Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 500 Trap
After hearing what Li Wang said, Zhao Zhen asked, "Have you come forward to interrogate?"

"Don't worry, sir. We know how powerful they are. We didn't alert them and just followed them from a distance. This group of people stayed in Shouzhang today to gather information from the singing girls. If they hadn't spoken in foreign language and hadn't shown their bald heads, we wouldn't have discovered them." Li Wang said.

"What are they trying to find out?" Zhao Zhen asked.

"Most of them are rumors, but only Commander Tang Meng was mentioned." Li Wang replied.

"It seems that these people are undoubtedly Pu Hong's gang. They must have been assigned by Gao Qiu. Today, he will never come back." Zhao Zhen said.

After saying this, Zhao Zhen said to Tu Long, "My dear grandfather, please keep this wine for a while. I will come to visit you again after I have resolved this problem." With that, Zhao Zhen was about to stand up and leave.

Tu Long said, "Since you have something to do, you can go and do it. I will take Tu Qiao back to the farm myself."

Tu Qiao said, "Sir, since there are people coming to fight, I can help. I will go with you."

Just as Zhao Zhen was about to speak, Tu Long said, "Yes, I haven't exercised for a long time. I need to stretch my muscles. Let's go together."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "Why would I need to take such a risk? If I had not worried about my reputation, the army would have surrounded him with bows and crossbows. Even if we could not kill him, we could have worn him out and captured him alive. Now that this group of people have dared to come and have revealed their whereabouts, I want to see what they are going to do, so that I can legitimately take his head and ask for credit."

After that, Zhao Zhen left a group of soldiers and left Tu Long. Zhao Zhen and others returned to Baishi Manor first and called Xiao Rang and others to discuss.

After everyone heard the news from Li Wang, Liangshan County Magistrate Chen Lingwei spoke first: "Sir, since we have guessed that this group of people are not merchants, why don't you send someone to investigate? They won't cause any trouble in Liangshan Prefecture."

Zhao Zhen said: "This group of people are probably here for revenge, but I want to send their heads back to the court to ask for credit, and just say that they are assassins sent by the Qingzhou thieves, and then see how Gao Qiu responds."

Liu Hui Niang said: "If that's the case, don't we have to wait for this group of people to take action?"

Xiao Rang said, "Since this group of people took the initiative to inquire about Brother Tang Meng, we can make some noise here. We are not afraid that he will not take the bait. But how can we make them take action in public?"

Liu Hui Niang asked, "Tang Tongzhi is now in Mizhou, how can we set up a plan?"

Xiao Rang said: "This is exactly how we can get this group of people to take action early. Just do this..."

After some discussion, everyone acted according to the plan.

On the second day, at noon, Pu Feng and his party entered the city. There were two carriages, but only one entered the city, and the five people were reduced to four.

When the four of them had just settled down in the restaurant and were ordering food and drinks, they looked out the window and saw seven or eight fast horses galloping through the street, shouting "Great victory!"

Pu Feng waved his hand to the waiter and asked, "Brother Xiaoer, where did the victory take place?"

The waiter smiled and said, "Sir, you are not a local, you don't know, although the Qingzhou bandits are making a lot of trouble, Liangshanzhou is very stable. In the eyes of our master, the Qingzhou bandits are just a group of bandits, and we have killed countless bandits. Under the master's rule, we have never had to worry..."

Pu Chen frowned and interrupted, "Who wants to listen to you?"

The waiter quickly apologized with a smile, slapped his own mouth lightly, and then said: "Look at my mouth..."

"Little Stone, you're itching for food, right? Hurry up and serve the food and wine. You've delayed our business, so watch your skin."

The waiter heard this and shouted, "The shopkeeper is here."

As he said this, he left Pu Feng and his group behind and hurried to serve the dishes. At this time, there were many people, so Pu Feng had to put it aside temporarily. After he was done with this, he called Xiao Shitou back. Pu Feng first handed him a handful of copper coins, and then said, "Little Second Brother, we are new here, and there are many things we don't understand. Please ask Little Second Brother."

Little Stone calmly rolled the copper coin into his sleeve and said, "Just ask me anything you want to know. I have settled here with my father since Liangshan County was built. There is nothing in the city that I don't know."

Pu Feng pointed out the window. Xiao Shitou patted his head and said with a smile, "Look at my brain."

"I recognize the leader of this group. He has just joined you. Have you seen the strange weapon he holds? It is called Yanyue Tongliu and weighs 56 kilograms. He is the most heroic and is known as Tang Meng, the Mountain Guardian. Since he is here to report victory, it must be the victory report from Laizhou."

"Why do you say that?" Pu Feng asked.

Little Stone looked around and said, "I heard that when this man first came to you, he offered a one-horned golden leopard as a gift, and you took care of him and made him a military commander. Now he is in Laizhou with the army to suppress the Qingzhou bandits. I heard that his wife just gave birth to a big fat boy, and he must be going home to see his wife and children after reporting the victory."

