Gao Fei and Jia Xu quickly left the Jin army's camp. When they came to the gate of the camp, they turned around and glanced at the thick smoke billowing from the Jin army's back camp. Without even thinking about it, he knew that it was Guo Jia's doing.
Good thing, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he secretly shouted in his heart: "Fengxiao, please take care of yourself!"
Four generals, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Xu Huang and Pang De, rode their horses over. Seeing that Gao Fei was safe and sound, and seeing the chaos in the Jin army camp, they all said in unison: "Lord, please return to the city quickly, Chi Ze
Change!"
Gao Fei nodded, turned around, jumped onto the dark clouds and snow horse, gave a light shout, and rode off.
Jia Xu, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong and others followed closely, withdrew the soldiers surrounding the Jin army's camp and began to retreat towards Yecheng.
There was thick smoke billowing from behind the Jin camp. Wei Xu took Hou Cheng, Song Xian, Cao Xing and the soldiers to put out the fire. They ran into a soldier with a blackened face, knocking him almost over.
Wei Xu's temper was not very good. He raised his hand and slapped the soldier, and cursed loudly: "You thing with no eyes, get out of here!"
The soldiers hurriedly ran away, not daring to stop him, but with aggrieved expressions on their faces.
When Wei Xu arrived at the rear camp where grain and grass were stored, he saw that the fire was a bit fierce, so he immediately ordered to put out the fire.
Song Xian, Hou Cheng, and Cao Xing each took their own men to put out the fire, while Wei Xu stayed behind to take command.
At this time, Guo Jia, who was wearing Jin army uniform, rushed over from the side. When he arrived in front of Wei Xu, he cupped his hands and said, "Young man, see the general!"
Wei Xu didn't even look at Guo Jia, and shouted casually: "Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and put out the fire!"
Guo Jia did not move. When he saw soldiers carrying buckets from a reservoir in the distance to put out the fire, he shook his head, clasped his fists and said: "General, it is too slow to put out the fire like this. There is a faster way."
.”
Wei Xu became interested and turned to look at Guo Jia, but he didn't recognize him. However, he was not surprised. After all, there were too many soldiers in the Jin army, so how could he recognize them. He squinted at the fierce fire and said, "Oh
"I made a sound, and then asked: "Do you really have a way to put out this fire in a while?"
Guo Jia nodded confidently, and then said: "The water source is too far away, and it is only a drop in the bucket. Before the soldiers can bring the water, most of the food in the granary will be burned. When the time comes to blame the lord, I am afraid it will not be something the general can handle.
.Nowadays, only by minimizing losses can we avoid being scolded by our lord."
Wei Xu felt that what Guo Jia said made sense, so he said, "Show me a solution quickly!"
Guo Jiadao: "Use soil! Let the soldiers take off their coats, dig the soil on the spot, then wrap the soil in their coats, and sprinkle the soil on the fire. The fire will be extinguished in a short time."
Wei Xu did not hesitate and hurriedly said to the soldiers behind him: "Go and give the order quickly and do as this boy says!"
Several soldiers turned around and left, leaving only Wei Xu and Guo Jia staying where they were.
"Where are you from?" Wei Xu looked at Guo Jia carefully, became interested in Guo Jia, and asked.
Guo Jiadao: "The younger one is from Xiangyuan, Shangdang County."
"May I have your name?"
"My surname is Guo. I am the third eldest child in my family. Everyone calls me Guo San."
Wei Xu turned his head and looked at the soldiers in front who were busy digging soil and using the excavated soil to put out the fire. In just a short while, the fire was quickly under control. He was overjoyed and looked sideways at Guo Jia beside him.
, then said: "You are quite smart, do you want to be my personal soldier?"
Guo Jia knelt on the ground happily and said loudly: "General, please accept my bow!"
Wei Xu said "hmm" and said with a smile: "Get up and stay with me from now on. I like smart people like you."
Guo Jia stood up and bowed to Wei Xu, but thought silently in his heart: "I didn't expect it to be so easy. I have taken advantage of the right time and location, and the only thing left is peace. We must get Wen Chou in a short time."
, Gao Shun, Zhang Liao's trust is all that matters. My lord, please take some rest in Xindu City and give me half a month. After half a month, I will definitely succeed in bewitching Lu Bu and go south to Sili."
The fire was quickly put out, and only a very small part of the grain and grass was damaged. After Lu Bu took a look at the granary in person, he felt that there was not much damage and did not blame him. However, the Jin army camp did not do this.
