In the spring of March, warblers fly and grass grows.
The goddess of spring brings mountain flowers all over the mountains and plains to Yunwu Mountain, and also offers people the crystallization of nature - plum trees everywhere on the hillside are covered with green plums, and the branches are bent under the weight of numerous fruits.
The villagers were very happy, and every household, carrying baskets, went to the plum grove in the mountains to pick fruits.
Zhang Shaofei and Liang Yaofu of Liangtianzhai were picking green plums in the plum grove on the mountainside, talking about this year's good harvest. Suddenly, Zhang Shaofei looked through the tree branches and saw two warriors coming up the mountain road in the distance: one was a burly man, with a huge back and waist, a head like a baton, a face as big as a basin, and a murderous look. The other one was short and strong, with a body shape like a big winter melon. They were all wearing gray-black clothes, with thick cloth belts around their waists, black trousers with leg-locking legs, and flat cloth shoes. The tall man walking in front held a bright sharp ax in his hand. The short boy following behind was holding a large, shiny knife.
Ah, I finally recognized them, because the nicknames of the two warriors were so well-known in the court: the tall man holding a sharp ax in the front was called "Shadanju", and the short man holding a knife in the back was nicknamed "Blind" "Stupid"! Seeing them approaching fiercely with weapons in hand, Zhang Shaofei couldn't help but gasp.
When Zhang Shaofei, the governor of Zhongzhou, came to court, we would occasionally meet in the corridors or aisles.
The reason why Zhang Shaofei was deeply impressed by them was because "Shadanju" was famous in the court. He once defeated nine of his companions in a court martial arts competition, and finally lost to Huiming, a former court general, and finished second. Because his common name was Sha Daju, other warriors in the court nicknamed him "Sha Danju", so not many people would call him by his real name in person. Shadanju was usually very daring. He once served as the general manager of Zhenjiang, Zhejiang. He took the lead in attacking cities and villages. He swung his ax and died when he encountered it. Sha Danju should have had outstanding military exploits, but his colleagues were jealous and framed him as a spy who collaborated with the enemy. Fortunately, his fellow countryman Guan Zhenjiang, who was the minister at the time, intervened and he was spared from prison. After this incident, Sha Daju became loyal to his fellow villager Guan Zhenjiang. The short boy holding the big sword is also a warrior of the imperial court - Meng Houang. He was originally a stonemason in northern Shaanxi. He was extremely strong and simple-minded. He dared to fight and kill, but was brave and foolhardy. If his companions assigned him any dangerous and heavy work, he would do it without fail. Because his surname "Meng" and "Blind" have similar pronunciations, and his first names "Ang" and "Han" are similar in pronunciation, people gave him the nickname "Blind-headed Han".
Liang Yaofu saw Zhang Shaofei standing on tiptoe and looking out. He followed his gaze and saw two warriors holding weapons in the distance. They were looking around slyly, searching for something. He asked Zhang Shaofei: "The warriors should be practicing martial arts in the martial arts hall. And they came to our Yunwu Mountain with swords and axes, what do they want to do?"
Zhang Shaofei spent a lot of time with Liang Yaofu during these days in Yunwu Mountain. He knew that although he was a gambler by nature, he was still a kind person and had no intention of harming others. He said bluntly: "They are the warriors of the imperial court. They came here specially from the imperial court this time to do something for them." They want to hunt me down."
Zhang Shaofei's words really surprised Liang Yaofu, and he asked in confusion: "Ah, you are always kind to others and willing to help others. How can such a good person have enmity with them?"
Zhang Shaofei sighed and said: "The ins and outs of this matter are as long as a whole piece of cloth. I will tell you in detail when I have the opportunity in the future."
Liang Yaofu: "Once you fall into their hands, you will definitely die. Just run to the back mountain and hide."
Zhang Shaofei waved his hand: "No, just hiding is not the final solution."
Liang Yaofu felt in a dilemma: "If you want to fight, you say you won't fight; if you want to hide, you say you won't hide. Now that the situation is urgent, you have to find a way to get the best of both worlds!"
After Zhang Shaofei fixed his gaze, he said confidently: "We have a solution. This matter cannot be defeated by force, we can only do it wisely."
Liang Yaofu asked puzzledly: "Outsmart? How to outsmart?"
"Listen to me." Zhang Shaofei leaned over and whispered his plan to Liang Yaofu.
Liang Yaofu's expression was surprised at first, then calm, and finally smiled and nodded frequently: "Okay, okay, okay! Just do as you say!"
Zhang Shaofei dodged and hid behind a plum tree with a thick trunk, watching the situation unfold secretly and acting as appropriate.
Carrying a bamboo basket full of green plums, Liang Yaofu emerged from the plum forest, crossed the stream and ravine, and walked up the mountain path. While singing folk songs, he walked towards "Blind-headed Han" and "Shadanju".
"Blindhead Han" and "Sha Danju" came to Yunwu Mountain and saw the vast mountains and quiet surroundings. They could only hear the sound of waterfalls in the distance and there were no people around. They were wondering in which direction to search for Zhang Shaofei. Suddenly, there was news The sound of mountain songs came and they saw someone coming towards them along the mountain path. The two men were refreshed and walked forward swaggeringly.
