After experiencing the disaster just now, the villagers still didn't know the dangers of military disaster.
No one needed to organize or persuade. In just one stick of incense, these more than a hundred villagers had already packed up, saluted, and fled southward.
During this period, the village girl who had just been rescued came to Meng Xiuyuan and the other three, and said something like "Thank you to the three heroes for your righteousness in rescuing me. I am very grateful to you."
Meng Xiuyuan was used to hearing such thanks, and Li Jing was calm, so he didn't have much reaction. Only Zhang Yong, who was a little carried away by the beautiful girl's few words of praise, giggled for a long time, as if he was in the clouds.
Even when the village girl was dragged away by her companions, he still looked at her back reluctantly and murmured:
"Brother Meng, tell me, should we escort these villagers?
This chaos of war makes it difficult for them to escape, I'm afraid there will be danger..."
When Meng Xiu saw the situation, he felt it was a little funny at first, and then he felt warm in his chest. He just felt that when we meet again ten years later, this Yongzi still has no intention of being different in front of him.
The tone of his words was exactly the same as that of the little follower who was always chasing after him back then.
Therefore, Meng Xiuyuan was not polite to him and said bluntly:
"Yongzi, if you really care about the safety of the villagers, then it's best not to have anything to do with them.
After all, they are just ordinary villagers. No matter how unbearable the Jianghuai Army is, they will not chase them south just to recruit a few strong men.
But things are different for you. You and Brother Li are now considered traitors to the Jianghuai Army.
If my guess is correct, then in order to stabilize the morale of the army, Du Fuwei will not let you two off easily..."
When Zhang Yong heard this, he couldn't help but said "Huh?", his dark and rough face full of fear.
Li Jing heard the words from the side and couldn't help but nodded and echoed:
"What Mr. Meng said is true. No matter what kind of army it is, rebellion by one's subordinates is the most unforgivable thing.
Du Fuwei has his own "law enforcement team", which is composed entirely of martial arts masters.
Whether this cavalry is dead or alive today, as long as they cannot see our bodies, they will eventually track us down."
Although Zhang Yong was a bit naive, he was not without brains. After hearing what the two said, he immediately lowered his head and did not dare to look at the beautiful village girl again.
Seeing the situation, Meng Xiu couldn't help but smile and shake his head, and said to Zhang Yong:
"However, if you really feel sincere about this girl, you can actually talk to her alone.
I saw that the girl had no family around her and was alone in the troubled times. It was not easy to think about it.
With a towering man like you taking care of me, it will be easier..."
Zhang Yong was stunned when he heard this, and turned to Meng Xiuyuan and asked:
"Brother Meng, don't you say that as a traitor to the Jianghuai Army, I am in great danger now?
If that girl is really willing to follow me, wouldn’t I be harming her?”
Meng Xiuyuan heard the sound, stepped forward and patted Zhang Yong's shoulder, and said with a slight smile:
"When did I say that you are in great danger now?
With me here, what are you afraid of..."
While speaking, Meng Xiuyuan also looked at Li Jing and continued:
"Brother Li, if you can trust me, you can also go with me for a while.
Lest a righteous man like you get hurt at the hands of villains."
Li Jing is not a pretentious person. He knows that Meng Xiuyuan is a powerful martial artist and it is much safer to be by his side than walking alone. He immediately nodded and said:
"Li Jing has thanked Mr. Meng for his help. He will never forget his kindness today..."
When Zhang Yong heard Meng Xiuyuan's words, the depressed look on his face disappeared in an instant. After hesitating for a moment, he chased after the villagers who had already set off to flee.
Meng Xiuyuan and Li Jing looked at him from a distance, seeing how he was helpless in talking to the girl, and they couldn't help but chuckle.
After a long while, Li Jing suddenly spoke with emotion:
"Since I was transferred to this cavalry unit, I can only speak a few words to brother Zhang Yong.
Although he has extraordinary powers, he is honest and straightforward.
I actually don’t quite understand how someone like him, who has a lot of money, can not inherit the family business and go out to join the rebel army..."
After going through a series of events just now, Li Jing saw Meng Xiuyuan's character and martial arts skills, and wanted to have a close relationship with a person like him, so he deliberately talked about Zhang Yong's things, which can be regarded as building a bridge between the two.
Meng Xiuyuan was a little surprised when he heard this and asked Li Jing:
"Yongzi actually came to join the Jianghuai Army on his own?"
He originally thought that Cuishan Town was also invaded and Zhang Yong was captured as a young man, so he had no choice but to join the army under Du Fuwei.
Li Jing nodded and explained to Meng Xiuyuan:
"Yes, he only joined the team a little later than me.
