Taiwei Zhang Wen, Jingzhao Yin Gaixun, Liangzhou Assassin Shi Geng Contempt, and the governors of Guanzhong and Xiliang prefectures and counties wrote letters to impeach Li Hong, and the chapters flew to Luoyang like snowflakes.

Taiwei Zhang Wen also wrote to the Son of Heaven, considering that the army of the Western Expedition was short of money and food, he suggested that the rebels should be appeased as soon as possible, so as to pacify the Xiliang Ban Dynasty as soon as possible. He strongly recommended Li Hongxi to go to Jincheng County and take the initiative to recruit rebels.

The Son of Heaven told several Shangshu that he would not read any recital to impeach Li Zhonglang, and he would ignore Zhang Wen's recommendation. What he is most concerned about now is Zhou Wang, the commander of the Central Tibetan Prefecture. As long as Zhou Wang comes to see the driver, there will be money in the account. The Son of Heaven is happy.

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Luoyang, Yuan's house.

Yuan Kui is the head of the family of Yuan Valve, the first gate valve of the Han Dynasty, and last year because of the revival of the Jizhou Yellow Turban Rebellion, he was dismissed from the post of Situ by the Son of Heaven and has been idle at home. The old man was in his sixties, with gray hair and strong spirits. Because the matter of Xiliang's anti-corruption is getting bigger and bigger, and the momentum is getting more and more fierce, and the protégés and former officials of several major families in Beijing have been arrested. The heads of several families couldn't sit still, so they met for a small gathering to discuss ways to deal with the crisis in front of them.

In the study, Sikong Xu Xiang, the former Situ Yuan Kui, the former left chariot general Huangfu Song, the imperial history of the middle of the Cheng Yang Qin, and the Shangshu Lu Zhi, sat around, silent, and the atmosphere was very depressing.

Situ Cui Lie, who was sitting in the upper seat, suddenly slapped the table and said angrily: "Li Zhonglang, what does he want to do?" How many more people does he have to arrest? ”

"News came from Chang'an today that Li Zhonglang's men had captured seven of us again. Now that the situation is getting more and more tense, are you at a loss for anything but to do nothing? Yuan Kui asked in a slow voice.

"What can be done?" Cui Lie said angrily: "Now as long as it is related to Your Majesty, Your Majesty will collect money." He has to pay money for playing, he has to pay money for talking, and even the attendants have to pay for serving him. Everyone was afraid of collecting money from His Majesty, and they didn't even dare to go to the court. But if you don't go, you can't take a vacation every day. Counseling the doctor, Lord Qin, took leave every day, and His Majesty got angry, saying that you are in poor health and are not suitable for being an official, so go home to retire. And so he was dismissed. His Majesty sold this official position the next day, and sold it for two million dollars, but he was still not happy, saying that the time was too tight and he did not sell it for a good price. ”

"He is not even allowed to take leave of absence for those of us, saying that we are important and cannot be absent. But what are you doing in the court? He didn't dare to speak. I can't talk now, one mouth is three thousand dollars. Cui Lie gestured with his hands, his eyes widened, and he grinned and said, "Boss, three thousand dollars, only ten words to say, can you afford to say this?" Lord Tingweishi risked his life that day to advise, hoping that His Majesty could understand the public opinion and quickly issue an order to arrest Li Zhonglang, and the matter of Xiliang's suppression of corruption was taken over by Tingweifu. As a result, I was careless and talked too much. Although he brought three horses of silk, His Majesty was very meticulous in calculating the accounts, and he did not miss a penny. Before Lord Shi finished speaking, he already owed His Majesty 20,000 yuan. Lord Shi said that he owed it first and gave it tomorrow. Your Majesty said okay, you can pay interest today. So he ordered someone to drag him down and beat him with twenty boards. Poor Lord Shi is still lying on the collapse and can't turn over. ”

"Since then, no one has spoken. Everybody sleeps. His Majesty sat and slept, and we slept standing, and above the court, there was a lot of snoring. Sikong Xu Xiang smiled bitterly, "The day before yesterday, the general snored too loudly, which woke up His Majesty and was fined 10,000 yuan." "Hey......," he sighed in frustration, and said, "We don't dare to write more than we write, and the more we write, the more money we pay." Now, unless absolutely necessary, no one takes the initiative to go to the book. ”

"Is Your Majesty's purpose for money or ......" Yuan Kui frowned and asked in a low voice.

