the common people. I don't know how many soldiers there are under my command? ”

"A little over 100,000." Xianzhong replied with a low body, deliberately saying more than three times.

"100,000 horses is not a small number. If the general can really serve the imperial court, he will definitely be able to build immortal achievements in the future, and his name will be famous. ”

Xianzhong said generously: "Xianzhong reads less poetry and books, and he doesn't understand the profound truth, but the purpose of 'serving the imperial court' is determined." As long as I can give the last general 100,000 people a salary, give me an official title, and issue it to Guan Fang, I am willing to protect the territory and people of Yunyang, Xiangyang, and Jingzhou from thieves, so that every household can sleep with the door open. ”

Lin Mingqiu hurriedly replied: "Since the general has this sincerity, the imperial court can't treat the general badly." As for the monthly salary, job title, and customs defense, after the students returned to Xiangyang, on the one hand, they made it clear to the lord of the government, and on the other hand, they also went to the court to beg on their behalf. ”

"Master Xie cultivates!" Xianzhong stood up again and was about to kowtow, but was stopped by Lin Mingqiu.

"This is a bloody man who understands righteousness." Lin Mingqiu said in his heart. "It can be seen that all kinds of rumors outside the world are rumors, and they cannot be believed."

Xianzhong asked: "My lord, are you going to sail to Gucheng now?" ”

"It's getting late, and it's Shangshui again, so let's stop here tonight. The boat will sail early tomorrow morning, and if there is a good wind, you can rush to Gucheng in time. ”

Xianzhong stood up and said, "Your Excellency is tired from the journey, and the last general will take his leave for the time being, and prepare to lead the gentry of the city to greet him outside the city tomorrow." ”

Lin Mingqiu said cordially: "Please sit down for a while and talk casually." ”

The old family came in lightly again and changed to hot tea. In order to express his identity as an elder and his concern for Xianzhong, Lin Mingqiu asked about Xianzhong's family situation and age. When he knew that Xianzhong was only thirty-three years old this year, he nodded again and again and praised him:

"It's the year of promise! At a general's age, as long as he is loyal to the imperial court, he will gain fame and wealth like a mustard ear. After speaking, he laughed a few times with his gray beard.

Xianzhong said: "The last general is naturally willing to serve the imperial court, but the imperial court refuses to believe it, does not give a title, and does not pay a monthly salary." If this goes on for a long time, it will inevitably chill the soldiers. I beg you to give me a lot of support, and I will be grateful to you for your kindness and never forget. ”

"Rest assured, rest assured. I will definitely play the emperor for you. ”

Lin Mingqiu also talked about Luo Rucai's newly appeased and Li Zicheng's being completely defeated. Speaking of the latter in particular, he was very pleased, saying:

"One is Emperor Weiling, the other is the soldiers with their lives, and the thieves in Shaanxi are flattened." As soon as he said this, he suddenly remembered that the word "thief" might touch the taboo of loyalty, and couldn't help but pause. After seeing that Xianzhong's face was as usual, he continued: "Kantang newspaper said that this time, thanks to the proper command of the Hong Mansion, Qin Fusun Baigu set up three ambushes in the southern plains of Tongguan, one every fifty miles, and ordered Cao Bianjiao, He Renlong and others to chase after them from behind. The thieves rushed into the ambush, the men and horses trampled on each other, and General Cao personally held a long knife in his hand, shouting to cut the thief, and the ambush soldiers rose in all directions, covering and killing on all sides. The thieves were killed and wounded. Those who were lucky enough to escape the siege abandoned their swords and guns, and some abandoned their horses and fled into the Hannan Mountains. In advance, the Hongzhi Mansion sent a message to the village soldiers everywhere, and they all used big sticks to intercept them, so that the thieves flew away, and hundreds of thousands of people surrendered one after another, and the armor battle was like a mountain. According to the Tang newspaper, Li Zicheng lost both his wife and daughter, and only escaped from the 17th Cavalry. He also said that he had been shot dead by the villagers, but that his body had not yet been found. Alas, this is a blessing for the common people! After a pause, he added another sentence like the finishing touch: "Naturally, if Li Zicheng can understand the righteousness like a general and return to the court as soon as possible, he will not end up like this." ”

Zhang Xianzhong pretended to be listening. When Lin Mingqiu finished speaking, he smiled slightly and didn't say a word. He believed that Li Zicheng was indeed wiped out, and the spies he sent out also reported in this way, but in addition to this, he thought that many of the things Lin Mingqiu said were hearsay, and he spewed feces smoothly, which made him feel angry and ridiculous, and at the same time scolded in his stomach: "Mom, it turns out that you were taught by a candy blower!" ”

"General Jing Xuan, according to your opinion, will the situation in Shaanxi be stable from now on?" Lin Mingqiu asked with a smug smile.

"It's hard to say, and the last general won't dare to speculate." Zhang Xianzhong replied that he wanted to teach Lin Mingqiu a lesson so that he would not be overjoyed. "It is true that Li Zicheng defeated the officers and soldiers, but the words in the Tang newspaper are often very unreliable."

"The general means ......"

"Please forgive your loyalty."

"You might as well speak up." Lin Mingqiu stroked his beard with a confused smile.

"I'm not afraid of the adult's blame, the last general will be honest, the Tang newspaper of the imperial court really can't be believed. Take the Tang newspaper news that the adults just said, I heard someone talk about it half a month ago, but I always feel that there are some places that are not right with the tenon. For example, in the spring, I heard that Yang Ge Lao of the Ministry of War played a recital to the emperor, saying that there were hundreds of thousands of people when Li Zicheng entered Sichuan, and only a few tens of thousands were left when he left Sichuan. In fact, Li Zicheng did not fight a tough battle in Sichuan, and he would not lose many men and horses. According to the general's estimate, they will not exceed 30,000 men and horses when they enter Sichuan, and when they leave Sichuan, it will still be about the same number, of which Li Zicheng's own men and horses will not exceed 20,000. His group has been fighting for ten months in a row, how many more can they go to Tongguan Nanyuan? It is said that it has seven or eight thousand people, and including the dependents of the camp, it is estimated that it is about 10,000 at most, and it will not be more. The Tang newspaper said that countless people were killed and hundreds of thousands surrendered, which is not worthy of the tenon. Xianzhong laughed and said, "My lord, do you say yes?" ”

"Makes sense. Reasonable. Lin Mingqiu nodded with a smile and said.

Because he refuted the nonsense of the official Tang newspaper for Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong's heart felt happy. Some words are like fish bones stuck in the throat, and you can't do it if you don't spit it out. Spit out a little and be happy, and spit it out all and be happy. So he went on to say:

"Besides, Tongguan is far from Hanshui. It is said that he lost the battle in the southern plains of Tongguan and fled to the mountains of Hannan, which is a mistake in the direction. It's not right again. Speaking of this, Xianzhong wanted to laugh out loud, but in front of Lin Mingqiu, he had to hold it hard, and ended his words: "The last general is ignorant, take the liberty to speak out, please forgive me." ”

"Ahh I think that 'Hannam' should be a mistake for 'Naknam'. ”

At this time, Lin Mingqiu felt a little embarrassed, and at the same time knew more clearly that Zhang Xianzhong was indeed not an ordinary person, and he could not be regarded as a simple "thief". After a moment of silence, he smiled and asked:

"What do you think of the governance of the army in the Hong Mansion?"

Zhang Xianzhong said humbly: "Who is Xianzhong, how dare you talk about how Governor Hong governs the army?" ”

"There are no outsiders, so it's okay to say it." Lin Mingqiu stared at Xianzhong with his eyes, encouraging him not to worry, in fact, he thought that Zhang Xianzhong must not admire Hong Chengchou's good at leading troops.

Xian Zhong smiled, and to Lin Mingqiu's surprise, he said: "Among the several commanders of the imperial court, Governor Hong is still croaking. It's a pity that the army under his command often kills good people and makes meritorious deeds, and the people hate them to the core. ”

"Hong Hengjiu will also kill good and take credit?"

"A few months ago, Xianzhong saw a copy of the palace, on which was a letter from the imperial historian Liu Dongyin impeaching Governor Hong. Have you ever seen one? ”

"Ah, I can't remember."

"Governor Hong reported to the emperor that he had won a great victory in the old county of Baoning Prefecture in Sichuan. According to Liu Dongyin's note, Governor Hong's men and horses did not engage Li Zicheng's brigade, but only chased after them without leaving the rear, sometimes intercepting dozens of stragglers and picking up some cheapness. The villages and towns passed by the officers and soldiers were rewarded by the heads of the good people. In one village, more than 70 good people were cut off from their heads. Among these unjust citizens were Yoo Dong-in's relatives. ”

"Ahh This is indeed the case. I didn't expect General Jing Xuan to be so attentive and clear about all the movements of the imperial court! Hahahaha......"

Xianzhong also laughed and said, "Don't hide it from the adults, this is no way, you have to be careful." Fighting a war is not fun, and you can't sit in the drums in a daze. If that's the case, isn't it too late? ”

Lin Mingqiu is shrewd and penetrating about Zhang Xianzhong's view, and he can't help but secretly admire. Although Xianzhong's words inevitably abrupt him, the Inspector, he could not help but admit that Xianzhong's words were true. In the past, he heard people say that Zhang Xianzhong was illiterate and very rude, and recently he heard that Xianzhong had read books when he was a child, and he was extremely smart, but the preconceived preconceptions in the past were always difficult to throw away from his heart. When I saw it today, I threw my old prejudices to Java. He was about to ask about Xianzhong's current training in Gucheng, when Xianzhong stood up and said goodbye to him. He won't say anything.

He became very polite, sent Xianzhong to the shore, stood up and said a few words of reward, and then said goodbye.

Zhang Xianzhong took Ma Yuanli and 200 cavalry back to Gucheng, leaving his adopted son Zhang Dingguo to defend the patrol. Dingguo told most of the men to return to the nearby villages and towns, leaving only 300 men stationed by the river. He himself was stationed in the Dragon King Temple on the riverbank.

Looking at Zhang Xianzhong's banner in the shadow of the sun near dusk, in the billowing smoke and dust, and after the cold and vast river bank in winter, several cronies and Qing guests walked into the cockpit of the Inspector and talked about some of their impressions of Zhang Xianzhong, and more importantly, they wanted to hear the impression of the Inspector. They praised Zhang Xianzhong's military appearance as strict and neat, which was not comparable to ordinary "rogue gangsters", and said that Zhang Xianzhong was quite polite and seemed to be "sincere and obedient." Lin Mingqiu was in the army of General Zhang Xianzhong, he didn't plan to say it to everyone, but he thought that those words had probably been heard by the staff on the same ship, so it was better to say them, so he smiled and said:

"You old gentlemen don't know, although Zhang Jingxuan doesn't read much, he is very insightful in his heart, and it is no wonder that he can become such a big climate among the rogues. Regarding the recent victory of Shaanxi officials and troops in the southern plains of Tongguan, Zhang Jingxuan has a different view. The students thought his words were reasonable. ”

When he expressed his opinion, the staff and the pilgrims immediately said in unison: "Ah, right! Reasonable! In fact, they have always believed in the Tang newspaper and all the official documents of the victory, and they also have a half-believing attitude towards how great the results of the battle in Tongguan Nanyuan are, but usually no one is willing to say what is in their hearts in public, and now they take the opportunity to say it. The topic turned to Zhang Xianzhong's appearance, and some people said that General Jing Xuan (they all called Zhang Xianzhong General Jing Xuan or Jing Xuan alone, expressing cordiality and respect) has a really good beard, I am afraid that it is more than a foot long, and he is simply a beautiful beard. Some people say that he has a slightly yellow skin and is slightly thin, but he looks very heroic and "unusually fierce". Later, he talked about a scar on Zhang Xianzhong's forehead, speculating that it may have been an arrow wound shot by Luo Dai in Nanyang in the first month of this year, but said that it may have been cut by Zuo Liangyu with a knife.

Lin Mingqiu talked with his staff for a while, yawned, and walked to the concubine's boat. Mrs. Aunt poured him a cup of hot tea, and brought the white fungus soup to him with her own hands, and said delicately:

"Master, I used to think that Zhang Xianzhong had a red beard and two pheasant feathers on his head, but it turned out that it wasn't!"

Lin Mingqiu twisted his white beard and said with a smile: "That's the king of the mountain on the stage, not Zhang Jingxuan." ”

"You see, in the past, people said that he killed people without blinking, how afraid of people! Why is he called the Eight Kings? ”

"I heard that he was the eighth oldest among his brothers, so he called himself the Eight Kings after the incident."

Seeing that the girl and the old mother had withdrawn, the aunt whispered: "Tomorrow we will go to Gucheng, I don't know what gift Zhang Xianzhong will give us, don't ask me to come with the old man for nothing." ”

"Don't worry, gold, silver and jewelry are always indispensable."

"I don't want anything, I just want an emerald."

When Lin Mingqiu was talking to his coquettish aunt, Zhang Xianzhong took his cavalry and continued to gallop towards Gucheng. He asked Ma Yuanli happily:

"Yuanli, you say, is this play we played today interesting?"

"It's funny." Ma Yuanli raised his whip and let out a knowing smile.

"Hey, he's a turtle son!" Zhang Xianzhong scolded and laughed.

On the morning of the next day, Zhang Xianzhong led a number of important generals, and Zhang Dajing, the superintendent of the army, led the local gentry of Gucheng to greet the governor in the suburbs. Although Lin Mingqiu changed to an eight-person sedan chair due to bad winds, he was delayed on the road and arrived at the wrong time. When his wife and some of his staff arrived, it was nearly dusk.

Lin Mingqiu was stationed in the courtyard, very close to Zhang Xianzhong's mansion. After entering the procuratorate, after a short rest, Zhang Dajing and Xianzhong led the generals to formally meet with the local gentry, and then held a feast in the procuratorate to catch the wind for the patrol. After the banquet dispersed, Lin Mingqiu kept Xianzhong alone, introduced the signing room, retreated left and right, and suddenly asked:

"General Jing Xuan, do you know Li Zicheng's whereabouts?"

Xianzhong was secretly taken aback: "Why did the patrol ask me like this?" He actually didn't know, could it be that the court heard some rumors and was suspicious of him?

