Let's talk about Sun and Huang, together with the abbot and Haicangfeng, eating, drinking and chatting at the pavilion on the top of the mountain for more than an hour.
Before I knew it, it was Xu time, which was eight o'clock in the evening.
At this time, several people felt that they had almost eaten, so they tidied up a little and pinched out the candles in the pavilion. (It was Shenshi when Huang Donglai went up the mountain, so in addition to food, he naturally also brought a lot of lighting equipment in case he was hungry.
After eating half of it, it turned into a lucky draw in the dark), each of them picked up a lantern and prepared to go down the mountain.
For ordinary people, let alone watching the sunset in the mountains and eating late-night snacks, even walking in the city at night would have to be weighed. But for them, going down the mountain at night is not a problem when there are lights.
It’s nothing serious, so what if we meet a tiger? It’s just an after-dinner exercise.
However, what they didn't expect was that there would be something more troublesome than a tiger on their way down the mountain today.
what?
Of course they are people.
You should still remember the group of porters Huang Donglai hired before, right?
Don't forget that when this group of people left, they all expressed their gratitude and humiliation, but when they were halfway down the mountain, there were four "old masters" among them... something bad happened.
Heartbroken.
Of course, the "old" here refers only to their seniority. In fact, these people are only in their thirties.
Since the average life expectancy of ordinary people was not high at that time, and there was no such thing as compulsory education, many young boys started working at the age of twelve or thirteen. By the time they were thirty, they had been working for more than ten years.
Are you a master now?
Let's talk about these four "old porters", without exception, they are all owners who like to make money and visit brothels on weekdays.
As for people who have these two hobbies, it goes without saying that everyone understands that no matter how much money comes into their hands, they will not be able to hold on to it.
In addition, either no one wants to marry these people, or their wives have been sold by themselves, so they are all alone.
It is easy for such people... to embark on a criminal path.
You didn't give them any temptation, or opportunity, so that's it. At best, they would just do some petty theft, but today, this huge temptation came as soon as it was announced.
When Huang Donglai hired them to buy things in the town in the afternoon, they were thinking: This guest today really opened everyone's eyes. He bought so many things without blinking an eye, as if he spent money other than his own.
Same.
Later, when Huang Donglai told them that all the things had to be carried up the mountain, they were puzzled again. What was going on? Is there a banquet on the mountain? With such good wine and food, at least twenty people should eat it, right?
As a result, they went up the mountain and saw that there were only four people. Huang Donglai quickly rewarded them with about 70% of the things and let them go down the mountain.
At that time, their first reaction, apart from surprise, was indeed only gratitude and joy. But as they walked down the mountain, they thought about it...some other thoughts, or evil thoughts, began to sprout.
If you can spend so much money, you must have more money left than what you spent that afternoon, right?
Although they look like they are armed with weapons, they look like they are wandering around the world, but looking at it horizontally and vertically, there are only four of them, and there is a lame man among them... How many nails can they drive if they are covered in iron?
It's almost dark now, and no one will enter the mountain anymore. So even if the four of them die in the mountain, who will care?
The more I think about it, the better I can do it.
After finishing this job, there will be no need to be a porter anymore. Everyone will divide the spoils and run away, go their separate ways, and move the whole small business to another place. It will be more than enough to marry a second wife.
By then, the mountains are high and the road is far away, who can still trace it?
This vote can be said to be once and for all. It is like the wealth that God has sent to your door. Wouldn't it be stupid not to take it?
The four people who came up with similar ideas, after returning to the town at the foot of the mountain, acted like nothing had happened at first, divided their things with their colleagues, and went their separate ways.
The other porters brought good wine and food, and either went to eat and drink together in small groups, or took them home to share with their families. I won't go into details about this.
Let's just say that these four people who have the same hobby and have no family members, not long after they took their things home, they appeared near the gambling house in the town...
Then the four of them came together in a tacit understanding like a bastard watching a mung bean. They eagerly shared their similar ideas with each other, hit it off immediately, and decided to join in this "wealth" together.
Of course, they are also self-aware - the four of them alone cannot make this deal happen.
