In the second attack, the Black Panther lost seven people and wounded eighteen others.

There were more than 50 of these assassins, both Han and Hu, and there were not only Qiang but also Huns among the Hu people. Li Hong single-handedly blocked and killed nineteen people, and his strong martial arts made Sun Jian, who came to support, dumbfounded.

He slept for a day, and only woke up the next day.

Li Hong suffered several injuries, which did not hinder his movements. That night, Tao Qian came to him.

Tao Qian comforted him a few words, and then bluntly told him that the time and place of this assassination were arranged just right, and there must be a master behind him. Now the traitor, Xiliang and the clan bureaucrats in Guanzhong may spend money to hire someone to kill him, and it is meaningless to speculate about the people behind the scenes, the important thing is to protect his own life, so that the assassins will not be able to do it from now on.

Tao Qian said with a solemn expression: "Assassinating you at the entrance of the old street, the other party obviously wants to blame Lord Taiwei, which makes us easily think that the assassin was assigned by a traitor, but I think this matter may not be so simple." Nowadays, there are so many things that are true and false, it is difficult to tell clearly? ”

Li Hong smiled and said gratefully, "Thank you for your concern." I've offended so many people, I've killed so many people, and it's normal for people to come and kill me. I don't want to pursue these things. Although several of my brothers died, I know how to recover this blood debt for them. ”

Tao Qian looked at him attentively and nodded.

"Zimin, why did you agree to go to Jincheng? Huaili City is such a safe place, you are almost killed, let alone go to Jincheng. Are you looking for death? Don't you know the motives behind Lord Taiwei? ”

Li Hong bowed his head and was silent.

Tao Qian said angrily: "Why did you go to Jincheng? Did the rebels send someone to deliver the guilt? Who is sure that the rebels will surrender? Why did you agree to such a good excuse? ”

"Okay, even if the enemy is willing to surrender, but you killed tens of thousands of rebels in two battles, and your enmity with the rebels is as deep as the sea, how can you go? There are so many officials in Xiliang, why can't it be your turn. On the rebel side, there are more people who want to kill you than here, and it's hard for you to die if you don't want to. Tao Qian sighed and continued, "Even if the rebels don't kill you, how can you guarantee your safety if you go to Jincheng for more than 800 miles back and forth?" Are you going to take an army with you? ”

"This is a knife to kill."

Tao Qian looked at Li Hong sympathetically and said, "I don't see any hope that you will come back alive." ”

"It's really touching that adults care so much about me." Li Hong arched his hand to Tao Qian and said, "I am willing to go for a reason." ”

"I think Lord Taiwei still wants to solve Xiliang's problem as soon as possible, killing me, after all, it is a secondary matter."

"Although Lord Taiwei has the intention of killing people with a knife, but if I think about it carefully, I will go to appease him, and he is indeed the most suitable person, and he has the greatest possibility of success. This time, the imperial court took the initiative to appease, and what it wanted to show was strong strength and blood, and I was the most suitable. Because General Dong has been friends with them for many years, it is inevitable that there will be all kinds of grievances. But I didn't, I first came here with a murderous knife. On the battlefield, either you die or I die, and there are no grievances to speak of. ”

"That's why you're going?" Tao Qian thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "I rarely go to the battlefield, it's hard to understand this kind of thing, maybe you're right." ”

"That's not the only reason I'm going." Li Hong said softly.

Tao Qian immediately looked at Li Hong with interest.

Li Hong smiled slightly: "I'm sorry sir, I can't say." ”

Tao Qian nodded understandingly, and then asked with concern, "Are you really sure you will come back alive?" ”

"Of course. I'm not sure I'm not going. Li Hong said with a smile.

＝＝＝

Although Taiwei Zhang Wen and the ministers of the court and the central government had a lot of money and wrote letters and admonished them, the Son of Heaven was determined not to let Li Hongxi go to Jincheng County to appease the rebels.

Eunuchs such as Zhao Zhong, Duan Qi, and Xiao Huang Men Jian (read jian) Shuo also spoke in cameras.

The Son of Heaven saw that the eunuchs, who had always been at odds with the bureaucrats of the Middle Kingdom, also recommended Li Hong to Jincheng County to persuade the rebels to surrender, and he immediately became alert. He privately said to his confidant Xiao Huangmen Jian Shuo: "You and the ministers of the court have always spoken with two voices, but this time there is a tone, and you must be famous." ”

He immediately ordered Zhang Wen, the chief lieutenant, to strictly prohibit Li Hong from setting foot in Jincheng County.

