Chapter 247 Loyal Dog
Yingfengzhai is not big. It was built on a hillside with its back against a cliff. It could not accommodate 10,000 soldiers. Cui Hong specially expanded the village. The defender was Zhao Mengli, the left general of the Southern Army. Fu is loyal as a dog.
"Uncle Zhao defended my father's arrows on the battlefield. One of his arms is broken. It is difficult for him to hand over the stockade. Unless my father orders it, even if the emperor stands here, he will not be able to open the door." Cui Tengyi Covering his eyes with his hands, he looked up on the mountain, "Uncle Zhao is old and not in good health. If he suddenly died suddenly, the problem would be solved."
For Han Ruzi, speed is everything. The Southern Army behind him is in a state of ambiguous ambiguity. Once he stops and thinks, it is hard to say what will happen. And Baiqiao Town in the back, if he can't bring back a lot of them quickly. Soldier, Cai Xinghai can't stop Mrs. Cui who heard the news and counterattacked.
Cui Shenggang came down from the mountain and said with a bitter face, "There's no way, the old man is more stubborn than an ox, and he won't let him go. Otherwise, let's go back to Baiqiao Town first, and when I convince my father, Zhao Mengli will naturally join the village. "
Han Ruzi turned to look, the southern army stretched endlessly and could not see the end at a glance. These people were busy on their way. Once they stopped, they would have the opportunity to observe the Hou Juan and carefully analyze those false rumors...
Unable to stop at the last moment, Han Ruzi said to Cui Sheng, "I'm going to see General Zhao, and you show me the way." Then he said to Cui Teng, Chao Hua, and the veteran general of Baiqiao Town, "You three stay here. , wait for my order."
Cui Teng was more willing to go up the mountain, "Uncle Zhao is familiar with me, and I will lead the way for Hou Juan."
"No, you are not the general of the Southern Army." Han Ruzi insisted on keeping Cui Teng at the foot of the mountain, because apart from the small amount of Northern Army brought by Chao Hua, the second son of the Cui family was the only person he could trust.
Han Ruzi had no other choice. He was not just walking on a tightrope, he was standing on the top of the waves, maintaining his balance with extreme care. Even so, a slight change in the waves under his feet could still knock him to pieces.
Cui Sheng led the way, and Han Ruzi followed on horseback, with only one guard by his side.
Meng E, dressed in the uniform of a soldier of the Northern Army, has always been inseparable from Hou Juan.
Above the Zhaimen, Zhao Mengli, the left general of the Southern Army, saw Cui Sheng who had left and returned, and without waiting for the other party to speak, he first said loudly: "General Sheng, it is useless to talk more, you should go back to Baiqiao Town and tell Marquis Juan, I am a running dog of Mrs. Cui, and the dog will not let me go if the owner does not speak."
Cui Sheng laughed twice, pointed to the person beside him and said, "Marquis Tien is here, Uncle Zhao, tell him yourself."
Han Ruzi was wearing the armor of an ordinary general, and Zhao Mengli didn't see anything special, so he stared at it for a while, "I've finished speaking, Hou Juan heard it."
Han Ruzi nodded, raised his voice and said, "General Zhao is a loyal dog, okay, may I ask, when the loyal dog sees the owner's death, does the loyal dog fly to the savior, or stay in place and pretend to be loyal? If General Zhao doesn't Believe me, you should capture me alive, and if you believe me, send troops to Baiqiao Town with me."
Zhao Mengli snorted and did not answer.
Han Ruzi opened his arms, "I'm right here. If General Zhao really cares about the safety of Mrs. Cui, please open the gate and let me in. Let's talk face to face."
Zhao Mengli glanced down the mountain. The southern army was gathering, but there was no formation, and it was impossible to launch a charge for a while. Looking at the gate of the village, there were only Cui Sheng, Juan Hou and a guard.
"Open the door." Zhao Mengli finally ordered.
The gate of the village opened slowly, Han Ruzi was about to enter on horseback, and Cui Sheng persuaded him: "Marquis Tien, don't blame me for not reminding you, Zhao Mengli was born in the army, has never read a book, and doesn't understand the etiquette of honor and humility. No one can stop him except his father, he will really kill."
