Across the Water Margin: Officials of Ximen

How did Shi Xiu know that not long after he left the village, two people walked out of a wine and meat shop not far from the old man Zhongli, and looked at his disappearing back with a sneer.

Seeing that, the old man hurried forward and sang, and asked with salute: "Master Shao, a senior official from Ximen, the villain did not say anything wrong just now, right?"

Standing in front of old man Zhongli were Zhu Biao and Ximen Qing.When Ximenqing returned to Zhujiazhuang from Hujiazhuang, he saw the twists and turns of the road outside the village, and suddenly remembered that Liangshan had sent Shi Xiu and Yang Lin to explore the path in history.Yang Lin was captured by Zhujiazhuang, but Shi Xiu inquired about the secret of poplar from the old man Zhongli in Zhujiacun.

Now that "Jinbaozi" Yang Lin has been eliminated by himself during the robbery in Xiangzhou, what needs to be guarded against is Shi Xiu, who is meticulous and good at meticulous work.

Ximen Qing knew that according to the historical inertia, Shi Xiu was likely to find the old man Zhongli who opened the hotel.Therefore, he brought Zhu Biao to the entrance of the village, first found the old man Zhongli, and after admonishing him, he asked him to act according to the plan and stand idle at the entrance of the village waiting for Shi Xiu to come to the door.

Sure enough, that guy Shi Xiu was really capable, and actually went deep into Dulonggang and found Zhujia Village.Seeing the kind-hearted old man Zhongli standing at the entrance of the village basking in the sun, how could Shi Xiu let go of this opportunity to deceive the old man and obtain information?

Old man Zhongli waited for Shi Xiu, the spy of the Liangshan bandit, to be surprised. This spy was pretending to be a woodcutter just like what the Ximen official said!The old man Zhongli respected Ximen Qing who was not a prophet, and performed a good show with Shi Xiu according to Ximen Qing's reward, and won Shi Xiu's trust.

Zhu Biao had always been convinced of Ximen Qing and was willing to be his younger brother. Seeing Shi Xiu come to explore the way this time, he admired Ximen Qing's brother even more.He heard the old man Zhongli's question, but he didn't answer, but looked at Ximen Qing with admiration, waiting for Ximen Qing's elder brother to comment.

Ximen Qing nodded, and said to old man Zhongli: "What the old man said just now has no flaws. Even if that Shi Xiu is as treacherous as a ghost, I never expected that I would know in advance that he would come to explore the way. That fellow found Zhujiazhuang. There must be no doubt about the secret of the path, so I ran back to Song Jiang to claim credit. Mr. Zhongli, you have made a great contribution to Zhujiazhuang this time!"

The old man Zhongli didn't even dare to say that he didn't dare to do it. He said that he was a foreigner who was exiled in this Zhujia village, and he was allowed to open a village hotel here to live under the permission of the old court.Zhujiazhuang's kindness can never be repaid, so why dare to claim credit for doing such a small thing?

But Zhu Biao took out ten taels of silver and gave it to old man Zhongli, telling him that he should be rewarded for his meritorious service, and let him keep the money first.After Zhu Biao asked the old man Zhongli to clean up, he went back to Zhujiazhuang to avoid fighting with Liangshan bandits.After defeating the Liangshan bandits, the village will reward them for their merits and give them other gifts.

Old man Zhongli heard the words, bowed to Ximenqing and the two of them in thanks, took his leave and left.

After the old man Zhongli left, Zhu Biao asked Ximenqing, "Brother Ximen, why did you ask old man Zhongli to tell Shi Xiu the truth about the poplar trees at the Pantuo intersection? Why didn't you arrest Shi Xiu directly, or Did he point out the wrong path and lure Liangshan bandits into the bait?"

