At Baoxiang Grocery Store in Liangzhou City, Zheng Xingyuan bought a bamboo hat. After asking about the general's residence, Xiang Xing left in a hurry.
Arriving at the gate of the guard general's residence, Zheng Xingyuan asked the gatekeeper in a low voice whether General Hu was in the house.
The soldiers told Zheng Xingyuan that General Hu had not returned from patrol with his troops.
After hearing this, Zheng Xingyuan turned around and left.
Along the way, he walked through the streets and alleys, and finally settled in a restaurant in Liangzhou Old Street.
After entering the restaurant, Zheng Xingyuan casually ordered some food and drinks, chose an inconspicuous seat and sat down.
Zheng Xingyuan poured himself a drink, and just took a few bites of food when he heard footsteps and noises upstairs.
A thin general led a dozen or so armored soldiers up the stairs. The general stood majestically with his sword in hand, and glanced around slyly with a pair of small green bean eyes.
He shouted to everyone present: "I have received a secret report that there is a spy hidden in the restaurant. No one is allowed to move now. Please sit down in your seat and accept the interrogation."
The general gave an order, and the armored soldiers formed a circle, pointing their swords at everyone present.
In this way, wherever the general went, the soldiers picked out the drunkards and searched them all.
When the general walked up to Zheng Xingyuan, he stared at Zheng Xingyuan with cold eyes.
The general ordered Zheng Xingyuan to stand up and undergo a body search.
Zheng Xingyuan said coldly: "General is investigating spies. Can you please take out the search warrant from the General's Mansion and let me see it?"
After saying that, Zheng Xingyuan took the wine glass and drank the wine in one gulp.
His resistance made the other drinkers tremble with fear. The shopkeeper also hid aside, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeves from time to time.
Seeing that Zheng Xingyuan was not cooperating with the search, the general clasped his hands behind his back, tilted his head and looked at him, and then snorted coldly: "You have a deer-headed appearance, and you are not a good person at first glance. If you resist the search like this, don't you think you are not doing it?" trick?"
Zheng Xingyuan still maintained his original strength. He told the general that it was not that he was not cooperating, but that he had to show the search warrant from the general's mansion.
The general snorted coldly and said: "Look at everyone here, who is not willing to accept the inspection, but you have caused a lot of troubles. Needless to say, you are a spy who has sneaked into the city. Come on, get him for me. .”
As soon as the general finished speaking, the soldiers raised their swords and tried to capture Zheng Xingyuan.
Zheng Xingyuan flew up with a kick and smashed the wine table towards the attacking soldiers.
For a time, people were on their backs, cups were broken and bowls were beaten.
The general was dancing wildly with his hands and feet. His mouth was full of saliva and stars were flying around, and he shouted: "This guy is undoubtedly a spy. This guy is undoubtedly a spy."
While he was yelling, he also drew his sword and joined the battle circle.
General Zheng Xingyuan came forward. He grabbed a handful of peanuts from the plate and threw them towards the general.
After the "cracking" sound, the general was beaten until his nose was bruised and his face was swollen. Zheng Xingyuan took the opportunity to roll down the window and slipped away from the busy street.
The general covered his swollen and sore face and shouted at the soldiers: "Send the order and inform the city gate officials to close the four gates. The thieves cannot escape."
The accompanying soldiers said to him: "General Ma, General Hu is still patrolling outside the city. Without his order, how can we close the city gate at will?"
General Ma stepped forward and kicked the soldier away. He cursed, "If you don't do your job well, I'll chop off your head."
The soldiers had no choice but to follow his orders and go to the four city gates to inform the city gate officials.
Zheng Xingyuan returned to the inn. After paying the bill, he was about to go out when he saw groups of soldiers from the outer gate searching door to door.
He knew that these armored soldiers were coming for him, so he took advantage of them and flew to the tall willow outside the house, hiding himself with the help of dense branches and leaves.
As soon as he went out, General Ma broke in with his soldiers.
General Ma said to the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper Li, I know that the spy lives in your inn. Let me ask you, where is he?"
Shopkeeper Li told General Ma that the person he was looking for had just paid off the rent and was missing.
General Ma pushed Li's cabinet aside and ordered his soldiers to search from house to house. If they found the spies, they would be killed on the spot.
After another commotion, not even a single person was seen.
General Ma took his soldiers and went elsewhere.
At this moment, information was fed back from the four city gates, and no one slipped out of the city.
This made General Ma feel a little calmer. After he asked the soldiers to continue to arrest Zheng Xingyuan, he rode a fast horse and ran alone to the gate of a large house in the west corner of the city.
General Ma knocked on the door knocker three times, and the door opened. He looked around to make sure no one was there, and then quickly got in.
There are two people sitting on the left and right of the living room, one is Guan Saiyan and the other is Ma Qiansha.
After General Ma saw Ma Qiansha, he said to him: "Second brother, I saw that person from the Chen Family Restaurant according to the portrait you gave me."
Ma Qiansha's eyes bulged, and she tilted her head and said to General Ma: "Qianli, are you sure that the person in the restaurant is the person I'm looking for?"
Ma Qianli nodded repeatedly, and then replied: "Second brother, it's absolutely true. That person is exactly the same as the person you are looking for, both in appearance and martial arts."
Ma Qiansha said "hmm" and casually asked Ma Qianli if that person had been killed?
Ma Qianli covered his face in pain and said to Ma Qiansha: "Second brother, that man is very skilled in martial arts. I brought all the best soldiers with me, but not only did I not catch him, I was beaten up by him. Second brother, you have to do it." I’m so angry because of my little brother.”