"When I go back to my lordship, I don't know anything. I wonder if there is any definite news from the imperial court? ”

"There is no definite news from the imperial court. However, the body of the robber has not been found, and many rumors have spread. The students' visit to Gucheng this time is actually related to this matter. Lin Mingqiu said while paying attention to the look of dedication, and there was pressure in his tone, but he had already used the humble word "student" for dedication.

Xianzhong leaned over and asked, "I don't know what rumors there are?" ”

"Some say he fled to Hannan or Shangluo Mountain, some say he fled to Laohui and was bedridden, and some say he did die in battle. There are many rumors, and there is no consensus. Ten days ago, suddenly there was a group of thieves under the banner of breaking the king, raiding Tongguan, and waiting for He Renlong to chase out, but this group of thieves disappeared. If the whereabouts of the thieves are not quickly ascertained, not only will Hong Zhitai and Governor Sun be questioned by the emperor, but even our Prime Minister will have something to do with it. ”

"Why is the Prime Minister involved?"

Lin Mingqiu paused for a moment and said, "Jing Xuan, I see that you are sincere and obedient, so you might as well make it clear to you." Recently, someone secretly reported to the prime minister that Li Zicheng had fled to Gucheng and was hiding in your place. Although it was a rumor, the prime minister was extremely uneasy about it, so he specially ordered the students to come in person. ”

"The last general dared to swear to the sky, Li Zicheng did not escape. Since Chongzhen eight years ago, Li Zicheng and I have fallen out and have no contact with each other. Therefore, even if he had nowhere to stay after the defeat, he would never dare to flee to take refuge here. ”

"The two of you are not convinced by each other, and you have deep opinions, and the court has also heard about it. But as the saying goes, a monk doesn't kiss his hat. After all, you were all members of the thirteen families in the past. Lin Mingqiu looked at Zhang Xianzhong's face and laughed dryly.

Xianzhong also smiled and said: "Xianzhong swears to be a loyal minister of the court, how can he secretly return it with the thief!" I sincerely convey to the Prime Minister, don't believe the rumors, so that Xianzhong can garrison Gucheng with peace of mind, protect the territory and the people, and serve as a barrier for the upper reaches of Xiangyang, so that the Prime Minister will not have to worry about the West. If Lord Xiong is still suspicious of Xianzhong, how can Xianzhong's 100,000 troops be at ease? ”

Lin Mingqiu hurriedly reassured: "I will definitely turn it to the Prime Minister, please don't worry about it." However, if the thief is cornered, in case he escapes and asks the general for shelter for a while, I hope that the general will not lose this opportunity to make meritorious service and send this cunning thief to the imperial court, then not only will the general be trusted by the imperial court from now on, but he will also be rewarded by the marquis, and his name will be famous in history. ”

"If Li Zicheng dares to come and defect, he will definitely obey the instructions of the lord and send him to the court to show his loyalty and sincerity."

"Good, good! The general is full of youth, and the future is limitless. ”

"Cultivated by Lord Dok."

Lin Mingqiu picked up the teacup and put it to his lips and smacked it, revealing a tired expression. Zhang Xianzhong quickly stood up and bowed to say goodbye.

Out of the procuratorate, Zhang Xianzhong walked back to the mansion with a large group of personal soldiers, and scolded in his heart as he walked: "Lin Mingqiu, what kind of play, you still want to cheat Lao Tzu!" As soon as he arrived in the courtyard, Bai Wenxuan greeted him and muttered in his ear:

"King Li Chuang is here."

Xianzhong was startled, and looked at Bai Wenxuan with wide eyes, but he was afraid of leaking the news, so he didn't ask anything, and walked to the back house casually.

CHAPTER XVII

Walking through the hall, when he arrived at the second courtyard, Zhang Xianzhong saw that there were only a few close people left around him, so he whispered to Bai Wenxuan:

"Where is Zicheng?"

"He waits outside the city, and sends the old fairy to meet you first."

"Shang Ziming? Where is it? ”

"I'm afraid of leaking the news, so let him sit in the back flower hall and wait."

Xianzhong walked through the moon gate to the right, bypassed the Taihu Lake rockery, took three steps and made two steps, and walked towards the flower hall. At the foot of the steps of the flower hall, he met the doctor with a smiling face, he stepped forward and grabbed him, shook the doctor's hands again and again, and said loudly:

"Ahh Dude! I can't imagine it! Falling from the sky! Then he lowered his voice and asked, "Man, where did you come from?" ”

The old fairy did not answer his question, nor could he draw his hand to salute, and said with a smile:

"How is the handsome lately?"

"Good, good. How are you doing there? I've heard that, really? Xianzhong asked as he pulled the guest to the hall.

"It's a big loss, but it's not over."

"Not over? I've heard that you're all wiped out, and it's not over yet? ”

"As long as it is self-contained, it will not be finished."

Xianzhong glanced at the doctor's face, slapped him heavily on the shoulder, and said, "Yes, yes." He laughed. Then he sighed affectionately and said:

"Godmother, you said this, I'm relieved!" He ordered the wine to be set quickly, then turned back to the doctor and asked, "I am very happy to hear that Zicheng is here." Since your battle in Tongguan, my old Zhang sent people to inquire about your whereabouts, but he was always untrustworthy. Some people say that they have died in battle, we don't believe it, but we can't help but put a stone in our hearts. Now, the stone has been removed. Man, how many people are you bringing here? ”

"Fifty or so."

"Who are the generals who are coming?"

"Didn't come. King Chuang only called Shuangxi and Zhang Nai to follow. ”

Xianzhong touched his beard and said with a smile: "Two little monkeys...... You've grown taller in the past two or three years, right? ”

"Not only has I grown taller, but I have also made great progress in martial arts."

"Of course, there are no weak soldiers under the strong generals, and I know if you don't say it." Xianzhong laughed again. "How are Jiexuan and Yufeng?" He then asked.

"Yufeng is fine. Jiexuan hung up the lottery and was cured. ”

"How's that?"

"It's also hung up, and now it's okay."

"As long as a few old brothers are very good, my old Zhang will be relieved. Sister-in-law Li heard that she hasn't been whereabouts yet, right? ”

"Still no whereabouts."

"Hi, really! If it is in case Sister-in-law Li has three long and two short, it would be a pity! She really deserves to be the niece of King Gao Ruyue, and she is a good helper in her own right. In our old days, there were thousands of women in the seventy-two camps of the thirteen families, and there were very few capable and respected people like Sister-in-law Li. ”

Shang Jiong couldn't help sighing, shook his head, and said, "Now although everyone is looking forward to her coming back safely, and always saying some reassuring words in front of Zicheng, they are afraid that she will not come back." It is said that even if the troops are divided, if she doesn't take too much care of the dependents and color numbers of the old camp when she breaks through, she will definitely rush out. If she has a good one, she will die for everyone, and she will die vigorously. ”

"Dividing the army is one way, but why let her leave with the big group of elites? She should break through with Zicheng. Self-contained is really, let your wife be alone! ”

Shang Jiong saw that Xianzhong was not in a hurry to ask where Zicheng was waiting outside the city, how to greet him, where to stay, etc., and doubts arose in his heart: Could it be that he was unwilling to meet King Chuang? The doctor was about to test the words, but Xu Yixian came.

Xu Yixian also attended the banquet in the courtyard. After the banquet dispersed, he was left behind by Fang Juren, a former acquaintance who was now Lin Mingqiu's confidant, and talked a few private words. Because he was a loyal military advisor, Fang Juren specially told him the original intention of Lord Lin to come to Gucheng this time, and asked him to help Xianzhong investigate Li Zicheng's whereabouts, catch Zicheng, and establish a great merit. Xu Yixian came out of the procuratorate and hurriedly came to Xianzhong's mansion to talk about this matter with Xianzhong. Hearing that Zicheng had gone to the outside of Gucheng City, Shang Jiong was talking to Xianzhong in the flower hall at the back, so he came directly to the flower hall to find out the situation. Li Zicheng came to Gucheng at this time, and the news made him happy and surprised. Happily: God sent ghosts, and Li Zicheng himself came to throw himself into the hands of Xianzhong. What was surprising was that Li Zicheng really had the courage to travel hundreds of miles of official and military districts to meet his friends who had long been at odds with him. He was determined to make a statement to Xianzhong, and took advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secretly get rid of King Li Chuang, leaving no one who could compete with Xianzhong in the future.

Zhang Xianzhong introduced his military advisor to Shang Jiong, and pointed to Shang Jiong and said to Xu Yixian:

"Lao Xu, don't look down on him, he is even higher than Hua Tuo's medical Tao! Li Tie walked on his back with a medicine gourd and didn't use it, if he met me, his lame leg would have been healed a long time ago. ”

His words drew laughter. Although Xu Yixian saw Shang Jiong for the first time, he had already heard many stories about him. In the eighth year of Chongzhen, because Zhang Xianzhong participated in the eastward army led by Gao Yingxiang, his troops often fought side by side with the eighth team led by Li Zicheng, and the company battalion was stationed, so Shang Jiong often treated Jin Chuang's subordinates for Xianzhong. Shang Jiong's medical skills are superb, and he once saved Zhang Kewang's concubine Xu, but this incident has become a very magical story after people have added branches and leaves. It is said that one day Zhang Kewang got drunk and beheaded his beloved concubine Xu Lizhen with a sword. After waking up, Zhang Kewang was remorseful and very sad. Knowing that the Xu family had been buried, he went to the new grave and cried. For ten days in a row, he was sad and bored day and night, and his sleep and food were wasted. On the eleventh day, Shang Jiong came to see him and told him that Xu was not dead, and that he was now living with Mrs. Gao, and asked him to go and pick her up in person. The doctor put forward two conditions to him: one is that he is not allowed to kill anyone in vain from now on, and the other is that he is not allowed to be rude to Xu from now on. Zhang Kewang naturally agreed. With half-believing feelings, he rode with the doctor to Li Zicheng's camp and dismounted in front of Mrs. Gao's tent. Mrs. Gao walked out, euphemistically reprimanded Kewang as an elder, and then called the Xu family to come out of the account to meet him. Xu Lizhen was supported by Mrs. Gao's female soldiers, and walked out slowly with her head down, although her body was weaker than before, she was still as charming as a peach blossom. She glanced at Kewang, tears hanging on her eyelashes, silent, and bit her lips. Kewang was surprised and delighted, and stepped forward and asked:

"Oops, you really lived! It's not a dream, is it? ”

Xu Lizhen didn't answer, two lines of hot tears ran to her cheeks, choked and lowered her head.

After the Xu family returned with Kewang, someone immediately reported the matter to the loyalty. Offering loyalty and joy, he prepared a banquet to thank the doctor, and asked Kewang and his wife to recognize the doctor as a god. Shang Jiong is the eldest of the four adopted sons who are loyal to him, the most favored and trusted, and he holds heavy soldiers, he is very arrogant, resolutely and humble, and only recognizes Xu Lizhen as a righteous daughter. This incident spread among several peasant armies who marched east with Gao Yingxiang, adding some bizarre plots to the original romantic color, especially the biggest change is a detail of Xu's resurrection. It turned out that Zhang Kewang stabbed Xu with a sword, and the intestines flowed out of the abdomen, and even the intestines were pierced with two holes. As soon as the people carried her out of the tent, the doctor happened to pass by. He took advantage of Zhang Kewang's drunkenness in the tent and asked people to immediately send the Xu family to the village where Mrs. Gao lived, and buried a fake grave in the wilderness. But the story was passed down to cut off Xu's head with a sword, leaving only her throat unbroken, saying that after the doctor cured her, her neck turned freely, leaving only a scar like a red line. At this time, the doctor still used a pseudonym used when he fled his hometown a few years ago to avoid the enemy, so it was rumored that there was an old immortal in Zhang Xianzhong's army who was Chen Shiqing of Dengzhou, but I didn't know that it was Lu Shangjiong in Li Zicheng's army.

"Zhangfu, you only know that my godparents' family saved Lizhen's life, and you don't know that Wenxuan was also saved by him. Come on, the meal has been served, let's talk while eating. Zhang Xianzhong grabbed one of the doctor's arms, stuffed him into the first Taishi chair, and shouted to the soldiers: "Hurry up and get hot wine!" Take the good Fen wine in the town of credit flags! ”

At the banquet, Xianzhong told Xu Yixian that Bai Wenxuan had been wounded in Luzhou in the past, and he was seriously injured. Thanks to Shang Shenxian who anesthetized him with sweat medicine, he took out the broken collarbone and put it in place with a dog's leg bone of the same length. After two months, he was able to fight on horseback again, as he usually does. After hearing this story, Xu Yixian said: "Divine doctor! Miracle Doctor! What a miracle doctor! But the doctor Shang Jiong felt very uncomfortable. For some reason, they didn't mention the matter of welcoming King Chuang, secretly thinking that Liu Zongmin and the others were unwilling to take the risk of King Chuang to come to Gucheng, and it seemed that they were right.

Since Shang Jiong arrived, Zhang Xianzhong has been thinking about how to settle Zicheng. He was not only afraid of leaking the news, but also did not want to take Li Zicheng into the city, and was also worried that if Zicheng was hidden in the countryside, Zicheng would despise him and fear the court too much, and mistakenly think that he was really recruited. Now, his mind was decided. He poured a glass of wine for the doctor and said:

"Drink this glass of wine, eat, let's go pick it up." He turned to Xu Yixian and deliberately asked: "Military advisor, now that the patrol is coming to Gucheng, Zhang Dajing is also here, there are eyes and ears of the court everywhere, where is King Chuang settled?" ”

Xu Yixian couldn't figure out Xianzhong's thoughts for a while, and deliberately said: "According to me, it's best to ask King Chuang to live in the mountains and send more people to protect him." After a year and a half, the situation has taken a turn for the better, and then he has some more men, so that he can gather the old department and regain his strength. ”

Xianzhong shook his head and smiled slyly and said, "No." Let's take Zicheng into my mansion and live with Lao Tzu. ”

Xu Yixian was secretly happy, and said in his heart: "Your tricks can't hide from me, little Zhuge ! You didn't just put him in your mansion, you wanted to close the door and kill the chicken, so that he had nowhere to escape. He thought so in his heart, but his mouth deliberately said:

"This place is too close to the procuratorate, aren't you afraid that the adults of the courtyard will know?"

"Genus! Don't say that we won't let him know, in case he gives his turtle son to know, let's hold on, there is no way to see him staring dryly. ”

Xu Yixian smiled and nodded. He thought that what Zhang Xianzhong said was not sincere, but he felt that he was not sure of Zhang Xianzhong's thoughts.

