Betrayal always comes so quickly, and the ending may not be as happy as imagined.

Liu Guotai looked at the corpses in the Guimengzhai Gathering Hall, and was speechless in a daze. He only felt cold in his hands and feet, and he didn't know what was wrong. In the middle of the pile of a strong man's body, his body was hit by dozens of arrows, and his death was extremely miserable, it was Qin Bajia, the boss of Guimeng Village.

Obviously, some time ago, in the Green Camp Army, the discussion was to lure a few nearby mountain bandits to Guimeng Village to appease them together, and if there were any resistors, they would be killed. In this way, it can be beheaded, and it will be used as a military merit; can be regarded as having a way to advancement.

is also puzzled, as well as Cao Hao, who accompanied Li Xiong, the general soldier of Dengzhou, to "suppress bandits". Yes, why didn't you see the "appeasement" step in the middle, and directly arranged for the archers to shoot a salvo? By the time he heard the news and came with Li Xiong, the dust had already settled.

The bloody smell of the room was uncomfortable, and Cao Hao faintly felt some anger.

Although the "suppression of bandits" was originally a matter of the green camp, this is the boundary of Yizhou after all, and when Li Xiong arranged Liu Guotai to be the internal response, he was the one. At the beginning, it was really said that it was necessary to "recruit security" first, and then to kill those who were stubborn and refused to recruit security.

Li Xiong, the chief soldier of Dengzhou, stood proudly on the Juyi Hall of Guimeng Village, looked at the corpses on the ground, and said to Cao Hao, who came with him: "Cao E, this appeasement place is very dependent on Edon!" It's just a pity that the bandit leader ran away, but he didn't get the full credit! In his words, there was a hint of pride: "However, the leaders of several bandit villages around are here, which can be regarded as a lot of profits!" ”

While talking, someone came to report that the rest of the bandits were protecting the women and children to confront the officers and soldiers in the back mountain, and asked Li Xiong to show them.

Li Xiong smiled hideously on his face, waved his hand and said, "Kill!" Let these bandits see what Tianwei is! Our sons and daughters of the Qing Green Camp, are they not able to do the mountain goods without eggs? ”

Cao Hao frowned slightly, Mr. Zhuang had already said before that if Li Xiong, the chief soldier of Dengzhou, came to suppress the bandits, then he would have to kill them on a large scale. Because when Li Xiong first arrived in Shandong a few years ago, he suffered a big loss because of the Yimeng mountain bandits, and because of the defeat in suppressing the bandits, he was demoted from a second-rank deputy general to a third-grade guerrilla.

On the ground, since they are the leaders of the villages, there should not be many people who have been unjustly killed, after all, there have been countless looting cases of all kinds reported by various counties over the years. It's just that those family members and women and children outside, Cao Hao can't watch Li Xiong use his life for military merit.

"Li Junmen, slow down!" Cao Hao glanced at the corpse on the ground, and asked slowly, "What does this mean, why is this official at a loss?" ”

Although the general soldier is the second grade, it is much higher than Cao Hao's fourth grade, but the Heshuo forehead is an official rank equivalent to the first rank of the martial arts, so it is Cao Hao's status is higher.

Li Xiong is a member of Prince Zhuang's mansion, except for the suppression of bandits in the past few years, his career has been smooth in the past two years, and he entered Beijing twice last year. Although Cao Hao's status is higher than him, he really can't afford to look down on him, but he is not easy to offend on his face.

Li Xiong replied with a smile: "If you go back to your forehead, these bandits have always been fierce, if you don't take advantage of them, how can you behead nearly a hundred?" I'm afraid they would have slipped back into the mountains a long time ago! ”

Cao Hao squinted his eyes slightly, glanced at Liu Quantai next to him, and said softly: "Could it be that the official has misremembered, the will above is not 'Fu', but 'suppression'?" Li Junmen's meaning, but to have a 'chicken and dog don't stay', it's really a big credit, I don't know if the long live lord is satisfied with this longevity gift? ”

Li Xiong heard what he said, Kangxi has always governed the country with "benevolence and filial piety", no matter how much credit he has here, if a "murderous" hat is buttoned down, there is no hope for the future. Not to mention this year's longevity of Jiazi, it is the time for the government and the opposition to sing.