Now, Li Hong is the tool of the Son of Heaven to make a fortune, how can he give up to let Li Hong have an accident. The list of suspected corrupt officials given to him by Li Hong made the Son of Heaven make a lot of money, so much so that he even issued an edict urging Li Hong to give him another batch of lists. It's so easy to make money.

Seeing Li Hong's very strong and resolute request to appease the rebels, Zhang Wen felt a little unsteady in his heart. He asked Li Hong several times, but he really couldn't tell whether Li Hong was a real idiot or a pretending idiot. He took out the holy decree of the Son of Heaven and gave it to Li Hong, telling Li Hong that now, unless you personally write to Your Majesty and state in detail the reasons for your request, the Son of Heaven will not agree. When Li Hong saw the holy decree of the Son of Heaven, he felt very uncomfortable. Of course, he knew why the Son of Heaven didn't let him go to Jincheng County, and the Son of Heaven had already made it clear in the edict he gave him.

Li Hong asked Zhao Yun to write a letter to the Son of Heaven for himself.

Li Hong first explained the reason why he took the initiative to go to Jincheng County to persuade the rebels to surrender. He repeatedly assured the Son of Heaven in his recitals that after returning from Jincheng County, he would definitely be able to bring more lucrative income to the Son of Heaven. Then there is the question of prisoners and food.

On that day, although Lord Taiwei did not talk to Dong Zhuo about the transfer of military funds, because of the stalemate between the two sides, Zhang Wen thought that it was obviously unwise to owe Dong Zhuo's army military funds at this time. He made a decision to hand over all the 50,000 captives of the Xiliang rebels to Li Hong, who had full authority to dispose of them. Li Hong was so angry that he wanted to curse. But when he saw Zhang Wen's gray sideburns, tight brows, and haggard face, he couldn't bear to refuse. The 50,000 captives were handed over to Li Hong, and to put it bluntly, Zhang Wen didn't care about their food, drink and lives. Li Hong starved them to death, killed, or sold them, as long as he didn't ask Zhang Wen for a grain of grain, he asked for a lot of money. However, once Xiliang is pacified, Li Hong is very likely to return to Youzhou, and these 50,000 captives will still be dismissed to return to their hometowns. What was given to Dong Zhuo and the Northern Army was money, but what was given to Li Hong was 50,000 prisoners to eat and drink. Li Hong is stupid, how can he explain to his brothers this time.

Zhang Wen saw Li Hong's dissatisfied appearance and scolded him for being cunning in his heart. He thought that Li Hong had withheld a large part of the stolen money and goods obtained from the raid. In fact, Li Hong wanted to allocate this amount of money to part of the army of the Western Expedition, part to the Son of Heaven, and part to the treasury of Xiliang, and the rest was not much, and it was only enough for his own 50,000 army expenses. But who believes that when these words are said? He has a word of suffering.

Li Hong told the Son of Heaven about his difficulties, 50,000 more captives to eat, and the food was really not enough. This group of people can't be killed, and they can't be released. Kill it, the hearts of the people in Xiliang will be gone, and the population of Xiliang will be even less; Let it go, that is to set yourself on fire. These captives rebelled because they had no food to eat, but when they were put back, they still had nothing to eat, and they still had to rebel. Therefore, he begged the Son of Heaven to help him find a way to allocate some food from somewhere to help him in an emergency. As for the money to buy grain, when he returned from Jincheng County, he would have it immediately.

He wrote another letter to Xian Yufu. He told Xian Yufu that he had promised Lord Taiwei to prepare to go west to Jincheng County to appease the rebels, and he asked Xian Yufu to immediately summon Xu Rong, Ko Yi and Zuo Yan to discuss after receiving the letter. Li Hong's intention was to let Xu Rong and Nie Xiao, the Xiaoqu Shuai of the Qiang people, go to Jincheng County first to meet with the rebel leaders and probe the tone of Bian Zhang and Han Sui. In addition, let Lei Zi and Wen Chou take two thousand black leopards to rush to Huaili as soon as possible, and he wanted to return to the Zixiu Mountain camp.

＝＝＝

After Li Hong returned to the camp, Song Dian and Zhen Ju came to visit. After the three chatted a few words, Song Dian and Zhen Ju said goodbye and left.

"How many days have Xu Rong and Nie Xiao been gone?" Li Hong asked as he strode back to the big tent.