"Your Majesty must be in it for money, there can be no doubt about that. The boss can rest assured that something like the party will never happen. Yang Qin said. He is the younger brother of the late Taiwei Yang Ci, and is a member of the Yang family, a wealthy family in the Great Han Kingdom. This man was in his fifties, tall and thin, with a white face and a long beard, a pair of small eyes, and a gorgeous dress.

"So far, Xiliang has cracked down on corruption, and the most serious losses are still the traitorous eunuchs. Zhang Rang was the worst. He first used the huge amount of embezzled money to buy Qingwu and was discovered by Li Zhonglang, and then his henchman former Liangzhou assassin Shi Mengtuo was caught by Li Zhonglang. According to Meng Tuo's confession, Li Zhonglang wrote to accuse him of embezzling 600 million yuan from the state treasury, and the evidence is conclusive. His Majesty roared incessantly above the court, and smashed the bamboo slips into his face three times, which was very happy. We didn't bring any money that day, otherwise we could have taken the opportunity to make a statement and make His Majesty angry, and maybe His Majesty would have killed him in a fit of anger. It's a pity. Zhang Rang cried bitterly above the court, kowtowed desperately to forgive, his forehead was broken, and his face was bleeding, haha......, happy, relieved of anger......" Yang Qin smiled, "Your Majesty will not forgive, until Zhang Rang promised to return all the stolen money and goods, Your Majesty let him go, let him go home and wait for the guilt to pass." Cheap this old bastard. ”

"And there is Xia Yun, the middle attendant. He's so unlucky. Among the few traitors, even if he is honest and loyal, he has no enmity with us. His son of a ruined son was too arrogant, and he provoked Li Zhonglang's subordinate Koji Yi in Chang'an for no reason. Do you know whose family Koji is? ”

"I know, he is a descendant of Ju Tan, the Shangshu of the previous dynasty." Huangfu Song interjected, "This son is arrogant, arrogant, and has a strong temperament, but he has good martial arts and can fight." It turns out that he is the one who arrested the Yang Party? ”

"Yes. Originally, Koji Yi didn't go to arrest him. Yang Dang is the Chang'an Order, and if you want to arrest it, you have to talk to Lord Jingzhao Yin Gai. But he didn't know how to run to stop him, and when he heard that he opened his mouth, he scolded Koji's ancestors, which annoyed Koji. In a fit of rage, Koji not only killed his men, but also raided his home. Yang Dang was caught off guard, and all evidence was copied, and it is said that no less than 100 million yuan of property was copied from Yang Dang's home at that time. Yang Dang was greedy for life and afraid of death, cowardly as a mouse, and after being caught in Li Zhonglang's camp, he recruited everything, even what happened more than ten years ago. After Li Zhonglang handed over the evidence of Xia Yun's corruption and perversion of the law to His Majesty, His Majesty became angry and beat Xia Yun violently. In order to atone for his sins, Xia Yun even sold his house. I heard that he has no place to live now, so he has to stay in the small firewood room in the palace. ”

"I've heard what you're talking about. Although the traitorous eunuchs were hit, His Majesty remembered that they were all old ministers, that is, let them spend money to atone for their sins, and went home to think about it, and did not give any punishment, and even their titles were not deprived, which shows that His Majesty still trusts them very much. But we are not so lucky, once we make a mistake, it will be a disaster for the nine clans. Yuan Kui touched his long beard and said worriedly, "If the arrested people can't help but torture us, confess to us or find clues for Li Zhonglang, and then find us along the vine, I'm afraid things will be very troublesome." We can't afford to be on guard. ”

"Don't worry, sir." Cui Lie comforted, "Lord Taiwei wrote that Song Dian and Zhenju, the chief servant, have already rushed to the Zixiu Mountain camp in Longxian. With the two of them maneuvering around, plus the obstruction of Lord Taiwei, Lord Jingzhao Yin Gai, and Lord Geng of the Liangzhou Assassin Mansion, Li Zhonglang's verification will become more and more difficult, and the time will become slower and slower, and it is estimated that it will be difficult to achieve any results in the near future. In addition, Li Zhonglang tied us and the eunuch to a rope, and everyone was prosperous and lost, so Song Dian didn't dare to make a bad deal out of it. Don't worry, sir. ”

"But dragging it out like this is not a solution after all, we must find a way to solve this matter once and for all." Yuan Kui said, "The longer the matter of Xiliang's anti-corruption drags on, the more unfavorable it will be for us." Although from the current point of view, His Majesty's main purpose is still to collect money, but after a long time, will His Majesty's purpose change? There is also that Li Zhonglang, who does not distinguish between black and white, good or bad, blindly arrests and kills, bloody and cruel, this kind of person is barbaric and rude, lawless, lawless, and lawless, if it is not dealt with in time, the threat to us is too great. Even if we get away with it this time, what about next time? Who knows what he'll do next time? ”

