Fenghou

Zhang Bao was led by the soldiers to see Zhang Mingqian who was locked in the stone house. Zhang Mingqian suddenly saw his uncle, so excited he rushed forward, grabbed the iron fence and asked anxiously, "Second Uncle, why are you here?"

"I'm here to negotiate with them and let you out. You haven't been wronged, have you?"

Zhang Mingqian said bitterly: "They interrogated me last night and forced me to ask the whereabouts of the envoy from the Kingdom of Jin. How could I know that I was beaten up by them. If they didn't want to exchange information from my father, I would have died last night."

Zhang Bao became even more frightened, "Don't worry, I'll tell them that no more abuse is allowed!"

He turned around and hurried to see Zhong Huan.

At this time, Xue Ke, Zhong Huan's subordinate, also came. He followed the master and was responsible for tracking Zhang Bao.

The real purpose of Zhong Huan in arresting Zhang Mingqian was not to know the envoy of the Jin Kingdom, but to arrest Zhang Wo. The three assassinations against officials in Pingzhou were all planned by Zhang Wo. If he is not eliminated, other wealthy families will not be deterred. However, Yanshan Road officials still live in insecurity.

"The humble official saw that Zhang Bao entered the Silver Lake Villa, where must Zhang Wo be hiding?"

"Maybe there just now, but not necessarily now, you just need to keep an eye on Zhang Bao, and I will lead the army to follow behind."

Xue Ke hesitated and said, "Follow Zhang Bao and you will surely find Zhang Wo?"

Zhong Huan nodded, "Zhang Mingqian is his only son. He must be eager to know the outcome of the negotiation. This is also the time when he relaxes his vigilance the most. I believe my judgment will not be wrong!"

At this time, the soldier said at the door: "Zhang Bao is here!"

Xue Ke hurriedly said: "I'll go get ready first!"

He walked away, and Zhong Huan immediately ordered: "Bring him in!"

After a while, Zhang Bao was brought in, bowed and saluted, "See General Zhong!"

Zhong Huan waved his hand, "Please sit down!"

Zhang Bao sat down and said anxiously: "General Zhang knows my purpose of coming, I want to ask, what conditions does General Zhang want to let my nephew go?"

"My conditions are very simple!"

Zhong Huan said bluntly: "I want to catch the secret envoy of the Kingdom of Jin and tell me his whereabouts. I will let Zhang Mingqian go."

Zhang Bao nodded, "No problem, my brother agreed, but I told you the information, and it will take some time before he is caught. Can you release Zhang Mingqian first?"

Chong Huan thought for a while and said: "It can be under house arrest. You can find a small courtyard and let him live in the courtyard. My soldiers will stand guard at the door and will not interfere with his life. Once the envoy of the Kingdom of Jin is caught, I will lift the house arrest. I am also worried that you are giving me untrue information."

Zhang Bao pondered for a moment, he felt that house arrest was not bad, as long as he lived comfortably, he just didn't go out.

"You can be placed under house arrest, but you are not allowed to beat or abuse him again in these two days!"

"Do not worry!"

Zhong Huan said with a meaningful smile, "I promise I won't beat him again."

……

Zhang Bao bid farewell and left, and went to Bailong Villa, thirty miles away, to meet his elder brother. He was very cautious, sitting in the bullock cart and looking back from time to time to make sure that no one was following him, and indeed no one was following him. There was no one outside, which made him feel a little relieved.

In fact, Zhang Bao also knew that his brother had sent people to assassinate the officials of Pinglu County. Even the county lieutenant of Pinglu was seriously injured and is still lying on the hospital bed.

After the inner guard arrived, the elder brother was afraid and did not dare to live in the city. He had to change manors every day for fear of being caught by the inner guard.

Zhang Bao also felt that his brother was a bit paranoid. First of all, the inner guard did not have any evidence to prove that his brother planned to assassinate the county magistrate. Second, the inner guard had been here for almost a month and did not attack the Zhang family's property. Zhang Bao believed that the inner guard's goal was the Kingdom of Jin. Spy, it shouldn't be rich families like them.

