Chapter Seventy-Eight: Eliminate Evil
Pang Xun saw that Lu Yongzhi was slowly waking up, and scolded: "Traitor, you must be very proud these days by exchanging the head of a brother in the sect for the rank of a staff general! You never dreamed that you would fall into the hands of this sect master, right?"
Lu Yongzhi's hands and feet couldn't move, so he had to blink his eyes desperately, and shouted loudly: "The sect leader spares his life!
Pang Xun saw that Lu Yongzhi was like a dog wagging his tail and begging for mercy, and laughed and said: "Lu Yongzhi Lu Banxian, you and I have been close friends for many years, and now the sect leader will first cut off your robe and break off your righteousness, and then deal with you, an ungrateful traitor, according to the gang rules!", after speaking, he waved his sword and cut off a piece of brocade robe on his body and threw it in front of Lu Yongzhi.
Lu Yongzhi saw that Pang Xun was very resolute, and knew that everything was irreparable, so he had to close his eyes and beg repeatedly: "Helper, you treat me as a dog and spare my dog's life!"
Pang Xun said: "Traitor! You first answered the questions of the princess and the concubine, and then the sect leader decided your life and death!"
Lu Yongzhi looked at Xu Zhi and Zhou Yuanzhi with wide eyes, he never thought that the young man he met on the way south was actually the concubine of the Yellow King, and the girl beside him turned out to be the princess of the Yellow King. Lu Yongzhi turned to Xu Zhi and Zhou Yuanzhi to ask for mercy: "The villain was confused for a while, and he became a laughing stock in the rivers and lakes when he made a mistake, but the villain is old and young, and I ask the princess and the concubine to forgive their lives and spare their lives!", after speaking, a few tears were squeezed out of his eyes.
Xu Zhi interrupted: "Lu Yongzhi, you are treacherous and willing to be a lackey of the imperial court, how can you be worthy of your Pang Sect Master's trust in you?"
Lu Yongzhi sighed: "Xu Juma, you and the villain walked all the way, you also know that the villain's surrender to the imperial court was not out of sincerity, but was forced by the situation, and the villain was also in Cao Ying's heart in Han, and secretly inquired about the latest developments of the imperial court in Huainan for the concubine and the sect leader!"
Zhou Yuanzhi saw that Lu Yongzhi's eyes were full of cunning, and secretly pulled Xu Zhi by the hand, and sneered: "Lu Banxian endured the humiliation and pretended to defect to the imperial court, but it turned out that he was trying to find out the information of the imperial court for us?"
Lu Yongzhi didn't hear Zhou Yuanzhi's voice, and then said: "Yes! The subordinates walked in front of Gao Biao and Yang Xingmi, and heard an earth-shattering news! Today I want to dedicate it to the princess and Her Royal Highness!"
General Pang Xun was suspicious: "What kind of news is it?
Lu Yongzhi begged again: "The villain said, can you spare the villain from dying?"
Pang Xun shouted: "Lu Yongzhi, this sect leader doesn't have such good patience, if you don't say anything more, I will cut off your tongue, and then dismantle you into eight pieces, and throw you into the water to feed the fish and turtles!", after speaking, he nodded to the Fan Hall Master beside him. Hall Master Fan took out a sharp dagger, bent down, and pinched Lu Yongzhi's mouth open, and was about to make a move.
Seeing that Pang Xun was really good, Lu Yongzhi no longer dared to bargain, and shouted loudly: "Help the master spare his life, Fan Tang master spare his life, the villain is willing to recruit from the truth!"
Pang Xun waved his hand to Hall Master Fan, who immediately stopped and stepped aside.
Lu Yongzhi had no choice but to say: "Yuma, princess, sect leader, as far as the villain knows: although this Yang Xingmi is the deputy envoy of Huainan, he secretly recruits troops and horses to recruit heroes in the rivers and lakes, especially he colludes with the world's number one cult Jiang Shenmiao, in a vain attempt to first erect Gao Yu and then replace him." On the other hand, Gao Biao also changed the defense of Yangzhou City, removed the military power of several of Yang Xingmi's cronies, and secretly ordered the states and counties of Huaizuo to recruit troops and transfer troops to Yangzhou, and within a few months, he would have a decisive battle with Yang Xingmi in Huainan!
Xu Zhi said with a smile: "If Gao Yu and Yang Xingmi in Huainan have internal strife, then the gateway to Huaisi in Jiangbei will inevitably be opened, which is a golden opportunity for the Yellow King Righteous Army to go north to the Central Plains, attack Luoyang and Chang'an, and overthrow the imperial court!"
