On the fifth day of the sixth month in the tenth year of Jinghan's reign, it was an ordinary day in the midst of war in Shandong, Dulong Gang.
On the eighth day of the war that began on the 28th of May, the Zhu Village was like a taut bowstring, entering the stage of an arrow at the end of its flight. Messages were sent in from Liangshan's camp. Just this morning, Lin Chong and the others led a team to seal off the road in front of the Hu Village. They even set up tents and fortifications, preparing to divide the Zhu and Hu Villages.
Once the two villages were truly separated, the advantage of the Pantuo Road around Dulong Gang would be completely lost. Both villages would lose their space to maneuver. At that time, Liangshan could completely focus on attacking one village, and the war would basically come to an end. Perhaps it was because of this that Zhu Jia Village's attack was particularly intense that morning, and Liangshan's side was also constantly sending out troops and generals, intending to consolidate the defensive line.
In reality, if it wasn't for the wide and narrow Pantuo Road, which made every battle seem like a fight between dozens of people, Liangshan's advantage would have long been displayed. The casualties on both sides would probably be much higher than now. In that case, the war would have long been decided.
"According to that Li Ying, if we really fight to the point of being surrounded, the Hu Village may surrender."
Standing in front of the formation, Xi Junyu looked at the silhouette of the Zhu Village in the distance and was talking to the "Flying Sage" Li Gun, who was familiar with him. Li Gun smiled and said, "The Hu Village killed so many of our brothers. Now that they want to surrender, it's hard to say whether they will surrender or not!"
"It's better not to force them to fight to the death. I think the military advisor will accept it …" He looked to the side and said, "Then this war, at most, will last two or three days."
"More or less." Li Gun nodded. After a while, he smiled and tilted his head, saying, "Right, Brother Xi, something strange has happened."
"Hmm?"
"Since this morning, it seems like a few of our captured brothers have returned. Two of my subordinates came back, and they said it was very strange. The Zhu Jia Village forced some information from us, and then they released them, saying that they wanted them to be spies …"
Li Gun said and laughed. Xi Junyu hesitated and also felt that it was somewhat ridiculous. "Interrogated? Heh … and then let them go? "
"With the Zhu Jia Village's current situation, who would listen to them after releasing the people? I believe in extorting a confession, but the battlefield is constantly changing. What use is a little bit of information? "Li Gun shook his head." The general situation has been decided. They are really making stupid moves. "
"… That's hard to say," Xi Junyu thought for a moment, "If they really let him go, maybe they want to sow discord. With the current situation, if we attack them every day, it will only take two or three days to settle the matter. Even if they really have a few spies, so what? It's just that we can't let them drive a wedge between us. "
Li Gun nodded. "I've already spoken to Principal Dai about this matter. I've also asked someone to watch over my two subordinates. In any case, it's great that they're back. I don't have time to deal with it right now. I'll ask him at night. "
The Principal Dai that Li Gun mentioned was Dai Zong, the "Godly Movement Grand Protector" who was in charge of Liangshan's intelligence and sentries. He was Song Jiang's direct subordinate and was currently in charge of many intelligence and security matters in the military camp. Moreover, although the troops in Liangshan were not as united as a piece of iron, they were all subordinates of the small chieftains and all knew each other. It would not be easy for the other party to send any spies in. Moreover, with the current situation, what could they do even if they struggled a little?
Xi Junyu thought for a moment. "Maybe they're fantasizing and want to assassinate Big Brother Song …" Then he thought that since Dai Zong had already taken care of this matter, there would most likely not be any loose ends. With this doubt in mind, he first went to deal with other matters. As he walked past a small camp, he heard someone shouting, "I want to see Big Boss. They want to sow discord between us. I didn't become a traitor!" Someone beside him said impatiently, "So what if you're back? I know you won't become a traitor. Just stay in the tent for now … Big Boss doesn't have time to see you …"
There were several similar things happening in the camp at the same time. It was chaotic on the battlefield. Some people found their brothers and fellow townsmen in the chaos and returned to the team just like that. Some walked to the gate of the Liangshan camp and were gathered together. When the small chieftains heard the news and came to pick them up, they returned to their own team.
