Zhou Yulou was certainly not unfamiliar with the name Bailangzhai, but he couldn't say he understood it.
He clearly remembered that the first time he heard this name was no more than two years ago. When Bailangzhai emerged in the Central Plains and became popular near Daqing Lake, Acheng was lucky as the only small town in the prefecture and county near the Grand Canal that could still be preserved.
As Acheng's police officer, Zhou Yulou was naturally ordered to go out with his colleagues and search for information about Bailang Village.
Unlike Acheng's current head-hunting thunder sword, Zhou Yulou did not deal with it because he was afraid of encountering the horse bandits. He went out to search with his colleagues. After not getting the slightest news, he took the opportunity to secretly go outside the city alone.
Sure enough, after several spies, Zhou Yulou unexpectedly encountered a sentry sent by Bailang Village on the plain. Although outsiders don't know that Zhou Yulou has martial arts skills, Zhou Yulou still has confidence in himself. The so-called talented people are brave and follow the sentries of Bailang Village all the way deep into the plains.
Firstly, there is nowhere to hide in the plain. Although the deserted plain is full of weeds, for a sentry who is good at spying, it is tantamount to death; secondly, Zhou Yulou does not dare to follow too closely, because of many years of retreat. , almost even he himself has forgotten that he was also a member of the martial arts world back then; moreover, the people in Bailang Village are all elite riders, but not ordinary people can compare with their legs.
Although Zhou Yulou is well-known in the Central Plains for his light skills, he is confident that he can only be faster than horses within a few miles, but beyond the range of dozens of miles, no matter how strong his skills are, Zhou Yulou has not yet reached the innate realm. The true energy in his body could not be continuously supplied, and he gradually lost track of him on the plains.
Ren Shi Zhou Yulou refused to give up and knew that there were too many masters in the world. He had been invisible for nearly twenty years just to break through quietly. If the horse bandits in Bailang Village discover his whereabouts, it will undoubtedly bring disaster to Acheng and endless troubles to himself.
Since I couldn't be too public or aggressive about this matter, I kept it hidden in my heart.
I received guidance from an expert back then, and since then I have transformed from an ordinary martial arts practitioner into a martial arts practitioner both internally and externally. Later, through my continuous efforts and my understanding of this master's guidance, I became a master with a proud reputation in the Central Plains.
Although he received this expert's guidance, Zhou Yulou felt endlessly grateful for this unexpected and unparalleled romance. However, this master was a famous figure in the world, but he did not accept Zhou Yulou as his disciple. This was the biggest regret in Zhou Yulou's heart.
Even though he became a famous master in the Central Plains, this master never admitted that he was his disciple. For Zhou Yulou, this may be the biggest obsession in his heart. In the past twenty years, Zhou Yulou would often dream that he was accepted as a disciple by this master, even in his dreams.
Time flies, Zhou Yulou has become a famous master in the world, and this master is even more prestigious in the world, but Zhou Yulou has never seen him again. You can imagine the excitement in my heart when I suddenly heard the news about this person.
Although Zhou Yulou became a master and gained some fame in the world, he did not receive personal instruction from that person for a long time. Even if he keeps working hard, he has already reached the pinnacle of acquired martial arts in these years. I have also been dormant for more than ten years to make breakthroughs, but I have never been able to break through the final barrier and enter the innate realm that warriors dream of.
Zhou Yulou vaguely knew that he needed an opportunity or an external factor. Although it was just speculation in his heart, in fact, this sudden realization was not far from the truth!
As your inner understanding strengthens, your sensitivity to surrounding affairs will naturally increase. Since the replacement of the dynasty by the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the situation has become increasingly clear, there has been a trend of unification in the Central Plains.
Zhou Yulou usually concentrates on his cultivation, hiding in the busy city of Acheng, doing his own thing leisurely and contentedly. Even though the surrounding environment has undergone tremendous changes, a lot of unexpected news was later received, including the rise of White Wolf Village in the Central Plains. Zhou Yulou felt that it was unnecessary and deliberately pursued these horse bandits.
But he also kept waiting in Acheng, waiting for an opportunity for him to break through, and for an opportunity to get to know him legitimately.
Although I don’t know where the breakthrough point is, Zhou Yulou is actually getting closer and closer to this threshold.