Even if their knowledge of the people in the world is extremely limited (the number of martial arts masters is also a pyramid system, the people who usually see the most are definitely the third-rate or even inferior characters, and even if there are first-rate masters who have done something in front of them, they still see it.
They don't understand the secrets, but the fights between the third-rate people look more exciting), and they don't think that just the four of them can kill four "travelers".
Therefore, these porters are ready to find "foreign aid".
For people like them who hang out in casinos all year round, isn't it easy to find a few accomplices in their social circle who are willing to rob?
But one thing to say, the candidate they picked this time is really something.
Not many, just two people.
One is called Ma Jin and the other is called Ma Yin.
I mentioned these two names, and you may not recognize them, but I will mention their other two names, which should be familiar to you - "The King with Golden Feet", the ox has gold, and the "Silver Feet King", the ox has silver.
A few years ago, in the area from Xinyang to Wuchang, these two brothers could be said to be famous and powerful.
At that time, when "Gold and Silver Village" was mentioned, no one in the area knew that it was a breath of fresh air in the bandit world.
In those years, the Niu brothers managed the bandits under their command to be strong and well-disciplined; they "deeply cooperated" with the local government, and under the premise of not killing people and not committing adultery, they developed a set of policies with a wide range and even scope.
Extensive “buy toll” system.
The general model of this system is: the government provides intelligence to Jinyinzhai, allowing them to avoid stepping on pitfalls that they should not step on during the execution of business, and Jinyinzhai will regularly punish those in the village who do not comply with the "major premise"
Pick out the bad apples and give them to the government as performance... Then everyone will share the money received.
This business can be said to be a success.
However, the good times did not last long.
Because the two brothers managed the cottage a little too well, they finally alerted the department they couldn't afford to offend.
About a year ago, Shui Hanyi, one of the four top masters of the imperial court, who was responsible for combating "organized crime" in the Jinyi Guards... targeted them.
Although this cow has gold and cow has silver, he is almost invincible in the bandit world by relying on the powerful Vajra Legs he secretly learned back then (people like Xiao Wuji are an extreme case when they become bandits), but when they met Shui Hanyi,
For masters of this level, they are still not enough to watch, not to mention that Lord Shui also came with a team, and he is a real regular army of the imperial court...
So Shui Hanyi picked the Jinyin Village and arrested the two brothers Niu Youjin and Niu Youyin. The other bandit leaders were also arrested and killed, and there were some small ones who should be killed.
Fish and shrimps, if they see that the situation is not good, they will become birds and beasts and disperse.
As for the Niu brothers who became prisoners, they would not sit still and wait for death. They immediately thought of asking someone to find the local government to intercede for them. After all, both parties had "cooperated" for so many years, and the friendship was there.
But at this time, none of the officials, big and small, who usually called them brothers and sisters dared to speak.
After all, those people's own butts are not clean. Who dares to come to Jin Yiwei to plead for mercy? Master Shui would have turned a blind eye if he didn't come to trouble them... If only I could ask them one more question
, they were so weak that they could even urinate a few drops of urine.
Just when the Niu brothers lamented the harshness of the world and were about to accept their fate, unexpectedly, Shui Hanyi came to them one night, chatted with them for a while, and then let them go.
Shui Hanyi naturally had his reasons. He felt that although the Niu brothers had turned into bandits, they still acted in a decent manner. It could even be said that their "gray industry" practices had made the local area suffer in recent years.
Many people died in the village. If the superiors didn't think that Jinyin Village was really developing into Liangshan Po, Shui Hanyi wouldn't bother to deal with them.
He is responsible for combating "organized crime". Now that the Niu brothers' organization has been destroyed, they will definitely not dare to form any more organizations in the future, so why not go with the flow and let them live a life, maybe one day,
There are still places where these two people can be used.
In this way, Niu Youjin and Niu Youyin survived, changed their names and surnames... and left Wuchang under the pseudonyms "Ma Jin" and "Ma Yin".
After going through such a situation, both of them felt that they had to keep a "low profile" for at least a year and a half, so they headed east to the Huainan area, where they found a job as a "gambling house watcher" and hid themselves.
