Many things in this world are both coincidence and necessity.
When various forces launch operations in the same area, there is a high probability that these operations will collide with each other.
*
In ancient times, it was taboo for both the army and the people to travel overnight, but Ouyang Bo, Qian Bodao, and Guo Min, in order to join Huo Zhengyuan as soon as possible, did not care about such a thing. Not only did they travel overnight, but they also worked hard, hoping
We can arrive in time when Nanjing City opens its gates tomorrow morning.
Fortunately, the official road in southern Zhili was well repaired. It was spacious, straight, and solid and flat, allowing carriages to run freely, so the trip went smoothly at the beginning.
However, when they finally entered the jurisdiction of Nanjing, the speed of their journey suddenly slowed down.
Ouyang Bo noticed that something was wrong. He immediately opened the curtain of the carriage and asked the driver: "What's going on? Why did the speed suddenly slow down?"
The coachman quickly replied: "For some reason, the road suddenly became muddy... Water kept pouring out from the northwest and spread to the official road. It must be the plum rain season. It rained yesterday."
Ouyang Bo, however, had a sharp temper and immediately shook his head and said: "No way! If it rains, it is also raining in Suzhou, and the terrain is even lower, so why is it not as muddy as here?"
After saying that, Ouyang Bo tried his best to look into the distance under the moonlight, and sure enough he found that water was pouring out from the northwest and spreading near the official road, and the water potential was gradually expanding.
"Is there another heavy rain in the northwest? It doesn't look like the sky..."
Ouyang Bo murmured to himself.
In the carriage, Guo Min, who was sitting aside, asked: "Do you want to send someone to the northwest to investigate? I also feel that something is wrong."
Qian Bodao shook his head and said: "Don't be distracted, our top priority is to rush to Nanjing City to meet up with Academician Huo."
After Ouyang Bo thought for a moment, he ordered: "Let's not stop, let's continue on the road with all our strength, and rush to Nanjing as soon as possible. But at the same time, we also arranged for two smart people to investigate the situation along the direction of the spread of the water... The water is so strong,
Just don’t let it be a flood! The situation in South Zhili is already complicated enough. If another flood suddenly breaks out at this time, I’m afraid it will be..."
Following Ouyang Bo's instructions, two escorts left the team, left the official road, and ran towards the northwest.
And in their northwest direction, more than ten miles away, is the location of the embankment that the "Chaofeng" soldiers are digging with all their strength!
*
At the same time, Hu Xiao and his dozen or so pirate desperadoes, who were following the front team from afar, also discovered the situation of the front team.
"Boss Hu, two people in the front team broke away from the team and left the official road. They seemed to be heading to the northwest, but the distance was too far and the night was too dark. We couldn't see the specific situation clearly, and we don't know the two people who left the team.
Who are the people...what should we do? Should we allocate manpower to follow those two people?"
A desperado asked Hu Xiao.
Hu Xiao had a solemn expression and frowned.
He also discovered that the road was too muddy, but there were no dark clouds in the night sky within his field of vision. It was obviously not raining in the nearby area, so where did a large amount of water gush out and spread to the official road?
Most importantly, and for some unknown reason, Hu Xiao felt a sense of crisis gradually emerging deep in his heart, as if danger was approaching him, and as if he was unconsciously and proactively approaching the danger.
This sense of crisis has no reason, it just comes from instinctive premonition, but Hu Xiao has always believed in his premonition, because this premonition has helped him avoid several crises.
After thinking for a moment, Hu Xiao ordered: "Gao Dayan! You have the most alert temperament and good eyesight. It's up to you to keep an eye on the two people who left the team to see what they want to do... I remind you, you must Make sure you keep your whereabouts hidden, and would rather lose them than expose yourself... I always feel that something is wrong, but I just can't explain it..."
After hearing Hu Xiao's instructions, a short, small-eyed desperado immediately agreed, then left the team and quickly disappeared to the northwest of the official road.
This "Tall Eyes" is obviously a short man with small eyes, but he still has the nickname "Tall Eyes" because this person is actually one of the pirates in the South Seas.
The so-called "head" refers to the person who stands at the top of the mast to look at the sea conditions when the ship is sailing. He needs to detect changes in the sea conditions and nearby ships as soon as possible. Therefore, only those who have excellent eyesight, alert personality, and can operate for a long time Only those who stay focused are qualified to take on the responsibility.
