Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 68 Disaster from the Sky
When the carriage slowly started to move, Liu Qiong'er covered her bulging chest. Seeing Xu Huai actually staring at her chest, she glanced at him and asked, "How about it, can my words shock them?"
"They sent people to sneak into Hutouzhai. If Zheng Hui did not make any direct deployment against Yuhuangling, how are you going to step down?" Xu Huai asked, holding his head and leaning lazily against the wall of the carriage.
"On the way back to Yuhuangling, the more I thought about it, the more I felt that Zheng Hui's deployment was most likely aimed at the entire Xu family. Xu Wufu was just a clown being played around by Zheng Hui," Liu Qiong'er said proudly. "We didn't have time to keep an eye on the movements in Hutou Village before, but as long as Xu Wufu is intimidated by me and sends people to Hutou Village again, we will definitely be able to find something fishy."
Xu Huai smiled and said, "I hope so!"
Zheng Hui is currently the most insidious poisonous snake lurking deep in Tongbai Mountain. He always speculates about Zheng Hui's motives and plans.
However, Xu Wujiang fled with the Wuzu and became bandits. They were like a stray dog. Even if they had some spare energy, they were just keeping an eye on the movements of Xiema Mountain and Xu Wufu. How could they have anyone to lurk in Hutouzhai?
Besides, Zheng Hui was lurking in Hutouzhai with a group of good fighters, and not everyone could get close enough to conduct reconnaissance.
Unless Xu Wujiang, Xu Xin'an and others rushed over, but sent other people to the vicinity of Hutou Village to keep an eye on the movements there, who could guarantee their own safety and see through the truth in Hutou Village in detail?
After all, the vast majority of the warriors are just mountain villagers who have only learned some basic martial arts skills!
He simply didn't have anyone available to verify his guesses one by one. Perhaps forcing Xu Wufu and the others to take action was the most appropriate option at the moment...
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After Xu Wujiang, Su Laochang, Xu Guanshan and others surrounded the carriage and headed for the new camp on the east slope of Lion Camel Ridge, Xu Heng saw that Xu Wuqi and Zhou Jing both looked thoughtful, so he said anxiously:
"Don't listen to that crazy woman's nonsense! It must be Xu Wujiang who instructed her to say such nonsense in order to sow discord between us! It was Xu Wujiang and his men who had the audacity to surrender to the bandits, and they act as if they were persecuted by us. It's really ridiculous!"
"Okay, stop talking!" Xu Wufu stopped Xu Heng.
Xu Wuqi and Zhou Jing have followed him for many years, commanding the clan soldiers and handling clan affairs. How could they be fooled by just a few words?
Although not many people saw through the fact that Wang Bing had encountered bandits, there were speculations from top to bottom in Huaiyuan and even in the prefectures and counties. The unrest in Hutouzhai and Xu Wujiang's desertion and becoming a bandit were full of inexplicable mysteries in the eyes of outsiders.
Liu Qiong'er made everything clear, not only explaining the part they were involved in, but also explaining that most of the other things were also facts.
These are perfectly consistent with all the doubts. Are you still trying to make excuses at this time? Are you really deceiving Xu Wuqi, Zhou Jing and others who are rough and rugged warriors?
"Some of what this woman said is right," Xu Wufu thought about his words and said to Xu Wuqi and Zhou Jing, "Wang Bing's encounter with bandits is not a simple matter. After the first massacre in Hutou Village on Zoumadao, the grain supervisor Chen Tong found me. Many hints were nothing more than saying that a noble wanted Wang Bing dead but was obstructed, and all these signs pointed to me, Xu. This trip of Xu was really a disaster from the sky. I had no choice but to decide to sacrifice Xu Wujiang and others. I hope that after Wang Bing's death, Tongbai Mountain can return to peace. Maybe it's just like what that woman said, maybe everything is just my own fault."
"That woman's words are not entirely trustworthy. It is very likely that she planned this from the beginning to drag our Xu family into this trouble. I also believe that the head of the family has the Xu family in mind, so he had to make such a decision ," Xu Wuqi said resolutely with a solemn face, "but if it is said that those who wanted to assassinate Wang Bing were really behind the Tiger Head Village, I think we should really be wary of their impure intentions!"