Thinking of this, his expression was a little stiff, and when he looked at Cao Hao again, his eyes looked at him more.

Cao Hao was looking at the one with the most arrows in the middle, and asked Liu Guotai who was stunned next to him, "Who is that?" Could it be Qin Bajia? ”

Liu Guotai was startled by Cao Hao's voice, and when he looked at him and Li Xiong again, there was already panic in his eyes, and he nodded stiffly.

As soon as Qin Bajia died, the clue to the wrench was probably broken again. Liu Guotai has already explained that he and Zhang Laosan are both natives of Yizhou, and only Qin Bajia and several of his guards are foreigners. The few near Qin Bajia's corpse seemed to be trying their best to protect him and died, and they were those henchmen.

The soldiers who came to ask for instructions were still waiting for Li Xiong's instructions, and thinking that the guerrilla adults outside were still waiting, their faces showed a hint of urgency.

Cao Hao couldn't stand by and watch, and let Li Xiong figure out whether he should go on a killing spree, so he said: "Since there are still stubborn bandits in the back mountain, then the military gate and the official will go over and take a look!" ”

Li Xiong originally thought that Cao Hao, with his identity as a guardian, was involved in the suppression of bandits in order to grab credit. Although he was tired of it, he also knew that even if he didn't share the credit, someone else would come.

There is a Heshuo forehead here, confirming that the credit is real, and he will make some more silver money to the capital, and his grade will not be able to be prepared to be upgraded again.

Nowadays, in a peaceful and prosperous world, beheading more than 100 people is a great achievement.

Li Xiong thought about it, then he was no longer greedy, and said to Cao Hao: "Since the forehead commands, then let's go over and have a look." Long live the Lord is the most merciful, even for these ignorant bandits, it is also a blessing from God. Moreover, this year is Jiazi's longevity, which is the joy of all the people in the world. ”

In the back mountain depression, the officers and soldiers have already surrounded the remaining mountain bandits. Old and young women and children were inside, and young men were outside, holding sticks, knives and guns in their hands to confront the officers and soldiers.

The purpose of the three missing ones is just to lure these people here. The terrain in the middle was low, and the officers and soldiers surrounded them with bows and arrows, and waited for the order from the higher authorities to kill and make meritorious contributions.

The two guerrillas who led the team were already waiting impatiently, and were about to send someone to urge, when they saw Li Xiong and Cao Hao bringing people over, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute: "I have seen the military gate under the mark, and I have seen Cao Eyu!" ”

Li Xiong just looked at Cao Hao and didn't speak, but he made up his mind in his heart, even if he wanted to "caress him", he had to take the lion's share of the credit, but he couldn't let Cao Hao go first, that would be really boring. However, he has to be pushed to the front of the stage, so that there is a big head to bear the fault.

Cao Hao is not a fool, how could he allow him to clean himself up, and said to Li Xiong: "Li Junmen, this is to be ......" Speaking of this, he was silent.

Li Xiong laughed twice and said: "Naturally, it is necessary to 'caress it', or how to show the benevolence of the old man." Speaking of this, he pointed to Liu Guotai, who came over, and ordered: "You, you kid, hurry up and shout to the master, and if you want to die, quickly put down the stick and come over, otherwise, ...... Humph......"

Liu Guotai listened, if he was amnesty, since it was useful to him, it seems that this surname is preserved. Therefore, he immediately wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, stepped forward and said loudly: "Fellow villagers, we have gathered here, which is already inconsistent with the law of the country, and now, the grace of the imperial court allows us to go out of the mountain and be good citizens, such a merit, how can we not be grateful!" Put away the sticks and take your children and grandchildren out......"

Before he finished speaking, he heard a young man say angrily: "It turned out that Liu Lao Er was you, a bastard, who sold your brother to seek wealth!" I can't complain that these green camp officials and dogs are familiar with the way, you who have lost your conscience, be careful that God has eyes......"

There were two young men next to him, and they were about to open their mouths to scold, when they saw two fast arrows shooting, one to the throat and the other to the chest, and put the person who had just scolded into a straight line.