Zhang Xianzhong instructed Bai Wenxuan to immediately send people to guard and patrol the nearby streets and alleys in the name of protecting the patrol adults, and prohibit idlers from passing; He also instructed a personal soldier to tell his eighth lady, Ding, that he should quickly send Yahuan to clean the upstairs, set up the bed, and light a brazier for King Chuang to rest alone, and from tonight onwards, all idlers were not allowed to enter the courtyard of the eighth lady. He said to the doctor:

"Old Shang, I want to arrange it like this: all the men and horses of my own will stay outside the city and hide in my barracks; Double Happiness lives in this flower hall with Xiao Zhang Nai; As for you, you are willing to live in my mansion, Wenxuan, and your goddaughter in Taiping Town; As for Zicheng, he lives in this small courtyard to the east. Downstairs lives my eighth aunt's wife, please let him live upstairs, foolproof. Do you think that's good? ”

"When it comes to you, you can arrange it however you want." Shang Jiong replied.

Xu Yixian shouted in his heart: "Clever plan! Coup! ”

"Where is Zicheng waiting outside the city?" Xianzhong asked the doctor.

"Two or three miles from the city, in a small village."

"Prepare the horses!" Xianzhong said to the leader of the pro-soldiers behind the squire. "Prepare twenty men to go out of the city with me and wait at the back door."

Shang Jiong finished eating, stood up and said, "Let's go, don't let Zicheng wait too long." ”

"Let's go. Lao Xu, you go too. ”

So they went out the back door and rode out with a small group of their own soldiers.

Li Zicheng was secretly welcomed into the mansion by Xianzhong, and sure enough, he didn't even bring a single personal soldier into the city, only Shuangxi, Zhang Nai, and Shang Jiong accompanied him. After sitting down in the flower hall, Shang Jiong felt that Xu Yixian's eyes contained murderous intent, and suddenly remembered many words from Liu Zongmin and Li Guo to dissuade Zicheng, and regretted that he was negligent in his own affairs, and did not remind Zicheng to take his own soldiers with him. But now it's too late to regret it. He secretly observed King Chuang's expression several times, but saw that King Chuang was not the slightest uneasy, as if he didn't expect that an accident would happen. After a while, Zhang Xianzhong went to the toilet, Xu Yixian followed, and only Bai Wenxuan was left in the flower hall to accompany him, and there were several personal soldiers waiting on the side. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the old fairy gently touched his feet with his toes. Zicheng's heart moved, but he neither looked at him nor made any statement, as if he ignored his intentions. Shang Jiong had no choice but to resign himself to fate with a heart of seven up and eight down.

Xu Yixian waited outside the toilet, thinking about how to poison Zicheng. When Xianzhong came out of the toilet, he whispered to Xianzhong and asked:

"Dashuai, what are you going to do?"

"What's next?" Xianzhong asked with a little surprise.

Xianzhong's answer and expression made Xu Yixian feel strange. He originally wanted to take the opportunity to kill Li Zicheng directly, but he hesitated for a moment and asked in a tentative tone:

"Did Lord Patrol talk about Li Zicheng to the marshal?"

Zhang Xianzhong felt strange and asked, "How do you know?" ”

One of his cronies told me what it meant.

"What do you think?"

"We didn't really surrender to the court, but we just stayed here for the time being, waiting to move. How can a handsome man betray his friends for glory and lose the heart of a righteous man in the world? ”

"yes, so why do you want me to do it?"

In my humble opinion, although the marshal should not listen to Lin Mingqiu's words and tie Li Zicheng to the court, he should not let him go, leaving endless troubles in the future. Dashuai also talked to me privately on weekdays, and the only one who can compete with Dashuai in the world in the future is his own person. It's better to take this opportunity to get rid of him secretly, and in the future, the righteous army in the world will only be pointed to by the banner of the commander, who will not obey! ”

Zhang Xianzhong's heart moved, and he didn't answer immediately. Although he was slightly earlier than Li Zicheng's uprising, he was unique from the beginning, and he was one of the main leaders of the early thirteen families, and he was more famous than Li Zicheng, but he did not hold a clear purpose of overthrowing Zhu Ming's country very early as Li Zicheng, and in order to achieve this lofty political goal, he tried his best to live a hard and simple life, had very strict requirements for military discipline, and never forgot to "save the people, water and fire". Xianzhong sometimes thought about changing the dynasty in the future, but his thinking was vague and he lacked a clear path to seize power. He conquered many cities and killed many corrupt officials, but he did not know how to target the revolution at the Zhu Ming court. In his body, he often showed shining characteristics, far more than many insurrectionary leaders of his generation, but he never completely got rid of the ideological imprint of the lumpenproletariat. When he came to Gucheng, he originally harbored great opportunistic thoughts, hoping that the Ming Dynasty would give him an official name, pay him military salaries, and give him the defensive land around Xiangyang according to his requirements. If this intention is realized, he will divide one side and wait for change. However, not only did these demands fail, but some of the gold, silver, and jewelry accumulated in the army over the past few years were given to the senior officials in Beijing, and some were given to Xiong Wencan and the civil and military officials in Xiangyang to leave. In the past year, his new life experience has forced him to learn some new truths, and he also understands that it is not enough to oppose corrupt officials and corrupt officials, but to completely oppose the Zhu family's court. Moreover, because Xu Yixian, Pan Duao and other frustrated literati and careerists came to his side, his idea of competing for the world was completely formed. But now he felt most hated by the bastard court in Beijing, the civil and military officials in Xiangyang, and Lin Mingqiu, who had just arrived in Gucheng, and not Li Zicheng at all. He wants to surrender to his own army, but he can afford him, trust him, and say that he will fight with him for the world in the future, which is far away! Xu Yixian saw that he was indecisive, and quickly continued:

"Please, don't hesitate. As the saying goes, if you don't commit adultery, you don't poison your husband. Since ancient times, those who have fought for the world have still killed each other between brothers and sons, let alone friends! Tang Taizong killed his brother, but he is still the master of the ages, glorious in the annals of history. Xiang Yu couldn't bear to kill Liu Bang at the Hongmen banquet, and finally forced Wujiang to death. Since the uprising, the handsome man has killed countless people, why use it to move the benevolence of a woman on one person, and repeat the mistakes of Xiang Yu! ”

Zhang Xianzhong held a long beard in his hand, looked up at the starry sky, and remained silent. Xu Yixian felt that Xianzhong would be ruthless immediately, and instigated him:

"General Jing Xuan! Today is the general Li Zichengci; If you go against the will of heaven and miss the opportunity, you will suffer later. If the marshal is worried that it will be spread to the outside world and damage the name of the order, this matter is very easy. As long as you move your lips, I will send someone to bury Li Zicheng and his group alive tonight, or kill them and sink them into the Han River, how will the outside world know? ”

Zhang Xianzhong's bearded hand shook violently, and not only the body of Zicheng after being killed appeared in front of him, but also the body of his godparents. He let go of his hand, glanced at the military advisor, shook his head, and said, "This is not a trivial matter! Let's go and have a drink with the guests. As soon as he turned around, he strode towards the flower hall.

In the flower hall, a dust-washing wine banquet was set up for the guests. In the middle of drinking, although Xu Yixian respectfully and enthusiastically toasted King Chuang, he continued to think about how to persuade Xianzhong to be ruthless. Li Zicheng speaks humbly and behaves steadily; Although he has suffered a fiasco and lost both his wife and daughter, he is full of confidence and no frustration when he talks about his future; In particular, he was thoughtful and eloquent, and not as superficial and vulgar as many of the rebel leaders he had seen...... All of this made Xu Yixian feel even more that he had to get rid of him. He pretended to listen to Zicheng's words, carefully looked at Zicheng's high nose bridge and high and angular cheekbones, and couldn't help but ask in his heart: "Ah, isn't this what the ancients said about the Longzhun Sunhorn, the appearance of the emperor?" He looked at it, and the thought of poisoning him became more and more impatient, so he excused himself and left the feast.

He bypassed a rockery, passed through a moon gate, and entered a small courtyard, which was very elegant, with plum blossoms in full bloom and a dark fragrance. There is a small building in the middle of dozens of ancient plum trees, the curtain is deep, and there is no voice, only the figure of a person is reflected in the white paper window, and there is a melodious three-string sound of Ding Dong playing non-stop. Xu Yixian walked lightly, walked to the bottom of the bluestone steps, stood for a moment, coughed deliberately, and shouted:

"Which girl is there?"

The sound of the three strings stopped. After a moment of silence, it was the delicate voice of the loyal Eighth Lady Ding:

"Haruka, let's see who's outside."

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a pair of silver bracelets, and there was a quiet and hurried footsteps, and then the curtain moved, and the handsome face of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl appeared from the side of the curtain, and asked:

"Who?"

"Miss Chunxiang, please give your eighth lady, just say that Xu Junshi has come to ask to see."

Without waiting for Yahuan to reply, Ding had already heard it clearly, felt strange, and hurriedly ordered:

"Raise the curtain for the military division!"

Xu Yixian walked into the house, greeted Ding, and after sitting down, he stopped talking, and Ding felt more and more strange. She thought, Master Xu Jun has never come to me alone, why did he come to me tonight, and his demeanor is very unusual?

"Strategist, what do you have to say to me?" She asked.

"There is an important matter to talk to Madame, please Madame step back."

The four maids saw Ding's hand swing, two of them ran upstairs with a bang, one ran to the kitchen to listen to the old mother talk about the past and the present, and the other took the opportunity to run back to the small room to embroider shoes.

"Madame, do you know that King Li Chuang is here tonight?" Xu Yixian asked.

"How don't you know? The handsome man wants to ask him to live in my upper floor, and he has just asked the maids to clean up and burn charcoal in the brazier. ”

"Madame, do you know what kind of person Li Zicheng is?"

Ding didn't understand the intentions of the military advisor, so he replied casually: "Isn't it similar to our commander?" It won't have more nose and eyes. ”

"Madame doesn't know, Li Zicheng is really an amazing character, not comparable to ordinary heroes."

"I heard that he has been wiped out in Tongguan recently, and even his wife and daughter have been lost, what else is there to do?"

"No, no. Victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, and Mrs. can't judge heroes about victory or defeat for a while. Xu Yixian coughed lightly, and then said: "Li Zicheng is not greedy for money, not close to wine, and shares joys and sorrows with soldiers, which is really rare among today's heroes. is good at managing soldiers, and is blue out of Gao Yingxiang's subordinates. In the past year or two, I heard that he likes to read, and he pays more attention to buying people's hearts. Our commanders are not as good as in these places, and the heroes of the other uprisings are even worse. Besides, this person is quite strategic, and he is not comparable to ordinary generals. In the first month of the eighth year of Chongzhen, the 72 battalions of the thirteen families met in Xingyang to discuss how to resist the encirclement and suppression of the officials and troops. At that time, Li Zicheng was still a general, not very famous, and he stood up with his sword in the midst of public disagreement, and said loudly: 'What are you afraid of? One person is desperate, ten people are invincible, and we are 100,000 people! At present, we have ten times more men and horses than the officers and soldiers, and as long as everyone fights together, even if they transfer the Guanning Iron Cavalry, they will not do anything to us. Please don't be half-hearted, or decide quickly to meet the enemy. I think that our thirteen families should be divided into several large units, and we should meet the enemy separately and cooperate with each other. He also suggested: Some officers and soldiers of Nandangchuan and Lake; some hold the Yellow River; The Shaanxi army led by Hong Chengchou was stronger, so he could send heavy troops to block Tongguan and set up an ambush in the Cuihan Mountain, so that the Shaanxi army could not advance eastward; In addition, an elite army was sent straight to the east to threaten Nanjing and disrupt the military deployment of the imperial court. Everyone said in unison, kill the horse and sacrifice the sky, and act separately. This time, Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng went east side by side with our General Jingxuan, marched thousands of miles, went down to Yingzhou, broke Fengyang, burned the emperor's mausoleum, and divided their troops to Nanjing, the whole country was shaken, and the imperial court's plan to encircle and suppress was also crushed. Madame must have heard about this, right? ”

Ding began to understand Xu Yixian's intention to see her, smiled and said:

"When I was in my mother's house, I didn't go out of three doors or four households, and I never left this small world after coming to Gucheng, how could I know about such a thing?"

Xu Yixian knocked on the coffee table with his fingernails and said: "Such a strategy can be described as wisdom and bravery, although the ancient famous generals are just like that!" ”

Ding found such stories interesting, but unfortunately no one had ever talked to her. Although she usually hates Xu Yixian, in order to listen to the story to relieve her loneliness, she asked:

"What's so great about him?"

Xu Yixian took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and said: "Another example, in the summer of the seventh year of Chongzhen, the rebels of the Zhujia family strayed into the carriage gorge and were besieged by Chen Qiyu, the governor of Shaanxi. It was also used by Li Zicheng to make everyone get out of danger safely and turn defeat into victory. Again, his resourcefulness is superb. Just by coming to Gucheng today, it is enough to see his extraordinary. If it were someone else, Xinjing would have failed so badly, he would have been very depressed, and even if he did not surrender, he would have to prolong his life for a while, waiting for the opportunity. But he wasn't. He, you see, even ignored the whereabouts of his wife and daughter, risked the road and traveled hundreds of miles to lobby Jing Xuan. is already almost bare-handed, and he still has to stir up wind and waves, make clouds and rain, and promote the overall situation! In this matter, it can also be seen that he is extraordinary. Xu Yixian secretly glanced at it, and saw Ding Shi bowing his head and smiling, he didn't know what she was thinking in her heart, and her poisonous plan was not good to say suddenly, so she had to add casually: "Although Li Zicheng has not spit out the words to persuade the marshal to start up again, if I can't see his heart, I will be General Jingxuan's military advisor in vain." After speaking, he slowly picked up the teacup and waited for Ding to speak, so as to seize the opportunity to say what he meant.

Ding raised his head and asked with a smile, "You want to ask me for some help, right?" ”

Xu Yixian hurriedly replied, "Madame is wise." If I don't say it, Madame will guess too. ”

Ding Shi was embarrassed by Xu Yixian's eyes, swept his sideburns with his fingers, and said, "Do you want to ask me to say a few words for you in front of the handsome?" ”

"That's exactly what it means."