Ximen Qing said: "Brother Zhu Biao, you don't know how cunning the Liangshan thief is, but today I saw Shi Xiu, he is a fine thief. If he is captured, Liangshan will send other people to scout the way, Moreover, Song Jiang will go to Lijiazhuang sooner or later to find out the truth, and the secret of the Pantuo Road cannot be kept. And if Shi Xiu is pointed out indiscriminately, this person will go to verify it in person, and he must not be able to hide it from him. It is better to take the white poplar first. Tell him the secret of the tree, and after he has verified the authenticity, he will surely believe it and lure the bandits from Liangshan. I will do some tricks on the road to make the truth false, so that those guys will not be fooled!"

"Brother Ximen has a great plan, brother understands!" Zhu Biao was deeply impressed when he heard this.

"Let's go, hand that Shi Xiu over to Brother Zhu Hu and Brother Jiao Ting, and I'll see how Brother Zhu Long's trap is going!" Ximen Qing and Zhu Biao got on their horses and galloped in the direction of Zhujiazhuang. go.

……

When Shi Xiu saw the poplar tree on the road, he turned a corner and hurriedly walked towards the base of the hill. He was about to walk out of the dense forest when he suddenly heard someone shouting from behind: "Everyone, follow me quickly, and you must go to Liangshan!" Spies of robbers!"

Shi Xiu was startled, and when he looked back, he saw dozens of people rushing towards him with knives and guns coming out of nowhere.Among them was a fat man who shouted loudly: "The village said that the spy who sneaked into the village to inquire about the news was a woodcutter, could it be the one in front? Little ones, hurry up and take that fellow with me, and bring him back to the village to torture him!" "

Dozens of dealers shouted and chased after Shi Xiu.

Seeing this, Shi Xiu secretly thought that it must be the old man Zhongli who had slipped his mouth, which aroused the suspicion of other people in Zhujiazhuang.He didn't dare to fight, so he ran out of the woods under the post.

Fortunately, this place is not far from the edge of the woods under the post. After Shi Xiu ran for a while, he saw Yang Xiong jumping out with a group of young people to protect him.

The dealers who were chasing Shi Xiu suddenly saw Yang Xiong and the others, and immediately stopped in their tracks, yelling but did not dare to go forward.

Yang Xiong was not afraid of the cold wind, with two blue embroidered arms bare, he blocked the road with a horizontal knife, and shouted majesticly: "Here is Yang Xiong, a hero in Liangshanpo, come one to kill one, come two to kill one pair! You Those fellows, who dares to fight my master!"

Ever since this guy shared Pan Qiaoyun with his brother Shi Xiu in Jizhou and killed his wife to testify to the Tao, his ferocious and cruel side has been revealed, full of hostility, and he is already an out-and-out image of a gangster.

Seeing that there were also dozens of robbers on Yang Xiong's side, the dozens of villagers chasing after him from Zhujiazhuang, Yang Xiong looked like he was killing people without blinking an eye, he uttered a cry, turned around and ran, and disappeared in the dense forest after a while.

Yang Xiong didn't know the way in the forest, so he didn't dare to chase, so he had to go back to Liangshan Bandit's Dazhai together with Shi Xiu, to see the commander Song Jiang.How did he and Shi Xiu know that the people who led the team to chase Shi Xiu just now were Zhu Hu and Jiao Ting who had been ambushing by the roadside for a long time.

Ximen Qing asked the two of them to lie in ambush by the side of the road, just to wait for Shi Xiu to return to the camp to chase after Shi Xiu with a bluff. The fake show was true, so that the robbers believed more in the importance of the information Shi Xiu brought back, and also made them no more. time to think.

Sure enough, when Shi Xiu returned to the camp and met Song Jiang, Song Jiang was worried that after Zhujiazhuang found out that there were spies, there would be a change later, so he immediately mobilized the army, let Shi Xiu lead the way, and rushed straight to Zhujiazhuang.

Chapter 326 Zhu Jiazhuang defeated the Liangshan Army

After Song Jiang learned the secret of Zhujiazhuang's road from Shi Xiu, he was afraid of delaying the time and asked Zhujiazhuang to take another precaution, so he immediately mobilized an army to attack Zhujiazhuang by night.

