Zhou Gu walked very quickly, and after finishing talking, he went down the mountain. Without any delay, he almost flew down the mountain.
Midnight followed him, and wanted to ask why he wanted to go down the mountain after hearing that there was a secret passage. Wasn't he supposed to catch someone? But he could hardly keep up with Zhou Gu's pace, so he naturally didn't ask.
The two left, and then a group of people broke into the courtyard where Zhou Gu lived. Looking at the empty courtyard and house, as well as the still warm tea in the house, the person in charge raised his eyebrows, "Where are the people? Why aren't they here?
here?"
The person who asked the question was in his forties, his name was Lin Hai. He had a goatee, a sharp face, and a bad temper.
The person following him was also in his forties, with a Chinese character face and thick eyebrows. His name was Feng Jiang. He looked at the steaming tea and said, "Go out and look for him. He is here to recruit people. If the matter fails, with his
With his temper, he will definitely not give up halfway. He has a good relationship with Jiang Zhu from the 11th Village, so he may have gone to find Jiang Zhu."
"Let's go!" Lin Hai waved his hand and led people out of Zhou Gu's house.
The group went to Eleven Village and Jiang Zhu was practicing calligraphy. He was twenty years old and looked like a scholar. He looked thin and frail, but when his pen fell on the paper, it penetrated the back of the paper.
Hearing someone's voice, he paused and asked, "Why are there so many people here? Who is here?"
"Go back to the village masters, Lin Hai from the Thirteenth Village and Feng Jiang from the Fourteenth Village." Someone replied: "They brought a lot of people with them."
Jiang Zhu put down his pen, picked up the rice paper, balled it up with his hands, and threw it into the stove on the ground. Then he covered his lips with his hands, coughed, and walked out while coughing.
As soon as he walked to the door, he saw Lin Hai and Feng Jiang, who seemed to have come with bad intentions. The two men had sullen faces. When they saw Jiang Zhu, they bowed their hands to him and said, "Master Jiang Zhu, are you here, Zhou Gucheng?"
Jiang Yi was stunned, "He went back to rest an hour ago."
"Are you sure?" Lin Hai looked at Jiang Zhu.
Jiang Zhu coughed and said helplessly: "What's so uncertain about this kind of thing? He did leave an hour ago. Are you looking for him?"
Lin Hai stared at Jiang Zhu, "Master Jiang Zhu, our leader asked Zhou Gu to go to the Thirteenth Village to negotiate terms. We just went to his yard, and he's not here."
Jiang Zhu shook his head, "He's not here either. If you don't believe it, just search him."
Lin Haidao: "Since the leader of Jiangzhai said so, I won't be polite."
He waved his hand behind him and said, "Search!"
The people who followed glanced at Jiang Zhu and saw that he was tilting his head and coughing but did not object. They quickly entered the house and searched every room and the entire courtyard, even the cellar.
After searching, no one was seen.
Lin Hai handed over his hand, "I have offended the leader of Jiangzhai."
Jiang Zhu shook his head, said nothing, and waved to Lin Hai.
Lin Hai led the people and walked away quickly.
Jiang Zhu faintly heard Jiang Hai walking around and telling him, "Let's go and search somewhere else. Search the entire Eighteen Villages. I don't believe we can't find him."
He turned his head and asked the person behind him: "What happened? Why did Lin Hai and Feng Jiang suddenly lead people around to look for Zhou Gu? And they don't look kind?"
The person behind him shook his head and said, "Master of the village, my subordinates will go and inquire about it right now."
Jiang Zhu nodded, "Go!"
Lin Hai led his people to search the top of one mountain after another, with the intention of searching the entire Eighteen Villages. He was sure that Zhou Gu was hiding in the Eighteen Villages, because he did not think that Zhou Gu would leave if he failed to achieve his goal.
Eighteen villages.