Therefore, by handing over the task of tracking alone to this tall guy, Hu Xiao can feel at ease a little bit.
*
Just when Ouyang Bo, Hu Xiao and others noticed the abnormality, Lu De and Jiang Xiao continued to test each other near the northwest dike.
"How long has this 'Chaofeng' organization been established?"
Hearing Lu De's inquiry, Jiang Xiao shook his head and said: "I don't know, but when I joined the 'Chaofeng' six or seven years ago, the organization was still very small..."
Six or seven years ago!
After hearing this number, Lu De's expression kept changing.
Six or seven years ago, many things happened in the government and the public.
At that time, the current crown prince Zhu Heyu had just secured his throne, but he had clearly shown his rejection and displeasure with the former crown prince and grand master He Ming, so He Ming quickly resigned from Emperor Deqing and returned home. I went to teach at Yingtian Academy.
The imperial mental skills that He Ming taught to the prince Zhu Heyu were certainly not in line with Zhu Heyu's temperament at the time, but He Ming's personal charm was extremely high. It stands to reason that Zhu Heyu should not be so repulsive anyway, and must be Because of being provoked in private.
In short, some people hope that Zhu Heyu can continue to remain "simple" and "kind" and do not want Zhu Heyu to learn more from He Ming.
At that time, Emperor Deqing was also considering canonizing the seventh prince Zhu Hejian as a vassal king, and asking him to stay away from the center of the capital and go to the fiefdom to sit in charge. From that time, Zhu Hejian suddenly became more frail and sickly.
In addition, Zhu Heyu and Zhu Hejian had a deep brotherly relationship and repeatedly appealed to Emperor Deqing for mercy. This is why Zhu Hejian, the older prince, has not been canonized and has been stranded in the center of the capital.
It was also during that time that the famous gangsters "Eight Xiaos" who had been operating in the three provinces of Shandong, Huguang and Nanzhili for many years were arrested one after another. Except for Hu Xiao, the leader of the eight gangsters, who was missing, the other seven gangsters were all detained. When he went to the capital, he was beaten and executed by the officials in public!
As he kept thinking in his mind, Lu De turned his head again and looked at Jiang Xiao, who had a mouth as loose as a belt and answered everything. He asked another sensitive question: "Your name is Jiang Xiao, but...
I don’t know which word it is? Xiao unrestrained Xiao? Spring night’s night? Or Shengxiao’s Xiao?”
Jiang Xiao was still unprepared, and answered directly with a smile: "No, it's the leader's owl, the leader's owl!"
Although he had already guessed in his mind, Lu De still never expected that Jiang Xiao would answer his question so directly.
Lu De couldn't help but his expression changed again, and asked slowly: "Looking at your age, you must be in your forties, right? But I don't know what you did before joining the 'Chaofeng'?"
Jiang Xiao said slowly: "A soldier! Before I was thirty years old, I had been the Ye Bushou of Liaodong Town, and I had good military exploits. I personally killed two Tatars, and also served as the chief flag officer. I once also
I had a great chance to join the Liaodong cavalry, but it was a pity... Once the Jurchens from Jianzhou came to invade, and seeing that the Tatars were about to attack the city gate, I led my people to quickly lock the city gate, and also blocked some Liaodong people who wanted to escape into the city.
The people blocked the outside of the city and watched helplessly as they were slaughtered by the Tatars!
This kind of thing was nothing at first. It was not only commonplace, but also considered the overall situation. The people were as lowly as grass and grass. The people in Liaodong were especially worthless. No one cared about their life or death. But among the people in Liaodong who were killed by the Tatars that time,
There were a few people with good backgrounds, so I took the blame, and some were jealous that I was too pushy in the past, so they added insult to injury...
But I was not willing to sit back and wait for death, so I slaughtered all the villains who had made trouble at night, including a Liaodong hundred householder, and then escaped from the Liaodong defense zone! Mr. Lu, you also know that several major border towns in the imperial court have been
There were countless deserters, so after I escaped from Liaodong Town, I met a few people in a similar situation soon after, and we had a similar spirit, so we became sworn brothers, and then I fell into the trap of becoming a bandit."