"After receiving the letter from the adult, Zilie took Nie Xiao away that night." Rarely in the auxiliary back road.

"How did you discuss my trip to Jincheng County? I asked for a few things, but they were all arranged. ”

"According to the adult's wishes, we have all arranged it." Zuo Yan smiled, "As soon as Your Majesty's decree arrives, your lord will be on the road." However, there is one thing that requires you to come up with an idea for yourself. ”

"What's the matter?" Li Hong asked.

"After the adults are gone, it is very likely that Lord Taiwei will be responsible for this Xiliang anti-corruption matter." Zuo Yan continued, "What about the prisoners imprisoned in the camp and the evidence we have collected? If the Captain takes them all, we'll ......."

"Your Majesty is still counting on these people to make some money, so Lord Taiwei shouldn't disobey the will of the Son of Heaven and let them go, right?" Li Hong said with a smile, "In this way, you only do two things, one is to take good care of the confiscated money, and no one will take it, and whoever will take it will cut off someone's head." The second is to hold the barracks tightly, and no one is allowed to leave the barracks. ”

Koji Yi asked puzzled, "My lord, what do you mean by this?" Could it be that Xiliang's anti-corruption business was abandoned halfway? ”

Li Hong smiled and said, "Didn't I tell you before I arrived in Huaili, here is the greatest authority of Lord Taiwei, he can do whatever he wants, you can't disobey." Whether it is the person who has been arrested, whether it is a criminal or the evidence, whatever they do, you don't care, when I come back, hehe......" Li Hong smiled ill-willedly, "Xiliang is going to tremble." ”

Xian Yufu, Koji Yi and Zuo Yan looked at Li Hong suspiciously.

Li Hong shook his hand at them and said, "You'll know why when I come back." Don't ask now, I won't say if I do. ”

"Your Excellency is so confident in appeasing the rebels?" Koji Yi smiled, "Lao Bian is not a good talker. ”

Li Hong smiled very confidently: "Yuntian, do you want to go to Jincheng with me?" ”

A hint of excitement flashed on Ko Yi's face, and then he shook his head as he remembered something, and said, "My lord, let's take Zilie with you." Mr. Wenyo didn't like me. I went, and it didn't help the adults. ”

"People, the safety ...... in Jincheng this time" Xian Yufu looked at Li Hong and said worriedly, "These people are ruthless, they can't be prevented, you ......"

Li Hong put his arm around his shoulders and comforted him with a smile: "This time I was careless and killed several brothers. You can rest assured, there is no next time. With this lesson, it will be difficult to kill me. ”

The curtain was lifted, Tian Chong, Wei Zheng, and Ji Wei walked in.

Tian Zhong took Li Hong's hand, looked up and down, his white goatee trembled, a little excited, he smiled: "Zimin, are you okay?" ”

"You can't die." Li Hong's heart was warm, he patted Tian Chonggan's thin hand, and said with a smile, "Uncle, I still want to fight with you to Sunset Plain, how can I die?" ”

Li Hong immediately held Ji Wei's hand and asked with concern, "Has the wound been better in the past few days?" ”

Ji Wei was injured during the attack on Qingwu and never recovered. Ji Wei smiled: "Compared to the injuries of adults, this is nothing to me." ”

"Guoan, why don't you look good? Are you busy these days? Li Hong pointed at Wei Zheng and asked with a smile, "Is there someone who has violated military discipline again?" ”

Wei Zheng smiled and replied, "The next time you go out, you must not be so careless." ”

"Thank you." Li Hong said sadly, "When I leave that day, just listen to your advice and bring more people." He shook his head again and again, looking quite sad.

Zheng Xin, Yushi, Yan Rou, Xian Yuyin, Heng Xi and other generals rushed in, and then Yan Liang, Zhang He, Gao Ran and others also rushed over when they heard the news, and the big tent was suddenly crowded with people. Everyone was very happy to see that Li Hong was safe and sound, and they were talking and laughing in the big tent one by one.

Li Hong looked left and right and asked strangely, "Where's the beard?" What about fists? By the way, what about Lou Lu? You're all here, why haven't a few of them come? Li Hong pointed at Yan Rou and Heng Sacrifice and asked, "What's the matter, what are they busy with?" Don't come to see me anymore? ”

Yan Rou's face sank, and Heng Priest bowed his head and was silent. There was silence in the tent.