Nature is the main way, let nature take its course and eventually return to oneness.
Later, while Zhou Yulou was practicing and doing daily inspections, he would slowly search around and found some clues about Bailang Village, but it was not of much help in understanding Bailang Village.
But Zhou Yulou came to the conclusion that this group of people was a group of people who had been strictly trained, or at least a group of people who advanced and retreated in an orderly manner. To control this team, you definitely need a core figure, a courageous figure.
A wolf leading a flock of sheep can turn the sheep into wolves! A sheep leading a pack of wolves will turn a pack of wolves into sheep!
Zhou Yulou firmly believes in this truth!
In this place in the Central Plains, this group of people is either a group of remnants of the regular army that survived the change of the imperial court. Either they were sent by the Khitans on the grassland. Zhou Yulou would rather believe that they were Khitans, because only the Khitans had such skilled cavalry.
And as a Khitan, this is definitely a possibility. Because they are in different seasons, as the Khitan people who are affected by the autumn and winter seasons, they can plunder material wealth in the Great Zhou Dynasty, which is a good supplement.
And as cavalry that penetrate deep into the Central Plains, they don't need supplies at all. There are supplies and resources everywhere. For the Khitan people, they could obtain a large amount of supplies with only a team of less than a thousand people. Even if we take a step back, these people are all lost in the Central Plains, and the Khitan will not be affected at all.
Of course, Zhou Yulou also questioned the actions of Bailang Village, because almost all of them acted selectively, and Zhou Yulou did not rule out that they did it deliberately, just to go deep into the hinterland and disrupt the stability of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Because there is another force involved, the Northern Han Dynasty, which has always been affiliated with the Khitans.
For the Zhou Dynasty, which took over the power from the Later Han Dynasty, they have always been unwilling to let the Guo family seize the rights of their Liu family. However, because of the one-sided marriage, and the Liu family did not have any outstanding talents, even if they had some remaining power and talents from the past, under the suppression of the two generations of genius emperors Guo Wei and Guo Rong, the Northern Han Dynasty could only linger on.
Therefore, being able to disrupt the actions of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and even cause interference to the Great Zhou court, must have always been the hope of the small court of the Northern Han Dynasty. The Northern Han Dynasty was able to exist on its own despite being surrounded by Zhou Dynasty. Firstly, it was because Zhou Dynasty used him as a buffer against the Khitan. Secondly, the Northern Han Dynasty still had several rare and talented generals.
Of course, Zhou Yulou did suspect that the horse bandits in Bailang Village were a surprise force sent by the Northern Han Dynasty. Because the Northern Han Dynasty, which had always been resentful of the Zhou Dynasty's control of the Central Plains, did not hesitate to obey the Khitan's actions just like Shi Jingtang of the later Jin Dynasty. Because with the help of the Khitan people, they felt that they could regain the lost territory in the Central Plains.
Although everyone knows that each other is using each other, this use is obviously beneficial to everyone.
After all, the Northern Han Dynasty seemed to have never been separated from the Great Zhou Dynasty. Whether it was the personnel relationship between the two forces or the inseparable geographical location, both sides knew each other very well. It is this kind of understanding that makes both parties understand that when there is no complete certainty and the fishermen cannot benefit, how to control the other party is the king.
The mutual interference between the two parties is obviously all-round. From ordinary people's livelihood to border defense and military affairs, and even the rebellion between North Korean and Chinese officials, it can be said that they do everything. Therefore, Zhou Yulou was not surprised at all when the Northern Han Dynasty sent cavalry to sneak into the Zhou Dynasty. He even felt that this was inevitable.
Because Zhou Yulou did not participate in the government's decision-making, he did not have the awareness and feeling that he had this responsibility to devote much energy to the Zhou court. As long as it does not affect the improvement of his own realm or interfere with his leisure, Zhou Yulou will not care.
Even the initial spying was just out of the instinct of a person in the world. The so-called knowing oneself and knowing oneself can survive a hundred battles. This is already a habit. He also seems to like the feeling of having everything under control. What's more, the surrounding state capitals are gone now. If Bailang Village were to attack the state capitals, Acheng would most likely bear the brunt.
This will undoubtedly have an impact on Zhou Yulou, so he must understand some situations in advance.