Xu Wuqi's statement made him feel relieved. Xu Wufu asked, "What do you mean?"
"The military camp conquered Shangliu Village, but Pan Chenghu escaped after all, and there are still many bandits following him. I'm worried that he will hold a grudge against the Xu family for everything, and do something detrimental to our Xu family. Yesterday, I sent people to the Hengfeng Mountain area in the north to track their whereabouts, wanting to keep an eye on their whereabouts, so that I can free up my hands to wipe out the roots in the future..." Xu Wuqi said thoughtfully.
Xu Heng looked at Xu Wuqi with some surprise.
Yesterday, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Pan Chenghu's bandits being defeated and Deng Gui returning to the military camp with great success. However, they did not expect that Xu Wuqi was secretly planning to wipe out Pan Chenghu's troops.
"Have you found anything?" Xu Wufu asked.
Xu Wuqi frowned and said, "What we can confirm now is that someone arranged a boat at Tiaohu Beach last night to pick them up and head towards Hutouling!"
"..."Xu Wufu sat down on a rock beside him weakly.
When Chen Tong came to him, there were many things he didn't say openly, and he wouldn't ask directly. But since he knew the root of everything, it was because Cai Ying sent people to assassinate Wang Bing but failed, how could he not guess who was behind Hutouzhai and stirring up trouble?
He had a conversation with Deng Gui. How could he not understand what Deng Gui's intention was in resigning early and replacing him with Guo Caoling?
As for the news that Xu Wujiang was rejected when he tried to surrender to Hutouzhai, how could he not guess who was spreading the news and their intention to kill someone with a borrowed knife?
But before today, he thought that the person behind the scenes was only trying to get rid of Xu Wujiang and others.
Am I thinking too simply?
If they just wanted to use someone else's knife to get rid of Xu Wujiang, they could have delayed Deng Gui from sending troops, instead of making preparations early and waiting for Deng Gui to send troops to break through Shangliuzhai so that they could incorporate the remnants of Pan Chenghu!
They have Guo Caoling taking over the control of the military camp from Deng Gui, and Wang Bing is already in their pocket. Hutouzhai has also gone to great lengths to incorporate the remnants of Pan Chenghu. Who are they trying to target?
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"What Miss Liu said just now by the Qingliu Creek Bridge, how much is true, or is it just a pretext to evade blame?"
After all, Xu Wujiang still didn't want to drag the entire Xu family of three or four thousand people into this quagmire. He was quite shocked after hearing Liu Qiong'er's words. After returning to the new camp at Lion Camel Ridge, he couldn't wait to ask for details.
"Whether it is true or not, we can't send anyone to Hutouzhai to find out the details, but Xu Wufu will not slack off, we will know in a day or two. Moreover, even if Miss Liu's speculation is true, Guo Caoling is dead now, and we still have a chance to catch our breath!" During the night battle, Xu Huai was cut twice under his armpits. The injury was not serious, but the injuries to the tendons and bones of his arms and lumbar spine required rest for a while. After returning to the new village, Xu Wuliang specially found a couch for him to lie down and talk.
"You reckless man, you don't know anything for sure, yet you go to kill Guo Caoling. Aren't you afraid of failing?" Su Di was so angry that he wanted to hit him with something.
"The consequences of failure will be disastrous!" Although Xu Guanshan was somewhat convinced after hearing what Liu Qiong'er said and felt that Guo Caoling deserved to be killed, he still felt that it was too risky to assassinate him directly.
But can he be blamed for this?
More than a month ago, he was still bragging to everyone about his son Xu Xin'an, who was highly regarded by Mr. Deng, and who was a very good spearman who could use the spear like a whirlwind. In another three or four years, he might be able to become a military governor and marry a girl from a good family.
Who could have imagined that the sky would fall in the blink of an eye?
"I thought what Miss Liu said made sense, so I did it."
Xu Huai didn't want to hide it from Xu Wujiang and Su Di, but Xu Guanshan and Su Laochang were more concerned about self-protection. He didn't want to cause unnecessary disputes, so he decided to let Liu Qiong'er bear the evil to the end.
"And Miss Liu said that this matter is not as dangerous as you think."
"What do you mean?" Su Laochang asked with a frown.
