The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 268 Hot Potatoes
"Bang!" With a sound, the door of the house was pushed open violently, and two Jiedu guards helped a man covered in blood rush in.

Zhu Xiu was startled, and Yan Ping subconsciously pulled out the long knife placed beside the table, jumped up and stopped in front of Zhu Xiu.

Pei Jin immediately ducked under the table, sticking his butt out and shivering.

When the bloody man saw Zhu Xiu and Yan Ping, he struggled and fell to his knees.

Yan Ping looked at them carefully and said in surprise: "Du Fang? You, weren't you protecting Xu Xuan and Li Congjia in the agricultural reclamation area? How did you end up like this?"

Yan Ping vaguely saw from the bloody face that this person was Du Fang, a first-class soldier of the Zangfeng Battalion whom he sent to the agricultural reclamation area to perform security tasks!
When Zhu Xiu heard this, his expression suddenly changed. The cards in his hand were scattered on the ground. He took two steps forward and asked, "What happened in the agricultural reclamation area?"

Du Fang endured the pain and cried: "I would like to report to the Young Envoy and Deputy Commander, at noon today, several groups of thieves disguised themselves as traders selling agricultural tools, sneaked into the farming area and secretly arranged for them to kidnap Xu Xuan and Li Congjia!
There were as many as [-] or [-] thieves, and they sneaked into the farming area in batches. Some were responsible for staying at the market, luring Xu Xuan there in the name of selling farm tools, and after catching the thieves, they evacuated from the southeast of the farming area. They have people to support them
I immediately asked for help from the salt factory garrison, and then organized the town office officers to chase me. We met the thieves who were responsible for cutting off the rear. We fought a hard battle, with dozens of officers killed and injured. The brothers from the Zangfeng Battalion, except for the villain, escaped desperately and rushed to report the message, and the rest of the brothers They all died on the spot."

Zhu Xiu took a deep breath, feeling slightly dizzy and swaying slightly.

"Young Envoy!" Yan Ping hurriedly helped him.

Zhu Xiu broke away and roared angrily: "So many unknown people entered the farming area, why didn't you notice it beforehand?"

"I, I." Yan Ping lowered his head in shame.

Zhu Xiu gritted his teeth and knew that now was not the time to pursue the responsibility, so he asked Du Fang again: "Can the identity of the thieves be found out? Where did they flee after leaving the farming area?"

Du Fang said hurriedly: "The specific force that sent the troops has not yet been identified, but I saw a familiar face among that group of thieves!"

"Who is it?" Zhu Xiu asked.

"Su Zhenchang, the subordinate Cao of the Jiedu Prefecture!" Du Fang said firmly, "I have seen him several times in the county seat, and I will never admit his mistake!"

Zhu Xiu was stunned, an uncontrollable anger emerged from the bottom of his heart, and he glared at Yan Ping fiercely.

Yan Ping's face instantly turned pale and he murmured: "Impossible! Impossible! Before Su Zhenchang entered Jiedu Mansion, I, I sent people to investigate his background. There is no problem."

Pei Jin got out from under the table, held his crooked head, and argued hurriedly: "Young Envoy, you are aware of it. I really don't know that Su Zhenchang is a spy sent by the enemy."

Zhu Xiu's face was horribly gloomy, and he didn't expect that the Jiedu Mansion, which was controlled at all levels and seemed to be tightly defended, could be penetrated by the enemy so easily and deliver a fatal blow at the critical moment.

Xu Xuan and Li Congjia must not get into trouble, and their identities cannot be exposed, otherwise they will not be able to escape the charge of colluding with the enemy, and the Kaifeng court can justifiably deal with the Zhangyi Army.

These two people are also a retreat he left for himself in the south. Even if he has entered the power group of Guo Wei and Chai Rong, he should never hang himself from a tree before the general situation of the world is completely clear.

God knows how scary this damn butterfly effect is!
If history changes drastically in the future and you can't survive in Kaifeng, you can still escape to the south.