"What the old man said is reasonable." Xu Xiang smiled, "But it's not us who are most anxious now, but those traitors." Two of them have already fallen, and if they don't find a way to solve the matter of Xiliang and solve Li Zhonglang, I'm afraid that more and more of them will fall. Their methods have always been vicious and vicious. I think we can wait a little longer, maybe there will be good news. ”

Yuan Kui nodded and said, "It's the first time in decades that we've seen the forces of the traitors in the palace suffer such a big blow. Fortunately, the emperor grew up with their assistance, and the Son of Heaven took care of the old feelings and did not hold Zhang Rang and Xia Yun accountable, otherwise they would have died long ago without a place to be buried. The eunuchs have suffered a big loss, and they will definitely fight back. ”

He paused for a moment and continued, "Although Lord Xu's words make sense, let's be cautious. The traitors are simply a group of waste, hiding behind the emperor and pretending to be tigers, coming up with ghost ideas, and it is okay to deal with a group of scholars and students who are powerless, but to deal with a brainless martial artist like Li Zhonglang, a ruthless person who crawls out of the pile of dead, I am afraid that he is not an opponent, not to mention that now the emperor supports Li Zhonglang. In my opinion, we should take the initiative and think of a proper way to do our best to not only crack down on the forces of the traitors, but also solve the current crisis. That's the best way to go, you say? ”

Everyone nodded in unison.

"We've thought about it for a long time, and we think it's more subtle and safe for Lord Tai Wei's idea." Cui Lie said, "Starting from the current situation in Xiliang, Lord Taiwei has repeatedly asked His Majesty to issue an order to send Li Zhonglang to Jincheng to appease the rebels. However, the intention of this idea to kill people with a knife was too obvious, so Lord Taiwei was reluctant to give the order himself. He was worried that once Li Zhonglang died in Jincheng, his actions would not only be true, but also ruin his reputation for the rest of his life. ”

"This time Xiliang put down the rebellion, Li Zhonglang made a great contribution, he killed tens of thousands of rebels in two battles, and the grudge with the rebels was very deep. After he arrived in Jincheng, even if the rebel leaders of Bian Zhang and Han Sui did not kill him, those subordinates of Bian Zhang would definitely not let him go and would not let him come back alive. Moreover, if nothing else, along the way, the traitorous eunuchs will definitely send someone to assassinate him, which has always been the elusive trick of the traitorous eunuchs. ”

"If he dies on the way to appease, the blame is on the rebels, and there is no doubt about us people. As soon as he died, Xiliang's matter was settled. His Majesty saw that there was no one to rely on in Xiliang's anti-corruption matter, so he could only stop fighting. Even if His Majesty knows in his heart that there are ghosts in this, but he has no evidence, what can he do to us? After all, this holy decree was made by himself, and no one can complain. Cui Lie frowned and sighed: "Although Lord Taiwei has urged us to cooperate with him many times, and we have also written many times, but His Majesty just doesn't agree." ”

"It is said that His Majesty can receive a large sum of money from Xiliang from Li Zhonglang every three or five days. In this case, it is too difficult for us to convince His Majesty unless we give him more money. Yang Qin said.

"And how much will it cost us?" Yuan Kui asked.

"I don't know." Xu Xiang sighed and said, "As far as the financial resources of our families are concerned, it is definitely not enough." ”

Yuan Kui grabbed his beard and groaned silently.

"Yizhen, Zigan, where did you go to Liu Shangshu just now, what can you ask?"

Huangfu Song nodded, and said discouragedly: "I have heard a lot of news, but it is better not to say it, so as not to be in a bad mood after you hear it." ”

"Oh?" Yuan Kui asked strangely, "Why?" ”

"Money, it's all money. I now finally know why His Majesty resolutely supports Li Zhonglang Xiliang to suppress corruption. His Majesty is so fond of money that he has no time to be content. This time, His Majesty has made a lot of money with the help of Li Zhonglang, but he is not satisfied, he also has his eyes on the wealthy families in Kanto. Shangshu Lu Zhi said angrily.