"You talk about how great King Li Chuang is, I guess that you want to do a great career with King Chuang, and plan to ask our commander to recommend you to King Chuang. But, you think, how can the big man let you go? Forget it, you better don't bother with this idea. I can speak for you else, I won't help you with such a favor. ”

Xu Yixian hurriedly said: "Non-yes, non-yes!" Madame regards me Xu Yixian as a generation of the Qin Dynasty! ”

Ding Shi was surprised, restrained his smile, and asked, "Strategist, what is the matter with you coming to me?" ”

"Madam, in the future, Li Zicheng is the only one who will compete with us in the world. Today, I sent Zicheng to come, and asked my wife to persuade Dashuai to make a decision and get rid of him to avoid future troubles. If you miss this opportunity, it's too late to regret it! ”

Ding's face changed abruptly, and his heart was pounding. She is only nineteen years old this year, she was a lady, she was robbed by Zhang Xianzhong on the road when she got married in the first month of this year, and she was still not used to killing people in the past eleven months, and she was a little scared when she mentioned it. Now if she wants to persuade Zhang Xianzhong to kill others, especially the famous Li Zicheng, how can she not be afraid? She bit her lip and thought for a moment, then said resolutely:

"I don't care about things like this that have a bad conscience. If you want to kill someone, why don't you see the handsome man and say it yourself? ”

"I have already told the marshal, and because I saw that the marshal was hesitant, I came to ask my wife for help. Madame doesn't think about the big things of the handsome, doesn't she think about your own future, Madame? ”

"You kill people for five or eight, and if you don't kill for forty, what does it have to do with me?"

"Madame. The ancients said: The prince who is a prince is a thief who loses. If the marshal can win the world, then the marshal will become the emperor today, and his wife will become the queen; If the big thing doesn't work out, then the handsome is just a thief, and the lady is just one of the thieves. Does this have nothing to do with Madame? ”

Xu Yixian's words pierced Ding's sore spot. Since she was snatched by Zhang Xianzhong, she also wanted to die several times, but finally couldn't make up her mind to die. Every day, she thinks that she was born in a scholarly family, and her brother is a man, but he fell into the hands of thieves, which is enough to lose his ancestors, not to mention being a concubine, and he is ranked eighth! Every day when she has nothing to do, she either takes the three strings or the hole flute to relieve her sorrows, or secretly weeps. Fortunately, she recently gave birth to a boy, who had just been full moon, which made her see a glimmer of hope in her miserable life, maybe not hope, just a temporary little comfort. Now Xu Yixian unceremoniously said to her what a thief or concubine, and she was so ashamed that her face was flushed. If it weren't for the fact that Xu Yixian was Zhang Xianzhong's confidant, and his words came from a sense of loyalty, she would definitely have asked the maids to drive him away immediately, and even cried when she saw Xianzhong, begging Xianzhong to be angry for her. Xu Yixian saw that she blushed and bowed her head silently, and said:

"Is Madame willing to be the concubine of a thief and not want to be the queen of honor?"

Ding Shi raised his head suddenly, and said angrily: "Mr. Xu, you are too rude to speak. Remembering that you are a military advisor, my intentions are not bad, and I am not angry with you. I still don't care about this matter, it's not bad for this conscience. Even if the handsome man becomes the emperor in the future, not to mention that I have no share in the queen, even the East Palace and the West Palace do not have my share. Go for help, Hugh will have to use this to encourage me to help you kill someone. ”

Xu Yixian remained silent and said with a smile: "Madam, you are wrong again!" ”

"How did I go wrong?" Ding asked, with a hint of luck in his anger: Am I really a part? But she continued: "Think about it, there are a large number of wives and concubines of the handsome, and I heard that they are about to marry the sister of Ao Xiucai in this city. When he becomes the emperor, I don't know how much he will marry. At that time, if I am still alive in the world, old age, and my appearance has declined, I will not be in the cold palace to suffer! ”

"No, no. Madame, what a bad thing! Since ancient times, mothers have been valued by children. Although Dashuai now has eight wives, only his wife has a son. In the future, when the handsome man sits in the world, the son of the lady will be the prince, and the lady will not be in the main palace? Not only to be the queen, but also to be the queen mother in the future. ”

Ding was silent, but the anger in his heart disappeared.

"Madam, don't you want the handsome man to sit in the country in the future?" Xu Yixian asked, rubbing his beard.

Ding was a little embarrassed. She pondered the words of the military advisor in her heart, and couldn't help but think of the words of the blind king Youtian, full of joy, and her heart was beating wildly, but she felt that this hope was a little slim, and she was afraid that it would not be reliable. She hoped that this resourceful and good military advisor could answer a question for her, so she asked with an embarrassed smile:

"Da Shuai's age is still very young, won't other ladies give birth to a son for Da Shuai?"

"Since ancient times, heirs have been established, and no heirs have been established. The handsome man has no son-in-law, and the son of the lady is the eldest son, and he will undoubtedly be the prince in the future. What Wang Youtian said yesterday, doesn't Madame know? ”

"Dashuai told me last night, but I don't believe it when I look at it and criticize it."

"Some charlatans, flattering and hoping to reward, naturally cannot be trusted. A famous mountain man like Wang Youtian is not comparable to ordinary warlocks, how can you not believe it? ”

Ding was silent, but he couldn't hide the small dimples on the tips of his eyebrows, the corners of his eyes, the corners of his mouth, and his tender white cheeks, which were full of joy. Xu Yixian saw that she had changed her attitude, and quickly continued:

"Madam, if you don't get rid of Li Zicheng as soon as possible, the splendid country in the future may not be owned by our handsome. Don't hesitate to persuade the handsome to get rid of himself. ”

"It's okay for me to help you persuade you, but I'm afraid of ......"

"What are you afraid of?"

He and Li Zicheng were friends and had no grudges, so he might not be willing to do this. Besides, now that the official army is strong and the righteous army is weak, they are like being in the same boat through thick and thin, and they should only help each other, how can they kill each other? ”

"No, madam, you don't know. Li Zicheng had a long fall out with our handsome. I heard that when Chongzhen broke Fengyang and burned the emperor's tomb in the eighth year, our General Jingxuan got twelve little eunuchs with drummers, and asked them to play music every time they drank. Zicheng wants them. General Jing Xuan did not give it. Later, he became another time, which annoyed our handsome, destroyed the musical instrument, and killed the little eunuch, and since then the two of them have lost their harmony and looked like they were separated. Although this legend may not be completely true, the two of them are not in harmony and are incompatible with each other, but it is absolutely true, and everyone understands it very well. As the old saying goes, 'two heroes don't stand side by side', how can they be in the same boat through thick and thin? ”

"You have only been a military advisor with Dashuai for a few months, and Dashuai and King Li Chuang have been at odds in the past, how do you know about it?"

Xu Yixian said: "If I don't know, I don't dare to persuade Dashuai to poison him." I am united in all the soldiers to support the commander, so why did I come? Isn't it that seeing that the Ming Dynasty has exhausted its qi, our handsome is a hero who has risen as the times require, and he should not hesitate to use his heart and brain, do his best to be loyal, and assist him to achieve great things early? Getting rid of Li Zicheng today is like getting rid of Liu Bang at the Hongmen banquet, and it is a matter of raising your hand. If you miss this opportunity, you will regret it! ”

"How do you know that Li Zicheng will fight for the world with us in the future?"

Xu Yixian smiled with a very confident look and said, "Madame doesn't know, among the leaders of the rebel army today, only Li Zicheng is the most eloquent and strategic, and he has long had the intention of seizing the Ming Dynasty. When Gao Yingxiang was alive, Zicheng supported Gao Yingxiang and refused to show his edges and corners, but he acted differently. Since Gao Yingxiang's death, he has been promoted to be the king of Chuang, and he no longer hides his lofty ambitions from his cronies and generals. Sima Zhao's heart is known to everyone, as a marshal military advisor, am I a confused person? ”

Mrs. Ding said: "Even though he wants to seize the Ming Dynasty as you said, he has been defeated very badly recently, and it is difficult to recover." I think...... He won't have the heart to fight for the world anymore. ”

"Madame's view is different. Since ancient times, there have been wars, there are defeats and victories, and few people who win the world have smooth sailing, so it is not easy to start a business. Although Zicheng suffered a new defeat, this person is indomitable, determined to forge ahead, and the important generals are all there, concentric, intimate, and good at rectifying military discipline and saving the people, so as long as he takes a breather, it is not difficult to regain his strength. ”

Ding felt that the military advisor's words made sense, and then muttered: "But he is defecting to his friend today, and there is nothing to be sorry for our handsome." ”

Xu Yixian sneered and said, "Madame thinks so, the so-called 'woman's benevolence' is the most wrong thing. Liu Bei's soldiers were defeated and Pi, Guan and Zhang were separated, his wife was not guaranteed, and he sent food to Xuchang alone. Cao Cao I was a hero, resourceful and decisive, knowing that Liu Bei was not a thing in the pool after all, he once said to Liu Bei in person: "The heroes of the world are only the kings and the ears." The fault was that he refused to get rid of Liu Bei, which led to a three-point standoff later. Madame has read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", don't you remember? ”

Ding was no longer half-hearted, raised his head and asked, "Strategist, what if the marshal doesn't listen to my advice?" ”

"Madame is most favored by the handsome, and her words are certainly effective. If the commander still hesitates, I have another way. ”

"What's the solution?"

"I sent a packet of poison, and Madame can ask the henchman to bring tea to the eighteenth son in the pot when he is served, won't it bear fruit?"

"If we don't have the consent of the commander, won't we cause a big disaster?"

"Even if the handsome man is angry for a while, he will be grateful to his wife afterwards."

Ding's heart was so nervous that his whole body trembled slightly, and he even had some difficulty breathing. In order to calm herself, she lowered her head and bit her lip so hard that her lower lip turned blue and white, but she didn't feel any pain at all. Not only were her lips numb, but even her brain was numb.

"Madame, what do you think?" Xu Yixian forced her to ask with a sinister and sharp eye. "For the sake of Mrs., mother and son, please don't be interrupted!"

Ding remained silent. Xu Yixian thought that Ding was young and ignorant, and that several other women who had always been loyal to him were jealous and bullied, and that they were isolated, and that they would inevitably follow his advice on this matter, but they were just timid and hesitant at first glance.

"Okay, please think again, Madame, and I'll send the poison myself right away."

"No, no. I don't want it! I don't want it! ”

Xu Yixian stopped talking, smiled sinisterly at her, and turned to leave. Ding looked at his back and shouted:

"I don't want a hundred, you must not send them!"

She stared at the light in a daze, too limp to stand up. After a while, she saw that two girls had returned to her, and she said to one of them:

"Chunlan, you go to the flower hall to Qi Dashuai, just say that the upstairs has been cleaned up, please take a look for yourself."

Ding was worried about Xu Yixian's coming, and Xu Yixian really came and put a packet of strong poison on the table. She said in horror:

"This is a hurtful thing, I can't do this......"

Xu Yixian said: "Since ancient times, in order to compete for the world, fathers, sons and brothers are incompatible. Sons kill their fathers, fathers kill sons, brothers kill each other, history is endless. Our handsome surname is Zhang, King Chuang is surnamed Li, and the surname Zhang kills the surnamed Li, what is the harm to heaven. Confucius and Mencius loved to talk about benevolence and righteousness, and their words were only spoken to others, but no one listened to them at that time, and there was no fool in later generations who pointed out that they relied on empty preaching of benevolence and righteousness to win the world. Not to mention the afterlife, there was no one in ancient times. Sage Kong made Yao and Shun Chan fall into the sky, but in fact, it was not like that, 'Yao You's prisoner, Shun Ye died' is true. In later generations, regardless of the official eunuchs and commoners, as long as they have an industry, brothers, uncles and nephews compete for property, they are the same enemy, and the benevolence, righteousness and faithfulness that they talk about on weekdays, brothers, friends and brothers, all of them are blown away. As for the different surnames, either I ride on your head, or you ride on my head, the big fish eat the small fish, and the small fish eat the shrimp. Thousands of years have passed like this, and if you don't, you'll be eaten by others. Madam, if your mother and son want to be able to maintain their wealth for a long time, you will make a decision tonight and dare to act. If you miss this opportunity, you will regret it too late. The poison is here, please don't hesitate. Xu Yixian didn't wait for Ding to say that she agreed, stood up and gave a little blow, and hurried away.

When Ding was in his mother's house, he only knew how to describe the dragon and embroider the phoenix, read the "Four Books of Women" and "The Biography of the Daughters", and listened to the elders talk about some of the great principles of the Three Principles and Five Constants and the Three Virtues and the Three Virtues. She never expected that she would marry "out of moderation" and become the eighth concubine of the eight kings, and she saw many murders with her own eyes, and now the military advisor forced her to poison and kill Li Zicheng! As soon as the military advisor left, her heart was so nervous that she didn't know what to do. She felt that the words of the military advisor were reasonable, not only for the sake of the great cause of dedication, but also for the sake of the future of her mother and son. However, she usually heard that Li Zicheng's behavior and behavior were very different from Xianzhong, and she thought that she would kill him, and she felt deeply condemned by her conscience. She threw the poison bag into the drawer, stood up on the back of the chair, her legs still weak, and went into the room with difficulty, unveiled the brocade tent, looked at the sleeping baby in the light, and then kissed the baby's face, and then gently pounded it on the cheek with the tip of her index finger, and sighed and said:

"If it weren't for you, why would I live in the world!"

She crept out of the bedroom in a trance, sat down again at the square table, bit her lip, bowed her head in contemplation, and waited for her loyalty. There was a rat upstairs that made a loud noise, and the sound was very soft, but Ding was taken aback, and suddenly raised his head, and his heart beat wildly. She looked up at the floor and said in her heart with fear:

"They don't need me to poison them, so they want to kill King Li Chuang upstairs?"

She continued to look at the slabs, as if she saw blood dripping from the cracks in the slabs. Her face turned even paler.