But if Xu Xuan and Li Congjia had their own shortcomings, Li Jing, the leader of the Tang Dynasty, and the Jiangnan nobles would probably hate him to the core.

In terms of personal relationships, he and Xu Xuan and Li Congjia got along very well, and they felt like they had met at a late date. Although they had a strong purpose in contacting them from the beginning, they did get along well with each other and formed a deep friendship.

If two people lost their lives because of him, they would be uneasy.

"Where is the salt factory garrison now?" Zhu Xiuchi asked.

Du Fang covered his chest, his face full of pain, and said weakly: "General Guan Tieshi saw the beacon warning and has led the garrison to pursue him. He must have chased him to the entrance of Begging Road by now."

"Begging for Life Road?!" Zhu Xiu immediately realized that Begging for Life Road is the nearest passage from Jingzhou to Pizhou. The thieves kidnapped Li Congjia and Xu Xuan and retreated to Begging for Life Road, hoping to escape back to Pizhou!

They are most likely people sent by Houzan!
As soon as Du Fang finished speaking, he fell sideways to the ground, with a pool of blood flowing from his body.

After inspection by Jiedufu guards, they found that he had a stab wound on his chest and a burst arrow sore on his back that was bleeding.

"Get him down quickly and ask the doctor for treatment!" Zhu Xiu shouted.

The guards hurriedly carried Du Fang away. Zhu Xiu looked at a pool of black and red blood on the ground, his eyes suddenly changed, he clenched his fists and said sternly: "Pass my military order to quickly mobilize the [-] soldiers and horses of the Changyi Army in Yacheng. Pan Mei will lead [-] cavalry." The army will follow me first, and the rest of the infantry will rush to Begging Road to wait for orders!"

There was a guard at the door of the house who took the order and left.

"Young Envoy, please take care of me." Yan Ping didn't hear about his arrangements and was a little panicked.

Zhu Xiu stared at him with cold eyes. Yan Ping's face became paler and he slowly fell to his knees, his head lowered and he did not dare to say a word.

Zhu Xiu gritted his teeth and said word by word: "Come here! Put Yan Ping in jail and wait for review! Send an order to Hu Guangyue. From now on, he will temporarily take over the position of deputy commander of the Zangfeng Camp, seal off the county, and hunt down all suspicious people! Fan Jiedu The background of all new officials in the government and Anding County government will be strictly checked!"

Two big men in black appeared from nowhere, walked into the room silently, saluted Zhu Xiu with fists, clamped Yan Ping's arms from left to right, and pulled him up.

They are the hidden guards of the Zangfeng Camp, who specialize in lurking in Jiedu Mansion to protect the safety of Zhu Xiu and Shi Kuangwei's family.

Yan Pingping was ashen, his whole body was limp, his legs were dragging weakly on the ground, and he was allowed to be dragged out of the house by two big men in black.

"Young Envoy! Yan Ping is punishable by death!"

Yan Ping suddenly turned around and shouted, two lines of hot tears rolled down his face, his voice was desolate.

Zhu Xiu looked on expressionlessly.

Pei Jin was sweating profusely on his forehead, and said sarcastically: "Yan Ping was promoted by the Young Commander after all, and he has always been loyal. This time he was not careful and gave the enemy an opportunity. All he needs to do is give him a little punishment. Ten million No."

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Xiu glanced at him coldly, and Pei Jin seemed to be stuck on the next words. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and a smile uglier than crying appeared on his face.