City day.
With their martial arts skills, it would be an understatement to act as two spectators.
Our previous clerk mentioned that the two of them had secretly learned the powerful Vajra Kicks back then and had practiced hard for many years. Their kick skills were already considered second-rate masters in the martial arts world. Let them fight some thugs who came to the casino to cause trouble.
Isn’t it just like playing? Even if occasionally some gangsters who have practiced some martial arts cause trouble in the casino, the two brothers can easily handle it.
And their "demeanor" at work is undoubtedly noticed by those who often hang out in casinos.
Therefore, in the perception of these erroneous porters, the two "horse, gold, and horse silver" brothers in the gambling house are the most powerful masters they know; anyway, I went to see them fighting with weapons.
, people in the martial arts world who claim to be so powerful can basically win with three or five moves. The four on the top of the mountain today are probably similar to that kind of thing, right?
As long as we can get these two brothers to take action, plus our four strong porters, taking advantage of the darkness and ambushes to attack, we can capture the four gangsters, isn't it easy?
And there is another advantage to finding them, that is...the two brothers, with few people, are united.
For things like murder and robbery, if there are too many people, there will be trouble, because in the end everyone will get less money, and it is easy for internal strife to occur when the stolen goods are divided, and it may even develop into gangsters and gangsters.
But these "Ma brothers", if you look at their words and deeds on weekdays, you will know that they are not ordinary minions. At least they are more trustworthy and decent than us gamblers... Therefore, as long as we can persuade them, even if they give them more points,
A portion is worth it.
The porters did what they said. After the discussion, they immediately went to find Niu Youjin and Niu Youyin.
As for the two Niu family members, they had been staying in the dark gambling house since the morning due to work reasons. When Huang Donglai was "sweeping goods" in the town, they didn't hear anyone entering the casino until the porters went up the mountain.
People were talking about it, so they didn’t know who was responsible for making such a big noise.
It was not until the end of Shenshi that the two of them were about to get off work, and the porters came to the door.
The Niu brothers thought for a moment after hearing this... They have to go ahead with this.
It wasn't that they wanted to rob, but they knew that now that the four porters had reached the stage of finding their accomplices, there was no room for maneuver.
Even if they say they don't want to do it today, the four of them will not stop. Instead, they will look for other foreign aid candidates, and may even consider silencing the two of them who already know about it.
Although the Niu brothers are not afraid of these four people, how to deal with this problem is also a problem.
After all, these four porters are only in the planning stage and have not yet taken action. The Niu brothers have turned them over to the government, and the latter can quibble. Besides, the Niu brothers themselves have criminal records and their names are all fake, so it is difficult to deal with the government.
It's better to... pretend to agree first, and then act on your own terms when you get to the mountain.
The best thing is that the four "walkers" on the mountain are good at martial arts. If they kill these four porters in legitimate defense, then the Niu brothers don't have to do anything more.
But if something goes wrong, the Niu brothers can only take action themselves to make the four porters "stay on the mountain forever."
Seeing this, some people may ask: Why don't they just kill the four porters on the way up the mountain while there is no one around?
In fact, this is also a kind of plan, but the specific situation still depends on the situation. What if one of the four people discovers their conscience and shrinks from the battle?
Anyway, follow them, the initiative lies in the hands of the Niu brothers, and they can deal with it according to the circumstances.
This is how the cows have gold and the cows have silver...
The thoughts in the minds of the four porters were much simpler: It would be great if all the others died fighting each other today, and I was the only one left to take all the money.
In this way, the six people, each with their own agenda, hurriedly and slowly entered the mountain.
It was at this hour that they had just arrived at the only way down the mountain, and there were a few lanterns looming above the mountain road.
"Quick! Put out the lantern and hide!" Upon seeing this, the leading porter immediately shouted softly and took the lead to hide in the grass on the roadside.
The other people heard this and also followed suit.
After the Niu brothers squatted down side by side in the grass, they discussed in a low voice: "Looking at the looks of these few, they won't stop. Why don't we just attack them now?"
Before the two of them had reached an agreement, the four people on the top of the mountain were already walking down talking and laughing.
