Leave the camp and hide in the darkness.
Xiao Cheng didn't understand Gu Zhengchen's behavior very much. He tied the horse's reins to the tree trunk and complained sullenly: "It's not easy to catch a few people alive. As long as their mouths are pried open, Zhou Yuan's head will be missing! I don't know." Why is Governor Gu so merciful that he sends his tongue back and lets him kill people to silence him!"
Whether it was from the intelligence sent by Zhang Pei or from the weapons and fighting styles of the men in black who burned down Shuangxikou Village, they were obviously sergeants of the Quanzhou Guard.
Although they haven't confessed yet, it doesn't mean they can't speak.
Now that everyone is dead, what evidence can be used to convict Zhou Yuan of his crime?
Qin Song looked at the silent Gu Zhengchen who was leaning against the tree trunk. He took a step forward and said to Xiao Cheng, "Gu commanded Qian to arrange things this way. Naturally, he has his own considerations."
Xiao Cheng glanced at Qin Song and then turned his attention to Gu Zhengchen: "I don't know what the arrangement is, but I know that it will be difficult to deal with Zhou Yuan now. Not only will it scare the snake, but there will also be no evidence. Once Zhou Yuan gets his hands on Clean it up, this person still controls the Quanzhou Guard!"
Gu Zhengchen crossed his arms in front of his chest, stared in the direction of the camp, and said slowly: "The struggle in the officialdom is different from the battle on the battlefield. On the battlefield, life and death can be divided in an instant, and what is important is deadly moves. , If you don’t die, you will become disabled——”
"What about the officialdom?"
Mei Hong asked when he saw Gu Zhengchen stopped.
Gu Zhengchen stared slightly and said softly: "In officialdom, what is needed is testing. You test me, and I will test you once. Then he smiled and turned around as if nothing happened. He went to change a sharp short knife and hid it. Behind me, I picked up a sharp-edged stone and put it in my sleeve. When we met again, I was still smiling. Then he stabbed me with a knife and I threw the stone..."
Mei Hong swallowed.
Why does this sound like a rougher than a roughneck? All the people in the officialdom are scholars. How come Gu commanding officials talk about him and he turns out to be a rogue?
Gu Zhengchen walked out from the tree and patted Xiao Cheng on the shoulder: "Now, follow me to pick up stones."
Xiao Cheng looked at Gu Zhengchen doubtfully.
Gu Zhengchen pointed in the direction of the camp, and then Xiao Cheng, Qin Song and others saw that more than ten people ran out of the camp, each of them walking in a hurry, as if they were in urgent need of something.
"That is the main road leading in and out of the camp. It is three miles away from the camp. If they leave, they will inevitably return from there. We will just wait there."
Gu Zhengchen untied the horse's reins and climbed onto the horse.
Xiao Cheng took the horse and followed Gu Zhengchen with doubts, heading south carefully, and then hid in the forest, like a hunter.
After Wu Kang received the news, he rushed to the camp immediately, but saw bloodstains on the ground, several corpses, and sergeants busy digging holes.
"This is?"
Wu Kang felt cold all over. Could this guy have killed Gu Zhengchen?
Zhou Yuan's face was a little pale and his eyes were a little distracted: "Gu Zhengchen came to the camp and sent Zhang Tian and other four sergeants. He asked me to kill these four people and ensure that there are no pirates in Quanzhou Prefecture, otherwise -"
Wu Kang took a deep breath: "You killed Zhang Tian and others?"
Zhou Yuan clenched his fist and asked ferociously: "Do I have any other choice? These people have probably already spoken and betrayed us! Even if they haven't confessed, can I stop Gu Zhengchen from taking them away? By then , who can put an end to this matter?"
Wu Kang was a little helpless.
Zhou Yuan is right. Gu Zhengchen is a very capable person. If he takes away Zhang Tian and the four others, he must have a way to make these people talk.
Zhou Yuan lamented: "I have sent a message to all the soldiers who are preparing to cause trouble, including Tang Bahu and others, not to set fire again and cause trouble. This is also the condition for Gu Zhengchen to hand over Zhang Tian and the four to me! "
Wu Kang did not expect that the plan he had planned this time was aborted at the beginning of the operation. It was not even three o'clock in the morning. The plan was to burn down thirty villages. Now I am afraid that only five or six villages have been burned down. Most of them have been burned down. Actions are scheduled at the third and fourth watch.
"What else did Gu Zhengchen say?"
Wu Kang asked.
Zhou Yuan said painfully: "Gu Zhengchen said that two more people were killed by his followers and buried in secret places. If I don't stop causing trouble, he will follow Wu Zixu's example and dig up the bodies. He will probably look for their family members to prove their identity." .”
Wu Kang became anxious: "Are you sure those two people are dead?"
Zhou Yuan nodded heavily: "People who escaped from Shuangxikou confirmed that those two people were indeed killed by Xiao Cheng."
"If you set a fire and leave, why are you being blocked?"
Wu Kang stamped his foot.
Zhou Yuan was bitter. The reason why Zhang Tian and others were blocked was because of a woman. It was the woman who saw the sergeant's face and fought with Zhang Tian and others, which delayed the retreat.
If it hadn't been for that troublesome woman, Gu Zhengchen and others would have already evacuated when they arrived.
"Gu Zhengchen left Zhang Tian and others to my disposal. What is his intention? This is obviously his opportunity. If any one of Zhang Tian and others confess, even if they don't confess, as long as they confirm their identities as Quanzhou Guard sergeants, It’s enough to kill me!”
Zhou Yuan asked Wu Kang, this was a question that he couldn't figure out.