Zhu Xiu strode away, and Pei Jin breathed a long sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and murmured with a wry smile: "Young Envoy is becoming more and more powerful. You almost made me fall down with this glance."

~~~
In the begging road between two mountains, Su Zhenchang led his people to run away desperately.

Guan Tieshi led hundreds of salt factory garrison cavalry in hot pursuit. The two groups rushed into the Begging Road one after the other, performing life-and-death speeds in the narrow valley.

Su Zhenchang rode on horseback and turned to look back. Zhang Yi's army had already caught up to them, only a stone's throw away behind them.

Su Zhenchang couldn't help but curse a few times. Zhang Yijun's reaction was quicker than he expected. As soon as they escaped from the agricultural reclamation area, the garrison stationed near the salt factory sent out to chase them. When they entered Begging Road Met before.

There are still about two miles to go before we can break out of the Begging Road and join the army of military envoys. Before that, we must not be overtaken.

Su Zhenchang shouted something at several Flying Dragon Army knights. Soon, several knights with loud voices followed his instructions and roared in unison:
"Hou Zan, Liu Hou of Pizhou and deputy envoy of Changyi Army Jiedu, is following the decree of the imperial court to capture Tang spies. Anyone who obstructs them will be regarded as treason!"

The shouts echoed through the valley passage.Guan Tieshi, who was leading the pursuit, listened for a while, sneered several times, waved his hand and ordered: "Fire the arrows!"

"Shhhh~"

A burst of arrows came from behind, and a dozen flying dragon knights fell off their horses in response.

Su Zhenchang's face turned pale with fright. He had already revealed his identity, but he didn't expect that Zhang Yijun would dare to shoot an arrow. He didn't take Houzan's identity seriously at all.

It is conceivable that once caught up, the Changyi Army will not show mercy because of their status.

"Quick! Tell them! If you dare to shoot arrows again, I will kill Xu Xuan and Li Congjia right now. No one will be able to please them!"

Su Zhenchang roared viciously.

There were shouts from ahead. Guan Tieshi listened carefully and waved his hand to order to stop firing arrows.

Xu Xuan and Li Congjia are people who Zhu Xiuqian has warned to protect, and nothing will happen to them.

What if Hou Zan's people jumped over the wall and killed two people, wouldn't it be a failure?

A galloping horse galloped forward to report: "This is an order from the Young Envoy, General Guan, please be sure to hold tight to the enemy troops and put the safety of the hostages first in everything you do!"

Guan Tieshi turned his head and shouted: "Where is the young envoy?"

"We have entered the Begging Road with General Pan and his troops!"

"Okay! Report back to the young envoy, Houzan has led more than two thousand flying dragon troops into Tucheng. This group of thieves has taken hostages. They will definitely rush to Tucheng to join Houzan after escaping from the road of begging for life!"

The ordering soldier clasped his fists and accepted the promise, turned his horse's head and rushed back the same way.

Unexpectedly, Su Zhenchang led his men to escape from the begging road and ran towards Tucheng.

Tucheng was built by the Zhangyi Army to accommodate the relocated people of Pizhou. It was two to three miles in radius. After more than two years, it was occasionally abandoned and now it has become a small town in Pizhou.

Houzan led two thousand flying dragon troops to Tucheng, where he had already prepared to meet Su Zhenchang.

The city gate slowly opened to both sides, Su Zhenchang led his people into the city, and then quickly closed it.

After a while, the rumble of horse hooves came from outside the city. The Tucheng was surrounded by an open field, covered with heavy snow in the late winter. The soldiers at the top of the city looked in panic and saw a large number of soldiers and horses surrounding them from all sides.

Under the city, Zhu Xiu and Pan Mei led their troops to join Guan Tieshi and arrived.

On the city, figures swayed, and Houzan, dressed in military uniform, appeared at the top of the city, holding his hand on the battlement wall and looking down.

Xu Xuan and Li Congjia were pushed forward, with ropes tied around their bodies and cloth stuffed in their mouths. At the front of the black soldiers and horses under the city, under a banner of the Zhangyi Army, Zhu Xiu was riding a charcoal-red horse, looking up. Looking up.