Jiang Xiao's detailed introduction is simply saying that he was one of the "Eight Xiaos" back then.
As far as Lu De knew, five of the "Eight Owls" back then had military backgrounds in border towns.
Because Jiang Xiao's answer was too direct, Lu De was at a loss for a while and did not even dare to ask further.
Lu De was a little worried that if he continued to ask questions, Jiang Xiao would directly tell him some top-secret information that he should not know yet.
But after Jiang Xiao saw the change in Lu De's expression, his attitude became more polite and said: "Mr. Lu, if you want to know anything else, just keep asking me...I will definitely answer everything I know and won't hide anything."
Lu De immediately shook his head and said, "I don't have anything to ask anymore. I'm just chatting to pass the time... Your Excellency is too frank, so I don't dare to talk to you in depth."
Jiang Xiao shrugged and said with a faint smile: "But I haven't finished talking yet! Since Mr. Lu doesn't want to ask me again, how about I ask Mr. Lu? I know everything about Mr. Lu, so I can't answer it.
Mr. Lu should also be honest with me, this is fair, right?"
Afterwards, Jiang Xiao did not wait for Lu De's response and asked directly: "I don't know, Mr. Lu, why do you want to surrender to His Highness the Seventh Prince? Of course, the Seventh Prince is the future prince, and it is normal to want to surrender to him, but Mr. Lu
There are too many bargaining chips on the Seventh Prince, right?"
Jiang Xiao's questioning attitude was too aggressive, which made Lu De frown and look dissatisfied.
But in the end, Lu De still turned to stare at Jiang Xiao and replied slowly: "Why do you want to serve the Seventh Prince? You also said that the Seventh Prince is the future prince. No matter how much money you invest in him, you will never lose money.
! What's more, His Highness the Seventh Prince is a wise master, and assisting him has always been my wish!"
Lude is lying!
After hearing Lu De's answer, Jiang Xiao immediately concluded this!
Over the years, Jiang Xiao has gradually mastered a method of inferring other people's emotions.
According to later generations, this method is "micro-expression psychology".
Shaking your shoulders is most likely because you are not confident when speaking. Putting your hand on your forehead is most likely to hide your inner shame. Scratching your nose with your hand is most likely that you are lying. Inadvertently tilting your body to distance the two parties is most likely that you are lying. Maintaining a surprised expression for more than
There is a high probability that it is disguise for a moment...
Jiang Xiao has already mastered a lot of relevant experience.
Overall, Lu De performed well and controlled his body reactions very well. He did not shake his shoulders, raise his hands to scratch his nose, or move his body to increase the distance between the two parties...
But after all, Lu De was still young and had no relevant experience, so he still exposed two flaws.
First, when Lu De answered the question, he did not avoid his gaze and looked directly at Jiang Xiao, as if he wanted to prove that he had a clear conscience.
But according to Jiang Xiao’s experience, this kind of direct gaze often means that the relevant answers have been prepared in the heart, and there is a high probability that he is lying!
The second is that Lu De subconsciously repeated Jiang Xiao's inquiry before answering the question in detail.
According to Jiang Xiao's experience, this situation means that Lu De is guilty of guilt and wants to use this method of repeating questions to buy himself time to sort out his emotions. There is a high probability that he is lying.
Therefore, based on these two points alone, Jiang Xiao can basically conclude that Lu De is most likely lying!
However, it’s just “basic” and “high probability”.
This method of judgment can be effective eight or nine times out of ten, but after all, there may still be one or two mistakes.
What's more, there are many reasons for lying. Even if Lu De doesn't really want to serve the Seventh Prince, it doesn't mean that he has other motives and is not well-intentioned.
Therefore, Jiang Xiao was ready to continue questioning.
After three or five more questions and answers, Jiang Xiao could roughly figure out Lu De's true position.
However, just when Jiang Xiao wanted to continue asking questions, and just when Lu De wanted to refuse to answer, suddenly a "Chaofeng" dead soldier came running from a distance.
After running in front of Jiang Xiao, the "Chaofeng" soldier quickly reported: "Master Xiao, two people came from the official road in the southeast and are heading straight to us. They are only three to five miles away from us."
