In addition, after Jiang Chengfeng, the gang leader of the Changjiao Gang, learned that He Menglong had died tragically in Juxian Tower in Caizhou, he immediately sent an envoy to Caizhou, met with Huang Chao, and put forward three requirements to Huang Chao in person: 1. Find out what happened, hand over the murderer Xu Zhi, why the deputy gang leader took revenge; 2. Why did the deputy gang leader overkill the undead in Juxian Tower in Caizhou and invite all sects to participate; 3. Huang Wang sent someone to transport the coffin of Deputy Gang Leader He back to Yuezhou, and all expenses were borne by Huang Wang.

Huang Chao discussed with Huang He, Shang Rang and others behind the scenes, and replied to the messenger of the Changjiao Gang: "Your envoy, the old man can agree to your second and third requests, after all, Deputy Gang Leader He is the guest of honor we invited, he came thousands of miles to Caizhou to participate in the conference, Huang is deeply honored, this time he suffered a mishap, failed to fulfill the friendship of the landlord, and also bears a great responsibility in this matter." But the first requirement is still debatable?"

The envoy of the Changjiao Gang saw that Huang Chao refused to hand over the murderer, and his emotions were a little out of control, but in front of Huang Chao, he still suppressed the anger in his heart and asked: "I have heard that Huang Wang is loyal and righteous, don't you hear that the murderer pays for his life, Xu Zhi killed my deputy gang leader, and now he is a guest in your mansion, how can Huang Wang ignore the justice of the rivers and lakes and favor him?"

Huang Chao replied: "The envoy is angry, the old man also knows a little bit about the original situation, it is the deputy gang leader of your gang who plots against Xu Zhi and Huifeng first, and the others retaliate against him later, this is the personal grudge of the two factions, and the old man cannot take sides of either side." Besides, Xu Zhi and Huifeng are also honored guests invited by the old man, and the old man should also show respect to them, just like you are also our friends, how can you favor one over the other?"

Seeing that Huang Chao's determination to defend Xu Zhi was very firm, the envoy knew that simple words could not achieve his goal, but he still wanted to make a last stand, he was silent for a moment, softened his tone, and then said:

"I admire the Yellow King's affection for his friends very much, but there are priorities, now my Changjiao Gang has already controlled the land of Jingchu, and the Jiang Gang Master also admires the demeanor of the Yellow King in Yuezhou, if the Yellow King can help me get rid of the big trouble in my heart this time, then you and I can be friendly forever and conspire with the world, I don't know what the Yellow King wants?"

After hearing this, Huang Chao laughed and said: "You despise me Huang too much, let's not talk about the merits of this matter, that is, I disdain to do it with the lives of friends and righteous people in exchange for my own future." ”

Huang Chao picked up the teacup in his hand and made a gesture of sending off guests: "Please tell the Jiang gang leader that Deputy Gang Leader He unfortunately died in Caizhou, Huang deeply regrets that we will bear all the funeral expenses, but if you want to find Xu Zhi for revenge, then please wait for them to leave Caizhou before you do it!"

The envoy was very frustrated, but he was helpless, so he had to leave Caizhou in a huff, and after returning to the Changjiao Gang, he replied to Jiang Chengfeng about Huang Chao's original words.

Jiang Chengfeng was furious when he heard this, and scolded: "Huang Chao, this old horseman, doesn't even give this thin face, and our Changjiao Gang will not stand with Huang Chao from now on." ", and then ordered: Changjiao Gang's rudder and incense halls all over the country closely monitored every move of the Huangchao Rebels, and sent experts to assassinate the leaders of the Rebels and destroy the grain, grass and ordnance of the Rebels. Since then, Huangchao and the Changjiao Gang have been-for-tat in the Jinghu area, the Changjiao Gang has lost the territory of Jiangbei, and the Huangchao Rebel Organization in Lianghu has also been completely destroyed.

Because Huang Chao had to deal with the aftermath of Changjiao's help to He Menglong, he postponed the competition originally scheduled for the sixth day of February for several days. Besides, Xu Zhi and Huifeng inhaled the drug of thymes in the black jujube forest, and their limbs were weak and they couldn't walk freely. When Huang Chao heard the news, he sent the famous Imperial Doctor Xie in the house to diagnose the two.

Imperial Doctor Xie entered Juxian Building and first met Zhou Yuanzhi. Zhou Yuanzhi hurriedly returned the salute and said, "Uncle Xie, Yuan Zhi's two masters don't know what injuries they have suffered, and they haven't been able to walk freely for a few days!