"You can find out about such things?" Pu Feng asked in disbelief.

"What's the big deal? When his family had a banquet to celebrate, I saw my husband's wife driving in and out." Little Stone said anxiously.

"If you don't believe me, go ask the shopkeeper. He also lives in the North City and is a neighbor of Tang Tongzhi."

"Why, what's there to brag about that your boss lives in North City?" asked Pu Chen on the side.

"That area is full of the residences of high-ranking officials. My shopkeeper's elder brother went to seek refuge early and is now serving as a envoy to the Three Capitals in Yizhou. His house is vacant, so my shopkeeper is staying there temporarily. Otherwise, how would I know this?"

"Take Tang Tongzhi for example. His family's guardian beasts are different from others. Others have lions, pixiu, and stone talismans, but his family has two one-horned leopards."

"It's useless for you to ask about this. You want to find an official to donate to for tax exemption, but it won't work in Liangshan. Officials also have to pay taxes when doing business, just like us ordinary people. Besides, he won't stay at home for more than three or five days, he has to go back to Laizhou."

Seeing that Xiao Shitou was so confident, Pu Chen said, "You know it again."

"Hey, if you don't believe me, let's make a bet. If I'm right, you lose one penny to me. How about that?"

Pu Chen asked, "What if you lose?"

"I am always inferior to you, sir."

Pu Feng smiled and said, "We are here to do business, so we don't have time to bet. I'm curious how you know. If what you say makes sense, how about I give you a hundred coins?"

After hearing this, Little Stone said, "Okay. You don't know that my Liangshan army is strong and powerful, and the commanders are vying to go to Qingzhou to suppress the bandits. Commander Tang has got this opportunity, how dare he slack off. If it weren't for his wife giving birth to a son, I'm afraid he would not be willing to come back. Why should he go all the way to report a victory?"

After saying that, Xiao Shitou looked at Pu Feng.

Pu Feng nodded and asked Fa Yue, who was dressed as a servant beside him, to give Xiao Shitou a hundred copper coins.

Little Stone took the copper coin and thanked Pu Chen with a smile on his face.

Pu Feng and others returned to the backyard. Fa Yue stayed outside the door. Pu Feng, Pu Chen and Fa Ming were discussing something in the house.

Pu Chen spoke first: "Brother, how should we proceed?"

Pu Feng said, "There are only two options now. Either we stay in the city and sneak into his house in the dark. Or we ambush him outside the city and kill him when he passes by."

Pu Chen heard this and said, "I heard from this waiter that he wants to go back to Laizhou with the army. I'm afraid it's not easy to do it."

Pu Feng listened and said, "Brother, you are right. If there are only seven or eight soldiers, there will be no problem. I am just afraid that he will lead his troops. To be safe, we will go to the north city to have a look later. If there is a chance, we will act tonight and leave the city early tomorrow morning to meet Fa Liang. We will head north and rush back to Dajin from Hebei in one day."

After hearing this, Pu Chen said, "In that case, I will take Fa Ming to watch, while Senior Brother and Fa Yue can rest here."

Pu Feng said, "How much effort will it take to explore the terrain? I will split up with you. You lead Fa Ming ahead, and I will stay behind and watch."

After some discussion, they left Fayue to look after the luggage, and the three of them went out separately. Passing by the store in front, Pufeng looked at He Qing who was counting the bills and said, "Manager He, when is the curfew in the city?"

He Qing didn't even raise his head and said, "It's three o'clock in the morning, sir, please don't miss the time."

After hearing this, Pu Feng thanked He Qing and walked out of the hotel.

The three of them went to the North City and looked around. Just as Little Stone said, there was only one house in the North City with a unicorn standing at the door. It seemed that the unicorn had been there not long ago.

After looking around, he found that there were indeed many more soldiers patrolling the city than in other places. For Pu Feng, it was not a big problem. On the way back, Pu Feng bought two carts of coarse cloth from the market and sent them to the hotel for storage.

After dinner, Pu Feng said to Xiao Shitou, "Little Second Brother, we have been traveling hard and have to go somewhere else tomorrow. Please don't disturb us."

After hearing this, Little Stone said to Pu Feng, "Don't worry, sir. According to the request of this waiter, the guest room you are waiting for has been moved to a secluded place. You will definitely be able to sleep well tonight."

At night, Pu Feng and Pu Chen, dressed in night clothes, came out of the guest room on the second floor at three o'clock in the morning.

The two dodged patrol soldiers and night watchmen all the way, and it took them more than half an hour to get to the front of Tang Meng's mansion in the north city. The ten-foot-high mansion wall was naturally no problem for the two men. They climbed over it without any effort.

Before the two of them could make any move, they heard someone say, "Pu Feng, we've been waiting for you for a long time."

The two were suddenly startled to see torches suddenly lit in the yard, with at least thirty big men standing in the middle.