Calm down, all generals and officials below the rank of captain must thoroughly investigate their subordinates, and if they find anyone with unknown origins, they will kill them without mercy.
Guo Jia had the foresight to gain Wei Xu's trust in him first, and no one would bother him when he followed Wei Xu, so he escaped a disaster.
After nightfall, the activities of tracking down the spies were completely completed, but no suspicious person was found. The matter of tracking down the spies was abandoned. After all, it was just Lu Bu's conjecture.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and the cold moonlight shone on the earth. Guo Jia followed Wei Xu out of the camp for inspection. When passing through a small forest, a soldier accidentally discovered a headless body and immediately flew over to report to Wei Xu.
Wei Xu led his personal entourage to the place where the corpse was found. He turned over and dismounted. He took a look at the headless corpse on the ground, which was wearing the uniform of the Jin army, and asked, "Who discovered this corpse first?"
"General Qi, it's me!" A soldier stood up and replied loudly.
When Wei Xu saw that he was the captain of his own soldiers who had been with him for many years, he asked, "Looking at this corpse, it has been dead for almost a day or two. Why is it that there are so few people in the army, but no one notices it?"
Just when everyone was confused for a while, Guo Jia, who was standing behind Wei Xu, suddenly pointed at the corpse and said loudly: "General, please look, there is something underneath this corpse!"
Wei Xu looked at the ground and saw an object pressed by the corpse. He asked someone to move the corpse away and saw that the object underneath the corpse turned out to be an exquisite and transparent jade pendant, which was also stained with blood.
After taking a look at it, the captain of Wei Xu's personal soldiers suddenly dilated his pupils and pointed at the jade pendant on the ground: "General, I recognize this jade pendant. It seems to belong to Zhang Mazi."
"Zhang Mazi?" Wei Xu turned his head and glanced at a pockmarked soldier behind him, and asked, "Is this your jade pendant?"
The soldier named Zhang Mazi felt panic on his face. He immediately touched his whole body, but unexpectedly found that the jade pendant on his body was missing. He took a closer look at the bloody jade pendant, and the more he looked at it, the more he looked like himself.
A family heirloom, he squeaked: "This jade pendant... seems to be... my piece of jade pendant..."
"What do you mean, it seems like this jade pendant was originally yours. Didn't you say it was your family heirloom? And you often wear it close to your body and don't let us see it. It's such a treasure. How did it get here so well?
"The guard captain Lang Lang said authentically.
Zhang Mazi said: "I...I don't know. I remember I was still wearing it in the morning. Why are you here now and lying next to a dead person? Who is this dead person?"
Wei Xu stared at his eyes and asked loudly: "I still want to ask you, why did your jade pendant come here, and who is this headless body? Did you lose the damn money in gambling?
, kill your creditor?"
"No, no, no... General, you know me, how could I do such a thing?" Zhang Mazi quickly explained.
Wei Xu looked at Zhang Mazi, who had been following him for almost a year, and did not believe that this naturally timid person could kill people. He would not dare to kill chickens at ordinary times. If Zhang Mazi's father hadn't been rich, he would always bet every time he gambled.
After getting a lot of money from Zhang Mazi, he would not want this useless soldier.
Guo Jia saw the opportunity and whispered to Wei Xu: "General, there is something fishy about this matter."
"I also know there is something fishy, but I haven't figured it out yet," Wei continued.
Guo Jia further said: "General, please think about it, how could the granary, which was in good condition, catch fire during the day? Moreover, as soon as the fire broke out here, we discovered the body at night. The army did not feel that there were fewer people, and Zhang
The jade pendant that Mazi was wearing was actually under this corpse. All these things are connected together. I am sure that there must be spies in the army."
Wei Xu also felt that this matter was very simple. He frowned and asked, "I also think there is a spy. Not only me, but also the lord and all the generals think there is a spy. But after a thorough investigation all afternoon, there is still no one."
Did you find anyone suspicious?"
Guo Jiadao: "Actually, it's not the people who are suspicious, but the heart!"
"Heart?" Wei Xu asked curiously.
Guo Jia whispered: "General, please take a step to speak."
Wei Xu nodded, pulled Guo Jia to a deserted place, and said to Guo Jia: "If you have anything to say, please say it."
Seeing that Wei Xu had been whetted by him, Guo Jia continued, "General, does he think Zhang Mazi might be a spy?"
"Him? Impossible, he is so timid, how could he be a spy?" Wei Xu said with a smile.
