Chapter 16 The Flea on the Drum and the Spark Returning to the Mountain Part 1
That night, after the banquet was over, Chao Gai sent another group of men in disguise to go down to the mountain stronghold. While inquiring about the whereabouts of those people and horses, they also inquired about Song Jiang's whereabouts, and also brought some news about Lei Heng and Zhu Dian.
Early in the morning of the next day, when Shi Jin and others met Wu Yong again, Wu Yong pointed out a foolproof plan on the map. However, it was easy to cross the prefectures and prefectures before. In Shangzhou, there was no way.
Wu Yong said: "I will send Ruan Xiaoer to take some people to take you by boat along the Luo River. When you reach Shangzhou, there is no waterway, and it is not far from Huayin County. You wait until nightfall before walking. If there are officials along the way, When asked by the army, you said they were troops sent from Jingzhao Prefecture to assist in the defense. Here is a deployment document I forged. You should take it with you. If the investigation is tight and there is disclosure, just take advantage of it. Just rush all the way to Tianse," Wu Yong said and handed the fake dispatch document into Yang Zhi's hand.
Yang Zhi put the documents away and asked: "People can get on the boat, but what about the horses?"
Wu Yong smiled and said: "This is easy to say, I have it all in my mind. You just bring the armaments and take the boat. I will send the White Rat and a few other brothers to pretend to be horse traders and bring the horses to Shangzhou. Go, and when the time comes, they will be with you."
"This is a great idea," Lu Zhishen nodded repeatedly.
At this moment, a minion from outside reported in and said: "Several leaders, the big bosses, please go to the Juyi Hall. There is a person coming from the mountain. There is something important to report."
Shi Jin and Wu Yong looked at each other, and they both said in unison: "Brother Song Jiang," and then they strode up to the Juyi Hall with Yang Zhi and Lu Zhishen.
When they arrived at the hall, they saw a young man sitting there eating tea. King Chao Tianwang was accompanying him, and he kept asking the waiters to bring snacks to the young man. Chao Gai saw Shi Jin and others coming. , immediately stood up and said: "You are here, let's see who is here,"
Shi Jin stared at it. The young man also drank a few sips of tea and endured his initial hunger. He then raised his head. The two people's eyes met. He couldn't help but feel happy in his heart. The young man stood up in a hurry. Rushing to Shi Jin, the two of them bumped chests and put their arms around each other. Shi Jin said happily: "Shi Qian, Shi Qian, I've been looking forward to the stars and the moon, and finally I've got you back. It's been a hard journey along the way. Didn't you have any trouble?"
When Shi Qian met Shi Jin, he felt like a child who had run away from home met his mother. He was extremely happy at the time. He said hello repeatedly and said: "Except for the fatigue of the carriage and horses, the rest is nothing to worry about. The officers and soldiers will check." It's a little tight, but with my ability, how could they check it?" After saying that, he took out a bronze medal from his arms and weighed it in his hand. It still had some weight. Everyone came forward to take a look. It was embossed with this The three characters "Damingfu", when turned over, are the two characters "Neifu".
Yang Zhi recognized this sign. When he was in Daming Mansion, he often saw it. It was the waist sign used by Liang Zhongshu in his inner palace. It was very popular when it was displayed in the surrounding states and counties. At that time, Liang Zhongshu sent The old housekeeper who was traveling with Yang Zhi had one, but how could such a thing fall into the hands of this young man? Could it be that this young man had some unknown background? Yang Zhi and Lu Zhishen were not familiar with the times. Although I had heard Shi Jin talk about it these days, I was still puzzled at the moment.
"How come...this is in your hands?" Chao Gai asked with a smile.
"Here, you all open your eyes wide and take a look," Shi Qian said, playing with the bronze medal between his fingers. With the medal between his five fingers, a series of phantoms spun out, flying up and down faster and faster. At the end, there was only a grayish-yellow shadow, and it was hard to distinguish the cards from the fingers. Just when everyone was stunned, Shi Qian also added more footwork and started to walk quickly among the people. Seeing Shi Qian deliberately showing off his abilities, Shi Jin couldn't help but reveal a proud smile at the corner of his mouth.
Just when everyone was watching Shi Qian's every move and watching what tricks the young man could finally pull off, Shi Qian suddenly stopped when he walked among the people, raised his hands above his head, The palm was opened wide, and there was nothing inside, including the bronze medal.
Hey, everyone couldn't help but let out an incredible exclamation when they looked at it.
Shi Qian smiled proudly, walked to Yang Zhi quietly, and said, "Brother, I haven't asked for your name yet."
Yang Zhi quickly smiled and said: "I am Yang Zhi, known as the Green Faced Beast in the world. This is Lu Zhishen, the flower monk who is famous in the world."
Shi Qian and the two of them bowed to each other, and Shi Qian said, "Brother Yang, could you please take the bronze medal out of your arms and show it to everyone?"
After hearing this, Yang Zhi was shocked and said: "How..." After saying that, he put his hand into his arms. He didn't believe it at first, but after touching it like this, it turned out that it was really in his arms. Yang Zhi took it out and returned it. He held Qian's hand in his hand and couldn't believe his eyes, and said: "Just now, I was clearly watching you closely, how come you put it in my arms, but I didn't even notice at all,"
Shi Qian smiled and said: "This is a special skill passed down from my ancestors, 'Miaoshou Kongkong'. I got this waist badge from an official on the way. Not to mention how useful it was along the way." , with the power of Liang Zhongshu, no one asked me a question. At first, I didn't dare to go to that yamen. Later, I realized how powerful this waist card was. Whenever I got there, I went straight to the county yamen. Those dog officials naturally arranged for delicacies from the mountains and seas. You can keep me company, eat and drink, and you can get a lot of money in the end. You can use it as you like with the government's fast horses. So, I went a little slower, but I came back more than twice as fast."
