Seeing the contempt on Murong Wenshu's face, Li Lu quickly explained: "The hall master must not think that Chen Qing's defense is weak. These female guards are only responsible for personal protection of Chen Qing's family members. If the hall master's target is Chen Qing's
Family members, there is nothing to say about that humble position."
Murong Wenshu shook his head, "Will assassinating Chen Qing's family members make him retreat? It's obviously impossible. Our target is of course Chen Qing himself."
"Chen Qing's martial arts skills are very strong. Ordinary assassins are no match for him. Moreover, his back house is very big. I don't know where he will rest?"
Murong Wenshu smiled faintly, "You are an amateur when it comes to assassinations. I have been an assassin for twenty years and have assassinated hundreds of people. I am very familiar with various assassination situations. You said that he only has dozens of female guards in his back house.
I knew he was not prepared for assassins. The three thousand troops you mentioned and the personal soldiers stationed in the mansion were actually just measures to prevent civil strife and harassment.
A real assassination happens in an instant. A poisonous crossbow arrow is enough to kill him. Can the army and soldiers react? No matter how powerful he is in martial arts, he cannot always be on guard. There are always times when he is negligent. I thought his defense was like that of an emperor.
It's still airtight, so I sent three hundred people here. Now it seems that I only need to send three experts."
Li Lu said anxiously: "The hall master must not be careless. If we miss one blow, he will not give us another chance."
Murong Wenshu smiled lightly and said: "Don't worry! I won't be anxious. I will understand all the situations clearly and wait for the opportunity like a wolf."
At night, Sima Zhang Xiao was reading in the study. His eldest son, Zhang Pingyuan, said at the door: "Father, Yang Xiaochen, a member of the army and military affairs department, has something urgent to ask for."
"Invite him to my outer study, I'll be right over!"
Zhang Xiao put on a coat and walked calmly to the outer study room in the atrium.
In the outer study, Yang Xiaochen was pacing back and forth uneasily. He was about thirty years old, very smart and capable, and had always been Zhang Xiao's right-hand man. He was appointed as Bingcao to join the military and in charge of Bingcao Division.
At this time, footsteps were heard outside, and Zhang Xiao walked in with a smile, "Yang Canjun, is there something important?"
Yang Xiaochen saluted quickly, "I'm disturbing Sima so late, but I do have important matters in my humble position!"
"Don't be anxious, sit down and speak slowly."
Zhang Xiao asked Yang Xiaochen to sit down and asked the maid to serve tea.
Yang Xiaochen said quickly: "Lin Jianqing invited Bizhang to drink tonight. In addition to Bizhang, there are also Zuo Changsheng, the judge of the French Cao, and Liu Yan, the military officer. According to Sima's instructions, I had a good chat with Bizhang, but this guy actually tricked me because of his cleverness.
if."
Zhang Xiao specially arranged for two people to contact Lin Jianqing at the military headquarters. One was Wang Di, the judge of Cangcao, and Yang Xiaochen, the military officer of Bingcao.
Zhang Xiao smiled slightly and said: "He's not smart. He can't beat you old officials. What did he ask?"
"He complained that the pressure of transporting grain was too great, and asked me when to attack Xixia. I said winter! Only when the Yellow River freezes can we use sleds to transport grain and grass supplies."
"Then what?"
"Then he said that he had a dozen friends who wanted to sign up to join the army to serve the country, and asked us if we knew when the recruitment would start and how many troops would be recruited?"
Zhang Xiao smiled and said, "That's an interesting question. How did you answer him?"
"In accordance with Sima's instructions, I will tell the truth. I will not specifically recruit soldiers, but convert one hundred thousand rural soldiers into regular soldiers. If his friends want to join the army and serve the country, they should quickly sign up to join the rural soldiers."
“But these issues cannot be said to be urgent!”
Yang Xiaochen said anxiously: "The key is that he finally asked Beizhi if he heard that the Xuanfu ambassador had a substitute. Is it true? This question made Beizhi excited. What do they want to do?"
Zhang Xiao's face became serious, and he actually asked whether the Xuanfu ambassador had a substitute. This was obviously what the spies of the Jin Kingdom asked him to ask. It was obvious that the Jin Kingdom wanted to assassinate the Xuanfu ambassador!
Zhang Xiao was also a little unable to sit still. The assassin was not a matter that could be discussed slowly. The assassin would take action at any time, maybe tonight, and he had to inform the Xuanfu envoy immediately.
"I understand. You did a good job and in a timely manner. I will inform the Xuanfu envoy now. Don't be careless!"
About two miles away from Chen Qing's residence is Bao'en Temple in Jingzhao City. There is a pagoda in Bao'en Temple, about five feet high, which is a famous high tower in Jingzhao City.
