It rained lightly in the evening, and it was still a bit chilly at the end of March.
Wang Zhen was standing in the courtyard, and through the courtyard wall, he could still see the lights burning in the house next door.
Dark clouds covered the stars and moon, and according to the weak light coming from the window, the horns of the spine were raised ferociously like a python's head in the depths of darkness.
Hearing the sound of footsteps behind him, Wang Zhen turned around and saw Lu Xiong and said, "There has been no movement next door for a while. They must have left?"
"Should I take a look?" Lu Xiong asked.
"What are you looking at?" Wang Zhen waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "Go over and take a look. If you find someone walking away from the building empty, should we go to Deng Langjun to report him?"
Lu Xiong was slightly startled and asked, "How do you think they will deal with it?"
"What's so hard to guess," Wang Zhen sighed lightly, "I remember you said that people like Xu Wuxuan were the bandits that Wang Xiaocheng recruited in Tongbai Mountain - no matter how complicated the Tongbai Mountain copycat forces are,
Regardless of whether there is someone behind Brother Xu, it should not be difficult for Wujiang and the others to think that this is one of their few choices. I just never thought that the expulsion from Tangzhou would cause such a big disturbance in the local area."
Xu Wujiang and Xu Huai knew that the situation was extremely dangerous for them, but under such circumstances, Xu Wujiang still led his troops to Qingxi Village, and Xu Huai still entered and exited the military camp without incident today. Lu Xiong guessed
Until they may have made some kind of decision.
Of course, Lu Xiong didn't want to embarrass Wang Chen, and he didn't tell him some things regardless of the details, but he didn't expect that Wang Chen already had a deep understanding in his heart.
Lu Xiong sighed: "The tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop. My husband can only watch its changes."
"Just wait and see what happens! Just wait and see what happens! Too many people just watch what happens and sit back and watch the world deteriorate." Wang Xun's tone became angry and passionate, but then he said dejectedly, "Given my current situation, I can't just wait and see what happens."
There is no other way..."
The night was windy and cold, and Lu Xiong was just about to persuade Wang Zhen to go back to his house to rest, but he heard the faint sound of galloping horse hooves from the west village gate. Soon he heard the village gate open, and numerous horses galloping towards the inspection department office.
.
"Xu Jie-level sent out troops hastily, and all of them were killed by the bandits. No one survived!"
They were thirty or forty steps away from the inspection department's office. In the dead of night, someone was shouting in panic before the inspection department's office. Both Lu Xiong and Wang Zhen could hear clearly.
"What's going on?" When the girl Wang Xuan heard the commotion outside, she opened the door and walked out in surprise, asking her grandfather what happened.
"My husband is really right, they escaped from their golden cicada shells!" Lu Xiong said with emotion.
"What kind of golden cicada escapes from its shell?" Wang Xuan asked without knowing why.
…………
…………
Tang Tiande was dragged to the market by Jin Longquan to drink, but the resentment in his heart could not be eliminated. The wine in his throat did not relieve his sorrow, and the beauty had no color. He returned to the army camp to rest very early, but he couldn't sleep.
Hearing the news that the horse was galloping into the military stronghold, Tang Tiande quickly put on his shirt, took his waist knife and rushed to the inspection department's Yamen. Jinlongquan and many other provincial officials in the military stronghold also rushed over when they heard the news.
Xu Wujiang led more than 20 soldiers to set off at dawn and arrive at Qingxi Village before noon. At this time, he should take over the defense of Qingxi Village, build more antlered wooden horses to block the road, and then first gather the village soldiers from nearby villages. What?
Just send out troops hastily and not even a single person can survive?
The Huaiyuan Inspection Department had a total of 120 soldiers. Xu Wujiang's troops were completely wiped out by the bandits. The losses were heavy. How could everyone not be surprised?
Walking into the front hall of the Inspection Department Office, it seemed that the person was Du Chaoen, the head of the Qingxi Village. He was talking to Deng Gui, who was wearing a robe. Tang Tiande stepped over, grabbed his shoulder, and asked urgently:
"Xu Wujiang left the army stronghold in the morning, and Deng Langjun ordered him not to fight in vain. How come he just arrived at Qingxi stronghold and destroyed his entire army?"