But Zhang Bao didn't know that the inner guard's top-secret follow-up was by no means as simple as he thought. They followed far behind. The inner guards were hidden in the wilderness on both sides, at least two miles away from him, walking side by side with him, or even in front. Waiting for him, the other party can see him, but he cannot see the other party.

More than an hour later, Zhang Bao entered Bailong Mountain Villa. Zhang Wo had already arrived first. The reason why he chose Bailong Mountain Villa to meet his brothers was that the villa was easy to escape. The secret path can be drilled into the woods of a hundred paces, even if surrounded, he can escape without anyone noticing.

Zhang Wo sat on a wide chair, and he said with a gloomy face, "Has my son been abused by them?"

"They may have interrogated Ming Qian last night, but there should be no injuries. They promised to use house arrest later!"

"House arrest?"

Zhang Wo snorted heavily, "It means that they won't let me go if they can't catch the envoy of the Kingdom of Jin?"

"Brother, you should be able to catch it! Didn't those envoys from the Kingdom of Jin say that they would come back to see the training place?"

"That's at least a month or two away."

At this moment, a Zhuang Ding stumbled into the lobby and said, "Villa Master, countless soldiers appeared outside and surrounded the villa!"

"what?"

Zhang Woteng jumped up, startled and angry, staring at his brother Zhang Bao and said, "Didn't I tell you not to be followed?"

Zhang Bao also panicked and said, "I've been paying attention, no one is following me!"

"Hmph! It's strange that you can find them."

"I……"

"Stop talking, go to the door to stop the inner guard and buy me time."

"Brother, wouldn't I be in danger then?"

Zhang Wo comforted him and said, "It's me they want to arrest, not you, otherwise you would have been arrested long ago, go quickly, don't delay."

Zhang Bao had no choice but to leave in a hurry.

Zhang Wo ran away from the firewood room in the backyard, which had been locked all year round. He had the key in his hand. He entered the firewood room, pushed aside the pile of firewood, and lifted a board, revealing a big black hole.

The reason why he chose Bailong Villa is because there is a secret way to escape here.

Zhang Wo jumped into the secret passage and crawled out. What kind of brotherly love and father-son relationship were all forgotten by him at this moment, and the most important thing was to save his life.

The secret passage was about a hundred steps long, leading to the forest behind the house. Zhang Wo used both hands and feet, panting from exhaustion, and finally climbed out of the secret passage.

Zhang Wo was dumbfounded when he climbed out of the secret passage, surrounded by inner guard soldiers, Zhong Huan was standing in front of him, looking at him coldly, Zhang Wo forgot who the other party was, how could such a small trick of the secret passage be hidden Passed inside guard?

……

The next morning, the interrogator reported to Zhong Huanhui: "This Zhang Wo is just like his son, he can handle it quite well. No matter how much he tortures and interrogates him, he just refuses to tell."

Zhong Huan sneered, he understood what Zhang Wo was thinking, he thought that if he didn't say anything, he would be valuable and wouldn't die, he really thought too much.

Chong Huan then came to another cell, where Zhang Wo's brother Zhang Bao was imprisoned. Seeing Zhong Huan coming in, he hurried forward and said, "General Zhong, I'm just an ordinary businessman, and I really haven't done anything harmful. , The assassination of the county magistrate was done by my elder brother, it has nothing to do with me, I even advised him not to do such a stupid thing."

Zhong Huan said indifferently: "I just want to ask you one thing, as long as you tell me, I will let you go home, you will do your business honestly, and your family will be safe and sound."

"If it's an envoy from the Kingdom of Jin, I really don't know, I haven't contacted it before."

Zhong Huan shook his head, "I'm not an envoy from the Kingdom of Jin. I just want to know which wealthy families your brother has been in close contact with recently? That's it."

Zhang Bao knew very well that as long as he said it, his brother's life would be lost, but when he thought of the ruthlessness that left him and escaped from the secret path alone, there was no brotherhood in his heart. up.

"I know that they have been gathering secretly in the name of celebrating their birthdays these past few months. Before that, Guo Wei, a wealthy family in Jizhou, celebrated his birthday. Next month will be my brother's birthday. In fact, his birthday is in May, and it has passed long ago."

