"Master Marquis, Lieutenant Ji is back with a soldier, saying he has something important to report."
A guard quickly came to Zhao Yuma and said with fists in his hands.
Faced with the current critical situation, Zhang Xiu strictly ordered the guards not to let anyone in front of Zhao Yu without Zhao Yu's consent as a precaution.
"What is it that makes Ji Shikang worthy of running back to see the Marquis regardless of the battle ahead? Are you not afraid that the Marquis will punish him for escaping from the battle?"
Zhang Xiu said sarcastically from the side.
For Zhang Xiu, the biggest reason why the convoy was ambushed this time was that Ji Shikang's reconnaissance was not good, which caused his side to lose the opportunity, which led to the current passive situation.
"General, he said that his soldiers accidentally discovered the hiding place of the assassins."
The guard said respectfully.
"Oh, just now it was him, Ji Shikang, who said there was nothing going on ahead, but he met these assassins and caught them all off guard. Now he said he had found a hiding place, but it was not another trap set by the other party."
Zhang Xiu sneered, his contempt for Captain Ji's incompetence almost beyond words.
Zhao Yu and Wang Pu looked at each other, with faint smiles on their faces, and their voices increased slightly.
"Oh? If that's true, then Lieutenant Ji has made a great contribution. Please come quickly!"
Hearing this, Zhang Xiu wanted to speak, but Wang Pu smiled and raised his hand to stop him.
"Is it possible that General Zhang is indifferent and does not want others to succeed in their achievements?"
"I, sir... alas!"
Zhang Xiu looked at Wang Pu, then at Zhao Yu, and finally his thousands of words turned into a long sigh.
The guard left as ordered, and soon brought Ji Shikang to Zhao Yu.
Behind Ji Shikang, a soldier with a bloody face lowered his head and trembled slightly. It seemed that it was the first time he saw a big shot like Zhao Yu up close, and he felt scared.
"Captain Ji, was this strong man the one who discovered the other party's hiding place?"
Zhao Yu glanced up and down at the soldier, paused, and looked at Ji Shikang.
Ji Shikang nodded hurriedly and said:
"Returning to the Marquis, it was this man who accidentally saw the thief chief emerging from the forest, and then risked his life to follow him, and then he found the location of the thief's lair."
The smile on Zhao Yu's face became even bigger, and he let go of the horse's rein with his right hand and lowered it slightly.
"Okay, it is indeed our brave warrior from Da Chu! However, if it were not for Ji Xiaowei, how could I have seen this warrior? Ji Xiaowei, what do you want me to reward you for?"
"The villain is so frightened that he really doesn't dare to be rewarded by the Marquis."
Ji Shikang bent down and held his hands in his hands, saying with a smile.
Zhao Yu nodded and raised his right hand, as if to smooth out the short beard that had just grown out of his lower jaw, less than half an inch long.
"Forget it, in that case, I might as well reward you..."
Zhao Yu paused before speaking, and then four murderous words popped out from his thin lips.
"How about you die!!"
At the same time, Zhao Yu suddenly raised his right hand, and a cold light shot out from the cuff of his long sleeves and went straight to Ji Shikang's eyebrows.
At such a close range, Ji Shikang had no time to react, and was struck by the cold light between his eyebrows, killing him immediately.
Until he died, this guy's eyes were still wide open, and he really refused to rest in peace.
That cold light was actually a crossbow arrow as long as a palm!
It turned out that before Zhao Yu left, he asked the craftsmen in the Hou Mansion to make a hand crossbow for self-defense. This hand crossbow is hidden in the long sleeves. If you don't look carefully, you can't see it at all.
"General Zhang!"
The moment the cold light shot out, Wang Pu shouted loudly, drew out his long sword, tiptoed, jumped into the air from his horse, and stabbed straight at the soldier with his sword.
In the history of China, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms where Wang Pu lived was one of the most chaotic eras. Warriors came to power, the king's flag changed on the city top, and you sang and I came on stage.
As a scholar, if he didn't have the martial arts to protect himself, he would have died long ago in that era of cannibalism, let alone making achievements and leaving his name in history.
