"He who keeps his duty but does not abandon it, does what is right but does not turn back, sees disapproval but does not hesitate to avoid it, sees benefit but does not refuse to get it. This person is an outstanding person." [Su Shu]
Wang Zhong didn't expect that the person he was talking to was so young and sounded like a child. For a moment, he didn't notice the disbelief in the other person's tone: "No, the little one's surname is Wang, and his name is Wang Zhong."
"Oh, that's it." The tone suddenly became cold and uninterested for some reason, which made Wang Zhong think that he had said the wrong thing.
Then there was a rustling sound from the curtain, as if several people were whispering about something inside. Soon, a clear voice came from the curtain, which sounded about the same age as Wang Zhong: "I am
Wei Duan, the servant of Huangmen, was ordered to inspect Chang'an to observe the people's situation. Along the way, I saw chaos in the north of the city, and the officials were unable to manage it. Only here the thieves were weak and the village was stable. It must be all your credit."
Wang Zhong didn't believe that the most senior person among them was the Huangmen Minister. Judging from the fact that the boy spoke rashly but no one criticized him, the person sitting inside must be an official more distinguished than the Huangmen Minister.
Thinking of this, his mind immediately became active. If he could take the opportunity to make good friends with noble people, he would have a broader stage than Jiaodaoting.
Wei Duan, named Xiufu, was born in Jingzhao, Sili, and was the third assistant of the famous book. He was recommended a few days ago and was promoted from among the Langguan. Together with him was Jin Shang, named Yuanxiu, who was born in Jingzhao. They took his place.
Zhang Chang, the former Huangmen servant, was transferred to Shejian's position. The two of them and Taiwei, who was from the same county and named Wenxiu, were on the fifth patrol, and their names were "Sanxiu".
This time he was ordered to talk to Wang Zhong. He had been instructed in advance and his words were all on target. Wang Zhong also racked his brains to strike up a conversation with him, telling some interesting anecdotes, mixed with his own resume, and vaguely implying that he was knowledgeable and noble.
Wei Duan spoke with Wang Zhong in a measured manner, neither making people feel unfamiliar nor overly close. He pretended not to understand Wang Zhong's explicit and implicit self-recommendation, and talked to him briefly for a while.
After about a quarter of an hour, Wei Duan felt that there was nothing the emperor wanted to know. As a minister of the Huangmen, being able to talk to someone of Wang Zhong's status for so long was considered a very close relationship with the people.
Having done enough to save his dignity and face, Wei Duan was about to ask Wang Zhong to step down and persuade the emperor to return to the palace. Suddenly there was a noise outside. It seemed that a group of people were shouting and cursing outside, and there was also the sound of swords fighting.
The expressions of everyone inside the curtain suddenly changed. Listening to the sound, it was obvious that someone was armed to cause chaos. At this moment, a person's psychological quality can best be shown. The emperor quickly calmed down after the initial surprise.
He even had time to observe the expressions of the people around him. Compared with Mu Shun, Wei Duan and others who looked panicked, the calm looks of Yang Qi and Zhao Wen were more praiseworthy.
At this time, the emperor could not sit still and said nothing. He said to Zhang Liao who was waiting outside the curtain: "Who are the people outside?"
Zhang Liao had already sent people to investigate at the door. At this time, he reported back: "Master, a group of armed thieves came outside. They wanted to rush into the shop and had a conflict with the pavilion guards at the door."
Hearing the word "thief", Wang Zhong suddenly became alarmed. He seemed to realize that the matter was not as simple as imagined. The scene in which the thieves rushed into the bakery coincided with the plan that Li Zheng had just encouraged him to unite with the group of thieves.
Wang Zhong did not understand the relationship for a while, but this did not prevent him from getting rid of suspicion in this matter, and even seized this opportunity to show his ability.
He immediately said: "This is the land under the jurisdiction of the official. When you encounter such a thing, it is really because the official is not managing it well. I also asked a few distinguished officials to let the official go out to negotiate and tell them that the official is here.
Don't make any mistakes. With my official's thin reputation in the west of the city, I can definitely make them disperse and leave."
Wei Duan didn't take the words of a small pavilion chief seriously at all. When he suddenly encountered this incident, he lost his bearings and said without thinking: "I traveled without any warning, but I still met a bad person. This must be
The other party has already made a plan. It is not advisable to stay here for a long time. It is better to send guards to rush forward and kill him. We will escort His Majesty to retreat from the back door. Then we will order Yu Lin, Lieutenant General Huben, Lieutenant Colonel of the Northern Army and others to come and escort him. This way we can
Protect everything."
"There are guards left at the inner gate to look after the carriages and horses. If they notice the movement here, they will definitely ride their horses to ask for help. It is difficult for the Northern Army Lieutenant Commander to arrive in time outside the city. If Xu Zhonglang had sent them, it would have been enough to rush them here.
It only takes a few quarters of an hour." Zhao Wen realized that this was a good opportunity to show off, and hurriedly said: "The enemy's situation is unknown now, and if you go out rashly, you may fall into an ambush. If not, stay here. Zhang Liao is here with his troops.
, we will definitely be able to wait until reinforcements arrive.”
