In the camp of officers and soldiers, Li Chong, Pan Jiang, Zhao, Fang, Wei, Sandu, and military attachés were all in the camp. Everyone passed around a note written on yellow paper, which was shot into the belly of the horse by Qiu Dabao.
The arrow brought Su Jin’s secret message.
The letter read: Hope you are safe, I am in the bandit's nest, but the situation is beyond my expectation. The mountain stronghold is steep and the bandit leader is cunning. All the previous plans have failed, but I have found an internal support and need a large army to support me from outside.
After today's riri falls, you need to feint aggressively to attract the bandit's attention and facilitate my actions. During the feint, you will often use rockets to burn the mountain. This is the weak point of the bandit's nest. You must make it tired to deal with it. After I seize the mountain pass, I will set up fire on the mountainside.
If you give the signal, you can launch a large-scale attack and attack from above and below to annihilate it. Remember, remember.
Li Zhong waited for everyone to finish reading and asked: "What do you think?"
Wei Dutou stood up suddenly and said: "I didn't say anything, just fuck him."
Zhao, Fang and others also echoed: "Since the envoy has the order, naturally we must cooperate with the action."
Seeing that Pan Jiang seemed a little hesitant, Li Chong smiled and said: "Commander Pan, what do you have in mind?"
Pan Jiang cupped his fists and said, "How can I talk about high opinions? However, Mr. Li, I have some doubts that need to be clarified. I'm afraid it's not good to make a hasty decision."
Li Zhongdao: "Please speak."
Pan Jiangdao: "First, we don't know whether this letter was written by the special envoy. There is no signature on the letter. Even if it is signed, there is no guarantee whether it is the special envoy's intention."
Li Chong said with a smile: "This is very easy. I know the handwriting of Mr. Zhizhi. His handwriting is different from others. He likes to simplify the strokes the most. A small part of the words he writes are shapes rather than strokes."
Yes, we know each other again. I discussed this matter with him when we were in Luzhou, and he later changed it a lot; but... seeing that the whole note is written in this way, there is no risk of forgery."
Pan Jiangdao: "Even so, is this the original intention of the envoy? If it was written under the coercion of gangsters, wouldn't it be a trap? Lure me into the mountain pass, and then set up an ambush to surround and attack.
We have to guard against it.”
Li Chong said seriously: "Are you doubting the integrity of the special envoy? Do you want me to tell you two old things about the special envoy? Based on my understanding of him, the special envoy will never do such a thing.
As it turns out, he may be a bit cunning in his methods, but he is blameless when it comes to important matters."
Pan Jiangdao: "I am not doubting, but just in case. If this happens, wouldn't we be like a sheep in a tiger's mouth, and everyone will be destroyed?"
Li Chong suddenly changed his temper, and stood up to refute it, but suddenly he heard a cold female voice coming from outside the tent: "How about I come to guarantee it?"
As soon as the curtain was lifted, Yan Biyun walked in wearing a frosty mask, followed by Rou Niang and Xiao Xian'er, both of whom had unkind expressions.
Pan Jiang said coldly: "There is no need for women to interfere in military matters."
Yan Biyun said: "The slave family guarantees that he is the niece of the Third Secretary Yan Shu. Isn't this general still worried? Who is Su Jin? If he can be held hostage, how can the slave family's uncle recommend him and appoint him like the emperor?
If General Pan can't even trust the eyes of the three envoys, I advise you to hide behind and save your life when you attack the mountain."
Pan Jiang was shocked by Yan Biyun's merciless rebuke to him, and even more shocked by her identity. He had always thought that Yan Biyun was just Su Jin's wife and concubine, but he never expected that she was actually the niece of the Third Chief of Staff, Yan Shu.
"This..." Pan Jiang was speechless for a moment.
Yan Biyun didn't answer. He took the pen and paper on the case, scrawled down a few lines of words, signed his name, handed it to Pan Jiang and said: "The slave family has written a guarantee. If there is anything wrong, with this written certificate, you can go directly to the Third Division." Make him accountable."
Li Zhong said loudly: "This county also guarantees it. Bring it over and I will sign it."
Zhao Dutou, Fang Dutou, and others did not know Yan Biyun's true identity until today. They did not expect that Special Envoy Su was so well-connected that he was related to Lord Third Secretary. What's more, even the niece of Third Secretary was following him. He traveled east and west with the army. No wonder Miss Yan kept her curtains lowered along the way from the capital, obviously not wanting anyone to know her identity.
The two of them looked at each other and felt that they had the same understanding. If this big flatterer didn't follow suit, they would probably regret it for the rest of their lives.
"We are also willing to vouch for it! Damn it, I sent you to go deep into the tiger's den. There are many dangers, and we are still sitting here doubting him. It is really not a human thing to do." Zhao Fang and Zhao Fang pointed at Sang and cursed Huai.
Pan Jiang's face was green and red, and he screamed in his heart that he was wronged. Didn't he just raise concerns? Why did he arouse public outrage? Is it wrong to be cautious?
"Everyone, you have misunderstood me. I am just worried..." Pan Jiang explained quickly.
