Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 32: The Female Rabbit's Eyes Are Blurred
"Zheng Hui is one of Cai Ying's advisers. He is a patient person. Cai Ying was in charge of military affairs in Jingyuan and other places, and Zheng Hui was responsible for planning many military operations. Since he is sure that the old soldiers of the Jingsheng Army were involved, he must have known about the situations you mentioned."
Lu Xiong had some understanding of Zheng Hui and said,
"Judging from Xu Wufu's unusual reaction, he must have received some information, but this information is mixed with truth. With Zheng Hui's ability, and the county officials all fearing Cai the thief, if he intentionally released half-truths to Xu Wufu, he would certainly be able to convince Xu Wufu that Xu Wujiang can be sacrificed in the whole thing, and the entire Xu family will not be harmed!"
Of course, Xu Wufu would not be willing to damage the foundation of the Xu family, but the problem was that Zheng Hui came on behalf of Cai Ying, and he had too many resources to mobilize, so he could make Xu Wufu run around in circles.
Xu Huai closed his eyes because of the headache, and the veins on the back of his hand that was holding the scabbard bulged.
Lu Xiong was right, Cai Ying was behind Zheng Hui and these assassins.
In the entire Tangzhou officialdom, anyone with a little bit of insight could easily guess what happened when Wang Bing encountered bandits in Huaiyuan more than a month ago.
Deng Gui is a typical representative of the attitudes and choices these people will make.
They were unwilling to take responsibility, but were forced by Cai Ying's power to try their best to cooperate with the assassin.
Xu Huai also had no doubt that there were even some officials in the prefecture and county government offices who were direct descendants of Cai Ying promoted and who directly obeyed Zheng Hui's orders.
In this situation, what's the point of them playing tricks? Just stick your head out and let them chop it off with their knives!
To put it bluntly, the power of both sides was absolutely unbalanced from the beginning to the end of the whole incident.
If the memories that once existed in his mind really came from later generations, then Wang Bing should have died by "encountering bandits" in Tongbai Mountain. It would have been normal for him to die without struggling or tossing around .
Although he accidentally disrupted the situation, the general trend formed by the absolute power comparison was not reversed.
Lu Xiong was also powerless to stand there.
Wang Bing has always been unwilling to involve irrelevant people. He previously thought that Wang Bing was too kind. Now it seems that Wang Bing had already anticipated this situation. Involving too many people would be a pointless struggle.
The civil and military officials in the Dai Viet court were not incompetent. In fact, most of them were smart. Too smart, and they all knew how to protect themselves.
Xu Huai suddenly opened his eyes and said to Lu Xiong, "Master Lu, come with me to see Uncle Seventeen."
Before, he thought he had room to maneuver, so he hid many things from Xu Wujiang, Xu Xin'an and others.
If Xu Wujiang really led his team to Qingxi Village without any precautions, they might be ruthlessly eaten by bandits who outnumbered them ten times at any time. How could Xu Huai dare to continue hiding the many facts at this time?
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Xu Huai and Lu Xiong left the willow grove, but before they reached their residence, they met Xu Wujiang and Xu Xin'an who were coming from the direction of the barracks.
"Uncle Seventeen, Master Lu has something to tell you. Let's go to the pond!" Xu Huai said, holding a lantern.
Lu Xiong was someone close to Wang Bing, and he had something to say, so Xu Wujiang naturally couldn't refuse. So the four of them carried two lanterns and walked towards the willow forest on the west side of the pond.
After nightfall, the military camp was always quiet.
"Uncle Seventeen should have guessed that the horse thieves that Mr. Wang encountered in front of Yingzizui Cliff when he first came to Huaiyuan were actually assassins, and the recent unusual movements in Hutou Village were also the result of assassins behind the scenes. But Uncle Seventeen may not be able to guess why and how Deng Gui targeted you, right?" Xu Huai hung the lantern on a willow tree. He knew all the details of many things best, so he spoke directly to Xu Wujiang.
"You idiot, are you possessed by a ghost?" Xu Xin'an was shocked to see Xu Huai was more serious than ever before. He stared at him, wondering if he was possessed by a ghost.
"Xu Xin'an, draw your sword!" Xu Huai drew his sword from its sheath and signaled Xu Xin'an to draw his sword as well.
It was too troublesome to explain, and Xu Wujiang and Xu Xin'an might not believe it immediately. It would be better to ask Xu Xin'an to learn a few of his moves.
