There was a silence in the Juyi Hall, and suddenly laughter was heard. Everyone looked over, but it was the boss Zhou Hongji who raised his head and laughed.
"Qin Xiao is indeed cunning. No wonder he is favored by the emperor." Zhou Hongji stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Do you really think that Qin Xiao said that casually? This son did it intentionally, just to let Song Lun general
The purpose of this sentence reaching our ears is very simple, which is to arouse mutual suspicion among us brothers."
"Brother is right." Shen Xuangan said immediately: "This guy is not very young, but he is very scheming."
Zhou Hongji said with a smile: "Although we lost this battle, many brothers came back in droves. This is a blessing among misfortunes." Then he put away his smile and said: "No matter what Qin Xiao's intentions are, starting from today, we will strengthen the defense of the mountain stronghold, ten days a day."
People must be sent to patrol the mountain at two hours. Also, there is a curfew after dark. Except for the patrolling brothers, no one else is allowed to walk freely on the mountain. If there is any violation, they will be arrested immediately."
A few people raised their hands and said yes.
"Black Mountain is guarded by natural dangers. As long as we hold on to the main road, even if the officers and soldiers come to kill us, we will be disappointed." Zhou Hongji said: "Several brothers have been working harder recently, strengthening the defense, checking where the fortifications need to be strengthened, and responding at any time.
The officers and soldiers are coming to kill you." He sat back on his chair, looking tired, and waved his hands, "Everyone, go to work first, I'll take a rest."
Everyone stood up and retreated. Before leaving, Zhou Hongji winked at Du Zitong, who understood.
When everyone left, Zhou Hongji also got up and returned to the back hall. Not long after, he saw Du Zitong leading Song Lun in from the side door. Zhou Hongji motioned to Song Lun to close the door, and then said: "Can they see it?"
“Brother, don’t worry, we went around in a circle before coming here.” Du Zitong approached and said, “Brother, did you see who was the mole?”
Zhou Hongji stared at Song Lun and said, "Did you miss anything in what Qin Xiao said?"
“Leave every word out.” Song Lun said hurriedly: “Keep it in your heart, little one.”
Du Zitong asked doubtfully: "Brother, didn't you say that was Qin Xiao's trick?"
"It's not that simple." Zhou Hongji shook his head and sneered: "If I don't say that, the ghost will be more alert." Looking at Song Lun, he asked: "Before sending troops, the fourth master informed you of the plan, have you told others?
"
Song Lun hurriedly knelt down, shook his head and said, "Young man, I can swear to God that I didn't reveal a single word like the others."
“Didn’t you tell the second master?” Zhou Hongji’s eyes were intense.
Song Lun immediately said: "Young man has never even met the second master."
Du Zitong also said coldly: "Song Lun, this matter is very important. If you try to deceive me, I will chop off your head with a knife."
"Fourth Master, the dispatch of troops is unusual. When you told me, you told me not to reveal it to anyone else. Even if I have the heart and courage, I don't dare to say a word." Song Lun raised his hand: "If there is any,
Deception will be punished by heaven and earth!"
Zhou Hongji nodded slightly, and Du Zitong said softly: "Brother, who is the spy?"
Zhou Hongji did not speak, but waved his hand to signal Song Lun to step aside first. Song Lun stood up and bowed to step back.
"You almost died over there, so it's naturally impossible for you to collude with Qin Xiao." Zhou Hongji waited for Song Lun to leave, and then said softly: "You betraying the village will not do you any good, so you must not be a mole."
Du Zitong was relieved and said hurriedly: "Big brother is wise. I am loyal to big brother and will never...!"
"Yuanbao will never betray me." Zhou Hongji interrupted Du Zitong and said with certainty: "So after knowing that there might be a spy in the mountain, I started to suspect two people!"
“The second child and the third child?”
Zhou Hongji nodded and said: "Yes. At the beginning, I actually suspected that the third child was behind it. He kept telling me that the second child was wrong, which made me suspect that the second child was a traitor. The more this happened, the more his
The suspicion becomes even greater.”
“The third ghost is the most evil-minded. It is not impossible to say that he has colluded with the officers and soldiers.” Du Zitong clenched his fist and said.
Zhou Hongji smiled coldly and said: "Today I will test the second child. If the second child does not make any mistakes, then the third child must have colluded with the officers and soldiers. It's a pity that Xuanyuan Chong finally exposed his flaw!"
