After reaching the door of the main hall, the crowd stopped. A black-bearded man stood up and said to everyone, "Divide into two teams, one team will guard outside the main hall gate, and the other team will enter the temple to protect the adults." ”

Li Qiufeng saw the few people in front of him walking towards the temple, so he also followed. At this time, there were fifty or sixty people in front of the temple gate. Some of these people walked towards the temple, while others turned their heads and retreated into the courtyard, and there was chaos in front of the main hall. The people who were crowded in the crowd by Li Qiufeng didn't make much effort and entered the main hall. He thought to himself, I heard that according to the judge's yamen, he summoned all the people who were stationed outside and rushed to Xiuwu County to help. Thinking of these people in civilian clothes is the tolerance of handling cases outside. They don't know each other well, and it's because I'm in the middle of them that I'm not recognized, and that's God help me.

After Li Qiufeng entered the main hall, he saw Liang Huan's sedan chair quietly placed in front of the statue of Chenghuang Niangniang, and the eight sedan chair drivers had retreated to the left wall of the main hall and were standing with their hands down. As Liang Huan's sedan chair entered the main hall, more than a dozen catchers stood around the main hall, all of them did not squint, holding waist knives, and seemed to be about to draw their knives to fight at any time.

Although the hall was spacious, thirty or forty people poured in at once, and it seemed narrow. The black-bearded man kept giving orders and arranging for everyone to guard everywhere. Li Qiufeng and the other three were sent by the black-bearded man to the left of the statue of Chenghuang Niangniang, and happened to stand behind the left side of the sedan chair.

At this moment, I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps in the courtyard, and then someone shouted: "The Japanese are coming!

Li Qiufeng heard the cry, and his heart sank. The crowd in the main hall was fast but motionless, like the clay statues in the temple. Li Qiufeng looked out from the temple gate, only to see a gap open in the gate of the City God Temple, and a disciple of the Nie family who was guarding outside the temple squeezed in, ran to Han Qusi with a panicked face, and whispered a few words. Han Qusi nodded, and discussed a few words with Huang Chong in a whisper, and the two turned around and walked towards the backyard.

Li Qiufeng secretly thought in his heart that the four leaders of the Nie, Lu, Zhao, and Du families who met with the big leaders of the Japanese Invaders naturally could not have the government participate. Han Qusi and Huang Chong were wearing official uniforms, and if the big leader of the Japanese invaders saw it, he was afraid that he would be frightened away immediately, so it was these two people who would go to the backyard to take refuge temporarily. But in this case, who will come forward to lure the leader of the Japanese into the temple?

He was thinking about it, and suddenly saw Ji Dingzhong appear in front of everyone, only to see him wave his right hand, and dozens of arresters from the Luoyang Prefect Yamen and Xiuwu County Magistrate Yamen gathered around him ran to the backyard one after another. In the blink of an eye, there were only dozens of children left in the front yard of Ji Dingzhong and the three families of Nie, Lu, and Zhao. According to the three or four hundred arresters of the judge's yamen, they were divided into four teams and gathered in the four corners of the front yard to stand by.

After Ji Dingzhong made the arrangements, he slowly walked out of the temple gate with his hands behind his back.

Li Qiufeng watched Ji Dingzhong walk out of the temple gate step by step, and when his figure disappeared outside the temple gate, the temple gate slowly closed.

In an instant, there was silence in the front yard of the City God Temple, and it seemed that even the howling cold wind had stopped. The lanterns hanging high in the courtyard stood still in the air, not like papier-mâché, but like iron balls.

I don't know how much time has passed, but I just heard a "squeak", the temple door slowly opened, and then Ji Dingzhong walked in. After he crossed the threshold, he stopped, leaned sideways, and made a gesture of please. Then a middle-aged man with a short figure appeared in front of everyone. The man was about forty years old, dressed in a green robe, with a round face and a sly look. The two characters are extremely thin and long, and they are somewhat similar to ordinary people's eyebrows. Although this man was not tall, he was very stocky, and he walked with great force, as if he could bounce off the ground at any moment.

The green-robed man bowed slightly to Ji Dingzhong, who was standing by the door, and then strode into the courtyard. Ji Dingzhong followed closely behind the green-robed man, and then more than a dozen people walked in. These people were dressed in ordinary clothes, some looked like merchants, and some looked like ordinary people who farmed the fields. But all of them looked like knives, and followed closely behind the green-robed man.

The green-robed man walked to the middle of the courtyard and stopped. He raised his eyes and looked around, and he already saw that the wooden city was full of gangs such as Shi Jiadao, and there were four more teams in the four corners of the courtyard to form a square team.

