Liao Jianzhong came and whispered: "Tomorrow you will lead your men to participate in an errand. Liu Tong will lead them to Yanjiazhuang in the west of Beijing."
If it was an ordinary errand, Liao Jianzhong would not come to me easily and asked hurriedly: "What errand are you doing?"
Liao Jianzhong sat down and whispered: "Pretend to be an assassin and intercept and kill Mou Bin, the former commander of the Jinyi Guards!"
I was startled and said, "Really?"
Liao Jianzhong nodded and said, "It's a matter of confidentiality. There can be no ambiguity." Mou Bin is a kind old man, who feels like the grandfather next door, and has a good reputation among Jinyiwei. Because the new emperor has ascended the throne and I heard that he has returned to his official position, why should he be killed again? I didn’t dare to ask, I guess it must have been the intention of the higher-ups.
Liao Jianzhong sat opposite me, smiled gently, and said: "You have stopped drinking recently. It is okay to drink, but drinking too much is not good for your health, and it is easy to make mistakes after drinking." My face was hot, and I lowered my head, cowardly Cowardly: "Since your last instruction, my subordinates no longer dare!"
Liao Jianzhong patted me on the back and said: "I don't blame you. When I was young, I was just like you, even more arrogant than you. But I regretted it later. Haha, I will ask you for help tomorrow!"
I was not surprised. He raised his head and he looked at me and said softly: "Master Mou is the person I respect the most. Someone wants me to kill him. I have to carry out the order, but I really don't want him to die, so someone will Help, at that time, you can’t take action easily, do you understand?”
I thought about it and said, "Should I lead my people and wait and see from a distance?" Liao Jianzhong nodded and whispered: "Just adapt to the situation. Remember, Eunuch Zhang doesn't want Mr. Mou to die either. Look at the situation. No, find a way to withdraw it." I heard that it was arranged by Eunuch Zhang, so I felt relieved, nodded, and said, "Don't worry, I will do it."
Liao Jianzhong patted me on the shoulder and said: "Things are unpredictable, and things are different now than in previous years, but we still have to do our best. Such a big Jin Yiwei cannot fall. Remember, do it naturally. But , don’t talk about this to your subordinates, including your sworn brothers.”
I naturally agreed and said, "Your words are rotting in my stomach."
In fact, I don’t know what I should do at all. I just trust Liao Jianzhong and he will definitely not harm me! Although he put me in the position of bait regarding Silun, and although I also left the Palace of Hell once, I did not resent him.
Everyone in the Zhenfu Division knows that I am from Liao Jianzhong, and I am happy to rely on this big mountain. Therefore, although I am a small general, many people are very polite to me. Just as Liao Jianzhong said, Liu Tong found me the next day, chatted for a while, and then with a serious look on his face, informed me to lead my brothers to change into casual clothes and go out with him in the evening.
I asked knowingly, "Sir, what are we going to do in such a cold weather?" Liu Tong looked at me, suddenly changed his smile and said, "Don't you know? I am acting on Master Liao's orders, and you should too knew."
I still pretended not to know and said, "I really don't know. I haven't heard anything Master Liao said these days." Liu Tong chuckled and said, "It's okay if you don't know. Just follow me tomorrow and follow my instructions. "
Before leaving, Liu Tong said one more sentence: "Remember to keep your actions tomorrow confidential!"
After Liu Tong left, I called Ning Boyang and Hardy and told them to prepare cotton-padded clothes when they went out to run errands at night. Ning Boyang heard this and said, "Second brother, there is no important business and I have to go out at night. It's freezing cold today." Yes, it would be weird if they didn’t freeze us to death!” I didn’t know Liu Tong’s intention, so I shook my head and said, “We just obey orders, don’t ask anything else.”
Throughout the day, I stayed in the Zhenfu Division and didn’t go anywhere. I kept thinking about how to deal with it tomorrow. I was actually very confused about how to rely on my own strength to save Mou Bin. Liao Jianzhong looked up to me a little too high, but he never did anything. They are all very cautious, and they must have their reasons. Hardy and Ning Boyang saw that I was always serious and did not dare to be careless. They urged their men to prepare their bags.
Night came soon, it was dark, and more than twenty people had packed up, so I went to find Liu Tong. When I arrived at his place, I saw Tan Sheng and Gu Dachun had also changed into casual clothes and were talking when they saw me coming. , Liu Tong smiled and said: "Zhang Ying, you came just in time. Tan Sheng and Gu Dachun are also following you. You two will set off together tomorrow!"