Imperial Doctor Xie carefully checked the complexions and limbs of Xu Zhi and Hui Feng, and sighed: "The two heroes have no external injuries, according to the old man's humble opinion, eighty percent of them are caused by poisoning!", after speaking, he checked the pulse of Xu and Hui, and smiled at Zhou Yuanzhi: " Miss, please rest assured, most of the world's ecstasy comes from the Miao village of Yunnan and Guizhou, the old man had traveled to the border when he was young, and met Meng Da, the deputy owner of the Miao village, he said that although there are many kinds of ecstasy in the world, the strength of the medicine is different, but it is just a fascination of people's minds, and there is no major damage to the body. After speaking, he prescribed medicine to Xu and Hui.

Zhou Yuanzhi saw that Xu and Hui's bodies were fine, and a big stone in her heart finally fell to the ground, she sent away Imperial Doctor Xie, grabbed the medicine according to the prescription, and served the two masters every day, serving tea and water, simmering soup and boiling medicine, which was very hard. Xu and Hui both felt very guilty in their eyes, but Zhou Yuanzhi was not tired, but comforted: "It is a matter of course for apprentices to wait for the master, I hope that the two masters will be relieved to recuperate and recover as soon as possible, and Yuanzhi will also take care of her health, so the masters don't have to worry!"

Sure enough, after a few days of recuperation, Xu and Hui slowly recovered their strength.

However, during the recovery of Xu and Hui, Hui Feng found that Zhou Yuanzhi's behavior was strange: since Xu Zhi participated in the ring competition on the Shangyuan Festival, she changed her original personality and became more supple and considerate, especially when she faced Xu Zhi alone, she often blushed, overwhelmed, and extremely unnatural.

On the morning before the second stage of the competition, Xu Zhi received an invitation from the Huangwangfu, and in the evening, the three of them got together to discuss going to the Huangwangfu tomorrow.

Xu Zhi first said: "I participated in the competition to save Senior Brother Hui, it was a helpless move, I don't think I need to participate in the competition tomorrow." ”

Zhou Yuanzhi saw that Xu Zhi was reluctant to go to the meeting, and said hurriedly: "Master Xu, don't you want to become the concubine of the Yellow King? I heard that the righteous daughter of the Yellow King is as beautiful as a fairy, and she is proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and eighteen kinds of martial arts. After speaking, he glanced at Xu Zhi, blushed, and continued: "King Huang loves her very much, just like his own daughter. Isn't Master Xu a little tempted by her?"

Huifeng has always secretly liked Zhou Yuanzhi, and now he has the opportunity to make Xu Zhi the concubine of Huang Chao, so that he can stay away from Zhou Yuanzhi, so he strongly approves of Xu Zhi to compete for the concubine, and also persuaded on the side: "Yuan Zhi is right, if Brother Xu becomes the concubine of the Yellow King, Yuan Zhi and I will always follow the eldest brother, and in the future, the Yellow King will win the world, and the three of us will be able to worship the prime minister, what a glorious thing it will be!"

Zhou Yuanzhi said with a smile: "It's still Master Hui's sincerity, Master Xu, you are a talent, how can you drown in mediocrity, wouldn't it be a pity that you don't fight to be a colt!"

Xu Zhi smiled and said: "Senior Brother Hui, Miss Zhou, you also think too highly of me, Xu Zhi is just a common man, how can he not know the height of the sky, covet the wealth of nothing, and how can the princess of the Yellow King look down on a mediocre person like me?"

Zhou Yuanzhi smiled and said: "Master Xu, you are too worried, maybe the righteous daughter of the Yellow King likes a true hero like you! By the way, Master Xu, do you still remember the story of that strange book? There is a poem in it: 'The world has been divided for thousands of years, the strange book is fragmented with the world's sword, the snake shoots the first to become a hegemon, and the purple qi comes east into the clouds?'. Do you remember?"

Xu Zhi said strangely: "Yuan Zhi, why did you suddenly talk about this?"

Zhou Yuanzhi continued: "Master Xu, don't you ask why? This strange book is related to the people of the world, which hero doesn't want to get it? Maybe tomorrow the Yellow King will ask you this question." ”

Xu Zhi asked, "Yuan Zhi, what do you think of this book?"

"Qishu is important, but the people's heart is even more important, since ancient times, heroes who win the hearts of the people win the world, Brother Xu, do you say yes!" Zhou Yuanzhi talked eloquently, and even Xu Zhi and Huifeng were stunned by her words.