!Although I don’t know the specific origins of these two people and why they acted overnight, it should be that too much water poured out of several cracks caused by our excavation of the dam. This water has spread to the nearby official road in the distance, so let them
These two people discovered something unusual, so they came to investigate the situation!"
After hearing this, Jiang Xiao's face immediately darkened, and he waved his hand and ordered: "Catch them immediately! Torture them to torture them about their origins and intentions! We must not let anyone discover the truth about the construction of the dam!"
The "Chaofeng" dead soldier nodded, then turned around and left quickly.
After being interrupted by this incident, Jiang Xiao had no intention of testing Lu De again.
From Jiang Xiao's point of view, he will still have a long time and many opportunities to continue testing Lu De in the future, so there is no need to rush. The top priority now is to eliminate hidden dangers and never let anyone find out that they dug up the dam.
What happened next was natural.
The two people who came to the nearby area to investigate the situation were naturally Ouyang Bo, Qian Bodao, and Guo Min. Although they also knew some martial arts, they could never be the opponents of the "Chaofeng" dead soldier.
Therefore, when the "Chaofeng" dead man took action, he quickly captured these two people alive, quickly interrogated them about their origins and intentions, and then immediately reported the relevant information to Jiang Xiao.
However, even the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers did not notice that while they were acting, there was a Nanyang pirate lurking in the distance, and he saw all their actions.
*
"Huo Zhengyuan's staff are near the route? Did they find anything unusual?"
After hearing the news, Jiang Xiao was thoughtful.
Jiang Xiao still remembered that the last task given to him by the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian was to inflict heavy casualties on the people around Huo Zhengyuan, so that Huo Zhengyuan could be completely scared out of his wits.
Jiang Xiao did not expect that just over a day later, he would meet Huo Zhengyuan's staff again.
The "Chaofeng" soldier who reported the news asked: "Master Xiao, what should we do next? Because there have been cracks in the dam and the water has gradually spread to the vicinity of the official road, causing the road to be muddy, Huo Zhengyuan's aides have also
It was an overnight operation, so they must not have gone far yet. Should we..."
While speaking, the "Chaofeng" dead man stretched out his palm and waved it downwards, obviously with the intention of killing and silencing him.
Seeing this "Chaofeng" dead man openly discussing the matter of killing and silencing in front of him, Lu De frowned and said, "It's not necessary to kill and silence, right? Huo Zhengyuan's aides only noticed some abnormalities and did not discover more truth.
, we just need to silence those two spies!"
On the other side, Jiang Xiao turned to look at the embankment that the "Chaofeng" soldiers were digging with all their strength.
At this moment, under the continuous digging of the "Chaofeng" soldiers, several cracks have appeared in the embankment. Due to the impact of water pressure and water flow, these cracks are still expanding rapidly, and gravels continue to fall from the cracks.
Fall nearby.
Obviously, this dike can no longer hold on for long and may completely collapse at any time, causing a burst and floods.
After seeing this situation, Jiang Xiao sneered: "This dam will collapse soon, and then a flood will be released... Since Huo Zhengyuan's staff have not gone far, they must experience this first-hand.
There is a flood. Even if we don't take action, they may not have a chance to escape this disaster. If we send people to kill them, the people who take action will be affected by the flood, which may cause unnecessary losses...
So there is no need to send anyone to take action, but I urge those on the embankment to speed up their actions. I will see the rolling river water rushing out of the embankment within a quarter of an hour!"
And just as Jiang Xiao was giving these instructions, the Nanyang pirate whose name was "Tall Eyes" was also secretly tracking the "Chaofeng" dead soldier and lurking nearby.
Then, Gao Daeye saw with horror the crumbling embankment that might completely collapse at any time, as well as the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers who were trying their best to dig down the embankment.
Once the river breaks its banks, everything within twenty or thirty miles downstream will quickly become a vast ocean!
Gao Dayan was so frightened that he naturally did not dare to stay. He quickly turned around and ran back, wanting to inform Hu Xiao of the news immediately.
…
PS: In the previous chapter, when Jiang Xiao appeared, Chongzi was distracted and subconsciously began to think about the follow-up treatment of the character Jiang Zheng. As a result, he wrote several wrong names and wrote Lu De as Jiang Zheng. Now it has been revised.
Please refresh and you will see the correct content. I'm very sorry.