Suddenly, thinking of her brother Ding Juren and her mother, she almost couldn't help crying. It was as if Ding Juren was sitting in front of her, waiting for her gold and silver jewelry, with a false smile on his face. She cried in her heart:

"You no longer regard me as a descendant of the Ding family, but now you have come to recognize me and treat me as the treasure of your Ding family. Alas, you only know how to ask for money, but you know what kind of life I live! It turns out that the three outlines and five constants, loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness that you often talk about, are all false! ”

She recalled what Xu Yixian said again, and felt that his words made sense. People are all for themselves, and they will harm others at any time in order to compete for fame and fortune. Officials kill the people, the rich kill the poor, those who have power and courage kill those who have no power and no courage, and those who have the will kill those who have no will...... She remembered what people often say, "No rape, no poison, no husband", it is true, those who suffer are honest and cowardly! So for the sake of the rich future of herself and her son, she decided to do what the military advisor said, and she didn't want to think about anything else for the time being.

Hearing Xianzhong's footsteps, Ding's heart beat wildly and he stood up mechanically. Seeing Xianzhong go upstairs as soon as she came in, she hurriedly said:

"Upstairs is well cleaned up, you don't have to go up—go up and see."

"So what did you tell me to come back for?" Xianzhong touched her tender face, squinted his eyes and said, "If you don't see our Lao Zhang for a while, you want to be restless?" ”

She pushed away Xianzhong's hand, she didn't know what to say, and she regretted inviting Xianzhong back. However, since you have made up your mind to be ruthless, how can you be half-hearted? She beckoned the maids out, and then went into the room without a sound, and unveiled the tent. She originally planned to ask Xianzhong to sit on the edge of the bed with her, but she panicked and her legs weakened, so she sat down first and let Xianzhong stand in front of her. Xianzhong was quite surprised when he saw her abnormal expression, put a hand on her shoulder and asked:

"Boy, what's wrong?"

She looked into his eyes, breathing rapidly, and grabbed one of Xianzhong's big hands tightly, and had prepared a lot of words, but she couldn't remember them for the time being, so she just ate and said:

"Dashuai, you killed King Li Chuang! If you don't kill him, he will kill you in the future! ”

Zhang Xianzhong shook off her hand, looked at her in surprise, grabbed the beard and rubbed it in his hand, and after a while, asked sternly:

"Did Lao Xu come just now?"

Ding Shi felt that Xianzhong's face was terrible, and he only nodded his head, not daring to speak.

"When people have difficulties to vote for friends, how can we take advantage of the danger of others and poison them? I don't do it! ”

Ding felt completely helpless, suddenly grabbed the placket of Xianzhong's robe, choked up and said: "Dashuai, if you don't think about yourself in the future, you should also think about me and your children!" Because of the mention of her own future and that of her children, she really couldn't help but burst into tears.

Xianzhong looked at the baby on the bed, and remembered that Wang Youtian had criticized the eight characters for his father and son yesterday. Since the uprising ten years ago, many people have said that he will win the world in the future, but Wang Youtian just re-said what others have said, the difference is that Wang Youtian is very famous, and even Prime Minister Xiong Wencan treats him like a guest, and his words can especially touch the heart of loyalty. Thinking back to Wang Youtian's words at this moment, the jealousy of Zicheng for three or four years suddenly moved on the heart of dedication.

"Women, you don't need to talk too much about this kind of thing!" Xianzhong shook his hand and walked out quickly.

Although Xianzhong used a reproachful tone, Ding could see that Xianzhong's heart was somewhat agreeable. After a moment, she felt uncertain about Xianzhong's tone again. Her heart was very chaotic and terrifying, and for a while it seemed that she was about to kill Li Zicheng upstairs or Li Zicheng drew his sword to resist and slash each other; After a while, it was like the wind and waves upstairs were calm, and Xu Yixian came to urge her to hurry up and order the girl to poison King Chuang with poison. When she thought of Xu Yixian, she was terrified. She sighed in her heart:

This man has his trust! Match him ......"

The maidens forgot to add oil to the brass lamp, the light was not on, and a little dim flame trembled in the cold air. She felt that the embroidery room was gloomy and swarthy, and she was even more afraid.

She suddenly threw herself on the bed, picked up the baby, and escaped from the embroidery room. The maids had already come in, and when they saw her looking alarmed, pale, and trembling, they thought she had a cold, and hastened to help her sit down by the brazier. Under the bright light, surrounded by the four maid rings, after a while, she slowly got better. But he was suddenly startled, looked at the floor, and asked in a low voice:

"Is there anyone upstairs?"

"Not a single one." Chunlan replied.

"I heard what looked like someone was walking up there."

The four girls are usually afraid of fox fairies, ghosts, and even weasels when they mention them at night. Hearing Ding's words, they all looked at the floor in horror and listened with bated breath. At this moment, an unfamiliar man's voice came from the courtyard:

"What an elegant courtyard!"

CHAPTER XVIII

Yahuan opened the curtain. Zhang Xianzhong and Xu Yixian let Li Zicheng into the house. Ding had already gone inside. Xianzhong called her out and introduced her to Zicheng and said:

"Brother Li, I know, this is your eighth brother and sister. Why, you're still handsome, aren't you? ”

Li Zicheng is a few months longer than Xianzhong, according to the old rules handed down from ancient times, the elder brother can't make half a joke in front of his brother and daughter-in-law, and the same is true among friends, not to mention that Zicheng is a more serious person, so he felt a little embarrassed at the time and had nothing to answer. Fortunately, Ding hurriedly blessed him, his face was red with shame, and he turned around and fled into the embroidery room. Zhang Xianzhong was happy, and laughed out loud with his long beard.

They were about to go upstairs when Ma Yuanli came. Ma Yuanli and Li Zicheng were also very familiar with each other in the past, and because he stayed in the procuratorate to take care of him tonight, he didn't have the opportunity to come to the banquet to accompany him. He greeted Zicheng with a few words, and then presented a red paper gift slip to Xianzhong. Xianzhong frowned, held his long beard, read the gift list carefully, raised his head and asked:

"Can't be less?"

"I have been thinking about it for a long time with two of Lord Lin's cronies, this pus, it hurts, I'm afraid it will come out. Lord Lin and his left and right, this time when he came to Gucheng, I am afraid he will not leave without filling his appetite. ”

Xianzhong said angrily: "It's not easy to ask him to get out quickly?" ”

"Of course it's easy. Deliberately making a little mess in Valley City will scare him away. But we still have to fight ghosts. On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, he sent the old stove master to heaven and stuck his mouth with stove sugar, so that he could not say bad things after he went to heaven. Dashuai, you just bear with your breath, and bear with the pain, and the right is to send the stove king to heaven. ”

Xianzhong said in a deep voice: "In this way, it will cost more than 5,000 taels of silver just to give gifts." It's just that this big pearl is hard to get......"

Ma Yuanli said with a smile: "I heard one of Lord Lin's cronies say that this was said by the fourth aunt's wife, and it is not easy to refuse. She originally wanted an emerald, but after I repeatedly explained that we don't have it here, it was changed to a big pearl. ”

"their ancestors for eight generations!" Xianzhong scolded softly and went inside.

Li Zicheng completely understood what was going on, and said with a secret smile in his heart: "You play with the fake surrender, play around, and now you have enough good taste!" At the same time, he felt that he had come at the right time, and he was not afraid to be loyal and not listen to his persuasion. In order to avoid inquiry, he stopped talking to Ma Yuanli, turned his back, and looked at the elegant decoration in the room. The furniture is all made of nanmu, and the style is quaint; There are several calligraphy and paintings of celebrities hanging on the wall, a three-stringed one, and a purple bamboo jade screen flute. The tail end of the flute has two apricot-yellow silk tassels, and a small Chinese jade pendant is tied on the top. His eyes swept to the gable, and he saw a pair of elegantly framed red paper sprinkled with gold couplets, on which were written Yan Ti Xingshu, very majestic and unrestrained:

Liu Yingchun tried the horse

Tiger Tent Night Talk

He knew that Liu Ying was an allusion to the famous Western Han general Zhou Yafu, and felt that this couplet was very in line with the identity of dedication. Look at the next paragraph, it is inscribed "Gucheng Xu to show the book of worship". Seeing the loyal military advisor tonight, he didn't have a very good impression of this person. There is no basis, but with his life experience, he vaguely feels that Xu is a sinister person. But Xu Yixian's face character he thought was good, which increased his respect for this person.

Just as he was admiring Xu Yixian's calligraphy, he heard the eighth lady who was loyal to him whisper angrily:

"You have been giving gifts to the officials lately, and you have always come to squeeze me and treat me like a bleeding tube. Last month you took one of my emeralds as a gift to the Prime Minister's Miss, and tonight you come to ask for my big pearls. I don't give! ”

Zhang Xianzhong walked out, not angry, and said helplessly to Ma Yuanli with a smile:

"I'll keep this gift list here, let's discuss it tomorrow."

As soon as Ma Yuanli left, Xianzhong invited Zicheng upstairs and said to Xu Yixian:

"Lao Xu, you can also go upstairs to talk."

Xu Yixian smiled and said: "I still have something to do, I can't accompany King Chuang." ”

Xianzhong was not reluctant, saying: "You are a busy man, whatever you want." ”

Li Zicheng arched his hand to Xu Yixian and went upstairs with Xianzhong. Xu Yixian whispered to Chunlan:

"Please come out, Madame, and I'll have a word with her."

Ding came out of the inner room with the baby in his arms. She thought that Xu Yixian was going to ask about the poison. But Xu Yixian didn't mention this matter anymore, because he later thought that he would never dare to do this without Xianzhong's consent. He knew very well that once he got on fire, he couldn't keep his head.

"Madam, did you tell the marshal?" He asked in a whisper.

"Got it."

"What did the marshal say?"

"He wouldn't let me talk more. Looking at his spirit, he felt a little willing in his heart. ”

Xu Yixian nodded slightly, didn't say anything else, and turned around and walked out. He had already thought of a new way to kill Li Zicheng, and he didn't need Ding.

As soon as Li Zicheng went upstairs, he saw many bookshelves full of books, and he was in a daze. He swept the bookshelves with his eyes and asked:

"Jing Xuan, is this a library?"

"No, no. These books belong to Fang Yuegong's family, and the officers and soldiers are ruined, and our brothers are also ruined, some are roasting fires, and some are laying horse sheds. Later, Fang Yuezong asked me for help and ordered that these books should not be spoiled again, and that the ones that had been scattered should also be collected and moved to this building to be hidden. This building is not the Fang family's flower hall with our food and wine, the same Fang family is next to each other, I opened up the two houses, and opened a moon gate. You see, you live here, no one will disturb you, right? ”

"It's a quiet place."

"As long as you don't feel bad hospitality, stay here for a few more days, and there will be no trouble."

Zicheng said with a smile: "The eighth brother and sister live below, so naturally the idle people dare not come in." ”

They sat down at the table of the Eight Immortals near the brazier. On the table, there is a plum bottle of Jihong official kiln, and two new red and white plums are inserted. Haruka poured two cups of tea for them. Xianzhong waved her hand, and she hurried downstairs. Xianzhong is a person who does not like to be quiet, and he does not like to sit down and talk steadily. He stood up and walked over to Zicheng's side, patted him on the shoulder, grinned and said:

"Hey, Brother Li, you might as well follow our Lao Zhang to surrender to the court, why do you have to run around every day?"

Zicheng turned his head and looked at Xianzhong. Seeing his sly smile, I couldn't guess what he meant by this. But he didn't care whether his words were true or not, he leaned back in his chair, threw his head back, and replied:

"Oh, no, never surrender!"

"Good guy, you have 'lost your wife and broken your soldiers', and you still don't admit defeat?"

"Victory and defeat are commonplace. If there is no defeat, there will be no victory. Since ancient times, how can there be smooth sailing? ”

"Okay, my brother, are you going to lose your wife and children a few times? I think it's better to be recruited. ”

Zicheng smiled and said, "If we only plan to reunite as a family and die at the head of my wife's bed, we don't have to rebel at first." ”

"You really won't wash your hands?"

"Since you rebelled, you will never stop if you don't rebel in Beijing City."

Xianzhong stared at Zicheng's face for a while, then patted Zicheng on the shoulder heavily, and said loudly:

"Okay, I guess you must not admit defeat and will not be discouraged!" He burst out laughing and sat back down. "Brother Li, let's open the window and say something, what are you going to do in the future?"

"I'd like to hear your opinion."

"Listen to me?" Zhang Xianzhong squeezed his eyes slyly, stroked his beard and said, "Our old Zhang has already been recruited, and he can be regarded as a member of the imperial court." We have divided our ways, and each of us has our own plans. How can you listen to my opinions? ”

"Jing Xuan, let's get down to business, don't be joking. I'm coming to see you this time to talk to you about what we should do in the future. Zicheng said the word "we" very heavily and slowly. After a pause, seeing that Xianzhong had been staring at him with a smile and not making a sound, he continued: "In the past, the strength of the officers and soldiers was greater than now, but because our thirteen families twisted into a rope and fought together, we killed the officers and soldiers so that they could not look at the east and the west. In the past two years, our thirteen families have been divided into several shares, you, Cao Cao, me, Lao Huihui, and Ge Liyan, each fighting their own, without good students cooperating, cooperating with each other, and all suffering the losses of officers and soldiers. Jing Xuan, now that the Mantars have gone deep into Jifu, Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting have gone to King Qin, the interior is empty of officers and soldiers, coupled with the years of famine in Henan and other provinces, and the year of cannibalism, it is a good time for us to do a great job. I can't live in Shangluo Mountain and be an immortal, and you shouldn't live in Gucheng like this for a long time. You say, what should we do? ”

"If you want to get back on your feet, of course it's good. Tell me, but you want me to help you? ”

"I'm not here to ask for your help, but to discuss with you what we should do in the future. One slap doesn't make a sound, two slaps do. I have come to you, not only for me, but for you. ”

Xianzhong laughed again and said, "Good fellow, it's still for me!" ”

"Yes, also for you. You probably remember that a few years ago, we rushed to cross the Han River near Chenggu Zuo, there were no boats, the current was very fast, and there were wind and waves. After the cavalry passed, the infantry could not pass. Everyone can't help it, or you come up with an idea, call the strong and weak infantry match, people lead people, hand in hand, pull a long line, and step across the Han River. In the blink of an eye, not only the infantry came safely, but also the old, weak, wounded and sick brothers. In places where the wind and waves are strong, many people stand in a row hand in hand to block the waves and let the wounded, sick and heavy brethren pass smoothly. It can be seen that when the strength is dispersed, it will not be able to withstand the torrent, it will not be able to block the wind and waves, and the combined strength will not be afraid of any difficulties. ”

"Where is your strength, my brother? Aren't you done fighting? ”

"That's temporary. When the time comes, as long as I walk the right way and re-establish my banner of "breaking", there will be as many people as there are. ”

"Are you sure?"