Du Chaoen was also panicked. After confirming the news at the end of the night, he led two village soldiers and rode to the Inspection Department to report the news. Without even taking a few breaths, he said to Tang Tiande, Jin Longquan and others:
"Xu Jieji arrived at Qingxi Village at noon. After eating the reward food, he said that the bandits in Hutou Village seemed to have a large number of people, but they were just a mob and were not enough to cause trouble. Deng Langjun was too careful - he disliked Qingxi Village
It was simple and impatient to stay there. We tried to dissuade it for a long time but failed. In the afternoon we could only see Xu Jieji leading his troops to Hutou Ridge. At dusk, a military horse with its back and buttocks full of arrows ran to the vicinity of the stockade and was covered in blood. I
He led the people to Hu Touling. Four or five miles away, they saw bloodstains on the ground in the valley. There were many broken guns and broken arrows, but Xu Jiejie and the soldiers he led were nowhere to be seen. They must have met with something unexpected.
Got it!"
Tang Tiande and Jin Longquan looked at each other in horror. They didn't know the details. When they first heard the news, they naturally thought that Xu Wujiang's entire army had been destroyed!
On the first day, nothing was done. The whole army of more than twenty soldiers was wiped out, and there were still no dead bodies. Is this okay?
"Deng Langjun..."
Seeing Deng Gui's face ashen, Jin Longquan thought he was frightened by the bad news, so he reminded him in a low voice,
"What should I do next? Please give Mr. Deng an idea."
"Go and capture Mrs. Xu Wujiang and that idiot!"
Deng Gui's chest heaved violently like a volcano about to erupt, and he ordered people to capture Mrs. Xu Wujiang and Xu Huai, but then he said,
"No, come with me to catch Xu Wujiang's mother-in-law and idiot!"
"Deng Langjun, why is this?" Tang Tiande asked in surprise.
He didn't know what kind of madness Deng Gui had. He thought that Xu Wujiang was too reckless to disobey orders and fight, but in any case, he died in a banditry. Deng Gui didn't feel sorry for him and went to arrest his family members. He was not afraid.
Are the generals below making trouble?
Jin Longquan also advised: "Deng Langjun, this must not be done!"
Deng Gui is not the only one in the world, and Jin Longquan doesn’t want to be poked in the back by the villagers after this incident breaks out. How can he be willing to obey his orders easily?
How could Deng Gui not guess that the destruction of Xu Wujiang's entire army was actually a plan for the golden cicada to escape from its shell?
How could he not have guessed at this point that Xu Huaiwu broke into his bedroom before and that the person behind the command was actually Xu Wujiang, not Tang Tiande? He had fallen into a big scheme!
However, both Tang Tiande and Jin Longquan stopped him from catching people, and the other soldiers were indifferent. Deng Gui was so anxious that he stamped his feet.
Of course, it was impossible for him to tell the truth. He stared at Jinlongquan and Tang Tiande, thought a few times in his mind, and said:
"Before today, I received a secret report that Xu Wujiang was secretly colluding with the Qingxi Village bandits. I didn't believe it at first, so I sent him to Hutouling for reconnaissance, and then sent him to lead the soldiers to Qingxi Village, hoping to report the secret
It was fake - but I didn't expect that this guy had a guilty conscience and actually coerced the soldiers to surrender to the thieves! How could they not see their bodies after they died? It was obvious that the golden cicada had escaped from its shell and they had all surrendered to the thieves. And that fool Xu Huai
He must have been instigated by Xu Wujiang behind his back to enter my house. Hateful, hateful, you told me that Xu Huai entered my house privately, I should have thought of this..."
If more than twenty soldiers were said to have colluded with the bandits, others would not believe it. At this time, Deng Gui could only kill Xu Wujiang for colluding with the bandits.
If Xu Huai had not broken into Deng Gui's house before noon, Tang Tiande and Jin Longquan would not have been easily persuaded by Deng Gui. But at this moment, Tang Tiande grabbed his saber and banged on the pillars, with veins jumping on his forehead in anger.
Yelling: "Damn this bastard for throwing shit on my head!"
Tang Tiande did not go back to put on his armor, so he led his soldiers and followed Deng Gui to Xu Wujiang's house.