Huifeng also persuaded: "Brother Xu, you see that Yuan Zhi thinks about you so hard, you can't live up to her hard work." Besides, Huang Chao invited you, he invited you to a banquet to choose a son-in-law, and it wasn't a sea of swords, what are you afraid of him? Or I'll accompany you to Huangwang's Mansion tomorrow!"

Xu Zhi saw that what Huifeng and Zhou Yuanzhi said was reasonable, and decided to take this opportunity to visit Huang Chao, the chief leader of the world's righteous army, who was fighting against the imperial court, so he agreed to go to the Huangwang Mansion tomorrow.

Zhou Yuanzhi saw that Xu Zhi finally nodded in agreement, and pursed her mouth, looking extremely happy.

In the early morning of the next day, Zhou Yuanzhi took two exquisite gifts, handed them to Xu Zhi and Huifeng, and sighed: "Two masters, Yuan Zhi has urgent matters to do alone today, and I can't go with you to meet the Yellow King, the gifts for the Yellow King have been prepared for you in advance! The two masters should act at the right time and be careful in everything." ”

Xu and Hui saw that Zhou Yuanzhi was mysterious, and they had questions in their hearts and it was inconvenient to ask her face-to-face, so they had to nod and let her go.

Xu Zhi and Huifeng carried the gifts prepared by Zhou Yuanzhi in advance, and according to the address on the invitation, they came to the Huangwang Mansion in the south of Caizhou City. This Huangwang Mansion was expanded on the basis of the original Caizhou Prefecture after the Huangchao Righteous Army captured Caizhou City, and it was particularly spacious and magnificent. Xu and Hui came to the main gate of the Yellow Palace, and saw two gilded stone lions erected in front of the gate, with their heads held high and their spirits high. At the foot of the steps, there were already several master of ceremonies who looked like butlers, and behind them was a team of tiger guards wearing silver armor.

Xu Zhi saw the previous guests enter the gate of the Yellow Mansion, first handed over the red invitation, and the master of ceremonies led by him accepted it, quickly bowed and saluted, and welcomed it into the courtyard full of red lanterns with a smile on his face. Xu Zhi and Huifeng were also officially invited for the first time, and they also painted gourds in the same way, and handed the invitation to the master of ceremonies in front of the door.

The master of ceremonies at the head is Huang He, the housekeeper of the Yellow Palace, who is three or five short and small, with a big belly, very much like a native in the countryside. Huang He and Huang Chao are cousins who grew up together, and since the Huang Chao Uprising, Huang Chao has also taken care of his cousin all the way, but Huang He is cautious, and Liao has no military achievements. Therefore, it was inconvenient for Huang Chao to directly promote him in front of the generals. had to let him be the head of his own house, and he often discussed with this cousin about state affairs, family affairs, and troubles.

Huang He took Xu Zhi's invitation with both hands, accepted the gift, smiled all over his face, bowed down and said: "It turned out to be Xu Zhi and Huifeng, two heroes and knights, look up for a long time, please come in quickly!"

Xu Zhi and Huifeng also bowed to Huang He and said, "There is a Steward Lao Huang." With that, he stepped into the door.

Xu Zhi saw that the Huangwang Mansion was high and heavy, the courtyard was deep, the doors were open nine times, and red lanterns were hung, and incense candles several feet high were lit. I saw that Huang Chao had taken off his military uniform, changed into a long shirt, held a folding fan, and took a few staff members and scholars, who were already standing at the second door, greeting the literati and young people from all over the world. The atmosphere in the courtyard is completely different from the bloody scene of the Yanyu Building, all the literati and scholars are wearing green shirts, holding folding fans, talking about poetry and painting, Bo Gu through the present, talking and laughing.

Xu Zhi and Huifeng entered the second gate, first saluted Huang Chao, and said: "Thank you Huang Wang for your kind invitation, the younger generation will meet Huang Wang!"

Huang Chao hurriedly bowed down to greet him, extremely polite, and replied: "The two of you can come, the humble house is shining, and you will be happy in the next glory!", after speaking, he hurriedly took the hands of the two of them and introduced them to the staff behind him one by one.

Xu and Hui hurriedly bowed their hands to everyone again, and made mutual courtesies and modest. Xu Zhi saw that most of the guests were candidates from various sects that he had seen in the ring last time, and they did not speculate with each other, and after a few small conversations, he pulled Huifeng to avoid everyone, and walked to the corner of the courtyard alone to admire a budding plum blossom. The pale yellow plum blossoms, with fragrant stamens, are waiting to be released in the wind, and they are particularly strong in the season when the flowers are withering and the cold wind is biting.