The eyes of the two sides met, and they were both taken aback.

Zhu Xiu smiled bitterly, feeling helpless. He did not expect that his identity would be exposed in such a situation.

"Little Zhu Xiu, you dare to lead an army to besiege the city. Do you want to rebel?" Hou Zan shouted loudly as if he was in a state of anger.

Zhu Xiu tightened the reins, looked up at him coldly, and remained silent.

"Get out quickly, or I will kill these two people now!" Houzan yelled, and asked his sergeant to pull out a knife and place it on their shoulders.

Zhu Xiu pointed his riding whip at the city head: "If the two of them are injured at all, you won't be able to walk even half a step out of this earth city today!"

Houzan beat the walls angrily. The earthen city was short of supplies. Even if he defended the city, he would be short of water and food in two or three days at most.

Moreover, the Changyi Army has an advantage in terms of numbers of troops and horses. If they attack by force, they will still suffer the loss.

Su Zhenchang stepped forward and looked at the darkness below the city, where thousands of Changyi troops were eyeing him, and said tremblingly: "Envoy, think twice, the enemy army is powerful, don't be impulsive! In my opinion, it's better to do what Zhu Xiu'er said. He said, let those two people go."

Hou Zan glared at him and cursed: "It took so much effort to catch me, how can I let him go so easily? Without these two people, how will I explain to the officials when I return to Kaifeng? How will the court convict Shi Kuangwei and Zhu Xiu of treason?" ?”

Su Zhenchang cried and said: "The matter has come to this. If we don't let people go, Zhu Xiu will definitely attack the city! This earthen city is dilapidated and small, how can it withstand it?"

Houzan was very angry and cursed: "It's not like you, an idiot, came up with blind ideas and caused me and Zhang Yijun to completely fall out!"

"Su never expected that Zhang Yi's army would react so quickly, and that Zhu Xiu would dare to personally lead the army to besiege the city. Moreover, when the strategy was originally set, it was approved by the military envoy," Su Zhenchang muttered aggrievedly.

Hou Zan glared at him angrily, Su Zhenchang shrank his neck, and said embarrassingly: "Military envoy, don't worry, Zhang Yi's rebellion has already been revealed, and many soldiers of the Flying Dragon Army today are witnesses, as long as they return to Kaifeng safely, they will tell the officials about their interests." , mobilize the army in the future, and it will not be too late to suppress this group of traitors."

Hou Zan's face was gloomy and uncertain. He looked at Xu Xuan and Li Congjia, and then at Zhu Xiu below the city. He was filled with dissatisfaction.

Seeing that there was no movement on the top of the city for a while, Zhu Xiu winked at Pan Mei.

Pan Mei understood, jumped off the horse and ran back, shouting: "Set up the cannon truck and fire the thunder!"

A dozen infantrymen pushed forward a gun carriage modified from a crossbow machine, and put a thunder in the shape of an iron gourd in the throwing bag. Pan Mei lit it with a hair candle. Seeing that the fire line was half burned, she roared. :"put!"

The powerful crossbow arm threw the thunderbolt in the throwing pocket high, drew a beautiful parabola, flew more than twenty feet away, and accurately hit the city head.

"Boom~"

The sky-shattering thunder exploded instantly when it fell, and the shattered iron pieces scattered in all directions. A dozen soldiers crowded at the top of the city screamed and fell to the ground. A few unlucky ones were even blown off the top of the city and fell to death.

The huge explosion shook the top of the earth wall city slightly, the sand and soil fell off, and one of the battlements even cracked a hole.

Houzan crouched down with his head in his hands, his face full of fear. This was the thunder that Zhang Yijun had been hiding and refusing to reveal easily. It was indeed astonishingly powerful!

This dilapidated little earthen city would probably be destroyed if a few thunderbolts were thrown at it.

Su Zhenchang was so frightened that she held her head and screamed, never had she seen such an earth-shattering new firearm.

"Stop! Stop! I'll let him go!" Houzan was lying behind the wall. When he saw Zhu Xiu waving his hand and ordering the thunderbolt to be thrown, he was so frightened that he hurriedly reached out and shook his hand, shouting in panic.

(End of this chapter)