Guo Jia had been sneaking into the Jin army's camp for three days. During the three days, he was not here in vain. He investigated Wen Chou, Gao Shun, Zhang Liao, and Wei Xu one by one. Later, he found that Wei Xu was the least vigilant, and
Very gullible
, so he decided to start with him. So he began to secretly investigate the people around Wei Xu, accidentally discovered Zhang Mazi, and found out Zhang Mazi's situation clearly, so he decided to let Zhang Mazi achieve his trust in Wei Xu's mind
status.
He chuckled and said: "General, you know people but not their hearts. I think Zhang Mazi is suspicious."
"Oh?" Wei Xu looked at Zhang Mazi suspiciously, and when he saw Zhang Mazi picked up the bloody jade pendant from the ground, wiped off the blood on it, and held it in his hand with great care, he asked,
"Is there anything suspicious?"
Guo Jiadao: "Zhang Mazi cherishes the jade pendant so much that he always carries it with him. If he loses it, he will definitely know about it, and it is impossible for him to remain unaware for such a long time. Furthermore, I heard that Zhang Mazi and I
When the general gambles, he loses nine times out of ten, but when he gambles with others, he wins nine out of ten times. Don’t you think, general, that he is doing this with a purpose to get closer to you?"
Wei Xu frowned and said, "When you say that, I really think Zhang Mazi is a bit suspicious..."
"That's right. Zhang Mazi must be using money to confuse the general. On the surface, he is courteous to the general, but in fact, he is trying to gain the general's trust. Today I heard that one of the people responsible for guarding the granary is Zhang Mazi. The general invited
Think about it, the granary here is an important place and has always been heavily guarded. If someone who is familiar with the situation had not set the fire, someone would definitely have discovered it."
"You mean, Zhang Mazi is a spy?"
"Most likely!"
Wei Xu looked gloomily, looking at Zhang Mazi in the distance, seeing how he cherished the jade pendant, and said suspiciously: "No, if Zhang Mazi is really a spy, how could he leave such an important thing here, and
Or is it something that represents his identity?”
Guo Jia hurriedly said: "General, there are only two possibilities for such a thing to happen."
"Which two?"
"First, Zhang Mazi killed the person who discovered his identity. During the scuffle, the jade pendant accidentally fell off and fell under the deceased, but Zhang Mazi did not notice it."
"What about two?"
"The second is that Zhang Mazi did this deliberately, and then used others to frame him as an excuse to absolve himself."
Wei continued: "Your analysis is very good. I really regret not discovering you earlier. Otherwise, with you by my side, I will definitely be the most trusted person by the lord."
Guo Jiadao: "General, it's not too late. The general put out the fire in the granary first. If the spy is caught now, the general will be a big celebrity in front of my lord."
Wei continued: "It's just speculation now. What if Zhang Mazi is caught in front of the lord and he is not a spy? Then I won't lose the rice by stealing the chicken?"
"General, don't worry. Whether it's true or not can be determined by searching Zhang Mazi's body. A spy who kills will inevitably expose himself. Usually in this case, there is only one possibility, that is, he wants to send a message to the outside world. As long as Zhang Mazi is searched,
If there is anything suspicious about the pockmarked body, it can be concluded that he is a spy. If not, he would rather kill by mistake than let it go. The general insisted that this pockmarked body is a spy. After presenting it to the lord, the lord will definitely be very happy.
.”
Wei Xu's heart was filled with excitement when he heard this. He walked over and immediately ordered: "Tie up Zhang Mazi and search his body."
Before Zhang Mazi could react, he was immediately tied up by Wu Huada, and the soldiers began to search his body.
Guo Jia leisurely came up behind Wei Xu, thinking secretly in his heart: "Brother Mazi, I'm sorry, your death can exchange for the entire Bingzhou, you should be proud."
Not long after, the soldiers found a wax pill from Zhang Mazi's clothes and handed it to Wei Xu.
Zhang Mazi also looked stunned. He had no idea what this thing was and how it could be on his body. He hurriedly shouted: "General, I was wronged, I was wronged, someone is framing me.
If it were really me, how could I leave something as important as a jade pendant here?"
When Wei Xu heard that Zhang Mazi's answer was right, he snorted coldly and said, "I'll know it at a glance."
After he finished speaking, Wei Xu opened the wax pill. There was a small note hidden inside, with a line of small characters written on it. When he saw the words "Lü Bu's army is in Jizhou, and Bingzhou's troops are empty, please speed up the Xiliang cavalry to get it." He immediately
He said angrily: "You spy, I have long thought that there is something wrong with you, what else do you have to say! Come on! Take Zhang Mazi out and chop him!"