Li Qiufeng saw this person stop, and thought to himself, when he saw so many people in the courtyard, he was afraid that he would immediately realize that the Nie family had bad intentions. It's just that why didn't Yanagi Zongyan show up, didn't he participate in this matter?

When Li Qiufeng was suspicious, he heard the green-robed man laugh and said, "Mr. Nie, I originally thought you were blowing nonsense, but when I entered the city just now, I believed what you said. When I arrived here and saw such a situation in the temple, I realized that Mr. Nie was really powerful. But I have the heart of a villain and the belly of a gentleman. ”

Ji Dingzhong pretended to be surprised, and said to the man in the green robe: "Why did the Lord of Shidao say this? ”

The lord of Shidao paced a few steps with his hands behind his back before he said to Ji Dingzhong: "When I formed an alliance with Mr. Nie, I heard Mr. Nie talk about the Nie family's power in Henan, which can not only command the gangs in the rivers and lakes, but also drive the government to work for the Nie family. At that time, I thought that Mr. Nie was talking nonsense to strengthen our courage. But just walked here from the city gate, there was no one on the street, so naturally Mr. Nie cleared the idlers. It was to Mr. Nie's words, and I believed fifty percent. Now when I enter the temple and see that there are not only heroes in the rivers and lakes, but also so many tolerances, I know that Mr. Nie is not a lie. ”

Ji Dingzhong smiled and said, "Shidao Lord Chrysostom praised, and the Nie family is honored. It's just that compared to the stone island master, we are far behind. The lord of Shidao sits on Jinshan Island, with 5,000 armor soldiers and 1,000 warships, starting from Liaodong in the north and reaching Hongyi in the south. If it weren't for that, how could we go and invite the Lord of Stone Island when we wiped out the enemy?"

Shi Dao said: "Mr. Nie's words are to the point. Your Nie family is in the hinterland of the Central Plains, and the leader is black and white. Our Jinshan Island is crisscrossed by thousands of miles of sea, even if it is a Ming sailor, it is not in our eyes. If the Nie family can join forces with Jinshan Island, the world will be our two. ”

Ji Dingzhong said with a smile: "The Lord of Shidao has a far-sighted vision and the power to swallow the world, Nie admires it very much. Today, let's first hand over the silver of the First Battle of Haizhou, and then talk about big things. ”

The master of Shidao said: "Mr. Nie, you look at me too little. I traveled thousands of miles from Fujian to Henan, not just for hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. ”

Ji Dingzhong said: "The ambition of the Lord of Shidao, Nie naturally knows. It's just that this matter is very important, and our Nie family alone can't decide it. Before we formed an alliance, Deputy Island Master Tian went to Fengmen Village to interview with the clansmen of several of our families, and then the plan was decided. Our families have always been in the same breath and advancing and retreating together. If the Lord of Stone Island intends to continue to join forces with us to do great things, the four family elders must be present. But it's a coincidence, the heads of the four families happen to be here these days, so we can get together to discuss this matter. ”

Shi Dao said, "That's the best. Without further ado, Mr. Nie quickly invites all the patriarchs to come out and meet, and let's discuss this matter carefully. ”

Ji Dingzhong said a few polite words, but the Lord of Shidao urged him to invite the patriarch of the four families out to speak. In the end, Ji Dingzhong had to say: "It's not a secret, several patriarchs are resting in the backyard. Ask the lord of Shidao to move to the backyard and interview several patriarchs. ”

Li Qiufeng knew that Ji Dingzhong wanted to lure the Shidao Lord into the backyard, and then ambushed the soldiers and killed the Shidao Lord and the dozen or so people around him. It's just that Li Qiufeng secretly thought in his heart that this stone island master looked extremely shrewd, and judging from his body shape and footwork, his martial arts were not weak. It's just that this person's appearance and tone of speech are the same as those of the Han people, how can he be the big leader of the Japanese Bandits? But looking at Ji Dingzhong's appearance, before besieging the Xu family, he must have secretly discussed with the Lord of Shidao I don't know how many times. Since Ji Dingzhong brought this person into the temple, he would definitely not be mistaken. Could it be that the leader of the Japanese Kou is actually a Han Chinese?

When Li Qiufeng was thinking about it, he saw the stone island lord shake his head and said with a smile: "I didn't expect this City God Temple to be so grand, but I have to take a closer look." I heard that the Chenghuang Niangniang enshrined in this temple was very effective, and I had a thought in my heart. Why don't you invite the patriarchs of each family to the front yard to discuss, and if everyone agrees, they will make a covenant in front of the city god and make a big deal together, wouldn't it be a beautiful thing?"

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