Wang Zhong heard what seemed to be an argument outside, and the sound got louder and louder. Finally, the argument ended with a soft bang, as if someone knocked on the table. When the curtain calmed down, the child's voice came again,
He made a decision with the attitude of a superior: "Wang Zhong, the chief of the Jiao Dao Pavilion."
"The young one is here." Wang Zhong heard that the other party's voice was so young, so he did not call himself a lower official, but kept his posture very low.
The child's voice was very calm, as if he didn't care about the situation outside at all, and he said word by word: "It seems that you are very familiar with that group of thieves. In this case, it is up to you to appease them. As the saying goes, 'Be polite before fighting', as if
If that doesn't work, let Zhang Liao take his men out to wipe out the bandits, but remember to leave two people alive."
As if receiving a military order, Zhang Liao respectfully performed a military salute. Wang Zhong seemed to be infected by Zhang Liao's behavior, and also performed a slightly unfamiliar but meticulous military etiquette. He seemed to have returned to the past, ready to guard against the Qiang Hu.
life, my heart is filled with excitement.
Without saying another word, Wang Zhong walked out in a few steps and pulled out the dagger from his waist. As soon as he went out, he saw a thief in tattered clothes but with a fierce look on his face, swinging a knife and trying to kill his men.
It was Pao Ze who had been with him in the army.
Wang Zhong didn't say anything, and directly thrust the sword blade into the opponent's left chest and ribs. Then he turned his wrist, pulled out the sword, and kicked the man to the ground.
The short sword had a narrow body and a thin blade. Even if the gangster's chest was pierced, he was still alive for a moment. Before he could even cry out in pain when he fell to the ground, a big foot stomped hard on his chest.
"Ah!" The gangsters' screams suddenly echoed across the street. The fighting soldiers and thieves were frightened by the screams and couldn't help but stop.
Taking advantage of this moment of confusion, the soldiers saw the opportunity and ran to the door and gathered around Wang Zhong. When the thieves saw Wang Zhong, the leader, coming out, they did not rush to rush, but instead pushed the scattered thieves away.
They gathered together in a dark place, about one or two hundred people, and surrounded the bakery.
"Who do I know? It turns out it's you people-eating thieves! You usually catch people and eat them in the countryside, but today you dare to come to the city to cause trouble. You really don't know how to live or die!" Wang Zhong saw the leader.
The leader's heart suddenly sank.
It would be okay if they were just ordinary thieves. With his usual prestige, Wang Zhong would be able to repel them. But these thieves are all composed of rebels and ruthless bandits. They are familiar with military formations and have weapons.
I am not afraid of Wang Zhong, the pavilion chief.
Some of them belonged to the Qiang and Hu rebels who had nowhere to go, and some were rebels who fled after Niu Fu's death. For various reasons, they did not return to the army. Instead, they formed small groups and ran rampant in Beijing. They were ruthless and often carried out robberies.
They plundered merchants and traveling people, ate food when there was food to eat, and ate people when there was no food to eat, so they were called man-eating thieves.
But today is really strange. The thieves who usually wander around the countryside dare to take the risk to enter the city and make such a big noise. Moreover, the thieves who used to be dozens of people today actually gathered hundreds of people, obviously for the cake shop.
People from there are here.
Wang Zhong only felt that this matter was particularly difficult. He did not underestimate his own strength. You must know that the opponent was a murderer and a thieves who was familiar with war. He was also a first-class expert in the army.
His group of robbers are definitely no match for the more than one or two hundred thieves, but if you add the thirty or so elite guards in the bakery...
Wang Zhong looked back and saw Zhang Liao and the group of guards standing in the hall, their swords unsheathed. Everyone was wearing armor under their clothes, with strong precautions in their eyes, as if they thought Wang Zhong and the group of thieves were the same.
Together.
Although Wang Zhong was angry, he also knew that these thieves came very strangely, and it would be difficult to explain if they had not colluded in advance, so he could understand Zhang Liao's actions.
The leader seemed too lazy to answer. He stretched out his long arm from the side and caught a skinny monkey-like man like a chicken. But it was the upright man from before. He had changed his face at this time and said arrogantly: "Ting
Sir! If you had listened to me in the beginning, you would be the one standing here right now. But it’s not too late to regret it now. After all, this is none of your business. Why don’t you get out of the way and let me in? I won’t wait.
If I embarrass you, I might even share some of your property with you afterwards, what do you think?"
The pavilion soldiers all looked at Wang Zhong with some emotion. It was obvious that they were not willing to sacrifice their lives for a stranger, and the other party also said that if they don't do anything, they just need to get out of the way and they can get a sum of property.
Why not? If it weren't for Wang Zhong's reputation, they would have become like birds and beasts long ago.
Wang Zhong was numb by their looks. However, this was not the thing that worried him the most. He knew his brothers best. Although he liked property, he always followed his lead. If he insisted on disagreeing,
, even if these people are unwilling to do so, they will not resist his wishes.
But what really stuck with him was the piercing gaze behind him. He knew without looking back that it was Zhang Liao who was definitely staring at him.
However, he always felt that he had heard the name Zhang Liao somewhere recently.