"What a smart head," Wu Yong praised.
Shi Jin also nodded approvingly and said: "My good brother not only has a quick mind and a pair of wonderful hands, but also has a good body. He can fly over the walls and float on the water. All of that is not a problem."
"So amazing, he is also a genius," Lu Zhishen praised.
Shi Qian was suddenly praised by so many people, and he felt embarrassed immediately. After all, although the young man was crazy, he couldn't stand such shame. He blushed slightly at the moment, and his heart was full of joy.
After everyone said a few words about this, they all sat down and talked about business. Shi Jin asked with great concern: "What is the current situation in Huazhou?"
Shi Qian put away his playful demeanor and said with a serious face: "Huazhou is now surrounded by officers and soldiers on three levels inside and three outside. I took advantage of the night to fly out like 'wings'. "
"This...I have heard about it. I heard that the imperial court has ordered several surrounding states to send troops," Shi Jin said.
Shi Qian nodded and said: "Not long after we left, Zheng County lacked soldiers and horses to guard it. As the capital of a state, it had all the food, grass and weapons available, so the military advisor Zhu Wu sent Kui Er and his men to sneak into the city. He went and secretly assassinated the magistrate of Zheng County at night, and then set fires all over the city according to Zhu Wu's plan. As an internal agent, he opened the city gate and let go of Chen Da and other generals who were ambushing outside the city. He rushed into the city, recruited 800 soldiers, and obtained a large amount of weapons, food, and gold and silver from the treasury. He then sent soldiers Liu Tang, Chen Da, and Gu Yan to garrison the city. But who knew that the attack on the state capital was too much? It was easy for Liu Tang to have a sudden killing spree and without reporting it to Zhu Wu, he rashly led his troops to attack Chishui Town and Weinan City in one fell swoop."
"This..." After hearing this, Shi Jin groaned inwardly and said: "This is the time when the officers and soldiers gather to collect the net. At this time, attacking the city and extending the front line will not expose one's own weaknesses to a large extent. In front of the enemy, there are not many soldiers and horses in the first place. Now that there is an extra city, more people will be assigned to defend the city. We spread our strength and it just plays into the hands of the imperial court."
"Brother Shi saw something similar to me, but I don't know who Liu Tang is. Although he hit a bit hard, he has some skills in attacking cities and seizing lands," Wu Yong said, stroking the beard on his chin.
"Speaking of it, Liu Tang is really a ruthless character in the green forest, but he is a little reckless," Shi Jin said: "Right now, the supervisor of Huazhou has been killed, and the soldiers and horses of Huazhou have been killed in that fierce battle. The whole army was wiped out, and the soldiers and horses left to defend the city had long been frightened out of their courage. Therefore, they were repeatedly attacked and defeated. However, this is really worrying." After saying this, Shi Jin asked Shi Qian anxiously: " So what happens next?”
"Later, when Zhu Wu found out, he was as nervous as his elder brother, and quickly ordered Liu Tang to take the surrendered soldiers and horses, as well as the food, grass and weapons in the city, back to Zheng County."
"This should be the response," Wu Yong affirmed with a nod.
"However, Liu Tang said that the city he captured was all due to his hard work, and he was unwilling to give up the city he had acquired so easily. When he got angry, Zhu Wu couldn't do anything to him, and told him the consequences many times. It was serious, but Liu Tang was not willing to listen, and had no other choice. Zhu Wu had to send Dong Xi and a thousand men and horses to camp outside Chishui Town, so that while taking Chishui Town under control, he could connect with Weinan in the west and at the same time communicate with the east. Zheng County corresponds to each other,"
"The arrangement of this army is wonderful. There are really no weak soldiers under a strong general. There are really hidden dragons and crouching tigers under the brothers' command," Wu Yong praised Shi Jin.
"It's all thanks to the concerted efforts of the brothers," Shi Jin responded and brought the conversation back to the topic: "But, in this way, Huayin County and Guanxi Town in the east are weak."
"This is not a long-term solution. We are in urgent need of manpower right now," Chao Gai also analyzed and said: "If it is urgent, we will abandon this stronghold and go over there. With everyone working together, we are not afraid of the overwhelming number of officers and soldiers."
"If my brother brings all the brothers to help, then just attack the city and capture the land. There is nothing to worry about. However, this Liangshan River is a treasure land. It has finally improved now. It is a pity to lose it. The Liangshan River System It is connected in all directions, and it is easy to enter and exit the surrounding state capitals by waterway. It is also an important transportation route from north to south and east to west. It occupies an absolute geographical advantage. It is adjacent to Daming Mansion in the west and Yingtian Mansion in the south. The Song Dynasty has several accompanying capitals. There are two people under our eyes. When they are strong enough, they will suddenly attack, and then we will attack Huanglong and kill them with one blow. At that time, we will respond to each other from a distance, which will definitely make it difficult for the Song Dynasty to take care of both sides. In the end, we will definitely call us Brothers sit together in the world,"
"Okay," everyone was excited when they heard the news, and everyone praised it.