After Feiyun and others watched everyone leave, they rode their horses towards the east. The four of them had a lot of fun traveling around the mountains and rivers. On this day, he entered the famous city of Yangzhou. As expected, it is a famous city in the south of the Yangtze River. The streets are crowded with people and bustling with people. There are many shops on both sides of the streets, making it a prosperous scene.
The four of them walked while admiring the scenery on both sides. Suddenly I saw a restaurant in front of me, with the words Mingyue Tower written on it. It was very lively inside, with people coming in and out, and it was bustling. Tianxiang said: "Brother, it seems that it is a restaurant, let's go and have a look too!" Feiyun nodded. The four of them arrived at the entrance of Mingyue Tower. Tianxiang and Feiyun got off their horses, and Liangchen and Meijing also got off their carriages.
A waiter came over and asked, "Do you want to stay in a hotel or have a meal?" Liangchen asked, "Do you have food and accommodation?" The waiter said, "Of course, our Mingyue Building has luxurious guest rooms and delicious meals. There are exquisite songs and dances. Your guest will stay here and you will be satisfied. The accommodation is comfortable and the food is good. You can count on it." It seems that this guy has been strictly trained and has excellent eloquence.
Feiyun said: "Then give us four upper rooms. In addition, help us take care of the horses and carriages." The clerk said happily: "Guests, please come in, horses and carriages. Don't worry, we will settle them in the backyard." In the horse's yard and stables." Ma Chu said to the waiter: "Set up the horses and carriage, and then come and have dinner with us." The two agreed and followed a waiter.
Another waiter came over and led Feiyun and Tianxiang to the private room by the window on the second floor. Feiyun asked the waiter to introduce Yangzhou’s delicacies, and the waiter introduced more than ten kinds of food in one go. Liangchen said quickly: "Stop talking anymore, it made my mouth water." Feiyun said: "You pick out ten kinds of this dish and serve one each. If it is not enough, just add more." The waiter hurriedly went down to notify the kitchen. . After a while, the food was ready, and everyone tasted it one by one. It was indeed a delicious meal, very delicious.
After the four of them finished their meal, the waiter took Feiyun and others to the guest room. After resting for a while, Ma Chu gathered a few people and said: "Next, we have a few things to do. One is to understand and be familiar with Yangzhou, and the other is to inquire about Ma Xi. I heard that he is a corrupt official. , since we have met, we naturally want to find out more about it. What do you think about the good time?"
Liangchen said: "Brother is right, I think so, we will split into two groups. Meimei San and I will go to inquire about the situation of Ma Xi, while eldest brother and Tianxiang will go to understand the situation in Yangzhou and the surrounding areas. In this way, in a few days, we will We are familiar with Yangzhou. If we find out that Ma Xi is indeed a corrupt official, then we will discuss how to kill this evil thief." Naturally, everyone had no objection, so they acted separately according to Liangchen's advice.
Feiyun and Tianxiang came out to the street, looked and asked questions as they walked, and soon they came to the canal. Tianxiang said with emotion: "I didn't expect that this canal would be really lively. It's thanks to that Yang Guang who worked so hard to dig such a river."
Feiyun usually doesn't like reading, so naturally he doesn't know these things. He hurriedly asked: "Tianxiang, what are you talking about, was this river dug manually?" Tianxiang said: "Yes, for this river, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty even sacrificed the country, the country, the country, and his family and life. "Feiyun suddenly became interested, so he pestered Tianxiang and asked her to tell her. On a whim, Tianxiang told Feiyun the story of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty on the side of the canal.
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was the second son of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, and it was not his turn to become emperor. But he bribed many ministers and asked them to frame his brother so that he could become emperor. Yang Guang was a man who liked to lead troops in wars. Before he ascended the throne, he led troops to pacify Nanchen.
Yang Guang, who became the queen, mobilized tens of millions of people to dig canals in order to facilitate his travels to the south of the Yangtze River. The people did not have enough to eat, did not wear warm clothes, and had to work hard. Countless innocent souls fell on both sides of the Grand Canal. The people could not survive, so they had to raise troops to rebel. Yang Guang was eventually killed by his subordinate Yu Wenhuaji in Yangzhou and was casually buried by the canal.
After Feiyun heard this, no wonder people said that Yang Guang was a licentious tyrant. It was true. He dug such a big river just for fun and got himself killed. He deserved it.
Tianxiang said again: "Although Emperor Sui Yang has a very bad reputation, he still has different views on this Grand Canal." Feiyun said: "Is there anyone who says it's good to dig it?" Wenxiang said: "There is one The poet wrote a poem, please listen to it: After the death of the Sui Dynasty, this river has been relying on Tongbo for thousands of miles. If there was no dragon boat incident in the water palace, Yu would not have much merit. What he means is that everyone in the world thinks that the Sui Dynasty The Dynasty died because of the Grand Canal, but the canal played a great role in the development of later generations. If Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty had not used the canal to patrol, the achievements of opening the Grand Canal could be compared with Dayu's flood control. But the Sui Dynasty fell. The reason is the tyranny of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, and building the Grand Canal was just one of his tyranny, not the fundamental reason for the demise of the Sui Dynasty. In fact, everyone has their own opinions, it depends on what you think about it."