The blind fool shouted loudly, "Hey, old man, I want to ask you about someone!"
Liang Yaofu blinked at them and said, "What are you talking about?"
Liang Yaofu had never been more than ten miles away from Yunwu Mountain in his life, so hearing those garrulous foreigners was like "a chicken talking to a duck", so he still waved his hands, pointed to his ears, made gestures, and said: "I listen. I don’t understand what you are saying.”
Blind Touhan and Sha Danju were ordered to hunt down Zhang Shaofei and stayed in Qiu County for a while, so they could barely understand the meaning of Ming Liang Yaofu's answer. After the two discussed it, Sha Danju said in a salty and salty local dialect: " We are looking for someone to ask you about."
Liang Yaofu frowned: "The sky is huge and the earth is huge. There are more people in the world than the trees on Yunwu Mountain. I don't know who you are looking for."
Sha Danju pointed towards Taizhen: "He is also from your Taizhen Village."
Liang Yaofu said angrily: "Since his family lives over there in Taizhen Village, you go there to look for him!"
Sha Danju: "We searched here and there, but there was no trace of him. We suspected that he went to Yunwu Mountain and hid."
The blind fool agreed: "We are probably inseparable this time."
Liang Yaofu said angrily: "Ahem, how do I know what the person you are looking for looks like?"
Sha Danju: "We have his portrait, take a look."
The blind man took out a piece of white cloth from his arms, shook it open, raised it in front of Liang Yaofu, and said in a more serious tone, "This man's name is Zhang Shaofei."
Liang Yaofu studied this hand-painted bust attentively: the face was painted with Chinese characters, the sky is saturated, the nose is high, and the eyes are bright and lively, which is somewhat similar to Zhang Shaofei's appearance.
Liang Yaofu nodded slightly while looking at the portrait: "I think I have seen this person before."
When Sha Danju heard Liang Yaofu say that he had seen Zhang Shaofei, he was so happy that he stretched his neck longer than a goose's neck and asked impatiently: "When have you seen him?"
Liang Yaofu still said slowly and calmly: "I saw him at the col just now..."
Sha Danju was overjoyed. He pulled the flesh on his face a few times, shook the ax in his hand, and asked, "Where is he?"
The blind man’s urging voice was as loud as a broken gong: “Tell us quickly!”
Liang Yaofu scratched his head and hesitated: "I will tell you his whereabouts. This...this...has delayed my work."
"Did you miss your work?" Sha Danju understood what the other party was referring to and said bluntly, "You mean you want to get some benefits from us?"
Liang Yaofu: "This is what you said, I didn't force you."
"Okay, let me and my brother discuss it." Sha Danju tilted his head to discuss with the blind man, then stretched out his palm like a cattail fan and spread out his five fingers, "We will give you five taels of silver."
Liang Yaofu pouted, looking uninterested, and said, "Only five taels of silver? It's too little to give to a beggar, so I won't do it!"
Sha Danju: "Five taels is too little, so let's do ten taels."
Why is Shadanju so generous? Because when they left, Prime Minister Guan made a promise: if they catch Zhang Shaofei, they will be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold. Therefore, this mere twelve taels of silver is nothing compared to the high reward.
When Liang Yaofu heard that they had increased the reward, he immediately smiled and nodded in agreement: "Okay, it's a deal. The reward is ten taels. But you have to give the reward first, and then I will lead the way."
Sha Danju raised his thick eyebrows, shook the sharp ax in his hand, and said viciously: "I have a word with you first. If you lie to us, we will not only get back the silver reward, but also split you in two." cut!"
The flesh on the blind fool's face twitched, and his voice sounded like thunder: "I will even throw you off the cliff to feed the vultures!"
Liang Yaofu pointed to the weapon in the opponent's hand and said: "You are people with steps like the wind, with fierce looks and murderous things in your hands. I am an old man with slow steps. Even if I want to escape, how can I escape? How could I?" So stupidity comes from seeking death?”
Sha Danju felt that Liang Yaofu was telling the truth, so he took out ten taels of silver from his pocket and handed it to him, saying, "I guess you dare not lie to us even if I give you an urn."
Liang Yaofu took Wen Yin, stuffed it into his arms, and said, "The person you want to capture is hiding in a difficult place."
Sha Danju shook the sharp ax in his hand, flashing cold light under the sunlight, and said scornfully: "We will take the difficult road!"
Liang Yaofu said mockingly: "I'm afraid that even if you two see him, you won't be able to capture him."
Sha Danju laughed loudly and said contemptuously: "Humph, when Zhang Shaofei was the governor of Zhongzhou, he was just a weak scholar. This time he has no chance of escaping from our hands."
The blind fool also joined in the fun, stretched out his right arm, stretched and flexed it a few times, and the muscles on his arm slid back and forth like a little mouse: "Well, how can he be as strong as us? Look, our physiques , no need to do anything, just showing it off will scare him to death."
Liang Yaofu said in a mysterious tone: "I know he has a great helper."