"I'll help you change the bow, stop making trouble!" Xu Xin'an took off the longbow wrapped in linen behind him.
Xu Huai swung his sword forward. The sword was slow at first, but after halfway, the sword suddenly became sharp and chopped down, like a flash of lightning, passing by his eyes.
Xu Xin'an jumped away in fright. After a moment's pause, he realized that the thin hemp rope used to tie the bundle had been cut by the blade, but the coarse linen wrapped around the longbow was intact.
However, what really shocked him was the extremely sharp power of the knife at that moment. It took a long time for him to completely calm down the feeling of fear.
"Uncle Seventeen, are you sure you can take my blow?" Xu Huai thrust the long knife horizontally at his elbow and asked Xu Wujiang.
Xu Wujiang stared at the straight-backed long sword in Xu Huai's hand with a gloomy face, but found that the speed of the sword's horizontal thrust was not fast. The movement between the shoulders, hips, hands and feet was one of the eight basic sword moves in the Fumang Sword.
Of course, for those who have practiced the Subduing Python Sword for one or two years, it is not difficult to achieve this step.
However, just as Xu Huai's left arm was bent and stretched out at the elbow, the blade of the thick-backed long sword reflected the faint light from the lantern, and it was like a ripple on the water at this moment. He even suspected it was an illusion. Then he heard a slight vibration from the sword body. The blade seemed to grow several inches in an instant, and chopped off a willow tree at the oblique side, leaving a several-inch long blade.
Ordinary people could not see what was so exquisite about this sword move, and might even think it was sloppy. However, Xu Wujiang only started practicing this sword move after he was over 20 years old, so how could he not know how sharp it was?
The key to this sword move is to use force in two stages, hiding the force in the spine of the sword. The purpose is not even to kill the enemy by surprise.
On the battlefield, they fight with swords, shields, spears and halberds in each hand. The double-stage force can open the enemy's gate at the critical moment, or even go a step further and knock the opponent's weapon out of his hand.
He stared at Xu Huai in disbelief and asked, "When did you practice the Subduing Python Blade to this level?"
"There are some things I shouldn't have hidden from you and Xin'an, but sometimes I feel that being treated as a fool by you and enjoying your care without having to do anything is also good," Xu Huai sheathed his sword and said, "However, Deng Gui and the head of the family, Xu Wufu, have teamed up with the assassins to kill you, Uncle Seventeen. I can't hide everything from you anymore!"
Xu Wujiang certainly knew that Deng Gui's order and the fact that the head of the family, Xu Wufu, followed Deng Gui and did not argue for them were very wrong, otherwise he would not be so resentful, but he did not understand the reason.
Xu Huai started by telling Xu Wujiang and Xu Xin'an about how he had frightened off the assassin at Yingzizui that day, and how he had redeemed Liu Qiong'er from Yuehonglou, and how he had lured the spies who had sneaked into Tieshi Lane from Hutouzhai to an ambush and killed them at the bank of Yesenzigou yesterday.
"... Zheng Hui is the strategist of the Privy Councilor Cai Ying. He went to Tongbai Mountain in person. Not only did he control more than 200 bandits from Hutou Village, including Chen Zixiao, but he may also have officials in the Tangzhou and county offices under his control. Deng Gui did not dare to compete with him, so he arranged for you, Uncle Seventeen, to die in Qingxi Village! By then, the bandits will be very powerful, and the county will take over the suppression of the bandits. Or maybe Deng Gui is incompetent in suppressing the bandits, and he will be transferred to another place to take up a post, and naturally shirk all responsibilities! As for what kind of information the head of the family got to agree with Deng Gui, we cannot guess the details..."
Xu Wujiang sat on a tree stump with the scabbard in his hand. He could hardly suppress the feeling of suffocation rising from his chest, and he found it difficult to imagine what was happening before his eyes.
He guessed that Wang Bing's encounter with bandits was not a simple matter, but he did not expect that in the end he would be the little insect that jumped into the net without knowing it.
Deng Gui arranged for him to lead the soldiers to guard Qingxi Village. Although he was resentful and felt that this arrangement was unfair to him and his soldiers, he never thought about how dangerous it was.
Although Hutouzhai has two hundred bandits, they are short of soldiers and armor, and their ability to storm the city is even weaker. Xu Wujiang thought that he could lead twenty armored soldiers to Qingxizhai, and then organize the young and strong men in the village, so the defensive force would not be too weak. The bandits of Hutouzhai have no great benefits to gain, so they should not risk heavy casualties to storm Qingxizhai.