The porters were a little bit out of temper at that time... They had evil intentions, and they had done a lot of petty theft before, but this was their first time doing murder and stealing goods, and the ticket was very expensive.
It may be a big deal that will change the rest of their lives... At this moment, when several people saw the target approaching, their nervousness, excitement, fear, eagerness and other emotions suddenly surged up along with adrenaline, making them hold the machete in their hands.
Trembling constantly.
Niu Youjin is different from Niu Youyin. They were originally relatively calm, but when they heard the voice of the visitor talking, they suddenly felt something was wrong...
Among those four people, at least one person's voice sounded familiar.
Although that person had only interacted with them once, he left a deep impression on them. If they guessed the identity of the person correctly at this moment, then another somewhat impressive voice next to them seemed to be right...
…
"kill!"
Just when the Niu brothers were hesitating due to this unexpected situation, one of the four porters could no longer hold himself any longer. He let out a loud shout and rushed out of the grass beside the road, killing him with a single blow.
Cut off the abbot's head at the back.
His choice was actually quite reasonable. Firstly, the abbot happened to be walking at the rear of the four people; secondly, the abbot carrying the spear happened to be the most capable of fighting among the four in the eyes of an outsider.
In the eyes of the porters, as long as the strong man carrying the spear is taken care of, the rest will be left with two young boys and an old lame man.
"Kill--"
Almost at the same second, the other three porters, whose nerves were stretched to the limit, were also aroused by the first shout. They jumped out from the bushes where they were hiding, and launched a surprise attack while shouting.
Some people may think that their "kill call" is a bit redundant. There is no need except to reveal their position two seconds in advance.
But if you think about it for a moment, you will understand... After all, this is killing someone with a cold weapon, and the person you are killing is a stranger who has no enmity or enmity against you. You have no hatred for them, nor are you angered by them, it is simply just
To rob someone of their wealth, one must take a life... At this time, one really has to shout out, and hear the accomplices next to him shouting too. Only then can one have the courage to swing the knife down, knowing that one is not alone.
Puff puff--
Bang!
It was said late and then quickly, and in just one breath, there were four muffled sounds.
Before three of the four porters could figure out what happened, a bloody hole appeared in their chests.
The remaining one was hit across the chest by the barrel of a spear, breaking several bones on the spot. He flew backwards and fell under a tree. It took him a long time to catch his breath.
"My 'bodyguard' money is really not in vain. I'm here to work so quickly." The abbot calmly dealt with the raid by the four people, and did not forget to say this sentence.
"The other two friends, won't you come out and help your accomplices?" Haicangfeng also spoke at this time, speaking to the Niu brothers who still had a sense of luck and thought that they might not be discovered.
When Niu Youjin and Niu Youyin heard this, they almost slipped out of the grass on their knees: "Sir, spare your life! We are not the same as them!"
The two bowed their heads and kowtowed a few times. Then Niu Youjin turned to Sun and Huang and said, "Sun Shaoxia, Huang Shaoxia! If you still recognize us two brothers, please say a good word for us!"
When Sun Huang heard this, he was stunned.
Two seconds later, Huang Donglai took a few steps forward, raised a lantern and took a photo of the Niu brothers' faces: "Eh? They look a bit familiar."
It was normal that he couldn't remember it. He was someone he had only met once a few years ago. Moreover, the Niu brothers were all dressed up as mountain kings at the beginning and looked majestic. But now, not only were they dressed plainly, but they were also kneeling on the ground.
With a bitter look on his face, the contrast is a bit big.
"Young Master Huang, do you still remember Guofeng'ao and Jinyin Village?" Niu Youyin saw that the other party was impressed, so he quickly followed the pole and said a few words, "I also competed with your brother Buji in martial arts.
Na."
"Oh!" When the other party mentioned this, Sun Yixie, who was standing behind, remembered, "Who is it? Then what... gold feet and silver feet, right?" He laughed as he spoke and joked.
He said, "Huh...what? You have been the king of the mountain for a long time, so you come down to the grassroots level to remember the bitterness and sweetness, right?"