The man snorted and fell to the ground, instantly dead.

It turned out that some of the noisy crowd was extremely silent, and there was no one to say anything for a long time.

Li Xiong's face darkened, and he asked, "Which bastard owes it?" Don't get out of here! ”

But it was two generals, with bows in their hands, and their heads bowed. One is taller and the other is slightly lower, both in their twenties.

Li Xiong shouted: "Drag it down, and open the eyes of these two stinky boys who don't understand the rules with twenty whips." ”

The two generals were very panicked and looked at the guerrilla behind Li Xiong. They had already received the guerrilla order, and if anyone came forward, they would shoot them immediately. The purpose is just to cause conflicts, so as not to be bound by the word "fu", and to seek more credit, how can you "not understand the rules" now?

One of them always wanted to ask, but was glared at fiercely by the guerrilla, and honestly shut up. He thought in his heart that it was only twenty lashes, and the military gate had always been kind, and he was punished in front of everyone, so there was naturally a reason to do so.

But the punishment in the army is to remove the armor, and this whip is a real pain when it comes down, even if it is two young and strong men, they can't help but scream. Suddenly, the audience heard the two of them calling.

Cao Hao didn't know Li Xiong's intentions for such a contrived thing, but he just looked into the crowd and estimated that there were one or two hundred people, except for dozens of young people on the side, most of the others were women and children. Looking at the eyes of the officers and soldiers, there was deep fear and unspeakable resentment.

Cao Hao only felt panicked in his heart and couldn't breathe. How are these so-called bandits different from those people at the foot of the mountain? At first, it was just to divide the people, and for various reasons, they fled to the mountains, how many of them were really evil?

In an instant, the whip had been finished, and the two bosses were put up in front of Li Xiong again.

Li Xiong snorted disdainfully and said, "Bad seeds, you still have a face to call!" These are considered light, and the next time they are recidivized, they will act in accordance with military law. ”

The two had no choice but to endure the pain and thank the military gate for their kindness, but in their hearts, they scolded and scolded the guerrilla who sent the message to them.

After Li Xiong and the others thanked the others, Fang raised his arm, pointed at the two of them and said, "This town remembers the two of you, the marksman in the standard ......" Speaking of this, he pointed to the tall one and said, "Your name is Lu ...... Lu Wu! He pointed to the short man again: "Your name is Shi Liao!" The town is not mistaken, right? ”

The two generals didn't expect the military gate to remember their names, and their faces were full of gratitude and they couldn't speak.

Li Xiong smiled: "You two are from the same village, and you are from Orion, yes or no?" ”

Lu Wu and Shi Liao clasped their fists and replied: "The standard is Dengzhou Orion, and what the military gate said is exactly that!" ”

Li Xiong nodded, and said to the few military attaches who followed him: "After the punishment is over, the reward, the one will be counted on their beheading book, and in addition, another twenty taels of silver will be rewarded!" As he spoke, he made a color.

That person was his cronies, so he naturally knew his intentions, so he took two palm-sized silver ingots and sent them to Lu Wu and Shi Liao.

Lu Wu and Shi Liao were dreaming, their expressions were muddy, and they didn't feel grateful when they held the silver.

Cao Hao seemed to have some understanding, and looked at Li Xiong, this is a character.

I saw Li Xiong take two steps forward and said loudly: "The Holy Lord is in the court, the world is peaceful, how can you wait to gather in the deep mountains and harm the place?" Today, the grace of heaven is vast, the Holy Lord is forgiving, may the grace and others, it is really a blessing! In addition to Li Xiong in this town, there is still Lord Cao of Dongyan Shoudao here, and those who are willing to serve the people will send back the documents and settle in their hometowns; Those who are willing to seek a future and wealth can join the town's army! ”

Although these people, who were forced by the world to go into the mountains to become bandits, did not have a good impression of the people in the government, Cao Hao had a high reputation because of the stabilization of grain prices last year. They occasionally went down the mountain, and they heard about it, and they knew that they were good officials.

For the "Li Junmen" who was full of righteousness, through Fang Cai's punishment and reward, it also made everyone a little less hostile.