After a while, I saw Huang He and a few housekeepers come over and invite everyone to talk in the Zhaoxian Hall in the Huang Mansion, Xu Zhi and Huifeng had no choice but to follow Huang He and everyone to the Zhaoxian Hall. I saw a large plaque hanging on the middle wall of this Zhaoxian Hall, which directly wrote the four big characters of "Recruiting Talents", and hung an ancient painting below the plaque, but it was the authentic work of Gu Kaizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest", and the surrounding walls were full of poems of ancient sages, among which there was a "Short Song Xing" of Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei, which was particularly eye-catching. While admiring it, Xu Zhi couldn't help but say silently: "Qingqing Zijin, take care of my heart,...... , Zhou Gong vomits, the world returns to the heart", and thought to himself: "This Huang Chao is really different from other princes, he has the ambition to seize the world, and he has the heart to condescend to accept the virtuous, it seems that Brother Ling did not misunderstand him!"

Just when the guests were appreciating the calligraphy and painting in the Zhaoxian Hall, Huang Chao strode in, with a smile on his face, bowed to everyone, and said: "Let you wait for a long time, there are a few VIPs because of busy military affairs, failed to arrive in time, the old man has to go to the door to greet him, I am really sorry, I have to grieve you in the Zhaoxian Hall for a while, after a while we will follow the example of the ancients, in this Juxian Hall to drink and talk happily, comment on the world." After Huang Chao finished speaking, he instructed the housekeeper Huang He to entertain the guests on his behalf, and left the recruitment hall.

Huang He instructed the servants and maids to finish serving fragrant tea and snacks to everyone, and after being busy for a while, he saw a servant come to ask for instructions about the banquet. Huang He couldn't deal with it for a while, so he had to apologize to everyone: "Distinguished guests, it's rude, the old slave is going out for a while, and he can't accompany him, please take care of yourself in the hall, don't restrain yourself!" After speaking, he followed the servant and left the recruitment hall.

After the guests sent away Huang Chao and Huang He, they sat down in the recruitment hall according to the regional sect and age affinity, Ye Luchun of the Hebei Black Eagle Sect, a little older, alert, and proud of his own Wen Taowu slightly proficient. He first said: "Heroes, we are also the best among the young people in the world, but we don't know who will stand out in the end and win the beautiful woman to return?"

He Jin of the Vermilion Bird Gate in Ganzhou was very uncomfortable when he saw Ye Luchun talking, and smiled weirdly: "Then do you need to say it? Of course it's Brother Yelu!"

Before He Jin's words were finished, Jiang Chao of Jiang Shenmiao also echoed: "If you want me to say, Brother Yelu's hope for this literary test is greater than ours, but you can't underestimate the ability of other people here, maybe just like He Menglong on the martial arts platform that day, in the blink of an eye, without paying attention, he changed someone else." After speaking, he glanced at Xu Zhi and Huifeng who were sitting at the very edge with his eyes, and then squeezed his eyes at everyone.

Ye Luchun immediately understood the meaning of Jiang Chao's words, and provoked Xu Zhi: "Little brother, I think you are very eye-catching? What kind of evil and demonic magic did you use last time to blind the eyes of the gang leader, what kind of sect and what kind of sect did you come from, and who is your master?"

Xu Zhi didn't answer, seeing that Huifeng had indignation on his face, he couldn't hold it back, so he hurriedly stopped him and replied: "There is no sect and no faction in Xia, and he was born in a reckless manner, unlike Brother Yelu, who was born in a famous family and is famous all over the world. ”

I don't know if Ye Luchun didn't hear that Xu Zhi's words were full of irony, or if he deliberately turned a deaf ear, and continued to challenge Xu Zhidao: "Although the six of us here are not famous disciples, they are not puss soft eggs that even their own teachers and sects dare not say. Such a man can be elected as a colt, unless the sun comes out of the west!", a remark that drew laughter from the other six.

Hui Feng couldn't bear it anymore when he heard this, slapped the table hard, rolled up a bowl of tea on the table with his sleeve, and splashed it on Ye Luchun.

Unexpectedly, Yeluchun had already prepared, and with a wave of his long sleeves, he turned the teacup in a different direction and dropped it on the ground not far from him. Hui Feng still wanted to make a move, but he heard Huang He's slow voice outside the door: "I'm sorry everyone, which maid didn't wait well and broke the tea bowl?"

Ye Luchun and Hui Feng were looking at each other coldly, and when they saw that their master had arrived, they no longer dared to make a rash move, for fear of hurting Huang He's feelings.