But he never imagined that there was such a conspiracy behind all this!
Even the fact that Hutou Village had previously kidnapped dozens of women and children from Qingxi Village as hostages was part of the entire conspiracy, with the purpose of threatening the soldiers of Qingxi Village to turn against them in the battle.
Although Xu Huai's change was so sudden, and the conspiracy behind it was so shocking, Lu Xiong was standing by, and Xu Wujiang had no choice but to believe it.
But what should he do, what can he do?
As the former Chief Censor was powerless to struggle in the face of such a dangerous situation. He was just a small soldier in the Inspection Office, commanding more than 20 soldiers. How could he struggle to survive in this boundless and extremely tough net?
"You said that the assassins were targeting the old soldiers of the Jingsheng Army, and the master would easily give up Xu Wuqi, Xu Wuqing and others who were his right-hand men. He must have been kept in the dark and was led by the nose. Let's go find him and explain everything." Xu Xin'an, perhaps because he was a young and fearless person, or perhaps he could not accept Xu Huai's sudden change from the bottom of his heart, suggested.
"After discussing the matter with Deng Gui in the evening , that bastard Xu Wufu couldn't wait to go back to Yuhuangling; and at noon today, Xu Wuqi and Xu Heng also returned to the farm with their men from the Mule and Horse Market in Biyang! Xu Wufu may not have been kept in the dark." Xu Wujiang said painfully.
Xu Huai did not have a deep impression of the head of the family, Xu Wufu, and it was difficult for him to make an accurate judgment on this man's words, actions and plans, but he understood the meaning of Xu Wujiang's words.
Xu Wujiang undoubtedly said that Xu Wufu and others were in Biyang. Whether it was hearsay or Zheng Hui intentionally passed on the news, he actually had his own judgment on the truth of Wang Bing's encounter with bandits.
This time when Xu Wufu returned to Tongbai Mountain, he also withdrew all his direct subordinates in Biyang. He should have been prepared for the worst, but he hoped more that after Xu Wujiang and others were sacrificed, the assassin would successfully kill Wang Bing and stop there, without involving the entire Xu family.
Of course, Xu Wufu had another purpose in doing this, which was to prove to the assassin behind the scenes that the Xu family was not involved in secretly protecting Wang Bin.
It can be imagined that when Xu Wufu returns to Yuhuangling, the Xu family's contact with the outside world will be temporarily cut off. Not to mention finding Xu Wufu to explain everything now, they may not be able to return to Yuhuangling to seek help from other clansmen.
In other words, everyone in Tangzhou knew exactly what had happened when Wang Bing encountered the bandits.
They did not think about the injustice behind this matter, nor did they feel the slightest bit of anger that the Privy Councilor in the court would use such means to eliminate political enemies.
At this time, they all hoped that Wang Bing would die as soon as possible so that the whole matter could be settled as soon as possible and would not affect their careers and wealth.
They must say what they think in their hearts, but they are just taking this opportunity to eliminate those who they don't like.
What the hell is this world?
"Whether the master has this in mind, there is another way to verify it. That is to go to the market and see if the people from the East Street Mule and Horse Market have retreated to Yuhuang Ridge!" Xu Huai said with a resolute expression.
The northern slope of Yuhuangling is flat, with sparse forests and lush grass, and is a rare grassland in Tongbai Mountain. The Xu family raised cattle and horses here. In addition to running grain shops in Huaiyuan Town and Biyang, the family also ran a mule and horse market, and thousands of cattle, horses, mules and donkeys were sold every year.
If their speculation about Xu Wufu was correct, the Xu clan members in Huaiyuan Town should have also been notified and withdrawn to Yuhuangling in batches.
"I'll go to Hedong to find them!" Xu Xin'an didn't believe that the head of the family was really so ruthless. He threw the longbow to Xu Huai and wanted to cross the river overnight to go to the market to find Xu Wuyun and other clansmen to verify.
"Deng Gui has issued a strict order that the military camp will be closed after nightfall and no one is allowed to leave without his permission." Xu Wujiang said.
As the bandit problem became more serious, Deng Gui strengthened the control over the soldiers of the Patrol Inspection Office. Originally, there was nothing to criticize, but there was no action in the past two days, and they suddenly became strict tonight. What is there to doubt?