Chong Huan cheered up, and quickly asked, "Is there a list?"

"Yes! My brother asked me to come forward to help him celebrate his birthday, and gave me a list. Among them, he sent someone to notify me, and let me leave them alone. They are all rich and powerful families from all over the world. Circle eight people."

"Give me this roster and the list of eight people, and you'll be fine."

Of course, Zhong Huan didn't fully believe Zhang Bao's words, so he ordered people to search the Silver Lake Manor carefully. Sure enough, he found eight bronzing invitations in a box. ', eight characters.

The names on the invitation exactly matched the eight people circled on the roster.

The first thousand and 390 chapters group destruction

If all the giants really gather in Pingzhou, this is a rare opportunity to catch them all.

Chong Huan also knew that this matter was very risky. After all, the time was too long, and there were still more than [-] days. Once the news got out, they would be broken into pieces, and it would be difficult to catch them.

Zhang Bao was eager to make great contributions, so he came up with a plan for Zhong Huan. He put a note in the invitation and asked everyone to come in advance on the fifth day of the first lunar month, which happened to be a holiday for the government army, which was safer.

Chong Huan readily agreed, and asked one of the inner guards to write a note imitating Zhang Wo's handwriting and put it in the invitation.

In order to prevent surprise, Zhong Huan detained Zhang Wo and his son first, and at the same time controlled all insiders. Zhang Bao cooperated with the inner guard and was still preparing for his birthday. He sent people to various places to send invitations.

Even though it was the end of the twelfth lunar month in freezing weather, they couldn't stop the passion of the wealthy patriarchs from all over the country to fight for righteousness. After receiving the invitation, they still rushed to Pingzhou with their family members from all over Yanshan Road, regardless of the snow and ice blocking the way.

At the same time, more than 300 internal guard soldiers also secretly rushed to Pingzhou from all over Yanshan Road.

Perhaps this is the first time I have tasted the sweetness of tax exemption. This year's New Year on Yanshan Road is particularly lively, with lanterns and festoons everywhere, and the people are beaming, beating gongs and drums to welcome the New Year.

There are also lights and festoons everywhere in Pinglu County to celebrate the New Year. On the third day of the first lunar month, Hu Yun arrived in Pinglu County. The first stop of his inspection was Pingzhou. Of course, Hu Yun would also take this opportunity to convey an order from King Yong to Zhong Huan.

At this time, Zhong Huan was also deploying intensively. He had already wiped out Zhang Wo's 56 warriors, and transformed the inner guard soldiers into warriors of the Zhang family, ready to welcome the arrival of the seven wealthy patriarchs.

Hu Yun's sudden arrival really startled Zhong Huan. Wouldn't it be dangerous for Hu Yun to come to Pingzhou Fengyun gathering at this time?

He went out of the city to greet him personally, and welcomed Hu Yunxian to the official office of the governor's mansion. This is the official office of Wang Duo, the governor of Pingzhou, but Wang Duo spends most of his time in Yuguan.

Zhong Huan's attitude made Hu Yun a little strange. When he entered the official office, he asked, "What happened?"

Chong Huan laughed and said, "I'm catching turtles. I'm leading all the big turtles from Yanshan Road to Pingzhou, and then I'll catch them all in one go!"

"Catch the turtle?"

Hu Yun frowned, "Speak clearly, what are you catching?"

Zhong Huan will catch Zhang Wo and learn that he is going to celebrate his birthday. Taking this as an opportunity, he gathers the patriarchs of the eight great families together to discuss the matter of meeting soldiers.

Hu Yun was surprised and delighted at the same time and said: "Brother Zhong has done great things in Pingzhou without saying a word. If you can take this opportunity to destroy the eight wealthy families on Yanshan Road in one fell swoop, I will definitely write a letter to King Yong for your great achievements!"

"The appeasement envoy is too much, this is the job of a humble job!"

Hu Yun said with a smile: "Those who are able work harder, brother Zhong is capable, so His Highness entrusts you with another task!"

Chong Huan looked solemn, bowed and said: "Please order the comforter!"