In fact, at that time, most of the brothers in the Jianghuai Army joined on their own initiative.
The people could not stand the tyranny of the imperial court. If they wanted to make a living in this troubled world, they had few choices.
Joining the rebel army is already a good way out.
At that time, the atmosphere in the army was quite good. Unfortunately, Du Fuwei was short-sighted. Recently, the war with the Sui army became tense, and the situation was messed up. Instead, he started to recruit strong men into the army..."
Meng Xiuyuan frowned slightly when he heard this, and sighed that he had been hiding in the mountains for these years, and he didn't know that the world had reached such a situation.
For a moment, there was some silence between the two.
After a long while, Li Jing took the initiative to ask again:
"Mr. Meng, why did you say you wanted to meet Du Fuwei?"
Meng Xiuyuan shook his head when he heard this and said:
"I just saw that scene, and I felt a little unhappy for a while.
In fact, I haven’t thought through how to do it specifically yet.
Brother Li...you know the inside story, do you think that if Du Fuwei died, the chaos caused by the Jianghuai Army would be better?"
Li Jing's heart trembled when he heard this. He didn't expect that Mr. Meng in front of him could actually say such astonishing words in such a calm tone.
Du Fuwei was not only extremely powerful, with 100,000 men under his command, and defeated the Sui army all over the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, he was also a martial arts master with a far-reaching reputation in the world.
Drink hate.
Although Li Jing had seen Meng Xiuyuan's martial arts, he never thought that he actually wanted to take Du Fuwei's life.
"Mr. Meng, I think this matter should be considered in the long term.
Not to mention that Du Fuwei himself is very powerful in martial arts, and he has many masters around him to help him. It is really difficult for us to defeat him.
Even if we really kill him, I'm afraid there won't be any big changes in the Jianghuai Army..."
After all, Li Jing was not an ordinary person. Although his heart was filled with ups and downs, his expression remained normal, and he analyzed Meng Xiuyuan very calmly:
"Du Fuwei has a very close brother named Fu Gong'er, who is considered the second in command in the Jianghuai Army.
If Du Fuwei dies, he will naturally take power.
However, Fu Gong'er's behavior was not as good as Du Fuwei's.
If he takes control of the Jianghuai Army, it may lead to even more chaos."
Meng Xiuyuan nodded when he heard the sound, without commenting, and just asked again:
"What if this Fu Gonger also dies?"
Li Jing coughed slightly when he heard this, and finally lost his composure. After a moment, he answered truthfully:
"If it comes to this, the Jianghuai Army may fall into civil strife.
Du Fuwei has numerous generals and leaders. Seeing the vacancy of power, they will definitely fight against each other to fight for the leadership position.
By that time, the Jianghuai land, which has already settled down, may fall into turmoil again..."
While speaking, Li Jing glanced at Meng Xiuyuan and added in advance:
"Among these generals and leaders, there are no outstanding figures, not as many as Du Fuwei and Fu Gong'er.
Even if we really choose someone who is barely decent to support him, I'm afraid he won't be able to control such a huge Jianghuai army."
Meng Xiuyuan nodded when he heard this, knowing that the matter was complicated and could not be easily solved by just killing people.
But then he thought about it for a moment, but still couldn't figure out how to solve the matter once and for all. He could only ask Li Jing:
"Brother Li, if you want to tell me, do you have a way to deal with the Jianghuai Army disturbing the people?"
Li Jing was silent for a long time after hearing the sound, and finally shook his head and said to Meng Xiuyuan:
"Li Jing admires Mr. Meng's compassion for these villagers.
But if you ask me, what the Jianghuai Army did is really nothing...
After all, in the past ten years or so, it was the Sui Dynasty that really disturbed the people the most.
Building imperial palaces, building canals, and conquering Goryeo all did not force countless people to conquer.
The number of people who died in this process was millions, not just a few villages."
At this point, Li Jing was already quite excited. He took a breath and then continued:
"The world is in chaos now, with rebels rising everywhere.
There are so many that they are countless.
Among them, there are also many scum who fish in troubled waters, just to feed the common people and dominate one place.
The Jianghuai Army is nothing in this..."
Meng Xiuyuan nodded when he heard this, feeling that what Li Jing said was quite reasonable.
Although he does not like military matters by nature, he is not completely ignorant.
In today's troubled times, there are many warlords. You fight me and I fight you, all trying to fight for the world. It's hard to say who is right and who is wrong, but it only brings suffering to the people.
To end this suffering, someone must sweep the world and restore peace.
Thinking of these, Meng Xiuyuan's thoughts gradually drifted away, and he fell into silence again.
