While waiting at the door, Hu Ban thought about one thing clearly. Even if what he did was not shocking, it would still make him lose his head several times. The few people in the room were his only hope now!
Treason, horse theft, robbery... If you take out any of these three things at random, you will lose your head. Not to mention treason! That is a crime that can be executed by the whole family. How can Hu Ban not be afraid?
So, he thought about it.
No matter what Deng Ji asked him to do, he would agree.
Looking at the posture of Deng Ji and his gang, they could at least save his life.
Moreover, Hu Ban has a little bit of thought.
After this incident, he probably won't be able to stay in Gaoyangting any longer. Not to mention other things, the fact that so many fellow villagers were injured is enough to make him afraid to go out. And what's the use of staying in Chenliu? It seems like he
This kind of person who has no background, no reputation, no background, and no ability will hardly have any future. Hu Ban doesn't want to be like Hu Hua and stay in this small place for the rest of his life.
Join the army?
Hu Ban is not willing to go.
Yes, you can earn military merit by joining the army.
The problem is that he has to have that life to receive it. He is worthless, and even if he enters the military camp, he will be classified as cannon fodder, and he will probably die.
If Deng Ji and the others could take him in, they might have a chance.
Hu Ban firmly remembered Cao Peng's words just now. How can a person who can become a sworn sworn brother with Huben Zhonglang and his son be an ordinary person?
"Hu Ban, you have to think carefully."
Deng Ji looked solemn, "If you reveal your flaws, you will die without a burial place... But no one can save your life."
"The villain knows, but the villain is willing to give it a try."
"That's it, come here."
Deng Ji asked Hu Ban to go over and tell him the details in detail.
To put it simply, Hu Ban was asked to hold Lei Xu back for a day and a night. After a day and a night, he could make his own decision no matter what the situation was.
At the same time, Deng Ji and Puyang Kai discussed for a while and decided to send Zhou Cang to accompany Hu Ban.
"Uncle Zhou, everything that needs to be explained has been explained. Do you have any questions?"
Zhou Cang smiled slightly, "There is no doubt, but can Lei Xu believe it?"
"Whether Lei Xu can believe it depends on your ability, Uncle Zhou!"
"In that case, I'll go down and prepare."
After Zhou Cang said that, he turned around and walked out of the room.
Cao Peng looked at Zhou Cang's back and couldn't help but feel worried.
"Brother-in-law, will it be too dangerous for Uncle Zhou to do this?"
"The current plan is the only one that can hold Lei Xu back..."
Cao Peng nodded, walked to the desk in front of Deng Ji, picked up a drawing, and read it carefully by candlelight.
"Afu, why don't you go with someone else?"
Instead, he became a little nervous and advised softly: "If you follow the arrangement, it should be foolproof, so why would you take the risk?"
"Brother-in-law, everyone is taking risks, how can I step back?"
After Cao Peng finished speaking, he packed up the drawings.
"I will leave Daxiong and Second Brother's men here to guard. I will take Xiahou, Brother Hutou, and Uncle Zhou's men to take action.
You should be more careful. Once General Xiahou sends people over, you will take action immediately. I will wait for your signal in the mountains. As soon as you take action, I will immediately cooperate. Tell General Xiahou that if you see a fire in the mountains, you can attack the thunder.
Thousands of thoughts launch an attack."
Deng Ji thought for a while, sighed, and nodded in agreement.
Cao Peng wanted to go into the mountains, bypass Lutaigang, and hide behind Lei Xu.
From the bottom of his heart, Deng Ji certainly didn't want Cao Peng to go there. But think about it, he is physically disabled, otherwise he should be the leader of the team. Otherwise, if the risky things are left to the people below, how can morale be boosted?
This action is quite dangerous.
Fortunately, Cao Peng had just mastered martial arts, otherwise Deng Ji would not have agreed.
When Cao Peng went down to prepare, Deng Ji said to Puyang Kai: "Mr. Puyang, can you think of a way to prevent Ah Fu from taking risks?"
"this……"
"I'm really worried!"
Pu Yangkai could only console him by saying, "Uncle and Sun, as long as everything follows Youxue's plan, there will be no accidents."
"That's all!"
After Deng Ji finished speaking, he looked up to the sky and let out a long sigh.
Cao Peng changed his attire in the room, took off his white robe, and then put on a black short-breasted jacket. He covered it with a leather armor and tied it around his waist with a large cowhide leather belt.
. He collected everyone’s weapons, and asked the heroes from Tufu Mountain to each have a steel sword, and then put on Zhajia... The reason why he let the people from Tufu Mountain accompany him was, firstly, because of Zhou Cang’s recommendation, and secondly.