"Flaw?" Du Zitong was startled, but he immediately understood the meaning and said in a voiceless voice: "Is the second child a mole?"
Zhou Hongji looked coldly and said softly: "I asked him to take over my top spot, but he was very cautious and flatly refused. My suspicion about him has been alleviated, so I asked him to find a way to rescue the captured brothers. After all, there are so many
The brothers fell into the hands of Qin Xiao. If they were ignored and people were dissatisfied, their families would inevitably quarrel. Originally, I also knew that rescuing so many brothers from the hands of the officers and soldiers was simply a dream, so I left this matter to Xuanyuan Chong.
Just take care of it, as long as he continues, when the family members start to make trouble, just ask him for help." Looking at Du Zitong, he sighed softly: "Actually, I am here to help you out."
“The care and concern of the elder brother will be unforgettable by the younger brother.”
"But what I didn't expect was that Xuanyuan Chong actually offered to see Qin Xiao and negotiate with Qin Xiao." Zhou Hongji's eyes became cold and sneered: "We just had a battle with Long Ruijun, and he actually
Don't you think it's weird that you dare to run to see Qin Xiao?"
Du Zitong immediately said: "There is only one possibility, and that is that he knows that he will definitely not die there."
"If we say that he is so righteous that he risked his life to rescue his brothers, he is already very reluctant. After all, the brothers who were captured were not from Huangtu Village, but brothers from other villages. It is really contrary to reason for him to be so desperate." Zhou Hongji.
He slowly said: "But if that's all, that's fine. After all, these brothers are rushing around with him. It's not impossible for him to have a righteous heart and risk life and death to save others."
Du Zitong's lips moved, but he didn't speak after all.
"But he told me that if Qin Xiao is released, there will be harsh conditions." Zhou Hongji laughed sarcastically and said, "It was these words that finally exposed his flaw."
Du Zitong rolled his eyes and seemed to understand something, and whispered: "Brother, he colluded with the officers and soldiers to let us return in defeat. He also guessed that many brothers must have been captured. In this way, those brothers became Long Rui
The army offered us bargaining chips with various conditions." He clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and said, "What a sinister intention!" Then he thought of something and said doubtfully, "That's not right, brother, Song Lun and the others were released.
Long Ruijun has no chips in his hand."
"Don't be impatient." Zhou Hongji raised his hand to stop and said, "The most important flaw is that he told us to accept the imperial court's invitation."
"Recruitment?" Du Zitong sneered: "This has always been his mind. He has always said that the opposite is that the Liaodong Army is not the Tang Dynasty, but it is waiting to be recruited by the imperial court one day."
Zhou Hongji sighed: "In the past, I only thought that he wanted to find a way out for everyone. Now it seems that from the beginning, he wanted to be recruited. It's just that we brothers have always thought about being free in Montenegro, with no worries about food and clothing. Naturally,
Without his influence, his plan to recruit soldiers would not be realized. This time we suffered heavy losses, low morale, and unstable people. As a result, he felt that as long as Long Ruijun pressed us again, we might give in. He betrayed
Our goal is for us to suffer defeat and then be successfully recruited by Long Ruijun."
Du Zitong nodded, with a look of resentment in his eyes, and said: "Once we are really recruited, he will take the greatest credit. When the time comes, he will inevitably be promoted to an official position. Compared with the second master of Montenegro, becoming an official of the imperial court is what he wants in his heart."
I think." Gritting his teeth, he said with hatred: "He is using our lives to pave the way for him to gain promotion to a higher position."
"Xuanyuan Chong definitely didn't know beforehand that Song Lun and the others were released." Zhou Hongji said, "He didn't let Qin Xiao use these brothers as bargaining chips in negotiations. The reason is very simple, just because he didn't expect that I would let him do this.
thing. He must have felt that we did not let him lead the troops this time. If such a big thing happened, it would be difficult to ask him to solve it. If he expected to send him to rescue people, he would definitely follow the tradition of Qin Xiao.
Detain all the brothers who were caught."
Du Zitong thought for a while and then said: "What the elder brother said makes sense. But I don't understand why Qin Xiao let him go?"
"Whether Qin Xiao has other plans, I can't guess at the moment." Zhou Hongji stroked his beard and said: "But the most likely reason is to win people's hearts. Think about it, we fought Long Ruijun and suffered heavy casualties.
