Soon after the drums sounded, Hou Fangyi and Yao Su led the people to the barracks. They looked up and saw the look on Meng Zexu's face. Hou Fangyi's heart skipped a beat because he couldn't tell from Meng Zexu's face. There was no trace of panic. At this time, Meng Zexu was calm and majestic, not what a panicked person should look like. What on earth is going on? Have Cao Renguang and Bai Qingsong been silenced?
When he thought of this, Hou Fangyi wanted to slap him twice in the face, because Cao Renguang and Bai Qingsong were guarded by Hou's cronies. If something happened, would he know? After thinking about it, he asked Lao Yi After a few words of explanation, Lao Yi came back shortly after leaving. When he shook his head at Hou Fangyi, Hou Fangyi smiled confidently. Hey, as long as Cao Renguang and Bai Qingsong are fine, I'm afraid Meng Zexu can do it. What happened?
When everyone was almost there, Meng Zexu raised his hands to everyone and shouted at the top of his voice, "I'm gathering everyone today. Actually, it's not a big deal. I just want to chat with you for a few words. Meng knows that, Rumors have been circulating in the military recently, and some people want to make someone Meng step down. It's okay to ask someone Meng to hand over his position as the big leader, but for those who are playing tricks on me, today, let's open the sky and speak openly. Who will tell Meng someone? If someone is dissatisfied and stands up to speak, he will explain it to everyone. If he still cannot satisfy everyone, he will be willing to give up his position as the leader."
Meng Zexu spoke with great vigor and boldness, and the soldiers in the army also started whispering to each other. In recent days, as the seven-day period got closer, many rumors emerged. Some people said that Meng Zexu was the leader. Having received the favor from the imperial court, he made an agreement with King Tie Mo of Qin. Leader Meng was going to use this food to hold everyone back until Tie Mo sent reinforcements and annihilate them all.
At first, no one believed this nonsense, because the leader Meng Zexu was the one who got hit on the head when the uprising started. Since the uprising, he has led the troops with his head covered, and his loyalty comes first, but he really has never done anything to regret anyone, and he How could he collude with the imperial court and harm everyone? However, as time goes by, more and more people are suspicious, because until now, everyone has not seen a grain of grain shipped to Taicang.
The corners of Yao Su's mouth turned up, he pinched his throat, strode forward, cupped his hands around, and then bowed to Meng Zexu, "Leader Meng, you are the backbone of us all, everyone believes in whatever you say. .However, there are some things that you have to explain clearly to everyone. Will the imperial court really transport food? There are some things that cannot be hidden!"
There was a bit of sarcasm in Yao Su's eyes, but Meng Zexu seemed not to notice it and said in a rough voice, "What Meng did is worthy of heaven and earth. He is worthy of all brothers. What can't he do?" Said?"
Listening to Meng Zexu's bold words, Hou Fangyi's heart was pounding. When he met Meng Zexu last night, it was obvious that the big leader was uneasy. Why did he seem to be a different person today? Could it be that he really You are so upright, are you not afraid of being bitten to death?
Hou Fangyi winked secretly, and now Yao Su was more confident. He curled his lips and said seriously, "Brother Meng, have you been tricked by that iron ink? It has been so many days, and not even a grain of food has been lost. I didn’t see it. It’s obvious that Mr. Na Tie is dishonest and deliberately wants to delay us. Why is Brother Meng still so stubborn at this time?”
Yao Su's words were deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. After all, for the Taicang Rebels, the most important thing was food. Without food, it was useless to say anything. There were many people who agreed at once, "Yes, Brother Meng, just follow
Everyone, tell me, what is going on? I haven’t seen a single grain of food until now, you can’t let the brothers just stay in the dark and act like fools!”
The scene became more and more chaotic and noisy, and Meng Zexu's face became increasingly ugly, while Hou Fangyi secretly sneered twice, wanting to see how Meng Zexu would deal with the situation in front of him.
So many people questioned Meng Zexu. At this time, a burly man in the field stepped forward. He held a wooden stick and smashed it against the edge of the high platform. The stick immediately broke into two pieces. Then, he glared at the bull's eye and roared.
He said, "Shut up, everyone. If anyone dares to be disrespectful to Brother Meng again, Mr. Shi will make him the same as this wooden stick."
The yeller's name is Shi Xingtang, whose ancestral home is Qizhou, Shandong. Two years ago, the Liangshan Rebel Army went south. After Lu Junyi was transferred, he left the Rebel Army and settled in Taicang to start a family. Later, the floods broke out and he led a group of people back to Taicang.
, later admired Meng Zexu as a person, so he submitted to Meng Zexu and became a leader.