Ma Qiansha slammed the table and cursed at Ma Qianli: "Trash, that man suffered internal injuries. You brought so many elite soldiers and you still haven't gotten any benefits. I'm really angry."
Ma Qianli saw Ma Qiansha angry. He told Ma Qiansha that the man was walking vigorously and like flying. He didn't look like he was injured at all?
Hearing this, Ma Qiansha fell into deep thought. How could the Kuangsha Sweeping Kick he had practiced for many years not work on Zheng Xingyuan? Are there any flaws in the moves?
Guan Saiyan watched with cold eyes and noticed Ma Qiansha's thoughts. He told Ma Qiansha that the top priority now was to find someone. If Zheng went to General Hu Shi to present the token, the robbery and murder in the desert would be exposed.
Ma Qiansha also knew the power of this. He said to Guan Saiyan: "Fortmaster, my third brother has closed the city gate now, and according to intelligence, the man named Zheng did not leave the city in time. He must be hiding in the city. somewhere. But Hu Shijiang is still outside the city. If he doesn't open the door, he must think that there is rebellion in the city. Liangzhou will be in chaos by then. In this case, it will not be easy to catch the man named Zheng. It’s over.”
Guan Saiyan said to Ma Qiansha: "Brother Ma, I have a plan that I can try."
Ma Qiansha's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Fortmaster, do you have any clever ideas?"
Guan Saiyan told Ma Qiansha that he could implement the strategy of being tight on the outside and loose on the inside, ambushing informants everywhere in the city, keeping an eye on every move of Zheng, and then secretly deploying good men outside the city. Once Zheng is found, he will be killed.
After listening, Ma Qiansha and Ma Qianli nodded repeatedly. Ma Qiansha told Ma Qianli to open the city gate quickly. Everything was calm as usual, and they must not disturb the people and let Hu Shijiang discover anything unusual.
After Ma Qianli came out on his fast horse, he immediately ordered the soldiers to open the city gate.
Everything in the market was as usual, with people coming and going.
Zheng Xingyuan watched all this clearly from a tall tree, with a sneer on his face from time to time.
That night, Hu Shijiang was reading "Sun Tzu's Art of War" at night in his mansion. At this time, figures flashed in the window. When he got up, two black figures had already entered the house.
Hu Shijiang saw two men in black standing in front of him. He was about to draw his sword when the man in black said to him: "General Hu, if the two of us had the intention to harm you, you would have been dead when you turned around." .”
Hu Shijiang thought calmly and slowly put the knife back into its sheath.
He waved his hands at the two of them, and then asked: "I wonder why you two sneaked into the general's mansion late at night?"
The two said to General Hu Shi: "General Hu has guarded Liangzhou for many years and is considerate of the soldiers and civilians. He can be called a loyal and brave general."
Hu Shijiang stroked his beard and said to the two of them: "You two came here at night, not only to say these flattering words, but also this is what Hu should do. As the saying goes, Wen Anbang, Wu Dingguo. Shijun You should be loyal to your salary."
The two of them looked at each other and took off their cloths.
Hu Shijiang saw that the man and woman in front of him had handsome faces and free and easy manners, and his affection for them gradually increased.
The two took out the token from their arms and handed it to Hu Shijiang.
Hu Shijiang looked at the token and it read "Guerrilla Generals of the Song Dynasty Fu Tianpeng and Zhao Xueqing."
Seeing that they were all in general positions, Hu Shijiang hurriedly asked them to sit down.
The two told Hu Shijiang that the matter was urgent and they could not stay long.
Hu Shijiang saw their solemn expressions and quickly asked what happened?
Fu Tianpeng handed a token from his arms to Hu Shijiang's hand. Hu Shijiang took the token, opened his eyes wide, and asked Fu Tianpeng where the token came from.
Fu Tianpeng told General Hu Shi that a friend of his took it from a dying general when he was passing through the Ganliang Desert.
Later, Fu Tianpeng briefly told Hu Shijiang the situation of the attack on the cavalry. After Hu Shijiang listened to Fu Tianpeng's story, he burst into tears and looked sad.
Hu Shijiang held the token tightly, his eyes radiating a firm light.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Liu, don't worry, I will definitely find out the real culprit and avenge you."
Zhao Xueqing took the words and said: "General Hu, I'm afraid you will also be plotted by the bad guys before you can take revenge."
Hu Shijiang was shocked when he heard this and asked Zhao Xueqing what he meant.
Zhao Xueqing told General Hu Shi that the trouble was caused by Xiao Qiang and that the spy was now hiding in the house. If this person got the news, he would definitely deal with General Hu with all his strength.
General Hu Shi was doubtful about the letter. Zhao Xueqing knew this and then threw a stack of letters on his desk.
Hu Shijiang opened the letter and saw the contents inside. He was so angry that he trembled all over.
He clenched his fists and cursed through gritted teeth: "This thief dared to liaise with the caravan and kill the generals of the imperial court. I will lead all my troops to get rid of this traitor general."
Seeing that Hu Shijiang was extremely angry, Fu Tianpeng and Zhao Xueqing immediately took action to stop his impulse. They told Hu Shijiang that Ma Qianli was not responsible for this matter. He has experts helping him behind him, and he rushes to capture the enemy. If his plan fails, he will be harmed instead.
Hu Shijiang calmed down and asked Fu Tianpeng and Zhao Xueqing for advice on how to defeat the enemy.