Originally, due to years of war, people everywhere had no way of making a living. Among the larger towns in nearby prefectures and counties, apart from Liaocheng Prefecture, only Acheng was spared. There are more than four Achengs in Liaocheng Prefecture, and everyone knows which bone is the toughest.
Some people who were close to Liaocheng went to live around Liaocheng. Although Liaocheng Prefecture's territory and urban area were limited, the government still accepted all the labor and soldiers sent. As for the old, weak, sick and disabled who were of little use, they were naturally kept outside the city.
Lucky people, if someone in their family is a soldier or a coolie, can follow them to the city to make a living. The only thing that was miserable was staying outside the city, which was tantamount to waiting to die and suffer, but there was no way around it.
Nowadays, it can be said that countless people have been stationed outside Liaocheng Mansion, sleeping in tents for no less than three or four miles.
Zhou Yulou saw it once at the beginning of the year. On that day, in order to escort the county magistrate into Liaocheng Prefecture, he personally saw the continuous stream of refugees outside Liaocheng Prefecture. In addition to being shocked, I felt helpless and helpless. I thought that if a war really broke out, these people would undoubtedly be the first to be cannon fodder.
The current world looks at everyone's pale and helpless faces, their emaciated and crumbling bodies, and even worse, they are already dying. Every day we continue to see people dying and being eaten by goshawks and wild dogs.
On the same side of Acheng, the isolated city, those who made a living on Daqing Lake that day were expelled ashore one after another by the court and landed on the shores around Daqing Lake. Although we are not rich, we can still find a way to survive.
Later, with the emergence and looting of Bailang Village, and some deliberate exaggeration by the government, the horse bandits in Bailang Village were simply heinous bad guys. Naturally, ordinary people were so frightened that they panicked, and now they had no choice but to rush into Acheng or survive just outside Acheng.
The situation here is almost exactly the same as that in Liaocheng Mansion, and Acheng is much smaller than Liaocheng Mansion, so naturally it feels even more stressful. However, the people outside the city are still trying every possible means to enter Acheng to survive, and instinctively hope to be protected by the isolated city of Acheng.
Zhou Yulou even believed that not to mention thousands of troops, but a cavalry team of several hundred people, running back and forth, no one among the old, weak, sick and disabled outside the city would be spared.
"The Seventeenth Young Master is also directly related to the Lei family. Now the governor is in charge of Liaocheng. Although Acheng is small and difficult to defend, Acheng is the foundation of the Lei family. I believe the governor will protect the family at all costs!" Zhou Yulou He said calmly, looking at Lei Qingfeng's nervous expression, he couldn't help but feel a little strange in his heart!
"Master Zhou's words are true!" Lei Qingfeng actually sighed. This tone seemed to be filled with too much helplessness. Looking at Zhou Yulou, who seemed to have made up his mind, he gritted his teeth and said with a trembling voice: "How many times are Master Zhou in Acheng?" In ten years, I may have overestimated the ignorance of the Lei family and underestimated the power of the White Wolf Village!"
"Oh!" Zhou Yulou was a little surprised. Although he didn't know how Lei Qingfeng knew his master, but the secret that had been hidden in his heart for nearly twenty years was exposed, Zhou Yulou still had an extra liking for Lei Qingfeng. Very close.
Zhou Yulou absolutely believed in the ability of the expert, but he was also quite curious in his heart. How did the expert he knew interact with Bailangzhai? Bailangzhai contains many secrets that others don't know. Otherwise, it is impossible for Lei Qingfeng to know too many secrets and inside stories. He said these words obviously out of emotion.
"Maybe! A certain family has indeed been in Acheng for too long and has been sitting in a well looking at the sky! Young Master Seventeen has something to say, and a certain family would like to listen to it!" Zhou Yulou relaxed his eyebrows and looked at Lei Qing with an encouraging smile. Front.
It was quiet all around, with the occasional horn coming from the water village.
Although Lei Qingfeng was still a little panicked and looked around with his eyes, he saw Zhou Yulou's calm look and thought of what the man said, and felt a little relieved. "Master Zhou usually walks in Acheng, have you noticed that those people are different from ordinary people?" He asked cautiously.