From Song Jiang's point of view, he had just arrived at Dulonggang with Liangshan's army, and the people in Zhujiazhuang must have not prepared in a hurry. Great opportunity for a homestead.

Song Jiang led eight leaders, Ou Peng, Jiang Jing, Ma Lin, Tao Zongwang, Li Yun, Deng Fei, Yang Xiong, and Shi Xiu, and six or seven thousand minions, and went straight to Zhujiazhuang in Dulonggang with a murderous look. Du Qian and Song Wan, two old men from Liangshan, were left behind to guard the army village with 1000 troops.

Song Jiang's arrangement in this way is of course due to differences in closeness and selfishness.

Since Song Jiang's confidant Qingzhou gang was wiped out, only Li Jun was left in that Jiangzhou gang, and Song Jiang's direct brothers in Liangshan were few."Moyun Golden Wings" Ou Peng from Huangshan Gate, "Magic Operator" Jiang Jing, "Iron Flute Immortal" Ma Lin, "Nine-Tailed Turtle" Tao Zongwang, and Yin Machuan's "Iron Face" Pei Xuan, "Fire Eye Suan" "Yi" Deng Fei and "Yubangan" Meng Kang, the two gangs of robbers, were recruited by Liang Shan in the name of Song Jiang, and they were immediately trained by Song Jiang, who had no one under his command, as his confidants.

Although Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu are new to the cottage, they also said that they came to vote in the name of Mu Song Jiang, and that Chao Gai once wanted to kill them, but it was Song Jiang who stood up and rescued Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu.Therefore, Song Jiang thought that these two people would definitely respect him in the future, and he also regarded these two people and Shi Qian who had not been rescued as his own faction in his heart.

This time down the mountain, Song Jiang wanted to show his prestige, so he brought almost all the leaders of his own faction on the mountain now, only the "iron face" Pei Xuan was in charge of the penalty in the cottage, and Meng Kang, the "Jade Banner Pole", was helping the leader of the water army Li Jun to build a war. The boat did not follow.

When he decided to send troops to attack Zhujiazhuang, Song Jiang took his brothers from his faction to claim meritorious service, and left Du Qian and Song Wan, the veteran leaders on Liangshan, in the military village to guard their homes.

It's just that Song Jiang never imagined that Ximenqing, Luan Tingyu and others in Zhujiazhuang had already grasped his whereabouts clearly, and they had already laid a net of heaven and earth, just waiting for him to drill.

Under the leadership of Shi Xiu, when Song Jiang and others entered the dense forest of Dulonggang for the first time, they turned when they encountered poplar trees, and advanced for more than ten miles smoothly without encountering any plots.

Seeing that the road was correct, Song Jiang was overjoyed, secretly thinking that God will help me, this "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu brothers are really useful!Therefore, Song Jiang ordered the whole army to speed up, and must rush to the outside of Zhujiazhuang before midnight, killing the villagers of Zhujia Village by surprise.

Didn't Shi Xiu say that there are more than 1 households in Zhujia Village?Let's kill them first tonight, and burn Zhujia Village to nothing!Without these strong farmers, let's see who Zhujiazhuang relies on to fight against my Liangshan army!

However, what Song Jiang didn't expect was that the poplar tree road sign would no longer work if Liangshan's army moved forward.It seems that every road is a dead end, and the people who rushed in screamed again and again, causing many casualties.

"Brother Song Jiang, I've been tricked! The poplar tree marked the living path. The brothers rushed over, but there were traps, bamboo sticks, and barbed wire everywhere, and the road was full of antlers. It was really difficult to move! The men and horses in ambushes in the family village shot at random arrows, and a lot of brothers' men were lost!" Li Yun, the "tiger-eyed tiger", reported to Song Jiang angrily.

Song Jiang was riding on the horse, angry and anxious, his face was already pale.In the dark night, there were shouts from all directions in the dense forest, "Catch the thief in Liangshan Po and release the official, please reward!"The shouts were so loud that I really don't know how many people and horses there are in Zhujiazhuang.