…………
…………
Wang reported that Lu Xiong waited in the yard for a long time, and soon saw a string of lanterns held in the hand of the Inspection Department's Yamen Office, and numerous figures walking towards this direction.
"..." Wang Xuan had no idea what was going on. When she saw a group of soldiers in armor approaching, the courtyard door opened suddenly, and Deng Gui's fleshy face still looked gloomy and ferocious under the light of the lantern and candle. She was so frightened that she held on tight.
Grandfather Wang Zhen's hand.
"Deng Langjun, I just heard the noise outside. What happened to Xu Jieji?" Wang Xun asked with his hands behind his hands.
"Something happened to disturb Mr. Wang." Seeing Wang Zhen and Lu Xiong still there, Deng Gui breathed a sigh of relief. However, seeing no movement in the yard next door, he whispered to the people behind him, "Send someone."
Go block the back and open the courtyard door!"
At that moment, two people climbed over the wall into the courtyard next door, opened the courtyard door, and dozens of soldiers filed in, but where could they find Xu Huai and Su Di?
"Where are Xu Huai and Di Niang? Did you see them walking in the yard late at night?" Wang Xuan asked in surprise as she watched the soldiers running around next door, but Xu Huai and Su Di were nowhere to be seen.
road.
Deng Gui was so angry that he kicked down half of the courtyard door. After a while, he said to Wang Zhen through the courtyard wall:
"The subordinates sent Xu Wujiang to lead a group of soldiers to guard Qingxi Village today, but they didn't expect him to arrive at Qingxi Village today, so they couldn't wait to leave the village to fight. When it was getting late, Xu Jiejie didn't return, so the villagers
He rushed to check, but no one was alive or dead, and the villagers suspected that he was a bandit. Only then did Deng Gui rush to ask his mother-in-law, but he never expected that the building was empty..."
Although Wang Zhen had no official position, Deng Gui even suspected Wang Zhen, and Lu Xiong was secretly involved in this matter, but he neither dared to testify against Wang Zhen nor even spoke too fully in front of Wang Zhen.
Of course, Su Di and Xu Huai are now empty, and Deng Gui no longer needs to use the "secret letter" as an excuse. He can also call Tang Tiande, Jin Longquan and others believe that there is something wrong with Xu Wujiang's "annihilation of the entire army".
Their next step was to send people to Qingxizhai to investigate the site, and then go to Chuzhou County as expected.
Of course, Deng Gui was also very frustrated inside.
He never expected that Xu Wujiang had already seen through his plot and would still play the trick of Escape from the Golden Cicada at this juncture.
"This matter cannot wait until it is reported to the prefecture and county." Tang Tiande hated Xu Wujiang for plotting against him. At this time, he walked up to Deng Gui and whispered, "Most of those soldiers were coerced by Xu Wujiang and ran away. The top priority should be to send people to Jade Emperor immediately."
Ling, capture these family members of the soldiers and bring them to the Inspection Department for questioning. If all these family members are asked to be picked up by Xu Wujiang, it will really be like 'the sky is open to birds flying, and the sea is wide enough for fish to jump'..."
Deng Gui looked at Jin Longquan, who turned and looked away.
It was a common tactic to detain the young soldiers from the Inspection Department and force the coerced soldiers to escape and surrender, but Jin Longquan did not want to do such an offending thing without any reason.
"Tang Dutou, Mr. Deng will personally lead the soldiers to Qingxi Village tomorrow to investigate the banditry. At dawn, you will lead a team of soldiers to Yuhuangling to capture the soldiers' family members and bring them to the Inspection Department to assist in the investigation of the case!"
Tang Tiande was willing to come forward, so Deng Gui naturally blamed him for the matter and said to Wang Chen:
"The bandit trouble is very serious. The safety of Mr. Wang Lao Xianggong is still very important. Tomorrow I will invite more rural soldiers to help Jindu head guard this military stronghold. At the same time, I will also arrange more soldiers to guard Mr. Wang Lao Xianggong's side. I will also ask Mr. Wang Lao Xianggong to
Don’t enter easily for a while, if you make any mistakes, please forgive me, Prime Minister Wang!”
"Thank you very much, Mr. Deng, for thinking about me." Wang Zhen said with cupped hands.