When Cao Peng came, he also considered that these people were bandits at the beginning, and they should be familiar with marching and fighting in the mountains.
On the other hand, although Xu Yi's men are all capable of fighting, they may not be suitable for such a battle in the mountains.
At this time, it was just dawn.
Cao Peng led the people out of Gaoyangtingyi.
"Afu, you have to be more careful."
Cao Peng smiled slightly, cupped his hands and said, "Brother-in-law, just don't worry."
With that said, he turned around and prepared to leave... At this moment, a group of men and horses from a distance rushed over like lightning.
Immediately, a young man with a black face shouted loudly with a look of surprise on his face: "Ah Fu, where are you going? What happened?" -
Lutaigang is located between Yongqiu County and Gaoyangting.
Honggou Water is first divided into two rivers in Junyi, one of which is called Sui River. It flows southeast all the way through Chenliu, Liangguo, Peiguo, to Xiapi County, and then enters Sishui River and then enters the Huaihe River. Lutaigang is located in Sui River.
Waterside. On one side is the surging river, on the other side there are undulating hills and towering old trees.
It was late autumn, and the branches and leaves of the ancient trees in Lutaigang were withered and yellow, and many of them had begun to wither.
Hu Ban and Zhou Cang drove a dozen horses along the smooth and gentle road into the mountains. They turned left and right, and after about an hour, they saw a hidden mountain valley. If there was no one to lead the way,
It is really not easy to find this mountain col. There are many natural caves in the col valley. As soon as Huban and his two men approached, two small groups of people rushed out from the dense forests on both sides and blocked the way.
"Hu Ban, why are you the only one coming back? Why didn't Brother Lei Cheng see you?"
Hu Ban quickly dismounted and bowed repeatedly.
"Brothers, I have something very important that I need to report to Brother Lei Xu. This is an uncle of mine who is from the same country, and he has brought very important news. Is Brother Lei Xu here? I would also like to invite some brothers.
Excuse me, please take care of these horses."
"That's it...come with me."
There was a bandit who looked like a small leader, waving towards Hu Ban and Zhou Cang.
The rest of the people came forward to lead the horses.
"Uncle Zhou, the three caves on your right are the stables."
As Hu Ban walked, he greeted the bandits he knew and lowered his voice to remind Zhou Cang.
"Behind that stone, there is a big cave, which is where Lei Xu usually discusses things. Several of their leaders usually live in that cave. Have you noticed that there is a person hidden behind the big tree at the entrance of the valley?
There are about a dozen people inside the cave. Even if someone evades the checkpoint outside and gets in, they can't escape their eyes... These people are very clever."
Zhou Cang had no expression on his face and just nodded inadvertently.
The two people walked all the way and came to the huge stone that Hu Ban was talking about.
After walking around the boulder, I saw a natural cave. It was pitch black and very deep... Walking inside, I saw the jagged rocks on the cave wall, giving people an eerie and terrifying feeling. Zhou Cang still acted very calm.
It seemed like I didn't feel the atmosphere at all.
After walking about two to three hundred meters, the cave suddenly opened up.
A cave of nearly a thousand square meters is like a hall.
On the surrounding walls, there were more than a dozen large sticks of tallow wax as thick as an arm stuck in. The flames were fluttering around, illuminating the hall with a bright light.
"Brother Lei Xu!"
Hu Ban had a bright smile on his face and walked a few steps quickly.
There are dozens of people in this hall.
There is a man sitting in the middle, he looks to be in his early forties.
He is not tall, has short limbs, and does not look too strong. He stands up with a stooped waist, like a giant monkey.
He was drinking when he saw Hu Ban coming in and narrowed his eyes.
"Hu Ban, are you back?" This person is Lei Xu.
He put down the wine bowl and forced a smile on his thin face, "Is the matter settled?"
"It's all done!"
"who is he?"
Hu Ban suddenly pointed at Zhou Cang and shouted sharply.
"Didn't I tell you not to bring people here easily?"
Hu Ban quickly explained, "Brother Lei Xu, don't get me wrong. This is an uncle of mine who has been wandering outside for more than ten years and just came back yesterday. If it weren't for my uncle's help, we would have been in trouble if we stole the horse yesterday. I
This uncle's name is Zhou Cang..."
"Zhou Cang?"
Lei Xu was startled and looked at Zhou Cang attentively, "Are you Zhou Cang?"
"You know me?"
Zhou Cang is from Guanzhong, but because he has been wandering in Nanyang County for many years, his accent has become more Nanyang accent. If you don't listen carefully, it is really difficult to hear his Guanzhong accent.
"Could it be Zhou Cang, the number one warrior under Qu Commander Wang Meng's command back then?"