When it comes to ability, I'm afraid I'm the best. Tan Sheng and Gu Dachun are both useless guys. They follow me, I'm afraid they just want to take credit. Sure enough, Liu Tong said again: "You all As newcomers, they should all have opportunities to practice, and this is Master Liao’s arrangement!”
When I heard that it was Liao Jianzhong's arrangement, I immediately surmised that he must have put his heart into it. Both Tan Sheng and Gu Dachun belonged to my father-in-law. They followed him out. There was no need for an ambush. They were probably just spectators. I couldn't help but blame Liao Jianzhong secretly. I didn't know how to save people in the first place, and I even got two informants. This must be too difficult! Then I thought about it, he would definitely arrange such a big thing.
It started to snow outside at some point, but Liu Tong was overjoyed. He led us on our horses, quietly left Zhenfusi, and headed straight out of the city. Although we were dressed warmly, the snow was falling heavily and we couldn't help but complain.
After walking for about an hour, we arrived at a village outside the city. The snow stopped and the chill gradually began to rise. Liu Tong led us to a large house. There were people outside, and he led us in without saying a word. Only then did we find that many horses were tied up in the yard and were eating fodder. Through the window, we could see the shadows in the east wing. Many people are eating.
Ning Boyang wanted to go over and have a look, but Liu Tong shouted in a low voice: "You are not allowed to go there, go to the west wing." He made another booing gesture, and we went to the west wing, opened the cotton curtain, and a wave of hot air hit our faces. , the inside is wide and long, with two large fire pits, and three tables of food, one large and one small, have been prepared, and the aroma fills the room.
Liu Tong took off his veil and said: "We will stay here for the time being tonight. After dinner, we will sleep here. We will set off tomorrow morning. You are not allowed to go out without authorization. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed!"
With that said, he invited everyone to eat. We walked for more than an hour and were very cold and hungry. We were not polite and ate directly at the table. Liu Tong sat at the small table and called me over. He also called for Tan Sheng and Gu Dachun. Although there was no wine, I could tell that the food at the small table was better than that at the big table.
We finished our meal quietly, and someone who looked like a family member brought tea. Everyone had warmed up. Liu Tong stood up and said, "Brothers, we will go on errands tomorrow morning. As the saying goes, if you are in public, do it as business. . Since everyone has entered the gate of Jinyiwei, you should obey the order. Tomorrow we are ordered to intercept and kill the prisoners of the imperial court, and there are many helpers, as you have seen, they are also our people over there, so this matter is almost certain to be done. Remember, your movements must be fast and clean. This is easy success and cannot be lost. I won’t say much. Let’s take a rest early and recuperate.”
Then he said to me: "General Zhang Qi, I'll leave this to you, I'll go look elsewhere." I nodded, and after Liu Tong left, I asked everyone to lie down and rest.
The kang was very hot, and the waist was very comfortable. Hardy and Ning Boyang were lying next to me. They had not had time to talk to me when they came out of the city. Now everyone was lying down. Hardy asked in a low voice: "Second brother, Who should we intercept and kill tomorrow?"
I waved my hand and whispered: "Sleep well! We'll talk about it tomorrow!"
The weather was a bit cold. We lurked in the woods outside the city, but we didn't dare to light a fire. We had to stomp in the snow, staring at the official road into the woods.
There were about thirty of us, headed by Liu Tong, all dressed in black and veiled. Before setting off, Liu Tong told us that Qianhu Ye Chengda from Jinyiwei came with Mu Bin but not with us. This man has great martial arts. We must be careful and obey orders before attacking.
Naturally, I was eager for this, so I went along with the flow and told my subordinates that all actions would be subject to my orders. Everyone was surprised when they heard that Mu Bin was assassinated. Ning Boyang asked me in a low voice why he wanted to assassinate Mu Bin. Wouldn't it be more satisfying to arrest him and bring him to justice? I shook my head and said that I didn't know what was going on. I could only follow the orders from above.
We were arranged in a valley on the right, and Liu Tong led a few people to ambush in front. I feel that the reason why we were allowed to participate may be because we are newcomers and are not familiar with Mou Bin. It's just that it would be a bit too cruel for Liu Tong and his men to intercept and kill their former colleagues and bosses.