Han Ruzi smiled and said, "No matter how strong a dog is, it is still a dog. What's so scary?"
Han Ruzi was actually a little scared, so he glanced at Meng E before riding his horse into Yingfeng Village.
Cui Sheng looked at Marquis Juan in surprise. He never thought that this was the gentle and elegant young man from the beginning, so he followed up. He was not afraid of Zhao Mengli. As long as he didn't mind his own business, he could always save his life.
Zhao Mengli had already stepped down from the gatehouse and stood on the main road with a group of generals and guards, as if to greet the Marquis of Juan, but all of them held their knives and guns, standing without kneeling.
The gate of the village closed slowly behind him, and Han Ruzi rode his horse until he stopped within ten steps in front of Zhao Mengli, looking down at the old general.
Zhao Mengli looked much older than Mrs. Cui, but he was called "Uncle Three". He must have been humble. He had a big waist and a little bit of slack when he was young. There were three or four scars on his face, and his right arm was sagging weakly. On the right side of the sash, the left hand holds the knife, and it seems that he has already mastered the movement of the left hand to draw the knife.
Han Ruzi glanced at him and saw that this was a very strict general. When such a big incident happened, there was no chaos in the village, no one was hanging around, and no one was talking to each other. The guard's movements were uniform, either holding a knife or a spear. While staring at Hou Wan, he also used his peripheral vision to pay attention to General Zhao's every move.
They are a pack of dogs held by "loyal dogs".
Han Ruzi jumped off his horse and strode to Zhao Mengli, "I'm the new Chief Sima of the Northern Army, the imperial decree..."
"It has nothing to do with the imperial decree." Zhao Mengli looked like he didn't care if the sky was falling. "I only follow the orders of Master Cui. Do you have his handwriting?"
"No, and I know that Mrs. Cui won't have any more handwritten letters."
Zhao Meng used his sinister gaze to stare at Hou Juan, waiting for the young man to make a move.
Han Ruzi met his opponent's gaze, and saw deep contempt and ruthlessness. Cui Sheng was right, Zhao Mengli dared to kill, and the royal family and imperial decree had no influence on him.
Master Cui once recaptured the Southern Army by himself. He had his own set of techniques for employing people. Most of the soldiers who were loyal to him were taken to the capital. There was only one Zhao Mengli left, who was still extremely difficult to deal with.
Han Ruzi couldn't keep silent, he had to go on.
"Master Cui led the 60,000 Southern Army to the capital, thinking that he could easily defeat the Eighth Battalion of Suwei. He was wrong, very wrong. Today, both the sage and the empress have recovered, and the imperial edict on my body is the proof. In order to protect your majesty and empress dowager, Su The Eighth Battalion of Wei will swear to defend the city, and with only 60,000 southern troops, it will not be able to attack in a year."
Han Ruzi paused and continued: "General Han Xing has assembled a hundred thousand troops at Hangu Pass and is heading to the capital to escort him. Sixty thousand southern troops will enter the net."
Cui Sheng, who was standing on the side, kept nodding, he had already believed what Juan Hou said was true.
"Not only that, the 100,000 Northern Army is also heading south at this moment..."
The Northern Army claims to be 100,000 people, but in fact there are only 80,000 people. Han Ruzi said it casually, which is not an exaggeration, but Zhao Mengli sneered on the opposite side, "Marquis Tien really knows what to say."
"you do not believe?"
"Does Marquis Tien think that the southern army is stationed here as a decoration? The scouts I sent are as far away as the full warehouse, and they come back twice a day to report the news. The northern army's every move is under my control, and they haven't moved the place at all."
"At this moment." Han Ruzi didn't give an inch, his face didn't turn red, instead he took a step forward, "Your scout is desperately chasing back."
"Then wait until the scouts come back." Zhao Mengli was unmoved. He was not tall, but he was very imposing. It was a kind of indifference cultivated in the killing, and he didn't care about the so-called threat at all. , Whether the North Army starts or not, he doesn't seem to care.