"Hmm!" Hearing Lei Qingfeng's question, Zhou Yulou paused for a moment. Looking at his probing look, his heart couldn't help but lowered his voice: "What you mean is that Acheng also has spies from Bailang Village. ?”
Although he seems to be doing nothing, he actually knows little Acheng very well, and he has almost everything under control, whether it is people or events.
After saying this, Zhou Yulou suddenly realized that if Lei Qingfeng hadn't known something, would he be so anxious?
However, with the rapid increase in the city's population in the past two years, there are indeed many people and things that are no longer under Zhou Yulou's control. Thinking of this, Zhou Yulou's eyelids trembled, knowing that he had indeed ignored the dangers in the world. After all, the Lei family is the local leader of Acheng. They must know more than themselves.
Lei Qingfeng actually didn't answer. Looking at Zhou Yulou's expression, his face seemed to be so proud, but he thought that he was here to ask Zhou Yulou to do something. He immediately calmed down his expression, and it seemed that Zhou Yulou didn't notice anything strange, and he couldn't help but feel relieved.
He immediately said in a low voice: "I don't know what the second uncle was thinking, but he actually discussed with the fourth uncle to send all the clan members to Liaocheng! Just imagine that there are horse bandits in Bailangzhai everywhere now, and the officers and soldiers of the imperial court take these people There is no way around it, isn’t this just sending a sheep into the tiger’s mouth!”
The second uncle he was talking about was Lei Fang, the current patriarch of the Lei family, and the fourth uncle was Shi Lei, the current governor of Liaocheng Prefecture. Lei Fang has always been in charge of Acheng. Although he has not held any position, he is still the leader of the clan. Even Red, who serves as governor, has to look at his cousin's expression to do things.
Obviously, the Lei family is not worried. The safety of little Acheng is no longer the final decision of the Lei family. Lei Fang, as the clan leader, and Leiide, as the leader of the clan, are the highest-ranking clan members in the court. They want to send everyone in the clan to Liaocheng Mansion.
Although Liaocheng Mansion is also an isolated city, it is much larger than Acheng after all. As the main decision-maker of the Lei family and the talker of Liaocheng Mansion, Red's first thought must be to protect his family and relatives. Of course, what Lei Qingfeng said means that this decision is obviously the decision of the entire Lei family.
But for some reason, Lei Qingfeng was not interested in this action and was instead very worried. In terms of status in the Lei family, Lei Qingfeng is not yet in the top ten, but he obviously knows something.
Zhou Yulou understood that the Lei family obviously wanted to give up Acheng and stick to Liaocheng Prefecture. And Lei Qingfeng is skeptical about the Lei family's abilities. Of course, this is not the only reason. Does he know something, or does he understand what kind of danger lies!
For a person with rich experience in the arena, Zhou Yulou has no doubt about Acheng's current severe situation. He did not suspect that Lei Qingfeng had colluded with Bailang Village, but he did not rule out that he at least knew about it.
Zhou Yulou looked at Lei Qingfeng and saw that he looked a little excited. He vaguely knew what the problem was. Although he was not sure yet, he also knew that it would not be too different.
"A descendant of the Lei family, a nephew of the governor of Liaocheng Prefecture, and a general of the navy of the Daqing Lake Water Village of the Great Zhou Dynasty, actually colluded with the horse bandits of the White Wolf Village?" Zhou Yulou's voice seemed to have penetrating power. Looking at the young man in front of him, he Intimidating Lei Qingfeng without politeness was a common tactic used by police officers to interrogate prisoners.
What's strange is that Lei Qingfeng didn't refute immediately, nor did his expression change because of it, he just looked at Zhou Yulou quietly. It seemed that Zhou Yulou was not talking about himself. He looked at Daqing Lake and seemed confident.
"Master Zhou, where do you think Acheng or Liaocheng is safer?" Lei Qingfeng suddenly asked a strange question, and for the first time he put his hands behind his back, standing there quite imposingly.
"Where is it safer!" Zhou Yulou seemed slightly stunned and looked at Lei Qingfeng as if he was meeting him for the first time. Looking at his expression, he said with more appreciation: "This can't be done just by the power of the state capital. In the eyes of the horse bandits in Bailangzhai, these two cities are useless!" Zhou Yulou did not Xiao said: "For an army that is good at horse warfare, attacking a city is tantamount to suicide. They obviously won't do such a boring thing!"