Yan Wudaunt glared at Wei Zheng fiercely and said, "Lord Hui, they have all been locked up by Lord Assassin. ”

Li Hong laughed, he looked at Wei Zheng and said, "Guoan, what did they do this time?" When have these people been stable? ”

Wei Zheng arched his hand and said: "Back to my lord, there are no big things, they are all small things, and a little punishment is enough." ”

Hua Xiong raised his eyebrows and said loudly: "Lord Wei, what do you mean by that?" What trifle? You're just protecting you. ”

Koji Yi also said unhappily: "Lord Wei, you didn't say that when you arrested people that day. What do you mean by a trifle? What does it mean to be a little disciplined? Master Wei, you can explain it to me? ”

Wei Zheng's face flushed, and he looked embarrassed.

Tian Zhong was so angry that he shook his hand and slapped Yan Wuxing, then walked to Wei Zheng's side, and said to Ko Yi and Hua Xiong with a smile: "We are all a family, some things are still handled through negotiation, there is no need to make things stiff." We should pay for it, apologize for it, drink three bowls of wine, and everyone is still brothers. ”

Tian Chong's status in the Jizhou army is different after all, he took the initiative to stand up and speak, and it was difficult for Koji Yi and Huaxiong to say anything because they were in the way of face. The two of them nodded unkindly, and did not say anything nasty.

As soon as Li Hong heard it, he understood that it must have been his subordinates who had a conflict with Xiliang's soldiers. He originally wanted to ask about it, but when he saw Tian Zhong standing up and saying that he was dead, he didn't bother to ask again.

Everyone talked nonsense for a while, and then said goodbye one after another.

Li Hong left Zheng Xin.

"What's going on?" Li Hong asked, "Do I think Master Wei seems to be very embarrassed?" ”

Zheng Xin struggled for a long time and said, "People, the old man has already said that he will negotiate and deal with it, so don't interfere anymore?" ”

Li Hong smiled: "Okay, okay, I promise." What a big deal, all of them are mysterious, do they kill people? ”

"There was no killing, but there were one or two thousand soldiers on both sides participating in the brawl, which was really unseemly." Zheng Xin shook his head and said.

Li Hong was taken aback and said with a smile, "So big a scale? ”

"You're still laughing?" Zheng Xin said angrily, "You are still a lieutenant general, the chief general of the army, and you still laugh at such a big thing happening in the barracks?" ”

Li Hong laughed when he saw Zheng Xin's angry appearance.

"It's all caused by Lou Lu. He invited a group of Karasuma brothers from Hakusan to dinner in the military market, and by the way, he gathered dozens of prostitutes to entertain him. More than a dozen officers from Xiliang also happened to go to the military market that night to look for camp prostitutes. When those people saw that the camp prostitutes had let Lou Lu rob them first, they were angry, so they scolded people outside the camp prostitutes' tents. Lou Lu and a group of brothers were angry when they heard this, and they rushed out and beat them. As a result, the men ran back and shouted to hundreds of people, turned upside down and beat them up again. Lou Lu went to find a beard and fist help. Three people with more than a thousand people ran to the military city to fight. Needless to say, you know what happened......"

Li Hong shook his head and said disapprehantly: "Are there very few camp prostitutes in the military market? ”

"Not much, probably just over a hundred. Last time, Zilong led people to attack the camp, and he killed many of them. ”

"So be it." Li Hong said, "There are thousands of corrupt wives, concubines, children, servants and slaves in the camp, you go to check, and all of them are suitable for the camp prostitutes." ”

Zheng Xin looked at him in surprise and said, "My lord, is this appropriate?" ”

"What's out of place." Li Hong said coldly, "I have killed dozens of corrupt officials, and I still care about these people." ”

"They're poor ......," Zheng Xin whispered, "we're ...... doing this."

"I can't let them go, can I?" Li Hong smiled bitterly, "We were all born poor, and I was still a slave, so we all know the pain of being a slut." But sympathizing with them doesn't mean we can help them. According to the law of the Han Dynasty, they are this fate, and no one can change it. How do you say? ”

Zheng Xin was silent.

"Let's solve our own problems first." Li Hong sighed and said, "I can't care about it so much." We still have 50,000 captives to eat, what do you have in mind? ”

Zheng Xin was not in a good mood, he spread his hands and said with a sad face: "What can I do?" I eat twice a day and save a little. Beigong Boyu and Li Wenhou have been looking for the old man several times. Look at their posture, as if they are going to riot if they don't give them food, who is afraid of whom. ”

Li Hong was at a loss.