"Be sure. The Ming Dynasty has lost the hearts of the people, coupled with the famine for many years, starvation all over the land, as long as we can eliminate the harm for the people, save the people, are we afraid that no ordinary people will rebel? ”

"Are you really going to do it to the end?"

"To be honest, I've gathered my strength in Shangluo Mountain right now."

Zhang Xianzhong jumped up violently, slapped his thigh, stretched out a thumbs up, and said loudly: "Hero!" Hero! I knew you weren't going to be finished, and you were going to bounce back one day. Sure enough, you are not discouraged at all, you don't bow your head, you are an iron man who stands up to the sky! After Gao Ruyue's death, everyone pushed you to be the king of Chuang, which is really worthy of the word 'Chuang'! However, man, don't slap your swollen face and pretend to be fat in front of my old Zhang, and don't want help from your friends. Say, what do you need? Do you need my Lao Zhang to send you some people? How much do you need? …… Well? Say! ”

"Jing Xuan, I am very grateful for your friendship. But please leave aside how you can help me for a moment. Let's discuss the future first. ”

"Okay, let's leave this chapter for now, and let's talk about the important ones first. What do you plan to do in the future? ”

"I'd like to ask you first: what are you going to do?"

Zhang Xianzhong stroked his beard and smiled, sat back in the chair, pretended to be at ease and said, "Look, we are not walking the same road. I have already married eight wives, and I will soon marry the ninth, a girl from Ao Xiucai's family in this city, seventeen years old. We rebelled, not just to live a comfortable life for a few days! He squeezed his eyes, shook his head, burped, and put his feet on the table support, and continued: "I have no other plans, I just want to live in peace and stability in Gucheng, train the soldiers well, and I will do my best when the court needs me." ”

Zicheng smiled and asked, "Really?" ”

Xianzhong said, "Believe it or not. ”

Zicheng sat down, smiled sincerely, seriously, and unhurriedly, and said, "Jing Xuan, don't joke with me, it's a rare opportunity, we brothers should have a good talk." It has been more than ten years since our uprising, and I don't know how many brothers have died, and the common people have suffered even more. You have the purpose of killing corrupt officials and corrupt officials, but the more corrupt officials and corrupt officials are killed, it seems that if you don't overthrow the Ming Dynasty and change the dynasty, the rule of officials will not be clear. I know you want to gasp and. But this cannot be delayed for long. You are training people, and Zuo Liangyu is also training people. You only have the land of Gucheng County. The pond is small, and it is difficult to raise large fish. When your wounds are healed, your feathers are full, and Zuo Liangyu's men and horses are also well trained, there are more than before. Your trick can only deceive Xiong Wencan, but you can't deceive Zuo Liangyu and Luo Dai, the court, and everyone's eyes. It is an extremely favourable situation at the moment......"

Zhang Xianzhong cut off Zicheng's words and asked: "Zicheng, Zicheng, with a conscience, have you often scolded me for being old Zhang for being soft in the past few months?" Say that I, Zhang Xianzhong, really surrendered? ”

"No matter what other people say about you, I know it myself."

"Okay, you're still powerful and knowledgeable!" Xianzhong nodded happily because he didn't misunderstand him. Then, he sighed and said, "Zicheng, you don't understand, my life is not easy. Xiong Wencan appeased Liu Xiang in Guangdong and Zheng Zhilong in Fujian, made a fortune, got used to this profit, and regarded me as Liu Xiang and Zheng Zhilong. Hey, fuck, old bear! ”

"They use you like a cash cow, cornucopia."

"Brother Li, I bought my stable life for the past ten months, and there is no civilian and military general, don't ask our old Zhang to stretch out his hand to ask for bribes. Mom's, Lao Tzu's savings for several years are almost exhausted, and they still can't fill their bottomless pit. From this point of view, the Ming Dynasty will not die, and there will be no heavenly reason if it does not die! Don't say that I am a fake surrender, even if I really surrender, this group of officials will also force our old Zhang to revolt again. ”

"So I advise you not to drag it out like this."

"Man, you think I'm happy to drag it out? Do you think I'm willing to deal with those big officials? This class of officials, with black eyes, only sees silver silver, and they are loyal to the king and love the people, and they do everything to bring disaster to the country and the people. Do you think I've drunk ecstasy soup and am willing to stay with them for a long time? Although we brothers do not say that we once dominated the storm and stomped on the mountain and shook the ground, we are not ambiguous, we broke out of the slashing and killing, and we were so anxious that we did not fight for a day. Nowadays, like two pots of water, neither cold nor hot, warm and slurping, it is all grinding, do you think I like it? Some people say that we Zhang Xianzhong surrendered and really wanted to surrender, but this is taking eye medicine into the stomach. Xianzhong laughed for a while, slapped his thigh, and then said: "As for Xiong Wencan's turtle son, they forgot, my name is Zhang Xianzhong, not Zhang Xianbao!" ”

"I heard that you spent a lot of money on sending people to Beijing, really?"

"Don't mention it, blame that blind man! His turtle son is still living in Beijing. When he comes back, I'll have to scold him well! ”

Zicheng knew that he was scolding a person named Xue Zibin, a loyal and trusted general, who was blind with one eye in the battle. Zicheng is also very familiar with him.

"Didn't you send Xue Zibin to Beijing to get the silver to open the joints for you?"

"I sent him? Send a fart. It was his own idea! At first, I only planned to fake the landing for a while, so that I could take a breath and replenish some people's vests, but Lao Xue, the turtle son, wanted to really descend. Every day he instigated me to send him to Beijing, to follow the door of his cousin Xue Guoguan, and to bribe the dignitaries and nobles in the court to speak for me with gold and silver treasures. I was confused, so I sent him. Damn, a lot of money was spent, but the court should be suspicious or suspicious, and didn't buy anything else, only a little: let me be able to rest and reorganize here for the time being! ”

Zicheng said with a smile: "With the unjust money you sent Lao Xue to Beijing to spend, just take out part of it to raise soldiers and part of it to help the poor." If we want to achieve great things, we should first win the hearts of the people, and we don't need to use money to buy the hearts of the court. Jing Xuan, you want to buy the dignitaries of the Manchu Dynasty, how can their appetites be satisfied? Your money is thrown into the ocean. ”

"When you throw it into the sea, you hear it, and sometimes you don't even make a sound when you throw it into their pocket."

Li Zicheng said sincerely: "The loss of some gold, silver and jewelry is still a trivial matter, but the important thing is to lose the heroic spirit of our uprising leader who stood up to the sky, deviated from the purpose of the uprising, and also set a bad example for the rebels in various places. Because we are old friends and have shared hardships on the battlefield, I am so outspoken. Jing Xuan, you are not surprised! ”

Zhang Xianzhong nodded and said, "Brother Li, you're right, you're right." Whether it's true or not, in the end it's a bad name for surrendering. In the past few years, because of my old Zhang's great reputation, everyone's eyes are looking at me. I'm trying to discredit myself, and I'm going to have to deal with those bastards! ”

Zicheng said again: "Although you have smeared your half-life reputation by taking this chess, it is still too late to recover it quickly." Jing Xuan, I would like to advise you again: Your life is about the name of your life, you must not go on like this again! ”

Xianzhong nodded, but was silent.

"How is Cao Cao?" Self-contained.

"Cao Cao? Slippery and oily, slippery like glass beads. He only spent a small amount of money to buy off Li Jizheng, the eunuch of Taihe Mountain, to write a letter to Xiong Wencan for him, and gave Xiong Wencan some gifts. Lao Xiong instead gave in to him, for fear that he would refuse to surrender half-heartedly, and sent Hao Jingchun, the magistrate of Fang County, to persuade him to make friends with him, and to protect him from the imperial court as a guerrilla general, saying that he surrendered sincerely. Damn it! With me, Zhang Xianzhong, making a screen in the east to shelter him from the wind and cold, he hid in the mountains and enjoyed his happiness in peace. Xianzhong laughed again, his eyes and laughter were full of contempt, but also cordial, clearly praising Cao Cao's cunning attitude towards the imperial court.

"What does he plan to do in the future?"

"Hmph, aren't you sitting in the mountains and watching the scenery? Xiong Wencan wanted to transfer him out to make meritorious contributions, but he refused to come out, saying that he did not want to be an official or to be paid by the imperial court, and that he was only willing to live with his subordinates in the mountains as farmers, cultivate and feed himself, and live and work in peace and contentment with the common people. Lo and behold, how much will it cope! However, as long as we Lao Zhang does it, he has to do it together, and he is not afraid that he will be smooth and slippery. ”

"When exactly are you going to start an incident?"

"I'll do it when I'm ready."

"When will it be ready?"

Zhang Xianzhong said in his heart, you are now lost, I wish my old Zhang would do it, there were fires everywhere, and there was smoke in eight times, so you can strike while the fire is hot. I'm not in a hurry! So he pretended not to care much and said:

"I don't know, let's see."

Li Zicheng didn't ask anymore, smiled faintly, stood up from the table, approached a bookshelf with his hands behind his back, casually admiring the books with cloth covers and splints, neatly arranged but covered with a layer of dust on the top, but thinking in his heart how to take advantage of tonight to agree on the date of Zhang Xianzhong's incident in Gucheng, so as not to have too many dreams at night. Xianzhong suddenly said behind his back:

"Brother Li, you are really bold!"

Zicheng turned around: "What has the guts?" ”

"I want to ask you: Why didn't you hide after you were defeated, and you dared to come to Gucheng to see me?"

"You're my friend, I haven't done anything to be sorry for you, why don't you dare to come to see you?"

"You're not afraid that I'll hack you?"

Zicheng was surprised in his heart, sat down and said with a smile: "If I am the slightest afraid that you will fall into the well, I will not come to Gucheng." ”

"As the saying goes, don't be afraid of 10,000, just in case. Aren't you afraid that if I Zhang Xianzhong turns his face and doesn't recognize people, I will poison you? ”

"I didn't expect it to be just in case. Among our thirteen brothers, except for brutes like Liu Guoneng and Li Wanqing, who are dressed in human skin, who surrender to the court with all their hearts, betray their friends to seek glory, and are extremely shameless, the rest of the many real heroes and heroes have never hacked friends, let alone you Zhang Jingxuan? What words! ”

"If I Lao Zhang were in your position, my people would not let me go to you."

"That's weird. There is not a single person on my left and right who does not want me to come to you soon and discuss the great plan. They all said that as long as we brothers can work together, although there are many officials and troops in the Ming Dynasty, they will never break us again. ”

"But people say that in the thirteen rebel armies, the two of us are not standing side by side, and we are not convinced by each other. Besides, in the past two or three years, the two of us have been jerky again and have torn face, don't they think of these things? ”

Zicheng laughed out loud and said, "Jing Xuan, you also look down on my friends over there!" ”

"Why do you think it's low?"

"In their opinion, although the two of us have had an argument and hurt face, but there are still times when the teeth and tongue are not in harmony, let alone friends? It's a small thing at home, and you can't lose it because it's small. At present, the enemy is at present, and I am afraid of delays in working together, who still remembers those trivial things! ”

Zhang Xianzhong continued to force Zicheng to ask with blazing eyes: "But, Zicheng, one day, after defeating the Ming Dynasty, the two of us will fight for the country after all!" Are there two days in the sky? ”

Li Zicheng didn't expect Xianzhong to talk about this issue at all, and he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. But he sneered through his nostrils and said unhurriedly:

"At the moment, we are the enemy, and we can only do it if we work together. As for what happened after the defeat of the Ming Dynasty, you can't help but think too early. ”

"Too early? In my opinion, the Ming Dynasty has almost reached the point of exhaustion, and now it is barely supported, and once it is about to collapse, it will be very soon. At that time, will we both sit side by side on the Golden Luan Palace? ”

"Jing Xuan, both of us live in a forest of swords and guns, and every time we fight, we bow down and shoot arrows, who knows when we will die? If one of us dies in battle, won't this problem be solved? ”

"What if we don't both die?"

"If, thanks to heaven, we don't die in battle, that's fine. At that time, wouldn't it be good for a person to see that the destiny of heaven was determined, and it was useless to fight for himself, bow his head and call himself a minister, fight the military disaster early, and build a peaceful and prosperous cause together? ”

"What if they won't bow their heads? What's more, you and me, even if some people are willing to bow their heads, the soldiers under them will not follow! What to do? ”

"That's easy, but it's just a few more orphans and widows."

"Don't you have to kill you?"

"At that time, if there is no other way to reconcile, it will be much better for our brothers to line up on the battlefield and see each other in a dignified manner, than to kill each other in our own homes at the present great enemy. Besides, no matter if you assassinate me or I assassinate you, it will only make the relatives painful and the enemies happy, lose the hearts of the righteous people in the world, and leave a thousand years of unrighteous name. If you had been defeated and had come to see me, not only would I not have done this, but even my men would not have thought of it, unless he was insane. If anyone had such a bad idea against me, I would cut off his head immediately. I have always done things in a fair and upright manner, and what I hate most is to be a person in front of me and a ghost behind my back, one set of yin and one set of yang. No one of my subordinates would dare to persuade me to do anything unfair! ”

Zhang Xianzhong slammed his fist on the table of the Eight Immortals, jumped up from the chair, and said, "Wow, these words are really happy!" Brother Li, you said it very sincerely, and you are also a hero, so I can't help but admire Lao Zhang. He shouted downstairs, "Bring me the wine!" ”

Zicheng hurriedly stopped and said, "Don't take the wine, we still have serious things to talk about." ”

"As the saying goes, drinking leads to people's hearts. Wouldn't it be more enjoyable to drink and talk at the same time? ”

"You know I don't usually eat much, but I've eaten a lot tonight."