Among the Taicang rebels, there were many who had fought against the imperial army, but Shi Xingtang was the only one who had fought against the Northern Shan army. Therefore, many people were afraid of Shi Xingtang's experience and bravery. Seeing his fierceness, many people immediately put out their fire.
Even the extremely arrogant Yao Su showed a slightly embarrassed expression.
Meng Zexu has a gentle temperament, but Shi Xingtang has a bad temper, and the hundreds of people under his command are not vegetarians. Therefore, there is a saying among the rebels that Boss Meng's sword is not as good as Shi Xingtang's feet, which refers to Shi Xingtang's big pair of feet.
The feet are extremely lethal.
Seeing Shi Xingtang come forward to defend him, Meng Zexu stretched out his hand and made a downward movement, "Brother Shi, please be patient. I have convinced someone that he has not done anything wrong, and I am not afraid of anyone asking. If there is anything, just tell me!"
After saying this, Meng Zexu bowed his hands to everyone in the audience, and then shouted, "Brothers question Meng, Meng has nothing to say, but isn't the seven-day period not yet up?
From now on, Mr. Meng will sit on this high platform and wait for the seven days to come. If there is no food in the end, the brothers will fight or kill him, and Mr. Meng will not hesitate."
Meng Zexu was unafraid and had a sincere attitude. Gradually, many people calmed down. Yes, Boss Meng was right. The seven-day period has not yet come. Is there something wrong with Boss Meng being so hasty and suspicious?
Passed? The scene calmed down. This was not the effect Hou Fangyi wanted to see. What he wanted was for the crowd to be excited and to directly push Meng Zexu off the stage. It seemed that he could only use his trump card, but he wanted to push Cao Renguang and Bai Qingsong out.
, then he and Meng Zexu are at loggerheads.
However, for the sake of his own interests, Hou Fangyi didn't care about this much. He waved to Yao to quickly come back, and he lifted the hem of his robe, walked up to the high platform with square steps, and cupped his hands hastily, with a bit of a half-hearted smile.
He said, "Brother Meng, why are you still hiding it from everyone now?"
Looking at Hou Fangyi standing in front of him with a painful look on his face, one can imagine the feeling in Meng Zexu's heart. Although Asha said that Hou Fangyi had a problem, she still didn't want to believe it. After all, they were all trying to fight against the imperial court, and they all came from the lowest level.
But when Hou Fangyi stood on the high platform, all the expectations in his heart were shattered. He felt like a mirror, but Meng Zexu still asked with a puzzled face, "Brother Hou, what do you mean by this? Why can't Brother Wei listen?"
Do you understand?"
Don’t you understand? Did you understand too well? Hou Fangyi made a distressed look, flicked his sleeves, and said in a low voice, “Brother Meng, you said you made an agreement with Mr. Tie to deliver food within seven days.
Come on, why didn’t I understand this? I heard that Mr. Tie never had the idea of distributing grain. The grain shipped from Suzhou Prefecture was transferred to the seaside as soon as it arrived in Kunshan, saying that it would be transported to Liaodong.
Go to Zhenhai City, and at this time, you are still hiding it from everyone, what is your intention?"
Hou Fangyi asked, and Meng Zexu naturally would not swallow his anger. He glared and said angrily, "Brother Hou, what do you mean? Do you have any evidence for what you say?"
"Of course there is evidence." Hou Fangyi did not give in at all. He turned around and faced the thousands of volunteer soldiers in the audience. He stood up straight and cupped his hands. He shook his head and said loudly, "Brothers, this is something Hou didn't want to talk about."
, But what Brother Meng did today is really unbearable. So, Hou Mou told everything today. Two days ago, Hou Mou was ordered to go out of the city to find food. I think everyone knows about this. But everyone doesn’t
What I know is that Mr. Hou failed to find food, but he brought back two people for everyone. These two people were none other than Cao Renguang, the magistrate of Kunshan, and Bai Qingsong, the leader of the officers and soldiers."
Phew, as soon as Hou Fangyi finished speaking, the audience immediately exploded. Yao Su seized the opportunity and immediately asked, "Brother Hou, where are the two thieves Cao Renguang and Bai Qingsong?"
After Yao Su asked, someone echoed and asked in confusion, "Yes, where are the two thieves? Brother Hou, quickly bring those two people up and let the brothers vent their anger!"
Seeing the reaction from the audience, Hou Fangyi was very satisfied and pretended to say, "Quiet, quiet, brothers, calm down for a moment. Rong Hou continued to talk, in fact, there is nothing strange about these two thieves. At that time, Hou
I just wanted to kill them as soon as I got there. But after interrogation, Mr. Hou learned a huge secret..."
