Xuanzhen, northwest of Huailai, on the river valley east of Tietou Valley.
Zhang Cheng watched as more than ten cavalrymen were approaching gradually. Ten of them were his bodyguards at night. The leader was Niu Sheng. There were four other cavalrymen whom he did not recognize.
When Liu Quan saw the person coming here, he hurriedly rushed to greet him. The four horsemen on the other side ran in front of Liu Quan, reined in their horses, stopped, turned over and dismounted, and fell to the ground. Niu Sheng and others rode their horses to guard the surroundings.
Especially the big monkey, whose face couldn't help but tremble.
After a while, Liu Quan led a man to Zhang Cheng. When the man saw Zhang Cheng, he immediately knelt down and placed a cloth bag with his hands, which was still dripping with blood.
I heard him say in a deep voice: "Zhao Liang from Xiaoxiao Valley pays homage to the general. Here is the head of Hu Sihai, the head of Beiliang, presented by Zhao Shihu at Muzhaojian. Please check it with the general."
Zhang Cheng looked coldly at Zhao Liang who was kneeling on the ground, waved his hand, and Sun Dashan stepped forward, took out the cloth bag and opened it, and suddenly a head appeared inside.
Although the head was stained with blood, it could still be seen that he was young, probably no more than thirty years old. There was a fresh cut on the right side of his face, which still couldn't hide the handsomeness on his face.
.
Sun Dashan took a few glances at the head, then turned to Zhang Cheng and said, "General, it is indeed the old thief Hu Sihai from Beiliangtou."
"Zhao Shihu, where are you now?" Zhang Cheng asked in a deep voice.
Zhao Liang was still kneeling on the ground and replied: "Without the general's permission, Zhao Shihu is still waiting outside Tietou Valley."
…………
Outside the Xiyu Gate of Tietou Valley, a strong middle-aged man with naked upper body with exposed veins and several finger-thick iron bars was seen on his back.
He was walking into the valley gate kneeling step by step. Behind him, there were thirty-seven men, all like him, naked and carrying iron bars, kneeling before moving forward. However, they all only had one iron bar on their bodies.
Although the spring breeze was not as cold as the winter wind, it was still extremely cold when it blew on the naked bodies. Some of them were shivering, but they still insisted on kneeling and worshiping all the way.
After entering the Xiyu Gate, I knelt down and walked for more than 500 steps before arriving at the meeting hall of Tietouyu. Dozens of armored sergeants stood on both sides of the gate, looking majestic and solemn.
They exuded a strong murderous aura that only the elites of hundreds of battles had, which made Zhao Shihu and more than 30 people feel a little scared.
I heard Zhao Shihu's rough voice shouting outside the hall door:
"Zhao Shihu, the fleeing army from Longmen, mistakenly believed that the evil bandit Hu Sihai was instigating him and mistakenly attacked General Zhang's sergeants. Now he repented and specifically killed the evil bandit Hu Sihai and held a thorn to plead guilty.
I beg General Zhang to disregard his past grievances and allow Zhao Shihu to serve under his command. He will definitely repay him with death and will not regret it for the rest of his life. Heaven and earth will serve as a warning. If he has second thoughts, he will be willing to be punished by thousands of arrows piercing his heart!"
Zhang Cheng sat steadily on the Taishi chair in the middle of the hall. He just felt that the chair was so damn comfortable. He was wondering if he could ask old man Shi Tiegen to add a few simple springs and make a cotton pad to transform it into a sofa.
Wouldn’t it be more comfortable!
When Zhao Shihu outside the hall shouted for the third time, Zhang Cheng waved his hand, and Chen Zhong standing next to him shouted loudly: "Open the door!"
"Squeak..."
The door of the Tietouyu Assembly Hall was opened. Zhang Cheng sat majestically in the Grand Master's chair. In front of him was a large iron table. His generals sat on both sides of the hall. Behind them were all wearing iron armor.
There are no sergeants on duty at night.