"Okay, forget it then. Self-contained, to be honest, in the past two years, we have suffered the loss of our brothers' opinions! ”

"Jing Xuan, your words are accurate. In the past, I was blamed for my narrow-mindedness and irritable temper, so I made the brothers jerky and gave the officers and soldiers an opportunity to take advantage of it. In the past three years, I have suffered a lot of losses and made a lot of difficulties, only to know that the ploughshare is made of iron, and a flea cannot afford to lie down, so I took the risk of the road to come to you, and wanted to re-twist the rope with you to deal with the officers and soldiers. Since you have taken out your sincere words tonight, put the overall situation first, and ignore the past suspicions, my heart will be at ease. I'll be honest with you, one day you will conquer the world, as long as you Zhang Jingxuan are benevolent and righteous to the people, generous and tolerant to your old partners, don't be jealous, and kill the heroes, I, Li Zicheng, am willing to dismiss my armor and return to the field, and be a citizen of Yao Shun, and I will never think about it. I also want to persuade Jiexuan and Buzhi, they all support you as they support me. Don't worry, Jing Xuan! ”

Xian Zhong shook his head, smiled slyly, and rubbed his beard and asked, "Really?" ”

"Of course it's true, I swear to God."

Xianzhong leaned back in his chair and laughed.

"Laughing at what?" Self-contained. "You think I'm not telling the truth?"

"I'm not a child. The gun and knife have been mixed in the forest for more than ten years, the handle of the knife is grinding out of the cocoon in the palm of the hand, and the meat butt has worn out a few pairs of saddles, and it is not clear in such a thing? You just say that there are twenty-four lotus flowers and one petal, and we don't believe it! Now that you have become a bare pole, you naturally have no heart to fight for the country; When you are plump, will you still think of supporting my old Zhang? Hahahaha......"

Zicheng looked at Xianzhong and smiled, and said in his heart: "No matter how treacherous you are, as long as you are willing to cooperate with me temporarily and listen to my words to revolt in Gucheng!" As soon as Xianzhong's laughter stopped, he said unhurriedly:

"Jing Xuan, you didn't hear me clearly. I mean, if you will be kind to the people and generous to your old companions, I will support you. On the other hand, if you are unkind and unjust, and you can't relieve the people from hanging, needless to say, others will not support you, and I, Li Zicheng, will not support you. The king of heaven and the king of the earth, human blood is as red as red. If you are unkind and unjust, and you can't save the people, why should others support you? ”

"There is some truth to that."

Zicheng suddenly had a serious face, and said in a heavy tone: "Jing Xuan! I know you've always been straightforward, but what you just said was a surprise to me! The two of us burned down the Fengyang Emperor's Mausoleum together, and we have a common enmity with the current emperor. Once the Mantars withdraw from the Great Wall, can the imperial court let you train in peace? You are now trapped in Gucheng, and you are suspicious of the imperial court, and you are not given a title, you are not given a customs guard, you are not given food, and you are blackmailed by the local gentry and ask for bribes every day, this situation is really not good. In addition, the brothers of the rebellion, as long as you have a little backbone, who doesn't say that you shouldn't surrender? No matter if you really descend or not, others can scold you with their fingers! If it goes on like this, don't say that you can't catch the court, and even your friends will be lost! ”

"I know. This year, I was a rat that got into the bellows, and I was angry at both ends. ”

"However, isn't it strange that you are still thinking about the future of our brothers? If someone sows discord again, Jing Xuan, I advise you to cut off his head! ”

Xianzhong's face flushed, and he grinned and said, "Brother Li, don't be suspicious. It's none of other people's business, it's my Lao Zhang talking to you about fun. ”

"Lately, I've been thinking a lot about why we people are forced to rebel, and the more I think about it, the more I can't give up halfway. When I was young, I herded sheep for others and was whipped; When he was twenty-one years old, he spent several months in prison for debts to others. Because I was in prison, my mother was angry and sad, and she died soon. Let's talk about it, I often hear that when you were young, you drove a donkey into Sichuan with Uncle Zhang to do a small business. You still often scold the 'turtle son', you learned it in Sichuan at that time, and you said that you are used to it. One day you tied the donkey to the gate of a gentleman's grain, and the gentleman came out and saw the donkey's and eggs on the ground, and forced the old man to pick it up and eat it. The old man knelt down and kowtowed and pleaded, willing to sweep the ground clean. But the bully didn't agree, and forced the old man to eat a few donkey eggs. From then on, the old man fell ill and died shortly after returning from Sichuan. Jing Xuan, don't say that our uprising is to save the people, let's just say that our personal vendetta ......"

Xianzhong didn't wait for his words to finish speaking, his eyes were wide open, his eyes were red, he slammed his fist on the table, and said loudly:

"I'll fuck his eight-generation ancestor! Lao Tzu got the land in the future, and when he arrived in Sichuan, he had to kill all those gentry and grain households! ”

Zicheng suddenly asked, "When exactly are you going to start an incident in Gucheng?" ”

Xianzhong was about to answer, but Ma Yuanli walked upstairs and said with a smile: "It's really a shadow of midges flying over, and there is no impermeable wall in the world." ”

Zicheng asked alertly: "Brother, what's the matter?" ”

Ma Yuanli said: "When you passed by Shihua Street, someone recognized you and reported it to Zhang Dajing of Xiangyang Bingbeidao. Look, how fast! ”

"Fuck, that's fast!" Xianzhong scolded, looked at Zicheng and said: "However, although Zhang Dajing's ear report God is very spiritual, our ear report God is not weak." No matter how tight the movement around him is, we will know it right away. ”

"You've got a lot of options."

"Dick method, it's not that money can make ghosts grind!"

Ma Yuanli said to Xianzhong: "We have to be careful. Early tomorrow morning, Zhang Dajing will report the news to Lin Mingqiu. ”

Xianzhong said: "Lin Mingqiu, the turtle son, maybe I will be asked to sacrifice someone when we meet tomorrow." He smiled mischievously at Zicheng and squeezed his eyes: "Brother Li, you caused trouble for me." This is a closed house, and evil will come from heaven. ”

"It's easy to do. If you dedicate me to Lin Mingqiu tomorrow, wouldn't it save you trouble and ask for credit? ”

"Then, if you do that, I'll have to walk headfirst in front of my friends." Xianzhong turned to Ma Yuanli, waved his right hand, and said: "Tomorrow, I will send more patrols in the city, and if anyone spreads rumors that King Chuang has sneaked to Gucheng, they will all arrest me, and at least beat him to open his skin and flesh, and at worst tell his eating guy to move." As for the two mongrels Lin Mingqiu and Zhang Dajing, we naturally have a way to deal with the past. ”

After Ma Yuanli left, Li Zicheng was a little uneasy, and asked Xianzhong: "In case they find trouble with you, how do you deal with them?" ”

Xianzhong smiled and said, "You don't have to worry, Brother Li." It's not easy to play with this class of bureaucratic mongrels? When the time comes, I will have my own way to keep you living in this upstairs safely, and no one will be able to touch a single hair of your King Li Chuang. Hey, let's get down to business. ”

"Okay, let's talk about that. When are you going to do it, you say? ”

"I've always been thinking about it. I'm going to talk to you tonight, and I'd like to do it sooner. Brother Li, I, Zhang Xianzhong, am I not raised by my parents when I go out of Gucheng! You say, when should I do it? ”

"I think you'd better start next year when you've harvested the wheat."

"That's what I'm going to do. At that time, there will be no worries about food and grass. ”

"My feathers are also full, and I will not leave you alone."

"This is the beginning of the wheat harvest in April and a half, so let's decide to start at the same time within a day or two after the Duanyang Festival."

"Jing Xuan, this matter is not trivial. Let's make a decision tonight, don't change your mind halfway! ”

"Zicheng, if anyone changes the hexagram halfway, you see," Xianzhong jumped to the side of the pillar, pulled out his sword, slashed into the pillar with a click, and said loudly, "Just like this pillar!" ”

Zicheng pulled out a carved arrow, snapped it with a click, and said, "If I, Li Zicheng, don't fight with you, I have such an arrow!" ”

"Okay, Brother Li, our plan has been decided, you can live with peace of mind with me, and I will send a few more people to inquire about your sister-in-law's whereabouts for you."

Zicheng didn't talk about whether to live for the time being, but raised a new question: "Jing Xuan, Lao Huihui, Ge Liyan, Zuo Jin Wang, what should the three of them do?" I heard that they are all waiting and waiting to surrender to the imperial court, is this true? ”

"It's true. They all want to learn from my old Zhang, so that they can be stationed in the Dabie Mountains to recuperate, and no one really plans to wash their hands. ”

"Please send someone to persuade them to take advantage of the fact that there are not many officers and troops in the south of the Yellow River, and that the trick of false surrender must not be used again. Please prepare for it early, and once the two of us make a big move, they will also make a fuss. In this way, they echo each other, and the whole game of chess comes alive. ”

Xianzhong patted Zicheng on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Hey, you are so thoughtful!" Rest assured, they often send people to me, and I'll just say just a word. ”

All of his plans to come to Valley City have succeeded. He was very happy in his heart, but in order to guard against unexpected changes, he decided to leave Valley City immediately. He held Xianzhong's hand tightly and said emotionally:

"Jing Xuan, now our two hearts have merged into one heart, and we will work together to move forward, and the overall situation is in our hands!"

"Man, will you stay with me a little longer?" Xianzhong asked.

"No, I'll leave tonight."

"What! Leaving tonight? ”

"I must leave tonight, and I will never stop here."

"Why is it so urgent? It's not a fire burning ass! ”

"You have a lot of eyes and ears in the imperial court here, and Zhang Dajing already knows that I sneaked into Gucheng, and it will be inconvenient for you to live."

"I'm afraid of a dick! They have all been bribed by us, and they are soft-mouthed, and they don't want to fall out with us. They cover up three points for our Lao Zhang in case of trouble, both sides are beneficial, and they will never be too serious. Besides, our Lao Zhang has tens of thousands of elite soldiers in his hands, who are afraid of biting our cock? If Lin Mingqiu and Zhang Dajing didn't know how to lift, it would be easy to ask them to get out of Gucheng, and it would be effortless. Tomorrow night there will be a fake mutiny, claiming that they will ask the court for money, and there will be a noise in the city, burning a few grass huts, killing a few people, and ensuring that they are so frightened that they pee in the crotch of their pants, and they dare not live longer in Gucheng. ”

"No, you don't understand what I mean. Of course, it is foolproof for me to stay with you, but for the sake of next year's wheat strike, we must not leak a little information in advance, so that the officers and troops will be prepared, and even give you a 'preemptive strike'. You have to act like a sincere surrender, and when the time comes, give them a thunderbolt. Please don't keep me, I just go. ”

"You've been on the road for five or six days, and you haven't rested, my brother!"

"You and I have been saddle horses for many years, and we can rest on horses."

Xianzhong thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I won't keep you!" Brother Li, I have nothing else to help you, so I'll send you some horses and armor. How much do you want? ”

Zicheng hurriedly said, "Don't, don't." You've suffered setbacks over the past year, and you don't have enough horses and equipment, and I can't ask for you anymore. ”

"What, you look down on me? Look at my old Zhang is not enough friends, isn't it? If you think that my Lao Zhang is not a friend, you don't have to discuss any future plans with us, and everyone can take care of their own affairs. ”

"I know you're having a hard time too......"

"Although I am also difficult, I am currently thicker than your family, and helping you will not make me break my bones. Say, Brother Li, how much? ”

"If you have more horses, give me a hundred. Also, give me a little bit more. ”

"Only a hundred?" Zhang Xianzhong looked at him, as if he didn't expect the amount he proposed to be so small. "How can a hundred horses be enough? Well, I'll give you 200 good horses, and you can carry as much armor as you need. Okay? ”

"This, I appreciate this too much." Li Zicheng said gratefully, and gave up his hand again and again.

"It's a little meaning, it's a little thing! Friends, everyone will have a time when they are in trouble, the water helps the fish, and the fish also helps the water. Do you want a little money? ”

"No, no. I still have the silver. ”

"I'm not reluctant to do this, if you want money, you can just say it. Anyway, our Lao Zhang doesn't plan to catch up with Shen Wansan, grab the money from this hand and spend it from that hand. Not really? ”

"I really don't need to. It's been three more days now. I took a break and set off on the fifth shift. If you send me horses and armor, please send someone to prepare them at once. Also, by the way, you told my people to get ready to stop on the road before the fifth watch. ”

"I'll go and command it right away. You can sleep, and you can sleep for an hour. Xianzhong thought for a while, and then said: "You bring too few people and many horses, in case something happens on the road, it is difficult to take care of it." I'll send you a hundred more brethren. ”

Xianzhong said to go downstairs, but he didn't move, still turning his mind. Li Zicheng secretly rejoiced that he had come to Gucheng for a good trip, but at the same time, he was also worried that he would have a lot of dreams at night after he left, and that Xianzhonghui would be jealous of him and easily provoked by others, so he canceled the agreement to make a big move after the wheat harvest next year. He deliberately smiled at the plum blossoms in the bottle, and smelled the fragrance and yawned.

"Brother Li, which way are you going to go?"

"I'm familiar with the road of Shihua Street, and there are people from Wang Guangen stationed to the west, and I want to turn back from the original road."

"Not good. Since someone saw you on Shihua Street and secretly reported it to Zhang Dajing, wouldn't it be easy for you to walk from Shihua Street again? Besides, you set off on the fifth watch and walked on Chaoshan Avenue during the day, which is very unconfidential. ”

"I didn't go to Wang Guangen when I came, and I planned to ask him to meet him when I went back and passed near Junzhou."

"You don't have to see him. It seems that he really wants to surrender to the imperial court. Even Cao Cao has been wary of him recently, why do you bother to see him? Even if he won't hack you at the moment, if the news leaks from him, you may have more trouble when you pass near Wuguan. Be careful, don't go the same way. ”

"Isn't there a cold family on the other side of the old estuary? I passed through the middle of Lengjiaji and Shihua Street, and entered the Xichuan Realm near Qingshan Port, do you say okay? ”

"Not good. There are officers and troops stationed in Qingshan Port, there is no other ferry port nearby, there are mountains on both sides of the river, and the water flow is very fast. ”

"So which way to go?"

"I think so, just go out of the east gate and cross the river from the immortal pontoon bridge. People will not be suspicious when they see my men and horses coming and going between Gucheng and Wangjiahe every day. When I arrived near Wangjiahe, I walked along the official road to Guanghua, and people only thought that it was my men and horses who went to change the guards. Passing through Guanghua to the northwest, sparsely populated, overlapping mountains, you are not afraid of the wind. The men and horses I sent you are waiting in a secluded place in the west of Gwanghwa County. ”

"Okay, so be it."