Looking at Meng Zexu next to him, Hou Fangyi gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Let Mr. Hou know that it is Brother Meng who has received the benefits of Mr. Tie to appease everyone and not to act rashly within seven days. And what about Mr. Tie?
, then we took the opportunity to recruit the Luoyang army, with the purpose of wiping out our entire army. As for the food, haha, don’t think about it, that food has long been pocketed by someone named Tie, and those responsible for transporting the food are Cao Renguang and Bai Qingsong.
!”
Sure enough, it was a huge secret. For a moment, everyone in the audience changed their minds. Some people were angry, some looked disbelieving, and some were hesitant and didn't know what to do. Meng Zexu let out a long sigh and smiled bitterly.
He lowered his head, as if he had nothing to say.
Meng Zexu had nothing to say, but Shi Xingtang was furious. He jumped on the high platform, pointed at Hou Fangyi and cursed, "You surnamed Hou, you are such a slut, don't think I don't know what you are thinking.
, don’t you just want to move Brother Meng so that you can take the position of the big boss? Huh, no matter what you say today about the guy named Hou, don’t even think about touching Brother Meng and collaborating with the guy named Zhao. Bah.
...Brothers, think about it carefully. There are many people who started the uprising with Brother Meng. Others don’t know what Brother Meng is like. Don’t you still know?”
After Shi Xingtang said these words, many people thought about it, and soon many people shouted, "Yes, Brother Meng is generous and upright, and he is definitely not the kind of villain who seeks refuge in the imperial court. Leader Hou, you
It’s better to escort those two dog officers out so that the brothers can ask questions.”
Hou Fangyi was not afraid at all. He clapped his hands and Yao Su's men escorted Cao Renguang and Bai Qingsong onto the high platform. As soon as they saw the two people, curses broke out in the audience, and some people even threw rubbish. They were seen kneeling on the platform.
Meng Zexu's face turned livid, and Hou Fangyi sneered, but soon he stopped laughing because things seemed to be a bit beyond expectations.
The first one to speak was Bai Qingsong. What he said was the same as what Hou Fangyi said before, and even went into more detail. He even explained in detail how to transport grain and how to transport it to the sea. It was next's turn.
Cao Renguang was stunned. When he spoke, Cao Renguang first looked at Hou Fangyi, then climbed two steps forward and knelt directly in front of Shi Xingtang, "This leader, Mr. Cao is telling the truth, but you have to keep Mr. Cao."
Human life!"
Cao Renguang suddenly acted like this, which frightened Hou Fangyi so much that he stamped his feet and said angrily, "Cao, what do you want to do?"
However, Shi Xingtang glared, forcing Hou Fangyi not to dare to come forward. He slapped Cao Renguang with his big hand and said with an angry voice, "Guan Gu, please speak directly. Mr. Shi promises you that as long as you tell the truth, no one can touch you."
It’s you!”
"Yes, yes... Brothers, things are definitely not like what the man surnamed Bai said. In fact, the agreement between the Iron Governor and Chief Meng is true. Since leaving Taicang County, the Iron Governor went directly to Kunshan.
This was because it was not that the imperial court did not send food, but that the food from Suzhou Prefecture was robbed as soon as it arrived in Kunshan. The Iron Supervisor went to Kunshan to personally find the whereabouts of the food. Fortunately, the Iron Supervisor was so talented that he had already found it.
We have found traces of the food, and it is estimated that the food will be delivered at Haishi tonight. As for me and Bai County Cheng, they were kidnapped from Suzhou Prefecture. At that time, I and Bai Qingsong were under the control of Magistrate Peng and Tie because of the loss of food.
The Superintendent blames, if you are under house arrest in Suzhou Mansion, where can you go out at home? If you don’t believe it, you can go to Suzhou Mansion to find out!”
After listening to Cao Renguang's words, Hou Fangyi was very angry. He could feel the white eyes and doubts in the audience, and he could also feel the mocking eyes of Shi Xingtang, so he said angrily, "Cao, you are talking nonsense... you
Son of a bitch...."
"Hou, what do you want to do? Are you angry?" Shi Xingtang stood in front of Cao Renguang. His burly body was like an iron tower. Now the situation was a bit funny. There was disagreement within the rebel army. Even Cao Renguang and Bai Qingsong
Everyone held their own opinions, and now many rebel soldiers didn't know who to believe. Hou Fangyi's face was so gloomy that he might give an order to fall out with Shi Xingtang at any time. Meng Zexu didn't want to see this result, because he knew
He knew that in terms of number of people, Hou Fangyi's subordinates had an absolute advantage, and the only people supporting him in the audience were Shi Xingtang's people and a few hundred of his cronies. In total, they were less than 2,000, and most of the rest were unknown.