Today, the war outside was very intense. Groups of soldiers came and went, and for the time being, no one could deal with these matters. As the saying went, one relied on one's parents at home and friends when out. Liangshan valued loyalty above all. Most of the people who went up the mountain were introduced by friends or brothers. Many of them knew some small chieftains, who came to pick them up. "Will there be any problems with my brothers? If there's anything, I'll report it to my superiors later! " The soldiers at the gate of the camp also agreed with this principle. When someone came to pick them up, they naturally let them go. They didn't know some of them and didn't even remember their names. At this time, Liangshan was like the sun in the sky. Military discipline was still good, so no one would change sides because of this. That was not reasonable at all.
When these "small matters" were gathered at Dai Zong's side and reported to Song Jiang and Wu Yong, it was already past noon. Wu Yong was also a little puzzled when he suddenly heard these little episodes. "Logically speaking, they should have exchanged people with us. What's with releasing them …"
After thinking for a while, he also realized the first possibility. "These people were first forced to confess, then scattered and released. Obviously, they want to … alienate our brothers. But in this situation, it's not very meaningful. I think they want to fish in troubled waters. Now that they want to turn the tables, the only chance is to assassinate Brother Gongming … Heh, they're really daydreaming …"
There were many experts on Liangshan. As long as they were a little vigilant, even if Luan Tingyu and the others from Zhu Village came in person, they wouldn't be able to take down Song Jiang. Wu Yong and the others first took precautions, then said to Dai Zong, "Headmaster Dai, please gather these brothers and let them enjoy good food and wine. We'll ask about the specific details later. The enemy is cunning. If we really want to force a confession, one of them will definitely tell us about the situation in Liangshan. Let bygones be bygones and don't take it to heart. In another two or three days, Zhu Village will fall, and this matter will naturally disappear. "
Most of the people who would come to Liangshan to become bandits were not people with clear minds at this time. At least, Dai Zong asked a few people in a short period of time, but no one explained the matter clearly. Some said that they were interrogated at night about the murder, some said that the people from the imperial court were involved, and some reported to their superiors that the people from Zhu Village asked him to come over and release the poison. Naturally, he would not do it.
"Release the poison?"
"A packet of laxatives." Dai Zong took out a paper bag. On the paper bag, there was an octagonal red piece of paper with the character "Zhu" written on it. "That brother said that the man from Zhu Village threatened him to put a pack of laxatives in the well and report it to the imperial court. Then, the imperial court would write off his crimes and even reward him."
Wu Yong laughed involuntarily, "What a joke. There's running water all around here. We haven't used the wells outside to prevent being drugged. Why would someone put drugs in the well water, and laxatives at that … It's really a strategy to fish in troubled waters …"
This was really a desperate situation. Wu Yong joked with Song Jiang for a while, saying that the village would fall in two or three days and that he would make fun of the other party's clown behavior. He then called Hua Rong and the others over to protect him. Only then did Dai Zong go out and further interrogate the dozen or so people who were honest.
Then, a lot of information came one step at a time. Not only the dozen or so people who were summoned by Dai Zong at the entrance of the camp, but the subordinates of many of the generals in the camp also came out one after another to report what happened in Zhu Village last night. Some of the leaders were still asking questions, while others felt that something was wrong and began to report to Wu Yong. It was originally a small matter, but when more than ten leaders were talking about it, it seemed to be on a larger scale. At this time, there were not many people who were worried. They only felt that assassins from Zhu Village might have sneaked in. Wu Yong thought for a while and went to Dai Zong's side. There were already twenty or thirty people gathered by Dai Zong, and there were still more than twenty people who were still under the original leader's command.