However, Zhou Gu actually left the Eighteenth Village, took a shortcut, went down the mountain and out of the Eighteenth Village as quickly as possible.
At the foot of the mountain, ten miles away, there were 10,000 troops and horses given to him by Ningchi.
He ordered the leader of the army, "From now on, send people to guard the exits, and then send people to search for the secret passage into the stronghold. I want to get the results before dawn."
The leader's name was Cheng Mu, and he glanced at Zhou Gu in surprise.
So, that night, the people on Shibazhai Mountain were looking for Zhou Gu, while the 10,000 soldiers and horses at the foot of Shibazhai Mountain, in addition to guarding various passes, were also looking for secret passages leading to the mountain.
Ziye finally saw the opportunity and asked Zhou Gu, "Sir, is the mountain dangerous now?"
"Um."
Midnight took a breath and thought that he was lucky to be down. He guessed, "Who can make that old guy Chen Qi have an idea? And he still wants to attack you in the Eighteenth Village? Could it be the second prince's people?"
Now in the capital, only the second prince can still jump.
"Zhang Ping's people." Zhou Gu said: "There must be people in the Eighteenth Village who have had close contact with Zhang Ping over the years."
Ziye speculated, "I wonder what Zhang Ping promised to the Eighteen Villages, but it actually made the Eighteen Villages more ambitious than the recruitment strategy promised by His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Zhou Guqing sneered, "If Zhang Ping has the ambition to rebel, then he can promise a lot, including becoming a king and a noble, no matter what."
Ziye suddenly felt that the Eighteen Villages were a tough nut to crack. His Highness the Crown Prince could not grant him the title of king or nobility. Although the Eighteen Villages were righteous bandits, they were still bandits in the final analysis. They had not made any great contributions to the imperial court, so they were just wishful thinking.
To be crowned a king or a noble? How could that be embarrassing for those who have devoted their whole lives to the imperial court? If you want to be an official, you have to have four or five grades.
He asked Zhou Gu, "Master, what should we do now?"
"I guess that the person sent by Zhang Ping must be an important figure in General Pingxi's Mansion if he can convince Chen Qi and convince him to go against the imperial court. At the very least, he can represent Zhang Ping himself. That can only...
Ziye was startled, "Master, if this person really comes to the Eighteenth Village, he must be left behind."
"Of course." Zhou Gu Meifeng sternly said, "He can't run away, and it's impossible to let him run away."
He ordered, "Let the secret guards be more alert. Once the secret passage is found, guard the exit. If Zhang Mao hears that Su Rong is coming, he will not stay here for long."
Ziye sighed, "Sir, Miss Su Qi's reputation is even greater than yours now. Zhang Mao is not afraid of you, but he is afraid of Miss Su Qi."
Zhou Guwan smiled and said, "The situation in the court was disrupted after she went to the capital. The prince's rise was also caused by her breaking the situation. Anyone who is not a fool can see how powerful she is. Zhang Ping's legitimate son Zhang Mao,
Compared to Zhang Ping, he can only be better than his predecessor and not too useless."
Midnight nodded.
The soldiers searched all night, but could not find the secret passage into the Eighteenth Village. In the Eighteenth Village, Lin Hai led people to search all night, but could not find Zhou Gu. After dawn, the people in the Eighteenth Village also found no trace of Zhou Gu.
In hindsight, I realized that Zhou Gu must have gone down the mountain.
Lin Hai returned to the Thirteenth Village and reported to Chen Qi, "Zhai Master, Zhou Gu was not found. He must have gone down the mountain."
Chen Qi, who was in his fifties, had an upright face and a bad complexion. He looked at the young man standing aside. The man was in his early twenties and had a handsome face. He was Zhang Mao.
He looked at Chen Qi expressionlessly, "It's not like there was an unknown soldier in the Eighteenth Village. It was Zhou Gu, and he actually let him go down the mountain quietly. Don't you think it's ridiculous, Master Zhou?"