Feiyun said with admiration: "Sister Tianxiang, you are so amazing, you can understand so much." Tianxiang smiled and said: "You will know more if you read more in the future." Feiyun said: "Then you should go and read. Just listen to me. I get a headache when I pick up the book." The three of them played for a while and then returned to Mingyue Tower.
Seeing that Meijing and the others had returned, Ma Chu asked: "How do you think the security situation at Ma Thief's house is?" Meijing said: "It seems that there are not many experts and the defense is not strict." Dongxue also said: "Sister Wenxiang said, I think he thinks very highly of himself, and I didn't expect anyone would dare to assassinate him." Ma Chu said, "How about we go there tonight and wait for an opportunity to kill this person?" Liangchen thought for a moment and said, "That's okay, tonight Just go and attack if you have a chance. If you don't have a chance, you can also learn about the security situation at his door at night." When night fell, everyone changed into night clothes, put on their veils, and went straight to Ma Xichong's mansion.
When they reached the wall, Ma Chu and others flew up to a nearby roof and looked into Ma's mansion. It was quiet inside, except for some scattered street lights hanging in the corridor. There were two teams of soldiers patrolling across the front yard. Ma Chu then said softly: "Wenxiang and I will go in, Liangchen and you four will meet us here." Liangchen said, "Brother, let's let Dongxue and Dongmei meet here, and Meimei and I will go in with you." Wenxiang said Said: "That's fine, but when we get inside later, you can just lie down on the roof. You don't have to come down. You are only responsible for monitoring." Ma Chu said: "Well, that's it, Dongxue and Dongmei will keep a good watch here. , and will cover our evacuation at that time.”
So Ma Chu, Wenxiang and Liangchen Meiping fell into the front yard, walked forward quietly, and came to the hall, where they saw Ma Xichong talking to two people. The four of them jumped onto the roof again and looked down.
After a while, Ma Xichong was seen walking out of the house, followed by two sturdy men. When Wenxiang saw this, he hurriedly touched Ma Chu, and Ma Chu understood. The two of them drew their swords, flew down, and landed in front of Ma Xichong. Ma Xichong stopped in surprise. Just as he was about to shout and ask, Wenxiang stabbed him with a sword. The two guards behind him immediately jumped to intercept him. Ma Chu followed immediately. A guard swung his sword at Wenxiang's long sword. Wenxiang flipped his wrist and circled the long sword, avoiding the big sword. He stabbed with his backhand sword and hit the guard's chest. Wenxiang's skill has greatly increased at this moment, and he is already a super master. The sword was so powerful that the guard fell to the ground after being struck by the sword. At the same time, Ma Chu swung the Sun and Moon Sword and knocked down another guard to the ground. In the blink of an eye, the two guards were eliminated.
After all, Ma Xichong was a military general, so he remained calm and shouted: "Who are you, who dare to break into my house at night to commit murder?" Ma Chu cursed and said: "Old thief, you killed my father, I am here to pay tribute to him on his behalf. You have to look at the sword to recover your blood debt." After Ma Chu finished speaking, he thrust out his sword. Ma Xichong had already drawn the sword in his hand and asked: "Who is your father? Don't slander others." Ma Chu said: "Chu National Ma Xiguang, do you still remember?" Ma Xichong was shocked, knowing that he could no longer be kind today, so he raised his sword to greet him. The two swords collided, and Ma Xichong's sword was immediately cut into two pieces by Ma Chu. Ma Chu then struck down with his sword, and Ma Xichong dodged, but he didn't expect that Ma Chu's left palm had already struck out, and hit his chest with one palm. Ma Xichong suddenly flew backwards and fell to the ground.
At this time, the shouts of fighting had alarmed the entire Ma Mansion. A man in front rushed out from the front room with a sword, and the guards and guards heard the sound and surrounded him. The man called out: "Father, how are you?" Apparently he was Ma Xichong's son. When he saw that the two guards had been killed and his father was injured and fell to the ground, he quickly flew to rescue him. Ma Chu jumped up and the Sun Moon Sword used the Mountain-Shocking-Sea-Shocking Sword to slash at him, and he had to steady himself. He raised his sword to greet him. And just like this, Wenxiang rushed to Ma Xichong's side and stabbed him with his sword. Ma Xichong struggled to move his body and avoided his heart, but the sword still stabbed his chest, and Wenxiang drew his sword. Immediately, blood flowed from Ma Xichong's chest. Wenxiang was about to attack again when guards attacked from both sides. Wenxiang had to retreat to avoid it, and faced him with his sword. Another guard immediately protected Ma Xichong.