Zhou Yuanzhi clapped her hands and said quickly: "Brother Xu's analysis is reasonable, but how to let my father know about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?"
Pang Xun said with a smile: "Don't worry, princess, I will send a few reliable people south to the south of the Yangtze River, and take this Lu Yongzhi to persuade the Yellow King to go north!"
Xu Zhi smiled and said: "Brother Pang, this is the best, but without further ado, please arrange it earlier!"
Pang Xun said with a smile: "Okay, everything is subject to the teachings of the concubine and the princess, and I also ask the princess to repair a letter to inform the Yellow King." Hall Master Fan hurriedly ordered his subordinates to take pen and ink and respectfully present it to Zhou Yuanzhi.
Zhou Yuanzhi happily wrote a letter and handed it to Pang Xun. Pang Xun handed the letter to Hall Master Fan again, and instructed: "Hall Master Fan, you hide the princess's letter, lead a few brothers, first break Lu Yongzhi's legs, and then take this waste man to cross the river to meet the Yellow King, be sure to inform the Yellow King of the infighting in Huainan soon, and let the righteous army take advantage of the emptiness of Huainan to advance into the Central Plains as soon as possible and seize the world!"
Hall Master Fan hummed, hid the letter, and took out a sharp sword to break Lu Yongzhi's hamstrings. Lu Yongzhi screamed and passed out. Hall Master Fan said goodbye to Xu Zhi, Zhou Yuanzhi and Pang Xun again, and called a few followers to carry Lu Yongzhi on their backs, jumped ashore, and disappeared into the faint mist after a while.
Pang Xun saw that Xu Zhi and Zhou Yuanzhi saw Lu Yongzhi's cripplement, and he couldn't bear it, and explained: "The princess and the concubine don't know anything, this dog slave has been following his subordinates since the founding of the sect. His subordinates were like brothers to him, and there was no doubt about his loyalty, and he had privately promised to wait for him to move south to Yangzhou and make great contributions to the sect, and then he would be promoted to the deputy gang leader, who knew that he was so spineless, as soon as he arrived in Yangzhou, he was captured by Yang Xingmi, and became a sinner of the sect through the ages! The subordinates saw the benevolent face of the horse and the princess, so they spared him from death, and scrapped his legs, and he was worthy of so many brothers in the gang!
Xu Zhi saw that the pursuers of the imperial court had retreated, he was concerned about the safety of Shaolin Temple, and said to Pang Xun: "Thanks to the timely arrival of Sect Master Pang today, Yuan Zhi and I can get out smoothly, the younger brother is really not strong enough to drink, say goodbye today, and talk to Sect Master Pang another day, how about it?"
Pang Xun saw that Xu Zhi was anxious to say goodbye, and knew that he had something in his heart, so he hurriedly asked: "My subordinates dare to ask, I don't know where the concubine and the princess plan to go?"
Xu Zhi said with a smile: "Don't hide it from Sect Master Pang, we will go north to Shaolin Temple, first, as the vanguard of the Yellow King Righteous Army's advance into the Central Plains, and secondly, to wait for the Righteous Army to go north as soon as possible and relieve the siege of Shaolin." ”
Pang Xun was a little worried: "The princess and the colt are the bodies of ten thousand gold, how can they be in danger." Would you like to ask your two Highnesses to think twice?"
Zhou Yuanzhi said with a smile: "Sect Master Pang, how can you stand by and watch when your friends are in trouble?" Brother Xu is not only a lay disciple of Shaolin Temple, but also has two brothers in danger, for Shaolin, for his brothers, he is anxious at this time, and he can't wait to rush to Songshan in one day, and relieve the siege of Shaolin in one day!"
Xu Zhi saw that Zhou Yuanzhi said what he thought for himself, smiled at her, and sighed: "What Yuan Zhi said is that even if there is a sword mountain and a sea of fire in front of him, and Longtan Tiger's Den, Xu will break through!"
Pang Xun was moved by Xu Zhi and Zhou Yuanzhi's arrogance, and replied: "Concubine, princess, in today's battle, we have become friends in distress, if the two of you don't dislike it, Pang is willing to lead the brothers in the gang to follow the two highnesses to the north and help the two of them!"
Zhou Yuanzhi saw that Xu Zhi was a little embarrassed, and persuaded: "Brother Xu, Sect Master Pang really wants to help us, as the saying goes, there is great power in more people, let's bring more people, in case Shaolin is in trouble, we can also contribute more?"