Seeing a young man in the depression, he asked hesitantly: "I am also an Orion, can I eat soldier food?" ”

Li Xiong nodded very dryly: "At that time, naturally! It's easy to mix with soldiers, but whether you can be promoted and make a fortune depends on your real skills! ”

Except for a few dead siblings, who refused to surrender and were shot, the rest of the young men laid down their weapons. For the sake of merit, someone pointed to the two women in the crowd and the two children beside them, and said: "Tell the officials, they are the eldest grandmother, the third grandmother, ......" Speaking of this, he forgot to change his words: "No, it's the mother-in-law of Boss Qin and the mother-in-law of Zhang Laosan, and the two little ones are Zhang Laosan's little cubs!" ”

The young woman who was accused of being "Qin's old wife" immediately knelt on the ground and cried and said, "The slave family is wronged, the slave family is wronged!" The two official masters, the slave family was originally a good housewife, and the winter before last when she returned to her parents' house with her husband, she was seen by mountain bandits on the way, and her husband was killed, not to mention, the slave family was also robbed up the mountain and married to the enemy. Although he couldn't keep his chastity, he was extremely ashamed in his heart, and if it weren't for revenge, he wouldn't have survived to this day. Then, she said that she had done her best, and she had done her tricks and feet in eating, drinking, and eating to help the government suppress bandits.

This pear blossom brought rain, but Li Xiong's heart itched from crying, and he thought about it in his heart, complaining that this Qin boss wanted to kill and take his wife, how could a woman with such a posture be blessed by ordinary people?

Cao Hao was a little familiar with the robbery mentioned by this woman, the winter before last, wasn't it the time when Qiu Laohan's son was killed and his daughter-in-law disappeared? He glanced at the woman carefully, although she was crying with pear blossoms and rain, but there was no sadness on her face, thinking that she was really ruthless to Boss Qin, the bandit husband. So, he asked, "What is your name, and where is it?" ”

Listening to Cao Hao's mouth, Li Xiong was a little unhappy, what does this mean, could it be that he is also looking at this little lady?

The woman who knelt on the ground and cried was Tian Xiuxiu, although the officers and soldiers were menacing today, and they shot and killed many people as soon as they came up, which made people panic. But seeing that Liu Guotai was safe and sound, and the two officials in front of him were all upright, he was also a little relieved, lightly opened his lips, and replied: "The slave Qiu Tian family, originally from Zhaojiazhuang in the neighboring county, married the Qiu family in Balizhuang Nanshan Township four years ago as a daughter-in-law, and the deceased husband's name is Qiu Dabao. ”

But these words were right, Cao Hao thought of Qiu Laohan, who was still waiting for the case to be closed, and sighed in his heart.

Li Xiong saw that Cao Hao was not responding, and asked, "E, how should this Qiu Tian clan be handled?" ”

Cao Hao replied: "If this woman's identity is true, it involves a case in Daotai Mansion." When the official first took office last year, he received a letter from an old man surnamed Qiu, saying that his son was killed and his daughter-in-law was plundered, which was in line with what she said. If there is no other arrangement on the side of the military gate, the official wants to take this woman to Mengyin County to confront Qiu Laohan, and the case will be closed. ”

Li Xiong smiled and said: "Since this is the case, the town has nothing to say, please arrange it." ”

As soon as Li Xiong said this, he saw the guerrilla behind him and replied in a low voice: "Junmen, according to the previous news, this Qin boss still has a son!" ”

Li Xiong listened, smiled, looked at Tian and said, "Where is the son of the bandit leader Qin Bajia?" Let's tell the truth! ”

Tian was so frightened that he whispered with tears: "Let Zhang Laosan take it away!" Speaking of this, the tears became more and more intense, but it was really distressing. Pregnant in October, the mother and child are happy, but I don't know if I can see them again in this life.

Liu Guotai was wondering why Tian didn't hold the child, but now he knew the reason, and he couldn't help but secretly pray to the gods and Buddhas to bless Zhang Laosan to escape safely. However, I am also glad that if my son is still here, he will be regarded as Qin Bajia's flesh and blood, I am afraid that he will not escape death.

(To be continued)