"General Zhang Cheng of the Xuanzhen Guerrilla Guard on the North Road sent word that Zhao Shihu of Muzhajian Village had arrived." Chen Zhong still stood beside Zhang Cheng and shouted loudly.
Zhao Shihu was seen struggling to cross the slightly high threshold and enter the hall. He lay down at the door without saying a word, kowtowing his head.
Zhang Cheng saw that the time was ripe and had basically subdued Zhao Shihu, so he stood up from the Grand Master's chair. When everyone saw Zhang Cheng standing up, how could they dare to continue sitting there? They all stood up.
At the same time, all the armored sergeants standing in the hall turned around in unison, all their eyes focused on Zhao Shihu. A "clang, clang" sound of armor leaves shaking echoed throughout the hall.
After Zhang Cheng stood up, he slowly walked to Zhao Shihu and looked at him quietly. Zhao Shihu did not dare to raise his head, but lowered his head lower.
Seeing this, Zhang Cheng bent down, stretched out his hands to help Zhao Shihu up, and said: "Zhao Zhai Master, please get up quickly."
Zhao Shihu, who was kneeling on the ground, heard that Zhang Cheng still called him "Zhao Village Master", so he didn't dare to get up. However, Zhang Cheng stretched out his hand to lift him up, and he didn't dare to resist, so he had to get up and look on his face.
Full of fear.
He stood up with fear on his face. The bigger the smile on Zhang Cheng's face became, the more frightened he felt in his heart.
Zhang Cheng looked at Zhao Shihu and said to him in a deep voice: "Zhao Shihu, when you were trying to kill my general's soldiers on the official road, you were deceived by Hu Sihai's man. Now you have repented. I, general
Why are you so stingy?"
Looking at the frightened Zhao Shihu, Zhang Cheng continued: "You will be exempted from the punishment. I have a task for you here. Do you dare to go?"
Here, Zhao Shihu had a confused look on his face. When Zhang Cheng helped him up, he felt that he had forgiven and accepted him, but the words "Master Zhao..." made him immediately feel confused.
But later when Zhang Cheng called his name again and said that he was not that stingy, he felt a little at ease, but he was always uneasy. He thought: Even if he had made up his mind to follow the General Zhang Cheng in front of him, what else could he do?
Hesitant.
With this in mind, he took a step back, with a "plop", and fell to the ground again, with his head bent, and said in a deep voice: "General, I, Zhao Shihu, am a rough man. Although I am usually more cunning, I do it to survive.
Brothers can have enough to eat;
Since I have come to seek refuge with the general today, I will never have any second thoughts. I will kill and behead according to the general's will. If the general doesn't abandon me and takes us in, but if I have the motivation, I will never retreat. Even if I am thrown into a sea of swords, mountains of fire, and nine deaths, I will never take a step back.
;
Zhao Shihu from Huanjian is willing to stay by the general's side and serve him forever, and he will go through fire and water for the general without any hesitation!"
Zhang Cheng looked at him and said in a deep voice: "Although Hu Sihai from Beiliangtou has been conferred, there are still bandits gathering in his stronghold. If we don't take advantage of the situation and eliminate them, they will eventually endanger the place.
General, I am sending you to lead the army to flatten the head of Beiliang, do you dare to go?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shihu knelt down on one knee, cupped his fists and saluted, saying: "General, please sit still here and wait for the news. Shihu will definitely return before dark."
"slow!"
Zhang Cheng stopped him, turned to Chen Zhong and said, "Chen Zhong, take Baiqi and go with Brother Zhao."
After Chen Zhong accepted the order, Zhang Cheng further ordered: "Sun Dashan, please arrange for some men and carts to accompany you. Chen Zhong, there is no need to keep the Beiliang head. The old bandits in the village can be dealt with on the spot, leaving no one behind."
The other bandits, the captured military households nearby, and the common people can bring back the money, grain, and other supplies in the village, and bring them all back to Laiaoyu."
…………
Zhang Cheng looked at the retreating figures of Chen Zhong and Zhao Shihu and ordered Liu Quan: "Prepare food and drinks to celebrate Zhao Shihu's success tonight."