Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 67: Good Rhetoric
Liu Qiong'er thought that Xu Huai's excuse was nothing but a lie. However, after staring at him for a while, she realized that he was not joking. She sighed and said, "If I really want to find an excuse, I do have one..."
"Tell me about it." Xu Huai said lazily.
"Whether it was the county officials, Deng Gui, or even Xu Wufu and Xu Wujiang, they all thought that as long as Wang Bing died in Huaiyuan, Tongbai Mountain would return to its former peace."
Liu Qiong'er sat with her knees hugged, resting her chin on them, and said,
"I overheard Zheng Hui plotting behind the scenes at first, and you have also read the secret letter from Chen Tong to Deng Gui, so you can conclude that it was Zheng Hui who planned everything behind the scenes. Deng Gui and Xu Wufu also believed that as long as Wang Bing died, everything would be settled, so they decided to abandon Xu Wujiang and send him to death. When Xu Wujiang hid in Jinshagou, news soon came out that they had fled the army and joined Hutouzhai but were rejected. In addition to secretly confirming the crime of Xu Wujiang and his gang joining the bandits, it should be that Zheng Hui wanted to use Pan Chenghu's knife to get rid of Xu Wujiang and his gang, right? Of course, there was nothing wrong with Zheng Hui doing this. After all, he initially believed that Xu Wujiang had ruined their good deeds. If he could use a little trick to kill someone with a borrowed knife, why not do it?"
"..." Xu Huai nodded and said, "At this point, everything seems to be fine."
"I didn't see any problem before, but Pan Chenghu was too stupid. He was embarrassed by us, why didn't Zheng Hui make any move? He even watched Deng Gui gather local soldiers to defeat Pan Chenghu's bandits and let us take Xiema Mountain comfortably? After Deng Gui defeated Pan Chenghu's bandits, he had the opportunity to take Xiema Mountain in one go, but he didn't take any further action. Instead, he happily returned to Huaiyuan and prepared to resign. This can only mean that Deng Gui is not under Zheng Hui's direct control, but Zheng Hui shouldn't think of avoiding unnecessary trouble at this time. Why didn't he give him a push? Does he really have the courage to sit back and watch Xu Wujiang take Xiema Mountain with the support of the Xu family and become a big shot?"
"Yes, if they had killed Wang Bing, they shouldn't have gone to so much trouble to solve our minor problems," Xu Huai said, "but Zheng Hui is the one who planned everything behind the scenes . Wang Bing is still alive now, and he should be able to stop Deng Gui from leading the local soldiers to attack Pan Chenghu's bandits. And after Deng Gui defeated Pan Chenghu's bandits, he should also be able to push him secretly to further capture Xiema Mountain - this is also something that the major clans would like to see, but Zheng Hui didn't do it..."
"I'll tell you, you can see that there's something wrong here, right?" Liu Qiong'er hugged her knees and said, "I think Zheng Hui is more likely to have determined that after Guo Caoling takes over, the entire Tongbai Mountain will be under his control. At that time, he can mobilize the bandits of Hutouzhai to besiege Yuhuangling and Xiema Mountain without any scruples, and he won't have to worry about the Huaiyuan Inspection Office gathering local soldiers to attack his rear, so he is not in a hurry. From this perspective, your killing of Guo Caoling actually broke his plan and eliminated the crisis for the Xu family..."
Xu Huai laughed and said, "You are quite good at fooling people with your words - it turns out that you women have to do the talking!"
"Go, I'm telling you the truth." Liu Qiong'er pushed Xu Huai unhappily.
…
…
After Guo Caoling was assassinated, Deng Gui temporarily transferred more than a hundred militiamen from Shangliuzhai to strengthen the security and defense of the military camp and the streets, and the remaining militiamen were disbanded on the spot.
Flowers bloom on the roadside, and people return slowly.
Like a rogue boy, Xu Huai used the excuse of a lumbar injury and leaned against Liu Qiong'er's soft shoulder, looking at the hazy rain outside the carriage window. Occasionally, he could see six or seven soldiers, some riding mules and horses, some carrying guns and shields, walking together from south to north.
After all, the mountains are sparsely populated, and some weeds have spread to the middle of the dirt road.
The biggest advantage is that when the rainy season comes, the dense grass roots will hold the soil tightly, and the road will not be too muddy and difficult to travel on.
The stream water overflowed and it was impossible to wade across the rocky beach at the mouth of Qingliu Creek, so the carriage crossed the river at the Qingliu Creek Bridge.
Xu Wuqi was wearing armor, holding a solid iron spear upside down, and stopped his horse in front of the village gate. Rainwater dripped from the front eaves of his helmet. When he saw the carriage crossing the bridge, he drove his horse over.
Xu Wukun reined in his horse and stopped the car.
"Xu Wuqi, what are you going to do?" Seeing that Xu Wuqi came with ill intentions, Xu Wuliang stared at him vigilantly, holding the knife across his body and shouted.