Xu Zhi knew: Zhou Yuanzhi agreed to Pang Xun because she was grateful for his help today, and it was not good to refute her face in public, so she had to nod her in agreement and said with a smile: "Thank you Brother Pang for helping!"
However, it was said that Xu Zhi, Zhou Yuanzhi, Pang Xun and others took a boat to go north along the ancient ditch, passing through Chuzhou, Sizhou, Suzhou, and came to the boundary of Songzhou. Zhou Yuanzhi sat on the boat for nearly a month, physically and mentally exhausted, she discussed with Xu Zhi to abandon the boat and go ashore, Pang Xun saw that the princess and the horse were going to go ashore to ride a horse, so he had to order his subordinates, take out the coil, buy three good horses, let Xu Zhi, Zhou Yuanzhi, and Qiu Yue ride on the horse, and he took the brother of the spear door to walk behind. The three of them followed the fleeing people all the way into Songzhou City. This Song state was built on the bank of the Bianhe River, which was originally the Song state during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the monarch Song Yan Wang was killed by the combined forces of Qi, Chu and Wei because of his belligerence and offended his strong neighbors, and his country was also destroyed.
Zhou Yuanzhi saw that the people who entered the city in front of him were in an uproar, and they all carried their children with their burdens and stumbled out of Songzhou City. Zhou Yuanzhi hurriedly stopped the horse and asked, "Brother Xu, what happened in front of you, why did the people just enter the city and escape from the city?"
Before Xu Zhi could answer, he saw a group of well-dressed officers and soldiers rushing out of the city, led by two generals, plundering everywhere, and seeing that the people had nothing of value in their hands, they had to rob the children in their arms.
The leader of the general used a long lance to block the way of several children, and said with a smug smile: "These children are very sturdy, and if they are sold in Luoyang, they will definitely be sold for a big price!" The children were frightened and cried and cried out for their mothers.
The lieutenant general beside him smiled and said: "Big brother doesn't know, these children seem to be strong, but they are actually edema caused by hunger, even if they are sold, they are not worth a few pennies, and it is not enough for our brother to drink money?"
The leading general sneered: "Then, in the opinion of the brothers, do you want to let go of these low-hanging fruit windfalls?"
The deputy general said with a smile: "Seeing that it is about to enter winter, our rice grain in Songzhou is getting less and less, and the brothers have followed Qin Dashuai, and they haven't smelled meat for several months, I heard that this human flesh is the most delicious, especially the meat of these boys and girls, the taste is even better than that of lamb!"
When the general at the head heard this, he drooled greedily and said with a smile: "Brother, have you ever eaten human flesh?"
The adjutant general smiled but did not answer, and suggested: "Brother, we might as well cut off the heads of these children, amputate their limbs, disembowel their stomachs, and then pretend to be lamb meat and present it to Qin Dashuai, maybe we can cure his migraine!"
The general smiled: "You kid, you can really climb up the bamboo pole, but your doctrine of borrowing flowers to offer Buddha is not bad, brother, how did you come up with it?"
The deputy general smiled and said: "How can my brother have such a mind, I also listened to the Ouyang gang leader in the marshal's mansion." ”
The general smiled: "Which Ouyang gang leader?"
The adjutant general replied: "It's not Ou Yangguang, the leader of the Tiger Gang who was sent by the imperial court to be the supervisor of the army, known as the groundbreaking and powerful Sichuan!"
The general sighed and said with a smile: "Then our brother will catch a few children and go back now, and then we will relieve our hunger first!"
When the people heard the words of the two generals, there was an uproar, and several parents, regardless of the danger in front of them, rushed to the generals and tried to get their children back, but the generals stabbed them one by one with a lance, and lifted the body of one of the people above their heads, intimidating the people who gathered more and more outside the city.
Xu Zhi really couldn't stand it anymore, and shouted: "Qiuyue, please take care of Yuan Zhi! I'll stop those officers and soldiers from continuing to do evil!", after speaking, he jumped up from the horse, and a "Dapeng spread its wings" crossed over the heads of the people, jumped in front of the general, grabbed his lance, pulled him hard, pulled him off the horse, and then used his massage hand to throw the lance back. The long lance struck the general's chest, breaking several of his ribs, and the general screamed, spitting blood, and kicking his feet, and one of them whimpered.
The adjutant saw that Xu Zhi was fierce and didn't dare to fight, he shook a shot forward, turned the horse's head and was about to run away, Zhou Yuanzhi saw it in the distance, and reminded loudly: "Brother Xu, do everything to eliminate evil, you must not let these vicious people escape and kill the people again!"