…
Not long after, Yongzi seemed to have explained the matter to the village girl in the distance, and the two of them walked back towards the village, one behind the other.
"Little girl Susu, thank you Mr. Meng for taking me in.
If I can return to Wagang, I will definitely try my best to repay you for your kindness..."
As soon as the girl arrived in front of Meng Xiuyuan, she bowed respectfully and said excitedly.
Meng Xiuyuan was puzzled when he heard this and turned to look at Zhang Yong, wondering what he had said to the girl.
Zhang Yong's expression turned bitter when he saw this, and he moved closer to Meng Xiuyuan. He was about to explain the situation to Meng Xiuyuan in a low voice, but unexpectedly, something happened suddenly.
I could only hear the sound of horse hooves coming from behind the mountain, from far to near, and the speed was extremely fast. When I heard the sound, I could see the dust flying, and it was obvious that there were many people.
Sure enough, after a while, more than a hundred riders came around the hill and along the road towards the small village. The leader of them was wearing a high crown and was dressed quite strangely.
"Du Fuwei is here!"
Zhang Yong only glanced at it from a distance, then screamed and hurriedly pulled the girl Su Su to hide behind Meng Xiuyuan, while Li Jing on the side also had a solemn look on his face, holding a long knife tightly in his hand.
These more than a hundred riders had no intention of entering the village, and were just passing by by the way. However, when they arrived in front of the village, they saw those Jianghuai Army soldiers who had been hit on their acupuncture points and lying on the ground. It was impossible to turn a blind eye.
"stop!"
When Du Fuwei gave the order, the cavalry team behind him immediately stopped, and he himself jumped up from his horse and floated down in front of Meng Xiuyuan and others like a big bird.
"Mr. Du..."
Zhang Yong was obviously in too much awe of Du Fuwei on weekdays, and it was difficult to change his mentality at this moment. Seeing the big leader rushing in front of him, he couldn't help but speak.
Du Fuwei did not speak when he heard the sound, but glanced around first, looking at Jiang Huaijun who had his acupuncture points pressed on the ground, and then at Li Jing and Zhang Yong, who were slightly nervous.
Finally, he fixed his gaze on Meng Xiuyuan's face and slowly said:
"A person alone has the guts to provoke me, Jiang Huaijun, and he is a man...
Boy, I think you look quite familiar, have we met somewhere?"
Meng Xiuyuan thought for a moment after hearing this, then smiled, shook his head, and said calmly:
"I'm afraid Mr. Du has seen my wanted portrait..."
Du Fuwei was reminded by Meng Xiuyuan, and a light suddenly flashed in his eyes. He looked at Meng Xiuyuan again, his eyes were much more serious than before:
"The one who defeated Yu Wenhuaji and stole "The Secret of Immortality" turned out to be you?!
Meng Xiuyuan... Tsk, when I saw your portrait, I thought it was because the officials in the court were incompetent and the pictures were inaccurate. I didn't expect you to be so young."
When Yu Wenhuaji was defeated by Meng Xiuyuan, many pairs of eyes were present to witness it. Even if he wanted to hide it for the sake of reputation, he couldn't.
Simply, Yu Wenhuaji issued Meng Xiuyuan's arrest warrant widely, so that a few months ago, the name "Meng Xiuyuan" had spread to the ears of many high-ranking people.
"Meng Xiuyuan, I heard that you have a close connection with the Goryeo Rakshasa girl.
She told you the secret of ‘Mr. Yang’s Treasure’, right or wrong?”
Even though Du Fuwei knew Meng Xiuyuan's identity, he still looked domineering and asked Meng Xiuyuan in a rough voice, like an adult asking a child.
Meng Xiuyuan was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then suddenly realized that Yu Wenhuaji would not suffer a hidden loss so easily.
Presumably, he took the initiative to spread the news about "Yang Gong's Treasure", which caused ambitious people like Du Fuwei who wanted to seize the world to start thinking about Meng Xiuyuan.
Seeing the greedy face of Du Fuwei opposite him, almost determined to eat him, Meng Xiuyuan smiled slightly and said simply:
"I do know the location of the 'Yang Gong Treasure'.
But why should I tell you?"
Du Fuwei laughed loudly when he heard the sound and said to Meng Xiuyuan:
"How about if I can spare your life after you tell me?"
Meng Xiuyuan shook his head when he heard the sound and said:
"Mr. Du, actually just now, I was thinking about whether I should spare your life.
Since we have similar ideas, how about making a bet?"
When Du Fuwei heard Meng Xiuyuan's "wild talk", he immediately looked serious and asked:
"What to bet on?"
"Let's bet on the whereabouts of Yang Gong's treasure and your Jianghuai army."