"Was it the work of you bastards?" Xu Wuqi held the solid iron spear across his body, stared at Xu Wukun and Xu Wuliang for a while, then drove his horse closer, ignoring that Xu Wuliang and Xu Wukun stood up from the front of the carriage, and stretched out the solid iron spear to open the curtain.
Xu Xiaohuan and Liu Qiong'er were frightened and stared at Xu Wuqi in a daze; Xu Huai sat up straight and placed the straight-backed long sword across his knees.
Seeing the carriage slowly heading south on the north bank of Lion Camel Ridge, Xu Wujiang guessed that Xu Wukun and Xu Wuliang had brought Xu Huai back. At this time, he did not care about exposing his identity. He put on a large bamboo hat to half cover his face and rushed to Qingliuxi Bridge with Su Laochang and Xu Guanshan.
However, they did not expect that Xu Wuqi was fully armed and single-handedly intercepted Xu Huai and others in front of Qingliuxi Bridge.
Xu Wujiang rode his horse closer and asked in a deep voice, "Old Five, what do you mean?"
Xu Wuqi retracted his spear and let the carriage curtain slide back to its original position. He stared at Xu Wujiang, whose face was half covered by the big bamboo hat. He placed the iron spear across the horse's back. The veins on his hand holding the iron spear were exposed. It can be seen that he was trying hard to suppress the raging anger in his heart. His voice was also extremely cold:
"You have been hiding for more than a month, and now you dare to show your face? You used the Xu family as a threat before, and you could say you had no choice, but what happened last night? Do you really want to force three or four thousand people to join you in becoming bandits? Do you really think I dare not kill my own relatives today for the sake of justice?"
Xu Wuqi dressed neatly and went out of the camp alone. Someone had already reported the news to Xu Wufu. Xu Wufu had just arrived at the north gate of the camp with his eldest son Xu Heng when they heard what Xu Wuqi said. They were so scared that they almost fell off their horses.
"Wuqi, what do you mean by this?" Xu Wufu asked, trying to remain calm and not let his hands tremble as he held the reins.
"Everyone, get back!"
Zhou Jing, who followed Xu Wufu out of the village, was also shocked. He knew that what Xu Wufu said was of great importance and must not fall into the ears of irrelevant people. He hurriedly told the dozen soldiers who were following him out of the village to retreat and not stay near the Qingliu Creek Bridge.
"I heard about Guo Caoling's assassination this morning, but I only guessed. I thought these bastards wouldn't be so bold. But everything I see before my eyes shows that I still underestimated these bastards!" Xu Wuqi spat fiercely into the bushes beside him, as if he was already good-tempered enough by not taking direct action.
"Dad, don't be soft-hearted at this moment. If you hesitate any longer, the Xu family will be dragged into an abyss of no return by these bastards sooner or later!" Xu Heng almost couldn't hold back his scream.
At dawn, he heard that Guo Caoling was killed in the military camp. Knowing more about the situation, it was not difficult for him to guess that it was the people who secretly protected Wang Bing who took action.
At that time, he was still worried that their previous plot would be exposed and assassins would attack them. But when he heard that the assassination was actually planned by Xu Wujiang and others, he surprisingly did not feel fear in his heart, but was furious and could not suppress his anger.
In his opinion, only by arresting Xu Wujiang and his men immediately and sending them to the authorities could the Xu clan avoid being dragged into an irretrievable situation by them.
Xu Wufu stared at Xu Wujiang in disbelief, unable to contain his rage, and asked word by word, "Did you really do anything that happened in the military camp of the Patrol Division ?"
Xu Huai lifted the curtain and saw that Xu Wufu looked as if he wanted to eat Xu Wujiang alive. He leaned towards the wall of the carriage and glanced at Liu Qionger.
Seeing that Xu Huai wanted her to take the blame, Liu Qiong'er glanced at him unhappily with her beautiful eyes, and finally ducked out of the carriage.
Of course, she still did not forget to step on Xu Huai's ankle to vent her anger.
Women are so petty!
Liu Qiong'er also pretended to be serious. She stared at the people who were half surrounding the carriage for a while before she smiled and said:
"It is said that the head of the Xu family and the eldest son are rare heroes in Tongbai Mountain, but when they encounter something, they get scared and piss their shits. They are not as knowledgeable as a woman like me. It's really laughable!"
"Miss Liu, do you have the right to speak here?" Xu Wufu asked coldly, his hand on the sword at his waist. He hesitated whether to destroy the beauty with ruthless hands to let Xu Wujiang and others know that he also has dignity.
"I wonder if Chushan Yaksha Fox has the qualifications to stand here and say a word or two?" Liu Qiong'er frowned and asked in a cold voice.
"..." Xu Wufu, Xu Heng, Xu Wuqi, Zhou Jing and others all looked at Liu Qiong'er with their mouths opened wide, each of them could fit an egg in their mouths.
"I said it was she who instigated Xu Huai to do it!" Xu Guanshan was the most impatient and complained to Su Laochang angrily in the back.