The people in the front were holding weapons, and the soldiers at the back were all holding powerful crossbows.

Pu Feng was not surprised. He pointed at Tang Meng and said, "Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt has its creditor. We two are going to seek justice from Commander Tang."

Tang Meng laughed and said, "Monk, you've got the wrong person. I'm not Tang Meng. I'm the Sweeping Dragon Huo Wancheng."

When Pu Feng heard this, his face suddenly darkened.

"I wonder what your names are?"

The four of them each signed up:
"【Sai Mengben】Yan Shude."

"【Winged Tiger】Lei Heng."

"【Tiger Shooting Warrior】Lei Jiong."

"[Shooting Bear Warrior] Ji Ji."

Pu Feng said, "We are the instructors of the Taiwei Mansion's personal army. We were plotted against today, but we can't just sit there and surrender. Who dares to step forward and teach us?"

As they spoke, Pu Feng and Pu Chen each drew out a pair of swords and glared at everyone.

Yan Shude drew out his 72-jin black gold machete and said to Pu Feng, "The foreign monk is so arrogant. I will fight you."

After saying that, Yan Shude strode forward and the two of them started fighting in the garden.

Under the bright moonlight, the two began to fight back and forth. The swords flashed with cold light, and the machetes had a chilling aura. They fought for a long time, like a flying phoenix welcoming a phoenix. After a short fight, it was like a horned eagle catching a rabbit.

The two fought for seventy or eighty rounds, but there was no clear winner.

Pu Chen, who was standing by, had already become anxious when he saw this. When he saw that Pu Feng was unable to do anything to Yan Shude, he shouted loudly and was about to step forward to help.

Lei Heng saw this and raised his thick-backed black-golden broadsword, shouting, "Bald donkey, your opponent is here."

Lei Heng intercepted Pu Chen and fought fiercely.

Four people, six knives, fighting in a chaotic battle.

After fighting for more than 30 rounds, Lei Heng accidentally stepped on empty air. Pu Chen saw this and could not let him go. He rushed to Lei Heng's forehead with both swords. Lei Heng cried out in pain and tried his best to block it with the sword in his hand.

With two "clang" sounds, the two swords rubbed against the edge of Lei Hengpu's sword and slid to the side.

When Lei Heng looked over, there were two crossbow arrows stuck in Pu Chen's chest, blood was spitting out of his mouth, his eyes were wide open, and he made two "ugh" sounds and died.

In a flash, Ji Ji and Lei Jiong saw Lei Heng fall, and shot two crossbow arrows, killing Pu Chen.

Pu Feng took a peek and was startled, and his hands slowed down unconsciously.

Yan Shude spotted the flaw and slashed Pu Chen's thigh with a knife.

Pu Chen screamed and fell to the ground.

Yan Shude stepped forward, raised his knife again, and chopped off Pu Chen's head.

In the restaurant, Jiao Ting, Shi Yong and Wang Feibao, with the cooperation of Wang Dingliu who was disguised as a waiter, blew the sleeping drug into the room of Fa Yue and Fa Ming and captured them alive.

At the same time, in a dense forest outside Liangshan City, Fa Liang, who was waiting there, was also captured by Li Yun and his men.

After daybreak, troops from the three groups came to Baishi Valley to report their achievements.

It was also because Pu Chenhe had something to do, so he chose to go to He Qing's restaurant instead of other restaurants. He Qing originally opened a restaurant with Yun Ge in Jizhou City to gather information. Later, Yuncheng County was assigned to Liangshan, and the governor of Jizhou, Miao Shanggao, was dissatisfied with the redeemed He Tao and wanted to execute him again and again.

He Tao had no choice but to flee to Liangshan Prefecture with his family. Later, Yizhou was short of officials, so He Tao went to Yizhou and continued to serve as an arrest envoy.

As for He Qing, because of this incident, he also came to Liangshan with He Tao.

Zhao Zhen did not treat him unfairly and still let him run a restaurant.

This restaurant was also owned by Zhao Zhen. It had a good location, was large, and was crowded with people. Therefore, Pu Feng chose it as his place of residence.

Only Wang Dingliu was specially arranged by Xiao Rang. No matter where Pu Feng lived, Wang Dingliu would pretend to be a waiter and show off his information.

In Baishi Manor, Fayue and the other two saw the heads of Pufeng and the other two, and they all felt hopeless.

After some questioning, the three men gritted their teeth, said nothing, and only asked for death.

Seeing the three men like this, Zhao Zhen ordered them to be taken to Caishikou and beheaded.

There was also news that the Qingzhou thieves had taken revenge and sneaked into the city to commit crimes. If the people in the city saw anyone suspicious, they could report them to the government. Once the case was verified, they would be rewarded according to their merits.

Those who made contributions were rewarded. As for Old Madam Tang, she renovated the yard and moved back home from Baishi Manor.

The heads of the five Pufeng men were pickled with lime, and Zhao Zhen sent them to the court on express horses.

(End of this chapter)