Han Ruzi encountered a hard bone, and it was more difficult to deal with than he expected, so he quickly glanced at the other generals, it was definitely not easy to be Zhao Mengli's subordinate, they didn't pay attention to what Hou Juan said, all clenched their weapons, just waiting One command.
"I'll wait with you." Han Ruzi pretended to be relaxed, "There are 10,000 southern troops in the stockade, and 30,000 southern troops are coming outside. Leave me behind, and the 40,000 southern troops are all yours, and you can save them if you go south. Lord, going north is enough to command a hundred thousand northern troops."
For the first time, Zhao Mengli's eyes changed, his hand holding the knife relaxed a little, and after thinking for a while, he asked, "If everything you said is true - I doubt it - are you going to save Taifu?"
"Master Cui's daughter is my wife." Han Ruzi said slowly.
"Taifu has more than one son-in-law." Zhao Mengli replied.
"Of course, but Taifu Cui only supports the son-in-law who can win, which is me, and I also need him. With the help of the Southern Army, I can return to the capital without bloodshed. So I can save Taifu Cui, and he is also willing to be saved by me. Unspoken."
Zhao Mengli is Taifu Cui's confidant. He understands Taifu's mind to some extent. He believes in Han Ruzi's words three or four points. He let go of the handle of the knife with his left hand, "Then tired Hou, just stay, if the situation is really as you said... …”
"Then it's too late!" Cui Sheng interjected eagerly, he was completely persuaded by Hou Juan, and the more he listened, the more startled, "Once my father fights the Suwei Camp, he will be charged with treason, then... That's..."
Zhao Mengli said coldly: "General Victory, you should believe in your own father, if the situation changes, the master can tell at a glance, whether it is fighting or reconciling, advancing or retreating, he has his own measure, we have nothing else to do. Just keep the house for him."
Zhao Mengli looked at Han Ruzi again, "If Marquis Tien is a good son-in-law of the Cui family, you should also trust the Taifu's vision."
"Of course, so I am willing to stay in the stockade and wait for news with you." Han Ruzi had no other choice.
Zhao Mengli waved his left hand, the generals let go of the hilts of their swords, and the guards erected their spears, as a sign of eliminating hostility.
"Please." Zhao Mengli turned sideways.
"Please." Han Ruzi said.
The two walked left and right, stepping on the stone steps to the highest lobby.
As soon as I walked to the entrance of the lobby, a shout came from behind: "The scout returns to the village!"
Han Ruzi's heart thumped, Zhao Mengli stopped and turned around, looking at the scouts rushing towards the gate of the village, he felt that he should say something to Taifu's son-in-law, "Don't worry about Marquis Tien, I'm a big old man who only knows how to fight. I don't know anything else, if..."
Han Ruzi couldn't stop nodding, and suddenly he hugged Zhao Mengli's healthy left arm tightly with both hands.
Zhao Mengli was stunned for a moment, not sure if it meant intimacy or something else. He just felt that Juan Hou was young, but his hand strength was unexpectedly large. He suddenly felt that something was wrong. Pain, got stabbed by something.
Meng E knew what Marquis Wan wanted to do, so instead of drawing the knife, she raised her arm and showed the dagger, which hit the back of Zhao Mengli's neck.
This blow was accurate, even if a Jianghu master suffered this blow, he would have died of anger, but Zhao Mengli did not. With a loud roar, he raised the entire body of Juan Hou with his left arm, and turned around to smash the attacker.
Meng E quickly drew the knife, and the lightning flint instantly stabbed Zhao Mengli in the throat.
Taifu Cui's "loyal dog" finally fell, and Han Ruzi also fell, but his hands still refused to let go.
Meng E gave a light kick with her foot, and Han Ruzi reacted and stood up in a hurry, only to see that there were swords and guns all around, and the nearest ones were only a few feet apart. General Zuo did not order - Zhao Mengli ruled the army too strictly, he did not speak, and no one dared to move.
Han Ruzi looked beyond the sword and spear, looked at the scout who had stopped halfway in surprise, patted the dust on his body, raised one foot, stepped on the corpse's head, and said:
"The soldiers of Da Chu stand on the right, and the lackeys of the Zhao clan stand on the left."