"What's going on?" Cui Lie hurriedly asked, "Lord Liu received Li Zhonglang's secret music again?" ”

"Yes. When we arrived at Lord Liu's mansion, he had just returned from the palace. I heard that Li Zhonglang sent someone to send a list, which is full of officials suspected of corruption in Xiliang, but these officials are not in Xiliang or Guanzhong now, but in Guandong or other prefectures and counties. Li Zhonglang suggested that His Majesty should be arrested immediately. ”

Situ Cuilie, Sikong Xu Xiang, Yang Qin and Yuan Kui in the imperial history looked at each other.

"Li Zhonglang's movements are really fast. One move after another, we are struggling to deal with it. Yang Qin sighed.

"What else did Master Liu say? What is Your Majesty's opinion? Yuan Kui hurriedly asked.

"Listening to Lord Liu, His Majesty doesn't seem to have the intention of arresting people, he thinks that Kanto is very calm, and there is no need to make a fuss. His Majesty meant that it was enough to let the people on the list pay a certain amount of money to atone for their crimes, and it was too wasteful to have to provide food to those who were caught. Lu Zhi said, "In addition, Lord Liu also told us one thing, Your Majesty said that Li Zhonglang has no mind to make money, only knows how to kill, and he seems to be planning to sell all the people captured by Li Zhonglang." ”

"Sell?" Cui Lie asked in surprise, "How to sell it?" ”

"Your Majesty intends to mark the price of these people. Then let these people's friends or deceased owners pay for their lives. Specifically, we will know tomorrow. ”

"Haha......" Yang Qin laughed sadly, "Your Majesty has used the court of the Han Dynasty as a market, Your Majesty of Genius ......"

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Fufeng County, Huaili City.

Li Hong looked at the towering city tower in the distance, and said to Zhao Yun with a smile: "We have arrived." ”

Zhao Yun stretched out his hand to wipe the beads of sweat on his face, and said with a smile: "It's too hot, if you run any further, I'm afraid the war horse won't be able to support it." ”

Li Hong patted the panther painfully and said with a smile: "After entering the city, let's rest first, freshen up." It's too rude to go to see Lord Taiwei like this. ”

The group rode slowly, and the closer they got to the city gates, the more people came.

Arc Ding caught up with him and complained dissatisfiedly: "Why did Lord Taiwei move the Taiwei Mansion to Huaili City? It's stuffy and hot here, and the camp in Xiaohuaili is much cooler than here. ”

"We haven't entered the city yet, and you're complaining." Li Hong said with a smile, "Taiwei is used to living in the capital, and of course he doesn't like to live in a short and small cowhide tent. There will be no more wars, and we will live in the city. ”

Qi Shen, who was following behind, said with a smile: "My lord said the opposite, the houses in the city are small and narrow, and the cowhide tents are big and spacious. I don't like to live in the city, I'd rather live in the prairie. ”

"My lord, this time Lord Taiwei invited you to Huaili City, is it to discuss the withdrawal of troops? We're going back to Youzhou, right? Arc Ding asked with a grin.

"Come on, brothers, we're going back." Li Hong nodded in response, "Lord Taiwei is looking for me, probably for this." The northern army has already withdrawn first, and it should be our turn later. ”

"I'm going home......" Zhao Yun muttered quietly.

"Why, homesick." Li Hong patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Last time, I went to Luoyang with Lord Xianyu and Hutou, but I bought something for your parents?" ”

Zhao Yun nodded.

"Where's the tiger's head?"

Zhao Yun smiled mysteriously, leaned into Li Hong's ear and said, "Tiger head buys ...... for his wife"

The smile on Zhao Yun's face suddenly froze.

Li Hong was listening intently, and the corner of his eye inadvertently swept the abnormality on Zhao Yun's face. Li Hong instinctively felt something, suddenly opened his mouth and roared, and pounced on the left side of the war horse with all his strength, and the war knife roared out almost at the same time. In just a moment, Li Hong's body had already flown into the air.

Zhao Yun's horror was still on his face, and Arc Ding and Qi Shen had just opened their big mouths and were about to shout, and the fifty Black Panther attendants who followed closely behind them were still talking and laughing.

Li Hong took advantage of the situation and kicked at Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun took advantage of the situation to fly away from the war horse and rolled to the ground. With the help of this kick, Li Hong's body that flew up suddenly fell rapidly.

Three crossbow arrows silently crossed the black panther's broad back, flew past Zhao Yun's white horse's head, and shot into the air. The panther was startled and hissed.

At the same time, seven or eight homeless people scattered on the side of the road, all of them looked like arrows, drew their short swords and spears, and rushed up.