The leaders and soldiers clashed on all sides, trying to find Zhujiazhuang's men and horses to fight, but they all ran into a dead end. Before they saw Zhujiazhuang's soldiers and horses, they were injured by traps and hidden arrows in the forest.The leaders who had been beaten to death retreated to Song Jiang's side, all crying bitterly.

Jiang Jing, the "magic fortune teller", saw that the momentum was not good, so he advised Song Jiang: "Brother Gongming, seeing that the fellows in Zhujiazhuang have been prepared tonight, it is not good for us if we continue to fight. It is better to withdraw our troops earlier and come here." Let’s discuss again in the next day!”

Song Jiang was originally an official, and had never been in battle before. He knew that this "magic operator" Jiang Jing knew how to arrange troops, so he brought Jiang Jing, who was not skilled in martial arts, to be a military adviser.Hearing what Jiang Jing said at this time, Song Jiang, who had already panicked, hurriedly ordered the entire army to retreat and return from the original road.

It's just that the night is dark at this time, the road is difficult to distinguish, and it is still unknown whether the whole army can safely return from the original road.Song Jiang had no choice but to cast his eyes on Shi Xiu, and said to him: "Brother Shi Xiu, do you still remember the way down the hill? Don't step into the trap of a dead end again, and take the lives of all the brothers in vain."

Shi Xiu volunteered to inquire about Zhujiazhuang's information today, but fell into Zhujiazhuang's trick, which put Song Jiang and his brothers in trouble.At this time, he was really ashamed, and he clasped his fists and said to Song Jiang: "Brother Song Jiang, Shi Xiu has already memorized the road along the way, so there will be no mistakes! If Shi Xiu takes the wrong way back, I am willing Accept the copycat military law and cut off my head!"

Hearing the shouts of killing getting closer behind him, Song Jiang hurriedly said to Shi Xiu: "My brother, I believe in you! You lead the way quickly, and we will kill Dulonggang together."

Shi Xiu took the lead, relying on her own memory, cleared the way ahead, and led the Liangshan bandits back the same way.This guy is worthy of being talented in meticulous work. He remembered the roads he passed along the way exactly. He led Song Jiang and others to turn left and right, and walked out of the Pantuo Road, safely escaping from the pursuit of Zhujiazhuang. Kill, walked out of the dense woods.

When Song Jiang and others went down to Dulonggang in embarrassment and wanted to return to the army camp, when they looked up, they were all complaining.I saw that the Liangshan Army Village a mile away was already on fire, lighting up half of the sky.

"Damn it! I fell into the trap, and was attacked by the birds of Zhujiazhuang! Brothers, follow me to take back the military stronghold!" Song Jiang had no time to rest, and led all the robbers to kill the military stronghold one mile away. .

The army village has the food for Song Jiang's army of robbers. If the food is not guaranteed, Song Jiang will not be able to fight Zhujiazhuang again.

This time down the mountain, if he didn't grab a grain of food, but lost a lot of military food, how could Song Jiang, the second village owner, have the face to go back to the mountain to meet Chao Gai, and how could he lead the brothers?Therefore, even though he was exhausted, Song Jiang still had to work hard.

When Song Jiang and others rushed back to the military camp, they found that there was no trace of the enemy in the military camp. The tents and fences in the military camp were all burned to the ground, and there was no food to grab.

"Ah! But it's bitter, could it be that I'm dead!" Song Jiang secretly bit the tip of his tongue, spewing a little blood from his mouth, riding on a crumbling horse, waiting for his brothers to help him.

Chapter 327 Regrouping

Seeing that Song Jiang was in a hurry, the leaders around Song Jiang were so angry that they vomited blood and were about to fall off their horses. They hurriedly jumped off their horses to help Song Jiang. Ou Peng, Ma Lin, and Shi Xiu were the fastest and helped Song Jiang first.Yang Xiong, Li Yun, Deng Fei and others also surrounded him. They hurriedly lifted Song Jiang off his horse, and found a flat grass outside the village for him to lie down and rest.