Liu Qiong'er wanted to kick Xu Huai and put all the blame on her, but how could she come up with a good excuse right away?
"…Just like Xu Wufu can be threatened by us, Deng Gui is also someone who can be used. He is cunning, and he once arranged for you, Uncle Seventeen, to die, but all this was because he was unwilling to take the blame for Wang Xiang's untimely death under his jurisdiction, not to mention that he had the courage to force Wang Xiang to death. So Miss Liu said, if I fail, as long as I can escape to Prime Minister Wang Bing in time, Wang Xiang will save me at the risk of his life!" Xu Huai said slowly, as if Liu Qiong'er had really analyzed these words with him a long time ago.
Su Di looked at Xu Wujiang with some confusion.
When escaping from the military camp, Xu Huai said that Liu Qiong'er had recruited Zheng Hui and others, and that he had overheard some confidential matters, so he involved Liu Qiong'er in order to use Liu Qiong'er as bait to lure the snake out of its hole. Why did his story change now?
Was all this really Liu Qiong'er's idea?
However, when she was in charge of Xiema Mountain before, Liu Qiong'er had already decided on the third seat, and Xu Huai, Xu Wuliang and Xu Wukun were all her men; now Xu Huai pushed everything onto Liu Qiong'er, and Su Di had no way to say anything.
"Let's wait until Xu Wufu sends people to Hutouzhai to get the news before we talk about this," Xu Wujiang said solemnly, "If Zheng Hui really wants to harm the Xu family, Xu Wufu and the others will know how to make a choice!"
"If our guess is wrong, Xu Wufu will not allow us to stay in Xiema Mountain anymore!" Su Laochang sighed with some concern.
They had already touched the limit of Xu Wufu's tolerance by threatening him with the Xu family.
However, at that time, Pan Chenghu's bandits still threatened the safety of Lutai Village, forcing Xu Wufu to compromise. If the threat Liu Qiong'er mentioned did not exist, it would be easy for Xu Wufu to persuade the elders to "kill their own relatives for the sake of justice" to protect the clan.
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What Su Laochang worried about did not happen. On the next afternoon, Xu Wufu, Xu Bosong, Xu Zhongyu, Xu Wuqi, Zhou Jing and others walked into the new village on the east slope of Lion Camel Ridge.
"Miss Liu, how much do you know about Zheng Hui?" Walking into the back camp where Zhujiaxiao usually restricted access, Xu Wufu stared at Liu Qiong'er with a gloomy face and asked.
"Then I wonder how much Master Xu knows about Hutou Village?"
Seeing Xu Wufu and others walking into the new camp with worried faces, Liu Qiong'er knew that her and Xu Huai's previous guess was correct. Zheng Hui's plan in Tongbai Mountain was not limited to causing an accident to kill Wang Bin in Huaiyuan.
"Since Chen Zixiao murdered Tang Biao, the Wind-Breaking Blade, and seized power in Hutou Village, he has been intensifying his exploitation of the surrounding villages and has been secretly recruiting soldiers. At this time, there is reason to believe that there are already four to five hundred bandits in Hutou Village. After Pan Chenghu was defeated in Shangliu Village, he borrowed the boats that Hutou Village had prepared in advance at Tiaohu Beach and led the remaining troops westward to Hutou Village!"
No matter what, the manpower Xu Wufu can mobilize is beyond the reach of this side.
With a clear idea in mind, and Xu Wuqi having arranged people to spot a lot of clues a day earlier, it was not difficult to get a general idea of the situation in Hutouzhai.
"Master Xu will no longer blame me for instigating Xu Huai to assassinate Guo Caoling, right?" Liu Qiong'er asked proudly. She wanted to poke the faces of Xu Wufu and others.
Xu Wufu's face twitched, but as he knew almost all the details, he knew very well that if Zheng Hui and others mainly wanted Wang Bing to die, it would be enough for Guo Caoling to replace Deng Gui as the Inspector of Huaiyuan, and there was no need to create unnecessary trouble.
Zheng Hui had Guo Caoling as the inspector to control the local situation, but at the same time he was recruiting soldiers and expanding his power in Hutouzhai. No matter what Zheng Hui's intentions were, Xu Wufu would not think that Zheng Hui made such arrangements just to deal with Xu Wujiang and his small group of people...