Zhou Cang puffed up his chest and replied rather proudly: "It's exactly a certain family."
Lei Xu has heard of Zhou Cang's name, which is normal. During the Taiping Dao uprising, Wang Meng was the commander of Xiaoqu, while Bo Cai was the commander of Daqu. To put it bluntly, Bo Cai had a very high status, but Zhang Man was a pair
Wang Meng valued him very much and even taught Wang Meng a set of marksmanship.
Therefore, Bo Cai and Wang Meng also had dealings with each other.
Lei Xu was Bo Cai's subordinate, while Zhou Cang was Wang Meng's subordinate.
Speaking of which, the two people should have known each other. But because Bo was blocking the army in Yingchuan County, and Wang Meng followed Zhang Mancheng to attack Wancheng. Lei Xu and Zhou Cang had heard each other's names, but they had not really met each other.
So Lei Xu was very surprised when he heard Zhou Cang's name. He stood up, walked around the stone table, looked at Zhou Cang up and down for a long time, and then sat back down again.
“I’ve heard Zhou Cang’s name for a long time, and when I saw him today, he turned out to be a strong man.
But how do you know Hu Ban?"
Zhou Cang did not answer immediately, but stared at Lei Xu for a long time, "Are you Lei Xu, Lei Zijian, under Marshal Bo Cai?"
"Well……"
Lei Xu hesitated and didn't know how to answer.
"At that time, the commander-in-chief was killed by Qin Jie in Wancheng, and the army was defeated in all directions. Commander-in-Chief Qu and I were separated in the rebellious army... we were wandering around in order to escape for our lives. The situation at that time... Well, in order to avoid the pursuit of the officers and soldiers, I I fled from Wancheng to Runan, and then from Runan to Chenliu. Once I was targeted by Zhu Jun's men, who hunted me for three days and three nights. Fortunately, Xiaoban's father saved me, and I am still alive today... "
What Zhou Cang said is that it is watertight.
Lei Xu looked at Zhou Cang and did not interrupt his words.
"After I recovered from my injury, I went around asking about my brothers from back then.
By chance, I heard that my Qushuai was starting up business again near Xiangyang, so I rushed there... Who would have thought that it was not my Qushuai. When Liu Biao took over Jingzhou, he suppressed me and others. I and a group of brothers were there After the defeat, he fled to Tufu Mountain and settled down.
In May of this year, those bastards Liu Biao attacked Lang Ling and even killed Chief Lang Ling.
Cao Cao immediately launched an army to conquer and broke into Nanyang County from Queshan... As you know, Tufu Mountain is in Nanyang County. We were implicated and almost the entire army was wiped out. After I escaped with a group of brothers, I found that Nanyang no longer had a foothold for me. I want to go to Montenegro and join General Feiyan... I heard that General Feiyan is quite powerful now and has hundreds of thousands of troops under his command. I want to find a way out."
The general Feiyan mentioned by Zhou Cang was the adopted son of Zhang Niujiao, the northern commander of Taiping Road, named Chu Feiyan.
After Zhang Niujiao was killed in battle, Chu Feiyan changed his name to Zhang Yan, occupied Heishan, and was known as the Black Mountain Bandit. He was so powerful that even Yuan Shao had some scruples.
After listening to Zhou Cang's words, Lei Xu's alertness gradually disappeared.
Not many people know about Zhou Cang's experience in Tufu Mountain. However, the Taiping Dao uprising near Xiangyang is indeed true.
Later, everyone knew that Cao Cao invaded Nanyang County and conquered Huyang County.
However, since the vanguard of Cao's army was Wei Yan, they deliberately bypassed Tufu Mountain when they advanced, which did not cause any turmoil. Moreover, Lei Xu had been hiding in Lutaigang, and it was impossible to know what happened in Nanyang County. What Zhou Cang said was reasonable and made Lei Xu's doubts gradually dissipate. He looked at Zhou Cang, and after a while, he suddenly stood up and laughed.
"Brother Zhou, I am Lei Xu Lei Zijian!"
"I'm just telling you..." Zhou Cang also smiled, "When I heard my nephew mention your name, I felt it sounded a little familiar, and it turned out to be you."
After saying that, Zhou Cang and Lei Xu burst into laughter.
Previously, this cave was filled with an eerie murderous aura.
Huban seemed calm on the surface, but inside he was beating so hard that it felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his mouth.
Seeing that Lei Xu and Zhou Cang seemed to be having a good time over wine, Hu Ban finally felt relieved.
He hurriedly stepped forward and said with a flattering smile: "Brother Lei Xu, today you and my uncle reunited. This is a great thing and should be celebrated."