Xu Zhi saw that the adjutant had already ridden his horse and ran a few feet away, he bent down, picked up the long lance that had fallen to the ground, raised it above his head, and threw it with all his might. The lance passed through the crowd and struck the adjutant in the back of the heart, and the adjutant screamed and fell from his horse, and died with a whimper.
At this time, there were bursts of cheers and cheers among the people, and several parents also hurriedly took back their children, hugged them in their arms, and comforted them in low voices. The people also began to talk about it, some clamoring not to go into the city and go home, and some to go into the city to seek justice.
At this time, an old man with gray hair walked out of the crowd, he waved his hand to stop the noise of his father, and led the people to surround Xu Zhi, Pang Xun, Zhou Yuanzhi and others, and bowed to them to thank them.
Xu Zhi, Zhou Yuanzhi and others hurriedly helped up the people with their hands. Zhou Yuanzhi asked, "Brother Xu, this is not the place to speak! We have offended the officers and soldiers in the city, and we can't enter this Songzhou City?"
At this time, the people gathered at the gate of the city looked at Xu Zhi and Pang Xun, and when they saw that they did not reply, they all turned their heads and looked at the old man, as if they were waiting for his instructions. The old man stroked his gray beard and said to Zhou Yuanzhi: "The old man thanked the girl and several heroes for their help on behalf of the villagers. Everyone came together, but you can't give up halfway because you are a little frightened?"
The people suddenly fell silent and said in unison: "Although we all come from different villages, before we came, we all agreed that we would obey Daddy Song's orders, how dare we break our oath? Everyone is willing to follow Daddy to the yamen of the state capital to beat the drum and cry out the grievances!"
Xu Zhi saw that this group of people still wanted to go into the city to see Qin Zongquan, afraid that they would not know the depths, so he hurriedly blocked in front of Father Song and persuaded: "Old man, what grievances do the villagers have, and they want to go into the city to complain?"
Zhou Yuanzhi saw that Daddy Song wanted to speak and stopped, and also persuaded: "Daddy, don't worry, maybe there is something urgent, we can still help everyone?"
Xu Zhi also hurriedly said: "Yes, what is difficult about Dad, just give orders!"
Father Song smiled and said: "This is the villagers' own business, and the old man doesn't want to trouble a few heroes anymore! But since the two of you asked, the old man didn't dare to hide it from you! Recently, the imperial court sent a prison army to our Songzhou, and this supervisor was very resolute in handling affairs, and as soon as he took office, he personally led the officials and troops to levy troops and grain from various states and counties, and openly robbed the people's property. Where did he get the money and food for him? But his arms could not reach his thighs, so the villagers had no choice but to take shelter with their families and mouths, and he was really forced to be anxious, so they had to smash pots and sell iron, and sell sons and daughters to pay taxes. Pity those widows and widows, who have no possessions and no children, and have no choice but to hang themselves and die!"
Zhou Yuanzhi sighed: "The prison army of this court treats the people more fiercely than tigers and wolves, we have to think of a foolproof way to get rid of him!"
Father Song hurriedly waved his hand to stop him: "Girl, don't be reckless! Not to mention that this Ouyang Jian Jun represents the imperial court, and there are hundreds of soldiers in his hands, let's just say that he himself is also excellent in martial arts, and the old man has seen him alone knock down dozens of strong men who resist taxes. I'm afraid hundreds of people can't help him!"
Pang Xun asked curiously, "Dad, could it be that this prison army is from the Jianghu Sect?"
Father Song replied: "Whether he is from the rivers and lakes, the old man can't be sure, but his martial arts are indeed exquisite, and a tiger can smash a buffalo to death with one move of breaking his heart!"
Xu Zhi said to Zhou Yuanzhi and Pang Xun: "Could it be that this prison army is Ou Yangguang of the Tiger Gang? He is bent on coveting fame and wealth and has taken refuge in the imperial court, presumably this prison army is him!"
Pang Xun also said: "Ou Yang Guang of the Tiger Sect, his subordinates have also seen him use the Tiger Three Lore in Caizhou, his palm power is amazing, and the Ouyang Prison Army that Dad said is him nine times out of ten!"
Zhou Yuanzhi said curiously: "Why didn't this Ou Yangguang follow the little princess of the imperial court and come to this Song Prefecture?"
Father Song sighed: "It turns out that several heroes know this Ouyang Prison Army, he turned out to be a strong man in the green forest, no wonder he was an official of the imperial court, and he was so fierce to the people!", after speaking, he shook his head at Xu Zhi, Zhou Yuanzhi, Pang Xun and others, and led the villagers into Songzhou City.