Gu Zhengchen could use these four people as sharp blades and kill himself with one knife.
If a guard sergeant disguises himself as a pirate, burns and kills people and disturbs the place, the guard officer must be held responsible. What's more, he is still the mastermind and the one who gave the orders. The imperial court will definitely cut him into pieces!
Why did Gu Zhengchen give up such an opportunity?
Could it be that he didn't want to break up with him, didn't want to offend other officials in the government office and himself at the same time, or was he worried that he would become cruel and kill him in anger?
Wu Kang thought for a moment and then said: "He wants to completely eliminate the chaos of pirates in Quanzhou Prefecture and avoid the loss of life. He doesn't know your arrangements, nor does he know where you will place your men and which villages you will burn. He can only Compromise and use Zhang Tian and others in exchange for the safety of the people, this person is really terrible!"
The terrifying Gu Zhengchen, he found the most crucial person to solve the problem in the chaos, and that was Zhou Yuan! And this kind of mind that can kill without killing shows that this person is not an arrogant and contemptuous person, but an old man in the city. He knows how to restrain himself and know how to choose!
Zhou Yuan couldn't believe it: "If he takes this opportunity to kill me, he will become famous in the officialdom and will be promoted in the future. However, he gave up a great opportunity just for the common people who have nothing to do with him. Doesn't he know that the opportunity cannot be missed?" Time will never come again! I won’t let him get the handle a second time!”
Wu Kang glanced at Zhou Yuan.
Some people care about the people and believe that the people are the foundation.
Some people think that the common people are worthless. Living or dead, who would sigh for a piece of grass?
"By the way, you don't have a guard assigned by Gu Zhengchen, but where are the others?"
Zhou Yuan asked.
Wu Kang shook his head: "He was drunk by Shi Ruji and fell asleep in the county government office."
Zhou Yuan was stunned for a moment and then laughed: "Then he will be in trouble. Gu Zhengchen will go to the county town and see him drunk, he will definitely be furious."
Wu Kang frowned: "What did you say, Gu Zhengchen went to the county seat?"
The smile on Zhou Yuan's face froze for an instant, and turned to become uneasy.
There is only one road from the camp to the county seat. Gu Zhengchen goes to the county seat and Wu Kang comes from the county seat. They both need to meet each other. If Wu Kang saw Gu Zhengchen, there would be no need to come to the camp.
Obviously, Gu Zhengchen didn't go to the county seat, at least not on the road to the county seat!
So where did he go?
Wu Kang also couldn't figure out why you were running around like a prefect this night. Could it be that you got lost, or you found a tree halfway to solve your internal crisis?
Zhou Yuan sent people to the county town to inquire about it, but the people who came back told him that Magistrate Gu did not enter the city and no one called the city at all.
Only then did Zhou Yuan and Wu Kang feel that something was wrong, but they couldn't imagine what tricks Gu Zhengchen could pull off.
Three miles south of the camp, at the intersection.
Sergeants Jiang Cai and Ding Er all ran back, panting. Seeing that the camp was not far away, they slowed down, cursing and complaining that they couldn't sleep in the middle of the night. ..??m
Suddenly, Jiang Cai raised his hand to stop Ding Erquan, looked at the shadow standing at the intersection in front of him, and shouted sharply: "Who?"
Xiao Cheng raised his foot and kicked up the spear stuck on the ground. He raised his arm, moved his red tassel, pointed at Jiang Cai and Ding Erquan, and said slowly: "Prefect Gu said that you have worked so hard, and I want to invite you to drink for a few days." Tea will reward you. I advise you not to refuse Magistrate Gu."
"What?"
Jiang Cai and Ding Er were shocked. Just as they were about to turn around and run away, two horses jumped out of the grass. Qin Song and Mei Hong blocked their retreat.
"What are you doing? We are Quanzhou Guard sergeants!"
Ding Erquan shouted quickly.
Xiao Cheng looked at a tree on the side of the road. Gu Zhengchen walked out from behind the tree and said in a deep voice: "I don't want to talk about whether you are a sergeant or not. I suspect that you are collaborating with the pirates and informing the pirates. I am ordering the general to do so." Take him for questioning."
Jiang Cai and Ding Er were all dumbfounded. What kind of bad luck did they have that they were robbed by the prefect?
"He is Longxiang Guard Qianhu, the former personal guard of King Kaiping. Before you take action, think about why Zhang Tian was captured, and also consider your own abilities."
Gu Zhengchen used the starlight to see that Jiang Cai had withdrawn the knife an inch.
Jiang Cai trembled.
Qian Hu, a pro-military guard, Chang Yuchun's personal guard? I can't beat this...
"take away!"
Seeing that the two men had lost their momentum, Gu Zhengchen issued an order.
Duan Shimin came over with a rope, tied the two of them up, and took them to the grass. Jiang Cai and Ding Er all looked at it, oh, isn't this Lao Wang and Lao Zhang, brothers, you were also arrested...
"Let's go."
Gu Zhengchen did not wait any longer. It was enough to arrest four people.
Qin Song went to a nearby village, bought a cart, stuffed four people into it, covered them with quilts, and carried them in a carriage. The group did not enter Hui'an County, but headed towards Luoyang Town.
Zhou Yuan waited until daybreak and the people he sent out came back in droves, but after counting the number of people, he realized something was wrong. He sent out 160 sergeants, plus 12 people who sent messages, for a total of 172 people.
Two were killed by Gu Zhengchen and four by himself. There should be 166 people back, but no matter how you point or count, there are only 142 people, a total of 24 sergeants missing. Among them were four messengers and twenty arsonists...