Wei Dutou also said: "Commander Pan is also being cautious and has no intention of slandering the Special Envoy. The Special Envoy's matter is urgent, so we'd better hurry up and get down to business."
Pan Jiang hurriedly came down by the ladder and said: "Yes, yes, this matter is over. Let's discuss the details of the evening operation."
Li Zhong and others then took their seats. Li Zhong asked: "Commander Pan, if you have any questions, just tell them."
Pan Jiang coughed, with hot sweat on his forehead, and continued: "The envoy said that we should use rockets to burn the forest to attract bandit troops, but where did we get the rockets? There was only a barrel of kerosene there, which Mr. Li had already used yesterday. If not a drop of the feint is left, how can we fulfill the envoy's instructions?"
This question is on point. Without kerosene, arrows cannot burn. How about using trees as targets to practice shooting? Without fire, shooting into the forest will have no effect, and it will not attract the strength of the bandit army. Yesterday, The feint attack proved that the bandits were still afraid of fire. When the rockets ignited the forest, hundreds of bandits were busy putting out the fire. If not for the lack of troops, they almost could have broken through the pass.
Everyone was thinking hard, and suddenly they heard one person say: "Actually... in fact, as long as it is something that can help fuel the fire, it should be fine?"
Everyone looked up, and it was the delicate and timid Rou Niang who spoke, but these words without confidence woke up the dreamer.
Li Zhong slapped his thigh and said, "Miss Rou Niang is right. We don't need to be very powerful. We just need to be able to ignite the fire. Isn't it possible to use anything that can support combustion, such as vegetable oil, lard, or candle oil?"
Pan Jiang also said: "As long as it melts, soaks it with cloth strips, and ignites it, it will still burst into flames. As for whether it can burn hotly, there is no need to investigate, as long as it attracts bandits who are constantly tired of putting out the fire."
"But where can I get these things?" Weidu asked, spreading his hands.
Li Chong looked at Zhao Fang and the two of them, and said with a smile: "I have to work hard. The two guards are already busy. You are already old acquaintances in Shouzhou City. How about borrowing some?"
Zhao and Fang laughed loudly and said, "We will take the brothers to borrow it now. The transfer is very stingy, and you are afraid that he will not give you face."
Li Chong laughed loudly and said: "Then you two have to pay. If they don't pay, you will bring all the cooking oil jars from the transfer envoy's house and ask him to eat white rice and cook cabbage every day."
Zhao and Fang both chuckled and said, "Don't worry, if you know how to look, forget it. If you don't, I'll tell him that he won't have any oil in his mouth for a year."
Li Chong cupped his hands and said, "It's not too late. Go back as soon as possible. Shen Shi must return to the camp. Bring more cotton gauze and rags for the arrows."
Zhao Fang and Zhao Fang responded loudly and came out of the tent. They immediately shouted and called for men. After a while, the horse army was assembled, the hoofbeats were rumbling, and they galloped away to the west.
Li Chong and others also took active action, arranging bow strings and polishing arrows, and were very busy.
…
In the cell, Su Jin and Wang Chao Ma Han pretended to be bandits and sat in the stone room waiting for news.
There was a knock on the door. Su Jin waved his hand to Wang Chao and Mahan not to move. He looked through the crack in the door and saw two bandits standing at the door carrying food and banging on the door.
Su Jin was surprised and forgot about this problem. He hurriedly reached out and wiped a handful of plaster on the ground, wiped a few haphazardly on his face, and then opened the door.
The two bandits said impatiently: "Qi Laosi, aren't you active in eating? My hands are numb from the cold."
Su Jin cupped his hands and said, "Thank you both for your hard work."
The two bandits raised their eyes and pointed at Su Jin's face and said in surprise: "You...who are you?"
Su Jin hurriedly smiled and said: "You two, I'm new here. Fourth Qi, Fatty Huang and the others were transferred to the pass at the foot of the mountain by the second boss."
The two looked at Su Jin suspiciously and murmured: "It's a shift change. Why were they still there when I came last night?"
Su Jin smiled and said, "It's a night shift."
One of them pointed at Su Jin's clothes and said, "Why are there blood stains on your clothes? What's going on?"
Su Jin's scalp went numb, and his fingers unconsciously touched the handle of the knife. The two bandits looked very different and stepped back.
Su Jin hurriedly laughed and said: "The two eldest brothers are quite alert. If I hadn't been injured at the foot of the mountain last night, would the second boss have sent me to wait for such a good job? To be honest with you, we came up last night
I haven’t even washed my face, let alone changed my clothes.”
The two bandits breathed a sigh of relief and said, "So that's it. If that's the case, you can rest easy."
Su Jin reached into his arms and took out dozens of coins and handed them over to them and said, "Thank you, you two, please bring more meat next time when you deliver meals. All three of us are injured and need to recuperate."
The two bandits who delivered the meal saw the copper coin, and immediately smiled crookedly. Each of them took half of it and put it in his arms, and said with a smile: "It's easy to say, why are you so polite?"
The two of them smiled and left while carrying the empty buckets they had exchanged. Su Jin bolted the door and let out a long sigh of relief, dripping with cold sweat. He was really shocked.dd