An old man in rags standing at the farthest point saw that the raid had failed, and immediately threw away the short crossbow in his hand, and quickly pulled out an even shorter and more powerful crossbow from his bosom. The crossbow was pressed against two swarthy iron arrows. The old man flew up with a small crossbow.

Li Hong faced upwards and fell heavily to the ground.

"Kill ......" Li Hong roared, and with the force of this impact, his huge body suddenly flew up diagonally from the ground, and the war knife in his hand roared down against the person holding the spear in his head.

The spear-wielding man ran in front, and when he saw Li Hong standing up like a ghost, he instinctively froze. At this moment, Li Hong's war knife chopped it to death with a thunderous force. The terrible screams were accompanied by angry roars, which were heartbreaking. Blood splattered.

Zhao Yun jumped up from the ground and roared: "There is an assassin ......" The battle knife behind his back has already reached his hand in the flash of cold light, "Kill ......"

Arc Ding and Abandonment Shen shouted: "There are assassins ......"

"Brothers scatter, spread out ......"

"Protecting the ...... of Adults"

Three short swords, and a short spear, rushed out almost simultaneously from behind the unfallen body of the spear-wielding man.

The old man who rushed over raised his short crossbow and shot it at Li Hong.

Li Hong has no way to hide.

Zhao Yun rushed out from behind the black panther, and his eyes were about to split; Arc Ding's body flew in the air, and he opened his mouth to let out a desperate cry; Qi Shen roared, aimed at the old man and threw the war knife with his shaking hand, the war knife flew quickly, and the piercing sound of cracking the sky suddenly filled this small space.

Li Hong's war knife didn't have time to raise it again, so he had to block the key point diagonally across his chest, and his left hand pulled out the black axe in his arms as quickly as possible, and split it out with his backhand.

The corpse of the spear-wielding man fell to the ground with a bang.

The Black Axe screamed with lightning speed and slashed the head of the frontal enemy and slit the throat of the second enemy. Blood gushed out of the broken throat and flew into the air.

The spear roared. The outermost short sword invaded the body with an icy chill. Two crossbow arrows, barely visible to the naked eye, burst into the air.

Blood sprayed Li Hong's head and face, and Li Hong's eyes were blindfolded in an instant.

Li Hong was excited, like a fierce beast before death, and raised his head and let out a heaven-shattering roar.

With his senses, the war knife entered again, and there was a "......ding" sound, blocking the killing sword.

The spear to, break through the armor, and go straight into the skin.

Li Hong categorically abandoned the knife with his right hand, grabbed the spearhead with his big hand, and roared again: "Kill ......" The spear suddenly came out of his body.

The bolt suddenly screeched from a stone's throw away.

The short sword had already risen diagonally and stabbed at Li Hong's body again.

Li Hong's body suddenly became lighter, and as the spear-wielding man shouted wildly, his body suddenly fell.

At the same time, the short axe in Li Hong's hand flew out of his hand and slashed straight into the chest of the spear-wielding man. The short sword in the hand of the sword-wielding man pierced Li Hong's abdomen in an instant. Li Hong let out a miserable snort with severe pain, and his inclined body suddenly accelerated the speed of falling. Li Hong's left foot flew up silently.

The sword-wielding man was suddenly attacked, his body soared into the air, and a long, heart-rending howl came out of his mouth. The big man's body lost his balance, and the short sword flew out of his hand, and a string of blood beads from the tip of the sword were thrown through the air.

The two crossbow arrows sank into the body, and they sank into the body of the big man who was falling in the air.

Li Hong's vest touched the ground, but his eyes were covered with blood, and it was still pitch black in front of him. He was in danger, holding the tip of the spear in his right hand, grabbing the handle of the spear with his left hand, and opening his mouth to roar: "Kill ......"

The old man who followed the rapid rush saw Li Hong escape the interception again, and in a fit of rage, he drew his sword and flew over. When the abandoned sword hit, the old man was helpless, so he stopped and exploded the knife with a loud roar. At the same time, the arc ding slashed down the heads of the falling enemies in the air with a volley, and stood firmly on the ground. Zhao Yun flew up in the air at the same time, slashing at the old man who rushed up.

Li Hong used his arms to flick away the headless corpse that fell from the air, and then a harrier rolled over and stood up.

He opened his eyes. He saw Zhao Yun. I saw Zhao Yun chop off the enemy's head with a knife, and saw the enemy's blood flying in the air.

Then he saw an arrow, a long arrow that was shot at his chest.

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