Gu Jie
When night had not completely fallen, a man in black appeared on the top of the pagoda, holding the top of the pagoda and looking towards the back garden of the palace. Here the man in black could clearly see the layout of the back garden of the palace under the afterglow.
Finally, the man in black's eyes fell on the hill in the northeast corner, and his eyes lit up.
The night was getting darker, and the pedestrians on the street could no longer be seen. Two men in black ran along the corner to the northeast corner of the high wall of the palace.
They threw a stainless steel tiger claw over the high wall and hooked it onto the wall. Two men in black jumped up to the top of the wall, moving very quickly.
After climbing over the high wall, there was a hill inside. They jumped onto a big tree. When the surroundings became quiet and there was nothing unusual, they climbed down the tree and ran to the other side of the hill.
These two men in black are the two masters of Heijintang sent by Murong Wenshu. Murong Wenshu has led Heijintang for twenty years and has planned countless assassinations. He has rich experience. He will never do it easily. He must Plan carefully, grasp all the situations, and find out all the details of the target, and then patiently wait for the best opportunity to hit the target with one strike.
Especially for this kind of assassination related to the national destiny of Xixia, Murong Wenshu was even more cautious. He knew that there was only one chance, and he would never take action easily, but once he took action, he would never fail.
Assassinations are divided into internal assassinations and external assassinations. Generally, internal assassinations are given priority. The opponent's guard for external assassinations is too tight, so it is difficult to have a chance. Murong Wenshu must first understand the layout, population, living habits, etc. of Chen Qing's mansion, unless it is If internal puncture cannot be performed, external puncture will be considered.
The two assassins were very experienced. They entered the house very easily. There was neither an ambush from the other party nor a hunting dog patrol. This showed that the hall master's guess was correct and that Chen Qing had no intention of guarding against the assassins.
The two assassins were secretly excited. If the rules weren't strict, they would have planned to assassinate tonight.
But the order of the hall master was very strict. He did not order the assassination, and no one was allowed to act rashly.
The two men in black took advantage of the cover of large rocks and trees and gradually approached a stone road.
At this moment, a bright light appeared in the distance. Two men in black immediately hid behind two big trees. They saw a light carriage approaching quickly. A lantern was hung in front of the carriage. A strong woman drove He was driving a carriage, and inside the carriage sat a slightly shorter middle-aged man.
The two men in black did not make any move. They knew that Chen Qing was only thirty years old and tall. This man was definitely not their target.
After the carriage had gone away, two men in black ran across the stone road and swam into the water. They needed to understand the lake to see if they could sneak into the residential area from the water.
The middle-aged man who came to visit was Zhang Xiao, and Chen Qing received him in the study outside.
After listening to Zhang Xiao's report, Chen Qing narrowed his eyes and asked himself if he had a substitute who actually wanted to assassinate him.
Of course, Chen Qing would not be unprepared. After Li Cheng sent someone to assassinate him in Chengji County last time, he strengthened his security. In particular, there were thirty female guards in the courtyard area, all hiding in secret places. Even if the assassin entered
In the back garden, there is no hope of entering the residential area safely.
Chen Qing immediately asked the maid to find the female guard leader and asked her to lead her men to monitor the surroundings.
The female guard leader took the order and went.
Zhang Xiao advised again: "Envoy Xuanfu should temporarily move to the military camp! It's best to leave tonight. Don't be careless. What if the assassin hurts the wife and the young master?"
Chen Qing smiled and waved his hands and said: "It shouldn't be a big problem tonight. I have arranged for guards to patrol. Even if there are assassins, they will alert the enemy. I will think about it carefully tomorrow and it is best to find a hidden house in the city."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a rush of running sounds outside. Chen Qing was startled, walked to the door and asked, "What's going on?"
The female guard leader stepped forward and bowed: "When we were patrolling just now, we found two black spots in the lake. We don't know what they are. They don't look like water birds. We suspect they are two people."
Chen Qing had a thought in his mind and immediately ordered: "You monitor the bay, and then notify Yan Jun to bring his soldiers to patrol the back garden and the lake. No matter what is on the water, shoot and kill!"
The inlet extends from the lake to the residential area, and some small bridges and waterside pavilions are built. This is a defensive loophole, and assassins can sneak into the residential area from underwater.
"Follow the order!" The female guard hurried away.
Zhang Xiao's face turned a little pale. He didn't expect something unusual to happen.
"I will leave my humble post first, and it will not affect the Xuanfu envoy's deployment of defense."
Chen Qing nodded and asked two guards to escort Zhang Xiao away in a carriage.
He immediately returned to the inner house and ordered the female guards to protect his family and gather them in the Red Mansion.