＝＝＝

Yunwu City is located on the south bank of Huangshui, 60 miles away from the Yellow River. The county seat of Geumseong-gun is located in this city.

Although Bian Zhang's injuries were under control, life was still uncontrollably draining from his emaciated body. Pain tormented Bian Zhang all day long, making him feel painful.

Han Sui slowly walked into the courtyard where Bian Zhang lived.

Bian Zhang on the sickbed has lost his shape, but because of the careful and thoughtful caretakers, he still looks clean, refreshing, and in good spirits.

"Didn't you bring a flute today?" Bian Zhang asked in a low voice. Every day, when Han Sui came to see him, he had to play a song for him.

Han Sui gently gave Bian Zhang a thin quilt and whispered, "Zilie is here." ”

Bian Zhang was silent.

Han Sui smiled: "Old Bian, this time your wish has been granted." ”

Bian Zhang sighed lightly and asked, "Why didn't Zilie come to see me?" ”

"There are some things we have to talk about first." Han Sui said, "Zilie came too suddenly, and we didn't have any preparations. How do we talk to Zilie? Surrender or surrender? Is it to appease or appease? We always have to leave a way back for ourselves, just in case. ”

Bian Zhang smiled bitterly and said, "Is Zilie talking to us?" ”

"It's the leopard Li Hong."

Bian Zhang was taken aback. He and Han Sui glanced at each other, a few traces of surprise, admiration, resentment, and helplessness flashed on their faces. He shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Old Bian......" Han Sui shouted softly.

Li Zhonglang's sudden bloody crackdown on corruption in Xiliang caused great chaos in Xiliang and Guanzhong, and their Western Expeditionary Army was already facing extreme difficulties because of the lack of military funds. At this time, Li Hong suddenly came to appease us on behalf of the Son of Heaven, which must have been a helpless move. We can take advantage of this opportunity to take the initiative and force the court to make concessions. Han Sui said eloquently, Cheng Zhu was in his chest, "Old Bian, what do you see? The point is that we can't leave Jincheng, we can't give up the army, what do you say? ”

Bian Zhang bowed his head slightly and said, "You can make your own decisions about these things." Then he opened his eyes, looked at Han Sui, and continued, "He is fighting corruption in Xiliang, killing corrupt officials, and doing what we have always wanted to do but have not done. For decades, who dared to pick up the butcher's knife of justice in Xiliang? There is only this leopard from the north. ”

Han Sui nodded in admiration and said, "This person's boldness, bloody methods, and awe-inspiring momentum are very rare. ”

"If he dares to come, he will have something to rely on." Bian Zhang said, "Wenyue, you have to be more vigilant. In addition, you have to greet Yang Qiu and them, and don't intend to murder him. Although we were defeated by Li Hong, and hundreds of thousands of troops were destroyed by him, it was a dignified confrontation between the two sides on the battlefield, and there was no personal grudge to speak of. ”

"Now he is fighting corruption in Xiliang, offending all factions in the court, and his future is bleak. If he dies with us, we will not only lose the opportunity to appease, but also lose the hearts of the people of Xiliang. He now has a high reputation among the people of Xiliang and Guanzhong, and at this time, we must not let him die with us, you know? ”

"I know." Han Sui said cautiously, "Zilie said that before he came, Li Hong was stabbed twice in a row by a group of assassins in Huaili City and was injured. There are too many people who want to kill him now. I'll take care of it. ”

＝＝＝

The holy decree of the Son of Heaven was delivered to the camp of Zixiu Mountain.

The Son of Heaven agreed that Li Hong should rush to Jincheng to appease the rebels. The Son of Heaven was probably worried that Li Hong would have too much resistance in the process of appeasing the rebels and would not be able to come back in a short time, so he deliberately gave Li Hong a bottom line to appease the rebels: as long as the rebels expressed their allegiance to the Son of Heaven and returned to the Han Dynasty, any conditions could be agreed.

The Son of Heaven did favor Li Hong. He agreed to Li Hong's request for grain allocation. He told Li Hong in an edict that he had issued an order to Hedong and Hongnong several major counties in Kwantung to immediately raise a batch of grain and send it to the Zixiu Mountain camp.

Sang Yang, who accompanied him to announce the decree, looked at Li Hong and said bluntly: "Why is the luck of the adults so good? Your Majesty gave you such a condition, that is, if I go to Jincheng, I can also return triumphantly. ”

Li Hong smiled and leaned over to Sang Yang's ear and whispered, "This is what I bought with money." ”

＝＝＝