Hu Yun took out a copy of King Yong's warrant and handed it to Zhong Huan, "This time, King Yong issued the warrant to me directly, without going through the internal guards. I will be responsible for planning and coordinating this matter. General Zhong's internal guards, the Liaodong intelligence station, and the navy Responsible for transporting people out by sea, let me tell you about this first, we will sit together to discuss in two days and plan an effective plan!"

"Is it before the appeasement envoy returns to Daxing City?"

Hu Yun nodded, "I will stay in Pingzhou for a few days, and the Liaodong Intelligence Station will also send people over. We will discuss it as soon as they arrive."

"But now I'm besieging the eight giants, I'm afraid that the two things will conflict in time!"

Hu Yun smiled and said: "There will be no conflict. It will take at least ten days for the people from the Liaodong Intelligence Station to come and go back. Now it is just preparation in advance and it will not be implemented until the end of the month. You should have time."

Zhong Huan nodded silently, it would be too late for Yue Yue's words.

……

On the fourth day of the first lunar month, a group of people came up the official road outside Pinglu County. Ten warriors surrounded a large carriage with an apricot-yellow pennant on it. A man of more than ten years old, he is quite stout, with a big nose hanging on his face like an eggplant, and his eyebrows are as rough as a steel brush. This man is Guo Wei, the patriarch of the wealthy Guo family in Jizhou. His mother is from Khitan. He inherited his father's cunning and his mother's fierceness.

Wu Wenli, the county magistrate of Ji County, was the one who arranged for the warriors to kill him on the road and even cut off his head. The inner guards had suspected him for a long time, but there was no evidence.

His second son, Guo Huaide, was still sitting in the carriage. Guo Wei had two sons. The eldest son, Guo Huairen, was the governor of Tanzhou in the Kingdom of Jin. , the Guo family is also the largest landlord in Jizhou, owning eight farms with [-] mu of fertile land.

"My child doesn't quite understand that it's a good thing for the Western Army to be exempted from taxes! Why did father say that it seriously damaged our interests?"

"what do you know?"

Guo Wei said to his son in displeasure: "Did we pay taxes in the Jin Dynasty? Tax exemption is not good for us now, but for those muddy legs. We will know in the spring. I am afraid that half of our land is deserted." planted."

Guo Huaide was stunned, "Is it so serious?"

Guo Wei nodded, "Our land rent is [-]%, while the rent of official land is [-]%. Now that there is no tax, many farmers can eat their own food by planting their own land. If you rent some official land to grow, there is no need If we rent our land again, unless we also reduce the rent to [-]%, then you can figure out how much our loss will be, how can it not damage our interests?"

Guo Huaide was surprised and said: "When my father said this, I remembered that most of the tenant farmers have not come to sign the lease until now. In previous years, they signed the lease after the autumn harvest. Could it be that they don't want to rent anymore?"

Guo Wei's face was as sinking as water, and he looked out the car window coldly. The Central Plains Dynasty and the others wanted to seriously damage their own interests, and they couldn't do without fighting.

At this time, a group of knights rode towards them, and some of their men shouted: "My lord, the Second Patriarch Zhang is here!"

The head of Zhang Er's family is Zhang Bao, Zhang Wo's brother, and he is in charge of Zhang Wo's superficial birthday celebration this time.

Guo Wei thought it would be Zhang Wo's son, Zhang Ming, who would come to greet him. After all, Zhang Mingqian went to Ji County to celebrate his birthday on behalf of Zhang Wo last month.

But Zhang Bao can do it too, after all, Zhang Bao is responsible for all kinds of miscellaneous affairs of the Zhang family.

Guo Wei opened the car window and laughed, "Second Master Bao, I haven't seen you for many years!"

Zhang Bao stepped forward to salute and laughed, "Master Guo is well!"

"Where's your elder brother?"

"Brother is inconvenient to go out, the government will keep a close eye on him!"

Guo Wei nodded. He completely understood that the government kept a close eye on him, and he also hid himself, letting his two sons show up for everything.

"I thought it would be tomorrow to pick us up."

Zhang Bao quickly explained: "Grandpa just arrived, and I'm going to pick him up tomorrow."

Guo Wei frowned, "Second Sun of Zhuozhou?"

"It must be him."