Ma Chu was facing Ma Xichong's son at this moment, and the two were entangled. Because this man was not the culprit, and he had nothing to do with his father's murder, Ma Chu did not do anything cruel, but only blocked him from saving Ma Xichong. When Ma Chu saw that Wenxiang had succeeded and the guards were rushing over, he screamed and told Wenxiang to evacuate quickly, and also informed Liangchenmeijing to prepare for the response. Wen Xiang understood, with Fei Feng Sword in one hand and Fang Fei Sword in the other, the two swords were combined, and he used Tao Li Fang Fei's sword technique with all his strength. Silver light flashed suddenly, and he hacked to death and injured several of the guards surrounding him. The rest were forced to take a few steps back. Wenxiang jumped up and flew onto the roof.
Seeing that Wenxiang was out of trouble, Ma Chu used the Seven Overlord Styles to sweep in all directions. Suddenly the sword energy surged, forcing Ma Xichong's son back several feet. With a push of his left palm, he knocked down several guards who were about to chase Wenxiang. Ma Chu then kicked his feet, jumped up, and climbed onto the house. Just as Ma Xichong's son was about to chase him, Liangchen Meijing grabbed the tiles with both hands and threw them at Ma Chu's back. He was forced to turn over to avoid it. Seeing that there were still people on the roof, he ordered the guards to release arrows, and arrows rained down in an instant.
The four men from Ma Chu danced their swords to fend off. Ma Chu hurriedly moved to block the front and said: "Wenxiang opens the way, and the beautiful scenery is in the middle. I will cut off the rear and leave quickly." The four of them flew to the front yard one by one. Fortunately, most of the guards in the front yard had rushed into the backyard, and there were not many guards in the front yard. . Wenxiang swung his sword to find a way out, and when they reached the wall, the three of them jumped up and climbed over the wall. Ma Chu stood by the wall, with the Sun-Moon Sword in his right hand and the Colorful Sword in his left hand, attacking in series, cutting down a large section of the chasing guards and forcing them to retreat, while the rest retreated in shock. Then Ma Chu jumped over the wall and joined Wenxiang and the others. The guards in the front yard were about to chase after him, but Dongmei Dongxue threw more than ten branches to block him in the yard. After Wenxiang and Mei Mei walked away, Ma Chu said to Dongmei Dongxue: "Quickly follow Wenxiang and retreat. I'll stop you and come." Dongmei Dongxue flew away in a hurry, caught up with Wenxiang and the others and headed towards the bright moon. The building recedes.
Ma Chu stood on the wall and swung his swords to kill more than ten people who were guarding the courtyard within a few feet. Everyone was so frightened that they turned and ran away. Ma Chu then jumped over the wall and ran towards Mingyue Tower. By the time the nursing staff climbed over the wall, the assassin had disappeared. Ma Xichong's son hurriedly went to check Ma Xichong's injury. However, Ma Xichong had already died from his injuries.
Ma Chu and others returned to Mingyue Tower, checked, and saw that no one was injured, so he said: "It's still early now, let's go back to our rooms to rest, and we will discuss the next step in the morning." Everyone had no objections, so they went their separate ways. Go back to your room and rest.
At dawn, only officers and soldiers could be heard coming and going outside, so Ma Chu asked Mei Mei to go find out the news. After a while Meimei came back and said: "Yangzhou has closed the city gates and is checking people coming in and out." Ma Chu asked her to call Wenxiang, Liangchen and others to discuss the next plan. After a while, both of them came to Ma Chu's room. After listening to the beautiful scenery, Liangchen said: "Then we will continue to stay in Yangzhou for a few days and wait until their inspections are lax before leaving the city and heading to Hangzhou. Last night we were masked and they couldn't figure out our appearance, so we went out with a slightly different identity. When traveling, if you don't go out as a person in the world, you won't attract anyone's attention." Wenxiang asked, "Then in what capacity will you go out?" Liangchen said, "Master brother can dress up as a young man who goes out to enjoy the mountains and rivers, so you can pretend As the newlyweds of the young master, the four of us can just pretend to be the accompanying maids." Wen Xiang said, "That doesn't make you feel wronged, right?" Liang Chen said, "Then why don't we change?" Wen Xiang said angrily, "No way. I'll trade with you." So the plan was made and he went to prepare.
Liangchen went to the shopkeeper again to find out about the most famous scenic spot in Yangzhou, Yangzhou Twenty-Four Bridge. He came back and said to Ma Chu: "Brother, we can go to the Twenty-Four Bridge to have a look. There are many people there and it is convenient for us to inquire about the news." . But we can’t bring our swords with us, so you two can only go out with soft swords.”