Seeing Lei Qingfeng's indifferent expression, Zhou Yulou admired him even more, and continued: "Since there is news that your Lei family has made a choice, it means that the old men of your Lei family must have received it. What a rumor! A certain family has observed this group of horse bandits. If they want to capture Acheng and Liaocheng, as long as they have internal support, they can seize the city with their horses and whips in less than an hour!"
If others heard this, they would not be so frightened that their legs would become weak. Who would not think that with the protection of the city, they would feel at ease with the horse bandits.
"Why hasn't White Wolf Village taken Liaocheng Prefecture and Acheng? It's because it has no benefit to them at all!" Lei Qingfeng actually said: "They are good at horse fighting. If they use their pitiful numbers to hold on to the city, It will be the stupidest decision and a dead end!"
"Now that they have this idea, it means that the two cities are now having an effect on them!" Zhou Yulou's eyes lit up, as if he suddenly thought of something, he looked at Lei Qingfeng in surprise, and said in a voiceless voice: "Do they want to intercept The retreat of the Great Zhou Navy!"
You know, this time the emperor's personal expedition brought half of the navy to the Grand Canal, and the rest was south of Huainan, now competing with the Southern Tang army. If the navy that intercepted the Great Zhou Dynasty returned, although it would not be a dead end, it would at least be a huge blow.
Lei Qingfeng cupped his fists and saluted Zhou Yulou, and then looked at the surface of Daqing Lake, which was peaceful and peaceful. There was no hint of hidden rapids, but it seemed like the calm before the storm.
He said quietly: "Master Zhou is also an acquaintance of the master, and he is a person worthy of entrustment. Otherwise, the master would not personally ask a certain family to come to see Master Zhou. In fact, a certain family is so indecisive that they really can't abandon their wives, children, and children. . To be honest, Mr. Zhou said that a certain family will quietly leave their family members in Acheng, hoping to take care of their mother and children when a conflict comes!"
Zhou Yulou looked at the calm lake, but his mind was already filled with the shadow of that master. As for what Lei Qingfeng said, although it sounded good to his ears, most of it was not taken to heart.
howl!
There was a long hiss, like the sun splitting through the clouds!
The calm lake surface suddenly rippled, and it seemed that the sound of wolves howling was heard everywhere. It's vague and frightening. You look for the source of the sound, but you don't know where it is.
The grass on the shore seemed to be trembling, and there was a muffled thunderous movement, as if someone was standing in the sky, using the ground as a big drum, beating the trembling ground hard.
The sound coming from far away is shocking in people's hearts, and the huge sound is getting closer and closer. It seemed that dark clouds were covering the sun again, smoke and dust were everywhere, and there seemed to be a sandstorm on the horizon, and a group of teams came rushing towards them in a dark mass.
Acheng didn't seem to have much reaction, as a large convoy was slowly driving out of the east city gate. The queue stretched endlessly, and the east gate was the direction leading to Liaocheng Mansion.
The motorcade was all decorated with the flags of the Lei family with red background and black characters. It was the motorcade of the local Lei family in Acheng. The motorcade stretched endlessly, and everyone looked serious, but no one dared to stop this team. Because the magistrate of Acheng is Lei Yifeng of the Lei family, he is personally standing under the city gate, guiding the team to leave Acheng.
Acheng's arresting leader, Lei Jian, even stood with a sword in his hand, commanding several police officers to isolate the people and prevent people from outside from taking advantage of the chaos to enter the city.
The team at Daqing Lake did not affect the Lei family's actions because it was an army from the Great Zhou Dynasty. Standing side by side with the flag of the Great Zhou Dynasty is a flag of the Lei family. Under the huge flag with black characters on a red background, standing on horseback is Lei Gu of the Lei family. He is now the commander of the Liaocheng Prefecture's horse army.
In order to welcome the family members to Liaocheng Mansion, he personally led three hundred elite cavalry to Daqing Lake to welcome his family members to Liaocheng Mansion smoothly.
A large group of horses were running over quickly, their flying hooves kicking up the grass and mud, shaking the water of Daqing Lake. The man on the horse has a heroic appearance, and his grin is like a whistle like a wolf howling.