Many brothers must hate and be afraid of Long Ruijun. Qin Xiao and Xuanyuan Chong cooperated inside and outside, and wanted to join forces to recruit Heishan. Naturally, they could not let the people on the mountain hate Long Ruijun. Qin Xiao released the people and came back.
A few people feel that Long Rui's army is much better than the Liaodong army, and even feel grateful to Long Rui's army. In this way, Xuanyuan rushes to the mountain to encourage recruitment, which will give him more confidence."
Du Zitong looked like he had suddenly realized something, and said: "Brother, do you still remember that a few days before we sent out troops, Xuanyuan Chong took people to see Qin Xiao, without informing brother in advance, and later said that he was just going to explore the truth."
He sneered and said: "Brother, if I guessed correctly, they had already reached an agreement that time and were working together."
Zhou Hongji raised his hand to signal Du Zitong not to speak, and said softly: "Let me sort out the clues." Xuanyuan Chong met with Qin Xiao and reached an agreement. He knew that we had been sending troops, but he strongly opposed it because he didn't want to lead the troops to fight in person. In this way, he would go to Huangtu Village
Those who want to fight should not join the war to avoid losses. We did not tell him the plan to send troops, but since he is in cahoots with Qin Xiao, he must secretly send people to pay attention to the movements in the mountains. Before sending troops, each village is preparing, although it is for training
, but Xuanyuan Chong is so shrewd. He learned about the mobilization of troops from various villages and guessed that we might send troops."
“Then why did he know that Yuan Bao and I were leading the troops?”
"It's very simple. I want to take charge of Dazhai, so naturally I won't go down the mountain. Lao San hasn't led troops down the mountain in many years. Apart from Xuanyuan Chong, you and Yuan Bao are the only ones qualified to lead troops." Zhou Hongji sighed: "Xuanyuan Chong is too shrewd.
He knows the situation on the mountain very well, and it will be easy for him to guess that you two will lead the troops to fight. As for the number of troops, he can guess the approximate number of troops by simply calculating. After all, no one knows the Montenegrin Army better than him.
deployment of troops."
Du Zitong: "Yes, the eldest brother is indeed very wise."
"Qin Xiao got the secret report and laid a trap, which caused us heavy losses." Zhou Hongji looked deeply and said softly: "After the great defeat, the people on the mountain were panicked and morale was low. At this time, Xuanyuan Chong could jump out and persuade us to accept the recruitment. And
Today he just said the word "recruitment" to me personally!" Looking at Du Zitong, he sneered: "Fourth brother, who is the traitor? Isn't it ready to come out?"
Du Zitong stood up suddenly and said: "Brother, Xuanyuan Chong caused me a huge defeat, and so many brothers were killed and injured. I can't spare him. I will gather people now and capture this traitor!"
"Confused." Zhou Hongji scolded: "Although I have been convinced that he betrayed Montenegro, this is just my guess. No matter how great the suspicion is, there is no real evidence in hand. If he is caught like this, there will be chaos in the mountain."
.Also, there are not many people in Huangtu Village, but all of his people are extremely fierce. Xuanyuan Chong's martial arts is unrivaled by no one except Yuanbao, and he has a very high prestige in the hearts of his brothers. You
If you rashly lead someone to arrest him, if you fail to catch him, you might end up dead in his hands."
“What should we do?” Du Zitong frowned and said, “Brother, if he continues to collude with the officers and soldiers and we don’t take action, we will definitely regret it later.”
Zhou Hongji waved his hand and said: "No hurry, no rush. Since he has colluded with Qin Xiao, there will definitely be movement next. Fourth brother, from now on, you send people to secretly keep an eye on Huangtu Village, especially when Huangtu Village goes down the mountain.
He must send people to watch the road. If he still makes any move, he will send people to contact Qin Xiao secretly. As long as he guards the intersection, if anyone acting suspicious comes down the mountain, follow him immediately. If he is indeed going south,
That must be to deliver the letter and quietly capture the person who delivered the letter. Only if we can get evidence of his collusion with Qin Xiao can we take action."
Du Zitong's eyes lit up and he said: "Brother is still smart. I will arrange for someone to keep an eye on him and report as soon as there is any news." He asked, "Brother, do you want to tell the third child about this?"
"There's no rush." Zhou Hongji shook his head and said, "Just in case, don't let any third person know about this except you and me." A sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth: "We can't guess what the third child is thinking.
, maybe he also has other intentions, so you have to be careful." Looking at Du Zitong, he said sincerely: "Now I don't trust anyone except you!"