"It should be celebrated, it should be celebrated!"
Lei Xu still had a smile on his face. While holding Zhou Cang's hand, he suddenly asked: "Hu Ban, where is Lei Cheng? Why didn't he come back?"
"Brother Lei Cheng..."
"Oh, let me talk about this."
Zhou Cang interrupted Hu Ban and said to Lei Xu: "Brother, have you ever heard of the Wei family in Xiangyi?"
"Uh, are you talking about the Weizi Xu family?"
"Exactly!"
Wei Zi was a native of Xiangyi, Chenliu County.
When he was young, he was very virtuous, and he was later promoted to Xiaolian. He served as the cavalry general He Miao Zhengpi. Situ Yang Biao gave orders at home, but Weizi did not deserve to bepi. In the sixth year of Zhongping, Dong Zhuo rebelled. Cao Cao passed through Chenliu and met Weizi.
They met each other, and Wei Zi helped with his family wealth, so that Cao Cao was able to start a rebellion and recruit 5,000 troops. In the first year of Chuping, Wei Zi accompanied Cao Cao in his crusade against Dong Zhuo, and was attacked by Dong Zhuo's general Xu Rong in Bianshui, Xingyang...
Wei Zi fought a bloody battle for a day, but was finally defeated and killed by Xu Rong.
It can be said that Wei Zi was the first person to follow Cao Cao, and even encountered Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan.
After Cao Cao gained power, he was very kind to the descendants of Wei Zi and promised them many conveniences. The Wei family also rose in Xiangyi!
Lei Xu is in Chenliu County now, how could he not know about Wei Zi?
He wondered: "What happened to the Wei family?"
"On the way here, I heard that the Wei family had prepared a batch of baggage and horses to be sent to Chenliu County."
"Is there such a thing?"
"I was living happily in Tufu Mountain, but I was ruined by Cao Cao. My brothers suffered heavy casualties, with only a few dozen brothers left.
If I don't express this tone, I will have to hold back something. I originally planned to rob the Wei family's goods on the way. Unexpectedly, I met your brother at my nephew's house. When your brother heard about it, he said
You want to act with me. So after we looted Gaoyang Pavilion, your brother took his people and my people to ambush, preparing to kill him when the Wei family's goods arrived."
"What kind of goods does the Wei family have?"
"I heard there are three hundred sets of armor and fifty swords.
In addition, there are more than sixty war horses...To be honest, my brother is enough to eat this batch of goods, but your brother refuses and insists on joining."
Lei Xu heard this and fell into deep thought.
"Lao Zhou, when can we get the Wei family's goods?"
"Calculate the time, either tonight or early tomorrow morning, we will pass Gaoyang Pavilion."
"Are you...really sure of eating them?"
Zhou Cang was immediately furious, "Lei Zijian, I killed a river of blood in Nanyang back then. Didn't my brother go through hundreds of battles and come out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood? How dare you underestimate me? I tell you,
If my nephew hadn't begged me, I would have done this myself."
With Zhou Cang's anger, his whole body suddenly became murderous.
If you haven't been to the battlefield, you can't understand how terrifying his murderous intent is.
Lei Xu also stood up and stared at Zhou Cang.
The thieves in the hall looked at the two of them nervously, which scared Hu Ban so much that his hands and feet became weak.
After a long time, Lei Xu suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed.
"You old Zhou, why are you so ignorant of humor? I just made a joke..."
"Hmph, all of my brothers can be as good as ten."
"That's nature, that's nature."
Lei Xu spoke and stepped forward to hold Zhou Cang down.
"Who doesn't know that you, Lao Zhou, are famous for being able to fight..." After Lei Xu said this, the conversation suddenly changed, "But what are you going to do with so many goods? Chen Liujun is Cao Cao's confidant Xia Houyuan who is out of town.
If Xia Houyuan knew about it, how could he let it go? You are really too conspicuous with so many things. It may not be easy to leave Chenliu County."
Zhou Cang said: "I just wanted to vent my anger. I have no interest in that batch of goods at all."
"Old Zhou, I'll discuss it with you... How about you give me the things? I don't want it in vain. Not only will I help you leave Chenliu, but I will also give you a pair of fish scale armor. Haha, that's a good thing.
, I snatched it from a thief when I was in Dongjun."
Fish scale armor was also an extremely precious armor in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.
Ordinary generals cannot equip them at all. Zhou Cang could not help but narrow his eyes and stared at Lei Xu for a long time.
"I've heard a long time ago that you, Lei Zijian, plucked the goose's hair. When I saw it today, it turned out to be true! Haha, just as you said, let's make a deal."