It was already afternoon, and the information was pieced together one by one. During the two interrogations last night, that cruel and merciless person from the imperial court … Some of the people who came to confess swore that they did not give up any information. The other party was clearly trying to sow discord, while some of them were slightly ashamed and confessed. More importantly, in the end, that noble young master almost gave everyone a mission. The few people who were previously certain that they would definitely not do it, so they did not mention it when it was time to talk about the important points. Only the one who carried the laxative packet told Dai Zong about the matter.
That person arranged a lot of things, almost all of them were strange. There was laxative in the well, there was a fire in the fodder yard, there was a small slip of paper with the word "Zhu" written on it in everyone's food, and there was also a mission to kill one of their companions on the battlefield or in the camp and bring the head to receive a reward. As long as the task was done, they would immediately be pardoned. There was even one person who was given an especially direct mission.
"That person said … after I came back, I was to report this information to the higher-ups at the first possible moment until I told Chief Song, Military Advisor Wu, and a few other brothers. He said that if I did this, I would be pardoned. But … but he also said that after reporting, it might be dangerous for me to stay in the camp. He said that if I wanted to live, it would be best for me to find a reason to leave and quickly go to Zhu Village. Then, I might be able to keep my life …"
In the military camp, the number of people who came clean was still increasing. Dai Zong came back and said, "There was a brother who received a mission. He said that after he came back, there would definitely be a lot of people who would come clean or tell on him. That guy asked him to kill anyone and bring the head back, then he would receive a reward …"
Wu Yong's expression was uncertain. These orders seemed to be of various kinds. Only a small number of people received repeated orders. In terms of difficulty, it was admittedly not easy to kill someone and escape, but there were also some that were very easy to do if one was not on guard. If something really went wrong, it was inevitable that someone would be incited to try it. As he was thinking, he was suddenly attracted by the words of someone beside him. He shouted, "What did you say just now? Say it again!"
The soldier who was released was a little clumsy. When he spoke, he naturally said what he felt was important first, and then added the various details of last night. At this time, he was saying the words that the noble young master used to threaten them. For the time being, not many people believed these empty words, so he put them at the end. At this moment, he was shocked. Looking at Wu Yong, he repeated with some uneasiness.
"That, that person said … Liangshan seems to have a strong army, but in fact, there is a big problem. We are just a bunch of people, and we help our relatives but not reason. He said … the imperial court naturally has some … some kind of suppression on us. Some people have not even come to Liangshan, but they will definitely betray us. He said that we will know what he will do today. He also said … he also said …"
The soldier hesitated for a moment and wiped his sweat. "He said that this is some kind of overt plot. We … have to accept it, even if we don't want to."
"Accept it, even if we don't want to?" Wu Yong listened to this and frowned. "Overt plot …"
"If he had the ability to be trapped in Zhu Jia Village, he would have taken action long ago. Deliberately mystifying, overt plot, and talking big …" He weighed the situation and laughed sarcastically. However, he still said to Dai Zong, "Dean Dai, please immediately give the order to find all those who have escaped from that side and haven't spoken yet. As long as they come out, let bygones be bygones! And … what is the origin of this Mixed Element Thunderbolt Hand Technique? Dean Dai, have you heard of it? "
After saying this, Dai Zong shook his head. Before he could speak, someone suddenly came to report, "Military Counselor, something has happened. Chief Song wants you to go quickly."
"Yes, I'll go immediately. Sorry to trouble you here, Dean Dai."
Wu Yong frowned and walked out. "What's wrong?"
"Zhu Zhuang cheated and led Brother Suo Chao's team into an encirclement. Now they can't hold on any longer. I heard that someone in the team sent a signal to Zhu Zhuang's men."
"…" Hearing the last sentence, Wu Yong stood there and looked at the person who made the report. Then, he looked into the tent and blinked his eyes in confusion.
"… Impossible." He shook his head and rushed toward the big tent.
Walking out of the tent, Wu Song was leading a team of soldiers and rushing out of the camp gate. Smoke rose in the distance, and the setting sun gradually faded. It was an ordinary battlefield. As usual, the people of Liangshan were crushing dry weeds and rotten wood. Suddenly, they felt that they were tripped by something …
*****
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