It can be said that until the early Northern Song Dynasty, there were few literati and officials with low martial arts. Horseback riding and archery were not difficult for these people, and it was not uncommon for them to go into battle to kill the enemy in person.
For the scholar-bureaucrats at that time, the art of archery and the art of royal courtship among the six arts of the gentleman were not just talk.
After being reminded by Wang Pu, Zhang Xiu was only slow for a moment, and then the steel spear turned into a strange python that chose people to eat, and stabbed towards the chest of the soldier.
"Qiang!"
A sword chant suddenly sounded from the hand of the soldier, and a dim long sword was held in the opponent's hand.
The next moment, a bright sword light spurted out, knocking Wang Pu's long sword away from his hand and colliding with the spear light pierced by Zhang Xiu.
boom!
Everyone around them felt as if there was a thunderclap in their ears, and there was a "buzzing" sound in their ears.
"Good marksmanship!"
The man tipped his toes and soared into the air like a bird, landing on the top of a pine tree next to the official road.
"I didn't expect that the young Marquis would have expert guards, but those idiots miscalculated."
"Aren't you worried about your situation?"
Zhao Yu looked up at the other party, and suddenly said to Zhang Xiu in a cold voice:
"Youwei, shoot this guy down for me! I don't like looking at people with my neck raised, especially enemies!"
"Here!"
Zhang Xiu bent his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot an arrow at the opponent.
"Although this General Zhang is strong, unfortunately he is only capable of fighting in a battle formation. What can he do to me?"
The man laughed and said, shaking the long sword in his hand, and the sword light swarmed towards the rapidly flying arrows like a swarm of bees.
The arrow shot by Zhang Xiu was wrapped in countless sword lights. It only lasted for a moment before it shattered and dissipated in the air.
Seeing this scene, Zhao Yu's pupils shrank, and he held the hand crossbow hidden in his long sleeves tightly.
It's not that a strong dragon can't defeat a river. This guy obviously relies on his strong martial arts skills and has nothing to fear.
"Little Marquis, Shi is curious, how did you know that I was pretending?"
It seemed that they were having a conversation, and the other party was not in a hurry to take Zhao Yu's life, but instead asked with interest.
"Before asking questions, shouldn't you tell me your name? If you are the kind of person who hides his head and shows his tail, then I have no interest in answering!"
Zhao Yu said coldly.
He didn't mind acting with the other party at all. Anyway, as long as General Huang's reinforcements arrived, the one who had the last laugh would definitely not be the other party.
"Forget it, little Marquis, I, Shi, am an unknown swordsman."
Hearing the name announced by the other party, Zhao Yu's brows jumped and he gave Zhang Xiu a strange look as if he was facing a formidable enemy.
His surname is Shi Ming, and he is also a swordsman. There is only one person who meets this condition.
In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, he was a disciple of the swordsman Wang Yue and the swordsmanship teacher of Emperor Wen of Wei Cao Pi.
As for Zhang Xiu, according to the legend, he was the apprentice of Tong Yuan, the spear prodigy in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the second senior brother of Zhao Zilong, the white horse and silver spear.
Not only that, there are also constant grievances between Zhang Xiu and Cao Pi.
Historically, Zhang Xiu surrendered and rebelled against Cao Cao because of his aunt Zou, and killed Cao Cao's beloved general Dian Wei, his beloved horse Jueying, his eldest son Cao Ang, and his nephew Cao Anmin. Although he surrendered to Cao Cao in the end, Cao Cao also responded. Let bygones be bygones, Zhang Xiu was re-employed and his son Cao Jun married Zhang Xiu's daughter. However, Cao Pi, Cao Cao's second son, was still resentful of Zhang Xiu.
"Wei Lue" records that Cao Pi once said to Zhang Xiu: "You killed my brother, how can you show your face to others!" Zhang Xiu was extremely uneasy and committed suicide.
The two apprentices of Wang Yue and Tong Yuan, the relationship between them is constantly turbulent and chaotic... tsk tsk...
Thinking of this, Zhao Yu's eyes looking at Zhang Xiu became even weirder.