Xianzhong hurriedly went downstairs to prepare men and horses for Zicheng. Zicheng yawned again and walked to the bed. They didn't expect that Xu Yixian had already arrived at Wangjiahe at this time, and was secretly discussing with Zhang Kewang, and the method to get rid of Li Chuang Wang had been decided.

CHAPTER XIX

When Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng were talking upstairs, Xu Yixian took a few followers and galloped to Wangjiahe, constantly whipping his mount on the way. When I arrived at Zhang Kewang's camp, it was already the fourth watch. He called Zhang Kewang and told him the idea that he should take the opportunity to get rid of Li Zicheng. Kewang is only twenty-two years old this year, but he is ruthless and ruthless, surpassing his stepfather. Before Ding gave birth to a son, Xianzhong always regarded Kewang as his heir, and Kewang also regarded himself as Xianzhong's heir. Although Xianzhong has recently given birth to his own son, because one peasant army has always attached importance to the status of adopted sons, and the other is that many babies in the Rong Ma can not be raised to adulthood, Zhang Kewang still believes that he will inherit the country that Zhang Xianzhong has laid down in the future. After listening to Xu Yixian's words, his drowsiness suddenly disappeared, and he jumped up and said loudly:

"You're right, you must not let the tiger return to the mountain!"

"But the young marshal, without further ado, the sooner the better."

"What's the hurry? Can't fly him! ”

"If you fly away, you won't regret it."

"Since he has come from afar, he will not go too hastily, but at least he will rest for three days and five days. The matter of killing him is wrapped up in me, and I can slowly discuss it with my father. ”

"The general is bad. Li Zicheng will never stop here for long. If we don't do it now, we'll miss it. ”

"How can I see that he won't stop long?"

"I think that Li Zicheng is busy collecting and dispersing, checking the whereabouts of his wife, daughter and subordinates, as the so-called anxious, he has no intention of stopping here, and knowing that Lin Mingqiu came to Gucheng at this time, he is even more unwilling to stop more. This person is quite alert, maybe tonight we will agree on a way to start an incident, and tomorrow the sky is unknown, and we will suddenly leave it. ”

"Will he go so fast?"

"Li Zicheng usually uses troops to be unpredictable, not to mention that he is far away from the army today and is in danger, how dare he be careless?"

Zhang Kewang thought for a moment and said, "Okay, never let him fly away!" ”

He immediately selected 250 elite cavalry from the standard camp, set off with him and Xu Yixian to Gucheng, and entrusted his righteous brother Zhang Wenxiu to be responsible for the morning drill phalanx. When they ran out of Wangjiahezhai, the rooster had already crowed twice.

The rooster crowed all over again, and Li Zicheng was woken up by the girl sent by Zhang Xianzhong. He hurriedly finished washing, and Zhang Xianzhong walked upstairs.

"Brother Li, I'm an anxious person, and I woke you up in advance. Let's go, go to the flower hall to have a glass of warm wine, and you can take advantage of the unknown weather to leave. The secret you came, the secret you left, although Lin Mingqiu lives close, he will know that I am a dick! ”

"Is Ziming here?"

"I'm here, I'm waiting for you in the flower hall." Xianzhong accompanied King Chuang downstairs and said, "For the sake of secrecy, I have already asked someone to set off overnight to wait for you in Guanghua County." Fifty of your own soldiers have arrived, and are eating. ”

"That's good. You think very well. ”

Zhang Xianzhong patted his friend on the shoulder and said in a joking tone: "One day, I will go to your brother Li's eaves to hide from the rain, don't let me get my clothes wet." ”

Zicheng grabbed Xianzhong's hand and replied, "Jingxuan, if there is a day, I will never let you stand under the eaves, and I will definitely pull you into the house." If your clothes get wet, I'll take them off and let you wear them. ”

"Really?"

"Of course it is."

Zhang Xianzhong shook his head and laughed. Zicheng felt a chill in his heart, and at this moment he realized more clearly that his cooperation with Xianzhong would not last long. He hit Xianzhong the back and said:

"After a long time, you will believe what I say."

After hurriedly eating the send-off wine, King Chuang took the doctors Shang Jiong, Zhang Nai, Shuangxi and his soldiers out of the corner gate, got on the horse and set off. Xianzhong sent them out of the city with more than 20 personal soldiers.

The day is still unknown, and the curfew has not yet been lifted. The streets were deserted, with only sentry posts and patrol squads under Xianzhong's subordinates. Xianzhong has been sent out of the city for ten miles, crossed the fairy crossing pontoon bridge, and walked to a three-way intersection before saying goodbye to the guests. He said to Shang Jiong:

"Hey, godparents, I really want to leave you behind, but I was afraid that I didn't want to say it. It is very close to the Wangjia River. Do you want to pass by the Wangjia River and not look at your goddaughter and son-in-law? ”

"I'm going to go with King Chuang, so I have to stop seeing them this time. Things will be smooth in the future, and there will be many days to meet. ”

As soon as Shang Jiong's words landed, he suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves galloping from the north. Although there was a sparse forest partition, it was impossible to see how many men and horses there were, but they were all experienced, and they could tell that there were two or three hundred horsemen just by listening to the sound of horses' hooves. Xianzhong was surprised: What happened to Wangjiahe? King Chuang's heart couldn't help but be nervous, and he exchanged a look with the doctor. The doctor gave the two generals and his soldiers a hint with his eyes, and all the swords were drawn from their sheaths in an instant. Xianzhong was taken aback, and then said with a smile:

"What are you doing? Drink, here in my old Zhang, why bother? Here, there are no officers and soldiers, and no one dares to attack you for your crooked ideas. These people are from Wang'er's side, so don't worry about it. ”

Zicheng also said with a smile: "They are afraid of accidents all the time, and it has become a habit." Then he shouted to the left and right, "Don't put it in the sheath yet!" ”

Although he shouted so loudly, Shuangxi even said "yes, yes", but refused to insert the sword into the sheath, and Zhang Nai and the fifty pro-soldiers all looked at Shuangxi's eyes and acted, so they naturally continued to hold the sword in their hands, just in case. Shuangxi could see from his father-in-law's eyes that this shout was not sincere, and the doctor glanced at him again, so he was not only extra vigilant, but also thought that in case of an accident, he would pounce in front of Xianzhong and strike first.

In the blink of an eye, the cavalry led by Zhang Kewang and Xu Yixian passed through the woods. At this time, the east was already white, so as soon as Zhang Kewang came out of the woods, he saw that Zicheng was saying goodbye to Xianzhong. He said to the military advisor:

"We came just in time, and we'll leave him if we're a step late."

"Please don't be in a hurry when you meet, you must have the consent of the handsome to start, anyway, he can't get out."

"I understand."

As soon as they arrived at the three-way intersection, Zhang Kewang and Xu Yixian hurriedly greeted the guests and said a few words of retention, but they did not dismount and salute. Shang Jiong asked:

"Maotang, why are you running so quickly?"

Zhang Kewang replied hesitantly: "When the military division arrived at Wangjiahe at night, the little nephew heard that Li Shuai and you were always in Gucheng, so he specially went to the city to visit the two. I didn't expect the two Renbo to go in such a hurry, if they were one step late, they wouldn't even see each other. ”

Xu Yixian continued: "It's okay, I'm in time to see him off." ”

Zicheng Lian said "I don't dare to be", no longer delayed, resigned to Xianzhong and others, and led a group of people to ride away. As soon as they left, Xianzhong asked his adopted son:

"Wang'er, what are you doing in a hurry? Why bring so many people? ”

Zhang Kewang waved to the soldiers around him and said, "You all take a few steps back!" ”

When the soldiers took a few steps back, he hurriedly told his father-in-law that he wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of Li Zicheng, and asked him to be promised to do it immediately. Xianzhong said:

"Although Li Zicheng can't pee in a pot with Lao Tzu, sooner or later he will turn his face and become enemies, but today he is in trouble, and he specially came to find Lao Tzu, how can Lao Tzu clean him up? No way! ”

"Father, since you also understand that sooner or later you will turn your face into an enemy, why don't you take this opportunity to clean him up and avoid future troubles? I'd rather be a murderer than a sufferer! ”

Zhang Xianzhong stopped making a sound, his eyes revealing contradictions and hesitation. Although he and Li Zicheng had vowed last night to start an incident together after the wheat harvest next year, he didn't think it was a temporary time to use each other. Doesn't it clear that the self-formed man on the left and right drew his sword as soon as he heard the sound of the horse's hooves, and that it is difficult to get rid of it? If the will of heaven really allows him Zhang Xianzhong to achieve great things in the future, getting rid of it today is exactly the will of heaven and the heart of the left and right, and how important is the oath he made! However, if Zicheng is temporarily left behind and a part of the officers and troops are contained in Shaanxi, it will also be beneficial to his current situation Zhang Xianzhong. How? ……

Xu Yixian saw that Xianzhong's attitude was more active than last night, and he was hesitating, so he hurriedly explained the benefits to Xianzhong, and begged Xianzhong to agree immediately, so as not to miss the opportunity. Finally, he said:

"If the commander does not accept his advice, he will be defeated in the future. It's useless to stay by the side of the handsome, please retreat to the mountains from now on! ”

Zhang Xianzhong still had no other expression. He glanced at Zhang Kewang's face again, turned his face away, and looked in the direction of Li Zicheng and his party. By this time, it was already getting dark. He saw a small group of Li Chuangwang slowly walking northwest on the avenue on the north bank of the Xiangjiang River, and even his friend Li Zicheng raised his whip in the pale red morning light.

"It's too late to do it right away," Zhang Kewang urged anxiously, his red eyes shining fiercely. "Father, I'll chase after you with the team, right? …… Well? Chase it, right? ”

Zhang Xianzhong still didn't make a sound, and kept biting his lip.

"Except for him, avoid falling behind." Xu Yixian said in a resolute tone, and at the same time held the hilt of the sword in his hand, urging Zhang Xianzhong to decide immediately with his eyes.

After the Xingyang Conference in the seventh year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng's prestige increased day by day; When Li Zicheng was promoted to be the king of Chuang, Xianzhong was even more jealous. Last night, because of the defeat of Zicheng's army, this jealousy and resentment due to competing with each other were temporarily suppressed, and at the same time, Zicheng's attitude was upright and upright, and he was also moved, and he showed generosity and enthusiasm for Zicheng. At this moment, after Zhang Kewang and Xu Yixian's bitter persuasion, a storm suddenly arose in his heart.

He glanced at the two or three hundred elite cavalry that Kewang had brought, and then at Zicheng's small group of men, and a plan to clean up Li Zicheng swept through his mind like lightning. He seemed to see the whole process of this bloody event, simple and swift: he pretended to remember a few important words to talk to Zicheng, rode his horse to catch up with Zicheng, and walked side by side with Zicheng. Self-contained is unguarded. He suddenly raised his hand, and before he could scream, he fell off his horse. Li Shuangxi and the others haven't understood what is going on, and they have been cleaned up by Kewang and others......

"Please make a decision immediately, don't hesitate again." Xu Yixian said with a murderous expression, the sword had been pulled out of its sheath.

But Zhang Xianzhong can't make this determination yet. Among the many leaders of the peasant army, Zhang Xianzhong was famous for his decisiveness in the face of trouble. Zhang Kewang had never seen his stepfather hesitate so much before deciding to kill.

"Soon they will be far away, and it will be difficult to catch up!" Zhang Kewang said impatiently, and then ordered his own soldiers and pacesetters to prepare with his eyes. The Mongolian steed he rode was also snorting impatiently, stepping on its hooves, and tightening its reins, and if its master loosened the reins a little, it would gallop forward like an arrow.

Zhang Xianzhong didn't nod his head in permission, but he didn't shake his head to refuse. He watched the shadows of the centaurs fade away, and slowly stroked his long, brownish-yellow beard with his right hand. At this time, everyone held their breath nervously, and all eyes were focused on his right hand. Everyone knows that he has a habit: whenever he decides on a major issue that he is particularly hesitant about, or decides whether to kill an important person, he always holds his long beard with his right hand, and slowly pushes it down while thinking.

When he had halfway through his long beard, Zhang Kewang, believing that he had agreed, drew his sword and whispered to the brethren:

"Ready!"

All the swords were drawn from their sheaths, and the horse's head was facing west, and he waited for the handsome horse to move and set out in pursuit. But the head of the loyal horse did not move. He tightened the reins of his horse with his left hand, and with his right hand still holding his beard, he neither slammed it down nor let go.

Li Zicheng let his oolong colt gallop west in the dawn, but he did not gallop on his horse. The sudden appearance of Zhang Kewang and Xu Yixian and the fact that they brought so many people made him very suspicious. However, he also saw that Zhang Kewang's appearance was also unexpected by Xianzhong, which shows that Xianzhongyuan did not hack his heart. Because he judged it this way, he preferred to take some danger than to go too fast, which caused suspicion of loyalty. He knew that if that happened, not only would the harvest of last night's meeting with Xianzhong be in vain, but even his own life and that of his people would be at risk.

The doctor and King Chuang walked side by side, also deeply worried about the situation in front of them. He whispered to Zicheng: "King Chuang, it seems that Xu Yixian and Zhang Kewang have bad intentions, do you notice it?" ”

King Chuang nodded, smiled slightly, and said, "Some awareness, but it doesn't matter. Even if Jing Xuan changed his hexagram, he wouldn't have become so fast. Our brethren should be calm, slow forward, and not appear to be panicked. ”

He said that the latter sentence was for the two young generals and the soldiers to hear, so he amplified his voice a little. Sure enough, although everyone was very nervous, they no longer used whips to drive the horses.

The doctor asked again: "King Chuang, you originally planned to rest here for two or three days, why did you rush to leave as soon as you met Jing Xuan, did you see that Jing Xuan was unreliable or because there were many eyes and ears of the official army in Gucheng?" ”

"The large number of eyes and ears of the officers and soldiers is one reason, and in addition, there is another ......"

"In addition, do you see that the Eight Kings are unreliable?"

"It's not. I think Jing Xuan's military advisor who shakes a goose feather fan is not a kind guy because he was born with a hawk-nosed harrier eye. Last night, in front of the banquet, this guy didn't smile, his eyes were restless, and he spoke very little, and he was clearly a first-class figure in Fan Zeng. Therefore, I think that since the important event has been decided and the purpose of this trip has been achieved, it is not beneficial to stay here longer, so it is better to go. ”