"No, no, no... Sun Shaoxia misunderstood..." Niu Youjin quickly denied it, and then began to explain.
The two brothers talked to each other and roughly told me what I mentioned above, that is, their experiences during this period. I, a storyteller, can't finish these things in a few sentences.
But they said it themselves, it was actually quite fast.
Not only that, they went on to explain why they were here today and their intention to get rid of the porters.
After Sun, Huang, the abbot and Haicangfeng heard this, Haicangfeng was the first to express doubts: "Brother Sun, Brother Huang, are the words of these two... credible?"
Both Sun and Huang understood that the life and death of the Niu brothers at this time depended on how they expressed their stance next, so they did not give a clear answer immediately.
"Hmm... it's hard to say." Huang Donglai touched his chin and pretended to read, "Back in Guofeng'ao, I, Brother Sun, and Buji were forced to do something by these two 'kings' using tripping ropes and arrow arrays.
We were invited back to the village to be guests, but fortunately it was nothing after that. We just had a friendly exchange, and then they gave us a few more horses and let us go."
"If they are as particular about what they do now as they were back then, it would be believable." Sun Yixie also pondered, "But looking at their desolate appearance..."
"Be fastidious! Absolutely fastidious!" Niu Youyin quickly answered loudly, "If you don't believe me, you can go to the town and ask around. It's a rule for us brothers these days... There are several families in the town who came to marry us.
!If we weren’t afraid of delaying the girl, we would have become someone’s son-in-law.”
"Hey, are they telling the truth?" At this time, the abbot, who had not spoken for a long time, slowly walked up to the last living porter, raised his chin with his gun, and asked.
Obviously, the reason why this man is still alive at this moment is not because the abbot cannot kill four people in an instant, but because the abbot wants to leave one alive for questioning.
"Da... Your Majesty Mingjian..." The porter finally recovered after this period of time. Although he had a few broken ribs, he could still speak, "It's all...all under the instigation of those two...
...Otherwise, how could we, the porters, have the guts to take advantage of you? It’s all them... these two brothers forced me to do it! Sir, please spare my life!"
"Hmph..." The abbot was happy when he heard this, "If you hadn't said that, maybe I would have spared your life." He paused, "Even if you said it... you are showing off to others in the town.
I met a few wealthy people today, and happened to be overheard by them, so they got interested and recruited you guys to join their gang. You couldn't resist the temptation for a while, so you followed... which is somewhat reasonable.
, but you have to pick yourself up completely."
puff--
The next second, the gun tip had penetrated the porter's heart.
"Then I will give you a gift today - the legs and teeth of the carriage shop, even if you are not guilty, you can kill him! You can keep it as a pastime on the road to hell." When the abbot finished speaking, he flicked his wrist and pulled back the spear.
In an instant, blood was flying everywhere, and the porter died.
But this was not over yet, the abbot's murderous intent did not subside, and he immediately walked towards Niu Youjin and Niu Youyin.
"Wait a minute!" Huang Donglai saw that this posture was wrong and quickly stopped in the middle.
"What? Do you really believe them?" The abbot looked at Huang Donglai and said coldly, "I can tell you clearly. Even if they tell the truth, if I kill them today, they will have no choice but to accept their fate."
The abbot is telling the truth. With his strength and character... people like the Niu brothers who waver in the "gray area" have always been willing to kill them whenever they wanted.
But Shuanghe and Abbot are different, they have more things to consider.
At this point, Sun Huang thought for a moment and realized: At least the chance of the Niu brothers lying about Shui Hanyi taking down the Jinyin Village and letting the two village owners go was very small, because this matter
It can be verified through many methods, and it is not difficult to verify.
That is to say, Shui Hanyi hopes that these two people are alive.
Shuang Xie and Mr. Shui have some friendship, not to mention that back in Jinyinzhai, between Shuang Xie and the Niu brothers... they also left each other a front line when talking and doing things.
Now this is the time to "see each other again in the future". It would not be very particular if we just kill them all.
"Brother Fang, don't be anxious." Sun Yixie also came to the abbot at this time and said with a smile, "If we go to Cangzhou, they may be really useful..."