Su Laochang, who had reacted violently upon hearing the news in the morning, calmed down at this time. He gently patted Xu Guanshan on the shoulder, signaling him to stay calm.
On the wall of the room where Guo Caoling was assassinated, there were eight characters written on it: "The murderer is Chushan Yaksha Fox". By now, the rumor has probably spread throughout Tongbai Mountain. However, Xu Wufu and Xu Heng, father and son, could never have imagined that Liu Qiong'er, who had been redeemed from Yuehonglou less than two months ago, was this "Chushan Yaksha Fox"!
It doesn't matter who carried out the assassination.
The important thing is that they never imagined that Liu Qiong'er was the mastermind behind the assassination!
Or in other words, Liu Qiong'er is the one who is secretly protecting Wang Bing and making everyone sent by Cai Ying cautious?
"Zheng Hui brought many good men into Tongbai Mountain, wanting to eliminate the political enemy, Chief Censor Wang Bing, for his master Cai Ying, but he never dared to do it. Master Xu probably didn't expect that the one who made Zheng Hui so worried was a woman like me who is not even capable of tying a chicken?" Liu Qiong'er stood up with the help of the carriage pillar, stared at Xu Wufu and asked with a smile.
Seeing that Xu Wufu was stunned by her preemptive words, Liu Qiong'er continued, "... Pan Chenghu led the bandits to attack Lutai Village, and suggested that Xu Jieji lead people to burn Xiema Mountain to cut off Pan Chenghu's retreat, and suggested that Xu Jieji threaten the Xu clan to force the Xu family head to stop persecuting him. It was also a woman like me who was powerless. Did the Xu family head feel surprised?"
"What persecution? I don't understand what you are saying." Xu Wufu flatly denied.
Liu Qiong'er said calmly: "Master Xu pretended not to understand, but the two people beside you seemed to really not understand. However, I can explain a little on your behalf, so that they know how Master Xu and the eldest son of the Xu family courted evil and persecuted their own family members, and finally ended up in a situation where they were trapped in their own cocoon..."
"What's the point of telling more lies?" Xu Wufu said calmly.
"Then I will ask Master Xu one more question. The person who had seen through Master Xu's conspiracy with Deng Gui to send Xu Jieji and others to Qingxi Village to die and pushed Xu Jieji to desert the army and become a bandit was a woman like me who was powerless. Was Master Xu also surprised?"
Although Xu Wufu knew that Xu Wujiang and the others had long been suspicious, he was still embarrassed and angry when Liu Qiong'er pointed it out, "You are talking nonsense!"
"How big of a secret can it be that Chen Tong, the grain supervisor of Tangzhou, is the spy of Zheng Hui, the mastermind of Privy Councilor Cai Ying, in the prefectures and counties? If I don't even know this, how can I play Zheng Hui and his people in the palm of my hand?" Liu Qiong'er stared at Xu Wufu with her beautiful eyes and smiled contemptuously, "Master Xu, maybe you think that a character like Zheng Hui is invincible, so you are so scared that you dare to hide back in Lutai Village? Or maybe Master Xu and the eldest son still haven't figured out who Privy Councilor Cai Ying sent to Tongbai Mountain to assassinate Wang Bing for so long?"
Xu Wufu's face turned pale and blue. He didn't know about Deng Gui's secret letter leak. Seeing that Liu Qiong'er actually knew about Chen Tong's existence, he was terrified. What else could he say in argument?
He thinks that no one knows everything, so even if he is suspected, he is not afraid of the other party having any evidence.
However, all this was ruthlessly exposed by a powerless prostitute whom they usually looked down upon. Who wouldn't be shocked and terrified?
But seeing Xu Wuqi and Zhou Jing looking at him in surprise, Xu Wufu wanted to make a final defense, but Liu Qiong'er did not give him a chance and said:
"The Xu family is in the current situation purely because of your own actions. Xu Wujiang has already given you face by not exposing this matter. And today, you should not resent me for privately instigating Xu Huai to kill Guo Caoling. If Guo Caoling is not dead, the Xu family will be in dire straits, and the situation will never be settled because of Wang Bing's death. I instigated Xu Huai to assassinate Guo Caoling, not because I wanted to drag the Xu family into an irretrievable situation. Also, I am saying these things today not just to fight for a moment, and I must embarrass the head of the Xu family and the eldest son. I really can't bear to see you being played around by Zheng Hui. I have said this. If you still don't understand, just send someone to Hutouzhai to find out what's going on!"
Liu Qiong'er let go of the carriage curtain and sat back in the carriage, leaving Xu Wufu and the others outside the carriage looking at each other in bewilderment.
Liu Qiong'er took the knife from Xu Huai's hand, opened the car curtain a little, and questioned Xu Wuliang and Xu Wukun with an unhappy face: "Why don't you leave? The head of the Xu family and the eldest son are stupid, they can figure it out by themselves!"
